PALEO HEMP HEART SEED COOKIES

Ready for sampling

I was looking this morning at the big bag of hemp heart seeds in the fridge and thought I need to use these hemp hearts more frequently. I added a tablespoon to my breakfast yogurt this morning. The second brilliant idea was to make cookies. These cookies are filling, not too sweet and versatile if you want to add raisins or chocolate chips to them. I didn't add any extra ingredients.

In making these cookies I used honey and softened it by warming it in the microwave. I used cassava flour and added 2 tablespoons of almond flour after I mixed all of the ingredients in order to stiffen the batter. I chopped whole almonds in a small food food chopper and tried to not over chop them and make them too fine. I baked the cookies for 10 minutes using convection heat. Because I like smaller cookies, I made 15 cookies. These cookies are delicious and I will keep them on my list as cookies to be made often. 

Cookies cooling on a rack.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup hemp seed
1/2 cup cassava flour or almond flour; additional 1 to 2 tbsp if required
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup slivered or chopped almonds
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
1 egg, slightly beaten

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium size bowl mix all of the dry ingredients. Add the coconut oil, honey and egg. Combine well. If the batter needs a slight thickening, add one to two tablespoons of almond or cassava flour.

Using a medium size cookie dough scooper or your fingers, shape about 1.5 tablespoons of dough into a ball and place on the cookie sheet. Slightly flatten with your fingers. Leave a little bit of space between each cookie on the baking sheet.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown. Makes 12 to 15 cookies.

Recipe adapted from irenamacri.com

BEEF, BARLEY AND MUSHROOM SOUP

Soup cooling off in the pressure cooker pot.

It is getting to be soup weather with the nip in the air and close to the freezing mark in the early morning hours. I don't need excuses to make soup as it is almost a weekly event in my kitchen. In one area of my freezer I have multiple bags of leftover cooked veggies, rice, chopped chicken, turkey and roast beef and chopped herbs from the garden. These are saved for adding to future soups. With that in mind and knowing I need to use those frozen packages, I took out a package of chopped roast beef which was about one and half cups. There was a large container of fresh mushrooms from Costco in the fridge so the decision was obvious - beef, barley and mushroom soup.

If you want to make this soup vegetarian, you can leave out the chopped roast beef and use vegetable broth instead of beef broth. Some people like to add potatoes to this soup but I decided to use one cup of pot barley which would provide enough heartiness. You can also use pearl barley instead of pot barley. 

The directions provided below are for making the soup on the stove. I used an electric pressure cooker instead and used the sauté feature before cooking it for 18 minutes under medium high pressure. 

This soup will be a welcomed meal for lunches over the coming week.

Garlic, onions, celery, carrots and mushrooms sautéing.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

2 cups mushrooms, sliced
8 cups of beef broth or water
1 cup barley, pearl or pot
1 to 2 cups of leftover roast beef, chopped

1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 handful of fresh parsley, chopped

DIRECTIONS: 
Heat the oil on medium heat in a large pot. Add onions, celery, carrots, mushrooms and garlic and sauté for about five minutes until softened. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and then allow to simmer, covered with the lid for an hour. You can simmer the soup longer if desired. If the soup is too thick, add a bit of water. Adjust seasonings if required. Makes about 8 to 10 servings.