Seaweed and Carrot Salad with Sesame Butter Dressing

wakame seaweed
shredded purple carrot

sesame butter
brown rice vinegar
sea salt

Spinach and Avocado Sushi

short grain brown rice cooked 1:2 with water

seasoned with sea salt, brown rice vinegar, and a pinch of stevia

avocado

spinach leaves

black sesame seeds

nori sheets

Apple and Raisin Muffins -- grain free, nut free, gluten free

In honour of school starting, I am trying to do something nut free. My son will be in full-day kindie, so it will be challenging to fill his nut-loving belly. I will make a nut-free version of our have chocolate muffins next time.

ingredients:

2 cups warm water
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp ground vanilla

1 cup shredded coconut, ground
1/4 cup chia seeds, ground
1 cup flax seeds, ground
1 cup pumpkin seeds, ground

4 eggs

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup raisins
1 large royal gala apple, diced


directions:

1. combine the ingredients in the order listed
2. scoop the batter into prepared muffin cups
3. bake in a preheated oven at 345 for 45 minutes

Baked Plum -- plum pie filling -- a gluten free, sugar free dessert

3 L basket of blue plums, sliced
1/2 cup pitten honey dates, finely sliced
1/2 tsp ground vanilla bean
pinch sea salt

2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil


directions:

1. melt the coconut oil in a baking dish
2. pour the oil over the ingredients in a bowl, and toss well
3. bake in the baking dish at 345 for 45-60 minutes

These plums were very very tart and bitter, and although they made a very flavourful baked fruit dish, I found I needed to add a few drops of liquid vanilla stevia to the finished product. Following that addition, they are still a little tart, but super delicious.

Baked Peach -- peach pie filling -- a gluten free, sugar free treat

3 L basket freestone peaches, sliced
1/2 cup pited honey dates, finely chopped
pinch of sea salt
1/2 tsp ground vanilla bean
dash cinnamon

2 tbsp coconut oil


directions:

1. melt coconut oil in a large baking dish
2. pour the oil over all the ingredients in a bowl and toss well
3. bake at 345 for 45-60 minutes

Not-Bread #2 -- gluten free, grain free bread alternative

ingredients:

3 cups water
6 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp raw cacao

1 1/2 cup flax meal
1 1/2 cup shredded coconut, ground up
1/4 cup chia seeds, ground

6 eggs

1 tsp baking soda
3 cups almond flour


directions:

1. combine the ingredients in the order listed
2. pour into a greased 3 L baking dish
3. bake at 345 for 75 minutes
4. when fully cooled, can be sliced in half length-wise, then thinly sliced width-wise, laid single layer on a cookie sheet, and baked at 345 for 60 minutes, then dried for 1 more hour at 200
5. to make garlic toasts, baste the slices with butter or coconut oil, sprinkle with granulated garlic powder and sea salt, and bake accordingly. Yum.

Black Turtle Bean Chili

I was inspired by the big baskets of tomatoes at the farmer's market. The zukes, onions and garlic are all market fare as well. Crockpot did all the work.

2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 cups dry black turtle beans -- soaked and rinsed

1/2 cup dried mushrooms, finely crumbled

1 tbsp raw cacao
1/2 cup almond butter

3 L of tomatoes, finely chopped

2 cups carrots, finely chopped

1 tbsp each marjoram, oregano 

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp chipotle

black pepper

6 small zucchinis, quartered and sliced -- add 1 hour before end of cooking

directions:

1. layer ingredients in order listed -- reserve zucchini

2. cook until done

3. add the zucchini and stir thoroughly

4. cook until zucchini is soft and juicy

5. serve with garlic toast

Cottage Cake -- gluten free, sugar free, grain free, delicious

It's always some kinda crazy slapped together cake here. The sweetness is only from chopped dates and raisins, so it's not a sweetness that homogeneous throughout the whole cake. However, the dark chocolate flavour of the raw cacao and the shredded coconut juxtapose nicely with the sweetness of the dates and raisins. Good for dessert, good for breakfast. Good for you.

ingredients:

2 cups water
1/4 cup coconut oil

3 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup raw cacao

1 cup flax meal
1 cup shredded coconut

4 eggs

1 tsp baking powder
2 cups almond flour

1 cup chopped dates

1 cup raisins

directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. combine the ingredients in the order listed

2. pour into a prepared 2L glass baking dish

3. bake for 40 minutes at 345

Cottage Dinner

Dinner tonight was 2 bean chill with garlic toast and sautéed broccoli. We chased it with cottage cake and watermelon. Yum.

Garlic Toast -- gluten free, grain free etc

How fun is it to have garlic toast with 2 bean chili and sautéed broccoli? I took a pan of not-bread, sliced it, put it on a greased baking sheet, and sprinkled it liberally with sea salt, granulated garlic powder, and italianissimo herbs. Baked in the oven at 345 for 30 minutes, and deliciousness is achieved.

ingredients:

coconut oil or butter
sea salt
granulated garlic powder
italian herbs

not-bread


directions:

1. preheat the oven to 345
2. slice the not bread in to thin slices
3. place on a greased baking sheet
4. baste with melted butter or coconut oil (optional)
5. sprinkle with garlic, sea salt, and herbs
6. bake at 345 until crispy.

YUM

crepes -- the gluten free version -- suitable for dinner or dessert

Crepes. Need I say more?

Well, I should probably say they are fragile. The sans-gluten thing does that. You won't be able to roll 'em.

ingredients:

4 eggs
1 cup water

1/2 cup flax meal
pinch sea salt
black pepper

1 cup almond flour


directions:

1. combine the above ingredients
2. let sit for 1 hour
3. cook in a hot skillet 1/4 cup at a time, turning after 1 minute

makes 10 thin crepes

Baked peaches -- a gluten free dessert

It's like pie filling. We put it in our crepes. Yummy. Or enjoy with just a fork.

8 freestone peaches, sliced
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup dates, finely chopped
pinch sea salt
dash cinnamon


directions:

1. melt the coconut oil in 2 L baking dish for 5 minutes in a 345 degree oven.
2. remove baking dish, add the peaches and toss
3. add the finely chopped dates, sea salt, and cinnamon, and toss again
4. bake at 345 for 30 minutes

Not Bread

My darling husband continues his adventures in grain-free land. Here's what he had for breakfast, along with almond butter and bananas.

ingredients:

3 cups hot water
6 tbsp coconut oil

3 tbsp raw cacao

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 cups flax meal
2 1/4 cups shredded coconut

6 eggs

1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 cups almond flour


directions:

1. combine the ingredients in the order listed
2. pour into a greased 3 L glass pan
3. bake for 55 minutes at 345
4. thoroughly cool and then store in an airtight container
5. use instead of bread

2 bean chili -- without the chili ...

Our adventures this morning netted us a big basket of tomatoes, some zukes, onions, garlic, and black turtle beans and navy beans. Two bean chili is in order!

1 1/2 cups black turtle beans
1 1/2 cups navy beans

water

directions:

Bring the water to a boil, and boil the dry beans for 2 minutes. Shut off the heat and let sit for 1 hour. Rinse. They are now ready for cooking



ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut oil
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 large red onions, diced
beans from above

3 L of field tomatoes, diced

3 tsp sea salt
black pepper
2 tbsp italian seasonings

3 medium zucchinis, quartered and sliced
(optional, 1 broccoli heart quartered and sliced)

directions:

1. in a large pot, layer the ingredients as listed above, reserving the zucchini
2. after the chili has cooked for a couple of hours, add the zucchini, and cook uncovered for 1 hour to get rid of any extra liquid

Oven roasted corn

In Port Elgin, the living is easy. We're not typically big corn eaters, but why resist when Highberry has such sweet ears?

ingredients:

3 ears of corn

sea salt
granulated garlic
coconut oil


directions:

1. preheat the oven to 345, and melt some coconut oil in a large baking dish
2. cut the ears of corn into circular segments
3. place into the dish with the melted coconut oil and toss well
4. sprinkle with granulated garlic and sea salt. If I'd had chill powder, I would have used that
5. bake at 345 for 30 minutes
6. serve as a side with 2 bean not chill

Purple and Black Crockpot -- a vegan lentil and veggie dish

The farmer's market inspires me.

ingredients:

2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
1 large onion, quickly diced
2 cups black (beluga) lentils
3 cups celery hearts, coarsely chopped
2 cups chopped broccoli greens
1 small red cabbage, coarsely diced
2 cups chopped plum tomato, coarsely diced

1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin (ground)
4 tsp sea salt
black paper
1 tbsp marjoram

1 can coconut milk
1 can water


directions:

1. layer the ingredients in the order listed in the crockpot
2. cook for as long as it takes

Vanilla Ice Cream

1/2 cup cream (skimmed from the top of our milk)

2 cups whole milk

1/4 cup unpasteurized honey

pinch of sea salt

1 tbsp organic vanilla extract

combine and chill

freeze in your ice cream freezer according to the manufacturers directions