Roasted Ratatouli Pasta

Drum roll please..... the mystery dish is Roasted Ratatouille pasta. You might have had ratatouille before, but roasting the eggplant and squash brings out a whole new dimension of flavor. My inspiration for this pasta came from two different Cooks Illustrated recipes, to the original recipes I added summer squash instead of zuchinni, red pepper, and tossed it with pasta. This would be equally good served over polenta, or just by itself as a side dish.

This first step. Salting the eggplant and letting it sit in a colander to sweat. (literally the eggplant sweats out little beads of water)

I chopped up all of the veggies while I was waiting for the eggplant to sweat.

Here is the end results. I bet you can't wait for the recipe......................

I threw in this picture just to make you smile.

Ingredients

2 large eggplants (about 2 1/2 lbs), cut into 1-inch cubes
2 large summer squash (about 1 1/2 lbs), scrubbed and cut into 1-inch cubes (or zuchinni)

1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion , chopped
2 medium cloves garlic , minced
3 medium tomatoes (ripe), about 1 1/2 pounds, cut into 2-inch cubes
1/4 C chopped basil
Ground black pepper

Sea Salt

Gluten Free Noodles ( I used Trader Joes brown rice pasta)

Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Instructions
1. Place eggplant in large colander set over large bowl; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt and toss to distribute salt evenly. Let eggplant stand at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours. Rinse eggplant well under running water to remove salt and spread the egg plant on a layer of paper towels; cover with another stack of paper towels. Press firmly on eggplant until eggplant is dry and feels firm and compressed.
2. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle position and the second rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 500 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil.
3. Toss eggplant, summer squash and 2 tablespoons oil together in large bowl, then divide evenly on baking sheets. Sprinkle with salt and roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until well-browned and tender, about 30 to 40 minutes.
4. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in heavy-bottomed pan ( I used my cast iron pot) over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, and red pepper; reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and cook until they release their juices and begin to break down, about 5 minutes. Add roasted eggplant and zucchini, stirring gently but thoroughly to combine, and cook until just heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in basil; adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve.

5. While you are cooking the sauce, cook the pasta according to package directions

6. Toss the sauce with the hot pasta and garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Note: I took this dinner to three different families, so to make it strech farther, I tossed the noodles with a little bit of good quality jarred spaghetti sauce and then the roasted ratatouille. If you are just feeding your family the ratatouille has a lot of flavor and would completley cover the pasta.

Chocolate Chip Banana Cupcakes

These little tasty treats are another rendition of my favorite banana bread. This recipe has been altered so many times I don't remember the original.

I have a confession to make. I am a curious person and as a curious person I rarely make the same thing twice. As much as I try to stick to the recipe, my curiosity kicks in, and I find myself thinking, "oh that would be good to add in", or "I wonder what would happen if I put this in instead". That is why baking and me have a love hate relationship, sometimes it turns out really good, and other times I admit to throwing a whole pan out..... which I hate doing, ask my husband, I have gotten pretty creative using the disaster experiments in other recipes.

This recipe was not an exception, I of course had to play around with it. This time it was a winner.

To the original recipe I added a few different flours, flax to up the nutritional profile, and I cut out a 1/2 C of sweetener, and 2 eggs. Surprisingly I like it even better with less sweetener, and the flax added. This is my new favorite banana bread recipe, and Scottie's too for that matter.

I added almond flour, for its nutritional benefits, and flavor. In a 100 grams of almond flour there are 21 grams of protein, 19 grams of carbohydrates, and 10 grams of fiber. It is -1 on the glycemic index. Compared to wheat flour which has 9 grams of protien, 76 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, and ranks 71 on the glycemic index. This makes almond flour a power food in fiber, and protein, and excellent option for people with diabetes, gluten intolerances, and people watching the glycemic index. I just got a cookbook that uses all almond flour for breads, cookies, cakes you name it. I want to experiment with it.

As a side note, if you are active carbs are a necessary thing to fuel your body, and so I think I will bake with a combo of flours including almond flour, to get a variety of nutrition and carbs in my diet.


Note: you can substitute the same amount whole wheat flour for the first four ingredients (2 3/4 C), but take out the guar or xantham gum as well, it is a binder for gluten free flours.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

1 C almond flour
1 C brown rice flour
1/2 C sweet brown rice flour
1/4 C tapioca flour
1 1/2 C sucanat ( a natural sugar, that has not been processed, you can find it at health food stores)
1/2 tsp guar gum, or xantham gum
4 T powdered buttermilk*(optional)
1 tsp. baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon
2 eggs
2 T ground flax
6 T coconut oil
8 oz can of crushed pineapple/ with juice
3 medium bananas mashed
1/2 C mini chocolate chips
1/2 C chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, sucanat, guar gum, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until well combined. In a separate bowl add the coconut oil, eggs, can of pineapple (with the juice), and mashed banana mix until well combined. Slowly mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Toss the mini chocolate chips in a 1/4 C of brown rice flour. Fold the chocolate chips and extra flour into the mix. Grease a muffin pan, or use cupcake liners and spoon the batter into a muffin pan, or mini muffin pan. If using nuts, sprinkle on top of the muffins. Bake the muffins for 40-45 minutes, and for the mini muffins 20-25 minutes.

Green Smoothie

If you haven't tried a green smoothie, you should! Although they sound gross, for the most part you can't taste the greens, especially if you add bananas, and they are the fastest way to get tons of greens, and fruit into your diet. I try to drink one every morning. I notice I have a lot more energy during the day, and overall I feel cleaner. Some of my smoothies turn out better than others. One of my favorite combos is an oarnge, a banana and a half, 5 strawberries, and a 4 of cups of spinach, with a cup of almond milk. I also like to add flax, and chia seeds. SO GOOD.

My green smoothie of the day was, a cup of frozen papaya, a handful of frozen strawberries, a cup coconut water, a frozen banana and a half, and spinach. This is a great green smoothie if you are backed up. Trust me!

Tips for making a green smoothie:

1. Buy ALOT of fruit when it is on sale and in season, freeze it on cookie trays and then transfer to a zip lock bag.
2. Buy the big bags of spinach at Costco and freeze the entire bag, I just pull chunks of spinach out of the bag and they break off beautifully
3. Buy the over ripe bananas on sale, peel and freeze them on a cookie tray
4. Don't be afraid to experiment, in a class I just taught, one of the woman said her favorite green smoothie was pear, mint, and swiss chard



(this smoothie is not green because it has berries in it that change the color, which is a good trick with little kids to get them to eat it, add berries, or tell them it is a shrek smoothie)

Here is a basic template for making a green smoothie

1 bunch of leafy greens (kale, spinach, collards, etc. 50% or more)
Fruit (50%)
Bananas
Optional: flax, chia seeds, kefir, etc.)

Fill the blender with greens, add liquid (Rice Dream, Almond Milk, Water) 1/2 to 1 cup depending on consistency you want for smoothie. Add frozen fruit, bananas, anything optional, and blend until smooth. ENJOY!

Raw Almond Joys

The recipe for almond joys is taken from this book. Although a lot of the recipes in this book are time consuming, and as a mom unpractical. However, I love their desserts, they come together fast, and are SO good. I made these for a raw cooking class I just taught, and everyone loved them.

Sorry no picture of the almond joys, they weren't any leftover from my cooking class. This is one of my favorite treats, they are BETTER than almond joys and aren't full of a whole bunch of ingredients that you can't pronounce. As an added bonus coconut oil, is so good for you, it actually helps you burn fat, and gives you energy, hows that for a dessert!
I usually store these in the freezer after I make them. I also use a cookie scoop and scoop them out, or I use a little silicone muffin mold, and put the vanilla mixture in, and then put them in the freezer. While they are in the freezer I make the chocolate sauce. I then pull the almond joys out of the freezer put an almond in the center and top it with chocolate sauce. I put them back in the freezer to set up. OUT OF THIS WORLD.
I prefer the vanilla almond joys with chocolate sauce as opposed to the ones made with cocoa powder instead of almond meal. The chocolate ones are a little bit bitter, kind of like a dark almond joy.


This recipe is taken from Raw Food Real World, which has really good raw desserts
(note: the chocolate sauce is not from the book, and needs a little bit of tweaking to get it the right consistency, play around with it)

3 C shredded coconut, unsweetened
1 1/2 C cocoa powder
1 C maple syrup
1/3 C coconut oil
1 T vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients and stir well, or use a standing mixer with a paddle attachment. Scoop out the dough onto parchment paper with an ice cream scoop.

For a vanilla almond joy

3 C shredded coconut
1 1/2 C almond meal
1 C maple syrup
1/3 C coconut oil
1 T vanilla
1/2 tsp sea salt

Combine all of the ingredients and stir until combined. Scoop out the dough with a cookie scoop.

I like to drizzle a chocolate sauce over these.

Chocolate Sauce

3/4 C coconut oil
1/2 C cocoa powder
1 T vanilla
1/4 C agave

Soften the coconut oil, add the cocoa powder, vanilla, and agave mix together.

NOTE: this recipe is rough estimates, play around with the coconut oil and cocoa powder to get the right consistency.

Fresh Corn Chowder

1 C cashews
2 C water
2 T raisins
1/4 C olive oil, or flax
2-3 stalks celery
1 jalapeno, seeds removed
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp cumin
12 oz bag frozen corn(thaw first or 2 c. fresh)

Puree first three ingredients in a high powered blender until warm, then add everything else but corn to the blender, blend until smooth. Then add corn and pulse until corn is partly broken down but soup is chunky.

Rich Gluten Free Brownies

Again these brownies have been a work in progress, and along with the "work" that means that Scotty, Isaiah, and I have the hard job of "testing" lots of pans of brownies. Good thing I am in the middle of marathon training. (Although these are healthyish, you probably shouldn't eat half the pan like I have been doing). So as I mentioned before I taught a gluten free cooking class and in the class I also taught these brownies. While I was teaching I forgot to add the oil, and they actually ended up being really good.

1/2 C + 2 T almond flour*
1/4 C sweet brown rice flour*
2 T cocoa powder
2/3 C dark chocolate, chopped from a chocolate bar
6 T coconut oil*
1/4 C chocolate chips
2 eggs
1 C sucanat
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 T vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium sized mixing bowl sift the dry ingredients together. Melt the 2/3 C chocolate, and oil (if using) in a seperate bowl. I put it in a glass measuring cup and melt it over simmering water in a pan. Once fully melted, pour the chocolate over the dry ingredients, don't mix yet. Then in the same bowl, lightly beat your eggs, this saves you a dish. Add the eggs to the brownie mixture, and the vanilla. Fold in all the ingredients until incoporated. Pour into a 8x8 pan lined with parchment. These brownies are so gooey that the parchment helps to lift them out of the pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes. When they are done the top is shiny and the edges have come away from the pan. Stick a toothpick in if it comes out with a few crumbs they are done. Let sit for at least a 1/2 hour, the longer the better. Torture I know but it really helps them set up.

Variation: To make the coconut butterscotch brownie pictured above. Add a layer of butterscotch chocolate chips to the brownies when they come out of the oven hot. Spread the melted chocolate chips evenly over the top to make a frosting, and then top with toasted coconut.

Tips:
*to save money I buy the almonds, and sweet brown rice in bulk, and grind the brown rice myself in a grinder. The almonds I blend in my blender until they are powder, like flour
*brown rice flour will work too, but the sweet brown rice gives it a sweeter flavor
* don't substitute chocolate chips they will result in a squatty brownie, you could also use melting chocolate
*As I mentioned before I completley forgot the oil in the class, and they turned out really good, experiment without oil

Go Bananas for Banana Bread

Lets just say this recipe has been a work in progress. This is the version that I like the most. It is so GOOD, moist, sweet, and gluten free! I have probably gone through 10 dozen frozen bananas making versions of this. So without further ado, here is the recipe. ENJOY.

1 C almond flour*
1 C brown rice flour (or half coconut flour, half brown rice flour)*
1/2 C toasted coconut (unsweetened)
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 C sucanat
3-4 bananas ripe, mashed 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 C yogurt
4 T coconut oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the first six ingredients in a medium sized bowl, set aside. Pull out your mixer and add the eggs, lightly beat them. Then add in the coconut oil (melted), yogurt, mashed bananas, and beat. When all of the wet ingredients are mixed well, add in the dry ingredients and mix well. (unlike wheat flour which has gluten and is not good over mixed, gluten free batters work better mixed well to whip air into them and make them lighter). Oil a bread pan, or four mini loaves, and cook for 40 minutes for mini loaves, or 55 minutes for one big loaf. Don't be tempted to pull the bread out early, it browns more than normal banana bread because of the flours. Let rest 5 minutes before taking out of pan. ENJOY.

*I make my own almond flour by blending up almonds in my blend tec until they are powdered, but don't blend it too long or you will end up with almond butter. I also make coconut flour the same way from dried coconut shreds.
*Toast the coconut for 8 minutes in the oven while it is preheated and you are mixing the other ingredients.

Update: I just saw a recipe that caramlized the bananas before adding them to the batter so you can lessen the sweetener in the recipe. I also am going to try and make this with agave.

Fudgey Dark Chocolate Black Bean Brownies

Black beans??? You might be thinking in a burrito yes, but they have no business in my brownie, but give these babies a try because black beans actually make a really fudgey yummy brownie! I first saw the idea for putting black beans in brownies on 101 cookbooks blog. If you haven't seen her blog, you really should go there, she has amazing photography, and recipes. Her brownie looked beautiful but it is full of butter, coffee, and complicate steps. I wanted a simpler method, no butter, and coffee, because hey if I am going to put black beans in my brownies, I am going to make them healthy-ish. For my rendition of the brownie, I added baking soda, maple syrup extract, cut out an egg, the butter, a half cup of agave, and the coffee. I also added cocoa powder to the batter instead of melted chocolate and then put on top chunks of dark chocolate, and chocolate chips, mmmmmm.

I had to include this picture, it is of my little one stealing pieces off the plate while I took pictures. He LOVED them.

And another pic of Isaiah shoving his face with brownie. Don't be afraid to try these, they are a decadent dessert. If you like more of a cakey brownie, add a half cup of flour in, and ENJOY, because it is a brownie you can feel good about eating!

Fudgey Dark Chocolate Black Bean Brownies (whoo, what a name)

3 eggs
1/2 C cocoa powder
1/2 C walnuts
1 T vanilla
1/2 t baking soda
3 T coconut oil (i you don't have coconut oil, you can sub another oil) (but you should get some because it is a lot better for you than most oils and it is good for your skin!)
1 C agave
2 C black beans (rinsed, if canned)
1/2 C chocolate chips/dark chocolate chunks (I did half dark chocolate chips and half dark chocolate chunks)
1/4 t salt
1/4 t maple syrup extract (optional, but gives it a nice flavor)

Line a 11X13 baking pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 325. Then put all of the ingredients, except the chocolate chips, and a 1/4 C of the walnuts, in a high powered blender and blend. If your blender is not so high powered, try blending just the eggs, agave, and black beans, and then add the rest of the ingredients except the chocolate chips, and a 1/4 cup of walnuts. just give it a little longer to incorporate all of the ingredients. (You don't want chunks of black beans in your brownies!). Pour the mixture in the lined pan, then sprinkle the chocolate, and walnuts on top. Bake at 325 until the middle has set, about 30-45 minutes. Let cool COMPLETELY before cutting. Unlike most brownies these taste best refrigerated, so keep them in the fridge and serve cold.

The Best Lentil Soup

2 T olive oil
1 md. onion (about a 1 1/2 C)
2 carrots, peeled, and chopped
2 celery stalk, chopped
8 C broth, veggie, or chicken
2 1/2 C lentils
1/4 C brown rice (optional it just adds more to the soup)
1 C peeled and chopped tomato (canned diced tomato will work too, I prefer Muir Glen brand)
1/2 lb fresh spinach
1/2 t coriander
1/2 t cumin
salt to taste ( I used a teaspoon, but it depends how salty your broth is)
balsamic for garnish (optional)

Saute the onion, carrots, and celery until they are soft. Add broth, lentils, brown rice, and tomato. Cook until soft, about 45 minutes on stove top, in a pressure cooker 10 minutes (they are worth their weight in gold). When the lentils and rice are soft, add in the spinach, coriander, cumin, and salt. Cook stirring the soup occasionally until the spinach is wilted. Serve hot, with a garnish of balsamic. This soup is really good the first day and equally good heated up the next.

25 Flawless Recipes for 2010, ok I Lied 30

I have been inspired, watching an autobiography on Julia Child, it said that she took two years to come up with the perfect french bread recipe, and over 240 pounds of flour! Then I was reading in The Kitchen Detective, by Christopher Kimball, and he said that the problem with cooks now a days is that they have a huge repertoire of recipes, but barely know how to cook any of them. It used to be that home cooks had a small collection of family favorites that they could make with their eyes closed, no recipes, and they came out perfect every time. He makes a valid point that the more you make a recipe you become familiar with the tiny nuances that make or break the dish.
I definitely fit into the latter category, of an inordinate amount of recipes, and little experience making them. I like the creativeness of trying new dishes, but embarrassingly enough I will often times take dinner to people from a recipe that I have never cooked before. Flying by the seat of my pants, sometimes it turns out great, and sometimes it is a flop. So I decided for the new year I am going to take 25 recipes, and work on really getting them right. Many of these I have cooked before, but remember the emphasis is on getting it down to the detail, memorized, and flawless, developing the perfect recipe ( or at least in my opinion) .....so here is my list, drum roll please....
p.s. I will keep you updated on the progress of the recipes
p.s.s. All of these recipes will be made healthy, meaning with whole grains, veggies, fruits, natural sweeteners, healthy oils

1. Bread/rolls
2. Curry
3. Chili
4. Dahl/Naan
5. Koorma
6. The perfect pancake/topping
7. Breakfast Burrito
8. Appetizer
9. Pomagranite Salad/Poppyseed Dressing
10. Perfect Green Salad/Dressing
11. Green Smoothie
12. Homemade pasta with the perfect red sauce
13. Tacos/ grains and beans
    
14. Enchiladas
    
15. Flax Crackers/Hummus
    
16. Fish done right
17. Ulitmate veggie burger
18. Sweet potato fries/ yucca fries
19. Roasted veggies
20. Multigrain hot cereal
21. Favorite wrap/sandwich
22. Stirfry
23. Perfect meal for entertaining
24. Perfect meal to take to someone
25. Brownies
26. Cookies
    
27. Trifle
28. Raw Dessert
29. Quinoa Salad
    
30. Quick Bread
    

Roasted Root Veggies

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!!