Fudgy Black Sesame Brownies

Do you hold any stock in "good luck" symbols, especially around the New Year? I never actively think about it, buy in reality I do have a fair amount of "lucky" things in my daily life, from dream catchers, keys, evil eyes and trees of life to my diet rich in grains, greens and legumes. With all the amulets kicking around here, I really should expect to win the lottery soon - or at the very least, have a sudden windfall in my classroom situation. That said, I'm very much of the school of thought that we ultimately make our own fortunes, but a little help now and then doesn't hurt, does it?

These brownies, like the other "lucky" things for me, were not planned to be amulets of good fortune. They were planned to be rich in flavour, fudgy and refined sugar free! However, since it is New Year's Eve, I dug a little bit into the ingredients and method and found three little nuggets of information which hint at the possibility of a bite of these fudgy squares of goodness becoming a bona-fide talisman for 2016! Here's what I found:

First, baking (and sharing) baked goods is seen as an insurance policy that a household will always be warm, filled with friends and always has food. It's a Scottish custom to follow a tradition called "first footing" during Hogmanay (New Year's) in which the first person to enter a home (and what they carry) after the new year determines what kind of year the residents will have.

Second, the beans and grains in the brownies themselves. This is a well-known tradition worldwide, and for good reason - their appearance resembles coins, and the foods plump up as they cook - foretelling financial gains for those who eat them, I couldn't find any indication if purees like my black-eyed-pea based Brilliant Bean Dip, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip or hummus count... I hope so!

Sesame seeds are lucky again, due to their shape and plentiful nature. Seeds are also inherent symbols of fertility and immortality as they contain all the life-giving elements for a plant. Even more, the fact that sesame oil is a non-drying variety indicates that the lucky virtues it bestows on those who anoint with it or consume it won't "dry up".

Cool, huh? But really, these brownies are all about the flavour, which it has in spades! These get a ton of nutty (yet nut-free) flavour from black sesame seeds and toasted sesame oil - two of my favourite pairings with cocoa. For the dense, fudgy texture, I turned to one of my new favourite legumes - Tongues of Fire beans - which I pureed a la Nutella Stuffed Black Bean and Banana Cookies and Very Red Velvet Brownies. To sweeten things up a tad, I gave the batter a kiss of coconut sugar, agave and stevia, and used stevia sweetened chocolate chips in the mixture too. To keep the rich brownie-like texture going, I followed my tried-and-true baking method of putting the hot pan in the freezer for 30 minutes before taking to room temperature and cutting, which always works like a dream. Mom and I snuck a taste before tucking the bars into the freezer for tonight and they earned two BIG thumbs up!

Given that these bars are gluten - free , refined sugar - free and vegan, everyone can partake in good luck (or at the very least, good food) this New Years! Here's to a killer 2016 - we've earned it!

Gingerscotch Cookies

So, are you sick of cookies yet? Around here, we actually lucked out in the cookie department - short of a few shortbreads in our heirloom cookie tin (which are disappearing alarmingly fast), there isn't anything really decadent kicking around. We even managed to avoid The Everlasting Fruitcake of most Italian households, the panettone!

Of course, in my gift boxes I had to include my own batches of cookies, and this year ginger was a predominant theme. I'm always spurred to make a gingery concoction or two at the holidays since a few of my favourite giftees are ginger-holics, and I try to never repeat a recipe (mostly because I really don't have the ability to follow one most of the time!). Last year, one of the recipes I found and couldn't wait to make involved the addition of one of my favourite "soft cookie" ingredients in an unusual flavour - butterscotch pudding mix! I have never paired ginger with butterscotch in my mind, but upon reflection realized the caramel tones really work well - especially since it's a less cloyingly sweet option normally played by molasses (which these cookies lack).

I did play around with the original recipe, though - mostly in terms of spices, although I did use half non-hydrogenated shortening (for easier rolling and better shape retention) and some of my Truvia Baking Blend (for less sugar!) too. The butterscotch, which I originally worried would overpower the cookies, actually only lent a subtle, yet undeniably decadent, flavour while providing the full amount of tenderness I've come to expect by pudding-mix cookies. Not really either chewy or cakey, they're a unique option for any spice cookie fans out there!

Tart Lime Jam (Toast Topper #65)

Since I made my fair share of treats centred around my favourite desserts this holiday season, I felt it was only fair to make a couple things inspired by my friends and family's cravings too. I've mentioned before that my mom is a huge fan of key lime anything, from pie to ice cream. One year while we were vacationing in Florida we came across a key lime jelly that was to die for - the perfect mixture of sweet and tart, completely reminiscent of the classic pie. We bought two jars, and upon getting home they both disappeared within a month - my favourite way to savour it was spread on a cream cheesed bagel - or if I was feeling decadent, using a graham cracker as the base instead. Mom added it to everything, but I seem to recall a large amount of Saturday morning pancakes and crepes with the spread in lieu of syrup! 

This whole jam experience was over 10 years ago, and neither of us ever forgot the flavour of that jam. For mom (and, lets face it, for me too), I made my own batch of lime jam - a lower-sugar formula to allow all the bright, tangy flavours of the citrus to shine through, and allow us to smear on just that little bit more on our toast in the morning. The whole thing set up perfectly with Pomona's Pectin (my go-to for all my jammy Toast Toppers), and canned like a dream - I decided to part with a few jars at Christmas, but the rest is ours - ready and waiting for months of enjoying! 


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Sticky Toffee Date and Gingerbread Granola

In the crush of computer problems, visitors, lesson planning, traveling and various pet issues with multiple vet visits (a very long, cat / rat / dog story), one thing I never got around to this season was taking many photos! Often, my smartphone was standing in place of my gorgeous (albeit bulky) point-and-shoot, and those I did take with the P&S have yet to be uploaded / edited because there's always something else in the making! That said, all horrible photos aside, the stuff that's been coming out of the oven these days has been nothing short of delicious!

source

Of course, all of this is just a cover for the fact that I totally forgot to take any photos of these two amazingly hearty, chunky, stick-to-your-ribs granolas I whipped up for my Christmas boxes this year. I was definitely inspired by a few of my favourite desserts this year (as if the "Date Square" Granola wasn't enough of a hint) and quickly went about doing my "thing" with the mixes - which is to say throwing every grain and avenue of flavouring I had at them. As a result, my Sticky Toffee Date batch is definitely more on the decadent side of things, but it's also significantly higher in protein thanks to the high-protein hot cereal mix I added to the oats, ancient grains, nuts and seeds. A good dollop of date paste, date molasses and a sprinkling of toffee bits don't hurt matters in the flavour department either - and it's not like you're going to sit down to a giant bowl of this stuff every morning! Well, you might, but I'm not judging :-)

If you're on the dessert flavour train with me, but are looking for a little bit of a lighter option for your granola, the Gingerbread recipe is definitely one for you! It's packed with apple butter and pumpkin puree and gets it's sweetness from molasses and stevia - no refined sugar added! For more of a "cookie" aspect I tossed in a handful of graham cracker crumbs, which along with the instant oatmeal helped the clusters "clump" and make a truly chunky granola. A few pumpkin seeds added a little extra crunch for kicks too, and like the Sticky Toffee Date variety, I added some kinako for an extra protein and fibre boost.

So, apologies for the lack of photos, but please don't let that dissuade you from whipping up a batch or two for yourself. Who knows, it could be the kickstarter for your New Years Resolution to eat better (or at the very least, breakfast!).

Sticky Toffee Date Granola
Makes 8 cups, 16 (½ cup) servings
1 cup date paste
¼ cup date molasses or honey
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp butter flavour
1 tbsp butterscotch schnapps (optional but yummy!)
½ cup water
2 tbsp canola oil
½ tbsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
Pinch of salt
2 cups large flake rolled oats
2 cups high protein hot cereal (I used Dixie Diner’s Cinnamon & Spice Low Carb Instant Hot Cereal)
⅓ cup raw millet
2 tbsp amaranth
⅓ cup shredded coconut
½ cup kinako
½ cup chopped almonds
½ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup toffee bits
¼ cup raisins
5 dried figs, diced

1. Combine all the “wet” ingredients and seasonings (date paste through salt), then add remaining “dry” ingredients except toffee bits, raisins and figs, stirring well.
2. Bake on a lined baking sheet at 300F for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes or so until oats are golden. Turn off the oven and let stand inside for 15 minutes.
3. Remove from the oven and immediately stir in Skor bits, raisins and figs. Cool on the sheet.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 320.3
Total Fat: 9.3 g
Cholesterol: 1.0 mg
Sodium: 321.7 mg
Total Carbs: 44.5 g
Dietary Fiber: 9.7 g
Protein: 17.6 g

 
Gingerbread Granola
Makes ~ 9 ½ cups, 19 (½-cup) servings
⅓ cup pumpkin puree
½ cup apple butter
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp molasses (not blackstrap)
¼ tsp liquid stevia
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp cloves
½ tbsp vanilla
1 ½ cups large flake rolled oats
½ cup instant oats
⅓ cup graham cracker crumbs (Mary's Gone Crackers makes a refined-sugar free graham!)
½ cup kinako
3 tbsp millet
½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds

1. Combine all the “wet” ingredients and seasonings (pumpkin puree through vanilla), then add remaining “dry” ingredients, stirring well.
2. Bake on a lined baking sheet at 300F for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes or so until oats are golden. Turn off the oven and let stand inside for 30 minutes.
3. Remove from the oven and cool completely on the sheet

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 93.7
Total Fat: 2.8 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 46.7 mg
Total Carbs: 14.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.6 g
Protein: 3.1 g

Hélène's Beautiful Pears

Well, we made it through Christmas! While it's almost never smooth sailing (especially here, with 4 meals at one place and 1 at another, 3 different diets and one oven), the week of celebrations heralded everything that the season is about - love, peace, laughs and family. In terms of meals, the new "convection roast" function on our oven made a spectacular turkey while the warming drawer kept everything else perfectly hot, the collaborative vegetarian pasta dish mom and I made for Christmas Eve (roasted cauliflower, peppers and ricotta) was divine, the Clementine and Cranberry Sauce I adapted from Aimée's book Brown Eggs and Jam Jars has been slathered on everything from mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts to our toasted leftover Challah this morning.  

With so many rich meals so close together this year, dessert was simple - dishes of ice cream with a spoonful of these cocoa-laced pear preserves. I was inspired by the Poires Belle Hélène recipe in Camilla Wynne's book Preservation Society Home Preserves: 100 Modern Recipes a few weeks back when planning gift baskets, and with the glut of Asian pears in the local store I decided to try those out instead of the traditonal Anjou. Muscovado sugar and a kiss of Grand Marnier upped the elegance a wee bit - and with the inspiration being more of an adult-friendly one anyways I wasn't pulling any punches with the flavour. I wound up making a second batch for holiday gifts, after the first one mysteriously disappeared - but who knows how those North Pole elves celebrate?

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