NO-STIR FRY

 This is as much of a concept as it is a recipe. In a traditional stir fry, the meat and various vegetables are added at different times depending on how much cooking they require. In this lazy version, those differences are managed with layering. And the cook gets to put his or her feet up while the veggies fend for themselves.


Minced garlic
Sliced: carrots, golden beets, leeks, red and yellow peppers, and
Savoy cabbage
2 cups chopped cooked chicken or pork spiced with salt, turmeric and chili pepper flakes (Use sauteed tofu or leave out meat for a vegetarian dish.)

1. Layer the garlic, carrots, and beets on the bottom of a skillet that has been coated generously with olive oil.

2. Adjust heat to a low setting. Sprinkle a little herbed salt on each layer

3. Add peppers and leeks. Spread the cabbage over the peppers and leeks.

4. Then add the cooked chicken on the very top. Cover, mix the sauce, and go read a book for 15 or 20 minutes.

5. Sauce: 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari 1 tablespoon raw honey 1/4 cup water 1 tablespoon corn starch Mix sauce ingredients and set aside.

6. Add sauce to vegetables when they are cooked. Turn the heat up for a minute or two and then stir. The sauce will thicken and coat the vegetables.

You can obviously substitute other vegetables and meat in this mix. Simply put the long cooking veggies on the bottom and the fast cooking ones nearer the top. Since the meat is already cooked, it goes on the very top and gets stirred in at the end when the sauce is mixed in.

Serve with rice. Add turmeric to your rice for a pretty color and place a scoop right on top of the meat and vegetables.

Best Tomato Soup Ever

This tomato soup recipe is based on the traditional Italian vodka sauce recipe, but without the 

vodka. Carrots are what give the vodka sauce it's sweetness, so they are included here to 

balance the acidity of the fresh tomatoes.

4 medium size carrots - peeled and diced 

12 medium tomatoes - peeled

4 cloves garlic

1 medium onion - cut into chunks 

4 cups chicken or turkey broth 

Tarragon, salt, pepper, basil 

Creme fraiche (Substitute whole fat coconut milk for a dairy free option)

1/2 cup hand grated Parmesan cheese (Leave out for dairy free)

1/3 cup red wine 
2 cups chopped, cooked turkey 

1/2 cup cooked rice (brown, white or wild)

1. Chop the garlic, onion and carrots; put in slow cooker on high  

2. Blanch* and peel the tomatoes. Chop these and remove some of the seeds, 

but don't worry too much about seeds. add them to the cooker. 

3. Add broth and let this simmer slowly for 2-3 hours until the carrots and onions 

are very soft. Cook your rice while the vegetables are simmering and set it aside.

4. Remove from heat. Let cool. If you want to do this over two days, 

you can refrigerate the soup at this point. 

5. Use a hand blender to puree the tomato carrot mix. You can do this 
while the soup is warm, but avoid blending while hot for all kinds of obvious 
reasons. 

6. Return to slow cooker on high setting and add red wine, rice, cooked turkey 

and spices. 

7. Stir in the creme fraiche and the Parmesan cheese. If you're going dairy free, 

simply add some full fat coconut milk instead.

8. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary. 

9. Enjoy! 

*To blanch the tomatoes, immerse them in boiling water for about a 

minute and a half. Cool and peel. The skins should slip off easily. 

Setbacks are inevitable; misery is a choice.

WB Yeats  

Jazzy Stuffed Mushrooms

Holidays are over, but perhaps you have made a resolution to do more entertaining in 2015. Stuffed mushrooms always seem to be popular and these are extra delicious.

20 mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
olive oil for sauteeing
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped, dried fruit
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated cheese

1. Choose large mushrooms and break off the stems. This recipe is for about 20.

2. Chop the stems into small pieces and saute them in olive oil with some minced garlic.

3. Add 1/2cup chopped, dried fruits to the saute mix. Cranberries and pineapple are especially good because of their tanginess, but apricot or golden raisins might work well, too.
5. Put a spoonful of the saute mix in each of the mushrooms and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Serve warm. Try not to eat too many and spoil your dinner, but that will be difficult!

Note: You can use gluten free bread crumbs, or you can use almond flour instead of bread crumbs.

The cost of cheap food is way too high.   Unknown

New Year's Treat

For this delicious drink use equal parts:

Coconut milk
Orange juice
Vodka
Sugar or honey*

Put all of the ingredients in a blender at a medium speed for a few seconds. Pour into a glass and garnish with orange or lime rinds. This drink is also delicious over ice.


* You can cut the sweetener in half and it will still be sweet enough for most people.


Too much virtue is just as worrisome as wickedness...
Sue Grafton                                                                       

 

Chocolate Candy

Whole Food Chocolate Candy

12 ounces dark chocolate – 60 – 80% cocoa

1 ½ cups finely chopped dates

½ cup cashew butter*

½ cup almond meal

Outer Coating:

Shredded, toasted coconut

(I used an unsweetened brand and toasted it in a frying pan with a tablespoon of coconut oil and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup.)

1. Put the chocolate and dates into a slow cooker on low. The chocolate melts fairly quickly. When it is melted enough to stir easily, add the cashew butter and the almond meal and stir. The mixture should be slightly thick.

2. Drop rounded teaspoons full of the chocolate mixture on a wax paper and let them cool. The mix should make about 4 dozen candies.

3. When they are cool, but still soft, roll them in the toasted coconut and place them in a paper liner. These are sold along with the cupcake liners.

*You can use another kind of nut butter. Macadamia butter is a little harder to find (and even harder to finance), but it would be good, too.

World Beat Stroganoff

With a little heat from Mexico,  the main idea from old Russia, the coconut suggested by our current love of all things Thai, and quinoa from South America, this is truly a fusion recipe. It’s also made without dairy or wheat. The name is a shout out to a music and cultural center in Balboa Park.

Saute:

Anaheim or Poblano pepper

Onion

Garlic

Tomato

Bell pepper

Coat slices of sirloin, chuck, or London Broil in flour*, salt, pepper. You will need about 1 ½ to 2 pounds of meat cut in thin slices. Size is not critical, since the meat will fall apart in cooking.

Brown these in coconut oil or lard.

Put everything in crock pot with 3 cups of broth for 2 - 3 hours on high. This is best when the meat is falling apart. Allow plenty of time; it won’t need your attention, so you can do other stuff while it’s simmering.

About 15 minutes before you’re ready to eat, cook the quinoa/pasta.

While the quinoa is cooking, add coconut milk to the meat sauce and turn to warm. Let this sit for about 5 minutes.

Serve over quinoa or quinoa pasta.

*If you’re going wheat free, use a rice or coconut flour. One of the legume flours would work, too.

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.

Viktor Frankel

Vegetable Medley

Potatoes
Carrots
Green beans
Red bell peppers
Asparagus
Olive oil
Butter*
Salt
Tarragon
Curry
Dill

This dish has three layers and three roasting times, but is is easy to prepare and an instant favorite.

First Layer: Peel and chop potatoes and carrots into chunks that are about 1 inch cubes.
Put these in the bottom of a glass dish; drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and very lightly with tarragon.
Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Second Layer: Wash and snip the stems from green beans, chop a large red bell pepper, and layer these over the partially cooked potato/carrot layer. Add a few dots of butter, sprinkle with salt, and just a tiny bit of curry. Return to oven for 15 minutes.

Third Layer: Add asparagus with woody ends removed, a tad more salt and butter and a light sprinkling of dill.
Return to oven for 10 minutes.

The potatoes and carrots will be cooked through, the beans and peppers will be slightly crisp, and the asparagus will be tender.  The seasonings blend perfectly, thanks to the addition of olive oil and butter. Who could ask for more?
*For a dairy free option, use olive oil in place of butter.

A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.
Walter Winchell