Dairy-free gluten-free oatmeal "muffins"

I've gotten pretty tired of just eating oatmeal every morning, and I wanted something that would almost act like a granola bar that I could take out the door. The topping choices are endless, and this recipe is both gluten free (as long as you get gluten-free oats and baking soda), and dairy free. Yay!

Ingredients:
-1 egg, beaten
-1tsp. Vanilla
-1/2 cup coconut milk
-1 mashed banana
-2 cups gluten free (or not), uncooked rolled oats
-1tsp. Cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. baking powder
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1 tbsp. honey
-1 tbsp. ground flax seeds or chia seeds (optional)
-toppings of your choice (chocolate pieces, frozen/fresh fruit, nuts, coconut, etc.)


Directions:
-preheat oven to 350 degrees
-mix egg, vanilla, coconut milk, banana, honey together until blended together
-add oats, flax/chia seeds, cinnamon, baking powder and salt, and mix
-add toppings before placing in oven
-bake for approx. 15 minutes
-cool before enjoying, and you can freeze these to enjoy anytime! For defrosting, toaster oven for a few minutes or microwave for 35 seconds should do it. 


Cheers, foodies!

Sweet roasted vegetable curry

This curry dish is similar to Thai coconut curry, but with Traditional Indian curry spices. Also, the veggies are pre-roasted so the stove cooking time is short. This recipe could also be useful with any roasted vegetable leftovers from the night before. The parsnips and yams give it the unique sweetness that makes it great for cold winter days.



Ingredients:
-1 large parsnip, peeled and sliced
-1 small yam, peeled and cut 
-1 onion, half of it cut in large pieces and half of it diced very small.
-3 cloves garlic,peeled and left whole
-1 sprig rosemary, left whole
-2 tbsp. olive oil
-2 tbsp. coconut oil
-1 redbell pepper, cut into large pieces
-1 zucchini, cut into medallions
-1/2 cup chickpeas
-small piece of ginger, very finely diced
-1 1/2 cups coconut milk
-2 cups water
-2-3 tablespoons of curry powder
-1/2 tsp. corriander
-1/2 tsp. cumin
-a few pieces of saffron, if you have it
-salt and pepper, a few dashes of each    


Directions:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-place all vegetables into a pyrex or ceramic baking dish, (not the finely diced onions or e chickpeas).
-cover vegetables with olive oil and place rosemary sprig in dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if you like.
-bake for approx. 45 minutes, the yams and parsnips may still be crunchy, this is fine.
-prepare a deep saute pan on the stove with the coconut oil on medium high.
-saute diced onions for 2 minutes, then add ginger and chickpeas and saute for 4-5 minutes, or until the onions have cooked down.
-add water to the pan and bring to a boil.
-once boiling, add-in the roasted vegetables and bring to a boil.
-add-in the coconut milk and all of the spices.
-cook at a simmer for 15-20 minutes
-I served it over brown rice (its better for you!), but you can use couscous, quinoa or white rice as well, whichever your preference is.

Cheers, foodies!

Quick, easy, crusty bread

You can play with this recipe and add so many other wonderful things to your homemade bread. Some suggestions? Rosemary and Lemon Zest. Kalamata olives. Cranberries. The possibilities are endless!

Ingredients:
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 cups water


Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast.  
-(NOTE: when you add in the water, make sure it isn't too hot or too cold, because it will kill the yeast! 120-130 degrees is best. )
-Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms.  
-Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 - 18 hours. Overnight works great.  
-Heat oven to 450 degrees.  
-When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes.  -Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. 
-Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating. -Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough. 
-Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes.  
-After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes.  
-Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.


Cheers, foodies!

Slow Cooker Colcannon

So, I want to make it very clear that I'm not going to simply copy the recipes from my slow cooker cookbook. I tend to add things here and there to make each of my recipes unique. On that note, the first recipe I made out of this book is a Colcannon. This is a very Irish dish involving cabbage and potatoes. The cookbook suggests all gluten free recipes, and this one is also dairy-free, thanks to me! Also, I want to mention that this dish TASTES better than it LOOKS. Haha...

Ingredients:
-2 1/2 pounds potatoes (I used fingerlings, because they're so creamy and sweeter), if youre using russets, peel and chop them into large pieces. I left my fingerlings alone because they're small.
-1tsp salt
-6 tbsp earth balance butter substitute (or regular butter)
-3 cups chopped green cabbage (I also added raddichio and a little kale)
-1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or whole milk)
-3 green onions
-herbs and spices of your choosing to taste
-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or to taste) at the end


Directions:
-Cook potatoes in salted water for ten minutes, or until a fork can poke through them.
-Turn slow cooker on (low for 4-5 hours, or high for 2 1/2-3 hours).
-Add "butter" to slow cooker, then add in potatoes.
-Add in chopped greens.
-An hour before serving, add in almond milk and stir.
-Turn off slow cooker, use a masher or fork to squish the potatoes into the liquid.
-(I added a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar to give it some zing at the end, and you can add ham or bacon for a more savory addition.)


Cheers, foodies!

Spanish-Style Halibut Tacos.

Tonight was a night of satisfying cravings! I have been craving Halibut, AND I have been craving tacos - thus spawned halibut tacos! Jill was the real inspiration behind this dish, as she introduced me to halibut and now I love it!

Cook time : approx. 15 minutes

Ingredients:

-1 pound fresh halibut, preferably skin-off

-1 can/jar salsa verde

-1 can diced tomatoes (can be with garlic or herbs)

-1/2 chopped white onion

-1 can refried black beans

-1 yellow tomato, chopped

-1/2 bell pepper, chopped

-1/2 poblano pepper, chopped small

-1/4 cup chopped olives

-1/2 chopped purple cabbage

-lemon slices, to taste

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1/2 tsp. pepper

-1 tbsp. olive oil

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees

-Cut halibut into a few large pieces.

-Preferably in a cast iron skillet, pour olive oil in and lay halibut in skillet.

-Put halibut in the oven for approx. 8 mins. (fish should NOT be fully cooked).

-While halibut is in the oven, add chopped onions and ½ cup diced tomatoes to the refried beans in a saucepan, heat to serve.

-Bring out of the oven, put skillet on the stove on medium-high heat.

-Break large pieces into smaller and smaller pieces, until all are broken apart.

-Pour about 1/2 cup of salsa and 1/2 cup diced tomatoes into skillet and saute until fish is just cooked.

-Garnish with other vegetables and lemon.

Cheers, foodies!

Grilled Butternut Squash

This recipe may sound weird because butternut squash is commonly used in soups and roasted fall dishes or pies. However, this dish brings the best part of summer -BBQing- into a fall mood. Give it a try, it was delicious!

Grilled Butternut Squash:

Prep time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

-1 butternut squash

-1/2 cup olive oil

-1/4 cup red wine vinegar

-1/4 cup honey

-1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, thyme or oregano

-5 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped

-salt

Directions:

-Slice the squash lengthwise, then scoop out the seeds and guts.

-Slice the squash into half-moon pieces, about 1/2 inch thick

-Combine the oil, vinegar, honey, garlic and herb in a bowl and mix well.

-Place squash in a large ziploc or vacuum sealable bag and add oil mixture.

-Remove as much air as possible before sealing.

-Place in refrigerator for at least two hours.

-Heat grill to medium-hot

-Remove pieces from bag and place on grill. Allow excess oil to drip back into the bag and save for later.

-Season with a pinch of kosher salt on each piece and cook on both sides for 9 minutes.

-Remove squash from grill and drizzle with remaining oil mixture.

-Cover tightly with foil and allow to sit for 12 minutes, then serve.

Cheers, foodies!

Quick Easy Bread and Two Special Breads!

So, I recently made a couple delicious breads that I promised I'd post the recipes to. This is for you, Jen! And for everyone else that would love to make a quick loaf of bread every once and awhile. Sweet or savory, this recipe caters to all. However, it is not very exciting, so as the book I found it from says, "use it as a basic guide to create your own special breads." (found in Making Quick Breads by Barbara Karoff)

Your Classic Easy Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

-1 1/2 cups unbleached flour (you have the freedom to use special flours as well, such as amaranth, buckwheat, cornmeal, graham, millet, oat, quinoa, rice, rye, soy, triticale and whole wheat. I will post my two spinoff versions below)

-1/2 tablespoon baking powder

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-1/4 cup softened butter or margarine

-1/2 cup sugar

-1 egg

-3/4 cup milk

Directions:

-In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt.

-In a separate bowl, cream the sugar and butter together.

-Stir the milk and add the liquid mixture quickly to the dry ingredients.

-VERY IMPORTANT: Do not overmix!! Fold slowly with spatula just until all of the ingredients are moistened!

-Spoon mixture into greased loaf pans, no more than 2/3 way full.

-Bake at 350 degrees until a tester comes out clean, start with 20 minutes and go from there.

-Cool in the pans for ten minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

My Special Bread Substitutions:

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Butter Sweet Bread:

-Substitute flour with brown rice flour

-Substitute coconut milk for whole milk.

- Substitute sugar with raw turbinado sugar

-Substitute butter with homemade or canned pumpkin butter

Gluten-Free Savory Tomato Bread:

-Substitute brown rice flour for flour

-Substitute raw turbinado sugar for white sugar

-Take 1 cup sweet small cherry tomatoes (cut in half), and 1/4 cup coarsely chopped onions, tossed with dill and oregano to taste.

-Right when batter has been mixed and is fully moistened, add tomato onion mix. Save some tomatoes and onions for the top of the loaf.

-Takes 10-15 minutes longer to bake than regular breads because the tomatoes are juicy.

 Check the Helpful Breakmaking Tips post!!

Cheers, foodies!!!