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Roasted Garlic & Kale Hummus – Gluten-free + Vegan
This time of year, I am taking in all the green that I can, while it is still here. Sure the fall is the most colorful time of year around here, but the winters in Buffalo are long, cold and definitely lacking in greenery and fresh local produce.
What better way to celebrate the remaining green and fresh flavors of the summer than a simple dip featuring two of my favorite flavors – roasted garlic and fresh raw kale! I grabbed some beautiful local garlic and kale from the farmers market, and let those be the start and I created my recipe from there.
This hummus is simple to put together and it is filled with layers of incredible flavors. And as with any hummus, this one would be great with rice crackers, tortilla chips, fresh raw veggies, on pizza, in wraps or sandwiches or heck, even just by the spoonful.
This post was originally shared on the Free People Blog BLDG, as part of my ongoing series.
[print_this]Roasted Garlic & Kale Hummus – Gluten-free + Vegan
Makes approximately 2-3 cups
- 1 bulb of fresh garlic
- 1 large can (25 ounces) organic garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup tahini, well stirred
- 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse or kosher salt
- 1 small bunch kale, stems removed and roughly chopped, about 2 to 3 tightly packed cups
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- Red pepper flakes or black pepper
Start by roasting your garlic. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Peel away the outer layers of the skin from the garlic bulb, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic. Place the head of garlic in the center of a small piece of foil. (You can also place it in a baking pan or muffin tin covered with foil). Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil over the top, using your fingers to make sure the garlic head is well coated. Close the foil around the garlic tightly. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft and tender. Take it out of the oven and allow it to cool so you can touch it. Using a knife or a fork, press down on each clove to squeeze the garlic out of the skin.
Make your hummus. Reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid, rinse and drain chickpeas. Place chickpeas and reserved liquid in a food processor. Add in the kale, freshly squeezed lemon juice, tahini, roasted garlic, salt and a little freshly ground black pepper or red pepper flakes. Process until smooth. I drizzle in just a bit of olive oil while its processing, it makes it even smoother and gives it a nice, subtle taste. Sprinkle a bit of red pepper flakes or smoked paprika and drizzle a bit of olive oil on top when serving. Serve with your favorite gluten-free goodies like rice crackers, tortilla chips, raw veggies, or serve it on a sandwich, in a wrap and more. To store, refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 week. [/print_this]
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Zucchini Socca with Caramelized Onions – Gluten-free + Vegan
I am very honored to have been asked by Leanne of the Healthful Pursuit to guest post while she and her hubby make the move from Calgary to Montreal. Leanne’s blog is one of my absolute favorites and I enjoy that she and I share very similar views on food, eating and well, life in general. Leanne and I frequently email back and forth chatting about food, health and life and I am constantly grateful that blogging has brought us together. It is amazing how well you can feel like you know someone that you have never actually met.
After sharing my gluten-free and vegan lentil “meat” loaf the last time I guest posted for HP, I had some big shoes (of my own) to fill, since that has become one of my most popular recipes, to date. This time around, I decided to share a simple recipe that would be perfect way to use some of those last of the season zucchini, whether from your own garden, your neighbors or maybe like me, your CSA share. Soccas have quickly become one of my favorite go-to meals around here when I am at a loss as to what to make. They are super simple, very versatile and being that I usually have a huge bag of chickpea flour in the pantry, I always have what I need to make it. Not too long ago I shared a recipe for a Kalamata Olive and Herb Socca with Roasted Vegetables that I served as a simple lunch for myself and my hubby, but I have also made socca-style pizzas and other variation and I have been dreaming playing with a recipe for a sweet socca, maybe with some cinnamon and nutmeg and drizzled with honey. How amazing does that sound?
This Zucchini Socca with Caramelized Onions features shredded zucchini inside which provides a nice bit of color and flavor, but I also added in some fresh basil and some red pepper flakes and topped it all off with caramelized onions, one of my favorites! There is a wonderful crispiness to the outside and a nice creamy and delectable inside. Also, if you aren’t vegan or dairy-free this would be incredible with some crumbled goat cheese on top, as well.
Head on over to Healthful Pursuit to get the full recipe and thanks again to Leanne for having me guest post while she gets settled in her new life. It is always a pleasure.
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Crispy Baked Beet Chips – Gluten-free + Vegan
See, I told you that I would use up the beets from our CSA share. I wanted to do something fun and different with the beets, since I usually just juice or grill them. My husband, Mark, absolutely HATES beets, he despises them and won’t try them no matter how good I tell them they are. He thinks they are gross and taste like ‘ground’ or ‘dirt’!
Well, I can officially say – I have WON the beet war in our house! I got Mark to eat beets and he actually liked them. I didn’t even have to sneak them into something else. I just said “here, just try this beet chip, don’t be a jerk”. He tried it and he liked it, then he had another and then a few more. Then he proclaimed “I have never,ever liked beets before, ever, but these I actually like!” S U C C E S S !
These beet chips are super easy to make and you can keep them simple with just a little sea salt, or you can add some fun things like onion powder, or rosemary or any other spices or herbs you desire. I used a mix of both golden beets and red beets that we got in our CSA share from Porter Farms. Once you peel the feels and slice them, you will not believe the vibrant bright colors. They are almost too pretty to eat. Almost. These chips are so crispy and satisfying that you won’t be able to eat just one or even a couple. I made this batch and had planned to eat a few for a mid-afternoon snack and then save the rest for an evening snack. That didn’t work. At all. We ate them all.
As far as storing goes, these chips will likely lose a bit of their crisp when you store them, so as with most crispy baked foods, best to eat these up right away when they are their crispiest. Darn.
Besides being super delicious and so vibrantly beautiful, if you need even more reasons to eat beets here are a few of their wonderful benefits, beets are a unique source of phytonutrients called betalains. The betalains found in beets have been shown to provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification support. If that isn’t enough, the combination of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory molecules in beets makes this food a highly-likely candidate for risk reduction of many cancer types. Oh and don’t forget the fiber! Beet fiber (along with carrot fiber) are two specific types of food fiber that may provide special health benefits, particularly with respect to health of our digestive tract (including prevention of colon cancer) and our cardiovascular system. More info about the wonderful benefits of beets can be found here.
[print_this]Crispy Baked Beet Chips – Gluten-free + Vegan
- 3-4 medium beets (or 6-8 small beets), peeled and sliced thinly about 1/16 – 1/8 inch – using a mandoline slicer is the best and easiest way to do this
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Sea salt to taste
- Feel free to add any additional seasonings that you wish *
Preheat oven to 350º F. Toss beets slices with oil in a medium sized bowl until they are all well coated and lay them flat in a single-layer on a rimmed baking sheet (bake in multiple batches, if necessary). Bake for 20-30 minutes, until chips are crispy. Check after about 15 minutes since the time will vary based on thickness of chips and how dark your baking pan is, mine took about 30 minutes since my baking pan was really light in color. The second batch I made was on a much darker baking pan and they cooked up much quicker. Sprinkle a little sea salt over top when you take them out. Transfer to a wire rack and they will crisp up a bit more as they cool.
* Play around with adding in different spices and herbs. I made one batch with some fresh rosemary, another with some onion powder and then just a plain batch, all were very good.
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Refrigerator Garlic Dill Pickles – Gluten-free, Vegan + Refined Sugar-free
If you have ever been to a restaurant with my husband Mark and I, for a quick bite at a diner, or any type of place that serves sandwiches or burgers, we have a bit of a ritual. Since I am obviously rarely able to order a sandwich at a restaurant, but Mark obviously can and does quite often, we have a little rule where the pickle on his plate is always saved for me. He likes pickles, but he knows how much I love them, so he will gladly gobble up his turkey club and then hand the delicious briney pickle spear or round over to me. Even when I haven’t noticed that he even had a pickle, let alone save it for me, there it is, at the end, waiting for me. What a great hubby I have – he totally supports my obsessive LOVE of pickles!!
I also have been known to order a side order of pickles if a restaurant is known for having delicious ones. There is a place near Austin, Texas that everyone loves to go to for BBQ, it’s called the Salt Lick. They have delicious food, but since I am not a huge meat eater, I usually get a small order of smoked turkey with all the fixins’ and a huge side of pickles. I usually make a small dent in the food and then eat the pickles until I can’t eat them anymore. I have been to Disneyland in California twice now, and thanks to my friend Summer, getting one of the large dill pickles from one of the fresh food carts there is part of the whole experience. They are so delicious and they are best when eaten very slowly, to savor each and every bite. I seriously could eat pickles until my tongue hurts from all the vinegar. They are the best. But not all pickles are created equal. It is very rare that I buy pickles from the grocery store and just eat them at home, they are never quite good enough. A couple of weeks ago, I bought a jar of pickles from a girl at the farmers market and they were incredible. It was then that I realized that I should really just be making my own at home, especially now that cucumbers are in season.
Most summers I usually make a batch or two of pickled peppers with the different hot peppers we grow in our garden, but since I didn’t plant any this year, I am not sure I will be doing it. But when I saw the delicious local gherkin cucumbers at the market a few weeks ago, I knew I HAD to buy some and make refrigerator garlic dill pickles. How could I not?
You can play around with the spices in this recipe, too. I added my usual favorites and also tossed in a couple of dried super spicy thai peppers that I had dried out from our garden last year. They brought a very subtle spicy heat, that I really loved. You can omit the peppers all together or add a teaspoon or so of dried red pepper flakes if you don’t have whole dried pepper. Plus, you can use this same brine to pickle other things like peppers, cauliflower or carrots, which I did, since I had some leftover brine. The carrots were amazing and I think I may have eaten them between two sittings.
OK, so who else is obsessed with pickles? I know I am not alone in my love.
[print_this]Refrigerator Garlic Dill Pickles – Gluten-free, Vegan + Refined Sugar-free
Makes a couple of jars (depends on the size of your cucumbers and your jars, etc)- 2 pounds local gherkin cucumbers (you can also use any other small firm cucumber of your choice)
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 2 1/2 cups white distilled vinegar
- 3 tablespoons raw cane sugar or other sweetener of your choice
- 3 tablespoons coarse kosher salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons whole coriander seeds
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
- a couple of sprigs of fresh dill (or a couple of teaspoons of dried dill)
- Optional spicy add-ins: 1 or 2 spicy dried peppers, red pepper flakes or you can add some sliced jalapeños in with the cucumbers.
Clean the cucumbers very well and slice them as thin as you would like them, I would say I cut mine to about 1/4″ thick rounds. You could also cut them into spears or leave them whole depending on their size. Place them in a large glass preserving jar or two smaller jars.
In a non-reactive saucepan, bring the other ingredients to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes.
Remove from heat and pour the brine over the cucumbers. Place the lid on the jar and let cool. Once cool, refrigerate. You can start enjoying them the next day, but obviously they are better after a couple of days. They’ll keep for about 2 months in the fridge.
* This brine is great on lots of other veggies, like carrots, cauliflower, peppers, etc. You can also add onion slices to the jar with the cucumbers, if you wish. Play with the recipe and make it your own.
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Baked Falafel Bites with Creamy Tahini Dressing – Gluten-free + Vegan
Happy summer everyone! I know I am a few days late with my wishes but I forgot to send them your way last week. I actually welcomed the change of the seasons last Thursday night with 108 sun salutations at East Meets West Yoga. A small group of us celebrated the summer solstice by doing 108 Surya Namaskar A. The significance of the number 108 is an auspicious number, open to interpretation but it has long been considered a sacred number in Hinduism and yoga. You can read more about the importance of the number 108, here in this wonderful article by Shiva Rea. The practice was such a nice way to welcome the new season and all the change that lies ahead. I am so glad I was able to participate and experience it with some of my fellow practitioners and teachers.
This time of year, even just at the very start of the summer in the midst of the heat and humidity, I crave clever and fresh meals that don’t require a ton of prep and standing around in the hot kitchen. But you have to get creative if you want to do more than just grilling. I absolutely adore salads in the summertime! Anything I can come up with that is simple, green and not hot makes me happy as can be.
The other night I wanted something more than just a regular green salad and I had been craving falafel, but I had to figure out how I could make falafel without dying of heat. I figured the best way to have it all was to mix up the “dough” mixture for the falafel and allow it to cool and come together in the fridge, while I cut up all the veggies for the salad. Then I plated the salads, made the dressing and placed that in the fridge. When it was time to preheat the oven, I quickly rolled up the falafel got it on the pan and then went outside on the patio. While the falafel baked I enjoyed the cool breeze outside and didn’t have to deal with the heat from the oven. When the falafel were ready, I tossed a couple on the already plated salads, drizzled the dressing on top and carried our plates out onto the patio where we enjoyed a beautiful dinner while the sun set. It was perfect.
These falafel are insanely simple and so delicious. I have fresh parsley and oregano growing in my garden, so I popped out back and grabbed a bunch to add to the mixture and they brought a really nice bright fresh flavor. One of my favorite things about falafel is the spicy intense flavor from the garlic, I cannot have too much garlic in my life (although those around me probably wish I consumed less). It is so good. You can feel free to add more or less, I used 3 cloves, 2 of which were so massively sized. I served the baked falafel on top of a green salad that was a mix of local greens from the farmers market, I used a half and half mix of romaine lettuce and arugula and I topped them with grape tomatoes, black olives, cucumbers and red onions. The only thing we were both missing the minute we took a bite, were some tangy and slightly spicy peperoncini. They would have been perfect.
As any good Greek girl would, I have always absolutely loved tzatziki sauce and that is how I have always preferred my falafel to be served, but since I have stopped eating dairy, I had to get creative and come up with a new way to serve it. Since tahini pairs so well with the flavor of chickpeas, I figured a creamy tahini dressing was the way to go. The nutty flavor was perfect with the creamy vegenaise and the tangy lemon juice. Feel free to stick with classic tzatziki or whatever your favorite dressing is. And if you aren’t gluten-free (or maybe you have a good gluten-free recipe), you can stuff a sliced open pita pocket with your greens, some tomatoes and onions and whatever else you’d like and top with a couple of falafel balls. That is heaven!
On Saturday, I just picked up my first CSA share from Porter Farms and it was loaded with 4 different lettuces and a variety of other greens, so you can be sure you will be seeing more salad recipes! It’s time to get creative with my salads and their toppings.
What is your favorite way to eat a salad? What foods do you crave when it is hot out?
Baked Falafel Bites with Creamy Tahini Dressing
[print_this]Baked Falafel Bites – Gluten-free + Vegan
Makes 20-25 balls, serves 2-4- 1 25-ounce can of organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed*
- 1 small red onion, chopped
- 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled (feel free to add more garlic if you like your falafel super garlicky)
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chickpea flour (aka garbanzo bean flour, gram flour or besan) – you could also use a gluten-free all-purpose flour
Add everything but the chickpea flour and baking powder to the food processor and pulse until everything is well combined. You want the chickpeas coarsely chopped and all of the ingredients combine, but don’t puree it, you do not want it smooth and pastey.
Add the baking powder and chickpea flour and pulse to bring it all together into a dough. Add more flour if need the dough is too wet and not holding together well. Form the dough into a large ball and cover, refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes to an hour.
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Form the mixture into 1 1/2 inch – 2 inches balls (you can also make patties if you prefer). Place the balls (or patties) onto the baking sheet, they don’t need much room between them since they don’t change size or expand.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning them over about halfway through, bake until nicely browned.
Serve the falafel on top of a beautiful green salad with all of your favorite things and drizzle with creamy tahini dressing (recipe below), you could also serve them inside of a pita pocket or over rice.
*note – I love chickpeas and I eat them very often, so I always buy the larger can that is 25 ounces, if you buy a standard sized can that is 15 ounces, just use a bit less chickpea flour and baking power, more like 1/4 cup of flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder and you will just end up with a few less falafel balls or patties.[/print_this]
[print_this]Creamy Tahini Dressing
makes approximately 1 cup of dressing- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup vegan mayo (I use homemade)
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup water
Add all of the dressing ingredients to the food processor or blender and process until smooth and creamy. Place in the fridge until you are ready to serve, the dressing will get thicker as it chills.This dressing will keep for approximately 7-10 days in the fridge. [/print_this]
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Roasted Balsamic Strawberry Mini-Tarts with Whipped Coconut Cream – Gluten-free + Vegan
I am so elated over the outcome of this super fun, kickoff to summer-time recipe. It was one of those things I dreamt up (and loosely wrote up) while sitting at my computer working and when it finally came time to make it, I crossed my fingers and dove right in. I had to make a few subtle corrections from my original notes to make the tart shells work perfectly, but other than that, it all came together so perfectly. On the first batch, I didn’t use the paper muffin cup liners and the tart shells didn’t want to come out in one piece, even with greasing the pan, but add in the paper liners, and it was simple as can be!
This recipe is insanely simple to make, please don’t let the three-part recipe throw you off. Just remember to refrigerate your coconut milk the night before for the whipped “cream”. The dough for the tart shells takes just minutes to make, you need only one bowl and you can literally just use your hands to mix it, that’s what I do. It takes just a couple of minutes to get it evenly divided and pressed into the muffin cup and while the mini tart shells bake, you can cut up the strawberries and allow them to sit for a small bit in the balsamic/maple sugar mixture. Once they are done baking, you can chill the tart shells while you roast the strawberries, meanwhile you can whip up your coconut cream and when the strawberries are done, you can serve it all up. It can all be done in less than an hour, probably more like 45 minutes and it is so simple, you won’t believe it. If you want to make it even quicker and skip out on the heat from the oven, serve the strawberries fresh. With or without the balsamic vinegar. No matter which way you make it, this recipe will impress the pants off any one at a party, especially those that are gluten intolerant and vegan. They truly won’t believe that it is safe to eat. It is that good.
My favorite thing about this recipe is that although it is gluten-free and vegan, no one would never know it. Mark kept eating bite after bite telling me, that this was seriously one of the best things I had ever made. ‘Pastry shop grade’ – he even said. Quite the compliment. Beyond the shells being totally grain-free, and everything being refined sugar-free, it is hard to believe the fluffy, creamy whipped “cream” is dairy free. I honestly need to have a can of full-fat organic coconut milk on hand at all times, so I can always make some whipped “cream”. The other great thing about this recipe is how versatile it is. It can go through the summer with you as different fruits come into season. I cannot wait to make it in the fall with some baked spiced apple slices. YUM!
I am happy to once again be posting over at Free People’s blog, BLDG 25 where this week they are celebrating all things ‘Americana’. When they asked me to share a recipe that went along with that trend, I kept thinking of all of the wonderful summertime picnics, BBQs and beach trips. I wanted something simple and tasty, but full of beautiful, bright summertime flavors! Although nothing says summertime in America better than ice cream, berry pies and strawberry shortcakes, if you are the gluten-free and/or vegan at the party, that doesn’t always leave much for you. So, I decided to marry the idea of a berry pie with strawberry shortcakes to create these adorable little mini-tarts!
This recipe was originally shared on Free People’s Blog, BLDG 25.
[print_this]Roasted Balsamic Strawberry Mini-Tarts with Whipped Coconut Cream – Gluten-free + Vegan
makes 12Grain-free Mini Tart Shells
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 12 cups in a muffin tin with paper liners (you could also use greased mini tart pans). In a large bowl, add all of the crust ingredients and mix very well. Really get your hands in there to get it all together and work it into a nice dough. Add the crust mixture to the muffin cups and press down firmly into the cup using your knuckles, going up the sides a tad bit. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then place the pan in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
Roasted Balsamic Strawberries
- 2 pints baskets of strawberries, hulled and sliced (it’ll look like a lot of berries, but they cook down a lot)
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons maple sugar (or palm/coconut sugar, raw sugar, etc)
Raise the oven to 400º F. Toss the strawberries with the balsamic vinegar and maple sugar. Allow to sit for a few minutes while your oven preheats. Pour all of the strawberries and their juices onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet or any other overproof dish or pan. Roast for about 10 to 12 minutes until the strawberries are hot but not too overly mushy. You can separate the berries and pour off some of the juices if you want to use it for drizzling, or you can just keep it all together. I kept some of the juice aside to add to some sparkling water for a refreshing drink.
Whipped Coconut Cream
- 2 cans organic full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (use more or less or none at all, or whatever your favorite sweetener is)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Make sure that your cans of coconut milk are well chilled. I recommend leaving item in the fridge overnight. Open the cans of coconut milk carefully, keeping them level. There will be a firm, waxy layer of coconut cream that solidified on top. Carefully scoop this off into a chilled glass bowl. Keep the leftover coconut water, it is great for smoothies.
Using a mixer, whip the coconut cream for 3 to 5 minutes until it becomes light and fluffy, with soft peaks. Mix in your maple syrup and vanilla, if you are using. Place the whipped coconut cream back into the fridge until you are ready to use. This may be more than what you need for all 12 tarts, but that’s ok, it keeps for several days, covered in the fridge.
ASSEMBLING THE TARTS:
Remove the paper liner off of the tart shells. Top each of the tart shells with a spoonful of the roasted balsamic strawberries and a dollop of whipped coconut cream. Serve immediately. [/print_this]
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Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Bites – Gluten-free + Vegan
I feel a little bad, because I really haven’t addressed the running thing in about two weeks. So many of you offered really great advice and I was really feeling great about it all. I went on a total of three runs and I really took each one very easy, trying not to go too hard too fast. Because I was using an iPhone app that basically was helping me ease into running, it had me on a program where I would walk for about 90 seconds then run for 45 and so forth, including a warm up and a cool down. The workouts were 30 minutes long and I was “running” about 2 miles each time. After my third run I was experiencing some very severe inner knee pain almost immediately afterward. I hesitate to even call it knee pain, as it was far more like leg pain, than knee pain. I wasn’t having any pain in my knee caps, I could kneel on them, etc. It was more any amount of pressure was seriously irritating both of my inner legs near the knee. Going up and down the stairs was horrid. I decided I need to take a break from running before I did any major damage to my body. Shortest running career, EVER! I kept up with my daily yoga practice and I did a ton of icing and I was taking ibuprofen, as needed. All of those things helped, but it took a solid 2 weeks for my legs and knees to stop hurting as much as they were. I wouldn’t say that now I am back to the way I was before this happened, but I am very close. So yeh, that was seriously upsetting and totally a let down. It is partially why I haven’t really mentioned it, because I was a little let down that only 3 runs in, I was already forced to take a break.
In talking with my friend Elyssa, who is also my amazing chiropractor and one of my yoga teachers, and in her looking at my knees, she explained that it seemed to be a tracking issue. My knees just aren’t tracking straight, so when I bend them, they tend to want to fall in, instead of staying in line over my toes. Not caused by the running, something that was already there, but aggravated by the running. Now that I am aware of this, I notice all of these things I do, even in yoga, where I allow my knees to fall in. So she gave me some strengthening exercises to do and I haven’t given up all hope, just yet. I do feel like I need to do some work on my body before I jump back into running. That knee pain honestly scared the crap out of me and made me quite sad that I was never going to be able to enjoy running.
At any rate, the running stuff really has very little to do with these brownies, but I felt the need to share the status on my newfound and short love affair with running, since I had left everyone high and dry after you all offered so much incredible advice and encouragement. Thank you again, seriously and hopefully I will need more of that advice again soon, when I feel ready to go back.
I guess what these brownies do have to do with this story is that I made them over the weekend for a Sip ‘N See party for Elyssa, her husband Aaron and their brand new baby boy, Oliver! The party was a bit of baby shower, but everyone got to meet the amazing Oliver and welcome him to the world. Elyssa and Aaron adopted baby Oliver and the party was one of the nicest celebrations I have ever been to. It was a very casual and laid back get together with lots of people from our yoga studio and obviously some of their other family and friends. Everyone just got to visit, swoon over the baby and just enjoy each other’s company and lots of yummy food. Since a handful of other people there are also gluten-free, a few are vegan, some are just dairy-free or just vegan, etc – my friend Kathleeen (hi, Kathleen! 🙂 ) asked me to make something sweet for a dessert! I was all over that. I love making sweets for people, especially when I know they will appreciate them being gluten-free and vegan!
It took me a couple of days to decide what to make for a good amount of people, in a casual grab-it and go kinda setting. It had to be small, bite-sized and easy to just pick up and eat. I was thinking about cupcakes for a while, but I am not much for the decorating part of cupcakes. It just isn’t my thing. That’s when I realized a brownie bite would be perfect. When I made these for the party, I wasn’t sure everyone would love the addition of mint, so I made half of them mint and half just classic chocolate. It could have been their placement on the plate, or coincidence, but the mint ones went so quickly. They were gone long before the classic ones. Since it was the first time I had made them, for the party, I did decide that I wanted to change a couple things about the recipe, so I made them again a few days later, to try to perfect them. The second time was definitely the charm, I seemed to get the ratios more on point and they were exactly right.
The fact that I have an overabundance of fresh mint growing in my yard, is the reason why I
wanted tohad to include some fresh mint in these brownie bites. I couldn’t resist. If you don’t have any on hand, no worries, you can simply leave it out. If you don’t like mint flavor, just leave out the fresh mint and the mint extract and add in a little more vanilla and you are left with classic chocolate chip brownie bites.These tasty little nuggets are filled with flavor, they are the perfect size, they are easy to eat and the mint and chocolate combination is really to die for! They are fluffy and moist, while being chocolatey and gooey from the chocolate chips and for me, they are the right amount of sweet.
[print_this]Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Bites – Gluten-free + Vegan
makes approximately 30 brownie bites
Loosely adapted from this recipe- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted, plus a little more for the pans
- 1/2 cup garbanzo and fava bean flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour (aka almond meal)
- 1/4 cup potato starch
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon mint extract (I used just about 1/2 teaspoon and the mint flavor was perfect, not too overpowering at all)
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 10 ounces vegan, gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate chips (mini chocolate chips would also be good)
- 1/4 cup firmly packed, fresh mint, very finely chopped
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brush 3 dozen mini-muffin pans with oil; set aside. You can also just use one pan and wait until each batch cools to unfold them and then regrease the pan to make the next batch (this is what I did).
In a medium bowl, whisk together garbanzo and fava bean flour, almond flour, potato starch, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and unsweetened cocoa powder; set aside. In a large bowl, mix together banana, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla and mint extract. Slowly add flour mixture, stirring to combine. Stir in water until it forms a batter. Fold in chocolate chips and fresh mint.
Place approximately 1 tablespoon batter into each prepared muffin cup, you want them about 3/4 of the way filled. Transfer muffin pans to oven, and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before unmolding.
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Whole-Grain Hummus Pizza – Gluten-free + Vegan
I feel like life has been a bit of a whirlwind lately, so I apologize for the lack of posts. Besides all of the work we have going on with the design studio, we have been so wrapped up in getting stuff done on the house to get it on the market (the realtor came by on Friday, we have just a few small things to do and then we are ready – YAY!) and we have had a ton of summertime social activities going on. Life has been insanely fun and exciting, but the last couple of days I am feeling it all catching up to me. My head is spinning and I am not sure which way is up some days. The biggest problem with how busy we have been is I just can’t seem to squeeze time in to cook. When I do, I am so focused on getting healthy and delicious food made and then having time to eat and enjoy it, that I am forgetting to slow down enough to share the recipes. I actually made this pizza almost a week ago, I had the time to take photos and everything and then I totally forgot to share it with you guys! I actually forgot completely about it, until I was going through my photos today. Ooops. You can see where my head is at these days. This week seems to be a bit calmer so I hope to have some other recipes to share with you.
This recipe is something I have made before and it is really quite simple and it is so delicious. You can really play around and use whatever toppings you love, these are just some of my favorite toppings and what I easily had available. I had made up a quick batch of roasted red pepper hummus the other day using my chipotle hummus recipe (I substituted 1 large roasted red pepper for the chipotles), so that is what I used on this pizza. Feel free to use store bought hummus, that works just as well and I have done it plenty of times. I love how creamy the hummus is, it is the perfect base to whatever your favorite toppings are. I honestly don’t miss the cheese one bit when I eat one of these pizzas. This pizza is also great with a variety of toppings like roasted eggplant, zucchini, fresh tomatoes, broccoli, red onions, asparagus, mushrooms, arugula and so on and on and on. I have made this so many different ways. So have fun with this recipe and your toppings!
As far as the crust goes, if you don’t want to make your own crust, you can simple use whatever pre-made gluten-free crust or dough that you like. I really enjoy this whole-grain crust from Gluten-Free Girl because I can easily tweak it based on what flours and starches I have on hand and I love that it is vegan and gluten-free and most importantly VERY simple. I really enjoy using flours like millet and buckwheat in this crust, because besides their beautiful flavor, I really love how they give the crust a beautiful rustic, brown color and it browns very nicely and the crust has a lovely chewy texture that is just absolute perfection. Make sure to check out this post on Gluten-free Girl and the Chef on how to create your own multi-grain all purpose flour blend using whatever your favorite flours and starches are. I know I have shared it on here before, but it is a wonderful guide with a very simple ratio. I usually mix up 1000 grams at a time, 700 grams of a variety of different flours plus 300 grams of a starch or two.
[print_this]Whole-Grain Hummus Pizza – Gluten-free + Vegan[/print_this]
*Note the quantity of ingredients below is for just 1 small 8-inch (or similar sized) pizza, double the ingredients if you plan to make one large 16-inch pizza or two small pizzas.- 1 small (approx 8-inch) gluten-free and vegan whole-grain pizza crust (see the recipe for the whole-grain crust that I used, below)
- 1/2 cup roasted red pepper hummus (or whatever your favorite hummus flavor is)
- 1/2 cup black olives, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1/4 of fresh basil, roughly chopped
- 1 clove garlic, very finely minced
- 1/4 cup hot pepper spread or your favorite pickled hot pepper, such as banana peppers, peppadew, jalapeños, etc – roughly chopped
- kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
Preheat the oven to 350º. Spread your pre-baked crust with with the hummus, top with sun dried tomatoes, hot peppers, fresh basil, olives and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle the olive oil over top of everything. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until the toppings are warmed and the edges of the crust are lightly browned and crisp.
[print_this]Gluten-free Whole-Grain Pizza Crust
From Gluten-free Girl and The Chef
Makes 2 8-inch pizza crusts or 1 16-inch pizza crust. (I made two crusts, they weren’t exactly round since my pan is rectangular, but you get the idea)- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed or ground chia seeds
- 500 grams whole-grain gluten-free flour mix (I used a combination of millet, buckwheat, sorghum and arrowroot starch)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 teaspoons active-dry yeast
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 to 1 cup warm water, about 110*
- olive oil for brushing on top of the crust
Mix the flaxseed (or chia seed) into a bowl. Pour 2 tablespoons of boiling-hot water over the seeds. Whisk immediately and quickly until you have a thick paste. Let this set aside and cool down.
Put the gluten-free flours and the salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix them up together.
Put the yeast, olive oil, and half the warm water into a small bowl. Stir gently. Let them sit for a moment to activate the yeast.
Add the flaxseed slurry to the dry ingredients and mix for a moment. Pour the yeasty water into the dry ingredients. With the mixer on medium, whirl for a few moments, until the dough comes together into a soft ball around the paddle of the stand mixer and feels soft and pliable. If the dough feels too dry, add more of the warm water in small amounts until the dough feels right. (You might not need all the water. You might need more. Yeast doughs can differ from kitchen to kitchen.) Set the dough aside in a warm place and let it rise for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 450°. (If you feel comfortable with heat, take it up to 550°. Just watch the dough in the oven, carefully.) If you have a pizza stone, make sure it is in the oven. If not, sprinkle a pizza tray or baking sheet with gluten-free cornmeal.
Grab 1/2 of the dough (or all of it if you are making one large crust) and put it between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Through the paper, roll out the dough to your desired thickness.
Pre-bake the dough. Take the parchment paper off the dough, then transfer the dough to the pizza stone or prepared pizza tray. Brush the top with olive oil. Bake until the dough has started to crisp up and browned at the edges, about 8 to 10 minutes. (It will take less time if you have the oven cranked up to 550°!)
Take the crust out of the oven. You now have a pre-baked pizza crust. Top with whatever you’d like and bake until the toppings are cooked through.[/print_this]
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Spicy Chickpea Crackers with Chives – Gluten-free + Vegan
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend, or just a wonderful weekend if you are outside of the US. We had a very busy one, filled with so much fun, great friends and my amazing family! Short of being away on vacation, I don’t know if I have ever had that much fun, that many days in a row. Some of the highlights of those 5 days was a super relaxing Thursday night massage after work at my good friend Erika’s newly opened place here in Buffalo, Phoenix Rising and a nice dinner at Trattoria Aroma with my hubby. Friday night after work we had dinner with some of my absolute most favorite people at La Tee Da in Allentown. Saturday, after yoga I took my first trip to the farmers market of the season with my friend Dana, my sister Vicky and my niece Teagan. Then Mark and I had a little cookout at home in the evening. Sunday morning, I woke up early to take a trip, with some very lovely ladies, to Rochester to take two yoga classes in a row taught by our friend Lyndsey at Breathe Yoga. In June, she is moving to Africa for 6 months to teach yoga, so I am so glad we were able to see her before she left. Sunday night there was a super fun and chill Memorial Day party at our friend Sarah and Brian’s and we got to spend time with some of my favorite people. Monday we were able to beat the insane heat with with a super fun afternoon pool party at our good friends, Karen and Vinnie’s house, which was so relaxing. After a few hours in the pool with sun beating down on us, we followed it up with a nice weekend-ending BBQ and some super quality hang time with my parents, my sisters and my niece and nephew! Seriously it was non-stop awesome.
So yeh, I am not sure anyone besides me will even read that last paragraph, but I was on such a happiness high all weekend, that I had to share. We usually spend this time of year traveling for work or getting ready to hit the road, that I forgot how amazing this time of year can be. For once, going back to work yesterday after a 3-day weekend, was a little bit challenging, normally I cannot wait to get back to it all. It is so rare that we allow ourselves that time away from our work, but we decided with our pending move, that we wanted to enjoy our time here as much as we could! However, since we had so much going on and it was insanely hot, I also decided to not worry to much about cooking or baking over the weekend. When we were actually home, we threw veggies or some of our local meat on the grill and we ate out on the patio. It was really nice and super simple.
I did find time to pull together a really tasty Mexican quinoa salad to take to our friends BBQ, which I will have to make again so I can share it with all of you. I also made these simple crackers for snacking. I grabbed a copy of LA Yoga Magazine when we were out in California a few weeks ago and they had a simple recipe for some chickpea crackers that intrigued me. I wanted to add some things to the crackers to really make them my own, so I added some red pepper flakes, because I love spicy thing and I also added some fresh chives from my garden. These crackers are great on their own, or even better with some salsa, hummus or whatever your favorite dip is. You could even crumble these up a bit and use them as a topping on a salad. I am calling my crackers “rustic”, because they weren’t perfect little squares like I am sure they should be. I kinda dislike perfection with food. I want my food to look like someone made it with their hands and lots of love. Besides, it was so insanely hot in the kitchen when I was making these that I didn’t have the patience to be meticulous. If you want fun little shapes, like animals, stars or triangles, you could use small cookie cutters or cut any other shapes with your hands.
These crackers would be great for a snack or even better, package them up in little zip lock bags as a perfect travel snack. You could play around with different spices and herbs, maybe adding things like small diced up sun dried tomatoes, etc.
[print_this]Spicy Chickpea Crackers with Chives – Gluten-free + Vegan
adapted from LA Yoga Magazine, May 2012
makes about 40 crackers- 1 cup sifted chickpea flour
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (add as much or as little as you’d like or leave this out, if you don’t want the heat)
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh chives, roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2-4 tablespoons water (you may need more)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a baking sheet and set aside.
Combine the flour, nutritional yeast, baking powder, sea salt, red pepper flakes and chives in a medium sized bowl. While stirring, add the olive oil to the flour mixture, then begin adding the water 1 tablespoon at a time until a dough forms that can hold together. Knead the dough several times until smooth and firm, adding more flour or more water, as needed. Shape into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 10 minutes.
Divide the rested dough in half. Place one of the halves on a clean work surface that is dusted with chickpea flour. Flatten the dough a bit with the palm of your hand and sprinkle the top with more chickpea flour. Using a rolling pin that has been dusted with flour, roll out the dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1-inch squares, or whatever your desired shape, and arrange on the prepared baking sheet.
Repeat with the remaining dough. Before baking, prick the tops of the squares with the tines of a fork to prevent them from blistering and bubbling up as they bake. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and let the crackers cool on the sheet. As they cool, they will become crisp. (Test one after it cools. If it isn’t crisp, return the pan to the oven for a few more minutes.) Store in an airtight container up to a week. [/print_this]
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Creamy Indian-Spiced White Bean Dip – Gluten-free + Vegan
I am back home from our trip to California, we landed late last night and I am feeling insanely invigorated. We spent nearly a week out there, exploring neighborhoods and all the different towns, we went to the beach, we celebrated our 5-year wedding anniversary at Disneyland and fell even more in love with everything Southern California has to offer! This was the trip we needed to light that fire under our behinds to get the last few things done before we get our house on the market here in Buffalo and move out west! It is looking like our new home is going be in Long Beach, in a quaint little neighborhood by the beach. We cannot wait to start seriously looking for a house and to get this party started!
We are headed back to California in less than 2 short months for our good friends’ Patrick and Summer’s wedding, so who knows, maybe even by then we will have sold the house and be ready to start the whole process. I really hope so.
Ever since we decided to move out there, I told myself that given we would be living somewhere that has beautiful weather all year long, that I was going to be way more active outdoors. I want to get into running and biking as part of my weekly fitness routine, since both feel like a wonderful compliment to my daily yoga practice. Rather than waiting to get out there to start anew with so many things, I decided on the plane ride home that I was going to get started right away, particularly with the running since I have never really given it a serious shot. I have always found running to be painful and not my favorite way to sneak in exercise. But, the more I have read about running and getting started on a serious plan, it is best to ease your body into it and not try to do too much, too soon, which is probably what I have always done. So, I am going to take advantage of the beautiful spring and summer weather here in Western New York and start my training now, so I can hopefully just hit the ground running (pun intended) whenever we finally get out to the west coast.
Tonight is my first run, I have a good pair of Nike+ running shoes that I bought years ago and only ever wore to the gym, I have a couple of iPhone apps downloaded to help me properly ease into running, so they can tell me when and how I should be running and walking and for how long. I even have a running partner, my hubby, who is ready to get back into running himself. Now, the only thing I have to fear is my annoying low back issues. I tend to keep that all at bay with yoga and an incredible chiropractor, but I am a bit concerned on how the running will affect my back. I have a herniated disc in my low back that is known to cause me issues now and again and from what I have read about running, the pressure and the shock from it can sometimes be a bit hard on that type of injury. Here’s hoping I have strengthened my core and stretched my muscles enough from yoga, that my body can handle it. I really want it to work for me since running seems like the perfect compliment to my lifestyle, especially when we will be living so close to the beach.
My plan, if running and my body can agree on it, is to continue with my daily yoga practice, and getting to at least five 90-minute yoga classes a week, and now adding in 3 days of running. So, every day I will have some type of physical activity going on and on only a couple of days will I have to manage getting to the yoga studio and squeezing in a run, too. Even though yoga doesn’t always have to be a 90-minute thing, I really do prefer to have a practice that is that long and I really enjoy going to the studio. I practice at home on occasion, but I find since I work at home, it can be hard to focus on yoga and not get distracted by everything else around me. That is one thing about running I think I am most drawn to, the change of scenery, being outside and engulfed by nature and the elements and being in control of when, where and how it happens. As long as the weather cooperates and there is a safe and somewhat smooth surface, it seems like you can run virtually anywhere.
Do you like running? Have any tips for someone that is just getting started?
OK, so onto the dip… I made this dip this afternoon as a light snack. With us being gone for a week, I couldn’t wait to get home and get back to eating foods that I prepared. The food is the only downside to traveling for me, eating unprocessed foods that are gluten-free and as often as I can find, also vegetarian, can get a bit tricky when you are away. I did the very best I could and found so many great options, but I still ate so much different than I would ever eat at home. I debated doing a juice cleanse for a couple days after returning home, but with me wanting to start training for running, I didn’t think both were such a good idea, so I decided to start the running and just eat extra light this week. Now that our local farmers market is open for the season, I will definitely be stocking up there on Saturday and doing a lot of juices, smoothies and salads this week. This morning, I made a version of my banana almond butter smoothie for breakfast, adding in a scoop of ground flaxseeds and a scoop of cocoa powder and it kept me full all day. About 3:30pm I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since the smoothie and I had cleaned the whole house and totally unpacked my suitcase. I decided I would make a simple mid-afternoon snack and a creamy white bean dip was calling my name. The bold flavors from the Indian spices were so perfect and subtle and the garlic gave it all a great punch. The white beans made for an incredibly smooth and creamy dip that was delicious on some gluten-free crackers. I wish we had some fresh raw veggies, those would also be great in this dip. That is the other bad thing about traveling, coming home to an empty fridge. If you don’t love garam masala, substitute some yellow curry or another one of your favorite spices. If the heat from the garam masala and the raw garlic is enough, skip the chili powder.
I will check back in tomorrow with a new recipe and to let you know how the running went this evening.
[print_this]Creamy Indian-Spiced White Bean Dip – Gluten-free + Vegan
makes about 1 cup of dip- 1 can white beans
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- dash of chili
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and very roughly chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Add of the ingredients, except the olive oil, to the food processor. Start pureeing and slowly drizzle in the olive oil while the processor is running, until it is all added. Puree the dip until smooth and creamy. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator and serve chilled. Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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Strawberry Basil Almond Flour Muffins – Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Refined Sugar-free
Before I get into chatting about muffins, I wanted to take a minute to thank all of you for your amazing, inspiring and humbling comments on my two year blogiversary post. Besides hearing about how many of you read Tasty Yummies and have been inspired by it, reading all of your touching comments about what makes you happy, seriously moves me. I have read each and every comment and so many of them brought tears to my eyes. So, even though I haven’t responded to all of you, thank you all from the bottom of my heart!
The last week has been a really great one for me, between all the inspiring comments about happiness on my post, meeting a new friend and the wonderful week of yoga I had, I am seriously on cloud nine. I have managed to get to a ton of yoga classes this past week (6 in the last 7 days) and despite my injury a few weeks back, I seem to have found a really sweet spot in my yoga practice, at least it really feels that way to me. Every time I think I couldn’t possibly enjoy the practice of yoga and everything it brings, any more than I already do, I have a breakthrough week. This week that feeling came a few different ways, the first is that I got to spend some time with a fellow student that I have practiced alongside many times. Upon hearing the news that she would be moving back to Rochester tomorrow, after nearly a year of living in Buffalo, before heading off to Africa to teach yoga, we decided we had to get together before she left. We grabbed some food and had a couple drinks and just hung out and got to know each other better. I rarely meet people whom I feel that instant of a connection to, and it was yoga that brought us there. I know that although Lyndsey will be far away and I am relocating to California later this year, we both agreed we will stay in contact and who knows where that connection will take us. I feel there are people in this world that we are meant to meet and even though we wish the circumstances would be different or that they lived closer, etc, it is incredible how powerful it can be that we find one another despite all that. Life is pretty amazing. Besides all of the amazing teachers at East Meets West Yoga that I have gotten to know and love, there are so many other great people that are there, like me, to practice, that I have shared such meaningful conversations with, or even just a warm hello! I feel like I have never ever felt that sense of community anywhere else in my life.
The other thing that made this week of yoga a special one is that I was able to get into three different arm balances that I hadn’t quite been able to master before. I had gotten close on all three in the past at different times, and maybe popped up into them once or twice (likely in happenstance), but it was like I hit a light switch this week and found something that I hadn’t found before. It felt amazing! That is what I love most about yoga, it is ever changing and ever growing. I can’t believe there was ever a time I told myself that I would never be “better” then where I was at that point and that I just couldn’t get into certain poses. Once I let go of that frustration and fear, it not only became so much more enjoyable, but I also found myself doing things I never thought I could. I can honestly say that yoga has changed me both on the mat and off and I will be forever grateful for that.
OK, let’s talk muffins! Strawberry basil is one of my absolute favorite flavor combos! I discovered it a few summers back when I was obsessed with mojitos. I started playing with basil instead of mint and adding in strawberries instead of lime. It makes for a great adult drink if you add rum, or a refreshing non-alcoholic drink if you just muddle the two together and top it off with a little sparkling water. They are so perfect together, the tart and subtle sweetness from the strawberries paired with the sweet, almost peppery flavor from the basil. If you aren’t a fan of basil, you can add in fresh mint to these muffins, or just skip it altogether. But I highly recommend trying the two together if you haven’t yet, it is a wonderful surprise for your palette.
These muffins are bursting with flavor and are also quite healthy for you. They are not only gluten-free, but they are totally grain-free, they are also dairy-free and refined sugar-free. I haven’t yet played with using an egg replacer to make these vegan, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. If you do try it out, please do let me know what you think. This recipe makes 6 large muffins. I fill the batter all the way to the very top and as you can see in the photos, that gives you the lovely puffy muffin tops, if you want more muffins, just fill the cups up less and keep an eye on your bake time, it may take a little less time.
Thank you again guys for your wonderful blogiversary wishes and if you haven’t yet entered the contest, please do. You have 5 different opportunities to enter and the giveaway closes on Wednesday.
[print_this]Strawberry Basil Almond Flour Muffins – Gluten-free, Dairy-free (vegan option)
makes 6 or 7 large muffins- 2 1/4 cups blanched almond flour*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 local farm fresh large brown eggs (you can try an egg replacer here, I haven’t yet however)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Add in the honey, vanilla and oil and whisk until well combined. Add the dry mixture to the wet, stirring until combined. Carefully fold in the strawberries and basil.
Spoon the batter into the muffin tin, filling to the top if you want a nice muffin dome, or as us ladies know it “muffin tops”. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the muffin pan on a wire rack for five minutes. Gently pop the muffins out to continue cooling on the rack (don’t cool them longer than 5 minutes in the hot pan they’ll definitely get soggy). Enjoy a muffin after they have cooled 10 minutes, you know you want to.
I find storing muffins covered tightly in the refrigerator or freezer to be the best. Just pop one out as you want it, heat slightly in the microwave if you want to take the chill off and go.
*Something I have learned from baking on my own and from reading Elana’s Pantry, is that not all almond flour (or meal) is created equal. Bob’s Red Mill makes an almond flour, though easy to find, that doesn’t seem to react quite the same as other almond flours. It doesn’t seem to rise as much and it just seems to leave recipes flat. On Elana’s recommendation I now buy Honeyville brand almond flour in a 5-lb bag from their website.
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Strawberry Coconut Breakfast Cookies – Gluten-free + Vegan
Since I made my chocolate peanut butter energy bars last month for our road trip to Austin, I have made them a couple more times, sometimes the same exact way, other times tweaking the ingredients a bit to what I had on hand. But, I have been thinking of lots of different things I could do with the recipe since it is so versatile. I had planning to make strawberry almond bars this week until I came across this recipe for breakfast cookies made with dried blueberries. It gave me the idea to instead take the bar recipe I had thought up, and turning it into cookies, to end up with more and smaller servings. Plus, I loved the idea of having cookies for breakfast, even if it is the exact same recipe. Who doesn’t love a cookie for breakfast?
These cookies were so simple to make and they are bursting with flavor! They are subtly sweet from both the bananas and maple syrup and the strawberries bring a bright, fresh and tangy bite. You could definitely substitute your favorite fresh berry in this recipe, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc. You could also use dried fruit, just skip the oat flour and maybe use a little less oats (obviously the fresh berries contain more liquid that dried would, so that is why the difference). Also, you can add your favorite nut, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, etc. Originally I had planned to use almond butter instead of the coconut oil, but I really loved the combination of the strawberry and coconut, two of my absolute favorites, together!
I made these delicious breakfast cookies late last night after we got home from grocery shopping. I, of course, had to have one when they were still a little bit warm, and it was delicious. Then I grabbed one on the way out of the house first thing this morning on my way to yoga. It was the perfect quick little treat. The nice thing about these cookies are they aren’t too sweet, so you don’t have to feel any guilt eating them for breakfast. It’s just like having a granola bar, but better! But they are sweet enough that they are great as a healthy dessert, too!
Do you ever have cookies for breakfast?
[print_this]Strawberry Coconut Breakfast Cookies – Gluten-free + Vegan
makes 18-24 cookies- 2 cups of certified gluten-free rolled oats (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
- 1/4 cup certified gluten-free oat flour (or just process some gluten-free rolled oats into a fine powder)
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 2 tablespoons ground chia seeds or ground flaxseeds
- 1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 organic bananas, mashed
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup fresh organic strawberries, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line a baking sheet or two with unbleached parchment paper. In a large bowl combine oats, oat flour, coconut, chia seeds, almonds and salt. Stir in bananas, strawberries, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla. I use my clean bare hands to mix it all up so I can really get in there and get everything well mixed. You can of course just use a large spoon or spatula.
Form the dough into 2 1/2 inch balls/discs with your hands and place into even rows with just a little room in between them. Press them down very gently to flatten them a bit.
Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until fragrant and golden. Cool on pan for a few minutes than transfer to a cooking rack. Enjoy for breakfast, dessert or an anytime snack.
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Kalamata Olive and Herb Socca with Roasted Vegetables – Gluten-free + Vegan
Have you ever made a dish or a recipe for the first time and upon the very first bite, immediately wondered why you haven’t been making it for years? That’s what happened when I made socca for the first time! I had seen recipes here and there online and always thought in the back of my mind “I really need to make that”. I finally did yesterday for lunch and it is official, on the first bite – I was OBSESSED.
Socca, also known as farinata or cecina, is a sort of thin, unleavened pancake or crêpe of chickpea flour. Served hot and crispy, this chickpea pancake is a quintessential street food found in Nice, France. Many times it is browned or even blackened around the edges, and it has an almost custard like, tender inside. From what I have read, traditionally it is made in a cast iron pan over hot coals or a fire, but it can certainly be made at home in a hot oven, either in a cast iron pan, cake pans or a pizza pan.
Most recipes I came across called for only about a cup of chickpea flour to make 1 big socca in a larger cast iron skillet or two smaller (about 7-inches each). Since I only have a smaller cast iron skillet and I was afraid I would ruin this on my first try, I decided to increase the ingredients to make it work in two 9-inch cake pans. Plus, I wanted to have two soccas and I also wanted them to be a bit thicker to hold up to the roasted veggies. It worked perfectly. If you have smaller cake pans or want to make one large one, or you want two and you want them a bit thinner, just go with 1 cup of chickpea flour and about 1 1/4 cups of water and maybe just 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
Besides looking incredibly delicious, what really intrigued me about all of the socca recipes I found, were that almost all of them were naturally gluten-free, since the only flour used is chickpea (or garbanzo bean) flour. I happened to have Bob’s Red Mill’s blend of Garbanzo and Fava Bean flours on hand, so I decided to go with that. It worked perfectly, but obviously if you have traditional chickpea (or garbanzo bean) flour that will work, as well. I plan to make this again and again, now that I know how easy it is to make, so there will be plenty of times to use just chickpea flour.
The nice thing about socca is you can simply pop it out of the pan, cut it into wedges and eat it as is or you can play with different toppings and/or ingredients to include in the batter. Cut up into bite-sized pieces it is a great appetizer or snack for a handful of people, or you can top it with lots of fun ingredients and serve it flatbread or pizza style for a meal, kinda like this. I bet you could even opt for sweet ingredients like a little coconut sugar, some cinnamon and a little vanilla and make it a tasty dessert treat or brunch side. So versatile. I am sure traditionalists prefer to not add things like fresh herbs and olives, but I just couldn’t help myself.
This batter comes together very quickly, but you should allow it to rest a few hours before using, at the minimum 30-minutes. You can even make the batter ahead of time and cover it and put it in the refrigerator overnight. Socca is meant to be thin and rustic, so don’t stress if yours breaks apart as you flip it out or try to cut it up, just eat it with your hands and enjoy every bit of it.
My adorable little lurker, Seri, trying to sneak a sniff of the warm socca!
[print_this]Kalamata Olive and Herb Socca with Roasted Vegetables – Gluten-free + Vegan
Adapted from many different recipes
Makes about two nine-inch soccas- 1 1/2 cups chickpea/garbanzo bean and fava bean flour blend (this is what I had on hand, you can use just chickpea (or garbanzo bean) flour alone, which is the traditional way to make it)
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pans
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, roughly chopped (rosemary would also be good or any other fresh herb of your choice)
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
Roasted Vegetable Topping
2-3 cups roasted in-season vegetables of your choosing (or any other topping of your choice)
I just roasted a bunch of fresh asparagus, 1 cup of sliced mushrooms, 1 poblano pepper, 1 garlic clove and 1 cup of halved cherry tomatoes with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a sprinkle of Herbes de Provence and a little sea salt, in a 425º oven for about 20-25 minutes, until tender and lightly browned. Feel free to top your socca with whatever toppings of your choice or just serve it as is.In a large bowl, sift in the chickpea flour, then add in the salt, and pepper. Whisk in water and olive oil. Then stir in the basil. The batter should be very thin, much like a crepe batter. Let sit on the counter, covered, for as many hours as possible, but at least 30 minutes. You can also cover and refrigerate it overnight.
Place two nine-inch round cake pans in the center of the oven and preheat to 500º F. Remove the pans when the oven is to temperature, add a glug of olive oil to each pan (maybe around 1/2 to 1 tablespoon in each pan) swirl around in the pan to get a nice even coating all the way around and up the sides a bit. Return to pans the oven for a couple of minutes to heat up the oil. Once the oil is heated up, carefully remove the hot pans from the oven and pour half of the batter into each pan, split the chopped up olives in half and add half to each pan, just sprinkle over top of the batter. Bake for about 5 to 8 minutes or until the pancake is firm and the edges are set. Then place the pans into the broiler (or turn on the broiler in your oven) and broil for an additional 3-5 minutes, until the top gets some nice browned/black spots. Remove from oven and carefully flip out onto a cutting board. Cut into wedges and top with toppings of your choice. This is great as a meal or as an appetizer. If your pancake is a little thinner and it’s breaking apart, no worries at all, this snack is meant to be rustic and eaten with your fingers.
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I’m Back!! Overnight Chai Oatmeal – Gluten-free, Vegan + Sugar-free
I am finally back guys and I have never been happier to be home and sitting at my desk! We actually got home on Friday but it has taken a few days for us to get through mountains of mail, email, orders, voicemails and well, just life! I hope you enjoyed all the lovely guest bloggers that were kind enough to post here on Tasty Yummies while I was away. It was so fun for me!
Our road trip to SXSW was so wonderful, overall one of the best we have ever taken. It had a few bumps along the way, but it is always so nice to be on the open road with the person I love more than anything, to see our friends from all over the world, meeting and chatting with customers and clients new and old! Plus the insanely warm weather, delicious food and rowdy nights don’t hurt either. This yearly trip is by far one of my favorites. This year’s 4-day Rock Poster Convention, Flatstock, was our most successful one yet. All of our hard work in preparing our booth and products felt like it really paid off. Oh and in addition to all the awesome work goodness, we even got to attend a private party at Willie Nelson’s ranch with a client.
In between all of the work and hangouts I was able to sneak in some yoga where I could either in hotel rooms or at a great little studio I found around the corner from our hotel in Austin, and we were able to stay on track with our eating both by enjoying all of the foods I made for us and a couple of trips to the Whole Foods flagship store. All in all a really great trip!
Unfortunately, on the way home from Austin, as we were making our way back to Louisville to spend time with my husband Mark’s family for a night before the last leg of the trip home to Buffalo, we got a phone call when we were just 5 hours away that his Grandmother, “Momo” had passed. We all knew this day was coming and although it was a sad one and she will be deeply missed, everyone was happy that she was no longer suffering. Mark and I were lucky enough to have stopped by the hospital on our way down to Austin, and we spent a few hours with her. She knew we were there and was able to speak with us, so we both feel insanely blessed for those precious moments. Thankfully we were able to extend our trip by a few days to attend the funeral, be with family and celebrate the life of one of the most amazing women I have ever met. It’s funny how life works.
So after two weeks on the road with many emotional ups and downs, when we pulled onto our street all I could think about was cuddling with my pets, who I missed dearly, getting back to my daily yoga practice, juicing, cooking in my kitchen, sleeping in my own bed and of course, all the amazing client projects we have lined up for the coming months. Even though I am doing a simple and quick cleanse this week to get my body back to feeling like itself after all of the traveling, I plan to finally have some recipes for you this week and next.
What is your favorite part of coming home after a long trip?
This first recipe is something I thought up on one of our long stretches of driving when I was thinking of all the mornings I get home from yoga and I want to get right to my desk and get to working. Many times I will just grab a homemade bar of some sort or make some juice or a quick smoothie. I wanted to come up with another simple breakfast like my overnight cinnamon raisin chia pudding or my banana cream chia pudding (which can also be made overnight). I have seen many versions of overnight oats made in a similar way so I thought up this fun version. Overnight Chai Oatmeal.
This tasty breakfast treat can easily be put together the night before, popped into an airtight glass mason jar or a covered bowl and left to soak. By the time morning rolls around you will have a delicious breakfast that can be served chilled or warm. You can have fun with your toppings, adding dried fruit or nuts or maybe even some shredded coconut. I just added a small handful of raisins.
Play around with this spices and get it to your liking. I like my chai spicy, as I am sure you recall from my chai concentrate recipe. I add in a pinch of black pepper, but you can leave that out. Have fun with it and make it your own.
Much like the chia puddings I make, I cannot wait to make this again and play with different flavor combinations. Imagine sinful chocolate peanut butter overnight oats. Mmmm…
Have you ever made overnight oatmeal or chia pudding? What is your favorite flavor combo?
When I arrived home from our trip, I came in to a large box of goodies from NuNaturals. They asked me to give their products a try, see what I think of them, develop some recipes with them, etc. I haven’t really done much official research and reading on stevia products yet, but I have been meaning to try them for sometime, as many bloggers who I follow love to cook and bake with it, so I am excited to get to experimenting with all of this. Look for more recipes in the coming weeks using NuNaturals products. I decided to use the Pure Liquid Clear Stevia for this overnight oatmeal, feel free to use whatever your favorite sweetener is, just add it to taste when mixing or when serving.
[print_this]Overnight Chai Oatmeal – Gluten-free, Vegan + Sugar-free
serves 2- 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats (not quick cooking) – make sure they are certified gluten-free
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (you can also use soy, hemp, flax-seed milk, oat milk, whatever your favorite is)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5-10 drops of liquid stevia (or to taste of whatever sweetener you wish, maple syrup or coconut sugar would be great)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground anise
- a pinch of ground black pepper
- a pinch of ground cloves
Mix together all of the above ingredients in a glass jar or a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve the oatmeal chilled or slightly warmed up. Top with a dash of cinnamon, some raisins or whatever other toppings you wish.
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Road Trip Energy Bars – Gluten-free, Vegan + Refined Sugar-Free
We leave bright and early tomorrow morning for our big road trip to Austin, Texas for SXSW and Flatstock 33, where we will be selling our (Hero Design Studio) handmade goods and wares for 4 days in the convention center. Since I do my very best to maintain my eating lifestyle no matter where I am, I have packed a ton of food for the trip, both for the road trip down and maybe for the first few days we are there, depending how much eating happens in the car, then I plan to hit Whole Foods once we get there to stock up for the trip back. I have some almond milk and honey packed up, since I know those will both come in handy along the way. I also packed a few bottles of my homemade kombucha and to snack on, I have some nut and dried-fruit trail mix, stove-top popped butter-free spicy popcorn, gluten-free vegan jerky from Primal Spirit Foods and I made these delicious road trip energy bars. It is absolutely imperative that I have some type of chocolate available to me when I am on a road trip. For whatever reason, I always crave chocolate on very long drives. Who knows!
These energy bars were super easy to make. To be completely honest, I quickly wrote up a rough idea for a recipe, headed to the kitchen and just winged it, I assumed I would just figure it out as I went along. What I love most about these bars are how easily you could tweak them to make them your own. If you don’t want chocolate, leave out the cocoa and chocolate chips, maybe adding in some raisins or dried cranberries and some cinnamon instead. You can add whatever your favorite nuts or seeds are. The possibilities are really endless. I have made a few notes below with additional suggestions.
These bars are almost a bit sinful, with that addicting combo of peanut butter and chocolate. How can you resist? The car is gonna smell amazing. With just one bite of these chewy snacks, you will fall in love. My hubby, Mark, absolutely LOVES coffee and although I rarely drink a cup anymore, I do love the flavor and the smell of good coffee beans. So, I thought that would be a fun addition to these bars. Feel free to leave it out or substitute caffeine-free coffee if you can’t handle caffeine. I think the smell alone that the espresso powder gave these bars is worth it. I really cannot wait to bust into one of these tomorrow, I am sure I will be indulging in one before we even hit the Pennsylvania border.
Although I will be away from tomorrow until March 21, I have a wonderful group of amazingly talented guest bloggers to hold down the fort while I am away. They have some lovely guest posts and tons of great recipes to share with all of you, so I do hope you check back often to see what they have up their sleeves. I hope you like it and I cannot wait to get home and start cooking again.
[print_this]Chocolate Peanut Butter Road Trip Energy Bars – Gluten-free, Vegan + Refined Sugar-Free
Makes 8 bars (you can also cut them into smaller squares to 16 or more)- 1 ripe organic banana, mashed (try adding a second or third banana if you wish to make these sugar-free)
- 2 cups certified gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/4 cup gluten-free oat flour (or just process some gluten-free rolled oats into a fine powder)
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, dairy free (I like Enjoy Life brand mini-chocolate chips)
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup maple syrup (you could also use honey, coconut nectar, brown rice syrup, etc or skip and add extra bananas)
- 1/2 cup organic natural peanut butter, chunky or creamy, (or any other nut or seed butter)
- 2 tablespoons organic baking cocoa
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds, (you could also use flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pepitas, etc)
- 1/4 cup almond slivers (or any other nut of your choice)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 – 2 tablespoons espresso powder (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
* Note – Remember, you can easily make these energy bars your own, by adding, substituting and skipping ingredients as you’d like. To make these sugar-free replace the syrup with stevia or another banana. They could also easily be made nut-free by skipping the almonds and using sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter. If you don’t like coffee, skip the espresso powder. Have fun with this recipe.
Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease an 8″ x 8″ glass baking pan very well, or line it with foil, leaving some overhang on two of the sides so you can easily pull it out of the pan to make cutting even easier (this is what I did).
In a large mixing bowl, add all of your ingredients. Mix and mash up very well until it is all well combined. Get your hands in there if you really want to.
Press the mixture firmly and evenly into your pan. Place the pan into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Don’t worry if the bars seem a bit soft, they will firm up as they cool. After it has completely cooled, either lift the entire thing out of the pan and cut into bars or squares, or cut while it is in the pan.
These can be stored individually in the fridge or freezer. Since I made these two days ago, I stored them in the fridge and then wrapped each one individually in a little piece of parchment paper and a sandwich bag for easy eating in the car.
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Creamy Vegan Broccoli Salad with Mushrooms and Almonds
Hey guys – I apologize for the lack of recipes right now, but I have had my head buried in work while we get ready for SXSW and the Flatstock Rock Poster Convention in Austin, Texas. We leave next Saturday for the long and fun road trip down there and we will be on the road for a total of 11 days. Many of you probably recall me talking about it last year at this time, it is such an enjoyable excursion that comes at the perfect time of year for us. We get to see so many of our wonderful and talented friends from all over the world, we eat lots of delicious Mexican food, plus some of the best BBQ food you will ever have, oh and we get to sell all of our handmade goods and wares to music fans from all over the world for 4 days! Plus, did I meantion it is usually somewhere in the 80s, with the sun shining every day. Ahhh, see it couldn’t come at a better time, it is the perfect break at the end of a dreary, grey and cold Buffalo winter. The only thing I dislike about this trip is how much time I am away from my own kitchen, the comforts of my own homemade foods and my daily yoga practice. In an effort to circumvent the lack of these daily comforts, I plan to pack a cooler full of my homemade Kombucha and some tasty snacks for the road trip down and I will most definitely have my yoga mat rolled up in a corner of the car somewhere so I can squeeze in some practice and meditation each day of the trip.
I plan to get a couple more recipes up here before I leave and if I can pull it together, I plan to get some guest posts together from some of my favorite bloggers! It is funny, this is the first trip I have taken that I am actually feeling weird about the lack of posting on here while I am away. I think because I am finally getting a really decent amount of visits each day, I don’t want people to get bummed when they stop by and nothing new has been added. Yup, my blogging obsession is officially official, I don’t wanna leave Tasty Yummies the way I don’t wanna leave my pets! haha
Anyhow, this recipe is one that I have been sitting on for a few days and I finally made time tonight to get the photos edited and the recipe fully written up. This salad is my take on a salad I had recently at local food shop/deli/cafe, Globe Market. They are located on Elmwood, literally right at the front door of my yoga studio, East Meets West Yoga. Though I rarely grab food after yoga, since I just head home and eat something light, I stopped in there one day after yoga, about two weeks ago to grab a quick gluten-free hummus and veggie sandwich before heading to a meeting. When he found out I was stopping there, Mark asked me to grab a serving or two of one of their delicious-looking side salads, for him to eat alongside sandwiches at lunch at home during the week. I opted for a creamy raw broccoli salad with red onions, bacon and almonds. That sounded just up his alley, healthy enough with some naughty stuff, too. Mark loved it, but truthfully I ate most of it. I couldn’t help it, it was so tasty, it was perfectly simple. It wasn’t even the bacon that got me, it was the delicious dressing and the combination of all of the ingredients.
So, I decided that it was a simple enough salad that I could make my own version at home, but with a Tasty Yummies twist. I wanted to make it vegan. I was determined to make it just as delicious without the bacon and with a delicious egg-free and dairy-free creamy dresssing. So I bought some Grapeseed Veganaise from Follow Your Heart, to make the dressing creamy and I went from there. I was honestly surprised that I pulled it off and was even happier with my own version that the bacon containing version from Globe. I decided to use shallots instead of red onions for a bit milder of a flavor and I added in some mushroom slices that I had on hand. This salad has been the perfect side dish with so many different lunches and dinner. I made sure to make a large enough batch that we could eat it throughout the week.
If you aren’t crazy about totally raw broccoli, feel free to blanch or steam yours for about 3-5 minutes. I love raw broccoli, myself, though I should probably consider steaming it to take down on the :ahem: gassy after-effects (sorry TMI, but it’s the truth)!
If you aren’t vegan, you can use your favorite mayonnaise and you could even consider adding in some crispy bacon crumbles. It really is quite complimentary.
[print_this]Creamy Vegan Broccoli Salad with Mushrooms and Almonds
Serves 6-8Dressing
1/2 cup grapeseed oil veganaise (or other vegan mayo)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon coconut sugar (you could also use brown sugar, maple syrup, honey or any other sweetener of your choice)
1 tbsp gluten-free unsalted whole grain mustard
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 clove garlic, mincedSalad
Approximately 8 cups of broccoli florets (about 2 pounds of florets)
2 shallots, chopped
9 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup sliced toasted almondsIn a small bowl, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients, until well combined and smooth. Set aside.
Place the broccoli in a large serving bowl, toss with the shallots, mushrooms and almonds. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to combine. Serve.
This salad can be stored covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Toss well before serving. You can serve this room temperature or cooled.
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Gluten-Free + Vegan Carrot Cake Muffins
These delicious little treats were the second batch of muffins I made after the first batch ended up too soggy. They were very tasty, but I think that the carrot shreds have more water content than I gave them credit for, so the second time around I decided to add in some finely shredded coconut, since coconut is known to soak up moisture in recipes. You could also give coconut flour a try, but I am not sure if you would want the full 1/2 cup. Experiment.
The coconut flavor is subtle but it really compliments the rest of the flavors in this muffin quite nicely. The walnuts and golden raisins are both optional, but I would say unless you hate them, you should add them in. Their addition to this muffin reminds me of a slice of traditional carrot cake. These muffins are subtly sweet so they would be perfect for breakfast, dessert or even a little snack. Hubby was of course begging for some sort of cream cheese frosting.
I love how rustic these muffins ended up looking after baking, that is why I ended up taking off the papers before I photographed them. The outside of each muffin had such a beautiful toasted, golden brown hue with specs of the shreds of carrots shining through.
Normally when I am writing up a recipe or editing photos, I still have leftovers in the kitchen, so after I am done staring at the photos forever and craving another taste of whatever it is, I head downstairs and grab a little bite. Sadly, I made these muffins about 10 days ago, but we’ve been so busy getting ready for our pop-up shop this past weekend that I haven’t had a moment to edit the photos and write this up. So, now I think I am going to have to make another batch of these ASAP, I want them that badly.
[print_this]Gluten-Free + Vegan Carrot Cake Muffins
Makes approximately 6 large muffins2 flaxseed eggs (or you could also just use two large eggs):
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
6 tablespoons hot water2 cups blanched almond flour*
1/2 cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey)
1/4 cup olive oil (melted coconut oil or melted ghee)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)
1/4 cup golden raisins (optional)Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flaxseeds and water, set aside and allow to get thick and gelatinous.
In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add in the shredded coconut, stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup (or honey), vanilla, oil and flax seed eggs and whisk until well combined.
Add the dry mixture to the wet, stirring until combined. Carefully fold in the carrots, walnuts and raisins.
Spoon the batter into the muffin tin, filling each cup to the top if you want a nice muffin dome. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the muffin pan on a wire rack for five minutes. Gently pop the muffins out to continue cooling on the rack (don’t cool them longer than 5 minutes in the hot pan they’ll definitely get soggy). Enjoy a muffin after they have cooled 10 minutes, you know you want to.
I find storing muffins covered tightly in the refrigerator or freezer to be the best, especially in the heat of summer. Just pop one out as you want it, heat slightly in the microwave if you want to take the chill off and go.
*NOTE: Something I have learned from baking on my own and from reading Elana’s Pantry, is that not all almond flour (or meal) is created equal. Bob’s Red Mill makes an almond flour, though easy to find, that doesn’t seem to react quite the same as other almond flours. It doesn’t seem to rise as much and it just seems to leave recipes flat. On Elana’s recommendation I now buy Honeyville brand almond flour in a 5-lb bag from their website. [/print_this]
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Banana Cream Chia Pudding (gluten-free, vegan, refined sugar-free)
This creamy and delicious pudding turned out way better than I ever dreamt it could, I love when that happens. This was another one of those kitchen creations that had me doing the “yum yum dance”. You know exactly what I am talking about, you take a bite before you even sit down, and with the spoon or fork still in your mouth, your hips and butt start swaying and without thinking, you start some version of a song where the only lyrics are “yum”, “mmmmm” and/or “ooooh”. I swear this is something we are born with, I have seen babies under a year do this dance. It’s the best!
I have been working on a recipe for a healthy gluten-free and vegan banana coconut cream pie and I had to take a detour when I thought of this tasty breakfast treat. Fear not though, the pie recipe is still in the works and I cannot wait to play around with it.
I had a serving of this for an after-yoga breakfast treat this morning and it kept me full for many hours, I love that. This perfectly and naturally sweetened pudding would also be great for a dessert or mid-day snack when you are craving something a little sweet. It’s amazing how wonderfully sweet this is without adding any sugar or sweetener besides the dates. I love that! The creaminess from the coconut milk, almond milk and bananas are all so amazing that most people wouldn’t believe there isn’t any dairy in this. It’s treats like this that keeps me from being intimidated about removing dairy from my diet. I would never miss dairy if I had this pudding once or twice a week.
This week has been a bit crazy and stressful and it’s only Thursday. Hubby had to take a quick and unexpected flight home to Kentucky to be with his Grandmother who is very ill. We have been working many evenings, so we’ve been eating a lot of quick dinners and we’ve been eating up leftovers, so I am starting to get that urge to cook and bake since it’s been a couple of days. We have a weekend full of work ahead of us, but I need to find time to attempt this banana coconut cream pie that I have created in my head. After making this pudding I am starting to think that ground-up chia seeds may be the perfect ingredient to make my pie filling thick and luscious. Hmmm… I can’t wait to get to experimenting.
How has your week been going? Have you had time to make meals this week? Do you have any cooking and baking plans for the weekend?
[print_this]Banana Cream Chia Pudding (gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free)
serves 2-4 – makes approximately 3 cups1 cup lite coconut milk (the canned kind)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 bananas
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 medjool dates, pits removed
2 tablespoons chia seedsPuree everything but the chia seeds in a blender until smooth, combined and thick. You may see a few little bits of the dates still, it’s OK. Pour the mixture into a glass bowl or a mason jar, stir in the chia seeds. Make sure to stir well to combine. Cover the bowl or put the lid on the jar. Keep in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 4 hours.
Spoon or pour into bowls, top with fresh banana slices or banana chips, if you wish. Serve.[/print_this]
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Eggplant and Roasted Red Pepper Dip (gluten-free and vegan)
As I mentioned in my last post, for my Creamy Dairy-Free Spinach Dip, I have really been enjoying cooking and baking without dairy. In addition to cooking without processed foods and gluten, it has been a fun and rewarding challenge. However, it is definitely one thing to just be cooking at home for myself and my hubby, but coming up with some fun and unique snacks to share with other people that can eat both gluten and dairy, can be a bit harder. I never ever want someone that is eating my food to feel like they are eating a weirdo diet food or some sort of concoction that only someone that hasn’t had gluten in over 7 years, would love.
When coming up with snack ideas for our little Super Bowl get together, I wanted something everyone could love that was light but still satisfying and with my dips I really wanted to challenge myself to create creamy but without the dairy. In the past, I definitely would have enjoyed some of the healthy snacks that others or likely myself made, but then, of course, indulging a bit in the inevitable cheese that would be there in some capacity. Using the excuse of a holiday or special occasion to eat more cheese than normal sounds all well and good, until you have a terrible cheese-induced tummy-ache later because you have all but cut out dairy in your every day life.
So I came across a version of this recipe on my Pinterest travels and it looked super creamy and delicious, I decided to add in the roasted red peppers because they pack some incredible flavors that I thought would pair very well with the eggplant! The original recipe was just the eggplant and it had a bit more olive oil, the photo I saw with the recipe made it look so insanely creamy, I couldn’t believe there wasn’t any dairy in it. So after making this my way, I am actually looking forward to trying this dip again, the original way, to see which I prefer.
This dip is smooth and creamy and has a bright, almost tart flavor from the roasted red pepper. I really love how the peppery spice from the oregano works with all of the different elements. Feel free to play around with different spices and/or herbs to get this to the flavors you love. The original recipe called for thyme, you could also add in some red pepper flakes or other spices that you love.
I served this dip with a bunch of fresh raw veggies like baby carrots, celery, radishes, bell peppers, etc as well as some crackers. This dip would also make a great spread to put on sandwiches, eggs, even on top of a salad, pasta, etc.
[print_this]Eggplant and Roasted Red Pepper Dip (gluten-free and vegan)
Adapted from Body+Soul Magazine, July/August 2010
Serves 103 medium eggplant (about 4 pounds), halved the long way
4 cloves garlic, peeled and very thinly sliced lengthwise
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1 cup roasted red peppers, roughly chopped (roast the peppers yourself or jarred will work too)
1 tablespoon fresh oregano (roughly chopped)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground pepperPreheat the oven to 400º F. Arrange the eggplant cut side up on a baking sheet. Make slits in eggplant and insert garlic . Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bake until tender, about 1 hour. Remove from oven; let stand until cool, about 20 minutes.
Scoop the flesh of the eggplant into a food processor. Add roasted red peppers, oregano, 1 tablespoon oil, and lemon juice. Puree until smooth. Pulse to combine with salt and pepper, to taste. Will keep refrigerated up to 3 days. Serve with crackers, fresh vegetables or crostini.
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Creamy Dairy-Free Spinach Dip (vegan, gluten-free)
I am having a lot of fun making different dishes and snacks dairy-free. For the most part, as with my gluten-free or even vegan cooking, I have just been cooking around it, enjoying things that are naturally such, I don’t usually make tons of substitutions with weird processed things like fake cheeses or fake meats, etc. Even though I think that some dairy-free cheeses (like Daiya) might be nice for the occasional special treat if I really feel like I am missing out or want some cheese, I usually just get really creeped out by how much weird stuff are those types of foods. Many times you read the package and you don’t even know what the ingredients are, you can’t pronounce them, etc.
I was craving a delicious Italian-style pasta dish the other night, so I made gluten-free penne with a creamy roasted tomato and basil sauce. No cheese or dairy! The creaminess came from soaked cashews and I added in a little nutritional yeast for the nutty/cheesy flavor it brings. It was so perfectly delicious and it really hit the spot. I didn’t miss the dairy one bit. There is always the option of using nut milks instead of dairy milk in recipes, which I have been doing for a long time when making, but it doesn’t always give you that super creamy cheese-like texture when cooking, so that is where raw nuts have been coming in handy for me.
I did some serious cooking, baking and making over this weekend. I made my first ever batch of Kombucha, which I cannot wait to try, I love that stuff. I also made gluten-free, dairy-free refined sugar-free chocolate donuts for breakfast yesterday in my new donut pan (recipe coming soon) and all of my Super Bowl treats. We watched the Super Bowl last night at my parents’ with my family and some friends, so I decided to experiment a little with my Super Bowl snacks, making things that not only I would eat, but that would still appeal to everyone else. So, I made three different things: this creamy spinach dip, a creamy eggplant and roasted red pepper dip and Thai Meatballs (made from some grass-fed beef from our local farmer) with a red curry peanut sauce. I will be posting the eggplant dip likely tomorrow so look for that. As for the meatballs, I basically just altered this recipe to be gluten-free and I used some of our lean grass-fed ground beef from the half cow that we shared with my parents. I was really excited to find a meatball recipe that wouldn’t need any cheese of some sort, since I was initially playing with the idea of making regular Italian style meatballs. They were so delicious! I really recommend that recipe.
I served the two dips with tons of fresh cut raw veggies, regular whole grain crackers and some Mary’s Gone Crackers Black Pepper Crackers for me. Both the dips were enjoyed by everyone and the meatballs FLEW off the plate. This particular dip is so creamy, you would swear it had ricotta cheese in it. It has a nice flavor from the garlic and the nutritional yeast brings an almost “cheesy” taste. Nutritional yeast is low in sodium and it is one of the few non-animal sources of B-12, it is rich in folic acid and many other nutrients and amino acids. This is not your typical yeast and is free of the Candida Albicans strain, making it safe for those concerned with candida. Per ounce nutritional yeast packs in 14 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber.
I’ll be honest, I did a lot more gabbing and snack-eating then football watching last night. We did manage to keep quiet through the half-time show, which I thought was just so-so. I love old-school Madonna and was excited to hear some of the old hits but that is about it. I was a bit let down, it didn’t do it for me. Though I did make it a point to listen to all of her old albums today on Spotify to make up for it!
Did you watch the Super Bowl? What did you think of the half-time show? What foods did you make or eat?
[print_this]Creamy Dairy-Free Spinach Dip (vegan, raw, gluten-free)
1 cup raw unsalted cashews, soaked for 1 to 3 hours and drained
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1-2 tablespoons of water
4 cups baby spinach (split to 3 cups and 1 cup, roughly chop the 1 cup)
1/4 teaspoon kosher saltAdd the cashews, garlic and nutritional yeast to the food processor, puree until thick, creamy and smooth. You can add a tablespoon or two of water to the mixture as needed to make it more creamy. Add 3 cups of the spinach and continue pureeing until smooth. Fold in the remaining chopped spinach and stir by hand to combine. Pour the creamy spinach mixture into a serving dish and serve with fresh cut raw veggies, tortilla chips, crackers, toasted bread, etc.
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No-Bake Oatmeal Chia Chocolate Chip Cookie Balls (Vegan and Gluten-free)
So yeh, that name is definitely a mouthful, but I promise you, it is a very tasty mouthful! I have been craving a little something sweet for the last day or two, but for the last two weeks I have been laying off sugar, caffeine, dairy and all that stuff, attempting to give my digestion a bit of a break.
Today marks two weeks, I have no more pains, I feel less bloated, I am full of energy and I have dropped about 10lbs! I am attributing most of this to removing dairy from my diet, since that is what I believe to have caused the upset in the first place. So for now, I am continuing on this path of no dairy! I am actually quite excited about this discovery and revelation, I think my body has probably been trying to tell me this for sometime now. I really wasn’t consuming much dairy before all of this, but probably when I did have even the littlest amount, it was just too much for me. Ironically this month also marks the 7-year anniversary since I went gluten-free, so I suppose it is fitting that I make another huge dietary change. Why not, right?
So I decided as a little treat to myself to celebrate the two weeks and my new discovery and as a treat to my amazing hubby, Mark, who has been a trooper though all of this, we needed a healthy mid-day energy-boosting sweet. Who wouldn’t love that?
Since I have avoided chocolate for the last two weeks to give my tummy a break (caffeine is a stimulant and can be a bit rough on an already upset digestive tract), I wanted just the littlest taste today! I didn’t wanna go hog wild and get myself sick, so I thought adding them to a cookie ball like this, in the smallest amount possible, would be perfect. I have made many versions of these cookie balls, but I rarely measure and I usually just make do with what ingredients I have in the pantry and go with what I am craving. Since I knew I wanted to feature this recipe, I decided to measure this time. However, I still find that with a recipe like this, it is best to eye-ball it and go with texture. Some dates can be a bit drier than others, so you may have to soak yours first or add some water to get the consistency just right. I added about 2 tablespoons of water to my dough since I didn’t soak mine, but I could tell when the texture was just right for rolling. If you are ever unsure, just take a glob of the dough in your hands and feel it. You will know if it is too crumbly and dry or if it is too wet and goopy. Adjust your ingredients accordingly.
I added in chia seeds this time, but you could certainly leave them out if you don’t have them or don’t want them. I like the crunchiness that they bring and I also love that chia is a power-food known for being high in fiber and great for digestion. Chia seeds also increase your energy levels, so these cookie bites are the perfect afternoon pick me up. I love that these little treats are naturally vegan and sugar-free, they are gluten-free if you make sure to use gluten-free rolled oats and they are the perfect treat to get you through the middle of the day! Have fun with this recipe, I have made these with raisins or dried cranberries before, you can add banana and peanut butter, cocoa power, nuts, coconut, etc. These have become my go to treat when I want something sweet but I don’t want sugar and other junk.
What is your favorite mid-day snack?
[print_this]No-Bake Oatmeal Chia Chocolate Chip Cookie Balls (Vegan and Gluten-free)
makes about 15 cookie balls1/3 cup Medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped (about 5 dates – soak if they are very dry)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups gluten-free rolled oats (you can use regular rolled oats if you aren’t gluten intolerant)
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 – 2 tablespoons water (you could need more, you could need less, just go by how your dough feels)
1/4 cup dairy-free chocolate chipsAdd the medjool dates and vanilla to a food processor or high powered blender (like a Vitamix). Process until a thick paste forms, you may want to add some water here if it is too dry. You will also want to take a spatula and scrape down the edges. Add in 1 cup of the rolled oats and the chia seeds, process until the oats are no longer whole and it all comes together into a thick dough. Again, add water if it is super dry (just don’t add too much water). Add in the remaining 1/4 cup of oats and the chocolate chips and pulse just a few times to bring it all together. Take a small amount of the dough into your hands to make sure it will roll and stay together. If the dough is crumbling a bit, add more water, if it is too goopy and wet, add more oats.
Taking 1 tablespoon of the dough at a time, roll the dough, in the palm of your hands, into about 15 balls. Set on a plate and place it into the fridge for about 15 minutes to all them to chill. Then enjoy!
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This recipe is featured in the Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love.
