Slow Cooker Beef & Vegetable Stew

So... I've been making this recipe a ton lately.

It's the perfect comfort food, yet still plenty healthy. I buy organic or pasture-raised stew beef whenever I can find it. In fact, I just bought some at my local farmers market today.

I love a few things about this recipe. For starters, it's a slow cooker recipe, so I throw it in early and then smell it simmering away all day, and by the time dinner rolls around I feel like somebody has cooked for me (even though it was little ole me all along). I also love that it's foolproof. That's the great thing about slow cookers. You just can't mess it up.

Though the recipe specifies certain vegetables, you can play around with it and add or subtract what you want.

Sometimes, when I'm feeling extra fancy, I make cornbread, such as this:

Gluten Free Blackberry Cornbread

Slow Cooker Beef & Vegetable Stew
Serves 4 to 6 people
Cooking time
Gluten-free; dairy-free

Ingredients

2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized cubes

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

6 ounce can tomato paste

32 ounces beef broth

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 cups baby carrots

4-5 small red potatoes, cut into cubes (about 3 cups)

2 cups green beans, chopped

3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary)

1 cup frozen peas

2-4 tablespoons gluten free flour

salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Combine beef, celery, carrots, onion, potatoes, green beans, garlic, parsley, rosemary, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, and tomato paste in the slow cooker. Stir to combine the ingredients and mix in the tomato paste. Cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8-10 hours. 

2. About 30 minutes before serving, mix the flour into the slow cooker to achieve desired thickness. Mix until well combined. This will add a nice thickness to the stew. Continue cooking covered for 30 minutes.

3. Before serving, pick out the rosemary sprigs and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Enjoy!

Seared Ahi Tuna Nicoise Salad

Still hot, hot, HOT in Los Angeles!

So is there anything better than a composed salad? Especially when said salad contains delicious bits like seared Ahi tuna, spindly green beans, briny capers, olive oil cured olives, creamy eggs, and poached red potatoes. Welcome to the Nicoise Salad, one of my favorite dishes in the world.

For the dressing, I whip up a mustardy-lemony dressing. I thinly slice red onions and pickle them slightly in the dressing, which I heap generously onto the salad.

Now I'm hungry—I may be making this for dinner again!

Seared Ahi Tuna Nicoise Salad

Serves 4 people
Cooking time: about 20 minutes
Gluten-free; dairy-free

Ingredients

4 cups organic mixed greens
1 pound Ahi tuna
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1/4 cup black olives cured in olive oil
10 small red potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes, halved or quartered and boiled until tender
4 eggs, boiled until cooked to desired wellness, peeled, and quartered
2 cups haricot vert (green beans), blanched
salt and freshly ground pepper

dressing:
juice of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (or more if desired)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons capers
salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. To make the dressing, whisk the lemon juice, garlic, capers, and mustard together in a bowl. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking until emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Fold in the thyme and red onion. Set aside, allowing the red onion to pickle slightly.

2. Meanwhile, season the tuna on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the grapeseed oil over medium high heat. Quickly sear the tuna, turning once. Cook to desired wellness (I prefer to leave my rare in the middle). Set aside to rest for a few minutes, before slicing.

3. Make the composed salad by placing the mixed greens in the bottom of four large bowls, dividing it evenly. Repeat the process with the haricot vert (green beans), potatoes, olives, eggs, and sliced tuna. Finish by spooning the dressing generously over the top. Enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Late Summer Salad with Sweet Corn, Romano Beans, and Macadamia Nuts

Divas, it's Meatless Monday time again!

Today, I'm bringing you a salad inspired by a dish I had at Cube, one of my favorite Los Angeles restaurants. The salad is made from Blue Lake green beans, Romano beans, sweet corn, and toasted Macadamia nuts. I got the nuts from Oh! Nuts, a fabulous wholesaler of nuts and dried fruit. They were huge and rich, just how you want Macadamia nuts to be. I toasted them, reserving half of them to make into a paste to whisk into the dressing, and chopping the other half to toss into the salad.

This dish turned out so fabulous! It's healthy, full of fresh summer produce, and healthy fats, and protein from the nuts. Macadamia nuts "contain 78% monounsaturated fats, the highest of any oil including olive oil," and no cholesterol, making them a great choice for your heart. I finished the salad with some shaved parmesan reggiano cheese. This dish is a true winner!

Late Summer Salad with Sweet Corn, Romano Beans, and Macadamia Nuts
Serves 4 people
Cooking time 10 minutes 
Print Recipe

Ingredients
1 cup Romano beans, blanched and chopped
1 cup Blue Lake green beans, blanched and chopped
1/2 cup sweet corn kernels
3/4 cup Macadamia nuts, toasted (hazelnuts would be a great substitute)
shaved parmesan reggiano for garnishing

dressing:
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Macadamia nut paste (see directions below)
salt & pepper

Directions
Place half of the toasted Macadamia nuts in a small food processor and grind into a paste. Add the vinegar and olive oil and blend together. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To make the salad, chop the remaining macadamia nuts into halves or quarters. Place the Macadamia nuts, Romano beans, green beans, and corn in a bowl. Add the dressing and toss to combine. Check seasoning (salt and pepper).

To plate, scoop some of the salad into a bowl. Top with shaved parmesan. Enjoy!

Source for Ingredients
raw Macadamia nuts from Oh! Nuts

Blue Lake green beans and extra virgin olive oil from Hollywood Farmers Market (Sunday)

yellow Romano beans and sweet corn from West Hollywood Farmers Market (Monday)