Inspiration #01 - my own homemade pizzas

Roasted Cauliflower & White Bean Soup

1 head cauliflower
2 medium onions
1 head garlic (about 6-8 cloves)
3 cups cooked lima beans (about 2 cans)
2 cups water
2 cups vegetable stock
juice of 1 lemon
sea salt to taste
olive oil
smoked paprika

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Cut up cauliflower into bite-sized chunks and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil or melted ghee. Sprinkle with sea salt.
3. Peel onions and slice into chunks. Peel garlic cloves. Place onions and garlic baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
4. Place all veggies in oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes until everything has golden edges and is nicely caramelized.
5. Let veggies cool slightly and add to blender along with all other ingredients except olive oil and paprika (process in batches if you have a small blender). Blend on high until very smooth. If you have a Vita-Mix, I would highly recommend using it.
6. If the soup is not hot enough after blending, transfer soup to a large pot and warm until steaming. If the soup is too thick, simply add water to thin to your desired consistency.

Chickpea Salad With Mexican Mago Dressing

3 cups cooked chickpeas (about 2 cans)
1 red bell pepper
3 carrots
½ large jicima root (or any crunchy veg)
1 cup chopped spinach
½ cup cilantro

Dressing:
1 large, ripe mango
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 large green onions, with tops
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp. sea salt
½ chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (substitute ¼ tsp. ground chipotle or use your favorite chili spice) 

Directions:
1. Peel mango and place in a blender with all other dressing ingredients. Blend on high until uniform and creamy. It will look like a smoothie. Season to taste.
2. In a large bowl, pour dressing over chickpeas and let sit while you prepare the rest of the salad filling (at this point you will undoubtedly say, “Sarah, there’s way too much dressing.” Trust me.). 
3. As you chop up the vegetables for the salad, add them as you go and stir to get an idea on how much more you need. Stop when the salad is well-dressed but not super gloppy. 
4. Serve with sliced avocado and lime wedges on the side. Garnish with more cilantro, sprouts, pumpkin seeds, or whatever you have on hand. 

To make it a complete meal: Serve this salad on top of coconut rice or quinoa, and make sure to include the side of avocado. 

Black Quinoa Corn Muffins

1 cup organic corn meal

¼ cup organic corn flour

1 cup cooked black quinoa (any colour will work)

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. sea salt

1 cup almond milk (or any milk)

3 Tbsp. chia seeds + 9 Tbsp. water

1/4 up high oleic sunflower oil (or oil of your choice)

1 Tbsp. honey

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped 

1 chili, minced or ½ tsp. ground chipotle (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F (200C). Put 8 muffin liners in a cupcake pan. 

1. Mix chia seeds and water in a small bowl and set aside. 

2. In a large bowl, sift dry ingredients together. Add the cooked quinoa.

3. Check the chia gel to make sure it is thick a gloppy (it should take 15 minutes or so to obtain the right consistency). In a separate bowl, whisk wet ingredients together, including the chia gel. 

4. Add the wet to the dry and combine in as few strokes as possible. Fold in the cilantro and minced chili. 

5. Spoon batter in to muffins cups and bake until the edges are golden brown and they pass the toothpick test (approx. 25 minutes). 

Citrus Salad

- a lovely selection of citrus fruits: navel oranges, blood oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, meyer lemons, mandarins, minneolas, pummelos, kumquats, clementines…

- Ginger-Bay-Lime Syrup (recipe to follow)

- freshly ground black pepper

- nuts or seeds for garnish

Directions:

1. Prepare syrup. 

2. While the syrup is cooling down, slice up the citrus fruits – slice off the rind on the top and bottom, then slice down the sides. Slice the fruit horizontally to make “discs”. (This is just one way to slice citrus, of course. Do it however you like!) 

3. Arrange sliced fruit on a platter, pour cooled syrup over top. Add freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with nuts or seeds.

Ginger-Bay-Lime Syrup

Ingredients:

¼ cup maple syrup

¼ cup water

a few slices fresh ginger

3 kaffir lime leaves

1 bay leaf 

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and let syrup steep and cool down. Store leftovers in a glass container in the fridge for up to seven days. Makes about 4 servings.

Socca

1 cup chickpea flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 ¼ cup lukewarm water

3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Ghee or coconut oil, for pan

1. In a large bowl, sift chickpea flour, salt, and pepper. Whisk in warm water and olive oil. Let sit, covered, for as many hours as possible (making this before you leave the house in the morning is perfect for making socca for dinner), but at least 30 minutes.

2. Place heavy (preferably cast-iron) skillet in oven and preheat to 450 F.

3. Remove skillet from oven. Add a knob of ghee or coconut oil to the hot pan, and pour batter in a steady stream until it reaches the edges of the pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the pancake is firm and the edges are set.

4. At this point, you can flip the socca, or set it a few inches below your broiler for a couple minutes, just long enough for it to brown. Cut into wedges and serve hot, with toppings of your choice.

Inspired By: Sarah Britton

The Healthy Brownie

2 cups whole walnuts
2 ½ cups dates, pitted
1 cup raw cacao 
1 cup raw unsalted almonds, roughly chopped
¼ tsp. sea salt

Directions:

1. Place walnuts in food processor and blend on high until the nuts are finely ground.

2. Add the cacao and salt. Pulse to combine. 

3. Add the dates one at a time through the feed tube of the food processor while it is running. What you should end up with is a mix that appears rather like cake crumbs, but that when pressed, will easily stick together (if the mixture does not hold together well, add more dates). 

4. In a large bowl (or the pan you plan on putting the brownies in), combine the walnut-cacao mix with the chopped almonds. Press into a lined cake pan or mold. Place in freezer of fridge until ready to serve (it is also easier to cut these when they are cold). Store in an airtight container.