Baklava Butter

pistachios + honey + food processor = the best.

Zucchini Pasta with Pesto Sauce

Zucchini made into "pasta" = the best. It is water rich, alkaline and nutrient rich. I have been on a serious pesto kick lately, pureeing just about any leafy green and nut that I can get my hands on. 

Based off of Pesto Pasta in Raw: The Uncook Book. This is a much more allaborate recipe than my typical one

For Pasta:

1 zucchini, cut lengthwise into pasta-like strips

1/4 of a red pepper, thinly sliced

1/4 c of marinated onions*

1/2 tomato, diced

5 basil leaves, chopped

leaves from 1 sprig of oregano

leaves from 1 sprig of rosemary, chopped

8 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in warm water for at least 10 minutes, chopped

1/4 jalapeno, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

juice from 1/2 lemon

Pre sauce

Mix together and set aside.

*1 onion thinly sliced and marinated in 2/3 c tamari for 10 minutes - 8 hrs

For Sauce: (This makes more than you need for the pasta so add as much as you desire!)

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 handfuls of walnuts

1/4 c basil leaves

2 handfuls of baby spinach (MI spinach is finally in season!!)

1 heaping T miso

2 T olive oil

1 t salt

8 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in warm water for at least 10 minutes

Blend sauce ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth.

Add water to reach desired consistency (I used 1/2 c).

Pour as much as you want onto the pasta and refrigerate the rest.

Remember how I actually eat my food? Pasta curled up on my couch with my laptop ;)

This is not an all local recipe but all ingredients can be bought trash free. For Ann Arbor residents:

-Herbs can be bought unpackaged at Sparrow Market.
-All vegetables can be purchased packaging free.
-Tamari, sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, miso, salt, olive oil can all be bought in bulk at the People's Food Co-op.

Cheezy Dorito Sauce

Source: wired.com

Yeah you heard it. This sauce taste exactly like Spicy Doritos. It is SO bizarre. It has been quite a while since I have eaten a Dorito so I wouldn't have completely thought my opinion to be valid however Marcy was there to confirm it. Dorito.

When I ran across it on Averie's blog I had to try it ASAP and I'm so glad of that. Also, Marcy is brilliant for suggesting that we actually attempt to make Doritos. Well we attempted alright but we failed.

The failure sure is tasty though! Not crispy like a Dorito and has less of a punch but I would guess that rolling the dough thinner and adding more cheesy coating and we'd have one hell of an all natural, gluten free, vegan Dorito! (The picture above is particularly appropriate since we created the S&M Doritos instead of going out on a Saturday night. We party hard.)

“Spicy Doritos” Spread
Raw vegan and based off of this recipe.

Ingredients:

1/3 c sunflower seeds, soaked
1/2 c nut/seed of choice, soaked (I used more sunflower but cashews, sesame seeds, hemp seeds, etc. would work just as well)
1/4 c nutritional yeast
1/2 of a red pepper
3 T apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
1/2 t salt (or to taste)
1 t cayenne

Directions:

Blend it up!

Sam and Marcy's (S&M) Doritos Attempt 1.

Based off this recipe to make homemade gluten-free cinnamon toast crunch (yeah the sound of that blew me away too...). These measurements ended up with a Doritos-flavored, pita bread-textured treat! If you play around with it and make something more Doritos-like, please let me know.

Ingredients:

1/2 c garbanzo bean flour
1/2 c millet flour (or dried millet ground in a spice/coffee grinder or food processor)
2 T coconut oil, melted
3/4 c water
1 T nutritional yeast
1 t cayenne
1/4 t salt

"Spicy Doritos" Spread (recipe above)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Mix together flours, oil, nutritional yeast, cayenne and salt.

Whisk in water until smooth.

Pour batter into a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (Looking back on it, this was our fail. The batter we made was not of a pourable consistency. Add more water!)

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until starting to brown.

Remove from parchment paper and spread with a decent amount of "Spicy Doritos" Spread.

Score into triangle and return to oven for another 5 minutes.

Snack away!

Sweet Potato Ravioli Stacks

Boy do I love playing with my food. The colors of this far from traditional lasagna makes playing way too easy.

Based off of Rawxy's Ravioli Stacks who I currently have a blog crush on.

Sweet Potato Ravioli Stacks

Ingredients:

1/2 of a sweet potato

4-5 T Goaty Seed Cheese (recipe below)

4-5 T Spinach "Ricotta" Stuffing (recipe below)

1 T salt

Directions:

Slice the sweet potato as thin as possible with a mandolin or a sharp knife and steady hand.

Dissolve the salt in water and soak the sweet potato slices for 2 hours.

Rinse the salt off of soaked slices.

Layer the cheeses between the sweet potato slices.

Garnish* as you wish and enjoy!

*Try lemon zest, pesto mixed into olive oil, chopped olives, parsley leaves...

Goaty Seed Cheese

Raw vegan and based off of Melody's recipe.

Purple from using homemade red cabbage sauerkraut!

Ingredients:
1 c raw sunflower seeds, soaked for 4 hours
1 c sauerkraut (if you don't make it yourself, make sure it's unpasteurized)
2 T miso (make sure it's unpasteurized)
2 t Dijon mustard
1 t apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Spoon into a bowl and cover with something breathable (cheesecloth, dish towel...).

Allow those lovely bacteria cultures to proliferate!

...AKA let it ferment on the counter overnight.

Spinach "Ricotta" Stuffing

Raw vegan and also from Rawxy

Ingredients:
1.5 c sunflower seeds, soaked

3-4 c packed spinach

1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in warm water for at least 10 minutes
1 T kalamata olives

1 garlic clove, chopped
2 T nutritional yeast
1 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
1 T dried Italian herbs
3/4-1 c water (enough to move in blender)
sea salt to taste

Directions:

Blend all the ingredients except the water and salt in a food processor or blender.

Slowly add in enough water to create a smooth and creamy texture.

Taste and add salt to your liking.

 

Oreo-style

Two Minute Peanut Sauce

Chomp.

One of my favorite "oh, duh!" moments was when I found out large leaf veggies like swiss chard, cabbage, and lettuce, can be used to make sandwiched and wraps. Leafy greens are way more nutrient dense than tortillas or pita bread, you can buy them without packaging, and let's not forget that they are way easier to make (wash and cut off stem v. make dough and bake)!

Now that the weather is getting nicer (65 degrees outside yesterday?!), I am moving from my I-want-soup-all-day-everyday phase into one involving oodles of fresh, raw veggies.

Enter: Rainbow Chard Wraps

 Rainbow chard.

Microgreens. 

Sliced red cabbage. 

Soaked and chopped sun-dried tomatoes. 

But here's my mantra: the sauce is always the best part. Averie from Love Veggies and Yoga has become my new sauce guru. I made 3 different sauce recipes of hers last weekend and there have been times this week that I have just stuck a spoon in the sauces and ate it straight up.

Averie’s 2 Minute Peanut Sauce
[Original recipe here]

1/3 c nut butter
1/4 c raw honey (or other liquid sweetener of choice)
1/4 c sesame oil (for that asian flavor)
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1 t powdered ginger

Just whisk it together!

Macadamia Medallions

It's a crazy week for me. A midterm in my hardest class and a 15-page paper due. Yikes.

A lot of times when people get stressed, the first thing that takes a toll is their health. Not only because sleep and exercise are usually given up, but also healthy eating habits go out the window. This is the last thing you want to do in stressful situations. You want to be ready to take on the world, not be pissed off, fatigued, and needing a nap.

My #1 method for staying healthy when crunched for time: Have all the makings of a kick ass salad ready. That way if I have to wake up early and prepare lunch in a stitch before heading out the door or if I get home after a loooong day, it's a no brainer what to do: stuff oodles of vegetables into me and let the chlorophyll brighten my life!

Wash and chop your greens ahead of time, have salad dressing on hand, chop veggies to throw in, cook beans and whole grains... Just make sure you have everything that you need for a salad that you actually enjoy eating.

Mixed greens, microgreens, cooked beets, pesto,

homemade salad dressing, Macadamia Medallions

Macadamia Nut Medallions

For a little extra salad oomph. [From Rawmazing]

Ingredients:
1 c macadamia nuts, soaked at least 6 hours, rinsed and drained (you are soaking the nuts for texture, do not omit this step)
juice from1/2 lemon
2 t dried Italian herbs
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Pulse ingredients in food processor until fluffy texture is achieved.

Shape into medallions for immediate use or store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Guest Recipe: Veggie Socca with Savory Almond Sauce

Martha Johnston, also known as my mom, made a socca of her own! Different veggies but same basic socca recipe. Here's her experience:

Mine was a comedy of errors. I did not have a non-stick pan and should have used more oil. I did it on the stove, could not flip it so I popped it in the oven. I ended up scraping it out and reforming it into 2 small pan cakes and re frying it. It still tasted great. 

The veggies in it I used was portabello mushrooms, red peppers, onions and dried basil.

Lookin' good garnished with sprouts, chopped scallions,

and raw almond spread (recipe below)

And here is the recipe for the dollop of goodness on top. Based off Yuri's cleanse recipes.

Almond Sauce (raw vegan)

Ingredients:
1 c almonds, soaked overnight
2 T sesame oil
3 T Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or tamari or soy sauce)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 dried dates, soaked for 2-3+ hours
½ lemon, juiced
¼ t cayenne, or to taste (or pinch red pepper flakes)
Coconut water (or water)

Directions:
Pulse all ingredients, except water, in a food processor.

Add water until desired consistency is reached, smooth and creamy.

Happy Peanut Butter Day!

It was a strange and wonderful coincidence that I found out the it is peanut butter day about 5 minutes ago after making dinner with peanut butter!

Photo from MenuPages

This is not a Low Carbon recipe, considering it used packaged and non-seasonal ingredients, however it is vegan, healthy and delicious. Matt and I visited H-Mart which is a huge asian supermarket in Naperville and I was literally like a kid in a candy store. So many interesting and exotic things to look at. Anyways, that was the inspiration for cooking an asian-themed dinner.

Pad Thai Soba Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Adapted from Healthy Happy Life

Ingredients:
8 oz of Soba (buckwheat) noodles

Boiling Broth
5 c water
1/4 c soy sauce
1 T miso
2 T ume plum vinegar
1 t hot chili oil
zest and juice from 1/2 an orange
3 T maple syrup
1 T sesame seeds

Steamed Veggies

head of broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces

any other veggies you want (I used diced red peppers)

Toss-Ins
a handful bean sprouts
1 T sesame oil
1 lime, juiced
juice from half of an orange

1 orange, peeled and diced

1/4 c peanuts or raw cashews, chopped
1/4 c sesame seeds
4 scallions, chopped thin
1" ginger, grated
another splash of ume plum vinegar

Spicy Peanut Sauce
2/3 cups of leftover noodle broth
squeeze of lime juice
1/4 c peanut butter (or other nut butter)
3 T maple syrup
2 t hot chili oil

Garnish

1/4 c parsley
1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions:

Bring boiling broth ingredients to a boil.

Add in noodles and cook according to directions (mine were for 4 minutes).
Pour noodles into a colander to separate from broth, reserving broth.

Put cut veggies into a sauce pan and add an inch of water.

Cover, bring water to a boil and steam veggies until tender, about 5 minutes.

Strain and add veggies to noodles.

Add all toss-ins ingredients to noodles and veggies.

Bring peanut sauce ingredients to a simmer in a small sauce pan.

Stir continuously until reduced to a thick sauce.

Sauce can be adjusted to personal preferences: adding ginger, chillies, garlic, almond milk...

Pour sauce over noodle mixture and toss well.

Garnish and serve!

Creamy, salty, spicy, filling, delicious.

Happy Peanut Butter Day!

Wild Rice Salad with Dried Figs

I cooked 8 cups of wild rice this morning. Not sure why, it just happened. So get ready for a week of wild rice brilliance! Let's kick it off with this baby:


Wild Rice Salad with Dried Figs
Wild rice is not necessary, any grain will do! Wheat berries, brown rice, quinoa, farro, cous-cous (I could go on but that may take a while). Extra plus for this recipe, it still tastes great after chillin in the fridge for a few days. Adapted from Bitchin' Camero (love the blog name).

How gorgeous are figs?!

Ingredients:

Dressing

1/4 c olive oil

2 T lemon juice (the juice of 1 lemon)

2 T apple cider vinegar

salt and pepper

Salad

3 cups wild rice

8 dried figs, thinly sliced

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1/2 c toasted almonds, chopped

Directions:

Whisk the dressing ingredients together and set aside.

Mix together salad ingredients in a big bowl.

Pour dressing onto salad (use your own discretion, I ended up pouring it all on in one go and thinking it was a bit too dressing-y).

Eat immediately or store in the fridge until you’re ready for it.

Playing with my camera...

For some reason this reminds me of seafood.

Does anyone else see the similarities between crustacean meat and fig meat?

Maybe (probably) it's just me...

Kale-Almond Pesto

Traditional pesto is made with basil and pine nuts but boy, is that expensive! The day that I learned that just about any leafy green and just about any nut can be combined to make a stellar pesto was a pretty life changing one indeed.

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale (or other leafy green)
1/3 c almonds (or other nut)
3 cloves roasted garlic (directions below!)*
1/2 t salt
2 T lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
1 T olive oil
1 pinch red pepper flakes

Directions:

Steam kale for a few minutes until bright green.

Toast almonds in a dry skillet until fragrant BUT NOT BURNT, about 10 minutes.

Pulse kale in a food processor until finely chopped.

Add in almonds and roasted garlic and do the same.

Add in the rest of the ingredients and process until desired consistency is reached.

*How to quickly roast garlic:

Roasted garlic is the best. You can roast whole heads in the oven (shown here) but if you are faced with a time crunch, a skillet works just as well!

Directions:

Separate cloves from head and remove papery skin, leaving the immediate layer of skin as a protective barrier between the clove and the skillet.

Drop garlic into skillet over medium heat and allow to roast for about 10-15 minutes.

Move the cloves around every so often as to prevent burning.

Remove from heat when the innards feel mushy inside their skins.

Squish out the garlicky goodness and use to your heart's content!

<3

This is in preparation for a cooking demonstration that the Michigan Sustainable Foods Initiative is having on Wednesday! I was asked to be the "demonstrator" and, needless to say, I am more than excited.

The menu I have concocted is as follows:
Sweet Potato and Caramelized Onion Pizza with Garlic and Fresh Thyme
Spicy Roasted Tomato Pizza with Kale-Almond Pesto
Cinnamon Apple Dessert Pizza

I have never made any of these before so Wednesday will be quite the experimentation. Wish me luck!

Real Good Food Swap: Zesty Quinoa with Broccoli and Almonds

I've recently joined an Ann Arbor-based online food sharing network, called Real Good Food. What is Real Good Food? I'll let the website explain it:

"Real Good Food is a community to share or trade your high-quality homemade food and/or homegrown produce.

We’re all self-selected members who like to eat and cook. As a collective, can we create more than the sum of our efforts and reap the benefits by cooking larger quantities less often and dramatically expanding our opportunity to enjoy unique food such as heirloom recipes, homemade specialties and authentic ethnic food.

First, we take advantage of the fact that most cooking can be easily increased for far less effort than actually making the same food another time. Second, by sharing our delicious efforts we remove the problem of perpetual leftovers and/or unfortunate waste.

For example: 

I can make a cheesecake as the urge strikes, or I can make 4 cheesecakes for a little extra time and cost.

Problem is, as much as I’d like to, I can’t eat a whole cheesecake, let alone four.

So, I tell the group about my four cheesecakes, when they’re available, how long they will keep and other details I consider relevant. If I get lucky, I’ll end up with only half a cheesecake, and several other passion-crafted foods in exchange."

Cool beans, right? I get emails every so often (multiple times a day to every few days) from people announcing some delicious something or another that they want to share and trade. I have definitely been enjoying observing from a far but someone offered up something I just could not pass up: a kombucha scoby! A scoby (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) is also known as a kombucha culture, a mother, or a mushroom. I will talk about this more extensively in a later post, I'm sure.

Anyways, I immediately emailed back this woman and in return I have made her a "grain and vegetable" dish. I hope she enjoys it! (This one's for you, Emily!)

Zesty Quinoa with Broccoli and Almonds
Adapted from Whole Foods Market.

Ingredients:
1/2 c sundried tomatoes (1)
1.5 c vegetable broth water and 1.5 T soy sauce, divided
1 red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced (2)
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 c uncooked quinoa (1)
2 c small broccoli florets (3)
1/2 c almonds, toasted and chopped (1)

Directions:

Soak sundried tomatoes in hot water for 15 minutes, drain and chop.

Bring 1/2 c water and 1/2 T soy sauce to a simmer in a medium pot.

Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.

Add sundried tomatoes, 1 c water and 1 T soy sauce, wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil.

Stir in quinoa, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. 

Place broccoli florets on top of quinoa, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.*

Remove from heat and gently toss with almonds to combine.

*I used broccoli that I froze in September so instead of this step, I steamed my frozen block of broccoli until thawed and cooked through. Then I just mixed the broccoli in along with the almonds.

(1) Bulk section of the People's Food Co-op

(2) Grown in Michigan but bought through the People's Food Co-op

(3) Bought this summer at the Ann Arbor farmers' market and frozen! I don't remember the exact farm though...

Almond-Herb Crackers with Spicy Lentil Dip

Must. Try. Crackers.

Almond-Herb Crackers
Something about using ground almonds instead of flour makes these melt in your mouth. Holy cow. Amazing. Adapted from Elana's Kitchen.

Ingredients*:
2 c almonds
3/4 t salt
2 T dried herbs (I used thyme)
1 T oil
2 T water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F
Grind almonds in food processor (or blender) until it reaches the consistency of flour.
Add salt and herbs and pulse until combined.
Whisk together oil and water and mix into almond mixture.
Form dough into a ball and roll out between 2 pieces of parchment paper, until about 1/8" thick.
Remove top piece of parchment paper and transfer onto a baking sheet.
Cut into rolled out dough into squares (or whatever shape you want your crackers to be).
Bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown.
Devour. Or enjoy with a dip (like the one below), but I found this to be unnecessary. Yeah, they're that good.

Spicy Lentil Dip

Ingredients*:
1 c cooked lentils

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 t ground coriander

1 t ground cumin

1/2 t ground turmeric

1/2 t chili powder

1/2 t ground ginger

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.

Cook gently over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Allow to cool before serving.

*All of these items can be bought in bulk. Except the garlic cloves, I bought those from Tantre Farm when they still came to the farmer's market (which they stopped doing after November, tear tear)

Kale, pear, and hazelnut salad with a lemon, ginger, and vanilla dressing

Vanilla in a salad dressing?? What?? YOU NEED TO TRY THIS! It. Is. The. Best.

Red kale! Swanky, I know.

Ingredients

Dressing

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1 lemon 1 t dried lemon

1 T apple cider vinegar

+1 T white vinegar

2 teaspoons agave syrup maple syrup

1 teaspoon fresh ginger juice 1 small know of ginger, grated

a quarter of a teaspoon powdered ginger

a quarter of a teaspoon powdered vanilla 1/2 t vanilla extract

whole sea salt, just enough to taste

white pepper, just enough to taste freshly ground pepper, to taste

Salad

1 large bunch of kale, cleaned, stems and tough ribs removed

1/2 large and very firm pear, cleaned, quartered lengthwise, cored and finely sliced (you can use a potato peeler to make really thin slices)

2 handfuls of shelled walnuts roasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Whisk together salad dressing.

Put salad ingredients in a bowl.

Pour dressing on salad and toss.

Eat.

Self-explanatory? Probably...

Homemade Nut Butter

This is the easiest and cheapest way to make nut butters. And any nut will do, go traditional with peanuts or get creative by all the variations that you can have!

The only things that are mandatory are nuts and a food processor.

Ingredients:
Nut of choice (almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pistachios...)

Directions:
Put as many nuts as you want (I did 2 cups) in a food processor.
Process for about 15 minutes.

I typically let it go for 2-5 minute intervals because I'm afraid that my food processor will overheat.

It's a pretty cool process, for the first like 10 minutes it is pretty dry and grainy (if you are trying to make nut flour or meal, this is where you stop). The first time that I made almond butter I was convinced I had to add olive oil or something because it was still not butter-y after such a long time. But I promise that added oil is not necessary. Just keep grinding, eventually a ball will form and then it gets super smooth.

Variations:

• Add in sugar or another form of sweetener (maple syrup, honey...) to make it sweet.
• Roast the nuts in the oven before processing them.
• Add in salt for a more traditional (commercial) flavor
• Add in cocoa powder (oh hey you may or may not be able to recreate a certain 'chocolate hazelnut spread' in your own kitchen...)
• Have fun with spices! They're great.

Red Quinoa Ginger Snaps and Homemade Almond Milk

Also known as Christmas Cookies Attempt #1. I am pretty specific when it comes to baking. The whole vegan thing is a zero-percent issue since there is a substitute for everything. There's dairy-free milk/butter/cream cheese, egg replacers, vegan binders. You name it, some laboratory created a vegan substitute for it.

The problem I have is that chemicals/processed things scare me. Yeah, they make things super easy and convenient but do you really know what partially hydrogenated soybean oil or carrageenan gum does to a human body? Neither do I...

Well I found a pretty amazing recipe on a blog called (never)homecooking. Whole wheat flour, healthy oils, and a taste that is wonderfully reminiscent of winter. I have a few kinks to work out (notice my cookie lattice above due to major spread-age) but they sure are tasty.

Red Quinoa Ginger Snaps

Ingredients:
1 c whole wheat flour (1)
2 t baking powder
1 T ground ginger
1/2 t coriander
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 c olive oil
1/8 c maple syrup (2)
1/8 c almond milk (recipe below)
1/2 c sucanat (or dark brown sugar)
2 handfuls of uncooked red quinoa, rinsed

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F
Mix together flour, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl.
Mix together liquids and sugar in a small bowl.
Pour wet into dry and mix until homogeneous.
Stir in uncooked quinoa.
Spoon tablespoon-sized dollops of dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
These will spread so allow them room to grow!
Flatten the dollops a little and press in a little more quinoa.
Bake for 10-13 minutes (13 for my oven), or until starting to brown.
Remove from oven and allow to cool, transferring to cooling rack after 5 minutes.

My plans for attempt #2:

• Replace baking powder with 1/2 t baking soda and a pinch of salt.
• Roll dollops into smooth balls before pressing them down.

Almond milk

This is super easy to do and it contains none of the preservatives and other unnecessary add-ins that store bought almond milk contains.

Ingredients:

1/4 c raw almonds

1 c water

2 T maple syrup or agave nectar (optional)

Directions:

If blanching

Bring about 2 inches of water to a boil in a saucepan.

Dump in almonds and allow to boil for about 30 seconds.

Strain from heat and allow to cool enough to handle.

Pop off the skins.

If soaking

Put almonds in a bowl with enough water to cover by a few inches.

Allow to soak overnight.

Dump soaking water.

Pour almonds, 1 c water and sweetener into a blender or food processor.

Blend for 1-3 minutes, until milky.

Pour mixture through a cheese cloth or nut bag (something that will strain out the almond pulp) into a container.

Drink or store in the fridge in an air-tight container, or use in any recipe calling for milk or a milk-substitute (like the one above!)

(1) Earnst Farm

(2) That stand that sells MI maple syrup at the Ann Arbor farmer's market

Chai-Spiced Caramelized Almond Brittle

This was actually an attempt to make caramelized almonds (you know the ones that they always sell at the Cider Mill and sporting events?) but I guess I didn't simmer my mixture long enough so I'm callin' it brittle!


Chai-Spiced Almond Brittle

Ingredients:
1 c water
1 c sugar
1 c almonds
1/4 t ground ginger
1/4 t cardamom
1/8 t cloves
1/8 t cinnamon
1/8 t nutmeg 


Directions:
Bring water, sugar, and almonds to a boil in a medium sauce pan.
Reduce heat to a simmer and let it do what it do until very thick.
Make sure you stir fairly often so the goo doesn't burn.
Once the goo is reduced and coating almonds, remove from heat.
Mix in spices.
Pour onto a well-oiled cookie sheet* and allow to cool.
Break into pieces and munch away.


Variations:

• Replace almonds with any other sort of nut, popcorn, crushed peppermint candy, cooked grains, oats, dried fruits...
• Melt chocolate and spread it on top of cooled brittle. Mix peanut butter into the chocolate?
• Experiment with spices. For example, for a Mexican taste substitute in cinnamon and cayenne.

*DO NOT POUR ONTO PARCHMENT OR WAX PAPER! This is what I did and I ended up with very papery brittle. I mean I guess it's extra fiber but personally I prefer wax-free candy, thank you very much.

The Burrito of All Things Winter

Welcome December! It is the FIRST SNOW OF WINTER! Whoa. I had to (wanted to) bust out my snow boots.

I had been dreaming about an autumn wrap of my making but had been too distracted by life (school) and other recipe fancies that I hadn't put it together. But the change of month (December is a big one, the laaast one) put my gears in motion. I literally woke up thinking about seasonal sandwiches. Here's my attempt #1.

The Early Winter Sandwich

Ingredients:
1 Cornmeal Tortilla
smeared with Pumpkin Spread
and a dollop of Cranberry Chutney
sprinkled with toasted nuts (1)
and a hefty handful of greens (2)

Cranberry Chutney
Holy cow. This is the absolute best. Caramelized onions are the perfect match for the tartness of cranberries. I would be so satisfied with a vat of this stuff. Nothing more.

Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped (3)
1 clove of garlic, minced (3)
1 T oil
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1 c frozen cranberries (4)
1 c water
1/2 t ground ginger
salt and pepper

Directions:
Heat oil over medium-low heat.
Add onions and garlic and saute until soft.
Add vinegar, ginger, cranberries and cover.
Lower heat and lightly simmer until liquid evaporates.
Add water incrementally and slowly simmer until desired consistency.
I simmered, covered, for about 45 minutes until very thick and sweet.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Cornmeal Tortillas
Attempt #1. Meaning Fail #1... I do not recommend this recipe AT ALL but I thought I would report my fails as much I would my wins.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. cornmeal (1)
1 t cumin
1 c. boiling water
1 tsp. salt

Directions:

Pour boiling salted water over cornmeal and cumin and stir. When cornmeal is cool enough to harden, shape into then flat cakes and cook on an un-oiled hot griddle until brown on both sides. Makes 8 servings.

Pumpkin Spread

1 c roasted pumpkin (5)

2 t oil (I used almond in this recipe)

1/4 t nutmeg

1/4 t cinnamon

1/4 t cumin

dash of pepper

1/2 t salt




(1) Earnst Farm
(2) Spinach from Holland, MI
(3) Tantre Farm
(4) Locavorious
(5) from an organic Amish farm but I don't remember the name, unfortunately...

The Handlebar Salad

I spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Chicago which was an absolutely fantastic time between whirlwinds of food, meeting family, and catching up on sleep. Many great stories came out of the long weekend but one eating experience surprisingly stood out among the rest. Perhaps it was because it was the final good eats of the trip.

Sunday afternoon Matt and I ended up at a small bar in downtown Chicago called Handlebar Bar & Grill. Thanks to Android technology and the ability to google 'vegan restaurants' near Chicago we found ourselves surrounded by band posters and fake crows, and being waited on by what I can honestly only describe as a "hipster."

First of all, any restaurant in which about 90% of the menu can be made vegan wins my vote. Second, I experienced the best salad dressing of my life. I love salad with a burning passion. Not only is there overwhelming research on the health benefits of leafy greens, it is also way too much fun to concoct salad dressings (and very remeniscent of chemistry labs...).

The Handlebar Salad is obviously the house salad consisting of arugula, walnuts, parmesan (I opted out of this ingredient), and pear, topped in a champagne honey mustard dressing. I am not sure what made this dressing so amazing but I was floored. Absolutely floored. Here's my attempt to recreate, however due to being a poor college student (and under 21) I had to skip the champagne but you gotta make do with what you got!

The Handlebar Salad

Ingredients:

3 c greens (1)

a small handful of walnuts, toasted and chopped (2)

1/4 of a pear, thinly sliced (3)

Honey Mustard Dressing

2 T vinegar (I used brown rice vinegar)

1 T oil (I used olive oil)

1 T mirin (use Champagne instead, if available!)

1 t dijon mustard

1 t honey

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

(1) I used Pesticide-Free Spicy Salad Mix from Sunseed Farms

(2) from Earnst Farm

(3) I used a Bosc pear from the farmer's market but I don't remember the name of the vendor, unfortunately