Carrot Pulp Bread

I admire and appreciate the people who blog regularly with fantastic new WAPF or GAPS recipes. Sadly, I'm not one of them. It's been a year almost to the day since my last post... But hopefully this will be so helpful that you'll forgive me. 

We've been juicing a bit recently and thinking about whether we could use the pulp for other recipes. One thing we've been doing is soaking ground chia and flax seeds, mixing them with the pulp, along with some Himalayan or celtic sea salt, then drying them in the dehydrator to make crispy crackers. Note that these are only suitable in later stages of GAPS.
 

Then I went looking for GAPS friendly bread recipes and found this recipe. I was looking for a more savoury recipe, so made a few tweaks. I also made a bigger version. Here's how it ended up.

• 6 largish eggs
• 1 tsp celtic sea salt
• 3oz / 85gm melted butter (or mix of butter & coconut oil)
• 12oz / 350gm / 2 tight packed cups carrot pulp left over from juicing (usually a little beetroot too)
• 1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 9oz / 255gm / just under 3 cups ground almonds (or ground cashews, hazels or sunflower seeds or coconut flour)
• 1.5 Tbs cider vinegar

Turn on the oven to 175C and line a loaf tin with baking paper. Then just throw it all in the food processor, starting with the eggs and salt. Once they’re well beaten, add the other things in the order of the list, beating well after each addition. Once the baking soda and cider vinegar are in there, get it in the oven as quickly as possible as they will be working their rising magic. Bake for 50 to 60 mins on 175C. 

The first 2-3 times, I used ground almonds. Then last time I used raw cashews instead and that was quite different. The photo is the cashew version. Both versions were delicious.

Notes: I started off putting the tray of water in the bottom, but last time I didn't and I couldn’t tell the difference. I haven’t needed to let it sit in the tin for 10 mins either.

Baked Oatmeal

I just happened upon this recipe for baked oatmeal today, which sounds like a fabulous change from porridge for breakfast. I love that it can be made ahead of time, easing up time constraints in the morning.

It's no good for people who are GAPS or GF, but if you're fairly healthy and following a basic WAPF diet, it should be great!

Christmas Morning Almond Muffins

I tried another version of the Xmas morning muffins, this time with almond flour, for those who can't have coconut. The texture was quite different, but still very good.

• 2 cups ground almonds
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon or mixed spice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 eggs
• 8 Tbs (100gm, 4oz) butter or coconut oil, melted
• 4 Tbs honey
• 4 Tbs juice from an orange
• Grated zest of the orange
• ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• 1 cup frozen cranberries

Line a 12 muffin pan with patty pans. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda and spices.  Stir in cranberries. Blend together eggs, butter or oil, orange juice, honey, salt and zest.  Mix the two together. Pour batter into muffin pans. Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes. If the tops start to get too brown, cover with some brown paper or foil. Cool and serve.

Twice Baked Pumpkin

Ya know, I've never been that fussed on pumpkin. I love butternut pumpkin in soup, but the usual big grey pumpkin leaves me cold. But there are 4 ways that I actually quite like it - which is good, cos it's such a handy GAPS vegetable.


The first is in bread or cake - I've already posted recipes for Cashew Bread and Coconut Almond bread, which both have pumpkin as an optional ingredient.


The other 3 are "Twice baked pumpkin".


Cut your pumpkin into pieces, scrape out the seeds and place spaced out on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for about an hour at 175C, till a knife goes through easily. Scrape the flesh away from the skin and put into a food processor with a little salt and some ghee. Process till smooth.


1. With feta (not GAPS friendly, or at least not till later stages):


Put 1/2 of the pumpkin into a baking dish. Sprinkle a generous layer of feta on top (1/2 to 1 block). Pour on the rest of the pumpkin. Grate some tasty cheddar cheese and mix with breadcrumbs or ground almonds. Sprinkle on top. Put back in the oven for about 15 minutes till the cheese is nicely browned.


2. With peanut butter


A chance comment from a client about putting peanut butter into pumpkin pie lead to this variation. When you add the ghee and salt to the food processor, also add a couple of large spoonfuls of peanut butter - preferably either Reilly's or your own homemade. Zizz till smooth, pour into a baking dish and bake for about 15 mins. It's amazing the difference this makes to the taste.


3. Souffle.


This version comes from Emma on the GAPS Australasia Support Group. She makes it with butternut squash and calls it Pumpkin Pie. Her version is a sweetish breakfast dish. Make the peanut butter version above but also beat in 6 eggs that have been whisked up in a separate bowl. Bake for 15 minutes or so till firm and lightly browned. Serve as a vegetable side dish. Or for breakfast or dessert, top with shredded coconut, ground up nuts or berries.


Versions 2 or 3 can be part of our GAPS Xmas Feast.

Chilled GAPS soups

At this time of year, hot soups aren't as appealing as during winter. So I've been searching for chilled soups for our daily dose of GAPS stock. I'm especially looking for red and green soups that would be nice for Xmas Day. I haven't actually made any of these yet, but hopefully will get away from the computer for some recipe testing over the weekend.


Borscht:

• Make Dr Natasha's borscht recipe from the GAPS book. Let it go cold. Puree or keep it chunky - your choice. Chill. Serve with the recommended garnishes.
• Or this recipe looks good too. Omit the sugar from the soup recipe, and of course no potato to garnish. Use your own cultured cream or drained yoghurt.

Gazpacho:

• For this Tomato Soup recipe, omit the sugar. Note that cilantro = coriander, and consomme = stock
• This Cold Spiced Tomato Soup recipe doesn't need any adjustments - it's already GAPs friendly

Green soups:

• Green Goddess Soup (avocado and spinach) - use meat or chicken stock instead of vegetable stock
• Avocado Island - replace the vegetable broth with chicken
• Chilled Cucumber and Green Apple Soup with Cilantro - actually this doesn't have stock in it, but it does have olive oil. Green onions = spring onions.

Spinach Roulade

A spinach roulade is a classic dish that can be varied by using different fillings. The mozzarella and tomato version, which is good either hot or cold, comes from Rose Elliot’s Vegetarian Kitchen. A couple of other variations have been included. The red with green looks very festive and this would make a nice Xmas entrée, side dish or to cater for a vegetarian family member.

Note that the recipe as it stands isn't suitable for GAPS as these cheeses are not GAPS friendly. You may be able to tolerate them later in the diet, or you could substitute harder cheeses. 

The Roulade:

• 450g (1 lb) fresh spinach or 175g (6oz) frozen
• 15g (1/3 oz) butter
• 4 eggs, separated
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• grated nutmeg
• 4 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese           

Set the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a 23 x 33 cm/9 x 13” Swiss roll tin with baking paper, extended a bit up the sides.

If you're using fresh spinach, wash well in sinkfuls of cold water, then put it into a large saucepan & cook over a high heat for 7-10 minutes, or until it is very tender. Keep pushing it down into the pan with a fish slice as it cooks. Or, cook frozen spinach in a tiny amount of boiling water, just enough to prevent it from sticking to the pan; it takes the same length of time.

Drain the spinach into a colander and press it very well to extract as much water as possible. Put it into a food processor, along with the butter, egg yolks and the seasonings, and whizz it all at top speed to make a smooth, creamy-looking puree. Whisk the egg whites until they stand in stiff peaks, then gently add the spinach mixture and carefully fold into the egg whites, incorporating as well as you can without stirring too hard. Tip into the tin, level the top gently and sprinkle it with 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the top is springy. While the roulade is baking, prepare a piece of baking paper to turn it out on to, by sprinkling it with the rest of the Parmesan. 

The Filling:

• 2 x 150g/5 oz Mozzarella cheese, packed in water (OR 100g feta, OR 250g ricotta)
• 4 medium tomatoes (OR a red capsicum)
• 3 - 4 sprigs of fresh basil (OR small bunch fresh parsley)

Drain the Mozzarella & slice thinly (or crumble the feta); cut the tomatoes into thin rounds (or capsicum into chunks) & chop the basil (or parsley).

Putting it together

Take the roulade out of the oven and turn it out on to the baking paper. Peel the paper off the roulade, and add the filling:

• Cover with a layer of Mozzarella slices (or other cheeses) 
• Then a layer of tomato rounds (or capsicum)
• And finally chopped herbs and salt and pepper to taste.

Roll up the roulade, starting at one of the long ends. Serve immediately, or put on a plate, cover with foil & put it into the oven, at 160°C/325°F, for 15 minutes or so. 

Mushroom Nut Roast

A few years ago I went in search of a nut roast recipe, and was interested to find they were all so different. So I made up my own composite, picking all the tastiest sounding ingredients. And I was surprised how delicious it was. It keeps well in the fridge, and can also be frozen. 

This is a handy recipe if you have vegetarians in the family. For Xmas Day, they're festive made in star shaped tins, or mini loaf tins, and can be made in advance. At other times of the year, it's a satisfying any time snack for even a dedicated carnivore like myself.

If you’ve only got a small food processor, or are only feeding 1 or 2 people, it might be easier to make a half mixture.

• 1 Tbs each butter & extra virgin olive oil (or 2 Tbs olive oil)
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 1 baby leek (optional), sliced and rinsed
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
• 2 large mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups crispy cashews
• 1/2 cup crispy brazils
• 1/2 cup crispy walnuts
• 1/2 cup crispy almonds
• 2 small slices bread (starch free is fine, or you could omit it), roughly torn into chunks
• ½ tsp sea salt
• Your own favourite fresh or dried herbs
• 1 egg (can be left out, if you don’t tolerate eggs)

In a large food processor, grind together almonds, cashews, brazils & walnuts until they’re the consistency of large breadcrumbs. Add the bread. Process again. Sauté onions, leeks and garlic in the oil and butter. Add mushrooms, and cook till softened. Add to the food processor along with seasonings, herbs and the egg. Process till smooth. Cook in a greased, lined ring tin, for about 40 mins at 180C, or in four individual tins for less time.