bacon tomato cappelini

2 packages (16 Oz. Package) Bacon, Naturally Flavored
½ cups Bacon Grease, From The Bacon You're Cooking
2 cans (28 Oz. Cans) Diced Tomatoes, Nothing Added
½ cups Chopped Fresh Basil
2 cloves Fresh Garlic, Minced
1 bunch Chopped Green Onions
2 teaspoons Salt, Optional
1 box (16 Oz. Box) Capellini Or Angel Hair Pasta

Preparation Instructions

Fry bacon in a large frying pan, making sure it’s cooked thoroughly but not too crispy. Drain cooked bacon on paper towels, but don’t throw away the grease in the pan! You want to reserve 1/2 cup bacon grease. Dump the rest of the bacon grease out, then put the skillet back on the stove without cleaning it. Trust me. When the bacon is cool, use your fingers to tear it into small pieces. (Please, don’t ever use store bought bacon bits in this recipe.) Set your cooked, crumbled bacon aside.
Now, open your tomato cans and dump them into a large bowl. Throw in the chopped fresh basil and stir. You want to be able to see the basil, distributed evenly in the tomatoes, so if you have to add more, you can. Set this bowl aside and let the flavors mingle while you do the next step.
Dice your garlic, and chop your green onions. Pour your 1/2 cup of bacon grease back into the skillet and heat it to medium. Throw in and saute your garlic and onions. When they’re getting a nice tan from the color of the bacon grease, add your bacon. On low heat, saute the bacon together with the garlic and onions for around ten minutes. When you start getting high from the smell in your kitchen, pour in the bowl of tomatoes and basil. Stir together really well, bring to a boil and then cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and add salt if necessary.
Meanwhile, in a large pot, cook your pasta according the directions on the package. Drain noodles and set aside. Right before serving, in a very large bowl, add the bacon/tomato sauce to the noodles and mix well.
This stuff is also pretty amazing reheated the next day. I usually just pop it into the microwave for a minute or two.

cilantro pesto

1 (16 ounce) package farfalle pasta
1 bunch fresh cilantro
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans
salt to taste
1/2 cup olive oil

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, and return water to a boil. Cook pasta for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain well.
In an electric food processor or blender, blend cilantro, garlic, vinegar, Parmesan cheese, cayenne pepper, nuts, and salt. Add 1/4 cup of the olive oil, and blend the pesto. Add more olive oil until the pesto reaches your desired consistency.
Pour pesto in a small saucepan and warm over low heat, stirring constantly, until pesto begins to simmer. Pour over cooked pasta and toss.

blueberry marinated salmon

Make a blueberry marinade by combining half a cup of blueberries, a large clove of crushed garlic, a teaspoon of grated ginger, two tablespoons of roasted sesame oil, two tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, two tablespoons of soy or tamari, and the juice of half a lemon. Add some finely chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds for texture. Cover your wild Alaskan salmon in the marinade and let it sit in the fridge for an hour if you have the time. Wrap the salmon in tinfoil and bake it in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes depending on the cut.

peanut butter kale

In a bowl mix three heaping tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter, two tablespoons of rice vinegar, two tablespoons of soy or tamari, half of a small finely chopped onion (red works really nicely), a teaspoon of brown sugar or maple syrup, and a generous squeeze of sriracha sauce. Prepare the kale the same way as the broccoli above—flash-steamed until it’s bright green—then turn down the heat down and begin mixing the peanut butter concoction into your kale, tossing until covered. Serve at room temperature.

avocado salad dressing

In a blender, combine half an avocado, three tablespoons of olive oil, a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, the juice of half a lemon, and a clove of chopped garlic. Blend it until super smooth and add salt and pepper to taste. This works great with a basic romaine—which is also in season.

healthy lasagna

6 whole-wheat lasagna noodles (about 4 ounces total), broken in half
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small eggplant (1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 pound ground sirloin
1 can (10.75 ounces) tomato puree
1 pint (1 percent) cottage cheese (2 cups)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan (1 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella (2 ounces)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place noodles in an 8-by-8-inch baking dish, and cover with hot tap water; set aside to soften.
In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion, eggplant, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is very tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add sirloin, and cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomato puree, and cook until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Season meat sauce with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine cottage cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Remove noodles from baking dish, discarding water.
Spread about 1/4 cup meat sauce in bottom of dish, and top with 4 noodle halves. Layer with 1/3 cheese mixture, then 1/3 sauce. Repeat twice with remaining noodles, cheese mixture, and sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake until lasagna is bubbling and cheese topping is golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

cinnamon spiced moroccan chicken

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons light olive oil
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped into small cubes
1/2 cup whole dates, pitted and sliced


Combine 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon with the cumin, turmeric, chili powder, and salt in a resealable plastic bag. Add chicken and toss well to coat.
Heat olive oil in a large nonstick pan. Saute the chicken over medium heat until no longer pink in the center, about 5 minutes per side. Remove chicken from skillet.
Saute apples and dates in the skillet for 1 minute. Sprinkle with remaining teaspoon cinnamon; cook and stir to coat. Spoon apples and dates onto chicken. Serve warm.

salmon croquettes

The Players

Wild salmon, canned or freshly steamed — canned is cheaper (15 oz)
Bread crumbs, dried or toasted — you can use sprouted or sourdough bread, or a gluten/grain-free bread* (3/4 cup)
Mayonnaise, preferably homemade (1/2 cup + extra for serving)
Onion, yellow or white (1 small)
Bell pepper, yellow, red, or orange (1 small)
Celery, organic if possible (1 stalk)
Parsley, fresh (1 small bunch)
Egg, pastured, organic (1)
Lemon, organic if possible (1)
Mustard, dijon (1 tsp)
Worcestershire sauce, organic and additive free if possible (1 tsp)
Sea salt
Macadamia nut oil — cold pressed, unrefined, lard or tallow, pastured, or refined, expeller pressed coconut oil (1/4 cup)
Optional: Tabasco sauce, or any hot sauce (6 drops)
*I used a basic almond-flour bread (recipe to come).

The How-To

1. Peel and coarsely chop onion. Toss into the food processor.
2. Rinse and dry the bell pepper, celery, and parsley. Coarsely chop and add to the food processor. Process by pulsing on and off until everything is finely minced.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the canned or cooked salmon, 1/2 cup of the bread crumbs, finely minced vegetables, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, egg, dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, sea salt to taste, and optional tabasco.
4. Rinse and dry the lemon. Grate about 2 teaspoons of the zest and add to the bowl.
5. Mix all together with a large spoon and then shape into patties with your hands.
6. Spread the rest of the breadcrumbs out on a plate. Roll the patties in the crumbs to coat and set aside.
7. Heat up the macadamia nut oil, lard or coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the patties for 3-4 minutes on each side, until nicely browned and crispy. Cook only 4 patties at a time to avoid overcrowding.
8. Serve the patties with additional mayonnaise for dipping and a fresh green salad.

french green lentils with avocado

4 cups cooked French green lentils, drained and cooled
1 tablespoon shallots, finely chopped
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted and finely ground
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 Hass avocado, peeled, pitted, quartered and fanned out
cilantro for garnish

1. In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients except the avocado and the additional cilantro. Toss to combine.

2. Mound the lentils on a plate or bowl and place the fanned avocado over the lentils. Drizzle the avocado with a bit of olive oil, season with additional salt (preferably Maldon) and pepper and place a bit of cilantro on the top of the dish.

miso marinaded chicken

Miso
Sugar
Sesame oil
Scallions
Chili flakes
Chicken breast

Marinate chicken breast overnight, turning once. Roast in oven at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

boo-berry whole wheat brownies

1 cup Blueberries, Fresh Or Frozen
2 sticks Unsalted Butter
1-½ cup Light Brown Sugar, Packed
¾ cups Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
½ Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
2 whole Eggs
1-½ cup Whole Wheat Flour

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 9 baking dish with canola oil.
- Cook berries in a saucepan over medium heat for about ten minutes to break down and reduce berries to a slightly thicker (not syrupy) juice. Set aside and cool.
- Either on the stove top or in the microwave, slowly heat butter and sugar until most of the sugar is dissolved. Let cool for several minutes.
- Add blueberry mush to butter/sugar mixture and whisk to combine.
- Add cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and vanilla extract and stir well. Add eggs one at a time and stir well to completely incorporate. (Either a stand mixer or hand power can be used for this)
- Add whole wheat flour and mix until just combined, but very few lumps (if any) remain.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is puffed and split.