sea salt & cracked pepper almond crackers. {grain-free & vegan}

28 April 2014

I hope you all  had a lovely, Spring weekend sharing with friends, visiting family, or even enjoying a bit of solitude. Over this past weekend we were lucky enough to spent some time with some friends and family. When people come to our house, cheese boards never seem far from reach. They are easy, versatile, and, well, delicious.

I love a good cheese board. Being grain-free I tend to eat cheese on its own, with some fruit, or pickled goods. Sometimes, though, a vehicle for softer cheeses and jams are must. I have adapted theses simple almond flour crackers from Danielle Walker's cookbook Against All Grain (which are great too!). Keeping with tradition of the way I cook on a daily basis, these are simple and tasty. Perfect for any cheese board.

sea salt & cracked pepper almond crackers.

makes 24 

Adapted from Against All Grain

2 cups almond flour
1/2 tsp. peppercorns
1 tsp. Maldon sea salt
1 TBL raw sunflower seeds
1 TBL raw pumpkin seeds
1 TBL extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup water

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and grind until combined thoroughly. You should have a fairly lumpy dough where you can see bits of pumpkin and sunflower seeds.
3. Remove the dough and form it into a ball with your hands. Place the ball between two sheets of parchment paper, then roll the dough to a ⅛ inch thickness with a rolling pin.
4. Remove the top sheet of parchment. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into one large square, then into smaller squares. Save the scraps and re-roll it to get more crackers. Carefully transfer the parchment piece to a cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, rotating the pan once, until golden. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then carefully break the crackers apart.
6. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of weeks. 

happy eatings & cheers!

grilled pizza & fried artichokes with herbed-yogurt dip.

After a long, leisurely afternoon of watching cooking shows, Jediah & I found some real inspiration for a lovely outdoor dinner. Oddly enough, both of these ideas came from two different Barefoot Contessa episodes. I have always been a little nervous about cooking pizza dough on the grill, thinking it would surely stick & cause a terrible mess. Gladly, I was wrong--it is super simple.

We used pre-made dough (a regular flour dough and a basil gluten-free dough) from a local pizza place, Portland Pie Company. The toppings here are super simple, but really, the options are endless. Just take a stroll through your local farmer's markets & let your imagination run wild.

The fried artichokes are another super easy appetizer, & I listed it as it is on the Barefoot Contessa site. I know there seems to be a lot of oil, but keep it! We used some to brush our pizza dough, but it also can be used for dressings & sautees. The dip is an adaptation of the one on the Barefoot Contessa's site, because the one there made way too much for what I would need.

As you can see, I can't get enough of the gorgeous, colorful perennials!

grilled pizza. with cherry tomatoes & mozzarella.
serves 4

1 pizza dough or gluten-free pizza dough, cut into 4 even pieces & rolled out into individual pizzas
a glug of olive oil (we used the oil from the fried artichokes)
1 cup of pearl mozzarella or 1 mozzarella ball torn into pieces
a handful of basil, chiffonade

1 pint of cherry tomatoes, larger tomatoes halved
4 cloves of garlic, minced (we used the cloves from the fried artichokes & mashed them with a fork)
1/4 cup of white wine
3 basil leaves, chiffonade
a pinch of sea salt & cracked pepper

1. To make the cherry tomatoes sauce, heat a bit of oil in a pan over high heat. Toss in the tomatoes & garlic, cook & stir for about 2 minutes. Add wine, basil, & seasoning. Cook for about another 2 minutes. Set aside.
2. Set up a grill with heat source, coals or gas, on medium-high. Clean and lightly oil hot grill.
3. Using your hands, place dough, oiled side down, directly over heat source. Brush dough with herb oil or olive oil and cook until underside is lightly charred and bubbles form all over top, 1 to 2 minutes. With tongs, flip dough & add your toppings (here, tomatoes, cheese, & basil). Cover & cook another 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melted.
4. Take off the heat & serve. 

fried artichokes.
serves 4

10 baby artichokes
Olive oil
6 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Remove and discard the artichoke stems. Peel off lower leaves (approximately 18.) Slice off the top half so that only the light green remains (artichokes should be approximately 1 1/4 inches), then cut the artichoke in half lengthwise.
2. Place the artichokes in a medium pot, flat side down, and add olive oil to just cover. Add the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring the olive oil to a boil, cover the pot and reduce the heat to a low flame and simmer for 15 minutes. Insert a knife into the lower half and if easily penetrated, it's done.
3. Remove the thyme and garlic from the pot, raise the heat and fry uncovered for approximately 2 minutes, turning over the artichokes midway. They are done when brown and crispy. Remove the artichokes from the pot and place them on paper towels flat side down. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

herbed yogurt dip.
This dip is great with veggies & even with potato chips!
serves 4

1 cup plain 0% fat Greek Yogurt
2 TBL Vegenaise
1 TBL fresh basil, finely chopped
1 TBL fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp dried sage
1 clove garlic, minced
a pinch of sea salt & cracked pepper

1. Whisk ingredients until combined. 

happy eatings & cheers!

after school snacks. {gluten-free & vegan}

31 January 2012

I tend to find that those lingering hours between the late afternoon & dinner I'm always in search for a snack. After classes Jediah & I like to whip up something guilt-free, yet tasty before taking the pups on an adventurous walk along the river. Here are some of my recent favorites.

granola bars.

I found this simple, healthy snack on GOOP. It was a blog about healthy school lunch-box meals. Although I am not a kiddo, I feel I may still be one at heart. Instead of using the suggested apricots, I used 1/2 cup of dried cranberries & 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.

1 1/3 cups quick-cooking (not instant) rolled oats, divided

a pinch each fine salt, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and ground ginger

1/4 cup flax seeds

1 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped (or any combination of roughly chopped dried fruit and/or nuts)

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup high quality maple syrup

2 tablespoons brown rice syrup (a great substitute for corn syrup, available at lundberg.com)

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 8” square baking pan with parchment paper, letting a bit of excess paper hang over the sides.
2. Grind 1/3 cup of the oats in a food processor until powdery. Add them to a large mixing bowl with the remaining oats, the salt and spices, flax seeds, and apricots.
3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then stir them into the dry ingredients.
4. Put the mixture in the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula. Bake for 1/2 hour, or until evenly browned. Remove from oven and let cool for about 15 minutes. Remove to a cutting board (the parchment paper will act as a sort-of sling, making this very easy). Cut into individual granola bars.

warm & creamy spinach, artichoke & bean dip.

This came to me in a sleepness night. I always love spinach & artichoke dips, but I am really scared to ask what is in them. So I decided to go in a vegan direction that worked out really, really well. It is creamy & garlicy--with some substantial protein. I served this with some carrots & lentil crackers (also keeping it gluten-free).

1 14oz can navy beans or your favorite white beans rinsed & drained

sea salt & cracked pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1. Blitz until smooth in a food processor.
2. Put in a large bowl.

1/2 cup red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, grated

1 cup artichoke hearts (defrosted or from a can), roughly chopped

sea salt & cracked pepper

a pinch of red pepper flakes

olive oil

1/4 cup white wine

1. Add all but the wine and cook on medium heat until a bit tender (about 5 minutes).
2. Add the wine & cook until reduced a bit (about 3 minutes)
3. Add to bowl with beans.

2 or 3 big handfuls of fresh washed spinach, roughly chopped

1. Add to bowl. Mix thoroughly.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a small casserole dish and put the dip in. Drizzle with a little more extra-virgin olive oil & season for good measure.
3. Bake on the bottom oven rack for 25 minutes until bubbly. Whack on the broiler, move the dip to the top rack for about 3 minutes.
4. Let cool for about 5 minutes & enjoy!

a piece of bursting, delicious fruit.

Can't go wrong.

happy snacking & cheers!