My mind is all over the place lately. I’m a daydreamer, it’s my superpower, I could do it all day and be quite content. I especially love people watching and daydreaming in conjunction, imagining what the lives of others are made of. Today I nearly walked into a pole, which may have something to do with the smell of pulled pork wafting out of Nelsons bbq joint. By some space cadet miracle I was able to pull it together this morning and bring everything we needed to town as well as making these delicious thai lime and chili cashews. These are a great snack and super easy to make, I know I’m a sure sucker for all those fancy nut mixes at the health food store. They’re usually pretty expensive and you don’t really get much, so I’ve opted to just make my own for a fraction of the price. Because I am nuts about nuts! I like to add additional little goodies like coconut flakes and sesame seeds but you can totally leave those out if you want.
Trader Joe’s makes a thai chili lime cashew mix that people love. Although theirs tastes artificial and overtly fake, this one is the real deal and tastes way better! If you shop at TJ’s I’d say stick to the whole foods, their pre packaged stuff tends to have a lot of added garbage.
In a medium sized bowl combine sesame oil, hot sauce,honey, lime, tamari and mix well.
Add sesame seeds, coconut and cashews and toss to coat evenly in the sauce.
Spread a thin layer on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake for 7 minutes, take out and stir, bake for another 7-10 minutes depending on the strength of your oven, check often to make sure they turn perfectly golden but don't burn.
Stuffing your face with coconut chips is 100% happifying. Happifying; to make yourself happy, aint nobody else gonna do it. Snacks are a common frustration in our house, J goes on cracker binges, I pretend the big bag of dried mango is for baby Mav, covertly popping slice after chewy slice into my mouth. Fact is, middle of the afternoon hits and we all want just a little something. Well, these sweet and salty coconut chips hit the spot, how else do 2 people destroy 4 cups of coconut in one afternoon…yeah…that good.
Shredded coconut is wicked high in fibre and very satiating, after our chow sesh we didn’t eat all day, not even mango slices. If you’ve seen those blue monkey coconut chips that are way overpriced, these are their easy to make super cheap equivalent. Also, I know this is a touch weird, but I think if one were really fond of that junky cereal corn flakes, that these coconut flakes with some almond milk would be stellar.
Combine maple syrup or honey, oil and salt and mix in thoroughly with the coconut.
Spread the coconut thinly on 2 baking trays and pop in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and stir, turn the oven off and return the trays for another 30 minutes.
Even squash haters like roast squash, especially of the delicata and acorn varieties. When these beauties are in season I like to occupy my entire oven with their sliced presence, roast until their skin bursts golden and adorn every meal with a touch of fall.
Just go ahead and drool all over the computer…it’s okay, really. The star of the show here is the tahini lemon sauce, creamy smooth sesame tahini is such a versatile ingredient. This sauce is not only great on salads and vegetables but also really nice with grilled chicken or white fish, as a dipping sauce for roasted potatoes and yam fries, added to vegetable soups or just smothered on a chunk of sourdough. Make a big batch and save moola on pre made salad dressings, seriously if you are into having a lower grocery bill then you need to start making your own dressings and sauces. The pre made stuff is not only expensive but usually loaded with additives, preservatives and unhealthy oil like canola and soy (yes, even the organic ones!).
Tahini is a power food, it’s higher in protein than most nuts and packed with important minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium (potassi-yum!) and iron. Seeds are a lot easier to digest than nuts, you don’t have to soak them forever to make them more absorbable which is a huge timesaver. Sesame is one of the most nutrient rich seeds you could eat. I sprinkled some black sesame seeds on the salad, which are really high in iron AND they look cool, right?
Roasted Squash Salad with Lemony Tahini Sauce + Feta
Author: Chantelle
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
You can easily double or triple the recipe and keep a jar of this sauce on hand in the fridge. It lasts about a month. Use whatever fresh local veggies are on hand, this is just what I had available.
Ingredients
1 acorn squash, cut into ½ inch slices
1 delicata squash, cut into ½ inch slices
1 beet, cut into ½ inch slices
a few radishes, sliced
a handful of cherry tomatoes
small chunk of feta
a few handfuls of local greens- lettuces,kale,arugula- you name it!
2 Tbs. Tahini
1 whole lemon, juiced, seeds removed
2 Tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 Tbs honey
1 tsp worcester sauce or 1 anchovy filet
½ tsp sea salt
generous amount of fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F
Lay out the squash and beets on a roasting tray and drizzle with a bit of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Bake for 45 min. turning halfway through.
In a blender or food processor, add the tahini, lemon, garlic,honey,worcester, salt and pepper and blend until smooth and creamy.
Assemble the greens on a large plate or in a large mixing bowl, top with your veggies, roasted squash, beet,crumbled feta and a generous amount of tahini sauce.
The beauty of flatbread is that there are no limits. You could choose to make a creamy garlic spiked chili avocado mash with smoky red wine chorizo like I did (it’s delicious I promise) or you could use this simple flatbread to soak up egg yolks, scoop hummus,slather with nut butter and apples, roll chicken and greens into a wrap. You know I could go on for at least 12 paragraphs about all the things you can do with a versatile grain free flatbread such as this. But I won’t, that would be annoying and your a lot smarter than that, I know you have your own 12 paragraphs of ideas.
Every culture has some variation of flatbread, scooping up saucy dishes with bread is synonymous with happy times. Aish Merahrah in Egypt, Bammy in Jamaica, Bannock in Native American culture, Bazlama in Turkey, Bhakri in Pakistan, Bing in China, Bolani in Afghanistan, Chapati and Naan in India, Farl in Scotland, Flatkaka in Iceland, Green Onion Cake in China, Himbasha and Injera in Ethiopia, Khanom bueang in Thailand and Cambodia, Lavash in Armenia, Lefse in Norway, Malooga in Yemen, Pane carasau in Italy and Sardinia, Pita in Greece,Qistibi in Tartarstan, Tortillas in Mexico, Tunnbröd in Sweden and Taftan in Iran. There is something innate within human beings that needs flatbread in its dietary spread. Before modern agriculture Native people made similar types of bread using acorns and other nuts and seeds growing wild. This paleo flatbread is akin to the latter, a higher protein more nutrient dense flatbread which will leave your human flatbread desires securely quelled. Soak up the goodness friends.
Now I want to tell you a short but beautiful story, since I’m certain you’ll have lots of time seeing as this flatbread recipe whips up so quickly. There is a village in Iran, where they sit at night and eat Taftan together by the fire. A mother and a father go off to work in the fields for the day, leaving their infant and young toddler with the neighbour girl to look after them. As they walk home from their day the young girl runs up to them, frantic, terrified. The little boy is missing, she was distracted by the baby and lost sight of him. He’s gone. Nowhere to be found. They turn the village upside down, inside out and everyone joins in the search. A day goes by and they haven’t found him yet, a sleepless night for the young parents. The next day they travel to the next village, everyone joins in their search, high and low they look. No boy, another night filled with despair. On the third day the father rounds up some men to go looking in the high mountains. The likelihood of a 16 month old baby getting so far from home is slim, but the will of a parent is impossible to break. They search every cave, every nook and cranny. Then they hear it, a faint whimper, a delicate weeping child, from deep within the cave. It smells of bear and they know it is a den, but they can hear the boy. The men enter, and they find the young boy nestled up against a mama bear, nursed and smelling of milk. Unharmed, the mother bear found the boy and fed him, protected him, and by some miracle the missing baby boy was safe and sound.A gentler universe than this one it seems, but it happened, only a few years back. I can only pray if my baby ever gets lost, that a mama bear will find him.
Inspired by the original paleo naan bread recipe at my heart beets.
3 Ingredient Paleo Flatbreads with Avocado and Chorizo
Author: Chantelle
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2
Makes 2 large flatbreads or a bunch of wee ones
Ingredients
½ C tapioca flour
½ C finely ground almond flour
1 C coconut milk or raw milk
pinch of sea salt
oil or ghee for frying
2 avocados, mashed
glug of olive oil
pinch of salt
½ jalapeño chili, finely chopped
1 clove garlic,minced
a few strips of bell pepper
½ a chorizo sausage, finely sliced
Instructions
Heat a large frying pan and melt some ghee or other fat source, when the pan is nice and hot, add half the batter and spread it around by tilting the pan in all directions. Turning the heat to medium,let it get nice and bubbly and golden brown, flip and let it get golden on the other side.
Mash the avocados and mix in the olive oil,garlic,chili and salt.
Top the flatbreads with this mix and adorn with peppers and chorizo, you could also sprinkle some green onion or parsley, whatevers on hand.
Repeat with a million different topping/dipping variations.
This is one of those 20 minute throw together meals that turn out really good. I wasn’t even expecting to post this but they were so yummy so I thought I should share with all of you lovelies. My cooking style sometimes gravitates to a hardcore fusion of many styles and ethnicities, I guess this one would be tex-mex meets italian, and for some reason, it works. These mexi bison lettuce wraps paired with a smoky paprika basil mayo really hit the spot, and they are totally healthy and easy to make too, bonus! These tasty little wraps would also make a great appetizer for a dinner with friends, or a great addition to any potluck.
I love simple food that’s healthy and delicious. Wrapping things is lettuce or chard is a handy little trick for getting a main and a salad all in one bite. The variations are endless, basically you just choose what meat/lentil/nut filling you desire and add spices and veggies to that. So in the past I’ve made these with ground chicken, thai red chillis, lime and ginger with carrots and zucchini YUM. Or you could use soaked lentils mashed with indian curry spices, red onion, mango and toasted seeds for a vegetarian lettuce wrap. These mexi ones were inspired by summers first fresh local heirloom tomatoes (yeah folks, up in Canada these take awhile) my love affair with tomatoes only started once I’d tasted a real tomato like these, not the patented won’t-soggy-your-sandwich variety. If you don’t have fresh basil for these I would definitely use some fresh cilantro. Oh and if you can’t get bison, just use ground beef, it works just as well.
You had me at golden beets, darling. Rare gems which only show themselves for such a short window of time. They overwhelm me with their golden hue, to be turned into a multitude of lip-smacking creations. I want to shred them to top my salads, juice them to give me zesty energy, slice them thinly to show their stripes to the world, roast them and allow their sweetness to burst forth. Since I only had 3 golden beauties, I chose the latter option, because roasted beets alone are wonderful, but combined with roasted cauliflower to form a perfect summer golden beet soup, they really shine. Hot or cold, this soup is divine, I served it chilled since it was such a hot day and we enjoyed it with bumble berry BBQ sauce smothered roast chicken, which was really something. This super simple soup has side effects of: contentment, you are what you eat syndrome, and sunshine spewing out your every orifice. Ok maybe not that last one.
Stunning, right? If your ever wondering what to do with beet greens, well you’ve come to the right place. Just a few ideas…
Lightly steamed with some butter, salt, pepper and lemon
Stir fried in sesame oil and copious amounts of sesame seeds
Blended into a nourishing smoothie with berries, banana and yogurt
Finely chopped and fried with garlic to stuff a piece of chicken or an omelette
Raw in salads
And now, a tiny monologue…for any friends who care to hear my life ponderings.
What I’m realizing lately, is that everything gets better with practice. From taking care of a baby to communicating effectively in our relationships to photography, to washing the dishes. The parallel of practice is change. We can never stop practicing, because we and all things around us are constantly changing. One hurdle may be overcome but the natural progression of things simply brings us to the next obstacle. Natures design for our elevation, also exists to humble. I’ll take a piece of that pie, and come to realize that we are always learning, growing, shrinking, changing, and it’s okay if some lessons take time. Sometimes I think it’s not good enough, I need to be better. But I stop and ask the question, am I doing my best? Is that not all I can ever do? Yes, that’s all we can do, and everything, in time, gets easier.
I’m grateful to have this blog, this space, to write and share my passions with all of you lovely readers. Le sigh, life is good.
Ps. This pesto is great with scrambled eggs, zucchini noodles, or with some lemon and olive oil for a proper salad dressing.
Golden Beet & Cauliflower Soup with Parsley Pumpkin Seed Pesto
Author: Chantelle
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
3 golden beets, cut into 1 inch chunks
½ a head of cauliflower, broken into florets
2 carrots
½ tsp sea salt
some fresh cracked pepper
1 tsp+1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 cup coconut milk
1½ cups water
½ tsp tumeric
bunch of parsley, stalks removed
4 small garlic cloves or 2 bigger ones
½ cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup olive oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F
In a roasting pan combine the beets, cauliflower and carrots coat with 1 tsp sesame oil and salt + pepper. Toss to coat. Roast for 30 mins.
In a blender or food processor add pumpkin seeds, parsley, garlic, olive oil and sesame seeds and blend until well combined. Set mixture aside.
Add the roasted vegetables to your blender or food processor with coconut milk, water and turmeric, process until you achieve a smooth and creamy soup.
Top with pesto, fresh cracked pepper and sesame seeds.
Hey I'm Chantelle, my alter ego would be a mermaid if I wasn't such a terrible swimmer. I love writing authentically and cooking in my pyjamas. My favourite pastimes include eating avocados, travelling the world and hanging out with a toddler.
