All-Purpose Flour Blend

Here is my recipe for Cybele Pascal's All purpose allergen free flour blend... has never let me down!

4 cups superfine brown rice flour

1 1/3 cups potato Starch (NOT potato flour)

2/3 cup tapioca flour (confusingly enough it is also referred to as tapioca starch...lol)

Mix together an voila you have a marvelously balanced not hockey puck creating flour blend ready to be used in substitution for many of your favorite creations. 

Can be found in my baking "bible"lol.  

The allergen-free bakers handbook by Cybele Pascal

Have not been disappointed by any recipe in the book and trust me it is used every few days.  You can purchase it at Chapters/Indigo books and online. 

Double Dutch Chocolate Cookies - yummy healthy style.

(free of Casien, Gluten, nuts, refined sugar, and eggs)

1 cup Coconut oil, softened

1/3 cup of Coconut Palm Sugar

½ cup of Maple syrup or Raw Honey

2 tbsp of flax or chia seed - mixed with 6 tbsp of water mix to gel ~ works as an egg replacer

1 tsp pure vanilla or vanilla extract

1 cup quinoa flour

1 cup all- purpose flour (see below for mix)

¾ cups Raw Cocoa

1 tsp organic baking soda

½ tsp salt

¼ cup hemp hearts

½ cup organic dark chocolate chunks or chips 

(allergen free option - enjoy life brand chocolate chunk)

Preheat oven to 350f  (180c)

Cream the coconut oil and sugar/syrup in a bowl.  Add the mixed flax or chia eggs, vanilla and stir until the mix (might be a little lumpy and runny, that is ok, it mixes up great with the dry ingredients!

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, hemp hearts, baking soda and salt.

Add the flour mixture to wet mixture and blend well. Stir in the chocolate chips. Roll into 1 ¼ inche balls.  (If the dough is too soft to roll, place in the freezer for about 20 minutes.)

Cover your cookie sheet with parchment paper (that way you don’t have to grease the cookie sheet… less calories). If you don’t have parchment paper just rub some of your coconut oil or butter on the pan… Make sure you never tell me you own a can of that chemical greasing spray…lol. 

Place the balls 2 inches apart on your cookie sheet and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand.  Bake on the center oven rack for 8 to 10 minutes.  The cookies will be puffy and soft when removed from the oven but will flatten when cool.  Allow cookies to set for at least 5 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to cool on a rack.  Store in a sealed container for up to a week in the fridge (keeps more fresh and not crumbly) or freeze for up to a month.  You can also freeze rolled unbaked cookies in a sealed container or plastic bag until needed; simply thaw before baking. 

Careful, these cookies are truly Scrumptous!

Recipe taken from Quinoa, the everyday superfood 365  and slightly tweeked by yours truly for those who are a little nutritionally challenged… such as my family. Lol

Hope you Enjoy!!!

Cooking is my Art.

Well it has been some time since I have posted a blog, and let me tell you, there have been many changes; aha moments, tears, and pure joy.  Since moving we have been through some… well, changes wouldn’t even describe what we have been through. Lol.  

The transformation since moving to the country has been so easy and COMPLETELY natural, this is truly where we were meant to be.  It has taken us 8 months to learn to live in the moment, each moment, conscious of our choices and decisions.  This truly came to light after watching an inspiring episode of Oprah’s life class (amazing how we need to see it through someone else’s life to recognize it in our own) one night, followed by physically injuring myself continuously over a week. I then finally opened my eyes to what was actually happening… My eyes had been completely closed to the moment and constantly focused on the future and the past. 

Well today I am focused on learning to be conscious in each moment, truly conscious and aware of all that is going on around me, my children, and inside of me.  I am learning to accept the things I cannot change, and grow with the things I can. 

I had an aha moment while cooking lunch today (recipe below).  I struggle daily with finding enough me time to do the thing’s which make my heart sing, which truly feed me.  Especially amongst daily domestic life, studying for my holistic nutrition, homeschooling, and friends & family. I was just making lunch and doing up my flour blend to whip up some cookies for the week.  I was thinking about the fact it is Sunday and how much I would love to be creating in the craft room not doing the same thing I do every other day.  I realized my problem is the fact that I look at cooking as a chore, a HUGE chore some days… If you know me well you know that a GREAT deal of my day is in the kitchen making EVERYTHING from scratch due to our dietary limitations. It hit me today…

Cooking IS part of my art, an art of creating health in those I love.

 It is amazing, when I said it to myself the “CHORE” feeling disappeared and it felt so much better! The lunch we had was simply delicious and fresh, full of flavor and my secret ingredient… Vitamin L, the Love vitamin. Seriously, never would have believed it but it is a medically recognized vitamin! Hope you enjoy the recipe.   

Perogies a la YUMMY

Organic Potato and Saukraut Perogies

- Don’t think I need to tell you how to cook perogies, lol.

2tbsp Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

½ cup Red Onion

½ cup. Chopped fresh parsley

½ cup. Chopped Orange Pepper

½ cup chopped swiss chard

Splash of Vitamin L ;~)

- Put onions and oil in a pan and fry over medium high heat until tender

(always make sure your oil is in the pan when it is cold and slowly heats, never add oil to a hot skillet!)

-Add the rest of the ingredients and fry until tender; sea salt and pepper.

- Put the boiled perogies in the pan with the veggies and fry on medium for just a few moments… mmmm.  Can you smell the juiciness…SOOOO good.

- I put a dollop of Tofutti sour cream on top

- Finished with 2 tbsp of our home made Beet Relish (email me for the recipe for the relish)

Not even kidding when I say eating it was almost a religious experience! Lol. 

I have seriously and intentionally ignored the company and blog for the past 6 months for a reason, to reorganize and allow myself the time and space to refocus and figure out the role everything is going to play.

As most of you know I am in school full time right now for my “official” designation in Holistic Nutrition.  I have a burning desire to help empower others to find true health, in whatever that may mean for you personally through nutrition.  I am homeschooling the kids now (something I truly swore I would NEVER do… lol) and am TRULY LOVING IT! And am learning to embrace the true juicy, delightfully lovable me. To express and feed myself through creativity and nutrition.  All of it together embodies Modish Monkeys, as health is more than just identifying your possible allergens or health issues, Modish Monkeys is about empowering you and giving you moms the tools you need to bring YOU and your family to true health.  As well to give you moms a big hug and permission to be you in all that means to you! We support you.

I am going to be reappearing every now and again (cant promise it will be consistent) on the blog, doing nutrition articles for Talk of the Town, as well as watch for Modish Monkeys Classes coming this summer and fall 2012. You will find all the upcoming information on our website as we have dates lined up.  You will find the blog to contain bits and pieces on nutrition, ways to educate your children on healthy eating with regards to their nutritional requirements or limitations, as well as encouragement from a mom whose family is allergic to everything but air (lol) to preserve in life your true self, and encouragement in the kitchen helping to heal your families Modish Monkeys. 

Much love!

Renee

Here is to a new year, here is to exciting adventure.