Quick Pickled Fennel
Fresh fennel is easily preserved with this quick pickling recipe. Try it sprinkled over grilled fish, roast beef, or simply tossed in a salad.
Tag: recipes
Oven Roasted Eggplant with Balsamic Tomatoes
There’s just nothing more beautiful or delicious than eggplant and tomatoes picked fresh from your garden or selected at your local farmer’s market. But, if you’re anything like me, you grow (or purchase) too many and then you’re scrambling for something to make with them. …
No Bake Chocolate Almond Oat Bars
I love these no-bake breakfast bars because they’re not only good for you, they’re also easy to throw together. I make these with almond flour, which is simply made up of ground almonds, so there’s no baking required. The coconut oil adds a hint of coconut flavor, which blends perfectly with the chocolate and almonds, making these a tasty treat in the morning or anytime a snack is calling.
I make these even easier by lining an 8×8 pan with plastic wrap so that once the bars are chilled, I can easily pull the whole slab out of the dish and cut them into bars. This not only makes clean up a breeze, but it also makes the bars easier to cut when they’re not in the pan.
I also like to make these with a manuka blend honey, amping up the health benefits of these bars even further. I don’t use my pure manuka honey in these, as I’m not yet a lottery winner and making these every week with a 1/4 cup of pure manuka would most likely bankrupt me. But I’ve discovered a nice manuka blend honey which offers some of the wonderful benefits of manuka honey without the prohibitive cost.
Easy No Bake Chocolate Almond Oat Breakfast Bars Recipe
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup almond flour (not almond meal)
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup softened coconut oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup almond butter
Directions
- In a medium-size bowl, add oats, almond flour, almonds, and chocolate chips and stir well
- In a one-cup liquid measuring cup, add 1/4 cup coconut oil, then add 1/4 cup honey, then add vanilla extract.
- Add in 1/2 cup (dry measuring cup) almond butter and whisk everything together with a fork
- Stir into oat mixture and blend well, until all of the oats are moistened and everything is blended well (this honestly takes a couple of minutes to ensure everything is well blended)
- Line an 8×8 pan or baking dish with plastic wrap and drop the mixture into the prepared dish
- Spread the mixture out evenly and, using a large flat spatula, press the mixture firmly all the way around until it’s all tightly packed
- Refrigerate for at least 3 hours
- Once fully chilled, remove the entire contents by lifting it out with the plastic wrap and placing it on a cutting board
- Slice the slab into bars and refrigerate until ready to enjoy
As I noted in the ingredients, be sure to use almond flour in these and not almond meal. I often see them referred to as interchangeable but they’re not. If you’re wondering what the difference is between almond flour and almond meal, it’s that almond flour is ground almonds that have had their skins removed, resulting in a much finer flour.
I always tell you not to be afraid to play with your food and this recipe is an easy one to customize to suit your tastes. Consider using sunflower butter and sunflower seeds, or cashew butter and chopped cashews. Trust me when I tell you that there’s not a lot of ways you can go wrong here. Peanut butter and chopped peanuts? Go for it!
Enjoy!
Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Recipe
Butterfly Pea Flower Tea isn’t just beautiful, it’s also packed full of anthocyanins which are great for you.
Marinated Whole Artichoke Recipe
I started making artichokes this way when I was just a teenager and first discovered them. Honestly, the first time I made them this way I did it by accident; I’d been steaming them and dipping them in garlic butter for maybe a year or …
Homemade Hibiscus Tea
If you’re looking for a slightly tart but refreshing treat, you need to be making hibiscus tea at home. I typically make it as iced tea but it’s pretty darned delicious hot, too. If you were to ask me what hibiscus tea tastes like, the best comparison I can give you is cranberry tea. It’s tart for sure, but also crisp and fresh.
I purchase my dried hibiscus flowers in big 1 lb. bags through Amazon and then make tea a big pitcher at a time. A little squeeze of fresh lime juice is a nice addition but more often than not I enjoy mine without any add-ins at all.
Homemade Hibiscus Tea from Dried Hibiscus Flowers Recipe
- 16 cups cold water, 4 cups reserved for boiling then steeping hibiscus blossoms
- 2 cups dried hibiscus flowers
Directions – Makes 4 quarts/1 Gallon
- Place 4 cups of the water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil
- Remove from heat, stir in dried hibiscus flowers, and let steep at least 30 minutes
- While the flowers are steeping, add the remaining cold water to a pitcher
- When the flowers are done steeping, use a fine-mesh strainer and strain into another pan or heat-safe bowl and let cool completely
- Discard hibiscus flowers (great for the compost bin!)
- When cooled, add the hibiscus flower concentrate to the pitcher of water, stir well, and refrigerate
- If desired, serve with slices of lime
It’s easy to make this in smaller batches if you like; just figure 1/2 cup hibiscus flowers to 4 cups of water or 1 cup of hibiscus flowers to 8 cups of water. If you want to make a small batch, a coffee press works great for steeping and straining.
If you prefer a little sweetener in your tea, add a little bit of honey, agave nectar, or sugar. You can also add a few sprigs of fresh basil or mint for some color and added flavor. If you’d like to enjoy an adult hibiscus cocktail, try mixing it with with your favorite liquor. 🙂
I stumbled upon making this tea and after drinking it realized that it seems to have a calming effect, at least for me. I wondered about whether it was possible that it had calming properties so I did a little research and found something even more interesting. Did you know that a study showed that hibiscus tea can actually lower your blood pressure? I think this really shows the power of nature, don’t you?
I will warn you though: this tea will stain just about anything it comes in contact with so be very careful when straining and pouring that you don’t get any on your clothes. I find that most cleaners get it off my counter tops pretty easily; if there’s a stubborn spot Bar Keeper’s Friend finishes the job quickly.
Making hibiscus tea from dried hibiscus flowers is just as easy as making any type of tea but the benefits of hibiscus tea seem to a good reason to enjoy it. I do hope you’ll try it and would love to hear your feedback if you have.
Cheers!
