Monthly Archives: May 2014

Surprising Strawberry Sauce

I love ice cream. I can eat simple vanilla ice cream all day. To kick it up a notch and make ice cream a bit more special I have come up with a great sauce to top your next bowl with. Using balsamic vinegar with dessert leaves everyone curious what they are tasting. Something about the sweet, sour acidic flavor matches very well with sweet cream desserts.

Ingredients

1/2 Pound Fresh Strawberry Sliced

2 Tbs Sugar

1 oz Red Wine

2 tsp Good Balsamic

Add strawberries to pot along with sugar. Turn the heat on low and stir. Add wine and balsamic. Cook on low continuing to stir. Your looking for the berries to get soft and the liquid to reduce and thicken. Remove from heat and cool. Top ice cream or cheese cake with sauce. Enjoy!

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Carrot Tsimus

Tsimus is a very traditional passover dish. The idea of a sweet side dish to go with the festive spring time meal. This recipe can made a million ways. I wanted to make my version healthy, paleo and easy to do. Using a slow cooker made that possible.

Ingredients

2 Pounds Carrots

1 Onion

10 Prunes

2 Tbs Honey

1/4 Water

Pinch Salt

Start by chopping carrots into big round and place in slow cooker. Slice onion and lightly brown in a pan. Add the browned onion’s to the carrots in the slow cooker. Now, chop the prunes and mix into the content in the slow cooker. Finally add salt, honey and water. Mix and place cover on top. Cook on low for 10 hours. Serve hot as a side dish to any protein.

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Crab cake

Spring is finally here and time for good seafood! Crab cakes are easy to make and fun to eat. Normally crab cakes are filled with filler that is not gluten free. My gluten free recipe is sure to be a winner! Plus its even paleo friendly.

Ingredients-

1 Can Fresh Crab Meat

1/2 Cup Almond Flour plus 2 TBS for Dusting

2 TBS Tapioca

1/4 Lemon

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Pepper

2 tsp Old Bay

2 tsp Parsley

2 Tbs Mustard

1 Egg

1 Onion

1 TBS Honey

Start by putting crab and egg in bowl mixing together by hand. Add all remaining ingredients except for the extra  almond flour. Add more tapioca if mixture seems to wet. Then, form the meat into about five patties and place on a place. Dust each side with almond flour and place in fridge for twenty minutes. When your ready to eat, heat and oil pan and place each crab cake inside. Cook on medium high until each side is golden brown. About 4 min each side. Enjoy!

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Fruit Cannoli

I was home for the weekend and as always I was requested to make breakfast. My mom for some reason had a can of guava cups. Sounds crazy but they were kinda cool. Plus I figured it would be fun to recreate with other fruits like kiwi and such.

Ingredients-

Canned Gava Cups ( can be substituted for half a kiwi, avocado, large strawberries ect. )

1/3 Mascarpoone Cheese

3/4 Cup Greek Yogurt

2 Tbs Powder Sugar

1 Tbs Almond Flour

1 Tbs Honey

Pinch of Salt

Toppings: Pumpkin Seedes and Coconut Flakes

Start by preparing the fruit cups and pat dry. In a bowl mix cheese, yogurt, sugar, almond flour, honey and salt. Place in fridge for 15 minutes to help it get cold cold and firm. When your ready to serve fill each cup with mixture. You can get creative with topping but I liked using pumpkin seeds and coconut.

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Polish Sausage and Cabbage

Coming up with gluten free recipes that can be made in 30 minutes and on a budget can be a challenge. This recipe is super easy and comes out great!

Ingredients:

2 LB Lean Turkey Kelebosy  (Polish sausage)

1 Small Head Cabbage (shredded)

1 Large Onion

1/4 Cup Wine

2 Tbs Butter

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Pepper

1 tsp Garlic

1/2 tsp Chili Flakes

1 tsp Paprika

Start by browning the entire sausage on a hot pan for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and set aside. While meat sits add onion and butter to the same pan and cook till lightly brown. Next, add cabbage, wine, salt, pepper, garlic, chili flakes and paprika. Mix well, cook over medium heat, covered for 6-7 minutes until cabbage starts to become soft. Slice sausage into rounds and add to cabbage once soft. Mix well and cook uncover for a bit longer until all liquid cooks out. Enjoy!

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Breakfast Stuffed Dates

Well I love dates, I love bacon and well I love cheese. Put the three together just seemed like a great idea. A great side dish for brunch or an appetizer for friends.

Ingredients:

4oz of Smokes Gouda (cut into small one inch pieces)

20 Dates (pitted)

1 1/2 Pound Turkey Bacon

Start by placing on piece of cheese in each fig. Then depending on the bacon size, I cut each piece into 3 equal parts. Roll on cheese filled date a piece of the bacon. Place them seam side down on a foiled cookie sheet. Broil on high for about 8 minutes or until golden brown.

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Carrot Fries

Who does not love fries! Fun to eat, always good and goes with everything. Well I wanted to come up with a healthy paleo version and I was very happy with the result.

Ingredient:

1 Large Carrot (mine was like 1/2 pound!)

1 Tbs Salt

Cooking Spray

Slice the carrot in half the long ways and then into quarts. Carefully slice each piece again into long fry like strips. Place in a big bowl and spray well will cooking spray or oil. Toss with salt. Lay carrots on a large foiled cookie sheet. Bake at 500 degrees for about 20 – 25 minutes until golden.

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Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

Mexican shrimp cocktail is a bit different then tradition ship cocktail you find in a seafood restaurant. It is more like a cold soup. It can be served as an appetizer or meal with a few fun sides.

Ingredient:
1 lb Shrimp
1 1/2 Cups Clamata Juice
1 Avocado Diced
1/2 Red Onion Diced
1/3 Cup Ketchup
1 TBS Mustard
1/4 Cup Traditional Bottled Cocktail Sauce (or 1 TBS horseradish)
1/2 Cup Cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste

Start by coating the shrimp in salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp off quickly on a hot pan until pick. Once shrimp are done remove from pan and cool in fridge. Now, in a separate whisk together clamata juice, ketchup, mustard and cocktail sauce. Then add onion, avocado and cilantro and mix it all together. When shrimp is cool, add to bowl of sauce and combine. Serve cold and enjoy!

 

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Paleo Brownie

Brownies that are gluten free but also paleo are hard to find. This brownie recipe is filled with tons of health nutrition and protein but will fulfill any chocolate craving.

Ingredients:

1 15oz Can Pure Pumpkin

1/2 Cup Honey

1 TBS Vanilla

1 tsp Baking Soda

2 Tbs Ground Nuts

1 Cup Coco Powder

2 Eggs

1/4 Dark Chocolate Chips or Crushed Nuts

Place pumpkin, egg and vanilla in bowl and mix together. Add nuts, honey and coco powder. Continue to mix well. Finally add baking soda and mix one last time. Pour into a baking dish and bake 350 for 35 min.

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Flavored Sugar

I am always blown away by the unique special touches at cafe’s and restaurants all over the city. I have been working on a special menu for our new cafe and I wanted to do something different. The whole idea of our new place is that you can have everything your way. Build your own pizza, grill cheese or salad. So when it came to coffee I wanted to offer the same. Flavored sure seemed like the best idea. I started playing with ideas and I all came out great.

Recipes:

Lemon Sugar-

4 cups Sugar

2 lemons

Place sugar in a large zip lock bar. Add the zest of 2 lemons. Close the bar tight and shake for a few minutes. Allow the bar to sit open for an hour of two and then store in a tightly sealed bar or container.

Vanilla Sugar-

4 cups Sugar

1 Vanilla Bean

Place sugar in a large zip lock bar. Slice vanilla bean in half and run the back of a knife along the inside to remove seeds. Add the seeds to the sugar along with the remaining peal. Close the bag tight and shake for a few minutes. Allow the bar to sit open for an hour of two and then store in a tightly sealed bar or container.

Ginger Sugar-

4 cups Sugar

4 TBS grated Ginger (about 3/4 of a small root)

Place sugar in a large zip lock bar. Gently squeeze out juice from ginger and discard juice. Add the remaining grated ginger to sugar. Close the bag tight and shake for a few minutes. Allow the bar to sit open for an hour of two and then store in a tightly sealed bar or container.

 

Sugar can be used in drinks, recipes and baked goods.

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