Jenny's Original Veggie Sandwich

This sandwich has a story behind it.  It was an original creation of mine when our family was first transitioning to a plant-based diet.  I remember I had just purchased hummus for the first time and was unloading the groceries, it was dinnertime, and I knew I had to whip up something fast.  On a whim, I threw it together, and my husband was VERY skeptical as this was during the time period when I was very "green" at vegan cooking.  To say the least, he was my true guinea pig almost every day of the week. 

I was almost in disbelief when he tried it and REALLY liked it. We all did. (This was the sandwich I couldn't get enough of when I was pregnant with my second child). That was about 4 years ago, and we had all but forgotten about this gem of a sandwich when, a couple of weeks ago, I remembered it.  We have been making it a lot lately and I want to share it with you.

The one that is pictured is on a paper plate because I made it for my husband to eat on the way to school :)

Jenny's Original Veggie Sandwich

Toast 2 pieces of French Meadow Bakery Hemp Bread (or bread of your choice..I use a gluten-free bread)

Spread hummus on both slices of bread.

Working on one slice, add:

4-5 slices of an English cucumber
1/4 avocado, sliced. 

Sprinkle a bit of Real Salt over avocado.

Drizzle Annie's brand Green Garlic Dressing over avocado.

Top with:

Sprouts of your choice
A few halved leaves of romaine or green-leaf lettuce.
The second slice of bread.

Jewel Rice

I have this uncle.  He's from Iran.  Okay, technically he's not my REAL uncle but for as far back as I can remember he's always been my uncle.  He married a gal from Fiji.  And their kids?  Let's just say they make my kids look like hairless albino aliens.  I ADORE their family. I wish I had time to tell you their story because it's beyond inspiring.  The short version goes like this: Uncle escapes death in Iran, moves to US, ends up living with my grandma, joins the LDS church, serves mission in Turkey, see's girl on the cover of Ensign magazine and decides that he WILL marry her, marries her, joins the military, moves to Hawaii, wife get's pregnant and finds out she has cancer when she's 12 weeks along, decides to proceed with treatments, baby is born at 28 weeks weighing 2.5 pounds (she's 14 now, and brilliant by the way), decides to go with alternative treatments instead of the last round of chemo, has been cancer free ever since, they go on to have 3 more children, uncle is deployed to Afghanistan for 18 months, comes home and they have 1 more baby (who is now 2).  Lucky for me they live not very far away and I see them rather frequently.  Good thing because my aunt is the most incredible cook in the world.  


Every Thanksgiving she makes an Iranian dish called Jewel Rice.  My whole family gets more excited about this then anything else.  This year I finally asked her for the recipe because there's no freeking way I was going to last another whole year without getting my hands on that stuff.  She was sweet enough to email me the recipe.  She also gave me permission to share it with you.  So, all together now, "thanks Aunt Christine"!


Jewel Rice

3 cups long grain rice or basmati rice
1 Tablespoon salt
1/4 cup grapeseed or olive oil
1/2 cup barberries
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup halved pistacios
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup currents
1/2 teaspoon saffron
2 medium yellow onions
1/2 cup agave nectar or honey
few drops of stevia
2 cups julliened carrots
few drizzles of grapeseed or coconut oil


Wash rice until water is clear.  Add salt and oil and cook the rice as instructed on package.  In small sauce pan add the carrots,1/4 cup of the agave nectar, and stevia in 4 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Let simmer for 30 minutes, then pour into colander and drain.  Set aside.  Clean barberries by picking out stems and leaves.  Put in a strainer and put the strainer in a bowl full of water.  Make sure the barberries are completely covered in water but not floating out of the strainer.  Soak about 20 minutes.  Pat dry.  Wash raisins, cranberries and currents and soak in warm water for about 15 minutes.  Drain and pat dry.  Take 1/4 cup hot water and add saffron.  Put aside.  Thinly slice both onions.  In a skillet, saute the onions with a few drizzles of grapeseed or coconut oil over medium heat until soft.  Add raisins and currents.  Stir until well mixed and put in a bowl.  Add a bit more oil if needed.  In the same skillet, saute barberries in a bit of coconut oil and agave nectar for just a few minutes stirring quickly.  In a very large mixing bowl, add all the rice.  Use spatula to gently scoop the rice out of rice cooker or pot.  Take 1 cup of the rice and add it to the saffron water.  Mix it.  Put aside.  Add the prepared raisins, cranberries, currents and carrots to the large bowl of rice.  Mix well.  Add barberries and mix.  Add the saffron rice, almonds and pistacios.  Mix well.  Serve warm.


Okay.  Here are a few helpful hints.  1) Don't go searching your local supermarkets for barberries and halved pistacios.  They are ONLY found in middle eastern markets.  There's a great one one in Holladay (if you live in Utah).  It's called Pars Market.  You'll find everything you need there.  2) Saffron is EXPENSIVE!  But it's dang fun to cook with.  If you're worried about the recipe being cost effective, cut the saffron down to 1/4 teaspoon.  3) I don't love raisins.  Next time I try this recipe I might substitute some other things (dried cherries, green onions, pomegranate seeds etc.) HOWEVER, barberries are the tastiest little gems on earth so don't omit them.  Seriously, they are SO delicious.  


Ethnic cooking is a total blast!  It takes patience but it's totally worth the effort.  This is a good recipe to start with if you're new to middle eastern dishes because it's not to "different".  My kids all loved it.  And that's really saying something.


By the way here's what barberries look like.

And here's what saffron looks like (did I mention that it costs a small fortune?).

And here's what happens when I drop a fork on the floor and look down to find it.

Just sayin'

Gluten-Free Vegan Pancakes

I have been searching long and hard for a pancake recipe that suits my whole-food, plant-based, gluten-intolerant diet.  I should've just come up with one on my own, but I'm much better suited to finding a recipe I mostly like, and then tweaking it to my needs and wants.  Also, you all probably know I'm not much of a baker, and up until the last year, I hadn't really baked AT ALL.  But knowing that eventually I would have to provide my family with alternative (healthier) baked items at birthday parties, special events, etc., I knew I would have to learn how.

I think what really held me back for a while was the fact that I am the only Celiac in my family and it was next to impossible to experiment with healthier gluten-filled baked goods because I couldn't even taste the concoction to know whether I should adjust the ingredients the next time around.  Additionally, I didn't have much of a notion to experiment with gluten-free baking due to the fact that I didn't really enjoy many gluten-free baked goods as a child, and I would rather just go without than have cardboard-tasting cookies.  The real obstacle, however, was that I wasn't enlightened to how far gluten-free baking has come.  Some blogs that have really opened my eyes are The Spunky Coconut, The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen, and Elana's Pantry.  The authors behind these blogs use almond flour, coconut flour, whole cooked beans, and less starch than most gluten-free recipes.  All are without dairy, and many are without eggs.  I was amazed when I first looked at some of their recipes.  My mind would have NEVER thought to bake with those ingredients.

This particular pancake recipe comes from http://www.godairyfree.org/.  I follow the recipe for the most part -  just changing things a bit. During Christmas-time, I served these to my family back home, and they loved them!  My sister said that they are better than the regular gluten pancakes she's accustomed to. I also love them. I hope you give them a try. 

 Gluten-Free Vegan Pancakes

Mix in a medium bowl:

1 3/4 cup of non-dairy milk (I have used both rice and almond milk)
1/4 cup grapeseed oil or liquified coconut oil
2 Tbsp. ground flaxseed
2 Tbsp. agave nectar (sometimes I leave this out)
2 teas. lemon juice

Mix in a large bowl:

2 cups gluten-free flour blend (I use Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Baking Flour)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 teas. aluminum-free baking soda
1/4 teas. Real Salt

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well.

Add and stir to incorporate:

4 droppers of vanilla-creme stevia
1/2 teas. ground cinnamon
1-2 cups of frozen blueberries (optional)

Grease pan or griddle with coconut oil and pour batter into 4-inch rounds.  When bubbles start to form and pop, flip over.  Enjoy!!