Broccoli in the Tabbouleh? Crazy!

23 Monday Aug 2010

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This week at the Farmer’s Market one of my favorite farmers, Tom (pictured below in the Farmer’s Market pics) said that this might be the last week he would have broccoli. Well broccoli really wasn’t on my list this week but I couldn’t pass up fresh broccoli or Tom, knowing full well he probably had a special bag of broccoli just for me. So lucky for me I was going to make Tabbouleh for this weeks lunches. I did this trick a few weeks back when I made this dish for my two girlfriends Sadie and Alisa after they had just had their babies, it’s a fresh dish that can be made ahead and know one would ever know there was broccoli in it, sneaky I know. But if you eat out of my kitchen you should know I’m always hiding extras in the food.
I take the broccoli, cut away the stems, take the florets and put them into the food processor and pulse it down until it’s about the size of the Bulgar wheat. I don’t cook the broccoli, I kind of like different textures in my food and thought it was a great way to add something raw to the Tabbouleh, as well as hide vegetables in my husbands lunch.
So when you get to the part in the recipe when the Bulgar has had time to soak up the water, lemon and olive oil, add the chopped broccoli along with the fresh herbs and mix. I hope this trick works at your house. Enjoy!

P.S. The original Tabbouleh dish was posted 07/01/09.

White Bean Salad- Farmers Market Inspired

15 Sunday Aug 2010

Posted by in appetizer, beans, salad

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So sometimes I need a quick fresh dish that I can whip up in minutes after work. It’s usually late so it needs to be healthy and light, this white bean salad is a great choice. You can serve it with a large green salad or with a side of wild salmon or free range chicken. It would also be great for a picnic because it won’t go bad in the heat.

-White Bean salad- Serves 2
1 can organic great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 c. onion, chopped- FM
2 cloves garlic, minced- FM
1/2 pint small tomatoes, cut in half- FM
1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced – FM
handful basil, torn into salad- FM
handful parsley, torn into salad- FM
2 T. olive oil, 2 T. red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
1. Toss all the ingredients in a large bowl and dress with olive oil, vinegar and salt and pepper.
2. Serve as soon as possible either alone or as a side.

Remember that you can change up the proportions and make this dish your own, I guarantee I wasn’t the first to think this up. I am however going to double this and pack it for my lunch this week, and for Billy I’m going to use garbanzo beans for his lunch version of this dish. ENJOY!

The Leland Plamer- A Summer Cocktail

10 Tuesday Aug 2010

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I was so glad when I found this recipe! I wanted a fun summery drink, and this fits the bill. I ran across this recipe in Bon Appetit magazine one day at the salon, my client Cindy and I are always talking about food and like to browse this magazine while her color is processing. This recipe appealed to me because it called for Limoncello which is a Italian liquor and for some reason I happen to have a surplus of, yeah for me! This recipe is easy, refreshing and was a huge hit at the unvailing of my mom and big Mike’s new patio. Even Mike’s tough guy buddy Fred loved it and he drinks nothing but beer. Try it soon while we still have some summer left.
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/06/the_ leland_ palmer

P.S. I use fresh honey from the Farmer’s Market, and the Jasmine tea I found at Whole Foods. Enjoy.

SUPER FOOD- Food is Super!

10 Tuesday Aug 2010

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Wow times flies when your having fun or not having much fun at all. This year has certainly been a little of both at are house, July was the topper on that cake of life. We celebrated two holidays (The 4th of July, and Pioneer Day (it’s a Utah thing). We celebrated the arrival of new new babies, not our own of course! (Mr. Jude and Miss Adelae). We mourned the death of two sweet animals, (Jude, and Simba). And the biggest shock to our systems was finding out my mom is battling breast cancer. All the while just living, working, going to school and trying to carve out some quiet moments with my love.
Food for me is medicine, more than ever this year when life has challenged me I’ve challenged myself right back with making smart healthy choices when it comes to what I put in my body. So no matter what I make sure I fill myself up on the foods that will help get me through, kale, collards, garlic, ginger, my green drink, beans, whole grains, fresh local fruit, and of course a cocktail. Be kind to yourself so that you may be kind to those around you, all of us have full heaping plates. Let’s make sure there full of the the super foods our bodies crave and need to function so that we can be super heroes in this wonderful bitter but sweet world. Food is Super!

Vegetable Curry… and a lesson in cooking

22 Tuesday Jun 2010

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I love curry, love. My husband…not so much (talking about the curry). So sometimes I’ll treat myself to lunch and have curry by myself. Recently I was watching Giada DeLaurentiis on the Food Network and she was making Thai food for her husband and Vegetable Curry was on the menu. I thought awesome, if Giada whom is a Italian girl/chef can make curry for her husband maybe this Italian cosmo hippie chef (me) may have found a curry recipe to make for my husband. So it goes that a couple days ahead of time I’m prepping Billy that I want him to have a open mind, all the other things that I have made him that he thought he wouldn’t like he ended up liking, go figure. So it was the opening day for Farmer’s Market. It was cold and rainy and perfect for something warm like curry. I made the curry and was so excited, and guess what? Billy liked the it, but for me not so much. What happened you ask? I’m not really sure, but if you’ve had curry you know a good curry. This was a great easy recipe and it got my husband to have an open mind to curry. When ever I made something awesome my husband will say “babe this is so good, what did you put in this?” and my reply is always “I put my finger in it!”, so maybe I forgot to stick my finger in it. Next time.
Lesson: When your new to cooking or an old pro sometimes you make a dish and it just doesn’t turn out. If I make a dish that doesn’t turn out, I’m bummed. But that’s the motivation to try again. So don’t give up and keep trying those recipes, practice makes us better.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

22 Tuesday Jun 2010

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I follow the blog Elana’s Pantry, I like to browse through her recipes from time to time and came across this one for Carrot Cake Muffins. The kicker is that Elana’s blog is a gluten free blog, so these little gems are made with almond flour which is very high in protein and a great alternative to flour. They were easy which I love about her treat recipes. Anyways these were delicious and fast to make. Instead of writing out the recipe I’m going to direct you to her blog @ http://elanaspantry.com and search for Carrot Cake Cupcakes. Enjoy!

Broccoli Romaine Salad

21 Monday Jun 2010

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This recipe is one that my husband request all the time, I came up with it a few summers ago and it makes a great lunch. Sometimes I add shrimp to it, but you could also make this into a dinner item and add grilled chicken or grilled fish.
-Salad- serves 6 lunch containers or a large side dish for dinner or a get together
1 head of red or green leaf romaine lettuce, rinsed and chopped
1 bunch of red or green kale, stemmed, rinsed and chopped
2 c. broccoli
2 c. whole wheat pasta shells
1 c. sliced almonds
*grated Parmesan, optional
-Dressing-
1 head of roasted garlic (bake a whole bulb of garlic with the top cut off drizzled with a little olive oil and some salt, wrapped in tin foil in the oven for 40-45 minutes @ 400 degrees)
1/2-3/4c. veganaise
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1 tsp. ground mustard
2 tsp. anchovy paste, or anchovies packed in oil (if you don’t have it don’t worry about it)
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
1. Divide the lettuce and the kale into the containers (if making for lunch) or in big bowl if making for dinner.
2. Cook the pasta according to the directions in salted water, in the last few minutes add the broccoli and cook the rest of the time. (Maybe 2-3 minutes at the most). Drain ,rinse under cool water, and set to the side. When cooled completely divide the pasta and the broccoli between the lunch containers or the big bowl.
3. Next divide the almonds between the containers, or add to the bowl. This would be the time to add the Parmesan if using maybe 1 T. per container or about 1/2 c. if making it in the big bowl for dinner or get together.
4. Salt and pepper each container or bowl just a little.
5. For the dressing: all of those ingredients go into the food processor or blender, blend until well mixed and then divide between six little containers. If making for dinner or get together I would wait and dress the salad just before you serve it. Enjoy!
I make this at the beginning of the week and it’s good till Friday.

Broccoli Chop Salad

21 Monday Jun 2010

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This is what I made for my lunch this week, it’s light fresh and taste amazing. This recipe makes alot so make it the beginning of the week for something quick out of the fridge or make it for your next get together. P.S. My picture isn’t the best but don’t judge this book by it’s cover, try it you’ll love it.
-Broccoli Chop Salad- serves 6-8
2 heaping c. fresh broccoli
2 heaping c. fresh cauliflower
1 heaping c. fresh peas (FM) you could use frozen
1 c. chopped celery
2 medium granny smith apples, cored and diced
1/4 c. – 1/2 c. diced purple onion (depending on how much you like)
2/3 c. raw sunflower seeds
*optional ingredients:
1/4 c.- 1/2 c. blue cheese or Gorgonzola
1/2 c. raisins, dried cranberries or tart dried cherries
crispy bacon (I didn’t add the optional ingredients and for the bacon I use something called Organic Smoky Tempeh ‘tem-pay’ Strips. Tempeh is an Indonesian word meaning tender cooked legumes, this one is made with organic soybeans and organic brown rice. I know what your thinking but you fry it up like bacon and in this dish you can’t tell the difference. It’s also good in place of bacon on a BLT)
1. Usually I use all the ingredients raw but this time I decided to blanch the broccoli, cauliflower and peas one at a time for maybe one minute each and then quickly dropped them into a ice cold water mixture in the sink. You decide.
2. Whether your using the veggies raw or blanched chop the broccoli and the cauliflower into rough bite size pieces and toss into a big bowl.
3. Next add the peas, then the chopped apples, celery and purple onion. Toss all together lightly.
4. If using the optional ingredients add them now, wait to toss with the dressing.
-Dressing-
1 c. mayo, (I use veganaise…LOVE it! I’ve never tried this but you could add plain yogurt)
1/4 c. rice wine vinegar
2 tsp. agave
salt and pepper to taste
1. Mix all together in a bowl with a whisk or fork.
2. Pour half over the veggie mixture and toss lightly, add the rest of the dressing and the sunflower seeds. Toss to coat. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving, good for 4-5 days. Enjoy.

Wild Mushroom Ravioli with Spinach Arugula Salad

21 Monday Jun 2010

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Sunday night, part of me wants to get take out and part of me wants to make something in my own kitchen. Lucky for mine and Billy’s taste buds we made something amazing in our own kitchen. I had so many fresh ingredients from the Farmer’s Market I whipped this little gem of a dinner together. I have to give credit where credit is due so this salad recipe came from one of my client’s ,Charlie. Every time she comes for a haircut all we do is talk about food, so thanks Charlie for the great idea and we’ll be making that salad again this week.
-Wild Mushroom Ravioli- serves 2-3
1 package fresh Wild Mushroom Ravioli (I think Cucina Fresca, I find it at Whole Foods or Liberty Heights Fresh Market)
1 1/4 c. baby shitake mushrooms, chopped (FM)
2 T butter or olive oil
2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped (FM)
2 spring onions, chopped (FM) also called green onions or scallions
1 heaping T. fresh chopped parsley
1 heaping T. fresh basil (FM)
zest of one lemon, juice of half lemon
1. Cook the ravioli according to the directions.
2. While the ravioli is cooking start by placing a medium saute pan over medium heat. Place the butter or olive oil in the pan to warm when ready add the mushrooms, garlic and onion and begin to saute. Add a little salt and pepper to taste.
3. When the ravioli is done drain and set to the side.
4. Saute the mushrooms, onion and garlic just until the mushrooms brown. When done turn off heat add to the pan the ravioli, parsley, basil, zest and juice f lemon. Toss lightly and serve promptly. Enjoy!
-Spinach Arugula Salad- serves 2
Juice of one lemon
1 fresh garlic clove, minced (FM)
1 T. olive oil
1/4 of a medium purple onion, chopped
1 fennel head, sliced very thin (if your new to fennel maybe only use half and I grated mine on the grater)
2-3 c. fresh spinach (FM) just eye ball the amounts (FM)
2 c. fresh arugula (FM)
handful cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 c. grated Romano cheese, you could use Parmesan as well
1. Start with a large bowl, in the bottom of the bowl add the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and the cheese. Whisk all together.
2. Add the two lettuces, onion and fennel to the bowl and toss well. Divide between two bowls and top with the cherry tomatoes. Enjoy!
FM- Farmer’s Market

Friut Salad

21 Monday Jun 2010

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So my recipes and meals tend to change with the season due to whats available and what the weather is doing. Since it’s getting warm we are feeling like something a little lighter, we won’t forget about our hot cereal and chiliquiles we’ll just put those recipes on the shelf until it gets cold again. I was able to get strawberries and fresh mint at the Farmer’s Market, the rest I got at Whole Food’s. I’m sure in a few weeks there will be more fruit available, so just use what you like or what you can get you hands on.
-Fruit Salad- serves 2
Small pint strawberries, cut to your liking (FM)
2 apples, diced
2 banana’s, sliced
1/2 fresh pineapple, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 pint raspberries
2-4 T. fresh mint (FM)
4 tsp. pumpkin seeds
4 T. unsweetened coconut
2 c. plain organic yogurt
1 c. granola (I used a pumpkin flax granola)
1. Cut up all the fruit and mint except the banana’s and raspberries. Place this mixture into two bowls.
2. Add the sliced banana’s to each bowl, divide the remaining ingredients (pumpkin seeds, coconut, and yogurt) between the bowls. Finish them off the the granola and raspberries. Enjoy
FM- Farmer’s Market