Vegan Chocolate Pudding

You won't believe this one! I sure didn't. Delicious, dairy-free, HEALTHY chocolate pudding? Close those gaping mouths, people, and have a seat. You can use any flavored (or mild) tea instead of ginger tea, if you prefer. You could also swap out the sunflower butter for natural peanut butter. Makes it taste a bit like Reese's pudding! Prefer more traditional pudding, then skip the nut butter altogether.

Here we go. Serving for one, but you could easily double or triple this recipe for sharing. You'll need:

1 lg. ripe avocado (or 2 small)
Fresh-brewed ginger tea (from the real-deal ginger root--adds a spicy bite), cooled
1 tsp. raw, organic honey 
1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla
1 sm. scoop dairy-free protein powder (any flavor)
3 T. organic cacao powder
Further sweeten with stevia to taste (a tiny sprinkle, usually)
1 T. sunflower butter 
Tiniest sprinkle of salt imaginable
Spices (Yes, you read it correctly ... SPICES): Sprinkle of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger
(I like to add a squirt of kalonji oil too, just for fun!)

Put all the dry ingredients in a NutriBullet or appropriately sized food processor. Add enough tea to almost cover the contents. Blend for about 5-8 seconds. Spoon into a container and chill in freezer for 5 minutes or fridge for 20-30 minutes. You may add an ice cube to the blender if you cannot wait even five minutes. Eat soon after chilling; it is avocado, after all.

SPECIAL NOTE: Add less tea and more cacao and you can use it as frosting for cupcakes! OMg, are you salivating yet?

GINGER JUICE

This entry is short and sweet. It's for a super nutrient-rich juice that's a great way to start you day ... and it's so easy. This mix serves 2-5, depending on how much you want to drink.

4-5 apples, cored (your choice)

3-4 carrots, peeled

1/2 lemon, peeled

Thumb-sized chunk of fresh ginger (bigger if you want it spicy!)

Put in your juicer, strain if needed. ENJOY! 

Curried Broccoli Slaw Burrito

NEW RECIPE w/photo! That's a steamed spelt tortilla on top.

Some of the tastiest dishes result from ruts in the kitchen. I just wanted to mix things up. Here's my latest delectable creation:

What you'll need:
1 bag broccoli slaw (pre-chopped mix of broccoli, cauliflower and red cabbage)
Sprouted spelt tortilla
1 lg onion, chopped
3-5 bulbs garlic (I like a LOT!), chopped
1 tsp. Garam masala (a savory blend of spices from India)
A few shakes of garlic powder (did I mention that I like garlic?)
Other spices: Turmeric, Cilantro, Dill, Sprinkle cumin, Cayenne, Salt (pinch)
Kale (optional, but why wouldn't you?)
Olive oil
Glob sesame tahini (small glob)
Nutritional yeast
1/8 cup veggie or chicken broth (may need less)
Lime

Let's do this:

Heat 1-2 T. olive oil in large pan. Sauté onion in oil for about 2-3 minutes. Add kale, chopped garlic, and spices. Stir to blend well. Add broth as needed so nothing sticks to pan. Add 2-3 large handfuls of broccoli slaw (not whole bag). Mix. 

While all that goodness simmers, steam one spelt tortilla to soften. Once softened, lay it in on a plate, spoon in mixture full, but so you can still fold the tortilla to close. Drizzle on tasty olive oil, a few squeezes of lime juice and a wee pinch of salt. ENJOY ... trust me, you will. Also, if you do cheese, you may sprinkle a touch of mozzarella on the hot tortilla before adding the broccoli slaw mixture, but it's uber tasty either way. 

Gluten-Free French Toast!

PREPARE YOUR PALATE!

Mmm ... mmm ... mm! Let me start by saying I made two pieces; one piece was too busy getting into my belly to wait for photos. This french toast is that good! Super easy too. [Remember: I don't measure, so amounts are estimated.] Let's do this ...

Pre-heat skillet or griddle with smidge of olive oil on medium heat. [Olive oil and syrup won't appear in the "ingredients," since they're not in the actual french toast mixture, but I use both.]

INGREDIENTS
Gluten-free bread (I use Ezekiel bread)
1/4 c. rice milk (could use almond milk)
1 egg or egg white (eggs are gluten-free, but use egg replacement if vegan)
1 tsp. sugar or xylitol (I've used a tiny sprinkle of stevia instead)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon (maybe a sprinkle or two more)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

DIRECTIONS
Mix all the hacky together until blended well. Make sure mixture is in a wide enough bowl so the bread won't bend or break. Dip both sides of a slice of bread into the mixture, place in pan and listen to that sizzle. Cook about 1 minute on each side, flipping when golden on the bottom. Try not to drool while it finishes cooking.

Once it's done, top with butter, vegan butter, or just 100% pure maple syrup and dig in! Let me know how yours turns out! Blessings and good eatin'.

KALE RICE

Release your held breath, America. The wait is over! Below is the legendary recipe for kale rice. As you may know, I don’t typically measure when I cook (they say the best cooks wing it like that!), so you may need to tweak it at home for your taste buds. Without further ado ...

Rice
1 ½ cup brown rice
2 ½ - 3 cups water

About 1 hour ahead of time, cook rice in rice steamer or in a pan on the stovetop. When it’s done, stir to fluff, and set aside.

 

2 T. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
½ bag kale (prewashed saves times)
Shredded carrots
Black beans
Cranberries
Pumpkin seeds (can use chopped almonds or sunflower seeds)
Spices: I don’t measure, so sprinkle first item the most and so on … Cumin, dill, garlic powder, curry, little ginger, little turmeric, tiny pinch of salt.

Lime (or lime juice) – not added while on stove

Heat a large pan or wok with olive oil. Once heated, saute onion about 2 minutes. Pour in up to half the bag of kale and carefully stir ‘til it wilts down a bit. Add spices, pumpkin seeds and cranberries. Stir. Add black beans and stir carefully. Add cooked rice and stir. You may need to add another dose of seasoning (taste to see). Add shredded carrots and stir. Turn off heat.

Put a serving of kale rice in a bowl and squeeze juice from 1/3 of a lime over the top. Enjoy!

This makes a HUGE batch, enough for a few days, but it gets tastier and tastier each time. Can eat cold or reheat … don’t forget the lime after each heating. I try not to cook it with the lime already added … tastes fresher doing it after it has been heated. Blessings!

 

 

Gluten-Free Pancakes

I try to eat healthy ... very healthy. But, being human, I do occasionally get a jones for pancakes. And when it comes to pancakes, I am a connoisseur. They must be fluffy, light, visually appealing, and not gushy. I like to be able to peel them, meaning rake up the top layer with my fork and eat it before enjoying the fluffy bottom. Crispy edges are pretty awesome too. So, a few years ago, my husband and I ate at IHOP sometime around Christmas. They had added gingerbread pancakes to their holiday menu. OMg, those things rocked! Since then I have been trying to replicate a gluten-free version. An edible gluten-free version. It happened earlier this year.

 

Before my discovery, my experience with gluten-free pancakes didn't excite me. We non-glutenites typically settle for flat, tasteless cakes if we’re even able to find establishments offering such fare. Most times, we just go for the grits or gamble with regular pancakes and suffer the consequences later. Pancakes are comfort food, they're childhood memories, they're home & family. It's tough to just give them up. But, now, there's no need! I’ve stumbled upon a recipe for the tastiest, fluffiest gluten-free pancakes I’ve ever eaten. The trick is in the preparation. Follow directions and let me know how yours come out.

DRY Ingredients

1½ c. flour (a sorghum flour & tapioca flour blend is great, spelt or brown rice flour works too)

2 tsp. sugar (or stevia or xylitol)

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. flax meal

[For “gingerbread” pancakes: Add sprinkles of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger (clove and allspice optional) to taste.]

WET Ingredients

¾ c. plain yogurt (can use plain rice or almond milk, but yogurt makes them yummy)
1 egg
1 T. canola oil (can use olive oil)
¼ tsp. lemon juice
A little hot water

IMPORTANT: Mix DRY ingredients and WET ingredients in separate bowls. While stirring, add dry ingredients to wet. Mix well. Batter should be thick. Add a little hot water to activate baking powder and thin out batter to pancake consistency. Set batter aside for up to 8 minutes while pan or griddle is heating up. Make sure pan is hot before cooking. Then, cook pancakes as usual. Serve with maple syrup, jam, peanut butter or your favorite topping.

Asparagus Rice

Some of my best food inventions are happy accidents that result when I want something quick and easy. My husband and I are opening a restaurant and had spent three weeks cleaning, painting, tiling, degreasing, and God only knows what else to get the place ready. We still have some weeks to go before opening, but last night, after about eight hours of working there, we dragged our sore selves home. I had some leftover steamed rice with split peas in the fridge, so that mixture, in all its unseasoned glory, awaited me for dinner. I’d also forgotten about the asparagus I had bought several days before. Mmm … asparagus. I actually had some the night before, but this second time I would add the rice.

I took out a sauté pan and heated it with a little water and olive oil. Once it was hot, I chucked in chopped onions, the asparagus (chopped), and about a minute later some chopped garlic, stirring. I spiced it up, as I do, grabbing a flurry of turmeric, curry powder, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, ginger, cumin, sprinkle of nutritional yeast, a crumble of seaweed (nori or kombu is great), dill or cilantro, and a pinch of salt. A handful of sesame seeds joined the party for a nice stir. Near the end (this dish doesn’t take long, asparagus cooks quickly), I added the pre-cooked rice & peas and my surprise ingredient … a heaping dollop of pumpkin! WHAT?!! Yes, stick with me here. Pumpkin adds this weird, awesome flavor profile. Stir for just a minute or two until heated. Sometimes I step off the strict vegan wagon and sprinkle in two or three crumbles of feta cheese (that’s probably close to 1 tablespoon). Really different and crazy good!

Ok, and here’s the interesting part—as I said, we came home exhausted and sore from all the restaurant prep work. Plus, I have rarely been a great sleeper, especially with issues weighing on my mind like starting a new business. So, after the asparagus meal two nights ago, I slept the most restful, recuperative sleep I’d had in months! Then, after last night’s asparagus with rice, another great sleep. A connection? You be the judge. I’ve sort of given the instructions first this time, so I’ll do my best to estimate the measurements of the items. Oy! The hard part!

INGREDIENTS
¾ cup brown rice
¼ cup green split peas
1½ cups water
Half a stalk of asparagus (cleaned, chopped … chop off hard bottoms)
1 lg. onion, chopped
4 cloves, garlic, chopped
Olive oil and water for sautéing
Spices listed above (try some others of your own too!)
Handful of sesame seeds (can use chopped almonds or walnuts)
1 big scoop of 100% pumpkin (from a can)
2-3 chunks feta cheese (optional)

Steam the rice and peas in the water about 1 hour before making this dish (usually takes 50-55 minutes to steam properly). You’ll be using about 1/3 of this rice mixture; save the rest for later. Follow the directions above and experiment. Hope you like this one. It’s weird, in a good way.