Quinoa Monster Cookies

I came to the conclusion today that my body definitely has a problem digesting gluten.  I have been circling around this thought for a while, especially after the cleanse we did around the New Year.  Anyway, I haven’t been including it in my diet but last night I decided to have a piece of wheat bread with my soup then this morning I decided to give oats (which, in the US are contaminated with gluten) another try.  The results were far from ideal, my head hurt and I felt as if I were in a fog.  Going back to sleep for a few hours helped slightly but my stomach remained achy and bloated for half of the day.  So this morning I threw out the rest of my bread and pushed the oats to the back of the cupboard (In case Charissa wants some when she visits!)

After purging my apartment of gluten I decided to make some cookies since I am going home tomorrow!  I was all excited to try to make a gluten-free recipe and just when I thought I succeeded I realized that kamut (which is a main ingredient) contains gluten :(.  I guess that’s what I get for not doing my homework.

I decided that I would share the recipe anyway since they turned out pretty tasty.  If you do not have kamut flakes or quinoa and you are not gluten intolerant then feel free to sub all-purpose or wheat flour in for them.

While these cookies are good they are fairly crumbly so make sure you let them cool completely before eating, they stay together way better once fully cooled!  If anyone has experience baking with quinoa I would love to hear your tips and tricks to make them stay together better!

Quinoa Monster Cookies

Yield: 24 Cookies

Dry Ingredients

• ¾ cup Kamut Flakes + 2 Tbs
• ½ cup Quinoa
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• ¼ tsp Baking Soda
• ¼ tsp Salt
• ¼ tsp Allspice
• 1/8 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp Ground Ginger
• ¼ cup Brown Sugar

Other Ingredients

• Good Earth Sweet and Spicy Tea steeped in ½ cup water ½ cup almond milk
• 1 Flax Egg made with 1 Tbs Flax + 3 Tbs Tea
• ¼ cup Earth Balance Butter at room temperature
• 1 Tbs Molasses
• 1 Tbs Applesauce
• 1 Tbs Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter (or more applesauce)
• 1 Tbs Fresh Squeezed OJ
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1/3 cup Craisins
• ¼ cup Coarsely Chopped Dark Chocolate

First steep your tea then mix the flax egg, set aside.  Preheat the oven to 350.  Using a coffee grinder grind the ¾ cup kamut flakes and the quinoa into a fine flour.  Mix all dry ingredients, including the whole kamut flakes, and set aside.  Cream the butter by itself then add the brown sugar and cream for 1 minute, add the flax egg and mix for 2 more minutes.  Next mix in the molasses and combine.  Once thoroughly incorporated, mix in the orange zest, orange juice, applesauce, pumpkin butter, and ¼ cup of the prepared tea. Fold in the craisins, dark chocolate, and any other ingredients you would like such as toasted walnuts, almonds, or vegan marshmallows ;).  Bake for about 12 minutes then cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet.  Cool the rest of the way on a wire cooling rack.

This is probably my favorite tea evvvaah 🙂

This is what the kamut and quinoa should look like after grinding it to a flour.

Cream the butter by itself until it is nice and fluffy.

Yumm sugar and buttery goodness!

Lightly grease the cookie sheet, I used coconut oil but if you do not have it then non-stick cooking spray works just as well.  Place cookie dollops about the size of a tablespoon a few inches apart on the sheet.

Be careful when taking the cookies off the cookie sheet because they may crumble.

Enjoy with the rest of the tea :)!

Citrus Ginger Kamut Risotto

Last week, my mom and I went to Irving Berlin’s White Christmas put on by a local theatre group. I’ve always loved old movies and enjoy any movie with Bing Crosby in it (Holiday Inn with Fred Astaire is another good one) so White Christmas is one that I usually watch every year. The female leads in the musical were excellent and we had a great time.

Before going to the show, we went to a small wine/tapas bar downtown called Sontes. Even though they don’t have any vegan entrées on the menu, they’ll gladly alter something to make it so. Last time I was there I had a pizza that the chef put roasted veggies on it and left off the cheese. It was on a cracker crust that was delicious! This time, however, I decided to try the citrus ginger squash. It was topped with a farro risotto that was delicious so I had to try to emulate it; especially since I can make it for a whole lot cheaper than what we spent there!

The following recipe doesn’t necessarily taste like what I had at Sontes but is delicious in its own right. I served it over roasted pumpkin and buttercup/turban squash and would definitely recommend the squash over the pumpkin because it had a softer texture that complemented the flavors nicely.

Citrus Ginger Kamut Risotto with Roasted Winter Squash
[Serves 4 as a side dish]

Tip: Start cooking the kamut first as it takes the longest (it can be done ahead of time) and then start the squash and risotto.

For the Squash:

• 2 medium squash (or small pumpkins)
• 2 teaspoons oil
• kosher salt
• ground ginger

– Preheat oven to 400º F.
– Slice the squash and remove the seeds
– Brush with oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and ginger and roast for 20-25 minutes, flipping at least twice.

For the Risotto:

• 1 cup raw kamut berries (or spelt/wheat berries or brown rice), soaked overnight and rinsed
• 3 cups Not-Chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
• 1 ½ tsp. oil
•  ¾ cup diced onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ cup chopped red bell pepper
• 3/4 cup chopped apple
• ½ grapefruit, juiced (about 6 tablespoons)
• ½ orange, juiced (4 tablespoons)
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tsp. each, orange and grapefruit zest
• 2 tsp. grated ginger
• 2 tsp. minced ginger
• ½ tsp. ground ginger
• Salt

– Bring the kamut berries and broth to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered for about 45 minutes (the broth will not all soak in). Strain and reserve the broth.
– In a saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onions. Saute until translucent and then add all of the remaining ingredients except the apple (and kamut).
– Continue to saute for about 5 minutes and then add the kamut and ¼ cup of the reserved broth.
– Cook until the liquid reduces, about 10-15 minutes.
– Add the chopped apple and cook until heated, but still crisp.

– Salt to taste and serve on top of the roasted squash.

What is your favorite old movie?
Elysia thinks anything in the 1990’s is old but that doesn’t count!