Cooking w/ Chronic Illness Recipe: Sprouted Quinoa + Veggies

Posted on May 8, 2013 | 0 comments

Ingredients: 

(per 1 serving)

  • 1/2 cup sprouted quinoa (ratio of quinoa to fluid is 1:3; adjust recipe accordingly for bigger batches)
  • 3 cups bone broth (or water if you want to make this strictly vegan/vegetarian)
  • 2 Tbsp pre-made gremolata
  • 1/4 cup rainbow chard stems, blanched
  • 1/4 cup chard, kale, (or any veggie), blanched
  • 1/4 cup butternut squash, roasted or blanched
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Combine your quinoa and broth in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, lower the temp to med-low until the quinoa is simmering. Do not cover, stir, or touch! Simmer for 12 minutes or until the quinoa as fully absorbed all the fluid. Turn heat off, cover, and let sit for 1-2 minutes.
  2. Add gremolata to the quinoa and mix well to combine. Then add chard stems, chard leaves (or any other veggie you’re using), butternut squash, and mix.
  3. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Enjoy!

You can also watch this video to see how simple and easy it really is to do, and learn more about me and my story.

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Recipe Ideas for Blanched Veggies

Posted on May 1, 2013 | 0 comments

Since learning how to blanch veggies is a how-to skill and not really a “recipe,” I thought I’d give you some ideas on how to utilize them along with approximate cooking times for great-blanching veggies. For the energy it takes to bring one pot of water to a boil, you can have fresh food ready to go for you all week.

  • Add to stirfrys with quinoa and/or rice (and gremolata!)
  • Serve as 80% of what’s on the plate alongside proteins
  • Add to salads for a softer, easier to digest boost of vegetables (broccoli works great)
  • Use as toppings for gluten-free flatbreads like farinata, cecina, and socca (above picture and guest blog post this coming Thursday!)
  • Add to pasta dishes
  • Use as filling for spring rolls

Veggies in the cruciferous family are happy to be blanched. They are usually hard to digest when raw and so blanching them is often recommended before cooking them in other contexts. Times will vary based on how delicate or tough they are. I’m learning that cruciferous vegetables can potentially be goitrogenic (inducing goiter formation) which means they contain enzymes that interfere with the formation of thyroid hormone in people with iodine deficiency. Longer cooking times will greatly reduce this phenomenon.

  • cauliflower, 4 minutes
  • broccoli, 4 minutes
  • broccolini, 4 minutes
  • romanesco, 4 minutes
  • cabbage , 2 minutes
  • brussel sprouts, 2 minutes
  • bok choy, 2 minutes
  • collard greens, 2 minute
  • kale, 1-1.5 minutes
  • chard, 1 minute

Other veggies:

  • butternut squash, 7 minutes (or until soft)
  • green beans, 3 minutes
  • asparagus, 3 minutes
  • corn (though I prefer steaming), 2 minutes
  • sugar and snap peas, 1.5 minutes
  • spring peas, 1 minute
Ingredients:
  • Whatever vegetables you’d like to blanch! In this episode I blanch broccolini, fennel, chard stems, chard leaves, and kale.
Directions:
  1. While a large pot of water is brought to boil, prepare the ice water bath for your vegetables by filling a large bowl with 6-10 ice cubes and very cold water.
  2. Once the water is boiling, add your vegetables (one type at a time) and follow the above listed cookings times for each.
  3. Use a fine mesh strainer or slotted spoon to remove your vegetables from the boiling water. Add them to the ice water bath and let rest for 15-30 seconds until sufficiently cooled.
  4. Dry them by laying them out on a drying mat. Squeeze any excess liquid out of the leaves of the chard and kale.
  5. Keep stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week and use all week in stirfrys, as sides, etc.
Don’t forget to stay tuned for my special guest blog post this week! Happy blanching…

 

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Gremolata Recipe

Posted on Apr 24, 2013 | 0 comments

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup parsley, coursely chopped
  • 2 tsp grated (or zested) lemon peel
  • 1 peeled clove garlic (more if desired, or fighting vampires)
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil (optional; this will make the final result more sauce like)
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • salt to taste

Directions: (You can always Watch this video to learn how to make gremolata too!)

  1. Combine parsley, lemon zest, and garlic in a mini-food processor or magic bullet*. Pulse a few times until the mixture is coursely chopped.
  2. If using as a sauce, add olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Grind again until smooth.
  3. Serve and Enjoy!
*Traditionally this was made in a mortar and pestle; feel free to employ this old school method if you don’t have a mini-food processor etc. Or you can triple the ingredient ratios and make a large batch in a normal size food processor. Keep stored in ice cube trays for easy use throughout the week.

Uses:

  • as final garnish on roasted fish or braised meats (esp good on veal)
  • frozen into cubes for last minute additions in stir fries
  • if you’re gluten free: spread onto (gf) bread as a condiment in a sandwich
  • in salad dressings or as salad dressings (add a splash of vinegar and more olive oil)
  • if you eat bread and dairy: spread onto a bagel with cream cheese to brighten the flavors
  • as a color backdrop for dishes you want to plate with drama and flair
  • as toothpaste. psych! just kidding. no one wants to use this in place of toothpaste! enjoy…
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Cocktail Drink: “Balsamic Berry Bomb” Recipe (+DIY Cocktail Shaker)

Posted on Apr 16, 2013 | 0 comments

Ingredients: (for 2 drinks)

  • 6 fresh strawberries, hulled
  • 4 Tbsp gin
  • 2 tsp strawberry jam
  • 1 pinch of freshly ground pepper
  • 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 capful of balsamic vinegar or a healthy splash
  • Champagne to top (Rouge is lovely if you can find it, but plain champagne works great)
Directions:
  1. Hull your strawberries and muddle them. Watch the linked episode below if you don’t know how to do this already.
  2. Add your strawberries, gin, jam, lime juice, pepper, and balsamic vinegar to a mason jar or cocktail shaker with ice.
  3. Shake vigorously.
  4. Keep shakin’
  5. Shake, shake, shake your booty.
  6. Pour the liquid in a serving glass and top with champagne and a slice of lime.
  7. Enjoy (But not too much:)

Watch this episode to learn how to make this springtime spritzer cocktail.

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Gluten Free Spaghetti & Meatballs/How to make PERFECT gf pasta

Posted on Apr 10, 2013 | 0 comments

Ingredients:

  • 1 package of Jovial gluten free pasta, preferably spaghetti or capellini
  • 1 Tbsp salt (for the water)
  • Timer (or your own ninja mind)
  • Meatballs (watch the meatball video, or go to the meatball recipe page)
  • Tomato sauce (one without sugar, or homemade)

Directions:

  1. Fill a large saucepan or pot with water and 1 Tbsp of salt and bring to a boil on high heat.
  2. Once boiling, add your pasta and set a timer for at least 5 minutes less than the package directions indicate.
  3. When the timer goes off, try the pasta. If it’s too dente, try it again in another minute. Repeat these steps until you have the perfect consistency, which is still firm with some “bite” to it.
  4. Strain in a colander and rinse with cool water to arrest the cooking.
  5. Arrange the pasta in spirals around the bowl creating a well in the middle.
  6. Add the sauce to the well.
  7. Put the meatballs in the sauce well.
  8. Top with any garnishes (chopped parsley, garlic chips, parmesan cheese) and enjoy!

Watch the video to learn how to make PERFECT pasta (gluten free or not, the same rules apply) every time–plus there are tips for plating spaghetti and meatballs so that they don’t look like a pile of brains. Please watch!

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How to Make Sauerkraut (in a Crock) – Carrot Cumin Coriander Kraut

Posted on Apr 3, 2013 | 1 comment

 

Carrot Cumin Coriander Kraut Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 large head of fresh cabbage, shredded
  • 3 or 4 large carrots, shredded
  • 2 Tbsp of Celtic sea salt
  • 1 Tbsp cumin seeds, 1 Tbsp coriander seeds (optional)

Equipment:

  • 1 large mason jar or 1 crock ($9.99 from Bed, Bath, and Beyond)

Directions:

  1. Use your food processer’s shred blade to shred any veggies your using, in this case, the cabbage and carrots.*
  2. Add the shredded veggies to a large bowl and add your salt, sprinkling a little at a time like a soft snow covering the surface of the veggies.
  3. Massage the veggies with clean hands to draw moisture out of them and release their liquids. Continue adding salt until you can squeeze water from a tight fistful of veggies.
  4. Once the veggies are quite wet, add them to your crock with your spices. In this case, the cumin and coriander seeds.
  5. Use something to weigh the veggies down in the jar or crock to ensure they are covered in the water you released from massaging them with salt. The video link below gives a tip for this.
  6. Cover with a clean cloth and keep on the counter in an out-of-the-way place. Check daily to be sure the veggies are submerged in the liquid. This is what creates the brine that ferments the veggies.
  7. After a minimum of five days, you can bottle your kraut and keep it stored in the fridge for several months.
  8. Enjoy a  scoopful each day with meals to aid digestion and add natural and wild probiotics to your gut!
*If you don’t have a food processor, you can chop the veggies by hand. It’ll still work!

To learn how to make kraut from scratch, watch this video. 

 

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