Homemade Gummies

ingredients:

• 2 cups fruit juice (I often use Lakewood Black Cherry, Blueberry Blend or Grape)
• 1-2 T lemon or lime juice
• 1/2 cup gelatin powder (I use Great Lakes Gelatin)
• 1 - 4 T maple syrup (depending on desired sweetness)

directions:

• Bring fruit juice and maple syrup to a simmer
• Slowly add gelatin to the simmering juice, use a whisk or immersion blender to avoid clumps
• Once gelatin is dissolved pour mixture into silicon molds 
• Put gummies into the refrigerator or freezer till the gelatin is set

Lavender Honey Latte

 Add 1 T culinary lavender and 1-2 tsp honey to about 1 1/2-2  cups of almond

 Simmer milk mixture while you brew espresso

I use a stovetop espresso pot because it is simple and makes great espresso.

Strain lavender from the almond milk, froth milk if desired, fill your mug 3/4 full of lavender infused honey milk, then pour your desired amount of espresso over the top.

Caper and Olive Tuna Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 can of tuna (I love Wild Planet's Albacore Tuna...and you can find it at Costco!)
• 1-3 T mayo (depending on your preference)
• 1 T capers
• 3-4 olives (I used giant green ones, but use what you like)
• 1 dash lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 T onion, chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix it all together and serve it over your favorite combination of greens. I'm using an organic spinach and arugula blend that I found at Aldi! I find that this combo of greens doesn't get slimy as fast as some of the more delicate greens.

Almond Butter Brownies

- recipe adapted from Elana's Pantry "Gluten Free Brownies"

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 oz) jar of almond butter 
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey (I have cut this to even 1/4 cup and still delicious)
• 1 T vanilla
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 t sea salt
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees
• Blend almond butter till smooth with a hand blender
• Blend in eggs, honey/syrup and vanilla
• Blend in cocoa, salt and baking soda, then fold in chocolate chips
• Line a 9x13 pan with parchment or grease the pan
• Pour in batter
• Bake at 325 degrees for 25-40 minutes. I like my brownies gooey, but done. So, usually around 30 minutes. Check them with a toothpick in the center. If the toothpick is clean, you are good! Don't over cook them!

Chinese Five Spice Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 T coconut oil 
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 inch fresh ginger grated, or about 1/2 tsp dried ginger root
• 1/2 to 1 tsp Chinese 5 Spice
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 4 cups chicken bone broth, chicken stock, miso broth or veggie stock
• 2 tsp coconut aminos
• salt and pepper to taste
• cilantro and/or scallions for garnish
• hot sauce if desired
• ramen or rice noodles if desired

Directions:

• Heat coconut oil in a pan
• Add onions and cook on low till transluscent
• Add garlic, ginger and 5 Spice, cook 2 minutes
• Add celery and carrots, cook on medium heat till veggies begin to soften (about 10 minutes)
• Add broth of choice and coconut aminos, bring to a simmer and cook 10-15 minutes.
• Add salt and pepper to taste
• Serve garnished with cilantro and/or scallions. Add hot sauce if desired. 
• Add cooked ramen or rice noodles to bowl when serving if desired.

Greek Avgolemono (Egg Lemon) Soup

I combined a recipe I found online from Food and Wine Magazine with tips from a friend. I've been intimidated to make this soup, but it was simple and it is so delicious! This recipe is easy to make in large amounts as well, just do the blender portion in batches.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3 eggs
• 4 T lemon juice
• 2 cup cooked and warm white rice
• 1 pound cooked chicken, shredded (use more or less chicken depending on the "heartiness" desired. chicken meat could be from a rotisserie, chicken breast or whatever you have)
• 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Warm chicken broth to almost a boil, then simmer
• Combine in a blender: 1 cup broth, 3 eggs, 4 T lemon juice and 1/2 cup cooked rice. Puree till smooth
• Add puree to simmering broth along with remaining rice and chicken
• Top with fresh dill
• Season with salt and pepper to taste

Fermented Moroccan Lemons

Ingredients:

• about 2 pounds of lemons, sliced
• 1/4 cup course celtic sea salt or course sea salt (if you use regular salt, it may end up way to salty)
• fresh lemon juice to cover (about 1/4-1/2 cup)

Directions:

• Slice lemons (discard the ends or use for another purpose)
• Layer the lemons in a mason jar (quart or half gallon size) add salt between each layer of lemons. Once the the lemons are layered, squeeze them down to create juice with a mallet, pounder or wooden spoon.
• There should be a lot of juice from the lemons, but you may need about 1/4-1/2 cup extra lemon juice to cover the lemons completely. (You can use bottled lemon juice, but make sure it is 100% lemon juice with nothing added!)
• I usually put a small 4 oz mason jar on top of my ferments to weight them down and keep everything covered in the salt brine. 
• Cover with a mason jar lid, screw it on and let it sit in room temperature for 2-4 weeks. Check it periodically. The lemons are ready when they taste tangy instead of salty. 

Moroccan lemons are delicious with many dishes. Serving suggestions: Over Paella, Use to make a fresh relish with herbs and veggies, Over Curries or Moroccan dishes, With Chicken or Fish, Even delicious as a pizza topping