Blueberry Cobbler (vegan, gluten-free, low fat)

Don't be surprised if this cobbler doesn't make it to your plate!

This year I've made some of the biggest leaps yet in my culinary adventures. Mostly it's because I've given myself permission to explore more, and in that exploration to trust my intuition on how to take a typical recipe and transform it so that it works for my body's needs.

This is one such recipe. Who knew you could make a delicious cobbler with no fat? I certainly didn't, and wouldn't have expected this kind of flavor!

I took hints from about 10 different recipes, then blended that with my own twist on biscuit batter to come up with a cobbler base that won't leave anyone missing gluten (and trust me, I truly miss being able to eat wheat-based breads).

It would be a crime to keep this one to myself. So, here you go. You're welcome. :)

BLUEBERRY COBBLER

Yield: 9 servings / 8"x8" cobbler
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 40 minutes

You'll need parchment paper for this recipe.

FOR THE FILLING:

3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2 Tbsp coconut sugar
1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
1 Tbsp arrowroot flour (dissolve in the lemon juice first)
1 tsp vanilla


FOR THE COBBLER BASE:

Dry Ingredients

1 1/4 cups rice flour
1 cup garbanzo bean flour
1 Tbsp tapioca starch
1 Tbsp potato flour
1 Tbsp aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground chia seed
2 Tbsp coconut sugar

Wet Ingredients

3/4 cup rice milk (or other plant milk)
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp vanilla


Method

Preheat oven to 375˚ F.

Line an 8"x8" glass baking dish with parchment paper. (If you use a metal dish, you'll likely need to lessen the bake time.)

Assemble the cobbler filling by combining all filling ingredients and set aside. (Be sure the dissolve the arrowroot flour in the lemon juice as noted before adding it to the remaining filling ingredients.)

Assemble the cobbler base. In a medium sized mixing bowls, whisk together the dry ingredients (rice flour, garbanzo flour, tapioca starch, potato flour, baking powder, sea salt, ground chia seed and coconut sugar). In a separate small bowl, combine the rice milk and applesauce; mix well and stir into the dry mixture until all dry ingredients are moist.

Place about 3/4 of the base mix into the parchment-lined baking dish, spreading the mixture evenly to coat the base of the pan.

Cover the base mixture layer with all the filling mixture.

Use the remaining 1/4 of the base mix to dollop the top of the cobbler. There's no need to spread out the topping, just make sure the dollops aren't really thick by making multiple small dollops instead.

Bake at 375˚ F for about 40 minutes or until crust is a golden brown. Serve warm or cool. Try it with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream or the vegan version of cool whip, coco whip...YUM!!!

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NOTE: If you have a sweet tooth, you may prefer more sugar than listed in this recipe, so feel free to adjust. You can also substitute stevia for a sugar free version of this recipe.

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*gluten free, soy free, low fat

Crabby Cakes with Tartar Sauce (vegan, gluten-free, low fat)

Crabby Cakes with Tartar Sauce

Before going vegan, I was a "seafood" lover. Since regaining my compassion, I can't fathom the thought of seeing these beautiful sea creatures as food, so I've been super curious about recreating the flavors and textures of seafood dishes, vegan style of course!

My first attempt to veganize crab cakes turned out really great. I call them "Crabby Cakes," because I like I said, I can't fathom eating a beautiful crab now, so even the name "Vegan Crab Cakes" makes me feel crabby! So Crabby Cakes they are.

The texture and taste is truly seafood-like...so much so that if I hadn't made these myself, I'd have been a bit worried about what was really in them!

These little cakes come together pretty simply, it took me just a few minutes to assemble them, and baking them brought the flavor together perfectly. You could also fry these in coconut oil first and then bake them, if you prefer.

I think you'll love these as much as I did. Enjoy!

I love to serve these with baked oven fries and slaw.

CRABBY CAKES

Yield: 6 small crabby cakes (serves 2)
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes

You'll need parchment paper for this recipe. The Tarter Sauce recipe is here.

Ingredients

1 (14 oz) can heart of palm, diced small
1 Tbsp grated carrot
1/4 cup frozen, canned or fresh corn kernels (I used roasted frozen kernels)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp finely chopped parsley or 1 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried dill
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

1 flax egg (see note below)
2 Tbsp (approximately, see instructions) garbanzo bean flour

1/2 cup plain gluten free bread crumbs (store bought or make your own, recipe here)

Ready to pop in the oven!

Method

Preheat oven to 400˚ F.

In a small mixing bowl, combine heart of palm, carrot, corn, green onion, parsley, dill, lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in flax egg. Add garbanzo flour a little at a time, stirring between additions, watching for the mixture to started coming together into a texture that will allow you to form the cakes easily. The cakes should bind nicely but still be fairly moist, so if they aren't binding, add a little more flour while being mindful not to over add and make them dry.

Form 6 small cakes with the heart of palm mixture. Coat each cake with breadcrumbs, and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. The cakes will bind together even more upon baking, and will hold together easily when moved from the baking sheet to your plate.

Bake cakes in a 400˚ F oven for 25 minutes, or until cakes are light golden brown.

Serve with chilled tartar sauce (recipe here).

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NOTE: If you're new to flax eggs, place 1 Tbsp ground flax meal + 3 Tbsp water FOR EACH EGG NEEDED in a food processor (I use a the Magic Bullet for this job...works like a charm) and process for at least 1 minute. This creates a wonderful "gummy" texture that mimics an egg and works perfect for subbing eggs in most baking recipes. Bonus, no cholesterol!

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*gluten free

Tartar Sauce (vegan, gluten free, low fat)

Try this delicious sauce with my Crabby Cakes recipe!

TARTAR SAUCE

Yield: 1/2 cup sauce
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Chill Time: 0-30 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup tofu mayo (recipe here)
1 Tbsp low-fat Vegenaise or other prepared low-fat vegan mayo (optional, improves texture)
1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp sweet pickle relish
1 1/2 tsp finely minced onion
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Method

Combine all ingredients and serve immediately or chill for up to 30 minutes before serving.

P.S. This sauce is a Crabby Cake's best friend.

*gluten free

Tofu Mayo (vegan, gluten-free, low fat)

This is a super simple recipe for tofu mayo, a sauce that can be used on sandwiches, in dressings and dips, in certain sauces to replace oil, and in any recipe that calls for mayonaisse.

TOFU MAYO

Ingredients

1 (1 lb) pkg organic silken tofu, drained
1 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp coconut sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp mustard powder

Method

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Place in a storage container and refrigerate. Your tofu mayo should stay fresh for at least 1 week if properly refrigerated.

*gluten free

Easy Homemade Breadcrumbs (vegan, gluten-free, yeast-free, low fat)

I've been on the hunt for vegan, gluten-free, yeast-free and low fat bread crumbs for far too long. Everything I find in stores is either including ingredients I'm not willing to put in my body or sugar-laden and over-priced. I really, really wanted to try a vegan version of crab cakes recently, so it was time to solve the breadcrumb dilemma (vegan crab cake recipe on its way).

My idea was to make a biscuit dough, bake, crumble and re-bake to create breadcrumbs. And much to my surprise, it worked! Not only would I have eaten the biscuits as made, but the breadcrumbs were absolutely delicious.

It was one of those ideas where I really went out on a limb, didn't expect much and was thrilled at the wonderful results.

Ok, your turn!

SUPER EASY HOMEMADE BREADCRUMBS

Yield: Approximately 2 cups bread crumbs
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Bake Time: 12-15 minutes + 15-20 minutes

You'll need parchment paper for this recipe.

Dry Ingredients

1 1/4 cups rice flour
1 cup garbanzo bean flour
1 Tbsp tapioca starch
1 Tbsp potato flour
1 Tbsp aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground chia seed

Wet Ingredients

3/4 cup rice milk (or other plant milk)
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spread breadcrumb dough in an even layer onto the cookie sheet (for me, the dough was about 1/2 inch thick, and I was able to spread it easily with my mixing spoon).

Bake at 400 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until dough is slightly golden on bottom and edges.

Step 1: Bake the dough

Cool the dough thoroughly. Once cooled, gently crumble (so as not to create doughy lumps) the baked dough into small crumbs. You don't have to worry about getting the crumbs super small, as you'll be grinding them after the re-baking process.

Step 2: Crumble the bread

Preheat over to 300˚ F.

Place the crumbs in a thin layer on two parchment-lined cookie sheets (I was able to reuse my first sheet of parchment). Bake at 300 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, stirring the crumbs every 5 minutes to encourage even drying and toasting. Make sure the breadcrumbs are "crunchy," they should be fully dried out. I bake mine until they were a rich brown color.

Step 3: Bake bread crumbles to a rich golden brown

Cool the breadcrumbs thoroughly. I prefer my crumbs much smaller than what comes out of the oven (see above photo), so I grind them to suit my needs. Place about a cup of crumbs at time into a food processor or small blender (I used my Magic Bullet, it worked perfectly). Pulse the crumbs a few seconds at a time, until they are the consistency you desire, using caution not to turn them into dust, which is easy to do if you aren't watching closely.

Store your leftover breadcrumbs in an airtight container. They should keep for about a week at room temperature as long as you baked them long enough to remove all moisture. To store them longer, keep them in an airtight container in the freezer, they should stay fresh about 6 months this way. I put my breadcrumbs in a mason jar tucked into a gallon size freezer bag to help protect them from moisture, and tucked them in the freezer. As with all food storage suggestion provided here, they are just suggestions; use your own good judgement on food storage, and when it doubt, throw it out. It's never worth it to eat food that hasn't been properly stored.

These breadcrumbs are super tasty and work great in my Crabby Cakes recipe (coming soon)!

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*gluten-free, soy-free, low fat

Caribbean Beans and Rice (vegan, gluten-free, low fat)

One of my favorite places on earth is a small surf town in Costa Rica, on the coast of the Caribbean Ocean. My partner John and I have led several yoga retreats there, and no one is ever ready to leave at the end of the 9 day journey. I love the laid back vibe, the jungle and how it comes up to the edge of the volcanic sand beaches and the local cuisine...it really is a slice of paradise!

This recipe totally takes me back to the Caribbean experience. Not only is it absolutely delicious, it's simple to put together and is ready in about 35 minutes from start to finish. You'll be putting this in your meal plan rotation for sure!

Now if I can just figure out how to recreate the Caribbean Ocean breeze...

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CARIBBEAN BEANS AND RICE

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 (13.5 oz) can light coconut milk (or sub 1 1/2 cups water)
1/2 cup water
2 vegetable bullion cubes (I use "
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp dried crushed aleppo pepper, more if you like spicy (or sub crushed red pepper or 1/2 fresh jalapeno, seeds removed and diced small)
1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste

1  (14.5 oz) can diced fire roasted tomatoes, drained
1 (15 oz) can small red beans, with liquid (or 1 1/2 cups cooked red beans, with liquid)
2 cups uncooked basmati rice, rinsed and drained

fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)


Method

Pour coconut milk and water into a medium stock pot over medium heat; add bullion cubes and spices (including salt), stirring briefly to incorporate as the water warms. Add drained tomatoes, red beans with their liquid and the uncooked basmati to the coconut spice mixture, stirring the mixture again. Cover stock pot with a tight lid and increase heat to high, bringing the rice mixture to a boil; immediately reduce heat to low, creating a slow simmer. Simmer on low for 25-30 minutes or until all liquid has been absorbed into the rice.

Remove from heat, stir gently as not to mash the rice, and serve immediately, garnishing with fresh cilantro if you have it on hand.

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RICE COOKER COOKING METHOD: If you use a rice cooker, combine coconut milk, bullion cubes and spices in a small stockpot before adding to your rice cooker with tomatoes, beans and uncooked rice. Use your standard setting and cook as you would plain rice.

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*gluten-free, soy-free, low fat

Sweet Potato Flatbread (gluten free, vegan, low fat)

I went gluten free for my gut health in 2012, and I have yet to find a vegan, gluten free bread that I really love. This flatbread has been life changing! Well, at least taste bud changing. :)

It's pretty versatile because it holds up really well. You can make traditional sandwiches out of it, although I tend to go open face style with it. It's delicious plain or topped with whatever deliciousness you can dream up!


SWEET POTATO FLAT BREAD

Yield: 6 servings / slices
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes

You will need parchment paper for this recipe.

Dry Ingredients

1 1/2 cups garbanzo flour
1/2 cup rice flour
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (not baker's yeast!)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp garlic powder

Wet Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, cubed, boiled and mashed (about 1 1/2 cups mashed)
2 flax eggs (see recipe note below)


Method

Combine dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl, mix well. Add mashed sweet potatoes and flax egg, mixing thoroughly until all dry ingredients are fully incorporated.

Spread batter on a parchment-line cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan, until the batter is about 1/4" thick. Bake at 375˚ F for 30 minutes, or until bottom is golden brown.

Lift parchment onto a cooling rack to cool the flatbread (it comes away from the parchment easier as it cools). Cut into 6 pieces and serve.

This bread is wonderful warm, room temperature or refrigerated (in fact, it performs great in the fridge).

My favorite way to top it, with a basic Chickpea Salad and garden fresh tomato. Get creative, I'd love to hear what you do with this incredible bread. Enjoy!

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RECIPE NOTE: If you're new to flax eggs, place 1 Tbsp ground flax meal + 3 Tbsp water FOR EACH EGG NEEDED in a food processor (I use a the Magic Bullet for this job...works like a charm) and process for at least 1 minute. This creates a wonderful "gummy" texture that mimics an egg and works perfect for subbing eggs in most baking recipes. Bonus, no cholesterol!


© 2016 Ahimsa Kitchen and Marty Tribble | Reproduction of this post without written permission is unlawful.

Quick & Easy Yellow Rice (vegan, gluten-free, low fat)

Seriously. Quick and easy peasy! (Pun intended.) And so yummy. Why would you ever go back to that weird packaged stuff after having this? You won't, trust me.

I pulled this together today after finding myself in need of a quick lunch. Start to finish, lunch was done (and delicious) in 20 minutes.

This rice makes a quick and filling meal for up to two people, or you can serve it as a side dish for up to four people. Confession: I ate the whole batch by myself. O_o

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QUICK & EASY YELLOW RICE

Gluten free, soy free, oil free, low fat and vegan.

Yield: 2-4 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

You'll need a medium sauce pot with a tight-fitting lid for this recipe.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups uncooked basmati rice
3 cups water (see recipe note below)
1 tsp onion flakes
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp aleppo pepper (or crushed red pepper) (optional)
pinch of black pepper
2 vegan bullion cubes (any flavor)

1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen chopped kale or spinach (or any other green you love)

Method

Rinse and drain rice, and add to a medium saucepan. Add water, onion flakes, garlic poweder, turmeric, aleppo, black pepper and bullion. Put saucepan on stovetop over high heat, and after about 2-3 minutes of heating, give the mixture a good stir to make sure the bullion has dissolved and the spices are throughly mixed into the rice. Now cover with a tight-fitting lid and keep pan on high heat until it reaches a boil, then immediately reduce heat to low to create a simmer. Let the rice mixture simmer for 15 minutes or until all water has absorbed into the rice. Remove cooked rice mixture from heat and stir in the frozen peas and frozen kale; let it sit in the pot for about 5 minutes to heat through and then serve.

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RECIPE NOTE: I always give the standard rice to water ration (1:2) in my recipes, but do like to note that this isn't how I actually cook my rice. This is for two reasons, 1) I prefer a dry rice so that it holds up to stirring and serving rather than becoming mushy and 2) I purchase an aged, long grain basmati from my local Indian Grocery store that performed better with a lower water ratio. For this recipe, using my preferred style of basmati rice, I put only 1 2/3 cups water in the recipe. This won't necessarily work for all types of basmati rice, so if you plan to experiment with decreasing the water, to it in small increments until you find what works for your rice.


© 2016 Ahimsa Kitchen and Marty Tribble | Reproduction of this post without written permission is unlawful.

Glazed Lemon Poppyseed Muffins (vegan, gluten-free, low fat)

As many of you know, I've been living the gypsy life for the past 16 months, and as such, I haven't had time to dedicate to recipe posting (mostly because my partner's been doing ALL the cooking except the occasional pot of gravy that he asks me to make...gravy is my thing, being a Southern girl). A lot has changed since I last posted, but the biggest change you'll see here is that I'm now on a low fat version of my vegan + gluten-free eating style. This came about after finding out how fat consumption effect me hormonally. It's turned out to be a big key in understanding and healing my lifelong battle with hormone imbalance.

Another recent change is that although I still plan to make travel a big part of my life, I'm no longer doing it full time. This shift has created some role changes for my partner and I, and as a result, I'm happy to announce that I'm back in the kitchen again, and will be doing my best to share what I'm making on a more regular basis.

Let's kick off the celebration of being back together with something sweet! I recently opted to purchase an oversize back of organic lemons instead of the single lemon that I needed, because the single lemons were pesticide laden. So, I had to find a way to use up a LOT of lemons in a hurry. Enter lemon poppy seed muffins. I was out of poppy seeds, so the batch pictured doesn't show them, and they're certainly optional.

I modified this recipe pretty drastically from one that I found online. It was loaded with unnecessary fats, sugar and gluten. I hope you enjoy my modifications. My nephew was begging for them and said they "taste like lemonade!" They're really good, especially warm from the oven with fresh glaze. Get ready to have your house smell amazing with these in the oven!

Thanks for being here. It's good to be back with you.

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GLAZED LEMON POPPYSEED MUFFINS

Gluten free, soy free, oil free, low fat and vegan.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 25 minutes
Yield: 12 standard muffins

You'll need a 12 cup standard muffin tin and muffin tin liners for this recipe. Glaze recipe below.

Wet Ingredients

zest of 1 organic lemon (conventional lemon peels are pesticide heavy)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup rice milk (or other plant milk)
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 flax eggs (see note below)

Dry Ingredients

1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
1/4 cup coconut sugar (sub stevia if you're sugar free)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 cups rice flour (or other gluten-free flour)

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Combine wet mixture with dry mixture, and stir until just combined.

Place 12 muffin liners into a muffin tin, and spoon muffin batter evenly among the liners.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, or until tops turn a golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from pan and apply glaze while warm (recipe below).


Glaze Ingredients

Glaze is optional, leave it out if you need a low / no sugar diet. The muffins are delicious on their own!

1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 to 1 tsp lemon juice or rice milk (or other plant milk)

Method

Add lemon juice or rice milk to powdered sugar very slowly, stirring until it reaches a smooth, thick yet pourable consistency. You may need more or less liquid to powdered sugar ratio.

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RECIPE NOTE: If you're new to flax eggs, place 1 Tbsp ground flax meal + 3 Tbsp water FOR EACH EGG NEEDED in a food processor (I use a the Magic Bullet for this job...works like a charm) and process for at least 1 minute. This creates a wonderful "gummy" texture that mimics an egg and works perfect for subbing eggs in most baking recipes. Bonus, no cholesterol!


© 2016 Ahimsa Kitchen and Marty Tribble | Reproduction of this post without written permission is unlawful.