ApplePearSauce Recipe + Blogging Vacation!

An anonymous reader requested yesterday that I share my applesauce recipe. It’s actually apple/pear sauce, but it works the same with just apples. And, it’s nothing special other than I leave all the skins on and I don’t add any sugar! Here it is:

Recipe

Apples and pears (I used about 15 apples and 10 pears)

Cinnamon sticks and/or ground cinnamon

1-2 lemons

Water

Quarter and core all apples and pears. Set into a large pot. Add 1 cup water (you may need more – enough so the fruit won’t burn, but not too much or you’ll get watery sauce). Squeeze the juice of 1 or 2 lemons into the pot. If using 30+ apples, I’d use more than 1 lemon, but use your own judgment. I think lemons are one of the best foods that exist, but I’ve been accused in the past of “over-lemoning” things. Add cinnamon sticks and/or ground cinnamon to taste. Turn heat on high for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce to a simmer and cover.

Stir occasionally and when fruit is soft enough, start to mash it as you stir. Cook until the sauce is your desired texture. I like my applesauce extra chunky, but if you want it smooth you can use an immersion blender to puree. Remove cinnamon sticks before storing. I like to serve it hot, so I just scoop some into these ramekins and heat it in the oven while I prepare the rest of dinner.

Keeping the skin on the fruit adds some fiber and texture to the sauce. It also makes the applesauce a pretty pink color, which is so much more appetizing than white or yellow! I recommend making this in big batches for two reasons: your house will smell amazing, and also it freezes well so you can enjoy it all throughout autumn and winter.

I also wanted to let you guys know that I will be taking the next TWO weeks off from blogging. I have to admit I’m pretty excited for the break – mainly because I have some other fun things planned that don’t involve school/blogging/work! In the meantime, eat healthy and try to stay active as we transition into fall weather. It’s a great time to be outside, and also to try some hearty chili or vegetable soup recipes!

See you on October 18^th!

Recipe: Heirloom Tomato Soup

I hope you all enjoyed guest blogger Jessica’s post on heirloom tomatoes yesterday! If you missed it, be sure to go here to read it. Since many of us are still picking loads of tomatoes from our gardens, I wanted to share a recipe with all of you.

I spent Labor Day weekend with my family on one of Minnesota’s most beautiful lakes. Typically when we’re up at the lake, nutrition is not the main focus. Boat rides to Dairy Queen and glazed doughnuts from the local bakery make it hard to eat well! But, when my mom is there, I rest easy because she always makes nutrition a priority. And she didn’t let us down this year with her fresh cucumbers and peppers from her garden; homemade walnut pesto; homemade almond walnut butter; and heirloom tomato soup.

Not a bad place to spend a few days, right? The soup was welcomed because the weather was pretty chilly. I’d have to go on a morning run just to warm up enough to jump in the lake, and by lunchtime nothing sounded better than a warm bowl of homemade soup. She got the recipe from a Williams Sonoma catalog, and added a few of her own touches. It freezes well so make a big pot and enjoy it all throughout the fall and into winter!

Heirloom Tomato Soup

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

¼ cup dry vermouth

2 lbs. juicy heirloom tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (I’d just keep the skin on because it’s easier and healthier)

2 tbs tomato paste

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 tbs chopped fresh herbs (parsley, tarragon, chives)

Above: My mom's heirlooms from one of her many harvests

In a Dutch oven or large pot, over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, fennel and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender (about 10 minutes). Add vermouth and cook until evaporated. Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes begin to break down, 8-10 minutes. Add broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, blender (but wait until it’s cooled), or Vita-Mix, puree soup, leaving some chunks for texture. Season with sea salt and pepper. Stir in herbs just before serving. Serves 4.

I wish I had photos for you but I didn’t think of taking any last weekend. This soup seems really easy to make and absolutely every ingredient is PWN-approved! You can usually buy heirlooms at a local health food store if you don’t have any in your garden. Regular tomatoes will work too – just don’t tell Jessica!

Recipe: No-Mayo Coleslaw

Back in July, I blogged about the many benefits of apple cider vinegar. Many of you then told me that you went out and bought some, but now what?

One of the main things I use ACV for is salad dressings, especially when I make coleslaw. My mom always made her coleslaw with a vinegar-based dressing, rather than using mayo. I never thought much of it until I left home and realized that most coleslaw is all thick and mayonnaise-y and not nearly as yummy as my mom’s. The first time Ed met my parents, he even asked my mom for her coleslaw recipe!

I’m not sure what exactly she puts into her slaw, but I’ve been able to come up with my own version that tastes pretty good. So, for those of you that are waiting for some ACV recipes, this one’s for you!

Recipe

For the coleslaw, I just use whatever veggies I have on hand. This time I used 1 head of cabbage, 4 turnips, 1 bunch of green onions, 3 cloves garlic, and ½ cup parsley from the garden. Other veggies you can add include beets, kale, radishes, carrots or cilantro.

Shred all veggies in a food processor and combine.

Dressing

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more to taste

juice from ½ lemon

sea salt

pepper

Combine all dressing ingredients in a jar, and shake well. (My dressing looks kind of black because my sea salt is black). Add more olive oil if it’s too strong. Pour lightly over coleslaw, mix, and taste. Add more dressing as needed.

The ACV gives this a nice fresh taste. The dressing can also be used on regular salads! Enjoy.

Recipe: Stuffed Zucchini

I made these twice in the past week and both times they turned out great, so I thought I’d share. This was inspired by the e-mail newsletter we receive each week from Grant Family Farms, the farm that provides our CSA veggies. They always include recipes that you can try with your weekly vegetables, which is very helpful! Anyway, they had one for stuffed zucchini and I adapted it to include the ingredients we had. Enjoy!

Recipe

2 zucchinis or summer squash

1 large tomato

1/3 large onion

3-4 garlic cloves

8 olives, pitted

2 tbsp capers

fresh herbs (I used parsley, cilantro and basil from our garden)

olive oil

sea salt and pepper

Soak herbs and let dry. In the food processor, finely chop the onion and garlic. Sautee in a pan for 3-4 minutes (I used coconut oil for this). Set aside.

Chop tomatoes in food processor and put into a bowl. Chop herbs and olives and add to tomatoes. Add cooled onion and garlic to the mixture, as well as the capers, a drizzle of olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Mix well.

Slice zucchinis or summer squash lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the middle “pulp” to create a boat. Scoop the veggie & herb mixture into the zucchini halves. Bake at 360 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until zucchini has softened.

This would probably taste wonderful if you topped it with some fresh parmesan cheese. Also, any veggies would work in the mixture – portabella mushrooms would probably be really yummy!

Last night, I served it with chicken sausage and shrimp, and steamed rainbow chard and cabbage. It made a great dinner!

Recipe: Veggie Pancakes

Ed and I unexpectedly threw together a delicious dinner last night, and I wanted to share. Like many of you, we’ve been overwhelmed with fresh vegetables each week from our Grant Family Farms CSA. We pick our box up on Monday afternoons, and last night we got two types of lettuce, red and golden beets, garlic scapes, summer squash, zucchini, green onions, English peas, and mushrooms. Not to mention the fresh whole grain bread, eggs from pastured chickens, and a huge bag of apricots!

I told Ed I would handle the vegetable if he picked up some sort of fish or meat from Whole Foods on his way home from work. I suggested a bag of frozen shrimp, because it’s easy, cheaper than fresh fish, and one bag lasts us at least two meals. Meanwhile, I pulled up the weekly e-mail we receive from the farm with suggested recipes. They had one for “Vegetable Fritters” (compliments of Simply in Season cookbook) that sounded pretty good, so I adapted it a bit and gave it a try.

*I apologize for my fuzzy iPhone photos, I was too lazy to run upstairs and get our real camera!

I am calling these veggie pancakes because they look exactly like pancakes and I don’t really like calling my food “fritters.” But either way, they turned out much better than expected and I think they’re a great way to use a lot of vegetables at one time. I’ve changed some of the proportions because when I made it, it had too much flour/egg mixture compared to the amount of veggies. But, feel free to adjust as needed.

Recipe (adapted from Vegetable Fritter recipe from Simply in Season)

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

2 fresh eggs

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp sea salt

½ tsp ground pepper

3-4 cups of diced, minced, chopped or shredded veggies: zucchini, summer squash, mushrooms, garlic, peas, carrots, beets, green beans, onions, etc.

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Beat eggs and combine with flour, baking powder, sea salt and pepper. Fold the 3-4 cups of prepared vegetables into the egg & flour mixture. Heat frying pan with oil (I used coconut oil) and spoon batter onto hot pan as if you were making pancakes. Make these as large or small as you want. Heat on both sides until crispy, then serve.

We served these over a bed of lettuce with some shrimp and homemade salad dressing. It was really a great dinner – full of vegetables, not too filling, but very satisfying. I even ate the leftovers for breakfast today with a hard-boiled egg (topped with gray sea salt). I think these would be delicious if you made them into tiny little patties to put on top of salads, and kids may even like them too. It’s worth a try! Enjoy!

Recipe: Cilantro Pistachio Pesto

This was the first week of our CSA delivery. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and it involves purchasing a share of a local farm and receiving a delivery each week of whatever was harvested at that farm. It’s really great because all of the food is local, fresh and organic. Right now it’s all greens – spinach, romaine, and a couple of other types of lettuce. We also got big bunches of parsley and cilantro.

So, we’ve been eating a lot of salads at our house, as well as adding lettuce, spinach and cilantro to our sandwiches and smoothies. On a recent visit to a local restaurant, my veggie wrap contained cilantro pistachio pesto that was delicious. I decided to come up with my own version using the cilantro from the CSA.

This was quick and easy – I just threw a few things together and didn’t give it much thought. We used the pesto on sandwiches and as a dip for veggies and crackers.

Recipe

Cilantro (I used about ½ bunch)

Shelled pistachios (I used about ¾ cup, unsalted)

Olive oil

Sea salt (to taste)

Mix ingredients in a food processor. Add olive oil slowly until desired consistency and taste. Serve!

This is just something simple, but the idea is that you can make your own spreads at home using a few whole ingredients. The CSA will force me to become more creative with what I make, so hopefully this is just the start of many new experiments in the kitchen!

As you can see, the pesto didn’t last long…

Recipe: Mint Macadamia Pesto

First of all, thank you so much to EVERYONE who has contacted me about my weight loss case study! I am amazed by the response I have gotten so far. For those of you that missed it, go here to read about what I’m looking for. I am hoping to choose someone by Wednesday of this week, so there are still a couple of days to plead your case! Regardless of who I choose, I will be in touch with each of you this week. I am so excited about this project!

And now onto the recipe…

I went to a party last week and brought this as an appetizer. I found it in Body + Soul magazine and (as usual) I adapted it to what I think is a healthier and tastier version of the recipe!

Recipe

1 cup fresh mint leaves (mine came from the garden)

1/3 cup parsley

1/3 cup macadamia nuts

1 tsp minced red jalapeño chili

1 ½ tbsp lemon juice

½ tbsp lime juice

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt to taste

Purée mint, parsley, macadamia nuts, and jalapeño in food processor until smooth. Add lemon and lime juices and olive oil, and process until creamy. Garnish with mint and serve.

I served this on cucumber slices with a bit of red pepper on top for an ultra-healthy (but still colorful and tasty) appetizer. However, it would go well with all sorts of veggies, chips or crackers. Ed and I ate it for lunch yesterday with sliced carrots, radishes, and red pepper, as well as rice & adzuki bean chips and sesame crackers.

You look at it and think pesto, but then taste it and realize it’s something totally different. The mint and citrus flavors are strong and very refreshing. Fresh mint can be soothing to the stomach, acts as an antioxidant inside our bodies, and is a great source of manganese, vitamin A and vitamin C. Parsley is an amazing source of vitamin K, as well as vitamins C & A, folate and iron. It is also a source of antioxidants. Parsley protects the heart and is beneficial for people with arthritis.

Enjoy!

Guest Blogger Ed: Egg Salad Recipe

I am very excited to introduce today's guest blogger and my husband, Ed Pierce. Although Ed spends most of his time working, skiing, golfing, fishing, playing basketball, doing yardwork, and watching sports, he does venture into the kitchen from time to time and he is actually quite a good cook and grillmaster. Ed is consistently very patient and even enthusiastic about my new nutrition experiments. For example, last week he willingly took the Sesame Seed Test (more on that later), let me prick his finger to determine his blood type, and drank fresh coconut juice (with pulp) to prepare for a 5-mile race we did. Thank you, Ed, for putting up with all of this, and thanks for offering to guest blog today - you're the best!

I am taking it upon myself to brag about my wife and let you know that she has been blogging about nutrition for six months now. That is 130 blogs for the mathletes. I can tell you that she puts hours into each blog post. I would like to think we are all healthier from her efforts.

Considering the six straight months of blogging, I thought I would treat her to a day off on this ANNiversary.

I am going to introduce you to the delicate world of egg salad. Many of you are probably pretty intimidated to try a tricky menu item like this. I am here to assuage those fears with a straightforward and, yes, nutritious recipe.

Ann can tell you about all the healthy benefits of eating eggs from pastured chickens. I cannot. But, I did use them in this tasty salad. (Note from Ann: Read about eggs from pastured chickens here.)

Here are the ingredients:

• 6 eggs from pastured chickens

• 4 rings of pepperoncinis (from the jar)

• 4 rings of jalepenos (jar)

• 4 green olives with pits (great natural fats)

• 1 big garlic clove

• 6-7 pickle slices (I considers these veggies, but Ann firmly disagrees)

• 1.5 teaspoons of stone ground mustard

• Half a teaspoon of light mayo (I have tried extra virgin olive oil for a healthier approach, but it tends to separate from the other contents and sits at the bottom of the bowl in the fridge – not that appetizing)

• Dash(es) of paprika (I have used cayenne before and I did not like it, because egg salad shouldn’t have too much kick). Please note that paprika has more vitamin C per ounce than lemon juice – cool.

• Salt and pepper (try to use unprocessed sea salt)

First, place the eggs into a pot of water, bring to a boil and boil for four minutes. Let cool by draining the warm water. Now, shower the eggs with cold water. This approach makes them easier to peel.

Peel and cut up into chunks in a bowl. By the way, the less the eggs are cooked, the more nutrients they retain. If you are a Type O blood person like me, you need all that animal protein. Blood type will be a later blog by Ann……

Secondly, I mince the pepperoncinis, jalepenos, olives (once carved away from the pit), the garlic clove, and the pickles.

This is where you really have to pay attention:

Add these minced foods to the chopped eggs along with the mustard, mayo, paprika, and the sea salt and pepper. Stir and let a friend taste-test.

Amazingly, you are done!

I recommend eating with crackers. My brother Richie would recommend eating in a sandwich because Richie loves sandwiches.

-Ed (Ann’s husband)

Fruit Tart

This recipe is one of my absolute favorites. It’s easy; it’s made from 100% healthy, whole foods; it’s delicious; and it’s pretty enough to serve to guests. I’ve been waiting until spring to post it, because it’s perfect for spring and summer BBQs. But another reason I love this recipe is because it doesn’t have to be a dessert. You can just as easily serve this for breakfast on top of some yogurt or oatmeal.

I adapted the recipe from one I found on the World’s Healthiest Foods website (here). I just added a few things – almonds, other berries, and some fresh lemon juice. And, I reduced the honey because I think the berries make it sweet enough. I’ve passed this recipe along to some family and friends and it always gets great reviews. You can make it with any type of fruit – I’ve done all berries but I also made one last summer with peaches and blueberries.

The nutritional value is pretty obvious: berries, nuts, dates. And we learned Tuesday that frozen berries can be just as nutritious as fresh, so if you don’t want to spend a fortune on fresh organic berries, frozen will work really well. Usually I use a mix of fresh and frozen, but today I used all frozen. I chose cherries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries.

Oh, and we usually serve this with ice cream. I’m hoping I have time today to pick some up! (Don’t worry Ed, I’ll make time).

Recipe

2 ½ cups walnuts (I used about 1 ¾ cups walnuts, ¾ cup almonds)

1 ½ cups dates (don’t forget to buy pitted dates or remove them yourself, which only takes a few minutes and saves money)

5 cups fresh or frozen berries (or any fruit)

2 tbsp raw honey

1 ½ tbsp arrowroot

2 tbsp water, or juice from frozen berries

1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Combine nuts and pitted dates in food processor until well ground, but not smooth (about 45 seconds for me). Press into a pie pan and refrigerate.

Thaw the frozen fruit. Place 2 cups of fruit, water, and arrowroot into food processor or blender and puree. (If you’re using some frozen and some fresh fruit, use the frozen for this part).

Place puree into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 4 minutes. When puree thickens, remove from heat. Mix into a bowl with the other fruit, raw honey, and fresh lemon juice. Pour mixture into tart shell, cover, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours (or more) before eating.

I made this when I got up this morning, but had pulled the recipe out last night and set it on the counter. Apparently Ed saw it and decided to add something… see below.

(In case my iphone photo isn’t clear enough, it says “1 happy husband” – ha! It's his favorite dessert and he always will casually ask when I'm going to make it again!)

Enjoy!