Pumpkin & Pomegranate

Last Friday, May 21st, was my little sister’s birthday. She would have turned 26 years old. My family and her friends lost my beloved sister in a car accident in 2000, so unfortunately we all had to celebrate her 26th birthday without her physical presence.

The day I become a big sister was one of the happiest days of my life, in fact I’d have to say the happiest day I have had thus far. I miss her terribly, but personally believe that she is always with me. I hold her close to my heart at all times. This year is the 10th anniversary of her passing, and to honor her memory I decided to get a very special tattoo. For now I don’t really feel like explaining the design, but I will share it with you all. I had it done the day before her birthday at Damask Tattoo by Christy Brooker. I spoke with Christy a month beforehand and told her what I wanted and she helped to make it a reality.

I am extremely pleased with it! My 2 older sisters, who are twins, are planning on getting the same design as well so we will all have our tattoo to honor our little sister. I am just so so happy with it. It is still healing, but looks fantastic!

Friday night my mother and I went on a long walk at a beach North of Seattle. The moment we got there it began to rain, but we soldiered on and I am sl glad we did. the sunset was glorious, as was the view. The tide was our further than I had ever seen it out at this particular beach, so we got to walk farther than usual.

We then went home and set to work on a celebratory dinner. My mother meditated for a while while I set up the picnic.

The picnic included roasted zucchini, roasted garlic, fava bean dip, Bell peppers, and carrots. We also worked on some stewed green beans with onions and carrots but sadly I didn’t get a photo of those. They were delicious! My mother and I ate dinner and watched some Star Trek TNG. My sister would have been proud!

The fava bean dip was fabulous except that I um…added a lot more garlic this time. So much that it burned out mouthes as we ate. We then sat there munching on parsley so that we wouldn’t offend people for the rest of the weekend ;-)

I know that some of my sister’s friends read my blog, and I just want you all to know that my mother and I think about you all the time. Thank you for loving my sister like we do!

Happy birthday to the best little sister I could ever have imagined! I love you with all my heart!

I admit that I am a tad speechless right now.  I don’t know exactly how to describe this, except that it is truly scrumptious. A gourmet treat to behold. I had 2 slices for breakfast, but I could easily see this as a base for a little canape as well. The loaf is small, but dense, a bit like biscotti, though not as long and skinny when you slice it. It is not a sandwich bread, but more a dense, protein packed, scone like delight. The sweetness of it also was a treat for breakfast with my coffee last week. It may sound a bit daunting to make, but really it is quite easy.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Caramelized Onion and Fig Quinoa Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 C. Quinoa Flour
• 1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
• 3/4 tsp. Sea Salt
• 3 T. Olive Oil
• 1/2 Large Sweet Onion, sliced
• 3/4 C. Unsweetened Fig Preserves*

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 300° F.
2. Lightly oil a baking stone or baking sheet with a little olive oil.
3. In a heavy skillet, caramelize the onion slices slowly in 2 T. of the Olive oil.
4. Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the quinoa flour, baking soda, and salt.
5. Once the onions have been caramelized add them to the flour mixture along with 1 T. of olive oil and the fig preserves. Mix to combine.
6. Sprinkle a flat surface with a little quinoa flour, and turn out the sticky dough onto it.
7. Mold the dough into an oval shaped loaf and then place the loaf onto the oiled baking stone or baking sheet.
8. Using a sharp knife make a long slash on the top of the dough to allow the steam to escape.
9. Bake in the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
10. Let cool before storing in an airtight container.

*To make the fig preserves I used fresh figs, which I peeled, chopped, and simmered on the stove until they reached preserve consistency. I then stored them in the freezer as freezer jam. I did this last summer and cannot wait for this year’s fig harvest!

Last Sunday I spent the morning at the Ballard farmer’s market with my mother. I planned on treating myself to a bouquet of flowers to cheer me up. I had thought about lilacs as their scent would be such a joy to wake up to in my room, but instead I ended up spending all my allotted money on food. It just seemed much more responsible to do so. I spent my cash on kombucha tea, smoked salmon, and some greens which I turned into edible bouquets in my fridge.

Not only are they pretty, but they keep the greens fresher longer. It helps to cut off the bottoms right before you put them in the water, much like flowers. I have been using the collard greens for wraps like my P-Boys and these yummy little salmon wraps. I made “cream cheese” by soaking some cashews in water for an hour and then blending them in the Vita-Mix with some dill.Very tasty.

One bunch of kale was turned into Mex-Kale with the help of onion, garlic, tomato, Mexican seasoning, avocado, some refried beans and 2 fresh pastured eggs. I went to visit the chickens yesterday and came home with 3 dozen HUGE eggs. Love those ladies! They have some new chicks too as they lost a few to predators (coyotes ) and those chicks will start laying in a couple of months. They are adorable, and when they were newly hatched I got to hold one. I love the roosters too of course .

Right now I wish I had some flowers though, so this weekend I might have to pick some up for myself. Not sure lilacs can still be found, they seem to have peaked already, but something to brighten up my room and my mornings would be nice. Then again I also need to get some kind of curtain to keep my room dark too, waking up at 5AM isn’t something I enjoy. I won’t complain about the sun though!

This weekend I am going to Start some new art projects. It has been FAR too long, and I need to be creative outside the kitchen as well. I am also going to start showcasing some of my parents artistic works along with my food. My mother and my father both are incredible artists, and both have been working on pottery of late. My father sells his pottery and his wooden bowls in Texas at craft fairs and in various little galleries, and I just thought I could show off some of the pieces he has given me. They are beautiful. My mother also is a potter, and is just now beginning to entertain the thought of selling some of her pieces, so i am going to be showing them off too. I am very proud to do so as I adore their work! I am even thinking about taking a pottery class this Fall. Then again I probably should work on my photography skills. We shall see. There are lots of changes going on around here, and hopefully everything will work out for the best.

I have added some new links to my blogroll as well. I removed a couple of blogs, and added a few of my dear friends blogs. I have decided to incorporate blogs from different areas, including art, daily life, and of course food. but they are all blogs that I enjoy reading. I don’t want to limit it to just food, even though this blood is clearly always going to be food centric.

I am on the lookout for photos of white, grey, or pale green pumpkins, and gorgeous dark red pomegranates. I hope to change my blog theme and format in the next few months, so those top my list. If I cannot find photos I love I might just have to paint them myself! Or wait to get a friend to take photos in the Fall.

Sometimes mishaps in the kitchen turn out to be delicious creations. Last weekend I had grand plans for Cajun quinoa burgers. Unfortunately for me at the time they turned out more like pancakes than burgers, but they still tasted fantastic. We just doubled them up and carefully transported them to our respective buns and plates. Well, last night I decided to eat my leftover pancakes as wraps, and the crumbled in my hands. No biggie since they were wrap filling. But then I discovered that I had stumbled upon a wonderful “Po-Boy” filling. I suppose no respectable Louisiana native would ever call these healthy wraps “Po-Boys”, but no matter. In the future I will have a Cajun burger recipe that is similar to this, but I had to get this recipe for Po-Boy filling out there as I am kinda sure that I will be making these mistakes “as-is” in the future.

I wrapped the filling up with raw collard green leaves, and used some unsweetened ketchup, Dijon mustard, and an asparagus spear. Delicious!

Quinoa Po-Boy Filling

Ingredients:

• 1 Can (15 oz.) Black Eyes Peas, drained
• 1 tsp. Smoked Sea Salt (I used Alderwood)
• 3 Cloves Garlic
• 3 T. Olive Oil
• 1 tsp. Paprika
• 2 tsp. Parsley
• 1/8 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Onion Powder
• 1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
• 1 tsp. Black Pepper
• 2.5 C. Cooked Quinoa
• 2 T. Green Onion, sliced
• 1/2 Red Bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 Green Bell pepper, diced
• 1 Large Stalk Celery, diced

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
2. In a food processor, combine the black eyed peas, salt, garlic, olive oil, and spiced and process to combine. Taste and re-season if necessary.
3. Scrape out the bean mixture into a bowl and add the quinoa, green onion, bell pepper, and celery. Mix to thoroughly combine.
4. Lightly grease a large baking sheet and spread the mixture to cover.
5. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking. Should be lightly browned and a bit crispy.

Ice cream cravings have hit me with a vengeance. Since I shy away from agave and sugar, I have been left to my own devices. This isn’t new to me, as while I was on my big fat loss way I would often whip up a batch of “ice cream” made from frozen banana, almond milk, vanilla, and sometimes a little bit of cinnamon. But this is a whole new ballgame people. The rules have changed and it is time for some serious action. I was reading Averie’s blog and saw that she added 2 things to my favorite home made frozen dessert, and I took notice. peppermint extract and chocolate chunks. WHAT??? Cue mint chocolate chip craving. Unfortunately for me I didn’t have any peppermint extract. That’s ok! Instead I made chocolate chocolate chip, and then topped it with some sunflower seed butter. It was very like chocolate-PB ice cream, enough to satisfy me at least! The nifty thing about this is that because it isn’t loaded with refined sugar, you actually don’t feel like you need to eat an entire pint of the stuff. I truly get enough from a serving. Mind you I don’t skimp on my servings, but it definitely isn’t a pint. After I am full, satisfied, and feel no guilt at all.

I highly recommend keeping a huge supply of frozen banana slices on hand at all times. I always buy bananas when I go to the store. I am kind of picky about my bananas and try to stick with the GROW label bananas as they are fair trade, so when I see them (at the co-ops usually) I buy as many as I can fit in my freezer. This makes for easy smoothie prep and now for ice “cream. I have found that they work best when you let them ripen until they begin to get speckled, then slice them and put them either on a waxed paper covered cookie sheet, or a silicone mat covered cookie sheet. that way the bananas are easy to pry off when they are frozen. I then jar or bag them for easy use!

I have since tried a few combos:

1. I did the mint choco. chip version, but found that the peppermint wasn’t enough to override the banana flavor.
2. I did chocolate mint chocolate chip and that was quite good, the extra chocolate helps mask the banana some (but you never truly get rid of it and that is ok for me).
3. Chocolate chocolate chip with Poudre Douce. This is the recipe I am sharing with you lovelies. I had been wanting to try my poudre douce, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Seriously good. If you want to make your own I am sure you could come up with a winning combo. The ingredients are cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Since I purchased this baggie i don’t have the measurements, but I assume that when this is finished I will mix my own. Yum.

Spiced Chocolate Chocolate Chip Ice “Cream”

Ingredients;

• 2 C. Frozen Banana Slices
• 1/4 C. Faux Milk (coconut, hemp, almond, etc.)
• 1 1/2 T Cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. Poudre Douce
• 1/8 tsp. Cayenne Pepper (optional)
• 2 Big Chunks of Dark Chocolate

Method:

1. Blend together the banana, milk, poudre douce, and cayenne until combined.
2. Toss in the chocolate and pulse a few times to break into little chocolate bits.
3. Serve!

Unfortunately this does not re-freeze well. I tried, but i assume the water content is too high and I would need a real ice cream maker to get it to a consistency where the ice crystals wouldn’t freeze so close together (or however the physics of that work). The point is, eat this RIGHT AWAY.

I also have served this avec one of my gluten free chocolate muffins from the vegan bake sale last month. Not grain free or sweetener free, as it was made with rice flour and maple syrup. Honestly, it didn’t need it. The ice “cream” is fine on its own, and the muffin was so unnecessary.But here is a photo anyway ;-) Oh and I topped it with sunflower seed buttah of course.

Ok, so anyone remember me talking about my favorite Greek Place? No? Have I even mentioned it? I can’t even remember for sure, but there is this great little family owned Greek hamburger joint that I adore. They make the best falafel I have ever had, and since I stopped eating most meat when I was eight I have had my fair share of falafel! Well, after I decided to get healthy, I laid off the fried foods and so I stopped hitting up my favorite little joint. One day I couldn’t make it home from work for lunch, so I decided to get their Greek salad minus the feta and the dressing, and added a serving of their hummus on top (and no on the pita). What I got was a fabulous little salad of green bell peppers, cucumbers, tomato, olives, and peperoncini peppers (love them). Oh, and usually it comes with raw red onion but I detest raw onion. They looked at me oddly when I asked for the hummus, but I was paying for it! Anyway, this stuff is the BEST damn hummus I have ever tasted. I became a glutton for it. I bought a tub every day for about 2 weeks, and then realized how very uneconomical this was, especially since it is SO easy to make. So, I decided to research. Here is what I found out:

1. Hummus is not Greek. It isn’t made in Greece, and it is only served in Greek restaurants here because people like it expect it, and therefore they make it because it will sell.
2. Traditionally, you make hummus using garbanzo beans that have been PEELED. This is why my hummus attempts have always seemed oddly textured! I didn’t peel the beans before blending them!
3. Peeling garbanzo beans is uber annoying.
4. There is a Greek dip similar to Hummus, but it is called fava and is made from yellow split peas and NOT fava beans.

And in my testing I tried to replicate their hummus.

Attempt #1: Used dried garbanzo beans. Soaked them. Boiled them. Tried to peel them. Gave up. Used them for something else. Almost positive their hummus is not made with garbanzo beans.

Attempt #2: Used yellow split peas. Boiled them. Blended them with garlic, olive oil, salt, and black pepper(which seems to be one of their secret ingredients by the way). They are not using yellow split peas, but this is stll very tasty!

Attempt #3: Final attempt. Soaked dried, skinned, fava beans, boiled them, blended them with garlic, olive oil, salt, and black pepper. OHMYZEUS. I think it worked!

Ok, so I do think they use fava beans. not positive about it, but this stuff tastes almost exactly like it. Oh, and see anything missing up there? Our little friend the sesame seed paste perhaps? yep. Fairly certain they don’t use tahini either. There is zero bitterness to their “hummus” and I find tahini to be a tad bitter at times. I like it, but honestly I like this stuff BETTER. I cannot say i like it better than my beloved trader Joe’s Eggplant Hummus (no replica of that just yet). But I like this fava dip just as much as I like the eggplant hummus. They are just different flavors entirely.

Serve this stuff with raw veggies, pita, crackers, on top of salad, or with a spoon directly into your mouth. No judgment here!

Fava Bean Dip

Ingredients:

• 2 C. Dried Fava beans, rinsed and soaked for 8 hours
• 4 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3-5 Cloves Garlic (or to taste)
• Black pepper, to taste
• Sea Salt, to taste

Method:

1. Drain the soaked fava beans and put into a pot with water to cover. bring to a boil and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the beans are easily mashed.
2. Drain, and transfer the beans to a blender or food processor.
3. Add the olive oil, garlic, pepper, and salt and blend. Taste and re-season if necessary.

Anyone ever watch Troop Beverly Hills?

One of my favorite movies from my childhood, and while making these delights I thought that they would be the perfect way to snack on trail mix for the Beverly Hills Wilderness Girls. These won’t work out in a Zip-Loc baggie in a backpack, but they would still be a wonderful treat by a campfire, or at least a fire in a fireplace at your nearest 5 star resort lodge. I have always been a bit of an upscale camper, so this recipe won’t be a surprise. in fact I have apparently never actually gone camping. My family did camp while I was growing up, and I was a girl scout (hated that experience), but apparently we did something called “Car camping”. this term was completely unknown to me until I moved to Seattle and was told that “car camping” is when you drive your car to the camp site and do not hike in. Fine, whatever, I am a not a true Wilderness Girl”. I am much happier at a 4+ star hotel any day of the week anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I love nature, I just prefer toilets to latrines and holes in the ground, and I like the option of being able to take a warm (if not hot) shower. No one is perfect. My family made gourmet meals when we camped out, and my mother even made an oven out of a U-Haul box covered with foil. We camped in style. So, for all you glammed out campers out there, pop one of these babies in your mouth next time you decide to “rough it”. May I suggest The Hotel Max?

Trail Mix Bon Bons

Ingredients:

• 1 C. Sunflower Seeds (roasted or raw)
• 1/2 C. Raisins, packed
• 1/4 C. Flaked Coconut
• 3/8 C. Sunflower Seed Butter (could also use peanut butter)
• 1.5 tsp. Yacon Syrup (optional, and could also use honey, maple syrup, or even stevia)*
• Dark Chocolate Bar (I used Claudio Corallo’s 100% Cacao)
• Extra Flaked Coconut To Decorate

Method:

1. Using a food processor, process the sunflower seeds, raisins, and coconut until the sunflower seeds are coarsely chopped.
2. Add in the sunflower seed butter and the yacon and pulse a few times until combined.
3. Form bite sized balls out of the mixture and place on a cookie sheet lines with parchment or waxed paper. Refrigerate or freeze for 1-2 hours or until they harden a bit.
4. Once the balls have hardened a bit, melt the chocolate using a double boiler over medium heat.
5. Carefully dip each ball to coat in the chocolate, and place back onto the parchment or waxed paper lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little flaked coconut if you like.
6. Once all the balls have been covered, place back into the refrigerator or freezer until the chocolate has set.

*add a little extra seed or nut butter to the mix if you omit the yacon.

If you recall, back in December I had a blog posting on black bean soup. I mentioned that I was trying to re-create our family friend’s recipe without knowing what was actually in it. well I e-mailed my friend and asked her what her mother’s recipe actually was, and she was kind enough to give it to me. Now, this isn’t exactly the same recipe as she gave me, as hers has a different flavor because she includes ham hock and also probably spices it a tad differently (I didn’t get an exact measurement on the spices). For that smokey flavor, I decided to try out some alderwood smoked sea salt that I bought back in December. I am a spice fiend so World Spice Merchants is a favorite of mine. I have quite a few baggies that are filled with aromatic treasures I haven’t used yet, and I am just waiting for the right opportunity. Arabic Baharat anyone? After falling in love with Ethiopian food I think my next purchase will be a Berbere spice blend. The smoked salt definitely helped with the smokey flavor, and I recommend it highly for this. If you don’t have any smoked salt, you might try some liquid smoke.

My Thanks to Melanie!

Guatemalan Black bean Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Dried Black beans
• Olive oil or Virgin Coconut Oil
• 1 Small Yellow Onion, diced
• 5 Cloves Garlic (about half a bulb), chopped or minced
• Handful of fresh Cilantro
• 2 T Smoked Sea Salt (I used Alderwood)
• 1 T Paprika
• 1.5 tsp. Cumin
• 1.5 tsp. Oregano
• 1 tsp. Chili Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1/4 tsp. onion Powder
• 1/8 tsp. Garlic Powder

Method:

1. Rinse the black beans and pick through for stones. Soak for at least 8 hours.
2. In a heavy bottomed pan, sautée the onion in some oil. After about 2-3 minutes add the garlic and continue to sautée until both are translucent.
3. Add the beans to the pot and then cover with water. Use enough water so that there is about 2 inches of water above the beans.
4. Add the salt, spices, and the fresh cilantro, and bring to a boil.
5. Cover, but allow a crack open for ventilation. Turn down the heat to medium and simmer for 2-4 hours* or until the beans begin to fall apart. Stir often to make sure the beans are not burning on the bottom, and add more water if need be.
6. Once the beans are completely tender, transfer the soup to a blender and purée.
7. Serve, and top with cashew cream.

* I soaked my beans for about 10 hours and they cooked for roughly 2.5 hours. My friend says she cooks hers for 4, so I imagine it is a matter of taste and patience. By 7PM on a work night we were ready to eat.

Cashew cream
Ingredients:

• 1 C. Raw cashews, soaked for at least an hour
• water

Method:

1. Drain the soaked cashews and put cashews into a blender or food processor.
2. Blend, adding water until you get a thick sour cream like consistency
3. Dollop on top of individual servings of black bean soup.

I have yet another homemade item to show you. Not like this is all that special, but I made my own hemp milk the other day. After reading that carrageenan causes inflammatory bowel disease, I just figured that since I already suffer from IBS I don’t really want to add to the issue. I am not sure if I am affected, but I am going to try to limit my carrageenan consumption as much as possible. The problem for me is that I adore So Delicious coconut milk. ADORE. I especially love it in my coffee, and lately it has been the perfect topped to my raw-nola.  But alas, to be on the safe side I will have to try other avenues. I decided to go with hemp milk because it is my favorite milk in smoothies at Healeo. It was definitely easy enough to do. I made 4 cups worth by adding 1 C. hemp seeds to 4 C. water in my Vita-Mix and blending until creamy. I put it in jars and refrigerated them. I found no need for sweetener as it is usually a base for something else rather than my drinking it on its own. See the pretty?

Took about 20 seconds to make. Now for the sad news. I tried it in coffee the next day and it was not good. Not even remotely good. It completely covered up the flavor of the coffee. *sigh*

Ah well, cannot have everything! It is, however, perfect on raw-nola, in smoothies, and I imagine will work easily in baked goods as well. I didn’t strain out the hemp seeds, but if you plan on drinking it alone you might want to. Not sure what my coffee creamer of choice will be, but I am leaning towards MimicCreme. The flavor isn’t that of the coconut milk, but it is the best alternative I have come across. I might try making my own cashew milk for this purpose as well, but that will come later.

I came home from work on Tuesday and for some reason was craving a smoothie. Not sure why, but I decided that a smoothie and a bath would not be a bad idea at all. Last time I went to Healeo I decided to nix the dates (I already shun agave) and I added in some blueberries to my usual. To my delighted surprise it was sweet enough! So today I made this interesting little monster sans dates. Behold! The Purple People Eater!

The color looked a lot better in person :-)

Purple People Eater

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Ripe Banana
• 4-5 Chunks Frozen Papaya
• 1/2 C. Frozen blueberries
• 3/4 C. Hemp Milk
• 1 T. Vitamineral Green
• 1 tsp. Maca powder

Method:

1. Um…well…just put all of that goodness there into a blender and let ‘er whirl!