Apple-Cabbage Slaw with walnuts and balsamic

Some days it's just to hot to cook and other days you get goodies from the farmer's market or CSA program and wonder what the heck to do with the items! I found myself in that double-whamy situation last night and this is what I came up with. No cooking necessary and full of fiber!!


1 small head green cabbage (about the size of softball), quartered and then thin sliced
1 small red onion fine diced (about 2/3 cup)
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced lengthwise, seeds and pith removed, fine diced
1 large red apple, shredded (I just pulled one off a tree outside, but a Pink lady would work nicely or a Granny Smith would add some nice tang whichever you prefer)
1 handful raw walnuts, rough chop (cashews would also be nice or raw pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (I used white balsamic so that the color of the vegetables wouldn't change but you could use regular balsamic as well)
1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1. Combine all the vegetables, apple and nuts in a bowl.
2. Whisk oil, vinegar and mustard together and then pour over slaw mix. Toss to combine and coat vegetables fully.
3. If not serving immediately, let sit in ice box up to overnight. I let it sit for 30 minutes before dinner and the cabbage had started to soften from the acid but none of the other vegetables were getting soggy yet at that point.

ENJOY!!!

Overnight Oats = breakfast without thinking

These can soak overnight and up to 3 days if you want to make a whole bunch of them at a time!

Makes getting out the door in the morning easy and great start to your day a snap!








3/4 cup old fashion oats
3/4-1 cup milk of your choice, I prefer unsweet almond (milk should cover the oats)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4-1/3 cup fruit, I used blueberries and strawberries this morning, but peaches/mango/frozen mixed berries/bananas would all be great!

1. Put oats, cinnamon, fruit into a Tupperware container. Pour in enough milk to completely cover oats.
2. Put lid on Tupperware
and place in the fridge. When ready to eat, give it a stir and you are done!

ENJOY!

Coconut Panna Cotta, by Chef Joe

Recipe #2 from 8/3/15 Support Group

1 oz (1 envelope) unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup half and half
1/3 cup Splenda
1.5 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin into water and let stand about 1 minute. Then heat, over low heat until gelatin is dissolved, then remove pan from heat.
2. In large saucepan, bring coconut milk, half and half, and Splenda just to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring. Remove pan from heat and stir in gelatin mixture and vanilla.
3. Pour into shallow serving dishes or into a baking dish with sides at least 1/2" high. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight to let the panna cotta 'set up'.

Would be great, served topped with fresh raspberries and mango cubes!

ENJOY!

Summer Squash Casserole

I found myself in a predicament with too much summer squash hanging around the kitchen from the local CSA. What does one do with all those squashes?! So I thought I would whip up a side dish for dinner that could then be portioned out and taken for lunches to work.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large white onion, thinly sliced
3 large cloves fresh garlic, sliced
5 summer squash ('yellow squash') sliced - zucchini or kuda squashes would also be excellent or a mix of all three, roughly 6 cups raw
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon fresh oregano
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated cheese (I grated Dubliner)
fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat olive oil over med-low, add garlic and onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (I grind fresh Himalayan salt and pepper right into the pan). Saute until very soft and fragrant, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove onions and garlic and place in bottom of a glass baking dish
4. Add squash to pan, slightly increase heat, add balsamic and a little more salt and pepper, and let saute until squash starts to soften, about 10 minutes. Then spread over onions in baking dish.
5. Meanwhile, in a separate small saucepan, melt the butter then add the flour and stir until a paste forms. This is your roux to thicken your milk with. Stir the roux in pan until it starts to brown. You are basically toasting the mixture. The darker the brown, the deeper the flavor, but you can definitely burn it too! When the mixture is between the color of a raw walnut and almond it is done. Remove to a plate.
6. Heat milk in same pan (less dish washing!) over medium heat. When milk is warm but not boiling, add thyme, oregano and roux. Raise the temperature of the burner to med-high, whisk the mixture to combine the roux and start the thickening process. As bubbles start to appear on the surface of the milk, it will start to thicken. Cook about another five minutes, whisking constantly, then pour over vegetables in baking dish. NOTE: it might not be enough liquid to fully cover vegetables and that is correct! Sprinkle breadcrumbs over top and grate cheese over breadcrumbs. Bake about 20 minutes or until topping is browned to your liking.
7. Remove from heat and top with ripped fresh basil leaves.

ENJOY!!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Shake, by Chef Joe

Chocolate, 100% Whey Isolate protein powder
2-3 tablespoons peanut butter*
2 cups skim milk**
1/2 cup silken tofu

1. Blend protein, milk, and peanut butter in blender until smooth. Add tofu and blend again. If shake is to thin, you can add more tofu and/or ice and blend more.

approx 100 grams protein for the entire recipe, to be sipped over the course of the day

*feel free to substitute almond butter, cashew butter or soynut butter as long as they don't have added sugars
**unsweetened soy milk or unsweetened almond milk are also good liquids to use in this recipe and will feel better to to people's GI systems who might be struggling with lactose post-operatively.

ENJOY!!

Pesto-Pork (or chicken) Pinwheels with Grilled Peaches

It's peach season people!! Time to find some fun things to do with your peaches. Give this recipe (adapted from one in Eating Well Magazine) a try out on your BB-Q!!

3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup prepared pesto (see Big Ter's Famous Pesto recipe under 'sauces' or purchase at store)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
1 pound pork tenderloin (or chicken breasts), trimmed
2 large peaches, quartered

1. Preheat grill to medium.
2. Combine breadcrumbs and pesto in a small bowl and set aside. In another small bowl, combine oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
3. Lay pork on a cutting board. CAREFULLY, slice pork (or chicken) the short way by holding your knife blade parallel to the cutting board and cutting 3/4 of the way across (place your free hand on top of the meat to hold it steady). DO NOT cut through the far end (leave about a thumb nail's worth of meat connected). Open the pork slice up so that you have a piece of meat that is now twice as wide but half as thin. Spread a thin layer of pesto mixture on the meat, leave 1" of meat along the far edge without pesto on it (you are going to roll the meat up the long way not the direction you cut it).
4. Starting with the side closest to you, roll the meat tightly lengthwise. Brush with olive oil mixture.
5. Slice roll crosswise (if using pork you will get 6-8 equal slices, if using chicken you will get 2-4 slices). Insert a skewer through 2-3 pinwheels to help hold the meat in its rolled up shape while cooking. (NOTE: if using wooden/bamboo skewers you need to SOAK them in water at least 30  minutes prior to use so they don't catch fire. If you using metal skewers you can lightly oil them prior to skewering the meat or spray with cooking spray so it is easy to remove meat once cooked). Toss peaches in oil mix and skewer as well.
6. Oil the grill rack. Place meat and peach skewers on grill. Grill, flipping all skewers once. Peaches should be soft (will take about 5 minutes) and meat should read 145 degrees if pork (take about 8-10 minutes) or 165 if chicken (takes about 10-12 minutes).
7. Remove from grill (metal skewers will be hot!! use tongs or pot holders).

ENJOY!!!

Grilled Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus (or Zucchini)

The July edition of our Support Group Newsletter featured the following recipe from EatingWell.com. Asparagus isn't really in season anymore, but summer squashes like Zucchini are in full force so they would be a great fresh substitute for the asparagus and thus we added them as an idea to the recipe!!




16 asparagus spears trimmed or 16 strips of zucchini cut length wise about 1/4" -1/2" wide
1-2 tsp olive oil
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 thin slices prosciutto, cut in half length wise

1. Heat grill to medium.

2. Toss asparagus or zucchini with oil, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Wrap 1 length of prosciutto around the middle of 4 asparagus/zucchini spears. Repeat, making 4 bundles. Oil the grill rack (see Tip). Grill the asparagus bundles, turning once or twice, until the asparagus is tender and charred in spots, about 10 minutes.

Tip: To oil the grill rack, oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs and rub it over the rack. (Do not use cooking spray on a hot grill.) 

ENJOY!!!