Vegan Phad Thai

Phad Thai and greens with peanut sauce

Thai food was one of the hardest things for me to give up. I remember doing an overhaul on my diet and taking out everything I was allergic to, except for a periodic visit to a Thai restaurant. Which meant searching out the nearest restroom and developing a mental map of bathrooms on the route home. I couldn't figure out what I was allergic to on the menu. Was there soy in something? Was it the mysterious fish sauce? It was probably a saving grace that I became vegan, which rules out a lot of the "vegetarian" dishes on the menu and prevents the sketchy ride home (unfortunately, a lot of vegetarian listed items still have fish or oyster sauce).

It is really hard to find a good Phad Thai recipe on the internet, but I am really hoping people like this recipe. The vinegar adds the tang of the fish sauce, and tamarind lends a more authentic taste. My family enjoys it. I like to just cook up the sauce without the noodles, sprouts, coconut aminos, or water and use it as a sweet and sour sauce on fresh, shredded veggies.


Phad Thai
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 shallots, sliced
1/2 c. fresh tamarind paste (recipe below - if you can't do fresh, do 3-4 Tb of packaged tamarind paste)
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 T apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 T maple syrup
2 T coconut aminos (or 1 T tamari if you aren't allergic)
1/4 t+ cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
1/2 t salt
1 lime juiced
1 pack rice noodles, pre-soaked for at least 30 minutes in cold water
1/4 c water
1-2 cups mung bean sprouts
3 scallions, cut on the bias

Garnish:
shredded carrots, red cabbage, and peanuts (all optional)

Pre-soak rice stick noodles for 30 minutes in cold water. The noodles should be very pliable, but not mushy or slimy. Heat up a wok over the stove top to medium heat, and add an oil that tolerates high temperatures (coconut oil or grapeseed oil work very well). Add the shallots and garlic and cook until the shallots start becoming translucent. Add the tumeric, tamarind paste, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, coconut aminos, and cayenne pepper. Cook until the ingredients are well combined and the vinegar smell diminishes a bit. Add the noodles and stir until the noodles are well coated. Add 1/4 cup of water, lime juice, and bean sprouts. Add the scallions and toss after the mung beans have cooked a bit.


Want a lower carb option?


White rice noodles are high in simple carbohydrates and starch. Use a vegetable spiralizer or potato peeler to create zucchini noodles. Cook everything but the zucchini noodles (and omitted rice noodles of course) as outlined above, and combine the garnish and sauce with the raw zucchini noodles before serving.

Zucchini noodles a la spiralizer

Tamarind Paste

Tamarind pods with a hard shell exterior

My friend came over the other day for dinner and a movie and saw me working with the tamarind. "WHAT IS THAT???" She thought I was conducting some massively unsanitary project in my kitchen and I had to laugh. If you are lucky enough to live near an Asian market with fresh tamarind pods, I recommend going to the trouble of making your own paste. Fresh always tastes best. They aren't very visually appealing, but they add a lot of flavor to sauces!

Tamarind pods have a hard outer shell, and a sticky, fibrous, pod-filled interior. Crack the outer shell and pull out the interior. Be alert for any signs of mold. Pull the vein-like fibers off the tamarind and put them in a pot of water. Turn the heat on and cook for 20 minutes. It does not need to come to a full boil - a low simmer is plenty. Some people use their hands to squish the tamarind and remove seeds and fibers, but I prefer to use a fine mesh sieve and wooden spoon. A little water transferred from the pan is fine, but you don't want to intentionally use the pan water in your paste. The paste is best used the same day, but will keep in the fridge for an additional 2 days.

Tamarind pods and the finished paste

For The Love Of Quinoa....

My husband recently had a conversation with someone who was finding it a struggle to go gluten free. He suggested quinoa, and got a wrinkled nose and "Yuck." My husband thought it was funny because he really enjoys quinoa, but we both forget it was a love we had to develop over time. Quinoa has a distinctive flavor that I've heard described as nutty or "healthy." I'll admit that the first few times I tried it, I wasn't its biggest fan. That changed as I learned some great ways to prepare quinoa and how amazing the grain is.

Quinoa is actually a small berry rather than a grain. It is in the psuedocereal family, a grain mimicker. I say all the better because this "grain" is jam packed with amino acids and lysine. When combined with a lower lysine grain like rice, sorghum, or millet, you have a protein that is more complete than animal proteins out there, but easier to digest. We use quinoa in a large variety of ways - hoe cakes, flat bread, sides, vegan burgers (recipe follows), and salads are a few. I generally recommend using this grain in savory dishes as opposed to desserts.

Easy Quinoa
1 cup Quinoa
2 cups Water
1/2 lemon, juice
1/3 tsp salt or to taste
pepper to taste
fresh chopped herbs like chives, oregano, thyme, etc.
garlic powder to taste (optional)

Soak the quinoa in water for 20 minutes, and then use a fine sieve to drain the water and rinse. Add 2 cups of water and salt, and bring the quinoa to a boil. Turn the heat down a bit and cook until the water is absorbed. Use a fork to fluff the quinoa up, much like you would couscous, and add the lemon juice, pepper, and fresh herbs. Serve with salads, main dishes, and more. The lemon helps lighten the flavor. My 2 year old nephew approves, and this was one of the first ways I made quinoa and enjoyed it.


I picked up the Veggie Burgers Every Which Way book during a going out of business sale at a book shop. At first I was slightly disappointed at how many of the yummiest looking burgers were lacto-ovo vegetarian instead of vegan, but then I snapped out of it and realized I could use my newest technique to vegan-ize them!

I have started using yamaimo, or Japanese Mountain Yam, as an egg replacer in several dishes. Yamaimo is a little hard to get a hold of, but if you have an Asian grocery market in your area, you may be in luck. These tubers grow as long as 3 feet, and have a really peculiar trait. Once they are cut open, you can feel SLIME on the surface of the flesh. When a yamaimo is shredded, it has the slimy texture of a raw egg. If you can get past the texture issue, it is a great binder and it is used in Chinese medicine as a healing agent for the stomach and intestines.

Yamaimo with plastic wrap around the exterior so it doesn't
leave a gooey puddle in my fridge

Yamaimo grated - you can still see the grated pieces because I used a normal
sized grater, but there is also a pool of slimy liquid.

If you look closely, you can see a slime bubble on the surface of the
whole piece of yamaimo.

Quinoa Burgers (Adapted from Veggie Burgers Every Which Way)
1 cup quinoa
3/4 cup blanched turnip greens
1/4 cup yamaimo, grated
1/4-1/2 cup finely minced red onion (I love me some onions)
1/2 lemon juiced
3 TB All purpose gluten free flour
1 tsp Hain* baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Soak the quinoa for 20 minutes and then rinse. Add a cup and a half of water to sauce pan and cook the quinoa. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Blanch turnip greens in boiling water for less than 60 seconds and put in an ice bath so they stay a vibrant green (this stops the cooking process). After the greens are cool, squeeze the water out. Put the quinoa, greens, yamaimo, gluten free flour, onion, lemon juice, baking powder, salt, and cayenne pepper in a mixing bowl and combine. Form patties on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and bake for 25-30 minutes in the oven.

I boil the turnips and serve along side the burgers with a kohlrabi apple slaw with a macadamia mustard sauce. We brought the burgers to a potluck today and people seemed to like them.

Savory Hoecakes and Garlic Rosemary Potatoes

This weekend, we had my mom, brothers, and nephew come over for dinner. I try to have them all over at least once a month. Owen (nephew) has some serious food allergies, and he's getting to that age when he is noticing what other people are eating and he wants the same food! It's amazing how young people are when they start to feel the need to fit in and be like others. I love providing a large meal that is entirely Owen friendly.

Enjoying some savory hoecakes and straight up ketchup. Blech.

We had a large spread of fruit, veggies, savory hoecakes, garlic rosemary potatoes, non-vegan friendly items for the family members who partake, and cupcakes for dessert. The favorites were the hoecakes and the cupcakes. The hoecakes nearly didn't make it to the table, and the few leftovers we had were packed up for Owen.

Savory Hoecakes
1 pear, pureed
1/4-1/3 cup (loose packed) garlic spears, sliced
3.5 oz ground quinoa
1 Tb ground chia
3.5 sorghum flour
1 oz tapioca flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 T safflower oil
4 oz hemp milk
1 tsp vinegar

The batter responds best when the frying pan is hot and the batter is formed to pancakes no bigger than 2 1/2 inches across. Plenty of oil is needed as well - not to deep fry, but the pan should be amply coated.

Substitutions: Garlic spears are something I recommend folks try if they can. They are in season now, and should be available at farmer's markets. If they are not available in your area, green onions are a perfectly acceptable substitute. Apple (preferably varieties meant for cooking) can replace the pear, but Owen is allergic.

I use a coffee grinder to grind up my quinoa flour, which leaves some texture, like corn meal. I combine the dry ingredients, then the wet ingredients, folding in the garlic spears last. They cook much like a pancake, and are ready to flip when bubbles form at the top and they appear cooked partially on the sides.


Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Potatoes
2 pounds potatoes
3 cloves garlic
2 sprigs rosemary, minced
3 Tb olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. I dice the potatoes in 1/2" or smaller squares, depending on how long I have to cook them. After dicing, the potatoes go in a bowl with olive oil, minced garlic, rosemary and salt and pepper. That all gets thrown into a baking dish and into the oven for about 45 minutes.


It was a tasty meal, and I could tell other folks liked their food because it was pretty quiet. Owen is still at an age where he picks at his food and doesn't seem to eat a whole lot, but he will eat quite a bit of dessert. I made "red" velvet cupcakes with cream "cheese" frosting. I say "red" because I'm having a hard time finding the right natural ingredients to get that amazing red color. I'm beginning to become convinced that red velvet color is only possible with gross artificial coloring, but I'm still toying around with beets.

He may have been imitating a dinosaur here.

Mmmm.....Frosting.

Quinoa Pear Hoecakes

A friend of a friend sent me an intimidating list of allergens her son has to avoid. Fortunately, I've had either personal experience with them or I have had to feed my husband or nephew while avoiding those foods. The challenge is usually coming up with pancakes, waffles, or some kind of grain based breakfast item that has a good texture and holds together well without using corn, rice, or potato starch. These pancakes remind me much more of hoecakes, which are traditionally made with cornmeal, giving it a more interesting texture. They are also straddling the line between savory and sweet. Quinoa is very savory, and the only sweetener in this batter is pear puree. This could easily be converted into a versatile flat bread that would go well with savory beans or a bean puree and al dente vegetables.

Pear Quinoa Hoecakes
Makes over 10 small hoecakes (1 1/2" diameter)
1 Pear, pureed
1 Pear, julienned
3.5 oz Quinoa, ground
3.5 oz Sorghum flour
1 oz Tapioca flour
1 Tb Chia seeds, ground
1/2 tsp Baking Powder*
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
3 T Safflower Oil
4 oz Hemp Milk
1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

* Baking powder is something that should be purchased with some research and caution. Many mainstream baking powders have either corn or gluten in them. Hain Baking Powder is the brand I usually use, but it has potato starch in it. You could alter the recipe to 1 3/4 tsp baking soda and add a little more vinegar instead of using Baking Powder.

I used pear in this recipe as a binder, sweetener, and to add some texture and moisture. If you do not like the texture, feel free to skip julienned pear and puree it instead. Another option is to substitute with baking apples like McIntosh. McIntosh are soft apples that tend to lose their structure a bit during cooking, which is what you actually want here, as opposed to eating apples like Fuji. To julienne the pear, I halved and cored the pear, then cut into fine "sticks."


Quinoa flour can be quite expensive, so I buy my quinoa in bulk and use a cheap coffee grinder to make my flour. The flour is a bit course compared to store bought quinoa flour, but this isn't a bad thing for most dishes. The course grind is what gives this the texture of a hoecake.


Combine the dry ingredients and mix well. Add in the pear puree, julienned pear, safflower oil, hemp milk, and apple cider vinegar once your skillet is up to temperature. Gently fold in the wet ingredients if you want to find some pear in your hoecake, otherwise mix away! I put in enough oil to keep an ample coating in the pan - on the verge of pan frying the bottom of the cake a bit. Flip the cakes when they begin to bubble and appear cooked around the edges. You may have to work around the bottom of the cake gingerly before flipping them to keep their slightly crispy exterior intact. I use a ceramic pan instead of teflon, and have noticed things tend to stick more as my pan ages. I feel it's worth having a non-teflon pan.


The amount of oil I recommend along with keeping the hoe cakes small will keep you from cursing my recipe and your frying pan. I learned this the hard way and was about ready to give up on the recipe. I'm very glad I kept at it because Lance and I really enjoyed them!

At first I thought this recipe was a failure.

Once I adjusted the oil and made smaller cakes, they turned out great!

These cakes can be served several ways. Because they are a bit savory, I added a little powdered sugar. I enjoyed mine with a drizzle of molasses, which is a great source of potassium, calcium, and iron. Lance enjoyed his with powdered sugar and strawberries, although they'd be fine with maple syrup.

Molasses has a very distinct flavor, but it's rich in Iron

If you want a savory cake, I would use one pureed pear or apple, skip the julienned addition and add chopped scallions to the batter.

Are there breakfast items you miss because of a diet change or allergy?

Fudge Brownies with Himalayan Salt

HAPPY EASTER!!! -- Annie got to go plastic Easter Egg hunting for biscuits!

We have had a busy day today! I had a bit of a brownie fail yesterday (in my opinion, it is pretty hard to FAIL brownies...they were still really good with marionberry sauce and coconut ice cream), so this morning I woke up determined to figure out what I had written out incorrectly when I jotted down the ingredients from a very successful batch.

These brownies are very moist and a bit spongey the first day and become more dense as they cool down. They are a bit rich for frosting, but they are great with a fruit sauce and plain vanilla "ice cream."


Fudge Brownies with Himalayan Salt

2.5 oz cacao powder
1.5 oz sorghum flour
1.5 brown rice flour
1 oz tapioca flour
2 T ground chia seed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of cinnamon
3.5 oz finely grated sweet potato
7 oz coconut milk
7 oz maple syrup
3 T sunflower oil
2 T agave

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine all the dry ingredients thoroughly in a mixing bowl. I recommend at least sifting the cacao powder to eliminate lumps. Add the finely grated sweet potato, coconut milk, maple syrup, sunflower oil, and agave. Put the batter in an 8X8 inch baking dish lined with baking paper. Bake for 25 minutes and take it out of the oven so you can add some freshly ground Himalayan salt evenly over the top (around 1/3 of a tsp). Put back in the oven for another 10-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out fairly clean and the edges are a little darker. Let cool before attempting to cut.

After dropping off the brownies at the Sidecar for Pigs Peace, we decided to figure out if a scene from the TV series The Killing was plausible. We really enjoy the show for two reasons. 1. It's based in Seattle. 2. It's fun to try to pick out exaggerations or errors. They showed a submerged car in a pond at Discovery Park, which they claimed was a popular place for "johns" to take their prostitutes. Discovery Park is on the edge of Magnolia, which is known for being a very nice neighborhood. It's not remotely near the neighborhoods that are typically known for that kind of activity. Then again, maybe they know something I don't. We also weren't aware of ponds at Discovery Park.

Look - A pond! One of 3 near the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center and Wolf Tree Loop

While I think they may have filmed that particular scene elsewhere, there is a pretty sizable pond near an access road. I don't know the depth of the pond, but it's definitely murky enough.

After we found the ponds, we went on to better things. Watching Annie "hunt" squirrels!!!

"Is that a SQUIRREL???"

"HEY! Are there any squirrels in there??"

"I think I saw a squirrel!!!"

I would like to say that we always have a leash on Annie unless she's in a securely fenced area. She is a fast little monster and I'd hate to see what she would do with a squirrel, and we'd have a tough time getting her back.

I found something beautiful as well. Trilliums! Trilliums are a fragile flower that can occassionally be found in state parks across the northern US. It is illegal to attempt to transplant or pick them in several states because doing usually quickly kill the plant. It's best to enjoy how beautiful they are from a bit of a distance.

It was great to get outdoors and enjoy the patches of sunlight!

Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles are my childhood favorite, but they have vexed me in the past. I've had many failed recipes - any posted previously just were not quite there. It was either a texture issue, or the flavors were a little muted or exaggerated. The snickerdoodle is the recipe I have altered or scrapped all together several times. I think perhaps my arch nemesis has fallen and I've finally achieved the trifecta - texture, taste, and appearance.

There is a fairly consistent phenomenon particular to gluten-free cookies that took me a while to adapt to. Gluten cookies are better off if you take them off the pan immediately. They hold their shape pretty well and a little aggressive spatula work may cause a couple cookies to be put in the imperfect pile (in my house that means they are eaten immediately - it's the best way to ensure no one sees those imperfect cookies, right?). If you don't get them off the pan immediately, you're scraping and soaking a pan. Gluten-free cookies will come out of the oven squishy and unstable. With this recipe, if you try to take them off the pan before they have had plenty of time to cool, you will end up with half the cookie still on the sheet and a big crumbly mess. If you let them sit for at least an hour or two, they will have that typical, hard snickerdoodle texture. These are best made the night before you plan to serve them.

Snickerdoodles
makes 12 large cookies
4 oz palm oil
1/3 cup sugar
4 oz brown rice syrup
1/2 c water
1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
1 T ground Chia seed
3.8 oz tapioca flour
6.8 oz white rice flour
1.2 oz amaranth flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Sugar & cinnamon to coat

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the sugar, flours, vanilla, chia seed, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cream of tartar in a mixing bowl. Gently melt the palm oil either in the microwave or sauce pan. Combine the oil, brown rice syrup, and water with the dry ingredients. Once the ingredients are combined, take a ball of dough about the size of a golf ball and roll the dough in sugar and cinnamon. Press slightly onto the cookie sheet to form a round shape. Space the cookies at least an inch to two inches apart as they will raise and spread. Bake for 12 minutes.

Winter Vegetables with Celerly Root Puree

I was a little pout-y about not being able to eat fruit and starchy foods, and it was about time to snap out of it and start creating some tasty, lower carbohydrate meals. Seattle is unseasonably cold right now. The plants are just starting to bud out and our little garden is under a cloth cover, which is a good thing because we've had some frosty mornings lately. The freshest foods are still the early spring crops - arugula, kale, greens, leeks, fennel, and root vegetables.

I decided to try a celery root puree with winter vegetables yesterday. I am a garlic fanatic, so added more garlic than some people may like. The puree would be a great alfredo substitute as it is very creamy. Celery Root (celeriac) has 1/3 the carbohydrates, less than half the calories, and the same amount of fiber as potatoes. It also has a very velvety texture and lends well to purees.

Winter Vegetables with Celeriac Puree

Puree
1 celery root
4 cloves garlic
2-3 T olive oil
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
1/4+ water

Clean, peel, and dice the celery root into 1/2 inch or smaller cubes. Mince the garlic. Heat a pan over medium heat and get the olive oil hot. Put the garlic in the oil until it becomes very aromatic (less than a minute; 15-30 seconds). Add the celeriac and cook until the root is easy to pierce with a fork. Take off the heat and let cool a little. Put the celeriac and garlic in a blender, along with any of the excess olive oil. Add enough water to get the blender blades turning smoothly and add the salt and pepper.


Winter Vegetable Saute
1 leek
1 fennel bulb
1 bunch kale
1/2 tsp caraway
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
pinch salt

Thoroughly clean the leeks by slicing the leeks into rings and soaking them in a big bowl of water with a tsp of apple cider vinegar. Cut the base off the fennel and slice it with a mandolin slicer (slicing thinly with a good knife works too). Put the pan over medium heat and add some olive oil after the pan warms up. When the oil is warm, add the leeks. Once the leeks turn into a vibrant color, add the fennel, mustard seed, and caraway. Add the fennel.


Once the fennel is slightly translucent, add the kale and salt.


When I first made this, I put the saute over some kelp noodles. Noodles add nothing to this dish - it was much better with just the saute and celeriac puree.

Tacos!

I was going to blog about the injustices of ignoring childhood allergies, but tonight I feel like something a little lighter. Tacos! OK, maybe they aren't really "light," but it's a more uplifting topic.

Bean Prep

Beans, beans the magical fruit, the more you eat the more you.... You know how the rest of the rhyme goes. If you don't know how the rhyme goes, you either had very impressive digestion as a child or are extremely sheltered. Beans have a reputation for being very hard to digest. The complex sugars that encase the bean survive the environment in your stomach and often travel all the way to the large intestine, where bacteria normally present in the gut become unbalanced as they feast and multiply, releasing gas that supply us with inspiration for the aforementioned rhyme.

There are several theories on how to reduce the oligosaccharides that cause the bottom burping people fear so much. Pre-soaking, changing cooking water, boiling with kombu, and shocking the beans while boiling with cold water are all theories. I tend to use at least two methods. I try to plan ahead and use dry beans because they are very affordable and more eco-friendly than canned. It also avoids the resin lining and BPAs that seep into our food (YUMMY!). Lentils and split peas are legumes that I soak for a day or less. Adzuki, black beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans are soaked for 24-48 hours, and I try to change the water and rinse them thoroughly at least 3 times a day. The beans are then cooked in at least 4 times the volume of water, which I dump out and refill after it begins to look dirty. I cook them in mid heat for at least 45 minutes to 90 minutes or until the bean is nice and squishy. I plan on also using kombu, but as someone with questionable digestive capabilities, I can say that soaking and changing the soak water frequently definitely seem to help considerably.

Taco Beans
1 yellow onion, cut into rings
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 seeded jalapeno, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
2 1/2 cups cooked black, pinto, or kidney beans
2 Tb coconut aminos
1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
lime juice
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, rough chopped

Heat a pan over medium heat. Once the pan is nice and warm, add a few tablespoons of olive oil to coat the pan. When the oil is ready (rippling very slightly on the surface but definitely not smoking), add the onions and garlic. Cook until the onions start to look slightly transluscent and add the jalapeno, mustard seed, and cumin. Once the spices become more aromatic and the onions are translucent, add the beans, salt, coconut aminos, and fresh ground black pepper. Once everything is heated and combined well, turn off the heat and add the lime juice and cilantro.


Guacamole
2 ripe avocados
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper or to taste
1/4 c finely minced onion
juice from 1 lime
1/4 cup+ rough chopped cilantro

Mash the avocado with a fork. Add the onion, salt, pepper, lime, and cilantro and combine thoroughly. Guacamole is one of my favorite dips. If I don't have fresh cilantro or lime, I'll substitute lemon juice an cumin with a pinch of red pepper. It's also great with a little jalapeno or pomegranate seeds.


Macadamia Sour Cream
1/2 c macadamia nuts
1/4 c water
1/2 lemon, juiced
pinch salt

Blend in a high speed blender. If the blender isn't turning well, add a little more water until smooth.

Building a Taco

Tacos are so great because it's like choose your own adventure. Add in salsa, pico de gallo, lettuce, vegan cheese, pineapple, mango, bell peppers, or anything else your heart desires. Wrap up your filling in a gluten free taco shell like my gluten free tortilla I or II wrap recipes. The key is to not overfill, which is why my husband elects to have 3-4 tacos instead of succumbing to a fork and knife.

Good News

Experts are finally starting to acknowledge that food intolerances are real and damaging to the intestines and overall immunity. They are also realizing that gluten is a hard to digest food, and Celiac is likely only an extreme on the spectrum of gluten intolerance. Many people can benefit from avoiding gluten, so if you are having abdominal pain, bloating, excessive gas, mental fog, and/or fatigue, it might be worth cutting it out of your diet for a few weeks to see if there is a change. With this type of reaction, the change won't be apparent immediately.

A gluten free diet is also not healthy by default. I know someone who chooses to live on primarily corn chips and salsa and lives by the "if I don't see it on the menu or don't read the ingredients, it doesn't have gluten" rule. It's important to talk to a nutritionist about avoiding gluten and how to make a very balanced diet. While I try to find ways to sweeten with fruits and other alternatives, some of my recipes are definitely NOT health food. I enjoy those foods on rare occasion. The majority of my days are dessert free and low carb.

Vegan Marionberry and Chocolate Cheezcake

Vegan cheezcakes are so decadent that it's hard to tell you aren't having the real thing. They are very creamy, smooth (if one has the right type of blender), and all of my non-vegan friends love them. My brother has even requested them in place of a traditional birthday cake. One slice is usually a full meal. Cheezcakes are packed full of nuts, other fats, and a lot of sweetener, so I try to enjoy a slice as a rare treat. When I first started a vegan diet, I indulged much more frequently, but I've noticed that my body absorbs fat more readily now. It probably has something to do with adjusting to the diet because I've heard of several other people who started out on a "gourmet" raw vegan diet that was high in fat and had to dial way back over time after they adjusted.

Vegan cheezcakes are best made the day before you intend to serve them. They need time to firm up (although the "pudding" is also delicious). I don't like to call them raw because many of the nuts we have access to in the bulk section of grocery stores are pasteurized before making it to the store. The recipe is very close to those available in Sweet Gratitude, an uncookbook by Cafe Gratitude.


Marionberry Chocolate Cheezcake

Crust
1 1/3 c. almonds or hazelnuts
5 ounces date paste
2 ounces cacao powder
1 vanilla bean, scraped
pinch salt

Filling
3 cups soaked cashews
2 cups macadamia or cashew milk (Living Harvest Vanilla Hemp Milk may work)
3/4 c agave syrup
juice from 1 lemon
1 vanilla bean scraped
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 TB sunflower lecithin
1/2 c cacao butter
1/4 c coconut oil

14 oz frozen Marionberries
2 oz cacao powder

Put the cashews in a bowl to soak. Pit around 15 dates and soak them in water for 20 minutes. Butter the sides of a spring-form pan with coconut oil. After the dates are done soaking, put them in a food processor with an S-blade until the dates stick together in a ball. Split the dates in half and add the nuts, salt and vanilla. After the nuts have broken down, add the rest of the dates and process until the mixture is crumbly, but will hold together if pressed.



Press the crust into the bottom of a spring-form pan. Add 6 oz of marionberries on top of the crust.


Put the coconut oil and cacao butter in a pan on the lowest heat to melt (as soon as it's melted, remove from the heat). Add the cashews, lemon juice, nut milk, agave, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla to a high speed blender. If you have a normal blender, you will need to soak the cashews for a couple hours, split the recipe for the filling in two, and process one batch at a time. Put the filling in a large bowl and use a hand mixer to combine sunflower lecithin and oils into the filling.


Put 2 cups of filling back in the blender with 8 oz of marionberries and mix until very smooth If you have a normal blender, you may want to have thawed berries and cook for a short time to soften, then strain out the seeds. Use the hand mixer to mix the remaining plain batter with the cacao powder. Pour the chocolate batter over the marionberries and smooth out the surface.


Add the marionberry filling over the top of the chocolate filling and smooth out the surface.


Add marionberries as a garnish if you would like.


Put the cheezcake in the freezer for 2 hours and then move to the fridge. Serve after the mixture has been able to set for a minimum of 8 hours.

In other news, Annie continues her vegan leaning tendencies. My husband came to pick me up from acupuncture and said, "Well, Annie sure is your dog! We were eating at a restaurant and she was a very good girl until someone came in with a big leather purse. She barked at it! Even when I calmed her down she was still growling at the purse from time to time." I won't encourage her behavior because I want her to be a reliable citizen, but deep down I think it's just a little bit awesome.

"Bon Appetit!"

No Chicken and Dumplings

I watched the flu sweep through the office over the past few weeks and would cringe while I sat in meetings with coworkers who were coughing, sneezing, and sniffling. I managed to dodge the main wave. Those of you with children know that once they go to preschool or daycare, there seems to be several months of the child contracting and passing along cold after cold. Owen has started going to preschool and brought home a humdinger of a cold that got him the nickname "Typhoid Pookie." My grandmother, mom, brothers, and now husband have all contracted "Pookieitis." Now I have been getting the sniffles and have been making huge pots of soups. My favorite growing up was Chicken and Dumplings. I wasn't huge on the chicken, but I LOVED the dumplings. I decided to make it vegan and gluten free.

No Chicken Soup
2 large sprigs of fresh Rosemary
3 clippings of fresh Oregano
3 fresh Bay Leaves
1/2 cup rough chopped Parsley
1 tsp Salt
Pepper to taste
1/2 head Garlic
1 large Onion
6 stalks Celery
4 Carrots
3 quarts - 1 gallon Water
3-4 Tb Olive Oil
10 small Crimini or Button Mushrooms, quartered

Dumplings
1/4 cup Tapioca Flour
1/2 cup Brown Rice Flour
1/2 cup Teff Flour
pinch Salt
1/2 tsp dry Sage
3 TB Palm Oil
around 1/2-3/4 cup water

Cut the vegetables into one inch chunks. Mince the garlic and add all of the ingredients except the mushrooms into a large soup pan. Turn the heat up to a high medium, simmer for 20 minutes and bring to a boil. Put the flours, salt, and sage for the dumpling ingredients into a mixing bowl and combine. Use a fork to press the palm oil into the other ingredients until combined. Add the water until the dough combines well but is still easily handled. Form dumplings about half the size of a golf ball. Once the soup is in a rolling boil, add the dumplings one at a time, spaced apart from each other so they do not stick. Once the dumplings have been added, add the mushrooms. The dumplings will float to the surface once they are done - after about 20 minutes in the soup. Pick out the rosemary twigs, oregano, and bay leaves while serving.

Brownies

This weekend has been full of good things. Yesterday, I spent some time grocery shopping with my mom. We went to rawvegansource.com's store in Redmond. I enjoy speaking with the owners, and I picked up some liver support supplements, coconut oil, and some tasty dehydrated snacks. The owners have a large garden designed with the principles of permaculture in mind, and we picked up a couple suggestions for some locally run nurseries that emphasize sustainable and natural methods.

Mom and I also went by the Redmond Whole Foods on the recommendation of some friends. There is a really large "special needs" section! Their gluten free section was about the size of some specialty shops I've seen in Kent and Everett. I found some rice krispy-ish cereal to attempt vegan rice krispy treats! I also found some donuts and bagels Lance really enjoys on sale, so I indulged. My diet is actually very low carbohydrate and I don't eat a lot of sweets, so I raided the greens and picked up some nice looking almonds.

After a day of shopping, I came home and spaced out in front of the TV and had some sauteed Brussels Sprouts and olives before going to the Medieval Women's Choir at St. James Cathedral in Seattle with the girls. Usually musicals and operas are not my thing, but I really enjoyed this event. The music is a bit simple, which really allowed the soprano's voice to be on full display. Her voice was gorgeous and had a clarity that was just stunning. Closing my eyes and listening to the music transported me back to a time of pristine land, difficult living, and simple needs.

Today, Lance went skiing early this morning. He walked and fed the dogs, who were content after he left and let me sleep in until 9. We all got up and I had breakfast, cleaned the kitchen, and then worked on a business plan. My mom stopped by and we all went on a long walk in a slight drizzle. It was absolutely freezing here yesterday, but today was considerably warmer and the snow had turned to rain. We got inside right before the downpour and enjoyed a romaine and cucumber salad with a avocado pepper dressing that went well with almonds and capers. I had attempted brownies a few days ago and discovered that there IS such a thing as too much chocolate (no really - it was INTENSE), so with a few tweaks, we had a successful batch this evening. I will probably continue to fine tune the recipe (and add varieties like mint, raspberry, etc), but I haven't posted in a while and thought I would share what I have so far.

Gluten-Free, Vegan Brownies

These brownies are dense, which is how I prefer my brownies. I like them without frosting and Lance likes them with Coconut Bliss ice cream piled on top. This is a recipe that is best done ahead of time. A fine crust will form over the top over night, giving these brownies a classic, rich taste and texture.

3 oz cacao butter
3 oz coconut oil
3 oz cacao powder
1.5 oz sorghum flour
1.5 oz brown rice flour
1 oz tapioca flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 T chia seeds
3.5 sweet potato, cooked and mashed
7 oz maple syrup
3 oz agave

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the cacao butter and coconut oil on the lowest possible stovetop setting. Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl and the mashed sweet potato, maple syrup, melted oils, and agave in another. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry while stirring. Line an 8X15 inch pan with baking paper, and pour the batter into the pan. Bake for about 25 minutes. The center will look a little moist, but it will quickly take on a cake like appearance as it continues to cook outside of the stove.

Gluten Free, Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

I feel bad I haven't taken the time to blog lately. Things have been busy and tiring (and fun!). Yesterday I dropped off some goodies for a bake sale and we had a small get together. I finally conquered the Snickerdoodle (YAYY!), which got rave reviews along with my lucuma banana cupcakes with vanilla icing. Today I went to discuss renting a commercial kitchen so I can attend farmer's markets on the weekends and potentially do some online sales. There is a lot to getting a baking business started....

There wasn't much leftover...I love how people try to

be polite and not take the last cookie, but people ended up
tearing pieces off

Today I decided to work on a business plan for the bakery and start perfecting more recipes. I have several that are market ready, but I could always use more (many more, preferably). I tend to try to bake the things I loved when I was younger. Cinnamon rolls are something my grandmother really excels at, and my brothers always beg her to make them. I decided to try my hand at them. Gluten free rolls are....not quite the same (at least not the rolls I've made so far). The dough does hold up to rolling for cutting, but it's soft enough that the cinnamon swirl loses its definition and I press into a rectangle rather than attempting to roll. I'm personally allergic to baker's yeast, but my husband tells me they are quite good. He's gotten to be a pretty reliable food critic, and although he isn't always very descriptive as to why he does or doesn't like something, I know I can trust his overall opinion.


Cinnamon Rolls
makes about 8


Rolls
1/2 c Teff Flour
1 c Brown Rice Flour
1/2 c Tapioca Flour
1 1/4 c Sweet Potato (cooked and mashed)
1/2 tsp salt
4 T melted Palm Oil
1/2 c water
2 T Yeast
1 T Maple Syrup


Cinnamon Filling
7 Medjool Dates
1/4 c packed Raisins
1/4 c Coconut Oil
1/2 t Cinnamon
2 T Maple Syrup
pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put the dates and raisins in water to soak and set aside. Warm a 1/2 cup of water to 110 degrees and add the maple syrup and yeast. If the water is the right temperature, you will see the yeast foam up within the first couple minutes. Combine the dry ingredients for the rolls and melt the palm oil. Add the yeast mixture and palm oil and fold into the dry ingredients. I end up getting my hands dirty to make sure things are well combined (be careful not to overmix/handle).

Drain the dates and raisins and put them in a food processor with an S blade until the dried fruit starts to form a ball (it should be close to a paste at that point). Put the mixture in a mixing bowl and combine the maple syrup, cinnamon, and coconut oil. Set aside.

Put a piece of parchment paper over a cookie sheet and work the dough into a large rectangle shape.


Put tablespoons of the date/filling mixture around the dough and GENTLY spread the mixture with a knife, being careful not to tear the dough underneath.


Once the mixture is evenly spread, roll the dough.


Score the dough and cut into even pieces, about an inch and a half thick.


Bake for 30 minutes or until a nice golden color:


Icing
2 T Palm Oil
1/2 T hot water
2 c Powdered Sugar - approximate
vanilla

Stir the palm oil and hot water together with a hand mixer, along with vanilla bean (1/2 a bean scraped or 1/2 tsp extract). Put 1.5 cups sugar in a fine sifter and sift the sugar. Combine the mix and continue to add sugar as necessary to achieve the right consistency. These measurements may be a little off - I tend to eyeball frosting.