The thought of making my own pickles seemed very daunting, so I thought, why not do a variation with a milder “green” veggie that will give me the same tangy taste without the fear of actually hoping they turn out ok!? These delectable slices of heaven are great on sandwiches, as a condiment for rice or chicken, or as pictured here, atop arugula with some crumbled feta, pine nuts and a squeeze of lemon.

These will keep in the refrigerator for about a week. Also makes a great hostess gift if you happen to be going to someone’s house for dinner!

Zucchini “Pickles”

• 6-8 large zucchini – rinsed and sliced thin (use a mandolin if you have one!)
• 3 tbls rice wine vinegar or umi vinegar
• 2 tbls Bonnie’s Tasty Herb Rub’
• 2 tbls olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

Mix everything gently in a large bowl, making sure to get all of the rounds coated evenly.  Cover the bowl and let marinate in the refrigerator overnight (If you can wait that long!). Remove from refrigerator and mix again. Store in mason jars chilled for 7-10 days.

So many coconuts and so little time! How on earth do you get that decadent nectar from a brown dry coconut (as opposed to the young white tipped coconut)?!

Here’s how…

Take a wine opener (yes, a corkscrew one!) and twist it into one of the soft “eyes” of the coconut. When you have gone far enough to make a hole through the coconut skin, tip over and place over a cup or jar. The milk will take about 4-5 minutes to come out.

Excellent on it’s own or in smoothies, use it instead of water in pancake batter, waffles, cake mixes, etc…

A recent client asked me to please prepare an Artichoke Pesto Sauce for a ravioli dish. I had never made an artichoke pesto sauce before and when I began researching some recipes, all I could really find were the kind made for dips. I decided to just play around with it and came up with this rich, creamy, decadent sauce that actually would make a great dip (serve chilled), but made an elegant sauce that we placed under the ravioli instead of on top! Enjoy!

Artichoke Pesto Sauce

• 3 8oz cans drained artichoke hearts (not marinated) or 2 bags frozen
• 3/4 cups grated parmesan cheese
• 3 whole garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup water (less for dip, more for sauce)
• 4 sprigs parsley (any kind)
• 1 tbls Bonnie’s Tasty Herb Rub
• 5 basil leaves
• salt & pepper to taste

Add all of the above ingredients into a food processor and blend until a sauce (or dip) is formed. Taste it and adjust anything you need to. Add more water for a thinner sauce (I kept mine a bit thinner), but be sure to adjust salt if you do.

If using for pasta, warm the sauce over medium heat for about ten minutes.

I made this dip the other day when I had leftover broccoli stalks.  No one ever seems to eat the stocks, so usually, they go into a soup, where they are not recognized.  This time, I chopped them up and sauteed them, creating a tasty dip for my afternoon snack. The brilliant thing is, you can use any left over veggies that you have…a great way to re-introduce some leftovers!

• 1 cup left over veggies! (carrots, broccoli, onions, peppers, fennel, corn, mixed or not, whatever!)
• 2 tbls coconut oil
• 1/2 cup chopped mint
• 1/2 cup chopped basil
• 1 tbls Bonnie’s Tasty Herb Rub
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 container vegan cream cheese

Place the first six ingredients into a pan and toss around until the veggies get soft.  If you are using left over veggies, then just warm everything up.  Set the vegetable mixture aside and add the vegan cream cheese.  Yes, you can use real cream cheese too

Gently combine the cream cheese and the veggie mixture until everything binds together.  I think this is best served a bit chilled, but it’s hard to resist eating it right away. Adjust your seasoning and serve with toasted croutons or crackers.  Also really good with sliced cucumbers and carrots.

This makes a great after school snack too!!

Featured on The Oprah Show!

Zuma Organic was founded when I started getting requests to teach some local moms to cook simple, healthy, delicious meals that they could prepare easily for their families. Today, it has blossomed into a tightly run small business with five products (and more coming!), a catering division, kids camps, retreats and more in store soon!

I am constantly astonished at the outpouring of encouragement I receive each and everyday from happy customers, students and clients. I love letting people know that cooking for your family does not need to be time consuming or dramatic.  It can be easy and delicious with just a few tips.

Thank you for checking out Zuma Organic and I hope you find alot of great info here!

Chef Bonnie

It’s almost time to spend a colorful afternoon with your kids creating beautiful Easter eggs. Did you consider that you could avoid unnatural food coloring and color your eggs by using natural ingredients, such as beets and tea? Some of the materials I will list, such as lemon peels, must be boiled first, and others, such as berry juice, do not. Coloring eggs naturally isn’t much harder than using an Easter egg coloring kit, and you can teach your kids the wonders that food can create besides just eating it.
Here is a list of natural dyes organized by color:
Green: Boiled spinach leaves
Blue: Frozen or canned blueberries and red cabbage leaves, both boiled
Purple: Hibiscus tea, grape juice (organic), and skins from boiled red onions
Red: Fresh beets boiled, red wine, raspberries, strawberries, or cranberries boiled, cranberry juice, boiled red onion skins, wine
Yellow: Boiled lemon peels, ground cumin or turmeric boiled, boiled carrots, boiled orange, or lemon peels
Orange: Orange juice, paprika, or boiled yellow onion skins
Brown: Strong coffee, any black tea
Steps to dye your Easter eggs:

For ingredients that need boiling:
1. Place your eggs in a pot of water, and bring to a boil. Turn heat off and cover for 15 minutes.
2. Place eggs in cold water to cool.
3. Place whatever ingredient you are choosing to work with (about two cups) in the saucepan and cover with water by one inch, and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and let simmer until the desired color is reached.
5. Strain the concoction so that you catch the colored water in a bowl, add three teaspoons of vinegar for each cup of liquid.
6. Dye your eggs just as you would with conventional dyes.

½ cup carob chips or regular chocolate chips (optional)

Grease a baking sheet with the coconut oil. I opt to also line the sheet with parchment paper.
Toast the nuts and coconut for about 5 minutes on the stove in a sauté pan until the coconut is golden. Toss once or twice along the way. Mix the oats, toasted nuts, coconut and the cereal, together in a large bowl and set aside.
Combine the rice syrup, sugar, salt and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly as it comes to a boil and thickens just a bit, about 5-6 minutes. Pour the syrup over the oat mixture and stir until it is evenly incorporated. Add the carob chips and combine.
Spread onto the baking sheet and cool to room temperature before cutting into individual bars. You can store these in an airtight container for up to a week…but they won’t last that long!

Most of the time I do not make my waffles from scratch (gasp!), but instead, opt for my favorite all purpose gluten free baking mix by “Pamela’s” and add a bunch of extra’s. You can find the delicious mix at most grocery stores and of course, Whole Foods.
What do I add?

Ground Almond Meal, Vanilla Powder, Sliced Almonds, Flax Oil, Sesame Seeds, Carob Chips, Fresh Raspberries or Blueberries, Agave, Honey or any other thing I might be able to get away with.

Of course I only choose a few from the list above, but always include the Ground Almond Meal, a great way to add extra protein. To top this warm toasty treat, I recommend using the Agave/Maple blend from Trader Joe’s or only Agave. The low glycemic index will help prevent sugar spikes an hour later! If you use syrup, be sure to use 100% Maple.
Savory waffles are great crowd pleasers for a party too! I like to add curry powder, toasted flax seeds, green onions, or maybe chili powder, then serve with chili or soup or top with hummus or tabouleh…the list is endless and you will need to cook a few plain ones right after, to get rid of the excess spice flavor!

If there is ever a need for eggs in my classes, chances are the ones we use come from my flock of three hens. Didi, Lulu & Tata provide my family with 15-21 eggs per week, so there is usually an ample supply to bring to my classes. Most students are delighted to see miniature brown eggs (from my bantam hen, Tata) and green eggs from Lulu (an Americauna). Didi, the beautiful black and white hen lays a regular large brown egg…not so unusual nowadays.

My nephew, Izac – pictured here, loves visiting my henhouse and is often found chatting with the birds and picking them up and petting them. I never thought I would be SO in to chickens…they are addicting.

So many of you ask me questions about them, I thought I’d answer a few of the most frequently asked ones here…

• Yes, you can eat the eggs!
• No, you do not need a rooster…only if you want baby chicks around
• They can be noisy, but these have a hen house on the back of our property
• Yes, they free range when I am able to stow the dog & watch for hawks
• They each lay eggs just about everyday
• There is NO difference from a green egg, brown egg or little egg
• They eat anything and everything, except anything with “egg or chicken” in it
• Yes, they have personalities
• No, I will never eat MY chickens
• They are fun, friendly & mischevious – a very low maintenance pet