Double Broccoli Quinoa

I'm not going to pretend like I had any involvement in this recipe - it's taken directly from 101cookbooks. But it was *delicious*, so I wanted to promote it. I included the feta, basil, crushed red pepper, and avocados, and would highly recommend it.

Double Broccoli Quinoa
3 cups cooked quinoa
5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems
3 medium garlic cloves
2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 big pinches salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup heavy cream
Optional toppings: slivered basil, fire oil (optional)**, sliced avocado
crumbled feta or goat cheese
Heat the quinoa and set aside.
Now barely cook the broccoli by pouring 3/4 cup water into a large pot and bringing it to a simmer. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the broccoli. Cover and cook for a minute, just long enough to take the raw edge off. Transfer the broccoli to a strainer and run under cold water until it stops cooking. Set aside.
To make the broccoli pesto puree two cups of the cooked broccoli, the garlic, 1/2 cup of the almonds, Parmesan, salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse until smooth.
Just before serving, toss the quinoa and remaining broccoli florets with about 1/2 of the broccoli pesto. Taste and adjust if needed, you might want to add more of the pest a bit at a time, or you might want a bit more salt or an added squeeze of lemon juice. Turn out onto a serving platter and top with the remaining almonds, a drizzle of the chile oil, and some sliced avocado or any of the other optional toppings.
Serves 4 - 6.

For all those wheat berries you have under your bed...

Blender Pancakes

1 cup wheat berries
2 eggs
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 c milk
2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder

Put wheat and 1 cup milk into blender and blend on high for 3 min.  Add 1/2 c milk and blend for 2 more minutes.  Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.  Cook on hot griddle.

I forgot to put the eggs in one time, and they were totally fine.  Very good with berry syrup. You can also sub milk for almond milk (and presumably other non-dairy "milks").

I think this requires a high power blender, but I've only tried with the vitamix and blendtec.

Enjoy!

Mulberry Madness

My friend has a mulberry bush (more like a tree) in her back yard, so I went to pick mulberries last week.  I loved it!  Spending 2 hours by myself with the quiet of the outside was delightful.  But it took until the next day for me to really see how much work it was.  I picked enough mulberries to fill 5 good-sized ziploc containers, and processing them just to freeze them took at least an hour and a half with the washing, picking out little leaves and bad berries that dropped in the containers, and setting them out on trays to approximate a flash-freezing experience.  Mulberries are big and purple, kinda like blackberries, but their juice is much more tart (and flavorful, according to me) and very intensely dark red-colored.

My hand after picking mulberries

Now I have 4 gallon size freezer bags full or mulberries that are ready to use!  And for what purpose, you might ask?  Yes, that's the question.  I made this recipe that Britta posted last year, and it was delicious.  I let my 4-year-old mix the dough a bit and she kinda overmixed it, so just make sure you don't overmix.  I also did some searches online and found another great recipe for the smoothie lovers out there.  Here it is as I made it:

Wild Mulberry & Celery Smoothie Recipe

• 1 cup wild mulberries
• 1 banana (mine happened to be over-ripe)
• 1/2 cup pineapple, chopped (frozen, from Trader Joe's)
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 stalks of celery
• Blend until smooth and enjoy!

It was so delicious!  My 2-year-old asked for seconds.  I don't like the taste of celery at all, and it was completely masked in this smoothie; I think the coconut milk made that magic happen.  If you have a bunch of wild blackberries that you want to use up in a healthful way, this is a great way to do it.

Homemade Red Sauce

I know Sarah is the Italian food authority here, but I'm Italian now, so I have the audacity to put up a recipe for homemade red sauce. Yes, it's so easy to pour this out of the bottle, but this recipe is actually really simple, and soooo much better than anything in the bottle (though I have to admit, Costco has a great pomodoro sauce). This recipe came from Alan's sister Julia.

Ingredients:
2-4 tbs olive oil
3 cloves garlic sliced thinly
1/2 onion diced
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped basil
1/4 cup red wine (optional, but highly recommended)
Salt and pepper
1 tsp fennel seed
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning or oregano
1 T sugar
A little crushed red pepper (if you want it a little spicy)

1. Heat oil in a large pan and sauté garlic and onion in olive oil on low heat till onions are soft and garlic is a little brown.
2. Use a food processor, immersion blender, or vita mix to purée the canned tomatoes. I like to set aside about 1/4 or 1/3 of it to add later so there are some larger tomato chunks.
3. Add canned tomatoes to sauté mixture, and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
4. Add basil, sugar, and the rest of the spices.
5. If you're adding wine, throw in a few glugs (about 1/4 cup) and let it simmer for at least 5 minutes.

Serve over pasta topped with parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, and/or breadcrumbs.

Crispy Kale "Chips"

I keep hearing about kale "chips" and the other day someone handed me one to try at a playgroup for my little boys. It was crispy and tasty.  So, I made a batch today. Yummm.  The only thing is that unless you have a 5' x 5' baking sheet, you will need to do what I did, which is do multiple rounds on your baking sheets in the oven. I used my salad spinner (thanks Britta!!) to dry the kale, which I think is important (but you could just use a towel). And I didn't have sea salt on hand, so I just used regular table salt.  I think these will be repeats in our house!

Ingredients

• 1 head kale, washed and thoroughly dried

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• Sea salt, for sprinkling
• 
  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Remove the ribs from the kale and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Lay on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil and salt. Bake until crisp, turning the leaves halfway through, about 20 minutes. Serve as finger food.

Recipe from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/crispy-kale-chips-recipe/index.html

Nikki's Healthy Cookie Recipe

You can use unsweetened carob, or grain sweetened chocolate chips, or do what I did and chop up 2/3 of a bar of Scharffen berger 70%. I sort-of shaved half the bar with a knife and then cut the rest into bigger chip-sized chunks. You can make your own almond meal by pulsing almonds in a food processor until it is the texture of sand - don't go too far or you'll end up with almond butter. And lastly, the coconut oil works beautifully here, just be sure to warm it a bit - enough that it is no longer solid, which makes it easier to incorporate into the bananas. If you have gluten allergies, seek out GF oats.

3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, barely warm - so it isn't solid (or alternately, olive oil)
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup almond meal
1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 - 7 ounces chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the top third.

In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips.The dough is a bit looser than a standard cookie dough, don't worry about it. Drop dollops of the dough, each about 2 teaspoons in size, an inch apart, onto a parchment (or Silpat) lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes. I baked these as long as possible without burning the bottoms and they were perfect - just shy of 15 minutes seems to be about right in my oven.

Makes about 3 dozen bite-sized cookies.

Revisiting

So, I don't have a new recipe to post (for now). But yesterday I spent some time going back over old recipes posted here, and tried a few out for the first time. Last night we had Sarah's black bean burgers and Sally's red cabbage salad, and both were excellent! Alan dragged his feet making the salad because he "thought it would be gross," but he loved it. Thanks for the recipes, everyone - keep trying old ones, and keep sharing!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

This recipe from Epicurious called for couscous but I didn't have any, so I used quinoa, and the results were glorious. You can mix and match different vegetables in here. The fennel and feta together are super yummy, though, so I wouldn't substitute those out.

Vegetable-oil cooking spray
1 1/4 cups fat-free chicken or vegetable broth
2/3 cup couscous (or quinoa)
4 large bell peppers, mixed colors
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
6 oz zucchini, quartered lengthwise then sliced across thinly
6 oz yellow squash, quartered lengthwise then sliced across thinly
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
15 oz canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 oz crumbled feta cheese (about 1 cup)

Preheat oven to 350°F F. Coat a small baking dish with cooking spray. Bring the broth to a boil in a saucepan, add the couscous, cover the pan and remove it from the heat. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut the stems and top half inch off the bell peppers and scoop out the seeds and membranes. Boil trimmed peppers for 5 minutes, then drain them upside down. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet. Add onion, zucchini, yellow squash, fennel seeds, oregano, and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Remove from heat and stir in the tomatoes and chickpeas. Using a fork, scrape the couscous into the skillet and toss with the vegetables. Stir in the crumbled feta. Place peppers upright in the baking dish and fill them with couscous. Bake 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Quinoa with Mango and Curried Yogurt

I stole this recipe from Epicurious, and I'm glad I did. I loved it - it was colorful, refreshing, and a little bit different from my usual. And really quick and simple. I had it with a little grilled Mahi, and it was much better than the fish.

Ingredients
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive
1 1/3 cups quinoa
1 pound firm-ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks (2 cups)
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 fresh jalapeño chile, seeded (if desired for less heat) and minced
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup salted roasted peanuts or cashews (I used cashews), chopped

The recipe goes through a complicated series of steps for cooking the quinoa. I just put it in the rice cooker with 1.5 cups of water, and it turns out perfectly.

While that's cooking, whisk together yogurt, lime juice, curry powder, ginger, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined. When the quinoa is done, fluff it with a fork and combine with the yogurt mixture Add the mango, bell pepper, jalepeño, mint, and nuts and stir everything together. That's it!

Brussels Sprout Sesame Slaw

I bought myself a mandolin slicer a couple months ago and have been looking for an excuse to use it. Enter the brussels sprouts I bought a couple weeks ago that were dying to be used, and the product is tonight's dinner. My poor husband, surely he never thought he'd be having brussels sprout slaw for dinner. The good news, though, is he loved it, and had several helpings. Took me a little while to get the mandolin down, but other than that it was pretty quick and easy. This would be great as a side dish with some fish.

As usual, I just throw ingredients together and I don't really know exact proportions of things.

Ingredients
-1 lb of brussels sprouts, shredded
-1 large red bell pepper, sliced into small strips
-half a red onion, sliced into small strips
-half a cup of peanuts
-crushed red pepper (optional)
-salt and pepper to taste

Dressing
-rice vinegar
-sesame oil
-fresh ginger, minced
-garlic, minced
-dash of honey

Heat a tiny bit of oil in a pan and add the onions. Let them soften for a few minutes, then add the brussels sprouts, bell pepper, and peanuts. Toss it in the pan a few times over the course of just a few minutes - you want it to wilt a little, but not cook all the way through. Remove it from heat and toss with the dressing. Add some crushed red pepper if you want it spicy. I didn't have any cilantro, but I think it would be a good addition. Finish with a little salt and pepper. Healthy yumminess!

sweets

I hadn't done any baking since I stopped eating dairy three weeks ago, but the boys and I decided to live it up and try out a nice non dairy cookie recipe Monday night. Behold I give you the best chocolate cookie I've had in years! And minus the pound of sugar it is fairly healthy.

3 cups / 11 oz / 310 g walnut halves, toasted & cooled
4 cups / 1 lb / 453 g confectioner's (powdered) sugar

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons / 2 oz / 60 g unsweetened cocoa powder

scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1 tablespoon real, good-quality vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 320F / 160C degrees and position racks in the top and bottom third. Line three (preferably rimmed) baking sheets with parchment paper. Or you can bake in batches with fewer pans.

Make sure your walnuts have cooled a bit, then chop coarsely and set aside. Sift together the confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, and sea salt. Stir in the walnuts, then add the egg whites and vanilla. Stir until well combined.

Spoon the batter onto the prepared sheets in mounds of about 2 tablespoons each, allowing for PLENTY of room between cookies. These cookies are like reverse Shrinky Dinks - they really expand. Don't try to get more than 6 cookies on each sheet, and try to avoid placing the batter too close to the edge of the pan.

Bake until they puff up. The tops should get glossy, and then crack a bit - about 12 -15 minutes. Have faith, they look sad at first, then really blossom. You may want to rotate the pans top/bottom/back/front.

Slide the cookies still on parchment onto a cooling rack, and let them cool completely. They will keep in an airtight for a couple day

More Gnocchi and Pesto

This post has been a long time coming. I promised Britta a while ago that I would post my gnocchi and pesto recipes, and I'm just now doing it. Heh. These happen to be recipes from my favorite magazine of all time: Cooks' Illustrated. I feel a little bad that I'm posting these here because they charge money for online access to their recipes. So, if you love them like I do, buy their magazines or cookbooks or online subscription! The only thing I don't like is that a lot of their food is meat-centered or quite heavy (calling for butter and cream). BUT, I love that they call for real food ingredients in their recipes, and I love love love that they explain the chemistry that goes on during the cooking/preparation process. Okay, I'll stop my ode to Cooks' Illustrated now.

Potato Gnocchi with Browned Butter and Sage

Serves 2-3 as a main dish or 4-6 as an appetizer

For the most accurate measurements, weigh the potatoes and flour. After processing, you may have slighly more than 3 cups (16 ounces) of potatoes required for this recipe. Discard any extra or set it aside for another use. In addition to the Browned Butter Sauce, I've included their recipe for Gorgonzola Cream Sauce below.

Gnocchi
2 pounds russet potatoes
1 large egg, lightly beated
3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp (4 ounces) all-purpose flour, plus extra for counter
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablepoon salt

Sauce
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 small shallot, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh sage
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. FOR THE GNOCCHI: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Poke each potato 8 times with paring knife over entire surface. Microwave potatoes until slightly softened at ends, about 10 minutes, flipping potatoes halfway through cooking. Transfer potatoes directly to oven rack and bake until skewer glides easily through flesh and potatoes yield to fentle pressure, 18-20 minutes.
2. Holding each potato with potholder or kitchen towel, peel with paring knife. Process potatoes through ricer or food mill onto rimmed baking sheet. Gently spread potatoes into even layer and let cool for 5 minutes. (This is a very important step to let the excess moisture leave the potatoes.)
3. Transfer 3 cups (16 ounces) warm potatoes to bowl. Using fork, gently stir in egg until just combined. Sprinkle flour and 1 teaspoon salt over potato mixture. Using fork, gently combine until no pockets of dry flour remain. Press mixutre into rough ball, transfer to lightly floured counter, and gently kneed until smooth but slightly sticky, about 1 minute, lightly dusting counter with flour as needed to prevent sticking.
4. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets (I just used one because I only have one, and it worked out fine, but still use two parchment paper sheets) with parchment paper and dust liberally with flour. Cut dough into 8 pieces. Lightly dust counter with flour. Gently roll piece of dough into 1/2-inch-thick rope, dusting with flour to prevent sticking. Cut rope into 3/4-inch lengths. Holding fork with tines facing down in 1 hand, press each dough piece cut side down against tines with thumb of other hand to create indentation. Roll dough down tines to form ridges on sides. If dough sticks, dust thumb or fork with flour. Transfer formed gnocchi to sheets and repeat with remaining dough.
5. FOR THE SAUCE: Melt butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, swirling occasionally, until butter is browned and releases nutty aroma, about 1 1/2 minutes. Off heat, add shallot and sage, stirring until shallot is fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in lemon juice and salt; cover to keep warm.
6. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add remaining 1 tablespoon salt. Using parchment papter as sling, gently lower gnocchi from 1 sheet into water and cook until firm and just cooked through, about 90 seconds (gnocchi should float to surface after about 1 minute). Using slotted spoon, transfer cooked gnocchi to skillet with sauce. Repeat with remaining gnocchi. Gently toss gnocchi with sauce and serve.

Gorgoonzola Cream Sauce
(I haven't actually tried this, but it reminded me of the Trader Joe's gorgonzola gnocchi, which are actually really good. Perhaps it's time for a taste test.)

Makes about 1 cup, enough for 1 recipe potato gnocchi

Adjust the consistency of the sauce with up to 2 tablespoons of gnocchi cooking water before adding the dumplings.

Ingredients
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup dry white wine
4 ounces Gorgonzola cheese - crumbled (1 cup)
2 tablespoons fresh chives, minced
salt and pepper

Instructions
Bring cream and wine to simmer in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Whisking constantly, gradually add Gorgonzola, and cook until melted and sace is thickened, 2-3 minutes. Stir in chives and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover to keep warm.

Basil Pesto
(I also haven't tried this. You all can test these for me and report back. Go!)

Makes 3/4 cup, enough for 1 pound of pasta.

Pounding the basil releases its flavorful oils into the pesto more readily. Basil usually darkens in homemade pesto, but you can boost the green color a little by adding the optional parsley. For sharper flavor, substitute one tablespoon finely grated pecorino Romano cheese for one tablespoon of the Parmesan. The pesto can be kept in an airtight container, covered with a thin layer of oil (1 to 2 tablespoons), and refrigerated for up to four days or frozen for up to one month.

Ingredients
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (or substitute almonds or walnuts)
3 medium cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh curled parsley leaves (optional)
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese or pecorino romano
ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Toast the nuts in a small, heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until just golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes; set aside. Add the garlic to the empty skillet and toast over medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally, until fragrant and the color of the cloves deepens slightly, about 7 minutes. Let the garlic cool slightly, then peel, and chop.
2. Place the basil and parsley (if using) in a heavy-duty 1-gallon zipper-lock plastic bag. Pound the bag with the flat side of a meat pounder or rolling pin until all the leaves are bruised.
3. Process the nuts, garlic, herbs, oil, and 1⁄2 teaspoon salt in a food processor until smooth, stopping as necessary to scrape down the sides of the bowl, about 1 minute. Stir in the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Carrot Coconut Cookies

I just made these 5 minutes ago, and they're my new favorite cookies. If you like super sweet cookies these aren't for you, but if you're looking for a nice little healthy treat these are perfect. The ingredients are simple and wholesome: oats, carrots, whole wheat pastry flour, maple syrup, coconut oil. For best results, accept NO SUBSTITUTE for the coconut oil; it gives a wonderful rich nutty flavor (honestly I think the cookies would be a bit bland without it).

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup real maple syrup, room temperature
1/2 cup unrefined (fragrant) coconut oil, warmed until just melted
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Preheat oven to 375F degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and oats. Add the nuts and carrots. In a separate smaller bowl use a whisk to combine the maple syrup, coconut oil, and ginger. Add this to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Drop onto prepared baking sheets, one level tablespoonful at a time, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Bake in the top 1/3 of the oven for 10 - 12 minutes or until the cookies are golden on top and bottom. Leave them in a few extra minutes if you want them crispy on the outside.

I've eaten 3 so far since writing this. I love the basic recipe, next time I might try adding some lemon zest or cinnamon. Go crazy with your own variations.