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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Potato-Tomato

What do potatoes and tomatoes have in common?

They were both in my dinner, how about yours?

That could of course be the only link between the two. Well in my head at least.

I told you all that I wanted to make blue potato gnocchi, and I have done just that. I also added some broccoli to the mix also just to complete the meal. 

The normal recipe for gnocchi calls for eggs, which I do not eat anymore, so I came up with the idea of "oo flax meal acts like eggs in some recipes, why not add that to the recipe and add some extra fiber while I am at it." Genius! I know. I had made some quick tomato sauce once for eggplant parm and froze the left overs in small portions for just a situation as this. I love planning ahead sometimes. Cook big batches, freeze portions, use later, that is my life.

Blue Potato Gnocchi


1 cup cubed potatoes, peeled (I was roasting the rest, so I just used the centers of a few potatoes)
5 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon flaxmeal
1 teaspoon water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

Boil water to cook the cubed potatoes, 

once boiling place in potatoes and cook until a knife goes through easily. 

Drain.

Mix the flaxmeal and water together.

 Place potatoes in a bowl and start to mash. 

Add in the spices, flaxmeal, nutritional yeast, and 1 tablespoon flour. 

Add the remaining flour one tablespoon at a time, and mix until a stiff dough forms.

Place some flour on a board, take small amounts of the dough and roll into a 1/2 inch wide log. 

Using a pastry cutter, cut 1/2 inch pieces out of the log.

 Using a fork, roll the 1/2 inch dumplings over the back of the tongs of the fork. 

Place on a floured baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Place in fridge for at least one hour.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place in the potato dumplings. Once they pop up to the surface and float, cook for 5 to 8 minutes, until they become tender. 

While the potatoes are cooking, saute some broccoli with salt and pepper until browned slightly, around 5 minutes. 

Add in a splash of red wine and allow to cook off for a few minutes. 

Add in the tomato sauce. 

Once the gnocchi are done, drain and place in the sauce. 

Allow to cook in the sauce for 5 minutes.

Plate and top with parsley.  

One of the best dinners I have had lately. Yum!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Pumpkin Time

It is finally Autumn, so therefore I am jumping on the pumpkin using bandwagaon!

I love pumpkins!

In any form too, (ok well maybe not pumpkin curry soup, I haven't made a good version or tried a good version of it yet) as in pie, muffins, bread, ravioli, pancakes, etc. Oh and I love the spice (hah pumpkin spice blend) in latte form! Then you know it is really fall once Starb's bust that out on it's menu again.

So I bought my first two cans of 100% pumpkin puree the other day. I wanted to make something different with it, so I came up with Pumpkin Falafel. A riff on the sweet potato one I am in love with. I have a few other ideas that I am supper excited to try out as well. I am thinking of making a version of ravioli but not really ravioli, I'll let you know when I do actually try it out, but for now how about some falafel!

Baked Pumpkin Falafel

1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree
1/4 cup chick pea flour
1/4 teaspoon each onion powder and coriander
1/8 teaspoon each salt, pepper, and nutmeg
2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley


Mix the spices with the pumpkin, then add in the chick pea flour tablespoons at a time and incorporate until a stiff "batter" forms.

Add in the parsley and then cover and place in the fridge for 20 minutes or so.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper.

Take out the chilled batter and start to scoop tablespoon size dollops it onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the brown on top. You can roll the falafel into balls if your batter is cold and stiff enough to.

Let them cool a minute remove from pan and enjoy.

I ate mine with some fennel cashew cream sauce and carrots (sticking with an orange beta carotene theme) and yum!

Yay for pumpkins!

So question, Do you enjoy a good pumpkin?

And tomorrow blue potato gnocchi!


Thursday, September 22, 2011

Blue?

Can you eat blue things?

Do they taste like blue?

What does blue actually taste like?

I'm not sure I can answer all of these questions, but I do know that yes you can eat blue things such as potatoes, and they taste like ...dum dum dum...potatoes! Go figure.

I made something amazing for dinner today that I just soo felt the urge to share with all of you. Let's say it can be rather unhealthy to eat, you can get it at base ball games, and well they are just darn amazing! I am talking about chili cheese fries.

How do you make this healthy?

Great question, here is my answer, make all the components (ok except the cheese, unless your amazing and know how) and put it all together yourself. Tada!

For my version, I used blue potatoes, my chili recipe (I made a big batch of it one Sunday for dinner and froze small portions for such an occasion), and reduced fat cheese. Or you can always use vegan cheese. I must say I was once scared of the stuff but then I tried the Dayia brand at a vegetarian restaurant (Kaya's Kitchen in Belmar) and oh my gosh, so good! I just might be taking that step over to the vegan side! Milk that is the next hurtle, I do enjoy soy milk but Milk so yummy! Fat Free of course, but yea my weakness! Ok sorry back to my dinner. So it was pretty easy to make:

Blue Potato Chili Cheese Fries

4 small blue potatoes
1/4 cup chili
1/4 cup reduced fat 4 cheese Mexican blend
1/4 teaspoon each onion powder, coriander, and oregano
1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1 teaspoon oil
2 tablespoon salsa

Cube (small piece cook faster!) the potatoes, toss with seasonings and oil and

roast in a preheat 425 degree oven (I used my toaster oven) and roast for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the chili on the stove or if you have a microwave, use that.

Once the potatoes are roasted, top with the chili,

then the cheese and put bake again for 10 minutes, I like my cheese to brown. Place on your plate and top with the salsa.

Amazing!

And it was blue! They truly taste like just regular white Idaho potatoes. Still delish, and I have an even better idea for the rest of the bag of potatoes...blue gnocchi anyone? Yum...

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

I Love Cinnamon,

And Chocolate,

And Peanut butter,

And Bananas.

First I want to say sorry that I have not posted in awhile. Excuses, well I have been busy with work and time has not allowed me to explore my recipe making skills, so I haven't had any thing worth posting recently. I did last state that I would be making cinnamon buns to use up the icing I had made for the cup cakes. But do to some unknown  reason the frosting/icing didn't turn out as I expected it to after I let it defrost. It still tasted good, but it became lumpy so I nixed it. And well I stick to my word (loosely but I stick to it!), and I really tried to make a cinnamon bun but my recipe testing was not on my side. Me being me, I like to change things in a recipe to suit my liking. I used the Wonder Buns recipe in the new BabyCakes cookbook. I didn't have any yeast on hand so lucky me there is a yeast free recipe in the book. I also wanted to make a chocolate peanut butter banana version too. So I tried to split the dough and make the two different types. The recipe also called for gluten free baking mix, which I do not have, so I tried to use whole wheat flour instead.

Well, the cinnamon raisin version did not turn out that great, so I made some scones out of them instead, recipe failure adverted, but I still have yet to make a successful cinnamon bun, back to the drawing board with that one. But the chocolate peanut butter banana version worked.

Cinnamon Raisin Scones and Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Swirls

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup arrowroot
1 3/4 teaspoon xanthum gum
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup oil
1/3 cup agave nectar
3 tablespoons vanilla
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon coffee ground (kahula flavored)
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup raisins
1 tablespoon oil
1 ripe banana
1 tablespoon peanut butter
extra brown rice flour to prevent sticking while rolling dough

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, line two baking pans with wax paper.

Mix the flours, arrowroot, xanthum gum, baking powder, and the salt together.

Split the mixture into two bowls.

Add the 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon to one bowl and

the cocoa and coffee to the other.

Combine the oil, agave nectar, and vanilla together.

Pour half of that mixture into each bowl.

Slowly add 1/4 cup of warm water to each bowl while you mix the dough together.

It should become a stiff dough that comes together nicely.

Wrap each dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Mean while, combine the coconut sugar and the cinnamon together. Mash the banana with the peanut butter.

Once the dough has been chilled, place some of the brown rice flour on a board to start to roll out. (So this is where my cinnamon buns failed, I tried to roll out the dough, place the cinnamon sugar and raisins inside, and roll it up, but it just crumbled. So I then placed it in a bowl and add some water to it.

Mixed it up until a sticky dough formed.

Then I used my hands to pat them down,

I brushed it with oil and sprinked with more cinnamon sugar.

I cut it into 1 inch square-ish scones.)

Place the scones on the prepared pan and bake 25 minutes, turning pan halfway through baking.

For the chocolate pb banana rolls,

 I rolled out the dough,

placed some of the pb banana mix in the center, then I rolled up the dough.

I also scooped up some of the filling at the end so that it would seal closed.

Then cut into 1 inch thick swirls.

Place on prepared pan and bake 20 minutes, turning pan halfway through baking.

Place on a baking rack and let them cool or drizzle with icing and enjoy.

For the icing (that should top these recipes) I used BabyCakes frosting recipe from there first book. I life this recipe because it is really easy to make.

Vanilla Frosting/ Icing

1 1/2 cups unsweetened soy milk
3/4 cup dry soy milk powder
1 tablespoon coconut flour
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups coconut oil
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Place all but the oil and lemon juice in a food processor or blender and blend for 2 minutes. Slowly add in the oil and lemon juice alternating the two while the machine is still on. Pour in an airtight container and store in the fridge for 1 month or at room temperature for 1 week.

I then mixed some cocoa powder into the icing to make a chocolate version for the chocolate pb banana swirls.

Yea for my mistakes that turn out to be rather yummy!

What next? I am not entirely sure....