Breakfast Oatmeal Muffin

As a breakfast, I like some kind of pastry with my morning coffee, not bowl of hot oatmeal or cold cereal... A little magic and voila - a bowl of oatmeal turns into nice, rustic looking muffin - here is the recipe.

Blog's Category: My Own Fast and Easy, Perfect Breakfast

Breakfast Oatmeal Muffin

Intro

That was whole point of making these muffins - for a flour, to use only oatmeal flour and for fat to add only olive oil. Do you see where I'm going? Doesn't it sound like a very healthy option for a breakfast? Really, hot oatmeal just does not look like a good partner to my morning coffee - I need a pastry, guilt-free, slightly sweet piece of fruity-bready-choco goodness.
This kind of breakfast for a weekdays would be an ideal option for me. I hope, this muffin recipe is just a beginning and I'll be posting any other successful tries on this subject.

 

What is it

This is a mix of all good-for-you ingredients, baked in a shape of muffin and meant to be "all-inclusive" breakfast, along with your hot drink of course, to start your day with.

Taste Description

They are rich, not feathery light but rather dense, in a good way, muffins. One goes a long way - you will be fine up until the lunch.
Not overly sweet, with a subtle fruity undertones of a date syrup, they will satisfy your sweet tooth anyway with abundance of raisins that will pop up in your mouth with a its natural sugars.
Surprisingly, you won't taste oatmeal at all, but rather nice earthy flavors reminiscent of that of rye flour bread. Nuts bring lovely crunchy bits into all this goodness.

How to Serve

Serve with a butter on a side for those who wants full-blow enjoyment. For those more conscious (I hate myself :)), these muffins are still very good without any boosting agents.
Have a cup of tea or coffee handy...
In a covered container, they will hold up for a few days even without fridge.

Breakfast Oatmeal Muffin

 

For 6 large muffins:

• 4 cups of old fashioned oats
• 2/3 c date syrup
• 2 c chopped walnuts
• 2 c raisin
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 tsp salt
• 1/2 c olive oil

- In a food processor, spin oatmeal into unevenly ground, medium-coarse flour.

- In a large bowl, with your hands, mix all ingredients together.

- Preheat oven to 320F. Spoon mixture into silicon muffin cups and bake for about 30-40 minutes until muffins are baked through. Don't forget to butter up muffin tins if using metal ones.

- Enjoy!

Some Notes

- Although I'm still pretty skeptical about safety of using silicon for baking, convenience won - I just love non-stick qualities of silicon - no greasing needed!

- I buy my date syrup in middle-eastern grocery store. If you don't have it, substitute with molasses or honey but keep in mind that honey is sweeter.

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IN PICTURES

I didn't have walnuts so I used roughly chopped almonds. Though I liked my muffins, I still think that walnuts would be better fit.

What a luxury - no need for greasing - silicon muffin cups do a great job of baking without troubles when you get your muffin out. They are easy to clean too - just soak in a water for a little bit and the rest is just piece of cake. Sorry - I don't know if they are "dishwashable", I assume yes but didn't try it.

 

 

 

 

Portabella Pita Sandwich

This is a skinny version of sandwich, low in calories, high in flavor and protein, immeasurable on level of satisfaction. 

Blog's Category: My Own Fast and Easy 

Portabella Pita Sandwich

Intro

I use whole seared portabella mushroom cups as a substitute for a burger for quite a while. This time I decided to make lighter, summer version of my "portabella burger" using pita. I liked a lot this juicy sandwich so here I'm sharing the idea with you.

It's really healthful option for lunch. There is some mayonnaise in there and I start to hear some "boo-o-o"... :) Although as dedicated mayo lover I stand behind the idea that a mayonnaise, the real one, is indeed healthy and is no more than olive oil, egg yolk, mustard and vinegar. Of course, I'm not talking about store version with a lot of mystery *** ingredients... Also remember formula "everything-wholesome-in-moderation" :)

 

What is it

It is a tower of lettuce, whole portabella mushroom cup filled with mayo and beans. All these goodness enclosed in between pita, split into very thin circles.

Taste Description

Chewy, meaty and juicy portabella, boosted with medium-spicy mayonnaise, is a star here. Pita is a delicate container for it and helps to cope with all those juices.
Fresh crispiness of lettuce and dense morsels of beans add up to overall satisfaction and contribute to a great layered texture of the sandwich.

How to Serve

Serve right away, no supplementals are needed, just dig in and enjoy.

Portabella Pita Sandwich 

• 1 large portabella cup
• 4 lettuce leaves, center part (stalk) cut out, washed and pat dry
• 1 tbs nice mayo
• 1/2 tsp your favorite spicy sauce (Tabasco Chipotle, Pickled Chili Peppers, etc.)
• 1 tbs chopped sweet onion
• 1 tbs black beans, cooked (canned)
• 1 pita, split
• 2 tbs olive oil
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste (freshly ground)

- Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the inner side of portabella and cook it on medium heat, in a skillet with olive oil. Press mushroom cup down with a tortilla press or pot, half-filled with water (see my pictures below).  It will take about 10 minutes to cook on one side. Flip it over and cook without press for another 5-10 minutes.

- Assemble sandwich this way: pita half + half of lettuce + portabella, bottom up + dressing + beans + lettuce + other pita half = done! Enjoy!


Some Notes

- Keep the napkins around - it's going to be a lot of juices...
- There can be so many combination / additions to this sandwich (avocado, tomato, bacon (!), cheeses, fresh herbs) -you've got the idea?

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IN PICTURES

I was cooking for four of us so used two skillets for frying 4 huge portabellas. As I had just one tortilla press, I used pot with water to hold my second batch of mushrooms flat down.

 

..ready to go..

This is one of favorites - pickled ground chili. This stuff is addictive...

..definitely some pickled chili goes in..

...cut with a knife through a rim, pita can be easily split apart..

 

For sandwiches I like to cut stalks out. Don't forget to pat leaves dry.

  

Whatever Vegetables

Whatever vegetables you have on hand, chop them up, add a little something to jazz them up and you have a dish to satisfy your healthy, you know - good one, craving for vegetables.

Blog's Category: My Own Fast and Easy, My Staple Food

Whatever Vegetables

Intro

Don't be fooled by my picture above of these vegetables - looking wishy-washy and innocent, they have a lot of flavor and some awesome kick to them.

These Whatever Vegetables are really regular on our menu. The idea is to take a few vegetables (see possible list below), cut them in a same manner (all thinly or all very coarsely or even all julienned) and then cook them on rather low heat without any additional water. As they cook they give away a lot of juices. Then add some acidity (lemon, lime, or vinegar), and some basic sharpness (black pepper, chili pepper) and you have a great, full of natural vegetable essences, dish.

Do not be tempted to add your favorite spices such as cumin (believe me I love cumin too!). They will overshadow delicate natural taste of vegetables. On the other hand, addition of some acidity will help to bring those flavor up and shine.

What is it

Variety of vegetables + lime + whole chili pepper + heat = flavorful cooked vegetables

Taste Description

Tender, tantalizing natural taste of vegetables is brought here to another level by right amount of acidity of a lime. Lime zest and parsley, both, supplement faint vegetable flavors without knocking them out. Whole chili peppers won't release their fire up until you bite them. This way, each eater can regulate level of kick he is willing to take on. Who's the chicken?!

How to Serve

Serve warm or cold, as vegetable side to your meat or over the rice or noodles. I like to have it for a lunch with a thin plain cheese sandwich. But I think the best application would be with noodles - they will soak up all that beautiful vegetables juices.

Whole chili peppers are real fun - pick them up by stem, make a tiny exploratory bite, following by nice full fork load of vegetables. Then make another brave chili bite + veggies and enjoy dance of fires and flavors in your mouth.


List of vegetables that is perfect fit for this recipe

Yellow squash, zucchini, onion, eggplant, carrot, sweet potato, sunchoke, bell pepper, cauliflower, turnip, rutabaga, fennel, leek, cabbage, brussel sprouts, peas, broccoli, parsnip, asparagus, kohlrabi, bamboo shoots, burdock, potato, taro, daikon, parsley root, etc.

Whatever Vegetables 

 

• Vegetables I had on hand at a time (onion, carrots, green bell pepper, yellow squash, sunchoke)
• 4 green chili peppers, fresh, whole (optional)
• 1 lime, juice and zest
• fresh parsley (optional)
• 5 tbs olive oil
• salt to taste

- Place large skillet on a low-medium heat and start adding thinly sliced vegetables (1/6") one by one as you slice them starting from those which cook longer. For me it was in this order: onion, carrot, bell pepper, sunchoke. The last, add chili peppers - don't cut them open and don't cut the stem off.

- Add some salt.

- Cook vegetables on a low heat, occasionally stirring them lightly, just until desirable tenderness. For me it took about 15 minutes at most. Add lime juice, zest and parsley. Stir, cook for another minute - it's done! Enjoy!

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IN PICTURES

Sunchoke is a new vegetable to me - visually it disguises as a ginger but its taste has nothing to do with a ginger's taste. Sunchoke, when cooked, is slightly sweet, soft but not mushy, with a vaguely distinguished flavor. Sunchoke is pleasure to eat but, oh boy, pain to peel :)

Sweet Potato Risotto

Besides risotto's mandatory ingredients wine and parmesan, this risotto has something extra - sweet potato and pepita (pumpkin) seeds. Healthy and delicious!

Blog's Category: My Own Fast and Easy, International  

Sweet Potato Risotto

Intro

I discovered Italian specialty, risotto, relatively recently but since then it's one of my favorite Italian dishes. Funny enough I never tasted someone else's risotto  or somewhere out at Italian restaurant :) Anyway, the most important thing is that risotto I cook is very good and I believe is pretty close to authentic one if not "truly authentic".
I still adore classic simple version of risotto but this time I opted for "loaded" variety and added sweet potato and pepitas. Turned out very good! So here is the recipe.

What is it

Arborio rice cooked with onion, wine, sweet potato, pepita seeds and parmesan to the wonderful and creamy one-meal dish.

Taste Description

#1 - light, modified off original one, slightly fruity wine aroma; it is one of the primary tastes here
#2 - amazing creamy texture surrounding somewhat "toothy" pieces of rice, sweet potato cubes and pepitas
#3 - cheese and black pepper add just right amount of sharpness
#4 - sweetness of sweet potato and wine acidity create perfect equilibrium

How to Serve

Serve right away or reheat next day adding a splash of water to recreate again smooth and creamy texture.

Sweet Potato Risotto 

 

• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cups of finely diced sweet potato (1/4" or smaller)
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 1 cup pepita (pumpkin) seeds
• 2 cups of white wine (Pinot Grigio or Risling)
• 4 + cups of chicken broth, hot
• 2 cups grated parmesan cheese
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste (freshly ground)
• 5 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs butter
• kettle of boiled hot water

- In a large pan, cook onion just until translucent.

- Add dry arborio rice, sweet potato and pepitas and cook on a medium heat, stirring, for about 2-3 minutes.

- Add wine and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes.

- Now start adding chicken stock in batches, stirring all the time. Keep cooking on a medium heat, stirring and adding chicken stock until rice is almost completely cooked. If you are out of chicken stock, add hot water from a kettle.

- When rice is cooked but somewhat toothy and sweet potato cooked through, add parmesan cheese, pepper and adjust salt. Cook for another minute, add butter and it's done! Enjoy!


Some Notes

- For risotto, it has to be arborio or other short-grain type of rice. They have a right amount of starch and shape to create a perfect risotto.

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IN PICTURES

In recipe directions I suggest to add rice, sweet potato and pepitas, all together. Here, on the pictures, I added sweet potato and pepitas a little later and ended up with a slightly overcooked rice (which is was ok with me) just because I needed to cook a little longer to get sweet potato completely soft.

I like to use chicken broth cubed - it's more convenient for me.