QUINOA CHIA SEED FLAX CRACKERS WITH SPLIT PEA SOUP

 

 

The weather is FINALLY changing here in Los Angeles.  It's by no means cold if you compare it to my east coast friends who got some snow this week.  But for us, we are finally feeling the difference and I am happy about it.  I love summer too, especially in southern California.  But now we can finally bring out the fall foods and baked goods.  That got me thinking.  I found a great home made cracker recipe on one of my favorite sites Whisks and Whimsy. 

 

I changed the recipe a little to include different seeds and grains and I very happy with how they turned out.  Super delicious!

 

VEGAN QUINOA CHIA SEED FLAX CRACKERS

 

1 cup all-purpose unbleached flour, plus more for dusting
1 cup whole wheat flour or splelt flour (I used whole wheat flour)
1/3 cup whole, uncooked quinoa (preferrably soaked for 2 hours and dried for maximum wholesomeness)
1/3 cup ground flax seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup water


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, quinoa, chia seed, flax seed, baking powder, and salt. Then add the olive oil and mix with a fork until combined. Slowly mix in a 1/2 cup of water, working it in with your hands. If needed, add up to 1/4 cup more water until the dough holds together, although, I didnt need too much more than that 1/2 cup.  Knead the dough in the bowl until it is smooth and easy to work with, about 2 minutes.

 



Dust a clean surface with flour, dump out the dough, and press it into a flat disc. Use a rolling pin and roll out the dough until it is 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick (the thinner crackers crisp up a little more in my experience). Cut the crackers into 2-inch squares or circles, rerolling the dough as needed.
Carefully transfer the cut crackers to ungreased or parchment paper lined baking sheets.  Then I used a fork to poke holes on top to give it a nice ritz cracker appearance.

 

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the crackers are crisp and hard to the touch. Transfer the crackers to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.

Makes about 50 to 60 crackers.

I thought it would be great to pair these crackers with a soup and since I had split peas in the pantry, I decided to make a split pea soup that had an Indian flair.  Super delicous.  Naan may have technically been paired with this soup, but the crackers with this dish were perfect too. 



SPLIT PEA SOUP

2 cups dried split peas
4 cups water, plus 1 more cup
1 teaspoon tumeric
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2-1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 clove garlic or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 table spoons nama shoyu or Braggs liquid aminos

Before cooking peas always examine, rinse and sort well to assure maximum wholesomeness of this natural product.  Peas do not require soaking.  Combine the 2 cups of peas with 4 cups of water in a pot adn bring to boil.  Reduce heat, cover with a llid and simmer for 25-35 minutes or until tender.  For this recipe you want the peas to be a little softer since we will be pureeing them. 

Remove from heat and all the remaining ingredients and with a hand blender, puree everything in the pot.  If you don't have a hand blender, you can blend it in a blender but be careful as the mixture is very hot.  You may have to do it in parts.

Let the soup sit or simmer on very low heat 10 to 15 minutes so the spices get infused into the soup.  Now it's ready to serve.

Enjoy!



 

 

 

Join the discussion!

Do you have a favorite vegan cracker or soup recipe? We would love to hear what it is! Share it in the comments below. Links are welcome.

 



RAW: MANNA BREAD FRENCH TOAST WITH MAPLE SYRUP



 

Ok, I have to admit, even though I love eating raw,  sometimes I do miss eating some of those comfort foods I use to eat. Just the thought of it.  Not always, but occasionally.  You can imagine how happy I was when I came across this idea of using your favorite sprouted bread for french toast.  I saw this recipe in Raw Food Real World.  You soak it the milk mixture and then dehydrate it.  Perfect.  This is what you would call a clean french toast.  It's not all buttery and rich like the french toast you would make with brioche and eggs.  But as Matthew Kenney put it, "...eating that kind isnot even remotely appealing anymore and would just make me feel gross. To me, this is a really tasty indulgence that is (of course) good for you!  It's a nice thing to make for a cold weather brunch."  I second that.  This really is a tasty breakfast with no guilt.

 

My husband I really love Manna Bread.  It may seem a bit dense to some people because they do not use any levening agents and they use sprouted whole grains, but if you dehydrate it or toast it, it really lightes it up.  Manna Bread is a cake-like, sprounted bread, yeast free and vegan organic.  Its free of salt, no oils, no sweeteners, no leavening agents.  It is Organic Certified and Kosher Certified.  For more information about their sprouted bread, click HERE.  We get our favorite flavors Banana Walnut Hemp and Fig Fennel Flax at our local Whole Foods Store in the freezer section.

 

The ingredients for this Manna Bread are:  sprouted organic wheat kernels, filtered water, organic black mission figs, organic oat flour, organic flax seeds, organic flax seeds, organic fennel seeds, organic poppy seeds, organic pumpkin seeds, organic sunflower seeds, organic sesame seeds.  So delicious!

 

 

 

MANNA BREAD FRENCH TOAST WITH MAPLE SYRUP

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

1 loaf of Fig Fennel Flax Manna Bread, cut into 1/2 slices

3 cups of almond milk

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Place the bread slices into a shallow baking dish.  In a medium bowl, wisk together the nut milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Pour over the bread slices to cover.  Move the pieces of bread around to make  sure they are being soaked on all side.  The bread does get a little fragile so handle with care.  Allow the bread to soad for 30 minutes on each side.

 

 

 

Let the milk drain off each slice and transfer the soaked bread to your lined dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 115 degrees F for 4-6 hours or until the tops are dry.  Flip them over onto the dehydrator screen and dehydrate further for approximately 4 more hours or until dry and slightly crisp on both sides.

 

If you make these ahead of time and refrigerate them, return them to the dehydrator for about an hour before serving, to warm them through to recrisp.

 

Top with your favorite fruite and or nuts and drizzle with maple syrup.

 

So delicious.

 

Enjoy!