Cold Weather = Soup Weather

In keeping up with the leftovers theme, I made a batch of soup yesterday. I've been buying quite a bit of celery lately and when I just eat the stalks, I'm left with the top stalks and leaves. Not wanting that to go to waste I decided to make soup. I used the leftover celery, 1 medium onion, a clove of garlic, and 1 bunch kale. I seasoned the the soup with Mexican seasoning, chipotle cayenne, salt, and pepper. I also added about a 1/4 cup of black beans to help give more of a creamy consistency. Adding the chipotle cayenne made it spicy but so good. I added a dollop of Greek yogurt and cilantro for my lunch today. One of the nice things about making soup is that the measurements don't need to be exact. It's always fun making a batch because I end up adding more ingredients as I go along. I'm thinking of some variations I can do with this so a real recipe will be up soon.

Sugar and Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie

 The weather is finally cooling down a bit and it’s starting to feel like fall. I love seeing the all the colored leaves falling from the trees. In keeping with the season, pumpkin cheesecake was one of the flavors on the weekly menu for Enjoy Cupcakes this past week. Not being able to eat sugar or gluten was torturous on me. On Sunday morning while at work, I was thinking to myself how I could make a gluten and sugar free pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving is approaching and I need an alternative. I’ve been making quiches lately so I thought I could use a similar recipe for the crust. In my first attempt I used equal parts almond and coconut flour with equal parts water, grapeseed oil, and almond milk. This crust came out too thick and dry. The recipe for the filling was found on Kath Eats Real Food. The end result had too much spice added to it giving the mixture a grainy texture. Overall it was decent but I knew I could make it even better with some revisions. Today I made my second attempt. The recipe is below. After my first bite I knew my alterations had paid off. I will be making this for Thanksgiving. A larger batch of course. This mini pumpkin pie can be eaten in one sitting by one person. Yes, that would be me.

Sugar and Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie

For the crust

1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon almond flour

1 Tablespoon coconut flour

1 Tablespoon ground flax

1 + 1/2 Tablespoons Earth Balance (I use the soy free)

1 teaspoon xylitol

1/2 teaspoon water

pinch of salt

Sift together all dry ingredients. Beat butter until well combined and then add the water. Form dough in a ramekin and bake for about 13 minutes at 350°. 

Remove from oven and let cool completely.

For the filling

1/2 cup organic canned pumpkin (fresh could be used in place)

1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

37 drops liquid stevia (I use the Kal brand.)

3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

dash of vanilla extract

Mix well to combine

Once your pie crust is completely cooled, fill with pumpkin pie filling.

Garnish with slivered almonds if desired... Chopped pecans would probably be good too.

Place in freezer for about 45 minutes to an hour.

Remove and enjoy the pumpkin pie goodness without sugar or gluten.

Breakfast

Happy Monday! I love Mondays because I get to sleep in and spend my morning in bed drinking tea and catching up on writing. Once my appetite set in I had to get out from under my cozy blankets and make my way to the kitchen. Now I'm back in bed working on this. I swear my whole day won't be this lazy. I always feel like I'm craving something in particular in the mornings but once I see what I have to work with, I create something entirely different. This morning I made steamed apples with cinnamon, almond butter, Greek yogurt mixed with flax seeds, and topped with chopped apple peel. There were a lot of different textures in this dish but that's what makes food so interesting.

Bamboo steamers are probably my favorite thing to cook with. I use them at least once a day. Chinatown is a good place to find them.

I have to share this photo. On Friday we had a really busy day in the kitchen. I was filling our syrah cupcakes with fudge and as I pulled away the pastry bag this little face was smiling back at me. It  happened completely by chance and totally made my day. It's definitely a reflection of how I feel when I'm there. Having a job that you love and enjoy is the best feeling in the world.