Menu Monday, New Years Vegetarian Kick Start

It's officially the beginning of the year and the un-official kick off to "diets" around the world. But I don't diet. My food intolerance list is quite long enough that I refuse to eliminate even more! What I do believe in is healthy eating and that sometimes the body can use a little recharge, a cleanse if you will. To rid the system of too many rich holiday food and drinks. And I have to get into a bathing suit in a week.

These recipes are all vegetarian, because I find I feel much better when I cut out meat. They're also seasonal recipes so you're sure to get the most flavor. Certain ingredients overlap too so you get the most bang for your buck. Join me this week and kick start your 2012 with taste!


{m: herb, chard, and feta soup, t: persimmon and hazelnut salad, w: quinoa, fennel, and pomegranate salad, th: kale-walnut pesto pasta, f: fennel, orange, and avocado salad, sa: citrus and endive salad, su: cauliflower steaks with olive relish and tomato sauce}
And no good cleanse would be any fun without a few treats and snacks. The Food Lover's Cleanse (see number 1) has a lot of fun suggestions in their 2 week menu like celery sticks with meyer lemon relish and chevre. Hello yum! I gathered up a few others that I'll be making for this week.


{1: the food lovers cleanse, 2: gluten-free, egg-free, rosemary crackers, 3: almond-cranberry quinoa cookies, 4: fruit and nut bars,
5: rosemary infused olive oil, dark chocolate, and salt popcorn, 6: garlic parmesan edamame, 7: no bake energy bites}

Easiest Chocolate Chip Cookies

These literally took fifteen minutes to make, including bake time.

This recipe makes a small batch. They will disappear quick and since they're so easy to make, feel free to repeat as necessary.

They're also gluten-free, egg free, and dairy free. But not taste free, promise!

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats (or quick cooking), ground
1/4 cup coconut flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon oil
4 tablespoons coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk)

2 tablespoons chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 375º.

Combine dry ingredients into medium bowl and mix. Add in oil and coconut milk to combine. Stir in chocolate chips.

Form into 1 tablespoon sized balls and place onto cookie sheet.

Bake for 6-8 minutes or slightly browned. Enjoy!

Quadruple Threat Ice Cream

Cinnamon. Cocoa. Chocolate Chips. Coconut milk.
Did you all know it's National Chocolate Ice Cream day? Well now you do and now you have to do something about it! How about the creamiest, chocolatiest, sweetest ice cream ever? Look no further.

Cinnamon Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream
1 can coconut milk (not lite)
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons sugar (or to your desired sweetness)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together minus chocolate chips. Pour into ice cream maker and then slowly add in chips. Mix until frozen and creamy, about 15 minutes. Freeze to harden or serve immediately.

Gluten Free Coconut Ginger Banana Bread

Whoa. That title is a mouthful, eh? Speaking of full mouths, let me finish my fresh, warm slice...
Ok. Now we can carry on.
I love quick breads. Those recipes you know by heart, can throw together, and is out of the oven in less than an hour. Then if there's any left come morning, you've got a quick grab and go breakfast you can feel good about feeding your family. Banana bread is one of those. But how sick are you of the plain old recipe? So you sit there staring at those nasty over ripe bananas on your counter, you know the ones, and think "Really? More banana bread?"
So came this recipe. Still easy, which is important, but with a bit of attitude. Oh yeah. Breakfast bread that bites you back! And what's more? It's Gluten Free. Egg free. Dairy free. SUGAR free. And still chock full of flavor. Don't believe me? Give it a try, then tell me.
But wait, there's more! This recipe not only makes one loaf, it makes two! Eat it. Freeze it. Gift it away. I know I'm going to be sharing it with some moms tomorrow.


Gluten Free Coconut Ginger Banana Bread
2 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose mix (if you're not ready, use your regular AP)
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (depending on how much you want to be bitten)
1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats (or old fashioned rolled oats)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons warm water (or 1 egg)
2-3 ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup coconut milk (not light)
1/2 cup local honey
3 tablespoons coconut oil (or vegetable oil)

Preheat oven to 350 and spray two loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix the first 7 ingredients together.
In a medium bowl mix the flax mixture, mashed bananas, coconut milk, honey and oil.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry until combined.
Divide mixture among the two loaf pans. Bake for 40 minutes or until nicely browned and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Slice. Serve. Savor.

Favorites Friday, Food & Drink

1. What a great way to make your favorite bitters!

2. It's the morning, but my mouth is already salivating for this pizza. Lots of favorite food combos.

3. Great idea for labeling your favorite homebrew!

4. Mmmhmm. Garlic. Fermented? Favorite sense: umami. Got.to.have.

5. I've decided if I can't master making macarons, I'll just get these.

6. Favorite new cookbook.

7. Rich doesn't like coconut so I'd be on my own here, but favorite weekly drink.

I'm extremely excited to be featured tomorrow on the blog for Bob's Red Mill. Partly because I'm obsessed with their products. I have yet to be disappointed with one of their mixes, especially in the gluten-free line. They're posting gluten and casein free recipes every day this month from different bloggers to bring options to parents of kids with Autism during Autism Awareness Month. This is something very dear to my heart. I used to work in early intervention classes helping children just diagnosed during those first formative years. So to give a little bit to that again is really great.
Be sure to visit tomorrow to get the recipe for some killer Blackberry Cornmeal Muffins.

Thought I'd also throw in another recipe we enjoyed last week. It's artichoke season which always makes me giddy. I adore artichokes but have never tried them stuffed. It's a super easy way to prepare them but with tons of flavor payoff.



Sun Dried Tomato Stuffed Artichokes
2 artichokes, stem and top trimmed and inside leaves & "hair" torn out to expose heart

2 cups gluten-free breadcrumbs
4 tablespoons chopped marjoram (or other fresh herb on hand)
1/3 cup chopped oil packed sundried tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Olive oil

3 cups water
1 vegetable bullion cube
4 lemon slices
1 bay leaf
black pepper

Rub lemon slice on cut edges of artichoke to prevent discoloration.
Toss breadcrumbs, herbs, tomatoes, salt, pepper and enough oil to moisten in a bowl.
Fill the center cavity of each artichoke with the stuffing mix.


Place water, bullion, lemon slices, bay and some cracked pepper into large pot. Place artichokes in and make sure they're covered in water up to the bottom leaves. Let simmer, covered, for 30-45 minutes. If you tug on a leaf and it comes off easily, they're done.
Preheat oven to 350 and bake the steamed artichokes for 10-15 minutes until stuffing is browned. Serve immediately.

Dinner Tonight

The eternal question: What's for dinner? That time of day when you open your fridge only to come up with nothing. If you're lucky you're able to pull something together, just enough to fill your belly. Then there's those rare occasions when you come up with something that is extraordinary. Tonight was one of those rare nights.
The fantastic part was how simple it was. Sinful really. Two dishes. Both containing only three ingredients. Here's what I came up with but hopefully it will inspire you too!



Stuffed Mushrooms, Roasted Veggies & Pureed Cauliflower
1 pint baby portabellas
4 oz. herb & garlic Boursin cheese
Bread crumbs (used gluten-free)

Handful of heirloom cherry tomatoes and garlic cloves

1 head cauliflower
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Wash and remove caps from mushrooms. Stuff with cheese and top with breadcrumbs. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and scatter stuffed mushrooms, tomatoes and garlic. Bake for about 20 minutes or until veggies are soft.

Meanwhile, de-stem cauliflower and cut into chunks. Steam in 1 cup water for about 15 minutes. Transfer to food processor or blender with some of the cooking liquid, butter and salt and pepper to taste. Process until smooth, adding more liquid as needed.

Serve both warm. Enjoy!

Homemade Gluten Free Cheez-its

Having an allergy to gluten is a road full of constant speed bumps. Taking away such comforts as a big fat slice of crunchy sourdough bread can be hazardous to ones well being.
Yes, being gluten-free has been made easier over the past years as awareness and available products have grown. However, certain snacks, like your classic Cheez-it cracker still remain irreplaceable.
Insert Ready Made Magazine. I adore this magazine. It is the essential go-to for your modern DIY'er. This past issue had a Cheez-it taste-off and the winner, no surprise, was a homemade recipe found here. Reading the article inspired me not only to make a gluten-free version, but also dairy free.
I was so anxious to get started. Would this simple recipe finally fulfill my need for a crunchy, salty, cheesy cracker? Or would it fall short of such high expectations? I went shopping straight away and believe the success to this recipe is a result of using high quality ingredients. This is not a time to cut corners!
As the first batch came out of the oven, I knew it would be an over-whelming win. And I wasn't disappointed. Neither will you.



Homemade Gluten-free Cheez-its
8 ounces raw goats milk cheese, shredded
1/2 stick clarified butter or dairy free margarine, room temp
1 cup gluten-free all purpose mix (I used Bob's Red Mill)
2 tablespoons cold water
Coarse salt

Using a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix goats cheese and butter until soft and combined. Add flour and mix on low speed (the dough will be dry and pebbly). Slowly add water and continue to mix as dough forms a ball.

Pat the dough into a disk (since using gluten-free, it was a bit drier so I really had to work the dough into a ball), wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 375˚F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Divide dough into two pieces and roll each into a very thin (1/8 inch) rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut the rectangles into 1-inch squares. Use the tip of a chopstick to punch a hole into the center and make indentations around sides of each square. Sprinkle coarse salt over each square.

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until puffed and browning at the edges. Watch carefully as they can burn quick. Immediately move the crackers to racks to cool. Store in airtight container...if they make it that far.

Pumpkin Bread

I've been scouring the internet looking for a good but easy gluten free, egg free pumpkin bread recipe. Come to realize, I didn't have to look much further than my cupboard. Found a recipe from Rich's Aunt for her famous pumpkin bread. So with a couple revisions, I was nervous for the outcome but it turned out great. That's the sign of a good recipe: you can tweak it and it's still delish.



Pumpkin Bread

Dry ingredients:
1 2/3 cup gluten-free all purpose flour (I used Bob's Red Mill mix)
1 1/4 cup sugar (or whatever sweetener you use)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Wet ingredients:
2 tablespoons ground flax meal mixed with 6 tablespoons water (allow to sit for a minute)
1/2 cup oil
1 cup canned pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a loaf pan (I did a bundt just to mix it up!) with non-stick spray.

In medium bowl sift together dry ingredients. Add nuts and mix well.

In a large bowl combine wet ingredients until blended. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until blended.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 60 minutes. Enjoy!

The Monkey's Baby Shower

It's been a couple weeks but here's a look at how the shower for my nephew turned out.

The monkey cupcakes were super fun and easy to make. And just looked darn cute! Did green eyes for the regular ones and yellow for the gluten and dairy free.

We had the boys "test" out the monkey cupcakes, you know, just to make sure they were ok. Got the green light from them.

The rest of the food turned out good too. The table was yellow, green, blue and white. We had candy coated marshmallow pops, monkey chow, chips and guacamole, assorted fruit and veggies, and ice cream punch. The big hit were the oatmeal banana breakfast cookies. I'll post the recipe below. It's ridiculous how easy they are.

Bek got a lot of really cute monkey gifts, and some essentials too :)

I'm not a big one on games so we each decorated a onsie for Johnny. It was fun to see what everyone came up with.

Thank you to all the ladies that came to support and celebrate with us!

Banana Oatmeal Cookies
(these are sugar, gluten, dairy and egg free!)
3 medium bananas, mashed
1/3 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups gluten free rolled oats
(a friend added peanut butter and loved it too!)
Whole pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Combine bananas, oil and vanilla. Stir in oats. Drop by tablespoons onto greased cookie sheet. Press pecan onto top to flatten. Bake 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Makes 24 servings.

Gluten Free, Vegan, Sugar Free Blackberry Cornmeal Muffins

Last year we grew corn for the sole purpose of grinding to make cornmeal. I love cornmeal. Anything and everything you can make from it. I also love muffins. Who doesn't?! Now that I'm gluten, dairy, egg and sugar free, breakfasts are a bit challenging. Gone are scrambled eggs. Gone is a bowl of yummy sugary cereal. So I try to make up a quick bread or muffins each week for me to have. I'm getting tired of banana & zucchini bread so I was sifting through my recipes and found this oldie but goodie and adapted it to my dietary needs. I know a lot of you also have certain restrictions so here's my recipe to share and you can add and replace to fit you. Enjoy!

Blackberry Cornmeal Muffins
1/2 cup vegan butter, softened
1 cup agave nectar
2 egg replacers (Ener-g or flax meal)
1/4 cup orange or berry juice
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup all purpose gluten free flour
2/3 cup corn meal
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup berries
Cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 375. Beat the butter with the agave in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in egg replacers, juice and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix the flour, corn meal and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just blended. Fold in berries. Lightly grease muffin cups or use liners. Fill about two-thirds full. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Mango Chicken Rolls

We had some extra chicken we'd barbecued so I thought I'd try out some summer rolls. Mango and chicken are a natural combination, but you can use whatever fruit and vegetables you have on hand. What takes the most time in this recipe is the slicing so this is a great one for a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Mango Chicken Rolls

For dipping sauce:
½ c. Mirin Sauce
½ c. Soy Sauce
3 tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 tsp. agave syrup

For rolls:
3 cooked chicken breasts, thinly sliced
3 oz vermicelli rice-stick noodles
3 tbsp. rice vinegar
2 tbsp. agave syrup
½ tsp. salt
8 (8-inch) rice-paper rounds plus additional in case some tear
50 fresh mint leaves
1 seedless cucumber, peeled, cored, and cut into matchsticks
1 red bell pepper, seeded, and cut into matchsticks
3 scallions, cut into 3-inch-long julienne strips
1 pound firm-ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into matchsticks

Make sauce:
Stir together all sauce ingredients in a small bowl until mixed.

Make rolls:
Cook noodles in boiling water and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes. Drain in a colander, then rinse under cold running water and drain well. Stir together vinegar, sugar, and salt in a large bowl, then add noodles and toss to coat.

Put paper towels on a work surface and fill a shallow baking pan with warm water. Check rice-paper rounds and use only those that have no holes. Soak 1 round in warm water until pliable, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Arrange chicken in a row across bottom third (part nearest you) of soaked rice paper. Spread noodles on top of chicken and arrange mint leaves, cucumber matchsticks, bell pepper matchsticks, scallion strips, mango matchsticks horizontally on top of noodles. Fold bottom of rice paper over filling and begin rolling up tightly, folding in ends. Transfer summer roll, seam side down, to a plate and cover with dampened paper towels. Make 7 more rolls in same manner and serve, whole or halved diagonally, with dipping sauce.

Tomato-Leek Pizza

Tried GF pizza for the first time tonight. It was actually pretty easy to make the dough and tasted like what you'd want from pizza crust. I purchased the pre-mixed Bob's Pizza Crust Mix and have yet to be disappointed by a Bob's product. The suggestion for going eggless by using flax meal and water was spot on. This is a quick week night meal that is sure to fill.

Tomato-Leek Pizza
Yields: 2 12" pizzas
1 pkg. Bob's Pizza Crust mix
2 tbsp. ground flax meal
1 ½ c. warm water plus 6 tbsp.
4 tbsp. olive oil plus more for greasing
Garlic clove
1 leek, trimmed and finely sliced
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 pkg. Almond cheese
Fresh oregano

Preheat oven to 425°.
In a large bowl, combine 1 ½ c. water and yeast. Let stand a few minutes. In a separate bowl combine flaxseed and 6 tbsp. water; let stand one minute. Add flax and 2 tbsp. oil to mixture and blend briefly. Add GF Pizza Crust Mix and blend about a minute on medium speed, until combined. Leave dough in bowl, split in half, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise 20 minutes.
Place each mound of dough on oiled pizza pans. Using wet hands, spread out dough to cover the full pizza pan. Bake without topping for 7-9 minutes.
Spread 1 tbsp. olive oil on each crust. With the garlic clove, rub, cut side down over oil. Top with leeks, tomatoes, cheese, and oregano.
Bake for an additional 12-15 min. or until cheese is melted.

Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and store in plastic bag. When ready to bake, take dough out of refrigerator and allow to rest 30 minutes. Spread dough onto greased pizza pan and bake as directed.