High Sierra Yoga | yoga. food. adventure

Rainy days cause macaroni and cheese. This particular recipe seems to have a lot of steps and ingredients, but it comes together quickly and is my favorite mac and cheese creation. There are endless places this recipe could differ, depending on your cheese, vegetable and pasta collection you may end up with a totally different dish. Wherever you take this, remember the lemon juice and the chili pepper flakes because of the dimension of flavor they bring to the dish. This recipe made enough to fill two small cast iron skillets.

Skillet Mac and Cheese + Sauteed Kale + Basil Broccoli
3 cups brown rice penne pasta
2 shallots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 leaves cavolo nero, or dinosaur kale, stems removed and chopped
1 tsp red chili pepper flakes
8 small broccoli heads, diced
2 tsp dried basil
A pinch of thyme
1/2 cup stale or oven dried bread made into crumbs (I used oat molasses bread my roommate made a few days ago and dried it out in the oven)
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup good cheddar cheese
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp paprika
sea salt
pepper
lemon juice
olive oil + butter
Goat cheese and queso fresco or cheese of your choice

Method:

Heat 5 cups of salted water in a large pot and cook until al dente.

In a separate skillet, heat a tbsp of butter and a drizzle of olive oil together. Add the shallots, saute for a few moments, then add the garlic and the chili pepper flakes. Finally add the kale. Sprinkle with lemon juice and sea salt. Cook on medium, covered, until the kale is wilted and the shallots and garlic are slightly crisped and golden.

In another pan heat the milk, heavy cream, cheese, paprika, sea salt, pepper and butter. Watch this carefully and remove when the cheese is mostly melted. Mix this cheese mixture with the cooked pasta.

Drizzle another skillet with olive oil and add the broccoli, drizzle with lemon juice, and then add the basil, bread crumbs and thyme.

To assemble to macaroni and cheese, lightly butter a cast iron skillet, spoon in some pasta, mix in some of the kale, then top with the broccoli, basil bread crumb mixture. Sprinkle a little bit of goat cheese and queso fresco on top and finish with a grind of sea salt and pepper. Broil on high heat until the cheese is browned and crisped.

I love making birthday cakes, especially when they’re for me. So this morning I spent some time making food for the party potluck extravaganza. I started with Tikka Masala, using stew meet from the grass fed cows we raised at our ranch. This all went into a crockpot with lots of extra butternut squash and spices. As that simmered, I made the spicy chai apple cake. It made my house smell like gingery-chai-cake heaven as it baked. The last thing I made was coconut ice cream with candied ginger, fresh ginger and lemon. For the cake I used the recipe on Meats and Sweets, but changed a few of the ingredients as I tend to do. I’ve included my version of the recipe on this post. My birthday was an incredible reminder of how lucky I am to be alive and 25 on the 25th day of April under the light of the full moon surrounded by friends and family and treats.

Spicy Chai Apple Cake + Lemon Ginger Frosting

1 cup whole milk
2 black chai tea bags
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cardamom
1 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 stick butter, soft
1 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp ground vanilla
2 apples, diced
1/4 cup candied ginger flakes

Lemon Ginger Frosting
1 stick butter
Grated zest of a lemon
grated fresh ginger, about 3 inches of ginger root
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp lemon juice + milk

Method:

Oven 350*
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Gently heat milk over medium high heat, when warm, add the tea bags and brew a strong chai. Mix the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla powder. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together taking care to not overmix, then add the chai milk, the apples and the candied ginger flakes. Line a cake pan with parchment paper and bake about 35-45 minutes.

I’m excited about this event happening tonight. This is just a celebration of this place and its people and the intention is fun and silliness and music and desserts and friends and family.

Kumquats are one of my favorite types of citrus. I’ve had them lately as snacks, in salads and in salsa so it was just a matter of time until they made it into my ice cream. I just returned home from Santa Cruz where I completed my Wilderness First Responder course. The course was amazing, with a great crew and inspiring and engaging instructors. Whenever I’m in Santa Cruz I visit Penny’s Ice Creamery and enjoy their amazing ice cream. And so, even though today is windy with scattered snow I decided it was the kind of day that needed ice cream. When you make this recipe you should definitely save the leftover kumquat syrup. I made granola and used some of the syrup to sweeten and add flavor to the mix giving it a tangy citrusy taste.

Candied Kumquat Coconut Ice Cream

Candied Kumquats
3 cups kumquats, diced with seeds removed
1 cup water
½ cup sugar, ¼ cup maple syrup

Method:

In a small saucepan heat the water, sugar and syrup until they come to a soft boil. Add the diced kumquats and simmer for about 10 minutes. Strain the kumquats over a bowl, separating the fruit from the syrup.

Ice Cream:

Candied kumquats and syrup
1 ½ cans coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla, I used the kind that comes as powder
¼ cup coconut palm sugar
Drizzle of maple syrup
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Raw cacao nibs

Method:

Add the coconut milk, vanilla, coconut palm sugar, maple syrup and salt to your ice cream maker while it runs. Then spoon in most of the candied kumquats, saving a few spoonfuls for garnish. Using a spoon, ladle in some of the syrup, about ¼ cup of so. Taste the ice cream and decide if you want to add more syrup. Sprinkle the cayenne in last and make sure the contents are well mixed. Process according to your ice cream manufacturers instructions. To serve add a small spoonful of the leftover candied kumquats, a drizzle of the syrup and a sprinkling of cacao nibs.

For their wedding, my brother and his wife had a beautiful collection of desserts made by various friends. I saw this tart and thought it was fragrant, and beautiful and interesting and so amazingly tasty, and I’ve been meaning to make it ever since.I finally made it for my dad’s birthday, using a slightly different recipe, coconut palm sugar and different flours and I was worried as it cooked that I had made a disaster. I took a skeptical first bite before deciding this is one of my favorite treats. You can taste the subtle hint of the rosemary paired with the fresh tart sweetness of meyer lemons and the pine nuts add nutty complexity.

Rosemary, Pine Nut and Lemon Tart

2 small meyer lemons, peeled and seeded
6 farm fresh eggs
1 ½ tbsp fresh rosemary, plus sprigs for garnish
2 cups coconut palm sugar
1 ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
1 cup almond flour
1 cup sprouted whole wheat flour
¾ cup unsalted butter
whipped cream

Method:

Oven 350*. Add the lemons to a food processor and process until smooth, and then add 5 of the eggs one at a time and the rosemary. Add 1 cup of the sugar and then set the mixture aside in the refrigerator.

Crust: process the pine nuts, 1 cup of almond flour and ¾ cup sprouted flour and ¼ cup sugar. Then add ½ cup butter and one egg. Press the crust mixture into a 9” tart shell and then store in the freezer.

In a bowl, use your fingers to mix together ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup flour and ¼ cup of butter to make a crumbly topping.

Pour the lemony mix into the tart shell and top with the crumbles, add a handful of the toasted pine nuts and bake for about 45 minutes, or until browned and crispy on top. Garnish with some chopped rosemary and also a few large rosemary sprigs, and with a dollop of whipped cream.