Website Makeover

Check out my new and improved website, thanks to my WebMaster, Mr. Gregg Mason, with yummy new pictures courtesy of my favorite new toy (Canon XSi DSLR). Having way too much fun.....

Green-up your kitchen

In a time when we are all trying to "green-up" our footprint, I can't think of a more appropriate place to look than the kitchen. The room that is dedicated to consumption can actually generate a sickening amount of waste, if we let it. But with a little effort, your kitchen can be impressively efficient. And the truth is, you can actually save time and money in the process.... do I have you yet??

Here are a few ideas on how to reduce your impact while shopping, storing, cooking and CONSUMING!!! Waste not, it has never tasted so good.

Buy and Store Your Food in Glass Jars

Create a collection of glass jars, and they will become the cornerstone of your kitchen. Not only is glass safe for hot liquids (unlike plastic), it is easy to clean and will last forever. Old peanut butter jars, mason jars, jelly containers, salsa jars, keep them all. Bring them to your local grocery store, ask them to weigh each one and write the weight on the bottom in permanent marker. When shopping in the bulk section for grains, beans, nuts, seeds etc. (which really helps keep the wallet fat), simply fill your jars and write the codes next to the item on your grocery list. No plastic bags, no extra twisties, no transferring to storage when you get home. Simply bring them home, throw them in your pantry and DONE. These same jars will come in extremely handy for storing leftovers in the fridge as well. Look for used mason jars at church sales (canners love to sell their old jars), yard sales or in bulk at hardware stores.

Make Vegetable Stock

Use up unwanted vegetable scraps to make a fresh vegetable stock each week. Simply keep a medium container in your fridge at all times and collect applicable scraps, such as onion and celery ends, carrot butts, potato peels and mushroom, cilantro/parsley and broccoli stalks. Throw the lot into a large pot at the end of the week along with a strip of kombu, a few bay leaves, a tablespoon of peppercorn and a few smashed garlic cloves. Add enough water to cover the vegetables (about 2 quarts) and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to a very low simmer and cover, letting it cook for one hour. Turn off the heat, cool and strain your stock into a large glass jar, to use in the upcoming week to cook grains, add to sauces or make soups. Not only will your trash be slimmer, but your dishes will benefit from the depth a fresh stock adds, as well as the boost in vitamins and minerals salvaged from those unwanted scraps!

Wash and Reuse your Plastic Bags for Produce

There are plenty of mesh and fabric bags out there on the market for purchasing produce, but let's face it, none of us have enough money for all that (especially due to the copious amounts of produce that goes into our shopping cart each week, RIGHT?). The good news: those plastic bags you find in the produce aisle are extremely resilient and will last for months if washed and reused. Rigging up a bag dryer isn't too hard with a few rods and a central pole (those exist out there for sale in consumerland as well... but come on...). Simply rinse and dry each bag you use, and stick it in your grocery bags to use next week. Super easy, and super green.

Buy Fresh

Centering your shopping around the produce section and farmer's markets will reduce packaging, encourage local and seasonal ingredients, and promote health. You will end up saving a significant amount of money as well by purchasing food grown by your neighbors, rather than processed, packaged, shipped and resold across the country. It seems like an obvious one, but I think we can all pay a little more attention to filling the cart with products that are best when fresh.

Here is a wonderful pesto recipe that will help you use up any fresh herbs and greens starting to look a little wilty in the fridge. It is high in anti-inflammatory Omega-3 fatty acids (hemp seeds, walnuts and flax oil), detoxifying bitter greens (dandelion and arugula) and fresh summer flavors!!! Use it as an outline and swap ingredients depending on what is in season (or needs to go!)

Dandelion Pesto

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup walnuts

1 bunch dandelion greens, washed and chopped

1 bunch cilantro, washed and chopped

1 bunch basil, washed and chopped

1 cup arugula (or spinach, mixed greens etc.)

1/4 cup hemp seeds

Juice from 1/2 a lemon, about 2 Tablespoons

1 teaspoon miso

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 Tablespoon flax seed oil (optional)

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt to taste

Directions

Process the garlic and walnuts in a food processor until well ground. Add all of the greens, hempseeds, lemon juice, miso, and yeast and process to combine, stopping to scrape the sides as needed. While the motor is running, add oils until the pesto is holding together. Season to taste with salt as needed.

Relax. Eat Well.

Sesame Kelp Bars

There is something about the smell of baking maple syrup that immediately brings me back to childhood. It must stem from early memories of sugar on snow, the anticipation of the syrup boiling on the stovetop before we could drizzle it on top of our mounding bowls of fresh winter bliss. Anyway, this recipe releases that essence as it bakes, and that is reason enough to bake it week after week. I found myself running out to the recycling bin every time I had one new addition just so I could re-enter the house to a fresh whiff of hot maple syrup.

Two minerals I endlessly aim to boost in my diet are calcium and iron. It just so happens that sesame seeds are potent in both minerals, as well as rich in copper, magnesium, fiber, and monounsaturated fats. In fact, two tablespoons (the amount in one of these bars) provides almost 20% of your RDA of both iron and calcium. They are ridiculously inexpensive as well, especially compared to other seeds and nuts, weighing in at just over one dollar per cup when purchased in bulk. Kombu, which is a form of kelp, is packed with iodine, making it extremely beneficial to our thyroid. Like all sea vegetables, it is high in trace minerals such as vitamin K, folate and magnesium. A truly detoxifying food, this is an easy way to sneak sea vegetables into your diet without even noticing their presence.

Inspired by a packaged sesame kelp bar made by Maine Coast Sea Vegetables (which ring in at $2.50 per bar), these are an inexpensive portable snack that will fill you with quality nutrients. Honestly, they are already a staple in my kitchen, and I made my first batch today! (notice the crumbs on the side in the picture....)

Sesame Kelp Bars

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 cup raw sesame seeds

2 7-inch strips of kombu

¼ cup maple syrup

sea salt to taste (about 1/8 tsp.)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Break kombu into pieces and grind it in a coffee grinder until it resembles a powder. Place in a large bowl. Add sesame seeds to grinder, a bit at a time, and pulse so about ½ the seeds are ground and half are whole, working in batches. Place in bowl with kombu. Add maple syrup and salt and stir to combine. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread mixture to about ¼ inch thick. Bake for 18 minutes or until fragrant and beginning to brown. Let cool and cut into bars.

Relax. Eat Well.

Walnut Raisin Cookies

My poor Mama has ben laid up in bed since having foot surgery last week. As I was putting together a care package for her, I started reflecting on what truly gives us comfort. What exactly is it that invokes that warm fuzzy feeling in our chest? Sometimes it is being reminded that someone else cares: thoughtful words, surprise flowers, unexpected notes. And many times it is a sensory experience: warm baths, falling raindrops, steaming mugs of hot tea, ooey gooey morsels. Being so far away from Vermont, my mind immediately jumped to homemade sweets and treats, but I want to make sure I am nourishing her body at the same time as warming her heart.

These cookies are the perfect solution.... sweet and salty with a delicate texture of earthy nuts and dried fruit. They are a breeze to put together (I actually had every single ingredient waiting in my pantry), and pack a powerful nutrient punch while pleasing the lips. The main ingredient, and only source of fat, is freshly ground walnuts, which is balanced by a generous kiss of local honey and dose of Himalayan salt. Besides being vegan, they are also gluten-free and are enhanced by the addition of ground flax seed, which acts to bind the cookies together (ground flax is often used to replace eggs in vegan baking) as well as provide anti-inflammatory Omega-3 fatty acids. The version pictured above uses honey and raisins, although you could replace the honey with maple syrup or agave and the raisins with chocolate chips, dried cranberries or chunks of carob for an interesting twist. I honestly don’t believe you can screw up this recipe, just make sure the ingredients are top-notch and freshly ground.

It’s OK to have dessert for dinner once in awhile right???

Walnut Raisin Cookies

Adapted from Elise Dubois

Makes about 24 cookies

2 1/2 cups raw walnuts

2/3 cups brown rice flour

1 tsp. good salt

1/3 cup flax seed, freshly ground

1/3 cup raisins (or chocolate chips etc.)

1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup, agave)

2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grind walnuts in a food processor until they make a fine meal. Mix with the remaining ingredients in a large bowl until well combined. Drop spoonfuls of dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten with a fork. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

These are one of the few cookies that I really do believe taste better after they have cooled, although I will let you be the judge on that one.

A few notes about the ingredients:

I buy whole golden flax seeds (or regular brown ones) and store them in my freezer, as they go rancid easily, especially after they are ground. I grind them in small batch as needed, using a old coffee grinder. This will give you a freshly ground, flavorful meal that offers up a variety of healthy benefits, largely due to the Omega-3 fatty acids. This amazing lipid fights inflammation, protects against heart disease and fuels our brain. Flax seeds also offer an impressive amount of fiber, 6 grams in just 2 tablespoons. However, they are a small seed containing volatile oils, and it is important to grind them freshly as you use them, or the nutritional benefits decrease significantly. I know it seems like a lot of work, but grinding them is imperative as they will pass directly through your body if you consume them whole, which doesn’t do you a whole lot of good.

The recipe does call for brown rice flour, but I have experimented with other gluten-free flours when I didn’t have that on hand, and many others work as well (sorghum, quinoa, millet etc.). Although one time I accidently added masa harina (corn flour) when I grabbed the wrong bag, and that is not one I would recommend :)

I hope you are inspired this week to nurture your bodies and minds by taking the time to seek out comfort. And by the thought of homemade cookies tantalizing your taste buds....

Relax. Eat Well.

Basil Hummus

There are several dishes I tend to make on a weekly basis (vegetable stock, tacos, kim chee), but I have to say that hummus is an absolute must in our humble house. I quickly learned that anything you create (and enjoy) on a weekly basis needs to have a back stock of creative variations to keep it fresh and interesting, so I have tested quite a few twists on hummus in my day. Some have tantalized my taste buds and tempted me to consume by the spoonful, while others left my palate bored and a little perturbed. I’ll spare you the rejects, but this week I wanted to highlight two wonderful hummus recipes that will liven up your kitchen as well. Inspired by the summer bounty that blesses our land, I present to you:

Basil Hummus

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

2 tbs. tahini

juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 garlic clove, minced

a handful of walnuts (about 6)

1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

24 basil leaves

a dash of hot sauce

cracked pepper

1 tbs. nutritional yeast

Directions

Blend all of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. This may require stopping to scrape down the sides a few times, as well as the addition of a few tablespoons of water (I ended up using about 2). The goal is a thick but creamy consistency.

This recipe was inspired by the flavors of a fresh summer pesto, using basil freshly picked from the garden. It is popping up in the farmer’s markets around Santa Cruz, although my east coast friends may have to wait a few more weeks. I used walnuts instead of pine nuts to add a healthy dose of Omega-3 fatty acids. If you don’t have nutritional yeast on hand, feel free to leave it out, but it is an ingredient I would recommend adding to your pantry. Chock of full of B-vitamins, it adds a certain “cheesy” quality to dips and casseroles. My mom would say that it was created for the sole purpose of adorning popcorn, as she often justifies popcorn, butter and nutritional yeast as her dinner when visiting the Savoy theatre in Montpelier. I say many people eat worse.

A tip about chickpeas (and all legumes): Buy them dried in the bulk section of your local market (for WAY less than you would pay for the canned variety). Let them soak overnight in a large bowl with plenty of wiggle room and water (they absorb and expand substantially) and then cook them the next day for about 30-45 minutes, or until they are tender. The ratio of cooking water does not matter because you simply drain them in the end. Adding a strip of kombu seaweed also accelerates the cooking process and adds valuable minerals to your end product, although it is not necessary if you don’t have it on hand. Legumes that are prepared at home have a more vibrant flavor as well as structural integrity, you will really notice a difference. My last tip is to buy about 2 cups of dried chickpeas at a time, soak them in LOTS of water and cook them all together. You will end up with about 6 cups of cooked peas, but simply let them cool, divide them into containers (1 1/2 cups in each, about the amount in one can) and place the extras in the freezer. They freeze wonderfully and you can simply take a container out of the freezer each week for your next batch of hummus. So easy AND inexpensive.

Ok with that I will leave you with my final hummus recipe for the week. This one is an exceptionally creamy variation reminiscent of Latin guacamole. I am already dreaming of next week....

Avocado Hummus

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

¾ cup cilantro, chopped

1 avocado, chopped

2 tbs. tahini

1 garlic clove, minced

juice and zest of 1/2 a lime

1 tsp. jalapeno, minced

1 tbs. nutritional yeast

1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil.

1/4 tsp salt

a pinch of black pepper

Directions

Blend in a food processor until thick and creamy, adding a tablespoon or two of water as necessary.

Relax. Eat Well.

Whole Grain Naan

Indian food and I have a certain love affair. Well OK, mostly I do the adoring, I can’t be sure that the sentiment is returned. It is the invigorating spices, the way the flavors explode across your tongue as the complex components of the dish come together and balance on the palate. At once fiery yet soothing, intricate yet elemental, interesting yet familiar. The possibilities are endless and with a little knowledge of the authentic ingredients, an incredibly rich and satisfying dish can emerge out of your kitchen with minimal time and effort.

Moving beyond the wonderful flavors, the nutritional benefits of Indian cuisine are really quite impressive. Focusing on whole grains and plenty of fresh vegetables, each plate is finished with wonderful spices that possess a myriad of health benefits. Take tumeric: this powerful spice is known for its anti-inflammatory powers, as well as it’s ability to fight cancer and impede the aging process. And then there is my favorite, cumin. Not only is it a rich source of iron, it actually stimulates pancreatic and liver detoxification enzymes to aid in digestion and keep our internal systems healthy. Pretty amazing seed indeed.

About two years ago, I learned a naan recipe from Thom and Jane at the Millbrook Inn that blew my mind, and I have been making it at home ever since. Well, to be honest, I stalled on my naan making for the past six months because I became uncomfortable with the amount of white flour used. So I started experimenting with using half white flour and half gluten free flour, such as brown rice or amaranth. It actually worked out pretty well, although the resulting flatbread is certainly a denser, earthier bread. This week, I decided to try a completely gluten-free naan, as well as a completely white bread to test side-by-side. The truth? I truly enjoyed the whole grain version more. A touch of butter, course garlic salt and sprinkling of cilantro... wow! It felt like a true side dish, which a distinct grainy flavor and texture on the tongue. It is not the fluffy neutral naan you may be used from your favorite Indian restaurant, but it is delicious none the less. Try it this week aside any Indian dish. Yum.

Whole Grain Naan Flatbread

A wonderful gluten-free bread to serve aside any Indian dish. Make sure to use whole milk yogurt, as it is a necessary fat in this recipe. Feel free to explore other whole grain flours to find your favorite, although this combination is pretty good...

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 cup chickpea flour

1 cup brown rice flour

1 tsp. xanthan gum

½ tsp, baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt (heaping)

1 cup plain WHOLE yogurt

1 tbs. butter

garlic salt

chopped cilantro for garnish

Directions

Place first 5 ingredients in a large mixing bowls. Mix and fluff with a fork. Add yogurt and stir to combine. Using your hands, gather the flour to create a ball, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1-2 minutes. Add additional flour if needed to make a soft, resilient and slightly sticky dough. Place ball back in the mixing bowl, cover it with a damp cloth and leave in a warm spot to rest for 1-2 hours.

Heat cast iron griddle over medium heat.

Working with a handful of dough at a time, roll into a thin oblong using a heavy rolling pin and floured surface. Additional flour may be necessary at this time to prevent sticking. Slap onto the griddle and cook for 3 minutes per side, until each starts to brown slightly. Remove from heat, spread with a touch of butter and sprinkle with garlic salt and cilantro. Stack naans and cover with a clean cloth. Serve hot.

To reheat leftover naans, use griddle or broiler.

* Dough may be prepared, rested and then wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator for several days before cooking.

Relax. Eat Well.