Tag: vegetarian

Strawberry Balsamic Jam

Strawberry Balsamic Jam

Whoa. I just need life to slow down right now. My hubby has been home nursing a back injury for a few weeks and all my kids have been home being actively involved in summer activities like swimming lessons, building forts in the woods, and 

Avocado Cauliflower Toast

Avocado Cauliflower Toast

My two daughters are at the national goat show this week with their grandparents experiencing what Nebraska has to offer. It’s pretty darn special that they are able to get out, explore and get a taste of farm life for a few weeks each summer 

Cauliflower and Quail Egg Curry (Punjabi Style)

Cauliflower and Quail Egg Curry (Punjabi Style)

egg curry

I’m dying right now. Not literally of course, but this Minnesota girl can’t handle the sudden heat out there. I need time to acclimate… four weeks ago was a wicked snowstorm and today it’s mid-80’s. With this gorgeous sunshine happening, I planted about half of my garden and am looking forward to heading to the greenhouse tomorrow to peruse the selection of unique flowers and veggies that I might need to add to my yard or garden that I don’t already have. Cauliflower is something I’ve grown before and haven’t had much luck but I’ll try again because I keep finding amazing ways to use this great cruciferous chameleon of the vegetable world. This time, I’ve discovered that by using cauliflower in a simmer sauce, like in this egg curry, much of the curry flavor is absorbed by our vegetable superstar during cooking leaving barely a hint of the true nutty cauliflower flavor behind so even cauliflower haters will LOVE this combination.

Cauliflower and quail egg curry blends my love of North Indian curries with a touch of my Scandinavian roots. Curries from the northern states in India have a different flavor profile than those of the south. This Punjabi style cauliflower and egg curry bases its ingredient list from the Northern region of the Indian peninsula which tend to feature tomato based sauces with garam masala. To give this a unique flavor blend, I’ve added a touch of cardamom and mustard seed which are used heavily in my Scandinavian heritage. Cardamom is commonly used in other Indian cuisine as well and I happen to adore the twist of something different that cardamom and mustard provides for this dish. I’ve also used adorable nutritious quail eggs (mostly because they’re super CUTE!!!….and they are more similar in size to the cauliflower florets) but you can use hard boiled chicken eggs as well for the same flavor experience!

egg curry

Cauliflower and Quail Egg Curry (Punjabi Style)
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Main Dishes
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup coconut oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 pods cardamom (or use a pinch ground cardamom)
  • 2 small hot chilies, finely chopped (or use small dried hot chilies, crushed)
  • 4 tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1 teaspoon coriander
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ teaspoon pink himalayan salt*
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • pinch of cayenne pepper, to taste
  • 16-20 hard boiled quail eggs (or 8 hard-boiled chicken eggs) peeled and cut into halves
  • Cilantro, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
  1. Combine coconut oil, onion, mustard seeds, garlic, cardamom and chilies in a large sauté pan and cook about 10 minutes until onions begin to soften.
  2. Add the tomatoes, cauliflower, ginger, spices, bay leaf, salt and pepper and cook until cauliflower begins to soften about 10-15 minutes.
  3. Gently add the eggs. Season with additional cayenne pepper to taste.
  4. Cook another 5 minutes and serve hot with chopped cilantro as garnish.
  5. Serve on its own, or with rice, naan or lentils!
Notes
*for low sodium, omit the salt = 111mg per serving
Nutrition Information
Calories: 294 Fat: 20g Carbohydrates: 22g Sodium: 321mg Fiber: 6g Protein: 11g

 

Eggplant Hummus (Baba Ganoush)

Eggplant Hummus (Baba Ganoush)

  Eggplant is one of the few vegetables that I remember my dad eating as a kid. That, and parsnips. I’ve never really been fascinated by the taste of eggplant but then again, I never tried it roasted or in a dip. Roasted eggplant is 

Chile Rellenos

Chile Rellenos

One of my favorite things to order at Mexican restaurants are the chile rellenos which I always pair with an enchilada. I’m predictable that way. Intimidated by the thought of making these little beauties, I finally bit the bullet to discover my fear of them 

Spiced Okra

Spiced Okra

I’ve been creating (and eating) a lot of keto diet appropriate meals lately and spiced okra is one of the fun side dishes I’ve come up with to use as a fiber rich, low carb side kick to any protein meal mail dish you wish to prepare. I paired the spiced okra with a butter chicken that had a similar lightly spiced Indian flavor profile and it went beautifully together. I think you could even just add protein in the form of chicken chunks or paneer (an Indian style cheese similar in texture to a cheese curd) to the dish to make it an easy main dish option too.

When preparing okra, you’ll want to take care not to overcook it. Most dishes that use okra, use it for its thickening properties so it’s often added to soups. In this case, we don’t want it to thicken our sauce too much. As okra cooks, it releases a watery liquid similar to aloe vera which is what causes the gelling effect. To reduce this effect, slice okra while it’s chilled in larger slices. Cook these on high heat to minimize the gel as well. Pairing okra with tomatoes is also a great trick to reduce the gel effect as the acidity cuts through it and helps it to cook off leaving you with a pleasing plateful of perfect pods.


Spiced Okra
 
Prep time
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Author:
Recipe type: Sides
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 pound okra, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ medium onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ¾ cup diced tomatoes, about 2-3 fresh seeded tomatoes (or you can use canned)
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala
Instructions
  1. Sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil until onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add all remaining ingredients and cook 12-15 minutes.
  3. Okra should still be tender-crisp.
  4. Serve hot.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 122 Fat: 7g Carbohydrates: 14g Sodium: 86mg Fiber: 5g Protein: 3g

 

Caprese Egg Salad Stuffed Avocados

Caprese Egg Salad Stuffed Avocados

I’ve been working on a ketogenic recipe series for the peeps over at BreakingMuscle.com where I just completed a really fun series on 20 ways to prepare poultry. You’ll have to check it out! I’m really enjoying the new keto challenge as it’s been really 

Roasted Red Pepper Three Cheese Dip

Roasted Red Pepper Three Cheese Dip

This weekend is a big weekend for Minneapolis. The Superbowl is being hosted here so there’s been a lot of cool happenings downtown. In other news, Jimmy Fallon wants to have dinner at someone’s house to sample a home-cooked Minnesota dinner. Being the native Minnesota 

Christmas Breakfast Cookies

Christmas Breakfast Cookies

It’s cookie season and I am not immune to all of the delectable holiday baking and candy making. My girls and I recently made my all time favorite cookie, chocolate mint cookies and also made a few batches of toffee. This is the time of year I play by the 80% clean eating rule… or maybe more like 60% 🙂 These Christmas breakfast cookies are a throwback to the traditional thumbprint cookies but made with cleaner, healthier ingredients and made more breakfast-y. Plus, these breakfast cookies look super cute and a little like bejeweled bite-size ornaments.

These Christmas breakfast cookies have less sweetness to them than most cookies which makes them great as a breakfast treat. I’ve used a gluten free oat flour as the base of these cookies to give them a good chew. Combining this with flaxseed meal (ground flaxseed) and shredded coconut gives them a fantastic consistency that’s a combo of breakfast bar meets granola.  I use a vanilla bean paste for more intense vanilla flavor in the cookie base. Top these little guys with a dollop of homemade raspberry jam or use your favorite all-natural jam. Set these jovial little breakfast cookies out for Santa (and save some for yourself, of course) and I’m certain your Christmas morning will be full of twinkly tinsel and tasty treasures! I wish you all the very merriest holiday!

Need another awesome holiday cookie? These chocolate mint cookies are my childhood favorite… and these Swedish inspired coconut spritz are to die for!

Christmas Breakfast Cookies
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 1 cup gluten free oat flour
  • ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • ½ cup coconut sugar
  • ¼ cup flaxseed meal (ground flaxseeds)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch of pink himalayan or sea salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
  • 3-4 tablespoons melted coconut oil or light tasting olive oil
  • ¼-1/3 cup all-natural jam (i used a homemade honey raspberry jam)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a bowl, stir together flour, coconut, coconut sugar, flaxseed meal, soda and salt.
  3. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and crack egg into it along with the vanilla and 3 tablespoons of the oil.
  4. Gently mix together with a fork. If cookies are too crumbly, add the last tablespoon of oil.
  5. Form cookies into small discs and place on a lightly greased baking sheet or use parchment or silicone baking mat.
  6. Gently press an indentation into the center of each cookie with your finger.
  7. Spoon a small amount of jam into the center of each cookie.
  8. Bake 18-20 minutes until cookies are golden along the edges.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 Calories: 161 Fat: 8g Carbohydrates: 19g Sugar: 12g Sodium: 73mg Protein: 3g

 

Nacho Cauliflower Gratin

Nacho Cauliflower Gratin

I’ve previously claimed to not really like cauliflower but, you guys, I am SOLD!!!  My fabulous mother in law brought a cauliflower gratin over for our Thanksgiving feast that I thought was really tasty. So I thought, why not kick it up a notch? I