Noory’s heavenly bites

 

OK, as promised here is my recipe for the mini brownie bites. I know everyone likes brownies, but sometimes in little bites things  taste even better. Top it with “caramel” sauce that doesn’t make you crash and well, you found the perfect recipe for a sweet treat.

 

Good stuff. Guilt free.

Ingredients:

My Same Old Black Bean Brownie Ingredients:

1 Can Black Beans

2 egg yolks and 1 egg

1/3 Cup Organic Plain Pumpkin Puree

2 Tbsp Cashew Butter

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil

1/4 Cup Carob Powder

½ tsp Baking Soda

1/8 Tsp Sea Salt

4 Tbsp Raw Organic Honey

1/4 Cup Dark Chocolate Chunks (or carob chips J)

 

From the Sunnah Caramel Sauce Ingredients:

1 Cup pitted dates (balah J)

3 Tbsp Organic RAW honey

2 Tbsp Cashew Butter

1/2 Tsp Sea Salt

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

 

Nut Topping

24 Whole Cashews or Walnuts

 

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Spray your mini muffin baking cups with olive oil spray.
2. Place all Brownie Ingredients into your food processor and blend until smooth. 
   

   Place all the brownie ingredients in the food processor.

3. Spoon batter evenly into the mini muffin tin. Bake for 20 minutes.
   

   Fill the muffin tin with batter.

4. Let brownies set for 5 minutes and cool before adding caramel.
5. Place all Caramel Sauce Ingredients into your food processor and blend until smooth stopping to scrape down the sides. 
   

   Place caramel sauce ingredients in food processor.

   

   Scrape the sides down and allow it to become smooth.

    

6. Add caramel to the top of each brownie. Top each with a single Cashew or Walnut. 
   

   Top with caramel and cashews.

7. Bismillah and enjoy!

 

Zoom

Black Bean brownie bites with “caramel” sauce.

Rectangular…same dough

 

 

Mini Anise Date Bites

 

So I took my mother’s popular anise date bars and turned them into mini tartlets, with no gluten, added sugar, eggs, or dairy. So this is a perfect recipe with people who have intolerance or allergies.

My FAVORITE part about this recipe- you simply toss everything in the food processor- just like my famous black bean brownies. Speaking of brownies, next post up: mini brownie tartlets with a unique specialty topping.

For now, back to the date bites.

 

Yansoon (anise) Cookie Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Almond Flour
1/4 cup Organic RAW honey
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
Dash of Sea Salt
2 tablespoons Organic flax seed (ground or whole)
1 tablespoon Anise Seed
1 tablespoon ground anise

Date Sauce Ingredients:

1 pack dates ground
Cup orange juice (or coconut milk/almond milk) 

Walnuts to top

 

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.  Grease your mini muffin tin with coconut oil.

Place all yansoon cookie ingredients in the food processor until dough like.

Place cookie dough evenly into each muffin tin in a cup formation, keeping the center a bit open.

BAKE for 6-7 minutes

On your stove-top in a small sauce pan melt together your date filling ingredients.

Remove cookies and fill with the date sauce. Top with a half raw walnut. Back for additional 2 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Inside view.

 

Tea Please

Okay so the past few months I’ve had a daily dose or two of some Starbucks tea. While my friend would order a green tea with raspberry syrup and lemonade, I opted for an unsweetened iced green tea. Eventually I started ordering it with no “H2O” to make it stronger.

Just today my friend decided to try making her raspberry tea at home and purchased an entire bottle of the Starbucks raspberry syrup from Starbucks. Lol. I read the ingredients and freaked out. I knew it was bad, that’s why I didn’t get it in my order prior. But now I was confirming how bad it was. First ingredient read: sugar- and it got worse. Red dye, potassium sorbate, and more long multisyllabic words I only recognized as chemicals. It sounded more like a bathroom cleaner product than “food”.

Anyway….the competition went on. We used my usual organic green tea from home, and made an entire jug. After it cooled down she added lemonade and raspberry syrup, creating the ultimate same old drink from Starbucks.

I took on a different role. I squeezed fresh lime and lemon and added it to my tea. Then an idea hit me. I opened the freezer and grabbed bag of my frozen organic raspberries. I smashed them in a sandwich bag and threw them in my tea. I “shoke” it well since at Starbucks they are known as “Shaken ice tea” since they literally shake them well.

Point is, I loved my tea and was impressed. I couldn’t tell a difference in the color between the two. Other than the pieces in the bottom of my cup, which I enjoyed coming up the straw, they were twins.

 

Sure here’s the recipe.

2 cups organic green tea brewed

Water as you prefer

Ice cubes

¼- 1/3 cup fresh lemon or lime juice

¾ cup smashed frozen raspberries

 

Brew the tea and add it with the water, lemon juice, water, and raspberries. Shake well. Add the ice. Enjoy.

*If you dislike little raspberry bites floating in your cup you could sift it. 

My tea
Unsweetened Organic Green Tea, fresh lemon and lime, and organic raspberries.

Can you tell which is which?

Read your ingredients my friend!

Extra raspberries and floating limes…

Noor’s Crust-less Nutty Pumpkin Treat

I just love pumpkin, in everything. I make pumpkin cookies, cakes, breads, pies, and well this sort of treat that falls between a fudgy brownie and a pie, without a crust. Pumpkin is very high in Vitamin A, beta-carotene, and fiber. It’s very easy and best of all requires no flour, evaporated milk, or even a crust! 

 

Ingredients:
16 oz 100% Organic Pure Pumpkin

2 Organic Cage-Free eggs

1 medium banana

½ cup raw walnuts, ground* and some chunks

½ cup raw almonds ground*

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

*Use a food processor or a small coffee grinder to grind the nuts. If you dislike the feeling of chunky walnuts in your usual brownies or desserts, grind them completely as you would with the almonds. 

 

Directions:

 

STEP 1 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a spring form or 9inch pan.Ground raw walnuts and almonds using your food processor or grinder. 

Raw walnuts and almonds

Place in the grinder, and make almonds fine as powder. Feel free to completely grind your walnuts as well (I kept big walnut chunks for a crunch).

Just like that…

 

 

STEP 2

Mix all the (dry) last five ingredients (ground nuts and spices) in a large mixing bowl.

Mix ground walnuts, ground almonds, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl.

 

STEP 3
Stir in pumpkin and eggs.

1 ingredient: 100% Organic Pumpkin Puree

Add pumpkin and 2 eggs.

 

STEP 4
Mash the banana in a separate bowl, add and mix.

Mash the banana with a fork.

 

 

STEP 5
Place in the baking pan for 25 minutes.
Allow to cool and serve. 

I used a spring-form pan, you can use any kind.

Baked…

This is what I like about spring-form pans.

Slice and eat.

Enjoy.

Easiest Luscious Garlic

The benefits of garlic are vast, and the more I research and learn about them, the more I eat them! I now put fresh garlic in almost every dish I make, soups, salads, dressings, and main dishes. The best way to eat garlic is fresh of course, much better than ground or granulated. So this recipe is from my mom, and we enjoy altering it every now and then. The spices you can throw on these are unlimited! You want them spicy then throw on some red pepper, and if you prefer simplicity then salt and pepper do the job.

*A special fresh garlic salad and dressing coming soon!

Ingredients:

8-10 fresh garlic heads

Extra virgin olive oil (amount as desired, usually a teaspoon per garlic head is sufficient)

Salt

Pepper

Rosemary ground (I ground on the spot)

Red Pepper, ground mustard seed, crushed pepper* optional

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cut the top of the garlic straight with a knife allowing the cloves to peek through. Top with extra virgin olive oil followed by the seasonings (Putting the spices first will cause them to not stick).

Place a wax paper on top of a piece of foil and wrap well, making sure the wax paper won’t stick out. Close it tightly at the top. Do each garlic individually wrapped using the same method. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

Props to my bro again for amazing DSLR photos

Examine the wax topped with foil, wrapped tightly at the top.

That salad in the back is coming soon, as I’ve mentioned.

Noor’s Lemony Veggie Grape Leaves

Grape Leaves are a very popular dish in my culture. I made these two shown below a year ago while down South visiting my favorite uncle, and this is one of his favorite dishes so my sister and I got down to business. They are usually made with rice, ground beef, tomatoes, and parsley, but being a cook, I enjoy playing around with different ingredients (usually to make dishes healthier). This recipe is vegetarian and very tasty! Feel free to use any veggies for the filling that you feel suit. (I’ll definitely make a step by step post for these in the near future, since many people question the rolling process).

Place in a serving platter and garnish with fresh lemons.

Grape leaves with meat, I’m not a fan but…recipe to come later.

Ingredients:

2 jars grape leaves

2 cups washed brown rice or burghul (cracked wheat)

1 cup lemon juice fresh squeezed

½- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 large tomatoes

1 bunch fresh parsley

2 bunches green onions

5 cloves fresh garlic pounded

1-2 red, yellow, green bell peppers (optional)

1 tablespoon fresh or dried mint

1 teaspoon salt

¼ tsp cumin

1 teaspoon all spice (7 spice)

2 teaspoons onion powder

Directions:

1. Wash brown rice/burghul well in a large mixing bowl.
2. Wash and chop tomatoes, parsley, green onions, fresh garlic ground, and optional bell peppers. Add to mixing bowl.
3. Add lemon juice, olive oil, and spices. Mix well.
4. Roll into the grape leaves by placing a small line of filling the middle, folding the edges, and rolling tightly. Stack and cook in a pressure cooker about 45-60 minutes.
5. Enjoy with cucumber yogurt salad =)

Noor’s “I can’t Believe it’s Beneficial Blackberry Pie” and “Awesome Apple Pie”

Well what do you know, it’s pie season. While many people enjoy every bite of flaky crusted warm pies, others enjoy crumbles and cookies. The holiday season is about baking, but it doesn’t mean you are limited to making your pies and treats unhealthy. One of my siblings loves apple pie, and the store bought one scares me, mostly because it has over 20 ingredients. I decided to make my own.  I  threw in two pie recipes, two birds in one stone. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Whole wheat pastry pie crust:

2 cups 100% stone ground whole wheat pastry flour

¾ cup Organic whipped earth balance (or butter)

1 teaspoon salt

5-8 tablespoons ice water

Noor’s awesome fresh blackberries filling:

2 packs fresh blackberries (about 2 cups)

2-4 tablespoons Truvia sweetener

1 tablespoon 100% stone ground whole wheat pastry flour

Noor’s awesome organic apple pie filling:

3 honey-crisp organic apples (I did NOT peel )

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

¼ cup Truvia sweetener

Noor’s awesome crumble topping

1 cup 100% whole wheat pastry flour

½ cup Truvia sweetener

¼-1/2 cup Organic whipped earth balance spread

1 tablespoon cinnamon (ONLY for the apple pie.)

 

Directions:

STEP 1

Whole wheat pastry pie crust:
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter, scoop it into about 16 smaller pieces and use your hands to crumble. Leave coarse crumbs but not too large.
Add one tablespoon of water at a time and knead.
Shape into a disc and cover with wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Ingredients

Mix flour and salt. Toss in “butter spread” in small pieces.

Add water one tablespoon at a time and knead.

Separate into two.

Shape into disc and cover with wrap well.

STEP 2 

Noor’s awesome crumble topping:
Mix the flour and Truvia in a bowl. Divide EVENLY into two separate bowls.
Add cinnamon to one bowl and mix well.
Add in the Organic earth balance small pieces and use hands to crumble into coarse crumbs (use a kneading method as well).
Set aside until you fill your pie crust with the filling.

Mix Truvia and flour.

Crumble in buttery spread.

STEP 3

Noor’s awesome PIES:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When ready to make the pie you can either roll it out (with a rolling pin) or simply stick it in the 9inch pie crust and use your palms to press and spread. Make an edge, the higher the better.
Place the fillings (apple or blackberry) in the pie shell, careful not to go over the edges.
Top each with the crumble topping. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until topping is browned.
Allow to cool or serve warm. Enjoy this guilt free treat! =)
 

Slice fresh apples

Add lemon, Truvia, and cinnamon.

Blackberry

Roll or pat.

2 pies

Filling topped with crumble, pre-baked.

Done!

Apple

Close up

Quick & Easy Steamed Beets

I was not planning to put the beets recipe up now but since I was asked to I will. Beets are a very healthy vegetable which unfortunately many people don’t eat. You may have tried them canned or fresh, either way they are packed with over a dozen nutrients (the canning process does kill a good amount of phytonutrients though).  The red betalain pigment scares many away, but hey, that’s where all the benefit is! So this recipe is fairly easy, the hardest part is peeling the beets without looking like you just walked out of an art classroom. Other than that, it’s a quick and trouble-free method.

 

Ingredients:
5-6 medium fresh beets

3 fresh lemons squeezed

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Fresh mint leaves

Iceberg lettuce (for décor, and eating )

 

Directions:

STEP 1

Wash and peel the beets and dice them into cubes. Place them in your steamer and if you don’t have one then in a small pot filled with VERY little water (that  you shouldn’t toss out afterwards, since a good majority your vitamins will be in the water). Cover and allow steaming for about 15 minutes.

 

STEP 2

Mix the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and seasonings together in a small mixing bowl.

 

STEP 3

Lay out the lettuce on the serving platter. Top with the beets, and then drizzle the dressing. Garnish with fresh lemon and mint leaves.

 

Steamed beets in a serving platter.

Side view.

 

Noor’s Gone Mexican Vegetable Quinoa

For those who love the taste of Mexican, this is a healthier version of the good flavor, without the greasy meat and fatty cheese.

Quinoa is  a very healthy grain and an excellent replacement for rice. You can use it in main meals, snacks or desserts.

You can play around with this recipe by adding or omitting things you like. I’ve made it without the tomato base before and it was great.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup Organic Quinoa rinsed

2 cans black beans

2 cups frozen corn

2 cups chopped spinach

2 large fresh tomatoes chopped

1-2 fresh jalapenos

1 6 oz can Organic tomato paste

2 packets Organic Taco Seasoning Mix

Water for cooking (approximately 4-5 cups)

 

Directions:

STEP 1

In a large skillet (with lid) place corn, spinach, and washed black beans with 2 cups water. Simmer on medium heat.

STEP 2

Add tomatoes, tomato paste, taco seasoning, and rinsed Quinoa. Mix well. Add enough water (2 inches above). Cover and allow to cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally if necessary. Once Quinoa is tender cooked it will be transparent in color.

 

STEP 3

Fluff and serve warm. Suggested serving, fresh mint leaves and a scoop of Organic sour cream!

 

Place in a serving plate

Left: Mexican Quinoa top with mint and lemon
Right: Barley dish I’ll get to later

Serve with bread or eat it alone.
I’ll get to those beets later too.

Removing the Bad Rep of a Cookie

Almost everyone loves cookies, and I was one of those people, until I’ve learned what’s put in those things. While pre-packaged cookies are full of multi-syllabic ingredients I can’t pronounce and have an ingredient list bigger than the actual cookies, homemade cookies can be bad too. Eating a cookie friend makes means most likely white flour, butter (full of hydrogenated oils) and a ton of sugar. These are reasons why cookies have a bad reputation.

Well for someone who once loved cookies, and still does (only when I make them, and see what goes in them), I came up with what I call not so bad rep cookie bars. My intention was to make them gluten free and well, I tossed in oats which I would omit next time.

 These are HIGH in protein (thanks to the Quinoa), very low natural sugar (raisins), and taste great! The coconut oil is a “good for you oil”, so you could enjoy your cookie and not have to worry about what you just put in your body.  

Ingredients:
2 cage-free  Organic eggs

½ cup Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

¾ cup Truvia or Stevia (natural sweetener)

1 ½ cups Organic Quinoa flour (grind whole quinoa)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup raisins (or dried blueberries/cranberries)

1 cup walnuts (or any nut: chopped or whole)

¾ cup old fashion oats (optional, again I’d omit next time)

Directions:

STEP 1

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Beat the eggs and melted coconut oil. Mix well with the sugar. Add the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula.

Organic Quinoa, Organic Coconut Oil, Truvia

Add dry ingredients.

STEP 2

 Fold in the raisins, walnuts, and oats if you like. Use a spatula or your palms to fold the dough. The dough will be nice and thick.

Add walnuts and raisins (you can alternate)

                                                                   

                                       

STEP 3

Place in a baking dish and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until browned on the edges.

Bake 35-40 mins.

STEP 4

Cut and serve as desired.

Serve