Chickpea muffins

 

Snacking on one of these will keep you energized throughout the day and it's quite easy to grab one if not two on the go. They are vegan... no eggs, no butter, no dairy and are mighty fulfilling with a carroty cake taste.  

Chickpea Muffins

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makes 8 muffins

1 can (540 ml) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup almond butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons rolled oats

2 tablespoon shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease with coconut oil, or line the cups of a muffin tin with 8 muffin liners, so the muffins won't stick.

Add all the ingredients into a food processor and blend them all together until relatively smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle rolled oats on top.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until cooked all the way through. You can check by inserting a toothpick into the centre of each muffin, the toothpick should come out clean without any wet batter sticking to it, the muffins are then done. Remove from the oven and allow to slightly cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!    

Notes: you can add raisins or cranberries to the batter once it is all blended together, if you wish. Store in an airtight container. 

Carrot Banana Chickpea Flour Muffins

This recipe was passed on to me by a friend and I was up to the pantry challenge; plus it does seem like I have been baking muffins quite a bit lately. I sum that up to many reasons, they are quick and easy to make, pantry ingredients may be low or sparse, and at times whatever I can find on the shelf at the shop; therefore making me pull ingredients together and also modifying recipes. 

The original recipe called for two mashed bananas, not having any, I grated 1 to 2 apples, cored. Also the recipe called for 8 tablespoons of melted coconut oil, I used vegetable oil instead. Dark brown sugar was used instead of light brown sugar and sour cream replaced the natural yoghurt. Still, these muffins turned out wonderful. Crumbly and tender.  

Carrot Banana Chickpea Flour Muffins 

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1 1/2 cups chickpea flour

1/4 cup light brown sugar or coconut sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 eggs

1/2 cup natural yoghurt or sour cream

2 mashed bananas

2 large carrots, peeled and grated

1 apple, cored and grated 

8 tablespoons coconut oil

1 teaspoon maple extract

sunflower seeds, to sprinkle on top, optional 

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and line a muffin tin with muffin liners.

In a large bowl mix the chickpea flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon together.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, sour cream, mashed bananas, or shredded apple if using instead, shredded carrots, grated apple, oil and maple extract together until nice combined. Pour into the dry mixture. Stir until the wet and dry ingredients are well combined.

Spoon the batter, equally, into 6 muffin moulds and fill to the top. Bake the muffins in the  preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are golden brown. 


Have a good weekend and stay safe everyone! - JD

Tomato, Chickpea and Pasta Soup

Lately I have been getting my soup on. I find it relaxing standing over a large stockpot and throwing ingredients in; inhaling the smells and watching it all bubble and come together. Magically creating a hearty meal in minutes.  

Tomato, Chickpea and Pasta Soup

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2 tablespoons olive oil 

2 large cloves of garlic, crushed

100g frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

540ml tin chickpeas, drained

796ml (28fl oz) tin low or no salt diced tomatoes

900ml vegetable stock

1 1/2 cups passata sauce (strained tomatoes)

1/2 cup small pasta shapes, for soups

freshly ground salt and black pepper, to taste

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

Gently heat the olive oil and garlic in a stockpot over medium heat until the garlic is soft and just starting to brown. Add the spinach and the drained chickpeas and stir. Add some salt and black pepper. 

Add in the diced tomatoes, vegetable stock, passata sauce and pasta shapes. Give a good stir. Add the sprigs of thyme. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat until the soup is simmering. Stir occasionally and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Remove the thyme springs before serving. 

Notes: You can use dried herbs and seasonings if you do not have fresh. The pasta shapes I used were No52 DITALINI.   

More snow fell over the weekend and warmer weather started this week off; which is always nice. Hope everyone had a great weekend! - JD 

Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have posted a chocolate chip cookie recipe before using chickpea flour however this recipe is slightly different than that one. This recipe uses chickpeas and the cookies are more soft and chewy in texture. With the help of a blender you will have these delicious cookies whipped up in no time.   

Chocolate Chip Cookie 

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1 can (15oz) chickpeas, drained

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup oat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk or soy milk

1 cup mini chocolate chips or 1/2 cup regular chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a baking tray with baking parchment paper and set aside.

Place the drained chickpeas, peanut butter, oat flour, baking powder, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and milk into a blender and blend until a smooth dough has formed.  

Place the dough into a medium bowl and stir in the chocolate chips. Once the chocolate chips have been mix into the dough. Use a dessert spoon to drop the dough on to the prepared baking tray. Use a knife to help lift the dough off the spoon as it may be quite sticky and tacky. Gently press down with the back of the spoon, or another spoon if you wish but why create more dishes to wash. Repeat until all the dough has been used. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until nicely browned on the bottom. Remove the tray from the oven and gently press the tops of the cookies down with the underside of a lifter/spatula or fork. Let rest on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to wire racks to continue cooling. Repeat until all the dough has been used. 

Notes: I made about 22 cookies.

Hope everyone had a good weekend! - JD   

Coconut ~ more than 60 recipes

It has been awhile since I posted about a cookbook. After picking up this book for a bargain, $2.00 and the first signs of winter, a scattering of snow over the past two days, have made an appearance I thought this should convey some comfort. The word coconut and the sight of coconut, as with most people, conjures a tropical feel however it can have a wintery one too, as it can mimic freshly fallen snow.  

There is no introduction in this cookbook; may be because it pertains to the use of one familiar ingredient in each recipe. Therefore it seems straight forward. This cookbook does offer a quick multitude of recipes through out it's chapters. Starting at breakfasts and ending with desserts. There are a few good recipes although the recipes involving cakes always seem to use a ready made cake mix, rather than creating from scratch, within it's recipe. That is my only issue with this cookbook. Regardless, it is a minor bump in a near reasonably full cookbook. There are quite a few sweet coconut recipes and almost an equal amount of savoury coconut recipes too. 

Most of the recipes are easy and quick. I will spare sharing any recipes using pumpkin and will share this comforting recipe for a stew. 

Chickpea and Orange Squash Stew

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1 teaspoon coconut oil

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 to 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced

1 (1/2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 cup cubed peeled butternut squash or sweet potato 

1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 cup unsweetened canned coconut milk

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Spinach leaves, optional 

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion, jalapeño pepper, ginger and garlic; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add cumin and coriander; cook and stir 1 minute.

2. Add squash, chickpeas, water and soy sauce to saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes or until squash is tender. Add coconut milk; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through. Stir in lime juice and cilantro. Garnish with spinach. 

Nigella Lawson's Warm Spiced Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad

Improvising in the kitchen is not a new thing when you have most of the ingredients except the two you forgot. Sometimes it is best to just go ahead and make it anyway. I mixed my own harissa powder... well something that resembled it anyways and as for the Italian parsley, that remained at the grocery shop. I did have some kale on hand however I served the salad as is and with the added sprinkle of Nigella seeds. Which my son found ironic but very fitting because it is a Nigella Lawson recipe. This dish or salad is quite flavourful and was the perfect side to our vegetarian wraps. There are leftovers to which we will enjoy with some fresh kale.    

Nigella Lawson's Warm Spiced Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad

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1 small head of cauliflower

3 tablespoons regular olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 1/2 cups chickpeas, home-cooked or drained from a jar or tin

1-2 tablespoons harissa, to taste depending on the heat of the harissa

4 smallish ripe vine tomatoes, approximately 6 ounces in total

1 teaspoons se salt flakes, or kosher salt, to taste

3 to 4 tablespoons pomegranate seeds

2 1/2 cups Italian parsley leaves

*harissa is a Tunisian hot chili pepper paste. Some ingredients may include a blend of rose petals, red peppers, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander and caraway. 

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.

Trim the cauliflower and divide into small florets. Pour the oil into a large bowl, add the cinnamon and cumin seeds, and stir or whisk the spices together. Add the prepared cauliflower and toss to coat. Pour the contents of the bowl into a small oven proof pan or dish and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Do not wash out the bowl you've been using; as you will need it for the next step of the recipe.

Add the chickpeas to the already used large bowl and add the harissa, tasting it first to see if you want both tablespoonfuls. Again, toss to coat. Quarter the tomatoes and add them to the bowl and stir to mix. When the cauliflower has had it's 15 minutes, remove the pan, quickly tip the chickpeas and tomatoes over the cauliflower, and toss to combine before returning to the oven for a further 15 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender. 

When it is ready, remove from the oven and sprinkle the salt over the vegetables, then toss to combine with half of the pomegranate seeds. Divide the parsley leaves, without chopping them, toss to mix and scatter with the remaining pomegranate seeds.

To find this recipe and more Simply Nigella recipes visit Nigella Lawson by clicking *here* 

Hope everyone had a great weekend! - JD 

Let Them Eat Kale!

We all know the benefits of eating kale. It is one of the most nutrient dense superfoods hanging out in the produce section at the local grocery store. There is curly kale, red kale, Asian kale and baby kale. Which ever kale you choose it has substantial and positive health benefits. I prefer my kale raw in a salad or lightly sautéed with some garlic and balsamic vinegar. 

This is one of my favourite cookbooks and it offers 75 nutritious recipes that will help you include kale into every meal. The recipes span from... Breakfast to Appetizers, Side Dishes, and Snacks,... of course Salads, Soups, Stews and Chilis, Main Dishes and finally Sauces, Salsas and Spreads. Not all the recipes in the book are vegetarian / vegan. Most ingredients you will already have in your pantry which make these recipes much more accessible. The colour photos are glossy, full page, and up close.  

I wanted to share this recipe form the cookbook as I was quite taken with the eggplant, kale, and chickpea combination. If you can not find dinosaur (dino) kale perhaps try another kale that is available.

 Eggplant, Kale, and Chickpea Tacos with Charmoula Sauce

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Serves 3 to 4.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 eggplant, unpeeled, chopped into strips (unpeeled)
6 cloves of garlic
1 x 14 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 head dino kale 
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 to 8 corn or flour tortillas
Charmoula sauce 

Instructions:

1. In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat.

2. Add the eggplant and use a spatula to toss the egg plant in the oil/butter to evenly coat. Sauté until the eggplant begins turning brown, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the chopped garlic and chickpeas. Continue sautéing, stirring consistently until eggplant is very brown and begins losing its form, about 5 to 8 minutes.

4. Add the chopped Kale and continue sautéing and stirring until kale has softened, about 5 minutes.

5. In a small separate skillet, heat tortillas one or two at a time over medium heat until warm.

6. Add desired amount of veggie mixture to tortillas and drizzle Charmoula sauce on top. 

Cookbook Footnotes: 
"Dino or Dinosaur kale is the same as Lacinato or Tuscan kale. The leaves are long, dark green and resemble dinosaur skin. The flavour is less bitter than other kinds of kale and easier to chew in its raw form."

Charmoula Sauce
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Makes 3/4 cup of sauce

1 cup parsley
1 cup cilantro
1 cup dino kale leaves
6 to 8 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about the juice of 4 lemons) 

Instructions:

1. Add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend/process until a thick paste has formed. You can leave the sauce chunky or blend until completely smooth, depending on your preference.

2. If you don't have a blender or food processor, you can finely chop the first four ingredients and whisk everything together until well combined. 

Cookbook Footnotes:
"Charmoula sauce is a traditional Middle Eastern sauce, typically made with parsley, cilantro, lemon juice, and Middle Eastern spices. It is used to marinate fish and poultry, or serve on top of cooked meat and /or vegetables. All ingredients combined make for a sauce that is not only full of nutrients but also helps cleanse the liver."


I will also include this recipe from the cookbook. A simple flavourful stew packed with spicy goodness and of course, kale!   


Indian Chickpea Stew with Kale

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Serves 6 to 8.

1 tablespoon of olive oil or grapeseed oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 x 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, including juices

2 x 15 ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed

3 cups vegetable broth (low sodium)

1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste 1 bay leaf

8 cups green kale leaves, stems removed, chopped

Brown rice for serving

Instructions:

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, sauté the onion over medium heat until it begins to brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Add all of the ingredients except for the kale and stir to combine. Cover and bring the pot to a boil.

3. Once full boil is reached, lower the heat to medium - low and allow the stew to cook at a gentle boil about 15 minutes.

4. Remove the cover from the pot and add all of the kale. It's okay if the pot is very full at this point; the kale will cook down.

5. Put the cover back on and allow the kale to steam about 30 seconds to 1 minute before stirring it into the stew to incorporate it.

6. Cook and additional 2 minutes, then serve over cooked brown rice. 

Have a good weekend everyone! - JD 

Chickpea & Cauliflower Curry

I really enjoyed creating this for dinner... super delicious and full of, what I call, spicy goodness. Cauliflower and chickpeas were a great way to change up one of our dinner favourites, curry. This curry sauce is easy and able to adapt to any veggies you wish to add or meat, if you are so inclined, however it was unanimous that this vegetarian version was the preferred dish hands down! 

Cauliflower & Chickpea Curry

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2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

fresh ginger, peeled and crushed

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 large can of diced tomatoes

1x 15 ounce can of coconut milk

1 x 15 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into florets

4 teaspoons garam masala

Fresh chopped cilantro for a garnish

In a large stock pot, heat the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and sauté for about 10 minutes. Stir in the coriander, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, and sauté for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, cauliflower and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the garam masala and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes, until it thickens slightly. Stir in the fresh cilantro. Serve with your preference of rice. 

Hope everyone is having a good week. Just think... the weekend is almost here. - JD  

Hummus

I have tried many hummus recipes. Some with much success and others with much less. Hummus is a great dip to have with vegetables, crackers, or multi-grain corn chips. Also it is fabulous on burgers (veggies or meat), toast, and sandwiches. A healthier snacking choice that contains 20 Amino Acids, has many minerals, rich in Vitamin C and B6, offers good fat from the Tahini paste and is about 30-40% protein when made homemade. Store made hummus might not be as healthy. 

Armed with a blender and only 5 to 7 easy ingredients you will have a lovely snack in no time. Positively tasty, this hummus recipe is simple and in my opinion one of the best
   

Hummus

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1 can of chickpeas or Garbanzo beans (drain only half of the water)

1/4 cup Tahini (sesame seed) paste

1 clove of garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of cumin

1/4 teaspoon of chili powder

1/4 cup lemon juice to taste

Blend all the ingredients together in a blender or a food processor for about 3  minutes or until smooth. Place in a serving bowl and drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, and paprika.

Notes: Alter the amounts of cumin and chili powder according to your taste. Try other herbs or spices. Try adding roasted red peppers. 

It is Wednesday and we have been granted with snow. Thick. Heavy. Slushy snow. - JD 

Chickpea Flour Crackers

I guess the chickpea flour was calling out to me from the pantry so I decided to make crackers. Savoury bite sized morsels for snacking or with soup. A bit of blue cheese or stilton on top would do nicely too.  

Chickpea Flour Crackers 

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1 cup flour

1 cup chickpea flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds*
1/2 teaspoon paprika*
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup vegetable oil or light olive oil*

* You may want to try other ingredients such as cayenne, sunflower seeds, chives, turmeric, cumin, or curry powder.
* I used Camelina oil instead of vegetable oil or light olive oil. Coconut oil would also be a nice substitution.

Method:    

Pre-heat oven to 400ºF. Get a baking tray and set aside.   

In a large bowl, combine flour, chickpea flour salt, baking powder, poppy seeds, paprika, and parmesan cheese.

Stir in water and oil, mixing until a smooth dough forms. Divide the dough in two halves.

Place a sheet of parchment paper on a clean flat surface. Take one half of the dough and gently shape it into a square or a nicely compact rectangle. With a well floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a large square as thin as you can get it. Roughly about a 1/4 inch. You will have to keep re-flouring the rolling pin because the dough is soft and a bit sticky or lightly flour the top of the dough as you roll. 

Once the dough is all rolled out cut into small pieces using a knife or a pastry wheel cutter or a small cookie cutter. I used a pastry wheel cutter. Using a fork pierce all over the dough. This prevents the crackers from puffing up too much. Lift the parchment paper with the doughy crackers carefully over to the baking tray and place it on baking tray, parchment paper and all. Easy... no transferring onto the tray or greasing the tray. Repeat with the remaining dough. 

Bake until crackers are dry and golden... for about 10 -13 minutes. You may have to pull the really brown as they bake to prevent them from burning. Cool on wire racks, parchment paper and all, and store in an air tight container. 

What started out as a square became looking more like a geographical land mass. I rolled the dough as best I could. Cut it into squares and they were ready for the oven.  

After 13 minutes they were puffed up and browning nicely. However I found a few extra minutes helped to achieve a more toasted baked look. Easy to pull apart and crisp.

Have a good weekend everyone! - JD 

Chickpea Flour = Chocolate Chip Cookies

For some reason I was set on buying chickpea flour. And after seeing the long row of packaged chickpea flour at the Italian Centre, here in E-town, I was even more set on trying a recipe with it. The great thing about using chickpea flour is that it is high in protein and generally no eggs are needed for binding. Why haven't I used this sooner with my baking, I do not know. 

Chickpea flour Chocolate Chip Cookies  

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3/4 cup chickpea flour*

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons caster sugar

3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted before measuring

3 tablespoons maple syrup 

1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/3 cup mini dark chocolate chips

2 - 4 teaspoons water, only as needed

Makes 8 to 10 cookies only

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set a side. 

In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients together (flour, salt, baking soda, and sugar)

Add the coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, chocolate chips and water stir until well combined. Add in just enough water to moisten all of the ingredients together. The dough will be fairly thick and sticky. 

Roll the dough into balls and place them onto the prepared baking tray.

Using clean fingers press down on each to flatten. If need be dampen fingers with water first, to prevent the dough sticking to your fingers.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until lightly golden.

After removing the baking tray from the oven, and here is a trick I have found out along the way in my baking travels, take a fork and press down lightly on the top of each cookie to flatten them a bit. This will compact the cookie, giving it more of a chewy centre and crisp edge. Try this tip with some of the cookie recipes you already bake.   

Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Notes: Small batches do make sense considering when using melted coconut oil because as it cools it solidifies back to it's original form. So you have to work fast. Which is not a problem as this recipe is easy, only one bowl! I found that baking the cookies for 12 minutes was sufficient. They had a lovely golden colour and the bottoms were perfect. Nice and golden all the way round. You could try and replace the maple syrup with golden syrup my only concern is that golden syrup is thicker which might change the consistency of the dough therefore possibly adding more water, as needed. If you can not find mini chocolate chips then use standard chocolate chips however you may have to give them a bash or two to make them into smaller pieces, making it easier to press them down when taken out of the oven. I prefer flattening cookies with my fingers. There is something very child like about this process however using the tools which you already have is a bonus! 

*Some store chickpea flour in the freezer.* 

This week has flown by. Seems like the weeks just keep getting busier for me. Hope everyone is doing great and having a good week so far. - JD   

Chickpea Cookies

This looks like any chocolate chip cookie however there is no flour, no oil, and no white sugar. They are grain-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free. The recipe has been floating around Facebook and I was very eager to try them. Thank you, Christie! 

For the recipe click *HERE*  

They are made with natural peanut butter although I made mine with almond butter. I do not have a food processor so I had to make due with a blender. Also I did not roll them into a ball as suggested instead I spooned them out onto the parchment paper lined cookie tray. I left them to bake in the oven a few minutes longer than the suggested 10 minutes. They are very delicious! 

At first, my kidlets were not too pleased to find that one of the ingredients were chickpeas. However once they were in the oven baking and the chocolate vanilla baked goodness starting wafting, they were all curious. And had to devour one mere seconds after leaving the piping hot cookie tray.  

Have a good weekend everyone! -JW