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Thursday, September 17, 2009

AUTUMN BREAKFAST MENU

I love breakfast, especially on a cool weekend morning when there is time to prepare something special. Take these recipes for example, they are perfect as an individual meal or prepared as a brunch to entertain stay over guests. Try them one recipe at a time and watch how your morning brightens when you change your routine and add some variety.

BREAKFAST MENU
Soft Morning Grains
Eggs McMochi
Maple Quinoa Pudding
Tahini French Toast


Soft Morning Grains

1/2 cup short grain brown rice * 1/2 cup barley * 1/4 cup hijiki, soaked * ½ teaspoon sea salt * 5 cups water.

Place ingredients in a small crock-pot and cook overnight or throughout the day on low heat. You can also soak ingredients covered overnight in a heavy saucepan. In the morning bring to a low boil, reduce heat and stirring often, simmer until water is absorbed.

Serve with:
1. A variety of cooked greens such as kale, spinach, collard greens, or Swiss chard.
2. Cooked beans, fried tempeh or tofu.
3. Roasted pumpkin seeds and/or sesame seeds.
4. Sea vegetables.
5. Sautéed onions, ginger and garlic.
6. Baked sweet squash.

Sesame Tahini Sauce
2 cloves raw or roasted garlic * ½ cup Tahini * 3 tablespoons tamari soy sauce * 2 teaspoons maple or agave syrup * 1 tablespoon brown rice or apple cider vinegar * ½ cup green or kukicha tea * 1 teaspoon chili oil (optional) * 3 green onions, sliced.

1. In a small food processor combine the garlic, Tahini, tamari, maple syrup, vinegar and tea.
2. Puree until smooth, adding more tea as needed for consistency.
3. Spoon over grains or pasta noodles and garnish with the green onions.

Eggs McMochi
Serves 2

4 slices cinnamon raison or plain mochi * 2 cups cooked kale * 2 eggs over easy or to your liking.

1. Heat up the waffle maker. Slice the mochi and lay it in the waffle iron. Cook until done.
2. Meanwhile, cook your eggs as you like them.
3. Lightly butter the mochi, then layer the kale and eggs on top. Salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve warm.

Maple Quinoa Pudding
Serves 2
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa * 1 cup coconut milk * 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup, or to taste * 1 tablespoon vanilla extract * 1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped and soaked * ¼ cup roasted peanuts

1. Heat 2 cups of water in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling, and stir in quinoa.
2. Cover pan, reduce heat to low and cook until quinoa turns translucent, for about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine the coconut milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract together in a bowl.
4. Stir the coconut milk into the quinoa and blend well.
5. Spoon quinoa into a bowl and top with apricots and some of the apricot juice, then the peanuts. Serve warm.

Tahini French Toast
Serves 2

½ cup Tahini * 1 ¼ cup water * 1 tsp. vanilla * ½ tsp. cinnamon * 1 tsp. Agave *
4 slices Righteous Raisin Spelt Bread

1. Mix Tahini sauce and pour half into baking dish.
2. Lay the bread in the batter, then pour the remaining half of batter over the top to the bread.
3. Allow to rest for 10 minutes while it absorbs the Tahini mixture.
4. Heat a cast iron skillet, spray with oil and cook raisin bread slices on griddle until golden brown. Turn and cook the other side.
5. Serve with maple syrup, fresh fruit, or agave syrup.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Healthy Pizza Recipes

The blog I wrote for http://www.care2.com/greenliving/ this past week is titled Thinking Out Of The Pizza Box and I continue here with additional healthy pizza recipes.


However, before we get to the recipes let's take a look at what excess cheese and refined wheat flour does to your digestive system. For many people they are difficult to digest due to their refined nature, but they also create an excess of mucus in the system. Now, a certain amount of mucus helps to lubricate the internal body, but when there is excess that cannot be eliminated through the bowels it makes its way up into the lungs. This results in those lovely hacking, coughing spasms you may have experienced; from there it rises to the sinus in hopes of being eliminated through the nose. An overabundance of mucus congests the sinus cavity creating eventual inflammation and, well you know, pain.


Colds can be one way your body gets rid of a lot of that congestion. All your orifices open up for the occasion and out comes the fluids, from your nose, eyes, pores, and anus. It is your body’s cry for help, as in “please stop eating processed, homogenized cheese, milk, and yogurt; and for crying out loud stop with the white refined flour already, I cannot do my work properly!”


Well, now, that having been said, let's move on to the recipes. Notice there is not much cheese used here, but these pizza's are big on flavor. Substitute favorite ingredients as you deem necessary and let me know some of the creative ways you have adapted pizza to your diet.


Arugula Pesto on Spelt Crust

Yield: 4 – 6 servings

3 cups fresh Arugula

1/2 cup roasted walnuts

2 clove garlic

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

salt to taste

1 large spelt pizza crust


1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees

2. Combine ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth.

3. Brush the edges of a Spelt pizza crust with olive oil.

4. Spread a thin layer of the pesto across the crust.

5. Bake on a baking stone about 12 minutes or until browned.

6. Remove from oven and allow to sit on the stone another 3 -5 minutes.

7. Serve while hot.


Italian Herb Individual Pizza

Yield: 1 serving

Olive oil - spray

2 tablespoons tomato sauce

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried basil

1/3 cup cannellini beans

1/4 cup Romano cheese

4 plum tomatoes, sliced

2 tablespoons pine nuts

1/3 cup broccoli florets, lightly cooked

2 tablespoons capers

4 anchovies

1 spelt pizza crust (individual size)


1. Lightly spray the spelt pizza crust with olive oil.

2. Spread tomato sauce on top.

3. Sprinkle the oregano and basil on top of the tomato sauce.

4. Layer the cannellini beans, plum tomato slices and broccoli florets.

5. Place the cheese, pine nuts and capers over the entire pizza.

6. Arrange the anchovies decoratively on top.

7. Place in a pre-heated 425-degree oven for 10-12 minutes.


Greek Pizza for One

Yield: 1 serving

Olive oil - spray

2 tablespoons tomato sauce

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 tablespoon dried oregano

4 cherry tomatoes, sliced

2 green and hot peppers, minced

1/3 cup kale, cooked, chopped

1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup Kalamata olives

1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced

2 hard-cooked eggs – chopped

1 Spelt pizza crust (individual size)


1. Lightly spray the spelt crust with olive oil.

2. Spread the tomato sauce on top.

3. Sprinkle the basil and oregano over the tomato sauce.

4. Layer the peppers, kale, and sliced tomatoes on pizza.

5. Sprinkle with the cheese and olives.

6. Place chopped eggs in center of pizza and top with dill.

7. Bake in a 425-degree oven for 10-12 minutes.


Rice Crust Pizza

Yield: 4 – 6 servings

1 rice crust pizza

1/2 cup pesto sauce (see recipe below)

1 large tomato slice

6 sliced kalamata olives

1 cup cooked dandelion, kale or spinach greens , chopped

2 tablespoons chopped chives

1/4 cup Romano cheese


1. Spread pesto sauce over the entire pizza crust, leave the edges free.

2. Layer interior with chopped, cooked greens

3. Place sliced kalamata olives around the dandelion greens

4. Sprinkle with chives and Romano cheese.

5. Bake pizza in the oven on either a pizza stone or oven rack at 425 degrees for 8-12 minutes.


Basil Parsley Pesto Sauce

Yield: 1 cup

1 cup fresh parsley (stems removed)

1 cup basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons pine nuts


Place ingredients in a blender and pulse to blend.