Spicy Sesame Ginger Sauce

In honor of surpassing 2,000 blog views and nearly 50 recipes, I'll be posting a few BRAND NEW recipes this week! That's right, recipes that I have made up myself. I'm sure there will be plenty of improvements to be made in the future, but if they taste good on the first try I'll share them!

My first of the series is a spicy sesame ginger sauce that can be used in a stir fry or as a dipping sauce. I'd like to figure out how to make the sauce thicker without affecting the flavor, so I'll be doing some research and adding an update in the next couple of weeks. This recipe coated a stir fry worth 2-3 servings, so you may want to double it if your want more saturation or are using a larger recipe. If you do, remember the cardinal rule of doubling... Don't double the spices unless you want to end up with something so spicy you can barely eat it! I speak from experience.

Spicy Sesame Ginger Sauce
By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:
2 T water
2 1/2 t sesame oil
2t rice vinegar
1 t soy sauce
1T plus 1/4t minced ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 t red chili pepper
1/4 t agave syrup
2t sesame seeds

Whisk together all ingredients until thoroughly blended. Add to stir fry or use as dipping sauce.

Enjoy!

A Tasty Halloween!

It's that time of year! Lately, I've been doing so much with pumpkins. In fact, I think pretty much everything I've made in the last couple weeks has involved pumpkin in some way. I've decided to combine all these recipes into one big post. I hope you like pumpkin!

Perfect Pumpkin Spelt Bread
Adapted from A Grain a Day

Ingredients:
3 c spelt flour
2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 t ground cinnamon
3 t pumpkin pie spice
3 T arrowroot powder
1 T flax seeds
2/3 c agave syrup
2 c pumpkin puree
1/4 c canola oil
1/3 c apple sauce
Pumpkin seeds for garnish

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately. Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir until smooth and uniform.

Step: Spread mixture into greased bread pan. Bake for around 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center of the bread. Let cool.


Pumpkin Spice Granola
Adapted from Skinny Taste
Ingredients:
1/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and pat dried
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup agave syrup
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 t coconut oil
1 t pumpkin pie spice
1/4 t cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 t vanilla extract

Step 1: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine all wet ingredients and spices and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Step 2: In a separate bowl, combine quinoa, oats, flax, seeds, almonds, and cranberries. Pour wet mixture over dry and stir until everything is thoroughly coated.

Step 3: Spread mixture on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Bake in oven for 20 minutes, or until golden. Remove and let cool before storing in an airtight container.

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds
Adapted From The Hazel Bloom
Ingredients:
Around 2 c pumpkin seeds (Mine came from the pumpkins I carved!
3 T Canola oil
1T powder stevia extract
1 1/2 t salt
1 T rosemary
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t black pepper

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all seasoning and oil and mix until thoroughly blended. Add pumpkin seeds and stir until seeds are evenly coated.

Step 2: Spread seeds on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Let cool.

I even had a pumpkin dish at my favorite Italian restaurant! I must say, Pumpkin ravioli in a sage cream sauce may just be one of the best things I've ever tasted...

I hope these recipes make your halloween even more fun! If you have any more amazing pumpkin recipes send me a message with your recipe!

Balsamic Beet and Carrot Salad

Hi all! It's been FOREVER since I've posted a recipe, so I figured I'd stop being lazy and post something. I had a bunch of beets from Trader Joe's in the fridge, so I decided to use them up.


I don't think I used as many veggies as the original recipe called for, so there was a lot of excess dressing. Just know that you may have some tasty dressing left over to use on future salads.

Balsamic Beet and Carrot Salad
Adapted from Simple Spoon
Ingredients:
1 package Trader Joe's pre-cooked beets (or 3-4 cooked beets)
1-2 cups baby carrots
1/2 cup raw almonds
Crumbled Feta cheese for topping
1T agave syrup
Sea salt

Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
15 basil leaves, shredded
2 cloves minced garlic

Step 1: Heat saute pan to medium. Add almonds and cook until fragrant, stirring regularly but not constantly. Once they've darkened slightly and are fragrant, turn off heat and add agave. Stir until almonds are evenly coated. Sprinkle with salt. Transfer to a clean plate. Syrup will solidify, creating candied almonds!

Step 2: Steam baby carrots until al dente.

Step 2: Add all dressing ingredients together and mix until homogenous. Drizzle beets and carrots with dressing and top with feta cheese and almonds.

Enjoy!

Spiced Coconut Bites

        I used to view potlucks as a burden because it meant I had to come up with something to bring... Now I love them because it means I have to come up with something to bring! Today I went and saw a local circus group with my friends and we all brought a little something to munch on. Since we 'd be sitting on grass without a ton of space, I didn't want to bring something that needed napkins, plates, forks, etc. Instead, I made a dessert-ish finger food: Coconut balls.

        Inspired by Anja's recipe on Anja's Food 4 Thought, I used her basic recipe and spiced it up a little (literally). The result had a taste similar to cinnamon cookie dough (which was dangerously delicious), but without the excessive butter, refined sugar, and flour. The only issue I had with these little bites was that they were a little difficult to shape, as they are a little crumbly. However, I found that using a teaspoon as a mold was extremely helpful. These balls are great as a dessert, snack, or potluck item and are healthy in comparison to cookies, cakes, and other classic desserts. 

Spiced Coconut Bites

Ingredients:

1 cup almond meal

1 cup coconut flakes

2T agave syrup

1t cinnamon

1t cardamom

1/2t vanilla extract

Extra coconut flakes and cocoa powder for coating

Step 1: Blend all ingredients in a food processor until completely mixed and mixture sticks together when compressed.

Step 2: Using a teaspoon or other round spoon, fill with dough and press until sticking together. Gently slide ball out of the spoon and carefully coat in either cocoa or coconut flakes. Once all dough has been shaped, serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. 

 Enjoy!