Cook Onions First

A chronicle of culinary creations.

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[cookonionsfirst]

Chicken Fajita Salad

Romaine topped with sautéed chilli and cumin-spiced chicken, peppers and onions. Dress with olive oil, lime juice, chilli powder and maple syrup. Add avocado and crisp tortilla strips. Yum.

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March 27th

Sweet Potato Salad

For Easter Sunday dinner at Dicksons.

From the Planet Organic Cookbook, tweaked a little.

Sweet potatoes, red onion, celery, raisins, cranberries, pecans, lemon juice, ginger, salt and pepper. Dressed with half mayo, half plain Greek yogurt. (I’ve added a bit of maple syrup to this in the past.)

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March 20th

Shelley’s birthday celebration!

Brunch at Earth to Table Bread Bar in Guelph. Sign says truth.

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Seedlings

Rob has planted seeds and is tending them well. A great start to our 2016 garden! Basil, beets, green beans, broccoli, carrots, leafy greens, cherry tomatoes....

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Egg & Sausage Muffin

Sunday Brunch

Original recipe from wheatfreemarket.com

Makes 10

Ingredients: 4 large eggs ½ lb. cooked breakfast sausage 1 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese 1 chopped jalapeño or 2 tablespoons of canned chopped chilis (optional but highly recommended) ¼ teaspoon salt ½ cup Wheat-Free Market All-Purpose Baking Mix 1/3 cup frozen chopped spinach or vegetable of choice (peppers, onions, etc.) Some extra shredded sharp cheese for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl whisk eggs then add cooked sausage, cheese, jalapenos, salt, baking mix and spinach or chopped vegetables. Blend well.

Prepare muffin tins by generously greasing with butter or bacon grease. Using a ¼ cup measurement, scoop out batter into muffin tins. Top with extra shredded cheese.

Bake 15 minutes or until muffins have risen and started to brown. Allow to cool 5 minutes before carefully removing with a butter knife.

I used dried, crushed chili pepper, added some basil and garlic powder and used Garbanzo and Fava flour. Topped them off with butter, avocado slices, plain Greek yogurt and cherry tomatoes. 

Rob added hot sauce and ate 7 in one sitting! :)

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[cookonionsfirst]

February 9th

Einkorn Bread!

We finally got the einkorn flour and baked this loaf in the new bread maker. Our machine does not have a custom program setting so we used the “Rapid White” selection. We thought it was kneading for far too long, but it turned out great!  It’s really flavourful and just the right texture. Not too soft, not too hard. Really satisfying too. Both Rob and I commented on how we didn’t feel hungry for hours! 

The recipe for this loaf is here:  

https://jovialfoods.com/bread-machine/

Einkorn is the nutritious ancient wheat that has never been hybridized or modified. Probably because it has remained unaltered for thousands of years it is well tolerated by many people who have problems digesting modern wheat. 

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February 7th

First Bread-Maker Bread

After researching and shopping for bread machines we finally got one that has double paddles, a gluten-free setting and can make a 3 lb loaf. 

In a hurry to try out our new toy we hastily found a gluten-free recipe online. It turned out edible, but not great. Now to find a better recipe and try again. 

The einkorn flour has been ordered so looking forward to working with that. 

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January 27th

Ok, so this was so good that I scarfed it down before remembering to take a pic, hence the empty glass photo.

I don’t know who to give credit to for this recipe because I pasted it to my  notes from Facebook over a week ago.

Turmeric Smoothie

1 cup hemp or coconut milk (we used Almond because it was already open) 1/2 cup frozen pineapple or mango chunks (we used pineapple) 1 fresh banana 1 tablespoon coconut oil 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (can be increased to 1 tsp) 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ginger 1 teaspoon chia seeds 1 teaspoon maca (optional, but we included it)

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January 26th

Organic Broccoli, Carrot & Sweet Potato Soup

Started with a base of about 1L chicken broth, 1/2L beef broth and 3 cups water. Sauteed 2 red onion, 6 garlic cloves, 2 stalks of celery, ginger and turmeric and added to base. Then added 3 carrots, 2 sweet potatoes, a head of broccoli, spiced with Lavender Herbs de Provence and Himalayan salt. Once veg was soft we pureed it in the blender with about a 2 cups of almond milk. Garnished with green onion. 

This was way yummier than I thought it would be!

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January 22nd

Croissant French Toast

(Thanks for the idea, Shelley!)

Six free-range eggs, a splash of organic half and half, a tbsp each of vanilla, organic cane sugar and Kahlua, a big sprinkling of cinnamon and a wee sprinkling of nutmeg and cardamom.

Melt butter and coconut oil and place dipped croissants cut side down in pan to brown. After a few minutes flip croissants and heat until the outside is slightly crispy. Serve with a dollop of butter, blueberries (or whatever) and maple syrup. (I smeared Bartlett Pear Paste on my last croissant). Yum.

Next time I’ll add a pinch of Himalayan pink salt and maybe some whipped cream!

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January 20th

Butternut Squash & Vegetable Soup

Sauteed onions and garlic in butter, and added to a base of 1 cup of vegetable broth, 1 cup of chicken broth and 5 cups of water. Then 1 butternut squash, 3 small white potatoes, 1 red pepper, 1/2 a yellow pepper, stalk of celery, and 3 small white beets. (Also threw in some left over tomato soup.) Added one tbsp of salt, a drizzle of maple syrup and a sprinkling of dried thyme and rosemary from our garden. Simmered until vegetables were soft then removed pot from heat to cool for about 10 minutes. A splash of almond milk and pureed with hand mixer. 

A soothing soup for my Honey who just had sinus surgery a couple of days ago. 

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Thyme (dried)

From our garden.

So green and so fragrant!

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January 11th

Ground Beef & Black Bean Wraps

Ground beef with onions, garlic, celery, red/yellow peppers, ham, black beans, salsa and ‘Spanish Blend’ mixture of spices (cumin, oregano, chili powder, garlic and onion). I think I added some cinnamon in there too. 

A variety of wraps - wheat and gluten free. Salad greens mixture down first, then ground beef concoction, grated white cheddar, avocado, greek yogurt and cilantro.  

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January 9th

Chicken Stir-Fry

Cooked garlic, ginger and onions first, of course! Lightly cooked cubed chicken breasts and set aside. Broccoli, mushrooms, red and yellow peppers went in next and hoisin sauce was added. Chicken and onion mixture went back in to warm and marry. Served on brown basmati rice. (Forgot the celery!)

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January 5th

Beef and Quinoa Stew

It tastes better than it looks!

In crock pot: vegetable and beef broth; onions, garlic, ginger sautéed; browned stewing beef coated with a mixture of herbs, sweet onion chipotle sauce and a bit of gluten-free flour; potatoes, carrots, celery, fresh tomatoes; sprouted, uncooked quinoa and a cup of frozen green peas. Topped with basil instead of parsley.  

A morning sore throat cancelled a lunch date with the elder aunts resulting in this warm, hearty meal on a sunny, but cold day that started at -11 Celsius.