Garam Masala Gingerbread

Earlier this week, a mid-afternoon rush at the spice shop left me frenzied enough to accidentally dump a jar full of allspice into the Garam Masala bin.  My punishment- taking home several ounces of the resulting allspice/Garam Masala mix to turn into something yummy for my coworkers.  The result- Garam Masala Gingerbread with Maple Cashew Cream.  The gingerbread turned out delightfully dense, chewy, and not-too-sweet.  The maple cream balanced it perfectly, it's sweet creaminess humbling each exotically spicy bite.

Cashew Cherry Breakfast Bars

My classmate and I created these cashew cherry breakfast bars in class the other day.  They were so delicious, they ended up on the Whole Foods website by virtue of our fabulous teacher Lisa Turner.   

The idea and the ingredients are simple.  For a 13x9" pan: Mix about 1 cup toasted seeds (sunflower, sesame, flax, etc.) into about 1 1/2 c room temperature nut butter.  Press into pan and bake at 300 for 25-30 minutes, until golden and set.  Cool.  Meanwhile, in a food processor, puree a few dates with about a cup of dried fruit, adding nut or seed milk to thin to a spreadable consistency.  Add a dash of cinnamon or other spice, if desired.  Spread onto cooled crust.  Top with a mixture of toasted shredded coconut and orange zest.  Chill for half an hour before cutting and serving.

Photo by Crystal at zen-eats.com