Comfort Food: Goat Cheese Greens
13 Oct 2011 3 Comments
in Recipes Tags: candida, candida cookbook, candida diet, comfort food, fennel, garlic, goat cheese, green veggies, greens, health coach, hot pepper, one dish meal
Greens chopped into fettuccine sized slices.
The idea here is to use a whole bunch of greens, sliced into fat ribbons, and then combine them with some creamy, cheesy goodness for a dish that’s similar to mac n cheese but with way more nutrients, minerals, vitamins, fiber, good fats and all that other stuff your body gets from green food! I used to love cooking pasta and dressing it up with olive oil, grated cheese, hot pepper flakes and lots of garlic. In retrospect, the pasta was just a vehicle for the seasonings and cheese so why not replace it with the one food most missing from American diets? Why not indeed!
Ingredients:
A big bunch of sturdy greens like collards or the leaves from your broccoli, romanesco or brussels sprouts plants. Strip the leaves from the stems, stack the leaves and slice into fettuccine sized ribbons.
Olive oil, enough to saute all your greens
a clove or three of mashed or minced garlic
and any or all of these flavorful, medicinal seasonings: hot peppers, fennel, garlic salt, sea salt, black pepper, paprika smokey or hot, all to taste
Fresh goat cheese, get it local at Berkshire Organics or the Berkshire Co-op Market
So happy to have time to cook more and relax more after a very busy three weeks.
Procedure:
Heat the olive oil in your cast iron skillet on medium heat, add your garlic and any whole spices you are using like the hot pepper flakes and the fennel seeds.
Before the garlic starts to brown, add in all your pretty green ribbons and saute til wilted and cooked through.
Add salt to taste and any powdered spices you are using, like paprika.
When the greens are cooked to your liking and you’ve adjusted the seasonings, serve the greens and top with as much goat cheese as you like. Mix it well, it will melt instantly on the hot greens and make a creamy sauce, kinda like mac n cheese but with out the gluey macaroni and unsettling powdered ‘cheese’. Top with some hot sauce or sriracha if you need extra heat. Isn’t it comforting to know that your comfort food is really nourishing?
Comfort food can be green and good for you too!
Crunchy Kale Salad
31 May 2011 1 Comment
in Recipes Tags: carrot, goat cheese, greens, kale, purple onion, quick meal, raw, travel food
I found this salad at The Biscuit in Somerville last weekend while my family and I were in town for my sisters college graduation. I had this for brunch and it was so simply delightful. Kale salad is great traveling food since the greens and onions get softer and the flavors meld together the longer they sit before serving. So I got one to go for the car ride back to the Berkshires. And when we got home I used the list of ingredients on the container to make my own version.
A big healthy serving of greens, no cooking required!
Ingredients for two large portions:
1 ½ bunch of kale, ribs removed, ripped into bit size pieces
2 T olive oil
1 carrot, grated
Handful of thinly sliced purple onion
2-3 ounces chevre, soft goat cheese
For the dressing:
2 T olive oil
2 T spicy brown mustard
1 T lemon juice
1 garlic clove, mashed or pressed
Salt to taste
First, using your hands, massage 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and some salt into the ripped kale pieces. The more you work the oil into the kale, the better. The oil makes the kale soft, flavorful and easier to digest. Add the onion and carrot and goat cheese and toss to combine. Set aside and make the dressing.
For the dressing put all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the dressing to the kale salad and toss to coat evenly. Eat now or set some aside for later, this salad gets better with time and is great to make ahead for lunch or travel food!
Sprouts and Sandwiches
19 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Recipes Tags: carrot, flax, flax bread, goat cheese, onion, sprouts
Flax bread with avocado, home-grown sprouts and hot sauce, of course.
This post is a serving suggestion for my flax bread recipe. We just made our fist batch of sprouts and I was super excited to try them on a sandwich, which is something I have not eaten in years!
Two pieces of flax bread + slices of ripe avocado + lots of sprouts + mayo + hot sauce = one awesome sandwich!
Another sandwich idea? Ok! How about…
Grated carrot + soft goat cheese + sprouts + thin sliced onion? Yup, that is also delicious.
Carrots add a little sweetness and crunch to balance out the tangy goat cheese.
You can take your favorite salad combination and pile it up on flax bread and, hey, look at you, eating a sandwich like regular folks. Also, sprouts are super easy to make at home and they are packed with vital nutrients, here’s a great how to for growing your own!
Frittata With Grated Zucchini, Goat Cheese and Dill
24 Mar 2011 4 Comments
in Recipes Tags: dill, frittata, goat cheese, one dish meal, zucchini
Frittata with grated zucchini, goat cheese and dill, thanks New York Times!
I found this on the New York Times Fitness and Nutrition page and love the idea of shredding zucchini and pairing it with goat cheese and dill! Goat cheese is so delicious when it’s all warm and gooey and on my dinner plate. This is a whole meal and makes a great brunch, dinner or snack. We usually make a large frittata for dinner and then enjoy the leftovers the next day for lunch. The leftovers are good cold or reheated on the stove.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound zucchini, grated (4 cups grated zucchini)
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
8 eggs
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat in a 10-inch, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the zucchini. Cook, stirring, until the zucchini begins to wilt, about two minutes. Stir in the garlic. Cook for another minute or until the zucchini has just wilted — it should still be bright green. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.
2. Beat the eggs a large bowl with the goat cheese. Add salt and pepper, and stir in the zucchini and the dill.
3. Clean and dry the pan, and return to the burner, set on medium-high. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet. Drop a bit of egg into the pan; if it sizzles and cooks at once, the pan is ready. Pour in the egg mixture. Tilt the pan to distribute the eggs and filling evenly over the surface. Shake the pan gently, tilting it slightly with one hand while lifting up the edges of the frittata with the spatula in your other hand, to let the eggs run underneath during the first few minutes of cooking.
4. Turn the heat to low, cover and cook 10 minutes, shaking the pan gently every once in a while. From time to time, remove the lid, tilt the pan and loosen the bottom of the frittata with a wooden spatula so that it doesn’t burn. The bottom should have a golden color. The eggs should be just about set; cook a few minutes longer if they’re not.
5. Meanwhile, heat the broiler. Uncover the pan and place under the broiler, not too close to the heat, for one to three minutes, watching very carefully to make sure the top doesn’t burn (at most, it should brown very slightly and puff under the broiler). Remove from the heat, and shake the pan to make sure the frittata isn’t sticking. Allow it to cool for at least five minutes and for as long as 15 minutes. Loosen the edges with a wooden or plastic spatula. Carefully slide from the pan onto a large round platter. Cut into wedges or into smaller bite-size diamonds. Serve hot, warm, at room temperature or cold.
Yield: Six servings.
Note: For four servings, use the same recipe but reduce the number of eggs to six.
Advance preparation: In Mediterranean countries, flat omelets are served at room temperature, which makes them perfect do-ahead dishes. They’ll keep in the refrigerator for a few days, and they make terrific lunchbox fare.
Nutritional information per serving: 192 calories; 5 grams saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 258 milligrams cholesterol; 3 gramscarbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 134 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 12 grams protein
Martha Rose Shulman is the author of “The Very Best of Recipes for Health.”
Her original recipe is here!
I wanted to try this recipe out but realized I didn’t have dill or zucchini so we used kale and parsley instead…basically you can make a frittata with any combination of vegetables, herbs and cheese or meat. Here’s how mine came out:
Frittata with goat cheese, kale, onions and parsley
Zucchini Pancakes
17 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
in Recipes Tags: cast iron skillet, eggs, freezer, garlic, goat cheese, oregano, quick meal, zucchini
Here’s my favorite way to eat up all those zucchini’s and save the left overs for a colder zucchini-less winter day! Dana came up with this recipe and we think it’s ready for prime time so….here ya go!
Oh yeah, as with many of my/our recipes the measuring is approximate and the total carb count is low, though this recipe does call for flour (We used chick pea flour for flavor and because it’s lower in carbohydrates and higher in fiber).
Ingredients:
8 Cups shredded zucchini, salted and set in a collander to drain for 15-20 minutes
2 small onions, chopped fine
2-4 cloves of garic, or more if you want! Pressed or chopped fine.
zest of a small lime
a Tablespoon or so of lemon juice
oregano, black pepper and more salt to taste (these three are all optional and delicious)
4 medium sized eggs, beaten
about 1 Cup of flour, chick pea works great, oat flour or whole wheat works too.
The Procedure:
Shred the zucchini, by hand if you want a work out or with your shredder Cuisinart attachment. Toss the shredded zucchini with salt and let it drain in a colander over a bowl. I know it’s tempting to skip this step but it is crucial to ending up with yummy pancakes instead of globs of mush. You’ve been warned!
Beat the eggs in a large bowl (large enough to accommodate all the ingredients), add in the onion, garlic, lime zest, lemon juice, oregano and black pepper.
Go back to your sweating zucchini and give it a good squeeze. You can save the zucchini water for soup or you can be super hardcore and just drink it, it’s good for you! Squeeze as much water as you can, let it rest and squeeze again. When you’re zucchini is significantly reduced in size and it’s drained for a good 15 min and you’ve pressed out a good deal of delicious zucchini water you are ready to add it to your egg and seasoning mixture. Mix everything together.
The mixture will be soupy, which is where the flour comes in. Add flour, 1/4 cup at a time till your zucchini mix is like thick muffin batter. You are now ready for frying!
I used my large cast iron skillet to cook these since I use my large cast iron skillet for everything. Add organic vegetable oil to generously coat the pan and heat to medium high. You can make these pancakes as small or as large as you want just be sure to get them nice and brown on each side. Set them on a plate covered with paper to absorb the excess oil. Serve immediately, topped with fresh goat cheese and more oregano or, let them cool and wrap them up individually and store them in the freezer. They make an excellent quick meal, just unwrap and pop them in your toaster oven or under the broiler.
Do you have an other suggestions or tips to make this recipe even better?
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