triple ginger fig granola

One of my favorite homemade treats to make is granola. I love that the variations are limitless – every spice or flavor combination is feasible. And it’s too easy to ‘healthify’ – using fruit purees in place of oil or butter – or not :) The only problem I have with making my own granola is that it never seems to make it to an actual breakfast bowl of say yogurt, fruit and granola. Why? Well because I start snacking on it… and then it’s so crunchy and sweet and salty and tasty and hey, much better for you than most store-bought granola right? And then before I know it…. an empty jar?! Happens every time, including this batch of triple-ginger fig granola. Luckily my sisters were around to help this time so we can all share the blame ;)

This recipe calls for a triple punch of fresh, dried, and crystallized ginger, plus blackstrap molasses to give a rich, pungent flavor. I added in dried figs, cherries, and pepitas (pumpkin seeds) but feel free to throw in whatever you feel like. That’s the beauty of granola!

Back home to comfort (food)

It’s always something I look forward to after travelling: returning to my kitchen and to my comfort food. Comfort food – often synonymous with indulgence food – for me is actually the healthy, nutritious, veggie-full meals we eat in our house*. It’s comforting because it satisfies both mind and body, and I crave it when I’m away from it for too long. Traveling in a country like Colombia, where green vegetables are not (at all) the forefront of the cuisine and I’ve eaten one-too-many deep fried empanadas ….makes me long for the salads, stews, curries, fritattas, stir frys, and all other veggie-centered dishes that are a regular at home.

*don’t get me wrong, ‘comfort food’ to me also means all things chocolate ;)

I also return home inspired by the many foods I’ve sampled, techniques I’ve observed, new spices and textures and flavors I’ve discovered. So I’m off the plane and anxious to cook, whether it’s Colombian arepas or a comforting veggie-ful lentil curry.

Here’s a little bite of the food in my life since I came home… just a little detox from empanadas, fried plantains, queso, queso, and more queso.

Quinoa falafels with tahini sauce via Sprouted Kitchen, & fresh carrot-mango-orange-ginger juice

I-could-eat-this-every-day Kabocha Squash Lentil Curry via Pinch of Yum, over kale with toasted naan

My sister’s sourdough boules… maybe ate a little too much of this, but who can resist warm, crusty, chewy, fresh baked bread?!

And in lieu of store-bought Easter candy, we made homemade vegan butterfingers, which blew us all away with their spot on texture and peanut buttery goodness.

mom’s apple cake, healthified

This is my mom’s old fashioned apple cake. Sans the 2 ¼ cups of sugar. She made it earlier this season and we gobbled it up, oh yes… but no one can feel good about ingesting that much refined sugar. So I decided to do something about it.

In my version, winter squash puree replaces the shortening to keep it moist, sugar is reduced to just 1/3 cup, accompanied by erythritol—a natural (calorie-free) sweetener—and vanilla protein powder, whole wheat flour replaces the white, and an egg yolk is omitted to reduce cholesterol. *check my notes at the bottom for simple vegan substitutions.

It’s basically a balanced meal in itself. Squash = fiber and vitamins; Apples = more fiber and vitamins; Whole wheat flour = whole grains, more fiber; Eggs + milk + protein powder + nuts = PROTEIN! And that’s my excuse for eating a big ol’ slice for dinner ;)  Try it, I dare you.

^Check out that original recipe….. got enough sugar?!

Autumn Apple Cake

• ½ cup pumpkin or winter squash puree
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup erythritol*
• 1 t nectresse*
• ¼ t salt
• 1 egg + 3T egg whites, or 7 T egg whites
• 1 cup buttermilk (make your own by adding 1T vinegar to a cup measure, and fill the rest with milk)
• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• ½ cup vanilla protein powder – mine is sweetened with stevia
• 2 t baking soda
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1 t ground ginger
• 4 cups apples, peeled & chopped fine

southwestern polenta bowl

This time last year (strangely, this exact day), I discovered and posted about my newfound love for polenta. The obsession lasted a good while, as it was an easy ‘cooking-for-one’ meal while I was in school and always comforting during the colder months. Then springtime cravings for salads and fresh veggies took over my attention, and my bag of corn grits was left to its lonesome in the back of the pantry.

Until now! The moment I whisked up these grits today and heaped them with some southwestern-inspired fridge finds, it all came back to me. Deliciousness. A warm, nourishing, well-balanced, fuel-filled meal that’s anything but bland. A comfort food, but one without the post-indulgence guilt.

In this one-bowl meal, polenta [or corn grits] serve as the base as lettuce does for your springtime salad, and you get to be the creative genius to toss whatever your tummy desires on top.  Possibilities are endless, of course, but this one deserved to be documented and made again and again in exactly the same way…..

:]

southwestern-inspired polenta bowl

• 1/2 cup yellow corn grits
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 T olive oil
• onion
• ground veggie sausage
• black beans
• roasted cubed pumpkin
• chopped kale
• fresh cilantro
• fresh spicy salsa / pico de gallo

Bring vegetable broth and salt to a boil in a pot. Add oil. Lower heat to simmer. Add the polenta in a slow steady stream, stirring constantly with a whisk. Whisk for about 5 minutes, until polenta is thickened. Keeping heat low, cover and let cook for 20 more minutes or so, stirring occasionally.

While polenta is cooking, in a pan sauté some onions with crumbled/ground veggie sausage and sprinkle with a little s+p. I then added in some black beans, leftover roasted cubed pumpkin and chopped kale. Once the sausage is cooked through, you may want to pour in some vegetable broth to help wilt the kale and keep everything from sticking.

When polenta is thick and creamy, spoon into a bowl and pile on your sautéed medley. Top with fresh cilantro and spicy salsa and devour!

Enjoy! -m

juicy, crisp & super sweet raw corn salad.

Sweet summer corn in its raw state is totally under-appreciated.

Chomping down on a freshly husked ear from the field across the street; your teeth bursting a mouthful of crispy kernels into sweet, milky juice that runs down your chin….

There’s something so rich and pure and earthy that I feel is lost when the ears are cooked.

SO. If you have not experienced the sensation that is sweet summer corn, fresh from the field and raw, try out this easy recipe for corn bhel, a sweet and tangy Indian street snack. Give your traditional boiled/baked/grilled corn-on-the-cob a break, and enjoy all the extra nutrients from the raw stuff!

I first had corn bhel at Chai Pani, an amaazing Indian street food-inspired restaurant in Asheville, NC (highly recommend it if you’re in the area!). It was love at first taste… love that quickly turned into addiction. How could such simple ingredients combine to create something so brightly flavorful and complex?

As expected, I’m pretty sure the flavor owes much to the “corn milk,” as I like to call it, which is plentiful and so rich and pure on an uncooked ear. Be sure to slice the kernels off as close to the cob as it allows, and then scrape again and again til you’ve milked the cob for all it’s worth.

MMM mmmm. Then spoon it onto a green salad, grilled fish or chicken, scoop it like salsa onto corn chips, serve it over a fried egg with salsa and black beans, provide as a healthy side dish, or eat it straight out of the serving bowl when you want to snack on something awesome. Did I mention it’s incredibly addicting……

Corn Bhel (sweet raw corn salad), inspired by Chai Pani’s dish

• 2 ears sweet corn, raw + kernels sliced fresh off the cob
• ‘corn milk’  (the juices from the cob, every last drop scraped off :)
• 1  red or white onion, diced
• 4 small-medium tomatoes, diced (this is just an estimate – I used what we had from the garden)
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 t roasted coriander powder
• 1/2 t cumin powder
• salt + pepper to taste

Hold each ear of corn on its end and slice the kernels off with a knife. Then continue scraping the cob ’til you get every last drop of juice. Combine all ingredients together in a pretty bowl and let sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour to let the flavors meld into deliciousness. Eat.

enjoy :) -mich

This post is linked to Wellness Weekends and Healthy Vegan Fridays :)

why I love summer mornings at home, and happy birthday blog!

Summer mornings at our quiet country home are perhaps the most serene and savored moments of my days.

All is still except the yellow sunlight slowly slipping further through the windows.

And silence is broken only by the voices of chirpy birds and occasional snores of a sleepy dog.

It’s a brief calm before the heat storm that is to come…

I take my time with a good long stretch, a homemade latte, and a slow breakfast including wild black raspberries picked from a neighbor’s farm and sweet, fat blueberries from a friend’s backyard. And my newly discovered favorite granola.

treats for tara

So I’m not big on posting recipes that I copy exactly from someone else. Writing up my own creations (the few successful ones) or a recipe that I’ve at least adapted to make my own feels much more like an accomplishment.

But I’ll make exceptions when something turns out just so perfect and everyone’s begging for the recipe.

Like these…..

When my family went to Colorado to celebrate my sister’s graduation, she threw a little party featuring sumo wrestling and tasty food prepared by us. Two pretty great things.

Among many other nibbles, mom made cute shrimp gazpacho shooters…..

…and I contributed the sweets, of course. My favorite chili-chocolate-cherry bean cookies emerged from the oven sadly flat (blaming that on the altitude..), but these almond butter rice crisp treats certainly made up for it.

coconut flour cookies – gluten free & grain free

Not often does one get offered a giant bag of coconut flour because someone has just too much of it. So when my uncle offered me an extra bag he had lying around (my gluten-free aunt orders online in bulk because it’s cheaper), I was glad to take it off their hands :)

I left their home after dinner with arms full of goodies— coconut flour and bunches of collards and lettuces fresh from their garden. It’s been nice living close to them for 4 years of college; I never left without something yummy, usually homemade applesauce or jarred South Carolina peaches. mmmm.

Anyway, with more coconut flour than I ever thought I’d have in my possession (that stuff can be expensive!) I was dreaming up all the recipes I could add it to. And what did I settle on first? The classic chocolate chip cookie, of course. Except this one’s not so classic…

I knew my aunt had been on a search for the best tasting gluten-free cookies, so I thought I’d add a homemade recipe to the competition. And it’s not only gluten-free, but grain-free, vegan, refined sugar-free, and very low in sugar overall. The baked cookie certainly has a different texture than the classic—a bit more dense, soft, and dough-like—but delicious in its own way.

I absolutely love these cookies and could easily just eat balls of the raw dough as well. I know my aunt enjoyed them, and even if you’re not avoiding gluten you should give them a try! A soft, dense, chocolatey, coconutty, just-sweet-enough treat, without any of the guilt ;)

grain-free coconut flour cookies, adapted from girl meets life.

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• ¼ cup almond meal/flour
• 1/4 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1 T agave
• 1/2 T coconut oil
• 1/4 t vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup almond or soy milk
• 3-4 T dark chocolate chips (I use grain-sweetened or dark mini chips)
• other options: cocoa nibs, coconut flakes, chopped nuts

How to love cilantro

I have to confess. growing up I always affiliated with the anti-cilantro party, much to my mother’s disapproval. It wasn’t my fault, I was told, as some people are just born with the cilantro-tastes-like-soap gene.

But then one mysterious day about two years ago, my taste buds did a 180. I didn’t gag when a cilantro leaf made its way across my tongue. It was an unfamiliar flavor, for sure, but… did I like it?

Turns out from then on I was a convert, my ideals finally aligned with my mother’s, and she could wholeheartedly love me once again. A happily ever after for me and cilantro, but I still owe it to him to make up for all those lost years. So here’s what I do:

1. Attempt to grow it, and if the squirrels dig through your pot to steal every last seed (really, squirrels?), then resort to the grocery store or farmer’s market.

2. Make this cilantro-lime pesto.

3. Put it on everything.

spinach frappe

This should really be called a banana mocha frappuccino, but I like to say spinach frapp just cause it sounds gross. Don’t get me wrong, I love my spinach. But who really wants it in their sweet blended coffee drink?

Leafy greens—fresh or frozen—turn out to be a great addition for smoothies and shakes. They add vitamins and fiber and substance to your smoothie without loading in the sugar, fat, or ice that waters down the flavor. Nor does it add any flavor of its own, so don’t worry about you frappucino tasting like a drinkable salad.

This homemade frappe has it all — sweetness from a frozen banana and vanilla soymilk, fiber from the spinach and banana, richness and antioxidants from the cocoa, a jolt of espresso, and extra protein (optional) from protein powder — without too much ice watering it down! To indulge in a mocha frappuccino for breakfast and not feel one bit of guilt? Mornings just got way sweeter.