Inspired Edibles

~ real food, balanced living ~

Jamaican Plantain Soup with Persimmon – An Aromatic Delight

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Bold and aromatic, this Jamaican inspired soup is full of thermogenic spices that will warm your tummy while it nudges your metabolism.

Although it is more conventionally teamed up with lunch or supper, I ate it for breakfast this morning and can attest to its deliciousness even at that odd hour.

The persimmon has nothing to do with Jamaica – it was just staring at me with a gorgeous orange glow and I simply couldn’t resist it’s soft, juicy, sweet flesh in this dish.  Known for its many medicinal uses, this native Chinese fruit is also rich in nutrients including beta-carotene, vitamin C and fibre.  Persimmon is at its best from October through December.

Jamaican Plantain Soup with Persimmon – An Aromatic Delight

  • 1 large yellow onion (the basis of all good soups), peeled and chopped
  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 2 ripe plantains, peeled and roughly chopped (substitute ripe bananas)
  • 1 persimmon, peeled and chopped
  • 2 cups leek (substitute celery), chopped
  • 4 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable stock plus additional water if needed
  • 1 heaping Tbsp fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped
  • 1 tsp allspice powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne powder or to taste
  • 4 Tbsp fresh lime juice
  • Sea Salt & black pepper to taste

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Note:

There are plenty of suitable substitutions you can make in this dish and you certainly don’t have to go out and track down persimmon, unless you want to.  I have used green apple in place of persimmon in this soup and found it equally delicious.
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Warm a large skillet or pot on stove over medium-low heat adding some olive oil.  Sauté onion and ginger until onion begins to soften (about 5 minutes).  I like to add spices – or at least a portion of the spices – to the onion while it cooks.  The spices permeate the flesh of the onion well, making it an ideal flavour transporter.  Toss in some (or all) of the allspice, cinnamon and cayenne at this stage, mixing them around with the onion and ginger.

Add chicken or vegetable stock to the skillet along with sweet potato, plantain, persimmon and leek and bring mixture to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and simmer with the pot covered for 10 to 15 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Purée ingredients in a blender until smooth and then return to skillet/pot. Stir in lime juice and adjust seasonings to taste. You can also adjust thickness of soup by adding water or more stock as desired.

Enjoy.

Warm Mushroom and Toasted Paprika Bean Salad

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toasted paprika bean salad_blog

The autumn sun is streaming full through my kitchen windows – bands of gold shifting across the floor.  My dog’s face is warm and soft in the November light.

If only it would stay.  This way.
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This is a happy mood autumn dish that pairs well with a dark ale.

And, this.  (Who’s old enough to remember trooper?)

Paprika comes in different flavours and varieties.  It is essentially derived from grinding the pods of peppers – including sweet bell peppers and chili peppers.

Depending on the variety of pepper and how it is processed, the colour can range from bright red to brown and the flavour from mild to spicy.  The sweet variety is often associated with Hungary and the hotter, smoked variety, with Spain although both regions offer a range of sweetness and pungency.

Paprika sold in grocery stores tends to be neither sweet nor hot (some might say without flavour).  It’s a shame that generic paprika is what most of us are accustomed to because the higher quality varieties are imbued with flavour and provide a completely different experience.

Regardless of what variety you use for this recipe, the surrounding ingredients will carry the flavour.

Warm Mushroom and Toasted Paprika Bean Salad

  • 1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
  • 2 cups white kidney beans, well rinsed if using canned
  • 6-8 shiitake mushrooms, brushed and sliced
  • 2 cups baby spinach or other mixed greens
  • 1 heaping Tbsp quality paprika (preferably Hungarian Sweet but ordinary paprika will work fine)
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp ginger powder
  • sprinkle cinnamon powder
  • Handful sweet pepper slices for garnish

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Note: mushrooms soak up water like a sponge.  If you soak mushrooms in water to wash them, it’s a little bit like trying to sauté a fully drenched sponge.  You will end up with a lot of water and not a very nice sear.  It’s a long, messy, frustrating experience.  Instead, use a potato/vegetable brush to gently brush dirt and debris off mushrooms.  You could also use a damp cloth if preferred but try to resist soaking or running them under water.

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Warm a large skillet over low heat with some olive oil.  Add onions to skillet, stirring until they start to soften.  Add beans to skillet, mixing gently, taking care not to mash the beans.  Once beans have begun to warm, add paprika, stirring to combine with beans and onion.  Be sure to keep heat low otherwise the paprika will blacken and burn.  Add remaining spices to mixture, stirring to combine.  Allow flavours to permeate on lowest heat for a few minutes.  Remove onion and bean mixture from skillet and set aside.

 
Using the same skillet that was used for onions and beans, add a little more olive oil and sauté sliced shiitake mushrooms over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes.  The mushrooms will take on the residual flavour and colour of the spices.

 
To serve, place about a half cup of spinach on 4 separate serving plates.  Add a half cup of onion and bean mixture over top of spinach, followed by a generous spoonful of shiitake mushrooms.  Garnish with a few slices of sweet bell pepper (I found miniatures).

Serves 4

Slow-Roasted Red Peppers in Balsamic Garlic Glaze

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The fields are harvested and bare,
And Winter whistles through the square.
October dresses in flame and gold
Like a woman afraid of growing old.
Anne Mary Lawler
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My sister greeted us with these savoury delights when we visited her in the Canadian Rockies for a ski holiday.

She served them naked, right out of the pan.  I’m glad I experienced them this way, undressed, for the first time.  They are stand alone stars that don’t need to be bettered.  (And a foodie’s tendency is to always try and better).

…

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Fig Muffins with fresh Apple and Oat-Spelt Flour

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Why so many muffins you ask?

I bake fresh muffins pretty much every week for my children.  It makes me feel good to know that they are getting some homespun goodness in their lunchboxes and it’s a treat for them (they have never had cookies, cakes or otherwise in their lunches.  So this is their ‘goodie’).

I try to vary the muffins each week, keeping things fun and introducing them to new textures, tastes and nutritive foods.

Fig Muffins with fresh Apple and Oat-Spelt Flour
  • 1 cup spelt flour
  • 1 cup whole grain oatmeal + 1 Tbsp for topping
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/3 cup demerara sugar
  • 2 apples, peeled and chopped
  • 5 fresh figs, peeled and chopped (reserving small wedges for topping)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup dilute orange juice (not from concentrate)

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Preheat oven to 400 F.

In a large size bowl, combine spelt flour, 1 cup oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda and sugar.  Add in chopped apples and fig, mixing gently to combine taking care not to mash fruit.

 In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together egg, olive oil and orange juice.

Add wet ingredients to dry mixing only until combined.

Divide batter among 12 oiled muffin cups, topping each with oatmeal flakes and fig wedges as desired.

Bake for 14-18 minutes or until muffins are firm to the touch.

Minted Green Pea and Spinach Soup

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I’m not sure how old I was, or where I was, when I had my first taste of pea soup.  What I do remember, rather distinctly, is that it wasn’t a very good experience.  The soup was putty grey, thick, pasty and completely devoid of taste.  Gag-inducing really.  And so it came to be that I did not have a very good impression of this dish. 

Fast forward several years to a snowy December evening in Montreal.  I’m at a Girls’ Christmas party and the hostess is preparing a wonderfully fragrant, festive green soup.  How lovely I thought. I take one sip from the warm bowl and begin purring with pleasure.  “What is this??” I ask my friend fiendishly.  “Oh. It’s pea soup” she drops casually.

Pea soup??  Pas possible!

It was pea soup, alright.  Only good pea soup.  I mean really good pea soup.

Minted Green Pea and Spinach Soup as adapted from the Silver Palate Cookbook:

  • 3 Tbsp butter
  • 2 large onion, peeled and chopped
  • 1 + 1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed
  • 3 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 + 1/4 cup frozen baby green peas
  • 2 cups fresh mint leaves
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • sea salt and cracked pepper to taste

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Melt butter in a large pot on the stove.  Add chopped onion and cook over low heat until onion is tender (about 8 minutes).

Meanwhile, drain spinach and squeeze out excess liquid.  Pour chicken or vegetable stock into the pot, stir in spinach and peas and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until peas are tender, about 10 minutes.

Add mint to pot, cover and simmer for another couple minutes.

Strain soup, reserving liquid, and place solids in a blender with 1 cup of reserved cooking stock.  Blend until smooth.

Return puréed soup to pot and add whole milk.  Return cooking liquid until desired consistency is achieved (usually about 1 cup).

Season, as desired, with sea salt and cracked pepper.

Enjoy!

Roasted Red Sheppard Peppers with Basmati and Wild Rice

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Many of you smarties spotted a novel shaped pepper in the shot of my Orange Sesame Ginger Chicken.

Long, narrow, and frequently curved, the gorgeous Sheppard Pepper is an intensely flavourful, fall classic.  With its sweet taste and thinner flesh than bell pepper, it is also ideal for roasting and stuffing (I’m not sure why, but the word ‘stuffing’ seems entirely vulgar to me). 
Sheppard peppers are commonly grown in Ontario but their appeal has made them a popular export commodity.  If you are unable to find sheppard peppers, any sweet pepper will work just fine (including bell pepper).
You can slit the sheppard pepper lengthwise (I think that’s the conventional method), but I decided to do it a little bit differently.  The tops of the sheppard pepper are so gorgeous that I decided to clip and roast them along with the peppers.  I then filled the body of the peppers with the almond rice mixture, a bit like a stuffed pillow (or stocking out of How the Grinch Stole Christmas). 
My roasting method is also a bit unconventional, but who’s counting.

 

Roasted Red Sheppard Peppers with Basmati and Wild Rice
  • 4 red sheppard peppers
  • 1/2 cup basmati rice
  • 1/4 wild rice
  • 1 cup natural shaved almond
  • Olive oil
  • Sea salt
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Preheat oven to 350 F.
Place basmati and wild rice together in a pot on stove.  Add 1.5 cups of water.  Bring mixture to a boil, add 1 Tbsp olive oil, mix and reduce heat to lowest setting.   Cover pot and simmer for 20 minutes or until water has evaporated and rice is cooked.  Remove from heat, add a touch of seasoning and allow to cool.
Meanwhile, cut off the ends of the sheppard peppers, removing interior strings and seeds.  Place body of peppers in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil and sea salt.

 

Bake peppers for approximately 30 minutes or until the skin of the peppers has begun to soften. Remove peppers from oven and allow to cool. 
Once rice has cooled, add almonds and mix to combine.  Stuff peppers with almond rice mixture.

 

Twenty minutes or so before serving time, place stuffed peppers and pepper tops (drizzled with olive oil/sea salt) back into the oven for final roasting.

 

Photos by Trinity Nutrition

Red Quinoa with Dates, Pine Nuts and roasted Butternut Squash

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Butternut squash is my favourite autumn vegetable (oh dear, I admitted we’re moving away from summer).  The roasting process intensifies the flavour of this delicious harvest squash, making it absolutely irresistible – not to mention full of nutrients, including beta-carotene, vitamin C, potassium, fibre and folate.

I like serving health building quinoa alongside a meal as a substitute for the customary rice or potato.

Red Quinoa Salad with Dates, Pine Nuts and roasted Butternut Squash

  • 1 cup red quinoa, rinsed
  • 1 medium size butternut squash, roasted and cubed
  • 1/3 cup dried pitted dates, chopped
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 2 green onion, chopped
For the Roasted Butternut Squash:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Cut squash in half lengthwise.  Using a spoon, remove seeds and set the seeds aside for drying (you can use them another time in a different recipe – they’re delicious – or, allow them to dry and use them in this recipe instead of the pine nuts).

Cut seedless squash into smaller pieces and place in a baking dish.  Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper (I also like to add other spices from time to time, such as sweet chili powder – lovely). 

Place squash in oven for about 35 minutes or until it is just tender but not overdone.  Allow squash to cool before cutting into cubes and discarding the skin.

For the Quinoa:

Place rinsed quinoa and 2 cups of water in an uncovered pot on the stove. Heat until it comes to a boil, then cover the pot and reduce heat to lowest setting for 12-15 minutes (or until most of the water has evaporated). Allow quinoa to cool and transfer to serving bowl.  Add cubed squash, dates and pine nuts to quinoa, mixing gently to combine.   Sprinkle with green onion to finish.

Serves 4-6

Where it All Began

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When I first started this nutrition journey, I would spend hours playing around with recipes.  Adding a bit of this, taking away a bit of that, until I finally came up with a list of wholesome ingredients I felt good about putting in my body and my family’s bodies.  There was – and still is – plenty of trial and error involved but it’s all part of the fun.  Preserving taste is also an important part of the challenge.  Here is a fairly major re-do of a Martha Stewart original that a dear friend treated me to.  You will love the apple slice on top!   

Irresistible Apple Muffins

 

    • 1 Granny Smith Apple – peeled and quartered
    • 1/3 cup brown sugar
    • 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
    • 2 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, dash cardamom
    • 1/2 cup plump golden raisins
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 tsp vanilla
    • 1/2 cup buttermilk
    • 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup orange juice (diluted)

 

Preheat oven to 400 F


Cut 3 apple quarters into small dice and cut remaining quarter into 12 thin slices for garnish. Mix sugar, flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and golden raisins in large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, vanilla, buttermilk, olive oil and orange juice together. Add wet ingredients to dry mixing only until combined.

Divide batter among muffin cups topping each with an apple slice. Bake until muffins are beginning to brown around edges – 16 to 18 minutes. Let muffins cool slightly and enjoy.