Cosmic Rhino

My mom was in the mood for a healthy but hearty stew and found this on WebMd. She said it was lovely with a nice flavorful broth and thickened up nicely.

Ingredients:

• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 1/2  onion (or more, to taste)
• 1 lb of lean beef, cut into 1″ pieces (grass fed, if you can find it)
• 1 cup of red wine (optional)
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 large carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
• 3 stalks of celery cut into one inch pieces

Here’s a great recipe from Girl Gone Primal. It was so good, my mom and sisters and I made it twice in one week.

Ingredients

• 1 large head of cauliflower
• 2 cups cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, or a combo of both)
• 2 eggs
• Optional herbs (thyme, fennel, oregano, basil & parsley all work wonderfully)

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line pan or pizza stone with parchment paper.
3. Rice the cauliflower by putting florets into a food processor and buzzing until finely processed (but not mushy). Place cauliflower into a microwave-safe bowl and zap for 6-8 minutes. You should end up with about two cups of riced cauliflower.

Ok, all you grain-free people out there, this is a great pizza alternative. This makes a medium/large pizza, depending on how thin you roll out the dough. We liked it thinner, as the almond flour is a bit heavy.

We got the recipe from one of my new favorite websites, Mark’s Daily Apple. It’s chock full of interesting stuff.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Almond Meal/Flour
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Tsp salt

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

I’ve been meaning to put this one up for a while. My sisters and I made a double batch of this a couple months ago and enjoyed the leftovers all week.

Ingredients

• 3 small dried chipotle peppers
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 lbs extra lean ground turkey breast (this is a lot of meat; can use less)
• 1 cup sweet onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 1/2 lb fresh tomatillos, husk discarded and skin rinsed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp cumin, ground
• 1 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

This is a delicious alternative to regular milk and pretty easy to make.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup raw almonds
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup raw oats
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla
• 2 tbsp raw agave nectar (optional)

Instructions

1. Blend almonds, sea salt, coconut and oats to powder.
2. Add vanilla and agave nectar
3. Add a little water to blend.
4. Add more water to make 1/2 gallon of milk (8 cups).
5. Strain through cheese cloth.
6. Lasts about 1 week in the refrigerator.

Seriously, everyone needs to try this today. It may be my favorite new recipe of the year. My friend Jeff made it for us last month. He took leftover grassfed steak and did a quick pan fry–like fajitas. He served the steak with the pickled peppers below with corn tortillas. Fantastic.

Ingredients

• 3 red and 3 yellow peppers
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 1 cup apple vinegar
• 2 garlic
• 4 T sugar
• 1 T salt
• oregano

Instructions

• Pan roast peppers but keep firm. To pan roast, heat a skillet to medium-high heat, lightly brown each side and remove from pan.

My sisters and I made this for breakfast this morning and honestly, I can’t think of a better way to get anyone to eat a boatload of spinach. It’s like a quiche except that it has no crust and has more spinach than a typical quiche.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for dish
• 6 shallots, thinly sliced
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 8 large eggs
• 1 cup half and half
• 4 10 oz packages frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• 2 cups (8 oz) grated gruyere (or jarlsberg)

It always seems like such a challenge to find dinners that are fast, healthy and delicious. It seems like you can always get two of the three (simple and quick but not healthy or healthy and quick but not tasty, et). But here’s one we stumbled on. My sweet husband came up with this recipe one night when I was away.  When he went to make it for me last week, I was dubious but now I love it.

Ingredients:

• 3 fresh or frozen chicken breasts
• 1 cup broth (water ok too but add a little salt)

The past two week’s I’ve received celery root in my Beachgreen’s produce delivery and I must admit, it didn’t make me excited. But my lack of enthusiasm is due to my lack of experience with this tasty little vegetable.  What made me change my mind? This recipe which came from Aliye, owner and chef extraordinaire, at Beachgreens. I tried it yesterday and it is so darn good (Warning: if you are a celery-hater, this isn’t one for you). It’s fast and easy and perfect for a rainy day like today.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 stick butter (I used 2 TB plus 1 TB olive oil)

My friend Jeff, who knows volumes about wine, asked me a very good question - he asked me why I was picky about quality fruits, vegetables, oils, meats, etc., but just drank the wine that was on the shelves at Trader Joes. My excuse was my complete lack of knowledge. His recommendation?  Just go to the stores that carry the quality wine and ask them for help. That’s why they’re there.