|
Greetings!
From sweet treats to savory soups, the Holidays are
a wonderful time to get together and create delicious
food! Below you will find a gluten-free sugar cookie
recipe with ideas for coloring your frosting using
natural colors from plants, as well as other fun
holiday recipes.
For those of you who are interested in our new
cookbook, it is now available for purchase on our
website. If you are a local Bellingham resident you
will find it at the Bellingham Food Co-op, Pacific Chef,
and at our downtown office.
Happy Holidays!
- Ali & Tom
| Delicious Treats |
 |
Raw Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies
These brownies are amazingly fast to prepare and
no baking required. You will need a food processor for
this recipe. A high quality cocoa powder can make all
the difference; we like to use
DagobaŽ non-alkalized organic baking cocoa. For a
truly raw brownie look for raw cocoa powder at you
local health food store or co-op.
- 1 cup raw hazelnuts
- 1/2 cup raw almonds
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups medjool dates, pitted
- 1/2 cup raw almond butter
- 4 to 6 tablespoons organic cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons shredded coconut
Place hazelnuts and almonds into food processor
fitted with the "S" blade and process until finely
ground.
Add the pitted dates, raw almond butter, and cocoa
powder and process until completely mixed. You can
add more or less cocoa powder depending on how
rich you would like the brownies.
Firmly press mixture evenly into an 8 x 8 inch square
pan. Sprinkle with shredded coconut. Cut into
squares when ready to serve. Refrigerate in a
covered container for up to a week.
Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies
These gluten-free and egg-free cookies can be
made
to be either dairy or soy-free depending on the
ingredients you choose. Use Earth Balance and soy
yogurt for a dairy-free cookie or use organic butter
and cow's milk yogurt for a soy-free cookie. Either
way they are bound to be a big hit!
- 1/2 cup Earth Balance or organic butter
- 3/4 cup unrefined cane sugar
- 1/2 cup vanilla soy yogurt or cow's milk
yogurt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
In a medium sized bowl, mix together with an electric
mixer the Earth Balance or organic butter, unrefined
cane sugar, yogurt, vanilla, and almond extract. In a
separate bowl mix together the brown rice flour,
tapioca flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, and sea
salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat
together with the electric mixer until just combined.
Form dough into a ball, cover, and chill in the
refrigerator for about 1 hour.
After the dough has been chilled, preheat oven to
350 degrees. Spread a little brown rice flour onto a
clean surface and place the ball of dough onto it. Roll
out dough to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch of thickness. Cut
out with cookie cutters and place onto an oiled
cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes
or until edges are golden brown. Let cool completely
before decorating.
Icing:
Icing can be made to top the cookies by simply
combing powdered sugar with a small amount of
water. You can color the icing using the natural
colors already present in many foods.
- powdered sugar - about 3/4 cup
- water - about 1 to 3 teaspoons
Mix the water and powdered sugar together in a
small bowl until creamy and smooth. Divide the icing
up into separate bowls. Add a little spirulina powder
for green icing, cherry juice concentrate for a
reddish/pink color, and a few pinches of turmeric
powder for yellow. Try pressing a few blackberries
through a fine mesh strainer - add the juice to your
icing for a purple color. Other things that work well
are beets for a reddish color and the juice of any
green leafy vegetable for green.
Spread small amounts of this icing on your cookies
and press on sliced almonds, dried cranberries,
sunflower seeds, currants, and whatever else you
can think of. Since this frosting is so sweet, I prefer
to use very small amounts of it for decoration rather
that spreading the whole cookie with it. Enjoy!
|
| Savory Soups |
|
Curried Celeriac Soup
Celeriac is a relative of celery and is grown for its
stem base rather than its upper branches. It tastes
much like a combination of celery and parsley with a
mild earthy flavor. Celeriac is beneficial for those with
kidney stones and arthritic conditions. Serve this
delicious soup as part of a holiday feast or for a
simple, light winter meal. We like to buy our celeriac
from our local Farmer's Market. If you live in
Bellingham then stop by the Evergreen Station stand
on Saturday mornings to get some fresh organic
celeriac.
- 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 medium celeriac, peeled and diced
- 1 large Granny Smith apple, diced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 2 teaspoons sea salt or Herbamare
- 6 to 8 cups water
- 1/2 cups raw cashews
- fresh cilantro, for garnish
Heat coconut oil in a large pot, 6 to 8 quart works
fine. Add onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add chopped garlic, spices, and sea salt. Stir well,
then add diced celeriac, diced green apple, and
water. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until
tender.
Place some of the broth in a blender with the raw
cashews; blend until smooth and creamy. Continue
to blend the rest of the soup, working in batches,
until all of the soup is pureed. Place pureed soup into
a new pot and stir well. Taste and
adjust salt and seasonings if necessary. Garnish with
fresh cilantro.
|
| Other Fun Stuff |
|
|
Winter Fruit Salad
This fruit salad makes use of seasonal organic
fruit. It can
be served as part of a breakfast or brunch or an
energizing late afternoon snack. Try adding 1 to 2
teaspoons cinnamon for a nice twist. Organic
pomegranates and satsuma
mandarins can be found at your local health food
store or co-op.
- 1 pomegranate, arils (juice sacs) removed
- 3 to 4 satsuma mandarins, peeled and
sectioned
- 1 to 2 Pink Lady apples, cored and diced
- 3 to 4 kiwis, peeled and cut into slices
- 1/2 cup raw almonds, soaked overnight
- the juice of 1/2 of a lime
- 3 to 4 tablespoons shredded coconut
Place the arils of the pomegranate into a medium
sized bowl. (Click on the link below to learn how to
cut and prepare a pomegranate). Then add the
satsuma sections, diced pink lady apples, and sliced
kiwis. Drain off the soaking water from the almonds,
rinse well. You may peel the skin off of the almonds if
desired. Add the almonds to the fruit bowl then add
the lime juice. Gently toss, then top with shredded
coconut. Serve immediately.
|
|
The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook is Now Available! |
|
|
|
Our new book, The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook:
Whole Foods Recipes for Personal and Planetary
Health is now available for purchase. The book
contains over 200 delicious, health-promoting recipes
all based on whole foods, with information on food
sensitivites, stocking your whole foods pantry,
creating a meal plan, tips for making the change, and
much much more!
319 pages
$17.95
To Order.....
|
|
