Category: Pescatarian + Eggs

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A Trip to the Farmers Market

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It’s Fall!

My favorite season of the year.

It’s time to wear cozy socks, cuddle up with a book by the fire and drink / eat pumpkin spice flavored things with joy!

I love seeing all the autumn leaves turn color and am very much looking forward to Halloween and Thanksgiving (of course my favorite holidays are always food related…).

Recently, I discovered a local farmers market nearby and I didn’t know what I was missing until I went there. My weekly trips there are something that I look forward to on the weekends.

I’ve almost always shopped at grocery stores before, and it is so neat to be able to see all the different kinds of food that are produced in my local area. There are shelves with local honey, dried herbs, lots of different vegetables (I saw a purple bell pepper for the first time here a few weeks ago), and locally produced beef and lamb as well.

I buy fresh eggs often here. They come in a beautiful array of colors, from white, to brown, to pastel blue. The fresh eggs also taste so good, and the hens that produce them are free ranged.

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These beautiful carrots were $1.99 / lb, which is more expensive than the $1.29 / lb at the local grocery store, but these were locally grown. I also usually buy kale and lettuce here as well, and they are usually about 50 cents more per bunch. For not very much more, it seems really exciting to be able to support local farmers in my area.

I love seeing all the different kinds of squash that they had at the farmers market. A lady came by with a cart piled high with all kinds of them which she mentioned that she was going to use for decoration.

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I can see why, all of them look interesting. These beauties are Cinderella Pumpkins. So cool! I’ve never seen these kinds of pumpkins before.

It was also super cute to see parents taking pictures of their toddlers holding little pumpkins. What a sweet memory.

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They also sell lovely herbs (both dried and live plants) there. Here are a variety of mints!

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Two squash that kind of look like spaceships…

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And more varieties of squash!

Do you have farmers markets where you are? What’s you’re favorite thing to buy there?

Elaine

hardboiled eggs banner

How to “Hard boil” Eggs in a Rice Cooker (Super Easy)

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Hardboiled eggs are one of those things that are great to have stashed away in the fridge. They are perfect high protein snacks (they even have a built in wrapper!) and make a great breakfast on the go as well.

The not so nice part of hard-boiled eggs? The sitting / waiting for a large pot of water to boil.

As it turns out, cooking them in a rice cooker is much easier and faster too!

I first got the idea to do this when I saw an awesome post on the Digging Food blog about how to steam fresh eggs. I had no idea that you could steam eggs before I read their post.

After a little experimentation, I figured out how to make perfect “Hard-boiled” eggs in a rice cooker.

Let me walk you through how to make them…

Step 1 –  Place your desired number of eggs in a heat safe bowl (ceramic or metal is fine).

I use a Tatung 10-Cup Multifunctional Cooker (the most useful piece of cooking equipment known to man). It’s a great rice cooker / steamer, and when I was in college (and living in small dorm room) I managed to make 60 tamales from scratch in one.

Step 2 – Add water. I pour about 1/2 cup of water in the bottom of the cooker before adding a rack that looks like this (you can buy it pretty inexpensively in a larger Asian grocery store like 99 Ranch).

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Step 3 – Put the bowl on the rack (this ensures that your food won’t scorch on the bottom of your bowl).

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Step 4 – Cover the rice cooker with the lid and turn the rice cooker on, then set your timer.

My rice cooker takes about 5 minutes until I start to see steam come out the sides of the lid. Your rice cooker make take more or less time to heat up, and it may take a little trial and error before you figure out the right amount of time to cook the eggs to your liking.

For my rice cooker (from the time you turn the rice cooker on to when you turn it off):

Soft Boiled –  takes 13 minutes

“7 Minute Egg”  (Like the one pictured) – takes 14 minutes

Hard-boiled – takes 20 minutes

 

Step 5 – Turn the rice cooker off.

Put on an oven mitt and transfer the eggs into an ice bath using tongs.

****Please be careful not to burn yourself **** The steam is pretty hot and you can use the lid of the pot to fan the steam away from you before you take the eggs out of the rice cooker.

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Step 6 – Leave the eggs to rest in the ice bath for at least 30 minutes.

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After this, the eggs should be pretty easy to peel. I like the keep them in the fridge unpeeled (I just like the ritual of peeling them right before I eat them) or you can peel the eggs and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge.

The most I’ve done at once is 4 eggs in one batch, and the cooking time doesn’t change if you cook 1-2 eggs or 4 at the same time.

Update – Jan 14, 2018 – I’ve found that it does make a difference what bowl you use to cook the eggs in. You want a sort of normal serving bowl and not something that’s super deep with high sides so that the steam can surround the eggs better. My preference these days is to cook 6 eggs at a time for 18 minutes (perfectly hard boiled , dunk them into ice water and then keep them in fridge for breakfast / snacking.

I hope that this helps make your breakfast / snacking / meal prep a little easier!

How do you like your eggs for breakfast?

– Elaine

Iced Watermelon Cubes

Iced Watermelon Cubes – A Healthy Ice Cream Alternative

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If you’re living through a heat wave at the moment what you probably want most in the world is something sweet, cold, and refreshing to eat.

Here is the simplest of desserts to keep on hand for a hot day. These little cubes of frozen watermelon are delicious and perfect for popping into your mouth (straight from the freezer) to cool you down.

Refined sugar free, dairy free, paleo, and all that jazz… but what’s really important is that they taste so good!

Iced Watermelon Cubes

Makes lots and lots of servings

Ingredients

1 sweet seedless watermelon (pick the sweetest one you can find)

That’s it! 😀

 

Instructions

1. Cut the watermelon into 3/4 inch cubes (this is a perfect size as they can be eaten straight from the freezer and they thaw quickly too).

2. Freeze the cubes flat in ziptop bags.

To serve, scoop about 1 – 1.5 cups (or however much you want) of the frozen watermelon cubes into a bowl and eat with a spoon.

Ta-Da! I hope that these little cubes of watermelon joy make your summer days a little more awesome. 🙂

pear sorbet

2 Ingredient Pear Sorbet (No Churn) – Paleo, Vegan, Refined Sugar Free

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This pear sorbet is so simple to make and it tastes amazing! It’s flavor is light and sweet and makes the humble pear really shine.

When I first tasted it I couldn’t believe how good it was, and it was only 2 ingredients!

It’s smooth and creamy, and the perfect thing to make when you have ripe pears that you’re not quite sure what to do with. Even if they are a little bruised, that’s ok! They will still work great in this recipe.

2 Ingredient Pear Sorbet

Makes 2 servings (2 scoops each, or a generous serving for one)

Ingredients

2 ripe Bartlett pears (also known as William’s pears)

1/4 cup apple juice (I used the Martinelli’s brand apple juice as it’s naturally very sweet)

 

Instructions

1. Peel and core the pears. Cut them into 3/4 inch cubes (if they vary in size a little that’s ok) and freeze them in a single layer in a ziploc bag or an airtight container.

My two pears (after being peeled, cubed, and frozen) measured 2 2/3 cups.

2. When you’re ready to make your sorbet, take the frozen pears out of the fridge and let them thaw for 10-15 minutes.

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Break up any big clumps of pear cubes up with your hands and add the pears to a food processor along with the apple juice and process until smooth, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides.

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If you’re having a hard time getting the sorbet completely smooth, you may have to process half the mixture at a time. I have a smaller food processor and had to process the sorbet in two batches, but it came together beautifully.

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3. Spoon into bowls and serve immediately.

Happy Eating!

blueberry smoothie

Glorious Orange Berry Blitz-ish Smoothie (Mango, Pineapple, Blueberry) – Vegan, Paleo

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When I was a youngin,’ I once went to a summer camp. The camp was located on a college campus and close by was a Jamba Juice. So most days (during the few weeks we were there), I and some of the other students would go to Jamba Juice for smoothies and a scone for breakfast.

My favorite smoothie was the (now discontinued) Orange Berry Blitz. I loved how the orange juice gave the blueberries and pineapple smoothie a wonderful brightness.

It’s funny how food and flavors can sometimes take you back, and suddenly, there you are again, cocooned in a marvelous memory.

I smile now just thinking of how happy I was that summer, and and this berry smoothie is still the perfect thing to drink on a nice summer day.

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This is my version of that glorious smoothie. I added mango because I think that it gives the smoothie a little more of a tropical flavor (and an extra little bit of sweetness as well).

Feel free to play around with the ingredients. Sometimes I replace the apple juice with water, or add in a few handfuls of baby spinach (if I want to get my greens in for the day without having to give it too much thought).

Make the smoothie that you want to drink (though I will say that this smoothie is pretty awesome as written) and have fun!

Glorious Orange Berry Blitz-ish Smoothie

Makes 1 generous serving

Ingredients

3/4 cup ripe mango (cut into roughly 1 inch cubes, about 1 mango)

3/4 cup fresh pineapple chunks (cut into about 1.5 inch wedges, canned pineapple works too)

1 1/4 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup apple juice (I used the Martinelli’s brand)

2-3 tbsp orange juice

 

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

 

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This is what the plate of fruit looked like after I added the fruit into the blender. I think that it’s quite beautiful in a wabi-sabi kind of way.

I hope that you have many happy summer days drinking smoothies with your loved ones.

Enjoy!

sweet potato fries

Oven Baked Garlic Paprika Sweet Potato Fries – Paleo, Vegan

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These garlicky paprika sweet potato fries make a glorious side dish when you’re craving carbs, and are my go to snack when I’m craving junk food but want to eat something a little healthier.

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Sweet potatoes are a great source of vitamin A, magnesium, and potassium (which is great) but what really matters is that these sweet potato fries are really satisfying.

I love dipping them into creamy avocado mayo (sometimes with a bit of finely minced garlic mixed in) and they are also good with honey mustard.

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Next time your craving junk food, give these sweet potato fries a try. If you’re anything like me, you find that you’ve eaten them all before you know it.

Oven Baked Garlic Paprika Sweet Potato Fries

Makes 2-3 servings

Ingredients

3 small sweet potatoes (the ones I used were 2 inches in diameter and 8 inches in length)

2 tbsp neutral flavored oil (I used avocado oil)

1 1/4 tsp granulated garlic

1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp granulated onion

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp dried thyme (optional)

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp sea salt

 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Give the sweet potatoes a good scrub and cut each sweet potato into 8 wedges.  Place the sweet potatoes into a large glass baking dish with the oil and toss gently.

2. Stir together the salt, pepper and other spices. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the sweet potatoes and give it all a good mix so that the fries are well coated.

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4. Arrange the sweet potatoes onto the baking dish so that they are in a single layer.

My baking dish was a little too small to fit all of the fries. So for this amount of sweet potatoes I used a 3 qt (9 in. x 13 in.) glass pyrex baking dish and a 9 in. pie plate.

5. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes until crispy and golden brown around the edges.

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Happy Eating!

 

Watermelon Agua Fresca – Paleo, Vegan, Refined Sugar Free

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With summer fast approaching, the weather is getting warmer, and Memorial Day weekend is here!

This means that ’tis the season for backyard barbecues and hanging out with friends and family in the sunshine. This calls for drinks.

One of my favorites is my watermelon agua fresca. It’s cool and refreshing, and along with iced apple green tea is a refined sugar free alternative to sweet tea.

I love watermelon. It’s one of my favorite fruits and drinking this is almost like drinking a cross between lemonade/limeaid and watermelon juice.

Watermelon season in the US runs from May to September, so lots of delicious ripe watermelons are available in grocery stores right now, which is super exciting (yay!) and another thing that makes this watermelon agua fresca the perfect drink for summer.

Watermelon Agua Fresca

Makes 2 servings (4 cups total)

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups cubed seedless watermelon (1 – 1 1/2 inch cubes)*

1 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup water

3 tsp lime juice (I used lime juice that froze previously and defrosted)

Notes – * Use the sweetest watermelon you can find, that way you won’t have to use any added sweeteners. If you’re having a party, you can make a big batch of this ahead of time and it will keep great in the fridge overnight.

Instructions

1. Add all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate until well chilled, making sure to give the agua fresca a good stir before serving. Pour over ice if desired (especially if it’s a particularly hot day) and serve.

green goddess dressing

Parsley Green Goddess Dressing Recipe – Paleo, Dairy Free

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I like to think of Green Goddess dressing as Caesar dressing’s sort of hippier, more free spirited cousin.

Caesar is the dressing that you want for a beautiful dinner party, while Green Goddess is for summer picnics and dancing through a garden in a sundress while wearing a daisy crown.

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My Parsley Green Goddess dressing has all the things that you love about Caesar dressing (the rich savoriness and creaminess, with a bit a bit of garlic thrown it to punch up the flavor) and is full of anti-inflammatory herbs like parsley, rosemary, and basil.

It’s light and creamy, a little thinner than most green goddess dressings (which makes it better for drizzling over a salad), and is packed with heart healthy olive and avocado oils.

This is also the perfect recipe for when you’re looking to use up a bunch of fresh parsley in a hurry. You can blend it all into this beautiful dressing.

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Parsley Green Goddess Dressing

Makes 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients

3/4 cup packed parsley (stems and leaves)

1/2 cup water

2 cloves garlic

1 egg (lightly scrambled over a double boiler, and cooled to room temp)

 

2 tbsp + 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

3/4 tsp fish sauce (I used the Red Boat brand)

 

1/8 level tsp dried rosemary

1/4 level tsp dried basil

1/8 level tsp granulated onion

1/4 level tsp granulated garlic

1/4 level tsp black pepper

1/2 level tsp sea salt

 

1/4 cup avocado oil + 1 tbsp (or any neutral oil)

1/4 cup olive oil

 

Instructions

1. Add all the ingredients except the oils to the blender and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender occasionally.

2. Take the top cap off of the blender, and with the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive and avocado oil into the dressing (you’re basically making a cooked mayonnaise).

If there is some separation in the dressing at this point, that’s ok. Put the top cap back onto the blender and blend on high until well combined.

3. Pour the dressing into a jar and keep in the fridge until ready to use. The dressing should keep at least 3-4 days.

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This dressing would also be delicious over chopped roasted potatoes for a quick potato salad, but honestly it’s good on just about anything.

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I hope that you enjoy this recipe!

Happy Eating 💚

 

banana bread muffins

Banana Bread Muffins – Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Refined Sugar Free, Comfort Baking

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There is something magical about making muffins. You sift together a few ingredients, stir in a few more, and a little while later 12 mini cakes emerge from the oven ready to fill your heart with joy and comfort.

If there is a practice more conducive to self care than baking, I have yet to discover it.

If I’m ever having a bad day, I bake. It takes focus and when you’re measuring and stirring everything together, the things that troubled you before seem far away.

The scent of delicious muffins wafts through the air and makes any house and home seem more warm and friendly. It’s a scent that makes the world a little softer and everything feel a little more possible.

And once you bite into a freshly baked muffin the spell is complete, and life feels ok again.

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I love blueberry muffins, but there’s something about banana bread muffins that seem extra nourishing to your soul.

When I first cut gluten out of my diet, I really missed banana bread. I missed it’s buttery sweetness, and cozy banana richness.

It took me a couple of tries to get this recipe right, but these muffins taste just like the banana bread that I used to love eating. They also have a touch of cinnamon and vanilla to give them an extra bit of warmth to their flavor.

I like to use the ripest bananas that I can find (overripe bananas work the best as they are sweeter) and baking these muffins is a great way to cut down on food waste and have breakfast ready to go for the next few days (even if you eat 3 – 4 muffins still warm from the oven like I normally do).

I like to make these muffins a day ahead and leave them out on a plate on the counter covered by a paper towel. They dry out a little overnight, and the texture gets even better the next day.

 

Banana Bread Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

 

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 4 – 4 1/2 bananas)

 

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup melted coconut oil

2 eggs

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

 

2 cups oat flour

level 3/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

 

Notes –

* I grind oats into oat flour using a blender. Don’t grind the oats in a food processor because the flour won’t be fine enough.

Any extra oat flour I don’t use in the recipe goes into an airtight container and I use it for another recipe.

If you’re making this recipe for someone who has celiac disease, please use certified gluten free oats, as the oats from the bulk bins can sometimes be processed on the same equipment as wheat.

 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

Grease and flour muffin pan with melted coconut oil and oat flour.

2. In a large bowl, sift together the oat flour, baking soda, and ground cinnamon and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl stir together the mashed bananas, apple cider vinegar, melted coconut oil, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla extract until well combined.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir until well combined. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups and bake at 350 F for 33 minutes (until golden). Turn the oven down to 300 F and bake for another 10 minutes until the cake tester comes out clean.

Let the muffins cool in the pan. To pop them out of the muffin tin, run a small knife around the edge of each muffin (a small butter knife works great for this) and they should come right out.

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I wish you many happy breakfasts (and memories) with these wonderful muffins.

 

 

 

 

How To Get A Pan Super Clean

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Baking soda and vinegar can be your best friends in the kitchen. They help muffins to rise, can make a sink squeaky clean, or help you scrub out a pan without damaging the finish.

Here’s how I like to clean my pots and pans (if they need a little more help to get clean than the dishwasher can handle by itself).

(This is a pan that I used to sauté some baby spinach with garlic and olive oil.)

Start by sprinkling a generous amount of baking soda into your pan to absorb any leftover oil.

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Add a splash of plain white vinegar, and use a sponge to give the pan a good scrub.

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Rinse the pan out, then wash with soap and water as usual.

Ta da! A super clean pan, ready to make your next delicious dish.