Halloween Vegan and Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

They appear more orange in color in person

My sweet husband put this recipe together for my daughter who suffers from some common and some not so common allergies. This recipe was adapted from THIS recipe which looks to be adapted from another recipe. I love how creative we all can be! My daughter loves them. Enjoy.

1/4 cup Tapioca Starch

1/4 cup Brown Rice Flour

1/4 cup Sorghum Flour

1/4 cup Potato Starch

1/4 cup Coconut Palm Sugar or Rapadura

1/4 tsp Xanthan gum (non GMO)

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Real Salt

1/4 cup Red Palm Oil (this gives it the orange color), or for regular cookies use Coconut Oil

1/3 cup Pure Grade B Maple Syrup

1 1/2 tsps Pure Vanilla Extract

1/2 cup Chocolate Chips (check out how to make your own HERE)

Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheet(s) with natural parchment paper or silpat.

Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add liquid ingredients individually by hand or with mixer. The dough may be thin. Fold in chocolate chips and let dough stand for 10 minutes to thicken.

Drop cookie dough mixture by tablespoon onto your prepared cookie sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes. Let cookies rest on cookie sheet for another 2 minutes. Move cookies to cool on a cooling rack.

Store in airtight container. This should make 16-18 cookies depending on the size you choose.

Portobello and Spinach Garden Sandwich

I had to use up some portobello mushrooms in my fridge and came up with this basically raw sandwich. It turned out really good but next time I will be trying it with marinating the veggies that are on the inside of the sandwich.

Serves 4

4 Portobello caps, washed with stem off

1 cup Seared Spinach, divided

1/4 cup crumbled Goat Cheese, divided

1 Zucchini, halved and sliced thinly lengthwise, divided

1 half Red or Yellow onion sliced thinly in rings, divided

1 half cucumber thinly sliced in rounds, divided

1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced in rounds, divided

1 Roma Tomato, sliced, divided

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, coldpressed or first coldpressed

Real or Himalayan Salt

Pepper

Assemble sandwich by taking one mushroom cap and filling with an 1/8 cup of crumbled goat cheese. Then layer your sandwich first with 1/4 cup Seared Spinach, then onion through tomatoes. Season layers of veggies with salt and pepper to your liking. Finish layers with another 1/4 cup of spinach and place another mushroom cap over the top.

Lightly brush olive oil on the top of each cap. Season caps with salt. Heat a panini press on lowest setting. Press portobello sandwich carefully between heated press (you can do this with a skillet and heavy pan too). Cook for 8-10 minutes for thick mushrooms and 5-7 for thin to medium thickness. You really are trying to smash the mushroom caps so that it will be easier to eat so try not to over cook, losing out on nutrients.

Repeat the above instuctions with the remaining ingredients.

When sandwichs are ready to serve, cut into halves or quarters giving each person only a half of each sandwich. These suckers are huge and filling!

This is a picture of the Portobello and Spinach Garden Sandwich, before pressed.

Zucchini Spaghetti

1 Large Zucchini
1 Recipe of Red Sauce
Chopped Basil

Slice your zucchini with a type of julienne slicer or Paderno World Cuisine Vegetable Slicer. Top with red sauce and any other favorite spaghetti toppings.

Rich Chocolate Pudding

You may be surprised by the main ingredient of this rich chocolate pudding but I promise no one will even know!

2 ripe medium AVOCADOS!!!
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup agave
1 tsp pure vanilla

Blend the insides of the avocados in a food processor or blender in till smooth. Add the remanding ingredients and process again till fully blended. Your pudding should turn out to be smooth, rich, and chocolaty! You may enjoy right away but it's better served chilled. This is also delicious topped with bananas, strawberries or even raspberries. Enjoy!

* Verdict from my kid taste testers ~ I served this to four kids ages 10, 7, 5 and 3. Next time I will double the recipe because they all LOVED IT! They were absolutely clueless it was made from avocado. My 10 year old hates, I mean HATES avocado and he was licking him bowl asking for more. I will be keeping this one a secret for awhile, but I sure can't wait to tell him. ;)

Fish Tacos

This is such a fun and easy dish to make. Remember not to skimp on the white sauce and lime juice!

2-3 Cod Fillets
2-3 tablespoons Braggs Liquid Aminos
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Real Salt
Red Cabbage, super thinly sliced
6-8 Sprouted Corn Tortillas
6-8 Lime wedges

White Sauce:
1/4 cup Vegenaise
1/4 cup Plain Yogurt

Dairy Free White Sauce:
1/2 cup Vegenaise
Juice from 1/2 Lemon, then to taste

Marinate cod in Bragg's Liquid Aminos and olive oil for a few minutes. Prepare a skillet pan on medium high heat. Cook cod in skillet for 3-5 minutes then flip and cook other side for another 3-5 minutes until lightly browned and flakes.

While cod is still warm prepare fish tacos. Layer tacos first with tortilla, fish, then cabbage. Top with white sauce and sprinkle with lime wedge juice.

Orange Upside-Down Cake

I made this for Easter and fell in love. It is a healthier variation of a recipe I found on another cooking website. The next time I make this I will be more careful of the orange presentation. Try to eat this one sparingly. If you can!

1/2 cup Honey
1/4 cup Orange Juice
1 Orange, unpeeled and sliced thin (discard ends)
3/4 cup Earth Balance or other butter substitute
3/4 cup Agave
2 large Eggs or egg substitute
1 tablespoon grated Orange Peel
1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1 teaspoon non-aluminium Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Real Salt
1/3 cup whole Goat's Milk

In a 9-10 inch nonstick, oven proof pan (sloping sides preferred) add honey and orange juice. Heat on medium-high cook without stirring until mixture starts to thicken and becomes foamy (temperature reading should be about 230 degrees). Tilt the pan slightly to get a good temperature reading. It cooks fairly quickly so use caution. Let it cool to thicken as you set it aside.

In a large bowl add butter substitute through orange peel and beat with a mixer until smooth.

In a different bowl add all dry ingredients and whisk together until fully incorporated. Add about half of the flour mixture to butter substitute mixture and beat together. Add milk and beat together then add the rest of the flour mixture and beat again until smooth and creamy.

Place orange slices over thickened honey in an aesthetically pleasing circle spiral. Gently pour cake batter over the orange slices and honey. Be careful not to push oranges out to the edge of pan like I did wink, wink.

Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick from the center of the cake comes out clean. This will take about 30-40 minutes. Let cake cool for 5-10 minutes. Then, invert cake on to a flat plate. Be careful as the hot syrup may spill out.

Let the cake cool completely and refrigerate until you serve.

Broccoli Salad

This is nondairy for those who do without. I think this is best on day 3, yum.

4 cups small Broccoli Florets
2 stalks Celery, chopped
1 1/2 cups Grapes, halved
1 cup Raisins
1/4 cup raw Sunflower Seeds
1 tablespoon Shallots, minced
1/2 cup Veganaise
3 tablespoons Agave or Honey
1 tablespoon Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

In a large bowl combine first six ingredients.

In a small bowl combine veganaise, agave, and vinegar. Whisk until creamy. Pour over broccoli mixture and toss well. For best results chill overnight or for 6-8 hours.