Looking for a Little Comfort ... Vegan Soy-free, Gluten-free "Meatballs"

If you like this blog, would you please vote for Welcoming Kitchen as a top Vegan/Vegetarian Mom Blog over at Circle of Moms?   

We linked this post to Wellness Weekend at Diet, Dessert and Dogs.

It's February, and even if you're experiencing strangely warm weather as we are here in the Midwest, this time of year calls out for comfort food.  

I had this desire for warm-the-soul food in mind when I was writing my post for The Balanced Platter this month. Could there be a way to make a tasty, versatile vegetarian meatball that is not only vegan, but also soy-free and gluten-free?

Oh yes!  This veggie meatball tastes great on its own, but really shines when you pair it up with a favorite sauce or gravy. 

Want to learn how to make it?  Check out my post with the recipe at The Balanced Platter.  While you're there, enter to win a terrific baking package prize!

Happy Cooking!
Kim

Crispy Treats (a Pretty Healthy Vegan, Gluten-free, Allergen-free Snack)

Today when I was running with my dog, I fell and hurt my thumb.  It's pretty sore, so please forgive me if this post is pretty brief.

I have been working on relatively healthy snacks this week.  I've worked on a black bean brownie (not there yet) and a couple of other toss-in-the-lunchbox snacks.

The one that worked best was influenced by Energy Bites from Smashed Peas and Carrots.  That recipe on its own is a good one (though I prefer a vegan sweetener).  Of course, I kept playing around with it, and this is the tasty result of that kitchen fun.

Getting back to my thumb, I was really hurting today, so my fantastic sons, Casey and Evan, made the treats today.  We hope you like them as much as we do.

We shared this recipe with the new blog hop event, Allergy-free Wednesdays, hosted by our good friend, Tessa the Domestic Diva.  Please hop over to check out lots of good recipes and to be introduced to Tessa, a blogger I think you'll love!

We also shared this at Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love, Wellness Weekends, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays,  and Allergy Friendly Fridays.

Welcoming Kitchen was nominated as a Top Vegetarian/Vegan Mom Blog at Circle of Moms.  If you like this blog, you can vote everyday til February 14.

Crispy Treats
Makes 2 dozen

Ingredients:
1 cup crispy brown rice cereal (GF)
1/2 cup sunflower seed butter
1/3 cup date paste (medjool dates pureed with water, or soaked in hot water, then pureed)
1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup allergen-free chocolate chips (optional)

Preparation:
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients.
Chill for at least 20 minutes.
Form into balls, an inch to an inch-and-a-half across.
Store in a container in the refrigerator.

Happy Cooking!
Kim

A Menu for the Big Game

 This is a two-part post.  First, something serious, then a fun payoff.

Have you seen the new video by Robert Kenner, the filmmaker of Food, Inc.?  He made a film highlighting the issues surrounding the movement to label genetically engineered food.  If you haven't seen it yet, here it is.  If you want to learn what you can do, visit Just Label It.




Now, the fun part ...

Our beloved Bears are not doing anything this post-season, but that doesn't mean that there's not lots of football fun to be had in the next few weeks.  (Of course, it will be much more fun next year when it's the Bears going all the way!)

Back in the fall, I created a menu for a Game Day Party for VegNews' website, and they did an interview with me about tips to make your Game Day spread a welcoming one.

If you're looking for ideas of what to serve at your party this year, give some of these recipes a try.

• Portabello Sliders with Carmelized Onions and Barbecue Sauce
• Crispy Wedge Fries
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Bars 

We shared this post with Allergy-friendly Lunchbox Love, Allergy Friendly Fridays and Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.
Happy Cooking!
Kim

News and Reviews and Giveaways

It's been a busy time for Welcoming Kitchen!  So many good things are going on.

I'd like to let you know about some stuff that's happening (in no particular order).

1) We got a great review in the informative magazine, Living Without's March issue.  The issue is jam packed with information and recipes, too!

2) The Vegetarian Resource Group gave us a wonderful review in their magazine, Vegetarian Journal.

3) I started as a regular contributor to The Balanced Platter, the new cover-all-the-bases website for people who are living gluten-free.

4) I started working on my first post as a regular contributor to VegNews' website.  My first post will go up in February and will feature new recipes for a board-game party menu.

Now, for the giveaways!

I am so excited that Welcoming Kitchen was adopted by Sea Maiden, the author of the dynamite site, The Book of Yum, for her Adopt a Gluten-free Blogger Event.  She reviewed the Welcoming Kitchen book and site, and she is giving away a copy of Welcoming Kitchen to a lucky reader.  Please stop over to The Book of Yum and leave Sea a comment for a chance to win a copy of our book!


Our friend, Elizabeth Pantley, author of the No-Cry parenting series is hosting another giveaway, too.  You can enter until January 31, 2012 for a chance to win a complete set of the No-Cry books, including the new book, The No-Cry Picky Eater Solution and a whole set of the cookbooks featured in that book, including Welcoming Kitchen.

I've also got a long list of recipes I'm working on, so we should have good stuff going on all over the place!

Thank you for all of your support.  I hope that it is a good year for all of us!

Happy Cooking!
Kim

Chili Polenta Pie or Christmas Revisited

I got another Christmas gift yesterday.  Well .... kind of.

Every year, I end up making too much food for the holidays.  Doesn't everyone?

I have an open house on Christmas Eve where I serve a casual menu of appetizers, cookies, and chili.  I always make a lot of chili (my crockpot was almost overflowing!), so that I have some leftover.

On Christmas morning, my sister and her family along with my parents and mother-in-law all come around for presents and muffins and fruit. I was in charge of the fruit this year, and I made a too-big fruit salad.

Lucky for me, I froze the extra fruit and chili -- not together, of course--for a later date.

That later date was yesterday.

First the fruit.  I had frozen pineapple, pear and apple chunks along with kiwi slices.  I blended up some kale and apple juice, tossed in the frozen fruit and added some rice milk.  We had a lovely green smoothie for breakfast that everyone slurped up.

Next, the chili.  I re-invisioned the cheeseburger pie of my childhood.  (Clearly, I ate quite a bit differently then.)  I topped a veggie-infused polenta with chili and cheddar-flavored Daiya vegan cheese shreds and ended up with a new dinner favorite.  We served it with slices of avocado, and you could add some plain-flavored coconut yogurt to really jazz it up.  It made for a yummy, homey one-dish supper.

I used the soup base that I wrote about on The Balanced Platter last week as the cooking medium for the polenta, but you could use broth or water or rice milk instead if you don't have any handy.

Now, the only thing I have left in my freezer from the holidays is a small container of cookies that I can toss into a lunchbox or use as an after-dinner sweet for the boys.

I shared this recipe with Allergy Friendly Fridays and Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

Chili Polenta Pie
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
3 cups soup base (or broth, water or rice milk)
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cornmeal
2 cups prepared chili (I used the chili recipe from Welcoming Kitchen, of course!)
1 cup cheddar-flavored Daiya vegan cheese shreds (optional)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375.
Lightly oil a deep-dish pie plate (You could probably get it all to fit in a regular pie plate, but I used a deep dish one.)
Bring the soup base, olive oil and salt and pepper to a boil.
Slowly whisk in cornmeal, and reduce heat to low.
Whisk regularly, though not constantly, until polenta has thickened up so that it will only slowly return to the side of the pan when you scrape it into the middle, about 20 minutes.
Spread prepared polenta into pie plate.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Spread chili over polenta crust and top with cheese.
Bake for another 20 minutes.

Happy Cooking!
Kim

A New Year, A Fabulous New Gluten-Free Site, And A New Healthy-Eating Tip

The new year has begun!  With it comes a host of new beginnings.   For me, it brings professional and personal opportunities. 

Professionally, the first new thing that I have going on is becoming a regular contributor to the brand-new site for all things gluten-free, The Balanced Platter. 

The Balanced Platter is the brain child of two women I greatly respect, Amy Green of Simply Sugar and Gluten-free and Maggie Savage of She Let Them Eat Cake.  They wanted to create a virtual space that allowed anyone navigating a gluten-free lifestyle to find tips, information and recipes from a variety of voices.  I am so proud to be included in this group.

I have some other things in the works for this year, too, which I will share as they come closer.  I have a list that covers my refrigerator note board of recipes that I want to get working on, not to mention the two reader challenges that I have been tinkering with.  Lots of exciting stuff!

Personally, I really worked hard to put on a few pounds this holiday season.  I had to eat lots of cookies (sometimes several times a day) and chips to achieve this, ane now the work to return to a healthier eating and a more typical Kim weight begins. 

The first step in the journey to healthier eating this year begins with an amazing soup base, chock full of fiber and nutrients, that I use to cook all sorts of foods.  I use it as a cooking base for vegetables, grains, soups, stews, etc.

Read more about this soup base over at The Balanced Platter today.  While you're there take a look around to see all the knoweldgable contributors who will be making the site so fantastic.

Happy Cooking!

Kim



Easy, Cheesy Oven-fried Vegan Zucchini Bites

Are you looking for a last-minute snack to add to your New Year's spread?


This easy recipe makes for a cheesy, salty, crispy bite.  We ate them plain, but you could pair them with a little salsa or plain-flavored coconut yogurt to dress them up a bit.

We have some exciting things going on here at Welcoming Kitchen in the New Year.  Please stay tuned for information on a new website that I'm thrilled to be part of and some new connections with VegNews (yippee!!).

We wish you a very happy and healthy 2012!

We shared this with Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Allergy-Friendly Fridays.

Oven-fried Zucchini Bites
Makes approximately 50 bites

Ingredients:
2 small or 1 large zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices (It should make about 1 cup of slices.)
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup Daiya cheddar-flavor cheese (optional)
1/2 cup non-dairy plain-flavored milk (I used coconut milk beverage.)
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
Canola oil spray (use a fillable spray pump if you need to avoid soy lecithin).

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425.
Spray a baking sheet with oil.
In a shallow bowl, combine flaxseed meal and non-dairy milk. 
In a separate bowl, combine cornmeal and salt.
Mix in cheese, if you're using it.
Let the flaxseed meal/milk mixture sit for approximately 5 minutes.
Wet zucchini slices in the milk mixture.
Then transfer to the cornmeal mixture.  Spoon the cornmeal over the zucchini slices ensuring that each one is coated and has some cheese.
Place coated zucchini slices on prepared baking sheet.
Spray the tops of the slices.
Bake for approximately 10 minutes, flipping halfway through.  The slices are done when they are a golden color.

Happy New Year!
Kim

Who Needs Cookies? How About a Craft Swap?

Ok .... I need cookies.  That's a different story, though.

For the third year, a group of friends, old and new, got together to trade handmade gifts as an alternative to a traditional cookie swap.  (Speaking of cookie swaps, check out Rianne's virtual cookie swap at Art of Dessert for some allergen-friendly options.)

Each year our Get Your Craft On event gets bigger and better.  It is so much fun when you see all the creativity and craftiness that 40-plus women can put into an awesome kick-off-the-holiday-season event.  Let me tell you, Pinterest really helped up the game this year!

How does it work?

Each friend brings 10 of the same (or similar) handmade gifts.  She then gets to take 10 gifts that others made.  With all of the offerings, it was really hard to pick what to take.  Last year, I was really planful and got all of my teacher gifts and some presents for some family members.  This year, I pretty much am keeping everything I took.

There are other rules we follow to keep it organized and fair--everyone goes in shifts, you get to take 5 unduplicated items in your first pass, then we go through a second time, etc.--but basically you make 10 things, you get 10 things.  It is a blast!  I strongly encourage you and your friends to give it a try.

What did people make?  I was crazy busy during the party, so I didn't take any pictures that night, but here are some photos of some of the stuff that I got.

There was jewelry.  I made rings from vintage buttons.  Other gals made necklaces, barrettes, pins or bracelets.

Knitted wire cuff -- so pretty!

Decoupage cuff --so cool and arty!

There were knitted and sewn accessories.  Scarves, mittens, hats and aprons.

There were food gifts, like dark chocolate peppermint bark, infused olive oil, a spice mix and granola.  There was booze, like cranberry and orange-infused vodka and amaretto.

There were gifty gifts like adorable mirrors to toss in your purse, sugar scrub, trivets, note cards, ornaments, yoga mat spray, decorated tote bags, picture frames, and the cutest Santa gourd.

I can't wait for next year!

Happy Holidays!
Kim