Chocolate Brownie Yogurt Muffins

I made these muffins with my niece Chloe when she was at my house one afternoon. I don't get spend a lot of time with her and I know that she has been wanting to come by and cook or bake with me, so we decided to make muffins.

I have to tell you, we ended up making 2 types of muffins. The first batch of muffins were Chai Chocolate Chip muffins (recipe in a few days). They usually contain almonds but because Chloe is allergic to nuts, I left them out until she gently pointed out that I used almond milk instead of cows milk. Oh Man! I can't believe I did that! I thought I was so careful. Thank goodness she noticed. Sweet kid!

So we decided to make these Chocolate Brownie Yogurt Muffins (no nuts, I promise). I got this recipe from a quinoa cookbook that I have, although I made many alterations. First of all, I didn't have quinoa flour- I used regular all purpose. Second, I didn't have sour cream- I used Greek yogurt and third, I didn't include the toasted nuts, for obdvious reasons. But I have to say, even with all the changes I made, they turned out pretty good. They're not too sweet because of the cocoa powder and they are really moist because of the yogurt. Pretty impressive. The kids and the adults liked them. I will definitely make them again!

My guest photographer for this post is Chloe LeBlanc. She's got a great eye!

Chocolate Brownie Yogurt Muffins
(loosely adapted from Quinoa Revolution by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming)

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup, unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup Greek yogurt
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup grape seed oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400F. Place paper liners in a 12 cup muffin pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg and sugar until combined. Stir in the yogurt, milk, grape seed oil, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture and stir until combined.. Stir in the chocolate chips. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin pan.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the muffin comes out clean.

m xo

Breakfast A Go-Go

It seems like everywhere I look, there are mason jar recipes. Salad in a mason jar, pasta in a mason jar, cookies in a mason jar, lemonade in a mason jar, soup in a mason jar. You get the picture...Well I love this idea!! They look so pretty and best of all, they're portable. I really like this concept for lunches or any on the go meal. Think how fabulous they would be for picnics or the beach. You can get real creative with this concept.

I came across oatmeal in a jar on Pinterest I think. And because my favourite way to eat oatmeal is soaked overnight, I thought I would give it a try. It was great, especially on mornings you know are going to be rushed. Or if you go to the gym before you go to work in the morning, just pop it in your gym bag and it's ready for you when you're done your work out. And so easy to put together the night before.

The recipe I'm sharing with you is made with quinoa flakes instead of oatmeal. I had them sitting in my pantry and gave it a try with this method instead of cooking them, which I never did. It was good! I used raspberries but you can obviously use any fruit you like.

Breakfast in a Jar

1/4 cup quinoa flakes
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon honey
cinnamon, to taste
raspberries

Combine all ingredients, except the raspberries in a mason jar and shake. Top with raspberries and refrigerate overnight.

m xo

Roasted Cauliflower and Zucchini

Tonight was one of those nights where we really didn't want a big meal for dinner so I decided to make it a "veggie only" meal.

I simply roasted cauliflower and zucchini(separately) and made a couple of sauces for them based on what I had in the refrigerator. Dill and mint.

These would make wonderful side dishes to serve with anything really.

Roasted Cauliflower with Yogurt Dill Sauce

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
Olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 450F. Place cauliflower on a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned.
In the meantime make the yogurt sauce.

Yogurt Dill Sauce

1/2 cup greek yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped dill
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir all the ingredients until combined. Serve with the roasted cauliflower.

Roasted Zucchini with Mint Pesto

4-5 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise
olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 450F. Place zucchini on a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.
In the meantime make the mint pesto.

Mint Pesto

1 cup mint leaves
1/4 cup marcona almonds, (you can sub regular almonds)
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until combined. Drizzle over the roasted zucchini.

  

m xo

Pork Meatballs

I love when I got to my local grocery store and there is a big selection of organic or natural meats. There are always the usual cuts of chicken like thighs and breast, but when I find beef and pork cuts, I stock up! There is nothing more frustrating than wanting to make beef stew, going to the grocery and not finding it. So I buy as much I can to fit in my little freezer.
These little meatballs were really tasty and tender. I used grated zucchini and because of that they do give off some water when they are baking. I just drained the tray halfway through and continued baking.
I served these with a yogurt sauce I threw together with what I had on hand.

Pork Meatballs

1 lb. ground pork
2 slices whole grain bread
1/4 cup almond milk
1 small zucchini, grated
1/2 shallot, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeño, minced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 egg
2 teaspoons salt

Preheat oven to 400F.
Soak the bread in the almond milk. Wring out the grated zucchini to extract most of the water. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix. Form into 2 inch balls and place on a lightly greased pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Yogurt Sauce

1/2 cup yogurt
a splash of lemon juice
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint

Mix everything and serve!

m xo

Braised Eggs with Chicken, Tahini and Sumac

The Jerusalem cookbook is one of many that I own by Yotam Ottolenghi, an Isreali, Italian, London based chef. I LOVE all his recipes that I have tried so far. Not only are they delicious, but crowd pleasing too. This recipe in particular seems complicated but I assure you it is not. Once you have all the ingredients in front of you, it comes together pretty quickly.
The original recipe is made with ground lamb but neither I or my husband like lamb so I subbed ground chicken. Next time I would use dark meat only or ground beef, as it was a little dry, but still great tasting!! I also didn't have preserved lemons so I used lemon zest.
Warning, this dish is spicy because of the harissa paste but the yogurt sauce really cools it down. If you don't like heat, either cut down on the paste or omit it.


Braised Eggs with Chicken, Tahini and Sumac
( adapted from Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi)

Olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
12 oz ground chicken
2 teaspoons sumac
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup toasted, unsalted pistachios, crushed
7 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
2 teaspoons harissa paste
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken stock
4 large eggs
cilantro
salt & pepper

Yogurt Sauce
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon water

Saute onion and garlic in a little olive until soft and golden. Turn up heat and add the ground chicken until browned. Add sumac, cumin, salt and pepper and cook for another minute. Turn off heat and add nuts, harissa, and lemon zest.
In the meantime, char the tomatoes either in a hot pan or under the broiler. Set aside.
Mix the ingredients for yogurt sauce with a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Reheat meat and add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Make 4 small wells in the mix and break an egg in each well. Cover and cook the eggs over low heat for 3 minutes. Place the tomatoes on top and cover again for 5 minutes or until the whites are cooked.
Remove from heat and dot with yogurt sauce. Sprinkle with cilantro.

m xo