Friday, 24 January 2014

sesame garlic dressing

1 T toasted sesame oil
1 T pear juice
1/2 t tahini paste (if tolerated)
pinch of garlic powder
pinch of salt and fresh pepper

Stir ingredients together in a bowl until well mixed.  Great with spinach salad or a green salad.

Saturday, 18 January 2014

vanilla almond granola

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (no preservatives)
3/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 t organic pure vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt

Preheat oven to 300.  Spread the oats, coconut, and almonds on a baking sheet.  In a bowl, mix together the maple syrup and vanilla.  Pour maple syrup over oats, etc. and add a sprinkle of salt. Stir with a flipper until everything is well coated.

Bake for about 30 - 35 minutes, stirring with a flipper about every 5 -10 minutes.  When it's all looking lightly browned, you're done!

Remove from oven and transfer to a pyrex pan or glass container to cool, stirring once in a while. Store in a sealed container in the fridge.

Serve with unsweetened nut, rice or organic milk (or plain yogurt, if tolerated).  Add berries if you wish :).






Tuesday, 14 January 2014

pesto dressing

1/4 cup home made pesto
1 T Olive oil
1 T Pear juice
dash of salt and fresh pepper


Monday, 6 January 2014

veggie shepherd's pie

A hearty meal for the cold weather that smells lovely baking in the oven. When I make this, I usually do a double batch on the weekend to eat later in the week.      Serves  6

Ingredients

1/4 - 1/2 cup soup broth
4 - 5 medium red potatoes
1 small sweet potato
1 14 oz tin of brown lentils, drained and rinsed (or equal amt cooked lentils)
1/4 cup cooking onion (optional - if tolerated)
1-2 cloves garlic
1 carrot
1- 2 cups kale
1 head of broccoli
red pepper (to taste)
1/4 cup fresh or frozen corn
Fresh thyme and sage
Salt and fresh pepper (to taste)
Olive oil (small amount)

1 pyrex pan

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Wash and cut up the sweet potato and potatoes, removing any gnarly bits or rotten spots.  You can leave the skins on if they're organic.  Add them to the pot and reduce heat.

Heat up a little olive oil in a frying pan.  If using onions, dice them and add to the pan. Cook for a few minutes, until translucent.

Wash and chop the veggies and add them to the pan.  Saute for a few minutes, stirring often.

Smash and chop the garlic, add it to the pan and cook for a couple more minutes.

When potatoes are cooked (test them with a fork), drain the water.  Add 1/4 - 1/2 cup veggie broth and a bit of salt and pepper.  Mash with a fork or potato masher.

Add herbs to the pan and saute for another minute or so.

Preheat oven to 350

When veggies are somewhat cooked, transfer them to a pyrex pan.  Add the lentils and mix them together.  Add the mashed potatoes on top, making a relatively even top layer.

Put it in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes.




Additional notes: For a less potato-y crust, feel free to substitute one head of cauliflower for two potatoes.























Tuesday, 24 December 2013

                                   
                                       Happy Holidays everyone!









Sunday, 15 December 2013

parsley pesto

This pesto was my mom's inspiration, since fresh basil isn't usually available this time of year where we live.  I was skeptical of a pesto sauce without basil, but I think the experiment was a success! You can use this sauce in or on anything you like. It's absolutely delicious as a sauce on pizza (pictured below). Serves 2-3

Ingredients

1 cup cashews (soaked beforehand if necessary)
1 cup parsley, washed and chopped
1/2 cup veggie broth
1 clove garlic
half of an avocado (optional)
salt and fresh pepper (to taste)

Blend ingredients in a blender or food processor.  Either flat or curly leaf parsley works for this and it keeps a little longer than basil (for my basil pesto recipe, see "cashew pesto").





Monday, 9 December 2013

vegetable soup broth

     Many of my recipes call for vegetable soup broth, so I thought it would be good to include a method for making your own broth.  Not all of us live near a health food store or can find soup broth without problem ingredients.  If you have the time, making your own soup stock is a good option.

    With our dietary restrictions, this skill can be quite useful as there will be no preservatives and you can include only ingredients which you know to be bladder friendly for you. I've found it's easy to do once you get the hang of it. It's fun to experiment with and it has a richer flavor (and less salt) than store bought.
 
    The following is just a basic method rather than a specific recipe. The ingredients will depend on what you have on hand and what's available where you live. If you haven't made your own stock before, there is a lot of information on the internet or in cookbooks that you can browse for more tips before you start.



                                                               

You can use any combination of vegetables, fresh herbs, and clean, edible vegetable scraps (broccoli stems or carrot tops, for instance) that you desire.

For a classic base, saute carrots, celery, and onions together for a few minutes. If you avoid onions you can just use carrots and celery, plus garlic (whole cloves) if you wish. Transfer to a large pot and add the rest of your ingredients.

Add enough water to just cover the vegetables. Add salt (to taste - I usually use 1-2 teaspoons).

Bring to a boil and then simmer. Length of time is up to you - I usually simmer for about 45 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow it to cool for a little while with the vegetables in the pot. Then strain all the vegetables out by pouring it through a strainer or colander into another pot or a large bowl. Discard vegetables in the compost.

The liquid broth is now ready for use in soups and sauces. It will keep for a few days in the fridge or longer in the freezer.

Good in stock (examples):  sweet potato, rutabaga, parsley (including stems), lovage, bay leaf, zucchini, turnip, fresh thyme including stems (in a loose leaf tea bag), celery (including heart and leaves), carrots (including clean peels or leaves).

   







Monday, 18 November 2013

chickpea dip

This is a nice dip if tahini is ok for you.

Ingredients

1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup soup broth
1 clove of garlic
2-3 T tahini paste
a generous amount of fresh dill
salt and fresh pepper (to taste)

Blend ingredients in a blender or food processor until desired consistency is reached.  If you want it thicker, add more tahini.  If you want it thinner, add more soup broth.  Serve with ic friendly crackers or vegetables.

Wednesday, 6 November 2013

veggie borscht

A healthy and comforting wintery soup.  Typically a sour soup, this variation has no vinegar but the beet-dill combination gives it a nice flavor.  This soup is easy to make, but requires a lot of chopping so you might want to listen to the radio or something as you chop away.        Serves 7


Ingredients

8 cups vegetable broth
half of a green cabbage
4 beets, peeled
2-3 carrots
about 3 cups fresh dill

Chop cabbage and julienne beets into small matchstick sized pieces, about 2 inches x 1/4 inch.  Bring broth to a boil and reduce heat.  Add the cabbage and beets and let them simmer while you chop the carrots.  Julienne carrots in matchstick sized pieces and add to the pot.  Simmer about 15 more minutes.

Meanwhile, wash and chop the dill and add to the pot.  Simmer another couple of minutes.  Taste test to see if everything is cooked and serve.  I like to put a few individual portions in the freezer for later as well.













Friday, 1 November 2013

date coconut hedgehogs

I got the idea for these cookies from some I had once at a raw food restaurant. They're tasty and pretty easy to make since they don't require baking.

Ingredients

4 medjool dates (no preservatives)
3 T almond butter
1/8 t cinnamon (optional - if tolerated)
1/8 t vanilla
1/4 cup almonds
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (no preservatives)
1/4 cup cashews

Soak the dates in a bowl with warm water for a minimum 1 hour, or until the skins come off easily.  Drain the water, remove the skins and pits.

Mash together the dates, almond butter, cinnamon (if using) and vanilla with a fork until well blended.

Measure the almonds whole and then finely chop them and add them to the date mix.  Squish and knead the almonds into it with your hands.  Add the coconut and squish it in, too.

Measure the cashews whole and then finely chop them.  Knead the cashews into the mix.  You can add a few more chopped cashews here or not, depending on how dry or sticky your mixture is at this point.

Spread a thin layer of shredded coconut on a plate.  Roll the mixture into little balls with your hands (about 1 inch diameter) and then roll them in the coconut.  Makes about 9 cookies.