Paleo Roasted Red Pepper Dip

This recipe is from the book, Everyday Paleo, that my friend lent me. I brought this dip to a BBQ and it disappeared quickly! It has the consistency and similar taste to hummus, and is very filling. I roasted the red peppers instead of using the jarred ones. Soaking the nuts overnight is very important to make it easier to blend.

RECIPE:
2 cups walnuts, soaked overnight
2 fresh red bell peppers or 12 oz jarred red peppers
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
juice of half a lemon
1/2 tsp salt

If roasting the red peppers, turn oven onto high broil setting. Drizzle olive oil over the peppers, set in a glass dish, and place under the broiler. Broil for 10 minutes, then turn peppers over and broil for another 10 minutes. Continue until peppers are blackened and blistered on the outside. Take out of oven and allow to cool. Scrape blackened skin off of the peppers, remove seeds, and cut into strips.

Place walnuts, cumin and salt in  a food processor or blender. Process until walnuts are finely ground. Add pepper strips, garlic, parsley, lemon juice and process until well blended. Slowly drizzle the olive oil into the dip as the food processor is on. Add more salt to taste if needed. Chill for at least half an hour before serving. Serve with lots of fresh veggies!

30 Days of Paleo Starts Now

I'm taking the plunge into Paleo! My diet now is very healthy and mostly low-carb, but I was looking for something that would give me fast results.  I have a friend who started Crossfit and the Paleo diet

My Challenge: Adhere to a Paleo diet as strictly as I can for 30 days.

Goal:  Slim down and lose winter's extra padding in time for a ladies trip to Las Vegas, which will include skin-revealing LBDs and pool parties! Bonus benefits - I'm hoping to sleep better at night and have more energy during the day.

Guide:  A friend loaned me this book; it's the guide I'm using to get started plus the numerous cooking blogs and websites out there.

Getting Started: Some Paleo "get started" guides recommend cleaning out your fridge and pantry of anything non-Paleo. I think this is a great idea for people who tend to give into temptation when they have goodies in the house. I opted not to throw good food away (at least donate it to a friend or local foodbank!), because I may not stick with this diet longer than 30 days! So far I have been able to resist, although my mind does often wander to those Thin Mints in the freezer. Why do I always agree to buy those then regret it later?! Glutton for punishment, I tell ya.

Prep Work: In order to be successful at the Paleo diet, I had to purchase some unusual ingredients right up front. These included clarified butter, almond flour, almond butter, and coconut oil, lots of nuts. All of these I purchased online at Vitacost.com for half the price at my local grocery store. Raw nuts I purchased at Nuts.com. Meal planning takes a bit more time and effort. Luckily, my hubby has decided to try Paleo as well so we don't have to worry about two versions of the same meal. The nights before he does a morning run he may end up having a cup of rice to give him fuel to last overnight. We're still experimenting to see what will work.

Now on to the recipes! Wish me luck!

Wonton Soup

Allow me to share a recent discovery I made after reviewing my last few posts on here....I think I have a girl crush on Steamy Kitchen! :) Her recipes never fail to deliver delicious food to my table. It's a bonus that she has plenty of pictures, step-by-step instructions, and usually a video to accompany each recipe. She has a new book coming out, and I am excitedly awaiting its release, especially since it's called Healthy Asian Favorites, which is pretty much right up my alley. Soooooo if someone is looking for an early Valentine's Day/Christmas/birthday gift for me.... :)

Anyway, enough about my crush, and on to another one of her delicious recipes...wonton soup!  This tastes NOTHING like the bland broth with chewy starchy noodles filled with a blob of "mystery meat" that my brothers and I grew up eating at the local Chinese restaurant. These wontons were fresh, light, and flavorful. I had so much fun making them too! I like that I made a whole batch and froze the leftover wontons to use later. I used ground chicken instead of pork, and fresh cooked spinach instead of frozen.

I'll leave the instructions to Steamy Kitchen with a link to her recipe here, and just post some of my photos. If anyone wants to have one of those "dumpling parties" that she talks about, let me know! It would be fun to try a bunch of different fillings.

Wonton wrapping in progress...it really was easy!

 

 

All wrapped up, ready for simmering broth!

 

 

 

Into the broth they go.

 

 

 

Gently simmering until cooked through.

 

 

 

Top with cilantro and serve!

Recap!

Yes, it has been a while since my last post, but I promise I've been cooking, taking pictures, documenting, and of course, eating! I have a serious blog backup, so I decided to write a "recap" blog to cover the best recipes that I've tried so far this winter. I will provide a picture and link with each to go straight to the recipe source.

Here goes....

Quinoa Patties from Epicurious
These are a protein-packed snack that's perfect on-the-go, since I thought they tasted good hot or cold. I topped a fresh veggie salad with two of these babies and lunch was done.

Pumpkin Gnocchi from Steamy Kitchen
My first time making gnocchi. Not too hard, a good change-up when pasta gets boring. I wish it had some kind of sauce, though.

Chickpeas, Spinach, and Eggs from Bon Appetit
What a great protein-chocked vegetarian meal! The only drawback is that for a weeknight meal there were too many tedious steps.  I like to keep weeknights simple. I would make this for a Sunday post-workout brunch.

Whiskey Mushroom Steak Sauce from Steamy Kitchen
Everyone has their go-to steak preparation, and after making this sauce twice, this is now mine. So easy, so delicious, and light enough not to detract from the scrumptious juicy steak itself. I found a local store that sells grass-fed filet for $5-8 a pop -- WOW.  I went back there recently to get more and almost cried when the sign said they were closed until late May!

Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce from Steamy Kitchen
Can't get more low-carb than this and still get so much flavor. Since it was too cold to grill outside, my indoor grill worked wonderfully. The sauce is a hoisin-peanut butter-water blend that awesome cook and blogger, Cookie Loves, taught me. Basically, whisk together hoisin sauce and peanut butter until the flavor has that perfect sweet and tangy balance, then add water to thin it out to a more dip-like consistency.

 

See, I wasn't slacking after all! :)

Roasted Tomato Soup

This recipe is from Steamy Kitchen's blog (one of my favorites to follow!). I was looking for nutritious soup recipes for my poor hubby who recently had gum surgery. He loves salads and hasn't been able to eat anything crunchy! Since I recently picked up a quart of large, juicy homegrown tomatos from the local farmers' market, this was a good way to use them up. Often in tomato soups, it is turned into a "bisque" by adding cream, and I liked that this one had awesome flavor without all that extra fat. My immersion blender made quick work of the big chunks of veggies without having to transfer the boiling mixture into another appliance for blending.

RECIPE:
5 large tomatoes, cut into thick slices
1 onion, cut into 1/2" slices
1 jalapeno, cut in half lengthwise, seeded
2 bell peppers, cut into big chunks
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 cups vegetable broth

Preheat oven to 400F. Spread tomatos, onion, jalapeno, bell peppers and garlic onto large baking sheets. Drizzle or spritz with olive oil until everything is thinly coated. Roast vegetables for 20-30 minutes, until everything is a bit browned and blistered. Take sheets out of the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Scrape all items into a large soup pot then add vegetable broth, paprika, salt and pepper. Use immersion blender to blend all ingredients to a smooth puree. Otherwise, transfer contents of soup pot to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Once soup is blended and back in the soup pot, bring to a simmer for about 10 minutes to let the flavors meld, and adjust seasoning to taste. Serve with grated parmesan cheese if you like, and a thick slice of fresh bread. Makes 4 servings(per serving: 130cals, 7g fat, 13g carbs, 3g protein)

French Onion Soup

This picture was taken right after I pulled two bowls of bubbling soup out from under the oven's broiler and the overpowering scent of onions, toasted homemade bread, and Gruyere was hitting me in the face! It isn't the prettiest soup I've ever made, but it tasted phenomenal. The ingredients are few and simple, with the most expensive ingredient being the Gruyere cheese which must be a splurge because there is no substitute for its flavor!

The recipe is from epicurious.com, labeled a "blue ribbon" recipe which means lots of good ratings! Definitely more comfort food than healthy given the ample cheese and butter, but its flavor is so rich that one bowl will satisfy. The recipe stated that it made 2 servings, but I had at least one full bowl leftover. I used 1/2" slices of homemade wheat bread; too much bread takes away from the soup's silky texture. I didn't know how large a "sprig" of thyme is, so I pulled 2 3" stems from my herb garden, which gave just a hint of thyme flavor.

RECIPE:
1 lb yellow onions (about 4 medium), sliced thin
3-5 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp kosher or sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups beef stock
1 cup water
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups Swiss Gruyere cheese, grated
crusty bread, sliced 1/2" thick, heavily toasted

Heat a dutch oven or large soup pot over medium. Melt the butter, then add the onions, thyme, bay leaf, and some salt & pepper. Saute for a few minutes, then reduce heat to low and cook onions for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are a caramel color and very soft. Add flour and mix in, then increase heat to medium, add white wine and let bubble for a few minutes. Pour in broth and water, bring to a simmer and cook with the pot covered for 30 minutes. Sprinkle in more salt and pepper to taste. Once the flavor of the soup is to your liking, turn off heat and ladle soup into two oven-proof bowls. Float slices of bread on top and sprinkle on a thick layer of Gruyere on the bread. Place bowls onto a baking dish for stability and broil on the middle rack for 5 minutes until the cheese is browned and bubbly. Let cool before serving, and don't forget the bowls are very hot!

Lentil Squash Soup (Vegan)

I had about 2 cups of leftover trombocino squash (similar to butternut) after making chili over the weekend, and since it is cold outside tonight this soup fit the bill of simple, comforting, hearty, and healthy.

Check out this freaky looking squash from the CSA! The one on the left is the trombocino, and on the right is a type of pumpkin. I succeeded in using both of these monsters up with various recipes - go me!

 

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and adapted it a little based on the ingredients I had on hand. I didn't have fresh ginger or fenugreek seeds (who has those lying around?), substituted green Goya lentils for red, and added sliced baby bella mushrooms. I also used the whole can of coconut milk, because I was too lazy to figure out what to do with the other half can!  Including cooking time, it took about an hour to make.

RECIPE:
2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup dry lentils (don't forget to rinse and sort thru these like I did! oops)
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 can light coconut milk
2 cups water
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
canola oil
salt to taste
cayenne pepper to taste

Add a bit of oil to the bottom of a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Saute garlic, onion, and ginger for a few minutes until the onion is translucent. Add squash, mushrooms lentils, cilantro and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add tomato paste, coconut milk, water, curry, nutmeg, salt, and cayenne. Mix together, crank the heat up to high and bring to a boil briefly. Simmer on low for 30 minutes with the pot uncovered. After 30 minutes, check the lentils to see if they are soft. There should not be much liquid left at this point. If lentils are still crunchy, cover pot and continue simmering until they are done. Taste test and add more seasoning if needed. Serve hot in a bowl sprinkled with fresh cilantro.