The Gift of Rucula

There are seven botanical distinct types of 'rucola'; in the United States people refer to this plant as 'arugula' of simply, 'rocket'. 
If you go to South America, for example, where most of the 'rucola' is wild, it also looks quite different from the green house bred we can get in the shops in Europe and the United States.

'Rucola' has a distinct nutty taste with a little bit of a spicy peppery heat that does not linger.

So, people call it different things, and the plant can look different but....how does it taste? And are there any health benefits?

Here is a list of some of its many health benefits:

•Fibers
People often ask me: "if you do not eat grains,...where do you get your fibers?!". Vegetables contain TONS of fibers! They just have been kept hidden away from you....
Take 'rucula', for example. It has a high proportion of fibers that are known to aid the process of digestion in the body.

•Anti-Cancer 

'Rucula' is said to contain free radical inhibiting antioxidants;

•Folic acid
If consumed in the quantity equal to a cup on a daily basis, it can give some good benefits to a pregnant woman. Its folic acid content helps prevent neural tube defects in the baby.

•Optimum health regulation
It has some important vitamins like thiamine, niacin, Vitamin B-6 that help promote optimum body health;

•Bone health
You will find quite a bit of Vitamin K in 'rucula', which gives the bones of your body all the benefits of strength and formation;

•Alzheimer’s disease and absorption of Ca
The Vitamin K content in green vegetables, such as 'rucula' have been proven to be beneficial in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease as well as the absorption of calcium;

•Vitamin A
'Rucula' is known to be rich source of Vitamin A. Its intake can therefore assist those patients who need help with the treatment of diseases related to the lungs, skin and oral cavities;

•Vitamin C
This vitamin C content in 'rucula' is known to boost overall health by the antioxidant activity that it brings about;
Carotene
Some diseases, like muscular degeneration and cancer can be better controlled when we take carotene.

So, enough lecturing... Am I going to give you a super simple way to prepare a healthy 'rucula' salad? You bet!

What you need
•a salad dish

Ingredients
(for 2 big servings and 4 small servings)
•40 g of 'rucula' lettuce, washed
•4 big sun dried tomatoes soaked in oil, cut in strips
•25 g of toasted pine nuts;
•10 g of shredded Parmesan cheese (only for the 'sinners')
•3 tbs of virgin olive oil
•1 tbs of balsamic vinegar
•crushed Himalayan salt and pepper

What you do
•Arrange the 'rucula' lettuce in your salad dish;
•Arrange the sun dried tomatoes on top of it;
•sprinckle the pine nuts all around and then
•top if off with a light shower of Parmesan (optional; I leave it out);
•add some salt and pepper to taste
•drip the balsamic vinegar over it and then the oil

Remarks
•when you buy your pine nuts, roast them in a pan (keep an eye on them...don't let them burn!). After they have cooled down, put them in a zip lock bag and keep them 'use ready' in your freezer;
•when dressing salads, always pour the vinegar first and then the oil! Why? Once the oil is on the leaf, it will prevent the vegetable from soaking up the flavours of the vinegar....
•when you buy leafy greens, like 'rucula' lettuce, don't even think twice. Buy organic!
The amount of pesticides on non-organic versions is just...crazy! 

Bewitched Pumpkin Pie

I remember when we first moved to the Netherlands, nobody had even heard of Halloween -except maybe for the lovers of Hollywood horror movies. As time went by, more and more people in Europe caught the bug.

This year, I finally see everybody truly warmed up for the occasion; some are even organizing Halloween party's!

We have a house full for Halloween tomorrow. I challenged my guests to bring 'healthy treats' for the children (I am very curious what they will come up with), while I promised to cater to bar food & drinks.

There is no Halloween without a pumpkin pie, right? So here is my dairy and grain free version of it.

Enjoy and have fun everybody. Happy Halloween!

What you need

•a round, oven proof pie dish, 27/30 cm diameters wide
•a steaming basket
•parchment paper

Ingredients

(for 8 generous servings)

•150 g almond flower

•8 eggs

•2 x butternut squash (of approx. 1.8 kg)

•70 g of raw walnuts

•35 g of raw cashews

•1/4 cup of agave nectar

•200 ml of coconut milk

•1 tsp of ginger

•1 tsp of all spice

•1/2 tsp of nutmeg

•1/2 tsp of cloves

•1/2 tsp of cardamon

•1/4 tsp of salt

•1 tsp of coconut oil for greasing

What you do
•wash, part and steam the pumpkin at medium heat till tender (it will take approx. 20 min.). Then remove the flesh and let the puree cool down. You should have about 1 kg.

•pre-heat the oven to 190C

•grease the pie pan with coconut oil

•line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper;

•in a bowl combine almond meal, one egg plus one egg white and a pinch of salt; mix till it becomes a nice whole

•now grease your hands (to prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers) and cover the pie dish with the almond meal dough, flattening it with the palm of your hand and fingers

•poke some wholes with a fork into the dough and place it in the oven for approx. 15 min or till it is light brown

•now put the pumpkin puree in a bowl and add all the spices, the agave syrup 6 eggs and the left over yolk to the pumpkin mixture (make sure the pumpkin has cooled down);

•when the pie crust is ready and comes out of the oven, pour the pumpkin mixture into it and return to the oven

•bake for approx. another 1h 40 min (check with a toothpick)

•let it cool down for approx. 10 min and then slice

Remarks
•If you find the top of the pie gets too golden too quick, cover it pan with some aluminum foil. Make sure not to tuck it! You don't want it to stick to your pie!
•Sometimes it is a bugger to find salt-free nuts. No worries. Just wash them under running water and let them dry on a kitchen towel!

Bacon & Eggs for Multitasking Kitchen Queens

I am sure you have been faced with the problem of preparing bacon and eggs for a big group before. Even if you are the best multitasking kitchen queen, it is almost impossible to expedite 12 eggs with a side of bacon at the same time without letting half get cold and the other half overcook.

A few months ago while visiting dear friends in Denmark, Johs H. showed me a simple way to make perfect eggs with crispy bacon for 12, stress free.

This method will allow you to bring all eggs and bacon to the table perfectly al dente. A fun side effect is everybody will also compliment the presentation!

What you need
•muffin baking tray for 12

Ingredients
(for 12 servings)
•24 thin strips of organic bacon
•12 eggs

What you do
•turn the oven to 200°C
•line the inside of each muffin mold with bacon
•crack an egg inside of each muffin mold
•put the tray inside the oven and bake for approx. 10-15 min.

Remarks
•if your bacon has a lot of fat, remove excess fat from the strip before lining the muffin tray
•smoked salmon (instead of bacon) works really well! So does ham....
•keep an eye on the eggs... You know best how cooked you like them....


Thank you Johs for sharing your secret!

Molten Chocolate Fix

When we first commit to a healthier diet, the first thing we try to do is work hard at mimicking the previous unhealthy foods we used to eat. Life is easier if you stay away from “paleofied” foods altogether. They never really taste quite the same as their unhealthy counterparts that irritate your stomach or cause rampant inflammation.... But just like you, I am human, and once in a while I do need my decadent fix. 
And so do a lot of my readers. The desserts in this blog get the most hits!

So to you, and for me, here is this easy to make Molten Chocolate Fix.

What you need
•4 oven proof ramekins
•mixer

Ingredients
(4 servings)
•115 g bitter chocolate (70% or higher)
•1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
•pinch of salt (1/8 tsp)
•1 tbsp clear agave nectar
•1 tsp coconut flour
•2 tsp cocoa powder (use the real thing! Don't monkey around with Nesquik-like mixes)
•2 eggs
•4 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil + 1 tsp to grease ramekins)

What you do
•preheat the oven to 190°C
•grease 4 ramekins with coconut oil
•melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a pan at low heat or in a microwave-safe bowl at low power; do not let the chocolate overheat
•place the eggs, vanilla, salt and agave and using a mixer, mix at high speed till the eggs are light and frothy (it will take approx. 5 min)
(and yes, it will work with agave nectar...)
•gently scoop the egg mixture into the chocolate and fold together using a spatula
•sift cocoa chocolate and coconut flower into the egg-chocolate mixture and keep folding the ingredients together in a gently manner
•pour batter into the ramekins (it will only fill up 2/3 of it)
•place ramekins in a baking sheet and then into the oven and bake for 13 min.

Remarks
•I like my Molten Chocolate Fix warm! If you are just as demanding as I am, what you could do is measure and prepare all ingredients ahead of time, grease the ramekins and turn the oven on just before sitting down for dinner. You can then easily put the batter together in 7 min and have the desserts on the table in another 13.
•You want to serve Molten Chocolate Fix on a plate? Grease the ramekin and then dust it with cocoa powder; this will facilitate removing Molten Chocolate Fix from the ramekin
•Want to add some color to it? Place a couple of raspberries on the side!

Catch of the Day Chowder

It is windy and rainy in my neck of the woods so I say, bring on the chowders!
This one is an amazing, mouth watering experience. If you didn't like fish before, you will now!
Guaranteed!
And the cool thing about it, is that you can use the catch of the day to prepare it, whatever this might be on your side of the globe.

What you need
•3l pan
•blender

Ingredients
(for 8 bowls of soup)
•1 medium onion; chopped
•1 medium tomato; diced
•400 g of yams, skin removed and diced
•150 g of carrots, washed and diced
•1 tbs of Patak's Mild Curry Paste
•1 l of fish stock
•200 ml coconut milk
•300 g of white fish, cut into chunks
•3 to 4 leaves of Thai basil
•2 tbs coconut oil
•Himalayan salt and freshly grinded pepper

What you do
•melt the coconut oil in a pan over medium heat
•add the chopped onion and 'sweat' them
•lower the heat and add the curry paste
•once the paste releases all it's amazing spicy odors, add the diced tomato, yams, carrots and basil leafs
•3 min later add the fish stock and bring to the boil
•cook for approx. 18 min then add the white fish
•simmer for approx. another additional 10 min then turn the heat source off and let it cool down a bit
•carrots, yams and fish should be soft by now
•blend and either return to the pan and heat up a bit before serving or pour into Tupperware containers and once cold, freeze

Remarks
•I can highly recommend serving it with dehydrated raw food vegetable chips
•Even though Patak's Mild Curry Paste does contain a few substances I like to avoid, it's a great solution for the one time you are in a hurry. If at all possible, replace any pre-fab curry paste by these virgin ingredients: coriander, cumin, turmeric, tomato puree, chili, ground ginger, mustard, tamarind, garlic, agave, curry and coconut oil. The same goes for the sweet Thai basil. If you can get hold of the fresh leaves, do not even think about using the dry kind!

Flemish Asparagus

The way Flemish people really like their asparagus is similar. Except the sauces they dress up their asparagus with, usually contain quite a bit of butter, which, as you can imagine, my version does not.
There are tons of ways to upgrade simple asparagus into a main course. Let me give you a few ideas...

For those of you whom sometimes ask me 'where do you get your nutrients if you do not eat grains?' and look puzzled at me when I say ' from fish, meat but mainly from vegetables', I have linked 'asparagus' to a nutrient chart. You will be blown away when you see what just 130 g of asparagus will do to your body while adding just 28 Kcal to the daily intake! Check it out.

What you need
•nothing that you would not normally have in any kitchen

Ingredients
(per person)
•15 asparagus per person (give or take a few)
•10 g of pine nuts, toasted
•1 hard boiled egg
•1/2 sprig of chives
•6 olives
•half a small tomato, diced
•1 slice of ham or smoked salmon, in rings
•1/2 grilled pepper
•3 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
•1 tbs balsamic vinegar
•Himalayan salt and freshly grind pepper

What you do
•scrape and then wash the asparagus
•cut the ends (approx. 6 cm)
•put the asparagus in a pan with plenty of water and bring to a boil
•cook the asparagus for approx. 15 min. till tender
•drain and place on the plate
•cover with the pine nuts, the hard boiled egg, sliced olives, chives, grilled red pepper, ham (or smoked salmon)
•sprinkle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste

There are Apples and...Apples

It can be tough to pick the right apple for, let's say apple sauce, to bake a pie or to prepare stuffed in the oven. Recipes make it very challenging too because, most of the time, they name a specific type common in some part of the world, but not available at your local store.

That is why when I saw this post in Facebook by Food Inc. I thought I needed to share it. Hopefully it will simplify your cooking life! At least, when it comes to apples...

Crème Caramel (Flan)

Flan is one of the deserts I grew up with and I wouldn't dream of doing without! But Crème Caramel with no milk? Is that possible? You betcha! I recently had Argentine friends Darío and Gustavo over for a few days. They love my cooking but are the toughest food critics I know. So, I decided to have them taste this dairy and sugar free version of our traditional delicacy and see what they said.
They loved it! So now it ready to go on the blog!

What you need (for 12)
•12 oven proof ramekins of approx. 10 cm diameter and 6 cm high
•oven dish big enough to fit 8 ramekins

Ingredients
• 1 l good quality almond (or coconut) milk
(I like to buy Ecomil because it is certified organic, has no added sugar and is one of the few brands that contains just almonds and water)!
•12 + 3 tbs of agave nectar (honey or maple syrup will work too but I prefer agave nectar because it has a lower glycemic index)
•1 vanilla pod
•9 whole eggs


What you do
•preheat the oven to 175°C
•put 8 tbs of agave nectar in a pan, heat and boil for approx. 5 min (or till it starts to thicken)
•pour the hot agave nectar into the 12 ramekins and try to cover as much of the inside of the ramekin with it (hold the ramekin and tilt)
•slice the vanilla pod through the middle and together with the almond milk, heat it up in a pan. When it is about to reach the boiling point, remove it from the heat and let it cool down a bit
(stir once in a while making sure the almond milk does not burn on the bottom of the pan)
•meanwhile beat the eggs together with 3 tbs of agave nectar to a cream
•look for the vanilla pod. If you find the seeds are still on the pod, take a sharp knife and scrape them off into the almond milk. Discard the pod.
•while mixing, now ladle the hot almond milk into the egg mixture, little by little
•pour the mixture into 12 ramekins
•place the 12 ramekins in the oven dish and fill the oven dish with water
(the water should cover 3/4 of the ramekins)
•place in the middle of the oven and cook for 50 min
(check the consistency after 40 min with a tooth pick. If the mixture is firm, and your tooth pick comes out dry, it means it is ready)
•once cooled down, you can place the ramekins in the fridge. When you are ready to serve, free the flan from the ramekin by losening the top edge of the flan from the ramekin with a knife. Then place the serving plate on top of the ramekin, turn it upside down and shake. It should release by itself.

Remarks
You notice that while in the oven your ramekin mixtures start to darken a bit too fast at the top. No worries! Just cover the pan with a tin foil tent (making sure the foil does not stick to the ramekin).

 

Cod in a Flash

I cannot imagine a quicker way to prepare a nice piece of cod... You need almost nothing to have this baby on your plate and ready to eat in no time.

What you need
•frying pan
•a brush

Ingredients (per person)
•a nice piece of cod (150 to 200 g)
•2 tsp of (Dijon) mustard
•Himalayan salt and freshly ground pepper
•20 g of almond scales
•1 tbs of good quality coconut oil

What you do
•heat up your pan and melt the coconut oil (do not let it smoke)
•take the cod, add ground pepper and crushed salt on both sides and then brush mustard all over
•now cover the cod in almond scales and carefully lay it in the pan
•cook for approximately 3-5 minutes (depending how thick your piece of cod is), then carefully turn it around. When it starts flaking, it is almost done.

Remarks
•if the cod breaks up a little bit or part of the almond breading shifts around, do not panic. Your taste buds will not mind a single bit. 

Guilt-Free Burger & Fries

If you thought that eating healthy meant kissing burgers and fries goodbye, I am happy to tell you you are wrong.

Try this version and you will not be disappointed. My husband grew up in the USA and ask him, he thought it was finger lickin' good!

What you need
•grilling pan
•baking sheet

Ingredients (per person)
•150 g of minced grass fed meat
•1 onion, sliced in rings and fried in a few drops of oil
•1 leaf of lettuce
•1 tbs of ketchup
•1 tbs of mayonnaise
•4 slices of cucumber
•1 portobello mushroom
•1/2 egg (1 per 3 will work too)
•salt & pepper
•2 tbs oil
•2 white carrots

What you do
•preheat the grilling pan to piping hot and add a few drops of oil to it
•salt and pepper the portobello mushroom and cook it on the grilling pan, approximately 4 minutes on each side
•add the egg, salt and pepper to the minced beef (and any other herb you might like) and shape the burger
•preheat the oven to 250°C
•wash the white carrots and slice them into fries
•put the fries in a baking sheet with some olive oil, salt and pepper and shove them into the oven
•cook the fries for approx. 40 min. Once in a while, open the oven and shake them around
•when the fries have 20 min. to go, cook your hamburger to your liking
•now stack your burger: take the mushroom, add a tsp of mayonnaise. Then place the lettuce leave on top. On top of that, I like to have the crunchy cucumber, then the burger, then some ketchup and lastly, the caramelized onions
•serve the fries on the side and enjoy!

Remarks
•for the fries you can use any of the roots described in my post Potato Blues
•I prefer to use all organic produce, specially when it comes to lettuce and ketchup.... Bugs just love tender leafy greens and growing it without any pesticides is a big challenge. So any leafy green that is high up there on the 'dirty dozen' list (such a lettuce), you want to choose organic as often as you can....
•most commercially produced ketchup has a lot of sugar and artificial colors. Please do read the label...
•if you don't have time to make your own mayo, whatever you do, do not go for the 'light' version; it will be filled with chemicals we cannot even pronounce!

               

Red Perch with Anchovy Dressing

I must give it too him: Gordon Ramsay comes up with the most brilliant combinations! A few days ago I tried the anchovy dressing from his cookbook 100 % Ramsay with grilled red perch. Just amazing.
At first I, when I went over the ingredients, I was a bit sceptical. It just seemed like there was a lot of anchovy going into this dressing. And although I do love fish, I find the taste of anchovy quite overpowering, so I like to go easy on it.

What makes Gordon Ramsay's dressing such a welcome surprise to your taste buds, is the blend of anchovy with tarragon. I didn't entirely keep to Gordon's recipe. I increased the amount of tarragon considerably -which in my modest opinion, improved the balance of the ingredients.

This recipe is a total keeper. I recommend it with any kind of white grilled fish. If you double or triple the amounts, you can put in it a clean jar and store it in your fridge for convenience. That's is what I did!

What you need
•blender
•skillet

Ingredients (dressing for 6 servings)
•50 g canned anchovy fillets
•1 clove of garlic, pressed
•1 tbs white wine vinegar
•100 ml virgin olive oil
•1 tbs fresh tarragon
•1 red perch fillet per person
•salt and pepper to taste

What you do
•put all ingredients in your blender and press 'start'! (No need to add any salt nor pepper)
•make a couple of superficial horizontal cuts into the skin of the red perch
•season the white skin with salt and pepper
•preheat a grill pan with a bit of oil and cook the red perch skin down for approx. 3 min. or till  2/3 done. Then turn it around and cook it for another 30 sec.
•sprinkle the fish with some anchovy dressing or pour the dressing into a small bowl, allowing you to dip every single bite of fish as you go along. I vote for that!
•serve immediately

Summer's Coolest Brew

Most of you already know how I just love Oprah and her O Magazine. In June's issue Jessica Girdwain wrote an article on the different benefits of drinking tea... with a twist. For the longest time, drinking tea was considered 'boring' (not that I cared) or, shall we say, far too 'traditional'.
Things are changing as people are realizing tea is one of the best things you can drink. Its antioxidants compounds have been shown to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease, specially green tea. It may also help with weight management, if only for the fact that it will keep you away from the fridge!

When you mix it with other beneficial ingredients, Girdwain explains, you can enhance its power to tackle health problems ranging from high blood pressure to an upset stomach.

Even though the article suggests using tea bags, I never do. Once you have tried 'real leaves', believe you me, tea from bags will taste like dirty water and you will never will want to go back to that.

I tried all of O Magazine's tea upgrades and this one is, by far, the best.


Boost your Immunity
Green tea + cranberry juice

Catachins are antioxidants with antiviral properties and are plentiful in green tea, far more than in black. According to a Purdue University study, adding vitamin C -very much abundant in cranberry juice- can increase absorption of the tea's catechins.

Todd Rubin of tea manufacturer The Republic of Tea suggests to steep 2 tea bags (3 grams) of green tea in 250 ml of very hot water (do not let it come to a full boil) for 2 minutes. Once cool, stir 50 ml of unsweetened, organic cranberry juice. Pour over a glass filled with ice.
If you need to sweeten it, stir in a tsp of agave nectar.

Wondering what the other 4 healthy ice tea combinations, published by O Magazine, are like? Check them out!
Enjoy!

Carrot Summer Salad

Carrot & egg salad is one of the most common salads where I come from, Argentina. You find it in every single restaurant and it is prepared in every household. There, it needs no introduction.

There is nothing fancy nor complicated about it. But where I live, in the Netherlands, it is a very rare combination. So that makes it 'special'.
Most of my friends look skeptical at first, when I put it on the table. But after tasting it, they all love it!


What you need
•food processor  or
•a grater with a pair of strong hands

Ingredients (makes a side dish for 6 persons)
•750 g of organic carrots; washed and then grated
•3 organic eggs, hard boiled
•5 tbs of virgin olive oil
•3 tbs of cider or white wine vinegar

What you do
•toss the grated carrot in a salad bowl
•now chop up the hard boiled eggs and add it to the carrots
•crush some Himalayan salt and pepper on it
•now add the oil and vinegar and toss

Presto!