Green Curried Chicken...

This dish is easy Indian food at home! Plus, it takes so little time to prepare, you will agree, its better at home. This chicken curry is super healthful because it replaces the coconut milk (which can have a lot of fat) with other things that are really good for you, and--it tastes amazing!
Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 8 cups spinach
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 tbs garlic
• 1 tbs ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ¾ to 1 lb of chicken breast, cut into small chunks
• 1.5 cups diced sweet potato (or carrot)
• 4 scallions, chopped whites and greens
• 1 8-oz container of plain yogurt
• 1 tbs curry spice or paste

Directions:

In a blender, puree 8 cups spinach, garlic, salt, pepper and ginger. If it needs liquid to blend, add a tbs of water at a time to form a thick paste. Set aside.

In a medium sauté pan, over medium heat add sweet potatoes, scallions, curry spice, and chicken. Cook until chicken is about half cooked through. Add the stock and the spinach puree. Lid the pan and let simmer till chicken is cooked through.

Ladle into deep bowls and serve with a ¼ to ½ cup yogurt on top. 

I serve with these super healthful cumin spiced lentil flat breads (recipe below). Make these with lentil flour, or with chickpea flour to make them super healthful.

• 2 cups lentil or chickpea flour (Bob's Red Mill would be a good one to use if you cannot find either of the others.
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• Water (up to about 1/2 cup)

Blend all ingredients in a bowl with a fork. Add liquid 2 tbs at a time until it comes together into a dough. It should be soft enough to come together, but not too sticky.

Divide into 6-8 rounds.

One at a time roll out with a rolling pin onto cornstarch dusted wax paper (to keep it from sticking).

Cook on a dry skillet on medium heat until it begins to brown, flip and cook the other side.

10-minute Homemade Tomato Soup

I know that canned soup is so affordable and convenient that you would wonder, "Why would I make my own?" (Well, it can sometimes be a challenge to find a canned soup without gluten.) But, this soup will make you answer that question with a resounding, "Because it's amazing!"
This tomato soup takes 10-minutes to make, and really that is the time it would take to pop a can open, and heat it in the microwave, right?
You probably have all or most of these items right in your pantry, so you can make it tonight!
This soup has a richness you just do not get from a canned version. Its dense and thick, rich and tangy, with a superb tomato taste that is not comparable to canned. And the few added ingredients I have in there give it just the right Umami (savoriness).
Then let's talk about the health factor of all the ingredients. The tomatoes have protein and fiber, and all those amazing antioxidants. Garlic, well--its great for the blood, and anchovies have the Omegas we all need. Its low in calorie, and fat.
I really encourage you to try this. 


Ingredients:

• 1 28-oz can tomato puree (I use organic, no salt added)
• 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes (I use organic, no salt or seasonings added)
• 2 tbs garlic
• ¼ cup basil leaves (fresh or dried)
• 1 Tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper (this adds a nice warmth, reduce to a pinch if you like)
• 2-3 anchovy fillets (or 1 tbs anchovy paste, or omit if you prefer) they melt away and you do not taste them, but they add a rich depth.
• 2 tbs red wine vinegar (or any vinegar)

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a pot and using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Or, if you don't have an immersion blender, place all items in a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a pot with a lid.

Cook over medium with lid on until it begins to simmer and simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve.

Serves four or so, or two large dinner bowls of soup. Serve with a nice crumbly gluten free cracker.

Kohlrabi Slaw...

We met about six years ago, me and kohlrabi. She showed up in my farmshare bag for the first time. Kohlrabi?! I had to look it up. I had never heard of it, and I had been around the vegetable patch, being a lifetime gardener and veggie lover. I didn't even know how to pronounce the name. Well, kohlrabi and me have had a wonderful time since then, once a year when it comes around. Its delicious. To try to describe it is unique...crunchy, but not quite as crunchy as celery, sweet, some almost as much as an apple--but without the tart, and juicy, in its own way. It really is one of a kind, but so delicious raw (great cooked too.)

Here is a super simple slaw for winter.

1 head raw kohlrabi, peeled and shredded (about 1.5 cups) using a mandolin, or you could use a food  
    processor (use cabbage if you cannot find kohlrabi)
2 small raw beets, peeled and shredded (about 1.5 cups)
1/2 cup parsley or cilantro, chopped

Dressing:
1/4 cup orange juice (fresh or packaged) or use vinegar of you want to, any kind.
1 tbs mustard
1 tbs GF soy sauce (Tamari)
1 tbs agave nectar (or honey)

Toss the shredded ingredients in a bowl, whisk the dressing in a another bowl, then combine. Salt and pepper to taste.

Notice there is no fat in this recipe, plus the ingredients are super-super healthy.
Use this as a side dish, or pile it on top of a turkey sandwich. Delicious!

Kale Chips...

I know, I know, you are thinking that 'chips' and kale should never be used in the same sentence, unless of course you happen to be saying, "I am going to have potato chips with my kale." Well, it's not true actually! Now, I know that the word "chips" evoke only those salty, crispy, crunchy things that have nothing to do with green, leafy winter greens. I know! But kale chips seem to be everywhere lately. A new fangled snack packed in my grocery, a recipe in Bon Appetit...so it was time to try them myself. And why not, after all it is big, leafy-green season here in AZ and each week my farmshare drops off more that we can saute, steam, simmer, and boil of those big bunches of greens.
I wondered just how good would these be? Turns out, kale has a structure that holds up to drying and makes them super crisp. These are wa-aay better than you would ever think, even I was a skeptic, and I am hooked.

They take on a roasty-toasty nutty flavor which is surprising. And they truly are shatteringly crunchy.

First, here is how to use them once made:

• Eat as chips.
• Crumble into salads or over plain pasta that is tossed with olive oil or butter and lemon juice.
• Crumble into a creamy dip to add flavor dimension and nuttiness.
• Crumble and put into a jar and use it like dried parsley in your dishes.
• Throw a handful into soups, or stir into your favorite spaghetti sauce.

To make them:
Use as many bunches of kale as you like. I used two varieties that my farmshare grows; a curly kind, and a kind whose leaves have an oak-leafish shape. I am not sure of the names....but use the kale at your grocery.

1. Wash your greens, and do not spin dry--your seasonings will stick to the moisture.
2. Remove stems (see below).
3. Tear into chip-sized pieces. They do not loose much size when they dry.
4. Sprinkle them generously with seasoning. I used salt and pepper, and a sun-dried tomato seasoning I had hanging around. Garlic would be nice, or a parmesean, or lemon pepper...use what you like and have.
5. Lay in loose multiple layers on your dehydtator trays.
6. Dry for about 8-hours or until crisp. Rotate the trays often. (If using an oven, layer the same way on cookie sheets and  place it a 250-degrees oven until crisp, tossing gently to ensure even drying.)

Stems: If they have thick stems (and they will) trim them off. Fold the leaf in half and just make one cut to trim the stem.