Amanda's Grilled Cheese Sandwich With a Twist

My lunch company these days are Bella since Noah usually naps during that time. Today Bella wanted a grilled cheese sandwich and fruit for lunch and I made my sandwich with raw salsa, spinach and avocado something I learned from Amanda who I work with.

2 slices whole wheat bread

a couple of slices of cheese

1 tbs salsa

A couple spinach leaves

1/8 avocado in slices

2 tsp butter

Heat a frying pan on medium/hight heat. Place cheese, salsa, spinach and avocado between the two slices of bread. Spread butter on each outside bread slices. Cook in frying pan until golden on each side and cheese has melted.

Raw Strawberry Cake

Nothing taste better than a raw cake on a warm day like this. I love making raw dessert because you can enjoy dessert without guilt since it's made only with natural stuff in their natural state that is good for you and contains many vitamins and minerals. Bella loved this cake so much that I had a hard time stopping her from eating the whole filling while she was helping me. 

I love how you can see real good pieces of strawberries

The cake looks like a perfect summer cake

Strawberry crumble cake, serving 8

Crumb bottom & topping:

2 cups pecans, not soaked

1 cup dates

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Place in food processor and process until it's crumbly. Grease a cake pan with removable bottom with little bit coconut or olive oil. Spread about 50% of the crumbles into the bottom and set a side. 

Cake:

I cup young Thai coconut meat

I cup un-soaked cashews

1/2 cup strawberries, shopped

1/2 cup thick coconut milk (water and meat from a young Thai coconut blended)

6 good sized dates, soaked for 20 minutes

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 vanilla beans, scraped out

2 teaspoons psyllium powder

1 tablespoon and 1 1/4 teaspoon Agave nectar

1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon coconut oil

2 cups strawberries, chopped

Place in food processor everything above except the 2 cups of strawberries and process until nice a creamy. Pour into a large bowl and add 2 cups of strawberries and blend well. Pour into cake pan and place remaining cake crumbles on top.  Place a foil over cake and place level in freezer for at least 6 ours. Remove from freezer and let defrost for 1 hour before serving. People will not believe it's "un-bakes" baked cake :)

Hello San Diego!

After a loooooong flight with a hyper 19 month old we have arrived back to oh so miserable hot San Diego. We're still adjusting and getting some rest but when I went to check on my vegetable garden I was so surprised to find tons of butternut squash all ready to be picked. It's amazing what one week of heat and sunshine can do:) I will use my newly harvested squash and make soup. Below are two of my favorite soups featuring butternut squash.

• Spicy Thai butternut squash soup
• Coconut and butternut squash soup

Banana Bread

My favorite evening snack right now is a pieces of banana bread and half of a papaya. It feels so right here in Hawaii:)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup margarine, at room temp

3 very ripe bananas, mashed well

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup vanilla soy milk, mixed with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

• Preheat oven to F350 
• Spray a 8×4 bread pan with non stick cooking spray, or lightly coat with margarine.
• Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
• Cream together the margarine and sugars. Add bananas, soy milk and vanilla.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix well. Pour batter into pan. Bake for an hour to an hour 10 minutes.

Chickpea Patties

Making bean patties or burgers can be difficult because they have a tendency to get dry or hard to keep from falling apart. These chickpea patties are super easy to make and they are easy to shape into a patty or burger. 

1 small yellow onion, peeled and diced

2 tbs canola oil

1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed

1/2 bouillon cube, crumbled

1/3 cup corn starch

Black pepper  and salt to taste

Heat 1/2 tbs oil in a frying pan and fry onions on medium heat for 3 minutes. Place onion, chick peas, bouillon, corn starch and pepper and use either a hand held mixer, blender or food processor to mix it all to a dough. make smaller patties. heat remaining oil on medium heat in a frying pan and fry patties few minutes on each side.

Aloha and yummy juice

Aloha from paradise also known as our vacation in beautiful Paia on Maui. We have been here for two days and we love it. We enjoy walks on the beach and relaxing times. We are so in love with all the local goodies and fruit is included in pretty much every meal. The pineapples, papayas and passion fruit grows where we're staying and are incredibly sweet and flavorful.  The house includes a juicer I have not yet tried it but tomorrow I will make a juice from pineapple, papaya and passion fruits. Should be wonderful.

1 papaya, peeled, seeds removed and cubed
1 pineapple, peeled and cubed
5 ripe passion fruits, fruit meat scooped out and strained. 

Juice papaya and pineapple and then mix juice with the strained passion fruit juice.

Last Post Before Maui

To get into the spirit of Hawaii I made a yummy pina colada smoothie for breakfast. I can't wait to have fresh pineapple and to visit local farmers market in Hawaii 

Juice and meat from one young coconut

1 cup pineapple chunks

1 Banana

Blend everything in a blender and enjoy right away.

Swiss chard Quiche

Tomorrow me and the kids and flying to Maui for a week. Hubby who can't take vacation is in charge of bunny, home, compost and vegetable garden. Since it's been so hot lately my swiss chard is looking sad so I picked it all and used it for my swiss chard and mushroom quiche. It's perfect to eat with a side salad and you can eat it hot or cold. 

Crust:

2 cup spelt flour

4 ounces butter

1-2 tbs cold water

1. Preheat oven to F400.
2. Blend everything to dough and press it into a pie mold, If it's too crumbly just add more butter and water.
3. Prick bottom with a form a few times.
4. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until crust is dry and partially baked.
5. Add filling and bake for 30 minutes.

Filling:

4 cups chopped and lightly steamed swiss chard

1 cup mushrooms, chopped and fried ( I used oyster mushrooms)

1 tbs herb salt

1 cup chive and garlic flavored cream cheese

1 cup firm tofu

1/2 cup salsa

1. Place tofu, herb salt, cream cheese and salsa in a bowl or use a cuisinart to blend really well until there any no lumps at all.
2. Add swiss chard and mushrooms and mix.
3. Pour into the partial baked pie crust and bake according to instructions above, 30 minutes. Enjoy with a nice crisp salad.

Preserving Tomatoes

I'm drowning in tomatoes which is not a bad thing since I love tomatoes. But I needed to preserve them before they spoiled so that's what I did today.To preserve all these lovely vegetables so I have a taste of summer all year long I like to can them. Here is a super easy recipe from Martha Steward that I used. I also learned from a co-worker at Green-Mom.Com that you can also preserve tomatoes by simply placing your super ripe tomatoes individually in the freezer and once they are hard put them in a freezer bag or container. They will make a great sauce later in the year and all you have to do is place a thawed tomato or two in a blender if you don't want whole tomatoes.

Buckwheat Neatloaf

This is my kids favorite neatloaf recipe and I love it because it's so fast to make compared to other neatloaf recipes. Buckwheat is gluten free and high in protein so it's very healthy protein source.

6 large marinated green olives, diced (mine was a Italian herb marinate)
1 tbs honey mustard
1 tbs Bragg's liquid amino's or light soy sauce
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup creamy buckwheat cereal
1/2 cup water
1 tbs dried parsley
1/2 cup cheese ( I used rice cheese)
1 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to F400

Grease a baking dish with a little margarine. Mix everything in a sauce pan and bring to a boil while stirring. Simmer until it's very thick. Remove from heat and add cheese and blend well. Place dough in a baking dish and shape it like a loaf. Bake for 20 minutes.

Kids Smoothies

My friend Chef Centehua has written an article posted today on my web site Green-Mom.com. It's about smoothies for kids and fun ways to add nutrition to a smoothie. Check it out!!! 

Chocolate Fondue

Hubby and me used to love going for fondue before we had kids. Lets face the fact that a long and messy dinner is just not an option when you have two kids:) Well instead I from time to time will make a super easy and fast fondue for date night dinners at home. We love to dip marshmallows, different fruits and cakes. I think when it comes to fondue and what to dip in you should let your imagination run wild. 

1 1/2 cups cream ( I used mimic unsweetened cream)
1 Ib dark chocolate chips

Heat cream and melt the chocolate in the cream. Stir until it has all melted and you have very smooth and creamy fondue. Serve the fondue in a fondue pot or any nice bowl will do too.

Guest Cook and Guacamole

We were so lucky and had a friend made tacos for us last night. They were delicious and nothing taste better than a side of guacamole. 

2 garlic cloves

2 ripe avocados

1/2 large tomato chopped

A squeeze of lemon juice

2 tbs cilantro, minced

Salt to taste

A few drops of Tabasco sauce

Preheat oven to F350 and bake garlic cloves for about 5 minutes, until they are soft. Mash the avocado and lemon juice together to prevent darkening of the avocado. Combine with remaining ingredients and mash together really well.