Tahini Salad Dressing--Tahini Vegetable Dip

Mother's Market Inspired Tahini Salad Dressing/Vegetable Dip

I love a great salad. One of my favorite salads to eat when I eat out is a simple garden salad that I get at a local health food market that I frequent.  The salad is simple in every way,  fresh mixed greens, topped with fresh mushrooms, carrots, and beets.  What makes this salad better than other salads?  That's simple, the tahini dressing that accompanies it. The dressing is one of the best salad dressings that I have ever tasted.  The only problem is that the restaurant doesn't sell it in a bottle, so I can't take it home to use at a later time, and the restaurant is very secretive about what exactly is in the dressing.  I've asked a thousand and one times, but they won't give me the recipe. Sort of like they wouldn't give me the recipe for their gingered greens, which I also love.  So as usual, I had to experiment, and come up with my own version, and it is amazingly close to their tahini dressing-- exact actually.  It is so good!  You can use it to dress a salad, but it's equally good as a dip for cucumber, carrot, and celery sticks. My daughter loves it, with a capital L, and the best part is that nothing in it is bad for you.  It's high in protein, because it contains both sesame and cashew butters.

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Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: none

Total time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of tahini paste

2 teaspoons of cashew butter (about 20-30 whole cashews)

4 medium sized cherry tomatoes (about 2 tablespoons chopped)

1 large clove of garlic

1 teaspoon of Tamari soy sauce

3 tablespoons of a neutral oil like safflower

2 teaspoons of lemon juice

Directions:  Place all of the ingredients in a blender or processor and blend until smooth.  Pour into a serving container and enjoy! This would be awesome on grilled veggies as well!!

Smokey Paprika and Lime Chicken Kabobs

Smokey Paprika and Lime Chicken Kabobs

I think that there is definitely an art to marinades. I'm still learning that particular art. I recently purchased the highly acclaimed Modernist Cuisine book set. It's massive and filled with information--extremely useful information. I'm only on the second book about 1000 pages into this probably 7000 page set, and the information that I've learned has completely changed the way that I view cooking.  This set is amazing! If you're interested in the how's and why's of cooking, from a scientific perspective---then you want this set. If you can save the $550 plus dollars it costs to buy this book set then I highly recommend it.  Or just stay tuned to my blog, lot's of changes are coming.  Not to mention appliances. One is the immersion circulator that I've been wanting for years.  Another is a vacuum chamber sealer.  I returned my Food saver in preparation for this machine.  This machine makes marination super easy, and effective.  It sucks out all of the air in the chamber and compresses everything in it. Thus making pickles in a matter of minutes, and  infusing steak or chicken and fish with marinades in minutes. Long gone will be my days of marinating anything over night.  I'm really excited for my vacuum chamber to arrive. Not having my Food Saver or a vacuum machine has been torture, but life goes on.  This particular marinade is a mixture of dry and wet ingredients.  It's really delicious, and so flavorful, that it doesn't need more than a few minutes to flavor the chicken--gotta love a quick marinade with no fancy equipment.


Ingredients
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of lime juice
1 lb of skinless boneless chicken thighs, cubed into one inch pieces
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions: Add the onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, olive oil and lime juice to a small bowl and mix well.

Season the chicken generously with sea salt and black pepper, add it to a large bowl.  Add the marinade paste to the chicken then toss well to cover the chicken with the marinade.

Place chicken on skewers and grill cooking until chicken is cooked through about 10-12 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Grilled Asparagus

Grilled Asparagus 

Asparagus season is almost over here. If you are not paying attention the season can pass in the blink of an eye.  One of my favorite ways to make asparagus is on the grill.  The smokey flavor from the grill pairs well with the fresh crispness of this stalk green. Grilled asparagus has many fans in my house.   


Prep time: 2 minutes 
Cook time: 8 minutes 
Total time: 10 minutes  

Ingredients: 
1lb of asparagus bottom stalk portion removed 
1 tablespoon of coconut oil 
sea salt and black pepper to taste 
1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice   

Directions:  Lay asparagus on a flat plate, drizzle with coconut oil, season with sea salt and black pepper, and roll to spread seasoning.  Place asparagus on a hot grill, and grill until done about 8 minutes. Remove from grill, drizzle with a little bit of lemon juice, or with my spicy mustard vinaigrette and enjoy!   

Moroccan Spiced Grilled Lamb Kabobs

Moroccan Spiced Lamb Kabobs

I don't know where you live, but for the last week or so it's been in the high 90's here in Southern California.  When it's hot like this, I resort to making my husband cook on the grill.  No one wants to cook in this kind of heat, but we must eat, so grilling it is. I love grilled meat period.  Lamb was made to be grilled.  I remember several years back introducing my southern family to lamb grilled on the barbecue. I had invited them over for a cook out, and in addition to grilled chicken, I was serving grilled lamb.  When they found out that chicken and lamb were their only meat options, I had a family mutiny on my hands.  "Lamb?!!! We don't eat lamb! You just wasted your money!" "Where is the real food? What happened to the ribs?!" Haha! I still laugh thinking about that day, because, after a bit of convincing I got one of them to try it, and they all quickly fell in line! Ten seconds into them all trying it, they were fighting over who was going to get the last piece!  Now when we have a barbecue, lamb is on the menu, and I'm not the one bringing it, they are!  I've converted several friends of mine who aren't  fans of lamb into eating lamb by serving it to them grilled also. I personally love lamb anyway you serve it. But there is just something about grilled lamb that speaks to everyone's taste bud's.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound of lamb loin cubed

1/2 teaspoon of cumin

1/2 teaspoon of coriander

1 teaspoon of garlic paste

2 Tablespoons of lemon juice

1 Tablespoon of finely chopped mint

1 Tablespoon of olive oil

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

In a  small bowl mix the cumin, coriander, lemon juice, mint and olive oil together.

Season lamb meat generously with sea salt and black pepper. Pour the marinade over the lamb and mix well. 

Add the seasoned lamb to skewers, then grill for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until the lamb reaches your desired level of doneness--about 15 minutes for medium.  Serve with veggie skewers or this cucumber and tomato salad, or this Cucumber Salad with Lemon Basil vinaigrette and this lemon cauliflower rice and enjoy!

Crispy Smelt with a Parsley Lemon Viniagrette

Crispy Smelt with Parsley Lemon Vinaigrette

I LOVE Smelt, LOVE them. In fact I love them so much I wish that I could eat them year round.  If you've never tried smelt, then after you read this blog, stop by your grocery store, and get some! They are rich in omega-3 fatty acid, so not only are they delicious, but they're great for you. Smelt are small boned fish, like anchovies, so you can eat them whole, even the head. if you're so inclined. If you're really lucky, like I have been thus far, you'll find them fresh at your grocer.  I'm told that most grocers sell them frozen in bags.  Fresh is best, but these are so good that I would imagine they would still be good even after they've been frozen and defrosted. But if you have a choice, why not choose fresh?

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
1 pound of Smelt (cleaned)
1/2 cup of coconut flour
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup of coconut oil

Ingredients for Parsley Lemon Vinaigrette
1/4 cup of fresh organic flat leaf parsley finely chopped
5 tablespoons of Lemon juice
3 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic grated
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions: Melt the coconut oil in a cast iron skillet, and bring up to temperature. Season the smelt with sea salt and pepper:

Dredge through the coconut flour, coating all sides of the fish with the flour:

Carefully add the fish to the hot oil and fry until golden brown on all sides, about 5-7 minutes:

 Add the ingredients for the parsley lemon vinaigrette to a bowl and whisk until well combined, spoon over the fish and enjoy! These make a great appetizer at a party, just make sure that you buy enough, because no one can eat just one of these!

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Basil Chicken

Basil Chicken Recipe

So everyone has that one friend whom they idolize, you know the one who is super intelligent, charismatic, gorgeous, and the kind of mother to her children you only wish you could be. Well that person for me is my friend Jennifer. She has the energy of the energizer bunny--actually I think she could out last that bunny 3 times over, She's a great friend, reliable without fault, and on top of all that, she is a great cook. One of her signature dishes is basil Chicken.  It's beyond delicious, the sweet notes of basil mixed with the Unami flavors imparted by the soy sauce in this dish make it heaven on a plate.  She makes hers with the whole parts of chicken, usually legs, or drummetts. I decided to try it using ground chicken, because who couldn't use another way to use ground meat?  I'm so glad I did, it is equally as delicious as using chicken with bones, but much less time consuming, because there aren't any bones.

Prep time: 5-7 minutes
Cook time : 15 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
1 pound of ground chicken
3/4 cups of fresh basil chopped
1 small brown onion or shallot chopped
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 large cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of olive oil/ghee
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
Sea salt to taste

Directions: heat oil in skillet, add garlic, sauté for 30 seconds, then add the onion, and cook until translucent. Add the ground chicken and brown. Add in the soy sauce, basil and red pepper flakes, cook for 2 minutes then turn off the fire. Serve over brown rice, or in lettuce cups.

Smashed Potatoes

Smashed Potatoes

I love potatoes! Love them!!! Any diet that excludes potatoes isn't a diet I'd  ever be on. When my friends even mention going on a low carb diet, I tell them "good luck with that, I'll be over here with my potatoes and apples! Not going to happen for me, but I wish you the best of luck!" I subscribe to the eat a little of everything and nothing will become a problem diet. The only thing I restrict from my diet are processed foods. If it's not a real, whole food, then I don't eat it. This system has worked for me all of my life, so I think I will stick to it. With that said, I love this particular recipe for potatoes, they're the perfect combination of a fried potato and a baked potato,  just delish! I used an Italian dried spice blend, but you can use any spices that you like. I also used multi-color potatoes. Purple, blue and red potatoes are great for you, they have more antioxidants than white potatoes!

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
15-20 small organic fingerling potatoes or small Yukon gold potatoes
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of Sea salt and more to taste
1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning

Directions:
Pre heat your oven to 425F. Line a cookie sheet with foil and set aside. To a medium pot add potatoes, sea salt and enough water to cover the potatoes, bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender about 10 minutes. Drain the water from the potatoes then place them on the foil lined cookie sheet. Smash each potato with the back of a spoon, you want to expose the flesh. Season each potato with sea salt, and Italian seasoning, then drizzle olive oil over each potato.

Place the cookie sheet in the oven, and cook until the potatoes take on a golden brown  color, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately!

Tamales

Now that Thanksgiving is over, you're probably trying to think of ways to use all of the leftovers. These tamales are a great way to rid your refrigerator of all that left over turkey. They're simple to make, but very delicious! If you're family ate all the turkey and you don't have any leftover, chicken works just as well for these tamales, in fact I usually make these with chicken.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30minutes
Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:
2 cups of cooked turkey or chicken shredded
1 cup corn meal
1/2 cup flour
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cups of buttermilk ( substitute with 3 /4 cup of yogurt, or add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar to 3/4 cup of milk and let sit for 10 minutes before using)
1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
1 10 ounce can of  enchilada sauce
1 teaspoon of cumin
1.5 cups of creamed corn (see my recipe Here)
1 egg
1 cup of shredded cheese cheddar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Combine 1/4 cup cheese, corn meal, egg, milk, sea salt, baking powder, baking soda, cumin, creamed corn and flour in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with turkey/chicken, and sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Serve with sour cream, and salsa, and enjoy!

Caramel Popcorn with Almonds and Coconut Flakes

Coconut Caramel Popcorn

You didn't think that I would let Halloween pass without a giving you a recipe for a delectable goodie did you. Okay I almost did. It's been a busy week for me and I haven't had much time to devote toward taking pictures for the blog. But, I rallied, and summoned the rest of my energy to make this popcorn for you guys. I'm selfless what can I say:-). If you're looking for something chewy and soft, similar to a popcorn ball, then this is not the recipe for you. This recipe is more like the popcorn you'd find in those large tins people give you at Christmas, only this is 1000 times better.


Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 cups

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of Organic non GMO popcorn
3 Tablespoons of Coconut oil
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons of Almonds
1 cup of Organic Sugar
4 Tablespoons of grassfed butter
3 Tablespoons of Organic Corn Syrup
1 teaspoon of Sea salt
1/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of coconut flakes (optional)

Spray a large baking sheet with coconut oil. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Add popcorn kernels and 3 Tbsp. coconut oil to a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, shaking frequently. You will start hearing the corn pop after a few minutes—keep cooking until there’s a gap of about 5 seconds or more between pops. Immediately remove the pan from heat and pour the popcorn onto the prepared baking sheet. Add the almonds.
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, corn syrup, and water. Place over medium heat and cook, without stirring, until the mixture is a light caramel color, about 10 minutes. Add the salt and stir to combine. Pour the caramel over the popcorn and almonds.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and cook until the caramel becomes thin and shiny, about 10 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and with a rubber spatula, fold the popcorn and Almond to coat with the caramel. When the caramel hardens, you'll know it because the popcorn mixture will be harder to move, return the baking sheet to the oven. Repeat this process as many times as necessary to completely coat the popcorn and Almonds with caramel and until the caramel has darkened to a dark amber color. I did this 5 times checking on the popcorn and tossing it, in 3 minute intervals. On my 4th turn and check I added the coconut flakes. I just sprinkled them in and gave good toss.

Once you remove the popcorn, let it cool for 2-3 minutes, then break up the popcorn into bite-size pieces. Let cool completely. It will last two weeks stored in an air-tight container.

What's your favorite Halloween treat? 

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Smoked Paprika Lime and Garlic Chicken

Smoked Paprika Lime & Garlic Chicken

One of my favorite Mexican restaurants serves this super yummy and tangy chicken with paprika and lime. As always I love to try to recreate my favorite restaurant meals in my own kitchen. Let's face it, it's not always convenient to eat out, especially with a toddler who doesn't like to sit for an hour with her hands in her lap. This chicken dish can be made with just parts of the chicken, you don't have to use a whole chicken. I used two kinds of paprika, but if you only have one kind use that.


Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook  Time: 45 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon of paprika
1 Tablespoon of smoked paprika
2 large cloves of garlic grated or pasted
Sea salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
The juice of two limes
Handful of cilantro
Two tablespoons of oil

Directions:
In a bowl mix the garlic, paprika and oil into a paste, then rub it into the skin of the chicken. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 425F degrees  for 45 minutes to an hour until the bird is cooked through. Remove bird from the oven, pour on the lime juice and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve and enjoy! It's tangy with a kick from the smoked paprika!