my dad bought a dehydrator many years back, probably after being convinced by an infomercial that making his own jerky would change his life. but several years later it ended up sitting in the cabinet unused, along side the super slicer and turbo cooker. being that i was in the market for a good dehydrator the past few years, for preserving fruit and making my own raw food treats, i happily accepted it as my mom did some spring cleaning.
and being the granola snob that i am – very particular about the level of sweetness, texture, quality of fruits and combination of tastes – i’m happy that now i can just make it myself. i usually make it just like this, with some oats and some type of seed or nut, sweetened with maple syrup and dried to the perfect crunchy texture.
this is a simple 5-ingredient recipe to make a raw granola, but if you don’t have a dehydrator you can toast it in your oven over the lowest heat. feel free to experiment with your own flavors and let me know how it goes!
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Also posted in snack | Tagged dehydrated, EFAs, flax, granola, oats, raw |
i don’t understand why it’s considered normal to eat super sweet food first thing in the morning. if i wake up and eat a blueberry muffin my blood sugar will be bouncing up and down all day, let alone pancakes or waffles stacked high and drizzled in syrup. that’s why i usually look to the not-so-sweet to satisfy my early morning hunger – a slice of whole grain toast, porridge or a scone.
this simple recipe is hard to screw up. if you’re feeling creative throw in flavors like vanilla, cinnamon or lemon zest, and feel free to replace the apricots with another fruit or leave them out completely. i added them because i love their fresh tart taste and they are so cheap at the market right now, as low as $1 a pound!
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Also posted in sweet | Tagged apricot, baked, baked goods, scone |
i’ve been working at my local juice bar for a few months now where we make all the milk for our smoothies fresh daily. we make coconut milk by blending the meat and the water – we make almond, oat and buckwheat milks by simply soaking, blending and straining the grains or nuts.
the pulp that’s left over after straining is a shame to throw away as it’s just as nutritious as the milk but is loaded with all the fiber. as such, we use the almond paste in smoothies as a lighter almond butter substitute. unfortunately the buckwheat pulp is a little bland, but we often make the oat paste into raw oatmeal. there are lots of ways to prepare it – yacon syrup, fresh berries, nuts – but i’ve tried out a simple combination of banana, a little agave and cinnamon here so i can share the technique, but leave the specifics of the recipe a little open to interpretation. leave a comment with the way you love your raw oatmeal!
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i haven’t been able to make it out to the farmers’ market much lately, but this weekend when i arrived at the one in silver lake i was greeted by bushels of beautiful blood oranges. i thought to myself, “what better way to use these blood oranges than with one of citrus’ best friends, poppy seeds? and where do poppy seeds feel more at home than in a wholesome muffin?”
after trying my hand at all-oat crackers, i am continuing to explore wheat and gluten-free baking, this time with spelt flour. you should be able to find it any natural foods store, and it is perfectly light and crunchy for muffins. as opposed to muffins made with traditional flour, which are heavy and leave you feeling too full first thing in the morning, the spelt flour is light and satisfying.
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let’s face it, oatmeal can get a little boring. thankfully, oats aren’t the only grain you can enjoy at breakfast time. a while ago i posted about making toasted buckwheat porridge and as a result, a friend recently suggested the idea of cooking brown rice as a breakfast dish.
it’s pretty simple, mostly just brown rice with some soy milk and brown sugar to give it a creamy and sticky oatmeal texture, topped off with nuts or fruit – whatever you enjoy most first thing in the morning. this can be even simpler if you already had brown rice left over from dinner the night before!
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in italian, biscotti just means cookies – any type. biscotti could be bite sized or as big as your head, flat or thick, crunchy or chewy, round or cut into shapes. in the u.s., we have somehow adopted the word biscotti to mean a specific tuscan treat – a fairly basic cookie dough baked as a loaf, sliced and baked a second time. they are perfect for dunking in coffee or tea, but were traditionally served with dessert wine.
i decided to try my hand at making vegan biscotti with a couple of flavorful twists – since the holidays, cranberries have been extremely cheep at the market (i got a whole bag for only $1) and they are a perfect pairing for pistachios, one of my favorite nuts to put in desserts. with a little flax meal to replace the egg, this is a simple cookie to make, it just requires a bit more oven time. but hey, it’s worth it to have an excuse to eat cookies for breakfast!
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breakfast can be one of the toughest meals of the day for a vegan. sure you can do a piece of fruit, a cup of coffee, or even a smoothie, but most of the filling – and tasty – morning-time meals are laden with eggs, cheese and meat. luckily, i recently realized that making an animal-free version of a breakfast favorite, the omelet, is a lot easier than i thought.
like in the spinach asparagus quiche i made a while back, all you need to imitate the taste of egg is some silken tofu, liquid aminos and nutritional yeast (with a pinch of turmeric for a convincing color). i’ve added olive oil and hummus for a smooth, rich texture and to hold it together i added some old fashioned oats and some corn starch.
the result is a crunchy, egg-like pocket filled with warm and gooey goodness, along with the filling of your choice. instead of the usual combo of tomato basil, i chose to mix it up a bit with fresh dill, a great choice indeed!
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persimmons are so adorable. they look like tiny little pumpkins, except they are tender and sweet.
they have a unique–some would say unpalatable–taste if just eaten fresh, but they are irresistible when baked into treats or dried.
they are most definitely in season right now so you can find them at the farmers’ market or even in some grocery stores.
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i use to work at a smoothie bar, where i learned of the many things you can blend and/or juice into a drink. you can blend whole lemons and limes, an avocado with the pit and pretty much any green leafy vegetable you can get your hands on.
if done right a smoothie can be like enjoying an entire meal through a straw.
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i find buckwheat tasty. i’ve posted before about using buckwheat flour and adding it to granola bars, you can even sprout it and eat the greens in your salad.
it’s a gluten-free grain that has been associated with reducing cholesterol, improving circulation, and might even be able to treat type II diabetes.
this is a simple way to cook it up as a hardy breakfast, especially great on those cold foggy mornings.
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