A quick little post tonight! In honour of my dear friend who is beginning her journey through dairy and refined-sugar free-ness! It ain't easy! But these sure are! Enjoy!

​(Apologies for the cheapy cell phone pics, although, honestly, for a phone, not too shabby!)

Oatmeal Cocoa Nib Cookies

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons coconut oil
1 cup coconut sugar
1 tablespoon flax meal, whisked with 2 tablespoons water (or an egg)
1/2 cup almond milk (room temperature or warm so coconut oil doesn't harden)
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon each baking soda, baking powder, sea salt
1/2 cup cocoa nibs

​What to do:
1. Preheat the oven to 375F.

2. In a small bowl, cream together the coconut oil and coconut sugar, then add the flax mixture and milk. Mix to combine.

3. In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, mixing well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and use your hands to mix the dough up well.

4. Drop the dough 2 tablespoons at a time onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, flattening the cookies ever-so-slightly. Bake for 8-10 minutes, and cool before serving.

We make this often and it has never been posted! How is that possible?!?

Probably because the minute my life involved owning a school, I kissed every speck of spare quiet time good-bye! :) 

I'm so glad I snapped some pictures of it one night, in the hustle of getting home late from work, and whipping up a delicious meal that included leftovers for the lunch the next day.

In the hustle of a very busy school year start this year, I knew in the back of my mind I hadn't posted a recipe a over a month (sad to have broken my record) and it was slowly eating away at me that I had no time to do what I love - sharing recipes! So, to my delight, when I logged in today to attempt to pull together a post, I found a slew of drafted posts, waiting for finishing touches. I must have known my life would be wild this August/September and prepared ahead of time. Does it say anything about me that I completely forgot that I had did that? Eek.

So, lucky me! I have a recipe ready to share!

And lucky you, twice over, because not only do you get this EASY PEASY curry recipe that comes together in less than 20 minutes, you don't have to hear me talk forever about it! No more stories, just food. It's all about the food because that's the whole reason I have this food blog. For the love of healthy food. So, let's get to it. 

Enjoy!

Creamy Chickpea Curry

Ingredients:
1 can diced tomatoes with juices
1 can coconut milk
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
tbsp ginger
2-3 tbsp curry powder, turmeric,  and curry paste (or your own concoction of flavour!)
tbsp honey
salt/pepper ro taste
1 can rinsed chickpeas
​Cooked brown rice or quinoa

What to do:

1) Heat diced onion and garlic over medium heat in a bit of oil or water. I used a cast iron pan for this dish. Stir around until smelling good.

2) Add in spices and can of tomatoes. Increase heat and add in coconut milk. Bring to a light boil. 

3) Add honey, reduce heat to simmer.  Add chickpeas and salt/pepper to taste.  Simmer for as little or as long as you wish. Serve over rice/quinoa. Yum!!! 

It tastes as good as it looks. 

It was amazing.

And just like teaching, this amazing gem came without a plan, on the fly, just working with the ingredients available to me. It was on a whim. It came out of a plan gone sour from lack of ingredients for another recipe. It came from fresh farm veggies sitting in the fridge waiting to be used. It honestly just came out of my head and went straight into my belly. Aaaaamazing. 

Garden fresh summertime veggies in a sweet and saucy balsamic glaze, mixed with my most precious staple - spaghetti noodles. Ummmmmm, yes, please!  And sprinkled with roasted pipits because, hey, why not. This dish surprised my tastebuds, and my daughter, who saw this heap of vegetables and gobbled it down. Yes, that's right folks - my 3 year old cleaned her plate from this dish. I feel like I should get an award for that big feat alone. Phew! 

I give you this, awesome 10 minute dish for supper tonight. 

Enjoy! 


Balsamic Spaghetti with Garlic Scapes, Zucchini, and Roasted Pepitas

Ingredients:
Spaghetti Noodle of Choice (We used whole wheat)
1 small onion, diced because who likes long pieces of onion? Not me. 
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil or water for sautéing 
*Cast Iron Pan - Seriously, get one, use it. Makes this dish better, I swear.
1 small zucchini, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
4 garlic scapes, chopped 
1 ripe tomato, chopped
4 swiss chard leaves (or green of choice, optional), chopped
Balsamic Vinegar (don't measure - add bits at a time until taste is right for you)
2 tbsp Honey or Maple Syrup 
Extra Virgin Olive Oil for added Sauciness, optional
1 tsp hot pepper flakes
chopped fresh basil and oregano, as much as you want (or dried)
sea salt/pepper to taste
1/2 cup pepitas

What to do:

1) Cook noodles according to package. Set aside until ready to add in. 

2) Heat oil or water in cast iron pan over medium heat. Add onion. Cook and stir until smelling awesome and slightly coloured. Add in garlic scapes. Keep on stirring. Keep on cooking. Keep on smelling amazing. 

3) Add in rest of veggies and stir, stir, stir. Add a bit more oil or water if needed. By now, they should be getting a bit browned from the awesomeness of a cast iron pan. 

4) Add in a drizzle of balsamic. Stir. Add in a bit more. Reduce heat to low-medium. Add in honey, hot pepper flakes, fresh basil and oregano. Stir to coat and mix. Add a touch of oil if you want it a bit more saucier. Taste test. Add sea salt/pepper and more balsamic if you'd like. (I did) Add in noodles and toss to coat. Turn off heat.

5) Roast pepita seeds in a small pan over medium heat then sprinkle over top of noodles. Eat up and return back for seconds. No judgement here.