Banana Walnut Bread

I don't buy bananas very often. I prefer apples for my everyday fruit, supplemented with berries and stone fruits in the summertime of course. When I do buy bananas, I tend to forget about them for a week and then find this:

 Which is probably the best reason to buy bananas in the first place. (I know you're all jealous of my amazing 1960s formica countertops, by the way. Oh, the joys of renting...) These bananas are way beyond eating territory for me, and the bottom ends are practically rotten. But they are perfect for baking.

I considered making banana pancakes, or perhaps some banana oat muffins. In the end, though, it was a classic recipe for banana bread, made a little healthier (and a little easier) that won my heart. The sugar is reduced from the original recipe, and I used a combo of all purpose and whole wheat pastry flour. Last month I picked up a bag of hazelnut meal/flour on a whim, and I thought it would make a great addition too. I'm not sure what else to do with the hazelnut meal though, so if you have any ideas let me know!! Also, please share any favorite recipes or ideas you have for overripe bananas! I'm sure this won't be the last time I have a few forgotten bananas laying around.

Banana Walnut Bread
Adapted from the Joy of Cooking, via The Fresh Loaf
Makes one 9x5x4" loaf

Ingredients:
3 very very ripe bananas
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup hazelnut meal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons toasted walnuts, divided

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x5x4" loaf pan with buttered parchment paper.
Toast the walnuts in the oven (or in a pan on the stove) for 8-10 minutes until golden. Chop the walnuts, and set aside 2 tablespoons of the smallest pieces to put on top of the loaf.
In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a spoon or fork (or a potato masher, if you have one). A few small lumps are okay. Stir in the softened butter, sugar, and eggs.
In a small bowl, combine the hazelnut meal, flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined (do not overmix). Fold in 1/2 cup of the toasted walnuts.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts on top, pressing slightly to make them stick. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for just a couple of minutes, then transfer the bread to a cooling rack.

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Weekly Lunch: Farro and Feta Salad with Spring Veggies

I scored big in the bulk section last weekend: 3 pounds of almonds, 2 pounds of oats, a pound of dried chickpeas and another 3 pounds of farro. I haven't had farro in months since it's harder to find than wheat berries and quinoa, but I am happy to be back in stock.

This week we have a quick and easy salad that takes advantage of quick-cooking spring vegetables, English peas and broccolini. Regular broccoli would also be delicious, as would broccoli rabe or kale rabe. I am also happy to start using fresh thyme from my new thyme plant!

From left, we have flat-leaf parsley, oregano, and thyme. I need to repot these guys! I wish I had room for a full garden, but I have a small, east-facing balcony that doesn't get a ton of light. Good for herbs (and maybe lettuce?) but not much else. I have a great book called The Bountiful Container, which I highly recommend for anyone who wants to grow edible plants in containers. The authors go over a ton of different veggies, herbs and even fruits that can be grown in pots - what varieties to look for, what kind of soil and sunshine they need, when they can be harvested, etc. I am not great with plants but I keep trying!!

Farro and Feta Salad with Spring Veggies
Makes 4 main dish servings

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups dried farro
4 hard boiled eggs
1 bunch broccolini, about 1/2 pound
1 pound English peas, shelled (about 1 1/2 cups of peas)
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
2-3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced (or substitute 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
Pinch of sugar
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Directions:
Rinse farro well, then place in a pot (with a lid) with about 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 25-30 minutes until farro is tender and fully cooked but still chewy. Drain any excess water and set aside to cool.

Bring another pot of lightly-salted water to a boil. Chop broccolini in half or thirds. Add the stem ends of the broccolini to the boiling water, and after thirty seconds, add the rest of the broccolini. After 20 seconds, add the peas. Boil for another 60 seconds (no longer!) then drain and place the veggies in a bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

Make the dressing: Combine lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, thyme, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir in about 1/2 ounce of crumbled feta. Drizzle in the olive oil and whisk or shake to combine. Pour half of the dressing over the farro and stir well. Save the rest of the dressing in a sealable container or jar.

Lunch assembly: In your lunch container, combine 1/4 of the farro and 1/4 of the veggies. Add one of the hard boiled eggs, sliced, and 2 tablespoons of the pepitas and a handful of crumbled feta. Drizzle with a little extra dressing right before serving.

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Weekly Lunch: Black Rice Salad with Watercress Pesto

This combination was a bit of a gamble. The watercress was an impulse purchase at the neighborhood farmer's market, which opened for the season last week. I didn't have enough of it to do much except make pesto, so that is what I did. I pulled off the leaves and smaller stems, discarding the thicker, woodier stems. Combined with garlic, toasted walnuts, lemon zest, salt, and olive oil, it became a fresh and lively addition to this salad.

For the roasted carrots and kale, I used the same method that I used a few weeks ago - it worked very well. No fennel this time, and I used curly green kale instead of lacinato  - I'm glad to know this cooking method works with both types equally well. Just be sure to massage the olive oil into all of the curly edges of the kale, and it will roast much more evenly.

Delicious pesto

I decided to add a lemony harissa dressing to the roasted veggies on a whim (are you sensing a theme here?). Lemon zest, lemon juice, harissa paste, and a touch of smoked paprika gave a wonderful brightness to the veggies, contrasting with the nutty and comforting beans and rice.

And a sprinkle of feta for good measure. I love it when impulse veggie purchases turn out to be a success.

Black Rice Salad with Watercress Pesto and Harissa Roasted Veggies

Makes 4 main dish servings

Ingredients:

1 cup black japonica rice (wild rice would also be delicious here)

2 cups cooked cannellini beans

1 large bunch kale (curly or lacinato)

4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped in 1” pieces

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Zest of half a lemon

Juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons harissa paste

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

2-3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

¼ cup watercress pesto (directions below)

Directions:

Cook the rice according to package directions. Drain any extra water and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Toss the chopped carrots with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 15-20 minutes until almost tender. In the meantime, cut the kale leaves from the stems and slice into thin strips. Place the kale in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, using your hands to massage the oil into all of the curly parts. When the carrots are almost tender, pour the kale on top of the carrots and return to the oven for 3-5 minutes until the kale is wilted but not crispy. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl or jar, combine the lemon zest and juice with the harissa paste and smoked paprika. Set aside.

Lunch assembly: in the morning (or the night before), combine 1/4 of the cooked rice with 1/2 cup beans and a spoonful of pesto in your favorite lunch container. Add 1/4 of the roasted veggies and drizzle with 1/4 of the lemon-harissa dressing. Top with a sprinkle of feta.

Watercress Pesto

Makes about ¾ cup

1 bunch watercress

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1/3 cup walnuts, toasted

Zest of half a lemon

¼ teaspoon salt

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Cut the leaves and smaller stems of the watercress any larger stems. In a food processor or blender, combine the garlic and walnuts, then add the watercress, lemon zest and salt and pulse/blend. Drizzle in the olive oil while processing/blending until it turns into a smooth, bright green paste.

Extra pesto is delicious on roasted potatoes, tofu, eggs, pasta, or toast.

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Weekly Lunch: Citrusy Barley and Golden Beet Salad

I think this is a record - the first four days in May have all provided actual sunshine in Portland. Actual sunshine!! It's amazing how the general mood in this city lifts when it stops raining. It's cloudy now, of course, but those four days were pretty darn nice.

This is not the first beet salad I've made, and it certainly won't be the last. This one is a little different, though, with a citrusy-shallot vinaigrette and a little kick from some pepperoncini peppers. Pepperoncinis are my new favorite thing - I've been putting them in everything from pizza to stirfry.

Citrusy Barley and Golden Beet Salad
Makes 4 main dish servings

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup hulled barley
2 golden beets
Half a head of red cabbage, thinly sliced
3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled or cubed
Pepperoncini peppers, as many as desired
Sunflower seeds (optional)

Zest and juice of half an orange
Zest and juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 medium shallot, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Rinse the barley and place in a medium pot with about 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes until barley is tender but still chewy. Drain any excess water and set aside to cool.

Wash and trim the beets. but don't peel them. Drizzle each beet with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then wrap each beet in foil. Roast in a preheated 375 degree oven for about an hour or until easily pierced with a knife. Set aside until cool, then peel the beets and chop into bite-sized pieces.

Make the dressing: put all ingredients in a small jar or other sealable container and shake to combine. Pour about half of the dressing over the barley and mix well.

In the refrigerator, keep the barley, beets and cabbage in separate containers. Each night (or in the morning) put a serving of each component in a lunch container, then top with crumbled feta, pepperoncinis and sunflower seeds. Drizzle with a little extra dressing before serving.

Weekly Lunch: Spring Millet Salad

Were you a picky eater as a kid? I was pretty open-minded, but definitely had my quirks, and there were more than a few foods I just wouldn't touch. Radishes were one of them - I don't know why, they seem so mild and harmless now, but there was something I didn't like about them. As I've gotten older, I've enjoyed seeing how my taste buds change and learning to like some of those foods I avoided as a kid.

I have learned to like thinly sliced radishes in salads, and to go with them, I wanted to take advantage of more colorful spring veggies this week, including half a head of red cabbage left over from last week's lunch (one more reason to love red cabbage - it lasts for such a long time!).

To go with the veggies I cooked some millet and some yellow split peas, and toasted some pumpkin seeds for a crunchy topping. I crumbled some goat cheese, made a lemony dressing to keep at work and use throughout the week, and was all set.

Spring Millet Salad
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup millet
1 1/4 cup yellow split peas
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/2 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
Radishes, as desired, thinly sliced
Sugar snap peas, as desired, cut in half
2-3 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled

1 small shallot, minced
Juice of one lemon
White wine vinegar
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:
Cook the millet: in a medium saucepan, bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt, then stir in the millet. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until tender. Drain any excess water and set aside.

Cook the yellow split peas: bring a pot of water to a boil, then add a spoonful of salt and the peas. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until just tender, then drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Toast the pepitas in a small saucepan over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned and toasty smelling.

Make the dressing: juice the lemon, and add white wine vinegar to make a total of 1/4 cup. Stir in the minced shallot and yogurt, add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in the olive oil.

Put it together: pour about half of the dressing over the millet and stir together. Layer the millet, split peas, and veggies, then top with the toasted pepitas and some goat cheese. Drizzle some of the remaining salad dressing just before serving.

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Butterscotch Cookie Dough Balls

I was looking around the interwebs last week, searching for a tasty treat to make. I had two criteria: first, it had to use ingredients I already had on hand (so no eggs or milk), and second, it had to be fancy enough to be given as a birthday gift. I remembered seeing a recipe for unbaked chocolate chip "cookie dough balls" on Oh She Glows and thought it sounded perfect - and easy to make, too, with a food processor on hand.

I whizzed up cashews, oats, whole wheat pastry flour and salt, then added chopped medjool dates and honey. It took only a couple of minutes to go from raw ingredients to delicious cookie dough - no baking required!

(I added a little more honey after that last picture, to help the dough come together into a ball.)

And instead of chocolate chips, I used butterscotch chips, a few handfuls of which were sitting in the cupboard after being requested specifically by Sweetie to be used in the latest batch of granola bars (which was a great idea, btw).

I mixed a handful of butterscotch chips in with the dough, and melted the rest to use as a topping. Or rather, I tried to melt them, but for some reason they just turned into a paste instead of a liquid... but I made the best of it and kind of "molded" the butterscotch paste onto the cookie dough balls. It worked well enough.

The birthday girl enjoyed them quite a bit! And so did I :) I would definitely recommend Angela's recipe if you're looking for a different kind of cookie-like treat. After all, who doesn't love raw cookie dough?

Weekly Lunch: Apple Crunch Salad with Smoked Cheddar

This week's salad is all about texture. Combining foods with different textures helps keep this meal fun and interesting even after eating it for a few days in a row. Here's what I used:

Crunchy: romaine lettuce, thinly sliced red cabbage, fuji apple
Chewy: wheat berries
Smooth: chickpeas and applewood-smoked cheddar

All tied together with a simple vinaigrette of white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper.

This is also the kind of salad that is very easy to store in the refrigerator all week. On Sunday I:

• Cooked the wheat berries in lightly salted water, then stored them in the refrigerator. 
• Chopped the lettuce and cabbage and stored it in a large bowl in the refrigerator. 
• Opened a can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed, and stored that as well. 
• Chopped one apple at a time and used half per salad, so I did have to chop an additional apple mid-week.
• Chopped some smoked cheddar into small chunks.
• Made the dressing, which I stored in the shared refrigerator in my office.

Yay for easy lunches!

Weekly Lunch: Moroccan-ish Chickpea Soup

My quest for new lunch ideas continues! It's still too early for spring veggies, so I'm making do with sweet potatoes and cauliflower, but with a different flavor base. This week's soup is inspired by a Moroccan chickpea tagine, with a spicy tomato-based broth and hearty winter vegetables. Rather than serving over the traditional couscous, I added some millet to the pot. Millet is similar enough in size to couscous, and is a whole grain to boot.

I am impressed that the millet has stayed chewy, even after a few days (unlike pasta, which keeps absorbing broth and becomes soggy overnight). I'll definitely put millet in soup again!

Moroccan-ish Chickpea Stew
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2-3 celery stalks, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tablespoons harissa paste (I used a storebought one, but I would love to make it sometime!)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1 bay leaf
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped in 1/2" pieces

1 (15 oz.) can of diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted

4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 head cauliflower, chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (I used a 15 oz. can)
1/2 cup uncooked millet
1/4 cup raisins (or dried apricots or currants)
optional toppings: toasted slivered almonds and/or fresh cilantro

Directions:

In a large soup pot over medium heat, cook the onion, carrots and celery in the olive oil for 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, then add the harissa paste, cumin and coriander and cook for another minute.

Add the sweet potato, bay leaf, tomatoes and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add the cauliflower, garbanzo beans and millet, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes until the veggies are tender and the millet is fully cooked. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste.

Chocolate Chip and Date Granola Bars

I've been eating a lot of dates lately. Between batches of date-cashew snack bites (á la Fat Free Vegan) and the discovery that we can make bacon-wrapped dates at home (omg!), it was only a matter of time before I thought to put them in granola bars.

My no-bake granola bars have three components - dry ingredients that get toasted in the oven (oats and nuts), dry ingredients that do not get toasted (flaxseed, wheat germ), and wet ingredients (butter, brown rice syrup, honey, almond butter). Usually I mix dried fruit with the other non-toasted dry ingredients, but because these dates were really fresh and soft, I decided to combine them with the butter and brown rice syrup, hoping that the heat would kind of "melt" the dates into the other ingredients.

I think the chocolate date granola bars might be here to stay for a while. Do you ever have chocolate for breakfast?

Chocolate Date Granola Bars
Makes a 9"x13" pan

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups oats
2 cups almonds
1/2 cup buckwheat groats
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips, divided

Directions:

Heat oven to 350F. Chop the almonds to get a mixture of large and small pieces. Spread the oats, buckwheat, and almonds on a large baking sheet (or two smaller baking sheets) and toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes, stirring every few minutes.

In a very large bowl, combine the wheatgerm and flaxseed. Add the toasted oats, almonds and buckwheat and stir to combine. Let cool for a few minutes, then stir in about half of the chocolate chips.

Line a 9"x13" pan with wax paper, and set aside a second piece of wax paper of the same size. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the dates and cook for 2-3 minutes, then pour in the brown rice syrup. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, then remove from the heat and stir in the almond butter and salt.

Pour the date mixture over the dry ingredients and mix very very well until thoroughly combined. Pour onto the prepared 9"x13" pan and use a spatula to spread the mixture. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over the top. Put the second piece of wax paper on top of the bars, then use your hands and/or a rolling pin to flatten the bars as much as possible. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Weekly Lunch: Beet and Wheatberry Salad

This salad is really nothing special. Beets were on sale, I have a bunch of wheatberries in the cupboard, you know the story.

Red-stained beet hands are always fun.

More exciting is the salad dressing I made this week. I sprinkled some thyme on the beets while they were roasting, so I put thyme in the dressing to enhance the flavor of the beets and tie together the other ingredients. In addition to the wheatberries and beets, this salad contains chickpeas, baby spinach and toasted walnuts (I put the beet greens to use elsewhere). Some fresh goat cheese would be a most excellent addition.

Garlic-Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette

Juice of 1 lemon, about 3-4 tablespoons
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Sprinkle a little salt on the minced garlic and smash it with the side of your knife a few times, to make a paste. Mix the garlic-salt paste with the lemon juice, thyme, mustard, remaining salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil. Makes about 1/2 cup.

Savory Pumpkin Curry Granola Bars

I've been trying to cut back on sweets a bit and have been wanting to have more savory breakfasts and snacks instead of sweet ones. I came up with a few ideas for savory granola bar flavors and this is my first attempt at making them.

This was truly an experiment. I wasn't sure what to use for the liquid component of the bars, since I normally use honey, brown rice syrup or some other liquid sweetener when I make granola bars. I decided to go with a small amount of brown rice syrup along with some pumpkin and an egg. These turned out more cakey and less chewy than I expected, but still pretty tasty and definitely worthy of further experiments!

Dry ingredients

Wet ingredients

I love the yellow color from the curry powder!

Cakey, chewy, seedy

Savory Pumpkin Curry Granola Bars

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups oats
• 1 cup cashews
• 1 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup hemp seeds
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/3 cup brown rice syrup
• 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup tahini paste
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-2 teaspoons curry powder (I used 1 tsp, which resulted in a very subtle curry flavor. Go with 2 tsp if you want a stronger flavor or if you just love curry!)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9"x13" pan with parchment paper.
2. Roughly chop the cashews and almonds. Mix all of the dry ingredients (oats through chia seeds) in a large bowl.
3. In a small saucepan (or in the microwave), heat the olive oil and brown rice syrup over medium heat for a few minutes until the mixture is very runny. Remove from the heat and stir in the pumpkin puree, tahini, salt and curry powder.
4. Lightly whisk the egg in a small bowl. Add a spoonful of the pumpkin mixture to the egg and stir (to gently heat up the egg without "cooking" it), then add the egg to the rest of the pumpkin mixture and mix well.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake for about 25 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
6. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

Nutrition facts:
I cut these into 24 snack-sized bars, about 2" squares. One of these bars contains less than 4g sugar, more than 4g fiber, and nearly 8g protein! I know that both pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds (and tahini) are high in calcium, too, so I want to look up exactly how much calcium these provide (I'm usually low on calcium so I'm always trying to add more). They are a bit high in fat, but it's all super healthy fats, lots of omega-3s, and after all, higher fat means a more satisfying snack.

Question: Have you ever eaten or made a savory snack bar? What flavors would you like to see?

Weekly Lunch: Millet Salad with Swiss Chard and Roasted Squash

One of the new-to-me ingredients I picked up last weekend was millet. I was really only familiar with millet as either bird food or some kind of 70s hippie vegetarian casserole, but I'm willing to try almost  any food once or twice. The "almost" is referring mostly to organ meats. I was a vegetarian for 8 years after all.

So I picked up a couple of veggies that were on sale, Swiss chard and delicata squash. Added my old standbys, hard boiled egg, chickpeas and feta, and I am all set for the week. The nutty millet, slightly bitter greens, sweet squash, and salty feta makes a great combo and doesn't get boring after eating it for a few days. Plus the millet turned pink after mixing it with the chard! How appropriate for the week of Valentine's day.

Millet Salad with Swiss Chard and Roasted Squash
Makes 4 main-dish servings

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup millet
• 2 3/4 cup water plus a pinch of salt, or use vegetable stock

• 1 bunch of swiss chard
• 1 medium delicata squash
• 1 (15 oz.) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 hard boiled eggs
• 2 oz. feta cheese
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• Pinch of smoked paprika (not critical if you don't already have some, but nice) 
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bring the millet and water/stock to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the millet looks fluffy. Remove pot from the heat and keep the lid on for another 10 minutes or so. Empty into a large bowl and set aside.
2. Separate the chard leaves from the stems. Chop about 1/2 cup of the stems, and roll up the leaves and slice into very thin strips. In a large pan over medium heat, cook the chopped stems in 1 tablespoon olive oil for 3-4 minutes, then add the leaves and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the vinegar, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Add the chard to the millet and mix well.
3. Cut the squash in half, lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Cut each squash half into 1/2 inch slices, and place them on a baking sheet lined with foil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then roast in a 400-degree oven for about 20 minutes, flipping them over after about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
4. Assembly: layer the millet-chard mixture on the bottom of your reusable container, followed by some squash slices, chopped egg, chickpeas, and crumbled feta.

Figgy Buckwheat Scones

I went a little overboard in the bulk section of the grocery store last weekend. I picked up grains (millet, quinoa), baking supplies (buckwheat flour, brown rice flour, demerara sugar), lentils, almonds, and dried fruit. Lots of fun.

I bought the buckwheat flour in order to make a scone recipe from Kim Boyce's Good to the Grain, which I saw on 101Cookbooks. I've had a jar of fig-sesame jam sitting around for a few months and I wanted to use it up, so I didn't make the fig butter in the recipe (although it sounded fantastic).

I didn't get any pictures of this step, but you roll up the dough into a log, cut it in half, refrigerate until cold, then cut each half in six slices (twelve slices total) and bake. The dough logs can keep in the fridge for up to two days, so these would be great for make-ahead breakfast or brunch.

The scones turned out really well, not too sweet, with deeply caramelized edges from the jam.  I've heard good things about this cookbook and now that I've tried one of the recipes, I definitely want to check out the whole book.

I did make a couple of changes to the recipe. It includes both buckwheat and all purpose flour, I reduced the all purpose and added in some brown rice flour. I also used the recently-purchased demerara sugar, which added extra crunch.

I am just a sucker for new ingredients sometimes.

My Favorite Granola Bars

When I started graduate school I started trying to make various bars to help fuel my long days (I was also working part time). I tried baked bars, unbaked bars, crunchy, chewy, you name it. Ingredients from textured vegetable protein to applesauce to wheat germ came and went as I experimented to find the combination I liked best. After many many batches of different bars, I now have a formula that I can adjust depending on my mood and what ingredients I have on hand. 

Even though I'm done with school I still love these granola bars. They are great for travel, of course, but I frequently eat them for breakfast, usually with some nonfat or 2% Greek yogurt. They are incredibly hearty (nutrition facts at the end of the post if you're interested) and this keeps me full for hours.

I make a large batch of these, enough for two people to eat them for 2-3 weeks. You can easily cut the recipe in half and use a 9"x13" pan.

The first step is to chop 3-4 cups of nuts. I typically use almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts but you could also use macadamias, pecans, cashews, or pumpkin seeds, anything that can be toasted.  Add some buckwheat or quinoa if you like, and toast it all in the oven.

Mmm, nice and toasty.

Next you toast some oats and unsweetened coconut.

While these things are toasting, you mix together some other ingredients that will not get toasted, like dried fruit and various seeds. I like chia, hemp and flaxseeds but also sometimes add sesame seeds. I usually like to add some wheat germ, although I am (in theory) trying to cut back on wheat. I use a giant 8-quart bowl to mix the ingredients.

When the nuts and oats are toasted, add them to the giant bowl and mix everything together. Then, melt some butter and different liquid sweeteners until it bubbles for a couple of minutes, then add some almond butter or other nut butter. This binds everything together and makes the bars really chewy.

Stir and stir and stir until it's all mixed together.

Dump onto a 11"x17" pan that has been lined with wax paper and spread it around with a spatula. Then cover with another piece of wax paper and use a rolling pin to flatten them. 

When they are completely cool, cut them into bars. Store them in an air-tight container between layers of wax paper.

Rachel's Favorite Granola Bars

Makes one 11"x17" pan

Ingredients (more like a formula):

Toasted ingredients:

• 3-4 cups nuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup small grain or large seed, such as buckwheat, quinoa, or sunflower or pumpkin seeds
• 5 cups oats
• 3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Untoasted ingredients:

• 1 cup small seeds, such as flax, sesame, hemp, or chia (definitely recommend a mixture)
• 1/2 cup wheat germ (can substitute for more seeds or coconut)
• 1/2-1 cup dried fruit, your preference on type and amount. I prefer 1/2-3/4 cup, usually golden raisins or dried cranberries.

Liquid ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter, ghee, coconut oil, olive oil, walnut oil, etc., whichever you prefer
  
• 1 1/2 cups liquid sweetener, such as brown rice syrup, honey, golden syrup, maple syrup, molasses, whatever. I prefer using more than one type of sweetener, as it seems to make a chewier (and more interestingly flavored) bar.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup nut butter, again, your choice here. I prefer almond as it has a mild flavor and doesn't overshadow the other ingredients.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Chop all of the nuts, one cup at a time, and place on a 11"x17" baking sheet. Toast them, along with the small grain/large seed, at 350F for 8-10 minutes, stirring once or twice.  
3. Toast the oats (my oven is a piece of crap, you may be able to toast your nuts and oats at the same time) for another 8-10 minutes. After 3-5 minutes, add the coconut and toast it as well.
4. While you're toasting the other ingredients, mix together the small seeds, wheat germ and dried fruit in a very very large (at least 6 quarts) bowl. After the nuts and oats are cooled, add them to the bowl and mix together. Line that same 11"x17" baking sheet with wax paper, and set aside a second piece of wax paper of the same size.
5. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the liquid sweetener and heat until it starts to bubble, then let it simmer for about 2-3 minutes.
6. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the salt and the nut butter until it is completely blended. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix very well until thoroughly combined.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread fairly evenly with a spatula, pressing gently. Place the second piece of wax paper on top and use a rolling pin (or your hands, or a wine bottle) to flatten. When they are completely cooled, cut into bars. I cut them into 32 bars, but you could easily cut them smaller if you want bite-sized snacks.
8. Store in an air-tight container between layers of wax paper for up to 2 weeks (I have stored them for up to 3 weeks, their taste didn't suffer but they started to dry out).

Nerd time!

I love spreadsheets and keep a spreadsheet of all of my commonly used granola bar ingredients and their nutrition facts, acquired from either the package or NutritionData.com. Then I can keep a second spreadsheet with my current combination of ingredients and it calculates everything for me. Very handy. 

It also makes it easy to see how to change the ingredients in order to change the nutrition facts, such as using exclusively almonds (instead of other nuts) to increase the protein, cutting out the coconut to reduce the fat, or using more brown rice syrup and less honey to reduce the sugar. 

I'm thinking of trying a baked version with pumpkin and 1-2 egg whites. What's your favorite granola bar flavor? 

Chocolate Pistachio Cookies

Recently I came into possession of a large quantity of pistachios. What's a girl to do? Use up about half a pound of them in some chocolate pistachio cookies! I saw this recipe at Happy Go Marni. I was out of cocoa powder but I used extra unsweetened chocolate and it worked out quite well. These turned out very fudgy and moist, and the texture did not suffer over the few days they lasted.

 

Chocolate Pistachio Cookies
Adapted from Santa's Favorite Cookies via Happy Go Marni

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups shelled pistachio nuts, finely chopped
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt.
3. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (or the microwave) and set aside to cool slightly.
4. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, the vanilla and almond extracts, and the melted chocolate. Stir in the flour mixture until just blended, then add in the pistachios.
5. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls on prepared baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time for 8 minutes or until cookies are dry on the edges but still quite soft. It's better to underbake these slightly. Cool for a few minutes on the pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.