Vegan Ice Dream

Be prepared for a summer revolution (or revelation?).

You know those days when the sun will not stop beating down and all you want is cold ice cream to slowly savor all day long? Here is your answer: an amazingly decadent ice "dream" made solely from frozen bananas. Smooth, creamy, refreshing and HEALTHY! It truly does not get any better than this. It is the kind of recipe that only comes along once in a great while, the kind you make every day and wonder how you ever survived without. Oh man, get ready.

I like to buy a big batch of bananas and freeze them at peak ripeness. Make sure to peel and roughly chop them before freezing, as they are impossible to work with frozen in the peel. There you are: all ready to go with a crop of frozen bananas waiting for you at any moment, stalled in the peak of their perfection, posed to satisfy any summer whim.

Bananas are super high in potassium, which acts to balance out sodium within our system. The ideal ratio is 2:1 (potassium:sodium), which is unfortunately no where near where most of us are on a daily basis. But with a little extra attention, you can increase your potassium through whole foods such as bananas and potatoes (leave the skins on!) and significantly boost your heart health. If you are not a huge potato skin fan, save the peelings and use it to make a broth to cook your grains in throughout the week. Other winners are beets, cantaloupe, winter squash and spinach.

There are a few add-ins that I particularly enjoy, which offer some interesting twists and can take the idea anywhere from breakfast to dessert. In the morning I like to add in ground golden flax seeds and frozen blueberries. Once for lunch, I even added a handful of kale. That's right, and it was delicious. My CSK members today enjoyed it spiked with a splash of soy milk, a dash of vanilla and a spoonful of peanut butter. Bam: Peanut Butter Milkshake. You get the idea....



Vegan Ice Dream
Serves 2

Ingredients

2 bananas, peeled, roughly chopped and frozen

Optional add-ins: 2 tbs. ground flax, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries or strawberries, 1 tbs. peanut butter, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, dash of cinnamon...

Optional toppings: cocao nibs, toasted coconut, fresh fruit, granola



Directions


In a food processor, whip frozen bananas and add-ins until creamy and frothy (about 2 minutes). Scrape into 2 serving bowls and sprinkle with desired toppings. Enjoy immediately, or store in freezer for up to an hour.


Relax. Eat Well.

Spring Greens Salad

This salad is a celebration of the spring greens popping up and adorning our landscape, as well as a tribute to some of the winter staples that helped us stay local during the long winter months. A melding of winter to spring, cold to warm, root to leaf.



Spring has certainly been fighting its way in these past few weeks, and for me it has brought with it a myriad of new projects and significant "firsts". First big solo catering job in the new kitchen, first few weeks of my prepared meal service (CSK), first days cooking at home as my "real" job, and my first vegetable garden!!! I can't complain really. But aside from work and the kitchen, it has also brought along a bundle of home projects uncovered by the melting snow that are at once exciting and totally overwhelming. One (small) step at a time, right? Someday our yard won't look like a mud pit, I swear.




Anyway, back to the recipe. This is a nice mix of simple ingredients that comes together to become more than the sum of its parts (which I might add, is usually the goal of cooking). Toasted seeds become your crunch, the raw shredded beets add a brightness in their color and flavor, currants offer a subtle sweetness and the entire salad is coated in a very light and simple honey lemon dressing. All summed up on a bed of tender mesclun, you really can't go too wrong.

Fiddleheads is running its first class out of the new kitchen on June 8th, from 6-8pm on Entree Salads and Homemade Dressings. Come learn how to lighten up with fresh, ingredients that satisfy your every craving, made from scratch. Check out the full description at http://www.fiddleheadscuisine.com/Events.html and Email me at Fidddleheadscuisine@gmail.com to sign up.

To spring. To all things lighter, and brighter.


Spring Greens Salad with Currants, Shredded Beet and Toasted Tamari Seeds
Serves 4

Ingredients
4 cups mesclun
1 large beet, ruby or golden (or both!)
1/4 cup currants, or quartered figs
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 tbs. pumpkin seeds
1 tbs. tamari
1 tsp. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. ginger powder

Juice and zest of one lemon
2 tbs. apple cider vinegar
2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. honey
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. white miso
salt and pepper to taste



Directions
Shred beet using a box grater and set aside. In a cast-iron skillet, toast sunflower and pumpkin seeds over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until slightly golden. Add tamari, syrup and ginger to the pan, toss to coat and continue to cook until liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and let cool.

Meanwhile, place lemon juice through salt and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth and emulsified. Taste and adjust seasonings.

To assemble salad, toss mesculin, half the shredded beets, currants and dressing in a large bowl. Portion into smaller bowls and top with toasted seeds (breaking up clumps as you sprinkle) and the remaining shredded beets.

Relax. Eat Well.

Buckwheat Cheese Sticks

I have been a busy busy bee in the kitchen lately. A lot of firsts this week: first big catering gig out of the new kitchen and first CSK day today! Tonight was Thai, and for those of you who received a meal, I hope you enjoyed it! It felt great to have it all come together for the first time (although I think I need to go pass out now).

Luckily I had a few helper bees home today to form a last minute spring roll-ing assembly line because I definitely underestimated how long it takes to roll 45 of em. Eeks! But they are just so delicious, I had to pamper my first-time customers... so it was all worth it.

In other news, I served these buckwheat cheddar straws at a 75th birthday party on Saturday, to a wonderful couple in Stowe and their extremely gracious friends. It was part of a cheese platter adorned with fresh fruit, turkish figs, maple tamari nuts and 6 extravagant wedges of cheese. A nice way to start or end a meal if you ask me.






The recipe started from Heidi Swanson's 101cookbooks.com, but morphed into a gluten-free version with rosemary instead of thyme. I did try it her way (with WW pastry flour) and decided I liked the gluten-free version better, as it has a complex grainy flavor that added to the rustic appeal. My next project will be to try a dairy-free version, with olive oil instead of butter... let me know if anyone tries it first!

These cheese sticks keep well for several days in an airtight container, and the dough can be made the day before they bake, if you are planning ahead. Just keep them in the fridge instead of freezer.

Buckwheat Cheese Sticks
Makes about 30

Ingredients
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour 
1/2 cup Teff flour
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
3/4 cup cheddar, grated
1/2 cup ice cold water

Directions
In a food processor combine the flours, salt, rosemary and butter and pulse until you have a sandy texture. Add grated cheddar and pulse several more times. With blade running, add the ice water gradually until your dough comes together to form a ball. Remove dough from food processor, form into two flattened balls, place in an airtight container and place in the freezer for one hour. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Working with one ball at a time, remove dough from freezer and roll out on a floured surface, using a rolling pin, to about 1/4 inch thick. Slice into long strips about 1/2 inch thick using a sharp knife. Remove a strip and working the entire length of the dough, gently pinch the sides in. This will make it easier to roll as you create your round stick. Gently roll dough to about 1/4 thick, cut in half if ridiculously long, and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining strips, and second ball of dough. Give each stick enough wiggle room so that it won't attach itself to its neighbor. 

Bake for 8 minutes, flip, and continue baking for an additional two, or until golden brown. Cool, and enjoy!


Relax. Eat Well.

Cashew Butter Cookies

I feel like I have A MILLION things to do right now, but I am making myself sit down with a glass of wine (it is Friday, right?) and share this wonderful recipe with all you eager foodies. After all, that is why I am in the business to begin with: to share, create, be inspired and celebrate all that is GOOD FOOD. And this is good food.

The idea is simple: a play on the all-time favorite peanut butter cookie, with a slight twist. Instead of jarred peanut butter which is 1.) a high allergen food and 2.) ground nuts that have then been exposed to oxygen at room temperature for who knows how long, we are dealing with freshly ground raw cashew here, baby. Nuts are chock full of (delicious) volatile oils, which go rancid quickly when ground (exposed to oxygen), toasted (exposed to heat) and left at ambient temperatures for too long. The best way to embrace the (delicious) nutrition inside that nutty package is to buy them raw, store them in your freezer, and grind them just before consuming. 

So anyway, as I am having deja vu as I type, I am sure you have heard it all before :) The short and long, this is a (delicious) new version that you just have to try! A number of flours can be used, but I like whole grain spelt flour if you can tolerate a bit of gluten, as it has a great texture, yet still offers some diversity to the diet. I have also made them with brown rice flour, to the delight of a different crowd. Have fun, enjoy, and don't forget the forked criss-crosses!

Cashew Butter Cookies

Makes 15 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup spelt flour

½ teaspoon baking soda


½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt


½ cup cashews

½  cup honey, agave, maple syrup,
 or a mixture

3 tbs. extra virgin olive oil


1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cane sugar, for garnishing

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

In a large food processor, grind the cashews to a smooth butter. 

In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate larger bowl combine the cashew butter, sweetener of choice, olive oil, and vanilla and stir until combined. Pour the flour mixture over the cashew butter mixture and stir. Let sit for five minutes, give another quick stir.

Roll a tablespoon of the dough into balls and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a fork dipped in water, flatten each cookie with a criss-cross pattern. Sprinkle with cane sugar to garnish. Bake for 10- 11 minutes, making sure not to over bake them as they will dry out. Let cool and harden slightly before enjoying.

Last time, I served them in a platter with Sesame Kelp Bars and Living Fudge.

Relax. Eat Well.

My Certified Natural Kitchen!

Hi all!


Just wanted to make a quick announcement that my kitchen in Moretown has now been officially certified through the Department of Health! Although this may not sound all that exciting on it's own, it does mean that I will now be able to schedule natural cooking classes and begin a prepared meal service in my own space.


The prepared meal service will begin in May and be modeled after a CSA. Members will subscribe, commit to one meal per week and pay up front on a monthly basis. In turn they will be able to use reusable glass containers and recieve delicious and convenient meals packed with nourishing ingredients from our neighborhood farmers. I am so excited that our community truly understands the importance of supporting a sustainable food system, and I CANNOT wait to become part of it! For more information and to sign up for future communication about this exciting new venture, please visit https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEpHUG1wMXk5YjQ5MDlFSVN2ZktIT3c6MQ and enter your contact information.

I will also begin to schedule healthy cooking classes that teach the skills you need to know to create a natural kitchen in your own home. If you have enjoyed the recipes from this blog, you will love these classes. With varying themes every month, from ethnic foods, to spring cleansing, to healthy sweets, there will always be something new to learn. If you have ideas or class suggestions, please post them below!

Ok so anyway, enough about me. I have been making this recipe all week (three days in a row) from my favorite blog, 101cookbooks, and have to share it! Since Heidi already did such a wonderful job posting the recipe, I'll simply give you the link and send you off with a few words. Take it to California. Diced avocado, juicy tomato, a dallop of sour cream spiked with lime zest, a sprinkling of cheese and you are in heaven. Love these five minute meals.





Relax. Eat Well.

Cherry Pecan Granola

Dark colors and flavors rock this granola into a breakfast revolution. Not very sweet, generously toasted and deeply nutty, it transforms any old bowl of yogurt into a spa retreat. It makes me want to hug the bowl the way you do a cozy bowl of steaming soup.

Granola is expensive to buy, yet reasonably cheap and easy to make. Anyway, who wants the sugar and oil packed versions you find in your typical bulk bin, at 200 calories per 1/2 cup? Ridiculous. This version is sweetened naturally with apple juice and a touch of maple syrup (look, it's Vermont, alright?) and contains no oil to speak of. I've made it before with apple juice I made fresh, and then the maple syrup was totally unnecessary. This time I was short on time and had some Santa Cruz Organic's apple juice leftover in the fridge, and found that it appreciated a few tablespoons of syrupy sweetness. But to each his own, and you can certainly personalize that aspect based on your preferences.

I like to keep my granola in the freezer so that the freshly toasted nuts stay fresh, as they are subject to rancidity once exposed to heat. Minimizing heat and exposure to oxygen and light helps prevent this from happening. General rule of thumb: buy your nuts and seeds raw, store them in the freezer and toast them yourself to capitalize on the bounty of nutrition they offer. Once toasted, consume them fairly quickly and keep them in the freezer if you will be storing them for more than a few days.

Anywho, this recipe is totally flexible and you can use any combination of nuts, seeds and dried fruit. Some are more expensive than others, so keep that in mind when making your grocery list. My version is probably one of the pricier combinations possible, but you could really keep your costs down by creating a raisin and almond version, I would imagine. I like to throw some pumpkin seeds in there as well when I have them, as they are high in magnesium and protect against prostate cancer and promote heart health.

Cherry Pecan Granola
Makes about 6 cups

Ingredients
4 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup flax seeds ( I use golden)
1 cup apple juice
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
2-4 tbs. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup raw pecans
1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees

In a large bowl, combine oats and flax seed. In a small saucepan, heat the apple juice, cinnamon and ginger over medium heat until it reduces by half. Remove the cinnamon stick and add salt, 2 tbs. maple syrup and vanilla. Pour juice mixture over oat mixture and toss to combine. Taste and add more syrup, ground cinnamon or ginger to taste.




Spread contents of bowl on 2 baking sheets evenly. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, add pecans, stir and continue to cook for an additional 10-20 minutes, or until toasty and beginning to brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, let cool and toss with dried cherries.






Serve over a generous bowl of plain yogurt drizzled with honey and topped with fresh fruit and chopped dates. Inhale, and smile.





Relax. Eat Well.

A Miso Soup of sorts

I have now been feeling sickly for nine days. 9. More than a week. It's driving me crazy.

In fact, bonkers, might be a better term (remember that cartoon?). The thing is, I am never sick. And when I am, it takes my body about a day or two to bounce back. So I am not sure what is going on, but I'm not happy about it.

However, it does give me a chance to really step back and consciously choose my diet to support my immune system. The key to immune support starts with optimizing digestion, as the majority of our immune system lives in our gut, ready to ward off an invaders that try to come in. So chewing thoroughly, avoiding high-allergen foods (gluten, dairy, peanuts etc.), and listening to your body are all super important. And then there are all the immune-boosters that lie out there in the natural food world: mushrooms (shitakes, maitakes, reishis), miso, citrus fruits and sea vegetables.

I have been making lots of fresh juices out of oranges, lemons and pineapple (I juice the cores), with some cilantro for detoxifying and kale for it's chlorophyll. I have also been enjoying big bowls of miso soup, as it seems to naturally incorporate so many of the immune boosters my body needs right now. I like it with a cup or so of rice for a more substantial meal, or simplified down to plain miso broth as a sipper to get me through the day.

This is the recipe I made last night with the fresh maitakes I found at City Market yesterday as well as a few tablespoons of red curry paste I had lingering in the fridge since spring rolls a few weeks back. It was perfect (maybe the highlight of my day?) so I thought I would share it with you. The curry paste deserves a blog of it's own, which will happen someday, but I'll include the recipe below for now. This is definitely worlds above what you can buy at the store, but you could always substitute Thai Kitchen's version if you had to. Or if you don't have any in the fridge, you can always go ahead and leave it out for a more traditional version.


A Thai-inspired Miso Soup
Serves 2

Ingredients


4 cups vegetable broth (homemade if you can!)
1 strip wakame or kelp, sliced or torn into small pieces
2 oz. fresh maitake or shitake mushroom (or 4 rehydrated dried shitakes), sliced
1/4 cup of tofu, in small cubes
2 tbs. sweet white miso
2 tbs. red miso
2 tbs. red thai curry paste, see below (optional)
1 tbs. shoyu or tamari
a handful of spinach

Directions

Heat vegetable broth, seaweed, mushrooms and tofu in a medium saucepan to a simmer. Remove from heat. Take a cup or so of hot liquid and place in a bowl with miso. Stir until miso dissolves completely. Add miso mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining ingredients, stirring to combine. Cover until spinach wilts. Enjoy immediately!

Thai Curry Paste

Ingredients

1/4 cup chili de arbol

1 tsp coriander seeds

1/4 tsp cumin seed

1/8 tsp black peppercorns

1/2 stalk lemongrass, trimmed and finely minced

1 tsp minced cilantro stem

1 Tbs peeled and minced ginger

1/4 tsp lime zest

1 Tbs minced garlic

1 Tbs minced shallot

1/8 tsp course salt

Directions

Break the stems off the chilies and discard them along with the seeds. Break the chilies into pieces, place in a bowl with just enough warm water to cover. Let soak for 20 to 30 minutes. When done soaking, remove from water (reserve water) and finely chop.

Meanwhile, heat a small heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the coriander seeds and dry roast, frequently shaking the pan or stirring until they release their smell and begin to change color, about 3 minutes. Transfer coriander to a bowl to cool and then repeat process with the cumin seeds, toasting for about 1 minute, and adding them to the coriander. Repeat again with the peppercorns, roasting long enough to heat them well - about 1 minute.

Grind the toasted spices in a coffee grinder and  place in a small bowl. Mince wet ingredients (lemongrass through shallot) very finely (this can be done in a small food processor) and add to spices along with the salt. To finish, pound mixture thoroughly with the back of a spoon to fully release all of the flavors. Add a little bit of the reserved water if necessary.

Yield: 1/2 cup.

Store in a well-sealed glass container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 months.

Relax. Eat Well.