African Sweet Potato Almond Stew

I have fond memories of an underground dinner in Buenos Aires where the first course was an African Peanut Soup. It was creamy with a defiant touch of peanut butter. This recipe is a play off of what I remember that soup to be, subbing in almond butter for a healthier boost of good fat and protein and adding in sweet potatoes and kale to really add to the veggie count.

Served as a stew, my version is chunky and hearty with a rich and creamy sauce, slightly less sweet without the use of store-bought peanut butter. A blend of sun-dried tomatoes and an ancho chili pepper give more depth and flavor than using just plain tomatoes. A touch of vinegar at the end adds just a hint of brightness; sub a squeeze of lemon or just skip this step if it makes you nervous.

It's the perfect stew/soup for those still riding out freezing temperatures; just cup your mug, close your eyes and let the flavors take you to a warm sunny spot south of the equator.

Sickness (and vampire) Fighting Creamy Garlic, Sweet Potato and Avocado Soup

Garlic soup. One of my favorite soups from my former restaurant. They were all my favorites, we rocked our soups. But something about the idea of a few dozen garlic cloves, some bread and water combining to make a super creamy, sickness fighting soup that warms the cockles.

The garlic soup urge hit me the other day after feeling a tickle in my throat - but I'm currently staying away from gluten so I needed a substitute for the bread.  Scrounging around my kitchen I found half a sweet potato, figured it might work. But it was the toasted, blended bread in the original recipe that created the creaminess, I wasn't convinced a little potato alone would cut it. So I tossed in an avocado- never hurts to add in a bit of good fat!

Absolutely delicious. Addictive really. We each ate two bowls and I wanted more. The toasting of the garlic deepens its flavor, the sweet potato offers a subtle sweetness while the avocado brings a rich and creaminess to the soup. It's again one of my new favorites; betting it becomes one of yours too.

Garlicky No-Noodle Mushroom Lasagna with Soft Egg Yolks

This isn't your typical lasagna. There's not red sauce, no cheese and no pasta. So why did I even call this a lasagna? it's layered like one....that might be the only reason. Doesn't really matter cuz the result is pretty damn tasty and interesting.

Here is the thing, as much I love pasta (especially my home made pasta) I need to also find ways to replace pasta noodles for a healthier, gluten free lasagna option. I've done the classic substitutes of zucchini, eggplant and beets. But then I came across an idea to use an egg white 'crepe'.... wha?

Most things I create focus on anti-inflammatory, foods that bring the inflammation down. Garlic, ginger, turmeric are key players. Mushrooms help with sleep, learning and memory. This is a can't miss tasty and healthy dish.

This will look like a lot of steps at first glance; take a deep breath and read through them first. It really is more simple than it appears and comes together quite quickly. Set out all of your ingredients, take a moment to pre-chop and it will be a fat and happy snap.

Lentil, Spinach and Mushroom Dahl with Apricot Chutney Yogurt

I've been catering seminar lunches at my favorite Physio Therapy place- Entropy. Their focus is on complex  conditions and restoring hope - something I can personally speak deeply about. Preparing food for this group is like cooking for friends who admire healthy options, we all are connected  through our strive for wellness, which goes beyond just food.

Dahl is basically a stew that can be made from lentils, chickpeas or black beans. For this dish I went the lentil route, the organic green lentil route. Then I stuffed  it full of mushrooms and spinach and topped it off with cumin, garam masala and a touch of curry.

A veggie lentil stew isn't necessarily boring, but my chutney yogurt creation is what really brings this dish alive. Pulling from my recent Moroccan visit, a touch of sweet really shines with ethnic spices and the creaminess calms the heat (if you decided to go heavy on the jalapeno.)

This dish pretty much cooks itself, it just needs your love and  some good friends to appreciate it.

Butternut Squash Apple Soup

Punxsutawney Phil gets a bad rap. He is just a cute little groundhog who gets blamed for a prolonged winter if the sun happens to be out.

Whether you want to blame Phil or Mother Nature, the cold weather is sticking around a bit longer. For me that means creating warm and comforting soups like this one, which combines hearty squash with a hint of sweet apple.

No fancy ingredients or complicated cooking, just a simple saute with nutritious food.

Warm your cold winter chills with this Fat and Happy Squash and Apple Soup and let Phil live out a peaceful spring at Gobbler's Knob.

Ginger Orange Carrot Soup

Tis the season for soups; luckily there isn't a vegetable that doesn't love to be in a soup. During the holiday season I specifically look to find ways to save a few dollars on my meals to help offset all the money spent on presents, traveling and key dinner parties. Carrots are cheap, nutritious and loaded with flavor.

Hearty carrots and celery swirl with garlic and ginger while the orange zest adds just a hint of freshness. This Carrot Soup may sound humble, but it's rich, creamy and delicious enough to be the entry course for any elegant meal.

Keep warm, receive great nutrients for a beautiful body and fight cancer with this yummy Fat and Happy Ginger Orange Carrot Soup.

Moving, a Minimalist Kitchen and Homemade Veggie Broth

We are two weeks out from closing on our new place and moving. Luckily our current place is under-contract allowing us to start the packing process. Two entirely full truckloads went to donation. It was time to let go of the heavy bag I've been carting around for the past 10 years; there hasn't been a spot to hang it in our last two homes and there isn't a spot in the new place either. It was also finally time to let go of the thousands of cards and letter from friends and family through the years, but not without an entire afternoon of skimming through each one. That day was bittersweet- such warm memories relived but sad to realize these special communications are nearly extinct due to social media and smart phones.

Stacks of boxes are beginning to demand attention as are all the final details like setting up new insurance and filling out an official change of address with the US Post Office (it is worth the $1 charge to do this online!) and getting new internet ready (our address is new and nobody wants to service this new location.) Nothing is ever as easy as it seems.

Through all of this, all I can think of is how long can I keep my kitchen intact?? For most it is the last to get packed and the first to get unpacked. But even with that plan in place, there is quite a bit of kitchen pre-packing needed because I have an unusual amount of kitchens trinkets.

I'm not a pack rat or a hoarder, but I do love collecting little kitchen dishes, interesting utensils, and old-world cooking vessels. Partially for photography sake ... mostly because I'm just drawn towards kitchen character.

Packing is underway, cooking classes are on hold and I've resolved to live in a minimalist kitchen for the next few weeks. This got me thinking about what really are the bare essential, key items one needs to outfit a kitchen? Do I really need to own a whisk, an old school manual hand beater (who even remembers these?), a hand electric beater, an immersion blender, three upright blenders and a stand mixer?

Operation 'Kitchen Pare Down' is underway. Today I begin to the painful process of deciding which utensils and pans make the cut, already knowing some of my favorite indulgent items won't make it.

There are a few obvious items already in the 'stay' pile: a chefs knife, a paring knife, measuring cups and spoons; for the remainder I've devised a system. I'm putting EVERYTHING from the kitchen into boxes. I'll remove the items I need to cook with over the next four weeks, everything left in the box at the end of the month isn't really needed. Probably.  Maybe.  I'll post the final list here and you can all weigh in.

In the mean time, moving also means cleaning out the freezer. I save all my kitchen scraps for broth and have amassed two large bags full so it was time to make homemade broth. Broth is simple, easy and delicious way to use up vegetables.
 Side note: I took a strainer and large pot out of the boxes to make this.

Below is my basic broth recipe, this is a super flexible guideline only, adjust with what you have available. Once you have this made, use it in soups and sauces and definitely cook all your grains in it. It's a great way to get extra flavor and nutrition without added calories or fat in your Fat and Happy dishes.