Orange Beet Salad

This dish made a nice light little punch of vegetable brightness for a holiday potluck.

Hence the fake picture.

I’ll insert the real and terrible pic I took after the recipe – suffice it to say, wine + taking pictures basically in the dark is not a great combo.

gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, Whole30

Orange Beet Salad

5 roasted and de-skinned beets
1 small head roasted cauliflower (toast until deeply browned)
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. hazelnuts
4 small oranges (not naval – something tastier)
1 shallot (about 3 T when minced)
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tsp. pomegranate molasses
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley
4 – 5 Tbsp. fresh tarragon
Salt & pepper

Add your cauliflower to a large bowl. Chop the beets and add. Peel, segment, de-seed and halve the oranges minus one half.

Squeeze that last half orange into a small bowl (about 2 Tbsp. juice). Add the lemon juice, olive oil, molasses, vinegar and spices. Chop and add the parsley. Mince and add the shallot. Add salt & pepper.

Pour over the salad and toss.

In a dry pan, toast the hazelnuts. Chop and toss on the top of the salad with the chopped tarragon.

Serves a party

Coconut Chicken Chili

This dish is a light but comforting bowl of goodness.

Gluten-free, paleo, keto

Coconut Chicken Chili

1 lb. ground chicken

2 small bell peppers, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 jalapeños, chopped and separated

1/2 large onion, chopped

1/2 small bag frozen spinach

1/2 small bag frozen broccoli

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 can coconut milk

2 bay leaves

2 Tbsp. chili powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. dried oregano

2 tsp. ghee

Salt & pepper

Toppers:

Hand full chopped cilantro

The second jalapeño

Juice of 2 limes

2 chopped green onions

First, prep your onions & garlic and sautée in the ghee until beginning to brown.

While that’s working, prep the rest of your ingredients.

When done, add to the bowl of an electric pressure cooker with the chicken. When the garlic & onions are done, add. Add all the other ingredients but the toppers + 1-2 cans water.

Set the cooker to “stew” and let go.

When time is done, open and taste for seasoning. Add more salt & pepper if needed. Add the toppers and stir.

Serves 4

Smothered Butternut Squash

The sauce on this recipe is addicting. So much so, I’ve managed to eat half a squash today and want more sauce.

What is it with me and raw garlic? I can’t get enough.

Gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan

Smothered Butternut Squash

1 smallish butternut squash
8-10 cloves garlic
1/2 – 2/3 c. olive oil
2 Tbsp. grainy mustard
4 tsp. sweet paprika
Generous salt
Generous pepper

First, preheat your oven to 200C and prep a baking tray with tinfoil.

Cut the stem ends off your squash, and halve down the middle lengthwise. Scoop the seeds and discard.

Now make your dressing by whizzing all the remaining ingredients.

Spoon a generous amount over each cut half of squash and arrange face up on the sheet.

Bake 25 – 35 minutes or until the thickest part is soft.

To serve, you can either scoop out of the skin in the kitchen, table side, or eat the skins. Whatever your fancy.

Serve with the rest of the sauce drizzled over top (or in my case, slathered).

Should serve 4 with a small squash

Pear + Radish Salad

It’s the season of potlucks – or one of them, at least, and as such I’ve been in my typical ‘vegan veggie things in a bowl with zero gluten – but nuts, so no suitable for almost but not quite everyone’ mode.

This salad as written makes a ton. Like 2 trays full, which is overkill for a 10-person potluck. Hopefully, more will turn up – or everyone comes hungry. I’ve got too many party leftovers at my house.

Gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan

Pear + Radish Salad

A crapton shredded kale (I used something like 6 – 8 cups because that was the size of my package – this dictated the size of my salad because I didn’t want leftovers)
2-3 cups chopped red cabbage
6 smallish pears, chopped
20 radishes (I used English Breakfast, but watermelon or another peppery variety would be even better)
2 hand fulls slivered almonds
1 hand full raw pepitas
2 hands full pine nuts
1 bunch snipped chives

For the dressing

Note: I doubled this recipe to get the amount of dressing I wanted

1/4 c. lemon juice
4 cloves garlic
1.5 Tbsp. date molasses
4-5 glugs or turns around the mixer olive oil
Hand full parsley
4 sprigs thyme
1/4 c. tahini
1/4 c. water
1 Tbsp. grainy mustard (if you’ve been reading awhile, you’ll know by this I always mean Maille Wholegrain because it’s my 😍)
1 green onion
Generous salt & pepper

Prep all salad ingredients and add to a vessel of some sort. Whiz the dressing together in your food processor and pour over the salad. Massage with your hands to combine and work into the kale.

Serves a party

Yogurt Leeks & Eggs

I *think* I remember seeing a dish along these lines in the pages of one of Ottolenghi’s cookbooks – or somewhere on a Lebanese menu, and I got a craving.

Plus, I found leeks at the local grocery – Whoo hoo!

Gluten-free, paleo, (lacto ovo) vegetarian, keto

Yogurt Leeks & Eggs

4 oz. sliced button mushrooms
2 leeks
1-2 Tbsp. ghee
2 eggs per person
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. your favorite curry powder
Salt & pepper
Hand full fresh herbs (I had parsley & chives)
Yogurt (I used non-dairy)
Lemon powder (or sumac)

Chop your mushrooms, wash your leeks and slice into thin moons, chop your herbs.

In a large pan, heat the ghee over medium – medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and sautée 3-5 minutes or until no longer dry and starting to soften. Salt & pepper.

Add the leeks and spices, stir, and sautée 15-20 minutes or until the desired doneness is reached. Top with the fresh herbs, taste for seasoning, and give one last stir.

Make a well in the leeks for each egg, crack the eggs into the depressions, salt & pepper, cover and cook until the eggs are to your liking.

Serve each portion with a Tablespoon or two of yogurt and 1/2 teaspoon lemon powder for garnish.

Serves 2 for lunch

Eggplant Pizza Boats

The idea for this low carb, Keto-friendly dinner came from a good friend who was looking for something tasty to eat while on a Whole30 – and started making stuffed zucchini pizzas.

I had eggplant and went a little nuts in the veggie aisle. Yum.

Also: I found a fantastic lactose-free sharp cheddar cheese that doesn’t kill my stomach. Win-freaking-win, and I’m happy it costs an arm and a leg, so I won’t be buying it every week!

gluten-free, paleo, Keto-ish

Eggplant Pizza Boats

1 large Italian (dark purple) eggplant
1 lb. ground beef
4 oz. crimini mushrooms, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2-1 c. marinara
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. onion powder
4 tsp. dried oregano
4 inches 2 in. diameter stick style pepperoni, chopped
2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast (optional)
Hand full green olives, chopped
Double hand full lactose free cheese, shredded
Salt & pepper
1 Tbsp. fat of choice
Green onion, chopped (optional topper)
Parsley, chopped (optional topper)
Big pinch red pepper flakes

Preheat your oven to 200C while you prep all your veggies.

Halve the eggplant lengthwise, scoop out a fair amount of the middles (reserve middles, chop & add to veggies), and bake 20 minutes or until mostly soft.

While the eggplant boats are baking, make the stuffing by sautéing the mushrooms, onion, pepper, and garlic in the fat until soft. Salt & pepper as you go. When desired doneness is achieved, remove from pan and reserve.

Put the pan back on the heat and add the pepperoni. Give that a couple minutes to start rendering and add the beef. Brown, adding the spices a half at a time and tasting as you go. You want this mix to be a hair salty.

When your desired brownness is reached, add the marinara, nutritional yeast and olives and stir to combine. Add the veggies back in. Taste. Season more if needed.

Pile into the boats and top with shredded cheese.

Bake 20-30 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

Top with chopped parsley & green onion if desired.

Serves 4 for dinner/lunch

Lazy Brunch Pumpkin Fritters

Is there anything more relaxing than a lazy brunch? I made this fall-inspired treat on a rainy Sunday, and it hit the spot – even for DH, and he’s not a huge fan of zucchini.

Serve with your favorite toppings – creme fraiche, smoked salmon, fluffy eggs, bacon, pico – whatever you have in hand that needs to be used up.

Gluten-free, Paleo, low carb, Whole30

Lazy Brunch Pumpkin Fritters

2c. shredded zucchini
6T. canned pumpkin purée (the 100% pumpkin kind, not the one that’s pre-spiced for pie)
1T. garlic powder
1T. onion powder
1t. curry powder
1T. fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2c. almond flour
1/3-1/2c. coconut flour
1 egg
Ghee for cooking

Toppers – I served with smoked salmon and soft scrambled chive eggs

Shred your zucchini, lay on a towel or paper towels, and press the water out.

Add to a large bowl with the rest of the critter ingredients. Stir to combine.

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add a couple Tablespoons ghee.

Form the critters into palm-sized patties as you go. Brown, flip, remove to a plate until everything is finished.

Serve with toppers.

Serves 2-3 for breakfast

Indian Spiced Mustard Carrots

I think I got the general inspiration for this recipe from an image and offhandedly comment on Instagram. Can’t remember who sparked this brainstorm, but ruminating on blending sweet carrots with a hint of char and mustard got my creativity flowing – and to good effect. This is a fantastic side – and can be spiced to fit many palates.

A note on lime chili pickle: if you don’t know what this is, chop yours fine. The chunks can be a bit aggressive if you don’t know what’s going to hit you.

Gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan

Indian Spiced Mustard Carrots

2 large carrots
1 medium onion
1-2 Tbsp. neutral oil
5 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. mustard oil
2 tsp. mustard seeds (I used 1 yellow & 1 black)
1/2 tsp. black cumin seeds (optional)
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp. lime chili pickle
2 tsp. mango powder
Salt
Pepper
2 tsp. dried oregano
Chives (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200C. Prep a baking sheet by covering with foil.

Rough chop the carrots, onion and garlic. Toss with a liberal sprinkle salt, pepper, the oregano and 1 Tbsp. oil.

Roast 20-30 minutes or until browned to your liking. I did a bit of char, and really could have had more.

Add your veggies to the bowl of a food processor.

In a small pan over medium-high heat, bring the mustard oil up to temp. Toss in the mustard and cumin seeds and toast until fragrant. Chuck in the rosemary and fry until the seeds start to pop.

Add to the food processor. Whiz to combine, pausing halfway through to add a little water if too thick, the second Tablespoon oil if not rich enough, and salt to taste.

Spoon out and stir in the lime chili pickle and mango powder.

Top with snipped chives if desired.

Serves 2 as a side

Fig + Rosemary Faux-Meal

I’ve been on a fake oatmeal jag again lately – something about the calendar hitting October and my brain screaming it’s Fall and you should be snuggling in for a winter hibernate despite the fact that it is still 96F and bright sunny where you live.

I may *live* in the land of Summer, but in my mind, it’s PSLs all the way down.

Gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan if you consider figs vegan

Fig + Rosemary Faux Meal

1 faux-meal base from my poorly named and now re-named No-Atmeal
1 fresh fig
1-2 Tbsp. tahini (2 would be great if your macros allow – mine did not and I would have loved a little more)
1/2-1 tsp. date molasses (same here – I went light; would have loved more)
Nut milk (enough to cover the top of your faux-meal in a thin layer – optional, but I want to believe it adds creaminess)
Halved pecans (walnuts would also work)
Slivered almonds (optional but I love the texture)
1-2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary (I did 2 and loved the piney kinda savory taste going on)
A pinch of salt

Prepare the faux-meal like the recipe, omitting all toppers and spice. Top and spice with these ingredients instead.

Serves 1 for breakfast

Macros for the slack topper portions: 480 calories, 28g carbs (not net carbs), 40g fat, 9g protein

Mushroom Lime Salad

This recipe was inspired by an Instagram pic posted by one of my absolute favorite veg bloggers, @heidijswanson from 101 Cookbooks.

Aaaand now that I’m actually looking at the recipe for her salad, she’s got a lot more going on flavor-wise. Mine turned out great – but I bet hers is even more exciting. I was super curious to see if lime + roasted mushrooms would be a good combo, and I’m happy to report it is!

And I bet you could make this even more Fall-feeling with a creamy dressing or some butter in the roast. Or roasted garlic. Everything’s better with roasted garlic.

Gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, Keto, Whole30

Mushroom Lime Salad

500g your favorite mushrooms (I used half crimini and half button, but fall wild mushrooms would be amazing here)
1 lime
1/2 bunch chives
1 big hand full roasted salted peanuts
1/2c. baby greens or a nice herby salad
Chili garlic spice mix (I use a prepackaged blend)
Your favorite sprinkleable stock starter (I used chicken here – but only because I ran out of my favorite roasted mushroom & onion)

Preheat your oven to 200C and prep a baking sheet with foil.

Quarter the mushrooms and lay in a single layer on the sheet. If you want to bump this up into a full meal and you’re not veg, add chicken breasts to one side of the pan.

Sprinkle everything liberally with the chili garlic spice blend & stock starter and bake for 25 – 35 minutes or until the chicken is done (~25 mins) and the mushrooms are nice and roasted (~35, maybe 40 minutes).

To serve, plunk the warm mushrooms on a bed of baby greens, and sprinkle all with snipped chives, chopped peanuts & lime juice.

Serves 2 for dinner with meat; you may want more greens if veg