Superfoods: Avocado & Black Bean Salsa

I've began to notice my foodie habits are on the increase. As delighted as I was to find that bookshop in Bern with a large English section, 2/3 of my purchases were cookbooks. I've also managed to find an English language cooking class in Zürich (only a couple of times a year!) which I'll be attending on Tuesday. I generally cook in the privacy of my flat so I'll update on how it goes ;)

In fact, I've decided to shift a majority of my eating/snacking from complex carbs to monosaturated fats (almonds and other nuts, olive oil, and the humble avocado). One of the books I purchased, entitled Best Salads Ever, has some helpful recipes to do so despite the hyperbolic name :) I took my own spin on a salsa using the superfood that is avocado.

Avocado & Black Bean Salsa w/ Green Salad
(click to enlarge)

Salsa
1 small cucumber/gherkin
1/4 cup of leeks, chopped
1/2 small garlic clove
1/2 avocado
1/2 can of black beans (or ~1/3 cup dry beans, soaked overnight and cooked)
squeeze of lemon or lime juice

Salad
1 cup of mixed greens (I used spinach, arugula and red lettuce mix)
1 T olive oil
1 t apple cider vinegar
1 - 2 drops of Liquid Stevia (or a ~1/4 teaspoon of Stevia powder)
salt and pepper
grated cheese (optional but delicious, I used Vacherin/Gruyére)

• Julienne the cucumber, halve the chop leeks, and finely mince the garlic.
• Mix the vegetables with the black beans and about 1 T of the cooking liquid. Mix in the lemon/lime juice.
• Carefully cube the avocado and fold it in with the salsa. Allow to sit in th refrigerator so the garlic and flavors marinate.
• Meanwhile, mix the dressing for the green salad by whisking the olive oil with the vinegar and adding Stevia, salt and pepper to taste.
• Toss the dressing with the greens, and sprinkle with the cheese if using (it adds a robust flavor with the bean salsa, just go light on the salt).
• Serve chilled salsa on top of salad, as they go great together, or enjoy on the side.

This recipe makes one serving so you'll want to multiply to serve more. The avocado and the beans both provide satiety and are terrific for heart health. And the green salad and apple cider vinegraitte is a nice side with any dish. Stay healthy.

Early Winter, Cookies & Cocoa

I can't say the weather has been anything less than cooperative through last month, and yet I still feel every bit entitled to complain as the thermometer dips, the rain and clouds remain omnipresent, and snow - yes snow!- is visible on the mountain peaks. It's actually quite surreal this weekend to see blue sky down below and fully dusted peaks up above. My Swiss and German friends are giddy with anticipation for the ski season, but first we must brave what only seems will be a swampy November.

My solution? Hot drinks and a snack to match. And what could be better then warm homemade cookies? Not the steroid-injected confections from Starbucks, but comfort food nonetheless. I have two recipes below that are SO good I urge you to try them. You'll never detect they are low in sugar and gluten free.

A friend of mine just bought me my first bottle of agave nectar in France (available in health food stores here as well), which I've incorporated into these recipes. Though it does contain sugar, it is a natural sweetener with a low glycemic index so that when used in moderation does not create that terrible sugar spike. Other helpful ingredients are chickpea flour and flax to add fiber and reduce simple carbs, and gluten free oats. Both recipes can easily be made vegan/casein free. But enough explanation, the pictures will do (remember, click to enlarge)!

Almond Butter & Quinoa Cookies

2 T butter (use vegan margarine to make recipe vegan)
4 T agave nectar
4.5 T organic almond butter
4.5 T unsweetened apple sauce
dash of vanilla extract
1/2 cup quinoa flour
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1.5 t GF baking powder
1/2 t xanthan gum
dash of sea salt
1/4 cup macadamia nuts

Melt butter and add agave, beating together.

Mix in the almond butter, then the apple sauce and vanilla extract.

Meanwhile sift quinoa and chickpea flour, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt.

Chop or quickly pulse macadamia nuts in a food processor. Fold into batter.

Measure out a generous teaspoon of the batter on parchment paper. Use a fork to press down (rinse with cold water if it becomes to sticky). You should get 18 - 20 cookies.

Bake at 225 C/400 F for 15 minutes. Try to let them cool for at least half an hour before eating (well, try....).

This second cookie is adapted from Ricki's fantastic recipe. I used agave instead of maple, and made the recipe gluten free by using GF oats. Important --> Can I say this is the best cookie I have ever tasted?! I am not kidding.

Vanilla 'Honey' Flax-Oat Cookies

1/2 cup of GF rolled oats
1 T butter (replace with vegan margarine/coconut oil to make vegan
4 T agave nectar
1/2 t vanilla
4 T shredded flax seeds, soaked in water
1 t baking powder
pinch of salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon

Preheat the over to 180 C/350 F.

Pulse the oats a few times in the food processor - you don't want a meal, but a nice varied texture.

Remove from your processor and set in a separate bowl. Sift in the baking powder, salt, and spices.

Melt the butter, and add to food processor with the agave and vanilla. Stir in the flax seeds.

Add the dry ingredients to the processor and pulse until a very maleable, quite wet dough is formed.

Drop a generous spoonful of the cookies onto parchment paper (8-12). Note that these cookies will spread during baking.

Bake for 10 minutes or so. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before storing (yeah...right!).

Be sure to enjoy the cookies with a nice cup of cocoa. I heat lactose free milk and add unsweetened cocoa powder mixed with stevia, or I'll simply add a little carob powder to steamed milk. Stay warm :) ~c*x

Setting the Tone (aka Breakfast)

I wake up in the morning looking forward to breakfast. This wasn't always the case; in college I ate so late (and it was generally pizza or Subway) that I often wasn't hungry until later in the day. Still, I never really fell prey to the belief that eating less in the morning was some kind of tolerance for low calorie eating. I fully realize it's quite the opposite, and skimping on breakfast means an extra slice of something at night. Now that I'm a responsible adult (or something) I definitely wake up earlier, and eat dinner earlier. But I've also learned that even if you're not hungry, you're doing yourself a favor by eating within one hour of getting up. I'll typically have a couple of crackers or a piece of whole grain bread before hopping in the shower on those days.

Of course the next question is what makes a good breakfast. Last week I was in Madrid, and breakfast was analogous to sugary croissants and rolls. I'm talking full on dessert style, pretty in presentation, and the kind of thing to burn through you and put you on a sugar high only to crash in an hour. With some espresso to boot. One morning we had a breakfast meeting, and given the decidedly non-Swiss approach to timing we were finally seated at 10:30am. Then came the shiny croissants and what could have only been some sort of cannoli au chocolate. To be fair, by lunch I was ravenous and there is nothing quite like Spanish tapas (mm, boqueroñes y queso manchego).

To the original question, a good breakfast should always have one thing: protein! Eggs, cottage cheese, plain yogurt, meat, fish or veggie proteins. It's not just to jump start your metabolism; protein is brain food and keeps you sharper mentally. Another great element to add to your breakfast is a complex carb with fiber, which will keep you full and your energy stable. Oatmeal (with gluten-free oats) is amazing, as are quinoa flakes or buckwheat groats which pack in the protein as well. Of course I'm no nutritionist, but for a more comprehensive take on what to eat I share the wise words of my chiropractor, Dr. Rob D'Aquila.

This week I've gotten creative with my brekkie. Saturday before a four hour trip up to a party in Frankfurt, I made a potato salad using sweet potato, quark (similar to ricotta cheese), mustard and garlic powder, apple cider vinegar, dried herbs - heck I even threw in boiled egg. I've also been using veggies to make one classic and extremely versatile dish...

Eggs Cocotte (note: photo is pre-baked)

1 t olive oil
1/2 clove garlic
1/4 cup leeks
1/2 zucchini, shredded*
1/2 cup thinly sliced spinach
1 egg
1-2 t cream
garlic salt
pepper

• Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the garlic, leeks, zucchini and spinach. Sautée for a couple of minutes until the greens are just slightly wilted.


• Butter a ramekin and add sautéed vegetables.


• Crack an egg over the vegetables.


• Spoon cream over the egg, as well as pepper and a little salt.


• Put the ramekin in an oven safe dish and fill it halfway with water. Bake at 200 C for approx. 15 minutes until the egg is set.


• Allow to cool and serve immediately with a slice of whole grain toast or cornbread :)
  

*I typically shred the zucchini and salt it with the garlic salt for a little while and then press it to drain the excess water. Clear out that last bit of fennel in your fridge to add different vegetables, and try additional herbs. I guarantee this breakfast will become a staple.

To Serve with Love :)

This past week, the two most important people in my life made the trip to see me in Switzerland. Having had the privilege of good friends come to wish me well, see my life, and explore the country this summer was something for which I was grateful beyond words. It also helped me become a better host, because I realized a) I can't control everything according to my own predetermined plan and b) that's completely OK. Some of the best time spent with people you love occurs effortlessly. With this in mind I planned little (OK, well less...) except for one detail: their welcome dinner.

Part of the challenge is just hoping guests coming in on a red eye hold up until dinner time! I have to say everyone of them has done well so far, including this time around with my family arriving before 8am (ouch). After a trip to my flat to drop suitcases, a ride back into Zürich to see the sites, and a couple of waves of exhaustion I was finally in the kitchen. The appetizer: grated cucumber and sun-dried tomato salad with a soy-sesame dressing, surrounded by goat cheese on pumpernickel (thanks to one Parisian lunch June).

For dinner I started with a bag of gluten-free rice noodles and went with a Thai classic - with my own spin! (Though we were too busy enjoying the dish to take a good shot, scroll to the bottom for another pic.)

Coconut Chicken Pad Thai

Pad Thai:
Chicken breast
1 pack of rice noodles
1 cup beansprouts
2 shallots
1/2 garlic clove
Shiitake mushrooms (I used dried)
2- 3 eggs
Walnuts, crumbled
Green onions
Fish sauce + tamari (wheat free soy) sauce
Sesame oil

Sauce:
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup soy sauce
Sesame oil
Tamari sauce
Tamarind (paste)
Stevia (I use SweetLeaf packets; see comments for a note on Stevia)

• Cut the chicken breast in small pieces and marinate in a couple of tablespoons of the fish and tamari sauce, and set aside.


• Soak the rice noodles in warm water until somewhat harder than al dente. I left mine about 20 minutes, and recommend you do the next couple of steps while you wait :)


• Chop the shallots and garlic finely. Cut the mushrooms into strips, or if working from dried mushrooms as I did soak in salted water and then press dry.


• Prepare the sauce by heating some coconut milk over a medium-low flame for a little while. Remove from heat, let cool slightly, and add the tamari sauce. I then seperately mixed the tamarind, fish sauce, and Stevia (you can use any sweetener) and added a couple of tablespoons to the sauce mixture.


• When the noodles are softened a bit and your sauce is mixed, time to cook! Heat a pan or wok to very high heat, and add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Add chicken and stir fry for a few minutes until nearly cooked.


• Add shallots, garlic, and mushrooms and stir fry for a couple of minutes (you may need to add a little more oil as you go).


• Add the rice noodles and about 1/4 cup of the sauce (continue to add sauce as it sizzles and cooks).


• Push cooked noodles to one side and crack eggs, one at a time. Let them set before scrambling with the rest of the mix.


• For the final minute, add the walnuts and beansprouts. Mix and cook well, and then remove from heat.


• Give a nice stir, add any unused sauce, and then serve! Top with some green onions and more crumbled nuts.

Interestingly, originally I made a classic sauce of fish sauce, tamarind and sweetener. It wasn't working at all, but I'm happy with the modifications. Garnish with some fresh coriander if you'd like (which I didn't have time to do with my hungry guests, and self). This was in my opinion the tastiest dish I've pulled off to date, and I think my fam appreciated it - and the effort - as well. With all they've done for me, they only deserve the most ausgezeichnet (excellent) of food...I wish I could say my kitchen was as synchronized afterward :) Please do let me know how you like this one.

Zucchini and Spinach Pancakes

Continuing on the eternal theme of reinventing classic food with a healthier bent, I was interested by the idea of melding vegetables and pancakes after seeing a recipe in one of my cookbooks. Originally I had planned on making zucchini fritters, which are quite popular and similar to crab or salmon cakes. However when I saw how much oil was involved, I thought - what a way to kill the benefits of the veg! I ended up melding spinach and zucchini to procure something entirely different, and equally delicious IMO. By using chickpea flour it's not only gluten-free, the entire batch (2 generous servings) uses less than 1/4 cup of olive oil.

To serve, I made a balsamic salsa the first day. The second day I spread these savoury pancakes with Philadelphia cream cheese..yumm.

Zucchini and Spinach Pancakes
Pancakes
1 medium zucchini
3/4 cup fresh spinach
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1/2 cup chickpea flour
garlic powder
salt and pepper
nutmeg
2 T olive oil

Salsa dressing:
1 medium tomato
1/2 onion
2 - 3 t olive oil
2 t apple cider vinegar
1 t herbes de provence

• Grate the zucchini into a colander and sprinkle with a little salt. Using a spatula, press to squeeze out excess water and allow to drain for a little while. Meanwhile, chop the spinach into thin strands. Add grated zucchini and chopped spinach to a medium bowl.


• In a smaller bowl, beat together the eggs (FYI I had the yolk left over from a prior recipe and am useless at making my own mayo) with a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add to the vegetables.

• Slowly whisk in the 1/2 of chickpea flour - thoroughly! Chickpea flour requires extra whisking. Allow the batter to sit for roughly 20 minutes.

• Meanwhile, prepare the salsa by chopping the tomato and onions. Mix with the remaining ingredients (olive oil, apple cider vinegar, herbes de provence) and chill.

• When ready for the first batch, heat a teaspoon of oil and drop a tablespoon of the batter into the pan for each pancake. I did a couple at a time. Allow to cook for a few minutes on one side (less time as your pan heats up), and then flip for about one more minute.



• Remove onto a paper towel and keep warm. Continue until you run out (I made 8 largish veggie pancakes.

• Top with salsa and serve.

I look forward to adding more vegetables, such as onion, red bell peppers or perhaps a handful grated carrots. The salsa was delicious touch, and as they were not greasy at all I topped the the pancakes with a dollop of plain yogurt.

As a plus, all the protein was terrific brain food when I got to work :)

Kids and Health Food

I have the most adorable nephew in the world. No, really. Really :) In fact, one of his doctors described his appearance as such, literally "an adorable little boy with glasses and big, brown eyes." OK, I suppose I'm somewhat biased having not met all the planet's 6-year-olds (and I'm the strict aunt!) but this kid is quite a charmer. He was diagnosed with ADHD and shortly thereafter Asperger's syndrome a couple of years ago. While some of his behaviors are virtually indetectable from other young children (an enduring fascination with trains!), his repetitive behaviors and speech, physical patterns, and limited social ability are sadly more pronounced now that he's in first grade. It's quite heartbreaking, though above all he is such an intelligent and good natured little one....

It's highly recommended that kids with these conditions eliminate sugars and refined foods from their diet. I couldn't imagine eating plain Quakers oatmeal at 12, let alone giving up the sweet, instant stuff altogether. Still, I'm determined to reinvent healthy foods in ways that he is familiar. My first try was a simple recipe of zucchini fries with flax. Fine for me, but kid friendly it was NOT. So I tried something both he - and I - could enjoy.

Chickpea Fries with Romesco




Lunch included some eggplant meatballs, romesco sauce, and of course the chickpea fries. Click here for a basic recipe for the fries - Sara cooks it without adding breading or cheese that mask their simple, delicious flavor. I recommend you leave the panisse ovenight for best results. For the sauce, see my earlier post. Take or leave the chili. In my nephew's case, I'd leave it - he knows what he likes :)

The Ideal Complement

I've still been dining out a lot lately as I had some good friends come visit last weekend. A double treat, great conversation over some great meals. I took them to a Thai restaurant here in Rapperswil that I'd been eyeing as it purportedly has a Michelin. Plus I was charmed that the waiter decidedly gave me a German menu and yet was sensitive to bring English menus to my friends (I'll excuse the fact that in mine rice was 1 franc more...isn't that the reverse of how it's usually done ??).

Of course it's always challenging to avoid sugar, gluten, and refined food when dining out. Although less so in Switzerland than back home, there are still bowls of white rice and bread rolled out even if it has little to do with the meal. At the meal above, my coconut milk soup still came with a possibly larger plate of rice. Moreover, we are so used to this that we're often convinced that these complement the dish. The other day I had to insist three times that I didn't want Kartoffeln (potatoes) with my 15 franc salmon filet :) In fact for our digestion, it's best not to combine heavy proteins (steak, pork, etc.) with starches (cereals, breads, pasta). Read here to find out why.

Still, as planes flew off and I went back to my full time cooking :) I realized it is important to eat a diverse range of foods. Also concentrated foods may realistically leave the plate a bit..well..empty looking. One way to circumvent this as you make the transition is to focus on taste, savour your food - and add another complementary element, namely, the sauce.

Almond-Avocado Pesto
I made a great avocado dressing with my bean salad. This thicker version is a true pesto, and went well with a lunch of seared scallops and roasted green beans.

1 ripe avocado
2 T olive oil
2 T plain yogurt
2 bunches fresh basil
1 T gran padano (or parmesan, pecorino)
1 T ground almonds
1/2 t salt
1 t lemon juice

• Cut the avocado lengthwise, discard skin and pit, and add to food processor.


• Add all other ingredients and pulse until smooth and creamy.


• Serve accompanying poultry, seafood (as pictured above) or combine with plain yogurt to create a pesto sauce for rice or buckwheat noodle pasta.

Balsamic Mustard Dressing
I made some almond and flax crusted turkey breast recently, paired with a fresh cole slaw salad. I decided it needed something more, and used an organic mustard as a base for this dressing. Try the different tastes and textures to come up with something you like.

• 1.5 T yellow mustard seed


• 1 T dry ground mustard


• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar


• 2-3 T water


• salt and black pepper


• ground coriander


• ground cumin


• cinnamon


• stevia


• 2- 3 T blanc battu (or greek yogurt)

• Simmer all ingredients (except the yogurt/blanc battu) for roughly 15 minutes. Stir in the cinnamon, salt, pepper, coriander and cumin as you go.

• Remove from heat and let cool a bit. Add the blanc battu/yogurt to desired consistency. Also add more pepper if you'd like, and a teaspoon of parsley.

• Refrigerate or eat at room temperature, drizzled over lean meats or as a dressing for vegetables.