Review: Sunland peanut butter

You may remember that in early April, I took a road trip to Chicago, stopping in Iowa City on the way. There, at a Bruegger’s Bagels, I found, tried, and loved a new-to-me brand of peanut butter—Sunland. I bought the Dark Chocolate variety, and it was pretty much heavenly.



I emailed Sunland to let them know I liked their product, and Brittany in customer service wrote me back offering to send me three jars of my choice from their catalog to sample! I settled on Organic Thai Ginger and Red Pepper, Organic Spicy Southwestern, and Natural Caramel.



Though I definitely plan to cook and bake with each, I wanted to try each one on its own first. Since I have a bajillion packages of Corn Thins (ganked from the finish line party of the Hospital Hill half-marathon I ran the weekend before last), I decided to use those as the vehicle for my PB-tasting.

First up was the Organic Thai Ginger and Red Pepper, the flavor that Brittany at Sunland recommended in particular. I’m not generally a big fan of ginger, and was worried it would be overwhelming, but was happy to find it wasn’t at all. The aroma of Thai spices wafts straight out of the jar, and the peanut butter, though thin in texture, is packed with flavor, plus a nice hint of heat. I can tell this will be great on sesame noodles or tofu satay.



Second, I tried the Organic Spicy Southwestern. Whispers of cumin and ground chili permeate this peanut butter, which is also thin, but features giant chewy chunks of peanuts. The lime flavor is front-and-center here, and though it’s different than I expected, this one excites me—I can envision making a killer mole sauce with it.



I saved the sweet for last, of course, and I was not let down by the Natural Caramel. It’s much thicker than the other two, and really appears identical to any other creamy PB. When I first took a bite, all I tasted was the peanut butter—thick, smooth, and full-bodied. As it started to melt away on my tongue, though, the caramel notes came forward and took over, cutting the richness of the PB and treating me to a dulce-de-leche-esque aftertaste. So good! I’ve since eaten this on honey-wheat bagel and on a banana, and it’s downright magical.



So which was my favorite? Honestly, I’d have to say the Caramel. Though I usually consider myself more of a salt person than a sweet tooth, I guess I like my peanut butter on the sugary side. I’ll probably finish my jar of Caramel with a spoon, but I’m definitely stoked to try cooking with the Thai and Southwestern flavors. I really recommend everyone out there check out Sunland’s online store for some cool and interesting PB flavors (their peanut butter diet is also a neat idea). Thank you again, Sunland, for your generosity!



Sadly, I don't have a giveaway to accompany this review. But stay tuned for one of those soon! In the meantime, check out Amanda's soy candle giveaway (update: Jessie is giving away a candle too!) and Fit and Forty Something's Larabar giveaway.

Raw flaxseed pancakes

Yep, more rawness! I’m following up my savory chilly chili with a sweet raw breakfast duo of flax pancakes ("flaxjacks," if you will) with blackberry-date sauce, both recipes adapted from Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen. This meal is way (way WAY) faster to put together than the chili, so if you found that a bit intimidating, you’ll appreciate the preparatory brevity of this dish. These are obviously pretty dissimilar to real pancakes ("breakfast patties" may be a more apt moniker, but the method by which you eat them – with a knife and fork, drizzled with a syrupy fruit concoction – earns them the "pancakes" label), but they’re delicious in their own right.

This post was made possible by the munificent people at Pizzey’s Nutritionals. Pizzey’s is the only company on the market whose flax contains all three Omega-3 fatty acids (ALA, EPA, and DHA), and its shelf life is blessedly long (2 years without refrigeration!). Awhile back, they offered me "samples" of some of their high-quality flaxseed products—imagine my surprise when two 2-lb. bags (milled golden flax and SmoothOmega milled flax) arrived at my door, followed some time after by two more 2-lb. bags (organic milled golden flax and – get this – blueberry milled golden flax!) plus a box of individual-serving flax singles! WOW. I was blown away.



You can order Pizzey’s flaxseed online at FlaxMatters.com and get free shipping on all orders over $50! They’ve got numerous varieties of flax to choose from, plus some cool accessories like a flaxseed grinder and this cute lil flax scoop. I also think their flaxseed starter kit is a great idea. Thanks again, Pizzey’s, for your generosity!

Ok, I’m done flaxing poetic; on to the recipes!

For the pancakes:
1 1/2 cups ground flaxseed
1/4 cup (raw) agave nectar
1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp water

For the sauce:
1/2 cup blackberries
2-3 pitted dates

I recommend prepping the sauce first, so it can chill and thicken as you make the cakes. Just combine the blackberries and dates in a blender or food processor...



...and blend until smooth, adding a splash of water as necessary. Transfer to a small container and place in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. (It’ll keep for several days in there.)



For the flaxseed in this recipe, I used Pizzey’s milled golden flax with blueberries to give my cakes some fruity pizzazz. (Of course, regular flax will work just fine. If you’re grinding your own, start with one heaping cup whole flaxseeds, which should amount to roughly 1 1/2 cups when ground.)



Combine all the pancake ingredients in a bowl.



Mix well with your hands or a wooden spoon.



Divide the mixture into eight portions. Roll into balls and, somehow or another, form the balls into flat medallions.



I greased a half-cup measuring cup and used the back of a spoon to press each ball into a patty. A biscuit cutter would work even better for this, since you wouldn’t have to bang the cup on the counter each time to free the cake.



Place the cakes on a platter, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to eat. They’ll stay good for up to a week, so you can just take out one or two each morning for breakfast.



Serve the cakes with the blackberry-date sauce, and feel free to add other toppings (like maple syrup, agave nectar, or vanilla yogurt) in addition or instead. You might not guess it thanks to their diminutive size, but these babies are filling. They’re pleasantly mealy and mildly sweet, plus you’ll get a day and a half’s worth of Omega-3s in each cake! If breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, these cakes give it the respect it deserves.



(Pancakes) Yield: 8 pancakes. Per pancake: 157 calories, 10.6g fat (2g sat), 14.1g carbs, 6g fiber, 3.8g protein.
(Sauce) Yield: 8 servings. Per serving (about 2 Tbsp): 21 calories, .1g fat (trace sat), 5.5g carbs, 1g fiber, .2g protein.

If you like this, you might also like...
Maple cinnamon pecan milk
Quick blueberry compote
Raw pecan pie cookies

Loaded raw chilly chili

No time to chat, peeps; I’ve got a lot to show you today. As I’ve been saying lately, I’m working off a 1-2 month blogging backlog, so you haven’t seen much of what I’ve been eating more recently. I’ve actually been experimenting a lot with raw foods, and my Memorial Day weekend trip to Dallas (which you’ll see more about soon) funneled the last of my interest into true excitement. I’m not going all-raw or anything, don’t worry, but I do expect to be featuring more raw-ness on this blog than ever before. I want to get the raw food posts going as soon as possible so you can take full advantage of them in this summer’s heat.

The magnificent Ani Phyo gets credit for this dish. The chili recipe is from her new book, Ani’s Raw Food Essentials, while the taco nut meat, squash "rice," cashew cheeze, and red pepper-corn salsa are variations on recipes from Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen. I won’t kid you; this meal is a ton of work. I did it all in one night (two and a half hours!), but feel free to prep one or two components at a time over the course of a day or two (or just leave a couple of them out) to make it more manageable. Put the work in, though, and you’ll be richly rewarded in the end.

For the taco nut meat:
1/2 cup raw almonds, dry
1/2 cup raw walnuts, dry
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp Braggs Liquid Aminos, Nama Shoyu, or soy sauce



In a food processor, pulse the almonds and walnuts into a powder.



Transfer the ground nuts to a mixing bowl. Add all other ingredients.



Mix well and set aside. The nut meat alone will keep for 4 days in the fridge.



Yield: 8 servings. Per serving (2 Tbsp): 147 calories, 14.8g fat (2g sat), 2.5g carbs, 2g fiber, 2.6g protein.

For the Mexican squash "rice":
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp sea salt
Splash of fresh lime juice



Place the squash cubes in the bowl of a food processor.



Pulse into small, rice-sized pieces and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add all other ingredients.



Mix well and set aside. The "rice" alone will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge.



Yield: 6 servings. Per serving (1/4 cup): 25 calories, .1g fat (trace sat), 6.2g carbs, 1g fiber, .7g protein.

For the cashew cheeze:
1 cup raw cashews, soaked
1 clove garlic
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup water, as needed

In a food processor, blend all ingredients. Add only enough water to process into a thick cream texture. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside. The cheeze alone will keep for a week in the fridge.



Yield: 8 servings. Per serving (2 Tbsp): 100 calories, 7.8g fat (1g sat), 5.9g carbs, 1g fiber, 3.3g protein.

For the red pepper-corn salsa:
2/3 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1/3 cup fresh corn kernels
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 small jalapeño, minced
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp sea salt

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and set aside. The salsa alone will keep for a week in the fridge.



Yield: 6 servings. Per serving (1/4 cup): 18 calories, .2g fat (trace sat), 4g carbs, 1g fiber, .7g protein.

For the raw chili:
3 cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup fresh corn kernels
1/3 cup chopped mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 small jalapeño, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp sea salt (or to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.



Mix well. Transfer half the mixture to a food processor or blender.



Purée until smooth.



Transfer the purée back into the bowl with the veggie mixture and mix well.



Yield: 4 servings. Per serving (1 cup): 63 calories, .8g fat (trace sat), 13.2g carbs, 4g fiber, 2.7g protein.

WHEW! Serve the chili topped with spoonfuls of taco nut meat, "rice," and salsa and a dollop of the cheeze and you’ve not only earned a helluva pat on the back , but you’ve made the ultimate warm-weather meal—loaded raw chilly chili! Throw on some sliced green onions, diced avocado, or guacamole if you have any on hand. If you like gazpacho, you'll love this soup. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, very filling, and wonderfully refreshing. Summer in a bowl!



Per serving (1 cup chili, 2 Tbsp nut meat, 1/4 cup squash "rice," 2 Tbsp cashew cheeze, and 1/4 cup red pepper-corn salsa):
352 calories, 23.7g fat (3g sat), 31.8g carbs, 8g fiber, 10g protein.

If you like this, you might also like...
Kidney bean–brown rice chili
Watermelon agua fresca
Three-bean vegan chili

* * * UPDATE * * *
Saturday, 6/26... :]

Blueberry crumb bars

I usually try to vary the types of sweets I feature, but summer berries are beginning to roll in, so surely you’ll excuse me for posting these blueberry bars right after my quick blackberry cobbler. (You should also expect more berry-centric treats in the coming weeks!) This recipe is from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s book The Joy of Vegan Baking, and though it’s billed as a sort of coffee cake, I found mine to be much more bar-like in height and texture. The base resembles a cakey shortbread, while the crumb topping is a loose streusel. I made them on a Friday night, and they were all devoured by Saturday morning.

For the bars:
1 1/2 tsp Ener-G egg replacer
3 Tbsp warm water
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup Earth Balance, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 soy or almond milk
1-2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

For the topping:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup Earth Balance, COLD, cut up

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9-inch baking pan. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg replacer and the warm water until thick and creamy, about 1 minute, and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside. In a large bowl, cream the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy, 1 or 2 minutes.



Add the egg replacer mixture and vanilla to the margarine-sugar mixture, and beat until incorporated.



Add the flour mixture and milk and beat until just combined (batter will be thick). Spread the batter into the bottom of the pan, smoothing the top. Evenly arrange the blueberries on top of the batter.



To make the topping, in a large bowl (it can be the same one you used before, just scrape it out well), combine the flour, sugar, and cinnamon.



Cut in the margarine with a pastry blender or a fork until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the blueberries.



Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.



What’s better than sweet bursts of blueberries peppered across a palette of buttery, crumbly cake? Not much, I say.



Yield: 16 servings. Per serving: 152 calories, 7.1g fat (4g sat), 21.4g carbs, 1g fiber, 1.3g protein.

If you like this, you might also like...
Oat crumble jam bars
Homestyle blueberry cobbler
Vegan lemon bars

Misir watt (Ethiopian lentils)

Happy June, everyone! How was your Memorial Day? I just got back from a wonderful weekend getaway to Dallas, Texas with Matt. Dallas is my favorite city to road-trip to (as you may recall), so I can hardly wait to write about it.

Remember the Ethiopian cooking class I took with my friend Hillary? Today I’m fulfilling my promise to show you my home-cooked misir watt (stewed red lentils). This is my very favorite Ethiopian dish, and I was pleasantly surprised at how simple it is to prepare. Since I don’t think I’ll ever make injera at home (and Blue Nile Café is too far from my house for me to easily run by and pick some up), I served this with cooked quinoa, but it would be great with brown rice or couscous as well.

One quick note about the seasoning: you can easily use cayenne pepper or something similar in place of the mekelesha, but there is NO substitute for berbere. It’s absolutely worth a trip to a specialty spice store.

2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1-inch chunk gingerroot, peeled
3 Tbsp canola oil, divided
1 lb. dry red lentils
3 Tbsp berbere
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp mekelesha (or cayenne)
Salt to taste



(Clockwise from top, that’s berbere, mekelesha, and cardamom.)
Combine the onions, garlic, ginger, and 1 Tbsp of the canola oil in a blender or food processor.



Process or pulse into a very rough purée, adding a splash of water if necessary. Heat the remaining 2 Tbsp oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion mixture and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add water (about 1/4 cup at a time) if the mixture gets dry or cooks too quickly.



Add the berbere and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, again adding water as needed. The mixture should look pretty soupy; by this point I’d probably added nearly a cup of water.



Add the lentils...



...and 4 more cups of water.



Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, for about 25 minutes, stirring often. Keep adding water, 1/4 cup at a time, to keep the texture loose, but don’t add so much that it gets liquidy. You’re looking for a goopy, spoonable consistency (that’s meant to sound appealing!).

This is a good time to cook your quinoa, if that’s what you’re serving it with.



When the lentils are done, they’ll be partially broken down, but still retain some of their shape. Remove from the heat and stir in the cardamom, mekelesha or cayenne, and salt to taste. (If you’re using mekelesha, I urge you exercise caution here! Had I been using cayenne, I would probably have put in a good teaspoon, but I added just a scant 1/2 teaspoon of the mekelesha and it was flaming hot! I have a high tolerance for spice, but this was fiery even to me. So be conservative!)



Serve over quinoa or, if you’re lucky enough to have an Ethiopian restaurant nearby, pick up some injera to eat it with.



This is so incredibly good, I made it twice in two weeks. It’s filling, nutritious, and satisfying in every way. The depth and complexity of the berbere seasoning is indescribable—you really just have to try it for yourself. If you’ve never had Ethiopian food, this is a great gateway dish. The leftovers are even delicious eaten cold!



Yield: 6-8 servings. Per serving (6): 345 calories, 8.9g fat (1g sat), 49.7g carbs, 10g fiber, 19.7g protein.
Per serving (8): 259 calories, 6.7g fat (.5g sat), 37.3g carbs, 7g fiber, 14.7g protein.

If you like this, you might also like...
A vegan taste of Ethiopia
Spiced red lentil soup
Indian curried lentils