Spicy Cabbage Rolls

Okay, I'm not gonna lie, this recipe was a lot more work than I anticipated.
That said, I promise It's totally WORTH all the work!

I remember eating cabbage rolls as a kid growing up on the east coast, they were usually for special occasion's or St. Patty's Day.  My Polish friends call them "Galumpkis" whatever you call them, we like them!  

I consider these cabbage rolls comfort food, they will not disappoint if you like spicy (or not) the recipe can be adjusted-just leave out the red peppers!

This is a step-by-step recipe and what makes it a little difficult is several steps are going on at the same time..So take it slow and follow my tips and you should do fine.



Cook the rice and set aside..(this can be done ahead of time obviously)



Chop up the Onion, shallots and garlic and set aside...

Peel off the outer rough outer leaves of the cabbage and put aside..(we will be using these later)
Core the Cabbage on the bottom like this...

Start peeling off the leaves starting at the bottom and rinse and drain well.
This is the tedious part..

OR...You may find it easier to core the cabbage and blanch for about 5 minutes and the leaves peel away way easier...

Lay the the cabbage leaves out to see how many you will have to work with..

****Make sure to save the outer leaves as we will be using them!


Okay, here is where it may get confusing...there are 2 sauces to make....kind of.


There is the sauce with the onions, garlic, shallots and tomato paste that gets mixed with the meat and rice, etc.   And then there is the Sweet & Sour Tomato Sauce in the big pot...I hope I am not thoroughly confusing you at this point..


To make the Sweet & Sour Tomato Sauce...

In a 3 quart sauce pan saute garlic in 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium heat for about 1 minute.

Add the 1.5 quarts (6 cups) crushed tomatoes, sugar and white wine vinegar, red pepper flakes and cook for about 5-7 minutes.

TIP*** To make your own crushed tomatoes, pulse whole tomatoes in a food processor.  No food processor?  Just put them in a bowl and squeeze with your hands.

To make the sauce for INSIDE the cabbage rolls,

Saute the onions, garlic and shallots in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for about 5 minutes then stir in the tomato paste, and dry red wine.

 Add one half cup of the tomato sauce mixture..(from the big pot)

Combine in a large bowl, the meat (I used Organic Turkey and Grass Fed Beef),  rice, egg, salt & pepper and sauteed onion mixture

Mix well, with your hands is the easiest way!

Steam the cabbage leaves for about 5 minutes to get them pliable.

Cut out the beginning of the center vein, this will make it easier roll up.

Form a long tube and roll up, depending on how big you want the rolls I used about a half cup of the meat filing..

Starting at the stem end fold the sides in and roll up "burrito style"..

hopefully you know what that is..

Next, line the 9 x 14 baking dish with the outer leaves and place cabbage rolls side by side seam side down in the baking dish like so..

Pour the remaining sauce over the top like this...

Fold the leaves over the top, I added one more over the top after the photo below.

Drizzle 2 tablespoons Olive oil over the top of the Cabbage leaves and bake at 320 degrees for 3.5 hours...

Ingredients- 

Sweet & Sour Tomato Sauce

7 cups Organic Crushed Tomatoes 

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Organic Garlic cloves (minced)

4 Tbsp Organic White Wine Vinegar

2 Tbsp Organic Sugar

1-2 Tbsp Sea Salt or Kosher Salt (I use Maldon's) or to taste

1-2 Tbsp fresh ground Pepper (or to taste)

1 Tbsp Organic Red Pepper flakes

Ingredients-

Cabbage Rolls

2 lb Meat of choice (I used  lb Organic Turkey & 1 pound Grass Fed Beef) 

2 Tbsp Organic Tomato Paste

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Large Organic Egg

2 Organic Garlic cloves (minced)

1 Organic Yellow Onion (chopped)

1 Tbsp Dry Red Organic Wine

1.5 cups Organic Steamed White Jasmine Rice

2 large heads Organic Green Cabbage

Enjoy!

Sandy V.

Creamy Baked Leeks with Cilantro

I picked up some sweet looking leeks at the local Farmer's market and having never cooked with them before, I decided to do something fun with them.  
Plus, I was really in the mood for some comfort food and this fits the bill perfectly.

By the way, the Italian's call this dish "Porri al Forno", sounds elegant doesn't it?

This is a very simple recipe and it's also DELISH!

Honestly though, this dish is not something I would make on a regular basis, but I do think it is perfect for special occasions or to impress dinner guests..Serve as a separate first course or as an accompaniment to roast chicken, pork or beef.

First clean the leeks well in a colander drain well and chop off the dark green part. 
My leeks look a little different in variety because the bigger ones came from the Farmer's Market and the smaller ones came from Trader Joe's.

Slice the leeks to about 1 inch thickness...not less..

Line them up in the 9x14 baking dish like this...

Mix the heavy cream, chopped cilantro, minced garlic, lemon, salt and pepper

What you see in the Patron bottle is fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Pour the cream mixture over the top of the leeks like this and sprinkle the grated Parmesan on top

Cover and bake at 400 degrees for about 50-60 minutes.

Mine came out a little crispy around the edges but it did not affect the leeks.

You may want to check on them after the 45 minutes.

Ingredients-
1.5 lb Organic Leeks
2 cloves organic Garlic (minced)
2 cups Organic Heavy Cream
3/4 cup Organic Cilantro (chopped)
1 teaspoon Sea Salt (I use Maldon's)
1 teaspoon fresh ground Pepper
1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed Organic lemon juice
1/3 cup fresh grated Organic Parmesan Cheese


Enjoy!


Sandy V.

Veggie Risotto

OK, I'm going to be the heretic here.  I like white rice.  I like brown rice too, but sometimes I just want those starchy white grains, specifically arborio or jasmine.  
As long as the vast majority of one's carbohydrate consumption is whole grains and non-starchy vegetables, why not enjoy the occasional white rice dish without guilt? 

If you've ever ordered risotto in a good restaurant, you know that it’s a masterpiece of slightly al dente rice in a sea of creamy deliciousness, often enhanced with vegetables, fish or seafood. And, if you've actually cooked risotto at home – or even if you just read cookbooks and let others do the cooking – you know that the rice usually recommended to use for risotto is arborio rice, a short-grain white rice.  
I don't think any substitutes will do and here's why;

Because arborio rice undergoes less milling than ordinary long grain rice, it retains more of it's natural starch content.  Cooking releases this starch giving risotto it's yummy creamy consistency..

Amazingly, a pound of Arborio rice can absorb up to six cups of liquid without becoming mushy!



So here is how I made it...First, chop up all the veggies..like this or however you prefer..

 Saute the onion, shallots, pepper, zucchini, and mushrooms in about 2 tablespoons of grass fed butter until golden...(I did my mushrooms separate)

In the meantime, heat up your Bone Broth or Chicken Broth so that it is lightly simmering.

Add the rice to the cooked vegetables and cook, stirring, until the kernels start to crackle, about 1 to 2 minutes. 
Stir in the wine and let simmer, stirring often, until all of the liquid is evaporated, about 2 to 4 minutes.

Next, stir in 1 cup of the hot bone broth or stock and simmer gently, when the bone broth or stock has been absorbed, add another cup and continue like this for 18-20 minutes of cooking time.  

When the rice is done, remove from the heat and 
stir in the cheese and add salt to taste.
Remove from the heat, cover and wait about 2 minutes or so before serving.

Ingredients-

12 oz. Arborio Rice
4 cups heated Chicken Bone Broth or Stock
1 medium Organic Onion (chopped)
1 Organic Shallot (chopped)
1 medium Organic Zucchini (chopped)
1 medium Organic Yellow pepper (chopped)
2 cups Organic Mushrooms (any variety) 
4 oz. Dry white wine
1/4 cup Organic Cream Cheese (or you can use cream)
1/4 cup finely grated Organic Parmesan cheese
Salt to taste..I use Pink Himalayan and or Maldon's 


Enjoy!


Sandy V.

Moroccan Sweet Potatoes

This simple side dish is one of my all time favorites!
Oh, and did I mention it's amazeballs delish? I'm not kidding it's like a party in your mouth so just try it okay?

I stumbled upon this "Ras-el-hanout"  mixture last year totally by accident...
I will warn you this is yet another "spicy" recipe, a little spicy for some and maybe very spicy to others.


A little history from Wikipedia..

Ras el hanout or Rass el hanout (Arabic: رأس الحانوت raʾs al-ḥānūt [rɑʔs ælħɑːnuːt]) is a spice mix from North Africa. The name is Arabic for "head of the shop" and implies a mixture of the best spices the seller has to offer. Ras el hanout is used in many savory dishes, sometimes rubbed on meat or stirred into rice.

There is no definitive combination of spices that makes up ras el hanout. Each shop, company, or person may have their own blend. The mixture may consist of over a dozen spices. Commonly used ingredients includecardamom, clove, cinnamon, ground chili peppers, coriander, cumin, peppercorn, paprika, fenugreek, andturmeric. Some spices may be particular to the region, such as ash berries, chufa, grains of paradise, orris root,monk's pepper, cubebs, or dried rosebud. Ingredients may be toasted before being ground and mixed together.

In the past, ras el hanout sometimes included cantharides in its ingredients, for its aphrodisiac properties, but the sale of cantharides was banned in Morocco in the 1990s.^[1]

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into small squares like this:

I was pressed for time so I boiled the sweet potatoes for about 5 minutes before putting them in the oven.

After cooking, make sure to DRAIN WELL and put in a large bowl and toss with about 1/4 cup Olive Oil and add salt, pepper and the Moroccan seasoning.

 I also added in some sauteed onions and shallots..(not in picture)

Here is the brand I used but feel free to make your own concoction which is what I plan on doing after I use up this bottle!

Transfer the sweet potatoes to a greased baking sheet (I use bacon grease) and cook for 30 minutes at 400 degrees..

I served these potatoes with Lamb Chops and sauteed Spinach this particular evening, I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients-

4 large Organic White Sweet Potatoes

1/4 cup Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon Moroccan Seasoning (Ras-el-hanout)

1 organic shallot (finely chopped)

1 small onion (finely chopped)

Enjoy!

Sandy V.

Peanut Butter Cups (Sugar Free)

Okay, I admit it....I have a huge sweet tooth!

Not any kind of sweets will do, my first love is CHOCOLATE, second love PEANUT BUTTER..

I have always loved Reese's peanut butter cups but I no longer want to ingest all the sugar, chemicals, etc. etc.

I started messing around with Coconut Oil a few months ago when I saw a recipe for the "Faux" Chocolate made with Coconut oil and Cocoa powder.  There are lots of different ways to make this stuff and interesting things to add but so far these little cups of heaven are my favorite..

These are all the things I used to make the Peanut Butter Cups.
I try to use all Organic when possible...The Cocoa powder is not Organic because I'm too lazy to drive up to Whole Foods.

First melt the Coconut Oil in the Microwave (about one minute)

Mix in the Cocoa powder with the melted coconut oil and Stevia until you get the desired chocolateness and sweetness you prefer..

 I know a lot of you may not like the taste of Stevia but I can tell you it is not detectable in this recipe according to my taste tester hubby.

Christophe HATES the taste of Stevia and he could not taste it in this recipe so I believe him and you should too.  I'm not really sure what else would work in this recipe but if you need to use an alternate sugar by all means knock yourself out!

I found these perfect little silicone Cups at the 99 cents store, besides being cute they are absolutely perfect for this recipe.
I have since bought more of them but as you can see in the picture I used Egg poacher cups...FYI- they did not work out at all so I don't suggest using them.

Put about 2 tablespoons of the Chocolate mixture in each cup like this

 

Put them in the freezer to set for 10 minutes..

Once they have set
add the peanut butter (about one gloppy tablespoon)

Pour about 2 tablespoons of Chocolate mixture over the top of the peanut butter and put back in the freezer for 15 minutes

Pop these little babies out of the silicone cups and they are ready to Eat!
I have to admit they fall into my YUMMYLICIOUS category and the best part is you don't have to feel guilty for eating them!


This was from my first batch last week and you can see I did not put enough chocolate on top but they are certainly still edible!

Ingredients-  Makes about 8-10 Peanut butter cups

1 Cup Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil 
4 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 
15 Drops Liquid Organic Stevia (can be adjusted to your taste)
1 cup Organic Smooth Peanut Butter

If you don't want to make the full batch, go ahead and cut everything in half.
I had a lot of Chocolate left over because I did not have enough silicone cups..

So I just made some Coconut Bark!

Enjoy!

Sandy V.

Spicy Chicken Stew

I really get tired of the same old thing....
I like new exciting flavors, I also tend to get stuck on certain flavors from time to time...I noticed I have been using a lot of cumin, turmeric and smoked paprika lately...by now it must be obvious to you that I  have a kind love affair with SPICY food.

I have not always liked spicy...It was not until I moved to CA and was introduced to Mexican food and Thai food that I awakened my taste buds..
Growing up on Long Island I had LOTS of great seafood, Italian food and Chinese food..but that is about the extent of ethic variety where I grew up....
Yesterday I was inspired to make an interesting stew with chicken instead of the same old, same old (beef).  My taste-tester hubby (Christophe) really likes spicy food too, and he really enjoyed this recipe so I hope you do too!


I have to tell you I was really excited to make this recipe in my NEW 6 Quart LODGE Dutch oven...Isn't it pretty?

 I wish it was Le Crueset <sigh>...Oh well...maybe someday!
I scored this bad boy on Amazon.  It had great reviews, and it was CHEAP!
Done deal...I got it on sale for $49.99...Now that is a smokin' deal my friends!



Okay, now we cook...


Chop up your vegetables first like this..

Saute your onions in some grass fed butter until they look like this...
The shallots are not in this picture as I added them later raw straight into the pot.

Brown the Carrots and Celery in 1 tablespoon of Grass fed butter to release the flavors...about 5 minutes.

Remove any extra fat from the chicken thighs...I don't go too crazy doing this as you can tell...

Place the chicken thighs in the Pot like this..


Add the Tomatoes & green Chile's, Carrots, celery,onions, garlic & shallots and bone broth and all spices to the pot..

***If you don't have bone broth you can use Organic Chicken Broth but I 'm just warning you the Bone Broth is very superior in taste and nutritional value to anything you can buy on the shelf..

Here is any easy recipe from Nourished Kitchen 
http://nourishedkitchen.com/bone-broth/



And yes, I am still using the canned Organic Diced and Fire Roasted tomatoes...(bad girl) I know I should not be using these canned tomatoes but they flavor is so perfect...This is my last hold out of canned items I promise..
I think I may write to Trader Joe's and ask them to remove BPA lining but then there is still the aluminum to think about ...Oh well...baby steps!

When I get into canning along with all the other projects I have in mind I will can my own tomatoes with fire roasted Chile's..If you don't have a Trader Joe's where you live you can use a small can of Organic fire roasted Chile's...Or you may want to fire roast your own Chile's..

Put the cover on the pot and simmer on low to low medium for about 3-4 hours or until Chicken is very tender..Stir about every hour or so..or more if you enjoy stirring.
You could also use a Crock Pot and do it the same way.

This serves about 4 people

Ingredients-                         

1.5-2 lbs Organic Chicken Thighs
4 cloves fresh Organic Garlic (chopped)
1 whole Organic Shallot (chopped)
1 large Organic Onion (chopped)
3  Organic Celery stalks (chopped)
3  Organic Carrots (chopped)
1  14.5 oz can of Organic Diced Tomatoes with green Chile's (Trader Joe's)
1.5-2 Cups of Organic Chicken Bone Broth
2 tbsp Grass Fed Butter (I use Kerrygold)
1 tbsp Turmeric
1 tbsp Cumin
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tbsp Himalayan pink salt (Or Celtic salt or Sea salt)
1 tsp White Pepper
a few sprigs of Fresh Thyme


You can serve this by itself or over Brown rice, Enjoy!

Sandy V.