Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes: New Veggie to LoveBy foodjoyaRoasted Jerusalem Artichokes (aka sunchokes) are a fantastic, healthy, easy side dish. They have a mild creamy, nutty flavor similar to water chestnuts. Did you know that Roasted Jerusalem artichokes are nutritional powerhouses? These quaint root veggies contain iron, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and water-soluble vitamins. See SFGATE, Health Benefits of Jerusalem Artichokes. Sunchokes are also high in inulin, an indigestible starchy substance that helps manage weight and prevent diabetes. See WebMD, Inulin.Red Lentil Soup with Red Bell Peppers and TomatoesBy foodjoyaThis is the best - absolutely the best - red lentil soup we have ever tried, including renowned ethnic restaurants and top selling cookbooks. Red Lentil Soup with Red Bell Peppers and Tomatoes is unusually flavorful. The flavor comes from the slowly cooked thyme, marjoram, grains of paradise (<- these can be substituted with black peppercorns), parsley, cayenne powder, caramelized diced tomatoes ... and your favorite tomato sauce, also caramelized. (The use of the caramelized sauce is the secret to the rich taste of the soup.) Though light (in fat and calories), the Red Lentil Soup is both nourishing and satisfying. With the meticuloulsy selected herbs and ingredients, this soup will always turn out good, we promise! (In fact, the soup is so good that our 4 year old eats a full bowl every time.) Sweet Potato Feta Salad Infused with Lemon: SpectacularBy foodjoyaJamie Oliver's potato salad with cilantro and feta inspired our Sweet Potato Feta Salad. Just as the original, our version will impress your palate with fresh, varied flavors. We altered (healthified) the recipe by (a) using only sweet potatoes, (b) adding sumac (to reduce sweetness and intensify citrus), and (c) finely chopping a little Feta. These ingredients plus cilantro and Fresnos create a spectacular, multi-faced flavor. Did you expect THAT MUCH flavor from a humble sweet potato? This salad complements any dish, but tastes best with roasted salmon (or, for omnivores, chicken). Oyster Mushrooms, Tarragon and Sour CreamBy foodjoyaI love mushrooms. When I was a child, my grandma took me mushroom-picking in the forest. She pickled most of the small mushrooms with cloves and bay leaves and cooked the bigger ones. And no one had ever cooked mushrooms in sour cream better than my Mom! After spending the entire morning in the forest, nothing tasted better than her fresh mushrooms sautéed with sour cream! In Oyster Mushrooms, Tarragon, and Sour Cream, I use my Mom’s time-tested technique for cooking mushrooms. It results in oyster mushrooms so tender that they melt in your mouth. Tarragon complements that tenderness wonderfully. For this recipe, please use only oyster mushrooms. Do not cook chanterelle or shiitake mushrooms using this recipe. Please also do not replace sour cream with yogurt (e.g., Greek or Icelandic), because yogurt curls up on the hot pan and doesn’t taste good. (We've tried.) Finally, note that this dish is finished under the broiler (we’d used the broiler function in our Wolf Gourmet Countertop Oven). This step helps settle the flavor and eliminate any excess moisture from sour cream. Finally, this dish (Oyster Mushrooms, Tarragon and Sour Cream) yields 3 servings as a small rich side. Pumpkin Bisque with Lemon and Sumac: DelectableBy foodjoyaOur Pumpkin Bisque is wonderfully flavorful. The secret is that we use 1/4 of the kabocha pumpkin skin, lemon zest (a little), lemon flesh (a little), and the slighly tart sumac. (Sumac can be easily found in the spice aisle of your Whole Foods Market.) We have added red onion, thyme, marjoram, and sesame seeds to deepen the flavor, and turmeric to brighten the color of the Pumpkin Bisque.Orange Cranberry Sauce: Honey and Juice SweeteenedBy foodjoyaOur orange cranberry sauce, honey and juice sweetened is perfectly chunky, zesty and absolutely healthy. We don't use too much honey, and for this reason, our sauce is slightly tart (just pleasantly so). If you prefer a sweeter sauce, add another 1 to 2 tbsp honey. To develop the Orange Cranberry Sauce, Honey and Juice Sweetened, we made numerous batches of the sauce over two years. This version, therefore, is guaranteed to delight you wtih an amazing texture and taste. If you don't have fresh berries, you can use frozen ones. Try our Orange Cranberry Sauce, Honey and Juice Sweetened, and this will become your go-to cranberry sauce recipe!
