Note: this piece first appeared in the March 2007 issue of Clark Wellness ForkBytes.
Tamari is a traditionally brewed soy sauce available in natural foods stores.
Serves 1 to 2
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
water
tamari
Sauté carrot in olive oil until golden. Add water to cover and simmer, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes, until water is almost absorbed. Splash with tamari and simmer until liquid is completely absorbed. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Note: this piece first appeared as the February 2007 ClarkWellness.net Recipe of the Month.
Serves 1 to 2
This delicious, simple soup is quick to prepare. It’s perfect for a winter weeknight meal!
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, pressed
3 tablespoons chopped shallots
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 cup green lentils, picked over and rinsed
2 cups water or stock
pinch ground white pepper
1 bay leaf
sea salt to taste
1 tablespoon chopped parsley for garnish (optional)
Heat oil in a small pot over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté briefly, then add shallots, carrot, and celery. Cook until just beginning to brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add rinsed lentils, water or stock, white pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, covered, for about 30 to 40 minutes or until lentils are tender. Remove bay leaf and season with sea salt to taste. Ladle soup into serving bowl and sprinkle with parsley, if using.
Note: this piece first appeared as the November 2006 ClarkWellness.net Recipe of the Month.
Serves 4
This easy recipe is a great way to enjoy seasonal ingredients and use up some leftover cooked whole grains. Any grain will work, but I especially recommend millet, brown rice, and/or barley.
2 acorn squash, halved and cleaned
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
sea salt and pepper
1 onion, finely diced
3 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 cup golden raisins or currants
1 cup cooked whole grain of choice
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 zucchini, diced
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds, chopped
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Cut a small slice of each half of acorn squash from the bottom so it can sit flat on a baking sheet. Brush the squash with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle garlic, sea salt, and pepper over top. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes.
While the squash is cooking, heat the remaining oil in a skillet. Add the onions, curry powder, and raisins or currants and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add the cooked grains and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in parsley and zucchini.
After the 35 minutes, fill each squash cup with stuffing, top with chopped pumpkin seeds, and return to the oven to bake an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until squash is tender. Serve warm.
Note: this piece first appeared in the October 2006 issue of Clark Wellness ForkBytes.
This is a refreshing, sweet take on slaw.
Serves 4
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
1 Granny Smith apple, cut into matchsticks
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks or shredded
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons brown rice syrup
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon prepared mustard, such as Dijon
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
2 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Combine the cabbage, apple, carrot, and scallions in a serving bowl. In a separate small bowl, mix together the apple cider vinegar, brown rice syrup, ground coriander, mustard, parsley, and olive oil. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Add sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, and serve immediately.
Note: this piece first appeared in the June 2006 issue of Clark Wellness ForkBytes.
Serves 4
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
5 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
water
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 cups washed baby spinach leaves
Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onion and cook briefly. Add the carrots and sauté with the onion until vegetables are slightly browned.
Add the salt and pepper, along with enough water to cover the vegetables (step back to avoid splattering oil), and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and simmer 25 minutes or until very tender.
Remove the soup from the heat and cool briefly. Place soup in a blender and purée until completely smooth. Return soup to the pot and stir in the dill and spinach until the spinach is slightly wilted. Adjust seasoning and serve immediately.
For written instructions, see the original post: Yams and Collards with Thai Red Curry
Begin with yams or sweet potatoes. I made half a recipe for the photos, so remember you will have need more ingredients when you make the full recipe. I used one small yam.
Clean, peel, and chop your yams. You can also leave the peel on — your choice.
Place the yams in a deep skillet or wok and add just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, cover skillet, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until yams are soft when pierced with a fork. While the yams are cooking, you can prepare your other ingredients. Chop your onion (1/2 an onion) and press your garlic (1 clove) — the beneficial phytochemical allicin in these vegetables is activated by exposure to the air, so it’s good for them to sit out for a minute or two before being added to any recipe!
To prepare the collards, first wash them well, then remove the tough stems. I used about half a bunch of collards.
Stack the leaves and roll them up tightly into a long tube. Slice the tube thinly. This is a chiffonade cut — chiffon is French for “rag,” and the sliced collards look like a little pile of (pretty, edible, nutritious) rags.
When the yams are cooked, add the onions and garlic to the skillet and continue to simmer until about half the water has boiled away.
Next we’ll be using some Thai red curry paste. This is where the “zip” comes in! This condiment is very spicy, so employ discretion when using it. Thai red curry paste is available in ethnic markets, large grocery stores, and natural foods stores in the Asian foods section.
When half the water has boiled away, it’s time to add your curry paste (I used about 1/4 a teaspoon). Be sure to mix the curry paste well — it usually requires a bit of mashing. You don’t want anyone to end up with a whole mouthful of hot curry paste. Also, add some natural Worcestershire sauce (I used about 1/2 a tablespoon); good natural brands are Annie’s and The Wizard.
Add the sliced collard greens and mix well. Continue cooking until collards are tender.
When the collards are tender, squeeze half a lemon over the vegetables. Before cutting the lemon in half, roll it around on the counter briefly — this makes it easier to juice.
Garnish your dish with lemon slices and add sea salt to taste, if desired. Enjoy!
Note: this piece first appeared as the March 2006 ClarkWellness.net Recipe of the Month.
Serves 4
This delicious and colorful recipe is a perfect addition to any meal! It’s easy to prepare and wonderfully nutritious. Thai red curry paste is available in the Asian section of large supermarkets; natural Worcestershire sauce is available in natural food stores. Enjoy!
2 small yams or sweet potatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 onion, sliced
2 large cloves of garlic, pressed
1 tablespoon natural Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Thai red curry paste
1 bunch collard greens, sliced
1/2 lemon
Put yams in a deep skillet or wok and just cover them with water. Cover skillet and boil yams for 5 to 10 minutes or until soft when pierced with a fork. Add onions and garlic and continue to simmer until about half of the water has boiled away. Add Worcestershire sauce, curry paste, and collards. Simmer until the collards are soft. Squeeze lemon over the mixture and serve.
See step-by-step photos of this dish!
Zippy Yams and Collards
Note: this piece first appeared as the December 2005 ClarkWellness.net Recipe of the Month.
Serves 4
If you’re tired of sweet potatoes served with sugar, marshmallows, brown sugar, and more sugar, you will love this simple preparation that allows the vegetable’s natural sweetness to shine through. This flexible recipe is perfect for winter and a great way to express your creativity in the kitchen. Choose any citrus-herb combo you like, such as lemon-parsley, orange-mint, lime-cilantro, lemon-thyme, etc.
2 large or 4 small sweet potatoes
extra-virgin olive oil or organic, unsalted butter (optional)
sea salt to taste
1/4 cup citrus juice (orange, lime, lemon, etc.)
1/2 bunch fresh herbs, chopped (about 1 cup chopped leaves)
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Scrub sweet potatoes and bake, unpeeled, until tender, about 50 minutes.
When potatoes are done, cut a slit in each, season with sea salt, dot with olive oil or butter (if using), sprinkle with citrus juice, and shower with herbs. Serve immediately.
See step-by-step photos of this dish!
Sweet Potatoes with Citrus and Herbs
For written instructions, see the original post: Sweet Potatoes with Citrus and Herbs
Start with sweet potatoes or yams — 1 medium or 1/2 a large sweet potato per person. Preheat your toaster oven to 350°F (375°F if you’re using a regular oven). I like to use a toaster oven when I’m only cooking one or two sweet potatoes to conserve energy.
Rinse and scrub your sweet potatoes well. Stab them with a fork a few times if you’d like (this is a very positive way to release aggressive, angry feelings!).
Run a metal kabob skewer through the center of each potato. This step is optional — your potatoes will bake up fine without it — but the metal conducts heat right to the center of the potato for faster, more even cooking. Bake in your preheated oven for about 50 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced by a fork.
While the potatoes are baking, prepare your fresh herbs. I decided to use flat-leaf Italian parsley and lemon juice this time, but the citrus-herb combo is limited only by your imagination… lemon-basil, lemon-thyme, orange-mint, and lime-cilantro are just a few ideas to get you going! Chop your herbs finely. You can use a knife or a mezzaluna (a half-moon shaped blade perfect for finely chopping herbs). Simply rock the mezzaluna back and forth over the herbs on your cutting board.
When the sweet potatoes are easily pierced by a fork, they are done. Remove them from the oven and split them open. Drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil on top (you can use organic, unsalted butter or coconut butter if you prefer).
Squeeze fresh citrus juice (I used lemon) over the potato and shower with your chopped herbs (about 2 tablespoons of each per serving).
Serve with extra fresh herbs to garnish. Enjoy!
Note: this piece first appeared in the November 2005 issue of Clark Wellness ForkBytes.
This pretty soup is fun and perfect for fall. You can use carrots in place of some of the parsnips if you’d like. Use organic frozen green peas if you can’t find fresh.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Makes 4 to 6 servings
4 cups water
6 parsnips, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup green peas
sea salt to taste
Combine the water, parsnips, onion, and nutmeg in a soup pot and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat, and simmer on medium heat until the parsnips are soft (about 20 minutes).
Cool briefly, then purée the soup in a blender (in batches if necessary) until very creamy and return to pot.
Add the green peas and season with salt. Simmer another 5 minutes or until heated through. Serve and enjoy!
