Simple Vegan French Toast

I’ve blogged a French toast recipe before now but I think this one is even easier and tastier than the previous one. This recipe is so easy a child can do it for themselves or parents. Just a couple of ingredients, which can be changed depending on the taste you’re looking for (i.e., nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger, etc.) on a particular day. I found, using hot oil, that the outside gets very crunchy while the inside stays soft and tender.

Whisk together in a 3-cup bowl (wide enough to put a slice of bread into):

3/4 cup non-dairy milk, your choice

1/2 teaspoon spice, again your choice (I prefer allspice but use whichever spice you like)

dash of salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon arrowroot

Set aside and heat over medium high heat in a 12″ or larger skillet:

2 tablespoons oil

Dip into the milk mixture, one at a time:

6 gluten-free slices of bread, again your choice as to what kind*

The milk mixture may take more than six slices depending on the density of your bread. You may want to do this before heating the oil and let the slices of bread sit for a minute in the milk mixture since gluten-free bread can be denser than other breads and may need to soak a little longer; remove each slice after soaking to a baking sheet if doing prior to heating the oil. The oil will splatter because of the liquid in the bread so use a splatter guard if possible. Once the bread begins to brown, reduce heat to medium after flipping the slices over. Brown on the second side; the hot oil will get them nice and crispy. It takes about 2-3 minutes per side. Serve with jam or maple, agave, or date syrup.

I know, more brown food!

*FYI, I made a batch of old-fashioned donut muffins, didn’t add the topping, sliced them in half crosswise and used them instead of bread and they were scrumptious! BTW, not the photo above.

Air Frier Turkey Tenderloins

With all my food allergies, protein is difficult sometimes. And since I live alone, most meats except for individual things like pork chops or chicken pieces are always too much for one meal. So when I find turkey tenderloins, I always buy several packages and freeze the tenderloins individually. And then look for new and different ways to cook them. If you have an air fryer, this is so easy and quick. Otherwise, it could be cooked in the oven but it’ll just take a little longer. Of course, the essential thing about tenderloins, whatever type of animal they come from is not overcooking them and drying them out. This air fryer method worked very well for that. And, of course, this rub works on any protein, not just animal. And try mixing it up with different herbs and spices.

Preheat air fryer at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes.

Spray the air fryer basket with non-stick spray.

In a small bowl, combine:

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic granules (or powder)

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Using paper towels, dry:

2 turkey tenderloins

Once dry, rub with:

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Then sprinkle the rub mixture over the tenderloins being sure to coat both sides. Using dry hands, rub the herb mixture into the tenderloins. Place in the air fryer basket and cook for 12-15 minutes. Turn and repeat. Check turkey temperature (should be at 165 degrees) before removing. Let rest about 5 minutes before slicing.

Asparagus with Prosciutto

I love asparagus but don’t eat it often because my doctor forbids it. But this is such an easy and delicious recipe that I just had to have some. If you like salty, you’ll love this dish. And it’s so simple to make! Takes about 10 minutes. Serves 2-4.

First, clean your asparagus, wash the spears and break off the tough ends. If the cladodes* are large, remove them by plucking them off or peeling the spears. In a 12″ skillet heat over medium heat:

1 tablespoon oil

When it shimmers, add:

1 pound prepared asparagus

Sprinkle the asparagus with:

1/4 teaspoon sea salt**

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon garlic granules (or add 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic)

Stir the asparagus to distribute the seasonings and let cook for 1-2 minutes until tender but still firm and doesn’t fall down when you pick it up with the tongs. Remove from the pan onto a plate and place in a warm oven while you cook the prosciutto. Into the same skillet, add:

5 slices prosciutto, cut into pieces (or cook whole and cut afterwards)

If cooking the prosciutto whole, be sure to separate the pieces. Most pre-packaged prosciutto contains about 5 pieces. Cook until browned and most of the fat is rendered. Remove from the pan. If you didn’t cut it before cooking, chop now. BE CAREFUL – IT CAN BURN VERY QUICKLY AS I CAN ATTEST! Top the asparagus with the prosciutto and serve.

*These are the triangular, tough things on the asparagus spears. They are especially tough when the asparagus is larger than the pencil size.

** If you haven’t heard about the danger of using sea salt, read the article: Himalayan Salt vs. Sea Salt on YouTube.

Quick and Easy Low Carb English Muffin

I posted quite a while ago a recipe for English muffins made with yeast that are truly great and taste just like the original. But they take several hours of prep and quite a bit of work to make. Here, however, is one that is cooked in the microwave and takes about five minutes to put together (only because it takes a few minutes for the flax gel to thicken, if you can use an egg, it won’t take more than 2 minutes to put together. And I was quite surprised at how tasty they were. The recipe makes 2. Do what I say and not what I did – be sure they are cool before toasting them.

In a small bowl combine:

1 tablespoon ground flaxseed

3 tablespoons warm water

Whisk together and set aside. Grease (I used 1 teaspoon olive oil in each ramekin) 2, 3″ ramekins and set aside. In a small bowl (about 2 cups) combine:

1 tablespoon oil, vegan butter or margarine

2 tablespoons seed or nut butter

Microwave for 30 seconds to 2 minutes (depending on the kind of butter you use; my homemade pumpkin seed butter took a little over 1 minute). Whisk to combine and add:

2 tablespoons all purpose, gluten-free flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon non-dairy milk

the flax gel (or 1 egg)

Whisk to combine before dividing equally between the two ramekins. Microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, remove and flip the muffins over in the ramekin (use an offset spatula). The bottom that is now the top looks wet. Microwave for another 30 seconds to 1 minute (smaller ramekins will take longer than larger ones). A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean and the top should look dry. COOL COMPLETELY! before toasting. And enjoy.

Eggplant Schnitzel

I just searched the site and can’t believe I haven’t posted a recipe for fried eggplant! It’s my grandson’s favorite so I make it quite often this time of year. It’s slightly different since it’s only floured or battered. Schnitzel has a bread crumb crust instead. It’s pretty easy to make, just be sure to salt the eggplant and let them sit awhile before proceeding. (This actually keeps the eggplant from absorbing oil when fried or sauteed as well as removing any bitterness. So this isn’t necessary when using the thinner eggplants such as Japanese or graffiti.)

Step 1 is to peel and slice the eggplant into about 1/2″ slices. Then salt them generously on both sides (I usually do this on my cooling rack over the sink), place some weight on top of them (usually use a cookie sheet with some cans on top of it) and let sit for at least a half hour.

So peel and slice:

1 large eggplant or 4-5 small graffiti eggplants

Prepare the breading station by placing in 3 separate low-sided (1-2″ high) bowls large enough to accommodate the slices of eggplant):

Bowl 1:

1/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika

Stir to combine.

Bowl 2:

1/2 cup non-dairy milk

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

Bowl 3:

1 cup gluten-free breadcrumbs

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Again stir to combine. Breading stations are now ready for the eggplant.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet by covering it with parchment paper and then spraying it with non-stick cooking spray. Remove the weights and cookie sheet and rinse off the eggplant. Dry with a paper towel. Then dip each slice of eggplant into Bowl 1 being sure to coat both sides with flour. Then dip each slice into the milk mixture in Bowl 2, letting excess milk drip off before dipping each slice into Bowl 3. Place on a cookie sheet and then sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Serve immediately. Number of servings will depend on the size of the eggplant and slices. Approximately 4-6 servings.

Chicken with Eggplant and Zucchini

My search for tasty and easy chicken recipes has landed another one! This one doesn’t come from the Chicken Bible but is a combination of a recipe I found on-line and what I had in my refrigerator. Once everything is peeled and diced, including the chicken, it’s so simple to put together. Planning ahead is necessary with this recipe however since the chicken must be marinated for at least an hour in the refrigerator after dicing.

First, mix together the marinade in a gallon storage bag or large bowl:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 2 cloves)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Then dice up:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Add to the marinade, and after closing the bag, swish around the chicken to make sure it’s completely covered in the marinade. If you want a stronger lemon flavor, add:

Grated rind of 1 lemon

While the chicken is marinating, prepare the vegetables:

4-6 small cipollini onions, peeled and quartered*

1 medium zucchini, washed and diced

1 pound eggplant (any type will work, I used 4 small graffiti eggplants), peeled and diced

1 clove garlic (about 1 1/2-2 teaspoons minced)

When the chicken is almost ready, heat a 10″ skillet over medium heat with:

1 tablespoon olive oil

When the oil is hot, add:

onions and garlic

Cook for 2-3 minutes just until the onions turn translucent. Then add the:

Zucchini

Eggplant

And cook another 5-7 minutes until the vegetables are softened. Remove to a bowl and set aside. Put the skillet back over the heat and add the:

Marinade and chicken mixture

Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until chicken is cooked through and sauce is beginning to reduce. Stir the vegetables back into the skillet and serve immediately. Serves 4-6.

*Don’t have cipollini onions and your local supermarket doesn’t carry them? They are small and slightly sweet becoming much sweeter after cooking. So feel free to use a different sweet onion in their place but cut smaller.

Korean Vegetable Pancakes

I’m constantly looking for new ways to serve vegetables so when I came across this recipe for Yachae Jeon (Korean vegetable pancakes), I had to try it and see if it would work gluten-free. I used to eat something like these at a local Vietnamese restaurant except they called them scallion pancakes. Quite easy and quick to make with a food processor and oh so tasty especially with the dipping sauce.

First, into the bowl of food processor:

1 small to medium zucchini (about 6-7 inches long), cut into chunks

6 ounces of sliced mushrooms

1 small sweet potato (I used 2 very small purple sweet potatoes), peeled and cut into chunks

1 medium carrot, chunked (I used about 3/4 of a cup of shredded carrot)

1 jalapeno pepper (Optional), seeded and chunked

1 bunch scallions (roots removed), cleaned and cut into chunks

It may require several batches in the food processor. Process the vegetables until they are small pieces so they’ll cook quickly in the pancake.* You should have about 4-5 cups.** Next, in a large mixing bowl combine:

1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour

1/4 cup arrowroot

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Stir to combine before adding:

1 1/2 cups water (room temperature)

Whisk to combine before stirring in the finely chopped vegetables. Let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes before cooking. In a 10-12″ skillet, heat over medium heat:

1 teaspoon olive oil (or spray with cooking spray)

Using a 1/2 cup measure, scoop out pancake mixture and place in skillet, using a spoon (or the back of the measuring cup), to flatten into a round disk about 6″ in diameter. Cook over medium low heat until bubbles appear, just like a regular pancake (in my case, it was really bubble holes in the pancake that I saw). Flip and cook 3-4 minutes on the other side before increasing the heat to medium high to brown the pancake on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Place on a cooling rack in the oven to keep warm while cooking the remainder of the pancakes. Serve hot with the following dipping sauce. Makes 6-8 pancakes.

DIPPING SAUCE

Combine in a small bowl:

2 tablespoons soy sauce substitute

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon date syrup (or agave syrup or honey)

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

1/8 teaspoon garlic chili sauce (or your hot sauce of choice) (Optional)

*If you don’t want to use a food processor simply cut all the vegetables into thin strips like shredded carrots you buy in the supermarket or grate them on a box grater.

**These are just my suggested vegetables. Feel free to use whatever vegetables your family might like but the scallions really are the only ones required. I thought about adding a few garlic cloves as well as a crunchy vegetable like jicama or water chestnuts as well.

Zucchini and Turnip Fritters

I love finding easy side dishes to replace the starch of potatoes, rice, or pasta. Here’s one that’s healthy as well as delicious that your family will love because it’s fried! The golden brown goodness of these fritters will get even your children to eat them. Feel free to change up the vegetables – I used zucchini, purple top turnip and carrots but one made with yellow squash, kohlrabi, and butternut squash would also work, or maybe you’d prefer zucchini, celery root, and parsnips. The seasonings can also be switched up – instead of garlic powder and coriander, how about dill, marjoram, basil, thyme, cumin or even some curry. Have fun with this one.

In the bowl of a food processor, place:

1 medium zucchini, cut into sections lengthwise and then quartered

1 medium purple top turnip, ends removed, peeled, and quartered*

8-10 baby carrots, rainbows make a pretty patty

Pulse until well grated. While the vegetables are grating heat over medium heat in a 12″ high-sided skillet:

about 1/4 inch of oil (I used a mixture of olive and avocado oil)

Pour the grated vegetables into a medium-sized bowl and add:

1/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder (aluminum free)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (not salt)

1/4 teaspoon coriander

2-4 green onions, chopped, both green and white sections

Stir to combine thoroughly. Scoop out portions using a 1/4 cup measure. Form into patties. Place in the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes, flip and do the same on the other side. Remove and drain on a paper towel to remove excess oil, season with a little more salt. Serve immediately. Makes 2-4 servings depending on what else you’re serving with them and your family’s appetites!

*The purple top turnip has a very mild flavor while the yellow turnip (or rutabaga) is much stronger.

6-Minute Sweet Potato Crumpets

What is a crumpet you ask? Well, I’ve seen it described as a spongier English muffin that is made on the griddle rather than in the oven. But English muffins are also made on the griddle. Another description says that crumpets are spongy whereas English muffins are bready. I think that’s probably the best description. So I decided to refer to these as crumpets even though they are not cooked on the stovetop but are cooked in the microwave, therefore making them very quick and easy to make. They could also be baked in a 350 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes. The recipe makes 1 crumpet although while one was cooking, I began another thereby using the entire can of pureed sweet potato to make a total of 8. For a sweeter crumpet, see variations below.

In a small bowl, about 3-4 cups, mix together:

1 tablespoon ground flax

3 tablespoons warm water

Whisk together and let sit for about 3 minutes until it becomes flax gel (egg substitute). At that point, add:

2 tablespoons pureed sweet potato

Whisk to combine before adding:

2 tablespoons sorghum flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

about 1/16 teaspoon sea salt (a generous pinch)

1 tablespoon oat milk

Whisk again to combine before pouring the batter into a 2-cup glass bowl (I used Pyrex storage bowls) sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes (the 2-cup Pyrex storage bowl took 3 minutes; 1 tried 2 1/2 minutes but the bottom wasn’t cooked). Remove from microwave and flip onto a cooling rack. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before dusting the bottom with a little sorghum flour. Let sit for several hours before toasting or place in small baggies. Can be frozen for several weeks, that is if you have any leftover.

With a little of the sugar-free blackberry jelly I made last week. Delicious!

VARIATIONS:

Use pumpkin puree instead of sweet potato

Use tahini instead of sweet potato (or other seed or nut butter); more milk may be needed if using a thicker butter

Add a pinch of cinnamon or allspice

Add 1 teaspoon of date syrup, maple syrup, agave or coconut nectar for a little sweeter crumpet

Use 2 tablespoons of jelly or jam in place of the sweet potato – you may need to adjust the milk and/or flour depending on the consistency of your jelly or jam

Italian Millet

Millet is my newest favorite grain. It’s so simple to cook and it takes on other flavors so easily just as rice does. But unlike most rice dishes, millet is lower in simple carbs and higher in complex carbs so a great alternative to those watching their blood sugar levels. Here’s a really easy recipe that incorporates some of the great Italian flavors we all enjoy – sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, onion and garlic. This is definitely NOT a low-fat side dish! I used vegetable stock rather than a meat stock because most vegetable stocks have a nice mushroom flavor which adds umami to the dish. Be sure to use sun-dried tomatoes in oil because some of that oil will be used in cooking the dish.

First, cook per package directions (except using stock instead of water):

1/2 cup millet

in 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock

Generally, this means toasting the whole millet in a little oil and then adding it to the boiling stock, covering and cooking on low heat for 30-40 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the millet is soft. I like to take it off the heat at this point, leave the cover for a few minutes and then fluff the millet with a fork.

In the same skillet, heat until shimmering:

2 tablespoon olive oil (from a jar of sun-dried tomatoes)

Add and cook until tender, over medium heat:

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup shredded carrots* (optional)

When the onion is translucent, add:

1/2 cup diced sun-dried tomatoes

2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 cloves)

1 teaspoon cumin (or turmeric)

2 teaspoons Italian herb mix (or dried thyme, oregano, marjoram, and basil)

Mix thoroughly so that the onion mixture is covered with the herbs. Continue cooking until the tomatoes and garlic are heated through, 2-3 minutes. Stir in the cooked millet. If the millet is cold, continue to cook over medium low heat for 3-4 minutes to reheat the millet. Serves 4.

*I like a lot of vegetables in my grains so I added a cup of shredded carrots with the onions.