Whole Wheat Flax Bread with Pepita Seeds

Homemade bread fills your house with the most amazing smell.....mmmmmm......and there is nothing better than a slice of bread right out of the oven with (vegan) butter. I make two big loaves every two weeks because we go through about a loaf a week. You can make this recipe into two big loaves or three smaller ones, just divide the dough up into two or three bread pans after the first two rises.

Recipe: 

8-10 cups whole wheat flour (I usually use Bobs Red Mill Whole Wheat)

3/4 cup flax seed (I usually grind my flax seed before putting it in the recipe because it's easier for the body to absorb and makes for a less-seedy bread but grinding is optional)

3/4 cup raw pepita seeds

5 cups warm water

2 T salt

4 T honey (or coconut sugar or raw sugar)

2 T yeast (two packets)

-In a very large bowl add warm water, honey, yeast and salt and whisk until dissolved.

-Add in 8 cups of the flour, the flax and the pepita seeds. 

-Stir with wooden spoon until combined. If it's very sticky add a little more flour and start to knead. You're going to knead the dough (in the bowl because it's less messy!) for 10-15 minutes. Add in more flour (up to 2 additional cups) a little at a time if the dough starts to stick to your hands as you knead. When the dough stops sticking to your hands, you know you have enough flour. 

-After 10-15 min of kneading, cover the bowl with a towel and place in a warm dry place to rise (I usually put in the oven or microwave but make sure they are off) for 1 hour. 

-After the first hour, punch down the dough and knead a few times then cover to rise again as you did before for 1 hour. 

-After second hour, divide dough into two or three even portions (depending on how many loaves you want to make). Spray your loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray and place dough in each one. press the dough down so it spreads over the whole pan and tuck down the sides with your fingers so the top of the loaf looks smooth. 

-Cover and let rise as you did before for 45 minutes. 

-After 45 min, set oven to 375* and bake for 30 min (27 minutes if using 3 loaf pans)

-Take bread out of oven and flip it out of the bread pans and set to cool on cooking rack.

White Bean, Kale and Sweet Potato Soup

Otherwise known in our house as "Superfood Soup"

This soup is a great was to ring in the colder weather and give your immune system a boost!

Sweet potatoes provide not just the A Vitamin they are so well know for, but an abundance of antioxidants and vitamins!

 Kale is widely known as a superfood because it has a little bit of everything that our body needs...vitamins K, A, C, B6, calcium, iron, folate, protein...the list goes on and on!

 ...And we LOVE Beans in a vegan diet for their protein, but white beans like Cannellini Beans are supercharged with antioxidants which protect your body and your skin from free radicals. The destructive actions of free radicals have been linked to the development of a number of degenerative conditions and diseases.*

Recipe: 

1 medium yellow onion

2 cloves garlic diced

2 celery stalks cut up into small pieces

2 large carrots cut up into small pieces

1 tomato diced (or a 15oz can diced tomato)

6 cups water

1 bunch kale torn into small pieces, stems removed

1 medium to large size sweet potato

1 can white beans drained and rinsed

 

 -Heat a little olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. 

-Add onion, celery, carrot and cook for about 8 min. 

-Add in diced garlic and cook for a minute or two. 

-Add diced tomato and cook for about 3 minutes until everything looks caramelized

-Add 6 cups water, sweet potato and beans. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes or until sweet potato is tender. 

-Season with salt and pepper

-Add Kale and cook a few minutes, until kale is just tender. 

-Serve with a little bread or even over a grain like farro or rice to complete the protein of the white beans! YUM!

* source: www.healthwithfood.org

Butternut Squash, Apple and Almond Muffins

I recently made these muffins to help celebrate my mom's birthday! They are every bit as sweet and delicious as cupcakes but without any refined sugar!

Recipe: 

3 cups diced and roasted (or steamed) butternut squash

3/4 cup rice flour

1/2 cup almond meal

1/2 whole wheat flour

1/2t salt

1/2t baking powder

1/2t baking soda

1/4t cinnamon

1/8t ground ginger

3T ground flaxseed

3/4 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup coconut oil

1t vanilla 

1 sweet apple peeled and diced

2T chopped almonds 

-Heat oven to 350*

-Line muffin tin with 12 baking cups

-Smash or process roasted (or steamed) butternut squash into puree and set aside

-In a medium size bowl, mix ground flaxseed with 9T warm water and set aside

-In large bowl, whisk together flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger.

-Whisk up flaxseed/water mixture for about 30 seconds until gelatinous. add squash puree, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla. 

-Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix. 

-Fold in chopped apple.

-Scoop muffin mix into each of the 12 muffin cups

-Top muffins with some of the chopped almonds

-Bake at 350* for 35 min or until toothpick comes out clean.

Zucchini & Tomato "Ricotta" Pie with Quinoa Crust

Quinoa crust is a new thing i'm into these days...it's the easiest crust in the world to make and it's so much healthier for you than traditional flour pie crust. This pie is creamy and full of great flavor. Paired with a nice green salad, it's a really delicious, light and satisfying meal!

RECIPE:

For the Crust: 

3/4 cup cooked and cooled quinoa

2 flax eggs (2T ground flaxseed mixed with 6T warm water. whisk until gelatinous)

pinch of salt 

-Pre-heat oven to 375*

-Spray a 9" round pie pan with non-stick spray

-Mix ingredients together and press into the pie pan. Press it out all along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. 

-Bake in over for 10 min. and then let cool a bit before adding pie filling.

For the veggies on top:

1 med-large zucchini

6-7 small tomatoes

-Increase oven temp to 400*

-Using a mandolin at 1/8" slicing width, slice up zucchini into circles. (or just use knife and cut the thinnest slices you can)

-Toss the zucchini slices in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and spread them out on a baking sheet. Roast at 400* for about 10 min. or until they just begin to brown. Take out of oven and set aside.

-Meanwhile, slice up the tomatoes into very thin slices and spread slices on a tea towel (or blot them with a paper towel) to get some of the water off. Set aside while you make Ricotta filling.

-decrease oven temp back down to 375*

For the Ricotta Filling:

(this is an adaptation from the Whole Foods recipe)

1 package extra firm tofu

1 1/2 T tahini

2 cloves garlic

3 T nutritional yeast

pinch of nutmeg

1 1/2 teasp. white miso

juice of half a lemon

pinch of pepper

2T shallot

-Crumble tofu into high powered blender, then add the rest of the ingredients. Blend until combined but don't over process. 

To Assemble the Pie: 

-Spread ricotta filling into the quinoa crust evenly using a spatula. 

-Arrange the zucchini and tomato slices on top however you wish

-Bake at 375* for 30 minutes and enjoy!

 

Superfood Chili

College Football Game Day is coming up (Go GA Bulldawgs) and our house has game-day food on the brain. It is game day food...but with this chili recipe, you'll actually be eating a giant bowl of disease-fighting protein-power goodness...so it's game-day food you can feel GREAT about! Dip chips in it, add some vegan sour cream, fresh cilantro...go crazy! It's SO GOOD!

Beans Beans Beans!!! I cannot say enough good things about beans. Lentils, black beans, kidney beans...this chili has it all plus tons of veggies. There is a hidden eggplant in here too although you would never know it. Eggplants are in season and I have them coming out of my ears with our CSA right now.....BUT the eggplant completely breaks down and adds to the meatiness of the chili and I promise you, you can't taste it, see it or feel it (my husband hates eggplant).

The spices are mild but delicious so this is one recipe that my 2 year old looooves as well. like...lick-the-bowl loves!

Recipe: 

1-2 T olive oil

1 large eggplant chopped into 1/2 in cubes

1 medium onion chopped

1 large clove garlic minced

 1 red pepper chopped

2-3 large carrots chopped

2 celery stalks chopped

1 cup brown or green dry lentils

4 cups water

1 28 oz can diced tomato

1 can kidney beans

1 can black beans

2 cups sweet yellow corn

2 T chili powder

1 T cumin

1 T blackstrap molasses

 - Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. 

-Add chopped eggplant and cook for about 5 minutes while stirring. 

-Add onion, garlic, carrots, celery, red pepper and cook an additional 5 minutes or until onion looks just a bit translucent. (If it starts to stick to the bottom a little, that's ok, it adds to the flavor. But just make sure it's not burning to the bottom. If it starts to burn a little, add a touch of water or a touch of olive oil and stir it up off the bottom.)

-Add the cumin, chili powder and molasses and stir for 1 minute. 

-Add the lentils, water and tomato and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 25 min or until lentils are tender. (could take up to 45 minutes... I've actually had them take over 90 min before (and I never bought lentils from that place again!). It all depends on the age of the lentils and how they were stored.)

-When lentils are tender, add the black beans, kidney beans and corn and cook until just heated through. 

-Take chili off the heat and let sit for 10-20 min or so...then enjoy! It's SO freaking good!

Scratch-Made Tomato Sauce with Breaded and Baked Eggplant Rounds

 

Homemade tomato sauce with these crunchy, chewy eggplant rounds is every bit as satisfying as classic Eggplant Parmesan! Making your own tomato sauce is definitely not as easy as going into your pantry and pulling out a jar of the store-bought stuff...but if you have never attempted your own tomato sauce, this is the season to do it because you will not believe how delicious a tomato sauce made from fresh garden tomatoes tastes!! For the tomato sauce, you have to peel the tomatoes before you make the sauce and the easiest way to do that is to boil them for just a minute and them submerge in ice-water. The skin will start to peel right off on its own. I explain in the recipe below.

If you're not all that familiar with cooking with eggplant, it's really not as intimidating (or tasteless and spongy) as it seems!! The trick to cooking eggplant is letting it sweat out its moisture before you start to cook it. This insures that you'll get a nice chewy, crisp roasted finished produce rather than a soggy one. I explain in the recipe below.

Scratch-Made Tomato Sauce

what you'll need:

10 tomatoes

1t italian seasoning (basil, oregano, parsley)

1 clove garlic

pinch sugar (I used coconut sugar)

pinch salt and pepper

-Get a big pot of water boiling on the stove. 

-Fill up a large bowl with ice water and set aside. 

-Slice a shallow "X" with a sharp knife on the bottom of each tomato. This helps the skin begin to peel off the tomatoes after the boiling process. 

-Submerge all the tomatoes into boiling water for 1 minute then transfer to ice-water bowl. Let the tomatoes sit in there until they are cool enough to handle (a few minutes) and then peel off the skin from the tomatoes. It will come off very easily. 

-Transfer peeled tomatoes to blender and pulse until they are the consistency you're going for. I like it a little chunky so I pulse just a few times. 

-Empty out the pot in which you boiled the tomatoes, return to stove and pour in the tomatoes. 

-Grate your garlic right into the pot

-Add your italian seasoning and the sugar

-Bring the tomatoes to a boil and then reduce to medium-high heat and cook uncovered until it reduces by half, stirring frequently. It will take about an hour. 

-you're done! Sauce is ready to eat!!

Breaded and Baked Eggplant Rounds

What you'll need:

1 large eggplant (long and skinny is great for this but any size will do)

1 cup of bread crumbs (I used fresh whole wheat bread that I buzzed in the food processor)

2 flax eggs (2T flaxmeal in 6T water) (Or 1 egg if you eat eggs....)

salt and pepper

sea salt

-Slice your eggplant into 1/2 inch rounds

-Place the rounds into a colander and sprinkle generously with sea salt. Turn the rounds a couple times to ensure that both sides are covered with the salt. 

-Let the rounds sit in the colander for 15 minutes. 

-Rinse the rounds under water, then place between two towels and press down to dry them.

-Pre-heat oven to 400*

-Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray and set aside

-Whisk up your flax eggs in a bowl 

-Pour bread crumbs onto a plate and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix around.

-Dip the eggplant rounds one at a time, first into the flax mixture to coat, and then into the breadcrumbs, then onto baking sheet.

-Once all the rounds are coated and on the baking sheet, bake at 400* for 20 min on one side, then flip and continue to cook 20 minutes on the other side. 

Carrot Molasses Muffins

These muffins are staples in our house. I had a link to the recipe in a past post but I noticed recently that the blog where I found this recipe is no longer active. sad. It was a great blog with some really great vegan/GF recipes. For the Love of Leaves was the name of the blog... Luckily, I have committed her recipe for these muffins to memory, so I can resurrect it here! Huge hit of iron in these because of all the molasses, and they are loaded with carrots! so so delicious! They freeze like a dream, so make a batch and freeze half. Pull one or two out at a time and defrost at room temp or overnight in the fridge and then toast them! mmmmmmmm!!

Recipe:

(makes 12 big muffins)

2 cups spelt flour

1t baking soda

1/2t salt

1t cinnamon

2T ground flax mixed with 6T warm water

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

1/2 cup Black Strap Molasses

1/2 cup almond milk

1T vanilla

1T apple cider vinager

1.5 cup shredded carrot

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

pre-heat oven to 350*

-prepare muffin tins by either spraying or lining with paper liners.

-combine flax and water and set aside.

-mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nuts in a large bowl.

-whisk the flax/water mixture up until gelatinous (30 seconds or so), add coconut oil, vanilla, molasses, milk, vinegar and carrots. mix.

-add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until combined.  

-fill each muffin tin just to top of tin. 

-bake for 30 min. cool and enjoy!