More cooking up holiday gifts

Here's the open secret of holiday eating: we use spices and sweets at this dark time of year to warm the body in the cold. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves--the traditional holiday spices--are all known to raise body temperature. And a bit of sugar heats up the metabolism--a little extra wood on the fire. That's why all the holiday cookies and cakes, spiced cider, spiced eggnog and gingerbread everything. The gift of warmth is the gift of life is the gift of love.  And making these with kids is the gift of enduringly happy memories.

In keeping with no fuss sweets, here's one of the perennial favorites from Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking
Date Bars with Walnuts, Sesame and Coconut

makes about 2 doz. 

4 cups pitted dates (about 1 lb)

½ cup ghee

Optional: splash of rose water or orange flower water

1½ cup whole almonds or walnuts

pinch of ground cinnamon

2 tbsp sesame seeds, lightly toasted

1-2 tbsp lightly toasted shredded coconut (depending on how much you like it)

Line an 8” x 8” square pan with parchment or waxed paper, bringing it up the sides so you can grab it easily. Very lightly grease the paper with Crisco, corn oil or canola oil. If you are using coconut, sprinkle 1 tbsp around.

Toast the nuts on a baking sheet at 350º  5 minutes or until you can smell their aroma.  While warm, coarsely chop and sprinkle with ground cinnamon.

Coarsely chop dates (you can use the pulse button on a food processor).

 Melt ghee in a large heavy gauge pot over medium heat. Lower heat and add chopped dates and optional fragrant water, stirring to blend. Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes or until the dates soften into a thick paste.

Put half the date mixture into the square pan. Run cold water on an icing or other spatula and use the cold, damp instrument to spread the hot dates evenly in the pan. Pour chopped nuts on top. Put the spatula under cold water again and use it to spread them evenly while pushing them down into the dates. Cover the nuts with a layer of the remaining date paste, spreading it evenly with a cold, wet spatula. Push this layer down into the nut layer. Sprinkle sesame seeds and optional remaining coconut on top and lightly press them down into the dates.

Set the pan aside to cool for at least one hour. You can speed things up by putting it in the fridge. Pull the parchment or waxed paper up so the date bars come out of the pan and put them on a flat cutting surface.  Cut into small bars or squares. Keep refrigerated until gifted.

 And here's another healthy nourishing treat from the same book:

Sesame Chews

No wonder Ali Baba said Open Sesame! The sesame seed, tiny though it be, is a huge treasure chest of protein, vitamins, oil and fiber.

 Makes about 3 dozen

2 cups sesame seeds (white or brown)

½ tsp grated lemon zest

¼ cup sugar

¾ cup best quality honey (Greek Attiki recommended)

¼ tsp combined spices: ground nutmeg, cloves and cardamom

½ tsp sesame oil

Coat the bottom and sides of a small cookie sheet, baking tray or square baking dish with the sesame oil.

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan, blend well and cook over medium heat until the sesame seeds are toasted, about 15-18 minutes. Pour onto the oiled surface and spread so that the mixture is uniformly just under or about 1/2 inch thick. Smooth the top.  Let cool an hour or more. Refrigerate if you want to be sure it's hardened enough. 

Cut into bite-size squares.  Store in a tightly sealed container.

 Danish Cardamom Coffee Cake
1/2 lb unsalted butter
1 c sugar
1 c dried currants
zest of 1 lemon, grated
zest of 1 orange, grated
1 tbsp ground cardamom
1 tsp vanilla
2 c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
6 eggs
2 tbsp cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 350º. Butter a loaf pan.
Cream butter and sugar. Add the grated zests, currants, cardamom and vanilla. Blend.
Beat in the eggs one by one. Mix flour and baking powder, then slowly add to the dough.
Fill the buttered pan evenly, level the top and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake 45-50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Cool and remove from pan. Wrap in decorative tin foil and tie with ribbon.

Spiced Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
These tasty morsels of vital minerals and vitamins jazz up a winter salad, a cream soup, baked winter squash, and anything with avocado. They are a gift to folks pressed for cooking time and tastes as well as the gift of good health and eating habits to children. My favorite spice mix for them is Ethiopian Berbere but you can use plain chili powder or curry powder if you prefer. Just keep them savory, not sweet. I gift these in tea canisters, small pottery bowls or pretty little glass jars. I keep my own in a glass jar in the fridge and use them all winter.

1 lb raw pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp corn oil
1 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 c your chosen spice (e.g. curry powder, plain chili powder, mix of cumin/coriander/chili or berbere*)

Preheat oven to 325º. Line a baking/cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat to save clean up. If you don't have either, don't worry. 

Toss the pumpkin seeds in a bowl with the corn oil, sea salt and half the spice mixture. Spread them out on a baking sheet into a single layer.  Roast 20-30 minutes until they are crispy and lightly browned. Put them hot in a bowl with the remaining spice plus an extra pinch of salt if you like snacks salty and toss to coat.  Cool before packing.

*Berbere spice mix (This is a real gift in and of itself because this is the best ever taste for chicken, lentils, baked potatoes, just about everything! It is my gift to you.) You will have plenty left from the pumpkin seeds to use all winter.

2 tsp. coriander seeds

1 tsp. fenugreek seeds

1⁄2 tsp. black peppercorns

1⁄4 tsp. whole allspice

6 white cardamom pods

4 whole cloves

1⁄2 cup dried onion flakes (optional)

5 dried chiles de árbol, stemmed, seeded,

and broken into small pieces

3 tbsp. paprika

2 tsp. kosher salt

1⁄2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1⁄2 tsp. ground ginger

1⁄2 tsp. ground cinnamon

In a small skillet, combine coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, black peppercorns, allspice, cardamom pods, and cloves. Toast spices over medium heat, swirling skillet constantly, until fragrant, about 4 minutes.  Let cool slightly; transfer to a spice grinder along with onion flakes and grind until fine. Add chilies, and grind with the other spices until fine.  Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in paprika, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Last post coming: cookies!