Pear Pecan Muffins

Makes 6 large muffins

·         1 cup white whole wheat flour

·         1/2 cup rolled oats

·         1/2 cup brown sugar plus for sprinkling

·         1 tsp. baking powder

·         1/2 tsp. baking soda

·         1/4 tsp. salt

·         1 tsp. cinnamon

·         1/2 cup plain yogurt

·         3 tbsp. canola oil or 3 tbsp. melted butter

·         1 egg

·         1 tsp. vanilla extract

·         1 pear coarsely shredded

·         1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1.  Preheat an oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 6 paper muffin cups. Whisk the yogurt, egg, butter and vanilla extract together in a bowl.

2.      In another large bowl or a stand mixer mix the flour, oats, pecans, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the egg mixture. Stir until just combined. Gently fold in the pear. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups, and sprinkle with brown sugar.

3.      Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 25 minutes

Peas, turkey-bacon and scallions tart

Ok so a tart is not the healthiest thing in the world. But once in a while it’s nice to have a tart on the weekend or at brunch. It goes nicely with a side salad.

Ingredients

• Pastry for single-crust pie (9 inches)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp. whole mustard
• 1 1/3 cups of sour cream
• Bunch of scallions
• 4 oz. turkey-bacon
• 1 cup frozen peas or lima beans, thawed
• 3 eggs

Directions

1. To make the filling put 3 eggs into bowl and add the sour cream  and mustard. Wisk together until smooth, season with little salt and pepper.

2. Chop scallions and turkey bacon into small pieces.

3. Scatter turkey-bacon and peas over the pastry. Then pour in the eggs mixture, scatter the scallions over. Bake tart for 30-35 minutes. Bake at 325° for 30-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Let it cool for 10 minutes.

Kisir Kurdish Tabbouleh

Kisir is a middle eastern (Turkish, Kurdish, etc.) salad. It’s usually served cold over lettuce or on small plate as a meze. It’s a great dish for a hot summer.

2 large onions

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 can diced tomatoes

1 cucumber, chopped

2 cups of vegetable broth

2 cups whole wheat bulgur

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp. honey

1 cup chopped parsley

2 green onions

1 garlic clove

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. turmeric

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a medium sized pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for about 7 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir for 1 minute.

2. Add the tomatoes and simmer on low heat for another 5 minutes. Then add the broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the bulgur and cook for 5 minutes on low heat.

3. Add the honey, lemon juice, parsley, cumin, turmeric, salt and pepper. Stir well, then remove from heat, cover and let stand for 15 minutes, fluff with fork. In a large bowl combine the bulgur mix with cucumber and green onions.