Croatian Stuffed Cabbage

 Stuffed cabbage hopefully close to my grandmother Agne recipe

Ingredients:

5 small heads cabbage, cored
1 cup white vinegar
2 large onions, quartered
8 cloves garlic
1 bunch parsley, stemmed
2 1/2 pounds ground chuck
2 1/2 pounds ground pork
2 1/2 pounds ground veal
2 cups uncooked rice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons paprika
1 tablespoon salt, to taste
4 large eggs
3 (32-ounce) jars or bags sauerkraut
56 ounces tomato puree
46 ounces tomato juice
3 tablespoons sugar
8 cloves garlic
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Add vinegar to a very large pot of water and bring to a boil.  Vinegar prevents the cabbage from falling apart. Boil the cabbages for about 5 minutes until the leaves begin to release from the heads. Peel the leaves off and place in a colander to drain and cool. Reserve the cabbage hearts.

2. Place onions, and garlic in a food processor and finely chop. In a very large Dutch oven or roaster, saute onion-garlic mixture. Meanwhile, finely chop the and parsley in the food processor and add to the onion-garlic mixture along with the beef, pork, and veal. Cook until meat is evenly browned. Remove from heat and, if desired, drain off excess fat. Allow it to cool.

3. Heat oven to 500 F. If the inner leaves of the cabbage heads aren't pliable, return them to the boiling water for a few minutes. Trim the thick center vein of each leaf without piercing it. Add rice to meat mixture, and season with cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika, and salt. Mix in eggs thoroughly. Place a handful of meat filling on each leaf. Flip up the bottom, then fold the sides in, and roll up. Any leftover filling can be frozen for later use.

4. Chop the reserved cabbage hearts and, in a large bowl, mix with sauerkraut and tomato puree. Season the dish with salt and pepper. Place some of this mixture on the bottom of a deep, large roasting pan. Cover with a layer of cabbage rolls, tightly packed. Press down and spoon on more sauerkraut mixture. Add another layer of cabbage rolls, running at a right angle to the first layer. Continue in this manner until all the cabbage rolls are in the pan—top with remaining sauerkraut mixture and pour some of the tomato juice over it. Gently shake the pan to distribute the juice and add the rest of the tomato juice.

5. Sprinkle with sugar and cloves. Cover and place in a 500 F oven. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to 350 F and bake 2 1/2 hours. Remove cloves before serving. Present two or three cabbage rolls per person with boiled potatoes and some of the sauerkraut mixture, and sprinkle with chopped parsley and paprika. Cooked stuffed cabbage will keep a long time in the freezer if they are well sealed.

6. Notes: things I remember the meat was mixed with the rice (I do not remember if the rice was cooed or not) and stuffed in the cabbage uncooked. This was placed in a big pot cooked on a stove top and not in the oven. I do not remember tomato juice but tomato sauce and maybe tomato paste. Since I have not made this yet it will need to be updated and edited. 

Vegan Cheesecake with cashews and walnut crust

Ingredients: The Walnut Crust

• ½ cup raw walnuts
• ½ cup almond flour
• 3 small pitted dates
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Ingredients: The No-cheesecake

• 2 cups raw cashews soaked in water overnight, drained and rinsed  
• 2/3  canned coconut cream shaken
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (or 1/4 cup sugar if you don't have real maple sugar, I have not tried honey)
• 1/2  fresh lemon juiced
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

Instructions

Grease a 7” spring-form pan with coconut oil, or line an 6” cake pan with strips of parchment paper for easy removal, and grease well with coconut oil. Set aside.

in the food processor add the walnuts, almond flour, pitted dates, coconut oil, cinnamon and salt to a food processor pulse until it comes together into a sticky dough, that will hold together. Press into the bottom of  7" spring form pan.

add the filling to the food processor, combine drained cashews, coconut cream, maple syrup lemon juice and vanilla. Mix with chopping blade on high for 3-4 minutes, scrape down the sides as necessary. It will be so smooth and creamy.

Pour the filling into the prepared pan over the crust. Place in the freezer for 6 to 8 hours. The filling will seem loose but will slice after frozen and will hold shape when thawed. 

Add fresh fruit as a topping and enjoy

Vegan Walnut Pate

• 2 cups raw walnuts, soaked over night
• 1/2 fresh lemon juiced
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro with stems
• 2 tbsp dry dill
• 2 tbsp onion powder
• 1/4 cup of vegan mayo
  * Use food processor with chopping blade, adding walnuts, lemon juice, olive oil, dill, onion powder cilantro. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl with rubber spatula.
  
  *My favorite is served on a fresh tortilla with Vegenaise and a smear of good mustard, sweet onions, romaine lettuce and ripe tomato slices.
  
  ** Can be altered to accommodate a raw vegan diet

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January 2020, The Year of the Vegan

January 2020, the year of the Vegan Begins: Chapter 1

Keto: Salmon Mousse

Ingredients: 

• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
• ¼ cup cold water
• ½ cup boiling water
• ½ cup Keto mayonnaise (No Miracle Whip)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• Squirt of sriracha sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups finely flaked canned salmon, skin and bones removed 
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions: 

1. Soften the gelatin in the cold water in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the boiling water and whisk the mixture slowly until the gelatin dissolves. Cool to room temperature.
2. Whisk in the mayonnaise, lemon juice, onion powder, sriracha, paprika, salt and pepper. Stir to blend completely and refrigerate until the mixture begins to thicken slightly, about 20 minutes.
3. Fold in the finely flaked salmon. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until it is thickened to soft peaks and fluffy. Fold gently into the salmon mixture.
4. Transfer the mixture to a 6- to 8-cup bowl or decorative mold. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
5. Garnish with green olives, keto bread or crackers

Revisited Keto: Bread

Breakfast Avocado Toast 

Revised Keto Fat Bread

Ingredients: 

• 8 oz cream cheese (whole brick, full fat)
• 8 cups mozzarella cheese (8 cup whole bag, full fat)
• 4 cups almond flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tbsp dry seasoning (Ms. Hyphen, Italian, everything bagel)

Directions: 

1. Place cheeses together in the microwave bowl in 30 second increments and nuke a few times until melts and blends (does not need to be perfect).
2. Add the almond flour and baking powder and mix. (I blend these together first)
3. Add the egg, mix until completely incorporated to form a nice ball.
4. Scrape onto a piece of cling wrap covered completely and store in fridge.
5. Break off pieces as needed and shape or roll thin between 2 pieces of cling wrap
6. Bake at 350 f for 12-15 mins on a parchment lined cookie sheet until golden brown.
7. If you roll thin, you may want to flip it when the bottom is desired color.
8. Note: the bottom will brown first. Gage desired done-ness by bottom. 

Ingredients:

6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
2 oz cream cheese
1 large egg
1 1/2 cup almond flour
1 Tbsp baking powder

Instructions:

Place cheeses together in the microwave in food processor bowl in 30 second increments and pulse a few times. Add the almond flour and baking powder and mix. Add the egg and run on low until completely incorporated to form a nice ball. Scrape onto a piece of cling wrap and freeze until the oven is ready. Bake at 400 for 15 mins on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Keto: Mug Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Butter
• 2 Tbsp Cream Cheese
• 2 Tbsp Coconut Flour
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• Sweetener to taste
• 1 egg

Instructions:

1. Melt butter and cream cheese in microwave.
2. Add Coconut flour, baking powder vanilla and sweetener. Mix well
3. Add egg
4. Microwave approx 1 - 1.5 minutes.