Naraya Cooking Health Recipe

Dressing

• 2 - 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• juice of 1 large lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard

To assemble

• 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• 1 red & green bell pepper, julienned
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cups basil, lightly packed
• 1/4 cup tamari, coconut aminos or soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• red pepper flakes, to taste (I used 2 teaspoons)
• 1 - 2 tablespoons sesame, coconut, olive or grapeseed oil OR water stir fry (see notes)
• 10 oz. extra firm tofu, cubed (high protein pref), cut into 3/4 inch cubes
• cooked grain of choice to serve (brown, basmati or jasmine rice...quinoa or soba noodles would be great too)
• black or white sesame seeds, for garnish

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked chickpeas (2 cans (15oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed)
• 4 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1 eggplant, diced
• 3 small zucchini or 2 medium, diced
• 2 bell peppers (1 yellow & 1 red pref.), seeds removed, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 lb. grape tomatoes, cut in half 
• 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence or fresh thyme (I added a bit of both)
• a few fresh basil leaves (left whole or chopped)
• mineral salt, to taste
• pinch of red pepper flakes, optional

In a heavy bottom pot or dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat, add eggplant and zucchini, saute for 5 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat, add onions, garlic and bell peppers, saute for 3-4 minutes. Add tomatoes, mix well and cook 5 minutes. Add in eggplant, zucchini, herbs, spices and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to a low and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Add in chickpeas and simmer anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on your personal preference (less time for crisper vegetables, more time for softer vegetables and more juices). Stir occasionally until ready.

Serve topped with chopped fresh herbs. Pair it with a gluten free or favorite artisan loaf of bread. I have it here with a wonderful olive loaf. Try serving it on a bed of quinoa, rice or pasta to make it go further.

Serve warm, cold or at room temperature.

Notes:

To make this virtually fat free, try water sauteeing your vegetables using about 3 - 4 tablespoons of water instead of oil. Total amount of water for this recipe would be 6 - 8 tablespoons, divided.

I would dice my bell peppers next time, it's easier to eat them when they are the same size as the zucchini and eggplant pieces.

For the spices, try mixing and matching marjoram, thyme, rosemary, fennel and/or savory. Or use a bay leaf and tarragon.

The longer you simmer the more juices will accumulate.

I've made many raw brownie recipes before but this one turned out uniquely delicious, most likely due to the undertones of infused coconut oil. That's right, kids. Today we will be infusing coconut oil with herbs! *WOAH SIDE NOTE I JUST HEARD MAJOR THUNDER OUTSIDE THE WINDOW*

I talked about this briefly in my last post about my cleansing, but I wanna go back to it now since it's important to me: I really am not a fan of calling this a cleanse. I'd rather just say I felt like consuming only juice and fruit for awhile, so I did, and now I am back to my regular diet. If I call this "cleansing", it implies that my normal diet is dirty. This is sooo not true. I also don't wanna call it a "detox" because it implies my regular diet is toxic! See what I mean? It just doesn't work for me. (But keep in mind that for some people, this could indeed be the case and they are starting off a new healthy life with a juice detox or smoothie cleanse. Yay for those guys!)


savoury tomato basil juice

1 large heirloom tomato
5-7 kale leaves, stems removed
Handful basil leaves
1 red bell pepper
1/2 pineapple
2 apples
1 tablespoon fresh ginger
1 lemon
1 garlic clove
1 cucumber (optional) 
3 carrots 

Wash, peel, and cut your produce as needed. Put everything through your juicer, strain and enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 ready made pizza dough (pref. whole wheat)
• fresh basil leaves, to serve
• red pepper flakes, to serve
• almond parmesan, to serve

Topping

• 1/2 small zucchini, sliced thin and halved
• 1/2 cup aspargus, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 orange bell pepper
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes (red & yellow), halved
• a few large basil leaves, chopped
• a guzzle of balsamic vinegar
• pinch or two mineral salt

Balsamic Tomato Sauce

• 1 dry pint (about 8 oz package or 1 1/2 cups) grape tomatoes
• 3 rounded tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 - 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 garlic clove or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings or a mix of oregano, basil, thyme, etc.
• mineral salt & cracked pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees or heat oven to dough directions. (We'll start with this high temp to move the pizza cooking along as quickly as possible.)
2. While oven is heating, prepare your vegetables, place them in a medium size bowl along with the tomatoes for the tomato sauce and add a guzzle of  your favorite balsamic vinegar. You can also add a tad of olive oil if you wish. Toss to coat. Place vegetables on a baking sheet keeping the cut topping and whole tomatoes separate for ease later on. 
3. Coat your cast iron skillet with olive oil, place your dough in the center, flatten out along the bottom and bring a small bit up the edges. Let set to rest until ready to layer.
4. Once oven has heated to 450, turn off oven and turn on the broiler (I had mine set on high but medium is good too), place vegetables under the flame and cook for about 6 minutes checking every so often. Remove and set aside. 
5. Turn oven back on to 450 degrees. The heat sensor should go off right away letting you know the oven is ready. If you skip the first heating at 450, this step will take around 15-20 minutes.
6. In a food processor or blender, being careful not to burn yourself, add the uncut grape tomatoes along with the other ingredients for the tomato sauce and process until blended and fairly smooth. Taste for flavor adding anything extra you might like. Your sauce should be a semi-thick consistency. If you find it's too runny, try adding an extra tablespoon or two of tomato paste. 
7. Finally, add a nice layer of your tomato sauce and veggies to the pizza dough. Place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until crust is golden. Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes before cutting to serve. Serve with red pepper flakes and a good dusting of almond parmesan. 

Notes:

I found that I needed to cook my pizza longer than the directions on the pizza dough package, about 20 -25 minutes worked for me but each oven is different.

If your crust doesn't become golden enough for you, place the skillet pizza under the broiler for a minute or so checking often so it doesn't burn.

If you have a hard time with your crust being soggy under the tomato sauce and veggies, try cooking your dough first for about 15 minutes, then add your sauce and veggies and cook another 5 minutes or so.

I would love to recommend a good pizza dough recipe but I haven't made one yet and find the ready made dough is quick and works great for me. If you have a good whole wheat pizza dough recipe I'd love know about it!