Fresh Marinated Red Beets

After living most of my life unacquainted with the beauties of raw beets, I finally discovered them last month and I'm hooked. Not only are they bursting with nutrition and enzymes when raw, but you are also saved the time and energy (and mess) of cooking them. If you've ever nibbled a bit of raw beet by itself, you might have thought what I did - This is rather unpleasant, and I'll have them boiled and buttered, thank you. However, marinating the fresh beets gives the starchy roots a great improvement and they are as good as your favorite pickle, so give it a try. Here's what's marinating in our fridge right now:

Marinated Fresh Beets:

Combine marinade in medium glass or metal mixing bowl:

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp caraway seeds

1 tsp dry minced onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp dry dill weed

Add to marinade and toss:

1 very large red beet (or 2 small) peeled, quartered and sliced as thinly as possible

When well combined, pack the beets and marinade into a quart mason jar or other glass storage container, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or 1 week. Serve as a side dish or mid-day snack.

Herby Turkey Quinoa Meatballs - Turkey Burger 7 Ways #2

The best way to get a head start on this recipe is to soak your quinoa and sesame seeds the day before (just do it when you're making today's supper and plan on making them tomorrow) in water double the amount of seeds. 24 hours makes it easy planning for me, but it could be shorter if that fits your schedule.  I soaked the quinoa in the cooking pan with a 1/4 tsp salt, and the sesame seeds in a jar on the counter with a dash of salt. The quinoa should be cooked (in soaking water) before making the balls, and the sesame seeds simply strained. Soaking the sesame seeds not only makes them more digestible but allows the flavor to blend more into the meatballs. But if you forgot to do that, you could just quick soak them by pouring a cup of hot water over them to sit for 10 minutes, or just use parmesan or romano cheese, for which the sesame seeds are a non-dairy substitute.

Herby Turkey Quinoa Meatballs

1 lb. ground turkey
3/4 - 1 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2-3 tbsp soaked sesame seeds
1 egg
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
dash of cayenne pepper

Mix all together in a bowl. Heat a large skillet on medium and grease with preferred oil or butter. Add large tablespoon sized balls to pan, about 1/2 inch apart, and brown, turning with spatula to brown all sides (usually it's about three sides - they won't be balls exactly). You could also put the meatballs on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 350 in the oven for 25 minutes, but it's August right now and I didn't want to turn on the oven, so I chose the fiddly way. Makes about 2 dozen tasty meatballs. The fresh basil and sesame make an outstanding combination for enhancing otherwise bland turkey burger. Use however you like meatballs - in pasta sauce, with mashed cauliflower or potatoes, in soup, or just with a fork and your favorite condiment.

Cuban-Style Casserole with Whole Grain Butter Biscuits

Lauren of Climbing Grier Mountain shared a fantastic recipe for Cuban Casserole which I made tonight for dinner. Well, sort of. I modified it so much for various health requirements that it was almost a different recipe. It was still so good with all the changes that I had to post my wheat-free, tomato-free re-fashion of the recipe here.

Cuban-Style Casserole with Whole Grain Butter Biscuits
Serves 4

NOTE: If making this for evening meal, prepare the first step of the biscuit dough in the morning, or the night before if desired.

Biscuits:

1 cup spelt flour
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1 tsp sea salt
¾ cup lukewarm water
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

In a glass mixing bowl, combine flours, salt, water and vinegar to form a ball of dough. Cover tightly and allow to sit for several hours (6-24 hrs - whatever works, I did about 8) to promote breakdown of anti-nutrients. When ready to add to casserole, knead or fold into dough the butter and baking powder till well combined. Sprinkle tapioca, potato or arrowroot starch on a work surface. Pat the dough into a 1/2 –inch thick circle and cut out 3" rounds with a biscuit cutter.

Casserole:

2 strips of nitrate-free bacon
1 lb lean ground beef
1 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
2 carrots, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, de-seeded, diced
1/2 cup cooked (canned) kidney or red beans
1 cup fresh or frozen cut green beans
2 tsp. dry minced onion 
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1 tsp dry oregano
1/2 tsp dry basil
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp prepared mustard (any kind - I used spicy brown)
2 tsp. tamarind paste concentrate -or- 1 Tbsp cider vinegar
3/4 cup chicken broth
Dash of ground allspice

Fresh chopped parsley, garnish


Preheat a large Dutch oven or covered skillet to medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook till browned. Drain off most of the grease (save that good stuff for later recipes) reserving a 'coating' in the pan, snip the bacon and add back to pan. Crumble in ground beef and cook till brown, stirring to prevent sticking. Add salt, and other remaining ingredients Stir and continue to cook for another couple of minutes, then cover and continue to cook on low while preparing the biscuits (below). Add the biscuits rounds to the top, replace lid and cook covered on medium/low 20 to 25 minutes or biscuits are puffy and golden. (OR, bake in oven per original recipe: Pour the beef mixture into the casserole dish. Add the biscuits rounds to the top and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.) Garnish with fresh parsley and butter.

One-Pot Chicken and Lentil Dinner

Cook 1 lb. bag of lentils according to directions on bag, with addition of bay leaf, and 1 tsp. salt.
Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid (basically, enough to make the lentils a little soupy, but not floating in liquid).

In large, covered skillet or Dutch oven, brown
6 chicken drumsticks or thighs
in
1 Tbsp butter

Grind or mix together (I use mortar and pestle):
1 tsp dry rosemary
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1/2  tsp dry basil
1/2 tsp marjoram
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt

Sprinkle over chicken while it browns in pan, turning to sprinkle and brown all sides When chicken is browned, or no longer pink on all outside surface, spoon cooked lentils with liquid evenly over chicken. Heat till bubbling, then turn to very low. Cook, covered 1 hour.

Add
2 carrots, diced
Cook another half hour, covered.

Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley, oregano or basil before serving. And parmesan cheese if you like that stuff.
Excellent paired with a salad of spring greens and red wine vinaigrette.

Peaches and Cream - Pure Fruit

Starting the day with a fresh fruit smoothie is worth the effort, especially when it's as delicious and healthy as this 99% fruit-based bowl of creamy goodness. Peaches are delicious with cream, but cream, or even non-dairy alternatives like coconut or almond milk, tends, in my opinion to cut the pure, clean freshness of raw fruit on the morning belly. So I decided to try this banana alternative. It's almost 100% fruit, but with just a splash of vanilla to make it extra yummy. And it's super simple.

Pure Fruit Peaches and Cream

1 frozen banana, sliced into 1" chunks
1 fresh peach, halved and sliced
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup cold water

Place frozen banana, half of the sliced peach, vanilla, and water into blender jar and puree till smooth. Dump mixture into a small (cereal) bowl. Top with remaining half of  fresh peach cut into bite size chunks. Eat with a spoon. (And don't try being fancy and adding berries or cinnamon or that kind of stuff - it won't be right.)

It's peach ice cream for breakfast. Enjoy!

Yummy Salad Dressing

A pleasant, tangy dressing for a simple lettuce salad, spring greens, tomatoes etc.

Zip Creamy Dressing

1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I use Hain Safflower, which is soy-free)
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp dry or 1 tsp fresh finely minced parsley
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
Ground black pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a small jar with watertight lid and shake to blend. Refrigerate and use within a week. This is a small recipe so it is easy to use up on just a couple of salads.

Turkey Sweet Potato Chili - Turkey Burger 7 Ways

This chili is easy, healthy, inexpensive and filling. Best of all, for those with allergies, it is tomato-free. It keeps well as leftovers. I like to make a big pot of it early in the afternoon and just let it sit on the stove till dinner time. Would probably be good in a slow-cooker too.

Turkey Sweet Potato Chili

Brown in large pan or medium soup pot over medium high heat:
2 slices nitrate-free bacon

Remove bacon when crispy and set aside. Then add to bacon grease in pot:
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 small onion, chopped
Saute for several minutes, then add:
1 lb. frozen turkey burger, thawed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

When meat is cooked, add:
1 cup/can cooked kidney beans
1 cup/can cooked white or pinto beans
the cooked bacon, snipped into small bits
1 large (or 2 small) sweet potato, peeled and cut to 1" cubes
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup coconut milk (or 1/4 c coconut cream concentrate in 1 cup water - don't bother to dissolve separately since it will do that in the pot)
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp dry basil
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne powder, chili powder or dash or tabasco sauce
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger

Turn to very low and cook for 1 hour. Before serving, stir in:
Handful of chopped fresh parsley