Acorn Black Rice
Ingredients
4 acorn squash
8 teaspoons coconut oil (divided)
1 teaspoon sea salt (divided)
2 teaspoons ground coriander (divided)
1/2 scant teaspoon ground nutmeg (divided)
4 carrots peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon coconut oil
3/4 cup finely diced onion
1 cup black rice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
1/4 cup dried cherries
Directions
Preheat over to 375 degrees. Cut squashes in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Brush with 4 tsp of coconut oil with 1/2 tsp of salt, black pepper to taste, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg. Arrange halves on a baking sheet, cut side down. Roast 45 minutes until tender when pierced.
Combine remaining 4 tsp coconut oil, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg with carrots, walnuts and ginger in a baking dish; toss to combine. Roast at 375 degrees for 35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes when carrots are tender, stir in dried cheers and maple syrup. Roast for another 10 minutes, then remove from oven.
While vegetables are roasting, place a medium saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add 1 tablespoon coconut oil. Add onion and saute for 2-3 minutes, until onion begins to soften. Combine rice with carrot mixture and fill acorn squash.
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Mashed Cauliflower
Ingredients
1 medium head cauliflower trimmed and cut into small florets
1-2 T extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup almond milk
3-4 cloves of roasted garlic
1 tsp fresh rosemary)
1 tsp celtic sea salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
Directions
Bring large pot to boil and cook cauliflower for 10 minutes.
Drain cauliflower and transfer to food processer, add oil, roasted garlic and almond milk 1 teaspoon at a time and puree until smooth. Season with salt, pepper and rosemary.
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Quinoa with Portabella
Serves 6
Mushrooms roasted in a simple oil-free pear balsamic dressing are delicious tossed with quinoa, spinach, green onions and almonds. Serve this dish warm, room temperature or cold, as a side dish or the main event.
Ingredients
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 pear, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
1 garlic clove, halved
2 pounds Portobello mushrooms, stemmed and gills scraped out
1 cup red or white quinoa
3 cups tightly packed fresh spinach, chopped
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 475°
Put vinegar, mustard, pear and garlic in a blender with 1/3 cup water and blend until smooth, about 1 minute, to make the dressing.
Cut mushrooms into chunks and combine in a large mixing bowl with 1/4 cup of the dressing.
Spread mushrooms in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender, stirring occasionally, 20 to 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
While mushrooms roast, prepare quinoa.
In a medium pot, bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil.
Stir in quinoa, cover pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat and set aside, covered, 10 minutes more. Uncover and fluff quinoa with a fork.
Combine mushrooms, quinoa, spinach, green onions, almonds, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup more dressing in a large, wide serving bowls. Stir to mix well.
Serve with remaining dressing on the side.
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Sunshine Plate
1 skewer of tempeh (recipe below)
3 slices of peeled orange
1 1/4 cups spiced citrus quinoa (recipe below)
1/4 cup yellow beets, finely grated
1 Tbsp chopped raw walnuts
1/2 champagne mango, diced
a few dash salt over top
Generous drizzle of Avocado Cream over top
To Assemble:
Mound the quinoa on your plate.
Add the citrus over top. Then the skewers of tempeh.
Add the diced mango and walnuts along the edges. Add the beets in little mounds.
Drizzle the Avocado cream over top the tempeh and dash a few more spices as you’d like.
Super Avocado Cream/Dressing (makes about 1 1/2 cups)
1 large avocado
1 Tbsp tahini
2 tsp tamari or coconut aminos
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2 tsp maple syrup
2 tsp oil
1 small jalapeno, stem removed (if you don’t like spicy – scrape away the seeds)
a nice amount of fine black pepper – to taste
optional: 1/2 cup cilantro or parsley
Directions: Place all ingredients in blender (I used my trusty Vitamix) and blend until creamy.
Spiced Citrus Tempeh Triangles
makes 8 mini triangles
8 ounces tempeh, cut into about 8 small triangles
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tsp tamari or coconut aminos
2 tsp maple syrup
a few dashes chipotle spice
pepper to taste
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Heat the oil in a saute pan, add in the tempeh and smother it in the spices, maple syrup and tamari
After you have a nice sear add in the orange juice and cover with lid. Allow tempeh to cook for a minute or so.
Remove lid and add some pepper and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed or steamed off.
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Fluffy Citrus Quinoa
(makes about 4 cups)
1 cup + 2 Tbsp dry, unrinsed quinoa
2/3 cup water
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup white onion, diced
salt and pepper to taste
3 tsp spices chipotle pepper,
1 clove garlic