Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

I have to start this post with a picture of Nicco (Binky) because I think he is adorable, not good or well behaved but adorable.

When Dan got home from work on Friday he told me that he needed to go to the office one day over the weekend which was a serious let down for me. Since I was only getting one day with my sweetie I decided to not blog that day and then Sunday got away from me. Monday we were planning to go back to the gym before work which meant I needed to get off the computer early. I was so engrossed in the book I was reading combined with the time change meant no time to post. Sorry about that I had planned to have something up on Sunday but it wasn’t in the cards.

Friday:

My breakfast was a salad with walnut dressing (walnuts, water, fresh ginger and a little white miso), oranges and black berries.

After breakfast I ran my errands, checked on my parents and headed home. Here is the latest group of items from the library. I know you are wondering how I get through all the books that I read and listen to and sometimes I wonder the same thing. ;-)

Then I had signed up for a webinar which I listened to. I also chatted with my friend Joy on the phone and it was finally time for lunch.

Today I made myself a bowl of the soup leftover from earlier in the week. Soup is one of those things that always works extremely well as a leftover which is why I like to have it on hand.

I had leftover quinoa and Sicilian artichokes for dinner. It was definitely a no cooking day for me. There are definitely times when I am not in the mood to cook and I seem to be in one of those now.

Saturday:

This was my day to spend with Dan this weekend. We had a good time hanging out together like always. One of the things we did today was watch the DVD which arrived on Friday “From Oil to Nuts”. Both Dan and I thought it was well done. I will be writing a review of this very soon.

Breakfast for me was savory oatmeal which contained: oats, water, wheat germ freshly ground flaxseeds, cumin, oregano, no-salt seasoning, nutritional yeast, artichokes, broccoli, salsa and raw pumpkin seeds. Dan had his usual wild blueberry oatmeal with walnuts.

For lunch with my parents I made tapas inspired by our recent trip to Jaleo. I didn’t measure but will describe what I did. I made oven roasted fingerling potatoes (white and purple) that we dipped into a dried tomato sauce. The sauce included tomatoes, sherry vinegar, garlic, smoked paprika, cumin and water. The mushrooms were cooked in lemon juice and water and flavored with lemon zest, smoked paprika, garlic and parsley. The green beans were lightly steamed. To the beans I added roasted onion, golden raisins, a little lemon and smoked paprika and sliced almonds. For the artichoke dish I added dill to artichokes and let them marinate in the refrigerator which was inspired by Ian. I served everything at room temperature to maximize the flavor.

To accompany the tapas I made a simple salad of: mesclun, thinly shaved raw beet, orange segments and dressed that with balsamic vinegar and walnuts.

Dinner was leftover soup from earlier in the week this time with fresh lemon juice and parsley. Are you starting to notice how much mileage I get out of my leftovers? That is the reason I like to make large portions of soup, it comes in very handy later.

Sunday:

Our morning started with a trip to Whole Foods. I always marvel at how beautiful the produce is at that store. We needed kale (4 bunches), cilantro, wheat germ, apples, and green onions, all organic of course. ;-)

Breakfast was a green smoothie since we had kale again. My smoothie included: kale, frozen banana, wheat germ, freshly ground flaxseeds, cinnamon, powdered ginger, water and stevia. Dan’s smoothie also had walnuts and an additional banana for extra calories.

Dan and I talked, drank green and white tea and caught up before he headed downtown. Fortunately he got into his office before the St. Patty’s Day parade started. Above is the picture he emailed me from work. How did we ever stay in touch before cell phones with cameras and texting? Hard to imagine how we survived back in the old days.

Lunch was the end of the soup I made earlier in the week topped with the mushrooms from Saturday and parsley. Adding the mushrooms made the soup just different enough to be interesting.

Since I had time to burn I made some sprouted soymilk, got more soybeans soaking for more milk, and pressure cooked some chickpeas and made Moroccan chickpea stew which is a Dan favorite. I didn’t measure the stew ingredients but it was approximately this recipe only no oil or salt (which also means no preserved lemon I substituted fresh)

Later I took some time to watch the DVD from the Great Courses on “The Human Body: How We Fail, How We Heal”. I have been very impressed with the quality of this course on DVD. If you are an information junkie like me you may want to buy a course and see what you think.

Dinner was two small bowls of the Moroccan chickpea stew that I made earlier in the day. Dan had a large bowl that also included quinoa.

Happy Thoughts:

• I am thankful to Lea for recommending the DVD “From Oil to Nuts”. It is always good to hear or read different views on nutrition. While I don’t agree with everything on the DVD yet, it does give me additional information to research and consider since I am always open to new ideas.

• It was nice to spend some time getting to know my new friend Joy. I can always use more healthy friends in my life.

• Dan and I had a good Saturday and a nice Sunday morning. I would have liked more time with Dan but am thankful for the time I had.

• My felines are so precious. It goes without saying that I am thankful for their existence in our lives. They are an integral part of our family. Dan and I both adore the fur babies in case you hadn't noticed.  ;-)

• The weather this morning is seriously looking like spring and I could not be happier about that. Temperatures on Friday are predicted to get into the 70’s. Wow!

Signing Out:

Today I have been ridiculously unproductive. While I have been enjoying the health DVD from The Great Courses it has taken up a lot of my time today. I need to get moving and get productive before Dan gets home. I hope you had a great weekend and that Monday has treated you well. Talk to you again soon which should mean tomorrow unless something unexpected comes up.

Simple Moroccan Stew and Ian Made Dinner

It is so wonderful to sleep in on Saturday too bad every day of the week can’t be this way. I feel much better when I wake up when my body thinks it has had enough sleep.

I let Dan sleep in while I worked on my last post. He got extra rest and I got to finish my post while not taking any time away from him. It worked out well for both of us.

For breakfast Dan has his usual oatmeal with frozen wild blueberries, cinnamon, powdered ginger, ground flaxseeds, and walnuts. When Dan was half way through eating his oatmeal I realized that I forgot to use the soy milk in his oatmeal in place of water. Clearly I wasn’t thinking this morning. ;-) Sometimes I think I will never be a morning person.

After writing the post about eating a healthy breakfast earlier I was craving savory oatmeal. Normally I make myself the same thing I give Dan just because it is easier. Saturday I decided to make something just for me. If you like savory foods you should try savory oatmeal. I prefer it to sweet though Dan thinks the sweet is much better. My oatmeal this morning contained: oats and water, nutritional yeast, cumin, oregano, grated garlic, chopped broccoli (I used frozen), ground flaxseeds, salsa and raw pumpkin seeds.

For the late lunch with my parents I decided to use the garbanzos that I cooked on Thursday as the base for a stew. Since Dan and my parents both love my Moroccan chickpea stew I made a variation of that today. In the version I made on Saturday I omitted the olive oil and substituted a regular lemon for the preserved lemon to cut back on the salt in the dish. I also added sweet paprika, saffron and fresh ginger to taste. Then I finished the dish with fresh cilantro.

If you want to make a Moroccan style dish of your own here is a list of the flavors that are traditional to the cooking of that country:

• Almonds
• Chickpeas
• Cilantro
• Cinnamon
• Coriander
• Couscous
• Cumin
• Eggplant
• Fruit
• Ginger
• Harissa
• Lemon
• Mint
• Olive
• Onions
• Saffron
• Tomato

We decided to serve this over brown rice in place of couscous for a couple reasons. First we haven’t made brown rice in a while and we try to vary our grains and beans. Second though couscous is traditional brown rice is healthier. Couscous is tiny pasta which means it is flour and water and sometimes oil. Also since it is so tiny is difficult to cook al dente, and al dente pasta has a lower GI than more thoroughly cooked pasta. Today since I decided to make rice and hour and half before the meal I did take the time to soak the rice for an hour to reduce the phytic acid before I cooked it. Soaking the rice also makes it cook more quickly so be sure to check it ten minutes before you normally would expect it to be ready.

To accompany the stew at lunch I made side salads with:  mesclun, salsa, carrot, cucumber and red bell peppers.  I topped the salad with a little of the cheeze I made on Friday. For my parents I also added a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil since that is a texture they would be expecting.

Since we hadn’t been out for dinner in a few days it was time to visit Ian and the gang. Knowing that Ian prefers advance notice that we would be in for dinner on Saturday I made reservations on Thursday.  That gave Ian and Will time to think of something just for us. They really are too sweet to us and we love them for it. As usual when we give Ian notice he had no idea what we were eating. I love the suspense of eating that way and since we have never been picky eaters it works well for us.

Our course we had a table set up in Aimee’s section (one half of “the kids”). She had our white tea waiting for us when we got there. This time she made a blend of herbal and white tea that had a nice floral and fruity background.

We started our meal with a deconstructed guacamole. There was shaved avocado, the tomato seeds (I love that part), cilantro, and red onion.

The guacamole was served with jalapeno chips which were really good. Dan and I wiped out the guacamole and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Need there was a course of roasted green onions that cooked on very high heat and were then covered so they would steam. They were dressed with a roasted pepper, hazelnut, smoked paprika, garlic and habanero sauce and a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Since this dish contained all things I loved I was in heaven.

The last dish was veggies in a tempura batter with a soy dipping sauce. The veggies were: sliced portabella mushroom caps, broccoli, sweet potato rounds and avocado wedges. The avocado was shockingly good, creamy on the inside and crunchy on the outside and they held there shape which really surprised me.  The dipping sauce was very nice and the vinegar it contained help to cut through the fat in your mouth. This was definitely something I wouldn't make at home but that is what is fun about out to eat.  It takes us out of our comfort zone which is almost always a good thing.

Overall dinner was really good but far more fat than we are accustomed to ingesting. However, it was very easy going down. I was surprised that my stomach didn’t bother me afterwards. Other than being a little a gurgly my stomach held up much better than I expected. I liked the deconstructed guac the best. Shaving the avocado made it easy to put a thin slice on each chip as you layered on the toppings. I should have taken a picture of a chip with all the toppings but I was too busy talking and eating.   Sorry. ;-)

Ian left early Saturday since it was a slow night due to the big football game so we didn’t get a chance to see him. However Will did a great job making everything for us and even came out and chatted for a while like Ian usually does. We found out that we are both big Jose Andres fans. He is planning to make a trek to the MiniBar soon so we talked about that for a while. Dan and I loved going to the MiniBar. Forgoing regular trips to the MiniBar may just be the toughest part of being vegan for us. Yes it really is that amazing and they can adapt the menu to make it vegetarian if that is something you are interested in.

When we go to dinner we like to take our time and not be rushed. Those of you who know us know that I am not exaggerating. We arrived at the restaurant at 6:45 and were leaving which Aimee around 11. Dan and I go out to eat as much to see everyone at the restaurant as we do for the food.

We were talking to Aimee at the end of the night and made plans to take a day and go to DC and hit the museums next week before her and Michael head back to school later this month. That will be a lot of fun and I am looking forward to it.

As we were leaving I was standing next to “Shorty” who I swear is getting taller every day I see him, I don’t even come up to his chest. I asked him how tall he was as I was looking up at him and he told me 6’7” which sounds right to me. I started calling him “Shorty” to distinguish him for another Michael that worked at the restaurant and it stuck. Michael and Dan both love technology and have been swapping things on thumb drives lately. I assume it was guy stuff that I wouldn't understand.

While we were at dinner I got a text from our friend Deirdre that she was at the ER. Thankfully they gave her meds and an inhaler and cut her loose. She seems to have some sort of infection in her lungs. She is the second person we know that this has happened to this winter. Is there something going around, have you heard about anything?

Happy Thoughts:

Saturday was a good day but a bit stressful. However I have lots of things to be grateful for, here is my list today:

• I was thrilled to hear that Deirdre was being released so quickly from the ER. Since she is the type of girl that doesn’t go to the doctor unless she has a dangling appendage her being at the ER scared the shit out of me. We were texting this morning and she sounds a bit better than I expected.

• I am thankful to have Ian and the gang so close by. As I have said many times before this is our version of “Cheers” and we love to go and hang out and chat with everyone. We also are very grateful that they are kind enough to not only cater to our dietary needs but that they go out of their way to make things for us that are not on the menu.

• It was great that the predicted snow Saturday evening didn’t materialize. Sometimes you just aren’t in the mood for frozen precipitation.

• I was also pleased that my parents ate another vegan meal and even remarked that they liked the stew. It is too bad I can’t get them to eat more healthy meals but I am happy for the small amount of progress that I have made.

• It is also great to have leftovers for Dan’s lunch tomorrow since he loves my Moroccan flavored food.

• Dan and I had a nice day together and I am always thankful for those. I love spending time with him we always enjoy each other’s company.

• The felines were little love muffins yesterday, very cuddly and adorable. I am grateful to have three precious little fur children in the family. Both Dan and I adore all three of the cats even our mischievous little man Binky.

Signing out:

We started our morning with a Whole Foods run for kale. As you may have imagined a few other things happened to leap into our cart but they always do that.  That store has the most gorgeous produce it is hard to resist piling it into the cart.

Today I am making mushroom ragu for the late lunch with my folks. This is another one of Dan’s favorite meals so he is looking forward to it. I have dried mushrooms soaking now to give the ragu a little chewiness.

I will chat with you guys again tomorrow. I hope everyone is having a great weekend and that you are staying warm. It was cold and a little breezy this morning when we left for Whole Foods.

Christmas Day and the Day After

Since we had opened our presents late Christmas Eve early Christmas morning we started our day slowly. I was thrilled to have the scale give me a Christmas present too. Woo hoo the 4 pounds I gained over the past month are all gone plus an additional 0.4 pounds down. *Happy Dance!* LOL, can you tell I get far too excited about this? :-P I wanted the new year to start on the right foot and now I can breathe an enormous sigh of relief.

No surprise breakfast was a green smoothie made with kale, frozen banana, cinnamon, powdered ginger, ground flaxseeds, a few walnuts, some dried oatmeal and a pinch of stevia.

After breakfast it was time to get the meal with my family at 3pm started. I decided to roast the acorn squash halves first and get those out of the way since they are easily reheated. I popped them into the oven at about 1pm and they seemed to take a long time to cook though I wasn’t timing them. In fact I ended up finishing the squash halves in the microwave. Then I tossed in the lasagna and knew exactly how long that should take but when I pulled the pan from the oven the lasagna was only 120 degrees after 45 minutes. When I checked the oven with my laser thermometer it was only 150 degrees though the oven had been set on 375 for the prior two hours. Houston we have a problem! This meant a serious change in dinner plans on the fly and I am not the best at adapting quickly. ;-)

Since my stove is digital and not very old *rolls eyes* I was hoping that if I used the bake setting (instead of the convection setting I always use) that the oven would heat up and fortunately that worked. However it delayed dinner by quite a while which is never a good thing with my hungry family. I ended up abbreviating dinner since I lost a ton of time messing around with the oven. In the end it was fine since I still had leftovers. It did help remind me that I go completely overboard on food most holidays. ;-) Where does that come from? LOL

The funny thing is that normally this sort of problem would have made me nuts. However this year it was only a minor bump in the road. It was a bit frustrating but mostly it was just an annoyance. I was actually laughing about it before dinner. Isn’t it amazing how facing a real crisis (like cancer) has a way of putting other things into perspective?

For dinner we had the Neapolitan Lasagna which is one of Dan’s favorites so he was thrilled. Luckily for Dan my parents snacked before dinner so they only had a half piece of lasagna each meaning he has lasagna to take to work Monday for lunch. I made a couple of changes to the lasagna as a test. First I made the tofu filling in the Vitamix and it was much smoother which was good. Also I tried the filling without the flour and it was much softer and less dense. The filling is good without the flour but I still prefer the texture of version with flour. However I didn’t mention the change to Dan and he didn’t seem to notice so I think the difference may not be apparent to anyone but me. ;-)

I also baked acorn squash halves that I seasoned with white miso and apple cider and topped with black and white sesame seeds and dried ginger.

I also made a simple salad with shredded romaine, yellow bell pepper, artichokes, cucumber, grape tomatoes and sliced almonds. To top this I made a very fast dressing in my Vitamix that contained: marinara, raw cashews, nutritional yeast, dehydrated (or sun dried) tomatoes, raw garlic, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning and water. That turned out really well which means I need to make it again and measure it so I can share it with you. If you are wondering how I get those thin stripes of dressing I use a squirt bottle from the restaurant supply store. It makes a nice presentation and results in less total dressing which makes it a win-win to me.

After our 3pm meal with my parents we decided to take my library books back that had a 12/26/10 due date. Since the weather people were calling for snow (or unknown amount but possibly significant) we thought it was prudent to not need to drive anywhere on Sunday just in case.

While we were out I had to look at more Christmas lights because that is the kind of girl I am. I love the decorations at our neighborhood bagel place. Isn’t it cute? I think they did such a nice job. I would stop in for bagels just to the see the decorations if we still ate bagels. ;-)

Once we got home and settled in it was time to eat again. I swear it feels like all we did was eat the last few days *rolls eyes* Dinner was a very simple fruit salad. I wanted to make fruit salad more nutritious so I served it over shredded romaine. This salad contained: romaine, orange, banana, grapes and a creamy walnut dressing. The dressing is something else I whipped together in the Vitamix. I didn’t measure everything but it contained ¼ cup walnuts, ½ teaspoon white miso, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon powdered ginger, a little lemon juice (maybe a tablespoon) and water enough to process (I added this slowly while the machine ran) until smooth and creamy. I used about half of this dressing on our salads. This combination actually worked out well. The fruit was sweet, the romaine crunchy and the dressing was creamy it all worked together. I love it when that happens. 

Book Review: Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes

After dinner I decided to finish reading “Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes”. I had originally purchased this for my mother who is diabetic. I thought it would be a good idea for me to read it, underline the important ideas, and then let her borrow it. What was I thinking? Talk about unrealistic expectations, LOL. When I mentioned it she told me she wasn’t the least bit interested so I dropped it. I have had the book for months and only got around to reading it this weekend.

Dr. Barnard does a great job of explaining how and why diabetes happens and how it can be reversed in most people. He also explains how this diet is the same diet that can reverse heart disease and prevent cancer. The diet he is proposing is the same one advocated by T. Colin Campbell, Dr. McDougall and Dr. Esselstyn. The interesting thing to me is that they all came to the same diet looking at different diseases.

The book is categorized as follows:

Part 1. The Breakthrough

1. The Basics Have Changed
2. Reversing Type 2 Diabetes
3. A Revolution in Type 1 Diabetes

Part 2. The Program

4. A Powerful New Menu
5. How to Get Started
6. Healthful Weight Control
7. How to Track Your Progress
8. A Perfect Diet in an Imperfect World
9. Troubleshooting
10. Which Supplements Should You Take
11. Exercise for the Rest of Us

Part 3. Complete Health

12. A Healthy Heart
13. Healthy Nerves, Eyes and Kidneys
14. Information for Clinicians

Menus and Recipes (from Bryanna Clark Grogan)

What I liked about this book is that I felt as though I understood the mechanics of what happens when you have diabetes and how it can be reversed from reading this book. I also had no idea about intramyocellular lipids and the impact this had on the cells ability to respond to insulin. (page 22) I thought this was fascinating information and a good reason to keep fat consumption to a minimum. I may have to reduce our nut and seed consumption a bit now. I haven’t decided yet but it is something I am considering.

I also loved the discussion about how and why bread (even whole wheat) is digested and the impact this has on the body. (page 55) Bread is something that has concerned me due to the glycemic index and this doctor agrees which was a bit of relief for me. The one thing that confused me about the book was that even though the doctor isn’t the biggest fan of baked goods (except rye and pumpernickel bread) the recipe section contained scones, cornbread, and cake which seemed like a disconnect to me. *scratches head*

Finally I was surprised by the saturated fat content of olive oil. I had no idea that olive oil was 13% saturated fat. (page 51) I will be doing a little research on saturated fat soon myself and putting that on the blog for everyone to see.

Overall if you are interested in health it was a good read. If you don’t have diabetes you may want to check it out from the library. However if you are a diabetic I would recommend buying the book. It is well written, easy to understand and would definitely be a program I would try if I had diabetes.

Christmas recap:

As usual Dan went overboard on Christmas for me. I love everything he bought but I also feel quite spoiled. I got a lot of jewelry which is all beautiful. Some of it is Venetian glass which I adore. We started our honeymoon in Venice so anything from there has special significance to me.

This is a picture of one of the bracelets. He bought me two pendants, two sets of earrings and this bracelet. I also got more jewelry (a pendant, two rings and cuff bracelet. I also got a new coat, more flavors of green and white tea, and a few cookbooks (which I will review for you soon) and a few other things. It was entirely too much, but all perfect for me.  Thank you sweetie! :-)

However the most fun present of the day has to be the TRX. Talk about an impressive this little item is very sturdy, well designed and I can tell it is going to be a blast. We got it out and set up on Sunday so you know I will be trying it out (for upper body at least) on Monday. I love a new exercise toy. After I have a chance to give it a few thorough workouts I will write up a review. Dan and I were both more impressed than we expected to be.

The Day After Christmas

We stayed up late Saturday night, which is our natural inclination, so we slept in on Sunday. Well we slept in for us which really wasn’t that late for a day off. I was up by 7am and Dan got up an hour later.

After getting on the scale, which we do each morning, we decided to have another green smoothie for breakfast. This time I reduced the nuts and added oatmeal. After reading the Dr. Barnard’s book (the one I reviewed above) I wanted to see if a smoothie with fewer nuts would be as satisfying and last as long. It was fine going down but I did seem to get hungry sooner. I am going to try this for at least a week and see how we feel. I will let you know what we decide.

For lunch with my parents I thought that a hot thick stew would be good with the snow and wind that was predicted. Dan loves my Moroccan Chickpea Stew but this time I wanted to add more veggies to the dish. I also thought it would be good to have a recipe that could be made from things most of have in our pantry. Here is what I did:

Pantry Friendly Winter Moroccan Chickpea and Veggie Stew
Serves 6

Ingredients:

½ pound of chickpeas, cooked until tender
1 bay leaf
water to cover chickpeas by at least 1 inch
1 pint (2 cups) canned diced tomatoes (or substitute 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes no salt)
1 pint tomato sauce (or substitute 15 ounce can of tomato sauce no salt)
1 red onion, finely diced (once cut allow to stand 10 minutes before heating so the chemical reaction has time to take place)
8 cloves garlic, finely minced (once cut allow to stand 10 minutes before heating)
½ cup golden raisins, or to taste
½ tablespoon cumin seeds (you can grind all or any of the seeds, I prefer the texture of leaving them whole)
½ tablespoon coriander seeds
½ tablespoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon - ½ tablespoon ginger powder, to taste (to increase the nutrition)
1 cinnamon stick
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste (I would have used more but my mother is not tolerant of spicy foods)
¼ - ½ teaspoon turmeric (not for flavor just to increase the nutrition)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste (remember to be generous since it makes the turmeric more bioavailable)
2 large parsnips, cut into bite size pieces
2 cups frozen or marinated artichokes cut into 1/8ths
I red pepper, roasted or fresh, cut into bite sized pieces
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
2 cups cauliflower, cut into small pieces
1 lemon, zested and juiced
½ cup freshly cilantro, minced
cooked whole grain to serve as the base (I used quinoa) – not included in the nutritional stats

Directions:

Combine the chickpeas, bay leaves and enough water to cover by at least an inch and simmer until the beans are soft. I cooked an entire pound of beans and put half of them in the refrigerator to use in salads early this week.

Once the beans are tender add the ingredients through the parsnip and let the dish simmer for at least an hour. You may need to add water to keep the stew from sticking. I cooked mine about 2 hours then added the artichokes, red pepper, sweet potato and cauliflower and cooked the stew until the veggies were tender, about 45 minutes. Just before you are ready to serve add the lemon zest, lemon juice and fresh cilantro.

I served this dish over quinoa. This is good topped with either sliced almonds or pine nuts also if you like.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 362.83
Calories From Fat (8%) - 29.18

Total Fat - 3.51g
Saturated Fat - 0.4g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 539.19mg
Potassium - 1672.19mg
Total Carbohydrates - 76.07g
Fiber - 20.77g
Sugar - 23.58g
Protein - 14.51g

Comments:

This dish was universally enjoyed by the omnivores and vegans in the extended family. Dan is looking forward to having another big bowl of this at lunch on Monday. In the past I would have made this with preserved lemon but I changed to fresh lemon to reduce the sodium and I don’t think it hurt the taste which actually surprised me. I also loved that this was a pantry friendly meal since the only fresh veggies in here were hearty winter veggies.

Dinner for us was quick salad. I noticed this evening that salad for dinner has become our new normal. I think this has happened for a number of reasons but predominantly because we eat late and aren’t very active after dinner. Having something light like a salad seems to be more in keeping with our actual evening caloric needs. This salad was very simple and contained: shredded romaine, sweet potato, cucumber, leftover quinoa, leftover chickpeas, grape tomatoes, almonds and the dressing I made yesterday. It was quick, filling and nutritious the perfect meal in my opinion. ;-)

After dinner I mentioned to Dan that my knee wasn’t “hurting too much” and I thought I could get back to exercising on Monday. He reminded me I said I needed to take at least two weeks off and that maybe I could do some upper body strength training and use the exercise bike but to stay off my knee. Good thing one of us has good sense around here isn’t it? LOL, sometimes I am too gung ho for my own good.

Happy Thoughts:

We had a wonderful holiday long weekend together. Here are my happy thoughts:

• I am very thankful to be married to my best friend. Dan knows me so well and always buys me the prefect presents. I love you baby!

• We didn’t get our Christmas day snow but we did get a few snow flurries. It retrospect it was nice to have clear roads when we went to the library Saturday evening. Also on snow on Sunday wasn’t the blizzard that much of the East coast experienced. By Monday morning we had little more than a dusting. It was terribly windy but the snow probably wasn’t more than 2 inches here.

• It was wonderful to be able to spend another Christmas with my husband and have both of us be happy and healthy. I never take that for granted now. I feel so good that we are becoming more focused on health the older we both become.

• The fur children were particularly cute this weekend. They love to get into everything we do and really do light up our lives. We are very fortunate to have three special little fur babies in our family to bring our home to life.

• At dinner on Christmas Eve we were discussing the topic of friends, not acquaintances but true friends. We defined friends as the person who that will drop everything and be there when you needed them. Dan and I are very fortunate to have that in our friend Louis. He has been there so many times when we needed him. Louis, if I haven’t told you recently I hope you know how much you mean to both of us. Lots of Love and Hugs!

• I feel very fortunate this weekend for my life. Other than cancer I really can’t imagine a more perfect life for me. Most of the time I am beyond happy and almost need to pinch myself to believe this really is my life and not a dream. Sometime I think that we are all too busy with everyday distractions to notice the wonderful little things that happy every day. I try to take it all in and to be grateful for what really matters in life. In my case that is having my husband, fur babies and my friend Louis in my life. I love you all!

Signing out:

It is amazing how quickly I got behind with one brief computer problem. Sorry this post was so long. I decided one long post was better than two shorter ones.

Dan has gone back to work this morning *boo hoo* which means I am back to my regular schedule. I need to get my exercise finished and do a ton of things around here. It never ceases to amaze me how much needs to be done at home. How did we ever get it all accomplished when I worked crazy hours like Dan? *shakes head*

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Talk to you again tomorrow. Stay warm!

Vegan Mofo 28.1: Thanksgiving Long Weekend Update

It has been a long week at our place but it is ending on a high note. I love decorating for Christmas and I have been up to my eyeballs in Christmas bangles and baubles since Thanksgiving. Here is what we have been up to the last few days.

Thanksgiving:

I started cooking at 8 am Thanksgiving for the meal with my parents at 3pm. It always fascinates me that it takes me all day to cook something that we eat in under an hour. Why do we go through this process every year? Oh yeah, it is tradition. *rolls eyes* ;-)

Much to my mother’s disappointment I went with a reasonably healthy vegan Thanksgiving. I say reasonably healthy because if it has just been us the meal would have been healthier. If only she knew how we eat most days, LOL. Here is what I made for Thanksgiving:

• Portabella mushroom filled with whole wheat bread stuffing made with pinot grigio braised veg
• Cauliflower and potato mash (approximately 85% cauliflower)
• Mushroom gravy with soy and truffle
• Spicy cranberry and orange relish
• Miso and orange glazed green beans
• Whole Dijon and maple glazed Brussels sprouts
• Quick cucumber pickles with red onion and tarragon
• Marinated portabella and roasted red pepper

My father particularly liked the cauliflower and potato mash. Dan’s and my favorite was the miso and orange glazed green beans. My mother, as usual, didn’t “like” anything. She cleaned her plate but complained that there wasn’t any turkey, mashed potatoes or pumpkin pie. Seriously, sometimes I can’t believe we are actually related. *shakes head* Oh well, I guess there has to be some family drama or it isn’t a national holiday, LOL.

I am sorry to tell you that I had too many things going to actually measure ingredients. However the green beans and cauliflower and potatoes will be showing up again since they were well received and I will measure the next time I make them so I can share the recipe. I am also going to make the cranberry again but include habanero next time to take the heat up a notch.

Friday: Christmas Decorating and leftovers

I adore Christmas! I love the decorations, music and giving presents. Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. You will probably not be surprised to learn that I go overboard decorating for Christmas. We spent Friday putting up the first and my favorite tree in the family room. I have had this artificial tree for over 20 years. It is 9 feet tall and is shaped in spiral topiary. I think I like it because it is unusual. Since our felines are still extremely active (at 9 years old) we have to use only unbreakable ornaments. Thank goodness Pottery Barn and Crate Barrel have had many to choose from over the last few years. I load up during the after Christmas sale when everything is 75% off.

We spent all day testing lights and getting the tree up. The felines are always fascinated with holiday time, just like their mommy. They feel the need to get involved in every aspect of the process.

Here is Binky sitting on an ornament box so that we couldn’t open it.

This is Luca Belle doing her imitation of the Grinch. She wanted to sit on top of the lights we were testing and was annoyed that we wouldn’t let her do that. Can you believe that sour expression? LOL, she needs a little green Grinch outfit.

Here is sweet Masi watching patiently on the tree skirt under the tree. At least we have one well behaved feline. ;-)

This is a picture of the first Christmas tree which is my favorite. It is in our family room.

Here is Binky giving me the “I am not doing anything why are looking at me” routine. A few minutes later he was in the tree. LOL, our felines are so darn cute. But then again I am a bit biased being their mommy.

Saturday: More Christmas Decorating and Lunch with the Parents

The next day we spent listening to more Christmas music (you have to love Pandora which we stream over our TV) and decking the halls.

Here is a shot of the staircase in process. It still needs to have its ornaments but we are getting there.

With all the decking the halls I decided to make something simple for dinner and that meant soup. I choose red lentils since they don’t need to be presoaked. I asked Dan how he wanted it seasoned and he selected Moroccan.

Here is what I did:

Moroccan Flavored Red Lentil and Tomato Soup
Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 large yellow onion (approx 2 cups) peeled and finely diced
8 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely minced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely minced
1 pound dry red lentils, sorted through and rinsed thoroughly
14 ounce can diced tomatoes, preferably a low or no salt brand
14 ounce can tomato sauce, preferably a low or no salt brand
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds, ground
8 cups of water
6 ounces tomato paste, a low or no salt brand
6 olives thinly sliced (I would suggest leaving these out if the tomato products have salt)
1 lemon, zested and juiced

Topping Ingredients:

¼ cup golden raisins, soaked in 1 cup water to plump, then drain thoroughly
1 lemon, zested and juiced
½ cup cilantro, leaves picked (minced if you are feeding finicky people)
2 tablespoons almond slices

Directions:

Combine all the soup ingredients (except the lemon) and simmer until the lentils are soft. I simmered mine about an hour and a half. It takes a while to cook the harshness out of the ginger but it will happen. You can start with less ginger if you like though more is better since it a healthy ingredient.  Still the lemon zest and juice in at the end of cooking.

To make the topping combine the ingredients listed above and stir.

To serve, place a dollop of the topping on the soup. Stir the topping into the soup and enjoy.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 386.71
Calories From Fat (10%) - 38.71

Total Fat - 4.62g
Saturated Fat - 0.59g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 629.46mg
Potassium - 1327.59mg
Total Carbohydrates - 69.65g
Fiber - 13.44g
Sugar - 13.31g
Protein - 23.61g

Comments:

This is a simple soup but one that has a lot of flavor. I added the topping to provide freshness from the cilantro, crunch and fat from the almonds, and brightness from the lemon. I think the fresh topping is a nice contrast to a long simmered soup. Even my omni parents finished their soup so it much have been fairly good at least, LOL.

To accompany the soup I made a simple salad of roasted parsnips, oranges, watercress and a miso and mirin dressing. I topped this salad with a few almond slices.

Happy Thoughts:

The long weekend has been good so far. Here are my happy thoughts now:

• We had a family gathering with a minimum amount of drama. I didn’t even utter a dead animal crack when my mother complained about the lack of turkey. Talk about self control. *pats self on back* LOL

• Dan loved the green bean dish which made me very happy. I love to make things that he enjoys.

• My father practically raved about the cauliflower and potatoes. Another score. ;-)

• While I did spend all day cooking it wasn’t at a rushed pace which meant cooking was actually pleasant this is not what usually happens on Thanksgiving.

• Since I was cleaning as I cooked the holiday aftermath was easy. You have to love that.

• The spicy cranberry sauce has serious promise. I need to make it hotter but I think that will be a winner when I adjust the heat level.

• Everything is starting to look like Christmas. We have lots more decorating to do but we have a great start on things. It is going to be a great holiday.

• The farmers’ market was a lot smaller this morning both in terms of vendors and patrons. We did manage to pick up a few things: cauliflower, lacinato kale, onions, collards, red potatoes, and broccoli. Our refrigerator was still a little stuffed with food so I had to hold it down today.

• We are listening to Christmas music as I type this. I love Christmas, LOL.

Signing out:

It is time for me to get back to decorating and cooking. I need to at least get the stairway finished today. Dan has decided he wants white bean chili so that will be the next recipe posted. White bean chili is one of Dan’s favorite cold weather dishes.

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday and a great long weekend. I will talk to you again soon. I should have another post up tomorrow as well as time to catch up on your posts. Tuesday may be rough since I am scheduled for jury duty. Woo hoo? I have my fingers crossed that my number is too high to be called but I don’t think that is going to happen. At least it means I can ride to work with Dan in the morning and meet him for lunch. At least that is something to look forward to.  Hopefully I don't get picked for a jury again I really don't have time for that at the moment.

Enjoy your Sunday and stay warm and cozy. ;-)

Moroccan Inspired Chickpea Soup with Pasta

Since I had started sprouting some chickpeas yesterday I knew I was making something with them today, only I didn’t know exactly what. I had considered hummus but the red pepper okara dip turned out so well I decided to turn these into soup. This is a variation of my Moroccan Chickpea Stew only I have eliminated the preserved lemon since most people don’t have a jar in their pantry. I used fresh lemon in place of the preserved ones. I also decided to make this more of a one dish meal by adding a little broken whole wheat spaghetti to the soup. Here is the soup we had tonight for dinner.

Moroccan Inspired Chickpea Soup with Pasta
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

3 large cloves garlic, smashed, peeled and finely minced (allow to stand 10 minutes before heating so allicin can develop)
1 yellow onion, peeled and finely diced
½ cup water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
14 ounces tomato sauce
14 ounces diced tomatoes
1 pound chickpeas, soaked overnight (or sprouted)
Enough water to just cover the chickpeas
½ inch fresh ginger, grated (if organic don’t bother to peel just rinse off dirt)
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander seed
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup small pasta (I used whole wheat spaghetti broken into 1 inch lengths)
1 lemon, zested and juiced
½ cup parsley, finely minced

Directions:

Water sauté the onions and garlic. When the aromatics are soft add the tomato paste and stir encourage it to dissolve more quickly. Add the remaining ingredients through the cinnamon and cook until the chickpeas are tender. 15 minutes before serving add the broken spaghetti (or soup pasta) and cook until it is al dente. Turn off the heat and add the lemon zest and juice. Stir in the parsley just before serving.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 358.09
Calories From Fat (11%) - 38.95

Total Fat 4.62g
Saturated Fat - 0.41g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 586.97mg
Potassium-  875.24mg
Total Carbohydrates - 66.39g
Fiber - 15.52g
Sugar - 11.8g
Protein - 16.63g

Comments:

This is a quick flavorful soup. Pasta adds body and reduces the liquid of the soup making it more of a stew. Like all soups and stews this will be more flavorful tomorrow if you can wait that long to eat it. My hubby walked it the door telling me how good the house smelled.

Each serving of this soup contains 975IU of vitamin A, 90mg of calcium, 4.7mg of iron, 340mcg of folate, 70mcg of vitamin K, 245mg of phosphorus, and 85mg of magnesium.

After our soup we had another fruit and veggie juice very similar to the one we had this morning with our breakfast. I always try to include either a salad or a juice with our meals for nutrition.

Unrelated Note:

I had hoped to get one of the recipes from the weekend posted today. Given the time it doesn’t look like that is going to happen until tomorrow. Sorry about the delay. I am running a little behind on everything at the moment after taking the weekend off.

I will be back tomorrow with a few recipes, hopefully one or two of them from the weekend. I hope you are all having a great Monday.

Moroccan Braised Seitan with Onions, Raisins and Almonds

We spent much of the day shopping so I needed a meal that would come together without a lot of babysitting in the kitchen. Whenever I need to something low maintenance I turn to seitan sausages or roasts. Today I wanted to make a Moroccan dish that is loosely based on a lamb dish.

Like much Moroccan food this entrée combines sweet with savory but is definitely more savory than sweet. If you taste this sauce while you are cooking you will think it has too much flavor. Don’t worry it is intentionally flavorful to compensate for the blandness of the couscous. When all the components are married the flavor intensity is right.

The Turkish figs and marmite were added to the braising liquid to make it dark like it would be traditionally. They also help the sauce to thicken as it reduces. The lemon juice is not traditional in this dish but we both (my husband and I) thought this dish needed a little acid to round out the flavor.

Here is the big shock of dinner tonight. We had dinner with my 80 year omnivore parents this evening (I like to make certain they eat a few healthy meals a week, not an easy task) and both of them not only liked it but said they would eat seitan again. You could have knocked me over with a feather. To say I was shocked doesn’t even begin to explain my reaction. When my midwestern parents will eat a faux meat product willingly, I know I am on to something. If you have omnivores you want to cook for consider trying this recipe. It worked with the most hard-core omnivores I know.

Moroccan Braised Seitan with Onions, Raisins and Almonds
Serves 5

Braise Ingredients:

1 recipe for seitan roast with bread crumbs
1 yellow onion, finely diced
enough water to cover seitan
¼ teaspoon ginger, powdered
½ teaspoon cinnamon
4 whole cloves
1 pinch saffron
½ teaspoon of marmite
2 Turkish figs, dried, finely diced
1 lemon, juiced

Topping Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely sliced
1/3 cup of golden raisins, soaked in water to cover for 20 minutes
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup of almonds

Couscous Ingredients:

1 cup of whole-wheat couscous
1 ¼ cups water
1 pinch of salt
¼ cup of Turkish apricots, dried and unsulfured, finely diced
1 lemon, zested

Directions:

Prepare the seitan in the prior recipe. Cut it into bite sized chunks and return to the pan the seitan was braised in. Add the onions and seasonings (except the lemon juice) and cover with water so that it just covers the seitan. Cook on low for at least 30 minutes to allow the figs to dissolve and the flavors in the sauce to marry.

While the seitan is braising make the onion topping. Add the olive oil, onion, raisins and soaking water, and cinnamon and cook until the raisins plump, water has evaporated and onions are golden. When the onions are caramelized add the slivered almonds and cook to heat through.

When the onions are caramelized begin cooking the couscous. Combine the couscous, water, salt and diced apricots and microwave until the water is absorbed. The water was absorbed in 3 minutes in my microwave. Allow the couscous to stand for a few minutes before removing the lid. Add the lemon zest and fluff the couscous before serving.

To plate the dish put the couscous in the bottom of deep bowl and make a trough in the center for the braised seitan. Top with the onion, raisin and almond mixture. Serve hot with a lemon wedge on the side.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 647.09
Calories From Fat (18%) - 115.1

Total Fat - 13.27g
Saturated Fat - 1.7g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 657.63mg
Potassium - 627.75mg
Total Carbohydrates - 79.02g
Fiber - 9.22g
Sugar - 18.73g
Protein - 56.62g

Comments:

My husband and I were discussing dinner a few minutes ago and I asked him what he thought. He told me he wouldn’t change a thing. I suppose this means the recipe has the husband seal of approval.

While it isn’t traditional I would like to see something green in this dish. I would recommend you add a little fresh minced parsley to the couscous when you fluff it. Don’t forget to serve this with lemon wedges. I think the acid is necessary to cut through the sweetness.

Preserved Lemons

Since I used preserved lemons in today’s recipe I thought I should post a recipe for them in case you can’t buy them locally. Preserved lemons are very easy to make. This is a recipe that I pull out almost every Christmas to make presents for my foodie friends. If you haven’t tried to make your own preserved lemons you should give it a try. It is much easier than canning (no heat required).

If you are unfamiliar with preserved lemons they are required for Moroccan cooking. The lemons are pickled in salt and the peel becomes very soft. They are used in stews, tagines or as a condiment in Moroccan cooking.

Preserved Lemons
Makes 1 quart

Ingredients:

8 organic lemons, whole
½ cup of kosher salt
8+ organic lemons for juice, as needed
4 cinnamon sticks
4 bay leaves
12 green cardamom pods
½ tablespoon of whole black peppercorns
½ tablespoon of coriander seed, whole

Directions:

Wash the lemons well. Cut them into quarters from the top but stop ½ inch from the bottom so that the lemon will open like a flower. Sprinkle the inside of each of the 8 lemons with salt.

Place a tablespoon of salt in the bottom of the jar. Place a lemon in the jar firmly, adding more salt with each additional lemon. Continue adding lemons until the jar is full. Add the cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, cardamom pods, peppercorns and coriander.

After all the lemons are in the jar add the remaining salt. Top the lemons with the fresh lemon juice to bring the level to the top of the jar. You want no more then ½ inch of headspace in the top of the jar. Put the lid on the jar.

Allow the lemons to sit at room temperature for at least 3 weeks. Turn the jar over each day for the first week so the salt will distribute evenly.

You can keep the lemons in the jar in your pantry for a year or more until you are ready to use them. Once you open the jar keep it the refrigerator.

To use the lemons take them out of the jar and rinse them under water to wash away the extra salt. In Morocco traditionally the peel is the only part of the lemon that is used. I sometimes use the flesh as well depending on the recipe. If I am not using the flesh I save it in the refrigerator to use later in vinaigrette or soup.

Nutritional Information:

I did not post the stats for this recipe since the sodium will be far higher than reality since you rinse much of it away.

Comments:

Once you have preserved lemons in the house you will find so many ways to use them. I like to make preserved lemon vinaigrette it is wonderful with most salads that contain olives. They are also fabulous in cold chickpea salads.

I will be posting some recipes that use preserved lemons in the future so you have a use for them in case you make a jar or two.

Moroccan Chickpea Stew

Michael Chiarello was making Moroccan food today on Easy Entertaining and that reminded me that I hadn’t made my Moroccan chickpea stew in months. This is one of the few recipes that is repeated a few times a year at my house. I think this is one of my husband’s top 10 favorite dinners.

This stew is a combination of something we made in cooking class with a number of additions from yours truly. I added the preserved lemon and now I can’t imagine this stew without it. However if you don’t have preserved lemon in your refrigerator you can substitute fresh lemon. It isn’t the same but it will get you close.

When this stew is cooking the entire house smells so wonderful. I adore the aroma of this dish. It is sweet from the cinnamon and savory from the coriander, cumin and fennel. My husband would disagree but I think this smells as good as chocolate cookies baking in the oven.

I use the bean cooking liquid first when I add liquid to this stew. My theory is that some of the vitamins from the beans come out into the water when they cook so I like to use that cooking liquid when I can.

I hope you try this recipe; it is one of our family favorites. If you do try it please let me know what you think.

Moroccan Chickpea Stew
Serves 8

Ingredients:
1 large red onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
2 – 3 inch cinnamon sticks
1 ½ teaspoons of cumin seeds
1 ½ teaspoons of coriander seed
1 ½ teaspoons of fennel seed
28 ounces of canned diced tomatoes
1 pound of dried chickpeas, cooked until soft
1 cup of golden raisins
1 preserved lemon, peel chopped finely
enough water or vegetable stock to cover beans in pot (or use the bean cooking liquid)
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 cups of julienned fresh greens (spinach, chard, beet greens, etc.) – optional
a few tablespoons of sliced almonds, for garnish - optional

Accompaniments:

Serve with cooked couscous, millet or amaranth - optional

Directions:

Sauté the red onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add spices and sauté until fragrant, approximately one minute. Add remaining ingredients except fresh greens and almonds. Add enough water, vegetable stock or bean cooking liquid to cover the beans. Cook over low until the flavors have combined (at least 30 minutes). Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the finely shredded greens once the heat has been turned off and approximately 2 minutes before serving (they should be wilted but still recognizable), if desired. Your grain of choice can be added to the bottom or top of stew when served if desired. If using the almonds sprinkle them on the top of the stew at the very end, before serving, so they retain some of their crunch.

Nutritional Information (without optional ingredients):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 309.54
Calories From Fat (13%) - 41.56

Total Fat - 4.96g
Saturated Fat - 0.52g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 207.18mg
Potassium - 912.13mg
Total Carbohydrates - 59.08g
Fiber - 14.87g
Sugar - 19.43g
Protein - 13.15g

Toasted Millet
Serves 4

Ingredients:

½ cup of millet
1 ½ cups of water
¼ teaspoon of kosher salt

Directions:

In a dry medium saucepan over medium high heat toast the millet for a few minutes, stirring so it doesn’t burn. When the millet begins to lightly brown (about 3 minutes) add the water and salt and bring the water to a boil. Cover the pan and reduce the heat so the millet is just simmering. Check the millet in 20 minutes, when the water has been absorbed turn off the heat and allow the millet to stand for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes has passed fluff the millet with a fork before serving.

Nutritional information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 94.5
Calories From Fat (9%) - 8.83

Total Fat - 1.06g
Saturated Fat - 0.18g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 121.42mg
Potassium - 49.64mg
Total Carbohydrates - 18.21g
Fiber - 2.13g
Sugar - 0g
Protein - 2.76g

Comments:

We don’t have many favorite recipes at my house. This is partly by design since I don’t like to repeat dishes. However, this one is too good not to make every couple of months. It is hard to say what I love more the aroma or the taste. The stew is cooking now and my nose is bathed in the intoxicating aroma of this stew. If they made this into a perfume I would wear it. As lovely as it smells the taste is equally fantastic. I really hope you give this a try if you are looking for a new way to prepare chickpeas.

The version of this recipe I made tonight had spinach stirred into the stew just before serving and fresh minced cilantro (1/4 cup), mint (2 tablespoons) and lemon zest (about 1 teaspoon) in the millet. I did add a few sliced almonds for garnish, about a teaspoon per serving.

On the health front this stew if packed with healthy ingredients that fight high cholesterol, heart disease and cancer. Please note, I did get the lycopene into dinner tonight with the canned tomatoes as I promised.