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Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin

February 5th, 2010

Spaghetti squash and sauteed swiss chard baked together with a light creamy sauce, topped with asiago cheese and panko breadcrumbs.  I had a big pile of swiss chard that I picked from the garden along with a big spaghetti squash sitting on the counter that needed to be used.  I roasted the spaghetti squash until tender and spooned out the tender ribbons of squash.  While the squash was roasting I sauteed the chard with shallots and garlic.  I combined them in a gratin dish and poured a light bechamel sauce over the top and baked until bubbly.  They result was a very satisfying creamy gratin.  It would be a nice side dish for roasted meat, chicken or fish.  Pretty mild in flavor, you could serve with a main dish with a more bold flavor.

Recipe:

  • 1 large spaghetti squash, cut in half and roasted at 400 degrees, until tender about 40 minutes
  • 1 large bunch of swiss chard, cleaned and cut into large bite size pieces (you can include stems)
  • 3 shallots, sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 cups low fat milk
  • 1 T flour
  • 1 T butter
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Asiago cheese for grating
  • about 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • olive oil
  • chili flakes, opt.

Method:  Preheat oven to 375

  1. In a large saute pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil then add shallots, cook until tender.  Add garlic and saute for a minute longer.  Add chard to the pan and saute until tender.  Season with salt, pepper and optional chili flakes.  Add to your cook spaghetti squash and stir until combined.  Put mixture into a casserole or gratin dish, set aside.
  2. In a saucepan, heat over medium heat and add butter and flour.  Whisk together and cook a few minutes.  Whisk in milk and season with salt and pepper, cook until thickened.  Remove from heat.  At this point you could stir in a handful of grated asiago if you want that flavor throughout.
  3. Pour milk sauce over vegetables.  Top with grated asiago cheese and panko bread crumbs.  Bake until bubbly and top is browned about 20-30 minutes.

 

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Vanilla Ricotta Muffins

February 4th, 2010

This photo goes to show what happens when I try to take pictures of my recipes.  My kids can’t keep their mischievous little hands out of my things.  These muffins should probably be called doughnut muffins because that is the memory that is drummed up when I taste them.  Memories of my childhood, when my dad would pick up doughnuts for us on a Saturday mornings.  Moist and tender muffins with hint of nutmeg.  You could also omit nutmeg and cinnamon and add chocolate chips.  Ricotta and chocolate have a strong affinity for each other.  Lemon zest would also be a great addition to the muffin base recipe.  This recipe was adapted from a Mollie Katzen book.  She is an amazing vegetarian chef that has tons of cookbooks and the famous Moosewood Restaurant.

Recipe:  makes 8-10 muffins

  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 cup soy protein powder (you can omit this and flour instead)
  • 1/2 cup dry milk powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup sucanat
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • a pinch of nutmeg
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup almond milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 T vanilla
  • 4 T butter, melted or canola oil

Method:

  1. Preheat 350 degrees.  Line muffin pan with paper or spray muffin cups with cooking spray
  2. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
  3. Place ricotta in a medium bowl, beat in the milk and add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in vanilla. 
  4. Pour ricotta mixture and butter into the dry ingredients and mix until moistened.   Do not over-mix. 
  5. Spoon batter into muffin papers.  Bake about 20 minutes or until tops are springy to touch.  Allow to cool before serving.

*another variation, for Maple-Walnut Ricotta muffins.  Decrease sucanat to 3 tablespoons.  Add toasted walnuts to flour mixture and decrease milk by 1/4 cup.  Add to the ricotta mixture, 1/4 cup pure maple syrup and 1 1/2 teaspoons maple extract.

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Endive Salad with Apples and Maple Glazed Walnuts

February 2nd, 2010

Bitter endive paired with peppery arugula, crisp tart apples and sweet walnuts makes for a great winter salad.  I love this salad because of the different textures and flavors, yet it is very simple to make.  Gorgonzola cheese would also be a great addition to this salad.  Endive has a nice crunchiness and slightly bitter taste; both of my kids gave it the thumbs up.  This salad also gives me a reason to use my favorite maple glazed walnuts.  Glazed walnuts are sold in the store but most contain many ingredients that you don’t need to consume.  Below is my rendition of the easiest glazed walnuts.

Recipe: serves 4

  • 4 handfuls of baby arugula
  • 3 heads of endive, sliced
  • 1 pink lady apple, sliced
  • 4 small handfuls of maple walnuts, recipe to follow
  • sherry vinaigrette (recipe below or your favorite balsamic dressing)

Method:

  1. Divide ingredients evenly among plates.  Drizzle with dressing and serve.

Sherry Vinaigrette

  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 2 T sherry vinegar
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • fresh pepper to taste

In a small bowl combine vinegar salt and shallot, allow to sit a few minutes.  Then whisk in olive oil and season with salt.

Maple Glazed Walnuts

  • Walnuts (as many as you want to do)
  • Pure maple syrup
  • Sea salt and cayenne pepper (you can leave out cayenne, it just gives them a nice spice)

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (I usually use my toaster oven so I don’t have to heat the whole oven)
  2. Put walnuts in a bowl and drizzle enough maple syrup over the walnuts just to coat when you toss them.  (ratio is approx. 2 cups walnuts to 1/3 cup maple syrup to give you an idea)
  3. Spread on a cookie sheet (you can line with parchment for easy clean up) and sprinkle lightly with salt and cayenne.  Bake just until fragrant about 5 minutes or so.  Be careful not to let burn.

 

 

 

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Vegetable of the week….. Swiss Chard

February 1st, 2010

Swiss chard is a member of the same plant family as beets and spinach with a similar flavor profile.  The young leaves can be harvested and used in salad or they can be grown to full mature greens with thick stalks.  The stalks are edible and quite tasty, although they should be blanched separately from the greens.  Swiss chard is rich in vitamins K, A, C, magnesium, potassium, iron and fiber. 

The chard in the photo was picked from my garden today.  It is very easy to grow and seems to grow fairly well year around in the bay area.  One of my favorite vegetables.  This is not really the season; typically it runs from about June to August, but if you are living in California, chances are your market has it year around.  Use this mild green just as you would spinach.  It is a little bit sturdier of a green than spinach.  Add it to egg dishes, simply saute with olive oil, chili flakes and garlic, add to soups, stir into creamy polenta and it is even used in desserts in Italy with raisins and pine nuts.

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Overnight Quinoa Waffles with Blackberry Maple Syrup

January 31st, 2010

Well, this will be a quick Sunday morning post.  I just thought I would share the waffle recipe that I made this morning.  It is unique, but really easy to prepare.  You make the batter the night before, making it quick to put together in the morning.  The batter is made ahead because it calls for yeast, which makes the waffles light.  The quinoa should be cooked ahead as well.  Quinoa provides protein and a good source of whole grains to these waffles.  There is more butter in this recipe than I typically use but there is really no way around it if you want a crisp waffle.  Good recipe for a weekend treat.  The recipe idea comes from Mollie Katzen’s Sunlight Cafe. 

Recipe:

  • 2 cups flour (you can try using 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour but they will not be as light)
  • 1 tsp yeast
  • 1 T raw sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups milk (recipe was tested with organic whole milk, you could probably use low fat or other non-dairy milk sub)
  • 6 T organic butter
  • 1 large egg
  • butter for waffle pan
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa plus 2 tsp sugar
  • for toppings, blackberry maple syrup (recipe below), plain yogurt

Method:

  1. Combine flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a medium size bowl.  Whisk in milk and cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap.  Let stand on the counter overnight.  (Refrigerate if temp is above 70 degrees in inside) *make sure to have quinoa cooked and ready for morning.
  2. In the morning, preheat the waffle iron and melt the 6 tablespoons of butter.  Lightly beat egg.  Whisk egg, butter, quinoa and sugar into the batter.  Proceed to make waffles according to instructions for your waffle iron, using butter to coat waffle pan in between batches.  Cook until crisp and brown.

For the blackberry maple syrup- combine equal amounts of blackberries and pure maple syrup in a glass measuring cup or bowl and microwave for about 2 minutes.  Alternatively, cook in a pan on the stove until black berries begin to breakdown.  (if using frozen berries, thaw first)

 

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Walnut Crusted Tilapia

January 29th, 2010

Tilapia or any other whitefish is perfect for this recipe.  The walnuts form a really nice crunchy breading for the fish.  Both of my kids loved this (and fish is not their favorite thing to have for dinner).  I serve it over quinoa which is very light and fluffy and makes for a nice balance to the rich tasting fish.  I also serve it with a heaping spoonful of greens with garlic, chili flakes and lemon (not pictured).  This fish would also be great served over a bed of spinach with a warm vinaigrette.  For a quick weeknight dinner, get the walnuts ready the night before and cook quinoa while you are breading and cooking fish.  It shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes to have dinner on the table.

Recipe:  Serves 4

  • 4 pieces tilapia or other whitefish (halibut would be great)
  • about a cup of walnuts either finely chopped or pulsed in the food processor
  • 1 egg beaten (in a wide bowl)
  • flour for dredging (to make recipe gluten free, use rice flour)
  • your favorite seasonings (cajun seasoning is mine)
  • olive oil
  • lemon

Method:  If serving with quinoa, cook according to instructions (cooking in broth will provide more flavor)

  1. Set up an assembly line for the fish.  Place walnuts on one plate and sprinkle flour on another plate and season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle your favorite seasonings liberally over the fish.  Dip fish in flour mixture, then egg mixture and then coat in walnuts.  Set aside and repeat with remaining fish.
  2. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a large skillet over medium high.  You don’t need much because the walnut have a lot of oil in them.  Add fish and cook until brown on each side, about 3 minutes.  Watch carefully, so that walnuts don’t burn.  Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the fish and serve immediately.

 

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Root Vegetable Chips

January 28th, 2010

These crunchy flavorful chips are fresh root vegetables sliced very thin, seasoned and baked.  Kids love snacks and especially like the crunchy kind that comes out of a bag.  Unfortunately, most of the conventional crunchy snack foods contain little nutritional value and many ingredients that you wouldn’t find in your own pantry, let alone pronounce.  These baked root vegetable chips are a great alternative.  Try any of your favorite root vegetables.  I have yet to find one that I didn’t really like.  Baking the roots until crisp really intensifies their flavor so just make sure it is a vegetable that you like. 

If you want a real treat, you can caramelize some diced onions and stir them into Greek yogurt and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  It makes for a much healthier rendition of fried potato chips and french onion dip.  Toddlers love dip and this one is good for them.

Recipe:

  • Root vegetables- a few different color fingerling potatoes, a sweet potato,  a parsnip, a few beets (use your favorite variety or what you have in the pantry)
  • Sea salt, garlic powder and smoked paprika (I put about equal amounts of each in a little bowl)  Use your favorite mix of dried spices.  Rosemary salt is particularly good on potatoes.
  • Olive oil for brushing or spraying

Method:  Preheat oven to 275 degrees

  1. Clean and thinly slice vegetables, a mandoline works best but you can slice by hand just try to slice thin and evenly.
  2. Brush or spray a cookie sheet evenly with olive oil.  Place vegetable slices in an even layer on the cookie sheet (you probably need 2 sheets).  Spray or lightly brush vegetables with olive oil and lightly sprinkle with seasonings.
  3. Bake until crispy, about 45 minutes to an hour.  You may want to flip chips over half way through baking to ensure even crisping.
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Enzo’s Pancake Muffins

January 27th, 2010

Enzo loves pancakes and muffins.  This morning he requested that we make pancake muffins.  I have never made these before but he wanted something that tasted like my chocolate chip pancakes in the form of a muffin.  The buttermilk gives the muffin the flavor of pancakes.  I found them to be a bit dry, so I added some butter to the recipe below.  These would be a good portable breakfast, along with a piece of fruit and handful of nuts.  You can of course add any of your favorite pancake add-ins such as bananas or blueberries. 

Recipe:  Makes 6 standard muffins

  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 T turbinado sugar
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 T butter, melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 T pure maple syrup
  • 2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped or other favorite fillings

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a muffin pan with papers.
  2. In a glass measuring cup, mix buttermilk, egg, vanilla, maple syrup and butter.  In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients.  Blend wet and dry ingredients together just until blended.  Do not overmix.  Spoon into muffin papers and bake for about 20 minutes or until springy to the touch.
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Maple Roasted Kobocha Squash with Garlicky Kale

January 26th, 2010

Kobocha squash tossed with maple syrup, shallots and olive oil and roasted until tender over a bed of garlic sauteed kale.  This makes a great vegetarian dish for a light meal or a side dish for roasted meats or pan roasted salmon and halibut.  I came up with this recipe because one night we were eating a little bit of leftover roasted squash with salmon and kale.  We loved the flavor and texture combination of the sweet squash with the bitter greens.  Kobocha squash can be found in most stores now.  It looks like the photo below.  The skin looks like it wouldn’t be edible but it actually ends up being quite tender and flavorful.  The squash is a bit tricky to cut like other winter squash.  Just be careful for your fingers and use a sharp knife.  I have also had a few occasions when the flesh of the squash was dry and had a chalky texture.  Just to be sure you get a good one, maybe get help picking one out.

Recipe: (serves 4-6)

  • 1 Kobocha squash, cubed in bite size pieces
  • 3 shallots, sliced
  • 2-3 T pure maple syrup (depending on desired sweetness)
  • 1 T soy sauce
  • 2 T olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 400.  Toss squash with remaining ingredients.  Spread evenly on a baking sheet.  Roast until tender, about 30 minutes.

While squash is cooking prepare kale.

  • 1-2 bunches of kale, cleaned and torn into bite size pieces
  • 4 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1 T olive oil
  • chili flakes, opt.
  • salt and pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet.  Add garlic and allow just to color.  Remove garlic to a plate.  Add kale and cook until tender, about 5-10 minutes (you can add a little water and cover if needed)  Plate and top with toasted garlic slices.  Spoon squash over the kale and serve.
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Superfoods you Should be Eating Today

January 24th, 2010

Below is a list of my favorite nutrient dense “superfoods”.  Incorporate as many of these as possible in your daily diet  for maximum health benefits.

Almonds-   Rich in vitamin E, just one serving provides most of the daily recommendation.  Packed with potassium, calcium, zinc, magnesium, fiber and LDL fighting healthy monounsaturated fatty acids.  Many recent studies have shown that a serving of almonds a day helps aid weight loss.  Almonds are also helpful for heart health by keeping cholesterol levels under control.  Try my sweet and spicy almond recipe to snack on through out the week.   Enjoy eating them raw, sliced as a salad topper, as almond butter or almond milk. 

Avocado-  Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and contain plant sterols that may block the absorption of bad cholesterol.  They are an extremely rich source of lutein which is essential for healthy eyes.  They are also a great source of potassium and folate.  Combine sliced avocados and oranges with a squeeze of lemon juice and sea salt for a refreshing side salad.  Use mashed avocado in place of mayonnaise in tuna salad.  Avocados make the perfect first food for babies because they are rich in healthy fats, easy to mash and smooth and creamy.

Beets and their Greens- Beets are high in fiber and disease fighting phytonutrients.  Don’t discard the greens, they are even more nutrient dense than the beet root.  Try juicing beets and their greens with apples and ginger.  Saute the greens with garlic and olive oil or juice.  Combine roasted beet root with avocado and citrus fruits.

Blueberries- These deep blue pigmented berries are highly concentrated with powerful antioxidants.  Research has shown that blueberries are helpful for brain health, cancer prevention, heart health, UTI prevention and vision health.   Blueberries are available all year.  Sprinkle them on top of oatmeal, bake into muffins, spoon on top of yogurt or just enjoy plain.

Cruciferous Vegetables-  This group includes cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, kale and mustard greens.  All of the vegetables in this group contain powerful cancer fighting phytonutrients.  They are rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, fiber, potassium and omega-3 fatty acids.  Enjoy broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts roasted.  Try adding greens to soups, stir fry or smoothies.

Cultured and Fermented Foods- These foods contain healthy bacteria and enzymes which when consumed improve the health of the digestive tract.  A healthy digestive tract is crucial for overall health.  A sluggish digestive tract can lower the body’s immune system.  Foods that fit this category are as follows:

  • Yogurt- organic, plain is best
  • Kefir- a cultured milk drink similar to yogurt.  Add to smoothies or drink by itself.
  • Miso paste- Add to soups and sauces.  Just be sure to remove the dish from heat before stirring miso in.  Boiling will kill the healthy properties.
  • Cultured sour cream and buttermilk
  • Kombucha (MY FAVORITE!!!)- a raw cultured bubbly elixir filled with live enzymes, antioxidants and nutrients that work to rebalance and alkalize the blood.  I love the Synergy or GT brand that are available now in most health food stores.  They may taste a little vinegar like at first but as you get used to them, they are very refreshing and hydrating.  The only negative is that one drink will set you back the cost of a latte.  The health benefits of the kombucha outweigh a latte so trade them up for a day and see how you feel.

Dark Chocolate- As I have said before, many studies are showing the amazing health benefits of consuming small amounts of dark chocolate.  It is rich in antioxidants and who doesn’t need an excuse to eat chocolate?  Especially with Valentine’s day around the corner.  Always choose high quality dark chocolate with a high cacao content. 

Dark Greens- This could be the most important food to eat more of.  Dark greens are packed with chlorophyll.  Consuming chlorophyll rich foods is like bathing your insides in liquid sunshine.  Just think about the giraffe and how many greens they eat per day.  Can you tell the difference between a 2 year old giraffe and a 20 year old?  They don’t seem to age.  I wouldn’t mind having some of those anti-aging properties.  Could it be what they are eating?

Dark greens contain a lot more protein than you may think.  The amino acids in greens are also easily assimilated by the body.  Benefits of eating lots of dark greens include:  cancer prevention, prevention of anemia, counteracts toxins, cleans tooth and gum structure, reduces inflammation and improves cell health.  Try a new dark green every week.  Saute them, add them to salad or smoothies.  We drink green smoothies every morning.  Kale and spinach blended with berries, apple and lemon juice.  Smoothies are a great way to consume lots of raw greens in one sitting.  The addition of fruit makes it more palatable to children.

Legumes- These nutrition superstars are packed with fiber, protein and iron.  There are so many varieties of beans.  Black beans, lentils and white beans are some of my favorites.  Scan the bulk bin at your local market and try a new type of bean each time.  Beans are an excellent base for a vegetarian meal.  Eat more beans for better health and a healthier planet.  Another benefit of legume is that they are extremely cheap.  Soak them overnight and pop them in a slow cooker in the morning.  I find a big pot of black beans made at the start of the week to be very helpful for putting together quick meals with toddlers around.  We put them in salads, quesadillas, soups, chili,  tostadas, serve with eggs, puree into a healthy dip for veggies and baked chips, make into burger patties or just eat by themselves with brown rice.

Oats-  Oats are high in soluble fiber which is known for lowering LDL levels and reducing the risk of heart disease.   Eat in the form of oatmeal or add to muffins, cookies, pancakes and drinks. 

Quinoa- A grain that is becoming more popular in the food industry.  It very high in protein and fiber.  It is light and fluffy and can be used in place of rice or tossed with vegetables for a nutritious salad.  Quinoa can also be used as a high protein breakfast dish mixed with a little honey and almonds or fresh berries.  Try using cooked quinoa in place of breadcrumbs for chicken nuggets.  Companies are now making quinoa flour and flakes.  I haven’t had much experience with these products but look forward to trying them out.

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