Carrot Salad with Citrus Miso-Ginger Dressing

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Recipe from Dishing out Health 
Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

What a lovely crispy fresh-tasting salad!  I'm thinking this would be a nice dish to take to a party.  

 
Citrus Miso-Ginger Dressing
3 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup fresh orange juice (from 1 naval orange)
1 Tablespoon white miso paste
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, grated or minced
1 teaspoon honey (I used maple syrup to keep it plant-based.)

Carrot Salad
1¼ lbs. large carrots (rainbow or all orange)
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, coarsely chopped (I think parsley would be a fine substitute.)
¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
¼ cup pomegranate arils or raisins or dried currants or dried cranberries
3 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Instructions
Prepare dressing. In a large mixing bowl, combine all dressing ingredients Whisk well to combine. Set aside.
Shave carrots. Peel and discard the rough outer skin of carrots. Hold each carrot firmly by one end using a fork and use a vegetable peeler to shave long ribbons up and down the length of the carrot. Rotate the carrot as one side gets flat, and continue shaving until you reach the narrow core. (You can use what's left of the carrot in soups, stocks, or for snacking.) 
Add shaved carrots to the bowl of dressing and toss to combine.
Add remaining salad ingredients (cilantro, mint, pomegranate arils, and sesame seeds) and toss well to combine. Taste and season the salad with a pinch of salt, if desired. 

Notes
Store: Once assembled, the salad will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. The carrots will continue to slightly soften, however the flavors will remain sharp. 
Dressing storage: If you choose to make the dressing in advance, it will keep for 5 days refrigerated. Give it a good shake or whisk before serving to refresh the flavors and emulsify the texture.

Nutrition
Serving: 1.25cups | Calories: 223kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 3.5g | Fat: 14.5g | Saturated Fat: 1.5g | Sodium: 263mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 11g

Breakfast Birchler (Vegan)

Make your hectic mornings a lot less chaotic
by preparing this scrumptious, filling breakfast
before you go to sleep. First, make the Birchler Mix. 
Store the mix in an airtight container
on your counter or in your pantry.

Then measure out some and add the Birchler Soak ingredients. 
Here you see the Birchler Mix, yogurt, mashed banana,
and plant milk.

Stir up the ingredients.

Cover the prepared Birchler and pop it in the fridge.

Wake up refreshed knowing that breakfast
is just a spoon away!

Recipe from Good Eatings

Husband-Tested in Alice's Kitchen

Makes 8 servings

Birchler is an overnight oat breakfast.  This recipe is a winner!  It turns out very creamy and filling.  I like to keep my Birchler Mix on the counter in a pretty jar.  Then, the night before a busy day, I just measure out some of the mix and add a few ingredients to a bowl for an overnight soak in the fridge. In the morning, I've got a GREAT breakfast ready to go.

Birchler Mix:

1/2 cup buckwheat groats

3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/4 cup hemp hearts

1/3 - 1/2 cup dried fruit (raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, dried blueberries, dried apricots, etc...)

Place the Birchler Mix ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Transfer the mix to an airtight container.  

Birchler Soak (per serving):

3/4 cup of the Birchler Mix

1/2 cup plant milk (oat milk, almond milk, cashew milk, soy milk, etc...)

1/4 cup plant yogurt (oat yogurt, soy yogurt, etc...)

1/2 banana, mashed (optional)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

The night before, mix the Birchler Soak ingredients in your breakfast bowl.  Cover and chill in the fridge overnight.  

Toppings: (optional)

Fresh fruit (apple, pear, banana, 

Fresh or frozen berries

Granola

More plant milk

Extra dollop of plant yogurt

1 Tablespoon nut or seed butter

In the morning, stir the birchler.  Leave your birchler plain or add any of the toppings you desire. Enjoy!

Harvest Sweet Potato Bread

 

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Baking

Husband-Tested in Alice's Kitchen

Makes 1 (9" X 5" loaf)

This bread is just so dang delicious that it could be considered dangerous to have about.  That's all there is to it.  I've made it three times now within a month's time and it turns out perfectly.  I love the texture and the slight sweetness of it.  It's great on its own, but would make a stupendous sandwich bread or toasted, it would go very nicely with a cup of hot tea. The original recipe gave only directions for making this in a bread machine, but since I no longer have one, I had to make do.  So, below, you will find exactly how I made it.  If you wish to make it in a bread machine, I left a link to the original recipe above.  I have contacted King Arthur with questions about making this vegan and I'm awaiting their answer.  When I know, I'll update this post.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour plus more for kneading

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 Tablespoon vital wheat gluten (Optional.  I didn't have any, and as you can see, the bread turned out great.)

1/2 cup mashed sweet potato (I can usually get enough for three recipes by boiling and mashing one large sweet potato.) 

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans (I've tried both with good results.  I'm thinking hazelnuts would be lovely in this bread.)

1/4 cup milk (I've used unsweetened almond milk and also tried oat milk with good results.)

3/4 cup water

3 Tablespoons honey (I'm thinking if you wish to make this vegan, you could probably use maple syrup instead.)

1/2 cup mashed sweet potato

1/2 cup raisins or dried currants (I've tried golden raisins and then another time, I used dried currants.)

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter (I don't know if you can substitute vegan butter, but I'm thinking it would work.)

In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, the whole wheat flour, the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, yeast, and nuts.  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, water, honey, sweet potato, butter, and raisins.  Heat until lukewarm, about  90-110 degrees F.  Pour the lukewarm liquid mixture into the flour mixture.  Stir until all the flour is incorporated and you have a sticky dough.  Turn it out onto a well floured counter/board.  Knead for 5-7 minutes, adding a bit of flour as you go to keep it from sticking.  (You may need a bench scraper to begin.) Spray a bit of oil into a large bowl. (I used coconut oil, but canola or any unflavored oil would be fine.) Place the dough ball into the bowl and turn it so that it is lightly coated with the oil.  Cover with a piece of oiled plastic wrap and then a towel.  Let the dough rise for 60-90 minutes (It always takes 90 minutes for me.) It should look well-risen and puffy.  Punch down the dough a bit and then shape it into a loaf shape.  Place it in a greased 9-inch by 5-inch metal loaf pan.  Again, cover with the oiled plastic wrap.  Allow it to rise again for 60 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  When the hour is up and the oven is preheated, place the loaf pan in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the bread is about 190 degrees F.  Remove the bread from the oven and turn it out of the pan onto a cooling rack.  Let it cool completely before slicing.  Store, well wrapped for 5 days on the counter or for up to 3 months in the freezer.

**NOTE:  I contacted King Arthur about veganizing this recipe.  It looks like it won't be a problem at all.  Here's the exchange:

Q: I was wondering if maple syrup could replace the honey and vegan butter could replace the butter. I have successfully made this with unsweetened almond milk and again with oat milk. I'd like to be able to "veganize" this bread.

---

A: Hi Alice! Yes, you can absolutely use those substitutions without changing the consistency of the bread. Good luck and happy baking! Geoff@KA

Homemade KIND Bars (Vegan)

 

Recipe from Five Heart Home

Husband Tested in Alice's Kitchen

Makes 16 small squares OR 8 rectangular bars

These homemade KIND bars are FREAKIN' AWESOME!  They are very easy to make.  These little bites of deliciousness will make a great gift, a super lunchbox addition, or on-the-go snack.

Cooking spray

2 cups nuts, chopped (I used 1 cup cashews; 1/2 cup pecans; and 1/2 cup almonds)

1/2 cup puffed rice (You can find this in the cereal aisle of most supermarkets.  I used puffed brown rice.)

1/2 cup dried fruit, chopped if the pieces are large (I used dried cranberries, so I didn't need to chop the dried fruit.)

3-4 Tablespoons seeds such as sunflower seeds, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, pumpkin seeds (I used a mixture of sunflower seeds, ground flax seeds and pumpkin seeds.)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

1/4 cup brown rice syrup (I used Sweet Dreams Brown Rice Syrup.)

Optional: (But in my opinion, totally necessary if you are a chocolate fan.)

1/4 cup dark chocolate, chopped or use dark chocolate chips

1 teaspoon coconut oil

Preheat oven to 325F.  Grease an 8-inch by 8-inch square baking pan.  Line it with parchment paper so that it slightly extends above the top edge of the pan on at least 2 sides.  (Greasing the pan first with cooking spray will help make the parchment paper stay put in the pan. This will make removing the bars easy to do.) In a large bowl, mix together the nuts, puffed rice, dried fruit, seeds and salt until well combined.  Warm the brown rice syrup and vanilla either in the microwave or in a small pan on the stove.  (Warming this will help make it easy to pour over the nut/seed mixture.)  Pour the warmed brown rice syrup/vanilla mixture over the nut/seed mixture. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, mix  until the nut/seed mixture is completely coated.  Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Using wet hands, firmly press the mixture into an even layer, making sure to press into the corners.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes.  Using the parchment paper "sling", lift the contents onto a cooling rack to cool completely.  Once the bars are completely cool, cut into the desired bar size.** Store the bars in an air-tight container in the fridge.  

**Optional Chocolate Drizzle/Dip: Place the coconut oil and chocolate in a small bowl and microwave until the chocolate is melted.  Stir well.  Drizzle over the cooled bars or dip the cooled bars in the chocolate.  Store in the fridge.

Nutritional Information: (1 of 10 bars without chocolate) 220 calories; 15 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 16 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 67 mg sodium; 185 mg potassium; 3 grams fiber; 6 grams sugars; 0.1 mg vitamin C; 29 mg calcium; 1.3 mg iron

Almond Pulp Granola

Recipe from thenewbaguette.com

Adapted and Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Makes about 4 cups

Now that I’m making Homemade Almond Milk on a regular basis, I’m finding myself with lots of almond pulp.  So, not wishing to be wasteful, I’ve been trying different recipes using the leftover pulp.  One of my favorite ways to use almond pulp is making Almond Pulp Brownie Bliss Balls.  I’ve also made Cinnamon Peanut ButterAlmond Pulp Crackers. This granola is a quick and easy way to use almond pulp. It’s not as crunchy as most granolas, but that could be remedied by adding some whole nuts and/or more seeds to the mix. I’m thinking this could also be used to top fruit crisps.  The original recipe was pretty basic, so I added some pumpkin seeds and cinnamon to the mix.  I’m pretty sure this granola recipe is quite forgiving, meaning you could certainly add other seeds and/or nuts and dried fruits to the mix.

1½ cups fresh almond pulp (or other nut pulp) leftover from making milk

1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 Tablespoons sesame seeds

3 Tablespoons pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1 teaspoons cinnamon

¼ teaspoon sea salt

3 Tablespoons melted unrefined coconut oil

2 Tablespoons – ¼ cup maple syrup or honey

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 generous handfuls dried cherries or dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375F.  Spread the almond pulp in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined rimmed baking sheet.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, to dehydrate the pulp, tossing the pulp once halfway through baking. 

While the almond pulp is baking, measure the oats, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, and salt into a large bowl. 

In a small bowl, stir together the coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla.

Transfer the baked pulp to the large bowl and toss with the oat mixture.  Drizzle the coconut oil mixture over the oat mixture and toss to coat.

Transfer the mixture back to the parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake for another 20 minutes, tossing the mixture halfway through the baking, until the granola is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and cool completely.  Toss in the dried cherries (or cranberries) and then transfer the cooled granola to an airtight container.  Store in a cool dry place for up to several weeks.

*Notes: Almond pulp can be frozen until you are ready to make granola.

No-Knead Harvest Bread

Makes 1 large loaf

Recipe from King Arthur Flour

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Beginner bakers will love making this bread because it’s so easy and yet looks and tastes like it was made by a pro.  No need to spread it with butter or other toppings because it's delicious as is!  Begin the day before you plan to bake the bread so that the dough has time to develop flavor and texture. I would suggest mixing the dough on a Friday night after work and then on Saturday morning while you breakfast and get ready for the day, it can rise and then bake.  It’ll be ready in time for a Saturday night dinner party or for a delicious breakfast on Sunday.  

3¼ cups bread flour

1 cup whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons Kosher salt

½ teaspoon instant yeast

1 ¾ cup cool water

¾ cup dried cranberries

½ cup golden raisins

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts**

Mix the flours, yeast, and water in a large bowl.  Stir, then use your hands to mix and form a sticky dough.

Work the dough just enough to incorporate all the flour, then work in the fruit and nuts.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature overnight or for at least 8 hours;  it’ll become bubbly and rise quite a bit, so use a large bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and form it into a log or round loaf to fit in one of the following:

a 14” x 15” long lidded stoneware baker; a 9” X 12” oval deep casserole dish with cover; or 9” to 10” round lidded baking crock (I used a Le Crueset lidded stoneware Dutch oven.)

Place the dough in the lightly greased pan, smooth side up.

Cover and let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, until it’s become puffy.  It should rise noticeably, but it’s not a real high-riser.

Using a sharp knife, slash the bread in a crosshatch pattern.  Place the lid on the pan and put the bread in a cold oven.  Set the oven temperature to 450F.

Bake the bread for 45-50 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to bake for another 5 to 15 minutes until it’s deep brown in color and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers about 205F. 

Remove the bread from the oven and turn out onto a cooling rack.  Cool completely before slicing and serving.

Notes: 

Walnuts sometimes give this bread a faint purple tinge.  If this bothers you, use pecans instead.

I like to add boiling water to dried fruit to plump them up.  I leave the fruit in the boiling water for about 5 minutes or so and then drain before adding the fruit to the recipe.

Nutritional Information:  (1 of 16 slices) 196 calories; 5 grams fat (1 gram saturated fat); 0 grams cholesterol; 293 mg sodium; 33 grams carbs; 3 grams fiber; 7 grams sugars; 5 grams protein