Happy new year from the girls

Dear friends and visitors,

We wish you an abundant, healthy, delicious, joyful, and transformational new year!  Happy 2011!

Love,

Candice, Marina, and Stella

Garlic-Balsamic Pan Fried Salmon with Almonds, Squash and Chard

I am taking a little break from the usual food choices and doing a lot of veggies, fruit, and protein.  Basically sugar, salt, and grains are out.  Tonight I made one of my favorite combinations: salmon, butternut squash, yam, and chard topped with toasted almonds and raw garlic. 

Garlic-Balsamic Pan Fried Salmon with Almonds, Squash and Chard
serves 2

1 pound of salmon
bunch of chard or beet greens
a few handfuls of almonds
small butternut squash
1 yam
5 cloves of garlic
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
fresh basil

Begin by preheating an oven to 350 F Bake.  Cut butternut squash in half and scoop seeds out.  Cut Yam in half or quarters, so it will cook in about the same amount of time as the squash.  Oil a cookie sheet or pan with olive oil and place the squash and yams on it and in the preheated oven.  When they are almost done cooking you can begin to cook the salmon and chard. 

For the salmon, heat a cast iron pan on medium and add equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar, whisk together with a fork.  Use a garlic press to add 3 cloves of garlic to the cooking marinade.  Place the salmon red side down in the pan and cover.  Cook for a few minutes or until it turns from red to pink.  At this point you can add the almonds to the pan and cook them in the garlic marinade for about 3 minutes, then remove and set aside.  Flip salmon and cook covered until it is almost done and flip again or turn the heat off and allow the salmon to cook slowly to your liking.  Salmon is usually best a little red in the middle so that it is not overcooked and stiff. 

In the meantime you can cook the chard/beet greens.  I cut the stems in to 1/2 inch pieces and add them to the pan first (with some olive oil), as they take a little longer to cook than the leaves.  After a few minutes add the leaves and cover with a lid.  Chard is done when the stems and leaves are soft, but still vibrant green. 

Dice the basil for garnish.  Use a garlic press to mince garlic and garnish squash and salmon with it and the basil.  Serve with chard and yams. 

Ith gu leòir!

Kale and Beet Salad with Mustard-Balsamic Dressing

So here I am cutting vegetables, boiling beets, toasting pumpkin seeds, and mixing dressing on Christmas Eve.  Aren't I supposed to be baking cookies or putting out a plate for Santa?  I did wrap presents while boiling the beets, does that count?

This recipe is so good that I had to put it in the fridge so I wouldn't eat it all before the Christmas dinner I'm bringing it to tomorrow.  Yep, just like a batch of cookies.  Only this is kale and beets.

Recipe adapted from: http://bastyrcenter.org/content/view/140/

Kale and Beet Salad with Mustard-Balsamic Dressing
Serves 5-6

5-6 small to medium beets, or the equivalent
1 bunch of kale
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
1 carrot
4 scallions

Dressing:
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 small cloves of garlic, preferably use a garlic press to mince
handful of fresh basil, diced
1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
black pepper to taste

• Boil the beets for 1 hour or until soft.  Once they are cooked, cut them into bite size pieces.
• Bring a large pot of water to boil.  When it's boiling add kale for 30 seconds, remove from hot water and run under cold water.  Cut into bite size pieces. 
• To toast the pumpkin seeds spread them on a baking sheet in an oven at 350F Bake and check often, while turning them to avoid burning. 
• Finely dice scallions
• Peel carrot and cut into very thin rounds
• Mix beets, kale, carrots, and pumpkin seeds in a bowl
• To make the dressing, mix all the dressing ingredients with a whisk.  
• Combine the dressing with the salad ingredients carefully.  
• Serve chilled.

Prijatnovo appetita!

Making Nori Rolls

 One of the girls' favorites!

Miso for a cold winter morning

Marina enjoys her miso soup, rice noodles, hard boiled egg, and broccoli.

It's worth saying again: Miso is my favorite healthy breakfast (I have some favorite less-healthy ones too that involve ketchup). One reason I love it so much, it's very versatile.  You can use just about any vegetable from your fridge, a variety of proteins, and noodles or rice.  Here are some of my favorite things to add to miso soup:

rice noodles
wild rice
salmon
tofu
soft boiled eggs
wakame
hijiki
arame
edamame beans
broccoli, carrots, celery

You only need a few of the ingredients from the above list for your soup.  Simple is usually better.  I mix a tablespoon of aged miso paste with a few tablespoons of warm water until all the chunks are gone.  Then I bring a kettle of water to boil, letting it cool slightly so as to not kill the good bacteria in the miso paste when they are mixed.  Add the hot water to the miso mixture and your favorite precooked ingredients, and you have breakfast!

itadakimasu!

Believe it or not, this breakfast is a favorite of my kids.  They love it, especially when we have seaweed to add to it. 

Today's breakfast: red miso with fried potatoes, broccoli, and rice noodles.

My favorite Miso paste, aged red miso, also wheat and gluten free.

Here is a wild rice miso soup with edamame beans and broccoli I made last week.