Italian crossaint, gelato, & cake

yum, yum

Mai in Italy

To see Mai's Italian adventures, click here: http://iammai7990.blogspot.com/

No Bake Granola Bars

 

I've tried making granola bars many times, but most of the time, they never stuck together. So I was really excited when I was actually able to cut through these, AND they were delicious! Granola bars from the store have unpronounceable ingredients and I always thought they were too sweet. These bars are really simple, and require no baking. 

 

1/8 c honey
1/2 tsp vanilla 
pinch of salt
1/8 c almond butter
3/4 c rolled oats
1/4 c puffed brown rice
1/8 c chocolate chips
1 tbsp flax seed
1/8 c raisins
1/8 c sunflower seeds 

In a large bowl, add rolled oats, puffed brown rice, flax seed, raisins, and seeds (I used sunflower, but you can pretty much add anything).
Microwave together the almond butter, honey, vanilla, and salt for about a minute. I stopped it about halfway through and gave it a stir so that it wouldn't overflow.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix.
Add chocolate chips and try not to mix it too much, so that the chocolate chips stay whole.
Transfer the mixture to a sheet pan or flat container, and put it in the refrigerator to cool.

Strawberry Muffins

I don't remember the site where I found this "very berry whole wheat muffins" recipe, but I obviously only used one type of berry. All we had were frozen strawberries, but they turned out well!


1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/3 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 c canola oil (I used applesauce) 
1 egg
1/2 c strawberries, chopped
1/2 c blueberries
1/4-1/2 c milk (I 1/2 used coconut milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp raw turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 400. Mix flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. Add canola oil, 1/4 cup milk, vanilla, and eggs, and mix until combined. If your  dough is very thick, add the rest of the milk. Fold in blueberries and strawberries. Top with a sprinkling of raw turbinado sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Vanilla Pudding

 

So I was looking through the pantry the other day and found this recipe on the back of a bag of arrowroot flour.

6tbsp arrowroot flour

4 c soy/rice milk

1/2 c maple syrup

pinch of salt

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Dissolve the arrowroot in 1/4 c of the milk and set aside. Combine the remaining milk, syrup and salt in a sauce pan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add the arrowroot mixture and stir until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and nutmeg. Pour into serving dishes and refrigerate until cold. 

The nutmeg flavor was a bit strong for me, and I used honey because I didn't have any maple syrup on hand. I think the maple syrup would have given the pudding a better flavor.

Tea Cupcakes

First recipe of the new year! These tea cupcakes are chocolate cupcakes with light fluffy tea flavored frosting. The actual cupcakes were pretty dense, luckily the frosting kept it from becoming too sweet. Don't be afraid of how this recipe's icing will turn out with the tea leaves added in.