Category Archives: summer recipes

Creamed Kale with Scapes

There is no cream involved but I didn’t know what else to call this and it was inspired by the idea of creamed kale but I don’t typically have any cream or milk in the house. I think this was even better.

kale

What you need:

one bunch of Kale (washed and shredded)

one bunch of scapes (roughly chopped)

2 tablespoon olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

juice of one lemon

salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

Sautee kale lightly, until just wilted. Remove from heat

Sautee scapes until fragrant.

Add kale to scapes. Melt butter over kale and sprinkle cheese over kale until melted, stirring occasionally. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper and serve immediately.

(if you can’t do dairy this might work with nutritional yeast instead of the parmesan cheese. I eye balled all the ingredients so this is just a guess. Add more or less to taste)

Yellow Squash Crisp with Date Caramel Sauce

I went to a sacred journey for the super moon and someone brought a yellow squash crisp. It was delicious. I have crooked neck squash growing in our garden this year and knew I would have to try my hand at a squash crisp with all the squash we have.

I adopted the squash to the apple crisp recipe from last fall. The extra ingredient this year is some fresh grated ginger.

Squash is great at strengthening the spleen/stomach system and is important to eat during seasonal transitions. It has a natural subtle sweet flavor.

What you need: (apple crisp) Continue reading →

Zucchini Squash Caserole

I was a little skeptical that this would be good. I’m glad I was wrong. This is an awesome side dish and it is also awesome on a sandwich with some bacon and avocado!

What You Need:

2 medium crooked neck squashes (or whatever you have in your garden/kitchen)

1 zucchini ( or a quarter of a giant one)

1/4 cup olive oil

Juice if one lemon

3 cloves of garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Parsley

6 oz feta cheese ( I used one mixed with Mediterranean herbs)

2 cups tomato sauce

What You Do:

Slice zucchini and squash lengthwise.

Marinate zucchini and squash with oil, lemon, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper in a bowl or ziplock bag in fridge for one hour or so.

Place a layer of squash, then zucchini, then cheese. Continue until all your ingredients are gone. (I had enough for 2 layers of each)

Top with tomato sauce.

Cook at 350F for 30 minutes covered until veggies are tender.

Enjoy! 20140811-135322-50002854.jpg

Kale Walnut Pesto Pasta with Zucchini Meatballs

What You Need (meatballs)
This recipe was inspired by this one here.

Onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
Salt, to taste
Everyday Spices by trader joes (contains garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper)
3 tablespoon parsley
1 pound grass fed ground beef
2 eggs
1 cup grated zucchini
1 cup shredded Quattro Formaggio cheese
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Stir or mix well with hands until all ingredients are combined well.

Shape mixture into balls and lay on cookie sheets. (For easy cleaning cover cookie sheet with parchment paper)

Bake until cooked through 25-30 minutes.

What You Need (pesto):

One bunch kale
Juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup Walnuts
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Blanch kale for approximately 1 minute. Drain and rinse with cold water. Pat dry and put in food processor or blender.

Add the rest of ingredients and pulse instill well chopped and combined.

**Time management. Prepare meatballs first. Boil pasta and make pesto while meatballs are baking.

Let me know what you think! 🙂

What to do with a giant zucchini

My sister gave me this new born baby sized zucchini the other day. Here’s what we’ve done so far. I will add to the blog until we finish it and add the recipes as we go.

20140808-135713-50233920.jpg

The first of course is a no brainer- zucchini bread! I went with a brand new recipe and it contains no white flour or white sugar (except for a sprinkle of chocolate chips on top that are optional and you could of course get a healthier version). I highly recommend it. Chocolate zucchini paleo gluten free bread recipe

Next we sliced up some zucchini and threw it on the grill with some chicken and saffron rice. Yum!

My husband requested pasta and meatballs the week. It was a no brainer to throw some zucchini into the meatballs. If I hadn’t made pesto ahead of time I would have thrown more zucchini in tomato sauce 🙂 This was my first crack at meatballs and they were delicious and easy.

Updated
Zucchini squash casserole

I still have a rather large supply of zucchini left. I’m thinking of making some freezer goodies for later. What’s your favorite zucchini recipe?

Ginger Garlic Bok Choy Stir Fry

bok

This year we are growing a mystery garden of sorts which has made it even more fun. A friend dropped off left over seedlings and the markers had all washed away. I love this time of year when I can plan meals based on what’s growing just outside our back door. This recipe was delicious with home grown garlic and bok choy and pretty quick and easy to make.

choy

What you need:

2 bunches bok choy

1 inch of ginger,

grated 5 cloves of garlic, pressed

soy sauce

2 T grapeseed oil

1 pound of chicken breast

1 1/2 cups of rice salt

dinner

What you do:

Boil 3 cups of water for rice and let rice cook while stir frying.

Cube chicken and season with salt, pressed garlic and cook in wok or pan with grapeseed oil. Once cooked through set aside.

In same pan stir fry bok choy with remaining garlic and ginger just until greens become slightly wilted.

Splash soy sauce to taste just before removing from heat and add cooked chicken back.

Place rice in bowls and top with stir fry. Enjoy!

How to Make Watermelon Juice

melon

We’ve already talked about watermelon and why its great to have around in the summer time here. Watermelon is known for its ability to maintain a healthy weight and used alot to help with weight loss and water retention. This recipe is the perfect balance for summer with the cool refreshing watermelon and warm ginger to help your digestion. Its a great way to use up leftover watermelon after a day at the beach or camping too. Let me know what you think!

ginger

What you need: 

1/2 cup water

8 cups watermelon, include rind for extra heat clearing properties

3 T fresh ginger

1/2 tsp of salt (preferably pink Himalaya salt)

juice

What you do:

Place all ingredients in blender and juice. Add more water or less depending on your preference and how juicy your watermelon is. Enjoy! 🙂

Jello Squares, a blood tonic

As a kid I remember my friend’s mom always having jellos squares as a snack for us. I always loved them. Gelatin has many great health benefits especially as a blood tonic in Chinese Medicine.

According to Chinese Medicine E Jiao or gelatin is an herb used to tonify the blood and can help stop bleeding especially in cases of excessive menstrual bleeding or uterine bleeding. Gelatin is also used to regulate the menses and soothe the fetus in cases of threatened miscarriage (of course you should be working with your health care provider if there is any issues with your pregnancy and while Chinese Medicine may be helpful in some cases of threatened miscarriage it is not a substitute for medical care). Gelatin can also help with insomnia and muscle spasms. Its also a super nourishing source of protein.

If you are having issues with your period or are looking for nourishing post partum recipes this is a great snack to have on hand. I would also recommend working with an herbalist as well. I’d be happy to assist you and can offer phone consultations as well.

This recipe is super versatile. If looking specifically at nourishing the blood add fruits that bleed red, cherries are an excellent blood tonic as well.

fruit

What you need:

2 cups juice (I used cherry juice)

2 cups fresh fruit (I used cherries and strawberries)

5 Tablespoons Gelatin (I like Great Lakes unflavored Gelatin, I got mine from the health food store and you can also buy online)

jellos

What you do:

Add juice and fruit to pot and bring to a boil.

Pour fruit juice mixture into blender and blend until smooth.

Let cool for 5 minutes or so.

Add Gelatin and blend again making sure there are no clumps.

Pour into a 9×13 baking dish and cover.

Let set in fridge for 3 hours.

To take out soak dish in warm water for 1 minute. You can either cut squares or use a cookie cutter for fun shapes.

Store in air tight container in the fridge and enjoy!

Watermelon, A Natural Remedy


Did you know that watermelon is a Chinese herb?

Watermelon or xi gua is a sweet and cold herb and like anything grown in the summer resolves summerheat.
Summerheat is induced by excessively high temperatures, overexposure to the blazing sun especially while working or staying too long in poorly ventilated areas.
Summerheat manifests with:
>> High fever
>> Restlessness
>> Thirst
>> Profuse sweating
>> Dizziness
>> Blured vision
>> Sunstroke
>> Sudden collapse
>> Nausea
>> Poor appetite
>> Loose stools
Watermelon enters the lung and stomach channels thus cools the lungs and stomach, relieving irritability, quenching thirst, and facilitating urination. Because it can do all of this it is sometimes referred to as the natural White Tiger Decoction. The easiest way to take this herb is simply to eat watermelon or drink 100-300ml of its juice. Make sure to eat some of the white part too.
Essentials of Materia Medica states that xi gua “restores sobriety” after over-consumption of alcohol. It has also been said that xi gua aids in weight loss.
Many people get dehydrated in the summer months due to the heat. Eating watermelon is one way to fight against this. Your body doesn’t differentiate hunger from thirst a lot of the time. If you find yourself feeling insatiable check to make sure you are drinking enough water before having 2nds or 3rds at meal time.
Watermelon peel or xi gua pi is more of a diuretic than it is cooling and is especially good for edema caused by summerheat.
 
Both the flesh and peel of watermelon can be used for jaundice.
 
Who would have thought Chinese herbs could taste so good?

Lemon Blueberry Banana Bread (with a lemon glaze)

I can’t even remember how long ago it was that I found this recipe in I believe cooking light magazine. Its one of my favorites to bring to a summer BBQ. Its good served warm or cold although I prefer it served cold. The original recipe called for a cream cheese glaze, which is of course, delicious but over the years I’ve found a simple glaze to be just as good or you could skip the glaze all together. Let me know what you think!

blueberry

What you need:

2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 egg

1/3 cup plain yogurt (or sour cream or omit)

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 cup blueberries

1 tablespoon lemon zest

juice of 1 lemon

powdered sugar

banana

What you do:

Preheat oven to 350F. Beat sugar and butter.

Add Banana, egg, yogurt and vanilla until blended.

Mix in flour, baking soda and salt until moist.

Fold in blueberries and lemon zest.

Pour batter into 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan.

Bake for appx 1 hour

To prepare glaze:

Squeeze juice of one lemon into a small bowl. Slowly stir in powdered sugar until you get the consistency you desire. Pour over bread after it has cooked and cooled and let set before serving.

bb bread

Enjoy!