Healthy Meal / olive oil

Sprouts and Beans!

My idea of a balanced meal is a plate full of green veggies with a side of slow cooked beans with a Red Apple Butchers hot Italian sausage.  A filling and delicious winter meal and yep, it's healthy too.  Of course, if you are going to eat meat, make sure it's from an animal raised on a healthy farm, certified humane and organic.  Or buy direct from a local farm or a butcher shop that only sells humanely raised farm animals like James and Jazu at Red Apple Butchers in Berkshire Organics.

This recipe takes about 35 minutes, most of which is cooking time. Getting the beans in the oven only takes about 5 minutes. Then you can make the Brussels sprouts while the beans cook.  These recipes easily double so you'll have healthy leftovers, cook once and get meals for days!

Sauteed Brussels sprouts, beans and sausage!

 

For the Beans you will need:

1 large onion, diced

2 (16-ounce) cans of organic beans - Amy’s Organic brand should be easy to find if you are in a hurry!  Or soak and cook your own dried beans.

3 tablespoons of your favorite spicy mustard

2 Tablesppons honey or maple syrup (optional)

4 tablespoons ketchup, we love First Field Ketchup from New Jersey

1 tablespoon Fire Cider or Apple Cider Vinegar

about 1/3 cup lard, olive oil or, my favorite, rendered bacon fat!

To Make:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a Dutch oven mix onion, beans, mustard, maple syrup or honey if using, ketchup, and Fire Cider.  Then mix in the fat, I highly recommend rendered bacon fat.

Bake, covered, for 30 minutes.

For the Brussels Sprouts:

In a cast iron pan, cover the bottom with prepared, halved Brussels sprouts.  Add a small amount of water, turn the heat up and cover.  Steam the sprouts until just tender. Pour off any excess water; add a knob of fresh pasture butter and sauté until golden brown.  Deglaze with a splash or two of Fire Cider, add salt to taste.

Add a cooked, sliced sausage from Red Apple Butchers or some Hosta Hill Tempeh to your beans for a balanced, healthy meal.

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translation missing: en.blogs.article.tags: apple cider vinegar, bacon fat, baked beans, beans, Berkshire Organics, best home remedy, beware the underdose, Brussels sprouts, butter, fermented beverage, fermented food, Fire Cider, kid friendly, lard, olive oil, onions, organic health tonic, organic pork, organic produce, Red Apple Butchers, Shire City Herbals, whole foods medicine, whole foods supplement, whole organic foods, wildflower honey

Jafakin' Jerk Sauce

Recipe by Noel Prophet Last summer Dana and I went to a pot luck beer and food pairing: everyone brought a dish and a beer that went with it.  Dana made a summer saison that was a bit citrus-y  and it went well with the berries n biscuits I brought for dessert.  However, I thought the best dish was the jerk chicken that Noel and Kristen brought along with some very appropriate Red Stripe.  Just recently Noel sent me his jerk sauce recipe which I was pretty darn excited to see if I could replicate.  As per his suggestion, the recipe can be modified to suit, the one that follows is enough to marinate 3 pounds of chicken/meat/tofu with enough leftover to serve as a side sauce for greens.   I only made a few changes to Noel's recipe and the end result was deliciously hot and there were no leftovers! [caption id="attachment_551" align="aligncenter" width="516"]Bright ingredients makes for a spicy brown sauce. Bright ingredients makes for a spicy brown sauce.[/caption] Suggested Ingredients:
  • Up to 6 scotch bonnet peppers or whatever hot peppers you like - I used the one Habanero that was ready in our garden and then some of the chili peppers that Pete and Jennifer from Woven Roots Farm gave us at the Harvest Festival.
  • 2 Tablespoons each: dried thyme, ground allspice, Fire Cider, salt and black pepper
  • Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger (fresh or powdered), to taste.
  • 8 garlic cloves
  • 3 medium onions, chopped
  • 1/2 cup or less olive oil
  • 1/2 cup or less tamari
  • Juice of 1 lime or lemon, or more, to taste.
Method: Chop up everything and then put all in the blender.   Or, put all ingredients into a wide mouth mason jar and use a wand blender to puree, same difference.  The marinade is done, ready to eat now on cooked greens or... Poke holes in your chicken (or tofu!) before you jerk it so it will hold the flavor better. Marinate overnight. When you are ready you can bake, grill, roast, etc your jerked chicken.  This would also work well with tempeh or tofu or other meat. Here's what I did with the chicken I let marinate in the fridge, well covered, for over 12 hours: Pre-heat the oven to 365.  Spread the chicken breast (I had about 2 pounds) and the jerk sauce I used to marinate it, in a wide glass baking dish.  I covered the dish with aluminum foil (or a glass lid if you have one) and baked it for about 45-50 minutes, until the thermometer read 142 and when I sliced into it, it was juicy and cooked through! Dana made coconut brown basmati rice to go with the baked jerk chicken.  I made a huge side of broccoli rabe dressed in olive oil and salt, which we ate with the remaining jerk sauce. [caption id="attachment_552" align="aligncenter" width="538"]All covered in Jafakin' Jerk Sauce! All covered in Jafakin' Jerk Sauce![/caption]
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translation missing: en.blogs.article.tags: allspice, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, easy recipe, Fire Cider, garlic, ginger, health tonic, healthy meal, hot peppers, immune booster, jerk chicken, jerk sauce, jerk tofu, lemon, lime juice, nutmeg, olive oil, onion, Raw Apple Cider Vinegar, raw honey, scotch bonnet peppers, spicy, tempeh, thyme, vegetarian, vegetarian recipe, veggies sauce, whole organic foods
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