When asked to bring an "alternative salad" to a party, I quickly scanned the contents of my kitchen and googled: sweet potato & salad. I was inspired by this recipe and came up with the following. Basically that disclaimer is to say that there are multiple ways to make a salad. Have fun, look through your kitchen and create something new! :)
-3 large sweet potatoes (cubed) seasoned with Smoked Paprika, oven roasted and cooled
*oven roasting: oil a pan, cube sweet potatoes, toss in the oil, sprinkle generously with smoked paprika and cook at 400* for about 30 minutes, turn and continue to cook till edges are crispy but not burned
-2 c. Corn
-2 cans Black Beans, rinsed and drained
-1 green pepper, diced
- multi colored sweet peppers (Red, Yellow, Orange mini peppers) about 10, diced
-1 bunch Cilantro, chopped
-1/4 Red Onion, minced
- Kale, a couple leaves, minced (very optional, but will make the salad go further)
-2 Avocados, diced
Dressing:
** This is an approximation!! I have never measured this part!! Make to taste, and please taste before you pour over the salad!
-1/2 c. Mayo
- 1 T. Chipotle Tabasco
Before serving pour the juice of 1 lime over the salad and toss.
Note: The sweet potatoes could be made a day in advance and keep well in the fridge.
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Monday, January 26, 2015
Flax Muffins
Going gluten-light has been interesting, to say the least. There are times that I just want to sink my teeth into something soft, moist, sweet and chewy (ok, so sometimes I do :)). But, these muffins are the best, and I mean BEST bread-like gluten free alternative we have found! And they are simple and quick, did I fail to mention that? 1 minute in the microwave and you can have "bread" in a bowl. Amazing! I hope you give it a try, because I'm certain you will enjoy it!
Combine all ingredients in a cereal bowl. (you can use a smaller bowl like a custard cup, you will just get a smaller muffin)
1/4 c. Ground Flax
1/4 t. Baking Powder
1 Egg
Dash of:
Vanilla (1/2 t)
Cinnamon (1/4 t.)
Oil (coconut, olive, etc) (1 t. - 1 1/2 t.)
Honey/Agave (1/2t. - 1t.)
Stir all ingredients till well combined and microwave for about 1 minute. My microwave is a smaller/lighter type, so I need to cook for 1 min and 30 seconds. Adjust the time for your power/speed of microwave.
We love our topped with Peanut Butter, Yogurt, Apple Sauce, Jam....the sky's the limit!
Additions are also fun. We have added mashed banana, coco powder, blueberries...experiment and enjoy!
I have not tried this, but my mom has 6x the recipe and cooked it in a 8x8 pan at 375* for about 30 minutes (check at 20 minutes).
Combine all ingredients in a cereal bowl. (you can use a smaller bowl like a custard cup, you will just get a smaller muffin)
1/4 c. Ground Flax
1/4 t. Baking Powder
1 Egg
Dash of:
Vanilla (1/2 t)
Cinnamon (1/4 t.)
Oil (coconut, olive, etc) (1 t. - 1 1/2 t.)
Honey/Agave (1/2t. - 1t.)
Stir all ingredients till well combined and microwave for about 1 minute. My microwave is a smaller/lighter type, so I need to cook for 1 min and 30 seconds. Adjust the time for your power/speed of microwave.
We love our topped with Peanut Butter, Yogurt, Apple Sauce, Jam....the sky's the limit!
Additions are also fun. We have added mashed banana, coco powder, blueberries...experiment and enjoy!
I have not tried this, but my mom has 6x the recipe and cooked it in a 8x8 pan at 375* for about 30 minutes (check at 20 minutes).
Wild Rice Cashew Salad
Delicious. Colorful. Easy. Light. Good anytime of year (not just a summer salad). My Husband loves it!
1 1/2 C. Wild Rice, cooked per package directions (add a little chicken bullion for extra flavor)
-Let wild rice cook before assembling the rest of the salad
Half of each color of pepper, diced
Green Pepper
Yellow Pepper
Red Pepper
3/4 c. Cashews, chopped (I think I use more, I just eyeball it)
3 Green Onions, chopped
Dressing: (I double)
3 T. Rice Vinegar
2 T. Olive Oil
1 T. Sesame Oil
1-2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/4 t. salt
Dash of Red Pepper (I use a squirt of Sriracha or black pepper)
Combine dressing in a small jar with lid. Shake well to combine. Pour over salad just before serving.
1 1/2 C. Wild Rice, cooked per package directions (add a little chicken bullion for extra flavor)
-Let wild rice cook before assembling the rest of the salad
Half of each color of pepper, diced
Green Pepper
Yellow Pepper
Red Pepper
3/4 c. Cashews, chopped (I think I use more, I just eyeball it)
3 Green Onions, chopped
Dressing: (I double)
3 T. Rice Vinegar
2 T. Olive Oil
1 T. Sesame Oil
1-2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/4 t. salt
Dash of Red Pepper (I use a squirt of Sriracha or black pepper)
Combine dressing in a small jar with lid. Shake well to combine. Pour over salad just before serving.
The Marriage of Two Soups
Vegetable Taco & Southwest Corn & Potato Chowder Aka: Vegetable Taco Corn Chowder
A friend and I had each made one of the soups and they were sitting next to each other at a party. Neither was bad, but both had some room for improvement - the blending of the two!
Warning: because this soup is the combination of two recipes, it makes a TON of soup (which really is a good thing!)
Combined Recipe:
Oil - for pan
2 Onions, chopped
5 cloves Garlic, minced
2 stalks Celery, minced
1 Green Pepper
*saute above ingredients till soft, then add the following
2 cans of Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 large Sweet Potato (or 2 normal sized/smaller ones), cubed [can use butternut squash instead]
1 can Rotel
1 can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 can Chicken Broth (add up to 3 more cans to thin to your preferred stew/soup likeness)
1 Red Pepper, diced (I used fire-roasted from a jar, otherwise you can saute with green pepper)
2 small/normal Potatoes, diced
3 c. Corn
1/2 can Black Olives, sliced
1/4 C. Cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 Lime
1 T. Cumin
1 1/2 t. Oregano
2 t. Chili Powder
Salt & Pepper to taste (I only used pepper)
Let it all cook till it blends and becomes soft and soup-like.
Prior to serving, add 1 can Coconut Milk
Serve with additional Cilantro
A friend and I had each made one of the soups and they were sitting next to each other at a party. Neither was bad, but both had some room for improvement - the blending of the two!
Warning: because this soup is the combination of two recipes, it makes a TON of soup (which really is a good thing!)
Combined Recipe:
Oil - for pan
2 Onions, chopped
5 cloves Garlic, minced
2 stalks Celery, minced
1 Green Pepper
*saute above ingredients till soft, then add the following
2 cans of Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 large Sweet Potato (or 2 normal sized/smaller ones), cubed [can use butternut squash instead]
1 can Rotel
1 can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 can Chicken Broth (add up to 3 more cans to thin to your preferred stew/soup likeness)
1 Red Pepper, diced (I used fire-roasted from a jar, otherwise you can saute with green pepper)
2 small/normal Potatoes, diced
3 c. Corn
1/2 can Black Olives, sliced
1/4 C. Cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 Lime
1 T. Cumin
1 1/2 t. Oregano
2 t. Chili Powder
Salt & Pepper to taste (I only used pepper)
Let it all cook till it blends and becomes soft and soup-like.
Prior to serving, add 1 can Coconut Milk
Serve with additional Cilantro
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Parmesan Spinach Balls
If I needed another reason to love my food processor, this would be it! I love throwing all the ingredients into the bowl, turning it on, and thirty seconds later having all the chopping and mixing work done for me! If you don't have a food processor, consider buying one if you see it go on sale...for real!
This recipe is originally not gluten free, but with some minor adjustments I have made it GF friendly. We thought the gluten (original) version might hold together firmer in a more meatball-like form, but ours were more like soft drop cookies in shape. But still just as delicious, I'm sure!
If you would like to refer to the original recipe, here it is. My adaptations, aka the new recipe is below.
10 oz mixture of frozen spinach and kale, and didn't measure amounts really, just threw in handfuls
1 small onion
1 c. Stuffing. GF Version: Oat flour, Quinoa flour (make both flours in a blender or with an immersion blender), GF crackers, cooked quinoa and flax. I used a combination of all of these options the two times I've made them. If you are using the flours, you should let the mixture sit for a while to let the flours absorb some of the moisture.
3 eggs
1/4 c. Parmesan Cheese
1-3 Garlic, cloves
1/2 t. Pepper, fresh course ground
1/4 -1/2 t. salt
To taste: Sage, Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme, Bourbon smoked Paprika
Combine all ingredients together in your food processor (or blender??) till well mixed. Let mixture sit for a few minutes for flours to absorb some of the liquid. Mixture should hold it's form on a spoon and not be runny. Since you can't taste the mixture before cooking (with the raw egg) smell it and see if it smells appealing to you. Add more spices to your liking.
Drop Tablespoon size onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350* for 12-20 minutes (depending on how large of "meatballs" you make). The bottoms get slightly browned and the tops dry out. My test of readiness is when I can smell the food cooking it usually means its done...sometimes I smell burning though and I miss the "done" window, oops.
We found these especially delightful with Red Pepper Cashew Cream Sauce (recipe in previous post).
This recipe is originally not gluten free, but with some minor adjustments I have made it GF friendly. We thought the gluten (original) version might hold together firmer in a more meatball-like form, but ours were more like soft drop cookies in shape. But still just as delicious, I'm sure!
If you would like to refer to the original recipe, here it is. My adaptations, aka the new recipe is below.
10 oz mixture of frozen spinach and kale, and didn't measure amounts really, just threw in handfuls
1 small onion
1 c. Stuffing. GF Version: Oat flour, Quinoa flour (make both flours in a blender or with an immersion blender), GF crackers, cooked quinoa and flax. I used a combination of all of these options the two times I've made them. If you are using the flours, you should let the mixture sit for a while to let the flours absorb some of the moisture.
3 eggs
1/4 c. Parmesan Cheese
1-3 Garlic, cloves
1/2 t. Pepper, fresh course ground
1/4 -1/2 t. salt
To taste: Sage, Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme, Bourbon smoked Paprika
Combine all ingredients together in your food processor (or blender??) till well mixed. Let mixture sit for a few minutes for flours to absorb some of the liquid. Mixture should hold it's form on a spoon and not be runny. Since you can't taste the mixture before cooking (with the raw egg) smell it and see if it smells appealing to you. Add more spices to your liking.
Drop Tablespoon size onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350* for 12-20 minutes (depending on how large of "meatballs" you make). The bottoms get slightly browned and the tops dry out. My test of readiness is when I can smell the food cooking it usually means its done...sometimes I smell burning though and I miss the "done" window, oops.
We found these especially delightful with Red Pepper Cashew Cream Sauce (recipe in previous post).
Christmas Food
This was the first year in our marriage that we were going to
celebrate Christmas in Hayward, just as the dbBrown family. What did
that look like? We weren't really sure. We talked about what makes it
feel like Christmas to us, what foods did we grow up eating, how do we
want to celebrate and what do we want our girlies growing up thinking is
our normal family celebration?
We knew that presents are not the most important. We know that we wanted our focus to be on celebrating Jesus, his birth, his gift of salvation to each of us, and the promise and hope of eternal life when we die. ...but how do we do that?!?
Food is often what our culture turns to when we get together and celebrate. Cookies, family traditional foods (even when Grandma doesn't make them anymore, someone else takes over the recipe), candy, punch. The familiar foods evoke the smiles and sweetness of memories shared over past years eating the same food or participating in the same tradition, playing the same games, listening to the same music.
Knowing we are just starting our family traditions we want to make decisions carefully and purposefully. I love celebratory food, but don't want to compromise my family's health or standard of what makes something fun and tasty just because it's a holiday. Our overall philosophy on food is to make healthy food taste delicious: high fruits and vegetables, high nuts, low dairy, meat, sugars, wheat and corn (and overall limiting processed foods as much as possible).
I thought for quite a while about what to make for our family Christmas Eve meals to make it celebratory, but still keep in integrity with our family's goals on healthy clean eating. Here's what I came up with. Our meal was delicious, plentiful, beautiful, fragrant and ....celebratory!
So here was the projected menu for our Christmas Eve meals:
-Christmas Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
-Parmesan Spinach Balls
-Roasted Garlic Herb Mushroom Medley
-Cranberry Orange Roasted Brussels Sprouts
No, I didn't get around to making it all. Delightfully, Denver got home early and my meal-prep time was shortened, so I made an abbreviated version of what I was planning. We had roasted veggies (broccoli, beets and sweet potatoes), Parmesan Spinach Balls, and Garlic Herb Quinoa. I look forward to sharing the recipes in upcoming posts.
We knew that presents are not the most important. We know that we wanted our focus to be on celebrating Jesus, his birth, his gift of salvation to each of us, and the promise and hope of eternal life when we die. ...but how do we do that?!?
Food is often what our culture turns to when we get together and celebrate. Cookies, family traditional foods (even when Grandma doesn't make them anymore, someone else takes over the recipe), candy, punch. The familiar foods evoke the smiles and sweetness of memories shared over past years eating the same food or participating in the same tradition, playing the same games, listening to the same music.
Knowing we are just starting our family traditions we want to make decisions carefully and purposefully. I love celebratory food, but don't want to compromise my family's health or standard of what makes something fun and tasty just because it's a holiday. Our overall philosophy on food is to make healthy food taste delicious: high fruits and vegetables, high nuts, low dairy, meat, sugars, wheat and corn (and overall limiting processed foods as much as possible).
I thought for quite a while about what to make for our family Christmas Eve meals to make it celebratory, but still keep in integrity with our family's goals on healthy clean eating. Here's what I came up with. Our meal was delicious, plentiful, beautiful, fragrant and ....celebratory!
So here was the projected menu for our Christmas Eve meals:
-Christmas Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
-Parmesan Spinach Balls
-Roasted Garlic Herb Mushroom Medley
-Cranberry Orange Roasted Brussels Sprouts
No, I didn't get around to making it all. Delightfully, Denver got home early and my meal-prep time was shortened, so I made an abbreviated version of what I was planning. We had roasted veggies (broccoli, beets and sweet potatoes), Parmesan Spinach Balls, and Garlic Herb Quinoa. I look forward to sharing the recipes in upcoming posts.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Peanut Butter Cake (flourless and dairy free!)
I don't think that this cake needs much for an introduction or selling speech - it pretty much sells itself being dairy and gluten free (naturally). It takes only about 5-10 minutes to whip up and then only 20-30 to cook! So, pretty much it's a cinch :)
Try making it and see for yourself!
1 c. Peanut Butter (I used creamy, but I'm sure any type will work)
1/2 c. Honey
1 Egg
1 Banana (mashed)
1/2 t. Baking Soda
1 t. Vanilla
1/4-1/2 t. Almond Extract (or use more vanilla and omit the almond)
Blend together thoroughly (I use my immersion blender). Pour into a greased 7x7 pan. Bake at 350* for 20-30 minutes.
Enjoy! It's delightful!
Variations:
Dash of cinnamon (1/2 t.)
Sprinkle chocolate chips on top or into the batter
I can not take credit for this recipe, it was passed to me from one of my sisters - to her we are ever grateful!
Try making it and see for yourself!
1 c. Peanut Butter (I used creamy, but I'm sure any type will work)
1/2 c. Honey
1 Egg
1 Banana (mashed)
1/2 t. Baking Soda
1 t. Vanilla
1/4-1/2 t. Almond Extract (or use more vanilla and omit the almond)
Blend together thoroughly (I use my immersion blender). Pour into a greased 7x7 pan. Bake at 350* for 20-30 minutes.
Enjoy! It's delightful!
Variations:
Dash of cinnamon (1/2 t.)
Sprinkle chocolate chips on top or into the batter
I can not take credit for this recipe, it was passed to me from one of my sisters - to her we are ever grateful!
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