Braised Coconut Spinach & Chickpeas with Lemon

 

Ingredients
  • 2 teaspoons oil or ghee
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • 4 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger, from a 3-inch piece
  • 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 large lemon, zested and juiced (about 2 tablespoons juice)
  • 1 dried hot red pepper or dash of red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
  • 1 pound baby spinach
  • 15-ounce can coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
 
Directions
 
Whole roasted sweet potatoes
Cilantro leaves, to garnish 
Toasted unsweetened coconut, to garnish
 
Heat the oil or ghee in a large, deep Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is beginning to brown. Add the garlic, ginger, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon zest and red pepper, if using. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
 
Add the chickpeas and cook over high heat for a few minutes or until the chickpeas are beginning to turn golden and they are coated with the onion and garlic mixture.
 
Toss in the spinach, one handful at a time. This will take about 5 minutes; stir in a handful or two and wait for it to wilt down and make room in the pot before adding the next handful. When all the spinach has been stirred in, pour in the coconut milk and stir in the salt, ground ginger, and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer then turn down the heat and cook for 10 minutes or until the chickpeas are warm through. Taste and add more salt and lemon juice, if necessary.
 
Serve hot over roasted sweet potatoes, with cilantro leaves and toasted unsweetened coconut to garnish.
 
Serving note: This is thick enough to eat on its own with a fork; it's not terribly soupy. But it's saucy enough to eat over pasta, rice, brown rice, quinoa, or another grain.
 
serves 4 as a main dish or 6 as a side
 

Thai peanut sauce

Ingredients

  • 5 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 inch ginger root, peeled and minced (I use way more than this)
  • 1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup lemon juice (I just use the freshly squeezed juice from two lemons)
  • 5 tablespoons tamari
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 cups vegetable stock

Directions

  1. Combine all the incredients in a sauce pan
  2. Heat gently for 15 minutes, or until hot (keep the heat fairly low and stir often - peanut butter can burn)
  3. Use an immersion blender if you like your sauces smooth.
  4. Serve hot.

Notes

  • Add more water or vegetable stock if the sauce is thicker than you'd like.
  • Serve this is with rice and marinated tofu cubes (pour the sauce on the tofu cubes to heat them up) and pile on your favourite veggies (I like raw grated carrot, tomato, cucumber, and sunflower sprouts with this combo).
  • The absolute best way to use ginger is to freeze whole fresh ginger root, and use a micro grater to finely mince as much as you need. Put the unused ginger back in the freezer until it's needed again.

Ginger cookies

Ingedients

  • 2 1/4 cups spelt flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground dry ginger
  • 4 tablespoons freshly ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 butter, melted
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1/4 cup molasses

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses.
  4. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture.
  5. Place mixture in the fridge until firm (approximately 15 minutes).
  6. Shape dough into walnut sized balls (optionally roll them in sugar).
  7. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet (they'll flatten on their own while cooking).
  8. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
  9. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
  10. Store in an airtight container.

Carrot Soup with Fresh Ginger

Ingredients

  • 8 cups vegetable stock
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 2 lb. fresh carrot, peeled
  • 3 leek, sliced, in half lengthwise, and, thoroughly, cleaned
  • 1 yam, peeled
  • 4 celery, stalks
  • 1 three-inch piece fresh ginger, root, peeled, and, grated
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions

  1. In a large pot, bring stock to a boil.
  2. While stock is heating, chop all vegetables into small pieces (approximately 1/2 inch cubes).
  3. In a saute pan, over med-high heat, melt half of the butter. Sauté vegetables with ginger and nutmeg for approximately 15 minutes, or until vegetables are browned. Add remaining butter as needed.
  4. Add sautéed vegetables to stock, reduce heat, cover with a lid, and simmer for 30 minutes.
  5. Let cool to room temperature and then puree in a blender. Soup should be thick and smooth. If you like your soup chunky, skip this step.
  6. Add salt and pepper.
  7. To serve, re-heat, ladle into bowls.

 

New Buddha Sauce

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cooking onion, diced
  • 6 tbsp minced fresh ginger
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1-1/3 cups carrot juice
  • 3/4 cup rice vinegar
  • 1 cup filtered water
  • 2 cups natural smooth peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 2/3 cup tamari
  • 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup sunflower oil

Preparation

  • Heat oil in a pot.  Add onion, ginger and garlic.  Cook 5 minutes or until onion is soft.
  • Add curry powder and cayenne pepper.  Cook for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.
  • Add remaining ingredients.  Stir and let cool.  Puree in a blender until smooth.
  • Before serving, heat gently in a saucepan over low heat.
  • Serves 6. 
  • Sauce lasts for about 5 days in the fridge and also freezes well.

Recipe ~ 'fresh at home'  Everyday Vegetarian Cooking.
Restaurant ~ Fresh BY Juice for Life (Toronto).

Asian spinach salad with honey ginger vinaigrette

This is one of my favourite salads! It’s loaded with bursts of Asian flavour that give it a ton of fusion character. It tastes exotic but its flavours are still very comfortable.

1 x 6 oz bag of baby spinach leaves

A handful of mint leaves

A few sheets of thinly sliced nori seaweed

For the Vinaigrette

1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar)

1 cup olive oil

A few heaping spoonfuls of honey (2 tbsp)

A small knob of grated ginger

A few dashes of toasted sesame oil (1tsp)

Directions

Toss the spinach, mint, nori seaweed and ginger with a generous splash of the dressing. It’s as simple as that.

For the Vinaigrette:

Mix everything together until smooth vinaigrette forms. A blender, food processor or an old-fashioned whisk and bowl all work well but I prefer my immersion blender. It’s easier to clean up!

Curried squash and sweet potato soup

Saute for 15-20 minutes

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large red onion

Add and saute for another 2-3 minutes

3 cloves garlic

1-2 tbsp fresh ginger

Add, bring to light boil, reduce heat and cook covered for 30 minutes

2 cups veggie stock

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lbs butternut squash (cut into chunks)

2 sweet potatoes

2 cups rice/soya minute

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp garam masala

After 30 minutes, add 1/4 cup fresh parsley. Simmer for another 15 minutes

Cool slightly and puree.

Asian spinach salad with miso giner vinaigrette

Ingredients

  • 1 x 6 oz bag of baby spinach leaves
  • A handful of mint leaves
  • A few sheets of thinly sliced nori seaweed
  • A few pieces of thinly sliced candied ginger

For the Vinaigrette:

  • 1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar
  • 1 cup of any vegetable oil
  • A few heaping spoonfuls of honey (2 tbsp)
  • A heaping spoonful or two of miso paste (I always omit this)
  • A small knob of grated ginger
  • A few dashes of toasted sesame oil (1tsp)
  • A few dashes of soy sauce (3 tsp)

Directions:

Toss the spinach, mint, nori seaweed and ginger with a generous splash of the dressing. It’s as simple as that.

For the Vinaigrette:

Mix everything together until smooth vinaigrette forms. A blender, food processor or an old-fashioned whisk and bowl all work well but I prefer my immersion blender. It’s easier to clean up!

Thai green curry with tofu and vegetables

Ingredients

Sesame oil

1 tsp Green curry paste (1.5-2tsp for more heat)

4 Cloves of garlic (minced)

1 tbls ground ginger

1 green onion

4oz tofu (cut into bite sized cubes)

2 large carrots (chopped)

Green beens (cleaned and halved)

1 small zucchini (sliced)

Broccoli

1 can coconut milk

Half can of water (use coconut milk can)

Preparation

Stir fry the curry paste, green onions, garlic and ginger in the sesame oil.

Add the tofu after a few minutes and continue to stir fry for another 10 min.

Add the vegetables, coconut milk and water, cover and let simmer for 10-15 min.

Serve in a bowl over rice.

Cedar plank salmon - Ginger maple syrup glaze

Ingredients

1 cup pure maple syrup

3 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoon soy sauce

2 lb. center cut salmon filet, with skin

Salt & pepper to taste

1 bunch of scallions

Directions

In a small saucepan, combine maple syrup, ginger, lemon, garlic, and Soy sauce. Simmer and reduce to about 1 cup (about 30 minutes). Let cool. Using a clean cloth, rub the top of the plank with ½ cup of olive oil. Arrange the scallions on the surface of the plank. Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place the salmon, skin side down, on the scallions. Season the fish with sea salt and black pepper. Using a large brush baste the salmon. Roast for approximately 25 to 30 minutes until the fish is cooked through. During the cooking process baste every ten minutes, and baste again just before serving.

Serve on the plank.

From chef Eric 911 . com