Mmmm, these are so good!

I wanted to make something that could be versatile for me. Something I could have for breakfast alone, or crumbled over oatmeal, as a not-too-sweet dessert, or something to grab as just a snack.

These carrot cake bars work perfectly. Subtly sweet and packed with healthy whole ingredients, they are a great choice anytime!

Carrot cake breakfast bars

A healthy breakfast bar with the flavors of carrot cake.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: About 6 bars

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup raw cashews
• 3/4 cup raw almonds
• 1 and 1/2 cups shredded carrot (not packed, squeezed of juice)
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1 tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• pinch of salt, nutmeg, and clove

Cooking Directions

1. Shred carrots then squeeze out excess liquid using cheesecloth or nut milk bag.
2. Run nuts through the food processor until pulverized.
3. Add all other ingredients to processor and pulse until fully incorporated.
4. Form mixture into a disc about and inch thick on a sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake at 300 degrees for 50 minutes.
6. Cut into wedges and top with vanilla yogurt or cream cheese if desired.

The center is so soft and chewy, but they hold together nicely like an oatmeal square.

These would be insane with the cinnamon cream cheese spread I made for my apple bars a while back.

What is your go-to snack?

February 7, 2011 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 8 comments

You have got to know by now just how much I love miso, right?

This recipe is my absolute favorite way to enjoy miso, and one that I make about twice a month as it is so quick to put together and so richly delicious.

I start with a fillet of salmon placed on a baking sheet that has been lined with aluminum foil.

Next, I make the glaze. All you need are these two, miso and mirin…

Any miso is fine, I realize you may only be able to get your hands on shiro miso (aka: white or mellow miso.) I use this “red” variety because I’ve tried making the recipe with both and found this one to be less salty. As for mirin, if you can’t find it you can use either maple syrup or honey and a few drops of water to thin it out. I’ve tried it using both of those ingredients and it was still awesome.

So, put a dollop of miso in a bowl and add about a tablespoon or so of mirin.

I then microwave this for ten seconds, stir, then another 10 seconds and stir again. It’ll look about like this, don’t worry if yours is thicker or thinner than mine. It’ll be great, I promise.

Just pour it over the salmon and spread evenly over the surface and down the sides.

This gets baked at 400 degrees for exactly 20 minutes.

While that was baking, I got the rest of the meal ready. I had some sushi rice going in the rice cooker already so I just had to make something to go with it. I decided to smash up an avocado with seaweed flake, salt and toasted sesame.

And I even had time to have a little fun with my ring molds that I haven’t touched in forever. I used them to mold the rice into pretty little discs.

Out came the salmon. Don’t worry about the burned edges, it’s just because there is sugar in the mirin, the fish itself is fine. This is why you needed the foil.

And here it is, alongside the rice topped with mashed avocado and sliced scallions.

Seriously, one of my very favorite dinners.

And no, you don’t need to mold the rice into pretty shapes. I would have just plopped it on the plate too if I wasn’t planning on photographing it!

Miso-glazed salmon

Perfectly baked salmon topped with a glaze of salty miso and sweet mirin.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1 skin-on salmon fillet
• approx. 2 tbsp. red miso paste
• approx. 2 tbsp. mirin

Cooking Directions

1. Lay salmon fillet on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, remove any pin bones.
2. In a small bowl, combine miso and mirin.
3. Microwave miso and mirin for 20 seconds then stir to combine.
4. Pour mixture over salmon and spread evenly with a butter knife.
5. Bake salmon at 400 degrees for approximately 20 minutes or until done.
6. Serve with rice, smashed avocado, and scallions if desired.

Hope you try it, I’m really proud of this one!

January 17, 2011 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 5 comments

Today I made a special lunch for Jeff and I, a sweet scallion omelet served over sticky sushi rice. The scallions (negi) added a bright green crunch to the soft and fluffy egg omelet (tamago.) This one is so easy, I just had to share.

My omelet (for two people) consisted of 5 eggs, 2 scallions, and about 2 tbsp. mirin all whisked together. If you don’t have mirin, you can either leave it out entirely or just substitute a pinch of sugar.

I poured the mix into a pan set to just under medium heat.

As the bottom starts to cook and firm up, lift an edge of it and tilt the pan to let more of the uncooked egg run under it to the hot pan surface. Do that several times all around until there is very little wet egg left on top.

I tried to flip it and made a mess! It was just too heavy to flip with 5 eggs.

I transferred it to a cutting board and sliced it up then nestled it atop a hot bowl of rice topped with seaweed flake.

So soft and warm, it really filled us up.

We squirted sriracha all over ours and dug in before I remembered to take a picture! We’re both just suckers for spicy stuff. We really didn’t need 5 eggs though, 3 or 4 would have been plenty.

This turned out so well I can definitely see myself making it nearly every weekend as a special lunch. It’s easy, quick, and super-comforting.

Negi-tamago donburi

A fluffy egg omelet filled with fresh green scallions sliced and served over rice.

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 7 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2 chopped scallions
• 2 tbsp. mirin

Cooking Directions

1. Whisk together eggs, mirin, and scallions.
2. Pour into a pan set to medium heat and cook through.
3. Turn out onto a cutting board and slice.
4. Serve over rice topped with seaweed flake.
5. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and sriracha if desired.

January 16, 2011 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 2 comments