Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars - YUP!

These magical little bars are gluten-free, vegan and still manage to taste amazing. My wonderful friend, Ali Baron, introduced me to these delicious treats last fall and I've been making them ever since. Check them out and enjoy:

Gluten-free Pumpkin Bars

Inspired by VegNews

Yields: 20 bars

Ingredients:

3 cups gluten-free oat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted, plus more for the pan

1 - 1/2 cups maple syrup (agave also works for a cheaper option, but I enjoy the maple syrup better or a mix of the two)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 - 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I buy vegan chocolate chips, but buy what works for you)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly oil a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamin.
3. In a large bowl, mix pumpkin with baking powder. Add oil, maple syrup / agave, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
4. Mix the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients. Add chocolate chips and stir.
5. Pour batter evenly into pan. Bake 18 minutes and let cool.

This is super easy and delicious. I hope you enjoy.

Antibiotic Soup - A Winter's Remedy

Coughing? Sore throat? Congested? Caught a little bug, did ya?! Well I'm here to help. I am going to share with you a soup recipe that was told to me by one of my instructors in culinary school. She swore by it and, now, so do I. It's simple, easy, and actually tastes good. A good time for this is right when you start to feel something coming on, during a sickness, or when you're around others that aren't well. This recipe is a simple broth soup which is great for when you're fighting something off. Digestion takes energy that can be used to fight off illnesses. Therefore, when you're sick, it's best to stick to things that require minimal digestion like broths and juices. Try this recipe and see how it makes you feel.

Antibiotic Soup

Yields: 1 cup

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon miso

Garlic, as much as you can stand - I usually use 2-3 cloves

Ginger, as much as you can stand - I usually use 1-2 inches

1/2 lemon, juiced

Cayenne, as much as you can stand - I usually use 1/4 teaspoon

1 cup boiling water

Directions:

In a bowl mix together miso and hot water. Then add the rest of the ingredients and eat it up!

This is a great recipe and has helped me through lots of illnesses. Feel free to make a larger batch and keep eating it until you start to feel better. All the ingredients are very healing and will help boost your immune system and kill off bad noonies. :) Stay healthy, ya'll!

Here are some other remedies I use:

• For sore throats: 1-2 tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar, honey, and lemon juice added to hot tea. Throat Coat tea by Traditional Medicinals is amazing for sore throats!
• For respiratory ailments: Put a few drops of eucalyptus oil in your hands and cover your nose and mouth. Take deep breaths allowing the healing effects to reach deep in your lungs. *** Make sure your eyes are closed - it can cause quite the sting. Also, expect to cough, it's natural! :)
• For sinus congestion: Neti pot, twice a day and Bi Yan Pian (a Chinese herbal remedy that expels mucous)

Red Pepper Tahini Dressing / Sauce

I have been lovin' tahini lately. Tahini is a sesame paste found in the ethnic section of the grocery store. It's typically used to make hummus, but is becoming popular as a base for many delicious salad dressings. By itself, tahini has a strong bitter flavor, but, once balanced by other ingredients, transforms into a tasty and healthy addition to any salad. Tahini is an excellent source of calcium which is perfect for people who don't eat dairy. Enjoy it in this recipe that is currently my favorite dressing:

Red Pepper Tahini Dressing / Sauce

By: Angie Cherrette

Yields: 1 cup

Ingredients:

1/3 cup tahini

1 red bell pepper, stem removed and de-seeded

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 large clove garlic, minced or pressed

Sea salt, to taste

Directions:

Place ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Blenders typically will offer a smoother consistency. That, of course, depends on your blender. My cheap blender isn't good for much, so I opted for the food processor. You may need to add some water if your machine is having difficulty mixing. Enjoy!

*Angie's Salad Tips:

For me, a good salad consists of several things:

• Variety: I like to use a variety of vegetables. If I'm making a lot of salads, I make sure to switch up my ingredients in order to consume a larger range of nutrients. Also, don't get stuck on one type of greens. Each type of green offers different and important nutrients, so, do your body a favor and switch it up. Try kale, spinach, arugula, green leafy lettuce, butter lettuce, etc.
• Texture: I need a crunch in my salad. Often I get this with shaved cabbage, chopped carrot or sliced cucumber.
• Color: Before we eat with our tummies, we first eat with our eyes. I use lots of different colors, so that it looks beautiful and is nutrient packed. I think it is important for us to enjoy the way our food looks because it helps us enjoy the meal and feel more satisfied.
• Sprouts: Yum!!! These delicious things are incredibly dense in nutrition. You can find red clover, alfalfa, and broccoli sprouts in stores. Or else you can learn how to sprout your own and widen your options to include pea, lentil, mung bean, and fenugreek sprouts. Play with it - it's very fun, easy and economical.
• Substance: Since I don't eat dairy or meat, I like to have something in my salad that feels substantial and can hold me over. Lots of times this means adding avocado, grains, nuts, seeds or sauteed mushrooms.

Some of my favorite salad combinations:

• Sauerkraut and avocado - don't knock it, 'til you try it! :)
• Sprouts, nori pieces, tomatoes, and tahini
• Cabbage, cilantro, lime, tomatoes, and avocado
• Bruised kale, pomegranate seeds, persimmon or blood orange slices, and black rice
• Arugula and roasted beets
• Cabbage, kale, carrots, and sesame seeds

Be creative, have fun, and enjoy! :)

I'm baaaaaaaack!!!!!

Hey Everyone!!!!

I have finally returned after my 1+ year hiatus. Let me tell you a little bit about where I've been. I stopped posting while in culinary school, telling myself that I was too busy and too stressed, but I don't think that was necessarily true. Culinary school challenged me in ways I couldn't have imagined - especially in regards to my beliefs surrounding food and the way I prepare it. For most people this wouldn't be a big deal, but for me, with health and food being

such huge parts of my life, it meant I had some soul searching to do. Luckily, I had the perfect place to do it.

After I graduated I was blessed with a wonderful opportunity to work on a raw vegan farm and retreat center. I began as an intern working under the talented and lovable chef, Diane, a.k.a. the "Raw Auzzie." Diane taught me that raw food can taste great, look amazing, and be unbelievably creative. She trained me into her position as Head Chef, where I learned how to manage a kitchen and exercise creativity inspired by our own seasonal produce.

The eight months I spent off the grid in beautiful and quiet Sedro-Woolley allowed me the soul searching I needed. I have seen and experienced the extremes in both the food and health worlds and have discovered my happy balance. I have found much joy in creating food that tastes great and makes me feel good. Right now, for me, that means a vegan diet with limited gluten intake and an emphasis on raw foods.

I acknowledge that not everyone is the same and that each person requires a different diet tailored to what specifically meets their ideal tastes and health needs. I encourage everyone to experiment with what feels right to them. I welcome you to draw inspiration from my own journey and the recipes I've discovered along the way. Try them out and see if they work for you. And, of course, have fun!!

My first recipe I'll share is a brussels sprout recipe I came up with in culinary school and that I've been making a lot lately. Brussels sprouts get a bad rap, but they can really taste great. The way I prepare them in this recipe cuts their bitterness and is quite yummy :)

Thai Inspired Brussels Sprouts

Yields: 6-8 ½ cup servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon coconut oil

½ large yellow onion, sliced

2 teaspoons grated ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ lime, juiced

1 teaspoon soy sauce, tamari, coconut aminos, or nama shoyu

¼ cup coconut milk

¼ teaspoon apple cider vinegar

3 cups brussels sprouts leaves

2 tablespoons raisins, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes

2 tablespoons peanuts, chopped

Directions

1. Melt the coconut oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat adding the yellow onion when hot. Sauté until the onions start to sweat.
2. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté for another minute or two.
3. Stir in the lime juice, soy sauce, coconut milk, and apple cider vinegar and bring to a simmer, uncovered.
4. Add the brussels sprout leaves and sauté until tender, but still a bit crunchy (about 5 minutes).
5. Stir in the raisins and peanuts and sauté for another minute. Serve.

Thanksgiving Favorites: Compound Butter

Lots of people are afraid of butter because it's high in fat and cholesterol. However, I don't see it as a problem if used in moderation. If you're using a good quality butter it's is so much better for you than the processed low fat margarines. Any of those processed, low fat and low cholesterol butter substitutes have under gone chemical manipulation, hydrogenating the fatty acids. This basically means that they have chemically altered the fatty acids and have now created trans fats. These are not good for your body because it increases your levels of LDL cholesterol (not good) and creates free radicals in the body. Free radicals can create all kinds of damage in the body.

Okay, okay, I am done with my rant, but please do yourself a favor and skip the butter substitutes and go for the full fat, natural version. Also, if you want a healthier version of butter, ghee is very beneficial to your body and it has the milk fats removed so lots of people who are sensitive to dairy can process ghee. For those who are interested in learning more about the health benefits of ghee here's a link to a site that also has a recipe. It's is super easy! :) Okay, now for compound butter.

Compound butter is a great way to add a beautiful and delicious accent to meals. It's a great garnish and you can really be creative with it.

Compound ButterIngredients
1 stick of butter, softened at room temp
Herbs and seasonings of your choosing

Directions
Smash together butter and herbs and then either mold back into a rectangular shape using parchment paper or use a pastry bag to create pretty dollops on a plate. Either keep at room temp or you can refrigerate to harden.
Examples:

• Chopped parsley, sea salt, honey, cayenne pepper - this was delicious served with corn bread
  
• Chopped capers, minced garlic, sea salt, sliced chives
• Nutmeg, cinnamon, maple syrup, sea salt
• Lemon zest, chopped dill, minced garlic, sea salt
• Chopped rosemary, dried sage, thyme leaves, sea salt, lemon juice

****Compound butter can be great to use with your turkey. Just make a compound butter with whatever seasoning you want your turkey to have then harden it in a molded rectangle form in your fridge. Then slice your harden stick of compound butter into 1/8" slices and place the slices under the skin of the turkey... yum!!!

Thanksgiving Favorites: Raw Cranberry Sauce

This is a great alternative to the jellied canned cranberry sauce. The thing I love most about this recipe is that there is so much flavor and you really get to enjoy the taste of cranberries. Also, it's great to have at Thanksgiving because it's so light and fresh it balances nicely with the heaviness of the other dishes. Yum, yum!
Raw Cranberry Sauce
Yields: a little over 1 quart
Ingredients
2 cups raw cranberries
1 1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 orange with peel
1/2 lemon with peel
1 apple, cored
1/2 cup sweetener (maple syrup or agave nector)

Directions
Chop each ingredient separately in a food processor. Then combine all chopped ingredients in a bowl. Serve!

Thanksgiving Favorites: Green Bean Casserole

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. This is a great time to create in the kitchen and turn your favorite fall foods into wonderful meals. I'll try to share a few of my favorite fall treats in time for Thanksgiving.

Green bean casserole has always been one of my favorite comfort foods and the thing I looked forward to most on Thanksgiving. However, when I stopped eating highly processed foods like condensed cream of mushroom soup, canned green beans and fried onions I wasn't sure how I was going to enjoy this dish. I've been perfecting an alternative recipe that I like even better than my old favorite. Hope you all feel the same. Enjoy!

Green Bean Casserole
Yields 8-10 1/2 cup servings

Ingredients
1 pound green beans, chopped into 1-inch pieces and cooked in boiling water until tender
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 pound crimini or wild mushrooms, sliced
1/2 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. brown rice flour
3/4 c. veggie or chicken stock
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast (available at health food stores)
1 tbsp. tamari
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp. coconut oil
1/2 - 1 whole medium onion, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
   
2. In a large saute pan melt 1 tablespoon of coconut oil over medium heat. When oil is hot add mushrooms and onion, sauteing until onions are clear and mushrooms have released liquid. Add the garlic and saute for another minute or two.
3. In a medium baking dish combine cooked green beans with the mushroom, onion and garlic mixture and set aside
4. In a medium saute pan over low/medium heat melt the butter. Once melted, slowly whisk in the flour until a roux is formed. Whisk in the stock, nutritional yeast, tamari and thyme, stirring continuously until the sauce is thick and bubbly.
5. Combine the sauce with the green bean mixture and set aside.
   
6. Melt 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Once melted, add the onions and saute until caramelized (10-20min). You may need to lower the heat once the onions are brown to prevent burning.
7. While the onions are caramelizing, bake your casserole until heated through (10-15min).
   
8. Top the casserole with the caramelized onions and serve.

I just made this recipe and really enjoyed it. I might even use more mushrooms next time I make it because they're delicious. Happy Holidays!! :)