Category: Vegetarian

Coconut Flour Pancakes - Gluten Free

8/24/2013

As you all know, we LOVE pancakes. But really, who doesn't? Moving away from pancakes has been one of the hardest things for our family. But once we realized all that gluten was taking a toll on Girl's intestinal track I was more committed to finding ways around it. It has been a long hard road and I'm still working on perfecting the gluten free pancake, but while I'm working on it this one is works well for our family! I found the original recipe over at Paleo Spirit, one of my favorite new blogs. :o)

My adapted version of this recipe.

4 eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
1/2 cup of water
2 tsp vanilla
2 TBL honey
1/2 cup + 2 TBL coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
coconut oil

Preheat griddle over medium high heat. (The pictures are in a pan, but the griddle is so much faster & easier!)
Beat eggs in a mixer till frothy! (I've tried mixing by hand and the outcome is NOT as good - trust me.) Add vanilla, milk, water and honey.
In a small bowl combine dry ingredients and mix well.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well.
Make sure you batter is that of 'normal' pancakes.
Too thin? Add coconut flour 1/2 TBL at a time.
Too thick? Add water 1 TBL at a time.

Too Thin

Just Right

Grease pan with coconut oil pour batter in pan. Cook approximately 3 minutes until they start to bubble like the pancakes in picture #2. Carefully flip your pancakes. I have learned that using a thin metal spatula works best. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes on the other side.

Serve with fresh fruit, maple syrup or honey.

Variation:
Once pancakes are totally mixed and ready to cook - add 1 cup of fruit, nuts or chocolate chips to the batter.

5 Comments

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

6/15/2013

1 Comment

Hello beauties....

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms are one of my favorites!
These are simple, filling and you can totally make them Whole 30 compliant.
The ones pictured are not.
To make them compliant just leave out the feta!

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms:
Portobello mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed and rub the bottom with olive oil (to prevent sticking on the grill)
fill with a layer of spinach
chopped tomato
chopped roasted red peppers
fresh cut basil
crumbled feta cheese
drizzle with extra virgin olive oil

Place a piece of foil on grill - drizzle with a little EVOO - add mushrooms & grill for about 20-30 minutes.

These bad boys are heavenly.

Feel free to be creative...you really can top them with anything you like.
This recipe just happens to be my favorite way to make them.

1 Comment

Tomato Avocado Salad

6/4/2013

1 Comment

Tomato - avocado salad:
2 large tomatoes
1 large avocado
1/4 cup olive oil
3 TBL white balsamic vinegar
2 minced garlic cloves
A handful of fresh basil leaves (I used about 10)
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all together and let sit in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.

1 Comment

Fried Plantains

5/28/2013

7 Comments

Seriously easy.
Seriously good.

Coat pan with coconut oil.
Fry sliced plantains for about 2 minutes on each side.
EAT.

GREAT for an after school snack!

**Next time I am going to try sprinkling a little cinnamon on the plantains before frying.

7 Comments

Green Machine Smoothies

1/16/2013

6 Comments

We are going to be talking about breakfast A LOT over the next couple of weeks. Why you ask?
1 - We love breakfast around here.
2. - My kids are spoiled and they will say things like - "But we had breakfast pita pockets last week."
3. - I've had several friends freak out over the fact that I serve a different breakfast each day as they can't fathom that there are that many different things to cook for breakfast and that I actually have time to cook breakfast in the morning. (Remember I am a morning person!)
4. - It is FREAKING cold outside and I don't have anything else to write about. I'm not one to shy away from the cold, I would typically go out and roam the streets of Seoul, but I'm tired of the cold and snow. (I know I still have a long way to go as it is only mid-January.) We considered going to the ice festival this weekend, doing a little ice fishing and jumping in FREEZING cold water and stuffing a fish down our shirts (what a GREAT post that would be!) - but in the end I decided I'm not brave enough for that this year (I think the others are secretly happy about this decision too). Maybe next year. It will be something to look forward to....right?

Green Machine Smoothies

I really should have put these glasses on something else....this brown table kind of ruins the photo...

My kids LOVE smoothies. Love, love, love them.
I make yogurt based smoothies most of the time.
My smoothies are always different depending on what is in the freezer.
And it is always a guessing game.
The kids like to taste and guess what is in the smoothie.
When they saw this smoothie they guessed: kiwi and green grapes.
When they tasted it they guessed bananas, strawberries and green food coloring.
What would you guess just by looking at the picture?
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Don't peek....
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Give up?
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Did you guess spinach?
If you did you are correct!!
There is always spinach in my smoothies.
Why you ask? Because I have a little bit of an evil streak, really I do and if I can't use it for good (tricking my kids for their health) then things could turn ugly. Real fast. Plus it makes me feel like I am one upping them.
AND they LOVE Green Machine Smoothies.
At this point in their lives they KNOW that mom slips good for them stuff in their food all the time (and they are good with it). They even enjoy tricking their friends into eating 'good for them stuff' without knowing it.
And really, you can't taste the spinach in the smoothies even when you put 2 cups of spinach in it! True story. Just ask my kids.

This is what you need to make a Green Machine Smoothie:

1 blender
2 cups of baby spinach
16 oz of yogurt (I use French Vanilla)
2 frozen bananas
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/4 - 1/2 cup power-c-machine Naked drink

Put all ingredients in a blender with frozen bananas & strawberries on the bottom and blend like crazy until you have no more lumps or flakes of spinach floating around.

A few side notes:
- I always freeze fruit that is on the verge of going bad. I just stick them in a Ziploc bag and toss in the freezer. If you are freezing bananas always peel them first. Frozen fruit is great for tossing in smoothies.
- When making the Green Machine Smoothie you can use orange juice instead of the Naked drink if you would like. The coloring will still be green. IF you use a red juice your smoothie will turn brown.
- If you think your kids will freak out about the 'green' smoothie start with only 1/2 a cup of spinach and then gradually add more each time you make it.
- It is not a requirement to tell your children what makes it green. You can just keep them guessing. When they ask 'what makes it green' you can respond with, 'well what are some green foods you can think of?' You never have to fess up until they are an adult. They can just keep on thinking it is green food coloring, or kiwi. :o)

Happy Thursday!

6 Comments

Fried Omelette

8/7/2012

5 Comments

As most of you know breakfast is a pretty big deal around here. I am always looking for new ideas for breakfast so when I stumbled upon a picture of an egg fried in a bell pepper ring I knew I wanted to make it and of course kick it up a notch - so that is exactly what I did for breakfast this morning. I only made this for Hubby and I as the kids would have turned up their noses at the pepper ring egg, plus they were sleeping, so Hubby and I kind of had a breakfast date.

This is really very simple; just use ingredients you have in your fridge right now. This is the way I did it - makes 2:

2 bell pepper rings
2 slices of tomato
1 mushroom- sliced
6 spinach leaves cut into slivers
2 eggs
Cooking spray

Spray frying pan with cooking spray. Heat pan to medium heat, place bell pepper on pan, put tomato slice inside the ring, toss in a couple of slices of tomatoes like so:

Put spinach slivers on next and then slowly add the egg, making sure it is filling all the holes inside the bell pepper and not pouring out over the bell pepper. Cook until the egg whites start turning white, and then filp cooking upside down.

Serve with fruit, yogurt and toast and you will have a well balanced breakfast! Enjoy!

5 Comments

Black Bean & Corn Salad

7/3/2012

1 Comment

Although it is a bit challenging cooking with only a few things in my kitchen right now; we are TIRED of eating out. I made this for dinner last night and think it would be PERFECT for that 4th of July BBQ you are going to tomorrow (or today if you are in Korea)!

I modified this recipe from Cooking Light Magazine July 2012 issue.

4 ears of corn
1/2 a bunch of green onions
1 avocado
1 red bell pepper
1 poblano chile
2 TBL olive oil
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1 bunch of cilantro
Juice from 2 limes
2 TBL olive oil
1 TBL cumin
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 15 oz can of black beans (rinsed and drained)

Turn on broiler.
Line a cookie sheet with foil (to save on cleaning).
Place corn, green onions, avocado, bell pepper and chile on cookie sheet. Brush vegetables with olive oil.
(Times may vary as I don't time things, I just watch them.)
Broil avocados about 2 minutes on each side.
Green onions 3-5 minutes one
Peppers 9-15 minutes on each side or until the skin is browned and bubbling a little.
Corn 12-15 minutes one each side.

Let all cool.

Cut kernels from ears of corn and place in a large bowl. Chop onions, peppers (after you removed the charred skin) and cilantro and add to bowl. Add 2 TBL oil, lime juice cumin, salt, pepper and beans to bowl and toss. Cut avocado into thin slice and serve on top salad.

1 Comment

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you
did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou

Author

Hi, I'm Trish, the writer, creator and photographer of this blog. I started this blog for 2 reasons, 1 - When I found out we were moving to Korea back in 2008 I was a little freaked out and started scouring the internet for information on Korea. At that time there wasn't much out there so I am doing my part in helping families across the world not be so freaked out when it comes time to move to Korea. The 2nd reason I started this blog was to help stay connected to family members back in the states. Today it is so much more that.
I hope you enjoy our journey.

Are you moving to Korea? Do you have questions, concerns? Are you freaking out? Freak out no further - click the button to ask a question. I'll do my best to answer open and honestly.

Moving to Korea?

Coconut Flour Pancakes - Gluten Free

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Tomato Avocado Salad

Fried Plantains

Green Machine Smoothies

Fried Omelette

Black Bean & Corn Salad

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