roasted pear, cranberry sauce, no SUGAR!

Believe or not, my husband still likes meat. To appease this monster I will sometimes make a Gardein Roast. Today it was the holiday roast.

Along side this roast I  made the roasted pear cranberry sauce. I found the recipe in Chef AJ's most recent book.In the recipe she uses no sugar in the sauce- a minor miracle.  I share the recipe here. Paul loves it. I can eat it straight from the bowl and  like to put it on oatmeal!

2 cans pear quarters.   (it says halves but I couldn't find them....instead I used the pear quarters. The only thing that is important is that there is no sweetening added.)
2 large navel oranges plus their zest (I used Cara cara)
12 ounces fresh cranberries

In an oven heat to 400 roast the pears. I placed them on parchment paper and roasted till golden brown on the bottoms. 35-45 minutes
Wash and zest the two oranges.
Peel and section the oranges.
Add zest, orange pieces, pears and cranberries to food processor. Leave t chunky not liquified.

peanut butter pad thai

The base:
1 pack firm or extra firm tofu, pressed in tofu x-press
8 ounces rice noodles (I used brown rice noodles)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large bundle of green onions
2 or 3 carrots, use carrot peeler to make the curls of carrot
2 cups broccoli florets (very lightly steamed)

Sauce:
2 -3 Tb salted peanut butter
3 TB Tamarind paste (got it on Amazon)
4 1/2 TB Tamari
3-4 TB maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp. Thai chili garlic sauce

unsalted peanuts and squeezed lime juice for garnish

Preheat oven to 400. Cut squeezed tofu into small cubes. Cook in oven till firm. 28-30 minutes
Make sauce- In small skillet add peanut butter, tamarind, Tamari, maple syrup and chili garlic sauce. Only use 1 tsp of chili at this time and 3 TB Tamari. Heat oven medium heat till bubbling. Simmer 5 minutes Adjust taste.

When tofu is done cook rice noodles.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot add baked tofu, 1 TB of your new sauce, 1 TB Tamari, and 1/2 tsp chili sauce. Stir frequently and brown the cubes. Remove from pan and set aside.
To the same skillet add garlic and green onion( reserve a small amount for garnish) and 1/2 Tb Tamari. Saute 2-3 minutes. Add cooked noodles and remaining pad Thai sauce. Toss with tongs and heat. Add tofu in last moments( to warm up.)

Remove from heat and add carrots and warm broccoli.
garnish and serve.

With small adjustments, this recipe was taken from the Minimalist Bakers Everyday Cooking cookbook. Love it!

Photos later. It was delicious and very gone.

sweet potato breakfast brownies

sweet potato brownies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sweet potato puree (you will need to cook and mash the sweet potatoes ahead of time, I make a lot and store in the fridge)
• 1 cup peanut or almond butter
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour (or your preference)
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips + more for the top, optional
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar of choice or xylitol
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 F. Line an 8-inch pan with parchment paper or grease well. Gently heat your nut butter until easily stir-able. I used fresh peanut butter so I could skip this.  Whisk peanut butter together with the sweet potato and vanilla extract in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together all remaining ingredients – make sure that baking soda is evenly incorporated! Pour dry into wet (not the other way around), and smooth into the prepared pan, scooping out all traces of batter and using a second sheet of parchment to really smooth it down evenly. Bake on the center oven rack 20 minutes. It will look a little underdone, but it firms up as it cools. Really really yummy.
From Chocolate Covered Katie's blog. Thanks Katie! 

Leah's Chewy Ginger Cookies

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup xylitol 
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup black strap molasses
Scant 3/4 cup canola oil 
2/3 cup chick pea flour
1&2/3 cups oat flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon 
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 flax egg (1 tbs ground flax meal & 3 tbs water)
1&1/2 tsp baking soda 

Method 
Heat oven to 350. Prepare cookie pans. Make flax egg. 
I’m a medium large bowl, stir together xylitol, coconut sugar & molasses. Add oil & flax egg, stirring until complete combined. Grate in fresh ginger. Add flours, without stirring. Add spices & baking soda & stir in all the dry ingredients until combined. Roll in balls & place on cookie sheets. Space balls apart as cookies will flatten as they bake. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

chai pet muffins

I LOVE the chia muffin at Le Pain Quotidien! Problem is, they are not vegan, plus it's obvious they are not the most healthy breakfast choice. So in comes our friend experimentation. This version is the most true to the taste although it is much less sweet. If you want it sweeter and more moist, add more dates and banana.
I will probably adapt once again soon.

Heat oven to 350.

10-12 large dates
1/2-1 very ripe banana

1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup agave
3TB flaxmeal
5 TB water
1/2 cup soy or almond milk
1 cup chia seeds (extra chia seeds for the top)
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 TB cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 container soy yogurt (the 5 oz size)
1 tsp vanilla


In a bowl:
10 large dates (maybe 12-13 for super sweet)
add 1 cup boiling water and let sit.

In a separate bowl:
3 TB flaxmeal with 5 TB water- let sit

Next move dates to food processor and give it a whirl till nice and smooth.
Add 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup oil, 1/4 cup agave
Whirl again. Place in large bowl and add 1/2  cup soy milk and 1 cup chia seeds.
Mix. Add flax mix.

In another bowl mix dry ingredients.
Now gradually add dry to wet will adding the yogurt and vanilla
Mine is always so thick I can scoop it out with my hands. I made mini muffins so cooking time was quick 10- 15 minutes

thai coconut curry

Thai Coconut Curry

Saute
1 onion chopped
1 inch ginger minced
4 garlic cloves minced
 Add 2 chopped peeled sweet potato

add 1 3/4 cans lite coconut milk with 1 1/2 TB yellow curry paste (today I only had one can so I added veg broth.
Heat for about 1/2 hour

Now this list can vary:
1 sliced red pepper
1 chopped head of broccoli - once I used cauliflower instead
3 sliced carrots
handful snow peas, fresh basil- thai if you have it
later add some pan fried tofu..or whatever version you have.


Serve with coconut quinoa

We really like this and I keep playing with it!

Two Bite Breakfast Blondies

Two Bite Blondies

Makes 24

• 1 1/2 cups cooked white beans or chickpeas (1 can)
• 1/2 banana
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup OR 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease or line mini muffin tins. Drain and rinse the beans extremely well. Blend all ingredients except chocolate chips in a food processor until smooth. Stir in chips, smooth into muffin tins, and bake on the center rack 12 minutes. If you used liners, wait a day and they will peel off easily. i frozen them for later use and weeks later they were still yummy!

This is a recipe I found on Chocolate Covered Katie and adjusted it slightly. 

delicious and nutritious