White Bean Spread Recipe I started making this White Bean Spread recipe three years ago and haven't looked back. I could eat it with a spoon, on a house, with a mouse. You name it. It is so crazy delicious. If you aren't a big fan of hummus, you might prefer this variation. It has most of the same ingredients, simply swapping white beans for garbanzo beans and omitting tahini (sesame seed paste), which is a pretty strong flavor. Plus it's gluten-free and dairy-free! I've slightly simplified the original recipe from Heidi Swanson, who is one of my all-time favorite vegetarian food bloggers and cookbook authors. This recipe is light and healthy, Keep Reading
How to make Maple Cluster Granola
Maple Cluster Granola Other than a few stubborn boxes of Cheerios, store bought cereal has finally been cleared from my pantry shelves. It was a long, hard battle over the course of, oh... a year. I'm not one to rush into these things. What can I say? I have a serious weakness for Peanut Butter Panda Puffs. My goal is to swap out processed food for the real deal whenever I can do it and my family will eat it. Cereal was the next item on the hit list. My kids could live off pancakes, but I wanted to find a quick breakfast option to replace the now-absent bowl of Cheerios. No matter how hard I have tried, I cannot seem to maintain any sort of Keep Reading
Chicken Tortilla Soup (a gluten-free, dairy-free recipe)
Chicken Tortilla Soup I never used to make soup. Good grief! What was I thinking? Soup is so simple to prepare and satisfying to eat. You just saute some vegetables, add other ingredients and seasonings, pour in some broth, and simmer until all the flavors come together. It can also be really economical, as soup is a great place to combine leftover meat, beans, or vegetables, adding broth to stretch them as far as possible. If I had to pick only one soup to make for the rest of my days, this recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup would be the winner. The ingredients are simple, but the flavor is outstanding. Make enough for dinner and eat the Keep Reading
N’oatmeal Cookies (a gluten-free, dairy-free recipe)
N'Oatmeal Cookies - Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are not my idea of a good time, but these cookies are different. You'll just have to trust me on this one. Don't let their healthy appearance fool you. They are crazy addictive, and somehow you feel almost virtuous eating them. Sweetened with maple syrup and loaded with good stuff, N'oatmeal Cookies are the Paleo answer to the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie dilemma. They are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside, with sweet & salty pops of flavor. Instead of oats, the recipe calls for a combination of almond and flax meal. Packed with coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, Keep Reading
Breakfast fried rice (gluten-free, dairy-free recipe)
Breakfast Fried Rice I love breakfast food. I could eat it morning, noon, and night. Our family has shifted from sweet to savory, eating fewer scones and muffins and more eggs and oatmeal. Let's start with fried rice! Which might seem like an odd place to start for breakfast, but I promise it is a good one. I once read that fried rice is like the Asian spin on casserole. You're using up bits of leftovers to create a new dish that blends all the flavors together. And as an added bonus, it all comes together quickly in one skillet. You saute some vegetables, crack in a few eggs and scramble them right in the pan, then add the rice and meat, and Keep Reading
Rice Bowls with Spicy Curry Sauce (Inspired by The Whole Bowl food cart)
Rice Bowls with Spicy Curry Sauce Today's recipe is inspired by Portland's own Whole Bowl food cart. These rice bowls are packed with fresh ingredients and a spicy sauce. According to the official Whole Bowl site, "It's like eating a hug." Portland is food cart territory; several Whole Bowl locations in Portland. You will probably notice the long line of people before you spot the tiny cart. They are waiting to get their hands on a Whole Bowl, "A comforting and healthy medley of brown rice, red and black beans, fresh avocado, salsa, black olives, sour cream, Tillamook cheddar, cilantro, Tali Sauce and trace amounts of attitude." Yum. UPDATE: Keep Reading
Cilantro Coconut Chutney recipe (gluten-free, vegetarian)
Cilantro Coconut Chutney Last week, my husband and I watched The Hundred-Foot Journey (Amazon), and since then I have been craving Indian food. Tikka and tandoori and curry. Bring it on. So it was perfect timing when my mom told me about this bright green chutney she had just made, after finding the original recipe in an Indian cookbook. I expected it to be slightly bitter, tasting like herbs and spices. Instead it's a blast of fresh flavors, cilantro and lemon and garlic. It's slightly sweet with a hint of cashew and coconut, with a little heat from the jalapeno. My husband and I stood over the plate, hoovering it into our mouths as fast as we Keep Reading