Itty Bitty Garlic Pumpkin Knots.

Soooo yummy from Oh She Glows.

Tender Barley Cornbread.

This cornbread is awesome. Super healthy and super fast. It's our new staple. I just ground barley up in my food processor instead of buying overpriced barley flour. Plus, I love the texture the little pieces that don't get quite so ground give.  When it's all done baking, while it's still warm, I spread a little agave nectar, maple syrup or honey on top to sweeten it a little more.

3/4 cup yellow stone-ground cornmeal
1/2 cup barley flour (grind some barley in the blender)
1/3 cup whole wheat flour (regular or pastry flour)
2 tablespoons sugar (or a tad shy of 2 T. agave nectar)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup non-dairy milk
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

Preheat the oven to 425*F. Whisk together the cornmeal, barley and whole wheat flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Add the milk and applesauce and stir just until mixed. Scrape into and 8" x 8" nonstick baking pan and smooth the top. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Cut the hot cornbread into squares. (or put in sprayed muffin tins)

Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes, pg 195

Baked Vegan Mac & Cheese.

So I've been struggling with my almost 6-year-old with all things healthy eating. She use to be an amazing eater and eat any and everything healthy. Would ask me for healthy food and beg for shrek shakes. Long gone are those days, and I blame it all on kindergarten. It's like after seeing how the "other side" eats... and setting her eyes on that cafeteria line - it's all she wants. It's a constant battle.

One day, post kindergarten corruption, she told me she wanted to go have a playdate at her friend Emily's house because her Mom makes them yummy macaroni & cheese... I almost cried. Ouch. So, I was on a quest to find my baby girl some healthy mac & cheese. Found this recipe, on an awesome new site my friend Natalie told me about. I spent a good 3 hours drooling over all her recipes.

The bummer is, we all loved it, except her. I'm beginning to think that we're dealing with some sort of power struggle combined with the food issue. Lovely.

1/2 medium potato, peeled and chopped (about 1/4-1/3 cup)
1/2 large carrot, peeled and chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 small onion, peeled and chopped (about 1/4-1/3 cup)
1 ½ cups raw cashews
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
4 garlic cloves
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon mustard
~300-340 grams dry/uncooked whole wheat macaroni or other pasta
1 slice bread
1 tablespoon Earth Balance or butter
Fresh or dried parsley, to garnish (optional)
Paprika, to garnish

Preheat oven to 350*F. Grab a small casserole dish and set aside. In a medium sized pot, add the chopped potatoes, carrots, and onion and fill with water until just covered. Bring to a boil and then reduce to low-medium heat. Cook for about 15 minutes until tender.

Meanwhile, process 1 slice of bread until crumbs form in a food processor. Add in 1 tablespoon of Earth Balance and process until incorporated. Place in a small bowl and set aside.

Now assemble your cheese sauce ingredients (cashews, almond milk, garlic, lemon, salt, yeast, pepper, mustard) and add just the cashews to food processor. Process until a fine crumb forms similar to corn meal. Now add in the rest of the cheese sauce ingredients and process until smooth.

Once the veggies are cooked, drain and add to cheese sauce mixture in food processor. Process until smooth.

Add your pasta to a medium sized pot and fill with water until the pasta is covered by about 1 inch or so. Bring to a boil and reduce to low, cooking for about 7 more minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.

In a large bowl, mix together your cheese sauce and drained + rinsed pasta. Scoop into your casserole dish and sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture. Now garnish with paprika and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350*F. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley or dried parsley if you’d like.

Note: This is a heavy and drier mac ‘n cheese. If you want it less dry, you might want to add some Earth Balance/butter or additional milk.

from ohsheglows

my friend Natalie told me about her sight, and our friend Mimi told her

No-Knead Multi-Grain Peasant Bread.

I am not a good bread maker. I know the more I practice, the better I'll get... but let's face it... with a Mom that can make bread as good as mine can, sometimes it's just not worth it to go through that sort of self destruction each time a new loaf comes out...

[Look at that texture!]

So, when I found this bread - peasant bread - totally different from my Mom's whole wheat homemade bread... I thought I'd give it a whirl. I made it months and months ago and it didn't rise as high as it did in the picture, but it still tasted yummy. Probably because I never use as much white flour as it calls for. But, I figured it's time for me to try it again. When I wanted this soup for dinner, and knew how yummy it'd be if I had a good crusty dipping bread - I went for it.

I ended up not having all of the right flours and all the right proportions of the ones I did have... but I went for it anyway. It still didn't rise as high as it did in the picture {blasted picture!} but it was yum, and perfect for dipping in our soup.

And when it came out of the oven I rubbed a clove of garlic all over the top... so good... no butter needed.

It's such a good base... and it really couldn't be easier. Like 10 minutes of active handling time - that's it. I so want to play around with it more... I'll add some herbs (rosemary) next time.... and then cranberries and walnuts the next (trying to imitate my favorite bread from Central Market). I love so many possibilities.

No-Knead Multi-Grain Peasant Bread  

1 cup rye flour

3 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup cracked wheat, uncooked steel cut oats, sunflower seeds, or other textured grain, seeds, or nuts

1 cups white all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon yeast

3 1/4 cups (26 ounces) room temperature water
2 tablespoons dried rosemary

In a large bowl, mix together all the flours, salt, yeast and rosemary. Stir in the water to form a thick, gloppy batter. (If your yeast needs to dissolve in water before being added, do this in a separate bowl before combining with the flours.)

Cover the bowl and let it sit at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight. If necessary, you can refrigerate the dough after this fermentation period for up to a week***. Refrigerating for a few hours also helps make the dough easier to work with and improves the flavor.

When ready to shape and bake the loaves, sprinkle your work surface with a little flour. Turn the cold dough out onto the counter and divide it in two equal pieces. Sprinkle the dough with a little more flour and shape them into round loaves or sandwich loaves, as desired. Cover and let the loaves rise for about 1.5 - 2 hours at room temperature, until nearly doubled in bulk.

A half hour before baking, preheat the oven to 450°. Put a pan in the bottom of the oven to preheat as well. If you're baking round loaves, set a baking stone on the middle rack while the oven is heating.

When the loaves have risen, quickly cut 1/2-inch slashes in the top with a serrated knife and set them in the oven. Pour a half cup of water into the pan at the bottom of the oven and close the oven door.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the loaves are dark brown, sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, and the interior registers 190° on an instant-read thermometer. {This is when I rub a clove of garlic on the top... sooooo good!} Allow to cool fully on a rack before slicing and eating.

***I love this because I'll make it once, cook one loaf one night and then cook the other refrigerated loaf a few nights later.

***Be sure to use a pan and not a glass dish when baking it... when you pour the water in the hot pan it'll break. Learned that the hard way!!

I adapted it from thekitchn who originally adapted it from the Master Recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes

Makes 2 loaves

Banana-Date Scones.

These were a perfect way to use some really ripe bananas. Really moist and cake-like. Yum.

8 ounces dates

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 cup mashed, very ripe bananas (about 3-4 bananas; their skin should be almost black)

2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds

1/3 cup rice milk

1/3 cup canola oil/coconut oil

1/4 cup brown rice syrup

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350*F and lightly grease two medium-size baking sheets.

Finely chop the dates, place in a small bowl, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of flour. Toss the dates to thoroughly coat with the flour, breaking apart any clumps. Set aside

In a large bowl, whisk together the flaxseeds and rice milk. Wish in the mashed banana, canola oil, and brown rice syrup. In a separate bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, while what pastry flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir into the banana mixture until the ingredients are just moistened; the dough will be thick yet sticky. Fold  in the chopped dates and walnuts.

Lightly oil a 1/2-cup measuring cup and scoop generous half-cupfuls of dough onto a baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches of space between the scones.Gently pat down the tops of the scones and dab with a little rice milk if desired.

Bake for 32 to 34 minutes, until browned and firm. Transfer from the baking sheets to a cooling rack to complete cooling.

belly biters: shayne, jen & coco - yum!... ava - boo ... nolan never tried 'em

page 224-225

Peanut Butter Quick Bread.

I have no idea why she calls this "quick" when you make your own yogurt... but it sure is good. I never, ever thought about making my own mayo - til I saw this recipe and thought - why not? It'd be cool to add one more thing I can do from scratch. 

It's a yummy, yummy bread. I double this bad boy and freeze the other loaf for when I want the yumminess but don't want to work for it. Plus, the sweet mayo makes double what you need for one loaf - so why wouldn't you double? I omit the candied ginger. It was good, but not worth going out and buying just for this. And I have yet to find another recipe to use it for... though I haven't really looked. Stick with the chocolate chips or go without. Still yum.

Non-stick cooking spray
1/2 cup Soymilk Sweet Mayo (recipe below or use soy yogurt) 1/2 cup creamy or crunchy natural peanut butter
1 cup plain soy or other nondairy milk
2/3 cup raw sugar {or 1/2 cup agave nectar}
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup candied ginger, finely chopped or 1/2 cup raisins or 1/2 cup nondairy semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with spray.

In a medium bowl, combine mayo, peanut butter, milk, sugar/agave, and extract until emulsified.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Fold wet ingredients into dry, being careful not to over mix. Fold in chips.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Loosely cover with foil if it browns up too quickly while baking.

Place on a wire rack, still in the pan, for about 15 minutes before transferring directly to the rack, and letting cool completely before slicing or storing.

Sweet Soy Mayo

1 cup unsweetened soymilk
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (replace with some/all fresh lemon juice if you fear the acidity)
1/4 cup canola or other mild-flavored oil
3/4 teaspoon packed lemon zest, optional
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon (8 g) cornstarch (I weigh this, and find that you need to not pack the starch if measuring it)

Combine soymilk and vinegar in a medium bowl, let curdle for a few seconds.

Add the rest of the ingredients and with an immersion blender, combine and blend for one minute.

Heat in microwave for one minute: keep a close eye on it to make sure the mixture doesn’t bubble up to make a mess in your microwave. Blend again.

Heat in microwave for one minute again, blend again.

Heat one last minute, let stand to cool.

Once cooled, stir with a fork as a skin will form.

Transfer into an airtight container.

Store in fridge. Stir again before using. Enjoy chilled.

Yield: 1 generous cup

found on have cake, will travel blog

her real soy mayo and aioli, yum!

Oatmeal Drop Scones.

Traditional Scottish skon recipes contained no fat at all. They were eaten immediately, warm and fresh, as these should be. Enjoy them with low-sugar jam.

1 cup old-fashioned oats1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour1 teaspoon sugar/agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon salt1 1/4 cups nondairy milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar

sprinkle with raw sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Grind the oats to a fin meal in a dry blender. Pour into a medium bowl and add the flour, sugar/agave, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.

Mix the nondairy milk and lemon juice or vinegar in a small bowl. Pour into the dry mixture and stir briefly with a fork. Drop by large spoonfuls onto 2 nonstick baking sheets, making 12 mounds. Smooth the tops a bit with a wet fingertips. Bake for about 15 minutes. Split with a fork while still hot.

Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes:

The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes without Drugs

Soyrizo Black Bean Soup with Tender Barley Cornbread

This is one of the first recipes I converted over to our new lifestyle diet. We all love it, and there's never any leftovers. If you want the "real deal", check it out here on Lugubrious Delights or straight from Racheal Ray herself.

1 pound soyrizo (i get it at Sprouts)
1 small onion, chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
2 serrano peppers, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
Salt and ground black pepper
4 14-ounce cans black beans, drained
3/4 to 1 quart vegetable stock, depending on desired thickness
1 ripe avocado
1 lime, cut in wedges
1/2 cup (about a handful) flat-leaf parsley or cilantro, chopped

Place a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add some water to thinly cover the bottom and add the soyrizo. Cook until cooked through (see package instructions for cooking details), about 4-5 minutes. Remove from pan and reserve.

Add some more water to the pan to thinly cover and add the onion, garlic, serrano peppers, smoked paprika, salt and ground black pepper to the pan, and cook until the onions are tender, 5-6 minutes. Keep any eye on the water, add more to prevent sticking and to keep steam-frying.

Add the black beans and vegetable stock to the pan, and bring the liquids up to a bubble. Ladle a couple of scoops of the soup into the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Return the pureed soup to the pot and stir in the soyrizo. 

Serve the soup topped with avocado, a squirt of lime juice and cilantro. YUM!

BELLY BITERS:

all love, love, love this one!

Tender Barley Cornbread

This cornbread is awesome. Super healthy and super fast. It's our new staple. I just ground barley up in my food processor instead of buying overpriced barley flour. Plus, I love the texture the little pieces that don't get quite so ground give.  When it's all done baking, while it's still warm, I spread a little agave nectar on top to sweeten it a little more.

3/4 cup yellow stone-ground cornmeal
1/2 cup barley flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour (regular or pastry flour)
2 tablespoons sugar (or a tad shy of 2 T. agave nectar)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup reduced-fat soy milk
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

Preheat the oven to 425*F. Whisk together the cornmeal, barley and whole wheat flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Add the soy milk and applesauce and stir just until mixed. Scrape into and 8" x 8" nonstick baking pan and smooth the top. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Cut the hot cornbread into squares.

Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes, pg 195

BELLY BITERS:

all love, love, love this one!