Sunday, February 26, 2012

Cabbage Wraps!

Recipe for Cabbage Wraps!
fast - easy - vegan - almost raw



First up I have to mention that I am not a recipe user and writing down messurements when I cook is hard for me because I change my mind and add things as I go. (-;
So, don't take the amounts too seriously or exact and add as much of the different ingredients as you please.


You need:
Big Cabbage Leaves
1 Beet
1/2 small Onion
1 medium Carrot
Handfull of Raisins
Lemon
1-2 tablespoons Olive oil


How it's done:
Gently 'peel' off the big Cabbage leaves without tearing them apart. Steam them in a pot full of water until they get kind of translucent. Maybe about 5-10 minutes.

In a food processor add the peeled and chopped beet, onion and carrot and shred it.
Pour the mixture into a bowl add some lemon juice, olive oil and the raisins. 
Add other herbs and spices if you desire. Mix.








Gently add some salad mixture on a cabbage leave and roll it up, securing the package with toothpicks.


                                     



                                       


Eat right away or store in fridge for lunch the next day.


The possibilities of this dish are endless, you can wrap up pretty much anything into a cabbage leave and don't we like certain things just better when they are wrapped?





love, n.





Saturday, February 25, 2012

A Saturday Morning In Winter...

... what's better than going to buy veggies on a farm in the middle of winter???
For a foodie like me, not much. haha.

We are very lucky to have the Berry Patch Farms in Brighton, Colorado. The owner managed to pull off unheated green houses and grows various vegetables also in winter.

This is what we came home with:

Cannelini Beans
Pop Corn Kernels
Kale
Spinach
Turnips
Carrots
5lbs of frozen tomatoes
1lbs frozen Raspberries
Leeks
Italian Heirloom Onions
Spaghetti squash


And the total was 47$ and some cents. It will last us at least a whole week. YUM!


Buying from your local organic farm is sustainable, you invest in a small business and it keeps your community going! Now check with your local farm if they have a few things they still sell even though it is winter! You might be surprised!



love, n.






Monday, February 20, 2012

No-fish Sushi Recipe

Hi there! 

Our family love, love, loves sushi! But the other night we didn't feel like going out and spending a ton of money in a restaurant, so we decided to make some at home.

We made no-fish sushi, I don't like handling raw fish... I don't like handeling anything raw that used to live, really.


What you need:
Nori leaves (Seeweed)
You get them at Asian Markets or even Whole Foods. Maybe even other grocery stores have them. 
Sushi rice
the bulk section at Whole Foods has organic sushi rice for like 1.50$ a pound
Rice Vinegar
Veggies of your choice
Sesame seeds (optional)

How I made them:
Per 1 cup rice use 1-1 1/2 cup water. Add a broth cube if you want and bring to a broil in a big pan. When it cooks stir once(!) with a wooden spatula, cover with lid and let simmer on low for about 20 minutes.
After the rice cooled down a little add a couple of tablespoons rice vinegar and stir it in.

Cut some veggies of your choice into thin slices. We used avocado, cucumbers and carrots.

The instructions on how to roll the sushi is on the back of the Nori leaves (YAY).

But I can explain it really fast:
We couldn't find our sushi matts, so we just used a towel then put a clearwrap on the towel, on top of that the Nori leave. Spread the rice thinnly all over the Nori leaving about an 3/4 inch free on the top. Drip a little bit of water on that part of the leave. (I used my fingers to wet it a little)
Add the thinnly sliced veggies in the lower third onto the rice and start rolling it up with some pressure.
At the end the slightly wet part of the leave will stick to the roll and keep the whole thing together. Slice it up and its ready to eat.
The first couple rolls may look a little funny but you will get the hang of it. (-:
It's really fun and actually really fast too. I will defenitely make these again soon and take them for lunch or a snack on the go!

In some of the rolls I added black and white sesame seeds onto the rice before rolling and some got decorated with the sesame seeds after I cut them.
The possibilities are endless. I think next time I wanna add Mango to them. My mouth is watering again already!

For the kiddos:
Some kids do not enjoy the seaweed on sushi, so I made them their own special 'sushi' in a bowl. 
(Picture on Holistic Family Nutrition facebook page) 
I put some sushi rice in a little bowl, cut carrots and cucumbers in thin sticks, avocado in little dices and added them all to the rice. Looks really apeeling and fun to them. 
I gave them some soy sauce (tamari sauce actually) in a little dish and they dipped the veggies and the rice in it.

For the Gluten Free sushi fan:
Regular Soy sauce has wheat in it, so it is NOT Gluten Free! 
Use Tamari sauce, they are also widely available and were not brewed with wheat. 


Anything else???
I would love to hear about your home made sushi adventures! 



love, n.