Teatime Today

for today's playdate: homemade cinnamon sunflower seed butter with cinnamon and coconut oil

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Little Brother wanted all the stuffed dates for himself

apple rings always a big hit with my boys

Scrumptious Saturdays

so much citrus to enjoy.  kumquats for morning snack at the Market

crafts to Celebrate Chinese New Year at the Asia Society.  we brought along dried mango 
from Pat Greer

teatime today: everything fresh from Market this morning. Antidote to present reality

since Little Brother can eat pecans: fresh shelled ones

local beeswax candles from Wendy

roasted market goodness: multicolored carrots, rutabaga, sweet potatoes. along with weekly pot of fresh black eyed peas

Love, gratitude, open heart.  This has been a tough week.

Lunchtime

Collard wraps are a favorite of mine.  Today I topped with quinoa, diced apple, red cabbage, roasted squash, cilantro, avocado, sprouted pumpkin seeds, apple cider vinegar, meyer lemon and EVOO.  Lunch always tastes better outside on the patio.

A little later after a walk around the block, it was time to read and enjoy homemade raw cacao brownies topped with homemade almond butter

Toasted Nuts and Seeds Breakfast Cookies

started the week with breakfast on cake plate. excited for the sun to come up with these

It was time to try out the breakfast cookies from my Yum Universe cookbook.  We were in need to mix it up with something different to start the day. I ended up grinding up the mixture more than the recipe calls for.  I also added in a little more moisture with some almond butter and tablespoon of honey. All nuts and seeds and dried fruit are from Trader Joe's. Oats and buckwheat are Bob's Redmill gluten-free/organic. Spices are from Penzy's.

What you need:
1 cup rolled oats, toasted
1/2 cup flaked coconut, toasted
1/4 cup buckwheat groats, toasted
3/4 cup almonds, toasted
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, toasted
1/2 cup dried cranberries 
1 cup diced red apple
2 tablespoons coconut oil (or extra if needed)
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon of coconut sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pink salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon/some nutmeg and orange zest as well if you'd like
*needed mixture to be more moist, so I added in TJ's almond butter and some local honey to moisten

What to do:
 Toast oats, coconut, buckwheat, almonds, and sunflower seeds in oven, 5-7 minutes at 400 degrees.

Lower oven to 325 degrees

Add to TM bowl along with the wet ingredients.  Blend until well mixed.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place cookie cutter on parchment lined baking sheet and fill with dough.  Left and repeat until you use up all the dough.

Bake for 35 minutes or until dry and slightly browned.

Allow to cool.

breakfast table:includes ghee and cashew butter for spreading

topped with ghee and warmed frozen wild blueberries

Teatime Today

It's wild that the boys are having mixed nuts! This is today's trail mix before taking a family hike at the Arboretum.

newest tree nut addition: local pecans

Varoma Steamed Meatballs and Cauliflower Rice

roasted market carrots serve as "fries".

This simple meal hightlights the ways Thermomix simplifies and enhances meals.  Tonight, I wanted to use up the cauliflower, collards and grass-fed ground meat we got at the market on Saturday. 

Cauliflower rice: add florets to TM bowl. Chop 5 seconds, Speed 5, reverse blade. Dress simply with EVOO, lemon and pink salt

Chop mix and steam all with TM.  Use up what's leftover from cauliflower rice without waste

Quickly blanch collard greens to make wraps

Thermomixing

Rain, rain and more rain!  Flooding rains stir up a lot of emotion, memories and some post flood trauma.  This morning I felt a sense of calm and gratitude as we are dry, cozy and together.  Still, I needed some meditation in motion with Thermomix and yoga.  Just 20 minutes playing with my Thermomix is exactly what I needed.  This is what I turned out: a batch of coconut butter, homemade raw almond butter with the remnants of the coconut butter just made, coconut oil and cinnamon.  Leaving a few scoops of the almond butter, I then made a batch of raw brownies.  And then to not waste anything left behind, I added a few splashes of coconut milk to incorporate the yummy mixture leftover in the bowl.  I saved  this flavored milk to add to my afternoon matcha latte. 

Teatime Today: Happy New Year!

Outside enjoying this assortment with Grams and Pops on New Year's Day

Chanukah Latkes

Fresh out of the oven and topped with apple sauce

This year, I wanted a simple no-fret latke recipe to take along with us to a Chanukah party. I did some searching around and found a good one to try from The Healthy Maven.

Hello, baked latkes! So much easier than frying up in a pan!

No egg or gluten in these latkes.  The flax egg and the oats worked out.

What you need:
1 flax egg: 3 Tbl warm water mixed with 1 Tbl ground flax
3 medium russet potatoes 
1 medium onion
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup oat flour made in Thermomix
1 Tbl melted coconut oil
1 tsp pink salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

What to do:
 Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Line baking tray with baking paper and rub with a little coconut oil

Make flax egg and set aside

Grind oat flour in Thermomix, set aside in bowl

Chop potatoes in Thermomix, 5 seconds/speed 5. Press out excess liquid in Thermomix basket using silicone spatula.  Set aside in large bowl.

Chop onion in Thermomix, 4 seconds/speed 5. Add to potatoes

Add into the potato/onion mixture all the ingredients

Grab 1/4 cup of the mixture and form a ball

Place on baking sheet and flatten slightly

Place in the oven for 15 minutes, Then flip the latkes and bake for another 15 minutes


 

Papi thinks latkes look like crab cakes

Tonight we celebrated with Brisket