Full Circle

Instructions

• In a large soup pot, sauté onion, garlic, ginger, lemongrass* and Thai curry paste together for 5 minutes.  *If using bruised lemongrass stalk, pound it on your countertop with a wooden spoon gently to “bruise” it, then place it whole in the soup.  You will be removing it before blending.
• Add carrots and butternut squash and cook 5 minutes more, stirring often.
• Add stock and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes, or until squash is cooked.  Remove lemongrass stalk if used.
• Add to a blender and purée until smooth.
• Return to the soup pot, add soy sauce, fish sauce and coconut milk.  Reheat over low slowly and taste.  Add more soy sauce if desired.
• To serve, ladle hot soup into bowls and garnish with cilantro, toasted almonds and a drizzle of sriracha honey.

Instructions

• Combine chicken and Coconut Curry Soup in a large gallon-sized zip top bag or a container with a tight-fitting lid.  Turn chicken to coat evenly and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight/all day.  
• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 F.
• Combine in a bowl the coconut cream and fire roasted tomatoes.
• Pour out all contents (chicken + marinade) into a large baking dish, arrange chicken evenly and pour coconut-tomato sauce over top.  Place in the oven to roast for 30-45 minutes, or until meat is cooked and falling off the bone (when applicable).
• While chicken is cooking, make your grain (if using) and set aside to keep warm until ready to enjoy.
• To serve, spoon chicken and sauce over your cooked grains and garnish with a lemon wedge, a sprinkling of cilantro and chopped toasted cashews (if desired).

Instructions

• Make noodles according to package instructions, minus 1 minute for perfectly al dente texture.
• While noodles are cooking, prep your vegetables.
• Run noodles under cool water after straining in a colander.  Then add 1 Tbsp sesame oil (any oil can be used here) and toss to prevent sticking while you work with your other ingredients.
• In a large bowl, combine the rest of the oil, rice vinegar, red bell pepper, carrots, sugar snaps or snow peas, yellow onion, and cilantro and stir to combine.
• Add cooked noodles and toss gently to coat.
• Next, add coconut curry sauce/soup (cold) and shredded chicken if desired.
• Top with toasted sesame seeds if desired.  
• Serve at room temperature or chill for use throughout the week, remembering to taste before serving and adjust seasonings as needed to keep the flavors bright.

Instructions

• In a blender or food processor, combine sunflower seeds, oil (start with 2 Tbsp and add more as needed to thin to desired consistency), optional honey, agave or maple syrup and cocoa powder.
• Blend for 2-3 minutes or until all ingredients are smooth and evenly incorporated.  Taste and adjust flavorings as needed.  Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Instructions

For BYOB Beans

• Pour out beans into a strainer and pick through to make sure there are no pebbles/debris.  Rinse and pour into a large ovenproof Dutch oven.
• Fill Dutch oven with water, making sure to cover beans by 4 inches.
• Add a thumb-sized piece of Kombu.
• Bring to a boil on the stovetop, cover pot and set a timer for 15 minutes.
• While beans are cooking, preheat oven to 250 F.
• After 15 minutes of cooking, place beans (still covered) in the oven and set a timer for 60 minutes.
• Check beans after 60 minutes for doneness, and continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes if needed.  Beans are done when they are soft but still intact (think al dente--they should have a toothsome bite to them still and not be mushy, broken open or falling apart).
• Once beans are done, strain (reserving 2 cups of cooking liquid -see Notes-) and store in plastic bags or containers, freezing what you don’t need.  If making a big batch of hummus, use all of the beans that you’ve made.  

For the Hummus

• In a blender or food processor, make hummus by adding 3 cups cooked chickpeas, half of the aquafaba, the juice of 1 lemon, 2 cloves garlic, 1/4 -1/2 cup tahini (optional), plus salt and red pepper flakes to taste.  Add any of the other optional add-in’s as desired (see above).
• Blend until smooth, adding extra aquafaba as needed to thin out your hummus.
• Pour into a bowl and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of smoked or regular paprika.

Instructions

• Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls.  Mix each separately, then combine together.
• Divide dough into three parts, and working in batches, roll out dough onto a Silpat or piece of parchment paper that is heavily floured.  
• Making sure your rolling pin is floured constantly, roll dough to a thickness of 1/32 of an inch.  In other words: very thin.  
• Using a pizza cutter, gently (so as not to slice the Silpat) cut crackers into even strips and then squares. There will be no need to separate them as they will shrink and separate a bit while baking.
• Bake in an oven set to a temperature just shy of 300 degrees and remove crackers when golden brown and crispy.  because of their water content, the crackers in the very middle of the pan will feel a touch soft when they are hot, but should cool to a nice crispness (about 30 minutes).  
• If they are still too soft, return them to the oven.  Keep in mind that the crackers on the border of your sheet tray will be crispier than the crackers toward the center, so remove finished crackers as need from your baking sheet until all crackers are baked to your liking.

Instructions

• Prepare dried fruit mixture: Bring 1 quart water to a boil and pour over dried fruit in a large bowl.  Rehydrate fruit for 15 minutes, or until it has softened.
• Remove fruit from bowl, reserving 1 cup whole fruit for garnish and making sure not to drain liquid just yet.  
• Add fruit to a blender or food processor, process until slightly chunky then remove half of the mixture for Fruit Cake.  To the remaining mixture, add half the salt + pepper and red pepper flakes, rosemary and garlic.  Pulse to combine, adding extra soaking liquid as needed to help break down the fruit and create a paste.  Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375 F.
• Remove chicken breasts from package and using a sharp knife, cut a slit lengthwise down the middle, making sure not to cut all the way through.  Open butterflied chicken breats and place in between two pieces of plastic.  Using a rolling pin, pound out until 1/4" thin.
• Add processed fruit and roll up, securing with toothpicks if needed.  
• Place in a baking dish and sprinkle chicken with remaining salt + pepper.
• Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and a thermometer measures 160 F.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
• Serve with reserved whole fruit on top as a garnish and spoon residual juices over the chicken.
• Slice thinly to reveal pinwheel design for effect!

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 F and remove puff pastry from the freezer to thaw slightly.

While pastry is thawing, prep other ingredients and crumble bleu cheese.

Add onions and olive oil to a skillet set over medium heat and cook slowly, stirring often, until they are softened, about five minutes.

Add salt and brown sugar, cover and turn heat down to low.  Check every five minutes and stir to prevent scorching.  Remove from heat once onions are caramelized and deep brown, about 20-30 minutes.

Once puff pastry is thawed, gently open folded package up onto a lightly floured surface and cut into rounds, making sure to cut as close together as possible so as to waste as little dough as possible.  *You won't be able to reuse scraps for this recipe so use as much dough as possible in this initial cutting.

Place rounds close together on a parchment or Silpat-line baking sheet and prick with a fork.

Place in the oven for their initial baking and set a timer for 10 minutes.

Remove once they look like they are beginning to "dry out" and get flaky, but don't let them brown yet.

Top with onions and pears, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and return to the oven to finish baking, another 15 minutes or so.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with bleu cheese and return to the oven for 2 minutes to melt cheese.

Top with toasted nuts (see recipe here) and serve hot or at room temperature.

Instructions

Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls.  Mix each separately, then combine together.

Divide dough into three parts, and working in batches, roll out dough onto a Silpat or piece of parchment paper that is heavily floured.

Making sure your rolling pin is floured constantly, roll dough to a thickness of 1/32 of an inch.  In other words: very thin.

Using a pizza cutter, gently (so as not to slice the Silpat) cut crackers into even strips and then squares. There will be no need to separate them as they will shrink and separate a bit while baking.

Bake in an oven set to a temperature just shy of 300 degrees and remove crackers when golden brown and crispy.  because of their water content, the crackers in the very middle of the pan will feel a touch soft when they are hot, but should cool to a nice crispness (about 30 minutes).

If they are still too soft, return them to the oven.  Keep in mind that the crackers on the border of your sheet tray will be crispier than the crackers toward the center, so remove finished crackers as need from your baking sheet until all crackers are baked to your liking.

Instructions

For the Brine

Prepare brine by dissolving salt in 2 cups water over low heat.

Once dissolved, add the rest of the water to cool down.

For the Giardinieri

Prep all of your vegetables and pack tightly into a clean quart-sized mason jar.

Pour brine over top to cover completely, cover loosely and place over a towel in a cool, dark place in your kitchen.  Don't forget to "burp" once a day!

Ferment for one week then cover tightly and keep around for snacking.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine in a bowl the flour, baking soda and salt.

Add eggs, oil and sour cream/yogurt, stirring to combine.

Pour fruit mixture into flour mixture, making sure to stir rapidly (with your wooden spoon) to combine.

When mixture is thoroughly combined, pour into a well-oiled (and parchment-lined) loaf pan, scatter with walnuts on top if desired and bake for 45 minutes.  Alternatively, you can bake these little delicacies in a muffin tin, which is my preferred method.  Muffins take substantially less time, more like 15-20 minutes.

Once the loaf is browned on top and a skewer comes out with only a few moist bits attached to its end, allow to cool for ten minutes in the pan, then use the dull side of a knife to loosen it from its baking pan and invert onto a cooling rack to continue cooling.  For muffins, invert pan and tap abruptly to loosen muffins and allow them to fall out easily.