Farm Fresh Omelet Wrap

I felt badly about not taking a pic of my pretty fish dinner the other night so I figured the least I could do is use that tasty basil oil on my eggs and remember to take a picture of that this time!
Breakfast was definitely my favorite.  I have a few things in my fridge that helped me make it so good so quickly, but this might give you a few ideas.  My grandma emailed me a week or so ago about asparagus and all of its healing powers.  The email gave a few examples of how people used asparagus puree (2 tsp.s 2x/day) to help cure themselves of all kinds of illnesses.  It came from a fairly reliable source, so I thought I would give it a try... my feeling is, its asparagus, what's the risk?!
Long story short, that is why I had a glass pyrex full of asparagus puree in my fridge!  So, I scrambled 2 tsp.s of the puree with one egg and one egg white and a splash of water, salt and pepper.  In the meantime, I also sauteed a few slices of zucchini in olive oil.  When the eggs were done, I heated my gluten-free brown rice wrap (well half of one anyway) on my skillet for just a second, topped it with the asparagus scramble a pinch of parmesan cheese, clearly the basil oil and my zucchini slices.  Wow was that good.  I am not kidding that the whole thing took me about 5 minutes to throw together.  I had organic eggs, wrap, asparagus and zucchini and basil straight from my garden, how can you beat a breakfast like that?!

Baked Halibut with Cherry Tomatoes and Fresh Basil Oil

I am kicking myself for not taking a picture of this last night.  Seriously.  This recipe is so unbelievably easy and makes a gorgeous presentation.  I have no excuses for not taking a photo either, I was just plain lazy!  I told myself it was because my knee was hurting and I didn't want to go down and then back up the stairs to get the camera... to me that is just screaming "I want to sit on my rump instead!"  Anyway, I will absolutely have to make this again, take a picture of it and re-post this because after you see it, you won't be able to not make it for dinner!

Alright so what you do is: In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Wash and slice organic cherry tomatoes in half and add to the skillet when it is hot.  I used two bunches of tomatoes because I wanted leftovers for pizza (I love to make something that I can split in half and use for two different recipes).  Dice 1/2 cup of red onion and saute with the cherry tomatoes.  The tomatoes will start to get juicy, thats ok, just turn the heat up to medium high.  You want to cook the tomatoes until the liquid reduces and you are left with a chunky thick tomato sauce.  Ok, so add about 1 TBS of tomato paste (helps to thicken it up), 1/2 TBS dried oregano and a dash of large grain sea salt.  Stir to combine.  Lastly, add 2 tsp. of maple syrup.  I know it sounds weird, but it cuts the bitterness from the tomatoes and makes them taste incredibly rich.  Ok, your sauce is done!  

I let my sauce cool a bit and  then spooned it on top of a piece of halibut, popped it into a pre-heated 350 degree oven for ummmmm about 35 minutes (it was a thick piece!).  While it cooked, I washed about 1/4 cup of basil leaves and tossed them into my mini chop with a pinch of large grain sea salt and whirred it together with about 1/2 cup of olive oil.  You could be fancy and strain out the finely chopped basil leaves, but quite honestly, I like the extra flavor.

When the fish comes out of the oven, serve and drizzle with the basil oil.  

I made this recipe with sauteed kale and parmesan quinoa.  Loved it.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yeah, so it is nothing short of a comfort food day for me today.  In the past two hours I have made the crumble topping apple pie (see below), chocolate chip cookies and a pizza pie crust.  Clearly I am in an eating (and/or stuffing my face) mood!

The chocolate chip cookies were a new recipe and I think they came out much better than I expected.  Mostly because I am so tired today I feel like I am not actually functioning despite all of the cooking that seems to be happening!  Anyway, they taste nothing like G-F cookies you normally find, which makes me so happy.  Here is the recipe:

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup Brown Rice Flour

3/4 cup Tapioca Flour

2 tsp. Baking powder (low sodium)

1 tsp. Baking soda (low sodium)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 TBS flaxseed

Wet Ingredients:

1 tsp. vanilla

2 TBS applesauce (organic)

1 egg yolk

2 egg whites

4 TBS butter, melted and cooled (organic)

1/3 cup honey

chocolate chips (I used the allergy-free mini ones, about 1/2 cup)

Here's how its done:

In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk, vanilla, honey and butter just until combined.  

Mix your chocolate chips with the flour mixture first so they get evenly distributed.

Next, add your wet ingredients to the flour and chip mixture and stir just to combine.  

Lastly, beat the egg whites into stiff peaks and fold into the cookie dough 1/3 at a time.  

Spoon out 1 TBS of cookie dough onto your baking sheet (I line mine with recycled parchment paper) and bake for about 10 minutes.

Eat warm for the best taste or cool and freeze for up to a month!!

Ahh, New England in the Fall

I was considering (strongly) moving to CA for at least 3 months but for several reasons my plan fell through...  at least for the time being.  In some ways I am happy it is post-poned because I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fall.  So my favorite season!  The brisk air, the brightly colored trees and crunch of fallen leaves under your feet, being comfortable in just jeans and a cozy sweatshirt.  Nothing beats it.

My favorite of all fall past times is without a doubt apple picking.  We go to Blue Jay farms in CT and have for many many years.  It is so beautiful in the orchards and Blue Jay has this little farm store with homemade cider donuts, pies, jams, etc.  Smells like heaven in there.  Unfortunately I cannot eat any of the treats anymore due to my gluten, dairy, soy-free restrictions.  Oh, but not to worry, I am making some of my own.  Filling my kitchen with the smell of baked apple and cinnamon is enough to make even the most heavily-laden gluten eaters re-consider purchasing pies pre-made.  Half the experience is being able to smell the deliciousness all day... mmmmmmm :)

My apple pie had a gluten-free pie crust, apple filling stacked about 2" above  the rim of the pie pan and a cinnamon crumb topping.  I am about to pull it out of the oven and snag a quick taste... will post a picture soon!  

Check This Out!

Carrot Animal Crackers

Wild Smoothie

(and) Breakfast Options

Are posted on www.healthychild.org!!  There are six more to be posted, so keep checking back :)

Be sure to let us know what you think about the webisodes (there is room for comments at the bottom of each recipe!).

Wanted: Complete Makeover

I stumbled on these pictures, taken over a year ago when i was outfit shopping for my Food Network pitch.. none of them were chosen. I wanted that perfect outfit that said I was fun, unique and hopefully somewhat attractive! However, I quickly discovered that fashion is clearly not my forte, and despite the fact that I am quite capable of expressing myself with paint, it is not easy to do so with my wardrobe. I have always had a clue, but my quest for the perfect outfit made it abundantly clear that I am, in fact a fashion misfit! LOL.
If and when I am going to be on camera again, I am considering having some kind of fashion show on my blog to ask people to vote and tell me what they think I should wear... I mean I need help, that much is clear. So if anyone is listening out there who knows a thing or two about clothes and helping people dress well for their shape, give me a shout!

Webisodes Posted!

I am going to keep this short and sweet today!  My webisodes are starting to be posted on Healthy Child today!  I believe there will be 3 up by the end of the day and then the rest (total of 9) will be up by next week!!  So excited, check them out at: www.healthychild.org and click on "Eat Healthy" then select "Recipes" and you will see my Carrot Animal Crackers pop up first :)

The video is small, next to the recipe but check it out, I think they are really fun.

Time, time, time... why aren't you on my side?! ha ha

So, I am not sure how long ago it has been since my last blog (yes I could look, but what fun is that?).  Anyway, in whatever amount of time that has been, I have completed my webisodes!  I am currently exporting them using quicktime conversion, crossing my fingers and hoping for the best!  I already sent one off to Healthy Child to find out if they are able to open them and play them while retaining the best possible quality.  

Aside from trying to edit, import music, render, export, etc.  I have also been talking to Kevin, my web guy about updating Nourish This!  Super exciting stuff, we are making major improvements to the site that will allow you to search recipes by key word, get up to date info about what we are up to, etc., etc.!

Amidst all of that, I made a new favorite recipe... my brother was coming over for dinner and I offered him the choice of halibut or organic buffalo burgers.  To my surprise, he picked halibut.  I marinated it in fresh squeezed lemon juice, garlic, fresh thyme, dried oregano, salt and pepper, grilled it on my grill pan and served it with grilled balsamic red onions, parmesan quinoa and roasted asparagus.  It was so light and satisfying, making it the perfect dinner for both of us!  Cooking must be therapeutic, I mean if I could whip up a new recipe with all these distractions, there is no other possibility :)  I will make sure to post this recipe next month.