Easy, healthy baba ganoush with chive & onion skillet flatbread

To prepare this easy flatbread, you could carefully roll balls of dough into thin, circular shapes, as noted in the basic instructions. Or you could  press golf-ball sized dough balls into uneven oblong, circular, and blob shapes with your hands, followed by employing rolling pins that came out of a play dough set. Either way works just fine. I can honestly swear so, because this week these two easy recipes came together almost entirely in tandem with my 2 (and 5 months) year old, which may be somewhat reflected in the photos.

I love cooking with my Little Monkey. We had so much fun creating these in our kitchen/science lab. We mixed together, whisked together, measured and stirred together. "Perfect," Little Monkey noted as each step was executed. His lip-smacking satisfaction was all the more resonant against our cheerful singing with feeling to  Laurie Berkner's "I'm Not Perfect" .

We eat a lot of hummus in our household. We eat a lot of  plain old chickpeas, too. As a baby, hummus was one of Little Monkey's early favorites (mo' ummuh, he'd say, requesting more hummus). But between all the spreads and garbanzo cookies and snacks and inclusions on salads, in chilis, in soups and in stews, I think my little sous-chef may be temporarily a little chick-pead out.  When it comes to hummus, for now he's choosing to abstain. I'm sure it's just a phase. He is, however, open to "bobby noosh", as long as it's not too spicy. We use a very slightly altered version of this Ellie Krieger recipe. Our version, below, is pretty much the same, just lazier, with one less tablespoon tahini (we throw in a little spinach, too). All the easier for working together in haste.

For these fun and simple flatbreads, I used One Degree Organics Khorasan flour. One Degree Organics products are Non-GMO Project verified, and grown veganically, without chemicals, or animal-based fertilizers of any kind, then sprouted to maximize nutrition, digestibility and flavor. Khorasan is a richly nutritious, non-hybridized ancient grain I'm just getting to know. In comparison to modern wheat, it's higher in protein and minerals, particularly selenium, magnesium, and zinc. An intriguing 2013 study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found associations between consumption of khorasan wheat and significant reductions in total cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and also lowered inflammation.

Working together, Little Monkey and I rolled the flatbread dough into balls, pressed them flat. My curious, independent tot even watched with patience from the Learning Tower (for a limited time) as the breads were cooked and flipped in the skillet. He respectfully pressed the buttons on the food processor and marveled at the magic of blending. And then it was all finished, and I marveled at the magic that is always my favorite part of creating together with our hands: basking in his beaming smile while sharing the snack that we made.

Chive and onion skillet flatbread

• 2 cups flour plus extra  as needed for rolling (spelt, khorasan, whole wheat)
• 1 tablespoons chopped chives
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onion
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Cooking spray

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, herbs, salt, and baking soda.
2. Stir in the water, milk and oil to form a dough (or beginnings of).
3. Knead the dough to form a ball, adding flour if needed. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand 30 minutes.
4. Preheat a large skillet over medium heat.
5. Divide the dough into 12 balls, a little bigger than the size of a golf ball each.
6. Working with one dough ball at a time, roll into a thin circular shape on a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper dusted with flour.
7. Coat skillet lightly with cooking spray. Place a round or two in the skillet at a time, spraying cooking spray as needed. Cook over medium heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute each side, or until cooked side is becoming spottily golden.
8. Transfer cooked breads to a baking sheet to keep warm in the oven. Serve as is or cut into wedges.

Easy healthy baba ganoush

• 1 medium sized eggplant
• ¼ cup fresh parsley
• 1 handful of fresh spinach leaves
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1 fresh garlic clove)
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven 450.
2. Prick eggplant with a fork and place on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Bake the eggplant until it is soft inside, about 20 minutes. Let cool.
3. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, drain off the liquid, and scoop the pulp into a food processor with remaining ingredients.
4. Blend until smooth.