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,