Good Food

Here are some yummy recipes that I have tried out lately and want to share.

Cosmic Cookies (from Planet Organic)

These are a very filling, very big, very yummy gluten, egg and dairy free cookie. They sell them in the bakery at Planet Organic and I bought them a couple of times and loved them. I wanted the recipe but thought it would be top secret and then last month I was there and lo and behold they had published it in there monthly newsletter (bless them!)

Don't let the gluten, egg and dairy free thing scare you off as these are soooo good! You also could substitute with whole wheat flour and regular milk and they would turn out fine. The recipe calls for dark chocolate chips but I use my milk chocolate ones and they turn out just fine. I also have made them with fancy molasses when I was out of blackstrap and they tasted pretty much the same to me.

2 1/4 C Quick Cooking Oats
2 C Spelt Flour
1 C Sunflower Seeds
3/4 C + 2 tbsp Pumpkin Seeds
1/2 C Shredded coconut, unsweetened
1/4 C Flax Seeds
1 C Granulated Cane Sugar
1 tbsp Cinnamon
2 1/4 tsp Salt
1 3/4 C Chocolate chips
1 1/4 Raisins
1/4 C Water
1/4 C Blackstrap molasses
3/4 C Canola
1 C Soy milk

Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking trays with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients - everything from oats to raisins. In a seperate large bowl, combine wet ingredients -everything from water to soy milk. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix slow at a low speed (or by hand) until just combined. Do not over mix. Portion cookie dough using a 1/3 Cup measure and place onto lined baking tray. Gently flatten cookies before baking. Bake for 24 minutes or until lightly browned. Yields 24 cookies.

Homemade Mushroom Soup

My friend Andrea in Manitoba sent me this soup recipe and I adore it. So yummy, tastes nothing like soup from a can and chock full of vegetable goodness that the kids can't see because it's pureed! Hooray!

Cooked pearl barley, 1/2 cup before cooking

1/2 lb each parsnips, carrots and onions, finely chopped
5 T unsalted butter
2 T veg oil
1 lb mushrooms, wiped, tripped and finely chopped
3 T flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
3 c stock of your choice (beef, chicken or veg)
1 c light cream (or skim evaporated milk) (Note: I used plain soy milk and it turned out really good, so I imagine you could use plain milk to cut the fat and still have a very yummy soup.)
1 T lemon juice (or to taste; I often end up using more)
salt and pepper, to taste
thyme, to taste (about 1 t to start, and then keep adding if you like)

2 T unsalted butter
1/4 lb cleaned mushrooms, finely chopped
sour cream for garnish

Prepare barley your regular way and set aside.

Melt 5 T butter and oil in a large soup pot until butter foams. Add the thyme, parsnips, carrots and onions; coat with butter/oil and cover. Cook over low heat until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and the parsley and continue cooking another 5 minutes. Add the garlic, then ladle in 1 cup of broth and mix well.

Ladle the mixture by batches into a blender or food processor and puree until almost smooth. Return the puree to the pot and stir in the remaining stock, cream (or evap milk) lemon juice and cooked barley. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes or until heated through.

Meanwhile, sauté the remaining mushrooms in the remaining butter until just wilted, about 1 minute. Put some of the wilted mushrooms into the bottom of each bowl; ladle soup into bowls; garnish with a dollop of sour cream and some more minced parsley.

And finally,

Baked Pork Spring Rolls
We made these for a Young Womens activity one night and they are delish!

1/2 lb ground pork
1 C finely shredded cabbage
1/4 C shredded carrot
2 green onions, sliced
2 tbsps chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsps grated fresh ginger (I buy the pre grated stuff because I'm lazy)
1 1/2 tsps minced garlic
1 tsp Thai chile sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water
1 package of egg roll wrappers
4 tsps vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 425F. Place pork in medium saucepan. cook over med high heat until evenly browned. Remove from heat and drain. In a med bowl, mix together pork, cabbage, green onions, cilantro, sesame oil, oyster sauce, ginger, garlic, and chile sauce. Mix cornstarch and water in a a small bowl. Place approximately 1 tbsp of the pork mixture in the centre of the egg roll wrappers. Roll wrapperss around the mixturn, folding edges inward to close. Moisten fingers in the cornstarch and water mixture, and brush wrapper seams to seal. Arrange spring rolls in a single layer on med baking sheet. Brush with vegetable oil. Bake in the preheated oven 20 minutes, until hot and lightly browned. For crispier spring rolls, turn after 10 minutes. (Note, mine cooked in a lot less time so watch them...)
Yields about 18 rolls.