Tag Archives: hungryforchange

Something for breakfast tomorrow – Perfect Scrambled Eggs

I haven’t done a breakfast post here yet, mostly because I don’t usually cook anything for breakfast.  I’m a smoothie or sleep through breakfast kinda girl 🙂  But I did this one this weekend cause I was feeling breakfasty and it turned out yum-o!

IMG_15802 medium organic pasture-raised eggs, plus 1 additional yolk

Pinch of unrefined sea salt

Handful of fresh parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon organic coconut milk

1 teaspoon organic raw butter

IMG_1581In a bowl, whisk with some water the eggs, salt, parsley, and coconut milk.    Melt the butter in a skillet set over low heat.  Pour in the egg mixture and, with a spatula, gently move it around to keep it from firming up at the base and sides.  When the eggs are still slightly runny, dish the mixture onto a serving plate.  Let stand for a minute or two.  Then serve.   I served mine with fresh organic tomato slices but you could do fresh or steamed greens too.

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And there you have my first breakfast post.  Super quick and easy.  This recipe only serves one so double and triple, etc according to how many people are eating.  Happy cooking!

 

 

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For my veggie followers – Roasted Tempeh with Shiitake and Sweet Potato

I am by  no means a vegetarian but every once in a while its interesting to try a veggie recipe.  I am completely against tofu because its so processed but tempeh is okay in my book.   I haven’t cooked with it in years so when I came across this recipe in Hungry for Change I decided to try it.  I’m pretty impressed with the results.  It smelled so good baking and tasted even better!

IMG_15671 12 oz block of organic – non-GMO tempeh, cut into 4 equal pieces

For the Marinade:

2 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

2 tablespoons raw honey or maple syrup

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the Shiitake and Sweet Potato:

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 sweet potato, washed (and peeled, if desired), cut into 1/2-inch dice (not to be confused with a yam, sweet potatoes are white on the inside)

1 medium red onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice

8-10 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 kale leaves, stems removes, torn into bite-size pieces

Unrefined sea salt

IMG_1569To prepare the tempeh, place the cut pieces into a non-reactive glass baking dish.  Blend all the marinade ingredients together in a blender for 30 seconds, them pour over the tempeh.  Allow tempeh to marinate for at lease 1 hour or, ideally, overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake the marinated tempeh in its baking dish for 30 minutes.  Tempeh is baked sitting in its marinade. While the tempeh is cooking, make the hash. Melt oil in a heavy-bottomed pan, preferably cast-iron, over medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the sweet potato and onion.  Saute, stirring often to prevent sticking, until the sweet potatoes are just about fork tender.  Stir in the shiitake caps, garlic, and kale leaves.  Saute all until the kale is wilted and tender.  Season with salt to taste, then divide the mixture between two serving plates.  Top with pieces of the tempeh and serve.

IMG_1571This was as super easy, quick meal that left me wanting to eat the whole pan of it.  Super yummy!  Happy cooking!

Throw it in and leave it – Slow-Cooked Grass-Fed Beef Osso Buco

As many of you know, I got a slow cooker for Christmas, so I’ve been looking for any excuse to use it.  I think I’ve decided that I’m going to do one meal a week using it because it’s so convenient!  This recipe comes from the Hungry for Change cookbook.  Are you surprised?  A note from the book about this meal: “This is a particularly nutrient-dense meal.  When cooked at such a low temperature, the meat is more tender, the nutrients are retained, the proteins are undamaged, and the fats are protected from oxidation.  Cooking meats on the bone adds additional minerals and gelatin to the dish.  We recommend using beef rather than veal, for ethical reasons, and meat that is grass-fed and -finished, from cows raised more naturally, grazing in open pastures in full sunlight”.

IMG_1561The meat I used was Whole Foods level 4 which is almost the best.

1 tablespoon butter

2 yellow onions, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 teaspoons unrefined sea salt

8 anchovies, bottled in olive oil or brine, drained

4 bay leaves

1 whole cinnamon stick, snapped in half

2 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

3/4 cup red or dry white wine (organic, sulfur-free, or containing minimal sulfur: 220/202)

4 ripe tomatoes or 1 cup tomato puree out of a glass bottle

1/2 cup spring or filtered water

4 or 5 shank cuts of grass-fed and -finished beef osso buco (they don’t usually have these in the case but if you ask they generally have them in the back)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish

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Preheat the oven to 195 degrees.  (I didn’t feel comfortable leaving my gas oven on all day while I was at work so I used my slow cooker instead.  It turned out perfect!)

Melt the butter in a large cast-iron pot set over low heat.  Add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, and salt, and gently saute until everything is soft and the onions are translucent.  Add the anchovies, mashing them into the base of the pot with the back of a wooden spoon until the anchovies begin to melt.  If you omit them, add more of the unrefined sea salt.

Add the bay leaves, cinnamon stick pieces, and thyme, and pour in the wine.  Increase the heat slightly and gently simmer everything for another couple of minutes.  The alcohol will cook out and the liquid will reduce slightly.  Then add the tomatoes, the water, and the pepper, stirring thoroughly to incorporate, and remove the pot from heat.

Gently add the beef pieces and submerge them in the liquid and vegetables until they are positioned at the bottom of the mixture.  (I put the meat pieces in my slow cooker and poured the veggie mixture over them).  Cover and place in the oven.  Cook for 10 to 12 hours (I just set my slow cooker to 10 hours and it did the temp and everything for me).  (For quicker cooking time set, the oven to 250 degrees.  It will be ready in 6 to 8 hours).

The osso buco is ready when it’s tender and easily comes away from the bone.  Serve with its nutrient-rich sauce spooned over each piece and a generous sprinkling of chopped parsley as a garnish (I totally forgot about the garnish).  If desired, pair the osso buco with a simple green salad, or sauerkraut to aid in digestion.  And don’t forget to eat the marrow!

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This was another big win from this book.  It was SOOOOO yummy!  And so easy to do.  I did the prep the night before and kept it in my fridge and then put it all in my slow cooker the next morning.  I came home from work to a house that smelled amazing and dinner that was already ready for me!  Happy cooking!

 

Hungry for FISH! – Provencal Snapper with Swiss Chard

I have never been a fish person.  For my entire 20s I literally didn’t eat fish at all.  But as a person passionate about healthy eating, I can’t ignore the health benefits of our little gilled friends.  So, the past few years I’ve added fish back onto my menu.  Now, I’d say I eat it at least once a week.  This recipe is also from the Hungry for Change cookbook.  I wasn’t kidding when I said it’s rocking my world!

IMG_15552 6-ounce fillets of snapper, pin bones removed (I had the butcher remove the bones)

Grated zest from one lemon

1/4 cup capers

2 springs fresh thyme (I used dried because I couldn’t find the whole kind)

Extra-virgin olive oil to drizzle over the fish, plus one tablespoon for the chard

Unrefined sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 cups of Swiss chard, washed and roughly chopped

IMG_1556Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In an oiled baking dish, place the snapper fillets (you can also use pacific rock fish.  That are pretty much the same).  Sprinkle them with the lemon zest and capers, and lay the thyme sprigs over the top (or in my case, sprinkle dried thyme).  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cover the dish with foil.  Bake for 15 minutes.

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While the fish is baking, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saute pan.  Add the Swiss chard, cover, and let steam for just 2 minutes.

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Serve the fish on a bed of the chard.  Spoon any remaining baking juices and capers over the fish.  Garnish with additional sprigs of fresh thyme.

IMG_1559The night I made this I did NOT want to cook.  It was late and I was exhausted and had a million things to do.  But this was super easy and fast, not to mention delicious and healthy to boot!  Happy cooking!