Tomato Salsa with Cucumber "Chips"

From: Food and Wine

Get ready for Super Bowl weekend with a delicious healthy take on the traditional chips-and-salsa combo that is nearly fat-fee and refreshing.
Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 small jalapeño, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large seedless cucumber, sliced 1/4 inch thick


Directions:

In a bowl, toss the tomatoes with the onion, cilantro, jalapeño and lime juice and season with salt and pepper. Serve the salsa with the cucumber chips for dipping.

Glory Bowl

Ingredients:

1 Cup Brown Rice
1/2 Cup Beets
1/2 Cup Carrots
1/2 Cup Sunflower Seeds
1/2 Cup Spinach
1/4 Cup Alfalfa
1 Avocado
1/2 Cup Tofu or Chicken
1/4 Cup Cilantro

Dressing:
1/4 Cup Miso
1 Lime
1/8 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 Cup Water
1 Clove Garlic
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/3 Cup Tahini
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

Directions

1. In small pot, start cooking the brown rice with 2 Cups water and 1 Cup of brown rice.

2.  While Rice is cooking, Grate the raw beets and carrots
3. Finely shred the spinach and dice the avocado.

4. In a blender, blend together the miso, lime juice, vinegar, 1/2 cup of water, garlic, soy sauce and tahini.  Slowly drizzle in the Vegetable oil as it can get too thick.

5. Once your rice is done cooking, layer the ingredients as follows:  Rice, a little of your dressing, Beets, Carrots, Spinach, Avocado, Alfalfa, Chopped Cilantro, Sunflower Seeds, and the rest of your dressing. 

Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

1 Cup Quinoa
2 Cups Water

Salad:
1 Apple
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Tomato
2 Stalks of Celery
1/2 Red Onion
1/2 Cucumber
6 Sprigs Cilantro
1/4 Cup Walnuts


Dressing:
8 Tbspn Olive Oil
6 Tbspn Balsamic Vinegar
3 Tbspn Lemon Juice
2 Sprigs Cilantro
1/2 Tspn Salt
1/2 Tspn Pepper


Directions 

1. In small pot, bring to boil 1 Cup Quinoa and 2 Cups of water.  
Turn down to simmer for 15 minutes, until water all absorbed in the quinoa.
Once Quinoa is done, put in the fridge/freezer to cool off (Do not freeze) so it is cold when added to salad.

Chop up Apple, Green Pepper, Tomato, Celery, Red Onion, Cilantro into small chopped pieces.  Put aside.

In a small blender, blend together Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Lemon Juice, Cilantro, Salt and Pepper.
Everyone is different, so try the dressing and add what you think will make it better for you! Be creative! 

In a large bowl, add the cooled down Quinoa to the chopped fruit and Vegetables.  Add your dressing and mix thoroughly.  

Sprinkle some crushed walnuts on top and voila!  A healthy salad that is absolutely delicious!

Roasted Patty Pan Squash & Herb Chickpeas

Adapted from Chocolate and Zucchini

Ingredients:

2 cups canned chickpeas
750 g or 1 2/3 lbs of Patty Pan Squash
Olive Oil
Salt
Cilantro
Fresh Mint
1 Lemon
Black Pepper
Optional:
Chili Pepper

Directions: 

Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then set aside in a bowl.

Preheat the oven to 200°Celcius (400°F).

Cut the stems and roots off of your Patty Pan Squash and cut each of them into 8 sections.

Spread them out into a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle some salt, then toss them to coat the squash pieces. Roast for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool.

While the squash is roasting, juice and peel your lemon. Then combine the lemon juice, strips of lemon peel, black pepper, chili pepper, cilantro, mint, and a drizzle of olive oil into a blender. Pulse until fairly smooth. (You can also set aside some of the cilantro and mint to dice by hand and sprinkle on top as garnish)

Add the dressing to the chickpeas, mix well, and let them chill in the fridge until your squash is cool.

Once the squash is cool enough to eat, arrange the pieces on plates and top with the chickpeas. If you set aside some herbs for garnish, sprinkle them on and eat!

Guasacaca

Brought you from
My Own Kitchen

My husband's family is quite the mix. With Italian and German ancestry and born and raised in Venezuela, the meals that come out of our kitchen are both diverse and delicious. Today I have a recipe for Guasacaca - whose name is derived from the word Aguacate (Avocado).

Ingredients

1 medium onion
2 ripe avocados
1 large red pepper
2 cloves garlic
Fresh Parsley
Fresh Cilantro
3 tbsp Vinegar
1 Lime Juiced
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
1 cup olive oil

Optional:
Hot sauce or jalapeño

Directions

1. Peel and Pitt the avocados, then chop roughly.

2. De-seed the pepper and chop roughly.

3. Peel garlic cloves and onion and chop roughly.

4. Remove stems from Parsley and Cilantro leaves.

5. Put everything except the olive oil into a food processor and blend until mostly smooth. Then slowly start adding the olive oil until completely smooth.

6. Make about an hour before you plan to serve it.

Optional:
7. If you want a chunkier style Guasacaca, then have an extra avocado set aside, peeled, pitted, and cubed. Gently mash in the extra avocado chunks about 5-10 minutes before serving.

This sauce is great for putting on any kind of cooked meat or starchy side dish. 

10 Minute Miso Soup with Soba Noodles

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Prep time: 5 min - Cook time: 5 min

Ingredients

3 ounces dried soba noodles
2 - 4 tablespoons miso paste (to taste)
2 - 3 ounces firm tofu (2 handfuls), chopped into 1/3-inch cubes
2 green onions, tops removed thinly sliced

Optional:
a handful of watercress or spinach, well washed and stems trimmed

a small handful of cilantro
a pinch of red pepper flakes

Directions

Cook the soba noodles in salted water, drain, and run cold water over the noodles to stop them from cooking. Shake off any excess water and set aside.

In a medium sauce pan bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and remove from heat. 

In a small bowl, whisk the miso paste with small amounts of boiling water from your pot, adding more as you go so it thins out slowly and avoids clumping.

Stir the mixture back into the pot. Taste, and then add more (the same way) a bit at a time until it is to your liking. Also, some miso pastes are less-salty than others, so you may need to add a bit of salt here. 

Add the tofu, remove from the heat, and let it sit for just a minute or so.

Split the noodles between two (or three) bowls, and pour the miso broth and tofu over them. 

Add your preferred toppings, watercress, green onions, cilantro, or red pepper flakes, and enjoy.

Serves 2 - 3.

Cucumber Melon Salsa

Makes about 3 cups of salsa

INGREDIENTS

1 Cucumber, finely diced
2 cups of melon (cantaloupe or honeydew work equally well here), finely diced
1/4 cup of red onion or sweet onion, finely diced
1 fresh hot red or green chile, minced (omit the seeds to mellow the heat)
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Eat immediately or chill in the fridge to let flavours blend a bit more. Perfect with grilled fish or chicken, but also just right for a summer snack. Serve with tortilla chips or just a spoon.

The Great Green Smoothie

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups water
2 ice cubes
1/2 head green leaf lettuce, coarsely chopped
1 large bunch spinach, coarsely chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 apple, cored and chopped
1 pear, cored and chopped
1/3 bunch cilantro, stems and leaves
1/2 bunch parsley, stems and leaves
1 banana, peeled
Juice of 1/2 lemon (or about 1 Tbsp of lemon juice)

DIRECTIONS

Add the water, ice cubes, lettuce, and spinach to the blender. Starting the blender on a low speed, mix until smooth.

Gradually moving to higher speeds, add the celery, apple, pear, cilantro, and parsley. Add the banana and lemon juice last and blend until smooth.

Healthy Ways to Eat Blueberries

Our Covenant House Vancouver  fundraising campaign motivated us to look for six fun and healthy new ways to use organic blueberries in different recipes. Blueberries not only benefit our bodies but also offer a delicious fresh taste.
 




Pretty parfait: In tall glasses, layer organic blueberries with frozen vanilla yogurt and organic cereal. Top with granola and a couple of blueberries for decoration.







Yummy add-on: Mix fresh organic blueberries into muffins, cakes, breads and waffles.




Blue smoothie: Blend a handful of organic blueberries, half a banana and some plain yogurt until very smooth. Drink as is, or pour over cereal or granola.




Grilled Salmon with Blueberry-Cilantro salsa: Toss together chopped onion, pepper, honey, lime juice, blueberries, fresh cilantro, sea salt and black pepper to taste.
Mix all the other ingredients just before serving, and spoon salsa over the grilled salmon or serve on the side.




Savoury sauce: Sauté an onion in olive oil; add blueberries, white wine and fresh thyme. Cook until well thickened and blueberries break down. Spoon over grilled white fish or pork.

 

Chill drinks with style: Place a few blueberries in each ice cube tray, fill with water and freeze. Drop some cubes in a glass and fill with pink lemonade or water.

For more information check out some Health Benefits of Blueberries on our Facebook page!
(Best Health Magazine, Sept 2011)

A very special thanks to everyone who has purchased blueberries this past two and a half weeks and also placed inside their bins those unwanted pennies for the Covenant House Vancouver