Seasonal Fall + Winter Menu

 I've put together this post to make a comprehensive list of my current menu. I've been slowly adding new items and rotating others around to keep it fresh and incorporating produce that is in season. Although this is a vegetarian menu, I've created options for incorporating fresh, organic chicken, beef or turkey to any entree which would include an upcharge. Prices include delivery and are contact free.

 In addition to the menu items listed here, you can also order anything from my blog upon request. Any item can also be made gluten free, dairy free or modified to fit your dietary needs or restrictions. Please email me directly or send a text message for a consultation or to place orders. I look forward to feeding you and your families!!

FALL + WINTER MENU 2020

ENTREES

- Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

- Black Bean + Spinach Enchiladas with Red or Verde Sauce

- Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Cremini Mushrooms and Butternut Squash

- Shepherd's Pie with Smoky Tempeh and Portabella Mushrooms

- Quiche and Fritatta - many options for fillings

- Creamy Broccoli and Potato Casserole 

- Lentil Walnut 'Meatloaf' with a Balsamic Tomato Glaze

- Sun Dried Tomato Polenta Stuffed Acorn Squash with Parmesan Crisp

- Green Herbed Falafel with Tzatziki (Add Tabouli or flatbread on request)

SOUPS

- Black Bean Quinoa Chili (Add Green Chili Cornbread on request)

- White Bean, Kale and Roasted Tomato Stew

- Indian Style Vegetable Curry

SIDES + SALADS

- Warrior Tabouli with Quinoa + Chickpeas (Great with Falafel + Tzatziki)

- Marinated Vegetable Salad with Dijon Red Wine Vinaigrette 

- Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Citrus Tahini Dressing and Toasted Nuts

- Fresh Handmade Flatbread (Great with the soups and stews)

- Green Chile Cheddar Skillet Cornbread

- Roasted Corn + Tomato Rice Pilaf (Great with Enchiladas or Stuffed Peppers)

- Chile Lime Mango Salsa (Great with Enchiladas or Stuffed Peppers)

Send inquiries and orders through email --> redmagnetic@gmail.com or text message 570-4225.

Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookie Cake

I'm not sure what I love more between a soft, chewy bar and a crispy cookie top, so this recipe gives you both. Something quite magical happens when you add tahini to something sweet. The earthy, nutty flavor is different than using a traditional peanut or almond butter and there's a bit of a complexity when paired with other nuts - in this case, walnuts. This is a gluten free treat that has another amazing component that really raises the nutritional profile and incorporates an awesome, no - waste kitchen hack for repurposing your leftover pulp from juicing. You would never know that carrot, celery, lemon and apple pulp were added to this batter! It gives a little additional moisture to the texture and can totally be omitted, of course. I was just looking for a way to use it up. The remainder of it I froze and will be using in my next soup stock. All the winning. The finishing touch for these is a little drizzle of tahini on top just before devouring.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup raw tahini
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 cup almond flour
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 t baking soda
• pinch sea salt

Optional embellishments

• dark chocolate chips
• chia or flax seed meal
• hemp hearts
• chopped, toasted walnuts
• dried fruit
• shredded coconut

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350. Generously oil a square or medium sized baking dish with additional coconut oil. Mix the wet ingredients into a medium bowl. Mix the dry ingredients separately then slowly add into the wet bowl, folding with a rubber spatula until completely combined. Press the batter into the baking dish using your hands to ensure it gets into the corners well. Sprinkle the top with additional chocolate or coconut and bake 25 minutes until the edges start to crisp but the middle is still slightly soft. Let the pan cool almost completely before slicing - it's worth the wait! Drizzle with additional tahini if desired. Store in the refrigerator.

ENJOY!

Vegan Butternut Queso

Okay, bare with me. This queso | vegetable dip is delicious but don't go dipping in thinking it's cheese. I think the primary problem with people accepting substitutions for traditional things is their mindset going in for the first bite. Meaning -  if its a vegetarian Rueben made with tempeh, don't tell yourself you're biting into corned beef. Think flavor profile. It's actually pretty sophisticated and much more of a mental hurdle wrapping your mind and your palate around something that is similar, but not the same. It takes smarts and an open mind. With that established, I'll show you this recipe, which can be a dip, an enchilada sauce, a thickener for a pasta, a sandwich spread and so on. With the addition of umami rich flavors, its pretty much whatever you need it to be.


INGREDIENTS

2 cups cubed butternut squash
1 cup raw cashews
1/2 diced raw onion
3-4 cloves garlic
1-2 diced jalapeno
1 T miso paste
1 t cumin
1 t chili powder
2 T nutritional yeast
About 2 c water
juice of a lime
1 T tapioca starch or corn starch
salt to taste

METHOD

Sautee onion, garlic, jalapeno until soft, 7-10 minutes. Add spices, squash, cashews for another 5 minutes until fragrant. Add water and cover until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a blender or food processor when slightly cooled and blend until completely smooth. Return to the pan and add lime juice and starch and adjust the salt. Reheat on low until thickened. Serve or dip as your heart desires! Delicious with fresh cilantro, avocado, pickled jalapeños, red bell pepper and cayenne!

ENJOY!

Simple Spaghetti Squash Fritters

This is an older recipe I blogged a few years ago that's getting a fresh update. I think my favorite adaptation of most things is turning them into a fritter, a croquette or a pancake. It's always the easiest way to use leftover ingredients that turns them into something entirely different, unless that's what you set out to make initially, which I often still do. They're versatile and the vehicle is totally up to you, whether it's on a bed of greens, in a wrap or a pita, over quinoa, rice or pasta or even as a meatball and put between your favorite crusty bread. Plus, they can be an appetizer, brunch or a side dish for dinner paired with your entree. Anyhow, this recipe is a little simpler, made gluten free and can also be spread into a waffle maker for something savory to go with chicken or fish. Also, excellent holiday food since spaghetti squash tastes best in cooler weather. This version is not vegan but I will include notes on how to adapt it if you desire. I topped these with a tangy tahini sauce, lemon zest, parsley + paprika. Let me know what you try!


INGREDIENTS

1 medium spaghetti squash, baked and cleaned (about 4 cups)
3 eggs (substitute a flax egg ratio for each one if vegan)
1 bunch scallions, finely chopped
1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped
2 T fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 cup almond or oat flour (all purpose works just as well)
1/4 t baking soda
1/2 t cream of tartar
1/2 t kosher salt
salt + black pepper
olive oil

TANGY TAHINI SAUCE

1 cup greek yogurt or labneh (or substitute your favorite vegan yogurt here)
2 T tahini
juice of 1 lemon
pinch of salt
pinch of coconut sugar
enough water to obtain a drizzle consistency or less for a creamy dressing (add slowly and stir)
Mix all ingredients together a fork or whisk until smooth

METHOD

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut squash in half from end to end and scoop out the seeds. Brush with olive oil, salt and pepper and place face down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast for 25-30 minutes until a knife inserted into the skin side pierces easily. Remove and let cool while you assemble the sauce and the batter ingredients. Leave the oven on to finish in the oven.

Mix flour, eggs, baking soda, tartar, herbs, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. When the squash is cool enough to handle, scrape all of the meat from the skin into a separate bowl. Turn out onto a thin dish towel and squeeze as much liquid from the squash as you can, making it dry and a little stuck together. This will ensure a crispier fritter and keep them from becoming mushy. Mix the squash into the batter and let it rest for 15 minutes to absorb the flour.

Start heating up some olive oil or coconut oil in a heavy bottom pan - enamel coated cast iron is great! If you are using a waffle iron, spray both sides with cooking spray in a mister or dip a silicone basting brush in oil and coat all the grooves. Measure out about a tablespoon and a half for croquette size, a little more pressed thin for a pancake and if using the waffle iron, spread the batter evenly.

If you made fritters or pancakes, after pan frying, transfer to the sheet pan you baked the squash on and finish in the oven for 15-20 minutes to fully cook the inside. You should have a nice crust on the outside. When you're ready to plate, top with the tangy tahini sauce, fresh parsley, pepper, paprika, lemon zest or juice and devour!

ENJOY!

Apricot Walnut Bars

These bars are a not-too-sweet treat that are perfect for breakfast and tea or coffee, warmed up of course. The filling is gooey and slightly tart with addition of the lemon zest. The chia seed and applesauce really bind the crust together beautifully in that these are gluten free. The crust also doubles as the crumb topping and gives them great texture. Pack them for an on-the-go snack, traveling, school lunches and mid-day snacking. They are also vegan and sugar-free except for the 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. High in fiber and rich in omegas and plant proteins, they win big time. I adapted this recipe from the book My New Roots written beautifully by Sarah Britton. Her book is beautifully done and seasonally inspiring.

INGREDIENTS

CRUST

1 1/2 T chia seeds

1 c gluten free oats

1 c raw walnuts, toasted

1/4 c applesauce 

2T maple syrup

1T melted coconut oil

1t vanilla extract

1t sea salt

1t baking powder

FILLING

2c dried apricots roughly chopped(or figs)

1\2 T cinnamon

1\2 t ground ginger

1\2 c applesauce

grated zest of 1 organic lemon

1/4 t sea salt

METHOD

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly toast 1cup of the walnuts on a sheet pan. This will only take a few minutes, so be careful not to burn them. When they are slightly fragrant and golden, pull them out and set aside to cool.  Mix the chia seeds with 1/4 c water and set aside to gel.

Make the crust by adding 1 cup of the oats to a food processor and blend until you have a coarse flour. Add the toasted walnuts and pulse again until the mixture resembles a sandy-textured meal. Add the chia gel, applesauce, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, and vanilla. Pulse until moist.

In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup of oats, salt and baking powder. Add the blended mixture from the food processor to the bowl and mix together using wet hands. The dough is a little sticky. Press about 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of an 8 inch square baking dish that has been rubbed down with a little coconut oil. 

Rinse the food processor bowl out - no need to wash it. Make the filling by adding all of the chopped apricots and the remaining ingredients. Blend on the highest setting until you get the consistency that you like. I like mine a little chunky with some texture but you can make it completely smooth if you prefer. Pour this on top of the crust. Drop the remaining crust on top of the filling in little chunks or dollops with your hands. Lightly chop the remaining cup of walnuts and pour them on top as well, filling in any empty spots, then press lightly with your palms. Bake for 25-30 minutes until slightly golden on top and fragrant. Let cool completely before cutting. Store in the fridge, covered for up to 5 days.

Perfectly Traditional Falafel + Tzatziki

I've been making falafel for years, and recently, I figured out I'd been doing it all wrong. I've embellished it, made it with canned chickpeas, added various flours and baking enhancers in order to pan fry it and finish it in the oven trying to make it healthier, la ti da. None of that works.

I recently read a scientific article about it and my head split open. Food science is so basic and molecular. It makes much more sense when simplified, and explained. So this post isn't really about the best falafel recipe, which only has three ingredients. This is more of an expansion on what I read and how it can be applied to making them perfect every single time.

Without any unnecessary, long-winded explanations, this is simply an issue of starch. This is why using canned chickpeas NEVER works. Because they have previously been cooked, all of the necessary starches contained in the chickpeas has been cooked out. That is the crucial ingredient that binds them together, giving you the perfect inside texture that is not doughy or resembling something more like a dumpling. Using soaked chickpeas is pure magic. By soaking them for 24 hours, they are allowed to soften and slightly sprout, making the nutrients more bio-available and easier to digest, plus adding some moisture which will allow them to steam as they cook. The temperature of the oil is also hot enough to fully cook the mostly raw chickpeas.

The method involves a food processor and the right size pot for a medium-deep fry. Using a medium sized dutch oven works really well but it needs to be heavy bottomed so that you can control the temperature of the oil and so that they don't burn as they fry. I used my Le Creuset 2.75 quart dutch oven, which is enamel coated cast iron. It was awesome for this method. The high walls reduced any splatter - no mess! This was halfway between a pan fry and a deep fry. The oil went about halfway up the sides of the falafel which were about golf ball size and then flattened slightly to create flat sides that would make good contact with the bottom of the pan, meaning you only flip them once.

These take about 3-4 minutes on each side so you need to stay with them and not walk away, as they can burn easily if overdone. The oil should be in the 350 degree range. Test a small amount of batter to see that it's ready or use a candy thermometer to accurately gauge it. Use a high heat oil such as avocado oil. It's a healthy fat and is much better than canola or vegetable. You could also use a neutral coconut oil. Drain and blot on paper towels. They will be crispy on the outside and warm and soft on the inside - not mushy or doughy. Really good and best consumed immediately! I've included a basic recipe for the batter. My simple spelt tortilla/flatbread/pita recipe works very wells as a wrap, especially if you are gluten-sensitive. You can find that using the search tool on my blog as well.


HERBED FALAFEL

Makes 9-12 ( Depending on size )
1 cup organic, rinsed chickpeas, soaked 24 hours
1.5 - 2 cups packed herbs of parsley, cilantro, mint and chopped scallions
2 t each cumin and coriander
salt to taste - a big pinch

METHOD

Blend everything in a food processor until well combined. You will need to blend and scrape the sides a few times to do this. Form into golf ball sized portions and roll into balls then slightly flatten. I used a cookie scoop to make them all the same size. Awesome tool for so many things!

Heat oil to 350-360 degrees and gently lower into the oil for 3-4 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels top and bottom. Serve with pita or your favorite tortillas, on greens with olives, tomatoes, pickles, red onions, feta and tzatziki.

ENJOY!!

Paleo Fusion Tostadas

In an effort to reduce my intake of grains, I've been experimenting with recreating some dietary staples such as bread, tortillas, baked things and various crusts. These tostada shells are made from almond flour which give them a crispy, pastry quality that is something between a pie crust and a flatbread. I've been reading the book Grain Brain, which is an interesting and informative perspective on those deeply affected by the spectrum of grain-gluten sensitivity and intolerance. I've also been deeply diving into the personal story and cookbook Against All Grain, which also offers more perspective on the effects of our GMO crops and they have affected our evolving biology. I am personally not on either end of the spectrum with regard to my own body's digestive process, but somewhere in the middle. If you are exploring these topics, I highly recommend checking out both books.

This recipe uses blanched almond flour, fresh lime juice + cilantro. They are baked, not pan-fried which keeps them light and crisp. I'll include various substitutions for the ingredients that work just as well so that you can play around with them and find the one that is best for you, whether that is vegan or purely paleo.

INGREDIENTS

2.5 c blanched almond flour, or a combination of your choice nut flour + GF oat flour
1 t sea salt
1|2 t baking soda
2 T olive oil, or coconut oil
2 large eggs, or equal parts flax egg ( 1 T flaxseed meal + 2.5 T water per egg)
2 t chopped cilantro, or herbs of choice to fit your recipe for toppings
1 t lime juice, or lemon or orange or even apple cider vinegar

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl or food processor until a dough forms. Portion into 6-8 balls and roll between your hands until smooth. If you have a tortilla press, this works really well for these by pressing each ball between two pieces of parchment paper until about 1|8 inch thick. This can also be done by using a rolling pin, still keeping each one between parchment and rolling out to about 6 inches wide. Transfer each one gently to the sheet pan and bake for 18 minutes, flipping each one and rotating the pan halfway through at about 9 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to ensure crispiness.

As always, there are many optional embellishments for ways to build a tostada. The ones pictured here are loaded with a black bean puree, shredded greens + cilantro, chopped pickled jalapeños + carrots, my pickled red onions, shredded chicken, labne (or greek yogurt or sour cream), avocado and  chili powder.

ENJOY!