Saturday, July 30, 2011

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen...

No no no, not so fast - I'm not going anywhere! In fact, I am going nowhere simply because as of last Wednesday I am no longer in school... ever again! It was really the first time since leaving my elementary school that I felt an inkling of sadness at graduating. All the work and stress load aside, I really did enjoy my time within the walls of IHN and learned a lot - about holistic health, nutrition, the society around me and myself. I'm moving on knowing that I've chosen the right path and with many contacts and friends who I'm honoured to have worked with.

Of course, I've talked several times before about the goodies I would bring into the school, and for our graduation party, I made no exception. In fact, I did a foodie triple-whammy for that last day, making gluten-free and vegan flourless cake and bread as well as a rich, fruity almond and blueberry butter to top the loaf's slices. They nestled in perfectly with the other delicious foods brought in by my colleagues and recieved rave reviews all around! In fact, the school director even took the last few slices of cake home with her, and that, my friends, is a definite compliment! 

So what's next for this perpetual student? After all, I've been in the education world pretty solidly since I was 2 1/2 years old, so the "real world" thing is a little daunting to me. However, like I said, I've been making contacts and connections as much as I can (including at the local farmer's markets and with the videographer of our class' final day!) and I have a fairly decent portfolio of writing behind me, so with luck I'll be able to finally make it in the "real world" as a nutritional consultant and educator. For now though, I am so looking forward to having August off to relax for the first time since September! My garden, kitchen, family and blog have all been sorely neglected, and I'll also be able to catch up on all those appointments and other "to-dos" that fell by the wayside while I worked on getting through school.

Thanks to everyone for sticking by and supporting me through the last year! I am so glad to be back and ready for action!


Glutenless Grains Chocolate Cake
Adapted from a recipe by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming.
Serves 16 (2 cakes with 8 slices each)
100 grams black (or red) quinoa grains
1 1/4 cups water
35 grams toasted buckwheat groats (kasha)
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
½ cup hot coffee
2 tbsp ener-g egg replacer
3/4 cup cool water
1/3 cup almond or coconut milk
1 tbsp vanilla
½ cup canola oil
2 tbsp agave nectar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp agar agar flakes (optional, helps with binding)
1 cup unsweetened cocoa
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 8" cake pans and line with parchment paper.
  2. Place quinoa in a seive or strainer and rinse well under cool running water to remove the "soapy" coating.
  3. In a saucepan, bring water to a boil and add the quinoa and kasha. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Set aside.
  4. In a small dish, mix together the flaxseed and coffee, set aside. In another small dish combine the egg replacer and cool water, set aside.
  5. In a food processor, mix the cooked quinoa and kasha, almond milk, vanilla, oil, agave and brown sugar. Blend until smooth.
  6. Add the flaxseed and egg replacer mixtures and puree completely.
  7. Whisk together the agar agar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.
  8. Add to the food processor and pulse in until thoroughly mixed.
  9. Bake 40 - 45 minutes, until tests done
  10. Cool completely in the pan.
  11. Can be frozen.
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 162.1
Total Fat: 8.6 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 10.1 mg
Total Carbs: 24.3 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.0 g
Protein: 2.6 g  

Blueberry Almond Spread
Makes 3/4 cup, 12 1-tbsp servings1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
¼ tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tbsp almond oil
1 tbsp agave nectar
¼ cup fresh or frozen (thawed, liquid reserved) blueberries
  1. In a food processor, combine the almonds and salt. Process until the nuts are finely ground.
  2. Gradually add oil and agave, pulsing until smooth.
  3. In a small dish using a fork, mash the berries.
  4. Add berries to the processor and pulse in, trying to leave a few whole berries.
  5. Store in the refrigerator.
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 73.7
Total Fat: 6.4 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 0.3 mg
Total Carbs: 3.5 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.1 g
Protein: 1.9 g
 
For Susan (Wild Yeast)'s event YeastSpotting: my gluten-free, vegan raisin-almond bread (included in one of my upcoming NEW-trition cookbooks!)

1 comment :

  1. First, congratulations on finishing! Second: you never know what you might decide to do later ... including more schooling. ;) Best of luck!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for the feedback!