The Unconventional Kitchen: 2009

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Roasted Root Vegetables

Step 1:

Chop all of the veggies that you wish to roast in 1 inch pieces. To be honest, I am not to particular I just chop them up.

Step 2: Put the veggies,and chopped onion on a cookie sheet or a fancy roasting pan, whatever you have. For a full cookie sheet I put 2 T oil, and 2 T of fresh thyme. I sprinkle them with salt, and put them in the oven at 400 degrees. Stir them every 15-20 minutes. Take them out when they are golden on the edges. About 30-45 minutes. Watch them though, because depending on the size you cut them they might cook faster or slower.

Easy as pie and soooo good!!

Eat them just like this or use the leftovers in a salad, in a wrap, or over quinoa, use your imagination!!

Recipe:

2 Sweet Potatoes
2 Red Potatoes
2 Onions
2 Ruttabagas
4 T olive oil
4 T thyme
Salt, just sprinkle it over the whole pan

Chop up the veggies. Boil them in water, except for the onion, until almost fork tender ( you can almost easily stick your fork into them). Drain them, spread them on two cookies sheets. Divide the onion, olive oil, and thyme onto both pans. Sprinkle them with salt and roast in the oven at 400 for 30-45 minutes. Stirring every 20 minutes so they don't burn. Watch them so they don't burn, it might take longer or shorter depending on how big or little you cut your veggies. Enjoy!!

Friday, December 4, 2009

Raw Friday Congo Bars

Coconut Congo Bars (recipe adapted from Living Food)

Equipment Needed

High- speed blender, food processor

Fudge Base

2 cups walnuts, preferably soaked and dehydrated

2 cups pecans, preferably soaked and dehydrated

1 1/2 cups Chocolate sauce (recipe below), chilled

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup dried shredded coconut

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup coconut butter/oil, warmed to liquefy

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

In a food processor, process 2 cups of the walnuts and 2 cups of the pecans until they just begin to release their oils. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Repeat with the remaining 2 cups of walnuts and 2 cups of pecans.

Add the Chocolate Sauce, raisins, coconut, maple powder, coconut butter/oil, and salt, and mix until thoroughly combined.

Transfer the mixture to a parchment- lined sheet pan and spread into an even layer.

Place in the refrigerator to chill and set.

Vanilla Coconut topping

1 cups young coconut meat

1/4 cup agave nectar

1 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

3 tablespoons coconut butter/oil, melted

2 cups dried shredded coconut

In a high- speed blender, blend the coconut meat, agave nectar, vanilla, and salt until very smooth and shiny. With the blender running, add the coconut butter/oil and continue blending until fully emulsified. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.

Stir 2 cups shredded coconut into the mixture and spread it in an even layer onto the chilled fudge base. Sprinkle the remaining 2 cups of shredded coconut over the blended layer.

Place the pan in the refrigerator to chill and set, about 30 minutes or more.

Cut into 32 bars, cutting lengthwise into 4 pieces and crosswise into 8 pieces (or cut into any size you wish). Store the finished bars in the refrigerator.

Chocolate Sauce; makes about 3 cups; (use in fudge base recipe above)

3/4 cup raw cocoa powder

3/4 cup maple syrup or agave nectar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of sea salt

1 1/2 tablespoons coconut butter/oil, warmed to liquefy

Combine all the ingredients except the coconut butter/oil in a blender. With the blender running, add the coconut butter/oil and continue blending to emulsify.

Store the syrup in a covered container in the refrigerator. Before serving, place it in the dehydrator to warm the sauce so that it’s liquid enough to pour. If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can also place the container in a warm water bath to liquefy it. (If the room is warm, simply let the sauce sit at room temperature.)

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Photos from my book Healthy Holiday Favorites for Rave Reviews

Here are photos from the book I collaborated with Robyn Openshaw (green smoothie girl) on. This collection is full of recipes that are classic holiday food, made healthy.

Sweet Pumpkin and Red Lentil Curry

1 small pumpkin, chopped, seeded, and peeled
1 tsp. olive oil
2 medium onions
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. hot red pepper flakes
1 tsp. tumeric
1 tsp. curry
1 tsp. minced ginger
5 cups veggie or chicken broth
2 cups red lentils
salt and pepper to taste
Juice of one lemon

Saute the onion in olive oil. Add spices, ginger, garlic, and pumpkin stir together and cook for one minute, add broth cook for ten minutes, or until pumpkin is almost soft. Add the lentils and cook for 15 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Mash the pumpkin pieces up a bit so it is more of a thick curry, add lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Classes

Cooking Classes

Whole Foods Cooking Class Series

Utah Valley University, September-October 16,23,30,7

September 16 : Whole Grains

September 23 : Eat Your Greens

September 30: Healthy Fats

October 7: Natural Sweeteners

Holiday Favorites, Gluten Free

Orson Gygi, November 18 2010

Menu:

Butternut Squash Soup

Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins

Blue Cheese Pear Salad with Candied Pecans

Apple Cinnamon Cake with Maple Whip Cream

Click here to sign up for the holiday favorites gluten free cooking class

Reccomends

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Videos

Videos Coming Soon.............

Friday, January 2, 2009

About Me

How I ended up in the kitchen.

I wish that I would have know much younger how enjoyable it is to cook. My passion for cooking quite honestly came out of necessity. I did a study abroad program in Peru and while I was their I got really sick. When I came home, no one could figure out what it was for months. Not until I went to a parasitologist (I bet you didn't know they existed) did I finally find out what I had, giardia. By that point, the giardia had wreaked havoc, leaving my whole digestive system a complete wreck. I was a mess for a long time. I went to countless doctors with no answers how to repair the damage done. I started realizing that if I wanted to feel better I needed to do something different. Before my diet had consisted of quick college food, Dinty Moore beef stew, and spirals macaroni and cheese. Not that my mom hadn't raised me to eat healthy, but in college I went for mostly convenience.

I started researching and studying nutrition. I realized how powerful food can be to nourish the body and heal it. It opened up a whole new world for me. At about that point I saw a doctor who put me on a whole foods cleanse. The cleanse for pure necessity made me get really creative in the kitchen, ( I really wanted treats, and sugar was off limits) I started experimenting with different ingredients and natural sweeteners, and my love for cooking was born. I felt so good, I had forgotten that I could ever feel that good.

As part of the cleanse I was off of gluten for months, that is when I felt the best. When I went off of the cleanse I maintained a whole foods diet, but I put gluten back into my diet. After awhile I started having some of the bloating and pains in my stomach come back. I kept eating it for awhile but it just continued to get worse. I took it out of my diet again. I felt a big difference after a couple of weeks of not having it. Since then I have tried to maintain a gluten free diet, which has been a journey.

Looking back having gone through all of this, has been one of one of the greatest gifts that I have been given. I have learned how to nourish my family and myself, eating whole foods. I have had the opportunity to share my passion with others, by teaching cooking classes, doing contract work with recipe development, and even co authoring a cookbook with Green Smoothie Girl. It has been an incredible journey, and one that I would love to continue sharing with others.