Banana-Cranberry MiniScones with Orange Glaze

Now I've got to be honest here... I didn't actually intend to make scones. I intended to make cookies. But in doing so, I accidentally started making scones. By that, I mean that my cookies were too fluffy and too dry, but were the perfect consistency of scone (at least to my liking). So since I actually thought them to be superb, I thought I'd share the recipe with you. Oh, and since they were originally cookies, mine had chocolate chips in them, but I would have left them out had I known I was making scones. Just saying.

(makes about 45 mini scones.... the shape of um, cookies)
Fixins
3 bananas

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1cup light brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups old fashioned oats
2 tablespoons orange juice
zest of half a lemon
dried cranberries
sliced almonds

For the Glaze
1/4 c. fresh-squeezed OJ
2 c. powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Put It All Togetha

Well, see, I was pinched for time, so I threw it all together at once (starting with dry, then adding each wet part, stirring as I went. And that seemed to work pretty good. Add the cranberries and almonds last, according to how much you like those things, or add whatever else sounds swell to you. Set the oven at 350, and bake for about 7-10 minutes, keeping a close eye, taking them out when they look like they're barely golden. Definitely take them out if they're black on the bottom.

While the scones are cooling, combine the OJ, powdered sugar (add slowly), and butter in a saucepan over the stove, stirring until the mixture gets thick and smooth. Take that away from the stove and allow it to cool.

Poor over top the top of the scones, then sprinkle some raw sugar upon them. Wait for the glaze to dry then eat up!

enjoy!

Mixed Berry Squares

It's getting warmer outside, which makes me always crave fruit and non-heavy foods. So in honor of this impending warmth, I decided to find a recipe using fresh berries and a light cake... and voila! Here tis! It was devoured before I even tried a bit, which I'd say is a pretty good sign.

I didn't take this photo, but this is what they should look like :)

Gather:

6 ounces blackberries or blueberries or both

6 ounces raspberries

1 cup sliced almonds

4 large eggs

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup almond flour/meal

1/4 cup oat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

a few squeezes of lemon

a dash of coconut extract

Make:

Preheat the oven to 350.

Whisk the baking powder and flours together and keep aside.

gettin good...

In a  mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together using a hand or stand mixer.  Now, add one egg at a time to the batter and beat till fluffy. Add 1/3rd of the flour mixture to the batter and continue beating till mixed. Similarly, incorporate the rest of the flour into the batter. Add the extracts and lemon.

Pour the cake batter into the baking pan, Randomly spread the berries out onto the surface of the batter keeping the open-end of the berries (raspberries) downward. Sprinkle the almonds on top of the entire cake, sprinkle some raw sugar atop of it all (optional), and bake in the oven for 40 minutes or till knife comes out clean from the center of the cake when poked. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before you cut.

And this was all that was left :)

enjoy!

Chickpea Tomato and Spinach Curry

Fresh and healthy and filling and easy and gosh dang delicious :)

Ingredients:

• 1 onion , chopped
• 2 garlic cloves , chopped
• 3cm/1¼ in piece ginger , grated
• 6 ripe tomatoes
• ½ tbsp oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp turmeric 
• 1 tsp curry powder
• pinch chilli flakes 
• 1 tsp yeast extract (I used Vegemite)
• 4 tbsp red lentils
• 6 tbsp coconut cream
• 1 head of broccoli , broken into small florets
• 400g can chickpeas , drained
• 100g bag baby spinach leaves
• 1 lemon , halved
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds mixed with 1 tbsp chopped cashews 

Easy Fixin:

1. Put the onion, garlic, ginger and tomatoes in a food processor or blender and whizz to a purée.
2. Heat oil in a large pan. Add the spices, fry for a few secs and add purée and yeast extract. Bubble together for 2 mins, then add lentils and coconut cream. Cook until lentils are tender, then add the broccoli and cook for 4 mins. Stir in chickpeas and spinach, squeeze over lemon and swirl through sesame and cashew mixture. Serve with brown rice, or quinoa if you're like me.. 

 enjoy!

Swamp Bars

This is classic. Ya just can't go wrong with oats and chocolate...

Ingredients

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour*

3 cups quick cooking rolled oats

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate pieces

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

2 teaspoons vanilla

Mixey-Mix

Preheat oven to 350˚

Set aside 2 tablespoons of butter. In a large bowl beat remaining butter until fluffy. Add brown sugar and baking soda, beat until combined. Beat in eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat in flour and rolled oats, dough will be stiff.

For the filling, in a medium saucepan combine the reserved 2 tablespoons butter, chocolate, and condensed milk. Cook and stir over low heat until chocolate melts. Remove from heat, add vanilla and chopped nuts.

Press 2/3 of the rolled oats mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 15x10x1 inch baking pan.** Spread chocolate filling over the oat mixture. Dot the remaining rolled oats mixture on top.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until the top is lightly browned (the chocolate filling will still look moist). Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.