Grain Free Cherry Coconut Zucchini Loaf

Anyone who follows me on my Facebook recipe page will know that I am in the midst of being inundated by zucchini. It is the season that all gardeners love to hate, and I am no different. Two zucchini plants keep us in zucchini for a good chunk of the summer and into the fall. But they grow like crazy!!! One minute you have beautiful tiny little zucchinis, and the next minute you have these gargantuan beasts that resemble watermelons more than the summer squash they are. I have no idea how they actually accomplish these spectacular feats of growth overnight, but it really is kind of amazing.

They really are delicious, too, and I have been going crazy pinning zucchini recipes on my Pinterest page. From sweet to savory, (and even a soup recipe!) I cannot wait to try out some new recipes.

I made this zucchini loaf today, and it turned out quite tasty. The sour cherries add a lovely zing of flavour to this moist grain free loaf. It was a great use for one of the smaller of the 6 (!!!) zucchinis that I pulled from the garden yesterday.

 A slice of this loaf would be lovely to have with a nice cup of tea on the patio…now I just need to find the time to sit and relax!

Grain Free Cherry Coconut Zucchini Loaf

4 eggs

1 T Apple cider vinegar (I like this one!)

1 cup milk kefir (or yogurt or non-dairy substitute of choice)

1/3 cup coconut oil, softened

½ cup coconut flour

¼ cup arrowroot flour

This sized zucchini grated into
 a generous 1 1/2 cups

2 Tbsp chickpea flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ cup coconut sugar

1 tsp vanilla powder (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)

¾ tsp sea salt

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

ADD INS:

1 ½ cups grated zucchini (mine was a very generous cup and a half!!)

½ cup dried sour cherries (sub raisins or dried cranberries if you wish)

½ cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a loaf pan (mine measures 9.25x5.25x2.75) with parchment or grease well.

 Set aside.

Measure all ingredients EXCEPT the add-ins into a large mixing bowl. Blend together well with an immersion blender or a whisk and lots of elbow grease. Let stand 5 minutes to thicken up.

Grate zucchini with a regular sized grater

Place grated zucchini on a clean kitchen towel, and gather the top together

 and squeeze out as much moisture as you can.

 

Add squeezed zucchini, coconut and dried cherries to the batter and mix in until well distributed.

Scrape batter into prepared pan. 

Bake in preheated oven for 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove loaf from pan using parchment, and set on a wire rack to cool before slicing.

Store leftovers in refrigerator or freezer. 

Chunky Butternut Squash Soup With Bacon And Kale

With fall settling in to Southern Ontario, the days are rapidly changing from salad days to soup days. Hearty stick to your ribs kind of soups that comfort , nourish and warm you to the core. This is a perfect recipe for a fall lunch or dinner, I hope you enjoy it!

The squash could be roasted in advance to save a bit of time, making this an easy soup to get on the dinner table fast. 

Chunky Butternut Squash Soup With Bacon And Kale

1 large butternut squash

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 cup finely diced bacon

2 onions, peeled and chopped (a very generous cup full!)

1 bunch kale, tough stems removed, and chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp turmeric

1 clove garlic

1 tsp salt

7 cups bone broth (I used chicken)

Preheat oven to 375F

Cut squash into manageable chunks, peel and remove the seeds. Cut into 1 ½ inch chunks, toss with coconut oil, and roast in a large pan in preheated oven for 60 minutes. The squash should be softened and just starting to brown slightly. Remove from oven and set aside. 

Sauté the bacon in a heavy bottomed large pot, stirring often until just cooked thru, approx 4-5 minutes. Add the diced onions and cook until the onions start to soften, another 4-5 minutes. Add the Kale and the spices, and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the pre-roasted squash to the pot and lightly mash to break up the chunks slightly. This helps add some body to the soup.

Add 1 cup of the bone broth to the pot, and stir, scraping  to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, and serve. 

Orange Sesame Salad Dressing

As promised, here is the orange sesame dressing that I used last week. Be sure to use organic oranges for the zest, as to avoid any nasty pesticides that may reside on the exterior of the orange.

Orange Sesame Salad Dressing

Juice of 2 organic oranges (approx ¾ cup)

2/3 cup olive oil

Zest of 1 organic orange

½ tsp freshly grated ginger

1 tsp Herbamare

2 Tbsp honey

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 clove garlic, minced

pictured with a salad of fresh garden greens,
pulled grass fed roast beef,
fresh garden peas, shredded carrots,  and
black sesame seeds

Measure all ingredients together in a 2 cup mason jar. Screw the lid on tightly and shake well. Chill before serving.
Use to top any salad greens you like!
Store leftovers in fridge for up to 1 week.

I use my kitchen rasp for grating ginger,
it works great with frozen ginger too!
No need to peel! But, be sure to always
buy organic!!

Quinoa Veggie Wraps

This is a nice light lunch idea, with two options. Grain Free using a lettuce leaf, or using a rice wrapper. The rice wrapper does hold together a bit easier for eating, but they both look pretty!   I had to tie my lettuce ones, as they kept springing open. Just remove the kitchen twine when eating!

The amount of filling here should fill at least 10 wraps of choice, depending on the size of your wrap.

Quinoa Veggie Wraps

3 cups cooked, cooled quinoa

2 cups spinach, coarsely chopped

½  cup parsley, chopped

Dressing:

3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

Juice of 1 lime

2 tsp sesame oil

3 Tbsp olive oil

½ tsp Herbamare or sea salt

1 Tbsp sesame seeds

Toppings of choice: (this is what I used, feel free to change it up, being sure to slice thinly!)

1 carrot, grated or julienned

Thinly sliced cucumber

1 Avocado, halved, peeled and sliced thin

Alfalfa or red clover sprouts

(other suggestions: thinly sliced zucchini, peppers, radishes, tomatoes, beets, basil leaves, onions, green onions, other sprouts, etc)

Wrap options:

lettuce leaves, rice wrappers, (for grain eaters, you could do a traditional wheat wrap or pita as well)

Mix together the quinoa, spinach and parsley in a medium mixing bowl.  Set aside.

Mix the dressing ingredients together in a small mixing bowl, and add to the quinoa mixture.  Stir well to combine.

In a nice firm large lettuce leaf or in a rice paper wrapper (soak 30 seconds in water till softened and then use, see pictures below for technique) place about 1/3 cup of the quinoa , and any toppings of choice. Roll up as best as possible. Secure lettuce with a piece of kitchen twine if necessary. Cut rice wraps in half on an angle if desired before eating. We served ours with a drizzle of organic hot sauce. 

rice wrapper, dry

rice wrapper, after being soaked for 30 seconds

add fillings, fold ends in

roll tightly

Roasted Orange Walnut Salmon with Rosemary

This is a bonus two-recipes- in-one post. We very often cook with pre-planned leftovers, to be used either as is, or changed up somehow to be used in our lunches for the next day.  After dinner, while we are tiding up (Jim calls me “Hurricane Janine” in the kitchen) we get our lunches ready for the next day to keep our mornings less hectic. Freezing 1 cup portions of quinoa gives a great salad filler for the extra veggies or proteins from dinner. If you freeze it spread out and flat in baggies, it thaws in no time.

I threw together this tasty salmon topping, and the pan juices become the dressing for the salad. Easy and tasty!

We served our salmon with some organic baby spinach sauted in butter, and these potatoes from my old blog. (Gluten warning: the malt vinegar mentioned in the linked recipe does contain Gluten, substitute a raw apple cider vinegar or a nice organic balsamic)

Roasted Orange Walnut Salmon with Rosemary

5 Wild caught salmon pieces or one very large piece, thawed if frozen

1/3 cup organic walnuts, finely chopped

Zest of ½ an organic orange

Juice of whole organic orange (mine was not very large)

1 T coconut nectar

2 T melted coconut oil or olive oil

1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1 tsp Herbamare (or sea salt of your choice)

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, woody stems removed, finely chopped (or sub 1 tsp dried)

Preheat oven to 450F. Place Salmon, skin side down,  in an oven safe dish. Set aside.

Mix all ingredients together and spread evenly on top of salmon pieces. Bake on middle rack in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the salmon flakes easily with fork and is opaque thru.

Serve hot!

Salmon Quinoa Salad:

1 piece of the above salmon, plus the extra pan juices,

1 cup of pre-cooked quinoa

 2-3 cups mixed organic baby greens

Flake the salmon in a medium mixing bowl. Add quinoa, salad greens and the pan juices from the salmon. Toss well, makes two servings.

Veggie Egg Muffins

A speedy and  adaptable protein to serve with breakfast, lunch or dinner! Change the veggies and cheese to what you have on hand, adding some crumbled bacon or chicken would be good too. Sautéing the veggies first releases some of the moisture, and ups the flavour factor!

Veggie Egg Muffins

½ cup red onion, diced

2 mushrooms, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp butter, plus more for greasing muffin tins

 1 ½ cups spinach, chopped

6 eggs

Pinch of red pepper flakes

½ tsp salt

1 scant cup of grated cheese

Grease 6 muffin tins generously with butter and preheat oven to 375F

Sauté the onion, garlic and mushrooms until they are starting to just lose their moisture and brown up a bit, about 3-4 minutes. Divide the mixture between the 6 greased muffin tins and set aside.

Chop the spinach and add some to each muffin tin, again  set aside.

Beat eggs, salt and hot pepper flakes well with an immersion blender or whisk (immersion blender works well at adding lots of volume to the eggs) Divide egg mixture evenly in the 6 muffin tins, and top with the grated cheese.

Bake for approx. 20 minutes in preheated oven, or until  set in the middle, puffy and starting to turn a nice golden brown colour.

They will be nice and fluffy when you first take them out of the oven, but will fall slightly as they cool. Can be served hot, at room temp or chilled. Great for lunch boxes!