seedy quinoa power salad

The perfect use for left over quinoa! A super seedy omega protein salad. As with rice and beans and lentils, when ever I cook quinoa I always cook enough to make a salad with the next day, even if you just add a scoop to the top of a green salad, it’s a nice addition. Anyway this was just a big fridge clean salad, complete with dressing made while standing in the fridge door.

 

2 cups of cooked quinoa

finely diced veggies:

2 small tomatoes

3 bunches of red kale

1/2 cucumber

2 green onions

1 cup of a small red cabbage shredded

 

Toss veggies with quinoa and add the following seeds:

1/2 cup hemp seeds

1/4 cup flax seeds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

 

drizzle with equal parts:

hemp or flax oil (walnut oil would be really yummy too)

apple cider vinegar

 

season with:

S+P

lemon zest

 

toss and enjoy, or put it in a mason jar and take it for a hike in the woods to keep you going!

 

almond butter pad thai and citrus spinach salad

I know it has been a long time since my last post because when I went to find a picture for a recipe and found I have 5 images waiting to post! I guess I have some homework to do…. I have been really swamped with gardening, and getting ready for a little one year in the valley celebration this past long weekend, at least I have still been snapping pictures of the tasty bits along the way.

Everything here is getting green and blooming, and the little chards and collards are popping their heads out if the mulch, little purple artisan lettuce’s are lapping up the rainy drizzle and I am waiting for them all to grace out table. Tonight after running to town and rushing around the valley, I came home with two simple ingredients: rice noodles & goat feta from up the river.

I made two quick and delicious light dishes tonight that went beautifully together; an almond butter tofu pad thai with hemp seeds and a citrus spinach salad with feta and cabbage, complete with miso hemp dressing. yum and yum.

This salad is super simple: spinach, one orange, some purple cabbage shaved thin, fresh goat feta, sunflower seeds, and a little shaved carrot all snuggled up in  my new favourite miso hemp dressing.

roasted roots n rice

A simple way to celebrate the lonely beet and the often over look carrot … roast them with honey and herbs and serve them on a bed of sticky rice and greens!

Making dinner with an sparse fridge is often a challenge, for me town day is once a week and until my garden wakes up I often find myself out of inspiring greens by weeks end and struggling to create a healthy hearty, meat and potato free dinner. I rely often on rice, lentils, beans and greens. This dish was a total off the cuff, whim that turned out really great. What I found in my fridge was 2 beets 4 carrots and half a bunch of swiss chard, what I created amounted to much more than that!

cook

2 cups of brown rice

cut season and roast

2 beets and 4 carrots cut into uniform (thick fry) 2” pieces

toss the root veggies in organic vegetable oil, season with S+P, cumin, granulated garlic, and dried lemon rind. Roast in a small cast iron pan at 425º for about 30 minutes. Once roasted squeeze 1 heaping Tbsp of honey over the veggies, quickly toss and return to a hot oven for 5 more minutes.

Fry in a large deep pan

1 yellow onion sliced thin

2 cloves of garlic minced

season with S+P

cumin seed (whole)

once golden reduce heat to low and add in finely sliced swiss chard or kale (small bunch)

top with lemon juice and braggs (about 2 tbsp each) and remove from heat. Once the rice is cooked add it to the large frying pan, along with 4 eggs whisked together well. Toss everything with the egg mixture and and allow to sit covered for about 5 minutes. The egg should be cooked but not visible as egg, it simply adds a silky coating to everything. Finish rice with a good drizzle of miso hemp dressing and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast. Serve topped with roasted root veggies and enjoy. For a vegan dish simply omit the egg and add a little extra dressing!

greens gratin

It’s not everyday I cook up 3 huge bundles of bitter leafy greens and the dish is licked clean, but today I pulled out an old trick from my mom bag and just covered everything in cheese! Mmm It was the right call. I made this gratin gluten free by using quinoa flour and I also used almond milk and oil, rather than butter and cream, it’s far from vegan because I slathered it in Edam cheese, but this dish could easily be made vegan just by omiting the cheese, making a larger batch of béchamel and punching up the spices and miso in the white sauce, in this case I would top it with bread crumbs rather than more cheese)

Finely chop and wash

1 small bundle of swiss chard

1 small bundle of kale

1 large bundle of spinach

Salt the greens and allow them to drip dry in a strainer or salad spinner

In a small pot cook

2/3 cup of vegetable oil

2/3 cup of quinoa flour

Wisk and brown on medium high heat for about 5 minutes.

Add

2 Tbsp garlic granules

2 Tbsp grainy mustard

S+P

1 Tbsp miso

mix well then slowly  stir in

1.5 cups of almond milk (unsweetened).

cook until thicken on medium heat stirring often.

Add

1 cup grated white cheese (something sharp like gruyere would be nice, but anything will do)

*now you want this béchamel to be THICK! really way thicker than you normally would do, because the greens will add a TON of moisture to the pot, so fight the urge to thin it down, and if your mix is too thin, and more cheese.

In a large bowl toss the greens in the hot cheese sauce and squish everything into a nice deep casserole dish, cover the works with a handful of grated cheese, and bake covered at 350º for 15 minutes. Remove lid and broil for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and be sure to serve with something you can sop up all the garlicky cheesy goodness with.

I caught my daughter in action using the massive serving spoon to lick up every last drop of greens gratin from the serving dish! That says it all.

lentil chard pilaf with maple glazed tofu

This delicious pilaf was devoured the other night by a tough table of city kids used to lots of chemical flavors, fillers and colours, so if this hearty earthy dish can please the mcfood lovers I know I am on to something with this combination of smoky sweet flavours.

Start by boiling 2 cups of water and quickly cook 1 cup of black lentils straight up (no seasoning), once cooked (15-20 minutes) set aside. I had 3 cups of cooked brown rice in the fridge so this is a great dish if you have leftovers if not get a rice pot on too!

In a deep cast iron pan dice and fry 1/2 a yellow onion, 2 large carrots, 3 toes of garlic, and 2 celery stocks in olive oil. When the onions are just brown, add 2 cups of boiling water and season with S+P about 1 tbsp of chili blend (I used my tequila sunrise which includes cumin, but if you use a chilli blend without make sure you add it in), cumin, and a few splashes of braggs. let this all bubble away on medium heat for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile cube up 1/2 a package of firm organic tofu and fry it off to a nice golden brown in organic canola oil. Season with S+P, dry lemon rind, and a dusting of chamela giri gara masala blend. When the tofu is golden on most sides and is nearing completion toss in about 3/4 cup of sunflower seeds and give them a quick toast.Once the tofu and seeds are nicely brown on all sided add a glug of maple syrup to the pan and give it all a quick toss. remove from heat and continue to toss and give it a squirt of sesame oil, and another sprinkle of sea salt then set aside.

Back to the big pan, add cooked rice and lentils to the reduced veggies and stock. Season with some sesame oil, lemon juice and a pinch of anise.

Chop 3-4 large leafy stocks of red chard into 1 cm strips (remove stock and save for another time), dice up 3 green onions finely. Add the veggies to the top of you deep pan, shut off heat to the burner (but keep the pan in place) and cover and steam for 3 minutes. Finally add the tofu and seeds to the pan,  toss everything and serve!

mason jar miso hemp dressing

This is a yummy new addition to my miso collection of successful experiments! And I have fallen head over heals in love with this wonderful new cold pressed organic hemp oil I have in abundance, making this dressing a delicious combination of  two perfectly pairing superfoods!

I love to make dressings in mason jars which makes for an easy way to measure, shake, serve and store it.

Start with 1 generous Tbsp of miso and mix into 2 Tbsp of hemp oil using a small whisk or the back of a spoon, until well blended. Add 2 Tbsp of lime or lemon juice, and 1 tsp of honey or maple syrup. S+P, and one toe of garlic minced. Shake well and douse your greens in this nutty rich dressing. This fab dressing keeps well in the fridge for a while, so you can scale up the recipe to make a larger batch easily.

simple split pea chaat masala soup

A savory and warm split pea soup with smoky cumin and masala spices: vegan, vegetarian, gluten and wheat free.

Why is it I always forget how much I adore pea soup until it reaches my mouth? I fall in love all over again every time I taste it. I think I have only made pea soup once before but today was the day for batch number 2.

This soup took very little input it just bubbled away most of the afternoon smelling fabulous.

cha cha cha chia!

 

Amazing Vegan Gluten Free Super Power Squares!

Packed full of energy and essential fatty acids these are not only the most requested recipe I have, they are a personal favourite! I have made a raw variation of this snack too, which I am happy to share if anyone requests it.

YOU’LL NEED

1 1/2 cups crispy brown rice cereal

1/2 cup raw sliced almonds

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/4 cup hemp seeds

2 tablespoons whole chia seeds

1/4 cup flax seed

1 cup dried Medjool dates (about 6 ounces), pitted

1/4 cup natural smooth unsalted almond butter

1/4 cup brown rice syrup

1/2 teaspoonsea salt

1/2 teaspoon real vanilla

1 Tbsp pure cocoa powder

Toast cereal and nuts and seeds in oven for about 15 minutes (until aromatic and lightly browned) and then allow to cool for a few minutes before  pulsing the  mixture in a food processor  about 5 (1-second) pulses. Transfer to a medium bowl; set aside.

Place dates in the food processor and process until finely chopped and a ball forms, about 15 seconds; set aside.

Place almond butter, rice syrup, salt, and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until mixture is combined and runs like slow-moving lava, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, immediately add dates and cocoa powder, and, using a wooden spoon, stir, smashing down on the dates, until well combined and no streaks of cocoa remain. Pour / spoon hot syrup over cereal mixture and stir, pressing as you do, until evenly combined. (This takes some muscle and time, about 5 minutes.) Transfer to the prepared baking pan and, using your hands, spread and firmly press the mixture into the pan. Let cool completely.

Remove the date-seed slab from the pan. Cut it in desired size bars and keep in an air tight container or you can freeze them.

* I have a sweet little vintage flower  biscuit cast iron pan I often use to form these, in which case I call them chia flower power!

 

Savory Vegetable Leftover Noodle Soup

Savory Vegetable Leftover Noodle Soup: Vegan, Wheat & Gluten Free

My favorite gluten free noodles are quinoa hands down! They have a great tooth and the best thing about them is they don’t get all soggy, or mushy and overcooked. They don’t turn the water into slime like rice noodles do, they are just more like wheat noodles than any of the many GF noodles I have tried.

2 nights a go I made some quinoa elbow noodles with a simple garlic pesto dressing, they were great but I had a lot of leftovers as we have had visitors this week and I always cook to much when feeding a crowd, so I decided to add the left over noodles to a hearty veggie soup. All day I simmered some carrots, onions, garlic, leek and corn in a rich vegetable broth I had frozen down earlier. I seasoned the stock with dried lemon rind and a little kelp powder, along with some apple cider vinegar and lots of peppery chili’s. After the soup was seasoned perfectly, I added the now room temp left over pesto noodle to the broth and simmered it for 10 minutes before serving.

The soup was a huge hit… even in a very un-veggie friendly crowd!

I am baking up a storm right now… more great wheat free dairy free dessert and snack recipes around the corner!

Sunday Noodle Salad

Simple, punchy and fresh this vegan gluten free lunch won over my whole family even the picky little one (who actually made the dressing for this)

If I had tempeh or tofu I would have grilled it up like this earlier recipe for orange glazed tempeh and added that as well, but this simple lunch is  great straight up with any combination of veggies you have kicking around!

I used rice vermicelli noodles and I think I finally have a reliable way of cooking them without being disappointed, as has happened all to many times. So here is what you’ll need to make 4 portions:

Sticky Ginger Tofu, with Swiss Chard and Cashews

Sticky Ginger Tofu, with Swiss Chard and Cashews: Wheat & Gluten Free, Vegetarian & Vegan.

This dish makes a wonderful meal with a nice grain like quinoa or brown rice. It takes only minutes to make and is packed with vitamins and flavor. Also it is some of the only local fresh veggies I can get these days, So i try to cook with Kale and Chard as much as possible.

Divine Hemp Chocolate Brownie

Divine Hemp Chocolate Brownies: Gluten Free, Lactose free, High Protein, Ultra gooey.

Yum, the other day I was totally inspired by this cocoa-ee brownie recipe I found online here and I gave it a whirl at the cafe, and it turned out pretty darn good… I wanted to make it a little more chewy and I really wanted to use my great new Organic hemp flour… So I gave it a SOLE kick at home and it turned out just right! Super dense, really rich and the dates I added injected a caramel sauce like element which threaded it’s way through the whole brownie. When I remake this I will use a dark chocolate, cut into little chunks and sprinkled on the top rather than the milk chocolate bits I had in hand… alternatively a boozy chocolate gnache would be elevate this brownie to white tablecloth dessert!

The only dairy in these brownies came from our sweet little hens.

In a mixer bring together;

2 fresh eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla

1 tsp sea salt

9 whole dates, pitted and torn into quarters

2 Tbsp each: unsulphured molasses, honey, and brown rice syrup

1/2 cup of almond butter

1/2 cup of organic hemp flour

1/2 cup pure cocoa power

1/2 cup of chocolate pieces (I just cut up a chocolate bar)

1 tsp baking power

Combine everything together and pour into a prepared small square pan.

Sprinkle the top with organic hemp seeds and more pieces from your chocolate bar.

Bake at 325º for 20-25 minutes. Don’t worry about pulling a toothpick clean, the inside will set as it cools. Just make sure the top is firm-ish

dig in while they are warm.. its so worth burning your fingers for!

 

Goat Cheese Please!

Gluten Free Penne with creamy goat cheese, peas and pesto. Our plates were licked clean all round, poor dog didn’t even get a crack at them!

This was really quick to throw together:

Start by boiling salt water to cook about 2.5 cups of organic corn penne. Once the pasta is cooked drain and quickly add 2/3 cup of frozen peas (from the garden), a dollop of butter (we used goat butter and it is really really nice, it adds just a little of that goat cheesey taste) 2 tbsp of goat cheese, S+P, and 2-3 Tbsp of pesto (I have found a pretty good locally made organic pesto that will cover me while there is no fresh basil to be had… but this summer I vow to make and freeze a whack of pesto’s while the basil and arugula are fresh and abundant) That is it, stir and serve. This delicious dish takes about 16 minutes from start to finish. Enjoy.

 

 

Rock ‘n Veggie Rolls

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This is a real crowd pleaser, they look like way more effort than they are, and once you make them yourself, I am certain you won’t buy the “asian appetizer sampler” from M&M ever again!

Start by browning both sides of firm tofu slices about 1/4” thick you will need three of them, season with S+P and brown in a blend of canola oil and sesame oil, set aside to cool a little. Add to the hot pan: 1 jalenpeno diced, 2 garlic cloves minced, 2” ginger knob finely grated and 1/4 of a red onion finely minced. Get these guys all browning and then add: 3 julienne carrots (sliced finely lengthwise). Reduce heat.  You want the carrot to get just tender… not cooked through, about 1-2 minutes only. Add equal parts about 1-2 tbsp each: soy sauce, rice vinegar, sweet chili sauce, and just a splash of sesame oil and coat mixture evenly. Turn off the heat, but leave your pan on the element and add two big handfuls of bean sprouts, 3 green onions diced, and your browned tofu now sliced like the carrots. Mix everything together and place in a bowl. Add a little cilantro chopped and a small handful of fresh spinich finely chopped. Toss everything and set aside to cool completely, then refrigerate until your almost ready to serve the spring rolls. Before using strain the juices from your filling.

shitaki soba noodles * return of the mushrooms!

Ok, so maybe you are thinking.. again with the tofu and mushrooms? enough all ready.

But in all honesty this recipe is truly an amazing combination of flavors, and it takes about 12 minutes to make. I am sure you could easily add chicken and cashews instead of mushrooms and tofu and it would be just as wonderful.

In this recipe I used 3 of my favorite ingredients: Soba king rice noodles (the pumpkin flavored ones) SilverKing Tofu (firm) and fresh local mushrooms (I used shitaki tonight)

Got energy-balls?

Well if you have 5 minutes and a food processor you do!

This is just a super quickie recipe I wanted to share. It’s Gluten Free / Dairy Free / Raw / Organic and a super yummy power snack, great for the lunch box or a guilt free late night treat. We make a few yummy versions of these at the local cafe I am baking at a couple days a week, and they are always a top seller.

Take 1 cup of dried fruit: anything at all, this batch I used equal parts gogi berry, cranberry and raisin, but dates are really yummy, so are apricots! I don;t think apples would work on their own very well but would be nice with something more goopy.

Take 2 cups of seeds and nuts; again anything you desire, my last batch I used sunflower seeds, chia seeds, almonds, and cashews.

Give these a whirl in the processor along with 1 tsp of cinnamon and a pinch of salt and blend it all until everything is really pebbly then add a good squeeze of honey, agave, or rice syrup (about 2 Tbsp) along with 1 Tbsp of coconut oil. Wiz it a little more and it will start to form a ball in the processor. Simply scoop out 1- 2 oz portions and form into balls using your hand or mechanical scoop and roll them in something, I used coconut last night, (which I adore) but I have used hemp seeds before, or ground nuts or flax meal.

The great thing about these is you can use what ever you have kicking around, I have even taken a really fruity trail mix and just used that!

So no reason not to make these.. you will love them, and once you make them once, you’ll find them so easy and so tasty they will be a regular part of your snack artillery.

 

 

Chantrelles & Moma Cows

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The garden is finally frosting and getting ready for a long winters rest. I have lots of work to do to clean up the beds and do some due diligence work to keep spring couch grass at bay. The garlic is getting planted tomorrow in a deep dark bed of soil from my first Kootenay compost pile! Currently I am drowning in grapes so I am going to attempt a batch of grape juice tomorrow, I had hoped to dry some and make raisins except the grapes I am flush with right now are seeded and after removing seeds from a few I decided juice would be more fun to make.

While I write this I am drinking the most delicious cup of tea ever, made with creamy delicious milk from the glowing mommy cow you see above. It doesn’t get much closer to your local food source than a gift of fresh milk 😉

Last night I whipped up a small batch of yellow pickled beets, which are sure to be my last pickles of the year.I couldn’t resist buying 10 lbs from a no spray farm we visited in Chilliwak last week, they were $2 a bag! I really love the recipe I am using for pickling beets which includes vinegar, apple cider vinegar, honey and cinnamon sticks, yum!

Mia came home from school today with a lovely little selection of Chanterelle mushrooms, as her class did a mushroom walk with the same biologist who taught our excursion 2 weeks ago.  So I did an Asian inspired stir fry of Chanterelles with tofu and pumpkin seeds on a bed of brown basmati rice for dinner tonight that was pretty divine if I do say so. (recipe below)

Easy Thai Green Curry Bowl

This is a super quick weeknight meal!

Start by browning 1/4 of a red onion with 2 cloves of minced garlic and a good pinch of fresh minced ginger. Add the meat from 2 lean sausages ( I used garlic buffalo, but you could use anything even firm tofu would be great) Add 1/2 can bamboo shoots cut into thin ribbons. Season with S+P, a dash of chili oil and 2 tbsp Thai green curry paste. Add and simmer with 1 can coconut milk and the juice of 1 lime along with a dash of rice vinegar and a tbsp of cane sugar. In a separate pot boil 1 package of rice noodles. Cut 1 large baby bock choy into ribbons along with a 3” piece of cucumber cut into small ribbons. When the noodles are ready toss the bok choy and cucumber with the noodles and mix everything together with the curry, dress each serving with fresh cilantro and an extra squeeze of lime juice!