Super Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cookies

C is for Cookie, that's good enough for me!  Who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies?  I know that I sure do, and so do all of my faithful taste-testers who helped in the development of this recipe.  I had to try THREE TIMES to get it just right.  I wanted to create a chocolate chip cookie that would incorporate whole foods ingredients, at the same time providing a blast of delicious vanilla flavor in each bite.  I hope you enjoy the end result.  I know that I have a hard time resisting them!

SUPER VANILLA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients:

3/4 cup agave nectar

3/4 cup sucanat*

1/2 cup coconut oil or butter** 

2 1/2 tsp. natural Mexican vanilla (use only 1 tsp. if using regular vanilla extract)

1 large egg

1 1/4 cups graham flour (can sub whole wheat pastry flour)

1 cup ground rice flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. sea salt

2 cups dark chocolate chips***

*Learn more about sucanat here.
**Learn about coconut oil vs. butter here.
***Choose chocolate chips with as high a cocoa content as possible.

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Beat agave, sucanat, egg, butter, and vanilla in a medium sized bowl.

3.  Stir in flours, baking soda, and salt..  Stir in chocolate chips.

4.  Scoop dough balls onto cookie sheets, placing 2 inches apart.  I use a cookie scoop to ensure same-sized cookies.

5.  Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool on rack.  I found that these cookies had to cool for quite a while (30 min or so) before they solidified enough to pick up.  After that, they were perfect!

YIELD:  Just over 2 dozen cookies.

Beat agave, sucanat, egg, butter, and vanilla in a medium sized bowl.

Stir in flours, baking soda, and salt..  

Stir in chocolate chips.

Scoop dough balls onto cookie sheets, placing 2 inches apart. 

 Bake 8-10 minutes. 

Cool on rack.

Enjoy!!

"Eat Your Greens" Lunch Wrap

A few weeks ago, I tried this recipe from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen.  It's a great eggplant and zucchini casserole that was a big hit with our dinner guests.  Included in the recipe is a bean paste that serves as one of the layers in the casserole.  I fell in love with this paste, and decided to create my own recipe where it could be the star of the show .  I modified it just a bit to make it more spreadable, and the "Eat Your Greens" Lunch Wrap was born.  I like this wrap because it sneaks in an extra cup of spinach along with the lettuces used in the filling of the wrap.  As a vegetarian, I'm always looking for ways to add leafy greens to my diet because they pack quite a punch in the nutrition department.  This recipe does the trick!

"EAT YOUR GREENS" LUNCH WRAP

Ingredients:

15 oz. can Great Northern Beans

1 tbsp. nutritional yeast*

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 cup fresh spinach, firmly packed

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Tortillas/Wraps  (I prefer sprouted grain tortillas)

Vegetables of your choice for stuffing the wrap.  Here, I used two different types of lettuce, avocado, red pepper, onion, and a little extra spinach.

*Nutritional yeast is rich in vitamin B12, folic acid, and amino acids.  It's also a good source of protein and it's low in fat.  It comes in powdery, flake-like form (it reminds me of fish food), and it has a nutty, cheese-like flavor.  I add it to many different recipes, both for its flavor and its nutritional benefits

1.  Drain and rinse beans.  Place beans, yeast, spinach and spices in food processor and blend until smooth.

2.  Slowly add olive oil, processing until you have reached the desired consistency (see pictures for reference).

3.  Spread bean paste on tortilla, stuff with vegetables, roll, and ENJOY!

Gather Ingredients.

Place beans, yeast, spinach and spices in food processor and blend until smooth.

Spread bean paste on tortilla.  The tortilla shown here is a regular flour tortilla, but I prefer sprouted grain tortillas.

Add greens (and Purples!)

Continue adding vegetables until you can fit no more.

Roll up and ENJOY!

Blueberry Baked Oatmeal With Sweet Potato Puree

I eat oatmeal every day for breakfast.  Yep, I meant that. Every. Single. Day.  I love it that much!  I keep it interesting, though, with a variety of delicious toppings and add-ins.  I think I can go about 2 weeks without repeating one of my "recipes."  This baked oatmeal recipe came about when I was looking at pounds and pounds of sweet potatoes in our kitchen the other night, wondering how I was going to use them all up.  It's a different take on an old favorite, and I think it turned out quite good!  

BLUEBERRY BAKED OATMEAL WITH SWEET POTATO PUREE

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground flaxseed

dash of salt

1/4 cup 100% maple syrup

1 cup milk

1 large egg, beaten

1 tbsp melted coconut oil or butter

2 tsp pure Mexican vanilla

2 cups pureed sweet potatoes (peel potatoes, steam, then puree in blender or food processor)

1 tbsp light agave nectar

1 cup fresh blueberries, divided

1.  Grease an 8 x 8 baking dish with coconut oil.  Preheat oven to 375.

2.  Mix oats, baking powder, cinnamon, flaxseed, and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.

3.  Mix maple syrup, milk, egg, coconut oil, and vanilla in a container with a pour spout.  Set aside.

4.  Mix sweet potato and agave nectar in a small bowl.

5.  Spread sweet potato mixture evenly into the bottom of the baking dish.

6.  Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the blueberries onto the sweet potatoes.

7.  Spread the oats mixture evenly on top of the blueberries and potatoes.

8.  Pour liquid mixture over oats.

9.  Sprinkle the remaining blueberries on top.

10.  Bake, uncovered, for 35-40 minutes.

11.  Enjoy!

Mix oats, baking powder, cinnamon, flaxseed, and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.

Mix maple syrup, milk, egg, coconut oil, and vanilla in a container with a pour spout.  Set aside.

Mix sweet potato and agave nectar in a small bowl.  Spread sweet potato mixture evenly into the bottom of the baking dish.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the blueberries onto the sweet potatoes.

Spread the oats mixture evenly on top of the blueberries and potatoes.

Pour liquid mixture over oats.

Sprinkle the remaining blueberries on top.

Bake, uncovered, for 35-40 minutes.

Let cool for 15 minutes before serving, or refrigerate and reheat the next morning.

Look at that scrumptious sweet potato layer at the bottom!  You can serve this baked oatmeal as is...

Topped with maple syrup....

Or in a bowl with some cold milk!  ENJOY!

Strawberry Lemon Waffles

 My neighbor recently bought the Deliciously Organic  cookbook by Carrie Vitt, and she loaned it to me so I could check out the recipes.  I read through it last night, and I was super excited to try the Sour Cream and Lemon Pancakes with Blueberry Puree for breakfast this morning.  There was only one minor roadblock:  the grocery fairy didn't visit last night, so I didn't have most of the ingredients in the house when I woke up this morning.  No sour cream.  No blueberries. No freshly ground pastry flour.  No sucanat... You can see where this is going.  There was NO WAY I was going to be able to try the recipe without running to the store and spending money we don't have.  So, I decided to greatly modify the recipe to incorporate ingredients that were already in the pantry.  Then, I decided I was really more in the mood for waffles, so I added some coconut oil to the batter.  I still plan to try Carrie's delicious sounding recipe someday, but these waffles really hit the spot for today.

STRAWBERRY LEMON WAFFLES

Ingredients:
4 tbsp. light agave nectar
3/4 cup lemon juice (either fresh squeezed or from a bottle)
1 tbsp. melted coconut oil
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 cup strawberries, chopped in quarters (Next time I make this, I'll definitely double the amount of berries)
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tbsp. ground flax seed (not essential to the recipe, but it boost the nutritional content)
2 large eggs
2-3 tbsp. milk (dairy or non-dairy)

1.  Juice lemons.  Pour juice into food processor, adding a little lemon pulp as well.  Add strawberries, coconut oil, vanilla, and agave nectar.  Process until smooth.

2.  Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

3.  Slightly beat eggs.

4.  Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients.  Pour eggs and strawberry mixture into the well and blend with whisk until combined.

5.  Add milk, 1 tbsp at a time, until desired consistency is reached (see picture below).

6.  Ladle into hot, greased waffle iron.  Remove from waffle iron when waffles are a nice golden brown.

7.  Serve topped with 100% maple syrup and garnished with a strawberry and a lemon slice.

8.  ENJOY!

Gather ingredients.

Juice lemons.  Pour juice into food processor, adding a little lemon pulp as well.
Add strawberries, coconut oil, and agave nectar.

Pulse until smooth.

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
Pour eggs and strawberry mixture into the well and blend with whisk until combined.

Add milk, 1 tbsp at a time, until desired consistency is reached.

Ladle into waffle iron and cook until waffles are golden brown.

Serve topped with 100% maple syrup.  Garnish with strawberry and lemon.

Enjoy!

Yum!

Beet, Frisee, Fennel, and Goat Cheese Salad with Citrus Viniagrette

I love beets.  Hmmmm... that's not something I thought I'd ever say.  I've never been a huge fan, but my sister-in-law recently changed my mind when she made the salad pictured to the left.  She was staying with us for a few days during the Christmas holiday, and she told me that she had a craving for a beet and goat cheese salad.  After buying the ingredients, she headed to the kitchen and started creating.  I wish I would have known what she was up to in there, because I would have taken step-by-step photos to chronicle the process.  Instead, I just have a few beautiful pictures of the finished product.  You'll have to use your imagination to figure out what it looked like along the way.

BEET, FRISEE, FENNEL, AND GOAT CHEESE SALAD

Ingredients:

Dressing:
3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel
Salt and pepper

Salad:

2 medium-large golden and/or red beets

1 bunch of frisee (arugula, mixed greens)

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly shaved

½ cup of shallots (red or white onions can also be substituted)

2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

1.  Roast the beets.  Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap unpeeled beets loosely in foil and roast until tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool, then remove skins. (You can rub them off with a paper towel). Then cut into 1-inch wedges.

2.  Prepare the dressing.  Mix all ingredients until combined.  Add salt and pepper, to taste.  

(Dressing and beets can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately; chill. Bring both to room temperature before continuing.)

3.  Soak the shallots/onions.  Thinly slice shallots/onions, then add them to the dressing.  Allow them to soak while you prepare the rest of the salad.  This will mix the flavors beautifully.

4.  Make the salad.  Combine beets, frisee, and fennel in a bowl; add 2 tablespoon dressing (reserve the rest); add onions; toss. Top with goat cheese.