Spring

Dessert, Gluten Free, Spring

MIXED BERRY + RHUBARB CRUMBLE

Berry Rhubarb Crisp - Ingredients - Sprouted Kitchen

May is the fullest month we have over here. About seven birthdays within both our immediate families (my own included), mothers day, memorial..it makes for a lot of holidays and celebrating. With celebrating, comes treats. And if ice cream reigns my dessert of choice, brownie or chocolate molten cake a la mode comes second and then it's a berry or stone fruit crumble/crisp...which is usually served with ice cream. I see a theme? I like lots of oats and preferably low on the sugar so I can top it with plain goat yogurt for a permissible breakfast, but the other lead eater in our house prefers his sweet. "Not a breakfast crumble please, like a real dessert kind" was the request, and this recipe here is some sort of compromise. Sweet, but not too sweet and heavy on the crumble. It has oats and almonds and rice flour in the topping and some sweet but tangy fruit beneath that buckles under the heat to soften in its own syrup. I used rice flour in the crumble portion as I was serving this at a dinner party with a few gluten intolerant people, but it makes for such a great texture, I'd use it regardless. It makes for a more delicate topping while still being crunchy from the oat shards and nuts. You would get more cookie-like chunks with all purpose flour so feel free to swap that in. Personal preference I suppose. Either way, happy May my friends. 

Berry Rhubarb Crisp - Ingredients - Sprouted Kitchen
Berry Rhubarb Crisp - Ingredients - Sprouted Kitchen
Berry Rhubarb Crisp - Process - Sprouted Kitchen

MIXED BERRY + RHUBARB CRUMBLE // Serves 6

The full recipe is available on the Electrolux site Live.Love.Lux

Berry Rhubarb Crisp - Sprouted Kitchen


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Entrée, Gluten Free, Spring

COLD SESAME CUCUMBER NOODLES

cold sesame cucumber noodles

The postpartum appetite is a moody one. With a super frequent nursing schedule, I was eating like a high school athlete, except not exercising at all, just, you know, keeping someone alive with the food my body is making. Then it slowly starts to balance itself out and my portions have become more reasonable and I just recently hit the phase where I'd like to be eating a more wholesome diet than I was getting away with while grasping for energy and sustenance all day. My grandma told me that you crave sugar when you're tired and I'm not sure how factual that is but it felt very true to me. I still need a lot of food, but I'm trying to clean it up as of late. And it's Spring! How appropriate. Fresh things abound. I mean, look at that beautiful pea pod above. So Jeanine's book came in the mail at just the right time because her whole schtick is colorful and fresh and simple. I made her cold noodle salad for lunch with some crispy tofu bits on top but you could leave those out or add any protein of your choice really. It came together in 20ish minutes and I would guess you have most of these items on hand. It's an everyone sort of salad - open to adaptations, saves well to pack for lunch, crunchy and light but still filling. So good. 

cold sesame cucumber noodles
cold sesame cucumber noodles

COLD SESAME CUCUMBER NOODLES

Adapted from the Love and Lemons Cookbook by Jeanine Donofrio

Soba noodles can come in a wheat blend or a full buckwheat version, which would make them completely gluten free. The former are a little easier to work with, the later more appropriate for those with dietary restrictions. I like my noodles with LOTS of vegetables, like more salad with noodles in it, so I personally could have gone for two cucumbers but the original calls for one. I use this julienne peeler. 

1/4 cup rice vinegar
1.5 Tbsp. low sodium tamari
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
1 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
2 garlic cloves, minced or grated
2 tsp. grated ginger
3 chopped scallions
12 ounces soba noodles
1 large cucumber, julienned
two large handfuls blanched snap peas

for garnish
sauteed tofu cubes
roughly chopped mint and cilantro
avocado
sesame seeds

cold sesame cucumber noodles

In a large bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, tamari, oil, peanut butter, garlic, and ginger. Stir in the scallions. 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare the noodles according to instructions, cooking until al dente. Drain, then run the noodles until cold water until chilled. Mix the noodles into the large bowl of dressing. Add the cucumbers and snap peas and stir. Add your tofu and lots of herbs and then chill in the fridge for an hour before serving. Garnish with avocado and sesame seeds as desired. 

cold sesame cucumber noodles


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Entrée, Gluten Free, Side, Spring

SPICE-ROASTED VEGETABLES WITH CHICKPEAS + CHERMOULA

SPICE-ROASTED VEGETABLES WITH CHICKPEAS + CHERMOULA - Roasting

I started a post about my place in the work/life/momming balance and I realized I just don't have much to share on figuring through that yet. I understand you don't ever get it "just right," but I am trying to get close enough to where I feel happy with what I was able to give at the end of the day. I want to check all my boxes and still feel like me at the end of the day, but I don't think I get to have that yet. I am trying to be patient and gracious with myself that I still have an infant that wakes up multiple times through the night, but I can't help but feel like I should be able to keep all the balls in the air. We've made these huge strides with women in the workplace but I think we still feel the pressure to do all the home and childcare tasks as well. Blame the internet if you wish, but it's tough trying to be the everywoman. My juggling skills don't look natural quite yet, and I cry too easily when a ball falls, but I'll check back if I figure something out. 

I've been stuck on vegetarian main ideas that satisfy all three of us and I loved this spice combination on the vegetables from Emma Galloways book. Never mind that Hugh added a grilled sausage to his, making this ever the flexible omnivorous meal, but I liked it just as it was. Warm with cinnamon and honey, spiced with garlic and interesting with paprika and coriander. I repurposed the chilled leftovers over greens the next day with a little feta cheese to make a salad of the dish. Don't skip over this if you don't stock cumin seeds, half a teaspoon of dried cumin is fine. Or I didn't have quite enough coriander and it still turned out great. Again, pretty flexible. 

SPICE-ROASTED VEGETABLES WITH CHICKPEAS + CHERMOULA
SPICE-ROASTED VEGETABLES WITH CHICKPEAS + CHERMOULA - Carrots

SPICE-ROASTED VEGETABLES WITH CHICKPEAS + CHERMOULA

Recipe adapted from My Darling Lemon Thyme by Emma Galloway

1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas, freshly cooked or one 14 oz. can, rinsed well
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro stems
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 lemon
1 bunch baby beets
1 bunch baby carrots or about 4 larger ones
2 small parsnips, cut into quarters
2 baby potatoes
mint leaves, to serve

2 cups cooked whole grains such as quinoa, millet, brown rice etc.

/chermoula/

1 small bunch cilantro
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice of one lemon
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
sea salt

SPICE-ROASTED VEGETABLES WITH CHICKPEAS + CHERMOULA - Herbs

Drain the chickpeas well. 
Preheat the oven to 375'. Place olive oil, cilantro stems, garlic, spices, honey, salt, pepper and lemon zest in a large bowl and mix well. Cut the beets and potatoes in half so they are about the same thickness as the carrots and parsnips. Add the chickpeas, carrots, parsnips and potatoes to the bowl and toss to coat. Transfer to a baking sheet in a single layer. Toss the beets in the remaining marinade and tuck them to one side of the baking sheet (beets stain and will turn everything pink so this is for aesthetics, if you don't mind all pink vegetables, by all means toss everything at once). Roast for 35-45 minutes, stirring everything once, until golden and tender.
Meanwhile, cook your grains and keep them warm. 
To make the chermoula, put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until a rough sauce is formed. Season to taste with salt. 
Serve the grains topped with the roasted vegetables and chickpeas, scraping up all the spices left on the tray. Drizzle with chermoula and sprinkle with mint leaves. 

SPICE-ROASTED VEGETABLES WITH CHICKPEAS + CHERMOULA


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