molasses granola

 

 

Ingredients:

1/3 cup molasses
2 T coconut butter or coconut oil
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t coarse salt

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup craisins

Preheat oven to 325.  In a large bowl, combine molasses, oil (melted if solid), cinnamon and salt. Add the oats, coconut and almonds and stir with your hands until the mixture is fully combined.  Spread in an even layer onto a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes. Check it as you stir it–your nose will tell you when it’s done! Add the craisins once the pan is removed from the oven.  Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!

hummus

I love the simple joy of kitchen tasks sometimes. It’s a chance to quiet my often-busy mind and just focus. Over the weekend I soaked some garbanzo beans, cooked them up with a piece of kombu, drained them, and set to the task of popping them out of their skin–an idea from Smitten Kitchen to make the smoothest hummus possible.

Both soaking + cooking with kombu (a seaweed) help beans be more easily digested. Kombu also adds vitamins, minerals, and trace minerals. And new info to me–cooking beans with salt makes them tough! Add salt only after they are tender, at which point it will also help with digestion. (I once spent almost four hours cooking beans in salt water, and was SO frustrated that they weren’t getting any softer!)

Lemon Hummus (adapted from Sprouted Kitchen)

3 cups cooked garbanzo beans (naked if you have the patience for it!)
1 roasted shallot (roast with butter at 400F for 20 minutes)
3 tbsp. tahini
Juice of one lemon (add zest only if you have an organic lemon)
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
sprinkle of cayenne
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Add the beans, shallot, tahini, lemon juice and spices in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. With the food processor running, pour in the olive oil and allow it to mix until it’s your desired consistency.  Yum! I’ve been enjoying mine with toasted pita, pea sprouts, and a simple salad.

winter to spring

I have a touch of spring fever–sunny and warmish days are inspiring me, but cold nights remind me it is not quite here. To explore both seasons, I’ve started two new seasonal boards on Pinterest–come follow along! http://pinterest.com/amandaodmark/

Images clockwise from top left:

cabbage / icelandic fish soup / green bean salad / radish salad

 

 

barley and pomegranate salad

“The challenge to every individual is to determine the diet that is right for him and to implement that diet in a way that does not divorce him from the company of fellow human beings at mealtimes. Each person’s ideal diet is usually discovered through a combination of study, observation and intuition…To make us healthy, our food must taste good; it must be digestible, and it must be eaten in peace. Even whole foods, properly prepared according to traditional methods, do us no good if we eat them with a grudge; they will not confer health on the person who does not forgive.”  Sally Fallon, Nourishing Traditions

This beautiful salad is not for the faint of heart–it has strong herbs (dill! it’s intense!), but the addition of allspice adds a beautiful and unexpected depth.

Barley + Pomegranate Salad (from Ottolenghi’s Plenty)

(serves 4)

1 cup pearl barley

6 celery stalks, cut into small dice

1/4 cup olive oil

3 T sherry vinegar (I used white wine)

2 small garlic cloves, crushed

2/3 tsp ground allspice

salt + pepper

3 T chopped dill

3 T chopped parsley

seeds from 2 pomegranates (I used 1 and it was plenty!)

Rinse barley with cold water, then place in medium pot and cover with fresh water–bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes or until tender (but will still have a bite). Drain the barley and transfer to a mixing bowl. While it’s still hot, add the celery, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, allspice and salt + pepper. Stir and set aside to cool completely. When it’s cool, add the herbs and pomegranate seeds–fold them in gently.  Add more salt + pepper to your taste–enjoy!

 

 

barley soup.

In this hibernation season, commit your time and energy to your own supreme well-being, and respect your own potential to heal + to be whole.  Be well!

Chicken + Barley Soup

1 shallot, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

1 large sweet potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

4 cups of vegetable broth

1/2 cup barley

small bunch of swiss chard, chopped

1 cup chopped rotisserie chicken

1 lemon, juiced

1 tsp smoked paprika

pinch of cayenne

Heat some olive oil or butter in a soup pot over low-medium heat–add shallots and garlic and stir frequently until softened, about 5 minutes. Add sweet potatoes, smoked paprika, cayenne, and a sprinkle of salt–stir to combine everything and cook for a few minutes. Add the vegetable broth and barley–cover and bring to a boil, then reduce back to medium for around 20 minutes. Check the barley for doneness, letting it cook a bit longer if needed (barley will be toothsome, but should not be crunchy!).  When the barley is done, add the chicken + chard and cook until the chicken is warm and the chard is wilted, around 5 minutes. Add lemon juice, stir, and serve!

new year, new(ish) breakfast.

Delicious, filling oatmeal made my early new year morning so much brighter.  Besides the familiar coziness a bowl of oatmeal provides, oats improve resistance to stress and support the system being in healthy balance. They also stabilize blood sugar, regulate the thyroid, soothe the digestive + nervous systems, and reduce cholesterol. Oats have a high unsaturated fat content, which provides a sense of stamina + warmth, and a feeling of being grounded.

Overnight Oatmeal (fully inspired by Heidi)

Serves 2…or 1 person 2 mornings in a row..

1 cup of rolled oats

2 2/3 cup of water

1/2 an apple, chopped

handful of sliced almonds

drizzle of maple syrup + pat of butter

Before bedtime, heat a tablespoon or so of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the oats and stir them around a bit as they toast, for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the water–let it sit overnight.  In the morning, heat the oatmeal on medium-high for at least 10 minutes–beyond that, let it cook to your desired consistency (longer = thicker).

Scoop out a bowlful and top with butter, chopped apple and almonds, and finish with a drizzle of maple syrup and a sprinkle of salt.

Cheers to a happy + healthy new year!

cold season wellness

Two of my essentials for cold season: Ginger Miso Soup + Winter Citrus

Ginger Miso Soup

1/2 white or yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 inch chunk of ginger, chopped finely

4-5 cups of vegetable stock

1 Tablespoon miso (I used yellow)

1 Tablespoon nama shoyu

1 bundle of soba noodles (my soba noodle package had 3 wrapped bundles)

chopped cilantro for garnish

1/2 lb shrimp (optional)

Heat a pat of butter* in large soup pot over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until beginning to soften, around 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring often, for about 1 minute. Add the veggie stock and let it simmer for a few minutes. Turn the heat to high and add the soba noodles when the stock is boiling. Cook according to package directions–add shrimp (if using) about halfway through the noodles cooking.  Reduce the heat to medium–remove a ladle full of broth to a smaller bowl, and stir in the miso and nama shoyu. Return to the pot and stir to incorporate–taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Top with cilantro and enjoy!

*A note about butter: I’ve been cooking almost exclusively with butter recently, using olive oil mainly for cold dressings or a finishing drizzle over cooked food. Ideally, olive oil should not be heated over 325 degrees to preserve its health benefits.

a roast.

Mary is the first person I met when I moved to Nashville 8 years ago, and I’m so glad to call her a friend.  In addition to being the most generous person I know, she is a gifted yoga teacher and runs a farmer’s market…and she’s a fantastic cook! She recently taught me how to make a delicious roasted chicken–enjoy!  Full recipe here.

happy weekend.

image / image

I’ve been on a miso kick lately–the pungent flavor goes so well with roasted sweet vegetables.  I’m excited to try some new miso recipes this weekend.

I love the feeling of September–butternut squash and the last of the summer tomatoes sit comfortably together at the farmers’ market.  I bought 2 pints of beautiful grape tomatoes at the market on Wednesday, but the slightly cooler weather makes me favor hearty roasted tomatoes over raw ones.  These roasted tomatoes would be wonderful on just about anything–a Greek-inspired bruschetta with kalamata olives and feta, filling for an omelette, topping for cheesy polenta…yum!

Late Summer Roasted Tomatoes

2 pints of grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

2 tablespoons of butter, cut into small pieces

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons brown sugar

 

Preheat oven to 325 and line a baking sheet with parchment. Combine all of the ingredients and  turn onto prepared baking sheet. Roast for 30-40 minutes, til tomatoes have shrunk down a bit and your house smells like heaven. They will keep for about a week in a jar in the refrigerator.

Have a great weekend!

Holistic Wellness

Excited to present this video collaboration with my husband, Mike Odmark.  We had a great time filming it–I’m sure there will be more to come! Below is the recipe for the featured salad–it’s a great welcome to the changing seasons, and I’m sure I’ll be making some variation of it through the winter.

A word on the ingredients:

Tahini is made from ground hulled sesame seeds, which contain more protein than any nut and are high in vitamin E, which gives them excellent antioxidant properties. They protect the liver from oxidative damage as well as being high in calcium.  Miso is also high is protein, and an anticarcinogen, and reduces the effects of radiation, smoking, air pollution, and other environmental toxins.  (source)

Roasted Vegetable Salad

serves 6

(adapted from Good Things Grow)

Ingredients:

for salad-

1 small butternut squash
4-5 red potatoes
1 bunch of small carrots (with green tops attached)
1 bunch of kale
handful of chopped walnuts

for dressing-

¼ cup tahini
¼ cup olive oil
juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon white miso
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped carrot tops (similar to parsley)
pinch of cayenne
water as needed

Preheat the oven to 425, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Chop the butternut squash, potatoes and carrots to similar sizes and place them in a large bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil, coconut oil, or ghee/butter and salt and pepper.  Pour them onto the baking sheet and roast in the oven for around 30 minutes, until tender.

Meanwhile, tear the kale into smaller pieces and place it in the bowl you mixed the veggies in (no need to wash between!). Drizzle with a little olive oil and salt and pepper.  Set aside.

To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a small jar and stir.  Add more water to thin it out if needed.

When the vegetables are tender, pull them out and pour onto the kale. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and more chopped carrot tops. Spoon dressing over (I had a little dressing left over, but use as much or as little as you’d like).

Enjoy!