Quick Healthy Recipes For You

By Suzanne De Cornelia

Eat green and stay healthy and lean, that’s my motto. I’ve always loved healthy salads. Ever since my late father’s medical condition precluded his enjoying the greens he also loved, I’ve never taken them for granted and enjoy them even more. My favorite salad mainstays come from Earthbound Farm that began 25-years ago as an organic backyard garden in Carmel Valley, California. Now I live just a few miles away in Carmel, long committed to organic for me and the planet. You can find their produce in Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and many other locations, and can even buy it farm direct: ebfarm.com/

In 2009 alone, Earthbound’s 33,000 acres avoided the use of over 305,000 pounds of toxic pesticides, 10.3 million pounds of synthetic fertilizers, and conserved 1.6 million gallons of petroleum by avoiding the use of petroleum-based pesticides and fertilizers. With sustainability the goal they use 100% post-consumer recycled PET for plastic salad containers and 99% post-consumer recycled corrugate for shipping cartons.

With the local deer sporting their new autumn and fall antlers, and beautiful red Pyracantha berries reminding me how they centered our Thanksgiving dinner tables growing up, this is a beautiful looking and healthy salad is perfect for fall and winter, alone or try it paired with artisan bread and soup.

Carmel-by-the-Sea Roasted Pear, Goat Cheese and Candied Pecan Salad

1 package of spring mix salad greens
2 unpeeled pears
1/2 c of dried cranberries
1/2 c of candied pecan pieces
4-6 oz goat cheese log
1/4 c apple juice
3 T brown sugar
1 T white wine vinegar
1 T extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the pears into fourths length-wise and core. Place in a baking dish. Combine the apple juice and brown sugar and pour over the paces. Bake 20-30 minutes until they are tender, basting occasionally with the juice. Remove to a plate and reserve ¼ cup of the juice mixture.

Whisk the reserved apple juice and white wine vinegar in a small bowl, whisk in the olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste. I use sea salt and no pepper. Toss this dressing together with the greens in a salad bowl. Crumble in the goat cheese and mix throughout with a couple of light tosses. Divide onto four plates. Sprinkle each with the dried cranberries and candied pecans. Cut the pears into slices and arrange. Bon appetit.

Many of us are so busy that we don’t have the time to prepare fresh and delicious meals anymore. The recipe I am sharing in this article is very simple and time saving. I got this from a friend of mine who served this broccoli salad in one of our work-related-potlucks. Everyone loved it that it was gone in minutes! I am not a very good cook but every time I attend a gathering that involves food, I always bring my broccoli salad. Amazingly, it is always one of the first dishes to disappear!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED:

2 bundles of fresh broccoli, 1 onion, 1/2 cup of raisins, 12 slices of (cooked) bacon.

For the dressing:

1 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 1/2 cup of sugar, 3 tablespoons of vinegar

MAKING THE SALAD:

1. Wash the broccoli thoroughly and chop them into bite sizes, and place them on a clean dish/salad bowl.

2. Wash the onions thoroughly and slice or chop it into small pieces, then mix it with the broccoli.

3. Add the raisins and mix it with the rest.

4. Break the 12 slices of bacon into small pieces and them mix it with the rest.

5. Mix the dressing ingredients thoroughly in a separate bowl to make a dressing. Pour and mix the dressing evenly with the broccoli and the rest.

6. Cover your new broccoli salad with a plastic wrap and keep it refrigerated until ready to serve.

7. Enjoy your new delicious broccoli salad (by yourself or with friends and loved ones!)

Pasta is such and quick and easy meal and if you make it yourself then you can be sure of what you are getting and know there will not be a stack of preservatives and additives and you can add anything that takes your fancy or that you have on hand or in the garden at the time. Sage leaves are a tasty addition to pasta dishes and can transform even the plainest dish into a gourmet delight that takes only a few minutes to saute some sage leaves or oregano will add a different dimension to your pasta meal. Fresh is best always and the freshest herbs can be so simple to grow and have to hand.

Click here to visit The Pasta Shop

Try your hand at this quick and healthy recipe for Pasta by Alan Beggerow:

“If you’ve got some time and are willing to put forth some effort, you can make your own home made pasta. The basic ingredients are:

• 3/4 cup unbleached white flour
• 1 egg
• pinch of salt

That’s it. Some folks use a little (1/2 teaspoon) extra virgin olive oil in their pasta, but it is optional. This recipe makes pasta enough for 2 regular servings, so if you want more increase the amounts in the same proportions.

The classic way to make pasta is by putting the flour on a board, make a well in it, and put the egg and salt into the well. With a fork, gently mix the egg with the flour until a rough dough forms, then knead the dough with your hands until it becomes soft. But it can also be made in a bowl, a food processor or a mixer with a bread hook.

A few tips: If the dough is still too sticky, dust with a little flour and knead it some more. If the dough is too dry, sprinkle a little water on it and knead it in. The humidity in the air determines if a dough will be too sticky or dry with the basic recipe, so you’ll need to act accordingly.

After the dough has been kneaded and is soft and elastic, wrap it in plastic wrap and allow to rest for 20 minutes. This will help ‘relax’ the gluten in the dough and make it easier to roll out.

Folks who make pasta regularly invest in a pasta machine. While this does make for more uniform noodles, you don’t need one. Take the dough after it has rested and separate it into small portions if you’ve made more than the basic recipe. Dust a board with flour, put the dough on the board and roll it out. Try to get the dough thin enough so that you can almost see through it. If the dough sticks, dust with a little flour.

When you have the dough as thin as you like, dust it with a little flour and roll it up like a jelly roll. With a very sharp knife, cut the roll into very thin slices. Unroll the pasta and let it dry for 20 minutes or so on the board, or drape it over a broom handle covered with plastic wrap that has been suspended between two chairs.

After drying, the pasta can be cooked or refrigerated for use within the next 2 or 3 days. Fresh pasta does not take as long to cook as fully dried pasta, only about 4 to 5 minutes, even less if the noodles are small and thin. You want to cook it al dente (to the tooth, a little firm in the middle, so watch fresh pasta closely as it cooks!

This basic recipe can be varied in many ways. Substitute whole wheat flour for the unbleached white flour for whole wheat pasta. Whole wheat pasta dough will have a little different ‘feel’ to it. Or you can make spinach pasta. Cook 5 ounces of frozen spinach as directed, drain and let it cool. Squeeze as much water as you can out of the spinach. The spinach should be about the size of a large egg when you’re done. Mix it in with the egg before adding to the flour.

Pastas can be flavored with most anything. Add a little garlic, use a little tomato juice, let your imagination run free and experiment! Making home made pasta is easy!”

1 Kg pumpkin
4TBS olive oil
2 TBS pine nuts
1 Lge clove garlic (finely chopped)
2 tiny dried birds eye chillies (crushed)
1/4 tsp salt
75 ml white wine vinegar
75 ml water
2 TBS Sultanas
1/4 cup tiny mint leaves

• Chop pumpkin in wedges, cut out seeds and chop off skin
• Heat oil, add pumpkin pieces once it is hot
• Fry pumpkin, add pine nuts, add garlic, and chilli, sprinkle pumpkin
• with salt and cook 1 min or 2 more
• Pour in the vinegar and water – add sultanas and immediately cover with a lid
• Turn heat to low and cook very gently for 5 minutes or until tender
• Remove lid, transfer pumpkin to a dish with all the juices
• Scatter over the mint
• Serve piping hot in winter or at room temperature when weather heats up