“Embrace the Chaos” Berry Crumble

January 27, 2018 by Jennifer Silverberg 1 Comment

If you’re looking for the picture-perfect, wins-the-county-fair-beauty-contest pie, keep looking, this is not it. But if you’re looking for amazing flavor from super-healthy ingredients … that is also kind of hippy-dippy perfect in a wabi-sabi way, you’re going to love this Berry Crumble recipe!

This weeknight-friendly (fast and easy!) special treat can be pulled together with whatever berries/fruit you have on hand – blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries, boysenberries, etc. … and frozen is a great stand-in when fresh berries aren’t available.

I also recently served this as a side dish with an otherwise super-savory breakfast over the holidays, and it was a big hit.

“Embrace the Chaos” Berry Crumble

Ingredients:

(filling) 5 c. fresh or frozen berries – whatever is in season or you have on hand (I love mixing cherries and berries as well!)
2 tbs. lemon juice
2 tbs arrowroot powder
pinch of salt

(crust) 1/2 c. coconut milk
1 tsp. each vanilla + apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 c. oat flour
1 tbs. baking powder
1/4 c. coconut sugar
pinch of salt
3 tbs applesauce
2 tbs nut butter

(topping) cinnamon, turmeric

Click the logo to below cart the recipe, or click here to see all store options.

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Use a pan that is roughly 8×8; line with parchment paper unless it is nonstick.

2. Combine + mix all of the filling ingredients. pour into the pan, cover, and bake for 30 minutes.

3. Stir together the coconut milk and apple cider vinegar. After a few minutes (for it to curdle) add the vanilla

4. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, powder, sugar, salt) in a large bowl.

5. In another small container, mix the applesauce and nut butter well. Once combined, add it to the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly. Then gently stir in the coconut milk until just combined.

6. Once the filling is finished cooking, take it out of the oven and reduce the heat to 350 F. Spread the crust over the berry mixture and top with dashes of cinnamon and turmeric (I like a kind of freeform tie-dye look). Cook for 25 more minutes.

7. Remove from the oven to cool; serve it warm.

(Some call this a berry cobbler, others a berry crumble, or a berry pie – whatever you call it, call me to the table when you make it!)

Warming Lentil Soup

October 29, 2017 by Jennifer Silverberg 1 Comment

I love lentil soup almost any time, but I think it’s the tastiest in October/November as we watch the leaves turn! The following variation is a favorite, and serves as a great base to add almost any other veggies you have on hand – celery, carrots, caulflower, etc. are perfect. You can also serve this over rice to make a complete protein, and to stretch it a bit – if you’re doing that, you can also add more tomatoes to extend the sauce.

Warm Spicy Lentil Soup
Serves 4 (or two really hungry people!)

2 C dry green lentils
1 medium onion
3 cloves of garlic
4 cups vegetable broth and 2 cups of water
few tbs olive oil
Hunk of stale bread (equivalent to 2-3 slices)
1 tsp of sweet paprika paste (comes in a tube), or 1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp mitmita blend for spice/heat (this is available at ethic groceries or online – or you can make your own mix of ground chili peppers, cardamom seed, cloves, and salt – can also make it more “warming” by adding a bit of cinnamon, cumin, and ginger)
15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp salt
parsley garnish (optional)

Peel onion and cut it in half. Dice one half and set aside for later. Cut the other half into rough chunks and put in the pot with 3 smashed garlic cloves, rinsed lentils, and the 6 cups of liquid (mixed broth and water). Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 30-40 min (until lentils are tender).

When lentils are almost ready, crisp up the bread in a separate pan in the olive oil. Remove the bread from the pan (push any crumbs to the side) and sauté the diced onions for a few minutes. Add paprika/spice and cook for 30 sec., then add tomatoes. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Chop the bread into small bits. Add the bread and the tomato mixture to the soup, stir and cook for a few minutes, taste and add salt/pepper as needed, garnish with parsley and serve! Add more water if the lentils have absorbed most of it.

Note: I actually like to keep my bread in bigger chunks because I like getting chunks of bread in soup, but it is more common to finely chop or ground the bread.

Seriously Craveable Cauliflower (yes … cauliflower!)

June 10, 2017 by Jennifer Silverberg 3 Comments

I know, it’s not even cauliflower season right now (they’re available year-round, but best in the fall), but I had a head in the fridge and was looking for an early (and easy and healthy) lunch.

I decided to give it a very simple prep, but one last new addition turned a delicious simple lunch into a culinary experience! Cauliflower recipe below.

Seriously Craveable Cauliflower
1 head Cauliflower
2 Bay leaves
Couple of tablespoons (approx) Herbes de Provence
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Red pepper to taste
1 tsp high quality olive oil (approx)
1 tbsp regular or vegan mayonnaise (I love Just Mayo – click here to add it to your cart, but whatever you like best will do)

Wash cauliflower head, removing leaves but keeping the stem and florets intact. Put in a saucepan big enough to fit the full head with the top on, and add about an inch of water. Float both bay leaves in the water, and sprinkle the Herbes de Provence over the cauliflower and into the water. Add the olive oil and a pinch of salt to the water.

Turn on the stove to medium-high until the water boils, then cover and turn down the heat to medium. Cook about 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is easily cut with a knife. Lift the cauliflower out with a spatula or two, keeping it intact if possible. Put in a low bowl and add red and black pepper, and salt if you like, to taste. Then, remove the bay leaves from the remaining liquid in the pan, stir to add the spoonful of mayonnaise, then pour over the cauliflower.

Enjoy immediately. This is beautiful served as a complete head, but if it breaks or if you’d just prefer, you can break the florets apart and it is still lovely and oh, so delicious!

Serves one as a full meal, two as a side.

Seriously Craveworthy Carrots

March 12, 2016 by Jennifer Silverberg Leave a Comment

I was shooting for a quick, healthy way to cook a bag of organic baby carrots … and, OH did I come up with one! Can’t wait to hear if your family loves this as much as I do!

Grab a bag of baby carrots … and cut each one in half lengthwise (so they stay long, but are just thinner). I hear you groaning, but this takes about 4 minutes and gives you way more surface area, which you’re going to want.

Meanwhile (while you’re chopping the carrots), heat a large cast iron skillet up on medium high to high heat – as high as it can take. When it’s hot, add 1 tbsp of coconut oil and let it melt.

When melted, add the sliced carrots (see, that was fast, right?) to the pan and push them around so they are as much in a single layer as possible. Now the important part – DO NOT MOVE them for at least 3-4 minutes, or until you see charred bits developing on some of the bottoms. Really important – it’s the charring that makes a difference. Once the bottoms develop a char, stir them around a bit, let them char some more, and repeat until you’re starting to worry if you’ve cooked these carrots too much (you haven’t). At that point, turn off the heat, sprinkle the carrots with sea salt to taste, and cover. Leave covered for about 3-5 minutes, or until the carrots are fork-tender.

From this point, your choices are:
– Eat them exactly as they are (yeah, I’ve eaten them straight out of the pan, too :-))
– Sprinkle with your favorite vinegar or squeeze of lemon for acidity (my favorite – I LOVE the vinegar – kind of like smoky Salt/Vinegar chips, only clean eating!)
– Toss them in a bit of curry powder, and lime if you like
– Toss in hot sauce and honey

Real Food … the Easy Way to Health

February 16, 2016 by Jennifer Silverberg Leave a Comment

This is one of my favorite bits of real food inspiration … because it has the potential to stop us in our well-worn tracks of thinking of food – particuarly healthy food – as time-consuming and complicated.

REAL FOOD

– Real food is a beautiful apple, sliced with love, and eaten one gorgeous slice at a time.

– Real food is a couple of farmer’s market carrots sliced into dimes and sizzled in a bit of olive oil until they caramelize.

– Real food is broccoli roasted until it’s crisp and brown, with simple sprinkle of salt.

– Real food is a half of an avocado, maybe with a squeeze of lime and a twist of black pepper … or not.

– Real food is parsley and mint, tossed with quinoa.

– Real food is a tomato, freshly picked from the vine and eaten while still warm with the summer sun.

– Real food is a mash of warm white beans, with a bit of roasted garlic.

Real food is simple, beautiful, and soul-warming. It can be mixed with other foods, but it is also complete unto itself. It demands to be eaten artfully and with attention, and returns this favor with flavor and health. Big thanks to the great Jamie Oliver for the reminder!

Less food – more satisfaction!

September 18, 2015 by Jennifer Silverberg Leave a Comment

If your meals leave you unsatisfied, it’s may not be insufficient food … it may be insufficient attention and time given to the overall process. Every aspect of the meal is part of the full cycle of satisfaction, and rushing through any of it can leave you dissatisfied and full of cravings for more. Maybe the secret to the slimming, healthy Mediterranean diet is less about the food itself, and more about the complete lack of rushing around the meal. Worth trying!

Quick Sautéed Asparagus Bits – Recipe

September 17, 2015 by Jennifer Silverberg Leave a Comment

Looking for a quick dish for dinner? This quick sautéed asparagus is great tossed over pasta, sprinkled hot over a cold salad, or eaten straight out of the pan :-). Quantities are totally flexible – adjust them to your taste and level of hunger. Enjoy!

This is the first of several quick-fix high-flavor-high-nutrient dishes I’ll be posting. (If this was forwarded to you and you want to be sure to receive the rest, go to www.eatyourselfwell.com to subscribe. And if you forwarded it, THANKS!)

Happy Healthy Birthday!

September 6, 2015 by Jennifer Silverberg 2 Comments

So, today is my birthday – one of the ones that end in “0” and cause you to pause to take stock of where you’ve been and where you’re going with the time you have left. This morning, I’m taking a few moments to give HUGE thanks to the body that has somehow been able to withstand all of the craziness I’ve thrown at it for so many years, and has provided a healthy, strong place to live through it all.

Of course, the LAST thing I want to do to celebrate this milestone is to violate myself with foods that will gunk up the works and negatively impact my health … so I’m making my own version of this “fruit cake!”

Totally wish you all could be here to share it with me – but here’s how to make your own!

Healthy Birthday Fruit Cake!

Ingredients
– One large seedless watermelon
– In-season fruits: melons, blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, pineapple, blackberries, dragonfruit, cherry, apple, bananas, pears, oranges, figs … anything!

Lay the watermelon on its side. Using a large, non-serrated, sharp butcher knife, cut both ends off to form parallel straight edges. Turn the watermelon so that it is sitting flat-sides up and down. Carefully slice within the rind to remove it, leaving a round form. If you’re anything like me, there is still quite a bit of cutting to do to make it even, but all of the trimmings are delicious!

Pro tip: place two plates (slightly smaller than the diameter of the watermelon) on either side of the cake – one on top and one on bottom, and use the plates as guides for your knife. Voila – perfect circle!

Arrange whatever fruit is fresh atop the cake and around the bottom. To make shapes, use a cookie cutter, and then use toothpicks to affix them to the cake (be sure to remove toothpicks from fruit before kids serve themselves).

Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve (serve same-day). For serving, it helps to have an additional bowl of fruit so that you can simply slice the watermelon and spoon the fruit from a bowl.

Homemade Tomato Jam Crostini – with Lemon Ricotta

July 19, 2015 by Jennifer Silverberg Leave a Comment

My favorite season? Easy, tomato season. I wait for this all year … and when it hits, I’m the first to the Farmer’s market to buy beautiful slicing heirlooms, and then the last to the Farmer’s Market to buy up the scratched/dented/bruised tomatoes for sauces and jams, at a discount. Actually, I owe a shout out to the nice folks at Crystal Organic Farms who are nice enough to set aside their “seconds” for me each week now!

Last week, I decided to turn the bumper crop of beautiful Black Krims into a homemade tomato jam. I made a few different batches to play around with the ingredients and ratios, and this one produced the hands-down favorite!

Lemon Ricotta and Homemade Tomato Jam Crostini

Fresh bread – whole wheat baguette or sourdough are my favorites – thinly sliced on the bias for 4-6 large slices
Fresh whole-milk ricotta – about 1/2 lb
Fine zest of 1 organic lemon
Homemade tomato jam (see recipe, below)
tiny pinch of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh basil, washed and torn by hand

Zest the lemon into the ricotta, add pinch of salt, and stir. If you can, let sit for 30 minutes or so to let the ricotta come to room temp and to give the lemon a chance to flavor the cheese.

Turn on broiler to start warming. On the stove in a seasoned cast iron pan, grill the thin bread slices on both sides (sure, you can just use a toaster, but grilling is tastier and just as easy!)

Spread the ricotta onto the bread slices and put under the broiler for a few minutes to let it warm and slightly brown. Remove from oven and spread the homemade tomato jam over the ricotta. Top with fresh ground pepper and torn basil to taste, and serve.

Homemade Tomato Jam

About 6 pounds of Black Krim tomatoes, with the cores and seeds removed (NOTES: I do this by coring the tomatoes and then squeezing them – some of the seed are left and I’m OK with that. Also peel them if you’re a purist – I usually just pull the skins out while cooking, and am not bothered if a skin or two is left.)
1 cup cider vinegar
5 garlic cloves, peeled and pressed
4 tablespoons grated fresh turmeric (substitute ginger if you don’t have fresh turmeric)
1/4 cup raw sugar
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon (be sure to use organic since you’re using the peel)
½ teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Put all ingredients into a large pot (do not use uncoated cast iron). Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat then reduce to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally (more often as it reduces), until jammy. Depending on how well you squeezed the tomatoes, this can take 3-5 hours.

To can the jam: ladle the jam into 3 hot sterilized canning jars, leaving ½ inch of headroom. Seal with hot lids and process the jars for at least 10 minutes.

To store for <1 month (it doesn't last anywhere near that long in my house): store in a covered glass jar in the fridge. Other usage ideas for jam:

Serve over warmed brie, feta, or pretty much any other cheese
Serve over quick-sauteed spinach, swiss chard, or kale
Serve alongside pretty much any egg dish, like quiche or omelettes
Serve on toast in the morning – delicious!
Stir into pan-sauteed fresh corn
Eat straight out of the jar (seriously)

On food as ART … and eating as ART

June 26, 2015 by Jennifer Silverberg Leave a Comment

I’m recently home from a vacation trip to Italy and have SO much to share about the food (recipes coming as soon as I recover from jet lag and a backlog of work!).

But the most meaningful thing I can share isn’t a recipe for a meal, but the overall Italian approach to eating/ food as art. In two weeks of meals, I never got one plate that wasn’t photo-worthy. The foods were all beautiful, vibrant, simple, whole foods presented beautifully. There were no distracting sauces or over-salting … rather, each food was an invitation to enjoy one clean flavor at at time. The crunch of fresh lettuce. The bite of basil. A sweet, ripe tomato. Soft eggplant, a spoonful of creamy ricotta.

With this sort of attention coming from the kitchen, I found that my attention to the food – and my enjoyment of it – were naturally heightened as well. And as a result, I was MORE than satisfied with a bit less food than usual.

Which left room for a bite of tiramisu 🙂 (recipe coming soon, I promise!).