Esalen Banana Coconut Bread

Straight from the Esalen Cookbook. Healthy, moist, sweet (but not too sweet) and yummy! Perfect straight out of the oven, just cool enough to handle with butter melted over it!

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons butter, softened
1.25 cups sucanat
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
chopped walnuts for topping (or any other type of nut, if desired)

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Esalen Meatloaf

An Esalen favorite, in our book! The word “basic” doesn’t give this meatloaf enough credit, but that’s what it is, a nice basic meatloaf. Honestly, when we want meatloaf we don’t want something that’s trying to be more than it is. Meatloaf is comfort food. This is the ultimate recipe.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 stalk diced celery
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork (the original recipe called for 2 pounds ground beef, we like the depth the mixture gives)
2 eggs
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon ground pepper
1 can tomato sauce

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Esalen Sourdough Starter

Sourdough Starter recipe taken directly from the Esalen cookbook!

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
2 cups whole wheat flour

Instructions:

Mix the ingredients in a glass, plastic or ceramic bowl using a wooden spoon
(Don’t use metal, it will react with the fermentation)
Cover the bowl with a plate and leave at 65 to 70 F for 4 days or until small bubble appear
The starter will smell like sourdough

Keep your started in a glass or plastic jar
If you use it every couple days you can keep it at room temperature
If you use it less often than that, keep it in the fridge to slow its growth
As you use the started for baking replenish the starter with equal parts flour and water
This way you’ll always have a bit of old starter that’s already cultured

Esalen Smoked Salmon Spanakopita

Another Esalen success! This recipe turned out so well we literally sat around the table talking about how good it was, while we were eating it. Yeah. It’s that good! (Thanks for taking pictures Laurie!)

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds fresh spinach (or 2 frozen packages) stemmed and chopped
1 1/2 cups crumbled feta
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 eggs
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
1/4 cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped
1/2 pound filo dough
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 pound smoked salmon

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Esalen Provençal Veggie Turnover

Another amazing recipe from the Esalen Cookbook! Savor this with minestrone soup or a greek salad! If you can’t find fresh herbs, you can use dried but make sure to reduce the quantities by half!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes (either the type in olive oil pat dry, or the totally dry type)
1 medium onion
2 bell peppers
1 medium zucchini
olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
2.5 cups grated parmesan cheese
1-2 boxes of puff pastry (we had enough filling for 12 turnovers)

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Esalen Artichoke, Yam & Blue Cheese Scones

Here’s our declaration of the week: we’re going to cook our way through the Esalen Cookbook!

It’s not quite as ambitious as the Julia Child cookbook, but it should be a yummy challenge! So far we love everything we’ve tried from the cookbook and are excited to sample everything! Just a note: while these are healthy, mouth-watering recipes they are not generally quick; so we’ll make sure to mix it up with some less time-intense ideas!

We hope you enjoy our culinary journey, we sure will!!!

Ingredients:

1 large yellow onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium yams
8 ounces artichoke hearts in water
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
pinch cayenne pepper
1 cup unsalted butter
2.5 cups Asiago, grated
1/2 pound crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons chopped sage