Category Archives: Recipes

Lemony Tahini Sauce

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1 medium clove garlic
kosher salt
3 tbsp. tahini
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
pinch ground cumin
2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Peel the garlic clove and chop it finely.  Sprinkle the chopped garlic with a pinch of salt and then use the flat side of your knife to repeatedly scrape the garlic against the cutting board, mashing it into a paste.  Transfer the garlic paste to a small bowl and add the tahini.  Whisk to blend.  Gradually whisk in the lemon juice; at first the tahini will thicken, but as you add more lemon juice it will begin to loosen.  Once all of the lemon juice is added, whisk in water 1/2 tbsp. at a time until you reach the consistency of a creamy sauce.  Stir in the cumin and more salt to taste.

Drizze the sauce over steamed/BBQ’d vegetables and sprinkle with the sesame seeds (optional).

Lasagna

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  1. Saute onion in oil, add ground meat and brown
  2. Drain ground meat of any excess oil
  3. Add 1 bottle of pasta sauce and one can of tomato sauce, and oregano
  4. Beat an egg, put in container of ricotta cheese, pepper
  5. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes

LAYER:
meat mixture
noodles
ricotta
meat
mozzarella
noodles
ricotta
meat
mozzarella

 

Coconut Quinoa Granola

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  • 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
  • 3/4 cup slivered almonds
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, warmed
  • 1/2 cup brown rice syrup (or honey)
  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
  2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Combine oats, quinoa, coconut, almonds, and cardamom in a large bowl.
  4. Measure coconut oil in a 1-cup measuring cup. Swirl it around and then pour over dry ingredients.
  5. Using the same, unwashed measuring cup, portion out the brown rice syrup and pour it into the bowl (the coconut oil residue will help the syrup slide out of the cup easily).
  6. Stir until all the ingredients are well-combined.
  7. Scrape mixture out onto the prepared pan and spread out evenly.
  8. Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring 2-3 times during baking. The granola is done when it appears to be uniformly toasted.
  9. Let granola cool completely before moving. Once it is cool, break it apart and store in an airtight container.

Pulled Pork

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Put the pork butt into the slow cooker before you go to bed.  In the pot mix water with some BBQ sauce, approximately 1/4 to 1/2 way up the roast.  Cook on high for about 4-5 hours overnight.  In the morning, pull the pork apart with a fork, add some more BBQ sauce, and put the slow cooker on for another 3 hours on low.

Shakshuka

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2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 – 1 chile pepper (or to taste), stemmed, sliced in half and deseeded, finely diced/minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika, smoked or sweet
1 teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed, or 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 pounds (1kg) ripe tomatoes, cored and diced, or two 14-ounce cans of diced or crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon red wine or cider vinegar
1 cup (20g) loosely packed greens, such as radish greens, watercress, kale, Swiss chard, or spinach, coarsely chopped
4 ounces (about 1 cup, 115g) feta cheese, cut in generous, bite-sized cubes
4 to 6 eggs
1. In a wide skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and the garlic and cook for 5 minutes, until soft and wilted. Add the chile pepper, the salt, pepper, and spices. Cook for a minute, stirring constantly, to release their fragrance.

2. Add the fresh or canned tomatoes, tomato paste, honey, and vinegar, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened somewhat but is still loose enough so that when you shake the pan it sloshes around. (Fresh tomatoes may take a little longer to cook than canned.) Stir in the chopped greens.

3. If you want to finish the Shakshuka on the stovetop, turn off the heat and press the cubes of feta into the tomato sauce. With the back of a spoon, make 6 indentations in the sauce. Crack an egg into each indentation, then drag a spatula gently through the egg whites so it mingles a bit with the tomato sauce, being careful not to disturb the yolks.

Turn the heat back on so the sauce is at a gentle simmer, and cook for about 10 minutes, taking some of the tomato sauce and basting the egg whites from time-to-time. Cover, and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until the eggs are cooked to your liking.

4. To finish them individually, preheat the oven to 375ºF (180ºC.) Divide the sauce into 6 baking dishes and press the feta cubes into the sauce. Set the baking dishes on a baking sheet, make an indentation in each, and crack and egg into the center. Bake until the eggs are cooked to your liking, basting the whites with some of the sauce midway during baking, which will take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes – but begin checking them sooner to get them just right. If the yolks begin to get a little firm on top before the whites are cooked, drape a sheet of foil over them, but avoid having it touch the yolks.

Serve with lots of crusty bread for scraping up the sauce.

Brussel Sprout, Lentils, Bacon and Pear Salad

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  • 2 lbs. brussels sprouts
  • 2 Comice Pears
  • 1/2 cup hazelnuts
  • 1/2 cup cooked bacon
  • 1 cup De Puy Lentils
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 heaping tbsp  dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar
  • salt/pepper to taste

Bring two pots of water to a boil. One for the lentils, one for blanching the brussel sprouts. Cook lentils for 20-30 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, shred brussel sprouts by hand or in a food processer. Set aside. Cook bacon to a crisp and lay to rest on a paper towel until cooled. Chop and set aside.

Roughly chop hazelnuts and toast in a dry pan for 5 minutes until browned but not burned. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, dijon, honey, red wine vinegar, and salt/pepper. Set aside. When all accessory ingredients have been prepped, toss shaved brussels sprouts into the boiling water and blanch for no more than 1 minute. Pour into a colander and rinse with cold water immediately. Dry with a salad spinner-dude or with towels. In a large bowl combine sprouts, cooked lentils, chopped bacon, and toasted hazelnuts. Cut in the slightest slivers of pear over the salad. Toss lightly with your hands before mixing in the dressing. Taste test for extra salt or dijon.

Three Ingredient Power Bars

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1 cup nuts
1 cup dried fruit
1 cup dates

1. Toast the nuts (10 minutes at 350)

2. Combine the nuts, dried fruit and dates in a food processor.  Combine all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse a few times just to break them up. Separate the dates if they start to clump together.

3. Process continuously for 30 seconds.  By this point, the ingredients should all have broken down into crumb-sized pieces. Scrape the edges of the bowl and beneath the blade to make sure nothing is sticking.

4. Process continuously for 1-2 minutes, until a ball is formed.  Continue processing for another 1-2 minutes, until the ingredients clump together and gather into a ball.

5. Press into a disk and chill.  Lay a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper on your work surface and dump the power bar dough on top. Press the dough with your hands until it forms a thick square disk, roughly 8″ x 8″ in size. Wrap and chill for at least an hour or overnight.

6. Divide into bars.  Unwrap the chilled power bar dough and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 8 large bars or 16 small squares, as desired. Wrap each bar in plastic wrap or wax paper.

7. Store the bars.  Store the bars in the fridge for several weeks or in the freezer for up to three months. The bars can be eaten straight from the fridge or freezer and will be firm, but chewy. Room-temperature bars are perfectly fine to eat and can be kept in a lunch bag or backpack all day, but will be more soft and paste-like.

Add-ins:  Shredded coconut, chia seeds, chocolate chips, cacao nibs, cocoa powder, crystalized ginger, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cardamom, lemon zest, lime zest

Mediterranean Whitefish

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a splash of extra virgin olive oil
4 fresh halibut or other whitefish fillets
4 large tomatoes, chopped
1 large onion, minced
4 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup capers, drained
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
1/2 cup pitted green olives
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. fresh oregano (or 1 tsp. dried)

Preheat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat.  Add a splash of olive oil, enough to cover the bottom of the pan with a thin film.

Pat the halibut fillets dry with a piece of paper towel and then lightly season them with salt and pepper.

Carefully place the fillets in the hot oil and sear on both sides, browning them until they are golden brown.  They don’t have to cook all the way through at this point.

Remove the fillets from the pan and add the tomatoes, onion, garlic, capers, olives, vinegar and oregano.  Bring the mixture to a vigorous simmer, then return the halibut to the pan and lower the heat a bit.  Nestle the fillets into the mixture and continue cooking until they are cooked through, just a few minutes longer.  Serve the halibut with generous spoonfuls of the tomato mixture.

 

Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies

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2 cups quinoa flour (or 1 cup quinoa flour and 1 cup all-purpose flour)
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1.5 cups peanut butter

Preheat the oven to 375.  Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.  Cream the butter with both sugars until smooth.  Beat in the eggs and add the peanut butter, mixing well.  Gradually add the flour mixture and blend well.  Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Roll the dough into 1″ balls and place 2″ apart on an ungreased baking sheet.  Flatten the balls with a fork in a crisscross design.  Place on the centre oven rack for 8-10 minutes, until the cookies brown slightly on the edges and puff up.

Remove the cookies from the oven and cool for 1 minute on the pan before transferring to a rack to cool.

Baking Powder Biscuits

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2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 450.  In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.  With pastry blender or two knives, cut in vegetable shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in milk, just until mixture forms soft dough that leaves side of bowl.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead 6 to 8 times, just until smooth.  With floured rolling pin, roll dough 1/2 inch thick.  Cut out rounds.  Arrange biscuits on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes.