Peach Sorbet with Almond Milk

This is an amazingly simple dessert that requires a minimal effort. It is a light and fresh way to top off a meal or eat as a snack.

The ingredients are 12 peaches,

1 cup almond milk,

and honey. 

Blanch 12 ripe peaches in boiling water for 1 minute. Let them cool slightly and slip the skins. 

Chop the peaches into chunks and mash with s hand blender.

Mix in 1 cup almond milk and 3 tablespoons honey

Put 1 cup of the mix in each of 4 plastic containers. Freezing in small amounts will  make it easier to stir the partially frozen dessert.

Stir  every 3 or so hours to mix air into the sorbet.

It will be ready to eat in 5 or 6 hours.

The most radical thing we can do in the world is be joyful.
   Julia Cameron

Kale and Hearty Quiche

It seems everyone is looking for ways to get more dark green and leafy vegetables into their diet. This quiche is rich and tangy and has just the right combination of cheeses and greens to melt in your mouth. I generally make quiche without crust, but it could easily be mixed and poured into an uncooked crust.

1 leek sliced quite fine

Greens consisting of kale, chard, spinach or bok choy with large stalks trimmed away. You will need enough of these to fill a large skillet. They will cook down to about 1 cup.

5 or 6 large basil leaves

1 tablespoon each of olive oil and butter

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cup sliced raw mushrooms 

8 ounces grated cheese

Choose any combination of Swiss, cheddar or goat cheese.

4 beaten eggs

3 tablespoons fresh chives, snipped into tiny pieces

1 chopped ripe tomato

 1 ½ cup whole milk or half and half

1. Cook greens, basil, Worcestershire sauce and sliced leek very slowly in butter and olive oil until softened – about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper – about ½ teaspoon each. Let cool slightly.

2. While greens are cooling, grate cheese, chop the tomato and beat the eggs. Add the milk to the egg mixture.

3. Put the cheeses, chives, tomato, cooled greens, and chives into a 10 inch glass pie plate. Mix gently.

4. Pour egg and milk mixture over the cheeses and greens. Add another ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper and stir slowly until ingredients are evenly distributed.

Bake uncovered in a 325 degree oven for about 45 – 50 minutes or until center is solid.

Serve this delicious quiche for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.

George Bernard Shaw

No Pasta Lasagna

This is a delicious lasagna dish that uses vegetables in place of pasta, and could be made with meat or cheese. This is a way to make a somewhat starchy dish into a more nutritious, non-starchy meal. There are several options in this recipe, so it can be tailored to your individual tastes.  It could also quite easily be a dairy-free dish by using the meat option and eliminating the grated cheese topping.

Greens: any combination of spinach, Swiss chard, bok choy, or kale

Basil: 10 – 12 large leaves

Summer squash: about six – these can be zucchini, yellow crookneck or patty pan

3 cups of soft cheese: a mix of ricotta, goat cheese, cottage cheese, or cream cheese (Mascarpone would also be great if you can afford it!)

If you are making meat lasagna, delete the soft cheese and use 1 1/2 pounds of ground meat, such as beef, turkey or pork and one minced onion.

4 large eggs (for cheese mixture)

Grated cheese topping: mixture of mozzarella, Parmesan or Toscana about 1 ½ cups

2 ½ cups of spaghetti sauce

4 cloves garlic – minced

1 small leek sliced very fine

Fresh chives – enough to make 2 tablespoons when chopped 

Salt, pepper, garlic salt, onion powder

Meat version:  Sauté the onion for a few minutes in olive oil and then add ground meat. Cook slowly until meat is cooked through. Set aside.

Cheese version: Remove soft cheese from the refrigerator and let these sit out, so they will be easier to mix with eggs. Add eggs, about 1 teaspoon of garlic salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon onion powder and stir until cheese is relatively smooth. Set aside.

1. Cut the large spines out of your greens (not necessary for spinach) and sauté these with olive oil, salt and pepper in a large skillet. Chop and add basil a minute or two before removing from heat. When these are cooked, spread them in a thin layer on the bottom of a 9 x 13 glass lasagna dish.

2. Spoon about ½ cup of the tomato sauce onto the greens. Spread as evenly as possible.

3. Slice the summer squash into thin slices, the long way in order to make larger pieces. Sauté garlic and leeks in olive oil for a few minutes until tender and add sliced summer squash.  Add salt and pepper and chives and cook slowly for about 15 minutes. Squash should be soft and pliable, but not too mushy or it will get difficult to handle.

If you would like your squash a little less watery, bake it in the oven at a low temperature. Coat the pan with olive oil to avoid having the squash stick to the pan. It's an extra step, but it gives some added texture to the dish.

4. Gently ladle one-half of the cheese or meat mixture onto the greens.

5. Layer about half of the squash over the cheese or meat mix overlapping the squash enough to cover the mix, and then spoon a generous layer of tomato sauce over the squash – about one and a quarter cups.

6. Layer the remainder of the cheese or meat mixture.

7. Layer the remaining squash. If there are any leeks, garlic or chives left in the pan, use these up, too.

8. Top with the grated cheese mix and spoon the remainder of the tomato sauce over the grated cheese. The sauce does not have to cover the cheese.  The top will look somewhat variegated.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 – 50 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 minutes prior to cutting for firmer pieces.

He is richest who is content with least.

Socrates

Easy Berry Mousse

1 ½ cups fresh or frozen berries

1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. If you use fresh berries, add a couple tablespoons of water to a small saucepan and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the berries are softened. Frozen berries will already have enough water to aid in cooking. 

2. Cool for about ½ hour and pour cooked berries into a blender and puree for a minute or so. Set these aside.

3. Whip the heavy cream with a mixer or hand blender and add the sugar and vanilla when the cream has thickened. 

4. Pour the berry mixture into the whipped cream and fold gently. The berries do not have to be mixed uniformly with the whipped cream. The mousse is a little prettier if it is slightly variegated. Pour into custard cups and garnish with a piece of dark chocolate or a whole berry.

5. Refrigerate for a few hours. If you need to refrigerate overnight, cover the containers with plastic wrap.

6. Serve as a light dessert or afternoon snack.

The longer the shelf life of what you are eating, the shorter yours will be. Alejandro Junger

Goat Cheese Crepes

Crepes are mostly eggs with a small amount of milk and flour. In this particular recipe, I used almond milk and coconut flour to accommodate people with dairy and wheat sensitivities. But other types of milk and flour could be used as well. Even if you think you do not care for goat cheese, you will be surprised at what a delicious mixture it makes combined with the apple butter. There is a sweet and tangy flavor that is just a little lighter and fresher than crepes made with ricotta or cream cheese.

4 eggs

1 cup milk

2/3 cup flour

Salt and vanilla

Mix 6 ounces of goat cheese with 6 ounces of spiced apple butter. This will be a little easier if the goat cheese sits at room temperature for an hour or so prior to stirring.

Make the crepes in a large skillet with a small amount of oil on the bottom. Spray coconut oil works well and adds flavor as well. Fry these on low and stack with paper towels between them. This recipe should make about six crepes.

When the crepes are all ready, put a couple ounces of the goat cheese mixture on each crepe and wrap. You can plate these seam side down and garnish with sour cream and/or apple butter.  You can also place the crepes in a casserole dish with a tiny amount of butter or oil on the bottom and cover with aluminum foil if you are making these ahead. When you are ready to serve them, put the casserole in a 325 degree oven for about 20 – 25 minutes.

You can also let diners select their own garnishes at the table.  Sour cream, apple butter, syrup, fruit, honey and whipped cream are all great options.

Empathy is the soul of democracy.                           Jeremy Rifkin

Focaccia and Bread Sticks

This homemade bread does not take very long and is a nice addition to a home cooked meal or could add some panache to a take-out dinner.

Ingredients:

3 oz grated Toscana or Parmesan cheese (divide into two equal parts)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 beaten egg

1 cup garbanzo bean flour*

1 cup wheat flour

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon Italian seasoning

2 teaspoons rosemary leaves

1 Tablespoon yeast plus 1 tablespoon sugar plus 1/3 cup water

1 cup water 

*You can also use amaranth, spelt, brown rice, coconut or other non-wheat flour.  The addition of one of these gives the bread a slightly chewier texture because these flours do not rise as easily as the wheat flour; hence a less fluffy bread.

1. Heat the 1/3 cup water and the tablespoon sugar to a comfortably warm temperature and add the yeast. Set this in a warm place to work for a few minutes – 10 or so.

2. Put 1 ½ oz of the cheese, the salt, egg, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 cup water into a bowl. Add the yeast mixture when it is ready.

3. Add the wheat and bean flour. Mix thoroughly.

4. Put the dough on a pastry cloth or counter with a sprinkling of flour and knead for a few minutes.

5. Make the dough into a ball, coat with a little oil; cover with a light cloth and put in a warm place to rise for about 45 minutes or until double the original size. It might take more or less time depending on conditions.

6. Knead the dough again, and divide it into 2 equal parts.

7. Flatten one-half of the dough into a greased skillet, covering the entire bottom of the skillet.

8. Divide the remaining dough into 6 roughly equal pieces. Roll them into cylinder shapes about 8 inches in length and ½ to ¾ inches in diameter. Lay these on a nonstick baking sheet or stone.

9. Cover bread sticks and focaccia with a light cloth and let these rise for about 30 minutes. They should be almost double in volume. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

10. Before baking, poke the top of the focaccia with your finger in about 10 places to make wells for the olive oil. Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes; then remove and brush sticks and focaccia with olive oil and sprinkle with remaining 1 ½ oz of cheese, Italian seasoning and rosemary.

11. Bake for another 10 – 12 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

Serve with pasta. The leftover focaccia can be sliced horizontally to make a delicious sandwich bread.

All the elements for your happiness are already here.
Thich Nhat Hanh