I took inspiration from a couple different sources on this one. I'm satisfied with how it came out. I left out the cayenne and jalapeño because I was trying to make it extra mild since the Kidlet has now randomly decided that she doesn't do spicy (after having no problem with spicy for several years before this). Next time I'd put them in though. Especially since the Kidlet didn't like it anyway.

Guacamole

Adapted from here and here

Ingredients

• 1 avocado, peeled and seeded
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder (optional)
• 2 tsp. roasted garlic paste
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 very small red onion, minced
• 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional)

Directions

1. Toss avocado with lime juice. Once avocado has been well-coated, you may drain off and reserve the excess lime juice if you wish. Personally, I didn't bother.
2. Add cumin, salt, chili powder (if using), and garlic paste and mash avocado.
3. If you drained off the extra lime juice in the first step, add 1 Tbsp. back into the mixture at this point.
4. Stir in tomato, onion, cilantro, and jalapeño.

I wanted to make some fruity muffins today, but we're all out of blueberries and cranberries which are my go-to berries for muffins. I contemplated flavours like carrot and morning glory, but they all seemed to have a tonne of oil and sugar in them. After raiding the freezer, I found some pineapple chunks that have been languishing in the back for months. I decided to look for a recipe that would let me use them up.

I like pineapple, coconut, and banana together. And, while the recipe still uses a fair amount of oil and sugar, it's definitely scaled back from what I was seeing in a lot of the other recipes. I actually cut the sugar back again and don't feel that the muffins were any the worse for it. Next time I'll try cutting back both the salt and oil a little as well. I also think it'd be nice to experiment with adding a bit of rum and using honey rather than sugar as the sweetener. Although, if I were to do that, I'd probably reduce the sweetener even further since honey is a bit sweeter than sugar (per unit volume). Gotta love supersaturated solutions!

Oh, and I almost forgot the other change I made! I replaced half the flour with whole wheat flour. I'm quite happy with the flavour and texture the muffins gained by having that bit of bran in there. I think the 50:50 mix worked out quite well.

Tropical Muffins

Adapted from Bare Feet in the Kitchen

Ingredients

• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 c. coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 c. honey (or 1/2 c. sugar)
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. rum (optional)
• 1/2 c. crushed pineapple¹
• 3/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
• 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 3/4 c. all-purpose flour²
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and line muffin tin with papers.
2. Combine bananas, coconut oil, vanilla, honey, egg, salt, rum (if using), pineapple, and coconut and mix well.
3. Combine flours and sift in baking soda and cinnamon (if using) and mix well.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until just combined.
5. Spoon batter into lined tin and bake at 350°F (180°C) for 20-30 minutes.

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Variations

Vegan

Ingredients

• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 c. coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 c. agave syrup
• 1 flax egg
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. rum (optional)
• 1/2 c. crushed pineapple¹
• 3/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
• 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 3/4 c. all-purpose flour²
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon (optional)

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¹ I turned my frozen pineapple chunks into crushed pineapple by chopping it in the blender. ^Back
2 If all-purpose flour isn't available, feel free to substitute pastry/plain/soft/standard flour here. Muffins and quick breads don't need the extra gluten anyway. ^Back

Sugo di Cipolle (Onion Sauce)

I was planning on doing a broccoli and carrot curry for dinner last night. The Kidlet was feeling a little under the weather yesterday though, so we decided to go with pasta instead. This onion sauce is simple, with very few ingredients and pretty quick and easy to throw together. It's also delicious!

Penne al Sugo di Cipolle

Slightly adapted from the Classic Pasta Cookbook by Giuillano Hazan

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 8 anchovy fillets
• 4 onions, chopped
• pepper, to taste
• 1/4 c. dry white wine
• 3 Tbsp. capers
• 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
• Parmesan, to serve

Directions

1. Combine oil and anchovies over medium-low heat and break up as much as possible.
2. Add onions and season with pepper. Cook for 20-30 minutes.
3. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until onions darken.
4. Add wine and cook until liquid has mostly evaporated.
5. Add capers and parsley and cook for 2 more minutes.
6. Toss with cooked pasta of choice and top with Parmesan to serve.

I made up a rye sour a little while back for tasty sourdough goodness. I haven't been making much use of it lately though. I like a good sourdough bread, but it's nice to mix it up sometimes too. I've had enough other bread recipes to try that the sour has kind of gone begging.

I'm gonna be taking another crack at the whole wheat sourdough tomorrow. But, in the meantime, I decided to try out some sourdough crêpes. They worked out very well! They're really quick and easy to throw together and all they really need is starter and eggs. There are, of course, lots of other things you can do to use starter/sours but, for sheer simplicity, I think this may become my go-to.

Delicious served warm and filled with Cheddar!

Sourdough Crêpes

Slightly adapted from Cultures for Health

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. sourdough starter OR rye sour
• 1/4 c. whole wheat bread (hard/strong/high grade) flour (optional)

Directions

1. Beat eggs with salt.
2. Whisk in starter and whole wheat flour (if using).
3. Preheat over medium-high heat. If the pan isn't well-seasoned, oil it lightly before you begin cooking.
4. Pour ~1/4 c. of batter into the pan and spread it very thin (either by using the back of a spoon or tilting the pan).
5. Flip when top looks mostly dry and full of bubbles.
6. Cook for another minute or so before removing from heat.
7. Serve with Cheddar or whatever toppings you prefer. (Spinach goes nicely.)

Full disclosure: This recipe is a work in progress. I decided to try the banana bread recipe feature in the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book. It's a bit different than most of the other banana bread recipes I've used in the past. It uses very little sugar (in the form on honey, in this case) and not too much fat. There are no eggs called for either. It does include two other ingredients that I'm not used to seeing in banana bread though: lemon juice and chopped dates. The dates are a nice, fruity inclusion that give it a bit more sweetness without resorting to adding more sweeteners direction. And the lemon juice is there to make the batter acidic and give the baking soda something to react with.

I made this quickbread recipe as written for my first go 'round (as I usually do). It's a nice enough bread, but the flavour isn't quite what I'd hoped. I do like that it uses whole grains though. And not too much sugar or fat. That said, I think I did miss the egg a bit. And the brown sugar, now that I think about it. And, even though it calls for a decent quantity of mashed banana, I think that it could've used even more. With a white flour, I think it would've been plenty but, against the whole wheat backdrop, I didn't feel like the banana flavour came through as much as I would've liked. It also could've used some more spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg) to complement the banana flavour.

The next time I'm making banana bread, I think I'll try combining the Laurel's Kitchen recipe with Deb's Jacked-Up Banana Bread recipe and see where that gets me. I haven't had a chance to test this out yet, of course. But I'm afraid that I'll have forgotten what changes I wanted to make by the next time I'm baking this. So I figured it doesn't hurt to write it all down now and then see how it goes.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Adapted from the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book and Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. chopped dates
• 1 Tbsp. rum
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 5 large very ripe bananas, mashed
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 egg
• 2 c. whole wheat all-purpose flour OR 1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry (soft/plain/standard) flour + 1/2 c. whole wheat bread (hard/strong/high grade) flour
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Combine dates, rum, lemon juice, and vanilla and set aside overnight.
2. Grease an 8x4" (20x10cm) loaf tin and place it inside another tin.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
4. Combine mashed bananas, butter, honey, and salt.
5. Beat in egg.
6. Add dates (along with any residual liquid) and mix well.
7. Add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and sift in baking powder and baking soda. Stir until almost fully incorporated.
8. Mix in walnuts.
9. Pour batter into nested greased loaf tin and bake at 350°F (180°C) for 90 minutes. Check progress after an hour. If sides look pale, remove the outer tin and continue baking.

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Variations

Vegan

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. chopped dates
• 1 Tbsp. rum
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 5 large very ripe bananas, mashed
• 3 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. whole wheat all-purpose flour OR 1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry (soft/plain/standard) flour + 1/2 c. whole wheat bread (hard/strong/high grade) flour
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Raan (Leg of Lam with Raisin-Mint Sauce)

Apparently raan normally uses mature mutton or goat. Iyer has adapted it to more tender western lamb. He also added a sauce to the dish. The sauce is lovely, but I don't think it really needs it.

Raan

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

Roast

• 1 boneless leg of lamb roast (~1.6kg)
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/2 c. slivered almonds
• 1 Tbsp. bin bhunahua garam masala
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 4 large cloves garlic
• 4 fresh green Thai chiles, stems removed
• 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
• canola oil

Sauce

• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 c. raw cashews
• 1/4 c. golden raisins
• 1/2 c. tinned tomato sauce
• 1/4 c. water
• 1/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/4 c. firmly packed fresh mint, chopped

Directions

Roast

1. Tie lamb into a compact shape with twine and make 4-6 slashes ~1/4" (~0.5cm). Place in a shallow pan and set aside.
2. Put yogurt in blender and add the almonds, garam masala, salt, onion, ginger, garlic, and chiles and purée to make a slightly gritty paste.
3. Pour the yogurt mixture over the lamb and sprinkle with cilantro.
4. Massage the marinade into the meat, working it into all of the slashes.
5. Cover and chill overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C).
7. Oil a rack and place it in a roasting pan.
8. Place the lamb on the rack along with any clinging marinade. Reserve the remaining marinade.
9. Roast lamb until seared and lightly browned (~10-15 minutes).
10. Reduce heat to 325°F (160°C) and roast for another 15 minutes.
11. Spoon the reserved marinade over the lamb, add a little water to the pan, and continue roasting, checking occasionally to make sure the drippings aren't burning. Continue roasting until meat registers 135°F (60°C) at centre of thickest part (~1 1/2 hours).
12. Prepare sauce while meat is roasting.
13. Remove roast from oven and let meat rest for ~10 minutes.
14. Cut off twine, slice, and serve with sauce on the side.

Sauce

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add cumin and sizzle for 5-10 seconds.
3. Add the onion, cashews, and raisins and stir-fry until cashews are lightly browned (~5 minutes).
4. Add tomato sauce and water and deglaze the pan.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally until some of the oil has separated and come to the surface (~10 minutes).
6. Transfer sauce to blender and add the cream. Purée to make a creamy, slightly grainy sauce.
7. Just before serving, reheat the sauce, covered, over low heat and stir in the mint leaves.

Dahi Elaichi Rajmah (Kidney Beans in a Cardamom-Yogurt Sauce)

Okay, this is definitely my new favourite kidney bean based curry. And not just because it gives me an excuse to make and eat freshly-fired pooris. (Although that is a pretty good reason!) I'm a big fan of the flavours in this curry. The punjabi garam masala gives it a nice cinnamon-y warmth and the cayenne adds just enough heat balanced with the lovely tart tang from the curdled yogurt. It's perfect. And, now that I know that I can buy frozen, ready-to-fry pooris from the Indian grocery, I suspect this will be a recipe that I revisit with some frequency.

Dahi Elaichi Rajmah

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 c. cooked red kidney beans
• 2 c. water
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 tsp. Punjabi garam masala
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne
• 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. Melt ghee over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and cardamom pods and cook for a couple minutes until onion begins to brown.
3. Stir in yogurt and cook until liquid evaporates and only onion-flecked yogurt curds are left (~15 minutes).
4. Stir in turmeric.
5. Add kidney beans, water, salt, garam masala, and cayenne and stir to combine.
6. Reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce has thickened (10-15 minutes).
7. Stir in cilantro.
8. Serve with fresh pooris and, if you'd like a bit more kick, lime pickles.