Pear Walnut Kamut Need-A-Sweet-Balls

So hard to go without that sweet treat. Subtracting brown sugar, butter, oils, wheat flours, even molasses, I have been hard pressed to do a dessert without resorting to soy yogurt and fruit. But what if you really want something that is not a muffin, not a yogurt, has a chew to it and that cookie-on-the-side feeling?  There was a nearly-too-ripe-to-eat Bosc pear clamoring for my attention, and this is what happened to it! It is heading down the road towards a granola bar, but if I had not used the silicone muffin cups, and had put small spoonfuls on parchment paper (bake 15 minutes), these would really be bite-sized treats. You can use apple, or probably dried apricots or any other fruit/nut combination and if you are going gluten free, you can either use gluten-free oats, or substitute a bit more almond meal and rice puffs. I cannot claim this is the be-all and end-all of Need-A-Sweet-Balls, so experiment and share your discoveries and success!

Pear Walnut Kamut Puff Need-A-Sweet-Balls (makes 6 silicone muffin cups/half full)

1/2  ripe Bosc pear, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup whole rolled oats
1/2 cup Kamut puffs (you could use rice puffs or any other "grain filler")
1 TBLSP almond meal
3 TBLSP  raisins
1 TBLSP maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
dash salt
sprinkle of flax seeds (on top)

1. Peel and chop pear, putting it into a mixing bowl, with chopped walnuts and oats.
2. Add everything else except the flax seeds, spooning this not-quite-sticking-together mixture into silicone muffin cups, half full.
3. Press gently with fingers into a mounded shape, sprinkle sparingly with flax seeds, and bake 20-25 minutes at 350F. Let them cool before trying to pull off the cups.  You can DEFINITELY use a tablespoon onto parchment paper in a baking pan and make bite-sized crisp sweet snack treats!

Pear Walnut Oat Need-A-Sweet-Ball Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 1 Serving (44g) Amount Per Serving % Daily Value* Calories 139 7% Total Fat 8g 12% Saturated Fat 1g 4% Trans Fat Cholesterol 0% Sodium 28mg 1% Total Carbohydrate 16g 5% Dietary Fiber 3g 10% Sugars 7g 0% Protein 3g 7% Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 1% Calcium 3% • Iron 5% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calories needs. courtesy of cronometer.com using my data.

Savory Cornbread Muffins

Still on the search for that tasty cornmeal bite to go along with chili or kidney bean tomato soup (see separate post), I decided to try using frozen corn inside the muffin to add moisture and sweetness.  It is a simple matter, and you can add bits of hot peppers, onion or anything else you want! The texture came out surprisingly coherent though dry between the kernels, just the way I hoped it would. None of that too-mushy, stick to the teeth stuff here! My efforts produced 5 muffin cups worth, an odd number, but turned out fine. After years of avoiding using these silicone muffin cups, I now praise their flexibility. It used to be that when I ran out of batter on the fifth muffin, I had a dilemma with that 6th empty cup, but no more. I'm thinking that if you really want 6 muffins, you can figure out how to add just a little more of each grain, and a dash more water.

Savory Cornbread Muffins (mades 5)

1/2 cup organic whole grain cornmeal
1/2 cup organic brown rice flour
1 Tblsp almond meal
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup frozen (or fresh) corn kernels
1/2 tsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp chili powder (to sprinkle on top)
1/4 tsp kosher salt (rough not fine for tops)
1/8 cup (a handful) sunflower seeds

1. Mix dry ingredients, all except seeds, rough kosher salt and chili powder.
2.  Measure and mix wet ingredients.
4. Preheat oven to 350F. Mix wet into dry. This will be a crumbly soft dough, not a batter feel. Spoon clumps into silicone muffin cups, shaping gently with fingers into a mound.
5. Press a few sunflower seeds into the tops of each muffin, sprinkle just a little kosher salt and chili powder on tops.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, testing with a toothpick. Some will eat this with honey, others might dip 'em in their soup!

savory cornbread muffins Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 1 muffin (65g) Amount Per Serving % Daily Value* Calories 134 7% Total Fat 3g 5% Saturated Fat 0g 2% Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0% Sodium 103mg 4% Total Carbohydrate 24g 8% Dietary Fiber 2g 9% Sugars 1g 0% Protein 3g 7% Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 1% Calcium 1% • Iron 6% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calories needs. courtesy of cronometer.com using my data.

Addendum:  Made these without almond flour, substituted 2 tblsp sorghum flour and added 2 tblsp coconut water... stretched nicely into 6 muffins with just a little encouragement. 8/16/13

Kidney Bean Tomato Soup

Inspired by a vegetable soup that rescued me on a freezing cold day in Troy, NY, I wanted a hearty lunch soup to offset the snow cover that still clings to our little North facing slope upstate. This is where it is wonderful to have a pressure cooker, in order to turn organic dry beans into whatever quantity you want or need in half an hour! If you don't have a pressure cooker, you have to soak the beans and cook them much much longer, or resort to a can of organic beans - which I do, oh yes, I do, when that's the way to get what I want!  My freezer has a bag of whole plum tomatoes that I just literally threw in a plastic freezer bag last summer when they were $8 per bushel ... (I highly recommend doing this, and as soon as they begin to heat in a little water, the skins peel right off). I also have a couple frozen bags of sweet summer corn that I cut off the cob in the height of the season. Feel free to make this with store-bought frozen corn, and a small can of whole or crushed plum tomatoes. You can add chili peppers and more heat in all kinds of ways, but it was good just like this, with a dash of tabasco or other hot sauce to meet each person's tastes.

Kidney Bean Tomato Soup (makes 2 quarts)

1.5 cups dry organic kidney beans, cooked
1 6 oz can tomato paste
2-3 frozen, fresh or canned plum tomatoes
2 medium-large carrots, sliced diagonally
3-4 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
3-4 small stalks celery, roughly chopped
3 small onions, rough chopped diagonally
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp thyme (dry)
pinches of sage, rosemary, chili powder or whatever you like
1/2 tsp salt

1. Cook the kidney beans. I did this in a pressure cooker with a chunk of ginger, smashed garlic, a couple dried twigs of sage and rosemary. It amounts to at least 3 cups of beans, which you can get from a can too.
2. In a soup pot, bring to a boil about 2 cups of water, with the garlic, celery, onions, carrots, plum tomatoes,  tomato paste, and herbs.  Simmer this, with a cocked lid, for about 35 minutes, adding more water as it cooks down.
3. Add the kidney beans, the corn and the pepper flakes, plus salt, and cook another 10 minutes. Serve with an array of hot sauces if that's your thing, or even fresh chopped cilantro or onion.

I make a meal out of a pint, adding savory cornbread muffins and a salad. You can definitely eat less of this and have it with rice, other grain or potato based dishes. The large slabs of carrot give a nice color and texture alongside the dark red beans and bright yellow corn kernels. It is filling and pretty!

Red Bean Tomato Soup

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 pint (538g)

Amount Per Serving		% Daily Value*
Calories	322	16%
Total Fat	2g	2%
Saturated Fat	0g	1%
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol		0%
Sodium	644mg	27%
Total Carbohydrate	63g	21%
Dietary Fiber	14g	58%
Sugars	13g	0%
Protein	19g	37%

Vitamin A	19%	•	Vitamin C	41%
Calcium	11%	•	Iron	33%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calories needs.Courtesy of cronometer.com using my data.

Galangal Black Eyed Peas with Spinach & Rice Noodles

Black eyed peas are beautiful little beans. I admit it, I never had them as a child and now that I'm vegan, I'm never likely to have them the way Southern natives in the USA make them. Seems to me, though, that they have an affinity for flavors going way beyond that.  When I came home from the food co-op with a piece of galangal -- fresh from Hawaii -- I thought of those darling little "peas." Wanting a nurturing meal, I cooked this up and thoroughly enjoyed it. Please feel free to make it without the galangal if you can't get a hold of it. A little more lemon and garlic would be just lovely too. Cooking the peas takes a while, unless you use a pressure cooker. So while you're up to something else, you can let them simmer for 1.5 -2 hours. You can re-ignite them before serving -- probably even make them a day before!

Black Eyed Peas with Spinach & Rice Noodles (serves 3)

1 cup black eyed peas
3 cups water to cook "peas"
1.5 inches of galangal - shaved
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
1/8-1/4 tsp salt
1/4 organic lemon, squeezed & with peel
bunch of fresh spinach
1.5 cups water to cook spinach)
dry thin rice noodle (2 oz "serving")
2-3 cups boiling water to soak noodles

1. Boil a kettle full of water. Measure a cup of peas into a cooking pot. Pour a cup or two of boiled water onto the peas while you peel and shave the galangal, chop the garlic throwing them in with the peas, and then squeeze the lemon into the pot and toss in the rind. Add salt and another cup or two of boiled water, and turn on the fire, allowing the peas to come to a boil, and then turn it down to simmer. Have more water on hand in case you need to add a little towards the end.
2. After stirring and cooking the peas, wash and cook the spinach in a pot with just about 1- 1.5 cups water in it. When the spinach is done, fish it out with a fork and plop it on top of the peas. Let it sit there while you put more boiling water in the spinach water and then soak the rice noodles for about 5-10 minutes, covered. You can cover the peas and spinach (don't stir it), and put a little fire under it to heat it.
3. When the noodles are soft, you can pile them on plates, serve out the peas with spinach on top. The purity of the plain noodle underneath, the black eyed pea mixture in the middle and the sweet spinach on top is so satisfying. This makes a good serving for 2 with a leftover lunch for tomorrow, a moderate serving for three with green beans on the side and/or a salad. Or two big servings!

black eyed spinach peas on rice noodles Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 1 third (580g) Amount Per Serving % Daily Value* Calories 168 8% Total Fat 1g 1% Saturated Fat 0g 1% Trans Fat Cholesterol 0% Sodium 332mg 14% Total Carbohydrate 35g 12% Dietary Fiber 8g 33% Sugars 3g 0% Protein 8g 16% Vitamin A 64% • Vitamin C 54% Calcium 34% • Iron 41% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calories needs. courtesy of cronometer.com using my data.

Banana Blueberry Oat Walnut Muffins

I was remembering when my oldest son was a very little guy and we met another family in the park who were eating the most delicious muffins for their playtime snack. The mother had made them, of course, but she was talking about how her skinny little roadrunner of a child wouldn't eat much. She had packed those muffins with nutrition. I asked about it and she told me that she used orange juice and zucchini and applesauce and amaranth and on and on.  This morning I decided to revisit my unsatisfactory blueberry breakfast treat project (you haven't seen that blog because I removed it as soon as I posted it!).  I used a small grated zucchini and a smashed banana, along with a little buckwheat flour and ground up whole oats. My encouragement to grind up my own oats into flour came from another recipe I had run into somewhere. These muffins remain moist because of the zucchini, banana and blueberries. Be sure to let them cool enough before removing the cups. You can let them sit  upside down for a couple minutes to release a little of the internal moisture. But it's hard to resist them when they are still just a little warm. Oh, did I say that one muffin seems to provide 11% of my daily protein?? Here's how it all shook out.

Banana Blueberry Oat Walnut Muffins (makes 6)

2/3 cup rolled oats - grind into flour

1/3 cup buckwheat flour

2 Tblsp flaxseed meal

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

dash salt

1 Tblsp agave syrup

1 cup grated zucchini 

1 large smashed banana

1/3 cup oat milk

1/3 cup frozen Maine blueberries

1/4 cup walnuts pieces

1. Grind the oats, combine with flour, meal, baking powder and soda and salt. 

2. In a separate bowl, grate the zucchini, smash in the banana, add the agave, oat milk and blueberries.

3. Mix the wet into the dry, until it is one thick doughlike batter. Gently stir in the walnuts. 

4. Over fill 6 muffin cups and bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes.  You must let these cool before trying to remove them from the cups.

Banana Blueberry Oat Walnut Muffins Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 1 muffin (96g) Amount Per Serving % Daily Value* Calories 170 9% Total Fat 6g 9% Saturated Fat 1g 3% Trans Fat Cholesterol 0% Sodium 194mg 8% Total Carbohydrate 27g 9% Dietary Fiber 5g 18% Sugars 6g 0% Protein 6g 11% Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 9% Calcium 8% • Iron 9% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calories needs. Courtesy of cronometer.com using my data.

Spinach Not-A-Fritta-Ta

I really wanted a frittata. No eggs, no oil, what was I doing to myself? Until now I really haven't had any of those "oh I wish I could have..." feelings and I surely didn't want to cave in to that, or feel bad about it. So, as with my yoga and meditation practice, I turn to the sandpaper that is grating on me and I look at the surface that is emerging. It is the practice to use the hard parts and the easy parts. So when the fresh spinach looked good at the co-op, I thought, it's going to be a Spinach Not-A Fritta-Ta...  It turned out to be a light, filling lunch with good protein, fiber, calcium, vitamin c and other lovely attributes.  There are lots of possibilities to play with this format, and to mess around with crusts under or over it, thin tomato slice topping or even a different vegetable base. If you don't tolerate soy, you can even skip the tofu and use more of the chickpea flour "sauce" to bind it together.

Spinach Not-A Fritta-Ta

half a bunch of fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley
medium onion chopped medium fine
half a block of tofu (7 oz)
10 Picholine green olives in bits (optional)
small zucchini, grated
1 tsp herbes de Provence
1.5 tsp tamari
handful sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup chick pea flour
1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
(nice with 1-2 Tblsp tahini)

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Chop spinach, parsley, onion, olives. Grate zucchini.
3. Mash tofu with all the chopped ingredients. Add herbes de Provence and tamari.
4. Put this in a large cast iron fry pan/skillet. Flatten it, mashing it in a little. Put the mushrooms in the top surface, pushing them in a bit. (I used whole little bunashemeji and another time, 3 cut up cremini.)
5. Mix the chick pea flour and soy milk into a medium thick sauce. Pour this onto the surface of the not-a fritta-ta.
6. Bake at the high heat about 10 minutes, then turn it down to 400F for 15-20 more minutes.

This went very well with a slightly spicy kimchee and some sweet grape tomatoes. A delightful lunch for any time. My husband and I immediately started dreaming up variations:  "This would be good with leeks." "Imagine this with a little chickpea flour crust under it, like a quiche." "Could work with broccoli too." etc.  Go ahead -- give it a try with anything you like!  If you leave it in a while longer it will crisp more. Forget the eggs, this is not-a fritta-ta and has its own place in the food pantheon!

Spinach Tofu Not-a-Fritta-ta

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 quarter not-a fritta-ta (161g)

Amount Per Serving		% Daily Value*
Calories	126	6%
Total Fat	6g	9%
Saturated Fat	1g	4%
Trans Fat
Cholesterol		0%
Sodium	313mg	13%
Total Carbohydrate	11g	4%
Dietary Fiber	4g	14%
Sugars	3g	0%
Protein	10g	21%

Vitamin A	11%	•	Vitamin C	39%
Calcium	35%	•	Iron	16%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calories needs. courtesy of cronometer.com using my data.