Tag: nutrition

Raw Onion Crackers

Published on by VirginiaLeave a comment

It has been forever. I haven’t been developing recipes. More just experimenting in the kitchen and enjoying the freedom of being in the moment with cooking.  Not taking notes or writing anything down.  But, it is back to recipe making for me.

Of late, I have been trying to eat more raw while at home. Out. It doesn’t matter. I feel like our bodies give us signs that we need to change our diet or our lifestyle. And for me it was my hair. It started to look dry and brittle. No longer any shine or luster. I wanted to make sure my diet had less of my favorites (bread, dairy, sugar, caffeine) and more whole foods. Thank goodness it is spring and I can barely keep up with the food that I am harvesting from the garden. Vegetables abound. Yet, this recipe does not happen to include any such vegetables. Instead, it is for onion crackers. Which are totally inspired by Matt Amsden’s Famous Onion Bread.  They do happen to pair quite well as a side to a fresh garden salad though.

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This makes a small batch. Just enough for snacking on over the week. However, it is easily doubled or even tripled for that matter.

I use my oven as it can be set at 100 degrees. However, you can also use a dehydrator tray lined with a Teflex sheet, but I don’t own one so I cannot verify the time and temperature.

Ingredients:

  •  1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 3 Tbs sesame seed
  • 3 Tbs chia seed
  • 1 Tbs Nama Shoyu
  • 1Tbs olive oil, extra virgin cold-pressed
  • 3 Tbs water
  • kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and mix until you get a smooth puree. It will still have bits and chunks so don’t stress. Just until it is mixed and the onions seem chopped.

Spread the mixture on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Spread it as thin as you can without being paper thin. Just think a cracker. Then sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. You can go ahead and lightly score them if you want perfectly square pieces. I never do. I just break them apart once they are done.

Dehydrate them on 100 for roughly 20 hours (depending on how thin you spread the mixture, it may take up to 24), flipping them halfway through. I usually put another piece of parchment paper on them and us it to easily flip the entire mass. If you are prescoring them, score the other side as well.

Enjoy!

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Turnip + Kale Bean Soup

Published on by VirginiaLeave a comment

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The perils of winter and its shortened days.  The cozy warm fire beckons one inside.  The cold crisp air, although intoxicating to some even in its sharpness, acts to deter even the most beloved of activities.  Farmers markets are forgone for the ease and convenience of the grocery store.  As shamefully hard as it is to admit, I don’t know the last time I stepped foot at the farmers market.  Whole Foods on the other hand, has become a frequented location.

On these bitter cold days, when all I seem to want is to warm my bones, and baths have become a nightly ritual, soup seems the best choice for dinner.  Soup made of hearty ingredients.  Soup that has one dreaming of spring and warmer days.

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This soup requires a “bouquet garni”, or a bundle of herbs tied together with string and used to prepare soup, stock, and various stews. The bouquet is cooked with the other ingredients, but is removed before serving.  If it were spring, or even summer or fall for that matter, I would walk barefoot out the doors of our home, to the garden and wander along the beds, choosing an assortment of fresh herbs.  However, with winter at hand, I was at the mercy of the grocery store.

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Turnip + Kale Bean Soup

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 bouguet garni (with a sprig each of sage, oregano, rosemay, and tarragon)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3/4 lb turnips, chopped
  • 6 cups water (or vegetable broth if you prefer, but the herbs bring enough flavor on their own)
  • 2 cans of cannellini beans (I much prefer to use dried beans and cook flavor into them myself, however, I did not have any one hand, nor did the store), drained and rinsed
  • 2 large handfuls of kale, chopped
  •  juice from 1/2 lemon
  • 2 Tbs parsley, chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste

Gently heat oil in a large stock pot adding the onions and sauté until they begin to color and soften, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, bay leaves, and bouquet garni and cook for another minute or so, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the turnips and cook for just a moment (like 30 seconds) adding the water to the pot.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to low and simmer for 10 minutes or until the turnips are soft but not breaking down.  Add the beans and kale and cook until they are heated through. Remove from heat as well as remove the herbs and bay leaves.  Add the lemon juice and parsley and stir to combine.

Serve immediately and enjoy.