Curried Millet and Veggie Salad

At the beginning of May, the health food store that I work for (Goodness Me!) ran a Community Cleanse Challenge, both for the community to join in, as well as staff. (my store won for best overall store participation...woot woot team Brantford!!!)

Anyhoo, both my husband and I jumped on the cleanse bandwagon, and for two weeks have been eating clean and healthy. Our diet is already pretty clean, but its sometimes good to check in on all the little habits that creep back into your diet and linger. A cleanse is a great reset...it gives your digestive system a great spring cleaning!! 

I was looking for something different to cook for dinner one night, and saw millet listed on the chart  of "ok" foods. So I cooked a big batch pot of this delicious little seed (yes, it is technically a seed, not a grain!) for dinner and then had to come up with a use for the rest. I had a fridge full of veggies for eating on the cleanse, so I started chopping and this salad was born!

It keeps really well in the fridge for 3-4 days, and is great warm or cold. We  topped it with both salmon and chicken to add some protein, and I think it would be great with chickpeas for a vegan version. It makes enough for a crowd, or for several meals during the week. Definitely a keeper recipe, cleansing or not!! If you don't have any millet, cooked quinoa would be a great alternative!! 

Curried Millet and Veggie Salad

3 cups cooked millet (I toasted mine first, follow this link for cooking instructions! )   

3/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds

4 cups chopped kale (green, red, black or a combo!)
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup diced red pepper (red, yellow, orange…mix it up!!)
1 cup diced zucchini ¼ - ½  cup cilantro, chopped (optional if you hate it!!)

Dressing:

1/4 cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed if you can!)

4 Tbsp avocado or olive oil

1-2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp herbamare or sea salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

Mix veggies, seeds and millet in a large mixing bowl.

Measure dressing ingredients into a mason jar, shake well and toss with other ingredients. 

Eat as is, or add your choice of protein (pre-cooked chicken, salmon, beans...the choice is yours!)

(Its also delicious heated!!!)

Store covered in the fridge for 3-4 days. 

All ready for lunch with some leftover salmon!

Roasted Carrot Soup with Leeks and Thyme

With this cooler weather upon us, thick hearty steaming bowls of homemade soup can warm your insides better than a cozy blanket by the fireplace. Soup is one of my favourite fall meals, its like a warm inside out hug.
This one takes a bit of time to prep, but you can always roast the veggies when you have your oven on for something else and refrigerate them until you were ready to make soup. Saving that roasting step would have this soup on the table in 20 minutes flat.

The carrots in my garden this year are lovely and this soup is a wonderful showcase for their delicious flavour. It is creamy and smooth without the need for dairy (although a swirl of sour cream would be lovely on top…!) I don't peel my

carrots for this recipe, but you may want to for store bought carrots.

As with most of my soups I prefer to use my homemade bone broth as the base. Nutrient dense and made from what would typically be waste; bone broth is both frugal and delicious! If you choose to use a store bought stock, be sure to read the ingredients first and avoid any with ingredients you cannot pronounce (and therefore should not eat!!)

this handy tool strips
the tender thyme leaves
 from the woody stem,
easy as pie!

Roasted Carrot Soup with Leeks and Thyme

Approx. 2 lbs of carrots, peeled if necessary and chopped

5 cups chopped leeks, (rinsed, white part only-see ***below)

2 Tbsp avocado oil (or coconut)

2 Tbsp fresh thyme, woody stems removed

1 tsp herbamare or sea salt of choice

5 stalks celery, chopped

2 Tbsp butter

8 cups bone broth or broth of choice.

Preheat oven to 400F.

On a large parchment lined baking sheet, toss chopped carrots and leeks with the avocado oil, thyme and herbamare.

Pictured without the thyme, I forgot to add it
before I took the picture :(

Roast in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Stir on the pan and roast for another 20 minutes.

When veggies are done, remove from oven and set aside.

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat until it starts to bubble. Add celery, and stir frequently until it starts to soften, approx 8-10 minutes. Add the roasted veggies and your broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat, and puree til smooth with an immersion blender (or whiz in a blender, in batches if necessary, being careful as hot soup in a  blender can be dangerous!!)

Check for seasoning and serve hot!

***Prepping your Leeks!

Cut leeks where they just start to turn colour. Using a bit of the green is ok! Trim off the root ends.

Cut the trimmed leek pieces in half lengthwise. 

Rinse well under running water, leeks are often sandy in between their layers. 

Chop and use as directed :) 

Rosemary Roasted Parsnip Fries

As many of you know, Jim and I are avid gardeners.  Having our own veggies and herbs just steps from our back door is one of our favourite things, and we try and make the most of our Canadian growing season. We have pulled carrots and parsnips, in years past, well into January, and, when we have planted enough kale, have pulled kale just before Christmas. This year, however, the winter cold came on early and hard, leaving a bunch of carrots, beets and parsnips unharvested. The ground was just too hard to get them out, and we mourned the loss of the last of our small root crops as we watched the snow get deeper… and deeper… and deeper.  

who knew a pressure
washer was such an
effective veggie scrubber ?

Fast forward to this past weekend. After a very long, very cold winter that seemed it would never end,  we were gifted with a warm spring Sunday that just begged to be spent out of doors. Even though rain threatened off and on all day, and the wind tried its best to blow us down, we spent most of our time in the yard and garden getting things ready for spring planting. When I pulled the dead foliage from the  parsnip bed, I was surprised to see little green leaves sprouting in nice tidy rows. (I have, in past years pulled a few stray parsnips out of the ground in the spring, but they were few and far between, and not very edible looking to say the least.) Not  expecting much, I dug the pitchfork out of the shed, and proceeded to dig up part of a row. When these marvelously perfect parsnips emerged from their earthy home, I was tickled pink! Dinner plans were quickly revamped to include these beauties. Nothing beats garden to table eating, and having this surprise spring harvest made it that much better.  I think Overwintering parsnips will become part of our garden plan every year!

These "fries" have a nice spicy undertone, and a lovely texture. They were a  perfect side for our rotisserie chicken and Bacon Scalloped Potatoes. (that recipe will be posted soon!)

Rosemary Roasted Parsnip Fries

Approx 9 parsnips, scrubbed and/or peeled

 1 ½ tsp dried rosemary

¾ tsp smoked sea salt or other sea salt of choice

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

2 tbsp melted coconut oil

Preheat oven to 400F

Scrub parsnips well, peel if desired.  Cut into 3-4 inch lengths, and then cut lengthwise into “fry” sized sticks.  (the smaller you cut them the quicker they will cook, ours were on the chunky side) Toss in 11”x15” glass baking dish (or a parchment lined baking sheet, cooking time may vary) with oil, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Roast for 20 minutes, stir and roast again for approx 15 minutes or until they start to brown and crisp. Serve hot!

Creamy Vegetable Salad with Fresh Dill

The sense of smell is amazing. It can transport us back to another place and time with one small whiff of a certain scent or smell. Like the first time I smelled bottled white grape juice. All of a sudden I was standing (in my mind, no teleporting involved) in my grandparents’ back yard, under their grape arbor, surrounded by the tart green grapes that grew so heavy on those vines. One sniff and I was back in a childhood memory so vivid, I could picture every detail of their yard and garden, and taste the sweet tartness of those grapes.

This recipe has nothing to do with grapes, but it does involve another scent that brought back a memory, and made me create this recipe. We were shopping this week at Oakridge Acres in Ayr, Ontario and they had these little bags of fresh organic dill, the delicate feathery kind that is so aromatic. As I brought the bag up to my nose, I was suddenly transported (again, no teleporting!) to a vegetarian restaurant that we used to go to in Guelph years ago. The name escapes me, but on this particular visit, I ordered a crisp vegetable salad that was bursting with fresh dill. The tangy bright flavor of the dill was perfectly balanced by the crunch of the veggies and the creamy dressing; it lodged itself deeply in the flavor vaults of my brain. At that time of my life, not being the foodie I am now, I simply enjoyed the salad and moved on. The thought of getting the recipe never crossed my mind.  One whiff of this dill though, and I knew I had to recreate the salad that left such an impression on my taste buds all those years ago.

Although this dressing is very creamy, there is no dairy involved.  I have been using cashews a lot more in the kitchen lately, and they were the perfect base for this salad. They have the ability, when blended, to create a velvety thick dressing without the need for dairy. They also add protein (18 grams in a full cup), healthy fat and decent amounts of magnesium, iron and B-6, among other things!

This salad keeps well in the fridge for a few days; just give a stir if it has been sitting.

 Creamy Vegetable Salad with Dill

Dressing:

1 cup raw cashews

2 small cloves of garlic

½ tsp Herbamare or other sea salt

2/3 cup water

Veggies:

2 -3 carrots, peeled and sliced into thin rounds

2-3 stalks celery, chopped

3 cups chopped cauliflower

2 small zucchini, chopped

½ of a red pepper, seeded and chopped

½ cup chopped fresh dill

Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing: 

Place dressing ingredients into a blender and whiz until creamy and smooth.  Set aside.

Veggies: 

Prepare all veggies and place in a large bowl. Add dressing and dill, toss to coat. Serve immediately or chill. Store leftovers in fridge for up to a few days.

Braised Beef Shanks with Root Veggies, and a Cool Way to Peel Garlic!

When I have a day off, chances are at some point you will find me in my kitchen. Today was no exception. We brought home some beautiful beef shanks from our last trip to Fenwood Farms, and I took them out to thaw yesterday, knowing that today would be a perfect day to put the oven on for a long braise. This cut of meat does beautifully with a long cooking time, along with something slightly acidic added to the cooking liquid. I used some apple cider vinegar, along with a cup of red wine. This helps to break down the tough connective tissues that are typical of this cut of meat.  Beef shanks are generally a cheaper cut, with 3 large shanks providing 6 meals for right around 20$, not including the veggies etc.  Frugal, tasty and nutritious, all in one pot.

Braised Beef Shanks with Root Veggies

3 Beef Shanks (3-4 lbs total weight)

2 tbsp coconut oil, divided

1 lg onion, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

5 parsnips, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped (I used a handful of small ones)

1 head of garlic, peeled and diced (***see amazing garlic peeling tip below recipe!!)

1 tsp each dried rosemary and thyme (I used fresh rosemary, increased to 2 tsp)

1 cup dry red wine

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

3 cups bone broth (beef would be best, I used turkey, and it worked fine)

Salt and pepper to taste

3 bay leaves

Preheat oven to 375

Make sure all of your veggies are prepped  before proceeding with the recipe!

In a large oven safe pot with a lid (an enameled cast iron dutch oven is perfect), heat 1 tbsp of the coconut oil and brown the beef shanks over medium high heat, one at a time if necessary (don’t crowd them, you want them to brown not steam) for about 3 minutes on each side. you want to see some nice browning. (turn on the fan in your range hood if you have one, it can get a bit smokey!)

Remove the shanks to a plate and set aside.

With the pot still on the burner, add the second tbsp of coconut oil, and add the chopped onion, carrot and parsnips. Saute for 4 minutes, stirring often.

Add the celery, herbs and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Saute for 2 minutes more.

Add the wine slowly, ¼ cup at a time, to deglaze the pan. Scrape any browned bits from the bottom, adding the rest of the wine, it will reduce slightly as you go.

Add the apple cider vinegar, and the bone broth, and stir to combine. Carefully nestle the beef shanks into the pot, submerging as much as possible. Tuck the bay leaves around the pot, cover, and place in preheated oven.

Bake for 2 ½ hrs. Remove the lid and bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven, remove bay leaves  and serve warm!

Amazing Peeled Garlic!

A while back, we saw a certain Ms. Stewart peeling whole heads of garlic using two stainless steel bowls, and just a quick shake. It works like a charm, and although it is slightly noisy, the garlic cloves come out beautifully peeled.  After a random search on Pinterest (I am more than slightly addicted to that site!) and one martini shaker later, beautifully peeled garlic is even easier!!!

Simply break up the head of garlic, put the whole thing in the martini shaker, put the lid on and shake like you would a martini, back and forth maybe 10 times. Voila!!  Your garlic is peeled, and ready to go!

Garden Vegetable and Quinoa Salad

I love summer. More to the point, I love my garden in the summer. Picking fresh veggies and using them right away for lunch, or dinner, or a salad, is definitely a highlight of the season for me. There is always the makings of a meal or a side dish just outside my back door, as fresh as fresh can be. I highly recommend gardening of some kind to everyone, even if it is just growing some herbs in pots on a sunny windowsill.

 The green and yellow beans, the spinach, the zucchini, and  the herbs in this salad all came from my garden. I created this salad  

for my last GBG gathering, (my grade school girlfriends group), the same one that I took the chocolate cake with this raspberry sauce to. I somehow neglected to take a picture of the salad though, and had to make another batch, just for the pictures, of course! (I missed taking pictures of the cake too…that one will have to be repeated soon too, just for pictures again, really!

Garden Vegetable and Quinoa Salad

3 cups chopped green and or yellow wax beans( 2 inch pieces ish)

1 ¾ cup cooked quinoa

1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into thin half moons

¼ cup fresh chopped basil

Zucchini in the garden

¼ cup fresh chopped parsley

1/3 cup chives, regular or garlic (garlic are my favourite!)

3 cups packed baby spinach

1 cup thinly sliced red onion (to remove the bite, after slicing, soak the onion in ice cold water for 10-15 minutes, drain well before using)

Dressing:

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lemon

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp grainy mustard

1 tbsp maple syrup

Salt and pepper to taste

Green Beans :)

Bring 6 cups of water to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium, and drop in the chopped beans and cook for 4 minutes. Plunge into a bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking process and chill the beans. Change the water if necessary to get them cold.

Toss into a large bowl with the quinoa and the rest of the chopped veggies, and herbs . Set aside.

Measure the dressing ingredients in a 2 cup mason jar. Put lid on and shake well. Combine with salad ingredients and mix well to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate till needed. Keeps well in refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Mushroom Quinoa Burgers with Cilantro Tahini Sauce

This is a tasty alternative to a traditional burger, when you are wanting a lighter meal, or are entertaining vegetarian guests. I upped the nutritional punch of these by using some Arame, a sea vegetable that is rich in many minerals, including iodine, which is lacking in all of our diets. It has many other health benefits as well, and you can read more about it here.  Sea vegetables are really quite tasty, and we have been adding them to anything and everything lately. They can be found in many grocery stores and health food stores. Give them a try, I think you will love them like we do!

We served our burgers on a lettuce leaf “bun”, topped with the Tahini Cilantro Sauce that follows this recipe. My eldest teenager (who isn't fond of quinoa or mushrooms...) ate 5 of them…I think that means they were good!

Mushroom Quinoa Burgers with Cilantro Tahini Sauce

1 med onion, diced (approx 1 cup)

2 cloves garlic, diced

2 Tbsp coconut oil

1 ½ cups diced mushrooms (used 6 crimini)

½ cup diced yellow peppers

½ cup Arame, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes to soften,

1 tsp Miso Paste

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

2 cups precooked and cooled quinoa

¾ tsp Herbamare

1 egg

4 Tbsp ground Chia seeds

Preheat oven to 350F

Sauté the mushrooms, peppers and onions in the coconut oil for approx 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they soften and just start to brown.

Drain your Arame, chop it up and add it to the pan. Sauté for another 3-4 minutes. Scrape into mixing bowl and set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, mix together the Miso paste and sesame oil to loosen up the Miso.

Add to the veggie mixture and stir well to incorporate. Add your pre-cooked quinoa, the Herbamare, the egg and the ground Chia powder. Mix well and let stand for 10 minutes for Chia to absorb and bind the patties.

Line a large baking pan with parchment paper.

Scoop out ¼ cup of mixture onto the parchment and shape into a patty, rounding and compressing slightly as you go. Repeat with remaining mixture, with this size it should make approx 10 patties.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, flip gently and cook for 10 minutes more.

Serve hot on a lettuce leaf bun, with avocado slices sprouts and the tahini sauce. (recipe below)

Tahini Cilantro Sauce

4 tbsp tahini

6 tbsp kefir or thin yogurt (not Greek!)

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Herbamare to taste

Mix all ingredients well in a small mixing bowl. Use as a sauce for burgers or as a salad dressing too!

Bean-Free Zucchini Hummus

Oh hummus, how I have missed you. Beans have not been a regular part of my diet lately, digestion issues having relegated them to the strictly occasional very small indulgence. I have really missed hummus though, and until recently, thought I would not be able to enjoy it again. BUT! When browsing Pinterest the last few days, I have found 3 hummus recipes that don’t use beans! Oh joy oh bliss!! This one uses Cauliflower, this one uses Beets, and the  one that I made today uses Zucchini as the base. I was out of tahini, and having little patience when I am in the mood to create, substituted Sunbutter, with pretty good results! I also cut the amounts down, and added a kick of cayenne to give it some spice. You can peel your zucchini if you wish, but I left the skin on. The green flecks look kinda pretty!

Bean-Free Zucchini Hummus

2 cups  roughly chopped organic zucchini (approx 1 medium)

1/3 cup organic sun flower seed butter (Sunbutter)

Juice of 1 organic lemon

1 clove of organic

garlic, peeled

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp Herbamare or sea salt of choice

1/8 tsp cayenne (optional)

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until everything is nice and smooth and hummus-like. Serve with dippers of choice!

Crock Pot Roast Beef

I love my crock pots. I have two that I use quite often for all kinds of things, and I love how easy they make dinners on days that I know I will be pressed for time. This roast technique takes a wee bit of prep time, but it is worth it for the flavour at the end.  The roast I purchased was a sirloin tip, which worked really well with this technique. Top or bottom round would work well too for this long slow cooking method. It is perfect for the cheaper cuts, which helps with the weekly budget!

Crock Pot Roast Beef

3 large carrots, peeled and chopped

2 onions, peeled and chopped

3 parsnips, peeled and chopped

4 potatoes, chopped

4 cloves garlic, halved

1 roast of beef, thawed, approx 3-4 lbs

2 tbsp coconut oil

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups beef bone broth

Fill the bottom of your crock pot with the chopped vegetables.

Browning the roast

Melt the coconut oil in a lg cast iron pan over medium high heat. Season roast with salt and pepper, and sear it on all sides in the hot pan, about 2-3 minutes per side.  

Place in crock pot on top of the vegetables.

Deglazing the pan with frozen
beef bone broth

Deglaze your pan with the beef bone broth, (mine was frozen as you can see in the picture) cooking over medium high heat while scraping all of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

As soon as it starts to boil, pour the pan contents over the roast and veggies in the crock pot, cover, and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-6 hours.

Ready to eat!

Enjoy the smell when you come thru the door after your long day at work! Toss a quick green salad and dinner is served!

Maple Balsamic Dressing with Cracked Pepper

Salads are a staple in our house. But the bottled dressings that you find in most grocery stores are not. I am always baffled by the amount of ingredients that are listed on the labels, most of which are impossible to pronounce.  Fresh salad dressings are so easy to throw together, and you are guaranteed to be able to pronounce every ingredient. Using a mason jar eliminates the fuss of extra dishes, too. Measure everything into your jar, screw on the lid and shake. You can then serve and store from the same jar. I try and keep a variety of different oils and vinegar's on hand to change things up. This dressing is a favourite, and is made often! Most pepper grinders are adjustable, so you can create a coarser grind than you would generally use.

Maple Balsamic Dressing with Cracked Pepper

½ c organic Olive Oil

1/3 cup organic Balsamic Vinegar

Mixed greens, leftover chicken, sprouts
and a half of a granny smith apple +
this yummy dressing = one delicious lunch!

1 Tbsp organic Maple syrup

1 Tbsp organic Old Fashioned Grainy Mustard

½ tsp Herbamare or sea salt of choice

1 tsp coarsely ground organic black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a mason jar. Put the lid on and shake well.  Alternatively, use a small mixing bowl and mix all ingredients well to combine. Serve over organic salad greens of choice.