Sunny Date and Nut Bread

INGREDIENTS

1 cup chopped pitted dates
1 tsp baking soda
1 small orange
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup chopped hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, or other nuts
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp butter, cut into 4 pieces
3/4 tsp sea salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

In a small mixing bowl, combine dates and baking soda. Add 3/4 cup of boiling water and set aside.

Without peeling, cut the orange in 6 pieces and remove the seeds. In a food processor, chop the orange pieces for about 15 seconds. Add the flour, nuts, sugar, eggs, butter, salt, and about half of the date mixture. Process to mix, about 5 seconds. Add the remaining date mixture and process until well mixed, about 15 to 20 seconds.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until the loaf springs back when touched lightly in the centre.

Allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then loosen the sides with a spatula and remove from pan.

Oatmeal Pancakes with Dried Fruit and Nuts

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup hazelnuts, walnuts, or almonds, roughly chopped
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 cups quick cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries, raisins, or dried currants
2 tsp demerara sugar or brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

DIRECTIONS

Place the nuts in a single layer in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Stir or shake the nuts continually for 5 to 7 minutes or until they start to turn golden. Remove them from the pan.

In a bowl, mix the eggs and milk. Add the oatmeal, dried fruit, brown sugar, and vanilla to the bowl.

Heat and butter the frying pan. Ladle batter into the pan and cook pancakes until just brown on each side (about 2 minutes).

Top pancakes with yogurt and toasted nuts.

Bird's Nest Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, separated
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
Pinch sea salt
1/2 cup of your favourite nut (suggestions: almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc.)
1/2 cup of your favourite jam

DIRECTIONS

Cream together butter and sugar at high speed. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix in. Add the flour and salt and mix until just combined; don't over mix. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. If your nuts are raw, toast them to bring out the flavour: Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes (about 15 minutes for hazelnuts), until light golden-brown and fragrant. Let cool completely, then process in a food processor until finely chopped, or chop them by hand.

Whisk egg white until bubbly and frothy. Roll the chilled dough into about 1 inch balls. Dip each ball into the egg white then roll it in the chopped nuts. Place on a cookie sheet and press down gently with your thumb to flatten the cookie slightly and make a shallow well. Fill the indentation with about 1/2 teaspoon of jam.

Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, until slightly brown.

The jam will tend to soften the cookie after a couple of days. To keep them longer or make them easier to freeze, bake them without the jam (reduce the baking time by a few minutes), then just fill the cookies with jam the same day as serving.

Spinach Hazelnut Pesto Pasta

INGREDIENTS

1 pkg of your favourite pasta (we like pappardelle)
1/2 cup hazelnuts
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
Sea salt to taste
1/2 lb baby spinach, roughly chopped
28 gram pkg fresh basil, cut into ribbons
2 fresh tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Cook pasta according to package directions, then rinse and set aside.

In the meantime, rub the skins off the hazelnuts, then put them in a plastic bag and use a mallet or rolling pin to roughly crush them.

Heat a pan over medium heat, then add and heat the olive oil and sautee the garlic for a minute or two, until golden.

Add crushed hazelnuts, salt, fresh spinach, and fresh basil. Stir until the spinach is wilted. Add the pasta and toss all together until everything is hot.

Mix in tomatoes and Parmesan if using, and serve hot.