Enjoying seasonal produce is a cinch with this recipe that combines freshly grated carrots, Chioggia beets, winter kale, and nutty pedrosillano garbanzo beans from the Palouse region.

Chickpeas

• 1 cup dried pedrosillano garbanzo beans from PNW Co-op, soaked overnight
• ½ tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Black pepper

Salad

• 1 bunch kale from Big Sage Organics
• 1 small Chioggia beet from Ronnigers Organics
• 1 medium carrot from Full Bushel Farm
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Dressing

• ½  cup plain yogurt
• ½  lemon, squeezed
• 1 clove garlic from Channing Farm, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Pinch of salt

Salad recipe ingredients: Chioggia beets from Ronnigers Organics (left) and carrots from Full Bushel Farm. // Photos: Local Inland Northwest Cooperative, LINC Foods.

Directions

1. Simmer the garbanzo beans for roughly three hours until soft. Remove the liquid and place on a baking sheet with olive oil and bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Strip the kale leaves from the stem and slice the leaves thinly. Place in a salad bowl, sprinkle with salt, and massage 10 times.
3. Grate the beet and carrot. Add to the kale, drizzle with olive oil, and mix together.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.
5. Top the salad with garbanzo beans and drizzle with dressing and feast with the seasons! (Courtesy of the Local Inland Northwest Cooperative.

Local ingredients available at Lincfoods.com.

Learn more about LINC Foods in this story from our June 2020 print issue.

Find more recipes in the OTO archives.

The post Salad Recipe: Crispy Chickpeas with Winter Vegetables appeared first on Out There Venture.

With three simple ingredients you can whip up a batch of great-tasting fudge that’s healthier than store-bought alternatives. Making fudge couldn’t be any easier.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup maple syrup

Directions:

1. Melt the coconut oil and pour into a blender, adding the cocoa powder and maple syrup.
2. Pulse on high until smooth.
3. Pour into a loaf pan greased with a small amount of coconut oil.
4. Place in the fridge for 1 hour.
5. Cut and enjoy the smooth texture and superb taste! It’s a bit addicting, so make two batches. You can also make larger batches to store in the freezer for gifts and get togethers.

Suzanne Tabert is the author of “Wild and Beautiful, Naturally!: An Herbal Encyclopedia for Healthy Skin For a more beautiful you!” and the founder of Cedar Mountain Herb School.

Originally published in the Provisions section of the November-December 2021 print issue.

Find more Provisions recipes and food & drink articles in the OTO column archives.

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Pumpkins and squash on the table add a festive and nourishing touch to autumn meals.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 pound pumpkin or squash of choice
• 1 cup quinoa or wild rice
• 2 cups chicken or beef bone broth or veggie broth
• 2 stalks diced celery
• 1 large diced carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3-6 minced garlic cloves
• 1 cup chopped kale
• 3 tablespoons butter or coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup chopped nuts of choice
• 1/2 cup cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped dates
• 1 tablespoon each of fresh thyme and rosemary
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup cooked, ground sausage (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or use a Dutch oven.
3. Cut the top off the pumpkin or squash and scoop out the seeds and stringy bits. Set seeds aside to clean and roast. Place the pumpkin/squash on the cookie sheet or Dutch oven.
4. In a saucepan, add tricolor quinoa, wild rice, or a mix of the two, and then add the stock. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to low and simmer with a lid on until tender (10-25 minutes).
5. In a medium pan, melt butter/coconut oil and add the olive oil.
6. Sauté the veggies until soft.
7. Combine the ingredients and spoon into the pumpkin or squash.
8. Bake 1.5 to 2 hours or until soft when pierced with a knife.

Suzanne Tabert is the author of “Wild and Beautiful, Naturally!: An Herbal Encyclopedia for Healthy Skin For a more beautiful you!” and the founder of Cedar Mountain Herb School.

Originally published in the Provisions section of the November-December 2021 print issue.

Find more Provisions recipes and food & drink articles in the OTO column archives.

The post Recipe: Quinoa, Veggie, and Herb-Stuffed Pumpkin appeared first on Out There Venture.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup ground hazelnuts or almonds (toast these babies up for some real flavor)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut shavings
• 1/2 cup oats, musli, bran flakes, corn flakes – whatever you’ve got in the cupboard. If you’re paleo, you can use ground or sliced nut mixtures
• 1/4 cup juice sweetened cranberries
• 1 cup chunky almond or peanut butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 ounces 100% cocoa bar
• 1 Tsp. sea salt, flur de sel, celtic salt, or otherwise

Directions:

• Melt cocoa, honey, and almond butter in a small sauce pan while stirring.
• Set aside to cool.
• Mix all your dry ingredients, then add warm liquid mixture to dry goods. This should make a sticky, crunchy mixture that hardens when it cools.
• Dump the mixture onto a baking sheet and, using a piece of baking paper, press it into a firm square. (Be liberal in your squishing or they’ll fall apart later.)
• Set in fridge or freezer to chill.
• Remove, cut into little squares or bar shapes, and wrap with wax paper. They store for weeks in the fridge.
• Eat them. Share them. Never bonk again.

Ammi Midstokke is the owner of two birds nutrition, where she seeks to find the balance between food dogma and cupcakes. More recipes and ramblings can be found at Twobirdsnutrition.com.

Visit the OTO archives for more recipes and stories about food & drink or to read more of Ammi Midstokke’s Eatology column nutrition advice.

The post Don’t Bonk: Cranberry Cocoa-Nut Energy Bar Recipe appeared first on Out There Venture.

When we think about snacks on the trail, we want lasting energy and ease of carrying and eating. These easy-to-make protein bites contain just six ingredients, making them simple to make and super yummy to eat! 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup smooth or chunky nut butter of choice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pea protein powder

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients until well blended. Roll the dough into small balls up to an inch in diameter. Store in the fridge or freezer. Throw a few into a container that’ll fit in your pocket or fanny pack.

You might want to bring extra for your friends as they’ll end up taking yours otherwise.  If you are someone who likes a wider flavor profile, try adding up to 2 teaspoons of any of the following: chopped dates, dried plums, cranberries, coconut flakes, oat flour, sesame seeds, or crushed nuts. If the dough becomes too stiff or crumbly, add more nut butter until you reach an easy-to-roll consistency. 

Finally, roll in coconut flakes and/or cocoa powder and enjoy!  

Suzanne Tabert is a bio-regional herbalist, wildcrafter, founder and director of herbal education at the Cedar Mountain Herb School, teaching from a lifetime of personal and academic studies of plants and their habitats. She is a member of the American Herbalists Guild, the American Herb Association, Partner in Education at United Plant Savers, and is practicum supervisor and adjunct faculty at Bastyr University. She has been teaching herbal medicine for 30 years.

For more articles about Provisions, food, drink, or equipment, especially for a journey, visit the OTO archives.

The post Provisions Recipe: Easy No-Bake Protein Bites appeared first on Out There Venture.

That is pretty much what the legendary bonk is: Your brain’s checkmate move to keep you from depleting your stores of glycogen, lest it run out of enough to fuel its own glucose needs.

The closest I ever came to dumpster diving was a direct result of my brain trying to outsmart me. And possibly my attempt at being an elitist vegan, which is second to being a breathetarian. By mile 15 I was wondering if eating raw squirrel was safe. Somewhere around mile 20 I had considered sucking the salt out of my shirt. At mile 24 I passed a garbage can that had a sandwich box on top. I could hear it calling to me.

Ammi Midstokke is fierce on the trail and in the kitchen. // Photos: Ammi Midstokke

My brain was telling me I was surely going to die if I passed that stale sandwich. It told me there was probably even some pickle left on it. I was saved by reminding myself that I was a vegan, and a vegan would starve to death before eating mayonnaise.

This experience was only surpassed by the time I went Paleo and tried to run a marathon on cashews. Another fact: Chewing cashews while parched and running is a choking hazard. Also, it is inappropriate to gnaw at plump babies on race sidelines.

Eventually, I decided to go to nutrition school and figure out how to eat. Years of research and recipes later, I’ve got a plethora of brain and body fuel ideas to keep you hard at whatever it is you might be doing.

Here’s an energy bar recipe with a healthy ratio of protein, fat, carbohydrates, minerals, and electrolytes. They’re a mixture of slow and fast burning goodness for sustained energy and less risk of going cannibal on your biking buddies. It is fuel that tells your brain to tell your body it’s okay to keep going.

Recipe: Cranberry Cocoa-Nut Bars

Ammi Midstokke is the owner of two birds nutrition, where she seeks to find the balance between food dogma and cupcakes. More recipes and ramblings can be found at Twobirdsnutrition.com.

For more recipes and stories food & drink, visit the OTO archives.

Find more of Ammi Midstokke’s nutrition advice in the Eatology column archives.

The post Fuel for Thought: Eat to Keep Your Brain Working appeared first on Out There Venture.