Golden Snitch Snack Balls

I open at the close.......

As I'm still behind in my posts, I made these in honor of the opening weekend of the Deathly Hallows, Part II, and ate them for lunch before heading to the theater to watch the show (complete with Dark Mark on arm.)

What did I think of the show? As with all of the HP movies, it wasn't quite as good as the book, and certainly botched a few key moments (like Neville's heroic moment! ...fail) but overall it was quality entertainment... and, succeeded in making me tear up on multiple occasions. I really lost it at the end when Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all grown up, sending their own kids off to Hogwarts. When I met the Harry Potter franchise, Harry was younger than I was-- and now all of a sudden, he was an adult, married, with children, and the magical saga had reached its conclusion. If Harry had grown that much over the years, where does that put me?

Sentimentality aside, these snitch balls are a super easy way to have a magical lunch.

THE RECIPE:

mozzerella soy cheese

Peeves, my first favorite character.

flaxseed meal

Snitch filling:
1/2 avocado
2(or more) fresh basil leaves
2(or more) spinach leaves
dash of salt                              ---> pulse in Magic Bullet until leaves are chopped and a paste forms

Roll in flaxseed meal to form a "golden" ball. ****
Slice soy cheese, and cut slices into matching diamond shapes. Stick into ball to form wings of the snitch.

Place mouth on snitch and let it "open at the close" ....of your mouth. As it explodes in flavor and awesomeness.

**** Really want to take it to the next level? Put a whole hazelnut inside to replicate the Ressurection Stone.

Luna Lovegood, my other favorite character (that's MEE!)

BONUS: take the Harry Potter Comprehensive Sorting Test HERE and let me know what you get!
(I'm an all-out Ravenclaw :) )

Seed Bread Sandwich

THE RECIPE:

Raw Seed Bread: (requires dehydrater):

1 c ground flaxseed
1/3 c whole flax seeds
1 tsp chia seeds
½ tsp sea salt
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T onion, minced
2/3 c sunflower seeds
¼ c sesame seeds
1 c water

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add enough water to make the mixture moldable, and able to stick together.

Use a spoon or spatula to spread out thin "slices" onto a dehydrator sheet. Since my (ghetto) dehydrator has really big holes in its trays, I spread the bread patties onto waxed paper, flipped it over onto a tray, and then peeled the paper off to leave the patty ready to dry.

This made about eight "slices."

You can take them out before entirely dry for a softer, more bread-y consistency. If you want to store them for a while, let them dry completely.


SANDWICHING:

avocado (or guacamole for a taco effect)
chopped tomato
mache! / lamb's lettuce / canonigos*

*Once upon a time, I was in Spain, had an awful hangover, was forced to eat pasta with tomato sauce for lunch, and felt like I was going to die (or kill myself) if I didn't eat something green immediately. So, I jumped into the local supermarcado in search of some spinach or lettuce. But, what I found in its place was a bag of canonigos (minus the frog in the bag....). They were pretty much awesome- a little bit bitter, but completely adorable, with their little bunches of baby leaves.

When I got back to the states, I did my research to find out what exactly this foreign salad stable was. I determined it is called Lamb's Lettuce here- I had never seen it before.

But then, behold! What should I find at my local Trader Joes- nestled right between the bags of arugula and spinach? Canonigos! Lamb's lettuce! Mache? Yes, the bag's primary label was "Mache", and it was the same awesome little green.

So, every now and then I buy it to add to salads. I still find to be a bit bitter on its own, but it makes a perfect salad base when mixed with arugula. It also was perfect on top of these raw sandwiches.

Raw Spinach Mini Quiches

This is what I made for my Superbowl fiesta. (aka, I ate them for dinner before going elsewhere to a real superbowl fiesta). I used a spinach-avocado filling which worked perfectly. A couple of them I filled with guacamole, and that was also delicious.

THE RECIPE:

Crust:
3 tbs ground flax seeds
3 tbs almond meal
1 tsp chia seeds
dash of salt          ----> stir together in a bowl
water                  ----> add just enough water for the meal to clump together

Filling:


1 handful spinach   ----> chop (pulsing Magic Bullet works perfectly- just don't over-blend into juice!)
1/2 small/medium avocado ---> add to Bullet or manually whip it and spinach together

dash of salt            ----> add and stir to mix

Assembly:
Use a mini muffin tin (optionally sprayed with nonstick olive oil cooking spray.) Use a spoon (/your fingers) to press a dollop of crust into each muffin tin, shaping it to the cavity. Make sure to compact it tightly, or the crust will crumble under the weight of the filling. Top the crust with a small spoonful of filling. To remove each mini quiche, gently loosen around the edges with a spoon, then scoop underneath it and transfer to serving dish.

These worked really well for me, and were a hearty and happy meal since I ate so many of them!