Chick Pea Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from  Jump on the Skinny Bandwagon with me
 
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups canned chickpeas, well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (165 grams) natural peanut butter
1/4 cup (80 grams) honey or agave syrup
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt if your peanut butter doesn’t have salt in it
1/2 cup (90 grams) chocolate chips


Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350°F / 175°C.

Combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor and process until very smooth scraping sides as you go.  Add in chocolate chips and pulse it once or twice.

Scoop with a tablespoon onto baking sheet and press flat shaping with spatula or hand.  Bake for about 10 minutes.

Yields about 24 cookies.

carrot + potato gnocchi

Adapted from Mark Bittman

Yields 36

Ingredients

1/2 lb organic carrots, peeled & grated

2 tablespoons olive oil or grapeseed oil

1 1/2 pounds starchy potatoes or sweet potatoes

3/4 to 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more as needed.

sea salt

pepper

 

Instructions

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake potatoes until tender, about an hour. Immediately split them open to let the steam escape. When you can handle the potatoes, scoop out their flesh.

Cook in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat, seasoning to taste, until very soft, 20 to 30 minutes.  

 

Transfer to food processor and purée until smooth. 

 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Pass potato flesh through a ricer or food mill, and season to taste. Stir the carrots into the mashed potatoes. 

 

Sprinkle 1/4 cup flour on a clean counter or cutting board, and knead the potatoes with it, sprinkling in the remaining 1/4 cup flour, until the dough just comes together. 

 

Pinch off a piece of the dough, and boil it to make sure it will hold its shape. If it does not, knead in a bit more flour (no more than necessary), and try again; the gnocchi will float to the top and look a little ragged when ready.

 

Roll a piece of the dough into a rope about 1/2-inch thick, then cut the rope into 1/2-inch lengths. Score each piece by rolling it along the tines of a fork; as each piece is ready, put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper; do not allow the gnocchi to touch one another.

 

Add gnocchi to the boiling water a few at a time, and stir gently; adjust the heat so the mixture doesn’t boil too vigorously. A few seconds after they rise to the surface, the gnocchi are done; remove them with a slotted spoon or mesh strainer, and finish with any of the sauces below.

raw walnut pesto

Adapted from vegan miam http://veganmiam.com

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, packed

1/2 cup raw walnuts

1/2 cup cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil or grapeseed oil

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

2 medium garlic cloves

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

sea salt to taste

 

Instructions

 

Chop the walnuts first in a food processor and pulse them a few times until they are broken into smaller pieces.   Add the basil and garlic, pulse a few times more.

Add the remaining ingredients and slowly add the oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on.

Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula.

Pulse again until blended.

If you want a smoother and runnier one, add more olive oil. If you want thick pesto, add more raw walnuts or sunflower seeds.

 

Can be stored in the fridge for several weeks or in the freezer for several months as long as you coat them with olive oil in the sealed container/jar.