Barley Salad

So this past week, while at my mother's, I made a recipe a friend sent to me.  It is from the book Grain Mains so I don't have permission to share it here, but I wanted to share some pictures and my passion for it.  This salad has black barley, almonds, chickpeas, roasted red peppers, and dates.  It also includes a lovely red wine vinaigrette that really brings all the flavors together.  I especially appreciate its versatility.  You could bring it to a potluck as a side, eat it all by itself for a meal, or do what I did and serve it with a side of roasted beets and crispy beet greens.  It is really high in protein and fiber, so it can give you energy to go for hours, as we did tearing down the paneling in my mother's family room.  I will definitely be purchasing this book for myself and maybe even reviewing a few more recipes here. 

I will be making this salad again for Easter, so you may see some better or more updated photos at that point.

Dairy Free Broccoli Stuffed Chicken breast

I have a dirty little secret.  I watch The Biggest Loser.  But I don't think I'm the only one, it has been on air for 14 seasons now.  Don't worry, I'm not going to try to sell you on watching it or anything, I just had to admit it so I could admit the inspiration behind this recipe.  During Season 13 there was a cooking challenge during which Chris (one of the contestants) made a broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken breast with an orange honey glaze.  Sounds good, right?  It wasn't well executed, but the idea was phenomenal, so I made my own version.  I used the creamy base from the Spinach Artichoke Dip I posted about previously to make the creamy filling.

Broccoli Stuffed Chicken Breast with Orange Honey Glaze

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1and 1/2 pounds)
1 medium broccoli crown
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 garlic cloves
3/4 tsp dry mustard
3/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup unsoaked raw cashews
3/4 cup pulpy orange juice
3 tablespoons honey

In a blender, blend the almond milk, lemon, garlic, mustard, salt, and cashews for about 5 minutes until it forms a thick, creamy consistency.  Bring the orange juice to a boil and turn it down to a simmer, stir once in a while until the oj thickens and starts to get syrupy.  Dice the broccoli tops so you have very small florets.  Turn on the oven to 375 degrees.  Fold the cashew mixture into the broccoli.  Using a meat tenderizer or your fist, pound the chicken breast until it is a centimeter thick (put it in a plastic bag so you don't make a huge mess).  Spread the broccoli mixture on one half of the chicken and fold it over.  You might get some of the cashew mixture on the outside, don't worry it will brown and be delicious.  Place the chicken on a broiler pan an place in the oven for 30 minutes or until the center of the chicken is white and cooked through.  Your oj should be syrupy by this point.  Add the honey and stir in.  Let simmer a few more minutes until thoroughly combined.  Drizzle the glaze over your chicken before serving.

Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts

I know what you are thinking.  I thought I didn't like brussel sprouts either.  I was wrong.

 It is just a matter of getting fresh, preferably young sprouts and cooking them properly. 

I simply cut my sprouts in half or quarters and tossed them with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  I then roast them in a 350 degree oven turning them every 15 minutes or so until I got a nice brown on the edges and the sprouts were bright green.  I let the loose leaves get a little browned because I like the variation in texture that the crunch gives.  They were so yummy, and they have converted 4 people to the sprout cause so far (including myself of course).

Vegan Peanut Truffles

I have been trying out several recipes for vegan truffles, trying to find the perfect vegan truffle.  I have found I like best the ones that use coconut butter to create the smooth fatty-ness I have come to expect from truffles.  This recipe is pretty good.
http://www.themindfulfoodie.com/2011/11/27/vegan-choc-hazelnut-truffles-instead-of-nutella/
Lesh Karan, who writes the blog says she made these by mistake when trying to make a nutella substitute.  Anyway, I really liked the idea, but wanted to use peanuts, so I did.  I substituted peanuts for the hazelnuts.  Because peanuts have more fat, I cut the coconut oil in half.  Because I only had ginger maple syrup, that is what I used, which gave it an interesting spicy undertone.  I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, but it did give me an idea for a ginger truffle.  But that is for later.  When I rolled the truffles, I decided to cover them in chopped peanuts instead of cocoa powder.  They were a big hit with our dinner guests.
The recipe can be used as is, or modified how ever you like.  If you modify it, I would love to hear how and how it works.  I'm sure that Lesh Karan would as well.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

This is one of my favorites, I almost always eat too much when I make it.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

For the Pesto:
1 3/4 cups fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste

For the Pizza:
fresh pizza dough (I make the recipe from Joy of Cooking)
two half chicken breasts
One batch of pesto

 Broil the chicken until browned on the outside and cooked all the way through.  Blend the pesto ingredients in a food process until you have a paste.  Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.  Cut the chicken into bite size pieces.  Roll or pull out half the pizza dough.  Spread the pesto on the dough, and scatter the chicken on top.

Roll or pull out the second half of the dough and place on top of the pizza.  Seal the edges by pinching them.

Cut slits on the top with a sharp knife or bread razor.  Bake in the preheated oven until the top crust is golden brown.

Don't eat too much!