Slow Food—Healthy Food
My original goal here was to create a new recipe daily, or several times a week - cook, photograph and post each one. I've been doing this since April 2011 and. . .as of today. . .I now have over 1,900 original recipes and informational posts! I'm thinking a couple cookbooks will be down the road a bit! I love making fresh, healthy food, so new techniques and great ingredients are really important to me . . . Find, and Follow Your Passions ! . ! BE BOLD — BE CREATIVE — HAPPY COOKING ! . ! Lin
Lotsa Stuff — Healthy Muffins
Another Blended Tomato-Vegetable Soup
This turned out so well! I tasted it with and without the coconut milk, and it's great both ways.
Chop the celery and carrot and saute in Greek Kalamata extra virgin olive oil. When the aromas start to release, add 1 medium onion and lots of fresh garlic, chopped. Add the seasonings of your choice, I used black pepper, smokey paprika, garlic salt, a blend of ground-dried vegetable seasoning, from Costco, and some vegetable Better Than Bouillon.
Coconut-Maple-Vanilla Coffee Creamer
I found a vanilla-coconut-almond coffee creamer I really liked at our local Co-Op, but it was $6+ for a not so big carton. I decided to try making some.
2T± pure Maple syrup
1T± pure vanilla
Whisk these together and store in a glass jar in the refrigerator. This will keep well a week or longer.
Just 3 ingredients and it turned out really well, for about 1/3 the cost of the brand at the Co-Op. If you're staying away from dairy, you might want to give this one a try. . .Lin
Crunchy Tuna-Egg Salad ➕ Maple-Pepper Lemonade
Next, fill the pitcher half way with cold water, sprinkle in a pinch of black pepper, and about 4 pinches or shakes of cayenne pepper. Stir well, fill the pitcher, stir again. Pour some into a mug, heat and drink. . .every drop! Then refill and drink some more.
If you'd rather have this iced, just be sure to stir well before pouring over crushed or cubes. . .Lin
Sourdough-Coconut-Chia-Flax-Craisin-Nut Bread Pudding
Once the bowl of ingredients is well combined, add the dry bread cubes, mix well and quickly, then pour into a 9"x13" glass pan and bake at 400° for 25-30 minutes.
Mmmmm!
This turned out really well, and is probably one of the healthiest bread puddings I've ever made! . .Lin
Quinoa and Vegetables
Fruity-Nutty Coconut Granola
2c of your favorite dried fruit(s)
This will be perfect with some plain, whole milk Greek yogurt. It's already pretty fruit-heavy, but, if you want, you could add some big beautiful blueberries now, frozen or fresh. . .Lin
Buckwheat Tabouli
Did you know that buckwheat is gluten free? I sure didn't, and wouldn't have guessed that of something called buckWHEAT!
As I've stated before, Tabouli is one of my absolute favorite salads. I've been making it ever since first discovering it in Mollie Katzen's 'Moosewood Cookbook' back in the 1970's, but with lots of changes over the years.
Tabouli is a cold Lebanese salad usually made with bulgar wheat, but I love substituting other grains. Sorghum, Quinoa, Buckwheat, are all good gluten free options. Farro is another I've used, which is not gluten free. I'd like to try making it with rice, as well as an interesting combination of bulgar wheat and toasted vermicelli, popular in Palestine, that I discovered at an international market in the cities.
Simmer this over low heat until all the liquid is absorbed. Gently stir in a couple tablespoons of a good single source EVOO to keep it from clumping.
Make a dressing with EVOO, lemon juice and a garlic vinaigrette. Pour over everything, add the cooled buckwheat and toss gently. This can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. . .Lin
Roasted Spicy Tomato—Vegetable Soup
Scrub and rough cut the vegetables for roasting.
4 Roma tomatoes
3 mini bell peppers
3 red or Yukon Gold potatoes
6 big peeled garlic cloves
1 med.—lg. purple onion
4 carrots
After roasting, if possible, peel the skin off the tomatoes and peppers and throw that away. Transfer the roasted vegetables to the pot with the celery.
You'll want to keep the celery, and the other greens more fresh, so those don't get roasted. Put the chopped-sliced celery in EVOO, in a 6 quart soup pot. and sauté a few minutes before adding the roasted vegetables. To this you'll add about 52oz. canned tomatoes:
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes
1 28oz. can diced tomatoes (not shown)
Rinse the cans, adding about 28oz. of that water, then stir in the seasonings and coconut milk:
2T± vegetable Better Than Bouillon
1T± Lowry's Garlic Salt
1t± powdered rosemary
1t± powdered oregano
2t coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
1 13.6oz. can coconut milk
1/2 bunch of Italian parsley
celery tops
some fresh basil
Serve this with a dusting of fresh grated strong flavored cheese, and oyster crackers.
This will feed lots of hungry people. . .Lin
Black Cherry Frozen Yogurt
I wasn't sure how this would turn out so I didn't take an ingredient photo. I also didn't weigh or measure, so this is more an idea-inspiration post than an actual recipe.
In a blender or food processor, combine the following:
1 'Cutie' Mandarin orange and a few pieces of peeling
a cereal bowl amount ± of frozen black cherries
a little bit of frozen pineapple
1-2T coconut sugar
1T good vanilla
Add just enough water, fruit juice or coconut milk to process the fruit. To this, add:
about 1c whole milk Greek yogurt
Now, this is where it gets a little tricky. When frozen for more than a few hours, it's like a rock! If you have cold-sensitive teeth, this might be something you'll want to avoid. This seems so much colder than regular ice cream!
For serving, my best advise would be to make, freeze this and serve after about 3 hours or when a sharp knife inserted in the center doesn't hit liquid. To make it easier to serve, stir it a few times while it's freezing. Be creative with different fruits and citrus. This made enough to perfectly fill a 16oz. freezer container. . .Lin
Quinoa Tabouli (gluten-free)
2 huge cloves of garlic - smashed and minced
Simmer the quinoa on low until all the water absorbs. Remove from heat, add the garlic and stir gently. Cover while chopping all the vegetables. The heat will mellow the sharpness of the garlic a little.
Combine in a big glass bowl:
quartered grape tomatoes2 yellow mini bell peppers
celery heart and tops
5 tiny cucumbers
5 green onions
1/2 purple onion
1 med. carrot - grated
zest and juice of 1 lemon
lots of good quality single source EVOO
1/2 bunch each: curly & Italian flat leaf parsley
2 cans of well rinsed-and-drained black beans
Add the slightly cooled quinoa and garlic.
Combine gently. Check the flavors and season. I used Lowry's Garlic Salt, ground black and red pepper. I was making this for our church potluck, so I forgot to take a pic of the finished bowl. Drop down two recipes. . .Yup, it looks pretty much like that Tabouli 😁 . . . Lin
Shrimp and Vegetable Lo Mein (gluten-free)
4oz. thin sliced carrots
2 mini peppers
3 baby bok chop
~ use the chopped, crunchy white parts now - thin slice the green tops to add later
2 big garlic cloves
~ crushed and chopped
Sauté-stir-fry these in some toasted sesame oil for a few minutes then add:
8oz. thawed Argentinian shrimp
~ cut each one in a 2-3 pieces
4 green onions
~ the white part
the green leaves from the bok choy
1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
3/4c peanut or mixed nut butter
1/3c sweet chili sauce
1/3c mushroom soy sauce
2-3T finely chopped candied ginger
Stir these together in a small glass bowl. Heat 20 seconds in the microwave. Check the flavors. I added a little garlic salt and black pepper
Gently stir the vegetables into the noodles, add the sauce and fold together until everything's combined and coated with the sauce.
Heat this until steamy in the microwave. . .Lin
Bulgar Wheat Tabouli
For the leafy, herbal greens, you can use curly parsley, Italian flat leaf parsley, cilantro, mint or finely sliced kale. Onions: purple, Vidalias, green onion. Swap out the bulgar for brown Jasmine rice for a gluten free option.
The first recipe I saw for this was in Mollie Katzen's "Moosewood Cookbook" which was very popular during the hippie-commune era of the 70's.
1/2 large bunch of Italian flat leaf parsley
2 mini English cucumbers
1/2 med. purple onion
2 Chinese shallots
1 big ripe tomato
1/2 bell pepper
2 carrots - grated
2 stalks heart celery + greens
zest and juice of one large lime
1/4-1/2c single source EVOO
Lowry's Garlic Salt
finely ground red and black pepper
1 can beans: black or garbanzo
~ ~ (drain, rinse then let drain again in a big strainer)
Spicy Olive-Jalapeño Cornbread
~ In another bowl, again, whisk together:
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted, comes out clean. Cool a while before cutting into squares. Serve with soup or chili. . .Lin
Orange Lentil - Flax Seed Rolls (gluten-free)
Mix all of this with a heavy wooden spoon or silicone spatula. Put the baking soda on the top and be sure to drizzle the vinegar directly on it.
Beef Soup-Stew
I wasn't going to blog this, so there are no ingredient pictures. It turned out pretty well though, and I may want to make it again. . .with new tweaks of course. . .so I'm doing this after the fact, on the last bowl.
2# well trimmed, seasoned Montreal Griller beef steaks
Mine were frozen, so I thawed them late in the evening, trimmed off the fat then cut them in small pieces. I marinated them in equal amounts -about 2/3c each- of single source EVOO and a good, aged Balsamic vinegar. Season with garlic salt, and a pepper based garlic and herb seasoning. Make sure the marinade covers all surfaces of the meat. Cover the bowl or pot, and refrigerate overnight.
This morning I started by sautéing the seasoned meat in the marinade, along with a couple big garlic cloves - smashed and chopped, stirring occasionally until it all sizzles and snaps. Measure out 1-2 quarts of fresh cold water and add a little just before the meat browns completely, to keep it from sticking to the pot. Repeat this sautéing and deglazing a couple times. When this process is done right, it'll bring the flavors out of the meat so further seasoning is usually minimal. Next add the following rough cut vegetables in the order they're listed.
Once the vegetables have been added, bring everything to a low simmer, cover and cook 30-40 minutes, until the carrots and beans are the way you like them. This made about 6 quarts. . .Lin
Spicy-Healthy Vegetable Soup (gluten & dairy free)
Recently it was Chicken Bone Broth Day for me 😁
Chilled out on my deck overnight, fat scraped off the top, it was begging to be made into something healthy. Made with only skin, bones, bay leaves, 1/3c white vinegar and water, so it would be dog safe for my Oliver as well. This morning I got a call from someone close to me, who is sicker than sick! Alrighty-Then! Healthy soup it is. Sorry Oliver...next time 😉
The chicken was used in a previous soup, and a 3-meat pasta creation a couple days ago. I didn't have any other meat thawed, so other than the chicken bone broth, this ended up vegetable only. Lighter for someone really sick, so it's actually better this way.
Sprinkle the vegetables with seasonings, to taste. I used about 1t ground turmeric, a good shake of ground cayenne pepper, 1-2t of a salt and pepper based garlic and herb seasoning.
Heat the big pot, containing 2-3 quarts of bone broth, to a low boil. Stir in 5oz. thin rice noodles and simmer a few minutes. Add the pot of vegetables to the noodles and broth, stir gently to combine, simmer another minute or two and serve. Mmmm, this made about 6 quarts total, for me, and lots to share. . .
Beefy-Beany Crunchy Vegetable Chili
Add about a quart of water, 2-3T low sodium beef Better Than Bouillon and 3 bay leaves and 28oz. petite diced tomatoes and juice. Simmer on low heat for a half hour.
Olive, Oat- Muffin-Bites - Gluten-Free
1c corn flour
2T raw sugar
1t baking soda
1t baking powder
1t ground cumin
1t smoky chili powder
2T ground chia-flax seeds
1-2T Everything Bagel Seasoning⅔c chopped pecans or walnuts
⅔c sour cream
⅔c warm water
1 can of corn-drained
⅓c EVOO
1T white vinegar
8 finely chopped jumbo garlic-jalapeno olives
Quick Whole Grain Bread
Tuna-Egg Salad - A Healthy Refresh
Lit'l Smokies, Corn, Beans and Crunchy Vegetables
I'm recovering from a big abdominal surgery and using up the ingredients I have here, before attempting grocery shopping - which I'm very excited to do again! All Foodies love to grocery shop!
Chop the vegetables. Sauté the celery in a 2-1/2 quart pot, in 2-3T good quality, single source EVOO. Cook and stir this a few minutes before adding the bell pepper, onion and Yukon Gold potatoes. Stir everything to coat with the oil, reduce the heat, cover and let simmer 5 minutes.
Drain and rinse the corn and beans. Add them to the pot, stir then let simmer another 5 minutes to heat everything through. Serve as is or with a crispy green salad and/or corn muffins. This was quick and SO good. Makes about 4-6 servings. . .Lin
Gluten Free, Seedy Lentil Protein 'Bread'
Well this continues to surprise me. The European recipe I used as a guide, used orange split lentils, which I thought I had, but mine were yellow mung bean lentils. I soldiered on, determined to try this interesting recipe. You'll need to use a kitchen scale that gives results in ounces and grams for this one since weights don't translate well to measurements with dry ingredients.