Cuisines: gluten-free, dairy-free

Carrot Cupcakes

Carrot Cupcakes

So. Tired. Of. Packing. I’m living among mountains of boxes and can’t find anything I want/need at any point of time. Sigh. After this weekend we will be completely moved to the new house and then I will hopefully have some time to organize, organize 

Vanilla Pear Donuts

Vanilla Pear Donuts

Last week, I spent many hours baking to prep for a breakfast I was providing for 60 of my husband’s co-workers. I created this recipe especially for this event so I could present something extra special. It was a huge success and one of the highlights 

Tuscan Kale and Potato Soup

Tuscan Kale and Potato Soup

tuscan kale and potato soup

I get excited for soup weather. Just the thought of snuggling up in cozy sweaters and having a nice big bowl of hearty delicious soup just warms the soul. I mean, I get downright giddy. Bonus points if the soup is healthy and homemade like this Tuscan kale and potato soup.  I know you’ll love it so I’m taking a break from my massive fall cleaning and de-cluttering efforts (not fun) to bring you this super tasty Tuscan kale and potato soup (way more fun!).   So let’s get started with some browned Italian sausage, and add to it lots of tasty veg like kale, garlic, onions and some sliced potatoes and make up some magic in a bowl.

You’ll notice the recipe calls for something called coconut milk kefir. This is a super healthy probiotic beverage that’s a little like yogurt.  I use it in place of heavy creams and sour cream quite often so I can avoid dairy. You can find the recipe here and it’s way easy.  No worries, you can totally use straight up coconut milk or regular dairy cream.   Now, I know you’ll all notice I mentioned avoiding dairy but you’ll see the photo below has grated cheese.  It’s a bit of finely shredded manchego cheese, which, while it is still dairy, it’s made from sheep’s milk so those of you with any dairy sensitivities will most likely be able to handle manchego.  Since it’s an aged cheese, it has nearly no lactose in it and because it’s from sheep’s milk, it has only the A2 casein protein.  In my experience, those sensitive to casein, are usually sensitive to the A1 type which is what you usually find in dairy cows here in the U.S. (and causes many issues for many people) unless you source directly from a farmer.  I also like to add a little bit of gelatin for some added thickness as well as great health benefits.  Gelatin is a superfood for your joints, skin and is a great source of dietary collagen.  Now how ’bout some soup!

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Tuscan Kale and Potato Soup
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Soups
Cuisine: gluten-free, dairy-free
Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 pound Italian sausage
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 8 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken stock
  • 4 cups sliced potatoes (I used fingerlings for cute little circles)
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 3 cups kale, chopped
  • ½ cup coconut milk kefir (or coconut milk, or dairy cream)
  • 1 tablespoon gelatin (optional)
  • salt to taste
  • manchego (or parmesan) cheese, grated for topping (optional)
Instructions
  1. In a frying pan, brown the sausage with the onion and garlic.
  2. While sausage is browning, place broth, potatoes, oregano and pepper flakes in saucepan and heat to boiling.
  3. Once sausage is browned, add it to the saucepan and boil until potatoes are tender.
  4. Add kale, coconut kefir (or cream) and gelatin (if using).
  5. Spoon into bowls and top with cheese if desired.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 520 Fat: 23g Carbohydrates: 57g Sodium: 1116mg Fiber: 6g Protein: 22g

 

 

 

 

Vegetarian Sushi Roll Salad with Soy Ginger Dressing

Vegetarian Sushi Roll Salad with Soy Ginger Dressing

  Funny story… this actually started as an attempt to make a vegetarian sushi roll but instead of nori, I was going to use nice big leaves of romaine lettuce.  Mostly because I just don’t like the flavor of seaweed. Everything started out really well. I