Coconut Curried Beets & Brown Basmati Rice

Fall is coming and I am starting to crave complex curries again. This will take a while to prepare. You will love it. It's amazing. Sweet & Spicy


Ingredients:

5 small beets chopped (about 1 & 1/4 cup or so)
1 Tbsp canned green chillies
1 tsp. Chilli powder
2 red hot chillies, minced fine
1 cup shredded coconut
2- 3 Tbsp coconut milk
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. Cumin seeds

5-7 Tbsp fresh plain goats yogurt

Ingredients for Tempering-

1 tsp. mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. Fenugreek seeds
1 tsp. dried red chillies
3 Tbsp. curry leaves, (ground in mortar and pestle)
salt, to taste
1 Tbsp. ghee


Directions:

1. Cover the beets with about 2 inches of water, add the green chillies, 1 tsp. chili powder and a dash of salt. Bring to a boil, crack lid and cook on med for 30-45 minutes (until beets are soft). Pour out most of the water and mash.

2. While beets are cooking, (using a medium mortar and pestle) grind the mustard seeds, and cumin seeds, add the red chillies, ginger, coconut and coconut milk and grind into a thick paste. This will take a while. Try to get a nice consistent paste. Add a bit more coconut milk if it is so dry that it crumbles. Keep grinding. That's it. It will take you maybe 10-15 minutes.

3. Add the coconut mash mixture to the mashed beets and cook on med. heat in the pot for about 3 minutes stirring constantly.

4. Add the yogurt and heat through on low. If it is too dry, add some water and a little more yogurt. Don't boil it, just heat it.

5. In a frying pan, melt some ghee or oil on med/high. Temper the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, dried red chillies, curry leaves and salt for a few minutes in the oil. Until it is hot and very fragrant. Add this to your beet mixture, stir it in and you are done.


6. Serve with basmati rice, garnish with lot's of parsley, this is an excellent side dish if you want to serve meat as well.

My Sister Nancy's Chocolate Oatmeal "Energy" Bars

um, I was craving these. Don't say you weren't warned. Highly addictive.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sucanat (or 1/2 cup packed brown sugar if you prefer)
2/3 cup almond butter (any nut butter will work)
1/4 cup agave syrup (corn syrup is in her recipe)
1/2 cup butter - room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups uncontaminated rolled oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or blueberries or raisins.....)
2 tbs. sesame seeds
1 cup organic dark chocolate chips (less if you prefer more fruit to chocolate ratio. we don't.)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°

2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir well to mix, Pour into a 9x18 baking dish and press down well to an even bar. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. let cool completely before cutting or even refrigerate for a bit to set.

Tonight's Recipe

Tonight's recipe is- No Recipe! Rather I would like to suggest that you head down to your local farmers market and buy up whatever is locally grown, looks delicious and will be colorful on your plate.

We bought some Bison steaks from the best local producer- Valta Bison, which Ken grilled on high to a delicious medium rare.
We also bought some corn from the Medicine Hat region which we boiled and served with butter, some green beans from the Innisfail area which we steamed, in addition to some new Alberta Potatoes that we tossed in butter & dill from my herb garden. For dessert, it is almost time for mixed berries from BC organic producers.
So simple, it's the best kind of food.
Tomorrow it's fresh spaghetti squash, bison meatballs, and colorful beets. All from Alberta producers.

Kale, Quinoa & Heirloom Tomato Salad

saw these heirloom tomatoes in my local organic store and I bought them in every color! They had some lovely looking organic kale as well so I made this very tasty salad. I plan to bring it hiking tomorrow as it is fabulous cold.

Ingredients:


1 cup Quinoa
2 cups water
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1 bunch kale, sliced lengthwise to remove hard center stems
1 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

4 or 5 small heirloom tomatoes, quartered
3 green onions, sliced widthwise into fine slices, green and white parts
1 handful fresh basil leaves, chopped fine
1/2 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves, chopped fine
1/2 lemon, juice of (or more to taste)
1 Tbsp. champagne vinegar
1 Tbsp extra virgin Olive oil
salt, to taste
fresh ground pepper, to taste


Directions:

1. Combine the dry quinoa with 2 cups water, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and a pinch of salt in a med pot. Bring to a boil, stir once, put lid on and simmer on low for 14 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Heat 1 1/2 Tbsp Olive oil on med heat in a large non stick skillet, add the finely chopped garlic and sauté for half a minute or so. Add your sliced kale and sauté until warmed through and wilted.

3. In a large ceramic bowl combine the cooled quinoa with the green onions, basil, oregano, Kale and tomatoes. Squeeze the lemon juice over the salad, add the olive oil and champagne vinegar and toss it all up to coat. salt and pepper to taste.

great warm or cold.

Special Pure Oats, Homemade Granola

I have been completely Gluten free for over a year now. It was simpler to avoid oats altogether up until now. There has been a great deal of research done that shows that (pure uncontaminated) oats do not cause problems for (most) people with celiac disease. For myself, my gluten intolerance can cause a major 3 day migraine (did I mention I have not had one in OVER a year and 2 months?!) Oats are a true health food.

Well so anyhow, I decided to try some oats. I started by purchasing some Pure Oats that are free of any cross-contamination with wheat, barley, rye, tricale, kamut, or spelt during growing, harvesting, transport, storage, mill processing and packaging. Yes, they cost more than bulk oats. I made myself a little hot oatmeal for breakfast. Twice. and then I waited for 72 hours after each consumption. No Migraine! woo hoo! also no apparent digestive problems related to my IBS either. awesome news.

And So I give you the most delicious granola ever. I can say that because it has been sooooo long since I had granola! But honestly it is great. Kencent makes a version for himself with wheat germ and stuff I can't have, but I think my version is extra delicious. Keep it in a well sealed container and it will last for weeks.


Ingredients:

5 cups Pure uncontaminated rolled oats
1 cup raw organic almonds
1 cup raw organic walnuts broken into smaller pieces
1 cup raw organic sesame seeds
2 cups organic shredded coconut
1 cup raw organic sunflower seeds
1 cup organic virgin coconut oil
1 cup organic honey
1/2 cup organic raisins
1/2 cup organic dried cranberries
1/2 cup organic dried wild blueberries
1/2 cup organic dried cherries
salt, to taste

(try to purchase all of these items organic and hopefully you can get them sulphate free)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F

2. In a very large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almonds, walnuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and coconut.

3. Melt the coconut oil and the honey together in a pot on the stove over medium heat. Stir them together as best as you can (they don't mix well), and pour over the bowl of dry ingredients, stirring constantly until everything is mixed well. Add a little salt (tsp. or 2) and stir in.

4. Pour half of the oat mixture onto a cookie sheet (or pour it into 2 cookie sheets if your oven is large enough. mine is not.) Spread it out evenly and bake it for about 18-20 minutes in the preheated oven. The mixture should be nicely toasted light brown. add 1/2 of the dried fruit, stir to incorporate and set this aside for 10 minutes to cool. Repeat with a second cookie sheet full.

5. Once both of the cookie sheets have cooled for about 10 minutes give them a stir to break up clumps. Wait until the granola is room temperature before storing in airtight containers. Remember to mark the gluten free version! especially if there are folks in the home who insist on making non GF versions. teehee.

it's good. really good. You only need a little to feel full and the granola will energize your day.