• 1 lb package short pasta (penne, elbow macaroni, etc)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 cups milk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 8-oz block sharp white cheddar cheese, grated and divided (about 2 cups)
• 8-oz block smoked Gouda or Gruyere cheese, grated and divided (about 2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)

PREPARATION

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions, set aside.
2. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat; whisk in flour until smooth. Continue whisking and cook for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk. Whisking constantly, cook for 5 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to low and stir in salt, black pepper and most of the cheese, reserving about a cup of cheese. Pour the pasta in a lightly greased 8 x 11 x 2 baking dish. Spoon the cheese sauce over the pasta, stirring lightly to even out the sauce in the pan.
3. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cup of cheese. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top.
4. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until bubbly and bread crumbs are golden. Remove from oven, and prepare yourself for out-of-this world macaroni and cheese.

• 4 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 11/2-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 pinches salt and ground black pepper, or to taste
• 2 pinches cayenne pepper
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 2 yellow onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon water, or as needed
• 3 cups Irish stout beer (such as Guinness®), divided
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 4 large potatoes, chopped
• 2 cups chopped carrot
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

• Step 1

Toss beef cubes with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a bowl.

• Step 2

Whisk flour, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper in a separate bowl. Dredge beef cubes through flour mixture until evenly coated.

• Step 3

Heat 1/4-cup vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; cook and stir coated beef cubes, working in batches, until beef is browned on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer browned beef to a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot.

• Step 4

Cook and stir onions and garlic in the same skillet used for browning beef until lightly browned, 5 to 10 minutes.

• Step 5

Stir tomato paste with enough water to partially dilute; pour into onion mixture. Stir to blend. Reduce heat to medium, cover Dutch oven, and simmer for 5 minutes.

• Step 6

Pour half the Irish stout into the onion mixture, and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Transfer entire mixture to the browned beef. Pour remaining half of Irish stout into beef mixture; add thyme.

• Step 7

Cover Dutch oven, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 2 hours. Add potatoes and carrots and simmer, stirring every 20 minutes, until potatoes are soft, about 1 hour. Adjust salt as needed; garnish with parsley.

Prep:  20 mins

Cook:  3 hrs 15 mins

 Servings: 10

Ingredients:

•  6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
•  1 teaspoon baking soda
•  1/2 teaspoon baking powder
•  1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
•  1 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
•  4 teaspoons ground ginger
•  4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
•  1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
•  1 teaspoon finely ground pepper
•  1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
•  2 large eggs
•  1 cup unsulfured molasses

• Icing, for decorating

Directions

•  Step 1

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

•  Step 2

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in spices and salt. Add eggs and molasses; mix well. With the machine on low speed, gradually add flour mixture, and beat until combined. Divide the dough into thirds, and wrap each piece of dough in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour.

•  Step 3

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpat nonstick baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into gingerbread boys and girls. Transfer to prepared baking sheets.

•  Step 4

To decorate cookies: Press currants into dough to create buttons. Bake cookies until crisp but not darkened, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely.

•  Step 5

Decorate cooled cookies with icing.

Icing:

• 2 large egg whites, or more to thin icing

•  4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar, or more to thicken icing
•  2-4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

Beat the whites until stiff but not dry. Add sugar, lemon juice and glycerin (if using); beat for 1 minute more. If icing is too thick, add more egg whites; if it is too thin, add more sugar. The icing may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Makes about 24 six-inch cookies.

 4 cups low-sodium organic chicken broth, plus extra for moistening, as needed

 1 cup canned pure pumpkin

 4 slices applewood smoked bacon, chopped

 2 tablespoons butter

 1 leek (white and pale green part), thinly sliced

 2 teaspoons kosher salt 

 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice

 2/3 cup dry white wine, such as pinot grigio

 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

 1/4 teaspoon (generous) freshly grated nutmeg

1-1/2 cup coarsely crumbled soft fresh goat cheese (about 6 ounces)

Directions:

1. Whisk together the broth and the pumpkin in a heavy medium saucepan and simmer over medium heat. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to low to keep the pumpkin broth warm. 
2. Cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp. Transfer to a paper towel with a slotted spoon to drain. 
3. Melt the butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add the leek and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook until almost tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in the thyme. Add the rice and stir for 1 minute. Add the wine and simmer, stirring constantly, until completely absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the pumpkin broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition to absorb before adding the next. Cook until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite, and the mixture is creamy, 20 to 25 minutes, adding additional warm broth by 1/4 cupfuls if risotto is dry. Mix in the Parmesan, 1 tablespoon of the parsley, the remaining salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove from the heat. Add more salt to taste. 
4. Divide the risotto among 6 shallow bowls. Sprinkle each with the bacon, goat cheese and remaining parsley and serve.

This simple magic color-changing Lemonade is made using butterfly pea flower and turns from blue to purple in front of your very eyes.  It uses 100% natural coloring and less than 10 ingredients!

Prep Time5 minutes

Cook Time5 minutes

Total Time10 minutes

Servings5 Servings

Ingredients

• A Handful of Butterfly Blue Pea Flowers
• 1 cup brown sugar or your favorite natural sweetener
• 1 cup water to dissolve the sugar – skip if using other natural sweeteners like maple, honey or agave
• 1 cup of filtered water boiling
• 2 additional cups of filtered water room temperature
• Few drops of Lavender extract optional
• I-2 lemons for color change
• Ice for serving

Instructions

1. To begin, you need to make a simple sugar syrup. To do this, start by dissolving 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water over low heat for a few minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved, then set aside to cool down.
2. Next, you need to steep the butterfly pea flower tea. Simply combine a handful of butterfly pea flowers * and 1 cup boiling water and steep for around 5 minutes. **
3. In a large jug combine the sugar syrup, steeped blue pea flower liquid and the two remaining cups of water and mix.
4. At this point, you can add a few drops of lavender extract (for a soothing lavender taste), if wanted.
5. At this point what you have is a deep blue butterfly pea flower tea. The moment you squeeze the lemon juice into the drink, the color turns purple. I like to give everyone lemon halves to squeeze the lemon in themselves. However, you can also pre-squeeze the lemon juice and let everyone pour in some lemon juice and stir the drink for the full magical effect.

Magic Color-Changing Slushies:

1. To make the slushies, the first step is to steep the butterfly pea flower tea as mentioned above, pour into ice-cube trays *** and then leave to freeze.
2. Then you need to prepare the lemonade syrup. Unlike above, the lemon will be mixed directly into the syrup for the slushie. Simply follow the directions above the make the sugar syrup, including the lemon juice ****
3. When you want to serve the color-changing slushies, simply use a food processor to crush the ice (or an ice-crusher). Keep some ice chunks larger and some smaller *****
4. Fill your glasses with the blue ice, pour some lemon syrup into each glass and then top up with water or sparkling water and mix. Voila!

Notes

* Alternatively, you can use butterfly pea flower tea bags. I’d use between 3-5 for a really rich blue color.

** The longer you steep them, the deeper the color will get.

*** The size/shape of the ice-cube trays doesn’t matter, as we are going to crush the ice.

**** Depending on how tart you prefer your lemonade, you can add more or less lemon juice. I would suggest between 1-2 lemons.

***** Because the smaller ice bits will melt quickly and change color. However, if you have larger chunks then your drink will be a gorgeous mixture of pink, purple and blue tones.

Filling:

• 1 pound of ricotta
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 pound of raw wheat (3 cups of cooked wheat)
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 1/2 freshly squeezed orange juice and 1/2 grated orange peel
• 1/2 cup of half-n-half
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 ounces of Limoncello or Strega Liquor
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt

Flaky Pastry (Pasta Frolla):

• 2 cups of flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons of milk
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla

Crust:

In a pastry blender or food processor, beat eggs and sugar together. Then, mix flour and baking powder and add to the egg mixture. Mix everything together. Then, add the melted butter, milk and vanilla. Mix it well. Remove the mixture from the pastry blender or food processor and turn onto a lightly floured board or counter. Knead the dough until smooth. Form into a ball and set it aside for a short while. Then, roll out the dough, approximately 1/4 of an inch, and line the bottom of the pie tin, cutting the excess dough around the edge of the tin. With the remaining dough, cut out long strips and set aside for decorating the top of the pie.

Filling:

The night before preparing the wheat pie, soak the 1 pound of wheat in water. The following day, in a large sauce pan, cook the wheat in the same water with salt and grated orange peel, butter and orange juice until very soft. Add sugar and let it melt. Then, add ricotta, half-n-half, limoncella, nutmeg and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and fold them into the wheat mixture. Stir everything well and beat until smooth. Drop the mixture into the buttered crusted pie tin. Then, place strips of dough crisscross over the filling to the edge. Roll bottom overhand up and over strips and press firmly. Preheat the oven and bake the pie at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Let it cool. Before serving sprinkle the wheat pie with confectioner sugar.

Yields 3  9-inch pies

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons butter

1 leek, including 1-inch of green, cleaned and finely diced

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely diced

2 tablespoons Calvados

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

3 cups chicken broth

1 cup apple cider

12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast

2 cups fine egg noodles (dry)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup grated Gruyere (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Snipped chives, for garnish

Directions

Heat butter in a saucepan. Add leeks and Granny Smith apple, cover and simmer until tender, for about 5 minutes. Add the Calvados and reduce until almost evaporated. Stir in the cider vinegar, broth, apple cider and bring to a simmer.

Add the chicken and egg noodles to the broth, cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Skim off any fat which is floating to the surface, stir in the heavy cream, optional Gruyere and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Garnish with chives.

6 cups bone broth

1.75 lbs all natural ground turkey (Costco)

1 slice beef liver

2 C uncooked brown rice

1-teaspoon turmeric

4 C frozen organic Normandy vegetables (Costco), diced

Directions:

Place the ground turkey in a large Dutch oven on low heat. In a food processor, mince the slice of liver and add to ground turkey. I like to use the bone broth to swish out the food processor a few times, adding it to the simmering meat mixture. Add the brown rice and turmeric. Lower heat, stir and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes. Now, I pulse the Normandy vegetables (a mixture of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots) in the food processor a few times  and add to the meat and rice, cooking for 5 minutes more.   You can also use string beans, peas, or spinach.

Remove from heat and cool, making individual packages in freezer-safe containers. You can keep five days of servings in the refrigerator but be sure to seal tightly and freeze the rest, pulling it out as needed. Consult your vet as to proper serving sizes. Feel free to augment with fresh cut apple (no core or seeds), blueberries, cooked sweet potato chunks, some chia seeds, etc.

Makes approx. 12 cups.

• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup water
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 pound catfish fillets, cut in strips
• 1 1/2 cups fine cornmeal
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay(TM)
• 1 quart vegetable oil for deep frying

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix buttermilk, water, salt, and pepper. Pour mixture into a flat pan large enough to hold the fillets. Spread fish in one layer over bottom of pan, turning to coat each side, and set aside to marinate.
2. In a 2-gallon ziploc plastic bag, combine the cornmeal, flour, and seafood seasoning. Add fish to mixture, a few fillets at a time, and tumble gently to coat evenly.
3. Heat oil in deep fryer to 365 degrees F
4. Deep fry fillets until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Avoid overcrowding so fillets have room to brown properly. Fish should be slightly crisp outside, and moist and flaky inside. Drain on paper towels.