Pumpkin Pie Amaranth Porridge

Pumpkin Pie Amaranth Porridge
from My New Roots 
Serves 2

Ingredients:

½ cup amaranth, soaked if possible (minimum 8 hours)
1 cup coconut milk, or water (you may need more if using un-soaked grains)
 1/3 cup pumpkin puree (preferably fresh, or canned)
pinch of sea salt
 pinch of: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove (or substitute all with pumpkin pie spice)
1/3 vanilla bean pod maple syrup to taste
1/3 cup coconut flakes, toasted

Directions:

1. Soak amaranth for as long as possible, 8 hours minimum, 24 hours is optimal.
 2. Drain and rinse amaranth. Combine with coconut milk, pumpkin puree, sea salt, spices, and vanilla bean (seeds scraped, and empty bean pod). Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, stirring often to prevent scorching on the bottom. Simmer on lowest heat for 15 minutes with the lid on (watch to see if liquid level becomes too low. If so, add a little extra coconut milk or water) Turn heat off, and let sit for 10 minutes with the lid on to thicken.
3. Sweeten with maple syrup to taste (1-2 tablespoons). Serve. Drizzle with coconut milk, sprinkle with coconut flakes.

Pumpkin Pie Coconut Ice Cream

Pumpkin Pie Coconut Ice Cream
 
Ingredients:

15 ounce can coconut milk
2 cups soy milk
1 level cup pumpkin puree
1 cup sucanant
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth.  
2. Pour into ice maker. 
3. Wait until the ice cream is firm - this step is the hardest.
4. Enjoy.  

zucchini melts

Zucchini Melts
adapted from Dancing Carrots


Ingredients:


1 T olive oil
2 medium zucchinis, cubed
1 pinch red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup marinara sauce
1 1/2-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Whole wheat "french bread"


Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Fry the zucchini in oil until browned and slightly tender. Season with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, and stir in the marinara sauce. Cook and stir until the sauce is heated through.
3. Slice french bread into slices and bake for about 5 minutes or until they are toasted. Remove from oven.
3. Spoon generous amounts of the zucchini mixture onto each slice of french bread. Top with a generous amount of mozzarella cheese.
4. Bake for 5-7 minutes in oven or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Chip Soup - Pumpkin Black Bean Style

Chip Soup - Pumpkin Black Bean Style

3 (15 ounce) cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (16 ounce) can of diced tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil/earth balance
1 1/4 cup chopped onions
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups vegetable broth


Saute onion, garlic, and olive oil until onions are translucent. Add salt, black pepper, vegetable broth, black beans, and diced tomatoes. Cook until warm. Carefully transfer to blender in small batch and blend until smooth.

Lazy Saturday Morning Chocolate Chip Oatmeal

Lazy Saturday Morning Oatmeal

1/3 cup of oats
1/2 cup of soy milk
1 small apple cut into bite sized pieces
big dash of cinnamon
little dashes of ground ginger and nutmeg
2 tsp of dark molasses
1 large scoop of peanut butter
chocolate chips - bittersweet

Directions:

Heat milk in a saucepan on low heat. Mix in spices, oats, molasses, and apples - cook until tender. Serve with a big scoop of peanut butter and chocolate chips.

Next time, I plan to soak the oats overnight with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 tbsp. yogurt/kefir. In the morning, the oatmeal would be prepared in the same manner, only the 1/2 cup of soy milk would no longer be necessary.

Peanut Butter Cups

Peanut Butter Cups

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sucanant
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda

Mix together peanut butter, sucanant, egg, and baking soda. Place little balls of dough in a greased mini-cupcake pan. Top with chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degree for 10 minutes.

Makes about 2 dozen.

Pretzel Towers

I have a lot of fun building these pretzel towers for snack time.
I have even more fun watching my boys try to fit a five story pretzel tower in their mouth.




I love these snacks. Wrapped in pure pretzel bliss these little snack secretly containing peanut butter, bananas, raisins, bittersweet chocolate chips, etc. A very filling snack food.





Little fingers love building these snacks.

Peanut Butter Hummus

1/3 cup natural peanut butter
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons tamari sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons water
1 cup celery, finely chopped


Mix the peanut butter together in a bowl with the lemon juice, tamari sauce, garlic, and water until smooth. Stir in the celery and toss until evenly blended. Spread on your choice of sliced bread.

Coconut Rice Breakfast

Coconut Rice

6 cups water
3 tablespoons kefir or plain yogurt
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups brown rice
1 can coconut milk
2 cups blueberries
½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Soak rice in 3 cups water plus 3 tablespoons kefir/yogurt overnight (6 to 12 hours). Strain and rinse rice. Bring 3 cups water to a boil, add salt and stir in rice. Cover and allow rice to cook until soft and tender. Stir in coconut milk, shredded coconut, and maple syrup. Allow extra fluid to evaporate by cooking on low heat for a minute or two. Top with blueberries and watch the rice turn blue.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Hummus

adapted from My New Roots

Sweet Potato Hummus

2 cups cooked chickpeas
3 Tbsp. lemon juice concentrate
3 small sweet potatoes
1 tsp. ground cumin
pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
2-3 pinches sea salt
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp. liquid aminos


Directions:
1. Place sweet potatoes (with the skin on) in a baking dish in a 400 F oven and bake until very soft, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on their size.


2. Let the sweet potatoes cool down so that you can easily remove their skins - they should just peel off. Place them in a food processor with the remaining ingredients and blend on high to mix.

3. Serve on homemade tortillas, crackers, or vegetables.

Blender Gingerbread Pancakes

Gingerbread Pancakes

1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon yogurt - plain works best
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup raw whole grain spelt or wheat 1/2 cups oats

1. Combine the above ingredients in your blender and blend for 3 minutes if using whole grain. Cover and allow to sit (outside of the refrigerator) for 8-24 hours.

2. In the morning, add the following ingredients and blend for 1 minute.

1 egg
3 1/2 Tbsp sorghum syrup or molasses
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves

3. Finally, very briefly blend in the leavening ingredients below.

2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt

4. Prepare the pancakes on a warmed, lightly greased griddle. Serve with pure maple syrup or agave nectar.

Whole Wheat Tortillas

3 cups white wheat flour
1 cup warm filtered water
1 Tbsp acid medium (kefir, whey, buttermilk, yogurt, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice)
1/4 cup coconut oil or butter, melted
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

1. Combine flour, water, melted coconut oil or butter and 1 Tbsp of acid medium. Cover and allow to soak at room temperature for 12-24 hours.
2. After soaking, add baking powder and salt to soaked flour mixture, kneading in the flour until the dough is workable but not too stiff.
3. Shape into 8 – 10 balls and let stand 10 more minutes.
4. Roll to form a 10 inch circle or use a tortilla press.
5. Bake on a lightly greased griddle till done (not browned). Toast for about 20-30 sec. per side.

Yield: 8-10 tortillas.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip & Pecan Granola Bars

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip & Pecan Granola Bars
adapted from the browneye baker

Yield: 10-12 granola bars

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Bake Time: 40 minutes

3¼ cups traditional rolled oats
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ cup sucanat
½ cup pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
¼ cup applesauce
¼ cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup cinnamon chips
½ cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8×8-inch baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

2. In a large bowl whisk together the oats, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. In a medium bowl whisk together the sucanat, pumpkin, applesauce, honey and vanilla extract until combined and smooth. Pour the mixture over the oats and use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to mix until all of the oats are moistened. Stir in the cinnamon chips and pecans.

3. Evenly press the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Make sure not to underbake! Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars and serve. Leftover bars can be individually wrapped in plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container and kept at room temperature.

Hard Days Night Mushroom Alfredo

1 Tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces canned mushrooms
1 - 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 can coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (do not leave this ingredient out)
½ -1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Dash of lemon juice
2 Heaping Tablespoons whole wheat flour mixed with ½ cup milk

Saute the mushrooms and the garlic in a pan over med-low heat.

In a separately pan, bring the coconut milk to boil over a fairly low heat. As soon as it starts boiling, add the nutritional yeast, nutmeg, pepper, lemon and remove from heat.

Mix it all together in a blender.
Blend on low until smooth.

Serve over prepared noodles.

Not Your Mom's Mac and Cheese

1 box whole-wheat elbow macaroni
2 cloves garlic
half a fairly large sized onion
1 cup nutritional yeast
1 cup rice milk or soy milk
2 tbsp. olive oil
about 7 oz can diced tomatoes - I sometimes use the whole can
1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
2 pinch chopped basil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions

Cook the elbow macaroni according to package directions.

Dice the onion and garlic. Saute until slightly transparent. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix on low heat. Carefully place sauce in blender or vita-mix and blend until smooth.

Toss sauce with noodles, and dive right in. Man, I love this dish.

Carrot Cake Pancakes

1 1/4 cups spelt flour
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Dash of ground cloves
Dash of ground ginger
1/4 cup sucanant
3/4 - 1 cup of milk (we use soy milk)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 TBSP freshly ground flax seeds
2 cups finely grated carrot (about 1 pound)
Cooking spray - I use organic olive oil spray

1. Combine flour and the next 7 ingredients (through ginger) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine 1/4 cup sucanant and next 4 ingredients (through flax seed); add sucanant mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in 2 cups carrot. I simplify this step by combining EVERYTHING in my blender or Vita Mix.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Spoon 4 (1/4 cup) batter mounds onto pan, spreading with a spatula. Cook for 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 1 minute or until bottoms are lightly browned. Repeat procedure twice with remaining batter.

Apple-Chocolate Cake

2 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup soft coconut oil
2 cups sucanant
3 TBSP freshly ground flax seed soaked in 9 TBSP soy milk for 1-2 minutes
1/2 cup water
1 cup chopped nuts, optional
2 cups grated apples
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Grease and flour a bundt pan. In medium bowl mix together all dry ingredients. In another bowl, cream coconut oil and sucanant together. Add flax seed mixture. Add water and blend well. Gradually add spelt flour mixture and beat until fluffy. Fold in nuts, apples, chocolate chips and vanilla. Spoon into pan.
3. Bake about 1 hour. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake

This recipe is amazing. I found it over on Simply Yum and modified it a bit because we do not own an ice cream maker... yet :) You can find Ninny's recipe here. If you have never visited Simply Yum, you must. She recently has posted a bunch of raw dessert recipes that have my mouth watering and tummy begging for more :)

This recipe is really rich. Usually my husband and I have no problem finishing anything that is chocolate... this one fills you up really fast and conquers that chocolate craving quite effectively :)


Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake

1 cup raw cashews
2-4 cups milk (we use soy)
1/2 cup agave nectar
3 T unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla or 1/2 a vanilla bean
2 cups of ice cubes

In a blender (I use my amazing Vita-Mix) combine the cashews and only 1 cup of milk until smooth. Add the remaining milk, agave, cocoa, peanut butter and vanilla and blend well.

Christmas Salad

Salad:

1-2 Fuji or Gala Apples, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 pear, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 bag of craisins
1 cup of candied pecans (recipe below)
2 heads of romaine lettuce torn into bit size pieces
1bag of spinach


Candied pecans

Combining 1 cup of pecan halves and 1/4 cup sucanant in a frying pan. Stir over medium heat. When the sugar starts to melt and turn a caramel color, add 1/4 cup hot water and the zest from one orange. Stir constantly until water has evaporated and sugar crystals have dissolved. remove to a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and separate pecans before they cool.


Dressing:

1/2 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 T Lemon juice
1 T red onions
1/2 t salt
2/3 t poppy seeds after blending
Blend all ingredients then add 2/3 olive oil


Combine in a large salad bowl. Do not add dressing to salad until you are ready to eat, the salad will wilt if setting too long.

Breakfast Cookies

½ cup pumpkin seeds, unsalted
½ cup sunflower seeds, unsalted
½ cup sesame seeds, unsalted
3 ½ cups wheat flour (we use hard white wheat)
1 cup milk (we use soy)
2 ½ cups rolled oats
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup coconut oil
1 cup honey
1 cup craisins, soaked in ¾ cup hot tap water – save liquid
2 TBSP freshly ground flax seeds soaked in 6 TBSP milk (we use soy) for 1-2 minutes
1 tsp vanilla



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grind seeds until fine (optional)
3. In a mixing bowl, combine coconut oil, honey, soaking water from craisins, flax seed mixture and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture. Fold in craisins. You should have a moist and slightly stiff batter. In a separate mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (including nuts). Combine both bowls.
4. Scoop cookies with a cookie scoop and place on a parchment lined baking sheet (they don’t spread much). Flatten each with bottom of cup or fork. Bake @ 350 for 12-15 minutes.