Pumpkin Cinnamon Pancakes

Thanksgiving Sunday off to a deliciously good start - cinnamon pumpkin pancakes. Served with a choice of raw honey or Agave syrup. 

Super easy recipe, yields ~14-15 pancakes and goes like this:

In a large bowl, mix together:

- 1/4 cup plain yogurt (Balkan style)

- 1 & 3/4 cup pureed pumpkin

- 5 tbsp agave syrup

-  2 whole eggs
- cinnamon

- 1 & 1/3 cup whole wheat flour

- 1 tsp baking powder (magic powder)

Do not overmix!

Heat a lightly oiled pan over medium heat. Pour ~ 1/4cup of the batter into the pan and cook for about 3 minutes, until bubbles start to form and the bottom is golden brown. Flip over to the other side and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until lightly browned.

Repeat with the remaining batter.

Will be closely followed by pumpkin cranberry upside down cake!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Cheese Biscuits

This is one of my favorite recipes of all times - and it's one of those super-quick-extremely easy recipes. Haven't made the cheese biscuits in a while, it was about time for a comeback.

Preheat oven at 425F. 

In a large bowl, add:

- 3/4 cup grated cheese (I used 1/2 cup feta cheese and 1/4 cup cheddar cheese)

- 1 & 1/2 cup plain yogurt (Balkan style)

- ~1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leaves (or any other herbs)

- 2 cups whole wheat flour

- 1 tbsp baking powder

Mix all the ingredients together until they form a sticky dough. 

Drop by tablespoons full onto an ungreased parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Brush each biscuit with beaten egg (1 egg, lightly beaten). Bake for ~ 20 min, until top goldens.

Serve warm or cold - they're awesome either way!

To Heaven and Back - Clovermead Apiaries

Peaceful and fascinating place!

It's just a short drive away from our home - have no idea why it took us so long to visit! I was expecting a cute nice place, flowers and bees: found all these and even more! It felt like taking my eyes and brain to the spa, and giving my memories a nice long massage (oh, the apple trees!) . And on top of that, we came back home with a box full of yumminess. 

Here's what we got:

- organic cider vinegar (unpasteurized, un-filtered, aged in wood)

- pure raw honey

- pure bee pollen

- chocolate honey spread (it's got "chocolate, honey" listed for the ingredients, I suppose it's made with dark chocolate or even cocoa powder since the honey itself is so sweet)

- ginger honey spread (just bought the trial version, and it' so good, spicy good, I'm going back for some more as soon as I get the chance)

And then some more:

- bee propolis

- raw propolis

- pure beeswax

Now this is how heaven looks like:

By the apple trees:

Well deserved break!

 

Here's Clovermead's website.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Muffins

In celebration of the lovely sings that awesome September's almost here. Almost... Dreaming of leaves rolling in the wind, amber light, air starting to be crisp and healthy, almost pretty colors welcoming October, cognac mums, pumpkins, September skies - all the beautiful things. Almost there...

12 happy pumpkin muffins waiting for September in my kitchen!

Preheat oven at 350 F. Line a 12 muffin pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl add the following, mixing well after each addition:

- 1 whole egg

- 1/4 cup agave syrup

- cinnamon

- 1/3 cup vegetable oil

- 1/2 cup buttermilk

- 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (pre mixed with 1/2 tbsp baking powder)

- 1 cup pureed pumpkin

Do not overmix! Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan and bake for ~ 25 minutes. 

Choux Puffs

Or choux pastry, or cream puffs...

Anyways, they're cute. And tasty beyond cute. And can be filled with whatever the moment brings. Or craves. Strawberry and whipped cream, in this case.

Recipe makes about 15 puffs, and goes like this:

Preheat oven at 400 F.

In a heavy saucepan, place:

- 1/4 cup butter

- 1/2 cup water

and bring to a boil. Remove fro the heat and add:

- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

- 1 tsp salt

Stir with a wooden spoon until mixture is smooth and return to heat. Continue stirring until the mixture forms a thick lump. 

Remove from heat and beat with an electric mixer for one minute or two to release the heat. Once cooled, add:

- 2 whole eggs lightly beaten

and continue to mix until the mixture forms a think paste.

Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet in spoonfulls, spacing them a couple of inches apart.  Bake at 400F for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F and bake for ~ 15 more minutes.

Remove from oven, make a small slit on the side of each shell to release the steam, and let cool completely on wire racks.

For assembling the cream puffs: slit each shell in half and fill the bottom part with the filling of choice. Place the top part of the shell on top of the filling.

Cornbread

Cravings on a rainy Sunday - ok, it's not sweet, but it's still baking. Best companion for a glass of cold buttermilk while watching the beautiful rain.

And easy to make.

And bakes so quick!

Recipe goes like this:

Preheat oven at 400F.

In a medium bowl, mix well:

- 1 whole egg

- 1/4 cup vegetable oil

- 1 cup buttermilk

- salt (to taste)

Then add:

- 1 cup cornmeal

- 1 cup whole wheat flour

- 1 tbsp baking powder.

Mix until well combined and transfer the mixture into a 8in square pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake for ~ 20 until golden. Wait until cools completely before cutting. 

Coconut Peach Pudding (Coconut Heaven - Part I)

 Tuesday inspiration (yes, it was on a Tuesday) brought me to coconut heaven - part I.

My lil' A. is vacationing under the Texan sun and this means green light for coconut for us at home! He hates coconut, I love coconut! In my efforts of being a good Mom I usually avoid coconut - except for the song where  you 'put the lime in the coconut, you drink 'em both together'.

The beginning of a beautiful journey - the coconut and I (have I mentioned 'coconut' enough times already?)

Preheat oven at 350F.

In a large bowl, mix together:

- 1 cup coconut milk

- 4 tbsp agave syrup

- 2 whole eggs

- 1 cup shredded coconut *

Pour the mixture into a buttered porcelain quiche pan (or parchment paper lined loaf pan).

Bake for 15 min until set. Remove from oven and add the thin cut slices from ~2 peaches. Bake for another 15-20 minutes until golden.

(*would've preferred it better with just 3/4 cup shredded coconut) 

 Yup, it's that simple!

Summer in May - Smoothie Time

It was Sunday morning, Mr. Sun already up by the time I was. Just the month of May but felt like mid summer - breakfast served accordingly! 

For my lovely morning smoothie I only needed:

- the juice from 2 freshly squeezed grapefruits

- 1 small banana

- 2 nectarines

- 2 tbsp hemp seeds

And voila! Joy in a glass!

Raspberry Filling Pancake Cake

 

 

Sunday again. Therefore: pancakes! But with a touch of raspberry. And in the shape of a cake. 

Super easy recipe, serves 4, and turns breakfast into celebrations. No need to look far for reasons to celebrate: it's Sunday, gorgeous rainy morning, clear sunny afternoon, it's quiet and nice, finished my book for the Forest City (doesn't 'Forest City' sound simply lovely?) Bookclub first meetup, got a chance to be walking in the rain with Dog, and even got a chance to continue reading through the book I was reading at the time the meetup was announced. It's barely past noon and feels like entire day of lovely!

On to the pancake cake with raspberry filling:

For the pancakes: 

In a large bowl, add together and mix well:

- 1 cup plain yogurt (Balkan or Greek style)

- 2 tbsp Agave syrup

- pure vanilla extract

- 1 whole egg

- 2/3 cup whole wheat flour

- 1 tsp baking powder

Heat a lightly oiled pan over medium heat. Pour ~ 1/4cup of the batter into the pan and cook for about 3 minutes, until bubbles start to form and the bottom is golden brown. Flip over to the other side and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until lightly browned.

Repeat with the remaining batter. Makes 7 pancakes.

For the filling, mix together until smooth and fluffy:

- 1/2 package (~225 g) ricotta cheese

- 1 cup fresh raspberries (or frozen)

- a little bit of honey (agave syrup will turn the mixture brown)

Divide the mixture into 7 equal part and spread over each pancake. Stack the pancakes one on top of the other. Decorate with raspberries. 

Creamy Peach Tart

Sunday night and reading The Help (by Kathryn Stockett) for the first meeting of a brand new book club in town. Minny was peeling peaches in my book, page something, and the crave hit me - and manifested itself in the form of Creamy Vanilla Peach Tart.

Started by preheating the oven at 350F.

For the shell (classical tart shell), used a medium bowl and added the following:

- 1/2 cup butter (room temperature)

- 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

- 2 tbsp plain yogurt (Balkan style)

Formed the dough, shaped it into a ball and pressed it firmly into the bottom and sides of an ungreased 10-in tart pan. (oh, and poked the bottom using a fork). set aside.

For the filling:

- puree 1/2 cup of sliced peaches

- 1/2 cup agave syrup

- 1 whole egg

- 1/2 cup plain yogurt (Balkan style)

- pure vanilla extract

- 2 tbsp whole wheat flour

Mix well until all the ingredients are combined. Pour the mixture over the unbaked tart shell. Optional: add extra peach slices on top.

Bake for ~ 45-50 minute, until set. Let cool before cutting.

Raw Vegan Challenge - Days 4 & 5

Both day 4 & 5 went by so smooth, bet they were passing by on their tippy toes. 

On day 4 I had a fruit salad to start the day (banana, orange, shredded apple, hemp seeds).

I moved over to some walnuts for snack.

Launch came and it was: cauliflower, broccoli, baby carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers. I bought them at the market while shopping for a birthday present for one of my friends. Took me a while to convince the vendor I didn't want any dip with that.

For the next snack I had the most amazing and sweet muscat grapes. Oh, the flavor!Added a handful of cashew nuts to them.

For dinner, my detox took a bit of a detour again, since I've attended a birthday dinner, and the salad came with vinaigrette and crumbled cheese. Fighting those proved pointless so I gave up when the server brought it to the table. Oh well...

Day 5 started with just a banana on my way to the bus station - I was in such a rush so my plans for carrot-celery-apple juice seemed like a sweet fantasy at the moment - barely had time to prepare my lunch.

Luckily, the rest of the muscat grapes were waiting for me in the fridge at work. Oh, the flavor again, such joy!

For lunch I had the 'summer salad' I was craving so much, one of my favorites when I was a kid: tomatoes, cucumbers and parsley leaves. Nothing else! So simple and so good!

Quick snack: a handful of cashews from my desk drawer at work.

Dinner started with grapefruit juice. Continued with shredded carrot, shredded zucchini, finely chopped dill, Brussels sprouts.

I have my hopes high - day 6 will bring me the carrot juice!

And bonus happiness for today: few days ago, my beautiful and talented friend from far away sent me one of her creations from her online store, Wool Bangle Bags by Rodica and I was so surprised that it got here so quickly! I was counting days, and never thought I'd have it so soon. Can't wait to wear it, mine is the white one with brown ribbon, so pretty - pictures just don't make them justice!

My Challenge - Raw Vegan Detox Day 3

 

Weekend's over, Monday's here, back to work - treasure my lunch break and all the 'me time' I could steal for myself in tiny little bits during the day.

Started the day with a large smoothie (correction: I always start my day with a huge glass of water):

- banana

- blueberries

- raspberries

- hemp seeds

My day was ~ 85% raw, since I detoured at lunch via some:

- lentils (~ 1/2 cup)

- diced tomatoes

- home made polenta (~ 1/2 cup from organic corn meal)

Indulged in pineapple and strawberries for one of my snacks. Walnuts for the other.

The perfect ending - huge salad:

- spinach

- green beans - finely chopped

- living red lettuce

- diced tomatoes

- diced cucumbers

-parsley leaves & dill, finely chopped

- Chia seeds

Water. Plenty. Rivers of water! Herbal teas as well - but not as much.

Sending strawberry thoughts from my lively colored cloud! Day 4 to come!

My Challenge - Raw Vegan Detox, Day 2

Mother's Day inspired me to start my day with carrot juice. Just because my Mom used to make it for me in the morning, took me a while to like it, eventually grew to love it!

Levels of energy - sky high, quality of sleep - amazing.

On to day 2 meals:

First: carrot, celery and apple juice with hemp seeds

Second: pistachios,  almonds

Third: huge salad - spinach, living red lettuce, living green lettuce, parsley leaves, diced tomatoes, zucchini

Forth: grapes, watermelon

Fifth: 'stir and fry' - broccoli (finely chopped), Brussels sprouts (diced), lemon juice, diced tomatoes, spinach (finely chopped), dill and parsley leaves 

Lovely day today, so sunny and gorgeous, dragged Dog & co out of the house for a ~8K hike and they couldn't say 'no' to me on Mother's Day.

Can't wait for day 3 to start!

My Raw Vegan Detox - Day 1

Because it's been a while - oh, so past due!

Because April brought Easter baking and anniversary cake. 

Because it's just so tempting - the view from upstairs at Convent Market, while having tea at Tea Haus it's simply breathtaking and makes me wanna dive head first in that colorful wonderland.

Because I was craving it. 

Organic everything - I'm not going to mention this beside each food.

My primary source of inspiration: the Ecopolitan 7-days raw plan. My other sources: oh-so-many. 

My meals today (yes, almost everything goes: "in a large bowl, mix together. Let sit for a while before serving"):

Started with

- bananas

- shredded apple

- Chia seeds.

I usually like caffeine  with my workouts, so today I was following the detox rule - no caffeine, so teaching the Zumba class felt good, but I was honestly missing the wings of awesome. But thought it was worth it!

Meal 2:

- freshly made orange, apple & carrot juice (with a dash of cinnamon)

- almond butter

Meal 3: 

- huge zucchini - shredded

- sweet tomatoes, diced

- broccoli, finely chopped

- parsley leaves, finely chopped

- sea salt

Meal 4:

- walnuts

- watermelon

Caption: the living salads and herbs at the Convent market

Meal 5:

- spinach, finely chopped

- tomatoes, diced

- living red lettuce

- pumpkin seeds

- black pepper

Water. Plenty. Loads. Herbal tea. Same.

Apple Cinnamon Rye Biscotti

Mid-spring diving into fall flavors...

Preheat oven at 325 F.

In a large bowl beat together:

- 1 whole egg*

- 1/2 cup unsweetened apple pureed

- 1/2 cup agave syrup

- cinnamon

- pure vanilla extract

After well combined, add the following and mix well ( do not over mix):

- 1 cup dark rye flour

- 1 cup whole wheat flour

- 3/4 cup corn meal

- 1 tsp baking powder

The dough will be very sticky. Divide the dough in half and 9with wet hands) shape each half into logs. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for ~ 35 minutes.

Cool for 5 minutes and use a serrated knife to cut each log into 10 diagonal slices. Place the biscotti on the parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for another ~25 minutes. 

Let cool completely. Can be stored in air tight tin containers. 

Nutrients per 1 of 20 biscottis: Calories: 88, Total Fat: 0.7g, Saturated Fat: 0.1g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 11mg, Sodium: 5mg, Total Carbs: 18.9g, Dietary Fiber: 2.6g, Sugars: 0.6g, Protein: 2.3g

Calcium: 1%, Iron: 5%

* For vegan version: use 1/4 cup unsweetened purees apple or 1 banana instead of 1 whole egg.