Paleo Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

I am not sure what came over me, but I really wanted to make some lemon tasting muffins this weekend. I've been on a bit of a splurge of gluten free goodies the past week, mostly facilitated by going out to various places for my birthday.

Muffins! Yum! These turned out great - they were light and fluffy - and were simple, with stuff I happened to have around. I want to experiment a bit with this recipe to make grain free lemon pancakes, and top them with blueberries or raspberries.

I followed the original recipe very closely, just reducing the honey and adding a few drops of stevia. I also just made a half batch (with 2 large eggs). My half made 4 muffins, not 6, but I filled the muffin cups fairly full.

Paleo Lemon Poppyseed Muffins (makes 9-12 muffins)
1/2 cup + 1 tbs of coconut flour
5 eggs
1 tbs of vanilla
1/4 cup of melted coconut oil
2 medium sized lemons juiced
1/3 cup honey (or 1/4 c honey plus some stevia)
1/2 tsp of baking soda
Zest from 2 lemons
2 tbs of poppyseeds (you could also use chia seeds if you can not find poppyseeds)

1. In a large bowl mix together the eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice. Melt the coconut oil and honey together and pour into the egg mixture.  Mix everything together.
2. In a separate bowl mix together all the dry ingredients.  Slowly stir them into the wet ingredients. The batter will thicken after a minute or two, and will get sort of puffy looking. This is good!
3. Fill each (greased) muffin tin (or lined muffin pan) with about 1/4 cup of batter
4. Bake for 22 minutes. Let cool a couple of minutes, and eat!

Paleo Hot Chocolate

Well, I keep thinking that I am going to do a Whole30 again any day now, but I don't seem ready yet. I'm not quite in the holiday feasting mode, but I'm still consuming a fair share of chocolate. Yum! Including some hot chocolate that I have refined to a fine art to make the most stellar cup.

I also want to share my song of the week here (occasionally I get obsessed with a song and listen to it on repeat): O Superman by Laurie Anderson. You can play the video while you consider making a cup of hot chocolate. I don't know why I love this song so much, but I really do. It makes me want to find a group of other people so that we can do our own acapella version of it.

My friend and fellow blogger Jane first inspired the paleo hot chocolate - she made me a delicious cup that helped me see the wonder of coconut milk hot cocoa (previously I was sort of dismayed to not use any dairy cream in there). My recipe includes a honey/stevia combo - but you could easily sub one or the other. I like this best with pretty equal ratios of coconut milk to water but you can use whatever ratio you like.

Paleo Hot Chocolate (1 serving)
4 oz coconut milk
5 oz water
pinch of good quality salt
1 tsp honey
4 drops stevia
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 heaping tsp cocoa powder (sugar free)
1/8 tsp vanilla
ground nutmeg

1. Heat coconut milk and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. As it is heating, add the honey, stevia, salt, and cinnamon.
2. Once the liquid is steaming (so that you can see the steam rising up), whisk/stir in the cocoa powder. Doing it at this stage (when the milk is steaming) helps the cocoa powder to dissolve and mix thoroughly so you don't get clumps.
3. Continue stirring until hot chocolate just barely starts to simmer. Add vanilla extract and sprinkle nutmeg (the freshly ground stuff is the best) on top. Pour in a mug and sip decadently.

Baked Veggies in Eggplant Sauce

The garden harvest continues.  I picked a few handfuls of bush beans even, and I thought those had pretty much stopped so haven't even been watering them. The continued warm weather may be extending the season a bit - even my winter squash sent out some new little squashes. I didn't take a picture, but they are so cute! I've been storing various things when I have time - here are some of my efforts:

Roasted tomatoes packed in olive oil

Pesto, pickles, and roasted tomatoes!

Last week I tried one more recipe from Nigel Slater's Tender - a cookbook that I give two thumbs up based on the handful of recipes I've tried, and because of the really useful information about more casual cooking with various veggies. For example, I had never thought to pair mint with eggplant - it didn't seem to go. But he recommends mint as eggplant's best herb pairing, and it is delicious. I've thrown it on roasted eggplant, or with a roasted veggie blend of eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes.

Not surprisingly, this recipe also makes use of mint. The recipe originally calls for yogurt, but I swapped in coconut milk with a good amount of lemon juice and it was great. I am very confident I did not make this dish as he would have - I cooked the veggies long (and cut them smaller) and they were very soft, and my sauce to "drizzle" over the top was stirred in and the whole thing became more of a stew-like affair. Regardless of my liberties, it was a really incredible flavor - not like any other I've had before, and very creamy tasting and so nice with all the fresh garden vegetables.

Baked Veggies with Eggplant Sauce from Tender
serves 4

Garden Veggies (cut smaller than recipe calls)

Sauce:
2 large eggplants
olive oil
scant 1/2 cup coconut milk 
3 T lemon juice
handful chopped mint leaves
salt and pepper

Veggies:
4 large tomatoes (or several smaller ones)
3 zucchini, quartered length wise
2 bell peppers, cored and thickly sliced
onion, peeled and cut in wedges
olive oil
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp hot sauce
handful pine nuts
handful raisins

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut eggplant in half lengthwise and score the flesh with several deep etches (helps the oil penetrate). Sprinkle with salt and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Wipe off salt, place in baking dish, and pour a few glugs of olive oil over the top and bake until soft (cut side down). You should be able to crush the flesh with a fork. Mine baked about 45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, put tomatoes, peppers, onions and zucchini in roasting pan. Toss with oil and salt and roast 45 min-1 hour. (Shoot for getting the veggies in about 15-20 minutes after the eggplant started to time things best.)
4. When eggplant is soft and cooled just enough to handle, scrape eggplant flesh from skin and mash with coconut milk-lemon and enough olive oil to make a paste that is thin enough to drizzle. *I had a hard time with this - my eggplant had cooled a lot, so maybe that is why. I just didn't want to add more olive oil than I had already, so mine was a bit thicker. Season with salt, pepper, and mint. If you are using coconut milk and it tastes weird, you need more lemon and more salt. It should not taste at all coconut-y.
5. Toward the end of cooking for the veggies, gently stir in cumin, hot sauce (I used sriracha), pine nuts, and raisins. Finish roasting.
6. Serve veggies drizzled with eggplant sauce (or in my case, just mix it all up in a bowl!! so good)

My version was not the most picturesque - but don't let that stop you! I used golden raisins, and there are so few, but they sneak a nice bit of sweet in there.

Creamy cucumber salad

Poona Keera

Cucumber mania! I planted three kinds of cucumbers this year, and they all have been delicious. One is a standard pickling cuke (National Pickling), another is a long english variety (Sweet Success), and the third, my favorite, is a brown/white skinned cucumber that is really crunchy and delicious and "never bitter" (says the seed catalog). It's an heirloom from India called Poona Keera.

Pickler in front, Poona Keera in back

The Sweet Success were the most prolific last week, and I used those to make a really simple, super refreshing and tasty salad. The recipe was created by My Charming Companion - so all credit goes there for the clever use of coconut milk and fresh herbs. Actually, this dressing makes an excellent ranch alternative - it would be great on all kinds of salads (slaw, green salads, etc) and is nice and creamy and super fresh tasting with the fresh herbs. I actually don't even know how to describe this salad - it's like a more salad-y raita maybe? 

The salad can be prepared any number of ways: I thinly sliced the cucumbers, but I've also done a rough chop. You can peel the cukes or not, remove the seeds or keep them in. Add tomatoes, and switch up the herbs. *Note that cucumbers do seem to get watery if you make a salad like this and are saving some or making enough for left overs. Removing the seeds will decrease the excess water.

Creamy cucumber salad
3-4 cucumbers (any variety will do), sliced thin or chopped
1 small red onion, sliced thin or minced
1 c coconut milk
1/4 c combined fresh mint and parsley
1/4 c olive oil
2 T apple cider vinegar
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp mustard powder
pinch of cumin
black pepper

1. Prepare your cucumbers and onions however you like and toss together in a bowl.
2. In a blender mix coconut milk and herbs. You want the herbs to mix in really well and get minced. Add remaining ingredients and continue to blend until thoroughly combined. Toss dressing with cucumbers and onions and serve!

Since eating the salad listed here, I've also had a variation using dill, parsley and garlic scape buds in the dressing (rather than mint) with cucumbers and tomatoes - see photo. Yum. It also looked really pretty with a blend of the white and darker green cukes. So festive!

Raw Beet Salad

I tried to get scale here!

I am home with the windows open, listening to my neighbor's bluegrass band - they are all crammed on the porch, upright bass, fiddle and all - thankfully they are good. The warm weather makes me want cold salads of things other than lettuce. Today's recipe (last night's dinner) features Lutz beets. Which, btw, are STILL local at the Seward. They are these ginormous beets (the photo is of a relatively small one) that are really sweet tasting and a beautiful red with some pink inside (the other beets are from CA). I buy one at the co-op each week to become beet kvass, breakfast, and now beet salad. This is totally refreshing, simple, and good. It's a Mark Bittman recipe, and I kept it as is except to add some toasted walnuts. As is his usual, there are many variations on it, so you can use half carrots plus ginger, or put in cabbage and orange (see his link above) for a different, but same, sort of salad. I love that about Mark Bittman's recipes, although I don't own any of his cookbooks to really make use of it!

Speaking of cookbooks, I just got a cookbook from the library (after seeing it at Moon Palace Books) that turned out to be excellent: Odd Bits by Jennifer McLagan. It's all about using animal parts (brains, kidneys, feet, udders, etc) with lots of recipes and really nice directions about how to prepare these odd bits, as well as some helpful information about what it might taste like and why much of Europe still considers these pieces delicacies. It's straight forward and made me feel less squeamish about getting a whole pig head, for example. The fact that it makes me want to try pig head at all is pretty great. So. I recommend her book - I'm even thinking about buying it, and I have not bought a cookbook in over 5 years or something crazy. For sure not since I was a wheat eating vegetarian!

Anyway - back to beet salad.

1 to 11/2 pounds beets, peeled
2 large shallots, minced
1 sprig tarragon, minced (opt)
1/4 c chopped parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp Dijon mustard, or to taste
1 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T sherry or other good strong vinegar
1/4 c toasted walnuts

1. Shred/julienne beets in a food processor or with a mandoline. Mix with shallots, parsley, and tarragon (mine was dried).
2. Toast walnuts on a dry cast iron skillet on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring often.
3. Mix remaining ingredients for a dressing. I was out of mustard so used mustard powder, and it was still good. Pour dressing over beets, and toss walnuts on top.

This salad was even better for lunch the next day.

Fennel Apple Salad

This weather! Hurray! I left for Mayday yesterday morning thinking it would be cool and cloudy, and it turned out it was sunny and warm and the clouds just disappeared from the sky. I brought a nice Mayday picnic for the parade of tea, roasted chicken, and a really tasty salad which was a jumble of fresh veggies: avocado, fennel, tomato, parsley and cabbage. I am experimenting with fennel more often - it is so good chopped up and added to a salad.

Today I wanted something that was mostly fennel, so after perusing a few recipes I decided to try one of fennel and apples. I modified it some (hers is more lettuce-y), and it turned out delicious. The fresh lemon juice and zest are especially nice, and the walnuts. I added in fresh green onions from my garden and a few chives for a little savory zing.

Fennel Apple Salad   
(serves 2 large or 4 small salads) 
1 large/2 medium fennel bulbs
1 apple (a tart one is nice)
1/2 c chopped parsley
1/4 c toasted walnuts, chopped
1-2 green onion, chopped fine 
1 T fresh chives, chopped fine
Freshly ground pepper 
sea salt 
1/2 lemon, juice and zest 
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
 

1. Trim the fennel (so you have just the bulb) and slice super thin. I used my mandoline for this, but you can also use your fancy knife skills. Slice the apple the same way.
2. Toast walnuts for several minutes on a dry cast iron skillet for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Chop.
3. Toss the fennel, apple, parsley, green onion and chives in a medium size bowl. Top with lemon zest and lots of freshly ground pepper and a sprinkling of salt. Mix the lemon juice and olive oil together, and pour over the top of the veggies. Stir again.
4. Sprinkle walnuts over the salad and serve. This is also really tasty the next day when the fennel and apple have absorbed the dressing. Yum!

Happy Mayday!

Babaganoush

I don't remember ever making babaganoush before, though I remember the first time I had it as a kid - I thought it was SO delicious. Way better than hummus. I got a big eggplant from my friend's CSA (thanks KT) last week, and decided to roast it and make a batch of babaganoush. It's pretty easy - just roast the eggplant and blend it up with a few other things. It turns out it tastes a little weird warm, so make sure you chill it after you are done! I had it with roasted tomatoes, zucchini, lamb and peppers tonight and it was really good.

Babaganoush
1 large eggplant, or 2 medium small ones
1/4 cup tahini
juice of 1 lemon (maybe a little more)
2 T olive oil
1+ tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne

1. Prick the eggplant all over with a fork. Roast it in a 400 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. It will look soft and deflated when it is done. (*I read that before roasting it, you can "char" the skin over a gas flame for 5-10 minutes to get a nice smoky flavor. I will try that next time!)

2. Let the eggplant cool, or put it in a cold water bath for 5 minutes. Once it is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and chop the eggplant into big chunks - set aside.
3. In a food processor, blend the tahini with the olive oil, lemon and spices to "fluff up" the tahini. This will help make the mixture extra light. Add in the eggplant and blend again, until it is creamy with some texture. Taste and adjust seasoning as you want. I added in a little more lemon to mine because I like it a little tangy.
4. Chill in refrigerator and serve! Try it with roasted veggies, or as a dip for raw cucumber and carrots. It would also be nice with some paleo crackers, but I am not feeling so ambitious even though she says they are really easy. Tomorrow I am going to try it on a burger....
*Fresh parsley would also be good in there if you have it!

Strawberry Spring Salad

My strawberries are starting to get nice and red! It's me and the squirrels in a show-down, vying for each and every fruit. I think we are 60/40 and I'm in the lead.

I actually found out about this salad from Allison, fellow WFDM blogger. It's a simple fresh salad that is light and sweet - I found it a really nice way to finish off dinner. The fresh garden lettuce was so nice in there in this delicate, sweet way, and it is my first basil of the season! The big star of the salad though, is the blogger's strawberry-basil-lemon dressing. It would make excellent sorbet - this is such a tasty flavor combo (she does have a smoothie recipe for it). I doubled her olive oil just to make it a little more filling, and took out the sweetener (she uses 1-2 t maple syrup).

Spring Salad with Strawberry Lemon Basil Dressing

for the dressing (yield: 2/3 cup):

From the blog Oh She Glows

• 1 cup fresh strawberries
• 1/4 cup packed fresh basil
• 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• fine grain sea salt & black pepper, to taste

for the salad:

• Slivered almonds, toasted
• shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted
• mixed greens
• strawberries, chopped
• fresh basi, chiffonade

1. Preheat the oven to 300F. Toast the almonds for about 7-8 minutes and then remove and add the coconut. Toast another 2-4 minutes, or until lightly golden, watching closely so the coconut doesn’t burn.
2. In a food processor, add the strawberries, basil, lemon juice, and oil. Process until smooth. Add in the salt, pepper, and maple syrup to taste and process again.
3. Assemble the salad as desired. Leftover dressing should keep for at least a few days in a sealed container.

Cashew Bok Choy

Ooh, I am anxious for the next round of things to come in the garden. I am thinking green beans will be next - which I cannot wait to make some dilly beans with since those were the first pickled thing to go in the fridge last year.

I brought home bok choy this week, which I think I have written about before because I repeatedly overlook it in the store, and then I think it is so tasty when I saute it up. It isn't growing locally yet, so this is a precursor for when it is! The recipe is super simple - the toasted sesame oil is really nice with the toasted cashews, and it uses green onions (which are so good in this early springtime).  The original recipe is linked here on a blog that has grain free (usually paleo) stuff, including lots of desserts (if you are into the grain free dessert eating mayhem).  She says the recipe is also great with kale or spinach (and thus probably also spring's all abundant lamb's quarters).

Cashew Bok Choy
1 large head Bok Choy
1 T coconut oil
1 3/4 c chopped green onions
3 garlic cloves, minced (I omitted)
1 1/2 T toasted sesame oil
1/2 c. unsalted cashews
Salt to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste

1. Put your raw cashews in a cookie sheet and roast in a 450 degree oven for 5-7 minutes. Keep your eye on them so they don't burn!
2. Chop bok choy into 1/2 inch pieces - all of the white and green parts go in.
3. Heat oil in a large pan on med high heat and add onions. Cook for a few minutes (I put in the white part first and then toss in the greens after a minute or two).
4. Add bok choy and cover for another 5-8 minutes until wilted and/or tender to your liking.
5. Remove from heat and drizzle with sesame oil, salt, and red pepper flakes. Add toasted cashews. Serve!

Spicy Lamb's Quarters

SO many lamb's quarters!

Last weekend was a giant harvest of the 3 foot tall lamb's quarters at the north-side homestead. They took over the beds and aisles that are now planted with tomatoes and peppers, resulting in A LOT of lamb's quarters (two 5 gallon buckets that are stuffed full)!  I feel happy that the beds got a successive "planting" (if I can call the edible weed growth a planting). Seriously, if you have not tried it yet, this plant is really delicious - see post from a week or two ago about identifying this weed (there are lots of online recipes too).

Much of the harvest will go in the freezer for soup, but the stuff I kept out will likely go to this recipe created by My Charming Companion. It tastes sort of creamy with some nice spice and reminds me a little of East African collard greens (that I think I've had a few places, but including the Blue Nile). These are SO good!

Picture these but more creamy & yellow, with onions*

Spicy Lamb's Quarters, serves 2
1 small onion, chopped
4 c. chopped lambs quarters (or several big handfuls)
2 T coconut oil
1/4 c. coconut milk
2 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. garam masala
salt to taste
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1) Heat coconut oil in a cast iron pan. Add onions and saute 3-5 minutes.
2) Add spices and stir.
3) When onions are translucent, add 1/2 of the greens with some water to steam and cover the pan. After a few minutes, add the rest of the greens plus the coconut milk and stir. Cover again to steam the next batch. Add a little more water if needed. Let cook a few more minutes so that greens are wilted and cooked through.
4) Salt to taste. Just before serving sprinkle with apple cider vinegar.

*Photographic side note: I am still without camera. I am somewhat bereft at this, but making due. If I had the means to be taking pictures, you would definitely have more accurate reflections of these dishes, including a shot of the two 5 gallon buckets filled with greens. There would also likely be a photo of the garden because it is looking so dang good right now - though perhaps that would not translate to photo as much as in real life. : )

Delicata squash with tahini dressing

Well, it seems that I like those single ingredient veggie sides lately...in the form of veggie tossed in oil and then roasted in the oven and sprinkled with salt. Yep - simple and tasty. And good as leftovers for lunch the next day.

In browsing Heidi Swanson's blog, I came across a really delicious looking delicata squash recipe - but it was complicated and required miso and harissa, neither of which I had, so instead I just stole her idea and simplified it. Did you know you can eat the skin of delicata squash? I didn't. But you can! And I think it looks so pretty to have these half moons of squash getting all roasted and brown in the oven. And geez, why peel a squash if you don't have to? Prep time for these is, like, 3 minutes.

Squash Prep
2 Delicata squash (totally not in season - these are from Mexico, alas)
2 T. coconut oil
smoky salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and slice em up. Toss the slices in the melted coconut oil and spread them in one layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes*, flipping halfway through. Sprinkle with (smoky) salt.
*Note that I made some of these on one of those insulated baking sheets and they got not nearly so brown as the ones in my baking pan that was not insulated. So, go for the thin baking sheet/cake pan sort of idea here.

Tahini Dressing
Mix equal parts tahini, water, and lemon juice. Toss in some salt. You can also add in garlic if you can do the whole raw garlic thing. If it is too thick, add a bit more water. That is it! So good. (This dressing is really tasty on just about anything.)

Than just pour the dressing over the top and eat em up. I also had some as leftovers the next day, and ate them as a snack at work (plain and dipped in the tahini). YUM.

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Spinach and Avocado

I started making some sweet potato fries for dinner, and then realized I had some spinach and avocado and thought they would all be tasty together. And sure enough, I found a recipe online. I modified the recipe a bit, used the same dressing, and it turned out great. I really liked having the warm sweet potatoes and nuts on the fresh spinach. To make this EVEN easier, you could use any bottled dressing, or one without tahini and it would still be good.

2 sweet potatoes, diced
small onion, diced
coconut oil
4+ c spinach leaves
1 avocado, diced
1/2 c almonds, toasted
feta cheese (optional)

Dressing:
2-3 T tahini
1 T water (i used hot to soften the tahini)
1 T olive oil
juice of a small lemon
salt to taste
garlic, minced (optional)

Roast sweet potatoes and onion in coconut oil at 500 degrees for 15-20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Mix dressing and toss with roasted sweet potatoes/onions. Layer sweet potatoes, almonds, and avocado over spinach and serve!
*Note that in photo i just put dressing over the top...I think it is better mixed in with the potatoes, but I didn't get a photo!

Roasted Curried Cauliflower

These foggy, warm, but cold days are ones where I just want to watch movies and eat tasty things. Maybe it is the fog, maybe because it is the end of the week, I don't know. But this cauliflower totally hit the spot. I have never really had roasted cauliflower before, and though it is slightly more high maintenance than steaming, it is so worth it. This stuff turned out amazing. I actually ate almost the whole cauliflower it was so good!

1 head of cauliflower, cut into uniform florets
2 T. melted coconut oil, olive oil, etc
2-4 T curry powder
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Half a lemon

Preheat oven to 450. Mix up the florets in a bowl with oil/fat, curry, salt and pepper. Empty bowl onto a cookie sheet or in a cake pan. The original recipe says to have the pan be foil lines, but I didn't do that and the dishes were not a problem. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil, and bake for another 20 minutes, flipping cauliflower half way through. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the top, and serve. (I was so eager to eat that I forgot the lemon until partway through - it is good either way, but the lemon is a total flavor boost.)

Michelle's Broccoli Quinoa Salad

My friend Michelle makes versions of this simple salad often, and I love it.  I can't stop eating it.  Seriously.  Good thing it is healthy!

1 cup dry quinoa prepared with 1.5c water

3 TBSP lime juice (I use more typically to taste)

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp salt

2 TBSP olive oil

1 medium cucumber - diced

1 medium tomato - diced

1 red pepper diced
a head of broccoli or two- chopped

1/2 to 3/4 cup cilantro -fresh and chopped finely
1/2 to 3/4 cup basil -fresh and chopped finely
feta optional

1. Whisk lime juice, pepper, salt, and oil in small bowl

(If it's too limey I may add some sugar to the dressing.  Also if I'm short on lime juice I add a little vinegar or Italian dressing to taste.)

2. Combine cucumber, tomato, pepper, broccoli, cilantro, and basil in large bowl (add feta here as well if using it).   Add in cooked quinoa and toss.

3. Add lime juice dressing and toss to coat.

Voila... chill and serve.

Curried Squash Soup

2 medium acorn or butternut squash

(or others of your choice: sugarloaf/dumpling etc to make that amount)

Cut in half, spray/coat lightly with oil and roast in oven for about an hour or until nice and soft. Scoop out and remove seeds. Set aside.

Next :

chop one medium onion

2 cloves garlic

peel and chop one apple

sauté the above in olive oil in a large pot (which will allow you to later add the squash and water) with the following spices:

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger (fresh or jar)

1/4 tsp dry mustard

a few dashes cayenne

about 10 mins on medium heat.

Finally, scoop out the squash insides and add to the mixture in the large pot, along with:

1 cup orange juice, (fresh squeezed or not)

2 1/2 cups water

Cook until heated through, let cool before placing in food processor or blender for nice smooth texture.

These things can be added to taste:

Salt

Lemon juice or apple cider vinegar if soup is too sweet for you.

I enjoy serving it with bread.

Gluten Free and Vegan Fruit Crisp

I made this Gluten Free and Vegan Crisp recently and I really enjoyed it!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In mixing bowl, toss together:

5-6 cups your favorite fruit

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup granulated sugar

in another bowl:

1 cup masa harina corn flour

1 cup gluten free oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

optional: 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1/3 cup margarine

2 level teaspoons of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Pour fruit mixture into prepared pan then spread/sprinkle on the topping. Cook for 30 minutes or until topping is lightly browned, and fruit filling is bubbling around edges and slightly thickened.

Coconut Kale

This recipe comes courtesy of Jamie, who created these totally amazing greens to share at a Shabbat gathering at Occupy MN last week. A handful of us stayed to talk in the plaza and eat kale with our fingers while the general assembly got going on the other side of the government center.

I sort of marvel at this complex movement that is Occupy Wall Street. One of my conversation highlights that night was to note that those of us at Occupy (wherever) are representative of people (wherever), only rather than existing in a smaller sphere within our houses or communities, we are interacting with one another: sharing ideas, having conflicts, and trying to find consensus on all sorts of massive topics. Something about it makes me feel quite in love with us all.

So. These greens. I have made them twice since eating them less than a week ago - not only because they remind me of feeling love-full, but also because they are damn good.

Serves 4-ish
2 T coconut oil
2 banana peppers (or sweet peppers), diced
2 jalepeno, diced very small
1/2 onion, diced
2 small tomatoes, diced
large bunch kale, chopped
1 T tamari
splash sriracha or hot sauce* (*optional!)
1/3 c. dried coconut

Heat coconut oil in a large saucepan. Add onions and peppers and saute 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and saute 2 more minutes. Add kale in small handfuls; stir to coat with oil. Add tamari and cover pan with lid to steam for 5-6 minutes, stirring once or twice, until greens are dark green and tender. Stir in coconut and hot sauce. Taste...add salt or more hot sauce if needed.

Nanaimo bars

Thank you to Megan for hosting such a magical blogluck and for creating an incredible summer table! Here's the recipe for the dessert, courtesy of Oh, She Glows. Yum!


Note: they can be made gluten-free by using GF graham crackers!

Quinoa bowl

I recently got an email suggesting all sorts of new cookbooks, most of which were vegan and gluten-free. I used to buy cookbooks on a whim, but now I'm more selective (due to financial and spatial constraints), so I checked out most of the list from the library. Can we talk for a minute about the Hennepin County Public Library? I cannot say enough good about this library system. It is AMAZING! Thank you, wonderful HCPL! They have an amazing selection, a fantastic Interlibrary Loan system (way better than the one at the U, FYI), and FREE use of incredible databases. Unbelievable! I.love.this.library.

Anyway, OK, I altered a recipe from The Conscious Cook, which is a very pretty cookbook (tons of photos) but slightly more "chef-y" than I like (e.g., he uses ring molds and things for plating. Plating!). Still, there are many delicious-looking recipes in the book and I'm excited to make a few.

This was supposed to be a quinoa, avocado, and sweet potato timbale with roasted tomatillo dressing, but turned into a bowl of quinoa + yam + the dressing.


1) Make some quinoa.

2) Cut up a sweet potato (I used a yam) into small cubes and saute in a little coconut oil until crispy.

3) Roast 2 tomatillos (10 minutes or so in a 375 oven). Combine tomatillos, 3 T. olive oil, 1 T. rice vinegar, 1/4 c. chopped cilantro, and 1 t. light agave nectar (and salt and pepper) in a blender. Process until smooth.

4) Combine everything in a bowl! Add fried tortilla strips, avocado, etc., if you want.

(Apologies for the terrible photo. I am keeping true to my bad photography on both blogs!)

Key Lime Kream Bars

This recipe is from a cute little cookbook called Ani's Raw Food Desserts by Ani Phyo (who has branded herself an "eco-lifestylist"). Oh my. Anyway, I'm excited about some of the recipes because they are so easy! (And very tasty.)

I cut this one in half because I didn't have 4 cups of cashews--it worked just fine.

4 c. cashews
1 c. lime juice
1/2 c. agave nectar
1/2 c. liquid coconut oil
1 c. water, as needed (I probably used 1/4 c. water)

Combine everything in a food processor (or high-speed blender) and process until smooth. Scoop the mixture into a pie dish and freeze until chilled. Cut into bars to serve.

Yum!