Streusel Sweet Potato and Banana Muffins

These muffins are super moist. But the big plus here is the vitamin A in sweet potato...it's level is practically off the charts compared to other sources.  A medium sweet potato has a daily value of 283% of vitamin A!
Great for better eye health!

Doggies need good vision too, so see the sweet potato chip recipe at the end of this post.

Ingredients for muffins:

1 medium sweet potato
4 ripe bananas
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
2  1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice

Streusel:

1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsps flour
2 tbsps soft butter
1 tsp cinnamon

Wow, these look pretty sad!!

Bake the sweet potato at 350F for 45 minutes or microwave on high 8-10 minutes. Cool, then peel and mash. (Reserve the peels)

Beat mashed sweet potato with bananas.

Add the brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla and eggs.

Combine the flours (you can also just use 1  1/2 cups whole wheat flour with no white flour), baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice. Add dry ingredients to the wet and mix just until combined.

Mix the streusel ingredients together in a small bowl.

Dollop a heaping tablespoon of batter into each lined muffin cup, sprinkle with streusel then fill with remaining batter. Top off with the rest of the streusel mix.

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes. Cake tester should come out clean.

Makes 16 medium sized muffins

Doggie Sweet Potato Chips... simply place the reserved sweet potato skins on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for 10 minutes. So when you first put the muffins in the oven, slide a sheet with the peels in too. Just remember to take them out before the muffins are done!

No need for any added anything...no oil, salt or flavouring of any kind. Karma loves these just the way they are!

NomNomNom!

Garlic Hummus

Chickpeas and tahini are packed with protein, so healthy snack here we come!

Ingredients:

1 head of garlic, roasted
1 - 540 ml can chickpeas, drained
3 tbsps lemon juice
3 tbsps tahini paste
1/2 tsp salt
pinch or 2 ground cumin
2-3 tbsps water
2 tbsps olive oil

Garnish - olive oil and ground sumac, smoked paprika or cayenne.

For a quick roasted garlic just slice the top off a head of garlic, place it in a microwave-safe bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add 1  1/2 tbsps of water to the bowl and cover with a saucer.

Microwave on low for 3 minutes, take it out and check softness with a fork. Microwave another 3 minutes then by 1 minute increments until you achieve the desired softness.  You could broil the top if you want a golden roasted garlic but it's not necessary.

Squeeze each clove out of the skins and process with the chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, salt, cumin and 2 tbsps water. Once smooth, and with the food processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the mix. You can then decide to add a little more water if you want a thinner hummus.

To serve drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle sumac, smoked paprika or cayenne on top. Have it with raw veggies, crackers or these Just Right Pita Chips.

And here's a link to the Just Right Pita Chips
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2015/03/just-right-pita-chips.html?m=1

Roasted Vegetable Orzo Salad

A mediterranean style pasta dish that can be prepared days ahead of time. 

Ingredients:

1 small eggplant
1 small yellow zucchini
1 small onion
1/2 sweet red pepper
1/2 sweet orange pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

20 oz dry orzo
7-8 cups chicken broth

3-4 oz feta
a few basil leaves and some kale
cherry tomatoes

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp honey
salt and pepper to taste
2 pinches of sugar

Slice or dice the vegetables and toss with olive oil. Spread on a lined baking sheet, salt and pepper, and roast at 425F for 35-40 minutes.

Meanwhile bring the chicken broth to a boil and add orzo. Cook on medium heat, partially covered, for 7-9 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and sit 10 minutes. If after 10 minutes the broth has not all been absorbed, remove the orzo with a slotted spoon to a bowl or container and keep the remaining broth for another use. 

Add the roasted veggies to the orzo. You can prepare to this point 2 or 3 days ahead of time. You might want to toss with a tablespoon or 2 of olive oil and refrigerate.

A few hours before serving combine the dressing ingredients. Crumble feta, cut basil and kale in slivers and add to the orzo mix. Toss with the dressing and serve at room temperature. Add some cherry tomatoes too!

Serves 10-12

Lamb in Red Wine Sauce

Even if you think you don't like lamb, you'll love this!
Got this recipe from my friend many years ago and it's been my go-to lamb recipe ever since.

Ingredients:

5 1/2 lb leg of lamb, preferably boneless
3-4 garlic cloves, slivered
2 tbsps olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp dry rosemary
1 small onion, minced
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup beef stock
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste

First, pat the lamb dry with a paper towel. If it's a bone-in, remove alot of the fat and cut 25 slits in the meat. If it's boneless, keep the net or string on and carefully cut slits in meat without cutting net. Insert the garlic slivers.

Combine olive oil, lemon juice and dry rosemary, then brush or rub all over the leg. 

Let stand 30-60 minutes at room temperature.

Roast at 450F for the first 15 minutes.

Then reduce oven temperature to 325F and roast 1 hour and 30-40 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 125. Check internal temperature about 30 minutes before the expected end time.

Remove to a platter, cover with foil and let stand 15 minutes before cutting. It will continue to cook a bit while standing.  Then snip off the netting and slice. But while it's standing prepare the sauce.

Red Wine Sauce:
Skim fat from the roasting pan. Add onion and cook over medium heat for 4 minutes.

Pour wine over and bring to a boil, scraping the brown bits from the pan. Add beef stock and return to a boil.

Stir cornstarch and 1 tbsp water together and whisk into the stock.

Blend in the tomato paste and add salt and pepper to taste.

 Serves 10-12

Original recipe was possibly from Canadian Living magazine.

Halloumi

So Halloumi...you might be my new favourite cheese!

Picked this block of Halloumi (or Halloom) up at a middle eastern store, then proceeded to ask my daughter "what do I do with it?" She has mentioned using it in the past so I figured she could help me out.

She said it was best grilled so we used our Cookina sheet on the BBQ. Love it because you still get the grill marks but don't have to worry about food falling through the grill.

When I opened the cheese package I realized it was folded in half and when unfolded was just about the right thickness for grilling, 1/2". So just cut it into serving pieces.

No need for oil. Simply place the halloumi on the hot grilling sheet (or right on the grill if you choose, but maybe oil that first) and cook at 375F (medium hot) 2-4 minutes or until golden on the bottom and there is little moisture left. It doesn't melt!

Flip each piece and cook an additional minute or 2.

It's not like any other cheese I have ever had. It's briny/salty...

and it has the texture of a piece of white meat! 

I think it might be awesome on a skewer with some veggies.  Hmm, will have to pick up more halloumi !!

Cheerios Ice Cream Float

Last night's midnight snack. Couldn't decide if I wanted cereal or ice cream so why not both!

This just hit the spot. Imagine the possibilities of flavour combinations! Different cereal, say Cocoa Puffs with chocolate ice cream and raspberries!

Could this be a thing?

In The Pink Smoothie

Refreshing and good for you too! I don't have a high-powered blender so I used my food processor. A little gritty, but hey...fiber!!!

Ingredients:

1 cup water
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/3 cup fresh beets (raw or steamed)
¼ cup avocado (optional)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 large apple
1 raw carrot
5-6 ice cubes

I cooked my beet, I find the taste less earthy that way. I left the peel on both the apple and the carrot and I didn't use avocado here. I don't know if the vivid pink colour of the smoothie would have been toned down with it.

Blend or process until smooth (ish)

Makes 2 servings

Another healthy recipe from Nevine's Cuisine