Gluten Free Avocado Pesto Pasta Salad

1 packet rice penne pasta 

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half 

1 large ripe avocado, peel and dice 

1/2 small red onion, chopped 

1 large lemon, juiced 

1/4 cup sliced almonds 

4 tablespoons fresh pesto 

Sea salt and black pepper

Cook pasta according to the instructions on the packet.

Drain the pasta and add to the rest of the ingredients. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Mix well to combine and serve at room temperature.

What is Miso Paste Anyway, and How Do I Use It? Help!

www.huffingtonpost.com - Wednesday April 27th, 2016

If you haven’t been cooking with miso, then you’ve been seriously missing out. The salty paste can amp up just about any boring dish, and it’s also quite good for you. Here’s what you need to know:

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4 Nutritional Powerhouses You're Already Eating

www.huffingtonpost.com - April 15th, 2014

Lately there's been so much focus on newcomers like acai and kale that less glamorous fruits and vegetables are sometimes treated like second-class citizens. But researchers are discovering new reasons to get excited about the old standbys.

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Fish Kale Kebabs

1 lb wild caught firm white fish, cut into large chunks

1 large red onion

2 large yellow peppers/capsicum

1 large bunch of kale

1 small garlic, minced

2 tablespoons lemongrass paste

1 large lime, juiced

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

You will also need 8 skewers and aluminum foil. 

In a small mixing bowl, combine extra virgin olive oil, fresh garlic, lime juice and lemongrass paste. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Wash mahi-mahi and dry. Rub 1/2 the lemongrass and extra virgin olive oil mixture generously on the fish. Set aside to marinade for 1 hour.

Cut yellow peppers/capsicum and onion into equal size large chunks to ensure even cooking. Remove the hard rib off the kale. Cut fish into equal size large chunks.  

Assemble kebabs (refer to the picture). Brush generously with the remaining lemongrass oil (leave some aside for serving). Season with sea salt and black pepper. Place on a sheet of aluminum foil. Place a single kebab on the foil and wrap tightly so that the juices don't leak out when it's on the grill.

Preheat barbecue to 400 F on medium heat. Place kebabs on the barbecue and cook for 10 minutes. Open up a small portion of the aluminum foil to make sure everything is cooked to your liking.

Remove from the barbecue. Serve hot.

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.

Classic Pesto

1/2 cup roasted pine nuts

4 cups fresh basil leaves 

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 garlic clove

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more olive oil if pesto is too dry. Season with sea salt and black pepper.

To store, pour into an airtight container and press cling wrap directly on top of the pesto to prevent it from oxidizing. It will keep for up to five days in the refrigerator.

Graffiti Eggplant Sweet Potato Avocado Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing

Dressing:

1 cup plain Greek yogurt 

Small handful fresh chopped dill 

1/2 teaspoon yellow curry powder 

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Blend until smooth. Keep refrigerated.

Salad:

4 graffiti eggplant

1 large sweet potato 

1 large avocado 

1/2 small red onion thinly sliced 

Extra virgin olive oil 

Sea salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 F

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel and cut sweet potato into large chunks. Cut eggplant into thick discs. Coat sweet potato and eggplant in plenty of extra virgin olive oil. Season generously with sea salt and black pepper.Arrange in a single layer and bake until cooked (about 20 minutes) turning over halfway during co o king.

Peel and cut avocado into large chunks. Remove veggies from the oven and arrange according to the picture on a large serving plate. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil and creamy dressing over the top with fresh dill. Serve warm.

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.

Rice and Vegetable Bowl

2 cups cooked basmati rice

1 cup cooked pinto beans

1 cup cooked diced sweet potato

1 large shallot, diced

2 large garlic cloves, chopped

Handful fresh parsley chopped

Handful cherry tomatoes

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

In a deep sided skillet on high heat, cover the bottom with extra virgin olive. When hot, add shallot, tomatoes, garlic, and parsley. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Sauté until soft (about 2 to 4 minutes). Add rice, beans, and sweet and toss well to combine. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Drizzle extra olive oil over the top to serve. Garnish with fresh herbs.

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.

Gluten Free Vegetable Tart

Crust:

2 cups all purpose gluten free flour blend

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon sea salt

8 tablespoons chopped cold grass fed salted butter

1 large egg, room temperature

5 tablespoons ice cold water, more as needed

Combine all the dry ingredients in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. 

Add butter and mix on medium speed until crumbles form. Add the egg to combine. Add water gradually and continue mixing until the dough detaches from the bowl and forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

Preheat oven to 375 F

Roll dough on a lightly floured surface. Transfer into a 9" greased tart pan. Press dough up the sides and trim off excess. Line dough with parchment paper and add pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes, remove pie weights and bake a further 15 or until the crust is crispy and lightly browned. Let the crust cool completely.

Filling:

1 small purple eggplant

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 cup crispy onion bits

3 large eggs

1 cup cream

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Handful freshly chopped parsley

Sea salt and black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 F

Slice eggplant into very thin slices. Whisk eggs and cream. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Scatter eggplant over the bottom of the crust, followed by tomatoes and crispy onion bits. Sprinkle parsley and parmesan cheese over the top followed by the egg mixture.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the custard is set and vegetables are cooked. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the top. Garnish with fresh parsley and parmesan cheese to serve.

Gluten Free Eggplant Parmigiana

1 (one) medium, very firm, shiny eggplant 

26 ounces fresh roasted tomato sauce of your choice 

8 thick slices fresh mozzarella 

3 large room temperature eggs 

2 cups gluten free all purpose flour blend 

2 cups gluten free Panko style Bread Crumbs 

Sea salt and black pepper 

Extra virgin olive oil 

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450 F

Season flour with sea salt and black pepper. Cut eggplant into 8 equal size discs. Toss eggplants in flour to fully coat. In another bowl, whisk eggs. Dip eggplants in the egg mixture making sure to get it fully coated. Roll eggplant discs in bread crumbs (make sure to get a thick coating). Line eggplant discs in a single layer in a lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, turning eggplant over halfway through cooking. 

Cover the bottom of a serving platter with hot tomato sauce and add eggplant discs in a single layer. Add a thick slice of fresh mozzarella on top of each disc followed by extra sauce (refer to picture). Scatter freshly grated parmesan cheese over the top. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil generously over the top and grilled until cheese is bubbly.

Serve immediately.

Below is a single slice alternative to the family platter shown above

Pear Fennel Salad with Lemon Maple Vinaigrette

Vinaigrette:

1 tablespoon French mustard 

1 large lemon, juiced 

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup 

1 cup extra virgin olive oil 

1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds 

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Blend all the ingredients until smooth and creamy. Keep refrigerated.

Salad:

1 fresh fennel bulb, slice into thin strips 

2 large ripe Anjou pears, slice into thin strips 

1 large shallot, slice into strips 

2 fennel stalks with fronds, slice into thin strips

Toss pears, shallot, and fennel to combine. Arrange in a large serving platter with fresh slices of sourdough baguette around the edges.Drizzle a generous amount of vinaigrette over the top and serve immediately.

Wild Cod in White Wine Butter Sauce

Serve: 4

Sauce:

8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

2 large lemons, juice and zest

1 large garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup extra dry Chardonnay 

Combine lemon juice, zest, and wine. Cook over high heat until reduced to half. Remove from the heat to cool slightly (about 10 minutes). Add butter cubes and blend until smooth. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Keep warm. 

Cod: 

4 6oz wild cod or similar firm white fish

3 fresh large garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Combine garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and chopped dill. Marinade cod in room temperature for 30 minutes. Season to your preference with sea salt and black pepper.  

Drizzle olive oil to cover the bottom of a large skillet on medium to high heat. When hot pan fry cod for 4 minutes, turning over halfway.

Serve immediately with a generous amount of the sauce over the top.

Cooked Food Allowed Evolution Of Primates' Big Brains

www.huffingtonpost.com - December 19th, 2012

That's because humans would have to spend more than 9 hours a day eating to get enough energy from unprocessed raw food alone to support our large brains, according to a new study that calculates the energetic costs of growing a bigger brain or body in primates. But our ancestors managed to get enough energy to grow brains that have three times as many neurons as those in apes such as gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans. How did they do it? They got cooking, according to a study published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"If you eat only raw food, there are not enough hours in the day to get enough calories to build such a large brain," says Suzana Herculano-Houzel, a neuroscientist at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil who is co-author of the report. "We can afford more neurons, thanks to cooking." 

Humans have more brain neurons than any other primate—about 86 billion, on average, compared with about 33 billion neurons in gorillas and 28 billion in chimpanzees. While these extra neurons endow us with many benefits, they come at a price—our brains consume 20% of our body's energy when resting, compared with 9% in other primates. So a long-standing riddle has been where did our ancestors get that extra energy to expand their minds as they evolved from animals with brains and bodies the size of chimpanzees?

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Beef Investigation Uncovers Fecal Contamination

www.huffingtonpost.com - December 17th, 2012

This is the origin myth of the food safety system in the United States: The beef industry was a mess, led to awful practices by the profit motives of a few major processing companies, until investigative journalist Upton Sinclair exposed many of the atrocities of the packing plants in his 1906 novel "The Jungle," which spurred the establishment of federal meat inspections, improving safety forever. Today, beef and other meat sold in the U.S. is safer than ever.  

This is the true state of affairs, according to a yearlong investigation of the beef industry concluded by the Kansas City Star this week: just four companies process more than 87 percent of the beef packed in the U.S., and take advantage of novel, money-saving techniques that significantly increase the risk of contamination by foodborne pathogens, leading to hundreds of preventable illnesses every year.

The investigation spans dozens of articles, tens of thousands of words and graphic illustrations galore, and is worth browsing around in depth on the Kansas City Star website.

Here are a few of the paper's staggering findings:

The investigators found ample evidence of serious problems with fecal contamination in beef at major plants, despite industry claims that beef was safer than ever. Fecal contamination is obviously the most disgusting kind of contamination on earth -- but it also vastly increases the risk that beef will spread E. coli bacteria, which lives in the intestines of cows.

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Veggie Wrap with Grapes and Gorgonzola Sauce

Wrap:

1 large spinach herb wrap

1 roasted red bell peppers

3 garlic stuffed olives (coarsely chopped)

8 black grapes, coarsely chopped

1/2 cups baby spinach

Small handful red onion, thinly sliced

1 large avocado, sliced

1 teaspoon capers  

1 tablespoon sliced almonds

Sea salt and black pepper

Dressing:

1 roasted red bell peppers

1 tablespoons capers 

2 garlic stuffed green olives

2 tablespoons gorgonzola cheese

1/4 cup cream cheese

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Blend all the ingredients until smooth (add a little sour cream if you require a thinner consistency).  Refrigerate.

Spread a layer of dressing to cover the wrap, followed by a thick layer of baby spinach. Divide the remaining ingredients evenly over 1/3 of the wrap (closest to you), drizzle lightly with extra dressing (optional), and roll tightly. Cut at an angle into four equal pieces and secure with a toothpick.  Make sure to serve with extra dressing on the side as a dip.

Gluten Free Sage Sweet Potato Spaghetti

1/2 packet spaghetti

1 large sweet potato, cut into bite size chunks

3 small garlic cloves, minced

1 cup white pearl onions

Handful fresh sage, chopped

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil on medium high heat. Season generously with salt. Add spaghetti and cook until al dente (about 8 minutes - don't over cook!). Drain and put back in the pot. Drizzle about three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add minced garlic and half the sage. Toss to combine. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Keep warm.

Pre heat oven to 500 F.

In a large baking sheet toss sweet potato, half the fresh sage, and white pearl onions in a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Roast for about 10 to 15 minutes or until brown and cooked.

In a large serving platter. Combine spaghetti and veggies. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Drizzle extra olive oil all over the top and garnish with fresh sage.

Crispy Avocado Rolls with Cranberry Balsamic Sauce

Sauce :

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup cranberry sauce

Whisk all the ingredients to fully combine. Simmer on low heat until it thickens and reduces (about 10 minutes).

Rolls:

3 large avocados, remove skin and pit, slice into strips

10 Vietnamese spring roll sheets

Sea salt and black pepper

Fill a large bowl with warm water (not hot) Dip one wrapper at a time to soften (about 2 seconds).  Wrapper will get softer by the time you roll it.

Lay wrapper flat. Leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side. In a row across the center, place avocados (about 4 strips). Drizzle your desired amount of sauce on top. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper. Heat a deep sided frying pan with enough pure vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the pan (about 4 tablespoons) on medium heat until oil is ready for frying. Add 4 rolls at a time so as not to overcrowd the pan. Fry until crispy and brown (about 8 minutes on each side). Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Season with salt and black pepper.

Serve immediately with extra dipping sauce on the side.

Gluten Free Cheesy Roasted Garlic Tomato Mushroom Pasta

Veggies:

1 cup cherry tomatoes (cut in half)

3 chopped garlic cloves

1 cup chopped cremini mushrooms

1  chopped white onion

Preheat oven to 400 F

Drizzle extra virgin olive oil generously over the veggies. Season with sea salt, black pepper, and fresh chopped parsley.  Bake 15 minutes or until soft. Set aside.

Pasta:

1 packet gluten-free gemelli pasta

2 cups grated aged cheddar cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 cups cream

Fresh parsley

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

1 cup vegetable broth (optional)

Cook pasta according to instructions on the package. Drain.

Preheat oven to 350 F

Combine all the ingredients in a large Dutch Oven or similar. Add one cup of vegetable broth is the mixture if too thick (should be watery). Sprinkle extra cheese over the top. Drizzle with olive oil. Cover and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until cheese has melted and the sauce has thickened. Remove lid and broil for 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese is crispy and brown on top.

Serve warm with fresh basil pesto on the side (optional)