Rustic Winter Stew Over Polenta!

This is healing. This is nourishing. This is comfort food.

Rustic Winter Stew Over Polenta:  The perfect supper for a chilly autumn evening.

Here's the recipe from Post Punk Kitchen.  Rustic Winter Stew Over Polenta

You're gonna love that website. I promise. The recipes and the photos are amazing.............

Quinoa and Kale Cakes

I am sure you are all aware of my love affair with Quinoa: rich in protein, low in fat, loaded with nutrition, filling and satisfying.  And kale? In my opinion, nature's perfect vegetable.  Kale is sturdy, inexpensive, versatile and is packed with antioxidants and essential minerals like iron, calcium, potassium and more.  This humble, yet gorgeous green leafy vegetable is this vegetarian's salvation! My only problem with kale is that I want to eat it every day!

You can imagine my delight when I stumbled upon a recipe for Quinoa and Kale Cakes. My two favorite foods -mixed together to make one delicious batch of wholesome and delicious cakes!

These cakes are fried, in oil, which might alarm some folks, but here's how I look at it: they contain a whole lot less fat than ground beef or chicken and so much better for you than any packaged, frozen veggie burger you can possibly buy! So you can enjoy them, with out guilt. Serve them on whole grain hamburger buns,  bread or in a whole wheat wrap.  I love them without the bread, served hot and topped with a bit of spicy red-pepper jelly and corn on the cob or steamed green veggies on the side.  YUMMY!


Here's the recipe:  Quinoa and Kale Cakes

ENJOY!

Braised Artichokes with Thyme

It's artichoke season!  Eat them to your heart's content.


Braised Artichokes with Thyme

Ingredients:

6 Medium artichokes
18 Fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
3 Tablespoons olive oil
8 Fresh thyme sprigs
1 Head garlic, cloves separated but unpeeled
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 Cup dry white wine
Parmesan Cheese to garnish (optional)

Instructions:

1. Prepare artichokes. Cut the top off and pull the center open gently. Remove choke and sharp leaves with a spoon. If the artichoke has a stem, trim 1/4 inch of it, but keep it attached. Peel the stem. Transfer to a large bowl filled with cold water.
2. Transfer artichokes to work surface, and place 3 sprigs of parsley in each. In a large pot over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons oil. Add artichokes, thyme, garlic, 1/4 cup water, and salt and pepper. Cover. Let cook for about 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until artichokes are tender and lightly browned.
3. Transfer to serving platter. Add wine and 1/2 cup of water to the pot. Turn heat to high, bring to a boil and scrape up brown bits from artichokes. Let boil for about 1 minute. Transfer water to a bowl and stir in remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Squeeze the pulp of three garlic cloves into sauce, mashing with a fork. Drizzle sauce over artichokes. Remove peels from remaining garlic cloves. Serve with crusty bread and garlic.

To learn all about the health benefits of artichokes, visit my website: Artichokes. Perfect for Health. Great for Weight Loss

Recipe from Care2.com

Miso Marinated Mushrooms

Photo from www.yummly.com

Delicious, healthy and satisfying.  Portobello mushrooms are perfect to eat when you really want to sink your teeth into something with texture and substance. They are my vegan "go-to" food when I am craving something hearty and filling.

This dish is great as an appetizer, a meal served with a big green salad, or you can pile the mushrooms between two slices of hearty whole grain bread for a delicious sandwich.

Here's what you need:.


2 tablespoons red or white miso paste
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons juice plus 2 tablespoons thinly sliced zest from 1 lemon, plus 1 extra whole lemon, cut into wedges
4 portobello mushroom caps, stems and dark gills removed
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 ounces arugula or other spicy greens
2 tablespoons toasted pistachios, roughly chopped or pressed in a mortar and pestle
Coarse sea salt such as fleur de sel or Maldon
Freshly ground black pepper

Here's what you do:

Combine miso paste, brown sugar, soy sauce, vegetable oil, and lemon juice in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Rub evenly over surfaces of mushrooms and transfer to a gallon-sized zipper lock bag. Gently press air out from bag, seal, and transfer to refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

When ready to proceed, adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 350°F. Remove mushroom caps from bag and wipe off excess marinade with paper towels. Place on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet gill-side-down and roast until top surface is dry and mushroom is tender throughout, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes to cool slightly.

Using a very sharp knife, cut mushrooms on a sharp bias into thin slices. Transfer slices to a serving platter or individual platters, fanning them as you go. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with lemon zest, pistachios, black pepper, and coarse sea salt. Toss arugula with remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil, squeezing one of the reserved lemon wedges over the greens. Top mushrooms with arugula and serve, passing remaining wedges.

Recipe from: www.yummly.com

Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes

Heirloom stuffed tomatoes.......
Gorgeous and protein packed.


Ingredients:

4 ripe large organic heirloom tomatoes
1 bunch of organic parsley
1 red organic onion
1 portobello mushroom
3 stalks of organic celery
2 cloves of organic garlic
1/2 cup of organic quinoa
1/2 tbs of organic virgin organic oil

Garnish: kalamata olives, walnuts, avocado, spinach and mango -

First take a half a cup of organic quinoa and rinse it well. Put the quinoa in a pot with a cup of water and bring to a boil, then simmer for fifteen minutes. When the quinoa has absorbed the water, fluff the quinoa take off the heat and let it stand until you are ready to fold in the other ingredients.

While the quinoa is cooking, hollow out the tomato. Put the inside of the tomato in a large bowl.....Now take the parsley, onion, portobello mushroom, garlic and celery and chop it up fine. Mix the chopped up vegetables with the tomato. Squeeze a whole organic lemon into the bowl with all of the vegetables and add 1/2 tbs. of organic virgin olive oil.........

Now, fold in the quinoa into the bowl with all the vegetables and blend well with a large spoon. Take the mixture and scoop it into the hulled out tomatoes.

Place the tomatoes on a glass oven dish and place in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the tomato skin starts to sear.

Take the kalamata olives and slice them along with chopped walnuts and sprinkle over the stuffed tomatoes along with fresh organic lemon juice.

Serve in a bed of fresh organic spinach and garnish with half an avocado and mango slices.

Recipe from: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Veganism/179286465450022

Ridiculously Easy Roasted Beets

YUMMY!  Roasted beets. The perfect food to help satisfy your sweet cravings and ridiculously easy to make. Roasting beets brings out their natural sweetness. Just toss them in the oven for about 20 minutes and they're done!

Here's what you need:


4 beets, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (optional)
1 pinch sea salt, or to taste

Here's how to cook them:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Toss the beets, olive oil, and thyme in a bowl until beets are coated, and arrange pieces of beet on baking sheet so that they don't touch. Sprinkle the beets with sea salt.

Roast in the preheated oven until the beets are tender, 10 to 20 minutes. A fork inserted into a beet cube should come out easily.

Enjoy!

Want to learn more about how good beets are for your health, wellness, and weight loss efforts? Read this:
Beat it with Beets! 

The Easiest Carrot Soup in the World!

I love carrots.  They are naturally sweet and highly nutritious. When I am in a snacking mood, I munch on raw, organically grown carrots because they're crunchy and take a long time to chew.

I include carrots in just about everything I cook.  I love them raw, in salads.  I add them to soups, stews, and stir fries.  I toss a handful of freshly grated carrots in to my marinara sauce and homemade muffins and cakes. Carrots lend glorious color, extra vitamins, and natural sweetness to any recipe.

Cooked carrots are especially sweet and perfect to eat when you are craving sugar.  Now that the weather is getting cooler, a great way to satisfy your sweet-cravings without sabotaging your weight loss efforts is to make a nice big pot of carrot soup.  Here is the easiest and most delicious Carrot Soup recipe in the world:


5 cups organically grown carrots
Pinch of salt
Dash of freshly ground pepper
Fresh dill

Scrub the carrots well.  I highly recommend using vegetable brush for thoroughly cleaning root vegetables.  If the carrots are organically grown, it is not necessary to peel them. Slice the carrots and place in a pot with an equal amount of boiling water. Cook al dente, about 15 minutes.

Purée in a food mill, blender or food processor. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Before serving, add some more fresh dill.


Yield: 4 servings