(Tiny) Piccolo Potatoes, Sundried Tomatoes, Sautéed Mushrooms, Chives and Poached Egg Stack

So simple yet very satisfying.

Ingredients:

mini potatoes
olive oil
chives
sundried tomatoes
mushrooms
salt & pepper to taste
red pepper flakes
eggs, for poaching in water


Directions:

1. Boil your baby potatoes until done, set aside.  Sauté your sliced mushrooms in a little oil, set aside. While your egg is poaching, arrange your potatoes on a plate (season to taste) , stack your sundried tomatoes on next. then add your sautéed mushrooms and chives.  When your egg is ready, carefully stack it on top, season again to taste.  Top with more chives and some red pepper flakes.  Voila!  healthy breakfast stack!

Yellow Lentil Soup with lots of Cilantro

I made this soup with Toor Dal (Yellow lentils), You could easily make it with brown lentils and save a bit of the cooking time.


Ingredients:

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground
pinch of ground cayenne pepper
1 heaping cup of yellow lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 small onion, halved
1 bay leaf
salt, to taste
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup chopped cilantro
(optional- plain yogurt for non vegetarians)

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large dutch oven or soup pot on medium heat.  Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Stir in the cumin and cayenne pepper.  Stir together briefly and then add lentils, onion, bay leaf, and 1 1/2 quarts of water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, until the lentils are tender and the broth aromatic.  (if using brown lentils your cooking time may be as low as 40 minutes).

2. Salt and pepper to taste.  Discard the onion and the bay leaf. 

3.  Puree half of the soup in small batches in a blender.  (be sure to cover the top of the blender with a towel and press firmly on the lid to make sure hot liquid doesn't spill on you).  Return to soup pot, stir and heat through.

4. Stir in cilantro just before serving.  (if you eat dairy, add a dollop of plain yogurt to the top of each bowl)  Will serve 4.

Piña Colada Quinoa

For breakfast or a nice sweet snack, serve hot or cold

1 cup quinoa
1 14 oz can light coconut milk
1 14 oz can crushed pineapple
1 Tbsp sucanat
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
salt to taste


Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the quinoa and coconut milk to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.  Turn off heat and leave standing for 6 more minutes.

2. Drain the pineapple, reserving the juice.  Stir 1/2 cup of the pineapple juice into the cooked quinoa.  Add the sucanat and vanilla and mix well. Add a bit of salt to taste.
Stir the crushed pineapple into the mix and serve.  Keeps for 2 days in a sealed container in the fridge.



Like a tropical holiday in a bowl :)

Catalan Chickpea Stew

a warm and hearty vegetarian meal for lunch or dinner.  Benefits from being made a day or two in advance and refrigerated until it's time to reheat and serve.  Add some sliced sausage if you wish to add meat. 

Ingredients:

1 pound chickpeas, soaked overnight in 2 quarts water
1 bay leaf
salt, to taste
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, pressed
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Drain the chickpeas and combine with enough water to cover by 2 inches in a large dutch oven.  Add the bay leaf and bring to a gentle boil.  Reduce heat and skim off foam.  Cover and simmer for 1 hour.  Drain through a sieve over a bowl, reserve 2 cups of the cooking liquid. Discard bay leaf. Set chickpeas aside.

2. Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat and add the chopped onion.  Stir and cook until onions begin to soften (3 minutes).  Add the bell pepper and continue to cook, stirring often for 5-10 minutes (until the bell pepper is tender).  Add garlic and stir for a minute or two.  Stir in the tomatoes (with the juice), thyme, salt and pepper.  Continue to cook on medium for about 10 minutes (or until the tomatoes have cooked down slightly).  Add the chickpeas, red pepper flakes, and reserved chickpea liquid.  Return to simmer, stir, reduce heat to low and cover.  Cook for about 1 hour or until the beans are very tender.  Season to taste.

Warm Red Cabbage Salad with Cranberries & Almonds

This is really nice.  Super easy and fast too! 


Ingredients:

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small white onion cut into thin half moons
3-4 cloves of garlic sliced very thin
1/2 head of red cabbage, sliced very thin
salt and pepper to taste
a small sprig of fresh rosemary, chopped  (just a little bit or it will overwhelm the dish)
1/3 cup of dried cranberries
1/3 cup of roasted almonds (if you opt for salted you will want to use less salt in the dish)
1 1/2 Tbsp good balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on medium/ to medium high heat.  Add the onions and garlic and saute until soft. 

2. Add the sliced cabbage, salt and pepper taste, stir and toss for a couple of minutes until the cabbage is warmed through and only beginning to wilt slightly.  Don't overcook.  Cabbage is yucky overcooked.

3. Add the rosemary, almonds, cranberries and balsamic vinegar, stir to combine, remove from heat and transfer to a large serving dish.  If you eat cheese you can add some crumbled feta cheese on top. 

Zucchini "Pasta" & quick Tomato Sauce

If you like spaghetti squash, your gonna love zucchini done this way. It's silky and satisfying. Even better, it takes mere minutes to prepare! If you make up a batch of tomato sauce in advance, you can freeze it for convenience. 

Zucchini "Pasta"

(4 servings)
Ingredients:

2 pounds of green zucchini (or yellow)
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper
1 cup tomato sauce (see recipe below)

Directions:
1. Peel the zucchini with a peeler to remove the skin and then continue using your peeler to cut the zucchini into lengthwise ribbons.  Peel off several ribbons from one side, turn the zucchini a 1/4 turn and peel more ribbons.  Continue turning and peeling until you reach the seeds in the center and then discard the core.  This only takes a minute or two with a good vegetable peeler.

2. Heat 1/2 of the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over med/high heat.  Cook the zucchini in 2 batches.  When the oil is hot, add 1/2 of your zucchini slices, some salt and cook, tossing and stirring.  The zucchini will not take long to reach al dente.  Just 2 or three minutes (until the zucchini is softened and just beginning to turn translucent) and the zucchini will be ready. Transfer to a serving dish and repeat with second batch.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with tomato sauce.



Quick Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
(Tomato Sauce)

6 large tomatoes, processed in a blender quickly
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 shallots, chopped fine
1/2 tsp. chili pepper flakes
1/2 handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 handful of fresh oregano leaves, chopped
2 Tbsp. red wine
salt, to taste
fresh ground pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Heat a med sized pot (or sauté pan) over med/high heat and heat oil. Add garlic, shallots and chili flakes, cook for 2 minutes. Add blended tomatoes, cook for 4 minutes and add basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook for another minute, add red wine and cook for another 5 minutes to reduce a bit.

Fried egg, avocado, hash browns & hot sauce

My flickr friend Shutterbean posted this recipe and well, I had to make it myself!  You should too! She has given step by step instructions.  Here is the link to her blog 

Malaysian Red Curry of Beef

 Red Curry of Beef (or Daging masak merah)

 Very delicious.  Read the directions carefully.  you may wish to have everything measured/chopped and skinned before starting as the recipe is quite involved for newbies.


 Ingredients:
2 tsp. chopped fresh ginger
2 tsp. ground tumeric
1/2 tsp. course sea salt
1 1/2 lb sirloin steak cut into pieces (2 pieces per person)
3 Tbsp peanut oil
3 Tbsp thick tamarind water (1 oz tamarind paste placed in hot water and strained)
6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped (blanch them to peel)
1 1/4 cups coconut cream (the thick creamy stuff in the tops of the cans)
handful of mint leaves and cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

Red Paste Ingredients:
3 shallots, chopped
6-8 garlic cloves, chopped
4 large red chilies, seeded and chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 Tbsp peanut oil

Garnish Ingredients:
4 Tbsp deep fried shallots (slice very thin and fry quickly until brown in peanut oil) (drain on paper towel)
2 oz unsalted cashews, fried in a some peanut oil until brown (drain on paper towel)
2 oz raisins, fried very briefly in oil until plump (drain on paper towel)

Directions:

1. Grind the ginger, tumeric and sea salt in a mortar to make a paste. Rub the pieces of beef all over with this paste and set aside for at least 30 minutes.

2. Make the Red Paste- blend all of the red paste ingredients together with 3 Tbsp water until smooth.  Transfer the paste to a large saucepan and simmer over med. heat for 6 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and set aside.

3.  Heat the oil in a fry pan and fry the pieces of beef, a few at a time for 2 minutes per side. Set aside.

4. Reheat the paste in the saucepan, stirring well for a couple of minutes, then add 1/2 cup HOT water and the tamarind water.  Bring to a boil.  Add the beef, stir and cover.  Continue cooking over medium heat for 6-8 minutes.

5. Add the tomatoes and stir to mix with beef.  Cook for a few more minutes, now add the coconut cream and continue cooking, turning meat several times, until the sauce has reduced.  Just a few minutes.  In the final minute add the cilantro and mint leaves. 

6. Serve hot with garnish of fried shallots, cashews, and plump raisins.

serve with coconut rice

Roasted Red Pepper & White Bean Soup

First you will need to roast some ( two or three) red peppers

To do this:
 a. Cut off the tops and bottoms of the peppers, remove the cores and seeds, cut down one side and open up the peppers.  Lay the splayed peppers on a baking sheet and flatten them a bit. 

1. Adjust oven rack to top position. Turn broiler on. With oven door closed, let oven heat for 5 minutes. Oven rack should be 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches from heating element.  Broil peppers, with oven door closed, until spotty brown, about 5 minutes. Reverse pan in oven; roast until skin is charred and puffed but the flesh is still firm, 3 to 5 minutes longer.
2. Remove pan from oven; let peppers sit until cool enough to handle; peel and discard skin from each piece. For those who prefer, peppers can be transferred to a large heat-resistant bowl, covered with plastic wrap, and steamed for 15 minutes before peeling skin.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 zucchini, diced
1 1/2 cups roasted red peppers, diced
2 walla walla  onions, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
salt,  to taste
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
10 oz of gluten free chicken stock
1 cup water
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped for garnish


Directions:

1. Roast red bell peppers according to instructions above.

2. In a dutch oven, heat half the oil over medium high heat, saute zucchini until golden (8-10 minutes).  Add the diced roasted red bell peppers, stir to combine, transfer to a bowl and set aside.

3. In the same dutch oven heat the remaining oil, cook the onion, garlic, jalapeno, thyme and pepper and salt until softened (about 5 minutes), Add the beans, the chicken stock and the water, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Let cool.

4. In a blender, puree the soup (stock and beans), in batches until smooth.  Return to pan, stir in the reserved zucchini and roasted red peppers, heat through and serve.  Garnish with parsley. 

Peanut Butter Crunch Squares

It's Buckarooken's birthday so I made him some treats .

Ingredients:

1/3 cup organic agave syrup
1/3 cup sucanat (brown sugar if you can't find it)
1 cup organic natural valencia peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups organic gluten free cornflakes (broken up with your hands)
1 cup organic gluten free crisp rice cereal (broken up with your hands)

Directions:

1. Melt the agave syrup and brown sugar in a saucepan on med.  Turn off heat, add the peanut butter, stir and add remaining ingredients.
2. Press into a 8" square pan.
3. Refrigerate until set.

Icing-

Ingredients:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tbsp lemon juice; fresh
3 cups powdered sugar


(alternate to icing- melt dark chocolate and spread a layer on top of the squares instead!  yum)


Instructions
1. Put the yogurt in a square of cheesecloth.
2. Gather the corners & tie them around a spoon handle. Dangle the yogurt over a bowl,
using the spoon handle to suspend it. Let sit about 40 minutes. Gently
twist until the cheesecloth tightens around the ball of yogurt. More
liquid should drip out, don't twist so hard the yogurt oozes out.
3. In a medium bowl, add the yogurt to the  remaining ingredients, blend until
smooth. Spread on lightly on cooled peanut butter squares.
4. Serve!

SANPELLEGRINO Salad

It's summer and I'm cracking open bottles of SANPELLEGRINO like there is no tomorrow.  So I figured "Hey!, I'll use some in my salad tonight".  My container gardens of lettuce have done super well so I mixed a couple types of lettuce and I also happen to have some fresh basil growing, so I added that to the dressing.  Delicious.

Ingredients:

Dressing-
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp SANPELLEGRINO (Limonata) (though you could use the orange just as well)
2 Tbsp champagne vinegar
2 Tbsp fresh minced basil
sea salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Salad-
large helpings of fresh leaf lettuce, washed and torn
1 Clementine, seeded and chopped
1 Tbsp sunflower seeds

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl mix together the Sanpellegrino, champagne vinegar and minced basil.  Add the olive oil slowly while whisking.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Pour some dressing over the lettuce, toss, garnish with Clementine pieces and sunflower seeds.

Note:  I made this again using the orange Sanpellegrino and strawberries instead of Clementine's and it was very nice!  

Back Country Bean Salad

This is a great choice for a light weight but satisfying meal to carry in your pack.  Make it the night before, freeze it in a ziplock and serve it up the next evening in camp with a warm corn tortilla and fresh avocado & salsa! 

Ingredients:

1 tomato, diced
1/4 red onion, chopped
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can green chilies, drained
1/2 can of corn, drained
1/2 jalapeño, diced
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Dice tomatoes, jalapeño and chop onion.  Open and drain cans of chiles, beans and corn.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Season with Salt and Pepper to taste.

3. Spoon into large ziplock bags, remove air, fold and double bag.  Freeze overnight.  By the time you go to eat dinner the next evening,  your meal will be thawed but not spoiled (and it won't have spilled out into your pack either!).

4. Serve with fresh avocado and some premade salsa inside some warmed tortilla's. 

5. If you wish to make this for a meal at home, you can add chopped lettuce (and even grated cheese if you eat cheese).  (Skip the freezing part of course). 

Jicama, Cucumber & Lime Salad

File this recipe under "who would have guessed it".  I have never even tried Jicama before but this was one of the great recipes that our rafting outfitter sent along with our food package (on my Grand Canyon trip) .  I like the vegetable julienned so I have presented the recipe that way.  You could simply slice it into thin 1/2 inch strips.  I also added the jalapeño pepper.   I made this salad a couple of times on the trip and it was a hit with everyone!  Jicama is now on my fav list.

Ingredients:

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and julienned
1 Jicama, peeled and julienned
2 limes, the juice of
1 jalapeño pepper, diced
salt, to taste
chili pepper, to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste.

Directions:

1. Toss everything together and serve.  Easy!

New Cook Book

Brand New Edition to keep everything up to date! 

Thai Red Chili Mango Shrimp

Super fast and super easy. If you don't like your food too spicy, half the spices. I generally double the spices whenever I see a recipe. haha. I made this for my fella to celebrate Canada Day. It was a gorgeous day out, so rather than spending extra time making Thai red curry paste from scratch, I "gasp" used store bought. And I don't regret it at all! Delicious! Also, the lettuce came from my very own container garden as did the cilantro. :)

Ingredients:

150ml of organic coconut milk
2 heaping Tbsp of Thai red curry paste
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro , finely chopped
2 small red chili's, finely sliced
3 to 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
Juice of 2 limes
2 ripe mangoes
1 pound raw large shrimp, deveined with tails intact
oil for grill (coconut is best)
1 tsp. sucanat
fresh lettuce leaves
lime wedges for garnish


Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the coconut milk, curry paste, cilantro, chili, garlic and lime juice and whisk together until blended. Put half of the dressing in a lidded container for the marinade and the other half will be used as dressing.

2. Cut your mangoes and cube the fruit and divide into two half's. (youtube how to cut a mango if you have never done this). Add half of the mango to the marinade and half of it to the dressing.

3. Add your shrimp to the marinade and toss to cover. Refrigerate and marinate for at least one hour. Add one tsp. sucanat to "dressing" half of your mixture and cover in another bowl refrigerated.

4. Heat your grill to a nice hot temperature, remove shrimps from marinade (discard leftover marinade) and grill until cooked through, turning once. Just a minute or so each side.

5. Remove shrimps from heat and serve on fresh lettuce leaves. Spoon mango dressing on to your shrimp and lettuce. Serve with lime wedges. Yum!

grilled plantain

After experimenting with plantain only once before I decided to try again.  And this was delicious! 
Wait until your plantain is ripe.  A ripe plantain is anywhere from yellow with some black spots to mostly black.  I allowed this one to ripen to about 1/2 black.  It can easily take weeks for a plantain to ripen on your counter top, so be patient.  Green plantains are used in savory dinner dishes.

Ingredients:
1 or 2 ripe plantains
canola oil for brushing and grilling
salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Peel your plantain and slice diagonally into 1/2 slices (or smaller if you want them more crisp)

2. Brush canola oil on both sides of your plantain slices and grill on a hot clean grill for about 3 minutes per side.  You want an even yellow color throughout with some nice grill marks. 

3. Season with a pinch of salt and serve. 

Super with brown basmati rice and a poached egg! 

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Orange Zest

I was given some rhubarb by my wonderful MIL so a rhubarb crisp went in the oven asap.  I have made this one using some strawberries as well as a few raspberries (because I can).


Ingredients:
Filling-
4 cups rhubarb, washed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 cups fresh strawberries, cut into 1 inch cubes
handful of raspberries
1/2 cup sucanat
1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten free flour
juice of 1/2 lime
zest of 1/2 orange

Topping-
1 cup Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten free flour
3/4 cup sucanat
3/4 cup brown rice flakes
1/2 cup butter, nearing room temperature, cut into cubes
cinnamon for sprinkling on top

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° . Combine the rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries, sucanat, flour, lime juice and orange zest in a large mixing bowl.
2. In another bowl, mix together your topping flour, sucanat, brown rice flakes, and butter. Combine the topping ingredients with your hands until it is crumbly and lumpy.
3. Transfer your filling mix to a lightly greased 8" casserole, crumble topping mixture over top to cover and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Bake for 30- 40 minutes until the top is browned and the fruit is cooked through.

Baked Polenta Fries

Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  Polenta Fries are an easy treat anytime.  You could make your own polenta from scratch first, or simply use a prepared tube like Scarpone's brand.
You should probably know.  I use my convection mode on my oven for almost everything.  I know a lot of you don't actually have convection ovens so I never really mention that.  

Ingredients:
1 tube plain prepared polenta
Olive oil
Coarse Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 450°.
2. Remove the plastic sleeve from the tube and cut your polenta in half crosswise.  Then cut in half length wise and cut those into 4 or 5 strips each. The fries taste best when they are not too thick.
3. Drizzle some olive oil on a baking sheet and place your polenta wedges on the sheet.  Use a brush to brush some more olive oil on the tops of the polenta strips.  Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper and place your cooking sheet on the middle rack of your preheated oven.  Bake for 40 minutes or so (until lightly browned) , turning once about 1/2 way through the cooking time.
4. Remove your fries when they are crisp and lightly golden, place them on a paper towel.  You could at this time toss them with some nice spices like oregano or season salt.  Serve with ketchup.  Make a nice chipotle ketchup if it is an evening meal!

Roasted Squash Salad with Pomegranate Dressing, Crisp Apple & Toasted Pistachios

It has been raining for weeks, so I have been craving comforting meals.  This salad has the depth of roasted Butternut squash , combined with the fresh summery tastes of apple and pomegranate juice. An ideal  light meal for a cool and stormy evening.  

Ingredients:
Salad-
2 cups baby spinach (washed)
2 cups butter lettuce (washed and torn into bite size pieces)
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1 large red apple, diced
1/2 cup toasted pistachio nuts
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt- to taste
fresh ground black pepper- to taste
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Dressing-
3/4 cup 100% pomegranate juice
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp shallots, diced
2 tsp. dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil


Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 425° and move the rack to the top position.

2. Toss your cubes of butternut squash in olive oil and place in a medium casserole so that each piece has it's own space.  Sprinkle liberally with salt/pepper and red pepper flakes.  Roast on top rack for 20-25 minutes.  Until the squash pieces are lightly browned.  Remove from oven , transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.

3. While the squash is cooking you can begin making the dressing.  In a small saucepan, bring your pomegranate juice, apple cider vinegar and shallots to a boil.  Reduce heat to low/medium and simmer for 8-10 minutes until slightly reduced.

4. Remove pomegranate juice dressing from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.  Add mustard to pomegranate juice dressing and whisk until combined.  Add olive oil to dressing slowly, whisking continuously until it is all combined.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5.  In a large salad bowl combine your lettuce, spinach, apple and pistachios (reserve a bit of the apple and pistachio for final garnish).  Add dressing and toss.  Add the roasted squash, toss once, garnish with a few more pistachios and diced apple.  Serve.

Natural No Bake Carrot Cake

Ok so it's not really a cake.  It's pretty darn healthy though and tastes awesome!  

Ingredients:

4 cups grated carrots
1 cup of medjool dates, (pits removed)
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
2 Tbsp organic apple butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 lemon, juice of
1 cup organic shredded coconut
1 cup organic raw walnuts
organic coconut oil for greasing your 9x9 pan

Directions:

1. Use a food processor to grate the carrots, remove carrots and set aside.
2. Place your dates, ground flax seeds, apple butter, cinnamon and lemon juice in a food processor and process until blended.  Add the coconut and walnuts and process until the walnuts are coarsely chopped.
3. Add the carrots back to the food processor, process just enough to blend.
4. Press your finished mixture into a greased 9x9 pan and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving. 



Icing Ingredients:
1/2 cup raw whole cashews (soaked)
2 medjool dates (pits removed)
1/2 Tbsp agave nector
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup water
shredded coconut for topping
lemon zest for topping
walnut pieces for topping

Icing directions:

1.  Process the cashews, dates, agave, lemon juice and vanilla extract  in a food processor until smooth.  Add the water until desired consistency of icing is reached.
2. Spread icing on carrot cake, top with coconut, lemon zest  and walnut pieces.

Peanut Butter and Banana cakes

So easy! Buckarooken likes them too. 

Ingredients:

2 yellow bananas or heading to ripe
1 egg- beaten lightly
1 hugely heaping tablespoon of organic natural peanut butter (crunchy)

Directions:

1. Mash your bananas well in a medium bowl.  you can leave a few little lumps.
2. Heat some vegetable oil on your non stick griddle on medium heat
3. Mix your peanut butter in with the banana and then add the beaten egg and stir that in well.
4. Drop batter onto the griddle, again 3" diameter cakes  work best.
5.  When the underside is medium brown, flip them and cook the other side.
6. Serve with Berries and you can call it a PBJ!

Almond Pancakes

This recipe uses no processed flours.  Just almond flour (you can make your own in a food processor or buy it at a health food store).  It's really delicious.

Ingredients:
1 cup almond flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup soda water or sparkling water
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tbsp sucanat (or sugar)
(a bit of oil for the griddle as well)
Directions:

1. Mix your dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk your eggs until soft peaks begin to appear.
3. Preheat your non stick griddle on medium with about a teaspoon vegetable oil.
4. Add your oil and water to the eggs and stir to blend just a couple of stirs.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry flour mix and stir with a wooden spoon until just blended.  Don't over mix.
6. Spoon your pancake batter onto the griddle.  These pancakes won't bubble like "regular" pancakes, so you simply flip them when they are browned on the bottom.  If you keep them smallish it is easier to determine if the pancakes are done.  We made about nine- 3" diameter pancakes.
7. Serve with fresh fruit, maple syrup, butter, jam, whichever you prefer.

Hominy & Egg Scram

I happened across this South American style cooking blog and saw this recipe for Mote Pillo.  I was intrigued, so off I went to a local Latino Market to purchase the required ingredients to make my breakfast.  Apparently Mote Pillo is a typical dish from the highlands or Sierra region in Ecuador.  To Laylita it is comfort food.
 For me it was an entirely new experience.  The texture of the Hominy (treated maize kernels) is somewhat similar to a dense pasta.  The flavor is brand new to me.  I liked the dish but of course felt it needed a kick or something.   I tried a bit of cayenne (nope) some hot sauce (better) and finally some maple syrup (always best!) haha -I never tried ketchup though that might have been nice. I enjoyed the dish and ate my entire meal but like most regional comfort food.  It might take me a while to actually crave it.  :)
Here is the recipe as she wrote it with my substitutions in parenthesis (I made a 1/2 batch) -

Ingredients:

1 lb cooked mote or hominy (canned is fine)
2 tbs butter (or organic red palm oil for color)
4 eggs
1 cup chopped leeks (white part only) or white onion
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 tsp ground achiote
1/4 cup milk (rice milk)
2 tbs chopped chives
1 tbs finely chopped cilantro
salt to taste

serve with cheese slices and black coffee  (or herbal chai tea if you are like me and don't do dairy or caffeine )

Directions:

1. Heat the butter over med. heat in a large sauté pan, add the leeks, crushed garlic, achiote and salt.  Cook until leeks are soft (about 5 min)
2. Add the hominy, stir in well and cook for another 2 minutes.
3. Add the milk (rice milk) and cook until it is almost absorbed by the hominy.
4. Whisk the eggs and add them to the pan, stir well and cook for 3 minutes or so.
5. Stir in the chives and cilantro, season to taste.

note- the achiote powder is what gives the dish it's color.  You can mix together some oregano, cumin, clove, cinnamon, black pepper, allspice, garlic powder, salt and annatto in a mortar and pestle and make your own.  It is the annatto seeds that dye the mixture red.

The Breakfast Project

 I have started a fun new project on flickr called- The Breakfast Project   Inspired by my Norwegian friend Astrid and her Dinner Project    It's only for a couple of weeks, but I figured it would be rather fun and turns out it is!  It is forcing me to consider the aesthetics of my morning meal a bit more.  Trust me, I often eat stuff that looks like a dog's breakfast because it's just a mash of leftovers from the night before.  If I do have one of those mornings, I promise to photograph it anyhow.  :)

Quinoa chocolate cake

My MIL made me this delicious cake for my birthday.  I loved it.  I intend to make it myself sometime.  When I make it, I will replace the milk with rice milk and the processed cane sugar with sucanat. It is super moist and really delicious! Buckarooken loved it as well.  That's the thing with gluten free chocolate cakes, they are just as good as regular cakes.  Only this one is made with whole quinoa which is fabulously good for you. 

Ingredients-
2/3 cup white or golden quinoa
1 1/3 cups water
1/3 cup milk
4 large eggs
1tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions-
1. Combine the water and the quinoa in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 10 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and cool.

2.  Preheat oven to 350°F.  Lightly grease two- 8" round cake pans.  Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper.

3.  Combine milk, eggs and vanilla in a blender, add the 2 cups of cooked quinoa and the butter.  Blend until smooth.

4.  Whisk together sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda in a medium bowl.  Add the contents of the blender and mix well.  Divide the batter between the two pans and bake on center rack of oven for 40-45 minutes (until a knife inserted comes out clean).  Remove cakes from oven and cool completely in the pans before serving.  You could make a two layer cake and frost it at this point.  Or just serve each cake as is (my preference).

5. Eat for dinner, lunch or breakfast until the cake is gone.  :)

Mexican Chicken, Chili and Grilled Corn soup

This soup has kick and is very satisfying on a rainy day (like today)   It makes a full pot so you will have plenty left over.  The heat of the peppers combined with the sweetness of the corn is fabulous.  A little bit of sour from the lime and it has everything.
note: we ate this for three days for both lunch and dinner and at the end of those three days my husband turned to me and asked- "Can we make this again within the week?".  it's that good. 

First you have to make your chicken broth
The Broth
Chicken Broth Ingredients:

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, smashed
2 large red onions, rough chopped
2 cups carrots, rough chopped
2 cups celery, rough chopped
Course salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 whole organic chicken
1 sprig thyme
1/3 cup Italian parsley
1 bay leaf
1 sprig tarragon
1/3 cup celery leaves
8 whole black peppercorns

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large pot over med. heat.  Add the crushed garlic cloves and sauté for 2 minutes until the garlic is golden. Add the onions, carrots & celery to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and sauté for 8 minutes. 

2. Cut up your chicken into pieces with a heavy cleaver- making sure to cut the bones to expose some marrow.  Add to pot and fill the pot with water until it covers the chicken, bring to a boil.

3.  Tie the thyme, parsley, bay leaf, tarragon and celery leaves into a bouquet using butchers twine.  Add to the pot.  Add the black peppercorns to pot, bring broth to a boil, turn down to med-low, partially cover and simmer for 3 hours.  (add more water if required 1/2 way through cooking)

4. Skim off any fat, strain the chicken broth through a mesh sieve, then strain again through cheese cloth a couple of times until your broth is nice and clear.  Leave to sit and separate a while so that you can skim off the fat.  (I have a special fat skimming container that I use)

5. Hand pick the the good chicken meat and set it aside for soup recipe.

The Soup!
Mexican Chicken, Chili and Grilled Corn Soup
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 chipotle peppers (in adobo sauce) minced
1 hot Anaheim New Mexico chili, reconstituted and chopped
1 red onion, diced
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. paprika
course salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
5 cups chicken broth  (if you don't have enough, top it up with water)
1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped coarse and smushed with the side of a knife
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken (hand picked from your broth earlier)
1 handful cilantro , chopped
1/2 cup wild rice
2 cobs of corn, grilled
canola oil for grilling
1 cup canned, strained black beans
1 tsp. sucanat (or brown sugar)
handful of cilantro, minced (and some  for garnish)
Fried corn tortillas for topping
Fresh lime to taste
Creme fraiche or sour cream for the dairy lovers

Directions:
1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over med. heat.  Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.  Add chipotles, chilies, red onion, cumin, cayenne, paprika, salt and fresh ground pepper.  Sauté for 8 minutes.  

2. Add the chicken broth, the tomatoes, oregano, hand picked chicken meat and a handful of cilantro.  Partially cover and simmer for 40 minutes.

3. In a separate pot, boil some water, add wild rice and cook according to package, strain.

4. Heat some canola oil, brush some oil on the corn  and grill your corn either in a cast iron pan or on a grill.  You want each side to be grill marked (slightly brown).  Slice off the corn niblets.

5.  In a cast iron pan, heat some oil on medium and add corn tortillas slices, fry until golden, set aside on paper towels.

6.  Add the corn niblets, wild rice and black beans to the soup and stir to combine.  Season with salt, pepper, sucanat and cilantro.

7. Serve soup with crispy tortillas, a squirt of fresh lime, and some creme fraiche or sour cream if you eat dairy.

Nutrient Density Score Chart

Find the link here-
 Dr. Fuhrman's nutrient density scoring chart
This little chart is pretty much all you need to figure out what is good to eat, what is better and what is best.

If you choose foods from the green and yellow charts first and then add some foods from the gold chart on the far right in moderation- you will be eating healthy.  So easy.

now- go buy some Kale!

Chicken Enchiladas & Red Chili Sauce

 Ken has been holding on to this recipe from his fav site (Cooks Illustrated) to try for several years.  We finally made it and wowzers!  it was good.  I made mine completely dairy free and he used dairy.  Either way we loved it and highly recommend this easy Mexican inspired dish

Ingredients:
Sauce & Filling-

1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 med. onion, chopped fine
6 garlic cloves, pressed (about a Tbsp)
3 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sucanat (sugar)
4 chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into 1/4" strips
2 -8 ounce cans of crushed tomato's
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 -4 ounce can pickled jalapenos, drained and chopped
(2 cups sharp cheddar cheese for those of you who eat dairy)*

Tortillas & toppings

10 -6" corn tortilla's
vegetable oil
1/2 head romaine lettuce, washed and shredded
2 limes, quartered
salsa or chopped tomato
(cheese and sour cream if you eat dairy)*
Guacamole-  ( I made mine with 3 avocados, pitted and diced, juice of 1 lime, 1 jalapeno pepper diced, some red pepper flakes, a bit of salt, a bit of olive oil, chopped cilantro and 1/2 small onion chopped)

Directions:

1. Start on the sauce and filling-  Heat oil in med saucepan over med/high heat until shimmering, add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown (5 minutes).  Add garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, salt & sucanat, cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds.  Add chicken, stir to coat for another 30 seconds. Add crushed tomato's & 1/4 cup water, stir to separate chicken pieces.  Bring to a roll, reduce heat to med. low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through (8 minutes).

2. Pour the mixture through a med. mesh strainer into a medium size bowl.  Use the backside of a ladle to press the chicken and onion mixture and the liquid sauce will extract.  Set the chili sauce aside.

3.  Transfer the chicken onion mixture to a plate and place in freezer to cool (10 minutes).

4.  Once cool, combine the chicken onion mixture with cilantro, jalapeno, (cheese)* in a med. bowl and set aside.

5.  Preheat oven to 300° F with rack on lower middle position.

6.  Smear a 13x9 inch baking dish with 3/4 cup chili sauce.  Set aside.

7.  Lightly spray tortillas with oil and place on baking sheet, bake for 3 minutes until soft and pliable.  Remove from oven and increase the temp. to 400° F  for the next step.

8.  Fill each tortilla with about 1/3 cup filling.  Roll each tortilla by hand and place in baking dish, side by side and seam side down. 

9.  Pour remaining chili sauce over the enchiladas.  (and sprinkle with cheese)*

10.  Cover baking dish with foil and bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes.  uncover and serve with guacamole, lettuce, lime wedges, salsa or tomato (cheese and sour cream)*

*- dairy or soy products for those of you who eat that.

Goan Coconut Curry Chicken & Cauliflower Keema

We bought  a new cookbook. Kris Dhillon's -The New Curry Secret.  Do not attempt these recipes if you are a novice cook or if you are in a hurry.  From scratch, these two dishes will take nearly 4 hours of cooking/prep time.  Is it worth it?  Oh yes.  This is fine dining Indian style.  I highly recommend the dishes.  Highly.

Be sure to read recipes through. Start by making the curry sauce, then the cauliflower (and brown basmati rice) and then cooking the chicken* and then making the Goan chicken dish itself.  This is much easier to do with two chefs. 


The first thing you will need to make is the curry sauce.  This curry sauce can be stored in the fridge for 4 days or in the freezer for a month.  This recipe will make enough for around 4 main curry dishes.

Curry Sauce-
prep & cook time- 1 hour

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 kg onions, sliced
1 tsp. salt
50g fresh ginger, coarsely chopped
50g garlic, coarsely chopped
1.5 L water
1 225 g can tomatoes
1 tsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. tumeric
1 tsp. paprika

Directions-

1. Heat 3 Tbsp oil in a large saucepan with a tight fitting lid, add sliced onions.  Stir on high heat for 1 minute, turn down heat to med/high.  Continue to cook onions, stirring frequently for 10 minutes, until onion is transparent and beginning to brown at edges.

2.  Add salt, stir well, turn down heat to lowest setting, cover pan and continue to cook onions for 20 minutes, stir occasionally. 

3. Add ginger & garlic to onions. Turn heat up to med. and cook for 1-2 minutes until aromatic.

4. Add water, bring to boil on high, turn heat down  and simmer partially covered for 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

5.  Once cool, ladle half of onion mixture into a blender and blend until very smooth.  Pour blended onion mixture into a clean bowl and repeat with second batch.

6. Wash/dry your saucepan, [reserve 4  Tbsp of curry onion sauce at this point for cooking meat.]*° 

7. Place the canned tomato contents in clean blender and blend until smooth.

8.  In your cleaned saucepan, add 1 Tbsp oil and heat on med.  Add the tomato paste, tumeric & paprika & cook for 30 seconds.  Add blended tomatoes, bring to boil, turn down the heat and gently simmer for 10 minutes, add the blended onion mixture and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 20-25 minutes, using spoon to skim off froth from time to time.

Goan Coconut Curry Chicken-
prep & cook time- 25 minutes
Ingredients-

Spice Mix-
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
1 tsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
4 green cardamons
4 cloves
1- 1 inch piece of cinnamon

Remaining Ingredients:
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp. tumeric
325 ml curry sauce (that you have made earlier -see above)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. paprika
300 ml coconut cream
450 g precooked chicken fillets (recipe to follow this list)*
2 tsp. tamarind paste dissolved in 2 Tbsp warm water


*[Precooked Chicken fillets recipe-]
prep. & cooking time 25 min.
3 large chicken breasts with skin and bone removed
5 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp. tumeric
4 Tbsp reserved curry onion sauce *°
 Remove fat and sinew, rinse and pat dry chicken fillets. Cut each fillet into 8 equal size pieces about 1 inch  wide.  Place the oil, tumeric and curry onion sauce*° into a large saucepan and mix well.  cook on med. heat, stirring continuously, until sauce starts to darken about 4-5 minutes.
 Add chicken and stir until all pieces are coated with sauce, turn heat down, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, until chicken is tender, stirring frequently.  Remove chicken pieces with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Goan Coconut Curry Chicken Directions:

1. Grind all the spices for the spice mix with a mortar and pestle (or electric grinder)

2. In a large, heavy frying fan, heat oil on med. & add spice mix.  Fry for 1 minutes until aromatic.

3. Stir in tumeric, curry sauce, salt, chili powder & paprika. Bring to a boil, cook on high for 3 minutes until thickened slightly.  Turn down heat.

4. Add coconut cream & bring slowly to a simmer.  Add the chicken to the sauce & stir well.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  Stir in tamarind & serve.


Cauliflower Keema
Ingredients:

1 small cauliflower
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. tumeric
1 green chili, finely sliced
350 ml curry sauce
150 g frozen peas
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Directions for Cauliflower Keema-

1. Break cauliflower into florets, rinse and drain well. process in food processor on slow chop until coarsely minced.

2.  Heat oil in heavy based saucepan, add fennel seeds, tomato, salt & tumeric.  Cook on med. heat for 2 min. stir in green chili.  Cook 1 min., add cauliflower.  Stir for 3-4 min. on med. heat and add curry sauce.

3.  Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer for for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until liquid has almost evaporated and cauliflower is tender.

4. Stir in peas, cook for 5 min., stirring often.

5. Serve garnished with cilantro.

We served our meal with brown basmati rice and mango chutney.  Recipe for mango chutney on another day!


If you have any questions, pop me an email!
10 cent

Fiddleheads & Fried Egg

 Well I saw these baby fiddlehead's in my local market and I decided to try them.  I admit that up until about an hour ago I had NEVER tried a fiddlehead.  That said, I made sure to read up on the best way to cook them and pretty much every source I looked at claimed it was best to boil them like crazy until you are sure they are cooked.  Steaming apparently can leave behind a bitter taste.  So here is how I ate em-

(And yes, I liked them; though not in the same way I like,  say, chocolate or sweet potatoes or even spinach.  My guess is fiddleheads are a bit of an acquired taste.  So I intend to keep trying as they are very good for you!)

Ingredients:
a generous handful of fresh fiddleheads, hard stems removed and rinsed thoroughly in cold water
sesame oil
gluten free soy sauce
sesame seeds, lightly toasted
1 egg, fried

Directions:

1. Boil your fiddleheads in a medium pot for 7-9 minutes.  (fry your egg just before they are done)
2. Drain, place in a clean bowl and toss with sesame oil and soy sauce.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with a fried egg.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Jonnycakes

A traditional jonnycake pancake.  Serve with sausage ("or" bacon for those of you who eat bacon) & fried egg, top with maple syrup & a pat of butter.


Ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal
1 Tbsp sucanat (sugar)
1 tsp. salt (ok a tiny bit less perhaps)
3/4 cup boiling water
3-4 Tbsp rice milk

Directions:

1. Combine the cornmeal, sucanat, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Add the boiling water, stir and add the milk.  You might need to thin additionally with more milk.  The mixture should easily drop from a spoon.

2. Drop by large spoon onto a hot greased non stick griddle (use vegetable oil for the griddle) 

3. Cook 5-6 minutes per side until nicely browned and cooked through. (flatten the jonnycake a bit when you turn it over if you need to spread the cornmeal out)

Note- We use Bob's Red Mill cornmeal which is quite granular, some brands are finer and might require more water. If you were from say, "Rhode Island", this flour (Bob's Red Mill) would be considered entirely wrong!  They use a light stone-ground white flint cornmeal from Rhode Island. We simply used what we had.  :)

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)

Apple Butter Baked Acorn Squash

Since I work from home most mornings, it's easy for me to prepare a hot breakfast like this, but even if you don't have that luxury, this dish is so easy you could do it too! Just pop the squash in the oven when you get up and by the time your dressed for work, voila! hot breakfast.

Ingredients:

1 acorn squash
2 Tbsp organic apple butter
2 pats of butter
salt & Pepper to taste


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Cut your acorn squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and extra pulp.

2. Place your acorn squash pieces skin side down in a shallow baking dish. Fill each squash with a generous dollop of apple butter, top with a pat of butter and season with salt & pepper. Add some water to the dish (about 1/4 inch). Bake on the middle rack for about an hour (or until nicely caramelized).

3. Serve hot. Use a fork to scoop out your yummy squash.

Beet & Sweet Potato Roesti

Ingredients

1 large beet, peeled and grated (about 1 cup grated)
1 small sweet potato, grated (about 1 3/4 cup grated)
1-2 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup brown rice flour
1 egg beaten
salt, to taste
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
plain organic yogurt for topping

Directions:

1. Wash, peel and grate your vegetables. TIP- wear rubber gloves when handling beets!

2. Using paper towel, squeeze as much moisture out of the beet/sweet potato mixture as you can.

3. In a medium size bowl, combine the rice flour, grated sweet potato, grated beet and salt and pepper. Stir in your beaten egg.

4. Melt your butter in a small non stick skillet on medium heat (don't be afraid to use plenty o' butter),

5. Pour your Beet/Potato mixture into the skillet and press down firmly with a wide spatula until it has formed a tight pancake in the pan. Cook until it is browned nicely on the bottom (about 5-10 minutes) (should have a bit of crispness). Use a large plate to turn out your roesti and return it back to your fry pan to cook the other side. Press down with your spatula again. Cook for another 5-10 minutes, turn down the heat if the bottom is getting to dark. The key is to get your potatoes cooked through, while have a nice crispy exterior on your roesti.

6. When it is done, remove from heat, cut into slices and serve with a dollop of fresh organic yogurt.

I have also made this with golden beets and it is lovely.

Amazing Chicken Souvlaki

Greek Food! This is the best Tzatziki sauce in the world. I looked around and found dozens of recipes for gluten free Pita bread. All of them involved hours of prep, several types of flour, xantham gum, etc. etc. No Way! I simply wrapped my sandwich in greek grilled organic corn tortilla's. It was so delicious! You can of course, use regular Pita bread for the non GF avoiders in the family. Also, feel free to add Feta to your sandwich if you eat cheese.


Ingredients:

Marinade-
1 1/2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
4 1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp. dried Oregano
1/2 Tsp. fresh ground black pepper

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes

6 to 8 wooden grilling skewers, soaked in water.

Directions for Marinade-

1. Mix your Balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Pour the marinade over the chicken cubes in a lidded container. Cover, shake and marinade in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. We went for 4 and it was good.

Tzatziki Sauce Ingredients-

1/2 cup seeded, shredded cucumber
1 tsp. course salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1 juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. Extra Virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
mix together a spice mixture of-
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. black pepper (to taste)
1 tsp. salt (to taste)

(set some of this spice mix aside for grilling the tortillas)

Ingredients for assembling Souvlaki sandwiches-

8 small round organic corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups a romaine lettuce sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 cup chopped jalapeño pepper
kalamata olives for garnish


Directions for Tzatziki Sauce

1. Combine the shredded cucumber with 1 tsp. salt and let sit for 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon juice, rice vinegar and olive oil. Season with garlic, spices and fresh dill. Squeeze water out of shredded cucumber and add to sauce. Stir, season to taste again with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Directions for Souvlaki-

2. Preheat your grill on high.

3. Remove chicken from the marinade and push onto skewers. Discard the remaining marinade.

4. Cook your chicken on a lightly oiled grill about 8 minutes per side (until the internal temp reaches 165°).

5. Brush both sides of organic corn tortilla's with olive oil and season with more dried oregano, garlic salt, onion powder, white pepper/black pepper and salt mixture. Grill both sides until lightly browned.

6. Assemble sandwiches using two grilled tortillas each. Arrange chicken, lettuce, onion, tomato, and jalapeño peppers on tortillas. Drizzle with tzatziki sauce, cut into halves for serving and garnish with olives.