Posts Tagged ‘recipe’

recipe

Here's an archive of our blog's "recipe" category. Click on a title to read the full entry.

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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Posted in HeartMatters e-newsletter, Recipes, Updates, eat | 5 Comments »

Quinoa Salad

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

Quinoa is a super nutritious grain, chock-full of protein and fiber. The nutty flavor and slightly crunchy texture make it unique, either as an ingredient in a salad or casserole, or as a hot breakfast cereal. It cooks more quickly than most other whole grains–just 12 to 15 minutes–an important fact to remember to maintain the crunch. Enjoy the following recipe for one of my favorite ways of cooking and savoring quinoa.

Ingredients:
2 parts water to 1 part Quinoa
Grilled eggplant
Grilled peppers
Basil
Garlic
Feta cheese
Kalmata olives
Roasted pine nuts

To prepare:

  • Bring water to a boil, add quinoa, turn down heat to simmer for 12 – 15 minutes. When the grains are cooked, add a bit of garlic infused olive oil to prevent them from sticking together.
  • Rub the veggies w/ garlic infused olive oil, place under the broiler for 3 – 5 minutes, on both sides. Of course you can grill other favorites such as tomatoes, zucchini, asparagus…
  • Chop the basil and garlic.
  • Crumble the feta.
  • Chop the olives in half.
  • Mix it all up gently (cooked quinoa is fragile!), let it sit in the fridge for a few hours.

Then…

  • Place the pine nuts in a non-stick pan, cook on low, constantly stirring to prevent burning; add these right before eating (so they do not become soggy!).

Note: Pine nuts are fabulously rich, adding not only a divine flavor to this or any dish, but are also a good source of mono- and poly- unsaturated fats and protein.

Enjoy!

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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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Posted in Recipes, Updates, eat | 5 Comments »

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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Posted in Recipes, Updates | 4 Comments »

Simple, Spectacular, and Savory Soup Recipe

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

Yes! Another soup recipe being offered to you, for a quick, yummy, and healthful dinner.

Minestrone Soup

Prep time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
15 ounce can of cannelloni beans
2 cups whole grain pasta (elbow or penne)
1 large yellow onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
2 small zucchini, cut into bite sized pieces
3 carrots, sliced
3 celery stalks, sliced
pepper and salt
dried basil and oregano
olive oil
a full-bodied red wine, to sip as well as to add into the soup

Directions:

  1. Saute onion in olive oil  for a few moments.
  2. While the onions are still firm, add the zucchini, carrots, and celery, a goodly amount of black pepper and basil, and a pinch of oregano and salt. Saute another few moments. Mix in the tomatoes (with the pulp) and garlic, and continue to saute, but only for as long as it takes for the veggies to be slightly cooked and still al dente.
  3. In a  in a large soup pot, cook the pasta, while enjoying a glass of wine. Drain the pasta, then pour it back into the pot.
  4. Add the cooked veggies to the pasta. Dump in the can of beans, including the bean juice. Bring to a boil for just a moment, pour in 1/2 cup of red wine, check the spices to meet your palate desires.
  5. Enjoy! This is a rich, high protein and fiber, delicious dinner. For an easy side dish, slice a good quality, whole grain baguette, layer with swiss cheese, and put under the broiler for 3 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and yummy.

How’s that for 30 minutes well-spent in the kitchen preparing this nutritious meal?

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