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Roasted Beet Borscht

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soup

By Elizabeth Whalley, RHN

Spread the love this February with this heart-y healthy soup, chock-full of winter market staples! Beets are not only high in fibre (essential for moving cholesterol out of your colon), but they are also a great source of potassium (a key mineral in maintaining a healthy blood pressure). This powerful heart-saver is paired with the incredible cholesterol fighting super powers of the humble cabbage.

My borscht has even more hearty flavour for your heart to enjoy with a few simple twists on tradition;

  • Forget the pesky peeler and leave the skins on for even more fibre
  • Add a dash of cayenne or red pepper flakes for a kick AND a great boost in circulation.
  • Swap your regular refined salt for a pink (Himalayan rock) or grey (unrefined sea) salt and reap the benefits from less sodium

Roasted Beet Borscht

Ingredients:

  • 3 large red beets
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 large carrot, diced
  • 1 small head cabbage (I used a neat heirloom variety I found at the market; January King)
  • 1 1/2 – 2 litres of vegetable stock (or if your feeling particularly resourceful make your own veggie or chicken stock, the flavour is always unbeatable!)
  • 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (a beautiful little gem you can pick up at the market!)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 Tbsp fresh dill (1 Tbsp dried will work just fine this time of year)
  • Olive oil
  • Pepper and quality salt to taste
  • Cayenne powder or red pepper flakes to taste
  • Quality sour cream and extra dill for garnish

Method:

IMG_1432 (2)Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Scrub the beets well and chop into 1 inch cubes. Place the chopped beets on a baking tray and drizzle with 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pop them into the oven for about 20 minutes. No need to fuss over their tenderness, the beets can finish cooking in your soup pot.

While the beets are roasting, heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil on medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the diced carrots and onions and sweat until the onions become translucent. Then add your chopped head of cabbage, dill and bay and continue sweating for approximately 5 minutes. Add the stock, vinegar and roasted beets to the pot, turn the heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes.

Once the soup has simmered, blend with an immersion blender until the beets look as though they were grated.

Serve with a sprinkle of dill and a dollop of sour cream. This soup is great either hot or cold, especially as the veggies are in season almost all year round.

 

Warm Butternut Squash and Quinoa Salad

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Here are 5 fast facts about one of the most versatile superfoods; Quinoa:

  • Quinoa is not a member of the grass family, therefore it is not grain. It is in fact a seed.
  • Quinoa is one of the few plant-based foods that is a complete protein, meaning it is a source of all 8 essential proteins.
  • Quinoa is gluten free.
  • Unlike most grains, quinoa is very anti-inflammatory (simply put it supports good health) due to both its high levels of omega-3 fats and antioxidants.
  • Quinoa will make you happier! It is a good source of tryptotphan a precursor to serotonin; one of the feel good brain chemicals.

Savoury or sweet, quinoa is easy to slip into so many recipes. Try it today in my salad fit for any cold December day.

Warm Butternut Squash and Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 small Butternut Squash
  • 3/4 cups Quinoa
  • 1 small red onion
  • Small Bunch Kale
  • 1/3 cup Pumpkin Seeds
  • 1/3 cup Dried Cranberries
  • 1/2 tsp Cumin
  • 1/2 tsp Paprika
  • 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Dressing:

  • The juice of half a Lemon
  • 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp Honey
  • 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Prepare squash: peel, remove seeds and cut into 1 1/2 cm cubes. Spread out on a baking pan, sprinkle with cumin and paprika and season to taste. Drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil. Roast in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until tender.

Rinse quinoa in warm water, until the water runs clear. Combine quinoa in a pot with 1 cup water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the quinoa begins to boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes more.

Finley chop red onion and kale and place in a large bowl with the cranberries.

Toast pumpkin seeds in a frying pan over medium-high heat, until the seeds become slightly puffed and golden.

Pour the warm squash, quinoa and pumpkin seeds in to the large bowl the kale. The heat from these ingredients will work to slightly steam the kale. Cooked kale rather than raw is always a nice gift for your thyroid.

Combine the honey, lemon juice and vinegar in a small bowl. Whisk while adding the olive oil to emulsify. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour dressing over salad and toss.

Even pre-dressed this salad keeps well in the fridge. Make a big batch and pack it for a quick and healthy lunch!

By Elizabeth Whalley, RHN

Hazelnut Crusted French Toast with Blueberry Compote

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By Elizabeth Whalley, RHN

My favourite breakfast classic gets a market makeover in this recipe. Centered around A Bread Affair’s Love at First Bite; a delicious loaf of bread that incorporates the flavours and ingredients of the Lower Mainland. Best of all the rest ingredients can be found at the market year round.

Hazelnut Crusted French Toast with Blueberry Compote

Ingredients:

  • 1 loaf Love at First Bite from A Bread Affair
  • 6 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 cup hazelnuts
  • 2 cups blueberries (vendors often sell them frozen at the winter market)
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • Butter or coconut oil

Method:

Place the blueberries in a small sauce pan and simmer over a medium heat for about 20 minutes.

While the blueberries simmer, slice the bread into 1 inch thick slices.

Chop the hazelnuts into a small pieces, place on a plate and set aside.

Combine eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Whisk until light and frothy.

Melt 1 tsp butter(or coconut oil) in a frying pan over medium high heat. Dip once slice at a time into the egg mixture, once on each side. Press one side into the chopped hazelnut and transfer to the hot frying pan. Continue until all of the bread slices have been coated and cooked. Add more butter between slices if necessary.

Turn the heat on the simmering blueberries down to low and add the maple syrup.

Serve the French Toast with the blueberry compote and dollop of strained yogurt, plus maple syrup if needed

Serves 6-8.

Classic Cranberry Sauce

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Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • about 12 ounces of fresh cranberries

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. and bring to a boil over medium to high heat.  Reduce to medium and cook for 10 to 12 minute or until cranberries pop.  Remove from heat and cool completely.  Serve chilled.  You can play around with the measurement for the spices depending on your own personal preference.

Crostinis with Arugula Pesto

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pesto and crostinis

By Dan McCash

Arugula Pesto

You don’t often need to read a recipe’s specific ingredient amounts like you’re translating Morse Code ( “2 Tbsps with 1 cup and ½ quart” does not equal “S.O.S.”)

Pesto is an exceptional recipe to flex your own personal taste buds by “approximating” the amount of each ingredient that’s combined and today we’re making it with arugula!

Ingredients

  • 2 or more big bunches of fresh Arugula, stem to leaf
    1 or two Tbsp of citrus juice
  • as MUCH raw garlic as you please (proportionally, probably about ¾ cup)
  • A cup of any nuts, toasted (toasted almonds are dynamite, giving this pungent sauce a very nutty undertone)
  • 1/3 cup of grated or powdered parmesan cheese (NO mac & cheese powder, yech!)
  • Dash of salt
    Olive oil – however much you can work with adding but appox. 1 cup

Directions

Pack arugula into your food processor (or a friend’s processor if you haven’t got one)

-blitz at the leaves to give an initial chop

-drizzle some olive oil into chopping leaves to help speed it up

Add all your garlic, nuts, and keep pouring in some oil as you go. Drop in some citrus juice and taste. Season to your liking. Keep blending and pour in parmesan cheese.

Once the recipe’s saucy and to your taste, pour in a jar, drizzle a thin layer of oil, seal and refrigerate

Crostinis

Cheese, jam, olives, tapenade, sauces: including basil & tomatoes, there’s a myriad of pantry items that will sit atop crostini crackers to make your dinner party into a tapas lounge for the night!

Ingredients

  • 1 bagette
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • some good ol’ S&P

Directions

With the baguette, cut 1/2 cm slices until you can cut no more. Lay slices on parchment-covered cookie sheet. Lightly brush them with olive oil and sprinkle your salt, pepper, and maybe there’s some herbs that you may fancy (ie- a pinch of rosemary is always a hit)

Lay another parchment over baguette tray and seal with a 2nd cookie sheet. Toast in the oven, preheated for 400 F for approx. 7 – 10 minutes.  Be sure to poke in to see how things are toasting–it’s a very short amount of time in the oven before Golden Brown skips to “Burnt Toast”

HINT: if your bread knife is dull, baguettes are much easier to slice when they’ve been in the freezer for an hour.

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