Ginger Beet Soup

The Ingredients

2 roasted beets

1 apple

1 tbsp grated ginger

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 large shallot

1 tbsp. olive oil

horseradish

2 tbsp. yellow mustard

1/2 tbsp. truffle oil

I already had a leftover beet-apple-ginger mixture (ingredients all mixed in a food processor) in the fridge due to a failed attempt at making juice without a juicer. This turned into a roasted beet soup with some unique and delicious flavors. 

In a pot, I poured in the olive oil and diced shallots to be sautéed for a few minutes. Then, throw in the beet-apple-ginger mixture. I kept this at medium heat and added some apple cider vinegar, mustard, horseradish, and truffle oil. Can be served hot or cold. 

Topped with extra mustard- the perfect treat for a picnic! 

Quino-iche

I had some leftover quinoa and discovered a new way of reusing it to make a delicious meal- even good for breakfast!

The Ingredients

1 cup cooked quinoa

2 eggs

1/2 large shallot

1 cup cooked spinach

1/2 cup cubed provolone

1 cup (lowfat) buttermilk

1 tbsp. brown grain mustard

1 pie crust

First, make sure your pie crust has been out around 15-20 minutes to defrost so it doesn't break when handling it. 

Boil the spinach for about two minutes- just enough to make it wilt a little. 

In a bowl, scramble the two eggs. Mix in the buttermilk, spinach, and quinoa. Cube provolone and add to the mixture. I also added a little bit of water to lighten it up a bit. Then, chop the shallot and add to the mixture. Add a generous tbsp. of grain brown mustard for some extra flavor. Note that this recipe doesn't need salt due to the quinoa (pre-cooked with chicken stock), provolone, and mustard. 

The mixture

I had enough pie crust to make seven little quiches and enough filled for four more soufflés (without crust). Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Enjoy! 

Filled muffin tin

Final product

After 30 minutes

Salmon Curry

The Ingredients for Curry

2 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp. coconut oil

1 can light coconut milk

1 sweet onion

grated ginger

1 1/2 cups water

2 tbsp corn starch

curry

turmeric

paprika

1/2 bag of spinach

1 can of unsalted corn kernels

1 can organic black beans

Preheat your oven at 350 degrees for a good few minutes- you will get to this in a bit! 

Chop onions and garlic and sautée for a few minutes in a pot with coconut oil. Add coconut milk, water, grated ginger, and continuously add small amounts of corn starch to help thicken the sauce. The key is the temperature- keep it hot enough so it doesn't create chunks of corn starch but cold enough that the corn starch can be mixed nicely into the mixture. Then, add vegetables. Let this simmer for a bit. Occasionally stir it. 

While this is going on, boil 1/2 cup of basmati or kasmati rice with water only (20 minutes). 

In a baking dish, use some coconut oil on the bottom and place salmon filets on top. Lightly season the filets with adobo and a tsp. of coconut oil (this ties in the flavor of the curry). Cook for seven minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit for another 3-5 minutes. This will make the salmon come out nice and tender. 

Your curry and rice should now be done. Serve and enjoy! 

Banana Pancakes

The Ingredients

2 eggs

1 1/4 cup of flour

3 tbsp. melted butter

baking powder

pinch of salt

1 cup almond milk

2 (very ripe) bananas

flax seeds

wheat germ

Cut the bananas and set aside. Mix all ingredients, then, add the bananas. Coat a skillet with butter and cook the pancakes for a few minutes on each side. Excellent source of fiber and not super sweet, either. 

Serve with maple syrup and top with walnuts if desired. 

Delicious Dinner

I had some herbs I wanted to use, an onion I wanted to get rid of, and some roasted beets in the fridge. This quickly turned into the following things (20 minutes):

Quinoa with almonds

Baked cod with garlic/herbes de provence

Roasted beets with truffle oil (the earthy flavor of the truffle oil is incredible on the beets- served cold)

YUM! 

Mexican-inspired pesto

The Ingredients

1/2 large shallot

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 bushel of cilantro

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

adobo

Combine all ingredients into a food processor and that is the pesto. 

Served with shrimp and spaghetti. 

Port-tea

I had some delicious sweet rose tea and thought the flavor would mix well with port. I was right! The sweetness and slight bitterness of the alcohol content make this quite yummy.

Herb-infused water

I had a lemon, fennel tops, and mint. Since I had no idea what to do with these things, I threw them into a pitcher of filtered water and enjoyed a delicious treat! 

Sweet Potato and Fennel Fritters

The Ingredients

2 eggs

1 cup flour

4 fennel tops

1 sweet potato

pinch of salt

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of baking powder

1 1/2 cup of crushed flax seed

1/2 cup grapeseed oil

1/2 cup canola oil

First, bake sweet potato for 35 minutes. Set aside and let cool. When cool, remove skins- only now can it be worked with. I was lucky and had one left over in the fridge. Now, mash it to your heart's content! Place in a bowl- you will get to this later.

In another bowl, mix all dry ingredients. Slowly, mix them into the bowl with the mashed sweet potato. Cut your fennel tops and throw them in. Then, add the eggs and mix well. 

Batter

In a pot, mix grapeseed and canola oils. I chose these because they are mild in flavor and won't affect the final product. Plus, you can fry at a higher heat with them. 

Use a cold spoon to throw the batter into the oil (it should be bubbly). The fritters should only take a few minutes each- just make sure you flip them over to cook both sides thoroughly. Enjoy with a honey mustard sauce (spicy brown mustard, yellow mustard and honey). 

Final product! 

Served with roasted turnips and fried rice with salmon. 

Pistachio-Crusted Mahi Mahi

The Ingredients

2 mahi mahi filets

1 cup crushed pistachios

1 cup panko bread crumbs

2 tbsp. brown mustard

1 tsbp. grey poupon

1 tbsp honey

I had a lot of salted pistachios that I wasn't eating for snack and had no idea what to do with them... until I realized I could pistachio-crust things. I de-shelled them and put them into my food processor to be crushed. Set them aside into a bowl and add the panko bread crumbs. These are the dry ingredients that the filets will be dipped into at the end.

Pistachios and panko

In another bowl, mix the mustards and honey. Dip the filets (one by one) into the mixture, making sure they are fully coated. Then, dip each filet into the pistachio-panko mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Home-made honey mustard

Pre-baking

Final product!

The "Everything" Hearty Winter Soup

The Ingredients

3 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups frozen black beans (already cooked)

4 garlic cloves

3 parsnips

4 chicken tenders

1 tbsp. olive oil

6 cups of water

1 vegetable bouillon

2 bay leaves

rosemary

1 shallot (large)

2 pinches of herbes de provence

adobo

This soup looks complicated because of all the ingredients, but the slow cooker makes everything oh-so-easy. 

First, take the chicken strips and lightly sautée for 5-7 minutes in a pan. Do NOT overcook, as it will dry out the chicken. It is going to be cooked a second time, so you want to avoid that at all costs. Set chicken aside.

Peel parsnips and cut into small rounds. Use a garlic press for the 4 cloves of garlic. Also, dice your shallot. Set aside.

In a crockpot, combine water, chicken broth, vegetable bouillon, herbes de provence, rosemary, bay leaves, garlic, onions, parsnips, black beans, and chicken. Keep at low heat for 8 hours so the flavors work well together and cook slowly. When you get home from work, you'll have a hearty, delicious soup waiting for you! (P.S. Don't forget to take out the bay leaves before serving!!!!!)

Get in my belly! 

Onion Soup

The Ingredients

4 onions (3 white, 1 red)

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 beef bouillon cubes or 2 cups beef stock

4 1/2 cups water

3 bay leaves

1/2 cup dry red wine

rosemary 

pepper

In a pan, add diced onions and olive oil. Reduce on med-high heat for 5-10 minutes. Set aside. 

In a pot, add water and beef bouillon cubes or beef stock. Keep at med-high heat. Add bay leaves and 1 sprig of rosemary. Then, add the onion mixture and let simmer at medium heat for 15 minutes. Little by litter, add wine and pepper to taste. The trick is to let simmer at medium heat so the flavors blend well together. Serve on top of a bowl with cheese on the bottom. I used provolone (the real stuff), and it melted SO well. YUM! 

Vegan Apple Wheat Cookies

The Ingredients

1 1/2 cups applesauce

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup vanilla soy milk

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

pinch of salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 grated apple

1 tsp. coconut oil (to grease the baking pan)

Mix all ingredients into a large bowl (dry ingredients first, then the wet ingredients). Use 1 tsp. coconut oil to grease the baking pan. Note to self: do NOT use more than this, or your cookies will turn out greasy/oily. Bake for around 20 minutes at 350 degrees. 

I made an icing out of coconut oil, powdered sugar, and some maple syrup. It turned out great, but not that if you don't eat the cookies soon after they are done, the coconut oil icing will give them a waxy, oily texture. 

The batter

Pre-baking

Post-baking

With icing and all!