Grassroots Natural Market

St. Andrew's Bay Cheese Recipes

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers



Adapted From the February 2009 Issue of Vegetarian Times

Serves 8

This dish freezes well for future meals.
Quinoa provides whole-grain goodness and a serving of protein.

Ingredients:
1 medium Organic yellow onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
2 Tbs. Organic Extra Virgin olive oil
2 ribs Organic celery, finely chopped (½ cup)
1 Tbs. ground Organic cumin
2 cloves Organic garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
1 10-oz. pkg. Organic frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 15-oz. cans Organic diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
1 15-oz. can Organic black beans, rinsed and drained
¾ cup Organic quinoa
3 large Organic carrots, grated (1½ cups)
1½ cups grated Organic pepper Jack cheese, divided
4 large Organic red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed

1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and celery, and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add cumin and garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in spinach and drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until most of liquid has evaporated.

2. Stir in black beans, quinoa, carrots, and 2 cups water. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Stir in 1 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour liquid from tomatoes in bottom of baking dish.

4. Fill each bell pepper half with heaping ¾-cup quinoa mixture, and place in baking dish. Cover with foil, and bake 1 hour. Uncover, and sprinkle each pepper with 1 Tbs. remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes more, or until tops of stuffed peppers are browned. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer stuffed peppers to serving plates, and drizzle each with pan juices before serving.

Organic Creamed Chard with Gruyere

While closely related to spinach and beets, chard, commonly referred to as Swiss Chard, takes on a slightly more earthy and robust flavor. Chard packs a huge amount of Vitamins and Minerals and contains natural sodium. Like spinach this green has a mild flavor that easily goes unnoticed when consumed raw in smoothies, sauces and most dishes. An excellent choice for green smoothie beginners and veterans alike, as well as a fantastic choice in a stir-fry.


 Organic Creamed Chard with Gruyere.

2 bunches Organic Chard, stems removed. Chop stems and leaves

(about 10-12 cups)

1/2 Cup Organic Dry White Wine

4 Tablespoons Organic Unsalted Butter

1 large Organic Shallot peeled and minced

2 Organic Garlic cloves peeled and minced

1 Tablespoon Organic Flour

3/4 Cup Organic Whole Milk

1/4 Cup Organic Heavy Cream

1/2 Cup Gruyere Cheese shredded

Freshly Grated Nutmeg a pinch or to taste

Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to taste

Start by bringing a large sautee pan to medium high heat, add the chard leaves and wine.

Cook for about 3 minutes or until wilted. Remove the greens.

Add 2 Tbsp of butter to the pan and bring the pan to high heat. Add shallot, garlic and chard stems. Cook until tender.

In a saucepan melt remaining butter over medium heat, add flour and whisk in milk and heavy cream. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once boiling, allow to simmer until thickend, stirring constantly still.

Add cheese and season to taste with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Combine greens with the sauce and serve hot!

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Biscuits

   
    So now....finally....what did I make with my pumpkin?  Pumpkin biscuits!  They have a bit of ground ginger and ground cayenne pepper in them.  I slathered them with butter and enjoyed them for breakfast!  I took a picture of the recipe I used so you could try them too!

Roasting Pumpkin Seeds

When roasting your own pumpkin or any kind of squash, you can toast the seeds.  I scrape them from the inside of the cooked pumpkin and leave them on the cutting board until I finish pureeing my pumpkin.  Then I rinse them by putting them in a bowl of water and swirling them around with my hand.  This separates the stringiness from the seeds.  I transfer the seeds to a colander and continue rinsing.  I place them on a paper towel to dry.  I dry them as much as I can but they don't need to be totally dry.  Then I transfer them to a bowl and add a teaspoon of olive oil for every quarter cup of seeds.  Add sea salt and stir the seeds to coat them.  Place them on a cookie sheet in a single layer and toast in a 350 degree oven for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned.  Enjoy!

 

 

Baking Fresh Pumpkins

    It's squash season and I managed to bake some pumpkins this weekend!  Some of our customers have never baked fresh pumpkin so I thought I would take some pictures of how I do it.  First I poke a couple of holes in them all the way to the center so steam can be released.  I place them on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven and bake for about an hour depending on the size of the pumpkin.  My pumpkins were each about 1.25 pounds. Your pumpkin is done when a fork easily pierces it.  After baking, I allow them to cool on the counter top.  I slice the cooled pumpkins in half as the picture shows.  I remove the seeds and save to clean and roast! (Look for another blog showing how to do this.)  You can remove the skin by gently pulling it off or using a knife.  Cut the pumpkins into chunks and mash it with a potato masher or use a food processor!  I ended up with about 2 cups of fresh pumpkin puree from each one. 

 

Now it is ready to use in your favorite recipe.  Stay tuned to see what I made with my pumpkins!  If you have never used fresh pumpkin, you are in for a treat!  Any squash can be prepared like this.  Just slice open after baking (remove the seeds) and serve with butter, maple syrup, brown sugar and/or cinnamon. Some squashes, such as the Delicata or Sweet Dumpling, have such a delicate skin you can even eat that as well!  The possibilities are endless!

Happy Cooking!
-Melinda

 

Red Lentil Soup

Cooler weather is on it's way! It's time to pull out our favorite soup recipes! Try making this "Red Lentil Soup" that Melinda made for lunch today! You can tell by the looks of her recipe card that Melinda makes this one often! Grassroots Natural Market has all the ingredients you will need!

A New Version of an Old Favorite!

You may already know how good coconut oil is for you...  it's been found to promote weight loss, help protect against many degenerative diseases, strengthen the immune system, improve digestion and prevent premature aging of the skin, according to Bruce Fife, C.N., N.D., author of The Coconut Oil Miracle.  And now, here's a wonderful treat that utilizes coconut oil in a yummy way.  Melinda came up with this idea, and it's first rate!


All you need to do is pour a tablespoon or so of coconut oil over your scoop of ice cream.  At room temperature over 76 degrees, the oil is liquid and when it hits the cold ice cream it forms a shell of coconutty goodness!  Add shredded coconut and/or cacao nibs before the oil and you have an especially delicious dessert.  (If, when your house gets cooler you find your oil has solidified, just set the jar in hot water to liquify it again.)

Give it a try and let us know what you think!

 

Eggplant Supper Soup

This soup is fabulous no matter what the temperature outside and after all, eggplant is in season!  Makes a big pot and freezes well!  This recipe was given to me 2 years ago by one of our customers!  Thanks Frances!- Melinda

 

Melinda's Garden

Eggplant Supper Soup

1-tablespoon of olive oil
1-tablespoon butter
1-medium onion, chopped
1-pound ground beef
1-medium eggplant peeled and diced
1-clove garlic, crushed
1-cup chopped carrot
1-cup diced celery
6-8 tomatoes peeled and diced or 2-15 oz cans
4-cups beef broth
1/2-teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-teaspoon salt
1/2-teaspoon pepper
1/2-cup barley
2-tablespoons fresh parsley
2-cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese

Melt the olive oil and butter in a 6-8 quart Dutch oven, add the onions and saute them for 5-7 minutes or until lightly browned.  Add the meat and cook, stirring to break up with a fork, until the meat is browned, 8-10 minutes.  Add the eggplant, garlic, carrot, celery, tomatoes, broth, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer the soup 45 minutes.  Add the barley and parsley and simmer 10 minutes more or untio the barley is cooked.  Ladle the soup into large soup bowls, cover the top with the grated cheese, and serve with a green salad and biscuits or bread.

 

 

Hot Coconut Flaxseed Cereal

This super simple breakfast has become the go-to favorite around my house!
So easy and really delicious! -Ann





Hot Coconut Flaxseed Cereal
*Adapted from the book Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis

1/2 cup coconut milk, whole dairy milk, full-fat soymilk, or unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup ground flaxseeds
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, walnut halves or raw hulled sunflower seeds (optional)
ground cinnamon (optional)
1/4 cup sliced strawberries, blueberries or other berries (optional)

Combine milk, flaxseeds, coconut, nuts or seeds if using, and salt in saucepan.  Heat just until hot and serve with toppings of your choice.  Makes 1 to 2 servings.  Reheats well, but needs a bit of additional milk to restore consistency.  Enjoy!