Lemon Fenugreek Waffles

Fenugreek is a unique pungent spice that has both culinary and medicinal properties. Most people have eaten it ground up as one of the many spices in curry powder, but it is also a frequent ingredient in herbal tea for lactating mothers. I was attempting to make fenugreek sprouts, which can be a tasty addition to stir fries, but had to travel before I could wait for them to sprout, so I stuck them in the fridge. Unsure if they would still sprout after their sojourn in the cold regions, I decided to put them into a waffle recipe, and the result was quite tasty.

Grain-Free Lemon Fenugreek Waffles

Puree in blender until smooth:
2 T fenugreek seeds, soaked 24 hrs in water, drained (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup almond butter
1/2 lemon - juice and pulp
2 eggs
1 cup water or milk
1/2 c oil
1 T honey

Sift together into medium mixing bowl:
1 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat waffle iron. Add blended ingredients to flour ingredients in bowl and stir. Add additional 1/4 cup water to blender, whirl briefly to rinse and add to bowl also. Stir together with large spoon or whisk till well blended. Cook waffles according to regular procedure for your waffle iron.

Carrot Gingerbread Bars

2 T flax seed

1/2 cup water*

1 cup water, divided in half

1 large carrot, chopped roughly

1 inch ginger root, peeled

1 T blackstrap molasses

1 egg

1/2 cup butter or coconut oil

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 T grated orange peel, optional

8 drops liquid stevia extract, optional

3/4 cup chickpea flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Ground cinnamon

In blender, whirl flax seeds until beginning to be powdery. Add 1/2 cup water and blend until well combined - about 30 seconds. Allow to sit while you prepare remaining ingredients (or for 5 minutes). Add remaining wet ingredients to blender, one or two at at time and blend until smooth, about 5 minutes, reserving second half of the 1 cup of water for rinsing out the blender.

In large mixing bowl, sift together flours, soda and salt. Add blended wet ingredients, then add 1/2 cup water to blender, whirl briefly and add also. Stir together thoroughly. Should be the consistency of thick cake batter - very soft, but not at all runny. Add more water as needed to achieve the consistency.

Spread on to greased cookie sheet or large cake pan and spread to about 3/4 inch thickness. The batter does not need to reach the edges of the pan - it is easier to slice and remove that way. Sprinkle top liberally with cinnamon. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or till edges are lightly browned and center is springy. 

Cool on baking pan before slicing into 2-inch squares and removing to covered container.

*The flax seed and water can be substituted with 2 eggs, and likewise the 1 egg may be substituted with an additional 1 T flax seed and 1/4 cup water.

Simple Green Smoothie

This is a light green refreshing smoothie with ingredients that nearly everyone has in their produce drawer. It's delightfully simple to make and it is fruit/sugar free!

1/2 medium cucumber, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup green cabbage
1/2 cup cold water

Whirl in blender till smooth and drink immediately. Makes 1 serving.

Grain-Free Banana Ginger Snack Cake

This is a very slightly sweet snack cake. Sugar or honey could be added to make it sweeter to taste.

Puree in blender:
1 ripe banana
1 chunk (2-inch, appx.) fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced
2 large eggs
1 c. coconut oil, softened butter, or palm shortening
3/4 c. almond or coconut milk
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine in large mixing bowl:
1 1/4 c. chick pea flour 
1/2 c tapioca flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder

Add blended wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until mixed well.

Combine in small mixing bowl:
1/3 c cocoa powder
8 drops stevia or 2 T honey

Pour 3/4 c batter into cocoa powder mixture and stir together. Pour remaining batter into greased 9x11 or 9x9 cake pan (depending on thickness desired). Drop spoonfuls of cocoa batter on top and swirl through with a knife. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes - till lightly golden brown on edges and springy in center.

Pineapple Chicken

I wanted to make a yummy pineapple chicken skillet dinner without using sugar, soy sauce, tomato or peppers and this is what I came up with! Many people use coconut aminos in place of soy sauce, but I didn't have any and I had tamarind paste (bought on Amazon) so that's what I used. It turned out sticky, savory and yummy!

Sticky Pineapple Chicken

(Start by having your chicken pieces out of the package and set aside on a dish so you can add them quickly to your skillet when the seasonings are about to brown.)

In large skillet or other wide pan with a lid, melt together over medium heat:
1 T butter
1-2 T olive, coconut, or sesame oil

Add:
2 T sesame seeds
1-2 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp. minced dried onion or 1/2 small fresh onion minced
Stir over medium heat till beginning to sizzle and brown very slightly.

Add:
5-6 chicken drumsticks or thighs - about 1 'regular' package
Continue stirring - meat pieces should stay on one side long enough to brown, but don't let the seasonings burn. Flip chicken pieces after a few minutes and lower heat.

Add and stir:
1 - 1 1/2 cups pineapple chunks (fresh or canned and drained)

Combine in small bowl and pour over meat and pineapple in skillet:
1 T tamarind paste 
2 t salt
3/4 c water, pineapple juice or chicken broth 

Cover skillet and cook on low heat for 45-60 minutes, checking every 10-15 minutes to loosen sticking portions and add a little more liquid to prevent scorching if needed. Done when chicken is coming away from the bones and pineapple sauce is sticky. Serve over rice (or peas if you can't eat rice).

Best Baked Beans

My love for beans is a fact of which I refuse to be ashamed. Beans freshly boiled with a stick of kombu seaweed in the pot,  served in a bowl with heaps of melted butter is my favorite style of bean-eating. But I don't take that homely dish to potlucks. If I want to get my beans into a potluck, they have to be dressed for society. And if I want to get my society beans into me too, I have to dress them carefully. No sugar, soy, tomato sauce or nitrates are allowed to defile them. So this is one way I've dressed my beans for society.

Best Baked Beans - Slow-Cooker Style

1/2 lb. kidney beans

1/2 lb. great northern or navy beans

1/4 lb. large lima or butter beans

Cook the beans. That is, soaked overnight or quick-soaked (brought to a boil in water, then allowed to sit with heat off for an hour before cooking), drained, and cooked in salted water till tender, but not mushy - they will be cooked longer!

(You can use canned beans if you prefer. I cooked my kidney beans from dry and used 2 cans of Northern and one of butter beans. If you have all three beans in dry form, they can be cooked in one pot.)

Drain beans and dump beans into your slow cooker crock.  Then stir in:

2 T dried minced onion

1-2 T maple syrup (or if you're not being purist, brown sugar)

1 T unsulphured molasses

1/3 c. dijon mustard --key ingredient!

1/2 c. water (you can reserve 1/2 c of the bean liquid if you prefer)

1-2 T bacon grease, beef tallow, turkey fat, lard or butter

1 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Salt to taste - depending on how salty your cooked beans are. Taste them and see if they need salt.

Stir all the seasonings in thoroughly. Then cover your crock and cook  the beans on low for 4 hours or on high for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. The beans can continue to be cooked on low for a long time and just get better and better. 

Sardine Upside-Down Skillet Pie

I had opened a can of sardines one day and made a salad that I had heard was healthy and indistinguishable from tuna salad. Sardines contain lots of good omega fats and minerals, and are virtually free of mercury - plus they are really cheap - so they are a great food choice. This was a can of particularly cheap sardines, however, (Chicken of the Sea - I'd say the worst in sardines) and I was not impressed. In fact, I was having second thoughts about my resolution to never feed the feral cats in the backyard. I added more dressing, more seasoning...peas, lemon juice...they still tasted awful. Then I remembered the canned salmon 'pie' (finely chopped cooked meat under a biscuit dough crust) that my mother used to make often, and decided to try making a small one on the stove. I mixed up some bean flour dough, heated and buttered my little skillet, spread in the sardines, covered them with the dough and put on the lid. When I uncovered my experiment and tried a slice, it was delicious! Of course, I've been known to have strange taste in food, so I couldn't be sure it was good until I tried making it for dinner - my husband liked it too and asked for seconds. So it was a success.

Here's what I think the recipe is - it's been a little different every time.

Filling:

Add to large skillet (use one that has a lid or can be covered)

1 tablespoon butter - spread evenly to grease

Mix in medium bowl before adding to buttered skillet

2 cans of sardines - if in olive oil, use the oil; if in water, drain water off 

1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil (depending on if your sardines have oil)

2 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar (or one Tbsp of each)

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. onion powder or 1 tsp. dried mince onion

1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce (or just shake some in)

1 tsp. dried parsley or handful of chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup frozen peas or finely chopped celery (totally optional - add jalapenos if you're in the mood!)

Crust:

Mix:

1 cup gluten-free flour (or adjust to less if using some coconut flour)

 -- I use 1/2 cup bean flour (garbanzo, pea, etc.), 1-2 T coconut flour, 1/4 cup arrowroot or tapioca starch and a tsp of guar or xantham gum, but any half/half combination of some bean/grain and some starchy flour, or pre-mixed gf blend should work, or just white flour if you eat gluten

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

<<Now is a good time to turn on your skillet with the sardine mixture in it - med-low heat..

Blend into dry ingredients until crumbs are fine: 1/4 c. butter or coconut oil

Beat together before adding slowly to dry ingredients:

1 egg

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup milk, water, or coconut or rice milk

Stir together until  blended, adding a little more water or milk if needed (depends on your flour type) to make a soft dough like thick cake batter. Drop spoonfuls evenly over sardine mixture in pan; try to cover the mixture completely. Cover. Raise heat to medium for 5-10 minutes (know your stove) to get the pie cooking and then turn heat down to low, leaving covered for about 15 minutes. Check to see if dough is done and cover and cook longer if not. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before serving. It's good warm, but also at room temperature or even cold!

This recipe could also be baked in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or so if you're making an oven meal or don't have a covered skillet. I just like to use the stovetop in the summertime because it saves on energy and keeps the kitchen a little cooler.

Makes four servings.
Serving ideas - good with sides like green salad, herbed peas, gingery carrots, or citrusy broccoli.

P.S. If you're not into ultra-cheap and like sardines, these are some of the best - from iHerb.com. Kinda smokey-tasting and very dense and meaty. Yum!