Banana Apple Crumble Muffins

Ingredients:

Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted in room temperature

2 large ripe bananas, mashed

1 Golden Delicious apple, peeled and diced

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 Balkan yogurt (sour cream)*

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Topping (optional)

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup Quaker Oats

1 tbsp. flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. butter, melted and in room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F.

For the topping in a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, oats and melted butter with a spoon until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside

For the muffins in a medium bowl mix the mashed bananas and diced apples using a wooden spoon. Then add butter, vanilla, egg and yogurt to the banana-apple mixture until blended.

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

Stir in the banana mixture into the flour mixture until combined. Fold in chopped walnuts, be careful not over-mix.

Pour batter into a lightly greased or lined 12-cup muffin pan about 3/4 full.

*Sprinkle a small amount of the sugar-oat topping on top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes before serving it.

*I changed a little bit the recipe I used plain yogurt instead of sour cream and I just sprinkled the muffins with pieces of pecans instead of the topping. I stumbled upon this recipe just surfing the net. Banana and apple are one of my favorite fruits to bake. Hope you’ll like it. enJOY!

Source: A Lot About Nothing

Decadent Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

3/4 cup packed  brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 2/3 cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 pkg. Hershey’s Chipits Special Dark Chocolate

1 1/4 cup pecans, chopped

In a large bowl with electric mixer, cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together  flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; beat into creamed mixture on low speed. Stir 1 pkg. of Chipits Special Dark Chocolate and 1 1/4 cup chopped nuts. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 F for 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool for 5 minutes then transfer to rack to cool completely.

*I cooked the cookies for 8 minutes to make it more chewy. enJOY!

Source: Chipits.ca

Mojito

Ingredients:

12 fresh mint leaves

1/2 lime, cut in wedges

2 tbsp. sugar or simple syrup

crushed ice

1 1/2 oz. Bacardi Rum Superior

a splash of club soda

a sprig of mint and lime wedge for garnish

Put 12 mint leaves in a tall glass with lime wedges. Muddle the mint and lime by using a muddler. It is a bartender’s tool to mash the mint and lime together. It is important to muddle because it releases and intensifies the flavor. Then add simple syrup. Fill the glass with crushed ice. Add the Bacardi Rum and top it up with club soda. Stir then garnish with a sprig of mint and a lime wedge.

*Simple Syrup is equal parts of water and sugar by boiling it until the sugar dissolves. I prefer using simple syrup in a cocktail because it mixes well with the alcohol. You can also use powdered sugar.

A muddler is a bartender’s tool to muddle or mash the fruits and herbs. It looks like a pestle but a bit longer. I did not have a muddler on hand so I used  ice cream scooper. By using the back of the scooper and try to push and mash it together. It worked and we had a killer Mojito. It is perfect drink  for a hot summer day. enJOY!

Source: Bacardi Mojito Cocktail

Summer Jicama Salad

Ingredients:

1 medium sized Jicama, julienned

1 carrot, julienned

1/2 English cucumber, julienned

4 red radish, julienned

1 green or red pepper, julienned

1 medium sized onion, finely sliced

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup lime juice

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. honey

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Combine jicama, carrot, cucumber, red radish, green pepper and onions. Whisk together red wine vinegar, lime juice, olive oil, honey and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper.

*I remember when I was a child we eat sliced Jicama with salt, it is also know as Singkamas in the Philippines. This is  one of my favorite salad for summer, very refreshing. It is good side dish for barbecue or with Grilled Salmon Steaks. enJOY!

Triple Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

300 grams bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

2/3 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

90 grams white chocolate chips or chunks

90 grams milk chocolate chunks

Preheat oven 325 F and grease and line an 8-inch pan with parchment paper. In a bowl resting over a pot barely simmering water, melt chocolate and butter, stirring gently. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Stir in flour and salt. Fold in white and milk chocolate.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a tester inserted in the centre of brownies comes out clean. Cool before slicing.

*I changed some ingredients I used 300 g of dark chocolate chips (50% cocoa) then 90 grams of semisweet chocolate chips instead of milk. I ran out of vanilla extract so I used almond extract, it turned out well and you can really smell the almonds in the brownies. I top it up with chopped pecans.

Source: Anna Olson Food Network

Moussaka (moo-sah-KAH)

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef or pork

4 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, minced

4 medium size Yukon Gold potatoes, minced

2 tomatoes, chopped

1/3 cup parsley, chopped

3 eggs

1 cup Balkan yogurt or plain yogurt

2 tbsp. flour

salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions with olive oil until it becomes translucent.  Add the beef cook for about 10 minutes then add potatoes, tomatoes, and parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer it to a 9″x13″ baking dish. Bake in a 350 F oven for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Beat eggs with yogurt and flour. Pour over the dish and cook for 10 minutes more.

* This a typical dish in Bulgaria and this is one of my hubby’s favorite dish and it became mine as well. This similar to Shepards Pie or meat pie. The whole dish is a full meal already. You can substitute beef with ground chicken or turkey but do not over cook it because ground chicken/turkey tends to be rubbery when it’s over cooked. Add more 2 more tomatoes chopped to make it moist if you’re using chicken/turkey. enJOY!

I stumbled upon this episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern Philippines in Travel Channel. This was aired last 2007 which I missed but thank God for youtube I finally seen it. The episode more focused on Luzon, northern part of the Philippines. They have shown Filipino delicacies which some of it I have heard, eaten and miss…like the banana-que, balut (I just eat the yolk part). But some of the dishes are truly bizarre even for me as Filipino. Kudos to you Mr. Zimmern you have a stomach of steel. Lastly I was really proud that  they showed Palawan, it is one of the most beautiful islands in the Philippines. Breathtaking beaches….the final frontier.

Bizarre Foods Part 1 of 6

Bizarre Foods Part 2 of 6

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Bizarre Foods Part 6 of 6

Source: Travel Channel Bizarre Foods w/Andrew Zimmern

youtube.user.DerfMik

Kale with Garlic Cremini Mushrooms

Ingredients:

1 bunch Kale, chopped

3 tbsp olive oil

3  garlic cloves, minced

2 cups Cremini or Button mushrooms, cut into quarters

a splash of sherry

salt and pepper to taste

Wash Kale and discard the stems; chopped the leaves. Saute garlic for 3 minutes. then add mushrooms until golden brown but not burned. Add chopped kale, cook it until wilted or becomes dark green in color. Salt and pepper to taste and splash of sherry to deglaze the pan.

*I found out about Kale from a fellow Twitter, and he was right it’s really tasty and healthy at the same time. I made my own twist and I think Kale is the new spinach. You can add chili flakes to give it a little kick.

This would be good with Cider-Braised Ontario Pork Chops w/Apples and Garlic.

Curry Fried Rice

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked rice

2 tbsp. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp. curry powder

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. chicken bouillon

1 egg, scramble

salt to taste

Cook  the eggs and cut into strips, set aside.  Saute garlic and onions for 5 minutes. in medium heat. Add curry powder, pepper, nutmeg, chicken bouillon for about 2 minutes  Then add cooked rice, evenly mix the spices and the rice; salt to taste. Lastly add strips of scrambled eggs.

* You can add strips of chicken breast or beef strips and green peas to make a full meal. This will serve as good side dish with Grilled Salmon Steaks.  enJOY!