Broccoli and Chick Pea Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing

 

This crunchy broccoli salad is perfect for a quick and easy side salad that is healthy too! 

Ingredients: 

4 cups chopped broccoli, small pieces 

1 15 oz can of garbanzo beans, chick peas, drained and rinsed 

1/4 to 1/2 cup dried cranberries 

1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds, or 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds, pepitas 

1/3 cup diced red onion 

salt to taste 

Maple Mustard Dressing:

1/3 cup olive ol 

1 TBS pure maple syrup 

1 TBS apple cider vinegar 

1 tsp dijon mustard 

salt & pepper to taste 

Instructions: 

Add all the salad ingredients to a large bowl and mix until combined. 

Add all the dressing ingredients to a small jar and whisk or shake until combined. 

Pour over the salt and mix again until combined. Season with sale and pepper if desired. Salad can be served immediately or refrigerated for up to 4 days. 

Carrot Muffins

This is a delicious recipe from Prettysimplesweet.com. 

I have reduced the sugars, using 1/2 cup of coconut sugar and 1/4 cup of brown sugar. 

I grated the carrots using my food processor on the larger disk, not the superfine one and they were perfect. 

https://prettysimplesweet.com/carrot-muffins/

Cranberry Orange Muffins

 

• • Makes 12
  • Ingredients: 
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar or a little less 
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
  • 1 teaspoon of grates orange rind
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, halved
  • 1/3 cup slivered or sliced almonds
  • Directions: 
  • 1. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In another bowl, beat the eggs, milk, oil and extract. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in cranberries.
  • 2. Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full; sprinkle with almonds. Bake at 400° for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. 
  • 3.  Cool and sprinkle with icing sugar. 

  
  

Cherry & Almond Shortbread Cookies

 

Photo: Cherry Almond Shortbread Cookies, Fudge Brownies, Pecan Tassies 

Makes about 36 cookies 

Ingredients:

1 Cup unsalted butter 

3/4 cup brown sugar 

1/2 tsp vanilla 

1/2 tsp salt (optional) 

2 1/4 cups of flour - less 2 TBS 

1 cup (small container) red glazed cherries (chopped) 

1/2 cup sliced almonds * 

Directions: 

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the vanilla. Add the salt & flour.  Add cherries. 

Stir in almonds. Divide dough in 3 and make 3 logs which are about 6-8" long. The diameter should be about 1 1/2 inches. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate till firm. About an hour. Slice into 1/4" slices and place on a cookie sheet. 

Bake at 350F 7-9 minutes till light brown. Cool slightly 5-10 minutes and remove to rack. 

The logs can be frozen and thawed and baked later. 

* Omit the almonds for a nut-free cookie. 

Shortbread Cookies

This dough can be rolled to create 'Snowballs' or rolled into a log shape and curved into a crescent. 

You can use pecans, walnuts or omit the nuts. 

You can double the recipe to make a big batch. 

You can roll the warm cookies in icing sugar or fruit sugar (fine white sugar). 

Dough: 

7/8 to 1 cup flour 

1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temp)

3 TBS white sugar 

1/4 tsp salt 

1/2 cup of pecans or walnuts chopped 

1 tsp vanilla 

Cream the butter and add the sugar. Add the vanilla, flour and salt and mix well.

Then add the nuts. 

Roll into balls or crescent shapes. Place on a cookie sheet (about 12 - 16 per sheet). 

Bake at 350F about 10-12 minutes. 

Let sit for a few minutes then remove to a wire rack.

When warm, roll in icing sugar or fruit sugar. 

Makes 3 dozen.

Italian Peasant Bean Soup

Serves 8


Ingredients

• 1 medium onion
• 4 ripe tomatoes
• 2 stalks of celery
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• 1 tsp sugar
• 8 cups low sodium chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
• 1 cup of dried white cannellini or navy beans
• 2 large cloves of garlic
• 1 - 14 oz can of mixed beans, or white haricot beans
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of fresh chopped Italian flat parsley


Preparation

1. Chop the onion, tomatoes and celery into even-sized chunks and toss together. Chop in small batches in a food processor or by hand, as finely as possible.

2. Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in pot and add the vegetables. Stir over high heat for 10-12 minutes to enrich the vegetables. Add salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar.

3. Add 8 cups of chicken stock – homemade or purchased low-sodium.  *Swanson sells an Organic broth with 1/3 less sodium.

4. Add the cannellini or navy beans raw, rinsed, from the package.

5. Cover the soup and simmer for 1 ½ hours until the beans are almost cooked. Stir occasionally to ensure the beans do not stick.

6. Add 2 large cloves of fresh garlic, finely chopped. Cook another 15 minutes.

7. Drain and rinse the can of mixed beans. Add to the soup.

8. Add the chopped Italian parsley and heat through. Serve with crisp French or Italian Bread.

You can add cooked chicken, spinach, cooked rice or cooked pasta to make a heartier soup.
You can vary the amount of pepper and garlic – if you like a spicier soup – add more pepper & garlic.  Keep tasting it until you feel it has enough salt, pepper & garlic to your liking.


Tips

• Italian parsley is sometimes called continental parsley – and the leaves are flat unlike the curly regular parsley.
You can chop it using kitchen scissors. Wash and dry it. Put the parsley in a glass and snip it inside the glass.

• Always store tomatoes at room temperature as the fridge tends to make the inside 

Almond Lemon Blueberry Cake

 

This recipe is from The NY Times.  Yotam Ottolenghi

• Ingredients: 
• ½cup (1 stick) plus 3 tablespoons/150 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing the pan

• 1scant cup/190 grams granulated or superfine sugar (caster sugar)

• 1teaspoon lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice (or more juice as needed)

• 1teaspoon vanilla extract (vanilla essence)

• 3large eggs, beaten

• ⅔cup/90 grams all-purpose flour (plain flour), sifted

• 1¼teaspoons baking powder

• ⅛teaspoon salt

• 1cup/110 grams almond flour (ground almonds)

• 1½cups/200 grams fresh blueberries

• ⅔cup/70 grams confectioners’ sugar (icing sugar)
  
  Directions: 
• 
  Step 1
  Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius. Grease a 9- or 8-inch/21-centimeter loaf pan with butter, line it with a parchment paper sling and butter the paper. Set the pan aside.

• Step 2

  Place butter, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until light, then lower speed to medium. Add eggs in three additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times as necessary. The mix may split a little but don’t worry: It’ll come back together once you add the dry ingredients.

• Step 3

  In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and almond flour. With the stand mixer on low, add the dry ingredients in three additions, mixing just until no white specks remain. Fold in about ¾ of the blueberries by hand, then scoop batter into the prepared loaf pan.

• Step 4

  Bake for 15 minutes, then sprinkle the remaining blueberries over the top of the cake. Return to the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes, until cake is golden brown but still uncooked. Cover loosely with foil and continue to cook for another 25 to 30 minutes (less for a 9-inch pan, more for an 8-inch pan), or until risen and cooked, and a knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside in its pan to cool for 10 minutes before removing cake from pan and placing on a wire rack to cool completely.

• Step 5

  When cake is cool, make the icing: Add lemon juice and icing sugar to a bowl and whisk together until smooth, adding a bit more juice if necessary, just until the icing moves when you tilt the bowl. Pour over the cake and gently spread out. The blueberries on the top of the cake may bleed into the icing a little, but this will add to the look. Let icing set (about 30 minutes), slice and serve.