No Knead Crusty Bread 🍞

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 ¾ tsp salt
• ½ tsp active dry yeast
• 1 ½ cups water room temperature

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a big bowl mix the flour, salt and yeast together. Pour water into the bowl and using a spatula or a wooden spoon mix it until well incorporated.
2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit on your counter for 12 to 18 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 450 F degrees. Add your cast iron pot to the oven as it’s heating and heat it as well until it’s at 450 F degrees.
4. Remove the pot from the oven and remove the lid from it. If you want to make sure your bread doesn’t stick to the pot you can sprinkle some flour or cornmeal on the bottom of the pot.
5. Flour your hands really well and also sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough. With your floured hands gently remove the dough from the bowl and roughly shape it into a ball. Take the ball of dough and drop it into the pot. Cover the pot with the lid and place it back in the oven.
6. Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, after which remove the lid and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.
7. Remove the bread from the pot, it should fall out easily. Let cool completely before slicing into it and serving.

Vegan Indian-Inspired Shepherd's Pie

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 pounds potatoes or sweet potatoes
• 1 can of full-fat coconut milk
• fine grain sea salt, to taste
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup of diced carrots
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons garam masala (or more for taste)
• 2 cans of chickpeas 
• 1 big handful of chopped spinach
• 1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
• To serve: a drizzle of melted coconut oil with chopped serrano chiles, micro greens, scallions

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375F with a rack in the center.
2. Place the potatoes/sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with water, salt as you would pasta water, and bring to a boil for about ten minutes, or until tender. Drain, and return to saucepan over heat for a minute or so to dry out a bit. Add the coconut milk, and the salt, and mash together. Set aside.
3. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the coconut oil with the onion and garlic, and a generous pinch of salt. Sauté for a few minutes, until onions are translucent, and then turn the heat up and add the carrots. Cook for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and spices. Stir well, then add the chickpeas and peas. Add the chopped spinach. Cook for another minute or two, taste, and adjust with more garam masala or salt if needed. Make sure the spinach as decreased in size before step 4. 
4. Transfer the mixture to a 8-inch baking dish (or equivalent), spreading it across in a somewhat even layer. Dollop the potatoes across the top, and gently push them around until they cover the entire top of the casserole, run the tines of a fork across the top if you like a bit of texture.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, and finish under a broiler to add a bit of extra color and texture to the top. Serve as-is, or sprinkled with any (or all) of the suggested toppings.

Notes:

You can really add and subtract whatever you want from this. I've made it different times with different fillings (mushrooms, zucchini, etc). 

Garlic Sesame Noodles 🍜

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound Udon noodles
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil, plus a splash
• 3 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Chinese rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Chinese sesame paste
• 1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons chili-garlic paste, or to taste
• Handful of fresh snow peas
• 1-2 diced fresh zucchini 
• ¼ cup chopped roasted peanuts
• dash of black sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until barely tender, about 5 minutes; they should retain a hint of chewiness. Drain, rinse with cold water, drain again and toss with a splash of sesame oil.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons sesame oil, the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame paste, peanut butter, sugar, ginger, garlic and chili-garlic paste.
3. Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss. Transfer to a serving bowl, and garnish with vegetables, sesame seeds and peanuts.

Whole Wheat No-Knead Bread 🍞

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon active dry or instant yeast
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix the water and yeast in a large bowl and allow to stand until the yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and salt. Stir to form a very wet, shaggy dough. Make sure all the flour has been incorporated; the dough should feel sticky to the touch.
2. Cover the bowl and set it somewhere warm and away from kitchen traffic for 12 to 18 hours. After rising, the dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days if you don’t have time to bake it right away.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Dust your hands with flour. Starting with the edge nearest you, lift up the dough and fold it over on itself. Next, pick up the edge furthest from you and fold it over the dough as well. Repeat with the edges to the left and right. The dough should hold together in a neat package. Sprinkle the top generously with flour and cover with a clean cotton dishtowel. Let the dough rise until doubled, about 2 hours (slightly longer if chilled from the fridge).
4. When you see that the dough has almost finish rising, place a 3 1/2-quart (or larger) Dutch oven or heavy pot with oven-safe lid in the oven and heat the oven to 475°F.
5. To bake the bread, very carefully remove the pot from the oven with oven mitts and remove the lid. Dust your hands with flour and scoop the dough from the counter. It’s ok if it sticks; a bench scraper can help transfer the dough. Drop the dough seams down into the Dutch oven. Be careful to avoid touching the hot sides of the pot with your hands.
6. Cover the pot and return it to the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for another 15 to 30 minutes, until the loaf turns a deep golden brown. Don’t be afraid to let it get really deep brown in spots. If you’re unsure if it has finished baking, you can also check that the internal temperature is 200°F on an instant-read thermometer.
7. Remove the loaf from the Dutch oven with heat-proof spatulas and potholders. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Wait to slice until the loaf has cooled to room temperature.

Brussels Sprout and Shiitake Pot Stickers

INGREDIENTS:

Dipping Sauce

• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• ½-inch piece of fresh ginger (1 cm)
• 1 green onion finely sliced
•  2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Pot Stickers

• 1 tablespoon virgin olive oil, plus extra for cooking
• 1 medium shallot
• 1 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
• 2 cups sliced Brussels sprouts, about ½ pound/227 g
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1- inch piece of fresh ginger (2.5 cm), peeled and minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 25 wonton wrappers

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the dipping sauce: Whisk the tamari, maple syrup, ginger, green onion, and sesame seeds together in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Make the potstickers: Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallots. Stir and cook until fragrant and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the shiitake mushrooms. Stir and sauté the mushrooms until they start to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts, garlic, and ginger, and stir. Season everything with salt and pepper. Keep stirring the filling until the Brussels sprouts are bright green and slightly wilted, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat, and allow the filling to cool slightly.
3. Set out a small bowl of water. To assemble the pot stickers, divide the vegetable filling among the wonton wrappers, placing about 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of the filling in the center of each wonton wrapper. Take one filled wonton wrapper and dip your finger in the bowl of water. Moisten two sides of the wrapper, fold all sides together, and pinch along the edge to form a seal. Repeat with the remaining filled wrappers.
4. Wipe the sauté pan and heat a thin slick of olive oil over medium heat. Fry the pot stickers in batches until they’re golden brown on all sides, about 1 full minute per side. Add more oil to the pan as needed to finish cooking all the pot stickers.
5. Serve the pot stickers hot with the dipping sauce on the side.

Black Bean & Avocado Enchiladas

INGREDIENTS:

Sauce:

• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour 
• 2 Tbsp chili powder 
• 2 cups water 
• 3 oz. tomato paste (1/2 6 oz. can) 
• ½ tsp cumin 
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper 
• 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 1 tsp salt 

Enchiladas: 

• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans 
• 1 medium avocado 
• 1 small tomato 
• 1 zucchini 
• 1-2 whole green onions 
• ½ cup frozen corn kernels 
• handful cilantro 
• ¼ tsp garlic powder 
• ½ tsp salt 
• 8 small tortillas (fajita size) 

DIRECTIONS:

1. First prepare the enchilada sauce. In a medium sauce pot combine the vegetable oil, flour, and chili powder. Heat the mixture over a medium flame until it begins to bubble. Whisk and cook the bubbling paste for 1-2 minutes. Slowly pour in the water while whisking. Add the tomato paste, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, cocoa powder, and salt. Whisk until smooth and continue to heat over a medium flame. Let the sauce come up to a gentle simmer, at which point the sauce will thicken. Once thickened, turn off the heat and set the sauce aside until you’re ready to use it.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drain and rinse the can of beans, then add them to a large bowl. Cube the avocado, dice the tomato, dice the zucchini, slice the green onion, and pull a handful of cilantro leaves from their stems. Add them all to the bowl, along with the frozen corn kernels. Stir everything together. Season with a little salt and garlic powder (recommended amounts above, or use fresh minced garlic).
3. Coat an 8×8 casserole dish with non-stick spray. Warm the tortillas briefly in the microwave to make them soft and pliable. Fill each tortilla with about ⅓ cup of filling and roll tightly. Place the filled tortillas in the casserole dish, seam side down. Once all of the filled enchiladas are in the dish, pour the enchilada sauce over top.
4. Bake the enchiladas in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, or until they’re heated through and the sauce is bubbly along the edges. Then devour!

No Knead Rosemary Olive Crusty Bread 🍞

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 ¾ tsp salt
• ½ tsp active dry yeast
• 1 ½ cups water room temperature
• ½ cup of kalamata olives
• liberal sprinkle of fresh or dried rosemary 

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a big bowl mix the flour, salt and yeast together. Pour water into the bowl and using a spatula or a wooden spoon mix it until well incorporated. Add the kalamata olives and rosemary here. 
2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit on your counter for 12 to 18 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 450 F degrees. Add your cast iron pot to the oven as it’s heating and heat it as well until it’s at 450 F degrees.
4. Remove the pot from the oven and remove the lid from it. If you want to make sure your bread doesn’t stick to the pot you can sprinkle some flour or cornmeal on the bottom of the pot.
5. Flour your hands really well and also sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough. With your floured hands gently remove the dough from the bowl and roughly shape it into a ball. Take the ball of dough and drop it into the pot. Cover the pot with the lid and place it back in the oven.
6. Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, after which remove the lid and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.
7. Remove the bread from the pot, it should fall out easily. Let cool completely before slicing into it and serving.

Coconut Red Curry Shrimp + Veggie Soup 🍤🍜

INGREDIENTS:

Shrimp Stock:

• ½ lb raw shrimp shells (from the shrimp used below)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• ½ organic carrot, sliced
• ½ organic celery, sliced
• ½ Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 sprig parsley
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1 sprig chives
• 1 sprig oregano
• 1  bay leaf
• 1/8 teaspoon fennel seed
• black pepper
• 2 cups of water

Coconut Red Curry Shrimp

• ½ lb raw shrimp, peeled
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil, divided
• ½ medium onion, diced
• 1 small head broccoli, chopped into florets
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp minced ginger
• 5 Tbsp thai red curry paste*
• 1 ½ cups shrimp stock ** (set aside ¼ cup)
• 2 cans full-fat coconut milk
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp lemongrass
• 1 red pepper, de-seeded and sliced thin
• ½ tsp sea salt + additional, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste

For serving

• ¼ cup chopped scallions
• 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
• ½ lime, sliced into 4 pieces
• for serving: 1 batch cauliflower rice

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a stock pot heat olive oil. Add shells and cook till they turn pink up to 10 minutes to intensify the flavor.
2. Add remaining ingredients except the water.
3. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes the longer you can draw this process out, the more of the natural juices of the scraps will be released. This is awesome flavoring. Add just a pinch of salt to speed the process.
4. Cover with water bring just to a boil: lower heat to simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Strain into a container extracting out all the goodness from the scraps.
6. Cool completely and freeze or use as you like.
7. You can make the shrimp stock ahead of time or right before you begin to prepare the soup. 
8. Combine the coconut milk, 1 ¼ cups of the broth, fish sauce, and lemongrass in a small bowl. Whisk until any lumps in the coconut milk are broken up. Set aside.
9. Head a medium/large soup pot with 1 Tbsp coconut oil. Once the pan is hot, carefully add the shrimp, then cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side (depending on their size), until the outsides are seared and pink but the inside isn’t completely cooked through yet. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.