Apple Stacks! Gluten Free, Vegan, SCD!

Tags

apple, beets, gluten free, grain free, raisins, romaine, SCD, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, squash, vegan

Hey Hey Guys!

First of all, I wanted to thank you all for your sweet comments over the past couple of days. Your support and encouragement always blows me away! You all are the best :)

Apple Stacks!

So I’m back in NYC. I flew home this afternoon. It’s always bittersweet leaving my home in Cincinnati. It’s always hard to leave my family. Especially now that my older brother and his wife live in Cincy, it makes leaving even more difficult. It’s so easy to get used to seeing them all the time, and hanging out with the fam on the reg.

But I know that I’ve got dreams to chase and life to live. So BACK TO NYC! :)

so cute:)

Last night, my parents decided to celebrate my departure with a special dinner, complete with champagne! I felt so honored:) I made a delectable treat…and it was a HIT!

cheers!

Apple Stacks!!

Sweet and creamy mashed acorn squash sandwiched between a crisp honeycrisp apple slice and a chewy roasted beet! Absolutely heavenly!

GF, V, SCD!

And they’re gluten free, vegan, and Specific Carb Diet friendly!

wow

Here’s what you need: (serves 3)

1 bundle romaine lettuce
2 honeycrisp apples, cored and sliced into disks
1 acorn squashed, pricked all over and microwaved
3 beets, scrubbed and sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1/4 cup raisins
3/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt

Preheat your oven to 400. Prick your acorn squash all over (read: A LOT) with a fork. Place on a paper towel and microwave for 10 minutes, flipping half way through.

Meanwhile, thinly slice your beets into rounds. Place them on a tin-foil-lined, olive-oil-sprayed baking sheet in a single layer. Spritz with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake for 25 minutes, flipping half way through.

Once your squash is finished in the microwave (it should be soft), carefully, with oven mitts, take it out and let it cool for several minutes. Once it is able to be touched, cut it in half, scrape out the seeds and discard. Then, scoop out the flesh and place it in a mixing bowl. With a potato masher, mash the flesh until creamy. Then, stir in a sprinkle of salt and your cinnamon until well combined. Then, fold in ¼ cup raisins.

Next, prepare your plates by placing a bed of romaine lettuce. Also, prepare your apple rounds by slicing ¼ – ½ inch rounds. Cut the core out of each slice with a small cookie cutter, or with a knife.

what a fun dish!

To assemble, place 2-3 Tbsp of the squash mixture on an apple round, and top with a beet round. Garnish with an extra raisin.

the textures were amazing!

This meal was SO INCREDIBLE! I’m not one to gush, but this was seriously delicious. My mom kept taking a bite, rolling her eyes, and going, “oh my gosh!” Even my dad proclaimed, “I’ve missed your cooking!” haha

I loved the intensely sweet and chewy raisins!

The flavors and textures were magnificent. First, the flavors: The apple was sweet and juicy, which was complimented beautifully by the subtly sweet squash mash, highlighted by the warm cinnamon and intensely sweet raisins.

the beets gave it just the right amount of savory-ness

Finally, the textures were fabulous. The crispy-crunchy apple, with the creamy and luxurious squash mash, and the chewy raisin surprises made it such an interesting dish.

mmm mmm mmm!

These would also be great to bring to a party as an appetizer. Your guests would be blown away at the creativity and down-right deliciousness!

Are you settled back into your “everyday life” after the holidays?

Until tomorrow!

Sweet & Spicy Butternut Squash Boats! GF, V!

Tags

almonds, butternut squash, gluten free, pears, quinoa, raisins, spinach, stevia, vegan

Happy Saturday Everyone! How’s your Halloween weekend going?

I don’t know about you, but I love fall produce. Especially….butternut squash. I mean, what’s not to love? It can be sweet, savory, made into dessert, or a decadent main course!

Like this show stopper: My Sweet & Spicy Butternut Squash Boats!

amazing texture, flavor, and nutrition!

A slow roasted butternut squash, stuffed with a Pear Quinoa Pilaf. Wow. So healthy, and so addicting.

yummm!

Here’s what you’ll need: (serves 2-3)

1 Butternut Squash, halved and roasted
1 cup quinoa
2 cups veg stock
2 pears, diced
1/2 cup almonds, toasted and chopped
1/2 cup raisins
2 big handfuls of spinach, chopped

Dressing:
2 tsp dijon mustard
juice of 1 BIG lemon…you may need to use 1 1/2 or 2 small ones
3 green onions, sliced
2 drops agave (or 2 drops pure liquid stevia)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp EVOO
salt
a little water to stretch the sauce

beautifully sweet and spicy pears!

So here what you do.  First, roast your butternut squash.  After you cut it in half, rub the flesh with 1 tsp EVOO mixed with 2 drops agave. Then place it flesh side up on a baking sheet, and roast it in a 400 degree oven for about an hour — until fork tender. Nice and slow.

Next: once you’re about 30 minutes into the roasting process, put your quinoa on the stove and cook it according to the package directions using veg stock.  While the quinoa is cooking, mix the dressing ingredients and set aside. After the quinoa has absorbed all the liquid, but before you fluff it with a fork, take it off the heat, add your spinach and “lid it” for about 3 minutes so it wilts. Then, add your dressing and fluff/stir it in with a fork. Next, add your pears, almonds and raisins and fluff/stir the those in as well.  Finally, cover it for just a couple minutes to allow the raisins to plump. Add salt to taste. (I added about a tsp)

Once the butternut squash is finished roasting, fill the cavity with your quinoa goodness. If you just can’t get enough of the quinoa, you can cover the entire thing with it, like I did!

beautiful caramelization of the roasted squash!

This meal was SO yummy. We already know that quinoa is a protein-packed-superfood, but it is also SO versatile, and so tasty! The flavor of this dish was wonderful. There was an inherent sweetness from the butternut squash, the pears, and the raisins, with a spicy depth from the cinnamon and allspice. BUT! It was not at all overbearing because of the slight undertone of tang from the dijon mustard and lemon juice! So enjoyable.

The other great thing was the mix of textures! The pears were crunchy, the raisins were chewy, the butternut squash was creamy, the almonds gave a hard crunch, and the quinoa kind of *pops* in your mouth! It was like a party in your mouth!

Give this recipe a try. Not only is its presentation stunning, but it is a flavor extravaganza! :D

What’s your favorite way to enjoy butternut squash?

Until tomorrow!

GF Oatmeal Raisin Meringues & Headshots!

Tags

desserts, GF cookies, gluten free, New York City, oats, raisins

Hey hey happy tummies! :)

Sorry I missed posting yesterday — I was exhausted after the shoot yesterday, but I think it turned out pretty great! Sam Khan is an amazing photographer, and he really spent a lot of time with me, getting the right look! Here are a couple of proofs from the shoot!

I think everyone should get headshots taken:) It’s so much fun! You get to feel like a princess for a day. Thanks Sam! :D

Ok enough of THAT — :) Onto the food!!

Since it’s almost the weekend, I decided to share one of my all time FAVORITE cookies — Oatmeal Raisin Meringues!!

chewy oats and raisins!

Sadly, these aren’t Vegan — or Specific Carb Diet Friendly — or Body Ecology Diet friendly, but they ARE Dairy and Gluten Free! And they’re “guilt free” too because they’re fat free!

So, all good things:)

Ok, so I made this meringue from my “base” meringue recipe. In French cooking, they have their “5 Mother Sauces,” from which every sauce evolved. So this is my “Mother Meringue” recipe. :)

Here’s what you need:

2 egg whites — from pastured, farm fresh eggs
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup organic sugar
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Beat egg whites in a stand mixer. When they become foamy, add your cream of tartar. When they form soft peaks, slowly add your sugar. Then beat on high for about 7 minutes, until stiff peaks form. Stop your mixer and sift in your powdered sugar. Then, fold it in — about 35-40 folds. Meet your Mother Meringue.

Now to make them Oatmeal Raisin Meringues! ::my personal fav::

Here’s what you need: (Makes 12 cookies)

1 recipe Mother Meringue
2/3 cup GF rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl, (like a cereal bowl), combine your oats, raisins, and cinnamon. Then, drizzle the vanilla on top of the meringue (in the stand mixer bowl). Add the oat mixture to the meringue and fold it in. Spoon 1 Tbsp onto a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Turn the oven down to 325 and bake for 12 -14 minutes, rotating the pan half way through. You’ll want to eat one of these while they’re fresh out of the oven too:)

GF Oatmeal & Raisin Meringues fresh out of the oven!

Meringues…how do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1) You are magnificently gluten-free!
2) You are a wonderful blank canvas to play and experiment with!
3) You are fat-free and a healthy alternative to your cookie cousin!
4) You are light and airy!
5) I can make you and clean up in less than an hour!

OK OK OK — you get the picture:)

GF never tasted so good!

These little cookies are SO good. It makes me really sad that I can’t enjoy them anymore, because they’re not SCD Friendly. BUT, these are the cookies of my dreams! They are light and airy, yet wonderfully chewy from the oats and raisins. The outside is crispy like a meringue, and then your teeth sink into the chewy, oatmeal center — just divine! It’s such a fun twist on a meringue! There’s a wonderful warmth from the cinnamon, and then this intense kiss of sweetness from the raisins.

the last bite…*tear*

Break out the cookie sheets this weekend and make these guilt free goodies!

What’s your favorite type of cookie? This is mine!