Category: entree

Simple Weekday Meals

Chef Kim1 Comment on Simple Weekday Meals

These are a few of the meals I made this week that I had not planned out. It was a couple days where I was busy or outside planting  and when dinner rolled around I had to decide what I could make with what was on hand. These were pulled together in under thirty minutes each. I also made them on separate days. (I’m actually more comfortable making up meals with what I have than planning out a shopping list for specific recipes.) So I had a variety of fruits and vegetables and greens, a bag of kelp noodles, a can each of fire roasted tomatoes, artichokes and chickpeas, and some Sami’s Bakery Lavash which is like flatbread, but GF.

This is what I ate:

  • Veggie Roasted Flatbread – lavash topped with pesto, onion, mushroom, peppers, artichokes and spinach – Roasted for 10 minutes (not pictured)
  • Large mixed green salad with pineapple, orange, almonds and pumpkin seeds
  • Orange, pineapple, banana, mixed greens and protein smoothie with granola and seeds on top (not pictured)
  • Cold tomato soup with zucchini noodles & Hummus lettuce boats on the side
  • Asian Peanut Kelp Noodles (Raw Pad Thai)
  • You wont believe it – Ice “cream”

Tomato Soup with Zucchini Noodles

  • 1/2 large zucchini, spiralized or sliced lengthwise and then cut into noodles
  • I can fire roasted tomatoes
  • 1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth or water
  • 1 tablespoon of tamari or Braggs Aminos
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon of honey

Blend everything except zucchini in a blender and pour into serving bowls. Top with zucchini noodles.

Hummus

  • 1 can chickpeas, pour the chickpea water into a bowl and save for “ice cream”
  • 3 tablespoons of tahini
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of cumin
  • 1/2 tablespoon of coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons water

Combine everything in a blender or food processor and mix until a smooth paste is formed. Scoop onto a plate and drizzle with a little more olive oil and grind some black pepper over the top. Serve with lettuce leaves. (you could add assorted vegetables and chips to the plate for dipping.)

Asian Peanut Kelp Noodles

  • Use a variety of vegetables and slice thin. I used, zucchini, mushrooms, peppers, jicama, spinach and broccoli stems.
  • 1 bag kelp noodles

For the peanut sauce, combine the following in a bowl and stir well or blend together and pour over veggies and noodles:

  • 1/2 cup organic peanut butter, I had crunchy (sub in almond or tahini)
  • 1 tablespoon tamari
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 clove garlic
  • 1 inch ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1/4 cup water, maybe more
  • 1 teaspoon honey (optional)

You Won’t Believe It – Ice “Cream”  – This is pretty amazing and delicious, but hard to wrap your head around. The base of this dessert is chickpea water! also known now as Aquafaba, (water of the bean)

I made a large batch with about 2 cups of the chickpea water, but if you just have the water from one can these amounts should work.

  • 1/2 -3/4 cup chickpea water
  • 3 tablspoons xylitol or raw sugar, ground fine
  • 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar or guar gum
  • 5 drops of vanilla stevia, optional
  • Flavoring: freeze dried strawberries, crushed and chopped dark chocolate  (add in your own favorite flavors – water content of fruit may cause crystals to form and stiffen up the texture. May be better to add fruit after base is frozen)

The chickpea water needs to be placed in a med to large mixing bowl. Using a hand or stand mixer, mix/whip the water until it becomes creamy white like whipped egg whites. The volume will about double. Add in your fine ground sugar/xylitol and guar gum and continue to whip until you reach a shiny white merengue with soft peaks. At this point, I stirred in my crushed strawberry powder and chocolate, and then poured it into a tight sealing container and put it in the freezer for at least four hours. OMGoodness! It is the lightest, creamiest ice cream ever and plant-based without nuts!

Roasted Chimichurri Bowl

Chef KimLeave a Comment on Roasted Chimichurri Bowl

This is a nice collection of roasted vegetables with a grain that is topped with creamy chimichurri herb sauce and avocado. You can make it your own by varying the roasted vegetables and grain.

I used brown Jasmine rice, Portabella mushrooms, bell peppers, red onion, garlic, rainbow carrots, and kale.

Cook rice by combining 1 cup of rice per 2 cups of water, bring to a boil and then cover and lower temperature to low and simmer for 35 minutes. Strain off extra liquid.  To roast the vegetables, cut vegetables into 1 inch thick slices, and lay on a roasting pan lined with parchment. Brush olive oil over each vegetable and sprinkle with salt.  Roast in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes.  To roast the kale, wash and remove stem, tearing leaves into large pieces. drizzle with olive oil and massage to coat the leaves. Spread onto a parchment lined pan and roast for 10 minutes until softened and slightly crisp.

To make the chimichurri sauce, blend together one bunch each of chopped parsley and cilantro, a couple stems of mint, a teaspoon of dried oregano, 1/2 cup olive oil, and the juice of one lime, 1 teaspoon each of coconut aminos and cider vinegar and one clove of garlic. Blend this until smooth.  Spoon this over the rice and vegetables.  This sauce can also be used as a dip or sandwich spread, or added to soups and dressings to ramp up the flavor.

Varying the vegetables and substituting millet, quinoa, buckwheat groats, and even oats cooked in a broth will allow you to make this dish with what you might have on hand, while keeping the flavors fresh and the nutrients dense and filling.

I hope you enjoy this warming dish, which is full of antioxidant and immune boosting nutrients.

Simple or Elegant

Chef KimLeave a Comment on Simple or Elegant

I taught a few classes this summer that turned out to be really enjoyable for me and from the feedback, for everyone who attended.  What I want most for people to see and encounter when attending my classes, is that it can be easy to put together Beautiful and Deliciously Healthy Food!   It is very fun for me to see excitement in peoples faces when they taste something that wakes up their taste buds but at the same time understand that they are really nourishing their bodies, because they are eating fresh, whole food without a box and the accompanying preservatives and chemicals.  And most recipes take less time the “convenient food in the box”. I won’t get started on “fake” food.  Just think of all the goodness there is in your garden or at the farmer’s market or in your CSA box. There are so many wonderful things you can do to get creative with raw foods – greens, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, etc. You can enjoy the simple delicious pleasure of a superbly ripe peach, watermelon, or berry each with their own array of antioxidants and vitamins. Or you can take a little time and combine some of the earth’s bounty into a wonderfully refreshing salad that is sure to please! 

Here is a recipe from my Gourmet Summer Supper Class that can be made simply with option one described below or a bit more elegant by following option two. Option two may look like it takes practice or maybe too much time. but when I made it for the first time, layering the avocado only took about ten minutes and it does not need to be perfectly aligned, it just needs to be overlapping slightly. Give it a try, it is stunning both to the eyes and the taste buds.

Stuffed Avocado Salad

Avocado half or roll,  filled with chopped lemon vegetable salad 

  • 2 avocados, ripe but not too soft
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 radish
  • ½ cup zucchini, small diced
  • ¼ cup red pepper, diced
  • 3 tablespoon green or sweet onion
  • 1 med kohlrabi, small diced
  • 2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • 2 tablespoon minced basil,
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • Zest of one lemon
  • 6 tomato slices crisp dehydrated (optional)
  •  Garnish: White balsamic vinegar or coconut aminos.
  • Tomato crisps (paper thin tomato slices dried in dehydrator until crispy)

 

 For chopped Salad: Slice off top and bottom of tomatoes, cut outer flesh away from seeds and pulp of tomato, keeping seeds intact. Cut flesh into 1/4 inch cubes; reserve seeds and surrounding gel aside for garnish. Combine tomato cubes with diced kohlrabi, onion, pepper, zucchini, and radish. Add lemon zest, basil and sesame oil.

 Option 1: Cut avocado in half, remove the pit, peel and place on a bed of baby greens. Fill with chopped salad, drizzle with vinegar or coconut aminos.

 Option 2: Lightly oil a sheet of plastic wrap with olive oil. Peel avocados, keeping them whole. With peeler, shave thin slices of avocado, working from the top to the bottom. Carefully place slices on plastic wrap, overlapping slightly to create a sheet of avocado about 4 by 12 inches. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Repeat to make 2 sheets.

 To assemble stuffed avocado rolls:  Place ½ -3/4 cup vegetable mixture across bottom of each avocado sheet. With plastic wrap, roll up like a sushi roll. Remove plastic wrap. Drizzle white balsamic or coconut aminos on each serving plate. Cut each large roll into three pieces.  Place 1 roll per plate. Garnish with tomato seeds and tomato crisps.

 

Creamy Vegetable Stack

Chef KimLeave a Comment on Creamy Vegetable Stack

This is my dinner tonight. It is easy to throw together once you slice and chop your vegetables of choice. I hope you like it as much as I do.

For 2 servings:

  • 1 zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise using mandolin
  • 14 cup red pepper, diced
  • 1/2 cup spinach, leaves stacked and sliced thinly into ribbons
  • 1/2 portabella mushroom, diced
  • 1/2 avocado, sliced
  • 1 small carrot, shredded
  • 1 Tbs diced onion, diced

Cream: 1/2 cup soaked cashews, 1/4 avocado, 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, 1 Tbs Braggs aminos, 3/4 cup water

Prepare vegetables as indicated. Combine cream ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

To assemble: Slightly overlap 3-4 zucchini slices lengthwise. Place half of the avocado on top of the zucchini, followed by half of the spinach, mushroom, pepper, carrot and onion. Spoon 3-4 Tbs of the cream on top of the vegetables and cover with another layer of overlapping zucchini. Repeat vegetable layers and cream. Top with zucchini slices and cover with cream. Allow to set for 30 minutes to combine flavors, or if you have a dehydrator, place inside and warm using a setting of 125 degrees for 20-30 minutes.  YUM!