Apple~Spinach Omelette with Cinnamon & Thyme

This is one of my favourite breakfast treats.
I like to make a very thin omelette using two eggs on a large griddle or frying pan, folding it over a couple of times to make thin layers of omelette...almost like a crepe.
You can also easily make a thicker omelette in a smaller skillet as well, placing the filling on one side and folding it over once :)

Ingredients:
-2 large eggs + 2Tbsp water
-2 tsps coconut oil
-1 apple, peeled and diced
-1-2 tsps of cinnamon
-1/2 tsp dried thyme
-sea salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
-a generous handful of fresh baby spinach leaves, chopped

1. Whisk together 2 eggs & 2 Tbsp water in a small bowl & set aside.

2. Melt the coconut oil into a small skillet.

3. Add the diced apple & cinnamon and sauté for 5 or so minutes on medium heat.

4. Remove from heat & add spinach, dried thyme and salt & pepper to taste. Stir together and reserve in skillet 'till ready for use.

5. Heat a frying pan or griddle with edges on it like the one in the photo over medium-low heat. Brush with a decent layer of coconut oil.

6. Pour egg mixture into pan and swirl to spread around. (At this point I like to cover it with a lid to speed up the cook time but that is not completely necessary.)

7. Once egg is close to cooked through, spread just over half of the apple/spinach mixture down the centre. Fold over one half, spoon the rest of the mixture on top and bring the other side over to cover.

8. Flip over an allow to cook a few min longer.

9. Remove to a plate, sprinkle with a little more cinnamon and salt & pepper if you wish. You can also top with even more fresh chopped fresh spinach before serving.

Manje!

Avocado & Egg Bake with fresh tomato salsa

pre-heat oven to 375*

Yields 2 servings

Ingredients:
-1 avocado
-2 eggs
-salt & pepper

Salsa:
-1 tomato, diced
-1 clove garlic, minced
-2 tbsp finely diced purple onion
-Juice and pulp from half a lemon
-chopped fresh cilantro to taste

Slice avocado in half & remove the pit.

Scoop a little of the flesh out of each half to make room for the egg. (Reserve the avocado you remove to add to the salsa.)

Crack eggs into the avocado halves & place on a baking sheet lined with foil or in a glass or stoneware loaf pan.

Sprinkle with sea salt & freshly ground pepper.

Place in oven, pre-heated to 375* and bake for 20 minutes or until eggs reach desired firmness.

While they are baking, combine all the salsa ingredients, including the reserved avocado.

Remove avocado halves from oven, top with the salsa and serve with brown rice cakes.

I simply scooped everything out of the avocado half onto my plate and used it to top my brown rice cakes.

Manje!

quinoa sushi! who knew?

i stumbled across VEGAN EATS...an amazing blog where Ross, the author (part-owner of Hot Beans , a vegan takeout place that is opening this spring in Toronto) shares his recipe for ASPARAGUS QUINOA SUSHI. i then proceeded to invite my most skilled sushi making friend and another dear friend over for a playdate/sushi making event. and it worked!!! i did omit the rice vinegar and sugar and used apple cider vinegar and agave nectar instead. we had a few rolls that weren't perfect, but i think that was more due to my lack of skill than anything else. we used asparagus, orange & yellow peppers, avocado and cucumber. i steamed the asparagus and then ran it under cold water and that worked well. we also quartered the asparagus lengthwise into 4 long strips as it was quite big. the sauce he included with the recipe was a perfect accompaniment to the quinoa and the asparagus. i will definitely be making this again. and again. and AGAIN! perhaps even for dinner so sean can try some as well : )

and, we DID make them again for dinner! i must say, my sushi rolling skills are improving somewhat...

sweet-potato avo & chickpea salad

 

left over avocado *lemon-dilly dip* from the chipotle chickpea wings in the fridge & nothing prepped for dinner tonight, led me to this...i plan on putting some over a bed of mixed greens and enjoying it immensely tonight while dining with one of my favorite people in all the world, marla binet (aka gramma M). we eat @ her home and watch "the biggest loser" together every tuesday evening that we are both around. she is being very understanding of me and my need to bring my own food and i am certain that milo will quite enjoy sharing her chicken and rice with her : ) i just had to have a taste test and i can guarantee that it is most certainly delicious!

this is super easy, especially if you already have the dressing ready to go in the fridge.

1 medium sweet potato, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 a cucumber, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 a red pepper, diced
1/2 an avocado, diced
(i was out of onion but i think this would have been even more delicious with some red-onion added)
2 cups cooked chickpeas (it was my plan originally to use black beans, but i was all out and hadn't the time to cook any, a solitary can of chickpeas @ the back of the pantry stood in. you could use any cooked beans you have on hand.)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
sea salt & pepper to taste
-steam the sweet potato 'til soft, place in a colander and rinse under cold water and let drain. 

-combine sweet potato with the rest of the ingredients in a mixing bowl, add about 1/3 cup of *lemon-dilly dip* and gently combine. garnish with extra cilantro if you wish.


manje!

chipotle chickpea"wings"

tonight i really, REAAAAAALLY wanted hot wings. so much so that i spent a ridiculous amount of time making dinner for just me. the end result was more than worth it and, there are leftovers for sean when he gets home from work! i made sure to keep track of everything i did this time as i went along so i could share the recipe with you all if it worked out. it did, so....here it is!!! this recipe yields about 42 "wings". you can dip them all in the sauce or save some to eat as is...either way they are tasty.

preheat oven to 325*F

for the WINGS...

1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup flaxseed
2 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 (19oz) can of chickpeas, rinsed & drained
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp bragg all purpose soy seasoning
1/2 a medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, grated
1 cup chopped baby spinach
sea salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tbsp poultry seasoning (i used EPICURE turkey rub)
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup bob's red mill gluten free flour blend

~grind the 1/2 cup almonds & 1/4 cup flaxseed together in blender.

~transfer to a large bowl and add everything except for the flours,
stir & then combine using a hand blender until well mixed and a fairly even texture.

~add the flours to the mixture and combine with a rubber spatula until the flour is all mixed in.

~form the mixture into whatever shape you'd like (i decided on triangles, not very wing like but i just felt like it : ) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

~bake @ 325*F for 30 minutes. (i did mine in a convection oven @ 300*F)

for the SAUCE...

in blender combine:
2 small cans V8 juice (or about 1 1/3 cups) *reserve a little and mix with the cornstarch before adding to the blender*
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup bragg all purpose soy seasoning
2 tbsp grainy dijon mustard
1/2-1 tsp chipotle chili powder (i used 1/2 and that was spicy enough for me)
freshly ground pepper to taste

~blend everything til smooth.

~transfer to a small sauce pan and heat on medium-high, stirring frequently 'til mixture comes to a boil. reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, sauce will thicken.

~remove from heat and allow to cool, and thicken even more.

~by this time the wings should be done, remove from the oven and get ready to dip!

~increase the oven temp to 350*F (325*F in convection)

~dip into the cooled sauce and place back onto the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (i used tongs as you can see in the photo & it worked very well...perfect with the triangle shape and not one of them broke) make sure to coat them well in the sauce mixture. the saucier the better! you may need to prep another baking sheet as well as i left more room between each of them when baking them for the second time.

~once all the wings are coated and back on pans, return to oven and bake for 15 more minutes or until wings are starting to brown.

~remove & let cool slightly on pan before transferring to plates.

i served the wings with: avocado lemon-dilly dip

1 avocado, skin and pit removed
1 tbsp grainy dijon mustard
the juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp bragg all purpose soy seasoning
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp EPICURE lemon dilly dip mix (you can use fresh or dried dill in it's place.)
sea salt & pepper to taste

3 tbsp olive oil
~combine all ingredients except for the olive oil in blender and combine til smooth.

~add the olive oil and blend again.

manje!

luscious lemon un~cheesecake

a few days ago i attempted a recipe in the THRIVE book for lemon sesame crisps...i over baked them however and altho tasty, i had this idea that they would be much better as part of a crumb crust base for some sort of dessert rather than the cookie like crackers they would have been if i had not over crisped them : ) i found THIS RECIPE for a raw lemon cheesecake and modified it as follows. you need to soak your nuts for the cheesecake part so it does take some planning ahead but it is well worth the wait!

*lemon sesame crisps*

2/3 cup sesame seeds
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup lemon zest
2 tbsp dulse flakes
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

~process all ingredients. lightly oil a baking sheet with coconut oil. spread mixture over tray to desired thickness. score with knife to mark desired crisp size. bake 20 min in a 300* oven. remove. let cook and harden before breaking up.

so, i baked this according to the baking directions for the other cracker recipes in the book, which was for 30 minutes....and then left them in even longer than that. i am sure that even if baked according to directions, they could still be used to make a delicious crust for the dessert : ) i am also sure that you could even just mix the above ingredients with the following to make a crust and bake it for 20-30 min @ 300* in a spring form pan and that that would eliminate a whole step!

i crumbled up my botched batch of lemon sesame crisps and combined them with...
1/2 cup ground flaxseeds
3/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
and 1/2-3/4 cup date paste (soak a couple handfuls of pitted dates in hot water for 15 minutes or so, remove and blend into a paste, reserve soaking water to use for the cheesecake filling.)

i pressed this into the bottom of a greased 9" spring form pan.

to make the "cheese"cake filling, i combined the following ingredients in my blender...

2 cups raw macadamia nuts, soaked overnight in water (raw cashew nuts would work as well)
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup agave nectar
a few drops of liquid stevia
1/8 cup coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup of the water that was used to soak the dates
blend 'til smooth and then pour into the spring form pan. place the whole thing in the freezer for @ least an hr. garnish the top with a little extra flaked coconut and some lemon zest if you'd like.

manje!

meatless meatballs

i based the recipe for these meatballs on an almond flaxseed burger recipe in the THRIVE book and they were truly delicious! we all loved them, milo included as you can see by his empty dish. he kept saying "mmm noodles." no clue that he was devouring a dish of squash, seeds and nuts : )

the original recipe for the burgers calls for~
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp coconut, hemp or EFA oil blend (i used coconut oil & reduced the amount to 1tbsp)
sea salt to taste

i first ground the flaxseed in my blender until fine, added the almonds and blended again. i then transferred the mixture to a medium sized bowl and added the minced garlic, balsamic vinegar and coconut oil. i used my hand blender to blend all these ingredients together.

to this mixture i added~
3 tbsp BRAGG all purpose soy seasoning
1 cup finely chopped fresh baby spinach
1 medium grated carrot
1 cup cooked quinoa
and a couple tbsp of EPICURE guacamole dip mix
(you could substitute seasonings of your choice)
 
 @ this point i stirred all the ingredients together and tried to start rolling the mixture into "meatballs" but found i needed to blend everything a little more with the hand blender in order to obtain the right consistency. leave some un-blended bits of carrot and spinach in the mixture. roll into whatever sized meat balls you would like and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. bake in a 300* oven for 40 minutes or so. i turned the meat balls over about half way thru the cooking time.

i served these meatballs over spaghetti squash. to cook the squash i cut it in half and placed it skin side up on a baking dish. i covered it in foil and baked it for about 40 minutes @ 350*. i checked it frequently as i did not want the squash to become to mushy. it came out perfectly spaghetti like altho a little firmer than some might like. if you'd rather it be softer just bake it for a little longer. top all with a tomato sauce of your choice, store bought or homemade. mine was a mixture of both as we were out of tomatoes. i sauteed some onions in a little olive oil, added some red and orange peppers, garlic and combined this with a couple cans of organic tomato sauce & 1 small can of tomato paste to thicken it up a little. i also added a little agave nectar to cut the acidity of the tomato sauce. we will definitely be making this again.

the THRIVE recipe for the burgers tastes great as well but is a little heavy for me, i think the next time i make them i will use my modified recipe with the 1/2 amount of oil and adding the veggies & quinoa. the original makes enough for 2 patties but with the added ingredients i imagine it would make quite a few more.

the original recipe also makes an awesome bacon-bit-esque type topping that tastes great on a bed of salad greens topped with your choice of dressing or on a baked potato.