Roasted Pepitas

These seeds are soaked for 8-10 hours before roasting to maximize digestibility and nutrient absorption. Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) are particularly high in zinc and magnesium and are excellent for hormone balancing. I make a large mason jar full at a time and keep them in the cupboard. We use them most on salads and for snacking. They're good on their own or in a quick trail mix, and my husband has discovered that if you add a little sea salt and small drizzle of olive oil they make a great snack with a glass of red wine. They’re very multi-purpose :)

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Roasted Pepitas
Raw pepitas (how many depends on the jar you're filling)
Filtered water

To start, measure out your pepitas by filling your jar about 85% full (the soaking step slightly increases their size), then place them in a bowl. Cover the seeds with filtered water by about two inches and let them soak for 8-10 hours. I usually do this the night before a day that I know I'll be home in the morning.

After soaking, drain and rinse well and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. I roast them at 250 degrees for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. I usually put them in for an hour to start, then turn, then another 30 minutes, then turn again, then another 20-30 minutes. The length of time in the oven depends on several factors: how well drained your seeds were to start, how many seeds you're roasting at once, the specific variety of pepitas that you’re using and how toasted (browned) you'd like them to be.

Once you pull them out of the oven, let them cool right on the baking sheet, then transfer to a jar.

Creamy Broccoli Dill Soup

This soup will forever be the first "real" meal my daughter ever ate. As in, the first time she ate the same thing we were eating for dinner (at six and a half months old). I've documented the recipe below exactly the way I made it when Hannah first ate it, to memorialize the occasion.

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Creamy Broccoli Dill Soup

Notes: I use water here, but if you have homemade chicken or vegetable stock around, by all means use it. Also, this soups works really well with a zucchini added in; the zucchini makes it extra creamy. You can easily scale this soup up, just make sure your water just covers your vegetables when you pour it in.

Special equipment:
Vitamix or other high-powered blender

Ahead of time:
1/2 cup cashews soaked in filtered water for 3 hours (if you have a high powered blender, like a Vitamix, you don’t need to pre-soak).

To make the soup:
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2-pound head of broccoli, leaves trimmed and tough stems removed, chopped
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
4 cups water or just enough to cover the broccoli
Sea salt to taste

To serve:
Smoked or regular paprika
Olive oil
Cooked quinoa or brown rice, if desired to make it more substantial
Homemade croutons (my kids love this).. Toast bread cubes with some olive oil and/or butter until crispy

Heat olive in a stock pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onion is fragrant and a bit translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for a couple minutes more, still stirring. Add the broccoli, dill weed and ground mustard and sauté for a minute or two more. Add the water, bring to a gentle boil, and simmer for about 10 minutes. You want the broccoli to be a bit tender (a little hardness in the stems is OK, particularly if you have a high-power blender) but still bright green.

Pour the soup into a blender, along with the cashews, and blend until smooth. Transfer back to the stock pot and salt to taste. I use about 2 teaspoons of sea salt if I start with water.

You can serve it straight as is, or drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with some smoked paprika and/or with a scoop of quinoa or some homemade croutons for a more substantial meal.

Enjoy!

Gluten-Free & Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are hands-down our favorite cookies. My kids’ friends request them when they come to play and they have sold out at numerous bake sales. You can make them as straight peanut butter (like the original recipe) or peanut butter chocolate chip.

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Gluten-Free & Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted only very slightly from these Peanut Butter Cookies by Alissa Segersten, one of my favorite gluten-free cooks.

Notes: I use sprouted brown rice and sprouted sorghum flours here. You can certainly use regular ones if that’s what you have. However, I think that sprouted flours are well worth the investment, particularly if you have celiac disease and/or you have some gut healing to do. Sprouted flours are more digestible and enable more nutrient absorption than their non-sprouted counterparts. Also, if your chia seeds are whole, you can grind them in a coffee grinder and store any leftovers in the fridge.

Recipe last updated 10/29/2021

Dry Ingredients:
180 grams brown rice flour OR sorghum flour OR a combination of the two
25 grams arrowroot OR tapioca starch (also called flour or powder)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Wet Ingredients:
1 cup creamy, salted natural peanut butter (crunchy works fine as well)
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons ground chia seeds whisked with 1/4 cup hot water

Other Ingredients:
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and whisk well.

In another medium bowl, combine and stir the peanut butter, coconut sugar, applesauce, melted coconut oil and vanilla extract. Then, in a small bowl, use a fork to quickly whisk the ground chia seeds with hot water until mostly smooth and a little bit stringy, then incorporate the chia seed mixture into the wet ingredients until you don't see big clumps of chia seeds.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.

Mix the chocolate chips into the dough and form cookies on an ungreased baking sheet (I find these cookies don't really change shape in the oven). Bake for 14-15 minutes until the bottoms are nicely browned, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 20-24 cookies