Apricot Mint Wild Rice Salad

I have always been curious about wild rice, but it seemed so unricelike in so many ways to my Taiwanese mind. It’s more nutty, more fibrous, and turns out…. it’s fabulous.  It’s great eaten cold. After a friend made a wild rice salad for dinner one day, I was won over. Enough so that I wanted to put a recipe up!

According to Rebecca Wood in her book, “The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia,”  wild rice is native to North America, originally found around the Great Lakes Region.  (It turns out global warming and more frequent floods are making natural harvesting harder.) Wild rice is a cooling and drying food, which for me is great to eat when I’m feeling overheated or hot.  There are some “hand harvested” wild rice varieties out there, which are usually pricier, but often go towards supporting native peoples.  A google search will pull up small businesses that offer online sales of hand harvested wild rice.

Nutritionally, wild rice is high in zinc, high in protein for a grain, and a great fiber source.  Plus it’s easy to make, and since it can be eaten cold, you can take it with you for lunch or a quick snack.  Gotta make sure you chew a bunch cause it’s fibrous!

This recipe has apricots in it, they can be substituted with any dried fruit (currants, raisins, mulberries, it’s up to you!) If apricots sound good to you, buy natural un-sulfured apricots instead of the orange ones which are treated with sulfur dioxide. Store any unused in the freezer or eat them within a month or so.

Wild Rice Salad with Apricots and Mint

Wild Rice Salad

(makes 4 servings)

1 cup wild rice

3 cups filtered water

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup of grated carrots

1/2 cup of chopped parsley

1/2 cup of crushed walnuts (or other nuts/seeds)

½ cup of dried unsulfured apricots (the brown kind)

1 fistful of finely chopped mint

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place 1 cup of wild rice and 3 cups of filtered water into a saucepan.  Cover with a lid and bring to a simmer. Simmer for around 45 minutes until kernals pop open.  Turn off heat and allow to sit with the lid ON for 10-15 minutes.

2. After the rice has cooled (you can make it on a different day even), mix with the rest of the ingredients.  

3. Taste.  Add more of any ingredient!  Sometimes I like more apricots, and maybe I’ll add some feta cheese if it’s around.

4. Serve!  Feel free to double the recipe if you are taking it to a potluck.  Enjoy…..

Tamari Ginger Chicken

When I began cooking, this was one of the first recipes I learned when going over to eat at my former health coach's house, Molly. Thanks for the inspiration Molly!  It fits in with my love of asian flavors and simplicity. Chicken falling off the bone is one of my favorite things, especially in winter months where the ginger in this recipe adds a warming touch.  Of course, you can add as much or as little ginger as you like, or simply place large chunks and remove them before eating.  

This is a great recipe for cooking on a Sunday, or you can also place it in the crockpot over night and wake up and have a bit of this for breakfast!  

The directions below are for stove top cooking, but if you are using a crock pot, simply put all ingredients in, and let cook for at least 6 hours.  Read the directions before slicing all the ingredients (which is something I always neglect to do).  The directions include my preferred time to chop ingredients while other things cook! This recipe also works with sliced kale, added in the last 5 minutes of cooking.  

Tamari Ginger Chicken

Serves 4 

3-4 organic chicken legs, with skin and bone

1 tablespoon cooking oil (I prefer butter, coconut oil, ghee, or animal fat)

one medium yellow onion 

1/2 cup filtered water or broth

1 cup sliced crimini mushrooms 

2 large carrots sliced 

3 cloves garlic minced 

1 tablespoon ginger, minced 

3 tablespoons tamari

2 tablespoons mirin or rice wine (optional)

Directions

1) Take a large sauté pan, and place it over medium heat, wait until pan is warm.  

2) Place in cooking fat and melt.  

3)  Place in chicken and allow to begin cooking while you slice onions and mushrooms.  Flip chicken after a few minutes. 

4)  Add in onions, mushrooms, broth, tamari and rice wine if using.  Stir and cover.  

5)  Mince ginger, garlic, and slice carrots, add to pan.  Stir. 

6) Cover and allow to simmer for 45 minutes.  Check and stir periodically.  There should be a thin layer of liquid at the bottom, add more broth or water if it starts to dry.  

7)  Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly before serving. 

Cook for your family, or just for yourself to eat throughout the week!  Don't forget to save the bones for bone broth later ;)  

Broccoli Cream Soup

Vegetables are delicious.  Vegetable Cream Soup is even more delicious.  In this recipe, I've added some cashews for some healthy fat that helps with nutrient absorption and adds a bit of creaminess... it will be hard to believe that it's healthy.  You could definitely use this recipe and simply switch out some of the vegetables, and if you don't have bone broth, you can use water.  However, you know how much I love broth, both for added nutrients and for added taste.

A vegetable cream soup such as this is one of the simplest ways to get a ton of vegetables into our diet.   This soup is a more easily digestible form of vegetables, and you can mix and match as much as you want.  This is one of my favorite combinations, broccoli and whatever else I have in the fridge.  The following recipe is the base.  Enjoy and have fun exploring!

Ingredients (Makes 4 servings)

Gluten and Dairy Free
 
2 quarts liquid (filtered water or broth) 
One head broccoli, roughly chopped
One medium onion, roughly chopped
3 medium carrot sticks, roughly chopped  
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 cup cashews (soaked) 
Plus: Any vegetables that you have leftover in the fridge that you need to get rid of. Root vegetables work great.  
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

1)    In a large sauté pan, sauté onions until translucent.  Throw in the rest of the vegetables and cook until soft.  
2)    Throw everything into a blender, add broth, cashews, a large pinch of salt and pepper and blend with center top piece off.  
3)    Taste and adjust salt and pepper.  
4)    Use a spatula to pour everything into a medium stock pot and heat until ready to serve! 
5)    Garnish with some olive oil or other nuts.  
6)    Freeze some if desired and save for a rainy day.