Category Archives: Appetizers and Side Dishes

Roasted Garlic in Olive Oil

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I decided I had more garlic on hand than I needed today, and rather than let it go bad, I looked online to see if it were possible to store roasted garlic easily. Turns out, it’s as simple as placing roasted garlic in a jar, covered with oil. In this case, I used olive oil. In addition to being able to store the garlic on the shelf for easy access, turns out I’ve also made a delicious seasoned olive oil to enjoy as well. 

Simple Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 400°

2. Cut the tip off of the garlic bulbs (removing any easily removable lower cloves from large bulbs if need be and roasting them individually). Generously coat the garlic bulbs with oil, by drizzling the oil inside the bulb. 

3. Loosly wrap the oiled bulbs in foil and cook until cloves are tender when pierced with a fork. Approximately 45min – 1 hour. 

Possible uses for the oil: use for cooking or as a dip for bread. (Opt, add additional seasonings as well.)

Possible uses for the roasted garlic.. Truly, there are infinite uses! But here are a few ideas: smashed in mashed or baked potatoes, spread over bread or crackers or simply added to any dish that calls specifically for fresh garlic or some additional flavor.

The possibilities are endless! 

For added clarification, I’ll include a helpful link to the page I found, by a fellow blogger whom I quite enjoy.

Minimalist Baker: How to Roast Garlic

I’ll also include a link to a few health benefits of eating roasted garlic here:

Health Benefits from eating Roasted Garlic
Cheers to good heath!

Healthy ‘fried pickles’

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*Vegan and Gluten Free

Healthy ‘fried’ pickles:

1. bread and butter pickle’s (or any)
2. batter: in a food processor blend Brazil nuts, cashew nuts, chia seeds and shredded coconut. Add oregano, oat flour, almond flour & salt. (add intuitively. This recipe is primarily nuts and oat flour, but have fun with it and add how you feel called!)
3. transfer to a bowl and mix gently w small amounts of water and pickle juice
4. bake 400° aprx 6-8 min

Enjoy!

#healthyoptiontounhealthyfood #vegan #glutenfree #flavorful #nutritious #friedpickles #bakedpickles #cravings #improv

Coconut Kale Chips

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Coconut Kale chips

1. Massage kale leaves with melted coconut oil (1-2 tbsp), coconut aminos (drizzled), salt (1/4 tsp)
2. Spread evenly on non stick flat cooking tray and top w shredded coconut and coconut flakes.
3. Bake 350 for 10-15 min

A real treat!

*Inspired by a recipe (crispy kale chips) in ‘Heal Your Gut cookbook’ by Hilary Boynton & Mary G. Brackett

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Bites

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Sweet Potato, chickpea bites

These delicious bites turned out better than I’d ever hoped. I’m really pleased with how tasty they are.

Original Recipe:

http://cheapeatsforthegreenbean.com/2014/08/03/sweet-potato-and-chickpea-bites/

I modified the recipe to include ingredients I already had on hand. I only had one sweet potato for instance, and I used Tarragon as a garnish instead of scallions as the recipe originally calls for.

Ingredients I used:

  • 1 large sweet potato
  • equal amount chickpeas as sweet potato (I used frozen, thawed)
  • Kale, fine chopped
  • Garlic
  • Coconut Milk
  • Coconut Oil
  • Seasoning: paprika, cayenne, red chili flakes, curry powder, nutritional yeast, salt & pepper
  • Fresh Herbs I used: Thyme & Tarragon

 

Directions:

  1. Boil sweet potato & prepare chickpeas (frozen, thawed on stove)
  2. Sautee garlic (briefly, until fragrant)
  3. Add Kale and reduce heat to low, cover and steam (very briefly)
  4. Season with: Paprika, cayenne, red chili flakes, curry powder
  5. Add thawed chickpeas and stir well.
  6. Combine in a large bowl with sweet potato mash, 3-4 tablespoons of coconut milk and nutritional yeast.
  7. Add S & P and any additional seasonings. I added fresh Thyme and Tarragon from the garden.
  8. Bake in a greased muffin tin (coconut oil works well for greasing) –  20 minutes at 450 degrees.

Voila !

 

 

Curried Chickpeas

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Dragonfly Curry Chickpeas :-)
Dragonfly Curry Chickpeas 🙂

Ingredients:

  • Chick peas (I used frozen)
  • Onions
  • Turmeric root (fresh and powder)
  • Mustard seeds
  • Garlic
  • Coconut oil
  • Curry power (I used a pre-made mix of curried spices from bulk at MOM’s)
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Simple Ingredients

Directions:

  1. Thaw chickpeas with just a little bit of water over low to medium heat, covered, stirring occasionally.
  2. Warm a generous amount of coconut oil, and add mustard seeds and fresh grated turmeric root.
  3. When mustard seeds begin to pop slightly, begin to saute onions with seasonings: Turmeric powder, Curry powder (either pre-made or your own creative blend), adding fresh garlic only towards the end so as to not over cook and loose the flavor.
  4. Combine chickpeas, seasoned onions and enjoy on their own or as a side!

(I like to generously season the onions, using basically the amount of seasoning I will like to have present in the entire dish. Seasoning the dish in this way can help prevent over stirring veggies at the end and getting a mushy consistency as a result.)

 This tasty dish pair’s well with tomatoes and greens.

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Combine and enjoy!

Vegan Beet and Potato Salad

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Ingredients:

  • Organic Potatoes
  • Organic Beets (red or golden)
  • Onion (red or yellow)
  • Celery
  • Veganaise (with Grapeseed oil)
  • Cilantro
  • Garlic (optional)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

This recipe is inspired by my dear friend Katherine Croll of Gentle Earth Retreats (Mundo Tranquilo in Costa Rica) who has treated me to this dish on a number of occasions. I have replicated her dish many times before, and find that each time it is always just a little bit different. Beets and Potatoes make for such a nice combination, and when using red beets to complement this dish an otherwise ordinary looking potato salad manifests into a pink delight.

I realize a lot of people don’t actually like the taste of beets. If that’s the case, try using golden ones, I find the flavor to be mild by comparison, and you can always just use a small amount. With any success you just might be able to mask the flavor and still receive the health benefits. Personally, I love the taste of beets and enjoy using a decent amount!

I will like to play around in the kitchen and find a nice homemade recipe for vegan mayonnaise, until then I am grateful Veganaise: with Grapeseed Oil is readily available. It’s delicious and I’ve served it to plenty of people who say they either couldn’t tell a difference from original mayonnaise, and many who even prefer it’s taste over any other kind.

The leafy beet greens are wonderful, I always look for the best looking beet roots as well as healthy greens because it feels like a 2 for 1 deal. I love adding the greens to smoothies and have yet to try cooking with them.

Directions:

  1. Prepare beets and potatoes by washing and scrubbing them thoroughly, remove tips and tops of beets and peel. (I peel only the beets, and leave the potatoes’ nutritious skins intact.)
  2. Boil beets and potatoes separately until tender when pierced with a fork. Beets take awhile longer to cook. (upwards of 30-45 minutes) To expedite the cooking process cut the potatoes into bite size pieces before cooking, and cube the beets into even smaller pieces.
  3. Allow both to cool in the refrigerator until potatoes don’t easily fall apart. (at least 1-2 hours ideally)
  4. Sautee Onions with coconut oil for a few minutes before adding sliced celery, and then add garlic towards the end.
  5. Once everything is cooled off, combine everything in a large bowl, adding together: beets, potatoes, sauteed veggies, vegan mayonnaise, cilantro and S & P to taste.
Beet and Potato Salad made with Golden Beets
Beet and Potato Salad made with Golden Beets

Savory Millet

Millet, it’s not just bird food. 🙂 This protein-rich, gluten-free grain is a must try for anyone who is looking to expand their variety of protein-rich food sources and hasn’t yet had the pleasure of trying it. It’s so simple to prepare and can be seasoned various different ways. I prefer to buy it in bulk, and then store it in jars in the refrigerator until ready for use.

This dish in particular has become one of my  favorite dishes, very warm and soothing. I usually look forward to eating it as breakfast, especially if my stomach is a bit upset, this dish can be very comforting. I look forward to adding it to other dishes in the future or even using it as a side, and playing around with the spices to change the flavor. Here is the basic recipe, try as is or add vegetables, nuts and dried fruits to the mix.

Ingredients:

  • Millet (cooked with water)
  • Ghee
  • Pink Himalayan Sea Salt
  • Turmeric-pinch
  • Cumin-sprinkle
  • Coriander-sprinkle
  • Star Anise (opt.)
  • chopped nuts and dried fruit (opt.)

Directions:

  1. Prepare Millet (1 part millet to 2 parts water) Optional: add star anise to the water while cooking for extra flavor and added medicinal benefits.
  2. To prepare Millet: simmer for 20-25 minutes, remove from heat and let stand 10-15 minutes.
  3. In a small sauce pan, prepare vaghar (seasoning). Melt ghee and add seasonings: Heavy on the turmeric, add also cumin and coriander.
  4. Combine Millet with Vaghar, sprinkle with salt to taste and ENJOY!
  5. Try also as a base or add other things, I really enjoyed adding chopped cashews and dried fruit to this dish for breakfast.

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