• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 fennel bulb, diced
• 2/3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 8 oz salmon filet • 6 sprigs of thyme,desprigged
• zest of whole lemon, grapefruit or orange
• s/p to taste
Toss all ingredients in baking tray with coconut oil or butter, bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Flake fish into chunks with a fork.
Top with cauliflower mashed potato from Thanksgiving Pot Pie recipe.
A variation of the Thanksgiving Pot Pie with a savory mash of root vegetables
• 1 cup of beets, parsnip, turnip, carrot, butternut or kabocha squash, onions, medium dice
• 2/3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 3/4 sprigs fresh sage, finely chopped
• 6 sprigs of thyme, desprigged
• s/p to taste
To make root vegetable mashed potato topping, add equal parts of parsnip, turnip and carrot with water to cover by an inch, boil for 30 minutes till soft. Puree.
I think we can all agree that the weather outside if frightful but here’s to pot pies to make it delightful….
I like putting them in individual pie tins, but you can buy the standard aluminum tins or even mini loaf tins. Just make the stuffing and top with the various mashed topping in lieu of a crust. You can make a whole bunch and freeze, reheating in 350 oven until hot.
This is basically a loose mushroom stuffing without the bread crumbs, topped with a cauliflower mashed potato crust
• 1 cup of celery, carrot, onion, parsnip, cremini, shitake or portobello mushroom, medium dice
• 2/3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 3/4 sprigs fresh sage, finely chopped
• 6 sprigs of thyme, desprigged
• s/p to taste
Toss all ingredients in a baking tray with coconut oil or butter, roast in preheated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.
To make the mashed cauliflower “potatoe”, add florets with an inch of water, boil for 20 minutes till stems are soft. Strain and puree in blender with s/p, add pat of butter if desired.
I don’t know how this happened; I am not a baker. I roasted beets in the oven and removed the skins while it was still hot. The beet skin had caramelized and the natural earthiness of the beets deepened and I got a whiff of dark chocolate. I make beet sorbet ice cream; awesome but still not considered baking.
Hmmm…So in the blender goes 2 medium gorgeous glossy roasted beets (I said farewell to them thinking it will wind up in the trash) a heaping spoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, two drizzles around the blender of agave nectar and a squirt of liquid stevia. The zest of a clementine and pinch of sea salt finished it up the madness and the whirring began. We can stop right here. Perfect. Warm. Chocolate pudding. It’s neutral, goes with any type of meal unlike the avocado or sweet potato based chocolate puddings and I have a feeling it’s gonna be on the fast track going out; roasted beets have a reputation of doing that.
I stare at my beet pudding and it is deep and dark and rich like velvet. RED VELVET CHOCOLATE CAKE! (I think the pudding might have up and smacked me) But I am not a baker.
But I have millet flour and I vaguely remember a vegan recipe for chocolate cake…. So here we go:
• 2 cups roasted red beet puree
• ¼ cup of agave nectar (more or less is adding stevia or not)
• ½ cup millet flour
• 1 tbs baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• zest of an orange, any type
• 1 tbs red vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
• pinch of salt
Combine all the wet ingredients and mix with dry. (Work quickly because the baking soda and vinegar starts bubbling and whilst the cake bakes, it makes it moist and fluffy).
Put in mini loaf pan greased with a little coconut oil or a cupcake tin and bake in preheated 350 degree oven. 25 to 30 minutes. You want it slightly soft in middle.
I normally juice until dinner but I ate it while I was typing this. It is was warm and rich and with the texture of sweet earth . No pungent beet flavor but definitely a richness that might warrant more agave nectar or stevia but I liked it just the way it was.
Happy baking!
Almond Dofu Puddings and More
I used to make Almond Dofu which is a store-bought pudding-like Jello that you find in Asian markets. The “Dofu” refers to the tofu like quality of the pudding which is misleading because there is no tofu involved, only agar agar which a vegetarian gelatin substitute made out of seaweed.
My son saw the box at the store the other day and reminisced about it. (It was during his early childhood years) I forgot all about agar agar! It is a great product and will bind foods and you can make puddings, cream, even savory dishes with it like corn pudding….
But here is a healthy version of the Almond Dofu:
• 4 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 4 tablespoons of agar agar flakes
• 2 tablespoons of almond extract
• Sweetener of choice (I used 1 whole dropperful of vanilla stevia)
You have to simmer the above for at least 5 minutes to dissolve flakes. Once it is fully incorporated you can let it rest and it will thicken at room temperature or you can throw it in the fridge to expedite it. I pour my mixture into individual ramekins for portion control.
Want Coconut Pudding? Use coconut milk and coconut extract instead….
How about Chocolate Pudding? Are we sick of it yet?
• 4 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 4 tablespoons of agar agar flakes
• 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
• Sweetener of choice
• tiny pinch of seasalt
Of course, I like chocolate puddings with a bit of orange zest so I throw that in too… Just simmer as above and let it rest. But I like to throw it back in the blender when it has thickened to make it lighter and more like whipped chocolate cream (add a couple of tablespoons of water while blending)
BEST TIP FOR PUDDINGS ALL WEEK LONG….You can also keep a stash of the liquid (4 Cups) and agar (4 tablespoons) ratio on hand, already simmered for 5 minutes. Throw it in an ice cube tray in freezer and use a couple of cubes of this gelatin per pudding. Just add in your main flavor ingredient (try fruits like bananas too) and your sweetener of choice. Experiment with extracts. This is a perfect vessel for it.
My husband’s favorite salad of all time is my version of a Caesar salad but I make it with escarole instead of romaine because it is heartier and slightly bitter. With raw anchovy dressing made out of raw egg yolks and anchovy, it really packs a punch and satisfies both our larger than life palates.
I hand tear the escarole and use as is or I will grill the escarole, quartered with core intact to keep it fairly together and I char it lightly to get a smoky flavor. The dressing is an emulsion of raw egg yolk and olive oil, 3 to 4 anchovy filets, white wine vinegar (or lemon), 2 to 3 garlic cloves and a handful of parsley. The salad is topped with shredded raw sheep pecorino; not an everyday salad, for sure but sometimes we’ll have a family sized salad bowl each, share a bottle of wine and call it a day. (chocolate doesn’t count)
But Natalia has a great raw Caesar dressing in one of her earlier books that I recently fell in love with again. I revised it a bit and added a Japanese twist. The recipe is as follows:
• 3 to 4 stalks celery, roughly chopped
• 2 to 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon of miso (I like the mild white miso)
• Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
• Drizzle of olive oil if desired (it was in the original recipe as well and although not necessary, it does bind the dressing very nicely, making it smooth and glossy)
• Sea salt/ pepper to taste
I add crushed toasted nori flakes or even better, 2 ounces of hijiki seaweed. Hijiki is available dried and you rehydrate it in water. Let it sit for 15 minutes, drain and season with salt and pepper before use. This dressing is rich and creamy and the miso and garlic combination is a complete knock off of anchovies without it being too overwhelming. Romaine, green leaf or red leaf lettuce all work equally fine in this recipe.
If you opt for this salad, make miso glazed eggplant as the main entrée. Look for Japanese or Italian eggplants, cut in half and smear it with a thin layer of miso (add a bit of water to thin it out and a drop of stevia to balance out the miso) and a sprinkle of chopped scallions. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
A roasted Japanese yam for dessert will really make this meal complete. (I scrub the yams and cut into ½ inch rounds and dry roast in oven at the same time as the eggplants; taste like chewy cookies!)
