Christmas Gifts of Food plus Healthy Yummy Treats

For Christmas this year our family gifts were very low key, for economic and sustainability reasons. Each of these gifts were either hand made or something I can surely use (such as the tea).


These jams and canned fruits were made by my son Jeremy & his wife Kristen. Each year they can fruits from their yard, or in some instances, from berries that they hand pick at PYO farms around the state. I was lucky enough to spend some time with Jeremy this year to help him put up the "dropped pears". All of these will either be used on waffles or toast -- a little bit of summer in a jar.



This awesome granola and almond butter were made by my sister in law Terry. She is a fabulous cook. The granola did not stand a chance -- it was GONE by New Year's Day. She got the Maine-grown rolled oats for this from the farmer's market. For the Almond Butter she uses local honey. Granola is my next cooking adventure.
The 2 tins of tea were from my sister Alica, they are 2 of my favorite flavors: Decaf Apricot and Orange Ginger Mint.



This selection of yummy goodness was a gift from my son & his partner Persephone she has a great holistic eating blog. She too is a wonderful cook (we are so blessed in this family). Limoncello, a fabulous cookie mix that was a recipe she used to cook when she baked for Juice & Java on Block Island, some honey from that island and some more delicious tea, Jasmine Rooibos in this group is another favorite of mine.




Karen, who I have been friends with for many years (going back to 1st grade!) gave me this little book. Karen and I like nothing better than to get together for a good meal and great conversation. Unfortunately for me she now lives in Tampa so we only see each other about twice a year.



BLUEBERRY LINZER TORTE COOKIES
& TRUFFLES
I got both of these recipes from Persephone. There is no sugar, wheat or dairy in either of these recipes, but they are easy to make and delicioso!


I used my pizza stone to cook them on, no it's no dirty -- it's "seasoned". And the cookies did not taste like pizza at all.




All packed up and ready to go to our Christmas gathering.





Putting the finishing touch on.


Swirl around in the bowl to coat with cocoa powder.

BLUEBERRY LINZER TORTE COOKIES:
2 cups raw almonds
2 cups regular rolled oats (I used the Maine grown ones from the Farmer's Market)
2 cups spelt flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup local honey or agave nectar
1 cup canola oil
1 cup juice or honey sweetened preserves (I used blueberry jam that I made last year)

Place almonds in a food processor & grind to a fine meal, about one minute. Remove & set aside.
Place the oats in the food processor & grind them to a fine meal.
Return the almonds to the food processor along with the flour, cinnamon, agave nectar & canola oil. Pulse to combine all the ingredients.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or use baking stoneware.
Roll the dough into walnut-size balls and place on the prepared baking sheets or stoneware. Using your thumb, press an indentation into the center of each ball.
Fill the indentations with your choice of preserves.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
These need to be handled gently when transporting since they don't have eggs to hold them together completely.
Notes: you can use any type of preserves for this cookie, preferably honey or juice sweetened to keep them healthy.
Also, instead of raw almonds you can use almond meal or almond flour, I saw some at whole foods in the baking aisle.


TRUFFLES
1 cup raw almond butter (no salt added)
1 cup pitted dates (soaked for 3-4 hours)
1/3 cup cacao or cocoa powder (not hot chocolate mix)
1 Tbsp local honey (or you can use maple syrup or agave nectar)

Add ins: 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp soy sauce (adds depth to flavor), 1 Tbsp coconut oil
(if you add any or all 3 of these, increase the cocoa powder by a Tbsp per liquid addition)

Blend soaked dates in food processor until reasonably smooth.
Add almond butter & blend again. You may have to scrape down the sides in between rounds.
If using any of the add ins, put them in before the cacao for best blending.
Add cacao and mix in with a spoon just to cover the powder so it doesn't explode all over when you turn on the food processor.
Refrigerate for an hour.
Put a little butter or coconut oil on your hands before rolling the balls. Roll small balls and swirl them in a bowl with the cocoa powder till coated. Lay on wax paper in fridge for few hours till chilled. They will firm up. Keep refrigerated or cool.

NEW YEARS EVE DINNER: Pasta with Butternut Sauce & Agvolemono Soup

We usually don't go out on New Year's Eve, but we do usually make a "fancy" meal for the two of us. This year it was roasted cod, pumpkin ravioli with Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce and Greek Egg Lemon Soup (Avgolemono).


The soup is a recipe that I found in a vegetarian cookbook, I can't remember the name of it. I used to go to a restaurant on the East Side, Andrea's and my favorite meal there was always a piece of their spanokopita and a bowl of this soup.
I will put the recipe at the end of this entry to make it easier to copy & paste.
First dice up the leeks, carrots, & celery. I think I also added onion because I had it.



Heat olive oil & add the veggies. When veggies are softened, add the broth, but keep back about 1/2 cup. The recipe calls for No Chicken Chicken broth, but I only had veggie and it came out fine.




Look at those beautiful orangy yolks! The eggs are from Zephyr Farms, as well as the carrots and onions. The leeks and the celery are from Morris Farms, I got them just before Christmas.



The eggs get whisked with lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the broth.



When the soup is done cooking, the eggs, lemon & broth get added back in to heat, but not to a boil. I like the smooth velvety texture of this soup.




I knew that I wanted to make a pasta sauce with a half a squash I had left from something else, so searched a couple of recipe sites, and found this on the Vegetarian Times website. There is a link
here. To make it as local as I could, I omitted the red pepper and added shredded carrots and I also used local onions and garlic. This makes a lot of sauce. I had enough to freeze some for another day.



This sauce was very quick and easy to make. If you start with cut & peeled squash it makes in even less time. Today I saw cut & peeled squash at the Barden Farms table of the farmer's market.



Besides the fish, this was our big "splurge" of the night. Pumpkin ravioli made right on "The Hill".



The pesto that I used was from Besto Pesto, which is locally made and owned by Michelle of Zephyr Farms. I use this pesto in many, many dishes.

Recipe:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 med. leeks, 1 small onion, 2 celery spears & 2 carrots, all finely chopped
1/2 cup orzo
2 large eggs
6 cups No Chicken Chicken broth (or veggie)
3 Tbsp lemon juice (I use a little bit more because I like the lemon)
Fresh parsley for garnish, if you have it

Heat oil in large saucepan over med. heat. Add leeks, onion, carrot & celery with a pinch of salt. Cover & cook 5 to 7 minutes or till the veggies are soft, stir often.
Stir in the broth, holding back about a 1/2 cup for later. Season with pepper. Cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes.
Add orzo and cook 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Whisk together the eggs & lemon juice. Add the reserved veggie broth to this after you have warmed it. Whisk continually till blended and add back to the soup. Cook over low heat, 2 to 3 minutes or until soup is thickened, but without letting it come to a boil. Serve sprinkled with parsley.
If you have leftover, do not let boil upon reheating.