Healthy peanut butter cookies

Active: 10 minutes; Total 25 minutes; Serves: 15

Peanut butter, creamy	1 cup
Maple syrup or honey	½ cup
Vanilla extract	1 teaspoon
Flour, almond	1 cup
Salt, flaked sea	Optional

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F; line baking sheets with parchment paper. 
2. In a medium bowl, combine the peanut butter, maple syrup or honey, and vanilla; stir in the flour. 
3. Roll into 1-inch balls and arrange on a prepared baking sheet. 
4. Flatten each dough ball with a fork, making a crisscross pattern, and sprinkle with a little salt, if desired. 
5. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the cookies begin to brown. 
6. Remove from the oven, and allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack. 

Recipe from Eating Bird Food, September 2021

Chicken korma

Active: 30 minutes; Total: 45 minutes + marinade; Serves: 2 to 4

Chicken, bone-in, skinless	1.2 pounds
Yogurt, plain	3 tablespoons + ¼ cup
Garlic, grate with microplane	2 cloves
Ginger, grate with microplane	1-inch piece
Turmeric, ground	¼ teaspoon
Paprika	1 teaspoon
Garam masala	1 teaspoon + ½ teaspoon
Salt	½ teaspoon + ¼ teaspoon
Oil	1 ½ tablespoons + 1 tablespoon
Cardamom, green, whole	5 pods + 1 pod
Onions, red, sliced	2 medium
Almonds, whole	4
Cashews, whole	6
Water	½ cup
Bayleaf	1 leaf
Cloves	3
Cinnamon	2-inch stick
Serrano chili, slit	1
Coriander powder	1 ½ teaspoon
Cilantro	Garnish
Rice, cooked

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the chicken, 3-tablespoons yogurt, garlic, and ginger. 
2. Add the turmeric, paprika, 1-teaspoon garam masala, and ½-teaspoon salt. 
3. Mix together; set aside in the refrigerator up to overnight. 
4. Heat 1 ½-tablespoons oil in a pan, then add 3 to 5 cardamom pods. 
5. Add the onions; sauté, stirring often, until golden brown and caramelized. 
6. Turn off the stove, and add the almonds and cashews; cool completely. 
7. Blend the onion mixture with ¼-cup yogurt until smooth; set aside. 
8. In the same pan, heat 1-tablespoon oil, then add the bayleaf, cloves, cardamom pod, and cinnamon; sauté for a minute. 
9. Add the chicken and chili. 
10. Sauté on medium heat until the smell of raw garlic and ginger goes away; about 5 to 7 minutes. 
11. Add the onion paste and water, then ¼-teaspoon salt. 
12. Add ½-teaspoon garam masala and coriander powder, mix well.
13. Cover and cook on medium heat until the chicken turns tender and is soft cooked; adjust salt as needed, and add more water if it is too thick.
14. Sprinkle with cilantro, serve with rice. 

Recipe from Swasthi’s Recipes, June 2020.

4-ingredient apple cake

Butter, unsalted, room temperature	For greasing pan
Eggs, room temperature	3 large
Sugar, light brown	1 cup (213 grams)
Salt	¼ teaspoon
Apples, Granny Smith	3 (198 grams each)
Flour, whole wheat	1 cup + 2 tablespoon (134 grams)

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. 
2. Butter the bottom, not the sides, of an 8-inch springform pan. 
3. Combine the eggs, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. 
4. Start on low, then raise to speed of medium-high, and beat for 8 minutes, until the mixture is a pale tan in color and super fluffy. 
5. Meanwhile, peel the apples, and cut them into ½-inch pieces; yield should be about 4 cups. 
6. When the egg-sugar mixture is mixed, remove the bowl from the stand mixer, and add the flour. 
7. Use a flexible spatula to gently fold in the flour until it is almost incorporated. 
8. Add the apples and fold in. 
9. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. 
10. Bake for 1 hour, or until the top is browned and a cake tester comes out completely clean. 
11. Cool in pan for about 30 minutes, then run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake, and unhinge the outside. 
12. Serve the cake in big wedges, warm or room temperate, with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, and a dollop of cream or Greek yogurt. 

Recipe from Food52.com, September 2019.

Seared scallops with basil risotto

Active: 1 hour; Serves: 4

Pineapple juice	2 cups
Vegetable broth	1 ½ cups
Butter, unsalted	3 tablespoons
Onions, yellow, minced	1/3 cup
Garlic, minced	1 tablespoon
Rice, arborio, uncooked	1 ¼ cups
Parmesan, freshly grated	3/4 cups
Salt	½ teaspoon +
Pepper, freshly ground	¼ teaspoon +
Basil, fresh, minced	3 tablespoons
Sea scallops	1 pound
Vegetable oil	2 tablespoons +
Microgreens	½ cup

1. Combine the juice and broth in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. 
2. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then cover with a lid and remove from the heat. 
3. Heat the butter in a large saucepan set over medium-low heat. 
4. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. 
5. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. 
6. Add a ladle of the hot juice mixture to the saucepan and cook, stirring, until the liquid is fully absorbed. 
7. Continue adding the hot liquid to the saucepan, one ladle at a time and stirring intermittently, until the rice is no longer crunch, about 30 minutes. 
8. Stir in the cheese, salt, and pepper, then turn off the heat and stir in the basil; set aside, covered, while you cook the scallops. 
9. Pat the scallops dry, then season with salt and pepper. 
10. Heat the oil in a medium skillet set over medium-high heat. 
11. Once the oil is hot, add half of the scallops and cook undisturbed for 2 minutes. 
12. Flip the scallops once, then tilt the skillet and baste them with the oil. 
13. Continue cooking the scallops an additional 1 minute, until no longer translucent. 
14. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining scallops, adding more oil as needed. 
15. Divide the risotto among serving plates and top with the scallops. 
16. Garnish with the microgreens and serve. 

Recipe from The Secret Ingredient Cookbook, July 2021.

Frozen peach lemonade

Active: 5 minutes; Serves: 2 to 4

Gin, Venus #2, chilled	4 ounces
Lemon juice, freshly squeezed, chilled	3 ounces
Honey	1 ½ ounce
Water	1 ½ ounce
Peaches, frozen	1 cup
Ice	1 to 2 cups
Mint sprigs	Garnish
Peach slices	Garnish

1. Combine the honey and water over low heat. 
2. Combine the gin, juice, honey syrup, peaches, and ice in a blender. 
3. Pour into chilled glasses and garnish.

Recipe adapted from Food52.com.