The kitchen at Xanadu is truly the heart. It has this incredibly cozy feeling like you’re at Grandma’s house and it feels so natural to just pull up a chair and visit over tea. Formerly a bed and breakfast, it is also fully equipped with everything we needed to provide meals for a group of 17 over the retreat weekend!
Welcome dinner was a baked potato bar with Pumpkin Vegetarian Chili to warm us up after a chilly, windy arrival.
Friday morning an Easy Broccoli & Cheese Egg Bake (at home I like to sprinkle in pieces of bacon or chopped ham). In all honesty, I don’t hold high hopes for dairy free egg bakes but the Dairy-Free Breakfast Casserole blew me away!
Grown-ups also get to have cookies for breakfast (it’s a rule).
Butternut Squash, Kale, & Quinoa Stew was our Friday lunch (I squeezed in some fresh lemon juice), along with fresh Diamond City sourdough bread and some greens.
I highly recommend putting fresh herbs & apples on the stove to fill a space with delightful scents! Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash has an amazing fresh herb combination that we enjoyed most of the day leading up to Friday dinner! I made a separate batch of apples & herbs for the vegetarians in the group and a side of quinoa made the whole meal a little more filling.
A breakfast of Sweet & Simple Morning Oats from Sabrina Bawa (here’s enough for 1 serving):
- GF oats (⅓ c) with ⅓ c oat or almond milk, ¼ tsp cinnamon, pinch coriander, ½ tsp ghee, ½ – ¾ banana pp
- Stir over low-medium heat until moisture is absorbed & oats are somewhat soft (I like to stir in a splash of water when it starts looking dry).
- Optional toppings: walnuts, cinnamon, nut butters, maple syrup, honey, dried fruit
Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup was my personal favorite! I love to add diced chicken in for the meat eaters.
The Ultimate Fudgy Paleo Vegan Brownies were/are everything my hopes & dreams are made of.
Our final breakfast on the island was a combination of Green Smoothies and Paleo Banana Cinnamon waffles:
½ tsp vanilla extract, ½ tsp baking powder, ¼ c almond flour, 1.5 Tbsp coconut flour, pinch of salt, generous dash of cinnamon
Mix together eggs, banana, vanilla, & syrup in small bowl. Whisk dry ingredients in separate bowl. Add wet to dry & mix until just incorporated. Add 3.5 Tbsp batter to mini waffle maker & cook until golden brown on both sides.
I’d love to hear what your favorites were from the weekend or if you give any of these a try!
With Love & Gratitude,
Amber
So grateful for the incredible good and the recipe recap. Thank you 🙏
You are so very welcome Bree!