The Live-Nimble Way

Exotic Slow Roasted Tomatoes 0

Another interesting side treat for the elegant dinner party or a game day treat, this tomato dish is a bit more sophisticated than tater skins, wings, guacamole, and salad.  It is slow roasted tomatoes!  Divinely elegant, it is a lovely treat at any table, and a healthy indulgence during game time.  It is packed with all the goodness of the tomato, the olive oil, and an extra boost from the cinnamon and saffron which have their own fantastic health benefits.  Cinnamon lowers triglycerides and lowers blood sugar levels.  Saffron is an antioxidant and has disease prevention properties, is an anti-depressant and a source of many essential vitamins like vitamin A and folic acid.

I have taken quite a few classes at Sur la Table in the course of my catering business, and one of them was a delicious seared tuna accompanied by some slow roasted tomatoes. As much as I love roasted tomatoes, putting saffron, cinnamon, and orange water was a stretch for me.  I had used all of those ingredients before, using cinnamon more often in savory dishes than sweet, orange water in desserts, and saffron in some amazing sauces.  I had no idea they would be so amazing on a beautiful tomato.

Ingredients

You start with the best tomatoes you can find, preferably romas, organic Compari brand is terrific. The smaller ones are also delicious in the winter. Cherry tomatoes would be a bit harder to work with with, but oh so yummy! (shorter cooking time) Wash, dry, cut in half,  A small X cut into the bottom the tomato will help them cook better. Place halves on an oven safe cooling/cooking rack such as the  live-nimble rack (oven safe to 575°F).

In a separate bowl, place saffron and cinnamon and blend/ grind together. Saffron will not break apart entirely, but mix as best as you can. Add orange water and 2-3 Tbs of olive oil, and mix.

Saffron is very expensive, but there are Asian/Indian grocers where you can find quality saffron for a very reasonable price. It is an essential spice in this mix.

Brush mixture on tomato halves, then sprinkle lightly with sugar and pinch of salt. 

Place on cooling/cooking rack (oven-safe, like Live-nimble) over foil covered baking sheet.

Put into oven and roast slow and low at 250°F for about 2-3 hrs, then turn off oven and leave to cool.  Set aside while you do the wings and tater skins.

An optional add is to fry some chopped almonds in butter until golden and sprinkle them over the tomatoes.  

Live-Nimble!  Eat Healthy!

Avacado Ranch / Gameday Healthy 0

I have been obsessed with making potato skins for the NFL teams, and needed a slightly lighter lunch/dinner.  Avocados were on sale at Trader Joe's, so with some of them getting a bit ripe, I decided to have them in a nice big salad. The extra ingredients I had from the tater skins were also begging for reassignment, so I took some of them out of the refrigerator and went to work.

There are so many recipes for avocados, I think I could fill a 400 page tome with them. Absolutely divine guacamole dips, stuffed, breakfast lunch and dinner, but I needed something for the half time table that would be super healthy, and yet in the spirit. 

I have seen recipes for avocado ranch dressing, but there was always a long list or a list of some kind of ingredients, and they were always a little weak on the ranch flavor side. So, a quick scan of my overstuffed spice rack yielded me what I think is a genius hack. Powdered Ranch dressing.  This was for a yogurt base, so I thought “close enough”, and went to work. WOW!! My new favorite dressing, no guilt, healthy, and easy.

So simple, so healthy, so creamy and delicious.  Try it!!

Salad Ingredients

chop and mix salad ingredients. Tedious, time consuming, but well worth it.

Dressing

Mash avocado well, better yet, press avocado through your live-nimble rack to give that easy to work with small dice with no hassle! Mash small chunks, sprinkle ranch mix powder over and mix well.  Add Avocado oil or water to loosen mashed avocado to proper consistency.  Mix well, and put it all on the salad…or eat with a spoon…yum!

Avocado oil may seem a strange ingredient. It is a super healthy ingredient, and works well as an additive to loosen up your avocado to spreading/pouring consistency.  Water will work, but not nearly as well.  You can also use yogurt, but again, it makes it tangier, and not quite as solid a ranch flavor.

Eat Healthy!!

49'ers Sophisticated Tater Skins 0

San Francisco 49’ers

Artichoke and goat cheese with micro greens

San Francisco.  A beautiful, romantic and wonderful city by the Bay. Innovative, healthy, gourmet, and environmentally aware. What kind of potato would be appropriate for such a place?

 Mini bites, for sure. No huge racks of ribs, gut busting burgers, or mundane menu ingredients.

Alfalfa sprouts? Micro greens? A nice goat cheese and what else? Hmmmm.  Artichoke hearts sound good. It sounds somewhat strange, but cheese and potatoes are great, and vegetables are as well.  So, moving forward, This is what I fixed.  It was a huge hit!

Prepare potatoes by steaming or roasting, then cooling, cutting in half, scooping out and either using them cold or roasting until brown.

Chilling is an option here after browning if that is what you choose to do, so that the Glycemic Index, GI, becomes quite low, around 25. 

Mash goat cheese until soft, put in chopped artichokes and mix well. You may opt to process in a blender, Vita-Mix, or other mixer.  The texture, of course, will be different depending on if or what mixing you do. I pureed mine, then folded in some finely chopped artichokes as well.

You can return to oven for a few minutes to brown, or serve cold.  Top with microgreens.

Triple Tater Cowboys 0

Dallas Cowboys

I am getting overwhelmed and overfed  fixing (and eating) potato skins.  It is just my husband and I, a huge bag of small potatoes and a refrigerator full of ingredients.

Athens Texas is generally credited with inventing the hamburger in 1880, so I thought a hamburger on a potato would be awesome.  They are also very big into BBQ brisket, and that would be awesome on a potato as well. However, I couldn’t resist doing Texas chili (no beans) and Longhorn Cheddar.  YUM!!!

The thing with the potatoes is that they can be very easy, tasty, and versatile.  You can steam them, then cool, slice in half and carve out the middle, or roast, cool and carve out the middle.  You can coat with oil and then roast again to make them crispier and brown, melt cheese in them, then fill and roast again, or serve cold.  They are all really really delicious.  The beauty is that you have small bites, not big wedges of potato, you can usually eat them by hand, and have the deliciousness with room for other tailgating/tv-watching treats.  AND…they are (mostly) healthy!!! 

I couldn’t figure out what to make.  Hamburger, brisket, or chili.  We ended up with potato pictures of chili, as they were the most photogenic! How many mini potato recipes can I do in one afternoon……….

 All three of these are best hot, so may be more difficult if taking to a game.

Texas chili, Longhorn cheese

These are also best if you roast the potatoes first. Lightly rub oil on potato, roast for about 15 minutes at 400°F  depending on size.  Cool overnight, or 24 hrs or more, then cut in half, hollow out, and roast again at 450°F until browning.  Fill with some Longhorn Cheese, or sharp cheddar, return to oven and melt.  Remove, and fill with favorite chili (no beans for Texans) that has been heated a bit, and top with more cheese.  Return to oven to melt cheese.  Serve immediately.  SO GOOD!!!   I mean, who wants to eat a whole potato when there are probably other things to eat on the snack table.  Sample them all!! Or, just eat a lot of potatoes.

If you would rather, just fill cold potato skins (steamed or roasted) with chili and cheese.  Much simpler, and still delicious.

Hamburger

I found this difficult to present beautifully, but they were great. Do as above to prepare potatoes. l put some cheese in, melt, then add a mini hamburger patty (already cooked) mustard, ketchup, and a sprinkle of bacon chips.  It gets very high very quickly, but add whatever hamburger topping you want.  You can even make it a hamburger, with a potato on top and bottom…..GF anyone??

BBQ brisket

Prepare brisket, Texan style, or use leftover, or even (gasp) store bought brisket. Use favorite BBQ sauce (bottled or home made) and maybe some good slaw on top.  Delicious….messy, not photogenic, but awesome.  This works great when you have a brisket already cooked with sauce. Game day should not find you in the kitchen, but this can be a simple and deliciously themed Tater Skin treat with out much work. 

So, you can see why I did the chili potato for the picture.  They are all delicious, but difficult to photograph.  Even the chili one, as the cheese kept sliding off.  I love chili on potatoes!  You can add chives and even some sour cream.  Delicious.

Tailgater Tater Skins! 0

Going to the store today was an emotionally difficult experience for me. Until the last few days I have been able to get organic heirloom tomatoes, Goddess melons from the Melon Shack, late strawberries at the Farmers Market, corn on the cob, fresh basil, and other delectable treats.  Now they are mostly gone!! I feel a great deal of sadness hanging on to the last few threads of summer, feeling lost.

It is raining more now, cloudier, gray, but as I look at the produce in the market, I see brilliant sunshine. The melons have given way to squash of all sizes, shapes, and flavors, the tomatoes have been replaced by fall carrots, sweeter and more deeply flavored than spring, and huge heads of cabbage, cauliflower, and potatoes.  Greens, browns, oranges, the colors of fall.

 PICTURE OF SQUASHES

It is also time for football, soup, and comfort food.  As I look at some of my friend’s blogs they are stuffed with heavier, cheesier, and more filling food-comfort food. But lest you think that this fall comfort food is too heavy, be of good cheer. I am preparing some amazing recipes with squash, potatoes, pulses, and winter greens.  Roasted pears, squash, and healthy potatoes.

But today my focus is on football and football food.  I have already posted a recipe for the quintessential football food——Chicken Wings!!!  Regularly on the list of the 50 worst foods you can eat, they can actually be prepared so that they are almost healthy and the fat in them consists of some healthy fat as well! At least, you shouldn’t feel too guilty. 

I will do a blog on chicken wings as well, but I want you to try something really really fun!  Potato skins that are tied to your favorite football team.  Thursday night football this week will be all about Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers.  Therefore, I have found a way for you to have pretty healthy potato skins themed for your favorite team!

Potatoes, like chicken wings, get a bad rap. “Whatever you do, don’t eat potatoes, they are full of dangerous carbs!”  Well, it isn’t necessarily so. When potatoes are hot, they have a very high glycemic index, which can wreak havoc with your insulin levels. However, when they are chilled for a day, their glycemic index is ridiculously low, and hence, not a bad carb. The nutrition in a potato is incredible, with all kinds of vitamins, minerals, and protein. Just make them small potatoes so portion control is much easier. Try them cold for the healthiest option. Delicious and healthy!

The Broncos are in Denver, so since you think Denver omelet, I have fixed a delicious Denver omelet potato. For San Diego, I chose a stuffed taco theme, as I had some amazing tacos there when I visited once and there are some amazing taquerias there.

 First, select small organic potatoes. Red or yellow are best, as they stay together better when cooked and cooled, and are creamier.  Fingerlings are fine, probably purple, and russets are good as well, they just tend to fall apart more easily.  Organic potatoes are best, as non-organic are sometimes sprayed after harvest with a chemical that retards sprouting. That is important in the longevity of the potato, because sprouted potatoes aren’t very good when sold. (The sprouts are poisonous, so do not eat the sprouts. Remove them first ).

There are two ways you can cook them.

1. Rub a tiny amount of oil over them and then place them on cooking rack without foil covering them. (live-nimble rack, of course). Roast at 450°F for about 15 minutes until tender but slightly firm, depending on size. Remove from oven and cool. Refrigerate for a day, or overnight at a minimum.

2. You may also just pop them into a rice cooker/steamer, and steam them for about the same amount of time until tender but slightly firm. Then cool and refrigerate.

PICTURE OF SLICED POTATOES SCOOPED OUT

The next day, slice each potato in half and remove the insides from the potato. Leave 1/4” if you can. Save the inside for another use (soup, scrambled with eggs, etc.). Brush the potato, inside and out with an oil of some kind (butter, avocado oil, etc).

Place on the live-nimble rack, and roast at 450°F for another 15 minutes to crisp the skin and give it a similar texture of a deep fried potato skin (without all the grease interfering with the flavor but with the mouth feel of a crunchy potato skin. The cut side will also brown. Yum! A rack will allow for better circulation, which makes it crispier!

PICTURE OF POTATOES ON RACK

Remove and put your team’s stuffing inside.They may then be returned to the oven for a few minutes to finish the toppings (cheese, etc) and then quickly decorated (with sour cream, salsa, parsley, etc) according to recipe. EAT!!!  They may also taste great at room temperature or cold!

You can make these a day ahead and then reheat in the microwave.

The other option is to scoop the insides out, and then fill them without returning to the oven.  It depends on the filling, but there are some that are absolutely delicious cold.  Of course, the cold ones have a lower glycemic index, so would be healthier for you.

FILLING OPTIONS

Definitely serve this cold, and although it is not dedicated to any team, it is an all round favorite, and great for someone who doesn’t want to offend anyone by not cheering for their team. LOL!! 

Egg Salad Stuffing for Neutral Football Fans

take hollowed out potato (leave 1/4” if you can)

Fill with a good size scoop of your favorite egg salad/ potato salad without the potato. This is what I prepare for a small number of people as an appetizer. While all these ingredients are up to your taste buds (they vary a LOT), here are some suggestions, a place to start. Adjust as desired.  

Add ins People prefer to leave out some of these items, or choose to add in others

Using a spoon, scoop some filling into the potato and garnish with…

The Classic!!!

Don’t feel like you have to give up your fav!  Again, put cheese into potato hollow, broil or heat for a few minutes (on a rack of course),  then remove, add bacon, sour cream, etc.  Definitely a crowd favorite, and there is really no need to deep fry.  So much better.!!

The Chargers!!!!

This one is probably best hot or at least room temperature, although my family found them amazing straight out of the refrigerator. The filling could be hot, then the shell will stay cool enough if not returned to oven.

I made small batches of these, for my husband and I and two other family members, as an appetizer, so you will need to adjust as you need.

Brown some hamburger and add  taco seasoning as per directions, and individual taste, not very moist, a bit dry is best  You can also use taco seasoned chicken, or a mushroom mixture called ……………….

Put some grated cheese into potato hollow return to oven for a few minutes to melt (optional)

Spoon some meat mixture into the hollow, top with more cheese and broil for a moment to melt cheese again—again entirely optional. The cheese will melt if the meat is hot.

Top with a bit of salsa (choose your own heat) and touch of sour cream, a tiny cilantro leaf, maybe a tiny slice of avocado it you like and serve!!  So amazing!

The Broncos!!!

This is also delicious cold, but receives a nod for being slightly better hot.

The amount for appetizer for 4

Dice sweet onion (or your favorite onion), green pepper, and ham into small dice, about 1/8”.

Place in pan and heat until the onion is somewhat transparent, the pepper slightly softened.

Sprinkle cheddar cheese in potato hollow, and heat in oven for a few minutes, remove from oven and fill with the ham mixture.  A little cheese and/or sour cream would be awesome as well. Garnish with tiny dice of tomato if you want to be fancy.

The other alternative, that I find amazing is to actually add an egg to the ham mixture and scramble quickly, spoon small amount into potato and top with a bit more cheese.  AWESOME!!!!

So, there will be more  in the next few days, to prepare you for Sunday and Monday night, but this should hold you over.  With the basic idea, you can probably figure out something awesome on your own. You could even challenge your friends to a contest…who can bring the best ones?

 Let me know your creation and maybe I can include it on my blog or FB page. I can’t give you filling for every team in such a short time, but I should have list or a link to all of them in the next week or so. Stay in touch, and check out the blog, products, newsletter, and special offers  on   live-nimble.com

A Soup (or sauce) For All Reasons!! A soup we can all eat and love regardless of our dietary needs! 0

Soup that tastes luxuriously creamy, is supremely healthy, easy to fix, super low in calories, and can be eaten by everyone at the table regardless of food restrictions?  Inconceivable!!!! A food that can be brought to the table that EVERYONE can eat? The vegans, GF, Paleo, vegetarians, low fat, highly nutritious, heart healthy, brain healthy, can ALL eat this. I don’t think that there is anyone that is even allergic to these ingredients!!!!

 It was frustrating to me one Thanksgiving when I had our very large family coming (42 in our tribe) and realized that there were allergies, vegans, low fat, paleo dieters, and a number of allergies. I nearly went crazy! How do you fix everything that everyone can eat and stay traditional? You can’t. However, you can fix enough fairly traditional foods that are insanely delicious, that everyone can enjoy. This soup is something that EVERYONE can eat!  I even have my youngest grandchildren loving it!  Really? Three year olds that love cauliflower soup?

 I will post in the coming months before Thanksgiving and Christmas, some foods/menues that can be enjoyed by a wide variety of dieters. I can’t be the only one who has these issues.

 Cauliflower has found a resurgence of well deserved popularity in the last year or two. Rightly so, as it is an extremely nutritious vegetable, and chameleon-like in it’s preparation. I have roasted, coated, dipped, stir fried, mashed, riced, and just about everything else you can think of to it.  However, I think this is the best ever way to have cauliflower.  Soup!!! 

 Seriously, I have had cauliflower soup before, and it was delicious, but usually had some degree of cream, bleu cheese, or some other high calorie or fatty treat in it. Not this soup!!!  Bare bones, but ridiculously creamy and indulgent. Eating it, you will find it hard to believe there isn’t something decadently creamy and fatty in it. I can’t imagine that there is a diet/dieter that wouldn’t love this soup. It can be subtle or strong, and lends itself to a variety of ethnic spices while maintaining it’s basic integrity.

 Think of it!! Simplifying your dinner routine just a bit by  having something everyone around the table can eat? Inconceivable!  Unify your family!!!!! Extremely simple, but super rich and creamy, it will be your favorite for sure!!

 Roasted cauliflower soup/or sauce

 1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets maybe 6 cups? Should be enough cauliflower to fully cover a 12x17 cooling/baking rack - Live-Nimble, of course, because it can take the heat and is the strongest and heaviest on the market!

 For the mire poix  a ratio of 2 onion to 1 celery and 1 carrot is classic. Feel free to reduce the amount used in this recipe, and even alter the ratio if needed.

I typically use “better than bullion” as you can control the strength of the broth. Try adding a tough of mushroom.  I haven’t tried it, but I think it might be delicious. Since it has a distinctive flavor, I would add only a small amount, though.

 Directions

Place florets of cauliflower in large bowl, drizzle small amount of oil on to barely coat florets

Put Cauliflower on rack over foil lined baking sheet, and roast in oven at 400°F until nicely browned, and very tender. The browner the cauliflower, the stronger the flavor. I prefer the lightly browned cauliflower for this recipe, as it is a bit more delicate.

I have set the recipe with 1 cup of added mire poix.  That might be a bit mild of a flavor, so feel free to adjust to more . It is a nice place to start, and you can easily add more if you want, it is more difficult to take it out!!  You can fix larger amounts of mire poix and then freeze what you don’t need for use when turning your chicken bones into a broth, or some other soup, stew, etc.  Mire Poix is a very basic mix that is used in almost any soup, stew, broth, etc.  I find the flavors of the onion, carrot and celery are clearly distinct, as is the cauliflower. I find that interesting, seeing that they are all just pureed together. It is one of those things that makes me love this even more.  Fantastic!!!  

Put carrots, celery, onion in a large (saute) pan, add about 1 Tbs oil, enough to coat pan and prevent sticking. Saute vegetables until tender (cover with lid to sweat if you want). The carrots and onions could be roasted, just be aware though, that they will become even sweeter and that will alter the soup flavor.

Place all cooked veggies in a bowl, or blending type of appliance. Using a blender, Vita-Mix, food processor, or stick blender, puree veggies with enough liquid to reduce to smooth consistency. Add preferred liquid to bring soup to your desired thickness, and serve. I typically use chicken broth, but vegetable broth is wonderful as well, if you are vegetarian or vegan.

This is a very flexible soup, as you can vary the thickness, flavors, and intensity to your preference. Preparing it the first time, I would be a bit conservative, not over browning or altering the proportions. Once you have established the flavor level, then adjust with more intense browning, or adding other spices, etc.

BONUS!!  Don’t overlook the tasty morsels on the liner under the rack!

When I roasted the cauliflower, I cut the florets smaller than I normally would, and then tossed them with a little bit of oil in a bowl. I then transferred all of it to the rack (over a foil lined pan) and roasted.  When the cauliflower was well browned, i removed it to a processor, then noticed a number of tiny little cauliflower ‘crumbs’ on the foil, having cooked to a very brown state…or was it black? I tasted one and found that is was extremely delicious! A perfect garnish, cooks privilege, or a new way to do cauliflower, I am not sure, but they were super good!

Do ahead: Can be done several days ahead, remains very delicious rewarmed.

Freeze: Cool, then freeze. I don’t know how long it will keep in freezer, but it is so good you will be fortunate to have any left to freeze anyway.

Mistakes! In case the veggies are not cooked soft enough, or you can’t blend it super smooth, don’t be disappointed! It is delicious a bit ‘crunchy’ and you can always cook the leftovers again to make them more soft, and blend again. Yes, i did make this mistake, and although the texture was not as creamy with the not soft enough veggies, it was still delicious!!!

VARIATIONS

As a sauce!!!  When this is prepared and blended, it can be very thick. It makes a wonderful sauce.  Add to your Mac and Cheese so there is a healthy dose of veggies in your kids fav! I would keep the cauliflower very lightly browned, that way, the flavor blends perfectly with the cheese sauce.  Or, just melt the cheese into the cauliflower sauce. 

Use this as a sauce for whatever you can imagine. I have not tried it on meat, but I think it would be terrific as a light sauce on a roasted stuffed chicken breast, a plain roasted piece of chicken, pork tenderloin, other roasted vegetables, rice would be fantastic, or quinoa.  Use your imagination, and find a healthier way to devour this delicious sauce!

As a soup!

As I mentioned, it lends itself to ethnic spices. Try spicy..sriracha, peppers, za-atar, lemon pepper, whatever you can imagine or love.  It is a soup that is amenable and adaptable to many ethnic tastes. Try spooning a small amount of soup into a cup and adding a touch of desired spice, and see how it tastes.  No sense ruining a whole pot of soup if you don’t like it! Then, be as creative as you like!!

The first time I made this soup, I thought a little cream or bleu cheese in it would be perfect and very gourmet. I found that I preferred just plain soup!  The extra fat, whether cream, coconut milk, or cheese, tends to muddle the flavors.  We love the clean clear taste of this simple soup.  I would like to try this with a mushroom bullion, or just a touch of it, as I think that would be delicious. 

I did decide that a garnish on the soup was needed for presentation at a nice dinner party, and as a subtle condiment, so crisped pancetta, prosciutto, bacon, chopped chives, a squirt of creme fraiche or sour cream,(maybe a cute design?) a sprinkle of paprika,  or even bleu cheese etc., would be  very elegant. Tie your garnish flavor to be complimentary to your main dish. You might also try caramelized strips of roasted carrots or onions, or well roasted thin slices of mushroom or red pepper.

ROASTED!!   Roasting the Cauliflower is a no brainer, but it does take up an entire 12x 17 rack, so there is no room for anything else. If you have a convection oven, you can do two racks at once. i did not try, but will in the future, roasting the carrots and onions (onions cut into strips, not chopped) along with the cauliflower. I think that would be delicious! It will change the flavor to somewhat sweeter, though, so don’t do this the first time you prepare it.