Saturday, April 9, 2016

Seared Ahi Salad

Delicious! Simple! This salad makes a great dinner.

What you need:
 Wild caught Ahi tuna steak
 Salt
 Pepper
 Garlic powder
 Butter or ghee
 Arugula and mixed greens
 Cucumber, thinly sliced
 Avocado, diced
 Goat cheese, crumbled
 Zest and juice from one lemon
 Avocado oil to taste
 Sprouted pumpkin or sunflower seeds

What you do:
 Place big chunk of butter or ghee in pan, heated on medium high
 Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder on one side of Ahi steak
 Place steak, seasoned side down in pan
 Cook for 3 minutes
 While cooking, sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder on other side
 Flip steak and cook 2 to 3 minutes, then remove from heat
 Coarsely chop arugula and mixed greens and place in large bowl
 Add cucumber, avocado and goat cheese
 Zest lemon and add juice from one lemon to salad
 Drizzle avocado oil to taste
 Arrange salad on two plates
 Slice cooked Ahi and add to salad
 Top with sprouted pumpkin or sunflower seeds
 Enjoy!

Bacon Brussels Sprouts

What you need:
 1 package organic Brussels sprouts (TJs)
 1/4 lb. bacon, sliced
 Ghee
 Garlic powder or finely chopped fresh garlic
 Celtic sea salt
 Pepper

What you do:
 Preheat oven to º400
 Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
 While oven is preheating, spoon out a big blob of ghee onto baking sheet
 Place in oven to melt ghee
 Clean Brussels sprouts, slice off ends, and cut in half lengthwise
 Toss Brussels sprouts in melted ghee
 Add salt, pepper, garlic powder and toss some more
 Add sliced bacon
 Bake for 10 minutes, then toss
 Continue to bake until Brussels sprouts have browned, about 10 to 15 more minutes
 Enjoy!

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Fritatta

My sweet baby sister, Debbi, is an amazing cook! We were heading to a dear friend's daughter's wedding, and Debbi wanted to bring a frittata for the family. We didn't head to the store. We just combined what we already had. One bridesmaid commented that it was the best frittata she had ever tasted!

What you need:
 3 sweet potatoes or russet potatoes, cleaned and thinly sliced
 Butter
 1 pound bacon, chopped
 1 diced onion
 8 ounces chopped mushrooms
 8 ounces chopped spinach
 4 finely chopped garlic cloves
 8 ounces grated cheese
 12 pastured eggs
 1/2 cup whipping cream
 Salt and pepper to taste

What you do:
 Heat oven to 350º
 While oven is heating, place large slab of butter in 9" X 13" baking glass and melt in oven
 Once butter is melted, remove baking dish and layer potatoes on bottom of dish
 Put baking dish back in oven and bake until potatoes are tender to touch with fork, about 10-15 mins.
 While potatoes are cooking, put bacon in large pot and cook on medium heat
 Once bacon is almost cooked crisply, add onions and mushrooms
 When onions and mushrooms are tender, add spinach and garlic
 In large bowl beat the eggs and add cream, salt (about 2 tsp.) and pepper
 Spoon out bacon/spinach/mushrooms over the potatoes
 Sprinkle grated cheese on top
 Pour egg/cream mixture over everything
 Place in pre-heated oven and check at 30 minutes
 Cool, slice and serve with a dollop of creme fraiche (sour cream), sliced avocado and a scoop of salsa
 Enjoy hot or cold!

I wrap leftovers in parchment paper (individual servings), then in plastic bags and store in the freezer. Then I heat up just what we need for a meal in our toaster oven. Quick, nutrient-rich, yummy meal!

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Whey & Yogurt Cheese

This is so simple, I wasn't sure it needed its own post. 

I use whey for fermenting veggies, condiments and salsa, for making beet kavass and for soaking almond flour.

And, I add a little raw honey to the yogurt cheese to make a delicious honey yogurt spread. Fabulous on banana bread!

What you need:
 1 quart organic plain yogurt
 Sieve
 Light dish towel
 Bowl

What you do:
 Place sieve over bowl
 Place dish towel in sieve
 Pour yogurt into the towel lined sieve 
 Lightly fold corners of dish towel over yogurt 
 Let sit for 12 hours or more
 Store the whey in a glass jar and the yogurt cheese in a glass storage containers
 (The liquid in the bowl is whey
 The solid in the sieve is the yogurt cheese)
 Both the whey and the yogurt cheese stay fresh in the refrigerator for several weeks

Banana Bread

My husband, Greg, found this recipe from Dr. Axe. Wow! Good job, my love!

What you need:
 5" X 9" glass baking dish
 4 eggs
 3 medium very ripe bananas
 1/4 cup honey
 1/4 cup coconut milk
 1 tsp. vanilla
 2 tsp. baking soda
 2 1/4 cup almond flour
 1/2 tsp. sea salt
 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

What you do:
 Preheat oven to 350º (While oven is heating, place a good amount of butter in baking dish and place     in oven to melt, but be careful to not burn)
 Mash bananas in bowl, then add eggs, honey, coconut milk and vanilla
 In separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients
 Combine both mixtures and stir until well incorporated
 Place in baking dish and bake for 35 to 50 minutes
 Serve with LOTS of butter from grass fed cows or honey/yogurt cheese
 Enjoy!

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Veggie Salsa

Greg and I have a new favorite salsa to put on top of our spicy chicken!

I'm leaving for our family cabin in Wisconsin tomorrow and had some veggies I knew would be thrown out if I didn't use them. So, I came up with this:

What you need:
 1 red pepper
 1 yellow pepper
 1 orange pepper
 3 small cucumbers
 1/2 red onion
 4-8 cloves garlic
 1 bunch cilantro
 1 serrano chile
 1-2 avocados
 Juice of 1 lemon
 Juice of 1 lime
 Salt and pepper to taste

What you do:
 Finely chop all the veggies
 Mix in bowl with lemon and lime juice and salt and pepper
 Enjoy!

The coolness and crunchiness of this salsa was fabulous on spicy chicken with grated cheddar cheese and cultured cream! Yum!

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Margaritas

I am not a fan of mixed drinks. Too much sugar. Too many ingredients I can't pronounce (not that that really means anything, as I have a hard time with pronunciations in general).  Usually, I'd take a glass of organic chardonnay any day. But, I do love an occasional margarita! I've been working on a refined-sugar-free/only-real-ingredients margarita for awhile. With my precious new daughter, Maryann, coming to our home for dinner, I wanted to find a recipe that she would like. Well, I think she liked this one!

What you need:
 One part fresh squeezed organic lime (or lemon)
 One part fresh squeezed organic orange
 Two parts tequila
 Raw, untreated honey, to taste
 Four parts plain Kombucha

What you do:
 Combine lime juice, orange juice, tequila and honey in a Mason jar
 Shake until honey is dissolved
 Salt rims of glasses (if desired)
 Pour equal amounts mixture and Kombucha over ice
 Enjoy!