Quinoa Granola

I designed this recipe so that traditional granola would have even more-Can you say complete protein? 4 grams of protein in a serving, lots of B's, and tons of minerals. Aaaand it has essential amino acids. Also, since it's made with dates, it has more fiber and less of a spike than honey or brown sugar. 


1 Cup Uncooked Quinoa
2 Cups Gluten-Free Oats
1/2 Cup Dates, chopped
1/2 Cup Golden Raisins
3 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 Tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Hot Water
1 Tbs. Cinnamon
1 Tsp. Ground Cloves
1 Tsp. Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend dates with water until smooth and runny. In a large bowl, whisk olive oil, date paste, and vanilla together. Whisk in spices and salt. Add quinoa and oats with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon and mix until well coated. Pour onto a cookie sheet and bake until golden brown. Allow to cool (best overnight, it makes little crunchies) and enjoy with yogurt, milk of choice or all by itself.

Sweet Potato Spread

This stuff is so awesome on apple slices! And pancakes. And and and...

2 lbs. Sweet Potatoes, diced.
1 Pkg. Cream Cheese
1/2 C. Dates, chopped.
1 Tsp. Cinnamon
1 Tsp. Ground Cloves

Boil sweet potatoes until soft and drain. In food processor, blend dates with 2 TBS. water until a smooth paste. Add in sweet potatoes until smooth. Add cream cheese and spices and blend again. Serve either now (while warm and tasty) or refrigerate and eat more like a dip (it gets thicker).

MMM-Freaking-MMM

Soy-sauge Fantastico

This faux sausage is my favorite fake meat ever. Hands down.

1 pkg Tempeh (Trader Joe's 3-Grain is our fave)
6-8 Leaves Fresh Sage, chopped
1 Tsp Black Pepper
1/2 pkg Soft Tofu, cut into small chunks
1 Tsp Natural Liquid Smoke
1 Tbsp Better Than Bouillon Beef Flavor
1 Tbsp Better Than Bouillon Chicken Flavor
1/2 Cup Hot Water
1 Tsp Tamari
1 Tsp Smoked Salt

Crumble tempeh with hands into

Chocolate Torte-tastic

So, there are many ways to take this basic recipe and make all kinds of tasty goodness! My favorite lately though has been chocolate.


Crust:
1 Cup Almond Meal
1 Cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes (Bob's Redmill makes this the cheapest)
1 Cup Dates, chopped, then blended with 2 Tbsp water
1/2 Cup Earth Balance, melted


Filling:
1 Package Silken Tofu (it really does have to be silken)
1 Cup Chocolate Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
1 Cup Dates, chopped, then blended with 1/2 Cup water
1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

For Crust, mix all ingredients then press into the bottom of a Springform pan, and bake on 350 until light brown, about 20 minutes.

For Filling, blend all ingredients in blender until smooth. Pour into crust and bake on 350 until knife comes out clean- about 30 minutes.

Cool completely in fridge about 2 hours, overnight is best. Slice and serve!

You can substitute many things in this recipe- I like making "Mango Cheesecake" by adding fresh mango instead of cocoa, and using vanilla unsweetened almond milk instead.

Tempeh Facon Extrodinaire

So, since I can't eat gluten, Justin and I have been on the hunt for faux-meat that doesn't have wheat gluten. It is essentially non-existent, so we came up with our own. To my enjoyment, it is way more kick-ass than any fake bacon I have ever had! It is way better after it is frozen and then cooked.

1 package Tempeh (we prefer Trader Joe's 3-Grain Tempeh)
2 Tbsp Tamari
2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1 Tbsp Natural Smoke Flavor
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Vinegar
1 Tbsp Better Than Bouillon Beef Flavor mixed with 1/4 Cup Hot Water
1 Tbsp Better Than Bouillon Chicken Flavor mixed with 1/4 Cup Hot Water
1 Tsp Black Pepper
1 Tsp Smoked Salt

Slice the tempeh into strips as thin as you can manage. Mix both bouillons with the hot water. Mix all remaining liquids and the bouillon. Pour into shallow pan. Lay the tempeh strips into the pan and let them soak for about half an hour. Lay strips individually into freezer paper- I end up rolling them up into the paper like a burrito. Place the roll of freezer paper into a ziplock and freeze. Pull out pieces individually as needed. Fry them up in some olive oil for facon-y goodness!

Popeyes' Monkey

Yep, it's quinoa pudding. Like rice pudding, but without refined sugar and the insulin bomb from white rice. Instead, it's an ancient grain of the gods- it's like a protein dessert. So you can high-five yourself while you eat it, or just show yer musckles!

1/2 C. pureed banana
1 C. cooked quinoa
1 C. whole milk (or coconut milk which I prefer)
1/2 C. heavy cream (once again, coconut cream is awesome!)
1/4 tsp. (if you're like me, a heavy one) ground cardamom
1/3 C. chopped, unsalted pistachios

In a large nonstick pan over medium heat, combine cooked rice and milk. Heat until the mixture begins to boil. Decrease the heat to low and cook at simmer, until the mixture begins to thicken, stirring frequently. Approximately 5 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium, add heavy cream, coconut milk, bananas and cardamom and continue to cook until the mixture just begins to thicken again- approx. 5-10 minutes. Use whisk to help prevent the cardamom from clumping. Once the mixture begins to thicken, remove from heat and add pistachios. Transfer mixture to a glass bowl, place plastic wrap directly on the surface (to keep that eery skin/film thing from forming). Cool in refrigerator for an hour. Serve in cutesy little ramekins by a cozy fire (for smokier flavor). Or, on a picnic blanket by the sea (the salt really adds dimension).

cheesecake aux fraises et à la mangue

That shit worked! It was awesome. And tasty. I was honestly a little bit surprised, but I guess cheesecakes aren't that sweet anyways.

Here goes:

Crust
1 1/4 C. almond meal
1 1/4 C. hazelnut meal
1/2 C. unsweetened  grated coconut
1 C. (2 Sticks) COLD butter (like, cut into cubes and tossed into the freezer for 15 minutes cold)
1 tsp.salt
1 tsp. maple syrup

Filling
2 Pkgs. cream cheese
1 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon peel, grated
1 C. sour cream
4 eggs
1 C. fresh organic strawberries
2 T. maple syrup
2 fresh mangoes, peeled, cubed and pureed; or 1 C. frozen mango cubes; or 1 pkg. frozen mango puree.

Topping
1 Pkg. frozen organic strawberries, thawed.

1 T. corn starch
1 tsp. maple syrup
Mango puree to drizzle

Preheat oven to 350'.
For Crust: Mix nut meals and coconut with salt in a bowl. Add to a food processor, followed by the cold butter. Mix on medium until it creates a gritty paste. Add maple syrup, mix again. Pat crust down with fingers on bottom of a spring-form pan. Set aside in refrigerator.

For Filling: Beat cream cheese, lemon juice, and lemon peel on medium until blended. Add sour cream and mix well. Add fresh strawberries and mango just until blended. Then, one at a time, beat and add eggs, just until blended. Pour into crust, bake for 50 minutes, or until top is settled. Set spring-form pan on wire rack until cool.

For Topping: Drain thawed frozen strawberries, reserving the liquid. In a medium saucepan, add enough water to reserved liquid to equal 1/2 C. Mix in cornstarch, blending well. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, boil 1 minute. Cool, then add strawberries and spoon and spread over cooled cheesecake. Drizzle with mango puree. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Remove edging from spring form pan and serve.