flax and carrot pulp crackers (gluten-free)

I wasn't going to post about these, but they came out so good. It is amazing that they are gluten-free, since they are so flaky and crispy and satisfying when you want something that goes "crunch."

A while back, I juiced a bunch of carrots and froze the carrot pulp that was extracted, since I heard you could use it to make crackers. So that's what I did. Here is the recipe that I used: Flax & Carrot Pulp Ginger Crackers. Basically, you grind the flaxseed (coffee grinder works well) and combine with the juicer pulp and some water and spices.

I also added sunflower seeds, some lemon juice, and salt. I baked them instead of dehydrating since I didn't feel like rolling them out in a doughnut shape. I used my classic technique of perforating the rolled out "dough" with a pizza cutter halfway through baking.

I have a lot more carrot pulp in the freezer, so I'll definitely be making more of these. I'll have to make a batch with amaranth seeds since I've found those to be really nice in crackers.

chila: the original gluten free pancake

A friend had us over for dinner last night. She is bravely transitioning into a life free of gluten (wheat, barley, rye, etc) and since we like a good challenge, we offered to make a gluten-free flat bread.

But it actually turned out to be a crazy easy endeavor - thank you internet!  No, we did not recreate naan with all kinds of alternative flours (rice flours, potato flour, xanthan gum, tapioca starch, and so on) because there already exists a traditional Indian pancake called chila (or cheela or cheelay) that is very simply made of chickpea flour (aka garbanzo flour or gram flour)!  Here is the recipe that we used.

eggplant lasagna

If you ever need to cook for lots of people with diets ranging from open to selective, try this lasagna. Even people picky about eating only familiar "American" food should find some comfort in this dish, even though it is vegetarian. Use whatever veggies are in season or available (eggplant, steamed kale, brocoli, mushrooms). We chose eggplant because it just debuted at the farmer's market, but beware that there are people with eggplant allergies. For your vegans or those with lactose sensitivity you can used crumbled tofu or mashed white beans in place of ricotta cheese. To cater to the soy-phobics, I used mashed white beans. For the gluten-free people, I used gluten-free rice lasagna noodles instead of standard lasagna noodles. Yes, I know, that is a lot of substitutions, but it still tastes damned good!

Serving Size: 6

Ingredients:
6 oven-ready, gluten-free rice lasagna noodles

Roasted Eggplant Ingredients:
4 c. eggplants, diced
1/2 c. water
1 T. olive oil
1/2 t. basil
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. salt

Pasta Sauce Ingredients:
2 c. chunky tomato sauce
1 c. onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
1 T. honey (or sugar for the super strict vegans)
1 T. olive oil
1 t. basil
1 t. oregano
1/2 t. salt

Mashed White Bean Ingredients:
1 c. white beans, cooked
2 T. lemon juice
1 T. olive oil
1 t. oregano
1 t. salt

In a 9x9 baking dish, mix the eggplant ingredients. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Stir half way through. When it's done, remove the eggplant from the 9x9 baking dish so you can use it again.

Meanwhile, get the pasta sauce started by sauteing onions in olive oil, basil, oregano, and salt. When the onions are translucent, add the garlic and let it cook another minute. Then add the chunky tomato sauce and honey. Let it simmer.

Mash the cooked white beans with lemon juice, olive oil, oregano and salt.

Layer the pasta, pasta sauce, eggplants and mashed white beans in the 9x9 baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.