Triple Chocolate Cupcakes (gluten free)

While searching for a gluten-free chocolate dessert recipe I came across this great recipe!

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

They are quite tasty and very unique. I did not have coconut flour so I put unsweetened shredded coconut in the food processor till it was more fine.
The next time I make these I think I will add vanilla and cinnamon and maybe even some banana and/or nuts.

Yummy Dahl & Brown Rice

One of my favorite dishes to make for dinner is an Indian inspired red lentil dish called dahl.
I usually start by making brown rice and then in a seperate sauce pan I lightly sauté chopped onion and garlic. Then add in red lentils, water & spices. I usually spice with curry powder or tumeric, salt, pepper and Ginger (fresh is best). Cook until done and serve dahl over rice. This dish is great with a scoop of sour cream or plain yogurt!

I tend to make this for dinner and then pack it up for lunches. This is a quick and easy dish. Enjoy!

Green Salad with Orange and Fennel

My mom has taught and inspired me how to make gourmet salads. She is the best and makes a gourmet salad for herself almost every day for lunch.

I am not always a fan of fennel but it works great in a salad with oranges. Both fennel and oranges are easy to come by and inexpensive when in season.

To make this salad use what ever greens you like, spinach, baby greens or just good old romaine. Beet leaves, sorrel, mustard greens or chard would also probably be great on their own or mixed in. Mix in sliced fennel and cut up orange segments and chopped green onion. To top off use a slightly sweetened olive oil white vinegar dressing with mustard seeds.

I was inspired by this recipe from epicurious.com.
Green Salad with Orange, Fennel and Asparagus

Homemade Salad Dressing

Homemade Salad Dressing is the tastiest and cheapest way to have yummy salads!

There are so many different ways to make salad dressing but the easiest dressing is really as simple as adding tons of fresh chopped garlic to olive oil and adding any kind of vinegar and a little salt and pepper. The more garlic you add and the longer you let it sit the yummier the dressing.

Add what ever other herbs you like, fresh are always best!
Try different herbs with different vinegars.
My favorite is an asiany style dressing with apple cider vinegar, toasted sesame oil, Bragg (or soy sauce), fresh ginger, and a dash of agave nectar or honey!

Try adding fresh squeezed juice like lemon, lime or orange. or even try some concentrate, pomegranate concentrate is the best!

Cauliflower Popcorn

My new obsession is cauliflower popcorn!
I have been wanting to make it fr a while now and finally did. Cauliflower is pretty cheap right now in the shuk and this is a great healthy very tasty snack or side. It doesn't take too long to make as long as you don't mind checking the cauliflower for bugs. So far I haven't had a problem with cauliflower, when I am choosing heads of cauliflower I push the florets a bit apart and peak in between to check for bugs, saves a lot of time and heartache.

The Kosher By Design Entertains book has a recipe that I based mine off of. I used less oil and didn't see the need for sugar. I also cooked it until the cauliflower was browning and getting a bit crispy.

This is so yummy, I want to go make it now!

This is the recipe from kbd entertains:

2 heads cauliflower, cut head into medium sized florets and discard stem
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4-1/2 teaspoon turmeric
6-8 tablespoons olive oil

preheat oven to 450. line a jelly roll pan or baking sheet with parchment paper. in a large bowl combine salt, sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika,turmeric and oil. add cauliflower and toss to evenly coat. place in a single layer on the prepared sheet. roast uncovered for 30-35 minutes until the largest pieces can be pierced with a fork. if the tops are starting to get too brown, toss the cauliflower during the baking process

The Bare Necessities

There are a few things that I think are necessities so I created the "must haves" list.

• Brown Rice
• Fresh Ginger
• Garlic
• Lemons
• Lentils
• Oats
• Onions

These are the things that I try to always keep on hand and that I use in most recipes.
The fresh ginger I break of about a 4 inch piece from the bins at the spice shops in the shuk.
Brown rice, lentils, and oats I buy from the bulk bins at one of the halth food stores, I have found them to be about a shekel or 2 cheaper and better quality than the pre-packaged from the supermarket.
Garlic, onions and lemons are easy to come by and are usually the same price everywhere.
When choosing lemons get the squishy juicy ones and keep your eyes peeled for the less textured skin they tend to be juicier

I also tend to use a lot of cumin but I don't know if its a necessity.

Herbs & Spices

Fresh Herbs and spices are always better but many people are worried about wasting, that they won't use up what they bought and they will end up throwing it away.
Many herbs like coriander I tend to always have on hand, but basil and parsley tend to go bad so quickly and I don't always have time to use them up. my mother-in-law showed me that I can wash and dry the greens and then separate them in to ziplocks and freeze them. I don't use parsley so often but every so often I have a recipe that calls for fresh parsley, so all I need to do is go in to the freezer and there it is!
I've never tried it, but my friend Hayley mentioned on an other post that she learned from Rachel Ray that you can peel fresh ginger, freeze it and then grate off what you need when you need it. I am excited to try this. I tend to use up my ginger because I cook a lot of things with ginger, but I am very curious to see how freezing it works. If you try it please let me know how it goes.