Butternut and Poblano Cheezy Pie

We altered the recipe from FoodandWine.com to fit our needs

Ingredients:
3-4 poblano peppers (3/4 pound)
1 large butternut squash (~2 pounds) peeled, halved, seeded and cubed
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup water
1 onion thinly sliced
6 campri tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
3/4 cup almond cream
2 TBS nutritional yeast
1 TBS gluten free flour (we used tapioca starch)
2 rice tortillas
8 oz daiya cheddar cheese


Directions: preheat oven to 400. Roast poblano peppers until charred. Transfer to a bowl and cover to steam for easy skin removal once cooled.
Roast the butternut squash  for 25 minutes until tender.
Water saute the onion and garlic. Once soft add the poblano pepper slices and tomatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the almond cream nutritional yeast and gf flour, adding salt and pepper if desired to thicken.
Place a rice tortilla on the bottom of baking dish
Spoon half the poblano mixture on the tortilla. Top with half the butternut squash and half the  cheese. Repeat the layering. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to rest for ~10 minutes.

Black Bean Soup

We were wanting a nice soup for our first cool fall evening.

Ingredients:
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 onions diced
2 celery stalks, diced
6 oz mushrooms, sliced (Thanks Craig and Debbie for the shiitake)
1 can diced tomatoes
2 carrots, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 sweet potato, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp cumin
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 BS lime juice
salt and pepper taste

Directions: place all the vegetables and cumin in 1/4 cup vegetable broth to saute. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Add the  remaining vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Add the tomatoes and beans. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove 1-2 cups of soup and use an immersion blender to puree. Pour the pureed soup back into the pot and stir. Five minutes prior to serving add the lime juice and cilantro.

Thin Mints

Cheryl these are for you!!!

Thin Mints
1 cup almond pulp
1/4 cup coconut flakes, ground into a powder
1/4 cup cacao powder
2 Tbsp. agave nectar
2 soft pitted dates
1 tsp. peppermint extract
dash of sea salt
In a food processor, combine almond pulp, ground coconut and cocoa powder. Add the agave, dates, vanilla extract and sea salt, and process to create a ball of dough.

Flatten the dough into a sheet, and cut out cookie-sized circles. "Bake" the cookies in your dehydrator until crisp.

Cacao ganache: 
1/8 cup maple syrup or agave
1/4 cup cacao powder
1/4 cup cacao butter, melted
1 TBSP lucuma powder
pinch salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a small bowl combine until well mixed. Dunk cookies and set cookies on parchment paper and place in the freezer

Vegan GF Green Bean Casserole

We saw this recipe on facebook from a friend and thought we can make a healthy version of a Green Bean Casserole. So we have and it is so good!!!

Creamy Green Bean Casserole with Hand-Breaded Onions

Yields approximately 8 servings

Ingredients

Oven “Fried” Onions

– 1 large onion

– 1/2 cup all-purpose gf flour

– 3/4 cup Panko-style gf bread crumbs or dried almond pulp, grind in a coffee grinder

– 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning

– 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

– 1 TBS flax and 3 TBS water

– 1 tbsp almond milk

Green Bean Casserole

– 1 tbsp 1 tsp salt, divided

– 1 lb fresh green beans, rinse, trimmed and halved

– 2 tbsp water

– 8 oz mushrooms, sliced (thanks Debbie and Craig for the shiitakes) (or 1 cup diced celery for those who don't want mushrooms)

– 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

– 2 cloves garlic, minced

– 2 tbsp all-purpose gf flour
- 2 TBS nutritional yeast

- 1/2 tsp thyme, ground

– 3/4 cup vegetable broth

– 2 cups almond cream (1 cup almonds 2 cups water instead of 4, drained through a nut milk bag, the pulp will be saved for later use)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
2. For the onions: Thinly slice the onion. Pour flour in one small bowl, Panko, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper into a medium bowl, and whisk the flax, water and almond milk together in a third small bowl. To bread the onion slices, you’ll want to use one hand for dry and one hand for wet. It helps things move a little quicker and easier. First, dip a few slices into the flour. Then into the flax mixture. And finally, give them a nice dunk into the Panko and coat them well. Place onto baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the onions. Bake onions until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Flip them twice during this time. Set them aside. Raise the oven temperature to 400°
3. For the green beans: While onions are baking, bring a gallon of water and 1 Tablespoon of salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain and immediately place into a large bowl filled with ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain again and set aside.
4. Put it together: Over medium-high heat, add water in a large 10 – 12 inch ovenproof skillet. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt, and the pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thyme mushrooms begin to give off some of their moisture– about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir, and cook for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour on top and stir until combined. The flour will soak up all the moisture. Add the vegetable broth and simmer for 3 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the almond cream. Stirring occasionally, cook until the mixture is thick– about 10 minutes or maybe more if you prefer a thicker sauce.
5. Remove from the heat and add 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Give it a nice stir, combining the sauce and beans. Top with remaining onions and bake until bubbly, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and enjoy!

Cacao Covered Almond Cookies and Mock "Reese's " Cups

We are always trying to create new recipes using almond pulp. The cookie bases can be made and frozen. These store for several months

Cacao Covered Almond Cookies and almond "reese's" cups
Cookie base (24-32 cookies)
1 cup cashews
1 cup almond pulp
1/2 cup black sesame seeds, ground into a powder
1/4 cup agave nectar
4 soft pitted dates
1 tsp. vanilla
dash of sea salt
In a food processor, grind cashews, almond meal and ground sesame until it reaches a flour-like consistency. Add the agave, dates, vanilla and sea salt, and process to create a ball of dough.
Flatten the dough into a sheet, and cut out cookie-sized circles. "Bake" the cookies in your dehydrator until crisp.

Almond filling (24-32 cookies plus 24 "reese's" cups)
3/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 Tbsp. lucuma
1 Tbsp. maca powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla
dash of sea salt
In the meantime, combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl. Top each cookie with the filling in a mound shape. 

Cacao ganache: (12-16 cookies plus 24 "reese's" cups)
We made this 3 times freezing the "reese's" cups between the bottom layer with the almond butter mixture and the top layer
1/8 cup maple syrup or agave
1/4 cup cacao powder
1/4 cup cacao butter, melted
1 TBSP lucuma powder
pinch salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
In a small bowl combine until well mixed. Dunk cookies and set cookies on parchment paper in the freezer

"Reese's" Cups
pour the cacao ganache into the bottom of mini paper cups in a mini muffin tin, just enough to cover the paper. Place a small ball of almond filling on top of cacao ganache. Freeze. After about 30 minutes to an hour remove from the freezer and pour the cacao ganache over the almond filling until covered.

We store both in the freezer

Fall Mediterranean Chopped Salad Recipe from Dr. LJ’s Natural Wellness

Fall Mediterranean Chopped Salad Recipe from Dr. LJ’s Natural Wellness is unique, delicious and nutritious. If you’re searching for a new yet impressive salad recipe that you can prepare for family or friends, this is the dish that you are looking for. I found this recipe on Mercola's site

Ingredients - For the salad

• 1 organic zucchini (do not peel)
• 1 medium organic carrot
• 1 organic red bell pepper
• 1 organic Fuji apple or ½ cup chopped jicama

• ½ bunch organic parsley or cilantro
• 2 to 3 organic scallions
• ½ cup of sunflower seeds, soaked for four to six hours
• ½ cup pomegranate kernels or 1 chopped starfruit

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Procedure:

1. Chop the vegetables into bite-sized pieces and place into a bowl.
2. Add the sunflower seeds and pomegranate kernels or chopped starfruit, and combine.

Ingredients - For the dressing
This recipe makes 2 to 3 servings.

• ¾ cup cashews, soaked for one hour and drained
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

• 1 Tbsp. tamari (organic, gluten-free soy sauce)
• 1 tsp. paprika
• ½ tsp. cayenne paper
• Sea salt, to taste

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Procedure:

1. Blend all dressing ingredients together until smooth.
2. Toss together with salad ingredients and serve immediately.

SW Black Bean Burger

We still have so many poblano peppers this week we made black bean burgers using the peppers.

Makes 12 patties
Ingredients:
1/2  cup dry quinoa (cooked with 1 cup water for 20 minutes)
1 canned black bean, drained, rinsed, and drained
1/2 cup green onions (scallions), diced
2 clove garlic, minced
1 small roasted poblano pepper (roast at 425 for ~40 minutes, Cool and then peel outer skin)
1/4 cup sun-dried tomato, soaked in water (1/4 cup water and add to the mix)
1 cup kale, thinly sliced
2 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 TBS maple syrup
1 tsp chili powder
1 TBS lime juice

Directions: Place all the ingredients in a food processor, process until smooth. Using 1/4 cup scoop flatten into patties. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, flip and bake another 10 minutes.

We served them with a guacamole and lettuce on a gluten free bun.

We froze them after cooling in individual paper sandwich bags,

salads and slaw recipes from Hacres

These recipes are from Hacres for salads and slaw

1. Raw Apple, Pear and Pecan Salad
This raw salad recipe from "Hallelujah Holiday Recipes…from God's Garden" by Rhonda Malkmus makes quite the treat.

Ingredients:

• 3 celery stalks
• 2 Red Delicious apples
• 1 Golden Delicious apple
• 1 pear
• 1 lemon
• 1 orange
• 1/4 cup dates – chopped
• 1/2 cup raw pecans – chopped

Directions:

First, chop the celery finely and place it into a large bowl. Peel and chop apples and pears into bite-size pieces, and then put into a separate bowl. Pour the juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange over the apple and pear to keep them from browning. Stir to coat, let marinate for 10 minutes, and then drain. Set aside.

Chop the pecans and dates into bite-size chunks. Add half of the pecans, dates and celery to fruit mixture.

To make the dressing, blend the reserved pecans and juice in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Add puree to salad and mix to coat.

2. Sprout Slaw
This raw slaw recipe from "Thank God for Raw" by Julie Wandling makes a fresh side dish for dinner.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 heads cabbage – shredded
• 2 cups sprouts of your choice
• 1 onion – ringed thin
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup walnut or olive oil  (omitted oil and replaced with the juice of an orange and 1 TBS of Dijon mustard)

Directions:

Place the cabbage, sprouts, onion and poppy seeds in a large bowl. Mix the honey, vinegar and oil in a separate bowl to create your dressing, and then pour it over salad. Let marinate for a few hours and enjoy.

3. Napa Almond Slaw
This recipe from "Healthy 4 Him," also by Wandling, is another great side dish choice.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup fresh mint
• 4 green onions – minced
• 1 carrot – shaved
• 1 head napa cabbage – shredded
• 1 red bell pepper – thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup raw almond butter
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 1 clove garlic
• Juice of 2 limes
• Water to thin

Directions:

Place the cilantro, mint, onions, carrots, cabbage and bell peppers in a large bowl. To make your dressing, mix the almond butter, sea salt, garlic and limes, using the water to create desired consistency. Pour dressing over salad and let marinate.

4.  Sweet Annie Kale Salad
Try this recipe from "How We All Went Raw" by Charles Nungesser, Carolanne Nungesser and George Nungesser.

Ingredients:

• 1 head kale – stems removed
• 1/4 cup extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil (omitted oil and replaced with the juice of an orange)
• 1/4 cup raw unheated honey
• 1 garlic clove – minced
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts

Directions:

Add ingredients to a large bowl and gently massage together. This will soften up the kale and allow the flavors to blend together. Enjoy!

Mulberry Breakfast

This is our son's favorite breakfast! To reduce fat omit the walnuts, or all nuts and seeds

Mulberry Breakfast (for most this is 2 servings, but only 1 for our son)
Ingredients:
4 oz (~3/4 cup) dried mulberries
2 apples chopped
2 TBS crispie walnuts
1 Brazil nut (selenium for the day)
2 TBS flax meal (omega 3)
1 cup pomegranate juice
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions: Place all ingredients in a food processor and process.

As is for 1 serving
Calories: 465 kcal
Carbs: 98 g
Fat: 10 g
Protein: 10 g

Egg-free quiche

This recipe came from Eatingrules.com for the egg-free-garbanzo-flour-quiche/
We are altering it using mashed garbanzo beans instead of flour and making it oil free. Thank you for the idea Andrew!!!

Ingredients

• 1 can garbanzo beans, don't drain the aquafaba will help thicken it
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary heaping
• 2 TBS nutritional yeast
• 1 butternut squash small
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/4 cup eggplant bacon (from Ani's Essential Raw Food)
• water for pan with squash

Instructions

1. Mix beans, including the liquid, broth, nutritional yeast, and rosemary in a high speed blender.  Let rest while you prepare the squash.
2. Cut squash into chunks and roast at 400 degrees F until caramelized for about 45 minutes, Let cool, scoop out flesh, and dice.  Turn oven up to 425 degrees F.
3. In a 10-inch pie pan, sauté the onion and mushrooms in water. Then add the broccoli to saute. Spread squash and eggplant bacon pieces evenly in the pan and cover them with the batter.  Put pan in preheated 425 degree F oven.
4. Cook uncovered for 40-45 minutes, until edges brown and start to pull away from pan.  Put a knife in the center to make sure it comes out clean.  Let rest a few minutes before serving.

Butternut squash recipes from Wholefoods

Wholefoods just sent 50 recipes for Butternut Squash. Several of them look amazing!

Simply Real Health’s Pumpkin Peanut-Butter Molten Cake Cups

We altered this recipe slightly to make it raw

Simply Real Health’s Pumpkin Peanut-Butter Molten Cake Cups

Makes  24 small molten cake cups

Ingredients:
3 cups raw pureed pumpkin
2 cups raw sprouted almond butter
2 TBS ground cinnamon
1.5 tsp ground ginger
1.5 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cloves2 TBS vanilla
4 TBS honey or maple syrup
1/2 cup Enjoy life mini chocolate chips (optional)sprinkle of sea salt (optional)

1. Blend all ingredients except chocolate chips together in a food processor or strong blender like a Vitamixor Ninja. Add in chocolate chips if you desire.

2. Scoop into small mason jars, paper lined muffin tins or small ramekins. For a pumpkin chocolate no-bake mousse, serve as is, or "bake" in the dehydrator at 105 for 2-4 hours to get a great custard-like, crispy crust.

3. Serve warm or cold, sprinkled with sea salt, drizzled with a dab honey, with almond ice cream or cashew whipping creme

October 2016 Potluck

This month's theme is breakfast. November's theme is fall fruits and vegetables. They can be cooked or raw, but must be gluten-free and vegan. We will also be looking through Cherie's Favorite Holiday Recipe ebook
Betty has a great idea for dessert!!!


Granola with Almond Milk

Ingredients:

1 ½ c raw rolled or old fashioned oats

1 c almonds soaked 8 to 12 hrs., drained and coarsly chopped

¾ c chopped walnuts

½ c unsweetened coconut flakes

¾ c pitted dates, soaked ½ hour then drained

¼ c maple syrup

1 T lemon juice

2 t. vanilla extract

1 t. cinnamon

½ c raisins

Mix oats, almonds, walnuts and coconut in a large bowl and set aside

In a high speed blender or a food processor, combine dates, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla and cinnamon. Process until smooth, adding water if needed to blend well. Add this date mixture to the oat nut mixture and mix until coated and well combined.

Spread the granola mixture over mesh lined dehydrator tray. Dehydrate on 110 degrees for 20 to 24 hours until completely dry. Cool and add raisins. Store in sealed container in refrigerator.

Apple Crepes with Lemon Cream and raspberry sauce

and

Apple crepes with Hazelnut Cream and whipped cream

Apple Crepes
Ingredients:
1 apple, cored and diced
1/2 cup flax meal
2 TBS agave
1/2 cup water
Directions: use a high speed blender to blend smooth. Divide the batter into quarters and spread evenly on a dehydrator sheet liner. Dehydrate at 104 for 4-6 hours. The crepes can be flipped and dried another couple of hours

Lemon Kream
Ingredients:
1 cup cashews soaked, 2-4 hours, drained, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup water
Directions: place all the ingredients in a high speed blender. Blend until smooth.

Raspberry Sauce
Ingredients:

2 cups raspberries

¼ cup dates
Directions: blend in a high speed blender until smooth.

Hazelnut Kream
Ingredients:
1 cup hazelnuts, soaked 1-2 hours, drained, rinsed and drained
2 TBS cacao powder
2 TBS agave
1/2 cup water
Directions: place all the ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth.

Whipping Kream

Flax Oatmeal

Raw Food Breakfast -
Oat Meal

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 apples
1 banana
1 tablespoon golden flax seed
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Pure water

Directions

Put the flax seeds in the purified water and let sit overnight.

Peel the apples and cut them in smaller parts (for the blender). Peel the banana en break in parts. Rinse the flax seeds.

Put all ingredients in a blender. This can be a hand blender or high speed blender such as Vitamix. Add 1/4 cup water, just enough to let the mixture blend well. Blend all ingredients until smooth. You may want to add a little more water if it's too thick.

Biscuits, butter and jam

Buckwheat Biscuits

ingredients:

2 cups buckwheat crispies (corn meal can be used instead for corn biscuits)

¼ cup flax meal

¼ cup apple sauce

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 ½ cup water

Directions:

grind buckwheat to powder in coffee grinder

mix in flax meal

add applesauce, apple cider vinegar, and salt mix

add water and mix doughy batter

1/3 scoop batter biscuit shape (~10)

1 tray dehydrator 8-10 hr

Fruit Spread

Ingredients

2 cups strawberries

¼ cup dates
2 TBS chia seeds

Directions:

food processor keeps for 2-3 days

Vanilla Butter  (from Ani's Raw Food Essentials p. 98)

ingredients

½ cup coconut butter

1 TBS vanilla

1 tsp agave syrup

Directions:

Mix