A Breakfast Post

Breakfast for me usually is just a green smoothie, and if I'm feeling especially hungry, some gluten free toast (Sami's Bakery Millet & Flax bread is so good). On my days off of work, I like to switch it up a bit. This morning I was inspired by Sarma's chia pudding recipe

from Living Raw Food, and made a chia porridge of sorts.

Chia seeds are quite amazing. When you soak them in any liquid, they become softer and create a tapioca like consistency. They are a complete protein, contain omega fatty acids, are an ancient energy food, and yes they are used for chia pets. Here is some more information if you are interested.

This is more of a base for a breakfast with some suggestions rather than a recipe, but here is what I did. Mix 1/4 cup of chia seeds with 3/4 cup of almond milk. You could make your own almond milk and keep this dish a raw one, or you can just use a non dairy milk of your choice. I used Almond Breeze original. Add a drop of vanilla, a dash of cinnamon, and a bit of your sweetener of choice, be it stevia, agave, or brown rice syrup. Let the seeds and milk set for 15 - 20 min or longer. This will allow the seeds to soak up the liquid and become like a gel or tapioca. Sprinkle in some nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and fresh fruit. I opted for raw pumpkin seeds and raisins, and topped it off with a banana.

You could mix up the base ahead of time and leave it in the fridge for a quick breakfast in the morning. The chia base will keep for a couple days.

Enjoy with a cup of Teeccino.

Recently I've been on a knitting kick and have been making mug cozies. Matt thinks it's funny that I'm making sweaters for my mugs. I like to think that it keeps my drink warmer for a longer amount of time, but that's probably just wishful thinking. Oh well, at least my mug looks cute.

First Step to Accomplishing a Goal

I had mentioned that learning to make delicious Indian food was one of my goals for the year. I have made Indian dishes before and they were very tasty, but I would love to learn how to make Matt and I's favorite dishes. I would like to make them so well so that we do not always have to go out in order to eat them. My favorite is Aloo Gobi. It is a potato and cauliflower dish. I always intend to try new dishes when we go to Indian restaurants, but I always fall back on this one. Matt's dish is Malai Kofta, a fried vegetable dumpling served with a thick tomato based gravy. On Thursday I attempted to make both dishes and destroyed my kitchen with dirty dishes in the process. Matt was kind enough to do the dirty work for me and do the dishes while I finished preparing the meal. Next time I think I will just attempt one dish.

First up, the Aloo Gobi. I didn't love the recipe I chose to try. It seemed to be missing some of the flavor that I really love about dish. Perhaps I just added to much ginger, as it was a bit over powering. Oh well. The search continues for the perfect recipe. Here are some pictures I took while preparing the dish.

The last picture was the finished product. I ended up adding a bit of the sauce that I made for the Malai Kofta, which added more of a flavor punch to the cauliflower and potatoes.

Moving on to the Malai Kofta. I'm not sure if this is our perfect replication of the dish. It is not technically a vegan dish, so we tried a vegan version. It was delicious! Next time I make this, Matt would like the sauce to be sweeter tasting. I used a can of tomatoes instead of fresh, and it was a bit overly tomato tasting, but I still thought this dish was superb.

So many colorful and delicious spices went into the sauce. I'm sorry I missed taking a picture of the finished sauce, but you will see it plated up at the end.

The vegetable dumplings were made out of mashed potatoes, bread, and spices. Not very pretty, but really yummy. I tried pan frying them, but I have yet to have much luck in that department. Whenever I try this in my stainless steel pan, it just doesn't work out that well. Instead of the dumplings browning, the pan just does. So I resorted to plan b and baked them in the oven instead.

Ta-da! Here is the finished product.

And here is my messy kitchen, and proof that I am cooking by the computer. Sorry Matt.

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Lunchbox Post

At least one day a week I have lunch/dinner at work. Most likely it is a packed lunch and more often than not it is a salad. Salads are easy. Easy to throw together, easy to store in the refrigerator until my half hour break, and easy to eat. Well, easy to eat, but not so easy to eat fast. I am usually chewing until the last minute before I go back to the grind.

Another reason I chose salads is that they are an easy energy boost, and I don't have to bother heating anything up in the microwave. We don't have one at home, and I'd prefer not to use one at all. Although I do on occasion. Besides the work microwave is usually pretty grim looking.

So every week I turn to my old favorite, and staple, Apple Pie Salad. I was introduced to this recipe by my mom, from a cookbook she owns (not sure which one it was),

but this is my variation.

Chop up three apples. These portions will typically feed both Matt and I for one meal, with this being the main dish. If you serve this as a side, it should feed 4-5.

Mix with 1 cup of old fashioned rolled oats.

Sprinkle generously with cinnamon. I'm not sure of the exact measurement I used, but I would suggest starting with a couple teaspoons and if you need more, go for it. Sprinkle on just a bit of Nutmeg as well. Cardamom is also a nice addition to the mix.

Chop up 6 or more dates and add them to the bowl along with a handful of raisins.

Pour on a bit less than 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Be careful to not get to much syrup as it tends to create a sickeningly sweet soggy mess with the oats. You just want a touch of sweetness.

Mix it all together with a fork or spatula.

Feel free to add on to the salad. Perhaps toss in some pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, or walnuts. You could try adding some pear to the mix as well. I added 2 tablespoons of chia seeds for some added protein.

Pack it up and your off to work.

Apple Pie Salad

serves 2 as a main dish and 4-5 as a side

3 apples, chopped

1 cup rolled oats

2 teaspoons of cinnamon, plus more to taste

pinch of nutmeg

1/8 cup plus 1 Tbs maple syrup

6 or more dates chopped

1/4 cup raisins

2 Tbs chia seeds or any other additional nuts

or seeds you would like to add

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Enjoy!

Green Smoothies and Other Things

Sorry for the week of absence. Some weeks are hard. On a pleasant note, I chose a different green this week for my smoothies - swiss chard. I was a bit nervous about how the new leaves would affect the taste of my smoothies. Swiss chard tastes a little bit more bitter than spinach, and is saltier tasting as well. I was pleasantly surprised though, and ended up really enjoying the switch. My recipe was 2 large chard leaves (separated from the stem), 1 banana, and some frozen strawberries. The strawberries and chard complimented one another well in my opinion.

Another culinary adventure of the day was using up the vegetables in the fridge. I had 1 bunch of kale and 1 head of cauliflower in need of consuming. I was short on time so I made smoked paprika kale chips in the oven and made raw cauliflower popcorn. Easy peasy.

Chop up a head of cauliflower into bite size pieces.

Toss in 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast, salt and pepper to taste, and a bit of Mexican chili powder for some spice. Note that Mexican chili powder is spicier than regular chili powder. This was a lesson learned last week when I made a pot of chili. Oops, I should have known. It was still delicious though - we like it hot.

Mix the seasonings and the cauliflower together with a fork or alternatively shake together in a zip-lock bag. Now you are ready to snack.

I also tried baking some of the cauliflower popcorn. Being low on time I didn't bake it to a crispy point, so will have to try that out another day. It was delicious baked. Tender cauliflower with some crispiness on the edges and perfectly melded seasonings. You can also take the above recipe and dehydrate until crispy, for a delicious raw "popcorn".

Here is the baked cauliflower popcorn.

Along with the smoked paprika kale chips.

Now for a little link love. I made Angela's 5 Minute + 5 Ingredient No Bake Almond Butter Chews. So good. Please make them.

A Recipe to Please

Yesterday we gathered with some friends for a potluck of sorts. The host provides the main dish and the rest of us bring along the sides. The roasted vegetables I made for our New Years Day feast went over so well that I decided to do another version. The result was an amazingly flavorful combination of veggies. So, if you are ever in need of a dish to bring to a potluck, I would recommend this one.

First, gather your washed vegetables for a little chopping session. I chose beets, sweet potatoes, parsnips, butternut squash, onions, and garlic.

Toss together in a baking dish. I chose to roast the beets in another pan so that they wouldn't stain my stoneware. I'm not sure if it would stain, but it's new, so didn't want to risk it. Our friend gave us some stoneware for Christmas and I truly love the way it bakes. Kale chips baked on the pizza stone didn't burn like they usually do on my cookie sheet.

The marinade ingredients are maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I will put the recipe and measurements at the end of the post.

Measure out the marinade ingredients and then pour into a jar with a tight sealed lid (like a mason jar), and shake to combine the ingredients perfectly.

Drizzle it on the vegetable mix.

Mix it all together using a rubber spatula, making sure all the pieces are coated.

To prevent the vegetables from drying out, cover the dish with foil. Being a bit wary of the aluminum touching the food, I put down a layer of parchment paper first.

Bake until the vegetables are soft. This dish smells so amazing while it is baking.

Maple Balsamic Roasted Roots*

3 sweet potatoes

4 parsnips

half butternut squash or root vegetable of choice

1 large beet

1 large onion

1 head of garlic

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more as needed

salt and pepper to taste

Peel vegetables as needed and chop into cubes. The onions can be chopped either in large chunks or small, depending on your liking. Garlic cloves can be used whole or sliced in half.

Toss vegetables together in baking dish.

Measure out maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Pour into a mason jar or another container with a tight fitting lid and shake until well combined. Pour over vegetables as needed. If you feel like you have to much marinade, do not use it all and save the rest for salad dressing. Toss the vegetables and marinade together making sure to coat each piece. Top baking dish with parchment paper, and then with foil, sealing around the sides. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees F or higher for faster roasting time. The vegetables will take about 30-45 minutes, or longer if needed. Bake until all vegetables are tender.

* I realize butternut squash is not a root vegetable, but it's just so delicious. You could just use root vegetables in this recipe and that would be equally delicious.

Now for a little shout out to Meggie, for posting her vegan nacho recipe. Not all the ingredients were on hand, so I omitted the add-in's, opted for some green chilies from a can, and used it as a nacho dip. The nutritional yeast "cheesiness", definitely hit the spot. Thanks for the recipe, Meggie!

Starting the Year off Right

One of the many self proclaimed goals I have made a mental tally of is this - eat more greens, and vary the types of greens I eat. I consume a lot of spinach, in the form of daily green smoothies. Usually spinach is the only green leafy vegetable I eat in the course of a week. The benefit of eating a wide variety of greens, is that they contain different nutrients. Therefore eating a variety of them allows you to get access to all that nutrition.

So today, I pulled a bunch of kale out of the fridge and got to work creating a delicious salad. Kale salad might sound quite daunting, but here is a way to make raw kale so delicious.

1. Choose the freshest looking bunch of greens. Since it is January and I do not have access to fresh local kale, I painstakingly choose the best looking bunch of organic kale that I can find at the grocery store. I also prefer to buy lacinato or dinosaur kale over the curly kind. I find that it is easier to work with. Either type will do.

2. Wash and dry the kale and remove the leafy part from the stem. This will also create a more pleasant salad as the stems are tougher to chew.

3. Gather the leaves tightly together and cut into thin strips.

4. Pour on about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle on some sea salt.

5. Use your hands to coat every piece with the oil and salt. This step is really important as the oil and salt work to break down the toughness of the kale so that it is easier to eat and digest.

Lemon juice can also be used as opposed to salt, and also helps to break down the kale.

Now you have a lovely base for a salad. You can store prepared kale in the refrigerator for a few days for quick and easy meals. The longer the greens sit, the softer they will become.

5. Toss together a salad of the prepared greens and whatever else you would like to add. You can top them with another salad dressing if desired. I added a splash of coconut vinegar to brighten up the flavor of the salad.

The other ingredients I used were roasted red pepper slices, chopped baby portabella mushrooms, hemp seeds, nutritional yeast, and some fresh ground pepper.

The possibilities are endless once you have your salad base. You could use apples, nuts, and a dash of maple syrup for a sweet fall salad, or fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and lemon juice for a delightfully tangy salad. Get some kale and get creative.

Here's to a year full of a leafy variety!