POWER JUICER!!!

As a kid, we abhorred the juicer.  My mom would make us various concoctions of carrot and celery juice or some other dreaded vegetable in liquid form.  Honestly, my mom was pretty good at creating palatable combination's, it was more the thought that vegetables could become green juice that really freaked us out.  Needless to say, I have grown up and thus absolved my fear of drinking my veggies.  Especially when Matcha tea is my among my favorite things! 
When I was out in CA last month, I was staying with one of my closest friends, Matt and his girlfriend, Cristina.  Cristina and I think quite a bit alike.  She recently got a juicer and has since gotten in the habit of juicing daily.  A ritual Matt has become accustom to and dare I say looks forward to despite how quickly he chugs his daily juice!  Point being, all of this juicing inspired me to get back in the habit so the number one item on my Christmas wish list was- you guessed it, a juicer.  My far too generous brother got it for me and as you can see above I was slightly psyched about it!
I have some ideas for new juice recipes, but clearly have some testing to do!!  I am thinking apple, carrot and ginger might be a fun one... hopefully over the next month I will start to get some juice recipes up on Nourish This for you all to try out yourselves.  For now, hook yourself up with a post-holiday present if you don't already have one!

Quinoa Stuffing!

I was on Frankly Speaking yesterday, a blog-talk radio broadcast in Chicago talking about eating well over the holidays and I shared this recipe!  The full recipe will be posted on Nourish This by next week :)  Enjoy!  

Ingredients:
   •    3/4 cup quinoa
   •    1 1/2 cups water
   •    1 cup finely diced carrots
   •    1 cup finely diced celery
   •    1 cup finely diced white onions
   •    2 tsp. Extra virgin olive oil
   •    2 cups diced chestnuts
   •    1/2 cup dried, unsweetened cranberries
   •    1 cup finely diced granny smith apples
   •    2 cloves minced garlic
   •    2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
   •    1 TBS poultry seasoning
   •    2 TBS finely chopped fresh sage
   •    2 TBS finely chopped fresh parsley
   •    1 tsp. Sea salt
   •    2 whole eggs
   •    2 1/2 cups almond milk
   •    3 slices gluten-free bread

How To Prepare:
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
Start by rinsing your quinoa in a fine strainer to help remove some of the bitter taste after cooking.  Bring the water and quinoa to a boil in a medium sauce pan.  Once the mixture has reach a boil, reduce the temperature to low and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water.
Next, wash and finely dice carrots, celery and onions and saute in a large skillet with olive oil for about 5 minutes over medium heat.  You want the veggies to sweat (meaning cook without browning) until they are fork tender. 
Add your diced chestnuts, cranberries, apples and garlic, saute another 3 or 4 minutes, stirring constantly.  Pour the stock over the veggies and stir to remove bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Toss in herbs and salt and let sit over medium-low heat while you finish the last part.
Toast your gluten-free bread until slightly brown and cut into 1/2” cubes, set aside. 
In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and almond milk. 
Brush the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with olive oil just to help the stuffing not stick when serving.
Pour in the sauteed veggies, quinoa and gluten-free bread.  Combine with a large spoon to evenly distribute the mixtures.  Finally, slowly pour the milk and egg mixture evenly over the top of the stuffing.  Bake covered at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes and uncovered on broil 3-4 minutes (for a crispy top).

Thanksgiving and G-F Cornbread

We just found out that we are hosting Thanksgiving this year... sweet.  Actually, I am excited, Thanksgiving is usually my favorite holiday and this year my bro is not working (but will be for Christmas) so it is definitely my fav. this year!

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that you just have to make two versions of many (normally gluten-full) dishes.  I make the cornbread and pumpkin pies both gluten-full and gluten-free, I don't want everyone stealing my gluten-free food!!  Cause, clearly it is better than refined flour and white sugar- I mean, who would choose that?!  The funny thing is, this year when I made the cornbread, I ran out of regular corn meal and had to use polenta meal.  Ended up adding great texture and worked well in the bread!

I will post my pumpkin pie recipe after its made this year with a photo, but here is the recipe :)

Gluten-Free Cornbread
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups corn meal (or half meal and half polenta)
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup tapioca flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
4 TBS organic butter
1/2 cup applesauce
2 whole eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup local honey
How To:
Mix together dry ingredients (corn meal through salt).  Cut the butter into the dry mixture using two butter knives or a pastry cutter until you can no longer see big chunks of butter.  Next, gently whisk together applesauce through honey and pour into the butter and flour mixture.  Stir to combine.
Pour out into an 8x8 baking pan (I prefer glass) and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes and then turn the oven down to 350 and cook another 10-12 minutes until you can poke it with a cake tester or toothpick and it comes out clean.
Let cool in the baking dish and then slice into squares and serve.

O'Connor Christmas Zucchini Bread

Although the recipe has evolved over the years and I am even experimenting with a gluten-free version, my mom's whole grain zucchini bread is as much of a Christmas tradition for my family as the tree itself.  We only eat the zucchini bread on Christmas morning (and there after until it is gone!), saving the treat as a special holiday tradition.  Thinking back on my childhood, I realize how forward thinking my mom was, passionate about recycling, reusing, and up-cycling before it was popular.  Zucchini breads and homemade croutons packaged creatively in containers from our home were gifts to teachers, friends, family and even the mail-carrier!  Our art section of the playroom was a bookshelf full of recyclable or up-cycleable items that I still believe had a huge part in launching my creative thought process.  Creating something brand new out of ordinary found objects expands your mind so much farther than any plastic toy wrapped in plastic, wrapped in cardboard and surrounded by plastic (again) can possibly do!

The more I focus my thoughts on ways to improve the environment and make life healthier, the more it is clear that a simpler life, truly reflecting the meaning of going back to the basics can make the most impact.  We constantly need more and more and wonder why our landfills are so large, why our food has to be genetically modified and pumped full of pesticides to keep up with demand, why we have health and obesity epidemics.  I'm not trying to say it is easy, but I think we can all benefit from a little more creative thinking... next time you go to deliver fresh baked cookies or a gift (with the holiday season upon us) think of a way to present it wrapped in something you find in your home.  What a great way to save money as well.

I will leave you with this.  Although it stems from a rich sense of humor, my brother has never, literally never used wrapping paper and it has become something to look forward to... what is Ryan going to wrap our presents in this year?!  I will take a picture this year.  

...and back to the Zucchini Bread, here are the recipes 3 ways!:

Whole Grain Zucchini Bread (modified from the original to eliminate oil, refined sugar and white flour)
                                            Ingredients

3 eggs
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup local honey
2 cups fresh grated zucchini
3 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup flaxseed
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oat flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
                                             3 tsp. cinnamon
                                            1/8 tsp. allspice
                                            1/8 tsp. nutmeg
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (eggs through applesauce), set aside.   Sift wheat flour and oat flour into a bowl and combine with the remaining dry ingredients (salt through nutmeg).  Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and thoroughly combine.
Divide batter between two loaf pans and bake for 40 minutes or until you can poke it with a toothpick and it comes out clean.

Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread (made to be free of gluten, refined sugar and low in fat)
2 cups of brown rice flour
1 cup of tapioca flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
2 cups freshly grated zucchini
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
4 TBS melted and cooled butter
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup applesauce
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Combine dry ingredients (brown rice flour through nutmeg) in a large bowl and whisk to combine.  In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (zucchini through applesauce).  Make sure the butter has cooled before you add it to the egg mixture so you don't accidentally scramble the eggs!
Next, add the wet ingredients to the dry stirring until the batter is well incorporated.
Divide batter between two loaf pans (or one loaf pan and a muffin tin like I did!) and bake bread for 30-40 minutes and muffins for 20-25 minutes.  Gluten free should be watched in the oven because depending on the moisture in the air, the cooking time could vary.  Simply poke the muffin or bread with a cake tester or toothpick and if it comes out clean, pull those babies out!

To store, place in a sealable glass storage container and pop in the freezer, they will be good to go for a  month (but trust me, they won't last that long!), just re-heat in your toaster oven at 200 degrees.

Original Recipe (yummy and tender, but definitely a treat...)
Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated raw zucchini
3 tsp. vanilla
3 cups white flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. cinnamon
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the first 5 ingredients in order, beating after each addition.  Mix sifted dry ingredients (flour through cinnamon) into the egg/sugar mixture.  Pour batter into two loaf pans and bake for 50-60 minutes.

The Glories of Hummus!

This olive hummus is a slightly updated version of my favorite snack.  I made my traditional hummus: chick peas, olive oil, garlic, lemon, tahini, water and salt and added fresh kalamata and green olives.  I chose the green olives marinated in herbs de provence and I had to control myself from popping all of them in my mouth before they were added to the hummus!   I bought the whole olives, seeds intact just because I feel like they retain their flavor better that way (despite the extra effort involved!).
I made this hummus for a meeting I went to (I always bring food), so I accompanied it with a platter of local, organic tomatoes, cucumber, arugula and whole wheat pita wedges.  I figured people could dip or make mini sandwiches.  It really loosens people up and makes for a friendlier environment when food is involved... that's not really why I bring food, but it is a bonus!
Hummus is such a great thing to experiment with because you can get as creative as you want, adding herbs, all sorts of veggies, even nuts to change it up.

Baked Trout

We all know fish is good for us but for some reason there seems to be this general conception that fish is tricky to make so it becomes a once-in-a-while or never home cooked meal.  No more, my friends, no more.  Trout is one of the fish lowest in mercury, it is a lean protein and its pretty good for you too.  Here's how I like to prepare it.

First, always rinse your fish off so that you don't have any scales or yuks in on the flesh of the fish.  Pat it dry with a (recycled) paper towel and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (easier to clean and your not using canned spray).  Drizzle each piece with a touch of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and an array of your favorite spices.  I like things hot so I typically use: ancho chili pepper, chipotle chili pepper, paprika, cayanne pepper, parsley and on occasion tarragon.  If you don't enjoy the heat, tarragon and parsley make a great combo on trout... it will give the trout a buttery taste.

I bake the trout in the oven at 375 for about 6-7 minutes and then broil for 1-2 minutes.

When I made the trout tonight (pictured above), my sides were sauteed swiss chard and button mushrooms and creamy brown rice with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.

Give trout a try and you will see how quick and easy a fish dinner can be.

How do you make your Lentils?

During my trip to LA, I stayed with my good friend from HS and his girlfriend, Cristina.  Cristina made a giant batch of hearty lentils absolutely loaded with veggies... and we ended up eating them all week.  On salads, warmed with toasted corn tortillas, etc., etc.  They were delicious.  After asking me how I typically make my lentils I realized that the answer is- I don't.  It's a shame because lentils are such a great food, but I just never think to make them.

First thing when I got home I went to the grocery store and bought a bag of organic red lentils and whipped up the batch pictured above.  I think I overcooked them a bit because the lentils broke down and sort of melted into the veggies... which, turns out I actually love.  I seasoned this batch with curry, turmeric, cumin, cayenne pepper and of course a touch of sea salt.  Upon serving though, I either scooped them out as they were or I stirred them together with a dollop of creamy goat cheese and a drop of sarancho chili sauce (my preference).  Either way, they are completely satisfying and certainly a single meal in a pot!  Although my brother was wondering where the meat was and said he did love them but thinks of them as more of a snack.  I guess it depends on the size of your appetite.  I was just happy he liked them so much!