My version of Tabbouleh

1/2 C Harvest Grains blend (or couscous)
1/4 C quinoa
1/4 C kaniwa (similar to quinoa, here's a link for info http://www.nuts.com/cookingbaking/grains/kaniwa.html?gclid=CMOnt9ytw78CFc07MgodqAYAMQ)
1 diced cucumber
2 diced & deseeded tomatoes
1 chopped carrot
1 diced portabello mushroom cap
1/4 C dried parsley
several mint leaves
1 T lemon juice
1 T olive oil

Cook the grains according to package directions.

While they are cooking, chop the veggies; feel free to add whatever sounds good! Mix the veggies with the parsley, mint, lemon juice, and olive oil.

After the grains have cooled, combine the ingredients and enjoy! This recipe made 4 lunch-sized portions.

Tomato & Basil Green Beans

1 pound green beans
2 tomatoes, diced & deseeded
handful basil
seasoning to taste

Boil the green beans until cooked.

Meanwhile, chop the tomatoes and remove the seeds. Finely chop the basil and select your seasonings. (I used a dash of ground pepper and garlic powder.)

Combine the ingredients and enjoy!

This recipe made 4 sides, each about 225 grams.

Roasted Potatoes

3 lb red potatoes
2 cloves garlic
2 large green onion bulb
1 bay leaf
Oregano
Thyme
Rosemary

Combine all ingredients but the potatoes in a food processor. Pulse until slightly blended but not pasty. Cut the potatoes into small pieces and lightly cover a baking pan with oil. Set the oven to 375. Put the potatoes and the onion mixture in a plastic bag and mix thoroughly.

Spread onto the baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes or until potatoes are done throughout. Add water periodically to avoid sticking.

Roasted Rhubarb

Rhubarb
2 juicing oranges
Ginger root
Sugar

Arrange the rhubarb in a pan. Juice the ginger and two oranges. (If you don't have a juicer, squeeze the oranges to produce as much juice as possible. The ginger can be minced.) Pour this mixture over the rhubarb. Zest the orange peel of one orange and add to the pan. Sprinkle with sugar and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until soft. (Raw and baked shown below).

Pickled Peppers

Peppers (I bought a basket and just cut them to fit in 2 quart jars)
5 C vinegar
4 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
Oregano

Place 2 cloves of garlic, oregano and 1 bay leaf in each jar. Cut the stems off the peppers and divide the peppers between the 2 jars. Boil vinegar in a saucepan. Pour over peppers and cover. Let stand for at least 2 weeks.

Blarney Juice

So green that I couldn't help but give it a festive name since today's the first day I made this juice!

5 stalks celery
1 kiwi
2 baby cucumbers
.5 lemon (peel removed)
2 oz (ish) kale

Juice all ingredients. Serve chilled and enjoy!

Salmon with Apple & Almond Pesto

1 large granny smith apple, diced
.25 C almonds
Juice of .5 lemon
.5 bunch parsley leaves
4 4-ounce salmon filets

Cook apples for about 5 minutes or until softer.  Set aside.

Combine almonds, lemon juice and parsley leaves in a food processor. Add water as needed for the texture you prefer. Add apples in small portions.

Heat oven to 400. Coat each salmon filet with equal portions of pesto.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

Vitamin water

1 cucumber, skin removed
2 strawberries, stem removed
juice of 1 small lime

Slice cucumber and strawberries. Add lime juice and water (I added about 2.5 quarts).

Chill. Enjoy daily!

Chipotle Sweet Potato Hummus

Here's a link to the original recipe. I made some adaptations.

http://blissfulbblog.com/blog/2012/3/8/blissful-eats-with-tina-jeffers-smoky-sweet-potato-hummus.html

1lb sweet potato
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp ground chipotle
2 T tahini
2 cloves garlic
Juice of 2 small limes

Heat oven to 325. Coat a baking sheet lightly with olive oil. Slice the sweet potato and cook for about 20 minutes,, turning hhalfway through.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a food processor and gently blend.

Once the potato is done cooking and has cooled a bit, combine for the final mixture. Enjoy!

Gingered carrot and apple juice

4-5 large carrots
1 large granny smith apple
Ginger to taste

Juice all ingredients & serve!

Hearty Butternut Squash Soup

You can also use pumpkin, if you prefer.

1 squash with seeds and skin removed
1/2 onion (I used yellow)
1/4 C brown rice
16 oz carrots
1 C veggie stock
4 C water
Salt and pepper
Cinnamon, Allspice, Chevril
1 C green peas

Yield: 4 servings

Add squash, onion, rice, carrots, stock, water and spices (to taste; I didn't measure any quantities. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 45 minutes.

 

Add the peas and cook for a few more minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

I went basic this year with my recipe.

Pumpkin Seeds. Salt. Done.

I roasted them for about 40 minutes at 300. They turn out golden brown and will pop when they are about done.

Spinach Pesto

5 oz spinach
6 g walnuts
garlic powder
about 1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
about 1 T nutritional yeast

Pulse all ingredients in food processor/blender until smooth. Add water to make a smoother texture.

Enjoy!

SO easy and so delicious!

Eggplant Lasagna

2 eggplants
olive oil
mushrooms
nutritional yeast
homemade marinara 
homepade spinach pesto
about 3/4 C ricotta cheese

Yield: 8 servings

I am usually pretty specific with my ingredient quantities, but this time around I was the opposite! I approximated a lot and went by taste. I also used what I had in the 'fridge (i.e. mushrooms: it was about 125g, just because that's all that was left!) Anyway, this is pretty delicious and I hope that you enjoy!

Heat oven to 400F. Slice the eggplants lengthwise, ideally getting 8 slices. Brush each side with olive oil and place on a baking sheet.

Cook for about 25 minutes, or until eggplants are tender and golden.

While that's cooking, I made my pesto (recipe found in next blog post) and tomato sauce (tomatoes, tomato paste, spices, water.) I also used a food processor to combine the ricotta and mushrooms.

Once cooked, arrange the eggplant slices in a baking pan. Add marinara, pesto, the mushroom and ricotta mixture and finally the remaining slices of eggplant.

I topped this off with the rest of the marinara and some nutritional yeast, which tastes very much like cheese (but without the fat!)

Bake until cheese is bubbly and edges are golden brown. Enjoy!

Fall Slaw

Fall Slaw
Yield: 7 servings, each about 110g

Simple. Fresh. Delicious.

1 head cabbage (the one I used was about 24 oz)
1 carrot (this one was huge, about 6 oz!)
about 1/3 C vinegar
1-2 T whole grain mustard
about 1 T honey

In a small dish, whisk the vinegar, mustard and honey. Set aside.

Shred carrot and place in a small bowl.

Slice and then chop cabbage. Add small amounts of carrot as you add the cabbage so they are thoroughly mixed.

Add the dressing and toss the veggies. It won't be a lot but just enough flavor and coating to make the veggies pop.

Serve and enjoy!

Pickled Shrimp: My adaptation

Pickled Shrimp

 

2-3 cloves garlic
onions to taste (I used green and yellow)
2 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/2 C distilled vinegar
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp wasabi powder
1/2 tsp allepo pepper


 

 

 

 

 

Simmer onions and garlic in water (or oil, if you prefer.)

Add the shrimp and cook until they're no longer transcluscent, about 3-5 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine more of the onion variety, vinegar and spices.

Add the cooked shrimp and onion mixture so that the shrimp are covered.

Put in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. Remove shrimp from broth and serve cold.

 

Honey Dijon Slaw: my adaptation

My adaptation of Honey dijon slaw

Ingredients

• 1/2 cabbage, sliced
• 1 head endive, sliced
• 1 apple, sliced (I used Fuji)
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 2T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard (estimate; I love this stuff so I probably used more than 1.5 T!)
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 chopped green onions

 

 

Instructions

 

Combine cabbage, endive, apple and raisins in a large bowl.

 

 

 

In a separate bowl whisk together remaining ingredients to form a dressing.

 

 

Pour dressing over cabbage mixture and toss to fully coat.

 

Because I made mine for a few days worth of meals, I separated the slaw mixture and added 2-3 T of dressing per bowl.

Simple Veggie Stir 'fry'

Here's a tasty, healthy and easy way to use up extra veggies!
For this recipe, I used:
2 cloves garlic
2 baby egglplant
3 small heads broccoli
8 oz sliced mushrooms (1 package)
chili garlic paste
basil (straight from the garden!)

Fill the bottom of your pan with water (I prefer to use water to oil since it's healthier and steams rather than fries.) Mince garlic and add to pan. Allow the garlic to briefly cook before adding the broccoli. Cover and simmer until the color of the broccoli brightens slightly. Next, add the sliced eggplant. Cover again and cook for a few minutes. Add chili garlic paste to taste (I used 3 spoonfulls.) At this point, I also decided to add powdered ginger, oregano
and black pepper.

Cook covered until the veggies reduce in size. This takes about 3-5 minutes. Finally, add the mushrooms and basil. Mushrooms will release a lot of water, so I cooked this last step uncovered.

You can add shrimp, tofu or other protein, if you like. Also, you can add rice or noodles if you feel the need. Enjoy!

Strawberry, basil and poppyseed salad dressing

Strawberry, basil and poppyseed salad dressing

8 oz strawberries
3 basil leaves
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 T each olive & smart balance canola oil
1 tsp poppyseeds
.5-1 tsp ground black pepper
dash salt, if desired

Combine all ingredients in food processor.

Pulse until ingredients are well blended (less than a minute.)

Add additional seasonings to taste, if desired.