Banana Bread

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup wheat flour
3 tablespoons ground flaxseed (optional)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chia seeds (optional)
2 tablespoons pollen (optional)
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Cream oil, butter, sugar, and honey. Stir in the egg, vanilla, and banana. Add all remaining ingredients.

Bake in a greased loaf pan for 40 minutes at 350.

Italian Tomato Salad

Ingredients:

friselle or bran bread, diced and dried
4 roma tomatoes, diced
1 cup buffalo mozzarella
2/3 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup olives
fresh basil leaves
red wine vinegar
olive oil
salt and black pepper

Arrange friselle on the bottom of serving plate. Scatter tomatoes, mozzarella, celery, olives, and basil on top.

Combine oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Drizzle over the salad.

Turkish Chickpea and Potato Stew

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegan butter
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon dried mint
1 teaspoon oregano
a pinch of fennel seed
a pinch of clove
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons paprika
salt and black pepper, to taste
2/3 cup tomato puree
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 large potato, diced
2 cups chickpeas

Cook potatoes, onion and garlic in the butter until potatoes are seared. Stir in all the spices and cook until aromatic. Add the tomatoes, puree, and some water. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender. Stir in the chickpeas.

Garnish with fresh mint and serve with bulgur, couscous, or freekeh.

Tarte Tatin

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, frozen
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
zest of 1 lemon
1 egg
6 granny smith apples
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 sprig rosemary
1 vanilla bean

Grate the frozen butter into the flour and toss together. Add the sugar, salt, lemon zest, and egg. Mix until it gathers into a ball, adding water as needed. Roll into a flat circle and refrigerate.

Combine sugar and butter in a saucepan and allow to caramelize and slightly thicken. Add a few drops of lemon juice, the rosemary, and vanilla beans. Set aside.

Peel and core the apples. Cut into six sections. Cut each of these sections into three pieces. Toss in lemon juice.

Remove rosemary from the caramel. Pour the caramel into a baking dish. Arrange the apples chunks over and roll out the dough on top. Make a few holes in the dough.

Bake 35-40 minutes at 375 until crust is golden. Remove from oven and allow to set for about 10 minutes before flipping over into a serving dish.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Penne Gratin

Ingredients:

4 cups almond milk
2 coves garlic
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
salt and white pepper, to taste
a pinch of nutmeg
1/2 cup almond cream
2 cups penne paste
1/2 cup gruyere, grated
1 tablespoon chives, minced

In a saucepan, bring milk and garlic to simmer. Set aside.

Cook the pasta until al dente.

Melt the butter and stir in the flour. Add the milk mixture, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Simmer and add cream just before removing from heat.

Combine pasta and the sauce in a casserole dish. Sprinkle with the gruyere. Bake 10 minutes at 350 and broil the top until bubbly.

Allow to set for 10 minutes before garnishing with chives and serving.

Ratatouille

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, diced
1 large zucchini, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 shallot, minced
3 tomatoes, diced
rosemary
marjoram
basil
1/4 cup passata
olive oil

Salt the eggplant pieces and set aside for 1 hour. Squeeze out eggplant with paper towels.

Cook the onions and shallots in the oil on low heat until slightly caramelized. Remove from the pan. Add more oil and the bay leaves. Cook each vegetable separately in the skillet, then add all the cooked vegatables, tomatoes, passata, rosemary, and marjoram. Cover and cook until tomatoes have wilted. Remove from heat and stir in the basil and some more olive oil.

Blackberry Freekeh Salad

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cup blackberries
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon raspberry or pomegranate balsamic vinegar
a pinch of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon honey
salt
1 cup freekeh
1/2 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
4 cups salad greens
1/4 cup pistachios, toasted and chopped

Mash 1/2 cup of the blackberries and run through a fine mesh sieve. Stir in olive oil, vinegar, garlic, honey, and salt. Set aside.

Cook the freekeh until al dente. Set aside to cool.

Toss salad greens with the fennel. Top with the freekeh, pistachios, and remaining blackberries. Sprinkle with the salad dressing and toss.