Farm Fresh Is always Best
About Me
My name is Sarah. I’ve been in the Culinary Business professionally since the age of 17. My love for food & art came from staying with my grandma over the summer in her desert home in Southern California. My grandma was never much of a cook. When I would stay with her she would take me to eat out every day, breakfast, lunch & dinner. I loved going out to restaurants every day at first but it was short lived as I missed having a home cooked meal. My grandma would drop me off at the store & let me shop for whatever it is I wanted to cook. She let me have creative reign in her kitchen so long as I cooked her a good meal. My grandma would encourage me & try all of my creations (including my failed attempts). It is with her love & encouragement that I was able to find my love for food & my passion for wanting to work in a professional kitchen. I attended SDCI (San Diego Culinary Institute) where I learned kitchen professionalism, knife skills & how to fine tune my cooking skills. I studied the chef de cuisine program & specialized in French cuisine. My favorite part of cooking is getting to plate my creations. Art has always been a big part of my life. I love painting, photography & sketching. I have combined all of my passions & not only create & use my plate as my canvas but I also take all my own food photos & film my own “how to” food videos. I love to cook farm to table, with all fresh, organic ingredients. I truly believe food is our medicine & like to incorporate as many fresh herbs & spices into my dishes as possible. My passion is to share my recipes with others & show them how to cook healthy, delicious meals for their loved ones.
Thesacramentochef
A Culinary Journey
Recipes
Always Farm Fresh
Sarah is an innovative Chef, always updating their offering with fresh ideas and creative combinations. Check out some of their signature recipes below and reach out to learn more.
More Coming Soon.......
This Fish is so easy to make & so melt in your mouth delicious. I love to pair this with roasted cauliflower & a garlic grass fed butter couscous.
Ingredients:
1/2 fish fillet of Wild Alaskan Salmon (this type of salmon has a beautiful marbling of fat & because of the fat content when cooked correctly it will be very tender.)
4 T of a good quality extra virgin olive oil
1/4 Cup Ghee or pasture raised/grass fed butter
Celtic sea salt or pink Himalayan salt to
Directions:
Melt butter & mix in olive oil, chopped up herbs and seasonings. With a pastry brush, brush mixture all over salmon, coating it very well. Sprinkle a little extra salt on top and cook on a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until salmon easily flakes with a fork. You can get creative & add some of your own favorite fresh spices/herbs. I sometimes like to add a little freshly grated or powdered turmeric to the olive oil/butter mixture to give the dish an extra health added element. You can even use freshly grated ginger and chopped oregano & thyme as well.
Did you know that you can eat a fresh sunflower blossom just like an artichoke? and did you know you can also consume the sunflower head? When you harvest a young sunflower head, right before the seeds are about to develop their hard black shell they can be harvested and eaten grilled or roasted. The inner seeds resemble a firm corn like consistency that resembles corn on the cob. It tastes like a rich, roasted sunflower seed with the texture of corn on the cob. It is not only healthy but also delicious. Don't be fulled by the simple ingredients, it's a unique, delicious healthy snack that is filling. You can get creative with this recipe & add your favorite herbs and spices.
Ingredients:
One whole organic Farm fresh Sunflower head (not with black seeds)
1/4-1/2 Cup extra virgin olive oil
Celtic Sea Salt to taste
Garlic & Onion Powder
Old bay seasoning to taste
Fresh organic chives
Directions:
Wash and soak sunflower in cold water. This will insure that it's cleaned correctly & cleared of any unwanted bugs (which is completely normal for all organic produce). The water will clean out everything and insure a bug/dirt free sunflower head to eat.
Next dry the sunflower well with a paper towel or clean towel. Mix spices into olive oil & top with Celtic sea salt.
Grill on bbq for 5 minutes, then transfer to 425 F preheated oven and roast for another 5-6 minutes or until golden brown. Add chopped herbs and sprinkle a little old bay seasoning. You can use any type of seasoning or spices you like as well as any type of fresh herbs you like. Some people like to rub sun dried tomatoes onto the sunflower or fresh roasted garlic.
Summer is the season for fresh, sweet, ripe peaches. This peach tea is mostly sweetened with fruit & just a little blue agave giving it a subtle sweetness. Any type of loose leaf or non sweetened tea (green, black or herbal tea works). I like to use a mixture of loose leaf tea & pre packaged sachet teas like Tazo & Teavana tea because they contain hibiscus & dried fruits like pineapple and mango to add to the teas subtle sweetness. I sometimes will switch up this recipe and omit the Tazo & Teavana & instead add a loose leaf green tea. Whenever I make iced tea I try and cut back on white sugar added. You can even sweeten this tea with a raw honey or maple syrup or enjoy it as is without any sugar.
Ingredients:
3-4 quarts of purified water
4-5 sachet tea bags of Teavana peach tranquility tea & beach Bellini
3-4 sachet tea bags of Tazo passion tea
1/4 cup loose leaf green tea with dried hibiscus flowers
6-7 pieces of dried or fresh Asia pears (*can be found at any asian market)
4-5 pitted dried Chinese red dates
4 organic white or yellow diced peaches
1/4-1/2 cup organic blue agave (depending on personal preference to add sweetness)
5 sprigs of fresh organic mint
Fresh organic ginger or crystallized ginger (*2 packets)
Directions:
Lightly simmer ingredients on low for 10 minutes. Turn off heat & let sit for an additional 10 minutes. Strain tea in a fine strainer. Add left over diced peaches to tea & add ice. Once cooled serve on ice with a garnish of fresh mint & rosemary.
One of my kids favorite meals to have is my crispy bbq tofu. Not only is it a vegan friendly dish, it is a very quick, filling meal that can be for dinner or lunch. I like to pair the tofu with a sticky rice, miso soup and steamed edamame.
Ingredients:
1 organic package of very firm tofu
1-2 cups of vegan bbq sauce (I like to use Kinders bbq sauce)
1-2 Cups of corn starch (for dredging)
Olive oil or vegetable oil (for frying)
Directions:
In a large to medium sauce pan, heat up olive oil or vegetable oil to fry tofu.
Strain tofu liquid and pat block of tofu dry with a paper towel (this will make it so the tofu can get a crispy texture and not turn soggy after frying).
Afte tofu is dried chop tofu into bite size pieces, squares about 1-1/2 inches long. In a separate bowl add 1-2 cups of corn starch. Carefully fully coat/dredge tofu and add to hot frying oil. You can first test one piece of tofu to make sure the oil is at at the appropriate temperature to fry. Fry the tofu until it becomes a golden brown. set cooked tofu aside on a plate lined with a paper towel ( this will insure that the tofu stays nice and crispy). After tofu is fried, in a separate medium sauce pan warm bbq sauce up and slowly add tofu. With a rubber spatula lightly coat the fried tofu in the bbq sauce. I like to use Kinders original bbq because it free of corn syrups, preservatives and has a little perfect balance of sweet, savory and spiciness to it. I like to serve the crispy tofu on top of white sticky rice and a side of steamed edamame and miso soup. This recipe is sure to be a hit with everyone and the best part is, it doesn't take long to prepare at all.
If you are looking for an easy, healthy meal that your whole family will love, look no further. This crispy herbed/turmeric chicken packs a ton of flavor using all organic, healthy ingredients. This chicken goes great with baked Yukon gold potatoes, roasted beets or a fresh baby greens salad.
Ingredients:
1/2-1tsp. tumeric
2-3 T no salt seasoning
3 sprigs finely chopped rosemary & thyme
Celtic Sea salt or Himalayan salt (to taste)
4 T melted ghee
1/4 cup olive oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 F
This recipe can be done on any bone in chicken (chicken wings, drumsticks, rotisserie and chicken thighs). Take chicken drumsticks and place on a lined baking sheet. Melt ghee and add olive oil. Mix in all spices and herbs.
With a pastry brush both sides of chicken with ghee and olive oil mixture. Sprinkle salt on top of chicken.
Bake in an oven on 375 F for about 25 minutes or until chicken skin is crispy and a golden brown color.
This is one of my all time favorite healthy snacks to make for my whole family. It is also a very simple dish that can be a healthy side dish to almost any meal. You can make your own breadcrumbs out of a gluten free bread with freshly diced herbs and a little seasoning added, or you can purchase gluten free crumbs (which is available at most stores). I like to pair this with either a ranch dressing or tzatziki sauce.
Ingredients:
2-3 organic zuchinni sliced
1 Egg (*if making a vegan version omit egg and use only nut/oat milk)
1/2 cup almond milk *(or any dairy free/nut or oat milk)
1-2 Cups of Gluten-Free breadcrumbs (one of my favorites to use is Aleias Italian Bread Crumbs).
Olive oil
Instructions:
Mix one egg with about a 1/2 Cup of Milk or Milk substitute. Dredge sliced zucchini in egg and milk mixture, then generously coat both sides of zucchini. Place on a lined baking sheet and drizzle a little olive oil on top of zucchini.
Cook on a 375 F oven until golden brown. You will want to flip the zucchini so both sides get crispy. You can enjoy these by themselves or pair this with ranch dressing or tzatziki sauce.
If you are looking for more easy, delicious Recipes, Please Subscribe to my page for new recipes.