Stuffed Acorn Squash

Stuffed Acorn Squash

One acorn squash
One cup cooked rice
Three stalks celery, chopped
One onion, chopped
Olive or coconut oil

Cut an acorn squash vertically in half.  Scoop out the seeds.  Place squash, cut side down, on an aluminum foil lined tray.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  While that is baking, saute the onion and celery in the oil.  Once onions begin to soften, add the rice (I use brown rice).  You can season however you'd like.  I use liquid aminos (healthy alternative to soy sauce), and cayenne pepper.
Once the squash is done, remove from the oven and turn them over.  Stuff them with the filling and put back in the oven for 10-15 minutes.     

Coconut Crumb Cake

I got this recipe from the Whole Foods website.  This was so good.  Made with homemade coconut milk, homemade coconut flour, and coconut oil.  I will definitely be making this again. 

For the Crumb Topping
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup solid refined coconut oil, plus more for the pan

For the Cake
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup refined coconut oil
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk or canned light coconut milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil an 8-inch-square baking pan.

To make the crumb topping, stir together sugar, coconut and flour in a medium bowl. With fingers or a pastry blender, work in coconut oil until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

For the cake, whisk together flour, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. In a separate large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat sugar and coconut oil until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl. Add flour mixture, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, just until combined. Stir in vanilla.

Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle evenly with crumb topping. Bake about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Let cake cool completely before serving.

Here's a link to the page:
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/3103

Whole Wheat Veg Pizza

Dough                                               Sauce                                Toppings
3/4 cup water (110-115 degrees)       1 can tomato sauce             Desired amount of mozzarella cheese
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast                    1 tsp dried thyme                Toppings of your choice
1 tsp sugar                                          1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt                                         1 tsp dried oregano
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp cornmeal
Olive oil

Stir water, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.  When yeast has dissolved, stir in both flours and the cornmeal until it comes together.  Once dough starts to form, turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, 5-10 minutes.  Lightly coat the dough with olive oil, place the dough back into the bowl and cover with a kitchen towel.  Place in a warm spot and leave until doubled in size, about one hour. 

Meanwhile, make the sauce.  Stir together one can tomato sauce, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp dried oregano and salt.  This will be more than enough for one pizza.  You can freeze the leftovers, or if you are making more than one pizza you will need the extra sauce.

Once the dough has risen, roll it out to fit your pizza sheet.  Moderately coat the pizza sheet with cornmeal.  This will prevent the pizza from sticking to the pan.  Transfer dough to the pizza sheet.  Lightly coat dough with sauce.  Top with whatever toppings you choose, then add the cheese.    

Bake 12-15 minutes at 415 degrees.  If you don't like whole wheat, you can substitute the whole wheat flour with another cup of all purpose flour.  Also, we eat two pizzas among the 5 of us, so I just double the recipe for the dough. 

Butternut Squash with Kale and Quinoa

I had a butternut squash in the fridge and had no idea what to do with it.  This is what I came up with. 

1 peeled, seeded, and diced butternut squash
1 onion, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves
1-2 tomatoes, diced
1 can garbanzo beans
3/4 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups water
3-4 kale leaves, removed from the stem and chopped
salt
cayenne pepper
thyme
coconut oil

Saute the butternut squash, onion, and garlic in the coconut oil over medium-high heat.  Add salt and thyme to desired taste.  Once the squash starts to soften, add the garbanzo beans and tomatoes, and lower heat.  Meanwhile, cook the quinoa.  Put the quinoa, water, salt to taste, and cayenne pepper to taste in a medium pot over high heat until boiling.  Once boiling, lower the heat, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until water is completely absorbed.  Once the squash is tender, add cooked quinoa and chopped kale leaves. 

Maple Oat Cookies

2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup agave nectar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Toast oats in oven at 350 degrees for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, maple syrup, agave and vanilla until combined. Add maple mixture to oat mixture and stir to combine completely. The dough will be warm. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gently flatten dough with wet fingers and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack, then store them in an airtight container.

I got the original recipe from Whole Foods.  I tweaked it a bit and came up with this.  I think next time I will add some coconut shreds.

Mayonnaise

I rarely eat mayonnaise, but if I do I like to make it myself.  This is super easy to make. I got this recipe from Food Network Magazine.

• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• Sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups olive oil

Place the egg yolks, vinegar and mustard in a blender. Season with salt, to taste. Turn the blender on low and VERY slowly start to add in the oil until the mixture starts to look like mayonnaise, then a slow steady stream of oil can be added.

Vegetarian Chili

• Olive oil
  
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2-3 bell peppers, chopped
• 2-3 tomatoes, diced
• 3 medium carrots, finely chopped
• Salt
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup chili powder
  
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 chipotle chile pepper in adobo sauce, chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  
• 2 corn tortillas, torn into pieces
• 1/2 cup brewed coffee
• 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 head cauliflower, grated
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or over medium-high heat. Add the onion, tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots and salt.  Saute until the carrots begin to soften. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, oregano, chipotle, tomato paste and tortillas. Add the coffee and simmer. Stir in the beans and vegetable stock and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chili thickens about 1.5 hours. About 10 minutes before the chili is done cooking, stir in the grated cauliflower. Cook 10 minutes, then remove from the heat. Stir in the chopped cilantro and season with salt.

If you don't do spicy, you can omit the chile chipotle.

Ginger Lemon Spice Tea

This is not a new post, but my last post on this was for a hot tea.  This is a recipe that makes more of the tea, which I then refrigerate.  Perfect for the hot weather coming up.  The health benefits of ginger and lemon are wonderful, so I make sure to drink this stuff daily.  The cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg add spice and antioxidants.  I drink this unsweetened, but you can always add honey.

Boil 1-2 quarts of water with a large piece of grated ginger, juice from 1-2 lemons, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1-2 tsp cinnamon, and 5-10 cloves.  You can alter the amount of each ingredient according to your taste.  I like the spice, so I put a lot of ginger and spices.  Remove from heat, cover, and let cool.  Pour through a sifter and refrigerate. 

Sugar Free Whole Wheat Ginger Snaps

I'm not going to bother re-typing this recipe.  These are the same delicious cookies that I have already posted.  However, I tried them out last night without sugar.  Instead of sugar I added 1 cup of agave nectar.  The result?  They were just as good!  The batter was a bit more gooey than it should be, so I added more whole wheat flour until I got a good consistency.  Next time I will try it with a little less agave.  Maybe 3/4 cup.

Zucchini Crab Cakes

2 cups grated zucchini
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 chopped onion
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 bread crumbs
1 can crab meat
Sea salt
Olive oil

Put grated zucchini in a colander and place a paper towel over the top.  Let the water drain from the zucchini, 20-30 minutes.  Meanwhile, sautee the onions in olive oil until soft.  Once the zucchini is ready, combine all the ingredients, including the onion, except the olive oil.  Fold the mixture gently until incorporated.  Using the same pan, heat and add a spoonful of olive oil.  Using a large spoon, place a spoonful of the mixture into the pan, flattening and shaping as needed, into a patty.  Once the bottom is golden, turn the patty and brown the other side.  If using a large pan, you can make 3-4 patties at a time.  Add more olive oil as needed.  Remove and drain on a paper towel.  I made approximately 15 patties. 

Zucchini Bread

3/4 cup milk*
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar*
1/3 cup oil*
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt

Whisk the first 5 ingredients together, then fold in the zucchini.  In a separate bowl, sift the rest of the ingredients.  Combine wet and dry ingredients.  Lightly coat baking dish with coconut oil.  Pour batter in and bake at 350 degrees.  I used a pan for 4 small loaves, so baking time was 30 minutes.  If you use a larger single pan, your baking time will be 45-50 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the pan. 

Note:  I used homemade coconut milk (recipe in last months blogs) instead of cow's milk, coconut oil instead of vegetable oil, and only half a cup of sugar. 

Ginger Cilantro Couscous

This took 15 minutes or less to make. 

Coconut oil
Chopped onion (1/2 onion)
Garlic clove (1 clove, smashed)
Grated ginger (1/2 inch piece)
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup couscous
Chopped cilantro
Salt, to taste

Heat 1-2 Tbsp coconut oil in medium sized pot.  Add the chopped onion, smashed garlic, salt, and grated ginger.  Sautee until onions are translucent.  Add water and boil.  Place couscous in a separate bowl.  Add water mixture to the couscous, after the water has boiled.  Cover for 5 minutes.  Uncover and add chopped cilantro. 

Coconut Milk

This is so easy to make, but the most difficult thing is peeling the coconut.  There are tools you can purchase to do this, but I don't have any.  The first thing I did was drain the coconut by puncturing two of the three holes and save the water for later.  I use coconut water for consumption prior to and after any long workouts.  Break the coconut and peel.  Dry the coconut "meat" in a dehydrator for at least 12 hours.  Shred the coconut.  I put two cups of shredded coconut into a bowl with 4 cups hot water.  Let sit for 2-3 hours.  Pour the water and coconut into a blender.  Blend.  Strain, if desired.  I like the coconut milk as is, but you can add vanilla, sweetener, cinnamon, whatever you like for flavor.

Not so sure about agave anymore...

Okay, I use agave to sweeten many things, but after reading this, I'm not so sure I want to use it anymore.  I will have to do some more research...


http://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/agave-syrup-is-bad-for-you

Raw Pumpkin Seed "Milk"

"High in fiber and protein, these seeds are also a rich source of minerals, especially iron, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, and zinc. Pumpkin seeds are also rich in the amino acids alanine, glycine and glutamic acid.

Pumpkin seeds are a great source of five of the B vitamins. One-quarter cup of roasted seeds contains approximately 11% daily allowance of B-1, 16% daily allowance of B-2, 41% daily allowance of niacin, 4% daily allowance of B-6, and 8% daily allowance of folic acid. That’s a lot for a little seed!

Pumpkin seeds are thought to be beneficial for prostrate health, bones strength, arthritis, and killing intestinal parasites. Pumpkin seeds also contain compounds called phytosterols, which are believed to reduce levels of harmful cholesterol and also improve the body’s immune system." For more, go to:
http://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/ten-affordable-american-superfoods

1 cup soaked raw pumpkin seeds
4-5 cups water
5 dates (or other sweetener)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp coconut oil

Soak pumpkin seeds overnight in fresh, filtered water.  Drain.  Blend all ingredients. Done. 

Notes: I do not have a high-powered blender, so dates don't do so well. I used agave nectar instead, probably about 1/4 cup.  You can alter the amount of water to desired consistency.  Coconut oil not required, but is a great addition.  Also, you can strain the "milk" through cheesecloth or even a metal strainer, but I think the tiny bits and pieces are good.  This was so good.  I put half into my smoothie and drank the other half before I could snap a photo!  I normally eat 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds daily to get enough iron, so this more than covers my daily needs for today:)