Cucumber Salad

 Recipes that don't provide actual measurements are never my favourites, as I'm bound to overdo the ingredients, but this one made an excellent salad, even if I had to do some guesswork.

-seedless cucumbers, cut up as you wish
-dressing: apple cider vinegar, olive oil, honey, kosher salt, whisked together
-mix-ins: red pepper flakes for heat, 2 tablespoons minced onion, fresh dill, sesame seeds, celery seeds, or any fresh herbs. Take your pick.
-can add shredded carrots, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, blueberries
-any dressing will do: lemon vinaigrette or poppy seed, crumbled feta cheese, parmesan cheese, chopped nuts, sliced avocado
-for protein, add blackened chicken, sweet chili salmon, or sweet and spicy grilled shrimp

The salad is best served right away.

This was found online and I didn't note the source.

Vickie's Garlic Butter Croutons

 375F oven
400F air fryer

4 cups bread cubes (old bread)
4 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried parsley

Toss and bake 12 to 18 minutes, stirring often. Adjust or add seasoning to taste. 
Cool in an airtight container; make sure they're dry or they'll mould. 

Vickie uses heavy rye bread. I use whole-wheat bread crusts that often end up left in the loaf bag; I freeze them until there are at least 4 slices (which usually make 4 cups when cubed).

 Who needs crackers in soup when there are croutons?

Chili Sauce or Ketchup

 I added a small can of tomato paste to this and simmered it till it was thick enough to use in place of ketchup. 

1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried chili flakes
1/2 cup water

Over medium heat, stir till sugar dissolves and simmer to desired consistency. Remember that it will be thicker when cool. 

If you want to use this sauce to drizzle over shrimp, for example, skip the tomato paste. I didn't strain out the garlic bits, but you might like to. I also was out of chili flakes and substituted chili powder.

Easy Oat Slice

1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup coconut
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup oatmeal
1 tsp baking powder

Mix till you can't see the flour. Pack into greased 8"x8" pan. Bake at 360F for 25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Freezes well. 

I found this recipe on the internet somewhere, sorry don't remember where. 

This is a horrible photo! These were soggy inside when I used an egg substitute (out of eggs that day), and I wonder if that extra 1/3 cup of water was the problem. So I stuck the pan back in the oven for another 15 minutes. They're tasty but were a bit chewy around the edges and hard to get out of the pan. 

I might bake at 375F next time. In any case, these are delicious. 

Moroccan Chickpea Tomato Stew

 

1 tbsp olive oil (I used sesame oil)

1 white or yellow onion, chopped 
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 lb chopped plum tomatoes or 1x 28-oz can whole, peeled tomatoes (I used about 4 cups of stewed tomatoes Farmbeau made and froze last fall; it had celery and onions in it as well). You will want to mash them or run some through a blender.
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (I used chili powder)
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 cups vegetable broth or water
1 tbsp tahini (I used plain yogurt)
3 cups cooked chickpeas
2 tsp red wine vinegar

Heat oil over medium heat and saute onion 5 mins till translucent. Add garlic, cook 2 more minutes. 
Add tomatoes, sugar, and spices. Cook, stirring frequently, 10 minutes. Add broth, simmer 10 minutes, uncovered. Stir in tahini. Add chickpeas and vinegar. 

We ate ours with buttered toast, but you might serve it with rice, quinoa, etc. 

The original recipe can be found online here: 
https://www.thefullhelping.com/moroccan-chickpea-tomato-stew/

Brendalyn's Favourite Apple Crisp

 

Heat oven to 350F.

Spread evenly in a square pan, 8"x8":

4 cups sliced, pared apples

Sprinkle with:

1/4 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

With pastry blender, mix till crumbly:

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup soft butter

Spread crumb mixture over apples.

Bake uncovered about 40 minutes. 

Serve warm with milk or cream. 6 servings.

Original recipe: Betty Crocker

Banana Bread

  In my trusty box of recipe cards, there are two for banana bread. I've made them both recently, and decided to keep just this one:

3 mashed bananas

6 tablespoons melted butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large room-temperature egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 and 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325F and grease a 9"x5" loaf pan. 

Whisk first four ingredients till well blended. Then whisk in egg and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, soda, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and stir just until blended. Don't overdo it. Place in greased pan.

Bake 75 minutes or till a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool for 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out to cool completely on a rack.