Category Archives: Food

Shakshuka

What’s Shakshuka? That’s what I wondered too when I saw this recipe. Apparently it’s a popular dish in Tunisia and Israel – a thick sauce made of onions, peppers and tomatoes simmered with spices. Then you poach eggs directly on top of the sauce and serve. Yum!

The recipe below makes 12 servings – a lot! You can easily cut it in half, or the sauce freezes very well!

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil
2 large yellow onions, diced
10 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon turmeric
2 teaspoons dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon cayenne or harissa (optional)
6 red or yellow bell peppers, seeded and diced
2 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 quart low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 tsp salt or to taste

Toppings

Eggs (optional)
Avocado (optional)
Feta cheese (optional)
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions

In a large, deep saucepan over medium-high heat, warm olive oil. Add onions, and stir for several minutes, cooking until translucent and pale gold, about 10 minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low, add garlic and cook for several more minutes, being careful not to brown the garlic. Stir in spices, cayenne or harissa and bell peppers. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add tomatoes with their juice and broth, stirring gently to blend. Simmer uncovered for 30 to 60 minutes, until liquids have reduced to a thick sauce. Taste and add salt as desired.
Warm the sauce to medium and poach one egg per person directly in the sauce.

To store: Divide equally between 3 large freezer tubs. Label with the name and date. Use within 6 months.

Thanks for the inspiration PCC Natural Markets.

Baked Apples with Vanilla Sauce

2 Replies

Totally delicious melding of flavors: the tartness of baked apples, cinnamon, raisins and toasted almonds.. topped with a sweet and creamy vanilla sauce.. It’s a classic Scandinavian dessert. Comfort food for winter is what I call it! 🙂

Baked apples

4 apples (Granny Smith work great) – cored
1/3 cup roughly chopped almonds
1/3 cup raisins or dried currants
1 tsp cinnamon
water

Directions

Core your apples carefully with a pairing knife
Toss raisins, almonds and cinnamon
Place apples upright in glass baking dish and fill each center with nut/raisin mixture
Any leftover nut/raisin mixture can be tossed into the bottom of the baking dish
Pour a little water into the baking dish
Cover with foil and bake @350 for 45 minutes or until knife inserts easily into apple

Vanilla Sauce

2 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla or 1 vanilla pod
4 egg yolks
2 Tbsp agave syrup or other sweetener
1 Tbsp tapioca or other starch (whisked with some water)

Directions

Put all ingredients (including vanilla pod if you are using that, but excluding vanilla essence) in a pot and bring to light boil while stirring to avoid clumps
Remove from heat and add vanilla essence (if you are using that)
Cool a bit and ladle on to baked apples
Delicious hot or cold! 🙂

Apples & Toffee Caramel Dip

1 Reply

Go Seahawks!!!!!!!!!! I’m reposting this as an awesome super bowl game day snack. Totally unhealthy, totally delicious. Super easy to make. Enjoy!

This dip pairs especially well with Honeycrisp (or a tarter) apple!

Ingredients

1 brick cream cheese
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. white sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 bag toffee chips (like Heath toffee bits)

Mix first four ingredients well and fold in chips. Let chill for at least an hour. This makes very well a day in advance.

Honeycrisp apples are amazing with this dip!

Kale Salad with Chicken and Avocado

Creamy Lemon Garlic Dressing

2 Replies

This is a wonderful paleo dressing – great for salads, on roast chicken or as a dip! On Thursday I’ll post a recipe for Kale Chicken Avocado salad with this dressing! 🙂

Creamy Lemon Garlic Paleo Dressing

Ingredients

1/2 c olive oil
juice from one entire lemon
1 garlic clove (large)
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 c walnut pieces
pinch of sea salt
pinch of pepper

Directions

Add all items to a food processor (or use an inversion blender) and blend until smooth
Refrigerate till ready to use

Thanks for the inspiration: http://cavemanstrong.com/2014/08/paleo-creamy-lemon-garlic-dressing/

Mashed Potatoes

1 Reply

What says comfort food like hot mashed potatoes with very simply some melted butter, salt and pepper..! Mashed potatoes are incredibly easy to make. And you can do so much with them. Mix in some fresh or roasted garlic, sour crème or milk, finely chopped chives or green onions, bacon bits and cheddar cheese. The combinations are endless! The secret to good mashed potatoes however is simple.. it lies in the quality and type of potatoes. I’ve found red potatoes and gold potatoes to be excellent options for mashed potatoes.

Ingredients

2 lbs potatoes
dash of salt
Butter and/or other favorite toppings

Directions

Peel potatoes (if desired), chop in 1″ pieces
Cover potatoes with water in pot and bring to boil
Cook until knife inserts in a potato easily
Pour off water and let cool a bit
Use an inversion blender to mix, adding butter and other toppings as desired

Paleo Apple Crisp

1 Reply

I was inspired by Lauren’s recent Apple Pie post and wanted to make a gluten free and paleo version!

This is a delicious paleo version of a classic apple crisp. Instead of flour and oats, you use almond meal which pairs beautifully with the apples. So yummy topped with some cold coconut milk.

Ingredients

2 cups blanched almond flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup coconut oil or butter (melted)
¼ cup honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
6 large apples, peeled and diced (I like Granny Smith apples)

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine almond flour, cinnamon and nutmeg
In a smaller bowl, combine oil, honey and vanilla
Stir wet ingredients into dry
Place apples in a glass baking dish
Crumble topping over the apples
Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350° for 50 minutes on low rack
When apples are soft and their juices bubble, remove cover and bake 10 more minutes to turn golden brown
Serve warm with coconut milk

Inspired and modified: http://cavemanstrong.com/2010/09/apple-crisp/

Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie // aka Best Apple Pie Ever!

3 Replies

I want to preface this by saying it’s not my Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie. I don’t have a Grandma Ople, but just the name alone should tell you how good it is! I originally found this recipe 7-8 years ago, and I’ve never looked for another apple pie recipe since!

I always make it over the holidays (only just now getting around to blogging it!), and it’s always one of the pies that disappears the quickest! Well, it’s usually a tie between this one and the Pumpkin Layer Pie. We usually have 6+ pies or…about 1/2 a pie for each family member in attendance haha.

Ingredients

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie (pre-marriage and kids, I made my own, but I cheat now and buy store bought. Nobody complains, and then I have time to do lattice!)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup water
8 Granny Smith Apples (cut, peeled, and sliced) I used Honeycrisp this last time, because that’s what I had, and it was a mistake. It was too watery 😦 BUT…every time I’ve used the Granny Smith apples it’s been perfect. And it sounds like a lot, but it’s a mountain of yumminess!!!

Directions

Peel and then cut all your apples. I usually do them in 1/2 inch slices.
Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add white sugar, brown sugar and water; bring to a boil. Reduce temperature, and simmer 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work crust. Lattice isn’t as hard as it looks. I just cut mine in to strips and then started layering here and there. It doesn’t have to be perfect!
Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off. A lot of reviews said to just mix the apples in with the mixture, but don’t! It makes this golden crispy sweet glaze on the top that is one of the best parts!
Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

Crème Brulee

1 Reply

Crème Brulee! This is one of my all time favorite desserts. Chilled creamy custard is topped by a hard crunchy sugar crust. Serve with some fresh berries and garnish with mint. Yes – there are a lot of steps, but it’s SO worth it. I’ve made this three times now, and this recipe has not failed me yet!

Ingredients

4 cups chilled heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise and seeds scraped out
12 large egg yolks
8-12 tsps turbinado or demerara sugar (these are coarser sugars, but you can certainly use regular granulated sugar)

Directions

Set oven to 300 degrees and set a pot of water to boil over high heat.
Combine 2 cups of the cream, sugar and salt in saucepan
Add vanilla seeds including the pod and bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to ensure sugar dissolves
Remove from heat and let steep for 15 minutes to infuse flavors
Place kitchen towel in bottom of large baking dish or roasting pan and arrange eight 4 or 5 oz ramekins on towel.
After vanilla has steeped, stir in remaining 2 cups cream to cool mixture.
Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl and whisk in about 1 cup of the cream mixture, repeat with cups of the cream mixture until all evenly combined
Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher or clean bowl (discard solids from strainer)
Pour or ladle mixture into ramekins
Now pour the boiling water into the dish holding the ramekins – taking care not to splash water into the ramekins and cream mixture – until water is about 2/3 of the way up the outside of ramekins
Bake about 30-35 until the centers of custards are just barely set – an instant read thermometer should register 170-175 degrees at this point
Transfer to a wire rack and cool at room temperature for 2 hours
Once cool, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, 4 hours or up to 4 days.
Uncover when ready to serve – remove any condensation that may have formed with a paper towel – and sprinkle each dish with 1 tsp sugar. Shake a little to distribute sugar evenly on top of custard.
Ignite torch and caramelize the sugar.
Ready to serve or return to refrigerator for no more than 45 minutes
Garnish with fresh berries

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