Soft Chocolate Almond Quinoa Biscotti

Another fabulous recipe altered a wee bit from my new cookbook Quinoa. I'm always tempted by Biscotti...however they are not a favourite of Jay's...until about five minutes ago when he tried the first one! "These are great"...with a bit of a shocking tone to his voice...were the exact words I do believe! What makes Jay a fan of them is that they are a bit on the soft side and not rock hard like most...and that he dipped his in whip cream:)!!!

We are enjoying these in this very moment, with a lovely Americano coffee...and the boys are both in the toy room building towers together...I love this moment:)

I couldn't help but think how pretty these would look wrapped in a cello bag, tied with a ribbon...would make a lovely, neighbourly, wholesome Christmas gift!

ENJOY!

Soft Chocolate Almond Quinoa Biscotti

1 1/2 cups slivered almonds, lightly toasted
1 1/2 cups quinoa flour
1/2 cup flour (I used spelt)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional...I used a chopped up dark chocolate bar we had laying around)
1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup cane sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract (I didn't use)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toast the almonds on a baking sheet on the top rack for 6-8 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Combine the quinoa and spelt flours, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Gently stir in the cooled almonds and chocolate chips.

Cream together the butter and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the eggs, vanilla and almond extract and blend both mixtures together well.

Lightly spray a baking sheet (or line with parchment...that's what I do). Divide the dough in half and roll it into long logs that are the same length as the baking sheet. Dampen your hands and lightly pat the dough to flatten it to 3/4 inch thickness. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Place both pieces of dough on the baking sheet and bake on the center oven rack for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let sit until cool enough to touch. Slice each log into 1 inch pieces. Place the slices on the same baking sheet and bake an additional 5 minutes on each side. Remove from the oven and cool. Store in a sealed bag or container for up to 8 weeks.

***Remember that blissful moment about 5 minutes ago that I described with my boys playing nicely on their own???!! Ya...far gone...just found them both in the powder room brushing their hair with the toilet brush...yuck yuck yuck...time to hit the tub!

Leek and Potato Soup

AHHHHHH-mazing!! Another new recipe this week from my beautiful new cookbook. It's hard to believe that this yummy and flavourful soup only has 5 ingredients! (Six if you make it the way the recipe calls for.) Another bonus is that you can make this soup in under 30 minutes!

Made this for lunch yesterday, and it was a hit with all four of us! I was thankful I had made a double batch! Levi (13mths) had already had his lunch...and then saw us having our soup...so I decided to give him a taste and he cried when I didn't give him more! Needless to say he ate an entire bowl of this filling soup, AFTER he already had eaten lunch! Those of you who have met Levi...or have tried to pick him up...are not surprised by that:)

Why didn't I add the milk at the very end? We were so hungry and excited to try the soup that I just full on forgot! I realized half way through eating mine what I had done. Jay and I both agreed it doesn't need the milk added at the end, but possibly a bit extra broth...this soup thickens a lot as it sits. Like most things we eat in our home, we sprinkled the soup with fresh parmesean right before eating...and a little pepper too:)

ENJOY!

Leek and Potato Soup

3 Tbsp butter
2 cups sliced leeks, white parts only
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 1/2 cups peeled and diced Yukon gold potatoes
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 cup milk of choice (we skipped this step)
salt to taste (we didn't add any)

Melt the butter in a large pot and saute the leeks until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the broth, potatoes and quinoa to the pot, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes and quinoa are tender, about 15 minutes. Puree the cooked mixture with a hand blender or cool slightly and puree in 2 batches in a blender or food processor. Return the puree to the pot and stir in the milk. Heat on medium but do not boil. Remove and serve!

Decadent Chocolate Quinoa Pudding

This past weekend we celebrated Christmas in Calgary with the Wiebe clan! One of my lovely gifts from Mom and Dad Wiebe was this beautiful new cookbook called "Quinoa 365"! The book itself is just so pretty to look at, let alone the recipes! So here marks the start of trying each recipe out. This one got thumbs up all around in our house!

Many recipes in this book call for Quinoa Flour...a type of flour I've never used before, but had no trouble finding at our local health food store. In fact, they carried 4 or 5 different brands of it!

Of course this would look MUCH prettier topped with some fresh whip and maybe a few berries too? I wish I would have had some fresh whipping cream on hand so I could have tried out my other fabulous Christmas gift!



This recipe takes about 5 minutes to make, and yields 6 portions...gotta love that! Like many things in our home, all were gone in less than 24 hours! I should let you know though that you definitely taste the quinoa in this pudding...perhaps adding extra chocolate would mask that more?...so if you're not a fan of that taste, then this recipe may not be for you. For the rest of us though, you'll find this to be a rich decadent dessert filled with protein! Jay topped his second helping with a dollop of peanut butter....GREAT idea!

Decadent Chocolate Quinoa Pudding

1/2 cup quinoa flour
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup ricotta cheese (I used mediterranean plain yogurt, cause that's what I had on had...totally worked, yet I think the ricotta would taste a little better)

Combine the flour and water in a pot on medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens and the water has been absorbed, 3 to 5 minutes. Don't worry if lumps form, these will disappear later. Remove from the heat, immediately add the chocolate chips and stir until melted. Stir in the ricotta cheese. Use a food processor or blender to puree the mixture until smooth. (I skipped this step since I used smooth yogurt rather than the ricotta) Poor into desert bowls and refrigerate until chilled.

I think next time I may even add a pinch of cinnamon or instant coffee?!

Jay asked me on the way out the door this afternoon if I could make this again today...I think I may give the Chocolate Almond Biscotti on page 139 a try instead! I'll let you know how it turns out!

*made this recipe again tonight....added 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and about 3 or 4 tbsp of peanut butter right after the chocolate chips...AMAZING...and kills the quinoa taste a little for those wondering how to do that:)

Soft & Chewy Ginger Sticks

Hands down the most requested recipe of mine!! Jay is my number one fan when it comes to these guys. When we were first married I would sometimes surprise him and bake them in the middle of the summer...he LOVED that! This past year we held off and waited until the Christmas season...and for one very valid reason. Jay and I did a 'homemade Christmas' last year...I highly recommend it....it was his idea actually! My brilliant gift to him was 365 Soft & Chewy Ginger Sticks!!! One for every day of the year!! Won wife of the year for that gift...only problem was that they were gone after about 6 weeks!! I will vouch for him and say that he did share some of them:)

So here it is...a very simple, one bowl, cookie recipe...gotta love that!! Always a hit...I even had a friend who despises molasses give them a try and she was left speechless!

These are very pretty sprinkled with a little light sugar right before baking..and even with a little crystallized ginger and white chocolate drizzle too! In the Wiebe house we prefer them plain...who's kidding who...they don't last long enough to cool and drizzle!!

Today marked the first double-batch of the season...we're heading to Calgary tomorrow to celebrate an early Christmas with the Wiebe's!...thought they'd make for a nice Christmas treat to share...and I'll be sure to pack a separate little container for Jay to enjoy in the truck while driving!

Soft & Chewy Ginger Sticks

1/2 cup raw cane sugar...or sugar of choice
1/2 cup olive or coconut oil (coconut is much better)
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon almond milk
1 egg
2 cups flour (I use whole wheat or spelt)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
4 teaspoon sugar (for garnishing on top)

1. Heat oven to 375 F. In large bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar, the oil,
molasses, milk and egg with spoon. Stir in remaining ingredients
except 4 teaspoon sugar.



2. Divide dough. On ungreased cookie sheet, I use parchment to keep my pans clean, lightly spread out dough like photo shows. Score tops with fork.



3. Bake for 8 minutes or until edges are light brown and tops
appear cracked; cool 5 minutes. Cut each strip crosswise into 1 inch
slices.

4. Let cool for a few more minutes before removing from pan.

Do not let them over bake, unless you prefer a more crispy ginger stick!

For those of you now wondering what Jay made me for our homemade Christmas...he bought a beautiful apothecary jar and filled it with homemade body scrub...epsom salts mixed with coconut oil...still working my way through it and loving it! Looks beautiful beside my sink in the bathroom! A great gift idea for anyone:)

Starbucks "Christmas" Gingerbread Loaf

Alright...no photo yet of this one since it gets gobbled up WAY too quickly! However, I can guarantee that the majority of you know exactly what loaf I am talking about that Starbucks carries this glorious time of year! It's amazing. I tweaked with this recipe last Christmas season when the loaf was reintroduced to me through Starbucks.

I knew that I could not fully enjoy their version of it for two reasons. One, I had my baby weight from Levi to deal with. Two, I knew theirs had zero nutritional value in it!

It's wonderful and amazing, with tea or coffee or steamed milk...and makes a wonderful hostess gift (especially when topped with a thin layer of cream cheese frosting and chunks of candied ginger!)

This is one of those Christmas recipes that I limit myself to making only during November and December to keep it special...it's that good!

Starbucks "Christmas" Gingerbread Loaf

1 1/2 cups spelt or whole wheat flour
2 tsps ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground cloves
2 tsps ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, or coconut oil, softened
1/2 cup maple syrup or agave
1 cup applesauce
1 tsp baking soda

FROSTING (OPTIONAL)
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt.
Then set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and syrup until fluffy.

Mix baking soda into applesauce and stir into creamed butter mixture.
Add flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until a
toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

FROSTING:
Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Slowly beat in confectioner’s sugar.

Once the cake has cooled, evenly spread the frosting on top. Decorate with chopped candied orange peel or candied ginger .

Rustic Pasta

Hands down the favourite supper in our house for the past six months..it's amazing! As Jay would say, it's the "most manly vegan meal he's every had"! I've entertained with it...and they've loved it....I've cooked it for my entire family while visiting in Ontario...and they all loved it! It's flavours are so unique, that you just have to try it yourself! Weekends begin in our house on Thursday night....so we find ourselves having this almost every Thursday evening, once the kids are in bed (although Noah gobbles it right up too!), with a nice glass of red wine.

I got this recipe from Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet....GREAT book if you haven't taken a peak at it yet...have made almost every recipe in the book...love it:)

I should also add that we usually eat this dish with fresh parmesan on top...cheating a little I know...so it's not entirely vegan when consumed that way:) (But is just tastes SO good!!)

Also...side note...I know the quality of the photo is brutal...sorry:)

Rustic Pasta

1 pkg of long pasta....we use Brown Rice Pasta..always:)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced on diagonal
1/4 cup shoyu or tamari (good quality soya sauce)
1 head of cabbage, thinly sliced (red or green...both taste amazing)
5-6 Tbsp marinara sauce (good quality organic pasta sauce)

Cook package of pasta until just al dente, drain and set aside. Meanwhile, heat the oil, add the onions and cook on medium heat until softened, try not to let them 'fry brown'...about 7 minutes. Then add the garlic and celery, suate for another 2-3 minutes. Stir in the shoyu, then add the cabbage, saute covered for about 10 minutes or until all the onions and cabbage appear well cooked.

Add the pasta to the skillet with the marinara sauce and toss together. Cook for another minute or two and serve!

Authentic Black Bean Soup

It's a rainy day here in Kelowna...which left our bodies craving some comfort for lunch! This time of year our bodies draw inward looking for nourishment from complex carbohydrates found in whole grains and legumes, squashes and root veggies! These foods provide an abundant fuel source to keep our bodies warm. Make sense? Explains why a crispy cold salad on a snowy December day doesn't taste as good, or satisfy you, as much as a bowl of this soup would! On the flip side...it also explains why we crave that cold crispy salad on a hot July day...and not this soup. So...I took stock of our pantry to see what we had on hand...and realized I had all the ingredients on hand to try this! This soup got thumbs up all around in our house...another hit from SLICE. Next time I'll be making a BIG pot to divide up and stock our freezer with. I'll also plan ahead for that one, and use dried black beans that I either soak the night before, or cook ahead of time...much more flavour to savour!!

Authentic Black Bean Soup

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups of black beans, cooked
1 large sweet potato, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
3 cups Vegetable Stock (or Chicken Stock)
1 lime, juiced

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, saute until translucent. Add beans, sweet potato, carrot, tomato, cumin, salt, chili powder and oregano and saute for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes, or until sweet potato is tender. Puree in a blender or with a hand blender. Add lime juice, stir to blend.

Garnish with avacado, jalapeno salsa and your favourite tortilla chips!

This soup is a FULL on meal...we were left feeling very stuffed! Being both vegetarian and vegan, it makes a great, simple, affordable meal to entertain with!

The Great Chili Cook-Off

Okay....so the cooler weather on Friday left Jay and myself in the mood for some chili! You see...Jay's great cooking skills peaked while we were dating, and then disappeared when we got married...I kinda am guilty for taking over the kitchen anyhow! But...he has always held onto the title of making apparently the best chili! I've made it many many times for us...always making lots for the freezer...and he always loves it...but he always reminds me that he makes the best chili! So...we went head to head yesterday....me with my lovely cream cast iron pot filled with yummy Fresh Vegetarian chili...and he with his large stainless steel pot filled with Bison 'Man' chili! Both pots smelled wonderful...in my head his looked disgusting...and in his head, mine looked like it was missing something....the RED MEAT!

Now for the recipes...hmmm...that's kinda a tricky one because we seriously just winged it and added whatever we felt like...but here's a list of what each pot contained....both worth making again! The best part...we have enough in our fridge for the rest of the weekend...and about 8 meals worth in our freezer!! I LOVE that!! (Clearly labeled "Jay's" and "Steph's"...of course!)

Either recipe could have ground turkey or ground beef added or substituted!


Steph's Vegetarian Chili



2 large onions, chopped
1 head of garlic, minced
4 carrots, chopped
3 red peppers, chopped
2 jalapenos, minced
4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 bag of frozen corn
1 bunch of kale or spinach, finely chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 or 4 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons crushed chili peppers (more or less, depending on how you like it!)
2 tablespoons cumin

2 cans chopped tomatoes
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
half a bunch of cilantro, chopped
juice and flesh of 1 lime
1 bottle of Corona (optional....but SO worth it!!)

Alright...I think that is everything that made it into the pot! Throw everything in the first section into your large hot, that's already heated with a few dashes of olive oil. Let 'sweat' for a while until all veggies look semi cooked. Add the lime and Corona. Simmer out for a few minutes...add everything else! I think that's it!!




Jack Daniel's Jalapeno & Lime Chili (aka. Jay's Chili)



2 lbs ground xlean bison
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 head of garlic, cut into very large chunks
1/4 cup Jack Daniels (optional...but Jay would say it's essential!)


2 red peppers, coarsely chopped
1/2 bag of frozen corn
1 apple, chopped
4 jalapenos
4 tablespoons crushed chili peppers
3 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons cumin
lots of lime juice


2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Simmer first section until the meat is cooked throughout. Add second section and let all vegetables cook. Add third section and let simmer until ready to eat! Enjoy with shredded cheese on top and your favourite tortilla chips for scooping! Jay enjoyed some of his leftovers today with cooked brown rice macaroni stirred in....nothing like a little Chili-Mac to warm you up!


Both of us likely would have added some chunks of fresh pineapple to ours, had we had some on hand!

ENJOY....we still are!!

Food-Colouring Free First Birthday!

This is possibly the post that I am most excited about to date! Levi turned ONE last week...and we threw him the most fun birthday party we could think of! The goal was to make it look beautiful...okay...that was MY goal...and to make it 100% healthy for all the little ones attending...and super tasty for all the grown-ups that brought the little ones along! I think it was a success:) I choose the theme about 6 months ago so that I would have time to pick up things here and there that would 'go'...that's very important to one year olds (lol)! The theme was giraffes...inspired by these super cute giraffe stuffies that I was dying to make for all the babies in attendance...and the colour scheme was brown, blue and orange/yellow. Colour schemes are not only important when choosing the decorations...but...also when choosing the food to serve!! Well...atleast in my little world it is!



Oh how I could have gone nuts over the all-blue bin of JellyBelly's at the bulk store...or the Reese's Pieces candies that are perfectly created with my colour scheme in mind....but I didn't:) I knew if I caved for those, which I could picture in my head in beautiful clear vessels lined up on the party table, that I wouldn't be able to blog about this party! So...instead we came up with these yummy alternatives. And no...not all treats were whipped up from scratch! In a perfect world, there would have been oodles for time for that...but part of me also wanted to show my readers that there are very yummy quick alternatives out there...and trust me...these all tasted better than Costco cake!! The adults were drooling over them...and the kids were excited about the recognizable favourites like Annies Bunny Crackers...which so favourably are bright orange!

Let's start with the birthday boy's cake! Levi had not yet had any form of a baked good...so this was a real first treat for him! I took our family's favourite muffin recipe...changed it a little for him...and was happy with the outcome! Levi took his time and savoured every bite...he was in his own little world for about half an hour while he enjoyed his 'cake'. The giraffe sticks were from Michael's...and were a simple way of tying in the giraffe theme! I thought they also kinda resembled the number "1" for a first birthday!

Brown Rice Flour Banana Muffins



2 cups mashed bananas (apple sauce works great too)
2 tbsp honey, agave, or maple syrup (optional...didn't use it for Levi)
1/3 cup coconut oil (or melted butter)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups brown rice flour (spelt is great too!)

Mash the bananas, then add sweetener of choice and oil.
Mix in the dry ingredients

*Frozen berries, chocolate chips or any nut make great additions too! Even chunks of apple or pear if you're using apple sauce.

Bake for about 20 minutes. 8-10 minutes for mini-muffins.





Then there came the rest of the cupcakes...a little more decadent than Levi's!



First was the Double Chocolate Peanut Butter...can you ever go wrong with that combination? This one I cheated on a little. The cake was from a mix that we LOVE! It's Pamela's Chocolate Cake. Made with Rice Flour...it's Wheat and Gluten-Free and you would never know! This is seriously the most amazing cake mix we've ever had. The Vanilla is just as fabulous! Look for them on sale at your local Health Food Store and stock up! Anyhow...I baked them according to directions, added a slab of our favourite peanut butter on top...and then topped that with Pamela's Chocolate Frosting! Totally took all short-cuts available on those yummy little things! My favourite part is how home-made they look...wasn't looking for perfection with these guys!



Second was the Vanilla with Cream Cheese Frosting and Sprinkles. The sprinkles were from the Health Food Store...completely natural...gotta love that! The cake part was a simple Organic Vanilla Cake mix...turned out great...super simple...and nice to know the ingredients were decent! Here's the recipe for the Frosting!

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.



And third was the Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting! I used the left over icing from above. I bookmarked this recipe about a year ago...and finally got a chance to try it out! The original recipe made one square cake...however I made them into cupcakes and just baked them a lot less.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup spelt flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar (I used agave)
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an (8-inch) square baking pan with oil and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, pumpkin and vanilla. Whisk flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until well combined then transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake until the cakes pulls away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes.



The fruit kabobs were simply pineapple and Okanagan grapes...keeping with the colour theme! Blueberries and mangoes would have been a great addition..but there were no blueberries to be found, and my mangoes didn't get ripe in time! It was interesting to see these kabobs be the first things to go!



The treat station was my favourite part of the afternoon!

Selfishly it contained Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds...I love those...



then some healthy Spelt Pretzels (a great combo with the almonds I might add!)...



some yummy fresh Farmer's Market Kettle Corn! A patient of Jay's owns the booth at the market, so it's always great to find an excuse to support her and her family!



and Noah's request...Annies Cheddar Bunnies!



Party favours for the babies in attendance were loads of fun for me! Made with love...hope they were a hit!



Favours for everyone else were cute boxes filled with Chocolate Gluten Free Animal Cookies! Always a hit!



Beverage choice for the little ones was water or water! For the adults...we offered hot apple cider...locally grown...with the option of a fun shot in it! Great for a fall day:) Not only that, but it made the kitchen smell amazing!



Another snack option sitting in the kitchen for those with no sweet tooth...Garden Vegetable Salsa with possibly the best chips on the market right now. Food Should Taste Good



So that's about it! There are about a dozen other little details that I won't bore you with...and about another dozen ones that never got further than my head...we'll save those for the next party!

Happy Birthday Levi! We love you!

October in the Okanagan

Needed to brag about this one...just a typical OCTOBER day in Kelowna...picking fresh STRAWBERRIES from our garden!!

And people wonder why we love living here:)

Fun Shaped Graham Cracker Cookies!

Okay...so this new healthy recipe was supposed to be a lovely addition to Levi's Giraffe Themed FIRST Birthday Party we hosted on Sunday...but..the whole idea of a giraffe cookie cutter just isn't a good thing I realized very quickly! WAY too long of a neck and too skinny of a tail! After about half a dozen, I gave up! Still needed to use up this wonderful dough that I had made...so I grabbed my TWO boxes of cookie cutters (used to teach Kindergarten...kinda goes with the trade!)..and told Noah to pick out his favourites...and that he did! It was a fun event for both of us! The picture isn't too wonderful, but the cookies taste great...were pretty simple to make, and are now a fun and healthy homemade snack for Noah to look forward to! He loves choosing between trains, airplanes, buses, circles, hands or cars to eat!

Graham Cracker Cookies

2 1/2 Cups Spelt Flour
1/4 Cup Dark Brown Cane Sugar, packed
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Butter, chilled & cubed (sub in Coconut Oil and these are vegan)
1/4 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a food processor or mixer combine the first 6 ingredients.
3. Add cubed butter to the mix and pulse/mix until it resembles coarse meal.
4. Add honey and water and continue to mix until it all combines.
5. Remove and shape the dough into a flat disk
6. Roll dough out until 1/4 inch thick. Cut into crackers or shapes.
7. Bake for 12 minutes.
8. Cool and serve

These would freeze really well too!

Garden Vegetable Rose Sauce

Last week was so sunny and warm here, considering it's October! Noah and I headed out to do some yard clean-up...and stumbled upon MANY great finds in our garden still! Take a look...there was even a handful of strawberries...those just didn't last long enough with Noah around to be in the picture!



The rest of the day kinda got away on us...and all of a sudden it was 6:30pm and I found myself realizing I had planned nothing for dinner! That is not like me....I usually am thinking about dinner before I eat breakfast!! So...the boys had already eaten and were about ready for bed...it was only Jay and I that I needed to worry about. Moments like this I usually resort to Black Bean Quesadillas...that's kinda our "go-to" meal...but we were missing a few key ingredients. I took a quick look at this beautiful assortment of veggies and realized they needed to be enjoyed! This is what I came up with!



Eliminate the last step of stirring in the spoonful of cream cheese...and don't garnish your bowl with parmesan...and you've got a beautiful vegan supper!

Garden Vegetable Rose Sauce with Brown Rice Pasta

2 cloves of garlic, minced
Handfuls of fresh tomatoes coarsely chopped...canned would work too
1 large zucchini, sliced
1 large bag of spinach
1 heaping spoonful of cream cheese
handful of fresh basil...or dried basil works too
salt and pepper if desired

Heat up saucepan with a drop or two of olive oil. Add garlic and let cook for a minute or so. Add zucchini and let cook for another minute or two. Add tomatoes until well heated. Add spinach and basil. Cover pan and let spinach cook down. Stir in cream cheese...voila you have rose sauce, minus the heavy cream!

Cook Brown Rice Pasta as directed on bag...spoon over top and add a little parmesan..ENJOY!...oh...and of course it always tastes better with a lovely glass of red wine:)

A very affordable, FAST dinner that you could add some chicken breasts to if desired...and even use for entertaining!

Fluffy Spiced Pancakes

It seems like we've eaten A LOT in our house this past week based on how far behind I am on posting recipes!! So here we go...let's see how many I can get up during the boys' nap time!



Jay treated us to these on Friday morning! (Sorry for the blurry picture!) He taught Noah at a very young age how to say "pancakes, mommy?" in the morning...sounds more like "pass-icks"...which we think is super cute and results in us making them for him everytime! This time Jay took his turn in the kitchen though...gotta love that!

Stumbled upon this recipe in the complimentary magazine that you get at the register in the liqour store...and then made a few healthy changes:)

Great for a fall morning...and extra great with some Almond or Peanut Butter on top and real Maple Syrup! That's how we eat them at our house! Sometimes a sliced banana too! While eating these I thought that some Apple Butter would also taste yummy smeared on top!

Fluffy Spiced Pancakes

3 large eggs, separated
1 3/4 cup almond milk...or milk of choice
1 Tbsp coconut oil..or butter
2 tsp molasses
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Whip the egg whites in a bowl with an electric mixer until they hold soft peaks. In another bowl combine egg yolks, milk, butter and molasses. Beat until blended. Add remaining dry ingredients. Gently fold in the whipped egg whites. Batter is ready to go!

These would make a great Thanksgiving morning breakfast:) ENJOY!

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

I found myself craving some comfort fall food today...but it was hard to think in those terms when it was so sunny and warm! So...I took inventory of our garden, and the stock in our fridge from Saturday's market...and thought up this lovely dish! The term 'roasted' often scares me away from recipes, because I know it involves an extra step, and I often think that I just don't have time for that. Today however, I proved myself wrong. I learned that 'roasting' does involve an extra step, but it's really not all that much extra work! The flavour is the reward...and flavour is always worth the time!

Now, although this is a vegetarian dish, you could certainly add ground beef or turkey to the sauce. You could also easily make this a vegan dish...I just love my cheese though:) This is however a 'light on cheese' recipe compared to some. We find that a bit of ricotta in the layers...and then some fresh parmesan on top does the trick for us! LOTS of flavour....you won't even miss all the melted goop that you usually find inbetween!

So while our boys were napping, I gathered all the vegetables, washed them up, and sliced them so they were ready to go. I used carrots, beets, zucchini, vidalia onion, red pepper and garlic. This was just what we had on hand...I can definitely think of some others that would make a wonderful addition!




Then I realized that I might as well roast them already too, and get that step out of the way! I simply tossed them lightly in olive oil, sprinkled pepper on top...and roasted them at 425 for about 30 minutes. It was actually kind of nice to have them done and cooled ahead of time...made them easier to work with.



Don't they look amazing? Look at all that yummy goodness! I was so tempted to just grab a fork and dig in! See those fingers in the top corner? That's Noah..gotta love that a 2 1/2 year old finds sneaking roasted beets to be a real treat!

While they were roasting, I remembered that I had frozen some homemade pasta sauce (tomatoes from the garden, chopped and simmered with basil and garlic..simple enough!) last week...so I pulled out a bag to use for the lasagna.



Then it was time to assemble. I always use brown rice lasagna noodles....they can be tricky to find, but they taste awesome and they cook up so well...you'd never notice the difference!



Started layering...sauce, noodles, ricotta, roasted veggies,



fresh spinach,



sauce, noodles,



etc until the pan was filled to the top.



Now bake in the oven at 425 for about an hour...keep checking the noodles for 'doneness'...rice noodles aren't so yummy if they are over-cooked:)



Need this meal in a hurry? Use good quality jarred tomato sauce, and jarred roasted peppers.

ENJOY...we sure did! Pair this with a nice Okanagan red wine...and you've got a gourmet dinner on your hands!

I got "two thumbs up" tonight over this dinner...now I think I'll go pull a couple of those Chocolate Zucchini Muffins out of the freezer for dessert!

Pumpkin Millet Muffins

So...if you made the "Pumpkin Scones...Starbucks Style" earlier this week, like I did...then you're probably wondering what you could do with the leftover pumpkin puree in your fridge!? The last thing you want to do is waste such a wonderful thing! Noah and I whipped these muffins yesterday morning while Levi was napping. There is something so wonderful about the smell of pumpkin spice in your house on a fall day!



I have to say...as convenient as the canned pumpkin is, there is nothing quite like pumpkin pastries made from fresh pumpkin! Those fresh ones will be saved for November 1st, when it's time to take the pumpkins off the front steps...and make room for Christmas decorations!


Pumpkin Millet Muffins

1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
3/4 cup sweetener (maple syrup, agave, honey, cane sugar)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup millet, toasted (flax seed works too!)
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1 3/4 cup spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine oil, milk, sugar, vanilla and pumpkin in a large bowl and mix together. Stir in the oats. Toast millet in a hot dry skillet until lightly brown and fragrant. Toast the pumpkin seeds and add the millet and seeds to the bowl. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. Add the dry mix to the wet mix and gently stir to combine.



Fill lightly greased muffin cups generously with batter. Sprinkle tops with pumpkin seeds and bake for 20 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. The will make 12 large sized muffins. ENJOY!

*You will notice in the picture above that my muffins are missing the pumpkin seeds on top...we were all out!! They still tasted yummy...just didn't look as festive!

Noah got the first taste test of these Pumpkin Muffins...fresh from the oven...I think he liked them:)



And we don't want to leave Levi out! Although he won't be enjoying these muffins for a little longer yet, he sure does look like he's having fun in his new rocking chair from Nana & Papa...an early birthday present:)