Cooking Machines

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Pegs and I have been on a mission. Since arriving in Steamboat Monday evening, we have made and photographed fourteen recipes for the GrowingGreat Families cookbook with no stop in sight! (Ok, so we are going on a hike tomorrow… but its Saturday!!)

  **Breakfast Burrito with Potato Hash**

**Simple Green Rice**

**Vegetable Ribbons**

With the amount of food we are making, it is a good thing we are doing a detox. A few ladies and I started the Clean program this week. Clean is a fabulous lifestyle approach I am all about! Peg has had our family eating healthy for as long as I can remember. And back when we thought it couldn’t get any better, six years ago, our diet became even healthier (for our genetic composition) once we went gluten-free.

Every year around this time I do some sort of detox. This year it’s Clean. I am a strong believer in cleansing my insides after days, weeks, and especially months of food overload. Obesity is an epidemic in the United States for a reason—we eat waaaayyy too much food. I recently began to read Clean by the brilliant Dr. Alejandro Junger.  The genius behind his Clean program are the foolproof easy guidelines he has written. In the book, he meticulously maps out the cleanse from eliminating specific foods to grocery lists, recipes, times of day to eat, suggestions on what to eat when, detailed explanations of the amazing benefits each week has on your body, and more! I have done my fair share of cleanses-fasts-detoxes, but Clean appears to be most informative and seemingly easy to adhere to, but I will confirm this once I start following the mealtime schedule.

I am not even concerned about cooking recipes for our book while on this cleanse, because of how much we are allowed to eat. And just to show you what I mean here is a GrowingGreat Families recipe we made Clean! 

Spinach Patties or Balls

1 bunch of spinach washed, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves minced
2 green onions finely chopped
½ C finely chopped shitake mushrooms
2 tbsp ground chia seeds soaked in 3 tbsp water (can keep adding water until a thick paste)
½ Cup leftover cooked brown, white basmati, wild rice, or quinoa
¼ Cup toasted and ground sunflower seeds
1 tsp Italian Seasoning (Spice Hunter)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Coconut or olive oil
Other seasoning choices: Thyme, cumin, Pesto, Curry powder, whatever sounds good to you! 

Sauté mushrooms, minced garlic and scallions in 2 tsp.olive oil. Add spinach, and cover until wilted. Drain and press off excess liquid, a little is ok. Set aside to cool.  In a medium bowl, add the rest of the ingredients, and then add spinach mixture. Mix thoroughly.

In the same pan, heat 2 TBL coconut oil until hot.  Form spinach mixture into patties or into balls and sauté until browned on both sides, approx. 5 minutes per side.  Serve warm as a meal, or makes a great appetizer. Also can Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

 **our beloved taste-tester, Kathy**

Back in the 'Boat

Monday night I flew back to our home in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Peg truly enhanced the cabin since I was here last. She has added more sweet details, like the outdoor yoga deck (picture to come soon), new trees, more flowers, and other colorful details inside. The garden is overflowing with produce like kale, arugula, broccoli rabe, bok choy, garlic, chives, mint, and much more. I have fallen in love with this place all over again!

For the next 25days Peg’s and I intend to “finish” what we started here a year ago… And let me tell you, we are well on our way! Peg’s and I have already made then photographed six recipes. Thanks to our organization, we have mapped out the month of September planning each day around the thirty-five recipes we have left to photograph. And to think this book has roughly 150 recipes in it!

 **Peg hard at work**

 **Sam's Breakfast Sanwich**

**Halibut Piccata**

I am so excited to get back on track blogging and see this project through.

MUFFINS!!

Muffins are a great guilt-free morning treat. I mean they are muffins, a universally acceptable breakfast cupcake! My all-time favorite muffin has to be Peg’s Maple Banana Nut Muffin with a maple glaze and streusel topping. SO GOOD!

We made these for a volunteer thank you brunch, and there wasn't one leftover!

Muffins are good for gifts, brunches, breakfast on the run, or even a morning treat (hey, no judgment here). They are fun to make and even more fun eating! You have to try this recipe for yourself :) Here is the play by play:

Maple Banana Nut Muffins

Streusel Topping

½ stick butter melted

1 Cup chopped walnuts

½ C maple sugar or brown sugar packed

2 TBL. Flour (I prefer coconut)

Combine butter, walnuts, sugar and flour.  Set aside.

Maple glaze

6 TBL. Powdered sugar

2 TBL maple syrup

Whisk sugar into syrup until smooth.  Set aside

Muffins

1 stick of softened butter

1/3-cup maple sugar or brown sugar packed

1 egg

1/3 Cup maple syrup

1 Cup flour (or ½ Cup GF all purpose & ½ Bette’s Featherweight) 

½ Cup whole-wheat flour (or GF coconut flour)

½ tsp salt

1 tsp. Baking powder

1 tsp. Baking soda

1 over ripe banana mashed

½ Cup sour cream

• Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Mix in egg, and gradually add syrup.

• Sift together flours, salt, baking soda and powder. Add to butter mixture. Blend until all incorporated.  Mix in banana and gently fold in sour cream to the batter.

•     Spoon into 12 greased or paper lined muffin tins.  Sprinkle Streusel Topping evenly over the top of each muffin.  Bake at 375-degree oven for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool slightly and then drizzle with Maple Glaze.

Spring Soufflé

I love eggs. I love all meals including eggs, and breakfast is my absolute favorite meal of the day. For this recipe, I was inspired by the most brilliant brunch cookbook from Fairholme Manor in Canada. I made this for Pegs and myself today and can be a great brunch-party dish!

Serves 4

5  large eggs

3  green onions, chopped

6  shitakes, diced

¼ C  milk (hemp, coconut, any kind)

3 TBLS  cream cheese (I used Leaf vegan Onion Chives which was DEVINE!)

2 TBLS  Dijon mustard

½ tsp  salt

¼ tsp  pepper

1 large pinch basil

1 large pinch cayenne

~Whisk together eggs, milk, cream cheese, Dijon, basil. Once mixed, then mix in onions, and shitakes. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne.

~Pour into well-greased 4” soufflé dish, 4 ramekins, or 6 cupcake dish. At this point, you can seal the dish and refrigerate until the next day.

~Bake in 350°F oven for 45min to 1hour, or until puffy around the edges and a tester (sticking knife into one) comes out clean.

~Sprinkle top with parmesan cheese and serve immediately!

  

Brain Boosting Breaky

Meg's and Peg’s Omega 3 Brain Booster Breakfast

Serves 1

2Tbl Chia seeds whole

1/2 C hot water

         OR

1 Tbl freshly ground Chia seeds

1 Tbl freshly ground flax seeds

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

1/4 C fresh roasted coconut flakes

2 Tbl. Hemp seeds or other seeds such as pumpkin or sunflower

1/2 C washed organic blueberries or other berries

1/2 C washed organic strawberries and or other seasonal fruit combinations (banana’s persimmons, kiwi, dried figs, raisins, ect.)

Directions

•  In a bowl pour hot water over chia seeds, cinnamon and cardamom Let rest to firm up.

      OR

•  Freshly grind flax and Chia seeds together. Pour flour into bowl with cinnamon and cardamom, and mix together.

•  Wash fruit and slice strawberries set aside.

•  In a preheated oven or broiler, roast the coconut flakes, but watch closely let cool

•  In bowl with thickened chia seeds, takes about 5 minutes, top with remaining ingredients, stir and enjoy! 

      OR

•  In bowl with Chia and flax flour, top with remaining ingredients, stir and enjoy!