Banana Bread

Makes 1 loaf
Preheat oven to 350
Bake for 50-60 minutes


1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup quinoa flakes
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Sift together above ingredients

1/2 cup oil, butter, or coconut oil
1/2 cup honey, or organic sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp lemon zest
2 mashed bananas
2 eggs

Blend above ingredients together

Gently blend wet and dry ingredients together, don't over mix.

Grease and flour a loaf pan and pour in batter.

Bake until golden and tester comes out clean.

~Enjoy!

Red Bean and Quinoa Chili

Serves 6-8

This chili is from one of my favorite cookbooks,
Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair.
I highly recommend this cookbook. I have never made anything in it that I haven't loved.

I cup dried kidney beans, soaked and drained (or 3 cups cooked canned beans, but it is so easy and affordable to make them for yourself....)
3 cups water, divided
2 tsp ground cumin, divided
1 TBSP olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp sea salt, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne
2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed in warm water and drained
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1 to 2 cups organic tomato sauce
grated cheese, for garnish

TO COOK BEANS

Place soaked and drained beans in a large pot with 2 cups of the water and 1 tsp of the cumin; bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat, covered until tender (50 to 60 minutes) Now if you have to open a can, make sure that you add the cumin to the soup and the water too.

THE CHILI

Heat the oil in a 4 qt pot on medium heat. Add onion, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt, garlic, bell pepper, the remaining 1 tsp of cumin, and the rest of the spices and saute' for 5 to 10 minutes. Add quinoa and stir in. Add corn, tomato sauce, and the remaining 1 cup of water to the onion/quinoa mixture. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add cooked beans and second tsp of salt; simmer another 10 minutes. Top each bowl with grated cheese.

~Enjoy

Polenta

4 Servings

Boil in a heavy bottomed pot:

4 cups water

When water boils, whisk in:

1 cup polenta
1 tsp salt

After whisking in the polenta and salt, turn down the heat and stir constantly until the polenta is suspended in the water and no longer sinking to the bottom. Cover and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. You may need to add more water to keep it from getting too thick. I usually add about a half cup of hot water to mine. The polenta should be barely simmering.

Stir in:

3 Tbsp butter or olive oil
1/2 cup grated parmesan, fontina or cheddar cheese.
3 cloves of fresh crushed garlic cloves

Taste to adjust seasonings. Be careful, polenta is VERY HOT!!

Keep warm if you will be serving it as a soft polenta, or spread it out onto a rimmed baking dish to cool and cut into pieces to bake or broil later. Polenta sets up nicely when it is cooled, and can be cut, brushed with olive oil and baked for a different texture. There is no need to oil the pan, as it should not stick.

Use polenta like you would with pasta, layer for lasagna, or just eat it as is. It is a great alternative option for a wheat free food.

~Enjoy

Beans, Beans, the musical fruit.

BEANS

Cooking your own beans is easy and so much better than canned beans. You can season them your own way, reducing and adding ingredients to your taste and health.

The first thing that you need to know about cooking beans is planning ahead. Beans need to soak, preferably overnight. Don't let this discourage you now. It is EASY!

So after you have purchased your beans, take a minute to sort through them and pitch any that are not beans, (a pebble) and any misshapen beans. Next put your beans into a large bowl with fresh cold water. You want the water to cover the beans with several inches of water, because you see in the morning they will have expanded and you want them to still be submerged.

How many beans should I soak? Because you are making these from scratch and you do need to plan ahead, a little more is better than not enough.

The rule of thumb is 1 Cup Dried Beans = 3 cups cooked beans.

A can of beans is about 1 1/3 cup cooked beans.

Ok, now it's time to cook your beans... The other major thing to know about cooking beans is to not add any salt or vinegar until the end of cooking! This will slow your cooking time way down. On average a pot of beans should take 1 to 2 hours.


You will want to rinse your soaked beans and add fresh water for cooking. Place the beans and fresh water in a large heavy stock pot on the stove on medium high heat. I always add a bay leaf and a 1 inch piece of Kombu seaweed. These help with digestion. Reduce the heat to low when beans start to simmer. Cover.

At this point you could add diced onions, or other veggies. If you are going to use soft veggies, remember that they are going to cook for a while. Onions and Garlic are nice for flavor and are ok if they melt into the beans. Remember to keeps the beans under the liquid, add more hot water if they are expanding past the water.

Check the beans at one hour to see if they are done, and then at 15 minute intervals. They are done when you can squish them onto the roof of your mouth and they are not crunchy,(underdone) or mushy(overdone). When they are almost done you can add herbs(thyme, oregano, basil...) and spices(cumin, cayenne, chili powder, garlic powder...). If you are going to add fresh herbs add them at the very end, along with the salt.

If you are not going to eat your beans right away, let them cool in their liquids and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or freeze for 1 month.

~Enjoy

Onion and Goat Cheese Galette

This is another one of my Aunt Laurels found recipes. I made this tonight for a friends birthday. It was gobbled up! Thank you Gundi!!


ONION and GOAT CHEESE GALETTE

Cook over medium heat until tender:
6 C leeks or sweet onion, thinly sliced
3 T butter
1 t chopped thyme

Add:
1/2 C dry white wine and reduce

Add:
1/2 C cream, cream fraiche or sour cream

Cool 10 minutes then add
2 T parsley, minced
1 egg, beaten less 1T to brush the crust

Roll out Galette dough and place on the back of a jelly roll pan or large
cookie sheet.

Spread filling, leaving a 2" edge
Crumble 4-6 oz of goat cheese over the filling
Salt and pepper to taste.

Fold edges of crust in and brush with reserved egg.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

*******************************************************

GALETTE DOUGH

1 1/2 C flour
1/4 t salt
1/2 C cold butter
about 1/3 C ice water

Mix flour and salt, cut in cold butter, toss in ice water and combine.

~Enjoy

Granola

Preheat oven to 325

6 cups rolled oats
1 cup oat bran or wheat germ
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup mixed nuts
1/4 cup sesame seeds
Mix into a large bowl

1/2 cup melted butter, olive oil or coconut oil, or a combination
1/2 cup honey, maple syrup or agave or a combination
1 TBSP vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
Melt on low until all ingredients are combined

Combine wet ingredients with dry, pour into a deep baking dish or 2 deep cookie sheets

Bake at 325 for about an hour, stir every 15 minutes

Remove from pan and mix in 1 cup of dried fruit; raisins, dried cherries, cranberries

Store in the refridgerator

~Enjoy

Kale Waldorf Salad

I found this recipe on Whole Foods. They are a great resource for yummy recipes.

This salad holds up well, it is vegan and gluten free!

Serves 6

4 cups packed finely shopped raw kale, I used Dinosaur Kale
2 large Fuji apple, chopped reserve 1/2 an apple
1 cup thinly slice celery
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and divided
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp raisins, divided
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp water, more if needed
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/8tsp salt


Place the kale in a large bowl, add 1 1/2 apple, celery, 1/4 cup walnuts, and 1/4 cup raisins.

In a blender add 1/2 chopped apple, 1/4 cup walnuts, remaining 2 Tbsp raisins, mustard, water, vinegar and salt. Puree until combined and slightly thick, add more water if necessary. Pour over kale dressing, toss to coat.


~Enjoy