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.

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.

I don’t think anyone is exempt from the winter weather that’s hitting us all at the moment. Between the snow, the cold and the days upon days of rain we’re having here in LA at the minute, I thought a quick n easy soup would hit the spot. I made chicken for dinner last night and had some left over so I thought the obvious choice was to bust out a soup for lunch today and hey presto here it is. If you don’t have any leftover chicken like I did, buy a roast chicken and just use that. You’ll get a great flavour as well as having the carcass to make your stock. Perfecto! This is one of the simplest ways to make a soup as you basically just put everything in the same pot and simmer it.

Did I mention it’s flu season? A bit of homemade chicken soup and vitamin C are sure to help!

RECIPE:
Serves 4

1 organic roast chicken or 4 cups leftover chicken – shredded
6 oz shredded carrot (about 2 carrots)
1 cup celery – thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup thin egg noodles (like spaghetti cut into 2″ pieces. I bought a packet in the supermarket)
S&P
freshly chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS:
Add the broth to a soup pot and place on a medium-flamed burner. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Add shredded chicken, bay leaves, carrot and celery and cook for 20 minutes, partially covered.
NOTE: This can all be done ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to eat. When you are ready bring the soup to a boil and add noodles. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add noodles and stir soup. The noodles are small and thin like spaghetti so they’ll cook in about 10 minutes. Once noodles are done taste and season with S&P. Remove bay leaves, top with parsley and freshly ground and serve. Easy!

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

It seems like I have a penchant for stuffing meat. (hmm, that doesn’t sound right. Ah well you know what I mean!) Turkey (stuffed with persimmon-couscous, rice & herbs, wild mushrooms & rice ), fish (sole stuffed with spinach), pork (stuffed with apple & breadcrumbs)…and now for all you red meat eaters it’s your turn. I think I like the stuffed concept because depending on what you stuff it with it’s like an all-in-one meal. Also, these healthy “stuffings” can be interchanged among the different proteins, which ensures dinner never gets boring. Could also have something to do with the minimal amount of dishes used, which of course means there’s less stuff to wash up. Valid points don’t you agree?

I tried this recipe before using skirt steak and it didn’t quite pan out that well. The meat was too thin and wasn’t big enough to roll the filling so this time ’round I used flank steak and it worked out great. After tenderizing a bit the beef was large enough to hold all the goods and was the perfect thickness, meaning it needed less time in the oven for a perfect juicy med-rare. Mmm taashtee!

RECIPE:
Serves 6

1 1/2 lbs flank steak, organic or grass fed

8 oz baby spinach
1/2 cup red pepper – small dice
1/2 cup white onion – small dice
1 large garlic clove – minced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup pine nuts – toasted in saute pan
4 tbsp olive oil
S&P to taste
cooking twine

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat large skillet on medium heat for 1 minute. Add 2 tbsp olive oil. Saute peppers, onions and garlic for 2-3 minutes, stirring. Cook until softened. Next add in the white wine (whatever you’re drinking). Simmer for 1 minute, reducing the liquid, careful not to let it evaporate completely. Next up add the spinach and saute for 1 minute combining everything. Drain all into a colander, cool and fogedaboudit.
Once drained and cooled, taste and season with S&P.

Place the steak on a cutting board, cover with plastic wrap and using a mallet or, as I’ve done in the past, a heavy bottomed saucepan, give the meat a few belts to thin out a little, which will tenderize it.

When you’ve got all your aggressions out, lay some plastic wrap on your work surface and on top on that lay 4 pieces of twine of equal length, approx 10″ long perpendicular to you. Place the tenderized steak across parallel to you counter but perpendicular to the twine. (See photos, it’s easier.)

Use as many twines as needed to securely tie it all up. Once the twine is in place season the meat with S&P. Place the spinach filling in an even layer spread out on the meat and pat down. Begin rolling the meat like a Swiss roll nice n tightly ensuring the filling stays inside. Once rolled get yourself an extra pair of hands if you can and begin tying the strings tight enough to hold together.

Preheat large skillet on high heat. Add 2 tbsp olive oil. Season all sides of the rolled beef with S&P. Sear for 2-3 minutes each side ’til golden brown. Set on a foiled oven tray.

TO COOK:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Pop beef in for 30 minutes approx or until internal temp 140°F. Remove and let rest for 6-8 minutes to let the juices redistribute back into the meat.
Don’t forget to snip the strings and discard them before eating.

Serving suggestion: Twice baked potatoes, the healthy way!

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

This is another Christmasish (not a word but who cares) recipe that really only fits in here ’cause of the seasonal colour of the pomegranate sauce and marinade. This all came about really because I had some chicken and a bottle of Pom in my fridge, which has pretty much been there for while (the Pom juice, that is). Sometimes the best recipes are inspired by what you have on hand so I figured I’d give it a go see what happens. Chicken is one of those meats that marinates well but that doesn’t mean everything will taste good so it was a gamble that, in my book, paid off. Besides the great taste, pomegranates are loaded with antioxidants, which might come in handy after all the holiday tipples!

RECIPE:
Serves 4

4 x 6 oz organic chicken breasts
1/2 cup chicken broth

Pomegranate marinade:
24 oz of Pom juice
1 cup Agave
1 tbsp chili flakes
1 tbsp salt

Mix the marinade together in mixing bowl big enough to hold the submerged chicken. Once combined add in the chicken. Cover and refrigerate and let marinate from between 5 hours to over-night.

Remove chicken from fridge about an 1 hour before cooking to let return to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Preheat large saute pan for 1 minute on medium heat. Add 2 tbsp olive oil. Lay each filet skin side down, if using with skin on, and sear for 2-3 minutes until golden then flip over.
NOTE: Because of the Agave the chicken will caramelize & brown pretty quickly so keep an eye on it.
Once browned on both sides place on a foiled oven tray along with broth and roast 8-10 minutes approx or to internal temperature 160°F.
Throw some greens on there and you’ve got yourself Christmas on a plate!

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

Winter is arriving if not already here for a lot of you (apparently there’s snow in Houston?) so this is defo soup season. You all know there’s nothing better than a delicious bowl of homemade soup with a nice sangwich. I remember growing up in the tropical Isle of Ireland and the odd day it might be cold and wet my Mum would always make us soup for lunch. It’s always been one of those things that was a staple in our house as any leftover veg from dinner would be made into a delicious soup the next day. Those were the days.

This soup recipe is one of my faves and you’ll definitely love the fresh pea flavour and earthy texture. Off you pop and get the pot out.

RECIPE:
Yields: A big ol’ pot.

1 lb bag of green split peas
3 small-med sized sweet potatoes – peeled & diced
1 white or yellow onion – chopped
1 cup celery – chopped
2 fresh carrots – chopped
2 bay leaves
8 cups veg stock or water
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

Begin by emptying the bag of peas into a colander. Run the cold water over them and rinse thoroughly. While rinsing sort through the peas for any foreign objects, like dirt or even little pebbles. Once rinsed let drain in the same colander.
Preheat a large soup pot for 1 minute on medium heat. Once heated add olive oil along with celery, carrots and onion. Saute on medium, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes. Do not brown onions.

Add rinsed peas, potatoes, bay leaves and stock. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce to a simmer and partially cover. Cook for 20 minutes approx or until peas are cooked through.

Using a hand blender, if you have one or a food processor if not, pulse. Don’t puree totally but leave some veggie chucks in there. It creates a more rustic texture (which I like).

Taste and season with S&P.

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

Fast forward to Friday afternoon or Saturday. Thanksgiving’s over. You can’t fit another turkey sandwich in you and to be honest really don’t want to. The carcass is sitting in the fridge and you’re sick of the sight of it. You’re tinking ‘get this thing outta my fridge and into the bin’ but……. hoooooold up wait a minute. Instead of doing that how ’bout putting it in a pot with some veggies and making your own stock. It really isn’t that big of a deal and will not only save you some cash but you can say you made your own stock. I usually make a batch of veggie or chicken stock, put them in little tupperware containers, let the stock cool and pop them in the freezer. Then when I want to make something I just pull one out. Believe me you’ll be glad you did.

Organic Chicken Stock recipe.

Organic Veggie Stock recipe.

RECIPE:

1 leftover turkey carcass
2 carrots – chopped
1 leek – chopped, washed
2 large onion – peeled, chopped
3 bay leaves
thyme – whatever you have
parsley – one bunch (or whatever you have)
10 peppercorns
5/6 celery stalks – chopped, washed

DIRECTIONS:

Pop everything in a large soup pot or if you have one of those turkeys that’s as big a baby horse, cut it up and use two pots. Fill the pot with lots of veggies. When I’m cooking throughout the week I keep all the stalks and bits of leftover veg from my prep. Then when it’s time to make stock I have lots of bits n pieces to go in there. The more veggies you add the better flavour you’ll get.
Note: Rule of thumb. Don’t add anything into your stock that you wouldn’t eat so no rotten veggies.

Bring stock to a boil and once boiling reduce to a simmer and cook for 2 hours. If the liquid is reducing to quickly turn the heat down more.

HAPPY TANKSGIVING!

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

Would you believe I’ve made this dish three times in hopes of getting a good photo? Ah well, this is me best. Good thing it’s mouthwatering good! You’ll have to trust me on this one.

Recipe:
1 x 5 lb organic chicken – portioned (2 breasts, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 wings)
12 oz jar marinated black olives – pitted
1 x 7 1/2 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts – drained (or 1 lb. fresh artichoke hearts – steamed)
1/4 cup marinated sun-dried tomatoes – drained (optional)
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 red pepper – thinly sliced
1 garlic bulb – halved crosswise
1 bunch fresh tarragon – tied together with string
1 quart low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F.

Preheat large saute pan on medium high heat. Season the chicken portions with S&P on both sides. Add 2 tbsp olive oil to pan and and sear chicken for 3-4 minutes each side until golden brown. Once browned remove and set in large oven proof casserole dish. Drain excess oil from pan. In same pan add another tbsp olive oil and saute the peppers quickly for 1 minute. Add wine and de-glaze the pan, scraping all the nice caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan. FOR HOW LONG?  Add liquid to chicken along with all other ingredients. Cover with foil and pop in the oven for 1 1/2 hours approx or until chicken is fork tender.

I like to serve this dish family style with brown rice on the side.

Healthy cooking doesn’t have to be bland nor does it have to be complicated. These types of meals are pretty simple to make and they’re packed with flavor and nutrition.

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

Well, the first rain of the season in Los Angeles has been a doozy. I’m talking real rain people! I’ll admit, there’s something nice about coming home to a warm cozy house with dinner on the stove, rain dancing on the roof and my missus dancing on the ceiling but I’m thankful it doesn’t happen that often. You should see how these people drive in the rain! Not pretty. Apparently rain and electricity don’t mix over here either because as soon as it kicked off, our power decided to do the same….for hours. Good thing we had finished dinner or that would’ve blown! Lucky for us we had this delicious soup to dive into. Rain and a blast of cold wind (to be read sarcastically—it was all of 70° yesterday!) makes for perfect soup weather.

RECIPE:
Serves 6-8

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion – fine dice
4 garlic cloves – minced
2 tbsp fresh rosemary – chopped
2 tsp red curry powder
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 x 1lb bag lentils – rinsed
1 x 14 1/2 oz can organic diced tomatoes
1/4 cup sun-dried tomato paste
10 cups water (or veg/chicken broth)
1 lb cubed butternut squash
4 cups Swiss chard – de-stalked, chopped, washed
1/2 cup fresh parsley – chopped
2 tsp sea salt
freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat large soup pot for 1 minute on medium heat. Add in olive oil. Add onions and saute for 4-6 minutes or until translucent & soft, stirring–do not brown. Add in garlic, rosemary, curry powder, bay leaf and cayenne and mix through. Cook for 2 minutes and add lentils. Stir. Saute mixture together for 5 minutes until lentils are coated and toasted.
Next add in tomatoes, sun-dried paste, 1/2 the butternut squash and all the liquid (water 0r broth). Bring to boil and once boiling reduce to simmer, partially covered. Simmer for 25 minutes until lentils are tender. Stir in Swiss chard, parsley, the rest of the butternut squash and sea salt. Simmer for a few more minutes to wilt the chard and soften the squash. Taste the squash and when it’s nice ‘n’ tender you’re good to go. Finally, taste and season with S&P.

NOTE: We had a couple dried chili peppers lying around (gifts from our neighbors) that we threw in whole to see if they’d give off some heat. They certainly did, but lucky for us it was the perfect amount of kick. Do you dare?

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

This week I’ve been talking about what has come in our CSA box(es) and the diamonds so far have been sweet peppers, which have been turning into hummus. Any day now the Missus will be turning into hummus herself so I got the idea to try pairing it with something a bit healthier than crackers. I’ve been hearing rumblings about kale chips for a while now and though I was skeptical, I decided to give it a go with both elephant and curly kale. Tossed in a drizzle of olive oil, S&P and baked for nearly 10  mins at 350F (in case you wanted to try them out for yourself)….these were….em….interesting. Did they make a nice “chip?” Eh no. Would they make a nice garnish cut in strips? I’m thinkin’ that’s a much better idea. But I just wanted to show you that even the so called ‘pros’ like myself  learn by trial ‘n’ error. The real star here is the hummus!

RECIPE:
Makes 1 1/2 cups

1 can garbanzo beans
1/4 cup +  1 tbsp. roasted sweet peppers
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp cold water

First things first, roast your peppers. I used a variety of sweet peppers in this batch as well as a jalapeno from my garden. I used 1/4 cup of roasted plus a tbsp. total in the recipe. There’s no science here so just use what you have and as little or as much as it makes once roasted. Let your taste buds do the talking!

YOU NEED: Assorted sweet peppers & olive oil
ROASTING DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 420F. Toss the whole peppers in a drizzle of olive oil. Lay them on a foiled sheet pan in a single layer. Pop in oven for 20-25 mins, turning occasionally, until the skins are dark and charred. Once all sides of the skins are browned, put them into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 10 mins approx. Remove peppers and peel skins, discarding. Next remove stems and seeds and rough chop.
NOTE: Though it’s easier to peel peppers under running water, DO NOT do it. Rinsing roasted peppers under the tap will wash away most of the flavor. Bad idea!

HUMMUS DIRECTIONS:
Put the roasted peppers, garbanzo beans, S&P into a food processor and blend. While running, add in the water in a steady stream followed by the oil, same way. Taste and season.

Now in our second CSA box there were more sweet peppers so of course I knew I’d be at this again. This time we only had two peppers so I robbed a beautiful red bell from the neighbors (thanks Kitchens!!) and roasted them off. I added a squeeze of lemon, a couple squeezes of M’lady’s favorite hot sauce and a touch more olive oil and man, this was fantastic! It only took 2 days before it was gone so best of luck keeping it in your house!

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