Chopped Salad

This wonderful chopped salad is from Che Fico in San Francisco. I have adjusted it to be healthier and dairy free.

Chopped Salad

Vegetables

1 small acorn squash (2–3 lb.)

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

4 tsp. honey

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

8 oz. Brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 sprigs thyme

1 sprig rosemary

1 garlic clove, lightly crushed

2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar

Vinaigrette

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Kosher salt

1 small garlic clove

1½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1½ tsp. dried oregano

¼ cup plus ⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Assembly

Kosher salt

2 scallions, thinly sliced

2½ oz. fennel salami, sliced ⅛” thick, slices cut into quarters (about ½ cup)

Recipe Preparation

Vegetables

1) Place a rack in the middle of oven and preheat to 350°. Cut squash into quarters and scoop

out seeds. Place skin side down on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Whisk lemon juice,

honey, and 2 Tbsp. oil in a small bowl and rub all over cut sides of squash; season with salt

and pepper. Roast until very tender, about 11/4 hours. Watch very carefully, due to the honey it can burn very quickly. Let cool.

2) Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Arrange brussels sprouts cut

side down in skillet and cook, undisturbed, until well browned, about 4 minutes. Toss and

continue to cook, tossing occasionally and reducing heat as needed, until browned all over,

about 5 minutes longer. Reduce heat to medium; add butter, thyme, rosemary, and garlic. Tip

skillet toward you so butter pools on one side and cook, spooning butter over brussels

sprouts, until butter smells nutty, about 4 minutes; season with salt. Add vinegar and toss to

coat. Cook just until vinegar and butter form a glaze over sprouts. Let cool; discard herbs.

Vinaigrette

Combine vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, and a big pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Finely

grate in garlic and whisk to combine. Let sit 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat red pepper flakes, oregano, and ¼ cup oil in a small saucepan over medium

until oil is warm but not yet sizzling. Add remaining ⅔ cup oil to cool down infused oil.

Pour infused oil into vinegar mixture; whisk until smooth. Season vinaigrette with salt.

Do Ahead: Vinaigrette can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Assembly

Toss scallions, salami, olives, and dill. Scoop out bite-size pieces of roasted squash until you have 2 cups; save remaining squash for another use. Add to mixture along with Brussels sprouts and glaze. Add radicchio and lettuce and toss to combine. Add more vinaigrette to taste; season with salt.

Serve salad topped with pomegranate seeds.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

These gluten-free, paleo-friendly mint double chocolate cookies are rich, decadent and highly addictive. They’re firm on the outside and lusciously soft on the inside.

Yield: 12 cookies

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, liquid at room temperature or melted butter
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp peppermint extract
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup cacao powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degreest.
2. Add the coconut sugar, coconut oil, almond butter, egg and peppermint flavoring to a bowl. Use a hand mixer to cream the ingredients together.
3. Add the almond flour, cacao powder, baking soda and salt to the creamed ingredients and blend together again with the hand mixer. The dough will be VERY thick and hard to mix. That’s okay, you just need it combined.
4. Then add the chocolate chips and use your hands to mix everything together. It’s easiest with your hands as the dough is so thick.
5. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and use a cookie scoop to drop mounds of the dough onto the baking tray. Then flatten the cookies with your hands into flat, cookie-like shapes. These cookies will not flatten much with cooking, so mold them into the shape you’d like. At this stage, the dough will also seem overly oily, but that will disappear with cooking.
6. Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking tray before moving.

Bacon Meatballs with Mango Honey Mustard Sauce

These are on the menu for delivery this week.  They would be just as good with chicken meatballs as with beef.

Meatballs;

2        lbs ground grass-fed beef

6        slices of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2    yellow onion, diced

1        egg, whisked

1/4    cup almond flour

1         teaspoon cumin

1         teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 t   teaspoon chili powder

salt and pepper, to taste

For the dipping sauce;

1          mango, peeled and cut away from seed inside

2-3     tablespoons dry d mustard

1-2     tablespoons Dijon mustard

1        tablespoon raw honey

dash of chili powder

salt, to taste

For the balls:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put a large skillet over medium heat and add your diced bacon to it.
3. Once bacon has rendered some fat in the pan, add your onions. Mix together and poke at it randomly to make sure the bacon and onions don’t burn. Once bacon is cook through, add the bacon and onions to a plate with a paper towel on it to cool and soak up some excess fat.
4. Now add your ground beef to a large bowl, then add your cooled bacon and onions, along with egg, almond flour, and seasonings.
5. Use your hands to mix all that goodness up thoroughly.
6. Now roll into golf ball size balls and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
7. Bake for around 12 minutes, using tongs, turn meatballs over. Bake another 10 minutes.

For the dipping sauce:

1. While your meatballs are baking, time to make your sauce.
2. Add your peeled and sliced mango to a food processor and puree until your have a sauce.
3. Now add your ground mustard, yellow mustard, and honey to it and puree it all together.
4. Taste to see if you want it sweeter or more tangy and add extra honey or mustard as needed.
5. Add spices and salt and puree one more time.

Spicy Fish Tacos with Tequila Lime Pickled Pineapple

Servings 0 4

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon all-spice
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper
• 1 pound white meat fish
• 6-8 warmed corn or flour tortillas
• 1-2 cups cooked rice
• 1 cup cooked black beans

Tequila Lime Pineapple

• 1/2 a pineapple thinly, sliced into half moons
• 1 jalapeño, sliced (seed if desired)
• juice of 1 lime
• 2-3 tablespoons tequila (optional)

Chermoula Sauce

• 2 cups fresh cilantro
• 1 cup fresh parsley
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

1. 1. In a 9×13 inch baking dish, combine the orange juice, honey, all-spice, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper. Add the fish and toss to coat. Let sit in the marinade for 10 minutes.

   2. Heat a grill, grill pan, or skillet to high.

   3. Cook the fish for 3-4 minutes per side, or until cooked through, drizzling the marinade over the fish, as it cooks.

   4. To assemble, divide the rice among warmed tortillas. Add the black beans, and pineapple. Add the grilled fish and serve drizzled with the Chermoula Sauce. EAT.

Tequila Lime Pineapple

1. 1. Add the pineapple and jalapeño to a shallow bowl and pour over the lime juice and tequila. Let sit 20-30 minutes or up to overnight. Serve alongside the tacos.

Chermoula Sauce

1. 1. Add all ingredients in a blender and pulse until combined. Taste and add salt as needed. Serve drizzled over the tacos.

Firecracker Chicken Meatballs

Meatballs:

• 1 ¾ – 2 pounds ground chicken (or turkey)
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup gluten free Panko- style breadcrumbs
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder

FIRECRACKER SAUCE:

• ½ cup hot sauce (I recommend Franks)
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (depending on spice preference)

1. Position 2 racks near the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 475ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
2. Combine the ingredients of the firecracker sauce and whisk to combine.
3. In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, garlic, salt pepper, eggs, panko, paprika, and onion powder. Use your hands to mix all the ingredients together. It’s easier to tell when he ingredients are combined when using hands.
4. Shape the meat mixture into ball, about 3 tablespoons of meat per ball.  Place shaped meatballs on prepared baking sheet. bake for 11-13 minutes or until the meatballs are completely cooked.
5. Using 2 tablespoon, dip each individual meatball into the sauce. Alternately, you can brush each meatball with the sauce. Place back on the baking sheet and bake for an additional 1-2 minutes. Drizzle or brush with additional sauce as desired.

Spanish Garlic Shrimp

A quick but delicious recipe!

Spanish Garlic Shrimp

4 cloves garlic- sliced

1 pound frozen large shrimp (21-25 count) – thawed, peeled, and deveined

kosher salt to taste

1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika (optional)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons dry sherry

1 tablespoon chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley

1) Slice garlic thinly. Season shrimp with kosher salt and paprika. Mix to coat.

2) Heat garlic and oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook until garlic starts to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Add shrimp and increase heat to high. Toss and turn shrimp with tongs until starting to curl but still undercooked, about 2 minutes. Pour in sherry. Cook, stirring continuously, until sauce comes up to a boil and shrimp is cooked through, about 1 minute more. Remove from heat. Stir in parsley with a spoon.

Thai Salmon with Homemade Sweet Chili Sauce

Thai Salmon

6 x 6 oz sockeye salmon fillets, skin on or off
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
2 – 3 tbsp green onions, chopped
Toasted sesame oil

Thai Sweet Chili Sauce;

1 cup plus 4 tablespoon water, divided
2 tablespoons arrowroot
3 medium cloves of garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Fresno, red Thai chilies, or red jalapeño peppers (seeds left in for a hotter sauce)
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup rice vinegar.
2 teaspoons Bragg’s Amino Acids
1 teaspoon Red Boat Fish sauce

Make Chili Sauce;

Bring all ingredients, except 4 Tablespoons water and arrowroot, to a simmer. Simmer 15 minutes and then combine 4 T. room temperature water and arrowroot . Stir well and then stir into simmering liquid, stir until liquid simmers.

In a large baking dish, lay down salmon fillets in a row. Each fillet – sprinkle with a pinch of salt and top with 1 tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce. Brush or rub with your fingers to coat fish with sauce evenly on top, bottom and sides. Cover and let marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight is the best (up to 24 hours).

Turn on oven’s broiler on High and position top oven rack 5″ – 6″ below the heat source. Line large baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper or silicone mat, spray with cooking spray and place salmon fillets skin side down (if any). Coat with remaining marinade from the dish (if any).

Broil for 6 minutes, rotating baking sheet once. Remove from the oven and brush top of each fillet with 2 tsp of Thai sweet chili sauce. Return to the oven and broil for another 2 minutes or until salmon has caramelized. Serve hot garnished with green onions, extra sauce.

Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

For the buffalo sauce:

¼ cup melted butter
¼ cup hot sauce of choice, I use Frank’s Red Hot®
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1 clove garlic, minced

For the cauliflower:

1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
ghee- for frying
½ cup arrowroot
¾ cup rice flour 
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For serving:Dairy Free Ranch dressing.

Instructions:

For the buffalo sauce:

In a small bowl whisk together the butter, hot sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire and garlic until completely combined. Set aside until ready to use. If not using right away, store the sauce in an airtight container for up to a week – whisking to combine before using.

For the cauliflower:

Fill a large pot with enough oil to reach 2-inches up the side of the pan. Heat oil to 350°.

In a large bowl whisk together the cornstarch, flour, baking powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Slowly add ¾ cup cold water, whisking until a thin batter forms (about the consistency of pancake batter). If needed, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

Working in batches, dip the cauliflower in the batter, letting the excess batter drip off. Add to the hot oil and deep-fry until the cauliflower is golden brown, about 4 minutes.  

Remove to a large bowl and toss with ¼ cup of the buffalo sauce. Serve immediately  ranch dressing.

BLT Pasta Salad- gluten free

2-1/2 cups uncooked gluten free  pasta

6 cups torn romaine lettuce

1 medium tomato, diced

1/2 cup sliced red onions

4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

1/2 cup dairy free ranch dressing  (recipe below)

1 Tablespoon barbecue sauce

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Then rinse pasta under cold water.
2. In a large bowl, combine the romaine lettuce, tomato, bacon, onions and pasta.
3. Drizzle the ranch dressing and barbecue sauce over the top. Gently toss to coat evenly. Season with pepper. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Dairy–Free Ranch Dressing Recipe

1 cup fresh mayonnaise.

1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar.

1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut milk OR Soy sour cream.

1 small garlic clove finely minced or pressed, OR ¾ teaspoon granulated garlic powder.

1 teaspoon onion powder.

2 teaspoons dried parsley.

2 teaspoons fresh chopped dill.

2 teaspoons fresh chopped chives.