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I’ve also made this with butternut squash instead of the sweet potato, pumpkin might also be a nice substitute.

Ingredients

  • 2 Sweet Potatoes (sub with 1 small butternut squash), peeled and cubed
  • 2oz red curry paste
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1 can chickpeas (or 1.5 cups homemade), drained
  • 3-4 cups spinach
  • 1/4 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped with stems (optional)
  • olive oil
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat about 1T of olive oil in a heavy bottom pot over med-high heat. Add sweet potatoes and cook until slightly browned, about 10 minutes.
  2. Add red curry paste and sauté until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
  3. Add coconut milk and bring to a simmer, reduce to low, cover, and cook 10 minutes. Sweet potatoes should be soft.
  4. Add drained chickpeas and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 3-5 more minutes (longer if you like really mushy chickpeas). Salt to taste.
  5. Add spinach (adding in batches if needed) and cook until wilted. Remove from heat.
  6. Serve over rice and/or with roti and sprinkle with cilantro.

Mommy’s Spanish Meatballs

Makes 36 meatballs, 6-8 servings

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs Beef (80/20), can sub ground pork
  • 4 onions, finely diced
  • 1 head garlic, finely diced
  • 2T Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2t fresh Thyme
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 3-4 cups breadcrumbs
  • 1 cup sherry (sub white wine if you don’t have sherry)
  • 6-8 cups beef broth
  • 3 bay leaves
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • French Bread (for serving)

Instructions

  1. Prep meatballs
    1. Lay parchment paper on baking sheet, and use to put assembled meatballs on. Add breadcrumbs to a shallow bowl or plate. Set both aside.
    2. Mix together in a large bowl
      • 1/2 the onions
      • garlic
      • Worcestershire sauce
      • thyme
      • beaten eggs
      • salt and pepper to taste
    3. Add meat and mix well
    4. Make meatballs: form balls about 1.5 inches in diameter, roll in breadcrumbs, set on tray
  2. Heat a thin layer of oil in a large pot (I used an enameled Dutch over) over medium to medium-high heats
  3. Brown meatballs in batches, ensuring they are not touching, for a couple minutes on each side until medium brown. Add oil between batches if needed. Set aside when done. IF a lot of grease drain off all but 2 Tablespoons. (this takes ~45min to 1 hr)
  4. In same pot brown the other 1/2 of diced onions, about 10-15 minutes.
  5. Deglaze pan with sherry. Scrapes bits off bottom.
  6. Add meatballs back to pan. Add bay leaves, 2-3T breadcrumbs (to thicken sauce) and beef broth to cover (or almost cover).
  7. Reduce temp to low, cover, and cook for at least 20 minutes.
  8. Taste, add salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce to your liking.
  9. Serve in bowls with French Bread

This recipe was inspired by what was growing in my garden, the temps being in the 90s, and the need for a quick, easy, and healthy meal.

IMG_20180730_185522

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 2 medium-large cucumbers, peeled
  • handful of mint leaves
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1.5 cups Greek yogurt (you could sub regular yogurt for a runnier soup)
  • Olive oil for garnish
  • salt to taste
  • tomato (I used an heirloom, as that is what I had in my garden)

Instructions 

  1. Dice 1/2 of one of the cucumbers and set aside.
  2. Roughly chop the remaining cucumber and combine with most of the mint leaves, lime juice, and ~1/4 teaspoon of salt in a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust salt and mint (taste will be strong, that’s ok as the yogurt will mellow it out).
  3. Add yogurt to the blender and blend until incorporated. Taste again and adjust mint and salt to taste.
  4. Chill in fridge, 30 minutes to 1 day.
  5. When ready to serve, dice the tomato and combine with the diced cucumber. Serve the soup in a bowl and garnish with a light drizzle of olive oil and the diced tomato and cucumber mixture.

Chicken Adobo

Serves 6

This is a favorite, I’ve made it both with my crockpot and my pressure cooker, and I can’t tell much of a difference.

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion, halved and sliced
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3/4 low sodium soy sauce (1/2 cup if pressure cooker)
  • 1/2 rice wine vinegar  (a little less than 1/4 cup if pressure cooker)
  • 1 3lb whole chicken in 8 piece cut OR 6-8 chicken thighs (bone in, skinless)

Directions

  1. Place chicken in the bottom of the cooker, then top with remaining ingredients.
  2. Cook
    • Slow Cooker: Cook for 8 hours on low
    • Instapot: Set to Instapot poultry setting (12 minutes if you are not sure). Then let release naturally. (I believe if you adapted this to a regular pressure cooker it would be more like 10 minutes.)
  3. Serve with coconut rice and a sautéed green vegetable and you have a full meal.

Serves 4-6

A main staple in our kitchen, this flavorful rice is easy and perfect every time in my pressure cooker. This batch usually lasts for 2 meals, but you can halve it and make a good meal for 2.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups jasmine rice
  • 2 tablespoons ginger, minced
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 1/2 cup chicken stock (add a bit more if you like softer rice)
  • 1/2 t spoon salt (or to taste)
  • 1 T oil

Directions

  1. Set your Instapot on sauté mode and heat oil. Once oil is hot add the ginger and cook until fragrant and soft, 5-8 minutes. Then turn to off.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Set the Instapot to 5 minutes, once cooking is complete let pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes (even if floating value has dropped).

 

Chinese Noodles

This was one of my favorite dishes growing up, and is a good way to eat a lot of fresh veggies. The name is just what my mom used to call it, it most closely resembles chow mein.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

      • 2-3 lbs chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
      • 2 carrots, julienned*
      • 1 red pepper, thinly slices*
      • 1 bunch green onions, sliced to ~1inch pieces on the diagonal (both white and green parts)*
      • 1-2 cups sugar snap peas, stringed*
      • 1-2 cups bok choy, roughly chopped*
      • 1 cup bean sprouts*
      • 6-8 servings Chinese egg noodles, get the kind that looks like this (I have had good luck finding them in Asian markets).
      • 1.5 cups chicken broth
      • 3 Tablespoons corn starch
      • ~1/4 cup soy sauce, to taste
      • 1 egg white
      • Neutral cooking oil (such as vegetable or canola)

*Note, you can leave out or change the amount of any of the veggies to suite your taste

 

Directions:

  1. Prep veggies and chicken.
  2. Start a large pot of water to boil and preheat the oven to 350F.
  3. In a bowl combine the egg white with 1 tablespoon corn starch, once well mixed stir in the chicken and then cover and set aside. (Note, you can do this step several hours/a day in advance and then keep refrigerated.)
  4. Add egg noodles to boiling water and cook them according to the instructions. Once done cooking strain and toss with 1/8-1/4 cup oil, until the noodles are well covered. Spread noodles out on a baking sheet in an even layer. Put noodles in the oven, check every 10 minutes until the start to become crispy. Once they begin to become crispy toss/stir them and then spread in a thin layer again and put back in the oven. When they get close to your desired done-ness, start checking them every 5 minutes. While the noodles cook move on to the rest of the cooking, this way everything is done roughly at the same time. Once the noodles are done, remove them from the oven and set them aside.
  5. On high heat add ~1 Tablespoon oil to a wok. Once very hot add chicken, stirring often cook until brown bit start to form on the chicken. Once done remove chicken to a bowl and set aside. Return wok to high heat.
  6. Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok, once very hot add all the veggies except for the bok choy and bean sprouts. Stirring frequently cook until veggies are almost done and still crispy.
  7. While veggies cook, make the sauce by combining the chicken broth, soy sauce and 2 Tablespoons corn starch, mixing until corn starch is dissolved.
  8. Once veggies are almost done add the bok choy and cooked chicken and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
  9. Once bok choy leaves are wilted add the sauce, and stir to coat. Then add the bean sprouts and cook for another 1-2 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Remove from heat.
  10. To serve, in a large dish arrange the noodles around the platter, breaking them up into smaller chunks to make for easier serving, leaving a whole in the center. Then add the chicken and vegetable mixture to the middle. By not covering all the noodles on the serving platter they will stay crispy longer. Serve immediately.

Swiss Honey Cakes

This is my hands down favorite Christmas cookie. When you bake them the smell just screams Christmas. Also this is a great option for people who can’t have dairy 🙂

Note: Make the dough at least one day before baking

Yields: 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 t baking soda
  • 2 t dark rum or brandy
  • 3/4 cup blanched almonds, chopped
  • 1/3 cup candied citron*
  • 1/4 cup candied orange peel*
  • 1 egg
  • 1 T freshly grated orange peel
  • 1 t ground cinnamon
  • 1 t ground cloves
  • 1/4 t ground nutmeg
  • 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Glaze

  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 T water
  • red glace cherries (optional)
  • chopped citron (optional)

*For a more savory cookie substitute the candied citron and candied orange peel with the grated peel of 1 whole orange and 1 whole lemon.

Directions

  1. Combine honey and sugar in a small sauce pan. Heat, stirring to dissolve sugar, until almost boiling; do not boil. Cool until lukewarm, about 20 minutes.
  2. In a bowl dissolve baking soda in the rum.
  3. Add the honey mixture to a large bowl. Stir in almonds, citron, candied orange peel, egg, fresh orange peel, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and baking soda mixture. Gradually add flour to make a soft, sticky dough. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for several days.
  4. Preheat over to 350 degrees F.
  5. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into a 10×12 inch rectangle. Slide a large cookie sheet under dough
  6. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until cake is slightly browned and the center springs back up when lightly touched with finger.
  7. Meanwhile prepare glaze: Heat sugar and water in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Simmer for 4 minutes.
  8. Brush hot glaze over the hot cake while still on the cookie sheet. With a sharp, wet knife, cut cake into squares or rectangles. Do not separate until completely cool

Creamy mushroom, lentil, and kale soup

Serves 4

This recipe looked delicious, however I made a few adaptations to make it even better:

  1. When cooking the lentils I added 2 stalks of celery, 1 onion and 2 cloves of garlic. Then I removed them when I drained the lentils. I reserved the liquid I drained and used that to thin the soup as it got too thick
  2. I used chicken stock instead of veggie, milk instead of plant based milk, and real soy sauce
  3. After adding everything (including the kale), I cooked it on low for another hour, this last step really thickened it up.

 Ingredients

  • 1 cup green lentils
  • 2 stalks celery, halved
  • 1 onion halved
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 medium shallot2, fine dice (roughly 1/2 cup diced shallot)
  • 1 lb mixed mushrooms, stemmed + sliced
  • sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  • 5 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons white wine
  • ½ teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 ½ cups chicken stock
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3-4 kale stalks, stems removed + leaves sliced (1 ½ packed cups of sliced kale)
    fresh bread or toasts, for serving

Directions

  1. Cook lentils: In a medium pot cover lentils with water plus about an inch on top. Add the onion, 2 cloves of garlic, the celery, and a large pinch of salt. Simmer for 20 minutes or until just-tender. Drain, set liquid aside and remove the celery, onion, and garlic cloves.
  2. In a heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until transparent but not crispy.
  3. Add mushrooms and cook until softened, season with salt and pepper.
  4. Add the last 3 cloves of garlic and thyme, and cook a few minutes until fragrant.
  5. Add the white wine and soy sauce, stir.
  6. Add the chicken stock and milk, return to a simmer.
  7. Transfer half of the soup into a blender. Blend until creamy and add this back to the soup.
  8. Add the lentils and the kale.
  9. Bring back to a low simmer for 30 minutes.add the reserved liquid if the soup is too thick (use stock or water if you need more liquid). You can simmer this for another 1 hour or so if you want, just keep an eye on it.
  10. Serve with bread or toast.

Thai Inspired Butternut Squash Soup

Thai Inspired Butternut Squash Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 4-5 cups Butternut squash (1-2 squashes), cubed (I usually use I container of pre-cut squash form whole foods)
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1 can light coconut milk
  • 1 lemongrass stalk, halved
  • salt and pepper
  • scallops (optional)

Directions

  1. Add squash, both coconut milks, lemon grass, salt and pepper to your crock pot. Cook on low 8-10 hours.
  2. Let cool for 10-15 minutes. Remove the lemongrass stalk and the using an immersion blender blend until creamy. (Or cream in batches in a regular blender.)
  3. Sear scallops in butter or olive oil on high heat. (Optional)
  4. Serve in a bowl with scallops on top.

Sweet Potato Coconut Casserole

Thanksgiving is in a few weeks so last night we had a “dry run” where I tested some new recipes. This recipe is a modified version of one I found online, mostly I removed all the sugar from the original recipe, swapped our real milk for coconut milk, and made it a bit thicker. I can’t imagine how sweet the original recipe was, but this one is just the prefect amount of sweetness. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Dry Run

Thanksgiving Dry Run

Serves 6

Ingredients:

  • 4-5 medium sized Sweet Potatoes or Yams ~ 3-4 cups when cooked
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 t Vanilla
  • 1 t Dark Rum
  • 1 t freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 t cinnamon
  • 1/2 t nutmeg
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • ~1.5 cups coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup Unsweetened shredded coconut (optional, add more if you like)

Directions:

  1. Roast sweet potatoes on a foil lined baking sheet in the oven at 400 degrees for about 1 -1.5 hours. (Until they are cooked through)
  2. After cooling slightly, scoop insides into a bowl and mash with 3/4 of the butter. (Make sure you do this when the potatoes are still warm so the butter melts in.)
  3. Add the vanilla, rum, lemon,  cinnamon, and nutmeg
  4. In a separate bowl beat the eggs together with the coconut milk. Stir in the coconut if using it.
  5. Slowly mix the egg mixture into the sweet potatoes. The ending result should be fairly soupy.
  6. Butter a baking pan (8×8 or larger), and add the sweet potatoes. Top with the remaining butter.
  7. Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes, until the top starts to become golden.