Chips and Dip (the healthy & vegan way)

A healthy, filling option for your next peckish afternoon or house party. The crackers are delicious on their own - salty and flavorful - but with the dip they are even better! Go on! Have a peace.



Herbed Crackers (vegan and gluten-free)


1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1 tbsp coconut flour
3/4 tsp dried lavender
3/4 tsp dried rosemary
3/4 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp herba salle
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp poppyseeds
2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil


Add dry ingredients (except sesame seeds and poppy seeds) into a food processor and pulse until all elements ground. Empty ground ingredients into a mixing bowl. Add seeds. Add wet ingredients and stir well with a fork. Keep stirring until the dough forms one thick ball. Split the dough ball in half, placing each between dual sheets of parchment paper. Roll out, between the parchment paper, until each ball is about 1/4 inch thick round. Feel free to cut to shape once it's flattened and press the cut bits in around the edges. It's not going to change shape once it bakes, so what you start with will be what you get.


Slice the dough into the size crackers you want. I cut about 2 inches wide and 3 inches long. 


Bake at 300 F for about 30 minutes or until browned. 


Vegan Veggie Dip


~8 oz steamed spinach
~6 oz steamed baby kale
~6 oz steamed broccoli 
~6 oz steamed cauliflower
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein)
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp celtic sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper (for a kick)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup red onions
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup shredded white daiya cheese for folding in, 1/2 cup for topping


Caramelize red onions with olive oil. 
Quick soak cashews in boiling water for twenty minutes.
Set oven to 350 F.
Blend cashews first, then add the rest of the ingredients to a food processor and blend til smooth. 
Pour into a heat safe serving dish, fold in ~1/2 cup white daiya cheese. Top with ~1/4 cup white daiya cheese. 
Bake at 350 F for about 10 minutes, or until cheese topping has melted. 
Serve warm with crackers.

Chilled Greek-style Pasta Salad

Pasta salads are a staple for pot lucks, summer picnics, and bag lunches. Why? Because they keep, they're good cold, they're easy, and they fill you up. All good things. Unfortunately, most past salads are also doused in heavy dressings and creams that leave you feeling sleepy. Good for a picnic, maybe, but not so good for a working lunch. Solution? Here's mine.

Simple, whole grain pasta. Plain, delicious virgin olive oil. Fresh herbs, tomatoes, and delectable olives. This one is filling and healthy and goes a long, long way.

Chilled Greek-style Pasta Salad
(12 servings)

1 lb whole wheat orzo (cooked to instructions)
2 handfuls fresh mint leaves, minced
2 tbsp virgin olive oil
1 tbsp kalamata olive juice
2 pints grape tomatoes, halved
2 cups crumbled fat-free feta
1 cup sliced kalamata olives
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Cook the orzo to package directions and strain. While the drained pasta is still hot, transfer it to a large mixing bowl and add the tomatoes and feta. Mix well and allow to sit for about five minutes. That will give the tomatoes some time to cook due to the heat of the pasta and the feta some time to soften and melt a bit.
In a small, separate bowl, combine the olive oil, kalamata juice (poured from the kalamata olive jar), and white and black pepper. Stir well and pour over the pasta. Mix to combine and coat the pasta.
Last, add the mint and olives. Mix to combine, making sure all elements are throughout the pasta. Allow to cool in the fridge, serve chilled.
Stores in a sealed tupperware container for about five days.

Go on! Have a peace! Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Protein Patties

Hello again! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving week and weekend. While I was visiting my family in Texas, I reworked my Game-Changer patties for my aunt (who's vegan) and they turned out wicked good, so I thought I would share the new version of the recipe as well. You don't have to be vegan to enjoy these (and if you're serving them to your non-vegan friends, you can just call them a vegetable side if you want), but if you are - you'll find that they have a full serving of protein and delicious, healthy cruciferous vegetables. These are great for a protein-rich side dish or a meal on the go. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Protein Patties

Makes 16 

1 lb sweet potatoes, cooked  

3/4 cup onions   

1/4 cup flax seed meal   

1/2 cup gelled chia seeds  

6 tsp olive oil

4 loose fist sized clumps of baby spinach, raw  

3 loose fist sized clumps baby kale, raw 

2 tsp salt 

1 tsp black pepper

2  sage leaves, crushed

1 sprig rosemary, crushed

1 tsp white pepper

• Preheat oven to 400°.
• Clean your sweet potatoes and brush them with olive oil. Pierce the potatoes with a fork. Bake them for about 45 minutes. 
• Pan brown onions and spinach and kale with ~6 tsp olive oil.  
• To make your gelled chia seeds, take 1/3 cup chia seeds and place them into a sealed container with 2 cups water. Stir them, let them sit for ten minutes, and then stir again. (You can keep the gel that you don't use for this recipe in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks. Mix it into salad dressings or juice for a little extra protein in whatever you like.)
• Peel your baked sweet potatoes. (I munch on the peels because they are delicious!) Puree baked sweet potatoes in food processor. Puree cooked spinach and kale and onions. Place pureed vegetables into a large bowl. Puree browned onions, cooked spinach and kale in food processor. Move to bowl. 
• Combine blended sweet potatoes, onions, chia seeds, flax seed meal, green onions, herba salle, egg whites, blended spinach, herbs, salt and pepper. 
• Form and flatten portions of the “dough” into patties.
• Lay the patties onto parchment paper that has been sprayed with cooking spray (or stoneware) and bake for 15-20 minutes, remove, flip them over, and bake again for another 20 minutes until they’re lightly brown and crisp on the outside.
• Serve warm, at room temperature, or straight from the fridge.

Go on, have a peace! Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Protein Game Changers

I was recently invited to participate in something called the Game On Diet, which is basically a diet/lifestyle change competition that involves collecting points for meals, water intake, and exercise. It's a pretty neat system, one that I recommend you looking into if it at all peaks your interest. But the point is this. As part of the game, we're required to eat five meals a day. I know. It's crazy. And since I don't have time to stay home all day and cook, I decided to look into a quick and easy way to prep for those extra moderately portioned meals on the go. This is the first thi I came up with. It has protein, cruciferous vegetables, fiber, and healthy carbs. All that and it tastes awesome hot or cold, and is extremely easy to pack and carry. So, here you go.

Sweet Potato Protein Game Changers
Makes 16 patties
1 lb sweet potatoes, cooked
1 bunch green onions, diced
1/3 cup onions
1/4 cup flax seed meal
1.25 lb 99% fat free ground turkey
6 tsp olive oil
4 fist sized clumps of baby spinach, raw
1/3 cup egg whites
2 tsp herba salle (you can make your own version of this by combining sea salt, dried rosemary, dried sage, and dried basil in equal parts)
1 tsp black pepper
2 dried sage leaves, crumbled
1 sprig rosemary, dried, crumbled 
2 tsp white pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Bake sweet potatoes for 20-25 minutes. Pan brown turkey and onions with ~2 tsp olive oil. Puree sweet potatoes in food processor (I peeled the skins and munched them, but it's up to you). Steam and then puree spinach with sweet potatoes. Dump puréed vegetables into a large bowl. Purée browned turkey and onions in food processor. Combine blended sweet potatoes, onions, turkey, flax seed meal, green onions, herba salle, egg whites, blended spinach, herbs, salt and pepper.
Form and flatten portions of the “dough” into patties.
Lay the patties onto parchment paper that has been sprayed with cooking spray (or stoneware) and bake for 15-20 minutes until they’re lightly brown and crisp on the outside.
Serve warm, at room temperature, or straight from the fridge.


Go on, have a peace! Have two! Enjoy! Go on, have a peace! Have two!

Knead-Free Scrumptious Loaf

Hello, all!

First of all, let me say I'm so sad not to have thrown a bunch of new recipes at you this month. Circumstances have conspired to keep me away from my kitchen, which is terribly disappointing to me; I miss my culinary meditation time. Second, thank you so much to CindyCupcake for both following my tweets and for mentioning my web series! You're so sweet - and as a result, you get to request a recipe, miss! Just tell me 2-4 ingredients and I will make a recipe just for you and name it after you. (It's the next best thing to baking cookies and mailing them to wherever you are!)

With regards to Family Valuables - this series is one very close to my heart. I, along with two friends, came up with the idea, wrote, directed, cast, and acted in it. We had a wonderful crew who worked tirelessly with us to make the show what it turned out to be. We shot three episodes and two teaser scenes in a very short amount of time on very little funding and we are so terribly proud of the work we accomplished. For more information on the series, you can visit www.familyvaluablesseries.com, find us on Facebook, or just go straight to watching the episodes. I do appear in the series (more so later in the season). I'm in Episode 1 as one of the Mormon visitors and then in one of the teaser scenes as my characters true identity... dun dun dun. Please check it out, 'like' it on blip.tv and/or Facebook if you do (how could you not?), and tell your friends if you like. We made it to make people laugh, so the more people who see it, the better.

Now! For all ya'll who are hungering for something other than entertainment, here's an incredibly easy recipe for bread! Yes, bread! I know, I generally avoid this food staple due to the lack of nutrients usually found in the store-bought versions. But with this recipe - a recipe I actually learned about through a Cornerstone Theater piece the entitled 'Bread' and directed by the wonderful Nancy Keystone - you get to make a delicious, crusty loaf from scratch and share it with our friends and family. And your house will smell absolutely incredible. Breaking bread and sharing it around the table has always been a Thanksgiving tradition in my family (even though many of us have given it up for the rest of the year) and I'm overjoyed to share this with you.

All you need is a bowl, a dutch oven, plastic wrap, two cotton towels, some very basic ingredients, and time. So, without further ado...

Knead-Free Scrumptious Loaf
Yields one 1.5 lb loaf

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting (you can use whole wheat flour instead, just be careful making sure that the dough doesn't become too dense)
1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
flax seeds (optional)
minced and crushed rosemary (optional)
olive oil (optional)

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, flax seeds, rosemary, yeast, and salt. Add 4/5 cup water and 4/5 cup olive oil (or all water as you choose - the oil makes a denser, moister loaf), and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours - preferably about 18 - at warm room temperature (about 70 F).

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for another fifteen minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape the dough into a ball.

Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour; wn dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, the dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready,  heat oven to 450 F.  Put a 6-8 quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex, or ceramic - I use my awesome La Creuset dutch oven) in the oven as it heats. When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven. Slide our hand under the towel and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up. It may (and probably will) look like a mess, but that's a-OK. Shake the pan once or twice if the dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake for 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake for another 15-30 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

This is by far the easiest bread recipe I've ever seen and the result is simply delectable. As per usual, feel free to substitute or add ingredients to suits your tastes and whims. Add different herbs, or olives, or nuts, raisins, or currants. Go on. Have a peace! And have a wonderful, wholesome Thanksgiving!

Spaghetti Spesto!

All right! More in the vain of easy to prepare, slow to indulge meals for the busy week. This one is wondrously simple, healthy, and satisfying. And, even more fun, you can do the main portion and then add different things to make it a slightly different meal so you don't feel like you're eating the same thing every day.

Spaghetti Spesto
(makes ~5 servings)

1 spaghetti squash, ~ 3lbs

Spesto sauce:
2/3 oz basil
~1 oz baby spinach
4 tbsp olive oil
3/4 oz fresh grated reggiano cheese
6 cloves garlic
1/2 oz sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
~1/4 tsp salt
small handful walnuts

Put about 1 cup of water in your crockpot and settle the spaghetti squash in, covering with a lid. Set to low and let cook about 9 hours. When done, remove the squash (carefully with a pot holder - it's hot!) and cut lengthwise. Remove the seeds and goopy innards (to a separate bowl if you like - squash seeds are as yummy as pumpkin seeds) and then, using a fork, break apart the 'noodles' of the squash and dump them into a nice sealable container.

For the sauce, place all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Puree until everything is well combined.

Pour the sauce over the spaghetti squash noodles, mix thoroughly, and enjoy.

I tried a few variations on this: adding quick-roasted chicken tenders, adding extra sundried tomatoes, making chicken meatballs and adding those to the mix. The possibilities are endless. Let me know if you think of more. :)

Go on! Have a peace! Enjoy!

Pesto Chicken and Sun-dried Tomato Wrap with Roasted Fennel Rings

This is an oven-free recipe. It's a super easy, very tasty little picnic munchable for the upcoming summer months. Take it to the park or an outdoor concert and enjoy feeling full but not stuffed. :) I paired it with a 2007 Rosato di Sangiovese from one of my favorite Napa Valley vineyards - Gargiulo Vineyards.  And brought a side of roasted fennel, which I'll also tell you how to make.

Pesto Chicken and Sun-dried Tomato Wrap
(makes 4)


2 chicken breasts, grilled and chopped into bite size pieces
Lavash bread (or pita bread as you prefer)
Sun-dried tomatoes
Arugula
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup raw cashews (ground to tiny bits)
~ 4 tbsp Simple home-made pesto sauce (see below for directions)

When I'm grilling, I use my George Foreman grill, which really keeps the cooked meat lean, but this will work on any grill. Brush a light layer of olive oil onto the chicken breasts and sprinkle a little salt and pepper to taste on the chicken before putting it on the grill. You'll want to cook it until it's cooked through and not much more. The more tender it is the better, just make sure it really is cooked through.

When it's done, dice it up into bite sized pieces and put it in a large bowl with a few handfuls of arugula, about 4 tbsp of sun-dried tomatoes (more if you like - I like to start with this and then bring more sun-dried tomatoes in tupperware for later), some ground cashews (for a little crunch), and about a tablespoon of lemon juice.

Next you want to add your pesto sauce slowly to the bowl. You want just enough to coat the contents of the bowl, not drown them, approximately 1 tbsp for each serving. Mix it up well, making sure that everything in the bowl is nice and pesto'd up, then layer a few spoonfuls out onto each piece of lavash and roll them up, folding the ends, before wrapping in aluminum foil. Easy peasy. Go on. Have a peace. :)

Simple home-made pesto sauce
3.5 packed cups fresh basil leaves
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup ground pecorino cheese
1/4 cup ground raw cashew

Combine basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, salt, cashews in a blender and blend until smooth. When the mixture is completely smooth, add the pecorino and pulse the blender until it has been incorporated into the mix.


Roasted Fennel Rings
(makes 2 servings)

2 fennel bulbs
extra virgin olive oil

Preset your oven to 400 F. Prepare a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and then set a cookie cooling rack on top of that - preferably one with small squares instead of bars, but bars will do.

Take two fennel bulbs and cut much the same way you would make onion rings (cut off the ends, and then make regular slices). You'll want to peel apart each layer and set them on the cooling rack on top of the cookie sheet so that the individual semi-rings will not fall through. Brush olive oil lightly on both sides of each piece of fennel. Roast for about 20 minutes.

These roasted fennel rings have a sweet, not overly licorice-y flavor, and make a great light side dish or, even, a fun alternative to dessert.

Crazy Awesome Vegan Mac and Cheese

"What?!", you ask. "Isn't cheese inherently non-vegan?" Yes. Yes, it is. But there are some fabulous substitutes out there (like the ones I use in the recipe below). Now, I have had many vegan mac and cheeses, but none of them have ever included any of these awesome substitutes and I'm not entirely sure why that is.

Note: This is not one of my super quick recipes. It is also rather messy to make. However, clean up is still super fast and it will feed you for a LONG time. :)

Crazy Awesome Vegan Mac and Cheese
(makes a LOT. I mean, enough to feed five people for several days.)

18 cups of water
32 oz elbow macaroni (I use Tinkyada Pasta Joy Brown Rice Elbow Pasta with Bran)
3 tbsp whole wheat flour
1 tbsp honey dijon mustard
3 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 cup onion, diced
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp arrowroot
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups shredded vegan cheese (I use 3/4 cup soy kaas mild cheddar and a .41 lb block of Daiyo cheese), plus more for topping (optional)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 can sweet peas
6 oz extra firm tofu, cut into 1" cubes

This is what your shredded Daiyo and Soy Kaas will look like. See. Nothing to be scared of. :)

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Boil 18 cups of water in a giant pot. Pour 32 oz of pasta in and cook on medium high for 3 minutes. Then turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile...

In a big sauce pan, warm olive oil, almond milk, mustard, and flour over medium low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring until there are no lumps.

Add garlic and onions and 1 tbsp arrowroot. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken.

Add shredded cheese and stir for 8-10 minutes, stirring regularly. Add salt and pepper. Stir some more. I let it sit for a few minutes after this and came back and stirred and then repeated until the consistency was nice and cheesy and goopy (took about 15 minutes including the time I left it to sit while I strained my cooked pasta, etc).

By now, your pasta should be done cooking, so remove it from heat, strain it through a colander, rinse with cold water, and replace in the big pot you cooked it in. Add the peas and tofu and stir to combine well. Pour in the yummy cheese sauce and use a big spoon to really stir it all together.

Next, pour the whole pot full into your big casserole dish and sprinkle with more shredded vegan cheese or breadcrumbs or almond meal or flaxseed meal or... really anything you like. :) Bake in the oven for ~30 minutes. Remove, let cool for about 5-10 minutes, and then serve. Or put in your fridge and serve the next day. And the day after that. And the day after that. :)

Go on! Have a peace!

Portobello Wraps

In honor of the Halloween holiday season, I've begun combining my three favorite things: horror movies, good food, and friends in something I like to call "Home-cooked Horror Nights". This past Sunday, a few friends descended on my home to enjoy some blood-thirsty films and vegetarian fare. Now, you'd usually think that veggies wouldn't really lend themselves to that level of virtual violence, which is why I leaned a towards a more "meaty" taste. Portobello mushrooms have a rich, earthy flavor and a nice, thick texture.

Portobello Wraps
(makes 5 servings)

3 portobello mushrooms, chopped in half, then sliced
1 bag baby spinach, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 tsp mirin, soy sauce, olive oil
crumbled goat cheese
whole wheat tortilla wraps

marinade:
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce

Marinate your mushrooms in a large bowl, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes.
Chop spinach.
Chop tomato into little pieces.
Season a large pan with olive oil and heat over medium heat until warm. Transfer to the heated pan.
Cook, stirring, until the mushrooms have shrunk and softened (about 10 minutes). Transfer cooked mushrooms to a colander, drain, then pour into a serving bowl. Add 1 bag's worth chopped baby spinach to the pan and add 2 tsp mirin, soy, and olive oil. Heat until the spinach has cooked to a shrivel. Deposit in colander, drain, and deposit in a serving bowl.

Season a dry pan with olive oil and add a tortilla, warming on both sides.

Take the warm tortilla, add a little spinach, chopped tomatoes, mushrooms, and goat cheese. Wrap and enjoy. :)

Go on! Have a peace!

Herbed Chicken and Potatoes

I was in the mood for something simple and savory, so I threw together this simple dish. It's delicious with a warm, woodsy taste, it fills you up right quick, and it only takes about 20 minutes to make.

Herbed Chicken and Potatoes
(Serves 5)

Herbed Potatoes
3 medium potatoes, cut to 1" cubes
3 red potatoes, cut to 1" cubes
1 small red onion, diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried rosemary, minced fine
1/4 tsp dried thyme, minced fine
dash fresh ground sea salt
dash fresh ground pepper

Herbed Chicken
5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, fat trimmed and cut to 1" cubes
2.5 Tbsp olive oil
4-5 tsp thyme
3 tsp sea salt
3 tsp freshly ground pepper (I use lemon peppercorns and they give the dish a slight citrus flavor that's yummy)

Set oven to 450 F.

Prepare 2 cookie sheets with raised sides with olive oil spray. Not too much. Just enough to coat the bottoms.

Mix the potatoes and their ingredients together in a bowl, stirring to coat. Shake them out onto one cookie sheet, spreading them out so they're not too lumped together. Place them in the oven. Set the timer to 21 minutes.

Now slice up your chicken breasts and add them to the same bowl you used for the potatoes along with their ingredients. Stir well to coat. Spread the chicken out on the second cookie sheet. The timer should have counted down now to about 15 minutes. Pop the chicken in the oven with the potatoes.

When the timer goes off, it should all be done at the same time. To serve, I took a fifth of each tray and spooned it into a bowl, mixing it all up together. Yum yum yum! Enjoy!

Green Bean "Chips"

Okay. I don't know if y'all have tried veggie chips before. If you haven't, you're missing out on an awesome mouth experience. I first got turned on to these by my mother, actually, who found them in little plastic containers at the little independent market near our house a few years back. Since then, I've seen them showing up more and more. I haven't yet spotted them at Ralph's (though I might have just missed them), but they are definitely available at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. Now, the ones my mom got (way back when) were a mixed bag of green beans, carrots, parsnips, yams, and taro. And every time I see this mix (which is basically every time I go home because my mom's awesome and does that), I automatically go and pick out the beans and carrots for myself. Because I'm greedy when it comes to delicious vegetables.

Here's the only problem I have - they're too darned expensive. Nothing that edible should cost that much per 8 ounces. $7? For a bag that I will probably finish within at the most a day of opening it? No. I think not. And they shouldn't be. Not really. So I put my thinking cap on and invented a way to DIY your own veggie chips. The green beans anyway.

Now, the only way to get the exact crunchy texture of these right is to own a dehydrator (which I don't and I assume most of you don't either), but you can get pretty close just using your oven.

Without further ado, my nummy green bean snack. Guilt-free, tasty, mid-day veggies!

Green Bean "Chips"

~16 oz green beans, trimmed
1 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp Vignalta - Salle Alle Erbe Delle Marlunghe [This is a radical salt with herbs that I like to use on most of my straight up veggie dishes these days. It's just, frankly, awesome. If you want to buy it, you can Google it or click here. If you don't, just use salt. Or whatever kind of salt you want. Sea salt, table salt, garlic salt, onion salt, whatever. :) ]

Set your oven to 395 F.

Trim your beans, drop them in a big microwave safe bowl. Nuke them for ~3 minutes (this is my lazy way of "blanching").

Prep a baking sheet with parchment paper and then set a drying rack on top of it. The smaller grating here, the better.

Add olive oil to the beans and stir well, making sure they all get a nice coating. Shimmy some of the salt in. Stir again. Then, once they're all nice and olive oil/salt-ified, place them on the rack, making sure to leave at least a little space between them all if possible. They won't get as crispy if they're touching. I'm not sure exactly why. Now load them into the oven and bake for about 35 minutes (I put them in for 15 and then checked them every five minutes after that until they got to the right crispiness for me).

Soooo good. :) And best of all, the 16 oz baggie of beans cost me $1.49. Yummy for my tummy; yummy for my wallet.

Alteration:

16 oz green beans, trimmed
1 tbsp olive oil
2+ shakes garlic powder
juice of 1/2 lemon

Follow above instructions. :) Enjoy!

Easter Snacks

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you're having a beautiful holiday. This Sunday is a day about rebirth, no matter how you slice it. New life, the balance of day and night and the balance in our lives.

And yet, Easter is also a day full of processed stuff that leaves your body completely UNbalanced. Why?

My parents sent me an Easter basket this year as they do every year - my parents are ridiculously awesome.
This year, they sent me an incredibly soft, snuggly bunny and some delicious sugar free snacks. One of the things they sent that was not sugar free was a yummy, yummy chocolate from 3400 Phinney Chocolate Factory.

Here's my rule about candy - you have to recognize and be able to picture all the ingredients and you have to eat it in moderation, as a treat. This bar is dairy free, gluten free, soy free, and vegan. The ingredients include and are limited to cocoa beans, sugar, cocoa butter, almonds, figs, fennel, and ground vanilla bean.

Now. If you're like me, you've probably hardboiled and dyed a boatload of eggs. But what do you do with all those hardboiled eggs once you're done admiring them? Personally, I love just munching on hardboiled eggs as a snack. But if you want to do something else with them, here's a few ideas:

Deviled Eggs

Avocado Eggs
1 avocado
8 hardboiled eggs, peeled
~1/8th of a small red onion
1/8 cup lemon juice, to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the hardboiled eggs in half. Scoop the yolks out into either a bowl or a food processor. Lay out the remaining egg whites on a plate.

Cut your avocado in half, throw away the pit. Again, if you have the food processor, add the avocado to the yolks there. If not, add it to the yolks in the bowl. Mash it all together.

Take 1/8th of a small onion and chop it into tiny, tiny bits. You might not want to use all of the onion, it's up to your personal taste. Add as much as you like to the mashed up avocado and yolk. Now add a tiny bit of fresh ground sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Sprinkle in the lemon juice - again to taste. Mix it all together.

Scoop the mash up into each of the hardboiled egg whites and serve immediately. :) That's it! It's creamy, delicious, and tastes like guacamole!

Yum yum yum!

Tea Eggs - I made these with Good Earth green tea bags, 2 cups of boiling water, and a 1/2 tbsp of low sodium soy sauce and they were delicious!

Irenic Salad
This is my go-to lunch when I'm short on time. It's filling, delicious, and healthy.
8 leaves romaine lettuce, broken into bite-sized pieces
1 hardboiled egg, sliced in half and then diced into little bits
4 grape tomatoes
2 stalks of celery, sliced in half lengthwise and then into bite sized slices across
1/8 cup edamame or fresh green peas (optional)

For dressings, you'll want to use something that isn't cream based. You won't need it. You can make a simple dressing by drizzling a tiny bit of olive oil and/or balsamic vinegar over the salad. Or you can make my personal favorite dressing.

Irenic Dressing
This dressing is easy to make and very tasty.  
1/4 tsp minced garlic
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried basil
4 leaves fresh basil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil
black pepper to taste

Take the olive oil and put it into a small skillet, heat it over medium high and throw the garlic into it until it browns and smells delicious, about 1-2 minutes. Pour the olive oil and garlic into a blender or food processor, then add all the other ingredients. Blend it all together. You can triple or quadruple this recipe and save the remainder in your fridge to use for the next couple days. :)

I hope you all enjoy this beautiful day! Happy Easter; have a peace.

Sea Bass Surprise Soup

Okay. So it's not really a "surprise", per se, when the ingredients and directions are all listed out for you, but you get the drift. :) Once more, I faced my freezer-full of fish with courage and defrosted another big hunk of sea bass. The following is a yummy recipe I made up on the fly just moments ago. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Sea Bass Surprise Soup
(about 5+ servings)

skinless sea bass, about 2 lbs, cut into bite-sized pieces
5 cups water
four handfuls baby spinach, chopped roughly
4 cloves minced garlic
3 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp olive oil
~3 tbsp thai fish sauce, more to taste
~1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

Take your stock pot, add the olive oil to the bottom and heat to medium low. Add your garlic and cook until just slightly browned (~1-2 minutes). Add the ginger and stir together; set stove to low and cook for ~4 minutes with the lid on. When you lift the lid, the combined scents should assault your senses and start to make you hungry. Now set stove back to medium, add 5 cups water and the spinach and stir. Add your soy sauce. Let cook for about 5-7 minutes, until the spinach is nice and soft [I like my spinach a little mushy]. Now add your fish and stir down into the broth. Then set your spoon to the side and let it cook in the broth for about 8-10 minutes. When the fish is fully cooked, add the thai fish sauce and taste test until you're satisfied with the taste of the broth. Let cook for another couple minutes and serve hot.

This soup is quick, easy, and delicious. Very filling, a little salty, and (surprisingly) not fishy at all. [Note: "fishiness" will depend upon the quality of your seafood.] You could add some lime juice for a little extra kick, or if you like spicy food (I don't) maybe a little chili paste.

Enjoy!

[PS. Does anyone know how to take a good picture of soup?]

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Soup

I've been in a soupy mood for the past few days. I've also been in 'I don't want to go to the grocery' mode. These two feelings, in conjunction, culminated in me searching my fridge and pantry for anything that might make a suitable soup. I love the way that sounds... 'suitable soup'.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Soup
(5-8 servings)

1 box (~4 cups) Trader Joe's Garden Vegetable Patch Soup (could use plain tomato soup, or probably even V8)
~3 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
~5 stems fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
8-10 cherry tomatoes, halved
5-10 button mushrooms, sliced in thirds
3 stalks celery, sliced small
1 can great northern beans, rinsed
1/4 cup diced red onions
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
freshly milled sea salt, to taste (*I used about 10 turns of my sea salt mill)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste (*I used about 7 turns of my black pepper grinder)

In a medium stock pot, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic to the bottom and saute for 4-6 minutes, until onions are soft and garlic is browned.

Add 4 cups of the soup base you've chosen and set the stove to medium heat. Allow the soup to come to a simmer.

Add the spinach and basil to the pot and stir well. Next take the celery and stir that in, followed by the cherry tomatoes and the mushrooms. Salt and pepper the soup and stir, scooping from the bottom, to make sure everything's well combined.

Finally stir in the great northern beans and then allow to simmer, unmolested, for 5-8 minutes. Stir a couple times and taste test to make sure you're happy with the seasoning of the soup. If you used more or less of any of the ingredients I did, you'll want to alter your salt and pepper usage accordingly. Also depending on what brand of soup base you use, it may already be salted or seasoned on its own. Check the label and make sure you're not oversalting.

When you're happy, remove from heat and ladle out. It comes out warm, filling, and delicious. Yum, yum! Enjoy!

Cinnamon-Chicken Bake, or "Looks Like Dessert, Tastes Like Dinner"

I've long been wanting to do a simple, healthy chicken dish. One of my favorite meals growing up was going to Luby's - a buffet restaurant in North Carolina - and getting fried chicken and applesauce. Well, I don't fry chicken, but that warm, wholesome taste of chicken and applesauce together.

Cinnamon-Chicken Bake
(Serves 2)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tbsp liquid egg whites
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
sprinkle of rolled oats, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Pour 1 tbsp olive oil into a skillet over medium-low heat.

Slice raw chicken into small strips (about 4x1.5 inches). When the oil is hot, add the chicken slices to the skillet. Heat, turning, until the outside is totally cooked - about 3-5 minutes.

Remove the cooked chicken to a small mixing bowl. Add 1 tbsp egg whites to the bowl, along with 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir all together, making sure to coat the chicken well. Pour the chicken into a small baking dish (I used my little La Creuset). Put the baking dish into the oven for about 11 minutes.

Take the baking dish out and add in 1/2 cup of the applesauce; mix well. Sprinkle with cinnamon and oats. Return to the oven for another 6 minutes.

Serve quickly. Makes a quick, easy comfort meal for two. Or one, with a lunch leftover. :)

Enjoy!

Chunky Pesto Chicken Soup

Soup is by far one of my favorite things to make. Not only do you get to stir it around in a big pot, cackling all the while like a character from Hocus Pocus, but it's also delicious, nutritious (usually), and serves you for days.

I took the original recipe for "Chicken & Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto" from the October 2009 issue of EatingWell, and then changed it - like I do.

You might like their version, but personally - having tried theirs as written last year - mine is yummier. So there.

Chunky Pesto Chicken Soup
(makes ~5 servings)

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 tbsp
2 carrots, chopped
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (weighing ~14 oz), cut into quarters
2 large cloves garlic
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1.5 tsp dried marjoram
~8 oz baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, halved lengthwise and chopped
1 15-oz can great northern beans, rinsed
~1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
~1/2 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp toasted pine nuts
~3 inch parmesan rind
~2 tsp salt
~2 tsp freshly ground pepper, more to taste

Heat 2 tsp of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add chopped carrot and quartered chicken; cook, turning the chicken until it begins to brown (about 4 minutes). Add garlic and stir together until the chicken is seared on one side (another 1-2 minutes). Remove the cooked chicken with a pair of tongs to a clean cutting board. You are now done with your sauce pan.

Into a medium stock pot over medium heat, pour your chicken broth and add the marjoram. Stir. Now add the garlic and carrots from the saucepan to the soup. Stir. Add the chopped spinach and rinsed beans and chopped celery to the soup. Add ~2 tsp salt and 2 tsp fresh ground pepper. Stir all together, mixing well. Then drop your parmesan rind in and let it start to soak out into the soup. Set the heat to low, and remember to stir occasionally.

Now to make the pesto sauce. You will need a food processor for this portion of the program. [If you don't have one, you can just buy pesto from the store, but it'll be saltier than you want, so I would recommend not adding the salt to the soup earlier.] This pesto, by the way, is delicious, and would also go nicely over pasta or warm french bread. :)
Combine 1 tbsp olive oil, grated parmesan, basil, and pine nuts in the food processor and process until a coarse paste forms.
There. You're done.

Return to that chicken you left your cutting board. Cut it into little bite sized pieces and add it back into the soup. Spoon out all of the pesto you just made and add that to the soup as well. Stir over medium heat for 4-6 minutes, or until hot.

Before you serve, remember to spoon around in the soup and find the parmesan rind. It has served its purpose now and can be tossed.

This soup is yummy, warm, and really hits the spot. Lots of protein and iron in this one. Enjoy!

Garlic-Sunflower Chicken, with a side of Garlic Roasted Veggies

Let it be said: poultry is awesome.

I was afraid of chicken for a long time, mostly because of my terrible fear of e-coli and death. The key to healthy poultry (which is, by the way, one of the best meats - ever - if cooked properly) is taking the time and care to be safe and clean. These rules apply to messing with any raw meat:

1) Clean your counters and your hands before unpacking the meat.

2) Make sure that your cutting board is clean.

3) If you can, use one specific cutting board for meat, or for each type of meat. There are some nice, inexpensive sets you can get from Williams-Sonoma and Bed, Bath, and Beyond that have little pictures on each cutting board, denoting whether it's for fish, chicken, beef, or vegetables.

Now. All that out of the way, here's another yummy chicken dish for your savoring pleasure.

Garlic-Sunflower Chicken
(3 servings)

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tbsp olive oil
Garlic-sunflower mix (Remember this? I made it for the bass dish. I still had a bunch leftover, in a sealed container in my fridge, so I used about a quarter of it here)
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
5-8 button mushrooms, sliced in threes
1 handful spinach, shredded with knife

[Garlic-Sunflower Mix: Now take 1 cup of sunflower seeds, 3 tsp salt, and 3 tsp garlic powder and blend together in a food processor until all powdery and delicious smelling.]

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Preheat a skillet over medium heat with 1 tbsp of olive oil.

Rub sunflower-garlic mix all over the chicken. When the skillet is hot, add the chicken and sear. Then turn it over and sear the other side.

Meanwhile, chop your veggies and mix them in a small bowl with 2 tbsp olive oil. Now, if you're using a baking dish, spread these olive oil mixed veggies over the bottom of your baking dish. I used my brand new La Creuset - happy sigh - but you can also use a baking sheet with lips if you're really stretched for tools.

When both sides of your chicken breasts are nice and scorched, remove the chicken to the rectangular baking dish and rest them on top of the veggies; next place the baking dish into the preheated oven (on a low rack) to cook through; this should take about 15 minutes.

When finished, plate your chicken and strew a little of the spinach/tomato/mushroom mix over top prettily. You can serve this with a side of veggies or brown rice.

Speaking of veggie sides... This is what I did and it was quite tasty. :)

Garlic Roasted Zucchini and Cauliflower
(3 main dish servings, 6 side dish servings)

1 zucchini, sliced into 1 inch slices, then halved
1 head cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cloves roughly chopped garlic
1.5 tbsp jarred, pitted kalamata olives, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil, plus 1 tbsp
~15 cherry tomatoes

Preset oven to 400 F.

Slice cauliflower into one inch slices and mix in a bowl with 1/4 cup olive oil. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and pour the cauliflower out onto the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, on the top rack.

Meanwhile, chop the zucchini into 1 inch pieces, then halved. Set aside.

Chop garlic, olives, and tomatoes.

Add 1 tbsp olive oil to the skillet you just used to sear the chicken, add the garlic and olives and olive juice. Saute for about 2 minutes.

Next, add the slices of zucchini. Stir.

Remove, the now roasted cauliflower from the oven and add it to the skillet. Stir until the cauliflower has a chance to soak up all the other flavors in the skillet - about 2-3 minutes.

Remove from heat and presto: veggies as a side.

You can also serve over pasta or brown rice as a main dish in it's own right.

Garbanzo Poppers

Ok. This is by far one of my favorite recipes. It's ridiculously easy and simply delicious - as well as utterly mutable for whatever occasion you like. I've baked batches of these for party snacks, movie treats, side dishes, even decorative toppings for main dishes and salads.

Why Garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas) rock the kazbah:
These little guys are one of the best things you can eat. They're a good source of cholesterol reducing fiber and also help to prevent blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly.  They're virtually fat-free, high in protein, and are an excellent source of iron and manganese. And best of all - they are super yummy!

Garbanzo Poppers
( ~ 3 servings)

1 can garbanzo beans
1 tbsp olive oil
a sprinkling of salt

Optional additions: rosemary, garlic powder, cinnamon, sage, mint, curry, or anything else you can think of

Set your oven to 400 F.

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and coat it lightly with olive oil.

Open the can of garbanzo beans and rinse them well in a colander. Shake all the excess water free, then dump the rinsed beans into a large mixing bowl and add the olive oil. Stir the olive oil and beans well, then pour through the colander again to clear out the excess olive oil. Return to the bowl and salt. Add any other ingredients you want to here. [I've used all of the above listed components and they're all yummy - just don't mix them all together! I tend to add maybe 1-2 tbsp garlic powder or 2 tbsp minced garlic because I'm a garlic fiend.] The key is - with whatever ingredients you choose to add - make sure the additional flavoring is well combined so that every bean has a little bit on it. Stir until the beans are all well coated.

Now, using a spoon with holes, transfer the beans to the baking sheet - careful to not transfer too much (if any) of the leftover olive oil. Any extra oil that pools on the tray will keep the beans moist, rather than crispy.

Now pop the tray in the oven, on the top rack, for 20 minutes. [Note: Different ovens take different amounts of time. If this is your first time, just keep an eye on them after 15 minutes have passed and see how they go.] Depending on how much oil you've gotten onto the parchment paper, you may want to put them in for another 5-8 minutes to attain the right browning. Sometimes I take the whole tray out and prod one or two of them with a toothpick to check if they've gone to crispiness yet.

Once they're nice and brown and yummy crispy, take 'em out, and enjoy. :)

Sunflower and Garlic Baked Sea Bass

In 2008, my parents and I went to Alaska and went deep sea fishing. The enormous amount of fish I caught on that trip has filled my freezer ever since, but its lifespan is now coming to a close (3 years in freezer is the maximum, I think). So today, I thought I'd make use of one of the remaining packages of sea bass (or rockfish).

I also had a cup of raw sunflower seeds leftover from my sunflower/date truffles, and not much else in my pantry. So here's what I did:

Sunflower and Garlic Baked Sea Bass

2 lbs sea bass, sliced into fillets
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
7 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp sunflower-garlic-salt breading

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. Spray a shallow glass baking dish with olive oil spray.
Note: When cooking fish, you must remember to cut off all the brown bits. They're not bad for you but they are responsible for the "fishy" taste you want to avoid. You will probably buy your fish from a store, but you will still want to check for those brown layers and cut them off. If you buy from a store, the fish will probably already be filleted as well, but if you're like me and need to cut your hunk o' fish into usable proportions, remember to feel the fish and cut it in accordance to its already predetermined breaking points. I had planned on 4 big fillets and ended up with 6 smaller ones.
2. Place the fish in the pan with an inch or two between each fillet.
3. Mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl - then rub this mixture into the fish fillets. If you want that nice browning glow on top and you're worried you haven't used enough olive oil, just spray another light layer over all the fillets.
4. Bake the fish, on the top rack of your oven, for 15 minutes.
5. Now take 1 cup of sunflower seeds, 3 tsp salt, and 3 tsp garlic powder and blend together in a food processor until all powdery and delicious smelling.

5. When the timer for your bass goes off, take out the pan and sprinkle the fillets with the sunflower/salt/garlic mixture and then return to the oven for another 5-8 minutes. You'll know the fish is done if you stick a fork in the biggest meatiest part and it falls apart.

Ta da! Okay, the picture doesn't make them look that good because I couldn't get the lighting right, but they were beautiful and smelled divine. And tasted even better. The lemon cuts through and gives the whole meat a nice fresh bite and the garlic is, well, garlic. Delicious, as always.

Serve with simply roasted veggies. I tossed some cauliflower and zucchini with olive oil and roasted them in the oven for 20 minutes along side the fish. Magnifico!

Raw Cinnamon-Sunflower Truffles (now with almonds)

A coupled days ago, I made the Cinnamon-Sunflower Truffles posted by The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen with a couple small changes and brought them to a party at a friend's house with excellent results. All credit goes to them. For their blog and their exact recipe, click here. And go check out the rest of their recipes - I've tried several of them and they are all supremely superb.

Raw Cinnamon-Sunflower Truffles

[Note: You'll need a food processor to make these.]

2 cups raw sunflower seeds

1/4 cup raw unsalted, sliced almonds

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

~1 cup pitted medjool dates (I used a few more than called for)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons maple syrup (Can also use dark agave syrup)

~ 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut powder (The recipe calls for shredded coconut, but I was unable to find any shredded that was unsweetened, so I used the powdered kind. The texture, I thought, was better than it would have been with shredded, but it's up to your taste.)

Directions:

Place the sunflower seeds, cinnamon, and sea salt into a food processor fitted with the "s" blade. Process until seeds are very finely ground (~2-3 min). 


Then add the pitted dates and olive oil. Process again until combined and sticky. The recipe said only to add the agave maple syrup if need be - but the dates I had were not squishy enough to moisten the mix. The best way to gaugue whether you need the extra sweetener is to check to see if you can form a ball by rolling a spoonful of the mixture in your hands. If it falls apart then add more sweetener and process again.


Scoop out the sunflower mixture by the large spoonful and roll into balls. Then roll in coconut powder. Store in the fridge for up to 10 days. We ate them on the second day and they were delicious. 

[Original source: www.nourishingmeals.com]