Gluten Free Paleo Pancakes

Gluten Free Pancakes!

3 eggs
2 bananas
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 Tbsp Almond Flour
Pinch baking soda

Recipe courtesy of @paleohomecooking on instagram.

The only equipment you need is a food processor.

Step 1 Place 2 Bananas in food processor and puree until liquified.

Step 2 Add 3 Eggs and process until well blended.

Step 3 Add remaining Vanilla Extract, Baking Soda and Almond Flour.  Process all ingredients until smooth and evenly mixed.  Your batter is now complete!

Step 4  Heat Pan or Flat Top Skillet and use Butter, Coconut Oil, or other high heat fat to coat cooking surface and prevent sticking.  Pour pancakes and cook until they have achieved your preferred golden-ness.  A good rule of thumb is that once you start to see air/steam bubbles on the top of your cakes they are close to being ready to flip.  Cook evenly on both sides and serve with whatever you like.

I keep it simple with local and organic Maple Syrup, but you can certainly get as creative as you’d like with this as the base.

This recipe makes 4 large pancakes and 8-10 smaller ones.

Enjoy

Garlic and Greens Soup

1 bunch Swiss Chard, stems chopped

1 bunch Kale, de-stemmed and chopped

1 bunch Mustard Greens, de-stemmed and chopped

1 bulb of garlic, whole peeled cloves

1 cup chopped Carrots

1 Leek, chopped

1/2 cup Basil, fresh

pinch nutmeg

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1-3 Tablespoons Nutritional yeast

fresh ground Black Pepper and Sea Salt to taste

Veggie Broth (8 cups)

Throw everything into a large pot and bring to a boil.  Once boiling lower heat to medium/medium low and let simmer covered for 1-2 hours.  The lower the heat the longer this can sit on the stove.  After an hour or so, use a hand/immersion blender to puree all solids.  If you do not have an immersion blender you can pour the soup into a blender in batches until it is all pureed.  Serve immediately or store for later use.

This is an extremely easy and healthy recipe which I often like to use to jump start my spring cleanse.

Fermentation basics with Phickle! Sauerkraut and Kombucha!

Recipes (click on link):

Sauerkraut

Kombucha

I took a class about fermentation with Amanda Feifer of Phickle Philly at Greensgrow recently and am excited to share what I have learned and spread the word about this easy food fun (and deliciousness).  Her recipes are at the above links!

After 5 days I tried my kombucha and it was perfectly sweet and tangy.  At 9 days it looked like this and I decided it was time to make more sweet tea to refill my jar.  I will keep you posted about how my next (unsupervised) batch turns out.

Sauerkraut takes longer to ferment, and after tasting it I know it has a lot longer to go before it reaches a sourness that is strong enough for me.  I like things (pickles most notably) extra sour, so I will learn as I go along about how long I like to let me Sauerkraut sit.  That’s definitely the beauty of some fermentation processes- you get to taste as you go and see how taste evolves, mellows, strengthens etc. over time, and can witness the actual process of fermentation.  Yay!  I am turning more and more into a food nerd and loving it!

Vegan Peanut Butter Bars (No Bake!)

Courtesy of Detoxinista who creates amazing healthy recipes that taste exactly like their unhealthy counterparts 🙂

Ingredients:

Crust:
3/4 Cup Almond Meal/flour
2 Tbsp  Maple syrup
1 Tbsp Coconut Oil, melted
2 Tbsp Cocoa
Pinch Sea Salt

Filling:
1/2 Cup Creamy Natural Peanut Butter
Pinch Sea salt
1 Tbsp Coconut Oil, melted
3 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup

Candy Coating:
1/4 Cup Raw Cocoa
3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1/4 Cup Coconut Oil, melted

Supplies:

Parchment paper (which is NOT wax paper)

small dish or pan (I used 8×8 doesn’t matter the type)

1 or 2 mixing bowls

spatula

whisk

spoon

**Note: this calls for melted coconut oil, not the solid form it usually takes in colder months/climates/environments.  If you need suggestions for how to melt your coconut oil, you can find many of them online.  Some suggestions include putting the coconut oil container in hot water, melting it in a pan on the stove top, placing the jar on the oven when it is in use etc.   Coconut oil will turn liquid around 76 degrees, so on a warm day you can just set it out in the sun, and on a cold day your heater may very well do!  I simply took a microwave safe container and nuked the oil for 10 seconds at a time until it was fully melted, but I image there are other healthier methods.

Made in three easy steps!

1.  Place parchment paper in bottom of pan or dish.

Combine ingredients for Chocolate Crust in a medium bowl.  Mix until texture of “crust” is consistent and lump free.  It should somewhat resemble a ball of gooey dough.  Scoop into parchment paper and flatten evenly to cover the bottom of the dish.  If you are using your hands a bit of the coconut oil will keep the crust from sticking to you!

Once in place put entire dish in freezer and start on step 2!

2.  In the same or different bowl, mix ingredients of peanut butter filling until well combined.  Remove dish with crust from freezer and pour peanut butter filling on top of chocolate crust.  Using a spatula spread evenly and return dish to freezer.

3.  Wash bowl or take a clean one out to make chocolate candy coating.  Combine all ingredients and whisk into a smooth chocolatey sauce.  Pour sauce on top of the peanut butter filling and return to the freezer for an hour or two to let the three layers set together.

Once time has elapsed you can remove these from the freezer and cut into small bars or squares.  The author recommends storing them in the refrigerator for short term enjoyment or in the freezer for a longer period of time.  I did not have any left over, so I don’t know how well they last at room temperature, but you can certainly experiment should you find yourself lucky enough to have left overs!  Next time I want to incorporate these into some ice cream….  Stay tuned for that recipe!!!!!

Chocolate Mousse with Coffee Whipped Cream

Chocolate Mousse

 

Instead of retyping this recipe I defer to  the flawless original by Maida Heatter located here.

Final Week of CSA 22!

What I got:

So I had quite a few credits to use at the end of this year’s CSA so I got a lot more than a usual week’s delivery.

Carrots

Radishes

Kale

Spinach

Assorted Greens

Purple kale (decorative and full of aphids! Ew)

Carnival and Acorn Squash

Leeks

Eggplant

Green Beans

Bell Peppers

Onion

Broccoli

dozen eggs!

What I made:

Nothing new honestly.  I am so burnt out on cooking all my CSA veggies that I have been repeating older recipes for weeks now, alternating between veggie soup, chili, curry and frittata.  Oh, and Creamed Spinach again!

CSA Week 21

What I got:

Sweet Potatoes

Acorn Squash

Collard Greens

Cherry Tomatoes

Lettuce

Cauliflower

What I made:

More Veggie Soup  

 

 

 

CSA Week 20

Fuji Apples

Blue Cheese

Peppers

Rainbow Chard

Broccoli

Delicata Squash

Marinated Mushrooms

Lettuce

What I Made:

Hearty CSA Veggie Soup

 

Beet Latkes

I made these for a party at our house and they were eaten before I could photograph them!

Made traditionally like a potato latke, based off of this recipe at all recipes.com.

4 Large Beets, shredded

1 Yellow Onion, shredded

2 Eggs, scrambled

1 Tsp Salt (or more)

4 Tbsp Chick Pea Flour

Ground Black Pepper to taste

Butter (or Oil) for cooking

 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined.

Heat Butter or Oil over medium to medium high heat in a large frying pan.  Once heated use a tablespoon to spoon 2-3 spoon sized Latkes into your pan.  Flatten with a spatula or fork and cook until seared on one side (3-5 minutes).  Flip and allow to cook through thoroughly (about 10 minutes).

Serve with Apple sauce, Sour cream, and a sprinkling of Chives!  Yum.  You won’t even know that you’re eating healthy.

Hearty CSA Veggie Soup

Inspired by this recipe from Epicurious.com

1 large head Broccoli, cut into small florettes

1 Large Potato, diced

10-12 leaves Chinese Cabbage, chopped well

1 bunch Rainbow Chard, chopped well

1 Delicata Squash, diced

3-5 small bell peppers, red and orange, diced

1 Large Onion, diced

1/2 Cup Carrots, diced

1 Celeriac, diced

1 Tomato, diced

1 Bay Leaf

2 or so sprigs of fresh Thyme

1/2 Cup Fresh Basil, shiffoned

2-3 Tbsp Grapeseed Oil

2 cloves Garlic, minced/pressed

Sea Salt and fresh ground Pepper to taste

6 -8 cups Veggie Broth

 

Step 1:  Heat Oil in a large soup pot over low-medium heat.  Add Onions and cook for 3-5 minutes.  Then add Garlic and cook for another 3-5 minutes, stirring.

Step 2:  Add Carrots, Celeriac, Potatoes, Squash, Broccoli and Peppers and cook for 10-15 minutes.  Then add Tomatoes and season with pepper and salt and cook for 3-5 more minutes.  Then add broth, Thyme, and Bay leaf and bring to a boil.

Step 3:  Once boiling add Chard and Cabbage and reduce heat to medium.  Simmer covered for 30 minutes.

Step 4:  Add Basil and simmer on low for another 30 minutes-2 hours covered.  The longer your soup simmers the deeper the flavors develop.

 

Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese and Basil to serve.  Yummy!