Vegan Roast -- our favourite holiday feast

This comes out for holiday meals. Because it's fancy feeling and beats the heck out of tofurkey-type preparations. Make sure you cook it long enough, and remember that unstuffed is perfect, even if stuffed looks fancy. Huge hit. Very popular in our neck of the woods.

equipment needed:

grinder for chia seeds

food processor to grind up vegetables

baking dish or casserole

mixing bowl

mixing spoon

measuring cups

measuring spoons

baking parchment

ingredients:

1 cup water
1 medium onion
1 large carrot
3 small celery ribs

2 tsp sea salt -- don't skimp on the sea salt
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/4 cup ground chia seeds
1/4 cup black bean flour
4 tbsp sweet potato flour

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp herbe de provence
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
2 tbsp mesquite

2 cups gluten flour


directions:

1. in a food processor, puree the onion, carrot, and celery
2. add the water, and process again
3. add the salt, nutritional yeast, sesame oil, ground chia, black bean flour, sweet potato flour, coconut oil, herbe de provence, granulated garlic, and mesquite
4. process until thoroughly combined
5. transfer the mixture to a bowl
6. stir in the gluten flour



Divide into 2 portions and wrap in parchment and put in a ziplock bag, and let sit overnight in fridge!!!
Or keep in 1 portion, and make a massive roast.

Option 1:
1. roll out into large oval/rectangle
2. sprinkle with pecans, bits of dried apple, finely diced sweet potato
3. roll up
4. place on parchment in casserole -- I used cast iron dutch oven
5. surround with autumn vegetables that have bene tossed with coconut oil, sea salt, black pepper
(vegetable suggestions: onion, carrot, sweet potato, possibly mushrooms such as oyster or king, parsnips)

Option 2.
1. form into loaf shape
2. place on parchment in casserole
3. surround with autumn vegetables that have been tossed with coconut oil, sea salt, and black pepper.  Heck, you can even go for herbe de provence.


bake at 345 for 90 minutes in cast iron dutch oven -- or up to 2 1/2 hours if you do one massive roast

** chickpea flour sticks with chili powder -- vegan, gluten free, grain free,

I get my chickpea flour  -- in this case besan flour -- from the Indian market up the street. I made these with it. One time with chili powder and mesquite, another time with garlic and oregano. The thing they had in common both times is that they were delicious. But personally, I thought the flavours worked a little better with the garlic and oregano. Although a two year old who was with us seemed to disagree, if the vast quantity of chili powder chickpea flour sticks he ate was any indication.

equipment needed:

measuring cups
measuring spoons
mixing bowl
mixing spoons
silicone mats
baking sheets


ingredients:

1/2 cup warm water
2 tbsp coconut sugar
2 tsp bread yeast

1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 1/2 cups chickpea flour
1/2  cup raw almond flour

1 tsp sea salt
3 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp mesquite


directions:

1. mix together the warm water, coconut sugar, and yeast, and set aside to proof
2. in a bowl combine the dry ingredients
3. add the water/yeast mixture to the dry ingredients and mix to form a dough
4.  roll dough into sticks -- sprinkle with large salt
5. let rise for a while
6. bake at 345 for 20 minutes

**** garlic bread sticks -- made with Kamut flour

I mean, who doesn't like soft chewy garlicky breadsticks? These happened. And they were pretty much a big hit.

equipment needed:

bread mixer or a bowl and spoon, followed by your hands and the counter

measuring spoons

measuring cups

kettle for warm water

silicone mat and baking sheet

oven

1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tbsp dry oregano

2 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup tapioca starch
2 cups kamut flour
1/4 cup corn meal

1 cup warm water
1/4 cup coconut sugar
2 tsp bread yeast

make your dough
roll into thin sticks
let rise on silicone baking mat
brush with water and sprinkle with sea salt
bake at 345 for 15 minutes or so

Soft Pretzels

My rotten little beast of a son -- whom I Rotten Beast because he knows I adore the face off of him -- declared we would make soft pretzels. Ta da!!! Mix 'em, knead 'em, rise 'em, boil 'em, bake 'em. Piece a cake.

equipment needed:

measuring cups
measuring spoons
bread mixer or strong hands
large pot for boiling the pretzels
silicone mats
baking sheets

ingredients:

2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup tapioca starch
2 cups kamut flour
1/4 cup corn meal


1 cup warm water
1/4 cup coconut sugar
2 tsp bread yeast


directions:

1. in a bowl or large cup, combine warm water, coconut sugar, and bread yeast
2. allow to foam, setting aside until you are ready for it
3. in the bowl of your mixer or in a large bowl, combine the sea salt, Kamut flour, tapioca starch, and corn meal
4. add the proofed water/yeast combination to the dry ingredients and mix, kneading until the dough is soft and stretchy.
5. break off small pieces of dough and roll into long thin sticks, then twist the sticks into proper knotted pretzel shapes.
6. place them on a silicone baking mat to rise for 1 1/2 hours
7. boil water in a large pot, adding a few tbsp of baking soda
8. boil the pretzels in the baking soda water for 2 minutes
9. drain the pretzels (I use a slotted spoon and then let them rest on a wire baking rack)
(If you so desire, this would be a good time to sprinkle them with large salt crystals. We didn't.
10. place on the silicone mat
11. bake at 345 for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on size of pretzels

A small Apple Maple Upside down cake -- vegan, gluten free, grain free, delicious

For some people, apples might always make them think of forbidden fruit and the Garden of Eden. For me, apples are comfort. Apples are ordinary. Apples are accessible, available, friendly, and always just what I want. There is a reason why some of our favourite dishes involve apples. Apples, fresh and just cut into slices. Apples cut into cubes and baked in a dutch oven with vanilla and cinnamon. Apples baked into upside down cake. This upside down cake is so pretty, and tasty in that 'person next door' way. Not flashy. Comforting.

This recipe uses a  mix of flours because yes I'm crazy.  It's a great mix of flours that is really good for you, and also makes a beautiful cake. It's moist, gluten free, grain free, and really really good.  If you are looking for nut free, I recommend swapping out the raw almond flour for sunflower seed flour. That's one of our go-tos and is just great. I make my own raw sunflower seed flour by grinding raw sunflower seeds in my small seed/coffee grinder. Makes a delicate, lovely flour. Just right for baking.

This is from the bigger cake I made back in November, but you get the idea of  how it works!!

equipment needed:

mixing bowls

mixing spoons

measuring cups

measuring spoons

grinder for chia seeds and sunflower seeds (if you are using sunflower seeds)

kettle to heat the water

baking parchment

small round baking pan (8 inches)

knife and cutting board for apples

ingredients:

A.
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
(1 tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar)

B.
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1 cup raw almond flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup ground chia seed
2 tbsp coconut sugar

C.
1/4 tsp sea salt (1/2 tsp sea salt)
1 tsp ceylon cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground vanilla bean


D.
1 apple diced -- (2 apples diced if small! -- depends on the size! Don't skimp on the apples for this cake)




----
E.
1 tbsp coconut sugar
2 apples, sliced
1 tbsp coconut sugar



directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. combine dry ingredients (B and C)
2. combine water, maple syrup, and coconut oil, and let melt. Add vanilla extract and lemon juice/apple cider vinegar (A)
3. cut 1 apple into small dices (D)
4. slice 2 apples into slices -- don't go paper thin. Make 'em generous. This will be the crowning glory for your cake. (E)
5. line a small round pan with parchment and oil generously with coconut oil
6. sprinkle the parchment with 1 tbsp coconut sugar
7. line the parchment with spirals of apple slices
8. sprinkle the apple slices with 1 tbsp coconut sugar
9. combine the  dry and wet ingredients, and stir thoroughly
10. stir in the apple chunks
11. pour the batter over the apple spirals in the bottom of the pan
12. tap the pan on the counter to settle the batter into the apples and smooth the top a little
13. bake at 345 for 45 minutes
14. cool
15. invert onto a plate
16. remove the parchment