Pumpkin Tortilla Soup

Happy Halloween! I love this day because it the one time of the year it's ok as an adult to dress up in a silly costume and actually leave the house. This year our theme was pirates after Bella decided we all except her, were going to be that. She was dressed up as Pippi Longstocking. 

We had friends over for a fun pumpkin tortilla soup my friend Jess found a recipe for here but we changed a little, some pumpkin squares, guacamole and meringue ghosts. We carved the pumpkin last night and used the 'meat" for the soup today and a little pumpkin & quinoa dinner for Noah. 

Spooky but yummy ghost

So cute Bella and her friend David as a puppy. Man did they make us walk to every house in the neighborhood. The scores so much candy but gave it all away to kids coming to our house. 

Serves 6

12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

2 tbs olive oil

1 medium white onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup finely chopped cilantro, plus more garnish

1 tsp ground cumin

Dried hot peppers, crushed1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, canned or cooked

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup salsa (we used hot salsa but it was too much for the kids)

5 cups unsalted vegetable stock

Salt & black pepper to taste

1/2 ripe avocados, pitted and cubed

Cut 6 of the tortillas into 1/2-inch squares
Heat 4 tbs olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add garlic, cilantro and chopped tortilla and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is soft. Add cumin and crushed peppers and saute for another minute. Add pumpkin, tomatoes, stock and salt and stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for one hour.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls and garnish with tortilla chips, avocado and cilantro.

Yogurt bread

This is a bread I baked for my friends up in the Bay Area. I'm so happy to be home with my family again and when Noah woke up and saw me he was so happy and when I picked him up he put his little head on my shoulders. Ahhh let me tell you how that makes a mom's heart warm.

We spend the morning waking along the beach on Coronado Island and right now James took Bella to see a production of Annie while Noah is napping.

3 cups white spelt flour + some for kneading with
3 cups whole wheat spelt flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 package active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups plain yogurt ( I used coconut yogurt)
1 Tbs honey
1 Tbs olive oil

Mix white and whole wheat flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl or kitchen aid. Warm up the yogurt in a sauce pot to about room temperature. Add oil and honey and mix into the flour and work the dough really well for about 5 minutes. The dough should slightly release from the bowl. Cover with towel in a warm place to rise for 40 minutes. Knead dough, adding more flour if it seems too sticky. Dive in half and shape to two loafs. Place in a greases loaf pans. Cover with towel to rise again for another 40 minutes. Preheat oven to F350. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden on outside and dry center. Place loafs to cook uncovered before attempting to remove from pans.

Creamy balsamic sauce

Yesterday  I flew to San Francisco to be a support for a friend in need. I did what I do best, cooked because I believe in comfort food so that's what I made. My friend loves my sauces so I made sure to focus on that and the result ended in an incredibly rich and creamy balsamic sauce. Serve it with seitan, tofu and some pasta. The sauce works best with aged balsamic sauce to create that rich flavor.

1 tsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, grated

1/2 cup aged balsamic vinegar

1 tbs brown sugar

1 cup cream

Salt & black pepper to taste

Heat oil in a sauce pan on medium heat. Saute the garlic for 30 seconds. Add balsamic vinegar and bring to a boil. Cook for about 5 minutes, until it's reduced to a syrupy consistency. Add cream and reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper.

Kitchari

Yesterday I felt a little bit down and very tired. I felt I needed some very calming food and nothing taste better than a really good kitchari. Indian kitchari is a "stew" made from rice, lentils and warming spices such as ginger, fennel and cumin which boosts the digestive system. I didn't add the the salt until after cooked it all and removed a portion for Noah who absolutely loved it. Bella has been eating kitchari her whole life and it's one of her favorite dishes as well.

Kitchari serving 6 from Ayurved Health Retreat

1 cup split mung beans or red lentils ( I used lentils)
2 cups basmati rice
2-3 cup chopped vegetables ( I used zucchini, tomatoes and swiss chard)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp ground cumin or whole cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 ground basil leafs
1/3 tsp asafetida ( hing) I skipped this one
pinch of cayenne
1 1/2 tsp salt ( to taste)
2 tbsp coconut oil
Water

First rise the split beans or lentils thoroughly (3-4 times). Add 8 cups of water and bring to a boil. Then turn down to medium-low and cook or 10 minutes. Add more water if you would like a soupy consistency. Rinse thoroughly 2 cups of basmati rice and add to the beans. You may now add 2/3 cups of assorted vegetables. Cook for another 15 minutes, storing regularly, while you work on the next step.In a frying pan heat the coconut oil over medium flame and add only the seasoning seeds first (cumin and fennel). Let cook until light brown before adding the rest of the spices and then let cook for 1 minute or until brown. Add this to the beans and rice. Add salt to taste.Cook for another 5-15 minutes, stirring regularly.

Sesame & lemon cookies

Today was the first time I really felt like a real fall day here in San Diego. Me and Noah took an early morning walk around our neighborhood. I almost felt like we were the only two people in whole San Diego. We sure enjoy our morning time together.

On a cold morning like this there is nothing more I love than to sip hot tea while Noah is napping and I'm working. Today I made it extra special and baked some cookies to eat with my tea. These cookies are wonderful with a hint of lemon and sesame seeds. I used unhealed seeds to reap the most benefits from these little seeds packed with a whole lot of nutrition. Unhulled sesame seeds are specially high in calcium, magnesium and iron.

100g butter

1 cup white spelt flour

1/2 cup unhulled sesame seeds

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 vanilla bean, seeds used and bean discarded

Lemon grate from one organic and washed lemon

1 tbs lemon juice

1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to F400
Melt butter in a sauce pan and let it cool completely. stir in flour, sesame seeds, sugar, vanilla bean,lemon juice, grated lemon and baking powder. Blend well. Roll small ball of dough and place on cookie shed either in small baking cups or on parchment paper. Use back of a spoon to flatten them slightly. Bake 12-15 minutes, until slightly golden.

Gravy

Last night I made a very traditional Swedish dish, meatless meatballs with cooked potatoes and to top it off...an amazing creamy gravy. This is how Swedish meatballs is suppose to be served. I will for sure make the gravy again for Thanks Giving to be served paired with neatloaf. The recipe I found on a blog but I veganized it a bit. For the meatballs I was lazy and used frozen kinds. I tried a new brand called Nate's meatless meatballs and everyone in the family agreed they were very tasty.

1 1/2 cups cream ( I used mimic)
3/4 cup sour cream ( I used tofutti)
2 tsp vegetable bouillon powder
1 tbs Bragg's liquid aminos or light soy sauce
1 tbs cranberry sauce or jam
1 tbs all-purpose flour (mixed with 1 tbs water I used white spelt flour)

Place everything in a sauce pan and bring to a boil while whisking. Reduce to a simmer for 5minutes. Yum!!!

Birthday pavlova cake

Yesterday our little girl Bella turned five and I can't believe how fast time fly. I feel it was just yesterday I brought home that tiny bundle who was so sleepy we had to wake up to feed. For her birthday she wanted a meringue cake she watched being baked on a cooking show. Yes I know the apple does not fall far from the tree and she likes cooking shows.

I actually was happy she wanted that since we had at least two people with wheat and gluten allergies coming to the party. I topped the pavlova with mimic whipped topping ( loves this) and fresh strawberries. I was suppose to shave dark chocolate over but forgot. The kids absolutely loved this cake and I've been getting lots of request for the recipe so hear loved once it is. Here is a recipe for pavlova

 We hosted Bella's party at one of our favorite place, Mission Bay. The pavlova is in the middle.

Noah was so curious about the meringue being whipped that every time we took him somewhere else he would scream until we brought him back to the kitchen aid.

Puttanesca pasta sauce

When I'm in a pinch for dinner I usually resort to using canned tomatoes and make a tasty pasta sauce or stew with it. With a tomato based sauce you can add other vegetables to make the sauce nutritional and low fat. I made Italian puttanesca sauce this way.

Traditional puttanesca has anchovies in it but off course I omit that and used just capers and olives instead and serve this over over pasta. This time I also served pan fried oyster mushrooms on top and a side of broccoli. For Noah I put a side some sauce before I added salt and mixed his sauce with broccoli and pasta. He absolutely loved this dish. The secret to good tomato sauce is to let it simmer and reduce to develop all the flavors.

I always advocate fresh vegetables and fruit over canned and frozen but did you know that canned tomatoes are very nutritional? Canned tomatoes and sauces are amount the best source of lycopene which helps protect agains certain cancers. When tomatoes are cooked the body can absorb the lycopene better. Now you should still eat fresh tomatoes in their natural state as often as possible but don't feel bad about cooking them or using canned.

1 tbs olive oil
1 large garlic clove, grated
1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup carrots, diced very small
1 tbs chili pepper, minced
1 tbs capers
2 tbs black olives, diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tbs tomato puree
1 tbs fresh oregano
Salt and black pepper to taste
Fresh parsley

Heat oil in a large skillet and sauté garlic, onion a few minutes on medium heat. Add chili peppers, olives, capers, tomatoes, tomato puree and oregano and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes. Sprinkle fresh minced parsley over sauce before serving.

Healthy chocolate chip cookie dough dip

Ok when I saw a picture with the title healthy cookie dough dip it caught my eyes because I really had my doubts this would really be good or healthy. I'm a believer now and love how this is a great way to add more beans in a picky eater. The recipe suggested serving the dip with crackers but I wanted to keep it healthy and used apple slices instead. Yum!!!!

1 1/2 cups chickpeas (1 can, drained) (250g)
1/8 tsp plus salt
1/8 tsp + baking soda
1 vanilla bean, split open and seeds used
1/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup milk ( I used vanilla oat milk)
2 tbs brown sugar
1/3 cup chocolate chips
2- 3 tbs oats ( or flaxmeal)


Add all ingredients (except for chocolate chips) to a blender or food processor, and blend until very smooth. Then mix in the chocolate chips.

Black bean chili with hint of chocolate

When I told Bella we're having chili with chocolate she was super excited until she tasted it and disappointingly stated it did not taste like chocolate at all. Next time I will learn to to set her up for disappointment and just say we're having chili. The chocolate just added a hint but made the chili very creamy.

1 tbs canola oil
1 large garlic clove, grated
1/2 tbs green jalapeño chili pepper, minced
1 tbs dried anaheim chili, minced
1 tsp cumin
1 cup zucchini, diced
1 can fired roasted crushed tomatoes
1 tbs tomato puree
1 cup black beans, cooked or canned
1/8 cup dark chocolate (%70 at least)
Salt to taste

Heat oil in large pot on medium heat. Saute garlic, jalapeño, dried pepper and cumin for a few minutes. Add zucchini, tomatoes and puree and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add black beans, chocolate and salt and let chocolate melt. Blend and serve with corn bread.

Pomegranate salad dressed with a chive and mustard dressing

I have to admit I love pomegranate and love how they grow locally here but I almost never buy them nor cook with them. Went we were at the farmer's market last Sunday I decided to change that and bought a few. Pomegranate is loaded with all good stuff such as fibers, potassium and antioxidants so it's a fruit I indeed would like to eat more of.

Besides just eating it like it is I made a salad with the fruit and it was so colorful and bursting with flavors. I also discovered that Noah really enjoyed the seeds as well although I kept and watchful eye on him to make sure he did not choke on them. He is getting so good at feeding himself and therefore family dinner time is more enjoyable for everyone.

I also want to remind you of the book and bag give away which ends on Friday. To enter for your chance to win a copy of my cookbook and a handmade bag send your name and email to Fredrica@Green-Mom.com. Don't miss out!!! The bags are beautiful orange and perfect for shopping your greens and veggies:)

2 cup lettuce, washed and town into pieces
1 cup cooked pasta ( I used leftover quinoa pasta for yesterdays dinner)
2 thin slices of tofu, lightly grilled on each side
1/2 cup grated carrot
2/3 cup pomegranate seeds


Dressing:
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs raspberry vinegar
1/2 tbs honey
1 tbs fresh chives, minced
1 tsp capers
1 tbs dijon mustard
1 tbs sour cream ( I used tofutti)
Salt & pepper to taste

Mix everything and drizzle over salad

Gluten & sugar free banana bread

Banana bread is one of those things my family and I love but I hardly never bake it. Why I don't know since it's so easy to make is a great snack for kids. On Melomeals.blogspot.com found a recipe for gluten free banana bread and since I have many friends and family with gluten and wheat sensitivity, I decided to give it a try but I did change it a little. The bread taste great as is but my favorite way of eating is spread with almond butter. 

1/2 cup super seed blend from Navitas or use flax seed meal instead
1 1/2 cup almond milk
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup apple sauce ( I used my homemade one off course)
2 tbs canola oil
1 tbs stevia leaves, minced
4 large bananas
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out and used
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
2 cup Bob's red mill gluten free all purpose flour
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamon
1 tbs cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1 tbs baking powder

Preheat oven to F375.
Combine super seed blend, vinegar, almond milk, apple sauce, bananas, stevia and vanilla in a food processor and blend well. Add oil and do a quick mix. Pour into a large bowl and add coconut, gluten free flour, nutmeg, cardamon, cinnamon, salt and baking powder and blend. Pour into a greased 9 by 13 bake pan or a large loaf pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until center is dry. Let bread rest for 1 hour before cutting it.

Book launched, give away and the joy of raw chocolate

Yesterday was the official launch of my cookbook "Yummy in my tummy, healthy cooking for the whole family". The party was held at the La Jolla women's and we had a great turnout with over 100 people attending. Now the book is available at Amazon, Book depository and Barnes & Nobel. I also found out my book is available in both the U.K and India.

This week you don't want to miss out because I'm giving away two copies of my book along with a beautiful handmade shopping bags from my friend Annie's mom. To get participate in the give away, email your name and email address to Fredrica@Green-Mom.com before Friday.

My biggest weakness is chocolate, specially dark chocolate. I found a great raw & organic chocolate from Fearless. It comes in a couple different flavors but so far I've only tried super seeds crunch with hemp, chia and flax. I also love the fact they recycle cover for their chocolate bars.

Black bean burgers

Finally Noah is feeling better and therefore sleeping better which off course means me and James have more energy. Last night after everyone went to sleep I got a burst of energy and started soaking beans, baked bread and other fun projects. The beans I used to make black bean burgers served with harissa mayo and avocado, yum:)

Tomorrow is the launch party for my cookbook and we're having a vintage picnic theme at the Women's club. Tonight I'm going out with my girls who has been working so hard and helping me make this party happen.

1 1/2 cup black beans (cooked or canned)
1 cup oats
1 tsp corn starch
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tbs red jalapeño, minced
2 tbs nutritional yeast
Oil to cook burgers in

Mix everyone thing together and shape into burgers and cook a few minutes on each side on medium heat in a skillet.

Healthy mayo

Here you have a really tired mama who has been up the night with Noah who was miserable with high temperature. I'm so tired that  I actually went to sleep with my cloths on this morning and on the wrong side of the bed. Noah has been cranky all morning so I've gotten no work done so fare which is how the past three days have gone.

One of the blogs I love is Melomeals: Vegan for $3.33 a day.  She shows how you can eat vegan and healthy on a budget. I made mayo from her recipe and it's amazing. I really was skeptical but wow. Who knew beans and oil could make mayo? From this mayo I made a spicy harissa sauce which I drizzled on my quinoa and bean tacos I made for lunch. 

1 1/2 cups white beans, cooked
3 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tsp salt
3 tbs dijon mustard
4tbs lecithin granules
2 tsp sugar
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil

Blend everything together except the oil in a food processor or blender until very creamy. Slowly pour the oil in a single stream white machine is still going until all added. Chill for 4 hours.

Minty beans

It's been a very mellow day because Noah spiked a F102 temperature this morning, poor thing is burning up but still a happy little guy. He has no other symptoms so I think it's his teeth bothering him. So yesterday it was Bella who was sick and today Noah, sigh.

Needless to say, lunch and dinner has been something very quick and not very much fun. Dinner tonight was grilled tofu, mashed potatoes and mint marinated purple beans. If you can't find purple beans then green beans works as well.

4 cups green or purple beans, tops and end cut off
4 tbs olive oil
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
2 tbs shallots, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tbs fresh mint leafs, minced
Salt to taste

Steam the beans al dente and place in a bowl. Mix oil, juice, shallots, garlic mint and salt and pour over the beans.

Noah's blueberry oatmeal

In the spirit of oats I'm posting another thing about them. I eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast and since Noah turned 7 month he has now joined me in the oatmeal breakfast club.

Oatmeal is great for a little guy as mine is because it's filling and nutritional. Oats are naturally rich in iron and fibers and I add apricots for extra iron, blueberries for vitamin C to help the body absorb the iron. I still puree the oatmeal to make it easier for Noah to eat it.

2 tbs oats

1 dried non-sulfured apricot, minced

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup blueberries
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp chia seeds

Bring to a boil, water, oats and apricot. Reduce to a simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add blueberries. Serve as is if your child is older and deals well with chunky food or puree with a little water.

Homemade oat milk

Since both James and Bella are allergic to milk we plant milk. The two favorites are almond milk and oat milk. When I cook or bake I like oat the best and James likes oat milk in his coffee.

I follow a Swedish blog about green living and the blogger made homemade oat milk which did not look very complicated so I gave it a try. Bella really enjoyed helping me make it as well as drinking it. Since Bella likes her milk sweetened I added some maple syrup and vanilla to it so it will resemble the "regular" milk she's used to.

1 1/2 cup oats
8 cups water
1 pinch of salt
2 tbs canola oil
1 tbs maple syrup


Mix oats and water with a hand held mixer, in a blender or food processor for a a minute or so. Strain milk through a cheese cloth (Save the oat mass that is left to make yummy veggie burgers or patties of).
Blend in salt, oil and maple syrup. Keep refrigerated in a pitcher or glass bottle. Shake before serving. 

Stevia sweetened sweet ice tea

Today at the famers market I found fresh stevia. I've seen it before but never thought of buying it. I love making sweet tea but don't like using sugar or honey too much. Now I tired brewing a few of the stevia leafs along with the rooibos tea leafs. It worked great and made a very nice sweet tea so this is how I will do it for now.

Rooibos tea is caffein free so kids can drink it too and they should because it's rich in anti-oxidants and flavonoids which will help boost the immune system which is always important. Rooibos tea is completely pure and natural as it contains no additives, preservatives or colors.  Bella loves drinking tea both warm and cold and her favorites is besides rooibos tea, mint and a mixed kids tea.

Stevia plant in all its glory

10 cups of boiling hot filtered water

2 tbs rooibos tea leafs

2 tbs stevia leafs

Pour water or tea and stevia leafs and brew for 10 minutes. Strain and cool tea in fridge before serving.

Blueberry scones for lazy morning

 Noah's 4th tooth is coming in so he woke up at 1:30 am and then again at 5am. The way this little boy is making teeth he will be 10 month with a mouthful of them. Poor James was tired this morning so when Noah went down for a nap he did as well.

That left me and Bella to fend for ourselves which we did by baking blueberry scones and eating them while cuddling in front of the fire. Scones are so easy to make because they to contain yeast so no need to rise or kneading them. It took 20 minutes from start to finish make this wonderful bread. Scones should be enjoyed warm with butter and jam.

My little cuddle partner

1 1/2 cups whole wheat spelt flour
1 cup white spelt flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
3 ounces butter ( I used earth balance)
1/2 cup blueberries
1 tbs brown sugar
1 cup milk ( I used oat milk) 

1. Preheat oven to F450.
2. Begin by mixing flour, salt, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. 
3. Add butter and use fingers to divide and incorporate butter into the flour until you are left with a crumble dough. 
4. Add blueberries and milk and mix quickly. 
5. Divide dough into half and make two large cakes. 
6. Place on parchment paper on a baking sheet. 
7. Use a knife and cut a a cross in each. 
8. Be careful not to cut all the way down. 
9. Use a fork and prick each cake a few times. 
10. Bake for 10-25 minutes until center is dry.
11. When ready to eat them just break each bread along the cross. 

Good news at Sammy's wood fire pizza and pumpkin soup

It's been a gorgeous day with the family visiting pumpkin patch, lots of playing, cuddling and a lunch at Bella's favorite restaurant Sammy's Wood fire pizza. In all honesty I don't think she loves this place for the food but rather because you can watch the trolley go by.

My husband is a huge pizza fan as well as Bella but so far they have not been able to eat the pizza at Sammy's but now they offer non-dairy daiya cheese. Furthermore for people with wheat and gluten allergy like my mother in-law, you also get the pizza baked on gluten and wheat free crust. I tired it and it's good.

Playing around all those pumpkin made me hungry for pumpkin soup so for  dinner I made pumpkin buisqe from a recipe at Whole Foods. I changed it and used tofutti sour cram instead.

It's hard to get everyone smiling at the same time. especially when the kids are tired:)

Warm fruit salad

I guess that was that fall because today it's warm and sunny again. I had to admit I'm little disappointed because I was looking forward  to cuddling in front of the fire with hot cocoa and my family.

This day has been absolutely insane with a photo shoot for my web site Green-Mom.com this morning. Whenever you have kids involved in the a photo shoot it all becomes more stressful and complicated.  Noah was the star and behaved so well even when he was tired and hungry. He barely slept while on set but afterward on the drive home he crashed.

Since the weather was so nice we ate a BBQ dinner and for dessert we had a nice refreshing warm fruit salad. I served it with a dollop of ice cream but I think some whipped topping would have been super nice too.

1 plum, peeled and sliced
1 pear, peeled and sliced
1 handful grapes, sliced in half
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbs orange juice
1 tsp mint leafs, minced
1 tsp brown sugar

Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Saute fruit for 2 minutes. Add orange juice, mint and sugar and keep cooking covered for another 2 minutes. Remove from that and serve warm with cream or ice cream.

Homemade vanilla sugar

Vanilla sugar is hard to find here in the USA. In Sweden where I come from it's a common product used in pretty much all desserts and baking. I'm not big on vanilla extract so I've been using vanilla beans for my cooking but it get fairly expensive so now I found a way to make more own vanilla sugar. I love it and the best part is you use discarded vanilla beans for it.

1 vanilla bean, dried for a few days
1 cup sugar

Mix it all in a food processor until all vanilla beans has been grounded up. Store in a container in dry room temperature.

Peppermint hot cocoa

Wow we're having our first fall storm and off course it happens when we're dog sitting so poor James and Lola are out in the heavy rain, hopefully taking care of business.

Nothing taste better than after being outside in the cold than a hot drink in this care it was a peppermint hot cocoa. I make it just how my mom just to make if for me when I was little but I added the peppermint since hubby is crazy for chocolate min flavors. 

For one cup:

1 cup milk ( I used almond milk)

1 tbs cocoa powder

1 tsp agave nectar ( more if you like it sweeter)

2 drops peppermint oil

Heat everything in a sauce pot on medium heat and whisk it until it's all combined and there are no lumps. Enjoy with a dollop of cream for extra luxury.

French green lentil salad

The plan today was to go out hiking in the morning with my friend Jess and Lola which is a dog we're dog sitting for a few days. Through out the hike we got rained on so we arrived home very wet.

When I'm thinking cold and rainy weather I think lentils and todays lentils I used were French green lentils which is my favorite lentils to cook with. I love the flavor but not the fact it takes longer to cook than say red lentils.But today I made an exception and used puy and made a really nice lentil salad with tons of flavor and vegetables. This salad is a great addition to a meal with roasted vegetables which for us was roasted yam, zucchini and eggplant.

1 cup French green lentils

2 cups water

1/2 cup corn, steamed

1 cup broccoli florets, steamed

1/2 cup swiss chard, chopped

1/2 cup tomato, chopped

Cook lentils and water for 25-40 minutes or until soft. Discard any water and blend vegetables and lentils in a large bowl. 

Dressing:

1 tbs olive oil

1 tbs lemon juice

1 tsp agave nectar

1 tsp garlic salt 

Black pepper to taste

Mix everything and toss with salad.

Warm yam and cheese salad

I have all these yams in my fridge and wanted to make a different kind of potato salad. This is the result, a side dish we ate with our BBQ dinner on Saturday. The combination of sweet, salty and sour is wonderful.

1 large yam, peeled and sliced
2/3 cup hard cheese, diced ( I used rice cheese)
2 tbs red chili pepper, minced
1 tbs olive oil
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 tsp dried Italian herbs
Salt to taste

Steam yam to al dente. Heat 1/2 tbs oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Saute chili peppers for 1 minutes. Add yam and fry for a few minutes. Mix remaining oil, lemon juice, herbs and salt and pour over yam and chili. Sprinkle cheese over and serve warm.

Balsamic marinated mushrooms for BBQ

Well the intent was to BBQ last night but when the food was cooked half way through, the BBQ ran out of gas so I had to finish cooking everything in the kitchen instead. It did not effect the taste however. I loved this marinade and Bella who sometime can be suspicious of mushrooms even loved it. I also marinated zucchini and eggplant in the same liquid.

2 large portabello mushrooms, steams removed and sliced
1 cup white mushrooms, stems removed
1/4 cup shallots, minced
1 garlic clove, grated
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs Bragg's liquid amino's
1 tsp dried French herbs Provencal
1 tsp dried thyme

Place everything except the mushrooms in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool for 5 minutes. Marinate mushrooms in it for 1 hour before cooking.

Orange cheese cake in a jar

I found a web site with recipes for cheese cakes in a jar and I thought it looked so much fun that I decided to give it a try and made a cheese cake with orange flavor mixed with chocolate. This cheese cake is not baked so it's a very easy cheese cake to make. So this is our dessert after a BBQ dinner, mmmmm. What are you all eating tonight?

Crust:
1 cup non-dairy graham crackers
1 1/2 tbs butter


Combine everything until wet and crumbly. Add more butter if it seems too dry.

Filling:
3 tubs plain cream cheese
1/2 vanilla bean seeds
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
Grated peel from 1 orange


Mix until completely creamy.


Topping:
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup cream

• Heat cream on low heat in a sauce pot. 
• Melt chocolate in the cream and stir until all chocolate has dissolved and you are left with a creamy and thick sauce. 
• Let sauce cool a few minutes. 
• Place some of the crust in the bottom of each jar. 
• Pour the filling and end with the chocolate sauce in a  thin layer on top. 
• Place in fridge for 1 hour before serving.