Welcome to my crazy world of real food cooking ...

Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants. -- Michael Pollan

I wish I could take credit for that because I think it sums up how we should eat. Simply -- eat stuff that really is food, instead of stuff that is food like substance. The supermarket is almost entirely food-like-substances, and, my friends, you should probably never ever eat them.

Fortunately, there is a world of deliciousness out there, and it can all be had in a way that not only doesn't harm your health, but in a way that benefits you hugely.

I think it's important to eat stuff that satisfies you, that keeps your blood sugar stable, and that gives you stuff your body really needs to run optimally.

But baby, it's gotta taste good.

I really like getting experimental in the kitchen. I love cooking, I love layering flavours, and I love coming up with really super yummy food. I have very strong opinions about what constitutes food, and there are a lot of things I won't touch in the kitchen. Bottom line? Pretty much everything I make is ridiculously good for you even if it tastes decadent. Although there are occasional big fat cheats ... but even those stick to real food, my friends.

For food that is usual gluten free, usually free of cane sugar, usually super low on the glycemic index, full of protein, fiber, flavour, and excellent energy, join me and Alice down the rabbit hole.

Every recipe on this blog is my own original effort and idea, so please pass 'em on, giving credit where credit is due.

Many thanks, and come back often. I'm really glad you are here!

:)

Monday 27 June 2011

Cottage Cookie Bars -- version 2.0, the home version




These are still gluten free, still vegan, still grain free, and still good for you. With my whole complement of ingredients available, I tweaked the ingredients, however. Copious amounts of saigon cinnamon and ground vanilla play a little flavour game with a dash of apple cider vinegar. The nuts of choice this time are walnuts, and instead of going shy on the add-ins, I anted up a full cup of each for extra texture and taste. There you have it!

You know you want it. These gluten free, vegan goodies are good for you. The main ingredients are almonds, walnuts, flax, hemp, and raisins. It's like trailmix in a bar, with a delectably cookie taste. This is a reprisal of the recipe I came up with at the cottage. Being at home I could throw in some of my faves like ground vanilla, so taste is a little different.

My cookie memory from childhood is of the walnut, raisin, and chocolate chip combo in the oatmeal cookies my mother made, and I have to admit I think they really bring out the best in each other. They certainly play nice in these cookie bars.


ingredients:

1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup flax meal

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp saigon cinnamon
2 tsp ground vanilla
black pepper

1/2 cup hemp seeds (hemp hearts)
3 cups blanched almond flour

1 cup raisins
1 cup callebaut chocolate morsels, bittersweet
1 cup chopped walnuts


directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. combine the flax meal and boiling water and let sit for 10 minutes
2. add the coconut oil, coconut sugar, and apple cider vinegar
3. add the cinnamon, vanilla, sea salt, and black pepper
4. add in the hemp seeds
5. add the almond flour
6. add the raisins, chocolate, and walnuts
7. press into a rectangular baking dish lined with parchment
8. bake at 345 for 50 minutes
9. cut into bars
10. store in an airtight container when cool




2 comments:

TanyaL said...

Hi Stacey, have been looking at your recipes for a while, and want to try something. Can I, as a non-gluten adverse person, substitute back in stuff? like honey or brown sugar for coconut sugar? thanks, Tanya

stacey said...

Hi Tanya
When it comes to substituting sweeteners, it's a good idea to use a liquid sweetener to sub in for a liquid sweetener, and a dry sweetener for a dry sweetener. So, if something calls for agave or maple syrup or coconut nectar or honey, you could sub in each for each other. Likewise, cane sugar for coconut sugar. That will keep the texture and baking time reasonably consistent. However, there is a world of difference in how sweet different sweeteners are. BTW all of the sweeteners that you mention are also gluten free, the main difference it that sweeteners like coconut sugar are lower on the glycemic index, meaning they have less impact on your blood glucose levels, and thus need less insulin to balance you out. Cane sugar (whether organic evaporated can juice, succanat, or regular brown sugar) will be much sweeter than coconut sugar, although brown sugar with its somewhat dark and dirty nature has a bit of the character that coconut sugar brings to the table. If you want to use 1/2 cup of honey instead of 1/2 cup coconut sugar, you could always reduce the water (by up to 1/2 cup) ... I am willing to be if you google for it, you could find an exact amount of water to reduce it by ...

So, you're pretty safe subbing in sweeteners. However, if you want to start subbing in wheat flour for almond flour, it's going to need an entire revamping of ingredients and quantities, and I really wouldn't recommend doing that. Unless you love to experiment, in which case I'd love to hear about it after. :)

Hope that helps! And I'd love to hear how the substitutions go.