-
This is one of my favorite ways to eat mussels. It’s a traditional recipe from Provence, France. It is also incredibly easy and super quick to make. In France, they are often served with either toasted baguette or french fries. From start to end, it only takes around 15 minutes to make.
ingredients for 2 servings:
1 shallot
3-5 garlic cloves (depending on how much you love garlic, I used 5)
a small handful of flat leaf parsley
1/2 bay leaf
3 lbs mussels
1 cup dry/sec white wine, such as sancerre or sauvignon blanc
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
fresh ground black pepper
toasted baguette enough for 2
optional: dash of red pepper flakes
how to:
1. Clean the mussels. First, go through and discard any mussels that have broken shells or will no fully shut after a couple firm taps on the counter. These mussels are likely dead and you do not want to eat them. After you’ve made sure they all close well, let them soak in cold water while you chop the other ingredients.
2.Thinly slice the shallot, dice garlic and give the parsley a rough chop.
3. Use a pot that is large enough for you to comfortably toss the mussels around and where they will also have room to open. They will double is mass after they open.
4. Over medium high heat, melt butter with the olive oil. Add garlic, shallots, bay leaf, black pepper, red pepper flakes and only half of the parsley. Stir around for a couple minutes allowing the shallots and garlic to wilt and caramelize very lightly.
5. Turn the heat on to high and add the mussels (just the mussels, without the water you used to soak them) and white wine and cover tightly. After 2 minutes of cooking, toss the mussels around with a wooden spoon to allow them to cook evenly. After 4-5 minutes, the mussels will all have opened and will be ready to eat.
6. Serve in a large bowl with the broth and toasted baguette. Lastly, garnish the portions with the rest of the chopped parsley.
-
This soup is the perfect if you start to feel slight cold symptoms coming on like a sore throat, chills, sneezing, body aches with fatigue. These are usually symptoms/signs that your body has been attacked by a pathogenic invasion, mostly likely a cold virus. At this stage, you can still fight the cold off and completely avoid truly becoming sick by halting the multiplication of the virus. Once the virus has multiplied, you start feeling the nasal congestion, fever, cough, headache, ear pain, appetite loss and other symptoms.
Garlic, ginger (sheng jiang) and scallions (cong bai) are all herbs TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) sees as cold-fighting, or what we call “release the exterior” herbs. Westerners have also discovered that these herbs have anti-microbial properties (microbes can be viral, bacterial or fungal). These herbs are used to treat the early stages of a cold. They induce sweating and therefore “release” the virus/pathogen from the body through the sweat via the skin. The process can be slightly uncomfortable, but I promise it’s worth it! You’ll get really sweaty and hot for a little while after drinking the soup but after resting with a nap or a good night’s sleep you’ll feel a lot better. I usually have this soup for at least 2 meals in a row when I start to feel the early cold symptoms and it has worked remarkably.
Miso paste is a great thing to keep on hand for soups, marinades, salad dressing and sauces. You can find it at Whole Foods, natural food stores or Asian markets. There are 4 different types of miso, white, red, soybean and barley. I like the taste of red and white miso individually as well as combined. [Here] is more info about miso.
Nutritional Yeast one of my favorite things to add to miso soup, popcorn, salads, stirfries, ect. It is very rich in B vitamins, including B12, which is what gives it the yellow color. Nutritional yeast is the ONLY non-animal (vegan) product with B12. Vegans and vegetarians are often B12 deficient. B12 deficiency can include symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, shortness of breath, digestive disorders, heart and nervous system disturbances such as numbness and tingling of the arms or legs, depression, mental confusion, and memory deficits. Not fun!
One serving of nutritional yeast, about ½-1 tbsp, provides the full amount of B12 needed for an adult in day, pretty awesome. It is a great source of 18 amino acids, protein, folic acid, biotin and other vitamins. It is also rich in 15 minerals including iron, magnesium, phorphorus, zinc, and chromium, and selenium. Nutritional yeast can be found at Whole Foods or other health food stores.
ingredients for 1 large bowl of soup:
1.5 tbsp organic red miso paste
1.5 tbsp organic white miso paste
1 tbsp finely grated garlic
1 tbsp finely grated ginger
3 thinly sliced scallions (white and light green parts only)
1/4 of a block of tofu, diced
1 tbsp dried seaweed
1-2 tbsp of nutritional yeast
water
how to:
1. Bring water to a boil.
2. Using a microplane or very fine grater, grate the ginger and garlic. Thinly slice 3 scallions (white and light green parts are seen to have high concentration of cold fighting power).
3. In a large bowl, add ginger, scallions, garlic and miso paste. Barely cover with boiling water and mix together until there are no chunks or areas of miso paste stuck to the bowl.
4. Once the mixture looks uniform, add the tofu, nutritional yeast, seaweed and water all the way to the top of the bowl and stir. Allow the seaweed to rehydrate for a couple minutes and then enjoy!
-
ingredients:
5 eggs
1/2 c. organic whole milk or soy milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg (key ingredient!)
1 grated carrot
1 tomato
2 medium yukina savoy (or spinach or chard)
3 scallions
1/2 c. crumbled goat cheese
1/3 c. grated goat cheese gouda
1 organic frozen crust or your favorite crust recipe
salt & pepper
olive oil
how to:
1. Thinly slice the scallions and yukina savoy and grate the carrot. Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
2. In an oiled frying pan, lightly saute the scallions, yukina and carrots until soft.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, nutmeg, gouda and goat cheese and sautéed vegetables.
4. Place pie crust in an oven safe dish (if you want to be able to remove it from the dish, use a spring-form pan). Using a fork, make a few wholes on the bottom of the crust to prevent it from puffing up in the oven. Place in preheated oven and bake for about 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Do not over bake.
5. Remove precooked crust from oven and pour in egg mixture. Place sliced tomato on top and bake for 45-50mins or until the center is firm. Let cool for 20 mins before slicing. Serve hot, at room temp or cold.
-
Cucumber and mint are both regarded to have “cooling” properties in Traditional Chinese Medicine. This salad is very simple, refreshing and it will help your body combat the summer heat!
ingredients:
2 large cucumbers (half-peeled, cored and thinly sliced)
1 generous handfull of fresh mint (roughly, 6-8 stems)
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 splash of fish sauce (optional)
salt & pepper
-
Summer!!! Here is a tasty panini idea using local organic seasonal goodies.
ingredients:
2 slices of bread (I used Udi’s Gluten free whole grain bread)
2 slices of heirloom tomato
2 slices of fresh chevre
5-6 basil leaves
a small handful of arugula
olive oil
salt & pepper
how to:
Spread goat cheese evenly onto bread. Place tomato, basil and arugula. Grill on cast iron pan with olive oil or use a panini press until golden brown.
-
My friend Holly made this salad for her BBQ a couple weeks ago and I have been thinking about making it ever since. The combination of colors, flavors and textures is so delicious and beautiful!
ingredients:
3-4 c. of cooked quinoa (red or white)
3 tbsp diced red onion
1 c. blueberries
1-2 handfuls of baby arugula
1/2 c. sliced almonds
1/2 c. diced feta
zest from 1 lemon
juice of 2 lemons
olive oil
salt & pepper
how to:
1. Cook quinoa as directed. When it’s done cooking, fluff and toss with olive oil and let cool to room temperature.
2. Dice onion and feta and dry toast the sliced almonds. Dry toast them in a pan at low heat, constantly stirring to make sure they don’t burn.
3. Using a microplane zest an entire lemon. You can use regular lemons or Meyer lemons. I recommend using Meyer lemons because they are less bitter and more fragrant.
4. Toss the quinoa with the feta, onion, blueberries, almonds, arugula, lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil to taste. Add fresh ground pepper and be careful to not add too much salt because the feta will add a good amount of saltiness to the salad.
-
ingredients:
1lb of brown rice pasta
1 c. peas (thawed)
4-6 tbsp. ramp pesto
1-2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2-3/4 lbs fully cooked langoustines or shrimp
a couple handfuls of baby arugula
grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
how to:
1. Cook pasta as directed on package.
2. Drain pasta and toss with olive oil, ramp pesto, peas, langoustines or shrimp, arugula and salt & pepper.
3. Serve warm or at room temperature and top with grated parmesan cheese.
-
I had such an abundance of ramps that I decide to make a whole lot of pesto before it all wilted and became unusable. I read a few different recipes and then came up with my own version. The result is delicious and very, very strong. A great replacement for garlic or scallions. It’s wonderful scrambled into eggs, with pasta, on a grilled cheese sandwich, to add to salad dressing, ect.
ingredients:
1/2 lb (4-5 c.) of cleaned ramps
2 c. basil
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c. grated pecorino romano cheese
1/2-2/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
juice of 2 limes
salt & pepper
how to
1. Trim, wash and properly dry the ramps in a salad spinner.
2. In a food processor, add the grated cheese, walnuts and some olive oil until a thick paste forms.
3.Then, slowly add the ramps and basil. Drizzle olive oil into the food processor when the pesto looks too thick or isn’t blending well.
4. When the pesto is close to reaching your desired consistency, add the lime juice and salt & pepper. The lime juice cuts the strong ramp flavor a bit and also prevents the pesto from oxidizing.
-
I just came back from a little trip to Burlington, Vermont. While I was there, my friend Courtney and I went out to harvest ramps in the nearby woods. Ramps are wild leaks and have a very short season. They are incredibly fragrant and taste like a hybrid between a scallion and a leak. We harvest over 12lbs of them and each kept a few pounds and I sold the rest to a couple of chef’s of local restaurants.
ingredients:
6-8 ramps
5 shiitake mushrooms
2 eggs
splash of milk or unsweetened plain soy milk
butter or olive oil for frying
salt & pepper
optional: goat cheese and hot pepper jelly.
how to:
1. Thinly slice the ramps and mushrooms and saute in butter or olive oil until the mushrooms are cooked and lightly golden and the ramps are wilted.
2. In a bowl, beat eggs with salt & pepper and milk.
3. Pour eggs over the shiitakes and ramps and cook as an omelet or simply scramble.
4. Enjoy with toast and hot pepper jelly.
-
Anonymous asked: I was wondering if I can use almond milk in the quiche recipe?
thanks,
BelindaHi Belinda,
I think you could just as long as it’s unsweetened and doesn’t have any added flavors (like vanilla). Thanks for following my blog! :)
m
