Spicy Sichuan Style Green Beans

Scrumptious green beans by Kalynskitchen.com

Minor modifications were made due to personal preference.  I could eat these every night!

 

Ingredients

• 1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into halves 
• 2 T gluten free tamari or soy sauce (low sodium is better if you don't like things too salty)
• 1 T rice vinegar (not seasoned)
• 2 tsp. coconut sugar (or preferred sweetener)
• 1/4  red pepper flakes 
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper 
• 2 T minced garlic
• 2 T peeled and minced ginger root
• 1 T olive oil 
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions

1. Wash and trim green beans 
2. In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, rice vinegar, sweetener, red pepper flakes and pepper.
3. Use a large frying pan with a tight-fitting lid.  When the pan is hot on high heat, add the beans and 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook on medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes or until the beans start to get tender.
4. Remove the lid and continue to cook until the water is all evaporated.
5. Add the oil, minced garlic and ginger and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring several times so the garlic and ginger don't burn. 
6. Add the soy sauce mixture, let it come to a boil and cook for about 2 minutes more, until the sauce thickens and coats the beans. You want them tender-crisp.

Note: Recipe works well with sautéed kale too

Creamy Spanish Gazpacho

Gazpacho is my favourite food in the summer. I adore the chunky, spicy, salsa-like variety and object to fancy watermelon and "white" gazpacho soups. More recently, I have opened up to the idea of creamy gazpacho, and may have even become addicted to this more authentic style of cold, Spanish soup. I have even converted a few gazpacho-haters with a slightly modified version of this recipe.

Ingredients

• 5-6 ripe juicy tomatoes  
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 white onion (or 4 green onions for a milder onion taste)
• 1/2 green pepper
• 1 red pepper
• 1 cucumber (about 6-7 inches long)
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar (or more if you like it tangy)  
• ¹⁄₂ tablespoon salt
• 1/2  cup virgin olive oil (or less if you prefer less fat)
• 1 piece gluten-free bread (or more if it is small)  
• handful of chopped cilantro 
• 1 ts of red pepper flakes 
• Optional: Garnish with chopped green onions, green and red peppers and cucumber

 

 Instructions

1. Remove stems from tomatoes and cut into 4-5 pieces each
2. Peel the garlic clove
3. Peel the onion and chop
4. Remove seeds from peppers and chop coarsely 
5. Peel cucumber and cut into several pieces
6. Place bread in a bowl with water in order to soak it. Once soaked, squeeze as much water out as possible, with your hands. Set aside.
7. In a high speed blender, add tomatoes, garlic, onion, pepper, cucumber, bread. Add remaining ingredients and blend at the highest speed and power.  Continue until the soup is creamy and there are no pieces left. 
8. Pour into a glass bowl, cover and let it chill overnight in the fridge.

Charoset (Passover)

My mother always made delicious Charoset on Passover. I didn't like it as a child and still don't eat it, other than what is required of me - a small, matzoh sandwich representing mortar the Israelites used to make bricks while they were slaves in Egypt. Now that the torch has been passed on to me, I feel pressure to make traditional foods "the right way". 

I've used the following recipe from Epicurious for the last few years.  Family members say they like it. Maybe they are just being polite, it's hard to say.   
 

I will keep making it this way until someone complains :) 

 

Ingredients

• 3 medium organic Gala or Fuji apples, peeled, cored, and finely diced

• 1 1/2 cups walnut halves, lightly toasted, cooled, and coarsely chopped
  1/2 cup of sweet red wine such as Manischevitz

• 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon packed coconut sugar

Instructions

1. Use a food processor on pulse for a thicker "paste" consistency (no Vitamix, please). My family likes it this way. Alternatively, you can simply stir ingredients in a bowl for a chunkier texture. 
2. Add more cinnamon, sugar or wine to taste. 
3. Serve at room temperature.

 Makes about 4 cups    

                                                                           

Creamy Vegan Chanterelle Soup

If you love mushrooms, this creamy and earthy soup is for you.

I make soup often in the winter and rarely find recipes that are worthy of posting. I adore this one and have made it a few times. The recipe works well with some modifications such as gluten-free flour, vegan butter, vegetable broth instead of chicken and a mix of mushrooms. Fresh chanterelles aren't always available so I re-hydrate one package of dried chanterelles and use whatever fresh mushrooms I can find.

Ingredients

• 1 pound chanterelle mushrooms, sliced (about 5 cups of fresh mushrooms. You can also use a mix of available mushrooms - fresh and dried)
• 6 cups low-sodium homemade or store bought vegetable broth
• 6-7 tablespoons vegan butter, divided (e.g., Earth Balance)
• 1 1/2 medium shallots, thinly sliced (about 1 cup), plus a couple of minced green onions for garnish
• 3 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon gluten-free flour
• 1 cup dry sherry or white wine
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 thyme sprigs, plus 1/2 teaspoon picked thyme leaves (or substitute dried thyme if that's all you have)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Optional: TB cornstarch mixed with small amount of cold water

 

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, add veggie stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and keep warm.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons of vegan butter in another medium saucepan over medium heat (olive oil could be used if you prefer). Add shallots and garlic and cook for about 8 minutes. Stir constantly until very soft but not browned.
3. Add mushrooms to saucepan with garlic and onions, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes. You want excess liquid to evaporate and mushrooms to sizzle.  
4. Add flour and stir for about 30 seconds. Add sherry or white wine, stirring constantly and scraping bottom of saucepan until it is thick and syrupy, about 1 minute.
5. Combine contents of two saucepans: Add veggie broth to the saucepan containing onions, garlic, mushrooms, flour and wine. Add bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Let simmer for 30 minutes.
6. Discard bay leaves and thyme and transfer soup to a high speed blender and pulse for about a minute. On full speed, add 4 TB of butter – one at a time until soup is completely smooth.
7. Depending on the flour and mushrooms you have used, you might want to add a slurry of cornstarch to thicken the soup a bit. 
8. Season to taste with salt and pepper or extra dried thyme
9. Ladle soup into bowls and add green onions for garnish. If you are not serving soup immediately, the original instructions suggest that you heat oil in a medium saucepan over high heat until lightly smoking. Add 2 tablespoons water and the remaining tablespoon of butter. Ladle soup into bowls, add garnish and serve immediately.

Note: I've cut out some steps and tried to clarify the original instructions but feel free to follow all the steps listed by the author, J. Kenji López-Alt.

Cabbage slaw

This cabbage slaw recipe is intended for fish tacos but I'm sure it can be made into a vegetarian dish. While cabbage and creamy coleslaw aren't my thing, I really enjoy this tangy slaw as a side salad.

Ingredients

• 4 cups shredded cabbage

• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro (or more if you like)

• 2 green onions, minced

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 3 tbsp distilled white vinegar

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 2 tsp coconut sugar or sweetener of choice

 

Instructions 

Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Let it marinate for a few hours before serving. It's even better the next day!

Almond flour banana muffins

These are great as a quick breakfast or healthy snack. The author, For the Love of Basil, recommends slathering the muffin with peanut butter. I prefer a few chocolate chips :)

Ingredients

• 2 ripe medium bananas
• ½ cup almond flour (I use homemade)
• ½ cup rolled gluten-free oats
• 2 tablespoons flaxseed
• ¼ cup almond butter
• 1 organic egg
• 2 tablespoons honey or liquid sweetener of choice
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Optional: vegan chocolate or carob chips

 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Add flax and oats to food processor or blender until it reaches the consistency of flour. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until it is completely mixed (Note: original recipe throws all ingredients in at once).
3. Grease your muffin tin (e.g., coconut oil) or use silicone liners. Equally divide the batter among the cups- it should make about 12 muffins.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the tops of the muffins start to brown a little.

Baby bum spray

I've tried a combination of recipes and this one seems to work best for us. Most recipes include boiled water, soap, oils and disinfectant.

• 4oz water - boiled 
• 1 TB olive oil 
• 1 TB coconut oil (warmed)
• 4-5 drops of tea tree oil 
• 5-10 drops of essential oils 
• 1/2 - 1 TB liquid castile soap (you don't want it too "soapy")

Adding the water last, combine all ingredients--- swirl, don't shake (it will foam). Place into a 4oz spray bottle.  Spray directly onto skin or on a wipe.  Mixture can also be used on sticky hands when you are on-the-go.

Check out this website for additional recipes:
http://www.zany-zebra.com/cloth-wipe-solution.shtml