gf strawberries and cream freezer bars

i read a recipe for strawberries and cream freezer bars.

it called for cream.

so i googled the name of the recipe + “yogurt” for a healthier version of the recipe, assuming someone had sorted one out.

nobody has!

here’s my version. it’s gluten-free because my best friend is coming to town in a week, and he’s gf.

haven’t tried it yet. i’ll try it next week and post an update! or… YOU should try it and let me know if it’s any good!

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crust

1c or a little more pecans (or your favorite nut)
butter or margarine
a few drops molasses
3/4 c brown sugar or your favorite sweetener
2c gf flour

(instead of this crust, you can crumble any cookie you have around. or graham crackers. or whatever.)

filling

2 egg whites
lots of strawberries (2c? more?)
1 c plain or vanilla greek yogurt, or vegan yogurt, or coconut milk
1 lemon
sweetener of your choice (optional)
a little cream cheese (optional)

preheat oven to 350.

first, grind or chop pecans into approximately the size of prepackaged “chopped nuts”
(hand-chopping is not hard. use a knife or a nut-chopper. a food processor will get the work done in a few seconds. or buy them pre-chopped. whatever you like. just get ‘em small!)

combine them with the rest of the “crust” ingredients.

grease a cookie sheet, form one giant cookie 1/4 or 1/2 in thick, and bake for 15 minutes, then crumble. set aside.

while it is baking, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. gradually add sweetener and yogurt. beat in the juice of 1 lemon and yogurt. fold in strawberries.

line a walled baking dish with half of the crumbled cookie. this will be the crust. pour the filling in second. third, top with the leftover cookie crumbles and some extra nuts if you like.

let freeze four hours or overnight before eating.

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i adapted this from the sweetsonian

vegan paleo raw-ish chocolate tart

filling

2 avocados, room temperature
½ cup cocoa powder
¾ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
pinch of sea salt
2 tablespoons coconut oil, room temperature

crust

4 cups pecans
½ cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¾ cup maple syrup

Place the ingredients for chocolate filling in a food processor fitted with chopping blade and process until smooth. Scrape the filling into a bowl and set it aside.
Fit the bowl and blade back onto the food processor (no need to clean the bowl in between). Place all ingredients for tart crust except maple syrup into food processor. Process until fine textured with small bits of pecans. Measure out a ¼ cup of the crumbs and sprinkle them across the bottom of the tart pan. Add the maple syrup to the remaining crumbs and process 1-2 minutes until the tart crust becomes as thick as cookie dough. Pat crust into tart pan. Spread the chocolate filling over the crust, cover and refrigerate overnight.

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from gi365

georgian-style eggplant stuffed with carrot and parsnip

this recipe is from the country of georgia, which borders turkey, armenia, and russia.

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¼ cup olive oil
4 medium to large eggplants, halved
5 medium carrots, grated
1 parsnip, grated
1 large onion, chopped finely
1 green capsicum (pepper), chopped finely
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
½ cup water
¼ cup tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried thyme or a few sprigs fresh thyme
1 tablespoon sugar or agave nectar (i used less and it was good)
salt and black pepper to taste

sauce:
3 cups water
¾ cup tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar or agave nectar
salt and pepper to taste
(i added a splash of apple cider vinegar to mine, and another sprig of fresh thyme from my garden.)

1. Preheat oven to 200˚C (approx. 390˚F).

2. With a spoon, scrape out the flesh of the eggplant halves, chop it roughly and set aside. Place the hollowed out eggplant halves in a greased baking dish, season them and drizzle with olive oil.

3. Place a fry pan over medium heat, pour in the olive oil, and cook the onion until soft and translucent. Add the eggplant flesh, garlic, grated carrots, parsnip and green capsicum and cook for a further 10 minutes (the vegetables will soften). Add the tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme, sugar and seasoning and cook for another 25-30 minutes.

4. Stuff the eggplants with the vegetable mixture evenly. Mix the tomato paste, sugar and seasoning with the water and pour into the baking dish. (At this point I usually drizzle a little more olive oil over the eggplants.)

5. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the dish and bake for a further 30-45 minutes. The dish is ready when the eggplants have softened and the sauce has thickened (it should not be watery).

6. Let rest for 30 minutes before serving as the eggplants will absorb more moisture and the sauce will thicken a little. Or refrigerate when cool and eat cold the next day (the flavours will be even better).

Serve with plain yogurt.

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from here

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really good. eggplant with parsnip and carrot is better than i thought it would be. is it worth the hour and a half? well, it’s a special dish for your vegan or gluten-free friends, and it tastes good. maybe it’s best for special occasions.

delicious, and recommended for any day you want to spend an hour and a half waiting for a really healthy veggie meal.

chipotle lime chicken

throw chicken thighs in a casserole dish
sprinkle powdered chipotle pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, coriander, cumin, salt, a pinch of cinnamon, and a pinch of turmeric on top.

drench in lime juice and marinate anywhere from a few minutes to overnight.

bake at 325 for a half-hour and then transfer to charcoal grill, or just bake for an hour.

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delicious!

strawberry-banana juice plus

handful of strawberries
banana
a splash of juice (whatever you have)
few spoonfuls of ice cream (i used vanilla; you can use strawberry, chocolate, or whatever you have around – wonderful with vegan ice cream or sherbet, too)
pinch of cardamom (optional)
pinch of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon (optional)

blend

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really delicious!

green pea soup

i realized the other day when a friend brought up pea soup that i’ve never made it myself.

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1 Tbsp oil or bacon grease, or more to coat bottom of pan
1 medium leek, whites and light green parts only, halved and sliced thin
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large potato, peeled, cut into small cubes
16 oz frozen peas
4 cups vegetable stock
a couple sprigs of fresh lemon thyme, tied in a bundle (or chervil, sorrel, and/or savory) (i used fines herbs)
1/3 cup sour cream, plus more for serving (or plain greek yogurt, or coconut milk)
additional lemon thyme for serving (or other herbs)

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Heat large heavy bottomed stockpot. Add oil. Once oil is warm, add garlic and onions. Cook over medium-high heat for 30-45 seconds until garlic is fragrant. Add leeks and cook until leeks and onions have softened, about 3 minutes.
Add potatoes and peas. Cook for about 2 minutes until frozen peas start to defrost. Add vegetable stock and lemon thyme bundle. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer for 15-20 minutes until potatoes can be easily smashed with a fork. Remove from heat and let cool for 10-15 minutes. Remove lemon thyme bundle.
Puree soup using an immersion blender, or transfer soup in batches to a blender. Blend soup until smooth. Stir in sour cream and season with salt and pepper. Serve soup warm or chilled with additional sour cream and fresh lemon thyme leaves.

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adapted from here

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fantastic. highly recommended. i threw a few pieces of ham in with the onions. wonderful.

simple light dressing for roasted vegetables

roast

leeks
carrots
potatoes
sweet potatoes
beets
onions
anything else in the world

in this dressing:

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½ lemon, zested and juiced
1 tsp mustard (not yellow hot dog mustard!)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

a few pepper corns, roughly crushed
salt to taste

1 tbsp honey (optional)
herbs, like rosemary or tarragon, whatever you like (optional)

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these ingredients together also makes a perfect salad dressing, with a few splashes of homemade fruit vinegar or whatever vinegar is your favorite.

i’d also bet it makes a great chicken marinade.

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adapted from this