Avocado-Pecan "Hummus"

Avocado-Pecan "Hummus"

This recipe couldn't be easier, and it's loaded with good fats and nutrients...a raw/vegan/vegetarian dream. You can use this as a dip/hummus, or use it as a spread/mayo on sandwiches.


AVOCADO-PECAN "HUMMUS"

1 cup pecans
2 avocados
2-3 Tablespoons flax oil
Juice of 1 lemon (or lime).
Salt to taste

Chop pecans in a food processor until mealy. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy. Add more oil or water if you want a thinner consistency. Salt to taste. I used fresh-squeezed lemon juice in this batch of "hummus", but I think lime would be even more perfect.

Southwestern Chana Dal Veggie Burgers

Southwestern Chana Dal Veggie Burgers

I love veggie burgers, but the store-bought ones are loaded with soy, wheat, potatoes and other things I'm not suppose to eat, or don't want to eat. Thankfully I stumbled upon an amazing cookbook by Elana Amsterdam called The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook. In it she has a wonderful Black Bean Burger recipe, though I find it a bit heavy on the salt. Anyway, it was after making her brilliant veggie burger recipe that I came up with this one.

I adore black beans, but wanted to use something even lower on the glycemic index, and chana dal fits the bill. I ordered my chana dal from Bob's Red Mill via Amazon

If you're scratching your head wondering what the heck chana dal is, as I was not too long ago, here is a fantastic website.

Don't have chana dal? Just substitute your favorite canned bean, such as black, (small beans are best), or cooked lentils, etc.

SOUTHWESTERN CHANA DAL VEGGIE BURGERS

2 cups cooked chana dal
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large bell pepper, finely chopped. Use either green or red, but a blend of the two would be lovely
1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon Ancho chili powder OR 1 teaspoon ground ground chipotle powder
3 teaspoons fresh lime juice
3 large eggs
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped OR 2 Tablespoons dried (not nearly as good!)
1/2 cup blanched almond flour

Saute onions and peppers until soft. Add garlic and saute a few minutes longer. Blend together the chana dal, eggs, almond flour and all spices/seasonings as well as the lime juice. Add the onion/pepper/garlic mixture to this and blend well.

Heat a well-oiled pan (I like using coconut oil for this; it lends a wonderful flavor) on low heat and spoon enough of the burger mixture to make a pancake-size burger. They are a bit runny at this point but will firm up as they fry. Don't over-fry these, but brown them nicely. Flip them over once they start to bubble in the center and have turned brown. Continue to fry until they're brown on the other side.

I'm trying to create a sauce that would be tasty to accompany these, but in the meantime I've been using a healthy version of a buttermilk ranch dressing on them. Salsa would also be good.

Elana Amsterdam's Black Bean Burger recipe was used here

I don't eat these on a bun, but I suppose you could. My husband likes them but not on a bun...he's expecting a meaty burger taste and of course these just don't have that, so they're served on a plate with some other healthy sides.

Vegan Vanilla "Milk" Shake

Looking for something creamy and cool to enjoy during the heat of the summer? Can't eat ice cream or dairy products? This Vegan Vanilla Milk Shake should should satisfy any cravings you might have. Mildy sweet (sweetened with agave nectar).

VEGAN VANILLA "MILK" SHAKE

1 cup raw, unsalted cashews
1 cup water
1-1/2 cups ice cubes
1 Tablespoon agave nectar
1 Tablespoon vanilla
dash cinnamon--optional
small pinch salt--optional

Soak the raw cashews in 1 cup water for approximately 1 hour. This step isn't entirely necessary, but does soften the cashews a bit and will result in a creamier product.

Pour cashews and the water they soaked in into a blender. Blend on high speed for 1 minute. Add 1-1/2 cups ice cubes, agave nectar and vanilla. If you'd like to add the very small pinch of salt, do it now. Blend until creamy and smooth.

Has a slight "nutty" flavor, but if you like cashews this is not a problem. For a flavor variation, sprinkle a dash of cinnamon on top. You could alter this recipe in a plethora of ways by adding strawberries, or any fruit for that matter.

If you prefer a sweeter product, add more agave nectar. Agave nectar is low on the glycemic index, as are raw cashews, so this should be a good dessert for diabetics. And it's loaded with protein, thanks to the cashews.

Calories? We won't go there!

Kale Chips

Kale Chips

The un-appetizing glob you see above is actually quite tasty. In spite of their glossy appearance, these kale chips are quite crisp. They don't store well, so eat 'em up the day you make them. You can store them in an air tight container, but they'll become soggy, yet still taste good. These are a nice alternative to potato chips, and quite honestly, the tast will grow on you if you're not a huge fan when you first try them. My husband doesn't like them, but I could just eat bags of these things.

KALE CHIPS

1 bunch kale, about 6 large leaves. Washed and 2" or 3" inch chunks torn away from the tough stem. Discard stem.

1 lemon (or less, depending on taste)
1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large backing sheet with parchment paper. Place torn kale bits into a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the kale, and season lightly with salt. Using your hands stir up the mess until the kale is coated evenly with the oil.

Place kale on the baking sheet, trying to keep it in a single layer. If it won't fit onto one baking sheet, use a second one or make them in two batches.

Place in oven and stir the leaves around occasionally as they bake. The amount of time it takes for the leaves to get crispy will vary, but should take 20 minutes or longer. The outsides will tend to dry out and finish baking before the center, no matter how much you stir! And be careful not to over-bake these, or they'll have a burnt flavor.

Once they're nice and crispy but not burnt, take them out of the oven and taste. Adjust salt as needed. Enjoy!

**You could vary this recipe quite a lot, using different flavors of salts, salt substitutes, flavored oils...the list is endless. Some folks use vinegar instead of lemon juice. I love the tang of the lemon juice.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffed Mushrooms--fresh out of the oven

Once again I found myself with an abundance of mushrooms in the past week. What to do? I love mushrooms, but even I get tired of just frying them, or adding them to egg drop soup or making mushroom soup. I recently bought a nifty little book, Cooking With Coconut Flour, by Bruce Fife, N.D. In it I found a recipe for stuffed mushrooms, and the following recipe is based loosely on the one I found there. I rarely follow recipes to the T, and though these are similar, they are quite different. The coconut milk and coconut flour adds a subtle coconut flavor, which is an amazing combination with the mushrooms and shallots.

STUFFED MUSHROOMS

12 medium to large sized button mushrooms
2 teaspoons chopped shallots
1 Tablespoon butter
2 Tablespoons coconut milk
2 Tablespoons coconut flour
1 teaspoon dried parsley (or 1 T. fresh if available)
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon salt--taste to season to your liking
1/4 teaspoon pepper
dash freshly ground nutmeg
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Clean the mushrooms, either brush off the dirt or wash, whichever you prefer. Make sure they are dry before proceeding.
2. Remove stems and set aside. Don't just cut the stems off, but actually pull them out of the cap so that there's an empty space to fill.
3. Chop the shallots and stems finely.
4. Saute the stems and shallots in 1 Tablespoon butter until shallots are softened.
5. Remove from heat, and add coconut milk, coconut flour, parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix well.
6. Place the mushroom caps bottom-side up in a greased baking pan, and fill each cap with the mushroom stem/shallot mixture.
7. Top each mushroom with a small amount of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
8. Bake, uncovered, at 425 degrees F. for 15 minutes.
Serve hot and enjoy!

Remove stems from caps by pulling them out

Finely chop the stems and shallots. I love my little KitchenAid chopper!

Place the caps bottom -side up in a greased baking sheet, fill with the stem mixture, and top with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese. Bake at 425 degrees F, uncovered, for 15 minutes

Simple Baked Apples

Baked apples. So easy, so delicious, and so good for you when made with no sugar added. Fruit is naturally sweet anyway, and you'll never miss the fact that these baked apples are sans sugar. If you simply must have them sweeter, you could add your sweetener of choice; my husband prefers brown sugar, and back in the days when I'd have added sugar, that would have been my choice as well.

BAKED APPLES

Apples--cut in half and remove core
cinnamon
vanilla
water

Prepare as many apples as you'd like to bake. Cut them in half and remove the cores, then place them face-up in a baking dish. Sprinkle them with cinnamon. Add about 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the baking dish, and add a little vanilla, perhaps 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon depending on the size of the baking dish. Cover the dish with foil, and bake at 350 degrees F until the apples are tender. Baking time will depend on the apple variety...some apples stay firm, others will get mushy pretty fast.

Once you've baked them to your preferred done-ness, plate them up and drizzle water/vanilla mixture from the baking dish over the apples and serve.

Fresh Pea Soup

If you've never eaten fresh pea soup, you have no idea what you've been missing! It will soon be the time of year for fresh peas, and I can think of no better way to use them (other than perhaps steaming them and slathering butter on them) than in this Fresh Pea Soup recipe. I found the original recipe on Allrecipes, donated by someone named "Lizz C".

This pea soup is so sweet, healthy, and fresh-tasting all rolled up into one yummy bowl of goodness. I could eat bowl after bowl of this. And the color is gorgeous, too. Garnish with some currently blooming edible flowers, such as redbud blossoms or violets. This recipe serves 4.

Fresh Pea Soup

2 tablespoons butter
2 medium shallots, finely chopped
2 cups water
3 cups fresh English peas, shelled, or 3 cups frozen.
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons cream or milk, optional

Melt the butter in a saucepan and cook the shallots until they're tender, about 3 minutes. Add the water and peas, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover, and cook until peas are tender, about 10 minutes.

Puree the peas in a blender or food processor. The original recipe states to strain the soup, but I find that most people like the bits of pea skin in the soup, which adds a nice texture. At this point add the cream/milk if so desired (adds a bit of richness, which is very good!), and re-heat, but don't boil. Taste-test and adjust seasonings. Ladle into bowls, and garnish. Serve, and listen to the "oohs" and "ahs"...you'll probably wish you had made more; your guests definitely will!