Salmon Bisque (Dairy-Free)

Believe it or not, this last week has given us several days of what I would call “soup weather”.  Overcast skies, a chill in the air, drizzling rain.  We even had spectacular thunder and lightening storms the last two nights in a row.  I liked them.  The dog did not.  So while other bloggers are posting their favorite rhubarb or spring salad recipes (which really do look good), I’m curled up on my couch with a blanket and a bowl of soup.

Despite the visions of butter and heavy cream usually conjured up by the mention of “bisque”, this recipe has neither.  And I can tell you that it doesn’t need either one.  The salmon adds a richness all its own and a couple small potatoes makes for the perfect amount of body.  The pictures here show it topped with a dollop of greek yogurt, but it’s just as lovely without.  Perhaps you could even add a swirl of olive oil for some extra healthy fats.

One other nice thing about this soup: It helped me finally figure out what to do with a certain specialty salt that I’ve had in my kitchen for almost a year!  You see, last summer when my parents visited, my mom bought a large container of a nice coarse gray salt.  The flakes (chunks is actually probably a better word) had a nice taste and look to them but I just didn’t know how to handle them.  They were too large to use for most cooking applications and too fancy-seeming to just dissolve into soup or broth.  I put my container on the top shelf of my pantry and forgot about it.  Then, a couple of weeks ago, our neighbors gave us a very belated Christmas present of 3 gorgeous salt vials.  One of them contained the same coarse gray salt from Guerande, France (the same place fleur de sel comes from).  Now, it seemed, I was really going to need to find an appropriate use for this unusual salt.

Well, I think I finally did it.  When a few flakes are added to a warm bowl of thick soup like this one and then mixed in, it creates pleasant little pockets of saltiness with some crunch where the salt didn’t dissolve completely.  I think this would also work nicely with a lentil or split-pea soup.

Question: Have any of you received gifts for the kitchen that you weren’t quite sure how to use?  What did you end up doing with them?

Salmon Bisque
makes 4 servings
adapted (slightly) from Tartelette

Ingredients
– 1 Tbsp olive oil
– 2 leeks, white parts only, cleaned and sliced
– 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
– 2 carrots, sliced
– 2 small red potatoes, sliced
– 2 Tbsp extra dry vermouth
– 3 cups vegetable broth
– 1 lb skinless salmon, cubed (I found some for a good price in the frozen section of Trader Joe’s)
– salt and pepper, to taste
– greek yogurt, olive oil, and/or salt for serving

Heat olive oil over medium in a large pot.  Add vegetables and sautee, stirring so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.  Add vermouth, vegetable broth, and salmon and season with salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  Remove from heat and puree in a blender or with an immersion blender (let the soup cool a bit if your blender is not designed for hot liquids).  Garnish as desired and serve.  This soup keeps for a few days in the refrigerator.

*I added this post to this week’s Sugar Free Sunday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Monday Mania, Hearth and Soul Hop, Fat Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, and Mix it Up Monday.

Lisa’s Grilled Cheese

I’m a week and a half into my 3 week “detox” with no sugar or refined flour.  I’d like to be able to tell you that it’s been easy.  I’d like to be able to tell you that I’m suddenly craving only broccoli and carrots.  But I’d be lying.  The truth is that I can’t wait to bake some cookies and eat them.  Luckily, there’s another blogger out there who has made the same dietary changes I’m now attempting (only she did it permanently!) and she shares her wonderful wisdom and recipes with the rest of us at Thrive Style.  If you haven’t found Lisa’s blog yet, I suggest you check it out.  You’ll find tons of great recipes, nutrition advice, and bits of life.

Recently, she’s been perfecting her grilled cheese, which is made with coconut flour flatbread!  It’s incredibly easy and adaptable, and it’s perfect for satisfying the monster cravings I’ve been dealing with this week.  I’m going to send you her way for the recipe, which I pretty much followed exactly.  The only change I made was omitting the pizza seasoning because I didn’t have any.  For fun, I also added just a bit of fresh basil and arugula.  Thanks, Lisa, for this recipe revelation!

Coconut flour flatbread grilled cheese.

Made with grass-fed sharp cheddar cheese!

On an unrelated note, Jeremy left this morning for a 3 week tour with a band he plays in.  My apartment is already starting to feel empty.  Luckily, I still have this guy to keep me company!

Almond Flour Brownies (Grain-Free)

I hesitated a little before starting this post.  I’ve noticed a chocolate theme emerging on this blog recently and I don’t want you to think I have a one-track mind.  Except that I do.

And these brownies are capable of satisfying even a die-hard chocoholic’s need.  They’re dense, moist, sweet without being cloying, and, yes, chocolate-y.  The espresso powder gives them a little extra bitter note, which I think contrasts well with the sweetness.  It’s optional, but I highly recommend adding it if you have some.  Eating these reminded me of the brownies of my youth.  Sometime during high school, I discovered Ghirardelli’s double chocolate brownie mix (complete with extra chocolate chips) and came to believe that the best brownies in the world came out of that box.  I’m sure I ate way too many of them, since that’s what high-schoolers do, and I certainly never thought of making my own from scratch.  How far I’ve come!

These are definitely my new go-to.  While they are definitely not healthy in the way that, say, a kale salad is healthy, there are a few things you can do to feel more virtuous about enjoying them:

1. Use grass-fed butter.  I use Kerrygold and, while it’s more expensive than your regular grocery store butter, I believe it’s worth every cent.  Grass-fed butter contains a better ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 fats.  Americans tend to be overloaded with omega 6’s and this is a good way to help tip the balance in a healthier direction.  Grass-fed butter is also a good source of Vitamins A and K2.  Learn more about why you might want to consider buying grass-fed here.

2. Try palm sugar.  Made from the flowers on coconut trees, palm sugar is a low glycemic sweetener (meaning it won’t cause drastic spikes in your blood sugar) that can be used just like regular sugar.  It’s also rich in vitamins.

3. Make your own almond flour by pulverizing soaked and dehydrated nuts in a food processor.  I talked a little about why I do this here.

You don’t HAVE to do any of these things to make wonderful brownies.  I just figured that I spend so much time researching nerdy health topics that I should pass along some of what I’ve learned.  Either way, I hope you enjoy!

Almond Flour Brownies
makes an 8×8 pan
very slightly adapted from The Wannabe Chef

Ingredients
– 3/4 cup almond flour
– 1/4 tsp salt
– 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
– 1/2 tsp baking powder
– 1 tsp espresso powder
– 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips, divided
– 1/2 cup butter
– 3/4 cup palm sugar
– 3 eggs
– 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking powder, and espresso powder.

In the microwave or on the stove, melt together 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips and butter.  Set aside.  In a separate bowl, combine palm sugar, eggs and vanilla.

Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients.  If your chocolate mixture is very hot, you may want to wait to add it until the egg mixture has been somewhat incorporated into the flour to avoid cooking the eggs.  Fold in remaining chocolate chips.

Pour batter into an 8×8 pan and bake for about 30 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

* I added this post to this week’s Whole Food Wednesday, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Real Food Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, and Gluten Free Wednesdays.

Coconut Bars (Grain Free)

Hi there!  I think it’s about time I posted a treat on here.  We’ve finally finished up the last of the holiday goodies that were lingering in our freezer and I’m ready to head into the brave new world of baking for 2012.  These coconut bars were just the thing to get me started.  They’re dense and rich with the perfect amount of sweetness, but the ingredients list is somewhat virtuous.  At least it’s virtuous is you’re like me and believe that coconut fat isn’t really fat…it’s a superfood.  Yes, I did eat 2 for breakfast yesterday.  And 2 more as a post-workout snack today.

They have the boyfriend’s stamp of approval, too.  Or at least I assume they do because I left the pan unattended with Jeremy and his friend for a few hours yesterday and when I got home, half of the bars were gone.

Please enjoy!  I’m off to get my clinical prep done before my earrrrrrly morning at the hospital tomorrow.

Coconut Bars
makes 16
adapted (just slightly) from Elana’s Pantry

Ingredients
– 3 eggs
– 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk beverage (I realized later that the original recipe is referring to the thick coconut milk that you get in a can.  You can choose your own calorie adventure here.)
– 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
– 1/3 cup honey
– 1 Tbs vanilla extract
– 1/2 cup almond flour
– 2 Tbs coconut flour
– 1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
– 1/4 tsp sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350.  In a large bowl, mix eggs, coconut milk, coconut oil, honey, and vanilla.  The mixture may want to separate, just do your best.

2. Add almond flour, coconut flour, shredded coconut, and salt.  Mix well.

3. Pour the batter into an 8×8 and bake for 30 minutes.  Allow to cool and serve.

* I added this post to this week’s Hearth and Soul Hop, Whole Foods Wednesdays, Real Food Wednesday, These Chicks Cooked, Gluten-Free Wednesday, Traditional Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Superfood Sunday, and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.