Kale Cranberry Pine Nut Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Salad:

1 bunch of fresh kale

1 cup chopped dried cranberries

1/2 cup roasted pine nuts

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Sea salt and black pepper

Remove the hard stem off kale leaves and finely chopped. Combine all the ingredients in a large salad bowl. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Keep chilled.

Vinaigrette:

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Blend lemon zest, juice, and mustard to combine. With the blender running. drizzle in olive oil until vinaigrette is thick and creamy. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Drizzle some over chilled salad and serve immediately with the rest of the dressing on the side.

Vegetable Tart Recipes: Gorgeous, Verdant Pies For Spring

www.huffingtonpost.com - May 13th, 2013

When we think of baking a colorful tart, we generally turn to fruit, chocolate and other sweet variations. In our effort to put more vegetables into everything (because we really, really like them) we want to remind you of how delicious, beautiful and impressive a great vegetable tart can be.

Have a spring brunch you need to pull together? Vegetable tart it up. Need to make lunch for friends? We'd recommend a vegetable tart recipe. Light dinner? Well... you probably know where we're going with this. Making a savory vegetable tart also allows you to include one of our favorite ingredients in your recipe: cheese. Which vegetable will you make your next tart with?

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CLICK HERE for the recipe to the Gluten Free Roasted Eggplant Tart seen here 

Cheesy Egg Soufflé

3 large eggs, yolks and whites separated

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup freshly grated gruyere

1 tablespoon gluten-free flour blend

3 tablespoons grass fed salted butter

Sea salt and black pepper

Pre-heat oven to 350F

Butter and flour 6 small ramekins. Prepare your basic roux by melting butter in a pan on medium heat, add flour and cook, whisking constantly until it just begins to turn a light brown color. Heat milk until hot, but not boiling. Add a small amount of roux into the milk and mix, then add the milk mixture back into the roux. whisking constantly until it started to thicken and bubbly. Lower heat to low, add a small amount of the roux to the egg yolks, whisking constantly to combine. Add the yolks back to the sauce whisking well. Whisk the cheese in slowly until melted. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Set aside.

Whisk egg whites until soft peaks form and fold into the cheese sauce (don't mix!). Pour into ramekins and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until fluffy and golden. Serve immediately.

Hearty Navy Bean Soup

1 lb cooked navy bean 

1 large shallot, chopped 

1 large bay leaf 

2 large garlic cloves, minced 

1 cup chopped ham (optional) 

3 cups chicken broth 

2 cups vegetable broth 

Extra Virgin olive oil 

Sea salt and black pepper

Cover the bottom of a large dutch oven or soup pot with olive oil.When hot,saute shallot, garlic, bay leaf, ham (optional), and beans on medium heat for 10 minutes to cook the shallot and garlic. Lower heat to low, add broth. Let the soup simmer for about 1 1/2 hours.

Remove bay leaf, Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Puree half the soup in a blender and stir back into the soup. Serve hot with drizzles of extra virgin olive oil and crusty bread.

Top 10 GMO Foods To Avoid

www.nationofchange.org - February 6th, 2013

Genetically modified foods have been shown to cause harm to humans, animals, and the environmental, and despite growing opposition, more and more foods continue to be genetically altered. It’s important to note that steering clear from these foods completely may be difficult, and you should merely try finding other sources than your big chain grocer. If produce is certified USDA-organic, its non-GMO (or supposed to be!) Also, seek out local farmers and booths at farmer’s markets where you can be assured the crops aren’t GMO. Even better, if you are so inclined: Start organic gardening and grow them yourself. Until then, here are the top 10 worst GMO foods for your “do not eat” GMO foods list.

Top 10 Worst GMO Foods for Your GMO Foods List

1. Corn: This is a no-brainer. If you’ve watched any food documentary, you know corn is highly modified. “As many as half of all U.S. farms growing corn for Monsanto are using genetically modified corn,” and much of it is intended for human consumption. Monsanto’s GMO corn has been tied to numerous health issues, including weight gain and organ disruption.

2. Soy: Found in tofu, vegetarian products, soybean oil, soy flour, and numerous other products, soy is also modified to resist herbicides. As of now, biotech giant Monsanto still has a tight grasp on the soybean market, with approximately 90 percent of soy being genetically engineered to resist Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup. In one single year, 2006, 96.7 million pounds of glyphosate was sprayed on soybeans alone.

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When Is A Steak Not A Steak?

www.huffingtonpost.com - October 5th, 2012

Have you ever noticed that the USDA recommends that steaks and roasts be cooked to 145° while ground beef should be cooked to 160°? Have you ever wondered why there is a difference? After all, beef is beef -- right?

Actually there is a very good reason for the difference. While meat starts out sterile, it can become contaminated with bacteria -- like E. coli O157:H7 -- when it isn't handled properly during slaughtering or processing, and once contaminated, the only thing that will kill the bacteria is heat. With intact cuts of meat -- like steaks and roasts -- that contamination will be on the surface, not on the inside. Pathogens on the surface are much easier to kill, after all, the outside of the meat heats up much faster than the inside does, so the recommended temperature can be lower. However, with non-intact meat -- like ground beef -- surface bacteria can be moved moved or "translocated" to the inside of the meat where it is harder to kill, so a higher temperature is required. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Intact meat gets cooked to a lower temperature of 145° and non-intact meat gets cooked to 160°.

Unfortunately, steaks and roasts are often not as they seem.

So, when is a steak not a steak and a roast not a roast? As soon as its surface has been pierced, a steak or roast becomes a non-intact cut of meat and should be cooked to a higher temperature. Many of us grew up learning to make our steaks and roasts juicer and more flavorful by piercing them with a fork and letting them sit in a marinade for a while. Now, you may not be fully aware of it, but stabbing the meat created a "hide-out" for bacteria like E. coli O157:H7. And it means that the pierced steak or roast should be cooked differently. Now, assuming that you know about the increased risk of illness, you can make an informed choice about how well you want to cook that steak or roast. But what happens when you don't know that the steak or roast you have just bought or been served was already tenderized? How do you make an informed choice then?

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15 Health Benefits of Beets

www.voices.yahoo.com - September 24th, 2012

You probably rarely think about beets. If people do think about them, most grimace and say, "yuck!" But if you are at all health-conscious, it is time to expand your palette! Not only are beets a great boost to your physical well being and a wonderful source of iron, it has been shown to be an immunity booster and guard against cancer. Additionally just as one learns to appreciate and discover and acquire tastes for various wines or cheeses, beets are one of those overlooked vegetables that once you realize all it beholds, you will cultivate a new appreciation and yes, maybe even love for them! Personally, I have always loved beets and often eat them chilled. Sliced beets in a can not only involve no cooking, they are naturally sweet and refreshing, are low calorie. Here are 15 great reasons to eat beets!

1. Beets have ZERO trans fat and ZERO saturated fat. They are also low calorie! How's that for a food to satisfy your hunger and have the ability to satisfy a sweet tooth at the same time? You've got to love a food that meets a sugar craving and doesn't harm your body!

2. Beets are high in carbohydrates which means they are a great instant energy source, but unlike processed foods which are high in carbohydrates, beets will energize your body. Beets can be regarded as body fuel.

3. Beets contain sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron and phosperous! They are also considered a fiber food and contain vitamins A and C as well as niacin! You can't beat that!

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Shrimp Apple Stuffing

2 cups cooked medium size shrimp

5 cups one day old sourdough bread

2 large onion, chopped

2 large Granny Smith apples,  core removed and chopped

3 tablespoons capers

2 tablespoons fresh Sage, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh Thyme, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh Rosemary, chopped

Handful fresh Italian Parsley, chopped

5 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of nutmeg

Sea salt and black pepper

In a large deep sided skillet on medium heat, add two tablespoons olive oil. When hot, add onions and apples. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Saute until soft (about 20 minutes). Add bread, capers, and fresh herbs. Stir to combine. Drizzle olive oil generously over the top and add shrimp to heat through and turn heat off. If the stuffing appears too dry, drizzle with more olive oil. Keep warm.

This stuffing would be ideal for the holiday season. 

Carrot Ginger Bisque

4 cups vegetable broth

3 cups carrots, diced into small pieces

1 large white onion, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

1 tablespoon yellow curry powder

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup fresh cream (if you prefer, use greek style plain yogurt or coconut cream)

sea salt and black pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

In a large soup pot on medium heat, add olive oil when hot add onions, curry powder, carrots, and fresh ginger and saute until onions and carrots are soft. Add broth and lower temperature to medium low and simmer (not boil) for one hour. 

Blend to a smooth consistency, add cream and nutmeg. Serve hot.

Roasted Sweet Pepper Cheddar Cheese Salad

2 pounds mini sweet peppers

3 cups mixed salad greens

10 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shavings

Salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 500 F.

Arrange peppers and garlic cloves on a baking sheet and drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper.  Bake for 20 minutes, turning vegetables over halfway during cooking.

Remove from oven and set aside to reach room temperature( about 2 hours). Cover the bottom of a large serving platter with the mixed salad greens. Season with salt and black pepper. Arrange sweet peppers and garlic on top (refer to picture) and drizzle generously with any fruit flavoured balsamic vinaigrette of your choice. 

I used raspberry balsamic vinaigrette.

Roasted Celery Cherry Tomato Goat Cheese Soup

1 1/2 bunches celery stalks with leaves, chopped

2 cups cherry tomatoes

4 large garlic cloves, peeled

1 large red onion, chopped

4 cups vegetable stock

1/2 cup goat cheese

1 tablespoon heavy cream (optional)

4 cups vegetable stock

Salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Toss celery, red onions and garlic cloves with a generously amount of extra virgin olive oil. Arrange on a single layer in a baking sheet. Season with salt and black pepper. Slow roast for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add cherry tomatoes during the last 20 minutes of cooking. Remove from oven. Set aside one cup of the roasted cherry tomatoes for garnish.

In a medium soup pot on medium to high heat, add all the roasted vegetables to the vegetable broth. Blend until smooth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, add goat cheese add cream(optional). Mix well to combine. Make sure goat cheese is fully melted. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. 

Garnish with whole roasted cherry tomatoes and fresh green herbs of choice.