Smoked Seitan and Quinoa Sausage Seasoned with Quatre Epices

I made these seitan sausages last night to be used today with the remainder to go into the freezer. Dan loves my seitan so I try to keep it on hand in the freezer. If you are new to seitan you should know one of the best things about it is that freezing and thawing doesn’t hurt the texture. Recently I have been making mostly seitan sausages as we have cut back on our overall consumption of seitan. I like to use it occasionally but it is definitely a sometimes food at our house.

Last week when I made the quatre epices the idea I had in mind was seitan sausages. I have been so busy enjoying the weather that I didn’t make time for the sausages until yesterday. Since not everyone has a pressure cooker I decided to make these without it so I could share the instructions. Because I was in an experimenting mood I used whole quinoa in the sausages to see what that does to the interior texture of the sausage. Here is what I did:

Smoked Seitan and Quinoa Sausage Seasoned with Quatre Epices
Makes 8 seitan sausages

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups water
3 cloves smoked garlic (from the smoked tomato dressing recipe)
1 ½ teaspoons quatre epices (next time start with 2 teaspoons of the spice mix)
Approximately 3 cups vital wheat gluten
salt to taste, if you choose (in the past I would have probably added 1 tablespoon of salt to this much seitan)
½ cup’ish wood chips (I don’t actually measure these I am estimated it is ½ cup could be more)
2 cups water

Directions:

Place the quinoa in a large mixing bowl. Combine the water, garlic and spice mix in your blender and process until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients over the quinoa. Add the vital gluten ½ cup at a time until it is mostly combined. There will be some grains of quinoa (maybe a tablespoon) that will not be absorbed into the dough. Knead the dough for a few minutes until it is firm. Next move the dough to a cutting board and cut into 8 roughly equal portions. Tear off 8 sheets of aluminum foil to wrap the seitan into a sausage shape. Place 1/8th of the seitan dough on a sheet of the aluminum foil and form it into a rough sausage shape. It is will look lumpy and wrong but don’t worry the uneven texture will be corrected in the rolling and steaming. Now roll the seitan up like a large tootsie roll as tightly as you can. Now twist the ends to form the sausage shape.

If you have a steamer insert place that in the bottom of a pan with a lid and fill the pot with water to the bottom of the steam, add the sausages and put the heat on high and cover the pot with a lid. Check the pan every 15 minutes to make certain you don’t need to add more water. After 30 minutes move the sausages so the bottom ones come to the top. Steam for one hour.

If you don’t a stem insert you can use a wadded up aluminum foil to keep the seitan links from sitting in the water. The rest of the method is the same. This is the method I used today to test my theory and it worked fine.

If you have a pressure cooker add a steamer basket and cook the sausages for 30 minutes on high. Everything else is the same.

While the sausages are cooking soak the wood chips in plenty of water.

Now cool the sausages until you can remove the aluminum foil without burning your fingers.

Set up your smoker as I did for the smoked tomatoes here. Place the unwrapped sausages on a piece of aluminum foil (so they don’t stick to the rack). Heat the pan on high for 5 minutes then reduce to low for 40 minutes. These smoke longer than the tomatoes since they are more dense and will take longer to absorb the smoke flavor. Allow the sausages to cool in the pan until you can handle them. Wrap each sausage in aluminum or plastic cling film and freeze until needed.

Nutritional Information per link (1/8th of the recipe):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 231.9
Calories From Fat (7%) - 15.86

Total Fat - 1.77g
Saturated Fat-  0.13g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 18.82mg
Potassium - 131.85mg
Total Carbohydrates-  16.99g
Fiber - 1.72g
Sugar - 0.01g
Protein - 37.38g

Comments:

This recipe was an experiment all the way around. I always make my sausages in the pressure cooker but it worked fine in a regular pan, I just doubled the time. Additionally I had not used whole quinoa is seitan before and that also worked. The whole quinoa gave the seitan a little bit of texture that was reminiscent of the nubby bits in real sausage. At least in these I know exactly what those bits are. *shivers* My only complaint about this sausage is that I would like it to have a little more flavor. Next time I am going to add another ½ teaspoon of the quatre epices to start. I will probably also make a tester next time to confirm the seasonings. That is something that I used to do but have been neglecting recently. I should definitely go back to that.

These sausages are huge. I gave the nutrition per sausage but ½ of one is more than enough for either Dan or me. Tonight’s dinner is going to be a bean stew using slices of these sausages. I have been simmering them for 30 minutes in the stew to make certain the texture would hold up and it has. The remaining sausages are going into my freezer for later. I tend to use seitan sausages sliced and incorporated as an enhancement to dishes. We don’t eat seitan sausage whole on a roll. That seems like too much gluten to me now. I prefer to keep our intake of gluten on the moderate side since it is a processed food. However I do like the “meaty” texture it adds to dishes.

Unrelated notes:

Last night I watched an interesting DVD on Netflix. I was called “Killer at Large” and was about the problems obesity causes for both individuals and society. I learned a few interesting bits of information from the documentary. The one thing that struck me was about the calorie content of a happy meal versus a quarter pounder meal at McDonalds. According to the documentary the happy meal contains 700 calories, and the quarter pounder meal 1,700. What child needs a 700 calorie meal from McDonalds? There are many meals where I don’t eat 700 calories as an adult. I found this information very sad and a little depressing. No wonder so many of our children are overweight and obese.

I will be back later with the white bean and seitan sausage stew I made for us for the weekend. I have not had a chance to photograph it yet for the post but it tastes and smells really good.

I am off to run my errands now. I will be back later with the stew recipe.

Indian Spiced Mushrooms and Spinach Sauce in Lettuce Wraps

Last night I wanted to make something Indian inspired for dinner. Mushrooms are something I like to use as a stand in for meat. I decided to marinate the mushrooms similarly to how I would treat tofu. The lemon juice and spices add nice flavor to the mushrooms. The sauce is thickened and richened with nut better. Instead of whole wheat wraps I used romaine leaves as the food delivery system. You could also use collard leaves if you prefer. Additionally you can serve this as a salad. Here is what I did:

Indian Spiced Mushrooms and Spinach Sauce in Lettuce Wraps
serves 2

Mushroom Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds crimini mushrooms
½ lemon, juiced
½ teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
¼ teaspoons coriander seeds, toasted and ground
¼ teaspoon black mustard seeds, toasted and ground
½ teaspoon turmeric
freshly ground black pepper to taste (the piperine improves the absorption of the turmeric so be generous)

Sauce Ingredients:

1/4 pound raw baby spinach
2 tablespoons reduced fat peanut butter
½ cup cilantro
2 cloves smoked garlic (or one small raw garlic clove)
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon black mustard seems
¼ teaspoon coriander seed
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Additional Ingredients:

1 head romaine
1 cup cherry tomatoes cut into bite size pieces

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine the ingredients and toss to coat all the mushrooms. Bake the mushrooms for 20 minutes.

To make the sauce, combine everything in your blender and process until completely smooth. Taste for seasoning and adjust the spices to your taste.

To serve top the romaine leaf with the Indian mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and the spinach sauce.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 266.9
Calories From Fat (26%) - 69.55

Total Fat - 7.91g
Saturated Fat - 1.13g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 128.35mg
Potassium - 3003.6mg
Total Carbohydrates - 36.62g
Fiber - 12.48g
Sugar - 11.34g
Protein - 18.23g

Comments:

This is in essence a salad you pick up to eat. We eat salad so often I like to change how we eat it. For some reason I like being able to pick up salad and that changes it for me. The smaller center romaine leaves I cut into small pieces and we had our second helping as salad to be eaten with a fork. The only change I would make would be to add some whole cilantro leaves to this. While the sauce had cilantro flavor I think the pops of flavor from the whole leaves would have been nice.

The peanut butter was added to the sauce for richness and to thicken it a little. If I had not made this sauce I would not have known it contained peanut butter. Now I did use the reduced fat peanut butter which has less peanut flavor. If you are using regular peanut butter I would use no more than 1 1/3 tablespoons of it.

Each serving of this recipe contains approximately 24,700IU of vitamin A, 120mg of vitamin C, 260mg of calcium, 7.5mg of iron, 615mcg of folate, 595mcg of vitamin K, 590mg of phosphorus, 150mg of magnesium, and 93mcg of selenium. Who wouldn’t like that nutrition?

Unrelated Note:

Today is Friday which means I have errands to run. I made some seitan sausages yesterday and plan to use two or those in a bean stew for dinner tonight. The sausages contain whole quinoa so they are a bit of an experiment which I hope worked. I will let you know if I have a winner.

For now I need to get moving so I can get some things accomplished. Talk to you all later today. I hope everyone I having a great Friday.

Smoked Tomato Dressing with Raw Sunflower Seeds

Today I am spending a little time in the kitchen to cheer myself up. Yesterday the gray and rainy weather combined with not feeling well did a number on my food. The rain has departed but I am still not feeling 100% so I decided that a little therapeutic kitchen time was in order today.

Since the weather is nice and I have the windows open I decided to break out my indoor smoker to make a little smoked tomato salad dressing. Eating salad everyday means I need to come up with different dressings often so we don’t get bored. Smoked tomatoes make a wonderful soup so I thought why not a salad dressing. Here is what I did:

Smoked Tomato Dressing with Raw Sunflower Seeds
Makes approximately 1 ¼ cups or 20 tablespoons

Ingredients:

½ cup wood chips (I buy the ones sold for outdoor smokers)
2 cups water to soak wood chips
1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half so they will absorb more smoke flavor
1 head garlic, smashed and peeled (I used three small cloves for this dressing), save remaining garlic for future use)
1 pinch thyme, dried
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds (soaked and drained if you aren’t using a high speed blender)
1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar

Directions:

Soak the wood chips in water for at least 30 minutes. When you are ready to smoke pour the wood chips and water through a paper towel lined sieve and squeeze as much water from the chops as possible.

Line your smoker with aluminum foil and place the wood chips oil the foil. Place the plan inside the smoker and add the cut tomatoes and garlic cloves. Sprinkle the tomatoes with a little dried or fresh thyme and black pepper. Cover the smoker and turn the heat on high for approximately 5 minutes which should be enough to get the chips smoking, then turn the flame to low and smoke the veggies for 25 to 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the veggies to cool inside the closed smoker to cool.

After 15 minutes move the tomatoes, pine nuts and vinegar to your blender and puree until smooth. Add garlic and clove at a time, puree and taste. Stop when the garlic intensity is right for you.

Refrigerate the salad dressing until needed.  It will thicken some as is chills.

What to do if you don’t have a smoker:

You will need a pan (preferably with a lid) and a wire rack that fits into the pan. I have used a roasted pan or a wok in the past as a make shift smoker. The wok worked better because it had a lid and I had a rack that fit into the wok. If you don’t have a rack you can use a bamboo steamer that you reserve for smoking only since it will absorb the smokiness. If you plan to use the pan for something other than a smoker place aluminum foil (a double layer) on the bottom of the pan and put the soaked chips on the center of the foil. This will keep the wood from scarring interior of the pan. Fit the rack over the chips and add the food to be smoked and cover with a lid. You want to start the pan on high to get the wood smoking, then turn the flame down so you don’t risk catching the wood on fire. I have not had that happen, but better safe than sorry. If the pan you are using doesn’t have a lid cover the top of the pan securely with aluminum foil to keep the smoke in.

Nutritional Information for 1/20th of the recipe or approximately a tablespoon:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 8.63
Calories From Fat (47%) - 4.07

Total Fat - 0.49g
Saturated Fat - 0.04g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 1.27mg
Potassium - 35.14mg
Total Carbohydrates-  0.97g
Fiber - 0.24g
Sugar - 0.03g
Protein - 0.32g

Comments:

This dressing is both light in calories and flavor. The smoke is intentionally subtle so that it doesn’t obscure the fresh tomato flavor. I love dressings like this that I can use liberally without overwhelming a salad.

If you don’t want to smoke your own tomatoes and garlic you can add a ¼ teaspoon of liquid smoke (or less) or add a few smoked dried tomatoes to this dressing. I would suggest you use both of those sparingly to start.

Unrelated Note:

Last night we ended up going out to eat with our friends Walid and Jackie. It was a nice to see them since it had been a couple of months since we had gotten together. It would have been better had I felt 100% but life doesn’t always work that way. We were trying to catch up with them before they went to Egypt to visit Walid’s parents. It was a bonus that Aimee was working last night as it is always wonderful to see her as well.

Because I wasn’t feeling too hungry Dan ordered dinner on his own. Here is what he choose with a little help from Aimee:

Whole wheat pizza with asparagus, zucchini, onions, roasted red peppers, dried apricots, olives and a balsamic glaze. Dan did a good job I think. I liked the sweetness of the apricots and balsamic glaze with the veggies.

To go with the pizza he also order sugar snaps with garlic and onions.

It used to see so odd to me to have pizza without cheese when we first went vegan. Strangely it seems completely normal now and I don’t miss the cheese, which I never thought would happen I might add.

For now I want to get back into the kitchen. I am going to make some seitan sausages next using quinoa instead of bread crumbs. Since the smoker is out I thought I would smoke them after they are pressure cooked to add another layer of flavor. I will be back with that recipe later this afternoon.

Black Bean and Brown Rice Burrito in a Collard Leaf Wrapper

Today has been another glorious weather day at our house. There is nothing better than spending time outside when the weather is nice. Of course I spent quite of bit of time reading about nutrition, you are shocked I know, LOL. I spent so much time engrossed in my book I lost track of time. Again this is nothing new since I frequently lose myself in a nutrition or health book. I get so engrossed reading about nutrition that time seems to stand still.

After hearing about a raw burrito earlier today from Courtney I was craving one. Raw was out of the question because I didn’t have anything on hand that I could use for filling. But I knew I could make a cooked variation so that is what we had tonight. Here is what I made:

Black Bean and Brown Rice Burrito in a Collard Leaf Wrapper
Serves 2 generously

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup cooked brown rice
1 ½ cup cooked black beans
1 cup raw asparagus, cut into thin coins
2/3 cup salsa (for filling), or to taste
¼ teaspoon cumin seed toasted and ground
¼ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon oregano, dried
¼ teaspoon paprika
6 collard leaves, stems shaved flat and end removed
6 tablespoons vegan cheese sauce, for garnish
3 tablespoons scallions thinly sliced for garnish
3 tablespoons salsa, for garnish
3 kalamata olives, for garnish
3 tablespoons cilantro, for garnish

Directions:

Combine the black beans, rice, asparagus, salsa, and spices and stir to combine. Warm to approximatley room temperature and taste for seasoning, adjust as necessary for your taste. Heat the filling to the temperature you desire before filling the wraps. Take 1/6th of the bean mixture and roll it into each leaf. Top the filled collard with warm vegan cheese sauce, salsa, slivered olives and cilantro.

Serve it with a knife and fork. If you prefer you can julienne the collards and use them as the greens on the bottom of the filling as a salad. Dan prefers the salad option and I like the filled leaves. This would also be good with some tofu tahini sauce if you happen to have that on hand. Sliced avocado would also be a good addition but I didn’t want to add the fat since Dan was going to be having dessert after dinner. ;-)

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 465.05
Calories From Fat (12%) - 54.4

Total Fat - 6.39g
Saturated Fat - 0.95g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 775.69mg
Potassium - 1335.28mg
Total Carbohydrates - 85.91g
Fiber - 20.89g
Sugar - 6.67g
Protein - 21.44g

Comments:

This wrap has a lot of flavor and is easy to put together if you keep cooked rice and beans on hand. For me this came together in very quickly. There is nothing like a meal that ready in minutes to make me happy.   This is a very filling recipe. I was only able to eat two of the three wraps which means lunch for tomorrow is in the refrigerator.

Each serving of this recipe contains approximately 5,200IU of vitamin A, 30mg of vitamin C, 200mg of calcium, 6.8mg of iron, 340mcg of folate, 330mcg of vitamin K, 430mcg of phosphorus, and 215mg of magnesium. In my opinion this is decent nutrition for such a quick and easy meal.

Unrelated Note:

I didn’t spend as much time in the kitchen as I had planned to but instead decided to enjoy the weather while it lasts. However I did find time to make black beans and rice for the refrigerator inventory for later in the week. I also made another batch of the reduced fat peanut butter. I tried a little of the peanut butter before I drained the oil and whipped water into it and I can safely say I really prefer this reduced fat method.

Dan came from work tonight with the nicest compliment from one of the guys he works with. Apparently Dan’s lunch is appealing to omnivores, or at least one omnivore. Thank you Jason, I really appreciate the compliment and liked your idea. ;-) According to what I heard from Dan his raw Mexican macaroni and cheese was appealing to Jason.

That is going to be it for me tonight. It is time for me to clean up the kitchen and relax. I hope you are all having a good evening. Talk to you tomorrow.

Mixed Berry Soft Serve with Kale?

I know some of you saw this title and thought I have finally lost my mind. But you should know this is now my husband’s favorite evening snack and he had it this morning for breakfast. The kale adds a lot of nutrition and you can adjust how much you add to the soft serve to suit your taste. You will need a high powered blender for this recipe but it is not only good but good for you. I cannot take credit for this idea it came from my nutritionist friend Courtney. Thanks Courtney for sharing this brilliant idea! Here is how I make the soft serve:

Mixed Berry Soft Serve with Kale
Serves 1

Ingredients:

1/3 cup dry oatmeal (for protein)
2 tablespoon walnuts (for healthy fat)
2 ½ cups frozen berries (I used a combination of 2 cups strawberries and ½ cup blueberries)
¼ teaspoon cinnamon (to help the body process the natural sugar)
¼ teaspoon powdered ginger (for the anti-inflammatory benefits)
¼ teaspoon lemon extract
2 kale leaves (finely julienned) – start with one and work up as many as you like
½ cup water
stevia, to taste

Directions:

Place the dry oats and walnuts in your high speed blender and process until you have a powder. Now add the kale and water and process until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and use the plunger to get the mixture completely smooth. Taste for sweetness and add stevia as necessary for you taste. I suggest you start with one kale leaf and work your way up. Dan finds two kale leaves to be the most he likes. I have made this for me with more kale but that does add a little bitterness at higher levels that not everyone finds appealing. ;-)

Nutritional information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 532.87
Calories From Fat (23%) - 122.07

Total Fat - 14.6g
Saturated Fat - 1.67g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 39.92mg
Potassium - 1307.33mg
Total Carbohydrates - 94.89g
Fiber - 19.27g
Sugar - 27.8g
Protein - 15.77g

Comments:

Courtney shared this recipe with we me late last week and I have made it every day since. Dan adores this recipe. As written this recipe contains approximately 10,500IU of vitamin A, 270mg of vitamin C, 215mg of calcium (go Kale), 7.5mg of iron, 140mcg of folate, 570mcg of vitamin K, 430mg of phosphorus, and 190mg of magnesium. Pretty amazing nutrition for something that comes together this quickly that my hubby considers dessert.

Unrelated note:

The weather here is glorious again. The morning air is cool (mid 60’s) and a little crisp. I love it when the day starts out like this. :-)

Today I have a few things I need to get done in the morning. But I should have time for a post this afternoon before dinner. We have finished all our panelle and polenta toast. I am going to make another batch this time all panelle so I can compare it to the hybrid recipe I developed. Dan also wants me to make him some sun-dried tomato pesto for the “toast” so that is also on my agenda today.

Talk to you all again soon. I hope you are having a great Tuesday and that your weather is as nice as ours.

Book Review: An Evidence Based Approach to Dietary Phytochemicals

This is the first book I read from the group that arrived on Friday. I did not want to put this one down. Now I am going to say this book is not for everyone but if you are a nutrition geek, like I am, this book is great! If I had been by myself this book would have been finished in one sitting. The chapters are as follows:

1. Fruit and Vegetables
2. Cruciferous Vegetables
3. Legumes
4. Nuts
5. Whole Grains
6. Coffee
7. Tea
8. Carotenoids
9. Chlorophyll and Chlorophyllin
10. Curcumin
11. Essential Fatty Acids (omega-3 and omega 6)
12. Fiber
13. Flavonoids
14. Soy Isoflavones
15. Isothiocyanates
16. Indole-3-Carbinol
17. Lignans
18. Organosulfur Components from Garlic
19. Phytosterols
20. Resveratrol

The chapters are organized very similarly. The phytochemical chapters (8-20) discuss: bioavailability and metabolism, biological activities, disease prevention, disease treatment, sources, safety, recommended intake and references. Each chapter is well laid out and clearly written. While some of the science is “over my head” I found that I was able to understand each section after a careful reading.

If reading the chapter headings brings any question to mind post a comment or send me an email. I will be happy to let you know the answer if the question you have is covered by the book. This book answered questions I didn’t know I needed an answer to, which is the sign of great reference book to me.

If you have a serious interest in nutrition I think you will really enjoy this book. I found it to be full of interesting bits of information. As an example of the types of information the book contained I want to share what I learned about coffee. Coffee contains cafestol and kahweol which have been found to raise both total cholesterol and LDL. But these compounds are largely removed by paper filters. Meaning my beloved espresso, Turkish coffee and French press coffees are the ones to avoid if you have high cholesterol or LDL. According to the meta-analysis (statistical summary of studies) those consuming unfiltered coffee experienced an average increase of 23 mg/dL in total cholesterol and a 14mg/dL increase in LDL. Additionally the polyphenols in coffee can bind to nonheme iron (plant sources) and inhibit its intestinal absorption making coffee a bigger problem for vegans than omnivores. Knowing this will make it easier for me to stay away from espresso. Darn it!

The book is full of facts like this. If you are information junkie I highly recommend this book. I know it will be a great reference that I will turn to often. As usual this is something I purchased, it was not sent to me for review.

Unrelated note:

The weather today has been absolutely glorious. The temperatures didn’t get out of the 70’s and there has a been a gentle breeze all day. It was so nice to open the windows! I was quite tired of having the air conditioning on. I spent some time outside today and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Later I spent quite a long time chatting electronically with my buddy Alexandra who is in Lima, Peru. She just got back from Machu Picchu and wanted to check in so I knew she was safely back to her hotel. I can’t wait to hear her stories in person and see the pictures she took. She thoroughly enjoyed herself and there were no incidents which I happy to hear. Something tells me Dan will be happier than I was to hear this. ;-) Other than a little food poisoning from some street food her trip has been good thus far.

Because I spent so much time goofing off today there won’t be any recipe to speak of to post. For dinner we had quinoa, raw julienned collards, and salsa with spiralized zucchini and raw cheese sauce and more salsa on the side. For nights when I don’t have things planned I make things like this often. Quinoa is quick cooking and salsa adds flavor to meals without fat. I added julienned collards because they are part of the cruciferous vegetable family and are therefore healthier when consumed raw. Spiralized zucchini with sauce is another easy food to prepare. I love the texture of the spiralized veggies so this is a summer staple for us.

Talk to you all tomorrow. I am off to spend a little time with Dan.

Quick Macadamia Nut Cheese and Tomato Tarragon Cashew Dressed Salad

There definitely seems to be a lot of doom and gloom in the blogosphere these days that seems to be contagious I really hope I don’t catch it. Generally I am a happy person and I would like to keep it that way. Those of you that know me know that I have plenty that I could get depressed about but I choose to look on the bright side. I hope those of you that are down find something to smile about very soon. I really hate to see nice people be glum.

After lunch yesterday Dan and I moved our enormous existing television downstairs. This is where exercising comes in quite handy. Not that it was why I started strength training but it did make it much easier to move that behemoth thing down the steps.

After the original television was in its new home Dan started working on installing the new TV. Binky (aka Nicco) is definitely in a mourning period at the moment. He wants his old TV back where it was with a cat tree on each side so he can climb and run ove the top of the TV. It looks like the cat mommy and daddy will be in trouble for some time over this transgression. Dan wants to lose the cat trees from the family room completely but something tells me the cats are not going to allow this. We will see who wins. My money is on the cats, LOL.

Dinner last night was nothing worth blogging about, so I didn’t. After moving the TV I was not in the mood for anything complicated in the kitchen.

This morning we made our usual trip to the farmer’s market downtown. We left about 30 minutes later than normal and arrived at 7:30am. The market was a mob scene. Needless to say we learned our lesson and will be back to our regular schedule next weekend. This is what happens when we you stay up too late watching a movie. ;-)

Since it is a weekend we had a mid afternoon meal with my parents. I think yesterday’s meal was just a tad too healthy for them so I added some fat in the form of nuts to this meal. I made a quick macadamia nut cheese to top the panelle and polenta triangles from yesterday and a tomato raw cashew dressing for the salad. Here is what I made:

Tomato Tarragon Cashew Dressing
Makes approximately 17 tablespoons

Ingredients:

1 cup cherry tomatoes, washed
juice of ½ lemon
¼ cup raw cashews
2 olives, pitted
2 tablespoon tarragon, fresh
1 small garlic clove
black pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine everything in your blender and puree until completely smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning as you desire. Refrigerate until needed.

Nutritional Information (for 1/17th of the total recipe):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 12.45
Calories From Fat (49%)-  6.12

Total Fat - 0.73g
Saturated Fat - 0.13g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 5.2mg
Potassium - 49.64mg
Total Carbohydrates - 1.35g
Fiber - 0.23g
Sugar - 0.13g
Protein - 0.47g

Comments:

This dressing is light but also rich in flavor. It would make a nice dip for veggies as well as a dressing. I added the olives for salt as well as background richness. If you aren’t an olive lover you can substitute capers for the olives. Tarragon is something I don’t cook with often so I was trying to find ways to use it more and it works well with tomatoes so it was good here. The cashews made the dressing creamy without an overly fatty feel. Be careful not to add a huge clove of garlic as this could easily overwhelm the sauce. Overall this is a good dressing that I will be making again.

Next recipe:

To go with the salad I decided to add a few of the panelle and polenta toasts with some nut cheese. I wanted to make something different to show how quick and easy nut cheese really is. I soaked the macadamias briefly and only added a few seasonings. Everyone liked this including my mother who is always the hardest sell in terms of healthy food. Here is what I did:

Quick Mac Nut Cheese
Makes approximately 16 tablespoons

Ingredients:

1 cup macadamia nuts, soaked for 30 minutes and drained
1 tablespoon mellow white miso
1 small garlic clove, peeled
1 lemon zested, juice from ½ of the lemon
white pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine everything in your food processor or blender and process until smooth. Refrigerate until needed.

The nut cheese will be thick it is easier to remove from a food processor than it is from a blender. You can also make it with a mortar and pestle but that is much more work.

Nutritional Information (for 1/16th or approximately 1 tablespoon):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 63.31
Calories From Fat (85%) - 53.69

Total Fat-  6.41g
Saturated Fat - 1.02g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 40.55mg
Potassium - 37.35mg
Total Carbohydrates - 1.76g
Fiber - 0.84g
Sugar - 0.51g
Protein - 0.82g

Comments:

Using macadamia nuts is quicker than using almonds since they don’t need much of a soak, though they are easier to process if you remember to soak them. I was busy at home today and forgot to soak the macadamias until there was only 30 minutes or soak time available, but that wasn’t a problem.

Nut cheeses are something that I make often. These nut cheeses are how we incorporate fat into our diet since we hardly use any oil. While we could just eat nuts, they are much more interesting as a cheese, in my opinion.

This cheese is neutral but lemony, if that makes sense. I particularly liked the flavor. It is very rich though so you don’t need much to be satisfied.

How to get your potassium:

After I posted the blurb on sodium and potassium I went back to look at where we get our potassium and found that normally we would be short without our veggie and fruit juice. Lately I have been making a fresh juice with the following:

Ingredients:

1 beet including beet greens
2 kale leaves
1/3 pound spinach
1 red delicious apple (they are highest in antioxidants)
5 carrots
3 celery stalks
½ lemon
1 inch ginger

Directions:

I run these all through the juicer and add two frozen wheat grass shots to the juice to chill it. One half a serving of this juice contains 2,640mg of potassium. We have this juice morning and evening so we have no difficulty reaching our 4,700mg of potassium per day.

Unrelated Note:

Have any of seen the new Cooking Channel? I didn’t bother to check it out until this weekend because I thought it was going to be like the Food Network. As you can tell I am not a fan of the Food Network. After you have seen the fifth “celebrity chef” prepare a dish it gets really old and tiresome. Not to mention watching clearly unhealthy people swoon over fat and sugar is not what I call fun, call me crazy. With this in mind, I actual have enjoyed the Cooking Channel this weekend. They seem to have mostly “real chefs” not cooks with TV shows. There are two shows that have stood out to me. They are “Chuck's Day Off” and “David Rocco’s Dolce Vita”. I will admit that the appeal of the David Rocco is the setting. Who would expect me to love a show filmed in one of my favorite cities on the planet, Firenze (Florence), Italy?

Since we had a late mid day meal with the folks dinner will probably happen here until after 8:30. But I will get it posted tomorrow morning if I think you will like it.

I am signing off for now to make dinner. Talk to you all later. I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Shitake and Crimini Pate and Lemony White Bean and Veg Salad

When I made the quatre epices yesterday I had some ideas of what I wanted to do with it, but they were only ideas. I thought it might be nice to use cooked mushrooms as a stand in for meat in pate. Our chef friend Ian has put pate back on the regular menu and each time we stop in the words pate and cognac leap off the menu and get my attention. This used to be one of my favorite appetizers. I really wanted to make something that was reminiscent of pate but was also healthy.

Since I didn’t want to serve this on the traditional toast (flour) I baked a batch of my panelle and polenta triangles. Those really do come in handy when you need a food delivery vehicle. I modified it a little from the first recipe which I will tell you about below.

All I can say is what took me so long to try mushrooms in pate? This is both really good and healthy! I will be making variations of this very regularly. It reminds me of meat pate much more than it does mushroom. The flavor of this pate is complex and bright. This may just the best new thing I have made this month. Here is what I did:

Shitake and Crimini Mushroom Pate
serves 4

Ingredients:

½ large yellow onion, peeled and finely minced
1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
¼ cup water to sauté onion and garlic
¼ pound fresh shitakes, stems removed (save in the freezer for mushroom stock) caps roughly chopped
½ pound crimini mushrooms, roughly chopped
½ teaspoon quatre epices, or to taste
salt, to taste

Directions:

Sweat the onion and garlic in the water until translucent (about 3 minutes). Add the mushrooms and quatre epics and cook until the water from the mushrooms has evaporated. Getting the water out of the mixture is important so you don’t have a watery topping. Allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes, until you can safely move it to your food processor bowl. Pulse the mixture until you achieve the texture you like. I wanted my pate to have a little coarse texture like a country pate so I pulsed the food processor about 8 times. Taste for seasoning and add salt and additional quatre epices, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 44.69
Calories From Fat (3%) - 1.47

Total Fat - 0.17g
Saturated Fat - 0.04g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 5.89mg
Potassium - 373.84mg
Total Carbohydrates - 8.66g
Fiber - 1.96g
Sugar - 3.27g
Protein - 2.52g

Comments:

This is definitely a winner all the way around, healthy and flavorful. Not to mention it is so low in calories you can eat a mountain of it and not feel guilty. I am going to try this with dried mushrooms. Next time I may add a few chopped pistaschios for texture. I think this has a lot of options that will work. Also you may want to serve this with a little Dijon mustard.

If you still eat oil you may want to drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over this on your toast. We didn’t do that but it would be tasty that way.

We had this on another variation of my panelle and polenta triangles. I was short on polenta so I increased the proportion of chickpeas to polenta. It worked fine and made a “toast substitute” that is just as flavorful but has more fiber. Also I bake these at 350 degrees until they were firm (about 45 minutes) then flipped it over and baked the second side for 15 minutes. That variation was worked fine. The most difficult part was peeling the parchment paper off the bottom of the toast after I flipped it. To make it easier to flip use a baking sheet the same size as the one you baked the “toast” in. Place the cool sheet on top the hot one and flip it over with the two pans together. Slide the polenta back to the hot pan and bake. The parchment will release more easily once the top (previously the bottom) has dried out a little. We use the panelle and polenta crisps very often at our house.

Next recipe:

When I was thinking of the pate I knew I wanted something more substantial to go with the pate. Beans are a wonderful source of fiber and protein so I try to eat them at least twice a day. Years ago I used to make this salad with tuna and plenty of extra virgin olive oil. But other that those two omissions this is a salad that I have made for decades. Here is what I did:

Lemony White Bean Salad
serves 6

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup dry cannellini beans
5 cups water to cook beans
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
3 bay leaves (to improve the digestibility of the beans)
1 -2 lemons, zested and juiced (if not organic don’t use the zest) if you really like lemon use 2
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut into ¼’s or ½’s depending on their size (about the size of the beans)
1 English cucumber or zucchini/summer squash, cut into cubes approximately ¼ inch or you can spiralized it and use it as a bed to nest the bean salad into (which is what I did)
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and flesh finely diced
2 tablespoons brined capers, drained
2 tablespoons kalamata or oil cured olives, sliced or slivered (no pits)
¼ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, leaves only, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, leaves only
spinach or mixed greens for serving - optional

Directions:

Cook the beans in the water with the bay leaves and garlic until tender. Drain the beans and remove the bay leaves and discard. Add the lemon juice and zest to the hot beans so they will absorb more of the lemon flavor. Refrigerate until cold. Then add the remaining ingredients, except the fresh herbs, toss and return to the refrigerator. Add the fresh herbs just before serving and toss to combine, or sprinkle the herbs and olives on top (which is what I did).

Serve on a bed of lettuce or baby spinach. If you also are serving a separate green salad you can also serve this without the greens on the bottom.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 326.07
Calories From Fat (8%) - 26.89

Total Fat - 3.04g
Saturated Fat - 0.26g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 270.94mg
Potassium - 1816.52mg
Total Carbohydrates - 58.75g
Fiber - 14.73g
Sugar - 4.52g
Protein - 19.89g

Comments:

This salad is very fresh and flavorful. It is one of my favorite bean salads. You can also make it with chickpeas if you prefer. You can make this salad with any combination of vegetables that you like. The trick to getting a lot of flavor is to add the lemon to the hot beans so they beans will have a bright flavor throughout. Also the addition of fresh herbs makes a huge difference in the flavor.

Unrelated Notes:

Dan has been busy today with the new TV installation and set up. He didn’t want the deliver people to install it he prefers to do things like this himself. I think he enjoys using power tools and being handy. Must be a guy thing I would have been happy to allow the delivery people to take care of the installation beginning to end. ;-)

Meal time with the folks was uneventful. I have to say I am always surprised when they like my food because I know how darn healthy it is and needless to say that is not a description of their usual food habits. The fact that my parents seem to enjoy my food never ceases to amaze me. They seemed to like the mushroom pate the most. I have to say that was my favorite as well.

I have not planned dinner tonight so that will be a surprise for everyone, including me. If I come up with something post worthy I will be back with an update tonight.

Talk to you all tomorrow if not sooner. ;-)

Fun Facts Friday and New Additions to the Library

TGIF, Woo Hoo! Can you tell I am happy it is Friday? I love my weekends, LOL. ;-) The weather here is unpleasant, but it has been worse so I am not complaining. On the bright side the UPS man brought me a nice surprise a little while ago. I will tell you all about that is a few minutes but let’s start with fun facts Friday instead.

Fun Facts Friday:

As usual I am going to ask you all to answer a few questions so we can get to know each other better and I will go first.

1) Do you have any pets and if so are they part of the family? As you all know we have three very spoiled little Turkish Angora felines that live with us.

The oldest by a few months is our only female, Luca Belle (her name means beautiful light in Italian). She is clearly the queen of the house with a diva attitude a mile wide. She definitely has the attitude of a big sister that would rather her little brothers go away because they bother her.

Then there is Massimo who is definitely a momma’s boy. He is named after my favorite wine Masi. Don’t judge, LOL. Masi has the most gentle and loving personality. He is the first one to snuggle with you when you don’t feel well. Sorry for the picture quality I took this one with my phone so I could get at least one pic with his eyes open. He has the most beautiful eyes.  Don't they look human?

Finally the bad baby of the house is Nicco (aka Binky), daddy’s little man. Dan loves Nicco, they are best friends. We call Nicco our little sweet tart because he is either being really sweet or really tart.  No in between moods for this little guy.  He is all or nothing all the time.

When Dan comes home the boys greet him at the front door every evening. Luca Belle waits for Dan is sit down then she plops in his lap. They have distinct personalities and are very much their own individuals. Spoiled doesn’t even begin to describe them. Needless to say they are an integral part of our family and we would have it no other way. Dan and I often say they didn’t get the memo that they are cats. All three of them love people and are normally either on us or within a few feet of us at all times.

2) Are you an optimist or a pessimist? This is an odd one for me because I used to be a pessimist but have become an optimist since the cancer. If you had told me this a few years ago I would say you were nuts, but it is true. I think cancer has a way of putting things into perspective for me. Things that used to bring me down like appointments that started late, people being incompetent, mean or lazy just doesn’t matter to me any longer. It takes a lot to fluster me now. My glass is definitely half full these days. I must say it does make it much easier to deal with life when the universe seems to want to teach you patience and tolerance.

3) What is on your summer reading list? Do you like to take books to the beach or the pool? I read all year long so the idea of summer reading list is somewhat foreign to me but I have lots of friends that read more in the summer. I always have 10 or books in the queue to be read. I added three more to the “pile” today in fact. I will get into that in a separate section.

New Additions to the Nutrition Library:

This will come as no surprise but I bought three more nutrition books two days ago and the UPS man delivered them today. I must say I love Amazon. Things just show up at your door which I think is great. Obviously I have not had a chance to read this books since they only arrived about an hour ago but I will get through them in the next week or two and let you know what I think. Here is what I bought:

First I ordered “An Evidence-Based Approach to Dietary Phytochemicals”. Sounds like a page turned doesn’t it? LOL, I love this sort of thing. I am such a nutrition geek.

Next I picked up “Nutritional Science From Fundamentals to Food”.

Finally I added “Nutrition in Clinical Practice” to my nutrition library. This one I flipped through first. I had to read what the doc had to say about diet and cancer. I only skimmed that chapter but it appears we are right on track. That made me very happy.

I realize that most of you don’t read nutrition textbooks for fun. This is something that I used to do either. But now I find them to be a very enjoyable read. Dan thinks I need to go back to school to get my Masters in Nutrition. I am seriously considering it but with my educational background I would have a lot of science courses to get out of the way first. This coming semester I may take a course or two to see how I do in chemistry. Since I have not had a college level science class (computer science doesn’t count) I don’t know if I can hack it or not. One of our young friends, Aimee is thrilled that I am considering going back to school and has offered to help me should I need it. Since she is a 4.0 student I don’t think I could ask for a better tutor. Thanks again Aimee for all your encouragement!  We will see what happens. I decided to get a jump on the process by reading everything I could this summer with the idea in mind that it will help me make the decision on whether to go back to school this coming fall or not.

Unrelated notes:

I have finished my errands and checked on the parents, like any typical Friday around here. Now it is time to spend a little quality time in the kitchen. Nothing mellows me out more than cooking. There is just something therapeutic about it for me.

I will be back later with a recipe or two. I hope Friday is going well for all of you. Talk to you soon.

Green Tea Extract Helps to Keep Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) in Check

Years ago I thought food was just something you ate for enjoyment. It took me a long time to realize that food has an enormous impact on health. Many of our friends are supportive of our diet but I know that they think we have gone a little too “granola”, as our chef friend Ian likes to say. But I believe an uber healthy diet is critical when you are faced with a life threatening disease.

This article published at the Mayo Clinic website discusses the impact of green tree extract on CLL progression, not prevention but progression! When you think that something as simple as green tea can control cancer progression in most people that really is huge. Green tea has been discussed for years as being helpful in terms of cancer prevention but this clinical study shows it can slow and reverse progression. Yay green tea!

Now I don’t know about you but we are going to continue to drink our green tea as often as possible. Our regular intake is 6 - 8 cups per day. Don’t forget that you get the maximum EGCG from Japanese green tea that is steeped for 10 minutes, consumed within 2 hours of brewing and that adding ascorbate C helps you to absorb more EGCG.

Talk to you all later.

Quatre Epices

Those of you that have been reading for a while know that I like my spice blends. I think spices add so much flavor to food. They are invaluable when you are trying to reduce your salt and fat intake. If you missed them you may want to check out the blends I posted for curry powder, ras el hanout and dukkah.

For those of you that don’t speak french quatre epices translates to “four spice” and the name makes sense since that is what the blend contains. Classically it contains white pepper, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. It is used in processed meat and pate. It is also wonderful with game meats and wine based stews. In my prior life I used it to make pate, sausages, terrines and beef stew. I realized yesterday that I had not used this in ages and decided it was time to find out what uses it has in a vegan diet. Needless to say you can expect a seitan sausage and vegan pate very soon. ;-) Here is how you make the spice blend.

Quatre Epices
Makes about 2 tablespoons

Ingredients:

1 fat tablespoon white peppercorns
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (I use approximately ½ of a whole nutmeg)
½ teaspoon ginger, ground (dry not fresh)

Directions:

Toast the white peppercorns and cloves until you smell the aroma. Now cool the spices before grinding. I place them in a coffee grinder I have reserved for spices but you can use a mortar and pestle if you like to do things old school, it does work but taste longer to get it finely ground. Add the nutmeg and ginger and stir to combine. Store in an air tight container, I use an old spice bottle that I have cleaned well.

Comments:

If you like french food the flavors of this spice will be very familiar to you. I think it works well with mushroom and think I am going to try it as a seasoning for marinated tofu. If you make a vegan beef stew try adding a teaspoon or two of this to the dish. It will make the flavor much more complex. This spice plays well with both white and red wine.

Unrelated note:

Today is Friday so that means I need to take care of my usual errands. Assuming all goes well I will be back to make something using this spice blend. I also have a raw salad with sumac that I want to work on today or tomorrow. 

I hope you are all having a great day. I do love my Fridays even when they are hot and humid like today. Nothing, not even sticky weather, can ruin my mood on Friday. Be back later.

Lightly Cooked Veggies with Fermented Black Bean Sauce over Brown Rice

Today started early since Dan had a morning meeting in Annapolis and wanted to stop at his office for a while before heading south. I hate moving early in the morning. Let’s just say I have never been nor will I ever be a morning person. After Dan had his breakfast I did a little exercise and got on line while I waited for the TV to be delivered. The TV arrived about 10am so I didn’t have to wait long, which was very nice. If anyone is in the market for electronics HHGregg has a great selection, reasonable prices and they deliver.

I spent a little time in my garden this morning watering and weeding. I need to spend more time out in the garden tomorrow and this weekend. There is a lot of work to be done. I have decided gardening is like housework it is never finished. However, my tomatoes have quite a few little yellow flowers and the lettuce is growing very well. It is so nice to have fresh salad in the summer directly from the garden to the plate.

Dan ended up having lunch in Annapolis at McCormick and Schmick's with our friend Carmella after the meeting. Apparently the restaurant has a nice cucumber and strawberry salad with white balsamic that Dan really liked. He also ordered an asparagus side, no butter sauce. The only down side of the meal was Carmella wanted to substitute the fries for a salad and was told they don’t allow substitutions. Not the best customer service I would say. They clearly did not the customer is always right memo.

During the afternoon I went back to trying out exercise DVDs on Netflix. I am enjoying the variety of instructors and exercises. No DVDs have stood out yet as must haves, but I have many more to work through so there is still plenty of time. ;-)

Like usual I did not plan dinner but decided to go with the flow. I tend to look in the refrigerator and decide what needs to be used and start with that. Since the bok choy and shitakes were the oldest that meant Asian food to me. I added other veggies to the dish to make it substantial enough for 4 servings, dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow. Here is what I did:

Lightly Cooked Veggies with Fermented Black Bean Sauce over Brown Rice
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups brown rice (I used brown basmati)
3 cups water
7 ounces tofu, baked until lightly browned (brush with ½ tablespoon liquid aminos before baking)
½ large yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced tip to root
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (allow to stand 10 minutes before cooking so the allicin has time to develop)
½ inch fresh ginger, finely minced or grated (if it is organic you don’t need to peel it just clean it well under running water with a vegetable brush)
2 medium bok choy, thinly sliced (approximately 6 cups)
2 leaves kale, julienned
½ pound fresh shitakes, stems removed and caps thinly sliced (save the stems in a freezer bag for mushroom stock when you need it)
4 carrots, julienned
2 tablespoons fermented black bean sauce
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or mirin
Sriracha, to taste if you want a little heat - optional
¼ cup fresh cilantro, to garnish
Cashews for garnish if you choose (Dan thinks these are a must have item) you can also use peanuts or omit this completely - optional

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the tofu into 6 even slabs and coat it in the liquid aminos. Place the seasoned tofu in a well seasoned cast iron pan and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven allow the tofu to cool for a few minutes so it will release easily from the pan and flip it over. Bake for another 30 minutes to form a crust on the second side.

While the tofu is baking combine the rice and water and bring to a boil. Cover the pan, reduce to a simmer and cook until the water is absorbed. If you use an enameled cast iron pan the rice will be ready in approximately 30 - 35 minutes. I allow my rice to stand covered for 10 minutes once I turn off the heat this makes fluffier rice.

While the rice is standing combine the veggies and ¼ cup of water and sauté quickly. Whisk the fermented black bean sauce and rice wine vinegar together and add to the pan with the veggies. Toss to coat the veggies with the sauce. If you are using sriracha add it to the sauce before combining with the veggies.

To serve plate the brown rice, top with veggies and finish with cilantro and cashews (if desired).

Nutritional Analysis (does not include the optional nuts):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 436.83
Calories From Fat (11%) - 50.07

Total Fat - 6.17g
Saturated Fat - 0.81g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 833.32mg
Potassium - 1092.72mg
Total Carbohydrates-  88.43g
Fiber - 9.19g
Sugar - 12.08g
Protein - 15.64g

Comments:

This is one of those quick weeknight dinners that I fall back on regularly. You can vary this by using any veggies you have on hand. Additionally is just as good with lo mein as it is with rice.

If you are used to eating Asian food from a restaurant you will think this dish needs salt. I intentionally used less black bean sauce so the sodium wasn’t through the roof. You can either add more black bean sauce or liquid aminos to suit your taste buds.

Each serving of this dish contains approximately 20,950IU of vitamin A, 80mg of vitamin C, 295mg of calcium, 135mcg of folate, 195mcg vitamin K, 415mg of phosphorus, 180mg of magnesium, and 38mcg of selenium. I would have preferred a lower sodium count, but this is just what happens with Asian food. However, comparing the saltiness of this dish to restaurant Asian food now I know why I always retain water after eating Chinese. It must contain three days of sodium at a minimum.

Unrelated note:

Dan actually came home at a decent time today. I wonder if the TV had anything to do with it? ;-) Hmmmm. Well he didn’t get it set up yet but there was lots of measuring so he could decide about the furniture to go around it. I am getting more bookshelves. Yay! I may be as happy about that as he is the TV. Those of you that know me well know that books are everywhere in my home and I always buy more. In fact I ordered three more books last night from Amazon, three textbooks on nutrition actually. I can’t wait for them to arrive. I just love learning new things. ;-)

We were about half way through dinner when I realized I forgot to put the tofu on top the dish. Duh! That is why the picture doesn’t include tofu. I added it far too late to get a picture. But it looks just like the tofu I baked for the recipe on tofu with satay sauce posted here.

After dinner we decided to watch the first episode of “Thirty Something”. I was so excited to see this on the Netflix instant options. I was obsessed with this show when it was on in the late 80’s and early 90’s. So far it is just as entertaining now as it was all those years ago. However, they were a little whiny and self absorbed. But I am still enjoying it.

I did get some time in the kitchen today but I will need to fill you all in on that tomorrow. For now I am signing off to relax before turning in. I hope everyone had a great Thursday.

Sodium Recommendations

I have had an interest in nutrition for almost as long as I can remember. My interest wasn’t always as strong as it is now but I have been fascinated by nutrition for decades. About 20 years ago I remember my internist mentioning to me that the optimal sodium intake was 2,200mg. That number stuck in my head and wouldn’t shake loose.

I was surprised last week when watching the 2009 videos of the Nutritional & Health conference one of doctors mentioned the IOM (Institute of Medicine) target of 1,500mg of sodium daily. Now I knew Doc Fuhrman recommended lower levels of sodium but I always thought the official target was still in the low 2,000’s. Of course I did a little research to find out exactly what the IOM had written. They published a paper recently on reducing sodium intake. Apparently American’s on average consume 3,400mg per day of sodium which exceeds the maximum of 2,300mg. Also the target established for most Americans is 1,500mg. Here is exactly what was written:

SODIUM AND POTASSIUM

Key Recommendations

• Consume less than 2,300 mg (approximately 1 tsp of salt) of sodium per day.

• Choose and prepare foods with little salt. At the same time, consume potassium-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables.

Key Recommendations for Specific Population Groups

• Individuals with hypertension, blacks, and middle-aged and older adults. Aim to consume no more than 1,500 mg of sodium per day, and meet the potassium recommendation (4,700 mg/day) with food.

For those of you that don’t know the proportion of sodium consumed in relation to potassium is important. This is why eating a lot of processed food (high in sodium and low in potassium) and little produce (low in sodium and high in potassium) isn’t a good idea.

One the things I learned in the last Cornell class in relation to sodium was when you are buying processed food the milligrams of sodium should not exceed the calories. For example if the food has 100 calories per serving than the sodium should not exceed 100 milligrams. While we don’t buy a lot of processed food this seemed like a good rule of thumb to me. I hope you find it useful when you are grocery shopping.

Additionally it is useful to keep in mind when you are adding salt to food that each teaspoon of salt contains approximately 2,300mg of sodium. Sea salt and kosher salt are a little lower in sodium at approximately 1,880mg per teaspoon.

We find that liquid aminos is where we get a lot of our sodium. Even though it is lower in sodium than low sodium soy sauce it still tends to add up. For those are you that are going to try for 1,500mg of sodium per day it isn’t easy. We make it most days now but initially food tasted very bland. I found that using a lot of herbs and peppers was very helpful in adding flavor to food that didn’t have salt.

Unrelated note:

Sorry I wasn’t around much yesterday. We had some appointments out of the house. Once those were finished Dan wanted to shop for a new TV for the family room. It was delivered this morning. My hubby loves his technology. This television seems more like a computer to me. It can be connected wirelessly to the internet and comes with 3D capability. Not that I can imagine why we need a 3D TV, but I guess this will make watching sci fi more fun for my hubby. Boys do like their toys no matter how old the boy becomes.

While we were out I ran by Marshalls just to see if I could find a couple shirts. I found 6 summer shirts which I liked and they were very reasonably priced. I picked up the cutest Ralph Lauren shirt in a nautical white with thin blue horizontal stripes marked down to $16.99 with a boat neck and gold buttons. I love, love, love a good deal. LOL! I had to pick up a pair of white pants to wear with this shirt of course.

Since it was right there we ran into Costco to replenish our supply of veggies and fruit to juice. It is amazing how quickly we go through veggies for juice. Costco had Capri yoga pants in stock so I picked up 4 more pair. Can you have too many workout clothes? I don’t think so. ;-)

By the time we got home it was late and I was exhausted. This is what happens when you “have to” wear cute sandals with an enormous heel (because I am vertically challenged after all). For dinner we had a leftover quinoa that I had stashed in the refrigerator which I stirred salsa into, wilted spinach and a veggie burger from the freezer. We also had a big glass of veggie and fruit juice. Nothing exciting to eat last night for dinner, just healthy food fast because I didn’t really feel like standing on my feet.   Gee I wonder why, LOL.

Since I was gone most of the day yesterday I have a lot to do today to get caught up on my “to do list”. One thing I need to do is spend some time in the kitchen. I feel like I need a little therapeutic cooking today. I will be back with at least one recipe if not more. Talk to you all soon.

Southern Italian Green Beans over Quinoa

For some unknown reason I decided to clean out my closet this morning. You wouldn’t think I would have anything left to purge but somehow I found another three big trash bags worth of clothes to donate since the last purge. Even though I have only lost three pounds over the last few months I have lost two inches on my waist. (Yay exercise!) That makes an enormous difference in how your clothes fit. Needless to say, the big clothes are going out. I don’t want any fat clothes to fall back on. But now my closet is looking really bare. There may be a shopping expedition in my future. Darn it, LOL! ;-)

When I have no idea what I am going to make I frequently turn to some variation of this meal. We like the light yet flavorful tomato sauce. It is good with any number of veggies, beans, or even tofu. In the past I would serve this tossed with al dente whole wheat pasta. But since we are trying to keep our flour consumption to a dull roar I serve this dish over quinoa more often now. Quinoa has the added benefit of containing all 8 essential amino acids as well as being a whole unprocessed grain. Here is what I did.

Southern Italian Green Beans over Quinoa
Serves 3 (or two servings for Dan and one for me)

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled (allow to stand 10 minutes so the allicin can develop before cooking)
¼ cup water for sautéing the aromatics
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
14 ounces canned diced tomato, no salt added
2 cups fresh green beans, tipped
½ tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or red wine vinegar
fresh basil, julienned for garnish (approximately 9 leaves)
sliced almonds, for garnish (approximately 1 ½ tablespoons)
1 ½ cups cooked quinoa to serve under the beans (if using previously cooked quinoa it reheats well in the microwave)

Directions:

Water sauté the onions and garlic until tender, about 3 minutes on high. Add the seasonings and tomatoes and cook for approximately 7 – 8 minutes so the flavors con develop. Add the green beans and cook for another 5 minutes until the beans are just starting to soften but are still bright green. Finish with a ½ tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or red wine vinegar to brighten the flavor. Add salt and pepper if desired.

To serve top the quinoa with the bean and tomato mixture. Add a sprinkle of sliced almonds and basil.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 225.83
Calories From Fat (18%) - 39.98

Total Fat - 4.65g
Saturated Fat - 0.27g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 22.78mg
Potassium - 864mg
Total Carbohydrates - 40.87g
Fiber - 9.61g
Sugar - 8.23g
Protein - 8.91g

Comments:

This dish makes a nice light meal. Served with a green salad you have a complete healthy meal that is ready in less than 20 minutes. If you are in the mood for heat this is also great with a little hot crushed peppers (wet hots) added to the tomatoes at the end.

Each serving of this dish contains approximately 1,800IU of vitamin A, 140mg of calcium, 55mcg of vitamin K, 260mg of phosphorus, and 125 mg of magnesium. Not too shabby for so little time and effort.

Unrelated note:

Today is going to be a little more hectic than normal. I hope to be back later today with another post, but I have a lot on my plate so there is a good chance I may run out of time. I hope you are having a good Wednesday. Talk to again as soon as I can.

Busy Monday …. I mean Tuesday, and Sunflower Seed Pate

I have been thinking today was Monday all day long. Obviously Dan went back to work today and I have gone back to my schedule, well sort of. Yesterday I discovered that there were quite a few exercise DVDs available instantly through Netflix. I have been enjoying finding ones to add to the instant queue. My goal is to try two new exercise DVDs each day until I get through them all. I love trying out new exercise DVDs. At the moment I am working my way through the Pilates DVDs.

In addition to playing on the computer I have also spent a lot of time on the phone today chatting with girlfriends. Sometimes there really is nothing better. We are going to meet my friend Deirdre for dinner again on Friday. She has such a wonderful sense of humor I can’t wait to see her.

Today Dan and I had leftovers for lunch, nothing new. We ate the end of the almond feta so I needed to make another nut cheese or seed pate. Today I decided to make a sunflower pate to mix things up. Today I wanted to make one that reminded me of seafood. Nut and seed pates are very easy to make and this one is no exception. Here is what I did:

Sunflower Pate
approximately 24 tablespoons

Ingredients:

I cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked at least 4 hours in plenty of water, then drained well
1 cup raw red bell pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
½ teaspoons sweet paprika
¼ teaspoon cumin seed
¼ - ½ teaspoon dry mustard, depending on how much “zip” you want
¼ teaspoon fennel seed
1 pinch celery seed
black pepper, to taste
dulse granules (or sea salt), to taste

Directions:

Combine everything in your food processor and puree until completely smooth. You will need to stop the processor a few times to scrape the side of the bowl. Refrigerate and serve cold. Because this spread includes raw veggies it will not last as long in the refrigerator as nut cheese made without veggies. It normally lasts for us 4 or 5 days.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 35.91
Calories From Fat (71%) - 25.38

Total Fat - 3.03g
Saturated Fat-  0.26g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 1.68mg
Potassium - 50.98mg
Total Carbohydrates - 1.5g
Fiber - 0.62g
Sugar - 0.32g
Protein - 1.27g

Comments:

The flavor of this dish comes from the spices. If you don’t have all these herbs and spices use Old Bay to taste instead. This smooth pate with a nice hint of heat in the background (I used the ½ teaspoon of dry mustard). The mouth feel is much lighter and less fatty than the almond feta cheese. If you are new to nut and seed pates I recommend you start with the recipes that are denser, like the almond feta.

For those of you that are doing the 6 week "Eat to Live" program the 1 ounce of nuts or seeds seems to come out to be about 18 grams of fat. So you could have 6 tablespoons (or 1/3 cup) of this pate as you daily nut and seed allowance. Here is an interesting chart I saw today that you may find helpful. It shows you how many nuts are in one ounce.

Unrelated note:

Tonight for dinner we had a simple salad topped with salsa and sunflower seed pate. Nothing too exciting at our house for dinner, just a simple veggie salad. There was a fruit smoothie to go with that as well as fresh veggie and fruit juice and powdered green drink.

Courtney has introduced me to a new way to get raw cruciferous veggies into our diet. I want to play around with the specifics a little. But I will get that recipe ready to post this week. I think you will all be amazed, I know I was. Thanks for sharing Courtney! This is going to come in so handy this summer.

I don’t know how many of you saw this article at the NYT website but it annoyed me so I thought I would share. Some silly woman was eating 2-3 pounds of raw bok choy a day and ended causing low thyroid function due to an overdose of glucosinolates. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the doctor indicates that raw veggies should be eaten in moderation. Really? Silly me, I thought raw veggies were good for us. Who knew we should eat them in moderation. Do Americans really need another excuse not to eat their veggies? I don’t think they do. My take on this article is that we should all vary our diet and not eat an enormous quantity of anything. But that doesn’t mean that veggies are harmful. Sorry for the rant, this just irritated me. I am not a big fan of sensationalism.

I hope you are all having a good day. Only 3 days until the weekend. Don’t you just love these short weeks? I know I do. Talk to you all later.

Unusual Breakfast and Cold Lunch

This morning it was hot outside when we got up. I really don’t enjoy hot food in the summer. Instead of a smoothie I thought I would use the cold brown rice I had leftover from dinner last night. There was also a pound of organic asparagus that I wanted to use. Since asparagus has been shown to fight cancer when consumed raw (and we enjoy it that way) I cut it into thin coins and tossed it with the cold cooked brown rice. I topped this with my Asian walnut dressing and some torn basil leaves. That was breakfast along with a fresh veggie and fruit juice that is. Here are the specifics and nutrition breakdown:

Asparagus and Brown Rice with Walnut Dressing
Serves 3 (meaning a double portion for Dan and a single one for me)

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups brown rice, cooked and cold
1 pound of asparagus, cut into 1/16 inch coins
6 tablespoons Asian Walnut dressing (I added sriracha to it today)
6 fresh basil leaves torn

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 198.29
Calories From Fat (28%) - 55.57

Total Fat - 6.68g
Saturated Fat - 0.76g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 76.08mg
Potassium - 431.8mg
Total Carbohydrates - 30.44g
Fiber - 5.59g
Sugar - 3.15g
Protein - 7g

Comments:

While not a typical breakfast we enjoyed it. The best part was that it came together in about 5 minutes. This is why I keep cold cooked grains in the refrigerator all the time. With cooked grains and fresh veggies you can always make a meal very fast. I keep cooked beans on hand for the same reason.

To go with this we had a fresh veggie and fruit juice comprised of: 1 apple, 5 carrots, 3 stalks celery, 2 kale leaves, 1/3 pound spinach, ½ lemon, 1 inch ginger, 2 frozen wheat grass shots. Of course we also had our powdered green drink. Can you ever have too many vegetables? I don’t think so, obviously, LOL.

Next recipe

Since it is a little warm here Dan and I have decided to take it easy again today. We watched something from PBS on Netflix and decided to make another simple and easy cold mid day meal. After much discussion this morning we settled on a cold bulgur and veggie salad and some fresh veggies marinated in lemon juice. I still hadn’t decided how I was using the marinated veggies, whether on a salad, or in a wrap. By the time I needed to make a decision I decided to toss the marinated veggies with spiralized zucchini. Here is what I used:

Lemon Marinated Veggies with Spiralized Zucchini
serves 6

Ingredients:

2 red bell pepper, julienned
3 carrots, julienned
2 collard leaves, julienned
1 lemon juiced and zested
4 cups spinach, julienned
4 zucchini, spiralized
¼ cup pine nuts

Directions:

Combine the red bell pepper, carrots, collard threads, lemon zest and juice in zip top bag. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Turn the bag over periodically to make certain all the veggies are in the juice. The point of the lemon juice is to soften the veggies. Most raw recipes use oil and salt with the lemon juice. Since I have eliminated oil and try to cut back on sodium I don’t use either and it works just fine. Taste and add salt and pepper if desired.

When you are ready to serve toss the marinated veggies and juice with the spiralized zucchini and spinach. Top with pine nuts and serve cold.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories-  99.87
Calories From Fat (37%) - 37.1

Total Fat - 4.43g
Saturated Fat-  0.37g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 60.26mg
Potassium - 755.94mg
Total Carbohydrates - 14.04g
Fiber - 4.56g
Sugar - 6.91g
Protein - 3.99g

Comments:

This was the hit of the meal. Even my omni parents had seconds. Needless to say both Dan and I were shocked. My father really seemed to enjoy this. It was very light but had good flavor. Some fresh basil would be a nice addition to this if you have it.

Each serving of this dish contains approximately 10,600IU of vitamin A, 100mg of vitamin C, 65mg of calcium, 115mcg of folate, 130mcg of vitamin K, 120mg of phosphorus, and 65mg of magnesium. Pretty amazing nutrition for less than 100 calories.

Next Recipe:

To go with the zucchini spaghetti I made a quick bulgur dish. I added the bulgur for fiber and calories. Here is how I made that dish:

Lemon Bulgur with Vegetables and Mint
serves 6

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups bulgur
3 cups water
1 lemon zested and juiced (use 2 if you love lemon)
1 cup edamame
1 cup snow peas, sliced thinly on the diagonal
2 cups spinach, julienned
¼ cup mint, thinly sliced

Directions:

Combine the bulgur and water and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add the lemon zest and juice while the bulgur is still hot so it can absorb the lemon flavor. Chill the bulgur until cold. Add the edamame, snow peas, spinach and mint and toss just before serving. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories 161.61
Calories From Fat (10%) - 15.76

Total Fat - 1.88g
Saturated Fat - 0.25g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 19.86mg
Potassium - 354.01mg
Total Carbohydrates - 31.45g
Fiber - 8.47g
Sugar - 1.45g
Protein - 7.78g

Comments:

This cold salad has a subtle flavor and freshness from the mint. You can use any veggies you like with the lemony bulgur. This dish would have been great with the lemon marinated veggies. I added the edamame to this dish for protein. Snap peas were included for texture.

Each serving of this salad contains approximately 1,100IU of vitamin A, 50mg of calcium, 115mcg of folate, 60mcg of vitamin K, 160mg of phosphorus, and 85mg of magnesium.

Unrelated note:

Earlier today we watched a two part documentary which originally ran on PBS. It was called “The New Medicine”. Here is the description from Netflix, “The Before her death in 2006 from lung cancer, Dana Reeve filmed this thought-provoking program exploring the use of holistic remedies in modern medicine. Moving beyond traditional treatments and examining more lifestyle factors, an increasing number of doctors are supplementing their work with a host of healing alternatives -- including meditation, hypnosis and acupuncture -- to treat the whole body and restore their patients' health.” Dan and I both found it fascinating. Some of the scientific information about the mind body connection was very interesting.

For those of you that are wondering yes I am as interested in health and nutrition as it appears. For the last few years it has been my favorite topic of choice which is how I amassed so much information on nutrition. If I am not reading something on the topic of health or nutrition than I watching something on it.

I am going to spend some time with Dan and then make dinner. I will be back later to let you know what I came up with. I hope you are having a great long weekend. Talk to you all later.

Raw Spring Rolls

We brought back a plethora of beautiful organic produce from the market this morning. Because it was suppose to get hot today I decided a cold dinner was in order. Tonight’s dish is a method more than a recipe and was inspired by one of the recipes in the “Raw For Life” DVD which was raw spring rolls.  That recipe used zucchini for the wrapper. This process works exactly the same as the cannelloni I made here, except it is healthier because it is filled with veggies. To the interior I added finely julienned spinach, Napa cabbage, grated carrot, cilantro and mint. Roll them up just like the cannelloni and refrigerate (covered) until ready to serve. I can imagine changing these many ways depending on what you stuff them with. The trick appears to be shredding the filling finely and rolling it tightly.

Make any dip you like to dunk them in. I made a dressing of mellow white miso and mirin with a little sriracha. Not only did Dan and I like this but so did the omnis. Will miracles never cease?

To go with the raw spring rolls I made my deconstructed sushi salad, which the omnis also liked. Since tomorrow is supposed to be another scorcher I made extra rice for us to have for dinner or a snack with some finely chopped raw veggies. That is something I do often.  Leftover brown has lots of uses.

This may be my last post for today.  I only got 3 1/2 hours sleep last night which may mean I will crash early. If not I will be back with our next meal since we still haven't had dinner. Talk to you all later.