Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

I don't remember where I found this recipe, but it was pretty simple. I've always been nervous about messing with baking recipes, but I changed this recipe a little bit, and the muffins came out great! It's a good recipe to play around with, and add whatever extras you may want, like fruit or nuts.

I had never used wheat germ before, and the original recipe didn't call for it. But the bag said that you could substitute up to half of the flour in a recipe for wheat germ, and I really like the results. The muffins have a great texture, and wheat germ is far more healthful than all-purpose flour.

1 c oatmeal
1 c yogurt
1 egg
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c melted butter
1/2 banana
1 small container of blueberries
1 t vanilla
1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c wheat germ
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 to 1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg

Mix oatmeal with yogurt and let sit for one hour.

Heat oven to 375º.

Add egg, sugar, butter, banana, and vanilla to oatmeal mixture and mix well.

Stir in remaining ingredients until just combined.

Stir in fruit or other mix-ins.

Divide batter into muffin cups. I didn't see the need to grease the cups because there was so much butter, and the banana that I added made the muffins more moist.

Bake until golden and toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes. The muffins will seem undercooked, but they firm up a little once they've cooled. I substituted a half a banana for one of the eggs in the recipe, and that does make for a more moist texture.

Smashed Chickpea Salad Sandwich

I found this recipe at Smitten Kitchen. I've been loving chickpeas lately, and in addition to those it also has some of my very favorite things. It's super easy to make, fairly filling, and pretty cheap too!

The original recipe had actual measurements, but I think this is something that is better when you make with the ratios that you like best!

1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
several black olives, roughly chopped
chopped red onion
chopped parsley - I used Italian flat-leaf
zest and juice of half a lemon
crushed red pepper (the original recipe didn't have this, but I put it in almost everything)
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Mix everything together, smash the chickpea mixture until it's the consistency you want. Smitten Kitchen described it as a "deconstructed hummus."

Spread on toasted bread.

Makes 3-4 sandwiches.

Eggplant Butternut Squash Yellow Curry

This is the first actual recipe that I've come up with entirely on my own. I've found recipes I liked and made small changes, and I've looked at what I have in the fridge and thrown ingredients together, but I've never sat down and written out a game plan before I started cooking. I read a bunch of Indian recipes for inspiration, then figured out exactly what I wanted to do. It turned out even better than I expected!

2 medium or 1 large eggplant, cubed
2 small or 1 medium butternut squash, cubed
4 cloves garlic, whole
2 red chilies, minced
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 can (more or less) coconut milk
cilantro for garnish

olive oil
salt
fenugreek seeds
coriander
cumin
turmeric

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash eggplant and cut slit in sides. Put 2 whole garlic cloves in each. Roast in oven for about 20 minutes or longer until eggplant is very soft to the touch. Let it cool and then peel and cube it.

Peel and cube the squash. Put the cubes in a baking pan, drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for about 10-15 minutes.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Mince the chilies, removing the seeds if desired to control spiciness. Sauté with a couple of pinches of fenugreek seeds to release their flavor, about 3-4 minutes. Add chopped onion and sauté about 5 minutes. Add pinches of coriander, cumin, and turmeric and stir for a few seconds.

Add chopped eggplant and squash. Stirring constantly, cook for about 5 minutes. Add coconut milk, stir and cover. Cook for about 10 more minutes

Serve over rice, garnished with cilantro.

Lemony Chickpea Stir-Fry

It's hard to decide, but I really think this is my favorite recipe I've tried lately. The chickpeas got just a little bit crispy on the outside, and the lemon really brightened it up. I've also really been enjoying kale lately, and it went really well in this dish. It's probably my favorite of the dark greens that I've tried. Its flavor is much more mellow than chard.

Ingredients:

1 can of chickpeas
1/2 container of tofu, pressed (about 7 ounces)
2 shallots
about 1 1/2 cups of kale, chopped
zest and juice of half a lemon
1/2 t salt
bit of pepper
olive oil

First things first I set the tofu up to drain. I buy tofu packed in water, so for a meal like this it needs to be drained and pressed. I also rinsed and drained the chickpeas in a colander for a little while. They're added to a pan with hot oil, so you want to make sure you get as much liquid off of the chickpeas as possible so the water doesn't pop in the oil.

Add just enough olive oil to coat the pan at about medium heat and add the chickpeas and salt. Toss them around so they're evenly coated in the oil. Stir them occasionally and let them cook until they brown a bit on the outside, about 10-15 minutes. While they cooked I chopped up the shallots and added them about 10 minutes in. The pan was hot, and I didn't want the shallots to burn.


Then I added the tofu, cut in small pieces. The goal was just to get the tofu warmed through, so I stirred it often to prevent it from sticking. I wanted to keep the texture of the raw tofu. After a few minutes I added the chopped kale and stirred it around until it was wilted.

I finished it with a bit more salt, some pepper, and the lemon juice and zest.

I got this recipe from http://www.101cookbooks.com but I made some small changes.