Baba Ganoush (Eggplant Hummus) - Two Ways!

  

This is like hummus, just made with eggplant instead of garbanzo beans, making a lower-carb food.  I almost like the taste better, too!  Two-ways...

Blended smooth...

Blended smooth

OR hand mixed...

Hand-mixed

Ingredients:

1 medium-large eggplant
1/4 cup tahini
2 tbs. olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1-2 cloves garlic (chopped if blending in machine, minced if hand-mixing) or 1 bulb roasted garlic (see directions in red beet hummus recipe)
pinch salt
pinch cayenne pepper

Directions:

Wash eggplant, dry it and poke holes in it with fork.  Line a baking tray with foil and place eggplant on it.

Place in oven at 400 degrees and bake for approximately 40 minutes or until it shrivels and juice runs from it.  If I think it's getting there I take it out of the oven and cut open with a knife to see what it looks like inside.  When it looks like it does in this photo it's done:

Roasted eggplant

Allow eggplant to cool enough to handle.  Scoop the eggplant out of the skin.

Place it in a food processor or blender along with all the other ingredients.

Blend until thoroughly mixed.




Alternatively, you can mix all ingredients in a bowl for a coarser texture.  I think both ways turn out great, they are just different.  Use a fork to mash and mix or a mashing-tool...

These are great savory dip for veggies, crackers, etc.  Also, a great sandwich filling!

Broccolini with Yogurt-Lemon-Butter Sauce

Broccoli's cute little cousin deserves a special sauce...

Ingredients:

1 bunch broccolini
2 tbs butter (or 1 tbs butter and 1 tbs olive oil)
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp - 1 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice (amount depends upon how tart you would like it - I used 1 tbs and it's nicely tart for my taste)
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbs plain yogurt


Directions:

Begin by steaming the broccolini without chopping it.  While it is steaming, begin melting the butter in a small pan on medium.  Add the olive oil and garlic.  Let cook about 1 minute.

Then, remove from heat and stir-in the lemon juice, salt/pepper and yogurt.

Stick the broccolini with a fork to check for doneness.  When cooked to your satisfaction, use tongs to remove it on a plate(s) and drizzle with the sauce.  Enjoy!

Lemony-Coconut Cake

Here's a recipe for another yummy cake.  It is best served warm, I find.  The texture reminds me of corn-muffins and the lemony flavor is delicate, not overpowering.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 cup almond meal
1 - 1 1/2 cups milk
juice from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbs vanilla extract
stevia, to taste

unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)

*Note: the ingredients listed above make a delicately lemony flavored cake.  If you would like something with a stronger lemon flavor you could try adding more lemon juice and using less milk (for correct liquid-ratio).*


Directions:

Use a wire whisk to whisk the eggs.  Heat the coconut oil on stovetop over low until melted.  Whisk well into the eggs.  Next, mix in the 1 cup milk and coconut flour, mixing to get out any lumps.  Add the almond meal and mix.  Add the lemon juice, baking soda, vanilla extract and stevia and mix well. Add in more milk if the mixture is too thick.  It's amazing how the coconut flour absorbs the liquid so well! 

Grease pan and sprinkle with a layer of shredded coconut on the bottom (optional).

Pour the mixture into the greased cake, pie pan, or muffin tin.  Sprinkle some more shredded coconut on top (optional).

Place in an oven preheated to 350 for 30-35 minutes (for cake or pie pan, less time for muffin-size) or until the edges *just* begin to brown.

This cake is very good when served still warm but it is also good out of the fridge as a left-over! 

For the chocoholic, you could add some home made chocolate sauce, but I do find that does overpower the lemony-aspect of this cake. 

Coconut Starfruit Upside-Down Cake with Blueberry Explosion!

I was given a couple of fresh starfruit (aka: carambola) and since I don't normally have an opportunity to work with them I wanted to make something fun.  So, here it is: Coconut Starfruit Upside-Down Cake with Blueberry Explosion (you can see), inspired by the beauty of starfruit and a recipe for Pineapple Upside-Down Cake in the book "Cooking with Coconut Flour" by Bruce Fife, N.D.  I just LOVE the star pattern along with the colorful blueberries.  The coconut batter gives a gluten-free and low-carb exotic twist on the classic cake and I have made several modifications such as making it sugar-free.  A beauty, that's for sure!

Ingredients:

Topping:
2 starfruit
handful blueberries
juice 1/2 lemon
2-3 tbs unsweetened shredded coconut

Batter:
1/4 cup butter, melted
6 eggs
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
juice 1/2 lemon
stevia, to taste
1/2 cup sifted coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder



Directions:

Grease a 8x8 or 9x9 round cake pan or spring form pan.  Trim the brownish edges from the 5 points of the starfruit.  Next, cut off the two sides, then slice the rest.

Arrange the starfruit on the  bottom of the pan.  Add blueberries evenly in between starfruit.  If you have more starfruit arrange a second layer or eat it and share it with your dog.

Sprinkle shredded coconut across fruit then drizzle lemon juice evenly across.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Whisk together the eggs, then add the melted butter, salt, vanilla, lemon juice, and stevia.  Mix thoroughly with wire whisk or electric beaters.  Mix together coconut flour and baking powder in a separate bowl then combine with the liquid-mix and mix thoroughly until there are no clumps left.

Use spatula to carefully scoop out batter onto fruit topping.  VERY carefully spread the batter evenly across the fruit, being careful not to move the fruit below (you can see in my photo one of the blueberries came through when I did this... do it carefully!).

Bake at 350 for 30-34 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when stuck through middle of cake.

Remove from oven and allow to cool  enough to handle.  While still warm, turn on to a plate.

Serve warm or place in the fridge to serve later.  You can let it warm to room temperature before serving if storing in the fridge.

Cold/Flu Wellness Soup

This soup delivers nature's anti-virals with rosemary, lemongrass, garlic, onions and lemon.  Also, veggies and chicken to give your body strength to recover quicker and healthfully from a cold or flu.  Not to mention the benefits of consuming the warm broth to help with congestion and warm the body.  I've made different variations on this, some of which I added seaweed or celery.  You can always try adding other veggies.  I don't use broth when I make soup because I believe I'm making my own broth with the ingredients I'm using.  So, I find it important to have the herbs, onion and garlic to help flavor it... it just works out so well they are helping you feel better, too!

Ingredients:

2-3 tbs olive oil

2 chicken breasts

3 stalks broccoli

4 carrots

1-2 large onions

5 cloves garlic

rosemary, 5 fresh sprigs

lemongrass, 1 stalk

salt (optional, to taste)

fresh lemon wedges

filtered water (enough to cover)

Directions:

Note about prep:  Have veggies prepared and ready before starting as things cook quickly and if you're not prepared some ingredients can get overcooked.  To  prepare carrots, peel and chop.  For broccoli, cut "woody" parts off stalks (and throw them away) and chop the remainder.  Chop rosemary finely. Peel outer layer off lemongrass and chop into approximately 6" pieces, then cut those down the middle to expose insides.  For garlic, smash cloves with chef's knife to remove skins, then chop finely.  Remove skin from onions and chop.

Note about herbs:  I have the rosemary and lemongrass growing fresh but if you don't you can always use dried herbs or substitute other herbs instead.  

Have your veggies/herbs prepared and ready then heat olive oil in large soup pot on medium-heat.  Using kitchen shears, cut chicken into strips, then cut those strips into small pieces.  Cook the chicken on the heat, stirring for a few minutes until most of the outside looks white.  Now, add the broccoli, carrots, onions, rosemary, and lemongrass.  Stir, then cover and cook for a few minutes.  Add water to cover then bring just to a boil over high-heat.  At once, reduce to a simmer and cook until the veggies are done to your liking.  Take soup off burner, keep cover off (or it will continue cooking) and stir in garlic and salt (if using) .  I add garlic at the end of cooking so as to preserve its beneficial properties.  The lemongrass is not to be eaten, it instead "brews" in the soup like a tea.  Leave the lemongrass stalks in the soup until right before eating as it will continue to steep.  For each bowl of soup squeeze a wedge of fresh lemon into it right before eating.

Cheers to Good Health!

You might also like to try this soup recipe by Feel Divine Food: Bunnicula's Carrot-Top Soup Medley.

Roasted Red Beet and Garlic Hummus

Several years ago I made a beetroot hummus from a recipe I found in a vegetarian cookbook.  I made it around Christmas time and the color was so beautiful and festive.  This year I finally got to making it again, but this time I made some changes and, oh my, it is yummy!  The roasting of the beet and garlic adds to the flavor, but if you wanted to save some time you could steam the beet and use raw garlic (if using raw garlic, be sure to decrease the amount you use or it will be too strong, garlic-wise).

Ingredients:

1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1 large beetroot (or 1 small)
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed butter)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 bulb roasted garlic
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin (or if you used a high speed blender like me you can add the seeds whole before blending)
pinch of salt (I use sea salt or Himalayan)



Directions:

Begin by roasting the beetroot and garlic.  Preheat oven between 350-400 degrees.  Wash the beetroot, do NOT peel, rub with olive oil, then wrap in a piece of tin foil.  Next, take the bulb of garlic and cut the cloves off across the top, just exposing the inside.  Place bulb on a piece of tin foil, then drizzle with olive oil.  Wrap the bulb up in the foil.   Now, place the garlic and beetroot on an oven proof pan and bake until roasted.  You will know the garlic is done when it begins to look caramelized (a bit browned but NOT burned!) and the beet is done when you can stick a fork through to the middle.  I think it took me about 45 minutes to roast the garlic and about 1 hour for the beetroot.  I started the timer at about 30 minutes and kept checking them periodically.

While the beetroot and garlic are roasting begin preparing the other ingredients.  Rinse the garbanzo beans (you can definitely substitute canned beans with freshly soaked and cooked ones!) in a strainer and allow the water to drain off for several minutes.

Combine the garbanzo beans, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin and salt in a food processor or blender.  Once the garlic has been roasted take it out of the oven, open the tin foil, and allow it to cool enough to handle safely with your hands.  It should look something like this:

Once cooled, squeeze the cloves out of their skins and add to the other ingredients.  Alternatively, if you chose to use raw garlic, just add 2 peeled cloves of raw garlic instead.  Raw garlic is much stronger, that is why I suggest using a much smaller amount.  Once the beet(s) have been roasted, use a fork to "hold" on to the beet(s) and remove the skin by scraping it off with a butter knife.

After the skin has been removed cut the beet into smaller pieces to help it continue to cool.  Allow to cool for a few minutes then add to the other ingredients.

Now, you are ready to blend it up!  Blend up the ingredients until smooth.  Serve immediately or store in the fridge and use within several days.  This hummus is delicious with raw veggies, corn chips, salad or sandwich topper, and the list goes on!  Also, a GREAT addition to the appetizer spread for your holiday potluck or party--- Enjoy!

Check out this link for more feel divine recipes at this week's Wellness Weekend!

Lemon Ginger Ale Beverage

Ingredients:


- One lemon
- small piece of ginger
- stevia, to taste
- water

Directions:


Peel yellow skin off lemon, leaving as much of the white, nutritious flesh as possible.  Cut lemon in half.  Use paring knife to remove the seeds that are noticeable. 

Peel ginger.

Place ginger, lemon, water, and stevia in blender and blend on high until thoroughly processed (approximately 30 seconds, depending on the blender).

Pour into glass and enjoy!

Colorful Summer Salad Slaw

Whether you like eating the slaw alone or on a salad or other meal topper, this fast and easy prep will cure your crave for crunch for several days.  There is endless versatility with what veggies you use and what is used to flavor it with.  I would plan to make a batch that will last no more than about 3-4 days, as it's best to eat fresh.   For this batch I used:

Ingredients:
- 1 head red cabbage
- 1 small/medium onion
- several fresh beets
- approximately 1 lb. carrots
- fresh herbs from garden or use dry herbs
- pinch of salt
- cayenne pepper
- juice of one lemon
- olive oil (or other) added before eating, optional

Directions:
- First, wash cabbage, peel onion, beets and carrots.  If needed, chop veggies to a size that will allow them to fit through the food processor with a shredding attachment.  I use a Cuisinart processor.  If you do not have a food processor, shredding by hand will also work, but it will require more patience.

Shred all veggies.  Add herbs of your choice.  I used what fresh ones I have growing now: holy basil, rosemary and mint.  Wash, pull off leaves and finely chop.  Alternatively, add dry herbs.  Add to shredded veggie mix.  Add salt, pepper, and lemon, then thoroughly mix ingredients using a large spoon.

Before eating, add olive oil (or other oil of choice: avocado, hemp, flax, etc...).  It is great alone.  I love to add it to to a salad:

Or, even more, along with other things to complete the salad (here, I've added avocado and quinoa...):

Store rest of slaw in airtight containers in fridge.  Variations for this recipe are endless... have fun, experiment and... ENJOY!