Buttered toast is even better.

Homemade spelt toast with butter is awesome.

(I won’t tell you what I have.)

But after that, it’s breakfast in 3:

1. Spinach

2. Avocado with a squeeze of lemon

3.  Hard-boiled egg with a grind of sea salt and peppercorns

I might need a knife n fork for this one!

It reminds me of the yummy open-faced sandwiches on homemade bread that my mom used to broil for supper: leftover Sunday roast, hardboiled egg, and cheese.

*sigh*

Nothing like nostalgia to make a great meal sweet!

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is an ancient grain packed with protein.  Actually, it’s a seed and it’s more closely related to beets and chard than it is to any grains.  AND it has a nice balance of all the amino acids.  Ta-dah!  I feel like quinoa should step onto a stage and make itself known to the world!

The cast of supporting characters:

Sweet potato, sweet onion, candy cane beet, and young carrots.

Note #1: All organic produce!

Note #2: I am so glad I didn’t juice that beet.  I couldn’t tell until I cut into it that it was going to be so beautiful!

Chop all your veggies:

Don’t they look like candy?

Pink and orange candy.

And those beets!

Ohhhhh, those beets.

(Shiver of delight)

What beautiful pink stripes you have, my dear!

Toss all veggies with a drizzle of olive oil and a grind or two each of coarse sea salt and peppercorns.

Bake veggies at 400 for 35-40 min., or until tender.

Meanwhile, towards the end of that cooking time, cook the protein-loaded, seedlike quinoa.  1 1/2 c. of quinoa cooked in 3 c. of water was the perfect amount of quinoa to accompany my veggies.  You can cook more or less, just know that you need a 2:1 ratio of water to quinoa and that the cooking time is approximately 15 minutes.  As with rice, don’t stir while it’s cooking, and try not to lift the lid to check on it TOO many times!

And roast the walnuts.

Did I forget to mention the walnuts?

You mustn’t forget the walnuts.

Just toss a handful or two of whole raw walnuts on a baking sheet and stick them in the oven with the veggies for 7 minutes.

Yes, 7.  Not one minute more than 10.

These are going to add a dimension of crunch and flavor to your dish that you DON’T want to miss!

A little surprise factor. 

When everything’s done, toss it all together, like this:

There’s enough quinoa that you can nicely disguise the veggies in your dish at which the more discriminate members of your family might usually turn up their noses.  (Read: Wes and candy cane beets.) 

The sneaky factor.

Serve as a vegetarian entree (remember, there’s plenty of protein here!)

This photo showcases the lovely seedlike appearance and pearlescent texture of our quinoa.

It really does have a great ‘tooth’ to it, as pasta critics say.  Lots of texturey texture to get your teeth around!

And because I know you’re straining to see what’s in the background, here it is again:

Oops!  Wrong photo! 

That’s my most adorable nephew Bronc.

Sometimes I just can’t keep him to myself.

And we were speaking of teeth after all.

OK, here it is again, Roasted Veggies with Quinoa and Walnuts alongside something to make your meat lover a liiiittle more happy.

In this case, Chicken Slenders.  No, I didn’t make the name up.  It’s kind of a corny, 1980s-ish name, if you ask me.

But they are yummy … and they are baked.

Provecho!

Baked Leek and Sweet Potato Gratin

 1 1/2 T. olive oil, divided

3 medium leeks, white and light green parts chopped (6 cups)

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 T. chopped fresh rosemary

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled

1/3 c. vegetable broth

3 T. Italian breadcrumbs

Those are the ingredients the recipe calls for.  I used what I had:

1 leek and 1/2 red onion instead of the 3 leeks.

I definitely had way less than the 6 called-for cups of leek mixture!

I also made my own breadcrumbs by processing some leftover sourdough bread and dry Italian seasonings in my VitaMix.

The Process:

Preheat oven to 450. 

Heat 1 T. oil and saute leeks, onion, garlic, and 1 1/2 T. rosemary until softened.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Thinly slice sweet potato rounds to approximately 1/8 inch thick.

Arrange 1/3 of sweet potato slices on the bottom of a casserole dish coated with cooking spray.

Overlap the slices slightly.  Spread one third of the leek (or leek/onion) mixture on top.

I’m actually very pleased with the color contrast that the red onion added to this dish!  Ah, the unexpected beauty of adaptation and improvisation….

Repeat the layers two more times.

Drizzle with the vegetable broth.

Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes.

Stir together breadcrumbs, remaining olive oil and remaining 1 1/2 T. rosemary.

Sprinkle over the gratin mixture and return to the oven uncovered for 15 minutes, or until breadcrumbs are browned and crisp.

(Sorry, folks, I finished this part at the potluck and had forgotten to bring my camera with me.)

But trust me when I say it was bee-yootiful!  And delish.  Disappeared in minutes.  Lovely alongside a roast. 

But now I’m off to fix halibut en papillote for dinner (remember this post?)

Here’s to winter veggies!  (Have you had your 5 today?!)

So far in my culinary life there’s been nothing like getting together with good friends (foodie friends, health-oriented friends) to inspire me to try new recipes.  I find it extraordinarily fulfilling to know I am nourishing my loved ones with yummy and yet nutritious foods.  Making healthful eating fun just adds to the fun of the overall experience of being together.

So for our Super Bowl party this year, I put a spin on cashews.  Caramelizing, roasting, and flavoring nut varieties is a fairly simple way to take a fun and flavorful approach to healthier snacking.  This is my most courageous attempt yet.

Maple Cumin Cashews

2 cups unsalted, raw cashews

1/4 c. pure maple syrup

1 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds

1 tsp. fine sea salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Toss cashews and all ingredients in medium bowl.  Spread evenly in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally so nuts are coated with the maple syrup mixture.

Spread on waxed paper to cool and then break apart nut clusters.  Cool completely.

Here they are, hot out of the oven.

This combination of flavors is a tastebud surprise!  Particularly the whole cumin seeds add a level of zing that I’ve not experienced with many other snacks.  In fact, I haven’t eaten whole cumin seeds in many other foods, period.  I thought they fit right in with the halftime show (Boom Boom POW a la Fergie and maple cumin cashews!)

Need a reason to eat cashews?  (In moderation, as they are the most caloric of the vegetable foods.)

– Protein-packed snack rich in zinc.  This particular recipe has been Wes’s go-to pick-me-up all week long.

Not sure about cumin seeds?

– Cumin is what’s known as a carminative herb, meaning that it is useful in preventing and relieving intestinal gas.  Additionally, cumin is a warming herb, good for improving circulation.

One last look at the spicy, golden, maple-y Boom Boom POW-ness of this yummy snack!

Smile.

I know I am!!  It’s been way too long.  But a great and relatively fast hunting season later, it’s now time to get my blog on (sistah)!

This post is inspired by Childhood, The Search, and OhSheGlows.com

Yes, OhSheGlows!!  Check it out!  It is currently my favorite food blog.  And my favorite running blog.  And my favorite blog blog.

Back to this post.   I have a residual craving from my childhood called Favorite Oatmeal Cookies.  It’s the sweetest home-from-school-with-homemade-oatmeal-cookies-waiting, comfort food memory craving ever.  And then in college, when my chocaholic self showed up, I learned to add chocolate chips to them.  Oh yes.

Years later, The Search began.  The Search was a product of my slow revolution to better, healthier eating.  And during The Search I began walking past the cookie case at Whole Foods regularly, hoping for a healthful version of The Favorite Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie.  I found Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk cookies, and Oatmeal Raisin cookies and Snickerdoodles.  But they still looked sugary and floury and can someone please tell me what’s up with never putting chocolate chips and oats in the same cookie?!  I was In Search of the perfect, everything cookie – oatmeal AND chocolate chips AND peanut butter AND healthful oils and sweeteners!  P-U-H-L-E-A-S-E!

Enter OhSheGlows.  Whew, this chick is my new hero.  To make a long story short, her specialty is healthful, vegan baked goods.  Vegan’s not one of my requirements, but the beauty of many vegan cooks and bakers is that they are health-conscious, so they also limit ingredients like white sugar and white flour.  I continued The Search on her website, finding to my delight (okay, maybe glee is the better word, yes, I’m a nerd) that she used ingredients such as Kamut flour, spelt flour, almond milk, coconut oil, maple syrup, and veggies like pumpkins and carrots in her baked goods.  Which led me to Salt-Kissed Chunky Peanut Butter Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (reminds me of certain coffeeshop linguistic forays like Venti Skinny Decaf Soy Pumpkin Spice Triple Shot Latte) and The Ultimate Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookie.  Simply put, The Search was over.  I have found my resource for the Healthy Everything Cookie.

However, since even OhSheGlows hasn’t figured out that perfection means oats and chocolate in the same cookie, I still got to play and make it my own.  It only required small adaptations to the above recipes to creat MY perfect Sweet Success.

What shall we call it?

Rachelle’s Favorite Vegan Salt-Kissed Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies?

Mmm … no.  Let’s end cuisinal linguistic forays, shall we?  Please cast your votes for naming this cookie.  Winner goes down in history.

Wes’s vote is Snarfs.  Mmhm, that’s my husband.  He is not winning.

So here it is:

The cast of characters:

Dry Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. whole grain spelt flour

1/4 c. organic sugar

1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

Wet Ingredients:

3.5 T coconut oil, melted

1/4 c. pure maple syrup

2 T chunky peanut butter

2 T unsweetened almond milk

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Mix-Ins:

1/2 c. old fashioned oats

1/4 c. dark chocolate chips

1/4 c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix the dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until smooth and creamy.  Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix thoroughly.

Right here I am very impressed with the caramel color and creaminess of the liquid ingredients.  It looks promising!

And here I am downright excited.  This is very close to the consistency of Favorite Oatmeal Cookies.  This could work!

Add mix-ins and mix thoroughly, using hands if necessary to incorporate evenly.

Heaven is partly made of cookie dough that looks like this.

Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and drop onto cookie sheet.

This is where the Cookie Monster in all of us shows up.

I rest my case.

You know, the intuitive inner Cookie Monster that leads someone like this to miraculously appear in the kitchen – right as the uncooked cookie dough balls are about to go in the oven! (Speaking of which, this dough is totally okay to eat raw as there are no eggs in it!) I’m a little surprised to hear him say, “Hey!  Those are good!”  I’ve had a few flops in the past with baking attempts involving alternative flours and no eggs.  This is looking better all the time.  I’m returned to reality, however, when he adds, “The true test will be if they hold up in the oven.”  Ugh, the truth.

Bake 10-12 minutes, but not a minute more than 12!  You want your cookies to remain soft and chewy once out of the oven.

I wait in suspense.  I don’t even peek.

TA-DAAAAHHHHH!!!!  At this point, I want to dance around the kitchen and shout, “EUREKA!”

“I’ve done it!”

“I have (with much help), created the Ultimate, Fabulous, Perfect, Healthful Cookie for ME!”

“The Dairy Free Wheat Free Vegan gods of Healthful Oils and Healthful Sweeteners have smiled upon my quest for yumminess!”

The First Taste.  Right out of the  oven.  Never insult a freshly baked cookie by waiting til it cools.

The Verdict.  It is now possible to delight in a (or five) chocolate chip oatmeal cookie with a completely clear conscience.

The Search is over.  I kid you not.

I love my husband for so many reasons.  Tonight it’s that he humored my Saturday evening baking and blogging whim to the point of taking these lovely, artistic photos for me.

They totally do justice to the Perfect Cookie.

One more.

Remember that the last thing this Perfect Cookie needs is the Perfect Name!