nut and seed bread

I've been looking for a bread recipe to use up some nuts and seeds in our supply. I came across this bread that's loaded with a combination of nuts and seeds and I was happy with the result (as shown below).

This is a bread that will make any nut lover happy :-)

Black and white sesame seeds and sunflower seeds 

were sprinkled on top before baking. 

Coconut flour may be used by those on a gluten-free diet. 

All-purpose flour will also work. 

I was surprised that it wasn't crumbly as I thought it would be. The texture was ideal for toasting as well. Very good for breakfast or any time of the day snacks.

Happy baking :-)

NUT AND SEED BREAD
(This is the basic recipe below. Other nuts and seeds may be substituted.)

1/4 cup whole almonds
1/4 cup whole hazelnuts
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup flax seeds
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup hazelnut meal
2 tablespoons coconut flour (or all purpose flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup almond milk (or other milk)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 tablespoon honey

Line an 8" x 4" loaf pan with parchment paper or grease with nonstick spray. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350F.

Process nuts until finely ground then add salt and baking soda. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Combine milk, oil, eggs, honey and vinegar. Pour into nut and seed mixture and stir until blended. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle with more seeds on top. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until done.

plates of lunch for everyday

It's fun to get a little creative to make everyday lunch plates more appealing without going too fancy. Most of the time, I just make sandwiches served with a few extras to add color and variety.

homemade sesame seed roll, deviled eggs and green olives

a little twist to the classic ham and cheese sandwich :-)
dipped in beaten egg then pan-fried in a little butter

bento box ham and egg sandwich,
fruits, black olives and cucumber slices for
a well-balanced meal

bento box clubhouse sandwiches, Fuji apple and green olives

omelets are quick and tasty to make
served with whole wheat bread and cucumber slices

two kinds of cheese, fried egg, toasted bread, ham,
salami, fried egg and shimeiji mushrooms

clubhouse sandwich with crispy bacon, ham, egg and
cheese, avocado, tomato and cucumber slices

Sandwiches and salads are ideal to have for a quick lunch break. They can also be made ahead and kept refrigerated in to-go lunch containers or zip lock bags. There are so many ideas for sides to make them more colorful and flavorful. At home, they can be made light and healthier with the addition of all kinds fresh ingredients, dips and dressings.

wholesome 10-grain bread

Perfect for sandwiches and simple breakfast toasts, it was surprising that this whole grain bread did not turn out heavy at all. The crumb texture was light and springy with a very good whole grain flavor. The recipe suggested 7-grain hot cereal mix but I used Bob's Red Mill's 10-grain mix which I already have. Either one is good to use. I used a bread machine to knead the dough but it can be done by hand or with an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook as well.

The dough wasn't too sticky so it was fast and easy to shape them into logs (shown above). The dough was divided into equal parts (I like to weigh them using a kitchen scale to get equal portions) then rolled tightly into logs. Brush the tops with beaten eggs. Sprinkle oats evenly on a cutting board then dip or roll the logs on the oats for an even coating.

Cover them with plastic wrap or clean kitchen towel. A good tip I found was to use new and clean shower caps. They're the right size and fit most bowls and pans plus the elastic band works great. Set them in a warm place until they rise to about 1" above the rim of the pans. They rise very well for about an hour.

Freshly baked loaves of bread are shown above and below. I made a previous batch sprinkled with just plain water but the oats adhered to the tops of the bread brushed with beaten eggs better.

For the recipe...

frozen raspberry cake

Frozen fruit cakes, popularly known as "raw cheesecakes" sparked my curiosity from the time I saw them at Maka by Mana, a restaurant in Maui that became our favorite when we there. Unfortunately I didn't really get a chance to try them there. However, seeing them on some vegan food websites actually brought back my interest in them. Cashews (labeled "raw" at the store) were soaked for a few hours or overnight then processed with some of the water they soaked in.

a slice of raspberry frozen cake

date-walnut crust and processed cashew filling

For me, the crust was the highlight of this frozen cake. It was easy to press the sticky mixture of ground walnuts and dates into the bottom of a 7" springform pan. A food processor works best for this task. The soft dates (medjool dates were recommended but I just used Sunsweet brand pitted dates).

Fresh or frozen raspberries may be used for the cake mixture. If using frozen berries, they should be thawed out first before using. The pureed cashews and fruit were combined together then poured into the prepared crust. Freeze for a few hours until set. I was happy with how this refreshing and fruity summer dessert turned out :-)

tropical papaya version shown above

I used this Raw Raspberry Dreamcake recipe from My New Roots as my inspiration to create my version. I replaced the almonds with walnuts in the crust.

food memories at Maka by Mana ~ Maui, Hawaii

Our week in Maui wouldn't have been complete without trying out the local restaurants...and we sure found many outstanding ones that made our stay more memorable.

classic acai with fresh papayas, bananas and strawberries

Maka by Mana located in the colorful town of Paia easily became our favorite. We went to this raw food place four times :-) Very fresh and amazing local fruits and vegetables were the main draw here combined and blended in a way that was surprisingly so flavorful. The cool interiors of the restaurant, shown below.

At Maka by Mana, our first introduction to the world of raw food was unforgettable. Shown above, this savory open-face breakfast sandwich with warm sesame waffle bread was served with coconut cream cheese, avocado slices and capers. The classic acai breakfast bowl was a hit with us as well as well as the matcha green tea latte that my husband ordered every time. Shown below, our light lunch with spiralized beets and carrots salad and live falafels which were served with kale and dehydrated wraps.

raw pies and kombucha tea at Maka by Mana

The busy town of Paia was along the way to our rental apartment so we passed it everyday we were in Haiku where we stayed. For us, this restaurant was one of the best reasons to keep going back to Paia despite the traffic we had to deal with there. That just goes to show how much we enjoyed this restaurant as we really don't have patience when it comes to traffic :-) Parking was challenging but we later discovered their exclusive customer parking conveniently located just across the restaurant.

avocado toast

I was happy to recently discover avocado toast for breakfast and it certainly was another healthy alternative to my usual oatmeal and fruit :-)

Just spread toasted whole wheat bread or bagel with butter or cream cheese then top with sliced avocados. I also tried a hummus and avocado combination and it was tasty as well. Sprinkle with a little ground pepper or Tabasco if desired. I just love these avocado toasts with hot lemon tea :-)

more bento sandwiches

With a little creativity, day to day boring sandwiches can easily be turned into more colorful and fun bento box lunches :-) that may be made ahead and refrigerated until serving time.

Shown above, whole wheat bread sandwiches decorated with daisy cheese flower cut-outs. I just used yellow mustard for the center dots.

Ham and cheese sandwiches with rolled omelet and a colorful fruit mix for a well-balanced meal, shown above. Fresh lettuce leaves work great as dividers for the food. Colorful silicone muffin cups make ideal containers for the fruits and are flexible enough to fit inside most bento boxes. I like using this rectangular plastic food storage. They are roomy and deep enough for thick sandwiches.

ham sandwich and fruit bento lunch

project bento for lunch

My first bento lunch projects :-)

fruit and green salad bento with hard-boiled eggs and ham

torta (ground beef omelet) with quinoa and vegetable salad

bear shape hard boiled egg with cantaloupe flowers

fish shape egg with green bell pepper and cucumbers

A creative way to present food in healthy portions that's just right for a light but satisfying lunch. This is what I like most about bento. The colorful fruits and vegetables in cute shapes definitely add a fun element to everyday meal time.

vegetables for pinakbet

It's not often that we're able to stop by a bigger Asian grocery and produce market so when there's an opportunity, we rarely miss it. I like to browse the merchandise along the aisles. There are so many interesting items and I always enjoy my time there. Fresh Asian vegetables are also available and buying some of my favorites has always been a special treat for me. In Manila, these vegetables are very common at the local market.

This unique mix of vegetables was exactly what I needed to make a Filipino dish called pinakbet. It's a popular vegetable dish in the Northern Philippines particularly the Ilocos region. There are many variations using different eggplant varieties and other vegetables. One of the key ingredients used to season this dish is bagoong, a type of salty paste made with shrimp or fish. I had to replace it with patis (fish sauce) so my husband will have no problem with the pinakbet (he's very allergic to shrimp).

It has crossed my mind many times that pinakbet, shown above and below, may be the Filipino version of ratatouille, a French vegetable stew that also uses a variety of vegetables.

I also bought a bunch of garlic chives, sold cheaper at this Asian market than at regular grocery stores. A good amount went into these Asian potstickers, shown below. I made them many times before without the chives, even if the recipe required it. They were not just expensive at the grocery but they were hard to find sometimes. The chives definitely added more authentic flavors to the dumplings.

Asian potstickers with garlic chives

our complete meal ~ pinakbet and Asian potstickers
served with steamed rice

For the recipe,

rice paper rolls

Right after my sous vide experiment which I posted previously, some leftover steaks made it into the beef summer rolls, shown below. Sliced very thinly and layered with julienned carrots, cucumbers, red radishes, red bell pepper and lettuce leaves, they were refreshing and light, perfect little appetizers for hot and humid summer days. I also like cooked vermicelli noodles in them, for additional texture, but always optional. Dried rice papers, sold in most Asian markets and grocery stores, are handy to have in the pantry. To make the rice paper pliable, soak it briefly in warm water then lay it on a clean towel or wood cutting board to get rid of excess water before rolling.

Another version I made later on was with a combination of thinly sliced ripe mango, cucumber, red bell pepper and surimi or imitation crab sticks layered and rolled together with flavored vermicelli noodles. Thanks to the recipe by Chef Hylton Le Roux which I found on youtube. Glad to discover his Market to Master series which I've been watching lately. He's a chef based in Manila who also travel around the country in search of the best regional dishes and food. I get so many tips and ideas from the episodes.

surimi flakes, red bell pepper, cucumber and mango 

Shown above, the seasoned vermicelli noodles and the package of imitation crab I used. The noodles were soaked for a few minutes in boiling water until they softened then drained. Toss with chili sauce (for a spicier version, use sambal oelek), rice vinegar, sesame oil and mirin. The seasoned vermicelli was very tasty and I may never go back to using plain vermicelli for these rice paper rolls. Serve with honey-soy dip.

For the recipe...

healthy Bircher Muesli

I've heard of muesli before but the first time I tried Bircher Muesli was at The Collins Quarter, a hip and trendy Melbourne-style cafe bar we tried for breakfast on our recent visit to Savannah. I liked it so much that when we got home, I went online asap to research more about it. I've been enjoying it for breakfast these days as an alternative to my usual steel cut oatmeal.

a colorful mix of thinly sliced strawberries, green apple and bananas

Bircher Muesli was developed by a Swiss doctor, Maximilian Bircher-Benner back in the 1900s as a healthy meal idea for his patients. It eventually became popular as an easy breakfast dish. My bircher muesli variations are shown above and below.

Old-fashioned oats are soaked overnight in yogurt and water or apple juice, for more flavor and sweetness. For my version, I like to mix 1/4 cup of yogurt with about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of water in a small bowl. Reduce the amount of liquid if a thicker consistency is preferred. Add 1/2 cup oats and combine. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the mixture overnight. The next morning, I top it with a tablespoon of honey, thinly sliced fruits (strawberries, banana and green apple are my favorites) and some toasted nuts.