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Guys, the weather here in Northern California has been mag-i-cal. Sunny, but not too hot. The evenings are crispy, but not cold enough to need a jacket. I can spend all day outside gardening and not get over heated. What did I tell you? Magic. No matter what you are doing you will be comfortable! Spring is in the air and with it lot’s of new vegetables are finally in season. With an abundance of fresh life in the garden and on the table I was feeling inspired to invent something new, and let me tell you it did not disappoint! I made an Easter quiche with a root vegetable crust that was almost literally divine. Perfect for Easter eh? I mean honestly, what is Easter brunch without a delicious easy quiche recipe? It was filled with vegetables, a smidgen of goat cheese and a boat load of love. I can’t wait for you to try it! Trust me, you’ll want to make this one; it’s one of those “seems gourmet, but is actually a breeze to make” recipes. You can actually make this quiche recipe ahead and bring it to brunch. It’s really versatile!

The crust is made with potatoes and a little bit of beets. For those of you who don’t like beets, don’t worry. They aren’t a strong flavor, they just add a little sweetness and a lot of nutrition. And this is coming from someone who doesn’t really care for beets so you can trust me when I say they (surprisingly) added to the dish! The crust is super easy to make. All it is is shredded potatoes, beets, 1/3 cup whole wheat or gluten free flour and a couple of tbsp of butter. You cook the crust in the pan first and then you make the filling, which makes preparation really easy.

After the crust cooked I added a thin layer of goat cheese to the crust. The layer of fat from the cheese protects the crust from the egg mixture, preventing it from getting soggy. All that’s in the Easter quiche filling is egg, milk, leeks, broccoli and some seasonings. As I said, deceitfully easy and really, REALLY tasty. My mom who doesn’t like goat cheese or beets got seconds and everyone around the table cleaned their plates. I made it for dinner and ate it again in the morning for breakfast. And I’ll definitely be making it again soon, probably even before Easter. I just can’t get enough!

Sourcing Easter Quiche Ingredients:

Rule of thumb is to follow this order when it comes to sustainably sourcing food:

1. Grow it yourself
2. Buy it from a local vendor that uses sustainable practices
3. Order online from a sustainable vendor

Eggs: I source my eggs from Shelly’s Farm, a family farm run by a mother and son, Shelly and Kelly. They are animal welfare approved and they don’t even kill their chicken’s when they can no longer produce eggs. These girls are treated like family! You can find Shelly’s eggs at these locations:

• Mission Bay UCSF Farmers’ Market– Wednesday 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
• Castro Farmers’ Market– Wednesday 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm
• Pleasanton Farmers’ Market– Saturday 9:00 am- 1:00 pm
• Brentwood Farmers’ Market– Saturday 8:00 am to 12:00 pm
• Inner Sunset Farmers’ Market Sunday 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
• Happy Child CSA

If you can’t source eggs from Shelly keep these tips in mind. For eggs I really recommend trying to find a friend or local farmer that can sell you eggs. The flavor of farm fresh eggs is really something you can’t beat and not something you want to pass up on for this Easter quiche. It has never been a difficulty in any place I’ve lived before, but if you are struggling to find a local, humane egg source try finding Vital Farms, The Happy Egg Co., and Backyard Eggs at your grocery store. Again look for Certified Humane labels, a fairly rigorous third party certification. “Free range”, “pasture raised” and “cage free” all sound promising, but the claims do not have legal definitions/ are not audited by a third party company so anyone can claim them. Cage free is particularly bad, usually meaning birds cramped into dark hen houses so cramped that they often kill each other. You can learn more about the conditions of factory farm animals through my free eBook. 

Goat cheese: I source my goat cheese from Cypress Grove raised in made in my old home Arcata, CA. Cypress Grove not only works to keep their goats taken care of humanely, but they also make sure to help the community, use clean energy, clean water and keep wild life reserves on their property. I don’t know about in other states, but in California Cypress Grove cheese can be found at most grocery stores.

Butter: For butter I recommend buying cultured (AKA “European style”) grass fed butter or Miyoko’s vegan butter. If using real butter make sure it is third party grass fed certified. There are a lot of certification programs out there that are honestly not much better than factory farming, but Certified Humane, American Grassfed Association, Animal Welfare Approved and GAP 5, 5+ have the highest standards. If you are still unsure do some online research or shoot me an email asking about a brand. If you get a butter that is a rich yellow color and tastes better than anything you’ve ever put in your mouth you’ve probably found legit grass fed butter. Trust me, the difference is obvious.

Milk: For the milk I prefer to use homemade nut milk or Forager brand, but for regular milk try Claravale Farm raw milk, Organic Pastures raw milk or St. Benoit. I don’t know enough about other milk brands to recommend any yet.

Flour: There is a farmers’ market in San Francisco that sells whole wheat flour, but if you don’t have local wheat look for Bob’s Red Mill or Jovial Organics einkorn flour.. Bob’s Red Mill is a 100% employee owned business, which means there are no large corporations secretly buying all their stock and influencing the company. Woo hoo! And Jovial Organics grows sustainable einkorn wheat, one of the only heirloom varieties of wheat around!

Now let’s make some Easter quiche!

Yields 6

Easter Quiche with a Root Vegetable Crust

No Easter brunch is complete without an Easter quiche. If you've never had a vegetarian quiche with a vegetable crust you are in for a guilt free treat!

10 minPrep Time

1 hr, 10 Cook Time

1 hr, 20 Total Time

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Ingredients

For Crust:
• 2 russet potatoes shredded
• 1/2 large golden beet shredded
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 whole wheat or gluten free flour
• 2 tbsp melted butter
For the filling
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup milk or buttermilk
• one large head of broccoli finely diced (stems optional)
• 1 leek whites thinly sliced
• 2 oz chevre
• 2 tbsp chives minced
• 4 cloves of garlic minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Several cracks fresh black pepper
• Paprika

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Shred the potatoes and beet and ring out excess moisture.
3. Mix in melted butter and flour to shredded potatoes, incorporating evenly
4. Butter 9 inch pie pan well and form crust in pan. Use all of the crust vegetables, they will shrink considerably!
5. Bake in oven for 40 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through
6. Meanwhile whisk eggs, milk and other 1/2 tsp of salt into a bowl
7. Mince chives and combine with the goat cheese, set aside
8. Chop and slice leeks and broccoli and pour them into the egg mixture
9. When the crust is done pull it out of the oven and spread the goat cheese, chive mixture evenly on the bottom of the crust. The fat from the cheese acts as a barrier between the crust and egg filling.
10. Pour the egg and vegetable mixture into the pie pan and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. You want the egg to remain slightly soft, but not runny. Make sure not to over cook it!
11. When the quiche comes out of the oven sprinkle the top with paprika
12. Let the quiche rest for about 5 minutes then serve!
13. Happy eating. :]

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Check out how healthy this Easter quiche is! Look at those vitamins and minerals!

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The post Home-cured Corned Beef and 1000 Island from Scratch appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.

I’ve wanted to make synthetic-nitrate free home-cured corned beef for a couple of years now and I’m so grateful I finally took the plunge!  It’s actually really easy and hands off. And I can definitely contest it is way more flavorful and healthy than the sodium, “natural flavor” and preservative laden store bought variety. As a side note, the links between nitrates and cancer are pretty questionable, so if you wish to use them I wouldn’t worry too much (more on that later). I just know my mom is sensitive to them and we weren’t too worried about preserving the color of the corned beef or keeping it for very long- it never lasts more than a few days at our house- so I made ours synthetic-nitrate free.

So what exactly is home-cured corned beef? Basically it’s DIY corned beef. Home-cured corned beef is made from brisket; a flavorful but relatively inexpensive cut of meat. Meat can be preserved in a brine of salt and water; something very useful before the days of refrigeration. After brining the brisket for a week I cooked the meat in the crock pot until it was falling apart and incredibly moist. Normally when my family buys corned beef it mostly tastes like incredibly salty beef, but with home-cured corned beef the pickling spice- mustard seed, cinnamon, peppercorns, chilies, coriander, cumin, ginger, allspice, bay leaf, cloves and turmeric- sung out and made me wish every last melt in my mouth bite would never end.

Now for a word on nitrates. Just to be clear, there isn’t really such a thing as “nitrate free” cured meat. Nitrates are naturally present in a lot of vegetables and it is naturally occurring in celery. The only difference is the nitrates are not synthetically made. There was a scare in the 1950s and 60s after some animal studies showed that nitrite had the potential to form into nitrosamines, a carcinogenic compound. In cured meats nitrosamines can be formed when nitrite is heated at high temperatures. For bacon it must be cooked at least 338 degrees Fahrenheit.

In 1975 the Food and Drug Regulations were amended to limit nitrite in cured meat. However, the health concern is about nitrosamines rather than nitrite, and Vitamin C (absorbic acid) and erythorbic acid can be added to inhibit nitrosamines from forming. Since then the U.S. National Toxicology Program carried out a multi-year study on nitrite and concluded in 2000 that there is no association between nitrite and cancer. So considering the lack of evidence linking nitrites/ nitrates to cancer I think using a little in your cured meats is ay-oh-kay, but you can make that decision for yourself! None the less I have left the nitrates out of this recipe, because they weren’t necessary. However, if you want your meat to keep longer than a week and stay extra pink here is a recipe for home-cured corn beef cured with pickling salt (aka salt with added nitrates).

Corn beef doesn’t call for many ingredients. Just salt, beef and pickling spice (and if nitrate free celery juice and whey). So there isn’t much to worry about when it comes to sourcing ingredients ethically.

Pickling spice: I try to find fair trade and organic spices, but fair trade is my priority.

Beef: Be sure to find cattle who lived their whole lives on open pasture eating grass and hay (dried grass). The term for these cattle are grassfed grass finished. Looking for the American Grassfed Association logo, which is a third party association that audits grassfed claims and has strict standards for the care of animals.

Salt: For salt I used sea salt, because it has not been stripped of trace minerals through heavy refining.

Whey: I got my whey by draining it out of some grass fed, whole milk, live culture yogurt. I used St. Benoit brand. I put the yogurt in a cheese cloth, tied the bag onto a wooden ladle with a rubber band and hung the cheese cloth bag above a bowl for a few hours as the whey drained out.

Celery: I used one bundle of sustainably raised celery to get to cups of juice.

Brown Sugar: I used organic, fair trade sugar. Sugar farmers are often exploited and not paid well for their work

The process of brining all these ingredients together is really simple and I have a short video (under a minute) on Get Cultured Kitchen’s instagram showing you just how to do it!

I also have a recipe here for made from scratch 1000 island dressing, because making reubens in my favorite thing to do with corned beef! For about a year now I’ve had an unusual, and possibly lofty goal of making a reuben sandwich 100% from scratch. This year I made sauerkraut, home-cured corned beef, and the dressing, but I still have yet to tackle the bread or making swiss cheese. If you have any good instructions for making swiss cheese send them my whey (heehee). I know it takes weeks for it to age and develop it’s characteristic snappy flavor. Hopefully I’ll have accomplished this goal by next year, but I’ll keep you posted. I just know you are hanging by the edge of your seat dying to know how this progresses! The 1000 island comes together pretty quickly. In mine I only put mayo, ketchup, horseradish and dill pickles and it was delicious. Of course I made all of those things from scratch as well, but to save time using store bought varieties will work in a pinch. If you can find lacto-fermented pickles definitely go that direction, use organic ketchup and mayonnaise with pasture raised chicken eggs. However, if you are interested in making thousand island truly from scratch I will have recipes for lacto-fermented dill pickles, ketchup and mayo up by the end of the week in time for Saint Patrick’s Day!

Yields 8 servings

Home-cured Corned Beef and 1000 Island from Scratch

Home-cured corned beef is much easier than you think and way more complex and flavorful than store bought. Plus it's synthetic nitrate free!

15 minPrep Time

8 hrCook Time

8 hr, 15 Total Time

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Ingredients

Home-cured Corned Beef:
• 5 lbs brisket
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup sea salt + 1/8th cup
• 1 qt water
• 2 cups celery juice
• 1 cup whey
• 3 tbsp pickling spice + 1 tbsp
Thousand island dressing:
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 2 tsp ketchup
• 1-2 tsp horseradish
• 1 pickle spear (1/4 pickle) diced

Instructions

1. Bring 3 tbsp pickling spice, brown sugar, 1 cup salt and water to a boil in a large pot.
2. Stir brine until sugar and salt are dissolved.
3. Transfer brine to a large glass bowl and allow to cool in the fridge.
4. Meanwhile massage about an 1/8th cup of salt into the meat and let sit on counter while the brine cools.
5. Once the brine is cool to the touch add the meat to the glass bowl and weigh down the meat with with small plates or ceramic weights. Make sure the meat is submerged under the brine.
6. Cure in a dark place at room temperature for two days or in the fridge for 5-7 days flipping over once a day.
7. Put the corned beef and 1 tbsp pickling spice in a large crockpot and cover the meat with at least an inch of water, two inches for less salty meat.
8. Cook the home-cured corned beef on high for 8 hours. The meat should fall apart easily.
9. Enjoy!
10. For the thousand island dressing combine all the ingredients in a dish and stir until well incorporated.
11. Happy St. Patrick's Day.

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The post Creamy Potato and Cauliflower Soup with Arugula Pesto appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.

It’s been raining a lot here in the San Francisco Bay Area! Reservoirs are overflowing, flash floods are occurring and mud slides are forcing people out of their homes. I’m over here building an arc if anyone wants to hop in! A lot of us could use a big bowl of comforting soup and I know there are many of you with even harsher weather so I’m sure you’re in the same boat (pun intended). Needless to say, this easy creamy potato and cauliflower soup was a big hit in our house! Especially with the arugula pesto. The recipe makes extra pesto so you can put it on grilled veggies, in eggs, on pasta, fish, chicken. It became my world and I can’t wait for it to become yours! Forreal forrealz.

Something new I am trying with my seasonal recipe posts is to list where to find ethically and sustainably sourced ingredients as well as a little chart outlining what exactly makes this recipe “ethical”. I’m hoping to shine light on my thinking behind the whole process so that you can start creating your own sustainable recipes too! It’s really easy if you just think about where you are getting your ingredients from, how far they traveled and who is benefiting most from your purchase. Here is my checklist:

One little note about the creamy potato and cauliflower soup, if you let the potatoes cook on high heat too long they go through starch gelatinization, meaning they get kind of gooey and thick. I’m sure you’ve had mashed potatoes like this before, honestly it’s not an undesirable consistency, but I learned from my mom and a google search that it’s not great for our health. According to Wikipedia, “Starch gelatinization is a process of breaking down the intermolecular bonds of starch molecules in the presence of water and heat, allowing the hydrogen bonding sites (the hydroxyl hydrogen and oxygen) to engage more water. This irreversibly dissolves the starch granule in water.” The starch becomes more available for absorption and causes blood sugar levels to rise. In order to control blood sugar levels our body releases insulin and insulin levels spike up. High levels of insulin cause weight gain and can lead to diabetes in the long run… so not the best health choice. I’m not telling you this to scare you away from eating potatoes ever again. I’m just telling you so that you don’t overcook those potatoes at a high heat. And if they do gelantinize it most likely won’t be a life or death situation, but I’m no doctor so better safe than sorry!

Other than taking care not to cook it on high heat, this creamy potato and cauliflower soup is super easy to whip together. All it is is cauliflower, potatoes, stock, shallots, garlic, sage and red wine. That’s seven common ingredients my friends! Not bad if I say so myself! It would also be great with mushrooms. Like mushrooms, red wine and shallots? Heaven in my mouth. And then the arugula pesto is so easy to whip up and can be dolloped on everything for the next week… er realistically next day. It’s way too good to last a whole week. Ask my mom, she became an arugula pesto dolloping queen; just adding a bit of bright colored goodness to everyone’s plates. A true Green Goddess.

So now the details on where to source stuff…

• Produce: The produce in this recipe was easy for me to find at the local farmer’s market! Did you know that the average person’s produce travels over 1,000 miles to get to them! Sometimes it can be over 2,000 miles! So insane compared to buying food from the local farmers’ market or growing it yourself. This fun, informative infographic juxtaposes the distance produce travels to a conventional market versus a local market by calculating how many of a specific fruit or vegetable would have to be laid out end to end to cover the distance from farm to consumer.
• Olive Oil: Did you know that olive oil loses a lot of it’s health benefits 6 months after being pressed? Most olive oil that we find at supermarkets is at least two years old and can be cut with other vegetable oils. Look for a local vendor of olive oil that is producing it as sustainably as possible. I know where I live in California there is a big problem with olive fruit flies so it can be really difficult to find organic, pesticide free olive oil. I don’t know if olive oil can be produced sustainably using mostly conventional farming techniques, but I would just talk to your local producer and ask. If you buy directly from the olive grower you are cutting out the middle man so not only is the farmer getting paid more, but there is more transparency for quality control.
• Parmesan: Look for raw, grass fed if you can. The longer Parmesan has been aged the higher amount of vitamin K2 it will have; a nutrient that many people are in short supply of. It will also be lower in lactose. So don’t skimp out on your Parm and do a little research. Once you find a brand that meets all your needs you won’t have to keep looking. Eat Wild is a great resource for finding local farms and cheese makers in your area (among other specialty vendors).
• Bone Broth (Skip if using vegetable stock): Make sure you are getting your bones to make bone broth, or your pre-made bone broth from a pasture raised animal. Animals raised for food should be able to behave naturally and live how they would live if they were wild. The best way to do this is to go to your farmers’ market and know exactly who is raising the animals. Chicken feet make an excellent bone broth. It’s a great use of a part of the chicken that may otherwise be wasted. If I am going to kill an animal or plant for my own gain I think that they should be treated like a God. Loved, respected, thanked and not wasted.
• Pine nuts: Pine nuts are actually the seeds of a pine cone! Maybe you already knew this, but I never put two and two together until today. Anyway, pine nuts are native to most of America so look for pine nuts grown in your region or as close to you as possible to reduce the distance your food had to travel to get to you.

*Note: It is really easy to make the creamy potato and cauliflower soup vegan. Just use vegetable stock instead of bone broth and in the pesto either replace the Parmesan with vegan parm (you can find it at the grocery store) OR add an extra 1/4 cup of pine nuts, a 1/4 tsp more salt and a tbsp of nutritional yeast.

Yields 4

Creamy Potato Cauliflower Soup with Arugula Pesto

Stay warm during the rainy season with this creamy potato cauliflower soup. The pesto really lightens up the dish, while adding extra vegetables. My family loved this recipe!

10 minPrep Time

20 minCook Time

30 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

For the soup:
• Avocado oil for frying
• 1 heaping Tbsp sage minced
• 6 red potatoes chopped
• 1 medium purple cauliflower coursely chopped
• 1 qt vegetable stock
• 1 large shallot diced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• Cooking red wine
• 1 Tsp salt
• Pepper to taste
• Plain yogurt (optional)
For the pesto:
• 4 cups arugula (or arugula spinach blend for less spice)
• 1/2 cup parmesan
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1/2 Tsp salt
• Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat a heavy bottomed stock pot on medium heat.
2. Saute shallot and garlic in avocado oil until the shallot is translucent.
3. Add potatoes and cauliflower and saute until just golden.
4. Meanwhile in a small pan fry up sage until crisp, but not burnt.
5. Deglaze the stock pot with a splash of red wine.
6. Add the sage, salt, and vegetable stock.
7. Bring to a boil and then reduce soup to a simmer.
8. Cook until the potatoes and cauliflower are cooked through.
9. Using an immersion blender puree the soup. Or carefully transfer soup a few cups at a time to a standing blender to puree.
10. For the pesto add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. If you need extra liquid slowly drizzle in more olive oil a bit at a time while the food processor is going.
11. Serve the soup immediately and garnish with pesto and a dollop of yogurt (optional).

Notes

This recipe yields extra pesto. Use it in eggs, on grilled vegetables, fish, chicken, pasta... the combinations are endless!

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Creamy Potato and Cauliflower Soup:

Arugula Pesto:

Don’t forget, if you found this recipe for creamy potato and cauliflower soup enjoyable be sure to share it with others! It’s only fair to share.

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The post Vegan Chinese Mushroom Lettuce Cups with Pear appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.

Phew! I’m sure you can relate when I say I’ve been busy the last two weeks! Earlier this week I spent time with my mother, aunt, sister and cousins in San Francisco. We stayed right on Union Square at the Sir Francis Hotel. Have you heard of that hotel? It’s truly remarkable. The building is old and the architecture is so detailed. I felt like royalty staying in such a beautiful place! Have you ever been to San Francisco? If so, have you ever taken a moment to look at the modern buildings juxtaposed against the Victorian architecture? The buildings and homes in San Francisco are so eclectic and the streets are always bustling.

Naturally, there were a lot of holiday decorations on every street corner and many more people. It was really special to see the giant Christmas tree and Menorah all lit up on the square. And to listen to a marching band performance the next morning. My cousins’ Uncle is 6 foot 6 so we all guessed how many “Uncle Swens” stacked on top of each other it would take to reach the top of tree. My cousin Julia was closest at 12 Swens. It was a little over 12.5 of him, 83 feet! That’s some serious Christmas spirit. Needless to say I have had my share of fun this week.

Amongst the trip to San Francisco, one to Sacramento, CA and some other adventures I’ve fallen behind on blog postings! The holidays always bring about a lot of family and friend time. A much loved and appreciated break, but finding time to write for the blog is hard. Today, now that the holiday celebrations have died down, I have been marathoning through and trying to write up all the recipes I have pictures for. They’ve accumulated for a while, patiently waiting to be posted.

Despite the family activities, this is the busiest time of year for a blogger. Everyone is looking for recipe ideas and are trying to find quick and delicious appetizers to bring to parties or if we are hosting, satiate our guests while we run around in the kitchen! Then the New Year rolls around, we’ve all had too many sweets and we are looking for healthy recipes as we focus on our New Years resolutions and bettering ourselves. I think the trick to starting new habits is taking them one step at a time and making it fun and easy! I know I am always working towards eating healthier and being a more mindful, compassionate individual so I’m hoping together we can support each other through whatever our goals may be!

Having it all planned out ahead of time definitely takes the guess work out of changing habits, regardless their content. I’ll be posting a lot of healthy recipes in the coming weeks to help push us to reach our goals! I am filled to the brim with wholesome recipes, mindfulness activities and articles about ethical and sustainable consumption. And I am particularly excited to tell you about this vegan mushroom lettuce cups recipe! Echoing what I have mentioned in other posts, easy and healthy are a recipe for success! These make a great lunch, snack, side dish or the recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to make it a main dish any (or every) day of the week. Oh, and did I mention they are delish? You can have your Chinese take out and your health too!

December has been bringing the San Francisco Bay an abundance of food and this week I picked up a beautiful portobello mushroom at the farmers’ market. I love using mushrooms as a meat substitute, because they have such a satisfying thick mouth feel. I’ve had mushrooms as a substitute in orange chicken, in burger patties and many other creative ways, but this recipe keeps it simple. The highlight is the mushroom. It still tastes like a mushroom, because that is exactly what belonged in these mushroom lettuce cups, and I love it.

Mushrooms are a fungus that grow amongst decomposing matter. Look for organic ones or wild harvested that have grown in nutrient rich soil, because they will absorb whatever is present in their growing medium, good or bad. Mushrooms are one of the only sources of selenium which is important for a healthy thyroid. They also contain good amounts of fiber, riboflavin, copper, potassium, phosphorus, pantothenic acid and niacin. As I was saying before they are absorbent like a sponge, so if their soil is rich in minerals they will be too!

These vegan lettuce cups also have ginger, garlic and cilantro to keep us healthy this winter. Garlic and ginger have great anti inflammatory properties and are used to treat colds. While cilantro is an excellent blood purifier, helping to reduce LDL or bad cholesterol from the blood. However, I know that cilantro is one of those things you either hate or you love, so it’s just a garnish and you may easily leave it out of the recipe. I also added Asian pear into the filling to add a light sweetness and crunch. Alternatively, you could add a can of water chestnuts to get a similar texture and flavor if you don’t have access to Asian pear.

The prep time for this one is super easy. Shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes to prep and cook these bad boys. I know you’re busy.

P.S. I’m super stoked on how the picture of the filling for the lettuce cups came out! But I still have such a long way to go. I’ve been really into the “dark and moody” food photography look lately. Do any of my photography friends have any pointers for me?

Kelsey

Yields 5

Vegan Mushroom Lettuce Cups with Pear

8 minPrep Time

7 minCook Time

15 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

• 5 large iceberg or Romaine lettuce leaves
• 2 cups roughly chopped mushroom (I used portobello)
• 1 cup thinly sliced green onion
• 1 cup finely diced Asian pear
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2-3 tsp grated ginger (depending on preference)
• 1 handful cilantro roughly chopped
• Sesame seeds (optional)

Instructions

1. Toss everything but the cilantro in a frying pan on medium high heat.
2. Stir to distribute the sauce
3. Cook until heated all the way through (about 5-7 minutes)
4. Scoop evenly amongst lettuce
5. garnish with cilantro and sesame seeds
6. Serve immediately!

Notes

This recipe can easily be doubled, halved or any other ratio. It's very flexible.

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The post Vegan Curried Lentil and Quinoa Winter Stew appeared first on Get Cultured Kitchen.

No, you don’t need glasses… okay well maybe you do, I don’t know you’re life like that. But you read it right, lentils and quinoa IN THE SAME STEW. I know, I know, mind blown. But why not? Both are fiber and protein packed little bundles of delicious. They also happen to make excellent thickening agents so there you have it. We’re going all out today! Okay? Trust me, your body deserves it.

I already told you guys I’m a total wimp when it comes to cold weather; so I do what I can to avoid it at all costs. You feel me on this one right? Winter time is the king of comfort food, because we crave comfort! We all want to snuggle up with some cozy food, but unfortunately that’s when we pack on the pounds too. Cheesy this and cream of that might sound good, but they leave us feeling sluggish, then we end up sedentary and GUYS this is how we end up cold! Got to get that blood moving.

Don’t you worry though. I have the solution for you and it comes in the form of a healthy stew packed with warming spices. We’re talking turmeric, we’re talking ginger, we’re talking cayenne. A little bit of spicy food is great for opening up the blood vessels and getting our blood pumping. Turmeric and ginger are also great for warding of winter colds. I also garnished the stew with pumpkin seeds and yogurt, just for a healthy dose of iron, magnesium (two things many of us are deficient in) and probiotics! Plus the stew is packed with vegetables and bone broth (or vegetable broth for the vegan route).

Either way, so good for our health! Check out the nutrition label for this baby. PACKED with nutrients. It’s high in vitamin K, C and A; B6; Niacin; Thiamin; Magnesium; Phosphorus; Zinc; Iron; Potassium; and Riboflavin. Phew! Even I was a little surprised at all the vitamins! Bones hold all those important minerals and collagen that keep our skin supple, our teeth strong and our guts happy. Sounds good right? A lot of Western countries waste most of an animal when it is slaughtered, but the organ meats and bones are the most nutritious parts. Vegetable broth is full of minerals too! Here’s a little pro tip for you guys. Don’t throw away your vegetable scraps. Toss them in a pot with a couple quarts of water (and bones, organs or feet if you eat animal products) and let it simmer on low for a few hours. The water will retain the minerals from the scraps. More nutritious than store bought broth, easy to make, cheaper and you are reducing waste! Win, win, win, win!

Oh! I forgot to mention you can whip up this dinner in 30 minutes tops. All you have to do is saute some chopped vegetables, which you could pre-chop for an even faster cook time; then throw them in a pot with the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Easy peasy. I also forgot to mention my favorite part of the stew, the curry flavor! It’s not over powering, but I love cumin in literally anything so I was happy. Then there’s the whole warming spices curry love thing. We’ve been over this. It’s good. Let’s get cooking friends!

Curried Lentil and Quinoa Winter Stew

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Ingredients

• Avocado oil or 1 tsbp grass fed butter
• 1 qt bone broth or organic vegetable stock
• 1 cup red lentils
• 1/2 quinoa
• 1 inch grated ginger
• 1 inch grated turmeric
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 sustainably sourced chopped celery stalks
• 2 sustainably sourced chopped carrots
• 1 cup (about 12) sustainably sourced shredded brussel sprouts
• 1/2 a large sustainably sourced onion diced
• 1 bundle (large handful) sustainably sourced spinach
• 2 tbsp minced sustainably sourced garlic
• pumpkin seeds for garnish (optional)
• Humanely sourced (try Green Valley) yogurt for garnish (optional)
• OR Vegan coconut yogurt

Instructions

1. On medium high heat, heat the cooking oil or butter on a medium sized pan.
2. Saute the celery, onion, carrots, garlic and brussel sprouts until the onions are translucent and garlic is fragrant.
3. Add the spices and half the salt to the pan and while stirring, cook for 1 more minutes.
4. Put the sauteed vegetables in a heavy bottomed stock pot or dutch oven.
5. Add the quinoa, lentils and stock and rest of salt.
6. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
7. Once the lentils and quinoa are cooked through, but still have a little bite and broth has reduced to stew consistency, add the spinach.
8. Cook while stirring for 1 more minute.
9. Serve immediately or let cool to be reheated later. It also freezes well!
10. Serve with yogurt and pumpkin seeds.

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Did everyone have (is having) a wonderful holiday season? Hopefully, you are filled to the brim with family, fun and that foreboding cloud hanging over your head asking, “What am I going to do with all this leftover holiday ham?” Have no fear friends. I planned this one out like a month ago and I have the answer. Roasted brussel sprouts with ham. The thinly sliced, not bitter, crispy kind of brussel sprouts! Ta da! See, I told you I had your back.

Okay, I have to make a confession. I didn’t like most vegetables growing up.

Alright, I probably know what you’re thinking, “You don’t say?” Surprise, surprise right? Me and every other kid on the plant. Although, most kids are turned off by anything that’s not dessert or cheesy, I think a lot of it had to do with the way they were prepared. (Sorry Mom). It’s not her fault though. It was an area of frozen and or over cooked, mushy vegetables. Hence, we usually had them boiled and the vegetables had left most of their color (and their nutrients) behind in the water.

I used to think I hated the slightly more bitter vegetables like brussel sprouts and zucchini, only to find later on in life that they are both delicious. Especially when thinly sliced and roasted or sprinkled on a pizza. Lucky for us, it is totally brussel sprout season! Brussel sprouts actually sweeten up after the first frost. I don’t know where ya’ll live, but I think it is safe to guess late December you reached that point a long time ago.

So let me tell you a little about this recipe. I’m pretty confident you’re going to luh-ve itttt. And this time around you’ll have something to do with that holiday ham besides make ham sandwiches. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good ham sandwich. That fresh ham roast on a roll with a little dijon mustard. Mmmm mmm! But this is about versatility folks! It’s time to bring out a couple of other star players and let them take a turn on the court. Also, we’ll leave you some ham for the sandwiches, promise. Actually, make that a pinky promise. So let me introduce those other star players: cranberries, pistachios and Meyer lemon. Make that cranberry sauce, dried cranberries, candied pistachios, and Meyer lemon aioli. Boo ya! Didn’t I tell you these were star players?

As I’ve spent more time trying the recipes of really fantastic chefs like Jamie Oliver and Yotam Ottolenghi, I’ve found a theme throughout. The spices and seasonings are used to accentuate the natural flavors of the food instead of trying to mask them or morph them into something they are not. I have played with that idea in this recipe, actually, a lot of my recipes as of late. Especially, I want every ingredient to be intentional. I think we can all agree that candied pistachios are delicious, but paired with smokey, holiday ham they are elevated to divine! So let’s get cooking!

Oh, and one more note before the recipe. As always, but especially with meat, please make sure it is coming from an ethical source. Every time we make a purchase we have a chance to be intentional and vote with our dollar. If for no other reason, a pig raised on lush pasture with a diverse, natural, omnivorous diet has meat with 1,000,000,000,000 times more flavor. So since it ’tis the season to be cooking lots of food’ (fa la la la la la la la la) keep that in mind when you are making decisions. Like for most food, I find my local farmers’ market is the best place to look sustainable choices. Okay, so let’s get cooking for real this time!

Kelsey

Yields 4

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Leftover Holiday Ham

35 minPrep Time

15 minCook Time

50 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

• 8 cups shredded brussel sprouts
• 3/4 cups dried cranberries
• 1 cup shelled pistachios
• 1/4 cup left over cranberry sauce
• 2 cups diced holiday ham
• Avocado olive for tossing*
• Salt
• Organic cane sugar
For the aioli:
• Zest of 1 Meyer lemon
• Juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon
• 1 1/4 cups avocado oil*
• 3 egg yolks room temperature (pasture raised)
• 1/8 cup of honey and or maple syrup
• 1 tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp of salt

Instructions

1. Using a mandoline slicer set to a 1/4 inch or a sharp knife, slice the brussel sprout. Peel the leaves apart from any chunks.
2. Set aside
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
4. Put one cup shelled pistachios in a pan and sprinkle with about a 1/4 cup of sugar. Heat the nuts on medium heat, and stir using a spatula, until the nuts are evenly covered. Taking care not to burn the sugar.
5. Dump the pistachios onto a nonstick sheet and break the nuts apart the best you can. They will harden rapidly and want to stick together. You can always break the clumps apart further, after they cool.
6. Set aside
7. On a large baking sheet put the dried cranberries, the cranberry sauce, the brussel sprouts and the ham.
8. Drizzle with avocado oil and salt, and toss with hands to evenly distribute the oil and cranberry sauce.
9. Pop the brussel sprouts in the oven and roast from between 10-15 minutes, but keep an eye on them around 10. The thin brussel sprouts will cook quickly, and although we want them to brown a little, we definitely don't want them to burn!
10. Meanwhile mix egg yolks, salt and water in a tall, but narrow bowl.
11. Now SLOWLY drizzle avocado oil in. A few drops at a time at first, while continuing to mix. I would put a couple of drops in and then mix for about 15 seconds, then a little more and go back and forth like that. After you've mixed in about 3/4 of a cup, or whenever the oil starts to emulsify then you can pour the rest of the oil in at a steady (but still thin) stream.
12. Pour in the lemon juice, zest and honey.
13. Mix to combine.
14. Taste the sauce and add more lemon juice, honey or salt to your liking. Don't let it get too thin though!
15. Remove the brussel sprouts from the oven and sprinkle with about half of the pistachios, reserving the rest as a side for people to sprinkle on their plates.
16. Put the sauce in something pourable and serve next to the brussel sprouts.
17. Serve immediately.

Notes

I highly recommend buying avocado oil for this recipe. It's not too pricey and olive oil is too bitter and will ruin your sauce. Even if you buy light olive oil, olive oil in grocery stores can be years old, even though olive oil loses a lot of its freshness and nutrients after about six months. Other vegetable oils are really high in omega 6s and some studies have shown a correlation between vegetable oil and cancer.

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Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Leftover Holiday Ham

Meyer Lemon Aioli

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Hey friends! Are we loving this fall weather or what?! And this fall food?!?! Mmmm, warming spices, pumpkin and other squash varieties… PERSIMMONS? Okay, I know most people don’t eat persimmons… and I know they have nothing to do with seafood pasta… but I literally wait in excitement for them all year long and just had to share that. I can’t wait for you to check out my favorite fall-tastic persimmon recipes, like roasted root vegetables with fennel and persimmon. You will be converted if you’re not a lover already so stay tuned for more in the coming weeks.

It’s the perfect season for comfort food and you’re about to get a whole lot of it. However, where I live in California it is just starting to cool off (finally). So, I didn’t want anything too heavy this week. That’s where perfect seafood pasta comes in! Pasta dishes are comforting and hardy, but can be lightened up with lots of veggies and in this case seafood! The seafood leaves you satiated without weighing you down like red meat can sometimes. Plus, ordering something like this at a restaurant can usually be close to $35 a serving, but we are going to make it ourselves and cut costs way back. It’s nice to know that eating at home is not only good for the environment but good for the pocket.

Down in Los Angeles, California the tomato bushes in our garden are producing their last fruits and the basil plants are going crazy now that the heat wave has finally subsided. I know right? All my gardener friends out there are probably thinking tomatoes and basil in November? I know, I’m spoiled! These puppies pictured above are like candy. I wish you could try them! But don’t worry, I have some substitution ideas for those of us whose climates are baring more traditional fall fares, otherwise feel free to bookmark this one for spring/ summer recipes! You’ll definitely be glad you did.

There are a couple of key players in this seafood pasta that really make it a nutritional rock star. Besides being packed with plenty of veggies this pasta is packed with a variety of shellfish… serious nutritional powerhouses and ghee: a powerhouse healthy fat. It also has an amazing brown sugar, nutty flavor that pairs so well with shrimp and scallops. Let’s take a closer look:

Nutrition Deep Dive:

*Please appreciate the pun in that heading*

Oysters: Amazing source of fat- soluble vitamin D3; something that most American’s are deficient in. Also an insanely incredible source of zinc, copper, selenium, iron, omega- 3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, and a great source of magnesium, phosphorus, niacin, thiamin, vitamin C, manganese and riboflavin. PLUS, bivalves (think clams, oysters, mussels, etc) pull nutrients out of the ocean and are easy cultivated. So on the sustainability front they are a good choice. AND interestingly enough they don’t have a brain or central nervous system so scientists theorize they are not sentient like others in the animal kingdom. There happens to be a group of vegans that only eat bivalves for this reason and their unmistakable nutritional value. Whew!

Clams: Amazing source of iron, vitamin B12, and selenium. Also a great source of vitamin A, vitamin C, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, riboflavin, niacin, omega-3 fatty acids and thiamin.

Mussels: Amazing source of vitamin B12, selenium and manganese. Also a great source of vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, copper and zinc.

Pasture Raised Ghee: Fat soluble vitamins!!! Vitamin A, vitamin K2 and Vitamin E. You make it by slowly heating butter. The milk solids separate from the fat and leave behind a lactose free fat that is resistant to oxidation. Yay! Make sure to buy pasture raised. Cows are ruminants and instinctually eat grass, not soy and corn! You do not want the cream that makes ghee to come from mistreated cows. Their milk is not as richly dense in nutrients as a high nutrient grass diet, the milk has a higher ratio of omega 6s to 3s (considered bad fats), and possible growth hormones and antibiotics can be present in their milk!

Perfect Seafood Pasta:

Kelsey

Yields 4 Servings

Perfect Seafood Pasta

10 minPrep Time

45 minCook Time

55 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

For the Scallops
• 7 clean, sustainably caught scallops (out of the shell)
• 2 medium cloves of garlic minced
• 2 cloves shallot minced
• 1/4 a medium onion diced
• 2 Tbsp pasture raised (grass-fed) ghee
• 5 mushrooms (favorite variety) diced
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
For the pasta:
• 1/4 lb shelled and deveined sustainably caught shrimp
• 7 fresh, raw, clean, sustainably caught clams See note
• 7 fresh, raw, clean, sustainably caught mussels
• 7 fresh, raw, clean, sustainably caught oysters
• 8 oz pasta: penne or a flat long noodle would work nicely. I used a fresh herbed tagliatelle that I got from the farmers' market.
• 1/4 cup red wine
• Water or seafood stock as needed
• 2 heaping Tbsp capers
• 2 heaping Tbsp tapenade, olive paste or minced Kalamata olives
• 2 Tbsp ghee
• 3/4 a medium onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 clove shallot minced
• 1 cup fresh cherry tomatoes or 1 cup organic crushed tomatoes
• 1 bundle parsley coarsely chopped
For garnish:
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
• 1 handful of basil
• 1 small diced hot red pepper (optional) I used a variety I grow in my garden called Super Chili

Instructions

1. Make sure your mussels, clams and oysters are still alive by firmly tapping on the shells or gently trying to pry open any that are slightly ajar. The shell should close. If not, toss it.
For the scallops:
2. Heat 2 Tbsp of ghee on medium low heat on a medium sized sauce pan
3. Add mushrooms, 1/4 of the onion, 2 cloves of garlic and shallots to the pan. Stir occasionally until onions, shallots and garlic and fragrant and translucent.
4. Add scallops to pan making sure the are each on ghee.
5. Cook for two minutes or until bottom side is starting to look a little opaque.
6. Flip the scallops over and add lemon juice. Cook for about another two minutes, making sure the scallops are mostly opaque, but not over cooked. Do not let them get hard and rubbery, and remember they will cook a little more when they are added to the pasta.
7. Remove the scallops and vegetables from the pan and set aside.
8. Add 2 Tbsp ghee and the rest of the shallots, garlic and onion to a large sauce on medium heat.
9. Meanwhile start boiling water for the pasta and add a pinch of salt to the water.
10. Add the 1/4 cup red wine and cherry tomatoes. Wait until the cherry tomatoes are soft and mush them. I used a spatula, but if you have a mashed potato smasher that would work nicely!
11. Once the tomatoes are starting to breakdown add the mussels, clams, oysters, capers and olives. Cover the pan with a lid.
12. At this point add the pasta to the boiling water. Follow the instructions on the package. I got my pasta fresh from the farmers' market and it took about 5 minutes to cook. Don't overcook it! It will cook a bit more in the pan.
13. Once all the shellfish has opened remove the lid of the pan. If any of the shellfish fail to open, remove them and throw them away.
14. Add the shrimp now. Make sure the liquid levels are sufficient. You don't want it soupy, but you also don't want the cooking liquid to completely reduce into a paste.
15. Add in the reserved scallops
16. Drain the pasta and add it, the parsley and the scallops.
17. Toss everything together and make sure that all the seafood is cooked all the way through. You want the shrimp the just start to curl and turn pink. If they cook for too long they get rubbery!
For Serving:
18. Cut the basil into thin ribbons
19. Serve immediately with basil, red pepper flakes, and hot pepper to garnish the bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste! (Don't forget the capers and olives add quite a bit of saltiness)!
20. Enjoy lovelies! <3

Notes

*This seafood pasta is flexible! If you don't have every type of seafood the recipe calls for, don't sweat it! The farmers' market didn't have oysters the week I photographed this recipe so I just increased the amounts of the other fish to about 10 each instead of 7. *If you don't have access to fresh cherry tomatoes, a cup of organic crushed tomatoes will work great, and if you don't have parsley growing right now kale, chard, spinach or any other hardy winter green will work wonderfully! You may need a pinch more salt though to counter balance the bitter greens.

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