Baked Veggie Soup

Our bodies need fast and easy nourishment and this recipe provides just that - check it out below!

Ingredients
1 Kobacha squash
1 Sweet potato or yam
1 onion (sweet yellow are best)
4 gloves of garlic
1-2 tbsp olive oil
16 oz broth: veggie, chicken, or beef (you could use water as well)

Seasoning
Depending on the flavor of the squash and potato you may not need any seasoning at all. But, in case you do want to bump up the flavors, try some of these:

• Salt

• Pepper

• Cumin

• Cayenne

Maybe a splash of curry and/or cinnamon. Sometimes, just one teaspoon of tamari can turn up the notch of the flavor without it tasting like tamari. Balsamic vinegar will do the same – just ½ tsp, and possibly 1 tsp if a large amount.  

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop veggies and arrange them on a baking sheet. Leave the garlic cloves in their skin. Sprinkle a little olive oil on the chopped onion and the garlic.

Bake until all the ingredients until they are tender.

*Note: The garlic usually cooks much faster than the rest of the vegetables. So check it after about 20 minutes. When it is tender remove it from the oven and cook the remainder of the veggies.

When the veggies are tender blend them with the broth.    

Give the Gift of Stewardship

My Holiday Wish for YOU!It has been an absolute pleasure helping people from all over the world eat better. It is thrilling for me to receive your notes, ideas, questions and thoughtful comments. Thank you. Since my body has been my own laboratory I continue to learn. I too have health issues that crop up now and then, some cravings along with lifestyle and scheduling challenges, and probably some core beliefs that effect me unknowingly in some way. Since nutrition, bad and good, has affected my life so dramatically I have chosen it as my path of stewardship. Sometimes, when witnessing the dramatic effects that take place with dietary changes I want to stand on top of the tallest mountain (the Teton's, of course) and shout out that food matters, and it matters a great deal. We need nourishing food grown with clean air, water and soil. Period. Nourishing ourselves does not stop at the table though. We know we also need to nourish ourselves with loving relationships, authentic expression, community to feel safe and whole, and a meaningful purpose. A good place to start with conscious awareness and positive action toward divine nourishment is with ourselves. How about for this next year we make a pledge together to feed ourselves everything that nourishes us.Let's start with food. Let's get to know more of it's sensuality, textures, aromas, nutrients, and flavors. Let's get to know more about where it comes from and how it is grown.

Let's get into it. For me, exploring my local food supply and getting get to know my farmers and food producers has increased my sense of community and nourished me more than anything. I recommend connecting to yours. Go to farmers markets, meet the people who grow your food. Ask your grocers to stock what you need, and ask your local artisans to provide food with ingredients that serve you and still bring you pleasure. They, like me, love your feedback and want to serve you. Let's create a mutually enhancing relationship through the food chain.Eating is one of the most intimate acts we do every day, several times a day. Food stimulates every one of our senses, and touches every organ of our body. It goes in and permeates every cell through an incredible process inside of us while it feeds our living system and keeps us alive, nourished and cleansed. It provides immense pleasure, community and satisfaction.

What better way to celebrate this incredible season, this time of transformation we are told, with dedicated stewardship to own bodies and the body of the Earth we live in. And, if you do want to make a difference in the world, if you want to have a meaningful purpose, how about having the focus of your purpose be YOU. How about becoming an impeccable steward of yourself.  From a healthy center you can feel amazing, accomplish anything, love and serve many.

To help us on our journey, my new Healing Foods DVD Course and Audio Series will come out soon in the dawn of the new year. Stay tuned.

Thank you all again for giving me the opportunity to have meaningful purpose in my life.

Have a beautiful holiday season!

Loving you all, Chef Teton

Swiss Chard ala Sesame Seeds and Flax Oil (Barleans of Course)

This is one of the recipes using healthy oils that started my cooking career. No kidding. I would make this dish and people would swoon. I took it to potlucks, and people would come up to me and say, "What is that dish, it is delicious." Upon hearing my answer, their eyes would get big and they would respond with, "Wow, I never liked Swiss Chard." This is wonderful, how did you make it?" And so it began, my relentless task of repeating the recipe over and over again. My sister finally asked, "Would you please write a little cookbook for me." And, so it began.

Here is how you make this luscious dish:

Ingredients

1 Bunch of Swiss Chard

1/4 to 1/2 cup Hulled Sesame Seeds

Barlean's High Lignan Flax Oil (order through the Recommended Products page for a 20% discount)

Tamari and/or Celtic Sea Salt

Instructions:

Wash and break Chard leaves into smaller pieces. You can use your hands or pile the leaves on top on each other and cut through them with a knife making strips about 1 inch wide. Place in sauce pan, cover with water and boil for a minimum of 4 minutes to remove the Oxalic Acid (longer if you want the leaves to be more tender).

While the Chard is cooking, ground the sesame seeds in a coffee grinder or your Vita Mix, making a soft powder consistency. *Make extra is you like and store in a glass container in the fridge to use for a few days - not much longer as the oils in the sesame seeds will go rancid.

When the Chard is cooked, drain the water off and discard. Place Swiss Chard in a dish. Sprinkle the sesame seed powder lavishly on top. Pour at least 1 tbsp (per person) of Barlean's High Lignan Flax Oil on top. Put more flax oil as desired, or if making a large dish. You could use olive oil in this recipe, but the flavors will change dramatically. Barleans' High Lignan Flax Oil is what makes this combo sing.

Sprinkle Tamari or Celtic Sea Salt on to taste. Be careful with the Tarmari as it is strong and can take over. I personally like it with salt best, buy many of my clients love the Tarmai.

Smush the mixture slightly from the top with a spoon or fork as you see a yummy sauce melt together.  No need to stir it. It is best to keep the sauce on top.

Don't stop here. You can make this same topping for many of your veggie dishes. It is oh so easy, and makes a delicious, rich and healthy sauce instantly. This recipe is a good example of mixing raw and cooked together. The oil and seeds are raw, and the Swiss Chard is cooked, which is a great way to Make Every Bite Count.

Chef Teton