Garlic Stuffed Roasted Artichoke

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I
love the artichoke roots that have taken hold in my food garden! Every year,
a glorious new artichoke plant pops out and produces delicious artichokes
right on schedule. They have become one of the highlights of spring in at our
house. Artichoke roots go dormant in late summer early fall, but then wake up
in early winter to start producing the plant, and spring is usually harvest
time for artichokes. Many people scratch their heads at artichokes, either
because they only know how to boil them, or maybe they just don’t
think its worth the work required to finally get to the delicious heart
of the artichoke. To me it is all worth the work, but just in case, here is a
super easy way to prepare fresh artichokes, that incorporates roasted garlic.
I recommend trying this accompanied by something you can spread the
edible meat of the artichoke, along with the roasted garlic onto, like a
baguette or a toasted flatbread. Don’t let spring pass without trying this
once! It is a nice alternative to the traditional boiling method. I like to
leave two or three artichokes on the plant each year because they eventually
blossom into a beautiful flower. And they look as beautiful as they taste!
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Bumper Crop Salad with Magenta Spreen & Pomegranate Vinaigrette

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Did
you get an awesome bumper crop of tomatoes this year? Did you go crazy at the
Farmers Market and buy too many different, fabulous seasonal foods? Don’t
worry! This recipe is like the best “kitchen sink” concoction you
will ever sink your teeth into. Who knew that plums, tomatoes and cucumbers
would love hanging out in a salad together?


bumper crop salad with magenta spreen & pomegranate vinaigrette

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Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Appetizer, Lunch
Cuisine California
Servings 4 servings
Calories 302 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1.5 cups fresh garden tomatoes cut into manageable pieces
  • 1 large garden cucumber cut into manageable pieces- I used a Japanese variety
  • 2 fruit fresh plums cut into manageable pieses- NOTE- you can also substitute and-or add cut up melon to this mixture
  • 1/4 cup julienned fresh basil
  • 4 sprigs magenta spreen (or substitute fresh basil sprigs, micro greens, sprouts or baby spinach- whatever you have on hand)
  • 1/4 cup pomegranate white balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1 dash sea salt to taste
  • 2 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1 dash sea salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • Place the tomatoes, cucumbers & plums in a mixing bowl and set aside in the refrigerator.
  • To make the dressing, whisk together all the dressing ingredients until it becomes emulsified.
  • When the dressing is ready, pour it over the tomato mixture, and gently mix it into the salad. Be careful not to smash or pulverize the tomatoes, especially if they are extremely ripe.
  • Place in the refrigerator and let the flavors from the dressing marinate the salad for about 30 minutes.
  • Remove from the refrigerator, toss in the basil, and taste for salt and pepper. Separate into four serving bowls or salad plates, and distribute the magenta spreen leaves, sprinkling them over the top of each salad.

Notes

This salad is an extremely simple way to use your abundance of stone fruit, melon, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Plums in particular go great with this salad. You can also experiment with honeydew melon, cantaloupe, and fresh peaches. My favorite way to eat this is with a pasta spoon so that I can get some of the delicious pomegranate infused dressing with each bite. Yum! This salad will keep in the refrigerator for a few days, and also makes a great topping for grilled chicken, seared tofu, or grilled salmon.
 
Nutrition Facts
bumper crop salad with magenta spreen & pomegranate vinaigrette
Amount per Serving
Calories
302
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
28
g
43
%
Saturated Fat
 
4
g
25
%
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
3
g
Monounsaturated Fat
 
20
g
Sodium
 
491
mg
21
%
Potassium
 
437
mg
12
%
Carbohydrates
 
15
g
5
%
Fiber
 
3
g
13
%
Sugar
 
11
g
12
%
Protein
 
2
g
4
%
Vitamin A
 
1750
IU
35
%
Vitamin C
 
28.9
mg
35
%
Calcium
 
50
mg
5
%
Iron
 
1.1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Calories: 302kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 2gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 20gSodium: 491mgPotassium: 437mgFiber: 3gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 1750IUVitamin C: 28.9mgCalcium: 50mgIron: 1.1mg
Keyword heirloom tomato, magenta spreen, raw, vegan
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

“Chicken” Fried Tofu Steak

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We are having a rainy weekend
here in Los Angeles. With rain comes that urge to cook and enjoy traditional
comfort food. Typically that would lead to chicken and dumplings, pot pie, or
something along those lines. All I had to make this happen was a block of
organic sprouted tofu, so I gave this a whirl. The secret to making tofu
taste great lies in two simple steps: 1) You need to press the tofu, and 2)
you need to marinate it. The marinade should always have an acidic base with
flavors that compliment whatever theme you are going for. You should never
use oil in your tofu marinade. Since tofu contains a lot of water, and is
packed in water, it will naturally repel anything that has oil mixed into it.
My experience has been that oil free marinades absorb into tofu the best,
resulting in a variety of uses. In this case, I used vegan chicken flavoring
to conjure up the experience of eating a chicken fried steak. It came out
delicious, tender on the inside, crispy on the outside. This is easy to make,
but you need to allow for about 90 minutes to press and marinate the
tofu.

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Tuscan Cold Zoodles with Tomato, Basil & Garlic

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With gluten free this, avoid that, and whatever else we are adding to the “avoid list” lately, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of calling something what it actually isn’t. For example, a “cauliflower” is commonly being called a “steak,” and no one seems to mind at all. Are we finally losing it as a society? Well, I guess, keeping it all in perspective, it’s cool to get creative with naming some healthy substitutes. It’s just a word anyway, right? I just want whatever I am eating to satiate and hit the spot on whatever my mind and my appetite have conspired to enjoy together. Whenever that happens to be cold tomato basil noodles, this recipe does the trick. For the sake of avoiding the faux food naming pattern, we’re going to call these babies “zoodles”. Whatever you do call it, get ready for “yummy” sounding words and noises when you serve it. Oh, and it’s raw too!

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Avocado & Pear Salad with Basil Lime Dressing

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I love it when a random
“grab two things and see what happens” move in the kitchen turns
out to be so yummy. This avocado & pear salad is an extremely easy
recipe that mixes pears with avocados, and finishes it off with some fresh
lime and basil. Add this to your list of simple raw fruit and vegetable
go-to’s. It’s perfectly refreshing for hot summer days. Enjoy!
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Indian Spiced Black Eyed Pea Hummus

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Now that the heavy-hitting holidays are officially over, it’s nice to lighten things up a bit. This recipe gives consideration to the New Year’s tradition that originated in the south, of eating black-eyed peas for prosperity in the New Year. But this offers more versatility. Enjoy this hummus on a sandwich, a top a cracker as an hors d’oeuvre, or even as a dip with raw vegetables, in the event you have already decided to take on a post-New Year’s detox or weight-loss program. I enjoyed it on some leftover sourdough bread crostini along side a baby green salad.

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Immune Support Superfood Soup

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I know I have been posting a lot
of soups lately! I love soups because they are a simple way to get complex,
nutrient density from whole foods into your life. October is a good time to
start giving your immune system a little TLC. And this immune support soup
recipe contains some of the best sources for key immune supporting nutrients.
And, it is free of any inflammatory foods that might bog your body down or
tamper with your digestion. Read More

Pear & Red Kuri Squash Soup

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The feeling of fall has moved in
right on schedule here in Los Angeles. So red kuri squash soup is where my
mind went when I saw some beautiful red kuris at the Farmers market. This
soup is super simple and can be made in a matter of minutes while you are
multi-tasking and doing other stuff. I love doing recipes that don’t require
a lot of measuring. Many people don’t realize how easy cooking is, and how it
often doesn’t have to be perfectly exact. Getting fresh, nutrient dense foods
into your body while also enjoying the flavors, shouldn’t be a daunting
project! In retrospect, I think it would have been nice to garnish this with
some pomegranate seeds. Perhaps there is an update in this recipe’s
future! Read More

Roasted Zucchini with “Creamy” Mushroom Stuffing

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I think at least a few of my
friends are scratching their heads at my new obsession with vegan cooking.
Here is the truth; it isn’t exactly the vegan I am obsessed about, but more
just having an in-depth go at figuring out how much essential nutrition I can
get from a vegan meal; the kind of nutrition that one would normally think
can only be obtained from an animal. And then there is another fascination
that comes with vegan cooking- to see where you can find the essential
“comfort” ingredients. That brings me to my current dating spree
with nuts, especially the rich, oily ones.  I am about a recipe away
from being convinced that nuts take the healthy lead in providing the comfort
essentials we all love and our tastebuds count on. Move over butter, cheese,
and cream, because I just made an entrée that takes the “comfort”
of creamy mushroom ravioli filling, and turns it on its gluten free, dairy
free, vegan ear. Read More