Jalapeno Pineapple Glazed Chicken

I am not a big meat-eater, but between the sweet chunks of golden pineapple, and the spicy zing of fresh jalapenos, this chicken dish is not only simple (ready in less than 15 minutes!), but packed full of flavor and mindfully cooked. Poaching the chicken in the sauce creates a healthy glaze that is simply delectable. I prefer serving with sauteed kale, and roasted red-skinned potatoes :)

Ingredients:

2-4 organic chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

2 cups fresh pineapple, chopped into chunks

4 jalapeno peppers, chopped into chunks

3 garlic cloves, chopped fine

2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

1/3 cup pineapple juice

1/3 cup soy sauce, low sodium

Method:

1) In a bowl, combine garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and pineapple juice. If you have time, let chicken breasts marinade in the sauce for 1-2 hours. If not, no worries! The chicken will cook in this sauce regardless.

2) In a deep frying pan, arrange chicken and pour sauce over breasts to lightly coat. There should be about 1/2" of sauce in the pan.

3) On medium-high heat, cover pan and poach breasts for 10 minutes.  Baste breasts with sauce 1-3 times. You will notice that the sauce will begin to thicken - this is good!

4) Add pineapple and jalapenos, and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked throughout and tender. The pineapple and jalapenos should still be bright in color (not overcooked).

5) Pour additional glaze over breasts, and top with cooked pineapple and jalapenos. Serve immediately.

Summer Quinoa Salad

This is one of my favorite, simple, easy, and super healthy salad recipes. I find the quinoa, beans and corn make this salad filling enough to even eat it as a meal itself. With a light lemon juice dressing, and optional feta cheese, this dish is low in calories, high in flavor, and full of complete vegetarian protein, omega-3's, and raw vegetables. A perfect salad for a hot summer day :)

Ingredients:

 
4 cups quinoa, cooked accordingly 

2 cups cooked black beans, rinsed 

2 cups fresh kale, chopped 

2 cups fresh bell peppers, chopped 

2 cups fresh cherry tomatoes, chopped 

2 cups fresh cucumber, chopped 

1 cup red onion, finely chopped 

½ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped 

½ cup feta cheese, crumbled (optional) 

½ lemon, juiced 

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Method:

 
1) In a large bowl, gently combine quinoa, beans, vegetables and cilantro, folding until evenly distributed. 

2) Pour lemon juice over salad. Add feta cheese (if applicable) and black pepper. Toss gently. 

3) Chill in refrigerator, or serve slightly warm.

Spinach Pesto "Pasta"

I've recently been experimenting with different types of faux-pastas; a healthy alternative to the typically carbohydrate dense pasta noodles. Both zucchini and squash peel nicely, and achieve a satisfying "al dente" texture when cooked properly. With a fraction of the calories, and triple the vegetable servings, this vegan dish feels good all over.

Spinach Pesto:

Ingredients:

5 cloves garlic
3/4 cup olive oil
3 cups spinach, chopped
1 cup basil, chopped
1 cup cashews or walnuts

Method:

1) Combine all ingredients into a food processor, or blender until pureed to a thick consistency
2) Set aside.

Zucchini Pasta:

Ingredients:

5-8 fresh zucchini squash, peeled thinly (minus the seeds)
2 fresh bell peppers, chopped
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
2 cups miniature heirloom tomatoes, chopped
1 extra zucchini squash, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Fresh black pepper, to taste

Method:

1) In a skillet, saute olive oil and chopped onion until tender over medium heat. Add peeled zucchini heat for 2 minutes, tossing lightly until slightly less than "al dente".
2) Add remaining chopped vegetables. Add fresh black pepper, and gently toss. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
3) Gently toss in hearty dollops of pesto, stirring to coat "noodles" and vegetables. Serve warm.

*Top with goat cheese, flax seed, and/or red chili flakes.

Vegan Zucchini Carrot Blackberry Bread

 
I always have a hard time justifying cake for breakfast; muffins, breads etc. Yes, these are forms of cake, end of story. But, if I'm going to eat these delights, I try to make them as ridiculously healthy as possible. This vegan, dairy-free recipe has no added sugar and no oil or butter whatsoever. The moist bananas and applesauce do the trick - especially with some gooey blackberries!

Wet Ingredients:

3 over-ripe bananas, mashed
1 zucchini, finely grated (minus the seeds)

1 carrot, finely grated
2 cups fresh blackberries
3/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened (*butter/oil substitution)
3 tbsp flaxseeds, ground + 1/3 cup water (*egg substitution)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cacao, ground
2 tsp cinnamon, ground

Misc. Ingredients:

1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup pitted dates, chopped

Method:

1) Preheat over to 350F. Lightly grease a 9x5 bread pan.
2) Mash bananas with fork, and combine all wet ingredients in a large bowl.
3) In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
4) Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing until just thoroughly combined.
5) Fold-in miscellaneous ingredients (*I also thought of adding sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, and pumpkin seeds).
6) Pour batter into pan, and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Gorgonzola Gnocchi

Oh gnocchi, so delicious and yet so hard to find! I decided to tackle this recipe after my continuous disappointment with store bought "fresh" gnocchi. Though it can be a little time consuming, it is definitely worth the labor. Nothing says Italian cuisine like little potato dumplings smothered in a rich creamy blue cheese sauce. Not vegan by any means! Serve with a light spring mix salad and a glass of Petit Syrah.

Gnocchi

Ingredients:

6 average potatoes, peeled, cooked and strained through a ricer
4 cups whole wheat flour
3 egg yolks

Method:

1) In a large bowl, combine riced potatoes and egg yolk. Add flour gradually.
2) Once mixture is thoroughly combined, knead gently into dough form
3) Sprinkle flour on a flat surface and roll dough into 1" thick ropes. From the ropes, cut 1" squares, yielding potato "pillows".
4) Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil. Place gnocchis in the pot, and let boil for 2-3 minutes. The gnocchi should maintain its shape (*you may want to experiment with half of the dough - depending on the size of your potatoes, extra flour may be necessary).

Gorgonzola Sauce

1 cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup 2% milk
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups fresh kale, chopped fine
Fresh cracked pepper to taste

Method:

1) In a sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add cheese and gradually add milk and half and half, stirring frequently.
2) Reduce to low heat, cover, and stir regularly. Add flour if sauce fails to thicken.
3) When sauce is thoroughly heated and thickened, briefly toss in chopped kale, add cracked pepper, and immediately pour over gnocchi. Serve warm.

Bruschetta

I love bruschetta, but it's never served in large enough portions (or, I'm a pig...). To make this variation of bruschetta more of a meal, I spread spinach pesto and goat cheese on the toasts prior to the scoops of tomato and basil, and serve with a simple herb salad and a hearty glass of Pinot Noir.

Spinach Pesto:

Ingredients:

5 cloves garlic
3/4 cup olive oil
3 cups spinach, chopped
1 cup basil, chopped
1 cup cashews or walnuts

Method:

1) Combine all ingredients into a food processor, or blender until pureed to a thick consistency
2) Set aside.

Bruschetta:

Ingredients:

1 large multi-grain baguette, chopped into 1/2" slices
3 cups fresh miniature heirloom tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1/4 cup olive oil
Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup softened goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 lemon, cut into wedges

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 450F. Brush slices of bread with 1/2 the olive oil, and toast in oven until brown and crispy (5-10 minutes, turning once).
2) In a bowl, combine chopped tomatoes, garlic, basil, cracked pepper, and lemon juice. Mix gently.
3) Once toasts are ready, spread each with a thin layer of spinach pesto, crumbled goat cheese, and top with the tomato-basil mixture. Broil for 2-3 minutes and serve warm.

Salmon Neptune Florentine

One of my favorite dishes! Fresh baked wild salmon steaks topped with Neptune-style sauce. Easy and impressive. I recommend serving with slightly-under steamed asparagus and a generous glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

Ingredients:

2-4 fresh, wild salmon fillets, skin-on
1/8 olive oil, for brushing salmon fillets
1 cup cream cheese, light
1 cup cream cheese, regular
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup crab meat, chunks
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped fine
1 cup fresh green onions, chopped fine
1/2 lemon, cut into wedges
Fresh ground pepper, to taste

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 400F. Brush bottom of salmon steaks with olive oil and place in glass baking dish.
2) In a separate bowl, combine cheeses, spinach, green onions, and crab meat. Squeeze in lemon juice. Mix gently.
3) Spoon Neptune-style sauce on top of salmon-fillets, pressing down lightly to make a dense crust. Top with freshly cracked black pepper.
4) Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until topping is lightly browning, and salmon is cooked throughout. 

Welcome!

Hello fellow real food lovers :)

My goal with this blog is to share my passion for creating home-cooked, healthful, real foods with whomever is looking for inspiration in their own kitchen.

Growing up on the West Coast of Canada, the idea of self-sustainable eating and farming was fostered at a young age. My family's ocean-side farm had an expanse of about 10 acres - enough for a hearty garden, supplying our family with an abundance of everything from fresh tomatoes and spinach, to beets and potatoes, to rhubarb and cascade berries . I would spend summers here, with my Grandmother Ruth, learning the secrets of her kitchen; baking, preserving, smoking, canning, and cooking. My job was picking the blackberries. The vines grew wildly, and were imbued across the property. Yielding buckets upon buckets of plump, juicy, sun-ripened blackberries, that seemed to make it to my mouth more frequently than the bottom of the bucket. I knew then how wonderful homegrown, real food, tasted. 

In an effort to preserve the wisdom imparted on me by my Grandmother, I have been saving and collecting recipes, and making and re-making the same "cook book" since I was five-years old (a product of perfectionism and only-child syndrome, I think). In an attempt to keep moving forward, I wanted to start sharing my recipes now, rather than wait until my cook-book is finally complete.

Eating well, is living well. I hope you enjoy my eclectic array of homemade delicacies!

Hayley