Almond Coconut Cookies

today I was in the kitchen looking for something sweet and tasty to munch on.  Of course I didn't find anything to satisfy my craving since all I have are an excess of veggies in the fridge and nuts in the pantry.   I decided to make something and began digging through my cupboards.  I love using almond flour in recipes as much as I love adding coconut.  The two flavors work well together and since these ingredients are what I have in stock, I figured I'd better make something out of them.

2 cups almond flour
1 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup coconut oil melted
1/4 cup coconut sugar
2 tsps almond extract
2 eggs
Shredded coconut
Stevia (optional if needed for additional sweetness)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a cuisinart or other mixer.
Melt coconut oil and add to dry ingredients.  Add almond extract and eggs.   Mix until dough forms into a ball.   Roll dough into small balls then flatten them and place on greased cooking sheet.  Sprinkle cookies with coconut flakes.  Place in oven and cook for 10 minutes.

Healthy Peach Pie

Now that I've got my laptop up and running again I need to add some recipes I have been experimenting with before I forget them.  Seriously my memory is getting so bad I left my blind dog, Coco, on the porch for 30 minutes before I realized she was missing.  I kept hearing a thumping sound from outside and finally got up to investigate and found Coco throwing herself at the front door trying to get back in the house.

 Anyway, on to more important topics, like peach pie.  A friend has a peach tree in her back yard with the incredibly sweet peaches  and I knew they would make a delicious pie.  She gave me a bag full which got my creative juices flowing.  Romana has a story behind the peaches that makes the pie a special dessert.

  Romana told me that her husband had planted a peach pit in the backyard a couple years ago.  She told him that a tree would never grow from the pit, but much to her surprise, she has an enormous peach tree flourishing behind her house.  The story is much more poignant because Romana's husband passed away last year and when she sees the tree, she has one more good memory of him to share.

I have been substituting almond flour for regular flour in almost all of my baking recipes with mixed results.  This one is definitely a keeper.  I found the recipe on the web and made a few small changes to it.

Almond Flour Crust
2 & 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsps sweetener: maple syrup.

Peach Pie Filling:
6  or 7 ripe peaches sliced into bite sized pieces
2 Tbsp's lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp's maple syrup
2 Tbsp's coconut oil
1/8 tsp salt
a few sprinkles of stevia (optional)


For crust:
Turn oven on to 350.
1. In a food processor, mix the dry ingredients together.  Melt the coconut oil and mix with vanilla and maple syrup, then add to dry ingredients and blend until it forms a doughy consistency.  This only takes a minute or two.
2.  Grease a 9 inch pie pan, then place dough in pan and mold it to pan evenly.
3.  Place pie crust in oven and bake 10 minutes until crust is golden color.
4.  Remove from oven.  (Do not turn oven off because you will cooking the pie next).

For filling:
1.  Place a large skillet over medium heat.   
2.  Add all the filling ingredients to the pan and stir to combine. 
3.  Cook until coconut oil and butter are melted and peaches are softening (about 5 minutes).
4.  Pour the filling into the pie crust and cook for about 45 minutes or until peach filling is bubbling.
Enjoy!

Grilled Portobello Mushroom and Tofu Fajitas

I have been experimenting with mushrooms lately because they are a great cancer fighting agent and considered a super nutrition by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.  I also want to find enjoyable recipes that I can serve to meat lovers when they come to my house.  I think this one is a keeper. The reviews have been good (husband: needs more spice; daughter: delicious!)  Portobello mushrooms, veggies, black beans, and tofu make this incredibly tasty and filling.  Grilling the veggies gives them a nice smoky flavor, though they can be cooked on the burner as well.   This dish is totally versatile in terms of the combinations of veggies, rice, beans that can be used.

4 large portobello mushrooms or combo of cremini and portobello mushrooms
2 zucchinis
1 large carrot
1 red bell pepper
1 large red onion

1/2 green bell pepper
2 jalapeño peppers
Asparagus spears ( another good grilling veggie)

Marinade:
3 Tbsp's olive oil
2 Tbsp's water
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp's red wine vinegar
Juice of 2 limes
1tsp smoked cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

1 container firm tofu
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp's lemon juice
2 Tbsp's Adobo sauce

Corn tortillas
Cooked black beans
Shredded cheese
Avocado
Adobo sauce
Cilantro

 Slice the mushrooms, zucchini, and carrots in 1/3 to 1/4 inch thick slices.  Slice onion and peppers into thin strips removing the seeds and stem from the peppers.  Place all vegetables in a Large ziplock bag.

Combine the ingredients for the marinade and whisk until well mixed.  Pour marinade over it and let sit for 30 minutes.

Turn on grill to medium high.  Place vegetable plate on grill.  Spray with Pam or other no stick spray.  Cook vegetables in batches, about 8-10 minutes for onions, carrots, mushrooms, 6-8 minutes for peppers and zucchini.   Remove from heat.  Place corn tortillas on grill for about a minute, turning over once during cooking.  

For the tofu: turn burner on medium high.  Heat large pan or wok. When pan is hot add 1/2 TBSP  oil.   Add tofu.  Cook for about 10 minutes. You don't want tofu to stick to bottom of pan so may need  to adjust heat. Add the lemon juice and cook for a few more minutes.   Tofu should be brown and firm.  Add adobo sauce and cook for an additional minute.  Remove from heat.

Place warmed corn tortilla on plate. Add cheese, vegetables, black beans and tofu.  Top with avocado, adobo sauce, salsa, and cilantro.  Enjoy.

ITALIAN BISCOTTI - My grandmother's secret recipe

My grandmothers' both loved to cook.  They were both Italian, and created similar recipes.  In our house it became a running joke about who made the best sugo (pasta sauce), ravioli, and minestrone (to name a few).  It was quite the competition when they both showed up at our house for Sunday dinner, and expected us to tell them whose dish tasted better.  Around the holidays, my grandmothers' would make biscotti and we were "forced" to sample each of their cookies.  We learned to be very careful not to take more of one grandma's cookies than the other for fear we wouldn't get them anymore.

They each guarded their recipes like a lion guards her cubs. I remember watching one grandmother make sugo and trying to get the recipe out of her because of course nothing was written down.  She would say, "I added a little of this, and a little of that."  The thing is, sometimes that is exactly what she did.  She would open her refrigerator and take something wrapped in plastic out, smell it, and then throw it in the pot.  If I asked what it was, she would shrug and say, "left overs."  We never got food poisoning so I assume whatever she threw in there was edible... The end results always tasted delicious too.

I was digging threw some boxes that have been in my garage since I moved several years ago and I cam across a biscotti recipe written in my grandmother's had.  I have no recollection how I got her to write down the ingredients but I am not going to make the mistake of losing this again.

If you are going to bake these plan on spending the morning or afternoon at home as biscotti are labor intensive and take about 3 hours to make.

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs, beaten    

1 cup sugar
1 cube butter
4 cups flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp anise extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 small jar anise
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or almonds

Optional:
marsala or muskatel
amaretto
almond extract

I remember putting amaretto in my cookie batter to give it a sweeter taste.  I don't have the proportions here as she didn't write them down.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease a cookie sheet.

Cream butter.  then add sugar.  Gradually add beaten eggs and anise & vanilla extract.  Mix well.

In another bowl, sift flour and baking powder together.  Add about half of this to the wet mixture. When this is blended, add the nuts, mix, and then add the rest of the flour.

Put dough on a board and knead it. Separate the dough into 5 pieces.  Take one piece at a time and make a ball out of it.  If dough is too sticky you may need to add a little bit of flour to the board and/or your hands. Roll ball until smooth.  Then using both of your hands to shape ball of dough, roll it until it is about 12 inches long and 2 inches thick.

Place all 5 logs on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes.  Don't worry if dough is pale when you take it out of the oven.

Place logs on board and cut into 1/2 inch slices on the diagonal.  Then place the cookies back on the cookie sheet and toast for about 10 minutes.  They should be firm and lightly browned when you remove them from the oven.

Beet and Quinoa Burgers

I'm always looking for the best tasting veggie burgers as they are a staple in my diet.  I bring them to work for lunch with a salad and they freeze well.  I found a recipe online that I liked so I modified it to my taste.  Beets, quinoa and black beans; you just can't go wrong with this combo in my book.  I have two taste testers for my recipes, my husband, and my co-worker.  My husband's idea of a two thumbs up is if he says "it didn't taste like dirt".  Well truly he only said that once when I overcooked the eggplant burgers I was making, but still... Notice that recipe didn't make it on this blog.  My co-worker is a vegetarian who doesn't like to cook but appreciates good food.  She gave these burgers a "yeah baby!"  




1 cup uncooked Quinoa   

2 large beets
1 medium carrot
1 head garlic
Olive oil
4 medjool dates pitted
1 onion chopped
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp thyme
2 tbsp Basaltic vinegar
 2 tbsp fresh parsley

 2 tbsp fresh cilantro

2 tbsps lemon juice 

1/2 cup Bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
16 ounces cooked black beans (or 1 15 oz can)

Cook the quinoa like steamed rice (2:1 ration, water to grain). Bring water to a boil, stir in quinoa (rinsed) and cover. Simmer 15 - 20 min, until cooked through. If all water has evaporated, but the grain still isn't cooked through, just add a bit more water and continue to cook until done. Cool completely.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Place beets, and carrot on an  oven baking pan that has been lightly coated with Pam or olive oil.  You can also lightly spray veggies before putting them in the oven. Roast veggies until soft but not mushy, about 20 minutes. Allow them to cool.  Peel them when cooled.

For the garlic, peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb leaving the skins of individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4th to 1/2 inch of the top of the cloves.  Drizzle the top of the garlic with olive oil and wrap in tinfoil and place in the oven with other veggies.  Cook for about 30 minutes or until garlic is soft and fragrant.  I use 6-8 cloves in the beet burgers. They are easy to remove from peel after they are cooked.

Turn  oven down to 350 degrees.

Place the pitted dates in a bowl and pour enough boiled water to cover them.  Soak until softened (about 30 minutes) and then drain water. 

Heat 1-2 TBSPs olive oil  in a large saucepan. Sauté the onions,  over medium low heat for about 7 minutes, or until soft and translucent.  Add coriander, smoked paprika, and thyme.  Mix well.  Pour in the balsamic vinegar and stir.  Cook for 2-3 minutes until vinegar has reduced slightly.  Remove from heat.

Place black beans, beets, carrot, and 6-8 peeled garlic cloves in food processor.  Add dates, onion mixture, parsley, cilantro, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Process until everything has combined but is still on the "chunky" side.  remove mixture from food processor.  Add quinoa and bread crumbs.  Mix well using your hands.  If mixture is too wet add more quinoa and/or bread crumbs.  You want to be able to form patties that will hold together when cooked.

Make 6-8 patties out of mixture.  Place on greased cookie sheet and put in oven. (did you turn oven down to 350 degrees?)  Turn patties after 12 minutes.  you may need to reshape them if they fall apart.  Be careful not to burn yourself while handling patties.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until brown on top but not burned.

Cold Buster - My Morning Kale Smoothie

It's bright green!  My co-workers look horrified as I sip my smoothie. What are you drinking they ask?  That green goo is my breakfast and it contains kale the vegetable du jour.  The beauty of making a smoothie everyday is that my refrigerator never contains rotten fruit or vegetables.  They go into the blender before they get bad.  No more buying spinach because I need more veggies in my diet and then tossing it in the garbage a week later when it looks like a weird science experiment gone wrong.  Buying vegetables was half the battle and actually cooking them was the other  half. I bought a vitamix about a year ago and I have experimented with lots of veggie drinks since then.  My favorites usually contain beets but they can be hard to digest for virgin raw veggie sippers so I make this one to entice family and friends over to the dark leafy side...

Kale Smoothie
serves 2 or save some for later
1 high powered blender such as Vitamix
2-3 oranges peeled -toss them in whole
juice of 1 lemon
1 green apple - seeded and cored
1-2 celery stalks
1 tomato
1 bunch of kale -washed
water
stevia (optional)
1-2 carrots - it's up to you


Put water in blender first, then everything else.  Put kale in last so that the other items will liquefy and make kale easier to blend.  Make sure to add enough water to keep smoothie from being too thick.  I usually add half the kale and blend. Then I add more kale and water until it is the right consistency.
Enjoy!

For a more tropical tasting drink try adding papaya, mango, and pineapple to the kale.

Mushroom Lentil Burgers

This was an experiment to see if I could make a mushroom burger that didn't taste like dirt, hold the salt.  The first recipe  I tried tasted great to me but my husband thought the mushroom burger tasted worse than dirt.

He ate two of these right after I cooked them so I am saving the recipe.

1 cup beluga lentils
4 cups raw mushrooms chopped.  (I used a mixture of portobello, cremini, and shiitake)
1 red onion chopped
5 garlic cloves chopped
1-2 Tbsps olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh or dried Thyme
2 tsps fresh or dried Oregano
1 tsp Sage
1/4 tsp marjoram
Or add 2 TBSPs Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup parsley
1 jalapeño pepper

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Wash and drain lentils. Place lentils in a medium sized pot.  Add 2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce to simmer and cook until tender (about 20-25 minutes). Take lid off to cool and set aside. Drain if there is any water left.

3.  Heat olive oil in large saucepan. Sauté the mushrooms, onions, garlic, thyme, oregano, sage, and marjoram   over low heat for about five minutes, or until soft. 

4.  In a large blender add mushroom mixture to lentils, sunflower seeds, parsley, jalapeño, salt and 

pepper to taste.  Mix well. Add chopped walnuts and fold into mix.  Shape into 7 or 8 patties.  Place on greased cookie sheet.  Place in oven.  After about 12 minutes flip patties over and return to oven.  They may need to be reshaped when they are flipped over.  Bake for 20-25 minutes total until brown on top but not burned. You don't want them to dry out. 

Yummy Baked Plantains

Choose as many very ripe plantains as you feel like cooking, or about 1 per person.  pick ones that have black spots on skin and are a little squishy.)

Coconut oil spray (Trader Joe's has this in stock) or other cooking spray.  You can use olive oil if you like but the spray adds less fat to the recipe
Salt and pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)

**Season the plantains with whatever flavors appeal to you.  My husband likes using Italian seasoning on them.  I love them with Trader Joes South African Smoked Seasoning.  The point is they are good plain or spicy.

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2.  Spray cookie sheet with coconut oil spray.  Some people use parchment paper or tinfoil when cooking plantains because they can stick to pan, but I just use cooking spray.
3.  Cut off ends of plantains.  Make slice down the middle off the skin and peel it off.  Make sure to get all the ropey fiber off.  Slice plantain in 1/2 inch diagonals.  Lay them flat on cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt, pepper, spices.  Spray top with coconut oil spray.
4.  Cook for approximately 15 minutes turning them once about half way through.  It really depends how firm you want them.  I like my plantains browned and semi- firm.  If you like them firmer cut them thinner and cook a little longer.  They will burn so you need to keep an eye on them if you are going to cook longer.

Serve plain or as part of a meal.  I like mine with a black bean ranchero sauce taco.  I add a few tablespoons of adobo sauce to add some heat to the meal.  The recipe for ranchero sauce is on this blog site below.

http://psychobabble4u.blogspot.com/2013/02/butternut-squash-and-ranchero-sauce.html

Chinese Long Beans and Tofu

I was raised on Italian food. Pasta, pasta, and more pasta.  In my family we competed to see who could make the best "Sugo" or pasta sauce.  I remember both my grandmothers bringing over the same dish for dinner and making us tell them whose was the best.  Crazy but true.  I became proficient at cooking Italian meals which always included a pasta dish, a meat dish, and some type of vegetable dish.  All entrees were usually drowning in olive oil, covered in cheese, and with some sort of cream or butter base.  Can you say clogged arteries chubby?

 As a result, I don't have a repertoire of vegetarian dishes and am always looking for healthy recipes that taste great.

I adapted this recipe from Mollie Katzen's recipe http://www.molliekatzen.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipe=greenbeans_tofu_peanutsauce

1 & 1/2 cups raw cashews
2 & 1/2 TBSPs peanut oil
2 TBSP minced fresh ginger
4-5 cloves minced garlic
1 TBSP lemon zest
1 pound firm tofu cut into bite sized pieces
salt to taste
The juice of 1 fresh lemon juice
1 pound fresh Chinese long beans, cut into small pieces
1 medium sized pan
1 large pan or wok

1.  Grind cashews in a blender until they are in small pieces.
2. In a medium sized pan, heat 1 TBSP peanut oil.  Add ginger and garlic and cook over medium low heat for a few minutes.  Add cashews and lemon zest and cook until cashews begin to turn brown (about 10 minutes).  Remove pan from heat.

3.  Turn burner on medium high.  Heat large pan or wok. When pan is hot add 1/2 TBSP peanut oil.   Add tofu and 1/2 tsp of salt.  Cook for about 10 minutes. You don't want tofu to stick to bottom of pan so may need  to adjust heat. Add the lemon juice and cook for a few more minutes.  Tofu should be brown and firm.  Remove from heat and place tofu in pan with cashews and ginger.

.

4.  Clean any loose particles from  pan or wok.  Turn heat on medium high and add 1 tbsp peanut oil to pan.    When oil is hot add beans and cook for 5 minutes.   Add the tofu and cashew mixture and cook until beans begin to soften, 2-3 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Serve with rice or Quinoa.

 

Coconut Banana Bread

I was looking for a way to blend the flavors of banana and coconut.  I wanted  a recipe that was healthy, moist, and would hit the spot replacing the morning muffin with coffee routine that is high in sugar and fat.  I tried several different recipes and settled on this one. It is moist, crunchy, and delicious.



1 & 3/4 cups almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
2 tbsp ground flax seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1 &  1/2 tsps baking soda

4 medium bananas
3/4 cup pineapple with juice
2 eggs
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup apple sauce
Stevia ( not sure of exact measurement I just put in a few shakes of dried stevia)
1 cup chopped walnuts or other nuts depending on preference



Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl.  Put wet ingredients in blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  Do not liquefy.  Add wet ingredients to dry and mix. Add walnuts

last.  Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and cook about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of bread comes out clean.

Super Salad

I copied this recipe from a website because I am always looking for good and easy salad ideas.  Leafy greens with whole grains have become a staple that I pack for lunch most days of the week.  Most of the time I don't even add salad dressing because the salad is tasty enough without it.

RECIPIES - Charlie Ayers  Super Salad

Super Salad:
3 oz chopped Dino kale
.5 oz dried cranberries
1 oz crumbled Greek feta
1.5 oz Calafia Herbed Quinoa Pilaf
1 oz toasted walnuts
Method:
Toss Calafia Herbed Quinoa Pilaf & Dino kale together with a 2 oz portion cup lemon vinaigrette.
Top with remaining ingredients

Lemon Vinaigrette:
.25 cup fresh lemon juice
.75 cup olive oil
Whisk together.

Calafia Herbed Quinoa Pilaf:
2 cups gold quinoa
2 cups red quinoa
4.5 cups water
.75 tsp salt
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1.5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
.75 cup garlic, finely chopped
1.5 cups fresh thyme, chopped
1.5 cups sautéed minced red onion
Method:
Place quinoa in large strainer. Rinse under running cold water until water runs clear. Transfer quinoa to a deep pot. Add the cold water and bring to a boil, lower to a simmer. Cook about 30-35 min.
Transfer quinoa to large bowl, fluff with fork.
Stir in oil and lemon juice.
Cool to room temperature.
Add garlic and red onion. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the thyme.

Zucchini Artichoke Soup

A couple lbs zucchini (4 medium) chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 large or 2 medium leeks washed and chopped into 1 inch pieces (I use just the white part of the leeks) 
Olive oil for sautéing veggies
2 tsps- 1 tbsp fresh or dried marjoram (depends how much you enjoy the flavor) 
1 15 oz can of water packed or 16 oz frozen artichoke
32 oz vegetable or chicken broth (I use water cause I can't tolerate the salt but it's much better tasting with broth)
 1-2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste 
1 medium potato chopped into 1 inch pieces (optional. It thickens soup but so does artichoke. This is really personal preference, I have made it both ways)

 Heat olive oil in a pot on medium heat. Add chopped leeks and sauté until they start to become soft. About 4 minutes. Add chopped zucchini and potato and sauté for 5 more minutes. You don't want leeks to burn so if they start turning brown time to move to next step. 

Add broth or water, bay leaves, and marjoram. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium. The soup is done when zucchini and potato are soft but not soggy.
** It only takes about 20 minutes to cook so Add frozen artichokes after 15 minutes of cooking. 
** (If you are using frozen artichokes they need to be added to soup about 6 minutes before done. 
**If you are using canned artichokes, they will be added after soup is done.) 

Salt and pepper can be added while cooking or after pureeing soup. Remove bay leaves from soup. Remove soup from heat and pour contents into a blender adding canned artichokes. Purée until slightly lumpy. Season to taste. Be careful when blending hot soup. I usually blend it in two batches so it doesn't spill over the top of blend and burn me. Pour into bowls and enjoy!

Raw Cheesecake Yummy

I found this recipe with rave reviews on a blog site so naturally I will be making it today.  I love cheesecake and am keeping my fingers crossed that it is as good as the reviews make it out to be.  

I will keep you posted so to speak.

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Raspberry Cheesecake

Makes: 24 slivers 

For the Crust:

2 cups raw macadamia nuts

1/2 cup dates, pitted (medjools)

1/4 cup dried coconut

For the cheese:

3 cups chopped cashews, soaked for at least 1 hour

3/4 cup lemon juice

3/4 cup honey

3/4 cup coconut oil 

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt (optional)

For raspberry sauce:

1 bag frozen raspberries

1/2 cup dates

DIRECTIONS

To make the crust, process the macadamia nuts and dates in the food processor. Sprinkle dried coconut onto the bottom of an 8 or 9 inch springform pan. Press crust onto the coconut. This will prevent it from sticking.

To make the cheese, blend the cashews, lemon, honey, gently warmed coconut oil (do not use microwave), vanilla, sea salt (if using), and 1/2 cup water. Blend until smooth and adjust to taste.

Pour the mixture onto the crust. Remove air bubbles by tapping the pan on a table.

Place in the freezer until firm. Remove the whole cake from the pan while frozen and place on a serving platter. Defrost in the refrigerator.

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Quinoa Salad Every Which Way

I just made a quinoa salad inspired by recipe I am posting below.  I make them weekly and chomp on them for lunch or dinner a few times a week. They are easy to make and you can use whatever is in the fridge/cupboards because quinoa is versatile and mixes well with fruits, nuts, and veggies.  I make my own dressings too and will provide a link below to a website that has several different salad dressing recipes that follow the Dr. Fuhrman lifestyle.

This recipe was taken off the Dinnerwithjulie.com website.

Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas, Feta and Apples

Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas, Feta and Apples

1 cup quinoa, rinsed in a fine sieve

1/4 cup golden or sultana raisins

1 19 oz. (540 mL) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

a big handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1/2 cup crumbled feta (or as much as you want)

1 tart-ish apple, chopped

1/2 cup toasted walnuts or almonds

Dressing:

1/4 cup canola or olive oil

2 Tbsp. rice vinegar or lemon juice

1 tsp. honey

1/4 tsp. curry paste or powder

Cook 1 cup quinoa according to package directions (or there are directions here); dump into a wide salad bowl and set aside to cool. (Tip: add the raisins as it cools – the raisins will plump up as they absorb any excess moisture.) Add the chickpeas, parsley, feta and apple and drizzle with dressing. (To make the dressing: shake all the ingredients up in a jar.) Toss, then sprinkle with toasted walnuts or almonds right before serving.

Serves 4.

Here is my version of Quinoa Salad:

I added baby kale, avocado, mango, raisins, raw sunflower seeds, soy beans,  feta cheese, heart of palm, cherry tomatoes, garbanzo beans, cucumber.  I used a vinaigrette dressing that I got off the Healthy Girl Kitchen Blogspot (Link below).

http://healthygirlskitchen.blogspot.com/2011/09/big-list-of-no-oil-salad-dressings.html

On Peanuts and Therapists

I haven't done much hands on patient care recently and forgot what it was like to be thrust into the action early in the morning, before tea, and half asleep.  It used to be before the second cup of coffee but since I gave up caffeine, there is no first let alone second cup to be had.

I volunteered to help with intakes since we are perpetually short handed.  When you work in substance abuse services, doing intakes can mean a lot of things can go wrong really fast depending on how many drugs were available the night (or even a few minutes) before a client comes in for treatment.  My intake was a youngish dude who was just released from the hospital, which means he probably wasn't high, and had been hospitalized to treat some medical condition related to his drug use.

I really wasn't that interested in why he went to the hospital.  I was more concerned with remembering everything I needed to get done during the admission.  Unfortunately, dude broke my concentration by asking me if I had a pillow in my office he could sit on.  He was in one of our plastic hospital issue chairs sitting in the hallway with a pained look on his face.   I noticed dude was squirming around in his seat and his hands were hovering over his balls.  His pants were tented out in the crotch, and I randomly thought and discarded the idea that he had a hard on.  He looked really uncomfortable, he wasn't high, and he wasn't trying to hide the bulge.  My assessment skills are so good I figured that out before consciously thinking how gross that sounded. Apparently I have mad assessment skills honed from years of doing my best therapeutic work in my sleep.

FYI hospitals use plastic chairs cause they're easy to clean, and bed bugs can't hide in them.  The chair in my office has a cushion, very conducive to bed bugs, and guys who are having some sort of ball pain as yet to be determined...Dude sat down gingerly in the chair and proceeded to ask me if I had read his medical records yet.  Now let me just say how nervous I suddenly got cause when someone wants you to read about their medical condition, especially substance users, no good will come of it.  Especially not at 7am.

 I decided to leave my office door open cause some instinct was warning me that dude really wanted me to check out the situation in his pants.  Sure enough, he starts describing the state of his penis.  He tells me he has a wound on it that really hurts and that he left his pain medicine at home.  he also tells me there is no dressing on said appendage and that the wound is just hanging out... Mad assessment skills in full force I turn toward my computer as he is reaching for the fly of his pants and tell him we need to get on with the interview.  Time for penis assessment later please.

Those of you in the know bear with me while I explain to everyone else just how desperate IV drug users can get looking for a good vein to shoot up in. Especially after they have blown most of them in their arms and legs.  Yep they get that desperate.

Another funny thing about addicts is that they seem to want to show people how they are wrecking their bodies one fix at a time.  I can't remember how often people have come into my office and yanked their shirts up or their pants down to expose the tragic wounds they have received from their personal war on drugs.  Addiction destroys a person one pound of flesh at a time.


 The morning went swiftly down hill as he proceeded to describe his penis shooting up ritual in great detail.  Having been trained in the latest therapeutic techniques, I thought and discarded most of them.  Dude didn't really need me using motivational interviewing open ended questions like "can you describe the rush you get from..."  Or  paraphrasing like " I heard you say that after your penis gets hard..." No I was leaning more along the lines of "do not touch anything in my office, I know where your hands have been."

So instead I used my dazzling therapeutic training to say, "so you been shooting up in your penis?"


To which he replied, "yep, I don't know what I was thinking."

"I do. You were thinking you needed to find a good vein."

"yeah," he agreed

In retrospect, the most therapeutic part of my morning was that dude managed to keep his pants on in my office and I managed to keep my wayward thoughts to myself.

Beet Loaf

1 cup uncooked quinoa

2 raw golden beet
1 small rutabaga

   1 medium carrot

   1 head garlic (6-8 cloves will be used in recipe)

   1 onion, minced

   1/2 cup bread crumbs

   2 tbl fresh basil, minced

   2 tbl fresh parsley, minced

   2 eggs, beaten

   1 tsp garlic salt

   2 tbl tomato paste or adobo sauce (makes it a little spicier)

   1 tbl ketchup

   1 tbl whole grain mustard

   1 tbl olive oil

   salt + pepper, to taste  

Cook the quinoa like steamed rice (2:1 ration, water to grain). Bring water to a boil, stir in quinoa (rinsed) and cover. Simmer 15 - 20 min, until cooked through. If all water has evaporated, but the grain still isn't cooked through, just add a bit more water and continue to cook until done. Cool completely.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Place beets, carrot, rutabaga on an  oven baking pan that has been lightly coated with Pam or olive oil.  You can also lightly spray veggies before putting them in the oven. roast veggies until soft but not mushy, about 20 minutes. Allow them to cool.  Peel them when cooled.

For the garlic, peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb leaving the skins of individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4th to 1/2 inch of the top of the cloves.  Drizzle the top of the garlic with olive oil and wrap in tinfoil and place in the oven with other veggies.  Cook for about 30 minutes or until garlic is soft and fragrant.  I use 6-8 cloves in the beet loaf.  They are easy to remove from peel after they are cooked.

 Put cooled veggies in a blender or food processor and mix until they are consistency of meatloaf.  Do not liquefy vegetables.  You can throw in the parsley and basil if you don't want to chop them by hand.  

In a bowl, combine the quinoa, onion, bread crumbs, blended vegetables, and minced herbs. In a separate bowl beat eggs and combine them with the garlic salt, tomato paste (or adobo sauce), ketchup, whole grain mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper. Fold the egg mixture into to the quinoa mixture. It should be the consistency of meatloaf.  You don't want it too wet so you may need to add a bit more bread crumbs or quinoa.  Depending on the size of your veggies, you may end up with a larger or smaller amount of beetloaf.  I use a greased loaf pan and roast it at 400° for around 45 min (up to 1 hr).

Dessert in the Raw

Since I now have to cook everything I eat from scratch and have become a reluctant vegetarian  (one who eats cheese sometimes) I needed to figure out what to make besides veggie shakes that would taste good and appeal to my over processed palate.  I began combing the Internet for veggie websites that have organic recipes.  By accident I stumbled across this raw dessert website.  I mean I wasn't looking for dessert recipes but how could I resist... Heather Pace and her Sweetly Raw blog have now become my go to desserts when I need a sweet fix.


http://www.sweetlyraw.com/

I found most of the ingredients I needed to make the recipes at Whole Foods.   Otherwise I would have ordered them online.
The raw chocolate cheesecake has become one of my favorites.  It is rich and dense and chocolaty.  What more could a girl want?

 tohttp://www.sweetlyraw.com/2012/08/raw-chocolate-cheesecake-and-22-more.html

Life after Salt

I had just started Jenny Craig diet for the 2nd time when I began to notice that my migraines were increasing in intensity.  I still wonder what was in those pre made meals besides salt. Don't get me wrong, I loved the "Jenny Crack" diet  (this is what the substance users I worked with used to call it when people they knew lost weight for no apparent reason other than increased drug use).  I had lost 15 pounds a year prior to this and I really liked the taste of the food.  That's why I signed up again.  I even remember my counselor's name was Jen.  She was a 20 something bit of nothing with green eyes and long blond hair.  

It irritated me that all the women who worked at the center were skinny, young, and looked like they never had weightier problems than what color to paint their nails that day.  Jen's solution to being overweight was to not eat.  Simple but for some reason I could never figure out how to do that, hence my return to ground zero.   I guess I should be grateful to Jenny Craig for being the catalyst that caused my diet change, but part of me can't help but blame J C for pushing me over the edge into bad health.  I had just signed up for a year long membership which wasn't cheap by any mean, when I noticed an increase in foggy thinking and what I like to call my pre-migraine  syndrome: the period of time when I could feel the ice pick pushing against my left eye but it hadn't broken the skin yet.

Since I was eating pre-made food three times a day, the additives were constantly saturating my body which lead quickly from pre-migraines to full blown migraines everyday.  I was smart enough to figure out that the food had triggered the headaches, so I quit Jenny Craig, but I wasn't smart enough at that point to change my diet in any other way.  My doctor gave me 2 prescriptions  but made no suggestions about what might be causing my symptoms.  The thought crossed my mind that I might have a brain tumor, but since doc didn't seem concerned I didn't push the topic.

After J C,  I noticed that certain foods triggered migraines within a few hours of eating them.  Usually the foods were high in salt, MSG, and preservatives.  Since that was my entire diet that really sucked.    
When I decided I was tired of feeling like a swollen balloon, I started reading food labels.  Yikes! sometimes real food was the 3rd or 4th ingredient on the label. Everything had salt, preservatives, and sugar. That's when I realized I wouldn't be able to eat  anything that wasn't fresh and homemade.

The sad thing about cooking without salt is that everything tastes weird, like  something is missing, which, of course, it is.   Once you get used to the taste of food without salt, everything else tastes weird.  I went to Whole Foods and bought kale and whit bean soup.  I took 2 bites and threw the rest out. The saltiness of the soup overpowered everything else.  I don' t eat out much anymore because salt seems to be the secret ingredient to making everything taste better.   I usually make everything from scratch and alter recipes that have salt in them.

Now when I invite people over to eat I have to remember to put some salt in whatever I am serving or risk their criticism of my tasteless food.  When people invite me over I always bring a dish if I can.  I  went to a friend's house one night and ended up eating peas because there was nothing else I could eat at the table, except maybe the table itself.  There is life after salt, it's finding the balance that makes it a little tricky.

The Whole Enswellata - Crab Tostadas with Fire Roasted Chiles, Avocado and Tomatillo Salsa

I heard Ryan Scott talking about this recipe on KGO and my mouth started watering!  What's sad and disturbing to me is that I am publishing his recipe here even though I can't eat crab.  I love love love seafood but it has become one of my see food head starts throbbing foods.  I never had trouble eating fish before my body decided it couldn't handle salt and other food additives.  After waking up with swollen, puffy eyes and the hangover effects of  Maxalt one too many times I decided to call it quits with fish.  Of course the fact that I am now vegetarian hasn't stopped me from savoring the smells of good food.  I can use tofu instead of crab for the tostadas.  Besides I plan to make the salsa which sounds delicious.  I will probably use it with the ranchero sauce recipe I posted before.   

Crab Tostadas with Fire Roasted Chiles, Avocado and Tomatillo Salsa

TAGS: MAIN COURSE, RECIPES: FISH, RECIPES: MEXICAN, FOOD RUSH

Inientsgredients

• red bell pepper, charred and cut in 1 inch strips
• 1 ripe avocado, cut in small cubes
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped, plus extra for garnish
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
• 1 pound lump crabmeat
• 10 tomatillos
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed, toasted and ground
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 chipotle chiles in adobo
• 6 corn tostadas

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, mix the lime juice, cilantro and salt.
Add the bell pepper, avocado and crabmeat and gently mix everything together. Be careful not to over mix and break up the crabmeat.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Tomatillo Salsa
Remove the husks and stems of the tomatillos and discard.
Rinse the tomatillos under warm water to remove the sticky film.
Place in a medium pot and cover with cold water.
Bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the tomatillos turn dark green and are soft, about 10 minutes.
Do not overcook or let them split or you will lose some yummy juice.
Remove from the water and allow to cool.
In a large mortar (or a food processor) add the salt, cumin and garlic and grind to a paste.
Add the chipotles and continue to grind until smooth. Add the cooled tomatillos.
Press them gently between your fingers to pop them and then grind them into the mix. The salsa will be slightly chunky.
Place each tostada on a plate or break into pieces to serve them appetizer style.
Top with the crab mixture.
Drizzle the tomatillo salsa liberally over the crab. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Note: You can substitute shrimp in place of the crabmeat for a dish that is great as an appetizer or main course. If you have any leftover crab mixture, combine it with the salsa and use it as a filling for enchiladas.

The Migraine Diaries

 In  my 30's I could always tell when my period was going to start by the horrible migraine I got the day before.  Just one more little f--- you from mother nature for being a woman.  My doctor said it was normal and caused by hormones. I accepted that answer, didn't bother to explore the whys and what fors about it because I was too busy. 

When I turned 50 I began having migraines almost everyday.  Working through a migraine is no fun. Making sure to take my migraine pills, and having them stashed everywhere I went became my number 1 priority.  Let me not bore you with the details of tearing my  house apart like a crack addict searching for a pill when I ran out.  Taking a pill too late usually resulted in laying flat on my back in a dark room for hours in between bouts of vomiting and praying for death.  My favorite medicine, Maxalt, was doled out at 9 pills a month by the pharmaceutical company.  I once asked the pharmacist why I was allotted so few pills, and he told me that people who have more than 9 migraines a month should seek medical attention... 

My doctor experimented with different  medications to help prevent the migraines from incapacitating me, even though the medicine itself was often just as debilitating.  I spent days in a foggy cloud and felt like I had a terminal illness. My doctor was happy to prescribe every experimental drug out there, but what she didn't do was help me figure out what was causing the migraines.  I was mystified that she didn't run any tests.  At one point I even joked that I obviously didn't have a brain tumor because I probably would have been dead by now.

I tried acupuncture, massage, meditation, and yoga to cure myself from migraines.  I was so desperate that I even let an acupuncturist poke holes all over my head to help the blood flow.  As she dabbed at the blood, she showed me the rag and told me the dark blood meant it was old and bad.  

I began to notice that certain foods were making the migraines worse.  I tried to keep a diary and it soon  became clear that when I ate foods with MSG or high sodium content I began to feel a migraine within an hour after eating the food.   Considering the American diet is chock full of sodium and MSG this was not good news.  I stopped going out to eat, but even at home it was hit and miss as to what foods set off the migraines.  

I discovered Dr. Fuhrman through a co-worker who told me she was on a diet where she could eat fruit and beans all day.  This really didn't sound appealing to me as I didn't eat a lot of beans and was pretty convinced that I could never give up meat because I craved it all the time.  She gave me a copy of Dr. Fuhrman's diet plan, and I promised I would look at it. I didn't pick it up again for a few months and only out of desperation did I begin to seriously consider making drastic changes to my diet.  

I was scheduled for a colonoscopy and had to take that horrible concoction the day before to clean out my system.  Migraine symptoms began a few hours afterwards.  I was afraid to take my medicine because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to. By the time I was seen for the procedure the next morning, my migraine was in full force and I could barely talk.  The nurse told me the medicine they gave me would help the migraine. Of course it didn't.  When I woke up after the colonscopy I began vomiting all over the post op area.  The doctor gave me a pill but I promptly threw it up.  It took me hours to recover from the migraine and I swore I was never going to go through that again.

I read Dr. Fuhrman's book, Eat to Live, which has a section on migraines and began to make some changes to my diet. I read labels on food, and cleaned out  my pantry.  It was hard to change my diet, and convince my family and friends that I really was a vegetarian and that chicken wasn't a vegetable.  I had developed so many allergies to processed food that I wasn't sure what I could eat so I had to start over from scratch.  I combed the internet for recipes and information about nutrition and natural foods.  

Making myself food everyday has become a full time job.  Finding stores that carry natural food involves shopping several times a week. I miss salt. I miss coffee.  Surprisingly I don't miss meat.  I am hit and miss with the things I cook. Some are great and some are total flops.  I feel bad when people don't eat what I cook because I love cooking.  I don't miss the 31 pounds I lost or not having migraines for months.  My husband has lost 40 pounds as a result of the diet changes.  I bought a vitamix and make fresh veggie drinks everyday.

The recipes I post here are mostly ones I have found online.  I am taking baby steps towards creating my own recipes that taste good.  I enjoy cooking more than restaurant food and when I go over to people's houses to eat, I often bring a dish with me just so I know I have something I can eat.  I have a lot more to learn about nutrition and eating healthy but I am enjoying the journey.