Joy the Baker's Strawberry Cream Scones (GF & V)

Joy the Baker is one of my favorite bakers in the world. You can trust that all of her recipes are going to be completely delicious. Unfortunately, she is not gluten-free or vegan, so sometimes I have to make adjustments. (I am not technically vegan, but I am allergic to eggs and partially to dairy, so some of my recipes are.)

I have already made these scones twice, and everyone I have shared them with has loved them. Even my skeptical gluten-free eaters loved these scones. They are sweet, but not too sweet, fluffy, soft, and nutty in flavor.

Another thing I love about these scones is that they are incredibly simple to make. If you are debating between these and pancakes this weekend, go with these. They are just as simple and are a good change from pancakes or muffins. They are also quite healthy, with only 1/3 cup of sugar for the entire recipe. I also used coconut cream instead of buttermilk, so you get healthy fats in there too.

Go ahead and make these already!

Strawberry Cream Scones
Adapted from: Joy the Baker

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup almond flour
1 1/4 cup gluten-free all purpose flour (I used Jules)
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup coconut sugar (or granulated)
1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup of coconut cream** plus more for brushing the top or for whipped cream
3/4 cup of coarsely chopped strawberries
Turbinado, granulated, or brown sugar for topping

Directions:

1. Place baking rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
3. In liquid measuring cup, mix vanilla extract and coconut cream.
4. Drizzle cream into flour mixture and slowly toss ingredients together until incorporated but still slightly dry.
5. Add strawberries and continue gently tossing until cohesive, but not overly sticky. 
6. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead dough to 3/4 inch thick.
7. Use a small biscuit cutter or small glass lightly floured to cut 1 1/4 inch circles from the dough.
8. Brush each circle with coconut cream and sprinkle a generous amount of turbinado sugar on top.
9. Place 1 inch apart on baking sheet and bake for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Remove from oven and serve warm with chilled coconut cream on top.

**Trader Joe's makes this excellent Extra Thick & Rich Coconut Cream that comes out of the can exactly like whipped cream if you do not shake it. I used this in my recipe mixed with a little almond milk to make it like buttermilk consistency and used the rest on top of each scone. Preserves go really well with these too.

Enjoy!!

Spiced Chicken with Wild Rice & Veggies Bowl (GF)

One of my best pieces of advice for those who are busy but want to eat healthy or for people who want to lose weight, is to prepare your meals ahead of time. I make my meals for the week on Monday nights. 

This is what I came up with for this week. This spiced, sweet, and crunchy little bowl contains turmeric and cumin spiced chicken, wild rice, broccolini, sweet potatoes, carrots, pea shoots, and pomegranate seeds. It is quite a great combination of foods. You can also make it vegan or vegetarian by substituting tofu or chickpeas for the chicken.

Spiced Chicken with Wild Rice & Veggies Bowl

Adapted from: Love and Lemons

Ingredients:

1 lb of chicken breast or tenders, cubed (preferably free-range; omit if vegan/vegetarian & use chickpeas)

1 cup wild rice

2 sweet potatoes, cubed

1 cup carrots, shredded

2 cups broccolini, roughly chopped

1 cup pomegranate arils

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp of gomacio or sesame seeds

2-3 tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

soy sauce or coconut aminos

pea shoots

Instructions:

1. Cook wild rice as instructed on the package.
2. While rice is cooking, dice chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook in large skillet over medium-high heat in 2 tbsp of olive oil.
3. After about 5 minutes, add cumin, turmeric, and cayenne pepper.
4. Cook chicken all the way through and remove from skillet with slotted spoon. Add cubed sweet potatoes and cook until tender. (You may have to add 1 more tbsp of olive oil.)
5. Add broccolini and carrots to skillet, season with salt, pepper, & sesame seeds and cook until tender.
6. When all ingredients are cooked, add all cooked ingredients to a large bowl with a handful pomegranate and pea shoots. You might want to add soy sauce or coconut aminos to your rice. 
7. Enjoy!!

Cauliflower Mac & Cheese (GF & V)

Oh the joys of being able to have macaroni and cheese again. I cannot explain to you how much this recipe saved my life. Whoever discovered that cashews, eggplant, cauliflower, and nutritional yeast tastes like cheese is my hero.

If you are wondering whether "normal" people like this: Yes, my boyfriend liked this recipe and he has no known allergies. 

Its funny how people forget that people with food allergies have normal taste buds just like everyone else. It's actually not funny at all. It gets really old. I've only had allergies for 3 years, so I tasted "normal" things for the first 22 years of my life. 

Let's step away from this little rant before I write 5 paragraphs on it.... This macaroni and cheese actually has vegetables in it, meaning you can eat more of it! Its very thick and creamy. Everything you would want in a mac & cheese. You might want to add more liquid to make the cheese a bit more runny. It might seem like a lot of steps, but its actually quicker than you think.

Roasted Cauliflower and Parsnip Soup

This soup is incredible! It's pretty easy too. I got an Immersion Blender for Christmas, and have been blending up a storm. That thing is incredible. I prefer this to a blender any day, even for smoothies.

It's nice when you are making sauces and soups because you don't have to pour hot liquid into the blender and perhaps burn your hand... or burn your whole kitchen when the top comes off when you are blending. (I've seen my mom do it... it's a crazy, hot mess.) I highly recommend buying that. It really does step up your cooking game.

Okay, so on to the soup. It's creamy. It's savory. It's light and delicate. 

We made it for our meal and soon realized that it needed something to go with it. We ended up making bacon and spinach paninis, which I highly recommend as a side. Troy added cheese to his the second day and crumbled bacon in it. This also tastes delicious and very much like potato soup. Serve it up however you would like! It's so darn tasty.

Roasted Cauliflower and Parsnip Soup
Adapted from: Spoon Fork Bacon (One of my favorite food bloggers!)

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower florets, roughly chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
2 shallots, peeled and quartered
3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2 tablespoons minced thyme
1 tbsp minced sage, plus more for garnish
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1/4 cup sour cream** (I made mine dairy free/vegan... See Below)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375˚F.
2. Spread cauliflower, parsnips, shallots, garlic, sage, and thyme onto a baking sheet, in a single layer, and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with cumin, paprika, salt and pepper and toss everything together until the vegetables are well coated with oil.
3. Roast vegetables for 25-30 minutes, tossing vegetables around 15 minutes into the roasting process.
4. Meanwhile pour stock into a medium pot and bring to a simmer. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
5. Once vegetables have roasted through and stock is hot, use immersion blender to puree.
6. Puree mixture for 3 to 5 minutes or until the mixture is smooth. Add more stock and continue to puree if necessary.
7. Transfer the mixture into the pot that the stock was in and bring to a light simmer. Stir in sour cream and adjust seasonings.
8. Top each bowl with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and fresh sage leaf and serve.

**For the dairy free/vegan sour cream:
Take 1 container of Plain Coconut Milk Greek Yogurt (6 oz) and combine it with 3/4 tsp of lemon juice. Stir together and let chill in refrigerator, covered, for at least 30 minutes.
Many thanks to Cassidy's Craveable Creations for coming up with this alternative!!

Enjoy!!

Maple Roasted Winter Vegetables

Roasting vegetables is a brilliant thing. Roasting brings out complex flavors that are not found in other cooking methods. The best example is probably roasted cauliflower. That usually bland vegetable is transformed into a savory treat by just using the oven.

In this recipe, I've used a few fall favorites-- Sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, and cranberries. You can really add whatever you would like, but I highly recommend the sweet potato/cranberry combination. They are the perfect compliment of sour and sweet. Cauliflower would be excellent with this.

Maple Roasted Winter Vegetables
Adapted from: Plainville Farms

1 lb sweet potatoes, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
2 cups brussel sprouts
3/4 cup whole cranberries
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
Salt & pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Combine olive oil, maple syrup, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
3. Toss sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, and cranberries in mixture.
4. Scatter onto sheet pan and bake for 35-40 minutes stirring half-way through.

Quick, easy, healthy, and delicious!

Enjoy!