Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients for one the best snacks of all-time

2 cans of chickpeas

olive oil

kosher salt

Rinse chickpeas in cold water and remove the skins manually. Yes, this is labor-intensive, but worth it! Pat the chickpeas dry. This will ensure they cook nicely in the oven. Coat the chickpeas with olive oil and kosher salt. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes in the oven. They will turn golden brown and will be crunchy when done- they even pop in your mouth! Enjoy! 

Pre-baking

The finished product! 

What to do with chocolate

Chocolate Nutella Clusters

1 cup melted chocolate

1/2 cup Nutella

4 tbsp. butter

1 1/2 cups unsalted peanuts

pink salt

I had some leftover chocolate from a few months ago and some Nutella I wanted to use, so I thought I could combine both ingredients into a delicious treat. 

Melt the chocolate, Nutella, and butter in a double boiler to prevent scorching of the ingredients. Once all ingredients are melted and thick, add the peanuts. Line a muffin tin with a liner and pour in the mixture. While hot, top with pink salt and freeze or let cool in the fridge. Enjoy! 

Before

After (close-up)

Coconut Cashew Salad w/ Spicy Coconut Dressing

The Salad

mesclun greens

cashews

coconut flakes

cranberries

The Dressing

coconut oil

brown grain mustard

sesame oil

rice vinegar

siracha

Enjoy! 

Sans-dressing

The Flavor Medley

Coconut Chicken Rice with Garlic Chips

The Ingredients

Basmati rice

chicken broth

light coconut milk

4-5 chicken tenders

coconut oil

saffron

ginger

turmeric

cumin

coriander

curry

1 red onion

2 cups of raw spinach

1 bulb of garlic

Garlic chips

Thinly slice 10 garlic cloves. Place into a bowl and cover with light coconut milk for around an hour. Fry in vegetable/canola or grapeseed oil for a few minutes until golden brown and crispy. Remove excess oil and set aside. These will be used later.

Chicken

Marinate chicken overnight in a chicken broth and coconut milk mixture. Coconut milk tenderizes meat and the broth will add some good, natural flavor to the mix. When cooking the rice, use coconut oil to lightly sautée the chicken so it is cooked halfway. Then, cut into small pieces. 

Rice

Cook rice in a mixture of coconut milk and chicken broth. Add saffron, ginger, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and curry. Add diced red onion and 2 cups of raw spinach. Then, add the partially-cooked chicken bites to the cooking rice. Keep on medium-high heat. 

Top off with the garlic chips and enjoy! 

Final product! 

Garlic chips

Roasted Cauliflower

The Ingredients

1/2 cauliflower head

extra virgin olive oil

cumin

coriander

paprika

garlic

shallots

salt

chili flakes

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until the cauliflower starts turning brown. This is a nutritious side dish for any kind of meal. Enjoy! 

Final product! 

Lavender Lemonade

The Ingredients

water

sugar cane syrup

brown sugar

4 lemons

lavender

Note: Boiling the lemon juice and sugars will really allow the mixture to absorb the sweetness much better. Enjoy! 

Floating lavender

Natural color! 

Organic Corn Dog Waffle...Say what?!

The Ingredients

1 all-beef hot dog (I prefer Trader Joe's, as theirs are free of nitrates and a bit lower in sodium)

2/3 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

2/3 cup polenta

3 tbsp butter

This recipe requires multi-tasking, so proceed with caution. I recently got a waffle maker as a surprise gift, and knew I had to start experimenting with savory waffles. The possibilities are ENDLESS.

First, boil your hot dog. It gets rid of excess sodium and plumps it up! 

Now, work on the batter. In a pot, add 1/2 cup of water with a pinch of salt to a boil. Add polenta a little bit at a time to make sure it doesn't get lumpy. Continue to stir. Then, add in your butter and slowly melt it in. It will increase in size- that's how you know it will be cooking nicely. Keep this on warm.

Now, back to the hot dog. It should be hot all the way through. Rinse with cold water so you can work on it without burning yourself. Cut it into small pieces slightly smaller than croutons (this helps guarantee you get a piece in almost every bite). Set aside. 

In a bowl, add your flour, baking powder, and eggs. Then, add the polenta mixture and stir in your hot dog pieces. 

It should look like this! 

Lightly butter your waffle maker and pour in the batter. This is enough to make two very filling waffles. Cook for a a few minutes, until the batter seems to be sticking together very well. Serve with mustard and enjoy! 

By the way, this was the first waffle I EVER made. So exciting!