The starchy potatoes thicken this warm, flavorful soup.

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• Olive oil
• 10-15 small potatoes, boiled and roughly cubed
• 2-3 C chicken stock
• 1 can coconut milk (not light)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
• A few shakes each of dried parsley and basil (I would have preferred about 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives, but the garden is frozen!)
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1-2 C chopped ham

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onions until they start to turn clear. Add the potato cubes, stock, coconut milk, a few generous grinds of salt and pepper, the crushed red pepper, and herbs.  Simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes. Blend together with an immersion blender. You can leave some chunks of potato if you want, or blend until it’s smooth. Add the ham cubes and garlic, simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve warm.

An intense blend of spices warms this dish. Add more tomato sauce, or yogurt or coconut milk, to calm the heat.

• 4 Tbs. combined coconut oil and/or butter
• 1 large red onion, halved and sliced
• 1 large eggplant, peeled and diced
• 1 C roasted red peppers
• 5 cloves garlic, mashed
• 1 Tbs. freshly-grated ginger
• 5 Tbs. berbere spice blend*
• 1/2 C dry red wine
• 1 can tomato sauce (we like Trader Joe’s organic, no sugar added)
• 3 cups stock (beef, venison, even chicken will do)
• 2-3 lbs. venison stew meat (or beef, lamb, goat, etc.)

In a slow cooker, place the stew meat, stock and tomato sauce. Warm on high.

Meanwhile, in a large pan, melt the butter and/or coconut oil. Add the onions and cook 2-4 minutes, or until they soften and begin to turn translucent. Add the eggplant, garlic and ginger, and stir for another minute or two. Add the berbere spice blend and red wine; scrape the pan to incorporate everything and remove from heat.

Add the onion-eggplant mixture and roasted red peppers to the slow cooker and stir well. Allow to cook until the stew meat is done, at least a couple hours. If you are leaving home and want it to cook longer, turn the heat to low.

Adapted from: Eating Well

*Note from Eating Well on berbere spice blend: “This staple in Ethiopian cooking is a heady mix that usually includes garlic, fenugreek, allspice, red pepper, ginger, chilies, coriander, cinnamon, and black pepper. If you can’t find it, use a mixture of 4 Tbs. garam masala, 1 Tbs. hot paprika, 1 tsp. ground fenugreek and 1 tsp. salt.” Upon further research, berbere is the Ethiopian version of curry — everyone has their own blend and no two are exactly the same. I used a recipe from epicurious.com.

Delicate but hearty chocolate chip cookies that are soft and sweet. They go great with a big glass of unsweetened almond milk.

• 1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 2 cups almond meal (I use Trader Joe’s)
• 1 1/2 cups rice flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, honey, vanilla and whisked eggs (make sure the butter isn’t so hot that it cooks the eggs). In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients. Mix the dry into the wet, then add the chocolate chips.

Drop large spoonfuls (about 2 Tbs.) of the batter onto the parchment paper and flatten slightly. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until they begin to brown.

Almost as easy as the box but without any of the bad stuff!

• 3/4 cup cornmeal or corn flour
• 1 cup white rice flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill brand)
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbs. butter or coconut oil
• 2 eggs
• 1-2 Tbs. local honey (optional)
• 1 cup whole milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
• 1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a cast iron skillet or glass pie dish, place 1 Tbs. butter or coconut oil. Put the dish into the oven and let the butter/oil melt.

Sift together the cornmeal, rice flour, salt, and baking powder. In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk, melted butter/oil, and honey (if using). Add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined.

Pour into the hot greased pan and bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Adapted from Gluten-Free Mommy

• 1 lb. of carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1-2 Tbs. honey
• 2 Tbs. coconut oil or butter
• 1 Tbs. lemon juice
• Salt and pepper

Adapted from Miranda Valentine

Aromatic and flavorful! A great side dish for any meat-based main course.

• 2 fennel bulbs, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
• 2 medium onions, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Grated Parmesan rind

Spicy and satisfying! You can use other seafood or substitute chicken.

• 3/4 Tbs. tamarind paste dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 Tbs. fish sauce, + more to taste
• 1-3 tsp. chili sauce, or substitute 1/2 tsp. or more dried crushed chili or cayenne, to taste
• 1-2 Tbs. local honey
• 8 oz. Thai rice noodles (or enough for 2 people), linguini-width, available at Asian/Chinese stores
• 1 lb. shrimp, peeled and de-veined
• 3 Tbs. tamari sauce (gluten-free soy sauce)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• optional: 1-2 fresh red chilies, minced
• 3 spring (green) onions, sliced
• 1/3 cup crushed or roughly chopped cashews, toasted
• Salt and pepper

Combine the tamarind paste, fish sauce, chili sauce and honey in a small bowl. Pour the tamari sauce over the shrimp to marinate.

Boil a pot of water and add the rice noodles. Cook until still just slightly crunchy (they’ll continue to soften during the stir fry). Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

Heat some coconut oil in a large pan or wok on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and chopped peppers, cook 30 seconds. Toss in the noodles, shrimp and tamarind sauce. Carefully turn over and over in the pan to fully combine all the ingredients. Cook until the shrimp are fully cooked. Serve with chopped roasted cashews and chopped green onion.

Modified from About.com

• 

  Spicy seafood soup with the flavors of curry.

  2 bags Trader Joe’s frozen seafood mix (calamari, scallops and shrimp)

• 4 quarts spicy stewed tomatoes
• 2 cups water
• 1 small head cauliflower, chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 8 oz. chopped baby bella mushrooms
• 4 serrano peppers, chopped
• 1 habanero pepper, chopped
• 4 hot red cherry peppers, chopped
• 1 Tbs. mashed garlic
• 1 oz. Maharajah curry (a blend of cumin, coriander, fenugreek, tumeric, yellow and brown mustard, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, fennel, white pepper, cloves, cardamom, chili powder, and saffron. We got ours from the Spice Merchants.)
• 2 Tbs. Garam masala seasoning

Don't feel guilty taking seconds, the walnuts are full of healthy omega 3 fats.

• 1 Tbs. butter or coconut oil
• 3 cups walnut halves
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup raw, local honey
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup chopped pitted dates
• 4 oz. dark (at least 72% cocoa) chocolate

Adapted from Food Network

A juicy treat with great health benefits.

Back to eating grapefruit: I have always eaten them plain. With my spring allergies giving me a bit of a runny, sneezy nose these days, I’ve started savoring a spoonful of raw, local, unfiltered honey as a way to boost my immunity to some of these allergens. So today I combined the two, drizzling a bit of the honey over my grapefruit before digging in. While either is delightful on its own, together there is a layering of the sweet and bitter flavors that is nothing short of awesome.

So visit a local grocer or farmers’ market and pick up some honey made in your area, put a touch on a grapefruit and enjoy a delicious breakfast, post-workout snack or dessert.