Recipes – Bake 2 meditate

Easy Cookies Recipe

Morning snacks are my ritual as I tend to wake up early, and by 11:00 am, I look forward to sitting and enjoying a coffee cup with a small treat. This recipe is perfect with milk or coffee. A straightforward cookie recipe that is relatively less in calories than the store-bought ones, it is also customizable to any taste or occasion.

From the photos, you will notice that the cookies are a bit brownish; I like to bake with coconut sugar; it is a healthy natural option that adds a lovely color and unique aroma to my sweet bakes. I will share my top favorite type at the end of the article. I want to note here that is an amazon affiliation link, for which I will get a small share of the profit at abosuletly no additional cost for you.

Oil-based vs. butter-based cookies

In this batch, I used vegetable oil, and it gave me the same flavor and result as when I used butter in previous batches. I guarantee you will be able to mix and shape this recipe in half an hour.

Ingredients

2 eggs with little vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil, coconut oil adds a nice flavor here.
1 cup of your preferred sugar ( I used coconut sugar)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder.

Steps

Heat the oven at medium temperature while preparing the cookies.
Prepare the pans with parchment papers on top.
Mix the wet ingredients first, then start adding the sugar, flour, and baking powder.
Once the dough is formed, you can roll between 2 parchment papers or plastic wrap
Then cut the shape you desire with a cookies cutter or any round shape you have; check the end of the post for the link to my favorite brand.
Another method is to use the cookie press maker and check the article’s end for the link to my favorite brand.
Once pans are filled with cookies, bake for 10 minutes on medium heat.
Remove to cool down; you can serve it or fill it with your favorite chocolate spread, jam, or any else.

Check the photo for inspirations; it is worth noting that the cookies are mild in sweetness as I used chocolate spread for filling; if you intend to serve without filling, I suggest adding two tablespoons extra sugar.

Follow my Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/bake.2.meditate/ for the full video

If you are looking for a cookie press set, check this one

https://amzn.to/3ATWJch

This is my favorite coconut sugar

https://amzn.to/3hZtCeU

This is the easiest handy cookie set

https://amzn.to/3r4M6Pk

P.S: the above are amazon affiliate links, I am an amazon associate and I will get a tiny portion of the sale profit at no additional cost for you. It is the only way I can manage to develop my website content.

Savory Marrow Tart from scratch

Can be made eggplant/ zucchini

Every weekly grocery shopping, I always buy at least one kilo of baby marrows; I love their taste, color, tenderness, and adaptability to any flavors. In my hometown, Marrows are staple veggies in every house. The perfect recipe is stuffed marrows with rice and minced meat, or call them “Mehshi Koussa.” I promise I will post this recipe soon.

To make this savory tart, you need to build three equally important parts: the crust, the marrows, and the filling. When I say tart, you may think about the immense amount of butter I need to make a perfectly baked pâte brisée, but this recipe is different. Keep on reading!

My recipe is a bit different from others because I love to eat as clean as possible and always attempt to increase nutritional value and minimize unnecessary calories.

Part one: The Crust

A bit of flour and extra virgin olive oil can do wonders; I used a 20cm round baking pan:

250 grams flour of choice (I recommend an equal mix of cornmeal and wholemeal)
70 grams extra virgin olive oil
60 ml water
One garlic clove minced
Salt & pepper

The steps are as simple as 1,2,3: mix the olive oil with the flour and seasoning. Add the water little by little until the dough forms. Transfer the dough to a baking pan covered with parchment paper and try your best to apply the same thickness on the bottom and sides. You need two to three cm sides (enough to cover the width of the marrow).

Once done, with a fork, try to poke the dough and bake for five minutes in a medium heat oven, just enough for the crust to harden. Set aside to cool.

Part two: The Marrows

Marrows are tender and filled with water, so the best is to bake them a little before building the tart to avoid the moist.

Half kilo of marrows, around six medium-sized marrows (hint: this recipe is perfect with eggplant and zucchini)
Two tablespoons of nutritional yeast (they are an excellent addition for their nutritional benefits, cheesy flavor, and flaky texture as bread crumbs)
Two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Cut the marrows into slices of 3 mm; you do not need very thin slices as they will burn and very thick will take time to cook. Mix with the seasonings and olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes in a medium to high heat oven. It would be best if you had them soft enough to shape but not well cooked. Set aside to cool for ten minutes.

Part three: The filling

This filling will be the glue in this recipe; Marrows are known for their mild flavor. We do not want a strong filling taste to hide the marrow’s flavor.

One cup of milk of choice (I used low-fat milk)
One egg
One tablespoon of flour
Salt, pepper, paprika, nutmeg, garlic powder

No need to cook the filling, whisk and make ready.

Building the marrow tart

I use the word building a lot, probably because of my architectural educational background. For me, a recipe is built the same way as any other project. Importance must be given equally to all parts and steps.

Now we can lay the marrows over the crust, trying to shape them like a flower; they look beautiful once baked. Pour over the filling and cover with shredded cheese. The tart will need twenty-five minutes to bake at medium heat. Let rest ten minutes before slicing.

This recipe can be a side dish, but it is perfectly filling on its own. Pair it with a nice bowl of your favorite soup, and you can call it a treat.

If you like this recipe, please press the like button. I will be happy to see your version when you bake it; feel free to tag my Instagram and Facebook pages. Use #bakewithyasmine.

Happy baking

Beetroot and walnuts bread Recipe: Yes, I can Bake!

My story with baking started as an escape from my long tiring full-time job; I used to come home late at night feeling stressed and overwhelmed. I tried meditation and listening to calming music, nothing worked at first with me, as my head would wander and start making to-do lists, shopping lists, even meeting appointments and drama work stuff. Baking on the opposite grounded my mindset; I was able to switch off, focus on the recipe, finding a calming rhythm while measuring, mixing, kneading. What is better, it was rewarding. You end up with great baked bread, dinner, or even sweets.

This Beetroot bread is an exercise of mindful eating that I wanted to experiment with: making nutritious food that rewards your body while still called Carbs! If you are recovering from the diet drama like me, you will understand how enjoying carbs was taboo in the diet communities.

Feel free to scroll down to the recipe ingredients, or keep reading for very interesting facts.

Beetroot and Walnuts Benefits

Beetroot or beets as commonly known, are famous for their fancy color, but there is more to that, count with me: it is Low in calories, loaded with vitamins and nutrients. Beets contain nitrates which make our heart happy and blood pressure in control. Needless to say, that is filled with dietary fibers that benefit our digestion and consequently other body organs.

Walnuts are a great source of healthy fats, perfect nutrition for our brain, skin, heart. Although they are high in calories, I used a small amount in this recipe.

Home-baked vs. Store-bought

I cannot argue enough how homemade is always the best choice for very obvious reasons. First, you know what you put in your cooking or baking. Second, you select good materials and reputable brands and know very well what is going in your body.

Store-bought is convenient, I agree, and there are excellent brands that sell high-quality products. So if you have time to invest, I suggest you go for homemade, whether bakes or others. It is cost-effective as well, especially when you have a family to feed.

Always go simple; a little water, flour, and yeast can do wonders; it does not have to be a perfect sourdough or a fancy recipe; go basic and wholemeal flour when you can. I like to try different types of flour such as cornmeal, oat, rye, almond, coconut. It is incredible how recipes turn with a change of flour type.

Hand Kneading vs. Bread Maker

Again no need to invest when you do homemade; hand kneading goes very well; I purchased a bread maker almost eight years ago and have been using it but not in all my recipes. To have a nice good hand knead, you need around fifteen minutes at every round; what a physical exercise, huh? It is good to experiment here. I like the bread maker to mix the dough and let it rise, but I prefer to use a regular oven. When I use the bread maker to bake, the bread ends up a bit dense due to size restrictions. As for taste-wise, both are perfectly fine, and again it goes back to the time factor. If you have enough to invest, go ahead. If not, any alternative will help.

Ingredients & Steps

This recipe is enough to make a medium-size loaf, around 750 g. As I used a bread maker, its instructions call to start with liquids, then flour, then yeast. Please follow your bread maker instruction; if you are planning to make it by hand, I will list the sequence in a bit:

Water ¾ cup
Grated raw beetroot 1 ¾ cups (around 250 g)
Wholemeal flour 4 ½ cups (around 500 g)
Butter 2 tablespoons
Salt 2 teaspoons
Sugar 1 teaspoon
Dried yeast 2 teaspoons
Walnuts 2 tablespoons

For a bread maker, put the item in the above sequence and select the wholemeal program and select the medium size button for hand kneading

Mix yeast, sugar, and water together.
In a bowl, start with the shredded beetroot, then add the butter at room temperature and mix
Add the water mix
Add the flour gradually and steer with a spatula until the mix is almost ready and a bit sticky
Transfer to a dry clean surface and start kneading while adding the rest of the flour little by little, until the dough forms well and nothing sticks on your hand.
Add the walnuts and give another knead, set aside for an hour and a half, covered in a kitchen towel
Transfer to your baking pan covered with parchment paper, and bake at 180 degrees for 45 minutes.
Let rest before cutting

This bread is very tasty by its own and toasted, i forgot to mention how its color is beautiful as well !!

Hope you like this recipe, if you do, do not forget to press like and share

Lentil Shepherd’s Pie

When I think about comfort healthy food, “Shepherd’s Pie” is the answer. A warm, rich, easy-to-make recipe that will make my day. Feel free to scroll down to the end for ingredients and recipe steps.

Shepherd’s pie is perfect because you can prepare in advance and freeze or freeze the leftovers. It is a perfect side dish and a main dish as well. Cheap to make, remarkable in nutritional value, needless to say, you can go vegan, vegetarian, or full fat.

Shepherd’s Pie nutritional facts:

I chose lentils instead of beef; surprisingly, you will get the same protein benefits of this dish as one cup of lentils has around 18 g of protein. It is considered an excellent plant-based protein source. Extra protein credit goes to the cow milk we used with the potatoes.

The fat used in this recipe is extra virgin olive oil, the carb is the potatoes. Shepherd’s pie is an excellent recipe to load with veggies; just check your fridge for any available veggies such as cauliflower, carrots, peas, zucchini, or any else. I used onion, sweet pepper, peas, and carrots in this recipe.

Freezing the meal

I love Shepherd’s Pie because I can prepare it in advance; I cook the lentil with veggies, prepare the Potato mash, arrange the dish, and store it in the freezer. I just let thaw in the fridge for 24 hours before baking.

The recipe is perfect for freezing any leftovers, freezing in an air-tight container, and getting it out when in need of a portion of yummy food.

Working around the recipe

This recipe matches any dietary requests; you can swap the cow milk with any plant-based milk, you can add beef instead of the lentils. For example, is used Nutritional Yeast at the top, but you can use your favorite shredded cheese. You can add tomato paste to the veggies or skip. The result, believe me, will be just fantastic, I tried them all.

Why nutritional yeast

When I was introduced to nutritional yeast, I was not too fond of its texture, it felt like dry powder with cheesy flavor, yet when I knew its great benefits, I decided to give it a try and use more of it. In many recipes, now I use it instead of grated cheese. Some of the nutritional yeast benefits are:

Boosting energy
A good source of B-complex, make sure to buy the unfortified kind of nutritional yeast.
It can lower Cholesterol.
A good immunity booster
Low in calories, compared to cheese. So if you want to go less on calorie consumption or aim for vegan food, nutritional yeast is the answer.

Ingredients: (Enough for three adults, or two adults and two kids)

Potato Mash

350 g potatoes, boiled till soft
75 ml milk of choice
Salt, pepper, nutmeg

Lentil Mix:

250 g Lentils, go for the green or brown.
Two Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
100 g peas (I used frozen)
100 g carrots, chopped in small squares ( I used fresh)
One sweet pepper, deseeded and chopped in small squares
One onion, finely chopped
One tablespoon tomato paste
250 ml vegetable stock or water
Three tablespoons nutritional yeast, or 100 g shredded cheese of choice.

Directions:

The recipe goes simple easy once you have the potatoes boiled to tender, and the lentil is boiled till tender firm; you can use canned lentils or soak overnight, then wash and boil for 25 minutes or until soft enough but still keeping its shape.

Potato Mash:

Mash the boiled potatoes, spice with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, add the milk, and mix well until all are mixed. For extra flavor, you can add one egg only if you plan to bake it right away. I do not recommend adding an egg then freezing it before cooking.

Lentil Mix:

Sautee the onion with olive oil until soft and tender, add the carrots, cook for 5 minutes, add the peas and sweet pepper. Once the mix is tender enough, you can add the tomato paste, the vegetable stock and stir for another 10-15 minutes. You can add 1 tablespoon of flour in some recipes, but with lentil, it is not necessary as lentil is starchy enough.
Season with salt and pepper. The recipe is nice with chilly flakes, but my kids don’t like it.s
You can use single ramekins or one family baking dish. It doesn’t matter.
Grease the baking dish with a bit of oil, add the lentil mix, and spread well.
Add the potato mash and cover with the nutritional yeast or grated cheese.
Bake in the middle of the over for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Rocky Road: An easy recipe that my kids made alone

Look at that!! A must try Rocky Road recipe, simple yet very rich, it is amazing when you combine different ingredients with different texture. The taste is incredible.

Save the post to keep the recipe, with my little tips:

SWEET : 250 g melted chocolate ( your favorite)
SOFT: 15 Marshmellows medium size
CHEWY: 1/3 cup dried fruits, raisins
CRUNCHY: 1/4 cup nuts, we used hazelnut
CRISPY: 6-8 biscuits

Recipe is pretty flexible, you’re creating your favorite flavor so feel free to mix and swap, but keep all textures for better experience.

Melt the chocolate in the mircowave 30 seconds, don’t overheat .

Mix and spread in a pan covered with parchment paper, let cool in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Use a sharp knife to cut the perfect size for your family
Treat it like chocoate, keep it cool
Keep it in airtight container in the fridge, it will last for weeks if they don’t know where you hide it !!