All natural, no-sugar peanut and pistachio butter cookies

 

 

I have been seeing recipes for these natural peanut butter cookies around for a while now. When I saw Monet post about them the other day, I knew my time had come. She has a beautiful baby daughter so I knew the recipe would be wholesome, but she is first and foremost a wonderful baker so I was certain these cookies would be really good besides being healthy.

 

That is a must in my book. My idea, and those of you who have been reading my blog for a while have heard me preach this before, is that if you are going to make a dessert or something sweet you might as well go the whole way and make something worth the calories you are ingesting. Otherwise, if you are on a health kick or trying to lose a few pounds, skip dessert altogether and have some fruit or yogurt instead.

 

 

 

 

 There are cases, however, when this does not apply, like feeding your kids afterschool snacks that are so good they won't really be able to tell they are naturally sweetened and full of wholesome ingredients.

 

So even though I still stand by my belief that a chocolate fudge cake should be a buttery, sweet, dense affair, if the result of a recipe is a lovely tasting cookie that satisfies a craving without going way overboard, why not?

 

  

 

  

With this batch of cookies I finished the jar of pistachio paste I told you about in my last post. I also used up that almost empty jar of peanut butter I had lying around for more time than I care to remember. It worked out perfectly, since I didn't have enough of either to make a whole batch of just one kind, and how do you split an egg in half?

 

Both cookies are delicious because they are so incredibly full of nutty flavor and they are just sweet enough, with that touch of salty that keeps you wanting more.

 

 

 

See how chewy these are on the inside? Mmmmmh...

 

 The peanut butter cookies are crumbly and dense, perfect to have with a cup of coffee or a big glass of milk. The pistachio cookies have a completely different texture, moist and chewy and rich. They are sweeter because I had added some sugar to the paste (ok, so there is a little sugar in the pistachio cookies, but if you want to make these 100% without sugar, pistachio butter would work just as well) and are fabulous with a cup of unsweetened tea in  my book. The different texture is the result of several factors: i) I used more pistachio paste than PB because I wanted to finish the jar, ii) the pistachio paste was not as dense as the PB, iii) the pistachio cookies baked as long as the others but they were a bit bigger in size.

 

To make the two different batches, I followed Monet's basic instructions but divided the egg mixture into two bowls. Then I added the different nut pastes into each and split the dry mixture between the two. It makes for a little extra work and more bowls to wash but this way you won't end up with a huge amount of cookies if you are making both. If making just one kind, use a whole cup of the nut butter of choice and use just one bowl for dry ingredients and one for wet ingredients.

 

 

 

 

Granola two ways: everything and maple pecan

 

 

 

Despite my non-resolutions, I will admit to having started a healthier, lighter eating regime this month, eschewing carbs and processed sugar as much as possible.

 

This new routine involves eating oats in as many forms possible in the morning rather than the five or ten two or three wholewheat cookies I normally hastily dunk into my caffe latte every morning at my office desk. It also involves thinking and preparing ahead but turns out to be less of a bother than I thought it would be. I just have to remember to boil and soak some steel cut oats in water about once a week or alternatively mix and bake my own granola, of which I have already made several batches.

 

 

 

 

 

I am aware that making your own granola is not the discovery of the century and that many of you are already doing it, but for those of you who don't, it is so easy and so much healthier than buying those (often) sugar, salt and fat-laden industrial ones, of which there is very little choice here to begin with. So I am indeed very excited, just as excited as I was about last week's lentils ... what can I say, I guess I am an enthusiastic kinda gal, although I promise to spare you Dr. Seuss this time round.

 

I have made a variety of combinations with very different ingredients and two different methods, both of which worked very well for me, and I cannot help patting myself on the shoulder everytime I take a bite: not only do I get to clean out my pantry and freezer (I cannot begin to tell you the amount of dried fruit and nuts I have stashed away), but I can choose from an endless combination of ingredients, I have control of what I am feeding my family, how sweet I want my breakfast cereal to be and also how much fat, sugar or salt I want or rather don't want to use. Not to mention I get to decide whether I want big clusters, small clusters or none at all.
 

 

 

 

We have been eating it with cold milk, warm milk or yogurt as breakfast and after-school snacks and we have yet to get bored of it. I am already thinking dried figs, medjool dates, apricots, pistachios, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, raisins. My kids are already dreaming of chocolate chips in all colors or sizes and peanut butter chips...

 

Quick note: I have been using instant oats because I had a large tin to use up and they worked well but normally granola recipes call for rolled oats. You can go either way. Also, play around with the ingredients you like by substituting, adding or taking any of them. Last but not least, I recently read some recipes that did not call for any kind of fat in the preparation, so I will be trying that next.*

*Six months later I am still making this weekly: I now use rolled oats or 6-grain mixes, I have cut the amount of maple syrup and add flax/linseed to the mix, and the maple granola is definitely my favorite although I sometimes swap pecans with a seed mix (sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, linseed etc.).

 

 

 

 

Everything granola (makes enough for one baking tray)
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup butter
1tsp muscovado sugar
1 tsp poppy seeds
1/4 cup unsweetened, dried coconut
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped
3 cups rolled/instant oats 
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup mixed red berries

Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F.
Melt butter and honey (you can melt the honey using the bain marie method or in the microwave) and mix together in a large bowl. Add in all the other ingredients and mix well using a spatula.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper or aluminum foil and spread the mixture evenly. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, mixing halfway through. Let cool, crumble and mix in the berries. Store in an airtight container.

Maple pecan granola clusters (makes enough for one baking tray) - with updates
3 1/2 cups instant oats (I have now switched to a 6-grain rolled mix) 
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup ground flax/linseed
1 tsp cinnamon, optional
1/2 to 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup canola oil or other
2/3 cup pure maple syrup (I have since reduced the amount to 1/4 cup approximately)



Preheat oven to 150°C/300°F.
In a large bowl mix together all the dry ingredients. In a small bowl combine oil and syrup and then pour over the dry ingredients. Mix well with a spatula. Spread evenly onto a previously lined baking tray and bake without mixing for about 30 minutes . Let cool, break up in to pieces and store in an airtight container.

 

 

 

 

 

Honey poppy seed dressing

 

 

 

Maybe I should change my blog's name to Nuts about vinaigrette.

 

Maybe I should start posting a vinaigrette recipe for every day of the year. "365 dressings for a healthier 2013". Whaddya think?

 

Maybe I should just shut up make something else.

 

But I feel like I finally understand what Brenda, Elvis, Willie and the Pet Shop Boys were talking about. I just can't seem to get this stuff off of my mind or my salad.

 

I get home from the office and there it is, sitting in the corner of my kitchen, that big, white book beckoning me. Before I know it I am flipping through those pages, fingers trembling, cursing myself for not using the ribbon bookmark that was purposely sewn into the binding for just this purpose. I need more, I need to find yet another way to make my evening salad even more delectable than yesterday's. There are just so many, I can't stop myself!

 

And so, until I get rid of this addiction and start publishing something you can actually chew rather then surreptitiously lick off your finger from an empty bowl while you are filling the dish washer, you get yet another from me.

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

1/4 cup honey

2 tbsp cider vinegar (or any other kind of fruit vinegar)

1 small shallot, minced

2 tbsp mustard (the book suggests Dijon, I used an estragon-based one)

1 tsp poppy seeds

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

 

If you are using a food processor, first mince the shallot and then add all the ingredients minus the poppy seeds and run until creamy. When the dressing is ready, add the poppy seeds and give a good last mix with a spatula making sure all the honey is mixed in as opposed to stuck at the bottom of the bowl.

If you make this by hand, mince the shallot and then mix all the ingredients together (poppy seeds included) minus the olive oil, which you will add in at the whisking until you obtain an emulsion.

Roasted lemon and red onion chutney

Saturday it was spring: sunny, warm beautiful beckoned many of us out of our homes and into the city's parks for a picnic.

I may have already told you about a park near our house that we often go to in the warmer months. It is a lovely, quaint garden tucked away behind an historic villa with a fish pond crossed by a little bridge, beautiful trees, a large and nicely kept lawn and a miniature playground. It is small and you may only enter with children and no dogs. I know this sounds unfair, but it is because of these strict rules that people can let their children crawl or walk in the grass barefoot without worrying about them stepping in/on the undesirable and often scary things that litter urban parks. It is so safe you can let your children run free and explore the secret trail beyond the bridge while you lie on a blanket and relax in the shade of a tree.

That is exactly what a bunch of us was doing, glass of red wine in hand, when we saw a woman approaching us followed by our children like she was the Pied Piper. She asked us if she could take the kids to the large park right across the street to feed animals. A couple of dads volunteered to tag along and when they all got back both fathers and children were brimming with interesting and funny stories.

That is how we found out about this group of volunteers who goes to these parks on their lunch break every day to feed the animals (mostly turtles, ducks and fish) and to make sure they are well. 

My daughter told me excitedly that a few weeks ago, when Milan was covered in snow, the pond had frozen over. If you share Holden Caulfield's curiosity about what happens to the ducks when ponds freeze in a city park, I can tell you that the Milanese ducks all huddled together in a wooden bird house by the water to keep warm, waiting for the volunteers. When they arrived with food, my daughter told me through big bouts of laughter, one of the ducks literally ice skated towards them.

Also, one of the huge carps that live in the same waters recently died and it was embalmed and is now exhibited at the nearby Museum of Natural History.

On their walk around, they also met a Brazilian turtle with a blue beak called Freddy who is a protected species. Apparently people often abandon illegaly imported animals in city parks.

My daughter and husband also met an alligator snapping turtle from Florida who eats pythons. To think I have probably walked by it a hundred times over the years and never knew were were compatriots!

Needless to say, my daughter and her friends loved every minute.

I think it is amazing that there are people out there willing to use their free time to care for animals and to teach our children about the environment that surrounds us. I can only express my gratitude towards these volunteers who take care of the little nature we have in big cities with passion by thanking them for turning my child's afternoon into a great adventure.

But you are here for a recipe, so let me digress no further. Remember that saying that goes "if life gives you lemons make lemonade"?

Lemonade? Not me, nossir. From now on I'm making chutney. Roasted lemon and red onion chutney to be exact. And you will too if you try this.

I was inspired by this recipe and the photos a few months ago. I had bookmarked it and finally decided to use up all that lovely citrus I had lying around.

I did however make some adjustments. Part of the changes were dictated by what I had in my kitchen, others by my personal preferences.

I used red onions instead of shallots. Also, I roasted my onions alongside the lemon instead of keeping them raw: whatever it lacked for in texture it made up for in color and flavor. The onion softened and caramelized slightly with the lemons and helped to further neutralize the acidity from the lemons. I made sure to use less honey so the end result wouldn't be too sweet. I also omitted the mint because I didn't have any, but I am sure it adds a lovely note and will definitely use some next time. What I am also thinking of adding when I make it again is some grated ginger, just a touch, to add some freshness and a teeny bit of heat.

When I served it my daughter eyed it suspiciously and stated with her typical 6-year old attitude: "I'm not eating that". I reminded her that our household rule is to taste before refusing something. Well, maybe I shouldn't have insisted because she ended up  making a huge dent in the supply. We ended up slathering this stuff on everything we ate yesterday and it was gone before nightfall. Not only di we drizzle it over crumbled feta and warm toasted bread, we mixed it into the vinaigrette for our salad and even used some on grilled meat. It would work wonders on roasted fish or even smoked salmon. Can you think of something else you would pair it with?

Moroccan lamb stew with lemon and pomegranate couscous

Today my father in law came over to our house for lunch. He originally wanted to go out to eat couscous and lamb in a restaurant he had heard of, but when he tried to make a reservation it was closed.

My father in law grew up in Libya, a country we have heard of so much lately in the news, back in the day when it was an Italian colony. I love hearing stories of his years there, before the new regime confiscated everything they owned, of how he lived as a child on acres and acres of farm land to later move to Tripoli, then a bustling, cosmopolitan city, to finish his schooling and attend University. 

His parents had tried and failed to become parents several times before he was born and he came very late for the standards of those days. I wonder what it must have been like for his mother to live so far away from her family in Sicily and how lonely it must have been there without children to rear for so many years. I like to imagine the pride and joy she must have felt when she took a ship back to her hometown (the baby must be born in Italy!) to finally give birth to a healthy little boy, sorrounded by clucking sisters, aunts, cousins.

Despite being born in Sicily and living in Italy for most of his adult life, my father in law grew up speaking Arabic and soaking up the culture of his surroundings. To this day couscous and lamb stew are his comfort food.

How could I deny him this pleasure?

The ripe and juicy pomegranate I had bought last week as a part of my centerpiece for another dinner inspired me to look up recipes that included it. This recipe turned out to be the perfect combination of a fruity, fresh couscous and a fall-off-the-bone tender, fatty lamb cooked in a tomato-based stew filled with the warm flavors of North African cuisine.

Recipe adapted from BBC Food Recipes

Nigella's honey chocolate cake and blogversary

On the weekend this little blog of mine celebrated its first year.

I will not bore you with the usual blablabla about how much this amazing experience has helped me out of my comfort zone (in the kitchen, on my laptop and with my camera) and introduced me to a whole new community of friends and food lovers all over the world.

You've heard this, you've done this, you don't need to read about it again. B.O.R.I.N.G.

If I were Martha Stewart I could show you a blooper reel of the past year.
For example me crouched over on a chair in my undies and a t-shirt to get that perfect picture of a cookie. Forgetting the window is wide open behind me. It happenend.

Or me pulling the hand beater out of the bowl and forgetting to turn it off. I am still cleaning chocolate batter sprays off the walls.

There have been many such moments (and great moments too of course)

But I am not Martha Stewart and I am no Nigella Lawson either. The closest I can get is making one of her signature recipes and that is what I did to celebrate.

 

Before I get into baking technicalities, just one last thing.

I see from my stats that I have lots of silent readers and several followers. I was a reader of blogs for many years before I started commenting and interacting with bloggers and I know that doesn't make a person any less passionate or interested. I just wanted to acknowledge you, a year in, and tell you I know you are out there and how much I appreciate your presence. Thank you. If you ever feel like it, like dropping a line or asking me a question, I would love to hear from you.

Back to baking.

Making Nigella's chocolate honey bee cake was quite simple, but keep in mind there are a few steps and it is important you have enough time to let the cake and glaze cool before assembling.

Making the bees was a lot of fun. I made them with my daughter, who is five, and she really did a good job, so it can be a fun family activity.

As always occurs when I need a key ingredient, the only box of marzipan paste I found was damaged, so I had to resort to making my own. It was a revelation, it is that easy!

 

The only two problems I encountered where following:

1. Nigella suggests using a cup of boiling water for the batter. My batter was already quite runny with half a cup so I didn't use the whole amount. My springform pan is old and a bit battered and I have had problems with runny batter seeping out during baking in the past, so I didn't want to risk it. And it did seep out a bit anyway. I brought the cake to a party and it was finished before I had a chance to eat a slice. I did however steal a nibble from my daughter and did not find the cake as moist/gooey as I expected and Nigella described. I wonder if that made a difference? I only baked the cake for an hour, so I don't think it was overbaked.

2. Nigella also suggests covering the cake after 45 minutes if the top looks cooked, which I did. The cake was perfect when I covered it but it sunk in the middle a few minutes after covering, which was very disappointing. No biggie, as she suggests turning it over for the icing, but it was a little of a letdown.

Besides that, it was fun and easy to make and looked like a million bucks. So if you are not a "domestic goddess" and want to impress, this is the cake for you.

Hello summer! Popsicles (with a secret ingredient)

It is a long holiday week end here in Italy and as you read this, we should be on the island of  Elba. My fingers are crossed while writing (figuratively speaking of course) that the weather will be decent, in the hope of seeing those sweet feet covered in sand again, of taking a swim in the probably-still-freezing Mediterranean, of having gelato while strolling down the Darsena looking at boats. If I will be doing just that as you read, then it is popsicle time.

Before I had kids I admit I had sort of forgotten about these guys, but now if you ask me popsicles are the best invention ever. Why?

1. They are good

2. They are healthy: fruit, yogurt, honey... hello???

3. They are a nutritious snack disguised as junk food

4. They use up leftovers, especially fruit a little past its prime

5. You can make a million different combinations

6. You can make fun, alcohol-based grown up versions

7. Kids always love them
8. They are the perfect emergency snack you can always keep in your freezer

9. They are refreshing

10. They are pretty

So what are you waiting for? Go crazy!

I usually use yogurt as a dairy base and have used milk in the past. This time I had some left over condensed milk and worked a treat. I will be using it again for sure, the kids loved it. When I am not using sweetened condensed milk, I usually add in a few tablespoons of honey.

Ingredients

1 small basket strawberries

a bunch of mint

1 banana

1/2 cup condensed milk

Put the cut up fruit and the other ingredients into the container of a stand up mixer or in a blender and process until smooth. Freeze.

Chocolate ganache tart with hazelnut crust and chocolate glaze - Help Japan

Posting about a dessert when tragedy has hit my fellow humans in such enormous proportions seems terribly superficial. Talking about ganache and toasting hazelnuts seems inappropriate when what I am really thinking about are my close friends facing yet another difficult health-related challenge. Beating eggs while history is being rewritten right across the Mediterranean seems silly.

The truth is that no matter in what proportions tragedy hits, whether macro or micro, life goes on. Life made up of small gestures like going to work, preparing a meal or picking up your kids from school. These are the things that keep you grounded when your own life has been overturned. We all see enough images of tragedy on the evening news, on the Internet, photographed on newspapers. And lets face it, even if something is not splattered across the front pages of the papers and we go on living our everyday lives, there is still something terrible happening somewhere to someone, for such is life.

I realize this is not the place to discuss the tragedies of our planet. People clicking onto my blog don't need to hear more about them, they come here to get an idea for dinner, but also for distraction, to escape everyday life for a few minutes, or so I like to think. I made lasagne with pesto without commenting on our Prime Minister's frolicking, I baked chocolate chip cookies while dictators were being overthrown and uttered not a word. But sometimes it is impossible to ignore what is happening outside, in the real world. So forgive my digression. This is my ode to normality.

Perhaps rolling out dough and following precise steps can be soothing, can momentarily distract from painful thoughts, can help bring back a touch of normality to someone's home.

For us, this cake was a celebration of friendship. We shared it with good friends and thought of other good friends who are not close enough to come by for a cup of coffee, a slice of cake and some words of comfort. Being close to people you love, family or friends, enjoying their company in a warm home while it is raining outside is a privilege we must never take for granted. So if you make this, promise me you will savor every bite. Think of the earthquake victims. Think of a loved one going through a rough time. And maybe bring them a slice, even just with your thoughts. I know I did.

Adapted from Dulce Delight. 

With this cake I am participating in the online bake sale for Japan promoted by The Tomato Tart. Sabrina is the mind behind this fabulous idea, a way to try to help support Japan in its darkest hour. I am so happy she has offered me the opportunity to contribute somehow. The auction  proceeds will be donated to Second Harvest Japan, a food bank that is working right now to respond to the immediate needs of the people displaced by this disaster. Whoever is interested in participating, please contact Sabrina directly through her blog. She was very helpful and promptly replied to all my questions.