Easy and Quick Whole Grain Spaghetti with Veggies

Ingredients:

Serves One

1 cup cooked 100% organic whole grain spaghetti

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup black olives, sliced

2 gloves garlic, minced

1 cup of organic grape tomatoes, halved
Italian seasoning, to taste

Directions:

Heat olive oil in frying pan and saute garlic.

Stir in black olives and tomatoes.

Place veggie mixture over pasta.

Enjoy!

Simply Quick Italian Pasta

Ingredients:

One Serving

1 cup cooked bionaturae organic 100% whole wheat fusilli

1/3 cup organic sweet onion

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup sliced white mushrooms

1/8 cup black olives-sliced (canned)

1 cup organic grape tomatoes-halved

1 tsp Italian seasoning (dried)

1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:

Heat frying pan, add olive oil and all the vegetables.  Saute until tender crisp (Al dente).  Add the seasoning and salt.  Stir in the cooked pasta.

Serve with 100% whole wheat bread.  Enjoy!!!

Chickpea Tagine

Ingredients:
Yields: Four servings

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 red onion, quartered and thickly sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus additional to taste

2 small carrots, sliced lengthwise, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (about 3/4 cup)

1 1/2 cups cubed, peeled butternut squash (6 ounces)

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

3 quarter-size pieces peeled fresh ginger (I used dried, powdered)

1/2 teaspoon harissa paste 

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 whole cinnamon stick

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

4 plum tomatoes, cored and chopped (1 pound)

1 medium zucchini, quartered and cut into 1/2-inch chunks (2 cups)

10 dried apricots, sliced (1/4 cup packed)

1/2 cup water

1 19-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon, plus additional to taste
1 cup whole wheat bulgur, cooked according to package directions (optional)

4 teaspoons sliced, toasted almonds (I forgot to put these on the dish-bummer!)



Directions:


In a large heavy pot over medium-low heat, warm the olive oil; add the onion and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.





Add the carrots and continue to cook for 5 more minutes.

Add the butternut squash, garlic, and ginger and raise the heat to medium. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.

Add the harissa, honey, cumin, cinnamon stick, and turmeric and stir until fragrant, 1 minute. 

Add the tomatoes, zucchini, and apricots and stir well. Pour in the water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and reduce the heat as needed to simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not mushy, 20 to 25 minutes.

Add the chickpeas and lemon juice. Raise the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the chickpeas are heated through and the liquid has thickened slightly, 5 to 10 minutes.




Season to taste with additional salt, harissa, honey, and lemon. Serve over bulgur wheat if desired and garnish with sliced almonds.

Harissa Paste

Ingredients:
10-12 dried jalapeño peppers
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Preparation:



Soak the dried chilies in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain. Remove stems and seeds.



In a food processor combine chili peppers, garlic, salt, and olive oil. Blend.

Add remaining spices and blend to form a smooth paste.

Store in airtight container. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on top to keep fresh. Will keep for a month in the refrigerator.

Yogurt Apple Pie

Pie Shell 

Ingredients:

Yields:  One 8- or 9-inch pie crust

• 1 1/8 cups Whole grain organic wheat flour (Next time, I want to use half whole wheat and half spelt flour.)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3/8 cup organic all vegetable shortening
• 1 1/2 to 2 Tbsp cold water

Directions:

Combine salt and flour together in a mixing bowl and mix well.

Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture looks like coarse meal.  

Continue working the dough until pieces the size of peas form.

Sprinkle water over mixture and continue working the dough.

Dough is ready when pressed between fingers and particles cling.

Roll out dough onto floured surface to the desired size.

Place dough into pie pan (I prefer glass) and flute the edges.


Do not pre-bake.

Pie Filling

Ingredients:

Yields:  1 filling for one 8- or 9-inch pie

• 5-6 Granny Smith organic apples, peeled, cored and cut into uniform, thick slices
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice (from a freshly squeezed organic lemon)
• 3/4 cup Xylitol
• 1/3 cup Whole grain organic wheat flour (Next time, I'll use spelt flour)
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Stick
• 1/2 cup Coconut milk yogurt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Arrange apple slices, overlapping them inside the prepared pie shell.

Sprinkle apple slices with lemon juice.

Blend Xylitol, flour, cinnamon, and salt.  Cut in the Earth Balance until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Spread evenly over the apples.

Spread the yogurt over the crumb mixture.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.  After 10-15 minutes, shield crust edge with tin foil to prevent over-baking. 

Crunchy Granola

Ingredients:

4 cups rolled organic oats

3/4 cup unsweetened organic coconut

1/2 cup organic polenta or corn meal

1/2 cup organic whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup organic chia seeds

1/2 cup organic wheat germ

1 cup chopped almonds

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup organic flax seeds

1 cup organic agave

1 cup apple sauce (I used my home canned sauce from organic apples)

1 1/2 tsp organic real vanilla

Directions:

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  

Mix all the liquid ingredients in a bowl.  

Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until distributed evenly throughout the mixture.

Line a sheet cake pan with parchment paper and spread out the mixture evenly.

With wet hands, clump some of the mixture together (that is if you like clumpy granola).  :)

Bake a 230 degrees Fahrenheit on bake or 210 degrees Fahrenheit on convection for several hours depending on the desired crunchiness, stirring every hour.

The goal is for the granola to turn a golden brown, not brown color.  

When stirring the granola, note if steam comes off the mixture.  If steam is present, the granola is not quite done.

The best way to obtain crunchiness is to allow the mixture to stay in the oven overnight to cool.  The next day, if it is not crunchy enough, bake a little longer at 250 degrees, but be careful not to over-bake.  Unfortunately, you can't determine how crunchy the granola will be until it cools.  If it's not crunchy enough for your taste, then bake again.   

I have a hard time keeping this granola on hand, as my son eats it regularly.  :)

* Since posting this, I have found that honey and brown rice syrup are higher in their glycemic index.  If you are concerned about the glycemic index of foods, use agave syrup instead.