coconut oil

Chocolate Maya Nut Cake

/ Ren

(you might also like this recipe for Mayan Banana Bread)

“With one tree able to produce as much as 400 pounds of food a year, using the Maya nut prevents rain forest clear-cutting to harvest other foods and increases populations’ food supplies. Dried, the Maya nut can be stored for up to five years — a lifeline for regions with frequent drought.

The Maya nut has high levels of nutrients including protein, calcium, fiber, iron and vitamins A, E, C and B…

It is also less susceptible to climate changes than the crops that had been brought in to replace it.”  -CNN

Chocolate Maya Nut Cake

Chocolate Maya Nut Cake

Adapted from a recipe by The Equilibrium Fund

1 1/2 cups sprouted wheat flour
1/2 cups Maya nut, ground
1/4 cup raw cacao powder
1 teaspoon aluminum-feee baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon true cinnamon
1/3 cup panela or other non-refined sweetener
1 cup strong coffee (use decaf if you prefer)
1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
2 teaspoons coumarin-free Mexican vanilla
2 tablespoons organic cider vinegar

Grease an 8″ deep-dish pie pan (or two 4-inch ramekins) with coconut oil.  Sift together the dry ingredients.  Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, then slowly stir back into the dry ingredients.  Pour the batter into the pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  Take care to not over-bake.  Allow to cool 15 minutes before inverting onto a large plate and glazing.

1 cup grain-sweetened chocolate chips
1 teaspoon coumarin-free Mexican vanilla
2 tablespoons warm, filtered water

Melt the chocolate in a pan set over steaming water. Whisk in vanilla and water, then spoon over cooled cake.  Garnish with coconut flakes, cinnamon and ground, toasted Maya nut.

The Equilibrium Fund in partnership with Alimentos Nutri-Naturales, BanRural, Rainforest Alliance, the Guatemalan Ministry of Education and the Guatemalan Ministry of Agriculture started the Healthy Kids, Healthy Forests Program in September, 2008..

Please visit The Equilibrium Fund to learn more

Thai-Spiced Roast Chicken, Ginger Jasmine Rice

/ Ren

Local, pastured chicken roasted with raw coconut oil, lemongrass, onion, garlic, coriander and fermented soy..

Thai-Spiced Roast Chicken, Ginger Jasmine Rice

Thai-Spiced Roast Chicken, Ginger Jasmine Rice

Rinse and pat dry a 3-pound pastured chicken.  Place in a large glass bowl.

Melt raw coconut oil over low heat.  Transfer to the bowl of a food processor with cumin, coriander, garlic, onion, lemongrass, fermented soy, turmeric, paprika and fresh lime juice.

Pour mixture over chicken, taking care to coat all sides.  Allow to sit 1 hour, turning occasionally.

Place chicken in a heavy skillet and roast in a 400 degree oven until the skin is crisp and brown and the juices run clear, about 50-60 minutes.

Pour the fat, oil and juices from the pan into a glass measuring cup and use that and some filtered water as the cooking liquid for the rice.

Add fresh ginger, minced lime leaves, cilantro and thinly sliced peppers to the rice during the last 5 minutes of cooking.



Grilled Mango Salad with Aji Mirasol Bacon Dressing

/ Ren

Fresh ripe mangoes, avocados and an aji mirasol-infused balsamic bacon dressing over watercress and field greens..

Grilled Mango Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing

Grilled Mango Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing

Wash and dry field greens, watercress and fresh herbs.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Fry cubes of uncured, pastured bacon and chopped red onions until crisp.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.  Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat.

Add white balsamic vinegar and 1 small aji mirasol pepper (mild chile and apricot-like flavor) and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes.  Adjust sharpness with a spoonful of raw honey, but don’t make it particularly sweet.  Add the bacon and onions and keep warm.

Split and score a ripe mango.  Push up from the bottom so that the sections pull apart, dress with coconut oil (unctuous and high-heat stable) and season with sea salt and freshly-ground pepper.

Grill the mango halves flesh side down until caramelized, about 5 minutes depending on heat source.

Arrange warm grilled mango over crisp greens. Dress with hot bacon dressing and garnish with avocado slices and quartered grape tomatoes.



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Healing Tomato Curry

/ Ren

Tomato curry is one of the most delicious and nutritionally powerful healing dishes around.  Start with homegrown tomatoes, just-dug onions, coriander leaves, garlic and red chili pepper..

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Peel, seed and chop just-picked tomatoes and set aside.

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Turmeric (Curcuma longa)

Cook jasmine, aged basmati, or long-grain brown rice in bone broth, vegetable stock or filtered water with a spoonful of turmeric and another of black pepper.  The piperine in the pepper increases the bioavailability of the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-cancer properties of the turmeric.

Toast whole cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, fenugreek, mustard and coriander seeds in a dry skillet until fragrant, about 5-10 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon of raw, organic coconut oil to the pan and sauté the chopped garlic, slivered raw almonds, raisins, chopped curry leaves and chili pepper until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add reserved tomatoes, ginger, slivered onions and chopped coriander leaves and heat through, about 5 minutes.

Spoon tomato mixture over rice and garnish with yoghurt sprinkled with curry powder.

Curried Lamb with Peas and Lentils

/ Ren

Trim any excess fat and cut leftover roast lamb into bite sized pieces. Toast cardamom, coriander, mustard seeds and bay in coconut oil until the seeds begin to pop out of the pan.  Add the cubed lamb and continue to cook until meat is nicely browned.

Transfer the lamb to a dutch oven, adding enough stock and tomato puree to cover the meat. Cover and simmer about 1 and 1/2 hours. Add black gram lentils, peas, tomatoes, ginger, chili powder, curry powder and cilantro, and simmer another 1/2 hour.

Heat a naan on a skillet and serve with lamb and yoghurt or sour cream.

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