Tag: foodie

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: More Roasted Roots:  Roast Roots & Roots Greens Tops

    A New View of Healthy Eating: Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: More Roasted Roots: Roast Roots & Roots Greens Tops

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    Within my home-cooking, cooking classes, cookbook, and recipe blogs, one of my key philosophies is learning some simple culinary techniques and then using the techniques to cook all kinds of veggies. For those of you who know me from classes, Facebook, and my blog, you are aware that I love roasting veggies.

    Roasting is simple and the cooking process caramelizes the veggies keeping them crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. The flavor is always delicious and roasting can be used in any season with basically any veggies our farmers grow.

    Today I roasted veggies that I purchased on Saturday at this week’s Gilbert Farmers Market from a few of our amazing local organic farmers: Steadfast Farms, Blue Sky Farms, Abby Lee Farms, and Crooked Sky Farms. Plus, I still had a few turnips from The Farm at South Mountain. I was especially happy to also cook beans from Crooked Sky Farms for the first time.

    And, I had fun experimenting with roasting a few roots – carrots and radishes – with the whole veggie. I roasted the roots and the greens and they were so beautiful. Definitely food art!

    Simple Ingredients

    b-01-veggies-mise-img_9387.jpg

    • Sweet potatoes (Crooked Sky Farm)
    • Carrots (Blue Sky Organic Farm)
    • Radishes (Steadfast Farm)
    • Tomatoes (Abby Lee Farms)
    • Broccoli (Blue Sky Farm)
    • Turnips & Breakfast Radish (The Farm at South Mountain)
    • Black Beans (Crooked Sky Farm)
    • Quinoa
    • Organic extra virgin olive oil
    • Dry seasoning (Today Penzeys Fox Point (salt, shallots, chives, garlic, onion, green peppercorns)

     

    Simple Steps

    • Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • Slice veggies into equal-sized pieces.

    b-veggies-mise-img_9390.jpg

    • Coat veggies with olive oil and seasonings.

    c-veggies-mix-img_9395.jpg

    • Place veggies flat side down on parchment-lined flat sheet pan.

    D-01-veggies-tray-IMG_9398

    • Cook for 15 minutes.
    • Flip.
    • Cook another 12-15 minutes.

    E-veggies-roasted-IMG_9404

    • Plate with quinoa and black beans.
    • Enjoy!

    f-01-plating-mise-img_9407.jpg

    I have just started a new Facebook Group: Simple Plant-Based Daily Eating Tips with Melanie Albert. Please come over and join in the conversation.

    Interested in learning more plant-based culinary skills, Melanie’s book includes 84 simple culinary techniques.

     

    72-73_Sweet-roasted-roots

     

     

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Raw Turmeric Crackers

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    Recently, I had the great opportunity to purchase beautiful fresh organic Hawaiian turmeric root from McClendon Select at the Wednesday morning Uptown Farmers’ Market in Phoenix, Arizona. I love the fresh green taste and aroma of the turmeric, plus, its anti-inflammatory health benefits. 

    I had quite a bit of turmeric, so I decided to experiment with the turmeric in a raw dehydrated cracker. And, I’m so glad I did. While dehydrating, the aromatherapy of the crackers was warming and refreshing, perfect for a rainy Arizona evening.  And, oh my, the crackers are so vibrant tasting, easy to prepare, and I’m excited to make raw crackers more often.

    First, I’ll share the step-by-step process to dehydrate raw crackers in my book, “A New View of Healthy Eating” and then the intuitive cracker recipe I created with the fresh turmeric root.

    Excerpt from “A New View of Healthy Eating”: Dehydrated Raw Flaxseed Crackers

    Flax seeds, chia seeds, and buckwheat groats are perfect for a flatbread batter because they form a natural mucilaginous gel when combined with water. Once dried, it’s a great binder for crackers, flatbread, and raw tortillas or wraps.

    5 Ingredients for Dehydrated Flatbread or Crackers

    The basic ingredients to create the base for dehydrated flatbread or crisp crackers are very simple. Have fun using your intuition to create your own versions of crackers with this raw dehydrating process.

    1. Soaked flax seeds, chia seeds, or buckwheat groats
    2. Fresh vegetables (peppers, tomatoes, beets, carrots) or fruit (apples, pears)
    3. Nuts or seeds (almonds, cashews, pecans, sunflower seeds)
    4. Herbs and spices (basil, oregano, ginger, turmeric)
    5. Dehydrator: to dry for 8-12 hours

    Sweet Pepper Almond Flax Crisp

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 1/2 cup golden flax seeds, ground, then soaked in 1 ½ cups water
    • ¾ cup raw almonds, soaked in water for 2-3 hours, drained
    • 1 ¼ cup yellow bell pepper, minced
    • 1 shallot, minced
    • ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked and drained
    • 1 ½ tsp chili powder
    • 1 ½ tsp onion granules
    • 1 tsp sea salt

    SIMPLE STEPS

    1. Gather mise en place.

    2. Blend ingredients.

    • Add soaked flax meal (ground flaxseeds and water) and almonds to food processor and blend until smooth.
    • Remove and place in mixing bowl.
    • Blend yellow pepper, shallot, and sun-dried tomatoes with a touch of water.
    • Add chili powder, onion granules, and sea salt to food processor with the pepper, shallot, and sun-dried tomatoes until smooth.
    • Add vegetable mixture to the bowl with flax meal and almonds and fold together until thoroughly combined.

    3. Dehydrate.

    • Set dehydrator at 115 degrees F.
    • Spoon mixture onto dehydrator tray. Spread mixture evenly to ¼-inch thickness on non-stick dehydrator sheets with an off-set spatula.
    • Dehydrate 1-2 hours. Once partially dried, score batter to desired size and shape.
    • Dehydrate an additional 1-3 hours. Flip the crackers off the non-stick dehydrator sheets and onto the dehydrator screens so that the crackers dry properly.
    • Dehydrate an additional 1-2 hours or until crackers are crisp.
    • Dehydrating time depends on how thick the paste is to begin and how crisp you want the crackers.

    4. Options.

    • Soft taco shells: Once flipped onto the dehydrator screen, dehydrate for 1-2 hours or until batter is not wet and is pliable.
    • If crisps dry too much, sprinkle water to restore pliability.
    • Enjoy as a cracker snack, dip in hummus, or top with a pâté.

     F-01-Turmeric-IMG_5489

    Intuitive Raw Turmeric Crackers

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 3/4 cup raw almonds, soaked 8-10 hours
    • ½ cup golden and brown flaxseeds, ground
    • 1 orange bell pepper, diced
    • ¼ cup dehydrated tomatoes, soaked 30 minutes
    • 2-3 tbsp soaking water from dehydrated tomatoes
    • 1 shallot, minced
    • Pinch sea salt
    • 1” fresh turmeric root, minced

    A-03-RawCracker-miuse-IMG_5256

    SIMPLE STEPS

    • Soak almonds 8-10 hours in room temperature water.
    • Grind flaxseeds in blender.
    • Soak ground flaxseeds with ½ cup room temperature water for 30 minutes.
    • Process almonds and flaxseed mixture in food processor until combined. Pour mixture into bowl.
    • In food processor, process pepper, shallot, and dehydrated tomatoes, sea salt, and a few tablespoons of the tomato soaking water until smooth.
    • Fold in liquid mixture (pepper, shallot, dehydrated tomatoes) to the almond flaxseed mixture.
    • Fold in turmeric root.
    • Spread batter about ¼” thick with off-set spatula on dehydrator sheet.
    • Dehydrate at 115 degrees Fahrenheit for 1-2 hours.
    • Score to your desired shape.
    • Dehydrate another 1-2 hours. Flip crackers to mesh dehydrator sheet.
    • Dehydrate 2-4 additional hours to your desired crispness.
    • Enjoy!

    D-01-crackers-IMG_5378

    As always, I invite you to share your raw cracker creations with us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating.

    And, if you’re interested in learning additional culinary techniques as a foundation for intuitive cooking, I’m happy to mail a copy of my book, “A New View of Healthy Eating” to you.

     

     

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: How to Braise Leeks for Roasted Carrot Soup

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLCs

    Today, I’m excited that I completed the requirements and received my certification for the Plantlab Culinary Fundamentals of Plant-based Cooking 120-hour course, including knife skills, 61 cooking projects, written exams, and my Final Project.

    I’ll be sharing so much of my learning in future blogs and am also sharing my Final Project with you. My Final Culinary Project embraces our local Arizona farmers’ veggies with a menu featuring some of my favorite dishes and skills learned during the course.

    Let’s take a look at our local Arizona Winter produce in my Final Project.

    Arizona Winter Harvest Menu

    • FIRST. Roasted Carrot Soup.
      • Navel Orange Braised Leeks. Almond Cream. Edible Flowers.
    • SECOND. Sprouted Spelt Flatbread.
      • Arizona Winter Roasted Veggies. Pistachio Pesto. Almond Bechamel Sauce.
    • THIRD. Cacao Crepe.
      • Chickpea Crepe. Apples. Arizona Citrus Marmalade.
    • DRINK. Root Matcha Latte.
      • Chicory Root. Dandelion Root. Matcha Tea. Cashew Milk. Warm Spices.

    NAVEL ORANGE BRAISED LEEKS

    In the past, I’ve only eaten leeks in restaurants and love them, so I decided to include leeks as a green contrast to the sweet roasted carrot soup.

    Today, I’m sharing the recipes and cooking process for Braised Leeks, Almond Nut Cream, and plating of the Roasted Carrot Soup. Hope this inspires you to cook interesting soups.

    Almond Nut Cream

     INGREDIENTS

    • 1 cup almonds, soaked 8-12 hours and rinsed
    • 2 cups filtered water
    • Pinch salt
    • 1/2 tsp sumac powder
    • 1 tsp grapeseed oil

    img_1119.jpg

    SIMPLE STEPS

    • Blend the almonds and water until smooth.
    • Stain in nut bag.
    • Return strained almond cream to blender and blend with salt and sumac.
    • Gradually stream in oil on low to emulsify.

    BRAISED LEEKS: INGREDIENTS

      • 3 leeks, cut into 1-1 ½ inch pieces
      • 2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
      • 2 tbsp shallots, minced
      • ½ tsp coriander seeds
      • ½ tsp caraway seeds
      • ¼ cup vegetable stock
      • Pinch sea salt
      • 2 tbsp fresh navel orange juice
      • 1 tbsp navel orange zest
      • 1 cup almond cream
      • 1/2 cup almond cream
      • ¼ tsp sumac
      • 1 tbsp orange zest

    C-06-Leeks-IMG_1194

    ORANGE BRAISED LEEKS

    SIMPLE STEPS

    Prep

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • Clean leeks in cold water in a bowl to removed dirt between the layers.
    • Cut white and green part of  leeks into 1-1 ½ inch rounds.

    Sear Leeks

    • Heat olive oil in medium-high saute pan.
    • Add leeks to pan with round side face down on the pan.  Press leeks down with spatula to evenly  brown, for about 5 minutes. While cooking move leeks around pan to prevent them from sticking to the pan. After the first end has lightly browned flip and brown the other end.
    • Once both sides have browned, remove from pan and set aside.

    Cook Braising Sauce

    • Add shallot, coriander and caraway seeds to pan and sauté until shallot becomes translucent.
    • Add vegetable stock, salt, orange juice, and 1 tbsp  orange zest and bring to a boil.
    • Add almond cream and bring to a boil, stirring frequently, then reduce to a simmer.

    C-10-Leeks-IMG_1232

    Braised Leeks

    • Remove pan from stove, add leeks to pan with round side up.
    • Cover the pan with a tight oven-safe lid.
    • Place pan in oven to braise the leeks for 5 to 7 minutes, or until soft and tender when pierced with a fork.
    • Remove leeks from pan and set aside for plating.

    Almond Cream

    • Add ½ cup almond cream, sumac, and 1 tbsp navel orange  zest to pan.
    • Return pan to stove top and simmer, whisking frequently, until cream becomes thick. Once the sauce reaches desired thickness, remove from heat.

    ASSEMBLY

    • Place braised leeks, with round side up on bottom of flat bowl. Gently pour carrot soup into the bowl, with the tops of the leeks exposed.
    • Drizzle almond cream sauce on top of the leeks.
    • Garnish with edible flowers.

    The Roasted Carrot Soup. Orange Braised Leeks. Almond Nut Cream

    Happy to share a video look at the soup…

    A-soup-finalplate-portrait-IMG_E1707A-soup-close-up-side-IMG_1736

    Interested in my book, A New View of Healthy Eating, I’m happy to mail a copy to you.

    A-soup-finalplate-top-IMG_1630

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: The Beauty of Local Farmers’ Food

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLCs

    Today I spent the day living my passions and having fun with my like-minded food friends. Next weekend (Saturday, February 17, 2018, 10am) I’ll be leading a Taste of the Market Cooking Demo at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market, so I visited the market today to see what our local farmers are growing and to get inspired for ideas for the class.

    Our Winter Arizona farmers’ bounty is so incredible, I just wanted to “be” with the food and my farmer friends. I ended up staying at the market for three hours, enjoying the food, taking food, talking cooking, and having my kind of fun. Later in the day, I stopped at The Farm at South Mountain, an urban farm about a half mile from my home.

    Sharing some of the beautiful food and a video of some incredible cauliflower…hope you enjoy..

    In awe of the cauliflower grown by Blue Sky Organic Farm…

    Powerful Purple…

    A-veg-purplecauliflower-BlueSky-IMG_4679

    A-veg-purplecabbage-TheFarm-IMG_E2784A-veg-beets-maya-IMG_0375

    A-veg-cauliflower-Maya-IMG_4646

    Gorgeous Green…

    A-veg-romanesco-bluesky-IMG_4666

    A-veg-lettuce-latchkey-IMG_E8454

    A-veg-mcclendon-IMG_8469

    A-veg-greens-theFarm-IMG_4703

    Fresh Yellow & Orange…

    A-veg-cauliflower-orange-white-Bluesky-IMG_E4676A-fruit-communityexchange-IMG_E8448

    Radish Red…

    A-veg-radish-Bluesky-IMG_4653

    A-veg-radish-steadfast-IMG_1429

    Taste of the Market Cooking Demo…

    A-veg-phxmarket-mel-demo-IMG_9212

    Thanks, Downtown Phoenix Farmers’ Market…

    And all my farmer friends…Maya’s Farm…Steadfast Farm…Abby Lee Farms…Golo Family Farms…McClendon Select…Community Exchange…Blue Sky Organic Farm…

    AA-IMG_0359c - Copy

    Interested in my book, you can buy it and I’ll gift wrap and mail to you.