Blondies with Nuts & Fruit

Melt 2 sticks of butter in a saucepan. Turn off the heat, and stir in two cups of sugar, then 1 cup of flour. Beat 4 eggs in a glass, then stir them into the mixture. Add a couple of handfuls of nuts and dried fruit, pour the batter into a greased brownie pan, and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until the blondies are done.

I used macadamia nuts, dried cherries, dried apricots cut into quarters, and coconut, but there are lots of delicious things you could add instead. Here are some possible combinations:

Lemon zest, lemon juice, and almonds

Walnuts, raisins, chopped apples, and a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg

Orange zest, orange juice, craisins, and pecans

How to Pack Lunch and Eat Breakfast Simultaneously

Ingredients in order of appearance: water, oatmeal, milk, dried apricots, apple, blue cheese, couscous, walnuts, almonds, carrots, Brazil nuts, grapes, orange.

Technique (aka cooking with your mouth full):

Put a pot of water on to boil. Better yet, switch on the electric teapot.

Pour some oatmeal and milk in a bowl. Microwave it for a minute.

Start chopping up a bunch of dried apricots and an apple.

Microwave the oatmeal for another minute. For some reason, this keeps my microwave from turning my oatmeal into a volcano.

Finish chopping up fruit. Chop up a wedge of blue cheese.

When the water boils, pour it over a bowl of couscous, and cover the bowl with a plate. You want a one-to-one ratio of couscous and boiling water, but I usually just eyeball it.

Dump the apples on top of the oatmeal, add some walnuts, and eat it while rummaging through the fridge for carrots and grapes. Put the carrots and grapes in a ziploc bag with some Brazil nuts. Make sure the grapes are on top.

Keep eating while you rummage around for an orange.

Check to see if the couscous has absorbed all the water. Couscous cooks in about five minutes, so it should be done by the time you’ve had half your oatmeal.

Scrape the couscous into a tupperware container, add the apricots and blue cheese, and top it off with a bunch of almonds.

Keep eating. Deposit all lunch items (couscous, carrots & nuts, orange) in backpack.

Scarf the last bite of oatmeal while tying shoes. Run for train.

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins with Almonds and Raisins

Photo credit: 1. spotted banana 2. golden raisins 3. almonds 4. eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

3-4 very ripe mashed bananas

3 tablespoons yogurt (you can use plain or vanilla – I like to use Greek yogurt)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour

1-2 handfuls of slivered almonds

1-2 handfuls of raisins

Beat the sugar and oil together. Beat in the eggs. (If you don’t have an electric mixer, beat the eggs in a glass first, then stir them in.)Add the mashed bananas. Stir in all the flour. Stir in the almonds and raisins.

Spoon the batter into a greased muffin pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. This will make somewhere between 12 and 15 muffins, depending on how big you make them.

Carrot Salad with Craisins, Pumpkin Seeds, Almonds, and Lemon

A delight to the eye and a delight to the palate, this salad has perfectly balanced flavors, textures, and colors. The carrots provide plenty of beta carotene. The pumpkin seeds provide iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and protein. The almonds provide manganese, vitamin E, vitamin B2, and protein. The lemons provide Vitamin C. The craisins provide fiber.

Here’s the recipe.

Peel and grate five medium-sized carrots. Add a handful of craisins, pumpkin seeds, and almonds. Squeeze half a lemon over the top. Taste, and add more lemon if you like.

Delightful Muffins

1. almonds 2. craisins 3. apricots 4. red lemon

I adore muffins. I made a batch this weekend and they were wonderful, full of apricots and almonds and craisins and orange.

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup orange juice

1 tsp vanilla

1 handful of dried apricots, cut into quarters

1 handful of craisins

1 handful of sliced almonds

Mix the dry ingredients together. Melt the butter and beat the egg. Add all the liquid ingredients and stir just enough to blend. Fold in the apricots, craisins, and almonds. If you have an orange or a lemon on hand, add a teaspoon of orange or lemon zest to the batter – I think it would be a good addition.

Spoon the batter into a buttered muffin tin and cook the muffins for 20 minutes or so in a 350 degree oven.

I recommend doubling the recipe – just freeze whatever you can’t eat.

This is Divine

Couscous with apricots, almonds, and blue cheese.

To make the couscous, put equal parts couscous and boiling water in a bowl. Cover the bowl with a plate and leave it to steam cook itself for five minutes.

Cut a bunch of dried apricots into quarters and crumble up a bit of blue cheese.

When the couscous has absorbed all the water, fluff it with a fork and stir in the apricots, blue cheese, and a bunch of almonds.

I like sliced or slivered almonds with this dish, but you could definitely use whole almonds instead, or a different kind of nut. (Or leave out the nuts altogether if you’re allergic to them.)