Orange Dreamsicle Smoothie with Toasted Coconut

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

IMG_4006One summer in college, I worked in a gelato store to make extra money. It was one of the best jobs I’ve ever had.

Not many customers came in during the day because the shop was in a weird, tucked away corner in a grocery store parking lot. So I would sit in the back of the store all day reading until I heard people come in. Or my friends would come visit and I’d talk to them and let them try all the flavors.

Another thing I liked to do was experiment with flavor combinations. I put dark chocolate and coconut together on a spoon and discovered that it tasted like German chocolate cake. The strawberry gelato and lemon sorbet tasted like strawberry lemonade. The options seemed endless.

One of my favorite combinations was blood orange and vanilla gelato. It tasted exactly like a dreamsicle bar. And it was a great way to sell the blood orange flavor, because people either had never heard of, or were freaked out by the words, “blood orange.” But once you said the word “dreamsicle,” their eyes lit up. Everyone knows what a dreamsicle is.

I saved this recipe for a rainy day (literally), and I’m glad that I did. It’s bright and zesty and reminds me of summertime.

IMG_4004

Orange Dreamsicle Smoothie with Toasted Coconut (slightly adapted from Hungry Girl por Vida)

Ingredients

1 cup canned coconut milk or almond milk
1 Siggis coconut yogurt
2½ cups frozen or non-frozen mango chunks
1 orange, peeled
½ frozen banana
2 tablespoons toasted, unsweetened coconut
1 tablespoon hemp hearts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth. Garnish with extra hemp hearts and toasted coconut. Enjoy!

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Blackberry and Banana Baked Oatmeal with Coconut

Posted on February 21, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

bakedblackberryoatmeal

This is the best breakfast I’ve had in a while, bar none.

I almost couldn’t believe it myself. After all, I made lemon cornmeal pancakes with roasted blackberries last week. And I still haven’t forgotten about my cinnamon raisin brioche French toast from a month ago. That was a highlight.

But this baked oatmeal was a cut above the rest. It combined two of my favorite fruits, blackberries and bananas, and one of my recent obsessions, coconut. I used to hate the taste and texture of coconut, but I’ve really come around to it lately. It adds some crunch and variety to a more basic dish, and the smell of it when it’s toasting in the oven is unreal.

I subbed in almond milk for coconut milk because I forgot to get a can at the grocery store. I’m happy that I did, though, because the coconut flavor was more subtle that way.

Also, the original recipe calls for slicing up two bananas to line the bottom of the pan, but I found that using one banana was enough. Then, you can slice up the second one and use it for serving.

The best part about this dish (besides eating it) is the smell when it comes out of the oven. Imagining opening a present and smelling a pancake, a muffin and baking bread all at once. It sounds like a dream, but that’s pretty much what happens here.

I found that drizzling the top with some maple syrup only adds to the effect.

Here are some tunes to get you going.

Blackberry and Banana Baked Oatmeal with Coconut (slightly tweaked from Cookie + Kate)

Ingredients

2 cups / 7 oz / 200 g rolled oats
½ cup unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
Scant ½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
14 oz almond milk
⅓ cup / 2 oz water
⅓ cup / 2 oz / 60 g pure maple syrup (or raw sugar)
1 large egg
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 large ripe banana, cut into 1/4 to 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup blackberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with a rack in the top third of the oven.

Butter or spray cooking oil on the inside of an 8-inch square baking dish.

In a medium bowl, mix together the oats, coconut, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, coconut/almond milk, water, egg, half of the butter, and the vanilla.

Place the banana slices in a single layer on the bottom of the baking dish.

Arrange two-thirds of the berries on top of the bananas.

Cover the fruit with the dry oat mixture, then drizzle the wet ingredients over the oats. Wiggle the baking dish to make sure the milk moves down through the oats.

Sprinkle some extra coconut on top.

Bake for 45 minutes, until the top is golden. Remove your baked oatmeal from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Serve with sliced bananas and maple syrup.

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Loaded Sweet Potato with Roasted Chickpeas

Posted on February 19, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

sweetpotatoroastedchickpeasFew things say “heaven” more than a loaded sweet potato. What’s not to like? The sweet potato is subtly sweet and is the perfect blank canvas for whatever you want to put on top. In this case, I added some crispy roasted chickpeas with paprika, brown rice, chopped almonds and chives.

The original recipe calls for baking the sweet potato for 25 to 30 minutes. But I had a massive sweet potato that was the size of my face, so it took around an hour to cook. I could have left it in even longer, but I got too impatient and hungry after the 60 minute mark.

Feel free to get creative with toppings. A scoop of Greek yogurt or labneh with olive oil and paprika would be delicious.

Loaded Sweet Potato with Roasted Chickpeas (from The First Mess)

Ingredients

1 sweet potato
cooked chickpeas
oil of your choice
smoked paprika
salt + pepper
1/3-1/2 cup cooked brown rice
6-7 almonds, chopped
3-4 blades of chives, ripped up

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Pierce the sweet potato a couple times with a fork, wrap it extra good in foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until tender.

Meanwhile, toss the chickpeas in enough oil to coat, salt and pepper to taste and a little smoked paprika. Spread them out on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast in the 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until crispy and golden. Set aside to cool.

To serve: Split open the sweet potato and season the flesh with salt + pepper. Place the cooked rice, some of the chickpeas and chopped almonds on top/inside. Garnish with the chives and an extra sprinkle of smoked paprika.

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Israeli Chickpea Sauté

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

chickpeasaute

I first discovered Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes through one of my favorite food blogs, Lottie + Doof. Tim (the guy who writes the blog) made a date, pita and spinach salad from Jerusalem, one of Ottolenghi’s first cookbooks, and I decided to copy him.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, as they say. Sometimes it can also be the most delicious. You know you’ve met your recipe match when you can make it over and over again and not get sick of it. That’s what happened to me with this date salad.

But anyway, I digress. I loved Ottolenghi’s recipes so much that I decided to buy his vegetarian cookbook, Plenty. I thought I was a vegetarian for a couple years, and this cookbook provided me with plenty of inspiration.

I’m pretty sure that this cookbook could make a believer out of non-vegetarians; all you have to do is flip through the pages and look at the vibrantly colored fruits and vegetables, and you’ll be sold. I can almost taste the pomegranate seeds and eggplant on the front cover.

Some friends and I decided to have an Israeli-themed dinner the other night, so I decided to revisit Plenty. I wanted to do something simple because we were meeting up on a weeknight. I also wanted to make something that everyone could enjoy without substitutions. I knew I had struck gold when I saw this chickpea sauté.

The most annoying part of the recipe is chopping everything up. But there are ways to make it more enjoyable…I’ve found that blasting music helps. Especially this track.

Otherwise, everything comes together relatively quickly. Even though the recipe calls for serving with the Greek yogurt mixture, I found that adding some hummus to the top is a great substitution.

Israeli Chickpea Sauté (slightly adapted from Plenty)

Ingredients

3/4 lb (8 cups) Swiss chard (or kale in a pinch)
1/3 cup olive oil, plus extra to finish
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 3/8-inch dice
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 1/2 cups freshly cooked chickpeas (or canned)
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp chopped mint
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and black pepper
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Separate the chard/kale stalks from the leaves. Blanch the stalks in plenty of boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Add the leaves and continue cooking for 2 minutes, then drain everything. Refresh under cold running water and squeeze dry, then chop roughly.

Heat up the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan. Add the carrots and caraway seeds and sauté for 5 minutes on medium heat. Add the chard and chickpeas and continue cooking for 6 minutes. Now add the garlic, herbs, lemon juice and some salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and cool down a little. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

To serve, mix together the yogurt, olive oil and some salt and pepper. Pile the vegetables on serving dishes and spoon the yogurt on top. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and drizzle over more olive oil.

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Almond Chia Hot Chocolate

Posted on February 15, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

IMG_3933During the winter, I pretty much always have hot chocolate coursing through my veins. I guess there are worse addictions.

My friend Carly told me about this recipe for almond chia hot chocolate this week, so I thought I’d give it a try. I usually make my hot chocolate with almond milk because that’s what I have on hand. But the recipe also calls for almond extract and almond butter, so the flavor is more noticeable.

At first I couldn’t picture how chia seeds would taste in hot chocolate–and honestly, it freaked me out a little–but never fear! You don’t actually put in whole chia seeds. You can either run them through a spice grinder (if you have one) or grind them by hand using a mortar and pestle. I recently bought my first mortar and pestle and I hadn’t tried it out yet. So this was the perfect opportunity.

Grind down the chia seeds until they become a powder. Mix them with cocoa, almond milk, and the other ingredients. You can drink the hot chocolate once it heats up in the saucepan, or you can mix it in a blender to get it nice and frothy. Either way, you won’t be disappointed with the results.

Almond Chia Hot Chocolate (slightly adapted from Dolly and Oatmeal)

Ingredients

4 teaspoons chia seeds
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup water
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons almond butter
pinch of salt

Directions

Using a spice grinder set on a fine powder or a mortar and pestle, grind the chia seeds and set aside.

In small pot whisk together the cocoa powder, water, and milk. Once it’s mixed, whisk in the maple syrup and almond extract.

Turn heat to medium and continue whisking until the mixture is steaming and hot, then add the powdered chia seeds. Whisk occasionally until the mixture has thickened up a bit, about 5 minutes.

Carefully add the hot chocolate mixture to a blender along with the almond butter, and blend on high for 30-45 seconds, until frothy.

Divide the almond hot chocolate between 2 large mugs and dust with extra cocoa powder.

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Slow Cooker Banana Bread Oatmeal

Posted on February 15, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

slowcookerbananabreadoatmeal
If you’ve ever wanted to wake up to the smell of baking banana bread, but you didn’t want to do all the work to make it happen, this is the recipe for you.

I’ve been on a banana-bread kick lately (see: banana bread smoothie), and today I continued the tradition with this banana bread oatmeal. It ended up being the perfect breakfast because it’s cold and snowing in D.C. today. I curled up with a bowl of oatmeal on my most comfortable chair and I kind of felt like the cat that I’ve been cat sitting lately (except he gets more excited by fake mice).

I love slow cooker recipes because most of them just involve putting everything in a pot, giving it a stir and letting it sit. Then you can do productive things, like listening to music, using a head massager or whatever else you like to do in your spare time. In this case, you can even fall asleep.

But a word to the wise: I would spray or grease the slow cooker pot before adding all of the ingredients. My oatmeal turned out great, but some got stuck to the bottom and sides of the pot.

Another piece of advice: Consider drizzling a little maple syrup on top of the finished product. The oatmeal is delicious on its own–it really does taste and smell like banana bread. Cinnamon…nutmeg…caramelized banana. Does life get better?

But a drizzle of maple syrup will take in into pancake territory and up the sweetness factor.

Here’s a recommended track for oatmeal eating.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Banana Bread Oatmeal (slightly adapted from The Lemon Bowl)

Ingredients

1 cup steel cut oats
1 ripe banana – mashed
¼ cup chopped walnuts
2 cups almond milk
2 cups water
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
banana slices, walnuts or maple syrup – optional garnish

Directions

Spray a slow cooker pot with nonstick cooking spray, or grease it with oil.

Place all ingredients in slow cooker and stir until well combined.

Cook overnight on Low for 8 hours.

In the morning, stir oatmeal with a fork to loosen the steel cut oats and make sure everything is fully incorporated.

Serve warm with banana slices, chopped walnuts or maple syrup if you wish.

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Lemon Cornmeal Pancakes with Roasted Blackberries

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

lemoncornmealpancakesFor some reason, I feel like introducing these pancakes to you in a British accent. Thankfully for you, and probably myself, you can’t hear my terrible British accent and can read about them in whatever accent you want.

I’ve had these babies on my mind for a while. I thought about serving them with plain blackberries, but then I got a recipe for roasted berries in my inbox on Friday. So I thought, why not *ship* the two? (According to my younger, much more hip sister, this is the highly technical term for endorsing a relationship).

As it turns out, the lemon, cornmeal and blackberries are a match made in heaven. The pancakes themselves are not too sweet, so adding some sugar-sweetened blackberries is the perfect balance. The lemon zest adds tangy flavor, and also contributes to the cakes’ golden color.

I ended up adding a squeeze of lemon juice to the batter because I really wanted the lemon flavor to come through. But you can skip this step if you prefer a more subtle citrusy flavor.

Another great addition for serving is maple syrup. This is entirely optional, of course…but if you’re like me and have a sweet tooth, it’s an option that I would definitely recommend exploring.

Also, here’s a good track for cooking, brought to you by the Bad Bad Hats (I may or may not be obsessed): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL0WjBtZ1Zs

Lemon Cornmeal Pancakes with Roasted Blackberries (adapted from Tasty Kitchen)

Ingredients

For pancakes:
3 whole eggs
1 cup almond milk (or another kind if you prefer)
2 tbsp cooking oil (I used vegetable oil)
½ cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup cornmeal
1 whole lemon, zested
1-½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoons salt
More cooking oil for making the pancakes

For blackberries:
1 cup blackberries
1/2 tsp sugar
juice from half a lemon

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees. Toss the blackberries, sugar and lemon and spread on a baking sheet. Put the sheet in the oven and allow the berries to roast until they’re tender and starting to leak out some juice (there’s no other good way to put this).

Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the milk and oil and beat until well blended.

In another bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cornmeal, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk together well, then add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix only until just combined.

Add oil to a hot skillet and add about 1 heaping tbsp of batter. Cook pancakes for about 30 seconds each side. Be careful because they cook quickly!

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Seven Spice Chickpea Stew with Spinach

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

sevenspicechickpeastewWe’re having unseasonably cold weather in D.C. and I’m not a fan. I feel a little bad complaining, given that I used to live in Chicago (the city of wind, sleeping bag parkas and heat lamps) and because I have a sister freezing in sub-zero temperatures in Wisconsin.

But not that bad.

D.C. has made me weak–it’s true. That’s okay, though, because I have some tricks up my sleeve for dealing with the wind and cold. This spicy chickpea stew is one of them.

The best thing about this dish–besides how good it tastes–is how quickly it comes together. You essentially throw everything into a skillet or pot, let it simmer and mix in some spinach.

The result? A delicious, warming stew that will get you through moments of weakness in the dark, cold days of winter. Stay strong out there.

Seven Spice Chickpea Stew with Spinach (slightly adapted from The First Mess)

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive or coconut oil
1 medium yellow onion, small dice (about 1 cup of diced onion)
spice blend (below)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups cooked (and drained) chickpeas
1 cup jarred/canned diced tomatoes
1 cup light coconut milk
sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
a handful of spinach
⅓ cup cilantro

Spice blend:
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried chiles
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

In a deep cast iron skillet or a small soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is lightly shimmering, add the onions to the pan. Cook and stir the onions until translucent and quite soft, about 5-6 minutes. You want the onions to be quietly sizzling while they cook, so lower the heat if necessary.

Add the spice blend to the skillet and stir. Once the spices are quite fragrant and fully integrated with the onions, add the tomato paste, mashing it with the back of your spoon into the spices and oil. Add the garlic and chickpeas and stir the mixture for 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes to the pan and stir, using the back of your spoon to scrape up any brown bits that may have formed on the bottom of the pan. Add the coconut milk to the skillet and season the stew with salt and pepper.

Bring the stew to a boil, and then lower the heat to a light simmer. Cook the stew for about 10-15 minutes, or until the flavors have melded to your liking. Stir in the spinach until wilted. Garnish the top of the stew with cilantro. Serve stew hot with brown rice or any other grain of your choosing.

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Double Chocolate Chip Pistachio Muffins

Posted on February 13, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

doublechocolatepistachiomuffinsMy friend Carly recently taught me the phrase “mutual sidekicks.” You’re not Robin to someone’s Batman, or Sancho Panza to someone’s Don Quixote. You complement each other perfectly, and you each bring your own strengths to the table.

That’s how I feel about chocolate and pistachios. Chocolate has the sweet factor working for it. And pistachios have that nutty, slightly tangy flavor going on that is crying out for some sugar. Combine the two and you have a strong, nearly invincible superhero. Or, in this case, a really good muffin.

I didn’t have mini chocolate chips on hand so I used regular sized semi-sweet chips for the recipe. I would recommend using the smaller chips, though, because they will probably melt down better in the batter while the muffins are baking.

Make sure that you chop up the pistachios small enough so that you don’t have big pieces in the mix. I used a food processor because…I was about to give you a list of reasons including the fact that it’s waaaay too cold in D.C. today and that I was in a hurry. But really it’s because chopping up nuts isn’t my favorite pastime.

I brought these muffins to a Galentine’s Day party at my friend’s house. Enjoy them over a long weekend or whenever you need the power of mutual sidekicks.

Double Chocolate Chip Pistachio Muffins (slightly adapted from Hungry Girl por Vida)

Ingredients

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 eggs
¾ cup sugar
½ cup almond milk (or any milk you desire)
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup mini chocolate chips, divided
⅓ cup pistachios, chopped coarsely, divided

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together.

In another bowl whisk the eggs, sugar, almond milk, melted and cooled butter, and vanilla to combine. Fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture.

Add all but 3 tablespoons of the mini chocolate chips, and all but 3 tablespoons of the chopped pistachios to the batter and fold to combine. Place the remaining chips and pistachios into a small bowl, stir to combine.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups and top with a heaping teaspoon of the chocolate chip and pistachio mixture.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the muffins spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool on a rack before serving.

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Ginger Sweet Potato Dal with Leeks

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

gingersweetpotatodal

These are not your average lentils, folks.

I know I talk about almost crying over food all the time. But in this case, I came dangerously close.

I love anything lentils, and sweet potatoes are also one of my favorite things. Even though I usually ignore leeks at the grocery store, I like those a lot, too. They’re so subtle, and add a less overwhelming flavor to a dish than a whole onion or shallot.

This recipe calls for a little juggling: Depending on when you start everything, you could be cooking and simmering dal, steaming rice and sautéing leeks at the same time. But trust me when I say, the effort is well worth it.

Wait to take the dal off the heat until the sweet potatoes are tender, but not too soft. If you want to buy yourself some time while the leeks cook, you can add more water to the pot.

The smell when you cook the leeks in salt and lime…I’m getting emotional just thinking about it.

I would strongly urge–no, implore–you to try this recipe as soon as possible. I know not everyone is as big of a fan as lentils, sweet potato and leeks as I am. But I can’t imagine this dish not being universally loved.

Ginger Sweet Potato Dal with Leeks (slightly adapted from The First Mess)

Ingredients

For the dal:
2-3 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
pinch of chili flakes
1 cup red lentils
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced small
1 two inch piece of ginger, peeled + minced
1 one inch piece of fresh turmeric, peeled + minced (or substitute 1 tsp dried turmeric powder)
3 1/2 cups filtered water + extra if necessary
salt to taste

For the leeks:
2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
1 leek, white and light green part julienned (if you don’t know how to julienne, here’s a good tutorial)
squeeze of lime juice
pinch of salt

To serve:
cooked, warm rice
chopped parsley, cilantro or mint (or a combination)
black sesame seeds (very optional, yet they do add a certain je ne sais quoi)

Directions

Place a large pot over medium heat. Heat up the coconut oil in the pot and add the ground coriander, mustard seeds and chili flakes. Stir about until the mustard seeds start to pop just a little bit.

Add the lentils, diced sweet potato, ginger, turmeric, and a pinch of salt. Stir the whole mixture to combine/coat in oil. Add the filtered water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the mixture is creamy and soupy, stirring occasionally. The sweet potato pieces should still be intact with a tiny bit of bite. The lentils will be broken down, filling out the mixture. Add more water if you need to. Keep it warm while you sauté the leeks.

Heat the coconut oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Add the leeks to the pan and sauté until leeks are soft and very fragrant. Season with salt. Add a squeeze of lime. Remove from the heat.

To serve: Divide the hot dal over 4 portions of rice. Top the dal with sautéed leeks and a few dribbles of the coconut oil left in the pan. Garnish each serving with the chopped herbs and black sesame seeds.

 

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