fig & dark chocolate granola bars (vegan, gluten-free)

figs and dark chocolate. better together. especially in a handy snack-size.

I love me an awesome baked good - or raw good - especially on a weekend morning. I'm also a huge fan of portable weekday snacks. The only problem? Absurd cost and quantity of crappy ingredients. In answer to this non-crisis, I give you...The fig & dark chocolate granola (whatever that means) bar! A ridiculously delicious breakfast or snack. Vegan and gluten-free. And guaranteed to taste (and make you feel) a ton better than the really adorable and yummy looking Starbucks items that call your name every time you set foot in the joint.

fig & dark chocolate granola bar (vegan, gluten-free)
1 1/3 cup gluten-free oats
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup flax seeds
1 cup chopped organic dried figs
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips OR 1/2 bar of chopped 70-85% dark chocolate (I love the Sweet Riot brand)
1/4 cup Grade B maple syrup
2 tblsps coconut nectar
1/4 cup canola oil
sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Or don't if you'd like to keep them raw.

Grind 1/3 cup of oats in food processor until fine. Mix with remaining cup of oats, flax seeds, figs, and dark chocolate. In a separate bowl, mix all liquid ingredients until combined. Add dry ingredients to wet and combine well. Spread mixture in a parchment paper lined 8x8 baking pan. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. If you'd like a raw bar, just put them in the fridge for at least 3 hours. If you'd like them baked, bake them at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and then allow 15 minutes of cooling time before slicing.

Hurricane Granola: Two Ways

Cocoa Cinnamon & Chocolate Walnut Chunk

Pumpkin Maple Walnut Spice

During last year's hurricane, we weren't taking any chances and battened down (literally) every hatch in our apartment. The tubs were full, the windows were taped, and the leather couch was disassembled and moved to safe quarters in the hallway. In case the squall exploded the building facade, we could take shelter from the storm on supple leather. This year, we're apparently throwing caution to the wind. Extra water and batteries are on deck, but the furniture has remained in place (and intact). Still, the thought that we may be living on rations had me thinking on my feet (or with my gut) and constructing new and exciting ways to make food that we can eat should the hurricane force us to go camping. I give you, Granola, Hurricane-Style. One decadent chocolate-y option that can actually be turned into granola bars and the other that's warming and cozy for those weather-imposed (unpaid) days off. Either / or are delicious and have helped me mitigate storm anxiety. Enjoy! And stay safe out there!

Cocoa Cinnamon & Walnut Chunk (Vegan, Wheat-Free, *Can be made nut-free)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup Grade B maple syrup or agave nectar
2 cups organic rolled oats (or quick-cook oats_
1 cup puffed cereal (rice, millet, corn, etc.)
2 tblsps unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
*1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix oil and maple syrup or agave until blended. Add vanilla extract. Add oats, cereal, cinnamon, walnuts (if using) and chocolate chips. Combine. Spread on to ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Serve with non-dairy or real milk.

Pumpkin Maple Walnut Spice Granola (Vegan, Wheat-Free, *Can be made nut-free)
3 cups organic oats
*1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1-2 tblsps flax seed
1/2 cup unsweetened organic pumpkin puree
1/4 cup Grade B maple syrup or agave nectar
1 heaping tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 heaping tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix wet ingredients first. Add all dry ingredients. Stir everything is well-coated and combined. Spread onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 30 mins. Using spatula, gently toss granola to unstick and separate. Turn pan. Bake for another 30 mins. Allow to cool fully before serving.

Happy Eastover Vegan, GF Coconut Cream Glazed Chocolate Macaroons

I call this one "When Two Worlds Collide"

Happy holidays to all of us Christian Jews / Jewish Christians / Folks who just happen to be born to one of each. Thankfully, though both traditions don't agree on much, they come together over food. Or at least they can agree that food - even if they're eating it apart from each other - is awesome. My mom was born and raised a very strict Catholic, complete with abusive nuns and Latin services. Perhaps that's one of the reasons she came to fall in love with my dad (born a Jew) who likes his religion served very, very lightly (or not at all). Add to this melting pot that I attended a pretty awesome Episcopalian school, welcoming of all faiths, that ingrained the importance of community over ideology in me. As confusing as it sounds, my family loved and respected both important holidays via the seder plate AND the Easter basket. Sure I've got stories about the foolish crap that folks have shared with me about "watering down tradition," but I say it's a beautiful thing: a fabulous season of celebratory eating with family made all the more wonderfully wacky because of their cultural backgrounds. And who wouldn't want an excuse to dip the matzo in the Cadbury creme eggs? Take that, ignorance!

Interestingly enough, food allergies are the great equalizer and don't give a damn about who or what you believe in. So here's a little something for everyone that unifies the great Passover / Easter flavors of coconut and chocolate (Unless your allergies to coconut and/or chocolate resist unification). 

Coconut Cream Glazed Chocolate Macaroons (adapted from Terry Walters)

2 cups unsweetened flaked organic coconut

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1/4 cup agave nectar (I ran out of agave and also added raw honey)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup vegan gluten free chocolate chips, melted

For the glaze:

1/2 cup organic powdered sugar

2 tblsps unsweetened coconut milk

1/2 tsp coconut or vanilla extract

Unsweetened flaked coconut for rolling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine first four ingredients for macaroons. Then add melted chocolate. Roll into balls and bake on parchment paper lined baking sheet for 18-20 minutes. 

While cookies are cooling, make the glaze by combining all glaze ingredients. When cookies have completely cooled, submerge them in the glaze and then roll them in coconut until completely coated.

Vegan, GF Early Spring Lemon Poppy Seed Olive Oil Scones (and Car Talk)

Sad attempt at food photography (Also, we're out of poppy seeds)

Less sad. Still delicious.

Picture it: Saturday morning, blue sky, wind blowing so hard through these Brooklyn streets, and the sway of our shoddily constructed building reminding us that, just because we survived Hurricane 2011, the lease isn't up yet. Mornings like this, when all that's on the radio is Car Talk (full confession: I love those guys) and the fridge is on empty after a long week of work and weirdness and work weirdness and commuting nightmares, I love to get up early and bake. Something warm and soothing to accompany an excellent cup of coffee that isn't costing me $2.00 a cup. Usually chocolate. Not today. Mostly because we're out of chocolate (See above: Fridge is on empty).


Today, to complement the blue in the sky and the Spring in the air, I'm using up the lemons and the poppy seeds that haven't seen the light of day since this time last year when I was on a poppy seed baking tear, and right before I got it in my head that at some point I'd be required to take a random drug test and would have to explain that the opiates in my urine were actually due to all the hamentashen I'd been eating unseasonably early (Sometimes, I like to creatively terrify myself). I also have rolled oats, and dry quinoa, and flax seed and olive oil which makes pretty much everything taste good. J. can't eat eggs, and wheat and dairy are beautiful killers who hate me so I'm keeping it simple. The result is really high in fiber, low fat, and vegan. Drizzled with a fresh lemon juice and sugar glaze, they're also kind of mindblowingly awesome. Just don't say I didn't warn you about the drug test.


Early Spring Lemon Poppy Seed Olive Oil Scones


**Note: I like to grind my own oats and flax seeds because I think  they taste fresher. If you only have pre-ground oat flour and flax that's fine too. 


For the scones:
3 1/2 cups plus 1/2 cup uncooked, rolled oats 
4 tablespoons dry quinoa
4 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Zest of two lemons
2 tablespoons flax seed (ground))
1/2 cup warm water
10 tablespoons cold pressed olive oil
1 cup milk or unsweetened, dairy-free milk alternative (I used unsweetened rice milk)


For the glaze:
1-2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1-2 cups powdered sugar


Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheet.


In a large bowl, mix ground flax seeds with warm water until combined. Add olive oil and stir. 


If you're grinding your own oats, put 3 1/2 cups into a food processor and process until they become a coarse flour. Put in a bowl. Add additional 1/2 cup of unground oats. Add quinoa, poppy seeds, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and lemon zest. Mix. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until stiff dough begins to form. Add milk of your choice. When dough is combined, spoon on to greased baking sheet and shape into even circles with your hands. 


Bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool on a rack. While cooling, make glaze. When scones are cool, drizzle glaze over the tops with a fork. 

Vegan, Gluten-free "Almost-Entenmann's" Filled Chocolate Chip Crumb Cake

Well hello old friend

Why is it that the foods we miss the most in life are the crap we had as kids? And, p.s., I'm using the word "food" loosely. At my school, snack-time meant Twinkies, Hostess doughnuts, and no-frills orange drink. On the school's dime no less. With nary a complaint by our parents who were still riding high on their Kennedy era values: Peace (kind of), love, and chemicals. Be a hippie and serve tofu at home, but at school, teachers know best so choke down that Tang and like it! And face it, those snacks were delicious. A little powdered sugar on your chin (or in my case, all over your navy blue uniform) as you plopped down in a ridiculously uncomfortable plastic chair made learning fractions that much more fun. A win-win as they say.


But let's get straight to the point - a point I've already made - and that's that, when it comes to true craptastic deliciousness Entenmann's reigns supreme. It's magical, edible crack and the kind of stuff that fun Candy Land-style dreams are made of.  That is, unless you're allergic to everything, or you're vegan, or you don't really want to eat EVERYTHING on the periodic table. Then, my friends, Entenmann's becomes a tantalizing little bombshell that will destroy you. I've seen it happen - over an All Butter Loaf Cake no less - and it was not pretty.


I've already posted Cybele Pascal's INCREDIBLE allergen-free crumb cake recipe which, I think, almost perfectly replicates the Entenmann's Original Crumb crumb cake. But then I was given a challenge: Re-create an Entenmann's Filled Chocolate Chip Crumb Cake but make it gluten-free, nut-free, and vegan (no dairy, no eggs, no animal products of any kind). A very interesting proposition. And here's what I came up with. And let me tell you, all modesty aside, it is pretty f-ing delicious as well as a decent replication of the Entenmann's bomb.


The basic cake recipe remains Cybele Pascal's (a true allergen-free cooking genius) except I added chocolate chips. I've adjusted her crumb top to better match the Entenmann's cake. The filling is my original recipe. SO good and even better the next day (after refrigeration) if it lasts that long.


Almost-Entenmann's Filled Chocolate Chip Crumb Cake(!)

Ingredients

To make Cybele's excellent gluten-free flour mix combine 4 cups superfine brown rice flour (I just used what I had which was a combo of both and sifted it), 1 1/3 cup potato starch (not potato flour), 2/3 cup tapioca starch or tapioca flour. Combine in a gallon Ziploc sack by shaking.

For the crumb topping:

3/4 cup flour mix (see above)

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegan cane sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (more if you like a more cinnamon-y taste to your crumb as I do)

2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup cold dairy-free shortening (I use Earth Balance buttery style)

Combine in a bowl until crumbly. Form larger chunks by pressing crumbs together. Set aside.

For the cake:

1/2 cup dairy-free shortening

2 cups flour mix (see above)

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup coconut milk yogurt

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 tablespoon Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 1/4 cup rice milk

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1- 1 1/2 cups Enjoy Life allergen-free chocolate chips

For the filling:
2 packages Mori-Nu vegan/gluten free chocolate pudding packs

2 packages Mori-Nu extra firm silken tofu

3/4 cup vanilla coconut milk yogurt

1/2 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (through salt). Set aside. In a medium bowl, mix yogurt and vinegar. Set aside. In a small bowl, mix egg replacer and rice milk. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat shortening, sugar, egg replacer mixture, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add flour in three additions, alternating with yogurt mixture, ending on the flour mixture. Add chocolate chips.

Pour into a springform pan that's been greased with shortening. Sprinkle crumbs over top. Bake in oven until a cake tester comes out clean. Check after 45 minutes. Mine took 55 minutes. 

Cool in rack for about 15 minutes. Remove springform ring and allow to cool completely. 

Make filling by combining tofu and pudding packets into a food processor and blending until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and add coconut milk yogurt a spoon at a time. Stir completely. Mixture should resemble a smooth but spreadable pudding and should have a light hint of coconut flavor. 

When cake is completely cook, use a large sharp knife to carefully slice of the top (crumb half) of the cake (sorry I didn't take pictures of this). It's a delicate balance. Make sure you're slicing the cake essentially into two layers. Place a plate on top of the cake and invert so that the top half is on the plate. Add filling and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Carefully flip top half of cake onto filled half. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and dust with powdered sugar.

And here it is, all dressed up like it's 1977 (Thank you Instagram filters), which is the era in which I best remember this little beauty:

Party like it's before the Reagan era

Cooking For Elliot: Dessert x 3

Well hello gorgeous...

And another missed post last week. This time thanks to a hectic work schedule and then a Mother's Day featuring lots of deliciousness, none of which was cooked by me. Also, Easter Candy redux. Everyone knows it's just plain wrong to let perfectly good holiday M&Ms go to waste. All this just to say that by the time I got home on Sunday, I was too full to do much of anything except unbutton my pants and fall asleep...Only to wake up two hours later, hot, sweaty, and wearing pants that had somehow adhered themselves to my body. Again, no photographic evidence of this travesty for which you should all be grateful. And on that note...

I bring you a new twist on Cooking For Elliot's usual menu theme. Following a week of unbelievable work stress and my coincidental decision to begin the "Insanity" workout program (based solely on my deep love and appreciation for infomercials, especially those that only run in the middle of the night), I was hankering for some dessert items that wouldn't f- up my pants situation, and would also double as tasty breakfast treats. And, of course, would satisfy the vegan, gluten/nut/egg/dairy-free requirement of just about everything on here. As always, I scoured the web and searched through my archives for a few super-special bites and success was within my grasp! To further simplify matters I've broken them down into three categories based largely on fiber and sugar content: Healthiest, Healthy, and Let's Not Kid Ourselves. The last one is what I've dubbed "Almost Entenmann's Crumbcake" just called Allergen-Free Crumbcake by Cybele Pascal (www.cybelepascal) who is a genius of gluten-free and allergen-free baking. It is ridiculous how good and similar to my long-lost love - the Entenmann's Original Crumbcake - it is. A must try. The  "Healthiest" option - Dark Chocolate Chunk and Cereal Grain Cookie - is adapted from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Post-Punk Kitchen (www.ppk.com). The "Healthy" option is adapted from the book Eating Right 4 Your Type.

P.S. These have been road-tested by eaters of all walks and couch-sitters of life: everyone from those who think fruit is a dessert (please) and those who prefer their sweet treats to come with preservatives listed first. These puppies have passed with flying colors! So chow down, and button up. No longer an oxymoron. 

P.P.S. I resisted the urge to combine these two meals and call them Bressert or DesFast, which - come to think of it - sound like a folk duo of ill-repute. 

Breakfast / Dessert

May 15, 2011

Healthiest

Dark Chocolate Chunk and Cereal Grain Cookie

(wheat-free, nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan)

Healthy

Quinoa Applesauce Cake with Coconut Yogurt Creme & Maple Sugar

(wheat/gluten-free, nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan)

Let's Not Kid Ourselves

Almost-Entenmann's Crumbcake

(wheat/gluten-free, nut-free, dairy free, egg free, vegan)

Dark Chocolate Chunk and Cereal Grain Cookie

(wheat-free, nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan)

Ingredients
1 cup organic oat flour (grind oats in food processor until fine)

3/4 cup organic millet flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Sucanat
1/3 cup canola oil 
1 tblsp flax meal
1/4 cup milk alternative (rice, almond, soy)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 bar Green & Black 70% Dark Chocolate (chopped into chunks) 

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flours, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine flax meal and milk alternative and stir to combine. Add sugar, oil, and vanilla and mix until emulsified. Mix dry ingredients into wet and add chocolate chunks. 

Drop by heaping tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool on sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to rack.  

Quinoa Applesauce Cake with Coconut Yogurt Creme & Maple Sugar

(wheat/gluten-free, nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan)

Is it breakfast or dessert? Alcohol optional.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup quinoa flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder (aluminum-free)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 cup canola oil (organic) 

1/2 cup Sucanat

1 Tblsp flax meal mixed with 1/4 cup milk alternative

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

Cinnamon

Toppings:

Vanilla Coconut Milk Yogurt

Maple Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Blend baking soda, baking powder, salt, and allspice with quinoa flour. Combine sugar and oil. Separately mix flax and milk alternative and then add to sugar and oil. Stir well and then add flour mixture. Spoon into oiled 8×8-inch cake pan and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until cake tester tester inserted in center comes out clean.

Allow to cool in pan. When cool, slice into slices or, if preferred, slice into chunks. Alternate layers of chunks of cake with coconut milk yogurt. Sprinkle maple sugar on top.

Almost-Entenmann's Crumbcake
(wheat/gluten-free, nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan)

Be still my heart. And not a blue and white box in sight.

Ingredients

To make Cybele's excellent gluten-free flour mix combine 4 cups superfine brown rice flour (I just used what I had which was a combo of both and sifted it), 1 1/3 cup potato starch (not potato flour), 2/3 cup tapioca starch or tapioca flour. Combine in a gallon Ziploc sack by shaking.

For the crumb topping:

3/4 cup flour mix (see above)

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (more if you like a more cinnamon-y taste to your crumb as I do)

1/4 cup cold dairy-free shortening (I use Earth Balance)

Combine in a bowl until crumbly. Form larger chunks by pressing crumbs together. Set aside.

For the cake:

1/2 cup dairy-free shortening

2 cups flour mix (see above)

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup coconut milk or rice milk vanilla yogurt

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 tablespoon Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 1/4 cup rice milk

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (through salt). Set aside. In a medium bowl, mix yogurt and vinegar. Set aside. In a small bowl, mix egg replacer and rice milk. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat shortening, sugar, egg replacer mixture, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add flour in three additions, alternating with yogurt mixture, ending on the flour mixture. 

Pour into a 9x9 baking dish that's been greased with shortening and dusted with the flour mixture (shake out excess). Sprinkle crumbs over top. Bake in oven until top springs back, about 45 minutes.

Cool in rack for about 15 minutes. Invert cake on to a plate and then on to a rack, crumb side up. Let cool completely. Cybele says it keeps for 3 days. Clearly she's never been to my house.

Cooking For Elliot: Spring Cleaning

Soup and Veggie Stylin'

Sorry about the missed post last week! We were in Seattle getting our mini vacation-on which means we were also getting our big time eat-on. And not in a good way. The flight home was a tragi-comic tale, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing but that I was an idiot for eating a whole lot of pizza, french fries, and (god help me) ice cream. Quite possibly the longest six hours of my life. And then we rolled off the plane just in time for Easter Dinner which, while not the candy basket blowout of yore (thanks to my mother, aka Master Easter Basketeer), was still chock full of delightfully deadly treats; made all the more delightful as I came off of my Dramamine high with some serious munchies. Let's just say I didn't refrain from tucking into a sizable bowl of holiday M&Ms and the mercifully once-a-year delicacy: Cadbury Mini Eggs. By the end of the night I was a bloated, tomato head. You should be grateful no one chose to document this. Honestly, look up food sensitivities in the dictionary and you'd find a photo of me with a puffy nose, one red ear, and some burgeoning acne?/hives?

So THIS week, we tried to get back into the "helfy" (tip o the hat to that whole royal wedding thang) swing of things. A little exercise and a whole lot more veggies. Exactly seven days later and I'm feeling a little less like something out of a Wes Craven flick. Actually, follow this menu and it's almost incredible how good you can feel. Most everything is adapted from The Clean Diet (www.cleanprogram.com) - a diet largely based on raw foods. Breakfast is my creation and Dessert is courtesy of the awesome Green Lemondade site (www.greenlemonade.com). Also, this menu is remarkably kid friendly, so everyone's jeans can fit just a little better. Diaper or not. 

MENU

May 1, 2011

BREAKFAST

Homemade Chocolate Granola with Yogurt and Banana

(wheat/gluten-free, nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan)

LUNCH

Carrot Ginger Soup and Grilled Asparagus

(wheat/gluten-free, nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan)

DINNER

Apple Fennel Salad and Green Lentil Hummus

(wheat/gluten-free, nut-free, dairy free, egg free, vegan)

DESSERT

Cherry Chocolate Sorbet

(wheat/gluten-free, nut-free, dairy free, egg free, vegan)

Homemade Chocolate Granola with Yogurt, Banana and Berries

(wheat/gluten-free, nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan)

To make the granola:

3 cups gluten-free organic rolled oats

1/4 cup organic raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup organic unsweetened applesauce

2-3 tblsps organic unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup organic agave nectar

2 tsp cinnamon

Toppings:

Sliced organic berries and banana

Plain or vanilla yogurt (coconut works perfectly but soy is also fine)

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine oats and sunflower seeds. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Add oats/seeds to wet ingredients and mix with your hands until evenly combined. Spread over a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 45-60 minutes. Stir frequently to make sure that it doesn't burn. It's finished when it's toasted.

Serve in a bowl topped with berries and yogurt.

Carrot Ginger Soup* and Grilled Asparagus

(wheat/gluten-free, nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan)

*Adapted from www.cleanprogram.com

2 bags organic carrots, peeled and chopped

1 large organic onion, chopped

Approx. 3 inch long piece of organic ginger, peeled and chopped

8 cups filtered water

Sea salt to taste

2 bunches fresh organic asparagus with woody ends trimmed off

Cold pressed organic olive oil for brushing

To make the soup:

Add all ingredients to a large stock pot. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until carrots are tender. Approx. 15 minutes. For a chunkier soup (and easier clean up), use a potato masher to mash ingredients. For a smoother soup, allow to cool. Then blend in a blender a little bit at a time. Or use a hand mixer. Can be served cold or hot.

To make the asparagus:

Pre-heat broiler at high and move rack to top position. Wash and dry asparagus and lay on cookie sheet. Brush with olive oil. Broil for 2 minutes. Turn cookie sheet so the front is facing the back. Broil for another 2 minutes.

Serve in mason jars (as above) or ladle soup into a bowl with asparagus as a side dish. 

Apple Fennel Salad and Green Lentil Hummus*

(wheat/gluten-free, nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan)

*Adapted from www.cleanprogram.com

Green Lentil Hummus....and a delicious white wine for the grown-ups

For Green Lentil Hummus:

3 cups organic, low sodium veggie stock

1 cup organic green lentils, dried

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup organic tahini

Juice of 1-2 lemons

1/2 tsp cumin (optional)

Sea salt to taste

Serve with: Veggies, Mary's Gone Crackers Gluten-Free Crackers, Apple Slices, Pitted Olives

In a medium saucepan or stockpot, combine stock and lentils. Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer until the lentils are tender and most of the liquid is gone. Allow to cool a bit.

Transfer to a food processor and blend with garlic, tahini, and lemon juice until smooth. Add sea salt and cumin (if using). 

Apple and Fennel Salad...and, oh look, more wine

For Apple Fennel Salad:

2 organic fennel bulbs, washed and trimmed

2 organic apples, washed

Cold pressed organic olive oil

Juice of 1-2 organic lemons

Sea salt and pepper to taste

This is simplest to prepare with a food processor using the thick slicing blade. If you don't have a food processor, slice fennel and apple into thin slices. Add fennel weed. Pour lemon juice over all and combine (this will also keep the apples from browning). Drizzle olive oil over all. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. 

For Green Lentil Hummus:

3 cups organic, low sodium veggie stock

1 cup organic green lentils, dried

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup organic tahini

Juice of 1-2 lemons

1/2 tsp cumin (optional)

Sea salt to taste

Serve with: Veggies, Mary's Gone Crackers Gluten-Free Crackers, Apple Slices, Pitted Olives

Cherry Chocolate Sorbet*

(wheat/gluten-free, nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan)

*Adapted from www.greenlemonade.com

3/4 cup frozen organic black cherries

1 tblsp chopped organic dark chocolate

1/2 tsp maple syrup or agave

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth and creamy. Easy!