Applesauce

Tom's apple trees were the gift that kept giving, and giving, and giving this year. Wow.  Look at all of these apples that he picked.  And the photo below is missing one of the blue crates that he had already processed.  This will keep us busy for a few days.  I am exhausted after only making 3 batches of applesauce.  But Tom will keep it going.  

Ingredients:
12 small apples, unpeeled, cored, seeded, diced
1 cup water
1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 teaspoons coconut palm sugar 

Preparation:
Cook all ingredients over low heat until the apples are tender.  Puree with an immersion blender stick.

Another option is to have a darling husband like mine who used an apple peeler/corer.  He makes life fun no matter what he does!!!  I put these apples into the VitaMix to chop them up, then cooked them for applesauce for the rest of my family and pureed them further for me with the immersion blender stick.

Nutrition per serving:
Servings per recipe: 5
Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 143
Total Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 1 mg
Total Carbs: 38 g
Dietary Fiber: 6 g
Protein: 1 g

Cucumber-Yogurt Raita

There are many variations of this raita, which is a cool cucumber-yogurt mixture often served with Indian food to cut the heat of the spicy dishes.  This is the original recipe I received from a friend whose husband is Mid-Eastern and it uses only cucumbers, garlic, mint, yogurt and salt. But I have seen several other versions that omit the salt and add cumin.  So feel free to use this as a template to adjust to your desired palate and Pzazz factor!   

In addition to serving this with foods such as the red lentil dal recipe I posted a couple of weeks ago, I like to put this sauce on a smashed baked potato.  In fact, that's what I ate for breakfast this morning along with my scrambled egg whites.  Yum!  More Pzazz!

mint leaves and garlic clove

Ingredients:
1 large English cucumber, peeled, seeded and coarsely grated (about 1 cup grated)
1 clove garlic, mashed
4-6 fresh mint leaves, chopped (sometimes I add even more than this)
2 cups low-fat yogurt
(I used goat yogurt, but any type of yogurt could be used.)
1/2 teaspoon salt

grated cucumber

Preparation:

Put the grated cucumber in strainer and let it drain, then squeeze it dry a bit.  Mix together the yogurt, garlic, mint and salt. Add the drained cucumber, then puree all ingredients to desired consistency.  A regular blender works just fine for this puree.  Refrigerate for a few hours to meld the flavors well. 


Nutrition per serving:
Servings per recipe: 6
Serving Size:1/2 cup
Calories: 58
Total Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg                                                        
Sodium: 253  mg
Total Carbs: 7 g
Dietary Fiber: 1 g
Protein: 11 g

Beans-Greens & Garlic Dip/Spread/Sauce

Healthy, quick and versatile, besides being yummy!  I made this recipe last fall when I had an abundance of Swiss chard from the garden.  Today, spinach was the green of choice.  Any leafy green would work well, I think.  The versatility also comes in the form of being able to use this as a dip for crackers (or raw vegetables for those of you who can eat them) or as a sauce for pasta, or as a spread on bread.  Pzazz!  It tastes so creamy that you will be convinced it is fat-laden, but not a bit of fat can be found in it.  

Ingredients:
1 (15 oz.) can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed, but reserve the  fluid
  (the better alternative would be to cook your own beans and save the liquid. I was lazy.)
1 cup fresh spinach, torn into bite size pieces

1 clove garlic, minced
dash of salt and freshly ground pepper
splash of lemon juice

Preparation:
Put the beans, the spinach, and the garlic in the Magic Bullet.  To make it as a dip, put in about 1/4 cup of the reserved fluid. To use it as a pasta sauce, thin with about 1/4 cup more reserved liquid. Whirl away to desired consistency.  Add a dash of sea salt and freshly ground pepper, and splash of lemon juice.  

Other spices that might be good to try would be a dash of cayenne pepper, or rosemary, or let your imagination run wild.   Running wild sounds fun, doesn't it!! 


Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 5

Serving Size: 1/4 cup
Calories: 72
Total Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 103 mg
Total Carbs: 14 g
Dietary Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 5 g

Swiss Chard Sauce or Dip

Garden Swiss chard

The Swiss chard in Tom's raised garden bins is prolific and delicious! Our son, Sam, even loves it.  A couple of mornings ago, he asked me to scramble some eggs with Swiss chard, onions, garlic and peppers to put into a wrap for a breakfast burrito of sorts.  I started by sauteing the onions, peppers and garlic and then added the Swiss chard.  As he looked at how much I made, he said he only needed about half of it.  So I saved half of it for me to use in some way.  

That "some way" came today, as I put the Swiss Chard mixture with canned Great Northern Beans into the Magic Bullet to make a dip to spread on crackers.  Then later, I thinned it with some of the reserved liquid from the beans, and warmed it up with a small amount of pasta and topped it with reduced-fat feta cheese.  I savored it both ways. 

Whenever I cook Swiss chard, I am amazed at how the large quantity of it raw shrinks down to the tiny amount in the pan.  When I made it for Sam's burrito, I think it was a bit more than four cups of chopped chard, though I didn't measure it exactly, and then I saved half of the finished product for my creation today.  So the list of ingredients below is more of an approximation than an exact recipe.  Next time, I will cook a large quantity of this to use in a variety of ways.  Have fun making your own Pzazzed version!


Ingredients:
2 cups chopped Swiss Chard
2 Tablespoons chopped red onion
2 Tablespoons diced green pepper
1/2 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1/4 cup cooked, drained Great Northern Beans  (but save some liquid)

Preparation:
Saute the onion, green pepper, and garlic in the coconut oil on medium heat until tender.  Add the Swiss chard with a bit of salt and pepper and saute until tender. You will have about 1/4  - 1/3 cup of the mixture when the chard cooks down.  Put this mixture with the Great Northern Beans in a Magic Bullet or similar device. Puree to desired consistency.  You might need to add just a bit of the reserved liquid from the beans to get the Magic Bullet to do its job and to get the desired consistency.  




Nutrition per serving:
Servings per recipe: 1
Serving Size: About 1/2 cup      
Calories: 121
Total Fat: 5 g
Cholesterol:  0 mg
Sodium: 261 mg
Total Carbs: 15 g
Dietary Fiber: 6 g
Protein: 6 g

Mustard Dill Sauce

This is an excellent sauce to put on any fish, but it was particularly tasty on the Tuna-Salmon Loaf made by Tahirih for me. Tahirih remembered having a mustard-dill sauce on salmon many years ago, so I looked on-line to find a similar recipe and this is what I found and adapted to meet my needs. Delicious!   I used it on salmon loaf and turkey loaf, both made by very gracious friends in the last month.  Pzazz is having gracious, giving friends in time of need.  Thank you dear ones!

And yes, here are more flower photos from my garden last year.   Time to start dreaming of the perennials blooming again, surprising us with their persistence, resilience and joy. 


Ingredients:
1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt

Garden Iris, 2012

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1 Tablespoon Splenda                                                 

      (original recipe used honey)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dry dill weed

Preparation:
Mix all ingredients together and chill for about 30 minutes before serving. It can be warmed slightly to put on warm fish. 


Nutrition per serving:
Servings per recipe: 12
Serving Size: 4 teaspoons
Calories: 11
Total Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 121 mg
Total Carbs: 1 g
Dietary Fiber: 0 g
Protein: 0 g

Lemon Ginger Applesauce

Tom's apple tree is glorious in appearance and in bounty!  This single tree yielded a bushel of apples.  Yes, they have a bit of a scaly looking peel, and don't look nearly as perfect as the ones in the local market, but the taste far surpasses anything I could purchase.  And I am confident that no pesticides have been sprayed on the apples. So last weekend midst the snow flurries and gale winds of 49 mph, Tom harvested the rest of the apples that he hadn't harvested earlier in the week.  

So, if you have been wondering why there haven't been any new posts lately, take a look at the photo below of my kitchen table filled with garden produce and you can imagine what I have been doing - peeling apples, making applesauce, roasting or stewing tomatoes, making kale and Swiss chard soups, dicing leeks and onions, cutting and roasting squash, labeling and freezing containers to pull out in the middle of the winter. 

Do you see the giant squash at the back left corner of the table? Expect to see that pink banana winter squash again soon on this blog, as well as another mutant squash child that Tom raised.  Unfortunately, something ate the blossoms of many of the winter squash, so we didn't get as much as usual so bought some other winter squash at the Duluth Farmers Market last week.  The butternut squash in the photo is one we purchased there.  

Garden produce 

I made lemon-ginger applesauce last year, adapting an idea I had seen in a magazine.  I loved taking it out of the freezer in the middle of winter and savoring the splendors of fall once again, and determined that I would certainly make it again this year. I peeled and shredded the apples to create a uniformly cooked sauce.  The addition of lemon-ginger tea-infused water to the applesauce eliminated the need for any other type of sweetener.  Definite Pzazz!

Ingredients:
4 cups shredded apples (peeled first)
3/4 cup boiling water
2 - 3 lemon-ginger tea bags (I used Stash brand)

Preparation:
Steep the lemon-ginger tea in the boiling water.  Put the lemon-ginger tea water and the shredded apples into a sauce pan and cook over low heat until the apples are entirely soft.  You may need to add a bit more water as the apples cook to ensure they don't stick to the bottom of the pan, or if you like a thinner consistency. This applesauce freezes incredibly well and is delightful if warmed to eat it in the middle of the winter!

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 4
Serving Size: 1/2 cup                              
Calories: 65
Total Fat: 0 g                                            
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 0  mg
Total Carbs: 17 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 0 g

Green Awakening Kale Puree

Green Awakening Kale Puree with Quinoa

Galactic green and outstanding! This simple puree is as versatile as it is nutritious.  Toss it with pasta.  Drizzle it on chicken or fish.  Mix it with quinoa.  Drench your eggs with it. Toss it with sauteed tofu. Mix it with goat yogurt to create a cold soup.  I have had it all of these ways in the past week.  Think of it as a sauce, or a dressing, or a dollop. Think of it as your Green Awakening. It will keep for 3 - 4 days in the refrigerator, waiting for you to discover a new way to ramp up your green vibes.   Washing and de-stemming the kale required enough of my energy, so I used onion powder and garlic powder rather than expending any more energy on chopping onions and garlic.  But maybe after a week of two or three servings of kale daily, I'll have energy to spare! 

The photograph above is the Green Awakening Kale Puree mixed with quinoa with a bit of white balsamic vinegar added for Pzazz!

Red Russian kale from Tom's garden 

Ingredients:
4 cups rinsed,chopped kale leaves
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon onion powder                            
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
sea salt to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon or less)

Preparation:
Remove kale leaves from the tough stems.  Rinse thoroughly and chop.  Place in a large saucepan with the water and seasoning and put the lid on the pot. Cook over medium heat until tender, adding more water if needed.  When slightly cooled, puree till smooth and creamy.   When making a double or triple batch, I use the VitaMix to puree it.   To make a single batch, the Magic Bullet will do the trick.

Nutrition:  (for the puree only)  
Servings per recipe: 4
Serving Size: 1/4 cup (approx.,  depending on how much liquid you add)
Calories: 39
Total Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 175  mg
Total Carbs: 8 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 3 g

Asparagus-Zucchini-Spinach Puree

As a spread on a sandwich 

The New Scenic Cafe north of Duluth wowed me once again on Tuesday!  Not only do they cheerfully accommodate my need for pureed food, but the chef willingly shares the approximate measurements of the ingredients he uses to make the new creation so that I can try to replicate it. He views it as a fun challenge, using whatever ingredients he has available.  He pureed asparagus, zucchini and spinach together with shallots and garlic to create a thin spread to put on shredded roasted chicken atop a toasted baguette.  Using the information he provided, today I made a puree that tasted quite close to what he had made.  I made a much larger batch than he did, so that I can have more another day.  This puree could be used in a variety of ways - as a spread on a sandwich, as a sauce for pasta, or thinned with broth to make a soup.  The possibilities are as vast as your Pzazz. 

Making this puree was doubly fun today.  First, because my friend was here to join me.  Second, because she brought her VitaMix for me to try.  I was skeptical that it couldn't do anything that the appliances I already have couldn't do.  Well, I was wrong. WOWZA!  It was fast, it was quiet, it was efficient pulverizing the vegetables to the desired consistency, and it was easy to clean.   Tom had purchased one for me at Sam's Club a couple of weeks ago, but I hadn't even taken it out of the box yet, thinking it was incredibly indulgent to buy it and had planned to return it. My friend offered to let me try hers before I returned mine.  Hmmmmm.... our 30 year old food processor has only one feature that still works and our blender needs more liquid than desirable to easily make spreads or pureed dips, limiting how I can use it.  Hmmmmmmm....pureed food is my required diet.  Time to rethink my initial decision.  Sam (our 18 year old son) does love to make fruit smoothies in the summer and neither our blender or food processor can chop ice.  So I wouldn't be entirely selfish, would I?   


Ingredients:
1/2 Tablespoon coconut oil (or olive oil)

As a soup

4 Tablespoons chopped shallot                    
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 cup chopped asparagus
2 cups chopped zucchini
1 1/3 cup fresh spinach
1/2  Tablespoon coconut oil (or olive oil)
Sea salt and pepper to taste


Preparation:
Heat the 1/2 tablespoon of oil over medium heat and saute the shallot, garlic, asparagus and zucchini until tender.  Put it all in the VitaMix and add the fresh spinach and remaining oil and be amazed as you watch it turn a vibrant, silky green!

Nutrition:  (using coconut oil rather than olive oil)
Servings per recipe: 3
Serving Size: 1/2 cup
Calories: 84
Total Fat: 5 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 17 mg
Total Carbs: 10 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 3 g

Roasted Tomato Sauce

Where have I been, you might ask, or at least I hope you are asking that.  Well, I have had shoulder/neck pain that is made worse by using the computer too much.  I needed to rest for awhile.  But I kept cooking and taking photos, so here is what I have been up to.  

Blessed tomatoes....they keep ripening out in the garage.  I love the bright yellow ones for their beauty as much as for their taste.   I hesitate to cut into each one because it will destroy the splendid sight. And.. I think I just don't want them to ever end this year.  Fortunately, I found a new recipe to override my reluctance.  I had saved this recipe for Roasted Tomato Sauce that I had cut from the July/August 2010 issue of Natural Home, and only needed to modify it a bit by reducing the amount of olive oil. I used fresh onions from the garden, as well as fresh basil and oregano from the herb garden.  Ah, it was delightful served over a bit of pasta and even tastier when served over spaghetti squash. 

Healthy bite info:   Tomatoes contain lycopene, an antioxidant found to lower cancer risk and they are also an excellent source of vitamins C, A, and K, as well as magnesium and iron.

Heirloom tomatoes are ideal for making sauce, because they have a thin skin so there is no need to blanch and peel the tomatoes first.  Even though I love to cook, I also love quick and easy!

 

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 1/4 pounds fresh heirloom tomatoes, seeded and chopped
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups (about 1 pound) yellow onion, chopped
3 Tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
3 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preparation:
Use a little oil to coat a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Spread tomatoes evenly across dish.  Mix garlic, onion, oregano, basil and 2 Tablespoons olive oil and spread evenly over tomatoes.  Drizzle with remaining olive oil and toss.  Bake in a 375-degree oven for about an hour.  Let cool, then blend tomatoes to a rich puree in a food processor or blender.  Add salt and pepper.  

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 8 
Serving Size: 1/2  cup
Calories: 107
Total Fat: 7 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 118 mg
Total Carbs: 10 g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 2 g