This is a very easy – even foolproof – dessert for your holiday table. And if it’s not fancy enough to your standards, you can fix that with some whipped cream adorned with fine orange zest and rose petals. Or not. Listen, whether you fancy it up or keep it rustic, this is a nice dish. A little on the tart side. My mother used to make a version of it. My grandmother used to make a version of it, too. It’s crimson red on the inside, tart yet sweet, soft yet crunchy, rich and refreshing all in one. And since you’re using real, actual red walnuts, it’s also a conversation piece.
Filling
2 pounds organic cranberries
1 C mild honey (wildflower, orange blossom, etc.)
1 jar St. Dalfour orange marmalade
Topping
1 ½ C rolled oats
1 ½ C coconut sugar
1 C chopped red walnuts
2/3 C coconut oil
2 Tbsp cinnamon
Method
1. In a soup pot over medium heat, stir cranberries dry until they start to gently pop, and then a minute longer. Remove from heat, add honey and marmalade, and stir. Then let sit while you move to step two.
2. In a large bowl, mix everything else together.
3. Grease a lasagna pan or something like that. Around 100 – 150 square inches. So 13 x 9 is just fine. Place a third of the “topping” on the bottom, then layer on all the filling, than top with the rest of the topping. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Serve hot, with vanilla ice cream.
When the weather starts to get colder, on Sunday nights, I load two sheet pans into the oven: one with savory/spicy sausage and brassicas[1]; one with mild sausage and root veggies. The family picks through and eats what they like. And there are plenty of leftovers for grain bowls and other lunches into the week. The basic format is 2-2½ pounds veggies vs. 12 oz sausage. So 25% meat, 75% veggies.
I cook it low and slow. 375 degrees for an hour or more until everything is tender.
some good oil and salt, and maybe some black pepper
Prep: you don’t want your veggies to steam; you want them to roast. So that means they go into the oven dry. If you’re going to wash them (I have to admit, I don’t), plan plenty of time for them to dry out.
Snap the brassicas into forkful-size pieces. Cut the roots and sausages into forkful-size pieces. They don’t need to be the same size or shape, but they should be the same thickness, so they roast at the same speed. Quarter your onion.
Toss: in a large bowl, toss the roots and their sausage together with enough oil to coat. Do the same with the brassicas and their sausages, but since all the little ins-and-outs of the brassica florets have more surface area, you’ll use a little more oil. Either way, you don’t need too much, because the sausages will start to render.
Arrange & Bake: spread them out on their sheet pans, with at least some spacing, and only one layer. The more spacing, the more steam escapes, the more they shrivel up when baking. For the same reason, try and use a pan without walls. Bake at 375 degrees about an hour, turning every 10-15 minutes to make sure all the sides get oiled and roasted. They’re done with they seem done.
Serve: this dish should be served family-style. You could sprinkle the pan with chopped parsley or drizzle with tahini sauce, to look a more artful. But I don’t.
[1] Brassicas (also known as crucifers, or cruciferous vegetables) are the family that includes cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, turnip, canola, rutabaga, choy sum, mustard, and all the radishes. Here, I like to focus on Brassicas developed from flowers and buds: broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sproutsa fork.
Sichuan Chinese cuisine may just be my favorite worldwide, and Dan Dan Noodles are in my Sichuan top 3. The name means “bamboo pole noodles,” because the legendary street vendor who invented them carried a bamboo pole over his shoulders, with a bucket of noodles on one end, and a bucket of sauce on the other.
And that sauce! It’s hard to describe. I don’t have the adjectives. But imagine a richly spiced Chinese take on Bolognese… And having said that, there’s no one official way to do Dan Dan. Some Dan Dan’s are thin and oily, hot and salty. I like the dense ones, with thick sesame paste, browned minced pork, and pickled veggies for funk and acidity.
At home, Sichuan cuisine has always seemed daunting to me. The techniques are manageable enough, but the ingredient lists usually a whole handful of I don’t already have, and wouldn’t know what to do with otherwise. Here we sidestep that issue, and get our Dan Dan sauce ready-made out of a bottle, from the fine foodie folks at Chinese Laundry Kitchen. We use whole wheat linguine instead of fresh noodles you have to get at the Asian market. And we substitute Western fermented red cabbage (basically, sauerkraut) for the traditional Chinese preserved mustard greens, which you can never find without preservatives anyways. It all works. It’s better for you. And it is drop-dead delicious.
Serves 3 as a main
8 oz ground wild boar or vegan substitute**
2 Tbsp peanut oil or clean vegetable oil
1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1½ tsp black bean paste with garlic
1½ tsp coconut sugar
8 oz whole wheat linguini, or gluten-free buckwheat ramen
3 heads baby bok choy, separated into individual leaves
less than half a jar Chinese Laundry Kitchen dan dan sauce
~½ cup fermented purple cabbage
Toppings: chopped roast peanuts, black sesame seeds, sliced scallions
Prepare the Meat (or ***substitute): sautee the wild boar in oil until well-browned. Add five-spice powder, soy sauce, black bean paste, and coconut sugar, and cook an additional minute. Set aside.
Prepare the Noodles and Wilted Greens: in a large pot, cook the noodles as per package directions. About a minute before they’re done, throw in the bok choy to blanch. Drain.
Prepare The Bowls: into each serving bowl, place a heaping tablespoon Chinese Laundry Kitchen Dan Dan Sauce (mixed very well beforehand). Put 1/3 of the noodles-and-greens in each, and top with 1/3 the meat. Add 1-2 forkfuls of the fermented cabbage. (Traditional recipes cook the pickled greens with the meat. We don’t, so we don’t kill the live probiotics).
Serve: bowls are traditionally served not already mixed up. That’s done at the table. Top each with minced scallions, chopped peanuts, black sesame seed, and whatever else your heart desires. Bring a little more dan dan sauce to the table in case anyone likes it spicier.
***vegetarian/vegan substitute for the wild boar…. Try 1 package Pumfu™ pumpkinseed tofu. It’s like a green, richer, soy-free version of tofu. Double the oil (since the Pumfu won’t render any fat), and then mash up the Pumfu™ with a fork.
If any of you, my dear readers, have a connection to Lebanon, Israel, or Turkey, then you already know this salad by heart. You’re probably asking yourselves why do the Americans even need a recipe for this? It’s just chopping vegetables! And you wouldn’t be wrong.In many parts of the world, some version of this is on the table every night. Literally. And some mornings, too.
There are no rules. You can chop finely, or coarsely – just aim for everything around the same size. Although very ripe tomatoes require a coarse chop or they disintegrate.
I start with equal parts tomato and cucumber. And if that’s all I’ve got, then that’s all I need. But I like to add an additional veggie or two. I don’t like carrots or cabbage here: too tough. I don’t like lettuce: too soft. I avoid corn: too sweet. I avoid avocado: too unctuous (and it doesn’t age well). Tender young yellow summer squash is just right. I personally love a bit of red onion, although that can be polarizing. Jicama is doable. Sweet bell peppers work. I have mixed feelings about radish…
For dressing, a little lemon juice is traditional. (Or in Turkey, a lot of lemon juice). Chopped parsley is also traditional, but I tend to skip it. You can choose a mild olive oil, or one with bite, like Bariani, Sindyanna/Serrv, and Olio Beato. Whatever you do, do not pollute this salad with balsamic or buffalo or bleu anything. Oil, acid and herbs only. Maybe a crumble of feta, or some olives. Some chick peas or tuna will turn this hearty salad into a light meal.
Ingredients
1 part wonderful, ripe tomatoes
1 part crisp, fresh cucumbers
up to 1 part other vegetables of your choice
a generous drizzle of good olive oil
salt and lemon juice to taste
optional: lemon wedge, sprinkle of za’atar, olives, feta, fresh parsley or thyme
Method
Chop your veggies. Try to use pickling or Persian cukes instead of English cukes. Unless they’re really bitter, leave the peels on.
Put everything in a big bowl, and gently toss with high-quality olive oil. The tomatoes will leave a little juice on the cutting board. Get that in the bowl, too. Taste for salt.
Serve as-is, or with a sprinkle of za’atar and/or lemon wedges. This salad will keep for a few days in the fridge. Serve alongside eggs, yogurt, warm pita and hummus, poached whitefish with herbs, or grilled meats.
Serve as-is, or with a sprinkle of za’atar and/or lemon wedges. This salad will keep for a few days in the fridge. Serve alongside eggs, yogurt, warm pita and hummus, poached whitefish with herbs, or grilled meats.
My grandmother was adamant about her Caesars. No raw egg yolk? No anchovies? Then don’t call it a Caesar! I’m pretty certain my grandma would have loved this salad. She just wouldn’t have loved what I call it. Fair enough, I say. Whatever you call it, my version is vegan (although you are welcome to add toppings; you’ll see tuna and pine nuts in the picture), and it draws more inspiration from the Levant then the Mediterranean.
Crisp romaine is the backbone of this salad, but the dressing is the star. This is no fatty hedonistic gloop to make the vegetables less healthy… Everything we use is packed with nutrition. Sesame tahini is a veritable superfood. The research on heart health alone is compelling enough… Add some nutritional yeast for B-vitamins, trace minerals, and immune-stimulating beta-glucans. Capers have been show to be antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory. Plus lemon, garlic, and the tangy-savory-herbaceous Levantine spice blend, za’atar… The recipe makes enough for two salads. Use the remainder for whatever.
Ingredients
Dressing (enough for at least two salads)
1 C drippy tahini (I use Tohum brand)
½ C organic nutritional yeast
⅓ C lemon juice
1-4 cloves garlic, pressed
2 Tbsp za’atar (unsalted)
3-4 heaping dinner fork-fulls capers in brine
1 tsp salt
water and/or olive oil to taste
The Salad Itself
1 head crisp romaine lettuce, washed & torn
1-2 inclusions of your choice (see below)
Method
1. Mash and whisk together all dressing ingredients except the water and/or olive oil. It will be pretty thick. Now, use water and/or olive oil to thin to the desired consistency. For the right flavor, make sure to use the organic nutritional yeast grown in Germany, not the U.S. stuff fortified with B-vitamins.
2. Toss together with your lettuce. Use as much as you want. I like to be generous.
3. Add your inclusions. I lean towards protein here: tinned sardines, chick peas, hard-boiled egg, cubed tofu or Pumfu, a jar of very high quality ventresca tuna. Leftover chicken or salmon. You could also lean into the carbs with croutons or cubed potato. Or some fresh avocado. Or some asparagus. Parmesan? Have fun, be creative.
[editor’s note. I like Pav Bhaji a lot, I love it with melted cheese on top, and I’ve even had pretty good pizza where they use Pav Bhaji instead of tomato sauce. It’s also 100% plant-based, if you use vegan butter. So of course I’ve been wanting to run a recipe for the newsletter. Turns out our senior cashier Rakhi makes Pav Bhaji just about weekly. This is her recipe.
Pav Bhaji was originally provided as a cheap lunch for textile workers in Mumbai. It was, in the words of one writer, made from “all the leftovers.” You can use a similar philosophy here. Don’t feel constrained by precise quantities. Just make a mash from whatever you’ve got, and enjoy -Adam].
Pav Bhaji is popular Indian street food. Pav means “bread” or “dinner roll” and bhaji means “vegetable dish.” So Pav Bhaji is a mashed vegetable dish served with buttered Western-style rolls. Normally Pav Bhaji is about half potatoes, but when I make it for my son, I replace most of them with even more nutrient dense vegetables. -Rakhi
Serves 4
1½ C chopped carrots
3 C cauliflower florets
1 medium yellow potato, peeled & cubed
1 C chopped red bell pepper
1 C frozen peas
5 Tbsp butter, divided + more for the rolls
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 C finely chopped onion
5 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp chopped garlic
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 C chopped fresh or store-bought tomatoes
1-2 Tbsp Pav Bhaji masala spice mix
1 tsp sweet paprika (optional for color)
for garnishing ¼ C chopped cilantro
for garnishing, lemon juice or lemon wedges
soft dinner rolls for serving
salt to taste
Cooking method
In a pot, set cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, red bell pepper and frozen peas with 3 cups of water. Add 1tsp salt and cover the pot. Boil the vegetables together on medium heat till tender (around 10 to 15 mins). Using a potato masher, mash all the vegetable.
In another shallow pan melt 2 tbs butter on medium heat, then add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add chopped onions and sauté for two mins. Then add grated ginger and garlic. I use cheese grater to grate. Continue to cook for 1 more mins. Now add chopped tomatoes and mix well. Let the tomatoes cook for 3 mins until softened. Add the Pav Bhaji masala and paprika powder. I like to add paprika powder to give it more color. Now add the remaining butter, smashed vegetables and 1/4 cup water. Cook for another 10 minutes.
Give a good squeeze of lemon and chopped cilantro. Top with the rest of the butter.
Gently toast the dinner rolls, and serve well buttered.
I first published a version of this recipe about a year-and-a-half ago, and I’m still quite proud of it! The original version was made in a pie tin. This version is rolled out on a baking sheet. Either way, you don’t bake it but actually freeze it.
Few desserts are as intensely flavorful. Consider ingredients like flour, butter, cream, sugar… all very nice, but lacking in flavor — and nutrition. Meanwhile, practically everything we use here tastes like something — and is packed with nutrition. I mean, cacao and cherries — talk about an antioxidant powerhouse! All these flavors together — cherries and orange peel; hazelnut and chocolate; maple and vanilla — together, they’re a symphony. And of course since there are no raw eggs, you can totally lick the spoon.
This recipe is vegan, virtuous, almost entirely raw, and without refined sugars (except for the little bit in the marmalade). Serve it frozen, slice and eat like a pizza. (Once it starts to thaw, it gets floppy and harder to eat out of hand).
For the Crust
2 C hazelnut meal
1/2 C dark maple syrup
1/2 C pecan butter
2/3 C raw cacao powder
1 fat pinch pink salt
For the Filling
1 10-oz bag frozen dark sweet cherries, thawed (see notes)
1/2 C coconut cream
1/2 C thick orange marmalade
1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
Ingredients notes:
I use the Cadia brand of frozen cherries, as they’re consistently dark and sweet. And organic. And reasonably priced.
I’m serious about you needing to thaw them. Frozen cherries will solidify the coconut cream, and the resulting mix may be too thick for your blender.
Do make sure to use dark maple syrup vs. “golden amber.” It has a stronger flavor.
you can of course substitute another nut meal for hazelnut, and another nut butter for pecan.
Directions
in a mixing bowl, combine crust ingredients.
Roll the crust out on a piece of parchment paper. It can be round, oval, I don’t care. Galettes are supposed to be rustic, a little rough around the edges. Roll it as thin as a thin-crust pizza. Again, this doesn’t need to be too precise.
Roll up the edges of the crust just a little bit
Blenderize the filling ingredients.
Spread the filling on the crust. Freeze. Serve frozen. Cut with a pizza roller if you want to be interesting about it. Top with something if you want, too. Thin-cut
This keeps for at least a few weeks in the freezer.
delectable | breakfast or dessert | antioxidant-rich
I’ve been making some version of this Persian-inflected dish forever, but I’ve never had a good name for it. (“Silk Road Raita?”) A symphony of flavors and textures and colors. The creamy yogurt, the heft of the pistachios, the little pomegranate arils bursting with each bite. It’s a deeply satisfying breakfast, a light lunch, or snack. Add a little extra honey, and it’s an eccentric but deeply satisfying (and guilt-free!) dessert. Or place it on the Thanksgiving table in place of cranberry sauce. Why not?
Pistachios are quite healthy, even by nut standards. Like most nuts, they’re rich in protein, fiber, healthy fats, trace minerals and magnesium. Pistachios are also especially rich in plant lignans that may lower cholesterol. Meanwhile, pomegranate’s heart health benefits have been very well documented. Yogurt, with its probiotics and protein. And then saffron. Yes, it’s the most expensive spice on Earth! But, as Dr. Bill Mitchell used to say, two servings of saffron tea still costs less than a single latte1.
6 servings | all quantities are approximate
2 medium-large pomegranates, about 3 cups
1 C raw unsalted shelled pistachios
1-2 C unsweetened yoghurt
optional: a big fat pinch saffron
optional: honey to taste
Optional: splash of orange blossom water
Get the arils out of the pomegranate. This takes a while. Sit down, put on some music, enjoy a conversation while you do it. There’s a nice video tutorial here.
Very coarsely chop the pistachios.
Mix the pistachios together with the yogurt and pomegranate.
Either in the bowl or in individual serving dishes, drizzle on the honey, sprinkle the saffron, splash the orange blossom water
This dish keep 4-5 days in the fridge, although you’ll lose some of the nice crunch of the pistachios the longer it sits.
In Plant Medicine in Clinical Practice, Dr. Mitchell talks about saffron tea. Add ten strands of saffron to a mug, pour over boiling water. Let set a few minutes. Drink — including the threads. 2 cups a day is a solid dose, and the mood-elevating effects are often noticeable within a week. Saffron also contains water- and fat-soluble carotenoids that can protect the eyes. Dr. Mitchell describes using it for cerebral edema, although that is beyond the scope of this recipe — and my own personal experience. Much of the recent research on saffron has focused on weight control — and it appears to work — although it works primarily if not entirely by modulating mood (and thus appetite), and this how we approach food ↩︎
We shred summer squash – using a spiralizer, a julienne peeler, or by hand. That’s our “pasta.” And then we do it up aglio e olio style. That’s Italian for “garlic and oil.” E gamberi means “and shrimp,” and it’s the shrimp that transform what’s basically a glorified salad into a full-out meal.
Now let’s talk cheese: there’s generic romano, and there’s pecorino romano. The pecorino version comes from sheep’s milk. It’s a million times better than a generic cow romano, and that’s a mathematical fact. If you use feta instead of romano, again, seek the sheep. Trust me.
And salad shrimp… I love these! Baby shrimp, already cooked, super-easy, versatile, reasonably priced, and wild. (Wild is important, because farm-raised shrimp can be pretty gross). I add them to salads and slaws, omelettes, pastas, even savory waffles. And of course salads, for a punch of protein. Corn salad with shrimp and dill might be my next recipe…
Serves 4 | 10 minutes prep | 10 minutes cook
2.5 – 3 pounds yellow zucchini
½ C good extra virgin olive oil
4-6 cloves garlic, finely sliced or crushed
¼ C dried thyme, or mixed Italian dried herbs. (Yes, that much!)
1 16-oz bag frozen salad shrimp, thawed
at least 1 C grated pecorino romano, or feta
ground black pepper and cayenne to taste
Instructions
Defrost the salad shrimp in the fridge in the morning.
Spiralize or otherwise finely shred the summer squash into “noodles.” Set aside.
In a pan large enough to eventually hold all the noodles, gently heat the oil with the garlic and herbs until the garlic just slightly softens.
Add the zucchini, and continue to stir gently. Remember, you can eat zucchini raw, so how much you cook – nice and soft, or still a little crunchy – is entirely a matter of taste.
Add the shrimp until they’re warmed through. (Remember, they’re already cooked!).
Add some cheese, stir it in, serve with even more cheese
I love this recipe! First, it’s easy. Second, it lasts 5 days in the fridge. Third, it’s versatile, and in so many ways: you can serve it hot or cold, for breakfast or dessert, smoothly blended or chunky. You can top it with coconut milk, golden raisins, coconut chips, or freshly diced sweet mango.
This recipe uses Riceberry, a whole grain purple rice from Thailand. It has all the nutrition of a brown rice (healthy protein and fiber, plus additional antioxidants), but cooks in about half the time. It’s soft, chewy, and little sticky. [editor’s note:
Adzuki beans make this dish hearty and filling. Native to East Asia, adzukis pack 17 g protein and 17 g fiber per cup (cooked). Their somewhat sweet and nutty flavor makes them a great option for both sweet and savory dishes. All that extra nutrition makes this dish a great breakfast because it keeps me fuller for longer, and it’s chock full of goodness.
Serves 6-8. 10 minutes prep. 30 minutes simmering
12.2-oz can sweetened evaporated coconut milk (I use the Nature’s Charm brand)
2 C cooked adzuki beans (1 15-oz can, or made from scratch as per directions below)
½ C raw riceberry rice
3 Tbsp coconut sugar
Salt to taste, water as needed
Some fun toppings!
1. Make the rice. Rinse and place in a heavy-bottom pot with 1 C water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to lowest setting, cover and cook 25 min. Let sit covered another 10. Fluff with a fork. NOTE: this makes slightly more than 1 C, so save the rest for topping, or add to make a thicker pudding.
2. If cooking the adzuki beans, put beans in a pot with plenty of water. The general rule is 1 part beans to 4 parts water. Cook until the beans are VERY tender. 45 – 60min. Drain and set aside.
3. Using a blender or food processor, blend adzuki beans, 1 cup cooked riceberry rice, coconut milk and coconut sugar together till smooth. Add salt to taste. (I added a heaping ¼ tsp).
4. Serve with chopped mango or whatever other toppings you’re inspired by. You’ll find that you have some leftover rice and beans, so if you want to add texture to your pudding, add some and give it a stir. Too thick for your taste? Add more coconut milk! Enjoy.
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