Click HERE for 3 delicious, local and seasonal Thanksgiving recipes such as Orange Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Butternut Squash, Sautéed Kale with Leek and Apples plus Tomato Raisin Chutney to switch up that ordinary cranberry sauce + a personal reflection on this transformative time of year!
If the only prayer you say your entire life is Thank You, it will be enough. ~Meister Eckhart
Happy Thanksgiving!
Be well,
Be Grateful,
Just Be.
In 2013, I had the opportunity to design and publish Shanti Retreat’s first cookbook. I selected all the recipes, wrote the forward, came up with the design and assisted in all steps of production until it came to realization.
Shanti at Home is a collection of the retreat’s favourite recipes from the past and present. The recipes are vegetarian and focus on cooking at home with whole foods which are local and seasonal. The photography is absolutely incredible, as is the page design, thanks to Anne and Alex who volunteered their time and skills.
I love how light and fluffy this biscuit is, even though it is made with spelt. The recipe contains high quality coconut oil, is dairy free and sweetened with maple syrup. You can also prepare this with buckwheat flour but they do tend to fall apart more easily than when prepared with spelt. Spelt is an ancient grain which is easier to digest compared to wheat, and also contains a higher amount of protein.
photo by http://www.lesbonheurs.fr
photo by http://www.lesbonheurs.fr
Preheat oven to 450 °F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the herbs and whisk again. Cut in the oil using a pastry cutter until a coarse meal is formed. In a small bowl, add the apple cider vinegar to the almond milk. Add maple syrup and then combine with dry ingredients.
The mixture will resemble a muffin batter; add more almond milk if necessary.
For the next step, we use a large trigger ice cream scoop and scoop the batter onto the parchment paper. Place in the oven for 10 – 12 minutes.
Makes 10-12 biscuits
Please visit Shanti Retreat’s homepage to order your copy of Shanti at Home.
If you’d like to practice patience and shell the snap peas, this dip is worth trying.
This dip is very light yet creamy and delicious with veggies or crackers. You can also experiment with adding 1⁄2 a cup of almonds, hemp seeds, or pistachios for an even creamier dip which will keep you fuller longer!
photo by pamelasalzman.com
Ingredients
3 cups fresh green peas, shelled
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1⁄2 cup water
1⁄2 fresh herbs, mint or parsley is my favourite 1⁄4 tsp of sea salt
1⁄3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1⁄2 cup nuts or seeds (optional)
Fresh ginger root, grated (optional)
Instructions
If using nuts or seeds, place in food processor and pulse into small pieces. Add peas, lemon juice, garlic, herbs, salt, and 1⁄4 cup of water. Process all ingredients and continuously add remaining water and oil until desired consistency is reached. Season to taste, adding more herbs, salt or ginger root, if desired.
The first time I tried banana oat milk, was during a silent retreat in Mexico. It was so creamy and delicious, and I knew it would be easy to re create.
I am a fan of making homemade nut or seed milks, my favourite is probably hemp milk as it is so easy and requires no soaking. Most store bought dairy free milks contain a lot of additives and preservatives to keep it shelf stable.
Soaking is optional with this recipe. You can try it both ways and see if you can tell a difference.
Ingredients
1 cup rolled oats, soaked overnight
3 cups of water
2 tbsp maple syrup, or 2 Medjool dates
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 – 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 bananas
Instructions
Place water and oats in a high speed blender, and blend until smooth. You may also need to add more water, if necessary. Using a fine sieve, strain the oat milk and set the pulp aside. You can use this in your baking, by adding it to cookie or muffin recipes!
Return milk to blender and add cinnamon, salt, maple syrup (or dates) and vanilla. Blend.
Add bananas and blend one last time until smooth.
Enjoy!
Store in an airtight glass jar in the fridge for 5-7 days.
Garlic What ???
Down Memory Lane…
I still remember the first time I saw these beautiful wispy spirals that began to grow out from my garlic plants, planted the previous fall. I immediately did some research to learn more and was amazed (and excited!) about what I could do with them in the kitchen. I will also never forget the moment I harvested it and ate it raw…weooo…hello garlic!
“Garlic scapes are the “flower stalks” of hardneck garlic plants, although they do not produce flowers. These stalks start to appear a month or so after the first leaves. They are usually cut off of the plant, since leaving them on only diverts the plant’s strength away from forming a plump bulb.” (source: gardening.about.com)”
Three years ago, I found a recipe that I loved and stuck to it. I was making garlic scape pesto as often as I could. I also preserved some in the freezer by using a food processor for making pestos later on in the summer or fall. Scapes are typically available in the early parts of the season.
Although I do love the pungency of garlic cloves, it is a nice change to enjoy a more mild, almost sweet, flavor. This can be ideal for anyone looking for a more subtle flavor or who doesn’t enjoy (or cannot digest) raw garlic.
This year, I had so many scapes that it was time to get creative! My favorite recipes is still a scape and walnut and with veggies, crackers or a nice homemade bread. But I am also enjoying grilling the scapes on the BBQ, adding them to a bottle of extra virgin olive oil for a homemade infused garlic oil, as well as cooking with them; adding to hummus, soups or stir frys, instead of garlic cloves.
If you really love garlic, or feel your immune system getting low, you may even just bite directly into the scape!
For your Health….scapes can
Recipe
Easy as 1,2, 3!
Once you learn the proportions for pesto, no need to use a recipe. The nuts, herbs and greens are always interchangeable. Walnuts, almonds and pistachios make a really creamy and rich pesto. For something lighter, try sunflower or pumpkin seeds. For the greens play with kale, spinach or arugula and try herbs like parsley, basil or cilantro.
Arugula, Walnut & Garlic Scape Pesto
2 c garlic scapes, cut into bits & the flower head discarded
1 – 2 cups arugula (spinach, kale, chard OR fresh herb of choice)
1/2 c walnuts, or nuts/seeds of choice
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese (optional, try adding nutritional yeast for a dairy free option)
1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon (or more)
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 t cayenne (optional)
Combine the garlic scapes, arugula, walnuts, cheese in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times. Let the machine run and slowly pour in half the amount of oil along with the lemon juice, salt and cayenne. Slowly add the remaining oil until you’ve reached a good consistency. Store in a lidded jar in the fridge for a week or freeze in small jars.
Enjoy!
The only thing I can take credit for is eating this. I love this recipe exactly the way it is in The Power of Food by Adam Hart. This a fantastic cookbook for anyone looking to add nutrient dense, high prana, foods to their diet. There are chapters dedicated to hemp seeds, chia,cashews, garlic, ginger, avocados… I think you get the point!!!
I like to refer to this “dessert” as a power snack which justifies me eating it for breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner..which happens!
The ingredients are superior to most granola bar or protein bar recipes, and with the hemp seeds and almond butter, this packs a punch! This recipe is not only rich in protein, but also in omega 3 thanks to the walnuts and calcium from the sesame seeds and tahini. Lastly, it’s raw and has all the enzymes for optimal digestion and assimilation!
This is a must try!
Ingredients
1/2 cup walnuts, ground
1/4 cup sesame seeds, ground
1/4 cup hemp seeds
3 Tbsp tahini
3 Tbsp honey
2 Tbs[, almond butter
1/2 tsp Himalayan crystal salt
Extra hemp seeds for sprinkling on top
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except the topping. Line an 8 inch square baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle some hempseed overtop and place the halvah in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Cut into small squares and serve. Store your halvah in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Want chocolate halvah??? Add 2 Tbsp of Cacao!
This is one of my favourite, can’t go without salad dressings. It is so creamy and might just be the best caesar salad dressing I have ever had. The best part is it’s homemade, which means it doesn’t include any of those preservatives or low quality oils and refined sugars found in most store bought dressings.
Next time you are going to a party, offer to make the caesar salad. No one will disagree, since it is usually loved by all. They will have no idea that it’s vegan or made with cashews.
Cashews not only give it the thick and creamy texture, but offer you a boost of the amino acid L-trypophan which acts as a natural anti depressant!
photo from feedmephoebe.com
Creamy Cashew Caesar Salad Dressing
Ingredients
1.5 T capers, with liquid
2 cloves garlic (or try garlic scapes for a more mild flavour!)
2 T lemon juice
2 t dijon
1 T apple cider vinegar, preferable Bragg’s raw unfiltered
1 T light miso paste (made from soy beans, can be found at health food store or asian market)
1/2 cup raw, unsalted cashews, soaked for 2-3 hours
1/2 t salt
3/4 t pepper
1/4 cup water
1/2 oil
Directions
Soak cashew for up to 3 hours. Place all ingredients, except oil, in a blender and blend until smooth. Slowly begin adding oil. Add more water if required (sometimes the dressing is too thick for the blender.) Add more or less garlic based on your preferences.
Right now I am loving this dressing with fresh, soft, kale leaves, but it is just as great with mixed greens or classical romaine.
Feel free to add croutons or parmesan. I have also been making tempeh “bacon bits” which are amazing and satisfy just as much as bacon. The latter is also an option if you can get good quality.
photo from sondibruner.com
Ingredients
2 cups fresh basil
⅔ cups almonds (toasted or natural)
½ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
¼ cup water
⅓ cup nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese (optional)
a handful of spinach (optional)
Instructions
In a food processor, pulse the whole almonds and garlic cloves until all are ground well. Add basil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and olive oil and pulse together until well incorporated, but don’t over mix. Add optional Parmesan and or spinach. Taste for seasoning. Add additional olive oil if needed.
It is so important for me to know exactly what’s in my food. I have began to make as much as I can from scratch… including bread. Although I love my grandmas homemade bread recipe, I could see this being more of a staple in my kitchen. If you like to make home made bread, I suggest giving this one a try. It is made with gluten free whole grains , brown rice and rolled oats. It is not grain free, but if you like, check out my paleo bread recipe. I had never even heard about steaming bread before this recipe, but I must admit it was delicious and so moist. I’m sure you could play around with flavors adding either fresh herbs for a more savory taste, or seeds and dried fruit for a sweeter breakfast bread. I definitely recommend a bamboo basket steamer for this recipe!
Steamed Gluten Free Bread
This is the first gluten free muffin I’ve made that I actually enjoyed. It had a nice crumbly lightness to it, without falling apart. It comes from an Ayurvedic cookbook filled with excellent recipes for balancing the 3 doshas: kapha, pitta, vata.
I made ghee for the first time this week, which also comes from Ayurveda and it taste sooo good with the muffin! I don’t eat muffins often but they are great for a quick snack!
Makes 12 muffins
4 large ripe bananas
1/2 cup sunflower seed oil (or substitute for coconut oil )
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 t nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
12 dates, 6 chopped +6 halved, set aside for topping the muffin
2 1/2 cups Bob’s red mill all purpose gluten free flour
2 1/2 t baking powder
1 t sea salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mash the bananas in a medium mixing bowl and stir in the oil and syrup. Mix in the spices and the dry ingredients. Spoon into well-oiled muffin tin. Top each muffin with half a date, sliced lengthwise, for decoration. Bake 25 minutes or until done. Enjoy warm with ghee, nut butter or your favorite jam
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