As part of my part-time librarian job, I get to plan events for our Mom's Night Out program at the library. My co-worker and I put together a night out that included a book discussion of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, lemon cupcakes, and a brown sugar lemon body scrub that I came up with. We had the participants put the scrub together (see photo below), and then place the scrub in baby food jars that I had been saving for a while. (I did make some of A.J.'s baby food, but did supplement with Earth's Best jarred foods). This is sooo ridiculously easy to make and fun to use, that I had to share the recipe. The smell of this scrub is heavenly!
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons of brown sugar
3 tablespoons almond oil (or oil of your choice)
8-12 drops of lemon essential oil
Stir all the ingredients together. To use, rub the scrub on your skin in a circular motion and rinse in the shower. Pat skin dry.
Scrubs are excellent for exfoliating skin and improving circulation. Lemon is a natural anti-bacterial and helps to remove toxins from the body.
I made this as a bedtime snack for A.J. the other night, after he refused to eat my Moroccan couscous. They looked so delicious, I had to make one for myself and gobbled it up after A.J. was tucked into bed and I was parked in front of the season premier of Glee!
As you can see, my photography is horrible, so I swiped the picture from the Whole Foods website (where this recipe came from), just to show you how delicious this thing looks!
Looks delicious, doesn't it? And it's super easy to make. Here's what you do.
1. Core an apple. (I sliced mine up first, and then cored it. One large apple made two sandwiches. ) 2. Take your favorite peanut butter (or other nut spread), and spread it on both slices of apple. Try to use a natural or organic, peanut butter. The fewer ingredients the better. 3. Take your favorite granola. I used some homemade granola, but store bought is great. I love Udi's brand! Sprinkle the granola over the peanut butter on each slice. 4. Put the two slices together and enjoy!
The original recipe calls to add chocolate chips, but I think it's already sweet enough with the granola and apple. There are tons of variations you could try out. Add some cinnamon, different varieties of apple, or granola, etc.
This is a great recipe to make with kids too. If we hadn't been running late that night, I would have A.J. help me assemble the sandwich too.
Now that my computer is back up and running, I can start to post about the many, many recipes that I've made in recent months that have been sitting in the pipeline. I knew as soon as I made this recipe months ago from the classic Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen that I would have to post it. I made it on a whim. Some days when I'm planning my menu, I feel adventurous and want to branch out and fearlessly try new, but "weird" and unusal dishes in the hopes that I will find another dish to add to my vegetarian repertoire. Sometimes they are instant success and others are downright duds. I'd never heard of a maranca( and I'm still not quite sure what it is). A quick Google search came up with no answers, but I had some millet I wanted to use up, and I wanted to expose A.J. to it again. So, I gathered up the ingredients and made my first maranca. I was pleasantly surprised by the results. If you're not a fan of millet (it has a slightly crunchy texture that is unlike most grains) or if it's not available in your local store, you can substitute brown rice. You can also make it vegan by omitting the cheese or using some vegan margarine and Daiya vegan cheddar "cheese."
Cauliflower Maranca Ingredients oil for the pan 1 1/2 c raw millet 2 1/2 c water 1 Tbsp butter 2 c chopped onion 1 lb mushrooms, sliced black pepper, to taste 1 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp dried basil 1 large head of cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces (or smaller) 3 garlic cloves, minced 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice grated cheese, optional paprika, for the top
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Oil a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. Place the millet and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until tender (15 to 20 minutes). Transfer to a large bowl and fluff with a fork to let steam escape.
3. Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onion, mushrooms, pepper, salt, and basil, and saute about 5 minutes - until the onions soften. Add cauliflower and garlic, and saute about 10 minutes more - until the cauliflower is tender. Add lemon juice.
4. Stir the sauteed veggies into the millet, along with the optional cheese, and mix well. Spread into the prepared pan, dust with paprika and bake for 25-30 minutes.
You can eat it as a side dish or serve with a salad! Yum!
There are 2 products that I’ve purchased lately for Aidan's meal time that I adore. I bought the Dandelion Re-useable bowls and plates to replace Aidan’s very expensive cherry wood bowl that had cracked and was starting to mold (yuck!). I wanted to find a replacement that was not as expensive, easier to clean, BPA free, and easy on the environment. That’s a tall order, but the Dandelion bowls and plates have really delivered. They are super cute, and they are made from corn (a natural, sustainable resource), so they are biodegradable. The only down side is that they do have to be hand washed, but they are easy to hand wash. Although they are super lightweight, they seem to be very durable. I cannot rave about these little bowls enough!
Another welcome addition to our dinner table has been the Crocodile Creek placemats. These adorable little PVC free placemats come in 36 different designs, but I purchased the World Map, Vehicles, Wild World ABC, and USA Map placemat. While I’ve only been using these placemats a week, they have been a great, but fun learning tool at mealtimes. Aidan already has learned from the USA map placemat that he lives in Texas (“with the cowboys”), and that Grammy lives in “Hampshire by the moose.” I'm so impressed by what's he's learned in a week that I can't wait to see what else is to come!
Ewww...Did I really just use that as my title? Ouch. But I am in fact, among other things, always trying to be a locavore. If I can buy food or other items that were grown or produced locally, I am happy to reduce some of the carbon footprint that it takes to transport the items.
So, I was extremely happy to find some local honey from McKinney. I have purchased honey from Plano and Dallas before, but never McKinney. And I found it at one of my favorite places to lunch in downtown McKinney, Spoons! They sell it in various varieties (clover, wildflower) and they sell bee pollen too. According to the label, you can also buy it directly from the beekeepers, Guy and Liz Money. The honey is delicious and I like to use it in the yogi tea that I bought when I was in Austin 2 months ago, which is produced locally there. Best yogi tea! Ever! (I plan to figure out what's in it and make it myself. Once I do, I'll post the recipe here.)
In addition to stimulating the economy of downtown McKinney, I also recently stimulated the economy of the west side of McKinney by getting a massage at Essence of Eve Day Spa. They are currently having a summer special called, "Pay What You Can." Just as the name implies, services are on a donation basis this summer and you are only obligated to pay what you can afford to pay. While I was there, I noticed a beautiful coffee table book called, Spa Water. I adore spa water. I find it so...refreshing. So I picked up the book and leafed through. I discovered that the author, Pam Wenzel, is a resident of McKinney. Once I got home, I immediately looked up her website, http://www.myspawater.com/ and purchased a copy of her book. As an added bonus, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the books goes to cancer research. The book won't be released for a few more weeks, but I can't wait to get my hands on it and try some of the recipes. If I recall correctly, they range from a very simple orange water to some more unusual Ayurvedic waters for the different dosha types.
When I looked at the date of the last blog entry, I realized why I haven't had a blog entry in three months. At that point in time, there was a lot of change going on in my life. In particular, there was a person that I should have let go, but felt I could not. Intellectually, I know why it's good to let go of things/issues/people. If we don't let go of material things, they can clutter up our homes and our minds and block our chi or prana. Further, if we hold onto people or situations that are not healthy or to our benefit, then there is no space for new and improved situations to come into our lives. While I knew all this on an intellectual level, I held onto an unhealthy situation for too long.
In honor of letting go and making space for new opportunities, I decided to try and clean out my overgrown pantry and refrigerator. I decided to make the delicious (no, really) raisin bran bread from the Tassajara Recipe Book. It is excellent for using up old raisins that are a little too dry to eat by themselves. I also had some buttermilk that was a wee bit past the date. (Usually I freeze my leftover buttermilk, but forgot to this time.) I also used up some brown sugar that was getting a bit dry, and finished the bran. And while the change is not drastic, there is definitely more space on the shelves in my pantry. It's a very nice feeling to know that the possibilities are endless for what I can choose to place in that space.
Buttermilk Raisin Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup raisins (I used Sultana raisins - the yellow raisins) 1/2 cup boiling water 3/4 cup unbleached white flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup butter (melted) 1 cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 egg 1 cup brain
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 inch loaf pan with canola oil spray.
Cover the raisins with the boiling water and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the white flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir in the whole wheat pastry flour and brown sugar.
In a separate bowl, mix the melted butter, buttermilk, vanilla and egg. Drain the water from the raisins into the buttermilk mixture, stir to blend.
Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and stir them together with about 15 quick strokes. The batter will still be a bit lumpy. Fold the bran and the raisins in with a few more strokes.
Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until the bread is brown and springs back when pressed with a finger. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
This is delicious with cream cheese and jam! Excellent snack or breakfast!
That was the first thing out of A.J.'s mouth this morning. Not "Good morning, mama." Not "Hi mama!" Not "Da da?" Or any of the other usual morning salutations. Just "Smoovies?" For the past few weeks, I've been making smoothies with A.J. and we've had great fun with it. It's a fun, easy, and nutritious snack, and he loves to eat and make them.
I usually set up the blender (unplugged, as A.J. likes to push the buttons), and have him help me load the ingredients. Today we just did a free form smoothie. I didn't measure anything, just eyeballed it. He does a great job loading the blender. I just gave him the bag of frozen fruit and he started taking the chunks out and placed them in the blender. (See below: A.J. adding the mango.)
I'm finding that smoothies are also a great way for both of us to get our greens in. So, I've been trying to add spinach and other greens to our smoothie. If you've never tried it, you should! It's great for you and you cannot taste the spinach in your smoothie.
Once we've got all the ingredients in the blender, I plug it in and then let A.J. push the buttons. He gets very excited when the blender starts up and yells, "Smoovie!" I put his smoothie in his usual plastic cup, but give him a straw to make it fun. He has started to insist that I also drink it with a straw ("mama straw!"). I love that little man! We often go sit outside and enjoy our smoothies in the beautiful sunshine.
While I often do my smoothies free form, as I've been doing them a while, here are a few of our current favorites.
Blissful Mama's Tropical Smoothie
1 banana (preferably frozen)
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen mangoes
1 cup rice milk (or your preferred type of milk - I use rice milk since it is more in line with ayruvedic principles)
1-2 tbps. agave nectar
1 tsp. coconut extract
1 tbsp wheat germ (optional)
splash of Aloe Vera Juice (optional)
Add all the ingredients into the blender and give it a whirl. Yield 2-3 servings
Blueberry Smoothie (From my raw food chef friend)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 ripe banana
1 cup fresh spinach or 3-4 kale laves, stem removed
2-3 cups water
Optional seeds (flax, hemp, chia, etc.)
Add all the ingredients into the blender and give it a whirl. Yield 2-3 servings.
Pom-Cherry Smoothie
1 cup frozen sweet cherries
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup pomegranate cherry juice
3/4 cup frozen pineapple
1 banana
Throw it all in the blender and mix it up until smooth. Yield 3-4 servings.
"When you wash the rice, wash the rice." ~ Edward Espe Brown
When I watched How to Cook Your Life with Edward Espe Brown last month, I knew this quote would stick with me for a while. When I initially heard about the documentary, I thought, "Eureka! This is the answer to all my issues with cooking." While there is a part of me that obviously loves to cook, there are many times when I am in the kitchen and find myself wishing that I didn't have to cook or drained by the process. Part of that is because my son is a very curious toddler and wants me to hold him while I'm cooking so that he can see everything. And even though I want to do this, I find myself drained by the process. In looking for "the answer" to this "problem" I stumbled across How to Cook Your Life, and immediately thought that there must be something in this video that will help me to change my mindset, so that I can blissfully float through the kitchen and all will be lovely and right with the world.
Not so. My initial reaction to some of the philosophy in the video was anger! While I really enjoyed Edward Espe Brown in the video and his authenticity, I felt that the philosophies that he espoused were not for your average mom at home in the kitchen, but were geared more towards the monk in the monastery (or anyone cooking without young children). Case in point: Brown relates one of the most important teachings of his teacher, Suzuki, "When you wash the rice, wash the rice." While this is a beautiful teaching that helps bring the powerful meditation tool of mindfulness into your kitchen and daily life, this is total b.s. if you are a mother with a toddler! (Or at least this mother, anyway!) In my house, when I am washing the rice, I am washing the rice and telling A.J. to let go of the faucet and not to splash the water and anticipating what A.J. will do next so that I can prevent any potential disasters in the kitchen. While I can attempt mindfulness, I can only realistically mindfully multi-task.
So my quest to make cooking a spiritual act and karmic yoga act continues. I work to alleviate the drudgery and infuse it with lightness and love. A few weeks after seeing the documentary, I saw The Tassajara Recipe Book at Half Price Books and couldn't resist picking it up. I had only cooked from The Tassajara Bread Book before. I was pleasantly surprised to see some "intentions/prayers" scattered throughout the book that invoke an element of karma yoga into cooking. I now have a few of them taped to my microwave. If nothing else, it helps me start out with a mindfulness mindset. When I'm cooking with A.J., that mindset quickly deteriorates, but I'm going to keep working at it.
Getting Started:
" Washing my hands, preparing to handle food, I cleanse my mind of the same old thinking, and offer to lend a hand, freshly doing each task."
And
Working on How I Work:
" I do this chore not to just get it out of the way, but as the way to make real kind connected mind.
May I awaken to what these ingredients offer, and may I awaken best I can energy, warmth, imagination, this offering of heart, and hand."
Spring is here! And for me, that means it's salad and smoothie time! Here is one of my new favorites from the Tassajara Recipe Book by Edward Espe Brown.
For the salad:
5 large handfuls mixed greens 2 grapefruits (I love the Texas Rio grapefruits! They are not as bitter as others.) 2 avocados
For the vinaigrette: grated peel of 4 limes 3 tbsp. lime juice 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp coriander 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (regular works fine too) 1/2 tsp. dry mustard pinch of chili powder 1 clove garlic, minced or pounded to a paste 1/3 cup of olive oil (or more if it's more to your taste) 1-2 tbsps. coarsely chopped parsley (recipe originally called for cilantro, but I had parsley in my garden that looked ready to eat) 2 scallions, minced (both green and white parts)
Preparation:
Wash and dry greens. Section the grapefruit, removing seeds and membranes.
To make the vinaigrette, combine the lime zest, juice, salt, spices, and garlic and to stir to dissolve the salt.
Add olive oil, scallions, and parsley or cilantro. Whisk lightly to combine the ingredients.
With St. Paddy's Day about to descend upon us, I thought I would post about a delicious vegetarian shepherd's pie recipe that I make. It's slightly adapted from an Annabel Karmel recipe book. I don't tend to care for her recipes in general, (too much cheese and pasta) but this one is a winner! This one has green lentils in place of the meat, which are a great source of protein and iron.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil 1 red onion, finely chopped 1 carrot, peeled and grated 1 garlic clove, crushed 3/4 cup lentils 1 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth 2/3 c. water 2 tbsp. tomato paste 1 tbsp. soy sauce 1 tbsp. brown sugar 1/2 cup frozen sweet peas
2 lbs. golden yukon potatoes (peeled or unpeeled, your choice, cut into chunks) 1 1/2 tbsp. butter or vegan margarine, such as Earth Balance brand 1/2 c. milk or non-dairy milk of your choice
Preparation:
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute the onions and carrots until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the lentils, tomatoes, broth, water, tomato paste, soy sauce, and sugar. Bring to to a boil, then reduce the heat, partially cover and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 1 hour.
2. While the lentil mixture is simmering, steam the potatoes until they are tender. (You can also steam cauliflower to add to the potato topping. I do this sometimes to add some more vegetables to the dish. Reduce the amount of potatoes to 1 1/2 lbs. and add a small head of cauliflower.) Mash the steamed potatoes with the milk and butter.
3. Season the lentil mixture to taste with salt and pepper. Then either place the mixture in a large ramekin or divide it equally among 6 ramekins. Or you can do a little of both, like I did. The little ramekins are great for older kids.
Spread the potato mixture on top of the lentils. You can brush the top of the pie with an egg white or butter, if you prefer to have a nice golden top to your shepherd's pie. Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees. Place the pies on a baking sheet and bake until golden and piping hot (about 30 minutes).
You can make this ahead and freeze it. Place plastic wrap over the top and freeze. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking.
This may seem a bit off topic for this blog, but as Vata tends to be my dominant dosha, that should come as no surprise! The past few months, I've been trying to incorporate some more Waldorf methods into our daily lives. As I've mentioned before, the Waldorf philosophy is big on having the child participate in the daily chores in the household. There is also a strong preference for allowing the child to do these activities "by hand," or at least without the use of electricity. I just watched How to Cook Your Life with Zen master Edward Espe Brown (and I hope to write more about that later), and in this documentary, the famous chef shows his students how to knead bread. In the midst of his teachings, he talks about how our modern society does everything by computer or electronically and miss out on doing activities by hand. When we engage in activities, like kneading bread, all those wonderful acupressure and acupuncture points in our hand are stimulated and make us feel alive! I instantly got the connection to the Waldorf philosophy and their desire to do things by hand. So, keeping this all in mind the past few months, I've incorporated some changes into our routine.
Now, don't get me wrong. You don't have to move to a monastery or totally give up your life as you know it. You can start simply, and make small modifications, according to Heaven on Earth author Sharifa Oppenheimer. If you always use the dishwasher, wash dishes by hand once a week and involve your child. This is one of A.J.'s favorite activities! He loves to stand in his Learning Tower and play in the water while we wash dishes together. He loves the bubbles that the dish soap makes and squeezing out the sponge. (Warning: If they are like, A.J. they will splash everywhere, so keep a towel handy!).
In order to help incorporate Aidan into the vacuuming of the floors, I purchased a carpet sweeper for $20 from Amazon.com. It has an adjustable handle, of sorts, so it's just his size. He loves to push it and it actually does better at picking things up than our electric vacuum cleaner. I also purchased a child sized broom for him to "help" me sweep with. One of his favorite things to do is "help me!"
Around the same time that I purchased the carpet sweeper, I stumbled upon a Donvier non-electric ice cream maker at the thrift store and immediately snatched it up! It was $4.99 and they retail for $60! Although it was January, I knew that this would be another excellent tool to help us implement this part of the Waldorf philosophy into our lives.
When the weather warmed up this past week, I decided it was warm enough to dust off the ice cream maker and make some frozen yogurt. I found a recipe book for the ice cream maker online, since it didn't come with one. I modified one of the recipes a bit, and made tropical frozen yogurt in 20 minutes.
Tropical Frozen Yogurt:
Ingredients: 1 10-oz. package tropical fruit mix (I used Woodstock Farms Organic Tropic Mix with bananas, mangoes, and strawberries) 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (I used Stonyfield Farms) 1/8 cup agave nectar
Preparation: Thaw fruit mix. Add to blender and puree. Mix in yogurt and agave nectar. Pour into ice cream maker. Turn crank several times every 2-3 minutes until it becomes difficult to turn the crank.
This is such a fun tool to use, as it doesn't require ice or salt! Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of us making the frozen yogurt or A.J. and his friend eating it. But they LOVED it! The picture above is A.J. playing with the ice cream maker the day we bought it. He loves to play with it and thinks it's a "screw-dryer" (Translation: screwdriver).
"When diet is wrong medicine is of no use. When diet is correct medicine is of no need." Ancient Ayurvedic Proverb
Alicia Silverstone is out to create world peace with her new book, The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet. For some this might be a highly radical idea, but this is something that I think about every day as part of the yogic principle, ahimsa. Ahimsa can be translated as "non-violence" or non-harming." For those following the yogic philosophy, ahimsa must be upheld over all other principles. It's kind of like the Hippocratic oath, "First, do no harm." Many yogis believe that you should be a vegetarian or vegan to uphold this principle, as does Alicia Silverstone.
Although she does believe strongly in veganism, she doesn't come off too preachy or judgmental, which is nice to know that she practices what she preaches (kindness!).
The first part of the book is filled with tips and nutritional information about veganism and the vegan lifestyle. Some of it I've heard many times (factory farms are the devil, etc.), and some of it all new. A little voice in the back of my head (a librarian, I think), kept wondering why she wasn't citing her sources for information and if she was an authoritative source herself. Regardless, there are good tips and information in the first half.
In the second half of the book are the recipes. I've made 4 of them already and my husband liked all of them, and A.J. liked most of them. I loved them all. Unfortunately, I only got one picture during all this cooking. That's the way it goes sometimes when you are cooking with a toddler. Fortunately it was a picture of my favorite recipe in the book so far: Pecan crusted seitan with rustic pasta!
Pecan Crusted Seitan
Marinade 3/4 c. tomato paste 1/4 c. umeboshi vinegar 1/4 c. dry red wine 1/2 c. freshly squeezed orange juice 1/4 c. shoyu 1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley 2 tbsp. minced fresh tarragon or 1 tbsp. dried tarragon 2 tbsps. minced fresh rosemary
Combine all the ingredients for the marinade into a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer the marinade to a shallow dish and add 8-10 pieces of seitan. Turn to coat on all sides. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight or at least 3 hours.
When finished marinating, mix together 2 cups of flour, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1 cup ground pecans (I ground mind in a mortor and pestle. A food processor would probably work well too.), and 2 tbsps. finely chopped rosemary in a shallow bowl. Dredge the seitan in this mixture.
Heat 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil in a pan, and add the seitan to the pan. Saute until golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Rustic Pasta
1/4 c pound pasta 2 tbsp olive oil 2 large onions, thinly sliced 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or thinly sliced 2 celery stalks, diced or thinly sliced on a diagonal 1/4 c. shoyu 1/2 tsp fine sea salt 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1 head green cabbage, thinly sliced 5-6 tablespoons marinara sauce
Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Salt the water and add the pasta; cook just until al dente. Drain the pasta.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the onions and cook for 7 minutes until softened, then add the garlic and saute for 3 minutes longer, until the onions are transparent and turning golden.
Add the celery to the skillet and aute for 3 or 4 minutes. Stir in the shoyu, salt, and garlic powder, the add the cabbage; saute for 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes longer. Add the pasta to the skillet with the sauce and toss together. Cook over medium heat for a minute or two and serve.
God, I still cringe inside when I think of my mom singing this famous ode to flatulence. Like most people, I'd like to ignore the fact that we all do have gas, but I admire Alicia Silverstone's frankness about the subject in her new book, The Kind Diet. (There will likely be many more posts on this book, as the recipes in the book are fabulous!). She has a section called, "Beans and Fartiness" in the book that details some tips on how to cut down the farty factor of beans. I have just in the past year or so started using dried beans and was not aware of some of these tips.
Discard the water which your beans have soaked in!
Cook beans with a small piece of kombu sea vegetable or bay leaf (Score! I bought a bay leaf wreath for Christmas this year and I have tons of dried bay leaves, even after I discarded half of the leaves.)
Bring beans up to a boil in an open pot or pressure cooker and skim off any foam in the first ten minutes of cooking. Alicia calls this "farty foam." You can return the lid to the pot after 10 minutes and continue to simmer the beans until they are done.
In addition to the cooking techniques, Alicia recommends chewing the beans well. I was hoping that she would talk about digestive enzymes, as my knowledge is limited on them.
I hope to blog some more about the book and the recipes in the coming week....
A.J.’s Waldorf teacher shared a baked oatmeal recipe in her monthly newsletter a few months ago, and I tried it out recently. It was a huge hit! It’s very easy to make and so satisfying on a cold, winter morning. The cinnamon is great for getting your agni (digestive fire) going in the morning. You could try other warming spices too, if you don’t care for cinnamon. I made it with rice milk and a vegan butter substitute called Earth Balance, but the original recipe calls for cow’s milk and butter, so either will work just fine. A.J.’s teacher like to serve it with a bit of milk (like oatmeal), but I like it just like it is! If you’re not a fan of cranberries, try raisins or other dried fruit.
3 cups rolled oats ½ cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup rice milk 2 eggs 1/2 cup melted Earth Balance 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3/4 cup dried cranberries
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Beat in milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Stir in dried cranberries. Spread into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
There are so many things in my brain that I want to blog about, but I'm going to blog about something more timely. A.J., Greg, and I made these fun, strawberry heart-shaped pizzas for Valentine's Day. Quality time and service were my two primary love languages from The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. Greg hates to shop, so I am always welcome to receive the gift of his time, rather than something tangible. So when I saw this recipe in Kiwi magazine, I roped Greg into making them with me as a Valentine's Day gift.
The first step is to take 6 (10 inch) tortillas and either cut them into a heart shape, or use a cookie cutter (which is what I did). Then line them up on a baking sheet wrapped with tin foil (okay, okay aluminum foil!). I did this during A.J.'s naptime. Slice up about 12 strawberries and grate 2 ounces of white chocolate (also done during naptime).
Once A.J.'s naptime was over, we got to work on assembling our pizzas. With 1/4 cup of melted Earth Balance (the recipe actually call for butter, if you want to substitute), A.J. and I "painted" the butter on the tortillas. As soon as he saw the pastry brushes (which he has never used before - as far as I can recall), he said, "painting!". He's sooo smart, and I'm not biased at all. He did really well with the process, especially considering he's only 21 months old. He did drip "butter" all over the floor....
and he did get distracted and decide to mark his own pizzas by taking a bite out of them, but overall really well.
So, once the hearts have been "painted," you sprinkle about 3 teaspoons of turbinado sugar on the hearts. The turbinado sugar is the same thing as "sugar in the raw.' It gives it a nice, little crunch. When Greg saw A.J. do this, he was very impressed, and said, "Wow! He's gonna' be a chef!" Greg then helped Aidan sprinkle the cinnamon over the hearts. You'll need about 1 teaspoon.
Once the cinnamon is added, the pizzas go into a 350 degree oven for 3 minutes. Once they have cooled a we bit, you spread about 1/2 cup of seedless raspberry jam over the hearts, and then spread the grated white chocolate on the hearts. Send them back to the oven for another 2 minutes. Place the sliced strawberries on top of the pizzas and serve.
I thought they were delicious and I think this would work well on bread too, maybe even better! Greg liked them too! A.J. hardly ate his because he filled up on strawberries as we were making them. That was probably better for him nutritionally anyway. This is a fun recipe for kids!!
A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of visiting the Lucky Layla Farm in Plano, Texas. I have long been a fan of their delicious yogurt smoothies/drinkable yogurts. They come in many flavors, and my favorite are the tropical flavors (Pina Colada, Passion Fruit, and another one I can't remember!). I've been buying them on and off for years at the Whole Foods in Plano, and just in the past year at the Mckinney Farmer's Market. They also make a mean cajeta too! Muy dulce...
They sell lots of their products at their farm store, and you can now buy raw milk by the gallon there too. (They only take cash or check!) From the research I've done, I've found that raw milk can be extremely beneficial to you, and most of the concerns are public health issues. A.J. is drinking goat's milk and rice milk right now, so I have not bought any there yet. Greg and I don't really drink milk. The little that I use is generally in cooking, and the heat, as it does in pasteurization, destroys most of the benefits of raw milk.
Anyway, regardless of whether or not you buy their products, it's nice to check out the farm. They have tours most days at 3:30, and you can check out the baby calves anytime. We saw one that had just been born a few days before. We didn't do the tour, as I was with 4 other toddlers and 1 other adult that day! I hope to go back and take the official tour some day.
They also have picnic tables where you can have a snack or enjoy lunch while you watch the cows graze in the fields. There's a slide for little kiddos and some hay bales. But watch out. The fence is electric. We learned that the hard way!
"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." ~Colin Powell
"The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” ~Sven Goran Eriksson
I have been cooking up a storm these past few weeks, especially since I got my new Waldorf Soup Cookbook. However, I am sad to report that none of the new recipes that I've tried in the past few weeks have really been blog worthy. Some were just not great recipes, while others had potential, but I botched the recipe.
First, there was the pea soup (pictured on the right). I might attempt this recipe again, since it wasn't too bad, and A.J. and Greg liked it. I cooked it in my beloved Le Crueset dutch oven that I got at the Le Creuset factory outlet store 2 years ago for a steal. I love it, but it can get and stay very hot, so you have to be mindful when cooking. And, as those of you with toddlers know, this can be difficult sometimes. If it's just you and your toddler at home while you are cooking, there's no way to get out of multi-tasking. At the time I was cooking this, I actually had 3 toddlers and another adult in my home, so the soup cooked at too high a temperature and dried out a little bit. Come to think of it, this soup pretty much cooked itself, as I only checked on it to stir it sporadically amidst the toddler induced pandemonium at my house. It ended up being fine, since that made it easier for A.J. to pick up and eat with his hands!
The second recipe was borscht, which I thought I would love since I love beets. I've never had it before, but this recipe was very bland. It was served with sour cream and dill, and that didn't even help liven it up. A.J. wouldn't touch it!
I also made the minestrone recipe from the Waldorf Soup book with , and even though it was really good (and vegan), it wasn't better than another recipe that I have been using a while.
I'm committed to only adding recipes to this blog that are worth making again and again. Food that will not only nourish you, but that you will also relish. I'm giving the Waldorf Soup Cookbook one more shot. Next week is Adzuki bean and peanut soup!
Well, my failures in the kitchen have not only been soups. I made some museli oat bars that were dry and not that tasty. I also made some "lotion" that was complete mush. I wanted to make some lotion for the Mom's Night Out program that I am doing at the library. As part of the program, I am guiding 32 moms through the process of self massage for the hands. I really want to make sure that my actions align with my principles, and so I didn't want to use some cheap lotion full of parabens and other things that should not be place on or in the body. As our budget it somewhat limited, I thought I would save some money by making my own. Sounds great, right?!
I found a very simple recipe on the web, and ordered some beeswax, and once it arrived set out to make the lotion. I melted the beeswax and mixed the oil and water together, and ended up with a bowl full of mush!
So many failures in such a short time. It was a little discouraging, of course. If I had just been starting to experiment with cooking, I would have thought, "I'm not a good cook. I shouldn't cook ever again!" Fortunately, I know that "failure" is part of the learning and growth process. Growth can be challenging when we look at the world in such a polarizing way. Instead of seeing things as "failures," perhaps we can seem that as opportunities for growth and expansion. This shift in perception can be helpful, not only in the kitchen, but throughout life.
Phewww! I have had a very busy couple of weeks and am just now settling back into my routine. We traveled to North Carolina for a wedding. Even a short trip with a toddler will set you back in more ways than one!
Although I was busy, I was not too busy to bake quite a few things. I did not take any pictures, unfortunately. I thought I would be too busy to blog about them, and I was right. Sort of. I decided to blog about them now, because they were too good to keep to myself.
In the past month or so, I have baked several recipes from the Tassajara Bread Book, and nothing really stood out. The biscuits that were advertised as "flaky" were very dense and, well, the opposite of flaky. The shortbread was ho-hum and so on. I had just about given up on the Tassajara Bread Book when I decided to give it one last shot, and that recipe was an instant hit! Then I tried two more and they were some of the best things that I have ever made. So, without further ado...
Date Bars
3 eggs 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1/8 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. ground cloves 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. allspice (I used Jamaican) 1 cup chopped dates or raisins or figs or prunes (I used dates and raisins since I had them on hand) 1/2 cup chopped nutmeats (I used almonds and walnuts)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Beat eggs until light. Blend in the brown sugar along with the vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices, add them to the eggs, and beat until well blended (Note: I didn't sift the dry ingredients. I never do! I mix them with a whisk. I've read for other sources that it does the same thing. Martha Stewart even said so on her show last week! And you know she would never lie, right?). Fold in the fruit and nuts. Pour into a buttered and floured 9 X 13 inch pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
These are delicious! I am a big fan of spiced cookies (molasses, ginger snaps, etc.), and these don't disappoint!
Since this was a hit, I decided to keep going with the Tassajara Bread Book, and decided to make the Banana bread and the Almond Orange Butter.
Banana Bread
2 cups whole flour 1tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 c. canola oil 1/2 cup sugar Grated rind of 1 lemon 2 eggs, beaten 2 cups banana pulp (about 6 bananas) 1/2 c. chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk together the flour, soda, and salt. Blend the oil and sugar, then beat in the lemon peel and eggs. Add the dry ingredients in three parts alternately with the banana pulp, beating smooth after each addition. Fold in the chopped walnuts.
Place the batter in a greased loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes.
This bread is so delicious. It can be eaten for dessert or breakfast. We ate it toasted and then spread with the orange almond butter below.
Almond Orange Butter
1/3 cup almond butter 1/2 cup sweet butter (I used Earth Balance spread instead - easier to spread and mix) 2 tbsps. freshly squeezed orange juice zest of same orange 1 tsp. sugar 1 tsp. rum
Mix the almond and butter together. Then little by little work the rest of the ingredients into the almond and butter mixture. Once mixed, you can store up to 1 week in your refrigerator.
Greg, A.J., and I all loved the almond orange butter! Once the banana bread was gone, we used the rest and spread it on toast. Yummers!
I also baked some yummy things from the Waldorf Kindergarten Snack Book, but I plan on baking them again for Valentine's, so I will blog about them later and be sure to take pictures.
I can hardly believe it's been almost a week since I last blogged. Greg, A.J., and I were all struck by a god-awful stomach virus, and that set a lot of things back. Almost a week later and I still feel pretty weak from it. Needless to say, I had to change my menu for the week. I cut out one of my recipes, and I am really glad that I did not cut out the rosti casserole with baked eggs. The temperatures here in north Dallas have dipped way down this week, and this dish was perfect for a chilly weeknight dinner. It was fast and very easy to make.
I'd never heard of rosti before making this dish, but apparently it is a very popular, traditional breakfast dish in Switzerland. The traditional version is a pancake shaped dish of fried shredded potatoes, a lot like American hash browns. Rosti tends to be the main dish though, rather than a complement to the main portion of the meal.
This version comes from Cooking Light, so this rosti is not deep fried or fried at all for that matter. This version uses fat free Greek yogurt to bind the shredded potatoes and give it a lovely creaminess. Thanks to Ellie Krieger, nonfat Greek yogurt has been my secret weapon for cooking light, creamy dishes without the fat. I use it in many dishes and as a substitute for mayonnaise in sandwiches sometimes. Greg never can tell the difference. When I first started using it, it was difficult to find at stores other than Whole Foods. However, Stonyfield Farms recently started making their own version of it, so now it's more readily available. You can even buy it some Walmarts now! You can make your own by straining plain, regular yogurt. Place a paper towel into the strainer (wire, mesh works best), and then place the desired amount of yogurt onto the paper towel. Place the strainer over a bowl to catch the liquid (whey). After an hour or two it should have achieved an appropriate thickness.
2 (16-ounce) packages frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
Cooking spray
6 large eggs
Chopped fresh chives
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine yogurt and flour in a large bowl, stirring well. Add turnip, Gruyère cheese, butter, chives, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, black pepper, nutmeg, and potatoes to yogurt mixture. Spread potato mixture evenly into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
3. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
4. Remove from oven. With the back of a spoon, make 8 indentations in top of potato mixture.
5. Return dish to oven. Bake at 400° for 8 minutes or until egg whites are firm and yolks barely move when pan is touched. Cut into 8 pieces. Garnish with additional chives and black pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.
Here is the only picture of A.J. helping me cook this. He was still not feeling all that great, so he was attached to my hip the whole time I was trying to make this! For a person without an extra human being attached to them, this would have been done in less than an hour. It took me about an hour and a half, but it was well worth it. A.J. did not like it, but he was still not eating like he usually does. Greg and I loved it! DO NOT skip the optional chive garnish at the end. It makes a big difference.
The original recipe calls for 8 eggs, but I thought that was overkill. Our society eats too many animal products as it is. I used 6, but probably could have gotten away with 4 or 5.
This dish also surprisingly reheats well. I thought the eggs would be rubbery, but they were not. I want to try this again and try to add carrots or another root vegetable in place of half of the turnip. It would be interesting to see how those flavors mesh.
That was my husband's comment when I showed him the recipes I was planning to make for this week. Well, maybe I shouldn't have started with the "Green Soup with Sweet Potatoes" recipe. I lost count of how many times he said, "green?" He then regaled me with a story that he once read about a count who threw a dinner party and decided to dye all the food green as an experiment. Apparently, no one could eat the food. It was too bizarre. After I showed him the third recipe, a tridoshic mung dal kitchari and mixed vegetable subji from Ayurvedic Cooking For Self Healing, he said, "Where's the meat?" This is how meal planning in our home usually goes. This is one of the obstacles that I have to overcome in trying to learn Ayurvedic cooking. This particular challenge is not a new one though, and not one that is particularly vexing. My husband and I have had give and take over the years, and, honestly, G. has made more concessions than I have.
Other challenges I am trying to work through is trying to figure out the best recipes for my family. Greg has a very strong pitta mind and body, and I have more of a vata mind and body, and my 19 month old son is a bit of a mystery. He definitely has some vata tendencies, as his skin is dry to the point where he has rashes (eczema), but his digestive fire (or agni) is more pitta like. Then I also need to take into consideration that most children tend to have more kapha. Trying to cook foods that are appropriate for all three doshas seems very complex. There are some recipes that are good for all three doshas(tridoshic), but I will run out of those eventually. I get very anxious and overwhelmed when trying to plan the complete mean. I keep kicking myself for not taking an Ayurvedic cooking class from Amadea Morningstar when I had the chance several years ago.
My last obstacle is getting time to get to an Indian grocery store. Whole Foods doesn't carry all the spices that I need (ajwan seed, murmura, curry leaves, etc.). This is an easy one to solve though. This will just take some planning.
Although there are obstacles, I won't let "the perfect be the enemy of the good." I'll plod along and do my best!
