A Tasty Flatbread, A Spread and A Dip

These are relatively easy, nice GF flatbread too...

CHICKPEA FLATBREAD

1 C. chickpea flour

1/2 C. sorghum or brown rice flour (more if needed)

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1 tsp. sugar or agave

1/2 tsp. black mustard seed or nigella seed

2 chopped scallions

1/4 C. chopped italian parsley

1 Tbsp. cornstarch, potato starch or tapioca starch

olive oil

salt to taste

warm water

Acitvate yeast with a little sugar and 1/2 C. warm water. Begin adding the flours, starch and warm

water, alternating until you get a pancake batter-like consistency. Add the rest and season (to taste I guess), include a little bit of olive oil but not much. Allow the batter to sit for an hour. Add more liquid if you must and then heat a light coating of olive oil in a pan. Spread batter like a thick crepe in the pan and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides. 

Continue on with this, basting the pan with oil as needed until you're all done.

ROASTED TOMATO SPREAD

4 tomatoes

1 split chili pepper, seeded

2 peeled garlic cloves

1/2 C. chopped olives

1/2 C. chopped artichoke hearts

1/2 tsp. ground sumac

salt and pepper to taste

several Tbsp. olive oil

handful of italian parsley

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. lemon zest

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. marjoram or oregano and dill together

Halve the tomatoes and coat them in oil with a bit of salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour with the chili pepper. 

Allow to cool then puree with everything else. 

WHITE BEAN-AVOCADO DIP

1 1/2 C. cooked white beans (preferably butter beans, or cannelini)

2 avocados

1/4 C. (or more) lemon juice

a splash of cider vinegar

several Tbsp. olive oil

salt to taste

1 chopped scallion

2 or 3 peeled garlic cloves

several Tbsp. chopped italian parsley

Blend until smooth, thick and creamy, seasoning to taste. Add a bit more liquid if you have to. Broth or coconut milk being the most recommended.

Couple of Easy Recipes

Here are two nice vegetable oriented recipes...

SPICY KALE WITH SWEET POTATO CUBES

2 or 3 spicy chilies and 2 poblano peppers

salt, pepper, lime juice, chili power, cumin, coriander, paprika

2 C. diced sweet potato

2 chopped heads of kale

1 onion cut into thin strips

2 peeled, diced mangoes

olive oil

Roast the peppers at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, cool then seed and cut into strips. Season with salt and lime juice and set aside.

Cook the sweet potatoes in olive oil with salt, pepper and paprika until browned and crispy. Stovetop or oven, doesn't really matter.

Separately cook the greens with onion, lime juice, salt and pepper. A little cumin, chili powder and coriander. 

When they wilt, add the mango and cook for a few more minutes. Toss in the sweet potatoes and roasted chilies and remove from heat.

This is bomb with coconut sour cream. 

Blend coconut cream (just the cream) with salt to taste and a couple Tbsp. lemon 

juice, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, 2 garlic cloves and 1 wax pepper until smooth and creamy. Have it on the side with this dish and some chopped scallions. Good with black rice.

BARBECUE BAKED EGGPLANT

1 or 2 eggplants

1/4 C. tamarind puree

a little broth

1 chopped onion 

2 peeled garlic cloves

1 chopped tomato (if you can also roast the tomato whole first, do it)

1 green and 1 red bell pepper, roasted, seeded and chopped

1 Tbsp. balsamic 

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 cooked mashed potato or sweet potato

a little cumin

1 Tbsp. chopped oregano

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

olive oil

salt and pepper

Slice the eggplant into 1" slabs lengthwise. Season with salt and pepper and coat lightly in oil, then place on baking sheets at 400 degrees and bake for 20 minutes, turning once. Blend the other ingredients and spread over the slices and bake for another 20 minutes. You can finish by broiling if you like. Serve with Basil Salsa. Super good.

Hot tip: your baking pans should have a rim all the way around otherwise any liquid on there might enjoy the bottom of your oven!

Basil Salsa

1/2 C. chopped basil

2 Tbsp. capers or olives

1/4 C. minced red onion

1 small minced spicy chili

1 C. chopped green and brown heirloom tomatoes

dash of balsamic

2 minced garlic cloves

2 diced scallions

lemon zest

2 Tbsp. lime juice

1 Tbsp. minced dill, oregano or marjoram and chervil

a little olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Give this a toss! Serve with eggplant.

December and January events

Several events coming up...

In San Diego this Friday, December 5th, a chocolate-themed, mostly savory dinner party with discussion featuring vegan dietician Matt Ruscigno to celebrate the release of our Cacao cookbook. There's also an afterparty with some treats... you can RSVP for one or both at Meetup or email truelovehealth@gmail.com to make a reservation
http://www.meetup.com/sandiegovegans/events/218690450/

Saturday, December 6th I will be at the Peace Bazaar in San Diego with some pies and Joshpockets at the Grrl Zines A Gogo table. All sorts of gifts, crafts, books, decorations, food and art will be available...
http://prcsd.org/peacebazaar/Home.html

Tuesday, December 9th and Wednesday, December 10th I have a raw popup dinner party at Sustain Juicery in downtown Los Angeles featuring several courses of entertaining raw food with amusing presentation, interesting keepsakes and some good hand-crafted fermented elements. Email me for details on that or to make reservations, space is very limited. thetravelingchef@gmail.com

December 31st at Camp Pollock in Sacramento the Sacramento Vegetarian Society and the Vegetarian Grange are hosting a soiree with a rich comfort/southern/country menu, party favors and lite entertainment. It will be an evening event so you can go to something afterwards if you still want to party. Details soon.

January 1st is High Tea and High Spirits at Cafe Colonial in Sacramento during the afternoon, a variety of tea cakes and sandwiches and tea. And other intriguing beverages. A little history, a little theater, a little strange spiritism and esotericism and a lot of food. Details soon.