sweet miscellany

Though I bake and eat a good share of sweets, I tend to eat healthier vegetarian meals for dinner during the week. Since most people don’t subsist on baked goods, I decided to share a favorite dinner recipe. It doesn’t really require a lot of ingredients, and chances are you have most of them in your kitchen already.

I’m not quite sure how this dinner concoction came together. I think I was trying to use up some things in my cupboard and refrigerator before they went bad. I had some left over coconut milk left, bulgur wheat that needed to be consumed before the “best by” date, and a beautiful bunch of kale in the crisper waiting to be eaten. These were combined into one of my favorite go-to dinners, lemony kale with creamy bulgur wheat. It’s rather simple and is ready in less than 20 minutes.

Lemony Kale with Creamy Bulgur Wheat

Since usually only cooking for 1 or 2 people all of the time, this recipe serves 2. You can easily double (or triple) it to suit the number of mouths you are cooking for. To save time, I usually saute the kale while the bulgur wheat is cooking so they are done about the same time.

1 cup bulgur wheat
1 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 cups water
1 bunch of Kale, ribs removed and torn into smallish pieces
1 tbsp oil ( I tend to use olive oil or grapeseed oil)
zest of 1 lemon
pinch (or more) or crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup flaked unsweetened coconut, toasted
1/4 cup sliced raw almonds, toasted
sea salt

In a medium pot or saucepan, bring the coconut milk and water to a simmer. Stir in the bulgur wheat and then bring the mixture to a boil. Once it comes to a nice boil, reduce the temperature to a simmer and stir often for about 10 to 20 minutes until the bulgur wheat is still creamy, but a lot of the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat.

In a separate pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium heat. Once your pan is hot, toss in the kale and then stand back! It will crackle and hiss when it first hits the oil. Next, toss in the lemon zest, red pepper flakes, and a bit of sea salt. Saute the kale until it turns bright green, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Serve the kale mixture over the bulgur wheat and top with the toasted almonds and coconut. A bit more sea salt may be sprinkled on top before serving. Enjoy!

When I am in the field for work, every meal has to be eaten out. It may sound awesome, but it gets tiring, especially on a longer 10 day stretch. There comes a point when all I want are fruits, vegetables, and just plain, healthy food. It is also frustrating because I don’t have the ability to cook something with my own two hands.

The last time I came home, I did not have the energy to go to the store, so I decided to see what I could do with what I already had. I wanted something rather plain, but healthy and delicious. I had a few sweet raspberries and a banana left over. Somehow, while standing in my kitchen staring at my refrigerator, I came up with Buckwheat Banana pancakes.

I mashed up the banana and it became part of the batter, while the raspberries got mashed with a bit of agave nectar to act as the “syrup”. If you don’t like bananas, I suggest trying these at least once because the buckwheat flour balances them out and makes for one tasty pancake. The batter is quite thick, almost like a cake batter, so when you put some in your skillet, you may have to lightly spread it around to even it out and make a somewhat round shape. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…

Buckwheat Banana Pancakes with Raspberry “Syrup”

These pancakes are gluten free and can be made vegan by using an egg replacer. This recipe makes about 6 medium to large sized pancakes.

1 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
2 tbsp baking powder (yes, that’s 2 tablespoons, just trust me)
1 verrry ripe banana
1 tbsp raw cane sugar (or agave nectar)
1 large egg
3/4 cup almond milk (any type of milk would work here)
1 tbsp barely warmed coconut oil, plus more for the pan

1/2 cup fresh raspberries
about 2 tsp agave nectar, depending on how sweet your raspberries are

Mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

In a separate bowl, mash the banana until smooth. Mash in the raw cane sugar until it is incorporated. Next, mix in the egg, almond milk, and 1 tbsp of barely warmed coconut oil until well blended.

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet until they just come together in a thick batter.

Heat a heavy bottomed or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Brush it with more coconut oil, then place about 1/4 cup of batter on the skillet, making sure to spread it out a bit if it’s too thick. When you start to see bubbles form around the edges, it is ready to flip (about 3 minutes per side). Cook each pancake until brown on each side.

To make the raspberry syrup, mash the raspberries with the agave nectar until a sauce forms. If it is too thick, add a bit of water. Drizzle the mixture over the pancakes and enjoy!