Peach Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce

This is a simple yet unusual twist on cranberry sauce that has become our favorite.  If you like cranberry sauce, you can have a lot of fun trying different combinations of fruit, juices, and vegetables.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups cranberries (one 4 oz bag)
2 cups of peaches, cut into chunks (frozen work fine)
1/4 cup pure pomegranate juice
1/4 cup honey (or to taste)

METHOD:

Combine all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to medium heat.

Continue to heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture has simmered long enough for the cranberries to pop, about 20-30 minutes.  The mixture should thicken as it simmers- if it gets too thick, or begins to scorch, you can add more pomegranate juice. 

Chicken Liver Mousse

This is essentially a recipe from the Cheeseslave blog called Balthazar's Chicken Liver Mousse.  Amazingly chicken liver has become the favorite food of my 9-year-old son so I have been exploring different ways to cook it.  I am personally not a huge fan of it but this was pretty good, especially if you use the bourbon (I substituted bourbon for cognac).  I also followed her example and baked these without the water bath, and they were fine.

Spanish Rice

This is a basic and very tasty variation of cauliflower rice.  We had this tonight with lettuce leaf tacos and it was wonderful!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cauliflower, grated
1 onion, finely chopped
2 T lard or other cooking fat
1 green bell pepper or 2 Anaheim peppers
1 1/2 tsp salt
1-2 tsp chili powder (optional)
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
2 c pureed canned tomatoes
green olives for garnish, optional

METHOD:

Melt the cooking fat in a large skillet and saute the onions for several minutes until they begin to soften.  Add the peppers, the garlic, and the spices.  Stir thoroughly and allow to cook until softened.

Add the canned tomato (I used tomatoes frozen from my garden last year).  Because the cauliflower doesn't absorb liquid the way rice does, I would recommend using 2 cups of tomatoes but not using much of the liquid.  Reserve the liquid for use if the mixture is too dry.  You can use broth instead for that purpose if you prefer.

Add the cauliflower and continue to cook on medium-high to high heat, stirring frequently.  Cook until the cauliflower has reached desired softness, about 5-10 minutes.  If the cauliflower isn't softening well, you can add some liquid and cover it for a few minutes.

Put in a bowl and garnish with green olives if desired.

Cole Slaw

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 yellow onion
3 carrots
1 large green cabbage

for the dressing:
1/4 c plus 2 T olive oil
1/4 c mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 T lemon juice
honey to taste

METHOD:

Grate or puree the onion in a food processor.  Grate the carrots.  Put the thin slicing blade on the food processor and slice the cabbage.  Place the vegetables in a large bowl.

To make the dressing, whisk together the ingredients and pour over the vegetables.  Stir to coat thoroughly, then taste and adjust the seasonings.

Cauliflower Fried Rice

This dish was mentioned in a very early post, but my husband has been working on it and it is definitely worthy of its own post now.  It was just delicious and is quite different than most of our GAPS dinners.  Leftovers also reheat well.


INGREDIENTS:

3 T unrefined sesame oil
1 head of cauliflower
1 small head of broccoli
1 bell pepper (red or yellow)
1 carrot
1 onion
1-2 jalapenos (optional)
2 T apple cider vinegar
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
Green onions

METHOD:

Fit the grating blade onto the food processor and grate the head of cauliflower.  Steam the grated cauliflower for 3 minutes.  Set aside.

Chop the broccoli, bell pepper, and carrot and set aside in a bowl.  Chop the onion and jalapenos (if using) and put them in another bowl.

Lightly scramble the two eggs so that they are about half cooked, set aside.  In another small bowl, mix together the toasted sesame oil and the vinegar, set aside.

Heat the sesame oil in a large iron skillet or wok so that it is very hot but not smoking (the surface of the oil will ripple).  Put in the grated cauliflower and stir constantly, keeping the heat on high.  Keep cooking like this until the cauliflower begins to brown, at least 3 minutes or so.  Add the mixture of toasted sesame oil and vinegar and stir.

Add the onions and jalapenos if using.  Cook for several minutes until the onions start to soften.  Then add the other veggies and saute to until they reach the desired level of doneness. 

Turn off the heat and add the eggs, stirring until they finish cooking.

Turkey Pecan Waldorf Salad

This makes a nice lunch or light dinner.  It can be served on its own or on a bed of salad greens.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c cooked turkey, cut into pieces
2 stalks of celery
1 large crisp apple
1/2 c pecan pieces
1/2 c red grapes, cut in half

For the dressing:
1/4 c plus 2 T mayonnaise (6 T total)
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 T olive oil
salt to taste
a little honey, optional

Chop the celery (I like to include the leaves), and place in a medium mixing bowl.  Cut the apple into bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl.  Put in the meat and grapes.

To toast the pecan pieces, put them into a dry skillet and heat them on medium heat while stirring.  Remove from heat when they start to smell really good.  Let them cool, then add them into the salad and mix.

Whisk the ingredients for the dressing together and pour over the salad. 

You can substitute raisins or chopped dates for the grapes.  Chicken would work in place of turkey.  You can also try adding fresh herbs, such as  parsley or cilantro for a little more flavor.

Peas with Mint

This goes very well with lamb, and together makes a meal that to me tastes like spring.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups peas (1 package frozen)
2 T butter or ghee
1 leek, thinly sliced
1/4 c meat broth
1/4 c coarsely chopped mint
1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed, optional
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Melt the butter or ghee in a skillet, and saute the leeks a few minutes, until soft.

Add the peas (they can be added frozen).  Pour in the stock, add the garlic and stir, then cover and reduce heat.

Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the peas are nearly done.  Add the mint, and put the cover back on.  Cook another 2-3 minutes until the mint has wilted.

Green Beans with Garlic

This is a delicious, simple side dish served warm as well as a flavorful and very portable salad for lunches and picnics.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb green beans
2 T butter or ghee
2 T apple cider vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
salt to taste
fresh dill (optional)

METHOD:

Rinse and trim the green beans.  Cut them into 2 inch pieces.

Steam them until they reach desired softness.  The time will vary, so keep a close eye on them after about 5 minutes and taste one to check the level of doneness.

Remove the beans to a bowl.  Add the butter, and stir to let it melt and coat the beans.  Then add the crushed garlic, vinegar, and salt, and fresh dill if using.

You can serve this right away or refrigerate for later use.

Kefir Cream Cheese

Ingredients

2 Tbs. kefir grains (available online, through friends or places like Craigslist)
1 Quart heavy cream

Method

Pour cream over grains in a glass jar. Leave about an inch of head space. Cover. Shake the jar and leave on the counter for 24-48 hours, shaking every now and then. When it is fermented it will taste sour, like sour cream. Strain through a fine mesh stainless steel sieve, pushing the cream through with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula. The grains will remain in the sieve and can be reused indefinitely to ferment cream and/or milk. (They will multiply too, and can be eaten as an excellent probiotic source.)

Take the strained, fermented cream and pour into a sieve lined with a quadruple layer of cheese cloth. Tie the ends of the cheese cloth together to form a little package inside the sieve. Put the whole thing (with sieve) over a tall bowl or large Pyrex measuring cup and place in the refrigerator. The whey will drip out into the bowl and the solids will remain in the cheese cloth. After 24 hours, flip the soft cream cheese over into fresh cheese cloth, tie, put back in the sieve over the bowl, and place the whole lot back in refrigerator for another 24 hours.

Remove cheese cloth and place in a jar for storage in the refrigerator.

Golden Beet Noodles

These noodles are a bit more like pasta in their texture than spaghetti squash, and offer another option if you can't find spaghetti squash or are wanting more variety in your meals.  They are also much faster to make (as long as you have a food processor).  To make them, simply grate golden beets.  I found that 3 beets makes a nice amount of "pasta".  You can either eat them raw, in which case they have a harder, crunchier texture, or you can boil them for 2 minutes.  This gives them a texture much more like al dente pasta and reduces the bitter taste that raw beets have.  Serve them with whatever sauce you like or just with butter and salt.

Celery Chestnut Stuffing

Chestnut stuffing has always been one of my favorite comfort foods and I have been experimenting with it for quite a while now.  This version is my favorite so far.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T butter or ghee
2 onions, chopped
1 T dried rubbed sage
2 tsp dried thyme
1 cup reduced turkey stock (or other meat stock)
1 large celery or 2 small ones
2 c chopped chestnuts
salt to taste
additional stock as needed

METHOD:

Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet.  Saute the onions until softened, about 5 minutes, then add the herbs.  Mix and add the stock, and bring to a simmer.  Add the celery and chestnuts and cook until they are soft, adding additional stock if needed.  Taste and add salt if desired.  This will depend on how salty the stock was.

VARIATIONS:

For "rice stuffing", add a grated cauliflower at the end.  You may need to add additional stock as well.

For bread stuffing, I used the nut butter bread recipe although coconut bread may work as well.  Cut about half of a loaf of bread into cubes.  If you feel that the bread is too soft, you can slice it and toast it first.  The cubes can then be added to the above recipe at the end and cooked until they are softened and have absorbed the liquid.  You may need to add extra stock or butter.

Lima Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Salad

This salad is so simple and absolutely delicious. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup cooked and rinsed lima beans
1 roasted red bell pepper
about 1/4 cup chopped parsley
1-2 T olive oil
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Salt to taste (preferably a course, gourmet salt such as Hawaiian Red Salt)

METHOD:

Cut the pepper into chunks and mix with the beans and parsley in a small bowl.  Add enough olive oil to generously coat the vegetables, squeeze on some lemon juice, and sprinkle on the salt.

Lima Bean Hummus

It looks sort of grayish in the picture because I added black olives before I thought about how unappetizing that might make it look in the photo!  Honestly this tastes so good that my husband has wondered why everyone doesn't make hummus with lima beans.  This would work fine with other white beans that we're allowed on GAPS, but as they are higher in oxalates I decided to go with limas.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups soaked and cooked lima beans
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
3 T lemon juice
3 T olive oil (or more depending on how "wet" your beans are and the texture of hummus that you like)

METHOD:

Put all ingredients in the blender or food processor and blend to desired consistency.  Taste and adjust flavors.  You will undoubtedly find your own blend of ingredients that you like best. 

For variation, try adding olives, anchovies, roasted garlic, roasted peppers, dried tomato, or whatever herbs and spices you like.  If you find an especially tasty variation, please post it in the comments for us all to enjoy!

If you serve the hummus with sliced veggies for dipping it makes a nice side dish or even a light meal.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

This dish is for those who aren't as wild about brussels sprouts.  By shredding them and adding other strongly flavored ingredients, such as bacon and lemon juice, the strong flavor that these little veggies can have is toned down a bit.  Of course, if you really love their flavor, you can let it shine through!

INGREDIENTS:

About 2 cups of brussels sprouts (shredded)
About one large handful of sliced leek
3-4 slices of bacon
salt to taste
dash of lemon juice or vinegar

optional- dry white wine, bourbon, anchovies, olives, or Parmesan cheese

METHOD:

 Chop the raw bacon into small pieces and put them in a shallow pan on medium heat. Stir them frequently so they cook evenly.  Prepare the brussels sprouts while the bacon cooks down and becomes crispy.  When it does, remove the bacon into a dish and set aside.  Leave the drippings in the pan!

Rinse the brussels sprouts and remove any tattered outer leaves, and cut off the stems.  To shred them, cut them in half from pole to pole, then make thin slices from top to bottom.  Don't worry if oyu don't have exactly 2 cups- the recipe can be flexible.

Add the leek to the hot bacon drippings and let cook for several minutes.  Add the shredded brussels sprouts and stir.  Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the brussels sprouts become bright green and soften.  Try a little to see if it's done.

Remove from heat, slat to taste, and add a dash of either lemon juice or vinegar.  Add the bacon pieces back in or serve them on the side.  At this point you can add any of the optional ingredients if you'd like.

Pecan-glazed butternut squash pudding

This is good. (My husband says that "good" is not an adequate description of this dish. He says, "I took one little bite, and it was phenomenal!") I am using it as a substitute for my usual sweet potato dish for Thanksgiving. I am also having butternut squash in my winter vegetable medley, so I'm skipping the pumpkin pie and opting for apple cobbler instead.

Ingredients

Filling

1 small butternut squash

1-2 Tbs. honey

2 Tbs. butter (I used salted pasture butter, if yours is unsalted, add a pinch of salt)

1 egg

2 tsp. bourbon (optional)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

1/4 cup honey

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup chopped pecans

Method

Bake whole butternut squash in 350 degree (F) oven until fork-tender, about 40 minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut in half and remove seeds, pulp and skin. Shred or mash the flesh into a bowl. Mix in remaining ingredients for filling. Spread in a greased 8 inch square baking dish.

For glaze: mix first three ingredients together in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture begins to carmelize (honey will turn slightly darker). Do not overcook, it will continue to carmelize in the oven. Add pecans, and spread glaze over filling. Bake at 325 degrees (F) for about 30 minutes or until glaze looks consistent and filling looks firm.

Golden Crusted Brussels Sprouts

I was looking for a simple recipe for brussels sprouts and found this one online on the website 101 cookbooks.  It was really good.  The only modification I made was to cook them in butter, and I kept the heat very low so as not to burn the butter.  These would be very good with some toasted nuts on top.  The recipe calls for grated cheese, which we skipped, and they were fine.  Here's the link to the recipe:

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/goldencrusted-brussels-sprouts-recipe.html

Braised Red Cabbage

This side dish is so simple yet so incredibly good.  It works really well as a bed for serving pork or fish on.  it's bright color makes it a nice side dish for the holidays as well.

INGREDIENTS:

2-3 T butter or ghee
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium or 1/2 large red cabbage
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
small amount of meat stock
2 tsp lemon juice or balsamic vinegar

METHOD:

Saute onion in butter until soft.  Add the coriander and salt, then add the cabbage.  Saute for 5 minutes or until the cabbage becomes softer.  Add a small amount of stock (maybe a quarter cup?), mostly to keep the cabbage from sticking to the pan as it continues to cook. 

Cook, uncovered, on medium-low heat for about 20-30 minutes more, adding a little stock when the cabbage needs more moisture.  It is done when it is very soft and has cooked down.  Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice or vinegar.

Lentil Stew with Greens

This may not sound like anything special, but it is delicious.  This has been a favorite recipe of mine since my college days, and the original recipe is GAPS legal- the only modification I made for our current use was to substitute other greens for spinach (because spinach is so high in both oxalates and histamine). 

INGREDIENTS:

2 T butter or ghee
1 large onion, chopped
3 (or more!) cloves of garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
2 cups of lentils, soaked for 24 hours and drained
2 cups of chopped greens, somewhat tightly packed
1 quart (or more) of meat stock
1 T vinegar or lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
optional- equivalent of 1 can of chopped tomatoes in juice

METHOD:

Saute onions in butter for several minutes until they become soft.  Add the garlic, salt and spices and continue to saute on moderate heat another 5 minutes or so.

Add the lentils and greens and cook another few minutes.  Add the stock, tomatoes and juice (if using), and bring to a boil.  Simmer until lentils are tender, 30-50 minutes depending on lentils.

If the stew is thicker when done than you want, add more stock and heat through.  Remove from heat and add lemon juice or vinegar (real balsamic vinegar is the best if you can get it).  Taste and adjust the seasonings. 

VARIATION:
This stew is delicious with meat.  You can either use leftover meat (I added 3 leftover sausages to the batch pictured), or fresh ground meat or stew meat.  Add the meat, cut into pieces, at the time you are adding the spices.  Depending on the flavors in the meat (if sausages or leftovers), you may want to reduce or alter the spices used.

Mexican Caprese Salad

I can't harvest a beautiful, ripe red tomato from the garden without thinking of Caprese Salad- the wonderful summer dish of fresh tomato, fresh basil, and fresh mozzarella.  Since the fresh mozzarella is out, I tried to think of what else has a creamy texture and goes well with tomatoes....  Once I had the avocado and tomato combo, it seemed only natural to give it a more Mexican feel.  This is a bit unorthodox, but it is delicous!

INGREDIENTS:

2-3 vine-ripened tomatoes, depending on size
1-2 avocados, depending on size
handfull of cilantro
olives to taste
olive oil
salt to taste

METHOD:

Slice the tomatoes and avocados, and then arrange them on a plate in a circle, alternating tomato with avocado.  Drizzle generously with olive oil, then sprinkle with cilantro and olives.  Salt to taste.

Ranch Dip or Dressing

This is a simple and delicious recipe that Teri came up with.  It is basically the "real thing" rather than the sugar-and-MSG concoction that tends to pass for ranch.  This is an easy and wonderful thing to bring to a potluck or buffet.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup mayonnaise (yogurt and thick kefir would also work if you prefer egg-free)
2 T chopped parsley or cilantro
1 (or more!) cloves of garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
2 green onions minced, or 1/4 regular onion minced
squeeze of lemon juice
ground pepper to taste

METHOD:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  This is great for simply dipping veggies in, or can be thinned to make salad dressing with olive oil, nut milk, kefir, or water.