Chugging Right Along (with recipes!)

Yeah, that's me. My new job has gotten better, I've settled in and gotten used to this new life. I've changed my hours a bit, and am actually looking forward to going now. It has already taught me so much about myself. For one thing, I thrive in an environment where I am (somewhat)(mostly) in charge. When you're an adult, and you're working with kids, guess what?? You're in charge! Always! But to whom much has been given, much will be required. I don't take the responsibility lightly. In fact, I am honored that the universe has planted these children in my life. I am honored whenever one of them gives me a hug, or wants to hold my hand, or wants me to play a game with them. And those moments make the discipline harder to give. But I know it is doing them a great disservice not to discipline them. Never setting boundaries for a child is like trying to build a house with no blueprints: it won't be a functioning structure.

So on another note, I am doing just as much cooking and baking as ever. It has become my greatest release, and I am really embracing new main-dish recipes this fall. In college I got into a rut of a comforting and healthy but repetitive daily menu. It was due to necessity, but once I graduated I kept it up, unable for some reason to break out of the comforting cocoon of repetition.

I have been wanting to start one of those beautiful, inspiring recipe blogs for years now, but feeling very lacking in ability and inspiration. Yes, I love to cook, but I'm not sure I'm the best blogger. But I've had many requests for recipes over the past few years, and so I figured I might as well put them up on my blog to share! Who knows, maybe this will be the start of something.

This isn't a main dish, but it's as good as. It's healthy enough to be part of your meal! I have been having it alongside some steamed greens and carrots, and either apples or clementines. Perfect little lunch to give you a skip in your step! I give you:

Coconut Flour Biscuits

1 TBSP. lemon juice, plus enough almond milk to equal 1 cup

3 TBSP. ground flax seeds

1 TBSP. coconut oil

¾ tsp. baking powder

¾ tsp. baking soda

¼ fine sea salt

½ C. + 1 TBSP. coconut flour

3 TBSP. garbanzo bean flour

1/4 tsp. uncut stevia, optional

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Stir lemon juice and non-dairy milk together in a glass measuring cup, and let sit for 10 minutes. Then add coconut oil. Microwave glass for 2 minutes to melt the oil, and stir well to combine. 

In separate bowl stir together dry ingredients. Add liquid ingredients to dry, and stir gently until well-combined. The mixture should hold together well when fully mixed.

Put a little coconut oil on hands so dough doesn’t stick, and separate into 6-8 mounds. Flatten or shape as desired once on the cookie sheet. Brush the top of each biscuit with a generous amount of extra almond milk, to keep them moist.

Bake for 12 minutes, then rotate pan and bake for another 12-15 minutes, until tops are lightly golden-brown. Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

Store in an air-tight container for a couple of days, or in the fridge for a week, reheating as necessary. May also be frozen.

*Notes: If you try this once and they come out too dry, you can always add more milk, but also check that your oven isn't too powerful. I have cut the cooking time way down over the years on these, because I like them chewy.

**I always add the stevia. You don't even notice it, but it rounds out the flavor. Plus stevia helps control blood sugar.

***These are excellent eaten right out of the fridge. i usually make a huge batch, and put some in the freezer to thaw later in a pinch. I love them cold though. I have this fetish with cold baked goods, so usually anything I bake goes straight to the fridge. ;-) 

Easy Dairy-Free Strawberry Cream Cheeze

6 TBSP coconut butter

1 12-oz package of organic Mori-Nu tofu

1-2 TBSP fresh lemon juice, to taste

5 oz. freeze-dried strawberries

1 tsp. vanilla extract

pinch of stevia, if desired

Blend strawberries in a dry blender until powdered. (If the blender is not completely dry it will not work.)

Transfer strawberries, and all other ingredients into food processor, and process until completely smooth, stopping every little bit to scrape down sides.

Store in glass jars in fridge or freezer. Will keep at least five days in fridge, maybe longer but I haven't tried. Freezes well. 

So folks . . . top your biscuits with the cream cheeze!!! YUMMMM!!!!! And my mom says they look like cookies, plus they have a cookie-like consistency, so I call them cookie-biscuits. It's a super-wholesome, GF and vegan goody!!! You're welcome.