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Mostly Fruit Popsicles

May 17, 2012 By towers Leave a Comment

2 cups frozen berries (or mango or banana slices)

½ cup whipping cream or yogurt or coconut milk

2 Tbsp. honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

stevia extract to taste if not sweet enough

 

Pulverize frozen fruit in a food processor.  In a separate bowl, whip cream.  Stir honey and vanilla into whipped cream, OR yogurt or coconut milk depending on which you use.  Mix well.  Stir in frozen pulverized fruit.  Taste and add stevia if desired.  Place in popsicle molds or cups.  Freeze.  Makes 4 servings.  Run water over mold to loosen and remove.

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: fruit popsicles, healthy popsicles, homemade popsicles

Savory Wild Rice

April 30, 2012 By towers Leave a Comment

Lundberg wild rice blend is sold at the Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op and though more expensive than regular brown rice is much more flavorful.  Another secret here is carmelizing the onions.  Enjoy!

1 cup wild rice blend

1-2 Tbsp. butter–can substitute with olive oil

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 Tbsp. fresh chopped oregano

1/4 cup chopped green olives

salt, pepper, and tamari to taste

Place rice in a sauce pan and rinse well in plenty of water.  Drain all the water off with a stainer.  Pour 1 and 1/2 cups of boiling water into the saucepan.  Place lid on the pan and simmer on low heat until rice is tender and all the water is absorbed. 

While the rice is cooking, carmelize the onions.  Melt the butter in a skillet and add the olive oil.  As soon as the oil is hot (but not burning!) add the chopped onions.  Stir well to coat the onions with oil.  Add a 1/2 tsp. of sea salt.  Continue to stir over med. heat until onions are soft and browned and excess moisture has evaporated–this may take 10 minutes or more.  Add the oregano, olives, and stir a few minutes more.  Add cooked rice and fluff up with a fork to mix well.  Season with tamari, salt and black pepper.  Serves 3-4.

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: carmelized onion, fresh oregano, wild rice recipe

Green Chips

April 23, 2012 By towers Leave a Comment

2 cups washed lambs quarter weed, collards or kale

extra-virgin olive oil                           

sea salt to taste

Great tasting greens that kids will eat!  Be sure to get help identifying lambsquarter if you don’t know what it is.  It is highly nutritious and mild tasting and grows all spring and summer long.  Pat the greens dry with a towel.  Rip bigger leaves into 2-inch pieces discarding thick ribs/stalks.  Spread on a baking sheet and drizzle a teaspoon or so of olive oil over the leaves. Work with hands to distribute the olive oil.   Spread out well for good drying.  Sprinkle with salt.  Bake at 300, 15 minutes or until thoroughly dry.

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: collard chips, kale chips, kids recipe, lambsquarter greens

Omelet with Feta and Zucchini

April 4, 2012 By towers Leave a Comment

Eggs from pasture-raised healthy chickens are a very good source of protein.  Omelets are easy and can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  This one  is a meal in itself (the leftover wild rice is unusual for an omelet but very tasty with a nice texture) if served with a salad.  Add some vegetable juice and you have an excellent meal that is nutrient dense but not high in carbs—great for weight loss!

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 small zucchini, chopped

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup leftover wild rice

2 tsp. dried basil or 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped very fine

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (can be goat or sheep milk feta)

1/2 tsp. salt and black pepper to taste 

hot pepper sauce to garnish, optional

In a 10-inch skillet saute the onions in olive oil over medium heat about 5 minutes.  Add the zucchini and cook another 5 minutes.  Stir as needed to prevent sticking.  Add the cooked rice, basil, salt and pepper, and stir.  After a few minutes pour the beaten eggs slowly into the skillet.  Sprinkle the feta cheese evenly over the omelet.  Cover with a lid and cook over low to med. low heat until just set.  Do not overcook–eggs are easier to digest when lightly cooked.  Serve warm.  Serves 2.

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: eggs from pasture raised chickens, feta cheese, omelet, weight loss recipe

Cranberry Drink

November 18, 2011 By towers Leave a Comment

This festive CRANBERRY DRINK has many merits! It is unusual in that the cranberries and oranges are not cooked or heated in any way; the nutrient levels are maintained better when a food is not heated. It has peppermint tea which aids digestion. It is not high in sugar since stevia is used to sweeten and the natural fruit sugar in the orange juice is diluted by the tea and cranberry juice. Many people do not realize that cranberries are very sour alone so that products made with them (besides being heated) are very high in added sugar. This drink is a refreshingly low-sugar way to enjoy the health benefits of cranberries. One other benefit—being a fluid it contributes to your 8 or so cups of recommended fluids a day.

RAW CRANBERRY ORANGE DRINK

1 12 oz. Bag fresh cranberries, organic is best

8 organic juicing oranges

3 peppermint tea bags

2-3 cups water

stevia extract to taste

This beverage can be made with a blender or a vegetable juicer. It is also helpful to have a citrus juicer.

Boil the water and pour into a glass quart jar or a teapot and add 3 peppermint tea bags or 3 Tbsp. of the dried herb. Let steep until cooled to room temperature.

Wash cranberries and drain. If you are using a vegetable juicer, put them through a vegetable juicer and set aside the juice. If using a blender place the cranberries into a blender. Add the tea to the blender and blend very well. Strain mixture through a strainer into a glass bowl and press pulp with a spoon until most of juice is removed. Discard pulp or put it into homemade  cranberry sauce.

Juice oranges. Mix orange juice, cranberry juice, and tea if you used a vegetable juicer to extract the cranberry juice, in a pitcher. Add stevia to sweeten to taste. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: cranberry, cranberry drink, holiday cranberry drink, raw cranberry recipe

Celeriac Soup

October 19, 2011 By towers Leave a Comment

Celeriac Soup Recipe

Celeriac root is an unusual vegetable related to celery that has a fantastic flavor.  If you can’t find it, 4 stalks of celery can be substituted.  The vegetable stock can be made concurrently with the onion, the leek trimmings, the potato and celeriac peelings, plus a bay leaf.  Remember to slit the leek with a knife lengthwise from about 3 inches from the root end all the way through the remainder of the leek so you can wash all the dirt out.

1 celeriac root (5 inches in diameter)

4 cups vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

1 onion

1 leek

4 small white potatoes

2 Tbsp. butter

1/3 cup cream or plain yogurt

4-5 sprigs of fresh basil and parley each

Wash and trim the leek well–usually only about 6-8 inches of the white part of the root end of the leek is used and the rest trimmed off.  Place the trimmings in a sauce pan with 5 cups of water, the bay leaf, and the onion (cut in half ) and bring to a boil.  Turn heat to medium low and cover.  Wash and skin the celeriac root and potatoes.  Place the peels in the water also and continue to simmer with the lid on.  Simmer for 45 minutes.  Continue preparing the remaining ingredients while the stock cooks.

Chop the leek and potatoes.  Grate the celeriac root.   Saute the leek in the melted butter in another sauce pan for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.  Add the potatoes and grated celeriac root.  Saute 5 minutes more.  Add the stock and bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to a simmer and cover for 45 minutes or until vegetables are soft.  Blend with a hand-held blender until smooth. (You can also transfer to a blender and blend.)   Add cream or yogurt, salt and pepper to taste, and the chopped herbs.  Serves 4-6.

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: celeriac soup, leek recipe, soup recipe

Coconut-Walnut “Granola”

May 5, 2011 By towers Leave a Comment

I do not recommend granola since it is most often made with a lot of concentrated sugar of some sort and poor quality oil (remember any product made with non-organic soy or canola or corn–their oils too–is very likely genetically modified).  Also, the rolled oats in granola are high in phytate, a mineral binder that makes mineral absorption difficult for the gut. (A healthy way to have oatmeal is to soak rolled oats overnight, rinse, and then cook in water for at least 20 minutes until creamy.)  Here is a healthy version of granola.

Coconut-Walnut Granola

4 cups of dried, shredded coconut flakes

2 cups soaked walnut halves (soak the walnuts in plenty of water overnight-rinse very well and drain before use)

2 Tbsp. organic coconut oil, it will be a solid as shown in the photo

2 Tbsp. honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Optional:  raisins or other fried fruit chopped into small pieces.

Place all ingredients in a food processor.  Blend well until mixture is homogenous.  Spread in a baking pan (about 9″ by 12″).  Bake at 250 degrees F  until light gold and dried.   This may take an hour or more depending on your oven.  Stir every 15 minutes so it browns evenly and doesn’t overbake on the sides or bottom.  You can also dry the mixture in a food dehydrator for “raw” granola.  Allow the granola to cool completely before storing in a glass jar.  Keep refrigerated.

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: gluten-free granola. low-sugar granola, healthy granola, raw granola

Blueberry Squares

March 31, 2011 By towers Leave a Comment

When you want something sweet, make it yourself but be sure to use the best quality ingredients.   The cost and the time involved may deter you from having desserts more than once or twice a week, which is a good thing! 

The Roanoke Natural Foods Coop is  where we buy good eggs and other organic foods–especially bulk grains, beans, and herbs.  As for blueberries, we keep them in the freezer all year–we pick enough locally in early August to have them last all year long and they are easy to freeze.  This recipe has blueberries, rolled oats, arrowroot, and walnuts–all excellent ingredients. 

1 cup organic rolled oats

3 Tbsp. organic butter (organic coconut oil may be substituted)

1 egg, organic and from pasture-raised chickens

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. aluminum-free baking powder

1/4 cup arrowroot powder

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Place the oats in a food processor and process into a coarse flour.  Cut butter into 1/2 inch pieces and blend into oats until mixture is homogeneous.  Add egg, honey, vanilla, and baking powder and blend well.  Add arrowroot flour and blend again.  Hand stir the walnuts into this mixture and spread into a pyrex baking dish (10-inch diameter or 8-inch square).  Spread the blueberries evenly on top and press them down into the batter–it’s ok if they are frozen but it may take a little longer to bake.  Bake for about 15 minutes in a pre-heated 325 degree F. oven until just golden and a knife poked in the center comes out clean.  Do not overbake or the squares will be dry.  Let cool and cut into squares.  Serves 4.

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: arrowroot powder, blueberries, healthy desserts

Honeyed Parsnips

March 21, 2011 By towers Leave a Comment

As a gardening side note, we let the parsnips we planted last year in the garden overwinter so that they would be ready to dig once the ground thawed in the Spring.  It’s nice to have something to harvest this early in the year and it is said that the winter freezing sweetens them.  Leeks overwinter well also.  I mention this because many gardeners don’t take advantage of Fall gardening and they are missing out on so much!  

This recipe is a delicious way to enjoy an unusual root vegetable. 

Honeyed Parsnips

2 parsnips (1 medium sized parsnip per serving)

2 Tbsp. organic butter

2 tsp. honey

cinnamon or cardamon (optional)

Wash the parsnips well and peel if skins are tough or they are difficult to clean. Slice them into thin rounds no more than 1/8 inch thick. Melt butter in a skillet on medium-low heat. Do not burn—add the parsnips as soon as the butter melts and stir well to coat with butter. Cover the pan and let the parsnips brown for a few minutes. Use a spatula to loosen and flip them every 3-4 minutes, keeping them covered in between flipping. Again, do not let them burn. They should be tender in the middle, lightly browned and slightly crispy in about 15 minutes. Serve immediately. Place on serving dishes and drizzle with honey. Sprinkle with spice of your choice if desired.

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: parsnip recipe

Our Family Cook Book

January 28, 2011 By towers Leave a Comment

Monica and her siblings have recently published a charming volume called Our Family Cook Book. Dedicated to their parents, it contains an excellent variety of recipes submitted by Monica and her sisters and brothers. Special holiday recipes, modern healthy supper ideas, and old family favorites are included as well as interesting personal comments regarding the origin and history of some of the recipes. There is something to please everyone in this cook book!

Come by the office and take a look.  We will have additional copies printed if enough people are interested, so please let us know if you would like to be added to the waiting list.

Submitted by Sandy Taylor

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: Monica's Kitchen, our family cookbook
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