Mug Bread with Raspberries

If you are using frozen raspberries and want them as a warm sauce, fill a custard cup with them and microwave them for a minute or so and then set to the side.

Melt a tablespoon of butter in a mug. Swirl it so it coats the insides of the bottom half of the mug.

Stir in until very well blended:

1/4 to 1/3 cup of almond flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of seasalt

large egg

Microwave this mug mixture for 90 seconds. 

The mug bread can be served in slices, or you can pour the raspberries over the top and eat it right out of the mug.

Serve with creamy tea or coffee. This breakfast keeps blood glucose very steady!

The Easiest Almond Milk

In a blender, mix:

4 ice cubes
1 cup of water
1/4 cup almond flour (ground blanched almonds)
one grind of pink sea salt
1 teaspoon of maple syrup

I do not strain this because I do not like to waste any of the almonds and I like the texture just as it is. It is delicious very cold and frothy.

Fusilli with red peppers, basil, corn, and mushrooms

Boil fusilli in salted water.

In a large wok, sauté 2 chopped red peppers in olive oil. Add lemon pepper.
Add in a few handfuls of sliced brown mushrooms and sauté some more.
Make a space and melt a dab of butter to sizzling point and add 2 cubes of frozen garlic or some fresh minced garlic into the butter and stir it, adding more lemon pepper.
Mix the garlic through the peppers and mushrooms.
Add in some frozen white corn.

When the pasta is done, save a bit of the boiling water. Stir the drained pasta into the vegetables in the wok and add in a little of the hot pasta water.

Fold in a batch of fresh basil, washed, with stems removed, and sliced.
Slice a few handfuls of pitted Kalamata olives as the basil softens.

Serve with pasta topped with the Kalamatas and shaved Trader Joe's Unexpected Cheddar and freshly grated pepper. Add a little pink sea salt if desired.

Berkeley Oat Cakes

These are a variation on a Nova Scotia Oat Cake, made less sweet and with a bit of extra protein from the almond flour and slivered almonds. I find them much more delicious than a store-bought granola  or protein bar and they are considerably less expensive. 

Preheat oven to 350.

In a big bowl, mix well:

2 or 2.5 or even 3 cups oats, depending on how rich you want the oatcakes to be

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup All Purpose flour (If you don't have almond flour, just use a total of 1 cup of All Purpose.)

1/4 to 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed, depending on desired sweetness 

1 t ground Himalayan pink seasalt (don't skimp)

Add in one stick of butter (1/2 cup). I use a pastry blender. If you don't have one, first chop the butter in with a knife, and then crumble it in with your fingertips.

Mix in 1/2 cup dried cranberries.

When you have the butter and cranberries nicely mixed in, add 1/4 cup boiling water and knead the mixture into a good dough and form it into a ball.

Spead parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Press the dough onto the parchment paper and then, with a very lightly flour-dusted rolling pin, roll out the dough so it is evenly about 1/4 inch thick -- or just use your hands to press it out thinly. (I used my hands.) Tidy the edges by pressing them in with your fingers so they are not rough. (This will make them cook more evenly.)

Sprinkle slivered almonds generously over the top and gently go over the almonds with the rolling pin or your finger tips to press them into the dough. 

Deeply score the rolled dough into rectangles with a pizza cutter or sharp knife. I make mine quite small (about 2 inches square)  but they can be made any size. There is no need to separate the rectangles. They will neatly break apart along the lines after baking.

Bake for 12 minutes at 350F and check. Turn down heat to 325F and bake for another 5 minutes or so. Bake until they are golden and crispy at the edges. Be careful not to overcook them.

Take out of oven and slide the oatcakes, on their parchment paper, onto a cooling rack. Eat some warm and store the rest, when they have cooled off, in an airtight glass container. Make sure no dogs are left alone in the kitchen with the cooling oatcakes or you may come back to find the front row or two have been eaten. (I cool mine on top of the fridge after this happened once.)

They are good plain or with a slice of sharp cheddar and a strong cup of Irish Breakfast tea. I eat some with creamy Irish Breakfast tea for a very early breakfast, and then repeat in the late morning!

Instant Pot Lemony Red Lentil Soup

Sautee a big chopped red onion in olive oil in the Instant Pot.

While that is cooking, boil a kettle of water and whisk about 5 teaspoons of Vegetarian Better Than Bouillon into 5 cups of boiling water.

Add to the onions 2 cubes of frozen Trader Joe's garlic and two cubes of frozen ginger -- or use fresh if you have it.

When garlic and ginger are mixed through the onions, add two tablespoons of tomato paste and a heaping teaspoon of paprika and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and grate in some pepper. Before this starts to stick, pour in the hot broth and stir well.

Add a cup and a half of rinsed red lentils and a couple of handfuls of baby carrots chopped into bite sized chunks or a big carrot or two, chopped up.

Set Instant Pot to pressure cook for 15 minutes and then let it slowly release for 8 minutes. 

Remove lid carefully and blend the soup with an immersion blender.

Stir in the juice of a big lemon.

Serve with crusty buttered seeded baguette or some other tasty bread.

Instant Pot Sweet Potato, White Bean, Vegetarian Sausage and Kale Soup

Slice two Trader Joe's Italian vegetarian sausages.
Sauté in Instant Pot for a few minutes in a little olive oil till browned.
Remove sausage and set aside in a bowl.

Sautee a chopped onion in a bit more olive oil. After a few minutes, add 2 cubes of frozen Trader Joe's garlic and a cube or two of frozen Trader's Joe's ginger. (Or fresh.)
Grate on some lemon pepper as this cooks.

Add in a large sweet potato or two smaller ones, cut up in small cubes.
Grate on a little salt and pepper.

Add 5 or 6 cups of Veggie Both (whisk Vegetable Better Than Bouillon into boiling water).

Set Instant Pot to pressure cook for 8 minutes and let it release for 10 mins.

Open lid carefully and add a generous amount of chopped Tuscan kale.
Add a can of white beans, drained and rinsed.
Set Instant Pot back to sauté mode and cook for about five minutes to soften the kale.

Stir in the sausage and serve with rosemary crackers and peppered goat cheese medallions.

Very simple, very good granola

Pre-heat oven to 300.

On a cookie sheet, mix well:

5 cups of rolled oats (not the quick-cook type)
1 to 1.5 cups of slivered almonds
.5 to 1 cup of sesame seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
several twists of pink sea salt

Drizzle olive oil over the top. Then drizzle either maple syrup or honey to taste.
Mix well.
Pop in oven for 10 minutes
Stir again and bake for 10 more minutes
Stir again and bake for a final 5 or 7 minutes. Be careful not to let the almonds get too dark.
(Total baking time  approximately 25 mins.)

Remove from oven and stir and let cool.

When completely cooled, add in a good quantity of chopped dried slab apricots. (I like to use Blenheim from Trader Joe's.)

Store in a sealer container or ziplock.

Serve with sliced nectarines or peaches and milk.

Blueberry Pancakes and Vegetarian Sausages

For two people... (double if desired)

Heat a little olive oil in a medium frying pan. Put in vegetarian sausages and quickly brown the outside to get a good texture. Then turn down and continue to cook.

Beat 3 eggs.
Beat in 1 T olive oil and 1/2 cup milk.

Add in 1 cup Trader Joe's multigrain pancake mix.

Microwave a cup of frozen blueberries until slightly warm. (Or just use fresh.) Add into pancake batter.

Heat a large frying pan and add a dab of butter and spread around.
Ladle in four pancakes. Flip when the show little holes.

Makes about 8 pancakes.

Serve very hot with butter and real maple syrup and the sausages.

Fusilli with roasted baby asparagus and grape tomatoes

Bring big pot of salted water to boil.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash a pound of baby asparagus and cut it into 2 inch lengths.
Wash a box of plum or cherry tomatoes and cut in half.

Spread asparagus on about 2/3 of a big cookie tray and the tomatoes on the remaining 1/3.
Drizzle with olive oil, grate on lemon pepper, and add a cube of frozen garlic in the middle of the asparagus and another in the middle of the tomatoes.  Pop in the hot oven.

Add fusilli to boiling water and stir often.

After a short time, take the vegetables out of the oven and stir the melted garlic into the asparagus and into the tomatoes so it coats them as much as possible. Grate on more lemon pepper. Pop back in oven.

Drain the fusilli when it is al dente and stir in a little olive oil.

When the asparagus and tomatoes are nicely roasted (asparagus tender, tomatoes soft and full of flavor), take them out of the oven.

Fill each person's bowl with fusilli and top with asparagus and tomatoes.
On each portion, shave on some Trader Joe's Uncommon Cheddar, add 4 or 5 green and black olives, and add more salt and pepper if desired.

Overnight oats with berries

To get ready tomorrow's breakfast, in a glass jar with a lid or a ceramic mug with a lid, combine:

1/2 cups rolled oats (preferably the slow cook kind)
1/3 cup of milk or cold water
1/3 cup whole milk plain yoghurt
1/2 - 3/4 cup of frozen berries ... I use a mix of raspberries and blueberries
optional: 1 teaspoon of maple syrup

Stir well, put on the lid, and place in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, stir again and top with toasted whole hazelnuts or any toasted nut of choice.

Instant Pot Mujadara

Thinly slice two large yellow onions.
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large frying pan and caramelize the onions. Grate on some sea salt while cooking. Stir frequently.
When onions are almost fully done, add in 3 minced cloves of garlic or 3 frozen cubes of Trader Joe's garlic and cook until garlic is done.

Rinse and dab dry:
1 cup brown basmati rice
1 cup whole green lentils

Boil water in kettle.
Whisk 3 teaspoons of Vegetable Better Than Bouillion into 2 2/3 cups of the boiled water in a big glass measuring cup.

Heat a little olive oil on the Sauté mode in the Instant Pot.
Add in the rice and lentils and stir around for several minutes.
Turn Instant Pot off.
Add the vegetable broth, stir, put on lid and make sure lid is in the unvented position.
Set for 15 minutes of pressure cooking.
Let it decompress for 10 when pressure cooking is done.
Open lid carefully (press the vent with a wooden spoon to let it finish venting).
Evenly mix the rice and lentils.

Serve in bowls with topping of caramelized onion and garlic mixture.
Add freshly grated pepper.
Offer olives on the side.

Serve with a simple salad such as arugula and cherry tomatoes.

Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients

2      tablespoons olive oil

1 red or yellow onion, chopped

4 fresh minced cloves or frozen garlic cubes

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1      tsp freshly grated Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 cups vegetable broth

1      14 oz can Trader Joe’s fire roasted tomatoes or diced tomatoes

1 14 oz  can diced tomatoes

2 tsp adobo sauce (from chipotle pepper can) and a little minced chipotle pepper if desired)

2 (14 oz. each) cans black beans drained & rinsed

2 (14 oz. each) cans red kidney beans drained & rinsed

1 (14 oz.) can cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
1 red pepper cut into small pieces

2       cups of frozen white corn

Chopped cilantro or flat-leaf parsley.

Set Instant Pot to saute setting. Heat the olive oil and sauté the onions.

Clear a space in the onions and add a little more olive oil and add the garlic into the oil, sauté it slightly, and stir the garlic into the onions.

Stir in the chili powder, oregano, cumin and Everyday Seasoning and cook for a minute or so. 

Add the vegetable broth with the tomato paste whisked into it.

Add the crushed tomatoes, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, beans and frozen corn.

Stir to combine well.

Put the lid on the Instant Pot and close the steam vent. Use the manual setting and pressure cook for 10 minutes.

Allow 5 minutes of decompression after the 10 minutes of pressure cooking is up.

Taking care not to get burned, release the pressure. 

Serve in wide bowls with a topping of grated sharp cheddar, a dab of sour cream, and a sprinkling of chopped cilantro or parsley. Add salt and pepper as desired. 

Fried Quinoa, Cherry Tomatoes, and Egg

This is a great way to use up some left over quinoa.

Melt a dab of butter or heat a little olive oil in a stick-free medium frying pan. Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of cooked quinoa and stir to heat. Move quinoa to half of pan.

Add another dab of butter to clear side of pan and spread it around. Crack a large egg into the hot butter.

Add 4 or 5 cherry tomatoes, cut in half, into the pan near the quinoa. Grate lemon pepper or salt and pepper onto the tomatoes and the quinoa. Mix the tomatoes in with the quinoa after they have softened a little.

Flip the egg and add salt and pepper and cook until white is set but yolk is runny.

Serve with slices of pear.

(This makes one serving. Use your biggest frying pan to double or triple the recipe.)

Green Rice

This is very good with dal.

Blend in a Nutri-bullet or blender:

a few handfuls of baby spinach
a handful of parsley, stems removed
a knob of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
half a cup of water

In the Instant Pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add 2 cubes of frozen garlic or 2 big minced cloves and stir to release flavour into the oil.

Add 1 1/2 cups of washed basmati into the olive oil and stir.
Add the green mixture of spinach, parsley and ginger and stir.
Add:
 1/2 teaspoon of salt
the juice of a lime
1 cup water

Stir it nicely, put on the top, and set pressure for 6 minutes.
Let sit for a few minutes to release steam. Stir well when you remove the lid.
Serve with freshly grated pepper.
(Good with dal, mango chutney, and plain yoghurt.)

Penne with mixed bell peppers, basil, tomatoes, and olives

Boil salted water and add one pound of penne. Stir often.
Cut in half cherry or grape or tiny heirloom tomatoes and grind a little sea salt on them.
Wash and mince fresh parsley.

Cut three bell peppers (orange, yellow, and red) into short strips.
In a large wok, heat olive oil and saute the peppers.
Clear a space and melt a little butter and add 3 cubes of frozen garlic. Stir the garlic in the butter until it melts and becomes very fragrant.
Add a little more olive oil into the cleared center area of garlic and add about 8 cubes of frozen basil and stir in with garlic until basil is melted.
Mix the garlic/basil into the surrounding peppers and add generous grindings of lemon pepper.

When pasta is al dente, drain and add a little olive oil to it and then pour it into the wok and toss until the pasta is evenly covered with the garlic/basil/peppers mix.

Fold the halved tomatoes into the pasta.

Serve on plates and add fresh minced parsley, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or crumbled Unexpected Cheddar, 4 or 5 olives per serving, and freshly grated pepper and salt to taste.

Thomas' Favourite Apple Crisp

Fill a glass oven pan with cut up apples.

Topping:

mix one stick of room temperature butter (1/4 pound) with rounded 1/2 cup brown sugar

mix 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 2 or 3 grinds of sea salt  into 1/2 + 1/8 cup flour and add into butter mixture

add in 1/2 cup rolled oats

scatter topping evenly over the apples

Bake in pre-heated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Test the apples with a fork to make sure they are soft and cook for a bit more if they are still firm.

Roasted Vegetables with Quinoa

Heat oven to 400. On a baking sheet, arrange areas of different cut up vegetables such as:

carrots (in spears, or use baby carrots)
beets (in chunks)
baby red potatoes (cut in half or bite sized chunks)
red onion (sliced)
red pepper (in chunks)
grape tomatoes, cut in half

Drizzle with olive oil and grate on Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper or sea salt and pepper.
Stir minced fresh rosemary into the potato section.
Place a cube of frozen garlic in the potato section and another in the tomato section and pour a little olive oil right on the cubes.

Bake for about 15 mins. Take out of oven and stir the melted garlic to coat the tomatoes and the rosemary potatoes. Shift vegetables a bit with a spatula but keep them in their own sections.
Bake for about 10 more minutes and then take out and make room for broccoli florets in a middle area. (These will burn if they are put in at the start.) Give them the same olive oil and garlic cube and lemon pepper treatment, coating them with the garlic when it melts).

Cook till everything is nicely roasted, checking and turning now and then. Add a bit more olive oil and lemon pepper as needed. (Total time will be about 45 minutes, depending on size of chunks.)

About half way through the roasting of the vegetables, put 1 1/4 cups of quinoa, 1 1/4 cups of water, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt into Instant Pot and set for 2 minutes of pressure cooking. Let it decompress on its own for 15 minutes. (Or cook in a regular pot according to quinoa package directions.)

Brown butter almond and ginger quinoa with apricots

Put in Instant Pot:
1 cup of quinoa
1 cup of water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 - 1/2 cup of chopped dried apricots (I use Trader Joe's frozen semi-dried ones.)

Stir, put on lid, make sure lid is set on closed pressure, and set for 1 minute pressure cooking.
Then let quinoa decompress on its own for 15 minutes.

If you do not have an Instant Pot, cook the quinoa according to the directions in a saucepan (adding the apricots before cooking).

In a frying pan, melt about 1 Tablespoon of butter and let it brown, being careful not to burn it. Add 1/4 cup of slivered almonds and cook on low until they are golden brown and crispy. At the end, add about 1 Tablespoon of minced fresh ginger and cook it all together a little.

Serve the apricot quinoa with the toasted almond and ginger topping. Add freshly grated sea salt and pepper. Eat piping hot.

Healthier Ramen

This is extremely quick and costs about 50 cents if you have the ingredients on hand.

Boil 2 cups of water in a saucepan. Add a rounded teaspoon of vegetarian Better Than Bouillon and a squeeze of Ginger Paste and whisk these into the water.
Cut a handful of baby carrots into long matchsticks and add into the broth.
Open a Top Ramen packet and discard the chemicalized seasoning packet. Put the noodle mattress into the boiling broth and cook for about 2 minutes, adding in a generous handful or two of baby spinach right at the end and submerging all the leaves.

Serve in a big bowl with a couple of shakes of seasoned black sesame seeds on top. Use chopsticks and a soup spoon to eat.

One Egg Omelet

Beat with a whisk an egg with a little pink sea salt and fresh pepper in a biggish bowl. A one egg omelet has a much better texture and taste than a 2 or 3 egg omelet.

In one frying pan, sauté a generous handful of frozen mushroom mix from Trader Joe's or fresh mushrooms until they are nice and hot. Add in some halved cherry tomatoes and some baby spinach if desired.

In a separate 8inch frying pan, melt a knob of butter. Then pour in the beaten egg and tilt pan to spread it. Let cook till the top looks almost set and then tip the mushroom mix onto half the egg. Add a few crumbles of Trader Joe's Unexpected Cheddar. Fold the other half over and cook for maybe one more minute or so but be very careful not to overcook.

Serve with more salt and pepper and a side dab of sour cream. Eat very hot.