Kale Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash and Orange Maple Hemp Dressing

Hiiii and happy Friday!!!

It feels so, SO good to be back in this space sharing a recipe with you today. We've been eating it non-stop this past week, and I hope you'll be doing the same very soon.

I really don't know where to start with this post. There are so many things I want to update you on! I know it's been a little quiet here for the past few months or so, but I truly appreciate you sticking with me and still visiting this space for my previously posted recipes. I know you're not looking to read a novel on a Friday, so how about a Cliffs Notes version instead?

• We MOVED, again! If you follow on Instagram you're probably in the know and have seen some photos of my new work space. We moved a short distance from our last house and will not be renovating anything, possibly every again. Famous last words. Or for at least 5 years. I still feel like it's all a dream! There were many reasons for our move, but one of the big ones was so I could have a larger space and more light options for photography. I was thinking about looking into renting a studio space, but our new house ended up being exactly what I needed. 
• After nearly 1 year I finally updated my recipe pages (up top)! I still don't have all of the recipes listed (before 2013), but I did start to divvy them up by larger categories (like, breakfast!) and then sub-categories within those lists. Hopefully, this will be a big help! You can now also search for recipes by a long list of keyword ingredients. I haven't entered in all of the keyword info for each post, but it's a start! Baby steps...
• At the end of last year, I developed 18 recipes for Ancient Harvest that will be appearing on their product packaging! Look for their re-brand to launch sometime in the next few months. So excited for this! All 18 recipes are obviously gluten-free but also vegetarian and/or vegan. But they're very easy to add whatever your protein of choice is.
• I've had a very steady stream of freelance photography work coming in since December. I am actually currently booked through the end of April! I cannot even believe this is reality and am beyond grateful and excited for all of the work (and my amazing clients...seriously).
• I had my very first collaboration shoot last week with Room 214 and Glutino at our new house. It was a BLAST. Be on the lookout for my photography to start popping up on Glutino's Instagram feed in February!!
• Also, be on the lookout for a new website coming soon from Love Grown Foods with a bunch of my work featured there as well! (p.s. Have you seen their new KIDS cereals?? Let me just say, they are not only for kids. I am in love.)
• I have a handful of other photo projects coming in the next few months that I cannot WAIT to tell you about. Maybe I'll start doing some recap posts with my freelance work..?

Slightly longer than I initially intended....per usual.

Things have been exciting around here to say the least!

I must admit, I was quite burnt out by the end of last year and my recipe creating brain was completely shut off. I tried to look around for recipe inspiration but nothing was making sense in my head. I was cooking old standby meals for dinner and actually using my cookbooks. It was kind of nice to give myself a bit of a break and wait for inspiration to hit. I didn't want to come back to this space with anything that was forced, so I simply decided to wait.

And then my latest food obsession provided me with just the inspiration I was looking for.

The ingredients for this salad fell into place pretty naturally in my head. I love it when that happens.

The dressing was modified from a new favorite of mine on Gena's blog. I was really digging the creamy but not too heavy consistency of her dressing and have made it numerous times in the past few weeks. But for this salad, I wanted something a bit brighter in flavor and with some sweetness. That's when I thought to use orange juice in place of water and infuse it will a little maple syrup. 

The dressing helps soften the bitterness of kale and cabbage and helps bring out the natural sweetness in the squash. It's a total winner.

Print Recipe!

dressing adapted from: Gena's Lemon Hemp Dressing

Kale Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash and Orange Maple Hemp Dressing

serves 3-6, gluten-free/vegan 

for the salad: 

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 small delicata squash, halved lengthwise + seeds scraped
• 1 medium head lacinato kale, stems removed
• 1/2 small head red cabbage, cored
• 1 sweet red apple, cored
• 1/3 cup salted pistachios
• salt + pepper

for the dressing:

• 1/2 cup hulled hemp seeds
• scant 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
• 1 small clove garlic, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven to 400° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place squash halves cut side down and slice into 1/2-inch thick pieces. Place on the baking sheet and toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and a hefty pinch of salt and pepper. Roast for 15-18min. Flip slices and roast for another 15-18min, until starting to turn golden brown. Remove and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, stack your kale leaves and slice into thin ribbons. Using a mandolin (or very carefully with a knife), thinly slice your cabbage. Toss together in a mixing bowl and massage in 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil for about 60 seconds. Place in the fridge.

Place all dressing ingredients in your blender and turn on working up to high. Scrape the sides as needed. Taste and adjust salt if needed. Pour into a jar. Dressing thickens a bit as it sits.

Just before serving, chop your apple. Place kale and cabbage mixture on a large serving plate, top with squash, apple, and pistachios. Serve dressing on the side. 

Notes:

• Leftovers will keep well for 1-2 days without dressing.
• There will likely be more squash than can fit on top of your platter. I like to serve this salad with the extra squash on the side, or save the extra pieces to eat the next day. Feel free to cook only 1 squash if desired and decrease olive oil to 1 tablespoon for roasting.
• One of the nights we ate this, I mixed in cooked and cooled quinoa and Gena's lemon tempeh. It was outstanding together and made for a very satiating dinner (leftovers were also great!).

Happy weekend!

Ashley

Cinnamon Apple Buckwheat Waffles + $200 Rejuvenation Giveaway

It's waffle time. You ready?

Silly question. You're obviously ready.

Today we're talking about the cinnamon apple buckwheat waffles you see below and one of my new favorite stores, Rejuvenation. (Read to the end for giveaway details!)

This post + giveaway are sponsored by Rejuvenation. All opinions are always my own. I only partner with brands I love and think are a fabulous fit for this blog. Thanks for your continued support!!

It's been awhile since I've made a recipe featuring one of my all-time favorite ingredients, buckwheat flour. Despite "wheat" being in the name, this is actually a gluten-free grain. Way back in the day I was slightly obsessed with making buckwheat bakes for breakfast. If you're a long time EP reader, I'm sure you remember.

I love buckwheat flour for its hearty texture and slight earthy flavor. When using raw buckwheat groats (photographed above) the earthiness is subtle and it pairs tremendously well with the cinnamon in these waffles. I find buckwheat flour to really help with the texture of gluten-free baked goods in things like muffins, waffles, quick breads, etc. 

A few months ago I connected with Rejuvenation through my good friend Melissa. She raved about working with them and also about the quality of products they sell. So when I had the opportunity to work with them myself, I jumped at it. 

Rejuvenation's focus is in home lighting. And they have what seems like an endless amount of options. For instance, you can pick a light you like and then sort through 80 different shade options for that light and pick different finishes, and so on. It's pretty amazing. 

But beyond their lighting, they also have a fun assortment of kitchen items, interior furniture, outdoor furniture, cabinet hardware, and so much more. I definitely got stuck searching their site for hours. When I got to looking at their kitchen items I found so many things I had been on the search for for quite some time. You can see all of those items in this post!

So what did I think of my Rejuvenation home + kitchen goods? Honestly, I have been loving them all. They've been in my kitchen for a few months now, so I was really able to test everything out. And you know, if I didn't love it, I wouldn't be reviewing it.

Both glass cake plates make such a statement. They're super sturdy with a lovely vintage flair and will make any stack of waffles look fancy, and I love the vintage flair.  I've been looking for a set of quality white nesting bowls for awhile now and am so happy with this trio from Rejuvenation. They're a creamy white milk glass and are the perfect size for all of my baking needs. I'm also loving the casual look of these enamelware, black-rimmed plates. The bright white color really makes food POP! And the adorable serving trays? They're perfect for catching waffle crumbs and maple syrup spills when serving up breakfast to a crowd. And finally, a spoon rest that's sleek + white and easy to clean!

Okay, one more thing. Did you notice the adorable wooden box accent light? I'm sure you did. I am in love. Each light is hand crafted in Portland, OR by A-Lamp Design. You can pick from a few different colors and it comes with a sweet, LED Edison-style bulb you can see in the photo above. The wood box is super sturdy and I love the heavyweight cord that's attached. The craftsmanship and style are top notch. 

I had more fun than you want to know playing with my new props and creating this recipe to help show them off.

Now let's do that waffle thang.

Print Recipe!

Cinnamon Apple Buckwheat Waffles

gluten-free, dairy free // yields 2, 6" Belgian-style waffles

• 3/4 cup raw buckwheat flour (ground from raw buckwheat groats)
• 1/2 cup almond flour 
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk 
• 2 tablespoons applesauce
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil, melted
• scant 3/4 cup peeled and grated crisp apple (use the large side of your grater)

Preheat your waffle iron and grease according to manufacturer's instructions. (I like to set mine a slightly over medium heat.)

In a large bowl combine the flours, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Stir well.

In a medium bowl whisk the egg. Then whisk in the milk, applesauce, and syrup. Whisk in the melted oil then pour immediately into the dry bowl. Whisk until just combined (when you no longer see dry flour). Fold in the grated apple and let the mixture sit for 2-4 minutes. (It will thicken a bit as it sits.)

Pour half of the mixture (or more/less depending on your waffle iron) into your waffle iron and cook until deep golden brown in color. 

Serve immediately for the best crispy texture and cook the remaining waffle. Top as desired.

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Notes:

You can sub in 2%, whole milk, or soy milk instead of almond milk if desired.

Buckwheat flour can be easily ground in a blender right at home. Look for raw buckwheat groats (pale green/yellow in color) in the bulk aisle at your store or packaged by Bob's Red Mill. Grind about 1 cup of groats at a time until flour-like in texture. Sift if needed to remove any un-ground pieces. Store excess in a sealed container in the fridge to preserve freshness. Most packaged buckwheat flour has a much earthier flavor, due to the husk being ground into the flour along with the groats. However, store-bought buckwheat flour will work! Avoid using "kasha" buckwheat groats (red/brown in color) as these are toasted buckwheat groats and they have a much stronger, overpowering flavor. 

And now for the best part!! Rejuvenation is giving one lucky reader the chance to win $200 to their store to buy anything you want! And be sure to read the entry options carefully, as the email list signup will get you FIVE entries and a 10% discount code to their store that will be emailed once the giveaway ends.

Enter below to win!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ashley

This post + giveaway are sponsored by Rejuvenation. Thanks for your support!