Winter Toast, 3 Ways

In my fourth and final contribution to Terrain's blog, I talk toast. More specifically, I talk about how it can actually be part of a whole foods diet. (In case you missed the other three posts, you can see them here, here, and here.) We're wired to think of bread and bad, just like we're wired to think of pasta as bad. But, I'm here to show you that one, life's to short to say no to bread—good bread, that is—and two, the health factor of your toast all depends on what you're topping your bread with. 

I'm most definitely a peanut butter and banana fan, and I love a coconut butter and avocado toast, but I also love layering on vegetables for a nutritious kick. I don't need to tell you that there's something so satisfying about biting into a piece of perfectly toasted bread. But if you're someone who eschews toast because of its carb count, etc. I want you to just start to think about how it may not be so bad after all. That sugar spike that comes with eating bread is diminished when it's a nutty whole grain bread and when it's topped with healthy fats and fiber-rich foods. 

For some inspiration on how to do toast in this last month of winter, head over to Terrain's blog to check out the recipes! 

What are some of your favorite ways to do toast?

Roasted Beet and Za'atar Socca

The farmers’ market has been looking a bit sparse these last few weeks, and I’ve found myself buying lots of beets. And carrots. And more beets. I wouldn't I wouldn’t be surprised if I turned into a little beet myself soon.

One of my favorite dishes with the red root veggies is this beet and tahini relish that a local Mediterranean restaurant serves here on their mezze platter. The sweet earthiness of the beets plays so well with the creamy nuttiness of the tahini. It’s supposed to be a dip, but I take my fork to it like the very (un)classy lady I am.

Using that as a jumping off point, combined with my other favorite thing, chickpeas, or more specifically chickpea flour, I thought I’d make a beet socca with tahini and za’atar, an Israeli spice blend with oregano and sesame seeds I fell in love with on a trip to Israel a few years back.

If you haven’t heard of socca. That’s totally cool. But it just may change your life. It’s a chickpea flour and olive oil-based flatbread that comes together in no time and has a distinctly nutty flavor that I find addicting.

To make quick work of this, get your beets roasting first. Then mix your socca batter. Combine your za’atar sauce, cook your socca, and then peel and chop your beets. Maybe make a nice green salad in between some of the oven time.

I made little ones because I happen to have little cast iron pans, but you could make larger ones and you’ll have pretty pizza-like things gracing your table.

To save even more time, but still get a really nice flavor, ditch the socca and use store-bought pita. Toast it, slather on the za’atar mix, top with beets, and drizzle with tahini. It will still be delicious. Promise.

Roasted Beet and Za’atar Socca

Socca
1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for pan
1 ¼ teaspoons salt

1 large beet or 2 medium beets, washed
½ lemon
2 tablespoons za’atar
1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for the beets
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt, optional (I used 2%)
2 tablespoons tahini, plus more if desired
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
Handful fresh cilantro, chopped
Sea salt, to taste

Roast beets. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Drizzle beets with a touch of olive oil. Wrap in foil and place in oven and roast until knife pierces through easily, about 50 minutes. Remove from oven, carefully unwrap, and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Remove peel and chop beets into ½-inch pieces. Toss beets with zest and juice of ½ lemon.
Meanwhile, make socca. Mix chickpea flour with water, olive oil, and salt. Stir to combine and allow to rest 20-30 minutes. Grease bottom and sides of 12-inch cast iron skillet with thin layer of olive oil until well-coated. Preheat pan in 425 degree oven for 5 minutes. Remove pan, and swirl in batter to coat bottom in ¼-inch layer. Return to oven and allow to cook for 12-15 minutes or until beginning to crack on top and springy to touch. Remove from oven, use spatula to lift socca from skillet, and repeat with remaining batter (if using smaller skillet), greasing pan generously with olive oil as necessary to prevent sticking.

Make za’atar sauce. Mix za’atar with yogurt, olive oil, and generous pinch of salt.

Assemble socca. Spread sauce over socca rounds. Sprinkle chopped beets over top, drizzle with tahini, and sprinkle with cilantro and pine nuts. Enjoy! Makes 4 servings.

Winter Quinoa and Sprouts Salad with Tahini Dressing

It's in teens here, and while I may have been cooped up inside for the past few days, I'm growing things. Like real green things that I can eat. Sound too good to be true?

I'm talking about sprouts as in hippy-dippy alfalfa sprouts that crunchy, granola-loving peeps ate back in the sixties, then again in the nineties, and then again now. Except they're way cooler now, if only because I said so. I'm telling you—they're back.

Why am I telling you about sprouts in the middle of winter? For one, they are super-easy to grow inside, right on your counter top—trust me, I have a black thumb and I can grow oodles of them—and two, they are an amazing way to get that much closer to eating healthy. In my second post for Terrain, I discuss how growing your own food can actually help you check off that New Year's resolution to get healthier (here's the first post in case you missed it). I give simple growing instructions, and while all you need is a jar, a few days, and a few rinses under the sink, Terrain sells these cool sprout growing contraptions that enable you to always have sprouts on hand.

There are so many different types of sprouts if alfalfa isn't your thing, like mung bean, broccoli, radish, lentil. They add a pop of brightness to sandwiches, but I also love them tossed in salads. In this post, I share a recipe for a Winter and Quinoa Sprouts Salad with Tahini Dressing that features some of my favorite winter vegetables like radicchio, beets, and sweet potato alongside quinoa, creamy avocado, and a medley of sprouts. I hope you find it as addicting as I do!

You can find my tips and recipe on the Terrain blog.

Missed the previous Terrain post? Find it here.

Nut Butter Freezer Sandwiches

This recipe has been satisfying all of my crunchy, nutty, chocolatey cravings as of late. I had thought of this recipe a while ago, but it wasn’t until last week when the mercury was cruising close to 100 that I actually executed it. It involves a few of my favorite ingredients, packaged neatly in a little sandwich, and stored in the freezer depths. At this point, I don’t blame you for thinking I’m describing an ice cream sandwich because that would be pretty awesome, too, but I’m describing something far more suited for my squirrel-like appetite. A mix of almond butter, tahini, cinnamon, and honey gets wedged between two seeded Mary’s Gone Crackers, dipped in melted chocolate, and sprinkled with sea salt and coconut. They are like a super-fancy, so-much-better-for-you, and heck-of-a-lot-much-more-delicious version of peanut butter Ritz bits. Yes, I compared them to Ritz bits. Superior Ritz bits.  

I’ll warn you that they are addicting-as in, I used a whole box worth of Mary’s Gone Crackers for sandwiches in just one week to keep up with the addiction. Then again, I have a nut and seed problem, so that may just be me. The freezer chill makes the crackers extra crispy, but not break-your-teeth crispy, and the nut butter mix stays just creamy enough to give a soft, gooey inside. The only downside to these is that they don’t travel well--at all. They are not like m&m’s; they will melt in your mouth AND your hand. Nut butter will ooze everywhere, and you’ll find chocolate fingerprints all over the place for days. Don’t say I didn’t tell you.

Nut Butter Freezer Sandwiches

32 Mary’s Gone Crackers (original flavor)
¼ cup almond butter
4 teaspoons tahini
2 teaspoons honey (maple syrup, if vegan)
Generous pinch ground cinnamon
1 ½ cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
Toasted coconut, optional (for sprinkling)
Sea salt, optional (for sprinkling)

Mix the almond butter, tahini, honey, and cinnamon in a small bowl until combined. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Assemble the sandwiches. Scoop ½ teaspoon of nut butter filling onto bottom side of 16 crackers. Top with another cracker of similar size, gently pressing down, and set on prepared baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet to freezer and freeze for 20 minutes to allow filling to stiffen.

Meanwhile, melt chocolate in double boiler, or in microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between each set. When the nut butter has set, remove pan from freezer. Working quickly, dip sandwiches halfway into melted chocolate. Return dipped sandwiches to parchment and sprinkle with coconut and sea salt (if using) while chocolate is still warm. Return to freezer and allow for chocolate to set, at least 20 minutes. Store in freezer and enjoy from there! Makes 16 sandwiches.
 

Tempeh and Squash Sesame Autumn Rolls

One of the main reasons I love eating at Vietnamese restaurants is their summer rolls. Herbaceous, fresh, and clean, they will never go out of style. They are also perfect if you need a break from heavy holiday food. I decided to do a bright autumn version here, and while it is by no means traditional, it is just as bright and clean as the cucumber and carrot version, perhaps just a little more hearty.

I use soba noodles instead of vermicelli, which I believe are a bit easier to cook than vermicelli. Vermicelli can be finicky. It goes from underdone to a gloopy, sticky mess in an eye blink, at least for me who has not spent years perfecting it. So if you have tips on perfecting rice vermicelli, let me know! The soba noodles also pair well with the sesame flavors I have in the tempeh and dipping sauce. The marinated and seared tempeh and creamy avocado play off of each other's textures and add some staying power. To mimic the sweetness of carrots, I add in slices of kabocha squash, and the whole thing comes together in a delicious little roll. 

if you have never played with rice paper before, it is rather simple if you know a few tricks. I fill a pie plate half- way with really hot water, get a dish towel ready out on the cutting board or counter (this helps absorb excess water while you assemble), plunge a piece of rice paper in the water for about 15 seconds or so on until softened. I lay the softened rice paper out on the towel and begin layering on the ingredients. The trick is to keep the ingredients nice and compact, much like you would fill a sushi roll or a dumpling. Then fold the sides in like a burrito and roll away. To keep them fresh as you make them, place a damp paper towel or dish towel over the already made spring rolls.

The dipping sauce here is sesame-based rather than peanut or fish sauce-based. You could certainly sub in peanut butter for the tahini, but it will be thicker so you will want to thin out with a little water until the desired consistency is reached.

Tempeh and Squash Sesame Autumn Rolls

Roasted Squash:
1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
1/2 small kabocha squash, sliced in 1/4-inch slices
salt, to taste

Tempeh:
1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
8 ounces tempeh, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce or tamari, if gluten-free
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Soba noodles:
6 ounces soba noodles
water
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Sesame Dipping Sauce:
1/2 cup tahini
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons maple syrup
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
salt and pepper, to taste
hot sauce or Sriracha, optional

Rolls:
12-15 pieces of rice paper
1 small head red leaf lettuce, leaves washed and excessive water removed
roasted kabocha squash
seared tempeh
1 avocado, sliced thinly
handful fresh cilantro, for serving
sesame seeds, optional, for serving

Roast squash. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss kabocha with tablespoon oil, and arrange in single layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden.

Prepare tempeh. Mix maple syrup, low sodium soy sauce, and sesame oil together in a bowl. Add tempeh and toss to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add tempeh and cook on both sides until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Cook soba noodles. Bring pot of water to a boil. Add soba and cook for 5-7 minutes or until just done but not mushy. Start tasting at the 4 1/2 minute mark. Drain in colander and rinse with cold water until cool. Drain thoroughly and toss with 1 teaspoon sesame oil to prevent sticking.

Make dipping sauce. Combine tahini, soy sauce or tamari, rice wine vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, and ginger in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add hot sauce, if using.

Prepare rolls. Fill a large shallow dish such as a pie plate half-way with steaming water. Add rice paper and allow to soak until softened, about 15 seconds. Place on a clean towel and layer ingredients on one end, starting with a small piece of red leaf lettuce, soba noodles, avocado, tempeh, kabocha, cilantro, sesame seeds, if using, and a drizzle of the dipping sauce. Roll up like a burrito, starting with the sides, and then roll up tightly. Place a damp towel over rolled pieces while repeating with remaining ingredients, heating water as necessary. Serve with dipping sauce and additional herbs, if desired. Enjoy! Makes 12-15 summer rolls.