The Goods on Garlic and Carrots!

Garlic

Ever heard the saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away?" The same goes for garlic! One clove of raw garlic contains more than 100 sulphuric compounds - enough to eliminate bacteria and infection. Garlic also provides protection against heart disease by helping to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. It is an excellent source of Vitamins B6 and C, as well as the trace minerals manganese and selenium.

Carrots

This powerful antioxidant is packed with Vitamin A and beta-carotene which help produce healthy hair, skin and nails. Carrots are also known to help minimize the appearance of wrinkles, acne and other skin blemishes. They are also helpful to eat to promote good vision, especially night vision, as well as protecting against macular degeneration and cataracts.

Dr. Ashely Gordon is a Squamish-based Naturopathic Physician and owner of Garibaldi Health Clinic, an integrative health care facility offering safe and effective care including Naturopathic Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture, Homeopathy, Massage, Midwifery and Physical Therapy. Dr. Gordon’s treatments focus on the whole person, from the physical and mental to the emotional and spiritual realms. To learn more about what Naturopathic Medicine can do for you, or to make an appointment, visit www.garibaldihealthclinic.com or call 604 898 1999.

White Bean Dip Recipe

Makes 12 Servings

Ingredients

1 can (14 oz, 17.6 oz) cannellini beans, canned, drained
1 bulb garlic, raw
1/4 cup (2 oz) olive oil

1/4 cup (2 fl oz) lemon juice, fresh

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Remove the outermost skin of the garlic bulb (the loose stuff). Cut off the very top of the bulb so the tip of each clove is exposed. Rub the entire bulb with some olive oil. Wrap in tin foil, shiny-side inwards. Place on a cookie sheet or in a casserole dish.
3. Roast in the oven for approximately 45 minutes, or until the bulb gives off the distinct roasted garlic (not raw garlic) aroma and the cloves are squishy.
4. Allow to cool.
5. Drain and rinse the beans (rinsing removes some of the “magical” part of the beans). Place them in a medium-size bowl.
6. To the beans, add half the olive oil, half the lemon juice, and half of the cloves of garlic. Using a hand-held blender, blend the mixture until it’s smooth. Adding more olive oil, lemon juice and garlic to taste and to get the texture to the desired smoothness.
7. ENJOY with tortilla chips, crackers, apple slices, and raw veggies like carrots, celery and bell pepper strips.
Note: You can roast the garlic days in advance.

Provencal Lemon Stuffed Chicken Breast

Chef Luis Felipe Lavieri

Ingredients

Compound Butter
-4 Table Spoon Unsalted room temperature Butter
-1 Poultry Mix Herbs (Thyme, Sage, Rosemary)
-1 Lemon
-2 pinch of salt
-(optional) 1 tbsp of Roasted Garlic

Chicken
2 Chicken Breasts
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Directions

Everybody and their second cousin knows how to cook chicken, and you probably think that this is probably one of the simplest chicken recipes that you will see, but the devil truly is in the details. I don't want you to just know how to cook a chicken but how to do so with the flare of a 3 star restaurant chef. If you follow the instructions, this dish will be one of the best dishes you eat this week.

Turn on and set the oven to 375 F

Grab 2 sprigs of thyme, 2 leaves of sages and one sprig of rosemary. Take all the little leaves off the stems on both the rosemary and the thyme. Chop up all the leafs liberally into very small pieces.

Mix the butter with the herbs, the zest of a lemon and salt (optional - and the garlic too).

Make an incision on the back side of the chicken with a paring knife. I have attached a drawing to help you out.

-Two very important tips here - Keep your fingers away from the sharp side of the blade. You are puncturing meat so it is very easy to slip and cut yourself. My recommendation is to lay the breast flat on a cutting board and to insert the knife away from you.

- The second tip is to go as far as the handle will take you. Paring knifes usually are between 3 and 5 inches long, while chicken breasts are usually around 5-6 inches long, which means that you won't be puncturing through. You want to create a pouch in which you can put the compound butter. If you don't make a hole on the other side, less butter will come out, and less of the natural juices of the chicken will come out. The end result is a juicer chicken with more flavour.

Stuff about 2 table spoons of the compound butter into the chicken.

Add 1 pinch of salt and 1 pinch of pepper to the outside of the chicken

In a hot pan at medium heat, add 1 tbsp of olive oil

Sear the chicken. About 3 minutes per side should be good enough. Each side should have turned golden by the time you turn/take the chicken off. Give it enough time per side to sear.

Place the seared chicken in the oven for 25-30 minutes depending on the size of your chicken breasts. If unsure whether your chicken is done, check the internal temperature with a thermometer. It should read 75 Celsius or 165 Fahrenheit.

Recommendation - If you happen to have a cookie cooling rack that is rated to be able to go in the oven, cook the chicken on the wire rack. This has the added benefit of distributing the heat evenly all around your chicken. If any juices come off, the chicken will not sit on them cooking the meat at two different temperatures.

After you take the chicken out of the oven, allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes while covered (with a lid or aluminium paper). This allows the juices to sit in the meat, and your chicken won't dry out once cut.

Roasted Garlic Paste

Chef Luis Felipe Lavieri

Ingredients:
1 Garlic (whole)
Olive Oil

Utensils Needed
Fine mesh strainer
Aluminum Paper

Directions 

Turn on the oven to 350F
Cut off the top 1/4 of a the garlic to expose the cloves.

Grab a sheet of aluminum paper large enough to wrap the Roasted garlic.

Place the garlic in the center of the aluminum paper and create a pouch.

Pour about 1 tbsp of olive oil on the garlic, soaking it a little.

Close the aluminum paper pouch and seal it so that steam does not get out

Important: Pace the pouch on a pan. This will catch any oil that might leak out

Place the pan into the oven for about 55 minutes. This will allow the garlic to slowly roast and turn tender.

Allow to cool and squeeze through the fine mesh strainer. This should catch all the peel.

Roasted garlic paste is amazing as a cooking ingredient. Substitute for garlic. Does not require any further cooking. Is quite awesome when mixed with mayonnaise for a roasted garlic mayo

Nicoise Salad

Chef. Luis Felipe Lavieri

Ingredients:

- Seared sockeye salmon
- Yellow grape tomato
- Russet potato
- Beans (you can use purple)
- Hard boiled egg
- Mandarin orange segments
- Mediterranean organic pitted black olives



Mandarin Vinaigrette

- Zest of 1 mandarin
- Juice of 1 mandarin
- 3 leafs of mint
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 1 tea spoon of Dijon Mustard
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced


Directions

Seared sockeye salmon - Portion, Salt, and pepper. On a hot pan, add 1 tbsp of Olive oil, quickly cook each side of the salmon. Each side should be cooked for less than 1 minute, only long enough to get a little colour and for all the pores to be sealed.

Hard boiled egg - Put egg(s) in a pot with cold water, bring to a boil. Once the water begins to boil, set a timer for 8 minutes. When the timer goes off, strain the egg(s) and run under cold water. Peel and cut in half longwise

Purple beans - Bring a small pot of water to boil, put in the cleaned purple beans for 30 seconds, strain the water and place the beans into an ice water bath to stop cooking process.

Russet Potato - peel and cut into cubes about 1-2 inches wide, put into a small pot of cold water, bring to a boil. Once boiling, bring the heat down to a medium heat. Check the potatoes every 3-5 minutes for done-ness. Usually takes less than 10 minutes for potato cubes to be fully cooked from the moment the water begins to boil. Do Not Overcook, otherwise you will end up with mash.

Yellow grape Tomatoes - cut in half

Mandarin orange segments - Peel mandarin. divide mandarin into segments. Remove any of the rind still attached to the segments and any seeds.

Mandarin Vinagrette 

Combine and emulsify all ingredients except for the mint. Chop mint finely and combine with the dressing.


Finishing the salad

In a hot pan at medium heat, pan fry Potatoes, beans, olives, grape tomatoes, and 2 tbsp of the vinagrete. Take off heat, add 1 tbsp of vinagrette and toss, Salt and Pepper to taste. Plate as the base. Add Hard boiled egg halves on top. Add Pan seared Salmon on top. Spoon 1 tbsp of vinaigrette on top of the salmon.

Mandarin vinagrette works really well also with Arugula

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. 

Spicy Sauteed Celery

Adapted from Yummly

One of our Amazing Members had asked for an easy to make Celery Recipe! This is great for those days when you don't have much time and need to whip something up for a quick and healthy snack on the go!

Ingredients:


- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 large bunch celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes (Can substitute for regular black or cayenne pepper)
- Coarse Salt (Can substitute for regular salt)






Directions: 


In a large skillet, melt butter over medium.
Add garlic and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
Add celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, 6 minutes.
Add red-pepper flakes and season with salt.

Notes:  This recipe is fairly basic and very easy to make.  This allows you to search your fridge for any leftover meats/veggies or rice you may have to cook with it!  Be creative!

Creamy Avocado Pasta Sauce

Adapted from "Oh She Glows"

I adore avocados in any way, shape, or form, so when I came across this amazing recipe, I just knew I had to share it with everyone. This recipe is completely Vegan and is very addicting (as anything with avocado, garlic, and lemon should be!). It was created for regular flour pasta, but the creator also recommends grabbing some veggies and using a spiralizer to make veggie pasta for a light summer dish.

Ingredients:

1 medium ripe avocado
1/2 lemon, juiced and zest to garnish
1-3 cloves garlic, depending on preference
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Fresh ground pepper, to taste

Optional:
1/4 cup fresh basil


Directions:

Peel your avocado and remove the pit.

Combine your olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice in a food processor until smooth.

Add the avocado, salt, and basil and process until smooth again.

Done!

Add as a sauce to pasta or veggie pasta, use as a dip for chips, a spread for sandwiches, or basically anything where a touch of garlic and lemony avocado would be a perfect compliment.

Greek Yoghurt Caesar Dressing

Adapted from  Yummly
 
Ingredients:

Salt
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1 lemon, zest and juice
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
5 Tbsp Greek yoghurt
2 Tbsp parmesean
Lettuce

Optional:
Chicken breasts, skin-less


Directions:

Crush the garlic cloves with a pinch of salt using the flat of a knife or a garlic press.

Toss into a bowl with the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and mustard powder. Beat together with a fork.

Add the mayo and yoghurt and most of the parmesan, then mix together well.

Optional: If adding chicken to your salad, use a couple tablespoons of the dressing to rub into the chicken as a marinade and let sit about an hour before grilling it. Once cooked and cooled, slice and add to your salad.

Prepare your lettuce and then toss with the dressing. Sprinkle any remaining parmesean on top and enjoy!

Seaweed Gomasio

Adapted from MountainRose Blog

A sesame seed seasoning blend from Japan, this makes a great addition to rice, salads, sandwiches, wraps, pizza, popcorn, soup, and veggies!

Ingredients

1 cup sesame seeds, raw
1/2 cup dulse/nori/kombu seaweed flakes
1 Tbsp sea salt

Directions

Toast the sesame seeds in a pan over medium heat, tossing or stirring constantly to keep the bottoms from burning.

Once the oil starts to release from the seeds and they start turning golden, remove from the heat. Pour the seeds into a bowl to cool for about 8 to 10 minutes.

If you are unable to find seaweed flakes, just toss some sheets of nori (or other seaweed) into a grinder until about the same size or a bit larger than the sesame seeds.

Once cool, mix the seaweed flakes and sea salt into you sesame seeds.

Pour into a shaker and enjoy!

Optional:

You can also experiment with adding variations! Try using hemp, flax, pumpkin, sunflower, or milk thistle seeds. Or try including garlic granules, peppercorns, oregano, basil, orange zest, or chili flakes for different flavours.

Pickles! Simple Dill Recipe

I absolutely love pickles, especially cucumber pickles, and my husband loves to experiment with different flavours. I thought, since anyone growing Zukes or Cukes would be drowning in them right now, I would share a traditional dill and garlic recipe. So, no need to foist the extras on the neighbours! (Unless you want to, of course)

Ingredients
Anything you want to pickle!
- Cucumbers
- Broccoli stems
- Asparagus
- Carrots
- ect...

4 cucumbers ( 3 - 4 inches)

4 cloves garlic
1 cup Fresh Dill, chopped
1 tsp Coriander seeds
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Whole peppercorns
1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup Water
1 tbsp Sea Salt
Optional:
1 Lime (juiced)

Any glass container with a lid that seals, regular glass tupperware works great!

 
Directions

Pour water into a large bowl, about 2 cups, then mix in and dissolve the salt. Once salt is completely dissolved add the apple cider vinegar. Then, add all of your other herbs and spices. Let this mixture sit while you prep your cucumbers.

(I've added lime juice as optional, since the hint of citrus is really nice to add to pickles during the summer and the price just dropped back to something reasonable this week.)

Give them a quick wash to remove any excess dirt residue, then cut them into quarters. If you prefer whole cucumber pickles, then be aware that they will take a bit longer to "cure" before being ready to munch on.

Bathe your cucumbers in the pickling liquid for about two hours (three hours for whole cucumbers). If they start floating, just set an upside down pot lid on top to submerge them.

Afterwards, separate the cucumbers into your glass containers, then pour the pickling mixture into each container to fill it. Seal it up and refrigerate.

The usual wait time is about 2 days for really lightly flavoured pickles and 1 week for a good strong flavour. They keep for about 1 month.

Enjoy!

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. 

Roasted Yam, Quinoa, and Mixed Greens Salad

Featured on Calgary's CTV morning show with our very own Brigitte
Check it out!

Adapted from Eat Yourself Skinny!

Ingredients:

2 medium Yams, peeled and cubed (can also use sweet potatoes)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp. Onion Powder
1/2 tsp. Oregano
1/2 tsp. Spice Sanctuary's Ground Red Chili Powder
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups mixed greens (Kale is also great for this salad)

Optional:
1/4 cup dried cranberries/raisins/sunflower seeds/whatever you feel like!

Salad Dressing:

2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp. minced shallots
1 1/2 Tbsp honey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Rinse and peel yams, chopping them into 1/4 inch cubes. Toss with olive oil, garlic powder, oregano and chili powder until completely coated.

3. Spread out cubes evenly onto a baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, flipping them once.

4. While the yams are baking, cook the quinoa in a rice cooker (quinoa has the same exact water ratio as rice, so just check your cooker's water requirements and go!). Once quinoa is done, stir to fluff it up and allow it to cool for about 5 minutes.

5. In a large bowl, combine greens and quinoa.

6. Mince your shallots, then in a smaller bowl mix together dressing ingredients and toss with the greens and quinoa

7. Gently fold in the sweet potato cubes, then sprinkle your dried fruit or seeds on top for presentation.

Sage and Onion Tear & Share Bread

Adapted from bbc.co.uk
Ingredients

5 oz whole milk, plus extra for glazing
14 oz flour
7g / 1/2 sachet fast-action dried yeast
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 oz butter
1 tbsp sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
15-20 sage leave, chopped, plus extra for garnish
freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Heat 5 ounces of water and the milk in a saucepan over low heat until lukewarm.

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and stir in the yeast, sugar, and salt.

Make a well in the centre and stir in the water and milk with a large wooden spoon. Gather into a ball and then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover loosely with oiled clingfilm. Leave to ride in a warm place for 45-60 minutes or until double in size.

Meanwhile, melt the butter and oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the onion and garlic over a very low heat for 10 minutes, or until softened.

Scatter the chopped sage over the onions and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat, season with lots of freshly ground black pepper and set aside to cool.

When the dough has doubled in size, tip it back onto a floured surface and flatten with your hands. Spoon the onion mixtures on top and knead for a couple minutes until evenly incorporated. Sprinkle with a little extra flour if it becomes sticky.

Divide the dough into eight balls and shape by pulling the dough from the outside and pushing into the centre. Turn over with the ends underneath. Place the rolls in a circle on a large baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, making sure the dough balls are touching. Cover loosely with oiled cling film and leave to proof in a warm place for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F

Brush the top of each roll lightly with milk and place a small sage leaf on top. Brush with more milk and bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes, or until risen and golden-brown. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool before serving.

Healthy Tuna Burgers

Adapted from @sashafitness

Ingredients 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

Portion out evenly into burger shapes.

Place burgers in an ovenproof pan and bake until burgers are golden.

Pasta with Lemon, Garlic,and Thyme Mushrooms

Adapted from Nigella's

Ingredients

225 grams mushrooms
80 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Maldon salt (or 1½ tsps table salt)
1 small clove garlic (crushed)
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tsps dried thyme
500 grams pasta
1 bunch fresh parsley (chopped)
2 - 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper
 

DIRECTIONS

Mix in a large pan the oil, salt, crushed garlic, lemon juice and zest, and marvelously scented thyme.

While that simmers, Slice the mushrooms finely, then add the mushrooms to the pan.

Cook the pasta according to packet instructions and drain loosely, retaining some water. Remove the pan from the heat and quickly put the drained pasta into the bowl with the mushroom mixture.

Toss everything together well, portion everything out onto plates, then add the chopped parsley, grated cheese and pepper to taste.

Stir-fry Bok Choy

2 Servings

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon coconut oil (or other high temp oil for cooking)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ginger, minced

6 larger or 12 smaller heads baby bok choy - Trim stems and cut in half or quartered

2 tablespoons tamari

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Optional* Non-veg:

2 Boneless Chicken Breasts thinly sliced into bite size pieces and seasoned with salt and pepper.

DIRECTIONS

- Heat the oil in a wok or large sauté pan until almost smoking.

- Add the minced garlic and ginger. 

- Use a spoon to quickly stir for about 30 seconds

- * Add chicken breast strips

- * Continue tossing until chicken is seared on all sides.

- Add Bok Choy and tamari.

- Cover for 1 to 2 minutes to steam bok choy.

- Remove from heat, toss with sesame seeds and serve.