In the past few weeks, I've cut out grains from my diet. One of the things I was saddest to see go was a favorite snack - dates rolled in oat flour. I couldn't stop thinking of them!
So I decided to try a little paleo-friendly version. I chopped up some medjool dates and mixed them with some almond flour. The effect isn't exactly the same of course, but it's close enough for me! Yum. And the little one loves them too.
Happy snacking!
In an effort to resolve some ongoing issues with inflamation, hormonal imbalance, and food allergies, for the past six weeks, I've been doing a cleansing diet. (A few months ago, I started seeing a super-fantastic nurse practictioner whose focus is functional medicine, and she has been guiding me on this journey).
While there are many, many foods I can eat while cleansing, the one area that I have struggled with is snacks and things to eat when I don't have time to prepare a full meal.
I started making these granola bars before I started the cleanse (with some modifications), and I just made a few more changes to make them appropriate for my current diet. These are so fast and easy to make - and great for little hands to help too. They are a favorite in our house, so I thought I would share our recipe. I hope you enjoy them!
favorite granola bars.
adapted from smitten kitchen.
1 2/3 cups quick rolled oats (I use gluten-free oats from Bob's Red Mill)
1/4 cup rolled oats (I also use gluter-free oats here)
1/3 cup oat flour (or 1/3 cup oats, processed till finely ground in a food processor or blender)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 to 3 cups dried fruits and nuts (total of 10 to 15 ounces. I use coconut and chopped walnuts - I'm not a fan of dried fruit in my bars, but pretty much any chopped nuts, seeds, chopped dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc. would work)
1/3 cup sunflower butter or another nut/seed butter (I used homemade sunflower seed butter to avoid added sugar) (optional - if you omit this, you may want to add a little extra water to the mix)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons canola oil (before the cleanse, I used Earth Balance vegan butter)
1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or agave (I use agave)
1/4 cup water
**The directions below are taken pretty much from the smitten kitchen blog, with adaptations for the indredients I used above. I did omit all corn syrup and sugar from the original recipe.**
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8″ x 8″ x 2″ pan in one direction with parchment paper, allowing it to go up the opposing sides. Lightly grease the parchment paper and the exposed pan, or coat with a non-stick spray.
Stir together all the dry ingredients, including the fruit and nuts. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, nut/seed butter, oil, liquid sweeteners and water. Toss the wet ingredients with the dry until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Spread in the prepared pan, pressing them in firmly to ensure they are molded to the shape of the pan. (A piece of plastic wrap can help with this, as you press down on the back of it.)
Bake the bars for 30 to 40 minutes, until they’re brown around the edges — don’t be afraid to get a little color on the tops too. They’ll still seem soft and almost underbaked when you press into the center of the pan but do not worry, they’ll set completely once completely cool.
Cool the bars in their pan completely on a cooling rack. (Alternately, after about 20 minutes you can use your parchment “sling” to lift and remove the bars, and place them in their paper on the rack to cool the rest of the way. This can speed the process up.)
Once cool, a serrated knife (or bench knife) to cut the bars into squares. [Updating to note, as many had crumbling issues:] If bars seem crumbly, chill the pan of them further in the fridge for 30 minutes which will fully set the “glue”, then cut them cold. To store, wrap the bars individually in plastic or stack them in an airtight container. In humid weather, it’s best to store bars in the refrigerator. They also freeze well.
Happy Friday!
A while ago, my friend Rachael invited me over for a little dinner party, where she served the most delicous apple cider. Ever since, I've had it on my mind.
I've tried to make it a couple times with varying amounts of cloves and cinnamon added to the mix. But something was always missing.
The other day, I decided to throw in a few slices of the clementine I was snacking on.
Perfect.
Since I'm usually the only one sipping the cider, I usually make a small batch of 2-3 cups. I add about 8 cloves, one cinnamon stick (broken in half) - and several slices of a clementine. Yum.
What's your favorite recipe for apple cider?
Since the start of apple season, I've been craving baked apple goodness. Several years ago, I found a recipe in Sally Schneider's fabulous cookbook - A New Way to Cook, and it has been my go-to recipe ever since. At first, I wasn't so sure about the rosemary, but one bite changed my mind forever. I've always made the crust vegan, just substituting Earth Balance for the butter and vegan sour cream for the regular. This year, I went for Sally's adaptation to make it a sweet crust. Yum.
I made these on Friday for a small celebration of lovely women, and afterwards, I typed up the recipe for a friend. I thought I would share it here too.
Rustic Rosemary Apple Gallette
foolproof flaky butter pastry (see recipe below)
2 TBS all purpose flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar (I usually use less, with good results)
1 1/2 lbs apples
2 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary (do not substitute dried)
1 tsp unsalted butter
2 tsp confectioners sugar
foolproof flaky butter pastry
1 cup unbleached flour
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
4 TBS cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch bits
3 TBS regular or reduced fat sour cream
(as mentioned above, I use earth balance instead of butter and vegan sour cream as substitutes)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder. Add butter and cut with a pastry cutter or two knives until it resembles a coarse meal. Refrigerate for 15 min. add sour cream and blend with pastry cutter or fork. Knead and squeeze the dough or 8 times to incorporate any loose bits. Gather the dough together into a rough ball, flatten into a 1 inch thick disc, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 min before rolling. can be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen up to 1 month.
**For a sweet pastry dough,increase sugar to 3 TBS and add 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract when adding sour cream.**
On lightly floured surface, roll dough into a rough circle about 14 inches in diameter. Refrigerate while you prepare the apples.
Combine flour with 1 TBS of brown sugar and set aside. Peel and core apples and cut into 1/4 inch slices. Put apples in a large bowl and toss with remaining sugar, lemon juice, and rosemary. Sprinkle flour/sugar mix in center of dough to absorb juices. Leaving about a 2 inch border uncovered, arrange apples evenly over flour mixture. Fold the edges of the dough over the apples. Shave the butter over the fruit.
Bake tart for 40 min at 400 degrees until crust is golden brown. Cover tart with foil 1/2 way through cooking if the crust is browning too quickly. Let cool for 10 min then slide tart onto serving platter. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.
That's that! Enjoy!
(my friend Susan came up with a wheat-free version - you can see her recipe here.)
Since having my first taste while honeymooning in Provence, fig preserves have been an especially yummy treat.
At the farmer's market, we were lucky to find a few pints of super-ripe figs from our favorite organic farmer. But before I knew it, they were a bit past their prime. So that we could enjoy every last bit of them, I decided to make some preserves.
It was the first time I've made something like this. I found a recipe that was really simple. I cleaned and chopped the figs and Thea sorted the figs - putting the good parts in the pot and the "ikcy" parts in a bowl for the trash (I'm working on a new compost set-up).
I didn't do any sort of sealing (except for twisting the top on tightly!), as we only got about a cup of preserves, and I'm pretty sure they will be gone within a week.
What are your favorite summertime treats?
For the past several weeks, we've been collecting our garden's first offerings: radishes, kale, and chard.
Thea and I have developed quite a fondness for green smoothies, and the best ones are made with kale harvested from our own back yard.
Here's the basic recipe:
1 banana
1 cup peaches (I often use frozen organic peach slices)
~8 leaves red russian kale
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk (if needed, add more)
1/3 cup peach juice
3 TBS vanilla goat yogurt
I like tasting the kale (and so does Thea!), but using less kale and/or additional fruit will reduce the earthy flavor. I've got my finger's crossed that Thea is starting to outgrow her food allergies, and I'm hoping that we'll soon be able to experiment with adding other fruits.
For a weekly peek at our harvest, and to see how it stacks up against two other rva back yard gardens, head on over to the garden wars at rvanews.
Like most two-year-old's, Thea wants to do exactly what I am doing all the time. Lately, we've been having a lot of fun cooking together. I thought I'd share a few things I've learned as we've worked together in the kitchen.
On days when I am especially tired and/or short on patience, I usually don't even attempt this. I'll either put her on my back in the Ergo carrier, find something to keep her occupied, or wait until her papa can take care of her.
Start with a clean, clear work surface (and hands!), free from distractions. Clothes that can get messy are helpful too.
Have a sturdy stool so that your wee one can easily reach the work surface.
Pre-measure various ingredients to keep things moving along and to help prevent frustration. (I also sift flour, etc. in advance).
Let your little one be as active in the process as possible - pouring, mashing, stirring. Let her have her own spoon to stir along with you.
Have something for the little one to help with during all steps of your process.
Don't be afraid of making a mess!
stirring
So, now it's your turn - what tricks have you learned in sharing the kitchen with your little ones?
tasting
Happy cooking!
Hello there!
I know it's been quiet around here. We've had a bit of a crazy week - Thea has been taking sporadic naps (for over three weeks!) and I've been working really, really hard on finishing up a big project (more on that next week). And today, we found out that we need to replace our furnace. Oh my!
But I did want to leave you with a little bit of yummy goodness for the weekend.
vegan pumpkin muffins
adapted from the original recipe here
- in my version, I've modified for Thea's allergy needs and tried to reduce the amount of sugar -
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour, sifted
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
1/2 cup almond milk
2/3 cup orange juice
:: makes 12 standard muffins (cups filled to the brim) and one small 3 x 5 loaf ::
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour small loaf pan and muffin tin (or use muffin cups).
In a large mixing bowl, mix flours, sugars, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
Stir in pumpkin, oil, milk, and juice. Stir until blended.
Spoon into muffin tins and loaf pan.
Bake muffins for about 30 minutes. Bake loaf for about 45 minutes. Both should cook until a toothpick or knife insterted in the middle comes out clean.
Enjoy! And happy weekending!
vegan banana muffins
With Thea's limited diet, I've been doing some experimenting with vegan recipes. The first time I made these, she ate three whole muffins. I'd say they are a hit (and I'm a big fan of them too). The recipe is actually for banana bread, but for some reason, my kid will only eat muffins, and they're just as tasty that way.
Vegan Banana Muffins (or bread!)
(I made a few small changes to the original recipe found here)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup + 2 TBS almond milk (soy milk will work too)
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 cups mashed banana (about 4 large very ripe bananas)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBS maple syrup
*Makes about 14 muffins or 1 9"x5" loaf
Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin pan or use cooking spray to prepare bread pan.
In a medium bowl, mix flours (I prefer to sift mine), sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
In a large mixing bowl, mix 1/2 cup almond milk with apple cider vinegar and let sit for 2 minutes. Add banana, canola oil, vanilla and maple syrup.
Pour dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix well. Add the additional 2 TBS of almond milk and stir until blended.
Spoon into prepared muffin cups or into loaf pan.
Bake at 350 for about 18-20 minutes - until muffin tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle of one comes out clean. The loaf would bake for about an hour.
Next up is to try to reduce the amount of sugar while retaining the same yummy flavor.
Enjoy!