Bolivian-inspired Bean Stew

The last time I was at a church rummage sale I picked up a cookbook with world recipes for 10 cents. It's mainly vegetarian which pleases me since most of our diet should be plant-based anyway! With a variety of veggies in the fridge and some frozen corn and peas, this dish from Bolivia was a cinch to make, gives you many phytonutrients, lots of colors to please your eye and vitamins to keep you strong.

As always, I made some changes to the original recipe and you can, too.

Bolivian-inspired Bean Stew

Ingredients & Procedure:

Peel and chop 3 sweet potatoes and 3 carrots. Boil the pieces in a small amount of water for 5 minutes in separate pot. Reserve the water. In a larger pan or dutch oven, add 1 T. butter over medium heat and saute 1 chopped onion and 3 chopped celery stalks. Cook for 5 minutes. Then add 3 T. chopped fresh oregano and 2 chopped fresh tomatoes and stir. After 5 minutes, add the sweet potatoes and carrots with the cooking water into the larger pan. Measure 3/4 cup each of frozen corn and frozen peas, 1 can of rinsed and drained kidney beans and add them to the stew. Cook for another few minutes and serve with 1 oz. feta cheese per person, a handful of arugula, 2 tsp. olive oil, salt and pepper. Delicious.

Serves 4

ORANGE ICE
With an abundance of oranges and not enough time to eat them all, I decided to make use of my Vitamix blender (my favorite kitchen appliance in the world!) and create an orange ice. The ingredients are simple, nutritious, and full of fiber and vitamin C. After you make the recipe, you have to decide which temperature and texture you prefer best. There are 3: #1) As soon as the blending is finished, you'll experience a creamy, smooth, pudding-like consistency which satisfies your sweet tooth. #2) After an hour in the freezer, the consistency will be denser, colder, and more like a sorbet. #3) Once completely frozen, you'll have an ice - think back to those Marino's ices with the wooden spoon from the deli. If I had those plastic ice pop molds, this is exactly what I'd do. Kids will love them! So you decide...

Ingredients:  5 peeled oranges without the seeds, three-quarters cup soaked raw cashews (discard the water after 90 minutes), 1 T. raw honey, 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine everthing into your high power blender or food processor and mix for 3-4 minutes (may take longer in the food processor) Makes 4 half-cup servings. Enjoy at breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert!

Fresh Fig Salad with Sprouts

Fresh Fig Salad with Sprouts
The pea shoots and alfalfa sprouts used in this recipe are easily digested and give your body lots of calcium, protein, and essential amino acids. Sprouts of all kinds can be purchased at organic health food stores and Trader Joe's. If you want to learn to sprout, start with alfalfa seeds. They are the easiest for beginning sprouters. You'll need to buy the seeds and sprouting lid at a health food store and find a large, wide-mouth mason jar. Soak 2 T. of seeds in water overnight. Drain and rinse well. Drain again and leave the jar resting on its side in a dark cabinet. Every day, for 4 days, rinse the seeds (which will have begun sprouting) and shake all the excess water out and then put the jar back in the dark cabinet. On the 5th day, rinse the seeds once more and leave the jar in the sunlight for a few hours. The white sprouts will turn green and will be ready for salads and sandwiches.

In the recipe featured, I used 3 fresh figs cut in half, pea shoots and homemade alfalfa sprouts. The dressing is a mixture of red apple balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tsp. of mustard and salt & pepper. Serves 2 for lunch.

Cast Iron Pan Pizza

A cast iron pan will give your crust the right amount of crispiness that's easy to sink your teeth into. This was an experiment so my crust was spread out around the edge of the pan, but the next time I'll roll the dough toward the inside of the pan and make a proper crust. If your cast iron pan is already seasoned, then you won't need any additional oil to coat the pan. Your pizza will release from the bottom with a spatula. Add any of your favorite ingredients to make this dish personal. 

Ingredients:
1-160z frozen whole wheat pizza dough, defrosted (takes one day on the kitchen counter)

1 cup of your favorite tomato sauce (3/4 cup for the bottom layer and 1/4 cup for the top)

1-8 oz ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced

a handful of fresh spinach

chunks of pineapple (optional)

a few basil leaves (to decorate after your pizza has baked)

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Stretch out the pizza crust and lay it inside your cast iron pan. Add your tomato sauce, toppings and voila! After 20-22 minutes in the oven, your pizza should be done. Be VERY careful when removing the cast iron pan from the oven as it will be EXTREMELY hot. Please use proper oven mitts and both hands since it will be heavy. Also, if serving at the kitchen table, use a trivet or hot pads under the pan (you don't want to burn your table!)

Wheatgrass Smoothie

Wheatgrass Smoothie

With the almighty Vitamix, you'll be able to annihilate just about any fibrous grass, hearty vegetable and even dried fruit. Should you not have this 2 horsepower blender, then I'd recommend using a softer vegetable in its place, like spinach, parsley, or lettuce. The benefits of wheatgrass can be read here: http://www.hippocratesinst.org/benefits-of-wheatgrass

Add the following ingredients into your blender:

25 blades of wheat grass

1 banana

1 bag frozen organic strawberries

1 peeled orange

2 cups water

Makes 2 pint-sized smoothies for you and a friend.

Caramelized Onion Tart

Excite your tastebuds with this caramelized onion tart made with a 4-ingredient, homemade, whole wheat crust. Onions have amazing anti-bacterial qualities and are high in vitamins C and B-6 (good for your brain), and fiber. The natural sugars are released after cooking so the sweet taste is truly delightful.
This recipe travels well so you can have a great lunch the next day.

To Make the Dough You'll Need:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt, combined
• 6 T. chilled butter
• 1/4 cup ice-cold water

Use your Kitchen-Aid stand mixer (easiest method), a pastry blender (next best method), or a fork and knife to cut the flour in with the butter. You'll want small pieces of floured butter before you use your hands to finish combining. Add the ice-cold water a little at a time to help with dough come together. Knead the dough until well-combined, but don't overmix. Roll the dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Cool in the fridge for 1 hour (if you plan to use it that day), or overnight (if you are planning ahead).

When you are ready to make the tart, flour a clean surface and roll the dough out thinly into desired shape. Place onto baking sheet or rectangular glass pan.  

To Make the Caramelized Onions You'll Need:

• 45 minutes to devote to your cooking onions
• a large, heavy-bottomed pan and a wooden spoon
• butter for sauteeing
• 2 pounds yellow onions, thinly sliced

Melt 2 T. butter in the pan over medium flame. Add your sliced onions and stir. Cover the pan but don't forget about the onions or else they'll burn. Stir them every 5 minutes. The onions taste best when they've reduced and become a rich brown color. If you noticed that the onions are browning too fast, turn the flame down and add a drizzle of olive oil. Afterwards, fill your tart with the onions and bake in the oven for 50 minutes at 350 degrees F.

A Fulfilling Burrito

This is the kind of burrito you crave just one satisfying bite of, but one bite is never enough. Made with sweet potatoes for lots of Vitamin A. Any bean of your choice will work well. I especially like to eat sprouts for extra crunch and lots of energy.

To start, peel and chop a sweet potato. Boil the pieces until fork tender. Drain and set aside. Then, saute a chopped yellow onion in a  large pan with 1 T. olive oil for 15 minutes. Throw in 5 cloves of sliced garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Then, add 2 T. ground cumin, 2 cups cooked brown rice, 1 can of black beans, and the sweet potatoes. Turn off the flame and toss in 1 handful chopped parsley. Salt and pepper, to taste. You'll need any kind of tortilla and toppings to complete this dish.

The toppings I like are:

• smashed avocado
• diced tomatoes
• assorted sprouts
• salsa

Makes enough for 4 friends.