A Day of Cinnamon

As you all know, I adore the spice cinnamon with a passion. So why not eat it at every meal that I can. That is how I think at least. Today was one of those days. I made an apple pie for my family, so that was one cinnamon dish. The only reason the pie was just for the family is because I used butter in the crumb topping and my mom bought a frozen pie crust because she was going to make the pie herself. (Ha, sorry momma I love you but you know I would have been making some aspect of the pie in the end.) The second time cinnamon popped up today was in a new cookie that I am currently obsessed with, that I will be sharing with you all (the recipe) in this post, it is a Cinnamon Cashew Butter Cookie. And lastly cinnamon spiced up my dinner! Yes cinnamon for dinner!

Amazing day all in all.

So let's start with dinner first. I was searching some new blogs last night and found the recipe that I used at Oh She Glows. Cinnamon Sweet Potato Chickpea Salad. I added a few more spices and such to my dish to make it my own.

Cinnamon Sweet Tato Chickpea Salad

1 medium sweet potato, 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 can chickpeas, rinsed and deshelled (i remove that skin that is around the bean)
three layers of a 1/4 of an onion
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup fresh baby spinach

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (I used my toaster oven).

Place the sweet tato, onion, and chickpeas in a bowl. Add the spices, toss a little, add in the oil and coat evenly.

Place on pan and roast for 40 minutes.

Place spinach on a plate, top with roasted mixture.

You wouldn't think this would taste good, but surprisingly it was great. Next time I may leave out the onions, they just didn't really add much in my mind.

Now dessert!

Cinnamon Cashew Butter Cookies

1/2 cup cashew butter
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon arrowroot
1 cup almond meal
1/4 cup flax meal
1/2 cup oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup peanut butter chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the cashew butter, applesauce, maple syrup, and vanilla.

Add in the cinnamon, baking soda and powder, arrowroot, almond meal, flax meal, oats and salt.

Slowly add in the whole wheat flour 1/4 cup at a time, if using the chips add them now too.

Place tablespoon sized portions of the dough on the prepared pan.

Bake 20 minutes, turning the pan halfway through baking.

I love cinnamon! How about you?

Pumpkin Love

I love pumpkin.

I love the fall.

Oh how I have missed this time of the year. Coolness, leaves turning beautiful colors, coats, boots, scarves, hats, gloves, sweaters, and the holidays!! Holiday baked goods <3, family, food, memories. I love this time of the year.

And back to pumpkin. Oh that reminds me I want to go apple picking! And pumpkin picking too. So back to pumpkin again, (I'm horrible at focusing today, sorry). I made pumpkin, I don't know exactly what I want to call them, they were a mix of perigoes and ravioli. I made them larger then a normal ravioli, but the filling was just pumpkin, no cheese involved. So what to call them...

Pumpkin Ragoies

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
extra flour
small dish filled of water

1/4 cup canned 100% pumpkin
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon each onion powder and coriander
1/8 teaspoon each salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon oil
salt and pepper

1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped
1/2 cup baby spinach and arugula mix

For the dough:

Mix the flour and salt.

Slowly add in small amounts of the water until a stiff dough is formed.

Set aside.

For the filling:

Mix the pumpkin with the nutritional yeast and the spices.

To make the ragoies:

Flour a board and a rolling pin. Cut the dough into 8 portions.

Roll out each portion into a somewhat circle.

Once all rolled out, place a tablespoon of the filling in the center of one side of the dough.

Using the small dish of water and your finger, brush water along the sides of the circle.

Fold over the other half of the dough and press down slightly to remove any air bubbles and to start to seal the edge.

Using a fork press down and seal the edges.

Place on floured parchment paper and in the fridge until ready to cook.

Caramelize onions:

Heat oil in a pan. Add in the onions and let them cook over medium heat. Add water to loosen any bits that stick while cooking.

To cook:

Heat a large pot with water until it comes to a boil.

Add in the ragoies. Once they float to the top, let them cook for 5 to 8 minutes. Drain.

Plate:

Put the spinach/arugula mix on a plate. Top with the warm ragoies so it starts to wilt the greens.

Top with the onions and hazelnuts.

Oh my gosh one of my most favorite meals ever! Seriously! Love! Pumpkin Love!

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!