Buckwheat Coconut Caraway Biscuits [Low Carb]

1/2 c. organic buckwheat flour
a generous 1/4 c. organic coconut flour*
1 t. non-aluminum baking powder
sea salt
1 t. organic raw apple cider vinegar
1-2 t. freshly ground caraway seeds (fruit)
onion and garlic powder
punch oregano
2 T. smart balance light, melted or 2 T. organic coconut oil
2 eggs
2 T. agave
1 T. flax (optional)

* You can add water or coconut milk a few tablespoons at a time if yours thickens too much for a biscuit dough

In a medium bowl, mix the eggs (or egg substitute with 3 T. ground flaxseed), melted vegan smart balance (or organic coconut oil, whichever you are using), agave, sea salt, and apple cider vinegar. Add in the coconut flour, buckwheat flour, baking powder, flax (whole or ground) to the bowl of liquids. Stir the batter as you add the coconut flour and flax so that no lumps are formed and the moisture is distributed evenly. You can add a few tablespoons of water or unsweetened applesauce if the dough becomes too thick and tough to stir. The high fiber content of the coconut flour, flax, and buckwheat will absorb the moisture quickly. Grind the caraway seeds in your mortar by hand, with a little coffee grinder or blender, or just use pre-ground caraway. I prefer the smell of freshly ground caraway seeds and it only take a few seconds to take out any morning aggression on those poor whole seeds with my marble mortar :)

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray and drop the dough onto the sheet. You can also use a regular muffin tin as I did. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Keep your eye out after 13 minutes so the muffins do not brown too fast. Remember coconut flour tends to need to cook a little longer than other flours, but it remains moist throughout the longer baking period.

Jon's sunflower seed and shredded cheese variation

Coconut flour and flax are excellent low carb, high fiber healthy flours for gluten and dairy free baking. Flax is a great vegan source of essential Omega 3 fatty acids and is more bioavailable to the body in ground form. You can, of course, chew the whole seeds throughly, but if you're anything like me then you tend to gulp your food, so freshly ground flax is a better option. If you do cook with flax, keep the heat to a minimum (I know, I'm using it here! However, when baked inside a dish the temperature is not as high as the crust or outside of the food. This means the flax is somewhat safer baked into a food then otherwise. Ideally, you would not really bake with flax since the high heat can damage the delicate Omega 3 fats, causing rancidity.) Buckwheat flour is also high in fiber and thus low in "net carbs," making it a great nutritious flour to add to your low glycemic index/low carb gluten free pantry.

Most people know caraway better for its use in rye bread, a gluten grain. I love the smell and taste of rye bread, but after more thought I realized that it was only the smell and robust flavor of the caraway seed which I enjoyed. If you are gluten free and remember that rye bread smell with longing, I suggest just adding some fresh caraway seeds to your gluten free bread. It really does give that rye smell and feel (minus the gluten, of course :) ) Rye bread also has an interesting past shrewed in mystery where it is theorized to have caused hallucinations leading to the Salem witch trials whereby the accusers ingested rye bread contaminated with mold (ergot poisoning, like LSD). Its an interesting tidbit you can ponder as you munch on gluten free coconut caraway biscuits in glee, eh?

Banana Spice Pancakes

1/2 c. all-purpose gluten free baking mix
1 egg
2 ripe organic bananas
1 t. vanilla (organic/fair trade)
1/2 t. non aluminum baking powder
dash 50-50 cinnamon/cayenne
1 t. cinnamon
dash nutmeg
1/4 c. water
1 T. organic virgin coconut oil or extra virgin coconut oil (frying)
1 T. honey or agave nectar

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in beaten egg, water, and vanilla, mixing well. Stir in the cinnamon-cayenne and nutmeg. Drizzle in the agave nectar (or honey). Slice or mash in the banana and mix the batter until it is smooth.

Melt the coconut oil (or olive oil) in a large frying pan and preheat the pan to medium heat (5). Once the oil is melted, turn the heat down to 3 or 4 and spoon in batter. Cook 2 minutes until the sides bubble. Flip and cook another 2-3 minutes. Serve with a dash of cinnamon, or your choice of fresh fruit topping, Smart Balance Vegan butter, honey, or agave nectar.

Variations:
1/4 c. porridge and/or 1/4 c. raw cranberries

Gluten Free Granola and Hemp Muffins

These muffins come from the recipe off the Enjoy Life Gluten Free Granola which we found as a new item at Kroger yesterday. I was so excited to try the gluten free granola despite the fact that it is almost $5 for a tiny box (of air! - gluten free air specially manufactured in a facility...).

Very berry sawdust, mmm

I made my first mistake in thinking that I ever I missed granola. This will be a very biased review since I never liked granola, but then again I'm not a carb person. My subsequent mistake was in believing it would taste like real granola... or something other than stale brown rice syrup. I should be fair and say Jon tried it and he said it was decent, but would be improved with milk and lots of cinnamon and honey. If you like or miss granola, this might be ok for you since Jon has a better sense of granola than I do.

I followed up my buying mistake with an entertaining hour-long painstaking irritable dance around the kitchen while I tried to follow their recipe. I hate following directions. I can't do it, so I added some organic hemp protein and organic blackstrap molasses (skipped the brown sugar) to make it more my own. I should have added flax just to spite my dad who responded "No flax! I don't like that stuff, yuck" when I asked what he wanted with his homemade steak dinner for Christmas. Got it dad, extra flax. Double flax for that, but no flax here. Plenty of rice monstrosities masquerading as "granola" though :)

1 c. Enjoy Life granola (I used the berry variety)
1/2 c. brown rice flour
1/2 c. buckwheat flour
1/4 t. sea salt
3 t baking powder
1 T. cinnamon
1 small organic apple with skin, chopped
2 T. organic hemp protein powder
2 eggs
1 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/2 c. lite coconut milk
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 T. agave nectar
1 T. organic unsulfured blackstrap molasses
1/4 c. raisins
1 T. organic raw pumpkin seeds
1 T. raw organic sunflower seeds
1/4 c. shredded organic reduced fat coconut
1 organic banana, chopped

Coat your muffin tins with nonstick spray and preheat oven to 350 degrees. I used a large muffin tin of 12 cups plus smaller 6 muffin tins. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients (except the fruit). In a separate smaller bowl, combine wet ingredients while adding the molasses and agave last. Add in the wet ingredients and stir well. I used a potato masher to squash the banana into the dough. Add the chopped apple, raisins, coconut, and seeds and stir until well mixed. Fill the muffin cups about half full and add extra granola on top if desired. Bake 15-17 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm.

Yield: 22-25 muffins

Sundried Tomato Spicy Blue Corn Crisps

1/4 c. organic blue corn meal
1/8 c. organic buckwheat flour
1/4 t. aluminum-free baking powder
2 sulfur-free sundried tomatoes
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 T. water
1 T. organic apple cider vinegar
1 egg (or egg substitute)
dash hot sauce (optional)

Seasonings:
pepper
garlic powder
crushed red pepper
dash cayenne pepper

Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick olive oil spray and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. I finely chopped the sundried tomatoes with kitchen shears directly into the bowl.

Add the seasonings, water, vinegar, and olive oil and mix well. Crack in the egg and beat it in, mixing thoroughly. Spread the batter in a thin layer onto the oiled cookie sheet. Bake at 325 on the bottom oven rack for about 35 minutes or until crispy.

I served these with with some salsa and guacamole as appetizers to our [pre]Thanksgiving meal of Caribbean Pineapple Turkey Breast and Fruity Apricot Quinoa .

Cran-Blueberry Coconut Flour Muffins [Low Carb] [Paleo]

1/2 c. organic coconut flour

~1/4 t. (dash) xanthan gum
~1/2 t. non-aluminum baking powder
dash sea salt
4 packets (single serving) Stevia
cinnamon
3 eggs at room temperature
1 T. organic vanilla
2 T. organic virgin coconut oil (melted or liquid form) OR ~1/4 c. Earth Balance Vegan Butter*
1/4 c. frozen raw cranberries
1/4 c. frozen raw organic blueberries
1 T. agave nectar
~15 T. water, added one T. at a time to adjust consistency

Spray muffin tins with nonstick spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients. In a seperate bowl add the eggs and whisk well. Add the vanilla and coconut oil (or melted and cooled butter) to the eggs and beat together. Pour the egg mix into the dry ingredients while stirring so the coconut flour does not clump up. Add the Stevia, agave, and cinnamon and continue to stir. Stir in the water one T. at a time and mix until the batter is not thick and sticky. Coconut flour's high fiber content will quickly soak up the moisture, so go quickly and use your judgment as to extra amounts of water. I would err on the side of more wet (but not runny) batter since the dough thickens as it sits and cooks. You don't want hockey puck muffins!

Add the berries and stir. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. You may need to cook them longer if you had runnier batter; the muffins are done when the tops are brown and slightly firm to the touch, not mushy.

Yield: 6 muffins

My muffins turned out soft and moist on the inside, but next time I'm going to add some apple butter or applesauce for a richer taste rather than full-on water. The rule I've found experimenting with coconut flour is to make the batter moister since a typical (non-coconut) batter consistency tends to turn out too dry due to the high fiber. It is an interesting trial and error baking process since I am adjusting other coconut flour recipes which all call for a ton of butter and/or eggs.

*Note that often vegan butters contain soy, so if you're soy free read carefully

Apricot and Cranberry Biscuits [Vegan][Low Carb Variation]

10 (~ 1/2 c) no sulfur organic apricots, chopped
dash sea salt
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t. xantham gum
1 T. organic apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. organic brown rice flour
1/2 c. organic buckwheat flour
2 heaping T. potato starch flour
1/4 c. organic raw frozen cranberries
1/2 c. organic unsweetened applesauce
6-7 oz. organic unsweetened apricot jam
2-4 T. cinnamon

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Use kitchen shears to chop the apricots into about quarters. Add the apricots, whole cranberries, and cinnamon to the dry ingredients. Spoon in the apricot jam and stir the mixture thoroughly. Add the applesauce and give everything a final good mixing.

Coat either your baking loaf pan or muffin tins with nonstick spray and spoon the batter into them. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-17 minutes or until the biscuit tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 16 fabulous biscuits!

Apricot Hunks of Biscuit Delight

Low Carb Option:
3 no sulfur organic apricots, chopped
dash sea salt
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t. non-aluminum baking powder
1/2 t. xantham gum
1 T. organic apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. organic coconut flour
cinnamon
1/4 c. organic raw frozen cranberries
1 T. organic unsweetened applesauce
1 T. organic unsweetened apricot jam
~ 1/2 c. water (add more if too dry)

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Use kitchen shears to chop the apricots into about quarters. Add the apricots, whole cranberries, and cinnamon to the dry ingredients. Add the applesauce and stir. Add the water and mix well. If the coconut flour absorbs too much of the liquid and the batter is very thick, add a few tablespoons of water, one T. at a time, until the batter is thinner. Coconut flour's high fiber will continue to soak up the liquid, so on yoceu've settled on a "good" batter consistency, you should bake as soon as possible.

Coat either your baking loaf pan or muffin tins with nonstick spray and spoon the batter into them. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the biscuit tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 9 luscious small low carb biscuits.

Low Carb Coconut Flour Cinnamon Apricot Biscuits [Vegan][Paleo]

Cinnamon Cranberry Banana Bread & Muffins [Vegan]

1 c. organic brown rice flour
1/2 c. organic buckwheat flour
1 t.. aluminum free baking powder
1 t. baking soda
2 t. xanthan gum (optional)
3/4 c. unsweetened organic apple sauce
3/4 c. water
dash sea salt
cinnamon to taste (~ 2 T.)
1/4 c. fresh ground sesame seeds
~1 T. organic raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 c. organic raw (unsalted) sunflower seeds
1/2 c. frozen or fresh whole raw cranberries
2 bananas, roughly mashed
3 T. Stevia powder or natural sweetener of your choice
1 T. agave nectar or organic maple syrup

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a small coffee grinder or blender, grind up the sesame seeds into a grainy paste. Add the ground sesame, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and cinnamon. Stir the mixture as you drizzle in the agave nectar (maple syrup). Spoon in the apple sauce and add the bananas in large chunks. I used a potato masher to roughly mash the bananas into the dough and mix in the applesauce. Add the water and fresh whole cranberries stir well.

Coat either your baking loaf pan or muffin tins and spoon the batter into them. Baking directions follow below:

Bread:

Coat a small loaf pan or a small baking tin with nonstick spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until the top is brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Let completely cool before cutting.

Muffins:

Coat a large muffin tin with nonstick spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes or until the tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

Although this recipe is nut free, both the muffins and a slice of the bread go great with a sprinkle of my Caramelized Cinnamon Walnuts and Pumpkin Seeds.

Blackberry Banana Danish [Low Fat] [Pareve]

This "danish" is the product of a sick Cindy cooking (Lord help us all). It tastes fantastic, but when I cook while ill and strung out, my recipes are to be used at your own risk :) Joking, but this was originally banana cookies then coffee cake then ... well, we think it's a great danish. It definitely tastes delicious!

I used unsweetened applesauce instead of (vegan) butter or oil so that this recipe is low fat and higher carb for Jon's body type. The whole danish has a total of about 13 g fat from the 1 egg (~4.5 g fat) and the 2 T. shredded coconut. The coconut adds 8 g of the good medium-chain triglycerides. Remember that coconut provides "good" saturated fat and thus boosts your metabolism and immune system. Since coconut is a MCFA (or Medium Chain [Saturated] Fatty Acid), then it is preferentially burned by your body for energy rather than becoming fat storage. Traditional corn and soy vegetables oils consist of longer chain unsaturated fats. Unlike coconut, these oils are less likely to be immediately burned by the body and are preferentially stored as fat (except olive oil which has many health benefits). In general, any calorie excess is stored as fat, so just remember to stay active on a daily basis (I say this as I have slept, cooked, and typed all day :P).

This recipe makes a large danish with about 6-8 servings depending on how you slice it. This means that there is less than 2 g fat per serving, although I make no such bold claims about the carbs here since we all know that low fat and fat free means either high carb or chemicals (or water, as Jon pointed out) :)

Dough:
1 c. gluten free all-purpose baking mix
1 T. organic brown sugar
1 T. organic turbinado raw sugar
1/2 c. unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 c. water
dash sea salt
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. (drizzle) organic maple syrup (optional)
1 T. xanthan gum
1 free-range fresh egg or egg substitute

Filling:
1/2 c. unsweetened all-natural blackberry jam
2 bananas, sliced
2 T. organic no sulfur shredded coconut
cinnamon, for topping and filling to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and set aside the egg. Mix all of the dough ingredients in a medium bowl. Spread half of the dough evenly across the surface of a greased cookie sheet. Gently spread the jam over the dough on the cookie sheet with a butter knife. Sprinkle over the coconut flakes and sliced bananas as shown below.

You can drizzle this with a bit of organic maple syrup if desired. Use the rest of the dough to top the danish, spreading it gently over the bananas with a spoon and knife. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 27-30 minutes or until the dough is cooked.

If you can do dairy then this would be great either topped with cream cheese or with a cream cheese and kosher unflavored gelatin mixture in the middle for a cheese danish style treat. I'll probably do this sooner (rather than later) since Jon loves these kinds of desserts.

Buttermilk Nut Pancakes

1 c. organic buckwheat flour
1 c. organic brown rice flour
1/4 c. shredded organic no-sulfur coconut
1/2 c. deluxe mixed nuts (ours were mostly brazil nuts and cashews with a few pecans)
1 egg (free range), room temperature
1 banana, sliced
1 t. baking soda
1 t. non-Aluminum baking powder
dash sea salt
1 c. milk + 1 T. organic raw apple cider vinegar (or buttermilk)
4 T. organic virgin coconut oil, for frying

Seasonings:
2 T. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in beaten egg and buttermilk, mixing well. Stir in the coconut, whole nuts, cinnamon and nutmeg. If you are adding the brown sugar then add it now along with the sliced banana. Mix the batter until it is smooth.

Melt the coconut oil in a large fry pan and preheat the pan to medium heat (5). Once the oil is melted, turn the heat down to 3 or 4 and spoon in batter. Cook 2 minutes until the sides bubble. Flip and cook another 2-3 minutes. Serve with a dash of cinnamon, or your choice of fresh fruit topping, Smart Balance Vegan butter, honey, or agave nectar.

Veggie Jalapeño Corn Bread

1/2 cup organic blue corn meal
1 heaping 1/2 c. organic yellow corn meal
1/2 c. organic buckwheat flour
1 t. aluminum free baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. frozen mixed vegetables
1 chopped jalapeño
1 T. agave nectar or honey
3 T. water (you may need to add a little more if you use fresh rather than frozen veggies)

egg-free version
1/2 cup organic blue corn meal
1 heaping 1/2 c. organic yellow corn meal
1/2 c. organic buckwheat flour
1 t. aluminum free baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 c. ground flaxseed
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. frozen mixed vegetables
1 chopped jalapeño
1 T. agave nectar or honey
1 oz. water

First, turn on some Lyle Lovett. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Mix everything together and put in a greased baking dish. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean. Let it cool before cutting and serving. This goes great served with a hearty soup or my Bison Chili.

Applesauce Raisin Spice Muffins

2/3 unsweetened organic applesauce

1/2 c. organic brown rice flour
1/4 c. ground flax
1 egg, beaten
1 t. non-aluminum baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/4 c. organic raisins
2 T. honey or agave nectar
1 T. organic sugar (or more agave)
1 T. cinnamon
5-6 whole cloves
1 t. nutmeg
dash cayenne pepper

Mix everything in a large bowl until smooth. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a large muffin tin with nonstick spray. Pour the batter into the muffin tin, filling each hole about 1/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

These are great dense muffins that remind me of bran muffins. This is a great low fat dessert, snack, or breakfast; the applesauce replaces butter, shortening, and oil!

Flax Pie Crust [Vegan]

3/4 c. ground flax
1/4 c. rice bran
1 t. cinnamon
a few (~ t.) whole cloves
1 t. nutmeg
1/4 c. organic unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 c. water

Mix everything thoroughly in a mixing bowl until it becomes a thick paste. Spray an 8" pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. Put the dough in the middle and use your mixing spoon to press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pie plate to form a crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Let cool completely. We used this as the crust for our Harvest Pumpkin Pie.

Pumpkin Spice Biscuits [Vegan]

1/2 c. brown rice flour
1/4 c. buckwheat flour
dash sea salt
1 T. aluminum free baking powder
heaping 1/4 c. raw canned pumpkin
1 t. vanilla
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
4 T. water

Seasonings:
liberal T. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
3-4 cloves

For sweet biscuits, add:
2 T. natural brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a large cookie sheet with nonstick spray. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix in pumpkin and water until a thick, pasty dough forms. Make biscuit-balls by rolling the dough into circles between your palms. Drop the biscuits onto the cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool.

These look dry, but trust me they're not at all... they are delicious! They are kindred to my Vegan Sunrise Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits. Apparently my forte lies in biscuit making :)

Happy Fall Equinox! Viva la tree of life

Cranberry Salmon Salad

1 can wild caught salmon, drained
1/2 c. frozen/fresh raw cranberries
1/3 red onion, chopped
1-2 slices white onion, chopped
fresh basil, chopped
1/2 c. torn fresh kale leaves

Seasonings:
sea salt and pepper
garlic powder
oregano
Italian seasoning
dried rosemary
parsley
dash salt free dill seasoning seasoning

Dressing:
1 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. extra virgin olive oil

Drain the salmon and add it to a large bowl. Add the cranberries, kale and seasonings to a bowl and mash them together with the bones, skin and meat.