Cardamon date balls

Seemingly sweet, these little desserts may not actually satisfy a sweet tooth.  My family gave them the go-ahead but I wasn’t too impressed.  Not bad for an experiment though and filled with fiber and nutrients.  They certainly weren’t unagreeable.

 

 

Ingredients:

1 cup dates (soaked for an hour or so)

2 ripe bananas

1/3 cup shredded coconut (plus extra for rolling)

3 tbsp psyllium husk

1 heaping tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp cinnamon

2-3 dashes of fine sea salt

 

Directions:

Drain the dates and in a food processor blend them up to the consistency you desire.  In a medium sized bowl mash the bananas, coconut, cinnamon, cardamom, psyllium husk.  Add in the dates and a few pinches of salt. 

In another bowl put some extra coconut for rolling (about a half cup).  Roll the mixture into balls as best you can and roll into the coconut.  

Place on a rack in your food dehydrator or eat them raw!

Cumin infused Kale

 

My iron levels are currently on the low side so I knew I had to run to the store and stock up on Kale.  Most people don’t get a sufficient amount of dark leafy greens and I’m definitely trying to both convince others to eat them as well as myself.  

I’m talking about our bitter and often tough friends Kale, spinach, collard greens and chard.  I have experimented with many recipes and it seems that these veggies always need to be at least slightly cooked (for both texture and for the body to digest properly).  I’ve also found they do well with seasoning, otherwise you generally have a limp, tasteless mass of chewy leaves.  After flipping through my recipe books I found one from “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone” that tastes fairly sophisticated.

 

 

Mixed Greens with Cumin and Paprika (Or my version Cumin infused Kale)

Ingredients:

12 cups mixed greens – kale, broccoli rabe, chard or beet, escarole, mustard green

Salt

4 large garlic cloves

1 cup chopped parsley

1 cup chopped cilantro

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp paprika ( I did without due to the deadly nightshade allergy)

2 tsp cumin

For Garnish: oil-cured black olives ( I used regular green ones), wedges of lemon and tomato (again you can defintely do without the tomatoe if allergic)

Directions:

1) discard any inedible parts of the green, such as kale stems and tough ribs.  Set the leaves in a steamer – the tougher ones on the bottom, the most tender on top – and cook until tender.  Or boil each type seperately in salted water, then drain.  Chop into pieces about one inch square.

2) Pound the garlic with 1/2 tsp salt in a mortar until smooth, then work in the parsley and cilantro pounding them briefly to release their flavours.

3) Warm the oil with the paprika and cumin in a wide skillet over medium heat until they release their fragrance.  Don’t let them burn!  Stir in the garlic, then add the greens and cook until any extra moisture has evaporated.  Taste for salt.  Pile into a dish and garnish with olives, lemon and tomato.  Don’t forget to squeeze those lemons onto the kale before eating!

Because Pumpkin is just that amazing…

 

Don’t know what to do with all the leftover pumpkin you have after making those cookies?  

After cleaning up after my cookie making mess I realized I had a good cup and a half of pumpkin puree left (granted I only buy pumpkin in bulk despite my constant problem of being left with a mass amount of pumpkin).  So I decided to try out yet another pumpkin recipe.  This recipe is also adapted from the internet (http://www.cok.net/lit/recipes/) …yes…. cok.net.  Let’s all be mature now can we?    

From this website I picked out the cranberry pumpkin bread recipe and easily made it sugar and gluten free.

 

 

 

 

 

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups raw cranberries (fresh or from frozen)

1 cup chickpea flour (or corn flour)

1/2 cup rice flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

3/4 cup maple syrup (it would actually taste pretty good with a little less…maybe a 1/2 cup?)  OR stevia

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp clove (I omitted this because I am allergic to cloves and I don’t like the taste)

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

5 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tsp orange zest (Don’t skip this part, it’s worth it!)

3 tbsp water

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

 

Chop the cranberries into quarters or halves (however you like) and set aside.

 

Mix the flours, cornmeal, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, in a bowl and set aside.

 

In a large bowl, mix the remaining ingredients.  Gently pour the wet into the dry and mix.  Gently stir or fold in the cranberries.  (If using chickpea flower don’t eat the batter, it’s very disheartening.  I assure you it will taste better when it’s cooked).

 

Pour mixture into a greased 9×9 inch pan and bake for 40-50 minutes.  Make sure to stick a fork or a knife in to see if it comes out clean.  For a bread that is less moist, bake for a little longer.

Pumpkin cookies

Who doesn’t like pumpkin?  Ok well I’m sure there are a lot of hands raised throughout the world, but I happen to love pumpkin and love cookies so naturally I put the two together to create heaven.  This recipe has been greatly adapted from a recipe I found many years ago off the internet which contained margarine, wheat and sugar.  I replaced the margarine with vegetable oil since vegan margarine is horribly expenisive and I replaced the wheat with a mix of corn and rice flour.  I kept the sugar since everytime I use pumpkin in a recipe it comes out uncooked and adding maple syrup would only make it harder for me.  However I am not supposed to have sugar and I suppose this is a bit of an experiment since I’ve been doing bio-feedback for 5 months or so for food allergies.  I guess you could say I’m testing the waters again and if it turns out I pay for it, I know to re-arrange this recipe once again.

 

Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients: 

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups of canned pumpkin puree

1 cup vegan sugar (I use President’s choice organic cane)

Ener-G egg replacer (Equal to one egg) or other egg replacer

1 cup rice flour

1 1/4 cup corn flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

*optional 1/2 cup walnuts, chocolate chips, raisins (anything you want to put in)

 

Directions:

Mix the pumpkin, sugar and oil together.  Add the egg replacer and mix.  Sift in dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.  This batter should have a thick enough consistancy to scoop into a spoon, plop on a cookie sheet and flatten down.  If it isn’t add a touch more corn flour until you have to right consistancy.  Let’s say you screw up and add too much, add a little more pumpkin.  Now stop messing with it!

 

Bake at 375 degrees F for about 20-30 minutes depending on how you like your cookies.

Coconut Brownies

 

As I was checking out food blogs today I came across a recipe for black bean brownies.  I was just dying to try them out but I had only about two of the required ingredients.  As sad as I was to have to pass up such an intriguing dish I still had a craving for brownies.  I have never made vegan brownies let alone gluten free and sugar free so I was pretty nervous.  My main concern was the consistency and staving off bitterness.  Feeling a little daring and wanting so bad to make a “healthy” brownie with bean somehow involved in the mix, I came up with this recipe…

 

Ingredients:

2 cups chickpea flour

1/2 cup rice flour

2 Tbsp arrowroot flour

2 Tbsp ground flaxseed with 6 Tbsp water

10 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (I use cocoa camino brand)  

1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)

1/2 cup agave nectar 

1/2 cup maple syrup

2 tsps vanilla extract

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

6 generous Tbsp vegetable oil 

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together the flaxseeds and water.  Whisk briskly to get it a little thick.  Set aside.

Sift the chickpea flour and the rice flour together in a bowl.  Add the arrowroot,  and cocoa powder.  Whisk together.  

In a seperate bowl mix together the rest of the ingredients until nice and smooth.

Gently add in the coconut or any nuts you would like.  Try adding in a few handfuls of chocolate or carob chips/chunks!  

Pour into a well greased baking pan and bake at 350 Degrees Celcius for 35-40 minutes. Watch carefully after twenty minutes!

 

* IMPORTANT NOTE

For a moister brownie, either pop these in the fridge overnight and wait (you should store them in your fridge anyways) OR  try adding:

2-3 tbsp of Coconut butter/oil (premelted)

DO NOT LICK THE BATTER YOU WILL SORELY REGRET IT!

 

Garnish with coconut, nuts, fruit or icing.  I used an icing from “dining in the raw” that’s made from carob powder, braggs, tahini, agave, vanilla extract and brown rice syrup.

 

Zucchini Noodles with pesto sauce

 

 

Ingredients:

1 large zucchini

1/2 -1 tbps cold pressed olive oil

1 large handful of fresh basil leaves 

1 large handful toasted or raw pine nuts

1/2 tsp salt

pinch or two of pepper

 

(optional)

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

pinch of course sea salt

1/2 tsp kelp powder

 

Directions: 

Wash and peel the zucchini.  Take your vegetable peeler and keep peeling it to make long thin strips.  To make this recipe raw, leave as is.  To make it easier to digest or for a semi-hot meal, you can lightly fry the “noodles” in a pan or you can heat them in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds.  NO MORE OR THEY WILL SHRIVEL!

Next put the basil, oil, salt, pepper, and pine nuts in a food processor or blender and blend very well.  Once blended, mix with the noodles or serve on top.  

To make a “parmesan” which is loaded with good stuff, clean out that food processor and grind the sesame seeds, salt and kelp together until very well ground.   Sprinkle on top of the zucchini and pesto

Gluten replacements

Although these ingredients can be hard to find (and by no means do I expect you to have them on hand), xanthan gum and guar gum are wonderful gluten substitutes when combined with Gluten-free flours.  I never thought I would see these ingredients on my local supermarket shelves but just recently I stumbled upon both of them while at the Bulk Barn (a food store found in Canada).  Here is a little bit about these strange ingredients: 

 

Most gluten-free flours will require the addition of xanthan or guar, a substitute binder used to compensate for the lack of gluten.  The amount needed to add will depend on the type of product and it’s reliance on the gluten structure. Breads rely heavily on gluten for their structure, cakes to a lesser extent, and cookies almost none. Typically the starchier and/or more refined the crumb, the less the reliance on gluten.   Xanthan gum tends to be almost three times as expensive, and in the US is grown off of corn syrup (but tests out corn-free in the lab after processing).  Some gluten-free groups discourage the use of guar because of the higher fiber (and therefore possible laxative effect) of large amounts of guar gum use.  Try both and see.  If these gums are not appropriate for you, some suggest the use of mung bean (AKA green bean) flour (1/8 of cup to every cup flour) or pre-gelled potato flour.

 

 

Suggestions for the addition of xanthan or guar: For every cup of wheat-free/gluten-free flour use: 

½ tsp. Xanthan/guar gum for cakes 

1 tsp. Xanthan/guar gum for breads or pizza 

½ tsp. to no xanthan/guar gum for most cookies.

 

 (http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/ZanthanGum.htm)  

 

*There is also the use of yeast to help things to rise but most people with alleries and intolerances have problems with yeast.  I’ll try to stay away from it for now but might end up using it in a couple recipes later on.

Quinoa Porridge

 

Have you been munching down on mass amounts of quinoa lately?  You haven’t?  Well what are you waiting for!?  Pronounced (Keen-wa), this grain is high in protein containing 12-18%.  It also contains all of the essential amino acids necessary in a human diet which makes it a complete protein!  It’s also a good source of Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorous and dietary fibre AND it’s gluten free.  So go to the store, pick up some quinoa and try out this porridge I conjured up this morning!

 

 

quinoa porridge

 

 

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup water

1/2 cup unsweetened almond, rice, or any milk replacement of your choice

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1-2 tsps arrowroot flour (for thickening)

1-2 tbsp agave nectar or pure maple syrup (Or try a tiny pinch or two of stevia)

Directions:

Combine the quinoa and the water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, turn down the heat to low and cover for 15 minutes.

 

In a separate bowl whisk together the milk, cinnamon and arrowroot powder.  If you desire more thick stuff, add more milk and arrowroot flour.

 

Once the quinoa is done cooking, put the milk mixture into the pot with the quinoa and make sure it is on a low heat.  Stir this for 3-5 minutes until you see it thickening.  Sweeten with agave, syrup or anything you choose and top with some fresh berries if you fancy.  

 

* This grain is said to be easily digestible for humans and especially those dealing with IBS or other gastro-intestinal problems.

Milk and egg replacements

 

 For those Vegans and or dairy/egg sensitive people, I have taken the liberty of posting some ideas for replacing those pesky ingredients that cause us headaches and moral dilemmas.  Sadly some Vegans have not ventured farther than a banana or mushy tofu when replacing eggs and even more shocking some have not put down the soy milk to try a little almond breeze.  Well the time to start the experiments has begun!  Let’s get crakin’!

 

Egg replacements:

 

 1 egg = 2 Tbsp. potato starch

 1 egg = 1/4 cup mashed potatoes

 1 egg = 1/4 cup canned pumpkin or squash

 1 egg = 1/4 cup puréed prunes

 1 egg = 2 Tbsp. water + 1 Tbsp. oil + 2 tsp. baking powder

 1 egg = 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed simmered in 3 Tbsp. water

 1 egg white = 1 Tbsp. plain agar powder dissolved in 1 Tbsp. water, whipped, chilled, and whipped again

 1 egg = 1/4 cup of tofu (try silken and remember to blend it VERY well before using)

 1 egg = 1/4 cup of banana

 1 egg = 1 tbsp flaxseed (ground up) with 3 tablespoons of water.  Make sure that the mixture has gelled before using it.

 1 egg = 2 tbsp water mixed with 1 tbsp of oil and 2 tsp of baking powder. Mix together well before adding.

 1 egg = 1 heaping Tbsp soy flour or bean flour mixed with a 1 Tbsp water.

 1 egg = 2 Tbsp cornstarch beaten with 2 Tbsp water.

 1 egg = 1 Tbsp corn starch, 1 Tbsp potatoe starch with 2 Tbsp water.

 1 egg = 1 tsp Ener-g Egg replacer with 2 Tbsp water.

 

 

 

Milk replacements:

 (Use as you would regular milk)

 Almond milk

Soy milk

Oat milk

Hemp milk

Rice milk  (quite thin and sometimes you don’t need as much of this as you would normally use cow’s milk)

Coconut milk  (quite thick at times and surprisingly it doesn’t really have much of a flavour so it is fairly versatile).

 

 

Sources from:

http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-1081.html

http://www.vegcooking.com/vegcooking-eggreplace.asp

http://www.wikihow.com/Replace-Eggs-in-Your-Cooking

And: my own experience  

 

 

What’s better than a plate of traditional chocolate chip cookies with a big glass of milk?  A plate of gluten-free, VEGAN cookies with a tall glass of ice cold soy milk of course!

Now I honestly didn’t think this was possible at first.  At best I figured I would have myself a plate of overly moist, hideously grainy and pathetic looking lumps of half baked dough, but for a first attempt I would have to say this recipe has turned out to be quite lovely!  The cookies were slightly grainy but had the right amount of moistness when biting into them.  The soy flour can make them dry if you bake this too long and if you don’t bake them long enough they will fall apart in your hands but when you do it juuust right, they are heaven!

 

Chocolate chip cookies

 

 

And now for the recipe!

 

Ingredients:

2 & 3/4 cups White rice flour

1 cup soya flour (you can try corn flour if allergic to soy)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Baking soda

1 Cup Vegan Margarine (I used Earth Balance)

1 & 1/2 cups pure maple syrup  OR  1/4-1/2 cup of stevia powder 

1 tsp Vanilla extract

Ener-G-eggreplacer equal to one egg (for deadly nightshade free use 1 tbsp corn starch)

1/2 – 1 cup chocolate chips of your choice (I use cocoa camino but you can try and find grain sweetened ones)

 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.

Sift together the dry ingredients.  In a seperate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix it up!

Now fold in those chocolate chips then drop spoonfulls of dough onto greased cookie sheets and flatten them down with the palm of your hand.  Be gentle.  

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on the edges.  

*Add a slice of fresh apple to your cookie jar to keep those cookies moist!