Seriously, a nearly perfect real food on-the-go snack. The chickpeas (or garbonzo beans, if you will) are crispy like nuts, salty and have a tasty seasoning. The texture reminds me of Corn-Nuts, but they are so much healthier! These roasted chickpeas are a favorite with kids and so many different flavors can be made.
Rinse chickpeas well and place in a large bowl. Cover with at least 2 inches over the top of very warm water. Add 3-4 tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar, lemon juice or whey. cover and allow to soak in a warm place for 12-24 hours. 24 hours is best.
Drain and rinse chickpeas thoroughly. Place in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until done, about 1-3 hours. If desired you may want to remove the outer skins: Drain cooked chickpeas and fill the pot with cool water. Grab handfuls of chickpeas with your hands and rub them together between your palms. Do this several times, skimming off the skins as they rise to the surface. Then drain the chickpeas in a colander. This is an optional step.
Place chickpeas on a stainless steel baking sheet or one lined with parchment paper. Drizzle on olive oil and seasonings.
Roast chickpeas in the oven at 350 for about 40 minutes. Watch to be sure they don’t burn. I shake the pan several times during cooking.
Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.
Although freshly made salsa is the very best, for much of the year it may be impossible to find high quality organically grown tomatoes. For that reason, each summer I can several jars of this delicious homemade, home-canned salsa. Wonderful with Mexican dishes, served with roast, fried eggs or as a dip for chips or fresh vegetables. You will be very glad to have this on your pantry shelves!
Using a food processor, chop the tomatoes in small batches so that you don’t have to turn them to mush to get them all chopped. You will need to have 5 quarts of chopped tomatoes. Alternatively, you may dice the tomatoes (and other vegetables) with a very sharp knife.
Chop the onions in an electric food processor
Remove the stems but not the seeds from the Jalapenos and process them as well. (Note ~ this recipe makes a salsa with medium heat. You may add more or less Jalapeno so suite your own taste.)
Place all of the vegetables into a stainless, heavy bottomed 2-gallon kettle.
Add the tomato paste, vinegar, salt and garlic powder. Stir well.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn off the heat.
Process in pint canning jars, in a boiling water bath, for 30 minutes. Please consult a reliable canning guide for authoritative instructions. I recommend the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving.
My kids had no idea it wasn’t regular cookie dough and thought I was treating them. I am sure that if I bring this to a party and set it down on the table, no one would be the wiser and everyone would be begging for the recipe. Hehe. Bet you’ll never guess the secret ingredient.
I adapted this recipe from one I saw on Chocolate Covered Katie.
Prepare the Chickpeas and Dates
Skip this step for chickpeas if you’re using canned chickpeas or already have some cooked. But still do the date part.
Place dried chickpeas in a medium bowl and cover with warm water. Allow to soak for at least 12 hours, preferably 24.
Also place dates in a bowl and cover with 1/2 cup warm water. Do not drain. Soaking water is used in the recipe.
After soaking is done, drain and rinse chickpeas. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer until tender, about 2-3 hours.
Drain and allow to cool.
Prepare the Dip
Put all ingredients, including soaking water from the dates but excluding the chocolate chips, into a food processor or blender and blend until very smooth. Start with the smallest amount of cream and add more to reach desired thickness. Stir in chocolate chips.
Chill in the refrigerator for an hour before eating to let the flavors meld. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. Serve with fruit slices, spread on pancakes, top waffles, use as a filling in crepes or eat by the spoonful.
* I like adding egg yolk for extra vitamins, but it isn’t necessary. I don’t recommend adding it if you plan on leaving the dip out at a party. In that case use chia seeds or flax meal for extra vitamins. Any of them can be omitted though.
I had some egg whites to use up after making pudding, so I “whipped up” some coconut macaroons. I took a basic recipe I found online and improvised with healthy sugars and the orange flavoring. They came out great!
Preheat oven to 300° F. Grease a cookie sheet.
In mixer add egg whites and beat until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until stiff peaks form.
Gradually add the honey, stevia, and extract.
Turn off mixer and gently fold in the shredded coconut. You want the mixture to be stiffer than meringue (not soupy), but not as thick as cookie dough. If it’s soupy, add a little more shredded coconut.
Drop by rounded spoons onto cookie sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes.
Dates stuffed with cream cheese and dipped in chocolate…wow! These decadent little treats are a holiday tradition!
In the top of a double boiler, melt chocolate chips and shortening together. Cut a slit in each date big enough to remove the pit, then stuff each one with a spoonful of cream cheese, closing it back up afterwards. Dip in melted chocolate and top with a pecan half. Repeat with remaining dates, then place in the freezer or refrigerator to firm up. Enjoy!
Here is a delicious recipe you can quickly prepare, throw in the crock pot, and forget about it for a few hours as it cooks. Our kids can barely wait for it to cool off before demolishing a whole batch.
Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and stir. All spices are optional. Pick and choose; use all, some, or none. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours, or until the apples are puffy-looking with small splits.
Use potato masher to get the applesauce to the consistency you’d like it (it took us about 5 seconds, the apples fall right apart). Store in glass mason jars and keep in the fridge, or maybe even put some away in the freezer if you don’t think you’ll mow through it in two days like we did. It will keep for about 10 days in the fridge.
We are quite partial to Middle Eastern cooking around here. Never heard of baba ghanoush? Consider this your lucky day. It’s basically eggplant hummus. Eggplants are full of vitamin K, Thiamin, B6, Folate, Potassium, Manganese, and fiber. I had three eggplants in this week’s produce box, so we made three batches (one to eat now, two for the freezer). This gluten-free dip is a great hummus replacement for those on the GAPS diet because there are no beans involved. Here is our super-de-duper quick recipe.
Disclaimer: it takes 3 minutes to make once you’ve roasted the eggplant. The three minutes does include peeling the eggplant, so I don’t think I’m steering ya wrong with the title.
To roast the eggplant, simply heat the oven to 400º, prick it with a fork in a few places, and bake for 30-40 minutes. Let the eggplant cool before peeling, which is a breeze. I just peeled the skin off with my fingers.
Peel eggplant and cut into 6 equal pieces. Put in blender (a high-speed one like a Vita-Mix will yield the smoothest results) and add remaining ingredients. turn blender to low, then gradually move to high and blend for about 15 seconds.
Put in serving bowl, sprinkle with fresh or dried parsley. Chill for at least 3 hours before serving to allow the flavors to blend. Serve with slices of fresh veggies, pita bread or naan, or use it as a spread in sandwiches.
I only shop for groceries about once every 2 months, and so having fresh avocados is rare, and if I buy more than 2 they might be wasted. Now, when I find a good price on them, I buy several and here is how I process them.
First, cut one in half and hit the pit with the knife. The knife will stick into it and then you can twist the pit out easily.
Use a spoon to scoop the flesh from the avocados and put them into the food processor. Then, for each 3 avocados, I add 2 Tablespoons lemon juice.
Process it all until smooth. I place a little sandwich bag into a drinking glass and add 1/2 cup of the avocado/lemon mixture. The glass helps hold the bag open and reduces mess.
Close the bag(s) removing as much air as possible and put the little bags into a freezer bag and store in the freezer.
Thaw in the refrigerator and then you can use this to make guacamole, or whatever you like!
This stuff is worth making just to enjoy the smell wafting through the house. I never want it to be done simmering! As long as you have a good blender, you don’t even need to peel the pears. I love how it is super sweet without too much sweetener added, unlike common jam. AND, no pectin required.
Simmer pears in white grape juice until very soft (20 minutes). Puree very finely (I used my vitamix). Place pear sauce, ginger, lemon juice, sweeteners, all spice, cardamom and nutmeg in crock pot or other deep pot to simmer for 12 or more hours. Tent with tinfoil, or position lid to keep the splatters in, but allowing steam out. When first setting the temperature, stir every 20 minutes. Once a low simmer is holding, stirring is unnecessary. After 12 hours, check the viscosity. Take a spoonful out and drop it on a plate. If liquid pools around it, it needs to simmer longer. Once the dollop stays set, without pooling juice, it is done. Pull out the 4 pieces of ginger, mix in vanilla and lemon zest and bottle up!
Delicious and versatile Ricotta can be used in many recipes, but the way I make it, it can also be sliced and used in sandwiches, etc.
Pour milk into heavy bottomed kettle. Bring slowly up to almost boiling (at least 200 degrees F)
Add 1/2 cup vinegar. Remove from heat. Stir briefly. Let rest for 15 minutes.
Pour into colander lined with a cotton cloth. Gather up the corners of the cloth, and using a large spoon, press the whey from the cheese curds.
Turn the curds into a bowl and work in 1 teaspoon salt.
While it is still hot, I press the ricotta into a bowl,cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator.
When cold, it can be sliced or crumbled to use.
Wrap carefully to freeze. It keeps nicely for several months.
Love the taste of fresh salsa … but don’t have time to chop in the kitchen? This recipe fits the bill!
Using a blender or food processor, layer in tomatoes, onion halves, lime juice, cilantro, and spices.
Blend until combined.
Freezes well.
If you love hot sauce, you will love this recipe, which can be adjusted to suit your taste for heat. When you select your tomatoes, use the dark red heirlooms that have few seeds and solid meat. If you cannot find them, strain off as many of the seeds as you can after you have chopped the tomatoes. Seeds are bitter in salsa.
Place the tomatoes, garlic, onion, and salt in a heavy saucepan.
Bring to a simmer and cook until all the vegetables are very soft and half of the tomato juice has cooked away.
While the tomato mixture is cooking, roast the peppers. This can be done in a skillet, under the broiler, or in a very hot oven, about 475 degrees. The skins will blister and burn a bit as they roast.
Be mindful of the fumes — even the fumes coming from these peppers can make your eyes water. Do not handle them with your bare hands.
After the peppers are roasted, cut off the stems and toss the topless peppers into your blender. Add enough of the cooked tomato mixture to whirl the peppers into a paste.
Thoroughly stir this paste into the tomato mixture.
Salt to taste and thin with water if necessary.