Asparagus Basil Salad

This super healthy Asparagus Basil Salad is a not just nutritious, it's a treat for the palate. Trust me, it's delectable, especially right now using wonderfully ripe vegetables at peak season. I found this recipe in Sunset Magazine. Actually, I didn't find it, our family friend Mrs. Rose found it and made it for Mr. Rose's 75th birthday, a fabulous little gathering that the boys and I attended when we were in Davis, California visiting my folks a couple of weeks ago.

For those of you that commented on my last post, The Gluten Free Diet, about family and friends that don't understand, accommodate or respect your dietary restrictions (or eating plan, as I prefer to say) Mrs. Rose made tons of gluten free food for us! And so, a yummy dinner was enjoyed by all.

However, IMHO, it really is up to us to maintain our boundaries and not eat food that makes us feel awful, just to spare someone else's feelings. I would rather hurt their feelings than hurt my body; has anybody else been in a situation like that?

In any event, here's a yummy salad that pretty much anyone can enjoy. If you don't do nightshades, it's still delicious without the tomatoes!

Asparagus Basil Saladprinter friendly
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and halved
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 ripe avocado, cut into cubes
1 cup sliced basil leaves
¼ cup olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon pepper

1.Steam asparagus for 5-7 minutes until fork tender
2.Place asparagus, tomatoes, avocado and basil in a large bowl
3.Stir in olive oil, lemon juice and mustard
4.Sprinkle with salt and pepper
5.Serve
I actually made a huge batch of this last weekend and ate it for breakfast and then had the rest for dinner with Turkey Burgers from my book, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.

I am LOVING Mark Sisson's book The Primal Blueprint, the guy is a genius. And I am waiting for his next book to come out, which is the called, The Primal Blueprint Cookbook. If you haven't had a chance to look at Mark's site, marksdailyapple.com, head on over there and check it out. It is primal galore.

Bacon Wrapped Sweet Potato Fries with Chipotle Lime Dip

This was inspired by a dish we had during a recent trip to Charlotte, NC. When we look for new places to eat we typically use Urban Spoon and read reviews–that’s how we found this place. I have to say, we were pretty disappointed. It was one of those places where the menu read better than the food actually was. One example: mussels steamed in beer with herbs and what-not. Thought it sounded interesting, it wasn’t, pretty gross, actually. We did have one thing, though not very good, we thought we could improve upon–bacon wrapped tater tots. So here you have it, our version:




Bacon Wrapped Sweet Potato Fries with Chipotle Lime Dip
Ingredients
◦2 sweet potatoes, cut into thick matchsticks*
◦1 package bacon, don’t use thick cut
◦1/2 c mayo, using avocado oil
◦1-2 chipotles in adobo sauce
◦1 lime, juiced
Method
Get your oven to 425°F. Soak the sweet potato matchsticks in a bowl of cold water for up to 6 hours. This removes a lot of the starch from the potato. When you remove the potatoes, you can visibly see white starch granules at the bottom of the bowl. Drain the water from the potatoes and pat dry.

Slice each piece of bacon in half, lengthwise. Wrap 1 strip of bacon around 1 matchstick sweet potato. Lay on a baking sheet. Repeat until all the bacon is gone. If you have left over sweet potatoes, toss ‘em on the pan too, they’ll cook beautifully in all the rendered bacon fat.

For the Dip
In a food processor, pulse up the chipotle(s) and lime juice into the mayo.

Bake the fries for about 25 minutes on one side. You’re looking for browned bacon. Use some tongs to flip the fries over and bake for another 10-12 minutes, until browned.

Squeeze some lime juice on the fries. Serve hot and with the dip.



*You want a thick cut (not thin!) and keep the skin on. Here’s a rough how-to:





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Coconut Flour Pancakes and Waffles

A recipe search for "paleo pancakes" is what led me to Marks Daily Apple for the first time last winter. Fairly new to the exciting world of grain-free baking, I had never even considered making grain-free pancakes or waffles. After a quick Google search, the first search result was a link to MDA. My first click into the world of Mark Sisson had me hooked. His website became my new obsession, and I gained much more knowledge of the paleo lifestyle through his website. The recipe I found for pancakes was one that used almond meal, and although they were delicious, they didn't quite make the pancake cut. They were more like yummy almond latkes. After a year of adventures in grain-free cooking, along with my favorite partner in crime (and love of my life, Bill), I decided on a second attempt at grain-free pancakes (plus waffles!), this time with coconut flour.

As an artist, I love creating art out of food. I visualize all that is going into the recipe, how it will look during cooking, and how I want it to look after. My desire for cooking is more targeted toward creating something I never knew I could create, rather than the final result of getting to eat it. A bonus to it all is making something that I know Bill will love, and his reaction to the food that I make is the icing on the cake. For this recipe, I knew we would create something beautiful, delicious, and I knew Bill would absolutely love it.

This is a simple recipe for waffles, or pancakes. The only difference in the two is that we added extra cinnamon to the waffles for a stronger cinnamon flavor. The topping for the waffles were simple sliced bananas sauteed in coconut oil, along with chopped pecans. The sweetness of the banana, along with the warm, sweet flavors of the pecans and maple syrup combined beautifully together. This was definitely a dessert breakfast, but for those of you missing the comfort of a warm waffle or pancake breakfast, this one is for you!


Waffles
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 tbsp coconut milk
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 dropper of liquid stevia

Process:

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, blend all ingredients with a hand mixer.
2. Heat waffle iron to 'waffle' setting (seriously!) - its medium high heat, typically.
3. Drop batter into center of waffle iron to cover about 3/4 of area. This batter does not expand the way traditional flour waffles do.
4. Waffles are done when they easily separate from the waffle iron, typically 3-5 minutes.
   

recipe above makes just over 1 cluster of 4 waffles (10x10 waffle iron)

[Printer friendly recipe - click here]

Pancakes
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 tbsp coconut milk
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 dropper of liquid stevia
  

Process:

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, blend all ingredients with a hand mixer.
2. Heat coconut oil in a non-stick frying pan or griddle to medium heat.
3. Pour 1/8 cup of batter into frying pan or griddle.
   
4. Cook for 2 minutes, flip, cook for 2 more minutes, repeat with the rest of the batter.

[Printer friendly recipe - click here]

Fried Banana and Toasted Pecan Topping
Ingredients:

• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 banana
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped

Process:

1. Heat coconut oil in a non-stick frying pan on medium heat.
2. Slice banana and add to frying pan.
3. Sear banana slices until brown and crispy on the bottom side, then flip.
4. Add pecans to frying pan and lightly toast with the seared banana slices.
5. Top over waffles or pancakes and serve.

We topped the waffles and pancakes with a drizzle of pure maple syrup. These protein packed waffles would be a wonderful treat to bring as breakfast in bed to your loved one come Valentines day, or as a breakfast treat for your grain-free little one. Anyway you'd like to serve them, you wont be disappointed.

As always, enjoy!

Chicken and Vegetable 'Lo Mein

Growing up one of my favorite dinners to have was Chinese food. It was usually a special occasion that we ordered Chinese, so it wasn't an indulgence that I had often. Bill is another lover of Chinese food, but his mom would frequently cook home made Chinese dinners for their family, so of course what he ate was a little healthier than ordering greasy Chinese from a restaurant. These days I cant stomach the idea of Chinese food, it's right up there with drive through and pizza, yuck.
Although heavy sauces and vegetable oil fried Chinese food is not something that Bill and I are interested in, we do however enjoy a fresh home made stir fry, with mouth watering Asian flavors.

Every once in a blue moon Bill creates a masterpiece in the kitchen, just kidding! Yes, more often than not I'm the head chef, but the recipe is never complete without agreement on both parts. For this particular recipe, Bill took the lead, and created a delicious Asian stir fry using sesame oil and coconut aminos. The flavors were outstanding! The added shredded cabbage gives the facade of noodles being in the dish, but enhances the texture beautifully with subtle crunch.

Ingredients:
Chicken or beef
1/4 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup water chestnuts
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and cut in half
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1 tablespoon minced Ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups broccoli
2 cups shredded cabbage
Toasted sesame oil
Coconut aminos
Sesame seeds to garnish
Process:
Clean all vegetables and trim fat from meat (if applicable).
Cut broccoli, chicken and mushrooms into bite sized pieces.
Thinly slice 2 cups of cabbage (about half the head of cabbage).
Chop almonds, green onion, celery; mince garlic and ginger.
Heat wok over high heat.
Add sesame oil, swirl to coat bottom of wok, then add meat.
Cook meat for 3-4 minutes, until mostly cooked.
Add in broccoli, water chestnuts, celery and shiitake mushrooms; cook for 2 minutes
Add in almonds, cabbage, ginger, green onion and garlic. Add a splash of coconut aminos (2-4 tbsp). Cook 2-3 minutes, until cabbage softens a little.
Remove from heat, garnish with sesame seeds, and enjoy!