Named after my new friend, Meredith who, like me, misses her ability to taste but makes the best of it and hopes it will return.  This is her soup, codified for the first time.

Aromatics

  • 1 t olive oil1 inch ginger grated to a paste
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 2 scallions, whites chopped separately from greens

Base

  • 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1 T anchovy fish sauce
  • 1-2 t Sambal Olek
  • 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth

Vegetables

  • 4 oz crimini mushrooms whole and quartered
  • 1 can straw mushrooms
  • 1 zucchini, sliced into coins and halved
  • 1/2 C coined carrots
  • 1 bunch of bok choy, whites sliced, greens chopped into 1 inch pieces

Proteins

  • 1 lb of a combination of fish, seafood or chicken, chopped into bite sized pieces.  Tofu is also an option.

Finishing

  • Juice of half of a large lemon
  • Zest from one lemon
  • 1/2 Cups of bean sprouts
  • 4-6 oz cooked rice noodles or udon

 

Preparation

In a 4 quart saucepan, heat olive oil on medium high until shimmering.  Add sliced onion, whites of the scallions, celery and ginger.  Cook 1-2 minutes until beginning to soften.

Add chicken broth, fish sauce, and sambal olek.  Stir until well mixed.  If you are using chicken, add, bring to nearly a boil and cook for 5 minutes, then add the coconut milk and mix well  If not using chicken, add the coconut milk and proceed directly to the next step. 

Add all the mushrooms, fish, zucchini, carrots, and whites of the bok choy.   Leave scallops, shrimp and tofu out until the last 4 minutes to avoid overcooking them.  Bring slowly to just below a boil.  Turn the heat down to low and simmer 5-10 minutes until vegetables are firm but not soft and protein is coked through.  Do not boil.

Add the greens from the bok choy and scallions and the bean sprouts.  Cook for 1-2 minutes until wilted.   Remove from the heat.

Add the lemon zest and juice, stir well.  Serve with noodles in bowls.  Add additional sambal olek and fish sauce to taste.

Color me weird, but I always look for ways to maximize calories in my rando food.  I used to bake cookies, but having a cookie that falls apart or causes me to inhale crumbs is just not good.  I got the idea for these after eating a Ritter Marzipan bar and doing some research.  Panelletes are a spanish almond cookie served around Easter.  Traditionally they are moon-shaped and covered in pine nuts.  I don't do the moon shape, but I do have variations with and without various things.  These cookies are chewy from the almond flour and are easy to eat and relatively nutritious as calorie bombs go.

Preheat oven to 400º

Base recipe:

Mix together in a bowl:

  • 1 lb of almond flour (I use Bob's Red Mill because it is the only kind I have ever found) - you can use bleached or whole depending on if you like the nut skin or not
  • 1/4 cup of tapioca flour
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 3 eggs

Work this until it is well mixed, it should be relatively thick.  Add a little more tapioca or almond flour if it is too runny. 

Add additional ingredients directly to the dough if you like:

  • Chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc)
  • Chopped dried fruit (I like cherries myself)
  • Dried coconut

Cover your hands in coconut oil (it will be good for your skin AND keep the dough  from sticking to them.  Roll the dough into small golf ball shapes and put them on a cookie sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart (these do not spread much).

Roll the balls in additional ingredients directly to the dough if you like:

  • Chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc)
  • Pine nuts (the classic)

Bake them for 8-12 minutes until they are a golden color.  The browner they are the drier they are - I tend to let them cook about 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let them cool.  I take a bag on every brevet I go one - they will pull you out of a bonk (from the sugar and tapioca flour) and keep you out (the almond flour is a healthy fat). 

My dad gave me the base for this recipe - he makes it by the truckload.  I like to make it in smaller batches and vary the ingredients.  You can substitute as you like with this recipe - it's pretty bullet proof.  I like to get most of my ingredients from farmer's markets or Whole Foods (who has the market cornered where I live).  I eat a lot of nuts (don't laugh) so I get them at Costco.

Preheat the oven to 350º

Dry Base

In a large bowl combine:

  • 2 1/2 cups of rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup shaved almonds
  • 1/2 cup of broken up pecans
  • 1/2 cup of broken up walnuts
  • 3/4 cup of flaked unsweetened coconut
  • 1/4 cup of pepitos (pumpkin seeds)
  • 1/4 cup of hemp hearts
  • 1/4 cup of chia seeds
  • 1/4 cup of flax seeds (I grind mine a bit in a coffee grinder first to break them up)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg 
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Mix these together in a large bowl.

Wet Base

In another bowl combine:

  • 1/2 cup of unrefined coconut oil, melted
  • 1/2 cup of pomegranate juice
  • 2 tablespoons of vanilla
  • 1/4 cup of honey

Mix the wet ingredients together well until the honey is dissolved completely.

Gradually pour the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing them very well.  Then spread the mixture in a thin layer on a high lipped cookie sheet or a shallow 11x17 baking dish.  The layer should not be very thick at all and the thinner the better so use the biggest thing you have available.

Bake the mixture for 20 minutes.  Take the pan out of the oven and stir the granola to mix it up well - it should be browning on top.  Then put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes.  At this point, I check it carefully to make sure that it is evenly browned.  I sometimes stir it again and bake another few minutes if I am not satisfied.

When it is evenly browned, take it out of the oven and let it cool.

To the cooled base add

Dried Fruit - 1/2 to 1 Cup, chopped into raisin sized bits

Combinations I like:

  • Dried Tart Cherries and Cranberries
  • Dried mango and pineapple
  • Golden and Regular Raisins

Store the granola in an airtight container (a zip lock works well).  Unlike store bought, there will not be chunks - it will be loose like muesli.  I like to eat its with additional berries, fruit, greek yogurt or just plain old milk.

 

 

I love rice cakes.  They keep the blood sugar even with some flavor attached.  I especially like greek salad so when I started making rice cakes, these seemed like a good one to adapt.

  • 3 Cups Sushi Rice
  • 4 1/2 Cups Water
  • 1 tablespoon minced oregano

Boil the water and add the rice salt and oregano.  Cook for about 12 minutes, then turn off the heat for 10 minutes (or however you make sushi rice).

Add to the rice:

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives (more if you ike)
  • 1/2 - 1 C crumbled feta cheese (as much as you like)

Press the mixture into a 9x12 baking dish.  Press about 15 grape tomatoes into the top of the rice cakes and compress the rice again.  Cover and chill until it sets up.

Cut the rice cakes so that one grape tomato is in the center of each rice cake (not cutting the tomatoes keeps the cakes from falling apart and makes them last).