Toasted Millet, Roasted Cauliflower and Red Pepper Gratin (vegan, gluten-free, nut-free)

I just realized this is my first post of the year.  Life sometimes gets too busy to really stop and write down the steps I take when I get creative with recipes, but tonight I was working on cleaning out my fridge and wrote down the recipe.  I had cauliflower about to go bad, and we love millet and cauliflower together.  I also had a pepper, and will be getting more oats from subscribe and save with amazon.com soon.  This is a result of all those factors and will become a staple in our home. The sauce is cheesy and tangy and free of nuts (something not found in many vegan cheesy sauces.)

Ingredients:
1 large head of cauliflower, chopped into bite-size pieces
salt
1 cup of millet
2 cups of veggie broth (or water)
1/3 cup old fashioned gluten-free oats
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes (optional)
1/4 cup unhulled sesame seeds (hulled ar fine too but unhulled have more minerals)
1 tsp Braggs liquid aminos
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dill seed
1 red bell pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium saucepan, over med/high heat, add the  millet and toast for approximately 5 - 7 minutes.  Toasting millet brings out a nutty flavor but don't let it toast to long or it can burn.
3. Once millet is toasted, add 2 cups of room temperature or warm veggie broth (or water).
4. Bring to a boil, then cover, turn down and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Wash and chop cauliflower into bite size pieces.
6. Place cauliflower in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a sil-pat, toss with a bit of salt and bake for 25 minutes.  The cauliflower and millet should finish very close to each other.
7. To make the red pepper gratin sauce, add the remaining ingredients to a blender and whirl until everything is incorporated.
8. Layer in a 9" x 13" casserole pan the millet, then the cauliflower, and pour the gratin over the top to coat the cauliflower. 
9. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Cheeze Dip/Spread - Cheddar Style (Raw, Vegan, Gluten-free)

Cashews make some of the yummiest vegan cheese or at least the base for it.  Red peppers add both color, nutrients and a tangy taste.  I haven't had cheese in over a decade but this works for us as a cheese dip, on sandwiches, veggie burgers, etc.

Ingredients:
1 cup of soaked cashews (soak at least an hour and discard soak water)
1 large red bell pepper
1/4 cup purified water
2 tablespoons unhulled sesame seeds
1/4 small onion
1 garlic clove
juice of one large lemon
1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:
Put all of the above ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until creamy and smoothe. Keeps for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

(If you don't have a high speed blender, any blender will work.  You may need to soak your cashews a little longer so they blend easier and blend until creamy.  You also may want to substitute tahini for the sesame seeds if you are using a regular blender.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

This was a quick recipe and so easy my 15 month old helped pour and stir the ingredients.  Depending on the size of your cookies (we went large) this will make 18 large or 36 small cookies.  These cookies are cake-like and chewy and the date syrup makes them very dark in color.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free flour

1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Oats (regular not the quick cook kind)

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1 Tbls cinnamon

1 Tbls garam masala

1 1/2 tsp zanthan gum

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup cold pressed olive oil

1/2 cup unsweetened organic applesauce

2 Tbls vanilla extract

3/4 cup Date Syrup

1 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325, and either line or oil 2 cookie sheets
2. In a medium mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients (except the raisins) and whisk together.
3. In a small mixing bowl, mix all the wet ingredients then pour into the dry ingredients.
4. Mix together until well incorporated, then add raisins
5. Drop by spoonfuls on to the lined cookie sheets leaving about 1 inch between each cookie (they will spread as the bake)
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until dark and golden.
7. Let stand for 15 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool another 10 minutes.

Date Syrup (Raw, Vegan, Gluten-Free)

I just got an order of wet pack dates in from The Date People and have been enjoying them immensely!  If you enjoy dates and have never had fresh or wet pack dates, treat yourself and call them.  I want to use dates as sweetener in recipes as my family has gone sucrose free.

Ingredients:
1 cup pitted organic dates (soaked for 2 hours if you have a regular blender)
1 cup fresh apple juice or purified water

Directions:
Blend pitted dates and juice or water in a high speed blender until mixture is thick and syrupy in texture.
Use immediately or store in an air-tight container in the your fridge for up to 3 days.

This is great over waffles, muffins, in oatmeal, or in place of any liquid or dry sweetener.  Use in place of dry sweeteners in recipes in a ratio of 1 cup of dry sugar = 3/4 cup date syrup, or 1:1 for liquid sweeteners (1 cup of maple syrup = 1 cup date syrup).

Red Lentil, Millet and Kale Stew (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

It has been raining for 3 days almost straight here in the Sunshine state which really when I type it sounds like no big deal, but we don't get rain like this where it rains all day.  It reminds me of rainy days up north even though today it was still over 85 - still that is about 10 degrees cooler than last week and to me means autumn is starting and what better way to start it than with a thick, hearty, bone warming stew!

Makes 6 - 8 servings

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, just mashed
1 medium onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 mini sweet red pepper, diced
1/2 Tbls Braggs Liquid Aminos or other Gluten-Free Soy Sauce
2 Tbls of your favorite salt-free dried herb mix
6 cups of vegetable broth (or water, but broth is so much tastier)

1 1/2 cups red lentils

1 1/2 cups millet
1 bunch of kale, stems removed and chopped fine (I used purple kale and loved the color but any kale will do)
1 Tbls fresh squeezed lemon juice
salt and peper to taste

Directions:

1. In a cold dutch oven, pour the olive oil and add onions.  Turn heat to medium and cook until onions carmelize.  This is the key to this soup so that the sugars in the onion really get carmelly and lend that flavor throughout the soup.  This alone can take 20 - 35 minutes depending on your dutch oven and how long it takes to heat and how efficient it is.
2. Add garlic, onion, celery, carrot, and the pepper.  Stir and cook another 5 minutes until the vegetables get soft.
3. Add Braggs and herbs, cook one more minute
4. Add broth, lentils and millet and stir.  
5. Bring the broth to a boil, cover, turn to simmer, and cook for 35 minutes.
6. Remove lid, the lentils will have dissolved and make the soup now look like stew without much liquid.  Add the kale, stir to incorporate, and put the lid back on for another 3 - 5 minutes.   We like a little crunch to our kale, but if you enjoy more wilted, you can always add the kale in with Step 4.
7. Salt and pepper to taste, and add fresh lemon juice just before serving.

Frijoles con Queso (vegan, gluten-free)

I don't really know what to call this recipe - it satisfied my craving for Velveeta and Rotel, but it really is not a chili con queso type sauce, so until I think of a new name for now, it is Frijoles con Queso

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked white beans
1 roasted red pepper
juice from 1 large lemon (approx 1/4 cup)
3 Tbls tahini
1/2 tsp onion granules
1/2 tsp yellow mustard
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups pico de gallo, or your favorite salsa, or even a can of ro-tel!

Directions

1. Place all ingredients except salsa into high speed blender and blend for 2 - 3 minutes.  It will be smooth after about 30 seconds, but blending for the extra time will heat the sauce as well.
2. Pour salsa, pico de gallo or ro-tel into a medium bowl
3. Pour the bean mixture over the salsa and stir to incorporate
4. Enjoy with tortilla chips!

Veggie Burgers (Vegan, Gluten-free)

Ahh, the veggie burger.  Why is it when I look for any recipe for a veggie burger, there are hardly any veggies in them?  I don't want a bean patty, or a wheat and grain patty, I want a patty made predominately of veggies and maybe some flax seed to bind!  So, in an effort to make a veggie burger like that, and include a bit of grain because my son loves rice, this is my cooked veggie burger recipe.  Our entire family loved them - my 14 month old ate half of one just waiting for the others to finish cooking!

Makes approx 8 - 10 burgers
Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
3 stalks of celery, minced
2 carrots, minced or shredded
2 mini sweet peppers, seeds removed, minced
1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp Braggs Liquid Aminos
1 Tbls olive oil
1/4 cup ground flax seed

1 cup cooked brown rice

Vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

1. Wash and mince all the veggies, or take the easy way and wash then add them to your food processor fitted with an "S" blade and pulse until finely minced.  Set aside in a medium mixing bowl
2. Add the ground flax seed, poultry seasoning, Braggs, and olive oil and incorporate well - mix this with your hands to get everything really mixed well.  Let this sit for about 5 minutes so the flax can absorb some of the water of the veggies
3. Add the brown rice and mix again
4. Add your oil to a cold frying pan and turn to medium high heat.
5. Take a 1/3 measuring cup, scoop into your hand to form a patty add to the fry pan.  I can fit 4 patties at a time in my pan - you want them to have space and not to be crowded - no touching each other.
6. Cook for about 2 - 3 minutes or until you see a golden brown crust form, then flip and continue frying for about 90 seconds to 2 minutes until the other side is also brown.
7. As you finish each patty, set aside on a plate, salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve in fresh romaine leaves rolled up with your favorite condiments, tomatoes, sprouts, avocado, etc.
9. Store any leftover veggie burgers in the refrigerator for 3 - 5 days.