Homemade hummus

Sometimes you come across a recipe and you really don't need to change it at all. Or very little, to suit your (or your family's) tastes.

Found this hummus recipe and adjusted it very slightly — just added 1/4 tsp cayenne for a bit of kick.

The recipe explains the process very well, particularly the part about the order of processing ingredients so you get the desired texture.

Lovely as an appetizer or afternoon snack, served with organic and gluten-free Que Pasa tortilla chips.

Raw ginger cookie balls

Given the hot weather and general disinterest in the oven, my “raw” kick continues.

These cookie balls are based on my ginger cookies. I made several adjustments, including substituting dates for the brown sugar, to make them more nutrient-dense. 

The benefits of coconut oil are considerable, so you’ll see more of my recipes containing that from now on. These treats are also vegan, so perfectly animal-friendly.

Raw ginger cookie balls

Ingredients:

• ½ cup almonds
• 1 cup dates
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• ¼ cup blackstrap molasses
• 2 cups oats
• dash salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• a few tablespoons of brown sugar (optional)

Directions:

1. Grind almonds and dates in a food processor.
2. Once the particles are reasonably small, add in other ingredients. Continue grinding until mixture forms a large ball.
3. Invert mixture into a medium-large bowl and hand-roll dough into balls.

Makes about thirty 1” balls.

We store them at room temperature. Given the consumption rate in our household (I did run today, right?!), this isn’t a problem.

Raw almond cookie balls

One of my lovely sisters is moving out of the country for a prolonged period. For those who know our family, my sisters are quite close. We will miss her greatly.

I wanted to make a little treat for her to take on her flight. She, like me, aims to eat healthy. As one of her favorite flavours is almond, I devised this little cookie accordingly. I’ve been on a raw-food rampage lately, as I flatly refuse to turn on the oven during this usually warm summer. 

Raw almond cookie balls

• 1 cup almonds
• ½ cup dates
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp raw macadamia nut butter
• ½ tsp pure almond extract
• dash salt
• 1½ cups organic oats

Grind almonds and dates in food processor. Add other ingredients and grind some more, until reasonably homogenous. Form dough into balls of desired size. Simple, eh?

You may roll your cookies perfectly round or leave 'em just a little wobbly, which is my preference.
 

I store these at room temperature, as we demolish them rather quickly.

For long-distance transport, you might wish to wrap each cookie in wax paper, so they won’t fuse.

Frozen yoghurt with lemon

It's been a hot summer here in Newfoundland. The island seems to have forgotten that it's stranded out here in the cold north Atlantic, where icebergs track along the Labrador current during the summertime. The temperature has frequently hit the mid-20s, often higher when you factor in the humidity. Wowza.

As a result, I haven’t turned on the oven in a couple of months. We’ve been enjoying all kinds of salads, smoothies, fresh fruit, cheeses, homemade bean dips, salsa, tortilla chips, etc.

A dessert that's become one of our favorites is a bowl of frozen yoghurt – always vanilla – with freshly squeezed lemon juice. It’s super simple to make and it’s never a problem to keep these simple ingredients on hand. (I can tell by writing this, our fridge/freezer is bound to conk out over the coming week.)

Just squeeze a half lemon (I use my Mom's glass hand-juicer), fish out any seeds, scoop the frozen yoghurt in two bowls ('cause treats are meant to be shared), squeeze half of the juice over each of the servings. Grab two spoons and you’re good to go!

Gluten-free chocolate walnut waffles

I’ve been venturing into the world of gluten-free or, at least, gluten reduced. (A naturopathic practitioner suggested it to me, and my digestive system is so much more happy now.) So I've recently starting creating gluten-free versions of my favorite recipes. This one is adapted from my double-chocolate waffles. In my humble opinion, I think it works out quite well.

Gluten-free chocolate walnut waffles 

Makes approximately 5 waffles.

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 cup almond milk - storebought or homemade
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp cocoa
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

• Heat waffle iron.
• Whisk egg.
• Beat in remaining ingredients (just until smooth), stirring in walnuts at the end.
• Pour batter onto waffle iron.
• Cook approx 3 minutes, then remove.

Variation: For chocolate coconut walnut waffles, substitute coconut oil for the canola oil.

The Sprouting Diaries (Part 1)

Been learning about sprouting lately. Bought a 4-decker sprouter and lots and lots of different seeds. Have sprouted red clover and alfalfa so far. So excited about the possibilities!