Like every year, at the end of last year I made a list of things I wanted to do. I’m a list person. I love lists and therefore have millions of these for any cause or purpose. They help me get focused on what I need to do and actually calm me.

Ironically, my list of goals for 2020 included things like reading more books and making a huge jigsaw puzzle (I know, you should always be careful for what you wish for…), which I obviously marked as checked with no problem. However, it also had in it things like getting to know a new country, which weren’t quite as possible this year…

So this year I decided not to make my annual list. Not because I don’t have such, I actually have, and lots of it. But for some reason I don’t feel like it this year, nor do it seems to fit the spirit of current time.

So instead of a list of plans – I made a strawberry shortcake!

My strawberry cake is basically a light sponge cake, topped with sweet strawberries and then an almond streusel … let me tell you one thing – wow. The batter of the cake has in it both almond flour and yoghurt, which makes the cake especially soft.

There are 2 versions to the recipe – one vegetarian and the other vegan. The vegan recipes follows the vegetarian one. Both are excellent!

May we a sweet year!

Looking for more sweet recipes to make you feel good?

• Vegan cherry crumb bars
• Vegan chocolate chip cookies with white chocolate and pistachio
• Upside down orange muffins with semolina and spelt flour
• Vegan tahini ice cream- no churn

Print Recipe

Strawberry Cake with Almond streusel

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: Sweet

serves: 1 20″ round cake pan

Ingredients:

• 100 gr / 3½ Oz butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 200 ml /7 Oz natural yogurt or greek yogurt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup ground almonds
• 10 gr / 2 teaspoons baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 300 gr / ¾ pound strawberries, washed and drained
• dusting sugar for topping as preferred

for the almond streusel –

• ½ cup sliced/ slivered almonds
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter, softened )please see notes(

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 330°F/170°C and prepare a baking pan greased or lined with baking paper.
• Prepare the almond streusel mixture – place all the streusel ingredients in a small bowl. Using your clean hands, process the mixture so that all the almonds are evenly coated. Keep aside.
• Wash the strawberries and slice them vertically in half and / or quarters. Keep aside.
• In a mixer bowl with a flat beater on, place soft butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Beat the mixture on medium speed until a creamy and even. Add an egg, continue to process until it is absorbed into the mixture and then add the yogurt. Process until a uniform mixture is obtained.
• Add the dry ingredients – flour, ground almonds, baking powder and a pinch of salt and process until a uniform mixture is obtained. If necessary – stop the mixer and scrape the sides with a spatula so that all the ingredients are mixed evenly.
• Transfer the mixture to a greased pan. Arrange over the sliced ​​strawberries and top it with the almond streusel we kept aside.
• Bake for 55 minutes to an hour, until the cake is completely stable and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out dry. Let the cake cool before you slice it.
• After cooling and/ or before serving, sprinkle the cake with dusting sugar.

Notes:

• The recipe is also suitable for 30 cm/ 12-inch bread pan
• you can substitute brown sugar with regular sugar
• As for the streusel – personally I prefer to use coconut oil (love the flavor it adds), but of course you can also use butter. In any case, it should be in a soft state. If the coconut oil/ butter is solid- heat it in the microwave for a few seconds, and if it is liquidish – put it in the fridge for a few minutes.

Print Recipe

Strawberry VEGAN Cake with Almond streusel

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: Sweet

serves: 1 20″ round cake pan

Ingredients:

• 1½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup ground almonds
• 1 cup brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• 10 gr / 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 100 ml / ½ cup coconut oil , in a soft or liquid state
• 125 ml /4½ Oz natural or greek vegan yogurt
• 113 gr / 4 oz apple puree
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 300 gr / ¾ pound strawberries, washed and drained
• dusting sugar for topping as preferred

for the almond streusel –

• ½ cup sliced/ slivered almonds
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, softened

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 330°F/170°C and prepare a baking pan greased or lined with baking paper.
• Prepare the almond streusel mixture – place all the streusel ingredients in a small bowl. Using your clean hands, process the mixture so that all the almonds are evenly coated. Keep aside.
• Wash the strawberries and slice them vertically in half and / or quarters. Keep aside.
• In a large mixing bowl place all the dry ingredients: flour, ground almonds, brown sugar, baking powder and a pinch of salt, mix. In a separate bowl, place all the wet ingredients: coconut oil (soft to liquid), vegan yogurt, apple puree, lemon juice and vanilla extract, and mix until well combined.
• Add the wet ingredients mixture to the dry ingredients mixture and mix well until a uniform mixture is obtained.
• Transfer the mixture to a greased pan. Arrange over the sliced ​​strawberries and top it with the almond streusel we kept aside.
• Bake for 55 minutes to an hour, until the cake is completely stable and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out dry. Let the cake cool before you slice it.
• After cooling and/ or before serving, sprinkle the cake with dusting sugar.

Notes:

• The recipe is also suitable for 30 cm/ 12-inch bread pan
• you can substitute brown sugar with regular sugar

Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out!
comment below or share it on instagram and tag #thehappylentils

הפוסט Strawberry Cake with Almond Streusel + Vegan Version הופיע לראשונה ב- The Happy Lentils.

Summer is here and it’s so hot outside! And in honor of the heat, today on the blog is a recipe for ice cream! Vegan, delicious and without the need for an ice cream machine. The base of the ice cream is coconut cream (so yes, there is an accompanying taste of coconut of course) and to get the excellent texture of this ice cream you must use a coconut cream of at least 17% fat. The preparation of the ice cream is soooo easy, but before that you must refrigerate the coconut cream (don’t open the can) in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. At this time the coconut cream splits into 2 separate layers. The top layer, and the one we will use, is a very thick cream, and the bottom layer is coconut liquid. This recipe does not require the coconut liquid but don’t throw it away – it can be used for other dishes or smoothies.

The ice cream you get in this recipe is what is call “an adult ice cream”, which means that it’s not too sweet. You can sweeten it more than the recipe indicate, but please try it first as it’s written. For those who want, you can also vary and add to the mixture nuts or chocolate chips or any other addition you like:)

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5 from 1 vote

Vegan tahini ice cream – no churn

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time2 hours hrs

prior refrigerating of the coconut cream8 hours hrs

Total Time2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course: Sweet

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of coconut cream- 400 ml /13.9-ounces each, at least 17% fat and chilled for at least 8 hours in the fridge
• 1/2 cup tahini, pure paste
• 1/4 cup silan (date syrup) or maple
• 6 dates – preferably majhoul, chopped

Instructions:

• Before making the ice cream, refrigerate the coconut cream cans for at least 8 hours. During this time, the coconut cream is separated into two layers – the top layer is a very thick layer of only the coconut cream, and below is a layer of the coconut liquid. For the preparation of the ice cream, use only the top and thick layer. The coconut liquid can be kept aside and used for stews or other smoothies.
• Without stirring or shaking the coconut cans, carefully open it. Using a spoon, remove the top and solid layer of coconut cream and place in a bowl. Using a mixer, beat the coconut cream for 3-5 minutes.
• Add raw tahini, silan or maple and chopped dates to the mixture. Beat again only until a uniform mixture is obtained.
• Transfer the mixture to a relatively flat dish and put in the freezer for two hours. That's it, the ice cream is ready! If you freeze the ice cream for a long time, you should take it out a few minutes before serving.

הפוסט Vegan Tahini Ice Cream- No churn הופיע לראשונה ב- The Happy Lentils.

It seems like everybody is outside. Walking around, hiking, going to the beach. As if we’re saying: “Don’t want to sit at home. Enough, we stayed at home enough.” Last week I went to my parents. And the funny car GPS, instead of taking me straight down the main road took me on such a bizarre turn through the country side. And the views are so beautiful, everything is green and blooming, and I suddenly realized how much I missed being outside, and all I wanted was to just stop in every corner, lay out some mat, and let my kids soak up some Vitamin D of early summer.

If you ask me, regardless the COVID-19, I’d rather take a deep breath in the fresh air outside rather then visiting the mall any time. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a day at beach, or a hike in nature or even a picnic in the local park, the main thing is to take advantage of this wonderful weather, which will soon be replaced by harsh heat, and preferably with my much loved family or friends.

And naturally when you go out (or any time for that matter), then food is an integral part of the event. Of course you can opt for the canned corn option… but I’m always in favor of taking things up a notch, and certainly when it comes to desserts. These delicious (!!) cherries crumb bars can be made at home, and if you manage not to finish them all, then you may pack them in a nice box and take it with you. So go out, breath the air, take a walk or a picnic, eat well, and of course don’t forget to clean up after you

Amazing and vegan cherry crumb bars that you just have to make. The filling is short-cooked cherries that turn into a kind of quick and yummy jam, and the crumbs get an extra crunch with sliced almonds. This is one of the most delicious things ever. The cherries can be replaced with other fruits, depending on the season, such as strawberries or plums.

Print Recipe

Vegan Cherry Crumb Bars

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Ingredients:

for the dough-

• 2 cups spelled flour
• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt

extra for the crumbs-

• 1/2 cup sliced ​​almonds

for the cherry filling-

• 400-gr/ 14-oz cherries, pitted
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1½ tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

• Prepare the cherry filling: In a small pot, place the pitted cherries, brown sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and cook on low-medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If at the end of the cooking it feels that the filling is too liquid add another teaspoon of cornstarch. Let cool.
• In a food processor or in a mixing bowl without a food processor, put in spelled flour, ground almonds, brown sugar, baking powder and a pinch of salt and stir slightly. Add vanilla extract and coconut oil. If the coconut oil is completely solid, it can be softened slightly in the microwave. Process until a uniform mixture is obtained.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and prepare a baking pan lined with baking paper.
• Use 3/4 of the dough mixture and using your clean hands, spread it evenly to the baking pan. To the remaining dough mixture, add sliced ​​almonds and process it with clean hands for large crumbs.
• Spread the cherry filling on the dough in a single layer. Sprinkle over the crumbs mixture over the entire filling.
• Bake between 35-40 minutes. Cool completely (important!) Before cutting it to your desired size crumb bars.
• Keep in a sealed box for up to 5 days. On hot days you should keep it in the fridge.

הפוסט Vegan Cherry Crumb Bars הופיע לראשונה ב- The Happy Lentils.

20 new year’s resolutions for 2020:

1. Read more books. I recently started putting it on my “must do” list to read at least half an hour a day. I admit, there are days when I really force myself, but it is important for me to reconnect with this simple activity and the quiet it brings with it. It is also important to me that my children will see me read.

2. Produce less garbage. 2019 has been a year with lots of ecological insights. I gave up on all disposable dishes long time ago, I try to sort all my garbage as I should, we all have reusable water bottles and straws and I even reduced dramatically my disposable wipes consumption. In 2020 I’ll step it up even more.

3. Do a billion pieces puzzle (well it doesn’t have to be a billion but you get the point). It’s a hobby I once had and neglected with the kids and the many screens that entered my life in the last decade… This winter, it’s time to mark this section on the list, plus puzzles are really cheap.

4. Discover a new country. A regular guest in every list and, for me, the most deserving. A really long journey abroad with my family is the pinnacle of my dreams, but will probably have to wait until 2021

5. Fix my fear of flights (and maybe some more on the way…). I have the most horrific fear of flights and must take medication before getting on a plane and even that doesn’t always help. It sucks, it paralyzes, I hate it. It seems to me that it’s time for some professional help on the matter… By the way, I’m scheduled to board a flight to London at the end of this month *alone* for the first time in many years, it will be interesting…

6. Take my dog Kutcher for a few days trip. Kutcher will be 14 years old on March. It’s obvious to me that his time with us is not unlimited. It’s time for a joint vacation that includes his three main hobbies – sunbathing, digging pits, and eating lots of cheese.

7. Volunteer. Take Tamar with me.

8. Drink less coffee. I was unsuccessful in 2019, recycling this new year’s resolution.

9. Get my mom’s recipe for her perfect Harirah soup. A hopeless decision, but I promise to try.

10. Not to get excited about laundry piles. Not to get excited about laundry piles. Not to get excited about laundry piles.

11. Continue to discover new music, kicking music, music not appropriate for my age. Keep going to lots of live shows.

12. Finding the perfect hair product for me. It’s unbelievable the amount of energy I’ve been wasting on this lately …

13. Develop hard copy photos, arrange it in albums. We shoot almost every second of our lives and then those moments remain buried (at best) in messy backup drives. I’m ashamed to say how long this section is in my lists …

14. Choose to laugh more at the nonsense the kids make, less to get upset.

15. Listen to more podcasts in traffic jams.

16. Learn to bake really good bread. My knowledge in that area is minimal, plus I really want the smell of bread in my home.

17. Treat myself for a day nap once a week. Either on Friday or Saturday. Or do I have to decide on a specific day for it to happen?

18. Seeing a really good standup performance.

19. Losing my grip on my kids a bit more. Not like I have a choice. Every day they grow older, they are more and more independent, make more and more decisions for themselves. And me? Most days I just try to resist putting them back in my womb.

20. Not to stick to lists.

Have a wonderful 2020 everyone

It’s a new year, and every new start should begin with something sweet – so we’ll have a sweet year! And I swear these cookies are a wonderful choice. Sweet, with a taste that just getting better and better with every bite, so yummy you won’t believe they’re vegan! Vegan chocolate chip cookies with white chocolate and pistachio, don’t say I didn’t warn you:)

Print Recipe

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies with White Chocolate and Pistachio

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course: Dessert, Sweet

serves: 20 cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (cane or demerara sugar)
• 1/2 cup muscovado (dark brown) sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut oil in liquid state (heat a few seconds in microwave if needed)
• 1/2 cup apple puree
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegan white chocolate chips or 100 gr/ 4 oz coarsely chopped white chocolate
• 3/4 cup natural pistachio, coarsely chopped

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and prepare an oven tray lined with baking paper or silicone roasting mat.
• In a mixing bowl, place flour, brown sugar, dark brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda powder and a pinch of salt. Stir.
• In a separate bowl, place the wet ingredients: coconut oil, apple puree and vanilla extract. Stir until uniform.
• Transfer the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until the entire dry mixture is assimilated. Add white chocolate chips and chopped pistachio and mix until well combined.
• Make about 5 cm/ 2-inch cookies balls from the mixture (possible with ice cream spoon or with clean hands). Place on the lined tray and flatten the balls with your hands or spoon to obtain a thick disc of 1-1.5 cm/ 0.5-inch high. Don't overcrowd the cookies as they slightly puff during baking.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on your oven until golden and irresistible. Cool and transfer to a sealed box. The cookies are kept for about 5 days, but there is no way they will last that long.

Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out!
comment below or share it on instagram and tag #thehappylentils

הפוסט Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies with White Chocolate and Pistachio הופיע לראשונה ב- The Happy Lentils.

As a child, we used to spend every Yom Kippur in my mom’s hometown city (Nahariya), where most of my mom’s family still lives. I can’t remember exactly if we slept at my late grandmother’s house or at my aunts, and the truth is that it doesn’t really matter, because for the 25 hours of Yom Kippur I couldn’t care less about grownups. Yom Kippur was all about my cousins, hanging out with them, moving from that park to this garden, from one aunt’s house to another, living in a children only world without any adult supervising (or at least that how if felt …).

I remember we were fascinated by the fasting. We constantly calculated how much hours we’d been fasting already (more like minutes…) and how much more we can last. We were little kids, so the fast was pretty much over by the time it was dinner time, 2-3 hours after it began, but that didn’t stop us from giving each other advises on how not to be hungry and getting into epic kids’ discussions about whether chewing gum is allowed on Yom Kippur, since it’s not really food but kinda is..

I remember one Yom Kippur we caught one of my cousins, who was already at the age that you suppose to fast in, eating chicken in his bedroom. For us kids, this was the biggest scandal to say the least, at that time I thought everyone who was old enough fast. We spent all that Yom Kippur deliberating whether to tell his mother and maybe get him into big troubles, or not to tell. In the end we didn’t tell, even though we all thought we should. At the moment of truth, no child was brave enough for the task. Today it’s quite clear to me that of course his mother knew that, how else did a plate full of chicken got to his room, but as a child I didn’t think that far.

When the time came, and the sun began to set, we all gathered in the synagogue’s square. Our kids’ world began, once again, to mix into the adults’ world, and we all looked to find three stars in the sky and hear the shofar, to single us the fast is over. After, we went to my grandma’s house and my dad, who always looked somehow close to god on Yom Kippur, blessed all kinds of things like wine and bread and this good smelling herbs. Then we always ate this very high and delicious orange cake and drink tea.
On the same night, we would return to our home in Kiryat Haim, and on the way back I would dream about the next Yom Kippur, and how maybe, only maybe, this time I’ll be grown-up enough to fast…

This recipe for oatmeal vegan cookies with apples has both oatmeal and granola in it, to help getting crunchier texture. The choice of the granola is important here, and I, of course recommend using my excellent homemade granola

Print Recipe

Vegan Oatmeal Cookies with Apples

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Dessert, Snack, Sweet

serves: 20 cookies

Ingredients:

• 3½ oz coconut oil, in a soft to liquid texture (heat slightly in microwave if solid)
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 4 oz apple puree, natural
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup granola
• 1 cut apple into tiny cubes (about a quarter of an inch)

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
• ,In a mixing bowl, place coconut oil in a soft or liquid state (if solid – slightly warm beforehand) sugar of two kinds, and mix. Add apple puree and stir again. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and stir until all ingredients are incorporated into the mixture. Finally add oats and granola and mix until uniform.
• Using an ice cream spoon or just a spoon, make dough balls about 1.5 inch in diameter and place on the baking paper, flatten the cookies to about half an inch high and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. Cool.
• The cookies are at their best fresh out of the oven, and can be kept well in a sealed box for up to a week.

הפוסט Vegan Oatmeal Cookies with Apples הופיע לראשונה ב- The Happy Lentils.

Can you feel it too? That the winter will end soon? Yes yes, I know, winter is not over yet. We still have many days of rain and cold ahead of us, but still, you can see the end. The first hint that winter is at its end I received a few weeks ago at the grocery store. Next to the register were stacked with strawberry boxes and a sign saying “The celebration started! 2 for 25” (at the beginning of winter one strawberry box can easily cost 25 ILS). Boom. Even though on that day there was a mad rain I realized – we’re nearing the end of winter.

An end is always the beginning of something else, and I love new beginnings (I don’t like endings but that’s a different subject). The potential at a new beginning is always a bit exciting to me. New season, new year, new week, even a new day. If there are those who go to sleep thinking about what was, I belong to those who think about what will be, and almost always positive. Such a hopeless optimist.

So soon the winter will be over. We’re all going to peel off all the layers we’ve been putting on ourselves all these past months. We’ll take off coats and sweaters and boots, and our skin, so covered these days, will feel the sun again. If winter is the time of convergence in ourselves, in our family and friends, then spring and surely summer, it’s time to go outside. Both physically and mentally. Our diet will also change. It’s already changing. Already we look at all the carbs that have warmed us all winter, all the soups and stews, and realize that this kind of eating is starting to exhaust itself. It’s not just a matter of “Prepare your body for summer,” it happens naturally, if you listen to the body.

There is something exciting in the changing of the seasons, it’s like nature’s way to tell us that one period is over, and another time begins, and when the next period is spring then all it’s surely involves feelings of renewal, of change. Soon it will be time to open wide all the windows in the house, store all the heavy blankets and let the body absorb a load full of vitamin D from the sun. Not yet, but soon. And about the strawberries? I love strawberries, strawberries that are great, but nothing beats mango.

I love granola. It’s good for breakfast, for an afternoon snack, it’s always fun having a jar of it at your home counter and the easiest thing is to take a bag of granola for work. I usually have a jar of my favorite granola at home (and if you haven’t tried it yet, you should!), But sometimes you just want some chocolate… This granola is also a bit like the end of the winter – we are signaling to our bodies that soon the days of warm and comforting dishes will end, but soon, not yet.

An important note – this granola is not sweet. It does have strong flavors of cocoa and hazelnuts. If you are interested in a sweeter granola, you may want to double the amount of sugar.

Print Recipe

Cocoa and Hazelnuts Granola

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

serves: 8 cups

Ingredients:

• 4 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup natural hazelnuts, , coarsely chopped
• 1 cup natural almonds, , coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup of silan (date syrup) or maple
• 1/4 cup canola oil (or any other healthy oil)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• Pinch of salt

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C.
• In a large mixing bowl, place oats, chopped hazelnuts, chopped almonds, cocoa powder, brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Add the wet ingredients: silan or maple, oil and water, and mix well until the mixture is fully and evenly covered.
• Spread the mixture over a large baking pan lined with baking paper and bake for about 35 minutes, during which time carefully mix the mixture at least once.
• Cool the granola completely. Then, stir in the chocolate chips (or dark chocolate chopped in the same amount).
• Keep in a sealed container for at least two weeks.

הפוסט Cocoa and Hazelnuts Granola הופיע לראשונה ב- The Happy Lentils.

Grandma Masuda, may she rest in peace, made the most delicious orange cake I ever tasted. A very high cake, baked in an aluminum mold with a hole in the middle, yellow as the sun, from all the oranges gramma had squeezed into. I can still see and feel its taste. I’ve had some good orange cakes since then, but no one compares to this cake. For years I’ve been trying to recreate her recipe, but I probably will never quite make it. It’s impossible to reminisce about this orange cake and not remember gramma’s apartment, with the old sideboard, and the glass-cabinet on it and inside pictures, including a picture of my grandparents looking straight at the camera. I think the picture was printed on a plate, but the years that have passed may be deceptive.

In front of the living room was a small kitchen, and at the end a stove, always with huge pots on it, filled with various wonderful dishes. No matter when you came, grandma always offered food, and when I say food I mean a crazy meal of a million dishes and salads, and there is no way you will not eat, even a little, because grandma didn’t really let go till you ate. After grandma died, so many people came to her funeral, some of them unknown to us. It turns out that grandma, who lived alone for many years, would walk around in the neighborhood and give out pots full of food to people who she knew needed a hot meal and couldn’t take care of it themselves, I can just imagine her walking around the neighborhood with pots, an old woman with a clear agenda of feeding the world. She saw it as a Mitzvah, and never told anyone about it.

Grandma Fanny, may she rest in peace, was probably the best cook in the world, except my mom. Throughout her life, until she got sick, she would command over huge meals, meals I still can’t decide if they had more participants or more dishes … I remember in great detail the preparations before the holidays, almost like a military operation, the whole house was filled with huge plastic basins, filled with all the market had to offer, and everyone had a different task- cleaning the artichokes, take beans out of its bags, cut the edges off the green beans. Days of preparations for the meal that is the crowning glory of the holiday. Before we would eat, we all sang all the holidays songs, because grandma never demanded anything except to hear us sing before eating, and for a few moments she sat, and only listen to all of the family singing with a little smile on her face.

On the Mimouna (the north-african jewish celebration that marks the end of Passover) we would never see grandma. She was too busy preparing us mofletta (Moroccan-jewish pancake) and barcokesh (dairy couscous) with sacks of flour and semolina that grandpa bought from the Arabs in the wadi at the end of the holiday. I remember as a child sneaking in to her kitchen and looking at the oil-spattered balls lying on the greased worktop just before spreading them one by one for delicious moflettas and then frying them in huge piles in a small frying pan that stood next to the full steaming pot of the couscous. I remember helping her, flattening the mofletta’s balls myself, passing the couscous through the colander, I remember the pride I felt, how I already knew in those moments that it was a great privilege that had fallen into my hands. I would give a great deal to return to those moments, even for a little while, and I’m sure I would ask her a lot of questions.

Grandma Fanny and grandma Masuda were part of a generation of women whose kitchen was (really) their place. Both women were brilliant, intelligent, and sensitive women, the world could enjoy their contribution very much, but the limitations for women at those times made the beneficiaries mostly family and acquaintances. From their small kitchens they fed generations of happy and satisfied people, and even today, years after they died, I can feel the wonderful flavors they have brought to my life. Because that’s how it is with good food, it stays with you long after the meal itself has ended.

Some recipes come from products you see in the market, some recipes pass from generation to generation, some of the most delicious recipes I know came from leftovers found in the refrigerator. This recipe was born out of a picture I had in my head, of the orange coin, like a small sun, on top of the muffins. I tried several versions, but once the semolina came into the picture, I knew I’d found it.

Upside down orange muffins, in a slightly healthier version than usual, and to my taste (much) tastier, with spelled flour, olive oil, ground almonds and of course, orange juice. The oranges at the bottom (or at the top) of the muffins are briefly cooked in sugar water and rosemary.

Print Recipe

Upside Down Orange Muffins with Semolina and Spelt Flour – the VEGAN version

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Sweet

serves: 20 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole spelled flour
• 1 cup semolina
• 1 cup grounded almonds
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda powder
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3/4 cup apple puree
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the upside-down oranges-

• 2 oranges, sliced into 1/4-inch/0.5 cm coins
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 rosemary branch

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Prepare a muffin tray and oil the cups.
• For the upside down oranges: In a suitable pot, place the sliced oranges, water, brown sugar and rosemary. Bring the liquid to a boil over medium heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Carefully remove the oranges and let cool. Continue to reduce the syrup for another 10 minutes.
• After the oranges have cooled a bit, carefully cut the orange peel around with a sharp knife, making round orange wheels. Place each orange coin in each of the greased muffins tins.
• In a mixing bowl place spelled flower, semolina, grounded almonds, baking powder and baking soda powder. Stir. In a separate bowl place the wet ingredients- orange juice, olive oil, apple puree and vanilla extract. mix until the mixture is well combined.
• Transfer the wet ingredients mixture to the dry ingredients mixture. mix until the mixture is smooth without any lumps in it. The mixture is slightly liquidish and that's fine
• Fill each of the muffins tins with the muffins mixture almost to the end. Bake for 20 minutes and allow it to cool for another 10 minutes. After cooling off, go with a knife around the muffins edges to help the muffins to be released, and then turn over the tray over a cooling net. Pour some of the sugar and rosemary syrup on each of the muffins.
• The muffins are best on the day of baking. It can be kept in a sealed container in the refrigerator for about 4 days.

Print Recipe

Upside Down Orange Muffins with Semolina and Spelt Flour

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Sweet

serves: 20 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole spelled flour
• 1 cup semolina
• 1 cup grounded almonds
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the upside-down oranges-

• 2 oranges, sliced into 1/4-inch/0.5 cm coins
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 rosemary branch

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Prepare a muffin tray and oil the cups.
• For the upside down oranges: In a suitable pot, place the sliced oranges, water, brown sugar and rosemary. Bring the liquid to a boil over medium heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Carefully remove the oranges and let cool. Continue to reduce the syrup for another 10 minutes.
• After the oranges have cooled a bit, carefully cut the orange peel around with a sharp knife, making round orange wheels. Place each orange coin in each of the greased muffins tins.
• In a mixing bowl place spelled flower, semolina, grounded almonds and baking powder. Stir. In a separate bowl place the wet ingredients – orange juice, olive oil, eggs and vanilla extract. beat until the mixture is well combined.
• Transfer the wet ingredients mixture to the dry ingredients mixture. mix until the mixture is smooth without any lumps in it. The mixture is slightly liquidish and that's fine
• Fill each of the muffins tins with the muffins mixture almost to the end. Bake for 17-20 minutes and allow it to cool for another 10 minutes. After cooling off, go with a knife around the muffins edges to help the muffins to be released, and then turn over the tray over a cooling net. Pour some of the sugar and rosemary syrup on each of the muffins.
• The muffins are best on the day of baking. It can be kept in a sealed container in the refrigerator for about 4 days.

הפוסט Upside Down Orange Muffins with Semolina and Spelt Flour הופיע לראשונה ב- The Happy Lentils.

I remember those minutes of leaving the house in the mornings a few years back when Tamar and Ido were still in kindergarten …

We are all set to go. I take my bag, then her bag, and his bag. In my right hand I pick up my lunch bag, and my keys. With my free hand (free?) I put on my sunglasses.
“Come on, let’s go to the kindergarten.”
They run and cling to the door, waiting to charge…
“Wait, be careful, stay away from the door, I open it”
I open the door carefully.
“Tell Kutcher (their four legs brother) goodbye”. “Bye Kutcher.” “Bye Kuti”. “Bye Kutcher.”
We leave the house and I lock the door.

Tamar orders the elevator. Ido runs to turn on the light. He stands at the switch and raises his hands up. “Light .. Light ..”. I pick him up so he can turn the light on. He becomes heavy the little fellow… The elevator doors open up and Tamar enters. I run quickly with all the bags and block the elevator doors so that they won’t close suddenly without us. Even though the elevator is here, Ido also presses the button to call it and then enters. Everyone is in.

Tamar presses the button to the ground floor. The elevator doors close. Without thinking twice Ido jumps and presses the button to the second floor, the floor we’re in. The doors open again. I give him the look, adding a little smile, and the doors close again. He jumps again to the elevator buttons and presses again on the second floor button. The doors open again. “Ido no, not now”, I mumble.  I corner both of them physically and block the elevator buttons. The doors close again. The elevator begins to go down, I clear the way to the buttons and Ido runs and presses again on the second floor (too late ..), and on the minus one floor …

We made it to the entrance level. The little ones run out in a frenzy. I wonder why is it and don’t know if to tell them to stop or smile for the naivety it represent. Tamar is first to the entrance door and pushes it. I rush quickly and hold it before it will be slammed on Ido and he passes me without noticing there was ever any danger. They continue their run outside, to the car, Tamar to the right side of the car, Ido to the left.
I open the door to Tamar and move to the other side of the car while she’s climbing to her chair. “Mum, buckle me up first!” “Of course”. I open the door to Ido and he begins to climb to his seat. I follow him with my eyes and come back again to Tamar’s side. I fasten her seat belt, and give her a kiss. “Do you want to close the door by yourself?” Slam. I Move to back to Ido’s side, open the passenger front door, and put down my lunch bag, then Tamar’s bag, then Ido’s bag, and then my bag and close the door. Then I go to Ido’s door and fasten his seat belt. a kiss. “Do you want to close the door by yourself?” Slam.
I return to the driver’s side of the car. Suddenly there is silence. They’re both safely in the car, I’m out. I Open the driver’s door, get in and start the engine. I open the air conditioner, turn the radio on, and put the car in reverse. “Mom.. don’t forget to put your seat belt on!”

A few years have passed since then. Tamar and Ido walk on foot to school. They don’t need my help to turn the light on or call the elevator, they also carry their own bags (most of the time). And still, those minutes, the minutes when you leave home to start a new day, always carry a certain feeling of frenzy, and in this sense they seem to repeat themselves every day.

These muffins can be used as a great breakfast. They are tasty, pretty, have oatmeal and whole wheat flour in (as far as I’m concerned, that’s a check on upgrading to a healthier version) and you can eat them on the way in the days you don’t really sit down to eat breakfast. When I prepare them I immediately freeze almost all the amount, and then when I wake up, take a few from the freezer – a few minutes outside and they defrost great.

For the tahini and silan (date syrup) spread use a store-bought spread that I live in peace with. I tried to make a kind of homemade paste with raw tahini and silan and the truth is that the muffins were really ugly. When the children were small I made them with Nutella spread instead of tahini, and also these days, most of the time, I make some of the quantity this way.

Banana Muffins with Tahini and Silan Spread
for 12 muffins

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
1½ cups whole wheat flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup natural brown sugar (demerara or cane)
2+1/2 teaspoons baking powder (10 gr)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
120 gr/4.5 oz tahini and silan (date syrup) spread (a teaspoon for each muffin, I use this)

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C, line a 12 muffin pan with muffin tins.
2. In a medium bowl combine all the dry ingredients and stir.
3. In a small bowl beat egg, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Add the mashed bananas and stir till well combined.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients bowl and stir only till combined.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin tins. Add to each muffin a teaspoon of the tahini and silan spread, and with a toothpick or a knife cut the tahini spread into the batter making some sort of a star.
6. Bake between 17-20 minutes, till the muffins are golden and stable. Let it cool completely on a cooling rack.
7. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge up to 5 days, or in the freezer up to 3 weeks.

Notes:
• As said, you can use Nutella spread instead of the tahini spread. You can also combine the two spreads (1/2 teaspoon each from both spreads) and it will turn up yummy.
• For those who like the flavor, add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the mixture.

הפוסט Banana Muffins with Tahini and Silan Spread הופיע לראשונה ב- The Happy Lentils.