Heat on medium heat until warmed through, but do not allow the soup to come to a boil – reduce heat to low and keep the soup warm until you’re ready to serve.
Bagna Cauda
Number of servings: varies
Ingredients:
¾ cup olive oil (use extra virgin olive oil)
10 anchovy fillets, drained and rinsed well
6 cloves of garlic, peeled
6 tbsp butter
black pepper, to taste
Preparation:
Place the anchovy fillets, butter and garlic in a food processor and process until blended (this should take about 1 minute). While the processor is still running, add the oil a little at a time until it’s thoroughly mixed in.
Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook just until it’s heated through. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and serve hot with raw vegetables and/or crackers.
Red Bean Dip
Number of servings: varies
Ingredients:
1 can (15 – 16 ounces) small red beans or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup sliced avocado (about ½ an avocado)
½ cup Greek yogurt
1 tbsp olive oil (use extra virgin olive oil), plus extra for garnish
1 tbsp sliced green onions (use just the green parts for this recipe)
1 tsp cumin
salt and black pepper, to taste
Preparation:
Place the red or kidney beans, Greek yogurt, olive oil, pepper, cumin and a little salt and pepper in a food processor. Blend the mixture until smooth. Transfer the dip to a serving bowl and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and sliced green onions. Serve at room temperature or cold with crackers or tortilla chips.
Quinoa Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Number of servings: 4 - 6
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled to room temperature
1 small red onion, diced
1 avocado, sliced
1 small orange peeled, separated into segments and chopped
1 cup cooked black beans, canned or homemade, drained and rinsed
1 cup pomegranate arils (this is about the amount you’ll find in one pomegranate)
1/3 cup corn kernels, fresh cut or frozen and thawed
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
salt and black pepper, to taste
For the dressing:
Juice of 2 lemons
6 tbsp olive oil (use extra virgin olive oil)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
a pinch of sugar
salt and black pepper, to taste
Preparation:
Combine all of the ingredients for the dressing in a small jar and shake to mix.
Add the cooked quinoa, red onion, orange, avocado, beans, corn, pomegranate and cilantro to a bowl and stir to combine. Pour the dressing over the salad, stir again to mix well and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Stir and serve at room temperature or chill and serve cold.
Cranberry Salsa
Number of servings: varies
Ingredients:
2 (14 – 16 ounce) cans of cranberry sauce (only use the whole berry kind)
1 small white onion, diced
2 jalapeno peppers and 4 – 6 Serrano peppers (use more or less to taste)
juice of 3 limes
4 green onions, trimmed and sliced
Preparation:
Add the white onion, green onion, jalapeno peppers and Serrano peppers to a food processor and process until finely chopped. Transfer the chopped onions and peppers to a large bowl. Add the two cans of cranberry sauce and stir well to combine. Add the lime juice, stir again and chill for 1 – 2 hours or overnight to allow the flavors to combine before serving.
Breakfast
Blueberry-Walnut Muffins
Number of servings: 6 large or 12 regular size muffins
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup applesauce (unsweetened)
½ cup plain yogurt
½ cup chopped walnuts
2 egg whites (from large eggs)
1 large whole egg
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 400 F and line your muffin tins with muffin papers.
In a large bowl, mix the yogurt, egg, egg whites, maple syrup and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined. In another large bowl, mix together the flours, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and walnuts and blueberries.
Mix together the dry and wet ingredients and mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Divide the muffin batter among your muffin tins and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the tops are dry and golden brown. Turn the muffins out of the tins and cool on a wire rack before serving.
Oatmeal-Blueberry
