Savory Dinner Crepes

These were delightful.  I was feeling like pancakes tonight, but the thought of the heaviness stopped me (even though breakfast at dinner is one of my favorite things).  So, despite being sorely tempted to use the blueberries I got on sale last week to make fluffy syrup-laden flapjacks, I opted for a lighter option.  One I could fill with something healthy.  I had some roasted vegetables leftover from last night.  I had eggs.  I had Daiya cheese.  It was a done deal.

This recipe was adapted from one I found in Living Without.  I adjusted the amounts for being a single girl living alone who does not need to eat 15 crepes for dinner.  I also made it entirely whole grain - no starches in these!

And they turned out to be fabulous.  Soft and fluffy.  Bendable.  And the ingredients are so simple and minimalist, with no sugar or salt added.  They hold together so well that I suspect (although I have not yet tried it) that these could function as wraps to be eaten on the go.  You could get creative and add herbs or spices to them.  These were my first try and I loved them plain, but hey, you should go nuts.  They're going to be your dinner, not mine - so add whatever you think will taste good.  These are a delicious way to dress up your favorite ingredients for a healthy dinner or lunch!

Savory Dinner Crepes
Makes 4 medium crepes

2 tsp. Earth Balance Buttery Spread, melted and cooled
1 egg
1/6 cup sorghum flour
1/6 cup brown rice flour
1/8 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used Sunsational Sunflower Milk - have you tried it?  It's pretty tasty!)

Beat together the melted Earth Balance and the egg.  In a separate small bowl, mix the sorghum flour, rice flour, and xanthan gum and add to the egg mixture and beat to combine.  Add the non-dairy milk little by little, mixing to incorporate each bit before adding more.  It will be thicker than regular crepe batter, but thinner than pancake batter. 

Spray a nonstick pan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat.  When the pan is hot, add about 1/4 cup of batter and spread evenly around the pan, either by tilting the pan or by using a spatula.  Cook for 2 - 4 minutes or until the first side is browned, and then flip it over and cook until the other side is browned (for about another 1 - 3 minutes).  Remove to a plate to keep warm.

Fill with anything you like!  I filled one with roasted yellow squash, red peppers, onions, and mushrooms.  Then for the other, I beat one egg with 1 tsp. water and cooked it over medium-high heat spread thinly over the pan like a crepe.  I sprinkled some Daiya Vegan Cheese over it and added some salt and pepper.  Then when it was done, I folded it up into the real crepe.  They were both fantastic.

Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Hummus (Vegan and Raw)

This is a lovely twist on traditional hummus dip.  In fact, I'm not entirely sure that it should even be called hummus, given the complete absence of the chickpeas, which are replaced entirely with cashews in this recipe.  All I know is that it was really, really tasty.  After several minutes of blitzing in the food processor, this raw dip was silky smooth, creamy, and wonderful.  It has a slightly sweet flavor from the roasted red peppers, with a salty tinge that lingers on your tongue.  I'm learning the art of keeping things simple, so I only added small amounts of a few other spices to this.  Not too many, though, because the roasted red peppers have such a strong flavor, and it's not fair to have to compete with that.

I ate this with corn chips, but it would be wonderful with pita chips as well, if you can find or make gluten-free ones.  I also used it in place of ketchup on a black bean burger I had this week, which was fantastic, and it would be great as a layer in a sandwich or as a tapenade with melted cheese on top, too.  Unfortunately, I ran out of the dip before I had time to try all of the different ways I thought of to use it.  But I'm sure that a few more batches will be coming my way before long...



Roasted Red Pepper Cashew "Hummus"

1 cup roasted cashews (I used the 50% reduced salt kind from Trader Joe's)
2 whole roasted red peppers, skin and seeds removed
1 - 2 tbsp. lemon juice (to taste)
2 tsp. agave nectar
1/2 tsp. salt (add more or less to your own taste)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Dash of cayenne pepper (to taste/tolerance)
Dash of cumin (to taste)

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend on high speed for about 4 - 5 minutes, or until very creamy.  Remove and adjust spices as needed.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Serve with corn chips or as a tapenade.

Bagel Pizzas

You can tell I just got done with finals by all the quick and minimal-effort food I've been eating.  Being gluten-free, it can sometimes feel hard to have a truly quick and easy meal.  This is pretty simple, though.  If you have the fifteen minutes it takes to bake it, you're golden after spending about 5 minutes assembling it.  Promise.

I recently attended a food and nutrition conference here in Boston, where I was given a bag of Udi's Multigrain Bagels to try (so, for full disclosure, I did receive these for free).  I think they are pretty fabulous; I've tried them with Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese, with peanut butter, and with a fried egg as a sandwich.  And now, with this, the final bagel, I decided to get a little more ambitious and see how they would hold up as a pizza base.

It turns out that they hold up really well, becoming deliciously crispy on the outside while staying nice and soft on the inside.  These little pizzas are very versatile, although the prime real estate space on the bagel is pretty limited, plus you have to work with the big hole in the middle, so you can't really pile on too many toppings.  Just take it easy and choose 2 or 3 to start with.  I had a Trader Joe's sausage in my fridge, along with a jar of roasted red peppers.  I went with that.  But next time - who knows?  It could turn into anything.

Bagel Pizzas

Per person:
1 Udi's Multigrain bagel, cut in half
~1/2 cup gluten-free pizza sauce
1 pre-cooked gluten-free sausage, sliced thinly (I used Trader Joe's Sweet Apple Sausage)
1/4 cup sliced roasted red peppers
3/4 cup Daiya Vegan Cheese (mozzarella works best, but if you've only got cheddar, go on and use it)
Optional: oregano, basil, and parsley (to sprinkle over)

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper so any cheese that falls off doesn't attach itself permanently to your pan.

Assemble the pizzas:  spread the pizza sauce over each bagel slice, then arrange the roasted red peppers and sausage slices, and then top with the Daiya Vegan Cheese and if desired, sprinkle with the spices.

Bake for about 12 - 15 minutes (but depending on your oven, it could take shorter or longer so I would start checking after about 10 minutes, just in case).  When the cheese is completely melted and the bagel slices are crispy, you can remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Roasted Red Pepper Mini-Meatloaves

I can't believe how well these turned out.  I have this habit of going grocery shopping without any real plan for what I want to make, which is a bit like going to a hardware store and buying a few nails and some wood and then coming home to draw up a blueprint.  But, you know what?  Sometimes that means you end up with something amazing that you never would have planned for.

These mini-meatloaves were born out of a perfect storm of leftovers.  2 lonely roasted red peppers left in a jar.  Some brown rice from the week before.  Half a pound of ground turkey.  Random condiments in the door of my fridge.  You might not think that could amount to much - but - it did.  These turned out to be so perfectly moist and full of wonderful flavor!  You can stick with eating them as meatloaves, or add a little more rice/oats and make them into meatballs to serve on top of some marinara-coated pasta.  You could even just cook this as a hamburger and put it into a gluten-free bun, topped with your favorite gluten-free (and/or vegan) cheese.  But no matter how you serve it, the flavor will win you over with the first bite. 

Roasted Red Pepper Mini-Meatloaves
Makes two mini-meatloaves.


1/2 lb ground turkey
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup cooked brown or white rice (if you don't have rice, you can substitute gluten-free oats)
1 roasted red pepper, diced
1 1/2 tbsp. jam
3 tbsp. gluten-free barbecue sauce (Trader Joe's Kansas City Smokehouse is gluten-free)
3 tbsp. gluten-free marinara sauce (optional)
1 tsp. minced onion
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Spray two mini-loaf pans with cooking spray.

Stir all ingredients together in a large bowl and mix well.  Spread into two mini loaf pans.  Bake for at least 40 minutes or until the meatloaves are cooked all the way through.  Serve with mashed potatoes and vegetables, cornbread, or slice and make into a sandwich.

Creamy (vegan!) Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Sauce

Tonight, exhausted from a full day of babysitting and with the prospect of another several hours of babysitting after dinner, I was looking for a new recipe to try that would be simple. Simple, but delicious.  

There is a place in Boston called Veggie Planet, which has a dish with some sort of amazing roasted red pepper and nut sauce.  I had a bag of cashews, and a jar of roasted red peppers I've had forever.  And I have a food processor.  What resulted was a rich, creamy, and thick sauce - I had to refrain from eating up every last bite of it.  When I started making it, I wasn't sure yet how I wanted to use this sauce, but as I stood over the stove, stirring and thinking, I decided that it would be an excellent base for a pizza.  And oh, was it ever.  But this sauce is so versatile that you could use it for all kinds of other things.  With pasta, on a sandwich - so many ways!  (See below for suggestions.)  So give it a try - it's vegan and gluten-free and full of flavor.  You'll love it.

Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Sauce

3 roasted red peppers

1/3 cup unsalted or lightly salted cashew nuts (I used the "50% less salt" kind from Trader Joe's)

1/4 - 1/2 cup almond milk (depending on how thick you want your sauce)

1 tsp. minced/crushed garlic

1/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. ground cumin (or to taste)

dash of cayenne pepper (optional; to taste)

dash of black pepper 

1 tsp. agave nectar OR 1 tsp. sugar 

1/4 tsp. lemon juice

In a food processor, combine the roasted red peppers and cashews and process on highest setting.  After about 1 minute, add 1/4 cup of almond milk and continue to process until it is very smooth.  

Put the processed mixture into a small saucepan and place over medium-low heat.  Add more almond milk if desired, the salt, cumin, cayenne pepper, agave nectar, and lemon juice and heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning, until the mixture becomes as thick as you want it to be. Tweak the spices as you stir to your own taste - the recipe above is just an approximation!  When you are happy with the taste and consistency, remove from heat.  Use immediately (see below) or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

Ways to use this sauce:

-as a pasta sauce or (if you let it get thick enough) as a pesto to toss with angel hair pasta

-spoon hot over sauteed mushrooms, spinach, and brown rice

-spread over chicken and bake in the oven, covered OR spread over grilled chicken

-as a sandwich spread (would complement pesto extremely well)

-as a dip for crackers or pretzels (gluten-free, of course)

-as a delicious replacement for regular pizza sauce (see picture below!) with your favorite toppings (I sauteed a Spicy Jalapeno chicken sausage from Trader Joe's and topped two corn tortillas with a layer of the roasted red pepper sauce, the sausage, and then Daiya vegan cheese, and it was phenomenally good, and extremely fast)

Roasted Red Pepper and Sausage Pizza