Raw Food & Gardening

Lately, I've been eating a lot of juices and raw vegetables.  This is a new way of cooking and eating for me.  I've been studying the benefits of raw food and also cleansing.  It's been 20 days since I last smoked a cigarette, and I want to help my body release toxins.  I feel GREAT!

I've also been paying close attention to how my body responds to supplements and food.  I noticed that the closer I ate food to it's natural state the better I felt.  Conversely, the heavier the meal, the more depressed and sluggish I felt.

I am not going 100% raw, just as I can't 100% give up cheese.  Everyone needs a cooked meal.  I am aiming for about 60% raw and at least one raw juice of fruits and vegetables a day.

Along the same lines, I have also decided to start a garden this spring.  I really like fresh tomatoes, so, if nothing else, I hope to be able to eat super fresh tomatoes all summer.  I know that it will be a lot of work, but I think it will be a great way for my daughter to learn where food comes from.  That, and she'll probably have fun playing in the dirt.

Later this week I intend to post my fameous gumbo recipe.  It's gooooooood.

Goodbye Dairy

I am sorry dairy, but we are no longer friends.  I must learn to live without you...

Well, I doubt I can completely live without cheese and yogurt, but  am ditching milk and butter.  Those two seem to make my throat close up the most.  I am going to cut back on the cheese to once a week.

So... a lot of the recipes I write will be close to vegan, except for when I can afford some meat.  Don't fret!!  There are lots of ways to eat without dairy, lots of delicious ways.  :)

Crunchy Salad with Balsalmic Garlic Reduction

This is good.  Really, really good.  Oh, and really, really cheap.  I already had most of these ingredients in my pantry or fridge.  The Balsalmic Garlic Reduction makes way more than you'll need for a salad, so just keep it in an airtight container on the counter for... like forever.  You can add it to not only salads, but roasted root vegetables, proteins, or even add a drizzle to a veggie dip.  The Annie's Woodstock Dressing is something I could make from scratch (with all the garlic and sun dried tomatoes), but I'm not going to.

Quick tip: when making the reduction, keep a window open.  It has a strong smell while cooking and you don't want to OD off of vinegar vapor fumes.  It would be an embarrassing way to go. 

Ingredients:
1 cup Balsalmic Vinegar
2 crushed whole garlic cloves
1 tsp sugar
1 bunch radishes sliced
1 pink lady apple chopped
1 head romaine lettuce chopped
1 handful seedless green grapes sliced in half
drizzle store bought tahini based dressing (preferred: Annie's Woodstock Dressing)


Directions: 
Heat Balsamic Vinegar, garlic and sugar in a small pot over high heat until boiling then drop the heat to a simmer.  Simmer uncovered for about 25 minutes.  Cool, reduction will thicken substantially.

Mix chopped fruits & veggies together, top with dressing and a drizzle of the reduction & enjoy!

Chicken & Broccolini in a Ginger Tangeriene Teriyaki

This past Christmas Mitch bought me a wok.  It's one of my new favorite toys.  I love making curries with it, but last night I made a stir fry that I shared with my 15 month old daughter.  She LOVED it.  Apparently toddlers love running around the house with cooked Udon noodles.

The sauce for this dish is directly inspired by a Clementine Teriyaki sauce I found on Vegan Yum Yum.  I used a mandarin tangeriene and added some ginger powder to the sauce.  Also, I used a bit more juice so I could cut the sugar down a bit.  I like the Tamari sauce in place of soy sauce because it not only decreases sodium, but has a richer flavor than plain old soy sauce.  If you can't find Tamari sauce, you can always use a low sodium soy sauce instead. 

Ingredients:

½ cup Tamari Sauce

¼ cup sugar

juice from one tangerine

zest from one tangerine

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

¼ cup water

1 tsp ginger powder

1tbsp safflower oil

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 pkg broccolini

1 lb diced chicken breast

1 pkg Udon noodles

Directions:

Bring a pot of about 8 quarts of water with a pinch of salt to a boil. Add Udon noodles to water and boil for 8 minutes. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water and reserve. Whisk Tamrai Sauce, sugar, tangerine juice & zest, rice wine vinegar, water and ginger together to make teriyaki sauce. Heat sauce in a small pan and simmer for about 20 minutes. Cool and reserve sauce.

Cut broccolini into bite sized pieces. Heat oils in a large saute pan or wok over medium high heat. Add broccolini, chicken, salt & pepper to taste, a couple tablespoons of the teriyaki sauce. Stir fry until chicken pieces are almost cooked through. Add Udon noodles and a few more tablespoons of the remaining sauce and stir fry another couple minutes. Serve drizzled with teriyaki sauce on top.

Roasted Asparagus with Parrano & White Wine Cream

The vegetable for today is asparagus courtesy my friend Patrick's pick.  Normally I just roast asparagus or steam it for a side dish.  Since it is still cold as hell outside, I thought a creamy pasta dish would be a nice application for tonight.  Originally I was going to add some breaded tilapia, but this dish is heavy enough on it's own.

Paranno is a yummy cheese that we sell at the natural food store I work at.  If you can't find it, just used equal parts Gouda and a good quality Parmesan to get the same effect.

Feel free to omit the jalepeno pepper if you wish.  I just had a few left over from chili-makin this morning, and I hate to let things go to waste.  Also, if you want to make this a vegetarian dish, simply use vegetable broth or a veggie boulion cube mixed in water.

Ingredients:

1 bunch asparagus

1 tsp garlic salt

4 tbsp butter

1 pkg wheat linguine

1 cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped green pepper

½ cup chopped red pepper

1 chopped jalepeno (optional)

1 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp flour

½ cup white wine

½ tsp + 1 pinch salt

½ tsp black pepper

2 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth

1 cup 1% milk

2 cups Parrano Cheese

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Melt 2 tbsp of the butter with the garlic salt. Cut asparagus into 2 inch pieces and place in roasting pan. Baste the asparagus with melted butter and roast for 20-25 minutes.

Heat olive oil and remaining butter in a saute pan over medium high heat. Heat a quart of water in a separate pot with a pinch of salt for the pasta. Add onion and peppers to the saute pan and cook until tender. When water in pot comes to a boil add linguine and cook for 7-8 minutes or until al dente and then drain.

Add white wine to the saute pan and reduce for a couple minutes. Whisk in flour and cook for a minute then slowly stir in the chicken or vegetable broth and milk. Add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a medium and melt in cheeses. Stir in drained pasta and roasted asparagus. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Chili Day!!

Snow and ice.  That's what we've got here in Dallas.  This is a photo of what my car looked like yesterday.  Also, there's a ton of out-of-towners hangin out waitin for the superbowl.  MOST importantly today is WF Lakewood's Annual Chili Contest!!!!!

I am about to make 3 gallons of my badass Cashew Chili and brave the winter weather so everyone in Dallas can come taste a bite.

The sun is shining and I am confident that I can make it there, even if our wonderful city sucks at taking care of salting and shoveling the roads.  (I swear Florida is more equipped to handle a snowstorm than Texas.) 

WF Lakewood is located at 2118 Abrams Rd. in Dallas (corner of Abrams & Gaston).  The contest is from 1-3pm today, so make plans to come taste all the chili and cast your vote!

Tomato Basil Parsnips

Today at work I asked one of my coworkers, Jan, to pick a vegetable and I would make up a dish.  This is a fun game.  I think everyone should play it once a week, if not more often, to up your creativity in the kitchen.  Jan picked parsnips.  

I dig me some parsnips.  If you haven't ever had one, the flavor is somewhere between a carrot and a potato.  I've used them in a vegetable chili, a savory bread pudding with butternut squash, and pureed with yukon golds.  I spent most of my afternoon racking my brains for a new way to use parsnips. 

A few other coworkers came up with some great ideas, some of which I intend to use in the near future, including chips, various purees and soups.  I've never had them carmelized.  I really wanted some tangy roasted cherry tomatoes.  Basil and garlic also sounded pretty damned good tonight, so I decided to toss it all together and here you have parsnips caramelized in basil and garlic with roasted tomatoes.  This dish goes well with my Breaded Chicken Thighs or tossed in some whole wheat pasta or soba noodles.

Ingredients:

5 parsnips, peeled and cut into bits-sized pieces

1 pint cherry tomatoes

2 pinches salt

2 tbsp olive oil + a drizzle

2 cloves garlic, crushed

handful of chopped fresh basil

½ tsp paprika

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Place tomatoes into a baking pan, drizzle with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt and roast for 20-25 minutes or until tomatoes burst and look wrinkly. Cook parsnips in microwave oven on high for 4 minutes to soften them slightly. In a saute pan add olive oil and crushed garlic cloves on medium heat to infuse the oil. Add parsnips, a pinch of salt and the basil to pan and raise heat to medium high to fry for 15 to 20 minutes, flipping the parsnips until all sides are carmelized. Remove tomatoes from oven and add to the saute pan and fry for another minute. Serve with a few basil leaves for garnish.