No-Mato Sauce

Photo: Angels Homestead

30 days FODMAPs-Free and cutting out nightshades for inflammation means finding new ways to feed your cravings.

This sauce is yummy and can be used as a pasta or pizza sauce.

Try it with my Pepperoni Pizza Casserole, Cauliflower Crust Pizza, or the Sweet Potato Crust Pizza recipes.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp asafoetida
• 1 cup carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 T Italian spices (oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley, garlic powder*)
• homemade bone broth or water or stock
• 1 can pumpkin puree

Directions:

1. In a saucepan add all ingredients (except pumpkin) and just enough bone broth to barely cover the carrots.
2. Bring to a boil.  Turn to low and simmer until carrots are very soft, about 20 minutes.
3. When carrots are very soft pour saucepan ingredients into a blender and add pumpkin.  
4. Blend until super smooth.

This sauce freezes well.

* omit garlic powder to keep it FODMAPs-Free

Butter-Basted Cod and Vegetable Rice

Yum! Light and delicious! I'm really proud of myself.  I feel like I got all fancy with my cooking but it was super easy.

Vegetable Rice

Ingredients:

• chopped vegetables du jour - I used green onion, zucchini, and broccoli
• white jasmine rice
• butter
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. Prepare rice as directed.  I added a tablespoon of butter to the water when I put in the rice.
2. While rice is cooking,  heat a skillet with a couple tablespoons of butter.
3. Add vegetables and stir fry until cooked through and still crispy.
4. When rice is finished add to vegetable skillet and combine over low heat.  
5. Add more butter and salt to taste.

Butter-Basted Cod

Ingredients:

• wild-caught cod fillets
• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 1 tablespoon butter
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon thyme
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a skillet heat ghee on medium-high heat.
2. Add fillets.
3. Using a large spoon, baste fillets with ghee by tilting the pan, filling the spoon with liquid, and pouring it over the fish.
4. Continue for a couple of minutes then flip fillets.
5. Baste again for a couple of minutes, until cooked through.
6. Remove fillets to serving dish.
7. Add lemon juice, butter, thyme, and salt to ghee.
8. Pour lemon butter over fillets.
9. Serve over vegetable rice and pour remaining liquid over both.

Raw Lemon Bars

I only slightly changed my friend, California Cavegirl Kindra's recipe "No muss, no fuss Raw Lemon Bars".  If you like Larabars, you'll love this quick and easy recipe.

Photo: Rawtarian

Ingredients:

1 cup almonds
15 pitted dates, +/- depending on how much juice you get from your lemon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
juice and zest from 1 lemon
1 cup raw coconut flakes
pinch sea salt

Directions:

• Place almond in food processor and process until coarse powder
• Add remaining ingredients and pulse until combined
• Transfer to a glass pan and press in the mixture so that it sticks together
• Refrigerate for about an hour for easy cutting
• Store in the refrigerator

Green Bean Casserole With Crispy Shallots

We usually pass up green bean casserole due to it's unhealthy ingredients.  This year it sounds good so I'm hunting for the perfect recipe.  Here's my version of The Urban Poser's recipe.

 

The Urban Poser

Ingredients:

1½ cups of Creamy Cashew Gravy*

1 lb haricots verts

2 large shallots

¼ cup coconut oil or ghee

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400˚F
• Blanch the green beans in boiling, salted water for about 2 min. Drain. If you are not going to bake green beans immediately, you will need to shock them in a bowl of ice water to stop them from cooking.
•  In a large bowl, combine the green beans and gravy. Transfer to a casserole dish and bake at 400˚F for about 20 min or until the gravy begins to bubble.
•  Meanwhile prepare crispy shallots.  Peel and slice the shallots into thin rings.
•  Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium/low heat until oil bubbles slightly. Reduce the heat to low, add the shallots and cook for 5 - 6 min or until they reach a golden brown color. Stir occasionally to ensure even browning.
•  Using a slotted spoon, remove shallots from the oil, drain well and let cool on paper towels until ready to use.
•  Remove green beans from oven, top with crispy shallots, and serve.

*Creamy Cashew Gravy

Ingredients:

1 cup raw cashews

1 cup homemade bone broth + ¼ cup

1 tablespoon coconut oil or ghee

½ onion, chopped

3 large garlic cloves, chopped

½ tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon dried thyme

sea salt to taste

Directions:

• Soak the cashews for 4 hours then rinse and drain. Transfer to food processor 
• Sauté the onions and garlic in 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat, cook until caramelized.  
• Add onion & garlic to food processor with the cashews. Set the pan aside.
• Add 1 cup of broth to the food processor and blend until smooth.
• Pour the cashew mixture into the onions & garlic pan. Add the thyme and whisk the cashew mixture over a medium heat for a few minutes or until it thickens and darkens up a little bit.  Whisk constantly so that it doesn't burn.
• Whisk in the ¼ cup broth, lemon juice, and salt.  Stirring constantly, allow it thicken for a few minutes.