Raw Buckwheat Cereal

Buckwheat is a fruit seed related to sorrel and rhubarb. They have 154 calories per cup and are rich in manganese, triptophan, and magnesium. Prepared raw this way took 2 days, but only about 10 minutes of total active time. You can eat it just like you would cheerios or grape nuts, but with many more health benefits.

First, soak the buckwheat groats in water overnight. They absorb a lot, so check on them a few times and add more water if necessary.

The next day, drain the buckwheat in a colander, and spread on dehydrator sheets to dry. Dry for 7-9 hours at 105-110 degrees. Store in an airtight container.

Serve with milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and dried fruit.

I can't eat more than 1/4 of a cup for breakfast and it keeps me full all day long - it's hard to eat lunch!

Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa

Serves 4

1 cup organic 1% low fat milk
1 cup water
1 cup quinoa

2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 teaspoon ground high-oil cinnamon or 1 tsp. regular cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
4 teaspoons raw organic agave nectar

Bring milk, water and quinoa to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand 8-10 minutes (don't uncover it!!). Stir in blueberries and cinnamon; transfer to 4 bowls and top with the toasted walnuts. Drizzle 1 teaspoon agave nectar over each bowl.

Pumpkin Curry

Ingredients
2 lbs. pumpkin, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tsp. turmeric
2 tsp smoked paprika
4 cups chicken broth (can use water if you want to keep the recipe vegetarian)
1 cup coconut milk
10 oz. freshly grated coconut
3 tsp. cumin seeds
2 Tbsp. sunflower oil
2 tsp. black mustard seeds
2 tsp. curry
3 small red chiles, split in half lengthwise (I used red fresno)

Preparation

To make Curry:


You don't have to make your own curry, but the store bought stuff loses its potency very quickly so make sure if you buy a mix that it is fresh.

You can use all kinds of spices in this. I used cinnamon, cumin seeds, cardamom seeds, dried arbol chiles, turmeric, paprika, nutmeg, white peppercorns, black sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and chili powder. Grind in a mortar and pestle until fine.

To make shredded coconut:

Open the coconut by hitting it with the tang of your chef's knife. Drain out the coconut water and save for another use.

Cover the coconut with a towel and use a hammer to break it into smaller pieces. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, then use a knife to peel the husk off of the meat. Shred in a food processor.

For the pumpkin curry:

put the cubes of pumpkin in a saucepan and cover with the chicken broth or water and coconut milk. Add the turmeric and paprika. Boil for 15-20 minutes or until the pumpkin is fork tender.


Grind coconut with the cumin seeds, then add it to the pumpkin along with the curry spice and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the coconut is tender.

Next, combine the chiles and mustard seeds in a saucepan with the oil and cook at medium high heat for 3-5 minutes.

Add this to the pumpkin, season with salt, turmeric, and paprika to taste. Use an immersion blender to roughly puree the pumpkin (or just use a regular blender or food processor to puree in batches).

Top with steamed long grain rice and serve.

Beef Stuffed Zucchini Tagliatelle with Shiitake Mushrooms and Prosciutto San Danielle in Carbonara Sauce

First, you make the pasta dough by combining 7 oz. of flour with two eggs. Use a fork to slowly incorporate the flour into the eggs, then knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Coat with a little olive oil and let rest for 20 minutes.



While the pasta is resting, make your carbonara sauce. You'll need 4 egg yolks, a half cup of grated parmesan, and a little less than a half cup of cream. Whisk it all together and it should look something like this:



For the zucchini, I sliced them into thirds and used a tomato corer to hollow them out. Then I ran the tomato corer down the sides of the zucchini to make the little lines on the outside.





To make the stuffing, I combined bread crumbs, ground beef, garlic, a little white onion, chopped fresh basil, cream, ricotta cheese, the chopped insides of the zucchini, and salt and pepper. Pack it into the hollow zucchini and put in the oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes on each side.



Roll out and cut your pasta while waiting for the zucchini to cook.Toss pasta in a pot of hot boiling water for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick together.Take 2 thick slices of prociutto and chop with 3 cloves of garlic. Saute in olive oil at moderately high heat. When the fat renders from the prociutto, chop or thinly slice a couple handfuls of shiitake mushroom caps and throw those in the pan. Add about 3/4 cup of white wine and cook, stirring, until all liquid is absorbed. Then drain the pasta and toss it with the mushroom/prociutto mixture.



By now your zucchini should be out of the oven. As soon as it is cool enough to handle, slice into thin rounds and brown in the saute pan you just emptied. This will help all the flavors meld as well as give the zucchini filling some color. now put the pasta back in the pan with the zucchini and heat for about a minute, stirring. This is just to even out the temperature. Place in a serving dish, cover with carbonera sauce, and serve.

Robin doesn't add much, but....

We have had some AMAZING meals lately:

Brisket:


SUPER Spicy chicken and pineapple

BBQ Shrimp and Corn

LOBSTER!!!



More BBQ Shrimp!