Sesame Brown Rice Bowl

Roxanne and I are at our "Clean" spring cleaning for our bodies again.  This recipe comes from the Clean book but we both had never tried it before today...I don't know WHY because it is flippin amazing!!

Ingredients for Rice:
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 celery stalk
1 green onion sliced (I cut on th bias)
1 carrot shredded (I also cut these on the bias)
About 2 cups shiitake mushrooms
2 T sesame seeds
6 leaves basil cut in thin ribbons for garnish

Ingredients for Dressing:
2 T tahini
2 tsp miso paste
3 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice (fresh is best)
1/2 tsp agave nectar/honey
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper or as desired
1/8 tsp mustard powder

1. In a bowl mix all dressing ingredients and whisk well.
2. Add mushrooms, celery, onion, carrot, cilantro, and sesame seeds (save a few for garnish) and toss them well in dressing.
3. Serve rice in a bowl and place veggies on top.  Garnish with basil, cilantro, and sesame seeds.

Emma's NACHO CHEESE

Completely raw vegan dip that resembles the taste of nacho cheese.

There is a lot of guess work in these ingredients as you add most to taste.  Have fun playing with it!

In a food processor:
1/2lb macadamia nuts
one red pepper
1/2 juiced lemon
lil bit o water
lil bit o tamari
lil bit o cider vinegar
good amount of tumeric,
white pepper,
onion & garlic powder

Eat with your favorite chip.  Roxy and I like using cut up brown rice tortilla.

Gluten Free Four Blend

I discovered this recipe during the Thanksgiving season because I wanted to try out gluten free pie crust.  It turned out really well and I have used the flour in many other recipes. Just substitute this four in most recipes that require flour.

Gluten Free Flour Blend:

• 1 1/2 C. White rice flour
• 1 1/2 C. Sweet rice flour
• 2 C. Potato starch (not potato flour)
• 1 C. Tapioca starch
• 4 tsp. xantan gum (or guar gum)

Whisk together well.  Store in an air tight container preferably in the freezer.  

Makes 9 cups of flour.

Brown Rice Tortilla with Fig Spread, Goat Cheese and Arugula

My latest favorite lunch!

Brown Rice Tortilla with Fig Spread, Goat Cheese and Arugula:

• one brown rice tortilla
• about 2 Tbsp Fig spread (previous post)
• about 2 Tbsp goat cheese
• coconut oil (just enough to lightly coat pan)
• large handful of arugula

Spread fig on brown rice tortilla.  Heat frying pan on medium high heat and add coconut oil.  Place tortilla flat in pan and crumble goat cheese on top of the fig spread.  Once heated take out of pan and add arugula.  Fold tortilla in half so it looks like a large taco.  Eat away!  You will  be in heaven!

Fig Spread

I bought a big bag of organic dried fig from Costco and wanted to figure out some new recipes to use them.  I found this one and absolutely love it.

Fig and Honey Spread

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups finely chopped dried figs
• 2 navel oranges, finely chopped
• 1 cup sweet red wine
• 1 cup honey
• 2 cinnamon sticks

PROCEDURE

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer, stirring occasionally until thickened and jam-like. Cool and store in refrigerator until needed. Spread on sliced challah or toasted bagels.

*I ended up throwing this in my food processor once it was done and chopped it up a little more so that it didn't have big chunks in it.  I stored it in a mason jar in the refrigerator and it has lasted a long time.

Yields: 3 cups;
Serves: 24 (2 tablespoons each);

NUTRITION FACTS (per serving)

Calories 100 (2% from Fat); Total Fat -0-g; Saturated Fat -0-g; Trans Fat -0-g; Cholesterol -0-mg; Sodium -0-mg; Potassium 105mg; Carbohydrate 24g; Sugar 21g; Dietary Fiber 2g; Protein 1g;Daily Values
Vitamin A 1 Vitamin C 1 Calcium 1 Iron 1

Empanadas (Gluten free version)

Picture from sproutedkitchen.com

SQUASH + GOAT CHEESE EMPANADAS // Makes about 20 minis or 10 larger

Recipe adapated from Give Me Flour

DOUGH:

*The only changes I made to this recipe was substituting my gluten free flour mix (posted separately) for the white flour. 

1. Place flour, salt and butter in a big bowl. Work with your fingertips or with a pastry blender ‘til the mixture resembles coarse meal.  You want to keep some visible pieces of butter

2. Beat together egg and 3 tbsp of cream. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients.

3. Using your fingertips, mix them smoothly by making circular movements. Don’t knead the dough.

4. Keep mixing. The dough should get together quickly and if it doesn’t happen, add one more tbsp of cream.

5. Don’t worry about spots, visible pieces of butter and stripes of cream; they are a good sign.  Press to form a ball, cover with plastic film and keep on the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

IMPORTANT: You can keep this dough on freezer for about a month. Just place it on the fridge and let it defrost overnight before using.

FILLING:

(Keep in mind that I ended up with a lot of extra filling)
I suppose you could use any winter squash you'd like here. I tried to give options for spice and herbs, so you can alter the filling to your preference. I used chipotle powder for a bit of heat, but smoked paprika will work well too.

 1 small butternut squash

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 shallot, finely minced
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika or chipotle powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp. chopped green herbs (some combination of sage, parsley, cilantro, thyme)
• 5 oz. goat cheese (her choice) or jack cheese (his choice)
• egg wash (1 egg and a splash of water, well whisked)
• sesame seeds

 Preheat the oven to 425'.

Follow the dough recipe according the link provided. Wrap it up and keep chilled in the fridge. This cane be done a day in advance.

Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Drizzle it with the olive oil and rub it into the flesh and a bit on the skin. Sprinkle it with salt and cinnamon and roast for about 45-50 minutes, or until the flesh is very soft. Remove and let it cool completely.

While the squash is cooking, saute the garlic and shallot in a bit of olive oil until just browned. About 8-10 minutes.

Once the squash is cool to the touch, scoop the flesh into a bowl. Add another pinch of salt, the paprika or chipotle powder, nutmeg, the sauteed garlic and shallots and the green herbs. Use the back of a fork and mash everything together well. Taste the mix and add as you wish, maybe a bit more salt, heat, etc.

Turn the oven down the 350'. Prepare a parchment lined baking sheet. Roll out the dough to about 1/8'' thickness on a floured work surface and press out the circles for your empanadas. You can use 4'' cutters for small ones, or 6-8'' for a larger size. Leaving plenty of space around the edge, put a dollop of the squash in the center, followed by a dollop of cheese, and fold the circle over. Press the edge with your finger to seal and then press along the edge with the tins of a fork. This got a bit messy for me, stay calm. Lay the empanadas on the baking sheet and brush the tops with the egg wash. Sprinkle the sesame seeds and some thyme leaves and bake on the middle rack for 30 minutes or until just golden. Enjoy warm.

Peanut Butter Bites

Picture from sproutedkitchen.com

PEANUT BUTTER BITES // Makes about 16 small cookies

Recipe adapted from La Mesa

Because I know someone will be curious, I have not tried these with any other nut butter, but I suppose they're pretty versatile. If I had cocoa nibs on hand they would be incredible here. I wouldn't turn them down, but a peanut butter cookie is not my first choice. Peanut butter and chocolate however, makes more sense to my mouth. The sharp chocolate cuts through that unmistakable peanut richness and all is right. If you have cocoa nibs or want to add some finely chopped chocolate, I would guess a 1/4 cup will do and pulse it in with everything else.

1 cup almonds

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup pitted dates

heaping 1/2 cup peanut butter

two pinches of salt (if your pb isn't salted)