Aunt Kim's Blueberry Baked Oatmeal (Vegan & GF)

1 ripe banana 
1/4 C. almond butter
1 C. almond milk
1/4 C. real maple syrup
1/4 C. applesauce (original calls for melted coconut oil)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 C. whole rolled oats
1 C. chopped pecans
1 C. blueberries, fresh or frozen
2 Tbsp. brown sugar, for topping
2 Tbsp. coconut flakes, for topping

1) Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8x8 baking dish or similar. (I use parchment paper and no oil. If you crumple the parchment paper, it will mold better.)

2) In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, almond milk, almond butter, maple syrup, and applesauce. Add the baking powder, cinnamon, sea salt, and whisk again.

3) Fold in the oats, 3/4 C. of the pecans, and 1/2 C. of the blueberries. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and smooth into an even layer.

4) Top with remaining 1/2 C. blueberries, the remaining 1/4 C. pecans, the brown sugar, and the coconut flakes.

5) Bake for 40–50 minutes, or until topping is crisp and the middle part is set. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

The original recipe (and photo credit!) can be found online at Love & Lemons.

COOK'S NOTES:

* This recipe is very forgiving and versatile with substitutions. I use applesauce instead of oil. In a pinch, I've used peanut butter instead of almond butter and oat milk instead of almond milk. I've substituted a frozen berry blend of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries for the blueberries. I've used a blend of chopped walnuts, cashews, and almonds when I didn't have pecans.

* The "batter" always seems very runny to me, for what it is supposed to be. I get this impression from the original post's photos (where the mixture looks thicker than mine when I follow the recipe exactly) and from her words to "spread the mixture evenly." When made as written, the recipe is runny enough to pour, for sure. So I always add some more oats, probably about an extra 1/4 C. or more per recipe (1/2 C. when I'm doubling it). It works great, as far as I can tell. I should probably try it once as written, but I haven't yet!

* I've used sweetened and unsweetened coconut flakes, and brown sugar and coconut sugar, for the topping. They all work fine, with differing levels of final sweetness, of course.

* I've stirred all the main ingredients together (without putting some of the berries and nuts on top) and it's worked fine.

* When I double this, I put it in a large metal pan I have that's larger than a 9x13, or in my Pampered Chef bar pan. (This pan is discontinued, much to my dismay! We love it. I'm nor sure of its dimensions, but it's a little smaller than a standard jelly roll pan.) The main difference will be how thick your final product is, and therefore how crunchy/crispy or moist it will be in the end.

* We like to serve this with some sort of nut milk or oat milk available as a topping. Extra syrup or something sweet like that is not needed. Enjoy!

“Free” Produce

Not really a recipe, but useful info nevertheless! I haven’t tried these tips yet—swiped it from a Facebook post that I lost track of—but I’ll update as I try them with whether or not it works!

Here are 20 vegetables and herbs you can grow indoors using parts of the produce you would throw away and this can save you a pretty penny the next time you go grocery shopping.

Romaine Lettuce

Similar to celery, keep the base of your romaine lettuce in a bowl with a ½ inch of warm water. Leave it to sit in direct sunlight, and in a week or two, your lettuce stem will produce fresh, new lettuce leaves for all your great salads. Transplant your lettuce to soil to continue growing. They should be full grown in three to four weeks. This process works for Bok Choy as well.

Garlic Sprouts

Are those tentacles?! Nope, those long green things growing out your garlic are green shoots. You can put them in a little water, under a lot of sunlight and grow a bunch of garlic sprouts. They are milder in taste than garlic cloves and are great in salads, pasta and as a garnish.

Carrots

Place chopped off carrot tops in a container filled with a bit of water. Pretty soon, they will begin to sprout delicious greens from the top that are a nice addition to meals. Using a deeper contain and more water, use toothpicks to keep carrots halfway in the water and wait for them to root. Once they root, you can plant them in your garden for a continuous supply!

Turnip

Like carrots, cut off turnip tops and leave them in a shallow container with water until they begin growing roots. This can take a couple of weeks. Once they’ve sprouted, plant them outside the same way you would your carrots!

Sweet potato

Unlike most vegetables, sweet potatoes aren’t started by seed but by slips (or shoots). Clean and cut a sweet potato in half, then place it half in/half out of a jar full of water using toothpicks. Over a few days, your sweet potato will begin to sprout slips at which point you remove them and place them in water to grow roots. You should have rooted slips with the week. Next, plant them in loose, well-drained soil and water every day in the first week, and then every other day (or as needed) the following weeks.

Ginger

With ginger you already have, look for pieces that already have little things growing out of them. With that piece, cut off the parts that look like they’re about to start what’s called a “rhizome” because they’re the key to growing new ginger plants. Growing this food takes minimal effort but does require the right conditions. Warm, slightly humid places like kitchens are perfect. Plant the piece of ginger about 3-5 inches in the soil with its rhizome pointing upwards. Water it regularly. It’s a labor of love and can take up to ten months before you get a sufficient amount of ginger, but its health benefits are more than worth it.

Pineapple

This will definitely take a few years but if you’ve got the time and right climate, why not try? Take a pineapple and cut the flowery “crown” off about an inch below the leaves. Trim around the bottom until you see little brownish bumps (these are the root buds). Before planting, dehydrate the pineapple crown to prevent rotting too soon. Now, with your prepped pineapple cutting, place it in a shallow container of warm water. When the cutting begins to root, replant it into a container with soil and be sure to water once a week. If possible, keep it in a bright, warm place with as much direct sunlight as possible.

Rosemary

Like other herbs, you can regrow rosemary from 5-6 inch cuttings. Place them in water and within a few weeks, there should be enough that have rooted and not rotted. In a 4″ pot filled with damp potting soil, make a 3″ hole with a pen or pencil and place the rosemary cutting gently into it. Because this herb is so delicate, only water it when the soil starts feeling dry. Keep it direct sunlight for 6-8 hours per day because it needs light to flourish. If the soil isn’t dry yet, giving them a quick mist is also okay.

Potatoes

When growing potatoes, you need ones with ‘eyes’ (or slips) growing on it. When you’ve got a potato with a lot of eyes, cut it into 2 inch squares with each piece having a couple of eyes. Leave them out in room temperature for a couple of days to let them dry out to help prevent rotting. In a deep pot, place the cubes 8″ deep with the eyes facing upwards and cover it with another 4″ of soil. As more roots begin to grow, continuously add more soil and keep modestly watered. In as little as 70 days, you should have quite a few potatoes!

Tomatoes

You can regrow new tomato plants that can reach up to 8” feet. Ease the tomato plant out of its pot, trim the low leaves, and place it in a hole, fill it with soil, and do not compress it much.

Celery

To grow this healthy snack at home, cut off the base of the celery and leave it in a bowl with a little bit of warm water. Keep the bowl in direct sunlight, and in a week, your celery base will start to grow leaves. Transplant the celery in soil and watch it grow!

Cabbage

Don’t throw away the bottom of your cabbage head just yet. Just like celery, leave it in a container with an inch or two of water in a well-lit area and wait. Over time, it will start to regrow with no planting required.

Avocado

You can successfully grow an avocado tree from just one avocado pit.

Mint

To grow mint, get a clipping and plant it 3″ deep in a 5-8″ pot of damp soil. Make sure your mint plant is in a slightly humid, sun-exposed room (the kitchen is ideal). Every few days, to allow for the plant to grow evenly, rotate the pot. Within a few weeks, your mint plant should begin to flourish and be ready to be plucked for delicious dishes and drinks.

Lemon

To grow a lemon tree at home, you will need an organic lemon with non-germinating seeds, nutrient-rich potting soil, a planting pot that’s 6″ wide and 6″ deep, a seedling pot that’s 24″ wide and 12″ deep, and a sunny growing location (possibly with a grow lamp).

Mushrooms

Mushrooms can be regrown from spores in the comfort of our home.

Peppers

You can grow a number of hot peppers from the seeds that are leftover. Just collect the seeds from your habaneros, jalapenos or any other peppers that you have on hand. Plant them in potting soil and keep in direct sunlight unless it is warm outside and then you can just plant them in your garden area. Peppers grow relatively fast and don’t require a lot of care. Once you get a new crop, just save some of the seeds for replanting again.

Spring Onions / Salad Onions

You can regrow spring onions in as little as five days. Simply leave at least an inch attached to the roots of your left over spring onions, put them in a small glass of water, topping up the water if it evaporates.

Basil

Got some basil clippings lying around? If they have at least four-inch stems, gather them up and put them in a glass of water under direct sunlight. When the stems grow two inches long, you can put them in some soil in a pot and grow your very own basil plant. No more basil shopping for you!

Onions

Unlike the other foods on this list, onions have to go directly in the soil to grow. Take the bottom end of the onion and plant it in a pot or directly in the soil outside. If it’s potted, water it when needed. The more of a bottom you leave on the onion, the better. At three weeks, the onion will develop roots. By the fourth week. It will sprout leaves.

Caesar Dressing (Vegan)

Ingredients:

Aqua faba (liquid from one can of chickpeas)

1 clove of garlic

2T nutritional yeast

juice and zest of 1/2 lemon

4 oil cured olives

2-3 T oil

pepper to taste 

Blend all in the blender.

Mary’s Sourdough Notes

 SOURDOUGH BREAD

You can make delicious artisan sourdough bread at home with only water, flour, salt, and time. And practice! It is part science, part art, part mystery. There are as many approaches to sourdough as there are sourdough bakers, and I am always learning and evolving my technique. Through lots of reading and trial and error, this is the basic method that works for me. I love it because it produces fantastic bread with simple processes and minimal hands-on time. With this method, you can bake bread every day or once a week, all white bread flour or a mix of white and whole grain flours.

EQUIPMENT

• Quart ball jar with lid, for starter.

• Dutch oven with lid, for baking.

• Parchment paper.

• Razor (lame) or sharp serrated knife, for scoring.

• Kitchen scale, for measuring (best to use weight!)

• Small mixing bowl, about 8-9” diameter, for proofing (second rise).

• Medium mixing bowl, for dough mixing and rise. 

• Large mixing bowl, if making two loaves at once.

• Med/large cloth, to dampen and cover dough.

• Small cloth, to flour and line proofing bowl.

• Good, sharp, serrated bread knife. Be so careful cutting this super crusty bread!

• Large plastic bag, to put bowl into for proofing in fridge.
  

STARTER

• To feed starter: put 2 oz of starter in quart jar, “discard” any extra (save for crackers or waffles!). Thoroughly mix in 2 oz room temperature water and 2 oz all purpose flour. Cover loosely with jar lid or cloth and let sit at warm room temp (~70-80 degrees) until active: bubbly, doubled in volume, floats in water. Time for this will vary, from a couple hours to most of a day, depending on how healthy your unfed starter is as well as variables like room temp, time since last feeding, etc. Allow at least 4 hours as you get to know your starter and the variables. Note: there are a lot of different approaches to how much and when to feed starter. This is just one basic approach! It is considered “1:1:1” since it is the same ratio of all 3 components. I have also had success with 1:2:2, or not even measuring the starter just add equal parts water and flour.

• If baking daily, feed starter daily and keep at room temp, covered loosely with lid or small cloth. If baking less often, keep starter in fridge (for maximum of 10 days between feedings), feed at room temperature once or twice to get starter nice and active before baking. 

GENERAL NOTES

• Temperature of room makes a big difference for time for starter to get active and dough rising time. If room temp cool, put covered bowl near wood stove to keep it cozy. Alternatively, create slightly warm environment (80-90 degrees) by preheating oven for 2-3 minutes, then turn off, then put covered bowl in oven for rise time. Don’t leave oven on, it is too easy to forget!!

• Always cover dough with damp towel/cloth to prevent drying out. 

• Wash things like spoons right away because it gets really crusty. Soak bowls for easy washing once dough softens.

• Get King Arthur bread flour in bulk at Bread Basket (50 lbs is usually about $20, +/-). You can look into their other bulk flours as well when you’re ready to experiment. I get a bunch and freeze half while I use the first half. And/or 

• Freezing: Sourdough is best consumed on the same day it is baked. To maximize freshness, cool completely and store at room temperature in a plastic bag for up to 1 day. Then slice and freeze, ready to pull individual slices out for toast as needed! (You can do this with leftovers, or slice up and freeze a whole loaf this way). If you want to bake ahead and save, cool loaf completely and freeze whole. Defrost on counter for a couple hours, then warm in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until crust is crisp. Another refreshing technique (whether it’s a day or two old at room temp, or frozen and thawed) is to briefly run water over the whole loaf and then bake at 350 till crisp.

• For best slicing, especially if still a little warm, slice loaf in half then turn cut side down to slice perpendicular "half" slices. Much more stable this way, less likely to smash loaf.

RESOURCES

• Clever Carrot: http://www.theclevercarrot.com/2014/01/sourdough-bread-a-beginners-guide/ and her cookbook, Artisan Sourdough Made Simple.  

• King Arthur Flour: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/guides/sourdough/  

EVERYDAY SOURDOUGH BREAD

By Emilie Raffa, Clever Carrot / Artisan Sourdough Made Simple

 

INGREDIENTS

• 50 g (1⁄4 cup) bubbly, active starter

• 350 g (11⁄3 cups plus 2 tbsp) warm water

• 500 g (4 cups plus 2 tbsp) bread flour

• 14 g (11⁄2 tsp) fine sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. MAKE THE DOUGH: In the evening, whisk the starter and water together in a large bowl with a fork. Add the flour and salt. Combine until a stiff dough forms, then finish mixing by hand to fully incorporate the our. The dough will feel dense and shaggy, and it will stick to your fingers as you go. Scrape as much as you can. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes. Store starter according to preference.

2. After the dough has rested, work the mass into a fairly smooth ball. To do this, grab a portion of the dough and fold it over, pressing your fingertips into the center. Repeat, working your way around the dough until it begins to tighten, about 15 seconds.

3. BULK RISE: Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rise overnight at room temperature. This will take about 8 to 10 hours at 70°F (21°C). The dough is ready when it no longer looks dense and has doubled in size.

4. SHAPE: In the morning, coax the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. To shape it into a round, start at the top and fold the dough over toward the center. Turn the dough slightly and fold over the next section of dough. Repeat until you have come full circle. Flip the dough over and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, line an 8-inch (20-cm) bowl with a towel and dust with flour. With floured hands, gently cup the dough and pull it toward you in a circular motion to tighten its shape. Using a bench scraper, place the dough into the bowl, seam side up. 

5. SECOND RISE (proofing): For immediate bake: Cover the bowl with damp cloth and let rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour. The dough is ready when it looks puffy and has risen slightly but has not yet doubled in size. For delayed bake: Cover with plastic bag or wrap and refrigerate until ready to use, 6-12 hours. Proceed with step 6 when ready to bake.

6. Preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C). Cut a sheet of parchment paper to the size of your baking pot, leaving enough excess around the sides to remove the bread.

7. SCORE: Place the parchment over the dough and invert the bowl to release. Sprinkle the dough with flour and gently rub the surface with your hands. Using the tip of a small, serrated knife or a razor blade, score the dough. Use the parchment to transfer the dough to the baking pot.

8. BAKE: Bake the dough on the center rack for 20 minutes, covered. Remove the lid, and continue to bake for 30 minutes. Then, carefully remove the loaf from the pot and bake directly on the oven rack for the last 10 minutes to crisp the crust. When finished, transfer to a wire rack. Cool for 1 hour before slicing.

9. Sourdough is best consumed on the same day it is baked. To maximize freshness, cool completely and store at room temperature in a plastic bag for up to 1 day. Then slice and freeze, ready to pull individual slices out for toast as needed!

BAKING SCHEDULES

Cold proofing in the fridge really helps make bake time flexible. Dough can be in fridge from 1-12+ hours at this stage! Cold dough is much easier to score, especially for more complex patterns. Choose simple scoring patterns on short room-temp proofed loaves.

MORNING BAKE with long cold proofing

DAY 1

Morning: feed starter (~8am)*

Midday: make dough (~noon) – Steps 1-3

Late evening: shape dough, put in proofing bowl (~8-9pm) – Step 4

Overnight proof in fridge – Step 5

DAY 2

Morning: Bake – Steps 6-8

* you can get starter out the night before, feed, and let activate overnight. Then feed again in the morning if necessary before making dough (as described above). You can always do the “float test” and if your starter is active enough after the night feeding, just go ahead and make dough first thing in morning without having to feed again.

MORNING BAKE with short room temp proofing

DAY 1

Mid-afternoon: feed starter (~3-4pm)

Late evening: make dough (~7-8pm) – Steps 1-3

Overnight bulk rise

DAY 2

Early Morning: shape dough, put in proofing bowl – Step 4-5

30-60 min later, bake – Steps 6-8

AFTERNOON BAKE with long cold proofing

DAY 1

Mid-afternoon: feed starter (~3-4pm)

Late evening: make dough (~7-8pm) – Steps 1-3

Overnight bulk rise

DAY 2

Morning: shape dough, put in proofing bowl – Step 4

Proof in fridge till mid afternoon - Step 5

Mid-afternoon: Bake – Steps 6-8

OTHER RECIPES

• We love the bagels and seeded pumpkin cranberry/orange loaf from Artisan Sourdough cookbook!

• I haven’t tried it yet, but this sandwich recipe is from a sourdough baker I recently started following. She says use it for buns, etc., just change the shaping. She also bakes a lot with fresh milled flour, so check her out on instagram for sourdough+fresh milled tips and ideas. https://www.southworthsourdough.com/post/softest-sourdough-sandwich-bread

• Sandwich recipe from Erin Worrall at The Cedar Chest Farm. (Emily’s sister-in-law!). Her starter is the great grandmother of your’s, Kate – from King Arthur’s that started in the 1700s ! She gave starter to Emily, who gave it to me, and I gave it to you :) https://thecedarchestfarm.com/recipes/soft-sourdough-sandwich-bread

• Tasty sourdough discard “toasting” loaf! Quick, soft, uses commercial leaveners. Based on KA’s english muffin bread. https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2021/06/09/toasting-bread-with-sourdough-starter-discard  Or they have an artisan sourdough recipe with yeast added here: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/rustic-sourdough-bread-recipe

“FAST” 1-DAY SOURDOUGH

Here's my one-day sourdough process, adapted from Brooklyn Sourdough's recipe. It takes a lot more starter and hands-on time, but is much shorter start-to-finish and yields a great loaf. To speed things up even more, especially if my kitchen is cool, I use a barely warm oven like a proofing drawer (turn on to 'warm' for a few min, then turn OFF), for both the starter and dough rising. I also frequently scale up to use 500g flour for slightly larger loaf.

INGREDIENTS

Makes one 750-g loaf

---

100 g whole wheat flour

300 g bread flour

270 ml water

150-240* g mature starter

10-12** g salt

*Note: Original recipe calls for 240g, but I usually use 150-200 and it's still fine. 

***I prefer a saltier dough. Add salt according to taste preference.

Feed starter in morning (even mid to late morning works). When your starter is fully mature, start the dough: in a large mixing bowl, mix 270 ml water, (up to) 240g active starter, and (up to) 12g salt. Add flours and mix thoroughly to form a sticky dough. Let sit, lightly covered, for 1 hour.

Wet your hands with water and perform a series of stretch and folds. Repeat the stretch and folds every 30 minutes 3 more times or so.  Let sit, lightly covered, for 30 additional minutes. (Average total time for bulk fermentation: ~ 3 hours.)

Then pre-shape the loaf on a clean, lightly floured surface. Set aside for a bench rest of at least 10 minutes (up to 30 minutes). Give the dough its final shaping, and: 

(1) to bake in a couple hours, turn out into banneton (either well floured with a 50/50 mix of rice and all-purpose flour or lined with a floured tea towel), lightly cover, and put into the fridge until ready to bake, then proceed with instructions below.

OR (2) to bake right away, preheat oven (see below) while dough resting, skip banneton all together (sacrilege, I know!!), transfer shaped loaf directly to parchment for scoring. Very simple score required, as dough is still wet and springs right open compared to cold-proofed dough.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Turn the dough out onto a crumpled piece of parchment paper, dust with flour, and score.

Immediately place into Dutch oven, parchment paper and all, and put the lid on. Drop the oven temperature to 450 degrees F.  Let cook, covered, for 25-30 minutes. Remove the lid. Bake 15-20 minutes more or until golden brown. Remove from oven and move to a cooling rack. Discard the parchment paper. Let cool at least an hour before cutting, if possible.

Elanore’s French Onion Dip (Vegan)

For the Super Bowl, I recreated the classic cold french onion dip usually eaten with potato chips, but vegan, gluten, and oil-free. I used this recipe (https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021261-vegan-onion-dip) and then added a bunch of different spices and flavors to make it taste more like the classic dip I know and love.

Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup raw cashews (about 4 ounces)

3cups finely chopped yellow onion (from 2 medium onions)

• ¼cup olive oil (I did NOT use oil but did add about a tablespoon of tahini, thinned slightly with water, towards the end of the caramelization process)
• 1(15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained (about 1 cup)
• 4teaspoons lemon juice, plus more as needed
• 4teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• ½teaspoon onion powder
• ½teaspoon sweet paprika (I added much more than that)
• Potato chips or crudités, for serving
• I added: 
• dried minced onion
• poultry seasoning
• a dash of Tamari (GF soy sauce)
• onion salt
• garlic salt and garlic powder (wanted more garlic flavor but didn't want to make it too salty)
• garlic and herb seasoning
• (I have no idea how much of each... I measured with my heart and kept tasting as I went until I had something that tasted like french onion dip)
• INSTRUCTIONS:
• In a bowl, cover the cashews with water and let them soak at room temperature for 2 hours.
• About 45 minutes before the cashews are finished soaking, combine the chopped onions, olive oil and a pinch of salt in a medium skillet over medium-low heat (NOTE: I did not use oil but did add about a tablespoon of tahini towards the end of the caramelization process). Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until they are deep golden brown and caramelized, about 30 minutes. To prevent the onions from burning and sticking to the bottom of the skillet, you can add a splash of water, but don't add too much, you're not trying to make a sauce or anything.
• Drain the cashews and add them to the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender with the beans and ½ cup water. Blend the mixture until smooth, about 5 minutes, stopping the mixer and scraping down the bowl occasionally. Add the lemon juice, vinegar, soy sauce, and seasonings, and blend again until smooth. I added the onions into the mixture in the food processor and pulsed just a couple times to mix and chop the onions a little smaller, but if you're using a blender I would suggest just stirring the onions in so your dip doesn't end up totally smooth.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving with ruffle potato chips (or veggies).

Evie’s Potato Soup (Vegan)

Soak 3/4 cup raw cashews for at least a few hours

Sauté 2 onions in instant pot

Layer in 3-4 carrots, chopped potatoes, and leave just enough room for two bags of frozen cauliflower and/or broccoli (should be mostly potatoes)

Fill with broth or water to the top of potatoes

Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, nooch, and miso paste

Set to 10 minutes pressure cook

Once done, spoon out some broth and blend with 4-6 cloves garlic and cashews until smooth.

Add blended cashews back into soup. Then either use an immersion blender or potato masher to mash everything up smooth (I took the big chunks and about half the soup into the blender for a few seconds and mashed up the rest. For more texture use just the potato masher)

I mixed in some frozen corn at this stage but you can add anything you’d like. Adjust seasonings to taste.