Recipe Tag: Health meets Food

Thai Green Curry Mussels

Gather all ingredients and equipment.

Place the cilantro stems, 1/2 of the garlic, 1/2 of the shallot, coriander seeds, red pepper flakes, lime zest, and the salt in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Grind until a smooth aromatic paste is formed. Set aside.

Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the oil and heat until simmering. Add remaining garlic, shallot, aromatic paste, ginger, and green curry paste to pan.

Cook for about 4 minutes, or until very aromatic, while stirring frequently, taking care to scrape the bottom of the pan to avoid burning.

Add the coconut milk, sugar, and fish sauce.

Bring to a simmer and cook for about 3 minutes.

Add scrubbed and debearded mussels to the pan. Stir and cover tightly.

Shake the pan vigorously every 30 seconds or so to stir while cooking. Cook mussels for 3 – 4 minutes or until mussels open.

Discard any unopened mussels.

Pour into serving bowl. Top with lime juice. Garnish with cilantro leaves, sliced pepper, and lime wedges.

Serve.

Whitefish with Lemon Butter and Cherry Tomatoes

Heat a saute pan on medium heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat the pan.

Carefully place the filet into the pan skin side down.

Immediately press the filet down with a spatula for 30–60 seconds to prevent it from curling.

Don’t move the fish: let it cook undisturbed for 2–3 minutes (or until 70–90% cooked) and allow the fillet to release naturally.

Flip only once to finish cooking on the flesh side.

Remove the fish from the pan to a serving plate.

Add the butter and lemon juice to the pan, stirring to loosen all the crispy bits in the bottom of the pan and allowing the sauce to thicken a bit.

Add the halved cherry tomatoes and cook until they are just warmed through and begining to break down, adding their juices to the sauce.

Spoon tomatoes and sauce over the cooked fish filets.

Chocolate Magic Shell

Put the coconut oil in microwave safe bowl.

Microwave until the oil is completely melts and is hot to the touch, about 1 minute.

Remove from microwave and quickly add the cocoa powder, whisking until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth.

Add the maple syrup to the mixture. Mix completely.

Pour over a cold dessert.

Sweet and Sour Tofu with Peppers – Virtual

For the Tofu

Gather all ingredients and equipment.

Drain tofu from package. Slice to one inch thickness and place on a paper towel-lined plate or tray.

Place another layer of paper towels on top of the tofu. Stack another plate/tray of similar size on top of the tofu and paper towels. Add weight in order to press out water. Let sit for 20 minutes, changing the paper towels as needed. Cut into 1/2″ diced cubes.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk the egg.

Arrange an assembly line as follows: first a bowl with the tofu, second the bowl with the whisked eggs, then third a bowl with the cornstarch.

Place the tofu into the egg mixture to fully coat the pieces.

Then coat each piece in the cornstarch. Make sure all sides of the tofu have been coated and shake off any excess. Set the breaded tofu on a plate or a small baking sheet.

Preheat a medium skillet over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add in 1 teaspoon of the canola oil.

Place the tofu one by one into the hot skillet and allow to form a golden brown crust on the bottom before flipping it. Be sure to not crowd the pan – if the tofu pieces touch each other they will not get crispy. You will probably need to cook in multiple batches.

When the tofu is crispy, remove and place on a plate or baking sheet lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Use the remaining oil in subsequent batches, if needed.

Set aside (keeping warm).

For the Sautéed Vegetables and the Sweet & Sour Sauce

Preheat a medium sauté pan on medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot add 1 teaspoon of oil.

Add the onion and pepper to the pan. Cook until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the onions and peppers are cooking, make the sauce. In a small bowl combine the orange juice, soy sauce (or tamari), rice vinegar, tomato paste, brown sugar, ground ginger, garlic powder, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Whisk to combine very well.

When the onions and peppers are soft, add the pineapple and 2 Tbsp of water. The water will help the vegetables to cook down more and provide some steam to your pan.

Continue to cook until the vegetables are tender and most of the water has evaporated.

Pour in the sweet & sour sauce and add the cooked tofu.

Stir to evenly coat tofu and vegetables in the sauce. Allow the sauce to come to a simmer and cook for about 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.

Remove from the heat and serve over brown rice or enjoy on its own. Optional: Garnish with sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds.

Spinach Almond Date Smoothie

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. If the mixture is too thick add a little more milk.

Serve immediately.

White Bean Alfredo Pasta

Place the water in a large stock pot over high heat.

When the water boils, add the pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce.

Heat olive oil in small saute pan over medium heat.

Add the onion and stir. Then add the garlic. Saute until the onion is translucent and the garlic is tender.

In a blender, add the beans, onions and garlic, vegetable broth, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Blend until creamy and smooth.

Pour into a large saute pan to heat.

When the pasta is done, drain, add to the saute pan, and toss to evenly coat with sauce.

Garnish with chopped parsley if desired.

Serve hot.

Gochujang Glazed Roasted Carrots

Preheat oven to 400F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat.

Wash, peel, and cut carrots into 2″ x 1/4″ x 1/4″ sticks.

Place cut carrots into a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to evenly coat all carrots.

Arrange carrots in a single layer on prepared baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes.

While the carrots are roasting, prepare the glaze.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the gochujang paste, soy sauce, sesame oil, cider vinegar, and garlic.

When the carrots are roasted and just tender, remove from oven and drizzle with the glaze. Stir or use a brush to evenly coat.

Return the carrots to the oven to caramelize the glaze, about 10 minutes.

Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Serve hot.

Pumpkin Muffins

Preheat the oven to 350F and line muffin tins with paper cups or coat with non-stick spray.

In a small bowl, stir the flaxseed meal together with the water (this is known as a “flax egg”). Set aside for 5 minutes to thicken.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the maple syrup and applesauce.

Add the flax egg and stir until fully combined. Stir in the pumpkin puree, almond milk, and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, stir together the flours, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients all at once to the wet ingredients. By hand, stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, just until the flour disappears. The batter will be very thick.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins.

Optional: Sprinkle with chocolate chips, nuts, or pumpkin seeds as desired.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out clean.

Let the muffins cool in the muffin tin for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Moroccan Spiced Sweet Potato Soup

Preheat oven to 400F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil.

Scrub sweet potatoes well, then poke several times with a fork.

Bake sweet potatoes on prepared pan in the center of oven 1 hour, or until tender. When the potatoes are done, set aside to cool.

In a large pot heat oil over medium heat.

Add onion and garlic, saute, stirring often, about 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent.

Add cumin, paprika, coriander, turmeric, pepper flakes, caraway, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring continuously, until fragrant.

Add stock, chickpeas, and lemon juice and bring to a boil.

Slice the cooled potatoes in half lengthwise, scoop out the flesh, and add to the pot.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup, blending until smooth, or carefully transfer to a blender to puree.

Serve hot.

Grilled Peaches

Gather all ingredients and equipment.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

Place on grill for 3 minutes, or until slightly charred. Flip and grill skin side about 1 minute.

Serve 3 slices with 1 tablespoons of yogurt whipped cream.