Cozy and Warm

Just look at this nutritious, sustaining, delicious breakfast.  Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Hot Cereal was cooked in full-fat coconut milk and topped with leftover roasted kabocha squash and organic dried apricots.  I could actually taste the color!  It was so warm and sweet, nothing more was needed!  Happy Autumn!

Banza!

We are loving the new "Banza" pasta made from garbanzo beans!  The texture and taste are lovely and it fits well into my recent attempt to live a gluten-free life.  Here, I prepared it with olive oil, lots of fresh herbs from my garden, some sea salt and nutritional yeast.  Cannot say enough good things about this stuff.

In the background is a bean of a sweeter variety:  Ellie Belly Jelly Bean the Queen.

My Foray into Fat Bombs!

Have you heard of the fat bomb trend? Since going gluten-free, I've seen a lot about this ketosis-spurring vehicle. I'm still learning about all this, but without gluten, our bodies arrive at a state of ketosis where we burn our stores of fat instead of the blood sugar in our systems from the carbs we used to eat. A fat bomb -- a gluten-free portion of healthy fat -- is said to spur the process. I'm more interested in the health benefits to my central nervous system and the energy jolt these will provide, but I'll take the ketosis too. A word to the wise:  ketosis will not happen if you are still eating bread and pasta. In that case these are just really delicious, mostly-organic raw, vegan truffles:  still worth making!

I can't believe how deliciously decadent these turned out to be! I have a wonderful, creative job working with dear friends. I can work at home, but I also work collaboratively at the studio. On studio days I find myself so "in the zone" that I have no interest in sustenance until I find my energy flagging. I normally bring a couple of dates or a square of dark chocolate for these times so the productivity can proceed uninterrupted, but one of these will be so much better for me! I used what I had on hand, so you could obviously tweak this recipe to your convenience and liking.

Chocolate Truffle Fat Bombs

12 oz. coconut almond butter (the whole jar)
1 c. almond meal flour (Bob's Red Mill has a good one)
1/3 c. hemp protein powder (Bob's Red Mill)
1/3 c. raw organic cacao
1/2 c. date sugar (really 100% crushed dates - that's all)
1/2 c. coconut oil
1 c. raw, unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp. salt
a few shakes of chipotle chili powder (if you like)

1/4 c. cacao nibs
1/4 c. golden raisins
1/4 c. raw cashews

In a food processor, combine and process the first group of ingredients until smooth, periodically scraping down the sides. Add the last three ingredients and pulse, roughly chopping and incorporating them, retaining a bit of texture. Taste the mixture and add more salt, chili powder or sweetener if desired (I only added a pinch more salt). The mixture will have softened from the heat of the mixing, so refrigerate for an 1/2-1 hour to firm it up enough to roll into balls. I left mine in the fridge a little longer than that and it was quite firm and hard to scoop at first:

But at room temperature it softened pretty quickly. Roll the mixture into golf ball sized pieces and roll in shredded coconut or cacao to seal in the moisture. arrange on parchment-lined pans and freeze for an hour.

Once frozen, the fat bombs can be stored in a Ziploc freezer bag in the freezer or fridge.
Makes 22 fat bombs.

These are delicious and completely satiating! I had only one after making them and found myself completely full and energized and, dare I say it, focused for the rest of the afternoon! I could see myself chowing on a couple of them, though, if 'm really hungry. These natural fats are unstable in a warm room (they melt) so plan to store them refrigerated until munching.  Experiment with your own combination of ingredients and textures. If you don't like 'em crunchy, process until smooth. Share what you come up with!

Raw Tabouli

This isn't my recipe. Since I love this minted parsnip tabouli so much, I figured I'm better off not reinventing the wheel. This recipe is from Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Kitchen. She and chef Chuck Sarno created this innovative salad with raw parsnips in the place of couscous. The parsnips are simply pulsed, dry, in a food processor along with garlic and then the other hand-chopped ingredients are stirred in. This no-carb tabouli is bright and delicious in flavor and, in Kris' words, "light as a feather". Since I am a never-enough-kale kind of gal, I served the tabouli atop a pile of it. Delicious!

End of Season Harvest

The kids have been in school for three weeks already in the deep south, so the gardening season should be just about over, but I still have mostly green tomatoes, and plenty of other things sprouting anew all the time. Our weather has been hellish and soggy, like a jungle, and we all know plants love that.

So here's a recent harvest. Represented are dino kale, rainbow chard, basil, tarragon, Chinese longbeans, tomatoes and my surprise guest: purple cabbage -- that's it toward the bottom: silvery green leaves with purple veins.

The cabbage was a surprise because, well, sometimes my crisper is overly full to the point I lose track of things. About half a purple cabbage was in full-rot (thankfully in a plastic bag) by the time I found it. The rot was nasty, but a brand new plant had sprouted from the slime -- sort of like a cruciferous phoenix! I had a blank spot in the garden so I quickly buried the cabbage-Fawkes to see what would happen. I couldn't be more pleased -- the fresh young cabbage leaves are tender and flavorful.

I utilized my bounty with a delicious, gluten-free Quinoa-pasta salad:

I roasted the sturdier veggies before adding them to the mix. This salad fit the bill for the first college football party of the season. My son's school, University of Georgia, is off to a fantastic start!

Gluten-Free and Green

This was a big hit with the family. I liked the shape of this Tinkyada rice pasta -- it didn't fall apart. I think I've figured out how to work with this product. I cooked it two minutes fewer than the directions suggested, and rinsed it thoroughly with cold water while I finished cooking the veggies.

For the greens, here is what I did:  on medium-high heat I quickly pan-seared the broccoli in coconut oil, along with chopped ginger and garlic, leaving it for a little while to get crispy and brown -- just on the edge of burning -- before stirring. This only took about three minutes, stirring 3-4 times. Then I turned off the burner and added chopped scallions, shredded kale, a little salt and pepper and a dash of Tamari, stirring the veggies until they were wilted. Finally, I took the hot pan off the still-hot burner, added the cooked noodles and a drizzle of olive oil and stirred it all together. The whole process took about 15 minutes, including prep.

I'm working on removing all grains as I strive to recover my immune system, but with baby steps --I'm embracing gluten-free products from time to time. This one's a winner!

Zucchini "Noodles"

Just a quick pretty photo today of some luscious, fresh veg. This is a pile of raw zucchini noodles topped with a compote of fresh grape tomatoes, onions, garlic and oregano and basil from my garden. This was light and delicious. I counted it as dinner, my husband counted it as a side dish.

Being in a "weeding out" phase of life, I'm reluctant to add to my kitchen drawers, particularly if the item is pricey, but the "spiralizers" out there have long intrigued me. Still, I've resisted the urge to drop $20 for another veggie chopper -- until I found myself in the "As Seen On TV" aisle in our local Walmart. There it was, the Veggetti, right next to the nausea-inducing "Pedi-Egg"(for shaving dead skin off feet) and "Tag Away"(for skin tags), for the low, low price of $14.88. All items being hermetically sealed and unused, I swallowed my pride and a little bit of bile and popped that gadget in my cart.

I'm reasonably impressed with the initial results of this gimmick. The strands of squash are indeed "noodle-like" and, best of all, it hardly takes up any room and is dishwasher-safe. I'm sure it'll only work well with softer veggies, but that's okay with me. There is a small un-grated cone of zucchini that never makes it to the blades, but it's easily dispatched with a couple of slices.

I enjoyed the raw noodles with the warm compote, but liked the leftovers even more the next day, very slightly warmed. Next time I think I'll prepare the hot compote and then briefly stir the noodles into it before taking it off the heat. That should be just the right amount of cooking to maximize flavor without compromising texture. I definitely see more veggie noodles in my gluten-free future.

Gluten-Free Grilled Cheese for Breakfast

My camera seemed to like the sandwiches in the back row better, but hopefully you can see the contents of these yummy, albeit blurry, morsels. This morning I was craving something substantial for breakfast and so I started thinking about grilled cheese. Of late, my diet is more carefully curated that usual, so I feel a little guilty about including gluten-free bread and daiya non-dairy cheese. These qualify as "filler" foods on the new plan, which is more nutrient-dense. To make myself feel better about eating this I decided to incorporate some delicious, decadent veggies. I sauteed half a red bell pepper and sliced half an avocado -- these scored for rainbow vegetables and healthy plant fats. Since my gluten-free bread slices were tiny, I decided to make two sandwiches -- vegan, gluten-free grilled cheese "sliders" really. Delish!

To avoid a soggy interior, I started by toasting the bread while the pan was warming to medium-low. Next, I distributed the daiya shreds on all four slices, then put a lid on the pan for about 3 minutes. The closed heat melts the "cheese" more effectively, gluing it to the bread sooner so the bread doesn't burn. I added the veggies next to only one side so putting the two sides together later would be less of a mess. I put the lid back on for another couple of minutes to be sure the "cheese" was pretty well melted, then I put the cheese-only slices on top of the veggie-ful sides and flipped the sandwiches over until well-toasted. It is best to use a low - medium heat for all this since the daiya is slower than dairy cheese. This was a wonderful breakfast and it only took about 8 minutes.

Beachy!

We've just returned home from a week on the lovely shores of the Gulf of Mexico. The early days were cool and stormy. Most folks are disappointed with weather like this on vacation, but in my opinion, there is no better storm-watching than at the beach. These first few photos were taken over the course of only a couple of minutes.

Yikes! The above photo was at mid-day! We certainly had a front-row seat for Nature's thrilling, drama. Once the sun came out again, we braved the beach, but it was still a bit too chilly, and was best enjoyed from the comfort of our condo. The company of wonderful friends, good food, cocktails and cozy movie watching got us through the first few days, then finally the beach looked like this:

We took full advantage. It was pretty tough to leave.

I am still hard at work trying to learn what diet changes will help me most -- studying the Wahls' Protocol which allowed Dr. Terry Wahls to recover from almost complete disability from MS. Getting my head around some of the major changes I'll be making, and working them into the family table is overwhelming, so whatever transition I make at this point will be more of a "leaning-in" rather than the "flipping of a switch" that was my vegan transition. Since I'm still pretty confused, and was feeding lots of lovely folks at the beach with different dietary requirements and preferences, I just made a lot of food, sometimes multiple versions of the same dish.

My last morning at the condo, I ate as much delicious, gluten-free, veggie-ful food as I could stomach, knowing I'd be driving through gluten/gmo/dairy/non-organic/fried wonderland for about 7 hours. Seriously, I cannot be the only one who sees the need for healthy road-trip food. In this age of celiac, diabetes, gluten/dairy/nut intolerances and various and sundry autoimmune disorders it seems like a ripe opportunity for some entrepreneur. Maybe it'll be me someday after we're done paying tuition.

Back to my beachy-Buddha-bowl:

These leftovers were eaten cold from the fridge. They are: quinoa prepared with organic broth and garlic, sauteed potatoes and onions, crispy sauteed broccoli and half a raw avocado. The beautiful, delicious bowlful saw me through most of the journey home.

For a late lunch, Wendy's seemed to be a reasonable road-food candidate for the two gluten-free folks in our carload, so I carefully studied the menu. My daughter's gluten-free friend chose a baked potato with sour cream (she is not dairy-free). I chose a southwest barbeque chicken salad. Of the listed ingredients, I only needed to ask for the chicken, bacon and dressing to be omitted. (I know, the Paleo model of Wahls' Protocol allows for meats, but I won't choose non-organic meats, and don't really think I will ever choose chicken anyway because of what I learned in my macrobiotic dabblings). So, settling back into the car, I got ready to dig into salad greens with fresh tomatoes and roasted corn. Already on the highway, I lifted the lid and found . . . cheese. No, Wendy's, cheese isn't actually a salad green. It's surprising nobody at Wendy's thought it might be a good idea to list cheese as an ingredient. Piece by piece, I eradicated the offending morsels. Everyone else was done with their food by the time I got my first forkful.

All in all, it was a great beach week. I am inspired anew in my quest toward health and innovative, forward-thinking road-trip-franchise-creation.

Gluten Free Parsnip Tabouli

When reading Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Kitchen, her tabouli recipe blew my mind. Who'd have thought raw parsnips could sub for couscous? I didn't follow her recipe here -- I couldn't find it -- long story. I just tried to remember what I'd read and mixed that with my Dad's old recipe from his days working in the  Middle East. From memory, here's last night's Tabouli:

Parsnip Tabouli
1 bunch of Italian parsley, chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh mint, chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
6 raw parsnips, peeled if not organic, cut into large chunks
1 large clove of garlic, peeled
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper
In a food processor, mince the parsnips and the garlic, scraping the sides periodically so the parsnips are all minced evenly. Keep pulsing and scraping until the vegetables are the consistency of cooked couscous. Combine the parsnips with all other ingredients and mix well.

This salad was really delicious, and was a big hit with the meat-eaters too. The parsnips are such a light, lovely consistency and are very subtly sweet, which goes surprisingly well with garlic. This morning I did find Kris' recipe and discovered that she doesn't use parsley at all -- cucumbers instead, and her proportions are different -- lots more garlic. I'm sure hers is delicious, and look forward to trying it soon. I bet this salad would be good, and different, with other herbs as well. Maybe I will try it with fresh dill next time, which always goes so nicely with lemon.

I will be making some changes to my diet, including reducing or eliminating gluten, and this recipe is perfect for that. More news on the diet changes as they evolve.

Miso-Bean Creamed Kale

I never tire of eating kale in any form, but it's still fun to experiment with different ways to incorporate the superfood into our diets. I came up with this idea the other day and made a big pile of it, visions of leftovers dancing in my head.  But it was so good that I went back and polished it off a couple of hours after eating the first bowlful. I'm going to make another batch to share with the family tonight.

Miso Creamed Kale

1 large bunch of kale, torn from the stems into small pieces

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. Miso paste

1/4 c. filtered water

1 can cannellini or navy beans, rinsed well and drained

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, or to taste

1 tsp. tamari or to taste

Over medium-high heat, saute the onion until transluscent, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, dilute the miso in the water -- mixing with a fork until liquified, set aside. Add the beans and the tamari to the pan, stirring periodically to be sure they don't burn. The beans will fall apart a little bit, and crisp up here and there. You'll want about 1/3 of the beans to fall apart, so if you happen to have a can of firmer beans, smash a few of them with the back of a wooden spoon as they cook, for about 3 minutes. Add the kale and stir quickly, to be sure it all gets to the heat before the next step. Add the miso liquid, stir completely to deglaze any stuck food, then immediately cover the pan and take it off the burner. Let steam for about 2 minutes, off the heat. With the original burner off, put the pan back on the still-warm burner, take the lid off, add the yeast and garlic powder and stir it all together for a couple of minutes, warming everything as the sauce thickens slightly.

You don't want to cook the miso at too high a heat. That's why I take the hot pan off the burner when the steam starts. The beneficial enzymes will die if they get too hot, but it'll all still taste good. If you want the full nutritional benefit, use a couple of tablespoons of water instead of the miso to steam the kale, then add the miso later to the warm pan. The resulting sauce will be runnier of course, but will thicken upon standing.

Avocado Aioli For Cinco De Mayo

Alright, kids, here it is! It's so lazy and easy. You may want to double the recipe because this goes away very fast.

Avocado Aioli
1 ripe avocado
3 Tbsp. Veganaise
juice of 1/4 lime
3-4 shakes of Chipotle powder plus more on top to make it pretty

Just mash and stir it all together! 

You can play with the amount of the Chipotle powder, which is very different in flavor from Cayenne or other chili powders. Chipotle is smoky and rich, not hot and biting. Avocado aioli is a nice departure from the predictable guacamole, which I also love. These are healthy fats at their finest. Here's how we ate the aioli:

We had tacos the first night: black eyed peas, cabbage and cilantro with lime, tomatoes and salsa, and of course, the aioli. You can see I am generous with my healthy fats!

Then for lunch the next day I had a taco salad. Here, the vehicle for all that yum is a bowl of spinach instead of a tortilla. The chips are brown rice. Ole!

Juice Pulp Crackers!

This was way more effort than I usually expend, but an early sampling of these crackers revealed an unusual but not disagreeable flavor. Once they are crunchy, I just might like them. I spent an hour getting the texture and seasonings right. I first spread out a batch of this "dough" and cut it just like this, and struggled to transfer each little piece to the dehydrator without it falling apart or falling through the mesh of the tray. I finally got wise and scraped it all back into a bowl for some more ground flax seed. I am not sure how much I used. I just kept adding it until the dough was quite bready. It was at least a cupful. I used the pulp from two batches of juice -- again, an unknown quantity. I seasoned with salt, pepper, shoyu, lemon juice, a little sprinkle of curry and coriander. I came up with this combo from several different pulp cracker recipes I found online. Once the dough was bready enough, it behaved well for me, keeping its shape on the dehydrator trays. It's been going an hour so far, but it is not crunchy at all yet.

There was a lot of complaining about all the food processing I had to do to homogenize the pulp. The guys were trying to watch football and I was making an awful racket. My 14 year old daughter came in as I was spreading the dough out and when I told her what I was doing she burst into hysterical laughter, taking photos to e-mail all her friends. I do tend to keep that lot entertained with my vegan antics. It is a curiosity to them -- very different from the way things happen in their own homes. At the last sleepover, Wynne's friends all tried my fresh juice. They said they liked it. I was so proud!

Here's the pulp with only half a cup of flaxseed -- way too moist to hold together.

Here are the crackers in the dehydrator. I stacked four of these trays. The pulp of two juicings, a cup+ of flaxseed, etc. was the perfect quantity to fill the dehydrator.

The khaki-green color is kind of pretty in an odd way. These crackers are raw, vegan, gluten-free and utilize the fiber from my juiced veggies much more effectively than my ill-fated bean soup/chili experiment.I need to wait another couple of hours at least, but I'll report on the final verdict of whether this exercise will be repeated once I've had a chance to take a crunchy bite.