Coconut “Bacon” Roasted Chickpeas

January 30, 2013 by aprilcball

I’ve been obsessed with roasted chickpea lately! I’m determined to invent a bunch of new flavors since we eat them so often! The coconut it totally optional if you don’t like it, they’re great with or without! These would also go great on a salad or thrown in a wrap!!

“Bacon” Roasted Chickpeas

Coconut “Bacon” Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients:

1-15oz can chickpeas – drained, rinsed and patted dry OR 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas

Marinade:

1 Tbsp. liquid smoke – I buy Colgin brand
2 Tbsp. coconut aminos
1 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. maple syrup (I used Grade B from Trader Joe’s)

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut – I used finely shredded for this first batch because it’s all I had. Next time I will use the large unsweetened flaked coconut AND probably use 1/2 cup. 🙂

Instructions:

1. Mix marinade together in a small bowl and pour over chickpeas (I used a ziploc bag but you can use a shallow dish if you prefer).

2. Stick it in the fridge and marinate overnight – I let mine sit for about 12 hours.

3. Next day – drain marinade off of chickpeas and save. Preheat oven to 400 and spread chickpeas out on parchment lined baking sheet.

4. Mix shredded coconut in with the leftover marinade and set aside.

5. Bake chickpeas for 15 minutes then toss. Bake another 15 minutes and remove from oven.

6. Add coconut mixture to chickpeas, toss and stick them back in the oven for the last 15 minutes. Check to make sure the coconut isn’t burning.

7. Take them out, let sit for a minute or two then serve!

Mix marinade ingredients together

Add chickpeas and marinade to a ziploc bag or shallow dish

Spread evenly

Stick them in your fridge overnight – I did about 12 hours

Next day – Strain off marinade and set aside

Strain off marinade and set aside. Preheat oven to 400, spread chickpeas on parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake chickpeas for 15 minutes, toss and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven.

Mix coconut and marinade together.

Add coconut and toss, bake for another 15 minutes or so.

WIthout coconut – chickpeas are done after 45 minutes or so, tossing every 15 minutes.

With coconut! Next time I’ll use bigger coconut pieces!

Other roasted chickpeas your might enjoy!

Buffalo Ranch Roasted Chickpeas

Dill Pickle Roasted Chickpeas

Coconut “Bacon”

May 19, 2012 by aprilcball

Confession time. My favorite show on tv is Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives… there, I said it. It makes zero sense that I would love this show so much considering 99.9% of the food they make on there is NOT plant-based. That’s okay though, the recipes on there give me ideas for other recipes sometimes and on a rare occasion Guy Fieri features a plant-based dish on the show.

It’s my understand that Guy grew up vegetarian and HATED it so much that he rebelled at a young age. While he may not make the same food choices as myself, he’s a pretty good host of the show although his dietary choices are (in my opinion) atrocious.

He’s featured vegan burgers, a few curry dishes and a coconut club with fried tofu and coconut bacon. I’ve been thinking about that sandwich for awhile now and decided to try out the coconut bacon concept. I searched around the internet and found this recipe. It’s really easy to make, you could whip up a batch of this for quick BLT’s or add this to tofu scramble… honestly, you could add it to just about anything! I’m thinking salad topping, add to split pea soup or a pizza topping!

This recipe is from Vegan Good Things blog, another cool site I bookmarked to peruse later. Sorry for the lame photo, I haven’t had a chance to make anything pretty with this yet but I will soon!!!

My hubby and toddler LOVED this!

Coconut Bacon
makes about 3 cups (enough for 4 – 6 sandwiches, depending on how big you make ’em)

3 large handfuls of large flake, unsweetened coconut (bought mine at Sprouts)
1 Tbsp. liquid smoke – Colgin brand is plant-based, some are not
2 Tbsp. tamari – or soy sauce, coconut aminos or shoyu
1 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. maple syrup (optional, but recommended – I used it)

Preheat oven to 300. Place coconut in a shallow baking pan. Combine other ingredients together in a small bowl and drizzle over coconut. Use your hands to mix and make sure the coconut is evenly coated. Bake at 300 for 20 minutes, or until crisp. It will continue to crisp as it cools, and is best eaten at room temperature.

I used my Pyrex glass pan, worked great!

Mix sauce with coconut, spread evenly

Coconut “Bacon”

Coconut Mung Beans (Pressure Cooker)

November 25, 2011 by aprilcball

I bought some mung beans at the Asian Market last week, I’ve been wanting to try them since they’re so good for you. This recipe is from Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day – I’ve had my eye on it for a while now so I decided to make it tonight. It’s really easy to make, doesn’t take much time at all and tastes delish! It was a tad too spicy for our toddler but not for us at all. The toasted coconut topping was a nice touch.

Coconut Mung Beans

1 T coconut oil
1 /2 t cumin seeds
1 large onion, diced
1 Serrano chili (I used a jalapeno, all I had. Removed all seeds and diced)
1 T minced ginger
1 T curry powder (I used Kashmiri Curry from World Spice Merchant)
1 c mung beans
4 c water
1 t Creole seasoning
Juice and zest 1 lemon (around ¼ lemon juice. You can use lime juice or 3 T of apple cider vinegar in place of lemon juice)
½ c cilantro
Toasted coconut for garnish (I toasted unsweetened coconut shreds in my toaster oven on 325F for a few minutes)
Soy Sauce/Pepper to taste

* In case you’ve never seen them before, here are mung beans:

Dry Mung Beans

Directions:

In a pressure cooker over med hi heat add the oil, cumin, onion, chili, ginger, and curry powder along with a pinch of salt. Sauté for several minutes, then lower the heat down to low and continue cooking for 10 more minutes. (My pressure cooker doesn’t have a low setting so I just sautéed it for about 8 minutes or so)
Add the beans, water and Creole seasoning
Put top on pressure cooker and bring to high pressure for 6 minutes.
Let the pressure come down naturally then stir in lemon juice and zest and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasonings and add toasted coconut to garnish if you desire
Serve over rice – I used brown rice and served it with Naan bread… my hubby’s request!

Saute onions, pepper, ginger, curry, cumin seeds and a pinch of salt in coconut oil

Add beans, water and creole seasoning

Cover, cook on high pressure for 6 minutes

Toast unsweetened coconut for topping

Slow release pressure, add lemon juice, zest and cilantro

Yum!

Coconut Cardamom Breakfast Farro

November 14, 2011 by aprilcball

Farro, you may not know what it is but trust me, you’ll like it! It’s one of the oldest cultivated grains on our planet. It is high in fiber and protein and a great source of complex carbohydrates (think good carbs – whole grains). It has a chewy, hearty texture and looks like this…

I tend to rotate breakfast grains and this is high on my list of favorites! I was in a coconut-type of mood this morning so I came up with this Coconut Cardamom Breakfast Farro! Hope you like it, I did… and my toddler REALLY liked it!

I used Kal Brand Stevia, instead of sugar, to sweeten it up a bit. You could almost chill this and make it into a dessert pudding!

Ingredients:

* 1 cup farro, rinsed

* 1 – 14.5oz can coconut milk (lite or regular)

* 1 cup almond milk (or whatever milk you want to use)

* 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

* 1/4 tsp coconut extract (optional but good)

* Little less than 1/8 tsp Stevia

* Big pinch of salt

* Shredded coconut, unsweetened (to top)

* Cinnamon (to top)

Directions:

* Add farro, milk, cardamom, stevia and salt to saucepan. Bring to boil.

* Reduce heat to a low boil, cook for 25 minutes or until your desired texture, stirring occasionally.

* Stir in coconut extract, serve with shredded coconut and a dash of cinnamon on top!

Simple Coconut, Ginger, Carrot Breakfast Bread (Sugar, Soy & Wheat Free)

November 10, 2011 by aprilcball

Since both my kids decided to nap at the same time today, I had a chance to make this breakfast bread recipe I’ve had my eye on for a few weeks. I’m always on the lookout for healthy but fast breakfast options for busy mornings and this works perfectly! I had leftover shredded carrots from making the Healthy Veggie Muffins a couple of days ago and Chipotle Split Pea Soup last night so this was a perfect way to use them up!

Breakfast bread with peanut butter, orange slices and a glass of almond milk… Yummy!! Toddler and hubby loved this and ate it throughout the day!

The original recipe is from… you guessed it! Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day, my all-time favorite recipe source and vegan food blog. I changed it up a bit over the past year, I make it often because it’s really good! If you haven’t explored her blog, PLEASE do so!!!

2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon Kal Stevia Powder (I use 1/4 tsp)
¼ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon cardamom
¼ teaspoon black pepper
4 tablespoons fresh ginger
¾ cup dried unsweetened coconut
2 large carrots
1 – 15 oz can of white beans and their liquid
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons psyllium husk
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce – I like to use cinnamon
1 tablespoon vinegar – I used apple cider vinegar

Pre-heat Oven to 375

1. In a food processor, process oats into flour; place in mixing bowl with the rest of the dry ingredients.

2. Next, pulse the ginger and carrots in the food processor until really broken up

3. Add the beans, water, psyllium, applesauce and vinegar and puree until smooth

4. Add to the dry ingredients

5. Grease an 8 by 8 square pan and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

6. Let cool completely before serving

: Oat “Flour”

: Ginger & Carrots

: Dry Mix

: Putting it all together

: Add wet to dry

: Pour into pan and flatten

Easy Breakfast Bread!

Lemongrass Coconut Cake/Bars (Gluten-Free)

November 8, 2011 by aprilcball

Let me start by saying, I am NOT a baker! I attempt it now and then but I am not very good at it. We don’t eat many sweets so that’s okay. Every now and then I get a craving for something sweet so I attempt to bake. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. This cake turned out really tasty so I’m glad I attempted it. I’m new to gluten-free baking so this cake may not look the way it’s supposed to but it sure is good! They’re really more like bars with their thick texture. Ah, whatever you want to call them is fine because I call them DELICIOUS!!

I received a bunch of lemongrass in my CSA box last week and I’ve been looking for new recipes that call for lemongrass. I usually make Thai Food but I wanted to make something new. I’ve been cooking my way through my favorite vegan food blog, Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day – she had this recipe on her site so I had to try it! I love anything with lemon too so this was a perfect match!

Here’s her recipe:

Lemongrass Cake with Coconut Frosting

· ½ c golden flax meal

· ¼ c Vegenaise (vegan mayo – found at Sprouts)

· 1 c sugar

· 1 t vanilla

· 1 t coconut extract

· Juice and zest of 1 lemon

· 2 T lemongrass (sold at Sprouts)

· ½ c light-colored oil – I used vegetable oil

· 1.5 c Bob’s All Purpose Gluten-Free flour (I suppose you could use regular flour too)

· 2 t baking powder

· 1 t baking soda

· ½ t salt

Method: Pre-heat oven to 350

1. Mix flax, mayo, sugar, extracts, lemon juice, zest , lemongrass and oil together very well until everything is totally incorporated

2. Sift together the flour, powder, soda and salt into the wet mixture and mix together completely. You don’t have to worry about over working this dough. Mix super well!

3. Spray a 9 by 9 cake pan with cooking spray, pour batter into pan and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

4. Cool cake completely on a wire rack

5. Frost!

Frosting:

· 1.5 c unsweetened coconut shreds

· ¼ c nondairy milk

· 3 – 4 c powdered sugar

· Juice and Zest of 1 lemon

· Pinch salt

1. In a food processor, process the coconut and milk if needed until coconut turns into butter like substance. This will take around 4 minutes

2. Add the powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest, salt and process until it comes together like frosting adding milk as needed