I've been wanting to try this cake out for a while. I wasn't sure how the sesame and bananas would harmonize, but I thought it sounded like an interesting idea.

The cake is very nice. Light, fluffy, and moist. The banana comes through gently. I couldn't really taste the tahini, but I think it added some richness to the cake.

I cut back the sugar and salt a bit, but didn't make any other changes to the recipe. I think it would be interesting to try it with whole wheat flour next time. But I think it's good as is.

Tahini-Banana Snack Cake

Slightly adapted from The Perfect Cake by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 c. tahini
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3 bananas
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 milk, divided
• 2 tsp. sesame seeds

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease and flour a 20cm (8") square pan.
2. Combine the flour and salt and sift in the baking soda.
3. Beat the butter with the tahini and sugar until light and fluffy (~3 minutes).
4. Add the eggs, one at a time.
5. Break up the bananas and beat them in one chunk at a time (or mash the bananas in a separate bowl first).
6. Reduce mixer speed to lowest setting and mix in 1/3 of the dry ingredients followed by 2 Tbsp. of the milk.
7. Mix in 1/2 the remaining dry ingredients followed by the remaining 2 Tbsp. of milk.
8. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients and give a final stir by hand.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top.
10. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
11. Bake on middle rack at 180°C (350°F) for 40-50 minutes.
12. Cool in pan for at least 10 minutes before turning out onto wire rack to finish cooling.

I've been continuing to work my way through various pumpkin recipes while they're in season here. So far I've made pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin muffins, a pumpkin-apple brown betty (which I haven't had a chance to do a write-up for yet), and two different kinds of pumpkin bread. I've also got a beef and pumpkin stew queued up. But for today, I decided to give this pumpkin granola recipe a try.

Now, first thing's first: I like this granola a lot. Especially the walnuts; they go very well with the spices and toast up really nicely as the granola cooks and come out with a beautiful warm, deep flavour. And, while the nut/seed butter in the wet ingredient mixture isn't front-and-centre in this recipe, it adds a lovely richness to the whole thing. So yes, I really enjoyed this granola.

That said... I probably would try changing a few things next time.

I only had peanut butter and tahini to choose from nut/seed butter-wise, so I went with tahini for this iteration. And it was great! But I'd love to try tripling down on the pumpkin next time and try using pumpkin seed butter instead.

And, while I'm at it, I'd also be inlined to up the pumpkin purée slightly. It was fine as is, but it seemed like it would probably take extra pumpkin well too. And, while the final granola was very tasty, it did not actually taste very pumpkin-y too me, so I'd like to try cramming even more pumpkin into it next time if possible.

Pumpkin Granola

Slightly adapted from Jessica in the Kitchen

Ingredients

• 3 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 c. chopped walnuts
• 1/4 c. pumpkin seeds
• 2 tsp. mixed spice or pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 c. pumpkin seed butter (or tahini or almond butter)
• 1/2 c. maple syrup
• 1/2 c. pumpkin purée
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 c. dried cranberries (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Combine the oats, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and spice blend and mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the seed (or nut) butter, maple syrup, pumpkin, and sea salt and mix well.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix very thoroughly.
5. Spread the granola out on the prepared baking sheet and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 30-40 minutes, flipping halfway through.
6. Mix in the dried cranberries (if using).

Skillet-Roasted Green Beans

I've been meaning to make this bean recipe for over a week now. Originally I was just going to do it with frozen beans. Then, since I still hadn't gotten around to making it yet, I figured I might as well toss some nice fresh green beans into my produce basket for the week. Now those beans have been sitting in the fridge for almost a week and I still hadn't cooked them yet. Until today! I finally got it done!

Because I'm trying to be a bit calorie-wise, I cut back the oil and cheese a little. Honestly, I think I could've gotten away with cutting them back even more! Even with 2/3 the quantity of oil called for, I still felt it was a little too much. I think 1/3 of the oil called for would've been plenty. And, while the cheese is completely delicious and I would've loved to have had twice as much, I think that 10 or 15g would probably have been sufficient. (The recipe below reflects both of these changes.)

Skillet-Roasted Green Beans with Pecorino Romano

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country February/March 2021

Ingredients

• 340g green beans, trimmed
• 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 small red onion, halved and sliced thin
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 15g Pecorino Romano cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler

Directions

1. Add beans, oil, water, salt, and pepper to pan, cover, and cook over medium-high heat, shaking pan occasionally, for ~7 minutes.
2. Stir beans and cook, uncovered, for another 4 minutes.
3. Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.
6. Sprinkle with cheese shavings and serve.

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Variations

Skillet-Roasted Green Beans with Bacon, Black Bean Garlic Sauce, and Tahini

Ingredients

• 340g green beans, trimmed
• 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. water, divided
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 small red onion, halved and sliced thin
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. black bean garlic sauce
• 1/2 Tbsp. tahini
• 1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
• 2 Tbsp. crumbled bacon

Directions

1. Add beans, oil, 2 Tbsp. of the water, and pepper to pan, cover, and cook over medium-high heat, shaking pan occasionally, for ~7 minutes.
2. Stir beans and cook, uncovered, for another 4 minutes.
3. Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice, black bean garlic sauce, and remaining 1 Tbsp. of water.
6. Drizzle with tahini and sprinkle with sesame seeds and crumbled bacon.

Mutabal (Eggplant Dip)

I grew up eating an eggplant dip very much like this. Everyone seems to call it baba ganouj here. It's very garlicky and delicious. This seems to be a very similar dish, but apparently "baba ganouj/ganoush" is something completely different in Syria and they call this dip "mutabal". It's a little less garlicky and more lemony than the version I grew up with, but very similar otherwise.

I strongly recommend charring the eggplant over an open flame if you can. It makes a world of difference. Personally, I think wood or charcoal gives a better flavour than gas. I've tried cooking my eggplants under a gas broiler and directly over a gas burner on the stove, but the flavour when I did them on a charcoal barbecue was much, much better. That said, if you don't have any way of doing a wood or charcoal fire, gas will work. And the dip will still be nice. It just won't have the same smoky element to it.

Mutabal

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 2 medium eggplants
• 2 cloves garlic¹
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 3 Tbsp. plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. tahini
• juice of 1 lemon²
• olive oil, to serve
• polegranate arils, to serve (optional)
• flatbread and/or veggies, to serve

Directions

1. Fire up your grill, preheat your broiler, or turn on a gas burner.
2. Poke the eggplants all over with a sharp knife.
3. Cook over (or under) open flame, turning occasionally, until the skin is blackened and crispy all over. The flesh will get very soft and the skin will begin to split. Make sure the eggplants are thoroughly charred over their entire surface.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Carefully peel off the blackened skin. Discard the skin and stems.
6. Mash or purée the flesh.
7. Crush the garlic and salt with a mortar and pestle and add it to the mashed eggplant.
8. Mix in the yogurt, tahini, and lemon juice.
9. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
10. Drizzle with olive oil.
11. Sprinkle a few pomegranate arils on top (if using)
12. Serve with wedges of flatbread for dipping.

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¹ If you're feeling lazy, you can swap out the fresh garlic for garlic paste. ^Back
2 I found my mutabal to be very lemony. I was using it for batrish, so the strong lemon flavour ended up balancing out with the other ingredients, but I think it would've been too strong on its own. If you're planning on serving the mutabal alone, it might be worth holding back half the lemon juice. Taste it and see if you think it needs the rest first. ^Back

A delicious garlicy sauce that can be drizzled over many different meats and vegetables or added to sandwiches and wraps. Very quick and easy to put together and a nice enhancement for many meals.

Tahini Sauce

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 c. tahini
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp. plain yogurt
• black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Combine garlic paste, salt, tahini, and lemon juice.
2. If mixture seems to thick, add a little water.
3. Stir in yogurt.
4. Season with pepper.

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Variations

Vegan Version

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 c. tahini
• juice of 1 lemon
• black pepper, to taste

This sauce works just fine without the yogurt. No other changes necessary.

Mutabal Shwandar (Beet Dip)

We got a bunch of beets in order to do easter egg dying, but we ended up using all the eggs for red cabbage experiments instead and needed to do something with the beets. This dip from Our Syria turned out to be just the thing; it's especially tasty on bread or crackers.

Mutabal Shwandar

Our Syria, p.19

Ingredients

• 4 medium beets
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 4 tbsp plain yogurt (at least)
  
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• juice of 1 lemon
• soft goat cheese to taste [optional]
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
   
2. Scrub the beets, trim them, and slice into wedges.
3. Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper.
4. Bake for 30-50 minutes, until soft enough that a sharp knife can easily be inserted through them. Remove and let cool.
5. Combine the beets, tahini, yogurt, garlic, and lemon juice in a food processor or blender, and blend. If using a blender you may need to add more olive oil and/or yogurt.
6. If using the goat cheese, crumble it into the dip and stir in.

I picked up a couple bags of dried seitan/gluten the last time I was at the Asian grocery. Of course, I could just use them as a meat substitute the next time I'm making soup or curry or something, but I thought it'd be nice to find some seitan-specific recipes. And I found a whole treasure trove of delicious-looking dishes! But they all use home-made/fresh seitan, not the dried stuff. This recipe for barbecue "ribs" looked so good that I couldn't resist giving it a try. It's lovely with a bit of grilled corn and/or creamed kale.

Barbecue Seitan Ribs with Sticky Tamarind Sauce

Slightly adapted from Sunny Side Hanne

Ingredients

Seitan

• 1/4 c. tahini or peanut butter
• 1 tsp. liquid smoke
• 2 tsp. sweet or smoked paprika
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 1/2 c. chickpea flour
• 1 1/2 c. hot vegetable broth¹
• 1 1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp. gluten flour

Sticky Tamarind Sauce

• 1 Tbsp. tamarind concentrate
• 1/2 c. hoisin sauce
• 1/4 c. sambal olek (or chili sauce of your choice)
• 1 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 2 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 Tbsp. mirin
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

Directions

Seitan

1. Combine tahini/peanut butter, liquid smoke, paprika, tomato paste, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, and chickpea flour and mix well.
2. Pour in hot broth and stir to form a homogeneous mixture.
3. Add gluten flour and stir to combine.
4. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 5-6 minutes. You may need to add an extra Tbsp. or two of gluten, but be conservative; don't add too much.
5. Lightly oil a large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil and place the seitan on it.
6. Press the seitan into a large flat slab.
7. Score the seitan to make it easier to separate into "ribs" once cooked.
8. Fold the foil over and seal to form a tight packet.
9. Grill over indirect heat for 30 minutes. (Aim for a grill temperature of 180°C/350°F.)
10. Meanwhile, prepare the barbecue sauce. (See below for instructions.)
11. Open the packet and brush the ribs with barbecue sauce. Flip them over and coat the other side with sauce as well.
12. Cook for another 15 minutes being sure to keep the ribs over indirect heat!
13. Serve with coleslaw, grilled corn, fries, or other side(s) of your choice.

Sticky Tamarind Sauce

1. Combine all sauce ingredients and mix well.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes.
3. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.

NB: The original recipe billed these as "BBQ Vegan Ribs", but I'm not confident in calling the recipe vegan as written. I think it would be appropriate for a "strict vegetarian" (ie. someone who doesn't directly eat animal products, but doesn't necessarily avoid animal products elsewhere), but not necessarily a vegan. Hoisin sauce and mirin both contain sugar which often uses bone char in its production. As such, unless you can find sauces that use some sort of vegan sweetener, this recipe wouldn't actually be vegan, but it's still a great egg-and-dairy-free vegetarian offering!

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¹ I used a 2:1 mix of vegetable broth and mushroom stock for mine. ^Back

This recipe is effectively unmodified apart from the addition of soy sauce and sesame seeds while cooking the tofu. It comes together very quickly, and while it's not particularly substantial -- it definitely needs to be paired with something else -- it is tasty.

Easy Lemon Dill Tofu

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Ingredients

• Tofu
• 1 ~350g package extra firm tofu
• 1 tbsp oil
• light soy
• dark soy
• sesame seeds
• Sauce
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp tahini
• 1 tbsp dill pickle juice
• ½ tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp olive oil
• ¾ C freshly chopped dill
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Freeze, thaw, and drain the tofu.
2. Slice it into thin slices and pan-fry with oil, adding light and dark soy and sesame seeds to taste.
3. Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.
4. Toss the tofu with the sauce and serve.

The Kidlet is suddenly back on broccoli. I'm surprised, but I'm not about to question it. My typical approach to broccoli is either to steam it, make soup, or use it as an ingredient in a casserole. I remembered seeing a recipe for skillet-cooked broccoli in an issue of Cook's Country a few months back though, so I figured I'd give that a whirl. It comes together very quickly and easily and doesn't take much in the way of ingredients. Nice for a quick, last-minute side-dish or snack.

Skillet-Charred Broccoli

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country December/January 2019

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 250g broccoli florets
• 1/4 tsp. sweet paprika¹
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• scant 1/4 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 10-20 grinds black pepper

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium heat.
2. Add broccoli, paprika, salt, coriander, and pepper.
3. Cook for ~15 minutes, stirring every 4 or 5 minutes.

The original recipe has to continue to cook the broccoli for another 6 minutes beyond this (stirring every 2-3), but I liked the look of it after the first 15 minutes of cooking, so I just took it off the heat then. They also suggest sprinkling with chopped fresh basil and serving with lemon wedges, but I liked it the way it was.

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Variations

Skillet-Charred Broccoli with Yogurt-Tahini Sauce

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country December/January 2019

Ingredients

Broccoli

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 250g broccoli florets
• 1/4 tsp. cumin, ground
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• scant 1/4 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 10-20 grinds black pepper
• 2 tsp. sesame seeds

Sauce

• 4 tsp. plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp. tahini
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. roasted garlic paste
• 5-10 grinds black pepper
• 1/16 tsp. coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Combine the broccoli, cumin, salt, coriander, and pepper and cook as for previous recipe.
2. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
3. In a separate bowl, combine all sauce ingredients and mix well.
4. Drizzle sauce over or serve on the side as a dip.

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¹ The original recipe calls for smoked paprika. I only had sweet and hot on hand, so I just went with sweet. I think the smoked would've been nice too though. ^Back