Freekeh Pancake with a Poached Egg

This recipe required a little improvisation, as it is neither gluten free or vegan. But two different versions were created and it worked!

Version one used rice instead of freekeh and a normal poached egg. (Tim's version) I tried the rice version as well, and I think I like it even better than freekeh. Would be easy to make again in the future with variations on rice and spices.

Version two used freekeh, a flax egg, and minimalist baker's vegan omelet (http://minimalistbaker.com/simple-vegan-omelet/) on top. It was delicious! 

Black Lentil Salad with Tzaziki Sauce -Jillian

Loved it, the kind of meal I want to eat lots of. I used store bought coconut yogurt for the Tzaziki and it was excellent (after a failed attempt earlier that day to make my own yogurt). I couldn't find pea shoots so used radish sprouts, but now I really want to find pea shoots to try that.

Sushi -Jillian

I'm a bit amazed that I was able to make sushi. And that on top of that, it stayed together like sushi and even tasted like it.  I was very pleased. 

The only downside was that I found this recipe quite time consuming, what with all the chopping and wrapping. But it would be quite an enjoyable meal to make if you have help. Or even for company that wanted to try wrapping their own. 

At first my sauce was very strong. But then, I did not have white miso- I had yellow, so maybe that made a difference? In the end, I doubled all the other ingredients besides the miso and added a bit of warm water to thin, then it was just right.

Broiled Rosemary Ginger Grapefruit with Macadamia Nut Cream -Jillian

This was an energizing and citrusy way to start a morning. I probably won't go out of my way to make it again though. Tim doesn't like grapefruit, and I like them so much fresh that I'd rather just eat them plain. Also, this recipe requires a broiler, and that causes me great stress. I'm always anticipating the food will burst into flames. I get out the baking soda just in case. 

The macadamia nut cream is good but a tad too sweet as is. We've been dolloping the leftovers into espressos, and that has been quite delightful.

Beet Party Salad -Jillian

Indeed a very pretty salad! I've been on a beet kick lately, so I really enjoyed it. Would be a fairly simple one to make at the beginning of the week so there can be a beet party for days.

Chipotle Sweet Potato Breakfast Tacos -Jillian

These tacos didn't really work for me. I liked aspects of it, but it didn't all come together. I love the idea of sweet potato tacos, but I think next time I would roast the sweet potatoes and use cabbage that's been slightly pickled to create more flavors. I also made them for dinner instead of breakfast, and I think they would be too time consuming to make in the morning as breakfast tacos. Or maybe I just didn't do them right.

Pecan Cranberry Pie -Jillian

Made for dessert the night I made the butternut kasha stacks. 

A nice pie, however it was extremely sweet for me. I had to use brown rice syrup instead of the barley malt because of the gluten, so maybe that changed things. I couldn't eat very much of it, so it was a mostly Tim Pie. :)

Seems like a good standard crust to keep in mind though.

Butternut Stacks with Kale Pesto, Kasha, and Butter Beans -Jillian

Definitely one of my favorites from her so far! One to keep in mind for repeating. I used her raw cashew cheese instead of goat, and it was perfect. 

Pickled Fennel, Grapefruit, Cabbage, and Avocado Salad -Jillian

Definitely worth pickling fennel again. Seems like a nice thing to have on hand. 

I like this salad a lot, I would make it again. Next time I would slightly pickle the cabbage a bit too though.

I didn't have pink peppercorns, so I tried Szechuan peppercorns since they are slightly reddish. That was a spicy mistake. Next time just use regular pepper if no pink available.

Roasted Red Pepper Walnut Dip

 

Roasted Red Pepper sauce proved to be a perfect topping for a Mediterranean bowl of quinoa, spinach, hummus, olives, red onion, and avocado. I was surprised by the smooth taste, bursting with flavor, when roasting the peppers and combining then with nuts, spices, olive oil, and lemon juice.

This is a great dip for raw vegetables and pita bread or crackers.

Raw Cashew Yogurt (with Maple and Blackberry)

What could be better on a snowy February morning than Cashew yogurt with leftover Pear/Berry Crumble or granola?  Who would have thought that you could make yogurt out of cashews, lemon juice, and a probiotic capsule?  It is so good!

                   Good News!

"Across the miles" has just gotten closer!  The 1,750 miles that separated Jillian and I has become just 280 miles. This yogurt was made by both of us (mostly Jillian) in the same kitchen.  Happy Day!  

Pear Apple Blackberry Crumble

Is anyone beginning to see a pattern with my posts?
I love to bake and I love breakfast!  At some point I will need to start to make main, plant-based dishes, but for now, here is another dessert which is so filled with good things that is can be served for breakfast as well.








I used a variety of berries and threw in some rhubarb to make it more of a "bumbleberry" filling. Yum! Cardamom and cinnamon added a nice spiciness.  The crumble is reminiscent  of traditional apple crisp, but uses coconut oil instead of butter.  I server this bumbleberry crumble with Raw Cashew Yogurt (view in a later post).

Carrot Rhubarb Muffins

I made these muffins with rhubarb from my garden. My rhubarb plant

has quite a history as it originated in my Great-Grandfather's

garden in Pennsylvania.  Each generation has taken a start

from the previous generation and my start found it's way

to New York with me.

This is a lovely, hearty muffin that is great for breakfast or energy snack.

I served them with strawberry-rhubarb compote 

that I made and froze early last summer. 

Chunky Banana Bread Granola

We are a big fan of granola at our house! This one was very nice, but I should have baked it a little longer for more crispiness.  I may prefer to make the granola without the banana and then serve it with yogurt and a fresh diced banana.

Rooibos-Poached Pears with Raw Chocolate Olive Oil Sauce

The poached pears melt in your mouth. The chocolate sauce is so easy to make and so incredibly delicious. It is hard to believe that it's ingredients are pure, unrefined, and actually good for you.

Together, the pear and chocolate make for a gourmet dessert 

that pleases both the visual senses and taste palate. 

Blueberry Chia Coconut Pudding

So delicious, make this often.

Chaga Mushroom Tea and Hot Chocolate

Undoubtedly a little odd. I simmered it for far longer than she suggested to make it not so watery. A bit of a strange flavor, but I'm all for its disease preventing magic.

The hot chocolate version was far better. :)

Banana Bread Granola

A nice granola. I added way more spices than it called for though. Nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, ginger...

Blood Orange Chocolate Cake

No blood oranges, unfortunately, but just regular oranges still makes for a delicious cake. This was Tim's first day of new work cake. Shouldn't every first day of work end with a cake?

I only made half of this recipe, just making it two layers based on the ridiculous amount of cake for two people. Now that there is only one piece left in the fridge, I kind of wish that I had made the full thing. This is a great cake. Dense and not too sweet, I would absolutely put this on my cake rotation. The frosting needed a bit of a reboot after the first time we tried it, but then it was absolutely delicious.

On the first go around the dates were too tough, so they didn't cream and there were chunks of dates in the frosting. It was an overwhelming date flavor and sickly sweet. Probably because I didn't soak the dates first. The next day I scraped the frosting off and added milk, lots more cocoa, and the rest of my orange juice left over from the cake portion, and then it tasted grand. 

Roasted Parsnips with Pomegranate Glaze and Za'atar

Very delicious. My favorite of her savory dishes so far. Loved the pomegranate sauce and seasonings. Would be good enough for serving to company who I know eat adventurously. 

I couldn't find fresh pomegranate at the store, so way overpaid to get frozen, which wasn't worth it. Next time, fresh or skip it. Am also interested in trying a slightly cheaper version of this dish with carrots instead of its more expensive cousin, the parsnip.

The za'atar is delicious...would love to sprinkle that over everything. I give this recipe lots of stars!

Rooibos-Poached Pears with Raw Chocolate Olive Oil Sauce

First off, this chocolate sauce is Incredible. I think I'm going to eat it on absolutely everything. The pears are also tasty. Very nice, elegant dessert. Feels like it should be eaten on fine china when the queen comes over. 

Trippy Tie-Die Soup

Impressive looking with the swirl! Dinner at Grandma and Pap's with Katie. 

Salt 'N' Pepper Chocolate Chip Cookies

Made these for my final Denver Bookclub. This is my favorite thing I've made from this book so far. Love the black pepper flavor. But they spred out a ton. Be warned, they are an extremely thin cookie. 

Four Corners Lentil Soup

                                Four Corners Lentil Soup                            

Will you look at that - we used the same bowl.

Sarah talks in My New Roots about "the holy trinity of flavor" - salt/sugar/acid.

This soup is a nice example of that. The lemon provided the acid, and the squirt

of maple syrup at the end truly balanced the flavor.

Four Corners Lentil Soup

Warming and nice. Would be lovely eaten with a chunk of doughy bread.