Spinach Pesto Pasta

Pesto is one of my favorite things to kick up a boring dish. It's simple and versatile and deliciously healthy. Typically basil is used but did you know you can use other greens like spinach, kale or even carrot tops? Basil is growing like crazy in my garden right now but I chose a big handful or two of baby spinach and then tossed in a few basil leaves to tone down the pungent flavor so that my kids would eat it.

It worked, score! My kids willingly ate a big bowl of spinach and were none the wiser.

I think it's important to serve a variety of colors and textures to your kids so that they get used to trying new things and have a balanced, healthy diet. Green is usually the hardest color to get my kids to eat, especially if it's not served in a typical fashion, like this pasta. They love salad and broccoli but will turn there noses up if I put collard greens in soup or kale in pasta. I keep at it though because I'm very attached to my leafy greens and am holding on to the hope that my kids will eventually get over there unwarranted loathing for them.

This pesto whips up in just a couple of minutes and can be used in pasta, as a dip on top of crusty bread 

layered with fresh tomatoes or on top of baked fish. The raw garlic is a healthy addition and adds a pop of spiciness to the pasta, I add several cloves but if you haven't built up a tolerance for loads of garlic like me, start with just one clove. Don't forget the Parmesan, it really goes well with pesto.

I like using rotini pasta because it holds the pesto well.

Ingredients:

1 box of rotini pasta, cooked according to package directions

2 big handfuls of baby spinach

1 small handful of fresh basil leaves

1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts

1-3 cloves of garlic

2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

pinch of salt (preferably Himalayan pink sea salt)

Put spinach, basil, nuts and garlic in a food processor. Pulse till smooth while drizzling in olive oil. Add a bit of water if needed to desired consistency. Add salt and pulse till combined.

Toss pesto with the cooked pasta. Serve warm, garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.

What are you planning on making for dinner during the hot summer months?

Guest Post for Lazaro Cooks: Tahini Soba Noodles with Caramelized Jumbo Sea Scallops

I've been a fan of Lazaro Cooks since I started blogging a few years ago. His cooking style is what mine used  to be 3 or 4 kids ago. His take it or leave it  personality mimics mine and I love to read his blog while sipping a glass of red wine and longing for the day when I can cook amazing, grown up food with actual spices in it without having to clean it off of the walls afterwards.






I  love ethnic foods. Especially when it involves exotic spices and seafood. I also have a serious addiction to veggies and seafood. Even as a child I adored giant sea scallops and requested them for my birthday every single year along with Kahlua cake. My mom used to put cayenne in EVERYTHING from spaghetti, mixing it into peanut butter and sprinkling it on top of cottage cheese, so I grew up being accustomed to spicy foods. I have to hold back a bit on the spices with my little ones but am trying to build up a tolerance as we speak.

The kids loved this Tahini soba noodle dish slightly sweetened with honey and which I served to them with cubed chicken and saved the spicy-sweet jumbo sea scallops for my husband and myself. Tahini is a wonderfully mild paste made from toasted sesame seeds and commonly used in hummus. I've never been a big fan of peanut butter but love tahini's unique taste. Feel free to use peanut or almond butter in this if you wish.

Please head over to Lazaro Cooks for the recipe, it's simple, delicious and you'll  love  Laz's collection of recipes, I promise.

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Rosemary, Garlic and Parmesan Rustic Flatbread Pizzas

I don't know why I still sometimes think that making good, home made breads has to be difficult. After all, I am known for preaching about how simple it is to make home made snacks and meals so why not breads? I still find myself searching high and low on the bread aisle for healthy and affordable breads, usually to no avail. About half way down the list of ingredients I give up and say " Well, at least there's not any High Fructose Corn Syrup in here." even if I have no idea what the last 10 ingredients are. I have found 2 excellent bread recipes that I stick to when I have the courage time and patience to make bread. I don't know what my hang up is..... previous life baking disaster maybe?  Luckily, I do have my trusty  'Go To' sandwich bread recipe which is super easy is this  Honey Oat Bread  I've made this rustic  Rosemary Filone Bread  many times as the perfect accompaniment to soups or panini's and this  Cinnamon Spice Bread  is one of our all time favorites and perfect for Fall.



Make sure to check out these simple bread recipes and please keep in mind that I've been making them for so long that they were some of the very first recipes I posted here on Simply Healthy Family so the pictures leave much to be desired. I must retake some decent ones.... some day.

There. Disclaimer complete. Onto my latest 'Go To' bread find. Super simple and amazing Rosemary Flat bread. These flat breads take all of about 20 minutes total to make and are perfect as individual pizzas, to serve with a chopped salad such as my this one,  which is why I started the search for the perfect flat bread in the first place.

I am submitting this recipe to  Whole Foods Market Fairfield Cooking  for their 'Best Parmesan' recipe.

I would be ever so grateful if you would stop by and Tweet or share my recipe. The voting on the top 2 finalists starts next week. Thanks again for all of your support!

So, my search for a quick and delicious flat bread recipe that would come out slightly crispy and 'rustic' led me to this recipe on Smitten Kitchen which was originally from July 2008 Gourmet magazine, can't go wrong there. I adapted it by using less oil in the dough, more rosemary and instead of brushing them with more oil I used a roasted garlic spread then made it into a pizza by sprinkling with Parmesan and sliced veggies. That's it. Simple.


I'm thinking I will make these with roasted eggplant and feta next time. What do you think you would put on them or serve them with?



I doubled this recipe.

TIME 20 MINUTES YIELDS 4

You will need: 

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil + 1 teaspoon
3 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 400°F with a baking stone on the middle rack.
Slice the top 1/4 inch off of a head of garlic and drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil. Place on a baking stone (you will need the pre-heated stone for the pizzas). Roast the garlic for about 20 minutes, remove from heat and let cool so you can handle it. 

Meanwhile....
Stir together flour, chopped rosemary, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in center, then add water and oil and gradually stir into flour with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead dough gently on a work surface 4 or 5 times.
Divide dough into 3 pieces and roll out 1 piece (keep remaining pieces covered with plastic wrap) onto a lightly floured work surface into 8 inch rounds (shape can be rustic; dough should be thin). 

Using your fingers, gently pop the cloves of garlic out of the skin and put into a small food processor. Add a dash of salt and a bit more oil if needed. Pulse until smooth. Using a brush, spread garlic onto flat breads. Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese and top with thinly sliced tomatoes and zucchini.
Slide pizzas onto preheated baking stone and bake until pale golden and browned in spots, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer pizzas to a rack to cool.

Mix your 3 dry ingredients and chopped rosemary in a medium bowl.

Add water and oil and stir

Divide into 4 equal size pieces and flatten out with your hand then a rolling pin.

Mean while, you will want to roast your garlic. Simple cut off a bit of the top,
drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil onto exposed garlic head and put onto a baking sheet and
into a preheated oven at 400F for about 20 minutes.

Voila! Deliciously sweet roasted garlic.

Put into a small food processor {I love my new manual one from P.C.}
Drizzle about a teaspoon of olive oil and a dash of sea salt into processor and pulse till blended.
You can never, EVER have to much garlic IMHO.

Brush the tops of each flat bread with your garlic spread

Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan and keep an eye out for sneaky baby fingers!
Top with your veggies of choice and bake as directed above.

Bon Apetite!

I'm thinking I will make these with roasted eggplant and feta next time. What do you think you would put on them 

or serve them with?

Sopa de Almejas {Clam Soup}

Traditionally, a good Mexican meal starts with a nice bowl of soup as a first course, just after the appetizers. It can be a simple broth, accompanied with lemon or lime to be squeezed into it, some radish, onion, chili peppers and cilantro leaves for flavour. Or a more elaborated recipe, using seafood, meat, pasta, legumes and vegetables.




I made this soup because I had a bunch of clams left over from my gigantic can of clams I bought from Costco to make this Clam Pasta with White Sauce.  I didn't want to make a heavy clam chowder but I was craving a nice, hot soup. So I looked around in my pantry to see what I could come up with and found some Pomi diced tomatoes, potatoes, onion, celery and cilantro. We love Mexican food around here so I thought, why not a Mexican Clam Soup? Who says clams are only in thick chowders or Italian style dishes like Paella or Clams in Tomato and Wine broth..... oh, now I'm wanting those too.

Thanks to the addition of the potatoes, this was filling enough to be a main course for a light meal. Serve with some crusty bread for soaking up the wonderful juices if you would like.



recipe slightly adapted from Camino Florido


TIME  30 MINUTES     SERVES  6

Ingredients:

2 lbs. canned clams save the liquid since it will add more flavor to your soup
3 cups of potatoes cut in small cubes
2 cups of chopped celery
¾ of cup of chopped onion
4 Anchovy fillets (for more flavor and Omega-3's)
6 cups of seafood broth  (I just used the juice from the clams and then about 2 cups of *home made chicken broth I had frozen)
1/2 cup of finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tsp cayenne pepper or chili flakes
Salt and pepper at taste
1 lemon, juiced

Preparation:

Heat a large pot and add the olive oil, fry the onion and celery, when the onion is transparent, add the garlic and anchovies. Integrate the potatoes and fry for a couple of minutes stirring continuously. Pour in the broth and clam juice. Add the clams and let it simmer covered with the lid on for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are done yet still firm. Add cayenne, salt and pepper at taste, Add the parsley and the lemon juice. Serve immediately.

* home made chicken broth is not only tastier and healthier than the canned and boxed varieties, but it is a bit milder so it won't overwhelm your seafood dishes with chicken flavour.

Potato-Blu Cheese and Broccoli Soup {low-fat}

Many of you may have gotten over soup recipes the minute the weather reached 70 degrees outdoors. Here in Phoenix however, it is only cold outside for like 3 weeks out of the year, and that's if you consider 55 degrees on a bright, sunny day cold. So when the weather decides to be all freaky and bi-polar and it is cold, overcast and even windy outside.... we make soup. I literally get giddy at the chance to actually enjoy a hot bowl of comforting soup which can only be truly appreciated when it is chilly and overcast outside in my opinion.

I loved this soup so much that I am seriously thinking of ways to cheat the system. I'm thinking of covering all the windows in thick drapes, turning the air conditioning down to 50 degrees, putting on my fuzzy slippers and making this again in July. Totally grand idea!

The blu cheese was a fabulously unexpected addition to this classic comfort soup. I'm so glad I decided to give blu cheese another chance. I didn't care for it at all in my 20's and now it's one of my favorite treats.

The fresh thyme really brought out all the flavors of the vegetables and just made this soup my new favorite, simple dish. Crispy bacon sprinkled on top of the potato soup had everyone scraping their bowls for the

 very last drop.

Slowly infusing the thyme and garlic in the oil before sauteeing the leeks really kicks up the flavor
and adds a gourmet yet rustic flavour in every bite.

Is the weather acting weird where you live?

You Will Need:

1 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium leek, thinly sliced 

2-3 cloves garlic smashed

3 small-medium russet potatoes, diced

4-6 sprigs fresh Thyme plus more for garnish
1/2 teaspoon table salt 

1/2 teaspoon grey sea salt

6 cups chicken broth,  preferabley homemade

3 cups broccoli florets 

1/4 cup almond milk 

Freshly ground black pepper

Cooked and Crumbled Bacon
Crumbled Blue Cheese for Topping

 

To Make:

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the oil, garlic and thyme sprigs. Let them sit in the low heat so that the flavors infuse into the oil, about 8 minutes.  Turn up the heat to medium-high, add the leek and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, broccoli,  table salt, and broth and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook uncovered until the potato is fork tender, about 10 minutes.

Carefully, puree the soup in batches in a blender or with an immersion blender {I love mine}. Return soup to the pot and add the almond milk. Bring to a simmer, taste, and season with French Grey sea salt and cracked pepper.

Ladel into individual bowls and sprinkle bacon and blue cheese and more chopped thyme if you please over top.

Lightened Up Fettuccine Alfredo with Veggies: Eat.Live.Be. for a better 2011!

I first came across Eat.Live.Be. on my dear friend Joanne's blog, Eat's Well With Others. If you haven't been to Joanne's blog, do yourself a big favor and make your way over there. She's all kinds of awesome. I honestly can't wait to go to her blog every morning with my cup of coffee in hand in anticipation of a new, quirky, smartly written post about a recipe that I never knew I couldn't live without.

I was smitten with the concept of Eat.Live.Be. right from the beginning. I knew I was going to make this a part of my life. When I first saw the topic for this week's Eat.Live.Be.  post "Creative Ways To Eat Your Veggies"  I honestly got giddy. Bounced in my seat I tell you. Eat more veggies? That's my gig!

So, we all know we should eat more veggies, right? But saying a thing and doing a thing are entirely different matters. I would like to think that this blog is a resource of sorts for people. I know that I can make the best 5 star fancy meal out there. Cooking foods that are creative and unique from across the globe are my expertise, my hobby if you will. I love food excellent, full of flavor and unique food. However, my life as it is does not allow such fancies at the moment. Having 4, count them, FOUR, beautiful, energetic and healthy children {the dears} creates a big challenge when it comes to making healthy, home-made and most importantly good tasting foods. I refuse to eat 'kid food'. Mamma wants her gourmet, the kids want hot dogs. There's a compromise in there somewhere and that's what this blog is all about. It is possible to eat flavorful, healthy and kid friendly foods even on a budget and short on time.

So I decided to beat the odds. Take the healthy eating living challenge:

I will make home made meals and snacks for myself and my family.
I will not buy processed foods which are a major contributor to mindless eating.
I will make sure I buy and prepare a wide variety of fruits and veggies into our daily diets.
I will not lose my sanity in the process.

Three out of four is not bad folks.

How Do I Do It?

Easy.

No really. There are a  lot of sites out there telling you how to be healthy. What to do. Some of them are good. Some of them are great. Do what works for you. Do what's Do-able. Just Do It! {sorry, had to.}.

How we do what we do. {Eat More Veggies}

1. Eat less meat. Way less. Sounds obvious right?  It is, but again, knowing a thing and doing a thing are completely different.

I know a lot of people do the 'Meatless Monday's' thing which is great if you're used to eating a ton of meat. We however, do this in reverse; Meat on Monday's (o.k. usually it's on the weekend). This not only saves a ton of money which I then use to upgrade our meat to Organic, Free Range, Grass fed, Game and
Wild {fish}, but it also means that we eat a lot more veggies, whole grains, beans and legumes out of necessity. If your stuck for ideas on what to make for dinner without involving meat just browse through my recipe index on the top of my blog for some ideas. There are also a lot of great vegetarian and vegan 'blogs' out there for inspiration.

2. Buy more veggies.

If you buy them. You will eat them. This works.

When I buy things like mini sweet peppers, celery, snap peas and baby carrots to use as 'dippers' in my hummus or laughing cow cheese instead of crackers, that's what I eat. Plain and simple. Did you hear me?
Don't. Even. Buy Crackers, cookies or 'insert bad snack temptation here'. If you don't have a choice, the choice is easy; Healthy. It's only a matter of time before you don't want the crap anymore. Promise.


3. This goes hand in hand with  #2.  Put extra veggies in foods like eggs, rice, pasta, tuna salad, sauces & marinara's, and even smoothies! If you buy a variety of veggies, you'll find yourself starting to put them in crazy things at every meal just to use them up.

I put chopped Bok Choy, Collards or Spinach {along with garlic of course} right into my side of brown rice. Then we have another side of steamed or grilled veggies along with or protein packed, non-meat main dish.

When I make Pasta or Mac n' Cheese I add chopped greens right into them for extra vitamins.

I keep chopped Red Bell Peppers and onion pre-chopped in a bowl in the fridge so they are ready to throw into my eggs or millet first thing in the morning. Try adding things like zucchini, tomatoes and mushroom into your eggs for a different spin.

 4.  Last but not least. Try buying veggies outside your comfort zone. You never know what you are missing out on. Visit your local Farmer's Market for delicious and super fresh fun veggies. Sign up for a co-op to get fresh, local veggies right to your door.

Let your kids take their own re-usable bag to the marked with you and have them pick out their very own veggie to make for dinner! Talk about where veggies come from and why they're good for you. When you pass a farm play the " I wonder what's growing in this field? " game. You'll be surprised at some of the answers you'll get. My 3 year old thought hot dogs grew on the farm. ;)

Here is a simple recipe I make occasionally as part of that 'compromise' I talked about earlier.

My kids love Fettuccine Alfredo but Mamma doesn't like the calories. So I've adapted this recipe from an old Pillsbury Fast and Light cookbook I have to come up with a healthier recipe loaded with whatever veggies we have on hand.

Feel free to use whatever veggies you like, just use a lot! ;)

Healthier Fettuccine Alfredo with Veggies

You Will Need:

6 oz. cooked fettuccine (I use quinoa pasta)

2 cups broccoli florets

2 cups thinly sliced carrots

1/2 cup chopped baby bella mushrooms

1/2 cup frozen baby peas

1/2 cup chopped red, yellow or orange bell pepper

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 cups skim milk (or almond milk)

1-8 oz. container of Light Sour Cream

2 tablespoons almond or brown rice flour (regular or whole wheat flour will work)

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese + more for topping

2 teaspoons Herbamare or Braggs Organic Sea Kelp Delight seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt (I use French Grey Sea Salt for the vitamins and minerals)

freshly ground pepper to taste

sliced black olives and fresh parsley for garnish

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile in a medium saucepan bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add broccoli  and carrots. Cover, reduce heat and cook for 4-5 minutes till crisp-tender. Drain well, reserve.

Melt oil in a large Dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, and bell pepper. Saute 3-4 minutes till soft. Remove from pan onto a plate, reserve. Add mushrooms to pan and let sit untouched for 2-3 minutes, flip with spatula, add garlic and cook 1 more minute. Add butter to the pan with the mushrooms. Stir in flour, seasonings and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook until mixture starts to bubble and thicken, stirring constantly stirring with a slotted spatula.

Stir in all veggies, sour cream and Parmesan cheese. Cook until thoroughly heated,  about 2 minutes stirring constantly. Do Not let boil!

Remove from heat. Place pasta into bowls and ladle sauce and veggies on top. Add garnishes.

What Do You Do To Eat More Veggies?

Check out these other amazing Eat.Live.Be. members for inspiration and support!

Sarah Caron - http://www.sarahscucinabella.com/

Cate O'Malley - http://www.sweetnicks.com/
Joanne at   Eats Well With Others

Maris Callahan - http://www.ingoodtasteblog.net/

Chris Arpante - http://www.melecott.com/

Faith - http://www.clickblogappetit.com/

Kristen - http://www.dineanddish.net/

Emily - http://andersonfamilycrew.blogspot.com/

Jenna - http://stopdropandblog.com/

Casey - http://thestarnesfam.com/

Patsy - http://familyfriendsandfood.blogspot.com/

Tri-Fit Mom - http://trifitmom.blogspot.com/

Claire - http://cookiedoc.blogspot.com/

Sarah Rogers - http://sarahssweetcreations.blogspot.com/

This post is linked to:

Paisley Passions Food Friday's
Bella Vita's Fresh Clean and Pure Friday's
Friday Potluck at EKat's Kitchen

Spicy-Broccoli Quinoa

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Do you cook anything special for St. Patrick's Day?

This Spicy Broccoli Quinoa would be fun to make for St. Patty's Day. It is definately a healthy alternative to corned beef and hash, which I actually love but it doesn't love me so much.


Well, to those of you who aren't used to eating bright green foods for your main course, I hope you will take my word for it that this dish was excellent! After my husband and older son hesitantly took there first bite they both said "Oh! It's really good!" Uh, thanks for the vote of confidence guys.

The Parmesan and cream really make this dish rich and delightful, while the garlic, lemon and parsley make it fresh and crisp. The biggest surprise was the infused chile oil. Excellent! It took all of 8 minutes to make and the little bit of kick it gave the quinoa really made this 5 stars. ;-)

slightly adapted from 101 Cook Books

SERVES 4-6 TIME 15 MINUTES ACTIVE, 30 MINUTES COOKING

You Will Need:


3 cups cooked quinoa*


5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems


1 garlic clove


big handful fresh, flat leaf parsley


2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted


1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan


2 big pinches salt


2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice ( 1/2 lemon)


1/4 cup olive oil


1/4 cup half and half


** Fire Oil

Putting it all together:

Cook the quinoa by boiling twice as much water as quinoa ( so 2 cups water and 1 cup quinoa in this case). Put quinoa in a sieve, rinse under cool running water. Add quinoa to boiling water, lower heat, cook covered for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, let stand covered for 15 more minutes.

Now barely cook the broccoli by pouring 1 cup water into a large pot and bringing it to a simmer. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the broccoli. Cover and cook for one minute, just long enough to take the raw edge off. Transfer the broccoli to a strainer and run under cold water until it stops cooking. Set aside.

To make the broccoli pesto puree one cup of the cooked Broccoli, the Garlic, 1/2 cup of the Almonds, Parsley, Parmesan, salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse until smooth.

Just before serving, toss the quinoa and remaining broccoli florets with about 1/2 of the broccoli pesto. Spoon onto plates, top with the remaining almonds, a drizzle of the chile oil.

* Quinoa is done when you can see the curlique in each grain, and it is tender with a bit of pop to each bite. Drain any extra water and set aside.

** To make the red chile oil: You'll need 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil and 11/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes. In a small saucepan over low heat, add EVOO, stir in the crushed red pepper flakes and let infuse for 5-8 minutes, ma

king sure not to let oil get to hot. The chilies should not smell acrid or burned. Set aside and let cool, then store any unused oil in refrigerator. Bring to room temp again before using.

Potato Leek Soup Makeover

Potato Leek soup is a pretty common soup I think. Probably because it's pretty simple to make, delicious and warming making it a true comfort food. All of the recipes I've come across are pretty similar, most call for just potatoes and leeks, stock and cream. To me, that just makes glorified mashed potatoes which is all fine and good but I wanted more of a hearty, flavourful yet healthy soup. So I made up my own version out of the usual 'starter' recipe and it was magnificent.

If you've been here at Simply Healthy Family before, you know that I love my veggies and put them in almost everything, even in smoothies. So basically, all I did to this soup was use a good Organic chicken broth ( I use home made broth in broth based soups) and added more leeks and veggies and omitted the cream, using white wine instead for even more flavor. The result was a very flavorful soup without the heavy cream to mask the wonderful leeks and veggies.

This soup was super simple and fairly frugal making it a perfect weekday supper. 4 out of 4 kids loved it!

Simple. Leeks, potatoes, a bit of celery a touch of garlic. Use good quality flavor enhancers like chicken broth, a little bit of a good, dry white wine and French Sea Salt and you'll never miss the butter and cream that sabotage this wonderful soup and your diet.

 Cut the dark green tops off of the leeks and discard or save for vegetable stock or your compost pile. Slice the remaining white stalk lenghtwise. Rinse thoroughly under cool running water to remove sand.

In a ceramic coated cast iron pot (or good soup pot) over medium heat, add a teaspoon or two of EVOO. Gently cook leeks for 3-4 minutes till softened.

Don't let them brown like onions, Leeks are very sensitive that way. ;)

'De-Glazing' adds flavor 

Pour the wine into the pot (can use broth but the wine adds a wonderful flavour!) while scraping the bottom
of the pot with a broad wooden spoon to remove browned bits.
Turn up the heat to Med-High and cook down the wine for about 3 minutes.
Remember not to use metal utensils on your ceramic coated cookware.
and you threw away all of your Teflon pans right???




The center of the celery or 'celery heart' is perfect in soups. Chop up the leaves and add them to soup for more flavour!

Let's talk about salt!



French sea salts are hand-harvested from pristine Atlantic seawater. Unlike most American sea salts, they are usually unrefined so they retain more of the trace minerals that naturally occur in seawater. These minerals include natural iodine which is an essential mineral for proper thyroid function. French grey sea salt, or Sel Gris, is harvested using the traditional Celtic methods. This prized process is done entirely by hand, using only wooden tools. This preserves the pure taste of the French salt, and produces a very special moist crystalline texture. Sel Gris by Le Tresor is also lower in sodium chloride content than average sea salts, generally containing anywhere from 83–87% sodium chloride. French sea salts are ideal for use on salads, cooked fresh vegetables and grilled meat. They are available in coarse grains – ideal for pinching or salt cellars, stone ground fine – an ideal replacement for processed table salts, and extra fine grain – the perfect popcorn salt (or other salty snacks).

 A little goes a long way so even though it's more expensive than regular table salt, you get your money's worth and it's so much better for your health! I just can't say enough about how wonderful this salt tastes!  Potatoes soak up a lot of salt so add a little during cooking to help distribute flavor through your soup but wait until the end of cooking to add salt to taste.

The result?  Drum roll please................... Fantastic. Flavorful. Healthy. 

Comfort city central in my 

kitchen.

Printer Friendly Version of Potato Leek Soup Recipe

TIME  40 MINUTES     SERVES  6-8You Will Need:
5 medium Russet or Yukon Potatoes2-3 Leeks, trimmed and washed2 stalks celery heart w leaves, chopped1 clove garlic, chopped1 cup dry white wine (sub w broth if you must ;)6-7 cups Organic Chicken broth (or home made)2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dry* 1 teaspoon French Grey Sea Salt *Freshly cracked pepper to taste
Optional Garnishes:Center cut bacon, cooked and crumbled on topFresh Thyme


Trim and wash leeks as described above. Cut into thin slices. In a large soup pot over medium heat, add EVOO. Add leeks, cook over medium heat stirring occasionally 3-4 minutes till softened but not browned.Pour in wine while scraping the bottom of the pot with a broad wooden spoon. Let the wine cook down for 2-3 minutes.
Meanwhile scrub potatoes, leave peels on for vitamins. Chop into small, 1 inch pieces. Wash and chop celery. Smash and chop garlic, set aside.
Add broth to the pot, turn up the heat and add the potatoes and celery. Bring to a boil while stirring. Lower heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes, until potatoes are soft.

Remove from heat. Add garlic, thyme and salt. Using an immersion blender, blend contents of pot to a smooth consistency. Alternately, in small batches, carefully blend contents of pot in a blender.

Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with cracked pepper and chopped bacon, garnish with thyme.

This post is linked to Kahakai Kitchen for Souper Sunday's roundup!

Take a Hike!

Yesterday we went on a nice hike in the White Tank Mts. in the far west valley.  I love Arizona, especially in the winter months when the weather is just perfect. Some times I wish for snow and boots and pretty fur coats but then I remember how lucky we are to be able to go on a beautiful hike and have a picnic in January!

These are some pics I snapped on the short "Water Fall Trail"

Not much of a waterfall, more like a trickle, but we Zonies will gather round and stare at a trickle of water in the dry desert when we get the chance. ;)

This is the desert through my 'eyes'.

Did you know that the Sonoran Desert is the only place Saguaros grow naturally?

Cholla cacti also are native to the Arizona desert and a small part of California. There are over 20 species and are sometimes called ' Jumping Cactus' since the needles will jump off the plant if you get to close!

Crazy Zonies standing around staring at the "Water Fall"  Don't strain your eyes, it's only a trickle.

No, it's not really snowing... Photoshop. It was very cold out, much colder than usual and there is snow on the mountains in the background, can you see it?

Aren't those snow capped mountains a beautiful site in the desert? I Love it!






We needed a nice hot bowl of flavourful soup to warm us up!
This soup is part of the detox diet from Whole Living.
Not sauteing the veggies and using lots of in season, lightly cooked veggies make this soup
healthy and hearty.
Free Range Chicken adds healthy protein and flavor, feel free to skip it if you'd like, the almond
butter is a good source of protein.
Almond butter makes this soup so very decadent and is an excellent source of
 healthy monounsaturated fat, essential for heart health and controlling blood sugar.
.

Photo and recipe from Whole Living

Please excuse me, I try to always do my own pics but time and light quality were against me in a
big way last night! The recipe calls for collards of which I used along with Bok Choy I need to use up.

I'm sending this over to Fresh Friday's at La Bella Vita for her wonderful healthy life style blog hop.

Potato-Collard Cakes with Rouille and Black Eyed Peas w Collards and Sweet Potatoes

I'm sure there are a million variations of Black Eyed Pea recipes out there right now but

this turned out so much better than I thought so I had to share it! Especially since my husband and EVERY single one of my kids, Jack included said it was wonderful at least 5 times. Yes!!!

I used canned black eyed peas because I was lazy and forgot to soak my dried peas the night before, but feel free to use dried if you wish. This is also why I used crumbled bacon on top instead of the traditional Ham Hock. I added a sweet potato for flavor and vitamins which is also why I think my kids loved it so much. I got that idea from Winnie at Healthy Green Kitchen.

The potato cakes and Rouille sauce were an excellent accompaniment and the kids gobbled them up as well while saying it was their "most favorite dinner they've never had!"  ;)

I will be making this dinner many, many times!

Potato cake recipe adapted from Bon Apetite

You Will Need:

Cakes

•1 1/2 pounds unpeeled russet potatoes, scrubbed. Leave whole to boil to retain nutrients and lessen starch.

•1/4 cup  milk

•2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

•1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

•1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

•3 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

•1 cup chopped yellow onion

•1 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

•1/2 pound collard greens, center rib and stem cut from each leaf, leaves coarsely chopped

•1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme  (use your favorite herb you have on hand)

•1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg



Rouille:

•1/2 cup mayonnaise

•1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

•2 garlic cloves, pressed and minced

•1 tablespoon tomato paste

•1 teaspoon smoked paprika

•Pinch of cayenne pepper


*Whisk all ingredients together, chill until ready to serve.


Cakes:

• Cook potatoes in large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 25-30 minutes. Drain; return potatoes to same saucepan. Add milk and butter. Mash potatoes (with peel) until smooth. Season with 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Transfer 3 cups mashed potatoes to large bowl and cool (reserve remaining potatoes for another use).

• Heat 11/2 tablespoons oil in large deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add kale and thyme. Toss until kale wilts, about 5 minutes. Add kale mixture, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper to potatoes; blend.

Cool potato mixture 30 minutes until you can handle it to shape into patties.

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add cakes and cook, without moving, until cakes are brown and crispy on bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully turn cakes over. Cook until brown on bottom, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer to plates. Top each cake with dollop of rouille.

 Black Eyed Peas Recipe

You will need:

2 cups fresh or 2 cans Black Eyed Peas

1 cup Collard Greens, rinsed, stems removed, chopped

1 cup onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Sweet Potatoe peeled and cubed into small pieces

1 package bacon cooked till crispy

Chicken Stock: If using canned peas, 2 cups. If using fresh peas, 5 cups.

1 teaspoon each:  dried thyme, dried marjoram, dried mustard powder

Kosher salt and Fresh Cracked pepper to taste.

Putting it All Together:

In a deep Cast Iron Pot over medium-high heat add oil. Add onion, cook for 3-4 minutes, add garlic, cook 1 more minute. Add sweet potatoe, toss to coat. Add collard greens and cook down 4-5 minutes. Add Chicken Stock while scraping bottom of pot with a wooden spatula to release browned bits.
Add herbs. Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes until potatoes are soft. Ladel into bowls, crumble bacon over top.

Sun-Dried Tomato Polenta with Lentil Putenesca

To my surprise, I have not gained any weight through this Holiday Season! Despite the fact that I've been to several parties with food a plenty and everyone at work brings in boxes and tins of goodies into work every day for weeks now, I've managed to not put on a pound! ........ *Oooooo's and Awwwww's inserted here.
Truthfully, I don't feel as good as I normally do which probably has to do with the occasional snacking on sweets and that I've been insanely busy and haven't been exercising regularly. I am however really being good about still making good, healthy home made foods most every day.

Breakfast: Either my Simple Chilled Gazpacho, Keifer smoothie w flax, berries and orange peel or a scrambled egg with veggies.

Lunch: Salad, salad, salad. Eat your veggies. I have a variety of salads with a small amount of lean meat.
I've been taught to eat a small amount of meat at lunch time and NOT at dinner. Meat takes several hours to digest and IMO your body shouldn't be working to digest a bunch of meat while your immobile and sleeping. Also, beans and legumes as well as potatoes actually promote a restful sleep.

Dinner:  A Light Vegetarian meal. Sometimes I add Chicken broth to things for flavour and nutrients, but mostly we eat vegetarian for dinner. Beans, lentils, brown rice, whole grains and of course, veggies! I have lots of simple recipes as examples on my blog. Click "What's For Dinner" picture on my right hand side bar.

This Lentil Puttenesca is one of my favorite simple and healthy dinners.

I can not believe I have never had Putenesca. It was one of those dishes that when you taste for the first time, you don't know how you ever lived without it. It is so simple to make too.

I always have a bag of soft sun-dried tomatoes as well as cans of anchovy fillets in the pantry for adding flavour to simple dishes. Anchovies are one of those foods that I never thought I would I would eat. Ever. I love fish but Anchovies always grossed me out. My uber healthy mom eats them straight out of the can and to make matters worse, for breakfast even!

*gag! 

In her defense, they are very good for you. An excellent source of essential Omega's which promote vascular and mental health.

 I do however love anchovies as a flavour enhancer in pastas and dressings.  This was actually a surprise discovery when we went to a wonderful Italian restaurant in Downtown Phoenix called Pasta Bar. I ordered some pasta dish and loved it so I asked the chef what was the wonderful taste I couldn't figure out. To my surprise, Anchovy was one of them! Now I'm hooked.

I came up with this simple Lentil Puttenesca recipe and you MUST try it, even if your an anchovy hater from way back! Trust me, would I lie to you?

TIME  15 MINUTES     SERVES 6

You Will Need: For Polenta

3 cups unsweetened Almond Milk ( can use reg. milk or water)

1/2 t Kosher salt

1 cup Polenta (corn grits)

1-2 T butter

1/4 cup Parmesan

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped


Directions:
In large pot over high heat, bring almond milk and salt to boil. Gradually stir in cornmeal and sun dried tomatoes. Reduce heat to simmer, cook 12-18 minutes or until very thick. Stir frequently with long handled spoon to avoid sputters.
When very thick, remove from heat and stir in butter and Parmesan. Pour into a buttered 9x9 casserole dish. Let it sit off heat for about 10-15 minutes to set, will be creamy.

TIME   40 MINUTES     SERVES 6 
For Lentil Putenesca:
 
1 cup mixed lentils
 
1 cup water or broth
 
1/4 cup olive oil


1 cup finely chopped yellow onion

6 cloves minced garlic

2 (28-ounce) cans Roma plum tomatoes, chopped, with juice

1 cup  pitted and sliced green olives (other olives will work as well)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons drained capers

2 tablespoons minced anchovy fillets (about 8 fillets)

1 teaspoon dried crushed basil

1-2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes



Directions:

Rinse lentils thoroughly under cool water. Preferably, soak lentils for 6-8 hours before cooking to reduce phytic acids.
In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute until soft and lightly caramelized, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add the water, tomatoes and the remaining ingredients and simmer until the sauce is thickened and slightly reduced, about 30 minutes. Adjust seasoning, to taste, cover and set aside.

Serve with Creamy Sun-Dried Polenta.

PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!