#cinnamod

Easy Homemade Pita Recipe

Media Type: Recipe 

Source/Author: The Mediterranean Dish/Suzy Karadsheh

Skill Level: Beginner

5/5 Cinnamon Buns

After a dinner from a Mediterranean restaurant featuring their scrumptious homemade pita, I was determined to make my own. It’s very easy and comes together so quickly. I can’t believe I have never made pita bread before! This is a basic, easy-to-follow recipe I will definitely come back to over and over again. My family and I finished the entire batch in one day.

Cinna-Mod’s Alterations:

Used table salt instead of kosher salt, reduced amount slightly. Recipe calls for 1-2 tsp, I used a scant 1tsp

Used non-stick pan instead of cast iron

The Experience:

The recipe calls for the dough to be rested for 10 minutes after it just comes together. Waiting that 10 minutes really makes a huge difference in the kneading process! The dough is much easier to work with.

I did not need to dust with the remaining ½ cup of flour during this process.

Using this method, it took me about 3 minutes to cook each pita. Lay rolled out dough in the pan for 30 seconds, flip and cook the other side for 1.5 minutes, and flip again for another minute. Some of my pita stayed flat, some of them bubbled, and a few of them fully puffed up! 

I was not the best at controlling the heat so my pita browned, but I don’t believe this negatively affected the taste. Next time, I will try this with a lower heat setting.

 The Taste/Texture

Very tasty! Not too bland or too salty. 

Perfect to eat by itself or with hummus

For Next Time:

Use a lower heat

Test this recipe in the oven

Make with falafel <3

-CinnaMod-

Media Type: Recipe Source/Author: Skinnytaste/Gina Homolka Skill Level: Beginner

4/5 Cinnamon Buns

Cooking or “baking” using the microwave has always intimidated me a little bit. There seems to be such a slim margin for error because it cooks so quickly! It feels like a few extra seconds in the microwave is the difference between just right and overcooked/rubbery. However, it does have the major benefit of providing a delicious warm dessert within 5 minutes! These banana bread muffins in a mug are not quite like baked banana muffins, but did come together very quickly and were very satisfying! I also love its versatility.

CinnaMod’s Alterations:

Add cinnamon

Exclude sugar (sugar is optional--I prefer a less sweet banana bread)

Double recipe to use entire banana

The Experience:

In a bowl, mash the banana and mix in vanilla and oil (the oil was optional, but used it here).

Mix together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon, then add the banana mixture. This mixture is a little wetter than banana bread batters I’ve previously made.

Because I doubled the recipe, I divided the batter into two small bowls before topping one with pecans and one with sprinkles.

Microwave until the center is no longer wet. For my 1000-watt microwave, this took about 90 seconds as the recipe says. During this process, my muffin rose significantly in the microwave then sunk back down after resting for one minute.

Do not skip resting for a minute! It will be very hot!

The Taste/Texture:

The taste was spot on! I prefer the muffin with the pecans more than the one with sprinkles. The sprinkles looked nice before microwaving, but they got stuck to the side of the bowl and left a little staining. I found this still very sweet without the sugar.

Texture was a little bit more chewy instead of the tender crumb I’m used to with banana bread, but I did not mind. I do not believe the muffin was supposed to sink back down, but my baking powder is a little older.

I would still make this dessert again. It’s not quite like banana bread, but is very banana-y which I enjoy.

For Next Time:

Use new baking powder

Exclude oil

Top with chocolate chips

~CinnaMod~

Media Type: Recipe 

Source/Author: Love and Lemons/Jeanine Donofrio

Skill Level: Beginner

4/5 Cinnamon Buns

I have really been enjoying a bowl of plain oatmeal for breakfast recently, but as temperatures rise, my motivation to turn on the stove and cook oatmeal decreases. Enter overnight oats. I rediscovered these oats a few weeks ago and have made them several times since! This recipe from Love and Lemons includes the “base” overnight oatmeal as well as four delicious topping suggestions!

Cinna-Mod’s Alterations:

Exclude maple syrup - my oatmilk was slightly sweet already

Replace blueberries with mangos for one of the toppings

Add vanilla in the base oatmeal recipe used for both topping options

The Experience:

This is probably the easiest recipe I have ever made! 

Cherry Berry/Mango: Yogurt, frozen cherries, frozen mango (or blueberries), chia seeds, and maple syrup (optional)

Chocolate Chip Cookie: Almond/Peanut butter (I used peanut butter here, but I generally prefer almond butter), chocolate chips, almonds, and vanilla.

The Taste/Texture

The oats have a very pleasant texture with slightly more of a “bite” than traditionally cooked oats.

Overall, the oatmeal is less “slimy” than cooked oats--I like the texture of both overnight and cooked oats, but those who do not like the texture of cooked oats may enjoy overnight oats.

Cherry Berry/Mango: These toppings are slightly tart and extremely refreshing! It took me a little bit to adjust to the taste of yogurt and oatmeal together, but I think I do like it. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie: While I don’t think this tastes like a chocolate chip cookie, this option is very good and feels extremely indulgent!

 For Next Time:

Try the Coconut Tumeric and Sweet Sesame Tahini options!

 -CinnaMod-

Magic Garlicky Tofu Media Type: Recipe Source/Author: Gimme Some Oven/Ali Skill Level: Beginner

4.5/5 Cinnamon Buns

I enjoy tofu in all its forms (plain, baked, in soups, etc.) but I often end up making the same two or three tofu dishes despite how versatile it is. This wonderfully peppery Magic Garlicky Tofu recipe will definitely be made in my house again (and again and again)! This recipe takes about an hour, a little longer than I’d normally spend on a weeknight dinner, but comes together very easily.

Cinna-Mod’s Alterations:

Substituted jalapeños for ⅓ bell pepper and a few shakes of red pepper flakes

Used yellow onion instead of red

Used jarred, minced garlic instead of mincing it myself

The Experience:

The recipe calls for a batch of baked tofu which is also linked on the recipe page. Baking the tofu takes about 30 minutes, and I prepared the sauce as the tofu was baking.

Season and bake the tofu. The linked baked tofu recipe called for the tofu to be coated with cornstarch, oil, salt, garlic powder, and black pepper before baking.

The cornstarch coating helps the tofu become a little bit crispier, but if cornstarch is unavailable, it’s okay to skip it.

The sauce starts with mixing the following in a small bowl: water, soy sauce, maple syrup, ginger, corn starch, and 1 TABLESPOON of freshly ground black pepper. I don’t think I’ve ever used this much black pepper in a dish!

Before cooking the sauce mixture, onions,  jalapeños (or in my case, bell pepper and red pepper flakes), and minced garlic are sautéed in butter. After everything is softened, the sauce mixture is added. My sauce thickened pretty quickly.

Note: By replacing the butter with vegan butter or oil, this recipe would be vegan.

My sauce was done a bit before my tofu, so I used the extra time to heat up leftover quinoa.

The Taste/Texture:

YUM! I adore how much black pepper is in this recipe. It has a beautiful kick to it!

This tofu dish is extremely flavorful which makes it perfect served with rice, quinoa, or even salad. I enjoyed mine with quinoa and some roasted broccoli and cauliflower.

Although no longer crispy, leftover tofu is still enjoyable the next day!

For Next Time:

Mince my own garlic

Add sesame oil

Try with unbaked, cubed tofu for lazy weekday evenings

Make extra sauce 

Add roasted vegetables directly into the sauce before serving

-CinnaMod-

Media Type: Recipe 

Source/Author: The Kitchn/ Sheela Prakash

Skill Level: Beginner

4/5 Cinnamon Buns

Pancakes, while delicious, often leave me feeling hungry a couple hours later. This pancake recipe incorporates rolled oats into the batter for added fiber. Bonus, it is also a one bowl recipe!

Cinna-Mod’s Alterations:

Halved the recipe

Used Almond Milk

The Experience

I made the mistake of using a small pan! The recipe actually calls for a large cast iron or griddle to allow three pancakes to cook at a time. I only was able to cook one pancake at a time.

Flipping these oatmeal pancakes is extremely easy! They hold together very well. It is a little harder to tell when the pancakes are cooked through, however.

The Taste/Texture

Less sweet than traditional pancakes (PERFECT for adding syrup and fruit!). I did not taste the cinnamon, so I’d add more in the future.

Less fluffy/more chewy than traditional pancakes--texture is similar to baked oatmeal, but fluffier?

For Next Time:

Try mixing the batter and allowing it to sit in the fridge overnight.

Add mashed banana or pumpkin puree to the batter.

No Content Warnings Apply

Media Type: Recipe 

Source/Author: Souped Up Recipes

Skill Level: Beginner

4/5 Cinnamon Buns

A few years ago, I discovered the world of “baking” cakes in a rice cooker which intrigued me. I was hesitant to try it until now because it didn’t look like it was going to save me time or make a better cake. I finally took the plunge and I’m very pleasantly surprised by how easy and low maintenance it was. The cook time was approximately one hour, but it would depend on the size of your rice cooker. This is a cake I will make again to satisfy my chocolate cake cravings, but probably not one I’d make to impress.

Cinna-Mod’s Alterations:

Used milk + lemon juice instead of buttermilk

Reduced sugar from 1 cup to ⅔ cup

Used powdered sugar instead of ganache to top the cake

The Experience:

Note: In this particular recipe, sugar is considered a dry ingredient although it is usually listed to be combined with other wet ingredients.

The recipe called to melt butter over the stove, but I stuck mine in the microwave until just melted.

The author of the recipe worked with a different rice cooker that required her to push a button every 15 minutes. I did not need to do that.

In hindsight, the cake was probably done in my rice cooker at 40 minutes.

The Taste/Texture:

This is not the best chocolate cake I’ve had, but it was probably the easiest one I’ve made from scratch!

For the most part, the texture is very light. The bottom of the cake closest to the heating element was a little harder (I think this would have been avoided if I left it in for only 40 minutes)

Reducing the sugar to ⅔ of the cup was perfect for me! It was very chocolatey for only having cocoa powder without being too sweet.

For Next Time:

Cook for less time

Serve with fruit and ganache or whipped cream

One of the greatest joys of cooking comes from how creative I can be after finding a basic recipe like the oatmeal pancake recipe by The Kitchn/ Sheela Prakash. I am not a breakfast person, so although I enjoyed the pancakes, I did not expect to make them again for a few months. Surprisingly, these oatmeal pancakes have made it to my meal rotation thanks to their versatility and how well they keep in the refrigerator. It’s as easy as a slice of plain toast, but much more satisfying and having any sort of pancake just seems to enhance the breakfast experience for me.