Martha's Jalapeno & Garlic Shrimp

I decided to make that yummy Cucumber & Dill salad again and thought a simple shrimp dish would go nice.  This shrimp recipe comes from Martha Stewart Living May 2010.  It might appeal to some of you who don't like your food too spicy.  I found it a bit bland for my taste and would prefer to have something with a bit more kick like my Adobo Shrimp .  Still, I liked it enough to eat a bunch of them.  And I did just run out of black pepper so, maybe that would have helped.  :)

Ingredients:

1 pound of peeled, deveined shrimp
3 garlic cloves pressed
1/2 jalapeno chile, seeds removed, finely chopped (I recommend the entire chile)
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Toss together the shrimp, garlic, lime juice and a Tbsp of the oil.  Season with salt and pepper, and marinate in fridge for 45 minutes.

2. Heat remaining oil in large skillet over med/high heat.  Remove the shrimp from the marinade and add to skillet.  You can use less oil if you use a non stick skillet.  Cook through, about 2 minutes per side.


serve with lime wedges.

Roasted Broccoli with Kalmata Olives, sliced Garlic, Oregano & Lemon

It's a coolish overcast day and I was craving roasted veggies.  So I went with Roasted Broccoli!  Yum!


Ingredients:

1 head of broccoli
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sucanat  (or sugar)
5 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp pitted, minced kalamata olives
1 tsp. minced fresh oregano
juice from one lemon

Directions:


1. Adjust rack to lowest position, place quality baking sheet on rack and preheat oven to 500°F (convect roast if you have convection)

2. Cut your broccoli at the stems, remove outer peel from stalk and cut stalks into 1/2 inch thick pieces.  Cut broccoli crowns into wedges. Place broccoli and cut stalks in a bowl, toss well with 2-3 Tbsp olive oil, salt and sucanat. 

3.  When oven reaches desired temp., remove baking sheet using oven mitts, transfer tossed broccoli to baking sheet and spread into an even layer, flat sides down. Return to oven and roast for about 9-10 minutes until lightly browned.

4.  While the broccoli is roasting, heat the rest of the olive oil on med/low heat, add sliced garlic and red pepper flakes, cook stirring, until garlic is soft and golden brown.  Remove from heat and stir in the olives, oregano and lemon juice.  Toss into the roasted broccoli and serve.

Fresh Cucumber & Dill Salad

This is super fresh and great for spring and summer!  Buckarooken likes it too!
note: This salad is really delicious.  I think I have made it at least a 1/2 dozen times within a few weeks. 

Ingredients:

Salad-
1 head of Romaine lettuce, washed dried and cut into bite size pieces
1 cucumber, peeled & thinly sliced
1/4 cup of red onion, diced
1 bunch of fresh dill, chopped

Dressing-
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. sea salt
3 cloves of garlic, pressed

Directions:

1. In a large serving bowl combine all of the Salad ingredients and toss

2. In another small bowl, whisk the olive oil into the other dressing ingredients until fully combined

3. Pour dressing over salad and toss.  serve.

Buckarooken's best banana bread

Gluten Free banana bread made for me by my talented husband. :)

Ingredients:

2 cups Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten free flour
1 1/2 tsp. xantham gum
3/4 cup sucanat (or sugar if you can't find sucanat)
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped coarse
4 small over ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 eggs, beaten lightly
6 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F with rack in the lower middle position. Grease and flour a non stick 9x5x3 loaf pan. In a separate large bowl , combine the flour, xantham gum, sucanat, baking soda, salt & walnuts.

2. Mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter and vanilla in a medium bowl using a wooden spoon. Lightly fold the banana mixture into larger bowl with the dry ingredients with a spatula until just combined. Transfer the batter into the loaf pan and bake until golden brown and toothpick in center comes out clean. About 55 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring the loaf to a wire rack.

Grapefruit, Kiwi & Walnuts for breakfast

After last nights onion rings, I figured it would be for the best to stick to healthy treats today. I segmented a Ruby Red Grapefruit and added Kiwi slices and some fresh Raw Walnuts. (I always squeeze out all the juice from my grapefruit skins and gobble that up as well.)
We plan to make a delicious East Indian Spicy tomato soup for dinner and maybe some flatbread. I promise to post the results!

Gluten Free Onion Rings!

Ok so I have been craving onion rings for , oh I dunno, about 2 years! Eventually I had to give in and tonight we actually made some of the delicious crispy onion treats. Of course I will need to pull a double at the gym tomorrow to work off the extra fat, but it was worth it.


Ingredients:

2 yellow onions, peeled & cut into 1/2 inch sections, rings pulled apart
2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten free flour
1/4 cup medium yellow cornmeal
3 liters vegetable oil
sea salt
Fresh ground pepper


Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 200°F (you will keep your onion rings crisp and warm in there as you do them in batches).

2. In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, 1 1/2 tsp. salt and a tsp. fresh ground pepper. mix and toss in your onion rings, toss to coat and let sit for at least 15 minutes.

3. In another bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, 1 tsp. salt & 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper.

4. Preheat your vegetable oil to 350°F. We used a deep fryer, but you could easily use a dutch oven and an attached candy thermometer. (note we did our deep frying in the garage so as to avoid stinking up my little house with the scent of frying oil)

5. When your oil is hot, dredge a few onion rings in the flour mixture and place in the oil. You must work in small batches so don't crowd them! Cook for a total of 2 minutes, turning once with some tongs about half way through the cook time.

6. Remove your batch of onion rings from the oil and place on a paper towel lined cookie sheet, salt lightly. Place the cookie sheet in the preheated oven to keep the onion rings warm and crisp for up to 30 minutes while you deep fry the rest.

7. Eventually you will tire of making onion rings and then you will know you have enough. Serve with ketchup, and dinner (if you have any room after gorging yourself on crispy onion rings.)

Roasted Carrots & Sweet Potatoes

After eating the super garlicy RAW cauliflower dish for lunch, I was craving something cooked. Roasted to be exact. I'm pretty sure I will never be a RAW foodist. :)

Ingredients:
2 small sweet potatoes, washed, trimmed & cut into thick wedges
1 bunch of small organic carrots, washed & peeled
2 or 3 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
salt
fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. In a large bowl, drizzle sweet potato wedges in olive oil & sprinkle with salt & pepper, toss to coat.
3. Place sweet potato wedges on a foil lined cookie sheet & roast on the middle rack for about 15 minutes
4. Toss the carrots in olive oil, salt and pepper. Remove cookie sheet from oven & add to your carrots to the sheet in a single layer.
5. Turn oven up to 475° and return cookie sheet to oven.
6. Turn potatoes & carrots occasionally until they are browned nicely.

simple and delicious!


I have never mentioned that I have a convection oven. but I do and I use the convect setting all of the time. just so you know.

Fluffy Macadamia & Cauliflower Mash

I brought home my new Kitchenaid food processor last night! This is the first recipe I made with it. Todays recipe is raw & vegan so take note: raw garlic is very strong. Just a little warning in case you forgot.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups cauliflower, ground in a food processor
1/4 cup raw macadamia nuts, ground in a food processor
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tiny little clove of garlic, peeled


Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and process until fluffy.
2. Add fresh ground pepper to taste & a few broken macadamia nuts as garnish.

(this will serve 4 people)

Spicy Thai Coleslaw

I love coleslaw! This one is hot and spicy and vegan. You can play with the amount of spices if you don't like as much fire (or if it is for the kidlets).

Coleslaw Ingredients:

3 cups finely shredded green cabbage
1 cup peeled and shredded zucchini
1 cup shredded carrot
1 handful fresh basil, chopped
1 handful fresh mint, chopped
1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1 bunch fresh chives, cut
1/2 cup raw unsalted peanuts

Dressing Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup tamari gluten free soy sauce
2 1/2 Tbsp sucanat (that's paddled, non-refined cane sugar)
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 one inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled & minced fine
1 heaping tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Assemble all of the coleslaw ingredients together in a large bowl and toss to mix well.

2. Assemble all of the dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

3. Pour the dressing over the coleslaw, toss and serve. (you might not need to use ALL of the dressing)