Tag Archives: vegetarian

Paleo Spiralized Peppers with Tomatos, Mango, and Avocado Salad over Grilled Chicken

My parents bought me a spiralizer for my birthday, and I’m in LOVE! I can’t wait to make “pasta” out of various veggies, but first, I tried it on some peppers. It literally took me less than a few minutes to spiralize 3 peppers! At first, I was just doing it to get them all pre-cut for the week, but then they looked so pretty, I decided to make a little salad out of them for dinner! Eat as is or add chicken or fish for a delicious meal!

Ingredients

1 Each of a red, yellow, and Orange Pepper Spiralized (or diced if you don’t have one)
1 Mango cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 medium avocado cut into 1/2 inch cubes
A handful Cherry tomatoes diced
1 shallot diced
4 chicken breasts marinated in the same ingredients used for the dressing. (omit for a delicious vegetarian salad!)

Dressing

Juice from 1/2 a lime
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/4 Teaspoon Ginger
1 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

After you spiralize the peppers they will be in one continuous cut. I loaded them all onto a cutting board and just cut the pile into 4ths.
Cut everything else up and toss in a bowl!
Put all ingredients for the dressing in a bowl and whisk til blended. Pour over salad and toss to coat.
Serve over grilled chicken (or fish would be yummy too!) Grilling on medium heat 8-10 minutes per size depending on the size of the breast.

ENJOY!

Cucumber-Jalapeño Agua Fresca

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Here’s another refreshing Agua Fresca recipe, adding to the collection of cool drinks including previously posted: Horchata and Honeydew Lemongrass Agua Fresca.

If you like cucumber, you will love this drink!

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups water, divided
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeded, to taste
2 large cucumbers, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
Ice, for serving

Preparation

Combine 1/4 cup water and sugar in a saucepan; simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add mint and jalapeño. Cover and steep for 15 minutes; strain.
Blend together cucumbers, lime juice and remaining water. Add sugar syrup, to taste. Strain and serve over ice.

Thanks PCC Natural Markets for the inspiration!

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Rich almond meal, butter, maple syrup, chocolate chips.. a delicious combination of ingredients that make a wonderful gluten free, grain free, paleo(ish) cookie! 🙂

Ingredients

2 cups blanched almond flour
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt (I omitted this and the cookies were great!)
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup chocolate chips

Instructions

In a food processor , combine almond flour, salt, and baking soda
Pulse in butter, vanilla, and maple syrup until dough forms
Remove blade from processor and stir in chocolate chunks by hand
Scoop dough one level tablespoon at a time onto a parchment lined baking sheet
Press balls of dough down gently
Bake at 350° for 7-10 minutes
Cool for 15 minutes (do not handle prior or cookies will break)
Serve

Thanks ElanasPantry!

Horchata

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Last week I published the Honeydew-Lemongrass Agua Fresca. Another Agua Fresca is the traditional Horchata. You may know it from Mexican restaurants and food stands – it’s the delicious white cinnamon drink served chilled! Made with rice, almonds, sugar and cinnamon, it’s a refreshing drink in a totally different way than the fruit frescas.

Ingredients

1 cup long-grain white rice
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup sliced almonds
4 cups water
1/3 cup sugar, or to taste (I used about 1 Tbsp agave syrup)
Ice, for serving

Preparation

In a food processor, blend rice and cinnamon until it resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a large bowl and add almonds. Cover with water and refrigerate overnight. (I could not get the rice to break down, and soaked it for about 48 hours.)
Transfer mixture to a blender, add sugar and blend until finely pureed. Strain mixture through cheesecloth or mesh strainer; discard pulp. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Stir and serve over ice.

Thanks PCC Natural Markets!

Return of the Moscow Mule

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What’s all the fuss about anyway? Apparently old fashioned drinks are back in style.. including the Old Fashioned, the Mint Julep, and Moscow Mule.. the latter served in a copper mug filled with ice and topped with fresh mint. Totally refreshing on a hot summer day!

Ingredients

Fill mug with ice and add
2 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. lime juice
5 oz. ginger beer (ginger ale was fine!)
sprig of mint

Cheers!

Honeydew-Lemongrass Agua Fresca

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Aguas frescas (or Spanish “cool waters”) are made by combining fruits, flavors, sometimes seeds and flowers with a bit of sugar and water to make a light non-alcoholic beverages. They are popular in Latin American countries – and I’ve been trying some recipes since Seattle is back in the close to 90 degree range. This Honeydew-Lemongrass version is totally refreshing!

Don’t have lemongrass? No problem, try a tablespoon chopped basil, mint or tarragon!

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups water, divided
1/8 – 1/4 cup sugar (I used 1 Tbsp agave syrup instead, but I like less sweet)
1 stalk lemongrass, lightly smashed
2 pounds honeydew – peeled, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
Ice, for serving

Preparation

Combine 1/4 cup water, sugar or agave and lemongrass in a saucepan; simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and steep for 15 minutes. Remove lemongrass.
Blend together honeydew, lime juice and remaining water. Add sugar syrup, to taste. Strain and serve over ice.

Thanks PCC Natural Markets

Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella and Watermelon Skewers

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We’re having another “heat wave” (Seattle doesn’t really know what to do when it’s 80+ degrees (except celebrate perhaps). Get to 90+ though and we start melting). With no air conditioning, we try not to cook and bake much, instead we head to the lake for picnic dinners or grill on our deck. These skewers require no grilling or cooking however and are totally summer, totally simple, and totally delicious.

We had these at a wedding few weeks ago in California. It was the perfect appetizer.

You skewer cherry tomatoes, cubed mozzarella, cubed watermelon and fresh basil leaves. Then drizzle with your favorite balsamic vinaigrette and serve! So easy!

Ingredients

Cherry tomatoes
Watermelon, slice into 1″ cubes
Mozzarella, cubed
Fresh basil leaves
Balsamic vinaigrette
Skewers (look for bamboo knot cocktail / Hors’ D’oeuvre picks)

Directions

Skewer tomatoes, watermelon and cheese with basil layered in
Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette
Keep refrigerated until ready to serve
Enjoy!

Orange Cake

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This is a totally delicious cake! Eat it for breakfast or dress it up for high tea or dessert! You can enjoy this as is for paleo goodness, or add an optional sweet and citrusy glaze to make it even more amazing!

Though I haven’t tried it, Elana (from Elanaspantry.com) says there’s a Starbucks version out there that tastes just like this one.

The one tricky part of this recipe is that you have to boil oranges for 90 minutes. So plan ahead. The oranges are low maintenance while cooking, but keep an eye so you don’t run out of water. As an extra bonus, your house will be filled with a refreshing and natural citrusy aroma! 🙂

Ingredients

2 oranges
4 large eggs
1/2 cup agave nectar or honey (original recipe says 3/4 cup)
2 cups blanched almond flour
1/4 tsp celtic sea salt
1 tsp baking soda

Glaze (optional)

1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 orange, thinly sliced for decoration

Instructions

Wash the oranges and boil them whole (peel and all) for 1 ½ hours, or until soft
Place whole oranges (peel and all) in a food processor and blend until smooth
Process in eggs, agave, almond flour, salt and baking soda until well blended
Pour batter into a greased 9 inch cake pan
Bake at 375° for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean
Cool in the pan for 2 hours
Make glaze by working orange juice into powdered sugar. You can add more/less liquid to get desired consistency. Pour onto cake and even out with spatula. Decorate with optional orange slices.
Enjoy or refrigerate for a few days (if you can keep from eating it up)! 🙂

Thanks for the inspiration Elanaspantry.com!

Red, White and Blueberry Popsicles

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These popsicles were inspired by our favorite summer ingredients – strawberries, blueberries, coconut milk! This is a great project for kids to help with. Getting molds ready, selecting ingredients, sampling the flavors! Have fun! 🙂

Ingredients

Red

1 cup strawberries
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
add some water if too thick

White

1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup vanilla ice cream

Blue

1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup coconut milk
add some water if too thick

Directions

Blend individual popsicle batches and pour into molds in layers. And yes, layers may bleed a little (but this is the quickest way to do this!) and hey, give a pretty marbled effect! 🙂

There is another version using berries/water/honey on Elana’s Pantry that is worth checking out also! http://elanaspantry.com/red-white-and-blueberry-popsicles/

Lemon Basil Cookies

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My basil plant has been loving the heat wave in Seattle and growing like crazy! These lemon basil cookies are great for breakfast or as a quick snack – keep in the freezer for a yummy cold paleo cookie treat! Grain free, dairy free, soy free, egg free! Ingredients

2 cups blanched almond flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup coconut butter
¼ cup honey
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Instructions

Combine almond flour and baking soda in a food processor
Pulse in coconut butter, honey, basil, and lemon zest
Scoop dough one level tablespoon at a time onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet
Press balls of dough down to flatten
Bake at 350° for 6-10 minutes
Cool for 2 hours
Serve or freeze for an easy protein rich snack!

Inspired and modified. Thanks Elanaspantry.com

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