Ground turkey and cauliflower salad

This was a meal I created to bring with for a party/potluck.  I needed some merging that can be eaten hot or cold.  This is created using the concept that the Thai chicken salad wraps are based on. 

Ingredients:

4 lbs ground turkey

1 whole cauliflower 

2 cans hearts of palms chopped fine

10 scallions chopped fine

1 head red cabbage chopped fine

Ancho chili powder

Crushed Urfa chilis

Guajillo powder

Ground cumin

Ground turmeric

Ground coriander

Sumac berries

Ground celery seeds

Markut lime powder

White balsamic vinegar powder

Salt

Ground White Sarawak pepper 

Lime juice

Coconut oil

Instructions:

Put 2 tablespoons coconut oil in a hot pan large enough to hold 4 lbs or ground meat easily.  You want space to move the meat around.  

Add the meat.

Add in all the spices except for the lime juice and keep stirring and moving the mixture around the pan until all the meat is cooked and starts to brown. Roughly 5 minutes on high heat.

Remove meat from pan and place into bowl and allow to cool down.

Take the cauliflower and either cut into small chunks or rice in food processor (note this works for either size just less cook time for riced)

Put 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in same pan as before to keep the flavor profile you built with meat for the cauliflower.   Note the turkey meat being used be the cauliflower will both soak up the oil during cooking process.

Cook until the cauliflower turns brown.  Small chunks about 5 minutes on high heat and riced about 2. Finish off with the lime juice for the last minute of cook time and place in same bowl as cooling meat.   Let both cool while you chop up the veggies.  

Once the cauliflower and meat ad cool enough that they no longer steam add in the scallions, red cabbage, and hearts of palm.   

Mix well and serve warm or cold.

To make this vegetarian just leave out the meat and then add the spices to the step of cooking the cauliflower and you have a vegan and vegetarian version where no flavor will be lost.   Also in addition you could add the following veggies as example not complete list:   Bell peppers (haven't tried since I can't have them, but the flavor profile should work), carrots, broccoli, sliced/diced Brussels sprouts (raw or cooked with cauliflower), the red cabbage can also be cooked for a changed flavor profile of dish.

General Smoothie guidance.

This is my favorite guidance I have found on making smoothies.   I did download this from a group called Young and Raw.   I needed the image and keep this on my phone and iPad so that when I question how to build a smoothie it is there and easy to consult.

I hope this does assist someone else in making their own smoothies and show exactly how easy it is to make your own.

Kiwi Peach smoothie

So todays smoothie blend focused on fresh organic Kiwi and peaches.   I did get the peaches a month or so back and processed over 30 to be frozen for later smoothies from a local farmer.   I wanted a more fruit based smoothie, and skipped the greens for this one.

Ingredients:

• 1 peach frozen (see above).  Now you can just buy frozen peaches from the store -- roughly 6 pieces.
• 3 frozen kiwis that I had previously processed from a sale that I found at whole foods.
• 1/2 cup cashew milk
• 1 teaspoon each of cacao and maca powder
• handful of dried goji berries
• 3 pieces of crystalized ginger

Piri piri zucchini and patti pan squash

Time of year for fresh squashes from the local farmers.  Here's another way to enjoy them.

Ingredients:

• 1 patti pan squash diced roughly
• 1 zucchini diced roughly
• 1 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon ghee
• Piri piri spice to flavor
• Lemon peel powder to flavor
• Four corner salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup of rice, teff, quinoa, noodles, or zoodles.

Instructions:

• Melt ghee
• Add the coconut flour and cook the flour on medium for 1-2 minutes to brown. 
• Add coconut milk and spices and cook for 5 minutes on medium while stirring occasionally.  Sauce should start thickening at this point. 
• Add squashes and cook for 5 min on high.  
• Pour over rice, teff, quinoa, noodles, or zoodles. If you choose zoodles (zucchini noodles), then replace zucchini in main recipe with another squash or additional patti pan. 

Serves two people.

Guacamole with Chorizo Party Dip

So since I don't consume cows milk based cheeses, been looking for a replacement for queso dip with ground meat in it

Ingredients:

• 3 avocados
• 1 small red onion minced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• Key lime juice to flavor
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 3 tablespoons Chimayo Chorizo sausage Spice
• 1 -2 teaspoons mixed toasted onion and garlic powder
• Himalayan Sea Salt (or any Sea Salt) to taste
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• Tellicherry pepper salt (see the salt page)

Instructions for Guacamole:

• Clean out the Avocados, and mix with the minced red onion mixing thoroughly (I prefer my guacamole to be smooth).
• Fold in chopped cilantro.
• Key Lime juice and Tellicherry pepper salt to taste.

Instructions for Chorizo:

Skip these steps if you just want to Guacamole recipe.

• Heat up coconut oil.
• Once oil heated up add ground meat you should hear a good sizzle.
• Add spices and salt
• cook approximately 5 min mixing occasionally until meat starts caramelizing.
• Remove from heat.
• Let meat cool. 
• Layer the cooled meat and guacamole or fold the meat into the guacamole whichever works best for you and then eat with favorite chip or veggie.

Quick Vegetable StirFry

Originally posted by me in the MyWholeFoodsLife Facebook group on June 7, 2015.

So got a bit of local caught seafood from farmers market this week and some great veggies for stir frys. I am so on a stirfry kick at this time.

Here's a simple stir fry for vegetarians as well as gluten free.

Ingredients:

 

• Two handfuls of Snow peas
• 3 small purple carrots (sub normal orange ones if you want, I love the heirloom breeds when I can get them)
• 4 scallions roughly diced greens and all
• Small package of mung bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup cooked rice

For sauce/flavor:

• 1/3 cup tamari soy sauce GF
• 1 teaspoon madras curry from savory spice shop
• 1/2 teaspoon each ginger, granulated garlic, four corners peppercorn and sea salt powder together.
• Hand blend sauce together in bowl

Instructions:

• Chop all veggies roughly except mung bean sprouts, I like mine roughly bite sized. Place in bowl.
• Bring 1 tablespoon coconut oil up to high heat.
• Dump in bowl of veggies let sauté for 1 min.
• Add sauce and keep mixing for 1 minute.
• Add cooked rice and turn down to low mix up everything for 2 minutes.
• Plate a sprinkle lightly with powdered Szechuan pepper salt
• This should make roughly two servings.

German potato salad

Originally posted by me in GlutenFreeRecipes Facebook group on May 26, 2014


Ingredients:

• 4 large baking potatoes
• 4 shallots (small to med size -- to taste)
• 2-3 tablespoons Apple cider vinegar
• 2-3 slices of bacon.  Completely optional if vegetarian. 
• Spices for flavor. My favorites are lemon pepper and salt. Alternately Hungarian sweet paprika, pepper and salt.

 
Instructions:

• Brown up the bacon until crispy.  Whatever your favorite method and put to side until cool on paper-towels.   Skip this step if vegetarian.
• Boil the potatoes in the skin for roughly an hour. Stick a fork in them and if it goes in without resistance they are done.
• Let the potatoes cool for 5-10 minutes
• Peel the potatoes when still warm don't worry if they crumble a little.
• Place peeled potatoes in a bowl and chop loosely.
• Add the apple cider vinegar, finely minced shallots, and spices to the potatoes.
• Pour a few tablespoons of boiling water over it all
• Mix quickly before the potatoes soak up all the liquid.

Notes:

• Serve warm or cold. For me tastes better if it's had an hour in the refrigerator to cool off and of course as leftovers.  
• This is typically a side to grilling for me, but could be a side to any meal.
• Recipe feeds about 10-15 servings as a side
• Since no Mayo this can be safe for a warm day of grilling.
• Depending on what part of Germany you come from mustard may be added for a different flavor profile.

Simple summer salad with fruit

Originally posted by me in GlutenFreeFoodandRecipes Facebook group on August 10, 2014

Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber diced small
• Scallions to taste diced small
• 3 golden kiwis (like green ones but with golden flesh these are sweeter) diced small...
• 1 apple diced small
• 1 small pear diced small
• Lime or lemon juice to keep fruit fresh
• Favorite oil (lately mine is avocado)
• Salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients in bowl sprinkle with lime or lemon juice and favorite salad oil. S&P to taste.

Simple salad

Originally posted by me in GlutenFreeFoodandRecipes Facebook group on August 11, 2014

Prep time 5 min

Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber diced
• 1 apple (For taste I prefer the Granny Smith) diced
• 1-5 winter onions depending on size diced
• 2 small red radishes diced
• 1/5 of a small red cabbage diced
• 1 can of tuna  Omit this ingredient if vegetarian)

 

Instructions:

• Mix onions, radishes, and apple first mixing with lime or lemon juice then dice the rest.
• Add the tuna and Mix well with salt and pepper.

Some subs or additions:

• If no issues with tomatoes add some.
• Also any good crumbly cheese works (Goat or Sheeps Milk Cheese for me) if the tuna is left out.
• Instead of apple a strong pear works as well. Danjou or Asian pear best so far.  You can have both pear and apple as well as kiwi.
• To extend the salad you can add a lettuce like Romaine Hearts, Iceberg.  I prefer the crisper lettuces personally.

Dirty rice

Originally posted by me in GlutenFreeFoodandRecipes Facebook group on July 24, 2014

Ingredients:

• 3 leeks diced
• 1small fennel diced
• 1 leftover cooked chicken breast diced
• Ghost curry and salt to taste
• Roughly 1 cup of coconut milk
• 1 cup leftover rice
• 1/2 cup frozen corn

instructions:

• Place leeks and fennel in pan with 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• Season with ghost curry and salt
• Cook until leeks and fennel start getting translucent. Roughly 5 minutes.
• Add in diced chicken, rice and corn.
• Cook 1 additional minute.
• Add the coconut milk and cook until it's all absorbed

Substitutions:

• Make vegetarian by removing any meat products
• Any left over meat, and any veggie that you liked cooked can be subbed in to add variety to this simple meal.

Gluten Free Spaetzle

Originally posted by me in GlutenFreeFoodandRecipes Facebook group on May 16, 2014

This is a quick side dish of German noodles called spaetzle. Spaetzle are German noodles that have an easy recipe.

Took 20 minutes total from when I started making the mix to serve to table.   

Ingredients:

• Roughly 1/2 cup ap flour GF
• 1 med egg
• enough water to get the mix to pancake flour consistency.

Instructions:

• Beat egg for a min.
• Add the flour and mix.
• Keep adding water in small amounts until pancake consistency reached.
• Set aside for a moment.
• Get a large pot boiling water with plenty of salt in it. 
• Using a potato ricer, med size strainer, or spaetzle press press out the mix into the roiling boil water. 
• Cook for 1-2 min until they start to float. 
• Using slotted spoon or fryer skimmer take out the noodles
• place immediately in hot pan with either 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter
• Cook 1-2 more minutes cook time at high.    

Substitutions and add-ins:

• I Love bacon and putting those noodles in hot bacon grease, obviously this is not for vegetarians.
• various veggies like mushrooms, leaks, red cabbage, Caramelized onions, shredded Brussel sprouts are options.
• Cook the veggies or bacon first and put noodles with them for those last couple minutes.
• Substitutions here are endless.
• Changing the flavor of the noodles themselves:   Spinach and veggie juices for water for flavor and color. Almond milk is also a sub for water

My favorite Homemade BBQ sauce

Simple BBQ Sauce Ingredients

• 5 dried Chile de Arbol
• 1 smoked dried Ancho Chile
• 1 dried Chile Panca
• 4 Cups Water
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 1/2 cup blackstrap molasses
• 4 tablespoons blueberry jalapeño jam (bought from local farmer)
• powdered garlic and onion to taste.
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons Honey Powder
• 2 pieces bacon chopped real fine and rendered/browned on stove.

Making the Sauce:

• Put Chiles (seeds and all), bacon (with rendered fat), and water in a medium size pot and simmer for 1 hours with top on
• Once the Chiles have been sufficiently rehydrated (1 hour simmering should do it), using an immersion blender completely liquefy the Chiles and bacon.
• Add the honey, molasses, Jam, and spices.
• Pulse a couple times with immersion blender again and ensure that the sauce is smooth with no grittiness from the powdered products. 
• This is where you taste for the first time.  You should get heat, but you should also get a solid BBQ style flavor.  If still too bitter more honey or jam/fruit. If too sweet balance out with garlic and onion powder.
• Low Simmer for another 30 minutes to let the flavors come together and give the sugars (molasses, honey, and jam) to thicken up the sauce.  Warning it HAS to be slow and low, this sauce can go bad at high heat due to to sugars added.  Burnt sugar tastes bad. 

This can be made vegitarian friendly by omitting the bacon.  Instead of bacon use a fresh onion and brown them slow and low until browned but not black deglaze the pan with a touch balsamic vinegar to add about same taste profile.  

To reduce the spice level.  Either remove the seeds from the chiles used.  Or choose different chiles.  2-3 each ancho and gaujilo peppers is a milder taste.  For spicer add one ghost pepper minus seeds. 

Another substitution is to use any sweet berry jam in place of the jalapeño blueberry I used.  The jam I used for this sauce was a special item I found this past weekend from a local farmers market.  Or use fresh fruit like blackberry or blueberry.  If you avoid processed sugar like I do this may limit your choices if you don't have a local farmers market or know someone who makes jams. 

Simple veggie soup

Originally posted by me in MyWholeFoodsLife Facebook group on January 21, 2015

Ingredients:

• 1 fennel bulb (save stalks to make a future veggie stock)
• 4 med-large leeks (save leaves to make a future stock)
• 1 bag carrots (or 4-5 large carrots, I had a bag of baby carrots that needed to go)
• 5 celery stalks

Instructions:

• Clean and roughly chop veggies.
• Put in pot and cover with water.
• Med-boil for an hour with cumin seeds, celery salt, dill, black pepper, and turmeric.
• Immersion blend result should be really thick depending on how much water.
• Remove 1/2 pot for later soup.
• Add 1 quart of coconut milk to what's left in pot. and simmer for 30 minutes. 

Note repeat last step with the 1/2 pot you took out. I prefer storing prior to adding coconut milk unless you consume within a couple days. Preference I think, you could probably make the whole thing at once.

This should serve one person for a week at least one meal a day if you make both batches.

Shrimp Pad Thai

This rendition of Shrimp Pad Thai comes out of my love of the more saucy Indian dishes and has more sauce than your average Pad Thai, but all the flavors.

Serves: 2
 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound fresh large shrimp cleaned, deveined, and chopped roughly
• 2 small heads of bok choi roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup rough chopped snow peas
• 2 tablespoons cashew nut butter (peanut butter, any nut butter to taste. )
• 1 cup coconut milk
• Vietnamese sweet lemongrass curry
• 5 Korean pepper threads 
• Salt and pepper
• Soy sauce (GF)
• Pad Thai rice noodles (GF)

Instructions:

• Place a pot of water on stove to get it to start boiling for the noodles while you do prep. 
• Get the shrimp cleaned, deveined, and roughly chopped in a bowl and salt and pepper them
• Combine the nut butter, coconut milk, curry blend, and pepper threads in a bowl and mix until a thick liquid consistency.  Works better when nut butter is room temp.  
• Chop up veggies and place in bowl.  
• Now that prep is done.  Check water. If boiling put noodles in water and follow package directions.  For the ones I get this involves taking pot off heat for 10 min. 
• Get a pan with some coconut oil hot enough so that when you drop in the shrimp it sizzles.
• Drop in shrimp.  
• Cook on high 1-2 minutes until shrimp turn pink.  
• Add the sauce and stir quickly.  Add the veggies and turn down heat to a low medium and simmer for 3 minutes.   Add a couple tablespoons of soy to deglaze the pan a little stir quickly and remove from heat.  
• Spoon over noodles once noodles done and removed from water.  
• Enjoy. 

Note:  this could be made vegetarian by replacing the shrimp with a few more veggies.
Alternate Veggies I like and have used:

• 1/2 can sliced water chestnuts and another 1/2 can bamboo shoots
• 12 fresh snow peas
• Carrots roughly chopped, or chopped real fine as garnish 

Alternate Sauce method for a much more flavorful sauce:
Ingredients for Sauce:

• 1 cup flavored coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons cashew butter
• 2 tablespoons crushed cashews...
• 1/2 lb shrimp shells
• 1 lemongrass stalk, roughly crushed using back of knife
• 1 piece of fresh ginger about double size of thumb diced extremely fine.
• 1 teaspoon roughly to taste Cambodian lemongrass curry (savory spice shop)

Instructions for making a flavored coconut milk

• At very low heat put the coconut milk, shrimp shells (Omit if vegetarian), lemongrass and ginger in pan and let the milk warm up at just below simmer for an hour. This will put the ginger and lemongrass flavor into base sauce
• Remove lemongrass stalk and add the curry and cashew butter. At low heat mix for 10 minutes ensure the sauce is smooth. Remove sauce from pan and mix in cashew pieces.