sauteéd veggies with curry and tofu

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.. I've been out of town a couple more times, and when I do make meals at home - they have been really really simple. Sautéed, steamed, or roasted veggies. In olive oil. I added a bit of soy back into my diet now, mainly through tempeh and soy sauce.. but in this case I ran out of tempeh and had a block of tofu that needed using up.

This dish is everything green: (1-2 servings)
1/2 of one zucchini sliced
1 handful of okra, sliced
1/4-1/2 of one leek, sliced
1 handful of spinach
1 small serving of tofu, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp curry powder
pinch of salt

Sauté the zucchini, okra, and leek in 1 tbsp olive oil. Cover a few minutes. Add the curry powder, salt, and the rest of the oil. Let sauté a few more minutes. Add the tofu, then a little water if it's sticking to the pan, and top with the spinach. Cover and let steam. Then, once spinach is to your liking, serve :)

it feels like fall buckwheat cookies

Perfectly sweet and soft.. and healthy.. and vegan, and gluten free and sugar free.. these cookies are easy to make and rock.
They just do.
This recipe was inspired by the Spunky Coconut's chocolate chip cookies.

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
3 tbsp ground flax meal
1/2 tsp xanthum gum
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 pinch stevia
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup carob chips (or chocolate chips)
1/3 cup raisins

Oven! 350.
Mix all the wet ingredients with an electric mixer (I just used an immersion blender.)
Then add the wet ingredients into the premixed bowl of dry ingredients and whip!
Lastly, mix in the carob chips and the raisins.

Use wet fingers to roll the dough and flatten into a cookie shape on parchment covered baking sheets. I kept a little bowl of water on the counter and had to wet my hands after making each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

I'm not sure how many cookies this really makes.. because I ate so much of the cookie dough. It was so good!!

unholy doughnuts

These vegan, gluten free, and healthy (size and ingredient-wise) little doughnut bites are a combination of the Whole Life Nutrition's ginger cookies with Elana's Pantry's chocolate frosting. They really taste like little doughnuts! (not as fluffy as the regular bars as I recall, but more dense - like the old fashion ones)

The cookie/doughnut base. Oven! 350.

15 medjool dates, pitted (soaked for 15 minutes in boiling water)
1/4 cup date soaking water
6 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp maple syrup (or honey.. I used maple syrup this time)
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/4-1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
few pinches of salt

Place the dates into a bowl and pour boiling water over to cover. Soak for 15 minutes.
Drain (and save the water) and place soaked dates into a food processor and add the coconut oil, soaking water, syrup, and vanilla. Process until smooth.

Mix the dry ingredients in a different bowl and whisk together. Add the dry ingredients to the food processor and process until just combined.

Roll into small balls and place on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper (optional). It helps to have a small bowl of water to wet your hands with as you make the balls, because the batter is quite sticky! Then use your hands or a bottom of a cup to flatten each cookie.

Bake for 11-14 mintues. (Whole Life Nutrition said it makes 16 cookies, but I made small cookies, and I got 30 out of it.)


Ready for the frosting!? This is what really makes it a doughnut and not just a cookie.

1 cup dark chocolate chips (I used enjoy life's chocolate chips)
1/2 cup grape seed oil
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp vanilla
pinch of sea salt

In a small saucepan, over very low heat, melt chocolate and oil. Then stir in the honey vanilla and salt. Place frosting in freezer for 15 minutes to chill and thicken. Remove from freezer and whip frosting with a hand blender until it is thick and fluffy. Now.. frost things!

Enjoy! (and refrigerate) If you're like me - this will be your first doughnut in a long long time.

restaurant review - live

My cousin took me out to Live, an organic food bar in Toronto.. and it was to die for. Check out their website to drool over their menu, and get inspired by some of the descriptions.

I enjoyed the big bowl:
"A high protein salad mix of field greens, and kale topped with carrots, beets, tomatoes, cucumbers, mixed seeds, black beans, avocado, and sunflower sprouts tossed with your choice of dressings. Raw option: Substitute sunflower seed pate for black beans."

With the dilly house dressing:
Made of " cold pressed olive oil, tahini, apple cider vinegar, dill, garlic, wheat free tamari, celtic sea salt"

I also split the smoked reuben with my cousin:
"Our sesame kale and carob 'rye' bread smothered with a spicy sesame mayo, avocado, probiotic sauerkraut and our smoked walnut veggie patty. Served with root veggie chips and dill pickles."

And washed it down with a blues buster smoothie made of:
"Almond milk, blueberry, hemp seeds, apple juice, St. John’s Wort"

I wish I took photos of everything I ordered, but it all disappeared before I had time to think, about taking my camera out. Dessert was so hard to choose.. all their desserts were made without flour, gluten, or refined sugar.. I ended up with something small, an almond dream bar, due to the lack of room left in my stomach.

I'm going to try to reproduce some of their desserts, and when I figure them out - I'll let you know for sure :)

olive tapenade for lunch

Simple. Delicious. Healthy. Fast. Here was my lunch:

Olive tapenade:

1 can black olives
1 roasted bell pepper (didn't make it from scratch this time.. I have a jar)
3-4 cloves garlic
several sprigs of fresh oregano and rosemary
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil

I enjoyed it with some carrots, and spread on a piece of toasted China Black Rice bread, made by Food for Life. I love all their gluten free breads.

special occasion soaked oatmeal cookies

If you read this blog.. and want to make cookies.. forget all the others - and just make these. They're too good. Seriously. I kind of want to quit school and go into the cookie making business right now. The original recipe came from Cheeseslave, but it included the usual.. eggs, sugar, flour, butter.. I could tell it was a special recipe though - because of the soaked oatmeal, and all the work that went into just preparing the ingredients.. so I decided to give it a try.

Ingredients: (makes 36 cookies.. I know this is a lot of cookies.. but the recipe is a bit of a hassle.. so I recommend making the whole amount, then freezing some of them)

3 cups rolled oats
3 cups filtered water
7 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup coconut oil softened
1/2 cup honey (or agave)
1/4 cup ground flax seed, combined with 3/4 cup warm water; and left to sit for a few minutes
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground star anise (optional)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
1 cup raisins

1. In a large glass or enamelware (not metal) bowl or pitcher, add 3 cups oatmeal, 3 cups heated (not boiling) filtered water, 1/2 cup brown rice flour and 7 tablespoons of lemon juice. Mix thoroughly.

2. Cover the bowl with a dishtowel and let sit overnight on the counter or in a cupboard. Let sit for 8-24 hours. (Twelve hours is fine — but I try to soak mine for 24 hours to reduce the phytic acid as much as possible.) (if you check out Cheeseslave's recipe - it explains why phytic acid is bad news)

3. Because I didn't use wheat flour, not all of the water was soaked in, I strained some of the excess water out through a fine strainer.

4. Spread oatmeal on parchment paper and place on tray in dehydrator set at highest setting until completely dried (anywhere from 6-12 hours depending on the heat setting). You can also do this in the oven at the lowest setting.

(photo by Cheeseslave)

5. When the oatmeal is dry, you will be able to break it off in large pieces. Put the pieces of dried oatmeal into your food processor and pulse until it is coarsely ground (like oatmeal flakes). Do not grind it fine, like a powder. (I, Anna, didn't use the food processor, because it's sitting in my sink from making the cashew lemon dill sauce earlier tonight, so I just broke it up with my hands - and it turned out just fine)

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

7. Prepare flax seed and warm water mixture. Let it sit for a few minutes to become gel-like. Add the vanilla extract to this.

8. In another bowl, beat coconut oil and honey until combined. It helps to very slightly melt the coconut oil.. unless it's already warm in your kitchen. Then add the flax/vanilla mixture.

9. Combine brown rice flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise and salt. Add to the wet mixture and mix it up!

10. Stir in oatmeal, coconut, and raisins. Mix well.

11. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an un-greased cookie sheet.

12. Bake 10 to 12 minutes.

13. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Careful with the transfer! The brown rice flour makes for a delicate cookie.. and the coconut oil needs to harden back up!

I know it tastes so good, just as cookie dough - but try to have the will power to wait until they at least come out of the oven! It's so not worth getting full off cookie dough - when the cookie tastes even better.. although it will be hard to believe.

blackberry buckwheat pancakes!!!

I MISSED PANCAKES SO MUCH! and I tried and tried to make a gluten-free, egg free, dairy free pancake.. One thing I finally did, was buy a non-stick pan, because the whole egg-less pancake just wasn't going to work without it. I'm using a plastic spatula on it, so not to scratch the non-stick surface.. so I had to pick my battles with the pancake. I actually compromised a little more than usual in the making of these cakes.. because I used Ener-G egg replacer and grapeseed oil too. But, to most people on the planet - those are perfectly healthy alternatives.

Got this recipe from Susan O'Brian's Gluten-Free Vegan, yet again.
Here's my version. Serves 4.

1 tbsp ener-G egg replacer whisked together with 4 tbsp warm water
1 1/2 cup almond milk (or any other milk)
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
2 tbsp honey (she used maple syrup)
1/4 cup apple sauce
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
2 tsp aluminum-free, gf baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup blackberries (chopped, smaller.. she usues blueberries - but I found some blackberries in my freezer! It was like finding a $20 you left in a pair of jeans you never wear..)

1. In a medium sized bowl, whisk the egg replacer and water well, until it bubbles. Then add the milk, oil, and sweetener (honey in my case, agave or maple syrup in a vegan's case). Mix well. Then add the applesauce and stir.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon. Then add the dry mix to the wet bowl. Then sitr in the fruit.
3. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Pour a small amount of oil (barely any is needed with a non-stick pan). When the skillet is hot, pour a ladel full.. I'm sure you all know how to make pancakes from here on out - but just incase.. Cook until all the little bubbles are done popping on the top, then flip!

Enjoy!!!

apple walnut cake

I would enter this cake into a contest. It's perfect. It's fluffy, it holds together, it's not too sweet, it's totally healthy - even for someone who is staying away from eggs, dairy, gluten, and processed sugar. And I have my boyfriend to thank.. because it was he who created the recipe. It's the second time we've made it now - and we've got all the kinks worked out, so you won't be mad at me when you try to make it at home. ;)
Oven! 350. And grease a 9x13 baking dish with coconut oil.

3/4 cup coconut oil, melted
a scant 1/2 cup honey..(totally change-able based on desired sweet level. We enjoy a level 5 in these parts) (vegans.. you know what to do)
2 tbsp ground flax seed with 6 tbsp warm water
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
2 apples, finely diced (we use fuji)

In a big bowl mix the flours, salt, and baking soda. In another biggish bowl mix the melted coconut oil, vanilla, honey, and flax seed goo. (I usually wait a few minutes for the flax/water mixture to congeal, then I pour out the leftover water.. it probably doesn't make a difference.. but it's what I do.) Then pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix it 200 times around with a fork. Lastly, fold in the chopped walnuts and apples.
Pour the batter into the greased dish and bake in a preheated oven for about 30 mintues. LET IT COOL. Then enjoy :)

everything biscuits

I had a long list of things to do.. as usual, but wasn't inspired to do any of them. Maybe because it's a single digit outside. It's warmer in my freezer. I felt antsy to eat something new.. and all I have in my fridge is chicken broth, zucchini, parsley (that I always forget to add to the chicken broth), and friend's leftover booze from New Years Eve. So... the time for experimentation was upon me - and I got started.

Makes 2 dozen biscuits.

Oven! 325.
Ingredients:
2 cups gf flour
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1 big onion, diced
4 big pinches of dried dill (add whatever herbs are your favorite! And don't be shy with the amount!)
1 tsp garlic powder
1/3 cup + 3 tbsp grape seed oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt (I think they need more salt... I'd add another 1/2 tsp)

Step 1. Mix flour, seeds, onion, spices.
Step 2. Then add oil, mix. Then lemon juice and water, mix. At this point it will be a sticky mess.
Step 3. Once combined, add the baking soda, baking powder, and salt and fold over and over until one big ball of dough. Add more flour if you just can't stand how sticky it is.
Step 4. Put some extra flour on a side dish.. this is for your hands, so you can handle the dough.
Make balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.. then flatten the balls on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet, with your floured fingers. They should be between 2 and 3 inches across.
Step 5. Bake at 325 for 35 minutes. Everyone's oven is different.. unless you have an oven thermometer, so check them and put them back, close to the heat if you want them to be darker, crispier biscuits.
Step 6. Enjoy your vegan, gluten free biscuits!

Leave 'em in 5 more minutes, or move them to the rack closer to the heat source for a crispier outside.

"crookies".. my new mistake/invention

Sorry for abandoning you for the last couple weeks.. I've been on winter vacation, and you'd think I'd be posting more - but I've been travelling and pretty much just remaking and enjoying recipes I've already posted.

Anyway, I thought it would be better to call this cookie and cracker combo "crookies" rather than "crackies." But if you prefer the later, please call them by whatever you wish. :)

"Crookies" are basically semi-sweet cookies.. so they can be used like crackers. I used less sweetener than the recipe said - and now it is a multifunctional treat! I just ate half of the batch by spreading either honey, jam, or sliced bananas on top.. I guess you can turn any cookie into a "crookie" this way.

This particular "crookie" was inspired by a recipe from Can Eat!'s sesame and ginger cookies.
Follow that recipe if cookies are what you want. Or follow this one for your very first "crookie."

Oven! 350.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups hazelnut meal (or almond flour)
1/4 cup honey (add more if desired)
1/3 cup tahini
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground ginger
4 tbsp water

Mix the nut meal, ginger, and baking powder, then add the honey and tahini, and lastly add the water. Scoop out onto a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes depending on the size of your oven. I just realized that my oven is really small.. so it probably takes less time for me.

Makes 12-14 "crookies"
Serve with any jam, honey, fruit topping, or dip them in tea.. or for you who can handle dairy.. I'm sure a fruit mixed into creamed cheese would be delightful.

i miss jam + toast

So - I made some crackers.. with a variation of the bread used for the breakfast of the hypoallergenic gods.

It's actually the exact same recipe, but I was running low on almond flour, so I used 1/2 a cup of that plus 1/4 cup of hazelnut meal. And I left the oil out.. so they'd be more cracker-like. I rolled the dough a little flatter than last time, and baked them at 350 for 20 minutes. These held together much better than last time, and I think it's because they were more like thick crackers than biscuit bread.

A minute after they came out of the oven, I indulged myself by eating half of them with St Dalfour's Red Raspberry & Pomegranate fruit spread. mmmm.. The recipe makes about 14 crackers.

1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup hazelnut meal
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 coconut flour
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp almond milk - you can use water if you don't have nut milk.
1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Mix the flours, then add the milk and vinegar and mix until just combined. Let it sit for 20 minutes or so..

Oven! 350.
then, add:
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 heaping tsp salt

Fold the new ingredients into the dough until thoroughly incorporated.. Then roll it out. I used parchment paper because I don't have a nice counter top. And cut into the shapes you desire..
Place the raw biscuits on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

breakfast of the hypoallergenic gods

Oh mio dio.. holy.... shhhhiip! This was a very special breakfast.. We had some smoked salmon waiting for us to do something special.. and this is what we did.

We layered red onion, avocado, lox, and sauteed spinach, garlic, and leeks on top of a buscuit made of almond, buckwheat, and coconut flours.. It was actually a very simple meal to make - and it tasted like something you'd splurge on at a 10 star restaurant.. (san the poached egg.. if you're not allergic to eggs, do me a favor - and eat a poached one on top of this for me)

Step one: The biscuits are a version of Kimi's on the Nourishing Gormet:
I halved the recipe and changed the flours used.. this whole breakfast serves 4 (even though only 2 of us ate it.. we are now.. too full..)

So! The night before (or earlier that morning..)
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 coconut flour
3 tbps coconut oil
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp nut milk (I had hemp on hand) - you can use water if you don't have nut milk.
1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Mix the flours, then cut the coconut oil into the flour with a fork and knife - until the coconut oil pieces are the size of peas.. Then add the milk and vinegar and mix until just combined.

Oven! 350.
The next day (or later that morning) add:
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 heaping tsp salt

Fold the new ingredients into the dough until thouroly incorporated.. Then roll it out. I used parchment paper because I don't have a nice countertop. And cut into the shapes you desire.. Kimi uses a pizza cutter to make an easy grid, but I really wanted to use my foot shaped cookie cutter. So that's what I did.
Place the raw biscuits on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven for 20 minutes.
They are delicious, but a bit crumbly.. hey - they're grain and gluten free.. what do you expect?

While they're in the oven, slice up some garlic (2 cloves), a bit of leek, and sauté that with spinach.. When it's done just cover it to keep it warm.

The last step is thinly slicing the red onion, thickly slicing the avocado, opening the package of lox.. then stacking everything together.. enjoy!

banana newtons

Ready for another dessert that's sugar-free, grain-free, egg-free, dairy-free, soy-free?
This is a twisted version of the Spunky Coconut's banana bread recipe..
I made them for a dinner party I'm going to tonight.. I'm afraid I only have 1/2 as many left as I meant to bring.. oops! Maybe they won't read this blog :)

Oven! 350.

1 mashed banana

2 "eggs" (aka: 2 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 6 tbsp hot water)

3 tbsp honey

1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil (melted)

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp tapioca flour

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (I used hazelnut meal.. mmm)

Mix the wet and dry ingredients separately, then combine.. stir stir taste stir taste.
This is something you can put in a loaf pan.. but I wanted something more fun, and finger friendly.
So, I put a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and spread this sticky dough out to the thickness I wanted. About 1/2". Pop in the oven for 30 minutes..
Then remove from the oven, and cut into the shapes you desire.. and put it back in the oven for 15 minutes.
Enjoy!

my "bread & butter" paleo style

So.. I don't know why I didn't stop to think about all the foods that fell under the category "nuts & seeds" when I went on the Hunt + Gather diet.. because Amaranth, Buckwheat, Tapioca, and Quinoa ALL fit. Ha! I was so excited when I found out that I made some bread.. even though it was already 11 on a school night, and I wasn't hungry one bit. I guess my mind was.

Here's my paleo style bread.. adapted from Elana's recipe

1 1/2 cups almond flour
1 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 9 tbsp warm water
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Oven! 300. Mix the flax seed and water and let sit until thick. Combine the flours, salt and baking soda in a bowl. Mix honey and apple cider vinegar into the flax seeds and then mix this into the dry ingredient bowl. Mix mix mix.. I made sure it was all blended together with my hands.. and then put the dough into a well greased loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes.

The "butter" is not butter at all... Actually someone on a Hunt + Gather diet can eat healthy butter.. but I am staying away from all dairy products. So, this spread is simply pureed roasted cauliflower.

Toss cauliflower with olive oil salt and pepper, then roast, covered at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Then puree.. I added a little more olive oil at this point to make it smoother - and wa-la!