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.

 



QUINOA PATTIES WITH KALE AND SWEET POTATO

 

I mean sometimes, you just want to put something "meaty" into your mouth.  Who doens't like to make a "burger" type dish with all the fixings?  This is a wonderful vegan / vegetarian burger you can eat as a great burger or even alone with you favorite creamy sauce and a side salad.  I drizzled on my favorite chipotle sauce and it was so good!

 



 

 

 

 

 



QUINOA PATTIES WITH KALE AND SWEET POTATO

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

1/2 a pound of kale, large stems removed and finely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 pound sweet potato, steamed, peeled and cut in to small chunks

2 cups quinoa, cooked per instructions

1 small or 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

3 round tablespoons nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons minced fresh dill

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 lemon, juice of

1-1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

3/4 cup garbonzo flour mixed with equal parts water

Extra virgin olive oil

 

You can find my vegan chipotle ranch sauce HERE.

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cook quinoa according to directions. Fluff with a fork and set aside.  Combine all the ingredients except the garbonzo flour and water well with your hands.  Mix the garbonzo flour and water in a measuring cup then pour the flour mixture into the quinoa mixture and combine thoroughly.  Wet your hands with water, and form 6-1″ thick quinoa patties. Pat edges of patties to firm up–rewetting hands with water if needed.  Heat a large stove top pan with extra virgin olive oil brown patties for 4 minutes on each side.  Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for additional 15-18 minutes until golden brown and crispy.  Remove from oven, plate, garnish, and serve.

*Optional: for a lower fat version, skip the pan sear and put the patties straight into the oven onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for an additional 10 minutes until cooked through.

I love this recipe because you can definitely change up the ingredients and make different versions. This has defnitely become one of my family's go to recipes.

Enjoy!

 

 

HARICOT VERT + HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD

 

Written by contributor Yumi Payne of Nastukashii.

As previously posted by Britney, I am one of the many followers of Sprouted Kitchen.  Over the years, I have tried many of her wonderfully creative recipes which have inspired me to put together healthy and tasty meals.  I was in eager anticipation of her cookbook release, which has not disappointed!  

Here is a salad adapted from one of her recipes in the book for a Haricot Vert Salad.  These French green beans are delicious and I love the crisp & tender texture they add to the dish.  I paired this with A Simply Raw Life's Carrot Ginger Dressing and it was the perfect combination.  My husband and I agree that this is will be one of our regularly used dressings.  So delicious!

 

 

 

HARICOT VERT + HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD

1 lb Haricot Verts, ends trimmed

1 cup mixed baby heirloom tomatoes, halved

1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled

1 large chopped garlic clove

1/2 chopped red onion or 1 shallot

1/2 cup unsalted, dry toasted slivered almonds

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

olive oil

sea salt & pepper to taste

Carrot Ginger Dressing

 

Bring large pot of water to a boil, add haricot verts and blanch for about 2-3 minutes until slightly tender yet still crisp.  Drain and rinse in cool water.  Set them aside in a bowl of ice water for 5 minutes to stop them from cooking any further.  Drain and set aside.  Saute garlic and onion in a tablespoon of olive oil and a dash of sea salt under caramelized and browned.  Set aside.  Prepare all other ingredients accordingly.  In large bowl, mix haricot verts and all remaining ingredients together. Add carrot ginger dressing after plating the salad individually. 

 

 

 

If eating as a main course, serves about 4. 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

EGGPLANT & HERBED QUINOA



Vegan: Eggplant & Herbed Quinoa

 

A few of my friends are loyal Sprouted Kitchen followers, so naturally, I adopted them too as a great go to food blog for all things wholesome and scrumptious.  I was quite thrilled...ok probably more surprised when I tasted this medley of herbed quinoa.  The ingredients seemed kind of random while I was preparing it, dill, cilantro, basil, capers...etc.  All of these herbs and the capers have very distinct flavors so I was a tad skeptical that some of the flavors may be a bit overpowering, but I was wrong!  You can see the post at Sprouted Kitchen here.

The first time I made this dish I did the eggplant as suggested, and it was wonderful, but as of lately I’m a bit burnt out on the aubergine vegetable.  So I opted to use portabello mushrooms and zucchini, and it worked just as well.

So here are the deets!

Purple basil, dill & cilantro

portabello mushrooms

Dill, tri-color quinoa, red onion, pine nuts and capers

EGGPLANT & HERBED QUINOA

THE ESSENTIALS

• 3-4 medium eggplants (maybe 2 larger ones, 4 smaller ones)
• sea salt
• extra virgin olive oil
• za'atar seasoning
• 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
• half of a small red onion, sliced thin
• generous handful each of fresh basil, dill and cilantro
2 Tbsp. capers, roughly chopped
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp. honey or agave nectar
• 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

THE PROCESS

Cut the eggplants into 1 1/2'' rounds. Sprinkle with salt and set aside for 30 minutes to release water.

Add the quinoa to a pot with a pinch of salt and 3/4 cup water or stock. Bring it to a gentle boil, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, fluff with a fork, cover again and leave it to steam another 5 minutes.

Heat up your grill or grill pan. Press the eggplants between a dishcloth or paper towels to absorb the excess moisture. Brush both sides with olive oil and grill for about 5 minutes per sides until you get nice dark marks and the texture seems pretty soft throughout. I like the softer texture that comes with covering them. Remove to a plate, drizzle a bit more olive oil and sprinkle with za'atar to taste.

To finish the quinoa, toss in the onions, all of the herbs, oil, vinegar, honey or agave and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Toss to mix. Taste and adjust as you like.

Put the eggplants on a plate, top with the quinoa and garnish with the toasted pinenuts.

***NOTE:  A few things I changed.  So I've never heard of the seasoning za'atar, and the person at my local market had never heard of it, so I abandoned that seasoning.  If you have heard of it please leave a message below because I'd like to know where I can find it.  But wait it's probably at Whole Foods!  Also the first time I made this I did coat each eggplant piece with olive oil.  But the second go round I opted to just put some olive oil in the pan, and let the mushroom coat themselves, again I am a lazy vegan.  I also thought I'd try it this time with portabello mushrooms and zucchini.  So instead of the 2-3 eggplants I used 2 portabello mushrooms sliced, and 1 zucchini sliced into spears.

THE END...