** Lentil Vegetable Crockpot -- vegan, whole food, delicious

The smell of this dish while cooking is out of this world. I'm such a sucker for the combination of cumin and paprika. I adore lentils. This is wonderful with brown basmati, or by itself. Huge hit with everyone. Simple, comforting, unpretentious food that cooks itself while you do something else.

equipment needed:

6 quart crockpot
knife
cutting board
sieve for rinsing lentils
measuring cups
measuring spoons



ingredients:

1 onion, chopped ( 1  cup)
2 cups chopped green cabbage
3 cups rinsed green lentils, not cooked

1/2 cup sliced dried mushrooms

2 cups chopped celery (I use the hearts for this)
2 cups diced carrot
2 cups diced asian sweet potato

4 tsp sea salt
black pepper
2 tbsp marjoram
2 tsp paprika (sweet)
2 tsp ground cumin)

1/2 cup dried apricots -- sliced

8 cups boiling water


set crockpot for 5 hours on high

Herbed Crackers with Sesame

I seem to be on a cracker kick. These are great. Great for me. I don't know about you. Simple, crisp, and good for your gorgeous self. Vegan, gluten free. Grain free. Not sweet. Just a simple little cracker. Perfect texture. Love it.

ingredients:

1/2 cup water


1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp marjoram


1/4 cup  chia seeds finely ground
1/2 cup sesame seeds, finely ground
1/2 cup ground hemp hearts
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups ground sunflower seeds




directions:

1. combine the ingredients in the order listed
2.
3. roll the dough  in two parts (between 2 sheets of baking parchment) and cut into squares trimming the  edges
4. bake at 345 in a preheated oven for 12 minutes then dehydrate for 2-3 hours at 170
5. cool and break into pieces
6. store in an airtight container

Vegan Sausages, the party version

Once in a while my son asks me to buy sausages. Then he won't eat them. I think they are often either too bland or too spicy. These are a nice balance of flavour with a pleasant, toothsome texture. I made 'em small this time -- like cocktail sausages, I guess. The process is simple, the ingredients are wholesome, and the result packs a vegan protein one-two punch. Not having an actually sausage skin to stuff this into isn't really a problem as the dough will hold its shape nicely. The only fiddly bit is forming the dough into a whole big bunch of small little sausages. Can be cooked ahead then heated up when needed on the day!!

ingredients:


1 cup cooked moong dal (cooked to a porridge)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 small onion
2 tbsp sun dried tomato
2 tbsp hemp hearts

2 tbsp sweet potato flour
1  cup vital wheat gluten

3/4 tsp sea salt
 1 tsp cumin
2 tbsp marjoram
1 tsp oregano

1. puree the lentils, water, coconut oil, onion, , nutritional yeast, sea salt, and other seasonings
2. in a separate bowl, stir together the gluten flour and the pureed mixture gently with a spoon
3. shape into sausages
4. steam in a covered casserole for 45 minutes in an 345 oven

Savoury sauteed onion Cake -- instead of apple cake, try sauteed onion

Imagine a light and fluffy cake, but instead of sweet, it's savoury. The texture of this cake is delicate, and the taste is sumptuous. Perfect for an elegant brunch or lunch.

ingredients:

2 cups warm water
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar



1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup flax meal
1/4 cup hemp hearts
1 cup shredded coconut

1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp marjoram

2 cups almond flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

4 eggs

1 medium onion, chopped and sauteed in coconut oil  (allow to cool before adding if possible)

directions:

1. preheat oven to 345
2. combine the ingredients in the order listed
3. scoop batter into 24 muffin cups
4. bake at 345 for 30 minutes

Rustic Vegetable Soup -- Some old friends come to visit -- vegan, gluten free, and good for you

We've moved fully back into the crockpot soups now that it's autumn. They allow me to very quickly put together a fairly big quantity of food that looks after itself all day, and then we have soup or stew for dinner that day and a few days. And it's pleasant and warming to have the crockpot going.

With just 30 minutes until I had to leave the house, I threw this together this morning. It's a simple soup with the simple taste of herbs and vegetables. We all like it alot. A whole lot. 

ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

2 cups coarsely chopped carrot

2 cups asian sweet potato -- mixed purple and white

3 cups chickpeas, already cooked

2 cups coarsely chopped celery

10 cups water

4 tsp sea salt

2 tbps marjoram

1 tbsp oregano

1 tsp cumin

500 g broccoli florets at end (5 cups, cut into bite sized pieces)

directions:

1. turn the crockpot on to high and set it for 6 hours

2. add the ingredients in the order listed, but don't put in the broccoli

3. When the soup is about 1 hour from being done, add the broccoli, and finish cooking

4. serve with lots of love and possibly some fresh bread. 

We ate ours with leftover green onion pancakes (V 2.0), and chased it with fabulous vanilla honey cake.

Lentils again -- a polenta topper?

ingredients:

2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
1 small onion finely diced
1 tbps ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp sea salt

2 cups small green lentils, uncooked
4 cups water
500 g green peas
2 tbsp marjoram

300 g chopped spinach


directions:

1. saute onion with spices, sea salt, and coconut oil until translucent
2. add the lentils and peas with water and marjoram
3. simmer until water absorbed and lentils are soft
4. add the chopped spinach and cook for 5 minutes

Serve on a bed of polenta with a nice tomato sauce garnish ...

A Colourful Crepe Filling -- naturally gluten free, vegan, and yummy

Come on, how pretty is that? I know what you are thinking: can I come over for dinner? Absolutely, you can. I always make enough to share. Unless what you were really thinking was that I must be daft. In which case ... um ... on to the next.

I used very little seasoning in this, just a little sea salt, a touch of black pepper, and a wee bit of dried marjoram. The combination of flavours gives a bright and savoury taste that wants for nothing. I was thrilled with the outcome, and am already looking forward to the left-overs tomorrow. Yum! In the house I grew up in, we all hated left-overs, but now to me they are practically a gift. One hour preparation on a meal that then lasts for three dinners. How awesome is that. If you are someone who likes to make a fresh meal every night, well, my hat is off to you, and unless your family is quite big, you might want to reduce the quantities. ;)

ingredients:

1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
1 small onion, diced -- about 1/2 cup
1 garlic clove, minced -- about 1 tbsp
1 med carrot, sliced
3 small tomatoes, diced -- about 3/4 cup
1 cup kidney beans (already cooked)
1/2 cup frozen corn (organic)
1/2 cup frozen peas (organic)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tbsp marjoram

250 g broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces (about 1 1/4 cup)


directions:

1. begin to saute the garlic and onion in a large saute pan with the coconut oil
2. add the carrots, tomatoes, peas, corn, kidney beans, and sea salt, and cook until the tomatoes start to break down, and the onions are nice and translucent.
3. add the marjoram
4. add the broccoli, and cook just until the broccoli is as tender as you like it

Serve as a filling for our fabulous crepe recipe, or eat it by the bowlful with grunting noises and glances over your shoulder.

Broccoli and Chickpea Saute -- naturally gluten free

Broccoli, tomato, carrot, and chickpea become good friends in this episode.

This dish is light and fresh tasting, and seasoned lightly with marjoram, and a touch of sea salt and pepper.

ingredients:

2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

3 cups cooked chickpeas

4 medium tomatoes, diced

1 medium carrot, sliced in half and cut thinly into 1/2 medallions

1 bunch of broccoli, cut into bite sized florets

directions:

1. saute the tomato, carrot, and chickpeas in the coconut oil on low heat until the tomatoes are broken down and reduced

2. add the sea salt, pepper, and marjoram to taste

3. add the broccoli florets and cook to perfection

Simmered Tomato Sauce -- A hearty, sweet sauce for all your sauce needs

The sauce I make is typically a sauce of minced garlic, chopped onion, and diced tomato, with some herbs thrown in for good measure. When the tomatoes are sweet, this sauce is sweet. When the tomatoes are sour, this sauce is more sour. This sauce is cooked until the tomatoes break down a little, but it's not a long cooking sauce, and it has the fresh taste of its components. 

Today, I wanted to make lasagne, and I wanted a sauce that was a little more grounded, a little more well rounded, a little more ... substantial.  I accomplished this by the addition of carrot to my sauce, and a rather extended low temperature cooking time. Yep, I simmered this sauce for 2 hours. The result is a reduced sauce, robust, full bodied, a little sweet from the carrots, and bold enough to hold its own, but mellow enough to soften all the edges and please all palates.

I pureed it after cooking (using an immersion blender -- such a great kitchen tool) to make a smooth sauce, which suited my purposes.

I'm of the opinion, when making sauce: go big or go home.  What I mean is, you might as well make as much as your pot will hold, because it freezes beautifully in glass jars, and then you have some ready the next time you need it -- for a quickie dinner when you're pressed for time, or for whatever meal you've lovingly planned -- and it's one thing less you'll have to do then. In harvest season, I will buy as many tomatoes as I can carry, and use every pot in the house. There's no point in doing that now, because the tomatoes are neither local nor cheap (but Loblaws now carries organic romas in pound packages, which is great), but because of the long cooking time of this sauce, it's a great idea to make more than just your needs for the day.

The following recipe, after cooking for 2 hours, made 2 L (8 cups), which I sadly used all at once because I made an extra lasagne for the freezer. 

ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

1/4 cup garlic, finely minced

3 cups onion, finely chopped

2 cups carrots, finely chopped

5 lbs roma tomatoes, diced (about 10 cups)

2 tbsp sea salt

2 tbsp marjoram

1 tbsp oregano

black pepper

directions:

1. saute the garlic, onion, and carrot in a covered saute pan with 1 tbsp sea salt until well sweated and translucent. Use low heat.

2. add the tomatoes, herbs, pepper, and rest of sea salt, and stir

3. cook on low heat (just enough for a low simmer) for 2 hours or so, until the sauce has achieved lift-off

4. use chunky, or puree. Use now, or freeze for later. If you freeze it, make sure you leave a little space at the top of the jar for expansion. It would be a shame to break the jars after all your hard work chopping.

This sauce really was perfect in the lasagne. I think it would be really nice with the addition -- either in the sauce or in the lasagne itself -- of a full-bodied mushroom. Alas, my spouse is not only not a mushroom lover, he is a mushroom hater.  I look forward to trying this sauce again for pizza -- ooh, with thinly sliced king mushrooms -- or portobelli. Yum.

Chili Con Broccoli -- Continuing Crockpot Adventures

Oops, I just realized that athough I had posted the cornmeal polenta that I made as a side for this dish -- actually, I sliced it and used it as a base, and put the chili on top -- yum -- I neglected to post this recipe. It was sitting there, languishing in my 'drafts' section. Sorry!

It's quite zesty and bright in its flavours -- not as mellow as the chickpea stew from a week or two ago. However, we enjoyed it very much, and the mellowness of the polenta was an excellent foil for these flavours.

ingredients:

2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

1 onion finely chopped -- about 1/2 cup

1 tbsp finely minced garlic

3/4 cup diced carrot

1/2 cup diced celery

1 1/2 cups cooked kidney beans

5 or 6 cups diced organic roma tomatoes -- 1 1/2 or 2 lbs

1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp marjoram
1 tsp mesquite powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp basil
black pepper

1 1/2 cup cubed sweet potato

2 cups broccoli florets (either lightly steamed or defrosted from frozen) (250 g)


directions:

1. turn your crockpot on to High, and set the timer for 6 hours, (if you have that long -- a longer cooking time will mellow and meld the flavours more, and improve the dish)
2. layer as follows:
a) coconut oil
b) garlic
c) onion
d) celery
e) carrot
f) tomato
g) 1/2 of salt, pepper, herbs, mesquite etc
h) kidney beans
i) sweet potato and rest of salt
3. after the cooking has finished, turn off the heat and stir in the  broccoli florets.

Typical of tomato based dishes, this tastes great the next day. If you like you can serve it with polenta, quinoa, bagels, bread, nothing, or whatever else strikes your fancy.

My three year old enjoyed this very much, and for him I cut polenta into small cubes and ladled the stew on top. It was a big hit.

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Spinach, and Peas -- a crazy vegetable side dish

In my pursuit of vegetables, I decided to assemble this motley stirfry of assorted vegetable riff-raff as a side dish to go with our pancakes for dinner. 

As with much of my cooking, it was opportunistic based on what I had in my possession already.

ingredients:

1 or 2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

1 small red purple onion, finely chopped (approximately 1/4 cup)

2 medium carrots, diced (about 3/4 cup)

1 large tomato, diced (about 1 cup)

250 g cauliflower florets

150 g chopped spinach

250 g green peas

250 g broccoli florets

(those 4 are all organic, frozen vegetables -- defrost before using if you do the same)

up to 1 tsp sea salt

up to 1 tbsp marjoram

up to 1/2 tsp turmeric

up to 1/2 tsp chili powder

up to 1/2 tsp mesquite powder

directions:

1. in a large saute pan, melt the coconut oil, and add the onions and carrots

2. add the tomato, cauliflower, turmeric, chili powder, and a little of the sea salt

3. when they are nicely cooked, add the spinach and peas, and the marjoram and mesquite, and a little more salt

4. when the vegetables are all happily seasoned and cooked, add the broccoli and combine well to sauce everything. adjust seasoning and add more salt if needed.