The Midnight Cafe

• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• ⅔ cup applesauce
• ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup mini dark chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 325º F and grease a 9×5 loaf pan.
2. Combine bananas, applesauce, yogurt, eggs and honey in a large mixing bowl. Add flours, salt, baking soda and vanilla. Stir just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
3. Pour the banana mixture into the loaf pan and bake for about 60-85 minutes. If you use two smaller pans, the cook time will need to be adjusted. It will probably take around 45 minutes.
4. Use the toothpick method to check and see if it’s cooked in the middle. Cool on rack and then remove from pans. Slice and enjoy!

Okay so these muffins are butter/oil-free and are absolutely heavenly! They were quick to whip up and came out sweet, moist and tasting like summer!  The muffins can be easily made vegan if you use the egg substitutes, coconut yogurt and if you can get a hold of some vegan white chocolate!

Ingredients:
1 Cup coconut yogurt (Or greek yogurt if you’re not vegan)
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons of corn starch or 2 flax eggs (2 eggs if not vegan)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used oat, barely, rye)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 cup vanilla or white chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large bowl, yogurt and sugar together until smooth.  Add eggs, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. 
2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl; add to yogurt mixture just until blended. carefully Fold in raspberries and chips.
3.  Fill greased or lined muffin cups two-thirds full.  bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (20 minutes worked perfectly for me). Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from trays to a wire rack.

INGREDIENTS

1 medium tomato diced

1 1/2 cups Rotini pasta (uncooked)

1 clove garlic minced

1/3 of an onion

1 cup spinach

1/3 cup cream

1 tablespoon flour

about 1/4 cup  cream cheese

3 tablespoons tomato sauce

Olive oil

Fresh Basil chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Start boiling water for the pasta and add a dash of salt.

In a frying pan, on medium heat throw on a swig of olive oil and add the minced garlic and onion, let that cook for about a minute. In a seperate bowl whisk together the flour and cream, turn the pan’s heat down to low and add the rest of the ingredients. Finally, add the pasta last once cooked.

This Hummus recipe is the perfect, light consistency and full of flavor! It’s great for snacking on with veggies, or whip up some of the homemade chips and serve it at your next summer bbq!

Start by cutting 2 red bell peppers in halves and place them skin side up in an oven or toaster oven. Roast them on broil until the skin is nice and charred on top. Once they’re done put them in a ziplock bag for about 10 minutes and then the skin should be easy to remove.

Put all the ingredients into the food processor and blend until smooth.

Once the red peppers are added it should turn a more orangey shade.

Serve with veggies, crackers, pitas, on a sandwich or with these homemade tortilla chips!

Hummus Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 whole red bell peppers (Or about 3/4 cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers)
• One 15 oz or 19 oz can chickpeas
• 1/4 cup lemon juice or about 1 large lemon
• One large garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

Strain and rinse chickpeas, add all ingredients to food processor until well combined. You can optionally add 1/4 cup of tahini, but mine tasted fine without!

Garnish with paprika and olive oil and serve with homemade tortillas!

Tortilla Recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• Round corn tortillas
• Olive oil
• Salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Pour a few tablespoons of oil into a bowl and brush a thin coating onto your baking trays. Brush the top of each tortilla with a thin layer of oil and lay them in a pile. Using a sharp knife, cut your tortilla stack in half using one firm chop, if possible. Continue to cut until you reach a desired chip size. Place the tortillas un-oiled side down in a single layer on the oiled trays. A little overlapping is fine, but not too much or they won’t crisp. Sprinkle a pinch or two of salt over the tops, assuring that all of the wedges get a touch of salt. Place trays in the oven and bake for 8 – 12 minutes. Check your chips at 8 minutes and rotate your pans. Thinner tortillas can burn easily so keep an eye on them. They’ll be done when the edges are crisp and curve slightly from the tray. The chips will still be flexible in the middle, but will crisp further as they cool. Remove trays from the oven and let cool slightly. As they cool, the chips will continue to crisp all the way through. Test one and if it isn’t as crisp as you would like, return the trays to the oven for another 2 or 3 minutes.