Celeriac Root Soup in Minutes

Blended up a soup fast and easy yesterday - literally minutes (thanks in part to a loan of a Vitamix from a friend), as we focus on raw food eating for its healing properties. This recipe is "elimination diet" friendly - no dairy, soy, gluten, etc.

1 Celeriac root - trimmed off outside "rind" and cut into chunks
3 organic carrots
3-5 garlic cloves (5 produces some heat)
1/2 onion - cut into chunks
1" piece of organic ginger root
1 cup raw cashews (soak for 2 hours prior)
1 tsp. turmeric
2 pinches Celtic Sea Salt
1 carton organic vegetable broth

Depending on blender size...this may need to be done in several batches.

Place 2 cups liquid in blender first, root vegetables, blend until fairly smooth. Add remaining ingredients and puree until creamy texture. May be eaten cold - drizzle with EVOO. Or simmer on low heat (lower heat maintains integrity of healthful enzymes) and enjoy.

There are MANY healthful benefits to the ingredients in this soup - anti tumor, anti biotic, anti bacterial, anti oxidant rich.

To your health,
Rita

Improv Celery Cashew Soup

I call this soup “improv” because that is exactly what I did…improvised. A short while ago I had amazing Cashew Celeriac root soup at Crossroads, the local coffeehouse. It was DELISH and decided I would learn how to make it.

Well, celeriac root is not a produce aisle staple…yes, I am sure my husband could have found it at a Whole Foods or some place similar, but the produce manager at Copp’s said it did not sell fast enough so they stopped carrying it. (Can I grow celery in Wisconsin?)

So from my shopping list…he comes home with celery. I have to work with it, right?

I started soaking my whole, raw and organic cashews in water in the morning – even though I read they should be soaked overnight, I figured the Ninja could cream anything.

Another improvisation was my refusal to blend hot soup, as so many recipes read. To me, that is a burn mishap waiting to happen. Instead, I puree my ingredients until smooth, and then heat on the stove top. It also results in everyone being served at once, versus pureeing small batches of hot soup at a time and then ladling into bowls.

IMPROV CELERY CASHEW SOUP

Ingredients:

2 cups raw, whole cashews – soaked overnight in water, or 6 hour minimum

8 stalks of celery, washed, and quartered

Cover in soup pot with water and simmer until tender, drain and cool.

¾ cup diced onion, sautéed in EVOO with turmeric spice

1 quart organic vegetable broth (Pacific brand used in this recipe)

Spices:

½ tsp. ginger

1½ tsp. allspice

Tip: cook up large batches of onion and refrigerated, use all week long in your recipes for awesome and healthful flavor.

Use a high powered blender (Ninja Pro used in this recipe) to puree the celery in half a quart of organic vegetable stock. Adding in the cooked onions, continue to puree until smooth. Add to soup pot, now drained and sitting empty. (Save celery water as a base for broth if desired.)

Drain the cashews and cream in the blender with the remaining 1.2 quart of broth. Pour into the soup pot and stir gently with a wooden spoon, stirring in ginger  and allspice, until cream is blended well for even consistency. Heat through and serve. 6 servings.

This soup is surprisingly quite filling.  Celery provides not only complex carbs, but beneficial cancer fighting anti-oxidants.  The cashews provide protein (not to mention a healthy dose of niacin - great for mood enhancement). Dr. Joe Fuhrman, who is successful in reversing arthritis in many, noted in one of his videos that a handful of cashews is equivalent to dose of Prozac. I have to chuckle at that...with this recipe we should all be pretty happy after dinner! 

Note: Pacific Broth ingredinets include: water, carrots, celery, tomatoes, onions, leeks, garlic, bay leaves, parsley and thyme.

To your health - may you feel, look and live great in 2014!

Rita S.

Quest for the BEST Flatbread

 

A few Sundays ago it was cold, blustery and a good day to catch up on care calls and bake in the kitchen. You see, I am on a quest.  I am making it a goal to duplicate, as flavorful as possible, a gluten-free version of the whole grain flat bread I LOVE at Cosi's restaurants. I love Cosi's for their great salads, but quite honestly, I could wrap myself in a large piece of their flatbread and feel like I have died and gone to heaven (ok, that's pretty lame for what the glory of heaven is really going to be like) - but you get my drift.

When I eat gluten free for a month it is the Cosi's bread I crave. So why not come up with a gluten free version that satisfies my desire for savory whole grain goodness?

On the particular wintery Sunday I mention above, I experimented with four different recipes I had found on line. I tweaked them all - perhaps it is a part of my Italian heritage to not follow recipes, or it could just be that I like to see if what I have on hand works. I was satisfied with my efforts - with the help of my daughter we created and baked four different flat breads. Abby would mark up the recipes - writing in my substitutions and additions. My family gathered around and we had a taste testing - all four breads were different.

The first, we decided, would make an excellent pizza crust. Numbers two and three both utilized the dark brown Teff flour, which gives a unique flavor of its own. The fourth bread was my attempt at Cosi duplication - utilizing coconut flour.  I have read reviews on paleo breads, and the coconut flour breads always win out over rice flour bread. The latter of which, in my opinion, bakes up a very bland bread no matter what herbs and spices are added.

I typed all the recipes up, or so I thought, to share on this blog. Alas, looking for them the Word document is gone, vanished from my laptop. I checked the tablet as I was using it to read recipes as I went along - not there either.  It may still show up, but suffice to say, I fear a day's worth of baking experiments/notes when into the black hole of cyber space.

All I could do is move forward and recreate, so that is what I did Thursday after work. I came home to a pot of vegetable soup on the stove, thanks to my husband. I added spices to the soup, and figured they would need some time to blend. Enough time for me to whip up some flat bread, as I had come across a piece of paper with my chicken scratch notes, I believe, for bread number four. Because flat bread does not need to rise, you can have warm flat bread to go with soup or salad in less than 30 minutes if the ingredients are on hand. I set about recreating my bread, and I do believe this latest attempt is better than the original. BEFORE it gets lost, I figured I better hustle and share this recipe with you. I promise, as I recreate the others, I will share those as well. SAVORY is the best way to describe this bread, enhanced with Rosemary, as well as a blend of Italian seasoning (aka more rosemary), garlic, and more. The picture above shows my original day of baking with three of the four breads. (Un)fortunately, we loved this bread so much that we gobbled it up before I could snap a picture. If you give it a try, do let me known what you think.  IF any of my readers are good at picking out spices, herbs, seed flavors from a bread - if you eat at Cosi's and can determine the flavors please drop my a line so I can continue my quest to duplicate a gluten free version.

 

Savory Paleo Flat Bread

Inspired by a recipe from Baboo.com, I have added flax meal, herbs and spice to ADD savoriness to this bread. (Plus, I am always looking to add health benefits to my food to give my body energy.) Rosemary is particularly beneficial in helping one's immunity and to get over colds and flu, and since so many people outside of our household are struggling with this currently - it is the perfect time to find ways to increase your intake of rosemary into your eating plan.

 

Blend dry ingredients:

½ c. almond flour

½ c. coconut flour

½ c. golden flax meal (keep this refrigerated when in storage)

¼ c. arrowroot powder

1 t. baking powder

½ t. dried rosemary

½ t. dried garlic powder

½ t. Italian herb seasoning

½ t. finely milled Celtic sea salt

Lightly whisk wet ingredients, blending into dry:

2 organic free range eggs – lightly beaten

1 t. extra virgin olive oil

½ c. plain almond milk (preference for Silk brand)

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Stir dry ingredients together in medium mixing bowl. Add wet ingredients slowly, mixing with wooden spoon.  If needed, season baking pan by brushing or rubbing olive or coconut oil on surface. Roll dough onto pan and flatten out into a rectangular shape.  Use either clean hands or if preferred, place parchment paper over dough and roll with a mini rolling pin. Flatten to desired thickness, noting that baking time will increase if left more thick.

Bake for 15-20 min. or until center is not wet and ridges start to brown.  Serve warm with your favorite bowl of soup or salad.

 

Eating gluten free does not equate to never eating bread again.  Find a few recipes you like and obtain a few different flours - your pantry is simply different from the average, gluteneous pantry of most American kitchens.  I will soon be sharing what my new pantry is becoming! 

If your joints ache or you have sinus issues....I really encourage you to go gluten free for a month and feel where that takes you in regards to those symptoms. We have a lifetime ahead of us, and who wants to live it with symptoms that could be alleviated with a 30 day commitment to learning if food sensitivities are the cause? Food for today's thoughts....

 

My goal is to help you feel great, look great and live great!

To your health,

Rita S.

 

Amazing "CLEAN" & Detox Friendly Pancakes!!

Can you believe it? Pancakes that are actually GOOD for you, do not contribute to inflammation, insulin spikes, and even taste good?  It doesn't seem plausible, but these moist and flavorful pancakes were an absolute HIT with my family this weekend.  I found Teff  and tapioca flour at Willy Street Co-op.  Probably at Woodmans and Whole Foods as well. I think I need to start petitioning Costco to carry these items - actually, I would love for Costco to have an entire section of Bob's Red Mill gluten-free products. I met someone tonight at the WWE meeting that might be able to help with that.
I made two changes to the original recipe, which originates from my favorite detox friendly recipe site: www.NourishingMeals.com   I used plain almond milk and we didn't have applesauce.  I don;t recall that I substituted additional moisture for the missing applesauce, but perhaps I did add a squirt of water.  I will pay more attention next time.  I also used agave nectar - 1T. in place of the high glycemic maple syrup.

Instead of syrup I pureed raspberries and strawberries to use as a topping, however, the pancakes were SO moist and cinnamon-ee that they could have stood alone as a delicious breakfast roll up.  Had I had the applesauce I know they would have not needed anything else for certain. I cut the recipe in half which made 7 pancakes total.

Because Teff is a grass (originates in northern Africa) and the flour is made from the grass seed - I feel this could be considered a Paleo recipe. Pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds are allowed for Paleo diets, right?  Same with qunioa - considered a seed and not a grain, from what I have read, although I hear Paleo enthusiasts debate this topic.  Teff flour and quinoa are both gluten free, of course, and staples in our pantry.

The following is direct from Nourshing Meals. If you are vegan and want to make the pancakes egg free, explore the website for Teff Banana Pancakes - on our list to try soon as well. You can get a great cookbook from the authors of Nourishing Meals, too.

Apple-Cinnamon Teff Pancakes

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups dark brown Teff flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

2 teaspoons baking powder*

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:

2 cups non-dairy milk (we used plain unsweetened almond)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 large organic eggs

3 tablespoons melted virgin coconut oil

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup (Grade B) (we used 1 T. agave nectar)

Begin to heat a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. (You may need to adjust the temp for cooking). Melt the coconut oil in skillet while mixing the dry ingredients. Measure it after it as melted.

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients. Whisk together well.

Make sure your pan still has a little coconut oil on the bottom (just a little). Use a 1/2 cup measure to pour the batter into the pan. Cook for 60 to 90 seconds on one side, then flip and cook for 30 to 60 seconds on the second side. Add about 1/2 teaspoon of oil in between pancakes. Adjust the cooking temp as needed.

I am looking forward to making these pancakes again soon, and I hope to have the unsweetened applesauce in our pantry. Quite honestly, if  my children had not been sleeping I would have simply processed some applesauce from scratch real quick using Granny Smith apples on hand. Then I would have the freshest, most yummy minimal ingredient sauce, and have some set aside for a topping as well.  Doesn't that sound mouth watering to you? It does to me!

I encourage you to give these pancakes a try and let me know what you think. I was asked about my pantry and the types of flours and such that I have in it. At some point I will write about that topic, but I am still learning and stocking.  I know I don't want to have 20 types of exotic flours so I am playing with recipes and substituting, so that I can bake and cook gluten free from ten or less basic ingredients.

Oh...and I have to share... I came home from my meeting tonight to an amazing smell in the kitchen. Our 15 yr old son had baked some gluten-free muffins while I was gone using another recipe I had found.  It uses almond butter as a base. I snitched a bit off the top of one (they raised beautifully!) and all I can say is YUMMY!!!  I should get to bed so I can get up early enough to photograph a muffin before I eat it. (LOL)  When I remake the Teff pancakes I will photograph them as well and add it to this post. 

May you feel great, look great, live great!

Rita S.