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

As you saw in my last post Thanksgiving was spent in the land of cowboys, BBQ and the Ewings. The brother and I headed back to Cali on Sunday after our quick trip and were all set to grab a quick Subway sangwich (as we call it) for the plane. The father-in-law was quick to jump in and suggested we try his local sub shop, Thunder Cloud Subs. I was game so off we headed. It looks like a regular sangwich emporium in a strip mall except for the fact that the guys behind the counter actually had some personality. To most people a sangwich is just a sangwich, bread, meat, veggies, mustard, mayo, but for me, being the picky mo’fo I am, I like a little extra. A little banter with the sandwich guy is always cool but that aside they actually had a lot more variety. My missus being a veggie usually gets the usual boring veggie sub but this place had homemade hummus, fresh mushrooms, sprouts and their special olive oil dressing as well as the usual go-to veggies. Going that extra mile makes all the difference so I was well pleased. If you’re in the Austin or San Antonio area be sure to hit ‘em up and let me know what you think. So far Texas has served me well!

I get asked quite often if I have any healthy dessert or snack ideas. I don’t have a sweet tooth myself (unless there’s mucho beers involved and I have been known to delve into the odd apple tart on occasion) but I know that for those peeps who are watching their waistlines, it can be hard to ditch the old favourite dessert. This recipe is a fabulous healthy low fat option and is perfect for a special breakfast or even dessert. The beauty of these muffins is that they are already portioned so no chance of over eating (unless you eat more than one of course).

As you may know I don’t use regular sugar in any of my cooking. I opt for Agave on most occasions but seeing as I’m not a professional baker I reach for the granular natural stuff in place of sugar, such as Xylitol. I’ve used Xylitol many times but I noticed that it sometimes left a bit of an aftertaste, until I tried this brand. Even my neighbour (who is still afraid to taste the fig frozen yogurt I made him) liked it and commented (on his own accord mind you) that it didn’t have that strange aftertaste some healthy cookies tend to have. Looks like I found a winner! Luckily nowadays there are many great natural sugars out there–Click here to find out more.

RECIPE:
Makes 10-12 muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cup Xylitol (birch sugar)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 – 4 mashed ripe bananas
1/8 cup canola oil
1/4 + 1/8 cup applesauce – All natural, no added sugar
1/4 cup skim milk
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips (70% or higher cocoa)
2 organic egg whites

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix wheat flour, xylitol, baking powder and salt in large bowl. In another medium bowl mix mashed bananas, oil, applesauce and milk. Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients just until blended (do not over mix). Put choc chips in food processor and pulse for 20-30 seconds to break up.

Stir in chocolate chips. Severely beat your egg whites until they become stiff (also good for getting out any frustrations!) Fold them into the mixture.
TIP: Folding the stiff egg whites in at the end helps create a lighter muffin with a bit less fat.

Liberally spray muffin cups with cooking spray or use paper liners.  Fill each about 3/4 full if you want to make a full dozen or fill all the way to the top if you want larger muffins (about 10).

Bake muffins until tops are golden, 31 minutes approx. To be sure they’re fully baked, insert a toothpick into the center and it should come out with some melted chocolate attached but no crumbs. Transfer muffins to a rack to cool then tuck in!

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

Halloween is just a few days away and you know what that means—sweets (candy) overload!! There’s no replacing sweets on this day of all days. Try giving a kid an apple and see what happens. (It won’t be pretty.) But back home, after the trick-or-treating fun, how do you keep your likkle ones from plowing through the entire bucket of sugar? I started thinking about this and I thought, if you had a ‘healthier’ treat to offer, would they even notice?

If I’m way off base here with the whole healthy snack idea (after all I’m not a dad…yet), then this is at least a good healthy cookie recipe to have on hand for any occasion!

This recipe is a special gluten-free recipe given to us by my good friend, Sarah. She’s an excellent home baker who’s looking to start her own bakery one day. Until then I’m trying to get her to be a guest blogger for me. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m no Pat the Baker but I dabble here and there. Sarah’s specialty is making wheat-free goodies. How many of you are interested in gluten-free desserts? Help me convince her to write for us!

From the lovely Sarah:

RECIPE:

1 1/2 cups whole rolled oats
1/4 cup ground flax meal
1 tablespoon brown rice flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup grade B Maple Syrup
1/3 cup Grapeseed Oil
1/2 cup low sugar berry or apricot jam

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix all dry ingredients thoroughly, then add in maple syrup and oil, stirring until entire oat mixture is coated.
In an ungreased 9×9 baking dish, pour half of oat mixture and spread evenly, pressing into the dish with a spatula as with a pie crust.
Using a spoon, whip jam until it spreads easily to cover entire oat mixture.
Lightly spread remainder of oat mixture over jam and press with back of spatula until smooth
Bake for 25 min, cool completely and then cut into desired squares.

* a note to the creative and the health-wise (as I am sure you all are both) feel free to experiment with your favorite spices and preserves within this recipe. If you cannot find low- or no-sugar-added jams, cut back the maple syrup by a tablespoon to balance out your sugar. I recommend using any expeller-pressed high heat oil of your choosing. I like grapeseed because of its clean flavor and high polyunsaturated fat content but there are many delicious others. I also very much enjoyed this recipe with an additional half teaspoon of almond extract, cherry jam and an extra 1/4 cup chopped almonds!

Cheers!

Sarah

NOTE: I found a fruit spread that I really like from the 365 line at Whole Foods. In the strawberry spread there’s only 3 ingredients: white grape juice, strawberries, & fruit pectin. No preservatives, artificial colors or flavors. If you don’t live near a WF Market, be sure you’re reading the ingredient labels when choosing a jam at your regular grocery. Even the sugar-free jams are loaded with strange ingredients.

Thanks Sarah!!

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

I’ve recently rekindled my infatuation for peanut butter. A few weeks ago you would’ve caught me eating the stuff straight out of the jar. Then one day whilst perusing the vast varieties of  ‘nut butters’  I came across almond butter. Just so happens I love almonds and recently I even switched to almond milk so why not give almond butter a go? Of course I’ve seen it before but this time I was ready to delve in. The outcome is…..smashing.

Really, why didn’t I try this earlier? Do we get stuck liking what we like we become afraid of trying new things–even me, as a foodie guy? Gotta say I’m glad I broadened my horizons as almond butter is delicious and nutritious (and yes, now I’m hooked).

With my new infatuations fully in heat, I came across this brilliant idea from our friend Sheila at LiveWell360. In a nutshell (pretty good, right?), don’t toss your empty PB jars–instead, pour in some cooked oatmeal! This morning I remembered to save my jar (with extra scrapings just for the cause) and was I delighted I did. Truth be told I’m a bit miffed I didn’t think of this first!

MY VERSION:

Oatmeal
Nearly Empty Almond Butter Jar
Almond Milk

Cook oats on the stove per directions. Pour into Jar and swirl a drizzle of almond milk. Done.

Can’t get any easier than that!

TIP: When choosing any nut butters be sure to read your labels. All you want to read is “dry roasted almonds” or “roasted peanuts.” Nothing else, not extra oil, salt and certainly not extra sugar. These nut butters will have oil separation (you’ll see a layer of oil on top) which is natural. A quick stir and you’re good to go but be sure to keep refrigerated since there are no preservatives.

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.

Since I started ‘borrowing’ my neighbors figs from their tree, I’ve been using them in all sorts of dishes from frozen yogurt to couscous to salsa and now a simple pizza. When I do venture out to have some pizza (a rarity usually with drink involved) I’ll always go for a thin crust version. Less filling, tastes great (name that ad!)
With all the figs that seem to have ‘arrived’ somehow in my possession I thought this would work great in a pizza, plus I needed something quick to make for my hungry and cranky Missus. I’ve made a similar type pizza before with lavash but I found this multi-grain flat bread version with flax, which I thought would make great alternative. (Turns out it did.) You might think this is a lot of fig but believe me it works and isn’t too sweet especially with the goats cheese. Total  joy–this last minute recipe turned out brilliantly!

RECIPE:

1 sheet wholewheat flat bread (lavash)
5/6 figs -topped, rough chop (for pizza base)
4/5 figs – topped, quartered
large handful of fresh spinach – washed, rough chop
2 ozs goats cheese – crumbled
2 tbsp fresh basil – chiffonade
Olive Oil
S&P

Balsamic reduction:
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp agave
Cook on medium low heat for 10 minutes or until thickened.

TO MAKE PIZZA:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Brush flat bread with olive oil and par bake for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it. You just want to crisp the bread without browning too much.
Chop the pizza base figs and smear them on the crispy flat bread…GENTLY.

Layer with fresh spinach and top with quartered figs. Crumble cheese over and drizzle with olive oil. Season with S&P.
Bake in oven for 15 minutes until cheese is soft and figs are bubbling.

Remove from oven, drizzle balsamic reduction over the pizza and sprinkle fresh basil.

Delicious!

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

It’s hot enough here that I could, if I wanted to, fry an egg on my bald head, which means barbecue season is still hangin’ in there….. just like the smoke over LA. I’m definitely not complaining since the poor Paddies have barely had a chance to put a flame to the barbecue this year. Ironically my parents have 3 barbecues (couldn’t tell ya why) but unfortunately they’re mostly used as gatherers of rust and leaves. With this being Labor Day weekend everyone here is in full barbecue mode so this is a great easy tasty recipe that can be done in advance and brought to the beach or just throw them on the grill if you have some peeps comin’ over. Either way there’s some good eatin’ here. Shit, I’m starting to write the way my Texan missus speaks, yikes. Think I need a trip to Kerry to sort me out!

RECIPE:
Serves 4

5 lbs organic chicken, portioned

Marinade:
1/4 cup fresh cilantro – rough chopped
1 large garlic clove – minced
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup low-sodium tamari (soy sauce)
3 tbsp agave
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1/2 cup olive oil

Directions:
Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add chicken to bowl and, with clean hands, mix the marinade into the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours up to over night.
Once ready to cook, fire up the grill.
Grill all chicken pieces to desired temperature knowing that any dark meat chicken will take slightly longer to cook.

TIP: When grilling meat I like to cook by indirect heat. I have one side of my grill fired up on high heat and the other side on low heat. I sear or brown the meat on the high heat side on both sides and then move it over to the low heat side. Close the lid. By using this method the grill becomes more like an oven and the meat cooks slowly through thus not burning and remaining juicy and moist.

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

Hummus–You know who’s fave. The thing is, I used to buy hummus for the Missus at the grocery, then after looking at their ingredient labels and looking at the fresh herbs in our garden, we figured we’d make our own from now on. Not only is it healthier, it’s better for the environment and better for my wallet! All summer long we’ve been using different herbs from our garden to make new flavours of hummus and the outcome has been great. Even if you buy dill at the store for a recipe, odds are you usually have a good amount left over (right?) so this is a great way to use up the rest.

RECIPE:
Makes 1 1/2 cups

1/4 cup olive oil
1 x 15 oz can garbanzo beans – drained
handful fresh dill – stemmed
1 lemon zested
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

Place everything except the water & oil in a food processor and puree. While pureeing, slowly add in the oil until combined. When the mixture starts to look dry slowly add in the water to achieve a smooth consistency. You may not need all of it or you may need more, depending how much dill you use.
That’s it! Taste for seasoning and add additional S&P to achieve desired flavor.

Other great hummuses (or is it hummi?):
Parsley Hummus
Artichoke, Basil & Goat’s Cheese Hummus
Homemade Whole Wheat Pita Chips (if you’re feeling adventurous!)

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

There are two things the Missus are crazy about in our house.  Our garden and (for some reason) hummus–any and every kind. She loves the stuff. I noticed the parsley in our garden was going hay wire so I figured I better do something with it and …….this is it.

RECIPE:
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 bunch flat leaf parsley
1 can garbanzo beans
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
up to 1/3 cup water

DIRECTIONS:

Add first 5 ingredients in a food processor and blend. While it’s going, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Taste and season.
NOTE: If it’s too thick, while blitzing add in the water a tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired texture.

This is a great little recipe that you can keep in your fridge and is perfect for a quick healthy snack idea.

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