Fava Bean Casserole

Me and Noah had fun gardening and tending to our fast growing vegetable garden. My fava beans are still very small and have not provided any harvest for us yet so in the meantime I’m buying fava beans whenever I can find since they are my favorite.

I desperately need to go grocery shopping so dinner once again stems from whatever vegetables I had laying around; fava beans, cooked quinoa, green cabbage, half a parsnip, cherry tomatoes, carrots and a little cream cheese. Casseroles it was and thank L….I have a family who will eat pretty much anything I cook.

Mommy's little helper that mostly wants to pull out the veggies so far:)

I can't wait to harvest my own

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 tbsp. canola oil

½ cup cooked fava beans or any other bean

½ parsnip, peeled and cut into small dice

1 carrots, peeled and small dice

1 cup green cabbage

Salt & pepper to taste

¼ cup garlic and chive flavored cream cheese

¼ cup almond milk

2 tbsp. cream

1 handful cherry tomatoes

Grated cheese

Preheat oven to F385.

Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat and cook parsnip and carrot pieces for a few minutes stirring once in a while. Add cabbage and cook for another 3 minutes. Add salt, pepper, cream cheese, and almond milk, cream and blend well. Place quinoa in a baking dish and then vegetables blend spread on top. Arrange cherry tomatoes. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Sprinkle cheese over and bake another 5 minutes until melted and slightly crusty.

Healthy Butterscotch Shake

Yesterday was such a crazy day and I was running around a lot, driving everywhere (which I hate), teaching a yoga class, long hours away from kids (which I also hate) and when I finally got home I was starved but I needed to make dinner. My energy was definitely low energy so I made a super power shake which ended up tasting just like butterscotch mmmmm.

1 cup ice-cold almond milk

1 small banana

1 date, pitted

½ tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. mesquite powder

1 tsp. powdered greens

Combine in a blender and process until creamy and fluffy. 

Almond and pear muffins

My day started out so well with kids who slept in and a yoga class. It’s a beautiful day so a fun snack in the garden with Bella when she gets home is in order. For the snack I made super yummy almond paste and pear muffins.

2 1/4 cups white spelt flour

½ cups sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

½ vanilla bean, seeds used

½ cup canola oil

½ cup sour cream

½ cup grated almond paste

½ cup pears, peeled and diced

1 cup almond milk

Preheat oven to F200

Mix spelt flour, sugar, baking powder and vanilla bean seeds in a large bowl.  Blend canola oil, sour cream, almond paste and milk until smooth. Combine both and blend well. Pour patter into baking cups 2/3 full. Add a few pears to each baking cup.  Bake 12-18 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out dry. Let them cool completely before serving.

Frozen banana pops

I seen recipe for cake pops everywhere but so far I’ve not had any celebrations to make it for but Bella and me made a healthier version of frozen banana pops instead. It’s super easy for a five year old to help out with a fast so they don’t lose their interest.  

½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips

½ tbsp. coconut butter

1 medium banana peeled and cut into smaller pieces

Some sort of stick to place pop on (I used lollipop sticks from Michael’s store)

Sprinkles or chopped nuts

Combine chocolate chips and coconut butter and melt either in microwave or over a pot with hot water. Stir until all is melted and creamy. Spear a banana piece not all the way. Dip it into the chocolate and twirl it a couple of times until it stops dripping. Dip into sprinkles or chopped nuts and place on a parchment paper. Place in freezer for 10 minutes before serving. Yum yum!!!

Creamy Mushroom Soup

This soup is perfect on a cold and rainy day because its earthy and rich flavors brings warmth and a cozy feeling to it. I call it creamy but there is no cream in it at all, the creaminess comes from cashew butter and pureeing the soup. I topped the soup with herbed croutons that I simply made by frying bread pieces in olive oil and sprinkling dried fresh herbs and garlic salt over.

2 cups mixed mushrooms, sliced (I used shiitake and portobello mushrooms)

2 tbsp. olive oil

3 garlic cloves, sliced thin

1 cup water

½ vegetable bouillon cube

½ cup almond milk

2 tbsp. cashew butter

Salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in a skillet and cook mushrooms and garlic until browned. Place mushrooms in a saucepan with water, bouillon. Simmer on low for 10 minutes. Add milk and cook for another 5 minutes. Combine soup with cashews butter, salt and pepper in a blender and puree until completely smooth and fluffy. Place soup back in saucepan and simmer soup for another 5 minutes. 

Quinoa and strawberry Tabouleh

My mint and basil in the garden has been growing really well so I wanted to in cooperate that in a dish and I choose to make Tabouleh which is an Arab dish traditionally made with bulgur and tons of herbs. I choose to make it with quinoa and used strawberries instead of tomato and the result was very good. You can serve this on the side of grilled tofu, seitan or tempeh.

2 cups cooked quinoa,

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely diced

10 mint leaves, finely minced

5 basil leaves, finely minced

¼ cup parsley, minced

4cup red onion, diced

1 cup greens such as kale, beet greens or spinach, chopped fine

1 cup strawberries, sliced

Dressing:

Juice rom one lemon

1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. dried oregano

Salt & pepper to taste

First combine everything for dressing in a small bowl. Toss this and the quinoa with cucumber, mint, parsley, basil, parsley, red onion, greens and strawberries. Enjoy!

Bean and Mango Guacamole.

The weekend so far all about healing my sick poor little family. Bella and James both have bronchitis and Noah a high fever and he’s teething at the same time. My poor little man is still a happy go little guy but sometimes he just gets frustrated because he’s not feeling good. I’m still healthy and feeling that I might have escaped this curse….knock-on-wood J

Yesterday when I went grocery shopping I was in such hurry that I accidently picked a couple of avocados going on the over ripe side. My checkout girl brought this to my attention and told me I can pick out new avocados and as well as keep the over ripe ones. That’s what I love about Whole Foods in Hillcrest San Diego, always great service. Anyway so suddenly I ended up with a lot of avocados and some that needed to me used ASAP so I made veggie tacos with a bean and mango guacamole. 

3 ripe avocados

A squirt of lemon or lime juice

¼ cup red onion, minced

2 tbsp. cilantro, minced

1 roasted green jalapeno pepper, minced

Salt to taste

Chili pepper to taste

½ cup ripe mango, diced

2/3 cup cooked or canned beans (I used pinto beans)

First take the whole jalapeno pepper and roast it in either the oven or on top of gas burner until the pepper skin gets slightly black and blistered. Slice pepper in half and remove seeds. Mince the pepper. Mashed the avocado with the lemon juice. Stir in red onion, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, salt, chili pepper, mango and beans.

Berry Chia Pudding Dessert

With everyone super sick in my family and off course we moms don’t have time to be sick I’m working on overtime to stay healthy myself and get my loved ones on the path to recovery. In this case it means eating super healthy so last nights dessert I made a berry chia pudding loaded with antioxidants and pure goodness. It was so refreshing and I think it would be a great snack or breakfast as well. Chia puddings are so easy to make in my opinion.

For one pudding

1 cup almond milk

¼ cup raspberries or blueberries, mashed the back of a spoon

½ tbsp. agave nectar

¼ tsp. vanilla extract or ¼ tsp. real vanilla bean seeds

2 tsp. super green powder such as spirulina or green super food (can be omitted)

1 ½ tbsp. chia seeds

½ cup sliced strawberries

1 tbsp. hemp seeds

1 tbsp. bee pollen (optional)

Combine milk, raspberries, agave, vanilla and super green powder in a small bowl and blend really well until the powder greens have dissolved. Add chia seeds and whisk for at least a few minutes.  Pour into a serving bowl and place in fridge to stiffen for at least two hours.  Serve with sliced strawberries and sprinkled bee pollen and hemp seeds on top. 

Wild rice salad with a quick pickled onion

I posted late today and I apologies but life is hectic because now everyone in the family is sick so a lot of extra work on my part.

The combination of hot and cold is marriage made in heaven in my opinion .So this warm flavorful wild rice and mushrooms mixed with a refreshing salad and topped with a fun pickled onion is one of my favorite ones. Wild rice actually is not rice at all but rather a grass. It’s very nutritional with protein, minerals, B vitamins and folic acids.

Rice:

1 cup dry wild rice

1 ¾ cups water

dash of salt

Combine rice, water and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 30-40 minutes on medium heat until done. Set aside to rest for a few minutes and then fluff it with a fork.

Pickled onion:

½ cup very thin sliced red onion

½ cup hot water

½ tbsp. agave nectar

pinch of salt

1 tbsp. raw apple cider vinegar

Combine everything in a small bowl and let pickle for 10-15 minutes.

Dressing:

1 tbsp. hemp or flax seed oil

½ tbsp. apple cider vinegar

½ tbsp. honey mustard

1 tsp. agave nectar

Herb salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Mix in a bowl

Salad

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 garlic clove, grated

1 cup shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced

2 cups arugula

1 small grated carrot

1 handful sherry tomatoes

A few raw almonds, chopped

Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat and cook mushrooms in a single layer until browned, flipping them once. Combine all vegetables and toss with dressing. Blend in the rice and mushrooms serve with pickled onions and chopped almonds on top. Yum!

Vegan and gluten free apple pancakes

Like I said in yesterdays post I love when I get to spend some extra time with my kids due to holiday, school break or in this case due to sickness. Don’t get me wrong I’m not happy Bella is sick but happy to be able to take care of her when she is.

 Since there it's no need to rush in the morning I’ve made pancakes for breakfast and this time I experimented and made gluten free pancakes with apples and boy they were so good. I have a lot of friends with gluten issues so I want to be able to cook for them too. I know there are many gluten free pancake mixes out there but they are not always vegans. This recipe I adapted from Oh She Glows’s web site.

Bella loves warm pancakes for breakfast and says I make the best. Now that warm a mama's heart

Healthy and yummy, can't beat that for breakfast

Noah digging into pancakes only after eating a cup full of oatmeal and a cup of milk first:)

½ cup raw buckwheat groats (grounded in a food processor or blender into flour

¼ cup brown rice flour

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. baking powder

¾ cup+2 tbsp. almond milk

2 tbsp.  Agave nectar
1 tbs canola oil

11/2 vanilla bean, split open and seeds used

1 medium and ripe banana, mashed

1 medium apple, peeled and grated

In a large bowl combine buckwheat grounds, brown rice flour, cornstarch and baking powder and blend. Add almond milk, agave nectar, vanilla been seeds, banana and grated apple and blend. Cook pancakes on a slightly large non-stick skillet over medium heat. 

Chickpeas in a sweet mustard dressing

Yeahhh the sun is back and unfortunately so is Isabella’s cold so today is stay at home day for all of us. I have to admit that I feel so lucky that A. I can stay home with my kids when they’re sick and B that I love being with my kids. Sure they drive me crazy sometimes but 100% I love being with them all the timeJ

Like I said before I love really filling salads so I will usually prepare a really large salad during Noah’s first nap that way it’s easy to just take out and eat for lunch. Since beans and lentils are staple foods we eat here a lot I usually will add beans and sometimes I even get fancy and marinate them in some dressing like this one. It’s a very healthy dressing with flax seed for omega 3, dates for antioxidants and sweetness and apple cider vinegar that helps break down fats and detoxes the body.  

1 cup cooked chickpeas

1 date, pitted

1/8 cup flax seed oil

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

½ tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. dried herbes de Provence

Black pepper to taste

Salt to taste

Combine everything except the chickpeas in a blender or food processor and mix until creamy. Combine the dressing and chickpeas and let it marinate in fridge for one hour before serving.

Vegan Sloppy Joes

Now I have to admit that I NEVER ate a Sloppy Joe so when I saw a recipe for vegan ones on pinterest I was not that excited. However, James who sloppy Joes was part of his childhood begged me to make him my own version off it. For being my first Sloppy Joe I was very impressed and I’m also happy that I make a healthier version of it.  I served it as traditionally, on a fresh baked bread roll.

1-½ cups cooked green lentils

1 tbsp. olive oil

½ cup yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, grated

3/4 cup grated carrots

2 tsp. ground chili pepper

2 tsp. Herbes de provence

½ tsp. salt

2/3 cup pressed tomatoes

¼ cup sweet BBQ sauce

1 tbsp. Agave Nectar

1 tbsp. honey mustard

Heat oil on medium heat in a saucepan and sauté garlic and onion for 1 minute. Add carrots and cook for another minute. Stir in chili pepper, herb the province, salt, pressed tomatoes, BBQ sauce, agave and mustard and stir. Simmer sauce on low heat for 10 minutes. Fold in the lentils very carefully. 

Apple crackers

My kids loves home baked bread and crackers and since we’re all cooped up at home this weekend due to the storm me and Bella made apples crackers. These crackers and so easy and fast to make and I love them because they contain no sugar and are whole wheat. They taste great as is or with butter or nut butters on. I also learned they are also appreciated by adults when hubby and friend Jess ate them all after dinnerJ

1 ¼ cups whole wheat spelt flour

1 tbsp. ground chia seeds

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ vanilla bean, seeds used

1 large apple grated very fine

2 tbsp. virgin coconut oil

Preheat oven to F350.

Combine everything in a bowl and work the dough to shiny and not very sticky dough. If it seems too sticky just add a little flour. Divide dough in half and sprinkle a little flour on a parchment paper and use a rolling pin to roll out dough very thin. Slice dough into squares and place the whole parchment paper with dough on top of a cookie sheet. Carefully separate the squares a little. Bake for 10 minutes and then flip all the squares and bake for another 5 minutes.

Seitan in Balsamic Sauce

Balsamic vinegar is more than just a perfect addition to a salad dressing. I like using balsamic to make sauces because it adds a very nice sweetness to it. I served this dish with roasted potatoes and it was a super hit with both kids and adults alike.

1 tbs canola oil

2 cups seitan, cut into cubes

1/4 cups shallots, minced

1/2 cup aged balsamic vinegar

1 cup kale, stems removed and chopped

Salt & fresh black pepper to taste

1 tsp honey

1/4 cup sour cream ( I used tofutti sour cream)

Heat oil in a saucepan on medium and brown the seitan. Remove seitan and set aside. Saute shallots for 1 minute and then add balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and honey and bring to a boil. Cook until reduce to 2/3 and it's kind of syrupy. Saute kale in the balsamic sauce until wilted, it just takes a minutes. Return the seitan and stir in the sour cream and let all reheat.

eggless egg salad

This tofu based eggless egg salad is the perfect lunch or picnic food and super easy to make. I love placing it between fresh country bread, stuffed into a pita pocket or on the side of large mixed green salad. The recipe is originally Martha Steward's Favorite Comfort Food cookbook and I changed a bit as well as made it vegan.

1 container fresh extra firm tofu, drained by wrapping it up in a terry kitchen towel for at least 2 hours
1/2 cup vegan mayonaise
1/2 tsp mustard powder or use 3/4 tsp dijon mustard
3 tbs diced celery
1 tbs minced pickles
Salt & pepper to taste
1/4 tsp yellow curry powder


Mash the tofu with the back of a fork until crumble. Combine all the reminding ingredients in a bowl and blend well. Stir in the tofu and chill in fridge for at least one hour before serving. 

Mustard baked temphe

I love Thursdays because it's our date night and tonight we started out with a fun walk in Balboa park and ended with a nice dinner at Lotus cafe. For the kids and Amanda I made baked tempeh which was not Bella favorite but Noah loved it but then again there are not much food he does not like.

 This week has been a long and not so fun week because my uncle died in Sweden and because I'm his only living relative I have to deal with funeral etc. Not an easy task when you're so far away. He was a great uncle and I hope he's in peace now.

1 package three grain tempeh
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/8 cup maple syrup
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
1 tbs soy mayo
2 tbs soy sour cream
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to F400
Cut tempeh in four and boil in some water for 5 minutes. Drain and place in a baking dish. Combine mustard, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, mayo and sour cream. Stir in salt and pepper to your liking. Spread over temphe pieces. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve over rice, mashed potatoes etc.

Carrot bread rolls

My dear friend Wendy who I've been writing about here before and I have a deal that we swap foods. I my case I'm really good at baking healthy and yummy breads so I do that for her and she cooks amazing raw food for my whole family, great deal right? I try to make different breads for her and this weeks bread was a carrot bread. It's one of the most easy breads I ever baked and the carrots give it a fun sweetness and color.

6-7 cups white spelt flour, maybe more
1 tsp salt
2 tsp active dry yeast
50g butter, melted
3/4 cups grated carrots
2 1/2 cups milk ( I used oat milk)
1 tbs agave nectar
1/2 cup sesame seeds

Combine 6 cups of the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl or kitchen aid. Blend melted butter with milk, agave nectar and add slowly to flour mix. Add carrots and work the dough until the dough ball is shiny and easily lets go of the bowl. You might have to add some more flour if it seems very sticky. Sprinkle some flour on top and cover with a towel, Set it to rise in a warm and draft free place for 2 hours. Place dough on top of a little sprinkled flour and knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Divide into smaller pieces and roll them between hands to shape into bread rolls. Place on a parchment paper and cover with towel for a second rise. Preheat oven to F400. Brush each roll with a little water or milk and sprinkle sesame seeds over. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the rolls are gold brown.

5 Minutes Tomato Sauce

You know one of those days when you have a crazy day and realize that dinner was suppose to been served already and you have two big eyed kids standing looking at you completely starved. That's when you either go out for a not so healthy dinner or you have a 10 minute dinner recipe in your back pocket.

This 5 minute tomato sauce recipe is one of those and served with whole wheat pasta that takes about 9 minutes to cook and steamed veggies, voila you have a nutritional and and taste satisfying meal in abut 10 minutes or so.  Off course you can add more fun spices such as red pepper flakes or black pepper for a spicy version.

1 tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves, grated
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbs ketchup
1 tsp agave nectar
1 1/2 cups pressed or crushed tomatoes
Zest from one lemon
Pinch of fresh or dried parsley
Cheese to sprinkle over

Heat oil in saucepan on medium heat and sauté garlic for 1 minutes. Ass pressed or crushed tomatoes, ketchup, salt, agave nectar and lemon zest and cook for 5 minutes. Toss with pasta and sprinkle parsley and some cheese over before serving.

Creamed corn

I got request for the recipe for my creamed corn which I served with the fava bean and bulgur patties on Saturday. So here it is!

3 cups fresh or frozen corn

2 tbs butter

1 1/2 cups milk ( I used almond milk)

1 tsp agave nectar

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbs corn starch mixed with 2 tbs milk

Parsley to sprinkle over

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and sauté corn for a few minutes. Add the milk, salt, pepper and agave nectar and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.  Add corn starch mixed with 2 tbs milk and stir it in. It will thicken almost immediately to keep stirring. When it's thick it's done. If it feel too thick and then add a little more water. Sprinkle parsley over before serving.

Portobello mushroom burger

Yesterday, our day started out very well with a nice morning walk along the water in Coronado Island and then some fun playtime at a local playground. Beautiful weather means BBQ in our garden and today we made very summer fresh portobello mushroom burgers served with grilled peaches and avocado and homemade hamburger buns. For the peaches I just used frozen peach slices and simply put them on the BBQ. I'm so in love with the salty and sweet flavor combination.

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbs maple syrup

2 tbs light soy sauce

1/2 tsp Garlic salt

1/4 tsp black pepper1 tsp dried provencal herb
4 medium portobello mushrooms


Blend the oil, maple syrup, garlic salt, pepper and provencal herb in a large bowl. Remove the steams on the mushrooms and use a spoon or a knife to remove the black underneath the mushroom cap. Combine mushrooms and marinate in the large bowl and make sure each cap gets soaked in the marinade. Place in fridge for 1 hour. BBQ mushrooms and serve as is or as a burger.

Popcorn brittle

We had a birthday party to attend and in the last minute we realized we did not have a birthday present. So instead we made popcorn brittle because who does not like homemade sweets? When handling hot caramel make sure to keep little people's hands and fingers away because it's burning hot and I actually burned myself today and wow it really hurts. You do need a thermometer for this dish to know when the caramel is done. This brittle has a little of that sweet and salty going on, very yummy!

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out and used

4 cups popcorn

1/2 cup raw cashews, chopped

2 tbs nutritional yeast

Combine butter, sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil until the temperature reaches F320 and make sure to stir very often to prevent caramel from burning. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, popcorn, nutritional yeast and nuts. Spread caramel on a parchment paper and place in fridge for at least one hour before attempting to break brittle.

Bulgur & bean patties

I'm so happy my vegetable garden is in full bloom after all the rain we been having and now finally the sun. I love being out there working and pulling weeds. My potatoes and garlic came up this week and my fava beans are grown like mad. I love eating fava beans right from the garden but I will have to wait until later this summer for mine to be ready for harvest. Luckily I can buy fava beans at the farmers market until then. I making fava bean patties mixed with cheese and bulgur wheat. I'm serving them with sweet potato fries, creamed corn and steamed broccoli. Yum!!!!

2 cups cooked bulgur
1 cup cooked fava beans
garlic herb salt
1 tsp ground chili pepper
1/2 cup grated cheese ( I used rice cheese)
1/4 cup sour cream ( I used tofutti sour cream)
Unhulled sesame seeds to coat the patties in
2 tbs olive oil

Preheat oven to F400.
Combine bulgur, fava beans, herb salt, chili pepper, cheese, sour cream in a food processor and mix but still letting some bigger pieces of beans left. With wet hands shape dough into smaller patties. Place sesame seeds in a bowl and turn the patties to coat them so they are sort of breaded. Place patties on a parchment paper and brush each with a little olive oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Pomegranate and ginger dressing

Salads, salads and salads is what I would love to live on right now when it's hot and sunny outside. You got to love global warming and a little San Diego weather when goes from freezing to stinking hot temperatures in one day. I don't know how to dress Bella for school anymore. One day this week she came home complaining she was hot in the outfit I sent her in and the next she was cold, sigh!

I made an amazing dressing for my salad last night with pomegranate and ginger to boost my immune system because there are so many sick people out there. Pomegranate is loaded with antioxidants and brings a nice fresh and slightly tart flavor to the dressing.

2 tbs pomegranate juice
2 tbs extra vigin olive oil
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tbs agave nectar
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste

Combine each ingredient one at the time in a small bowl and mix. Chill in fridge for 10-20 minutes before serving.

Healthy veggie disguised as a cheesy and -tasty snack

I know it sounds unbelievable and I have to admit when I first heard of kale chips I really did not think they would be a hit with my family. I was so wrong and I love watching Bella munching on this green vegetables which I usually have to mix with other things to get her to enjoy it.

Kale is a super veggie everyone should eat a lot of because of its health benefits stemming from the high levels of antioxidants, vitamin K and A among many things. This recipe comes from VegNews and the chips can be made either in a dehydrator like I did or in a conventional oven.

1 cup cashews, soaked for an hour or more and drained
3 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tbs mellow white miso
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbs agave nectar or maple syrup
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup water
1 large bunch curly kale, washed, de-stemmed, ripped into medium-sized pieces

In a blender of food processor, blend cashews, lemon juice, bell peppers, miso, salt, pepper, agave, nutritional yeast and water for 1-2 minutes until thick.
In a large bowl, place kale, and add 3/4 cup sauce. Use your hands to massage in the sauce into the kale.

If you're making the chips in a dehydrator place the kale in a single layer, spread out and dry in 115 for 3-4 hours. Flip them and then continue to dry until crispy, about another 2-3 hours.

If your drying them in an oven, preheat oven to F250. Bake chips for 1 hour, flipping them once. Bake  until completely dry.

Chanterelle risotto

I have all these dried chanterelles I got in Sweden where they grow literally outside every home. I rarely buy these yummy gourmet mushrooms here in the US so when I'm back in Sweden I get some and dry them to be able to store them for a longer time. It's such luxury to have them for special occasions and last night I made a chanterelle risotto. Off course this dish can be made with any mushrooms, fresh or dry.

1 tbs canola oil
1/4 tbs shallot, minced
2/3 cups chanterelles or other mushrooms
3/4 cup grated sweet potatoes
1 cup Aborio rice
3 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cup chopped kale
1/2 cup grated cheese ( I used rice cheese)
Salt & pepper to taste


Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat and sauté shallots for one minute. Add mushrooms and cook for another 3 minutes. Now add rice, 2 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. Cook for 20 minutes adding more liquid when it seems dry and stir often. Fold in the chopped kale and cheese before serving. Add salt and pepper.

Pasta in a creamy pesto sauce

James is out of town on a business trip so it's me and the kiddos at home. We're having fun and Bella always when it's just us three becomes my little helper and the best big sister a little toddler boy could as for:) Everything went well but getting Bella off to school with a tired one year old was a challenge but we made it.

Off course when I'm alone with the kids I have to make it easy for myself and make a simple dinner which last night meant pasta and then I had some leftover basil and sun dried pesto I used to made a creamy sauce from it and served steamed broccoli with. It was a huge hit with both kids and why would it be, it's pasta!!!!

4 portions of cooked rigatoni pasta 

2/3 cup roasted sun flower seeds

1 garlic clove

3/4 cup fresh basil leafs

2 tbs chopped sun dried tomatoes

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

1 cup cream

1/4 cup water

1. Process seeds and garlic in a food processor or blender until a course meal.
2. Add basil, tomatoes and while it's blending, add oil slowly.
3. If the pesto seems dry, add a little water until reaching desired consistency.
4. Add salt and pepper.
5. Combine cream, water and half of the pesto in a saucepan and bring to simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. 
6. Toss pasta with the sauce
7. Sprinkle some cheese over before serving if so wish