Recipes

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Fruit Cobbler

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

Not too sweet, not too tart…that’s how a fruit cobbler should be! This time of year is so rich in the bounty that is available at the natural foods cooperative market where I shop: fruit, fruit, and more fruit. I make smoothies. I chop up berries to mix with cereal. I keep a huge fruit salad cut up and in the fridge, ready to savor at any moment–alone, with yogurt, or even on top of vanilla ice cream. Grapes and cherries, papaya, mango, pineapple, apples, pears, peaches, plums, berries, bananas–you name it and I’ll include it in my fruit salad.

I am a real advocate of preparing foods ahead as much as possible to increase access to healthful small meals throughout the day. I have found a delicious twist to this that is a healthful treat, and especially useful if the fruit salad has been in the fridge a day too long! Healthful Treat. Now when’s the last time you saw those two words together?

Ingredients:

  • as above, any fruit you have lying around, chopped into bite size pieces
  • sugar, to taste
  • granulated tapioca
  • optional: a pinch of cinnamon and/or fresh ground nutmeg
  • flour
  • sugar
  • coconut oil (in its solid form, not liquid)

To prepare:

  1. The amount of sugar you mix into the fruit will depend on how much fruit salad you will be using, as well as your personal taste preference. I suggest: Go Tart!
  2. Mix in granulated tapioca. (try 3 T for every 4 cups of fruit)
  3. Consider cinnamon or nutmeg here, but just a small pinch.
  4. Put the fruity mix into a glass baking dish.
    *** Here’s where the fun begins: assembling the cobbler topping ***
  5. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and coconut oil until you have a crumbly mess that is not too sweet but pleasing to the palate. (see note below)
  6. Pour the crumble over the fruit, spreading evenly to the edges of the dish.
  7. Bake uncovered, in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 45-ish minutes, keeping an eye on the topping. Once it starts to become golden brown, I turn the oven off, but let the dish sit happily inside for another 10 minutes or so.
  8. Let it cool, then enjoy this delicious and healthy treat.
  9. Top with yogurt or creme fraiche, and you’ve got a small meal of good quality fat, carbs, fiber, and amazing flavor.

NOTES:

  • I’m not a measuring spoon type of gal; I love the free flow of creativity in the kitchen. It works out most of the time, that I am rewarded with a delish dish or meal that may never taste the same way twice, but that elicits joy and satisfaction in the process.
  • My personal choice is organic food; from produce to flour, sugar, grains, spices, coconut oil, dairy, etc. See how that concepts fits into your own personal choices.
  • For this recipe, I use unprocessed cane sugar and light brown sugar. I suggest that you try to shift towards less sugar when baking–the tartness in fruit is quite exciting once your mouth has a chance to savor the flavors beyond sweet.
  • I love coconut oil. Yes, it is a saturated fat, but one that has the health benefits of plant foods, and woweezowee, once you get a taste of it in this topping, you’ll never go back!

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Posted in HeartMatters e-newsletter, Recipes, Updates, eat | 2 Comments »

Grilled Veggies Extraordinaire!

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

It is nearly unimaginable to me that I have gone through my entire adult life–until last week–before becoming familiar with this divine, easy, and healthy method of cooking up a bunch of vegetables all at once–and having them come out as a side dish to any meal that a 5-star chef would be proud of! Where have I been hiding? Well, it’s never too late and I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I now do!

Ingredients:

  • any and all veggies that you round up: zucchini, peppers (red and yellow), cauliflower, mushrooms, eggplant, broccoli, purple onion, green beans — don’t hold back!
  • olive oil
  • good quality balsamic vinaigrette (I use fig vinaigrette–it’s sweet flavor adds a surprise zip to the marinade)
  • a small pinch of salt and a hearty pinch of black pepper

To prepare:
1.  cut veggies into bite size pieces, and place into large bowl
2. add enough olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette to please your palate, and to coat the veggies uniformly
3. add the salt and pepper; mix it all up well
4. place the veggies into one of those grill pans intended for small pieces of food (see photo)
5. cook for 15 minutes on medium flame on the BBQ, stirring every 5 minutes
6. Enjoy the most delish, crunchy, healthy, aromatic, and simply marvelous veggies you have ever eaten!

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Cool Summer Dinner Recipe

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

There are those summer evenings when cooking a hot meal just doesn’t jazz me. Last night was one of those evenings. I came up with a fabulous tasting, super easy meal that kept us cool. Give this one a try!

Garbanzo Wrap

Ingredients:
15 ounce can garbanzo beans
lemon
cilantro
olive oil
curry
tomato
cucumber
crunchy sprouts
fresh mint
greek yogurt, plain
leftover cooked grains
spinach or tomato wraps

Preparation:
1. Blend the first 5 ingredients in a food processor.
2. Chop tomato and cuke.
3. Spread the garbanzo puree onto the wrap.
4. Layer on the yogurt, lightly.
5. Add some grains on top. Note: If you don’t have leftover grains in the fridge, cook some up! That can happen in the morning, while your house has not heated up yet. I suggest a hearty grain such as wheat berry or barley, but any ol’ grain will do.
6. The next layer will be the tomato, cuke, and sprouts. I used radish sprouts, by the way. BUT you can add a million toppings here: purple cabbage, hearty greens, sliced pepper, roasted pine nuts, grated carrots, raisins; any and all combinations will be perfect!
7. As an afterthought, I added a few mint leaves from my garden–this was a brilliant idea!
8. Roll that bad boy up and you’ve got a high protein, nutrient dense dinner that is light, delicious, and refreshing.

Are you feeling cool?

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Best Beets Recipe

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

Yep, it’s true: Beets are delicious. If your memory of beets are from the canned, mushy slices your mom served you, be prepared to have your taste buds delighted and your body rejuvenated! Beets are nutrient dense and can be prepared in a very tantalizing way. Here’s my favorite recipe:

Ingredients:

Red or golden beets or a mixture of both
Blue Cheese, crumbled
Turkish apricots
Candied pecans or walnuts
Balsamic vinegar

  1. Wash and wrap beets in foil, bake at 400 for 60 minutes. Let cool completely (several hours).
  2. Wearing kitchen gloves, rub the beets gently and the skin will fall right off.
  3. Clean up the beet tips.
  4. Chop into bite sized chunks.
  5. Add crumbled blue cheese, chopped turkish apricots and (optional) just a few candied pecans.
  6. Drizzle with good quality balsamic vinaigrette (I used fig) and sprinkle a tad of salt and pepper.
  7. This dish can be eaten at room temperature or cold from the fridge in the summer. Enjoy!

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Pasta dinner in less than 30 minutes

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

John’s favorite pasta dish, this is simple, delicious, and makes a great leftover lunch!

Prep time: less than 30 minutes

Ingredients:
onion and garlic, chopped
large can of diced tomatoes
kalamata olives (cut in half, if you’d like)
capers

1. Saute the onions until they are soft but not mushy.
2. Add in tomatoes, olives, and capers. Note: put pasta water on to boil at this juncture.
3. Bring the sauce to a boil, then turn down to simmer until pasta water is boiling.
4. Place the pasta into the boiling water, add a smidge of salt, and cook the appropriate amount of time, depending on what type of pasta noodles you are using. THEN, add chopped garlic (I use a lot!) to the sauce, turn off the burner, cover the sauce pot and let it rest while the pasta is cooking.
5. Drain pasta, return to pot, pour the sauce on top, and mix gently until the pasta is covered with this savory sauce.
If you would like, Parmesan cheese–freshly grated or packaged–is delish on top.

SIDE DISH NOTE: I almost always prepare greens to go with this dish; either kale and chard combo (plenty of garlic!), brussel sprouts (think garlic),  green beans (guess what I add to this–yep, mo’ garlic) or if I am feeling adventurous, grilled zucchini. All of the side dishes can be prepared and finished while the sauce and pasta are cooking. It’s that simple! Check it out:

1. Wash and stem the chard and kale leaves.
2. Chop up plenty ‘o garlic.
3. Put them both together in heated up olive oil and saute for approximately 5 minutes. Allow the greens to stay somewhat crunchy! Sprinkle a tad of salt, and voila! You have a nutrient dense, fabulously flavored and gorgeous looking side dish.

OR
1. Place brussel sprouts, a few at a time, in your food processor, using the slice blade.
2. Add them, with plenty of garlic, to heated olive oil and saute with a pinch of salt for just a few minutes. Al dente rules!
3. This brussel sprout recipe will blow away any previous nightmares you have had since childhood, when your mother boiled the BS into a mushy, horrid mess.

OR
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Take the stems off the green beans.
3. Place them and a bunch of chopped garlic in a glass baking dish, toss with olive oil. Mix well.
4. Sprinkle with black pepper.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, stirring them around once or twice. They will come out of the oven crisp, garlic-y, and a perfect compliment to pasta.

OR
1. Slice zucchini into long strips, not too thin and not too thick.
2. Rub with a little garlic infused olive oil.
3. Place the strips on a cookie type sheet and broil on low for 2 – 3 minutes on both sides. At the last nanosecond of broiling on the second side, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, which will then become a chewy, yummy, crusty topping.

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Veggie Soup: A leftover lovers litany

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Vegetable Soup: A leftovers lover litany
Simple, hearty, and delicious

Prep time: 20 minutes

Onions, celery and carrots are at the base of nearly every soup I make. As a vegetarian, I make my soups using the juice of the olive oil and butter sauté of those three essential soup ingredients. It takes a few minutes more to chop then cook them up, but I have become so used to this ritual, that for me, it’s not a big deal. The good news is that there is healthful and delicious veggie or meat broths available (Imagine or Pacific Natural come to mind), and by all means, use those without a second thought.

The ingredients are pretty much whatever leftover cooked veggies you have on hand and the last of the raw cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes, corn, whatever! Even the veggies that you might not be so inclined to eat raw as they appear a day too old – yes, toss them in! You can also add in leftover pasta, beans, meat, anything that strikes you!

Ingredients:

Diced potatoes
Any and all leftovers

Directions:

  1. Start with either the broth or do the sauté with olive oil and butter combined. If you had time for the sauté, add in chopped fresh garlic near the end.
  2. Put this or the broth into a large pot.
  3. Add some water until it looks like you have a soup pot full. Bring to a boil.
  4. Add the potatoes and let them boil up, but don’t let them get too soft.

Here’s where it gets interesting…

  1. Depending on the leftovers, if they are raw, put them in now. If they are cooked already, wait until later.
  2. Consider adding canned beans, corn, tomatoes, or whatever else is handy.
  3. Season with pepper, a pinch of salt, and possibly some cumin.
  4. If you are adding leftover grains such as rice, pasta, or barley do it now at the same time as you add in the leftover veggies.

TaDa!  You’ve got a fabulous dinner in no time flat and you used up the rest of what was in your fridge just in time for your weekly trip to the grocery store.

One last note:
I almost always make cheese bread to compliment the soup. This is another great use of leftovers…if a baguette has been around for an extra day, use it! Fresh bread works as well, of course. Slice up a good quality cheddar or swiss, layer it thinly on the sliced bread, and put it on a cookie tray under the broiler for just a couple of minutes. You will have yummy cheese bread that everyone will enjoy!

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A quick and delish dinner

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Simple Tortilla Casserole
Prep time: 10 minutes; Baking time: 30 minutes

Purchased ingredients:                                                   Prepped ingredients:

Whole grain tortillas                                                           Grated cheddar and jack cheese
Salsa or chili sauce                                                            Chopped cilantro
Black olives, drained                                                          Chopped green and purple cabbage
Grilled peppers, canned or jar, drained
Black or pinto beans, drained

  1. Pour a bunch of salsa or chili verde sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 glass casserole dish.
  2. Place 3 tortillas on top of the salsa or sauce.
  3. Cover with ½ of the cheese.
  4. Beans next.
  5. Then peppers.
  6. Sprinkle on the cilantro and olives.
  7. Layer with more torts.
  8. Top it off with a healthy dousing of salsa or chili sauce.
  9. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 28 minutes.
  10. Remove foil, sprinkle on remaining cheese and bake 2 more minutes.
  11. Top with a lot of cabbage at the table for added zip and crunch.

This dinner is so quick, so yummy, and so simple, that you won’t even mind that it is a complete protein, high fiber, and low fat meal!

My choice is to shop at our local co-op for all canned or prepared items; I buy organic and I recommend you consider this as well—there will be no added fats, coloring, sweeteners, preservatives, etc. Having said that, the point here is to have a quick and delish dinner, you should buy whatever you think is best.

You already know that I am not a recipe user. I love free flow creativity in the kitchen. This dish can have virtually anything you want to put in it that you and your family like and that maintains the Mexican or Spanish flavor. And of course, you can leave out any of the ingredients that don’t thrill you.

Finally, I sometimes buy a bunch of rice to go with this dinner. There’s a fab little Mexican place in town, called Tortilla Grill, which uses all organic ingredients for their rice and beans. It makes me feel better to bring that kind of rice home for an easy side dish to an already simple dinner. The big box food stores sell cooked Mexican or Spanish style rice also, again your choice. Occasionally, if I am feeling really sassy, I will throw the rice into the casserole, on top of the beans to bake into the cheesy goodness!

Enjoy this meal—it is one that kids and spouses like—if you have them around the house—and either way, you’ll love it because of the ease and taste!

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