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.

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! *

Rustic Cabbage Soup

I've been a bit bored lately with the soups I usually make. These soups most often include beans, italian spices, tomatoes, and some kind of hearty green (kale or swiss chard). They're perfect for cold winter nights and are so hearty and filling.
This cabbage soup is also great for cold winter nights, but I found it to be a bit lighter and more broth-y than other soups I've made. I still liked it, though.


I came upon this soup recipe from Heidi at 101 cookbooks. I don't know if it's just because I'm a fan of the word rustic, but this recipe sounded great! I added some more seasonings to my version and I completely recommend doing so.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (or canola oil)
• 3 large redskin potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 5 cups vegetable stock (I used Edward & Sons Vegan Bouillon Cubes)
• 2 cups white beans, canned or precooked (navy, great northern, or cannellini)
• 1 medium green cabbage, cored and sliced into short strips
• 1 tsp. thyme
• 3 tsp. seasoning mixture (mine includes: black peppercorn, crushed rosemary, salt, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper)
• This is the kind I used: McCormick Cracked Peppercorn Herb mix

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil or canola oil in a big soup pot over med-high heat.
2. Stir in the cubed potatoes with a pinch of salt. Cover the pot and cook until potatoes are a little tender, around 5 minutes. Be sure to stir a few times (mine sort of burnt to the bottom of the pan a bit, oops!)
3. Stir in the garlic and chopped onion, cook for a few more minutes.
4. Add the veggie stock and white beans and bring to a simmer. 
5. Stir in the cabbage and cook a few more minutes, until cabbage is slightly soft.
6. Add thyme and other seasonings. I used a mixture that's marketed as a roasting rub mix made by McCormick.

Chia Spinach Pineapple smoothie

Chia seeds are rich in omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs), specifically, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).  These fatty acids (omega's 3,6, and 9) are considered "essential" because our bodies require them but are unable to produce them. Therefore, we must get these fatty acids from food sources like chia seeds, walnuts, flax seed, salmon, etc.

Smoothie with chia seeds.

Omega-3 EFAs also help to reduce inflammation and play a role in maintaining a healthy heart and cardiovascular system.

This smoothie is pretty simple but so delightfully refreshing!

Ingredients

• 2-3 cups organic spinach (or other leafy green like swiss chard or kale)
• 1 cup frozen pineapple
• 4-8oz. water or orange juice, adjust amount for desired consistency
• 1-2 Tbsp. Chia seeds
• ** (If you're new to chia seeds, I would start off with a smaller amount and then work your way up due to their high fiber content and miraculous gelling property! It's best to see how your stomach reacts with a smaller amount first.)

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in blender and mix!

Peanut Butter Cups (no cooking required)

I don't usually rely on my microwave for making food stuffs. However, this recipe is totally an exception! These tasty little treats are super easy to make, and are even easier to eat! Maybe a little too easy...

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups vegan chocolate chips (you can also use Baker's Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate Squares)
• 1 cup peanut butter (or you could use a mixture of dark chocolate peanut butter AND peanut butter like I did)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• Mini paper muffin cups

Powdered sugar, peanut butter, dark chocolate PB.

Directions

1. Place chocolate in microwave-safe bowl. I just used a pyrex bowl. My microwave is super old so I had to heat the chocolate with 3 intervals of 45-seconds. Stir until creamy.
2. Using a spoon, spread some of the melted chocolate into the bottom of each muffin cup making sure to get the chocolate into the little crevices of the cup. This step takes a bit of patience, things get a little messy!
3. Place cups in freezer until hardened, just a few minutes. 
4. In another bowl add the peanut butter and microwave for about 45-seconds until warm. Then add in the powdered sugar and stir until creamy.
   
   

Split Pea and Red Lentil Coconut Soup

In the heart of winter, our dinners are often a soup or stew. I had a bag of split green peas in the cupboard and my internet search for green split pea recipes led me to:

1.) Gluten Free Goddess - Kicked Up Coconut Split Pea Soup
and
2.) 101 cookbooks - Coconut Red Lentil Soup

I also had a new jar of Thai Kitchen's Green Curry Paste that I've been waiting to try out but didn't really know what to do with it. So, in blending the 2 recipes above, I came up with my own delicious lentil-y green curry-y soup. Please excuse the bland photo. It tastes much better than it looks!

Ingredients

• 1 cup green split peas, rinsed
• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed until water is clear
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 cups vegetable broth (or water + salt)
• 1/2 tsp. ginger, minced
• 1 Tbsp. curry powder
• 1-2 tsp. Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste
• 1/2-1 can of coconut milk (I used about 1/2 a can, and then used the leftover for a tropical smoothie!)
• 1 cup cooked brown rice (optional)

Directions

1. Place the rinsed split green peas in a large pot of water or vegetable broth (enough to cover the peas) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, simmer for 30 minutes, or until tender.
2. After peas have simmered 30 minutes, add the garlic, red lentils, curry paste, other spices, any remaining broth that wasn't used for simmering the peas, and coconut milk. 
3. Simmer, uncovered, for another 20-30 minutes until desired consistency is reached. I like this better when it's thicker, so I simmer for a little bit longer.
4. I served this over some brown rice and also thought it was good with some fresh lime juice drizzled on top! 

Sesame Seed Granola

I could live off granola. For realz. Whenever I go shopping the thing that is always the most expensive on my receipt is the (lbs. of) granola . There are two mouths to feed in this apartment... y'know. I've attempted homemade granola a few times in the past, but I had always used the cheap and shitty economically feasible quick oats. This time I got some rolled oats from the bulk bins at Whole Foods (which I'm sure are contaminated with gluten in some way, but I'm not rolling in the cash, so these will have to suffice...)

Some of the ingredients before baking.

I had some raw pumpkin seeds that have been sitting around the kitchen for far too long and threw those into the mix. The granola could use a little extra iron anyways.

Umm... also notice the abundance of sesame seeds in my mixture photo above. Although there are others nuts and seeds in this granola, the majority of the seeds are indeed... you guessed it - sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are chock-full of nutrients including magnesium, iron, manganese, and calcium. They are also a great source of copper, which plays an important role in collagen formation, among other things.

Ingredients

• 4 cups rolled oats (not the quick-cooking kind)
• 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup raw cashews, chopped
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup ground Flaxseed Meal
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar or sucanat
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt

        Liquid-y Ingredients (to be melted in small saucepan on stove, or microwave)

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup honey or agave nectar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup almond butter (or some other nut butter)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. In a huge bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. 
3. Place all the liquid-y ingredients in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until it starts to boil and is mixed. Remove from heat and add to the oat mixture.
4. I split the mix onto two baking sheets, and baked for 30 minutes. 
5. After the first 30 minutes, remove from oven and stir. Bake for 15-20 more minutes until golden in color. Yum!