Buckwheat Neatloaf

This is my kids favorite neatloaf recipe and I love it because it's so fast to make compared to other neatloaf recipes. Buckwheat is gluten free and high in protein so it's very healthy protein source.

6 large marinated green olives, diced (mine was a Italian herb marinate)
1 tbs honey mustard
1 tbs Bragg's liquid amino's or light soy sauce
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup creamy buckwheat cereal
1/2 cup water
1 tbs dried parsley
1/2 cup cheese ( I used rice cheese)
1 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to F400

Grease a baking dish with a little margarine. Mix everything in a sauce pan and bring to a boil while stirring. Simmer until it's very thick. Remove from heat and add cheese and blend well. Place dough in a baking dish and shape it like a loaf. Bake for 20 minutes.

Tea bread buns

This is another baked thing from Sweden and we call them tea breads. Why I have no idea and since Swedes are more famous for amount of coffee drinking rather than tea so it sure make no sense. These little breads are super soft flat buns and they taste great with tons of butter and cheese, with tea or notJ

50g butter

2 1/2 cup milk

1 cup rolled oats

1 package active dry yeast

1 tbsp. agave nectar

1 tsp. salt

5-6 cups white spelt flour

Melt butter and add milk, agave nectar, oats and stir. Leave to swell for 2 minutes. Combine in a large bowl or kitchen aid; yeast, salt and half of the flour and blend. Add milk/butter, oats and blend well. Keep adding flour while working dough until you have elastic dough that lets go of the bowl. Cover bowl with a towel and leave to rise for 30 minutes.

Knead dough on a counter top or table sprinkled with a little flour. Knead for a few minutes.  Divide dough into 14 pieces and roll them to a ball and then flatten them until about 1 inch thick with your hands. Use a fork and poke a couple of holes in each bun, not all the way down. Place on a cookie sheet and cover with a towel and leave to rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to F415.

Bake buns 5-10 minutes until they are golden brown. Yummy!!!!

Buckwheat Neatloaf With French Flavors

We loved neatloafs in this family and my favorite neatloaf recipe for sure is this buckwheat one. It’s so easy and fast to make compared to other neatloafs so it’s a perfect one to have on hand when you’re in a rush. We ate our neatloaf with rosemary roasted potatoes and large leafy green salad made with lettuce from our neighbors garden.

1 cup creamy buckwheat cereal such as Bob's Red Mill

1 cup water

½ cup sundried tomatoes

½ cup dried mushrooms, I used chanterelles

2 tsp. dried French herbs

2 tsp. salt

½ tsp. black pepper

¾ cup grated cheese

Preheat oven to F400.

Heat water and soak the sun dried tomatoes and dried mushrooms in it for 30-60 minutes. Place soaked mushrooms, tomatoes, the soaking water in blender and mix for 20 seconds. Combine this with buckwheat cereal, French herbs, salt and pepper in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring often. Keep cooking on medium heat while stirring until it thickens. Pour batter into a greased small loaf pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the loaf solid and stiff so you can cut into it. 

Kamut and fruit porridge

I usually cook oatmeal every either with blueberries or banana but when I ran out of oats and when to buy some more I found kamut flakes and thought to try a new grain. So this morning I made kamut porridge with apples and cinnamon that was highly appreciated by Noah who ate happily. It was definitely filling and satisfying way to start the morning.

Kamut is a high protein grain and although it’s lower in fiber than other wheat grains it does contain many other important nutrients such as vitamin E, Thiamin, Riboflavin, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, pantothentic acid, copper and complex carbohydrates.

½ cup kamut flakes

1 cup water

1 tbsp. dried mulberries

¼ apple, peeled and grated

1 pinch of cinnamon

1 pinch of cardamom

1 tsp. agave nectar

1 tsp. coconut butter

Combine everything except coconut butter and agave nectar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for about 5-7 minutes while stirring often until it’s thick. Stir in coconut butter and agave nectar and serve.

Barley Risotto

Of all the grains we eat at home quinoa and rice ranks highest on our list but lately I try to cook more barley. I love barley because it was a very hearty and nutty flavor and is perfect in soups or instead of rice. I think why I don’t cook it more is because it takes longer to cook than say quinoa. But today I made barley risotto with green cabbage from our garden and lemon and it was a huge hit with everyone.

Barley is a great source of fibers. Barley is also high in some essential nutrients than rice, including potassium, zinc and folate.

4 cups warm vegetables stock

1/8 cup olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, grated

1 ½ cups green cabbage, chopped

1 ½ cup pearled barley, rinsed

½ cup dry white wine

½ cup grated cheese (I used mozzarella style rice cheese)

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large saucepan and cook garlic and onion on medium heat. Do not let them brown but rather cook until glossy. Add cabbage and cook until slightly wilted. Add barley and stir. Add the wine and stir and cook until it’s all absorbed. Now little by little add the stock. Repeat this until barley is al dente which takes about 20-25 minutes. Most or all of the stock will be gone by then.

Sexy Seed Cakes

I continue to try recipes from Kris Carr’s book Crazy Sexy Diet and this time I tried making pancakes with many different sees. I was intrigued by how all these kinds of seeds would taste as a pancake. They were a bit more bread type than regular pancakes but were super yummy. Noah my 17-month-old loves the pancakes and I love that they are so healthy. As most times I changed the recipe just a littleJ

I love my pancakes topped with fruit and agave nectar

My little man who loves his pancakes

¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds

¼ raw sunflower seeds

¼ cup raw flax meal

¼ cup hemp seeds

1 cup millet

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

½ tbsp. agave nectar

½ vanilla bean, split open and seeds used

Almond milk until perfect thin batter

Coconut oil to brush pan in

Ground millet in a high-speed blender or food processor until it’s a flour. Place millet flour in a large bowl. Ground pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds and add them to the bowl too. Combine with hemp seeds, flax meal, salt, baking powder, and vanilla bean. Blend with agave nectar and add milk until you have a perfect pancake batter. Brush a non-stick frying pan with coconut oil and cook pancakes. Flip them when they start bubbling. 

Easy Granola

Bella’s new favorite thing to eat right now is granola. She had it with berries in a restaurant and ever since it’s granola all day and specially for breakfast. I have bought the granola at the farmers market but how silly when really it’s so easy to make your own. Granola can made so many different way nuts, no nuts, dried fruit or absolutely nothing but oats, oil and honey. I make mine with seeds so that Noah can eat it too.

1 ½ cups rolled oats

½ cup puffed millet

1 tsp. salt

3 tbsp. coconut oil

¼ cup Agave nectar

½ vanilla bean, split open and seeds used

2/3 cups raisins

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to F350.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl mix all ingredients except the raisings and blend well. Spread out on parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes, stir and flip the granola and then bake for another 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool completely. Add the raisins and granola is done.

Blueberry oatmeal bread

The past two mornings Noah has refused to eat his blueberry oatmeal so I’ve saved it hoping he would change his mind. When it happened again this morning I decided not to make it again. But since I now had a cup of made up I used by making blueberry oatmeal bread that turned out so well. It’s gluten free and low sugar and funny thing is THAT Noah loved.

1 cup blueberry oatmeal

2 tbsp. agave nectar

¼ vanilla bean, seeds used

3 tbsp. flax seed meal

1 cup warm non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)

2 cups gluten free all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to F350

Blend oatmeal, agave nectar, vanilla bean seeds, flax seed meal and milk in a bowl. Add flour and baking powder and mix. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until center is dry. Check by inserting a toothpick into bread and see if it comes out dry and clean. 

Oatmeal bread baked in baking dish

This oatmeal bread is super easy to make because you don’t have to make rolls or shape into a loaf. All I did was press the dough into regular large baking dish.  The weekend are super busy right now with tons of activities for Bella. This weekend it was the May Fair at her school and we helped out. Right before the fair I taught a prenatal yoga class so it was running here and there and then spending time outside in the heat.

So today when I had to bake for the week I was lacking in both energy and inspiration. But lucky me, oatmeal and maple bread is the families favorite and what shape it comes out in they really do not care.

2 ½ cups  water

50g butter

2 ½ cups oats plus some for decoration

6 cups white spelt flour or all-purpose flour (maybe more)

1 tsp. salt

1 ½ tsp. active dry yeast

¼ cup maple syrup

Combine water, oats and butter in a saucepan and bring to boil while stirring. When it’s kind of gluey it’s done. Let it cool for 10 minutes. 

Pour oatmeal into to a large bowl or kitchen aid. Add flour, maple syrup, salt and yeast. Work the dough until it’s elastic and lets go of the bowl. Cover bowl with a towel and leave to rise in a draft free place for 1 hour. 

Knead dough on a floured surface for 3-5 minutes. Line a large baking dish with parchment paper and press dough into it and make it even. Use a fork to poke some holes all over dough. Cover with towel and rise again for 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to F400. Brush dough with some warm milk and sprinkle oats over. Bake for 15-20 minutes until it’s golden brown and center is firm. Cut into squares once bread is cool. 

Spelt tortillas

Sunday’s are what we call a low-impact-day, which means we try to do as little impact on the environment as possible. In our case it means only go where we can go by foot, bike or trolley, not use electricity unless necessary, eat at home and create as little trash as possible. Sounds nuts but it’s fun and kids love it since it means doing tons of funs together. Since I can’t use mixer of blender I have to really think about food what makes me wonder how on earth I ever survived without my food processor or blender beforeJ

For lunch I made Mexican food; pinto beans, grilled veggies, salsa and avocado and  homemade tortillas’ I leaned to make tortilla while volunteering in Bella’s class last week and I loved how they ate them with beans and cheese for snack. It inspired me to make my own version of their snack time but made it suitable for lunch.  I did cook my tortillas on the BBQ but you can also cook them on a dry skillet.

1cup whole wheat spelt flour

1 cup white spelt flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. butter, room temperature

¾ cup warm milk

• Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl and blend it well. 
• Add milk and butter little at the time until all is mixed and you have a sticky ball. 
• Knead on a floured surface until you have a firm and soft ball. Place dough back into bowl and cover with a towel. 
• Leave it to rest for 10 minutes. 
• Take dough and divide into 10 pieces. 
• Roll each pierce to a ball with your hands. 
• Flatten ball with your hand and use a rolling pin to roll out dough to a large and thin circle on floured surface. 
• Cook the tortilla on each side until bubbly and than wrap in a towel to keep warm. 
• Don’t over cook, as they will become crispy. 

Baking Soda Carrot Bread Loaf

I hope you all had a great time celebrating Earth Day yesterday. We harvested potatoes from our garden, which will be dinner tonight, we planted new potatoes and we BBQ hot dogs. All and all it was a mellow but fun day. At night James and me ate a romantic raw dinner by candle light and toasting in kombucha. Our pledge was to not use TV, computers, IPads or phones all day and beside one short phone call we made it. Instead we played cards after the kids went to sleep.

I baked bread this morning so Bella would have a sandwich for her lunch and just made a fast rising bread with oats, honey and carrots.  This is bread that does not contain yeast so therefore there is no need to rise or knead it. The dough resembles more like batter but it’s good and fast to bake.

Bella and me gathering our potatoes

Noah celebrating Earth by admiring all the wild flowers

¾ cup oats

1 ½ cups whole wheat spelt flour

2 ½ cups white spelt flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 cups plain yogurt

2/3 cup honey

¾ cup grated carrots

½ cup raw sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to F400

Grease a large loaf pan. Combine whole wheat and white flour, oats, baking soda, salt and sunflower seeds and blend. Add yogurt, carrots and honey blend until a sticky batter. Pour into loaf pan bake for 40-50 minutes. Center should be dry when done. Let loaf cool completely in pan before removing. 

Raspberry and Banana Millet Puffs

I’m always looking for the perfect snack that is both yummy and healthy for my kids. It’s fun to try new things and to surprise them with it. This recipe I found on a Swedish blog by a woman who dedicate it to cooking for her child. I’m in love them myself and could not stop eating them.

7 medjool dates, pitted
¼ cup raspberries

1 very ripe banana

½ vanilla bean, split open and seeds used

1 tbsp. chia seeds

2 cups millet puffs

Preheat oven to F350

Line a cookie sheet with a parchment paper.

Puree dates, raspberries, banana, vanilla bean seeds and chia seeds until lump free and creamy. Fold in the puffs until completely incorporated. Spread dough in the parchment paper with wet hands. Bake for 30 minutes. Break cake a part to smaller pieces when cool.

Vegan and gluten free apple pancakes

Like I said in yesterdays post I love when I get to spend some extra time with my kids due to holiday, school break or in this case due to sickness. Don’t get me wrong I’m not happy Bella is sick but happy to be able to take care of her when she is.

 Since there it's no need to rush in the morning I’ve made pancakes for breakfast and this time I experimented and made gluten free pancakes with apples and boy they were so good. I have a lot of friends with gluten issues so I want to be able to cook for them too. I know there are many gluten free pancake mixes out there but they are not always vegans. This recipe I adapted from Oh She Glows’s web site.

Bella loves warm pancakes for breakfast and says I make the best. Now that warm a mama's heart

Healthy and yummy, can't beat that for breakfast

Noah digging into pancakes only after eating a cup full of oatmeal and a cup of milk first:)

½ cup raw buckwheat groats (grounded in a food processor or blender into flour

¼ cup brown rice flour

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. baking powder

¾ cup+2 tbsp. almond milk

2 tbsp.  Agave nectar
1 tbs canola oil

11/2 vanilla bean, split open and seeds used

1 medium and ripe banana, mashed

1 medium apple, peeled and grated

In a large bowl combine buckwheat grounds, brown rice flour, cornstarch and baking powder and blend. Add almond milk, agave nectar, vanilla been seeds, banana and grated apple and blend. Cook pancakes on a slightly large non-stick skillet over medium heat. 

Bulgur & bean patties

I'm so happy my vegetable garden is in full bloom after all the rain we been having and now finally the sun. I love being out there working and pulling weeds. My potatoes and garlic came up this week and my fava beans are grown like mad. I love eating fava beans right from the garden but I will have to wait until later this summer for mine to be ready for harvest. Luckily I can buy fava beans at the farmers market until then. I making fava bean patties mixed with cheese and bulgur wheat. I'm serving them with sweet potato fries, creamed corn and steamed broccoli. Yum!!!!

2 cups cooked bulgur
1 cup cooked fava beans
garlic herb salt
1 tsp ground chili pepper
1/2 cup grated cheese ( I used rice cheese)
1/4 cup sour cream ( I used tofutti sour cream)
Unhulled sesame seeds to coat the patties in
2 tbs olive oil

Preheat oven to F400.
Combine bulgur, fava beans, herb salt, chili pepper, cheese, sour cream in a food processor and mix but still letting some bigger pieces of beans left. With wet hands shape dough into smaller patties. Place sesame seeds in a bowl and turn the patties to coat them so they are sort of breaded. Place patties on a parchment paper and brush each with a little olive oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Oat bread loaf

Yesterday was a wonderful day with clear blue skies and that kind of day that it would be a crime to eat inside. So we had a picnic, twice actually; lunch and dinner. For lunch we went to a park on Coronado Island and feasted on salad and fresh baked bread. I made oat bread that was a huge hit with Bella.

2 cups white spelt flour
1 cup whole wheat spelt flour
3/4 cups oats
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup room temperatures almond milk
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup honey

In a large bowl combine flour, oats, yeast and salt. In a smaller bowl combine almond milk, water, oil and honey and stir until honey has dissolved. Add the liquid little at the time until completely combined and work the batter to a dough for a few minutes. Cover bowl with a towel and set in a dry and warm place to rise for 1 hour. Place dough on a surface sprinkled with a little flour. Kneel dough for a few minutes. Shape dough into a loaf and place in a well greased loaf pan. Cover with a towel and set to rise for a second time with oven is preheating. Preheat oven to F350. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the loaf is golden brown and center is dry.

Tomato Lentil Patties

It has been a super busy day and here I'm now sitting watching Fried Green Tomatoes and drinking some tea while kids are sleeping and James is at yoga. Dinner was delicious lentil patties served with pasta,, swiss chard and broccoli. The patties are packed with protein from the lentils but also from buckwheat and sunflower seeds and they are gluten free. Could not be better hum?

2/3 cup cooked green lentils

1/2 tsp ground chili

1/2 tsp garlic salt

Herb salt and black pepper to taste

2 carrots,grated

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

3/4 cup buckwheat cereal

1/4 cups sun dried tomatoes, chopped and soaked in 1/2 cup water for 1 hour

1/2 cup cheese ( I used pepper jack rice cheese)

Canola oil to cook patties in

Combine everything including the tomato soaking water but except the canola oil in a food processor and blend until all mixed and you have a "wet" ball that's easy to shape. If not either add more water and cheese if too dry or more buckwheat cereal if too wet. Shape into small and flat patties. Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat and cook a few minutes on each side until they are browned. 

Herb grilled seitan & bulgur salad

Yesterday was a big day for us because first dropped off a couple of home made meals for friends who just became parents to a beautiful little girl name Violet. She was welcomed by her parents off course but also two older brothers.

In the afternoon some other friends came for dinner to celebrate their engagement. We're so happy for all off you and honored we got to be part of all the celebrations. With the nice warm weather we had yesterday I felt like a hearty salad and made this bulgur salad with tons of vegetables and topped with garlic and herb seitan. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day.

1 cup seitan, pieces

1 tbs olive oil

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 tsp herb salt

1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 Endive head, chopped

1/2 cup corn

1 tomato, diced

1 cup sprouts

1 1/2 cup cooked bulgur

Dressing:

2 tbs hemp oil

1 tbs lemon juice

1/2 tbs honey

1/2 tbs Dijon mustard

Black pepper

Salt

Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium heat and sauté garlic for 1 minutes. Add seitan and herb salt and cook to brown seitan for a few minutes. Flip them a couple of times. Remove seitan and cook mushrooms until browned too. Mix everything for the dressing in a small bowl. Combine in a large salad bowl bulgur, endives, corn, tomato, sprouts. Toss with dressing and serve with seitan and mushrooms on top.

Vegetable pancakes

My little man Noah is now enjoying feeding him self.  Unfortunately that does not mean a whole lots of vegetables so I have to be clever and "hide" them in foods he do enjoy. These pancakes are one of them and I added carrots and corn last time and kale, chickpeas and carrots the time before.

He loves them and I'm happy because he my vegetarian baby boy gets carbohydrates, protein, omegas and vitamins from the vegetables all in one go and I can't ask for a more healthy and nutritional lunch for him. He also munched on an apple for dessert and drank a glass of oat milk. My big boy!

2 eggs
1/2 cup milk ( I used homemade oat milk)
1.2 cup + 1 tbs spelt flour
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup corn
Canola oil to cook pancakes in

Whisk each egg and add flour and milk and blend until lump free. Add cottage cheese, carrots and corn and combine quickly. Heat oil in frying pan on medium heat and cook 1/4 cup batter on each pancakes for a few minutes and then flip and cook another couple of minutes until the are golden brown.

Buckwheat neatloaf with cauliflower mash

On Sundays I like to make a little more effort and make special food I know kids are crazy about. This Sunday I made a buckwheat neatloaf served with a mashed cauliflower. I love the flavor combination of the two and I love serving cauliflower this way since it's neither kids favorite vegetable. Buckwheat is gluten free despite the name and contains tons of fiber, protein and high dose of Omega-3 and vitamin B so it's a great substitute for meat or soy products.

Neatloaf
1 cup buckwheat cereal
1 cup water
1/4 cup marinated green olives, minced
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp garlic salt
Herb salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to Bring to a boil water and cereal. Reduce to a simmer and cook until thicken while stirring often, about 5 minutes. Blend buckwheat cereal with olives, sundred tomatoes, herb salt, salt and pepper. Shape into a loaf and place in a well greased baking dish. Cook in oven for 15-20 minutes. 

Mashed cauliflower

1/2 culiflower head, chopped

1 large russet potatoe, peeled and diced

water

2 tbs butter

Milk ( I used almond milk)

2 tsp parsley, minced

Salt & pepper to taste

Combine cauliflower, potato in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until vegetables are soft, about 5-10 minutes. Strain and mash with the butter until it's mash and not too many lumps excist. Add milk until desired concistancy. Stir in parsley, salt and pepper.

Slow cooked super food porridge

I mainly use my crock pot to cook beans in since they take a fair amount of time to cook and this way I can leave house while they cook. But yesterday I decided to try something new and make porridge in the crock pot so there would be warm breakfast waiting or us when we woke up.

We eat oatmeal pretty much every morning but I wanted to try to make an even more powerful breakfast by using super grains such as quinoa and barley. It turned out really well and I think Noah was the one who liked it the best.
Quinoa and barley both contains proteins, fiber and iron and are both considered a low glycemic index food which means it will not make your blood sugar go on a roller coaster.

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed 
1/2 cup barley, rinsed ( I used purple barley but pearled barley will do as well
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbs crystallized ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs raw or extra virgin coconut oil
4 cups water

Place everything in crock pot and blend the last thing you do in the evening and turn crock pot to low. Serve with maple syrup, raw pumpkin seeds, milk and sliced bananas for a wholesome breakfast that last you a long time.