Sunday, June 26, 2011

Coconut Cinnamon Buckwheat... bread?

Ever since going Gluten-Free, one of the things I've missed most is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Over at the edible perspective, I found a recipe for the perfect vehicle for peanut butter and jelly! 

I had never heard of socca (aka farinata) before, but apparently it is a popular culinary delight in Italy and France. Socca is typically made with chickpea/garbanzo bean flour (or besan) and baked in a skillet. However, this recipe calls for some buckwheat flour, plump raisins, cinnamon, and shredded coconut! Whooaaa!!


This "bread" is awesome topped with some pumpkin butter (see photo below)!

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup chickpea flour
  • 1/2 cup buckwheat flour (I used Arrowhead mills, but in all honesty I don't like the taste of it much)
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 Tbsp. sucanat
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon (or more, if desired)
  • 2 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
  • 1/4 cup raisins (dried cherries would be good too!)
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Mmmm... pumpkin butter.
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and stir well.
  3. Grease a 9x9 square pan (I just greased it with some coconut oil)
  4. Bake for about 35 minutes.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Classic Carrot Ginger Soup

This soup has just a few simple ingredients, but don't let that fool you! I love the ginger zesty-ness of this soup paired with the slight sweetness of carrots! This is a very warming and stimulating soup brimming with vitamin A for glowing skin. Yum!


Ingredients

  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 2 Tbsp. ginger root, peeled and sliced thin
  • 1.5 bunches of carrots (I use about 10-11 medium carrots), or roughly 3 cups of chopped carrots
  • 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 cup soymilk (or other non-dairy milk)
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 Tbsp. maple syrup or honey (although I know honey isn't considered "vegan")
  • 1 tsp. black pepper

  1. Heat olive oil, onion, ginger and garlic in large soup pot on stove. Sautee for about 2 minutes.
  2. Add 2 cups broth, soymilk, pepper, honey(or maple syrup), and carrots. 
  3. Bring mixture to a simmer. Heat this until carrots are soft.
  4. Remove the pan from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes (maybe 10-20 minutes). You will be blending this hot mixture next.
  5. Blending 1 cup at a time, in batches, blend the soup to a puree.
  6. Return the blended soup back to the pot and bring back to a simmer. Serve. 
* I topped mine with some pumpkin seeds (for some added zinc and protein). *
* You could also serve this with some brown rice for extra fiber *
* Try it with some brown rice and half an avocado *
* The variations are endless. Have fun being creative! *