Maple Coconut Flax Cookies (Vegan)

This is a very simple vegan recipe and makes about 24 delicious cookies. They are great with a little marmalade spooned on top as you eat them; yummy!

Ingredients:

-1 cup whole wheat flour
-1 cup rolled oats
-1/2 cup shredded coconut
-1/4 cup ground flax seeds
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 cup maple syrup
-1/2 cup olive oil or sunflower oil
-1 tsp granulated sugar & 1 tsp cinnamon, combined, for sprinkling over-top after baking

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, coconut, flax, cinnamon and salt.
2) Add maple syrup and oil. Mix, just until the flour is absorbed.
3) Roll, by scant tablespoons, into balls.
4) Place, 1 inch apart, on parchment lined baking sheet.
5) Flatten with middle and index fingers in a "v" shape to make a little wave pattern.
6) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until bottoms are golden. As soon as they are removed from the oven, sprinkle the granulated sugar/cinnamon combination over-top. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheets, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 24 cookies.

Cranberry & Olive Chicken

This is a delicious chicken dish with a middle-eastern twist. It has lots of flavour and is great served over quinoa or rice. This recipe serves 2 but can be easily doubled. I served it with a side of steamed chinese broccoli, which I tossed with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.

Ingredients:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut in half cross-wise
2 Tbsp chopped almonds or walnuts
1/4 cup black olives, pitted, flattened & chopped1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 tsp each ground dried cinnamon, garlic & cumin
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed well
1/2 cup roasted red peppers from jar, chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tsp dried hot chili peppers (optional)

Directions:

1) Place chicken on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet (or rolling pin) to flatten slightly. Marinade chicken with oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cinnamon & cumin. Add some dried hot chili peppers if you want extra heat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

2) Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat. Add chicken and marinade & cook, 2 minutes per side; put on a plate.

3) Heat another 1 tsp oil in pan on medium. Sauté onion until softened.Add chopped garlic and saute another minute. Stir in broth, cranberries and olives. Simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium. Return chicken to pan and cook, turning occasionally, 5 minutes.

4) Meanwhile, add rinsed quinoa to 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cook, covered for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with fork and stir in almonds or walnuts, salt & pepper and roasted red peppers. Transfer to platter & top with chicken and cranberry & olive mixture.

Rosemary Garlic Lemon Chicken

This recipe makes a delicious, savoury chicken breast that can be paired with your vegetables of choice. I had it with some sauteed onion and spinach and a side of roasted sweet potato wedges.

Ingredients:

-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
-3 garlic cloves, crushed
-3 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, stripped from stems
-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- juice of 1 large lemon
-1 tbsp picante hot sauce
-1 tsp dried hot chili peppers (optional)
-salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2) Marinate chicken in a large bowl for at least 2 hours or overnight, refrigerated and covered, mixing together all ingredients except the lemon juice to use as the marinade and coating chicken well on all sides.

3) Arrange chicken in a lightly oiled 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Toss and coat the chicken again, then place in oven.

4) Roast for 20 minutes or until juices run clear. Add lemon juice to the pan and combine with pan juices. Return to oven and turn oven off. Let stand 5 minutes longer then remove chicken from the oven. Serve, spooning pan juices over the chicken pieces.

Roasted Beet and Sweet Pepper Soup

If you look at the pumpkin soup recipe from my post of December 6th, you can make this beet soup very easily by using about four cups of roasted beets in place of the pumpkin. I had some left-over roasted beets, so I made this soup yesterday and it went over very well! To roast the beets, wash and trim some medium sized beets; cut them into quarters and lay them out in a baking pan. Toss them with some olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Roast them in a preheated oven at 425F for about one hour, or until fork tender. There is no need to peel them. If you find that the soup is too thick, you can thin it with some more of the chicken or veggie broth, or even water.

Ingredients:

-2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
-1 large sweet onion (I used vidalia), chopped
-2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
-4 cups roasted beets
-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
-1 sweet orange bell pepper, seed and thinly sliced
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
-1 tsp dried red hot chili peppers
-1 tsp picante hot sauce

Directions:

1. Add oil to a medium skillet. Heat over medium high and saute sweet peppers until soft. Stir in chopped onion and saute until soft. Stir in chopped garlic and saute for 2 minutes.
2. In a medium sized saucepan, combine the broth, onions, sweet peppers, garlic, beets, salt, ground pepper, chili peppers and picante hot sauce. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Pour soup carefully into food processor and puree until fairly smooth. Pour back into saucepan and cook on low, covered, for another 15 minutes. Serve hot with fresh bread.

Spicy Pumpkin and Sweet Pepper Soup

It was the first snowfall of the season today and the temperature was minus 12C with the windchill, so I decided to make a spicy soup that would warm us up! The pumpkin and orange sweet peppers make a beautifully coloured soup. Soak it up with some fresh artisan bread or just use some fresh multi-grain. This makes two large bowls of soup, but the recipe can easily be doubled. If you find that the soup is too thick, you can thin it with some more of the chicken or veggie broth, or even water.

Ingredients:

-2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
-1 large sweet onion (I used vidalia), chopped
-2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
-1 cup of canned pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
-1 sweet orange bell pepper, seed and thinly sliced
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
-1 tsp dried red hot chili peppers
-1 tsp picante hot sauce

Directions:

1. Add oil to a medium skillet. Heat over medium high and saute sweet peppers until soft. Stir in chopped onion and saute until soft. Stir in chopped garlic and saute for 2 minutes.
2. In a medium sized saucepan, combine the broth, onions, sweet peppers, garlic, pumpkin, salt, ground pepper, chili peppers and picante hot sauce. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Pour soup carefully into food processor and puree until fairly smooth. Pour back into saucepan and cook on low, covered, for another 15 minutes. Serve hot with fresh bread.

Baked French Toast

We had a friend over for brunch yesterday and she brought the ingredients for mimosa (champagne and orange juice), which we sipped while we ate this delicious meal.This recipe is for four people.
Tip:grease the pan VERY well with some vegetable oil. A cooking time of 20 to 25 minutes is plenty; Be generous with the cinnamon and eggs; for four people you need at least 10 slices of bread, so use two pans. Garnish with strawberries, bananas, blueberries and blackberries. Have lots of maple syrup on the table to drizzle over top. You can use whipping cream (very decadent) or a dollop of low fat plain yoghurt on top as well.

Ingredients:

-Vegetable oil for greasing the baking pans
-10 to 12 slices of bread of your choice (extra-thick whole wheat is what I used) but egg bread is also a good choice.
-1/2 tsp of cinnamon per slice of bread (I had 10 slices of bread, so I used 5 tsps of cinnamon)
-6 extra large eggs
-3/4 cup of low fat milk
-3/4 cup maple syrup
-4 tbsps margarine or butter, melted
-fruit for garnish (use what you have on hand, but I used sliced strawberries, sliced bananas, blueberries and blackberries
-whipping cream or low fat plain yoghurt
-extra maple syrup to drizzle over top

Directions:

1. Liberally grease two 13 x 9 inch baking pans. Arrange bread slices to fit in single layer in pans.Sprinkle cinnamon evenly over bread slices. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a medium bowl, beat eggs with milk, syrup and margarine. Pour evenly over bread. Bake, uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, or until firm to the touch.
3. Use spatula to remove to individual plates and then garnish with a variety of fruits. Top with a couple of tablespoons of whipping cream or yoghurt and drizzle with maple syrup. Serve immediately.