Spicy Raw Kale Salad

We have so much kale in our garden, I needed new creative ways to prepare it!

Large bunch of kale, trimmed from the stems
1 carrot
1/2 of a red onion
2-3 peeled garlic cloves
2-3 serrano peppers
1/3 cup of olive oil
juice of 3 limes (or lemons)
1/2 cup of raw pepitas

Chop or tear the kale into bite sized pieces. In a processor, finely chop the carrot, onion, garlic and peppers and add to the kale. Whisk together the olive oil and lime juice. Pour over the kale and veggies, toss well. Add the pepitas and toss again. Serve immediately or refrigerate for an hour first.

Crockpot Rice Pudding (vegan)

6 cups milk (soy, nut, oat, etc)...for this recipe, I used plain almond milk
1 cup basmati rice
1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp spices of your liking (pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, cardommon, nutmeg, etc....)
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup dried fruit/berries (cranberries, raisins, blueberries, etc...)
pinch of sea salt

Put everything in the crock pot and cover.
Set on High. Cook for 45 minutes and stir to make sure rice is not clumping together.
Cook for 45 minutes and stir. Continue to cook on high for about 2 hours or at low for about 5-6 hours. The longer you cook it the thicker the pudding will be.
Eat warm or let it cool and refrigerate..

Spicy Carrot-Butternut Squash Soup (vegan)

3 large carrots, sliced in 1 inch chunks
6 small squash (or 4 med., or 2 very large)
1 small onion, sliced in wedges
1 long cayenne pepper (I removed the seeds, but you can leave them in for more kick), sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups vegetable stock
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp celery salt
ground pepper to taste
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg

**preheat oven to 375F**

Cut squash in half and lay them cut side down in a glass baking dish. Add 1/2 cup of water to the dish and bake the squash for about 30 minutes or until they feel soft.
Meanwhile heat your olive oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Saute the carrots, onion, pepper and all the spices until the onion is tranluscent (about 8-10 minutes). Add the stock and bring to a boil, then lower heat to low and let the veggies simmer until very soft.
When squash is done, remove from oven and allow to cool a bit. Remove stock and veggies from heat and allow to cool a bit also. Once cooled slightly, blend the stock/veggie mixture in a glass blender until totally pureed. Put the puree back into your dutch oven. Scoop out seeds and membranes of the squash and scoop the "meat" into the blender. Puree the squash and stir it into the pureed soup. Reheat gently, if necessary.

Vegan Whole Wheat Gingerbread People

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup molasses (I used organic blackstrap)

2 tsps baking soda

1/2 cup coconut oil

3 tbsp apple sauce

3 2/3 cups whole wheat flour

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp salt

**Preheat oven to 350F**

In a large saucepan, bring the sugar and molasses to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda. Add coconut oil and stir until melted. Stir in applesauce. Add the flour, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Stir until well mixed.

Turn the dough over onto a piece of parchment paper big enough to fit onto your cookie sheet. You may need to sprinkle some flour if the dough gets too tacky. Roll out the dough a little at a time and cut out your gingerbread men at about 1/4 inch thickness. Peel off the dough from around the gingerbread men and add it to the remaining dough to make the next cookie.

Repeat this process until your parchment paper is full and the cookies are at least 1/2 an inch apart. Transfer the parchment paper (with the cookies on it) onto your cookie sheet and bake for about 8-12 minutes.

**I know that's a vague time frame, but every oven is different and mine seems to cook overly fast. I would just keep a close eye on them and take them out when they start browning.**

Note: Let the cookies cool a bit on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a drying rack with a wide, flat spatula. They will be too soft at first.

Eggplant and Chickpea Crockpot Stew

As always, the organic veggies from this recipe come from our wonderful CSA. For more info on them, click here.

2 cups of chickpeas, soaked overnight
1 medium eggplant, diced
1 onion, chopped (large dice)
1 zuchinni, sliced thinly
1 crookneck squash, sliced thinly
1 1/2 cups chopped greens (kale, mustard green, spinach, whatever is handy)
2 cans diced tomatoes (i used diced tomatoes that are sold in tetra packs at Henrys)
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
enough water or veggie stock to cover ingredients
3 tbsp worchestershire sauce
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 cup red wine
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste

Add the veggies and chickpeas to the crockpot. Cover ingredients with water or veggie stock. Add the worchestershire sauce, vinegar, wine, dried herbs, salt and pepper.
Set on low and let cook all day.

**about an hour or two before serving, remove 2 cups worth of the stew. Puree in a blender or food processor and return it to the stew. This gives the stew some body.**

enjoy!

Roasted Eggplant Pizza

1 medium eggplant

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

pizza sauce

fresh basil

dough for pizza, or ready-made pizza crust

block of parmigiano reggiano

More topping suggestions:

chickpeas

mariniated artichokes

grilled chicken

thinly sliced red or yellow sweet onion

chicken apple sausage (we used Whole Farms, nitrate-free)

*Prepare your eggplant in advance and let marinate for at least a few hours*

Prepare eggplant by slicing into thin horizontal slices. Whisk together the olive oil, white wine vinegar, garlic and herbs. Marinate the eggplant in vinegar mixture at least a few hours.

Preheat your oven or convection oven to 375F.

After marinating, roast the eggplant slices at 375F for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile prepare your pizza dough or crust according to package directions.

Remove the eggplant from oven, but keep the oven temp since you will be returning the pizza to oven momentarily...

Layer the pizza sauce first, then snip the fresh basil to cover the pizza. Add your roasted eggplant slices, then whatever other toppings you desire. With a vegetable peeler, shave slices of parmigiano to over the pizza. Return to oven and bake until cheese melts, about 10-15 minutes.

Roasted Veggie Salsa

6 plum tomatoes (sometimes called Roma tomatoes)
2 serrano chilis
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
3 large cloves of garlic
juice of 2 limes
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
handful of cilantro, chopped
salt

Preheat oven to 400F. Brush olive oil over the tomatoes, chilis, garlic and onion. Roast the vegetables until brown patches appear on the peppers and onions. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Once cooled, finely chop the veggies in a food processor. Scrape the chopped veggies into a bowl and add the lime juice, vinegar and salt. Taste and adjust salt accordingly. Stir in the chopped cilantro. Chill or serve immediately with chips!