Granola Bars Supreme - Vegan Gluten Free and Sugar Free

 

 These yummy bars are easy to make! Try to use organic [and/or regenerative farmed] ingredients. Otherwise they are probably sprayed with Roundup [glyphosate] which causes cancer, birth defects, disrupts the micro-biome... See previous post for more info. You need:

4 cups oats

1 c sunflower seeds

2 Tablespoons chia seeds

1 c shredded unsweetened coconut

2 c almond flour 

1.5 c butter or veg substitute like coconut oil [melted]

1 c peanut butter

3/4 c tahini

1 T vanilla [real one]

Optional: 1 c raisins, chopped dates or other dried fruit [unsulphured]

and/or 1/2 c raw honey or maple syrup.

1. Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix together with your hands or large spoon.

2.Grease 7X11 inch pans and spread mix into pans. Press firmly with hands or fork. 

3. Back at 350 F for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into desired pieces. They freeze well or should be kept in fridge if possible. 

4. Yum!

Pumpkin or Squash Turkish "Pancake" Borek [Babakli Borek] -

This is a quick snack served in Turkey and much of the region. It's also great as part of a meal. According to Musa Dagdeviren [the following is inspired by his recipe], the village women would get together to make the pastry sheets.

I prefer to bake the pumpkin or squash at 350 F till soft. Just cut in half, scoop out and save the seeds as they can be eaten too, and put on a cookie sheet face down to hold in the moisture. When soft, scoop out and mash the flesh. If using a soft skinned squash like Butternut, you can also use the skin.

What you need:

For the dough:

1 cup flour [any kind, I use spelt. You could use a GF gluten free one also]

1 cup oats

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

3/4 cup yogourt

For the filling [adapt as you wish]:

About 454g/1LB cooked squash or pumpkin

1-2 onions finely sliced

1/2 bunch cilantro finely chopped

1/2 bunch parsley finely chopped

1/2 t salt

1/4 t black pepper

1 or 2 hot peppers finely sliced

1-2 T  garam masala

1/3 c butter, ghee, lard or coconut oil [saturated fats should be used for frying]

To make the filling:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, except the fat.  Heat the fat in a frying pan and saute everything for about 10 minutes on medium heat. Then divide into equal parts - about 5.

To make dough:

Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Cover the dough in a bowl with a damp cloth and leave for 20 minutes in a warm place.

Divide the dough into 5 parts and let rest another 5 or so minutes. Sprinkle each ball with a bit of flour and roll out on a dusted surface to a 40 cm or 16 inch circle or whatever size you desire.

Spread the filling over half the circle and then fold over the empty half and seal with a little water. Heat a large frying pan on high heat and add about 2 T fat. Test with a few drops of water - they will splat when hot enough [be careful as they may bounce off]. Lower to medium heat. Fry the borek about 2 minutes per side or until done [similar to making pancakes]. Flip and do each side again about a minute. Add more fat if needed between flips- but once the pan is hot it shouldn't need much more fat.

Put on a plate and serve. You can smoother in homemade yogourt if you like.

 

YUMMY WRAPS - TUNA, HUMMUS, PLANT BASED..GLUTEN FREE!

Super Food - Super Yummy Natto Bars - Plant Based/Vegan And Gluten Free Too!

What to do with NATTO?  If you don't know what or how to make Natto see my earlier post and also my video here. This super food great for blood clotting, moving calcium to the bones, probiotic benefits and more.... But many don't like the taste or slimy-ness. So here we disguise all that in a super bar! This traditional Japanese food iis your ticket to good health and yummy-ness!

Grind together:
1 1/3 cup oats
1/4 c pumpkin seeds
1/4 c sunflower seeds
1 c raisins
1/2 c rice flour [or other]

To above, add:
1/4 c ground flax seeds
1 Tablespoon chia seeds
1 T sesame seeds

Heat slowly till well mixed:
1 c peanut butter
1/4 c honey

Then add
1 T vanilla extract [the real thing]
1/2 c tahini
8 T Natto

Mix all together. Grease an 8" pan and press the mix into it. Be sure to press hard with a large spoon or hands.
Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Cut into small bars or squares. Can wrap in plastic wrap and will keep for 2 weeks in fridge. Yum!
 

VEGAN PROBIOTIC WATER KEFIR DIY

China: Leader In Organic Food Production [and not just the Coronavirus]?

The last, but surely not the least workshop at the recent Guelph Organic Conference  was perhaps the best! This writer is a little biased after living in Asia. With the worlds' eyes on China in terms of "development" and also pollution [and now the Coronavirus], it was a fascinating workshop. It was also a hope-full one: to know that the Chinese are also concerned about the food they eat as it relates to organic ag.

Organic tea farm in Hangzhou. 

Steffanie Scott and Zhenzhong Si shared their experience with growers, sellers, consumers and government officials in the organic sector of China. China is a leader in the organic field - #3 in area in organic production in the world - selling US $28.5B globally/yr. Canada imports US$400M/yr of food from China.

 While Canada is a larger country than China, China has 4.1M hectares in organic acreage. 3.1M hectares for crop production and 0.97M hectares for wild production  Canada has only 1.1M Ha mainly for pasture and forage, followed by field crops. China also produces 2.8M t of organic animal products and 4.8M t of organic processed food. This places China fourth in the world in terms of sales.

 The authors at the Green Cow farm in Beijing

The middle class is rising incredibly fast: going from 29M in 1991 to 531M in 2013! This translates to higher wages, being more informed about the health benefits of organic food and the ability to purchase it. People are also more aware about GMOs - and confused. Some consumers groups are actively supporting them, while others see them as part of a U.S. plot to control the Chinese food system. Yet packages are labelled if GMO - unlike in Canada/US where we must "trust" Big Ag and the government to "care for us".

But we must wonder how trust worthy the certification procedure is. I have worked with many Chinese who stress the "bribe factor" that runs the country. That is a concern for sure. Yet the national standards do include:

• Traceability
• Requirements for air, water and soil quality
• Fertilizer requirements/standards 

 Presently there are equivalency agreements with NZ and ones with the EU are being worked on.

The various structures of production include enterprises leasing in land, contract farming, CSA/alternative food networks, farmers' coops and being organic due to poverty and lack of funds to buy chemicals. It is the large scale operations that get more support both from the government and from the public.

Tu Sheng Liang Pin ecological restaurant in Nanning

Yet "Little Donkey Farm" won the country's affection and increased support for the 'little guy/girl'. But it is hard to start a small farm as there are few social supports. Some government funding is available though.There are also free bio-fertilizers for farmers. But the purity of them is suspect.

The government also considers these smaller operation to be mere "niche" and considers the yields to be too low. They seem to be too paranoid about food security without realizing that small farms can be very productive, employ more people per ha and pay more attention to building the soil. Unfortunately there are little attempts to counter this erroneous narrative.

Social media may 'save the day'. The popular platform "wechat" connects consumers with farmers and stores. People can purchase organic products enabling small scale farms to survive and hopefully thrive.

Anyone interested in more detail can purchase the book and see the authors' website here
Images from cited site and used by permission.

Turkish Sesame Bagels [Simit]

These bagels can be found throughout Turkey. You can find them under the names Simit, Gevrek or Kahke, according to Musa Dagdeviren's "The Turkish Cookbook" which inspired this recipe.

For the dough:
2 cups flour [I used 1/3 c ground millet, 1/3 ground oats, rest all purpose]
1/2 tsp salt
1 T yeast

1 T yogourt
1/2 c sesame seeds

To make the dough:

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well in mix and add the yeast, along with 175ml [3/4 c] warm water. This may vary depending on the flour used. Combine well. Knead the dough at least 5 min. on a lightly floured board. Put back in the bowl and let rest at least 15 min. in a warm spot, with a damp towel over the bowl.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Divide the dough into 4 equal amounts. You can let it rest another 15 min. if desired. Then roll out the dough into 35cm [14"]. Twist the dough and attach making rings.

Dip the rings into the yogourt and then into the sesame seeds. Put on a lined baking sheet and let rest 15 min. covered with a damp cloth. Bake about 20 min.

You can enjoy them dipped in more yogourt, covered in butter or just as they are! Yum!