Category Archives: recipes

Peas-y Peas And Celery

by legumes, recipes, vegetables, vegetarian,
A recent trip to the farmer's market introduced me to a new pea I had never tasted before, purple hull peas. Related to black eyed peas, they are both cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) which are very common in the Southern part of the United States.  They are sometimes also called field peas.
 
I was familiar with black eyed peas but had only ever eaten them after they had been dried and needed rehydration.   These were fresh and I wasn't quite sure what to do with them.  
 
After browsing cook books and the internet and finally decided to use them in a family favorite, peas and celery.  Turns out they fit right in and made this tasty dish even better.  The fresh purple hull peas were absolutely amazing.  They were creamy and tasty; now our new family favorite is.
 

purple peas celery

Peas-y Peas and Celery

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2 T. vegetable oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 3 C. vegetable broth
  • 1 C. fresh purple hull peas
  • 1 C. green peas
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 t. butter

Instructions
 

  • Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion begins to soften
  • Add broth and vegetables and bring to a low boil
  • Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until beans are just tender
  • Drain liquid, toss vegetables with butter, salt and pepper

I'm sure you'll like them too.  So much that I'm sharing this recipe from the farmer's market for their summer succotash.  As the farmer points out, if you can't get purple hull peas you can always substitute fresh baby lima beans, fresh cranberry beans, or fresh black-eyed peas.

 

Eggplant Corn Fritters With Chunky Tomato Red Pepper Coulis

by grains, recipes, tomatoes, vegetables, vegetarian, , ,

I am always experimenting in the kitchen. Recently I created a dinner that came together out of ingredients from the farmer's market that I had on hand.  Because this dish turned out so well I definitely plan to make it again; it's a great summertime meal full of flavor and freshness.

Although I used fresh ground flour to make my fritters you can still make this recipe if you don't have a mill by checking out my baking substitutions post.

Eggplant Corn Fritters

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Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • Grapeseed oil
  • 1/2 C. cornmeal
  • 2/3 C. Ezekiel flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1/3 cup milk, plus more if needed


  • 1 egg
  • 1 eggplant, peeled and diced
  • 1 ear corn, kernels removed

Instructions
 

  • Cut eggplant into medium dice
  • Toss with 1 t. salt and let rest 20 minutes
  • Rinse eggplant
  • Combine dry ingredients
  • Beat together milk and egg
  • Add milk mixture to dry ingredients (adding more milk if needed to make a smooth batter)
  • Stir in the eggplant and the corn
  • Drop batter by ¼ C. measure into hot oil
  • Turn fritters once while cooking, fritters should be golden brown on both sides
  • Drain fritters on paper towels
  • Serve with chunky tomato red pepper coulis

Chunky Tomato Red Pepper Coulis

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Ingredients
  

  • 2 T. olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 red pepper, diced large
  • 1 t. minced fresh basil
  • 1 t. minced fresh oregano
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Saute onion and garlic in a large saucepan until onion starts to soften
  • Add red pepper and saute 1-2 minutes
  • Add tomatoes and herbs, turn heat down to medium low and cook 10-12 minutes until vegetables are soft, tossing vegetables frequently
  • Add salt and pepper
  • Remove 2/3 of vegetables from the pan and put in a large bowl
  • Blend thoroughly with an immersion blender
  • Add reserved vegetables to blended vegetables
  • Serve over Eggplant Corn Fritters
    Enjoy!

meat marinade

Meat Marinade

by holidays, recipes

Grilling season is here. There's something special and delicious about gathering around the grill with friends and family. Marinating meat before grilling is a great way to add flavor and tenderness, but it also has a surprising health benefit: it can reduce the formation of carcinogens. When meat is cooked at high temperatures, it can create heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are known to increase the risk of certain cancers.

Fortunately, when you marinate meat it can help reduce the formation of these carcinogens. The acid in the marinade, such as vinegar or lemon juice, helps to break down the proteins and fats in the meat, making it less likely to form HCAs and PAHs when cooked. Plus, using herbs and spices in your marinade adds antioxidants and polyphenols which can help neutralize free radicals and reduce oxidative stress.

When you marinate meat before grilling, you not only add flavor and tenderness to the meat, you also reduce your exposure to the potential for forming carcinogenic compounds and enjoy a healthier grilled meal.

Other ways to reduce the carcinogenic impact of grilling are:

  • Trim off as much fat as possible to reduce the amount of PAHs
  • If marinating in the refrigerator bring the meat to room temperature before grilling
  • Cook at a lower temperature - low and slow is the key here
  • Cook with gas instead of charcoal, pellets, or wood

Here's one of my favorite marinade recipes:

meat marinade

Mira's Meat Marinade

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Ingredients
  

  • 1/3 C. olive oil
  • 1/3 C. ketchup
  • 1/4 C. rice wine vinegar
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 T. coconut aminos
  • 1 large sprig rosemary

Instructions
 

  • Poke meat with a fork before soaking in marinade
  • Let marinate at least 6 hours before serving (in the fridge), turning as often as you remember (I have left this as long as 24 hours and it is absolutely delicious)
  • Pull the meat out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you start the grill
    Enjoy!

[expand title="Sources"]

Kim SR, Kim K, Lee SA, et al. Effect of red, processed, and white meat consumption on the risk of Gastric Cancer: An overall and dose⁻response meta-analysis. Nutrients. 2019;11(4). doi:10.3390/nu11040826
 
Joshi AD, Kim A, Lewinger JP, et al. Meat intake, cooking methods, dietary carcinogens, and colorectal cancer risk: findings from the Colorectal Cancer Family Registry. Cancer Med. 2015;4(6):936-52. doi:10.1002/cam4.461
 
Oranuba E, Deng H, Peng J, Dawsey SM, Kamangar F. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as a potential source of carcinogenicity of mate. J Environ Sci Health C Environ Carcinog Ecotoxicol Rev. 2019;37(1):26-41. doi:10.1080/10590501.2019.1555323
 
National Cancer Institute. Chemicals in meat cooked at high temperatures and cancer risk.
 
[/expand]

Gluten-Free Coconut Almond Cookie

by baking, gluten free, nuts, questions, recipes

My friend Helene recently shared a wonderful gluten-free cookie recipe with me. She said it was so fabulous that she was going to have to freeze the cookies, otherwise she was afraid she might eat them all. Frozen cookies have never stopped me, sometimes they are even better that way.

While we were talking Helene also asked if there were any eggs in shortbread. The answer is no.

Shortbread is a particular type of cookie that has a 1-2-3 recipe. One part sweetener (usually sugar), two parts butter (or other shortening), three parts flour (although old-fashioned shortbread was and is made with oats) and then enhanced with flavorings and or spices. The "short" refers to the crumbly dough. Fat retards gluten so even if you used wheat flour, the high amount of fat would prevent the dough from forming long gluten strands.

Helene's Coconut Almond Cookies:

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 c. coconut Flour
  • 1 1/2 c. Almond Meal
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 c. butter
  • 1/4 c. honey
  • 1 Tbsp Almond Extract

Instructions
 

  • Mix the dough together in a cuisinart until a ball forms
  • Freeze dough for approximately 30 mins
  • Preheat oven to 350 deg F
  • Roll dough between two sheets of was paper
  • Cut cookies using a cookie or biscuit cutter
  • Bake for 7 mins, remove to wire rack to cool

Shortbread cookies are typically baked low and slow so they will be very light in color. They can be formed in long rectangles, also called fingers, large circles which are cut into triangles as soon as they are removed from the oven, or small round biscuits. Although most people think of them as Christmas cookies, shortbread can also be made savory (such as this Parmesan Shortbread from Epicurious).

Pesto

by nuts, recipes, tomatoes, vegetarian,

My friend Tracy recently mentioned that she is growing basil in her back yard garden and would like to eventually make pesto. Pesto is a delicious way to add flavor to a wide number of dishes, it's not just for pasta. It can be used for a fabulous sandwich spread for tomato or tomato and mozzarella sandwiches. It's wonderful to use on chicken and thinned down it is a great dressing for a cold bean salad.

Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is an annual herb with a very strong flavor; originally from Asia it is now most common in Italian cuisine.  Basil comes in a number of different "flavors" so in additional the  sweet basil that we are used to you can also get cinnamon, lemon, Genovese (which has sort of a clove flavor), licorice basil and a wide number of others.  Basil is a very useful herb with high levels of vitamin K as well as calcium, iron and vitamin A.  If you plan to grow it all summer to harvest in the fall for pesto you can increase your yield by pinching the flower stems.  This will prevent the flowers and seeds from forming and keeps the essential oils from drying up.

 
This is my favorite recipe for pesto:
 

Pesto

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Ingredients
  

  • 2 C. fresh basil leaves, washed and destemmed
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 C. parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 C. pine nuts
  • 1/2 C. olive oil

Instructions
 

  • Place all ingredients into a food processor
  • Turn the food processor on and begin to add in olive oil until mixture is smooth
  • Add salt to taste

Notes

Note: you can make different types of pesto by using parsley or red peppers instead of basil, using walnuts instead of pine nuts and changing the parmesan for romano cheese.  Experiment and find out what your favorite flavor is.

healthy granola recipes

Healthy Granola Recipes

by breakfast, gluten free, nuts, oats, recipes, vegetarian,

The kitchen is fragrant with the smells of baking granola right now.

Steve and the kids like to eat it as a bowl of cereal, I prefer it as a garnish on top of a bowl of yogurt and fruit, as an added treat to a bowl of muesli, or as a crumb topping for making muffins.

One of the reasons that I like to make my own granola is because I can control the flavor and the sweetness; I also believe I save money by making my own.

Bear Naked Apple Cinnamon Granola is $4.85 for approximately 3 cups, Kashi Mountain Medley Granola is $4.56 for approximately 3.5 cups and my homemade version comes out at around $3.65 for 6 cups.
 
Because I want less sugar in my granola it is admittedly less crunchy but we find it to be very flavorful and enjoy it a lot. Taste testings with friends and family shows that they like it too.
 
The most recent batch is apricot, raisin, walnut, and cinnamon. The kids were very eager to "taste test" it as it came out of the oven, I had to fend them off with my mixing spoon so that it could cool properly.
 

Great Granola

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Ingredients
  

  • 3 T. honey
  • 3 T. molasses
  • 1/3 C. oil
  • 4 C. rolled oats
  • 1 C. nuts, chopped
  • 1 C. dried fruit
  • 1/4 C. flax seed, ground
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • spices, optional (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, etc)

Instructions
 

  • In a small pot on the stove mix honey, molasses and oil
  • Heat until just starting to bubble, stirring to mix well
  • Place oats in a large ovenproof dish
  • Pour liquid mixture over oats and stir well to coat evenly
  • Bake for 10 minutes
  • Remove from oven, stir well, add nuts and return to oven
  • Bake for 10 minutes
  • Remove from oven, stir well, add dried fruit and return to oven
  • Bake for 10 minutes
  • Remove from oven, stir well, add flax seeds, vanilla and any spices if desired
  • Let cool completely before storing in a container
    Enjoy!

My friend Christine also shared her chocolate granola recipe. She said it's a big hit with her family, I'm sure it will be for yours as well.

With the addition of ground flax and coconut oil, this recipe provides some great fatty acids (flax seeds have omega-3 while coconut oil has medium-chain fatty acids). These healthy fats help provide satiety, or fullness, which means it helps fill you up. Dark chocolate and cocoa provide antioxidants, especially epicatechin (found also in green tea), which protect against cardiovascular disease.

granola recipes

Chocolate Granola

My friend Christine's recipe
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Ingredients
  

  • Mix in crock pot:

    7 C. organic old fashioned oats

    1/2 C. ground flax

    1/4 C. organic brown sugar

    1/2 C. shredded coconut

    Pinch of sea salt

    ½ C. raw honey

    2 T. maple syrup

    ¼ C. coconut oil

    2 T. cocoa powder

Instructions
 

  • Mix well and heat on low all day, stir once in while.
  • After slightly browned (4-6 hours on low) stir in:
    ½ C. 70% chocolate or darker, finely chopped
    1 C. chopped almonds & walnuts
  • Cool completely then store in an airtight container

Next recipe is...I was trying to decide what to call this cereal. It's probably somewhere in between granola and muesli.

It's not really granola because it doesn't have the hard, crunchy bits that so many people like in granola (mine is less crunchy mostly because I use less sweet stuff). However, muesli (pronounced moos-lee), isn't baked at all.  Rather it's mixed together - flaked grains, nuts, seeds, and dried fruits.

Anyway, "muesola" sounds silly.  On the other hand, "gruesli" sounds completely unappetizing.  I think I'll stick with calling it granola and leave well enough alone.

Granola

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Ingredients
  

  • 4 C. flaked grains - oats, quinoa, your preference
  • 1 C. raw, unsalted nuts, chopped - my favorites are pecans or almonds
  • 1/4 C. flax seed, ground
  • 1/4 C. sesame seeds
  • 1/4 C. raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
  • 1/4 C. raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds

Instructions
 

  • Mix ingredients together well
  • Store in an airtight container
  • If making muesli:
    Place 1/3 C. of the mixture into a bowl
    Add 2-4 T. of dried fruit
    Mix in 2/3 C. milk, yogurt, or apple juice
    Cover and place in the fridge overnight
    In the morning top with 1/4 apple, grated and spicesYum!
  • If making granola:
    Preheat oven to 350F
    Put dry mixture into a large 9 x 13 casserole dish
    In a saucepan mix together1/3 C. honey - I prefer raw and local1/3 C. molasses1/3 C. coconut oil
    Heat in a small pot until just starting to bubble
    Pour mixture over the base recipe, coating evenly
    Bake 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to avoid burning
    Pull mixture out of the oven and sprinkle with 2 t. vanilla extract, incorporating well
    Let mixture cool completely before storing in an airtight container
  • To serve:
    Place 1/3 C. of the mixture into a bowl
    Add 2-4 T. dried or fresh fruit
    Mix in milk to the desired level
    Enjoy!

gazpacho

Gazpacho Recipe

by lunch, produce, recipes, tomatoes, vegetables, vegetarian

Gazpacho is a cool, delicious summer soup.  Originally from the Andalusia region of Spain, it's a chilled version of summer salad in soup form. I've even seen it referred to as liquid salad. That term always struck me as a bit silly. It's either a soup or it's a salad. Except, as it turns out, if it's gazpacho. Then it's sort of both.

The original version calls for bread cubes, preferably a little stale, however I don't think they're necessary. There are also versions that include chopped ham but, again, I don't think you really need that. I love gazpacho with just the vegetables. It's so easy to make, very refreshing, and a great way to get a heaping serving of veggies into your day.

This version came about when my daughter and I were trying to figure out what to make for lunch one hot Texas summer day. Rummaging through the fridge we realized that we had all of the ingredients on hand to make gazpacho.  With the temperatures rising into the 90's this cool, flavorful soup was a great idea. 

The texture of gazpacho is rather a personal preference. My daughter prefers it extra chunky, I prefer a smaller dice.  You can also lightly blend all of the ingredients together to make a smoother style soup.  Additionally, traditional recipes call for you to remove some of the vegetables and puree them to make it the soup-y bit. We chose to use the shortcut method and simply added some tomato juice. Any way you make it it's delicious.

gazpacho

Gazpacho

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 cucumber
  • 2 large tomatoes
  • 1 small vidalia onion
  • 1 sweet bell pepper
  • 2 stalks of celery
  • 1 zucchini or yellow squash
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • 1/4 C. red wine vinegar
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Diced avocado
  • chopped cilantro

Instructions
 

  • Dice all vegetables through zucchini
  • Add garlic, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper
  • Cover with:
    tomato juice (we didn't measure - just poured until it covered the veggies)
    place in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours
  • To serve:
    Ladle into a bowl
    Drizzle with olive oil
    Garnish with diced avocado and chopped cilantro
    Enjoy!

Want more delicious soup recipes? Buy the book 
Quinoa Stuffed Eight-ball Squash

Quinoa-Stuffed Eight-Ball Squash: A Farm Share Recipe

by gluten free, grains, recipes, tomatoes, vegetables, vegetarian

Our farm share included some neat vegetables I hadn't seen before like eight-ball squash.  They are a type of round zucchini. Fun to cook with and delicious.

 
 As I've mentioned in a previous post zucchini are great and have a lot of health benefits.  They are also a versatile vegetable and can be served a number of different ways.  The eight-balls seem ideal for stuffing because who would want to cut them up and cook them, destroying that cute shape?  Having some leftover quinoa from when I last made quinoa taboule (I always double quinoa when I cook it because we eat so much of it) I decided to create a quinoa stuffing to fill these little beauties.   This turned out to be so delicious that we can't wait to get more of these squash to make it again.

If you don't have eightball squash you can substitute acorn squash. The recipe will still be delicious.

Quinoa Stuffed Eight-ball Squash

Quinoa Stuffed Eight-ball Squash

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Ingredients
  

  • 4 eight-ball squash, washed
  • 2 C. cooked quinoa
  • 1/2 C. roasted tomatoes in oil, diced
  • 2 scallions, diced
  • 1 clove garlic diced
  • 2 T. chopped basil
  • 1 t. salt
  • 2 T. olive oil

Instructions
 

  • Pre-heat oven to 400 F
  • Cut tops off of squash and set aside
  • Scoop out inside of squash being sure to leave a layer of flesh to maintain the shape
  • Place hollowed out squash into oven proof dish
  • Roughly chop squash 
  • Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan
  • Add squash to pan and saute until starting to soften
  • Add tomatoes, scallions, garlic, and basil and saute 2 minutes
  • Add quinoa and toss to mix well
  • Add salt and toss again
  • Turn off heat, fill squash with mixture
  • Place tops back on squash and place in oven
  • Bake 20 minutes

 
frittata omelette delicious eggs

Fabulous Frittata

by eggs, recipes, vegetarian

I recently had lunch with a friend and we enjoyed a wonderful frittata as part of our meal.  Frittatas are such a great dish to serve; they are easy to make, delicious and take very little time to put together.  We had a spinach, red onion, red pepper, oregano, and parmesan frittata.  Frittatas come together so quickly and are so versatile that you can’t miss when you make one.  

Eggs are not only delicious, but they are also a great food to have in your diet.  A protein powerhouse, two eggs contain 12 grams of protein. They also provide iron, calcium, and vitamin A.  One of the best things about eggs is that they’re so versatile. Eggs can be served a wide variety of ways; you can serve them poached, hard cooked, soft boiled, fried, over easy, scrambled, as an omelette, the list goes on.
 
This Simple Summer Frittata is one of my quick and easy favorites. It comes together very quickly for a fuss-free, easy meal. And leftovers, if there are any, are just as delicious as the first time you serve them. Add this to your repertoire for quick summer cooking and you’ll always have a go-to lunch or dinner that’s sure to please.
 
Simple Summer Frittata
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Ingredients
  1. 6 eggs
  2. 1/4 cup cottage cheese
  3. 1 cup leafy greens, washed and cut into ribbons
  4. 1 cup diced red onion
  5. 1 red bell pepper, large dice
  6. 2 cloves garlic, minced
  7. 4-5 mushrooms, sliced
  8. 1/2 tsp fresh oregano
  9. 3-4 fresh basil leaves, torn
  10. 2 tbsp fresh grated parmesan
  11. salta nd pepper to taste
  12. 2-3 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
  1. preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
  2. lightly oil an oven proof pan
  3. saute red onion, bell pepper mushrooms and garlic
  4. set veggies aside
  5. wilt the leafy greens and set aside
  6. whisk together the eggs and cottage cheese
  7. re-oil the pan, turn to medium heat and pour in the eggs
  8. as soon as the bottom of the frittata starts to set turn the heat down to med-low
  9. sprinkle the cooked ingredients on the setting egg mixture
  10. top wit herbs, salt, and pepper
  11. when the bottom appears to be fully set sprinkle frittata with parmesan
  12. remove pan from stove top and place in over
  13. bake approximately 10 minutes until frittata is slightly puffy
  14. remove from over, cut and serve
The Ingredient Guru, Mira Dessy https://theingredientguru.com/
 
 
 
 
 
 
cinnamon muffin recipe

Rainy Day Muffins: A Delightful Cinnamon Raisin Recipe

by baking, grains, nuts, recipes,

I'm happy but sad.

Happy, yes I am, mostly because I am sitting here eating this delicious muffin.  Sad, yup, that too, because I'm not sure I'll be able to replicate it.

It's raining here today...for the third day in a row.  Big bolts of lightning, huge crashes of thunder and a torrential downpour.  Enough to make me decide that I needed some muffins and a cup of tea to cheer myself up.
 
Not sure what kind of muffin I wanted I decided to rummage and see what we had. Leftover flours in the freezer, millet, corn, oat and wheat yielded just enough flour to feel "muffin-y."  I had some applesauce, a few raisins, some pecans, mixed those together with a couple of glugs of oil, an egg, cinnamon, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, salt and voila!  It tastes scrumptious.  I just wish I had remembered to measure before I started throwing things into the bowl.
 
But the important thing to remember here is to be creative with your food.  If you have a little of this, a little of that try it, you'll never know but you may find a new favorite.  If you start with good ingredients you'll usually end up with a pretty successful result.  I think part of what makes this creation so successful is that it is basically a cinnamon raisin muffin with pecans but the balance of the different flours is what makes it special.  A previous family favorite of greens and beans was also a "smattering" recipe it came about because I had a lot of little bits of leftovers.
 
To the best of my remembering (in other words guesstimating amounts) here is the recipe.
 

cinnamon muffin recipe

Cozy Cinnamon Raisin Muffins with a Nutty Twist

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Ingredients
  

  • 3 C. *King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure
  • 1 C. applesauce
  • 1/3 C. avocado oil
  • 3/4 C. sucanat
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 2 t. cinnamon
  • 1/2 C. pecans - crushed
  • 1 C. raisins
  • 1 t. baking soda
  • 1/2 t. baking powder
  • 1 t. salt
  • 1 egg

Instructions
 

  • Mix all ingredients together
  • Spoon into greased muffin tin
  • Bake 375 F for 15-18 minutes
  • Rest 2 minutes in tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!

Notes

*King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure
PS: My friend Mary who stopped by for tea tells me that these are "Yum yum yum!" hope you enjoy them too