Blueberry and Peach Teff Muffins

Hello, Hello-

Sorry for my longer than planned hiatus.  Life kind of just caught up with me and my blogging went to the wayside.  Between school, work and running I had very little motivation to do much else.  I also was feeling pretty unmotivated by food.  I kept finding myself eating the same rice, beans and greens meal twice a day.  But, lately I have been much more inspired by the lovely bounty of foods at the farmers market.

This recipe came out of buying too many peaches and getting a little tired of eating them in fruit salads.  It was inspired by http://www.nourishingmeals.com/  

Blueberry and Peach Teff Muffins


Dry ingredients
1 1/2 cups Teff flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup tapioca starch
2 tablespoons flax meal (ground flax seeds)
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (cardamom would be a great substitution as well!)

Wet ingredients
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large peach, slightly smashed

1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly oil muffin tins.  I used coconut oil.

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix well.  In a smaller bowl mix together all of the wet ingredients.  Try to add the coconut oil in last and mix quickly, otherwise the coconut oil will start to solidify.  Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well, but do not over-mix.  Fold in blueberries.  Spoon batter into muffin tins, should make about 18 muffins.  Bake in oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly browned and when a toothpick is inserted, comes out cleans.

Enjoy!!!

Aduki Bean and Yam Hash

Good Afternoon.

Sorry for not keeping up with this as well as I had planned.  I have not been feeling well for the past two months.  Intestinal problems.  You name it, I've probably had it.  The other day I was so swollen that I looked pregnant.  I wish I had taken a picture.  And for those of you who have intestinal issues know how tired it can make you.  Needless to say, I have cancelled my marathon because I am too tired to run.  I still plan on running the 1/2 in Eugene and will run the 1/2 in San Francisco.

But, on a positive note, I have fallen in love with HASH!  I don't know why I haven't discovered hash before now.  It is just the way I like my food-all thrown together, flavors and textures intermingling.  This one is quick and easy and really satisfying.  I love the cumin and oregano together, two flavors I had never thought of putting together.

I hope you all enjoy this as much as I have.

Aduki Bean and Yam Hash
Courtesy: http://www.nourishingmeals.com/  


2 Tablespoons Olive oil
1 Medium onion, diced
3 Large cloves garlic, minced (I added this in!)
2 Medium yams, peeled and diced small
2 Teaspoons dried Thyme
1/2 to 1 Teaspoon cumin
2 Cups cooked aduki beans
5 Collard greens, chopped (I used the whole bunch)
Herbamare and black pepper to taste

In a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and onions.  Sautee until onions start to soften.

Add yams, cumin, thyme and garlic.  Sautee a few minutes uncovered and then cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add aduki beans and collard greens.  Sautee until collards are tender.  Season with Herbamare and pepper.

Eat by itself or put on top of quinoa or brown rice!

Things I Put In Jars...Part 1

Good Morning.


I just got home from a painful 5 mile run.  I took a week off of running.  Something hasn't been feeling right.  I have been tired and really run down and I have been having intestinal issues.  I have IBS-that is why I eat the way that I do, it makes me feel better.  But this run was a bit of a wake up call because I only have 4 months until the marathon.  I need to get myself into gear.  Rain or shine I need to be running, but sometimes when you can hear the pouring rain from the comfort of your warm bed you just want to turn your alarm clock off.


Since moving to Eugene and living on my own I have become more aware of what I buy and how I store my food.  I have gotten rid of nearly all of my plastic products.  I only have two small tupperware containers.  I keep everything in glass mason jars or in my lovely stainless steel containers.  http://kidskonserve.com/

I love these containers.  I put my apples, sandwiches, hummus, carrot sticks, salad dressing, everything in them.  I highly recommend them.

So, I have decided to share with you some of my favorite things I put into my  mason jars and other glass containers.

1. Beans

I love my beans, they make me happy.  They are so colorful and rich in flavor.  I still have quite a bit of bean to get through-I bought 24 pounds of fresh dried, heirloom beans this winter.

Some of my favorites

2. Liquid Gold Dressing

I found this recipe in the book, "Becoming Vegan."  It has become my go-to dressing and is packed full of flavor and health benefits.  Two tablespoons supplies you with your daily supply of omega-3 and 40% of your B12 for the day as well.  And as a vegan both of these are really important to my health.

1/2 Cup flaxseed oil

1/2 Cup water

1/3 Cup lemon juice

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 Cup braag liquid aminos or tamari

1/4-1/2 Cup nutritional yeast

2 Teaspoons dijon mustard

1 Teaspoon ground cumin

Blend or whisk together until smooth.  Keeps in fridge for two weeks.

Dressing before shaking

I love this dressing with mixed greens, avocado and hemp seeds

3. Vegan Panna Cotta 

This recipe came from the girls over at http://sketch-freeveganeating.blogspot.com/.  They always have easy and delicious ideas.  Lately my craving for chocolate has decreased but I still want something sweet at night.  When I saw their pictures of the panna cotta and read the ingredients I knew I had to try it.

1 Can full fat coconut milk

2 Teaspoons agar flakes**

20-25 drops vanilla stevia (I don't like the taste of stevia so I would use maple syrup or agave to taste)

3/4 Teaspoon cinnamon

1 Ginger tea bag (Or one 1/2 inch piece of ginger peeled and smashed)

Mix all ingredients together in a sauce pan and heat over medium heat until the agar has dissolved.  Pour into small mason jars or dessert cups.  Chill until set.

**The last two times that I have used agar the agar has never totally dissolved.  I had this cooking for over 20 minutes and they just never went away.  After it set there were small pieces of agar in the panna cotta, but it didn't effect the flavor.

I could barely wait for it to chill!

Lemon Lara Bars

Hello Everyone.

Sorry for not keeping up with the blog as well as I had in the past.  I have had a lot on my mind about life and school and what I am doing with myself.  Maybe if I was a better writer I would use this space as an outlet, but I usually feel like no one wants to read about my struggles.  And I can barely follow my own thoughts when I write.

So, I have been doing a little more cooking in the kitchen lately and trying new recipes.  I am following quite a few more blogs and really enjoying what people are coming up with.  The recipe I want to share with everyone today is probably one of my favorites.  It is so easy and ridiculously yummy.  And to top it off, it is lemon flavored.  I love lemon and I don't know why.   Maybe it reminds me of the summer and warm nights.

Anyway, this comes from a talented blogger named Gena and her blog, http://www.choosingraw.com/.  I would encourage everyone to check her out.

Lemon Kissed Cashew Hemp Bars
Courtesy: http://www.choosingraw.com/


1 Cup Cashews
1 Cup pitted dates
1/3 Cup hemp seeds
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon lemon zest

Put cashews and hemp seeds in food processor and process until ground up.
 Add lemon juice, lemon zest and dates and pulse repeatedly.
Mix until a ingredients clump together into a large ball.
Place mixture into a baking dish that has been covered in saran wrap or parchment paper.
Spread mixture out evenly and press down with  another piece of saran wrap/parchment paper.
Freeze for about 30 minutes.
Cut mixture into 12 pieces and either wrap individually with saran wrap or leave in baking dish.
Keep refrigerated.

I am going to apologize for the picture because it just doesn't do the bars justice.  I am quite am amateur photographer, my lighting in my kitchen is horrible and I have a great, but older camera.

Lemon mixture before I cut them into bars.

Banana Bread

Hello, Hello,

It is another chilly morning here in Eugene.  Yesterday, most things were closed down due to snow but, unfortunately, the snow melted by noon.  To me, snow days means baking days.  I had some extra bananas sitting around and figured it had been a long time since I had made banana bread.

The original recipe calls for xanthan gum.  There has been a lot of talk in the gluten free community about whether or not we really need this gum for baking, and if it is causing some of our intestinal issues.  I decided to be bold and leave it out.  The bread turned out great, maybe a little more crumbly than it would have been with xanthan gum added, but it was still banana bread.  So, if you feel gutsy, try it without the xanthan gum.

Banana Bread
Courtesy: Babycakes


2 Cups Bob's Red Mills gluten free all purpose baking flour
2 Teaspoons baking powder
2 Teaspoons baking soda
1 Teaspoon xanthan gum
1 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon (I put in 2)
1/2 Cup coconut oil, plus more for the pan
2/3 Cup agave nectar
2/3 Cup Rice milk (I only had hemp milk on hand)
1 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 Cup mashed bananas

Preheat oven to 325 and lightly grease a 7x4x3-inch loaf pan with coconut oil.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt and cinnamon.  Add 1/2 cup oil and the agave nectar, rice milk and vanilla to the dry ingredients.  Stir until the batter is smooth.  Using a plastic spatula, gently fold in the bananas until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Fill the prepared pan halfway with batter.  Bake bread on the center rack for 35 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees after 20 minutes.  The finished loaf will bounce back slightly when pressed, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

Let the banana bread stand in the pan for 20 minutes.  Remove bread from pan and either cut and serve warm or let cool completely before storing.  Should store at room temperature for 3 days.

Hummus and Jacob's Cattle Dip

Good Morning!

Lately I have been trying to up my protein intake just a bit.  While training for this marathon I feel like I need a little bit more than what I had been getting.  I usual don't eat a protein heavy breakfast or lunch, but save it for dinner, so I am trying to find ways to incorporate more beans into my diet.  I am just not at the point where I will be eating greens and beans for breakfast.

So, I have two lovely bean dip recipes.  They are disgustingly easy to make and so very yummy.  I made the hummus dip two days ago and it is nearly gone.  Put these dips on bread, crackers, chips, veggies, apples, or straight out of the container with a spoon (yes, I did that).

Traditional Hummus
Courtesy: Clean Food


1 Clove garlic, peeled (I ended up putting about 4 large cloves in)
2 Cups cooked chickpeas
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons tahini
1/2 Teaspoon ground cumin
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 Teaspoon salt
Water

With food processor running, drop in garlic cloves and process until minced.  Turn off processor, scrape down sides and add chickpeas, olive oil, tahini, cumin, lemon juice and salt.  Restart processor and slowly add water, making hummus slightly thinner than desired, as it will thicken when refrigerated.  Chill to combine flavors before serving.

Feel free to add sun-dried tomatoes, fire roasted red peppers, pesto or any other flavor to your hummus.

All the ingredients needed for hummus!

Jacob's Cattle Bean Dip
Courtesy: http://spicedplate.blogspot.com/


2 1/2 Cups cooked jacob's cattle beans
1/2 Cup water
3 Garlic cloves, smashed
3 Tablespoons tahini
1 Teaspoon paprika
1 Teaspoon garam masala
1/2 Teaspoon cumin
1 Teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend together until smooth.  Taste and add more spices if needed.

BBQ

Hello, Hello, Hello.

Sorry that it has been a while since I have written anything.  My life has been a little busier than I have wanted it to be.  About a month ago, I took the train up to Seattle to visit Bastry University and check out their masters program in nutrition.  Ever since then I have been trying to figure out what I need to do to get accepted there.  Bastyr is a very small private university.  They focus on the mind, body, spirit and whole foods.  There is just about 1,200 students in the whole school.  Their nutrition program sounds awesome and part of their curriculum includes cooking in their amazing kitchen.

Also, about a month ago I also signed up for the San Francisco marathon!  I figured, why not?  It was about 8 months away and I had never been to San Francisco.  If I didn't sign up for it I would never do it.  I needed something to look forward to, I needed something that I could work on and accomplish that didn't take 4 years.  So far training is going well and I am ahead of my own schedule.  Today I ran 9 miles.  I feel proud of myself.

Okay, but for now, this blog is really about food, so lets get to it!

A few weeks ago I saw a recipe on Choosing Raw for a hot breakfast cereal made of quinoa.  She basically just cooked the quinoa and then put it in a food processor to liquify it.  For a little bit now, I have been making quinoa for breakfast, but leaving it intact.  Yesterday I figured I would try something different.  I had some extra, plain, cooked quinoa in my fridge.  I added hemp milk, cinnamon, bananas and frozen blueberries to the quinoa and heated it up on the stove, hence the name of the blog.  Bananas, Blueberries and Quinoa.

After it was heated through I used my lovely immersion blender and blended until everything was smooth and creamy.

I then added some maple syrup to sweeten and topped with a mix of nuts (almond, cashew, hazelnut, walnut and pecans).

Quick, easy, delicious and very nutritious.  Try using other frozen fruits!

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