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Five Star Foodies (Cincinnati, Ohio)

All-Natural Vegan Meals and Beverages

“The partners who make up Five Star Foodies all come from a family of health-conscious chefs. We all just love the kitchen. From running a ground-breaking vegan restaurant back in the 80’s to catering and now manufacturing gourmet vegetarian entrees we are all well-versed in the art of vegetarian cuisine. We simply love what we are doing. This is a dream come true for all of us. Providing healthy vegetarian food to people all over the world is our passion. We appreciate our customers and we hope you all love our delicious meals as much as we do.”

-Valerie Williams, C.E.O. Five Star Foodies

The mission of Five Star Foodies is to provide ready-made meals with a superior flavor profile while maintaining an emphasis on wholesome and nutritious ingredients. The company offers a taste of gourmet health quick-and-easy, all-natural, and simply delicious. They use only the best, highest quality ingredients on the market today. You will find natural, organic, nourishing ingredients in all of their recipes without harmful or potentially unsafe additives such as artificial colors, flavors, MSG, hydrogenated oils or nitrates. Five Star Foodies understands its responsibility to the environment and has invested a considerable amount of time researching their product stewardship from ingredients and packaging to their day-to-day company practices. They are dedicated to continual education on ways to improve and reduce the company’s environmental footprint.

For more information please visit http://www.fivestarfoodies.com.

Broilers vary in heat output, so cooking times vary dramatically.  When you are broiling, it is best not to walk away from the oven.  Keep a close watch on your food, and start checking after a few minutes.  Serve basmati rice for a complete meal.

 Ingredients:

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 salmon fillets, each about 6 ounces

1 large cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced diagonally into 1/4-inch pieces

6-8 radishes, washed, trimmed, and cut into thin half-moon slices

1/3 cup plain yogurt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 tablespoon lemon juice

 Directions:

Adjust oven rack so that it sits about 4 inches from heating element.  Preheat broiler.  Combine ginger, 2 cloves garlic, coriander, lemon zest, and olive oil in a small bowl.  Arrange salmon fillets on baking sheet.  Season with salt and pepper and spread mixture onto the top of salmon fillets.  Set aside while preparing the salad.

 In a medium bowl, combine the cucumber, radishes, yogurt, cilantro, 1 clove garlic, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

 Broil salmon until ginger crust turns golden and slightly crispy and a peek inside of fish with a paring knife shows that they are just cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes.  Transfer salmon to serving platter or individual plates and serve with cucumber-radish salad.   Serves 4.

This is a beautiful open-faced pastry that can be prepared a day in advance.  Filled with already-simmered fruit, the galette bakes quickly and evenly. 

 Ingredients:

Pastry:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons cornmeal

2 teaspoons sucanat or sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

6 tablespoons sour cream

1/2 cup ice water

Filling:

8 large Granny Smith apples, about 4 lbs total weight

1/2 cup sucanat or sugar

3 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons fresh orange or lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into thin slices

sucanat or sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions:

To make the pastry, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in a food processor.  Scatter the chunks of butter over the top and pulse for a few seconds until the butter pieces are the size of small peas.  In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and ice water.  Drizzle the mixture over the dough and pulse for a few seconds until the dough is smooth and clings together.  Pat the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the fruit filling, peel, core, and slice the apples.  In a large frying pan over medium heat, combine the sugar, 1/2 cup water, honey, orange juice, and cinnamon and heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.  Stir in the apple slices and simmer until opaque, 5 to 7 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the apple slices to a bowl and let cool slightly.  Add the cranberries to the juices in the frying pan and simmer until they start to pop, about 2 minutes.  Transfer the cranberries to the bowl of apples.  Boil the juices over medium-high heat until reduced slightly and spoon over the fruit.

Position 2 racks in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.  Have ready 2 ungreased baking sheets or pizza pans.

Divide the ball of chilled pastry dough in half.  On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each half into a round about 12 inches in diameter.  Fold each pastry round in half, transfer to the baking sheets, and unfold.  Divide the fruit filling equally between the pastry rounds and spread it in an even layer, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border uncovered.  Fold the border over the fruit, pleating the edges to form a broad rim.  Lay thin slices of butter over the exposed fruit.

Bake the galettes, switching the pans between the racks and rotating them 180 degrees at the midway point, until the pastry is golden brown and the apples are tender, 35-40 minutes.  Let cool completely on the pans on wire racks.  Cover and store at room temperature until serving.  Sprinkle with sugar, if desired.

Makes two 9-inch galettes; serves 10-12

For pastry dough:
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening (trans-fat-free)
  • Rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
For crumble topping:
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
For fruit filling:
  • 2 pounds Granny Smith apples (about 5), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
  • 8 ounces fresh or frozen (not thawed) cranberries
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Equipment: a 9 1/2-inch glass deep-dish pie plate (6-cup capacity)

Make pastry:
Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Drizzle 3 tablespoon ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.

Squeeze a small handful: If dough doesn’t hold together, add more ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring until incorporated. Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all dough together (using a pastry scraper if you have one) and form into a 5-inch disk. If dough is sticky, dust lightly with additional flour. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.

Make crumble topping:
Stir together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips until large clumps form, then stir in pecans. Chill until ready to use.

Make fruit filling:
Stir together apples, cranberries, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and lemon juice in a large bowl.

Assemble pie:
Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in lower third.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round, then fit into pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang under and crimp decoratively. Transfer fruit filling to pie shell and dot with butter. Loosely cover with foil and bake until apples droop slightly, about 30 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Sprinkle crumble topping over filling and bake, uncovered, until crumble is browned, filling is bubbling, and apples are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour more. Cool completely, 2 to 3 hours.

Notes:

 •Dough can be chilled up to 3 days.
•Pie can be made 1 day ahead and kept, loosely covered, at room temperature.

Recipe adapted from Gourmet Magazine