Minestrone Soup

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Gigi in Recipes 4 Comments

Once upon a time long ago, before cell phones, text messages, Facebook, instagram, snapchat, twitter, you tube and cable, people spent a lot more time with each other. When Reggie and I were first married, I signed us up for cooking classes. Once a week we trekked to Los Feliz to a home based cooking school where we prepared italian, chinese, french and spanish cuisine, along with 4 other couples.

Fast forward to Food Network, a bajillion online cooking classes and we still go back to some of the recipes we made in those classes 20 plus years ago.

Now that I am home for a while, 3 trips this month was a bit much. I need to get back on my program, so for me the best way to ease back into my routine is to transition with some juicing and soup-ing along with my workouts.

I love this Minestrone soup recipe, I made a big pot this evening. It has a lot of steps, but well worth it.

Genoese Minestrone

10 cups of water or stock ( I use the no-chicken broth stock)

no chicken broth

1 can of kidney beans- drained

1 medium cabbage, cleaned, cored and sliced

1/2 pound of potatoes ( I use the little red ones)

2-3 stalks of celery

2 large carrots, sliced

2 zucchini ( I used the baby ones from Trader Joe’s)

1/2 pound of sugar snap peas

1/2 pound of string beans, topped and sliced

6 ounces of olive oil

fresh ground black pepper

1/2 pound of small pasta (can use gluten free pasta)

1 bunch of basil

6 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup of pecorino cheese grated (omit for vegan preparation)

salt

Put drained kidney beans, cover with 10 cups of stock or water. Add all the cleaned, chopped and sliced veggies. Reserve the snap peas to add just at the end. Add half the oil and simmer 40 minutes, or until the veggies are tender.

Add the pasta. Boil for 20 minutes.

Prepare pesto while pasta cooks. Put basil leaves and peeled garlic in the food processor. Process, adding olive oil and cheese, little salt and pepper.

Just before the pasta had finished cooking mix a little of the hot soup with the pesto and then add all back to the soup. cook until pasta is tender. Serve

veggies for minestrone

rinsed and drained kidney beans

chopped veggies

pesto ingredients

pesto in the food processor

pesto

I’m sure if you were short on time you could buy a ready made pesto.

minestrone soup

Enjoy! Happy Thursday-

Xoxo,

Gigi

Trader Joe’s Recalls Their Triple Ginger Brew

Black-Eyed Peas and New Year’s

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Gigi in Recipes Comments Off

Our New Year started off with black-eyed peas, collard greens and corn bread, according to southern folklore, the first food to be eaten on New Year’s day for good luck and prosperity throughout the year ahead. The tradition of eating Black-eyed peas is believed to date back to the Civil War. The crop was planted for livestock, and later was a food staple for slaves, the peas representing coins, the greens paper money and corn bread gold.

Growing up I did not care for black-eyed peas, my mother prepared them with okra and ham hocks and as a child I hated and still do, slimy okra. As an adult I discovered I loved black-eyed peas and discovered a lot of different ways to prepare them. My favorite recipe is one from Marcus Samuelsson.

Marcus Samuelsson

According to Marcus, black-eyed peas originated in West Africa, where it is a popular ingredient in a number of dishes. I love this recipe because it has coconut milk and curry which I love.

Black-eyed Peas

1 cup black-eyed peas – I use the fresh ones when I can find them, if not the frozen ones will do as well

olive oil – the recipe calls for butter but I prefer olive oil

1 medium red onion

2 tomatoes

1 scotch bonnet chili, seeds removed, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves chopped

one 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 cup of coconut milk

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 cup non-chicken stock (the recipe calls for chicken stock I use the vegan version

1 teaspoon of salt

2 cilantro sprigs, chopped

1 scallion trimmed and sliced

Prepare peas separate ie. cook until tender but not mushy.Drain and set aside.

Heat Oil in deep pot over medium heat. Add onion, tomatoes, and chili and saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, and coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Stir in the turmeric and broth and bring to simmer, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.Add the peas and salt and simmer until most of the liquid is absorded, about 20 minutes.

Stir in the cilantro and scallion, and serve.

fresh black-eyed peas

Scott Bonnet peppers

Black-eyed Peas

I like to serve my black-eyed peas with quinoa or brown rice, along with a salad or collard greens and I’m a happy camper.

Xoxo,

Gigi

Christmas Salad

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Gigi in Recipes 2 Comments

Christmas Salad

We were eating brussel sprouts before they were a trend. My mom always made this salad around the holidays and it was always one of my favorites. So I decided to make it this past weekend, so of course I called my mom for the recipe and she told me that she lost it…or that one of my sisters borrowed it and she never got it back. So of course I was disappointed. I knew the main ingredients were brussel sprouts, cherry tomatoes and a really good vinaigrette dressing.

So I decided to make it from memory of what I thought it tasted like. So here is what I came up with, and I must say it was better than what I recalled.

Gigi’s Christmas Salad

1 package of brussel sprouts (I got mine from Trader Joes)

1 basket of cherry tomatoes (I had a basket from the farmers market- you want tomatoes that taste really good- I can’t wait to replant mine)

farmers market tomatoes

tomatoes

1 bunch of green onions chopped

green onions

2 cloves of garlic finely chopped

garlic

sea salt & pepper

Make dressing first so flavors can blend and set aside. Trim brussel sprouts of dead leaves, and snip the little ends off. Bring a pot of salted water to boil, add brussel sprouts and cook for about 10 minutes, test one, you don’t want to over cook and make them mushy. Drain brussel sprouts and add ice to stop the cooking process, blanching makes the sprouts crisp and the green color “pop”, I’m into the appearance of food and I want it to look good. Wash and cut cherry tomatoes in half, chop the “green” of the green onions, and finely chop the garlic, mix everything in a large bowl with dressing and gently toss, careful not to destroy the tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve. You can make this salad early, because the brussel sprouts are firm and will not get soft.

Dressing

1/2 cup of honey

1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar

juice of one lemon

1 shallot minced

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

In small bowl, whisk together honey, vinegar, lemon juice, and shallots. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to form dressing. Season with salt and pepper. I double the recipe so that I can have a batch ready for another salad. The dressing is sweet and tangy.

Christmas Salad

I served this salad twice this weekend and it was a hit both times.

Entry Way Tree…

Friday evening I hosted my book club holiday party and I was pleasantly surprised, Robin Alexis one of our newest members shared some yuletide cheer. I looooove Christmas music and this was a treat. Robin and I met on Facebook a couple of years ago, she was living in Chicago and we connected via our interest in healthy living, and then about a year ago at a house party in LA she recognized me and we immediately hit it off. So take a moment and listen.

So my friends Happy Monday,

XOXO, GIGI

Zucchini Pasta & Marinara Sauce

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Gigi in Recipes 2 Comments

Zucchini pasta & marinara sauce

On warm days it’s nice to have a salad for dinner, especially when I am on “program” and working on dropping a few pounds. We have been having a nonstop heat wave here in Cali. This is one of my favorite dishes to make- I love pasta but pasta does not love me, so these zucchini noodles are a nice alternative. The recipe is so easy and can be varied to your taste, it is the sort of recipe that lends itself to eyeballing and adjusting your seasoning to your palate.

Equipment needed:

vitamix or high speed blender

spiralizer

spiralizer

Ingredients:

2 or 3 zucchini

2 cups of sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 2 hours- I soak mine overnight

2 or 3 small heirloom tomatoes- diced

1/4-1/2 cup of chopped red onion

3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

1-2 small garlic cloves chopped

1/4-1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

fresh herbs- basil (I like a lot of basil), oregano, thyme

1-2 tablespoons of agave if needed- I find it depends on the sweetness of my tomatoes

1-2 teaspoons of sea salt

red pepper flakes or a fresh pepper

1. spiralize zucchini and set aside

2. drain all the water and squeeze excess out of sun-dried tomatoes, mix all ingredients in vitamix until smooth, sauce should be thick-taste and adjust flavoring to your liking-

3. arrange noodles on plate and top with sauce and serve!

heirloom tomatoes

sun-dried tomatoes

chili olive oil adds a nice kick

so easy-love this gadgit

“pasta”

Enjoy!

Happy Thursday,

XOXO,

Gigi

MYILK DOES A BODY GOOD…

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Gigi in Recipes, Well-Being 2 Comments

love my MYILK

I love homemade Almond milk! I use it to make tea “lattes”, as a creamy base for fruit smoothies, and for making decadent “raw” ice cream. It is so easy to make and is full of vitamins and minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, good for your heart, protein, low in calories, calcium and a perfect alternative to cows milk. Here is my simple recipe. I’m not a fan of commercial almond milk and once you make it from scratch you will see the difference.

2 cups of raw almonds

6 cups of filtered water

2 teaspoons of lecithin (good for brain function) I need this

1/4 cup of agave, or coconut nectar, or maple syrup, or 3-4 dates or whatever sweetener you desire

1 vanilla bean or vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Soak almonds overnight in water.

soaked almonds

Drain and measure out half of the almonds about 1 cup. I learned the hard way about putting all the almonds and water in the vitamix at once–a big mess!

Put half of the almonds in vitamix with 3 cups of water, vanilla bean, lecithin, sweetener and salt.

drain almonds

vitamix with almonds

vanilla bean

Blend on high speed until creamy and smooth. Strain in nut bag or cheesecloth, and that’s it…

blend mixture

nut bag

Strain myilk

Repeat with the other half of almonds. Refrigerate. Almond myilk should last about 3 days…not really sure because mine never lasts that long…Enjoy!

XOXO,

Gigi

New Food Friday – Almond Milk

WELCOME 2013!

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Gigi in Holiday, Party, Recipes, Thoughts Comments Off

Happy New Year, Everybody!

The past year had some exciting moments, as well as a few setbacks. I am welcoming 2013 with open arms. For many the New Year is a time for renewal, a chance to start over. I think about all the things that have happened this past year, my daughter graduated from college, the start of Gigi’s Meanderings, our family trip to South Africa, a few of the highlights. 2012 also had a few challenges, my breast cancer scare and helping my daughter relocate to New York City.

While I’m not a resolution kind of girl, I do like to embrace a theme for the New Year. My theme for 2013 is “Making each day count”. What this looks like to me: Taking time daily for simple rituals that enrich my life and the lives of my family and friends. We live in a society where everything is rushed, between texting, emails, facebook, instagram etc. we are getting away from traditional forms of communication. We have hundreds of facebook friends, but when was the last time you had tea with a friend, just because? Spent a few hours with a friend doing nothing? Pulled off the road to take advantage of watching a beautiful sunset? I will be sharing these moments with you and hopefully you will share with me and we can keep each other inspired and reminded to make each day count by doing something simple to enrich your day.

I celebrated NYE with good friends,lots of delectable tidbits and chilled flutes of bubbly. 9-ish my guests began arriving armed with beautiful desserts and savory appetizers, we had everything from black eyed pea soup to spinach balls. I made my favorite salad inspired from one I used to order from Marston’s in Pasadena. It is always a crowd favorite.

Gigi’s Marstons salad

spring mix salad greens, mandarin oranges, green apples cut into cubes, avocado cut into cubes, green onion, candied pecans, golden raisins, (optional feta cheese) toss with a poppy seed dressing.

I made tiares for all the ladies, should have took pictures of these, they were adorable. We toasted, listened to my mix and conversed and welcomed in the New Year. I love entertaining at home, and plan to do more little gatherings this year.

I look forward to blogging 2013 and sharing my thoughts and discoveries on living a rich fulfilling life.

Xoxo,

Gigi

As promised a few pics from NYE.

Gigi & Molly

The Ladies

Zapatos

The Fellows

Gigi’s Perfect Almond Mylk

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Gigi in Recipes Comments Off

Raw Almonds

Homemade Almond mylk is so good and easy to make. I love using it for smoothies and in my tea, it is so much better than the box kind.

What you will need:

Vitamix

high-powered, high speed blender, I use a vitamix

nut milk bags

nut mylk bag get one here, or cheesecloth

soaked almonds

2 cups of almonds, soaked overnight and drained ( I get mine from Trader Joe’s)

4 cups of filtered water

1/4 cup of agave or honey

vanilla bean

1/2 vanilla bean scraped or 1 teaspoon of vanilla

lecithin

1 tablespoon Lecithin

2 tablespoons of virgin coconut oil

pinch of salt

In blender, blend all ingredients for about 2 to 3 minutes making sure the nuts are throughly blended and the mixture is creamy. Strain the mylk through the nut bag or cheesecloth over a bowl. Taste and adjust mylk for sweetness and enjoy.

everything in the blender

Almond Mylk

I love making shakes with almond mylk, these are two of my favorite recipes.

Mexican Chocolat shake

2 cups of almond milk

1/2 vanilla bean scraped or one teaspoon of vanilla

1-2 packets of stevia or sweetner of your choice

1/2 teaspoon cinnammon

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/4 cup cacao nibs or cacao powder

pinch of cayenne pepper

pinch of salt

Blend about 30 seconds

BlackBerry Smoothie

2 cups of almond mylk

1/2 vanilla bean scraped or one teaspoon of vanilla

2 cups of fresh blackberries, or strawberries or any berry of your choice or frozen berries, I prefer fresh, but in a pinch frozen is fine

Blend for about 30 seconds

Breakfast–Blackberry Smoothie

Almond mylk will last about 2-3 days in the refrigerator, if you have any left freeze in ice cube trays and add to smoothies. Unlike animal milk, almond mylk contains no cholesteral nor lactose about 90 calories per cup

Enjoy,

Xoxo,

Gigi

Nut Mylk Recipes

Gigi’s Juice: Not gin and juice

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Gigi in Recipes 6 Comments

Green juice is a must–it is a perfect food that is a major part of my diet. It is full of so many benefits, unlimited flavors, colorful, and really good for your body. It is relatively easy to prepare, since fresh organic ingredients, are available at most grocery stores. Juicing has become very popular, there are numerous organic juice bars opening up, delivery cleanse juice programs, and of course the juice bars located in Whole Foods. I prefer to make my own juice when I can, but sometimes when I am out all day I do take advantage of various juice bars in the city. I started juicing three years ago, my friend Teresa was instrumental in teaching me everything she knew about juicing. I used to be a “coffee crack” addict, but after detoxing my “drug” of choice is a strong green juice.

Gigi's Green Juice

Green juice is an acquired taste, when I first started I used a lot of fruit to cut the taste of the bitter greens. Now I use mostly greens with a little fruit. One of the things I like most about juicing is there is no way to make a mistake, you may not like the concoction you end up with every time, but your palate will begin to instinctively know what combinations you are craving. Juicing is also a good way to use your veggies and fruit especially if you have a tendency to over buy like me, you can juice everything before it has a chance to go bad. The only piece of equipment you need is a juicer, there are so many on the market and they have come down in price and the new models are easy to clean. I have a breville juicer. My first juicer was a Jack lalanne that I purchased at Costco. Another popular juicer that a few of my friends have is the hamilton beach big mouth juicer.

My Breville Juicer

When I began juicing, I had to come up with a little system. I needed to make the process unfussy with just a few steps which would allow me to be consistent. Juicing will never be as easy as popping a top off a bottle of juice on the shelf, but once you start you will never want prepackaged juice again. When I buy my produce I always wash it right away, and have it juice ready, like the juice bars do, chopped and ready to go. Save the plastic produce bags and use them in the container part of the juicer to catch all the pulp. Use recipes as a guide, and don’t be afraid to make a mistake.

My favorite recipe for a basic green juice.

1 bunch of kale
1 stalk celery
2 green apples
2 cucumbers
1 small piece of peeled ginger
1 peeled lemon
1/2 cup of mint or parsley

Juice all ingredients through juicer starting with kale alternating with other veggies. Serves 2

Kale

I chop the stems off and chop the leaves a little.

Meyer Lemons

Meyer lemons picked from my tree.

Gigi’s tropical green juice

1 bunch of kale
3 cucumbers
1/2 pineapple or (more to your taste)
1 stalk celery
1 small piece of peeled ginger
1 peeled lemon
water from one young coconut

Juice all ingredients through juicer starting with kale alternating with other veggies. Serves 3

Gigi's Tropical Green Juice

Fresh Juice

Cheers, Happy Juicing…thanks for stopping by. Share what combinations are your favorites.

Gigi

Summer soup recipes from the New York Times

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Gigi in Recipes Comments Off

chilled soups

I make a lot of different raw vegan soups which of course are served at room temperature or cold. Summer is the perfect time for chilled soup. I came across this article in the Sunday New York Times magazine featuring twelve recipes. Enjoy! HERE

Gigi

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