Jan 2010
Malanga Hashbrowns
01/29/10
Malanga is a brown and hairy tuber. It is related to taro and cultivated in the tropical regions of the globe. It is common is South Florida and found in every grocery store. I am not sure about other areas of the country, but if there is a latin grocery store in your town, they will most likely have some on hand. Once peeled, malanga reveals a crisp slippery texture. Malanga provides thiamine and riboflavin as well as some vitamin C and iron. Because the starch grains are the smallest and most easily digested of the complex caborhydrates, malanga is an excellent food for those with allergies.
Most of the time I peel, boil, and mash the malanga and serve as I would mashed potatoes. They are creamy with a slight twang compared to the mild taste of a potato. However, this time I was struck, literally, by inspiration. Ouch!
I was pulling some lentil loaf out of the freezer for dinner, and I remembered that I had some aging malanga that needed to be eated. I filled a pan with water, set it on the stove to boil, and started to peel the malanga. When I reached into a drawer, for what I do not remember, I say my mandolin and instantly knew I was going to shred the malanga and make hashbrowns. Yep, you never know when inspiration is going to strike. So, I promptly dumped the water, dried my pot, and switched to a skillet.
If you do not have a mandolin, a box grater will do just fine. Be careful while grating because malanga is very slippery, and we all like the skin on our knuckles and fingertips!
Peel and shred two good sized malanga ( 6 or 7 inches in length) and place in a mixing bowl. Add some salt and pepper and your favorite spices. I choose cumin and orgegano. Mix in. Because I wanted to make these hashbrown patties, I added one egg, beaten with a splash of soy milk, and two to three tablespoons of spelt flour. An egg replacer like Ener G will work just fine if needed. The point is to have a binder.
Place some oilve oil in your pan and heat. Once the pan is hot, use a serving spoon to scoop about a 1/2 cup of the malanga into the pan. Cook until the malanga begins to brown. Flip your patty over and brown the other side. Remove and place on a paper towel and cover to keep warm while continuing to cook the remaining malanga.
My husband ate his with the standard ketchup, but you could squeeze a lime over the top for a fresh zing. These also reheat well for breakfast the next morning! Just zap for one minute in the microwave or a few minutes in a warm pan. I would imagine that the shredded malanga could also be added to pancakes.....hmmmm. Sounds like a new experiment to me!
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Spicy Sweet Swiss Chard
01/26/10
Inspired experimentation brings the best results! I love making and having greens on hand. They make an easy warm meal which I especially love for breakfast. They give my body energy and power for the day ahead. However, I get tired of eating them the same way....
I started with a red onion coarsely chopped and five or six cloves garlic smashed and loosely chopped. Sauted in a little olive oil. Added celery seeds and tumeric and continue to saute until the onions began to clear. I had a small jalapeno from the garden that I minced and added, as well as about 1/3 cup of golden raisens. Leave the jalapeno out of you have a low heat tolerance.
I had two bunches of swiss chard that I chopped and added to my pot along with a 1/2 cup of vegetable broth. Placed the lid on my pot for about two minutes. Took off and stirred the greens in with the onions. Replaced lid and cooked about two miutes more.
I had a heirloom tomato the size of two large tomatoes which I loosely chopped and added to the pan. I also added a generous teaspoon of curry masala spice mix at this time and mixed it all in.
I cooked the greens just long enough to heat up the tomatoes and mesh the flavors.
This can be served with rice or buckwheat, or eat it alone. The onions and raisens add a sweetness which compliment the spices and the jalapeno heat. I don't have a picture of this plated because......well, I was hungry. Forgive me for the lack of presentation for I know not what I do!
Ingredient List:
1 red onion
5-6 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon tumeric
1/3 cup golden raisens
1 jalapeno
2 bunches swiss shard
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1-2 large tomatoes
1 rounded teaspoon curry masala
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
I started with a red onion coarsely chopped and five or six cloves garlic smashed and loosely chopped. Sauted in a little olive oil. Added celery seeds and tumeric and continue to saute until the onions began to clear. I had a small jalapeno from the garden that I minced and added, as well as about 1/3 cup of golden raisens. Leave the jalapeno out of you have a low heat tolerance.
I had two bunches of swiss chard that I chopped and added to my pot along with a 1/2 cup of vegetable broth. Placed the lid on my pot for about two minutes. Took off and stirred the greens in with the onions. Replaced lid and cooked about two miutes more.
I had a heirloom tomato the size of two large tomatoes which I loosely chopped and added to the pan. I also added a generous teaspoon of curry masala spice mix at this time and mixed it all in.
I cooked the greens just long enough to heat up the tomatoes and mesh the flavors.
This can be served with rice or buckwheat, or eat it alone. The onions and raisens add a sweetness which compliment the spices and the jalapeno heat. I don't have a picture of this plated because......well, I was hungry. Forgive me for the lack of presentation for I know not what I do!
Ingredient List:
1 red onion
5-6 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon tumeric
1/3 cup golden raisens
1 jalapeno
2 bunches swiss shard
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1-2 large tomatoes
1 rounded teaspoon curry masala
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Spicy Tomato Chickpea Soup
01/25/10 Filed in: Soup
Quick and easy is definitely a description for this recipe from the cookbook Vegan YumYum. However, I would describe it as a deliciously-comforting-new favorite-recipe-to-be-repeated-forever soup.
Lauren Ulm, author of Vegan YumYum, also has a great blog at veganyumyum.
I do not have permission to duplicate her recipe, but I can tell you that you start with a common base of onion, garlic, and spices. You add chickpeas and tomatos. You blend it all up and serve. It takes barely 20 minutes to prepare so it is perfect for long days with little time. The chickpeas make the soup thick and rich like bisque, hmmmmm.
Buy her book. It is full of a great variety of recipes for all type of eaters. She is an amazing food photographer both in her book and on her blog. (I do not have an SLR so you won't get such mouth watering ics from me, sorry!)
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Five Spiced Popcorn
01/22/10 Filed in: Snacks
You know how some nights, you just want to snack for supper? Sitting in front of the television with a good bag of chips and your favorite dip or some crisp pita with hummus. Maybe you have a sweet tooth and your snack consists of cookies and milk. Whatever the comfort, there is a sense of adventure that comes with foregoing dinner. You know better, but you're going to do it anyway. So drown out your mother's voice inside your head, turn on your favorite show, and munch away.
My snack of choice on such nights is popcorn. As a child, I use to save the "cheese" packets from my blue boxes of Kraft mac and cheese and sprinkle it on my popcorn drenched in butter. This is after I popped it in a hot air corn popper, of course. Super healthy! Now that I am older and wiser (hopefully,) I make it a little differently.
I have a hot air popper, but I prefer to pop my corn on the stove in a heavy bottomed pan. Most of the time I use olive oil, but this time I tried coconut oil. Wow, what a difference, coconut oil may become my corn popping oil of choice. Check out the health benefits of coconut oil here.
Take a large heavy bottom and pour a layer of popcorn to cover the bottom of the pan. Place a tablespoon of coconut oil in the center of the pan, swish it around to cover the kernals. Turn on the heat to medium high. Sprinkle some salt to taste over the kernals. Place your lid on the pot and sit back down to watch TV.
Listen to the popping and when it starts to slow down to a few pops every couple of seconds, turn the heat off. Take the pot off the burner about a minute later or when the popping stops. Sprinkle a large teaspoon of five spice powder over the popcorn, replace the lid, and shake to stir.
Place the popcorn in a bowl, sit down on your couch, and enjoy!
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Fried Green Tomatoes and Garbanzo Dill Salad
01/18/10
So I was in whole foods the other day and they had some gorgeous heirloom tomatoes that were local produce. Right in the middle was a huge green tomato that was wonderfully firm. I bought this with the intention of making fried green tomatoes. I have never made them before. Infact, I have never had them before, but they have always sounded yummy.
So I did some research online and found a recipe by Elise Bauer that looked easy and flexible to change. I used soy milk, spelt flour, and whole grain bread crumbs. If you are gluten free, you could easily use buckwheat flour and gluten free "bread" crumbs made from brown rice with similar results.
Sprinkle your tomatoes with salt and pepper and set aside. These are sliced slightly more than 1/2 inch think.
Set up four dishes each with one of the following ingredients milk, flour, egg, and bread crumbs. Heat some olive oil in a skillet. I used my omelet pan, but I thought of my cast iron skillet after I was all cleaned up. Next time.....
Drag each slice through the the four ingredients in this order: milk, flour, egg, and bread crumbs. place in your pan once your oil is hot.
Once the tomato is browned on one side, about 4 minutes then flip it over.
Proceed through your remaining tomato slices.
I plated these with my garbanzo dill salad for lunch. They were definitely a hit with all in the family.
Ingredient List:
3 medium, firm green tomatoes 1/2 cup spelt flour 1/4 cup soy milk 2 beaten eggs 2/3 cup whole wheat bread crumbs or cornmeal 1/4 cup olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Buckwheat Oatmeal Pancakes with Pear and Apple Topping
01/17/10 Filed in: Breakfast
A good morning to all! Pancakes are are great for any meal on any day, but on Sunday, they are the best! I have been making pancakes so frequently since I discovered buckwheat pancakes, that I think I might invest in an electric griddle. Currently, I use my omelet pan, making one pancake at a time. I could seriously cut down on cook time if I could make three to four pancakes at once. Especially, since I make more than I need just so that I can throw a few in the freezer for a quick breakfast on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday!
This time I took my oatmeal pancakes and replaced one cup of oatmeal with buckwheat flour. This made the pancakes a little less dense, but still very hardy. The pancakes themselves are slightly sweet due to the banana in the batter.
For the topping, I sliced two pears and an apple into thin wedges. Then I cut them in half. I peeled the pears but not the apple (lots of nutrients in the apple skin.) I placed the fruit in a skillet and set the heat on medium low. I added about two tablespoons of Earth Balance, a tablespoon of honey, one teaspoon of cinnamon, and a half teaspoon of ground ginger. I let that cook slowly while I made the pancakes.
While not a cereal grain, buckwheat is a fruit seed related to the rhubarb and sorrel. Buckwheat is an excellent grain for those who are sensitive to glutens. Nutritionally, buckwheat helps to lower cholesterol and blood pressure. Buckwheat is rich in flavonoids, especially rutin, which are phytonutrients. These compounds help maintain blood flow and keep platelets from cloting excessively. Buckwheat also contains 86 milligrams of magnesium in a one cup serving. Magnesium relaxes blood vessels, improving blood flowand nutrient delivery.
Oatmeal is a complex carbohydrate. That means it will break down slowly helping to stabilize blood sugar. Oatmeal is also full of vitamin A, B complex vitamins, iron, and calcium. In addition, oatmeal provides dietary fiber making it beneficial to the digestive system.
So eat pancakes! And know that you are providing your body with good nutrition while filling your soul with comfort. Life is good!
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Haitian Pumpkin Soup
01/15/10 Filed in: Soup
Haitian cuisine is unique in the Caribbean. Most of the Caribbean was heavily influence by the Spanish, but the Dominican Republic and Haiti base their cusine on Creole and French cooking styles. Strong pepper flavoring in many dishes also sets Haitian food apart from other islands.
Soup jomou or pumpkin soup is traditionally served for lunch on Sundays.
Today, I made an exquisit soup from a recipe I found on the Whole Foods website called Haitian Pumpkin Soup. I used butternut squash instead of pumpkin. I believe you could used frozen or canned squash with similar results also. My husband, who is instantly turned off at the word cabbage, never noticed it was in the soup. Since the dish has the apperance of the chicken soup, he just never questioned the cabbage floating around.
The recipe calls for two jalapenos studded with cloves to be cooked in the soup. I was concerned while it was cooking as the cloves emitted a strong essence, but the end result was mild and comforting.
This soup is definity unique, but I highly recommend giving it a try. It will add a nice twist to an everyday meal.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Soup jomou or pumpkin soup is traditionally served for lunch on Sundays.
Today, I made an exquisit soup from a recipe I found on the Whole Foods website called Haitian Pumpkin Soup. I used butternut squash instead of pumpkin. I believe you could used frozen or canned squash with similar results also. My husband, who is instantly turned off at the word cabbage, never noticed it was in the soup. Since the dish has the apperance of the chicken soup, he just never questioned the cabbage floating around.
The recipe calls for two jalapenos studded with cloves to be cooked in the soup. I was concerned while it was cooking as the cloves emitted a strong essence, but the end result was mild and comforting.
This soup is definity unique, but I highly recommend giving it a try. It will add a nice twist to an everyday meal.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Lentil Mushroom Kale Stew
01/14/10 Filed in: Soup
Brrrrr...... It is cold in Florida. And it has been for too long if you ask me! We normally dip into "winter" temperatures for a night, maybe two, but it has been two weeks of layers and jackets. Many of us in Florida have no heat. Why would we? So when the thermostat drops to the 30's, our houses become a balmy 50 F.
My car is now my heat refuge. It has seat warmers (heaven) and I can crank the heater to 80 F and go for a long drive until I am all thawed out. When I was a kid up north, my Mom used to turn the heater down to 65 at night, which I though was cruel and unusual treatment. Imagine waking up to a house in the 50's! Oh yeah, and a house with tile floors, on top of a concrete slab, in the 50's! Need I say more?
In weather like this I yearn for steaming bowls of soup or stew. Today I've made some lentil stew with mushrooms, kale and some apple smoked vegan sausage. Lentils are a great source of tryptophan, folate, dietary fiber, iron, maganese, protein, phosperous, copper, thiamin, and potassium. Not too shabby for this quick and easy legume. Lentils are also an inexpensive food source for those trying to manage a tight food budget.
This is hearty and satisfying for even your most dedicated meat eater. In fat, the brand Field Roast vegan sausage has such great texture that my husband often assumes I bought him some "regular" sausage. Heh Heh! Any sausage flavor can be used in this recipe. Personally, I am a huge fan of anything spicy.
So I started with a cup of chopped carrots, a cup of chopped celery, one onion chopped, and 5-6 cloves of garlic mashed and chopped. Saute this in a little olive oil unitl the onions are clear, about 5 minutes. Remove the sausage from the casings and chop. Add your sausage to the mix and saute until the sausage starts to brown. Add one cup of lentils, either french or brown, to the pot and stir. Add one package of baby bella mushrooms cleaned and chopped. Saute until the water works its way from the mushrooms, about 7 minutes.
Add one bunch of kale that has been rinsed and chopped to the pot and mix in. I used purple kale, but any greens that you have will do the trick. Kale is a great source for vitamins K, A, and C, and, for me, it is all about adding nutrition to the dish.
Add four averaged sized tomatoes, chopped with juice. Add one quart vegetable broth, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, and about 2 additonal cups of water to the pot. Add a few shakes of red pepper flakes and a two generous teaspoons dried thyme. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until the lentils are soft, about 30-40 minutes.
Ideally, stews should be cooked a day before eating to give the flavors time to age and strengthen. Enjoy!
Ingredient List:
5-6 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup french lentils, uncooked
1 bunch kale
1 package baby bella or button mushrooms, chopped
2 sausages, uncased and chopped or crumbled
4 tomatoes, chopped or 1 can chopped tomatoes
1 quart vegetable juice
2 cups water
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 generous teaspoons dried thyme
pinch red pepper flakes
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
My car is now my heat refuge. It has seat warmers (heaven) and I can crank the heater to 80 F and go for a long drive until I am all thawed out. When I was a kid up north, my Mom used to turn the heater down to 65 at night, which I though was cruel and unusual treatment. Imagine waking up to a house in the 50's! Oh yeah, and a house with tile floors, on top of a concrete slab, in the 50's! Need I say more?
In weather like this I yearn for steaming bowls of soup or stew. Today I've made some lentil stew with mushrooms, kale and some apple smoked vegan sausage. Lentils are a great source of tryptophan, folate, dietary fiber, iron, maganese, protein, phosperous, copper, thiamin, and potassium. Not too shabby for this quick and easy legume. Lentils are also an inexpensive food source for those trying to manage a tight food budget.
This is hearty and satisfying for even your most dedicated meat eater. In fat, the brand Field Roast vegan sausage has such great texture that my husband often assumes I bought him some "regular" sausage. Heh Heh! Any sausage flavor can be used in this recipe. Personally, I am a huge fan of anything spicy.
So I started with a cup of chopped carrots, a cup of chopped celery, one onion chopped, and 5-6 cloves of garlic mashed and chopped. Saute this in a little olive oil unitl the onions are clear, about 5 minutes. Remove the sausage from the casings and chop. Add your sausage to the mix and saute until the sausage starts to brown. Add one cup of lentils, either french or brown, to the pot and stir. Add one package of baby bella mushrooms cleaned and chopped. Saute until the water works its way from the mushrooms, about 7 minutes.
Add one bunch of kale that has been rinsed and chopped to the pot and mix in. I used purple kale, but any greens that you have will do the trick. Kale is a great source for vitamins K, A, and C, and, for me, it is all about adding nutrition to the dish.
Add four averaged sized tomatoes, chopped with juice. Add one quart vegetable broth, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, and about 2 additonal cups of water to the pot. Add a few shakes of red pepper flakes and a two generous teaspoons dried thyme. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until the lentils are soft, about 30-40 minutes.
Ideally, stews should be cooked a day before eating to give the flavors time to age and strengthen. Enjoy!
Ingredient List:
5-6 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup french lentils, uncooked
1 bunch kale
1 package baby bella or button mushrooms, chopped
2 sausages, uncased and chopped or crumbled
4 tomatoes, chopped or 1 can chopped tomatoes
1 quart vegetable juice
2 cups water
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 generous teaspoons dried thyme
pinch red pepper flakes
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Leftover Salmon Salad
01/04/10
I made salmon for New Year's Eve, but was left with a lot left over. The wild sockeye salmon was on sale when I went to the store so I knowingly bought more than I needed. In addition, since everyone was coughing, sneezing, aching, and not getting any rest, our appetites were not up to par. Voila! Lots of leftovers.
Leftover fish is the most perishable. If I do not eat it in a few days, it's toast. So I whipped up this delish salad to top on greens, eat with crackers, or mound between two slices of bread for a scrumptious sandwich.
My salmon was cooked with asian flavors so I continued that theme with my salad. The spices could definitely be tweaked to taste. (I just happen to love ginger.) Also, if you have some leftover tuna or tilapia, use that instead. Although, salmon keeps making everyone's top ten super food lists so I highly recommend choosing the pink stuff. If you have no leftovers at all, use some canned salmon. The smoked variety is wonderful.
Ingredients List:
1 cup finely diced celery
1/2 cup finely diced red pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 lb leftover wild salmon
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
2-3 tablespoons Braggs aminos or soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
1/4 to 1/2 mayonaise (optional)
Shred your salmon into small pieces. Add the vegetables and mix well. Add lemon juice, and remaining ingredients. Mix well. Serve on a bed of greens or on some toasty whole grain bread. Enjoy!
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Stevia
01/02/10 Filed in: Spice and Herb
Brief History
The Guarani Indians of Central and South America have been using stevia for centuries. However, the herb was "discovered" by Dr. Moises Santiago Bertoni, a botanist in the late 1800's.
Stevia was first brought to the attention of the U.S. government in 1918 by a botanist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Three years later, stevia was presented to the USDA as a possible safe alternative to sugar. The sugar producers, however, were alarmed by the stevia plant and successful lobbying has kept it away from commercial use in the United States until recently.
In 1931, french scientists isolated several compounds which give stevia its sweetness in a pure white chrystalline form called stevioside. The Japanese banned or strickly regulated the use of artificial sweetners in the 1960's due to the concern over the substances' safety. Japan has been using stevia as a commercial alternative to artificial sweetners since the 1970's.
It is widely used in other countries as well, including China, Germany, Malaysia, Isreal, and South Korea. Stevia could have been widely in use in the U.S. had it not been for the large effort to block its entry into the food system.
In Baking
When baking, cane sugar does several things. It carmelizes helping to brown baked goods, it helps retain moisture in baked goods, and sugar helps baked goods rise effectively. If baking completely sugar free with stevia, some adjustments need to be made.
The general coversion rates for pure powdered stevia are as follows:
1 teaspoon equals 1 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon equales 1 tablespoon of sugar
A pinch equals 1 teaspoon of sugar
I replace the missing volume in baked goods with natural unwsweetened apple sauce. Depending on your recipe, canned pumpkin, fruit puree, fruit juice, or yogurt can be great substitutes. Adding these ingredients also increases the moisture level.
Start with a recipe you know well, and experiment with the ratios of stevia and fillers. I experiment with combinations as well. Replacing some of the sugar in a recipe with agave syrup, honey, or brown rice syrup and the rest with stevia also works well. If your recipe asks for a cup of sugar, relace with a cup of applesauce and add the teaspoon of powdered stevia. After one or two tries, you will be well on your way to sugarless baking.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.