Pickled Radishes with Coconut Sugar and Coconut Vinegar

Why use coconut products?  Coconut Sugar and Coconut vinegar are good choices for people on low glycemic diets.  While coconut sugar should still be used sparingly it is a better choice for diabetics.  Coconut vinegar comes in at 35 on the glycemic index, is rich in minerals and contains nine amino acids.

Ingredients

2 bunches of organic radishes, cleaned and sliced thin

1 cup of coconut vinegar

1 cup of coconut sugar

2 cups of spring water

Directions

Place sliced radishes in a heat proof container (I used a mason jar with a lid)

Heat water, sugar and vinegar until boiling and then lower heat and simmer for 3 minutes

Pour liquide over radishes let cool and then refrigerate.

These are great floating in a mellow creamy soup, on sandwiches or in salads

Mushroom and Almond Pate (Vegetarian / Vegan )

The other day I activated and dehydrated a bunch of organic almonds.  I've been snacking on them throughout the day and was contemplating making almond butter, but I decided to come up with an appetizer that everyone could enjoy…..

You can always use any raw, organic almonds but if you would like to activate your own almonds you can find the instructions here Activated Almonds

Ingredients

1 small onion (1 cups) chopped

2 Tablespoons of Butter (Olive Oil or Almond Oil for Vegan)

4 ounces of sliced mushrooms

3/4 cup of activated almonds

4 teaspoons of Coconut Aminos (Soy Sauce or Tamari)

1/4 teaspoon Turmeric

3 cloves of garlic pressed

dash of pepper

2 ounces of Goat Cheese (or soft vegan cheese)

Instructions

In a skillet saute butter, onion, garlic, mushrooms, turmeric and pepper.

Cook until veggies are soft and onion is translucent

Move to a food processor and let slightly cool

Add coconut anions and puree until smooth

Add goat cheese and mix until blended

Serve with Quinoa Chips

Asian Inspired Mushroom Soup (Vegetarian / can be Vegan)

I don't usually toot my own horn, but this soup is delicious.  I came up with the recipe last night and made it for Valentine's Day.  My husband raved about it and was disappointed when he discovered he had eaten that last of it.

The Garnish on top are quick fried enoki mushrooms I only did this to be a little "fancy" since it was a special meal.  The soup tastes wonderful without it.

Also the soup that I made is vegetarian, not vegan, because I used butter but, that could easily be substituted with Olive Oil and still taste super yummy

Ingredients

Lots and Lots of Mushrooms.  In this case I used a selection that I found at the Korean Market in my neighborhood.  Not only did they have a great selection, their prices were a fraction of what you would find in specialty markets.  

2 pounds of assorted Wild Mushrooms (cleaned a note on cleaning to follow)

1 package of Enoki Mushrooms (use as garnish)

6 cups of Vegetable Broth

2 Shallots; chopped

2 Tablespoon of Coconut Aminos (tamari or soy sauce as an option)

1/2 Tablespoon of Rice Vinegar

1 Tablespoon Butter or Olive Oil

1 teaspoon of sesame oil

Instructions

Clean Mushrooms*

Set aside 4 cups of mushrooms; sliced

Chop remaining mushrooms

In a large pot Saute onions and Shallot in 1/2 Tablespoon of Butter for 3 minutes.  Add Broth, 1 tablespoon of coconut amines and rice vinegar to pot.

Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until very tender.  About 30 minutes

In the mean time….

Saute remaining mushrooms in the other 1/2 Tablespoon of butter and sesame oil for  about 2 minutes.

Add the other 1 tablespoon of Coconut aminos to deglaze pan (about 1 minute)

Remove from heat until the Soup is finished cooking

Now back to the soup…

After 30 minutes soup should be ready to blend.  Working in batches puree in a food processor (you could also use a submersible hand blender)

If it seems to thick, add a little water or broth until the desired constancy is achieved

Once all of the soup is blended return to pot and add the sautéed mushroom.

Heat through

As I mentioned above.  If you feel like being fancy you could use a quick fried enoki as garnish

Heat a whole bottle of peanut oil in the narrowest, deepest pan that you have.

Hold a whole bunch of enoki by their base with a set of metal tongs

When oil is really hot, dip the enoki in it for 1 minute

Drain Enoki on a plate layered with paper towels.  Gently pat the top to remove as much oil as possible

Cut the uncooked portion of the mushroom off and place a clump on the top of your soup

Enjoy