Socca for dinner -- hello, old friend, it has been a while

It has been a while since we had socca, but the smells are filling my kitchen and getting me all nostalgic.

ingredients:

4 tbsp coconut oil

1 1/2 cups water hot

3/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 cup chickpea flour

1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tbsp dried oregano

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup ground flax seed -- just for fun

directions:

1. combine -- use a whisk if needed to de-lump -- and let sit

2. heat the oven to 345 with the skillet in it so it becomes a little warm

3. oil a skillet and pour it on

4. bake at 345 for 1 hour or so, until crispy and chewy

Herbed Shortbread V 4 -- a gluten free, vegan snack

My son likes to pretend he's a puppy. He calls these his doggy-biscuits. He thinks they are an awesome treat. That's good news for me. The good news for you is they are easy to make. They are not really shortbread, obviously, but they have that sort of short mouth feel to me -- a little sandy and very rich. Depending on what herbs you use, you can tweak the flavour. My son is fond of the oregano and marjoram.

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

1/2 tsp sea salt
black pepper

1/4 cup ground chia seeds
(1/4 cup ground natural sesame seeds)
2 cups almond flour
3 tbsp oregano
2 tbsp marjoram

1 cup ground raw cashews

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup coconut flour


1. combine the ingredients in the order listed
2. roll out onto a baking sheet and score
3. bake at 345 for 60 minutes followed by 200 for 60 minutes and then leave in the oven and turn off the heat until the oven cools

Sweet Potatoes and Lentils, IN the Crockpot!

January settles in around us, and there have been days in which we've reached nearly -30 with the windchill. How does a bowl of hot stew sound? Pretty good to me. Crockpot, do your thing.

Don't get too hung up on exact measurements. If you put in a little more or a little less of a particular vegetable, it won't make much difference. Just enjoy the process, and enjoy the results. I rough cut all the vegetables -- as opposed to dicing with precision -- to get them into the crockpot ssssssssuper fast. Things to do, people to see, you know how it is. Actually, just more play time with my son.

The resulting stew is really everything a stew should be: full bodied, full flavoured, mellow, yummy, comforting, and delicious.



ingredients:


2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup finely chopped onion

2 cups small lentils (green, masoor, dupuy)
1 cup sliced dried mushrooms (crumbled up) (I think they were shiitake or something bigger ...
5 cups water


coarsely chopped:

3 cups sweet potatoes
2 cups diced carrot
2 cups diced celery
300 g spinach diced


3 cups napa cabbage, chopped small

4 tbsp sea salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
handfuls fresh herbs -- I threw in some very large sprigs of rosemary and oregano


500 g broccoli florets


directions:

1. turn your crockpot on, and set the timer if you have one. I think medium heat for 6 hours should do the trick.
2. layer in the ingredients as follows: coconut oil, garlic, onion, mushroom pieces, lentils, celery, sweet potato, carrots, spinach, sea salt, cumin, chili powder, water. Herbs.  Lots of herbs. Now. Later. Herb it up.
3. throw on the nappa cabbage.
4. when the stew is cooked, add in the broccoli and let the residual heat cook it up once you've turned your crock pot off, or cook it for a little while but not too long.
5. think of all the friends you'd like to feed with this yummy stew, and remember how lucky you are to have them.


You can serve this with a loaf of freshly baked bread, or some savoury muffins. Or whilst wearing a hula skirt and a kind of absent-minded smile. Your choice, really. I know what I'd choose, but that's just me.

Actually, we ate our with savoury corn muffins and top hats -- spats optional. No elephants in attendance this time.

Herbed Muffins -- a savoury snack or satisfying meal (gluten free, grain free, sugar free, dairy free, you know the drill ...)

Those of you who have rolled through the past 11 months with me know I like savoury flavours quite a lot. I wasn't in the mood for a big heavy meal tonight, so I made up a batch of savoury muffins -- super fast -- they were in the oven in 15 minutes or less, and baked up in 30 -- to go with a side of sauteed broccoli. Kind of a cheating dinner, but how nice are muffins hot out of the oven with butter melting on them? Some times simple food rules!

These gluten-free, grain-free muffins have many kinds of seeds in them, so they bring a whole host of powerful micro-nutrients to the table along with a fair bit of deliciousness. I didn't spice them overly, but you could easily throw in a little more chili powder if you are a hardier sort than I and didn't have the palette of a 3 year old to please. I -- she said sadly -- am a wimp.

Anyway, every member of my family enjoyed the meal, and found it satisfying as well as satisfactory. Might be nice with a bowl of autumn soup ... Or brunchie, with some fresh fruit and scrambled eggs.

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1/2 cup flax meal

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/4 cup hemp seeds

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 - 1 1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tbsp marjoram

1 tbsp oregano

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

2 cups almond flour

4 eggs

1/2 tsp baking soda

directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. combine the seeds and the boiling water

2. add the herbs and spices and let sit for 10 minutes

3. add the coconut oil, and stir until melted

4. add the apple cider vinegar

5. add the almond flour

6. add the eggs

7. add the baking soda, and stir well

8. scoop the batter into 24 prepared muffin cups, and bake for 30 minutes at 345

9. when the muffins are cool, remove them from the muffin cups

10. store in an airtight container in the fridge

Update: The left over muffins made great garlic bread to go with our lasagna last night. We split them open, buttered them, then sprinkled them with a little granulated garlic. A few minutes in the oven after the lasagna came out resulted in warm, buttery, garlic bread ... and they are gluten-free, high in protein, and super yummy.