Tag Archives: coconut

Craving simplicity

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The prince of persia is a typical monarch. He fancies fancy cars, shiny jewelry, expensive clothes, lavish parties.

From time to time, too much glitter makes my head spin and I find myself craving simplicity.

Take this tomato crisp for instance.

It’s made out of simple ingredients : coconut, oats, olive oil, panko, parmesan cheese, pecans, pepper, salt, cherry tomatoes.

The cooking process is just as simple : drop the tomatoes in a baking dish, drop the rest of the ingredients on top of the tomatoes, drop it all in the oven for about 50 minutes.

The simplest way to eat this cheesy, nutty, scrumptious tomato crisp is with a spoon, right on the kitchen counter, far away from the twinkle and the sparkle of the prince’s castle…

This recipe was chosen by Nicole for the Food Matters Project. Read her post on the giving table for the original recipe (I used extra evoo instead of butter, panko instead of bread crumbs and added about a 1/4 cup of finely grated coconut). Don’t forget to check out what other FMP member’s have done with this great Mark Bittman recipe.

D.U.A.T.H.L.O.N.

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I’ll be brief.

This is what happened yesterday.

I ran 5 K.

After that, I biked 33 K.

And then, I ran 2.5 K.

What was I thinking?

This is what I had for breakfast yesterday.

Fresh pineapple chunks.

Fresh mango chunks.

Sweet oranges.

Zesty limes.

Tangy plain yogourt.

Luscious coconut milk.

Honey.

Crunchy roasted almonds.

Heavenly roasted coconut flakes.

Puffed quinoa.

I called it bionique breakfast bowl.*

Eat it to feel bionic whenever you plan to blindly throw yourself at any crazy challenge.

For many more mexican-style fruit salads, visit today’s FMP post.

For Bittman’s original recipe, read Sarah’s post at food & frederick.

*I made up this healthier bionico after googling mexican fruit salad.

bionique breakfast bowl (print)

recipe adapted from mark bittman

(1 to 4 servings)

1 pineapple, peeled and cubed

3 or 4 mangos, peeled and cubed

juice and segments of 2 oranges

juice and segments of 2 limes

zest of 1 lime

5 tablespoons plain yogourt

5 tablespoons coconut milk

2 tablespoons honey

roasted almonds, to taste

roasted coconut flakes, to taste

puffed quinoa, to taste

In a bowl, mix together the pineapple, mangos, oranges and limes.

In another bowl, mix together the yogourt, coconut milk and honey. Strain for a creamier texture.

Divide the fruit salad in invidual bowls.

Top each fruit salad bowl with the cream.

Sprinkle each bowl with roasted almonds, roasted coconut flakes and puffed quinoa.

déjeuner bionique dans un bol (imprimer)

recette adaptée de mark bittman

(1 à 4 portions)

1 ananas, pelé et coupé en cubes

3 à 4 mangues, pelées et coupées en cubes

jus et suprêmes de 2 oranges

jus et suprêmes de 2 limes

zeste d’une lime

5 c. à table de yogourt nature

5 c. à table de lait de coco

2 c. à table de miel

amandes grillées, au goût

flocons de noix de coco grillée, au goût

quinoa soufflé, au goût

Dans un bol, mélanger ananas, mangues, oranges et limes.

Dans un autre bol, mélanger yogourt, lait de coco et miel. Passer au tamis pour une texture plus crémeuse.

Selon le nombre de convives, répartir la salade de fruits dans des bols individuels.

Répartir la crème entre les bols de salade de fruits.

Saupoudrer chaque bol d’amandes grillées, de flocons de noix de coco grillée et de quinoa soufflé.

Pretty on the inside

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Do you ever feel cursed?

Do you ever feel that no matter how hard you try, you never get it right?

Let’s say you’re a food blogger. Because food is your thing. Duh.

So you’re a food blogger. You are simply copycating your favorite recipes, but you feel that’s okay. Because you’re just starting off. And you’re a full-time teacher. And you’re busy 24/7 being wife to a prince and mother to a king. You don’t have time for recipe testing.

Then, one day, out of the blue, you come up with this amazing banana bread recipe. All on your own. It’s vegan and delicious. Dense and moist. Healthy and filling. It’s the banana bread recipe you’ve been looking for all your life and you own its copyright!

This banana bread is filled with yumminess, healthiness and… green spots! Ugly green spots all over its twelve slices! And there’s nothing you can do about it!

You feel cursed. And crappy. You feel like nothing you ever do is good enough. You’ll never be the next joy the baker so why bother?

So you take a bite. And a sip of coffee. Then you take another bite. And a third bite.

Suddenly, you don’t feel so cursed anymore.

Green is a beautiful color, right?

This bread is pretty on the inside, isn’t it?

They say love is blind, don’t they?

After a few slices and two cups of coffee, you find that this cursed bread is actually a cure for hopelessness and self-pity. You start believing that you might become the french canadian joy the baker after all. You feel that if you actually eat the whole loaf, you’ll be unstoppable! So you do…

vegan banana bread (print)

(12 servings)

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup finely grated coconut, unsweetened

3 bananas, mashed

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup soymilk

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon flax seeds, grinded

1 tablespoon chia seeds, grinded

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup walnuts

1/4 cup pecans

Preheat oven at 350.

Roast the sunflower seeds in the oven for about 5 minute. Grind in a coffee grinder. Set aside.

Roast the grated coconut in the oven for about 3 minutes. Set aside.

In a bowl, blend together the bananas, oil, soymilk, maple syrup, vanilla, flax seeds and chia seeds. Set aside for 5 minutes.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

Add the dry mix to the wet mix a little at a time using a wooden spoon. Fold in sunflower seeds, coconut, walnuts and pecans.

Bake for about 50 minutes.

nutrition facts : 231 calories; 11.4 g fat; 5.5 g dietary fibers; 7.8 g sugars; 4.7 g protein

pain aux bananes végétalien (imprimer)

(12 portions)

1/4 tasse de graines de tournesol

1/4 tasse de noix de coco râpée finement, non sucrée

3 bananes, écrasées

1/4 tasse d’huile

1/4 tasse de lait de soya

1/4 tasse de sirop d’érable

1 c. à thé d’extrait de vanille

1 c. à soupe de graines de lin, moulues

1 c. à soupe de graines de chia. moulues

2 tasses de farine de blé entier à pâtisserie

1 c. à thé de bicarbonate de soude

1/2 c. à thé de cannelle

1/2 c. à thé de sel

1/4 tasse de noix de grenoble

1/4 tasse de pacanes

Préchauffer le four à 350.

Griller les graines de tournesol au four pendant environ 5 minutes. Broyer à l’aide d’un moulin à café et réserver.

Griller la noix de coco au four environ 3 minutes. Réserver.

Dans un bol, mélanger les bananes, l’huile, le lait de soya, le sirop d’érable, la vanille, les graines de lin et les graines de chia. Laisser reposer 5 minutes.

Dans un autre bol, mélanger la farine, le bicarbonate de soude, la cannelle et le sel.

Ajouter graduellement le mélange sec au mélange liquide à l’aide d’une cuillère de bois. Incorporer les graines de tournesol, la noix de coco, les noix de grenoble et les pacanes.

Enfourner environ 50 minutes.

valeur nutritive : 231 calories;  11,4 g de lipides; 5,5 g de fibres; 7,8 g de sucres; 4,7 g de protéines

From geek to food geek

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Geek : a person often of an intellectual bent who is disliked.

I’m a natural born geek.

Growing up, I had a hard time making and keeping friends. Even imaginary friends never tagged along for long.

I always was top of my class, but I never was the teacher’s pet. I guess even my teachers thought I was too geeky.

I was into boardgames, collecting live ants and slugs, and digging to China.

Once, I even went to golf camp.

I was a typical bookworm. I used to think that books were a reflection of reality. No wonder I felt out of place in the real world.

If I had found a magic lamp, conveniently rubbed it and met a genie who would have granted me three wishes, I would have asked for a treehouse, for the courage to run away and for a best friend.

I never got to have a treehouse (I guess single moms have other priorities), though I had lots of trees to climb in, which is better than nothing, I guess.

I never ran away. I was way to scared of my mom’s temper. Plus, how was I gonna explain why I ran away? “Mr. officer, I ranaway because that’s what little girls do in books”.

When I turned 12, some supernatural invisible magic force granted me one wish : I met a filly who’d eventually become my best friend in the whole wide world. She was stunningly gorgeous and witty. She was no geek. Not to mention that she was a redhead : I had found my very own Anne of Green Gables! I never knew why we got along so well, sometimes I still wonder why she loved me back, but she help me deal with the truth : books don’t reflect reality, they distort it to make it tantalizing.

In high school, not only did I want to fit in, I wanted to be cool. My pretty redhead of a best friend did the best she could to help me through the process with some fashion tips, reverse psychology and constant support. But being cool was out of my reach, no matter how hard I tried, no matter what color my hair was, no matter how low I tried to keep my grades.

After high school, as an attempt to blend my geeky nature and my clumsy coolness, I traveled to ancient persia on an archeology internship. As I was digging up stolen scrolls and flying carpets, the prince of persia walked by and fell for my moony stares, my inept conversation and my black kurt cobain wannabe glasses. He found all of my geeky traits enticing and told me so. Somehow, I was freed : someone (a boy!!!) loved me for who I was, maybe I could do the same.

I came back home and proudly aced my way through college. Then, my life took a rather homey turn. I could’ve become the perfect housewife, or the perfect cook, or even the perfect party host. But I went from geek to food geek instead. I know everything there is to know about food : I know that strawberries and chocolate don’t share the same aromatic profile, I know that instant oats contain as much fiber as old-fashioned oats, I know that you have to use a large pot and a good amount of salt to properly cook pasta.

And I know how to make the perfect breakfast out of chickpea flour.

Just like the prince of persia looked beyond my geeky ways, you must look beyond the chickpea and bake this bread. It is moist, and tasty, and good for you. But don’t eat to much of it, you might magically turn into a geek…

chickpea breakfast bread (print)

recipe adapted from dinners & dreams

3 eggs

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup chickpea flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

1 banana, mashed

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chopped dates

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup grated carrots

Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray.

Using an electric mixer or hand whisk, mix the eggs, honey and vanilla until well combined.

Combine the chickpea flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl. Add them to the wet ingredients. Mix again until the batter is smooth and homogeneous.

Fold in the banana, nuts, dates, raisins, coconut and carrots.

Pour the batter in the prepared pan. Bake until the cake is set and slightly browned, 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool before unmolding.

nutrition facts : 210 calories; 9.2 g fat; 4.4 g dietary fibers; 17.3 g sugars; 7 g protein

pain-déjeuner à la farine de pois chiche (imprimer)

recette adaptée de dinners & dreams

3 œufs

1/4 tasse de miel

1 c. à thé d’extrait de vanille

3/4 tasse de farine de pois chiche

1 c. à thé de bicarbonate de soude

1/2 c. à thé de cannelle

1/4 c. à thé de sel

1 banane, en purée

1 tasse de noix de grenoble, grossièrement hachées

1/2 tasse de dattes, hachées

1/2 tasse de raisins secs

1/2 tasse de noix de coco râpée, non sucrée

1/2 tasse de carottes râpées

Préchauffer le four à 350. Vaporiser un moule à pain d’enduit à cuisson.

Battre les œufs, le miel et la vanille à l’aide d’un fouet ou d’un batteur électrique.

Mélanger la farine de pois chiche, le bicarbonate de soude, la canelle et le sel dans un autre bol. Ajouter les ingrédients secs aux ingrédients liquides et battre à nouveau.

Incorporer la banane, les noix de grenoble, les dattes, les raisins secs, la noix de coco et les carottes.

Verser la préparation dans le moule à pain. Cuire de 35 à 40 minutes. Laisser refroidir avant de démouler.

valeur nutritive : 210 calories;  9,2 g de lipides; 4,4 g de fibres; 17,3 g de sucres; 7 g de protéines