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.

Easy Jerk Shrimp

This is a very easy way to make jerk shrimp at home using any of the prepared wet jerk seasonings that are available (Spur Tree, Walkerswood, Grace etc). It is done in "Bunjay" style, which is frying the seasoning in a little oil until it starts to clump together, dries out a bit, then adding the shrimp and sauteing some more until the seasoning becomes slightly charred and sticks to the shrimp. Great as an appetizer or as a meal with salad.
10-12 large shrimp, cleaned and deveined
2 tablespoons Jerk seasoning of your choice
1 tablespoon Pickapeppa Sauce
1 tablespoon oil
Directions
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan or wok. Add the jerk seasoning and pickapeppa sauce and saute until the seasoning starts to clump together and the flavor is released. Add the shrimp and stir fry until the seasoning starts to stick to the shrimp and they turn pink. Keep stirring until most of the seasoning has stuck to the shrimp. Plate and enjoy.

Blueberry Oat Breakfast Squares

These breakfast squares are based on my original oat squares. Decided to try using blueberries since they are in season. This required some tweaking of the original recipe but they are really good and filling. Also, not too sweet. To freeze and reheat, I wrap each square in foil, and then put them in a freezer Ziploc bag. When I know I'll have one for breakfast, I take it down the night before and put it in the refrigerator. To reheat, remove the foil, wrap in a damp paper towel and warm in microwave for 5 minutes and 30% power.

    1/2 cup maple syrup

    1 tablespoon molasses

    1 cup butter

    1/4 cup brown sugar

    2 eggs

    1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

    1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

    1/2 teaspoon salt

    1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

    1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

     ½ cup oat bran

     1/3 cup unsalted, raw pumpkin seeds

    3/4 cup whole wheat flour

    ¾ cup all-purpose flour

    ½ cup flax meal

    ½ cup Greek Style yogurt

    ½ cup half and half (or buttermilk)

    1 teaspoon vinegar (omit if using Buttermilk)

    2 tablespoons Arrowroot Flour

    1 cup fresh or frozen Blueberries

1.      In a bowl, mix together the oats, pumpkin seeds, oat bran, flax meal, spices, flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the blueberries to the flour mixture so that they are coated with the flour. This helps prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the batter.

2.      In a large saucepan, melt together the butter, half and half, molasses, vanilla, sugar, and maple syrup. Bring to a rolling boil and cook for 5 minutes until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Set aside to cool.

3.      Whisk eggs, and yogurt, mixing well.

4.      Add the cooled butter mixture, whisk, then add the oats, blueberries, oat bran, flax meal, cinnamon, flours, baking soda, salt. Add the vinegar then mix with a wooden spoon until incorporated.

5.      Spread mixture in a parchment lined 8x8 inch baking dish. Make sure the parchment paper overhangs on all sides.

6.      Bake in a 350° oven for about 1- 1 1/4 hours until top is golden brown and a tester inserted comes out clean. The finished product should be firm to touch. Cut into 8-12 squares (depends on preference) when cool.

Pickled Bitter Melon (Foo Gah)

I love pickles....with anything! Bitter Gourd is a vegetable used in Asian countries in a variety of ways. It's supposed to have health benefits. I have never had it pickled so decided to try doing that. As its name suggests, the vegetable is very bitter so one has to "treat" it in a variety of ways to get rid of the bitterness. I salted it, then soaked it in vinegar and water overnight, before pickling it and waiting about 3-4 days to taste it. The results are pretty good. It's a combination of sweet, bitter, acid, and slightly salty. It's a great pickle to go with fish dishes.
2 Bitter Melons (pick the ones that are pale in color and blemish free. If there are slight blemishes, slice them away)
1/2 cup pickling salt
Equal portions of vinegar and water to soak overnight
Brine
1 part white vinegar
.75 part of white sugar
1/8 teaspoon Pickle Crisp Granules
Directions
1. Wash the melons and cut the top and bottom off. Cut in half lengthwise and remove the white pulp and seeds with a spoon. Remove as much of the white pulp as you can without breaking the semi-lunar shape of the vegetable.
2. Cut into 1/4 inch slices and put in a bowl. Mix in the pickling salt and let the salt draw out the water and bitterness. This takes about 4-6 hours.
3. Put in a colander, drain, and rinse off the salt well. Pour boiling water over the pieces and then immediately rinse again with cold water.
4. Make a mixture of equal parts of water and vinegar, and place in a bowl with the sliced bitter melon. Cover and refrigerate covered, overnight.
5. The next day, drain the vegetables well, put in a sterilized mason jar and prepare the pickling liquid. Mix 1 part of white vinegar with .75 part of sugar (1 cup vinegar with 3/4 cup water). Add the Pickle Crisp granules and stir over low heat just until the sugar is dissolved Make enough liquid to cover the pickles in the jar. Do not boil. Pour the mixture over the vegetables in the jar, cover and refrigerate. Leave for about 3-4 days before tasting. They will keep in the fridge for a while.