No-mato pizza

My mouth and stomach don't like too much acid, so I've been thinking about different ways to make pizza. I had heard of people using pumpkin purée, and it sounded weird to me.

Crispy veggie and herb snacks

I have a bunch of friends who are trying to go keto and/or reduce their carbs. In grain-free land that's pretty much how we roll (not always by choice sometimes). I've collected a few recipes to help deal with that craving for potato chips that will inevitably develop. For most of these some sort of mechanical slicer would be a good idea, such as a mandoline. Some of the recipes also use a dehydrator. You can use an oven as a dehydrator, but it doesn't really work as well, and it uses a lot of energy, so I've included some baked alternatives.

Pumpkin and carrot muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 4 medium carrots, grated and squeezed of juice (final volume: 1½ cups shredded carrots)
• 1½ cups almond flour, spooned and leveled
• 1½ teaspoons five spice powder (or pumpkin pie spice blend)
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¾ cup pumpkin purée (canned or fresh-cooked from pie pumpkins)
• ½ cup local honey
• 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 1 teaspoon melted coconut oil, and a bit extra for greasing the muffin tin if not using paper liners
• 1 tablespoon sliced almonds
• 1 tablespoon toasted pumpkin seeds

Steps:

-Heat oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle position

-Sprinkle sliced almonds and toasted pumpkin seeds on top before placing the muffins in the oven.

-Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick, when inserted all the way comes back out without wet bits clinging to it. The tops should be firm.

Oven or dehydrator tomato parmesan crisps

Apple Peel Chips

• Thinly slice beefsteak or other meaty tomato (try for 6 cups, or go by how much room you have in your dehydrator/oven- the rest of the recipe is adjustable to your quantities)
• 2Tbsp olive oil (or other oil as you like)
• 2tsp sea salt
• 1tsp garlic powder, or very finely minced fresh garlik (you want it to spread evenly)
• 2Tbsp parmesan cheese (or more if you really like cheese)

Nut crackers

Nut Crackers

• 2c nuts of your choice
• 1tsp of rosemary/thyme/sage
• 1Tbsp coconut oil
• 1/4tsp salt
• 1 egg

Leftover roasted root vegetable soup

You can make this recipe dairy free and vegan if you substitute coconut oil for butter and full-fat coconut milk for the cream.

If you don't have leftovers you can roast up some cauliflower, parsnips and carrots

Leftover roasted root vegetable soup with caramelized onions and apples

• Roasted root veggies
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (uless there's already garlic in your roasted veggie mix)
• Enough vegetable broth to cover your veggies
• 1/2 cup cream (or more, to taste, especially if you're making a big pot of soup)
• 1 large yellow onion
• 1 large apple, diced
• 1 teaspoon oil of your choice (or butter)
• Salt and pepper

Hot spiced cider

Hot Spiced Cider

• One small apple (optional)
• 1/2c brown sugar or dark honey
• 8c apple juice or local cider
• 1tsp whole allspice (I never have it around, but it's yummy if you do)
• 1tsp whole cloves
• 4-6 whole cinnamon sticks

Rhubarb crumble

I have waaaay too much rhubarb in the freezer and it needs to get used up.

Rhubarb Crumble

• Enough roughly chopped rhubarb to cover the bottom of your baking dish to a depth that makes you happy (but not too thick or it's going to be quite sour- unless you like that)
• 1/3c unsalted butter or butter substitute (unless you have salted on hand- no biggie)
• 3/4c ground almonds
• 1/3c honey, preferably local (non-store-bought has more flavour) or use a syrup of your choosing for the vegan option
• 1tsp vanilla extract (optional unless you have something gf)
• 1tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2c flaked almonds (if you can find unbleached all the better)

Herbal hot chocolate

Herbal Hot Chocolate 

• 3 oz really good chocolate (the best you can afford)
• 2c milk of your choice (cow, almond, rice, coconut, etc)
• 1/4c cream (optional- cow or coconut)
• 2tsp dried herbs (combinations suggested below, or experiment)

Method

• Put your milk and herbs in a small sauce pan and heat gently and slowly (you don't want to scorch the milk and have it stick to the bottom of the pan
• Take it off the heat and let it cool while you chop the chocolate
• Strain the herbs out of the milk and back into the sauce pan. Add the chocolate.
• Heat again very slowly and over a low heat. The chocolate will melt. Whisk very frequently.
• Pour into a mug when it is quite warm to the touch, but not boiling.

List of good herbs and other ingredients- mint, bee balm, lemon balm, lemon verbena, sweet violet, rose, citrus (from organic peels), ginger, lavender, raspberry leaves

Herb combination suggestions- White chocolate and lavender, milk chocolate with citrus and ginger, white chocolate with sweet violet and rose, dark chocolate with raspberry leaves and mint, dark chocolate with lemon balm and ginger.

Hopefully this will help you get through the long, dark teatime of the soul in January and February... Along with garden catalogues.

Apple peel chips and apple cider vinegar

Apple Peel Chips

• Some apple peels
• Cinnamon and sugar to taste
• 1/2 Tbsp melted butter or other neutral oil
• Pinch of salt

Pumpkin soup

Pumpkin Soup

• 2lbs pumpkin (pie variety NOT carving type)
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• butter or butter substitute
• salt and pepper
• cinnamon and nutmeg
• milk
• 1 litre of vegetable stock

Rose hip syrup with honey

Rosehips contain 20x more Vitamin C than you find in oranges, and you can find them growing on rose bushes everywhere. Some are larger and others smaller, but they're essentially the same. If you pick them after first frost they're a bit sweeter, but they're ready once they go all red.



Ingredients

Honey
Rosehips
Water

Kitchen sink stew

Kitchen Sink Stew


Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 leek or small onion
• 2 Tbsp flour or thickener of your choice (I use tapioca flour)
• Enough stock to cover the contents of your pot
• 1 cup beans, fresh or tinned (kidney, lima, etc.)
• 1 cup chopped, cooked meat (optional)
• 4-5 cups chopped vegetables of your choice- whatever you have in season in your garden- kale, carrots, beans, potatoes, etc.
• Salt and pepper
• Mixed culinary herbs- fresh or dried to taste (dill tastes good with fish, rosemary tastes good with everything else, but I like to put in a bit of parsley, sage and thyme as well).
• Milk or cream (optional)

Wildcrafted local mustard

Garlic Mustard-Mustard               
makes about 1/2 c.

7 Tb ground garlic mustard seeds
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tb water
2 tsp honey or 3 tsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp turmeric

1. Grind the seeds using either a mortar and pestle or clean coffee grinder, then stir together with the salt and turmeric. Add the water, honey and vinegar and stir until smooth.


Let it sit, covered, in the fridge for a week, and then stir before use. It will darken up a bit. Keep it covered, and use within seven months.

The only ingredients which aren't possibly local are the salt and turmeric. Not bad!

Thrifty garden goodness- pea pod soup

Pea Pod Soup

Ingredients
a colander's worth of empty pea pods (use fresh pods from your garden)
water
1 large onion
1 large or 2 small potatoes
a handful of fresh mint leaves (from your own garden if possible)
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
garnish with chopped green onions and/or cream or yoghurt

Garlic mustard hummus and falafels

Garlic mustard is an incredibly invasive species. I'll call them 'weeds', but they're actually incredibly edible, so maybe we should call them 'free food'... It grows everywhere.

So, here are a couple recipes you can use them in. Blanch the plants in a bit of boiling water if you find them too bitter when used raw.


Garlic Mustard Hummus 
makes about 2 1/2 c.

2 cups washed, chopped garlic mustard leaves
1 cup washed, chopped ramps greens, or 1/2 cup onion
2 cups cooked chick peas
5 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp tahini
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cumin

1. Put everything into your food processor and blend until a nice consistency. Add more olive oil if you like it smoother.


Green Falafels            
makes about 35 falafel patties

1 cup packed, chopped raw garlic mustard greens
10 green ramps leaves, or 1 small onion, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cans chickpeas, or about 3 cups raw, soaked chickpeas
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp ground coriander
2 Tbsp flour of your choice- choose something with a bit of sticking power like tapioca or corn starch if wheat isn't your thing
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 c. breadcrumbs (gluten free if you like, or more tapioca starch)

1. Heat the oven to 375°.
2. Blend everything in a food processor until a slightly chunky paste forms. You may need to add more olive oil as you want the mixture to be scoopable.
3. Form the mixture into patties, about 2 Tablespoons for each patty. Coat the falafel in the breadcrumbs and place on a baking sheet. Spray the falafels with a light coat of olive oil cooking spray.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, flip over and bake 10 minutes longer. Serve with pitas and fillings.

Lord Woolton pie

This was considered to be a sad substitute for Shepherd's Pie during WWII in the UK, but it's a great way to get veggies into reluctant veggie eaters. Serve with a roast of some variety for a very decadent meal. It's also a great way to use leftover vegetables. All these BBC Wartime productions have gotten me thinking.