Springtime Roasted Fiddlehead Salad

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vvpLOGO    Welcome to your next salad in this Virtual Vegan Potluck!  I’m sure you mouth is now watering from all the appetizers, beverages, bread and previous salad posts!  I know mine is!

Considering it’s early May, I wanted to give you a salad that contains a veggie that marks the beginning of the Spring season.  Like the first robin on our front porch,  Spring has officially arrived when fiddleheads arrive at our farmer’s markets and local supermarkets.  For me, fiddleheads are a Springtime delicacy.

Fiddleheads are the furled fronds of a young ostrich fern.  Using my daughter’s words here – “they are cool looking”, as “they very much resemble a little gnome’s violin”.  Fiddleheads have a Spring-like and earthy flavour quite similar to asparagus, another one of my favourites.  This veggie is so nutrient-rich, mostly with iron, fiber, and omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, you just gotta love them!  They grow wild in my neck-of-the-woods, mostly along the banks of rivers and marshes.

I’m pretty big on raw foods, but this is one vegetable that should not be eaten raw. Traditionally, fiddleheads are boiled or steamed for 10-12 minutes.  I wanted to try a different method, so I went with roasting.  Roasting usually brings out the sweetness in vegetables, so it was worth a try.  Roasting fiddleheads, I am happy to report,  makes this unassuming vegetable a little more palatable for some fussy mouths (thinking of my 9 year-old here).

fiddlehead

I hope you enjoy my Springtime Roasted Fiddlehead Salad! I tried to keep the recipe and ingredient list simple.  If you are unable to find some fiddleheads, you can always substitute asparagus or broccoli in this recipe.  But, if you really have the desire for fiddleheads, don’t wait too long.  They are only around for a short period of time (unless you acquire frozen ones!).  Without further ado, here is my recipe.

SPRINGTIME ROASTED FIDDLEHEAD SALAD

  • 2 cups of fiddleheads
  • 1/2 tablespoon melted coconut oil for roasting (or any other high smoke point oil)
  • 1 large carrot, sliced thinly on a diagonal
  • 1 celery stalk, sliced thinly on a diagonal
  • 2 green onions, sliced thinly on a diagonal
  • 1/2 red pepper, sliced
  • 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a roasting pan with parchment paper.

Wash fiddleheads thoroughly in cold water.  Gently remove  browned tips and brown flakes.  Pat dry with a clean cloth.  Toss gently in a large bowl with melted coconut oil and place on prepared pan.  Be sure fiddleheads are spread out evenly on pan.  Add a sprinkle of sea salt, if you wish.  Roast fiddleheads for approximately 25 minutes, giving them a little flip halfway through roasting.  Let cool.

In a small mixing bowl, mix together olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic.  This is your salad’s dressing.

Prepare remaining vegetables and toss in a medium-sized serving bowl.

Once fiddleheads have cooled, add them to your serving bowl.  Whip your dressing with a fork and pour the dressing over the vegetables in your serving bowl.  Toss and serve.

Enjoy the rest of this fabulous potluck!

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Pear and Almond Smoothie

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pearsmoothie

I have to share this smoothie!  We have made this smoothie every morning this week before school or work and I just made it again for myself this afternoon.  We are a little addicted.

The original recipe comes from  Wanigan Organic Fruits and Vegetables in Brampton, Ontario. Last weekend, I had my husband make a stop there for some fruits and veggies before his trek home.  This store has the best variety and the most gorgeous looking produce you will ever see!  On the back of his receipt, we found this smoothie recipe.  I made one little substitution and one wee addition.  I replaced the teaspoon of vanilla extract with a 1/2 scoop of Vanilla SunWarrior Protein Powder and added some grated nutmeg.  So, chai-like!

PEAR AND ALMOND SMOOTHIE

  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 1 chopped pear
  • 1 date, pitted
  • 2 tablespoons almond butter (I used a raw almond butter)
  • 1/2 scoop of Vanilla SunWarrior Protein Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • bit of grated nutmeg or dash of ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth.  I enjoyed my last glass with a couple of ice cubes on my deck. :)

Living Foods – so much to love!

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It’s been exactly one week since I completed Natasha Kyssa’s 28-day Simply Raw Detox program.  I ran into a friend and follower over the weekend and she asked if I had a big celebration to mark the end of this raw food cleanse.  I told her I did.  The truth is I celebrated with a bottle (well half) of kombucha and a big plate of greens and sprouts.

I feel so absolutely wonderful from eating raw foods for the past 28 days that I hesitate to veer too far away from the raw food diet.  I have more energy and focus, especially during those long afternoons.  My fingernails are long and strong instead of chipped and peeling and, as an added bonus, I  dropped a couple of pounds. :)

Natasha Kyssa’s program put me back on track by breaking the bad habits I acquired over the winter months.  It helped me recognize the patterns of these bad habits and the reasons for particular food cravings.  The great thing now is that I have no cravings!  I am eating to live and not living to eat.

Yesterday, my husband and I took our eldest daughter to an event in downtown Ottawa.  When it was finished, it was about 3 pm and we were thinking of places we could stop to get a bite to eat.  It was a hot and sunny day and my daughter asked for a fruit smoothie, so we stopped at the perfect place!

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SimplyRaw Express is located on Wellington Street in our nation’s capital – Ottawa.  Not only juices and smoothies, this quaint eatery has a good selection of salads, wraps, and desserts.  Guess who made our smoothies? Natasha Kyssa!

We enjoyed a Mango Lassi, Strawberry Fields, and Peaceful Warrior smoothie and split a mexican wrap stuffed with black beans, veggies, and cilantro.  Absolutely mouth-watering!  I am now on a mission to replicate these flavours at home.  By the way, mango and parsley are an awesome combination.

This was my treat this afternoon – to share with my husband, regrettably. ;) This is SimplyRaw’s Mocha Cheezecake.  Who needs dairy or sugar in their cheezecake?  This was freakin’ delicious!

cheezecake

Next raw food cleanse is in October.  Are you in?

Cinnamon-Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies

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While visiting our local coffee shop a couple of weeks ago, I signed up to participate in a Bake Off event to help support a great Canadian charity.  SchoolBOX is an organization that helps send communities in Nicaragua to school.  SchoolBOX constructs schools and provides its students and teachers with the necessary tools to bring literacy to life.  Equator Coffee Roasters‘ Bake Off event was this past Saturday.   From this bake sale, they raised well over $500 for SchoolBOX.

I decided that these cookies were perfect to bring to Equator Coffee for the sale.  Cookie monsters will go wild with their serious knock your socks off flavour!

The original recipe comes from Chloe Coscarelli’s awesome vegan cookbook, “Chloe’s Kitchen”.  I tweaked the recipe a bit by making them gluten-free and replacing the brown sugar with coconut sugar.  As well,  I substituted 2 tablespoons of a strong brew of espresso coffee for the instant espresso powder.

CINNAMON-ESPRESSO CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES 

  • 2 cups gluten-free flour (see below for recipe to make your own mix)*
  • 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup vegan margarine (I used Earth Balance)
  • 2 tablespoons brewed espresso coffee, cooled to room temperature
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups vegan chocolate chips  (I used Enjoy Life)
  • granulated sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl.

Using a mixer, beat vegan margarine, powdered sugar, and coconut sugar until well combined.  Mix in the flour mixture about 1/2 cup at a time. The dough will appear a little dry.  Add brewed espresso coffee and mix.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Using tablespoons, scoop out dough and roll in a small plate of granulated sugar.  Place each scoop on prepared baking sheets.  Cookies will spread in the oven, so allow for some space between each.  If you love crisp cookies like myself, then gently flatten the dough with the palm of your hand.

Bake for about 12-14 minutes.  Let cool before placing on a wired rack.

*GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR MIX (from Living Without)

I store this mix in a large glass container and keep it in my fridge.

  • 2 cups brown rice flour
  • 2 cups white rice flour
  • 1 1/3 potato starch
  • 2/3 tapioca starch

I need to come clean

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I had the greatest intentions last week of converting my kitchen into one mean sprouting and fermentation facility.   If you recall, my plan was to embrace my third go of Natasha Kyssa’s The Simply Raw Living Foods Detox with enthusiasm and my utmost devotion.  I will be honest.  This past week was not a good week.  Life just got in the way or, as the saying goes life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.

I won’t bore you with all the things that went wrong this past week.  Let’s just say I was a jack-of-all-trades for about 22 hours each and every day. ;)

Week 3 of my cleanse had me introduce more living foods to my diet.  I ate a lot of sprouts, dark leafy greens, green smoothies and juices, and shots of wheatgrass juice and E3 Live.  E3 Live is a frozen/liquid form of blue-green algae that comes from ocean water.  You can read more about this superfood here.

I reduced my consumption of extra virgin olive oil which meant that my salads on most days were topped with lemon juice only.  By the end of the week, I was getting pretty darn tired of sprouts and salads. I wanted Natasha’s seed cheese and puddings but because of my hectic week, I only had time to throw (I do mean this literally) greens and sprouts on my plate. I was also feeling quite irritable as I was making the kids their dinner (so much for cooking with love), as I wanted to dive right into their meal of soups and pasta.

So, what did I do?  I turned to my support group on Facebook and ranted.   Then I cheated. (gasp!)

I had “lightly” steamed asparagus a couple of nights on my salad.  Asparagus is by far a favourite of mine.  I then met a friend at a local coffee shop and ordered an herbal tea and had a couple of her raw power balls that are to die for.  Her power balls are raw,  but they contain maple syrup and almond butter – both foods not allowed this week.  The following day I returned to the same coffee shop with a friend and ordered a black coffee.  Gosh it was good.  On Sunday, the last day of week 3, my daughter and I met some friends for our annual pre-Stars On Ice lunch.  The restaurant of choice was Japanese.  I ate more than my share of avocado and sweet potato tempura sushi with a side of my very own pot of green tea.

So much for following the plan 100 per cent. :(

I’m not going to beat myself up over it though.  Today is the 23rd day of this 28-day plan.  I will get back on the horse to finish this week proudly.

I will end this post by sharing with you my breakfast,  mid-morning snack, and lunch. All of this with a lot of water in between.

As I end this, the sun is shining and the temperature outside has finally reached a normal high.  A walk into town might be nice.  I think a little fresh air, sunshine, and exercise will help me stay positive. :)

Kale and Leek Tofu Frittatas

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tofufrittata

For my family , tofu frittatas have become that go-to food you pull out of the freezer when your day goes awry and you don’t have time to whip up something healthy.   When my daughter was eating these en route to the skating rink this past week, I knew I had to post the recipe.  So many of us struggle to find a healthy snack or meal for our kids when life just gets too busy.  Tofu frittatas are that perfect “finger food” that will prevent you from making a quick stop at your local fast food restaurant.

I used Elisa Ray’s tofu frittata recipe from her plant-based and allergy-friendly blog, eating whole.  I made one substitution (kale for spinach) and one addition (leek) from her original recipe in hopes that they would mimic the mini quiches I used to make quite frequently for the kids.  My daughters said they taste just like those quiches and I am thrilled!  No eggs, dairy, or gluten in this recipe!  Add whatever veggies suit your fancy.  Our favourite combination is kale and leek.

Instead of eggs, a block of firm tofu is the base of this recipe.  I recommend that you use an organic tofu in all of your tofu recipes.  Tofu is made from soybeans and right now in Canada and the U.S., nearly all non-organic soybeans are genetically modified.  If you are at all confused about soy or tofu, I suggest you read this – one of my earlier posts.  Hopefully, this will clarify things for you.

If you have small children, use your mini muffin pan and make mini frittatas.  Actually, my ten year-old daughter has renamed these as tofu bites.  They are a perfect size for small mouths.  They are also a perfect size for when you are on the go and wish for a mess-free trip. ;)

tofubites

Buckwheat Banana Pancakes

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pancakes

When my husband and I first decided our kitchen was to be a gluten-free zone, we stayed clear away from buckwheat and buckwheat flour because of its name.  We naturally assumed that buckwheat was some form of wheat.  After some reading and research, we eventually learned that buckwheat is in fact gluten-free and that it is not a grain, but a seed from a plant closely related to the rhubarb family.

I love buckwheat flour for its taste and nutritional value.  Containing 8 amino acids, buckwheat is very high in protein.  In his book Whole Foods to Thrive,  Brendan Brazier writes that buckwheat includes “high amounts of the often-elusive tryptophan”.  Tryptophan, one of the ten amino acids, helps “enhance mood and mental clarity”.  On this dreary cool spring morning,  we could all use a little extra tryptophan!  Buckwheat is also high in fiber and it gives baked goods a unique nutty flavour.

Our pancakes this morning were adapted from Brazier’s above mentioned book.  The original recipe calls for hemp flour and barley flakes.  I had neither in the house, so I substituted quinoa flour and quinoa flakes.

BUCKWHEAT BANANA PANCAKES (adapted from “Whole Foods to Thrive”)

  • 1 cup buckwheat flour
  • 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
  • 1/4 quinoa flour
  • 2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 banana
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup quinoa flakes

In a large bowl, mix the flours, flaxseed, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.  In a food processor or blender, process the banana and water while slowly adding the dry ingredients until a smooth mixture is reached.  Transfer mixture to the large bowl and stir in the quinoa flakes.

Lightly oil a frying pan with coconut oil and heat over medium heat.  Pour scoopfuls of batter in heated pan.  Once bubbles appear (a few minutes), flip pancake over and fry for another few minutes.

Serve with some fresh fruit and a helping of maple syrup. :)