Posts Tagged recipes

Fresh Tomato Sauce

If you are at the Lansdowne Farmers Market this weekend (in Ottawa) and are looking for a fresh and simple tomato sauce recipe, try this one:

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds of fresh tomatoes – cut in wedges
  • Garlic – 2 cloves crushed
  • Basil – Handful
  • Sugar – 1 tbsp
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Sea salt – Pinch
  • Olive oil – 2 table spoons

Directions:

  • Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. When hot, add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.
  • Add tomatoes, sugar, basil, salt and pepper. Maintain heat until tomatoes come to a simmer.
  • Turn heat down slightly to maintain constant simmer.
  • Cook until tomatoes break down and have formed a thick sauce (cooking time can be up to 45 minutes)

The sauce goes great with fresh pasta or if you mix with puy/green lentils.

Graham Beaton is a Naturopathic Doctor practicing in downtown Ottawa at Ottawa Collaborative Care Centre.

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Green Beans with Garlic, Ginger and Lemon

Ingredients:
-Green string beans – 2 lbs
-Fresh ginger root – 6 inch piece (peeled) – grated is approximately 1/4 cup
-Garlic – 3-4 cloves
-Lemon zest
-Olive oil – about 4 tablespoons
-Almonds – slivered
-Salt and pepper

Directions:
-Steam or cook beans in boiling water. When tender (about 4 min), cool quickly in cold/ice water to stop cooking.
-Grate ginger
-Toast slivered almonds
-Heat 1/2 of olive oil in large skillet over medium/high heat. Cook 1/2 beans, ginger and garlic until ginger and garlic are softened. Season with salt and pepper. Add lemon zest and toasted almonds. Serve

Note: It is easiest to cook beans, garlic and ginger in two batches (if cooking 2 lbs of beans).

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Strawberry and Cherry Tomato Salad

As strawberries season is coming to a close, here is an easy recipe for fresh Ontario or Quebec strawberries.

Ingredients:
-Strawberries (cut in half or quartered depending on size)
-Cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
-Fresh basil (handful)
-Olive oil
-Salt and pepper

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Roasted Cherry Tomato and Mint Salad

Ingredients:
-2 lbs of cherry or grape tomatoes
-1 onion (red or sweet onion)
-Garlic (either use 2 cloves, chopped garlic scapes or if purchasing a whole garlic plant from a local farmers market (the Lansdowne Farmers Market in Ottawa in a great place to get your local produce), you can chop and add a garlic stem (cut in 3-4 inch pieces) to flavor the salad (remove stem after cooking)).
-Mint (handful)
-Olive oil
-Salt and pepper

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
-In a bowl, combine cherry/grape tomatoes (halved or quartered depending on size), chopped onion, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil. Mix well.
-Pour mixture onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper or into a roasting pan.
-Roast in oven for 40-45 minutes
-When tomatoes have finished roasting, chop mint and mix with tomatoes.
-Can be served either hot or cold.

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Pickled cabbage

Ingredients

  • Large head of red or green cabbage
  • 1/3 cup salt

Directions

  • Sterilise glass jars and their seals.
  • Wash and dry cabbage. Quarter the cabbage, discard core then shred it finely.
  • Transfer shredded cabbage to a glass mixing bowl and sprinkle salt over top. Mix salt in with the cabbage. Weight down the cabbage to keep it submerged in the liquid that is/will be released from the cabbage.
  • Transfer to the sterile jar(s). Ensure that the cabbage is submerged in the liquid. If needed, add 1 tsp of salt in 1 cup of water to fill the jar, ensuring that the cabbage is submerged.
  • Cover the container with cheesecloth and tie it tightly (use rubber band or string).
  • Store in a cool place (temperature range 65 to 75 degrees F).
  • Let stand for 1 week to cure, cover, then refrigerate.
  • Pickled cabbage can last up to 2 weeks in refrigerator.

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Savory and Red Cabbage Salad

Ingredients
Salad

  • Red cabbage – ½ head finely shredded
  • Savory cabbage – 5 to 10 leaves chopped
  • Mango – 1 cup in strips
  • Papaya – 1 cup in strips
  • Mint – ¼ cup chopped
  • Cilantro – 1.5 cups chopped
  • Toasted chopped almonds – 1 cup

Dressing

  • Juice from 1 lime
  • Maple syrup – 2 tablespoons
  • Olive oil – 4 table spoons
  • Garlic – 1 clove chopped or crushed
  • Salt and pepper

Directions

  • Combine ingredients for salad. Make dressing. Combine both and serve.
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    Savory cabbage salad with mint and cumin

    Ingredients
    Salad

    • Savory cabbage – 2/3 head of cabbage
    • Dandelion leaves (in Ottawa, they are available at Whole Foods) – 1 bunch
    • Mint leaves – 1 bunch

    Dressing

    • Olive oil – 2/3 cup
    • Cumin seeds – 2 tbsp
    • Juice from 1 lemon
    • Garlic – 1 clove crushed or chopped
    • Salt and pepper

    Directions:

    • Shred cabbage and chop dandelion and mint, combine. Make dressing. Add dressing to salad and serve.

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    Seared Red Cabbage Wedges

    This recipe is very simple to do, and can be served as a side to a wide variety of meats.

    Ingredients

    • Head of red cabbage
    • 3 Tablespoons of olive oil (extra virgin)
    • Salt and pepper

    Directions

    • Heat the olive oil in a cast iron frying pan over high heat.
    • While pan/oil is heating, cut cabbage into 8-10 wedges.
    • When pan/oil is hot, place wedges into pan in a single layer. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the cabbage is golden brown. Turn cabbage over and cook on opposite side, another 3-5 minutes
    • Season with salt and pepper

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    Lentil Salad with squash, carrots, beets and cabbage

    Ingredients for salad

    • Green lentils (puy lentils) – 2 cups
    • 1/4 head red cabbage
    • Acorn squash – 1 small, peeled and diced
    • Carrots – 2, peeled and diced
    • Beets – 2 medium, peeled and diced
    • Summer savory or thyme – 2 sprigs
    • Rosemary – 1 sprig
    • Garlic – 2 cloves chopped or crushed
    • Parsley – chopped
    • Bay leaf – 1
    • Salt and pepper

    Ingredients for dressing

    • Olive oil – ¼ cup
    • Juice from 1 freshly squeezed orange
    • Salt and pepper

    Directions

    • Heat oven to 400 degrees. Roast vegetables (squash, carrots, beets) in single layer in roasting pan with olive oil, salt, summer savory/thyme and rosemary for 25 minutes or until tender.
    • Combine 6 cups of water with the green lentils in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add a bay leaf and pepper. Do not salt. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until lentils are tender.
    • Make dressing.
    • Drain lentils and discard bay leaf.
    • Shred red cabbage and toss with olive oil (2-3 tablespoons).
    • Combine lentils, red cabbage, parsley, roasted vegetables and dressing.

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    In Season – Cabbage

    During the winter months, many Ottawans look to continue eating a healthy diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables. But, what is in season this time of year? Cabbage. Cabbage is a great meal option in the winter – it is in season, full of nutrients and can be used creatively in recipes. Varieties of cabbage include green, red, savory, and several Chinese cabbages.

    Green Cabbage
    Green cabbage has pale to dark exterior leaves with pale green to white interior leaves. It can be eaten raw, or cooked in stir fries, sautéed, boiled, added to soups, or made into a wrap. Eating green cabbage raw has a peppery flavor, while cooking it makes it taste sweeter.

    From a nutritional standpoint, green cabbage is high in vitamin C (32% RDA per cup), folate (10% RDA per cup), and fiber (2.1 g per cup).

    Red Cabbage
    Red cabbage has red to purple outer leaves (the color of the leaves influenced by the pH level of the soil where it was grown), with white streaks on the inside. Flavor characteristics of red cabbage are similar to green (peppery if eaten raw, sweeter when cooked). With cooking, the color of red cabbage will fade and may bleed into the other foods it is cooked with.

    Nutritionally, red cabbage has a higher content of vitamin C (84% RDA per cup) compared to green cabbage. It has a high content of vitamin A (22% RDA per cup) and is a great source of fiber (1.9 g per cup).

    Savory Cabbage
    Savory cabbage is shaped like green cabbage, with a lighter green or yellowy-green color. Savory cabbage leaves are more delicate and have a milder flavor than green cabbage.

    Like other cabbages, savory cabbage is high in vitamin C (36% RDA per cup), vitamin A (14% RDA per cup) and is a good source of dietary fiber (2.2 g per cup)

    Chinese cabbages
    There are many varieties of Chinese cabbages, which include bok choy, choy sum, gai choy and napa.

    From a nutritional perspective, bok choy has a high content of beta carotene (24% RDA per cup), vitamin C (49% RDA per cup), folate (17% RDA per cup), iron (22% RDA per cup), fiber (2.7 g per cup) and has a much higher content of potassium (631 mg per cup) compared to other types of cabbage.

    Choosing a head of cabbage
    Choose a firm, dense/heavy head of cabbage that has only a few loose outer crisp leaves. For storage, it is best to store it in a plastic bag in the crisper of the refrigerator.

    Cancer fighting cabbage
    Cabbage contains several chemicals that may play a role in fighting various forms of cancer. These include many types of indole and isothiocyanate chemicals, that may reduce incidence of colorectal, breast and prostate cancer.

    Read the rest of this entry »

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