Persimmon Crisp

I wait all year long for persimmon season.  These fruits have a uniquely sweet and refreshing flavor that makes me happy.  Plus they are so beautiful- we even made them our centerpiece for our Thanksgiving table!  This persimmon crisp turned out so perfectly: the topping was crunchy and buttery, and the filling soft and sweet- no sugar needed!  Crisps are very easy to make - even gluten/sugar/dairy free.  So take advantage of the season and enjoy this simply perfect persimmon crisp recipe!

Ingredients:

• 5 ripe fuyu persimmons
• 1 lemon (or lime)
• 1 fresh vanilla bean pod, or 1 tbs of good vanilla extract
• 1 tbs of freshly grated ginger
• 1 tbs of cinnamon
• 1 tsp of nutmeg
• 1 cup of gluten free oats
• 1/4 cup of oat flour, or rice flour
• 1/4 cup of ground almonds/walnuts/pecans
• 1/2 cup of sliced almonds
• 2-3 tbs of Earth Balance 
• 1/2 tbs of maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Wash and peel persimmons and slice into thick slices.
3. Grease a pie or cake pan and pour in persimmon slices.
4. Cut and de-seed the vanilla bean pod and add to the persimmons (or add the vanilla extract.)
5. Add the ginger, juice of the lemon/lime, half of the cinnamon and all of the nutmeg.  Mix and coat the persimmons.
6. In a bowl, mix together the oats, flour, nuts, Earth Balance, maple syrup, and the rest of the cinnamon. Layer evenly on top of the persimmons.
7. Bake in the oven covered with tinfoil for about 35 minutes.  Then remove the tinfoil, and bake for 10 more minutes so the top gets golden!
8. Enjoy with some Coconut Bliss ice cream!

Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! There are so many things I am grateful for: my friends, my family, my health, my fabulous life in San Francisco, biking, yoga, beautiful views, purple clouds over twilight blue skies, and the abundance of delicious and healthy foods that I have access to like persimmons, chestnuts, bosc pears, green kale...and chocolate!  I got the idea for this chocolate pumpkin pie when I was up late at night, lying in bed planning my Thanksgiving menu in my head!  I knew I wanted to make sweet potato rosemary rolls, herb crusted turkey breast, pomegranate cranberry sauce, shredded brussel sprouts, mashed sweet potatoes, and for dessert I was thinking of making my now famous chocolate cream pie and a pumpkin pie.  But then I had the great idea to combine these two and make a chocolate-pumpkin pie instead!  The chocolate ended up mixing in with the pumpkin filling, giving it a very rich flavor.  Please, enjoy this spicy, sweet, and uniquely delicious pie!

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 cup of gluten free oats
• 1 cup of pecans
• 1 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 tbs of brown rice syrup
• 2 tbs of Earth Balance or coconut oil
• 1 tbs of cinnamon
• 1 and 1/2 oz of 100% dark, unsweetened chocolate

Filling:

• 1- 15 oz can of unsweetened pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup or so of maple syrup
• 1/2 cup of coconut milk
• 1 tbs of cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp of all spice
• 1/2 tsp of ground cloves
• 1 1/2 tsp of ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp of salt 
• 3 large eggs

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  
2. In a food processor, grind the oats and nuts until they become tiny crumbs.
3. In a bowl mix together ground oats, nuts, coconut, Earth Balance, brown rice syrup, and cinnamon.
4. Press mixture into a 9 inch pie pan, making it as even as possible.
5. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or so until crust is set.
6. Meanwhile, in a double boiler, melt the chocolate down.
7. When pie crust is ready, pour the chocolate into the pie crust and spread across the bottom. Put in the fridge to let chocolate cool.
8. Meanwhile, mix all the other ingredients for the filling together in a large bowl.
9. When chocolate is hard and cool, pour the filling into the crust and bake in the oven for about 50-60 minutes.  (to prevent crust from burning, sprinkle cold water onto the crust a few times throughout the baking.)
10. When pie is firm, take the pie out of the oven and let cool.
11. When ready, serve with some Coconut Bliss Ice cream, or make your own whipped cream by taking the separated coconut fat from a can of coconut milk and whipping it with some vanilla and agave!

Sweet Potato Rosemary Rolls

I love sweet potato anything, so when I saw this recipe for sweet potato rosemary rolls I knew I wanted to make them for Thanksgiving!  I adapted the recipe from Jennifer Katzinger's Flying Apron's bakery cook book.  These rolls turned out flavorful and chewy.  They are pretty dense though, so if you make them small they are the perfect size!

Ingredients

• 1 cup of lukewarm water (about 94 degrees F.)
• 1/2 tsp of yeast
• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup
• 2 1/2 cups of brown rice flour
• 2 cups of garbanzo bean flour
• 1/4 cup of ground flax meal
• 2 tbs of chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp of fresh sea salt (plus some more for the top of the rolls)
• 3/4 tsp of xanthan gum
• 1 cup of sweet potato puree
• 1 large egg, beaten

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, mix together the water and yeast, then the oil and maple syrup.  Let sit until the yeast is activated and bubbling.
3. In another bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: rice flour, garbanzo flour, flax meal, rosemary, salt, and xanthan gum.
4. When yeast is ready, slowly mix in half the dry ingredients into the wet ones using a spatula.  
5. Mix in the egg and sweet potatoes, then add the rest of the dry ingredients.
6. Transfer the dough to your work surface to kneed a few times.  The dough will be very sticky so make sure to flour your work surface and put some olive oil on your hands!  
7. Make into a loaf and cut into 16 small chunks of dough.  Turn each one into a ball and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Put a tiny slit on top of each roll.
8. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes (keep an eye on them as ovens vary!)  When the rolls are close to being done, brush some olive oil on top and sprinkle some kosher salt on top and put back in the oven to make them golden.
9. When rolls have turned gold, take them out, let cool, and enjoy with some Earth Balance butter!

Kale, olive, and rosemary pasta

Hey folks, I've been crazy busy and then came down with the flu, so sorry for being MIA.  But I will post some great Thanksgiving recipes in the next few days.  In the meanwhile, here is what I had for dinner tonight: a simple pasta dish with sauteed kale, minced kalamata olives, garlic and rosemary.  It took no time, and tasted damn good.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 package of Tinkyada gluten free spaghetti (or your favorite brand.)
• 1 head of green kale
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1 cup of kalamata olives (or try sundried olives, or your favorite salty olive!)
• 6 or so sprigs of rosemary 
• 1 huge lemon
• Salt, pepper, and olive oil

Directions

1. Boil the pasta following directions on the package; drain well.
2. Meanwhile, wash and de-stem the kale, and cut into small pieces.
3. Mince the garlic, olives, and rosemary.
4. In a pan, saute the garlic and rosemary in olive oil.
5. Before the garlic browns, add the olives and kale.
6. Sautee until kale is bright green, turn off the heat.
7. Throw the spaghetti into the pan and mix well.  
8. Sprinkle with lemon juice, salt, and pepper and enjoy!

Sandwich for the Soul

It is so nourishing to give yourself exactly what you need, to listen to your body and to take care of it.  This past Saturday I woke up at 6 am to help put on a racial justice conference in Oakland.  I braved the cold weather, riding my bike in the bitter wind at dawn, knowing that this conference would inspire and invigorate me.  And it did.  The rich dialogue and beautiful connections made at the conference fed my soul in many ways.  But after the conference was over, I was hungry for some real food- and immediatley knew I wanted to go to Mariposa, my favorite gluten free bakery!  The conference was close to Mariposa, so I hopped on my bike and rode over to this cute little spot tucked away off of Telegraph Ave.  As I walked in, I was instantly warmed by the heat rising from the ovens and by the smiles of all the people noshing on delicious gluten free treats.  I ordered the beet loaf sandwich- basically a beet/veggie burger served on their gluten free hamburger bun, with chunky purple coleslaw.  The beet loaf was sweet and savory, the bun soft, and the coleslaw perfectly crunchy and tangy.  As I ate this sandwich, I felt a sense of peace and self-love.  Eating out alone is such a rare and decedant experience for me.  But on that cold and rainy Saturday afternoon, I was completely immersed in the moment: enjoying my sandwich, appreciating the cozy atmosphere, satisfied with a good day's work, and happy to be in the company of myself.

(PS:  Ike's Sandwich Shop serves sandwiches on Mariposa gluten free bread- check them out!)