Light and Fresh, Hearty and Nutty

So I realize that the last few things I've made have been beautiful shades of tan, beige and brown. And today is no better. Let me explain.

Yesterday, I woke up cold. I hate waking up cold. It was also grey outside. A typical February. I also had a baking bug, even though I had just made this beautiful chocolate cherry cake (did I mention that it's vegan and delicious?) for my grandma's 96th birthday. I thought about another chocolate treat, or maybe oatmeal crackers or banana bread, but I wanted something fresh and tangy to shake myself about of these February blues. I also wanted something hearty and toasty to warm the chill that had settled in my bones. Usually tangy and toasty don't go together.



But they did yesterday morning! I made mini-muffins -- a perfect weekend morning treat. I made them with lemon juice and zest, and the goodness of whole wheat flour, toasted almonds and rolled oats. Substantial enough to warm me up and bright enough to wake up my taste buds. They're also vegan (soaked oats make a great binder -- no egg replacers needed!) with only 1 tablespoon of heart healthy olive oil. They have a lovely light and chewy crumb and the toasted chopped almonds give it some nice texture.



So it's brown and beige. So what? It was just the thing I needed to set my weekend straight. No guilt added, to top it off. Go try them. You're welcome.

Vegan Lemon Almond Muffins
makes 24 mini muffins

1/2 cup of rolled oats
1/2 cup of soy or almond milk
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup of natural cane sugar
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
3 tablespoons of apple butter (or 2 tablespoons of apple sauce)
1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 cup of toasted almonds, chopped

1. Put the lemon zest and juice, oats and soy milk in large bowl. Let it stand for 15 minutes. This would be an ideal time to toast and chop your almonds.

2. Mix in the sugar, olive oil, apple butter or sauce and almond extract.

3. Sift in the flour and baking soda. Mix until just combined. Stir in the almonds.

4. Spoon of the batter into prepared muffin tins and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until lightly golden on the top and sides.

5. Enjoy! Best served warm with a cup of coffee.

Snacky Snacks

Are you a snacky person? I definitely am. I know people that eat three meals and nothing in between. I just can't do that. Snacks are wonderful. They perk me up and refuel me for the next chapter of the day. They are definitely worth taking time out to prepare. I usually make a nice big batch of snack-worthy treats that are enjoyed throughout the week. More than often, these are super healthy snacks loaded with good things that nuts, fruits, fiber and natural sugars. I love decadent treats as snacks --hey, who wouldn't love some chocolate smack in the middle of the day to keep you going? But usually these treats just give you a short term high, when what I mostly need is some long-term sustenance.



Healthy muffins and oatmeal cookies are definitely popular in my snack repertoire, as are fruit-packed or nut-butter loaded quick breads. But lately it's been granola. I love granola. I love it with soy milk, or yogurt, or most lately kefir. But usually, it's just on it's own, crunched while walking to the streetcar stop, forgotten about until the 3:30 bell and then happily munched on the way home. I've made fancy granola chunks, batches with ancient grains like kamut and spelt, and even peanut butter granola and tahini granola.



I've seen many different granola recipes lately, and my best friend raved about one from the New York Times made with olive oil, but I have to say that I love to play with this recipe that uses apple sauce instead. I made this granola batch beautifully fragrant with the addition of orange zest, and I added chopped dates instead of raisins or dried cranberries, a lovely, sweet and sticky alternative that goes great with the orange flavour. There's also chopped almonds and sunflower seeds in there too, because a snack always needs to give you a little protein boost, right? Right?! Get snacking people!

Orange Scented Granola with Dates
adapted from Everybody Likes Sandwiches
makes a big batch!

***3 little apples or 2 big ones -- I used empires, chopped and peeled (if you like .. I left the peel on)
splash of water
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
3 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup
3 tablespoons of orange juice

2 cups of spelt flakes
1 cup of old fashioned oats
1/2 cup of raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup of chopped raw almonds
1/2 cup of chopped dates
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ground cardamom
zest of 1 large orange

1. In a small saucepan, place the apples and water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn the heat to low, put the lid on, and let them cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until the apples gets nice and soft.

2. Take the apples off the heat and let them cool a bit. Add the almond extract and honey, and give mix well. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine everything else except that dates and mix well so that the spices and zest are well distributed. Add the apple sauce mixture and mix carefully so that everything is coated.

4. Spread the mixture out on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven, tossing frequently, until the mixture has dried out and turns golden brown. For me, this took about 45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes.

5. Remove the granola from the oven and add the chopped dates immediately. Toss and let cool. Snack away!

***If you don't feel like making home made applesauce, or already have a nice batch, use about 1 cup

It can't be over yet!

There are still mountains and juicy peaches and baskets overflowing with blueberries spilling over everything in the market. We had a humidex advisory warning yesterday. Summer can't be over yet ... can it? I know, I just baked autumnal cookies and put on a sweater when I got up one morning, but I can change my mind, can't I?



Yup, I just did. Even though I'm fully going back to work on Tuesday, I'm going to hang on to summer for as long as I can, even if it's just for the fruit. Two weeks ago, I went to a local farmer's market and bought my third yellow watermelon of the season. I swore it would be my last watermelon of the summer. I was walking through Kensington market on Friday, and what did I see on sale? Watermelons. Yup, it's cut up in my fridge as we speak. And yesterday when we biked past another little market with baskets upon baskets of BC blueberries on sale, how could I resist?


It was humid, and sticky and smoggy yesterday, and so we stayed inside for much of the day. We made blueberry preserves with some of our findings, and froze a little bag to surprise ourselves in the dead of winter when summer berries are but a fading memory. And we also sacrificed a few, just a few, to make this beautiful peach and blueberry breakfast bake. It's lemony and summery and very light. If you're looking for a traditional crisp or crumble, you may be disappointed. There are no buttery clumps of crumble goodness -- I save that for the apple crumble later when fall really rolls around. But this, no. This is the perfect breakfast treat. The fruit is heated just until it softens up and starts oozing those lovely summery fruit juices. There's no flour or corn starch like in traditional pies or crumbles; those fruit juices and set free. Everything is kissed with lemon, and topped with a wholesome crispy topping sweetened with pure maple syrup. With a big spoon of yogurt and nice strong coffee, this is the perfect way to celebrate summer .. summer that's NOT over just yet.

Peach and Blueberry Breakfast Bake
serves 4

1 cup of blueberries, rinsed
2 peaches, pitted and chopped
2 teaspoons of sugar
zest and juice and half a lemon
1/2 cup of old fashioned oats
1/2 cup of ground almonds
3 tablespoons of maple syrup


1. Toss the fruit in sugar, zest and half the lemon juice. Pour into a pie pan or baking dish.

2. Mix together the ground almonds and oats. Add the rest of the lemon juice and maple syrup. With a fork, gentle mix until everything gets sticky and moistened.

3. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the top of brown and crispy and the fruit juices have just started the bubble. Enjoy warm with summer's arm around your shoulder.

Happy PRIDE!!

Quick little post here to say HAPPY PRIDE, TORONTO!! People were commenting that Pride was too highly politicized this year, but you know what? I think when we're talking about LGBTQ pride, politics has to play a role. And politics dividing the people involved with organizing the Pride festivities? Well, that's how we learn. There's conflict, there's division, but hopefully in the end, there's learning and knowledge that comes about of all that conflict. Because conflict can spark discussion and debate, and that is how we learn.

Politics ruining Pride? Not for me. I fully enjoyed booing the police, waving and blowing kisses at Olivia Chow, and waving peace signs and shouting in solidarity whenever I saw "My Pride Includes Freedom of Speech." Plus, there was a really cool sign: Boobs NOT Blair! I think that was my favourite! The day could not have been more perfect (or hot and steamy!), but what made it over the top, were crazy screaming friends, and ... COOKIES. Two kinds to be specific -- because my pride includes a little sweetness!

Lemon and Strawberry-kissed Sugar Cookies
adapted from "Cookies" p. 92 - by Catherine Atkinson, Joanna Farrow and Valerie Barrett: I usually don't go for a roll-out cookie simply because I'm lazy, but my Pride-going friend had just bought me these cute little cookie cutters, plus a bunch of pretty pink and purple dazzle sugar, so I couldn't resist! I originally thought that the strawberry puree would dye the cookie pink, but they only got a tiny bit blushed. The flavour of the strawberries is subtle and wonderful.

zest and juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup of ripe strawberries - hulled
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 cup of softened butter
1/2 cup of sugar
1 egg yolk
coloured sugar for sprinkling

1. Put the lemon juice and strawberries in a mini-chopper or blender and blend until you get a smooth puree. This makes about 1/3 of a cup of puree. Set aside.

2. Cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest. Add the egg yolk and mix until light and fluffy.

3. Add the flour alternately with the strawberry puree, mixing well between additions. You should end up with a soft dough. Chill the dough wrapped in plastic for at least an hour, overnight preferably.

4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured. I found that it was easier to roll it out in two separate batches. Roll it out to maybe half a centimetre thick, maybe a tiny bit more. Think shortbread texture. Use your favourite cookie cutters to cut out the dough. Place on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with coloured sugar.

5. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. The cookies will puff up a bit and get a teeny bit brown around the edges.


Chocolate Almond Cherry Cookies
adapted from eat me delicious: These cookies are absolute heaven, and YES, even I used real butter in the one. The chocolate and almonds and cherries are just such a perfect match. It's a chewy, buttery deep dark chocolatey cookie. Be careful when transporting them in hot weather ..they get melty!

1/2 cup of soften butter
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of white sugar
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
1 egg
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 cup of ground almonds
3/4 cup of all purpose flour
1/3 cup of chocolate chips
1/2 cup of chopped dried cherries

1. Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and almond extract and stir until everything is combined.

2. Add the salt, baking soda and sift in the cocoa. Give it a good stir. Add the flour and ground almonds and stir until everything is covered in cocoa magic.

3. Add the chocolate chips and cherries and mix well. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, or until cookies crackle on top and you can smell the chocolate-y goodness.