American

Grilled Halibut in Cedar Wraps

Grilled halibut in cedar wrap with sweet corn and salad

A new and easy way to make halibut– Grilled Halibut in Cedar Wraps. A big thank you to Fire & Flavor for providing me with cedar wraps to experiment with for Cook Love Heal. This is the first recipe I’ve created using the wraps and I thought it was amazing. Cedar wraps are really easy to use and impart the most delicious flavor.

Here are the steps to making grilled halibut in cedar wraps.

grilled halibut in cedar wraps
Place halibut on cedar wrap and season with vinaigrette.

 

grilled halibut in cedar wraps
Tie wrap with kitchen twine (provided with cedar wraps).

 

grilled halibut in cedar wraps
Place cedar wrapped halibut on grill and cook 4-5 minutes per side depending on thickness.
grilled halibut in cedar wraps
Remove from grill onto a clean plate and garnish with fresh basil.

 

Grilled Halibut in Cedar Wraps
 
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Recipe type: Seafood
Cuisine: American
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 4 cedar wraps with kitchen twine (Fire & Flavor brand recommended)
  • 4 4 to 6-ounce halibut fillets
  • unrefined sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons lemongrass mint white balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • a few sprigs Thai basil
Instructions
  1. Place cedar wraps in a glass baking dish or bowl and cover with water. Soak for 30 minutes or so.
  2. Preheat grill to about 350 degrees.
  3. Lightly rinse halibut fillets and pat dry with paper towels.
  4. Sprinkle fillets generously with sea salt.
  5. In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk together vinegar and oil with a pinch of salt.
  6. Place cedar wraps on a sheet pan or cutting board and wipe dry with a cloth. Place each fillet on a cedar wrap and drizzle each one with vinaigrette.
  7. Fold wrap over fish and tie closed with kitchen twine.
  8. Place wraps on the grill seam-side down first, and cook about 4-5 minutes on each side.
  9. Immediately transfer to a clean plate to catch the juices, which you can pour over the top after it is served.
Serving suggestions
  1. Serve with fresh corn on the cob and an arugula salad.

grilled halibut in cedar wraps
Enjoy!

Fresh Cranberry Sauce with Orange and Ginger

cranberry sauce

Cranberry sauce is a beautiful accompaniment for holiday meals, and so much better than any of the canned varieties. Fresh cranberries are sweetened with raisins and apple juice and flavored with orange and ginger, to give it a fresh, zesty taste. There is minimal prep involved, and the recipe can be doubled if you are feeding a crowd!

Homemade Cranberry Sauce
 
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Recipe type: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Serves: 12 servings
Ingredients
  • ½ cup raisins
  • 1½ cups apple juice
  • 2 cups cranberries
  • pinch unrefined sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • ½ teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated (or more to taste)
Instructions
  1. In medium saucepan, cook raisins in apple juice for about 10 minutes. Add cranberries and sea salt.
  2. Cover, turn down to low, and simmer until cranberries have popped.
  3. Remove lid and reduce sauce to desired consistency. Keep in mind that sauce will gel more when refrigerated.
  4. Remove from heat. Stir in orange zest and ginger juice.

I like to use a microplane zester for both the orange zest and grated ginger. Be careful to very lightly zest the very outer portion of the orange peel, so that you don’t get the bitter white pith in your sauce. Sometimes I will squeeze the juice out of the grated ginger pulp and add that to the sauce rather than including the pulp.

Here is a meal using fresh cranberry sauce that I have been making for my students at The Natural Epicurean to demonstrate Fall Macrobiotic Cooking and Menu Planning. Clockwise from the top: millet-cauliflower mash with mushroom sauce, nishime style vegetables and pan-fried tempeh, fresh cranberry sauce, daikon pickle, and blanched greens with tahini-parsley dressing.

cranberry-sauce
Fall macrobiotic meal featuring fresh cranberry sauce with orange and ginger

Enjoy!

Maple Roasted Wild Caught Salmon with Fresh Rosemary

We make this dish at home when salmon is in season and we want something easy, hearty, and delicious. It is also great for a large dinner party because it can be cooked at the last minute after everyone has arrived. This recipe is quite simple; it has only 6 ingredients, including olive oil and sea salt! There are many variations on this recipe, but one of our favorites is to add toasted pecans.

When selecting your salmon fillet, make sure it is wild caught, as the taste of wild caught salmon is unparalleled, and is higher in minerals, including potassium, zinc and iron than its farm-raised counterpart. Wild caught salmon contains about half the fat as farm-raised salmon, so it is important to cook it with some oil if baking or roasting in the oven.

Some ideas for completing your menu:

  • Salmon with basmati, jasmine, or sushi rice and a green vegetable.
  • Salmon on top of your favorite salad.
  • Salmon with Niçoise Salad.
  • Salmon with sushi hand roll fixings like cucumber, carrot, avocado, toasted nori, and a dipping sauce.

Maple Roasted Wild Caught Salmon with Fresh Rosemary
 
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Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: American
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1¼ lb. wild caught salmon fillet (coho, sockeye, or king)
  • sea salt
  • about ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Lightly oil a 9" X 9" glass baking dish or roasting pan with a thin coating of olive oil.
  3. Cut salmon into 4 equal pieces. Rinse and pat dry with a paper towel. Place salmon pieces in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle evenly with sea salt (a few large pinches). Alternatively, leave the salmon fillet whole to have a nice presentation the table.
  4. Roast salmon in the oven for 8 minutes.
  5. In the meantime, sauté garlic in olive oil until garlic is soft but not browned. Remove from heat and stir in rosemary, maple syrup, and a large pinch of salt.
  7. After salmon has roasted for 8 minutes, remove from oven and spoon garlic-rosemary oil over each fillet. Return salmon to the oven and roast for another 3 minutes, and then check for doneness.
  8. Serve with a fresh salad, sauteed greens or broccolini, or other vegetable side dish.
Variations
  1. Maple-pecan version: Toast up to 1 cup pecan pieces with the garlic until fragrant, but be careful not to burn the garlic. Keep the rest of the recipe the same, or omit the rosemary for a pure maple-pecan flavor. This variation is especially good in the fall and early winter when pecans are fresh.
  2. Maple-balsamic version: Add 2 teaspoons good quality balsamic vinegar (or balsamic reduction) to the garlic-olive oil mixture. Omit rosemary.
Note
  1. To check for doneness, plunge a small sharp knife all the way through the thickest part of one of the fillets and hold it there for 5 seconds. Pull it out and carefully touch the flat side of the knife to your lower lip, which is very sensitive to temperature. If it feels warm, the fish is just cooked through and ready to serve. If the knife is still cold or cool, the fish needs more time.
  2. Another way to gauge doneness is to watch for the appearance of a white substance that starts forming on the outside of the salmon. Usually this indicates the salmon is close to being done.

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Salmon with sushi rice, toasted nori, and steamed green beans.

Macrobiotic Macaroni and Cheese

vegan, gluten free, macaroni and cheese

Macaroni and cheese is the ultimate comfort food! When the weather starts to turn cold, give this hearty vegan version a try. It is packed with nutrients from winter squash, carrots, and miso, and contains no cheese substitutes like nutritional yeast or soy-based cheeses.It can easily be made gluten-free by using a gluten-free variety of pasta. Although this recipe does not fall into the “quick and easy” category, it is worth the effort as it is so nourishing and delicious!

There are some ingredients that need explaining in this recipe.

  1. Be sure to use raw cashews. When soaked, raw cashews will become soft and can be blended to create a very creamy texture. For savory dishes, discard the sweet soaking water.
  2. Kombu is used in preparing the squash and carrots for the cheese sauce. It is a sea vegetable high in iodine and other beneficial minerals and enhances the flavor of whatever you are cooking.
  3. Ume plum vinegar (a.k.a. umeboshi vinegar) is a healthful sour and salty condiment that adds amazing flavor to sauces and dressings, and is actually not technically a vinegar (it is the salt brine used to pickle the ume plum). You can find it in the Asian aisle of most health food stores, or you can purchase it online. The Eden brand is most easy to find.
  4. Red or sweet white miso is called for in this recipe to create the cheesy taste of the sauce. Red miso will give more depth of flavor, more like an aged cheddar cheese, and sweet white miso will give a lighter flavor, more like an American cheese. Be sure to use miso that is unpasteurized and made with sea salt like Miso Master or South River Miso. In Austin, you can get both varieties of miso at Wheatsville Coop.
  5. Natto is made from fermented soybeans and has many health benefits. It gives a depth of flavor to the dish that cannot be achieved otherwise. My favorite natto can be ordered online from Mugumi Natto. It is the only organic brand I have been able to find. It freezes well if you would like to order several packages. You can also make your own by purchasing powdered natto starter.
  6. Unsweetened, whole grain mochi is made of steamed sweet brown rice that is pounded until smooth and formed into squares to dehydrate and store. It is 100% whole grain, naturally gluten-free, high in protein, and can be grated and seasoned to use as a topping for casseroles and pizzas. Granaissance, Mitoku, and Eden all make mochi. In Austin, we can find the Eden brand of mochi at Central Market. Grainaissance mochi is more crumbly when grated whereas the Eden and Mitoku brands can be grated into longer shreds, but either one will work in this recipe.

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Macrobiotic Macaroni and Cheese
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Serves: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
Macaroni and "Cheese" Sauce
  • ¼ cup raw cashews
  • 3 cups kabocha or butternut squash, peeled and cubed
  • 2 cups carrots, cut into1/2-inch rounds
  • 1-inch piece of kombu
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons ume plum vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon unpasteurized red or sweet white miso
  • 1 tablespoon natto (Megumi brand recommended)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
  • spring or filtered water
  • 12 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked until al dente and drained
Mochi "Cheese" Topping
  • 2 cups plain mochi, grated coarsely
  • 2 teaspoons red or sweet white miso
  • 1 teaspoon ume plum vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • spring or filtered water
Instructions
Macaroni and "Cheese" Sauce
  1. Soak cashews in water for several hours. Drain and set aside.
  2. In heavy pot with lid, place ½ cup water, kombu, squash, carrots, and a pinch of sea salt. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn to low and cook about 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and easily pierced with a fork. Remove kombu from cooked vegetables.
  3. To make the “cheese” sauce, place the squash, carrots, and their cooking liquid into a food processor along with the soaked and drained cashews, umeboshi vinegar, miso, natto (if using), garlic, and olive oil. Blend until smooth, adding water if needed to get the consistency of a thick soup. Taste for seasonings. If carrots and squash are super sweet, you may need to add a little more miso, sea salt, umeboshi vinegar, and/or olive oil to achieve a more savory flavor.
  4. Place cooked and drained macaroni elbows back into cooking pot. Add “cheese” sauce to coat macaroni. Pour macaroni and “cheese” into an oiled baking dish.
Mochi "Cheese" Topping
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Mix together grated mochi, miso, ume plum vinegar, olive oil, and enough water to thoroughly moisten the mochi (about ½-3/4 cup). Spread mochi mixture on top of the macaroni and “cheese” and bake, covered, for 20-30 minutes (it should be starting to bubble around the edges). Remove foil and melt mochi under the broiler for 2 minutes or until it turns golden brown. Watch closely to avoid burning!

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Gluten Free and Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

My daughter Isabel and I made our first cooking video together a few weeks ago. Well, actually, my daughter invited me to come do a video with her for her Curly Girl youtube channel. We decided to make Gluten Free and Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies because they are such a delicious treat, especially for people on gluten-free or vegan diets. I have been on a gluten-free diet for many years and appreciate finding recipes that are simple, tasty, and healthy.

vegan Choc Chip cookies-3

We used Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose flour to make our cookies, but we have also had success using plain brown rice flour or other gluten-free all-purpose flour mixes. I like Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose flour because it does not contain xanthan gum, which is known to be an intestinal irritant. The ingredients in this mix include: garbanzo bean flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, whole grain sweet white sorghum flour, and fava bean flour. Because of the bean flours in the mix, it tastes unpleasant before it has been cooked, so don’t try eating the cookie dough before it is baked!

Gluten Free and Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
 
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These cookies are perfect for the occasional treat for someone who is on a gluten free and/or vegan diet.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon flax seed meal (ground flax seed)
  • 2 ½ tablespoons water
  • ½ cup coconut oil
  • ½ cup almond butter
  • ¾ cup maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (such as Bob's Red Mill)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl or cup, mix together flax seed meal and water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the mixture has the consistency of a beaten egg. This is your “flax egg.”
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together coconut oil, almond or cashew butter, maple syrup or agave nectar, and vanilla extract. Add “flax egg” and mix to combine.
  3. In a larger bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and sea salt.
  4. Combine wet and dry ingredients in the larger bowl. Mix until smooth with a wooden spoon. Add chocolate chips. Batter will be sticky.
  5. Transfer dough onto 1 or 2 sheets of wax paper or parchment paper. Fold paper over the dough to make cookie dough “logs.” Put the logs into the freezer for about 15-20 minutes, or until dough has become firm.
  6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  7. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of dough at a time onto the cookie sheet and form into round cookie shapes, leaving about an inch of space between cookies. These cookies will not flatten out a huge amount, so you can flatten them a little before baking them.
  8. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies begin to flatten and are golden brown on the bottom.
  9. Remove cookies with a spatula onto a plate and serve warm.
Notes
  1. Leftover cookie dough can be wrapped up well and stored in the freezer for up to a month and taken out as needed to make a sheet of cookies.

These cookies don’t spread out as much as normal cookies do, so be sure to flatten them out a bit before baking.

vegan Choc Chip cookies-5

These cookies go great with a glass of almond milk or coconut milk!

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Kid-approved! Please check out the video on Isabel’s Curly Girl channel.