Crockpot Apple Oatmeal

As I said recently, I’ve taken on breakfast as a challenge over the past year and a half. It was the meal I skipped most often because I either didn’t find the food appetizing or it was just to much of an effort to make.

So I’ve tried about a dozen crockpot hot cereal recipes, and I finally found one that we L-O-V-E-LOVE. It’s the dates that do it, I think. Linda Larsen over at The Spruce provided the original recipe.

• 2 cups milk (we’re using unsweetened almond milk these days)
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 2 TBSP honey
• 2 TBSP melted Earth Balance margarine
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 1 apple, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped dates
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Spray the inside of a 2 or 4 quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine milk, agave, honey, melted margarine, salt, and cinnamon in the slow cooker and mix well.

Stir in the oats, apple, and dates.

Cover the slow cooker and turn on low setting. Cook 6-9 hours until oatmeal is tender. Stir well before serving. Top with chopped nuts.

Pumpkin Pancakes

I’ve been trying to use up last fall’s frozen pumpkin puree before this fall hits with a fresh batch. We’ve had these pancakes over and over.

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole grain spelt flour
2  teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 cup almond milk
1 egg
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons coconut oil (or softened Earth Balance margarine)
2-4 tablespoons agave
1 teaspoon vanilla

1.In a bowl mix both kinds of flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger.
2. In another bowl whisk the milk,  pumpkin puree, egg, oil, agave, and vanilla.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix using a spatula until combined.
4. Spray a pan with oil.
5. Use an ice cream  scoop or 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the batter.
6. Spread the batter using a spoon or the back of the icecream scoop.
7. Cook on medium low heat till you see small bubbles on top.
8. Flip the pancake and cook on the other side.

Cherry-Almond Smoothie

We plowed through a bag of frozen cherries from Costco recently making these yummy smoothies. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

• 1/2 banana (you can use fresh or frozen)
• 1 TBSP honey
• 2 TBSP almond butter
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup frozen cherries
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (we used So Delicious plain unsweetened coconut yogurt)
• 2 TBSP milk (we used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

1. Puree banana, honey, almond butter, and salt together until smooth.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Puree until smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Enjoy!

And honestly, sometimes I just throw it all together in the blender at once rather than taking two steps to mix it up.

Knoephla Soup

We celebrated a Germans from Russia Thanksgiving this year. This was another winner year – there was so much delicious food. I borrowed this recipe for Knoephla – a potato and dumpling soup – from the Prairie Californian. It was our first course, and what a great way to start the meal!

I needed to make a dairy-free version of the soup, so this is how I did it. And I used white spelt flour for the knoephla, but any white flour should do.

Broth

• 8 cups water
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons Bill’s Best Chik’nish
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 TBSP Earth Balance margarine
• ½ medium onion, chopped
• 1 12-oz package Mori-Nu Silken Tofu (soft)
• salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ teaspoon dill weed

Knoephla (Dumplings)

• 2 eggs
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened soymilk
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 cups white spelt flour

 

1. Combine water, bay leaves, Chik’nish, and potatoes in a large heavy bottomed pot. Cook over medium heat until the potatoes are tender.
2. In a separate pan, melt the margarine and saute onions until tender and slightly browned. Add to the broth.
3. While potatoes are cooking, make the knoephla. Combine eggs and soymilk in a large bowl, beat to combine. Add flour and baking powder, mix together well until dough forms.
4. Drop knoephla into the broth. You can do this by either rolling the dough into a rope (about ½ inch) and cut into pieces (about ¼ inch). Cook for 5-10 minutes or until the dumplings begin to rise.
5. Blend the tofu in a food processor until it is nice and creamy.
6. Just before serving, add the blended tofu and warm. Salt and pepper to taste, season with dill weed. If desired, thicken with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch + 1 tablespoon of water.

Honey-Kissed Baklava Muffins

I am happy. That is all. Many thanks to the Edible Perspective. The only changes I made from the original recipe were swapping margarine for butter and using store-bought buckwheat flour instead of making it fresh.

Muffins:

• 1/2 cup gluten-free oat flour
• 3/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 2 1/2 tablespoons ground flax meal
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk, or soy, 2%, etc.
• 1/2 cup clover honey
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons dairy-free margarine, melted and slightly cooled

Filling:

• 1 1/4 cups chopped unsalted pistachios and walnuts
• 3 tablespoons clover honey
• 2 tablespoons diary-free margarine, melted
• 1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:

• Honey to drizzle, about 1 teaspoon per muffin
• 1/3 cup chopped unsalted pistachios and walnuts
• 2 tablespoons dairy-free margarine, melted and slightly cooled

1. Preheat your oven to 350* F and line 1-2 standard muffin tins with 12-16 liners. (I ended up putting my extra dough into a small 4×4 inch baking dish.)
2. In a large bowl stir together the oat flour, buckwheat flour, almond meal, flax, cinnamon, powder, soda, and salt. In another bowl whisk together the eggs. Then whisk in the applesauce, milk, honey, and vanilla until fully combined. Wait to add the margarine.
3. In another bowl stir all of the “filling” ingredients together until fully incorporated. Set aside.
4. Whisk in the 1/4 cup melted butter to the wet ingredients then pour the wet into the dry and stir or whisk until just combined [when you no longer see dry flour]. Fold in the nut mixture and portion into muffin liners about 3/4 the way full.
5. Bake muffins for 17-22 minutes and test with a toothpick for doneness [slightly moist, not sticky]. Let muffins cool for about 7-10 minutes.  Keeping muffins in their liners drizzle a small amount of honey over each muffin, then a sprinkle of nuts, then another small drizzle of honey, and then about 1/2 teaspoon melted margarine over each.  Let fully cool.  Muffins will firm and hold together once cooled.

Mom’s Cornbread

I call it my mom’s cornbread, but it likely came from a cookbook printed in my hometown in Michigan. It’s a Northern version of cornbread (sweeter than what’s made in the American South).

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup spelt flour
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk (I used almond milk this time)
• 1/4 cup oil

1. Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Combine milk, eggs, and oil. Add liquid to dry ingredients; stir only enough to mix.
2. Pour batter into a 9x9x2-inch greased baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes until the top springs back when touched.

EUROPEAN: Oatmeal

I’ve been playing with the recipes from Jessica Seinfeld, attempting to hide more vegetables in my food. The chocolate cake with beet puree was a disaster, but I am enjoying her oatmeal idea.

• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (we’ve been experimenting with palm sugar)
• 1/4 cup sweet potato puree
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 tsp peanut butter
• dried fruit and nuts
• maple syrup

1. In a small saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, sweet potato, vanilla, and cinnamon. Bring to a gentle boil and stir in the oatmeal. Reduce the head and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until the oatmeal is soft and creamy. Stir in the peanut butter.

2. Spoon the oatmeal into bowls, topping with dried fruit, nuts, and maple syrup.

North American: Sugar Cookies

I thought I could count on Pillsbury this last weekend when we had a Christmas party at our house. I bought the sugar cookie package, followed the directions, and ended up with a big pile of sugar-cookie-flavored slop. So, twenty minutes before the party began, I sent Jeff to the store for a bag of flour, and I got out my mom’s old recipe. She saved the day! Plus, guest got to help with the baking as well as the decorating. They enjoyed getting their hands dirty.

These cookies are one of my favorite parts about Christmas.

2 cups sugar
1 cup margarine
2 eggs
milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 TBSP hot water
1 tsp baking soda
4-5 cups flour

1. Cream together the sugar and margarine.
2. Beat the two eggs in a liquid measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1 cup. Add the milk and eggs to the sugar and margarine mixture.
3. Stir in the vanilla.
4. In a small bowl, pour the hot water over the baking soda and stir. Add to the mixture.
5. Stir in the flour, bit by bit, until the dough becomes thick enough to roll out.
6. Roll out, use your cookie cutters, and bake on a greased cookie sheet for 7-8 minutes at 375 degrees.
7. Cool the cookies on a rack, then decorate like crazy.

NORTH AMERICAN: Nut Butter Banana Smoothie

1 cup milk or milk substitute

¼ cup nut butter

1 ½ cups frozen banana slices

Mix together in a blender.

NORTH AMERICAN: CRONshake

2/3 cup frozen or fresh strawberries

1 cup milk or milk substitute

1 ½ oz. tofu (roughly ¼ block)

½ banana

cinnamon

stevia powder

Blend strawberries, milk, tofu, and banana. Add cinnamon and/or stevia powder to taste.

From Beyond the 120 Year Diet