Zucchini Carrot Pancakes

I serve these as a side dish. They are delicious, packed with vegetables, easy to make, and freeze well.

Ingredients:

2 cups grated zucchini

2 cups grated carrots

1/4 cup freshly grated parmessan cheese

1 cup whole wheat flour

4 eggs

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Beat egg

2. Mix in flour and salt

3. Add zucchini and carrots and fold in

4. Warm skillet at medium/low heat

5. Coat skillet with thin layer of olive oil

6. Spoon mixture onto skillet to form about 2-3 inch pancakes

7. Cook until lightly brown, about 2 minutes per side

my Soba Noodle Soup

Here was my photo from Soba Noodle Soup (different recipe as noted in the comments - not good enough to pass along). 

Today I made Chana Masala but need to try a different recipe as well (I think) as it didn't taste the way I wanted it to... but I put it in the fridge and maybe tomorrow it will taste better. LOL! When I opened the Amchoor (dried unripe mango) powder package that I bought, it looked icky so I opted out and subbed in lemon juice instead but I have a feeling that wasn't the real issue. I'll keep you posted. :)

Japanese Soba Noodle Soup

This soup is one of our favorite and most healthy meals in our home. Our kids love it and it's an easy and delicious meal for guests. We have made it so many times and don't really have a written recipe for it. Just years of working on this one. So the amounts below are estimates. Play with them as you develop your own soups. Many regular grocery stores carry these ingredients now, otherwise specialty asian stores will have them. The base of Japanese soups is made with Kombu (a thick seaweed) and bonita (dried fish flakes). If you can't find them you can get plenty of flavor from the other ingredients.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 large shallot, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

2 cups mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup Sake

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

6 cups chicken broth

3 tablespoons Miso paste

1 large piece Kombu

1/4 cup Bonita flakes (placed in a tea strainer or cheese cloth package as it will have to be removed at the end)

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 package firm tofu cubed

4 cups baby spinach

Soba noodles

Cilantro, coarsely chopped for garnish

Seaweed, cut with scissors into strips

Asian chile garlic sauce

Directions:

The noodles:
While cooking the soup, cook soba noodles by package directions, slightly al dente. Before draining water save two cups of the soba water to add to the soup. This adds excellent nutrients and some starch to thicken the soup slightly.
Drain noodles and run under cool water in colander.

The soup:

In medium pot, saute shallots, ginger and garlic in canola oil for 2 minutes

Add mushrooms and saute for 5 more minutes

Add sake wine and deglaze pan

Add rice wine vineagar and stock and bring to simmer

Add kombu and continue to simmer for 15 - 30 minutes

Add tofu and and cook until warmed through

Add spinach right before serving the soup

Finishing the dish:

Remove bonita from soup

Prepare individual bowls with soba

Ladle in soup

Garnish with cilantro and seaweed

Serve with chile sauce if desired

Double Fudge Brownies (Whole-Wheat)

 

 We made these to celebrate Jessica's half-birthday (since she's a summer birthday and wouldn't get to celebrate with her school friends otherwise and didn't want to get lumped in with all the other summer birthdays as they sometimes celebrate at the end of the year) and these brownies were DELICIOUS! They are now my go-to brownie recipe (they are not light in any way just so we get that clear and out of the way now - there's a bunch of butter and sugar - but I actually prefer the flavor of whole wheat flour with flour these days. The nuttiness of the flour and chocolatey-ness are a perfect pairing).

 

 

 

 

 Double Fudge Brownies (Whole Wheat!)

(adapted from King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking cookbook)
Yield: 2 dozen (2-inch) brownies
Baking Temp: 350 degrees F
Baking time 30 minutes

Note: These are better made ahead and let to sit 24 hours before cutting into them. The wait gives the wheat bran a chance to soften.

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces) unsalted butter
2 cups (15 ounces) packed light or dark brown sugar
3/4 cup (2 1/4 ounces) Dutch-process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1/4 teaspoon cardamom (optional) (you could also use 1/4-1/8 teaspoon ground red chile pepper for a different flavor direction and bit of kick)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) traditional whole wheat flour
1-2 cups (6-12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch pan.
2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan set over low heat (alternately, you can melt it in the microwave on low as well). Add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave), briefly, until it's hot and starting to bubble. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.
3. Stir in the cocoa, baking powder, salt, spices (if using), and vanilla. Cool the mixture until you can test it with your finger: it should feel like comfortably hot bath water. Whisk in the eggs, stirring until smooth, then add the flour and the chips, again stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
4. Bake the brownies until a cake tester or sharp knife poked into the center reveals wet crumbs but not raw batter, about 30 minutes. The brownies should feel set on the edges and in the center. Remove them from the oven and let cool on a rack. Cover when they are cooled completely. Let sit overnight before serving

Nutritional information per serving (1 brownie, 61 g): 7g whole grains, 252 calories, 13g fat, 3g protein, 8g complex carbs, 25g sugar, 2g dietary fiber, 56mg cholesterol, 125mg sodium, 216mg potassium, 76RE vitamin A, 2mg iron, 46mg calcium, 100mg phosphorus.