Hokey Smokey Potato Salad

I didn't think I liked potato salad.  I've had a few good variations before, but mostly is just seemed like a reason to eat mass quantities of potatoes and mayonnaise and foolishly call it salad.

Oh, I just had a small salad for lunch.  

I attended a pig roast in the summer, and because I'm a vegetarian I ate a lot of the salads available.  My husband is vegan a good 90% of the time, so it was nice to treat myself to a few things I wouldn't normally eat.  And treat myself I did.  Actually, I didn't go too crazy - it just felt crazy because I loved this potato salad so much I dug through the fridge at 1am hoping to find leftovers.

Well, my husband had a work potluck thingy and he wanted me to make something cold so he didn't have to lug a crockpot to work and ensure it had enough time to heat up, etc.  I thought - huzzah! - I am going to jack my friend's potato salad recipe and vegan it up.

Whether or not you're vegan, you probably shouldn't be eating mayonnaise.  Ok, if you must have mayo at least only a tablespoon at a time on the most bodacious BLT ever.  Not by the cupful in a "salad".
Enter:  Hokey Smokey Potato Salad

This recipe is big enough to bring to a potluck with 8-10 adults who want seconds.  It's easily halved or doubled and can have lots of variations made. 

3-4lb potatoes (I used red because that's what I had, but use whatever you want I guess)
2-3 ripe avocado
Juice from freshly squeezed lemon, or 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 bunch green onion, chopped small-ish
2-3 shallots, or one large red onion, also chopped small
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro or parsley
1-2tbsp liquid smoke (or more, to taste)

Variation ideas: 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, a few cloves of roasted garlic, 1/4 cup chives

Cut your potatoes into even sized cubes and bring to a boil.  Once boiled, lower to a simmer until they are soft enough to stick a fork through but NOT so soft you don't have to push your fork a little.  You will have weird mashed potatoes if you over cook.  Once your taters are done, rinse them in cold water until they are cool so they stop cooking or you still might end up with mashed potatoes on your hands.

While your p-tats (yup, I'm starting a new trend and calling them p-tats) are cooking, place your lemon juice or apple cider vinegar into a large mixing bowl.  You're just using enough to stop the avocados from turning brown - you don't want to taste it when you're done.  Peel and pit your avocados and squish them to bits with the juice.  I used a little hand blender, but it was 9pm and I had just finished making a big dinner and packing lunches and doing the dishes and.... I just wanted to use a blender.

Once your avocados are nice and smooth (there will always be a few chunks left), add your finely chopped green onions, herbs and red onion.  I always use a nice pair of clean scissors to cut green onion if you're looking for a cool way to prep them.

Add your potatoes and mix gently but thoroughly.  Once mixed, start adding liquid smoke until it tastes just how you'd like.  I put 2tbsp in my batch, and I thought it was just right - but it will depend on how much lemon/apple cider vinegar you use and how many potatoes you boiled, etc.

I took a picture of my salad a full 24 hours after making it, so the colour wasn't as vibrant green and beautiful as it was immediately after making it but it certainly isn't the gross brown colour avocados turn after being cut open.   I love this salad!  And, yes, potatoes aren't the best food to be eating lots of - but they're not the worst from time to time.  I hope you make and LOVE this salad as much as I do, and if you do - don't forget to send me a pic or an update on how they turned out.

Super Delicious Vegan Sprouted Grain Waffles

I love waffles.  So much.  I've yet to meet someone who doesn't love a delicious waffle.  I'm not talking about the ones from a box.  Yes, I've tasted them.  My parents used to buy them when I was a teenager and I'd toast them and put a scoop of peach ice cream on top.  Those aren't waffles.  Those are waffle-like-products.  I  mean WAFFLES!

My brother used to live in a different province from the rest of the family, and during one of his visits home I walked into my parents house while he was making up a fresh batch of waffles.  They were green.  He had made them with spelt and spirulina and I thought, eww why bother?  Well, I'm not sure he eats green waffles anymore but I think I've come up to his level of dedication when it comes to eating healthy.  I drink my spirulina like any good hippie - I don't hide it in waffles.

All this to say - after a bad night's sleep, a long morning, and a challenging yoga session - I felt waffles would put some sunshine into my day.  The dilemma - a deep, lust like desire for waffles on a non-treat day.  It just couldn't wait.

I've health-ified a recipe adapted from the Food Network but you are welcome to junk it back up or make any adjustments you need/like/want.  I will warn you (ye be warned) that applesauce waffles need a bit of extra time in the waffle iron so make sure it stops steaming before you open it.   It's not 100% healthy, but it's as close as a waffle is going to get while still tasting delicious.

These waffles are nice and crispy on the outside, soft and muffin like on the inside and delicious the whole way through!

Vegan, (mostly) Sprouted Grain DELICIOUS Waffles
Yields 10 waffles approx.

Before you start, plug in your waffle iron so it's insanely hot when you're done making your batter.  I plug mine in, have a coffee and then get the ingredients together.  There's nothing worse than a luke warm waffle iron.  

2 1/2 cups flour (I used 1c sprouted spelt, 1c sprouted kamut and 1/2 cup all purpose whole wheat)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Mix dry ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.  

1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk (you can use any milk)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup coconut sugar (you can use brown sugar or sugar alternatives)
3 tbsp oil (I used walnut but you could use melted coconut oil, or vegetable oil)
1 tsp vanilla

Whisk your wet ingredients together, and continue whisking in your dry ingredients.  Make sure most of your lumps are gone but don't go mental - it doesn't need to be perfect.  

I know non stick sprays aren't great.  I actually never really use the two that I have in my cupboard unless I'm making something in the waffle iron - and when you're using a waffle iron you really need a spray.  I have an extra virgin olive oil spray and a coconut oil spray (both found at the marvellous Costco) and I used the coconut oil spray so the waffles wouldn't taste olive oil-y.  

Spray your iron, use a measuring cup to scoop and pour your batter (perfectly sized waffles that way!)  My waffle iron takes 1/2 cup batter per side, but yours could very well be a different size so use some discretion here.  As I mentioned earlier in my extended waffle rant, because these are made with applesauce you will need to wait until the steam is done rising before opening your iron.  If you've used brown sugar - your waffles may stick a little to your iron.  Carefully use a spatula or some tongs to peel them off - don't rush, you don't want to rip your beautiful waffles!

Top with fresh fruit and real maple syrup for the BEST breakfast or brunch.  If these waffles don't add a bit of sunshine to your day, you are a sad sad soul.

Happy Waffling!

Chocolate Cake you CAN NOT mess up!

I've made this cake a bajillion different ways

gluten free

oil free

with beets to make it red velvet

it's already vegan

Ok, so I've made it four ways that I can remember - but I have been making this cake for years and I have honestly never messed it up.  

I mess up a lot by the way.  Especially when I refuse to use measuring devices.   

ANYWAYS, 

this chocolate cake is my go-to-cake and I will never make another chocolate cake recipe again because this one is just so good.  

We are entering birthday season in my house (all 6 kids in four months)

and I made this cake 3 times for two birthdays.

Apparently cupcakes aren't real cake.  3 year old girls I tell ya.  

These are blue raspberry cupcakes that I kept calling Razzamataz Cupcakes for some reason.

They tasted like a slushie - but way better because it's cake.  I just added some raspberry flavour to the icing and threw in some blue colouring.

Boy oh boy were they good - and perfect for a little girl who loves blue!

This was made on Tilly's actual birth date to make up for the cupcakes (sheesh). 

Her favourite colour is "every colour of the rainbow" and this cake was a big hit!

Tilly didn't really complain about the cupcakes, she just said she wished she had a birthday cake.  I told her she did have one, the cupcakes, and she replied with "that's not a real cake!"
If she fussed, or complained or demanded a "real" cake I would have never made another one -
but she didn't, and birthdays are sensitive for me, so I made her a cake.
I think her reaction says it all:

Birthday or not, this cake is easy to make - stays moist for a good few days and is tasty tasty tasty!

With no further adieu...

Crazy Good Chocolate Cake 

Preheat oven to 350 and prepare pan.  This recipe doubles nicely, but single recipe needs to be baked in an 8X8 square pan, 10"round cake pan, or even an 11X7 rectangle pan.  Grease the cake holding vessel lightly, and if using a metal pan grease & flour.  

1 1/4 cups flour (yes - you can use gluten free mix)
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients.  Break up any clumps before adding the wet stuff.  Create a little well, exposing the bottom of the bowl.

1 cup warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil (you can use applesauce, or melted coconut oil)
1 tsp vinegar

(add up to 1/2 cup of steamed and pureed beets for red velvet)

Add warm water, vanilla, oil and vinegar to dry ingredients.  Mix well.  You can use a hand blender or just good old elbow grease (with a whisk).  Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.  Cupcakes take roughly 25 minutes, and adding beets will extend your bake time by 5 minutes or so.  

When I'm making the cake for something fancy (a.k.a. not eating it out of the glass dish while the kids are sleeping) I line the bottom of whatever pan I'm using with parchment so it will flip out of the baking device easily.  

My son wanted a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing.  Vegan.  Hilarious request for an 8 year old.
  I just used a fermented soy cream cheese and made the icing like a regular cream cheese icing and it was deeeeee-licious I tells ya.  

PS If you're a fan of using flavours like I am - the BEST combo of this cake is making the icing... banana flavour.  Oh my banana-lovin-brains it's good.  

Happy Baking!

Southern Fixins (Vegan)

I know... Southern fixins (or is it fixuns) and vegan don't typically go together.  The thing is, when my husband is having a busy week at work - I like to cheer him up with comfort food.  When he comes in the door to a big meal of his favourites he has the face of a child on Christmas morning.  This past Lent, our family chose to eliminate any food from animals from our diet - we ate like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, which is... vegan.

Although I wouldn't recommend making this all the time, vegan does NOT always equal healthy (example:Oreo cookies) these recipes are great for company, great for any holiday meal or potluck and especially great for cheering someone up!

Vegan Creamed Corn

2 1/2 cups of sweet corn (frozen)
1 can of coconut milk (not light)
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp flour or cornstarch
water
2-3 tbsp Nutritional Yeast (optional)
1tsp salt

Place milk and sugar in saucepan, and add corn.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Put flour in small dish and moisten with water until there are no lumps or dry flour.  Once smooth, add flour and water mixture to the boiled corn and coconut milk.  Keep the corn on high heat while the flour cooks and thickens the cream.  I added salt and nutritional yeast, the nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavour (in regular creamed corn you add almost a full cup of parmesan).  You can get creative here - adding a pinch of cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, or whatever strikes your fancy.

Frying Pan Biscuits (Sprouted Grain, vegan)

As you may or may not know, I don't turn my stove on during the week.  I especially don't turn it on to make one solitary thing.  If I'm going to turn that baby on mid-week I have to have at least 3 things to put in there to make it worth while.  If you turn your stove on feel free to make these in the oven - but I can't see why anyone would when they're so tasty and easy on the stove.

2 cups sprouted grain Spelt flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening or Earth Balance shortening
3/4 cup milk alternative (I used Quinoa, but almond or coconut is cool beans)
coconut oil

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.  Cut in shortening with two knives or pastry cutter until it is crumbly and there are no shortening clumps larger than a pea.  SLOWLY add your milk, I added mine 1/4 cup at a time and didn't need all of the last 1/4.  You need just enough liquid to hold the dough together and no more.  Once you have a good consistency, knead dough on floured board very briefly (I'd say 3-5 times) and roll out with a rolling pin.  I use a cup to cut out my biscuits, but you might be a fancy pants and have a biscuit or cookie cutter that will do the job.  You can also just cut out a shape with a butter knife.

Prepare your pan by turning it on high heat with a lid on.  I used a heavy ceramic pan - it is best if you use something very heavy like cast iron, ceramic, etc.  If you have to use a lighter teflon like pan turn the heat to medium high and wait longer for the pan to warm up so it doesn't smoke and get out of control.  If you are unsure if your pan is hot enough drop a small amount of water on it.  It should bead up, sizzle and evaporate in seconds.

Add 1tsp coconut oil to pan, and roll it around so it's evenly coated.  Add as many biscuits as will fit and put the lid back on, turning the heat to medium low (I'd say 6 on an electric).  Allow biscuits to cook for 5-6 minutes and flip to other side for another 5-6 minutes.  If you're unsure the biscuit is cooked thoroughly, just break one open and look for a nice flaky filling.  If it's flaky, your'e done with the bakey.  That was terrible, but it rhymed and I just couldn't help myself.

Repeat as necessary with any additional biscuits, just remember to give the pan a break to heat up between batches.

The BEST thing about frying these up was how little oil we had to use and how much flavour it added to the biscuits.  We ate them "plain" with no butter (or Earth Balance), jam, or anything - they were just plain tasty.

Kick Ass Coleslaw

I love coleslaw.  It's versatile, goes with a lot of different meals and the crunch just can't be beat.  I love a good crunch.

I knew I couldn't have biscuits and creamed corn without coleslaw.  It's a food sacrilege.  Coming up with something vegan was a breeze.  I had been watering down hummus and basically putting in on EVERYTHING.  Pizza.  Veggies.  You name it, I topped it with watered down hummus.  Don't knock it until you try it, you might just start putting it on everything too!

Now... don't judge me for buying prepackaged coleslaw.  I was making homemade spring rolls and they are already a lot of work, so I skipped some of the HOURS of prep and bought the coleslaw mix from the fresh food section of the grocery store.  It's just red and green cabbage and a few shreds of carrot.  For $1.30/bag I was happy to skip prepping it myself.

1/2 bag of coleslaw mix
1/2 cup hummus
3-4 tbsp tahini
freshly squeezed lemon juice

In a large bowl, mix your hummus and tahini until it is smooth and runny.  Add the coleslaw, and the juice from half a lemon and you're in business.  That's it.  Seriously.  Eat it.

I hope you try some (or ALL) of these recipes the next time you're craving some soul food.  

Bon Appetite and Have fun with your Fixuns!

7lb Lasagna

  Before my husband and I became accidental vegetarians, there were foods I just thought wouldn’t work as vegetarian.  Lasanga wasn’t one of them.  Lasagna is better vegetarian!  Loads of pasta and cheese doesn’t need meat - it’s already heart-attack-a-licious.  

Vegan lasagna?  Meh. 

What’s left after you take the cheese out?  Tomatoes?  You want to replace the noodles with veggies too?  Kill me now!  Seriously, what’s left?

AMAZINGNESS.  That’s what’s left.  Trust me on this.  

Isn't she a beaut?  Bright and colourful, totally delicious and mega good for you.
You're thinking... did you actually weigh this lasagna, and I will let you know - yes, yes I did.  And the pan wasn't heavy glass or cast iron either

Not only is this lasagna vegan, it’s gluten free and jam-packed with vitamins, nutrients, and true blue goodness.  But really -  forget the labels: vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, and think of your tastebuds dancing like old-timey cartoons in your mouth.  That’s what’s going to happen when you take a bite of…..

7 lb Lasagna      

This is everything you need! 

2 butternut squash

4 large eggplant

6 small (or 4 large) zucchini 

1 jar of your choice pasta sauce, or homemade (see link)

1 pckg 275-300g raw cashews, soaked in water (soak for at least an hour, or overnight in the fridge)

fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350

Wash your produce (yes I wash the outside before cutting) and peel your eggplant.  

Zuchini and Eggplant factory. 

The first time I made this lasagna I left the skins on - but the kids weren’t too keen on having to chew them so vigorously.  If you’re only feeding adults, they may not mind - but considering my kids LOVE this lasagna and I’d like to keep it that way and I just cut the derned skins off.  

Slice the eggplant, and zucchini into thin “coins” and place on a baking tray.  No oil necessary.  Just bake for 20 minutes, flip over and bake for another 20.  I know some people are totally awesome and cut their zucchini and eggplant into strips like lasagna noodles, but they don’t bake nicely and are harder to handle.  While the eggplant and zucchini are baking, cut the squash down the centre (this can take some serious muscle, or just a decent kitchen knife - of which I have neither).  Scoop out the seeds and place face down in a casserole dish or cookie sheet.  There will be a lot of liquid that bakes out of the squash so if you use a cookie sheet you will just have to scrub it afterwards (I hate scrubbing cookie sheets because they don’t fit in the sink).  Bake squash for 50-60 minutes, until tender.  

Baked oatmeal leftovers.
1/4 is cranberry free for 1 picky eater.

I let everything cool on the counter while I’m making other yummy things.  This particular weekend I started the day with baked carrot oatmeal, made a batch of muffins, cookies and pizza (all vegan) and baked some homemade samosas that the kids loved!  I’m in mega love with Angela Liddon’s blog Oh She Glows and used her baked oatmeal, muffin and cookie recipes.  Her recipes often include maple syrup instead of sugar - but I’ve been replacing the syrup with figs and it’s awesome!  If something calls for 1/4 cup sugar or syrup I squish as many figs as I can into a 1/4 cup, and soak them in water for an hour or so before pulsing them in the food processor to make a sweet paste.  I add it 1 for 1 to the recipe and haven’t had any complaints.   

Empty the squash into a large bowl - they should just drop right out of their skins into the bowl.  If not, peel it out.   Mash it vigorously with a spoon so it’s creamy.  If you have roasted garlic hanging around throw some in - I didn’t, because I can’t keep roasted garlic out of my mouth for some reason.

Squash, cashew cheese and beautiful layers.

To make your cashew cheese, just take your soaked cashews and put them in a food processor.  Use freshly squeezed lemon juice to get things moving.  You could also add some oil or tahini to do that as well, but I just used fresh lemon juice -about two lemons worth.  The longer you soak your cashews, the better result you will have.  

When you’re ready to assemble and bake your lasagna prepare a large 11x11 pan.  Someone left a large metal pan at my house (does it belong to YOU?) so I used that with parchment paper - but normally I would use my glass pan, naked (no parchment or oil). 

. 

Start with a thin layer of tomato sauce.  I use this organic sauce because it has nothing but tomatoes, spices and other veggies (sometimes I get the one with carrots, etc.).  No sugar, nothing I can’t pronounce and no tin can.  Go ahead and use your favourite, but if you don’t have a fav - give this a try.  After you have a layer of sauce, add a layer of eggplant, layer of squash, zucchini and tomato sauce again.  Next, add your cashew “cheese”.  I wet my hands and pat small portions into flat discs I then place on the lasagna and continue to try to pat down.  Repeat this until the “cheese” is gone and you have a nice even layer.  Now add another layer of eggplant, this time adding the zucchini at the same time and another thin layer of sauce.  Top it all off with your last layer of butternut squash and bake for roughly 1 hour until it’s hot all the way through and you can see the sauce bubbling.  Let cool for what seems like a lifetime, but probably more like 20 minutes.  Cut into generous portions and eat the heck out of this tasty tasty lasagna.

This freezes like a boss - so if you want to pop it in the freezer in portions or before you bake it, go for it.  Not worrying about meat temperatures and reheating, etc. excludes guesswork and you can just do it.  Or just freeze it in this instance.  

If you're feeling up to it, a variation I do with this lasagne is to take 6 cups of spinach and cook it down with garlic and onion.  I add it just above the cheese layer and it adds so much flavour and all around wonderfulness.  Give it a try if you have the ingredients hanging around.  

Honestly, eating a dinner like this makes you feel like you can conquer the world!  There’s no undoing the button on your pants, laying on the couch and hating yourself for eating so much.  You can eat until you’re full and still feel great!  I LOVE that my kids love this recipe (it’s even funnier that they don’t like regular lasagna) and they helped me make it the last few times and know they’re eating eggplant and zucchini.  

My 1 yr old crying for a portion.  I should have let him eat some before trying to take a pic of the final product.

Bon Appe-7lb-tit!
Eww,  7 lb tit sounds so wrong.  Well, it's been typed and can't be erased.
Such is the finality of computers.  No backspace or delete buttons.
ahiodpjmkfldsa
Dern baby hit the keys again.  


Check out my post on homemade pizza to get my homemade sauce recipe

Bodacious Brussel Sprouts

 If it's possible to "pig out" on a veggie, this is what should be pigged out on.

I, like most normal people, HATED brussel sprouts.  Steamed bitter little bites of torture that you needed a pound of cheese just to stomach.  

Not these.

These oven roasted beauties are just as the title indicates - bodacious.  

 Bodacious Brussel Sprouts

Preheat oven to 350 (toaster oven)

So, if you've read any of my other blog posts you may have noticed that I am, if nothing else, frugal.  I don't turn my stove on during the week because energy costs are higher and I pinch absolutely every penny in our family budget.  The toaster oven is my go-to for most meals during the week.  Apple crisp, potatoes, veggies - all baked in the toaster oven.  Last night we had a "Southern meal" and I cooked the biscuits in a frying pan so I didn't have to turn the stove on.  I'm serious about saving money.

The point is, if you have a toaster oven find a pan that will fit in there so you can save on energy costs.  It's really senseless to turn the oven on for one small dish.  If you don't have a toaster oven, maybe whip up something else that needs to go in the oven so you're using it for more than one thing.  I power bake on the weekends, picking one day to keep the stove on and make all my yummy food that needs the big stove - pizza, lasagna, cookies, etc.  If you want to turn your stove on, knock yourself out, I just like sharing my money saving tips and I'm also very bossy.

Back to brussel sprouts....

1lb fresh brussel sprouts (approx. 4 cups)
1 tbsp oil (use your most fragrant oil - I used walnut, but you could use avocado, herb infused olive oil, etc.)

1/4 cup hazelnuts
1-2 tbsp maple syrup

Cut the bottoms of the sprouts off and slice each one in half.  Place in your baking pan (I used 7x11) and drizzle with oil.  You really don't need more than 1tbsp - don't negate the nutritional value of veggies by drowning them in oil.

Coat brussel sprouts in oil (just use a spatula and "mix" it) and pop into the oven for 15 minutes.

Turn the sprouts over and pop back into oven for 15 minutes.




While the sprouts are cooking for their second round of 15 minutes, get a pan of raw hazelnuts ready.  If you don't have hazelnuts grab almonds or cashews.  Really, though, if you're going grocery shopping - just get hazelnuts.  They are so good in this dish.

Before roasting nuts, pull sprouts out and drizzle with 1tbsp maple syrup (REAL stuff) - 2 tbsp max.  You don't want it too sweet.

Pop the tray of hazelnuts on TOP of the sprouts and put them both back in the oven.  Set the timer for 10 minutes.

You will smell these roasting and you will want to eat the whole tray.  Resist.  Or make extra.  I make extra because the kids smell them roasting and stand in the kitchen waiting to eat them.

After 10 minutes are up, turn toaster oven off and leave the sprouts inside to stay warm while you prep nuts.

Once the hazelnuts are roasted, simply rub them in a dishtowel to get the skins off.  A little tip from Oh She Glows.  I shake the towel outside afterwards and my chickens love the skins!  If you don't have chickens I'm sure birds and squirrels will enjoy them.

Put hazelnuts with the brussel sprouts and sprinkle with a bit of fresh sea salt and that's it!  This is a show stopping side dish, or if you're anything like me - the main course.

Bon-Bodacious-Appetite!

Vegan creamed corn..... better than my original recipe!

Pan baked biscuits and hummus coleslaw.  

I will share the rest of my vegan "Southern" feast recipes next week.  Boy oh boy was this meal a treat.  

Every last bit was gobbled up, and what the kids left on their plates (which wasn't much) my husband and I cleaned off!  

Sprouted Grain & Hummus Pizza. (Vegan)

I will admit when I was introduced to cold veggie pizza last year I fell in love.  Absolutely in love.  All the delicious fresh veggies on top are deceiving, however, and they do very little to balance out the junk food underneath.  I’m talking about Pillsbury croissants rolled into a pizza crust and topped with cream cheese.  It’s delicious.  Just not I need to run 10k to balance out this one slice delicious.  So, as with all things delicious - I tried putting a healthier spin on it.  It’s not so healthy you can eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day - but it’s pretty derned healthy.  

Sprouted grain crust, hummus as the “sauce” and fresh veg toppings made for a flavourful and DELISH version of…

Cold Veggie Pizza

This recipe is so relaxed and versatile.  I keep my crust separate from the toppings and sauce until I'm ready to sit down and eat.  I'm sure it could be packed in a lunch, but I think the sooner you eat it after put together - the better. 

Crust

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tsp sugar (you can use any kind - honey, agave, something to feed the yeast)

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Mix water and sugar in a large bowl and sprinkle yeast on top.  Let sit for five minutes to make sure yeast isn’t “dead”.  It will look bubbly.  

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp seasoning (I used Costco’s organic no-salt seasoning) 

2 tbsp oil (olive oil works best, but you can use anything)

1 1/2 cups sprouted grain kamut flour

1 1/2 cups sprouted grain spelt flour

Up to 1 1/2 cups additional flour

Add salt, seasoning and oil to water and yeast mixture.  Add flour and use a large wooden spoon to mix.  You will quickly see how much more flour you need.  Depending on what climate you live in and what flour you use will greatly vary how much you need.  Regular all purpose flour is about 4 cups.  Spelt is only 3.  Don’t use a gluten free all purpose mix in this recipe, I’ve tried - it was terrible.  If you want to go the GF route, use Bob's Redmill Pizza dough mix.  It's badass.  

Knead your dough in the bowl a few times until it’s well blended and begins to spring back once you knead it.  You want your dough to be a little sticky but not cling to the sides of your bowl.  You may have read my tip in a previous post, but with breads the rule is “the wetter the better” so don’t add too much flour.  Cover the bowl with a wet dishcloth or saran wrap and leave for 30 minutes to an hour, until it’s doubled in size.  This depends on the temperature of your house of course. 

Preheat oven to 425.  This recipe will make two large 12-14 inch pizzas (depending on how thick you want your crust).  I like a very thin crust. I pressed mine down into a square shape because I wanted to cut the pieces into squares and not triangles.  If you don't use parchment paper - you should.  I just plop mine out of the bowl onto parchment paper and I'm ready to go.  If you refuse to use parchment, go ahead and grease & flour the cookie sheet.   When dough is ready bake for 10-12 minutes.  You can tell the bread is done as it will brown slightly and the edges will crisp up.  

Store bread in a large dishtowel once it's cool.  If you put it in a bag or tupperware it will lose some of its crunch.  

Toppings

I washed and cut romaine nice and small (you could also use a cheese grater).  I chopped up some green onions and cucumber and sliced tomatoes.  If it wasn’t the end of the week I would have liked to put on fresh mushrooms and peppers - but my little 3 year old is obsessed with both and eats them like they’re candy.  Anyways - put on whatever you have!  

Suggestions: baby kale, sprouts, broccoli, roasted garlic.....  

If you want to make your own hummus, it’s SUPER easy.   Super-duper easy.  

Hummus

1 can chickpeas, rinsed

1-2 lemons, juiced

Tahini (sesame seeds ground into a paste)

Optional add ins

- roasted garlic (the more the better)

- roasted red pepper

- salsa (oooh la la)

- cumin

- roasted jalepeno peppers (when I do this I sub lime juice for lemon juice)

Simply place your chickpeas, and roughly 1/4 cup Tahini in a food processor with the juice from one lemon.  Pulse for a while.  You are the boss of your own hummus so if you like it chunky so be it - but I like it smooth.  If you find you need more lemon juice, add as much as you’d like.  You can also add olive oil to get it smooth and keep the food processor from getting gunked up - I just prefer to keep mine oil free.  That’s it - definitely not worth paying $6.00 at the grocery store!  Ok, when I get store bought hummus I pay way less than that and buy what seems like an uneatable amount at Costco - but we eat it.  Every time.  No such thing as an uneatable amount of hummus at this house.

I'm not sure why I insist on embarrassing myself publicly ALL THE TIME but something about it makes me think it's endearing?  You'll like me because you KNOW you're better than me.  My lovely husband took these of me enjoying the pizza, and I kid you not - they are the best shots.  

Bonus Story:  I sat down with my second slice of pizza and said to my husband - "hey, we should get a pic of me eating them since I have a bra on and your'e home."  Those are real reasons.  He said "yeah".  So, I got the camera - sat down and handed it to him and got my pizza ready.  I sat and waited for a minute (or more) and then said, "Ron!"  He looked at me, dumbfounded, with the camera in his hands and said - "what do you want me to do with this thing?"
Yes, he really had no idea why he was holding a camera and why I was facing him holding (and not eating) my pizza.  Husbands!  

Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies (gluten free, vegan, low sugar)

Every Friday night my family enjoys what we call "treat night".  

We eat our dinner in front of the tv (horrific I know), and enjoy the treats we have been longing for ALL week!  

As you may or may not know, it is Lent for some of us - which means abstaining from certain chosen things for a period of 40 days before Easter.  Some people choose to abstain from things like Facebook, or television, and chocolate seems to be popular.  

Our family enjoys choosing extreme challenges during Lent - like the three years we cut our grocery allowance to $2.00/day per person.  

Well, Friday night treat night is not exempt from Lent.  I was worried the kids would be sad and not have motivation to achieve the goals I've set for them to be able to participate in treat night, but after our first successful week with these cookies I KNOW they are motivated to make it to next Friday. 

They know the leftovers are in the freezer and are counting down the days

until Friday.  

Who could blame them?

Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 

2 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 6 tablespoons water

1/2 cup virgin coconut oil (do not melt)

1/2 cup almond butter (natural)

1/3 cup unpacked brown sugar

1/3 cup natural cane sugar

2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a small dish mix together the flax and water and set aside for a few minutes so it can thicken up. Whisk the flax again once thickened.

In a large mixing bowl (preferably stand mixer) cream your coconut oil until light and fluffy. Continue to add the wet ingredients - sugars, applesauce, vanilla and flax mixture. 

Baking with my little "helpers".  Matilda turned the mixer on high after adding the oat flour and we had an explosion of flour in the kitchen.  Fun times.  

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

6 tablespoons cocoa powder

3 cups gluten-free rolled oats, processed into flour (just pulse in your blender for flour)

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (dairy free)

Add dry ingredients one at a time.  If your dough is a bit dry, add a little more applesauce. The dough should be moist enough to form balls without cracking, but not super sticky.  Lastly, add the chocolate chips.  

I used my ice cream scoop to measure out my cookies (I use it for everything, I wish I had all the sizes).  I filled it half way each time and that gave me roughly 2tbsp sized balls.  Place on the cookie sheet 2-3 inches apart and press down just a bit so it's more of a disc and not a ball.  Bake for 12 minutes.  

Makes roughly 2 dozen large cookies.  It's hard to say - my little helpers ate a LOT of the dough before I had a chance to put it in the oven.  

No raw eggs = cookie dough pig out.  

These are excellent when slightly warm or when completely cooled.  They are not fragile or difficult to handle like some gluten free cookies, so feel free to handle them like a "normal" cookie.  

Happy Baking!

*This is an adaptation of a DELICIOUS cookie from Oh She Glows.  The original recipe uses more sugar than I'd like, so I doubled the batch and kept the sugar the same adding applesauce to sweeten and moisten.  If you'd like to give the original a try, visit her site and try the other recipes she has - it's a new favourite of mine!*  http://ohsheglows.com/2014/02/27/one-bowl-double-chocolate-chunk-cookies/

Sweet Potato & Carrot Soup (Vegan)

I really feel like this should be called "ingredient" soup.  It's so flexible (most soups are) - so if you don't have the exact veggies or amounts, just give it a try with what you DO have.  

This soup is the hilariously distant cousin to a soup my sister makes, the recipe she shared with me was the starting point for this recipe.  

Absolutely no enhancements necessary!  This is the vibrant colour of the finished soup!  So beautiful to look at, it does NOT disappoint when it hits your lips.

*Before you start*

You will need to roast or otherwise cook your veggies before making this soup.  I roasted veggies while the stove was on making pizza this weekend.  If you know me, you know I HATE turning the stove on for only one thing, so will pre-cook things for later or make other batches of things for the week.  I left the roasted veggies and garlic in my fridge for 4 days before finally making the soup.

Sweet Potato & Carrot Soup

Preheat oven to 425

2-3 Sweet Potatoes

5 Large Carrots

1 Head of Garlic

Cut sweet potato into even sized pieces and place on parchment paper lined cookie tray.  I left the skin on my potatoes while baking and took them off once cool - they peel right off with your fingers. Slice carrots in half lengthwise and place on the parchment lined cookie tray as well.  Using a small, oven safe baking dish (something for creme brûlée ideally) place your head of garlic and drizzle olive oil over it.  Bake your veggies for 20-40 minutes depending on how large you cut your pieces and how large the vegetables were to begin with!  The garlic shouldn't need more than the first 20 minutes to be soft, smell like heaven and be slightly brown.  Once garlic is cooled, peel off the "paper" and squeeze the garlic out.  

Here's what my veggies and garlic looked like after days in the fridge!

I love letting sweet vegetables get a little too dark on the edges.   When pulsed into something like a soup it adds a wonderful deep caramel flavour!  

I blended my carrots, sweet potato and garlic in my blender, but you could use a food processor OR use a potato masher (that's what my sister does).   I added to the blender:

1 can of coconut milk (accidentally bought light, but you could use either)

900 ml Vegetable stock

If you buy vegetable stock, good for you - I buy it a lot of the time too!  If you want to make your own, simply save scraps of veg - celery, broccoli, cauliflower, onion, etc.  Fill your biggest pot with water and all your vegetable scraps and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover the pot and let simmer for 3-4 hours.  This is a great way to control the flavour of your vegetable stock, and if you're concerned about sodium intake you can leave out the salt altogether!  

This is all I needed to make soup for 4 adult servings.  I forgot to move the vegetable stock over in to the pick, so imagine it off to the left.  :)

Once all your carrots, sweet potato, garlic, coconut milk and vegetable stock are blended, add:

1-2 tsp Curry Powder

1 tsp Turmeric

1 tsp Ground Ginger

1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/2 tsp Salt

Transfer soup to a large pot to warm up.  Once the soup is warm, add 3/4 cup of natural nut butter.  I used almond butter, but you can use peanut butter or any other nut butter you have in the house.

That's it!  You're done and ready to dig in!  

Bon Appetit!

3 of my "Littles" fighting over the last bites of my soup I couldn't finish.  I guess they weren't fighting, they were actually sharing really nicely.  

My hubby and I are on different dinner schedules so when I was done blending I put in straight in the fridge in a tupperware container.  We each warmed up our own portions when it was our meal times and added a tbsp of almond butter once the soup was warmed.  

Hey, these are ACTUALLY good!

"Hey these are ACTUALLY good" Cookies

I love baking.  The only thing is, once something has been baked it inevitably gets eaten.  When I'm making pretzels, cookies and buns this can be a bad thing.  I want to be healthy and more importantly I want my kids to be healthy.  We limit our treats to Fridays, but throughout the rest of the week I get the urge to get creative in the kitchen and turn the oven on.  

You'll need a food processor or amazing blender to whip these up.

Preheat oven to 350.

3-4 ripe bananas

1 small can black beans

1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa

Add first three ingredients to food processor, and blend thoroughly.  It will be quite runny, goopy looking.  

If you want to add a bit of sweetness, this is the time to do it.  If I have unsweetened applesauce I add about 1cup at this time (I didn't have any this batch and they were fine).  You could also add 1/4 cup of Agave nectar or even maple syrup if you need to slowly adjust your tastebuds (or your kids tastebuds) to a different kind of sweet cookie.

1-2 cups of uncooked quick oats

Starting with 1/2 cup at a time, add oats to mixture and pulse.  You will decide when there are enough oats to hold a "cookie" shape on your baking sheet.  I used 2 cups for a thick dense cookie.  

Optional: 

1 cup chocolate chips, carob chips or raisins.

When I first started making these I always had to add a few chocolate chips to entice the kids to eat it.  Last night when I made them, my 5 year old came running in to the kitchen to remind me NOT to put chocolate chips in half the batch!  

Scoop out 2inch balls of dough with a large spoon and just plop (ewww, better word anyone?) them onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes and enjoy at room temperature.

*If I have leftovers (I almost never do) I store them in the fridge.  If you choose to store them otherwise, simply place a clean dishtowel over them instead of plastic wrap as they are quite moist and you do not want them to mold* 

Enjoy!

ButterNut Squash Soup (Vegan)

ButterNut Squash Soup

That's not a typo - this is butternut squash and nut soup.  So delicious and almost impossible to mess up.   Local squash is plentiful and readily available so get creative and add some squash to your life!

I had my soup on it's own, and a tiny bowl really did the trick.  My hubby mixed his with an organic sprouted rice & quinoa mix from TruRoots.  This is so thick, it would be amazing on pasta as well.  

ButterNut Squash Soup

1 medium butternut squash

Coconut Oil

Vegetable stock (roughly 4 cups)

1 onion (you could use 4-5 shallots)

Garlic (I used 3 big cloves)

Almond (or any nut) butter

Seasonings to taste

The chickens loved the seeds I scooped out of the squash!  

Peel and cube butternut squash, and brown in 2tbsp coconut oil.  You will need the pan to be quite hot. Once there is a beautiful caramel colour on a few sides of each cube add 1-2 cups vegetable stock, lower the heat to low/medium and put a lid on pan to steam squash.  While squash is cooking sweat your onions in a tsp coconut oil.  When the squash is cooked (soft) remove it from the heat, and place cooked onions on it.  Use the onion pan to caramelize your garlic adding a tsp more coconut oil if needed.  Just squish each clove a little before putting in hot pan to brown each side.  Put a lid on and turn heat off after brown to soften the garlic up a bit.  Once the garlic is done put it on the squash and onions and leave pan to cool completely.  

Once everything is cool, put everything in a blender with enough vegetable stock to get it moving.  I put the blender on and did the dishes to let it really blend like crazy.  If you blend the squash hot, you will blow the lid off your blender and have squash on your ceiling.  Just wait until it's cooled.  

When I was transferring the mixture to a soup pot I thought to myself... oh crap, I just made baby food. Have no fear, you will have delicious soup - not baby food.  That being said, if you hate cooking - just start with a dozen jars of baby food and mix in some onions and garlic.  

Turn the pot of squash mixture to low and when it's warmed up add 1/2 cup of nut butter.  I used almond, but I'm sure any nut butter would do.  This is when you can decide how thick you'd like the soup to be.  I like soup that the spoon can stand up in, so I only added a cup of veggie stock.  When it's at your desired consistency - have a taste.  You might like it as is.   

I added, a pinch of salt and pepper.  Tasted it.  Added 2tbsp nutritional yeast.  Tasted it.  Added a teaspoon of cumin.  Tasted it.  Added 2 tsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice.  Tasted it.  Perfecto!  You could add all sorts of fresh herbs and spices depending on what you have on hand and what you plan to serve it with.  If you're going to use it to top pasta, consider pan browning fresh rosemary and mixing it in.  

I knew I wanted soup and my hubby wanted squash so I spent a few minutes putting this together and now we both have a lovely, healthy soup in the fridge for the next few lunches and dinners.  I didn't have a recipe, I just went with what I had on hand and ended up with something delightful!  Get creative with cooking, trust your tastebuds and make something fresh and tasty for dinner tonight.