THREE delicious things I made…

Hellooooo Yogis!!

I got an urge to be in the kitchen over the past couple days…something about being “home” and the weather and….well, just feeling like I want to use some creativity and experiment a bit. I used to act, that was part of my creative outlet…but I’ve always enjoyed being in the kitchen and experimenting….so, I wanted to share the few things I made in the past couple days. (Sorry, no pictures, it all got eaten before I was smart enough to document!! sorry 😉 )

OK…it’s FALL, so I got a squash. I got an acorn squash. I decided to get an acorn squash instead of a pumpkin…for reasons unknown…but do the same things with the squash as I was going to do with a pumpkin.

Squash Ginger Spice Loaf. (Gluten Free, Vegan and Sugar Free!)

WET:
1/2 acorn squash (roasted)
2 1/2 tbs flax meal mixed with 3 ish tbs water (allow to sit in order to “egg up”)
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup molasses
vanilla

DRY:
2 cups GF flour mix (I used the one from HERE at She Let Them Eat Cake)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
dash of salt (i used himalayan pink, of course!)
cinnamon
cloves
ginger
nutmeg (I used all of these spices quite liberally, I wanted it to be spicy yummy!)

Mix the dry, add the cooked squash and mash it all up, add the rest of the wet and mix until not lumpy. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake….I baked it 20 minutes, then put some coconut oil on the top (because the recipe I loosely used said to, but I’m not sure it’s necessary), and then baked another 30 or so minutes…but you should check it after the second 20 minutes just in case your oven is different or pan is different shape etc.

Now, listen…it’s a bit fall-apart-y…but it is sooooo delicious!! I will try it again, see about keeping it to hold together…and I promise to take a pic!

Next I made some veggie burgers.

1/2 roasted acorn squash
1 can cannellini beans
1/2 yellow onion
2 large leafs of kale
4-6 tbs tahini
1 ish cup cooked brown rice

Sautee the chopped onion and chopped kale in a bit of oil until soft. Add some tahini and mush it all around…add the cooked squash and mash it together with the other things…add more tahini if you like…then add the cannellini beans and mash them as you go, mixing it all together. I had the pan on a low-med heat. Add some salt and pepper and mash it all together until you like the flavour and consistency.
I let it cool enough so I could form it into patties, then I put it in the fridge to slightly harden up. When I was ready, I pan fried them a bit to heat them and get a little texture on the outside.
They were DELICIOUS!! I put some dijon mustard, hot sauce, avocado and sprouts on them and ate them with lettuce leaves as a bun. SERIOUSLY delicious.

Tonight I had the hankering for some lentils (I’ve been upping my protein the past while as an experiment…I will let you know how it goes), so I made a red lentil dal…

1 1/2-2 cups red lentils
1 box vegetable broth (organic with no extra crap in it)
1 onion chopped(I used a yellow)
1 large yam (I had a HUGE yam and used only half), chopped
a bunch of yellow curry powder
salt and pepper
cayenne pepper
a dash of rice vinegar
Several large handfuls of spinach

Sautee the onion and the yam until it softens, adding a bit of water as you go to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot (do it in a soup or other large pot). Add the curry powder and a bit of water or broth to get the flavour going. Add the lentils to the pot and start by adding a bit more broth. I cooked it like this-risotto style-for a bit to start to soften the lentils. (Risotto style is adding a bit of liquid and stirring and cooking and then adding a bit more liquid and repeat). I added the spices and the rest of the broth and then let it simmer for another 20 or so minutes until the lentils were cooked and the flavour was as I wanted it. Then I added the spinach-I tore it up with my hands and stirred it in to wilt.

That’s it! I ate it in a bowl and it was wonderful.

OK…that’s all I got for ya tonight. I had a busy day and I’m pooped. It’s been great being back in Victoria. I’ve already taught a couple classes at BYSaanich and seen so many of you yogis. I’m here for a couple more weeks before I’m off on my next adventure, so hope to see more of you!!

Nighty night.
Love and sweet unicorn kisses,
Ida x

Apple Cafe (inside Ingredients HF Store)

Good rainy afternoon, Kittens…

It’s a rainy Friday here in Victoria…they said it was going to rain and when they say something it must be true ;). I headed out of the house this morning in sandals and rather summery clothes…and wasn’t I aghast when I came out of yoga and stepped into the downpour that was happening outside. Sheesh. I’ve resisted saying it as I don’t want to conform and be too trendy (as I like to add my own flair to everything!), but I’m going to say it…this really IS JUNEUARY!!!! Double sheesh. The reality of the situation is this…It’s almost always beautiful here in May and everyone gets all excited and overjoyed that summer is here early and then June is almost always cold and rainy…well, this year is no different…good news is, it’s the 22nd of June, which means July is just around the corner…get my drift…so, take this rainy time to get stuff done that you won’t want to do once the sun is shining and all you want to do is frolick outside!!

OK…onto my post for today. It’s a quickie…I just wanted to put a shout out to Apple Cafe inside the (relatively) new Ingredients Health Food Store. Ingredients opened…oh…gosh, maybe half a year ago and I’ve been in there several times now. I mostly have just done a little shopping…they have a HUGE bulk section-including a whole gluten free bulk section as well as herbs, powders, teas, and all sorts of other things that you don’t even know you need…! You can use the little bags they have there for your bulk, or you can bring in your own jars or containers and weigh them empty then fill ’em up and pay for the contents…brilliant. Course, I’m yet to take advantage of this as I’m not that organized, but the idea of it is fabulous! They also have a pretty substantial vitamin and supplement section with a huge variety protein powders and green powders etc., to satisfy any dietary need. As well as all these lovely food selections, they do lectures, events and other fun things there…I’ve yet to attend anything there as I’m always out of town, but I love that they are creating a community down there on top of the great healthy food supply!

So, inside of the store there is also a little cafe-the Apple Cafe. They make pretty well everything there, and have a large selection of things to choose from…you can go for an Yerba Mate latte with fresh almond milk and a gluten free vegan power cookie or you can have a raw kale and kelp noodle salad with Almond dressing and a kombucha…or if you’re craving breakfast, how about an organic free run egg fritatta or a bowl of chia seed porridge? As I said, I had been to the store a few times, and one time got a cookie and tea to go, but today was the first time I sat down and had a real lunch there. I met Wendy there and we both ordered a raw salad…she had the raw falafel salad and I had the kelp noodle bowl salad. I loved mine. It had some kind of almond sauce…kind of asian peanut sauce kind of flair to it…Wendy enjoyed hers as well (I tasted it and it was way too salty for me…she commented that it WAS salty but she LOVES salty so it was good…but we both wondered if there was an error and it wasn’t meant to be that salty…I am still wondering).

The dessert case at Apple Cafe

I’m looking forward to going and eating there again. They do gluten free vegan pizza which looks good as well as raw pizza that I’d like to try…and they really do have eggs and other cooked things…so if you are with non-vegan eaters or what have you, I’m sure everyone could get something they like…

OK…well, that’s all I got for today. I am going to enjoy being in my sweats this afternoon, drinking my tea and listening to the rain fall.

Happy Friday, Kittens…hope the weekend is full of love, sweat and tears of joy.
Love,
Ida x