Korean Zucchini Khe Salad

  If you are familiar with Soviet Korean cuisine, this salad is similar to Korean Carrots salad. Humble ingredients and spices are balanced very well in this recipe creating very delicious healthy salad. 

I have used summer squash in place of zucchini this time. I have found out that zucchini or summer squash are equally great for this recipe. Otherwise, for the best result, stick to the recipe precisely. 

Traditionally this dish calls for quite a large amount of oil. I use a little sesame oil instead and don't think it compromises taste in any way.

Keep in mind, that this salad will keep in a fridge for a few days nicely.

Korean Zucchini Khe Salad

• 2 zucchini (or yellow summer squash)
• 1 large onion
• 3 carrots
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1/2 tsp red hot pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 3 garlic cloves, grated or minced
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tsp raw cane sugar
• fresh cilantro, chopped

- Slice zucchini into long thin pieces (see pictures). Place in a bowl, add all salt, mix, set aside for at least 15 minutes.

- Meanwhile, prep onion and carrots - cut carrots into thin matchsticks and slice the onion (see pictures below)

- Heat non-stick skillet, add sesame oil and cook your onion, stirring, until it softens slightly, for about 3 minutes. Do not overcook it - it shouldn't change color at all. Add carrots, cook, stirring for another couple minutes until carrots wilts a little but still keeps its bite. Take a skillet from a heat and let it cool down.

- Transfer wilted salted zucchini into colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Get rid of extra moisture by wrapping zucchini into clean cotton towel.

- Place all ingredients, zucchini, cooked onion with carrots, spices and all remaining ingredients into large bowl and mix it well.

- Enjoy!



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IN PICTURES

Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies

 It must be the healthiest recipe for chocolate cookies. It is gluten free, vegan and very delicious!

If you love chocolate desserts than those cookies are definitely for you! They are crunchy on a first day. On a second day they become beautifully chewy, but still delicious! Also it is very easy to make, one-bowl recipe.

Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies

For about 30 cookies :

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1 cup desiccated coconut (dried unsweetened shredded coconut)
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup tapioca powder (or cornstarch)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2/3 cup maple syrup
• vanilla (optional)
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

- Preheat oven to 350F. Lay parchment paper on a two large baking sheets.

- In a bowl, combine all ingredients except maple syrup and vanilla.

- Add maple syrup and vanilla, mix in until stiff sticky dough forms.

- Use a cookie scoop to place dough pieces on a baking sheet. Because dough is very sticky, cover cookies with plastic wrap and flatten dough to about 1/2 inch with your palm.

- Cook in a preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes. 

- Enjoy!



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IN PICTURES

I actually forgot to add vanilla and it turned out very flavorful anyway. Perhaps next time I won't add it intentionally. What the point? Let's give vanilla a break :)

Place wrap on top of dough scoops - you will have no trouble then to flatten your cookies with your  palm.

Healthy Almond Chia Cookies

This is my own recipe of the healthiest and tastiest cookies ever. Just look at ingredients! You are welcome! Enjoy!

- I like these cookies a lot as it is. They are reasonably sweet to satisfy sweetness craving. Cut sugar in half if you want them lightly sweet. Also you can omit sugar completely and drop a little of your favorite fruit preserves into indentation before baking.

- Refer to a pictures below to see what brands for ingredients I used.

- Freshly baked, these cookies crispy on edges and tenderly moist inside. If they happen to live longer than one day, they will become softer and slightly chewy, with a wonderful crunch from chia seeds still there.

Healthy Almond Chia Cookies

For about 32 cookies :

• 4 cups almond flour
• 3 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2 cup raw cane sugar
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp ground flax seeds + 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• vanilla
• almond extract (optional)

- Preheat oven to 350F.

- In a small bowl mix ground flax seeds with a 1/2 cup of water. Set aside.

- In a large mixing bowl combine together almond flour, chia seeds, sugar, baking powder and salt.

- Add maple syrup, flax seeds with water, vanilla and almond extract. Mix well.

- On a baking sheet with parchment paper, scoop out cookie dough. I used 1.5 inch cookie scoop. Flatten them out a bit or make indentation and bake for about 30 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

- Remove from oven and let them cool completely before transferring from a baking sheet.

- Enjoy!



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IN PICTURES

No-Guilt Rugelach

Popular rugelach is not guilty pleasure anymore! This recipe for no-dairy, no-butter, no-oil, no-egg rugelach will make you and your loved ones happy. Did I mention it's gluten-free for those who care?

- Regular recipe for rugelach calls for butter, cream-cheese, eggs and other stuff I don't eat now. If you are vegan or whole-food plant based (as yours truly) then you will love this recipe.

- Rugelach is great as a Christmas cookie option, looks festive and usually disappears first.  

- You won't miss real butter flavor of regular butter-based cookie dough because this recipe uses mostly almond flour which gives our rugelach maybe even better flavor than that buttery one ;)

- If you want even healthier version of rugelach, replace sugar with date paste and consider nut/dates mixture for filling.

- As egg replacement I use ground flax seeds, which is a really healthy ingredient as it is the main source of Omega-3 among plants.

- If you don't have tapioca flour (it's actually readily available in a most groceries these days), you can replace it with corn of potato flour. I didn't try it yet but it should work.

Healthy Rugelach

For about 24 rugelach :

• 4 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups almond flour
• 1 + cup tapioca flour (or corn or potato flour)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• apricot and black current preserves (or other your favorite preserves for filling)

- Preheat oven to 350F.

- Make replacement for eggs by mixing ground flax seeds with water and vanilla. Set aside.

- Mix remaining dry ingredients, add flax mix and make a dough. Transfer dough onto mixing surface sprinkled generously with tapioca flour. Continue to knead dough incorporating some tapioca flour until dough is pliable and no longer sticky.

- Roll the dough in 4mm circle. Use pizza cutter to cut it into 3"x3" squares.

- Spoon a little bit preserves in a center of each square. Use thin metal spatula to transfer dough square on your palm. Fold opposite corners, lightly pressing in a center for corners to stick together. If corners are unfolding, use a drop of water to moisten them to stick together. It was not necessary for me to do this, they were staying in place just fine.

- With a spatula transfer rugelach on a baking sheet, covered with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated to 350F oven for about 15 minutes until lightly gold-beige in color. 

- Enjoy!



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IN PICTURES

Ground flax mixed with water. Here I'm adding vanilla to it. My choice of vanilla is liquid vanilla mix from Mexican grocery, it gives really great flavor, better than any other vanilla, including crazy expensive real vanilla bean.

Dry mix. This recipe takes a fare amount almond flour, which is not cheap. I buy my almond flour in a big bag in Costco.

Mix wet and dry ingredients together.

It seems too dry, just continue to mix.

It's pretty sticky dough at first impossible to roll out, so keep kneading and mixing in tapioca flour.

Now dough looks good to roll it out.

Pizza cutter is great for this type of work.

I perhaps overfilled it a bit ;)

If you don't like tapioca flour on a dough, just brush it lightly with damp brush. It's not necessary though.

I new I put a little much filling. Also some preserves tend to become too runny in an oven. Anyway, cookie looked great on a plate and disappeared before I took a picture of them on a plate ;)