Roasted Broccoli Quesadillas with Chipotle Cashew Queso
Plus, what I’m cooking, eating and drinking over the holiday weekend
Hello, brain health ambassadors. I am writing to you from Idaho, where I am hunkered down at our family’s cabin for the long weekend. Besides riding my bike and hiking down to the river to fish, I have been having fun in the kitchen. We have friends coming for dinner tonight, so I am prepping a few of my favorite easy summer recipes. These roasted broccoli quesadillas are always quickly devoured. (It’s the chipotle cashew queso; once you try it, you’ll never go back.) Find the recipe below.
Here’s what else we’re having:
Black Beluga Lentils with Spiced Scallops from my book. At Rancho La Puerta last month, I made this with Baja shrimp instead of scallops. So good, but remember to clean both sides of the shrimp because they can harbour microplastics.
My Warm Kale Blackberry Salad—one of the first recipes I created for Brain Health Kitchen and still a fave.
This Lemony Farro Salad with Apple, Figs, and Nuts by Stanford Nutrition Professor Dr. Christopher Gardner.
I have Pistachio Avocado Gelato in the freezer from last Sunday’s Founding Members Cooking Class, and I’ll make a batch of Roasted Strawberries to go with it. Find the recipe in my book or as part of this recipe for Roasted Strawberry Overnight Oats.
I am also working on a peanut butter version of my Fudgy Quinoa Brownies. If all goes well in the kitchen, I’ll share that recipe soon. I’d love to hear what you are cooking and eating this summer. Please share!
Questions about dairy and its alternatives?
This month we are shining our brain health spotlight on a controversial food group: dairy products. Often vilified because they are high in cholesterol and saturated fat, you may be wondering how cheese, butter, and milk fit into a brain-healthy way of eating. What can dairy do for the brain, if anything, and what are the concerns?
My thoughts on dairy have evolved over the years thanks to some recently published papers. I’ll explain how you can adopt the dairy recommendations to your own brain-healthy diet based on your personal health situation. I’ll walk you through how to make a few really easy nut-based cheese, milks, and creams, and we’ll have a whole discussion devoted to yogurt. Who knows—maybe this is the summer I’ll finally start making my own yogurt. Is anyone game for that?
Please let me know what questions you have about dairy and its alternatives.
BHK Organic EVOO is available for pre-order
It was exciting to launch my very first BHK food product last week. There was a lot of jumping through a lot of hoops, but my partners and I at NeuroReserve are thrilled that my favorite olive oil from Tuscany has safely arrived in the U.S.. Thank you to all who have pre-ordered the BHK Organic EVOO. I can’t wait for you to try it!
You can learn more about the BHK EVOO by visiting bhkevoo.com, including more details on the polyphenol content. (Be sure to use the special BHK subscriber discount code, below.) We are limiting orders to up to 3 cans per person because we have just a limited supply.
Our Certificate of Analysis documents 522 total polyphenols per kilogram, qualifying it as a high polyphenol EVOO. In contrast, most grocery store EVOOs contain less than 200 mg/kg.
Based on its flavor profile, we suspected this EVOO would be very high in oleocanthal. So we were incredibly happy to see that the levels were off the charts. This is the powerhouse polyphenol that recent research has linked to enhanced clearance of plaques in the brain associated with disease, including Alzheimer’s. BHK contains significantly more oleocanthal than other premium olive oils.
I hope you’ll be able to join me for a live EVOO tasting with Dr. Ed Park of NeuroReserve on Instagram at 10 am MDT on July 14, 2025. I’ll remind you as we get closer.
Just for BHK subscribers, use discount code BHKEVOO. (Founding Members, I have a special discount code for you, which I shared in this post.)
RECIPE: Roasted Broccoli Quesadillas with Chipotle Cashew Queso
If you’ve been reading BHK for awhile, you may remember that we drizzled this same queso on Better For Your Nachos back in 2023. Since then, the queso has made several appearances at my cooking classes as it’s a great example of a delicious nut-based cream. Last month, it was the hit of the collaboration dinner I did with Chef Reyna at Rancho La Puerta. I think I have converted everyone there to my better-for-you cheeseless queso.