Going Raw

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20120510-150318.jpg Raw vegetables can be jazzed up in so many ways, you will love these bold flavors.. And no one will know that it wasn’t steamed, grilled, or roasted in the oven. Broccoli and red bell peppers have been shown to lose much of their vitamin C, when cooked. Eating raw is perfect! You get an extra nutritional punch, faster preparation, and less mess to clean up! Check out these fun recipes!

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Raw Asparagus Salad
Serves 4
1 lb asparagus spears*
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped tomato
6 celery stalks with leaves*
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
**Hold the asparagus together and slice from the tips down, and stop when it starts to turn light in color. You should have small “asparagus disks” Then slice the celery down lengthwise and chop very thin slices.

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I seasoned each layer with freshly cracked black pepper, a pinch of kosher salt and a few red pepper flakes.. As well as a dash of red wine vinegar and olive oil on each layer. I finished it with a spoonful of homemade mayonnaise and tossed the whole salad together. Crumble some feta cheese on top!

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Raw Broccoli Salad1/2
Serves 4
1 large head of broccoli, trimmed into very small bite size pieces
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1 cup dried cranberries
Start by making the dressing first. Mix 1 cup of homemade mayonnaise with 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup of honey, salt and pepper to taste. Dip a piece of broccoli in there to see if you need to adjust the flavor. Toss it all together and top with an extra handful of dried cranberries to garnish. Also great with sunflower seeds, pine nuts, walnuts or chopped cashews! Yum!

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Mediterranean Madness

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I love eating Mediterranean, especially when I’m entertaining. It’s super fast and simple to throw together your favorite olives, peppers, pita, and hummus for everyone to dive into. I’m going to share with you some of the best wine pairings for olives and cheeses, and I also have a special SCD recipe for “Hummus.” So YUM!

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I absolutely love chopped red bell peppers and hummus. If you’re having a party, pick something colorful. You can also stack veggie slices in taller glasses for more height.. And I think its fun to leave the leaves on the celery sticks. ;)

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So now, this where we get mad with all things Mediterranean. This salad is great to make ahead, because there is no lettuce, the chopped vegetables stay crisp while they soak up yummy sun-dried tomato olive oil. Serves 4.
2 red bell peppers chopped
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup thinly sliced radishes
1 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
1 cup chopped kalamata olives
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Season each layer with a drizzle of sun-dried tomato olive oil, a small splash of garlic red wine vinegar, kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes ;)

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I like to call myself an olive connoisseur. One of my favorite olives is from Sicily, called Castelveltrano. They are bright green, round, and salty and buttery in flavor. Great to have with Chardonnay and feta cheese. I love my kalamatas too, but I like them better with a Pinot noir, like meiomi, and slices of smoked Gouda cheese or goat cheese with crackers.

And finally, I have been doing some serious SCD recipe testing. And I think I have found a way to make hummus without the chickpeas! Because if you are following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, garbanzo beans or chick peas are illegal. I’ve been experimenting with substituting roasted cauliflower. I know, it sounds weird, but roasted, then blended with infused olive oils.. Its sure to be a crowd pleaser! Stay tuned for some yummy “hummus” recipes! ;)

From the Garden

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Perfect salads start with the best ingredients.. And what’s better than foraging food from your own backyard?! This baby romaine lettuce grew so fast from just a spoonful of seeds, and just survived a hard freeze!
Here is my simple vegetarian Greek salad:
2 cups chopped baby lettuce
1 chopped tomato
1/4 cup sliced red onion
1/4 cup sliced kalamata olives
1/4 cup feta cheese
Olive oil salt and pepper the first 3 layers, add red pepper flakes if you like it hot :)
Now get out and grow something! ;)

Fruit n’ Nut Bars

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These bars fill you up and give you sustained energy that will power you through that mid-afternoon slump. They are so sweet and nutty, you will want more than just one. Its quick and simple to make, and they freeze well, too. Here’s the recipe:
1 cup organic orange blossom honey
1/3 cup butter
1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1 cup toasted sliced almonds, chopped
1/2 cup pitted dates, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1/2 cup dried apricots or golden raisins, chopped
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 360F and line an 8-9 inch square baking dish with parchment paper.
Heat honey and butter, and stir until butter is melted and well combined with the honey. Turn off the heat and add all the other ingredients. Mix well and pour into your prepared baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool in refrigerator until set. (4-6 hours) Cut into bars and store between parchment paper in an airtight container in the refrigerator. These bars need to been eaten cold, as the honey will melt in warmer temperatures.

ohh just more fabulous salads :)

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I have a serious feta obsession, I know.. but asparagus haters beware, because once you try this salad, you’ll never frown on asparagus again. You can add feta cheese to any chopped veggies tossed in olive oil, and experience a super healthy and tasty salad party in your mouth. And if you don’t like feta, well, you just don’t know yet that you like feta :) Cold Asparagus Salad
6 asparagus stalks *cooked
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup thinly sliced radishes
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste, pinch of red pepper flakes
*cook asparagus in salted boiling water for 2-5 minutes, depending on how big the asparagus is, check one after 2 minutes, so it still has a slight crunch inside. Then right away throw them into an ice bath to keep them crisp.

Tomato, Radish, and Onion Salad
1 large tomato seeded and chopped
1/4 cup red bell pepper chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes
1 lemon juiced with zest
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste, pinch of red pepper flakes

Not just another salade!

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Arugula Salad with Figs, Prosciutto, and orange balsamic vinaigrette.
You will love this salad because it is really fruity and super salty, a great combination.. I marinated the figs in freshly squeezed orange juice and orange segments. The arugula is dressed with sundried tomato oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper. Crisp your prosciutto in the oven at 375F for 10 minutes and crumble it on top. Here’s the recipe:
4-5 figs quartered
2 oranges juiced
3 cups arugula
2 Tbsp sundried tomato oil
4 Tbsp chopped sundried tomatoes
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3-4 thin slices prosciutto, crisp
salt and pepper to taste

“Chocolate” Cake

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Wow this is truly amazing. For all of you out there who cannot have chocolate, cocoa powder or sugar, you are really going to love this. Cocao butter is a pale-yellow, edible vegetable fat extracted from the cocoa bean. It is used in many baked goods, as well as pharmaceuticals and lotions. It has a mild chocolate flavor and aroma. Cocao butter contains natural antioxidants, and unlike cocao solids, contains no caffeine.

“Chocolate” Cake recipe:
16 large Medjool dates
6 ounces pecan flour
4 ounces cocoa butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon legal vanilla extract
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Place the pecan flour, salt, and black pepper in the food processor. Process to mix well.

Pit the dates and chop, by cutting lengthwise and then crosswise, and crumble the date pieces into the food processor. Process for several minutes until dates and pecan flour are well mixed.

Add the melted cocoa butter and vanilla. Process again for several minutes. The date/pecan mixture and the cocoa butter will slosh around in the food processor and will not incorporate  with each other – but you need this processing to really chop up / puree the dates.

Scrape down the sides. Add the egg and the baking soda and process again. It’s rather amazing to see how this mixture suddenly turns into a very chocolate-cake-looking batter. You may wish to scrape down the sides once, and process a second time until very smooth.

Pour batter into four well-buttered mini-Bundt pans or one well-buttered 8” cake pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
I made a cherry topping by cooking down pitted cherries and a little honey.

Crepes!

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After a few experiments gone wrong… I finally perfected an amazing SCD legal crepe batter, using eggs and coconut flour. I have made both sweet and savory crepes with it, and they are DELICIOUS! The trick is using both the coconut cream, and coconut oil, (coconut cream, I found at Mother Earth) together with sifted coconut flour.  Here’s the recipe:

6 eggs
1 teaspoon coconut oil
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
1 Tablespoon coconut cream
1 teaspoon honey
3 Tablespoons coconut flour

Whisk together everything but the coconut flour, until light and frothy. Add sifted coconut flour, and whisk until well combined, should coat the back of a wooden spoon, and should be like a very light pancake batter.
Heat a non-stick pan to med-low, and with some melted butter, pour about 1/4 cup of batter, and roll the pan, until you have a big thin layer. After 2 or 3 minutes, flip, and then allow to lay on a piece of parchment paper. You can make a double batch, and keep between parchment paper, in the fridge or freezer. If you are going savory, omit the vanilla and add some salt and pepper, and maybe some dried herbs like oregano or rosemary. Enjoy! :)

Pork and melted brie cheese crepes!