Tag Archives | kelp

Fermented Fresh Chili Hot Sauce

Fermented Fresh Chili Hot Sauce

This recipe was a long time coming. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that my husband has a thing for spicy food, so this hot sauce (and/or this spicy ‘compote’) is something that I make all of the time and is always in our fridge.

Fermented Fresh Chili Hot Sauce

I guess I was waiting for a week during this end of summer time, when so many of the most exciting local fruits and veggies are at their best, to find room in my heart for something as everyday as hot sauce. Evidently this was the year, and I hope you find it to be worth the wait.

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Green Asparagus Soup

Green Asparagus Soup

Did you know in traditional French cooking, if you see the word ‘princesse’ in the name of the dish, you can usually assume there will be asparagus in it? For example Princess Omelette (Omelette Princesse) is an asparagus omelette.

Green Asparagus Soup

I think it is because the asparagus tips look like small crowns. Regardless, I think they need to make a Disney movie about this, they could just call it Princess Movie (Filme Princesse). Imagine a bunch of little kids singing about asparagus, dressing up as asparagus for Halloween (or just everyday), and possibly asking for asparagus for dinner (‘Mommy, why does asparagus season have to be sooooo short?!’) I seriously think I’m onto something.

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Just Add (more) Veggies

When it comes to eating a healthy diet, sometimes it’s better to focus on what you are adding in versus what you are taking out. Even some of our simplest go-to recipes that are perfectly clean and nutritious can be amped up without a peep from the peanut gallery.

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Let’s look at tomato sauce: tomatoes, garlic, extra virgin olive oil and fresh basil stirred in at the end, more or less, right? We have lycopene in the tomatoes, a powerful anti-cancer antioxidant, garlic, a big help in cancer prevention and recurrence and basil, which contains antioxidants and anti-aging properties. This sounds pretty ideal, however there are some sneaky additions that we can use to enrich this recipe to let the cancer know we mean business. You may want to send your Nonna out of the room now.

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Kombu is a type of kelp that you will often see in various Asian cuisines. It is one of the main ingredients in the broth base of miso soup (dashi). I add this to most things that simmer on my stovetop, to add a host of minerals and some alkalinity. Sea vegetables in general also protect us from radiation toxicity. Mixed in with the somewhat aggressive flavours of a tomato sauce, I promise you will not even notice it’s in there. PS- Although you could certainly eat it (it would be very good for you), my recommendation is only for you to simmer it in the sauce and then remove it, like a bay leaf. (more…)