Smoked Plantain Chips

Smokey-Plantains

I love plantain chips when I am looking for something crunchy to snack on. I love the flavor. Sprinkled with a little salt – it’s the perfect treat.

It never occurred to me to make my own though. Whenever I pick up some green plantains in the market, I tend to stick with tostones or use them in a hash. I’ve always relied on the bagged chips though. Not sure why – especially now that I know how easy they are to make.

What I don’t like about the bagged variety are the additives. Way too much oil and sometimes other preservatives might be added to the mix. Plantains are a fairly healthy starch and when prepared properly, are not so bad for you!

plantains

So I made my own. And since I couldn’t just be all simple, I needed to spice it up. I chose to go the smokey route. I added some smoked paprika, garlic and salt. So easy! Tossed it all on some olive oil. Laid it on a baking sheet and then baked it for about 30 minutes or so, flipping over once. How easy can it get?

I let them cool about a minute before munching on them. They were so good. I’ve definitely given up my bagged plantain chip habit. These are so much better!



Smoked Plantain Chips
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • 3 Green Plantains
  • 1.5 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1.5 tbsp. smoked paprika
  • sea salt
  • ½ tbsp. garlic powder
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Peel the plantains (use the linked how-to guide)
  3. Slice the plantains thinly on a diagonal
  4. In a large bowl, toss the plantains with the oil and spices
  5. Lay the plantain chips in a single layer on a baking sheet
  6. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, until crisp. Flip the chips half-way through the baking process and check on them toward the end to ensure that they aren't burning.
  7. Cool for a few minutes before eating.
  8. Enjoy!

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VeganMoFo: Gluten Free Pretzel Sticks (Mary’s Gone Cracker Sticks & Twigs Remake)

I have mentioned in the past about my love for Mary’s Gone Cracker’s Sticks &  Twigs pretzel sticks. At the time, it inspired me to create these crackers. From the moment I tasted these awesome pretzel sticks, I was determined to figure out a way to make them that would cost less than the $4+ to buy the bags. I had been studying the ingredient panel and studying (and eating) the bagged pretzel sticks. I have finally come up with a solution! And they taste even better than the bagged variety (according to my 10-year-old taste tester)!

It has a similar ingredient list to the wonderful crackers and are similarly adaptable to other flavors. You can add herbs or sauces to infuse them. I usually just like a simple sea salt flavor or maybe some rosemary and thyme added to the mix. Nothing too complicated.

Since we are doing this by hand, unlike the store-bought, the consistency comes out a bit different than the bagged variety. In many ways, I prefer the homemade version better.

Gluten Free Pretzel Sticks (Mary’s Gone Cracker’s Sticks & Twigs Copycat Attempt)
Ingredients:

1/2 cup millet (dry)
1/2 cup amaranth (dry)
3/4 cup quinoa (dry)
3/4 cup brown rice (dry)
1 tbsp. water
4 tbsp. tamari or soy sauce
1/2 cup whole, toasted flax seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup black sesame seeds (could also use gomasio)
3 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350.

Cook the millet, amaranth, quinoa and brown rice as stated on the package directions.

Add cooked brown rice to Cuisinart and process with a small amount of water. You should process brown rice to a mush.

Add the quinoa, millet and amaranth and process a bit more to incorporate. Do not pulverize those grains though. You want them to stay mostly whole.

Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the tamari, salt, pepper and various seeds. Let sit a few minutes.

Gluten Free Pretzel Sticks

Fill up a piping bag with some of the mixture. I found that a piping bag works best, but you could use a heavy duty ziplock bag if that’s all you have.

I used a disposable piping bag and cut off a small tip. Should be about a 1/2″ in diameter if you are using the piping tools.  If it’s too thick, it would crisp up well.

Brush your baking sheet with vegetable oil.

Pipe the mixture on to the sheet in sticks. You can do long or short sticks.

Gluten Free Pretzel Sticks

Bake for about 10-12 minutes and flip sticks over.

Bake another 10 minutes or so and transfer to a cooling rack.

You will want to check on the pretzel sticks often to check for doneness. You don’t want them to burn, but there is a small window between too soft, done and burnt.

When done, store in an airtight container or bag. Enjoy!

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Roasted Chickpeas

Behold – the humble can of chickpeas. Only 89 cents. So cheap, and what lies beneath is so so rich.

Have munchies on a Saturday night? This can of chickpeas can achieve greatness. So much greatness, you will wish you had three cans of chickpeas to go around.

Back in college, during a visit to my aunt in Maryland, I was introduced to these crunchy, roasted chickpeas. As a snack – it was so good. I assumed that it was a Moroccan treat and I was in on some awesome snack food secret.

To my dismay – everyone’s doing it. Everyone’s eating these crunchy treats. Probably because it’s so cheap and easy to make.

Roasted Chickpeas
Ingredients:

1 can of chickpeas
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt
cumin, curry, or other spices (you can play with the flavors on this one)

Preheat the oven to 400.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas.

Place the chickpeas on a sheet pan and roll paper towels over the chickpeas to remove the skins.

Toss chickpeas with olive oil and spices.

Bake for around 30-40 minutes  – until browned. 

Sprinkle with salt when done. Serve.

Enjoy!

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