The countdown continues–7 days until St. Paddy’s Day!
(I wasn’t joking when I said yesterday that I had more Irish recipes in the bag!)

Here are some classic Irish soups: Rustic Potato Cabbage Soup (containing two of Ireland’s finest veg!)
and
Leek & Potato Soup.

Popular and super easy St. Paddy’s Day sides are Colcannon and delicious Parsnip & Carrot Mash. The business!

That should keep you busy for a while. I’ve got tons more so keep checking back!

Cheers!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

One week until St. Paddy’s Day and everyone is gearing up for the celebration, myself included! If you’re planning on throwing a bash you’ll definitely need some Irish food and I’ve got you covered. Of course all of my dishes are made the healthy way but that’s so you have room for the drink (I’m always thinking ahead!)

Kicking off our countdown is one of my favourites, Irish Stew. Traditionally Irish foods use simple, basic and cheap ingredients and tend to be very simple and rustic. Though there are many versions of Irish stew out there, it is only a traditional “Irish stew” if using lamb or mutton (a lamb over 1½ years old). Using other meats such as beef is not considered a traditional Irish stew. Bet you didn’t know that did you? Although I have kept the original ingredients I have put my own spin on the style and presentation of the dish. Believe me though the flavour is all there.

RECIPE
Serves 4

3 lbs. grass fed Lamb shoulder
3 large parsnips – peeled & sliced in ¼” rounds
½ lb. baby carrots
3 garlic cloves – peeled
1 lb. mini potatoes – halved
1 Bouquet garni – rosemary, thyme, bay leaf
1 cup white wine (whatever you’re drinking will work)
7 cups organic beef broth
olive oil
S&P

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Begin by preheating a heavy bottomed sauté pan on high heat for 3-4 minutes. Add 2 tbsp olive oil. Season each lamb chop with S&P and sear in hot pan for 3-4 minutes each side until golden brown. Remove to large roasting tray. De-glaze sauté pan with white wine for 1 minute and scrape all carmelised bits from bottom. Add to lamb along with bouquet garni, garlic and broth. Cover with foil and place in oven for 1 ½ hrs. Reduce oven to 375°F. After initial cooking time add vegetables (baby carrots, parsnips and mini potatoes). Cover and return to oven for additional hour or until veg are fully cooked and meat begins to fall off the bone. That’s how tender it should be! Taste and season to desired taste.

NOTE: Never season your gravy before braising meat. The saltiness of the dish will intensify too much over the long cooking period. Always best to season just before serving.

In addition to this one I’ve got a couple more new Irish recipes I’m working on but I already have a ton of recipes out there so this will be the start of the Irish recipe round up. Looks like it will end up being in several posts so keep checking back all week for great ideas. Nobody does healthy Irish food like yours truly (at least that’s what I keep telling myself!)

Starting off the round up is an all time Irish favourite, Beef & Guinness Stew. This is brilliant party grub since it can be made it big batches and it’s pretty easy to do. Even now I wish I had this in front of me to tuck into! Hard to imagine this video is nearly two years old. (Notice I’m rockin’ the Topo tee?)

Though this stew is brilliant on its own, having some brown soda bread and a good ol’ pint would get you into Heaven (plus the soda bread is good soakage!) It’s super easy–watch me make it in record time!

If you’re whipping up a batch of soda bread you might as well slap some Irish Smoked Salmon on top! It’s a brilliant easy appetizer.

This is just the beginning. More Irish classics to come!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

Today’s recipe is a quickie as I gear up for the St. Paddy’s Day madness. ‘Nuff said.

RECIPE:
Serves 4

2 lbs Organic/grass fed beef fillet
2 tbsp olive oil
drizzle grape seed or olive oil (for searing beef)

12 oz baby bella mushrooms
2 lg shallots – thinly sliced
2 tbsp fresh tarragon
1/2 cup red wine (whatever you’re drinking will work)
2 cups organic beef broth
S&P

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 420°F

Preheat saute pan for 1 minute on medium heat. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and saute mushrooms & shallots for 4 mins to soften. Add red wine and reduce heat to simmer. Reduce wine by half (2 minutes) and add broth and tarragon. Simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and season with S&P.

Preheat another skillet on high for 1 minute. Season fillet on all sides with S&P. Add drizzle grape seed (excellent for cooking on high temps) or olive oil in hot pan and sear fillet on all sides until browned, 2 minutes each side approx.
Once fillet is seared remove to a foiled oven tray. Pop in oven for 8-10 minutes for medium rare.
Let rest for 10 minutes when cooked to let the juices redistribute back into the meat.

Spoon sauce over sliced steak and Bob’s your uncle!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

There’s a lot to be said for mastering basic cooking techniques like properly grilling a steak, plain and simple. Here I’ve done just that yet to spice things up I roasted cauliflower with a little kick using smoked paprika. This might sound too basic but this is where choosing your ingredients makes all the difference. Grass-fed meats and organic produce are bursting with natural flavour. Delicious doesn’t have to mean complicated.

RECIPE:
2 x 6oz NY grass-fed steaks
1 tsp cracked black pepper (1/2 tsp per steak)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp grape seed oil (or olive oil if preferred). Grape seed oil gets to a higher temp before burning so is ideal for searing on high heat.

1 head organic cauliflower – cut in florets
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 cup green olives – halved
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
drizzle agave or honey (1/4 tsp)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Remove steaks from fridge 30 mins before cooking so they return to room temp. Reason being, if you try to grill a cold steak by the time the heat penetrates the center of the meat the outside will be overcooked.

Add cauliflower florets, paprika, olives, pepper, agave & oil into a mixing bowl. Toss together to coat. Lay on a foiled oven tray and pop in oven for 20 mins approx or until cooked.

To check, pierce the largest floret with a small knife through the center. If knife pierces easily you’re good.
NOTE: If florets begin to brown too much lay a sheet of foil over the top until cooked.

Meanwhile, as cauliflower is roasting season steaks with S&P on both sides. Preheat grill pan on medium high heat for 1 minute. Drizzle oil in pan and sear steaks for 4-5 minutes each side for medium rare. Cook for longer to achieve desired temp.

NOTE: Very important to let steaks rest after cooking, for 3-4 minutes before cutting. This is to let the juices redistribute back into the meat and not all over your plate when to delve into it.

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

How many times have you read a study that says to eat more fish in your diet because it’s good for you? But is what’s good for you good for the environment? Over the last 2 1/2 years of food blogging I’ve always stayed true to my healthy cooking ways but I have grown in one key area, which is choosing sustainable ingredients. In my opinion it’s the only way forward to save our food sources and I’m glad word is catching on (no pun intended).

The albacore tuna photos above were taken in Dingle, Ireland where I had the opportunity to speak to the owner of the fishery, which you can read about here. Now, I’m still learning about what’s considered sustainable and I’ll admit it’s not always an easy task. But that’s the point here–I’m choosing to educate myself to make the right choices. Our Dingle trip was back in October 2008 and rereading that article I wrote I realised that these fish were caught with nets, which nowadays is not considered to be sustainable fishing practices. Here I thought just picking the right fish was good enough but the reality is now I need to know how it’s caught as well. Here’s a great article on albacore tuna practices.

Well this article wasn’t supposed to be about albacore but that’s what happens when I start putting my thoughts on paper–my beautiful mind starts racing all over. What really got my attention last night was this piece from the Nightly News about salmon. I love salmon so I was happy to see the word is spreading about farmed salmon. Take a gander at the video:

I’m sure you can guess where I stand and trust me, even I get overwhelmed by it all. But there’s help out there. What do you think? Have we all gone mad or is overfishing/purchasing unsustainable fish a real problem? When you buy fish including at restaurants do you order sustainably or does that factor into your decision making?

For the past year or so I’ve been posting weekly recipes on my friend, Doug’s (aka DR) fitness site, HealthHabits. He’s a trainer in Canada that since doing the recipes, has been cyber-training me. He’s all about the Paleo way of eating so I’ve had to tailor his recipes to follow suit. This is one I made a couple weeks ago for his site. Though I’m still new to the Paleo diet (feel free to give ye a few suggestions) I think I’ve a good idea here. What I really try to do with food, besides creating easy healthy recipes is to shop and eat sustainably and seasonally, which sometimes results in using produce not very well known. With all my recipes you are encouraged to use what ever is in season in your area, which might be different than my area especially because I’m planted in sunny Southern California, as I often like to remind DR. (Better not make him too jealous or my next workout session might be brutal!)

Since the Paleo diet does not include potatoes (ouch says the Irishman) I wanted to show you an easy substitute using what I know as Celeriac, often called Celery Root. It is a kind of celery grown as a root vegetable that tastes like celery with a potato-like consistency. Common across the pond, we use as mash, in mash or even raw, grated in salads. Here’s how it stacks up against the potato:
Celery Root*   vs.   Potato*

Calories                 42             118
Carbohydrate        9g            27g
Dietary Fiber         2g              2g

*1 cup celery root (155g) boiled, drained with no salt
*1 potato (136g) boiled in skin with no salt

In California we can get celeriac all year round but the season runs about October through April. As for the tomatoes, I didn’t think it was tomato season yet we received these lovelies in our CSA box. Feel free to substitute any in-season veg for the tomatoes if you can’t get locally grown tomatoes this time of year.

RECIPE:
Serves 2

2 x 4-6 oz organic/grass fed chicken breasts

1 tbsp fresh marjoram
1 tbsp fresh oregano
1 large garlic clove – minced
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 lemon – zested

2 medium celery roots (you’ll probably have some left overs but that’s grand!)
low-sodium chicken broth
S&P to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Begin by mixing all the marinade ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Add chicken breasts and coat. To store, either place in a Zilpoc bag or cover in a bowl in the fridge. Turn occasionally to make sure all sides are marinating.
NOTE: This can and should be done ahead of time to get maximum flavor. I would suggest marinating for at least 4 – 24 hours.

To cook celeriac:

Top and tail celery root and using a small kitchen knife carefully peel the outer layer. (Top & tail is common chef lingo, which means trim the top and bottom.)

Once all peeled roughly chop root in equal size pieces and boil in salted water (maybe a couple of teaspoons) until fork tender. Drain and return to same pot. Mash, add broth, taste & season.

I made the little blistered cherry tomato thingy by sauteing some cherry tomatoes on medium heat in olive oil under they begin to break down. Once they soften add a drizzle of red wine vinegar and a pinch of S&P. These will add a nice contrast and burst of flavor with the chicken and celeriac.

Preheat grill pan or outdoor bbq and when hot sear chicken on both sides. Cook to internal temp. 160F, 8-12 minutes approx. Let rest for 3-4 minutes after cooking before cutting.

Tasty and easy! Let me know how you get on with the celeriac. Cheers!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

We’re still at the tail end of heart month so this recipe is packed with heart healthy goodness in the form of kidney beans. Research has found that higher legume consumption was associated with a whopping 82% reduction in risk of heart attack. Beans are also a great source of protein and are a favourite of vegetarians instead of meat or fish. As a meat eater I love the variety so I use beans in some of my recipes as an added boost.

Serving Suggestion: I served these with spaghetti squash (check here for recipe) to replicate spaghetti meatballs but much better…I think.

RECIPE:
1 cup bulgur wheat
2 cups homemade veggie stock
2 cups cooked red kidney beans
1 large red onion – fine dice
2 garlic cloves – minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 organic eggs – beaten
1 cup Ener-G gluten free breadcrumbs or Italian breadcrumbs
1/4 cup cilantro – chopped
2 tbsp fresh marjoram – chopped
S&P to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Begin by cooking the bulgur in the veggie stock for about 20 minutes or until cooked. Taste it to make sure.
Preheat a medium saute pan on medium-low heat for 1 minute. Add olive oil and saute onion for 1 minute. Add garlic and spices and continue cooking for additional 3 minutes, stirring, until onions are cooked and translucent.
Remove onion mixture and set aside to cool.
Place cooked bulgur, onions & cooked beans in a large mixing bowl and add egg. With clean hands mix together along with the breadcrumbs and herbs.
Taste and season with S&P.
With wet hands roll each meatball to a golf ball size and lay on a foiled oven tray.

You can do this ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to eat. This will also help to firm them up.
When ready, preheat broiler and place tray under broiler to heat through and make crispy.

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

For those of you that don’t know, this month is National Heart Month. Not to get too Debbie Downer about it but heart disease is the country’s no. 1 killer. We all know the co-relation between food and a healthy heart. Making wise food choices is so important and with childhood obesity on the rise reaching epidemic proportions we need to take back control of what we put in our bodies. We only have the one!

According to the American heart assoc. living a heart healthy lifestyle includes making wise daily food choices. Here are some of their recommendations:

• Choose lean meats and poultry without skin and prepare them without added saturated and trans fat.
• Select fat-free, 1% fat and low-fat dairy products.
• Cut back on foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oils to reduce trans fat in your diet.
• Cut back on foods high in dietary cholesterol. Aim to eat less than 300 mg of cholesterol each day.
• Cut back on beverages and foods with added sugars.
• Choose and prepare foods with little or no salt. Aim to eat less than 2,300 mg of sodium per day (or less than 1,500 mg if you are in a higher risk group for high blood pressure).
• If you drink alcohol, drink in moderation. That means no more than one drink per day if you’re a woman and two drinks per day if you’re a man.
• Keep an eye on your portion sizes.

In addition to healthy eating habits, the American Heart Association also recommends doing the following to lead a heart healthy lifestyle:

• Avoid use and exposure to tobacco products.
• Achieve and maintain healthy cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose levels.
• Emphasize physical activity and weight control.

One of the best foods you can eat is oatmeal, or porridge as we called it when I was growing up. Not only is it full of fiber but it helps reduce bad cholesterol, which is what blocks the arteries and leads to heart attacks. I’ve been eating a bowl every morning since I was young, totally true. I love the stuff. Here I decided to crumb some fish with it in place of bread crumbs and bake it. Serve with my homemade tartar sauce and you’re golden…..and heart healthy.

RECIPE:
Serves 4
4 x 4-5 oz Pacific Sole (an eco-OK fish)
2 organic egg whites, beaten (for breadcrumbing fish)
1 cup old fashioned porridge (oatmeal)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp lemon pepper

Tartar Sauce:
2 egg yolks
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 cup canola oil
1/2 lemon – zested
1 tsp capers – chopped
1 tbsp parsley – chopped
3 gherkins (cornichons) – chopped
1/4 tsp black pepper
pinch salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat skillet on medium heat for 30 seconds. Add oatmeal and brown oats, tossing occasionally until golden, 7-8 minutes approx. Do not burn.
Once golden brown place in food processor along with paprika and pepper. Pulse to breadcrumb consistency but not too fine.

Now we’re ready to coat the fish. To do this simply dip the sole in the egg whites and let drain over the egg bowl to catch any excess drippings and then coat gently in the oatmeal crust on all sides. Once coated lay on a foiled or parchment paper lined tray until ready to cook.

To Make Tartar:
Tartar sauce is a mayo-based sauce. Homemade mayo is one of the easiest condiments to make and is way more healthier and tastier than store bought. When making homemade mayo you’ll notice it’s colour right off the bat–it’s not white, it’s yellow. Crazy isn’t it?

Place the egg yolks in the food processor along with the mustard & zest. With the machine running slowly add the oil to emulsify. If the mayo looks too thick add a drizzle of cold water to smooth it out. Once all the oil has been incorporated add the capers, gherkins, parsley & salt and pulse for 20 seconds. Done. Pop in the fridge until ready to eat.

From aioli to tartar sauce

To Cook Fish:

Preheat oven to  420°F.

Lay fish on foiled oven tray and spray both sides liberally with olive oil spray. Pop in oven for 8-10 minutes until crispy and firm to touch.

Cheers to healthy hearts!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

Being in California I’m exposed to an amazing array of fresh organic fruit n veg that I wouldn’t normally get, especially back at home so I’m taking full advantage of it. One of my weekly adventures is heading to our local farmers market and seeing what’s in season and figuring out something to make with it. You might recall a few weeks back I made a Braised Beef Rib recipe using some Poblano peppers, which actually came from my garden. Turns out I really liked their charred smoky flavour so I figured I’d have another go with them. I love roasted peppers (Roast Red pepper Hummus) and funny enough I actually made this pork dish already but my photos weren’t up to par so this is round two. With a few tweaks this turned out even better than the last time.
Lucky for you I’m a shitty photographer!

RECIPE:
Serves 4

1 1/2 lbs organic / grass fed pork tenderloin – trimmed, 1″ cubes
1 cup, small, diced white onion
3 Poblano* peppers – roasted, seeded,  peeled & diced
1 red bell pepper – seeded, small dice
3 cloves garlic – minced
1/2 tsp dried chili flakes
1 tbsp fresh marjoram – chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme – chopped
1 cup white wine (whatever you’re drinking will work)
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp lemon pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
S&P

*NOTE: If you can’t find Poblano peppers you can substitute Anaheim peppers, green bell peppers or for more heat go for Serrano peppers.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

To Roast Peppers:
Place peppers on a foiled oven tray and coat all sides with drizzle olive oil. Pop in top shelf of oven until skin is charred on all sides. As soon as one side is charred turn. When completely charred place peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 20 minutes. This will steam the pepper so the skin comes right off.
To remove Skins: They should easily peel off in your hands with a gentle tug here and there. DO NOT run the peppers under the tap to take the skins off. This will remove all the beautiful charred flavour from the pepper.

Preheat large saute pan on medium heat for 1 minute. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and saute onions, red pepper, poblano pepper and garlic for 5 -7 minutes, until softened, stirring occasionally.

While veg are cooking add all the diced pork into a large bowl and sprinkle the paprika and lemon pepper and coat pork evenly.

When the veg are beginning to soften add the chili flakes and herbs and mix for 1 minute. Remove the veg mix to a plate and drizzle 1 tbsp in that same pan increasing heat to high. Sear the diced pork in 2 batches for 3-4 minutes, stirring. You want to get a nice golden brown colour on all sides. Once the first batch is browned remove to the same plate as the veg and repeat process with additional pork, adding another tbsp of olive oil for each batch.

Return both the veg and meat to the saute pan and add the wine. Combine all ingredients together and cook for 2 minutes or until wine has reduced by half. Place everything in an oven proof casserole dish along with 4 cups low sodium chicken broth. Cover with foil.

Pop in the oven for about 1 1/2hours, approx. When ready the pork will be fork tender, super juicy and muy delicioso!

From my garden to my dinner plate — pretty cool!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday aka Mardi Gras, Carnival and Pancake Tuesday. It’s a BIG party day down in the Big Easy and you bet everyone there is going to be eating and drinking like kings. Though I’ve never been to New Orleans I can only imagine what typical Mardi Gras food consists of. I imagine it contains lots of seafood from the Gulf with French influences such as gumbo, bouillabaisse, bisque, crawfish, you get the picture. (My stomach is growling as we speak.) This is my simplified version of a bouillabaisse. Typically, and according to tradition, there should be at least five different kinds of fish (not including shellfish) in a proper bouillabaisse. That can get pretty pricey so I thought I’d use some key seafood ingredients saving money yet without compromising flavour (which I may have used for a six-pack). This version is light, fresh and brothy just the way I roll.

RECIPE:
Serves 4

20 mussels – rinsed
20 Manila clams – rinsed
1/2 lb large locally caught wild shrimp – P&D’d (peeled & de-veined)
1 lb white fish (Pacific cod, Tilapia, Pacific halibut) – 1″ cubes
3 cups leeks (whites only) thinly sliced, washed
1 red bell pepper – small dice
3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1 x 15 oz can diced tomatoes – drained
1 cup white wine (whatever’s in your glass will work) OR an 8 fluid oz bottle of clam juice*
3 cups water
about a handful of fresh basil – chiffonade
2 sprigs fresh thyme (for steaming mussels & clams)
2 tbsp olive oil

*TIP: Bottled clam juice is easily found in the States though it might be hard enough to find across the pond. Steaming the shellfish in the white wine is a great alternative for making your own clam juice.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat large soup pot on medium heat for 1 minute. Add olive oil along with leeks, red pepper and chili flakes. Saute, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Cover with lid while they’re sauteing. This will keep in the moisture and help prevent them from going brown. You don’t want any colour on the leeks, just softened.
As leeks and pepper are cooking, preheat a large saute pan on high heat for 1 minute. Very carefully add mussels and clams to pan along with the wine and thyme or bottled clam juice and thyme. (Be careful of splashing the liquid.) Cover with lid and cook until all the shells are open. Give the pan a shake after 30 seconds or so to move them around. Cook for 2 minutes approx or until all the shells have opened.
NOTE: If there are any unopened or cracked shells when the majority are cooked, discard them.

Holding a colander over the soup pot drain the shellfish into the colander. This steaming liquid will be the base of your soup and it’s delicious. Add the water, bay leaves and chopped tomatoes to the soup pot and bring to a boil.
Next remove all the mussels & clams from their shells. Set the meat aside and throw away the shells or even better you could use them with your saved veg and the shrimp shells to make a seafood stock.

Add the white fish and shrimp to the soup and stir. (They’ll cook in the broth.) Once soup comes to a boil reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes on medium low heat.
Just before serving add all mussels, clams and fresh basil. Stir and taste. Season with S&P.

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.