lemon-thyme strawberry galettes / May 23, 2013 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

making pie crust is something that is completely scary to me. there are quite a few steps in the pie crust making process that i feel like unless the stars are aligned the whole thing could go wrong. summer, in my childhood home would inevitably be pie season (even though i never liked or ate pie until i was in my 20s!). for many of those years we didn't have air conditioning, and i would watch my mother pray to the pie gods that the day wouldn't be too hot or humid. of course there were a couple occasions where it was in fact hot and humid and she made pie despite the gnarly weather. i would watch her get frustrated, and sometimes curse the sticky dough that wouldn't come together correctly. sometimes there would be a tear or two, and sometimes she would throw up her hands and say 'what will be, will be'. no matter what though her pies were amazing and beautiful, and always tasted delicious.

galettes are similar to pie, they're a free form pie if you will. you don't need a pie dish or tart pan, just a baking sheet. the galette i attempted here does not come anywhere close to how delicious my mother's pies are, but in the end it tasted quite good! i would say that the one day i attempted to make some semblance of a pie, was the one day that we had a short heat wave in nyc. the dough came together fine, and i even refrigerated it longer than usual because of the heat, but it didn't really help. i was trying to take pictures of the dough, for this here blog, but i could tell the dough was not feeling my apartment's 86° temperature. i quickly threw it in the oven to bake. the result was a little flat, the taste however, was spot on. perhaps the galette wasn't meant to be, maybe i chose the wrong day, maybe my pie-stars weren't aligned...but in the end i would like to believe that i was attempting to recreate and re-live a little memory i shared with my mother.

lemon-thyme trawberry galettes

| makes 4 small or 1 large galette

adapted from: Gluten Free Fix

dough:

4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

3 tablespoons honey

1 egg white

2 cups almond flour

1 tablespoon coconut flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

filling:

2 pints strawberries, washed and sliced (hulled if necessary)

1-2 teaspoons lemon-thyme leaves (depending on how much you like)

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon coconut flour

glaze for fruit:

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

| directions

in a large bowl, combine the coconut oil, honey, and egg white

in a smaller bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, salt, baking soda, and poppy seeds. mix the dry ingredients into the wet - mix until combined

turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper; shape the dough into flat disk and cut into 4 equal pieces. (if you are making a large galette do not cut.) place the pieces onto a plate or platter, cover with parchment paper, and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes

in a large bowl carefully mix the strawberries, coconut flour, lemon juice, and lemon-thyme. let the mixture sit for about 30 minutes

in a small bowl, combine the coconut oil and honey for the glaze

pre heat the oven to 325°

remove the dough from the refrigerator. roll out the dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper to a 6-7 inch round. arrange the strawberries leaving a 1-inch border. using a pastry brush glaze the strawberries (be careful not to use too much, you don't want to saturate the dough) using the back of a spatula, fold up the sides of the dough, pinch together any dough that overlaps. if your dough cracks, like mine did, don't worry, just pinch it back together

bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown

cool slightly, and serve

roasted radish + garlic salad with coconut milk dressing / May 21, 2013 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

salad is one of those go-to dinners that doesn't take much preparation, or sometimes even much thought. and for someone without a dishwasher, salads prove to (for the most part) be an easy cleanup. salad night, is also known as one-bowl-to-clean-night. creating salads is somewhat of a way for me to clean less, and to have more time at night to get stuff done, like wedding planning. we're a little under two months away and much of the larger items are taken care of. we have definitely procrastinated on the smaller things like place cards, table numbers, favors, even our wedding cake and wedding bands. i have titled myself the most non-bride ever. my mom calls me "zen bride", i'm not sure how much of that is true, but i'll take it. frank however gets to see another side of me: the one that wakes up in the middle of the night or at the crack of dawn with a laundry list of things to get done. he calms me and assures me it will all get done, but when i say!? and then it works itself out. kind of like this salad. it kind of just worked itself out; it didn't come from a recipe book, nor was it adapted from another blog. it was a culmination of what was looking cute at the farmer's market and my dream of a creamy vegan dressing.

the dressing can be molded and shaped by what you like. don't care for garlic? cut it out and add more shallot. like a lot of garlic? add more than a couple cloves. adjust the seasoning to your liking as well as the amount of lemon juice. next time i would even add a handful of herbs into the mixture, maybe some lemon thyme, or parsley.

roasted radish + garlic salad with coconut milk dressing

| serves 2 for dinner, and 4 as a side dish

for the dressing i used full fat canned coconut milk, i'm sure the 'light' coconut milk would work here too. however, i'm not sure how the boxed coconut milk (So Delicious) would be. if you use it, please let me know how it turns out. before i opened the can i shook it well; sometimes the coconut fat and liquid separate. as for the salad, if you're using fresh young garlic - as i did here - you can use more cloves that with store bought or more mature garlic. the young garlic is more subtle, and therefore you can use and tolerate more of it.

3.5 ounces radishes (about 2 handfuls) cleaned and sliced lengthwise

1 small head of garlic, peeled and separated (reserve 2 small roasted cloves for the dressing)

2 large handfuls pea shoots, mache, or sprouts, washed and dried

3.5 ounces mixed baby greens, washed and dried

2 small carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1/4 cup cashews, toasted

| for the dressing

1/2 cup full fat coconut milk

2 small garlic cloves, roasted

1 tablespoon shallot, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

| directions

pre heat the oven to 425°

in a medium bowl, coat the cut radishes and garlic with olive oil and sprinkle with large grain sea salt. place in oven and cook for 12-15 minutes, rotating halfway through. let cool. lower the heat to 350° and toast cashews for 5-6 minutes, until lightly brown and fragrant. let cool

while radishes are roasting, wash and dry your greens, and cut the carrots

in a large bowl, toss mixed greens, pea shoots, carrots, cooled radishes and garlic. add dressing and mix. break up the cashews between your fingers and top the salad with them. serve and enjoy

| dressing directions

in a miniature food processor, add the coconut milk, olive oil, roasted garlic, shallot, and lemon juice. puree until smooth. add salt and pepper to taste (if you don't have a small processor, mince the shallot and garlic by hand and whisk the ingredients until combined.) let the dressing rest in the refrigerator until ready to use

garlic flatbread with herb-spinach pesto + sprouts / May 17, 2013 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

i could go on forever about spring, about its beauty, its surprises, its gifts. one of the small changes we see around here is the amount of light we get in our apartment. every morning we wake up to the sun peering through our bedroom window. sometimes we complain about how bright it is, but most days we are so thankful for our personal wake-up call. likewise, the sunsets are beautiful. living in a small brooklyn neighborhood that sits right on new york harbor provides views of staten island, govenor's island, new jersey, and lower manhattan. we have been taking advantage of the warmer nights and longer days by starting to run (i should probably say jog, forget that, i should say that i move my legs quicker than when i walk). the (non) run begins by our apartment and takes us down to a row of piers that overlook both staten island and downtown manhattan. the few nights were particularly beautiful, the silhouettes of the trees by us, and the buildings in the city were perfect picture moments. i feel so grateful to live in a place that is able to give us so many of nature's little gifts.

there are only so many salads i can eat before my jaw starts hurting from chewing. so i thought to top a flatbread with greens and whatever else that called to me. flatbread, similarly to pizza, can be topped with whatever you please, which is the best thing about them! they're super adaptable to seasons, occasions, and diets. what's better than that? in any event, this recipe was adapted from caitlin at Roost, a blog i've followed for a couple of years. Roost a beautiful blog, one that almost transcends its readers to another place with its beautiful photos and recipes.

the original flatbread recipe called for eggs. i have used eggs before, but my clever fiance suggested i try using flaxseed meal instead. i tried it and it worked out really well; the bread yields a bit more delicate than the bread with egg, but it is definitely an awesome vegan option! i also added garlic to the dough because i am obsessed with it. if you're not, that's fine, this recipe is equally as delicious without it.

garlic flatbread with herb-spinach pesto + sprouts

flatbread adapted from Roost

| makes 2 flatbreads

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon flaxseed (or 1 egg, room temperature)

3 tablespoons water (for the flax)

| directions

preheat oven to 350°

in a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, and baking soda with a fork or whisk

add 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal to 3 tablespoons of water. mix, and let it rest for about 10 minutes. once it has thickened, add the flaxseed and the olive oil. use a wooden spoon or spatula to combine

turn dough out onto a piece of parchment paper, cover with another piece of parchment and roll the dough out to desired thickness. i rolled mine out to about an 1/8 inch thickness. gently, pull the parchment paper off the top of the dough. keeping the bottom parchment paper underneath the dough, transfer to a baking sheet and put in the oven. bake 12-15 minutes rotating halfway through. remove from oven

using a spoon, spread pesto all over the flatbread. return to the oven for 5 more minutes. remove from oven and top with sprouts. slice and enjoy