Roasted Vegetable Frittata

Pretty much the best frittata not made with cheese or bacon (aka flavor cheating).  AND so pretty.

1 bunch asparagus
1 delicate squash
handful sundried tomatoes (if I had real tomatoes, would’ve roasted those too)
1 medium onion
1 head garlic (only need ~6 cloves, but why the heck not roast the whole thing??)
6 eggs
few splashes of almond milk
smoked paprika
dried tarragon

Snap off bottoms of asparagus, lay on baking sheet with olive oil, salt & pepper.  Slice delicata into thinnish rounds, remove seeds in center with a spoon, and place on another baking sheet with salt, pepper, and olive oil.  Wrap garlic head in aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil. Put everything in a 450F oven, turning/checking ~7-10 minutes in – the asparagus will be done first, the garlic last. Meanwhile, slice onion and saute in an oven-safe pan under medium-ish heat for ~20 min until soft and brown and gooey. Splash in a little red wine or balsamic and simmer, and add water if too dry. Chop sundried tomatoes and throw in with the onions once they’re done.  When the veggies are roasted, turn down the oven to 350, chop the asparagus and 5-6 cloves of roasted garlic and add to the pan, mixing everything. Scramble the eggs in a bowl with almond milk, salt and pepper, dried tarragon, and smoked paprika. Lay the delicata slices gently on top of the other veggies, then pour the egg mixture over everything. Let it cook for maybe 5-7 min, tilting pan to distribute eggs, then throw in the oven for 10-12 min until everything’s set.

Tahini Stir-fry

Holy cow.  So I always thought of tahini as hummus makings, maaaaybe good for a salad dressing or two.  But after throwing away yet another half-full, spoiled can of months-old tahini, I was determined to find delicious ways to use up the remainder of a new can after making a fresh batch of hummus.

This turned out to be the best thing ever!!!  I am officially obsessed.  I’ve thrown it on salads, on brown rice, in smoothies, and best of all, in stir fries, where the creamy nuttiness beautifully complements the sharp hot chili and salty soy sauce.   I make stir fries a lot because they’re easy, tasty, quick, and use up all the leftover whatnots I have in the fridge.

1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion of some type (I used green)
1 tsp garlic-chili sauce
chopped kale or other green
chopped carrots or any other firm veggie
handful of lentils or beans, pre-cooked or sprouted or canned
handful of rice or other grain
swirl of gluten-free tamari (gf soy sauce)
1 tsp tahini
fresh lime juice (maybe half a lime?)
cooking oil (regular olive or blend or whatevs)
cilantro

Chop everything up onto a cutting board or plate and surround yourself with the sauces so it’s all ready to go.  Heat some oil in a skillet to medium, then add garlic and onions.  Saute a few minutes, then add the other veggies and saute some more (less time for delicate stuff like spinach).   Add rice and lentils.  Add tamari, lime, and tahini to taste, then serve topped with cilantro and more chili sauce if you like it hot!!   And marvel at how a spoonful of tahini totally transforms your boring old stir fry.

Cran-Coco-Almond-Oat-Buckwheat Granola

I love spouted buckwheat cereal.  Love, love, love.  Craving it, I headed to the store, but could only find “brown” buckwheat.  I figured it was just a different variety (like rice) and attempted to spout them.  Gah!  Giant smelly unsprouted mess.  Apparently “brown” buckwheat is just toasted white groats, called kasha.  You can eat it either soaked overnight (which was gross), or cooked like oatmeal (decent).   I made granola instead, which also used up some random stuff in the kitchen.  This isn’t terribly sweet, so you may want to add some sugar.

2 cups rolled oats
2 cups toasted/brown buckwheat (kasha)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup cranberries
1/4 cup almond slivers
few handfuls of coconut flakes
few sprinkles of flaxmeal
few sprinkles of chia
few sprinkles of sesame seeds
few shakes of pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of sea salt

Mix everything up, press flat onto parchment paper covering a cookie sheet, and bake for about an hour at 300F.  Turn a few times while cooking, then cool before storing an air-tight container.

Gluten Free Lemon-Berry Bread

I adore any sort of lemon baked good, so have been tweaking recipes to create my dream bread – moist, crumbly, not too sweet, and super-lemony.  I’m not there yet, but this is the latest.  Any berry will do, but I like raspberries or blueberries.   It’s based on Gluten-Free Girl’s  lemon bread, but living in bone-dry Colorado, I have to take into account a complete lack of moisture when baking.   I sub flaxseed for some of the flour (it helps retain moisture and adds nutrition), and molasses for some of the sugar (I’m obsessed with molasses lately).  The batter looks really watery when it goes into the oven, and takes forEVER to bake in the middle, but at least it doesn’t tastes like sawdust.

230 grams gluten-free flour mix (I combine random leftover flours into a 70% grain/30% starch ratio)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda (neutralizes the acid in the molasses)
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs @ room temp
160 grams brown or cane sugar (the darker the sugar, the darker the bread)
60 grams molasses (or honey for a lighter, sweeter bread)
zest of 2 small or 1 large lemon
115 grams coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon oil extract (yeeeeah, more lemon, I know, I know)
230 grams soy milk (or whatever kind of milk, just keep the weight even)

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan.  Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.   In a stand mixer, beat eggs, sugar, and molasses with the whisk attachment for about five minutes until fluffy.  Add lemon zest.  Pour the coconut oil into the mixer very, very slowly while it’s running so it can incorporate without deflating all the egg-beating. Add vanilla and lemon extracts.  Slowly add some of the flour mix, then some of the soy milk until everything’s mixed in, scraping the bowl occasionally. Pour batter into the loaf pan, and ignore how wrong it looks.  Don’t panic.  Just put it in the oven.  I like to turn on the oven light and check it a few times for over-browning (I love using flaxseed, but it can burn easily).

Check the bread after an hour, but it may take longer until the top is springy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for about 30 minutes. Restrain yourself from sampling a slice.  Take it out of the pan and let it cool completely.

Quinoa tahini cookies

2c cooked quinoa
1/2c tahini
1/4c honey
1c oat flour
1/4c flax meal
1/2tsp salt
1/2c coconut flakes (unsweetened)
1/2c chopped dried apricots
1/2c chopped prunes

Mix cooked quinoa, tahini, and honey until combined, then combine with oat flour, flax meal, and salt. Mix in coconut, apricots, and prunes. Drop onto baking sheet by the tablespoon. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 min. Remove from oven and flatten cookies with the bottom of a drinking glass. Let cool.

These came out pretty well, though I’d try adding an egg or something to bind them a bit better – they were a little crumbly.

Eggplant and Sun-Dried Tomato Dip

Up to my ears in eggplant from Isabelle Farms!  First I made baba ganoush, but still had more – so tried to re-create a Trader Joe’s eggplant dip (smuggled from the east coast, of course), then tweaked it with  sun-dried tomatoes.  I should have added some roasted peppers in this, I think, but had thrown them all into a corn chowder.

1 med eggplant, roasted whole on the grill for maybe 3o min
2 cloves garlic
2 tblsp tomato paste (I have this excellent imported stuff from Italy in a tube from World Market)
3 tblsp sundried tomatoes in oil
green tops of onions (or anything onion-y – that’s just what I had in the fridge)
1/2 – 1 lemon, depending on taste
salt & pepper
extra-virgin olive oil

Scoop flesh from eggplant, combine with all other ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Yum!

Babchi’s Borscht

This is my Babchi’s borscht…or at least as told to my mom. My Aunt Terry’s version is different.

Bunch beets
White vinegar
Cucumber, chopped
Green onion, chopped
2-3 hardboiled eggs, chopped
Heavy or whipping cream

Scrub beets and cut off greens – chop greens and set aside.  Remove beet root and top.  Boil until soft, then remove beets (keep water – it’s the soup base).  Peel beets and shred, then add back to beet broth with greens.  Cook 1-2 minutes, then remove from heat.  Add white vinegar a few tblps at a time, plus salt and pepper to taste, then chill until ready to serve.  Before serving, check seasonings, then add chopped green onions, cucumbers, and eggs to soup.  Dish into bowls, then add a splash of the cream to each bowl.

Tomato and Chickpea Soup

This is great for summer (no actual cooking!), and uses up the lingering can of MMLocal tomatoes in my cabinet.

1 can tomatoes (25 oz) with juices (I used the MMLocal can with basil)
1 avacado
1/2 can chickpeas (or spouted, my new favorite thing, but must get rid of canned first)
few garlic cloves
handful basil
5-6 sundried tomatoes
few tblspns tomato paste (got some yummy imported stuff in a tube when I made paella, just squirted a bunch in)
juice of 1 lemon
optional – few diced hot peppers (also MMLocal, the hot variety, left over from chili-making)
1 tblsp honey
sea salt, pepper to taste

Blend all the above until smooth and creamy, garnish with basil.   Easy!

Awesome Sauce

I made this to go with veggie summer rolls, but it’s so awesome I’m pretty sure I would eat it with anything.  All measurements are very approximate, pretty much just scooped a bunch of random stuff together.  It could become a salad dressing with more vinegar to thin it out.

2 tblsp brown miso paste
4 tblsp tahini
3 tblsp apple cider vinegar
2 tblsp hemp seed oil
juice of 2 limes
1 tblsp ginger (aka a hunk)
few squirts agave
2 tblsp orange juice
2 tblsp Bragg’s liquid amino acids
1 1/2 tblsp chili-garlic sauce
2 tblsp nutritional yeast flakes

No need for salt, the Bragg’s has plenty.  Throw the whole mess into the mini-chop processor, and yum.

10K Brunch

Peeps are coming over for breakfast after the Bolder Boulder 10K, so I gathered some brunch dishes that could be made the day before, since the last thing I want to do after running 6+ miles is cook (but I DO very much want to eat).  I’m trying my very first gluten free yeast bread, quiche, salad, and homemade granola with fruit.

Gluten-free Multigrain Bread

I used Gluten-Free Girl’s recipe: http://glutenfreegirl.com/gluten-free-bread/.  I couldn’t find blanched almond flour, so subbed garbanzo bean flour, but followed all other aspects of the recipe.  I used 1/2 cup of water to finish the dough (last step in the dough-making) since it’s so dry in CO, and tried out a tip in the comments section about letting the dough rise in the microwave with a damp, warm tea towel under the bowl to lock in moisture and warmth.  I wasn’t sure what to cover the bowl with, so used a regular towel.

Gluten-free Leek, Bacon, and Spinach Quiche

I cheated and bought GF pie crust – have not found that making from scratch is really worth it.  This makes 2 pies:

6-8 strips bacon
2 leeks
1 cup spinach
4 eggs
2 cups dairy (I used 1 cup half-and-half and 1 cup soy milk, since that’s what I had on hand)
2 cups shredded cheese – I used a “fondue mix” of gruyere and swiss

Cook bacon in skillet or cast iron griddle pan until crispy.  While bacon is cooking, trim root from leeks and rinse.  Slice lengthwise, then chop into ~1/2 in half-moons.  Drain bacon, pat dry on towels, and crumble.  Reserve some (a tblsp?) bacon grease and saute leeks in it in a pan for 3-4 minutes, then add spinach and cook another minute or so.  Turn off heat and add crumbled bacon to pan, mixing in.  Make custard by whisking 4 eggs and the 2 cups dairy together.  Layer the quiche: sprinkle 1/2 cup each of the cheese on the tarts, then the bacon-leek-spinach mixure, then the custard, then the remaining cheese.  Throw into a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until custard is set (check by inserting knife or toothpick).

Fruit and Granola “Bar” (set out each of the below in a container and let guests help themselves)

Fruit salad (I used cherries, strawberries, and blueberries)
Yogurt (plain or vanilla)
Granola (see below for homemade mix)
Creamed honey

Homemade granola (nuts, seed, and fruit can be easily subbed, and sweetner)

2 cup oats
handful chopped almonds
handful chopped walnuts
handful sunflower seeds
6-8 shakes sesame seeds
few tblsp flaxseed or flaxseed meal
small handful unsweetened shredded coconut
handful crasins
3 tblsp maple syrup
3 tblsp coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla
few shakes pumpkin pie spice mix

Combine all ingredients in large bowl, spread on baking sheet, bake for 1 hr at 250, turning pan 2-3 times.