Roasted Kombucha Squash & White Bean Soup

Domestic Divas Blog Roasted Kombucha Squash & White Bean Soup

Right, so I got up early and got really inspired this AM.

I had leftover roasted Kombucha squash lurking in my fridge. I picked up the winter squash at the farmers market and let it live on my kitchen table for a few weeks. I finally sliced it up, doused it with extra virgin olive oil, fresh thyme, salt and pepper. I roasted it at 425 degrees in the oven for about 20 minutes until it was tender and served it with dinner.

One squash = a lot.

So I had plenty of leftovers.

Domestic Divas Blog Roasted Kombucha Squash & White Bean Soup

That means soup time!

I learned how to make awesome pureed soups from Charlie Trotter's amazing cookbooks and continue to use a few of his tricks. The other key is my Vitamix, though a normal blender would work. I put this in my Vitamix—the meat from the roasted squash, one can of organic white beans (strained and rinsed), a finger of fresh ginger, two garlic cloves, dash of red pepper flakes, chicken broth and EVOO (this makes it creamy). I pureed it smooth then simmered over the stovetop.

I popped in a few cubes of frozen basil (optional).

The result ... insanely good soup.

Like how can this have no dairy?

And be so creamy?

Domestic Divas Blog Roasted Kombucha Squash & White Bean Soup

Don't ever let your leftover squash languish again in the fridge purgatory.

Like all of my recipes, the specific ingredients can be subbed based on what you have on hand. Pumpkin would work instead of squash. Sweet potato would be amazing. Use your imagination.

Domestic Divas Blog Roasted Kombucha Squash & White Bean Soup

Roasted Kombucha Squash & White Bean Soup
Serves 6 to 8 people
Cooking time: 10 minutes (for real)
Gluten free; dairy free

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups roasted Kombucha squash meat
1 can Cannellini beans, strained and rinsed
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 garlic cloves (peeled)
1 inch piece fresh ginger
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
dash of red pepper flakes (optional)
salt and freshly ground pepper
fresh or frozen basil (optional)

Directions
1. Place the squash, beans, broth, garlic, ginger, olive oil, and chili flakes into Vitamix or other blender. Puree until very smooth using highest setting.

2. Transfer the soup to the stovetop and simmer over low heat for about 5 to 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with basil if desired. Serve with drizzle of good olive oil. Enjoy!

Quick Chicken & Fish Marinade

Happy 4th of July!

With the temperatures soaring and the summer holidays just around the corner, I've been grilling a ton. It's a healthy, easy, clean way to cook. I also love the whole process—standing outside, smelling my food cooking, pulling it off the grill and having a whole meal ready to go.

More than anything else, I love grilling fish. I've shared my homemade marinade receipt with my FaceBook friends on many occasions. It finally occurred to me that I should post it here.

I made it with salmon (as pictured above). It's great for chicken and fish. I throw the meat in a dish and cover it with organic raw apple cider vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids or gluten-free tamari (a type of soy sauce). That's just the beginning. Then I add Trader Joe's Everyday Seasoning (but any sort of BBQ rub will work), fresh thyme, and fresh grated ginger.

It's kind of an everything but the kitchen sink deal.

Got other fresh herbs? Throw them on there. Got other spices you want to try out? Add them in. Don't have apple cider vinegar? Try white wine or even lemon juice. Want to go vegan? It's great on tofu too.

After I marinade the meat for about half an hour or longer, I throw it on the grill. I often make grilled vegetables to go along with the protein for a complete meal.

Quick Chicken & Fish Marinade
Makes about 2 portions
Gluten free; dairy free
Prep thyme: about 5 minutes

Marinade Ingredients
2 tablespoons organic apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Bragg's Amino Acids or Tamari (soy sauce)
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon Trader Joe's Everyday Seasoning or other BBQ Rub

Marinade Directions
1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, and Bragg's or tamari. Pour over the meat until well coated in the sauce

2. Next season the fish with the seasoning, thyme and ginger. Let marinade for about thirty minutes to an hour, occasionally spooning the marinade over the top.

3. Fire up the grill and cook to perfection!

Thanksgiving Archive: Raisin Walnut Spiced Rice

November is here!

I'm holed up, hard at work on my new novel. And my husband is off to NYC for work, so I'll have no excuses not to get a serious amount of work done. 

It's also NaNoWriMo this month (National Novel Writing Month), and many people will be trying to crank out first drafts (50,000 words) in four short weeks. Now, I'm not one of those crazies, but I do feel some solidarity in that I am hard at work on my first draft (and already have about 25,000 words and a very solid outline/sense of where this bad boy is going).

I'm also launching a new writing-focused website soon, where I'll be blogging about my writing (and more personal stuff). There will also be information my novel, which is currently 'on submission' to publishers, and other fun things (for a sneak peak go to www.jenniferdawnbrody.com).

And with November comes that great American feast we call Thanksgiving. This month, I'll be digging into my vaults to bring you my favorite T-Day recipes. 

To start us off, I'm posting my recipe for Raisin Walnut Spiced Rice. This is sort of like a fried rice, but with different flavor profiles. I love making it in place of a traditional bread stuffing. It's far healthier, using whole grains and incorporating greens, and more flavorful, too. Fresh ginger, shallots, and raisins add nice sweet and spicy flavor. This recipe has also been featured my Meatless Monday.

And stay tuned all month long—lots of great T-Day recipes are coming your way!

Raisin Walnut Spiced Rice

Serves 4-6 people people

Cooking time: about 20 minutes

Vegan; gluten-free

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups long grain brown rice, cooked
• 1 shallot, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 2 cups Swiss chard, chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 1 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. 
2. Add the shallots and saute for a few minutes, until beginning to soften. Add the ginger and cook for another minute until fragrant.
3. Next add the raisins and walnuts and cook for a few minutes. 
4. Add the Swiss chard and stir into the mixture. Continue cooking the chard until it's tender.
5. Finally, add the rice to the mixture and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for another ten minutes, stirring occasionally. The rice should take on a nice, nutty flavor. Stir in the chopped parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Source for Ingredients

• organic Swiss chard from Studio City Farmers Market
• organic shallot and ginger from Hollywood Farmers Market
• organic long grain brown rice from Whole Foods
• jumbo raisins and organic walnuts from Trader Joe's

Curried Sea Bass with Coconut Milk

Curried Sea Bass with Coconut Milk

Today is one of those days where I'm tackling a huge To Do List. You know the kind... too many entries... certain tasks that get procrastinated and carried over to the next list day after day... like purchasing our Thanksgiving plane tickets, or getting new window treatments for the bedroom.

If truth be told, I'm a To Do List junkie. There I said it!

But they do help me stay organized. It's a way to get all those annoying voices telling me to do things out of my head and down on to a piece of paper, so I focus on my actual life and living in the moment. So they are a blessing, too.

Wow, venting really makes me feel better! Oh, how do I love blogging?

So onto today's recipe for Curried Sea Bass with Coconut Milk. I've made this dish twice in two weeks, which should tell you how much I adore it.

It's a light curry made with coconut oil and coconut milk, fresh ginger, cherry tomatoes, peppers, and cilantro. The local sea bass is very gently poached in the curry, rendering it succulent and flavorful. The flavors taste bright and remarkably fresh. Plus, it's a one pot meal that's a cinch to prepare.

I love serving the curry over a brown basmati rice, but any type of whole grain would be great. As for the fish, I used sea bass in this incarnation, but I've also made it with sole. Almost any white fish would work beautifully.

It's also great -- if not better -- as leftovers the next day.

I'm sure I'll be making this again soon...

Curried Sea Bass with Coconut Milk
Serves 4 people
Cooking time: about 30 minutes
Dairy-free; gluten-free
Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound sea bass or other white fish, cut into cubes
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil or grapeseed oil
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. Heat the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the onions and bell peppers. Saute until beginning to soften.
2. Add the tomatoes, garlic, and ginger. Saute until the tomatoes begin to break down. 
3. Then, stir in the curry powder and cook for another two minutes, or until fragrant.
4. Add the coconut milk and stock. Bring to a simmer, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
5. Add the fish and cilantro. Simmer the fish in the broth for a few minutes, until it's cooked through and flakes apart.
6. To serve, ladle the curry over brown basmati rice. Garnish with a little chopped cilantro. Enjoy!

Source for Ingredients

• local sea bass, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, baby spring onions, garlic, ginger, and cilantro from the West Hollywood Farmers Market
• hot curry powder from All Spice
• coconut oil from Kelapo
• coconut milk and organic vegetable stock from Trader Joe's

Sous Vide Pork Chops with Apple-Ginger Relish

There's nothing better than hitting up the farmers market and returning home with an armload of great product.

This week, I was lucky enough to procure milk-fed heritage pork chops from Healthy Family Farms, my local CSA. Their pork is so delicate and flavorful that doing anything other than cooking it sous vide felt like a crime. Enter my trusty Sous Vide Supreme and Vacuum Sealer (this is the must have holiday gift for any serious cook). Previously a technique limited to high end restaurants due to the exponential cost of immersion circulators and gastrovacs (though some brave home cooks have jerry-rigged their own devices), with the advent of the Sous Vide Supreme, home cooks can now rejoice and sous vide to their heart's delight.

Vacuum-Sealed Pork Chop with Bacon Fat

To cook the pork, I first cut out the bones to make them boneless pork chops (the bones are in my freezer, soon to be used to make stock). Then, I set my Sous Vide Supreme to 140 degrees. Meanwhile, I rubbed the meat with garlic powder, dried sage, dried thyme, salt and pepper. The final ingredient? A little rendered bacon fat that I'd squirreled away from Nueske's Applewood Smoked Bacon from the first installment of Zingerman's Bacon of the Month Club.

Given the beautiful apples that are in season right now, I decided to make an Apple-Ginger Relish to serve with the pork chops. The dish turned out fabulous -- it tasted like the epitome of the season -- hearty, succulent, tangy, sweet. I served my Sous Vide Pork Chops with Apple-Ginger Relish over fresh shell beans (simmered in water with a bay leaf and olive oil) tossed with a little sauteed baby kale, however just about any whole grain or bean concoction would work great with this dish.

I loved this dish so much, I can't wait to make it again!

Sous Vide Pork Chops with Apple-Ginger Relish
Serves 2 people
Prep time: 15 minutes; Sous Vide Cooking Time: 2.5 hours
Print Recipe  

Ingredients
2 boneless pork chops (1 inch thick)
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons rendered bacon fat, cooled in the refrigerator until solid (this will allow you to vacuum seal the bags -- liquid is sucked out)
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (for searing)

apple-ginger relish
1 Granny Smith apple, diced (I leave the skin on, but you can remove it)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper

Directions
Fill the Sous Vide Supreme with water and preheat to 140 degrees.

Meanwhile, rub the pork chops with the sage, thyme, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Place each pork chop into a separate plastic bag with 1 teaspoon of the bacon fat. Vacuum seal both bags.

Once the Sous Vide Supreme has reached 140 degrees (hint -- filling it up with hot water will help it heat up faster), place the pork chop bags into the water bath making sure that the meat is submerged and that the bags are not touching each other. Cook in the Sous Vide Supreme for two and a half hours (for one inch thick -- longer cooking time is needed for thicker cuts of meat -- see the temperature chart that comes with the Sous Vide Supreme).

Pork Chops Fresh Out of Sous Vide Supreme

When two and a half hours have passed, remove the pork chop bags from the Sous Vide Supreme and cut open them open to remove the pork chops. In a saute pan, heat the grapeseed oil over medium-high heat. Quickly, sear the pork chops on both sides until nicely caramelized (about 1 minute per side). Remove from the pan and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Meanwhile, make the apple-ginger relish in the same pan where you seared the pork chops. Pour out all but 1 tablespoon of fat. Heat the pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for 1 minute. Add the apples and saute until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the apple cider vinegar and cook for 1 more minute. Then, add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer, deglazing the pan with a wooden spoon. Simmer for a few minutes, or until reduced in half.

Sous Vide Pork Chops with Apple-Ginger Relish

To plate, slice the pork chops and lay out on a plate. Spoon the apple-ginger relish on top of the slices. Enjoy!

Source for Ingredients
milk-fed pork chops (Healthy Family Farms), organic garlic, and ginger from the Hollywood Farmers Market

organic Granny Smith apples from West Hollywood Farmers Market

organic apple cider vinegar, organic chicken broth, and grapeseed oil from Trader Joe's

organic dried sage, organic dried thyme, and organic garlic powder from Whole Foods

rendered bacon fat from Nueske's Applewood Smoked Bacon (received as part of Zingerman's Bacon of the Month Club)