Carrot Ginger Soup

One of my favorite healing soups, this is my take on carrot ginger. I make it with homemade chicken broth, you could also use vegetable broth or water. I use a good amount of ginger, but feel free to play around to find a ginger level that you like.

This makes a large portion of soup that will last for several days. Alternatively, it freezes really well too. Enjoy!

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Carrot Ginger Soup

Note: A high-powered blender will make this soup silky-smooth. If you don't have a high-powered blender, then let the carrots simmer in the broth a bit longer until they're as soft as you need for the blender you have.

Special equipment:
Vitamix or other high-powered blender

3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 medium/large yellow onion, chopped
3-4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
Thumb-size piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2.5 pounds of carrots (about 3 bunches), chopped into pieces about 1/3 - 1/2 inch thick
6 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
1 can full-fat coconut milk
Sea salt to taste (I usually use 2.5-3 teaspoons with unsalted broth)

Heat the coconut oil in a large stock pot over medium heat, add the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and stir for a minute. Next add the ginger and sauté for another minute or two more, then finally add the ground cumin and stir well. Everything should be very fragrant at this point.

Next add the carrots and stock (or water) and turn the heat to high. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer, cover the stock pot, and reduce heat down to low. Simmer for 25-30 minutes until the carrots soften a bit (see note above).

Add the coconut milk and stir until it's dissolved. Now it's time to blend the soup, which you will most likely have to do it in batches. You'll need another pot or large bowl for the already pureed soup. When you're done, pour all of the pureed soup back into your original pot and salt to taste. I use unsalted chicken broth and usually put in 2.5-3 teaspoons. If you're using unsalted broth or water, start with 2 teaspoons and go up 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to taste. If you're starting with a salted broth, taste first and then add 1/2 teaspoon at a time as needed until the soup doesn’t taste flat.

Gluten-Free & Vegan Gingerbread Cake

This is a wonderfully rich and moist gingerbread cake - dark from a full cup of molasses and full of flavor. This cake screams HOLIDAYS and it is our Christmas morning tradition. I make it first thing in the morning (see note below for more detail) and we eat it after opening gifts. It's wonderful with coffee or ginger tea.

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Gluten-Free & Vegan Gingerbread Cake

Adapted from the Gingerbread Snacking Cake on smittenkitchen.com.

Notes: Taste your molasses before using it - it should be deep and rich but also good, not bitter or harsh. Because there's a full cup, it can make or break the cake.

Everything in this cake happens quite quickly, so it's helpful to have your dry ingredients whisked together and your wet ingredients measured out beforehand. Because I make this on Christmas morning, I prepare my dry ingredients in a bowl the night before. Then I set out the baking soda, molasses and coconut sugar before I go to bed, along with the pan, so in the morning all I have to do in terms of preparation is peel and grate the ginger and make the chia seed slurry.

Also, the original recipe calls for lining the bottom of the baking dish with parchment paper so you can easily cool the cake on a wire rack. I skip this and simply let the cake cool in the pan and then slice and serve straight from there. Butt if you'd like to cool on a rack, I suggest using the parchment as it's hard to turn the entire cake out without it.

Recipe updated 1/1/2023

Dry Ingredients:
170 grams teff flour
75 grams amaranth flour, plus more for dusting pan
105 grams arrowroot powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

Wet Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup coconut oil, plus more for greasing pan
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 cup unsulfured blackstrap molasses
1/2 - 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (gently placed onto the spoon, not tightly packed)
2 teaspoons ground chia seeds whisked with 6 tablespoons very hot water, prepared just before adding to the batter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease the bottom and sides of a 9x13 inch baking dish with coconut oil, then dust with amaranth flour.

Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk together well.

In a large saucepan (I recommend at least 3 quart), bring the water to a gentle boil, add the baking soda (this will delightfully remind you of a grade school science experiment), remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Next, whisk in the coconut oil until melted, then add the coconut sugar, molasses and fresh ginger and mix well. Finally, prepare the ground chia seed / hot water mixture (I whisk it with a fork - it should be the consistency of beaten eggs as this is your egg substitute), making sure that there aren't any large chia clumps in it. Add the chia mixture to the saucepan and stir everything together so that it's homogenous and smooth.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk until just combined. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Place pan on cooling rack. When cooled (or at least mostly cooled), sliced and enjoy!

Serve on its own, or with a dollop of whipped cream or whipped coconut cream. My kids insist on homemade whipped cream, and because I make this on Christmas, I always oblige.

Enjoy and happy holidays however you celebrate!!

Turkey Quinoa Meatballs

Meatballs, while universally popular, are not universally accessible to those with gluten, egg or dairy allergies / intolerances. As I am one of those people (gluten), I wanted to change the meatball game in my kitchen. Quinoa is used here instead and it works really well.

These come together quickly because of the short ingredient list and the fact that all the aromatics come from spice jars. Nutritionally, these meatballs mainly provide good protein, vitamins B6 & B12, and a bit of iron and zinc.

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Turkey Quinoa Meatballs

Notes: My favorite spice combo for these is in the main recipe (it’s subtle and really good) but I’ve also added an Italian option below if you’re going for the classic spaghetti with meatballs and marinara sauce. And, of course, you can use ground beef here as well, or a combination of the two.

Recipe updated 11/4/2021

1 cup cooked, unsalted quinoa
1 teaspoon sea salt (use a heaping 1/2 teaspoon if your quinoa is salted)
1 tablespoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 pound ground turkey

Italian seasoning variation:
1 cup cooked, unsalted quinoa
1 teaspoon sea salt (use a heaping 1/2 teaspoon if your quinoa is salted)
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 pound ground turkey

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Put the quinoa, salt and spices in a bowl and stir well to evenly distribute all the seasoning. Add the ground turkey, mix well, and form meatballs about 1” in diameter. Arrange the meatballs on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

I serve these all sorts of ways, usually with salad or roasted vegetables. They are very good in a Mediterranean-style spread with hummus, veggies and rice or flatbread.

Makes approximately 20 meatballs.