Goat Cheese Terrine

This is a recipe from the Whitewater Cooks at Home cookbook. Fabulous cookbook, I strongly recommend you buy it.

Beat until fluffy and smooth (mixer or spoon):

8 oz (250 g) soft goat cheese (I bought mild, unripened)

Spread half the cheese on serving plate, cover with:

¼ cup chopped oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained

½ cup pesto, store bought or homemade

¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

1 tsp freshly ground pepper (I didn't use this)

Spread the rest of the cheese on top.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and press down gently to compress the layers a bit. Refrigerate until just before serving.

When you’re ready to serve, sprinkle with:

¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

2 tbsp balsamic crema or balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

I made mine right on the serving dish but you can also use a 6" tart pan with a removable bottom. When ready to service, just invert onto a plate and remove the pan bottom/sides.

Rosemary Nut Crackers

Got this recipe from Whitewater Cooks at Home (first via my friend, Nancy). They are almost exactly like the expensive Rainforest Crackers and oh so yummy with the Goat Cheese Terrine recipe I will also post.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir together in a large bowl:

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Add and stir until just combined:

2 cups buttermilk

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup honey

Add and stir just until well blended:

1 cup raisins or dried cranberries

½ cup pecans (or other nuts), toasted and chopped

½ cup roasted pumpkin seeds

¼ cup sesame seeds

¼ ground flaxseed (wheat germ also works)

2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated

2 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped (I used 2 tsp dried, crumbled)

Pour into two 8x4 inch greased loaf pans and bake at 350˚ for about 35 minutes, or until golden and springy to the touch.

Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack. The cooler the loaf, the easier it is to slice thinly. (Can be cooled overnight in the fridge.)

Slice the loaves as thin as you can and place the slices in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet. (I put mine on parchment paper.) Each loaf makes 30-35 slices.

Bake at 350˚ for 10 minutes, then flip them over and bake 3-6 more minutes until crisp and deeply golden.

Remove and cool completely on a wire rack. Store in a cookie tin or freeze in sealed containers.

What not to do...

Someone asked me if I could post some pictures of the recipes I have on the blog, so today when I was making the Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup again, I decided to do just that.

Here are the peppers, ready to cut up.



And here they are again, seeded, cut in half, rubber with olive oil, and spread out on a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. There is half a head of garlic inside the piece of tin foil.



Here are the peppers after 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven.



Here are the cooked, peeled peppers, tomatoes, and roasted garlic in a large pot. Just add 1 litre of chicken stock and simmer on low for about 30 minutes.



Here is the pot, sitting in the sink, after I forgot to turn down the stove to low, and left to go work on my report cards for awhile.



So sad.... I managed to salvage most of the red peppers but they smell so gross and smoky, I guess I'll have to throw them out. I am afraid my pot is ruined as well...

On a brighter not, the smoke alarm works well.... ;)

Creamy Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

* Measurements are approximate. You can always tweak it to suit your own taste.

6 large red peppers – cut in half, seeded (thick flesh is best)
Olive oil rubbed over peppers
Salt and pepper
5-6 garlic cloves
Parchment paper on a cookie sheet makes cleanup easier

½ large onion, diced
1-2 Tbsp butter
1 litre (4 cups) chicken stock
1 large can diced tomatoes (798 ml – 26 oz?)

1 tsp thyme
1 tsp Herbs de Provence or any herbs you want
Several good shakes of cayenne

3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
2 – 2 1/2 cups milk

Set oven to 400 degrees. Put peppers skin side up on cookie sheet. S&P.

Sprinkle garlic with a little oil and wrap in piece of tin foil. Put in oven with peppers.

Cook 45-60 minutes, or until skins are black and peppers are soft. Let cool and then peel off the outer skin. Squeeze the cooked garlic from its skin as well.

Saute onions in butter until soft. Add some of the chicken stock and cook a few minutes to soften further.

Add red peppers, tomatoes, and rest of chicken stock to the sauteed onions. Add thyme, S&P, cayenne, any other herbs/spices to taste and cook for a little while.

Puree with hand blender right in the pot. (At this point, it tastes pretty good and could be eaten as it is if you didn't want to add the calories/fat of the white sauce.)

Make white sauce – melt butter, add flour, whisk in milk and stir until thickened. Stir into pepper/tomato mixture. Heat thru. Check seasonings. Makes about 7 cups or so?

I put it in 1 cup containers and freeze it for work. Yum.

Runner Bob's Pumpkin Pancakes

Pumpkin Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups milk

1 ½ cups pumpkin puree

1 egg

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons vinegar

In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt, stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle 350 degrees or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Lybbe's Quinoa Mango Salad

Quinoa/Mango Salad

I poached this straight from Lybbe's podcast blog (with her ok :)

Boil one cup of rinsed quinoa until done (will look like small beads with white ring around outside) - drain, and refrigerate for about an hour. You should have about 2 cups of cooked quinoa.

Peel and chop a large mango - add to quinoa
Chop, slice or dice a very large red pepper - add to quinoa
Thin slice a whole vidalia onion - add to quinoa
Cut the ends off a handful of snow peas, and steam until just bright green - do not over-steam - you guess it - add to quinoa.

Toss everything together and sprinkle with a little sea salt. If the mango is not overly ripe and isn't really juicy, you can add a bit of lemon or lime juice.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Banana Cake (non-fat, no egg, low sugar)

I made this combining several different recipe ideas. The base recipe was from Nancy Clark's book "Sports Nutrition Guidebook". I highly recommend this book if you want good, sensible, nutrition information for athletes.

Ingredients

3 large bananas, mashed (at least 1 cup)
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup dry cocoa
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup skim milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 - 1/2 cups flour (white or whole wheat)

Method

1. In a large bowl, mix mashed banana, applesauce, cocoa, and milk.

2. Mix dry ingredients and stir in banana mixture.

3. Spread in 9" X 9" pan.

4, Bake for about 30 minutes, at 350 degrees. Watch it, my oven is a bit iffy so I checked it several times and I took it out when it was slightly underdone.

5. Let cool, cut into 16 squares. Eat or freeze.

Rough nutrient guide, based on info from Sparkpeople

1/16 of cake

Calories: 83
Carbs: 19 gr.
Fat: .5 gr (1/2 gr)
Protein: 2 gr

Tip - frost with chocolate avocado frosting - see recipe in side bar.

Avocado Shrimp Salad

I made this the other day - it was SOOO good.

Cover a plate with a bed of washed greens. Any type will do. I'm lazy and buy mixed spring greens by the bag.

Roughly chop 5-6 stalks of leftover cooked asparagus.

Thaw 1 cup or so of frozen shrimp and 1 cup of frozen mango.

Chop up half an avocado, half a red pepper, a couple of green onions (if you want), and a tomato.

Dump the shrimp and veggies on top of the lettuce and mix up a bit. If desired, drizzle with a little low fat dressing and salt and pepper. I often just squeeze on lemon juice and s/p.

I'm sure you can mix and match with other veggie combinations. Some walnuts or almonds might be nice?

Looks wonderful- tastes great

Roasted Root Vegetables

I got this recipe from Volume 2, Issue 2 of Canadian Running Magazine (which I really enjoy reading by the way). In the magazine it is credited to Anna Olsen so I linked the title to her recipe.

Updated Friday, March 13

I made this again last night with a few changes and it was still great. Here's my version first, then the original recipe follows.

Roasted Root Vegetables

Yield: 3-4
Ingredients:

• 2 cups peeled and cubed carrot
• 1 cup peeled and cubed parsnip
• 1 cup cubed celery root
• 1-2 cups buttercup squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
  
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Toss carrot, parsnip, celery root with olive oil and thyme and season lightly. ** I almost forgot - this time I sprinkled some Montreal Chicken spice over as well. ** Place in an large shallow baking dish and roast for 20 minutes. Add in buttercup squash and stir to coat. Return to over and increase temp to 375. Cook until vegetables are equally tender. Remove thyme sprigs if necessary.

Drizzle several tablespoons of low fat italian dressing over the warm veggies and serve. I use Renee's Wellness Tuscan Italian Dressing - only 20 calories per 2T. I've also tried Newman's Own Balsamic Dressing - 35 calories per 2T.

Note: I would have used the shallots as called for below, but I rarely have any in the house.

Also would like to throw some mushrooms and/or asparagus in there near the end some time.

****************

Original Recipe - Roasted Root Vegetables

Yield: 6
Ingredients:

• 1 cup peeled and diced carrot
• 1 cup peeled and diced parsnip
• 1 cup diced celery root
• 1 x Delicata squash, seeded and diced (you can leave the skin on)
• 2 x shallots, sliced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Toss carrot, parsnip, celery root and squash with shallots, olive oil and thyme and season lightly. Place in an 8-cup baking dish and roast for 30 to 40 minute, until vegetables are equally tender. Remove thyme sprigs.

Warm Vinaigrette

• 1+ 6 tbsp olive oil
• 1 x shallot, minced
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp roasted pumpkin seeds

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil and sauté shallot for one minute over medium heat. Whisk in mustard, vinegar and rosemary and reduce heat to low.
2. Whisk in remaining 6 tbsp oil in a slow drizzle and season to taste.
3. When ready to serve, toss warm roasted vegetables with warm vinaigrette, garnish with pumpkin seeds and serve.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup (another one)

I found a few recipes on the net and came up with this combination. I was a bit laissez-faire on the amounts of ingredients so tweak it as you will. My recipe makes about 8 cups of soup.

4 large red peppers, halved and seeded
1/2-1 onion, cut in chunks (I don't put this in but you can)
1/2 head garlic (or more)
1 medium sweet potato, cooked into microwave, cut in large chunks, peeled
2 tomatoes
Olive oil
S&P
Italian seasoning (ie basil, thyme, oregano)
6 cups of chicken stock
Plain yogurt (or cream)

Lay red peppers, skin side up on baking sheet and brush with oil. Toss other veggies in a little oil and lay around the peppers. Brush the garlic with oil and wrap in foil. place in oven with other veggies.

Place in middle of oven under broiler set at about 400-450. Check frequently. 15-20 minutes.
When I got to this point, the peppers seem like they need longer cooking so I switch the oven to 400 bake instead of broil and cook for another 10 minutes or so, until the peppers were soft and the skins were starting to blacken.

Remove from tray, and cool. Slip peels off tomatoes and garlic. Sweat peppers in a bag 10 minutes and then peel.

Put veggies in large pot and add 6 cups of chicken broth and seasonings. Bring to a gentle boil. Puree with hand blender. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Add thyme, basil, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with a little cream or a dollop of plain yogurt. A dash of Franks Red Hot Chili Lime is tasty too.

I store in 1 cup containers all week in the fridge and add yogurt after I heat it up.

Thai Red Curry

OK, this one's for Bobm512z. It's not particularly healthy because of the high fat content of the coconut milk but I've tried using low fat and it's juat not the same. I also tried it with plain yogurt instead and it was only so-so.

Recipe

398 ml (14 oz) can coconut milk, undisturbed so cream floats to top (not low fat)
2-3 T olive oil
2-3 T red curry paste (I buy Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste)
1 1/2 T fish sauce
1 T fresh lime juice
1 T brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 red or yellow pepper cut in chunks
1-2 carrots cut in fairly thin slices
White part of 2 green onions, sliced (or sliced regular onion if you want)
1 lb shrimp, prawns, halibut, scallops, or chicken in chunks
Salt if needed to taste
1 diced tomato

Put oil and 4 T cream off the top of the coconut milk can in pan. Slowly heat over medium. Add curry paste when hot. Stir till oil separates and is lightly browned. Reduce heat and add fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and 1/2 c. water. Add peppers, carrots, and onions. Cover and simmer on low for 5 minutes. (I actually don’t cover it...) Add rest of coconut milk. Add fish or chicken in single layer. Cook gently till cooked thru.. Ad diced tomato and cook 1-2 minutes. Add diced green onions. Serve over jasmine rice.

You are supposed to garnish with the following but I never do because I can’t find fresh. I had them at a restaurant once though and they were good.

4 fresh kaffir lime leaves, sliced (or lime rind?)
sliced thai basil leaves

Notes: I am fairly casual in the amounts. I just squeeze in some lime juice, toss in a spoonful of sugar etc... I make it spicy to my taste at first, then it ‘cools ‘ down once I add the rest of the coconut milk. You can add more curry later if you need it. I find the heat o fthe curry paste varies from jar to jar so I adjust every time I buy it.

I’ve made it with chicken breast, cut in chunks.

Or a bag of frozen (thawed) prawns.

Or 1lb of halibut.

Or 1/2 lbs scallops and 1/2 lbs halbut or prawns.

All yummy. Jasmine rice is best but any kind of non-flavoured rice will do. I have often used brown rice.

Lybbe and Solorunner's Kale Salad

I got this recipe from two friends on Twitter. I'll give you the recipe then note my adaptations below.

Ingredients:
kale, chopped very finely (no rib)
cherry tomatoes
avocado
green onion

Dressing:
olive oil
lemon juice
salt and pepper

This is the basic recipe and it's delicious as is. However, I have trouble chewing raw kale right now due to my new braces so I blanched a head of chopped kale for 2-3 minutes (that's all) and ran cold water over it. Then I patted it dry(er) with a paper towel. I used some in a salad that day and left the rest for a salad at work the next day.

Also - I don't use oil on my salad, just fresh lemon juice and S&P.

One day I added some leftover cold asparagus, cut in one inch pieces - yum! And another day I added some dice red pepper. Another day, I used chopped tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes. Yet another day I chopped up some leftover cooked chicken breast and added that.

No matter how you make it, it's a wonderful salad, made of well-documented super foods!

Enjoy!