Sylvie’s Apple Ginger Juice

¼ c. Apple Juice

1 Orange, peeled

½ Apple, washed and cored

1/8 tsp. freshly grated Ginger Root

1-1/4 c. Ice Cubes

Place all ingredients in the container of a high-speed blender in the order listed.

Secure lid and select LOW speed on your blender. Turn machine on and then switch to high speed. Process for 1 minute or until smooth. Serve immediately.

Makes about 2-1/2cups.

Use organic produce for the healthiest juices!

Clafoutis with Grapes and Toasted Almonds

Traditionally, Clafoutis is prepared with cherries, but it seems that every time I try this recipe with a different fruit it comes out tasting deliciously creamy. I've made Clafoutis with raspberries, pears, figs, apples, apricots, peaches and now grapes. Just let your imagination create your own version. For a Gluten-Free version, just substitute the regular flour for a gluten-free flour mix.

1 cup sliced Almonds, toasted
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Lb. mixed Green, Black and Purple Grapes, I used Ron Mann’s local organic grapes
4 Eggs, beaten
1 cup Sugar
½ cup Heavy Cream, you may use milk or even coconut milk
½ cup Flour
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Kirsh, optional
1 Tbsp Confectioner’s Sugar, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the almonds on a baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes or until almonds start turning golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Butter a large gratin dish and place the grapes at the bottom of the dish.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs then add the sugar and beat well to fully incorporate. Add the heavy cream, flour, vanilla extract, and Kirsh if using. Mix well and pour mixture over the grapes. Bake for 20 minutes, sprinkle the toasted almonds over the top. Bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool for a few minutes. Dust the top, using a sifter, with confectioner’s sugar. This dish is best served warm.

Preserved Lemons

From The Le Creuset Tagine Cookbook

A very pungent lemon flavor is produced by the use of preserved lemons, which are widely used in North African Cuisine. They are simple to make at home. These are ready to use in two weeks and will keep in an airtight, screw-top jar in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 months. Keep them submerged in the brine solution at all times.

2-4 Firm Lemons, organic and non-treated
5 Tbsp Salt
2 Cups hot Water

Make a brine solution by dissolving 1 Tbsp salt in 2 cups of hot water and allowing it to cool.

Cut the lemons into quarters and rub a tsp salt all over each piece. Pack the lemon quarters very tightly into a clean jar. Pour the brine solution over the lemons, making sure they are fully submerged. Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator.

Arugula Pear Salad

3 ripe Pears

juice of 2 Lemons

1/3 cup dried Cranberries

1/3 cup Pecans, toasted and chopped

1/2 cup Apple Cider

1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1/3 cup Honey

1/4 cup extra-virgin Olive oil

1 bag (6 ounces) Arugula

Black pepper and sea salt



Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the pears into slices, about 6 slices per pear, removing the cores and seeds.

Whisk the apple cider, vinegar, lemon juice, honey and 1 tbsp olive oil in a bowl.

Toss the pears with the mixture and arrange them core side up in a baking dish.

Bake the pears, basting every 5-10 minutes with the apple sauce mixture, until tender, about 40-50 minutes. Remove and let cool to warm or room temp.

Whisk together the remaining olive oil and 1/2 cup of the basting liquid. Toss with the arugula with the dressing, pecans and cranberries and divide among 6 plates. Top each salad with 3 pear slices, season with salt and pepper.

Raw Strawberry Pie

2 cups Nuts of your liking (I like to use almonds or cashews or a combination of the two)

3/4 cup pitted Dates

Pinch of Salt

2 containers of Strawberries, sliced (approx 4-5 cups)

6 Dates soaked in warm water for about 10 minutes

1 teaspoons Lemon Juice

1 tablespoon Agave Nectar


Put 6 dates in a bowl with enough warm water to cover, and set aside.

Put the nuts, pinch of salt and pitted dates in a blender and blend until well broken down and sticky enough to press together. Press into a 9 inch pie tin along the bottom and sides. Put in the refrigerator to cool while preparing the filling.

Wash and slice your strawberries, set aside. Drain the soaking dates, drop into a blender along with 1 cup of the sliced strawberries, lemon juice and agave nectar and blend until smooth and set aside.

Layer the remaining strawberries in the pie crust and then top those with the blended strawberry mixture. Refrigerate for an hour or more and then slice and ENJOY!

Pear-Beet Salad with Lemon-Ginger Dressing

A colorful, hearty, juicy salad! Quick, easy, and oh so yummy! This salad contains about 250 calories!

• 2 Pears, chopped
• 1 small Beet, grated
• Juice of 1/2 small Lemon
• 2 tablespoons fresh grated Ginger (more or less if this amount doesn't suit your tastes)
• 1-2 tablespoons chopped raw Walnuts/Pecans (optional)

 In a small to medium-sized bowl, toss all of the above ingredients--that's it! Chop, toss, and eat!
(Feel free to substitute apples for pears in this recipe.)

Jicama Orange Salad

• 4 Oranges

• ¼ teaspoon Ancho Chili Powder

• Kosher Salt and freshly ground Pepper

• 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• Juice of 1 Lime

• 1 medium Jicama, peeled and diced

• 3 Scallions, chopped

• 2 Tablespoons fresh Cilantro

• Seeds of ½ Pomegranate


Peel and segment the oranges with a paring knife. Squeeze the empty membranes over a large bowl to release the juices.

Whisk the chili powder, salt and pepper to taste, the olive oil and lime juice into the orange juice. Toss in the orange segments and jicama. Before serving, add the scallions, cilantro and pomegranate seeds.

Apple and Spelt Berry Salad

By Liz Allred


1 cup cooked Spelt Berries (cooking instructions below)

2 or 3 Granny Smith or Green Apples, cored and sliced

2 stalks of Celery, sliced

¼ to ½ cup dried Cherries or Cranberries or Raisins

1/3 cup plain Yogurt or Mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Cream Cheese, Ricotta or small curd Cottage Cheese (to thicken it a bit)

2 tablespoons fresh Lime or Lemon juice

2 tablespoons Honey orAgave Nectar

½ to 1 teaspoon Apple Pie Spice, to taste (apple pie spice is a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice)


1. To cook the spelt berries, boil 1-1/2 cups water, then add 1/2 cup uncooked spelt berries. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for about an hour and a half, until tender. Drain any remaining liquid and cool before adding to the salad. (A tip: make a larger batch and put some in the freezer for a future salad).

2. Make the dressing by whisking together or blending until smooth the yogurt or mayo, the cream cheese, lime juice, and honey. Add some apple pie spice. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

3. In a large bowl toss the sliced apples, celery, spelt berries and dried cherries with the dressing until everything is coated. Serve immediately or chill first in the refrigerator and then serve.

Grapefruit, Avocado and Kumquat Salad

Original recipe and photo from pickycook.com, via our friends at OrganicGrown.com. Thanks to Robin Latham and Robin Zimmerman for submitting this fabulous salad to our blog!

4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 to 2 Tbsp. Lemon and Lime Juice (mixed together)

1 tsp. Lemon and Lime Zest (mixed together)

Pinch of Salt

Freshly Ground Pepper

2 large Grapefruit, peeled and seeded, sectioned into wedges with the outer membranes removed

2 Avocados

Mixed Baby Greens

2 or 3 Kumquats, sliced very thin


Whisk olive oil, zest and juice together. Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside. Cut the avocados in half, remove the seeds and carefully peel off the skin. Cut each half into 4 - 6 thick slices.

Toss grapefruit sections and avocado (gently) in some of vinaigrette. Toss the greens with the rest of the vinaigrette. Place mixed greens on a plate, arrange the grapefruit and avocado on top of the greens and scatter kumquats on top.

Apple and Celeriac Salad

Despite its rough appearance, celeriac, or celery root, has a sweet and very subtle flavor. It’s tasty when simply parboiled in water with lemon, but in this salad it is used raw to allow its unique taste and texture to come through. Here is a fast, easy and delicious way to serve this underappreciated vegetable.

Serves 3-4

1 Celery Root (about 1½ pounds) peeled
2-3 tsp. Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Walnut Oil (optional)
1 Apple
3 Tbsp. Mayonnaise
2 tsp. Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Parsley
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

Using a food processor or coarse cheese grater, shred the celery root. Alternatively, you can slice it into thin julienne strips. Place the celery root into a bowl and sprinkle with the lemon juice and walnut oil. Stir well to mix.

Cut the apple into quarters and remove the core. Slice thinly crosswise and toss with the celery root.

Mix together the mayonnaise, mustard and fresh parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir the mixture into the celery root and apple, mixing well. Chill for several hours until ready to serve.

Cook’s note:
This salad can be a great companion to a mixed green salad. Or, serve it with grilled fish or a poached egg and you will have a complete, delicious light meal.


—Sylvie Ryan, Boise Co-op Culinary Educator



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Foodie Tuesday Special--Sylvie's Elegant Figs with Prosciutto

I created this dish because I love the flavor, texture and subtle sweetness of fresh figs, and it is so easy to make! Dried figs work well too, but nothing compares to the prime freshness of this sexy fruit! I wrapped the figs in prosciutto, but you can easily discard the meat and make this appetizer a delicious vegetarian treat.

Serves 6-8

• 12 fresh Figs
• 5 oz. Chêvre Frais (This is a milder version of goat cheese, much softer and easier to spread)
• 12 slices Prosciutto
• Olive Oil (for this recipe I used the delicious French Mas du Gourgonnier)
• Fig-Infused Balsamic Vinegar (this one is Lucini)
• Toothpicks (Standard size works, but you can also use larger ones depending on the size of the fruit)
• Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

Cut a small incision on the side of each fig. With a small teaspoon, scoop out enough pulp to create room for the cheese. Reserve the fig pulp.

Mix the cheese and fig pulp in a bowl. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Scoop the cheese mixture into the figs. Wrap the figs with a slice of prosciutto and use the toothpick to keep it together. It will look like a little purse. Place the wrapped figs on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the prosciutto is a bit crispy.

To dress it, I like to first create a bed of organic lettuce mix and put the pretty fig purse on top of it. Drizzle on some olive oil and balsamic vinegar, add a little more pepper and VOILA!

-Sylvie Ryan, Boise Co-op Culinary Educator

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