African Baskets

BASKETS OF HOPE

Handmade, Fair Trade, Beautiful, Super Functional Baskets -- must I say more?

Are you classic type? This is for YOU. Goes with everything!!!! Timeless.


Take it up a notch..add some colors...

Ops! This basket is not for sale because I use it ALL the time. It works great for produce right from the garden, at the farmers market or grocery store. Although, be careful at the grocery store you might get weird looks but really take heart...they are just jealous! :-) Just sayin.

This is a bright and beautiful one that definitely turns heads!

You can contact JessicasBaskets@gmail.com for more information.

Vegan Apricot-Almond Loaf - wheat-free!!!

This is by FAR my favorite dessert bread that is more healthy than not, AND tastes GREAT! I admit, 16 ingredients IS a bit intimidating but well worth it friends! I am 99% sure that this recipe comes from Vive Le Vegan! Simple, Delectable Recipes for the everyday Vegan.

Apricot-Almond Loaf

• 1/2 cup ground oats (rolled oats ground up in your coffee grinder or food processor)



• 1/2 cup unrefined sugar (I use less)



• 1/3 cup toasted almond silvers



• 1 1/4 cup spelt flour



• 1/2 cup barley flour



• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder



• 1 tsp. baking soda



• 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg



• 1/4 tsp. sea salt



• 1 cup plain or vanilla non-dairy milk (rice,almond or soy!)



• 1 tbsp. flax meal (ground up flax seeds coffee grinder is excellent for this job)



• 1/2 cup applesauce



• 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped (I started using orange cranberries from trader joes )



• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract



• 1/2 tsp. almond extract



• 2 1/2 tbsp. canola oil



• 1/4 cup toasted almond slivers (garnish)

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine the oats, sugar, almonds, nutmeg, and sea salt and sift in the flours, baking powder, and baking soda. In another bowl, combine the milk with the flax meal and stir though. Add the applesauce, apricots, vanilla and almond extracts and canola oil and mix well. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, stirring through until just well combined. Pour mixture into a lightly oiled loaf pan. Sprinkle remaining almond slices down the center of the loaf, patting them in lightly. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool and cut into thick slices. Now the fun pictures to go along with the recipe. This is all you need (minus two bowls, a whisk and stirring utensil)! NOTE: Always make a double batch! I mean shoot - once you have found all 16 ingredients from various locations in your kitchen save yourself some time baby and make a double batch. Plus, you'll save money b/c your oven is only cooking one time. Bless someone else with your second loaf OR slice and freeze it for that occassion when a friend pops over for a chat and you make some tea/coffee and really wish you had a little something to nibble on. {Truth be told - more often than not, my family eats through the first loaf within 24 hours and then a tad more slowly enjoys the second loaf if I haven't already given it away.} Add the oats, sugar, almonds, nutmeg, and sea salt and sift in the flours, baking powder, and baking soda In another bowl, combine the milk with the flax meal and stir though. Add the applesauce, apricots, vanilla and almond extracts and canola oil and mix well. looks like this... While I was mixing these - I was toasting these - multitasking... about 5 minutes but watch them...perfectly toasted one second and burnt the next. Parchment paper is perfect for this task and you can reuse the same piece over and over again. Hurray for recycling. lightly oil pans...I will give a shout out to The Pampered Chef at this point... I do love their products. For those of you unaware of the greatness of these products that darken color all around the one of the right is a good thing. I know you were tempted to think - washing the pans here is optional but really we wash them...never with soap though.. I digress... We are almost there friends, stay with me... Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, stirring through until just well combined. If you happened to forget to add the apricots (or orange cranberries) a few steps ago - now is good time to add them. Pour into pans. Confession - forgot to add the cranberries to the batter before I poured into the pan on the right. But once I add the almonds on top...who know...who really cares anyway...it's delicious!!!! Top with toasted almonds and bake for 45 minutes.

And then my favorite part!!!!

Navajo Stew

The Moosewood Restaurants Simple Suppers cookbook houses this recipe on pages 46&47.

NAVAJO STEW

2 Medium Sweet Potatoes

2 red or green bell peppers

1 large onion

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 15oz can of tomatoes

1 tablespoon canned chipotles in adabo sauce (I don't use!)

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 15 oz can butter beans or black beans, drained

flatbread (tortillas, lavash, or pita)

plain yogurt, sour cream or Cilantro Yogurt Sauce (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 450. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 1 inch cubes. Stem and seed the peppers and cut into 1 inch pieces. Peel the onion and cut it stem end to root end into thin wedges. In a bowl, toss the vegetables with garlic, oil, cumin, salt, and pepper. Spread on the prepared baking sheet and roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Stir and continue to roast for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender but not mushy.

While the vegetables roast, puree the tomatoes, chipotles, and cilantro in a blender until smooth. Set aside. When the vegetables are tender, put them into a 2 to 3 quart baking dish, stir in the tomato-cilantro sauce and the beans, and return to the oven until hot, about 10 minutes.

A few minutes before serving, warm the bread in the oven. Serve the stew in bowls topped with yogurt or sour cream, with warm flatbread on the side.

Cilantro Yogurt Sauce 2 cups plain yogurt 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro 1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional) 1/4 teaspoon salt

In a blender, puree 1/2 cup of the yogurt with the cilantro, sugar, and salt until smooth and bright green. Fold the cilantro-yogurt mixture into the remaining yogurt. If you prefer, mix together all of the indredients in a bowl. It won't be as green, but it will taste just fine.

So I don't exactly follow this recipe to a T....but it always tastes great!

Prep Onion... Put on oiled baking sheet... Peel and cut sweet potatoes... Put sweet potatoes on another baking sheet if you making a big batch (same sheet if you are following the recipe) and sprinkle cumin all over! TIP: If you cover the baking sheet with tin foil your clean up will be a snap! Now add the peppers and tomatoes(my addition b/c I had a few extra) to the onions and sprinkle with more cumin...

When veggies are done roasting, add black beans and an of tomatoes and cilantro (chop before adding) to a baking dish... With these beauties... Ta-Dah! Worth every minute of prep.

Israeli Couscous with Pistachios and Apricots

This Turkish-inspired dish comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero page 117. I actually managed to get a quick picture before my hungry family gobbled it all up tonight!

• 2 Tb. vegetable oil


• 3 cloves garlic, minced


• 2 cups Israeli couscous


• 2 1/2 cups water


• 1 cinnamon stick (I use 2 - just cause)


• 1 tsp ground cumin


• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom


• several pinches fresh ground black pepper


• 1/2 tsp salt


• zest from 1 lime (I only do this if I buy an organic lime)


• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint (substitute for 1-2 tsp dried mint if needed)


• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots, raisin size


• 1/2 cup shelled pistachios


• juice from 1/2 lime(I freeze both fresh lemon and lime juice in ice cube trays a couple times a year. Once the juice is frozen I pop them out of the trays and label (it's amazing how similar frozen lime and lemon look...licking them is the only way to tell the difference....) in quart size freezer bags and whenever I need a tablespoon or two - I have it ready to go!)

Preheat a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-low heat. Place the garlic and oil in the pan and saute for 1 minute. Add the couscous, raise the heat to medium, and stir pretty constantly for 4 to 5 minutes; the couscous should start to toast.

Add the water, cinnamon stick(s), cumin, cardamom, pepper, salt, and lime zest. Raise the heat and bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, lower the heat again as low as possible and cover. (We know, lots of raising and lowering the heat but that's cooking for you.) In about 10 minutes, most of the water should have been absorbed. Add 2 tablespoons of the mint, and the apricots, pistachios, and lime juice. Stir, cover again, and cook for 5 more minutes. At this point, the water should be thoroughly absorbed.

Remove the cinnamon stick(s), fluff withe couscous with a fork, garnish with remaining mint and serve.

Ta-dah!

Grinder and Mill

Here is my grinder/mill that connects to the kitchen aid mixer that grinds the wheat berries into wheat flour, barley into barley flour, and spelt into spelt flour in the house that jack built. Okay that last part is not true but it was catching that tune. My step-dad Cliff and my beloved John (and family and friends!) built the house we live in. BLESSED. Hello! Back to grinding...

Simply pour your clean grain (check for small black pieces of stone that will ruin your grinder in a hurry)into the top of the device.

Then, your spelt flour comes out and if you funnel it properly - (ahem! it's not always as easy as it looks) it goes nicely into your canning jars (multipurpose jars they are!).

If you are rolling your groats they will come out nice and flat oats like the picture below.

Why on God's green earth would anyone do this when you can buy flours and oat already processed at the store? Insanity. No really, did you know that nutrients start to break down 48 hours after the grains/groats are processed. So let's say that a warehouse somewhere in North Dakota (totally made up location here and the ones to follow as well) is processing your wheat berries into 100%whole wheat flour. They bag it and store it. Then they ship it to South Dakota where it sits for months and months and then finally gets shipped to Maine where it sits at another storage place before finally being picked up sent to your local grocer who stores it until it makes it to front of their shelves. Nutrients are seriously compromised.

Vegan Cooking: Kale & Leek Chowder

I am trying my hand at Vegan blogging today with my Kale and Leek Chowder. Well, "my" is strong word when I didn't invent it I just make it multiple times a month typically forgetting some ingredients and adding others... you'll see..... The Rave Diet and Lifestyle by Mike Anderson list this recipe on page 101.

• 1 14oz can seasoned, diced stewed tomatoes


• 2 cups vegetable broth 2 cups chopped kale


• 1 cup cooked brown rice


• 1 cup drained canned garbanzo beans


• 1 cup chopped onion


• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper


• 1 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup chopped leeks


• 1/3 cup sliced almonds


• 1 tablespoon paprika


• 2 tsp. vegetable broth for sauteing


• 2 bay leaves

Heat broth over medium-high heat. Add the onion, pepper, leeks, and almonds. Saute for 2 minutes. Add the almonds, paprika, bay leaves, water tomatoes, and broth. Bring to a boil. Add the kale, rice and garbanzo beans. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Here we go...

Dice onion... thanks to my friend Darcy I can do this quickly now!

Prepare leeks - cut off green tops. I mostly use the bottom white parts.

Chop like so...

Dice red pepper and add all three ingredients to the pot. Like so... saute for a few minutes...

Now add the veggie broth (I use a powder from whole foods that reconstitutes into broth when you add water), 2 bay leaves, and 1 tablespoon Paprika to the pot.

Like so... Now add canned tomatoes...homemade or otherwise...

Add a bunch of Kale. I usually cut the center thick stem out and use the leaves on either side.

I just love that color green when the steam hits the kale...ummm.. Now add the cooked rice.... Like so... Simmer 10 more minutes and serve it up hot! Fresh bread and/or crackers are the perfect finishing touch. Oh right, the recipe did call for sliced almonds which are fabulous but I was out of 'em. Still a tasty dish. AND I didn't have a garbanzo beans prepared. I decided to buy 25 pounds of these dry little buggers so I would stop buying cans and make my own! I don't know if my theory is working. Don't forget to dig out those bay leaves before scarfing down this soup! Finally, this a picture of my sweet Abi who kept smiling every time I took a picture of the food. One time she even told the kale to "smile pretty now!" Love, love, love this girl.

Going to give this another try....

Well, it has taken me months to get this far with the blog process- only to discover that I have been this far once before - exactly 3 years ago... I feel like different person and I definitely have two very different children under my care! I am VERY blessed to be at home (hence - Domestic Engineer) with our two girls watching them grow up too fast and even sending the older one off to Kindergarten which has brought a bitter sweet mixture of confidence!

I was hesitant about starting this blog...fearing it would be yet another thing on my ever growing "to do" list. Or maybe I am way more humorous in my head than in written words. AND I also felt like I wanted all my "ducks in a row". Something that has evaded me in the past and doesn't look to hopeful for the future either! Then it struck me. What on earth do you really begin when you are fully ready with all your questions answered? A career, a marriage, having or adopting children, a relationship with God - certainly not. It's a journey....

So I will begin today with a bucket of grace and great expectations. My hope is that this blog might someday encourage and inspire someone else while giving me an outlet for all my random thoughts flowing about in my noggin. :-)