Coconut Peanut Sauce

1 heaping tablespoon fresh minced ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can coconut milk
5 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon tamari
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire
squirt of sriracha, to taste
dash of toasted sesame oil

Heat a bit of coconut oil in a saucepan, add garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant.  Add remaining ingredients and heat through.

Great served over noodles with crushed peanuts, chicken, veggies, cilantro & toasted sesame seeds.  Would make a great satay dip.

Beet Burgers

These are lip-smacking delicious. Lip. Smacking.

Cook 3 good-sized beets and shred 'em.

In a large bowl, haphazardly mash up a can of drained black beans. Add a hefty squeeze of lemon juice, large handful of minced parsley, large handful of currants, 2 teaspoons brown sugar, 3/4 cup cooked quinoa, 1/3-1/2 cup oat bran, very liberal sprinkling of ground coriander, gentle sprinkle of thyme, hefty grinds of pepper and salt, drizzle it all with good olive oil, dump in the beets and stir well.

Saute up 1/2 of a sweet yellow onion and 2 thinly sliced green onions until soft. Add 3 big cloves minced garlic and heat briefly till fragrant. Splash in about 2 TBS apple cider vinegar to scrape up all those good browned bits. Stir this into the above mixture and let sit to meld a bit.

Heat olive oil in a cast iron pan until shimmery. Shape into patties and gently lay into the hot pan. Cook a few minutes on med-high and flip. Top with a mild cheese - I used Swiss. Cook a couple minutes more until heated through. Eat and smack your lips.

For your ease:

3 cooked beets, shredded

1/2 yellow onion, diced

2 green onions, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 TBS apple cider vinegar

1 can black beans, drained

1 TBS lemon juice

2 tsp brown sugar

3/4 cup cooked quinoa

1/3 - 1/2 cup oat bran

handful currents

handful parsley, minced

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp thyme

lots of freshly ground pepper

good salt

good olive oil

mild cheese

The "original" recipe is found here.

Best. Waffles. Ever.

Adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

Sift:

2 cups flour

1 TBS sugar

3 TBS malt powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon yeast

Whisk:

1 stick butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or bean paste

2 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons whole yogurt

Add wet to dry and mix well. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature overnight or at least 6 hours. Use a large bowl...the batter will rise significantly.

Whisk in 2 egg yolks. Gently fold in 2 egg whites, stiffly beaten.

Custard-Filled Cornbread

Recipe credit to Molly Wizenberg - A Homemade Life

Preheat to 350. Grease a 9" round pan.

Sift together:

1 cup flour

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Whisk together and add to the dry, mixing well:

2 TBS melted butter

2 eggs

3 TBS sugar

1 1/2 TBS vinegar

2 cups whole milk

Pour into prepared pan. Pour 1 cup heavy cream gently into the middle. Do not stir. Transfer carefully to the oven taking care not to slosh. Bake for 1 hour until golden brown.

Delicious served with maple syrup.

Potato Soup to Swoon Over

In a crockpot, toss:

1 quart chicken stock

1 TBS dried onion

hefty dash red pepper flakes

heftier grind black pepper

liberal dash Lawry's

2 minced garlic cloves

2.5 pounds red potatoes, quartered, skin-on

Cook on high for 2-ish hours. Add half a head worth of broccoli florets. Cook 2 more hours. Add 4 ounces cream cheese. Let it simmer 30 minutes. Add 2 green onions, sliced. Stick your beaters into the crock and beat it till semi-smooth. Or a stick blender would be swell as well. Stir in 1.5 cups minced fresh-outta-the-oven ham. Top with shredded extra-sharp cheddar and sour cream. Win over your friends and family. Compliment yourself with every bite.

Corn and Quinoa Salad with Chicken Sausage

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa

1 1/4 cup chicken broth

3 tablespoons olive oil

12 oz red pepper asiago chicken sausages, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 small zucchini, diced

2 1/2 cups corn kernels (about 4 ears)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cumin

salt & pepper

6 oz feta, crumbled

parsley, chopped

Bring quinoa and chicken broth to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Fluff it. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet and brown the sausages. Set them aside and add another drizzle of oil along with the onion and bell pepper. Saute until softened. Add the zucchini and corn and fry 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and mix in the sausages and quinoa to the veggies. Whisk together a tablespoon olive oil, the lemon juice, cumin and salt & pepper. Drizzle over the top and stir well. Pop into the fridge to chill. Before serving, stir in the feta and a handful of parsley.

Adapted from Fitness Magazine July/August 2011

Kimchi Fried Rice

The Rice:

5 slices thick-cut bacon, sliced into bite sized chunks

1 16-ounce jar kimchi

5 cups cooked rice - a day or two old*

butter

sesame oil

toasted sesame seeds

scallions

fresh eggs

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until most of the fat is rendered. Add a knob of butter, a drizzle or two of sesame oil, kimchi and fry until it's nicely browned in a few spots. Dump in the rice and stir and scrape your heart out until it's all heated through. Fry up some eggs. Spoon the rice onto a plate, top with some sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds. Plop the egg on top. Mmmmmmm.

*Or, if you're like me and too impatient to wait, cook it and spread it out on a piece of parchment and let sit at room temp a few hours.