August 2, 2017 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

Chipotle Black Beans w/ Collard Greens, Avocado, and Chipotle-Lime Vinaigrette | dolly and oatmeal

my cooking this summer has been pretty lack-luster. after moving and settling in (which i feel is still happening somewhat), and trying to acclimate to a new life with a little babe, i've had zero mental space available to work/be creative/recipe develop. the mental block is so great at times i wonder what i'm doing, or if my creativity will ever come back. i know i've been saying this for months, but the cookbooks that have been coming out this past spring, and this summer have been what has been feeding me, both literally and figuratively.

the recipe here today comes from hetty mckinnon's, neighborhood. aside from the book's design, recipes, and photographs being completely gorgeous and refreshing, the central theme of neighborhood photos are so dear to my heart. as i said goodbye to our old neighborhood in brooklyn just over 3 months ago, i found myself revisiting it through the pages in hetty's book. my butcher shop on court street, the italian bakery i would frequent when i wanted to get my dad a treat, and my little local farmers market that i would hop over to on sunday mornings. it's all so familiar and heartening, as i have yet to find that neighborhood feel where we live now.

the book centers around the best things in life: food, family, and friendship with the backdrop of brooklyn. all the recipes are hearty salads that are plant-based, many of which are gluten free and vegan. the chapters of the book are organized by different places in the world: america, france, the mediterranean, asia, and australia. for dessert hetty invites some of friends to share recipes with us readers which just drives home that lovely community feel.

"no matter where you live in the world, it is the daily rituals of food that connect us." - hetty mckinnon

happy august, friends!

Chipotle Black Beans w/ Collard Greens, Avocado, and Chipotle-Lime Vinaigrette | gf & v

reprinted with permission from Neighborhood, by Hetty McKinnon

this salad is on the spicy side. since the dressing is quite fiery i halved the portion of chipotle pepper in the salad. hetty instructs you to chop the dressing ingredients, but i was short on time, and threw it all in a mini food processor which worked just as well i assume. because the salad is quite hefty, it works really well as a taco filling. i stuffed a tortilla with the salad and crumbled a veggie burger over and it was delicious ;)

| serves 4-6 |

2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
1/2 red, finely diced
1 dried chipotle chili, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes, drained, and finely chopped
one and one half 15 oz cans (500 g) black beans (about 2 cups)
1 bunch of collard greens (about 14oz; 400 g), stems removed and very finely sliced
2 large avocados (about 21 oz; 600 g), diced
1/2 cup squash seeds, toasted
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
sea salt & black pepper

chipotle-lime vinaigrette

1 dried chipotle chili, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes, drained, and finely chopped
juice of 1 -2 limes
1/2 cup (125 ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
sea salt & black pepper

substitutes

black beans: red kidney beans
collard greens: cavolo nero, kale

method

heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. add the garlic, onion, and chipotle chili and cook for 2 minutes, then ass the black beans, along with a big pinch of salt, and toss well. continue to cook for 3-4 minutes until the beans are slightly crispy.
to make the chipotle-lime vinaigrette, add the chopped chipotle chili to a bowl with most of the lime the juice, olive oil, cumin, sugar, and garlic. whisk together, adjusting the lime juice until you achieve your preferred acidity. season with salt and pepper to taste.
combine the black beans, collard greens, and avocado. spoon over the chipotle-lime vinaigrette, season well with salt and pepper and toss everything together. to serve, scatter over the squash seeds and cilantro leaves.

Chocolate Freeze 'N' Slice Cookies & Coconut Caramel Sundaes / July 27, 2017 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

Coconut Caramel Sundaes | dolly and oatmeal

today's a big day in my little family's world. frank and i are celebrating 4 years married. amesy is 10 months old today. and it's been 3 months since we moved to LA! maybe the universe is trying to tell us that 27 is our number, or maybe it's just one big coincidence that the biggest (and best parts) of our life just happened to come on a day with a 2 in front of a 7.

either way, i'm meditating on a swell of emotions today (and everyday for that matter), and i'm not really sure how to make sense of these feelings except for the fact that it's overwhelming in every sense of word. so instead of talking about said festivities we're just going to celebrate them with these sundaes :)

last summer when i was super pregnant with ames, i made this freezer cookie dough for after he was born when i wanted a quick, pull-it-out-of-the-freezer cookie, but didn't have time to pull together a batter, and clean up a mess. they were so easy and good that i kept making different iterations of them: chocolate chip, chocolate-chocolate chip, almond chocolate chip, etc., etc. but just before we loved to LA i bought a bag of cassava flour. and it had been sitting in my pantry until the other week. i've been limiting the amount of grains i eat for a while now (less about a diet and more about stabilizing my blood sugar), so i decided to try out the cassava flour in my freezer cookies. and after a few test batches, they were gold ;)

i'm not really one for over-the-top sweets, but this cosmic occasion called for something special. plus, frank looooves ice cream and cookies together, so i thought i would throw in some caramel sauce while i was at it. i've been using coconut nectar for a while now as my sweetener of choice. it has a low glycemic index (great for peeps who have trouble balancing their blood sugar), and contains a bunch of amino acids, minerals, and vitamins. but it's not a super sweet sweetener, if that makes sense. it's a bit tangy on its own, so i was curious how it would taste in a caramel situation. it turns out, that it works perfectly! it's a beautiful caramel flavor without the sugar crash that comes with the refined sugar versions (or if you're like me, and super sensitive, the crash that comes with maple syrup and/or honey). i hope you give these recipes a go, even if you only make one ;)

sweet summer hugs! xoxo

chocolate freeze 'n' slice cookies & coconut caramel sundaes

caramel sauce

| makes roughly 1 1/2 cups |

1 13.5ounce can unsweetened coconut milk (preferably non-BPA)
1/2 cup coconut nectar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

chocolate hazelnut cookies

| makes roughly 26 cookies |

1 cup raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
1/2 cup cassava flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup liquid coconut oil
2 large eggs (preferably pasture raised)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate
1 pint vegan vanilla ice cream of choice
cacao nibs, for topping (optional)

method

make the caramel. in a small saucepan, whisk together the coconut milk and coconut nectar. bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. once the mixture comes to a boil, turn down the heat and bring it all to a simmer. continue whisking every few minutes, until the mixture has thickened a bit, and has reduced to about half; about 30 minutes. remove the caramel from the stove and whisk in the vanilla and salt. pour the caramel sauce into a lidded jar and let it come to room temperature. then refrigerate until ready to use, or up to 2 weeks.
make the cookies. place the hazelnuts in a blender and pulse them into a "meal" and dump into a large mixing bowl. to the hazelnut meal, whisk in the cacao powder, cassava flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until completely combined.
in another large bowl, whisk together the sugar and coconut oil until combined. then add the eggs, and vanilla and whisk until combined. add the flour mix to the wet mix and stir with a rubber spatula until combined. then fold in the chocolate chunks.
cover the bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. prepare a large piece of parchment paper, and place it on your counter. transfer the cookie dough onto the parchment and shape it into a long log, roughly 12-14 inches long, and 2 1/2 inches thick. wrap and gently form it into an even shape, then wrap it tightly with cling wrap. freeze the cookie dough for at least 4 hours, or up to 1 month.
let the cookie dough sit for about 30 minutes before you slice. while you wait, preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. slice off as many cookies as you would like, and lay them on the cookie sheet. bake for 10 minutes, until slightly puffy.
let the cookies cool a bit. scoop a serving of ice cream into a cup or dish, crumble the cookies over top, and drizzle with a good bit of caramel sauce. sprinkle with cacao nibs, and serve

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Shelly's Chilled Peanut Noodles / July 13, 2017 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

Shelly's Chilled Peanut Noodles | dolly and oatmeal

it's hard to believe that july is at its mid point already. it seems like forever ago that frank and i were thinking about a little summer getaway, and here we are! later on this week we're driving to palm springs for a long weekend with my brother, sis-in-law, and their (almost 1-year old!) son, nico. the last "vacation" we took was when we were living in NYC, amesy was 3 months old, and we thought it was a good idea to fly to california. big mistake. if you remember a few of my posts from then, you'll remember that that trip was an epic disaster in many respects. that preeeetty much scared the crap out of us, so the idea of driving or flying anywhere for an extended period of time was definitely out of the question this time around. and while we are more beach-y kind of people, the idea of staying contained in a house, and having a pool right outside our door seemed very much our speed at this moment in life.

i'm not sure about you, but the abundance of beautiful cookbooks coming out this summer is everything i need to get me out of my creative rut and get cooking. i'm sure you know shelly from the blog, vegetarian ventures. her debut cookbook, vegetarian heartland came out last month and plain and simple, it's a beauty. it's centered around something i know little about: the midwest. at first glance the book is vibrant and inviting; shelly's photography is totally stunning. but the book is more than beautiful photography. it's divided by seasons of the year and in that, things like: campfire recipes (and a how-to on building one!), cozy snow day recipes, and picnic recipes. i have so many recipes dogeared for times in the future when we feel more ready to take weekend jaunts camping or have a proper picnic. the book is vegetarian, there are some gluten free recipes, and some vegan ones, but i can imagine that you could adapt many of them as well :)

wishing you all sweet summer adventures! xo

chilled peanut noodles

recipe from Vegetarian Heartland, by Shelly Westerhausen

i used 100% buckwheat soba noodles here. they tend to stick to each other a bit more after the chilling period, but they taste just as good ;) i also subbed green beans for snap peas, and added roughly 3/4 teaspoon salt to the peanut sauce since the recipe doesn't have any.

| serves 4 |

8oz (230g) soba noodles or whole wheat spaghetti
1 cup (100g) snap peas
1/2 cup (130g) peanut butter
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons hot chile sauce (such as sriracha)
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/3 cup (80ml) water
1 green bell pepper, seeded, deribbed, and thinly sliced
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 cup (140g) peanuts, chopped, for garnish
fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

method

bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. add the soba and cook until almost al dente, 7 to 10 minutes. add the snap peas and let boil for 1 minute more. drain the soba and snap peas and transfer to a large bowl.
in a high-speed blender, combine the peanut butter, sesame oil, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, honey, chile sauce, lime juice, and water and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. pour over the soba, add the bell pepper and carrots, and toss until everything is completely coated in peanut sauce. transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator or a small portable cooler for up to 4 hours. just before serving, garnish with peanuts and cilantro.