Not sure what to do with that eggnog or almond nog? Other than making chai, latte, and hot chocolate, substitute this sumptuous and flavourful liquid for your favourite nut milk in your regular recipes, and you got yourself a Christmas treat.



My budding vegan baker at home pulled out the stops and made her first yeast bake. And what a learning curve it was ... and the rolls came out picture and palate perfect!! I, on the other hand, am not so lucky when it comes to yeast, and happily delegate those recipes to my son, who I call the 'yeast beast'. Seems we have another yeast baker at home. I so happy.



The combined aroma of the almond nog and bread baking that emanates from the kitchen ... especially when it's super chilly outside ... it's just so comforting. Totally drew everyone out of their rooms into the kitchen just to see what's in store for them. They're kind of spoiled, I know :)

Just when I thought you can't push the envelope on a classic banana chocolate chip muffin. You can!

I promise you, this will be your new go-to recipe for bringing to school, work, friends, or whipping up when you have a craving at midnight. This recipe makes 24 awesome muffins. Rightly so. Because you can always freeze them, you know? Not that there will be a shortage of peeps you can share it with. Really, it's just banana and baking stuff, not something super fancy, so please share the love. There has not been an ungrateful soul so far, except those trying to stick to their keto diet. LOL!

Ingredients:
Crumb:
50 g (<1/4 cup) light brown sugar
60 g (1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
Pinch of ground cinnamon
42 g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter

Muffins:
420 g (3-1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
6 ripe bananas, mashed
100 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
165 g (2/3 cup) unsalted butter, melted
350 g (2 cups) chocolate chunks

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, combine all the crumb ingredients.
2. Work them together by pinching them between your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse wet sand.
3. Place the bowl in the fridge while preparing the muffins.

4. Preheat the oven to 175C or 250F.
5. Line 2 muffin pans with cupcake or muffin liners.

6. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
7. In a medium bowl, whisk the mashed bananas, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and butter.
8. Fold the flour into the banana mixture, then add the chocolate chunks, mixing until just combined.
9. Fill the paper liners up to 2/3 full.
10. Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top of the muffins.
11. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden, rotating the pans between the oven shelves about 15 minutes into baking when the muffins have risen.
12. Transfer to a wire rack when safe to handle and let cool.

By the way, if you're not a fan of the crunchy crumbly topping and prefer to have a classic, try my ever-so-popular banana chocolate chunk muffins instead :)

And as always, bake with love!

I actually subbed a 1/4 cup of oat flour for the all purpose, because oatmeal and chocolate, hmmm, why not? As for the cocoa, find the best and darkest of the lot. Fortunately, I keep a huge stash of the good stuff :) Love how buttermilk brings slight tang to the batter, while olive oil offers fruity richness.

Even their cuisine reflects their enterprising nature. Leftover dal is mixed with atta to make a sort of griddle roti, our saibhaji is what came out of leftover mung bean dal and lots of spinach ... and mani seyal, a favorite Sindhi breakfast dish of mine is basically leftover seyal mixed with leftover rotis or manis, which is what we Sindhis call chapatis or rotis.



It's been forever and a half since I had mani seyal, so by gosh, I was going to make a typical Sindhi breakfast of seyal dabroti for tomorrow. Dabroti being bread ... since of course, I am not the kind of lady of the house who is able to whip up chapatis on a moment's notice. I, unfortunately, have never been trained in the ways of that world. So no mani, just dabroti for me.

This is seriously pancake porn if I ever saw it! Super soft, luxuriously light, and fabulously fluffy. I promise you this is the best pancake you'll make. Naturally sweetened with (unsweetened) applesauce, elevated with a good dose of baking powder, this is one pancake you won't need to dress up. Your fruit is in the batter, baby! And after a long and arduous night, it needs to be simple, comforting and oh-so-hearty.


Straightforward recipe, minimum fuss, two bowls, then wet ingredients into the dry. And if you got a cast iron pan ... this is the one thing you should be cooking in it. I had to fish mine out from the dark recesses of my cabinet, and luckily it was still seasoned nicely. Never again will you make pancakes in a non-stick pan if you got one of those cast irons after you see how beautifully it comes out. After all, you should be using it for more than self defence.


 I made these adorable mini ones too. Aren't they cute?

On side note, these do not really taste of apples at all. My hubby who detests cooked apples, as in apple pie, couldn't really tell there were apples in there. He loved it so much that he had two helpings of a triple stack! Surely, you don't need to take his enthusiasm and my word for how amazing these are. Please try them yourselves ...

This recipe makes 8 large or 12 medium pancakes. I made a double batch, as usual ;)

Ingredients:
185 g (1-1/2 cups) whole wheat pastry or cake flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 eggs, at room temperature
240 ml (1 cup) buttermilk, at room temperature
90 ml (1/3 cup) unsweetened applesauce
30 g (2 tbsp) butter, melted

Directions:
1. If you haven't got buttermilk, simply add 1 tsp of lemon juice to the milk and set aside to curdle.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together.
3. In a medium bowl, beat the egg, then combine with the buttermilk, applesauce and butter.
4. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, pour the wet ingredients into it and mix until no lumps of flour remain.
5. Heat your cast iron pan or a non-stick fry pan.
6. Brush with a bit of butter.
7. Ladle a 1/4 cup of batter in the centre, cooking until the surface starts bubbling.
8. Flip and cook a further 1 minute.
9. Keep warm in a parchment lined baking sheet in a 120C or 240F oven.
Or who are you kidding? Serve immediately, there's a line up right behind you.

My Mom almost never cooked as far as I can recall, save that one pineapple fried rice episode. Not because she wasn't culinarily inclined, she just never needed to cook. That being said, I credit her resourcefulness and her palate that there was always delicious food on the table.



Tante Lily was a constant source of that good food, and this recipe made its way to our table on plenty an occasion. This soufflé works wonderfully for brunch or lunch and would be cooked in a large casserole dish to feed a crowd. And just like a soufflé, egg yolks are mixed into the roux, then the beaten whites are folded in to aerate the batter.



This recipe lends itself to a host of possibilities for fillings. Tante Lily usually makes chicken and vegetable soufflé, ham and cheese soufflé, and has even included fish on one occasion. Here, I've made a vegetarian version with frozen vegetables. Hey, you can even make it a clean-your-fridge exercise. Much like a quiche, all you need is to get the ratio of eggs to milk right, and the rest is up to the imagination.



I really liked the spongy and airy texture of the batter, and the pinch of nutmeg and dash of Tabasco truly heightened it and made this a delectable treat. A salad on the side would be ideal for light fare.

What's not to love about cauliflower? It's the superstar produce of the year! Transformed in myriad ways into fried 'rice', pizza crust, steak, wings, and now pancakes. So versatile, so easy to work with, and hello ... 77% of your daily recommended allowance of vitamin C!


I made these savoury pancakes for brunch, and it was so so good, which I enjoyed with some eggs and sausages. That bit of sour cream up there was like the icing on the cake. It provided a smooth silky texture to contrast with the bits and bites of cauliflower and green onions. Hey ... we could also make teensy pancakes, like blinis, to go with smoked salmon. That would be cute, if there ever was a cute pancake not shaped like a Hello Kitty. LOL!

And who's to say you can't make a sweet version of this? Just a pinch of salt and a tad more of sugar will do the job.

Savoury or sweet, if you have a head of cauliflower sitting in your fridge, pancakes are always in. Breakfast, brunch, tea time (mini blini version), and dinner too. And get creative with the toppers, or like me, just wing it, cleaning out the fridge in the process.

More power to cauliflower!

Ingredients:
200 g cooked cauliflower rice
8 tablespoons almond flour
4 eggs
4 tablespoons milk (I used almond milk)
1 tsp salt for savory pancakes
2 tbsp sugar for sweet pancakes

But with cornstarch at hand, and buttermilk just a tablespoon of vinegar away, make this recipe. You will understand why this is indeed a fabulous waffle recipe. And in that half an hour of waiting for the batter to develop, prep your fruits, and make a cup of equally amazing coffee to pair this decadent breakfast treat with.

This recipe is adapted from Aretha Frankenstein's waffles of insane greatness, and makes about 10-12 waffles, depending on the size of your waffle maker.

Ingredients:
250 g (2 cups) all purpose flour
60 g (1/2 cup) cornstarch
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
480 ml (2 cups) buttermilk, at room temperature
160 ml (2/3 cup) melted butter, cooled
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together: flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Make a well in the centre and add the buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, and the vanilla extract, whisking the wet ingredients together first, before incorporating them into the flour.
3. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let the batter rest for 30-45 minutes.

4. Preheat your waffle iron and ladle the batter in, cooking it on a medium high temperature until it browns slightly.

Serve immediately with your preferred sweetener and fruits in season.

To serve a batch, keep warm in a preheated 95C or 200F until everyone arrives.

To keep, cool on a cooling rack, then refrigerate for up to 4-5 days. You can heat these best eva' waffles in a toaster for breakfast the next day or on a lazy weekend morning.

The first appearance of confit byaldi came from the kitchen of the French chef, Michel Guérard, to whom we can attribute the delicate slicing and the baking of this dish, instead of the traditional cubing and frying of the vegetables in a classic ratatouille. He took a cuisine classique and created a lighter nouvelle cuisine version.



Confit Byaldi was recently popularized by the Pixar movie, Ratatouille, whose producer interned for a few days in the kitchen of notable American chef, Thomas Keller's 'The French Laundry' in the Napa Valley. When asked what iconic French dish Keller were to serve an acclaimed food critic, the chef decided he would make ratatouille, but in the confit byaldi style.



Keller added to Guérard's style with the use of a pipérade, a tomato and bell pepper sauce (as shown on the top photo) under the vegetable slices, and a vinaigrette (bottom photo) on top of the vegetables.



The confit would then be baked in the oven with first, a parchment on top to steam the vegetables, then without the parchment, to delicately roast and caramelize the vegetables in the final stages of cooking.


The resulting baked dish is then served on individual plates with a dollop of pipérade in the centre, on top of which the vegetable slices are fanned, then finished with a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette.


Confit Byaldi been on my bucket list for a while now and voilà, it is now on my plate. And the blog. Whew! Not only is it a feast for the eyes, it is très délicieux as well.

This recipe is baked in a 33x23cm (9x13inch) baking pan, and serves 6 as an appetizer.

Directions:
Pipérade:
1. In a sauté pan, heat the oil, then sweat the onions, garlic, and chopped peppers until softened.
2. Add the tomatoes and their juices, and the herbs, simmering on a low heat until slightly thickened and most of the liquid has evaporated.
3. Taste, season with salt, and remove the leaves and herbs.
4. Transfer to a bowl, then set aside to cool.
5. Reserve 2 tbsp of the pipérade for serving.
Note: Keller's recipe has the bell peppers roasting in the oven before adding them to the onion, garlic, and tomato mixture. Here, I just cooked it, with the skins, with everything else.

Vegetables:
1. Lightly butter a casserole dish with olive oil, spread the pipérade on the bottom of the dish.
2. Working from the sides, arrange the vegetable slices in a slightly overlapping manner towards the centre of the dish.
Tip: I found it faster to lay the different vegetables four at a time on my palm and then transfer them to the baking dish, instead of picking and transferring them one at a time. You may not use all the vegetables you painstakingly prepared. Don't fret.

3. Preheat the oven to 135C or 275F.
4. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, garlic, and thyme.
5. Season with salt and pepper. Taste, and adjust if needed.
6. Drizzle this mixture over the vegetable slices.
7. Cover the casserole dish with parchment paper, then with foil, sealing the edges.
Tip: Don't forego the parchment as the vegetables may get stuck to the foil, but not the parchment. Then why the foil? Because the parchment doesn't grip the sides of the pan and doesn't seal the steam in. Aha!

8. Bake in the preheated oven for 2 hours until vegetables are tender. Gently poke a skewer or a paring knife into a vegetable slice to test.
9. Uncover both foil and parchment, and bake a further 30 minutes, taking care that is isn't browning. Cover again if it does.

Now this dish actually improves with age, and is best the day after. After it is cooled, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to two days. It gives the pipérade time to intensify and the vegetables to soak up all the surrounding flavours. To reheat, bring the casserole dish to room temperature, and place in a 175C or 350F preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.

To serve:
1. Make the vinaigrette by whisking reserved pipérade, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh thyme, and salt and pepper in a small bowl.
2. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Set this aside.

3. With a spatula, lift about 4 inches worth of the hot/warm overlapping vegetables.
4. Hang on to this while you get a dollop of pipérade from underneath.
5. Place the pipérade in the centre of the plate.
You didn't drop those veggies, did you?
6. Whew! Now fan them on top of the mound of sauce, using your fingers to guide them.
Surely you didn't think they were going to fall into place on their own.
7. Top with a spoonful of vinaigrette on top.

This is a recipe to make when you have leftover vegetables, some potatoes, milk, eggs, and some cheese. And most of us will have them, in varying quantities. Quiches are, in a way, like fried rice. You really don't need a recipe to make them. Just a guideline of how many eggs to how much milk. And you're set. Kinda. Everything about a quiche can be just the way you like it. I went all veg. Lacto-ovo-vegetarian on it, that is.


And this is what I would call an anytime dish. This all vegetable quiche can take you from breakfast to lunch and beyond. It's light enough for the start of the day. For lunch you can pair it with a salad. And hey, it's even great as a midnight snack! So there!


Oh ... did I mention how portable it is? I packed a generous slice for my snack / brunch / workday meal. Super delicious.


These green bits? Chopped brocolli florets. There was a handful sitting on the bottom of the bag of frozen brocolli. And I wasn't about to throw them, so I scattered them on top of the colourful vegetable slices. Eating the rainbow, for sure.