Sweet Sesame Dressing (gluten free, vegan, low sodium)

Sweet Sesame Salad

Spring might finally be here. How about a fresh, crisp salad? When cutting back on sodium, salad dressing can be your undoing because a serving of of store-bought can contain 300mg of sodium or more. This version contains under 15mg, even if you drown your greens in it. You will not miss the salt because homemade Sweet Sesame Dressing is rich and flavourful. Mix it up in minutes for a restaurant-style salad at home.

To dress four to six entree-sized salads, mix together, stirring well after each addition:

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp parsley
1 tsp sesame seeds (raw or toasted)

Drizzle over your salad and toss. Our plates contained baby romaine, sugar snap peas, raw shredded cabbage, sliced carrots, and mushrooms with a sprinkling of raw sesame seeds for garnish. (Store any unused dressing in the fridge for a couple of days.)



I shared this post with weekly link-ups, where bloggers share natural recipes and homestead tips:  Wildcrafting Wednesday,  Simple Lives Thursday, the Homestead Barn Hop,  Fight Back! Friday and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.


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Kale, Almond, and Salted Apple Pizza (vegan option)

Kale, Almond and Salted Apple Pizza

Doesn't that look yummy? Who says that veggie pizzas have to be boring? We started with a whole wheat crust and topped it with finely chopped kale tossed with olive oil, shredded mozzarella cheese, lightly salted apple slices and almond slivers. G-man asked for the apples and the Cadet added the almonds. The salted apples added a naughty sweetness, while the almonds give a bit of crunch. (Great job, guys!)

Quick Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

1 bunch kale, stems removed, leaves finely chopped
1/8-1/4 cup olive oil (more if you skip the cheese)
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp chopped green onion
1/4 tsp salt
8 oz shredded mozzarella (optional)
2 apples, sliced
1 tsp olive oil
salt
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Prepare the pizza crust as directed. (Our quick, no-knead whole wheat pizza crust is super-easy.) Spray the top with olive oil and allow it to rise while you prepare the rest of the toppings.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

In a small bowl, mix the kale, quarter cup of olive oil, garlic, onion and salt with your hands. Spread the mixture over the pizza dough. Top with cheese (optional) Toss the sliced apples, and teaspoon of olive oil together in the bowl. Sprinkle with enough salt to cover the apples, then top the pizza with the apples, followed by the almond slices.

Bake for about 18 minutes, until the crust is golden on the bottom and the almonds and apples are slightly toasted. Enjoy!

[For a vegan pie, just skip the cheese altogether instead of using a cheese substitute. The texture and flavours of the greens, fruit and nuts, with hints of olive oil and garlic stand out on their own.]



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Veggie "Runza"/Bierock (vegan)

Veggie "Runza"

A Runza, trademarked by the Runza fast food chain, is also known as bierock or a pirozhki. To make a long description short, it is a bun with a filling baked right in. My mom's pirozhki were smaller and filled with potatoes and cheese; the fast food chain's version are sandwich-sized and stuffed with beef and cabbage. This one's stuffed with seasoned black beans, purple and green cabbage and shredded carrots. The boys loved them, and any trick to get them to eat more veggies and legumes is a good one, right?

I'll start this recipe filling-first to be truthful. You see, I was baking bread anyway and simply took a portion of dough out to make our Runzas. Any bread dough will do.

For eight generous sandwich pockets:


Black Bean and Cabbage Filling

1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups black beans, pre-cooked or canned and well rinsed.
(If the beans are unsalted, add 1/2 tsp salt.)
1/4 cup chopped green onions1/2-1 tsp coriander, to taste
1-2 tsp chili powder, to taste ,
4 cups diced cabbage, purple, green, or a combination
1 cup grated carrots
1/4 tsp salt

In a lidded saucepan, gently warm the olive oil and onions. Add the beans and seasonings then stir until hot. Stir in the cabbage and carrots and the quarter teaspoon of salt. Put the lid on the pan and turn the heat off. The cabbage will soften as the mixture cools down enough to work with.

Take enough bread dough to make about a dozen rolls and divide it into eight portions. (If you don't have bread on the go, a recipe follows.) Roll the dough into balls and allow to rest for ten minutes.

Flour your board or counter top. Roll each ball into a round about ten inches in diameter. Flip each dough circle over so it does not stick to the board when you fill it.

Place an equal portion of filling onto each dough circle, keeping it on one half. At this point, you can either fold the circle over to make a moon-shaped pocket, or roll it up like a tootsie roll and tuck in the ends. Either way will work as long as you pinch all edges together well to make a seal.

Spray a little olive oil onto a cookie sheet. Place the Runzas/bierocks onto the sheet and make small steam vents on the top of each with a knife.

Allow the dough to rest for half an hour, then bake for about 18 minutes @365F.

Serve hot!

Warm Winter Salad (gluten free, vegan)

A colourful pick-me-up for mid-winter. This warm salad combines sweet purple cabbage and nutty garbanzos over a bed of mixed greens. Cheery and sweet, this salad can give you a boost:

Purple cabbage is chock full of vitamin C, which we need so badly this time of year, and cooking it minimally retains as much as possible while still sweetening up the dish. Cabbage is rich in anti-inflammatory compounds, while the anthocyanins (which make it purple) may fight certain cancer cells. More points for cabbage come from fibre, potassium, and vitamins A and K.

Garbanzo beans also contain dietary fibre and protein, potassium and thiamin (B1.) What is interesting about garbanzos is that a serving contains as much iron, if not more, than a serving of lean beef. Tossing the the cabbage and garbanzos in olive oil provides another anti-inflammatory agent, and the mesclun mix adds a host of trace minerals and vitamins.

For two meals, or four sides:

1/4 head purple cabbage
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp chopped green onion or leek
1 cup cooked garbanzo beans, precooked or canned and drained
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt or lite salt
1/4-1/2 tsp coriander powder
2 tbsp parsley
mesclun salad mix

Chop the cabbage and toss it with the olive oil and green onion in a pan. Gently heat until the cabbage is softened, then add the beans, lemon juice, salt, coriander and parsley. Toss with tongs or a spatula until the ingredients are hot. Turn off the heat.

Place mesclun mix on serving dishes, and top with the cabbage and beans mixture. Serve.




I shared this recipe with the Hearth and Soul Hop, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Healthy 2Day Wednesdays, Gluten Free Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday,  Simple Lives Thursday,  Gluten Free Friday,  Fight Back Friday and Fat Tuesday.

www.stealthymom.com

Chicken Clarinda (gluten free, dairy free option)

Chicken Clarinda

Elegant can be simple; flavourful can be fast and easy. Imagine pasta tossed with tender chicken in olive oil, garlic, and fresh kale. Don't just sit there.... you can have this dish ready from idea-to-plate in fifteen minutes!

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 bunch kale
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp chopped garlic (fresh or jarred)
1/4 tsp basil
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
1/2 pound dry pasta, or gluten free pasta, of your choice

Cut the soft kale leaves off the spine and finely chop. In a sauté pan, mix the chopped kale, lemon juice, chopped garlic and salt. Cover the dish and turn the heat on "low."

Get the water started to boil the pasta.  Chop the chicken, and add it to the kale mixture. As it is cooking, toss the chicken and kale with tongs. It should cook pretty quickly at medium heat.

Cook you pasta of choice as soon as the water boils. (Angel Hair Pasta is the fastest, with four minutes' cooking time, so be sure that the chicken is done before putting it in the water.) With tongs, take the pasta straight from the water to the sauté pan and toss it with the kale, chicken and oil.

Serve immediately, optionally garnishing with parmesan cheese.


I shared this recipe with Foodie Friends Friday,  Tasty Tuesdays,  Gluten Free Wednesdays, Full Plate Thursdays,  Thriving on Thursdays,  Foodie Friday and Empty Your Archives (pasta collection)


www.stealthymom.com

Groovy Garden Sandwich (vegan)

 Groovy Garden Sandwich (vegan)

Sweet crunchy apples, salted almonds sautéed in olive oil, a hint of green onions, kale, and warm hummus all folded into a fresh flour tortilla. That's good. Really good, and I am hooked.

For four servings, or a serious meal for two:

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp chopped green onion
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4-1/2 tsp salt of your choice
2 crisp apples, cored and sliced (peeling is optional)
2 large or 4 medium kale leaves of kale
hummus (recipe follows)
Vegan flour tortillas or gluten free tortillas

Gently heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the green onion and almonds slices, stirring. As soon as the almonds brown, turn off the heat. Sprinkle with salt.Toss in the apple slices and kale to warm and coat with the oil.

Spread hummus onto four medium-sized, soft tortillas. Add a quarter of the mixture from the pan. Fold over and enjoy.

For fresh hummus, blend or mash these together:

2 cups cooked garbanzos/chick peas
1/2 cup tahini (or unsweetened peanut butter)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt (omit if you used canned garbanzos)
1 tsp garlic powder or 2 cloves peeled, fresh garlic



I shared this post with the Hearth and Soul Blog Hop.

www.stealthymom.com

Sweet Potato Noodles with Apples, Almonds and Baby Kale (gluten free, milk free)

Sweet Potato Noodles with Apples, Almonds and Baby Kale (gluten free)

"No vegetables for me! I just want noodles!" Who hasn't had days like this? G-man and the Cadet are really good eaters most of the time, but last night I had to pull a Jedi Kitchen Trick. Take cooked and mashed sweet potatoes, add some masa harina, a wee bit of seasoning and an egg, and you've got a gluten-free noodle that is spiked with nutrition.

The boys gobbled theirs up plain, while Stealthy Dad and I enjoyed a more grown-up version: tossed with olive oil, apples, almonds and fresh baby kale from our garden. Either way, we had a great meal.


Sweet Potato Noodles

1 cup non-GMO masa harina
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potatoes, cooled to room temperature
1 egg

Omega Pie Crust (vegan)

There is an ongoing debate among pie bakers regarding lard vs shortening. I prefer to use just butter myself, to avoid using either hydrogenated oils or preservative-laden lard from the grocery store. A butter crust is rich and flaky and smells wonderful while it bakes. If only cholesterol was no object. Butter is very high in cholesterol.

This crust recipe contains no lard, shortening, or butter. Instead, it features olive oil and flaxseed meal, with a touch of baking powder for lift. I sighed with relief when it was approved by G-man because he is a connoisseur of pie crust.

For either three single crust or one extra large double-crust pie:

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 tsp lite salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup flaxseed meal (preferably golden flaxseed)

1/4 cup olive oil

2/3 cup warm water

Mix the dry ingredients together well. Add the olive oil and stir with a spoon until the mixture looks like crumbs.

Add the water. Unlike a traditional crust, a bit too moist works better than a bit too dry.

Allow he dough to sit for at least 15 minutes to relax the gluten in the flour.

Roll the dough out. It will not be dainty or crumbly like traditional crust. It will expand some during baking, so roll it thinner than regular pie crust.

Fold the crust onto into the pie plate and proceed with your pie recipe.

For a pre-baked shell, bake for 10-11 minutes at 400F.




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