Orange – Apricot Crumble Bars

On January 6, 2017 By felisrecipesIn Muffins and other sweets17 Comments

Inspired by Gail from Snapshotsincursive.com I tried my first dessert of 2017 which is also my first Crumble Bar. I have to admit I have a “bad” habit of changing the recipe which inspired me. This time, I substituted half of the flour with quinoa flour, even though I did not research the properties of quinoa flour to see what effect it can have on the dessert. I just risked it. After all, where’s the fun without a little risk, right? Well, I was lucky this time 🙂 Would I use the quinoa flour again ? Absolutely! I will use a different proportion though: 1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups of all purpose flour.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of all purpose flour

1.5 cups of quinoa flour

50 gr of ground almond

1 tsp of baking soda

1 stick of butter

3/4 cup of sugar

1 jar of orange jam plus 4 tbsp of apricot jam

Mix the two flour together. Add the sugar, almond ground and baking soda. Rub the butter and flour mixture until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add half of the mixture over a prepared greased baking tin ( 9 inch x 9 inch ) and press down gently. Spread the orange jam over followed by the apricot jam. Crumble the remaining batter on top. Sprinkle the almond flakes and bake in the preheated oven for about 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let it cool completely ( if you can resist it, LOL ) and cut into squares.

Thank you, Gail, for the inspiration! 🙂

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Let’s veggie it up: Curry chickpea and leek in a boat

On January 4, 2017 By felisrecipesIn Vegetarian2 Comments

Eating spaghetti squash has become very common in our household recently. I am still working on discovering what goes best with spaghetti squash and this week it was curry 🙂

FOR THE SQUASH:

2 medium spaghetti squash
2 tbsp olive oil
a pinch of salt and black pepper on each half

Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Wash and cut the squash in half, lengthwise. Scoop the seeds with a spoon and discharge them. You could also save them and roast them for a snack.
Sprinkle the squash with salt, black pepper and olive oil. Place the squash in a backing tray lined with parchment paper; cut side down. Cook it for about 30 to 45 minutes, depending of the squash and oven. The squash is done when it’s tender and you can easily pierce a fork through the flesh.
Using a fork to separate the flesh into strands. I prefer to leave them right therein their own skin.
Serve immediately by itself or seasoned with veggie and / or meat sauces.

FOR THE CURRY CHICKPEA – LEEK

1 large leek

1 medium carrot

4 white mushrooms

2 cups of chickpea ( home cooked in advance )

1 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp cumin and turmeric powder

2 cups of veggie broth

( just to stay on the vegetarian side; you can use the chicken broth if you prefer )

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

First you need to start by cutting and cleaning the leek. When I buy leek I always cut it, clean it and store it in the fridge in a veggie bag, portioned for stews or soups. I try to use it within 2, max 3 days after I buy it.

I discharge the dark green ends ( the very dark and thick ones ) and use the light green and white parts. Cut it in half, lengthwise, and wash it in running cold water, thoroughly. If you have the time let it stand for about half an hour in a large bowl of cold water. You would be surprise of the deposit of dirt and sand from the bowl’s bottom. If you want to use the darker, greener part, cut them thin and start by adding those part to the pan after that the light green ones and the last the white parts. Like this you give enough time for the green ends to tenderize. I try to waste as little as possible every time by adding the dark green parts when I cook a veggie or chicken broth. It will add lots of flavor to the broth.

Coming back to the leek chickpea boats;) Heat a pan over a medium heat. Add the olive oil and the leeks cut in small slices. Season with the salt and pepper. Add the grated carrot. (about one cup grated carrot ) and about half cup of broth and cook uncovered. When the leek start to tenderize ( about 5 -7 minutes ) add the other spices and mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the chickpea and broth and simmer on low heat until the liquid is thickened.

Serve it over the ready squash boats ! There is only one more thing to add: yummy !

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Happy New Year Everyone !

On January 2, 2017 By felisrecipesIn Smoothies and drinks2 Comments

I would like to start by saying ‘Thank you’ to every one of you by visiting my blog, for your comments and for your inspiration. The best thing about me returning to my blog after 5 years was to discover you all and to realize there is such a wonderful,active community for me to join. I really appreciate your visits and comments, it gives me courage and inspiration to go on.

Normally, I never write down my resolutions for the year but this time, I decided to try something new.

So here there are my 2017 GOALS

Fitness: move more in general: skip the street car from the subway to work and from work to the subway. This will add 30 minutes walk daily.
Money: Save more: do not remove the money form saving just because I need one more thing to buy.
Food: Eat less chocolate and bread ( in this order )
Recreation: Do more things I like to do: knit, post on my blog, read
Health: Go earlier to bed: I wake up @ 5:00 am every morning but I go to sleep around 12:00 am each night, so is definitely not enough sleep. I do wake up refreshed but around 11: 00 am I feel like I need a nap. There is the moment where chocolate craving hits. LOL
Do a relaxing thing every day: Play more with my munchkins: Steve and Sherlock. They are so different and they play in their own way so I have to play the same amount of time with both :). Steve is more active and funny so I tent to spend more time playing with him. 😦
Entertainment: Meet more with my friends: my best friend told me a few weeks ago that we haven’t been to a movie in three or four years. Crazy, I know.
Well being: Manage anger better: go for a walk; change the scenario; take a bubble bath; do yoga.

Another one of my resolutions is to drink more water. You know how it is when you’re at work: you’re stressed, you want to finish that report on time, your colleagues are always asking you for this and that and before you know it, it’s time to go home and guess what? You’ve not had a sip of water since morning. Well, that’s me. But I am trying hard to put a stop to this and to make drinking water more enjoyable, I have started drinking homemade infused water. One combination that I absolutely adore is Citrus Spice Infused Water. Aside from being wonderfully refreshing, it also helps with digestion!

Now this is a drink that you might expect to have during the summer when the weather is stiffing hot but really, you can drink this all year round. Just skip the ice cubes. It’s just as delicious, I promise.

Ingredients:

2 medium lemons

1 medium lime

1 clementine

1 small cinnamon stick

a few cloves ( about 5 )

1 tbsp pure raw honey

1 mint tea bag

about 10 cups of filtered water

Wash well with hot water: the lemon, lime and clementine. Cut into slices. Add all the ingredients to a pitcher, stir and enjoy it whenever you feel thirsty.

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Turmeric Whole Wheat Buns

On December 31, 2016 By felisrecipesIn Breakfast, Brunch, Vegetarian3 Comments

Fresh from the oven, turmeric whole wheat buns for 2016 last breakfast 😉

I have already had one 🙂 I couldn’t resist to that crunchy crust …

♥

Christmas Morning Pancakes

On December 27, 2016 By felisrecipesIn Breakfast, Brunch9 Comments

Makes about 10- 12 pancakes ( about 4 inch pancake )

Every Sunday morning our family will start the day feasting on pancakes. This past Sunday was even more special because it was Christmas day as well. I always get up early to get the batter started so by the time my hubby and daughter come to the kitchen, there will the perfect pancakes awaiting.

Our favorite are those loaded with blueberries but because it was Christmas morning I decided to use chocolate chips instead. 🙂

Right off the bat, my husband piled 6 pancakes onto his plate and devoured them with organic smooth peanut butter. I have to admit I had three as well. Ops! I just loved them simple like that. The chocolate chips did more than enough for my taste buds.

Ingredients:

2 cups GO-GO QUINOA Pancake mix ( the ingredients listed on the package were: Organic brown rice flour, organic tapioca flour, organic kaniwa flour, organic pink salt, xanthan gum, Baking soda, baking powder. )
1 tbsp peanut butter powder
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp pure vanilla extract.
2 1/2 cups unsweetened cashew milk
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl add the flour mix, peanut butter powder, sugar and chia seeds. Whisk until all ingredients are combined. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the milk and vanilla extract. Stir until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and fold them into the batter.

Heat a skillet over the medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup of a batter for each pancake. Cook until small bubbles form and pop on the surface and the bottom is golden-brown. Flip it over and cook until golden -brown, about 4-5 minutes.

Store the pancakes on a cooling rack over a baking sheet to prevent the steaming.

Enjoy !

Pineapple-Kiwi Smoothie

On December 26, 2016December 27, 2016 By felisrecipesIn Breakfast, Brunch, Vegetarian5 Comments

We are still playing with the Ninja blender. This time we tried a green smoothie just with green and yellow fruits.

Ingredients

2 medium Granny Smith apples, cored and cut in pieces
1 small fresh pineapple, cut in chunks; I used the juice from the container
1 large red and green mango, pilled and cut in pieces
2 medium ripped bananas
2 large ripped kiwi
1 cup filtered water

Blend all the ingredients together to the desired consistency and enjoy it.

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Handmade Christmas presents for a dear friend

On December 26, 2016 By felisrecipesIn Uncategorized2 Comments

This year, 2016, I was eager to learn how to crochet. Honestly, I did a bit in primary school. We studied the basics for both: knitting and crochet and we were asked to choose one and to do our project: a knitted or crochet scarf. I choose knitting so I never had a chance to develop the crochet techniques that I’ve always found so intriguing.

A few years ago I received a very special gift from my sister-in-law: a crochet scarf. To this day, it’s one of my favorite scarf and I wear it whenever I get the chance.

The opportunity to start crocheting presented when my best friend came up with the idea of hand-making our gifts this year. At first, I freaked, like any normal human being who has never done this kind of thing before. And the doubt settled in for a good week or so. Would I be able to do anything she liked? (She is a very picky person, mind you) How much would I need to buy? And from where?

To get a better understanding of what lay before me, I started searching for hand-made presents online. And boy, I found A LOT of options! But nothing that I saw myself going, nothing that was just RIGHT. The task remained daunting still.

I’ve always been a very creative person but I’ve never had the pleasure of making anything from scratch (You might have guessed this by now ;] ) My best friend, on the other hand, loves creating all sorts of crafts and jewelries and I’ve been on the receiving end of her creativity on more than one occasion. (She is annoyingly good at this sort of stuff, I promise.)

BUT, there is something I AM good at, or so I like to think. 😉

Yep, you guessed it: cooking. I let myself get excited for oh about four seconds before my best friend’s words came back to me; “NO COOKING.” (I cook for her quite often, so it’s understandable. Sad, but understandable.)

Nearing the end of my patience, I asked my family, my daughter in particular, for advice. She recommended that I knit something. And then it hit me: “What if I learned how to crochet?” It is unexpected and new and I’ve always wanted to try it.

I started right away by watching YouTube videos and I have to admit, I L-O-V-E-D it. The videos are a lot of fun to watch. And very inspirational. So I bought a crochet needle and some yarn and started to learn.

Here is the result. I hope you like it!

Handmade Christmas gifts: Coaster set and trivet.

The trivet:

the coasters:

and a Ginger-man cookie Christmas tree ornament for her niece 😉

Unfortunately, we were not able to meet until today and I am so nervous. I hope she will like it 🙂

Christmas with Sherlock and Steve

On December 25, 2016 By felisrecipesIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

“Team Catastic ” climbing the fridge 😉

Merry Christmas Everyone !

On December 25, 2016 By felisrecipesIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I just wanted to wish all of you a

Very Merry Christmas !

Felicia

Butternut Squash Coffee Cake

On December 18, 2016 By felisrecipesIn CakesLeave a comment

In the previous post ” Homemade Almond Milk” I found inspiration on “pastryaffair.com” website. I decided to give it one more try after making the successful Almond milk ;). This time my inspiration was for a dessert: “Pumpkin Espresso Bundt Cake”.

I guess it was another success if I consider that my daughter who does not eat pumpkin or butternut squash ate several slices and even she said ” really is this a pumpkin cake ?” She just loved it 🙂

Ingredients

For the Cake

puree from 1/2 of a large butternut squash
4 eggs
3/4 cup grape seed oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon bourbon
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For Coffee Filling

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon hazelnut instant coffee NESCAFE
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup semisweet chocolate bites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lined a backing sheet with backing paper.

Wash and cut the butternut squash in pieces. Place the pieces on a backing sheet and bake them for about 30 minutes. I like to cut the squash in pieces as I always like to enjoy a few pieces. Yummy 😉 Of course you don’t have to do this, you can cut the butternut squash in in half or quarters if it’s too large and bake it. Let the squash coll it down before using it in the cake.

For the cake, in a large bowl beat together the squash, eggs, oil, brown sugar, and bourbon. In another bowl mix together the two flours, baking powder and cinnamon . Add the flour mixture to the squash mixture and mix well until all ingredients are combined. Set aside.

For the espresso filling, whisk together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and instant coffee. Set aside.

In a prepared baking pan, add half of the cake batter. Sprinkle half of the coffee filling and add the chocolate bite. Press lightly just to be sure the bite are sticking to the batter. Spoon in the other half of the squash batter and even it with a spatula. Sprinkle the coffee filling left.

Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes depending on the oven. check the center of the cake with a toothpick; if it’s coming pit clean the cake is ready. Let it cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cut it in small pieces and enjoy it.

I know I have 😉