Garlic Roasted Broccoli

• 2 heads of broccoli, cut into florets
• 3 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, toss the broccoli with melted coconut oil, salt, black pepper and garlic. Spread the broccoli in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
3. Bake until florets are tender enough to pierce with a fork and the edges are browning, about 15 minutes. Turn once halfway through the baking process and add red pepper flakes, if using. After baking, squeeze lemon juice liberally over the broccoli before serving.

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Hot Artichoke Dip

Two 14 oz. cans artichoke hearts, drained
One 8 oz. block cream cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
Cayenne pepper
2 green onions, chopped
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Dash salt
freshly ground black pepper

To begin preheat oven to 350. Add one can of artichokes, the cream cheese, and mayonnaise to bowl of food processor. If you don’t have a food processor do small batches in blender or simply chop and stir together. Sprinkle in cayenne pepper to taste. Add green onions to the bowl. Pulse mixture 6 to 7 times. You don’t want to liquefy it, just get artichokes all chopped up and mixed with the other ingredients. Mix in parmesan and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Roughly chop artichokes from the remaining can. Get them down to bite size pieces. Add artichoke pieces to dip and stir together gently. Pour mixture into ovenproof safe dish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes til heated through and bubbly. Serve with white button mushrooms….or a spoon.

Grilled Eggplant

2 large eggplant, sliced
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped

Brush the eggplant with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill on both sides over medium heat until just tender, not mushy. Transfer from the grill to a serving platter. Drizzle with remaining olive oil, and top with feta and chopped mint. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Serve warm or chilled.

Broccoli Puree Soup

2 pounds organic broccoli florets
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
3 cups water
1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
Salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

1. Steam broccoli florets for 5 minutes or until tender. Shock the broccoli (submerge it in icy water) to stop the cooking process and to retain its green color. Strain the broccoli, shaking the colander to remove excess liquid. Transfer broccoli to a food processor and chop until pasty. Transfer broccoli into a container, cover and refrigerate.

2. Place a pot over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes. Add thyme leaves and stir for a few seconds. Add water and coconut milk and season with salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil. Then lower heat to medium and reduce by ¼.

3. Add chopped broccoli to reduced liquid. Increase heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes.

4. Remove pot from stove and fill a blender half-way with soup. Carefully pulse liquid with blender lid slightly ajar and a kitchen towel in your hand over the lid. (This releases any steam the hot soup builds up as it’s processed.) After a few pulses, turn the blender on high for 2 minutes. Repeat this process until all the soup is blended.

5. Taste and adjust seasoning. Stir in remaining tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.

Tomato Broccoli Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil, grape seed oil or coconut oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
¼ teaspoon sea salt
4 whole tomatoes, diced
8 cups broccoli florets from 2-3 large stalks
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon sea salt or to taste

1. Heat oil in a large (6 quarts or larger) pot over medium heat. Sauté onion sprinkled with salt for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened but not browned. Add tomatoes and continue sautéing for 2 minutes.

2. Add broccoli, broth, marjoram and pepper. Cover and simmer for 7 to 10 minutes or until broccoli is tender but not mushy. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

• 1 large head of cauliflower chopped (or 2 small heads)
• 1 small head of garlic (or 5 to 6
• 1 coarsely chopped onion
• 3 cups of bone broth
• 3-4 Tbsp coconut oil
• sea salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Chop cauliflower and onion (doesn’t have to look pretty because it will be blended up later).  Remove outer part of garlic head, but keep individual clove peels in place.  Use knife to cut off the tips of the garlic.  Place garlic head, onion and cauliflower on a baking sheet coat with melted coconut oil.  Salt and pepper.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes until cauliflower is fork tender and lightly brown on top.  Place cauliflower, onion and garlic in a large pot.  You can squeeze the garlic out of the peels by pinching them with your fingers.  Add bone broth to the pot.  Use immersion blender to make smooth and creamy until no chunks remain. Turn on the stove to heat through and add extra salt to taste.

Another option is to take contents from the oven and place into Vita-mix or high power blender, add bone broth and blend until smooth and creamy.  Pour into pot and heat through and add salt if needed at this time.  Depending on how thick you like your soups you can add more or less bone broth.  Enjoy!

Fennel Braised in Cream

1 tbsp butter

2 fennel bulbs (2 pounds), quartered cored and sliced lengthwise 1/2 inch thick

sea salt and pepper

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup finely shredded parmesan, plus more for garnish

In a skillet with a lid melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the fennel and 1/4 tsp salt and cook, stirring occasionally until the fennel begins to brown, about 5 minutes.

Lower the heat to low and pour in the cream. Stir to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cover the pot and simmer, stirring occasionally until the fennel is tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the cheese and season with the salt and pepper. Garnish with cheese to serve.

Celery Salad with Walnut Vinaigrette

2 shallots, finely chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp walnut oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 lemon, juiced

1 tbsp honey

sea salt and pepper

1 head celery, thinly sliced

2 cups walnuts, toasted and finely chopped

3 ounces shaved parmesan cheese

In small bowl combine shallots, oils, vinegar, lemon juice and honey. Season with salt and pepper.

In a serving bowl combine celery and walnuts; add vinaigrette and toss. Garnish with cheese.

Skillet Roasted Sunchokes

2 tbsp olive oil

3 anchovy fillets in oil, chopped

1 pound small sunchokes, halved lenthwise

2 large bell peppers cut into 1 inch pieces

10 cloves garlic

Preheat oven to 425º. Heat oil in large, ovenproof skillet over medium-high, add anchovies and stir to melt. Add sunchokes to pan with the cut side down; add peppers and garlic on top and cook undisturbed about 3 minutes until sunchokes begin to brown. Transfer to oven and roast, stirring occasionally until sunchokes are tender, 20-25 minutes.

Spicy Creamed Corn

16 ounces frozen corn

1 jalapeno, minced

1 shallot, minced

4 tbsp butter

3/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400º. Roast corn in pan, stirring often until golden (25 minutes). Cook jalapeño and shallot in butter over medium heat about 3 minutes. Add cream and corn; cook 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.