Carrot Apple Lemon Juice (with Spinach!)



I'm still loving my new juicer, though I do feel a bit guilty about squeezing out the juice and throwing away all that fiber!


Even so, I drink away. 


A friend of mine commented on my first post about the juicer with a suggestion to make carrot apple lemon juice. And it was a big hit. Both Navah and I had it for breakfast one morning last week, and it has been our favorite thus far. The blend of carrots and apples gives the perfect amount of sweetness without the grass-y flavor from the all-green juice I had on the first day. We thought the celery was the culprit there. 


Of course I added some spinach because I'm trying to put some greens into any juice I make. Spinach is a good choice because you can't really taste it. (I've learned that kale is not the same.)


So, without further ado:




Carrot Apple Lemon Juice (with Spinach!)


6 carrots
4 apples
2 lemons
1 or 2 handfuls spinach


Juice!

Katie 

Artichoke and Asparagus Quinoa Risotto (GF, vegan, sugar-free)



Quinoa's on the menu at our place a lot these days. As a complete protein, it's an excellent way to get extra nutrients into a simple and delicious meal like a risotto. For a potluck we attended last night, I whipped this up so I'd be sure we had something healthy to put on our plates.


It was a hit with everyone - we didn't have a smidge to bring home!


It's a pretty easy but time-intensive dish, so you'll need to leave yourself at least an hour to prepare it when you can be close to the stove. 




If you've never cooked with quinoa before, give it a try. It packs more nutrients than rice - even brown rice - and the subtle nutty flavor is really excellent.



Artichoke and Asparagus Quinoa Risotto


1 can of artichokes in water
1 bunch of asparagus
1 cup of quinoa, dry
1 tablespoon coconut oil (or other oil)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup almond milk 
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tablespoon white miso
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste 


1.  Chop and steam the asparagus until bright green and slightly tender.
2.  While the asparagus is steaming, add the quinoa, spices, and coconut oil to a pan over medium heat. Stir it all in the pot to ensure that the quinoa is coated, especially if the coconut oil is still hard.
3. Once the quinoa starts to sizzle and pop a bit, add in the broth, almond milk, nutritional yeast, miso, and salt and pepper.  Allow to come to a rolling boil, and then reduce to a sizzle and cover. Stir again ever 5-10 minutes. This is a good time to do some dishes or putter around the kitchen. Music helps. Resist the urge to leave or it might burn.
4. Once the quinoa starts to soak up a lot of the liquid and you notice there's not much left in the pan, do a quick taste test to see whether it's soft. If the quinoa seems too crunch, you might want to add a little more liquid. You can add in more broth or milk or a little water in 1/4 cup increments. You don't want it to be soupy or mushy - just creamy and soft. 
5. Once the quinoa is finished - all the liquid is incorporated and the quinoa itself is soft and perhaps slightly chewy (not crunch) - mix in the asparagus and the drained can of artichokes along with the lemon. Add a little more salt and pepper if necessary and serve. 


Enjoy!

Katie

{UPDATE:  Check out my friend Tori's comment below if you're interested in some non-vegan substitutions!}

Simple Summer Slaw with Honey Vinaigrette


I'm a sucker for an easy summer salad. I hate to turn the oven or the stove on once it gets warm outside, and I'm not really in the mood to eat anything hot anyway. Instead I crave simple, refreshing foods. So salads that can function as a whole meal - especially at lunch time - are one of my main summer staples.


Salads based on cabbage can't be beat on that front because you can put basically anything in them, and they stay fresh much longer than your average garden salad, which can get all sad and wilted in the span of a day.


And, like the creamy quinoa salad I made a couple weeks ago, you can mix in just about anything you have in your fridge, and it'll be delicious. Some of my favorites that didn't make it into this version - hearts of palm, avocado, artichoke hearts, craisins, slivered almonds, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, and apples. There really are no rules for this salad.
I like to make mine with purple cabbage when I have it because it's just so pretty. With a few other colorful veggies thrown in, it's like I'm eating a work of art. In a really good way.

Simple Summer Slaw with Honey Vinaigrette

1/2 head of cabbage
Frozen edamame, thawed
1/2 yellow pepper
1/4 medium red onion
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup raisins

Honey Vinaigrette
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Thinly slice the cabbage and chop up the rest of your veggies.
2.  Throw them all in a bowl together.
3.  Mix together all the ingredients for the honey vinaigrette and pour over the slaw.
4.  Thoroughly mix everything together.

That's it! So easy, eh?

And bonus - it's even better the second day.

Katie

Kale Puttanesca...sort of



I've gotten to the point where hardly a day goes by that I don't eat kale. Most often, it's in my morning smoothie, but I'm still a big fan of the leafy green on its own. After being introduced to raw kale in a salad, I throw it in mine whenever possible. And if I'm cooking, I would choose it over spinach every time. It holds together so much better, and I've never, ever had slimy kale. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for spinach. 


I got an email from my sister this morning with a recipe for a kale breakfast casserole, and I spent the rest of the day with kale on the mind. The breakfast casserole didn't work with the things we had around the house, but a kale-themed dish for dinner was a definite. 




I'm calling this a kale puttanesca because it has many of the signature ingredients of a traditional puttanesca - onions, capers, tomatoes, olives, served over pasta. But it's a bit of a misnomer since I left out the anchovies, threw in a few extra things, and made the dish a little less sauce-y. 




Perfect for a late May evening. 


My version of the kale puttanesca is gluten-free (we used brown rice pasta) and vegan. But you could use whatever pasta you like or add cheese. It would be delicious with grated parmesan sprinkled on top. 




Oh, and bonus points for being able to prepare the whole thing in the time it takes to boil the pasta. Perfecto.


Gluten-free, Vegan Kale Puttanesca


1 tablespoon oil (we used coconut)
1-2 cups kale, chopped
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon capers
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 teaspoon each dried oregano, basil, and thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
1 box penne pasta (we used brown rice)


1.  Prepare the pasta according to the package.
2.  Heat the oil over a medium flame.  Add onions and garlic and saute slowly, stirring occasionally. Add the oregano, basil, thyme, salt, and pepper. 
3. When the onions have turned clear, add the tomatoes and capers and continue to cook over medium heat, about 3-4 minutes. 
4. Add the chopped kale and the white wine. Cover and let simmer gently for about 5 minutes. While you're waiting, drain the pasta. 
5.  Mix the drained pasta and the kalamata olives into the saucepan with the kale, making sure the pasta is full incorporated with the "sauce."
6.  Enjoy!

Katie

Creamy Quinoa Salad



We've thrown open the windows to let in the warm air and the cool breezes. It feels good, like we're cleaning out the old - the solitude of winter - to make way for the new - communion with birds and flowers, neighbors and friends. 


It's not yet June, but it's summer. 


With the windows up in the living room, our front screened porch has extended our apartment, and we spend as much time in our plastic adirondack chairs as possible. 




I don't want to cook when I get home in the evenings. I want to whip up something refreshing and full of vegetables and eat it on the porch.  




This creamy quinoa salad packs all the nutrients you need into one bowl, and the dill dressing from Oh She Glows is my newest obsession. 


Dill tastes like summer, and I want to eat it on everything. Dishes have become vessels for dill.


This one is less of a recipe and more of an invitation to open the door of your refrigerator and start chopping whatever you find. You can't really go wrong with this salad. 




Creamy Quinoa Salad


2 cups uncooked quinoa
One batch dill dressing from Oh She Glows
Vegetables (I used tomatoes, a yellow pepper, sugar snap peas, edamame, and some arugula as a garnish)
Anything else your heart desires (chickpeas, artichokes, hearts of palm, raisins, almond slivers, sunflower seeds - seriously, go crazy)


1.  Cook quinoa according to package instructions.
2.  Put the cooked quinoa in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes while you chop up the vegetables.
3.  Add the chopped veggies (or other additions) to the quinoa. 
4.  Prepare the dill dressing and mix it thoroughly into the quinoa and vegetables.
5.  Serve! I topped mine with some arugula and feta cheese. Yum!

Katie 

Whole Wheat Fried Dough


One of my all-time favorite treats as a kid was fried biscuits from a can. I felt like they were something special my family did to approximate beignets because we were cajun but not great with the beignet-making. Ours never puffed up.


I've since learned that lots of people make them, but it hasn't lessened my enjoyment one bit. I've made them for other folks on various occasions, and it has won me undying devotion in certain circles. You think I'm kidding, but I'm not.


Of course, I don't think there's a single ingredient in a can of Pillsbury biscuits that Navah can eat. I still make them for myself sometimes, but fried dough is something she's never gotten to enjoy.


Until this past weekend.


When I made the honey whole wheat biscuits a few weeks back, I had a bit of dough leftover that wasn't big enough to make into a full biscuit. While the others were baking, I heated up some oil and plopped the little bit in and...Kabam! A little ball of puffy, fried dough!


So this weekend, I whipped up a batch of the biscuit dough - using a flax egg in place of the real egg, rolled it out, cut it into little squares and made us some fried biscuits. I sprinkled them with cinnamon and "sugar" (xylitol) to take the place of the powdered sugar that I would normally sprinkle on fried biscuits.


They look a little like chicken nuggets here, but I assure you they are not. They're sweet and delicious. I also recommend making them when you have friends around. Or only making a half batch. We had a little self-restraint issue, which led to a big food coma issue.

Honey Whole-Wheat Fried Dough
Adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking


3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (or 1 stick) cold earth balance
1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tbps warm water)
3/4 cup almond milk (or soymilk or buttermilk if you can have it)
3 tablespoons honey


1. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter, a fork, or your hands until it's a dry, crumbly mixture. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flax egg, almond milk, and honey. Then pour into the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and fold over onto itself several times to bring it together. A dough scraper is great for this, but if you don't have one, just use your hands.

5. Now's about the time to start heating up your oil. Pour canola (or other mild vegetable oil) about 1 inch deep into a pot. Using a candy thermometer, heat the oil until it's between 360 and 375 degrees. If it's too hot, the outside of the dough will burn before the inside gets cooked. If it's too cold, the dough will soak up the oil - not good, I promise. You'll have to monitor the temperature throughout, as it will fluctuate once you start putting the dough in.5. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out until it's about 3/4 inch thick.
7. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into squares.
8. Depending on the size of your pot, drop the dough into the oil a few pieces at a time. Turn each piece over when it starts to get slightly golden on the top. 
9. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and place on a plate that's been covered with paper towels. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, or xylitol for a sugar-free version. 



Katie 

Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

After starting a new (short-term) job last week, I've been spending a little less time in the kitchen. But when I saw this recipe for raspberry thumbprint cookies from one of my favorite bloggers over at Oh She Glows, I knew I had to carve out some time with my mixing bowls.

 
Luckily these cookies take only a few minutes to pull together, but the result is absolutely delicious. The sweetness of the raspberry jam and the the richness of the almond butter blend together into a perfect nibble of a dessert.

The only changes I made to these were to use vanilla extract instead of almond extract and not to use coconut on the outside - both just because of what I had in the house.

I'd say that they're surprisingly delicious for being vegan and gluten- and sugar-free, but I'm rarely surprised by the yumminess of alternative baking.
Be careful, though.


You might end up eating four in the span of a few minutes.


Just a possibility, of course.



Katie
 *Can't wait to get my camera back. These camera phone pictures leave a little to be desired.

Honey Whole Wheat Biscuits



On that glorious internet-free Saturday last weekend, I whipped up a batch of whole wheat biscuits from my new favorite, the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking cookbook. My audience is pretty easy since, being lactose intolerant, Navah's never really been able to eat biscuits. She's got no gauge for comparison, so she's pretty happy with anything that tastes yummy. But even I thought these were delicious. 


I'm still perfecting whole grain baking. I do it a lot, but there's a great deal of trial and error. I don't always know why things turn out the way they do. Whole wheat creations are always a little crumbly, and I'm hoping that continued baking out of this book will help me figure out how to make my baked goods fluffier and lighter. 

While these biscuits were a bit crumblier and less fluffy than my mom's biscuits, the taste was fabulous. Especially since they were 100% whole wheat and dairy-free. And we gobbled them up. 




Honey Whole-Wheat Biscuits
Adapted just slightly from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking


3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (or 1 stick) cold earth balance
1 large egg
3/4 cup almond milk (or soymilk or buttermilk if you can have it)
3 tablespoons honey


1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter, a fork, or your hands until it's a dry, crumbly mixture. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, almond milk, and honey. Then pour into the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and fold over onto itself several times to bring it together. A dough scraper is great for this, but if you don't have one, just use your hands.
6. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out until it's about 3/4 inch thick.
7. Using a biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits and place them onto the prepared parchment paper. (King Arthur Flour recommends using a biscuit cutter and not a glass because the biscuit cutter cuts the dough cleanly, allowing the layers to fluff up when baking, rather than smashing them all together like the blunt edge of a glass does. I didn't have a biscuit cutter, but I think I'll get one and try it again since I'm going for fluffy.)
8. Fold over the extra bits and roll out again to cut more biscuits.
9. Bake for 11-14 minutes and serve hot. 




Katie 

Butternut Squash Polenta Casserole with Greens



Some recipes are worth the extra time and the number of dishes. You know the ones I'm talking about. 


The ones that have you in the kitchen two hours before you're going to serve them. The ones that leave you staring in dismay at a sink filled with pots and pans and spatulas. The ones that make your counter look like a small army of kindergartners were doing experimental finger painting with food. 




For a recent potluck with friends, I pulled out a favorite recipe from one of the Moosewood cookbooks and gave myself plenty of time and an empty sink. 


For me, casseroles are comfort food. I have so many wonderful memories from back as far as I can remember that are wrapped up in potlucks and casseroles and plates brimming with a little of this and a little of that. There's a coziness to sharing a meal that everyone in the room helped prepare. Of course, I think I felt that even before I was old enough to help in the kitchen. Perhaps potlucks are just cozy affairs no matter what.


Some casseroles are quick and easy - just throw all the ingredients into a dish, swish 'em around, and bake. 




You've probably gathered that this isn't one of them. With three layers that each need to be cooked and prepared separately, it's labor (and dish) intensive. But it's so delicious and hearty that I keep making it anyway. 




Butternut Squash Polenta Casserole with Greens
From Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health


Polenta Layer
2 1/3 cups water
2/3 cup whole grain cornmeal 
2 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (we used soy cheese)


Greens Layer
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
8 cups stemmed and chopped collards (or kale or swiss chard)
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt


Squash Layer
1 1/2 cups steamed and mashed butternut squash
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2/3 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (we used daiya cheese)


1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 


2. Polenta layer:  Bring the water to a boil and quickly whisk in the cornmeal. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, salt, and thyme and cook on low heat, stirring often, until the polenta is thick and creamy (about 10 minutes). Stir in the cheese. Pour into a lightly oiled 8 or 9-inch square baking pan and set aside. 


3. Greens layer: Warm the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook briefly, stirring constantly. Add the greens, water, and salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are tender and bright green (about 5-7 minutes). Drain and spread the greens over the polenta.


4. Squash layer: Chop and steam the squash until tender and then mash in a large bowl (canned would work as well). Stir in the egg, salt, pepper, and half of the cheese. Spread the squash mixture over the greens and then sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.


5. Bake covered for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10-15 minutes. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. 






Enjoy!

Katie 

Whole Grain Pancakes

Is there anything better than a lazy weekend morning with homemade pancakes?



It almost seems like time slows down a bit to let you enjoy the unbeatable smell of pancakes on the stove, steeping coffee, and sweet maple syrup.





I recently purchased the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking tome. Seriously, it weighs about 10 pounds. I'm constantly adapting recipes to make them with whole grain flours, without eggs, without dairy, with alternative sweeteners, and it's really a hit-or-miss sort of affair. I've got nothing against trial and error, but sometimes you want a loaf of bread that doesn't feel like an anvil or cookies that don't crumble into a thousand piece the moment you pick them up off the pan. And you don't want it to take 50 tries to get there. 


I decided it was time to buy a whole grain baking book so that I could at least limit the number of ingredients I was substituting or futzing around with, and perhaps learn a little about different types of flours and why they act like they do. 


After just flipping through the pages I bit, I'd already learned important things about how I'm measuring my flour and the temperature of my ingredients. 


I started with the first recipe - Simple Spelt Pancakes.


Of course, after all that talk about not making too many substitutions, I was out of spelt flour and running quite low on some others. So I made these with a little buckwheat flour and the rest whole wheat bread flour. 


If the pancakes are any sign of what's to come, the cookbook is going to be a great addition to our kitchen. Light, fluffy, and flavorful, we gobbled these pancakes up - perhaps a bit faster than we should have! Pancake-induced comas followed.


Whole Grain Pancakes
Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Company's Simple Spelt Pancakes



1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I used whole wheat bread flour)
2 tablespoons xylitol (or sugar)
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups almond milk (or regular milk)
2 tablespoons earth balance, melted (or butter)
2 teaspoons vanilla 

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

2. Combine the milk, melted earth balance, and the vanilla.

3. Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir the batter
just until the dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened. Let the batter sit for 15 minutes before you use it. (Hardest part! I was a hungry lady!)
4. Heat your pan. When the surface of your pan is hot enough that a drop of water sputters across the surface, melt in a teensy bit of earth balance, and spoon the batter onto the hot surface, 1/4-cupful at a time.
6. Let the pancakes cook on the first side until bubbles begin to form around the edges of the cakes, about 2 to 3 minutes. You may need to adjust your heat up or down to get the pancakes to cook through without scorching the surface, or being too pale.

7. When the cakes are just beginning to set, flip them and let them finish cooking on the second side, about 1 minute more, until they’re golden brown on both sides.
Enjoy!
Katie

Make-Ahead Smoothies: Use Those Muffin Tins

Thank you for the kind comments on yesterday's post. The whole experience was wonderful for me, and it's been so lovely to share it here with you. While Rwanda may pop up here and there, we're back to regularly-scheduled programming for the time being.

Please ignore the stained areas of my muffin tins. Shameful.




















You know I love my green smoothies - with kale! - for breakfast, but some mornings I'm feeling lazy or busy or just ready for the part of my day that starts after I get out of the kitchen. The smoothie prepping feels like too big of a hassle. And those mornings I usually just have coffee.


Until I told you guys about my smoothies. And then one of my readers - an old friend from college - made a brilliant suggestion in the comments.





So to the muffin tins I ran. 


On a Sunday night, I can whip up a big triple (or quadruple!) batch and have them ready for breakfast throughout the week. It's also encouraged me to play a little more with the portions. So, sometimes a little bit of smoothie in the afternoon feels like a great idea. One muffin tin "puck" works great as a quick snack in that slumpy part of the day but doesn't ruin my appetite for dinner.



So this 


becomes this
Green Smoothie 1


but not quite as full.

I'll be trying this with some other smoothie ideas - hello chocolate - and I'll let you know how it goes!


And thank you to Amanda for getting me to have a healthy breakfast every morning!

Katie 

Sugar-Free Chocolate Syrup Three Ways



chocolate syrup 3
About 10 years ago, I went through a fad dieting phase. I would read about a celebrity who swore by the blood type diet, and I'd be off to the library to check out my copy of the book. Three weeks later, after I drank my eighteenth glass of fruit juice with lecithin granules (hint: they don't dissolve), I'd break while standing outside a Starbucks staring creepily at someone eating a piece of pound cake. Or it was Atkins, and I would throw down my fork in the middle of a sausage, bacon, and cheese omelet with sour cream and spend the next 20 minutes making sweet love to an enormous bowl of pasta. 

The diets were always my own choice - to try to get "healthy" - and they never lasted for more than a few weeks. But during those weeks? Beware the crazy lady on the fad diet. I was a terror. I deemed anyone eating a cookie the enemy. It wasn't a good look for me. 

I mention all of this simply as a means of comparison. 

About three months into mine and Navah's relationship, she began an incredibly restrictive diet prescribed by her doctor to deal with some ongoing health problems. Like many such diets, it had an initial super-strict period and has gotten less restrictive over the years. But in the beginning (which lasted for about a year), her diet consisted mainly of meat, eggs, nuts, and green vegetables. As her health improved, she was able to slowly add in more foods, and now she can eat most things, with the exception of refined flours and sugars (or things like splenda), mushrooms, and some very high glycemic fruits like bananas and pineapple. We've discovered many great food items that cater to people with similar restrictions, but there are still many things she can't enjoy. Add this to the fact that she's long been lactose intolerant, and she certainly can't hop up to the counter at Starbucks and order a piece of pound cake. 

But none of that has ever kept her from coming home with a box of chocolates or a cupcake for me, or encouraging me to order that piece of pie after dinner. And she has never once glared at me as if trying to decapitate me with her eyes (which seems pretty standard with people you love, but based on my experience of restrictive dieting, is actually a fairly big deal). Instead she's always just been happy to vicariously enjoy my pleasure. 

It's something I both appreciate and admire. So when she mentions that she's having a hankering for something, I delight in being able to whip up something that might satisfy her craving. I don't always succeed (and remembering her eating a truly atrocious "pound cake" and pretending to like it will forever rank at the top of my reasons-I-love-Navah list), but sometimes I do. And this is one of those times.

While we were studying for the bar, Navah kept talking about wanting a chocolate ice cream float. I had never heard of one, but I learned that it's like a root beer float except with chocolate soda. You put chocolate syrup into seltzer to make chocolate soda, and then you put your ice cream in and voila! Chocolate ice cream float. 

The problem, of course, was that we didn't have any chocolate syrup without refined sugar in it. (Navah eats a fabulous ice cream made from coconut milk and sweetened with agave nectar called Coconut Bliss). So, with a little experimentation, I whipped up a batch of sugar-free chocolate syrup. It took about 4 1/2 minutes, and it did not disappoint.

Many chocolate ice cream floats were had. And there were smiles all around.

And then, and THEN, I decided the chocolate syrup would be even better if I made them in different flavors. I was right. I love it when I'm right.

We've been enjoying this sugar-free chocolate syrup in chocolate soda floats, over ice cream, over brownies, and maybe even just licking it off our fingers. It's that good.

chocolate syrup 2

Now that your mouth is watering, here you go.

chocolate syrup

Sugar-Free Chocolate Syrup Three Ways

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup water
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup agave nectar

Plus:
For original: 2-3 teaspoons vanilla
For mint flavored: 1/4 teaspoon mint flavoring 
For Mexican-style: 1/8 teaspoon chili powder, and 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Whisk all of the ingredients together over low-medium heat in a small saucepan.  
Pour into a jar or bottle and store in the refrigerator. 

So easy! And so delicious!

As always, let me know if you make any of your own and especially if you do any different flavoring. I love to hear how these things turn out for you guys!

And check back in tomorrow for an update on the pillowcase project. Teaser: Thank goodness I have a big suitcase!

Katie

Winter Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

winter salad I hated beets growing up.  In fact, I didn't eat a beet of my own volition until I was 28 years old.  It was roasted and served with soft goat cheese.  Not surprisingly, I was hooked.  It's no wonder I didn't want to eat the electric pink pickled ones that my mom served from a can (love you, mom!).  Why would anyone violate a beet in that way?  


Since I discovered the deliciousness of roasted beets, I am completely devoted to them.  On pizza, roasted with other root vegetables, in latkes, and even plain.  But my favorite way to have them is in a salad.  If there's a beet salad on the menu, I'm getting it.


In the past we haven't eaten a lot of salads at our house because Navah's not a huge salad fan, but I'm bringing them back.  And this one's at the top of the list.  It's hearty enough to serve right alongside any winter meal, and it's substantial enough that you could have it on its own.  Drawing from the fruits and veggies that are great this time of year, it's the perfect salad for a winter weekend brunch.   grapefruit We had ours alongside my vegan tofu scramble for dinner, and I liked it so much I had it again for lunch!


In fact, it was a winner all around.  The non-salad lover said - and I quote - "There's nothing about this salad that's not good."  The power of a double negative, my friends.  I think that says it all.
winter salad 3

Winter Salad with Maple Vinaigrette


1 bag mesclun or spring mix
1 white grapefruit
4 small beets
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup toasted pecans (in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350)
crumbled goat cheese (optional - I had, but Navah didn't)


For the dressing:
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon dijon mustard


1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Rinse the beets and then place on top of a piece of foil large enough to fold over and make a sealed foil pack. Drizzle the beets with olive oil and then seal up.  I place my foil pack on a cookie sheet to avoid spills. Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes to an hour (check in on them at 30 and see how soft they are. If they need more time, continue checking every 10 minutes or so. Different ovens will vary).
2. Once the beets are cool, the skins should just slip right off. I had to remove some of mine with a peeler.
3. Cut off the peel and pith of the grapefruit, and then slice each section so that you get just the fruit and none of the membrane in between.
4.  Mix the mesclun or spring mix, the quinoa, the beets, the grapefruit sections, and the toasted pecans in a bowl.  Add the crumbled goat cheese if you're using it.
5.  Wisk together (or shake in a mason jar, like I did) the maple syrup, olive oil, water, and dijon mustard.  
6.  Pour the dressing over the salad, toss, serve, and enjoy.


The MVP Award goes to...
winter salad 2

This one was hard, and I'm going to have to get all kindergarten teacher up in here and say everyone was a winner.  Sorry for the competitive among you, but the team playing in this one can't be beat.  Each ingredient complements the others so thoroughly that it would be wrong to single out any one.  Everybody gets a trophy!


Have a wonderful weekend!  And let me know if you make the salad.  I love to hear about how these things turn out!

Katie 




This post is linked up at:
Pity Party at Thirty Handmade Days
EBTKS Link Party at A Little Knick Knack
Friday Link Party at Creation Corner
Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now



Four-Ingredient Vegan Chocolate Frosting

Chocolate Frosting


Yesterday, I whipped up a batch of vegan and gluten free brownies from Oh She Glows, one of my favorite healthy food blogs.  Unfortunately, I haven't gotten totally accustomed to this oven and ended up baking them a  bit too long. They're tasty but a little dry and crumbly and not quite as chewy as I think hers were.

What to do?

Frost them, of course!  Who cares if cake or brownies are dry if there's frosting on them?!  Okay, I admit that moist and chewy brownies with frosting are better than dry and crumbly brownies with frosting.  But you get what you get.  Today it's dry and crumbly.  Hopefully tomorrow it'll be something better.

On to the frosting!


Coconut milk


I've written before about the wonders of coconut milk.  It's great for pulling together a quick vegan frosting that's oh so delicious.  And this one's sugar-free chocolate frosting to boot!


Coconut cream 1

For the record, though we eat very little meat, we're not vegans.  But Navah is lactose intolerant, and I can't eat eggs.  So when it comes to baking, vegan tends to be the way we roll.  And Navah doesn't eat refined flours or sugars, so our kitchen tends to look like a giant baking chemistry project.


Coconut cream


When my mom was helping me unpack, she told me (and this is a direct quote), "Katie, you've acquired a lot of things in your 31 years, and the majority of them are different types of flour."  

Enough chatter.  On to the frosting! 

Chocolate Frosting 1


Four-Ingredient Vegan Chocolate Frosting

1 can coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
3 tablespoon cocoa powder
3 teaspoon agave nectar
2 teaspoon vanilla

1.  Scoop the coconut cream top out of the coconut milk can, making sure not to dig down too deep into the liquid part (which you can use in other recipes, like coconut curries, or put into a smoothie).
2.  Combine the coconut cream with the cocoa powder, agave nectar, and vanilla.  
3.  Frost!  

Amazingly quick and easy, eh?  You can add another tablespoon of cocoa powder if you want a richer flavor, but I like how light this one is, especially with already-chocolatey brownies.  

You'll need to keep the frosting in the fridge if you can manage not gobbling it up right away. Coconut cream frosting that sits out overnight will spoil.

Today's MVP Award goes to the vanilla.


Vanilla

Well played, dear.  

I hope you enjoy!

Katie 

This is linked up at Allergy Free Wednesdays.

Green Smoothie Goodness

What makes a new house or apartment feel like home? Obviously getting all your stuff unpacked and settled is a big one, but that can take weeks (especially if, like with us, unpacking requires purchasing new furniture pieces).  Until then, I find the this-is-my-home feeling in the kitchen.  Making a nice big pot of soup or chili is a great start, but it really hits me when I'm making the usual things, like breakfast.  The routine of bopping around the kitchen, opening this drawer and that to prepare something I've made a million times before.  Then I'm home.  This morning, it was getting back to my breakfast smoothie.

Green Smoothie 1
For the last few months before I left DC, I was having this green smoothie for breakfast every morning and loving it.  My mom thought I was crazy for drinking a smoothie with spinach and kale in it until I made her test it, and she was forced to agree that it's freaking delicious.  Not only that, it keeps me satisfied until lunch, and according to my calculations, it's only about 375 calories!  Disclosure:  I'm not generally a calorie counter and please don't expect to see calorie information on other recipes - in fact, it's a trigger for my previously eating-disordered self.  But as a newbie to the smoothie world, I was curious about whether this "healthy" breakfast was actually healthy in terms of sugar and calorie content, so I did a quick check.  Turns out it is!  And I'm eating five servings of fruits and vegetables before 9 am.  Holla.

If you're cringing a bit about the thought of drinking kale and spinach for breakfast (or at all), I encourage you to give this recipe a try.  I promise you won't taste it.  

Though I'm sure it would be terrific to have a fancy blender for this smoothie, I make mine with my trusty immersion blender because (1) I don't have a fancy blender, (2) the not-fancy blender I own might have been in an accident involving pureeing hot soup resulting in the top blowing off and shattering, and (3) the immersion blender is crazy easy to clean.  

See my fancy set-up:
Green Smoothie 3
Immersion blender + plastic pitcher = blending goodness.

If you're using an immersion blender, you might want to check it before you stop blending to make sure there aren't kale stragglers - they sometimes get stuck in the little holes of mine.  I just pull them off and give it one more whir.
Green Smoothie 2
I know that I found the basic recipe (with a few minor changes from me) on Pinterest, but I just have it in my head now and can't for the life of me find it again.  If anybody knows where this comes from, please please let me know so I can give credit.  Thanks!
Green Smoothie 4
Green Smoothie

1 cup orange juice
1 cup kale
1 cup spinach
1 banana (folks usually use frozen, but I like it better not frozen)
1 pear
1/4 tsp ginger 

Blend and enjoy!

Two caveats to this recipe:  

First, you'll notice there's no protein in here like in some other smoothie recipes, like almond milk or yogurt or peanut butter.  I'm not a huge protein person in the morning.  It sits too heavy in my stomach.  But I know there are those who need that.  Navah has hers with a scrambled egg.  And I sub in avocado for the banana to up the protein element.  You could also add in a powdered protein or sub almond milk or yogurt for half of the orange juice.  That's the fun of smoothies - play around!  I sub in different fruits all the time.

Second, if you're new to 100% fruit/veggie smoothies, I recommend that you take it slowly.  Start with just half this recipe for a week and work your way up.  It can be...hmm...shall we say, a lot for a stomach that's not used to it.  

'Til next time!
Katie 


Vegan Tofu Scramble: Copycat Recipe

Tofu Scramble 2

One of my favorite brunch places in DC is Open City in Woodley Park, primarily because they have a super interesting and varied menu, and they give you coffee in a cup only slightly smaller than your head. One of my favorite items there is the vegan tofu scramble.  It has such a fresh and unique flavor that I used to order it even before I knew I was somewhat allergic to eggs.


When I was there a couple of weekends ago - for what I knew would be the last time before I leave for Vermont (which, thankfully has many great brunch spots), I ordered the vegan tofu scramble, noted the ingredients in the menu listing, and studied the flavors while I ate so that I could attempt to recreate it at home.
Downloads
Before I share the results, I must admit that I am not one of those people who tastes a spoonful of something and instantly knows it needs more paprika or cumin or dill or anything really except salt.  I'm also not one of those people who can eat something and say, "yes, that thing you're tasting is cardamom."  Just not one of my skills.  So if the folks at Open City hadn't been so kind as to put the main ingredients on the menu, and if the dish weren't fairly straightforward, I probably never would've been able to make it.


With that being said, this was one of the best meals I've ever made.  The taste is complex and refreshing, and it's super simple to make - the best combination ever.


It was simply a matter of slightly browning the chickpeas,
Tofu Scramble 8
steaming the broccoli, and throwing that and the tofu in the pan
Tofu Scramble 3
while making the sauce.
Tofu Scramble 10
Tofu Scramble 6


The MVP Award goes to:
Tofu Scramble 7
Well played.  Seriously well played.


So, without further ado, here's the recipe:

Tofu Scramble 5

Vegan Tofu Scramble
Adapted from Open City's menu item


2 T tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
2 T water
2 T olive oil
1 tsp dried chives (I subbed these because I didn't have scallions)
1/2 block extra firm tofu
1 can chickpeas
1/2 small head of broccoli


1.  Rinse the chickpeas and pour into a pan with about 1/2 T olive oil over medium heat.  Add a little salt and pepper to taste.  You'll stir these occasionally while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2.  Take your tofu out and place it between two paper towels on a plate, and place a heavy object, such as a cast iron pan on top of it to squeeze out the water.  Let it rest like that until you're ready to cut it up.
3.  Steam the broccoli just until bright green - I used a traditional steamer in a pot, but a microwave steamer would work just as well.
4.  Prepare the sauce by combining the tahini, lemon, water, olive oil, and chives in a small bowl.  Set aside
5.  At this point, your chickpeas should be nice and golden, and your broccoli should be bright green. Cut up your tofu into small cubes and throw it and the broccoli in with the chickpeas.  Let that cook for about 2 minutes.
6.  At the last minute, just before serving, pour in the sauce and stir around until everything is coated.  You don't want it to be in there for more than a minute or so - just enough to heat the sauce.
7.  Serve!  I paired mine with mixed greens and a vinaigrette, but it would be great with toast and fruit or hash browns as well.



Enjoy!
Tofu Scramble 4

Katie 

Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup


Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup 5
A couple nights ago, I walked into my apartment and headed straight for the kitchen to prep the white bean and pumpkin chili that I'd been planning to make.  It's one of my absolute favorite meals but one that takes a bit of prep time and a fairly long ingredient list.  I had taken some roasted pumpkin out of the freezer a few days before, but I just hadn't gotten to it yet.  Since I didn't have quite enough pumpkin, I was planning to supplement with a can of butternut squash I had in the cabinet.

As I started to take out the ingredients, I realized that the can of butternut squash was actually a can of sweet potato puree.  And then that I only had one can of white beans (I still think someone came in and stole the others - I just KNOW I had more than that).  And then I pulled out the pumpkin from the fridge, and .... yep, moldy.

So....no pumpkin and white bean chili.  But what seemed to be a tragedy of epic proportion (I really wanted that chili) turned out to be a great opportunity.

Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup 1
I'd already pulled out the tomatoes and the red peppers, and they were staring up at me from the cutting board.  The skin on the red peppers was starting to wrinkle ever so slightly, so I knew they wouldn't be around for long.  I did some quick thinking about what I could make with what was sitting in front of me (not generally my forte), and since I had my heart set on something soupy, I threw this together:

Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

3 tomatoes (I had beefsteaks, but I think 6-8 romas would be delicious)
2 red peppers
2 tsp minced garlic (or 2 cloves)
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cracked pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small or 1 large onions
2 cups vegetable stock

1.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2.  Cut up your tomatoes and red peppers.  There's no science to this - do what works.  I quartered the tomatoes and cut the red peppers in half, removing the seeds and stems.
3.  Place them on a rimmed baking pan.  Sprinkle on the garlic, salt, and pepper.  Pour on the olive oil.  Make sure everything's coated.  It should be a slippery affair.
4.  Let roast for 30 minutes, checking occasionally. 
5.  While the tomatoes and red peppers are roasting, cut up an onion and saute over medium heat in the bottom of a soup pot with a little bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Once the onion's looking soft and clear (about 5 minutes), pour in the vegetable stock and let that simmer on low.
6.  When the vegies come out of the oven, pour your tomatoes into the soup pot, but keep out the red peppers.  You'll want to let those cool a bit so that you can peel off the skins.  They'll come right off.
7.  Once the skins are peeled, throw in the red pepper.
8.  Using either an immersion blender (what I use) or a regular blender, blend it all together.  If you're using a regular blender, be careful to do small batches so that you don't blow the lid off your blender (which I have done).

Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup 2
The soup did not disappoint.  With a surprisingly rich and creamy flavor, it's like an adult version of your regular ol' tomato soup.  I paired mine with some pita bread, but I think a grilled cheese sandwich would be the perfect complement.  You could even serve this for company if you made "fancy" grilled cheese with gruyere or gouda or some other fancy g-named cheese.  Ooh, now I'm hungry.

I imagine making a huge batch and freezing portions to take out on particularly snowy mornings so that it'll be ready for a quick simmer on the stove when we get home. 
Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup 6
What do you make to keep you toasty warm on those cold days?

Katie

Strangers + Granola = Happy

Granola 2

I'm not even sure how the conversation got started, but last Friday morning, I found myself laughing about cooking woes with another woman in line getting coffee.  I told her about the batch of granola I had burned the night before because I didn't realize how much hotter this oven is than my old oven.  She was amazed that anyone even made their own granola, and after I assured her that it was just about the easiest thing to make (as long as you don't get into a long phone conversation with your mom and forget to check on it), she asked for the recipe.  We exchanged emails, and I sent it to her when I got to my desk.  She emailed back that she was looking forward to making it and would let me know how it goes.

Oats 1

Connecting with strangers is, for me, one of the simplest and most delightful pleasures of life. Sharing a laugh or a smile with someone I've never met breaks through - if only a little bit - the barriers that we put up around ourselves every day.  Here in the city, especially with Navah gone, I feel pretty walled off.  I take the bus to work, sit in my office, take the bus home, play with Jammer.  I talk to people at work about work stuff, I talk to my friends and family on the phone, and I usually hang out with friends on the weekends.  But I realize that my in-person interactions are exceedingly rare these days.  And interactions that involve laughter and lightness are even more rare.  The result is that a conversation like the one I had with that woman last week can brighten my whole day.

Granola 1


I don't know if she'll make the granola, but I thought about her as I made mine, making sure not to let it burn this time.

Easy Peasy Granola
From the Vermont Ladies

3 1/2 cups oats
1/2 cup each:
  pecans
  wheat germ
  toasted shaved coconut (I toasted mine in a pan on the stove)
  slivered almonds (I was out of these, so I used walnuts)
  pumpkin seeds
  sunflower seeds
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil (I used olive oil - I bet it'd be delicious with coconut oil)
1/2 cup maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.  Mix everything together on a baking pan, and bake for 2-3 hours, stirring every hour or so and checking on it every half hour.  Let it cool and then store in an air-tight container. 

Granola 5

If you want to add in dried fruit, like raisins or craisins, do that after you bake it so they don't get dried out.

Funny story:  This is a half-recipe of what I normally make, but I forgot in the middle that I was splitting it, and I poured in the full amount of maple syrup and oil.  It looked like a lot, and I realized - woops! - too much maple syrup!  But then I thought, Hey, what the heck.  :)  So this batch is extra decadent.

 Granola 6

Enjoy!

Katie

PS - This is a great holiday gift!!

Mama's (Sugar-free, Whole wheat, Vegan) Peach Cobbler

peach cobbler 2


These days, the cooking world, at least the one that I'm a part of, is all about slow food, natural ingredients, making things from scratch. It's an ethos that I tend to share and a process that I enjoy, in part because Navah and I both have dietary restrictions that sometimes make buying things off the shelf difficult.


But I haven't always eaten that way. I didn't grow up in a hippy commune.  I'm sure that would have been awesome, and it would've meant that I knew what a chickpea was before I went to college. But I didn't.  Before I was born and perhaps when I was a wee thing, my parents did do things like make meals from the Diet For a Small Planet cookbook, so there were likely chickpeas in my past. But by the time I have much recollection of the food culture around my home, I was witnessing two working parents with two kids doing their best to get meals on the table. I'm not saying we sustained ourselves with cans of spam - in fact, I've never eaten spam. We always ate dinner as a family, and I have memories of delicious from-scratch meals like gumbo, jambalaya (my parents are both from Louisiana), fried fish, and to-die for drop biscuits.  My parents like doing things around the kitchen, so there was some home canning and some venison sausage-making.


But pragmatism had its day too - we ate a lot of canned vegetables and boxed mashed potatoes. On week days, I almost always poured myself a packet of some variety of instant hot cereal for breakfast.  The crusts on our pies were made by Betty Crocker.  Particularly for the three years my mom was in law school, we ate a lot of frozen fish sticks and tv dinners.  I was totally satisfied with my family's food culture - if you ignore the fact that I really wanted us to have more junk food around.  I was a kid, after all.  So while I could do without ever eating another spoonful of boxed mashed potatoes, my family food history also means that in my lexicon of favorite childhood yummies, canned cream corn and canned lima beans cozy right up next to homemade chicken and sausage gumbo and my dad's fried fish. 


And one of my favorite desserts was always (and still is) my mama's easy peasy peach cobbler.  With a little vanilla ice cream (I actually think we were eating ice milk most of the time - do you remember that stuff?), it was a mainstay sweet treat at my house.  And it was made with canned peaches in syrup.  Oh, how I loved can fruit - still do.  So soft and sweet and syrupy. 


You can, of course, make a peach cobbler with real peaches. But that requires peeling them and cutting them up, and those are slippery little suckers once you no longer have the traction from the fuzzy skin.  It also requires forethought - you know, buying the actual peaches.  With the canned variety, they're just there in your cabinet, ready, waiting for you to plunge them in all their syrupy goodness into a bath of cobbler batter.


peach cobbler 4


Once I started doing the majority of my produce-buying at the farmers market and hooked up with someone who can't eat refined sugars, my canned fruit days seemed behind me.  Until, wonder of wonders, we discovered a farm at our favorite farmers market that sells canned peaches with no sugar added! 


peach cobbler 5


We were slap-happy.  I immediately set about revamping my mom's peach cobbler recipe to make it Navah-friendly (i.e. no dairy, no sugar, no refined flour) and came up with this easy peasy vegan, whole wheat, sugar free version.  And people, don't let all those qualifiers fool you.  This stuff is DE.lish.


And it takes about 4 1/2 minutes of prep time.  Which means that while it would be an awesome treat this weekend, you could even bust it out on a random Tuesday.  Holla.


Peach Cobbler close up



Vegan, Sugar-Free, Whole Wheat Peach Cobbler

1 stick (1/2 cup) Earth Balance
3/4 cup agave nectar
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla soy milk (or another dairy-free alternative)
2 tsp baking power
pinch of salt
1 15 oz. can peaches

1.  Melt the Earth Balance in a 2 quart baking dish.  (I used a deep dish this time - Navah prefers it in a longer, shallower dish because it gets cakier.  Use your judgment)
2.  In another bowl, mix the agave nectar,  flour,  milk, baking powder, and salt.
3.  Pour on top of butter. No stirring necessary - In fact, don't do it.
4.  Pour the peaches (with their juice!) on top. Don't stir.
5.  Bake 1 hour at 350 degree or until top is toasty and brown.
6.  Serve with vanilla ice cream (we use So Delicious's vanilla coconut ice cream, which has no refined sugar).

If you don't require any of these restrictions, please feel free to sub back in the real deal - butter, milk, sugar, and regular white flour.  It'll be just as yummy.

Katie

Linked up at:


Transformation Thursday

Whole Wheat Ginger Peach Waffles...and they're vegan too!

During the week, I eat oatmeal for breakfast every single morning.  Usually with raisins and walnuts.  On special days, with blueberries.  It's my quick and easy go-to breakfast, and I thoroughly enjoy it.



But on the weekends, I like something a little more decadent.  French toast.  Pancakes.  Waffles.  Especially waffles.  There's just something about all those perfectly perfect little squares soaking up butter and syrup.  It's clearly a food made to be relished.

I'm always working on new and interesting healthy takes on the traditional waffle recipe, and this weekend's version was a real winner.  The peaches and nectarines we got from the farmers market were to die for, and I knew they'd be splendid in a breakfast treat.  Unfortunately for Navah, I gave her my cold (I'm very generous), and she couldn't really taste them.  So guess I'll just have to make them again.  Poor, poor me.



When you make these this weekend (as I suspect you will), be sure to make enough for everyone to have seconds because before you know it, they'll be going



going 



going



going 



gone.



Whole Wheat Ginger Peach Waffles

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 3/4 cup soy milk (we use Westsoy's unsweetened vanilla)
1/2 cup canola oil (we actually used safflower because I was out of canola)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon agave nectar
2 cups white whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 peaches, diced
1 tablespoon powdered ginger
confectioners sugar and peaches for garnish

1.  Preheat your waffle iron.  Mix all the ingredients together (so special order necessary).
2.  Pour the recommended amount into the waffle maker (ours is 3/4 cup), and await deliciousness.

Enjoy!

Katie