It's so freezing today, a very cold day and perfect for staying at home and to some cooking and some christmas decoration inclusive some cookies already done.
Eggplant and Sun-Dried Tomato
Couscous Wraps
Ingredients for about 20 wraps:
- 3 cups cooked brown rice
couscous
- 1 quart gluten-free vegetable
broth, I use Trader Joe’s low sodium vegetable broth
- 25-30 basil leaves, chopped
- 2 Tbsp. gf nutritional yeast
- 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, I
use Trader Joe’s brand for this because it is labeled GF
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 globe eggplants
- 1 cup pesto
- 1 bottle of gf marinara sauce
Directions:
Eggplant Wraps
Sun-dried Tomato Couscous Salad
Prepare the brown
rice couscous according to the directions on the package replacing the
vegetable broth for the water. I normally make the entire box at once and then
reserve some of the couscous for a different recipe or for lunch the next day. Once the couscous is cooked place 3 cups of it
into a large bowl and add the chopped basil, nutritional yeast, pine nuts,
sun-dried tomatoes, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine and
season with additional salt and pepper if necessary. If using in the eggplant
rolls allow the couscous to cool before continuing any further.
Assemble
Preheat oven to
350°F. On a flat work surface layout one eggplant “skin” and spread a small
amount of pesto from one edge to the other creating a thin layer of pesto
across the entire surface. Take a large soup spoon and scoop up some of the
couscous salad, use the palm of your hand to squeeze the couscous tightly into
a small oval shape. Lay the couscous ball onto the eggplant skin about an inch
from the bottom. Wrap the extra inch of eggplant up over the couscous and begin
to roll towards the opposite end using your fingers to gently push any of the
couscous that falls out back into the roll. Place seam side down on a baking
sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat these steps with the remaining skins
and couscous until all the rolls have been made.
Once all of the
rolls have been made place in the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes to
warm through. Serve with heated marinara sauce on the side to ladle over the
top.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vegan Gluten-Free Pumpkin Gnocchi with Vegetable
Tomato Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 cup pureed pumpkin (not
pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 flax egg (1 tbs flax
meal w/ 2 tbs warm water, mixed and left to combine for about 5-10
minutes)
- 1 1/2 cup gluten-free flour (This
doesn’t have to be gluten-free – Feel free to use all-purpose or whole
wheat)
- 1 can whole tomatoes/2-3
fresh tomatoes, chopped
- large handful of baby spinach
- 4-5 black olives, sliced
- mushrooms, sliced (I
accidentally ate all the mushrooms last night, so I replaced them with
pineapple :p)
- cayenne pepper, to taste
- 1/4-1/2 tsp italian seasoning
- extra virgin olive oil /
virgin coconut oil (for sautéing)
- Optional
toppings: Vegan
Parmesan topping (Can be found already prepared in the refrigerated
section of vegan/vegetarian products in grocery stores or you can make
your own by blending nutritional yeast, almonds/pine nuts/walnuts in a
blender until it is the consistency of crumbled parmesan), Daiya shredded
vegan cheese, Salt & Pepper, Nutritional Yeast.
Directions
Making the Pumpkin
Gnocchi:
- Prepare the flax egg and set
aside. (See my flax egg directions above) In a large bowl, add in the
pureed pumpkin, the flax egg mixture, the 1/4 tsp of nutmeg and 1/4 tsp of
sea salt. Slowly add in the flour, stirring as you are adding it into the
bowl. Once it is all added, keep mixing it until everything is fully
combined. It may also help to use your hands to mix everything together.
Your dough should be able to hold together but it will still feel a bit
sticky and not completely dry.
- At this point you may want to
start boiling a pot of water while you prepare the gnocchi. Get out a
large cutting board or prepare a clean flat surface and sprinkle a bit of
flour down and also add a bit of flour to your hands. Take about 1/4 or
1/5th of the dough and start to roll it out into a rope. Try to make it as
even as possible and about 1 1/2″ wide and 1/2″ high. Using a sharp knife,
carefully cut the dough into small bite-sized pieces. Put to the side and
repeat with the rest of the dough.
- Once the water has come to a
boil, place the gnocchi into the pot and wait until they rise to the
surface. It took about 2-3 minutes for mine to float to the surface. At
this point, use a straining ladle to remove them and place them on a
plate. I cooked my gnocchi in about 3 batches, but once the water has
boiled, it really takes no time at all to cook them all.
At this point, you
can either follow my recipe for the sauce or use your favourite sauce recipe.
If you’d like to follow mine, keep reading
Get out a non-stick skillet
and add a small amount of oil. Heat it up to med-low heat. Add in the
minced garlic and chopped onion and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add in
the cayenne, italian seasoning, 1 can whole tomatoes (not the juice) or
freshly chopped tomatoes, spinach, olives, chopped bell pepper and
mushrooms. You can add in a few tbs of the tomato juice if using canned
tomatoes and use a wooden spoon to break up the tomatoes. Stir and cook
for a few minutes. During the last couple of minutes of cooking, add in
the pumpkin gnocchi and stir until it is coated with the tomato mixture.
Remove from heat and serve as a side or a main dish.
I sprinkled vegan
parmesan and daiya shredded vegan cheese on top when I served this, as well as
adding a bit of pepper on top.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Spicy Gingersnaps
Makes 48 cookies
These gingersnaps get an extra spicy kick from black pepper. (If you prefer a milder flavor, omit the pepper and reduce the ground
ginger to 2 teaspoons.) The gingersnaps depend on tub-style shortening–not butter, margarine, or shortening sticks–for their crisp, firm texture and crackled tops.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbs. ground ginger
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- ¾ cup tub-style shortening
- ⅔ cup plus ½ cup sugar, divided
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar
- 3 Tbs. plain rice milk or soymilk
- ¼ cup molasses
1. Whisk together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and pepper in large bowl. Set aside.
2. Cream shortening, 2/3 cup sugar, and brown sugar with electric mixer until fluffy. Add rice milk, and beat until smooth. Beat in molasses. Add flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time, beating after each addition, until soft dough forms.
3. Divide dough in half. Transfer each dough half to large sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper. Use plastic wrap to shape dough into 2 2-inch-diameter logs. Wrap tightly, and chill 2 hours, or overnight.
4. To bake cookies: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place remaining 1/2 cup sugar in shallow bowl. Slice dough logs into 1/2-inch-thick slices, rolling logs 90 degrees between slices to keep edges round. Dip one side of each slice in sugar, and place sugar-side up on greased or parchment paper–lined baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until cookies are crackled and dry on top. Cool 2 to 3 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
