Chopped Kale Salad + Creamy Almond Ginger Dressing

Exciting news over here!!!

Chris just found out he passed the PE, the professional engineer licensing exam.  This is a huge deal!  It was an 8-hour beast of a test that he has been studying every single day for, for all of 2013.

He’s a real deal engineer now.  Complete with a stamp + everything!  So insanely proud of him.

I just had to share the good news.

We’re heading out tonight to celebrate this huge milestone but also to say goodbye to our good friends, Peter + Michelle.  They’re heading to California for new opportunities, and while we are going to miss their hilarious, silly, + loving personalities, we couldn’t be happier or more excited for them both.

I don’t quite know how to explain these two spectacular individuals and can’t even begin to figure out how they found each other, as they are about as perfect as perfect can be for one another.

[michelle – far right]

They actually met while hiking the Appalachian Trail quite a few years back.  True story.  How cool is that? 

I know this won’t be the end of our friendship but it’s still hard to see them go.  Love them both so dearly.

And now I give you this kale salad.

Because kale salads are awesome.  Especially when all of the veggies are finely chopped, covered in a creamy almond dressing infused with ginger, and topped with marinated portabella mushrooms.

Kale salad for the win.

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inspired by: King Kale Salad at Tasty Harmony

Chopped Kale Salad gluten-free, vegan // yields 3 meal-sized salads or 6-8 side salads

• 1/2lb asparagus
• 1 head kale, de-stemmed + finely chopped
• 3 cups chopped cabbage
• 3 radishes
• 2 bell peppers
• 1 green zucchini
• 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, chilled
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas, rinsed + drained
• 1-2 avocados, sliced
• red onion, thinly sliced
• 2-3 portabella mushrooms, sliced
• 2 teaspoons sunflower oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1. Make the dressing recipe first to allow flavors to develop while preparing the salad.
2. Trim the asparagus ends, chop into bite-sized pieces, and steam until just tender.  About 7 minutes depending on the thickness.  Place in an ice bath to chill, then drain + pat dry.
3. For the mushrooms:  Add the oil to a pan over medium heat.  Once hot, place the sliced mushrooms in the pan and add the 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar.  Cook until tender, about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Place on a plate and let cool fully.
4. Thinly slice then chop the radishes, pepper, and zucchini.
5. Place the kale and cabbage in a large mixing bowl and toss with desired amount of dressing.  Massage until tender.
6. Add the chilled asparagus, radishes, pepper, zucchini, quinoa, and chickpeas in the bowl and toss with the greens.  Add more dressing if needed. 
7. Serve in large bowls with cooled mushrooms, sliced avocado, sliced red onion, pepper, sesame seeds, etc.  Add more dressing if desired.

Creamy Almond Ginger Dressing

• 5 tablespoons creamy almond butter
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2-3 teaspoons gluten-free tamari, or soy sauce
• 2 1/2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon grated garlic
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2-3 tablespoons water

1. Place all ingredients, excluding the water, into a jar and shake with the lid on until fully combined and creamy.  It is important to use grated ginger + garlic, not minced.  I use my microplane zester for this.
2. Add water slowly to thin out and shake to combine.  Dressing will thicken as it sits.  Taste and adjust if needed. 

Enjoy the weekend!

Ashley

single-serving deep dish chocolate chip cookie [vegan + gluten-free]

So, I know yesterday's single-serving muffins were pretty cool and all, but ummm, this recipe is slightly cooler.

And let me start out by saying that I am super skeptical of gluten-free cookies.  Skeptical in buying them at the store and nervous to make them on my own.  I've come up with a few recipes that have more than satisfied my cookie cravings but there is a specific texture I still had yet to create or find.  The chewy, gooey, sticky oatmeal chocolate chip cookie texture.

This recipe solves that problem.  

The oatmeal cookie of my dreams.  The best gluten-free cookie I've ever eaten.  Not to mention vegan, single-serving, and can be made in 1 bowl with 1 fork using minimal ingredients in about 3 minutes.  The most non-fuss cookie ever.

If I had the choice between a regular chocolate chip cookie and an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie I will pick the oatmeal cookie 100% of the time.  Rolled oats add such a nutty delicious flavor and an addictingly chewy texture you just can't get when using flour alone.

The best part about this recipe is that you can bake it exactly to your liking.  Since there is no egg it doesn't matter how "done" it ends up.  Underbake it, overbake it, eat the raw dough for all I care!  Whatever you want!  

My cookie texture of choice has a slightly crispy edge with a doughy, tacky center.  Not tacky like socks with sandals but tacky like sticky and chewy.  I could eat these all day for the texture alone!  And trust me this didn't come after one lucky try.  This recipe was not an accident.  I made at least 7 trials playing with very small ratios of flour, oats, oil, sugar, etc. until it was just perfect.

Well, perfect for me, anyway.  But hopefully you like it as well.  This cookie is the real deal.  

Or maybe it's been so long since I've had a real cookie that my brain has been a skewed vision of what a real cookie is.  

Or not. 

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inspired by: deep-dish whole wheat vegan chocolate chip cookie

Single-Serving Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie gluten-free, vegan // yields 1 serving

• 2 teaspoons unrefined coconut oil, softened not melted
• 2 teaspoons brown rice syrup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons muscovado sugar, or [vegan] light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 tablespoon gluten-free oat flour
• 1 tablespoon almond meal
• 1-1 1/2 tablespoons dark [vegan] chocolate chips
• pinch of flaked sea salt, to top

1. Preheat your oven to 350* F and take out a 3 or 4-inch ramekin dish.  
2. In a small bowl mash the coconut oil, brown rice syrup, muscovado sugar, vanilla, and baking powder together until fully combined + creamy.  Do not use melted coconut oil.
3. Add the oats, oat flour, and almond meal, then mash with a fork until a dough forms that is sticky and holds together. ~30 seconds
4. Mix in the chocolate chips.
5. Press firmly into the ramekin dish then top with a small pinch of flaked sea salt and bake for 11-13 minutes [for a 4-inch ramekin] or less/more depending on your texture preference.  For a 3-inch ramekin bake for 15-17 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 7-10 minutes.  The cookie will firm up and become chewier as it cools.
7. Serve slightly warm or fully cooled.  The cookie will stay chewy when fully cooled.

notes/substitution:  The brown rice syrup helps create a chewy texture but maple syrup will also work.  For making 3 cookies instead of the cookie pie see directions below.

Don't feel like smashing the dough into a ramekin dish?  Roll 3 balls of dough, place them on a cookie sheet 2-inches apart, slightly flatten them, and bake for about 7-9 minutes [at 350*].  Let them cool for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.  The cookies will firm up as they cool and stay chewy once fully cooled.

And then there's the option of serving the cookie pie a la mode.  The ice cream cools the warm cookie making it even chewier, while at the same time melting into ice cream soup.  My two favorite things together at last.

And here is the whopping sinkful of dishes you'll have to clean when you're all done.

Why aren't you in the kitchen yet?  

Ashley

single-serving chocolate chip banana baked muffin [vegan + gluten-free]

This is the story of an accidental muffin-thingy.

It all started when I set out to make a deep-dish oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, which you will be hearing more about very soon!  After a handful of trials I finally got the [cookie] texture I was looking for.

Then I thought, maybe I can make a no-oil version with banana?

So I mashed up half of a super-ripe banana, but for some silly reason I mashed way more banana than I used oil in the original recipe.  Over triple the amount to be exact.  It was obvious this was not going to turn into a cookie.  But could it turn into something else?  Off to the oven it went.

And out came this.

This single-serving gem of a muffin!  Errr, muffin-thingy.  I don't really know what to call it.  It's sort of muffin-like, but doughier.  Not gummy or gooey, but dense.  But not dense in a bad way.  You kind of just need to make it to see what I mean.  Cookie dough ball meets muffin?

I didn't have high hopes for this little guy but in a matter or seconds the entire thing disappeared.  The texture was fantastically addicting.

I was shocked at how well it held together for being both gluten-free + vegan.  Not a crumb in site!  And did I mention oil-free?  I honestly couldn't believe it was actually edible!

And then I made a blueberry walnut version with no added sugar and it ended up having the same doughy texture.  

And then that disappeared.

And then I made them again just to be sure.

And then I decided this happy accident just had to be shared.

A single-serving, gluten-free, vegan, oil-free, refined sugar free muffin that doesn't taste like crap!?  True story.

Print this!

Single-Serving Chocolate Chip Banana Muffin gluten-free, vegan, oil-free // yields 1 muffin

• 3 tablespoons well-mashed banana, very ripe 
• 2 teaspoons brown rice syrup, or maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• tiny pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons gluten-free oat flour
• 2 tablespoons gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 tablespoon almond meal
• 1-1 1/2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips, vegan if needed

1. Preheat your oven to 350* F and grease 1 oven-safe ramekin.
2. In a small bowl, mash the banana until very wet and egg-like.
3. Mix in the brown rice syrup, vanilla bean paste, baking powder, and salt.
4. Add the oat flour, rolled oats, and almond meal and mix until well combined.  Mixture will be thick.
5. Fold in 1 tablespoon chocolate chips and scoop the batter into the ramekin.  Dot a few extra chocolate chips on top and lightly press into the batter.
6. Bake for 17-21 minutes until the top is set when touched.  Let cool 5 minutes then remove from the ramekin and eat.

Single-Serving Blueberry Banana Walnut Muffin gluten-free, vegan, oil-free, no added sugar // yields 1 muffin

• 3 1/2 tablespoons well-mashed banana, very ripe + mashed until egg-like
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• tiny pinch of salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons gluten-free oat flour
• 2 tablespoons gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 tablespoon almond meal
• 1-1 1/2 tablespoons blueberries
• 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts

1. Preheat your oven to 350* F and grease 1 oven-safe ramekin.
2. In a small bowl, mash the banana until very wet and egg-like.
3. Mix in the vanilla bean paste, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
4. Add the oat flour, rolled oats, and almond meal and mix until well combined.  Mixture will be thick.
5. Fold in 1 tablespoon blueberries + walnuts, then scoop the batter into the ramekin.  Dot a few extra blueberries on top and lightly press into the batter.
6. Bake for 17-21 minutes until the top is set when touched.  Let cool 5 minutes then remove from the ramekin and eat.

notes: The banana needs to be very ripe [refer to first photo] for the best texture and maximum sweetness + flavor.  Bake time may vary depending on the size of your ramekin.  Mine is 3 1/2-inch diameter at the top, 2 3/4-inch diameter at the bottom, and 2-inches tall.

Now, I wonder what would happen if I put the batter in my waffle maker?  Hmmmm.....

Ashley