Hardtack Oatcakes

These crisp and crunchy cookies are a combination of Nova Scotia Oatcakes, Hardtack Biscuits and Anzac Cookies. They are double baked like Biscotti to dry them out and make they crisp and crunchy. They will keep for some time stored in an airtight container but can also be wrapped and frozen. The recipe yields about 12, 2 1/2" diameter cookies. They are great with morning coffee.
Options: Use 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup Durum Atta Flour for a pronounced "snap" or crispiness. Replace 1/2 cup oats with 1/2 cup puffed millet cereal for more "crunch". They are great if you use 2 to make a "sandwich" with crunchy peanut butter between the two!

2 cups Old Fashioned or thick cut oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

¼ cup Crisco (or other vegetable-based shortening like coconut oil)

¼ cup butter

1 tablespoon Arrowroot flour or cornstarch

½ cup dark brown sugar

1-2 tablespoons 100% Maple Syrup

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup boiling water

Directions

1.       Mix the flour, Arrowroot flour or cornstarch, sugar, salt, butter and Crisco in a large bowl. Rub the fats into the dry ingredients (like when you are making a pie crust) until the consistency is like that of coarse breadcrumbs. Add the oats to the mixture and combine.

2.       Add the baking soda to the boiling water then mix in with the dry ingredients. Add the maple syrup at this point and mix all together to form a “dough” (it may need a tablespoon or so more water to bring the dough together).

3.       Make 12 small balls of the dough, rolling between your palms to bring the mixture together. Put all in plate and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.(I roll the dough into a small log then cut it into 12 pieces to get the ball portions)

4.       Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside

5.       Remove the balls of dough from the refrigerator and flatten between palms to make “patties” that are about ¼ inch thick. Use fingers to make a nice circular shape.

6.       Place patties on the parchment paper and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

7.       Lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and place cookies back in for about 45 minutes. This drying out process is what makes the cookies crisp and extends the shelf life.  

8.       Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Date Fig Bread

This is a very dense, dark date and fig bread. Sliced thin or thick, it literally begs to be buttered heavily with sweet cream butter! The inspiration for it is from the 1964 Betty Crocker Cookbook (yes, I have an original copy), but since the recipe came from a time when people cares less than they do today about the amount of sugar etc they ate, I modified to make it somewhat healthier (added oat bran, and halved the amount of sugar). Note the use of the word "somewhat"! It freezes well, and reheats well in a microwave if a gentle defrost is used. It may also be toasted.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

½ cup oat bran

1 cup milk

4 tablespoons butter

¼ cup molasses

½ cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 cup chopped dates and dried figs in equal proportions (so ½ cup dates, ½ cup figs)

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 egg

½ cup Greek yogurt (a 7oz tub of Fage 2% plain yogurt is what I use)

1 teaspoon salt

3 rounded teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon allspice

1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Juice of ½ lemon

Directions

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.       Grease and flour a 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan

3.       Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside

4.       Place the milk, butter, sugar, molasses in a small saucepan and bring to a slow simmer. Pour this thick mixture over the chopped dates and figs and set aside to cool.

5.       Whisk the egg and yogurt together. Add the vanilla and lemon juice, then the milk mixture. Stir to mix well

6.       Add the dry ingredients all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until just incorporated (about 1 minute). Pour batter into pan (it will be quite thick) and bake in oven for about 60-65 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean.

7.       Remove from oven, cool in pan for 10 minutes then invert to let the bread cool completely. Slice when cool.

Slow Cooker Lubieh bi Zeit (Lebanese Stringbean stew)

Lubieh bi Zeit is a common dish throughout Lebanon, mainly in mountain villages as the ingredients are simple, and readily available. When Lebanese migrated to Jamaica in the 19th century, they utilized some of the seasonings there to make their own version of this dish One of the modifications was using the Scotch Bonnet or Habanero pepper. So, the Jamaican Lebanese version is quite spicy but is the one with which I grew up eating. Any other version would just taste pretty bland to me. It goes great with pocketless Pita bread, naan or just plain rice.

I also have modified this to be done in the slow cooker as I remember my mother spending hours making it in on the stovetop, standing over the stove, constantly simmering, and stirring so that it did not burn. The slow cooker allows you to forget about it until the final touches are needed at the end. The beans can be eaten hot or cold.
2 lbs string beans, washed, and cut into 2-3 inch pieces
1 very large yellow onion, finely chopped
6-9 garlic cloves (depends on taste)
1 scotch bonnet habanero pepper
1-2 teaspoons Baharat (see my earlier recipe for my spicy version or buy the prepared 7 spice mixture from Lebanese/middle Eastern stores)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup olive oil
1-2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 10 oz can Rotel diced tomato and habanero
juice 1/2 lemon
Directions
1. Crush 1/2 the number of cloves in a mortar and pestle with the salt and place in the bottom of the slow cooker
2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and saute the onions, and remaining garlic cloves that have been kept whole. Saute until the onions are soft but have not started to caramelize. Add the beans and the and saute everything for another few minutes, adding the Baharat at this point. Add in the canned tomatoes and bring to a boil then empty contents into the slow cooker. Place the whole Scotch Bonnet pepper on top of the mixture.
3. Cook on high for 4-6 hours. Taste to fine tune seasoning, adding more Baharat, or salt to taste, then add the tomato paste and cook until the sauce is thickened.
4. Turn off the slow cooker then stir in  the lemon juice and chopped cilantro (and a few crushed mint leaves if desired)

Oat and Nut Breakfast Bar

These bars are not too sweet, and are made with mainly oats, some nuts and dried fruit. There really isn't a substitute for the rice syrup as that is what gives the bars the shiny, hard finish. I sometimes add 2 tablespoons of dried fruit and chocolate chips just to make the mixture more interesting!

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

       ½ cup oat bran (for a lighter, more "puffy" bar, replace the oat bran with a 1/2 cup extra of puffed millet)

       ½ cup puffed Millet

       1 tablespoon arrowroot flour

        1 tablespoon flax meal

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cups almonds, pecans, walnuts or peanuts, left whole

1/4 cup maple syrup (you can also use a half and half mixture of maple syrup and molasses)

1/3 cup Brown rice syrup

2 Teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions
1. Adjust oven rack to the middle of the oven and set the temperature to 375 degrees

2. Line an 8 x 8 inch baking dish lined with parchment paper. Let the edges of the paper overhang on all sides.

3. Combine the oats, puffed millet, oil, nuts, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl and mix until the oats are evenly coated with the oil. Bake in oven until light golden in color. Remove from oven and add to the oat bran, flax meal and arrowroot flour in a bowl. Lower the oven temp to 300 degrees.

4. Combine the maple syrup, and rice syrup in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until it forms a thread when dropped from a spoon (about 230 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer). Remove from heat and add in the vanilla.

5. Combine with the oats, nuts etc in a large bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until the oats are thoroughly coated with the syrup mixture. Transfer the granola mixture to the prepared baking sheet and spread in an even layer. Use a large spatula to spread evenly. Cut a square of wax paper and cover the top of the spread mixture, pressing down to pack it tightly with your palms so that it fits the baking dish. Press with your palms of both hands until the mixture is compressed into a flat, tight, and even layer. Bake until golden in color, about 35-40 minutes.

6. Cool in the baking sheet, on a wire rack, for 10-15 minutes before cutting into bars (I cut into 16). Use a sharp knife. Cut the bars while they are still warm. Do not wait longer than 15 minutes before cutting the bars. They harden up significantly as they cool. Store in an airtight container or wrap in foil and freeze. Thaw before using.