Coffee Chocolate Muffins

I was looking for a simple muffin recipe I could make with pantry staples to bring for an island outing - the Toronto islands, that is, not very tropical but always fabulous fun in the summer. We sit on the beach, gorge ourselves on snacks, play some cards and badminton... except for the wicked sunburn on part of my leg, it was lovely! Before I left, I filled a tin with some Coffee Chocolate Muffins, grabbed a few small jars of jam (strawberry and blackcurrant) and set out for the ferry docks. Note: I made the recipe a little differently because I was browsing through many different recipes for ideas.

Dry ingredients: 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda and a pinch of salt. In a separate bowl, the wet ingredients: 1 egg, 1/2 cup oil, 1 cup strongly brewed coffee (at room temperature) and 1/2 tsp vanilla.

Mix the two together, and when they're almost incorporated, add in 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips. This is to make sure you don't overmix. Never overmix your muffin batter! Mmm, this batter was a lovely brown colour and looked super chocolatey!

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes. And voila - chocolate muffins just waiting to be eaten slathered with jam. You don't taste the coffee too much, it just helps the chocolate taste even better. To get coffee flavour you'd have to add instant coffee granules or coffee flavouring. These were simple, decadent and - most important for a picnic - portable! And they helped me use up some coffee beans that were too weak for my taste. Win-win.

Tunisia Meets Provence Salad

There's always at least one reader's recipe in Vegetarian Times, and they usually sound really good! I made this Tunisian/Provencal Salad because, while I spend most of the summer making couscous/quinoa/pasta salads since it's too hot to use the oven, I'd never made one with brown rice, and the different flavours intrigued me.

First, cook 1 cup brown rice. I buy the somewhat instant kind, and it only takes 10 minutes. Totally worth it. Now, the author would like you to salt the cucumbers and the onion, but I was lazy and didn't do it. I just mixed the ingredients in a large bowl: 1 sliced cucumber, 1 chopped green pepper, 1/2 chopped red pepper, 1 finely chopped apple, and some chopped black olives. I omitted the 1 1/2 cups onion (!) so I threw in some green onions. I also added in some chopped dried apricots. The dressing was 5 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. I omitted the dried mint because I didn't have any, and threw in some beans for added protein.

This wasn't the most successful recipe, partly my fault I think. It was just too sweet for me - with the apple, but also the apricot I added, it just didn't have enough bite. Maybe if I had put in all that onion it would have been more balanced. I enjoyed it the day I made it, but sitting in the fridge for a day or two didn't help. I'll try again with less apple, more veggies and more olives - the best part!

Coconut Laddu

Welcome to post #60! I do apologize for being away for so long - I had a travel opportunity I couldn't pass up, and spent six weeks in England and Scotland, doing nothing harder cooking-wise than putting a curry in the microwave and ordering fish and chips at various pubs. As you can probably guess, I was excited to get back to my fully-stocked kitchen! To get started, an attempt at an Indian dessert! I bought that rose water ages ago... of course being a middle-class white girl I got this Coconut Laddu recipe from Canadian Living magazine. Guess I should expand my horizons! But this was the easiest recipe, with so few ingredients, and it turned out great - if you like coconut.

Pour one can of sweetened condensed milk (sugary goodness) into a pan and heat to thicken for about 10 minutes. Couldn't tell you if it actually thickened, but the heat does make it easier to stir into the other ingredients, so it's an important step. Just keep it on low, it does burn quickly. Meanwhile in a large bowl, mix 2 cups unsweetened coconut, 1/3 c chopped dried apricots, 1 Tbsp rose water (I bought this kind at a nearby Indian grocery store, the perks of living in Toronto - I paid less than $2 and they are selling it on amazon for $8.95... silly) and 1/2 tsp ground cardamom.

Pour in heated milk and stir, then let it sit for a few minutes so it can cool down. Next, you get to play with your food - using your hands, form 1 Tbsp-sized balls, then roll them in more coconut and place each one in a candy paper cup. I did buy these at Bulk Barn, and they weren't cheap, but oh well, worth it for this recipe. Then you can eat them, or keep them in the fridge for up to a day.

These were a big hit! I made them for a beach picnic and while they did get a bit sandy, they were delicious - sticky and sweet. I loved the apricot so don't leave it out. No idea how authentic they are but I'll definitely make them again. Maybe throw in some pistachios next time...