Creamy Mushroom Soup (Paleo)

The visual arts have been in my life a lot recently. I guess college really wants to make you a well-rounded person. Or just take your money. Actually, scratch that. There is no “or” here. Just “and” or “and even more so.”

Anyway, regardless, I’ve been out and about at art museums in NYC for my American Art History course. And I’m going to more tomorrow. And again next week.

And some of these art exhibits have been pretttttty trippy (If you’ve been to the Whitney Museum, you know what I mean). BUT, it has given me an appreciation for more simplistic art. Which, I am going to keep ahold of until I can get myself some better pictures A friend and sister (both art majors) have both “kindly” told me that my pictures currently suck. Which, to be fair, they have a valid point. And so, I’m going to be redoing some pictures on the blog soon and work with lighting and all that jazz as soon as I’m done posting all the current pictures that I have.     

Until then, let me assure you that this creamy, mushroom soup is WAY better than my mediocre photography skills make it look. In fact, this is one of my favorite soups. I even make a pot just to eat for breakfast throughout the week (I often eat breakfast for dinner and dinner for breakfast- I’m a backwards person).

Mushroom Soup (Paleo) 

Ingredients:

14 oz or 4-5 portobello mushrooms, chopped and including grills and stems 

2 onions, chopped

2 cups water

4 cups vegetable broth

2 tbsp coconut flour 

salt and pepper, to taste

nutmeg (optional) 

Directions: 

In a pot, place mushrooms and onions. Pour in water and vegetable broth. Oven heat, bring to a boil. Place the lid ajar and simmer for 20 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender. Stir in coconut flour and let cook for 5 more minutes. Add salt and pepper and sprinkle with nutmeg before serving. 

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Lemon Yogurt Cake/Bars

Well what do ya know, spring is finally here! And about time too- the snow this winter was killing me. Granted there’s more snow on the way, but today its climbing into the 60s, so I’ll just live in the moment for now and say life is good.

And speaking of good, let’s talk lemon, a hallmark flavor of spring. To be perfectly honest, I’m more of a chocolate person. But every time I make this cake, I am forced to reconsider… It’s that good.

And for the occasional treat, I’d say the ingredients aren’t much to cringe over, especially compared to the store-bought cake. So today, I fully intend to grab myself a slice, sit on the front porch, absorb some vitamin D, and begin to defrost 🙂

Lemon Yogurt Cake/Bars

Ingredients: 

1 and 1/2 cups spelt flour

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup cup plain, organic whole milk yogurt

1/2 cup lemon juice

2 eggs

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 8×8 baking dish. In a bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt). In a separate bowl, whisk together wet (yogurt, lemon juice, and eggs). Add the dry ingredients to wet, stir until combined, and spread into the baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes.

NOTE: I do not make this cake with frosting- it doesn’t need it! However, I recommend letting the cake sit at room temperature for several hours, or covering with aluminum foil overnight before digging in; moisture forms at the top, making the cake more tasty (in my opinion anyway).

“Shamrock Shake”

I’ve never had a shamrock shake.

Not even when I was little (thank goodness).

I’d like to say that I was food conscientious from a young age, but I wasn’t.

I just hated mint. And still do, by the way.

Still, I kinda felt alienated with all the green drinks around me. People love their shamrock shakes apparently

So, I made my own, tasting probably nothing like McD’s version. But that’s okay. Free of the mystery ingredients and dyes AND bypassing on the mint? AND being green. I’ll happily take it and chug it down 🙂

“Shamrock Shake”

Ingredients: 

2/3 cup plain, organic whole milk yogurt

1/2 cup fresh spinach (add more for a greener color!)

1/4 cup almond milk

2 tbsp nut butter

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

salt, to taste

Directions: 

Combine all ingredients in a food processor/blender and blend until smooth and green.

Want more green? 

Avocado Shake I

Avocado Shake II 

Kale Chips

Sometimes I work with ulterior motives. In my defense though, it’s in the name of the greater good. Or, in this case, kale chips.

I’d been curious about Brad’s Raw Kale Chips for a while. Problem was, I wasn’t a big fan of the cost. So much money, and for such a little container too!

Anyway.

Christmas came and with it, I pondered over what to get my impossible-to-shop-for Dad. So I went into the local T.J. Maxx and bought a bunch of the organic foods and unique snacks to put in a basket (great present idea by the way) and what do ya know? There was a carton of Brad’s Raw Vampire Killer Kale Chips. So I decided to go all out and buy it (I know, such a sacrifice, right 😉 ).

But, my mind was already working in advance. If my dad ended up liking the chips, he might buy me some kale to make my own! (In case you haven’t picked up on it, I’ll state the obvious: I can be very cheap.) I’d have been trying to convince my dad to eat kale, but he wouldn’t because of its bitter taste (which he knew without ever trying before…?) Now, disguised as a christmas gift, he’d have to try some. Ha!

And so, much to my surprise (or lack of) there was several bunches of kale in the fridge next week, with my Dad excitingly telling me, “Now you can make me those kale chips from scratch!”

That’s a great idea, Dad! Now why didn’t I think of that…

Oh, case you’re wondering, my dad does not read this blog 🙂

Kale Chips

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup raw cashews

2 tbsp sunflower seeds (outer shells already removed)

6 cups kale, stems removed and cut/ripped into pieces

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions: 

Place cashews in a bowl of water and let soak for 1 hour. Afterwards, combine with sunflower seeds in a food processor and pulse until in crumb-sized pieces.

Line 2 large roasting pans with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a bowl, combine and toss kale, cashew/seed mixture, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Spread out on roasting pans. Bake at for 18 minutes. Afterwards, let sit for 2 minutes to cool down and become crispy.

Stuffed Cabbage in the Crock Pot (Paleo)

Crock pot recipes have always intimidated me. I don’t know why since most of the recipes are just “throw everything in and walk away.”

I guess images of coming home to my house burned down have just got in the way.

So, I’ve been taking it in baby steps. Following recipes to the T (which was an accomplishment in itself) and waiting for days I was home all day to make sure the house didn’t catch flame.

And, since I wait for days when I’m home, I’ve been starting to play around with recipes. Literally. Play around. As in the case of this stuffed cabbage. Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed playing “doctor” and “mending up” cabbage leaves that had rips and holes in them.

Don’t ask.

So, in conclusion, I’ve become more at ease with my crock pot. Now, I just need to practice leaving the house while it’s on. Maybe I’ll drive around the block or something for practice…

Baby steps, people. Baby steps.

Side note: since Dr. Seuss’s  birthday is tomorrow and green eggs are suddenly all the rage, I’ve reposted my green egg recipes at the bottom of this post 🙂

Stuffed Cabbage (Paleo) 

Ingredients:

1 head of cabbage

1.5 lbs organic, uncooked ground turkey (or beef)

1 cup raw cauliflower rice*

1/2 cup carrots, coined

1 onion

1 (28oz) can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes

2 tbsp dried basil, divided

1 tbsp dried oregano, divided

1 tbsp garlic powder, divided

salt and pepper

*To make cauliflower rice, place raw cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until it resembles rice. For this recipe, don’t cook/steam the rice

Directions: 

Bring a pot of water to a boil, cover with a colander, and add in whole cabbage. Cover with a lid and let steam for 15-20 minutes. Afterwards, remove and let cool. Carefully remove the cabbage leaves (I find that cutting off the stem helps). If cabbage leaves are still stiff, place in the pot of boiling water in bunches for about 30 seconds. Set leaves aside. (Note: Don’t panic if the leaves rip or have holes- it’s easily repairable.)

Place uncooked meat and cauliflower rice in a large bowl and set aside. Place the carrots and onion in a food processor and pulse into small pieces. Add this to the meat and cauliflower.  Mix altogether and set aside.

Pour HALF of the tomatoes into the crock pot. Add in 1 tbsp basil, 1/2 tbsp oregano, 1/2 tbsp garlic powder, salt and pepper and stir. With the leftover seasonings, add this to the remaining can of tomatoes and stir. Set the can aside for later.

Now, Spread out cabbage leaves. If there are rips or holes, use extra leaves to cover and “patch up” the area. Place some of meat mixture onto a leaf and roll it on up, tucking in the sides once finished. The amount of meat you use depends on the leaf size- I just kinda eyeballed it. Place stuffed cabbage in the crock pot. Repeat until all meat is gone (I got 14 rolls out of this).

Once all rolled up and placed in the crock pot, top with the remaining crushed tomatoes. Cook in the crock pot on HIGH for 6 hours.

Dr. Seuss Recipes:

Natural-Colored Green Eggs (and Ham)

Avocado Deviled Eggs