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Granmisto di Funghi with Chickpeas, Basil and Sun-dried Tomatoes

[2018 Website Update: since we first published this recipe in 2008, the Granmisto di Funghi we used stopped being imported into the U.S.  That’s okay.  Just use about 12 oz (3/4 Lb) of good, interesting mushrooms: shiitakes, maitakes, lobster mushrooms, porcini, lion’s mane, etc.]

Chickpeas, aka garbanzo beans, originate in the Middle East and the Mediterranean.  Today, everyone everywhere eats them.  Why is that, aside from the fact they taste good?  Well, they’re high in soluble fiber, which helps lower cholesterol and decreases insulin requirements for people with diabetes.  They contain protein, calcium and iron (isn’t that a surprise?)  You get nutrition and de-li-tion all for a fair price, even if you don’t cook the beans yourself.

Want to cook them yourself?  Most books tell you to soak beans overnight.  I just spread them on a cookie sheet, look for stones, rinse beans in colander, pour into a big pot, cover with water about 4” above, bring to a boil with a 2” piece of kombu (kelp) to break down the part of the bean which causes digestive discomfort, and then boil uncovered for a few minutes.  Turn down heat, cover pot, and simmer for about two hours.  Because I’m always short on time, I mostly use Eden canned beans. Eden cooks beans with kombu too, and compared to other canned beans, Eden gives more beans and less liquid. 

Makes 4 servings

¼ c EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil) 2 cups sliced cabbage
1 large onion, coarse chopped ½ cup Med. Organic sun-dried marinated tomatoes, halved
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and pressed 1 tbsp each dry basil and fennel
one 15-oz can Eden organic garbanzo beans* 1 tsp coarse black pepper
1 bag Granmisto di Funghi (mixed  frozen mushrooms including Porcini) ½ – 1 tsp sea salt
4 cups coarse chopped kale 3 tbsp lemon juice

In a large skillet, gently warm EVOO.  Add onions and sauté 5 minutes.  Add garlic and sauté another minute or two.  Then add remaining ingredients except lemon juice.  Use liquid from beans in can, otherwise, add ½ cup water.  Mix everything well, cover pot and simmer dish for 20-30 minutes.  Turn off heat, add lemon, taste and adjust for seasoning.  Serve garnished with any number of things.  Some that I like are crumbled Mt. Vikos feta cheese, pine nuts, shelled pistachios (which we have too, of course), steamed shrimp, Wolfe Neck Farms meatballs or Pecorino Romano.

*or two cups cooked beans with ½ cup liquid.

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Moroccan Stew with Rice and Millet

A satisfying, simple vegetarian stew served over whole grains.  Of course you can add tempeh, tofu, shrimp, chicken, lamb, beef or chickpeas.   Millet is one of those under-utilized grains that is alkalizing, easy on the digestive system, somewhat foreign to us, but “friendly” when combined with something we already know and love like rice.   Too many ingredients?  Not really.  Lots of spices, but the veggies and grains are “ordinary” and I bet you have all these ingredients in your kitchen as a matter of course.  Yes, I do use organic veggies, and if you can, you are getting higher nutrient values.

Serves 4 (or more if you’re adding any of the other ingredients above)

STEW

GRAIN
¼ c EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil) 2 tbsp EVOO
2 c chopped onions 1 c diced carrot (don’t peel)
6 cloves garlic, minced 1 c chopped onion
2 tsp paprika 1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp EACH sea salt & black pepper, cumin, turmeric, ginger, chili pepper flakes ½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp coriander 4 c water
2 c diced tomatoes with juice (canned or fresh) 1 ½ c raw brown rice
3 c diced carrots (don’t peel) ½ c raw millet
3 c halved and sliced zucchini 1 c chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbsp lemon juice lemon wedges
salt and pepper to taste

Grain:  In a pot with a tight-fitting lid, gently warm olive oil.  Sauté carrot and onion together with salt and turmeric (onion will soften and become translucent).  Add water and grain.  Bring to a boil, turn flame to lowest, cover pot and simmer until grain has absorbed all the liquid, about 45 minutes.

Stew:  While the grain is cooking, in a large saucepan, gently warm olive oil and sauté onion until soft, about five minutes.  Add garlic, and stir another minute.  Mix in spices, diced tomatoes, carrots and zucchini.  Bring to a boil.  Turn flame to lowest, cover pot and simmer 20 minutes.  Add lemon.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spoon grain onto serving platter, or onto individual plates.  Form well in center of grain.  Spoon stew into well.  Sprinkle with cilantro.  Garnish each plate with a lemon wedge.  Voila!

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Georgian Red Lentil Soup

Soups are perfect for those with allergies because they can easily be made without wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, or other foods that are so difficult for many.  And soups are comfort food when it’s dark outside.  Here’s another soup from me to you this January 2008.  May 2008 bring you and yours health and happiness!

We’ve become addicted to maitake mushrooms, also called ‘hen of the woods’ or ‘dancing mushrooms’.  Why are we addicted?  Not only do they have an amazing taste and firm texture, but maitakes are one of the most revered deep immune tonics in Chinese medicine.  In Japan, doctors use maitakes to lower blood pressure, boost immune systems (again), and, as Adam wrote in our March 2006 newsletter, maitakes regulate blood sugar, protect the liver and taste a little like chicken.

Serves 4

4 tbs olive oil 8 cups hot broth or hot water
1/8 cup garlic cloves, sliced several threads saffron ½ cup red lentils
1 tsp ground coriander 3-4 oz maitake mushrooms
1 tsp curry or fenugreek powder 4 cups baby spinach
1 tsp red pepper flakes 1 can unsweetened coconut milk*
1 tsp dried basil ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp dried mint salt and pepper to taste
2 ½ tb chopped fresh cilantro

Gently warm olive oil in a soup pot.  Add garlic and sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally until garlic softens, a few minutes.  Add saffron, coriander, curry, red pepper flakes, basil and mint.  Stir a minute, and slowly add hot broth and then red lentils.  Bring soup to a boil, lower heat, cover pot and simmer for 30 minutes.  Then add mushrooms (torn wildly into bite-sized pieces) and spinach.  Simmer an additional 5 minutes.  Add coconut milk (or more broth if you prefer), lemon juice, turn off heat, and let soup stand for five minutes.  Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve garnished with cilantro.

Want to add tofu, tempeh, shrimp or chicken to this soup?  But, of course, dollink!

*Coconut milk isn’t authentic, but I like the way it melds flavors.  If you omit, flavors will simply be a little sharper.  This is not the prettiest soup, and unlike other soups, is best eaten the day it’s made.

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Cocoa Butter Financiers

Our head cook made these for me, delivered with the following note:  “To one fearless leader from one leerless feeder.”

What is cocoa butter?  The natural fat of the cacao bean (from which we get the incredible stuff known as “chocolate”).  Do we sell it?  But of course.  Cocoa butter has a melting point just below average body temperature, which is why chocolate remains solid at room temperature, but melts in your mouth. Cocoa butter gives a smooth texture to so many confections containing chocolate, and is often used by culinary experts (ahem, now you’re one).

As is often the case, science is busy catching up with folk wisdom (here with regards to almonds).  So many studies these last few years talk about almonds ability to help lower cholesterol (an Australian study found men with normal cholesterol who ate three ounces of almonds a day for three weeks cut total cholesterol by 7% and bad/LDL cholesterol by 10%); cancer clinics around the world recommend ten almonds per day.  Almonds are nutritionally dense ? one fifth an almond’s weight is protein, and they are rich in absorbable calcium and antioxidant vitamin E.; they have good fat, magnesium, potassium, fiber and more.  We all know the FDA takes forever to allow claims, but even they said almonds reduce the risk of heart disease!  In Italy, it’s a time honored tradition for wedding hosts to give sugar-coated almonds to guests as a symbol of good health, fertility, romance, fortune and happiness.

Makes 20 little financier (in 2-inch muffin wells) | Bake at 375 degrees F

1 ½ c Sucanat or Rapadura (unrefined sugars) 1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt
1 ½ c almond meal (in our nut refrigerator) 6 oz cocoa butter, melted
5 egg whites toasted almonds for garnish

Amanda says:

1. Blend Sucanat and almond meal/flour.

2. Whip egg whites and salt until white are stiff.  Slowly drizzle in melted cocoa butter.

3. Blend #1 and 2# and scrape into a pastry bag. Chill the dough.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Grease tiny muffin tin pan with cocoa butter or mixed ½ liquid lecithin and ½ good vegetable oil.  (We keep a mixed jar in our cupboard.) See our cookbooks for detailed information.)

5. Pipe 20 little financiers. Put one toasted almond on each one. Bake for 30 minutes until done.

“They will be risen and cute. I rest my case.”

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Simplest Dessert Ever

This is a repeat of one of my (it’s Debra again!) favorite desserts (to complement just about anything).  No mess in the kitchen, and nutrient rich.  And what a concept — a dessert that keeps those you care about healthy!  

We all know dried fruits like apricots, peaches and prunes have lots of fiber, which is especially helpful at the holidays, and also are rich in iron, which means they’re good for relieving anemia too.

Use unsulfured, untreated dried fruit that means no bright orange apricots, for instance.  And avoid dried fruit sprayed with mineral oil to prevent sticking.  Mineral oil depletes nutrients in the body.  Rest assured, habibi, none of our dried fruits are sulfured or treated.

I love leftovers for breakfast alongside a steaming bowl of hot cereal.  Or on top of yogurt or kefir.

2 cups dried Turkish apricots 2 cinnamon sticks
2 cups dried peaches ½ cup crystallized ginger chunks, optional
2 cups dried cherries or prunes

Put dried fruit in a large pot.  Cover with water by several inches.  Thrown in cinnamon sticks.  Bring water to boil.  Turn off heat.  Cover pot.  Cool.  Refrigerate overnight.  By the next morning, the liquid in the pot will be rich-tasting and thick.  The flavors will be wonderful.  Can you get any simpler?

Serve in pretty wine glasses.  If you like, put a dollop of whipped cream or Soyatoo on top.  (Or ice cream, fake ice cream, or frozen yogurt.)  You may also garnish with fresh berries like raspberries, strawberries or blueberries.  Or banana slices.   Yummm.

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Wild Rice & Purple Potato Pancakes

Wild rice is expensive, but is special and perfect for holidays like Thanksgiving or Chanukkah.  Wild rice is not a grain like other rices, but a seed.  Go figure!  Just like buckwheat is not a grain, but a fruit….  Wild rice kernels are unpolished (so you get every drop of nutrient this seed provides), and the flavor is nutty with a nice chewy texture.  Wild rice gives us copper, fiber, folate, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, vitamin B6 and zinc!

I heard Dr. Green of the Dr. Green’s Rx website speak at Natural Products Expo East and he said, “Potatoes are consistently on the list of most pesticide-contaminated vegetables. In recent USDA testing, the Environmental Working Group found 81% of potatoes still contained pesticides after being washed and peeled, and the average potato had the highest total amount of pesticides of all of the 43 fruits and vegetables tested.”  Of course you can find organically-grown potatoes in our store…. If we can’t get purple potatoes, feel free to substitute russets here.

Serves 4

1 cup water, boiling 1  tsp sea salt
1/3 cup wild rice 1  tsp black pepper
1 ½ pounds organic purple potatoes 2 free-range eggs
2 tb EVOO or macadamia nut oil Additional oil for frying
1 medium organic onion, chopped fine

Put wild rice into boiling water.  Cover pot and simmer for an hour.  Drain if any water remains, but drink liquid, or save for soups, don’t pour down the drain.  In the meantime, steam unpeeled potatoes until easily pierced by a knife.  Do same with this liquid.  Mash potatoes with a fork in a medium bowl.   Add rice.

Place 2 tb oil in a medium pan and sauté onion until soft.  To bowl with rice and potato, add cooked onion, salt, pepper, and eggs.  Mix lightly with fork.  Don’t smush with spoon.  In same sauté pan, add just enough oil to cover the bottom.  Over medium heat, warm oil and then spoon large tablespoons of the potato mixture into the hot pan.  Allow to ‘fry’ for four minutes on one side.  Flip.  Repeat on second side.  Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.  (Yes, you can cook a day ahead and reheat on serving platter in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes and bring to table.)

Can you bake these wild rice and potato cakes?  I like to pat potato mixture into a couple of well-oiled pie plates, brush generously with oil, bake until lightly browned around the edges.  Cut into wedges, just like for pie, and serve.   Serving for Chanukah?  Bring on applesauce or sour cream

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Baked Apples with Macaroon Filling

It must be fall because the new apple crop is in!  Apples are winners when it comes to reducing the risk of heart disease, says a new study of more than 34,000 women. The findings, published in the March, 2007 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, noted apples are a rich source of flavonoids and fiber (richest in the skin).  Unfortunately, in conventionally-grown apples, the skin is also the part most likely to contain pesticide residues and/or be covered in petroleum-based waxes.   Which means, of course, that eating organic apples is the way to go since we want that extra nutrition and fiber found in the peel, don’t we?!?   There are myriad other reasons to eat apples so we are healthy and wise too.

6-10 Servings

6 crisp apples*, halved lengthwise thru the stem end ½ c raisins, currants, or dried cherries
1 c crumbled macaroons, or desiccated coconut 1 c Butternut Mtn. Farms maple syrup
1 tb cinnamon 2 tb unsalted butter cut into pieces, optional

Take each apple half, and using a paring knife, core, leaving a hole an inch-and-a-half in diameter.  Do not peel apples.  Why?  See above.  Note how rustic and gourmet the unpeeled fruit looks.   Traditionally, to make baked apples, one stands the apple with the stem end up and takes out the core from the top.  Halving and coring is so much easier!  If you choose to take out the core from the top, be careful not to go all the way to the bottom or your filling will run out during baking.

Arrange ten apple halves, cut side up, in ceramic shallow baking pan or round skillet.  You want each half to have its own snug place.  Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Mince remaining two halves of apple and combine in a little bowl with crumbed macaroons, cinnamon, maple syrup and lemon.  Mix well, and mound filling in cavities.  Spoon remaining filling over fruit.  Don’t worry if it spills into pan.  Will be delicious.   Bake until apples are tender (about an hour) and then serve warm or at room temp with whipped cream, ice cream, if you like, or the new, dairy-free whipped “cream” called Soyatoo.  Nice with oatmeal for breakfast!

*What kind of apples to use?  You can use any crisp apple.  My favorites are Pink Ladies, Granny Smiths and Braeburns. 

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Wild Mushroom Stir-Fry

Mushrooms lack chlorophyll, which means they don’t produce food for themselves through photosynthesis.  Instead they absorb nutrients from compost, leaves, decaying wood, and soil. Wild mushrooms, like those Asiago uses, provide a more intense and exotic flavor, and I like to think more nutrients since that’s usually the case with wild foods.  We all know we need to eat our greens, so make it a habit to throw in veggies like the spinach in the recipe below with your mushrooms.  If you like a chewier mix, chop up kale and stir that in instead of tender spinach.  Or collards or broccoli.

Serves 4

2 tb EVOO, coconut butter, ghee or butter pinch cayenne
12 oz frozen or fresh mixed wild mushrooms 4 cups baby spinach
1 tb tomato paste salt and pepper to taste
1 clove garlic

Gently warm extra-virgin olive oil, coconut butter, ghee or butter in a large skillet over medium heat.   Cook, stirring occasionally until mushrooms begin to brown, about 5 minutes.  Incorporate tomatoes paste, garlic and cayenne.  Stir in spinach and cook just enough to wilt.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Spoon over just about everything like our ready-made polenta, pizza crusts, beans, pasta, chicken, fish, or tofu you name it.  Or you can serve this dish plain, as a side, or as a main dish garnished with anything from sunflower seeds to goat cheese to shrimp.

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Kurt’s Pecan Pesto (a summer recipe)

I fell in love with Kurt’s recipe back in the summer of 2002. Kurt is baking bread at the Orchard Hill Breadworks in VT.  He swings by from time to time bearing the gift of whole grain loaves baked the old-fashioned way. 

Kurt writes, “One time Adam asked the Gaia Herb rep what the best herb for general health was.  The rep said basil and explained to us that it was the best overall tonic for the body.  Pecans in this recipe add healthy fatty acids to the mix, and of course there are all those benefits that come from fresh garlic.  If raw olive oil (like Bariani olive oil, which we carry) is used, this pesto can be a 100% raw recipe.  Could this be the healthiest recipe ever at Debra’s Natural Gourmet?

½ cup raw pecans

2 cloves garlic

4 oz basil leaves removed from stems (about 2 Applefield Farms bunches)

2/3 cup olive oil

½ tsp sea salt, Celtic or Himalayan are best (fine grade)

pinch of cayenne, optional

Use a food processor or blender to mix the ingredients.  Start with the pecans and garlic.  Once that is chopped fine, add the basil.  Then the oil and then other stuff.  Different oils can be used too.  Try a bit of Austrian pumpkinseed oil in there for a unique taste.  And Celtic or Himalayan sea salt really is the way to go.

Pesto can be used as topping or a dip for all kinds of stuff.  The possibilities are endless:  pasta, crackers/bread, appetizers, tomatoes, celery and other veggies, sandwiches, eggs, fish…..and even bacon.  It can be made in big batches and frozen for later use.  Giant quantities can be made in a 5 gallon pail with a (clean) weed-wacker.  Be sure to divide into small portions before freezing.”  So said Kurt in 2002.

Kurt’s pesto works with any kind of nut or seed.  It’s the only pesto I’ve liked without Pecorino Romano.

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Summertime Red Pepper, Chickpea, Hemp and Black Olive Spread

I keep trying to figure out ways to use hemp and pumpkin seeds because they’re both so healthy, but hemp sounds “sexier”, so it’s in the title here.  I read that hemp is the “next flax” because it’s another rich, rich source of essential fatty acids.  Ruth Shamai of Ruth’s Hemp Foods says, “So that’s one-third of its composition (essential fatty acids).  Another one-third consists mostly of fiber, both soluble and insoluble.  And it’s also one-third protein.” (more…)

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