Biscuits and Gravy

Biscuits:

2 cups (9oz) all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, very cold

1 cup COLD buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
3. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
4. Cut the butter into small cubes and put into the flour mixture. With a pastry blender (or two forks) press the butter down to incorporate the butter into the flour. Work it in gently until the butter is mostly pea-size or smaller. The faster you do this step, the better. You want the butter to stay cold. (Note: this step can be done in a food processor instead)
5. Gently add the buttermilk and stir just until combined. DO NOT OVERMIX. Dough will be slightly sticky.
6. Dust a flat surface with a little more flour, dump out the dough and with a floured rolling pin, roll dough to ¾ inch tall, Use a biscuit cutter, or the top of a glass cup to push straight down into the dough. Try to get about 5 or 6 biscuits cut, then gently put the scraps together (again being careful not to overwork the dough) an cut another 2-4 biscuits with the remaining dough.
7. Put biscuits 2 inches apart on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until barely golden, 10-13 minutes. Do not overcook.

Note: Makes 8-10 biscuits. If you make smaller biscuits they will cook much faster-so watch out to make sure they don't burn.

Sausage Gravy:

1 lb regular or country or traditional sausage

1/3 cup flour

4 cups whole milk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper (start with ¼ tsp and see if you like more pepper)

1. In a deep frying pan, brown and crumble sausage over medium high heat until fully cooked.
2. Reduce the heat to medium low.
3. Sprinkle the flour in and stir around until sausage is evenly coated in the flour.
4. Add the milk, salt, pepper, and mix to combine.
5. Increase the heat to medium high and stir often, as sauce boils then thickens. It will take about ten minutes for sauce to fully thicken. If gravy gets too thick, add a little more milk.
6. Serve gravy over warm biscuits.

Cinnamon Popcorn

2 tsp can sugar

2 tsp pure maple syrup (optional)

1/3 tsp ground cinnamon

1/3 cup corn kernels (5 cups cooked)

2 pinches sea salt

Air pop the popcorn. Combine and toss together in a large bowl. Serve immediately.

Lemon Cookies

Lemon Cookies

2 sticks room temp butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

zest of 90% of a lemon (save the other 10% of the zest for ganache frosting)

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

3 cups flour (up to ¼ cup more if your dough is feeling a little wet or if you do a test cookie that comes out a little flat)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine butter and sugar. Beat together on high speed for a minute or so either with a hand held mixer or with a stand mixer.
3. Add the eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest. Beat together for another two solid minutes.
4. Then in a bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda lightly whisk or mix with a fork just so there are no clumps of baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix until just combined.
5. With a ¼ cup measuring cup, measure out the cookies and roll into smooth balls.
6. Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes or until the bottoms start to golden and the tops start to crinkle.

White Chocolate Ganache frosting:

½ cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup white chocolate chips

10% of the zest from that same lemon

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. While the cookies are in the oven, make the whole chocolate ganache frosting by heating 1/2 cup of heavy cream in a small pot over the stove just until the sides start to slightly bubble. (Don't overcook the cream or it will curdly)

2. Pour the very warm cream over the 1 cup of white chocolate chips and let sit for about 10 minutes until all white chips have melted. Stir together until no lumps appear.

3. Let ganache cool to room temp for about 15-30 minutes.

4. Add the remaining lemon zest and about 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Mix will.

5. Frost cooled cookies with cooled ganache Enjoy!

Orange Mango Slushie

Serves 2 Total Time: 5 minutes

1 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed or natural unsweetened

½ cup banana, overripe, sliced or in chunks, fresh or frozen

½ cup mango, cubed, fresh or frozen

1 tsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1-2 Tbsp hemp seeds

¼ cup ice (optional)

1. In a blender, combine all the ingredients and puree until smooth.
2. Taste, and adjust with extra fruit or ice as desired.

Raspberry Pecan Dressing

Serves 10 Total Time: 10 minutes

1 cup organic raspberries, frozen or fresh

½ cup + 1-2 Tbsp watermelon

1/3 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted (if using salted nuts then reduce the salt below)

2-21/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup or date syrup (add a little more if you want it sweeter)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2-1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (optional)

½ tsp (rounded) sea salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Using a blender or immersion blender and deep cup or jar, puree all ingredients (starting with ½ cup water and 2 Tbsp vinegar) until smooth
2. Taste, and adjust seasonings if desired, with additional sweetener or vinegar, or salt/pepper.
3. For a smoother texture, strain the dressing through a fine sieve.
4. Serve, and store remaining dressing in an airtight far in the fridge for up to a week.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

2 servings Total Time: 10 minutes

15 oz can garbanzo beans

1 tbsp tahini (sesame seed butter)

¼ cup lemon juice

3 Tbsp green onion (chopped) or substitute white onion

3 garlic cloves (chopped)

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp black pepper

½ cup red pepper (roasted and packed in water)

1. If using canned garbanzo beans, drain then, reserving liquid, and rinse beans.
2. Place beans, tahini, lemon juice, onions, garlic, cumin, black pepper, and roasted peppers in food processor or blender and process until smooth.
3. Add reserved bean liquid, or if using cooked bean, water or vegetable broth, as needed for a smoother consistency.

Apple Nachos Supreme

4 servings Total Time: 20 mins

Caramel (date syrup or coconut syrup for the date caramel. Use 1/4- 1/3 cup)

Apple Base:

3 organic apples (cored and sliced into thin rounds)

2 tsp organic lemon juice (or 1 lemon)

Toppings:

34 tbsp nut butter of choice (example almond butter, cashew butter)

1 cups popped organic popcorn

34 tbsp non-dairy chocolate chips (optional)

23 Tbsp chopped nuts (example pecans, walnuts, pistachios)

2 Tbsp cranberries or raisins

2 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut

Place apple slices on plate with lemon. Top with nut butter as a base and add rest of toppings. Sprinkle on caramel lastly on top.

Healthy Nut Balls

12 Serving   Total Time: 20 minutes

½ cup rolled oats (raw, old -fashioned thick, not quick cooking)

½ cup peanut butter (raw)

3 Tbsp pure maple syrup

1 Tbsp water, or more is needed and the mixture is too hard to mix

2 Tbsp sunflower seeds

2 Tbsp pumpkin seed

¼ cup raisins

¼ cup almonds (toasted, unsalted, coarsely chopped)

1 Tbsp carob powder (or 1 Tbsp cocoa powder plus 1 Tbsp maple syrup)

½ cu coconut (shredded and unsweetened. Can be raw or toasted)

½ cu sesame sees (raw or toasted)

½ cup cranberries (fresh)

1/8 cup coconut (optional, shreds or flakes for garnish)

1 mint leaves (fresh for garnish, optional)

1. Place all ingredients except coconut and sesame seeds in a medium bowl and mix very well with a sturdy wooden spoon (the mixture will be quite stiff)
2. Mix the coconut and sesame seeds in a small bowl.
3. Roll about a rounded tsp sized amount of main mixture (from step 1) into a small ball.
4. Roll it in the coconut/sesame mixture, and plate it on a serving plate.
5. Continue with the rest of the mixture and serve.

Raw Chai Bars

Raw Chai Bars

8 servings Total Time: 30 min.

Base:

½ cup raw cashews

1 cup dates (pitted)

1/3 cup raisins

¾ cup raw pecans

¼ tsp sea salt

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ground ginger

nutmeg (freshly grated)

2 pinches ground cardamom

ground cloves (about 1/16 tsp)

¾ tsp pure vanilla extract (or the seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean)

1 ½ tsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

½ tsp organic lemon zest

Frosting:

½ cup raw coconut butter (packed, not oil)

¼ cup pure maple syrup

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 pinches cinnamon

2 pinches sea salt

1. Line a loaf dish or similarly sized small pan with parchment paper.
2. Place the cashews, dates, and raisins in the food processor.
3. Pulse until the nuts and fruits are crumbly, then add the pecans and remaining ingredients and process again, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times, until the mixture has come together and becomes sticky (don't over-process, as pecans can make mixture too oily if overworked)
4. Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf dish
5. Press the mixture firmly into the pan (using a small piece of parchment is easiest)
6. Prepare the frosting: Combine all the ingredients in a mini food processor, or mix very well by stirring in a bowl). Smooth the frosting over the base.
7. Refrigerate for an hour or more until set. Cut into bar or squared and serve!

Spicy Sweet Potato Bakes

4 servings

Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 40 mins Total Time: 55 mins

4 sweet potatoes (long and thin)

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp paprika

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp dried thyme

½ tsp dried rosemary

½ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Lightly oil a baking sheet or shallow pan.
3. Cut sweet potatoes in quarters lengthwise, then in half across the middle. Place in a large bowl.
4. Add in the olive oil and toss with your hands, coating all the potatoes.
5. Sprinkle in spices and mix in so that the potatoes are coated with the spice mix.
6. Lay the pieces on the baking sheet or pan.
7. Bake for 20 minutes on one side.
8. Flip pieces over and bake for about 10-20 minutes. Keep and eye on the potatoes and remove when lightly browned.
9. Serve hot.

Lemon Herb Tofu

Serves 4

3 ½ tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed

2 Tbsp organic tamari

1 tsp pure maple syrup1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried thyme or rosemary

½ tsp dried basil

few pinches freshly ground black pepper

1 350-g pkg (12 oz) extra firm organic tofu, cut into squares about 1/4-1/2 inch thick, and patted to remove excess moisture

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In an 8x12 inch baking dish, combine all ingredients (except tofu), and stir through until will incorporated.
2. Add the tofu and coat each side. Cover and bake for 15 minutes.
3. Turn the tofu over, and continue to bake uncovered for another 10-15 minutes, turning again when there are just a few minutes of cooking time remaining.
4. At this time, the tofu should have soaked up most of the marinade. Remove from oven and let cool a little before serving, or serve hot.

Apple Hemp Muffins

Serves 12

1 ½ cups whole-grain organic spelt flour

1 cup organic oat flour

2/3-3/4 cup hemp seeds

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp sea salt

1 ½ -1 ¾ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ground cardamom (can substitute freshly grated nutmeg)

1 cup unsweetened organic applesauce

½ cup pure maple syrup

¾ cup plain or unsweetened vanilla non-dairy milk

1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup raisins or chopped dehydrated banana spears (use kitchen shears or knife to cut in small pieces about the size of raisins)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients, sifting in the baking powder and baking soda. Stir through until well combined.
3. In another bowl, combine applesauce, maple syrup, non-dairy milk, and vanilla, and mix together.
4. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, and gently fold and mix through until just combined (do not over mix).
5. Spoon the mixture into a muffin pan lined with cupcake liners (this will fill 12 muffins quite full).
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Remove from oven, let sit in the tray on cooling rack for 1-2 minutes, then remove from muffin pan.

Anti Inflammatory Green Smoothie

Serves 2

2 ½ -3 cups (packed) organic spinach leaves

½ cup fresh parsley

1 small organic lemon (or half or a med/large)

1 cups frozen pineapple chunks

1 cup frozen mango or frozen sliced overripe bananas

1/2-3/4 cup cucumber, rough cut in large chunks (unpeeled, seeds intact)

1-1 ½ Tbsp flax meal or 2-3 Tbsp hemp seeds

small piece of fresh ginger (peeling optional), about ½ Tbsp

¾-1 cup water (adjust as needed)

1. Add all ingredients (starting with ¾ cup water) to a blender.
2. Puree for a minute or more, to desired consistency, and adding extra water if needed to blend or for thinner smoothies, blending time will depend on type of blender used.
3. Taste, and adjust with additional fruit or other add-ins as desired.
4. Serve!

Chickpea Omelet with Mushrooms, Onions and Kale

Serves 2

For the Omelet Batter:

¾ cup chickpea flour

½ cup unsweetened soy, hemp or almond milk plus more if needed

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp nutritional yeast

½ tsp no-salt seasoning bend

½ tsp turmeric

¼ tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp black pepper

For the Vegetables:

½ cup chopped onions

½ cup chopped red pepper

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2 cups thinly sliced kale

½ cup low sodium salsa or chopped tomato

In a small bowl, whisk together the omelet batter ingredients Add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of non-dairy milk if mixture is too thick to pour.

In a 10-inch non-stick skillet, heat 2-3 tablespoons water and saute onions, red pepper and garlic for 2 minutes, add mushrooms and continue to cook until soft and tender, about 3 more minutes. Add kale and stir until wilted. Remove from pan.

Clean skillet and lightly wipe with olive oil. Pour half of the batter into the pan and swirl to evenly cover the bottom. Place half of sauteed vegetables on top of one side of the omelet. Cook until the omelet bubbles and starts to firm up along the edges (about 2 minutes).

Gently fold over one side and cook for another minute. Cover with a lid, remove from heat and allow to steam for 5 minutes.

Repeat to make second omelet. Serve with salsa or chopped tomato.