How-to Video Series 13

In this video Sydney shows you how to make a quick, nutritious and delicious salad!

Banana Bran Muffins

Okay, the chill of the fall has me wanting to warm up the home and warm up our spirits with the aroma of good wholesome baking! The wheat bran has been sitting on the counter for several days, the bananas were ripening, and ripening, and the combination seemed like a good idea. Thanks Marianne for starting off this recipe idea!

No molasses here! A simple sweetness from the bananas, applesauce and sucanat.

Stay cozy!

Moist and delicious!

Banana Bran Muffins
1 cup bran
1 cup whole wheat soft flour
1/2 cup oatmeal (large oats)
1/4 cup sucanat
3/4 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup milk (I used Rice Milk)
1/4 lemon, juice squeezed into the milk
1 t vanilla
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup safflower oil
1/2 cup raisins


Blend all of the dry ingredients, as well as the walnuts and raisins, together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Stir well, then pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of the dry ingredients. Blend and fold only until they are well combined.

Spoon the batter into muffin cups. Bake for 15-18 minutes in a 350〫oven. Let the muffins sit for 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool on a wire rack.

No honey needed here! The muffins are wonderful on their own, and they become more flavorful and moist overnight, if you can wait that long!

Makes approximately 9 muffins (depending on the size)

Michael Pollan & "Food" Magazine in NYT

This article by Michael Pollan speaks to every part of the heart of mothering Mother! Becoming aware of and caring about the food that you eat speaks to every level of your existence - physical, mental, and spiritual. Thank you Michael.

Get the information and vote with your fork, or chopsticks, or hands, at every meal!


Shanthi

Iain's Bran Muffins

With the arrival of the colder weather here, my husband said that he had "a hankering for a bran muffin"! What a great request! It has been years since I made a real bran muffin, not a banana bran muffin, he wanted a traditional muffin with raisins and molasses.

A friend dropped in shortly after I had made the muffins, and she was delighted to share in the tasting, although she insisted that I get the recipe onto the blog quickly! So, here it is Gary!

Iain's Bran Muffins
1 1/3 cup wheat bran
1 1/3 cup soft whole wheat flour
1/2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup raisins (maybe a small handful extra!)
1 cup rice milk
1 t apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup safflower oil
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup maple syrup

Stay cozy this fall with bran muffins, and a cup of tea!

Blend all of the dry ingredients, as well as the walnuts and raisins, together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Stir well, then pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of the dry ingredients. Blend and fold only until they are well combined.

Spoon the batter into muffin cups. Bake for 18 minutes in a 350〫oven. Let the muffins sit for 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool on a wire rack.

The muffins are wonderful on their own, or topped with a little honey!

Makes approximately 10 muffins (depending on the size)

Stop Judging Motherhood

Me with our "mothered" children!

Marissa Mayer, because of her high profile and high paying job, is out on the table for judgement on how she is handling the birth of her child. I do not know Marissa, most of us do not, but to be at the position that she is at in the business world, she has made many choices in her life that have favored her work over her personal life. Fine, yes FINE. Her choice, her life.

Now that she is a mother, and making the choices that are right for her, why do we know better? Not all birth mothers are the same. Although we have all carried a child for 9 months, we all handle the physical, mental and emotional experience differently. As a stay home mother I saw all styles of being a stay home mum, and there were times when I thought that I had the right formula. Well, life had a way of humbling me, and teaching me that the more that I looked to others and faulted them, the more that I had coming back to me.

So Marissa, go ahead, be the woman and now the mother that you are and want to be. Your child will have his own unique journey, with a mother who is so successful in the outside world, the outside the home world. And life will go on.

Let's not divide women over motherhood. It is in the judging that we most hurt ourselves, as a gender, and as the creators that we are.

Shanthi

How-to Series Video 12

In this video Sydney takes you through the soaking, cooking and storing techniques for dried beans.

Quick Salads

Here are a selection of delicious salads created with minimal work! The colors and flavors of the vegetables did all of the work!

All of these salads were ready for my family to eat while I was out for the evening. I grabbed a container and had my meal on the go! Take out from my favorite restaurant - home cooking at its best!


Beet Salad

Country style home cooking!

Beets, washed, whole and skins on
Yellow onion, diced
Apple cider vinegar
Salt, pepper
Fresh thyme (or any fresh herb that you have on hand)

Cook the beets in simmering water until they are cooked all of the way through. A skewer or knife inserted into the beet should go through easily. Let cool in the saucepan. Then move to the refrigerator and chill.

Peel the skin from the beets with your hands, or with a paring knife. The skin will easily peel off if the beets are thoroughly cooked. Dice the cooked beets. Add in the diced onion, pour over a couple of tablespoons of vinegar. Season and stir.

The flavor of the salad will develop further if it is now left in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Stir before serving.

You will quickly get to know how much onion to beet proportion you like, and how much vinegar you need to pour over the beets. Herbs are optional.

Enjoy the simple bounty!
www.thesaladqueen.wordpress.com
Cooked Eggplant Dip
Eggplant
Tahini
Salt, pepper

My talent lies in cooking, not presentation!

Oregano, fresh or dry

Wash the eggplant. Trim off the stem end and then cut in half lengthwise. Place cut side down on an ovenproof glass dish. Cook in a 350〫oven for about 30 minutes. Gently squeeze the eggplant to see if it is cooked.

Leave the eggplant to cool for 30 minutes. Using a spoon gently scoop the pulp from the inside. The skin will not be eaten. Mash the pulp gently with a fork, season and refrigerator. Use about 1 tablespoon of tahini for each eggplant.

This salad also has more flavor if it is left to mellow for a little while. If you used dried oregano, this time will also allow the herb flavor to develop.

Enjoy with vegetable sticks or crackers or pita, or on the side of a tossed salad. Is this baba ghanoush?! Maybe, with our own simple spin on it!

Kale Salad
1 bunch of kale, washed, remove leaves from stem
Diced yellow pepper
Grated Carrot

Simple kale, so green, so healthy!

Fresh Thyme

Dressing
Sesame Oil
Half of a lemon, juiced
Salt, pepper
Tamari

Chop the kale lightly. Cook it quickly in a wok, or similar pan. Remove the kale as soon as it begins to wilt. Let sit for 10 minutes. Add the vegetables, really you can add any vegetables that you have on hand, and season with a herb. Pour over the dressing ingredients. Toss, and eat. If it is going in the refrigerator, cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.


Eat well even when you are on the go. You feel better, Mother Nature feels better!

Add in a fork and cotton napkin and this is a wonderful portable meal!

Shanthi