Shakshuka with Mint, Yogurt & Toasted Baguette

So, yeah we tried a bunch of those meal kits last year during my busy season.  We really enjoyed Plated, Home Chef and HelloFresh!  The other night, my son informed me that his absolute favorite new meal last year was the Shakshuka from Plated!  Wow!  I was amazed.  I have reactivated my Plated and my HelloFresh accounts to take advantage of these meal kits when my busiest time starts again.  I can't wait to get a bunch of new meals to cook for my family.  Please try this one.  It is fantastic!


Shakshuka with Mint, Yogurt, and Toasted Baguette (Plated)

1 yellow bell pepper
1/4-ounce mint
1 shallot
3 cloves garlic
1 container nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
1/4 cup roasted red peppers
1/2 cup tomato purée
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
1 demi-baguette
1 cheesecloth

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
• eggs
• olive oil
• kosher salt
• black pepper
• fine-mesh sieve
• 10" medium ovenproof pan
• baking sheet

Prepare ingredients:
Preheat oven to 450°F. Rinse bell pepper and halve lengthwise, discarding seeds and stem. Cut lengthwise into ¼-inch strips. Rinse mint and roughly chop leaves, discarding stems. Peel shallot and thinly slice. Mince garlic. Add ¼ teaspoon salt and black pepper to container with yogurt, stirring to combine.

Fry aromatics:
Place a fine-mesh sieve over a small heatproof bowl and line with cheesecloth. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a medium ovenproof pan over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add spice mix, half of shallot, and half of garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Pour aromatics and oil into prepared strainer, letting oil drain into bowl and reserving both. Set aside.

Simmer shakshuka:
Return oil from aromatics to pan over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, add bell pepper, remaining shallot, and remaining garlic, and cook until softening, 2-3 minutes. Add roasted red peppers, tomato purée, diced tomatoes and their juices, and sugar. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium high and simmer until reduced slightly, 4-6 minutes. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and black pepper as desired.

Toast baguette:
While sauce simmers, halve baguette lengthwise, then place cut-side up on a baking sheet. Drizzle thoroughly with olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper as desired. Transfer to oven and toast until golden, 6-8 minutes.

Bake eggs:
Create 2 small, evenly-spaced pockets in the shakshuka. Crack 1 egginto each pocket, nestling into shakshuka. Season with a pinch of saltand black pepper as desired. Transfer to oven and bake together with baguettes until egg whites are just set, 6-8 minutes. Carefully remove pan from oven.

Plate shakshuka:
Dollop yogurt over shakshuka in pan, then garnish with fried aromatics and mint. Divide shakshuka between serving bowls. Serve with toasted baguette for dipping. Dig in!

Unforgettable Best-Ever Chocolate Quinoa Cake

I found this recipe on the Making Thyme for Health website but I later found a similar recipe on Barefeet in the Kitchen.  Both of these blogs say it originally came from Quinoa 365 cookbook by way of Mel's Kitchen Cafe blog.  It is an amazing cake.  I want to eat the entire thing.  I never heard of a cake made with actual quinoa before. I thought it was made from quinoa flour but it isn't.  Try this cake and you will be amazed at how moist and delicious it is.  I made a few changes but it is mainly the same as the recipes I found online.  It can be vegetarian or vegan if you want to make a few changes.

Unforgettable Chocolate Quinoa Cake

Servings: 12 -16 servings, depending on size
Ingredients:

Cake Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked quinoa loosely packed
• 1/3 cup milk of choice
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup butter melted and slightly cooled
• 1-1/2 cups white sugar or coconut sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Frosting Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream (or coconut cream - see below)
• 1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two round cake pans (or a 9 x 13 pan) and then line the bottoms of the pans with parchment. (Do not skip the parchment if you want to be able to take the cake out of the pan.)


Combine the milk, eggs and vanilla in the blender or food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the cooked quinoa and the butter and puree until completely smooth. Stop the machine as needed to scrape the sides and make sure everything is well mixed. This will be a thick and creamy consistency once the quinoa is pureed. (You should not see any little beads of quinoa in the pureed mixture.) Whisk together the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and add the contents from the blender. Stir until well combined.


Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans and bake on a center oven rack for 28-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean (if you are using a 9 x 13 inch pan please check for doneness at around 20 minutes). Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool 10 minutes before inverting them onto a wire cooling rack. Peel off the parchment and let the cakes cool completely before frosting.


Place the chocolate chips in a medium size glass bowl. Heat the cream in a medium saucepan until is gently simmers. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes or so and then whisk to combine until it is smooth and glossy. Refrigerate and let cool completely. (2-3 hours in the refrigerator or about an hour in the freezer.) When fully chilled. use a mixer to whip the chocolate cream into soft peaks.


Place one cake layer upside down on a plate. Scoop half the frosting onto that layer and gently spread it across almost to the edge. Place the other layer on top of the frosting and top with the remaining frosting. You can frost the sides if you like, I chose to leave mine simple. Chill 2-3 hours before serving to allow the frosting to set.

I actually used the ingredients and instructions from Making Thyme for Health which uses coconut milk.

FOR THE WHIPPED CHOCOLATE COCONUT CREAM FROSTING:

• 1 (13.5 ounce) can of full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
• 1 (10 ounce) bag chocolate chips

To make the frosting you will need to refrigerate the coconut milk overnight (in the coldest part of your refrigerator) so that the cream separates. Grab the coconut milk from the refrigerator but don’t shake the can or turn it upside down before opening. Open the can and scoop out the solid parts with a spoon then place them in a medium size saucepan.  Add the chocolate chips to the saucepan then warm over medium heat, until the coconut cream and chocolate melt together. Whisk until smooth then transfer to a large bowl that you can later use to whip it in. (note: if the melted chocolate/coconut milk mixture still appears really dark you can add more coconut milk to lighten it up so that the end result isn’t bitter)

Allow to cool on the counter then cover and refrigerate for several hours, until thickened. Once it has thickened, remove from the refrigerator and beat on high for thirty seconds to one minute, until a fluffy icing has formed. (you could make it the night before baking the cake).

Transfer the cakes to a surface for icing with the bottom side up. I recommend that you only transfer the cakes once as they are fragile and difficult to hold together once removed from the parchment paper.

Frost the cake and refrigerate until ready to serve. The icing will melt in really warm conditions but should be fine for a few hours in cooler settings.

Enjoy!

BTW 3/4 cup of dry quinoa will make 2 cups of  cooked quinoa!