by zan@zeliciousrecipes.com | Appetizers, Dips, Favorite Recipes, Vegetables
Here is a fun appetizer I created using some (store bought) pizza dough, ricotta, and some veggies. It’s not too heavy and you can make a little extra whipped ricotta as a dipping sauce.
Ingredients:
For the Whipped Ricotta
- 16 oz. ricotta
- 1 tsp. fresh rosemary
- 4 small cloves roasted garlic
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup goat cheese crumbles
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
For the Flatbread
- 1 ball of pizza dough
- flour for dusting surface and pizza spatula
- 1/4 Tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 sliced zucchini (with cheese slicer)
- 5 Roma tomatoes (sliced same thickness as zucchini)
- 8 leaves of basil (sliced into strips)
Directions for Whipped Ricotta:
Place ricotta, rosemary, roasted garlic, salt, and goat cheese crumbles into the blender, blend on low speed, and slowly add in the olive oil until you reach a smooth consistency.
Directions for Flatbread:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees or grill. (I normally cook pizza on a pizza stone.) Roll out the pizza dough on a smooth floured surface, stretching on the edge of a counter then tossing in the air, as my husband normally does, (getting flour all over the place) until the pizza dough is evenly thinned out. You can leave the edges thicker (similar to regular pizza), which can be used for dipping into the sauce. Place 1/2 – 1 cup of whipped ricotta onto the center and spread to within one inch of the edges. Sprinkle with salt. Add the tomatoes and zucchini. Place onto the pizza stone and cook until the edges brown, and the center is cooked – approximately 5-10 minutes. Remove flatbread and drizzle the olive oil over the top. Sprinkle with the basil. Serve the extra whipped ricotta on the side. Slice into 3″ pieces and serve. Enjoy!!! Serves 4 as an appetizer.
by zan@zeliciousrecipes.com | CrockPot, Favorite Recipes, Meats, Paleo, Sauces
For approximately a year now, I’ve been volunteering for an amazing organization here in Boulder, called There With Care. There With Care’s mission is to provide a wide range of thoughtful and fundamental services to children and families during the critical phase of a medical crisis. They serve families referred by medical agencies, by building a network of services and people who ease the burden of life’s day-to-day obligations with compassion and care. I have been working on There With Care’s Team Chop, where we prep simple, healthy, and easy to cook CrockPot meals for each of the families. It has been an amazing organization to work for. We have an incredile team of people on our team, dedicating their time once a week to help eleviate some of the burden these families are facing.
So, after a year of working with Team Chop, I finally bought myself a slow-cooker (CrockPot). It has been fun experimenting with some new recipes. One of which was another creation by my foodie-17-year-old. Takes a total of 10 minutes to prep, and has very few ingredients. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.
Ingredients:
- 3 lb pork shoulder
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp oil
- 8 tomatillos – quartered
- 2 jalapenos – (remove seeds for less spice – chop into large chunks)
- 1 onion – large chunks
- 4 garlic cloves – quartered
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the pork shoulder into 1 inch pieces, sprinkle with salt and pepper. In an iron skillet on high heat, add 1 tbsp of butter and add half of the pork, making sure not to crowd the pan. Braise each piece so they are nice and brown, and crispy. Repeat with the second batch of meat. Set aside. Meanwhile, toss the tomatillos, jalapenos, onion, and garlic in the oil. Salt, then place onto a baking sheet and roast them, until they start to brown slightly, apprximately 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and place ingredients into a food processor or blender. Salt to taste. Place the meat into the crockpot and pour the pureed mixture ontop. Cook on low heat for 6 hours. Serve with rice, and black beans with sour cream.
by zan@zeliciousrecipes.com | Favorite Recipes, Fish
I cherish every minute I get to spend with my 17-year-old son, especially in the kitchen. He is so brutally honest when it comes to critiquing my food that it has made me a better cook. (He actually could be an amazing professional food critic). I have to credit him with this creation, I was just the executor! Searing the tuna took about 6 minutes, but the prep for the sauces was a little more labor intensive. Be sure to let the fish sit out at room temperature for about an hour, as you will only be searing the outside of the fish, inside will remain rare, and you don’t want the inside of the fish to be cold.
Ingredients for Soy Reduction:
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 4 tbsp of rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp chopped garlic
- 2 tsp chopped ginger
Ingredients for Wasabi Crème Fraîche:
- 1 cup Crème Fraîche
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 3 tsp wasabi paste (use less if you do not want it too spicy)
- salt to taste
Ingredients for Tuna:
- 2 tbsp of toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp of chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp of pureed ginger
- 4 – 6 oz pieces of Tuna
- salt
Directions for Soy Reduction:
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan, medium heat, cook down until sauce reduces it becomes thick and syrupy. Prior to pouring, strain through a sieve to remove the chunks of garlic and ginger. Pour over seared tuna.
Directions for Crème Fraîche:
Stir the Crème Fraîche together with the sour cream and salt. Add in the wasabi, one teaspoon at a time, until you’ve reached your desired potency. Spoon onto each plate. Place tuna on top of the wasabi cream.
Directions for Tuna:
Using an iron skillet, heat the oil, garlic, and ginger on medium heat. Saute until garlic is cooked, but not browned. Remove garlic and ginger with a slotted spoon, leaving any remaining oil in the pan. Increase the heat to high and add the tuna, searing each side. Once you all sides are browned, remove the fish and place onto the wasabi cream, then drizzle the soy reduction, and garnish with cooked garlic and ginger. Serves 4 people. Paired nicely with sushi rice.
by zan@zeliciousrecipes.com | Favorite Recipes, Vegetables
Haricot Vert are a thinner and smaller version of the standard American green beans. I cooked these last night as a side dish to my fried trout with brown sage butter (I’ll post that recipe tomorrow). The flavor combinations came from the “affinities” listed in my go-to “Flavor Bible“, pretty much my inspiration for a majority of these recipes. For a Paleo version, just omit the Parmesan cheese.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups of haricot vert
- salt for water
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- salt to taste
Directions:
Boil 5 cups of salted water in a medium sized saucepan. Add in haricot vert and blanch them for about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. In a large skillet on medium-high heat, melt the butter, add in the garlic, and saute for 2 minutes. Add in the haricot vert, stir frequently. After 5 minutes add in the almonds and saute until beans are tender. Remove from heat, and sprinkle the beans with parmesan cheese. Serves 4
by zan@zeliciousrecipes.com | Paleo, Soups, Vegan, Vegetables
It’s finally winter, and I really wanted to something that was hearty, healthy and warm. It’s been years since I’ve made this Ayurvedic dal (Dahl), but it has always been one of my favorite dishes. I learned this recipe over 18 years ago when my husband and I visited the Deepak Chopra Center in La Jolla, Ca. We stayed there for a week and attended spiritual classes, yoga classes, daily massage treatments, and Ayurvedic cooking classes, and even had a chance to meet Deepak in person! A truly “life-changing” experience! The recipe we made at the Center was a mung Dal, but I could only find Chana Dal at my local grocer. Channa Dal is a small relative of the chickpea and has a yellowish color. Its flavor is slightly sweet. If you can’t find channa dal use yellow mung dal, or yellow split peas. In preparing Dal, it is important to soften it well and cook it long enough so that it takes on a creamy consistency. ( I ended up soaking mine for 2 hours, then cooking for 2 more hours).
Ingredients:
- 2 cups dry Chana Dal
- 5 cups water
- 2 tbsp Ghee (Clarified Butter)
- 1 1/2 cup chopped yellow onions
- 2 tbsp of minced garlic
- 2 tbsp pureed ginger
- 2 tsp of mustard seed
- 2 tsp of coriander
- 1 tsp of turmeric
- 1 tsp of cumin
- salt to taste
- a sprinkle of asafoetida (helps with digestion) – get online or Indian Market
- cilantro for garnish
Directions:
Wash Chana Dal; drain. Soak in water for 2 hours. Cook Chana dal in water in a medium-sized saucepan covered over medium heat until soft, about 1.5-2 hours, depending on the dal! In a small frying pan heat the ghee and add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds pop, add in the onions, ginger and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, making sure not to brown the garlic. Add it all of the spices, and stir so the onions are covered. Then add the spice-onion mixture to the chana dal pot and stir. Add salt and asafoetida. Cook for additional 10 minutes. The texture of the dal should be creamy. Serve with a garnish of cilantro. If not concerned about paleo, you can serve with garlic Naan or basmati rice.
Here are some other great resources for Ayurvedic Meals:
“The Ayurvedic Cookbook” – by Amadea Morningstar
“Eat-Taste-Heal: An Ayurvedic Cookbook for Modern Living” – by Thomas Yarema, Daniel Rhoda and Johnny Brannigan
“The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook: A Seasonal Guide to Eating and Living Well” – by Kate O’Donnell and Cara Brostrom
