20140121

Gluten Free and Grain Free Chocolate Granola Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Serves about 6

It’s a cross between trail mix and granola, rich with the deep dusky flavor of cocoa.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup/ 112g raw walnuts 
  • 1 cup/112g raw almonds 
  • Pinch of fine sea salt 
  • ¼ cup/ 60g raw honey 
  • 3 Tablespoons/ 42g unsalted butter 
  • 3 Tablespoons/ 
  • 23g raw cacao or natural cocoa powder 
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract 
  • 2 Tablespoons/ 15 g chia seeds 
  • ½ cup/40g unsweetened shredded coconut 
  • 2 oz/60g bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped



Instructions
  1. Soak walnuts and almonds covered in water with a pinch of salt overnight or for about 8 hours.(Soaking the nuts first removes the enzyme inhibitors, making them easier to digest) 
  2. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F/ 93 degrees C. 
  3. Drain and rinse the nuts and quickly them in a cloth towel. 
  4. Place the nuts in the bowl of a food processor and pulse briefly until just coarsely chopped. 
  5. Gently melt together the butter and honey in a small saucepan over low heat stirring continually to combine. 
  6. Add in the cacao or natural cocoa powder along with a pinch of salt and the vanilla and whisk to blend until well combined. 
  7. Add the chocolate mixture to the food processor and pulse to combine. 
  8. Add the chia seeds and shredded coconut to the bowl and pulse again until everything is about the size of oats. 
  9. Spread chocolate nut mixture evenly on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. 
  10. Bake at 200 degrees for about 4 hours, or until dry and crispy. 
  11. Cool on wire rack. Stir in chopped chocolate and store in airtight container.

Read more: http://gourmandeinthekitchen.com/2012/gluten-free-grain-free-chocolate-granola-recipe/#ixzz2r02jbcmA

20140111

Flax Bread

Focaccia-Style Flax Bread

User Rating4.5 Star Rating(302 Reviews)
Updated March 14, 2013
Flax Bread Sandwich
Flax Bread Sandwich
Photo © Emily Dolson
I call this "focaccia" because it is baked in that style -- flat on a sheet pan, and then cut up into whatever sized pieces you want. It works for toast, sandwiches, and other bready uses. It is "rough" in texture like heavy whole grain breads. Since it isn't made with wheat, it doesn't have the same kind of grain as wheat breads, but the carb in flax is almost all fiber. Flax is very useful on a low carb diet, as well as being amazingly good for you.

There is a video of this bread being made. View the video here.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups flax seed meal
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1-2 Tablespoons sugar equivalent from artificial sweetener
  • 5 beaten eggs
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/3 cup oil

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare pan (a 10X15 pan with sides works best) with oiled parchment paper or a silicone mat.

1) Mix dry ingredients well -- a whisk works well.

2) Add wet to dry, and combine well. Make sure there aren't obvious strings of egg white hanging out in the batter.

3) Let batter set for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken up some (leave it too long and it gets past the point where it's easy to spread.)

4) Pour batter onto pan. Because it's going to tend to mound in the middle, you'll get a more even thickness if you spread it away from the center somewhat, in roughly a rectangle an inch or two from the sides of the pan (you can go all the way to the edge, but it will be thinner).

5) Bake for about 20 minutes, until it springs back when you touch the top and/or is visibly browning even more than flax already is.

6) Cool and cut into whatever size slices you want. You don't need a sharp knife; I usually just cut it with a spatula.
Nutritional Information: Each of 12 servings has less than a gram of effective carbohydrate(.7 grams to be exact) plus 5 grams fiber, 6 grams protein, and 185 calories.

20140108

Protein balls


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Add a tablespoon of natural protein powder if you're in training mode. The more raw, unprocessed and organic the ingredients, the better.
GF. Hot Food. June 11th. Protein Balls. 
Photo: Edwina Pickles. 28th May 2013.
Little balls of protein and energy made from pureed raw dates, nuts and seeds.Photo: Edwina Pickles

Ingredients

100g chopped walnuts or cashews, lightly toasted
100g almonds, lightly toasted
2 tbsp linseed, sunflower seeds and/or pepitas
170g medjool dates, pitted and chopped
100g soft dried apricots or figs, chopped
100g prunes, pitted and chopped
1 tbsp tahini or peanut butter
2 tbsp raw cacao powder or cocoa powder
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp honey or agave syrup, Pinch of sea salt
100g desiccated coconut for coating

Method

1. Combine the walnuts, almonds and seeds in a food processor and whiz until fine crumbs. Add the dates, apricots and prunes and whiz until smooth. Add the tahini, cacao powder, cinnamon, honey and sea salt and whiz for two minutes or until the mixture starts to form into a ball.
2. Divide into golf ball-sized portions and roll into balls between lightly wet palms. Roll in coconut, and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Tip Freezing makes them deliciously firm and chewy.

Salad of cannellini beans, zucchini and goat's cheese


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This versatile salad is packed full of flavour and makes a meal in itself.
Salad of cannellini beans, zucchini and goat's cheese.
Salad of cannellini beans, zucchini and goat's cheese.Photo: William Meppem

Ingredients

100g dried cannellini beans, rinsed and soaked overnight
1 litre fresh chicken stock
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ small red onion, diced
2 small zucchini, halved, seeds removed, cut into 1cm dice
2 cloves garlic, peeled, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful green beans, topped and tailed, cut into 6cm lengths
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
juice of ½ lemon
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
150g drained marinated artichoke halves, each cut into 4 wedges
small handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, torn
small handful mint leaves, torn
150g marinated goat's cheese, drained

Method

Drain the soaked beans, place in a saucepan and pour over enough stock to cover.
Cover the beans with a round piece of baking paper and simmer gently for about 50 minutes or until the beans are just tender, adding more chicken stock as required to ensure beans are covered at all times while cooking.
Remove the beans from the heat and allow to cool in the stock. Once cool, drain and discard the stock.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a fry pan and sauté the onion until it starts to soften. Add the zucchini and garlic and cook until they start to colour and the garlic becomes fragrant. Season to taste. Cool.
Blanch the green beans in a medium pot of boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain and refresh in iced water.
Dress the cannellini beans with the remaining olive oil, balsamic and lemon juice and season to taste. Gently fold through the zucchini mix, gren beans, cherry tomatoes, artichokes, parsley and mint.
Divide the salad into serving bowls or plates and top with crumbled goat's cheese.
Tip: The cannellini bean salad is awesome served on slices of quality prosciutto.

Freekeh salad with persian fetta


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Freekeh is a young roasted green wheat grain that can be bought from most Middle Eastern delis.
Frank Camorra's freekeh salad with hazelnuts and fetta.
Photo: Marcel Aucar

Ingredients

  • 60g butter
  • 1 stick celery, finely diced
  • 3 red eschallots, finely diced
  • 1 small garlic clove, chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 200g freekeh, rinsed under cold water
  • 6 green onions, finely sliced
  • 1 cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup mint, roughly chopped
  • 100g roasted hazelnuts, skinned and roughly chopped
  • 100g currants
  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • 100ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 300g Persian feta

Method

Place butter, celery, eschallots, garlic and bay leaf in a medium-sized saucepan, and sweat vegetables over a low heat for 10 minutes. Add freekeh to the pan and stir to ensure the grain is coated with butter. Add 230ml of water to the pan, bring to boil and cover with a lid.
Continue to cook on a low heat on the stovetop. Check after 12 minutes and taste a small amount - the larger the grain, the longer the cooking time. When sufficiently cooked (soft but still al dente), remove freekeh from the pan and spread out on a large plate to cool quickly without overcooking. When cold, it can be kept in an airtight container for two days.
To assemble the salad, mix green onions, chopped herbs, hazelnuts and currants with the freekah. Mix lemon juice and oil, dress the salad, crumble the feta over and serve.

Quinoa salad with crispy roast pumpkin and hazelnuts


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Quinoa seeds are easy to cook and prepare. Similar to rice, they require only quick, gentle cooking with water. Quinoa seeds can be used to make porridge, or savoury salads and stews. They are fairly plain tasting, so are best combined with sharp flavours such as lemon juice or zest, or a little vinegar and oil.
Quinoa salad with pumpkin and hazelnuts.
Quinoa salad with pumpkin and hazelnuts.Photo: Eddie Jim

Ingredients

200g (1 cup) quinoa
2 cups Japla pumpkin, roughly cut into 1-2 cm cubes
½ cup finely chopped mint
½ cup finely chopped parsley
zest from ½ lemon
1 cup roasted hazelnuts

Method

1. Place pumpkin on roasting tray, sprinkle with a little olive oil or cooking fat and roast in preheated 180C oven for 20 minutes or until brown and crispy. Allow to cool.
2. Cook quinoa. To cook, simply rinse well in cold running water (quinoa seeds contain a bitter compound called saponins on their skin, which requires this rinsing), then combine one part rinsed quinoa to two parts water in a small saucepan. Simmer with the lid off for 10-15 minutes or until the seed splits forming little curls and the water is absorbed. Season to taste. Toss through some olive or sunflower oil while still warm to prevent clumping.Drain well and allow to cool.
3. Crush the hazelnuts with a mortar and pestle, or a paper bag and rolling pin. They should be broken into halves or quarters so that they are easy to chew.
4. Combine all the ingredients together, adding the mint and hazelnuts at the end. Season to taste with salt, pepper and a dash of olive oil.
Variation: Try adding a half cup of dried cranberries for added zest, or a handful of crumbled fetta cheese for extra creaminess.