Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Quinoa Tortillas

I don't want to call corn tortillas a waste of calories, but they kind of are - high in carbohydrates/sugar and not much protein..  So after slandering the good name of corn (sorry!) I must admit I love them!  I recently decided to become way more raw.  I have to remember to eat cooked foods (about 20%), because I'm eating mostly raw  feel so good that I forget that I need somethings cooked!  So these little puppies are my cooked food awesomeness as of late!  Plus - quinoa is full of protein and nutrition!

These little guys can be a little tricky to make at first, but I promise by your 3rd or 4th batch you'll totally get the hang of it :)  I have a tortilla press that works really well for this.  If you don't have one you can roll between well floured wax paper.

These remind me of whole wheat tortillas.  I don't know if that's true at all because I haven't eaten wheat in over 6 years, but somewhere in the taste part of my brain it says "wheat", lol.

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Quinoa Tortillas
1 cup Quinoa Flour (I use the flakes and grind myself)
Extra Quinoa Flour to be used to flour the press and coat the tortillas before cooking
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan Salt
1/4-1/2 cup Purified Water
2 squirts of Fresh Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon Grapeseed Oil

In a medium bowl, add quinoa and salt.  Mix well with a fork.  Make a well in the middle and add lemon juice, grapeseed oil and 1/4 cup of the water.  Using the fork, combine until the consistency is like a crumble top of a pie.  If there is dry quinoa flour slowly add more water - add by the teaspoonful.  If the dough becomes too sticky, it's nearly impossible to make tortillas.

Preheat two small cast iron skillets on the stove at medium to medium high. I have a gas stove and it's different than an electric range.  Start with medium and if the tortillas are not cooking and creating brown spots, adjust the temperature higher.  If the tortillas are burning, reduce heat.  Do not use oil.  This is a dry cooking process.

While the pans are heating up, it's time to make tortillas.  Make small balls - about 1 tablespoon or so - out of all the dough.  Using a piece of wax paper, make sure both sides of the tortillas press are covered.  Flour the bottom very well with the extra quinoa flour.  Take each ball and roll in the quinoa flour first.  Place in the tortilla press and press until flat.  Carefully remove and coat both sides with quinoa flour.   Place in the skillet for 2-3 minutes on each side.  Depending on your heat this will vary.  You will notice the color changes on the tortillas - that's perfect!  Flip and cook for a couple more minutes.  Continue until all those little balls have become tortillas!

YUMM!

perfect consistency

right out of the press

perfect little tortilla

ideas of what to do with these fun guys - salsa with a garlic sauce and salsa with an avocado

another idea - add a giant dollop of my zucchini hummus!  YUM!

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Amazing Kale Chips (Tuscan Kale)

Thanks to my buddy Tara for this idea!  She does the recipe differently and I tried it her way first, which was very yummy!  Then I wanted to make them a little spicy and cheesy.  These are so wonderful that my Mom and I ate an entire bunch of kale in one sitting, haha!  These require very little work and are such an amazing alternative to potato chips!

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Amazing Kale Chips (Tuscan Kale)
1 bunch Kale
1 tablespoon Grapeseed Oil
2 teaspoons Nutritional Yeast
1 teaspoon Herb Stop's Hot Garlic Salt

Preheat oven to 250 F.  Cut the vein in the middle of each kale leaf out.  Depending on how big you want your kale chips, leave them long or cut into 3 inch sections.  I find that the kale naturally scallops in and I rip it there - about 3 inch pieces.  Make sure you wash the kale really well.  Using a salad spinner make sure they are nice and dry.  In a large bowl add oil , yeast and hot garlic salt and mix well.  Add in kale and for about 3 minutes roll the kale in the sauce.  Don't massage the kale, just keep rolling it so that the sauce covers evenly.  Place on a baking sheet (I use a slipmat/silicone baking mat) making sure the leaves don't overlap - keep it one layer.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until crispy.  Enjoy warm or allow to cool.

1 bunch of organic kale

sauce

de-veined and ready

spread out and ready to cook

fresh from the oven

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Hearty Split Pea Soup

Hearty soups in winter...what could be better?  This wonderful soup - really more of a stew - tastes so hearty and almost like what I remember my mom's beef stew tasting like!  The nice thing about this soup is that you can add/substitute any of the veggies for other root veggies.  I like to cut everything into cubes - gives a nice look :0

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Hearty Split Pea Soup
1 cup Green Split Peas, rinsed
1-2 smaller medium Russet Potatoes, diced into cubes
1/2 cup Yellow Onion, diced
1/2 cup Celery, diced
1/3 cup Carrots, diced
1/2 Parsnip, diced (optional)
4 cups Vegetable Broth (I like Fresh & Easy's Organic one)
1 Bay Leaf
1-2 tablespoons Herb Stop's Beef Flavored Broth (Vegetarian)
Herb Stop's Hot Garlic Salt (very optional) or Salt/Pepper (optional)

Combine all ingredients, except the Hot Garlic Salt in a large stock pot.  Bring to a boil , then reduce heat to low (simmer).  Cover and simmer for a minimum of 45 minutes, or until everything is soft.  The peas take the longest :) I like to sprinkle Hot Garlic Salt on my soup, but any salt and/or pepper would work.

yummy ingredients

almost done

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie (Raw-ish)

Oh comfort food!  This can be a little difficult to accomplish without sugar, artificial flavors, gelatin and all the other nasty-ness that just tastes so good!  After I received some bad news this week, I decided that I was going to make this comfort food business happen!  Thank god it was delicious because I really needed that piece!

I recently discovered the joys of chocolate mousse made with avocados and it's hard not to eat it all day!  Last night I decided to make a pie out of the mousse and oh man am I glad I did!

I will admit that the crust is a little sticky, but it is really tasty that way.  With this pie, I used coconut milk and coconut shavings sprinkled over the top for a little extra flavor.  I'm going to try coconut flour for the crust as well.  The options are limitless - you could use oranges, raspberries, etc.

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie (Raw-ish)
The Crust:
2 cups + Almond Flour - blanched if possible
1/4 cup Agave Nectar
1 1/2 - 3 Tablespoons Earth Balance Soy Free Butter Substitute (amount depends on how buttery you would like the crust) - If you wanted to be completely raw, you could substitute with coconut/grapeseed oil.
1/4 teaspoon Fine Unrefined Salt - I used Herb Stop's Sel Gris Fine

Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well until the crust is well blended.  I had to add an extra couple tablespoons of the almond flour because it was a little too sticky.  Use your judgement.  Using an 8 or 9 inch pie plate, push the blend into the plate, with wet fingers, to create a pie crust. Store in the refrigerator.

Chocolate Mousse/Cream
1/4 cup Maple Syrup
3/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 mashed Ripe Avocado - about 3/4 cup
6 tablespoons Dutched Cocoa Powder (any unsweetened cocoa powder works)
1/4 cup Coconut Milk
Chocolate Shavings (optional)
Dry Shredded Coconut (optional)

Place all ingredients in a food processor except the chocolate shavings and shredded coconut - I used my magic bullet.  I would guess that if you didn't have a food processor, as long as you mashed really really well, you could make this without one.  Blend until creamy.  This can be a little tricky because it's thick.  I tap the and shake the magic bullet.  If using a traditional food processor, scrape down the sides.

Pour the Chocolate Mousse/Cream in the previously made pie crust and top with chocolate shaving and coconut.  Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.  Serve cold.

DELICIOUS!

pie crust

chocolate mousse/cream

with chocolate shavings

yummy!  

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Another simple one.  I've tried mashed potatoes with every liquid imaginable and it just doesn't work without milk and cream.  One day my Mom and I were discussing this issue and she suggested using a ricer and not adding anything.  As usual, my Mom was right!  These are light fluffy and tasty!

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Garlic Mashed Potatoes
2 Russet Potatoes - diced
1 large, 2 small cloves Garlic
Himalayan Salt
Fresh Chives

Boil potatoes in salted water.  With 5 minutes remaining push garlic through a garlic press and add to the water.  Drain excess water and place potato garlic mix in a potato ricer.  Serve fluffy, do not blend or mash down.  Sprinkle with salt and fresh chives.

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Vegetable Pizza

I miss pizza! Pizza is bad in so many ways for a grain-free vegan.  It's the dish of pure evil!  hahahaha.  I came across a really cool bread mix that I had to modify, but it's really tasty!  The brand is Chebe.  I also discovered Daiya cheese, which is grain-free, vegan, etc. etc.  I'm excited!  I'll post the entire recipe here - from the crust to the pizza sauce.  This was SUPER yummy!

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Vegetable Pizza  - THE DOUGH
1 package Chebe Pizza Crust Mix
1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
2 tablespoons Grapeseed Oil
3 teaspoons Egg Replacer
4 tablespoons Water
4 tablespoons Almond Milk

In a medium bowl add Chebe and xanthan gum - mix well.  With a fork, incorporate grapeseed oil.  In a small bowl, add egg replacer and water and mix very well until no clumps remain.  Add to Chebe and blend with fork.  Add almond milk  and blend with a fork.  Knead mixture until all the chebe is incorporated and a nice doughy ball remains.   Using the palm of your hand, spread the dough out into a 14" circle, or rectangle.

chebe!

Mixed with a fork

ready for pizza sauce!

 Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Vegetable Pizza  - THE SAUCE
2 tablespoons Tomato Paste - I use bionaturae
3/4 cup Water
1 teaspoons Herb Stop's Pizza Seasoning
dash Herb Stop's Onion Salt
1/2 teaspoon Herb Stop's Minced Garlic
1/2 teaspoon Arrowroot

Add all ingredients to a blender - I used my magic bullet.  Blend until all ingredients are incorporated.  If the sauce is too runny, add arrowroot 1/4 teaspoon at a time.

ready for blending

 Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Vegetable Pizza - PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Premade dough, rolled out
Premade, pizza sauce
Daiya Mozzarella "Cheese"
Veggies of your choice - I used red onion, zucchini and tomatoes

Preheat oven to 450.  Using all the premade sauce, cover the pizza dough, leaving the edges without sauce.  Sprinkle Daiya cheese on top, using less than what you would of normal cheese.  Keep in mind that Daiya is quite greasy.  Add toppings of your choice and bake for 15-18 minutes.  Crust will not brown, but instead will be crispy and hard to the touch.  ENJOY!!!!!

with pizza sauce

magic cheese

with Daiya cheese added

ready for the oven

fresh out of the oven

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Simple Garlic Zucchini

Sometimes simple really is the best!  A yummy zucchini mixed with garlic, topped with some salt and voila ... YUM!

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Simple Garlic Zucchini
1 Zucchini - cut into matchsticks
1-3 teaspoons Herb Stop's Minced Garlic
Herb Stop's Toasted Onion Salt

In a medium frying pan add 1/3-1/2 cup water (depending on the size of the zucchini).  Add zucchini and garlic, heat over medium high heat.  Cook until zucchini is cooked, but not mushy and the water has been absorbed/evaporated - about 6-8 minutes.

Top with Toasted Onion Salt

Chopped into rounds

then chopped into matchsticks

matchsticks ready for cooking

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Dr. Christopher-Style Dinners

I'm on a new journey....again!  I'm studying Dr. Christopher right now, whom I look up to as an herbalist almost as much as my Mom.  An amazing man, incredible courage, intelligence beyond imagination....I could go on and on.  As I'm reading Herbal Home Health, I find myself nodding and nodding and nodding.  Coming to the mucousless diet and reading about the pain that can ensue when you clear out all the caked on gross-ness in your colon, I felt inspired!  Perhaps this was what happened to me this last time.  All that cleansing really rocked something out of my body.  COOL!

Anyway....Dr. Christopher had some simple mucous producing food list.  This we call the No-No list.  Basically, no animal products - including meat, dairy and eggs, no salt (I don't know if I want to follow that part - unrefined salt is so healthy for you), no sugar (EEEK!), a few more things and of course, no processed foods.    A nice dinner, he suggested, would include a baked potato - skin and all, some steamed veggies, vegetable juice, a low temperature cooked grain (can't do this because of the allergy so I'll be using a lot of quinoa) and a huge vegetable salad.

So here I am, lost 7 lbs from being sick and I'm scared to eat for two reasons.  One - I don't want to have pain.  Two - as soon as I start eating I'll gain the weight back two fold.  Dr. Christophers plan was SOOOOOOOO much food!  Well, my husband was just going to have to love me even if I was huge.  I ate by his suggestion, minus the vegetable juice...I'm just not there yet, and I was full.  Now not like the Thanksgiving "ugh" full, but the "I feel really good" full.  I was nice and full until late the next morning.

So the big test was the scale.  I stepped on.  Uhhhhhh?  How did I lose a pound?  Must not have hit me yet.  Day two, lost another 1/2 pound.  Hrmmmmm.  Well here we are a couple week later and I'm down 12 pounds!  Almost at my wedding day weight!

So long story short.  I feel awesome.  I had to buy new pants.  I love Dr. Christopher <3

I'll be posting full a lot of full meals, because I really enjoy eating this way!  Enjoy!

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Dr. Christopher-Style Dinner #1

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Potato Squash Medley (My favorite mix)
2 medium Potatoes
1 Zucchini
1 Yellow Onion
Water
Seasonings

Using the french fry cutter on a mandolini slicer, slice all veggies into a medium pot.  Add 1/2-1 cup good water.  Heat on high until bubbling, reduce heat to medium (gas), low medium (electric).  Cook until potatoes are soft.  If there is left over water, take lid off and cook until water has evaporated. Add your favorite seasoning - I love using Herb Stop's Toasted Onion Salt.

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Beef-less Cashew Quinoa
2 teaspoons Herb Stop's Beef Flavored Broth or any broth of choice
1 cup washed Quinoa
2 cups Good Water
1 handful Cashew pieces
1/2 -1 teaspoon Herb Stop's Sprinkle & Rub Spice

Cover quinoa with water.  Mix in broth and spice.  Heat on high until simmering then reduce heat to low-medium.  Cover and check on water level every 5 minutes.  When water has about 5 minutes left to absorb, add cashews.  Sprinkle with your favorite salt - I also love Herb Stop's Toasted Onion Salt for this one too!

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Massive Salad
1 head of Lettuce, chopped/torn/however you like
1 handful of Cherry/Grape Tomatoes, sliced in half
1 Avocado, chopped
1/4-1/2 cup shredded cabbage
any other veggies you desire
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar (or Apple Cider Vinegar)
1 clove Garlic
In a large bowl, add olive oil and push garlic through a garlic press.  Mix well.  Mix in all veggies, except lettuce.  Add vinegar and mix well.  Add lettuce and toss well.

nom nom nom!!!

Consumption of a Vegan

After that last post of a sad story, I thought I'd write something that made me laugh when I was thinking about it today.

Have you ever wondered what the food consumption of a vegan is?  I sure haven't....I just eat!  hehehehe.  Having been on the potatoes and squash diet for a month now, I could tell you that is one short sentence.  Now, I've expanded my horizons!  I'm also reading Dr. Christopher's books and eating my main meal according to what he believes is the best: 1 potato, steamed vegetables, slow and low temp cooked grains and a large vegetable salad. Lots and lots of food!  So here we are at my daily consumption - I think really I eat a small backyard garden daily, lol.

1 handful of cashews
4 small apples (thanks to my in-laws!)
1 1/2 zucchinis
1 1/2 yellow straight neck squashes
1 1/2 yellow onions
3 medium potatoes
1 cup cooked quinoa
5 scallions
1/2-3/4 cup shredded green cabbage
1 head lettuce
6-8 cherry/grape tomatoes
2 carrots
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove
many many spices
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt
of course my current herbs - marshmallow root, comfrey root, hawthorn and devil's claw

I'm especially laughing because the CDC says I need 2 serving of fruit and 2.5 servings of veggies - my goodness the potatoes alone are more than that!  So I'd say the apples are like 2 serving of fruit - done with that part, lol.  What about the veggies....lets be conservative, eh?  Zukes and Squash = 2, onion = 1, potatoes =3, scallions = 1/4, green cabbage = 1/2, lettuce = 1, tomatoes = 1/4, carrots = 1.

I add up 9 servings!  HA!  That is hilarious!  Yummy in my tummy!

Why Haven't You Posted Any Recipes!?!?!?!

As I sit here eating dinner, I'm feeling very guilty about not posting more recipes.  In the recent month, I've had some issues.  I get ahead of myself and think "Oh, I'm totally better!  Let me do a deep cleanse!"  Well, this ended up in disaster about a month ago.

I woke up in the middle of the night with that sense of pain.  Once I awoke I thought, oh no! no! no! no! there is no way my gallbladder is doing this!  Sadly, it was.  After throwing up my lunch and dinner from the previous day - still whole, I might add - I went outside with my doggie and called my Mom.  As I cried and cried telling her that I didn't have the strength to go through with this, I thought to myself that the alternative was either drugs or surgery.  I knew I didn't want either, but I'm still trying to recover from being sick for nearly two years.  How could I muster the energy to battle this?

Luckily my Mother came over and helped me with a million different herbs, teas, aloe, peppermint essential oil, lemon essential oil, reflexology and of course the backrubs to help loosen the excruciating spasms that shoot up to the right shoulder.  After an hour or so, the vomiting commenced.  Once that was done, my Husband went to my shop and got new treatments - ginger, alkaline water, etc.  Long painful story later, I recovered.....so I thought.

Couple weeks later my Husband and I are at our house down in Mesa.  I woke up with pain again.  I had nothing there. Not even a tea.  I decided I would mentally fight this!  I can do this!  I went to the dryer and heated up towels to put over my abdomen.  At the third round, I realized it wasn't helping.  On to hot water.  At around 6 in the morning, I woke my husband up.  My battle had failed.  I was having the worst attack of my life.  I told him we needed to leave, leave immediately.  He scooped up our toothbrushes and essentials and he put me and my doggie in the car.  Of course, Murphey's Law, we needed gas.  As I writhed in agony, moaning loudly, my husband filled up the tank and got me some peppermints from the store.  He got back in the car and we sped - I mean sped - back to Payson.

I never realized that you could vomit from pain until now.  On our way up, I was crying, writhing in pure agony and moaning all of a sudden I said "stop the car right now!"  My Hubby pulled over and I barely had time to open the door.  Up it came!

Finally we got to our house up here and I started with the heating pad and my husband said what do you need?  He had denied my previous begging of "take me to the hospital" knowing that I would be very upset with him the next day if he had listened to my pleading.  My answer:  drugs.  I wanted drugs!  Anyone that knows me, knows that this is completely out of character for me.  He searched the cabinets for something.  I had been prescribed pain killers from an accident I had where my little toe met the hard wood of my bed stand, and I never used them.  So I began to take them.  Finally I could stop thrashing around, although the pain was unbearable.  Of course, this episode would not be complete without vomiting one more time.  Of course that would be all stomach acid, which burned my sinus - making it impossible to breathe through my nose for two days, the end of my nose which is still raw and of course my esophagus right in the middle of my chest.  At the end of the day, I doped myself up and brutally exhausted, I slept.

Waking up the next morning was very scary.  As I silently cried to myself, I begged to please be able to at least have less pain.  I did!  I made it!  The pain was still there, but I could handle it.  I was very grateful my husband had taken such good care of me.  He made me teas that I would take one sip of and I would tell him "nuh uh, try another one" and he would check my temperature, check my eyes for jaundice.   My poor Mom, worried all day and night about me.  I was a rough episode for all of us.

So, this is why there is a lack of recipes as of late.  I have only been able to eat potatoes and squash for the last month.  Luckily, I was able to expand my horizons this past week.  I'm hoping in the next few weeks I'll be able to make some tasty treats for Thanksgiving!

Thank you for your understanding
<3 <3 <3
Natalie

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Green Beans & Pecans In Maple Sauce

I haven't posted in a long time....eeek!  Last night I made this delicious dish and I was excited to post it this morning!  The flavor is sweet and complex!  I love it!

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Green Beans & Pecans In Maple Sauce
2 cups Green Beans - cut into 1- 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup Pecans - I used the organic mini ones
2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup (only use the real stuff!)
1 clove Garlic - pushed through a garlic press
Herb Stop's Toasted Onion Salt

Steam/boil green beans until desired firmness.  I like mine only a little crunchy - which is about 8 minutes.  For very crunchy 3-4 minutes.  Strain and set aside.  In a frying pan, add pecans and turn the heat to medium to medium high.  Place pecans in the pan and "roast" until there is a nice toasty smell.  reduce heat to medium to medium low.  Add in the maple syrup and garlic.  Stirring constantly, let bubble and thicken.  After about 2 minutes, turn off heat and add in green beans.  Toss until well coated.  Once plated, sprinkle with Onion Salt.  ENJOY!

I added a water to a frying pan and added in the green beans. 

roasting nuts

cooking in the pecans and garlic

added in green beans

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Banana Bread with Cinnamon Topping

Oh yummy banana bread!  A long time ago I invented a banana bread, but it wasn't vegan - only grain-free.  Well, the other night I came home and the bananas were almost on the rotten side - they were really getting on the brown/black side.  My husband hates when I over buy food and when some things end up turning (I'm working on this issue) so I said .... Noooooooo, don't throw that out!  I decided I was going to try banana bread.  I searched through the folders of my food creations and found my old recipe.  Sure enough - my old flour blend with almonds was at the top of the list (bummer - I was out of almonds) followed by milk and eggs. Well, I was determined to make this happen!  I invented a new flour blend off the cuff and the milk could be replaced by almond milk and the eggs by egg replacer.  I would have to tweak things a bit, but I have to do that all the time.  This was moist and the texture inside had small pockets, just like bread.  Everyone was loving this one! Score!

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Banana Bread
2 cups Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Flour Blend #1
1/3 cup Vanilla Almond Milk (I haven't tried the unsweetened yet)
2 Over Ripe Bananas
1/4 cup Grapeseed Oil
1 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer + 2 Tablespoons Water (1 egg)
1/2 cup packed Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Herb Stop's Aluminum-Free Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Unrefined Salt (I used Herb Stop's Fine Sel Gris)

Cinnamon Topping
1/3 cup Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Flour Blend #1
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Herb Stop's Vietnamese Cinnamon
2 Tbsp Spectrum Organic All Vegetable Shortening (Palm Oil --- NOT SOY)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease the bottoms and sides of mini-loaf pan (mine has 8 loaves - which is perfect for this recipe)
In a small bowl, add all the cinnamon topping ingredients.  Using a pastry blender, cut in the shortening until well incorporated.  Set aside.
In a small dish mix egg replacer and water until completely dissolved, set aside.
In a medium bowl add bananas and mash very well.  Add almond milk, oil and mix well.  Add remaining ingredients, including egg replacer.  Mix until only a couple lumps remain - those should be the bananas.
Pour batter, in equal amounts, into mini loaf pans.  This recipe will make 8 mini loaves.  Generously sprinkle topping over the breads.  Bake for 15 minutes and check with a tooth pick to make sure it's fully cooked.  If the bread needs more time, only add 2 minutes at a time.  The cinnamon topping can burn and become bitter if cooked too long.

fresh out of the oven...mmmmmmmm

nice and moist

perfect loaf!

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan "Flour" Blend #1

Throughout the years of being grain-free I've come up with a bazillion "flour" recipes.  Many of them were amazing, many of them complete failures.  This recipe started off with almond flour and was pretty good, but if you baked anything a long time it would taste bitter - yuck!  So, one night I was wanting to try to invent a banana bread  recipe and as I was pre-mixing the "flour" I realized that I didn't have almond flour!  I had already been busy in the kitchen making cashew butter, pesto, etc. and I didn't feel like playing with the vita-mix again.  As I rummaged through my cabinets I saw an unopened bag of Garbanzo/Fava Flour.  I've made breads with straight garbanzo and I didn't want to have that flavor in the banana bread - I thought the Fava might tone it down.

Turns out the banana bread was unbelievably delicious (recipe to come)!  I haven't had the opportunity to use this "flour" blend in anything else yet, but I'm sure it's going to be great for breads.  There were beautiful pockets, the bread rose nicely and there wasn't any grit.  I'm excited!

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan "Flour" Blend #1
1 1/2 cup + 2/3 cup Potato Starch
1/2 cup Garbanzo/Fava Flour
1/3 cup Tapioca Flour
1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum

Mix all ingredients very well and store in a container for future use.

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Curried Potato Leeks

Last week I was thinking that I use a lot of the same spices and it was time to change things up a bit.  Then a lady came into the shop asking about curry and as I was showing her the different kinds, I realized I was having a major craving for curry!  We were talking recipes, droooooling over ideas and I decided that it was time for some curry, but with a fun spin on it!

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Coconut Curried Potato Leeks
1 small Leek, diced (about 1/2 cup)
about 3-4 cups Potatoes, diced - I used red and Yukon gold
1/2-1 cup Cashew pieces
1 tablespoon Grapeseed Oil
1/2-1 cup Coconut Milk - I used sweetened
1 1/2 teaspoons Herb Stop's Organic Curry Powder
Unrefined Salt

Steam diced potatoes for 5 minutes over salted water, then add cashews and steam for an additional 2 minutes.  Only cook potatoes until they are done, do not let them get mushy.
While potatoes are steaming, in a large pan place grapeseed oil in a pan over medium high heat.  Once hot, add leeks and saute until limp.  Add curry powder and coconut milk.  Allow to heat to bubbling, which will allow the coconut milk to become thick.  Turn off heat.  Toss potato mixture in the curry sauce.  VOILA!

This was amazing hot, and I even enjoyed it cold ..... gave me some ideas for a curried potato salad...hmmmmmmmm.........

diced potatoes

curry coconut sauce

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Eggs/Frittata - Could it be?

I realize that it's been a really long time since my last blog....eeeeek!  Truth is, I've been harvesting from garden which includes tomatoes and squash.  Most of everything has consisted of those two ingredients - kinda boring.  I've also been experimenting and I've had many ..... many failures.  Well, I'm on a little break from the squash and have the itch to start trying new things again!

As I browsed the isles of Fresh & Easy this week, I noticed that the gluten-free section has been expanded.  Perhaps it's my annoying weekly suggestion cards asking for more gluten-free items?  *chuckle*  Well....I came across this interesting package called Lucini - Cinque e' Cinque.  The package read Tuscan Chickpea Frittata Mix.  I assumed it was dry eggs and some chickpeas.  I was wrong! The ingredients read: Chickpea Flour (Custom proprietary milled).  I thought....it's going to taste like a falafel - as all things chickpea do - but I was in the mood for falafels anyway.  The instructions were a bit strange - heat a dish at 500; while it's heating mix chickpeas with water and oil; add to the hot dish; bake; then bake with door propped open.  Well, whatever - I was going to check it out!  The recipe called for olive oil and olive oil turns to a trans fat at a very low temp, so 500 degrees + olive oil = not for me.  So as in true Natalie fashion, I changed the recipe and successfully used grapeseed oil. :)  

So....did it taste like a falafel? NOPE!  Did it taste like eggs?  YES!  Was I immediately nuts? YES! I said to my husband: we have to go back right now and buy more!  Does my husband know I'm nuts and a little bit of a food hoarder?  YES.  Did he say no?  Yup...he sure did.  hehehehe.  Well, I've been enjoying this amazing dish that tastes just like eggs!  I'm very excited to see what else I can do with it!  I first had it with a salad on top.  I've eaten it plain like a snack.  Last night I added fresh basil, an amazing heirloom tomato from my mom's garden, an onion and lots of fresh chives.  *drool*

Grain/Gluten-Free Vegan Eggs/Frittata (Lucini Tuscan Chickpea Frittata Mix)
1 package Cinque 'e Cinque by Lucini
Grapeseed oil for coating pan
750 ml Cold Clean Water
3 tablespoons Grapeseed Oil
1 1/2 teaspoons Herb Stop's Sonoma Salt - any unrefined fine grind will work

Follow instructions as show on the package.

To make the dish pictured above, allow frittata to cool completely.  Top with fresh basil, 1 tomato slice, 1 slice of red onion and finish with plenty of fresh chopped chives.

ENJOY!!!

So Yum!!!!