Grilled Salmon with Roasted Red Pepper Potato Puree

My poor, neglected blog! I have a pile of recipes waiting to be posted, if ever I have the time! This one I came up with tonight, and just loved it, so I'm making the time to post it, damn it! I apologize for the lack of picture. It was really a very pretty plate!

Grilled Salmon with Roasted Red Pepper Potato Puree
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 pounds russet or yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 red bell peppers, cored and cubed
1 large bulb fennel, cored and chopped
2 Tbsps. extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste
2 Tbsps. safflower oil
6 6 oz. fillets of skinless
1/4 - 1/2 cup milk or hemp milk
2 Tbsps. butter or Earth Balance stick

Preheat oven to 425F. Combine the garlic, potatoes, peppers, and fennel in a 13 x 9 baking dish. Toss with oil, salt and pepper. Cover with foil, and roast in the oven for 50-60 minutes, stirring twice along the way.

When the vegetables are nearly done, pre-heat a large cast iron grill pan (the kind that goes over two burners) or your outdoor grill. Once hot, add the safflower oil to the grill to keep from sticking. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper, and then add to the hot pan, reducing the heat only slightly. Grill for 5 minutes, seasoning the top with salt and pepper. Flip and grill for another 4-5 minutes. Remove from pan.

Once the vegetables are done, transfer to a blender, adding the milk, butter, and additional salt and pepper, if desired. Go easy on the milk, using only enough to make the blender do its job and to make the puree smooth.

Place a large dollop of the puree on a plate, and top with a salmon fillet, garnished with some fennel fronds. Serve with a simple green salad (we did escarole and grape tomatoes with fennel fronds and scallions dressed with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper).

The puree serves as both a sauce for the fish and a side dish. It is thinner than mashed potatoes, and thicker than most sauces. Happy food for toddlers ... my son was covered in it from head to toe!

This dish may take a little time in the oven, but it's very hands-off. The oven and the blender do most of the work, and you can give yourself a pedicure in the meantime.

Serves 6

Apple Hazelnut Stuffing

Thanksgiving really snuck up on me this year. Until about a week before the holiday, we had no idea who in the family would be hosting, or who would be coming. As it turns out, most of us went our separate ways to various branches of the family, and we hosted my in-laws. It was a small, very manageable feast for seven (including the baby). I must say, while there is something to be said for large holiday meals, they can also be very stressful, and this meal was not so. It came together easily, from start to finish, in the course of 3 days.

Although Christmas dinner doesn't happen in my house, I can imagine that this stuffing might be a very welcome addition to such a holiday feast, especially at one that includes those of vegetarian persuasion. So, perhaps it isn't too late to post it. It also happens that one of the key ingredients, ghee, also makes this recipe quite appropriate to enter into the Pure Indian Foods Ghee Recipe Contest. And that is another reason to post it. Incidentally, (and this endorsement is not at all required for the sake of the contest), this is the brand of ghee that I use. It is locally made (to me), it is made from grass-fed, organic milk, and it saves me the trouble of making my own ghee. It also happens to be OK for my milk-allergic son to eat. Apparently, ghee, being absent of milk solids, is also lacking lactose and casein. Let me stress that I am not and cannot give medical advice on this (or any) subject, and I do not recommend that anyone with a dairy allergy or intolerance eat ghee without consulting his/her health care provider first. For us, it was very freeing to discover that we are able to use ghee, instead of oil, to cook and flavor the foods we eat. That buttery aroma was well-missed in this household!

Apple Hazelnut Stuffing
4 cups whole grain fresh bread (wheat, spelt, rice), cubed
1/3 cup hazelnuts, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup ghee + 3 Tbsps.
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 apple, peeled & chopped
3 Tbsps. fresh sage, chopped
1 - 1 1/2 cups low-sodium veggie stock (depending on how moist you like your stuffing)
salt & pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425F. If the bread is fresh, toast the bread in the oven on a dry cookie sheet for 10 minutes. If it's stale, skip this step. Toast the hazelnuts on a dry cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer the bread cubes and hazelnuts to a large bowl. Reduce oven temperature to 350F.

In a saute pan, melt the 1/4 cup of ghee over medium heat. Sweat the onions and garlic in the ghee until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, sauteing an additional 5 minutes. Season the onion mixture with salt and pepper. Pour the onion mixture over the bread cubes and hazelnuts, and toss well. To the bowl, add the apples and sage, tossing once again.

Warm the veggie stock, and add in small increments to the bread mixture, tossing after each addition, until you reach the desired consistency (the oven will dry it out somewhat, so aim for a bit more moistness than is your preference). Season with salt & pepper.

Using 1 Tbsp. of ghee, grease a large casserole. Transfer the stuffing mixture to the prepared casserole. Using the remaining 2 Tbsps. of ghee, dot the top of the stuffing with small fingerfuls. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour.

Serves 8-10.

Chocolate Pumpkin Layer Cake with Cashew Icing

On Halloween, my family got together to celebrate the sweetest day of the year, but we also took the opportunity to mark my brother's and my birthdays, which fall in late October and early November. I made the cake for the occasion (and my brother made lunch). This is the cake that I came up with. A little something for everyone - chocolate for those who think every dessert needs chocolate (my husband), pumpkin spice cake for those who like to taste and smell the season (my brother and me), and sticky sweetness to please the Halloween palate.

Although this is no health food cake, it is much more redeeming than most store-bought (or even homemade) cakes, so a little less guilt is in order. The recipe is very loosely based on this one. Enjoy!

Chocolate Pumpkin Layer Cake with Cashew Icing
1 cup unbleached white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour, plus 1/3 cup more
1 cup turbinado sugar
1 1/2 tsps. baking powder
1 1/2 tsps. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cup vanilla unsweetened hemp milk
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (for fresh pumpkin, steam the pumpkin and then puree in a blender with a small amount of water)
3/4 cup sucanat
2 large eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil, warmed until liquified
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
Cashew Icing (recipe below)

Grease two 9" round cake pans. Line the bottom of each with parchment paper and then dust the sides with flour. Pre-heat oven to 350F.

Combine the white flour, 3/4 cup of the whole wheat flour, turbinado, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a bowl. Divide the dry mixture equally (by weight) into two bowls. Into one bowl, add the cocoa and whisk to combine. Into the second bowl, add the 1/3 cup of whole wheat pastry flour, and whisk to combine.

In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup hempmilk, pumpkin puree, and sucanat. Beat in the eggs. Then add the oil, agave, and vanilla, beating just to combine. Divide the liquid mixture evenly (by weight) into two bowls. To one bowl, add the cocoa mixture, stirring until just combined. To the second bowl, add the second dry mixture, stirring until just combined. Do not overmix!

Transfer batter to the prepared pans (the contents of one bowl into one pan and the contents of the other bowl into the other pan). Bake about 40 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Invert onto a work surface and remove the parchment papers carefully. Cool the cakes completely before proceeding.

Slice each cake horizontally to create four layers in total (to guide your knife in evenly cutting the cakes, place toothpicks just below the midpoint of the cake all around the cake, and cut using a serrated knife just above the toothpicks, as illustrated here).

Place a pumpkin layer at the bottom of your cake dish. Apply a thin layer of icing on top using a frosting spatula. If the icing is too thick, it will move to the edges and drip down the sides. The icing will seep into the cake somewhat, and that's fine. Add a chocolate layer, and top with a layer of icing. Repeat with the remaining layers of cake and icing. On the top layer, add a thicker layer of icing. Add a thin layer of icing to the sides of the cake.

If you are not serving the cake right away, store in the freezer. This will keep the icing from either dripping too much or getting too absorbed into the cake. Defrost at room temperature 2-3 hours before serving.


Cashew Icing
1 1/2 cups cashew butter
4 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. allspice
1 1/2 tsps. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. chocolate extract
1/2 cup vanilla unsweetened hemp milk

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, and beat well with an electric mixer.

Roasted Vegetable Pear Soup

One of the issues many people face in subscribing to a CSA is that they are left with produce that they would not normally buy, or that is unfamiliar to them. Enter soup - the greatest vessel for miscellaneous foods that have no home.

I make most vegetable soups vegan, but I thought this soup might do nicely with some meat flavors, and I think that was a good decision. This soup has a pork stock base, which marries particularly well with the pear, pumpkin, and beets. The pork stock adds not only flavor, but also lots of nutrients, most notably calcium. If you prefer to make this soup vegan, it would still be very tasty using a vegetable or onion stock, or even plain salted water.

This soup can be prepared as a puree or as a chunky soup. I think the latter is really the better option, but I made it as a puree so that my little guy could eat it more easily (and so he has!). The recipe below is written as a puree with noted adjustments to make it chunky instead.

Roasted Vegetable Pear Soup
2 lb. pumpkin (or other winter squash), seeded, peeled and cubed (small dice for chunky)
1 small rutabaga, peeled, trimmed of ends, and cubed (small dice for chunky)
12 small turnips, trimmed of ends and cubed (small dice for chunky)
3 medium carrots, peeled, trimmed of ends, and cut into thick slices (small dice for chunky)
2 medium beets, peeled, trimmed of ends, and cubed (small dice for chunky)
3 shallots, peeled and quartered (chopped for chunky)
2 stalks celery, cut into chunks (small dice for chunky)
2 Tbsps. olive oil
2 Tbsps. safflower oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 1/2 lbs. pork neck bones (your local sustainable meat farmer will likely have this very inexpensive treat in the freezer)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 ripe pears, cored, peeled and cubed
2 bay leaves
10 cups water
1/4 cup chopped fennel fronds

Pre-heat the oven to 425F. Combine the pumpkin, rutabaga, turnips, carrots, beets, shallots, celery, and oils in a large covered baking dish. Season well with salt and pepper. Cover and roast for 1 hour and 20 minutes, stirring twice along the way.

Transfer roasted vegetables to a large stock pot. Add the pork necks, vinegar, pears, bay leaves, water and additional salt and pepper. Bring to a bubble, and then reduce heat to medium low. Simmer, covered, for 2 hours.

Remove bones and bay leaves. Pick apart the meat from the bones, and set aside (roughly 1/2 - 1 cup).

Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender), puree the soup (if you prefer a chunky soup, skip the pureeing). Return the meat to the pot. Add the fennel fronds. Adjust seasonings. Serve hot.

Serves 10-12.

Almond Cod Cakes with Roasted Garlic Spread

This dish looks very sophisticated, if I do say so myself, but it's very simple. So simple, in fact, that my 15-month-old kept asking for more fish! It's even fairly simple to make, and is perfect for anyone who is not a big fan of chopping. The food processor does all the chopping for you.

Because my little one is allergic to half of the food web, I find myself making many adjustments that I wouldn't normally make, and sometimes the dish turns out better than it would have with traditional ingredients. In this case, instead of using bread crumbs (or wheat-free bread crumbs) in the fish cakes, I decided to use almonds (almond meal). The almonds give the cakes a much more interesting flavor, and because the cakes are pan-fried, the almonds were very aromatic, too. The downside to accommodating my son is that I could not use an egg to bind the cakes, and they would have benefited from some binding. Leaving the egg out leaves the fish cakes a bit crumbly. Fortuitously, the crumbliness was the perfect texture for my son, and the rest of us did fine. Even so, if you can have eggs, I would add one to the mix.

I served these fish cakes with forbidden rice with chopped cilantro and a simple green salad.

Almond Cod Cakes with Roasted Garlic Spread
1/2 cup raw, unsalted almonds (or almond meal)
12 oz. cod fillets, cubed
2 Tbsps. fresh cilantro
2 Tbsps. fresh Italian parsley or celery greens
3 scallions, cut into 2" lengths
1 1/2 tsps. salt
pepper, to taste
1 egg (optional)
1/4 cup olive oil
Roasted garlic spread (recipe below)

Process almonds in a food processor until they resemble coarse bread crumbs. Remove and set aside in a large bowl. Into the food processor, add the cod, cilantro, parsley, and scallions. Pulse to combine. Do not overprocess. Some small chunks of fish should remain. Add the fish mixture to the almonds, along with salt, pepper, and egg. Mix thoroughly, and form into patties.

Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat. Once hot, add half the olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Allow the oil to heat for a moment, then place the cakes in the hot pan. Turn the heat down to medium-high, and allow the cakes to cook 5-6 minutes on each side. Add additional oil, if necessary, when it's time to turn the cakes. Put the skillet in the oven for 10 minutes to finish cooking through.

Makes 4-5 large cod cakes.


Roasted Garlic Spread
1 head garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

Pre -heat oven to 425F. Slice off the top of the garlic so that the top tips of the cloves are just showing. Wrap the whole head of garlic in foil and place on a cookie sheet. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes (can be done a couple days in advance, whenever you have the oven on). Allow to cool. Squeeze the garlic out of the papery skin. The roasted garlic should be very soft and fragrant.

In a small bowl, combine the roasted garlic with the olive oil, salt, and lemon juice. Whip the ingredients together with a fork until they become smooth and creamy. Stir in the cilantro. Top each of the cod cakes with a small dollop of the garlic spread.

Serves 4-5

Kohlrabi Mashed Potatoes

I never know what to do with the kohlrabi that I get in my CSA box. They can be thrown into salads raw, they can be braised, and they can be roasted, although I've never thought they brought anything to the dishes (the greens of kohlrabi are quite another story ... for another post). This time, I tried making mashed potatoes with them ... with much the same result ... they still don't bring much to the dish, but they add some nutritional value to a side dish that is most often pretty empty, and I'm happy with that, and everyone was happy eating these mashed potatoes.

I chose to make these mashed potatoes vegan, mostly because my son is allergic to dairy. They can be made with more traditional ingredients (butter, cream, milk), if you prefer.

Kohlrabi Mashed Potatoes
4 kohlrabi bulbs, peeled and cut into chunks
1 1/2 lbs. red fingerling potatoes, washed well and cut into chunks (keep skins on)
2 Tbsps. cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
2-6 Tbsps. unsweetened hemp milk, depending on preferred consistency
2 Tbsps. Earth Balance buttery stick

Combine the kohlrabi and potatoes in a large saucepan. Cover the vegetables completely with cold water, adding a 1/2 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and continue to boil until the vegetables can be easily pierced by a fork. Drain.

Transfer vegetables to a large bowl and mash with a potato masher. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Serve.

Serves 8.

Lentil Roast with Acorn Squash, Turnips & Carrots

Talk about cheap! Yes, I haven't talked about cheap in quite some time. Not that I don't still revel in cheap, good food (not to be confused with cheap bad food, of which there is so much that no one in their right mind would bother blogging about it). While expensive food finds its way onto my dinner table from time to time, I have to keep to a pretty tight budget, like most folks these days, and I do everything I can to keep costs low.

That said, I am not in the habit of compromising about food. Quite the opposite! We eat delicious and healthy food at every meal. We just eat less of those things that make most Americans gluttons (meat), and we eat more of the things that most Americans avoid like the plague (veggies).

This recipe is a great example of that kind of eating. The protein is organic green lentils (which I bought in bulk on sale for the dirt cheap price of 66 cents/lb.), the veggies are nearly all from my CSA (to learn more about CSAs and other local food buying options, check out my post about that sort of thing), which means I used about $7 of produce on this meal. I served this stew/roast over kohlrabi mashed potatoes (the kohlrabi was also from the CSA, and the potatoes were local). The whole stew cost about $10, and it serves about 8. Wow! That's $1.25 per serving ... big servings! You can't even do that at McDonald's!

If the cheap, healthy, and green of this meal weren't enough, it's also incredibly easy (and one pot ... well, one baking dish), and it was a hit with the kids ... especially the baby!

Lentil Roast with Acorn Squash, Turnips, & Carrots
1 lb. green lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 small acorn squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
6 small turnips, trimmed of ends and cut into 1" chunks
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 cups homemade or low-sodium veggie stock
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsps. garam masala
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425F. Combine all ingredients in a 13 x 9 glass baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake for 1.5 hours, stirring every 30 minutes, and adding water if necessary. Serve over kohlrabi mashed potatoes.