A March Pick-Me-Up

Last March break, I didn't need much of a pick-me-up. It was warm and spring-like and perfect for adventuring outdoors. The year before that was just as good. Sun streamed into my apartment and made for a wonderful, romantic space to work and bake. This year, the week started off promising -- last Saturday and Sunday were gorgeous. But as the week progressed, we saw rain, flurries and now, frigid temperatures. I do see the sun peaking around my balcony -- an excellent sign. But I'm going to need a little more than that to cap off my week of relaxation.

So, I made a little pick-me-up treat: sticky, crumbly date bars. I made them on Monday when it was rainy and damp and perfect baking weather. I haven't worked too much with dates -- I made a nice date snacking cake once, and added it to my granola a few times. But this time, they totally stole the show. And it was easier than I expected. Something magical happens when the dates get softened and cooked in water, and then pureed to a chunky, sweet, sticky filling. Just for kicks, I added some dried cranberries to the date mixture which added a nice subtle tang.

Besides the glorious filling, the rest of the recipe came together in a snap -- basic ingredients like flour, oats, milk, and oil made up the soft cookie-like base, and in the topping was much of the same, with an added sprinkling of nuts. I used chopped almonds, but I think walnuts or pecans would have been better. A handful of shredded coconut would have been a great addition. The whole thing gets baked until the top gets nice and golden. I was nervous when slicing because I thought the filling out ooze out and make a mess but it didn't. These bars are definitely soft and tender and probably won't travel too well in a ziplock bag, but they do slice without falling apart, and are definitely healthy enough to enjoy at breakfast.

The first time I remember eating a date square was with two friends, sitting at the Second Cup at Queen and Augusta (which is now sadly gone) and washing it down with an Italian soda. And while there's no buttery-rich crumble and crust in these vegan ones, one bite and I was sent back to that time.

Vegan Date Bars
adapted from The Yummy Vegan
makes one 8'8 square pan -- about 16 nice sized squares

For the filling:
1.5 cups of pitted dates
1/2 cup of dried cranberries (you could go 100% date -- just add a squeeze of lemon)
1.5 cups of water
2 tablespoons of maple syrup

1. Place the dates, cranberries and water in a pot. Bring to a boil, and then simmer, uncovered for about 10 minutes, or until the dates get soft and start to break down.

2. Puree using the hand-blender to your desired consistency. Add the maple syrup and stir well. Set aside.

For the base:
1 cup of spelt flour
1/3 cup of rolled oats
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons of olive oil (or canola, or coconut)
1/4 cup of soy milk (or regular .. or almond)

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl until a soft dough forms. Press evenly into the bottom of a square baking pan.

For the crumble topping and assembly:
1/3 cup of spelt flour
1/4 cup of rolled oats (or spelt flakes)
1/4 cup of choppd nuts
3 tablespoons of maple syrup
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix until a loose crumble forms.  On to the assembly!

2. Spread the cooled date filling evenly over the base. Scatter the crumble topping on top and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until the top turns nice and golden brown.

3. Cool completely before slicing and enjoying.

A Bowl of Warm and Good

It's been awhile since I've posted a nice porridge recipe. Since my first post on weekend oatmeal, my porridge-making has definitely diversified. Millet, quinoa, barely and buckwheat, baked with fruits -- yup! All kinds of different porridge. I've also stopped using quick-cooking oats in favour of the old fashioned rolled oats, that don't take that much longer to cook and have a better flavour and texture.



Today I'm going to bring you a baked porridge recipe that combines spelt flakes and quinoa. I enjoyed a nice warm bowl earlier in the week for lunch after being out in -27 degree weather and it really hit the spot. It makes me long for lazy never-ending weeks as I'm about the head back to work. Working lunches are never this interesting, so I'm probably going to save this one for a wintery cold weekend -- you know, one of those days where you never change out of your pjs or step foot out of the house. Winter has been pretty calm here in Toronto, but I have a feeling that it's just biding it's time ... And when that time comes, I'll have this baked porridge.




You can use whatever fruits and flavourings you like, but I put apples, tahini, a pinch of cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg, and some chopped dates. Raisins would work just as well, as would dried cranberries, chopped banana, pear ... whatever you like. The quinoa really gives this porridge a great texture -- the little quinoa grains at the top get all crunchy and golden while the ones in the middle puff up and become chewy and toothsome. I had doubts about the spelt, since it tends to get mushy really quickly, but it baked up nice and fluffy. It's hearty, nutty and totally soothing on your tastebuds and tummy. And it's also great January food -- you know, comforting and warm because it's cold outside and you have to go back to work, but also wholesome and nutritious so you keep your healthy resolutions. Go on .. dig in!

Spelt and Quinoa Breakfast Bake
serves 3-4

1/4 cup of quinoa, rinsed well
1/2 cup of spelt flakes
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 little gratings of fresh nutmeg
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of soy milk
1 tablespoons of honey (reduce to 1/2 if your soy milk is sweetened)
2 tablespoons of tahini
4-5 chopped dates
1 large apple, grated

1. Put all your ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Pour into a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or when the top gets nice and brown and all the liquid has absorbed.

2. Serve warm, with toppings of your choice. Mine were: a dollop of yogurt, sunflower seeds and an extra drizzle of tahini.

Rainy First Day Baking

How did your 2011 end and your 2012 begin? Was it exiting and champagne-filled? Was it warm and cozy? Did you actually make that list of resolutions? I didn't make a list of life goals like I used to do, nor did I get all nostalgic about 2011. Mine ended with a hilariously silly and fun-filled January 30th at my best friend's house, eating delicious homemade food and playing the funnest, silliest games ever. Besides the great food and fun games, I realized that I was spending time with the greatest friends -- friends that I want to always ring out and in new years with.

And the 31st? Pretty quiet night in, a little visit to my parents', a bite of cranberry lemon curd bars and sip of iced cider .. and a quick midnight skate at the local community centre rink. It was perfect skating weather -- cold enough so that the ice wasn't drippy, but no biting wind to make the experience bitter. It was absolutely perfect. I haven't skated in many years, but I felt right at home. The rink was completely empty -- we were the only two out there, and it made me think about just how big the world is and how small our lives can seem. But as we skated and reminisced about years past, I came to realize that not matter how much we seem not the matter in the world, our actions, words and even goals and dreams that have seemingly small impacts can mean everything ... like a comfortable silence that can only happen between the best of friends, that quick call or text at midnight to let someone know you're thinking of them as the new year begins, the endless cups of coffee with sides of chatter and gossip that seem ordinary and routine, and the explosions of laughter that make your belly hurt but feel so good because you're amongst someone you love ... yeah, those are little things, but they certainly can have big impacts.



With that in my mind on New Year's morning, I wanted to celebrate this new found realization of mine with a bit of baking. And it was the perfect day to bake bread -- rainy and chilly. Not good weather for outside adventures, so I took the adventure into the kitchen and made some cinnamon bread with dates, raisin and walnuts to be shared with my parents, sister and best friend. I've made this type of bread before, but I actually goofed and while trying to fix my mistake, came up with something different and kind of cinnamon-roll like. I forgot to add two tablespoons of sugar into the dough -- I only remembered when I was half-way through kneading it. In retrospect, I probably could have just left it -- the dates and raisins are already sweet, but since it was supposed to be a treat for my loved ones, I wanted to add back a bit of sweetness. So ... I rolled the dough out just a bit, filled it with a good sprinkling of brown sugar and cinnamon, rolled it up again and cut out little buns. A lighter version of cinnamon buns? Yup. I pinched the ends of my rolls and baked them in muffin tins to hide the sugary swirl which was a nice surprise on the inside. But I bet if you just sliced and arranged in a baking dish, you'd have a lovely cinnamon pull-apart bread ... and maybe a citrusy glaze on the top wouldn't hurt either .. ?

Happy New Year!

Cinnamon Fruit and Nut Buns with Brown Sugar Swirl
adapted from A Chow Life

2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 packet of traditional yeast
1/2 cup of warm water
1 teaspoon of sugar

1 cup of spelt flour
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
a pinch of salt
3 tablespoons of melted butter or margarine (I used Earth Balance)
1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup of chopped dates
1/4 cup of chopped raisins
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts

1. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. This is your surprise swirl! Set aside.

2. Mix together the sugar, yeast and warm water and let it proof for at least 10-15 minutes. Mine actually sat for about 30 minutes while we braved the rain to get coffee!

3. Once the yeast is nice and frothly, dump everything else in .. yup, everything from spelt flour to chopped walnuts. Give it a good stir to make sure everything is dispersed nicely. Keep mixing until a nice soft but sticky dough forms.

4. On clean, floured surface, with floured handing, turn out your dough and knead it for a good 7 minutes, adding additional sprinklings of flour if your dough is too sticky. Your dough should become a nice, smooth, elastic ball of goodness.

5. Let your dough rise in an oiled bowl, covered with a kitchen towel for 40-60 minutes (mine went for about 45). Your dough should double in size.

6. It's filling time! Punch down your dough and give it a couple quick kneads. Divide it into two equal balls. Roll them out to about a 10'6 inch rectangle. Divide the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture between the two. Roll them up nice and tight.

7. Now it's up to you! I cut out 6 pieces from each roll giving me 12 rolls. I pinched the ends of each roll to hide the cinnamony- sweet surprise. But you could leave them as it and bake up in a baking dish.

8. Bake your cinnamon-y bundles in a 375 degree oven. Mine were baked in muffin tins, and only took about 15-20 minutes. It would be golden brown and your kitchen should smell of cinnamon and butter.

9. Serve warm .. perfect treat with coffee on a rainy day.

BTW: I updated my Flickr ... finally!

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

Apology Treats

Ok, so I lied; I didn't come back on Monday. It didn't rain that much .. and I was distracted with frequent bike rides and baking these cookies for my school bake sale and soccer team, not to mention reports. Not good excuses, I know, but until I can get my cooking act together (maybe when these darn reports are finished.. or maybe when the berries and asparagus start coming out ..) let me leave you with a couple of recipes that I've had on the back burner for awhile.

First, there's this beautiful, frosty blended coffee drink that I made way back during the Easter long weekend to serve alongside hot cross buns and curry lentil dip. Strange combination, I know, but it totally worked. It looks and tastes fancy, but it's as easy as making coffee, making ice and using a blender. The cocoa powder did make the drink a little bit gritty, but it tasted wonderful nonetheless. If you wanted to get super fancy, you could use some melted chocolate instead, or use chocolate milk to get that rich mocha flavour.


Next, this is a great little cake that I made during March break, featuring one of my favourite dried fruits: dates. I love date squares, but sometimes those huge, buttery sweet ones that you get at coffee shops taste great as first, but leaves you feeling heavy and loaded down. This cake is a perfect compromise. It's got a lovely, rich flavour, but a really light, spongey crumb and has even got some rolled oats to bump up the nutrition factor. Sounding better already? The original recipe called for the delicious Medjool date (that I love to snack on!). I actually used a honey date that I bought at the grocery store for snacking purposes, but after tasting it, felt like couldn't stand on its own. It worked great in this recipe, but I'm sure Medjool dates would be even better. The original recipe also called for a sweet citrus glaze made from icing sugar, orange and lemon juice to be poured over top. I skipped that part out of pure laziness, but if you were making this cake to serve to guests, definitely try it out.

Am I doing any real cooking? Not really. I've been living on granola and pureed vegetable soups (likes squash, carrot, parsnip..) made by my love. Oh, there's been some macaroni and cheese, but you've seen that before. And fiddleheads! Blanched quickly and quickly tossed in a hot pan with olive oil and garlic. Very yummy! I just received a bottle of red wine as a parting gift from a student-teacher, and seeing as I'm not a big drinker, I'm already procrastinating on reports by looking up some interesting red wine recipes. More later. This time I promise .. for real.

Frosty Blended Coffee Treat
adapted from Eating Well, April 2011

1 cup of double strength brewed coffee, cooled
1 cup of skim soy or milk
2 tablespoons of natural cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of maple syrup
a tiny splash of vanilla extract

1. Pour the coffee into and ice cube tray and let them freeze overnight.

2. Combine the coffee cubes, milk, cocoa powder, maple syrup and vanilla in a blender.

3. Pulse until smooth and frothy. Add more milk if it's too thick.

4. Pour into glasses and enjoy!


Sticky Date Cake
adapted from Vegetarian Times, March 2011

1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of chopped dates
2 tablespoons of margarine or butter (I used Becel)
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 cup of rolled oats
1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
a small pinch of salt
1 egg
a splash of vanilla extract

1. Bring the water up to a rolling boil. Quickly add the dates, margarine and baking soda and cover. Let stand for about 15 minutes. Pour the mixture into a blender or mini-chopper and blend until smooth.

2. In a large bowl, beat the egg with the vanilla. Add the date mixture and brown sugar and mix to combine. Add the oats and sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir until just combined.

3. Pour into a greased cake pan and bake in a 350 oven for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted comes out clean.

4. Enjoy with your coffee!