O-musubi aka o-nigiri aka Japanese rice 'balls'

They aren't round. They are adorable little pudgy triangles. And it's become a thing -- started by a Japanese comedian who took a photo of his baby with his hands around the baby's face in the triangular shape of o-nigiri -- to put o-nigiri baby photos on social media.

(http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/07/02/rice-ball-baby-face-is-so-cute-we-want-to-eat-it-all-up/)


But that has nothing to do with the fact that this is a badass way to eat rice that few people away from the land of the rising sun practice. It involves compressing cooked rice in your hands into a triangular shape. That's it. You can eat it right away then. This time, I cut up sheets of nori and wrapped each triangle in a stub of nori, then sprinkled it with shoyu and pressed the edges into white sesames seeds.  Then oven bakes for about 25 minutes I think. Ta da!!

So, cook yourself some short grain brown rice (stickier than long grain), season it up with a little salt or whatever, and press it into triangles.

Simple and yummy. A fun way to make rice into finger food.

 ingredients:

short grain brown rice -- I like to get rice for stuff like this that is short grain. Cal rose is a nice one.

sea salt

nori
tamari
sesame seeds

1. rinse the rice in a strainer or a sieve
2. cook the rice
(I cook it 1:2 rice:water, and I include sea salt in it when I cook it. Not a lot, but some.
3. let the rice cool. You can season it as you like it here.
4. you can also use rice that you cooked previously that is already cool
5. using hands that are damp (with such things as apple cider vinegar, why not) scoop up a small hand full of rice, and press it between your palms. I tend to make my o-nigiri smaller than the ones in the photos. If you want to put some filling in, you can also do that!
6. turn the rice ball in your hands, and press again
7. that's it.
8. decorate for flavour and appearance with tamari, nori, and sesame seeds, if desired
9. eat as they are, or bake at 345 for 20 minutes or so.

Bagels

We have a  ... thing ... for bagels. If you are from New York or Montreal, you may hate them. These are nothing like yours. What they are, however, is my son's favourite. These bagels are extremely flavourful, and nice and chewy. If you aren't familiar with the making of the bagel, boiling after rising is a must.

We use Kamut flour generally these days for our bread. Additionally, scotch oatmeal, chia seeds, and tapioca starch add texture, moistness, pre-biotics, and awesomeness. These bagels are a little sweet -- blame my sister who always adds so much honey to her loaves that my son was always saying how much  more delicious Aunt Sandra's bread was than ours  -- and extremely popular.

You can definitely mix up the ingredients, so long as you end up with a nice, elastic dough. And boil 'em. That's the part that you can't skip.

1 1/2 cups warm water
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 tbsp yeast

1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 cup scotch oatmeal
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup tapioca starch
2 1/2 cups whole grain organic kamut flour
2 tsp sea salt


1. knead
2. rise
3. shape into 24 bagels (approx 50 g each)
4. rise for 1 hour
5. boil for 2 minutes per side in baking soda water -- I always do 6 at a time in my large pot
6. remove to a cooling rack using a slotted spoon so they can drain a little
7. place on a silicone baking sheet. You can top with seeds or sea salt if you like. We usually prefer plain.
8. bake at 345 for 25 minutes

Stacey's Homemade Chili Powder

I may simply be a control freak. Or I may just like to suit things to my own palate. I started making my own chili powder, and I'll often combine it with mesquite powder, such as on sweet potatoes that have been thinly sliced and tossed in coconut oil. Sprinkle with sea salt, toss them in the oven, crisp them up -- fabulous.
Chili powder is a mix of herbs and spices, and when that's the case, there's always room to customize. Here's the mixture I came up with, and we're pretty happy with it!

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equipment needed:
measuring spoons


ingredients:

1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup cumin
1/4 cup oregano
1/4 cup marjoram
2 tsp turmeric
4 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chipotle
1 tsp granulated garlic


directions
1. combine the spices and herbs
2. store in a glass jar

**herbe de provence -- Stacey's herbe mix

A while back, I started concocting my own herbe de provence. My son loves making it with me, and quite frankly, it's delicious. Something as simple as chickpeas, shallots, and some other simple vegetables thrown into the oven with coconut milk, here de provence, and sea salt makes a dish so mouth watering, it defies belief.


For my here mixture, I use equal quantities of each dried herb. Today I also added about a tsp of dried lavender that I'd saved from my garden. Next summer I'd better harvest more!

The thing about any herb or spice mixture you make yourself is you can customize it to your own palate. So, here's a good starting point, but then, go ahead and make it your own!!

equipment needed:

measuring spoon


ingredients:

rosemary
basil
oregano
summer savoury
sage
marjoram
fennel seed
thyme


direction:
1.combine dried herbs in equal quantity
2. store in a glass jar away from light
3. enjoy




(plus some dried lavender from our garden)

Brownies -- the best in the world

It feels like time to revisit this brownie recipe. These brownies will make brownie-lovers weep with gluttonous euphoria. These brownies will tempt the pickiest of dessert eaters. These brownies .... okay, well, they won't save the environment or even the economy, but damn they are so good.

And they are cruelty free. Vegan and fair-trade. I would urge you to be careful and picky in your chocolate selections. The vast lion's share of chocolate sold here is produced using child slave-labour. Always look for fair trade for your cacao.

So, these are moist and rich, chewy and cakey all at once. These are the perfect symbiosis of decadence and apotheosis. Dazzling, tantalizing, and very close to perfection.

The amazing thing, friends, is that they are also real food. And can be made with either almond flour or sunflower seed flour, depending on your nut-free needs.

So go ahead, make yourself something so naughty that it's just simply nice.

equipment needed:

hand blender -- aka immersion blender

seed grinder

mixing bowls

mixing spoons

measuring cups

measuring spoons

kettle for boiling water

oven

2 square silicone baking pans (8x8 each)

cooling rack

wet ingredients:

1 1/2  cup pitted honey dates

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil 

1 cup coconut nectar

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1  tbsp vanilla extract 

1/2 cup ground hemp hearts -- should practically be a paste

dry ingredients:

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup chia seeds, finely ground

1 cup sunflower seed flour

1/4 cup coconut flour

1 tbsp ground vanilla 

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 cup raw cacao powder

coconut sugar to sprinkle on top -- use plenty, it's awesome that way.

directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. pour the hot water over dates in a bowl, and let sit for about 10 minutes to soften, along with the coconut oil, so it can  melt

2. in a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients save for the coconut sugar for sprinkling. mix really well until completely homogeneous

3. To the melted coconut oil, water, and date mixture add the coconut nectar, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract,  and I will add the hemp hearts at this point, then puree the whole thing with a hand blender (immersion blender)

4. mix the pureed wet ingredients into the dry ingredients

5. divide the mixture into 2 square silicone baking pans

6. sprinkle the top with a little coconut sugar (or a lot -- I like a lot -- a couple of tbsp not tsp)

7. bake at 345 for 60 minutes

8. allow to cool in the pan before removing

Chocolate Banana and Chocolate Chip -- Chocolate Monkey Muffins for Aidan's Birthday Dinner

It's Aidan's birthday dinner, and he loves these.  Happy birthday to you. I hope it's a great year!!

Vegan, nut free, grain free, full of chocolate and other good stuff.

ingredients:

1/2 cup hemp hearts, finely ground
1/4 cup chia seeds, finely ground
1/2 cup ground sunflower seeds
1/2 cup balinese cacao powder + 2 tbsp prana cacao powder
1 cup coconut sugar + 1/4 cup date sugar
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 cup chickpea flour

1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground vanilla bean + 1/2 tsp ground vanilla bean

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas -- approx 4 very ripe
3/4 cup warm water + 4 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips


equipment needed:

1. measuring cups
2. measuring spoons
3. mixing bowl
4. silicone muffin cups or papaer muffin tray liners
5. cookie sheet or muffin tray
6. seed grinder


directions:

1. preheat the oven to 345
2. in a bowl, combine the ground hemp hearts, ground chia seeds, ground sunflower seeds, cacao, tapioca starch, chickpea flour, sea salt, baking soda, cream of tartar and ground vanilla bean. Mix until it is very homogeneous
3. in a separate bowl, mash your bananas
4. in a separate bowl, combine the warm water (not hot) and coconut oil, and let the oil melt
5. add the banana, water and coconut oil to the dry ingredients, and mix well
6. when the batter is beautifully mixed, add in the chocolate chips and mix well
7. scoop the batter into 24 small muffin cups. If you are using silicone, you can bake them standing up on a cookie tray. Or line 24 muffin cups with muffin papers in a muffin baking tray, and divide the batter evenly.
8. bake at 345 for 35 minutes
9. remove from the oven, and allow to cool before removing from the tray or silicone muffin cups

** Tea cookies v 2.0

Simple cookies like this are a basic comfort food in my opinion. These are full of amazing goodness, so you can enjoy them not only to sooth your rumpled soul but also to fuel your beautiful body. Some of my favourite ingredients for cookies and cakes these days are chickpea flour and sunflower seed flour. A perfect nut-free combo that can go to school with you, or stay home with all the cool vegans.

This are great. Simple, tasty, and good for you. Make the dough ahead. The longer they sit in the fridge, the easier it will be to work with.


It's really important not to try to roll them out the way you would a traditional cookie dough. You will find it much easier to work with if you are rolling the dough on either a piece of parchment or a silicone mat. Cover the dough with a piece of parchment so the dough doesn't stick to your rolling pin.

equipment needed:
grinder (for chia seeds and sunflower seeds)
silicone mats
baking sheets
parchment paper and rolling pin
bowl
measuring spoons
measuring cups
cookie cutters


ingredients:

1 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup date sugar
1 1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/2 cup ground sunflower seeds
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup ground chia
1/2 cup coconut flour

1 tsp ground vanilla bean
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp ceylon cinnamon

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup warm water
2 tbsp vanilla extract



1. combine dry ingredients
2. combine the hot water and coconut oil in a measuring cup to let the oil melt
3.  add the lemon juice, vanilla extract, and water
4. make this into a beautiful dough, wrap it in parchment, put it in an airtight container and let it chill for a few hours. This will make the dough come together beautifully, too, and will be much easier to roll out and to work with. Maybe 4 hours? Or overnight? If you try to work with it right away, it will probably be too sticky and tricky.

roll on a silicone matt using a sheet of parchment on top of the dough
cut with cookie cutters
bake at 345 for 20-25 minutes

** Soft cookies -- chickpea flour cakies

There are people who live here who are big fans of the spongey kamut flour kakies that we've been making. Today I decided to mix things up by using chickpea flour and sunflower seed flour. If you are unfamiliar with sunflower seed flour, I have to tell you, I've never seen it in the store. But it's one of my favourite things to bake with. I use raw sunflower seeds, and grind them to a fine powder in my little coffee grinder. They offer such a delicate texture to baked goods, and are such an affordable alternative to almond flour. Additionally, goods baked with sunflower seed flour can go to school. Not, I mean, to get an education. Just for ... yumminess.

equipment needed:

seed grinder for chia and sunflower seeds
measuring cups
measuring spoons
mixing bowl
mixing spoon
baking sheet and silicone mat or parchment paper
oven



ingredients:

2 cups chickpea flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 cup sunflower seed flour
1/4 cup ground chia
1 cup coconut sugar

1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp ground vanilla bean
1 tsp ceylon cinnamon


1/4 cup coconut oil
2 cups hot water
1 tbsp vanilla extract


scoop heaping spoonfuls onto a lined baking sheet and bake at 345 for 30 minutes

Customized Soft Granola Bar -- vegan, simple, no-bake goodies

As an example of what you can do to customize the simple chewy granola bar to suit your preferences, we took the basic recipe, and added a few things: hemp hearts, raw cacao, and ground vanilla bean. Simple goodness that you can take with you easily.  I bet these would be good with raisins or chocolate chips. Or pieces of roast almond.

equipment needed:

mixing bowl
mixing spoon
measuring spoon
measuring cup
parchment
silicone baking pan or glass pan lined with parchment that overhangs enough to lift the whole thing out.



ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut nectar
1/2 cup sunflower  seed butter
1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup hemp hearts
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 tbsp raw cacao
1/2 tsp ground vanilla bean


2 cups scotch oatmeal


directions:
1. heat the coconut nectar and sunflower butter and mix together
2. stir in the sea salt and shredded coconut
3. stir in the scotch oatmeal
4. press into a silicone baking pan
5. score into bar shapes
6. chill
7. makes chewy granola bars



substitutions:

• instead of sunflower seed butter, try almond butter or peanut butter
• instead of coconut nectar, try maple syrup. What's your favourite liquid sweetener?

optional possible add-ins to customize these bars:

• 2 tbsp raw cacao
• 1/2 cup hemp hearts
• chocolate chips
• raisins
• dried cranberries
• chopped nuts
• pumpkin seeds
• sunflower seeds

What would you add?

Sunflower Butter Granola Bars -- raw and vegan!

So, we're into making our own granola bars. Soft, no bake granola bars.  Soft, chewy,  yummy granola bars. I wrapped them up in little pieces of baking parchment to make them able to travel. Like a coat for your snack. How cute is that?

equipment needed:

mixing bowl
mixing spoon
measuring spoon
measuring cup
parchment
silicone baking pan or glass pan lined with parchment that overhangs enough to lift the whole thing out.



ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut nectar
1/2 cup sunflower  seed butter
1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup shredded coconut

2 cups scotch oatmeal


directions:
1. heat the coconut nectar and sunflower butter and mix together
2. stir in the sea salt and shredded coconut
3. stir in the scotch oatmeal
4. press into a silicone baking pan
5. score into bar shapes
6. chill
7. makes chewy granola bars



substitutions:

• instead of sunflower seed butter, try almond butter or peanut butter
• instead of coconut nectar, try maple syrup. What's your favourite liquid sweetener?

optional possible add-ins to customize these bars:

• 2 tbsp raw cacao
• 1/2 cup hemp hearts
• chocolate chips
• raisins
• dried cranberries
• chopped nuts
• pumpkin seeds
• sunflower seeds

What would you add?

** Apple and (Honey) Cake -- Apple Upside Down Cake -- gluten free, grain free

So, this cake was dubbed 'not bad' and also 'yummy'. As in: "Give me some more of that yummy." It's  a perfect holiday dinner cake -- we've used it for Rosh ha Shannah as well as for Thanksgiving. I know it's not vegan, and I think it would work beautifully with maple syrup.  For the love of all that is sacred and delicious though, please don't use corn syrup. I use royal gala apples because those are the little cuties we have on hand. If you've never made cake batter using chickpea flour and tapioca starch, it is a beautiful thing.

a)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 cup chickpea flour
1/4 finely ground chia seed
1 cup finely ground sunflower seed flour


b)
1/2 tsp ground vanilla bean
1 tsp ceylon cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda

c)
1 cup hot water
1 cup honey or maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil


d)
3 small apples --cut into chunks


e)
 3 small apples, sliced
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt


1. grease a springform pan well with coconut oil and line the bottom with parchment
2. put 1/4 cup of coconut sugar and 1/4 tsp sea salt into the bottom, and distribute evenly
3. cover the bottom of the pan with the apple slices in a beautiful pattern (circles)
3. preheat the oven to 345
4. combine the dry ingredients and set aside (a and b)
5. combine the wet ingredients and set aside (c)
6. cut an apple or two into chunks to make around 2 cups
7. mix part a and b
8. add in part c until well combine
9. fold in part d
10. gently fill the springform pan
11. bake for 60-65 minutes or until 'firm'
12. let cool
13. slide a knife around the edge before removing sides, and allow to cool completely
14. cover with a plate and invert
15. remove the bottom of the pan
16. remove the parchment

hallowe'en cookies -- vegan, grain free, nut free, gluten free, sweet, yummy Sugar Cookies

I made these for my son's hallowe'en happenings at school. I knew I was going to have to compete with a lot of sweetness, so instead of using my preferred sweetener of coconut sugar, I went for the organic cane. The result is a sweeter cookie, and one that is sweet enough even without icing. I dyed some icing orange by using turmeric and red tea, and make pumpkin lines on the cookies. They were a big hit.  Of course I forgot to take pictures of the iced cookies, but there you have it. The un-iced ones were simply pumpkin shaped.  I like to hope that the chia, coconut flour, chickpea flour, and sunflower seed flour all helped to keep blood sugar stable, even in the face of all that S-U-G-A-R!

equipment needed:

grinder (for chia seeds and sunflower seeds)
silicone mats
baking sheets
parchment paper and rolling pin
bowl
measuring spoons
measuring cups


ingredients:

1 cup cane  sugar
1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup ground sunflower seeds
1 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup ground chia
1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp ground vanilla bean
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup warm warm water
2 tbsp lemon juice
10 drops lemon essential oil (or vanilla extract)





icing:

3 tbsp red tea
1/8 tsp turmeric
2  cup icing sugar
pinch sea salt (be a little generous here)
a few drops orange essential oil or vanilla


directions:

1. combine the dry ingredients
2. mix the coconut oil into warm water in a separate bowl or measuring cup and let the oil melt
3. mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
4. chill the dough
5. roll the dough out between 2 sheets of baking parchment, and cut with cutters. Don't roll the dough too thin
6. bake at 345 for 15-20 minutes
7. when cool, they can be frosted with the icing piped out of a ziplock that has the corner snipped. That's what I did. Easy. If you don't have the decorating tools.

** Little Kamut Kakies -- vegan cookie-cakes

Simple soft lightly sweet pastry, halfway between a little cake and a little cookie. These are very popular in our household of bread lovers. Spongey and comforting.

equipment needed:

measuring cups

measuring spoons

mixing bowl

stirring spoon

baking sheets

silicone mats or parchment paper

ingredients:

1 cup scotch oatmeal
1 cup kamut flour
1/4 cup ground chia
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground vanilla bean
1 tsp ceylon cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar

2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup coconut oil



directions:

1. combine dry ingredient
2. in a separate bowl, mix water and coconut oil and let it melt
3. add the wet to the dry, and stir to fully incorporate
4. scoop spoonfuls of  this thick batter onto lined baking sheets (I like to use silicone baking mats on baking sheets, but parchment would work too.

bake at 345 for 25-30 minutes