Cilantro Ginger Sauce

 In a blender:

2 C packed cilantro leaves

1/4 C + 1 T vegetable oil

1/2 jalapeño pepper

1" peeled fresh ginger root, finely grated

2 T lime juice

3 scallions, green part only

Oatmeal Cookies

 

Preheat oven to 350F

Mix together:

2 C almond flour

1 3/4 C old fashioned oats

2 T coconut sugar

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 T ground flax seed (optional)

Then mix in:

2 T vanilla

2 T honey

2 T coconut oil

2 eggs

Fold in:

1/3 C chopped dates

1/3 C dried cherries or cranberries

1/4 C walnuts or pecans

1/4 C cocoa bits (or chopped baking chocolate)

Form into 1 T cookie shaped lumps and bake 10 minutes.

Best Chocolate Cake

So moist! So chocolatey! So simple to make!

Preheat oven to 320F (160C)

1/2 C cocoa powder
1/2 C coconut flour (flour not flake)
2 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t cinnamon (I use Ceylon Cinnamon from Penzeys. Worth. It.)
pinch of sea salt

6 eggs
1/2 C honey or maple syrup
1/2 light cooking oil (I like rice bran oil)
1/2 C milk or coconut milk
1 t vanilla

In a mixing bowl add cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, & salt and combine.

Add eggs, honey, vanilla, milk, & oil, whisk until smooth and combined.

Oil a 8" or 9" round cake pan. Cut a circle of parchment paper or paper bag and place in the bottom of the pan, oil that too.
Bake 45 minutes or until wooden skewer comes out clean. Let cool.

Recipe adapted from The Healthy Chef

Doesn't need frosting or even a fork, but if you want to dress it up, try Rich Chocolate Frosting

Salad Dressings

Almost all commercial salad dressings have added sugar. Luckily, it's quick and easy to make your own! Here are my 3 favorites. Not so much a recipe as guidelines. Play with amounts and ingredients and make what you like best.

Creamy Parmesan & Balsamic Vinaigrette

Vinaigrette
Delicious in 2 minutes

1/3 C vinegar that you like the taste of. My favs are balsamic or pomegranate
2/3 C olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 t fresh or dried herb that you like - I like basil or tarragon. Mince or shred fresh herbs.
salt and pepper to taste

Put ingredients in a mason jar with a lid and shake. Taste and adjust seasonings.

I leave this on the counter (up to a week) because the oil will solidify in the fridge. Shake before use!


Creamy Parmesan
Delicious in 5 minutes

1/3 C mayonnaise
2/3 C plain yoghurt (if using Greek yoghurt, add 1/4 C milk or dressing is too thick)
1 T lemon or lime juice (juice of 1/2 lemon or 1 lime)
1 C parmesan cheese, finely grated (can substitute other hard cheeses)
2 t white wine or rice vinegar
2 t dijon mustard
1 t soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce (has added sugar so I used GF soy sauce)
3 t freshly ground peppercorn
salt to taste (cheese is salty so you don't need much)

optional - red pepper flakes or sauce if you like a little hot with your zing

Put ingredients in a mason jar and stir. Store in refrigerator.
Adapted from A Fork's Tale

Blue Cheese
Delicious in 7 minutes

1/3 C mayonnaise
2/3 C plain yoghurt (if using Greek yoghurt)
1 T lemon or lime juice (juice of 1/2 lemon or 1 lime)
2/3 - 1 C blue cheese, crumbled (bleu, gorgonzola)
2 t white wine or rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Put ingredients in a mason jar and stir. Store in refrigerator.

Rich Chocolate Frosting

This delicious frosting is easy if you plan ahead. I keep a can of coconut cream in my fridge so I can make it any time. This is Simone's adaptation of Oh She Glows 2-Ingredient Chocolate Fudge Frosting.

1 can coconut cream (I use Trader Joe's)
6 rectangles unsweetened Baker's Chocolate
3 T agave syrup (or honey)

Chill coconut cream in the can overnight.

Turn can upside down to open. Pour off liquid. Spoon 3 tablespoons from the can into a small saucepan and melt over low heat. Add chocolate and stir to melt. Add agave. (You can substitute honey, but amount may be different. Start with 2 T and add to taste.)

Cool saucepan by setting it in a shallow pan of cold water.

When contents are cool but not solidifying, put remaining coconut cream in a mixing bowl. Whip while dribbling in chocolate mixture.

Chill 3 hours before frosting. Frosted cake or cupcakes will need to be kept cool before serving.

Watermelon Ginger Frappé

At the height of summer, you buy a big watermelon. Eat a bunch of it. Let the juice run down your chin, eat all around the rind and save the most central bit for last, for it is the sweetest. When everyone has had their fill, slice the remaining watermelon into thin slices, a quarter inch or so. Cut the rind off and cut the sliced melon into pieces no bigger than 3" in any direction. Line a baking sheet with cling wrap. Lay all your thin sliced melon on the baking sheet, adding more layers of cling wrap and melon as needed, depending on how much melon you have. Freeze the melon on the baking sheet. Next day, move the melon (but not the cling wrap) to gallon freezer ziplocks and store in the freezer until you need a fancy drink.

In a blender, add frozen melon and Q Ginger until it's the consistency of a slushee. It's delicious! (If corn syrup & processed sugar doesn't bother you, make this with ginger beer. Yum!)

Overnight Oatmeal Pudding

I grew up in a grits house, believing oatmeal to be a disgusting bowl of snot. It's taken 40 years to change my feelings towards oatmeal, and this recipe was the turning point. I also love savory oatmeal, which will be a future post. If you are celiac, use Bob's Red Mill's certified gluten-free oatmeal to make this or any other oatmeal recipe.

In a mason jar, add:
1/4 C Old Fashioned Oven Toasted Oats
1/4 C yoghurt
1/3 C milk
1 T flax or chia seeds (optional)

Stir until well blended, then add:
1/2 - 1 C of fruit - berries, peaches, applesauce, whatever you like.

Leave it in the fridge overnight, and up to 5 days. The oatmeal soaks up the liquids and turns into a delicious, portable breakfast.