A Few Days Late

This is Monday's post that I didn't get the chance to post so I am doing it now. Monday morning started off wonderful. I got up bright and early and met my friend, Loring for a spin class. I. LOVE. SPIN. It is so much fun and such a good work out. I literally look forward to every single class. After the class was over I went and did a large grocery shop. I was expecting it to take about an hour, but ended up taking more than 2 hrs...probably because I have about 5 different stores I like to shop at. All of them have a few items I like to get that I can't get anywhere else. 

After I packed all of the groceries into our apartment I was absolutely starving. I normally eat breakfast around 7 or 7:30 am, but on Monday I didn't get to eat until 10:30 am. I decided on a Green Monster Smoothie. 2 cups spinach, 1 frozen banana, 1 cup frozen strawberries, 2 tbsp vega protein powder. Topped with a drizzle of plain yogurt, brown rice crisp cereal and fresh raspberries. 

This was a HUGE bowl and it was exactly what I wanted. Cold, slurpable and filling!

After breaky, I cleaned out my fridge and put my groceries away.

Look at those beautiful colours. Isn't it amazing that mother nature can produce such beautiful things?

My extremely stocked fridge...

Fruit bowl. Bananas, cantaloupe, nectarines, peaches, papaya, avocado and a watermelon (which didn't fit in the pic).

Raspberries. B-e-a-utiful. After all of the groceries were put away I decided to make a few things I had been meaning to try.

Garlic scape pesto from http://ohsheglows.com

I came across these bad boys on a visit to the Root Cellar. Garlic scapes. I have been looking for these things forever and was super excited when I found them.

I decided to make a garlic scape pesto.

Garlic Scape Pesto:

3 garlic scapes, rinsed and chopped

1 1/2 cups of vegan parmesan cheese (recipe to follow)

Juice of half a lemon (2 tbsp)

1/4 cup oil of choice (I used safflower)

handful of fresh spinach for colour

Directions:

1. Put ingredients in food processor and process until desired consistency is reached.

For dinner I cooked up some wild rice with chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander, garlic, oil and a little salt 'n peppa. I wrapped up this mexican style rice with black beans, avocado and a squirt of lime in a....swiss chard leaf. Fresh, crunchy and delicious. Drizzle of nacho cheese sauce on top! I also love wrapping up bananas and a schmeer of PB in chard leaves, but that's another story...

Nacho Cheese Sauce:

3/4 cup raw cashews

3 T nutritional yeast (can be found at any health food store)

1/2 cup water

1 medium bell pepper (I used red)

1 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp garlic (I used garlic powder)

pinch of paprika, cayenne pepper and salt (to taste)

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

http://edibleperspective.com

This sauce is seriously amazing. I have been eating it on top of rice, bread, rice cakes and I've also been pairing it with the garlic scape pesto. Mmmm mmmm good. They are both delicious as dips for fresh veggies.

Since I was on a cooking frenzy, I decided to make a Cinnamon Coconut Raisin Bake. I was hoping this would last the week. I was sadly mistaken.

Cinnamon Coconut Raisin Bake:

3/4 cup chickpea flour (make buy at health food store or grind your own by blending dry chickpeas in a blender until powdery)

1/2 cup raw buckwheat flour (same instructions as the chickpea)

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1 cup water

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp coconut oil (melted)

1/3 cup raisins 

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Grease medium sized casserole dish.

3. Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet. Add dry into wet. Mix and put in casserole dish.

4. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the sides pull away and the top is brown and cracked.

Top with PB, jam, coconut butter etc...the possibilities are endless. It's a great, nutritious snack.

One more recipe and I'm off to bed. It is WAY past my bedtime. A lovely co-worker of mine, Ally, kindly asked me to put up the recipe for the chickpea stew with dumplings last week, so here it is!!

Chickpea Stew with Dumplings:

• 1 c. onion, chopped
• 1 c. celery, chopped
• 1 c. carrots, chopped
• 1 T. minced garlic
• 1/2 t. salt
• 3/4 t. curry powder
• 1/2 t. dried oregano
• 3/4 t. dried rosemary
• 1/2 t. dried basil
• 4 c. vegetable stock
• One 14 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 T. cornstarch
• 1 T. apple cider vinegar

For the dumplings:

• 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 c. unbleached organic flour
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. dried oregano
• 1/2 t. dried basil
• 1/2 c. non-dairy or organic milk
• 1 T. vegan margarine (i.e. Earth Balance), melted

Instructions:

• Spritz your pan with cooking spray or oil and place over medium high heat.
• Add onion, celery and carrot and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until slightly softened and starting to brown.
• Add garlic, salt, curry, oregano, rosemary and basil and sauté for an additional minute, until aromatic.
• Carefully pour in vegetable stock, chickpeas and vinegar and bring to a low boil.
• Put the cornstarch in a small bowl and remove a ladleful of the hot broth from the stew base and add it to the bowl. Whisk to remove any lumps.
• Pour the slurry back into the pan, while stirring vigorously. Return to a boil and then lower heat to low.
• Meanwhile for dumplings, in a medium bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, oregano and basil.
• Add milk and melted margarine, and stir until a dough just forms. Do not over mix.
• Plop dough by heaping spoonful on top of stew until dough is gone.
• Cover with lid and allow to “bake” over low for 15-17 minutes.
• As much as you may want to lift the lid to peek at these, don’t do it.
• Serve while hot and slightly doughy.

Courtesy of http://peasandthankyou.com.

Hope you all have a great night! I have some awesome recipes to share with you very very soon. Think banana ice cream and kale chips. Are you intrigued?

Night,

Amy