Gluten Free Crackers and Vegan Shepard's Pie

I am on a Oh She Glows kick lately, in attempt to knock off some of those 800 recipes. It started off with making her Vegan and Gluten Free Crackers, and I just couldn't get enough. I had been wanting to make crackers for a while and finally got around to making them. I have made them four times now, making it a weekly tradition. 

The recipe is a great base for making crackers, allowing your imagination to run wild when it comes to seasoning. The original recipe calls for garlic powder, rosemary and thyme, which is a winning combination. I have also left out the seasonings to get a taste for what the basic cracker recipe is like. It is rather plain, and definitely needs some hummus or peanut butter to make up for the lack of seasoning. That is actually a good thing though because I now know how versatile this recipe could become. I can imagine making them cinnamon spiced, curry flavoured, or on the Italian side with basil and oregano.

There is another area where your creativity can come through. The shape of the crackers is totally up to you! I initially followed the recipe by cutting the rolled out dough with a pizza cutter. I found that I wasted a lot of cracker on the ends though since I wasn't rolling the dough perfectly. Now, I use small cookie cutters, which worked much better than I thought it would.

Simply roll the dough out thin onto a counter lined with waxed or parchment paper. Press the cookie cutter down onto the dough firmly. Lift up (with the dough in the cutter) and place the shape on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. For very small cutters, the cooking time should be reduced by 3-5 minutes. I have been experimenting with some seasoning combinations and hopefully will be able to share my favourite with you soon. I got close tonight, but so far the original recipe has been taking the cake.

Another Oh She Glows recipe I have tried lately is the Vegan Shepard's Pie. The only thing I didn't love about this recipe was the name. The dish itself is fantastic. It is a great Sunday type of meal since it requires a little more time than a week night probably provides, and is a perfect comfort food for the winter months. Filled with root vegetables, I cannot think of something more appropriate of this time of year.

You may also notice there is no 'fake meat' in this pie to it vegan. Which is why I don't like the name. It deserves a name of its own. I have made this twice now (without the 'gravy') and I am cooking up a unique variation in my head. Hopefully I have a chance to put my ideas into action soon, as well as provide a name for this deserving dish.

Corn, Edamame, and Avocado Salad

How is everyone's new year's resolutions going? I was never really a new year's resolution type of person but this year I did make a few. I won't share them all with you today but I can tell you that it does involve kicking the sugar addiction I built up over the Holidays. Piece of cake.... (irony?)

Over the Christmas break I did a lot of 'spring cleaning' and organizing, which included my recipes. I finally think I have found a good system to organize recipes that I want to make in the future, or that I have made in the past. I mostly use evernote for this, and then excel for recipes that I find in magazines.  By the way, if you are not using evernote, you are doing yourself a big disservice. It is one of the greatest apps ever created. Bold statement. Anyway, when I entered the 800th recipe into evernote I realized I had a bit of a problem, and was biting off more than I could chew, or collecting more recipes that I could possibly make in the near future. So, I decided to make a bunch of new recipes in the new year and start knocking some off the list.

I don't usually follow recipes to the tee all that much, more so use them for inspiration. I have been lacking in inspiration of my own and I think trying some new recipes would be the perfect medicine. One of the first that I made was from a summer issue of Inspired, a magazine created by Sobeys. It was for an avocado and corn salad. The ingredients aren't exactly in season, but was a refreshing change for this time of year. I made a few changes from the original recipe which suited my taste. Here is what resulted:

Corn, Edamame, and Avocado Salad adapted from Inspired
Serves 6-8

4.5 cups frozen corn
2 cups edamame beans
1 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup salsa verde
4 limes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1.5 avocado, diced

1. Toss corn, beans, avocado and onion.
2. Whisk together salsa verde, juice of the limes, salt, and red pepper flakes.
3. Pour over corn mixture and toss to coat.

I have been making this salad for the past couple weeks for lunches. Since I don't want the avocado to brown over the 3 days the salad is in the fridge, I add in the diced avocado in the morning when making my lunch. This salad has quite a bite to it and the aroma is sure to wake you up with all that citrus. A great way to start the new year off right...and keeping it that way.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili

Before I get into my favourite chili recipe at the moment, I have to post a link to the recipe for the gingerbread pumpkin cake with caramel sauce from Canadian Living that I made for Christmas. You will thank me if you get around to making it. Or Canadian Living...but you will thank someone

Now, onto the healthy food. I have made this chill recipe a few times now and I really enjoy it. It has quite a bit of heat but that is easily controlled by not adding as much chipotle pepper.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili adapted from Cheese and Chocolate
Serves 8

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
6 garlic cloves
3 tbsp chili powder
3 tsp coriander
2 cans crushed or diced tomatoes
2 cans black beans
3 chipotle pepers in adobo sauce, chopped finely
3 cups water
2 tsp oregano
2 large sweet potato, peeled and diced

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add onions and sauté for 5 minutes until soft.
2. Add garlic and heat for 2 minutes. Add chill powder and coriander and heat for 1 minute.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer for about 1 hour, or until sweet potato is cooked well and the consistency of the sauce is as desired. Water can be added if the sauce becomes too thick.

I recently served the chill with a mexican green rice which turned out very well. It also goes well with goat cheese, or a nice piece of crusty bread. Enjoy!

Happy New Year and Gingerbread Biscotti

Happy new year everyone! I cannot believe the Holidays are over! I will be sad to see the Christmas decorations come down, but I am ready to get back into the normal swing of things. I took my last day of Christmas Holidays (Jan 2nd) to relax, do some cooking, and get organized to start the year off right.

I made some nutrient rich vegetable broth with a bunch of veggie scraps I had in the freezer. It never ceases to amaze me how scraps that were headed for the compost can end up creating something so great!

All I did was fill the biggest pot I have, half way with veggie scraps and then add 3 garlic cloves, 2 bay leafs, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp rosemary, 2 tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper. Then I fill it almost to the top with cold water, bring to a boil, and then simmer uncovered for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until the broth has good colour. This batch yielded about 18-20 cups of broth which will mostly be frozen to be later used in soups and stews. 

I also made some crackers, which is something I have wanted to do for a while. They turned out rather nice  considering I had low expectations.

Now I know it is the new year now and the sweets are being left behind while we all make new years resolutions to eat better, but I have to share some of the Holiday recipes that I last posted about. Save the recipe for next Christmas, you will thank me for it. I will be sharing the recipe for gingerbread biscotti today as I know there are many people who would like their hands on the recipe.

Gingerbread Biscotti slightly adapted from Annie's Eats

Makes 2 dozen

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/4 cup loosely packed dark brown sugar

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1.5 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 bag white chocolate chips

1/4 cup molasses

2 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix dry ingredients together, including the chocolate chips. I used a stand mixer on low.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and molasses together. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients while stirring. Mix until just combined.

4. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, form two logs which have a few inches between them so they do not expand into each other. Bake for 30 to 32 minutes.

5. Allow logs to cool for 10 minutes before slicing diagonally with a serrated knife. Cut pieces about 1.5 inches wide. Be careful at this step as the logs crumble relatively easily.

6. Arrange the biscotti on their sides on the baking sheet (another baking sheet will most likely be needed) and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the side of the biscotti on the pan has browned a bit. Flip and bake for another 5 minutes. The biscotti will continue to harden so do not over cook. If they are too hard, simply dip into coffee or tea before eating :)

After baking the logs

After the third bake

These biscotti are seriously addictive and it is hard to resist popping all the crumbly bits in your mouth as you slice the log. The white chocolate chips give a nice touch, which was not in the original recipe. The original recipe calls for cinnamon chips which I have not been able to find. I am glad the white chocolate chips came to save the day.

Good luck with all your new years resolutions! I will try not to tempt you for much longer with Holiday sweets.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

It has been quite a while since my last post. The weeks leading to Christmas I wasn't doing a whole lot of cooking and didn't feel inspired by very many recipes. However, as Christmas drew closer things became quite hectic and while I was cooking/baking up a storm I did not have the time to write this post. It has been in my head for at least 4 days. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I have a ton of Holiday pictures to share. There will not be a recipe today but hope to share lots of the recipes in the upcoming weeks that I made over the Holidays.

The Holiday season was kicked off by a cookie swap with the gals at school. It was quite successful and I came away with lots of delicious goodies.

For the cookie swap I made gingerbread biscotti. They were a big hit with my family, so I made extra to have around the house. After a family Christmas party, they were all gone! I made another batch to take to my boyfriends house, and for my Mom to give to her friends. I think I made about 8 dozen in total in the lat month. I have a feeling these will be made next year as well.

Every Christmas my close friends from high school get together for  Christmas dinner. This was the 5th year in a row we have had this event. A while ago I saw a pin on pinterest for 'lumps of coal'. I immediately knew I wanted to make this for my friends at the dinner. They weren't the tastiest rice crispy squares I have ever had but they were a cute idea.

This year we decided to make sushi together! Everyone but myself had made sushi before so I was the newbie for once. It was absolutely amazing and was also a lot of fun. I enjoyed making sushi so much that I also made it with my family on my birthday 3 days later. Every year there is at least one person not able to make the dinner because they are off on another part of the world. This year Dani was in New Zealand and not able to come home for Christmas. She was there in spirit!

Christmas Eve in my family is a low key affair which usually includes dinner at home, church, and watching a classic Christmas movie. This year I wanted to have a part in preparing dinner. Alongside my Dad's scallops and calamari, I made three veggie dishes so I had a nice variety. They all turned out fantastic.

Balsamic Glaxes Butternut Squash

Spaghetti Squash and Peas with Parmesan

Caramelized Brussel Sprouts

Roasted Potatoes with dill

And of coarse there was dessert. I made pumpkin gingerbread cake with caramel sauce. It was absolutely delicious. I hope to share all the recipes soon. 

On Christmas Eve I also baked a loaf of bread, so needless to say I was busy. But with some Christmas music on I was loving it. I baked bread because I was making baked pumpkin overnight french toast. This was my first time making baked french toast and was fantastic. Perfect for Christmas morning.

Last but not least I wanted to share some books a received as gifts. Miraculously, I managed to not make any purchases at Chapters like last year. I am really looking forward to reading Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, as I have been making the same bread recipe for a year now and am looking for some diversity. Plate to Pixel is a food photography book I have heard great things about. Hopefully the information will translate into better photography on the blog, because I definitely have a lot of room to improve. And then there is Plenty. This book is all vegetarian recipes, and they look AMAZING. I flipped through the book already and cannot wait to try out a lot of the recipes. Many of them look just delicious and rich and flavourful. I feel like this book will be used a lot next Christmas.

I hope everyone had a great Holiday, I know I did. Stay tuned for some of the recipes that I mentioned in todays post!

Enchilada Lasagna

I am really excited to be sharing this recipe with you today. I have seen the idea of an enchilada lasagna around for a while, and after making some homemade tortillas, I thought, why not try it out! The tortillas that I made were not the roundest and most even looking tortillas so I thought they would fare well in this recipe.

Tortillas are actually really easy to make and taste infinitely better than most of the grocery store varieties. Not to mention the short ingredient list. Flour. Oil. Milk. Baking Powder. Salt. That's it. No glycerides, no fumaric acid or a number of other presumably preservatives. I used this recipe from the Homesick Texan. I used half whole wheat flour and they seemed to turn out well. When you make these, don't forget to have one when it is still warm and fresh. You will not regret it.

This recipe from Perry's Plate was the inspiration for using the tortillas for an enchilada lasagna, instead of making just plain old enchiladas. The recipe is totally adaptable to your taste and preferences, but this is how I did it:

Enchilada Lasagna adapted from Perry's Plate and Simply Recipes
serves 4-6

Sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
3 garlic cloves
1 cup of salsa
1 can of crushed tomatoes
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/2-1 cup of water

Tortillas (I suggest you make these; I doubled the recipe)

1 tbsp olive oil
mushrooms
red peppers
corn
black beans
spinach
shredded cheddar cheese

1. Heat olive oil on medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until cooked. Add salsa, tomatoes, tomato paste and water. Add water to make the sauce according to your desired consistency. You don't want it too thick because it will thicken up even more in the oven, but too thin will result in soggy tortillas.
2. Reduce heat to low and keep warm while preparing the lasagna.
3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
4. I decided to do sautéed vegetables. In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add all vegetables except for the spinach and beans. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the black beans and stir to combine.
5. In a large greased baking dish, add a little bit of the sauce to the bottom and spread around. Place a layer of tortilla. Add 1/2 of vegetables, top with sauce and spinach. Place a layer of tortilla, add the rest of the vegetables, add sauce and spinach. Place the final layer of tortilla, add a little bit of sauce, and sprinkle some shredded cheddar on top.
6. Bake at 450 degrees F covered with foil for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting.

This is an amazing dish. It makes great leftovers, and is very easy to assemble. I cannot wait to make it again!

Oatmeal Sandwich Bread Pt 2

Last May, I made my first yeast bread without the use of a bread machine. I semi-followed a recipe from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce. I made a flour substitution and I don't think I used the right molasses. It tasted delicious, but would not slice we'll. It was great for snacking and making french toast, but was not good for sandwiches.  Last weekend I made the bread again for the first time in a while, following the recipe to the tee. It was oatmeal sandwich bread, and it was delicious. It cut fairly well, made good sandwiches, made good toast, and made good french toast.

With that success, I decided to get back on the wagon of baking all of my bread products again (at least for now). It may be time consuming, but it is always worth it. The weekend is the prime time to do this type of work. With rising and resting times it can seem like it will take forever, but it is a great activity for a lazy Saturday or Sunday morning. While my Sunday today wasn't that lazy, I still baked a loaf of bread. I found I went through the last loaf a little too quickly, so I decided to make the loaf smaller and make some other items with the dough. So, after the first rise I split the dough in half, baking the first half as a loaf, and the other half into 8 cute little buns.

 

After slicing the bread, I pop it in the freezer and it stays fresh for the week. I hope I can keep up this weekend 'ritual'. I would love to share the recipe for this bread, but there are a couple things holding me back. 1. I feel bad posting a recipe I have not altered one bit, which is found in print only, and 2. The written directions are far too long to type. One part moral, one part lazy.

Bread wasn't the only 'bread product' I made today. I'll give you a hint, it normally has a really long ingredient list, I have been wanting to make them forever, and I have even tried a chickpea flour variety. If you guessed wheat tortillas, you are right! They were amazing so stay tuned for the recipe!