Butternut Squash with Maple Syrup , Pecans and Raisins

We rarely ever eat dessert . We don't like sugar so much . The only reason I keep any in my kitchen, is to prepare Kombucha Tea. Last night though I decided to do something with this butternut squash that has been sitting on the counter top for a while. Buddy wasn't very excited about the squash but he ate the topping. My husband liked it so did I ! 

Use pure grade B maple syrup.

Ingredients :

1 butternut squash 

2/3 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup ground pecans (walnuts) 

1/4 cup raisins  

1/4 Tbsp. unsalted butter for each piece

3 cups water

ground cinnamon 

ground coriander

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine maple syrup, pecans and raisins. Set aside. Cut squash in pieces and place in a baking pan . Put butter on each piece, add water and cover with aluminum foil. Cook in oven for 30 min. Uncover and bake until done. Add topping and bake for another 5 min. Sprinkle some cinnamon and coriander. 

Creamy Chicken with Mushrooms

We used to eat out a lot . I liked to be served and someone else to cook for me. Unfortunately my body didn't like it much. I've got even more conscious about food  when our son was born. We still go out for lunch/dinner but just couple of times a month. I really prefer to eat my own food because I know what I put in it(organic and NON-GMO ingredients) . So, for Friday night I decided to prepare restaurant-like meal  for dinner.

Some of you may oppose the idea that this recipe is healthy since it contains heavy cream. I believe it is, as long as it comes from grass fed cows, is unpasteurized (or at least pasteurized on very low heat) and it's organic. The fat in it does not make people obese and does not contain cholesterol . The bad oils are hydrogenated vegetable oils and margarine. The brand I really like is Kolona Supernatural , available at Vitamin Cottage in Colorado. And no, I am not paid by them to advertise their products. I just love the quality of what they offer. 

Anyway, I don't want to start an argument, whether dairy is good for you or not. You do whatever you think is best for you. Frankly we all are different and if I can tolerate dairy it doesn't mean that you can and it's good for you.  

Ingredients 

4 Chicken breasts*

2 cups heavy cream 

1 small onion chopped finely 

6 oz sliced mushrooms 

5-6 garlic cloves 

Juice of a lemon 

black pepper 

oregano 

Sea salt 

Butter

Marinate chicken for couple of hours (if you have time :) ) in lemon juice, oregano, salt and pepper. 

In a skillet melt some butter and saute onions and mushrooms. When almost done , add chicken breasts , heavy cream. Simmer until heavy cream starts to thicken. Add to the liquid garlic, pepper, salt and oregano. Adjust the amount to your own preference. Serve immediately with steamed broccoli or other vegetables if you prefer so. 

* The chicken breasts I used are from grass fed chickens and for that reason smaller than the conventional. You may need to adjust the amount of the heavy cream if your chicken breasts are bigger.   

Kale Chips

Kale chips is a tasty and healthy snack. People might wonder if all nutrients are lost when you bake it. The answer is yes and no :) Kale is very rich on vitamin K, important for heart, blood clotting and bones. Vitamin K does not get affected by the heat. Kale is also rich on beta-carotene (vitamin A) and vitamin C .  These vitamins are susceptible to heat but they can be found in big quantities in Kale so after baking it, there still will be some left. Kale is also rich in Calcium and Iron.
What I like about Kale chips is that it's very easy and fast to prepare. My son loves it which makes it a perfect snack between meals.


Ingredients:

1 Bunch Kale
2-3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea salt (to taste)


Preheat oven to 350F . Tear the leaves into pieces and spread on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle olive oil (make sure its'spread out evenly) and sea salt . Bake for 5-7 min or until crispy but not burned. Voila!

The Healthy A1 Steak Sauce

I really , really like the A1 Steak Sauce. My son likes it too, believe it or not . Unfortunately, some of the ingredients are not welcome in my home like corn syrup. Of course there are more additives and "natural flavors" which in reality aren't. Well I looked at all other real food ingredients listed on the bottle,  did some research on internet and came up with this recipe. It's really close to the original but mine is made out of organic ingredients and does not contain chemicals or GMO . The raisins give this slightly sweet taste , I wonder why the manufacturer has to add corn syrup in addition ???!! Anyway, I like it quite a bit, hope my husband likes it as well. It yields approx. a cup.


Ingredients:

1/2 cup Tomato puree ( or you can use crushed whole tomatoes)
1 cup Raisins
1/2 cup Apple cider vinegar
1/4 Dijon mustard
2 Garlic cloves cut in half
1/2 Tsp. celery seed
1/2 Small onion  cut in chunks
1 Orange
Sea salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan except for the orange and salt. Cut the orange in half and squeeze the juice into the sauce pan. Peel the skin and add the orange to the other ingredients. On low heat simmer for 15-20 min. After 20 min blend the sauce in a food processor until smooth. Transfer sauce to a fine mesh strainer and strain this through. Once it's cooled add sea salt.  

Salmon Cakes with Ginger Sauce

Salmon is a fish rich in Omega 3. Omega 3's' are essential fatty acids (EFA) which are very important for  brain development. New studies show that high dosages of Fish oil can relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety.  It also helps lower high blood presure and serves as a natural blood thinner without the side effects of Warfarin. Omega 3 is also recommended for people with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoporosis . Overall, fish is good for you. Just make sure it says wild caught. The farm raised is usually fed with corn and other junk and also treated with antibiotics. And since recently the FDA approved the GMO fish you really won't know whether you are eating salmon or eel . That's why I always look for the "wild caught"statement.
My friend Jeanne Schroeder gave me a  recipe a while ago for Salmon cakes which I had to change quite a bit because of the low grain diet I am following. This recipe is great for people on the GAPS diet since it doesn't contain any grains/gluten. For the sauce you'll need a little mayonnaise. In my last post I offer a way to prepare a healthy mayonnaise. 

Ingredients

For the cakes:

1 lb frozen or fresh salmon
8 green onions finely chopped
3 eggs lightly beaten
3 Tbsp Almond meal
4 Garlic cloves
1 Tsp. Sea Salt
1 Tbsp. Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
2 Bay leaves
Coconut oil 


For the sauce

1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp. Mayonnaise 
2 Tbsp. freshly peeled and grated ginger
1 Tsp. Sesame oil
1 Tsp. Lemon juice



Cut the fish into big pieces and place it in a pot. Cover with water and add 2 minced garlic cloves and bay leaves. Cook until done. remove from heat and discard the broth (unless you want to make fish soup). Remove skin and in a bowl flake apart the salmon with a fork and pick over for bones. Add eggs, onions and almond meal. Mix well . Chop finely 2 garlic cloves and add to bowl. Add sea salt and lemon juice. Mix well. Shape the mixture into patties.
In a skillet heat some coconut oil over medium heat. Add patties and cook on each side until golden.  Set aside and cover.

In a separate bowl  mix all sauce ingredients. Add some sea salt if necessary.

Serve the cakes with the sauce on the side .

Homemade Olive Oil Mayonnaise

I always wanted to learn how to make mayonnaise . My dad used to make but it seemed to me so time consuming because he used a wooden spoon to mix the egg yolks with the oil and swore that it didn't work to do it with a regular mixer. I looked online for recipes. Tried couple and failed . What most of them claimed was that it takes 5 min to prepare which made me add the oil faster and I ended up with a runny greasy emulsion , yak.  Today I almost failed again because I found a crack in my food processor and it already was leaking. But I don't give up , especially when I have few recipes which  require the use of mayonnaise.So  I continued with the electric whisk (the one you put on your mixer)

The reason I don't want to use the store bought is simple. It's full of chemicals, GMO oils  and bad fats . Even the organic one that claims it's made with Olive oil contains Canola oil , or soy. 

Some people think that mayo isn't healthy but made with the right ingredients it's quite healthy. You don't get heart disease or high cholesterol from Olive oil or eating cholesterol. You get it from grains , simple refined sugars. 

Concerning the ingredients , they are a good guide but you can adjust them to your personal taste. I don't have white wine vinegar , I only use apple cider vinegar that's why I made this mayonnaise with lime juice. And remember oil needs to be added in drips very slow. That's the trick. If it gets to thick , just add a tinny amount of lukewarm water. Remember to refrigerate the mayonnaise immediately because it's made with raw egg yolks and consume within  3 days. 

Ingredients:

3 egg yolks 

2 1/4 cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil (3/4 cup of Olive oil per yolk) 

1 Tbsp. Lime juice 

1 Tsp. Ground Mustard 

Sea salt to taste 

Some lukewarm water if needed.

 Combine yolks, lime juice and mustard and mix until smooth. Start adding olive oil in small drips until oil is completely absorbed. Add sea salt. If it gets to thick add just a little bit water. That's it! 

Bulgarian Potato Salad (vegan)

Every year we host a BBQ party for friends. My husband is the BBQ King. However his Potato salad never can win against mine! Yes, every year since we've got married we have a potato salad competition at the BBQ party and I usually win!
This salad is easy to make and very simple but simple foods always taste good. For mine I use leeks but if you don't have any , regular onions or green onions work as well. Also celery leaves , don't worry if you cant find any, Italian parsley is enough. For the dressing I use Bragg's organic apple cider vinegar and as for olive oil, I am not 100% sold on one particular brand. I just make sure it's from California since there was an issue with the imported one from Italy. Experts claimed that it was mixed with peanut and soy oil which usually are GMO if they are not organic. Also if you prefer so , you can use lemon/lime juice instead of vinegar. I never used Balsamic vinegar on this salad and I don't think it's the right flavor profile. The salad is suitable for vegans and it can also be served as a side dish with meat, poultry, fish.

Ingredients :

4 Big potatoes (Rusettes)
1 leek chopped *
1 cup fresh Italian parsley chopped finely
1/2 cup celery leaves**
1/2 cup olive oil ***
3-4 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar **
1 pinch ground nutmeg
Sea salt , black pepper to taste.

Wash potatoes and boil them whole until done. Peel the skin and cut them in chunks. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate for a couple of hours . Serve cold.

* You can use regular onions or green onions, or you can combine them.
** If you don't have celery leaves use some celery salt instead.
*** This is an approximate quantity. If the salad looks dry, you can add a little more olive oil and another Tbsp. of vinegar. Adjust it to your own taste.

Coconut Chicken Vegetable Soup

Ok people I am back !!! I've been so busy that I didn't have much time to work on this blog. I did research on nutrition, experimenting on myself , raising our almost 2 year old son and expecting our second child in April :))  I have plenty of recipes to share with all of you but one at a time.
Since Buddy likes soups so much and especially when they are with meat I decided to try something different today. The base for the soup is made out of couple of vegetables and at first it may look like a creme soup but it's not. I used frozen zucchini from my organic garden, but feel free to use fresh if you prefer so. Also the green beans are frozen because it's less time consuming to have them cooked.   The soup is suitable for vegetarians and vegans if they skip the chicken. I am perfectly content with just vegetables but how I said my son is a big time meat eater and we gotta keep the boy happy. Gluten and dairy free.

And here is what you need:

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast cut in small chunks
1 onion
1 cup chopped frozen/fresh zucchini
4 big garlic cloves, cut in chunks
2 carrots sliced
2 celery stalks cut in chunks
1/2 cup broccoli
1 cup frozen cut green beans
1 cup coconut milk
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 Tbsp. yellow split pea flour
4 bay leaves
2 Tbsp. Sea salt (or less , try first)
1 Tbsp. Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. Ground ginger (or more)
1 Tsp. Ground cumin
.The juice of a lime
Green onions or chives


In a pot with about a quart and half of water combine zucchini and 1/2 of the onion cut in chunks and garlic. Boil until done. In the mean time chop finely the other half of the onion and set aside. Once the zucchini , onions and garlic are done , pour everything with the water in a food processor and pulse a few times until it starts to look like a cream soup but it's a lot thinner.  Transfer the soup base to a pot , add chicken, coconut oil, carrots, celery , bay leaves and the rest of the onions. Boil until tender but not overcooked. Add green beans and broccoli. In a separate bowl combine coconut milk and yellow split pea flour, mix well and add to soup. Add sea salt, cumin, ginger, pepper and the lime juice. Remove from heat after 5 min. Serve with green onions or chives , whatever your preference is.