the whole food review

Healthy Creations Review

2011-10-07T13:42:00.000-07:00

Started on July 13...I started writing this I've been working too much lately and planning meals has become somewhat of a chore. A little while ago a friend suggested I check out Healthy Creations https://www.healthycreations.com/- an organic, "pre-made", gluten free shop that has all sorts of stuff that's good for you. She suggested it mostly for the gluten free baked goods, but I discovered they have a meal plan service.
They do have quite a bit of chicken and we're not chicken eaters so I'm going to ask them to make vegetarian or sub tofu or something so we can try more dishes.
The prices are EXCELLENT and portions are more than enough for our family of 2 adults and 2 children - we get the half size gluten free meals. Did I mention ORGANIC???
We've tried many of the Healthy Creations meals now - it is October 7.
1 x Half Size: Baked Ravioli in a Creamy Pesto Sauce w/ Vegetables (veg)- GF: $20.25
1 x Half Size: Black Bean Burgers with Aioli and Sweet Pot Waffle Fries- GF: $19.75
1 x Half Size: Browned Butter Crusted Mahi w/ Herbed Corn on the Cob- GF: $19.00
1 x Half Size: Chili Relleno Casserole w/ Steak Strips- GF: $19.75
1 x Half Size: Herbed Salmon w/ Zesty Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette & Wild Rice-GF: $21.00
1 x Half Size: Mediterranean Salsa Verde 'Surf N Turf' Shrimp w/ Kale/Spina-GF: $21.00
1 x Half Size: Paneer Tikka Masala (vegetarian) with Brown Rice -GF: $19.50
1 x Half Size: Smokey Buffalo Burgers w/ Oven Fries & BBQ Sauce- GF: $22.00
1 x Half Size: Browned Butter Crusted Mahi w/ Sage and Tamari Brown Rice- GF: $19.00
1 x Half Size: Cheezy Cheddar Chicken Tenders w/ FRESH Broccoli: $19.00
1 x Half Size: Chicken Tikka Masala with Brown Rice- GF: $19.50
1 x Half Size: Herbed Salmon w/ Zesty Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette & Wild Rice: $21.00
1 x Half Size: Hoisin Marinated Pork Chops with Szechuan Green Beans- GF: $21.00
1 x Half Size: Mediterranean Salsa Verde 'Surf N Turf' Shrimp w/ Kale/Spina-GF: $21.00
1 x Half Size: Thai Coconut Vegetarian Soup with Coconut Rice (w/ EXTRA VEG)-GF: $18.50
1 x Half Size: BBQ Pulled Pork over Baked Beans & Spinach- GF: $23.00
1 x Half Size: Bruschetta Shrimp over Fresh Broccoli (do not freeze)- GF: $20.00
1 x Half Size: Cabernet Black Currant Reduction over Coulotte w/ Oven Fries- GF: $23.00
1 x Half Size: Carne Asada Tacos with FLOUR TORTILLAS-GF: $22.25
1 x Half Size: Gnocchi in a Puttanesca Sauce w/ Italian Turkey Meatballs- GF: $21.50
1 x Half Size: Maple Glazed Salmon w/ Maple Roasted Squash- GF: $21.50
1 x Half Size: Peruvian Shrimp Kabobs w/ Aji Sauce and Brown Rice- GF: $20.00
1 x Half Size: Seasoned Turkey Lasagna- GLUTEN FREE- ALL GOAT DAIRY: $24.00
1 x Half Size: Sesame Crusted Ahi in Soy Ginger Butter Sauce w/ Green Beans-GF: $20.00
1 x Half Size: Shrimp Asada Tacos w/ FLOUR TORTILLAS- GLUTEN FREE: $20.50

All meals are reasonable considering they feed four with a meal or two leftover!
As a comparison - if I go out to a "economical but healthy" place and we get a meal for the boys to split, I get a salad of some sort or fish or something and Ed gets his usual - a burger - we can ring up $38.00!!! Of course it doesn't compare to getting burgers at In and Out for $12.00 - but, um - gross - who can eat that daily?
This food is fantastic. They'll even leave the cheese off if your dairy intolerant.
San Diego locals - give them a try!

What's Next?

2011-07-27T15:55:00.000-07:00

Grapes from your own vines are so much better than the grapes from the store it is amazing.

I received an email today for an opportunity to apply for a grant from Awesome Food. Awesome Food is a chapter of the worldwide Awesome Foundation, a microgrant funder that launched in Boston two years ago and now includes chapters in cities around the world.

When thinking about this I wrote the following:

First a little background - I live in Oceanside. I am an urban bio-dynamic farmer, member of our local botanical garden, Seabreeze CSA, Slow Food San Diego, I am a wife and mother of two young school age boys.

I raise chickens for eggs, support pastured/grass fed livestock, frequent my local farmers market, I've participated in "No impact" weeks and months, I support Old Wagon Dairy (raw goat milk), I use rain barrels, I'm into canning, preserving, and general conservation.

I have arranged field trips for my son's class to Sea Breeze, created scavenger hunts and booklets for the class, and lead the tour. I have also volunteered at Seabreeze during their events.

I taught the garden unit for my son's class and helped them plant their garden. My lecture was interactive, aimed at their age group and I really struck a chord with the kids. They all remember what I taught them.

I sent home a workbook for them to complete with their parents.

I believe in what you are doing. I've attended SD Roots lectures. I'm a huge believer in educating children for a better "food tomorrow".

I am a veteran consultant. At 37, I've lived in three countries, own my own business, I'm working - most of the time - but in these economic times - it has been tough .

But, even though I have had a great career, it seems shallow, it feels like I have a higher calling. A purpose that is not driven monetarily, but for a cause.

I want to make a difference. I'd like to start an education program that goes to schools and helps teachers with their garden units or even bring garden units to public schools that do not have them.

I would come in, do a "grade appropriate" and in some cases "language appropriate" session with the class, then help them plant their garden either in their plot (we have those here in CA) or in their classroom window. I even know a thing or two about hydroponics, so anything is possible.

Included would be an interactive lesson on eating healthy - the difference between junk, a treat and healthy food. Samples of garden derived foods would be provided with recipes for parents.

Booklets will go home with the children promoting an economically functional bio-dynamic and healthy lifestyle.

I will send proposals to schools/districts and I will give a demonstration to district supervisors. I would like some capital for start up and supply costs.

For example - My son's last veggie garden project was $100.00 - 100% supported by my husband and I. I created a workbook with illustrations and garden oriented songs, lesson on soil, compost, seeds etc. We brought starts and they watched them grow, watered and weeded, then at the end of the school year I gathered the produce and made salsa and strawberry lemonade from the food they grew. They loved it.

It can be reproduced easily and with proper planning made to be more economically feasible.

Maybe I can keep momentum up this time...for our future...

Dinner for the teachers

2011-06-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

Last night I made dinner for the teachers involved in the Waldorf Music Conference here in San Diego http://www.waldorfmusic.org/. Of course it was gluten and casein free, as well as vegetarian, but completely healthy and diverse. I made dinner for them last year as well, which was a 4 course meal with two dessert options.
I love fresh produce that summer brings! it isn't so hot here in Southern California so we are still enjoying some cruciferous veggies like broccoli and cabbage; we also have cucumbers, corn, radish, onion, fava beans, and of course watermelon!
Let's also say that I was away all day and only had a tiny bit of time to pull this off - so I hit my library...

I pulled out a few of my favourite things...and created their menu...we also had some of the dishes here for dinner and I even ate the broccoli salad today for lunch - it is really amazing the next day after the flavors marinate.

The Menu:

Soup

Watermelon Gazpacho (Adapted from Lousia Shapia’s Lucid Food)

Salads

Fava Bean and Corn Salad (From Williams-Sonoma's Eat Well, by Charity Ferreira)

Broccoli, Chickpea and Tomato Salad (From Martha Stewart, Everyday Food, Great Food Fast)

Sandwiches

Cucumber and Kraut Tea Sandwiches on Chia and Millet and White Sandwich bread from Udi's and Bubbies Sauerkraut

Transition

Citrus with Honey and Mint

Dessert

Chocolate Brownie (Gluten, Casein and Egg free) - adapted from Mayumi's Kitchen: Macrobiotic Cooking for Body and Soul by Mayumi Nishimura

Here are the recipes and with the adaptations...
Watermelon Gazpacho (6 as a starter)
In a blender until smooth
6 cups watermelon, coarsely chopped and seeded (use a small seedless)
2 ripe tomatoes, cored & quartered (her recipe calls for 5)
1 rounded tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
1 clove garlic, smashed
1/2 whole toasted almonds (I use almond meal)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (I use balsamic glaze)
1 teaspoon chipotle sauce (I use medium salsa)
1 tsp Maldon sea salt

Serve in bowls or glasses and top with
1/4 red onion, finely diced
1 cucumber seeded, diced
1 radish chopped

Fava bean and corn salad with mint (6 as a salad)

Ingredients
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (used fresh)1 1/2 cups shelled fresh fava beans (about 1 1/2 lb.)2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil1 1/2 Tbs. cider vinegar8 radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced2 Tbs. coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the corn and cook for 1 minute. Remove with a strainer and set aside.
Add the fava beans to the pot and cook until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Slip the fava beans from their skins. In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil and vinegar. Stir in the corn, fava beans, radishes, mint, 1/2 tsp salt and a few grindings of pepper. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours. Serves 4.

Broccoli, Chickpea and Tomato Salad (6 as a salad)Ingredients:
1 pound broccoli, separated into florets (4 cups)

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Directions

In a large saucepan with a steamer insert, bring 1 inch of water to a boil. Add broccoli, cover, and steam until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together mustard, red-wine vinegar, olive oil, and onion; season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, and broccoli. Toss to coat with dressing. Let cool 5 minutes. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Cucumber and Kraut Tea Sandwiches (serves 6)
6 slices of Chia and Millet sandwich bread, crusts removed
6 slices of white sandwich bread, crusts removed
Your choice of butter or butter substitute spread - I like olive oil spread - but you can make your own with coconut oil or any other emulsion.
your choice of mayonnaise or salad dressing
36 thin slices of cucumber
6 tbs kraut

Assemble the sandwiches with thin layer of spread, mayo/dressing, 1 tbs kraut and 6 cucumber slices, cut in half and serve.

Chocolate Brownies

1 c. gluten free flour blend (1/3 garbanzo, 1/3 rice, 1/6 tapioca, 1/6 potato - tsp xanthan gum)1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. maple sugar
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. sugarless chocolate chip
2 Tbs. unsweetened "milk" (you can use whatever "milk" you want - cow, goat, soy, almond)
1/2 c. oil - you can use whatever you want (I like to mix sunflower and flax)
1/2 c. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
Pinch Sea salt

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8×8 ovenproof pan. (For easier clean-up, line pan with parchment paper.) i actually use 6 inch cake pans - then I can cut into triangles...

Place first five ingredients in one bowl and the remaining wet ingredients in another. Mix both bowls separately, then add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix just enough to blend, using a spatula to prevent lumps. Transfer batter to pan. Place on the middle rack of the oven; bake for about 20 minutes. When a toothpick comes out clean, remove from oven.

Happy cooking!

Where am I going to get my Macro or Juicing box now?

2011-06-21T11:41:00.000-07:00

Diamond Organics is no more.

I was thinking to myself - hey - let's see if Kathleen can get me some gooseberries for a Midsummer cake I want to make this Friday...I wanted to make little ones and drop them off at my son's school for his teachers along with a spiral sun-catcher - which is a little craft the boys and I will be working on Friday. i didn't want to use grapes from Chile and our grapes don't come until September...although I might be able to find some early ones...

Anyhow - I go to the website and guess what I see?

Diamond Organics was the largest organic online retailer in the nation. Products included organic prepared foods, organic gift baskets and sampler and a full line of organic food items including fresh organic produce cut to order shipped overnight to arrive the next day.

When I traveled, I always had a box of Diamond Organics goodies shipped to my destination, this way I was guaranteed to have food with the standard I'm used to feeding my family.

Of course I'm heartbroken. I wrote Kathleen and she in turn wrote me back...

What happened? Well - California happened.

This is a super expensive place to live. She sold organic food - which already had an associated cost, but also shipped it across the USA - shipping rates are astronomical.

What I do want to share is who Kathleen Hamilton is...

She has been in the organic food business for 30 years and knows that California is where you can produce food on a year round basis.
She cooked macrobiotic at home for 15 years.
Her soups were GLORIOUS.She sold her own line of ready-to-eat food and packs for lunch and dinner to her customers.
She's a mother, she feeds her family whole foods and fresh organic ingredients.
She didn't have health care for many years being self employed. (don't we know that situation!)
She does have a little cookbook and I'm looking forward to getting it!

She's in Moss Landing, CA and will continue to support her local delivery business to her area. thank you Kathleen for the many years you kept this family healthy.

I wish you luck in your next venture - you're an inspiration!

Aria - 3744 Mission Ave Oceanside, CA 92058

2011-05-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

Just got back from here. I think I could have used wheels to get me out I'm so stuffed.

Aria combines two of my favorite things Korean and Japanese. Home cooking is my favorite. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate good sushi (what most Americans think of when you say Japanese), but that's not what I was here for and quite frankly, I was looking for good Korean food.

I am not Asian, but I have lived in Asia and Oceania. When ordering at an Asian restaurant I'm not afraid. I have a taste for veggies, spices, fish and rice.

We were at Aria for lunch and so no bbq - I will be back for that though. When I walked in there were two 4 top tables of Japanese men eating lunch. Score #1 in my head. Unlike other diners' reviews I've read, I thought the atmosphere clean and well appointed - not at all dull.

The menu was completely easy to understand. It had pictures for most of the dishes - which I know helps people order and get what they expect.

The waitress was nice, not overly warm, but quiet and served us well. They brought out the customary vegetable side dishes - kimchi, potato salad, moo saeng chae, and some other marinated potato dish - all nice.

I ordered the bim bim-bap (bim bim-bob). For those who don't know this is seasonal veggies and chili pepper sauce/paste, raw egg and sliced meat. You stir it all together before you eat it. It was a perfect presentation and wonderful smelling. The dish tasted just like I expected and it came in a stone hot pot. I like to let it sizzle a little to get the rice kinda crunch in some places before I stir it up. YUM.

My eating partner ordered spicy pork bento and veggie tempura. The pork was spicy and he said it was akin to eating crawfish - you just have to keep going and forget about the heat.

The amount of food was outstanding. And for the price - AMAZING. Compared to other Asian food joints around our area it was entirely comparable and even on the economical side - which is why I gave it 4 stars.

Very good food for the price and didn't disappoint.

School Garden Update

2011-05-23T16:56:00.000-07:00

The kinder garden has really grown. The children have tomatoes, strawberries, zucchinis, cucumbers, lettuce and some herbs growing well. Unfortunately I think the poor peppers have been munched by some little critter.

At first the little dears were trickling water. So I came by for a check up and told them - plants like deep yet infrequent drinks and that means water a bunch only a couple of times a week. Be conservative and only water at the roots, stick your finger in to see if the soil below is damp.

So here are some shots of the little garden:

This is right after we planted:

This is about a month later. The yummy tomato plants are caged up - we have a small space so cages are necessary. We used marigolds to protect the tomatoes from harmful nematodes.:

A little strawberry - those are quinault strawberry plants - they are so sweet. The rocks help mulch, add heat and hold them off the ground. They are so sweet.

A little cucumber - I hope it grows for them.

Yummy zucchini with flower! I love making stuffed zucchini flowers - see below for recipe. It is very involved but worth every delectable bite!

Stuffed zucchini blossoms - serves 6:

I like to serve two of these per person. I make the risotto first then stuff the blossoms, use light olive oil to spritz on them and bake them at 400 degrees.

First make your risotto:

3 cups chicken stock - kept warm

1 tablespoon butter + 1 tablespoon of olive oil

½ medium onion, finely chopped

1 cup Arborio or Carnaroli rice

1 cup dry white wine

½ cup grated parmigiana cheese

1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley

Pepper to taste

1. Put the stock in a pot, simmer it then put it on low

2. Heat the butter and olive oil together in a high sided saute pan. Add the onions and cook until soft. Do not burn.

3. Add the rice and cook while stirring to coat with oil/butter.

4. Add the wine and let simmer until absorbed

5. Add about 1/2 cup stock - simmer and stir over medium until absorbed - repeat until rice is al dente (soft but with texture). This can take me up to 45 minutes - I hope it doesn't take you as long - but who knows!

PREHEAT OVEN TO 400

6. Take it off the heat - stir in cheese, pepper and parsley - allow to sit for at least 10 minutes.

Zucchini flowers

12 zucchini flowers

light olive oil in spray bottle

salt and pepper to taste

baking sheet

1. spray baking sheet with olive oil or use parchment (this is what I do)

2. take a spoon that holds about 4 tablespoons, scoop risotto and CAREFULLY place in the flower - these can rip but if you are careful you should be able to get the risotto perfectly on the inside

3. close up the top by twisting carefully, spray with oil, place on baking sheet

4. repeat until you've stuffed all blossoms

5. sprinkle with salt and pepper

6. bake in oven until the blossom looks a little brown - about 15-20 minutes

This is so very yummy.

*they say you can't reheat risotto - but I love risotto cakes the day after!

Kinder Garden

2011-04-15T15:16:00.000-07:00

My son's teacher has graciously allowed this gardening fanatic to transform one little plot of roughly 1x8x6 triangle of dirt into a thriving food center.

I'm very excited to do my lesson in biodynamic farming for the class. I can't wait to ask them where they think carrots come from, or the chicken they eat every night and plant the seeds in their little minds that farming needs to be a symbiosis - not a dump of petrochemicals and poisons.

We'll talk about worms, castings, compost, humus, and the difference between the super market, the farmers market, a CSA (community supported agriculture) and your own back yard. We'll talk about animals and their role in making the food we eat. I can't wait to start brainwashing them into the correct way of treating our Earth if we want to survive.

Oh, little minds are like sponges. Can't wait until they go home to their parents who send them to school with snacks of moon pies, orange peanut butter crackers, and Cheetos, and say, "Mom, can we have a garden?" or "Mom, I want to go to the farmers market." "Haha - I've won!" I'll say to myself when this little exercise ifs over.

But we all know the truth, I'll only reach 1% of the class, and that's 3 kids. One of the kids will be my own, the others will be kids of families who already do it the way I do. The sad fact of the matter is - most kids love instantaneous fatty sugary high empty caloric low nutrition food. It satiates our addictive natures, fills our quick energy needs and fat stores, starting the starving response - I WANT MORE!!! We eat more and then want more...the cycle never ends.

I digress. This is my chance to make a difference and it feels INCREDIBLE. I want to do this for our Earth, for their bellies and minds and for their SPIRIT. Growing food is incredibly satisfying and wonderfully healthy when done correctly.

We're growing:
Strawberries, bell pepper, tomato, cucumber, zucchini, peas, sage, parsley, rosemary, thyme, and marigolds.

I am using starts so that by June, we'll have something to show for ourselves.

I'll be using some interesting techniques to use every inch of space given to us, including the fence. I would have loved more, but the plot is small, and we want to make food for our garden party out of our veggies and fruit.

I'm going to take pictures of our progress...so excited!

The Thai Coconut Shrimp (Prawn) Recipe

2011-01-25T15:06:00.000-08:00

I get my shrimp from the fishmonger at my farmer's market. They are, by far, the best prawns I've ever had. I love botanebi, or botan shrimp (the type of sweet shrimp where the heads are coated in potato flour and fried while the tails are left raw) and hokkoku akaebi which is smaller but equally as yummy. But the prawns I use most often are larger and I buy a pound at a time...probably once a month - a pound of these are $16.99. That is a bit rich for my blood but they are worth it. Sweet and lovely.

I made the soup the other night and it was yummy!

For the broth:

Prawn Shells

3 cups of good chicken broth

3 bruised lemongrass stalks

Half an onion

2 cloves of smashed garlic

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

Noodle:

1 package Pad Thai rice noodle – cook according to your taste and rinse in cold water – set aside.

For the base:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (galangal is best)

1/2 pound (3 to 4 medium) carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced

½ lb zucchini cut into bit sized chunks

1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk

1 tablespoon gluten free cornstarch

1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed (save for broth)

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

TSP Fish sauce

Top with:

4 green onion, thinly sliced

Handful basil & coriander (cilantro) – roughly chopped

chili oil - if you aren't serving kids

Tools: 2 pots, knives, cutting boards, colander, fine mesh strainer, stirring spoon

Directions:

1. Cook your noodle and rinse with cold water

2. Peel your prawns, clean them and set aside

3. Make your broth - put all of the broth ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil and set to simmer for around 15-25 minutes (or as long as it takes you to do the rest of the stuff for the soup).

4. Make the soup

Heat oil in a large (3-quart) saucepan over medium-low heat. Add ginger, garlic, carrots and zucchini cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 3-5 minutes. Add, coconut milk, and your stock (use the fine mesh strainer to catch the veggies & spices while pouring in the liquid). In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water until smooth; add to pot. Bring to a boil.

Add shrimp; stir until shrimp are just pink, about 1 minute. Add fish sauce. Remove pot from heat and stir in lime juice.

Put a serve of noodle into a bowl (1.5 cups) and ladle soup over it. Garnish with green onion, basil & coriander. To add more heat add some chili oil at the end. But if you are serving to children - skip the chili oil.

Open a nice Tsingtao.

Rudi's Gluten Free Bread

2011-01-25T10:10:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be worth mentioning that Rudi's has gluten free bread. They also have an entire line of baked goods that have gluten.

They are doing a Spread the Bread Campaign:

"For every dollar coupon downloaded, Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery will give a dollar to The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) to help in their efforts to better educate physicians in the diagnosis of celiac disease. There are an estimated 3 million people in the United States suffering from celiac disease, yet only 160,000 are diagnosed."

This is their website:

http://www.rudisglutenfree.com/spread-the-bread-coupon/?gclid=CNaMyL701aYCFRxqgwodrhHnHg

I love that they are spreading awareness. I think it is great they are making gluten free breads.

Click here to your one dollar off coupon if you want to try it or if you already eat it - get some more:

I received an email from a representative of the company asking if i wanted a sample to try out. Boy did I jump at this opportunity. My favorite on the shelf brands of bread (not mixes) have been Udi's and French Meadow. Boy do I love French Meadow and Udi's may have little tiny loaves but they are delicious and the kids love it.

Rudi's sent me this little package with literature, a loaf of multi-grain, and a cute as a button sandwich box:

I must say...in all honesty - to me, French Meadow is still tops. The Rudi's slices were concave - meaning they didn't have a bump at the top - it was rather an indent. The taste is okay, I find Udi's multi-grain to have a better taste and texture. The Rudi's texture was grainy and I don't mind it so much but it was too spongy - not meaning soft exactly - but not dense enough.

My kids are split on the issue. The 5 year old likes Udi's best and the 2.5 year old Rudi's. What about the husband? Well, I buy him fresh bread every Thursday from the baker.

I still prefer my own. When I was making sourdough this summer I made bread that was wonderful. But I don't have time right now to coddle a gluten free starter, allow bread to rise for 4+ hours and have it possibly fail due to my "grandma-style" (love this phrase) dry to wet ratios.

http://www.rudisglutenfree.com/spread-the-bread-coupon/

A few words on diet

2011-01-08T12:20:00.000-08:00

So Happy New Year all. I thought I'd start out by talking about that four letter word that sends everybody into a frenzy - diet.
What is diet? Is it a noun - A diet is food habitually eaten, or is it a verb I've dieted for years and my weight is like a yo-yo, or even an adjective - I'd like a diet soft drink (blech)?
How come it is okay to talk about animals and their diet but not okay to speak of humans in the same manner? How come it is okay to say - flamingos have a diet of crustaceans with a carotenoid pigment that colors their feathers? And not - I have a diet of proteins, fats, veggies, fruit and whole grains? (or in some cases they have a diet of corn, corn, and more corn).
Why do we cringe when we say diet? Because, typically diets means deprivation, starvation and misery. But not for this lady. I commonly speak of my diet in conversation. I also talk freely using the word diet to simply explain how one eats. My family - husband, kids, myself; is not starving, nor overweight, we're healthy, our clothes are normal sizes, we can run, climb, jump and generally feel great. In fact - now that I think about it - we rarely get sick.
I read something disturbing in last month's Organic Gardening Magazine - which I already knew but they put it so well - obesity is a sign of hunger. Wow - how much sense does that make to laymen? If you know anything about nutrition, you will know it is completely true.
For example - a girlfriend of mine said something this week that just made me want to write - she said she skipped lunch and was so hungry (around 2:00PM). She said, "And that's a really bad thing." This girlfriend has some weight issues that she struggles with due to her life/work balance and schedule which causes her to skip meals, crave fats and sugars rather than something healthy like nutrient rich proteins, veggies, fruits and whole grains, because she's starving. After she indulges in satiating her immediate craving in an overindulgent way, her body use up what she eats for immediate brain and life support energy (which she does not spend exercising), and stores the rest because her body knows she's going to starve it again and again.
This is why many children in this country are obese and hungry at the same time - not because they are eating too many healthy nutritious foods. Because, believe me, if you food is nutritious, and you even only eat one large meal a day and possibly snack on fruit and veggies the rest of the day - you will not be starving. In fact, if you do not have underlying medical issues or psychological issues which make food turn against you and you are not already extremely overweight, you most-likely will not become obese from eating nutritious food.
One of the first mistakes of people who assume they eat nutritious food is label reading. If you are reading a label, 8 times out of 10 the food has been manufactured - first and foremost in the "no-no" list if you want a healthy diet - there are exceptions - but not many. Ah, convenience - something processed, packaged and made up to look desirable - don't we all love it? But, a-hem, excuse me, this is mother nature speaking - didn't I do that for you already with my apples, bananas, pears, carrots, celery, peas, tomatoes and so on?
Do I have processed stuff in my house? You betcha. Gluten free flours, cheese, ice cream, gluten free baked goods, corn chips, rice crackers, condiments, and some cereals (these are actually from guests and from times when I had the little angels with me - mommy I want 'dat', yet the sit for months). What do you have?
Many people who consider themselves nutrition experts say to avoid corn, soy, dairy, wheat, and sugar. Okay so what else is there to eat? Well there's plenty - but I think this is a very tough statement if you are eating non-manufactured foods. The issue is that the above ingredients are in almost every processed food on the shelf. So if you eat even more of it, on your sandwich, in your pasta bowl, with your steak (or in your steak for that matter if you eat grain fed meats), you're not balancing your diet and the processed forms have no or low nutrients. There's that word again - diet.
So this is a great segue into the second half of this entry. My New Year's Resolution is to get even more veggies into my family's diet. While doing that I really need to cleanse. The holidays have left a heavy feeling in me - something I think may be due to many factors - but definitely overindulgence on things with lower nutritional value.
So, starting Sunday (because I need to go to Farmers Market) we are changing our diet. We already eat on the healthy side but now our diet is going to be organized differently.
Typically we're 30% whole grains, 30% veggies/fruit, 40% proteins and fats - because so often these are together for example dairy, animal protein and nuts all have high protein with fat content.
I'm changing us to 35% veggies, 15% fruit, 10% beans, 20% whole grains and 20% proteins and fats (non bean). So we're still getting 40% proteins but I've shifted to beans and away from grains and fruit. Grains are good, but with gluten intolerance running rampant around here I'm going to see if this helps.
What will the typical day look like from a meal perspective?
Breakfast
Quinoa cereal with squash puree and sunflower seeds (grain, veggie, protein/fats)
Snack - piece of fruit and handful of seeds or nuts (fruit, protein/fats)
Lunch
Bean and vegetable soup with salad of pressed pickles (beans, veggies, veggies)
Snack - piece of fruit and raw cheese (fruit, protein/fats)
Dinner
Poached fish (or a 4oz serve of grass fed meat), wild rice, vegetables with broccoli and apple-plum vinegar dressing (protein, grain, veggies)
Dessert
Ice cream or yogurt with fruit (fruit, protein/fats)
Oh yeah - you bet we snack...healthy snacks keep you from starving. Grabbing food the way mother nature intended is the best!
We drink fresh juices, teas with honey and water.
Luckily my younger son's school serves whole foods and i make lunch for my older son so this shouldn't be that difficult. My oldest likes anything you can dip so veggie/bean purees with whole grain pita works. A bit of fruit and he's got a solid lunch.
Recipes and more on how it is going this week. Until then, enjoy your diet! Don't dread it.

Gluten free flours and mixes - a Bob's Red Mill Review (and who's doing it better).

2010-12-04T15:53:00.000-08:00

Bob’s Red Mill Product Review

(image above is from their website)

Ever looked at the gluten free section in your store or online and wonder - wow - I wonder how Bob's Red Mill Products are?

Perhaps you tried them and like them....

I have, so...I'm going to just review my Bob's Red Mill attempts in this single post. As a gluten free baker I try to turn to pre-milled flours sometimes to alleviate much prep work needed to soak, grind and store the grains.
Can I "soak/sprout" away gluten?

I also want to say something to the people who try to tout soaked/sprouted wheat as "gluten free" or "gluten reduced". When you have severe issues with gluten (Celiac Disease) and/or a direct allergy to wheat, rye, barley; no amount of "pre-digesting" the grain is going to help you. You may even need to stay away from supposedly gluten free oats. Bummer.

And some of us may never be able to eat gluten safely again. No matter what steps we take to heal our gut - it just isn't going to happen. So we are in constant search for those products that allow us to enjoy the foods we recall tasting so good.

From their site: "Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods produces more than 400 products, including a full line of certified gluten free products and an extensive line of certified organicproducts. With a wide variety of whole grain products, from flours and hot cereals to baking mixes and grains, Bob’s Red Mill has “whole grain foods for every meal of the day.”"

The Review in short:

Naturally, I have not used all of their 400 products, but I have used a significant amount; regretfully many without success. I've tried most of their recipes from the back of the bag as well and 90% of them tasted weird, have too much liquid, leavening, etc - many times I should have trusted myself to adjust the recipe when it seemed off.

I've had better luck with flours from King Arthur, Authentic Foods (a favorite), Pamela's (however their baking mix has dairy and leavening in it and I've stopped using it), and Gluten Free Pantry.

I've tried many other brands I was lukewarm about; Arrowhead Mills (I find many of their flours too coarse), Betty Crocker (where's their grain coming from? Are they actually gluten free pantry like everybody says?), etc , and I've also bought prepared goods from Glutino, Udi's (lovin' their blueberry muffins), Rudi's, French Meadow, etc. I'm not a Gluten Free novice and I've left some brands off the list like Chebe and the other one in the brown bags that escapes me right now - they pale in comparison.

I'm really not interested in hearing about any new mixes - unless of course it will knock my socks off and be dairy free and organic....

I've reviewed a couple on their website so those reviews are included here with photos. I should probably review ALL of their products on the website but that takes so much time.

So onto what I've used (please assume all products are GF):

Almond Flour
Best product that I've tried from Bob's so far. i like to use it to make cakes, muffins and other baked goods. Keeps it moist and adds protein. Almond flour is highly perishable and should be kept in the freezer as they suggest.

Sweet Rice Flour
works for thickening BAD POUND CAKE
We use this product in our gluten free baking and in sauces, however the Pound Cake Recipe on the back is horrendous. The recipe has to be off. A FIRE started in my oven.

Sorghum Flour
I love this flour - it is very versatile, sort of heavy, though so use it sparingly. I use it in my from scratch maple brownies and it is divine. I have made the scones - I prefer my own. I'll be making scones soon, posting and linking to the recipe - meanwhile - try Pamela's recipe on her baking mix if you eat dairy.

Brown Rice Flour
A staple in my kitchen - our brown rice flour is the base of my gluten free flour mix. Can't live without it.

Potato Flour
Another staple in our kitchen, used as part of the gluten free mix and as a thickener.

Garfava Flour
Another all purpose flour I use in 1/3 amount in my flour mix - it can make things taste "beanie". Babycakes features their blondie recipe on the back - I think they are pretty good - but can get beanie as I mentioned before.

Xanthan Gum
THE STAPLE FOR THICKENING AND BINDING. Very slippery - very messy - don't underestimate the power of this stuff - usually 1/4 tsp is enough. Yeah yeah - I know you can use flax seeds, chia, and some other things (kuzu - what I use in my brownies and arrowroot). YEAH I know it is a refined corn product. Honestly, I've not found anything else that works like it.

Corn flour
Another staple - just fine - keeps well in vacuum container.

Polenta/Grits
Wonderful Polenta - just what you expect. I like to soak mine in whey for 24 hours before cooking.

Old Fashioned oats
Another staple at our house. Great with soaked/baked oatmeal. This is a link to my favorite recipe: http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2009/03/healthy-breakfast-recipe-from-sue-baked-soaked-oatmeal.html

Cornbread Mix
This was actually pretty good. Quite heavy from the general recipe so I experiment with lightening it up. It stands up well to experimentation, additions like jalapeños and Tillamook cheddar....

Millet
We eat a lot of millet in the morning and I use it like couscous as a side. This is pretty good. I actually like it better than Gold Mine - I find that the small Gold Mine grains have little stones.

Millet Flour
This makes morning sweets even sweeter. It is a very nutritious and dense flour - very yummy.

Quinoa Flour
We use this, but sparingly, it can taste a little bitter and impart a flavor you might not enjoy into baked goods.

Quinoa
This is exchanged with millet or added to millet as a side dish. It must be rinsed. It "sprouts" quickly. Very nutritious - tastes better as a grain than a flour. However - I like to add Quinoa flakes [Ancient Harvest] to my baked goods sometimes - banana bread is really nice with it (1/2 cup).

Pizza Crust
One of the better pizza crusts in a bag. If you can get it really thin it is good. Tip: Bake the crust first on a pan with parchment - then put on your toppings and put it back in...Don't use a stone with gluten free crust - it will be too hard.

Whole Grain Bread Mix
I personally like this bread, it is better than the "wonderful" bread mix; it is a little grainy so the kids and husband don't like it.

Brown Rice Farina
Very successful morning cereal for the children with cultured butter and maple syrup or preserves.

Biscuit and Baking Mix
It really is too bad this stuff only works for pastry for me (prefer Gluten Free Pantry for pastry crust though) - but that is a big positive since I do make tarts often. The biscuits are terrible - prefer these from scratch as well (123 Gluten free has THE BEST Gluten Free Southern Style biscuits EVER:

http://www.shop.123glutenfree.com/product.sc;jsessionid=ADD66B0A3176359DD0F00E815EEA8C51.qscstrfrnt03?productId=11&categoryId=1

Wonderful Bread Mix
A staple here...although after eating Udi's for a while I can taste the heavy bean flour in this bread and it is too much. I was making sourdough from scratch this summer and it was great but a lot of work - I'll keep working and post a recipe when I think I've perfected it. Everybody's is different though due to your humidity and environment.

All Purpose Baking Flour
King Arthur beats the pants off this mix. Don't even bother with it. Too grainy, heavy and beanie tasting for us.

Steel Cut Oats
The kids and husband don't like these so we don't eat them anymore - too chewy.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
These cookies never taste right. They taste too beanie or soapy or something - must have too much leavening agent. They are sometimes grainy!

Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal
We tried this a couple of times - kids don't like it - they'd rather soaked oatmeal or millet.

Brownie Mix
Another general bummer. Pamela's brownies are by far the best mix I've sampled so far. But I have a brownie recipe that will delight and amaze (will blog it soon after I make them next and will update and link).

Chocolate/Vanilla Cake Mixes
Nothing to write home about, cooks evenly, a little bland on the chocolate. Pamela's tastes better and Betty Crocker is just as good and cheaper).

Buckwheat Groats/Kasha
Tried a few times to serve this as a side or a cereal to my family - they hate it. I'm not partial to it either way - it sits in the freezer.

Pancake Mix
I don't know what it is but every time I make this the pancakes taste like FISH. YEAH - that's right - FISH. They are repulsive. I check the dates, try them from different locations, etc - but blech.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Mix
TERRIBLE. Don't even bother.

Please leave your comments below.

The gluten free banana/squash muffins

2010-08-23T12:56:00.000-07:00

I love these muffins - very easy. I use raw and organic ingredients. The honey is raw and unfiltered, milk raw goat, butter is organic and cultured, flours are organic, the eggs are from our chickens, butternut squash from our garden, and organic bananas.
You need to make some butternut squash puree before you start (you can also use kombocha) - so trim up a squash, cut into 1/2 inch cubes and steam until tender - puree or mash. Soften your butter - leave it out on the counter with the eggs the night before you make them.

your ingredients:
2 cups gluten free flour blend (1/2 sorghum, 1/2 brown rice, 1/2 tapioca, 1/2 quinoa is what I use - but - quinoa flour is an acquired taste and you can substitute more brown rice flour)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum (optional - leaving it out makes crumblier muffins - they were just fine when I left it out this morning)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter softened
1/3 cup honey
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
3 bananas
1/2 cup pureed/mash butternut or kombocha squash
your method:
1. preheat oven to 350 - line 12 muffin tin or 24 mini-muffin tin with liners - alternatively spray with non-stick spray.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. cream honey and butter
4. add eggs
5. add vanilla
6. add bananas and squash
7. add 1/4 cup milk
8. slowly add flour
9. mix until combined
10. put in prepared pan - I fill mine and they work fine.
bake for 25 minutes check with toothpick - should come out clean.
let cool completely - especially if you use quinoa flour.
Enjoy.

The Environmental Fair

2010-06-08T12:34:00.001-07:00

This weekend I was the host for the Seabreeze Organic Farm CSA (http://www.seabreezed.com/) table at the Encinitas Environmental Fair.
Our day could have been so much better for a few reasons:

Somebody else set this entire thing up - luckily I read the Vendor sign up so I could request a tablecloth from the owners. The Vendor sign up also said we had a tent - more on that later!
At the farm there was a bag of veggies, postcards and some business cards with NO NAME.
There was half a bag of fruit - but it wasn't marked so we weren't sure I should take it.
When I got to the fair - somebody forgot to reserve a tent - there I was, with fresh produce and flowers to display and no tent - with the unpredictable sun - that was really a problem. So the owners had to bring me a tent AND the fruit (I really hated having to interrupt their Sunday).
I could have sold about 30 CSA subscriptions had there been a sign-up sheet, price list and shareholder agreements.
We could have also used a SIGN that said who we were...for about $30.00 they could have a sign made and we'd look much more professional.

So before the tent and the fruit came - this was our table (I brought the apple for my snack - but needed it to hold down the postcards - then people kept touching it - so there was no eating that):

The fair looked awesome, I met some great people, but a great many concerns came into view.

1. People do not understand the true costs of their produce.

Ponder if you will the differences between conventionally grown food vs. organic/chemical free food - yes i said chemical free - this means not even the allowable organic chemicals. Learn more here - http://www.ifoam.org/growing_organic/1_arguments_for_oa/criticisms_misconceptions/misconceptions_no16.html
2. People still believe everything that is told to them, and I mean this from the left - the crazy radical talk - like all tomatoes are gassed to turn red, all chicken farmers cut beaks, there's no such thing as real free range. Or my favorite - all corn is GMO...and my other favorites from the right - what's more sustainable about organic? Isn't it wasteful?
My advice here:

DO NOT buy fresh tomatoes out of season - grow your own - indoor, on your patio, in a topsy turvy - who cares - honestly skip "fresh" tomatoes if you aren't able to grow them at home - and it isn't tomato season.

I love Rainbow Ranch Farms for many reasons - they treat their chickens very well. No clipped beaks and totally free range. Don't buy chickens from the store unless you know of the practices that the farm and the slaughterhouse use - yeah I used that word. Think about it. http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M9885
Yes, GMO corn is everywhere – but there is GMO free corn. In order to cross corn you have to do it somewhat manually or have your field right next or near a GMO field. Corn that is GMO-free and organic is sold by people who mark it clearly. We grow ours in the back yard. Just enough for our use – and YES – corn has a season too…we've had no issues with pests and our corn – so why in the world would you need to modify it? Only because you are growing it unnaturally and therefore the pests are coming to tell you – don't do it this way. We grow ours in the "three sisters" method – beans, squash, corn. Beans fix nitrogen, squash shades the ground and keeps weeds out. You can get three harvests from one plot. Unfortunately, when commercially growing corn you need to use machines to harvest (or do you?) so you'd hurt your other crops…maybe we should think about other ways to harvest?
There's no way that organic farming is wasteful – quite the opposite. Heard some nasty allegations that cover cropping was a waste of a season or something – well not really – you can use it as green manure, livestock feed, etc – then once the livestock is done grazing, you turn it all in and start over…what a way to go…the earth is not stripped, you don't have to put any chemical fertilizers on or anything.

3. People think CSAs are inconvenient, pricey and not local (what?).

I do know that Seabreeze is very economical - and they deliver! If you are trying to shop farmer's markets and other chain stores - especially Whole Foods and Jimbos (local to us). A month of deliveries every week delivery is 250 for a large bag with fruit – you can do every other week as well or a small "gift bag" for $75. That's $65 a week for varied local fruits and veggies with a bouquet of flowers – nice!

4. So many people are incredibly uninformed - but walk around so very proud that they shop at farmer's markets - guess what folks - not all farmers at the farmer's market are organic!
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-16072-Portland-Sustainable-Foods-Examiner~y2009m7d12-Not-all-organic-at-the-farmers-market

What I totally forgot to mention to people was something awesome that Seabreeze offers: the grow food kit
http://www.seabreezed.com/index.php/component/content/article/25-general/72-grow-food-kit
The complete GrowFoodKit costs $1295 which includes shipping. Please call 858-481-0209 or email us at info@seabreezed.com for questions or to place your order.
I did encounter some lovely people. Unfortunately my demeanor was tainted by the looming stomach bug. I left early. I suffered when I got home. My poor husband had it that morning (3AM); mine started at 3PM, then the 5 year old at 3AM the next morning....

Allison, Allison, what do you grow? Lots of fruits, herbs and veggies you know.

2010-05-23T21:56:00.000-07:00

This week I am posting photos of my garden. I picked up my beef share this week and now my freezer is very full. I never really had anything but flours in there anyways - but now I can't get anything else in there.

This week I'm also harvesting some artichokes, shallots, carrots, peaches, rhubarb, fava beans and garlic. Our CSA, Seabreeze is still filling in the gaps of the garden. I've planted some lettuces however, I've been so busy working that I have skipped a few days of watering so they've not germinated :(.

After I make the cobbler, preserves, crisp, pot roast, artichoke dip, and fava bean fettuccine I will post photos and recipes.

I wanted to share how I started my garden and how long it took to get it really producing.
Our plan:
Amend soil (fall - when the first few rains happen)
Make landscape plans
Agree on what to grow
Research for our soil and climate - plus companion planting and planting for beneficials
Mulch like crazy
Get seeds and starts
Start planting (January - when new year rains start)
Cloche and cover
Check soil and water
Thin sowing
We also planted herbs and lettuces in pots near the house for easy use
Keep up with composting so that we could use it
Books we read:

The Gardener's Table: A Guide to Natural Vegetable Growing and Cooking

http://www.amazon.com/Gardeners-Table-Natural-Vegetable-Growing/dp/0898158761/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274658110&sr=1-1

The Organic Garden (A practical guide to natural gardens, from planning and planting to harvesting and maintenance)

http://www.amazon.com/practical-planning-planting-harvesting-maintenance/dp/1843099640/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274658735&sr=1-1

Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening (Paperback)

http://www.amazon.com/Rodales-Illustrated-Encyclopedia-Organic-Gardening/dp/0756609321/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274657942&sr=1-7

California Top 10 Garden Guide: The 10 Best Roses, 10 Best Trees--the 10 Best of Everything You Need - The Plants Most Likely to Thrive in Your Garden ... Important Tasks in the Garden Each Month

http://www.amazon.com/California-Top-Garden-Guide-Trees/dp/B002B55XO0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274657824&sr=8-1

Gaia's Garden: a guide to home-scale perma-culture http://www.amazon.com/Gaias-Garden-Guide-Home-Scale-Permaculture/dp/1890132527/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274658406&sr=1-3

Toolbox for Sustainable City Living: A do-it-Ourselves Guide

http://www.amazon.com/Toolbox-Sustainable-City-Living-Ourselves/dp/0896087808/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274658466&sr=1-10

The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre!

http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Homestead-Produce-food-quarter/dp/1603421386/ref=pd_sim_b_3

Living with Chickens: Everything You Need to Know to Raise Your Own Backyard Flock

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Chickens-Everything-Raise-Backyard/dp/1592280137/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274658689&sr=1-8

Plus I have had a subscription to Organic Gardening for about 4 years.http://www.organicgardening.com/

How do you really start such a project so that your soil will LAST and be full of slow release sustainable food for your plants? How do you get nitrogen that plants need into the soil without buying heaps of stuff?

Two years ago we bought some Crimson Clover from Peaceful Valley Garden Supply http://www.groworganic.com/. I order most of my seed and starts from there. We had about 6k sq feet in the very back of our lot to create a vegetable garden. The soil in some places was great because the previous owners of our house composted...what genius!

However, most of the area we wanted the garden to be was used as a dumping ground for yard waste and concrete. I must mention we had many mustards growing here. Mustards are really good at improving soil quality, but we wanted to use this space so they had to go. We had to clear this, till the land and plant our green manure - the clover. And we needed to plant the clover around the rain schedule for the fall/winter (Nov). Here in Southern California we don't see a single drop of rain for MONTHS on end - yeah fog here and there but real rain that makes stuff grow - not for 5-6 months straight. But we got the clover seeds out and the rain helped sprout them and up came our field.

It was beautiful and grew very well. After it was about 18 inches high we went out and weed whacked it all. Then my husband tilled it all under. This green then rots in the soil and makes it nice. We had started a compost pile a while before so some of that also went out onto the lot.
I think that thing was tilled at least 3 times, maybe 4. Let me say now - this is hard work, but extremely rewarding.

We weren't quite ready to plant until March, but when we did, many things went in, over the next year and a half we put in an almond tree, another apricot, artichokes, broccoli, corn, carrots, fava beans, haricot verts, olive trees, grapes, squashes, zucchini, leeks, onions, shallots, garlic, potatoes, berries, cherries, herbs, lettuces, tomatillos, flowers for beneficials and cutting. We have apples, nectarines, plums, mangoes, pineapple guava and peach.

We can eat out of our garden, however, our apples and some of the other fruit trees are too young to supply us with what we need right now so we need to supplement - hence the CSA subscription.

Here's a link to more photos of our garden:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=223531&id=585101538&saved#!/album.php?aid=223531&id=585101538

I'll post those recipes as soon as I make them!

Grocery Bag - reworked

2010-05-14T06:44:00.001-07:00

This post was republished to the whole food review at 6:41:35 AM 5/14/2010

Grocery Bag - reworked
I have been busy, so, I'm changing $100 grocery bag. And not the "oh I have so many things to do" busy – the OMG I'm waking up in the middle of the night and working kind of busy. I'm not dilly dallying writing blogs and researching, obviously not, since I haven't posted in a while…I'm working a LOT, and I do like my job to a certain extent, but it is really cramping my style when it comes to taking care of the garden. It will now be 10 recipes I use on a weekly basis – my kids eat them and love them – so may yours. If they don't, please – don't give up – try it 5 times at least….

Here are the things that are also on my radar – i.e. the list of stuff I think about all day long:

The men in my life – aged 2, 5 and 41
How in the heck I'm going to educate my 5 year old next year when he's 6 with absolutely no public school choices and not enough money or time to send him to the private schools I like since A. they are stupid expensive and B. it takes an hour to get there and an hour back.
The state of California spends 94k per prisoner every year and only 7k per student?
Laundry
My very unkempt house
Better do some work!
Why do people believe everything they read or watch on youTube – if somebody says something in an article it isn't a fact folks – it's an opinion. And when they are misconstruing the facts it is a lie.
Why do people follow Sally Fallon Morell like a cult? And at the same time you have die hard RAW foodists who follow David Wolfe in the same way? And how come many of the people who subscribe to the Nourishing Traditions way of life are – well – overweight – although they have convinced themselves they are healthy?
Why don't the people that make "food" products that have no real nutritional value get arrested or sued?
What would happen if soda was as expensive as alcohol?
Why does the California legislature think it is okay to cut from Education meanwhile they have tons of public works new construction going on for libraries when we have the Internet?
How can I make my neighborhood safe for my children? How do I get the gangs out? And to that point – how come so many Californians accept gangs as part of the culture?
What would really happen if we sent the entirety of illegal workers home? I mean – are we all ready to pay our farm workers 12-15 bucks an hour? And are we ready for the shock at the supermarket?
I live in California – why in the world do I need produce from any other country or state at my store? Why can't people accept eating with Seasons is better for us? This includes not making chickens produce eggs artificially (did you know that egg producers use artificial light to keep chickens laying during the winter months?). And to that point – it isn't so hard to do free range chickens, disease, deformities and battles would be lessened, you'd just have to provide many a nesting site and have somebody collect the eggs. Sell the chickens when production goes down.
Do we really need processed foods?
Why aren't their affordable health plans that are more for people who need preventative care?
How can I afford to put another storey on my house – and solar panels for both hot water and power? Do I like this house? How can I convince husband to change it?
Should I start a food not lawns business or should I just start participating in one on the weekends? Wait –not possible…
Why do these dudes get put on the radio to talk about environmental issues? They sound like Spicoli from Fast Times – not credible!
How fast can we transition from petrol to solar?
How fast can California realize they MUST have a public transport option, crack down on cars that are horrendous for the environment, and make it more bike friendly? For all of this sunshine you'd think people would use more human power?
WHAT's FOR DINNER???

I'm glad you asked brain! This week's grocery bag is a dedication to alternate proteins and sizeable portion control – something that we Americans tend to dismiss. We eat a lot. We eat a lot of meat. No, meat isn't all that bad but we take it for granted. In the poorer nations of the world diets consist mostly of grain. But I'm not talking about your Wonderbread here, or your honey wheat off the shelf.
So what "grains" does that leave us with? PLENTY! Rice, quinoa, teff, amaranth, corn, and more plus some other flours made from buckwheat, potato, tapioca, sorghum, "garfava" and even more….
The general idea of this week's menu is to minimize animal protein, but not eliminate it, create some kid friendly meals, and experiment with some grains.
So here are the 10 recipes for this week (I wish I had more photos – but I keep forgetting to take them!):
Breakfasts:
applesauce with raisins, dairy free /egg free rice pudding, soaked baked oatmeal, rhubarb crisp, eggs with soldiers (for the egg eaters)
Mains: rice squares with tahini and adzuki bean, veggie tacos, buckwheat stuffed squash, fish sukiyaki with rice noodle
Dessert: Teff Pudding
Apple Sauce with Raisins
½ cup water
½ cup apple or pear juice
2 large apples – peeled, cored and diced
¼ cup raisins, chopped dried figs, chopped prunes, apricots or other dried fruit
1 tsp cinnamon
1 heaping tablespoon of kuzu (you can use some cornstarch) dissolved in ¼ cup cold water
Directions:
Put apples, raisins, water, juice and cinnamon in a pot on the stove, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
Open lid, stir in the kuzu water mix and stir until slightly thickened. Turn off heat. I let this sit in the pot for about 10 minutes then put in bowls for the kinds and let it sit a little longer until it has cooled a bit.

Rice Pudding
1 cup ricemilk
1/2 cup apple juice
2 cups leftover brown rice
3 Tblsp raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
Directions
Combine all ingredients except vanilla in a saucepan. Heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking, until thick and creamy. Stir in vanilla and serve warm.

Soaked Baked Oatmeal (start this the night before)
1 egg
1 1/2 cup oats, old fashioned
4 T maple syrup
1/2 cup milk (rice milk works too)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup raisins
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
(you can also add 1 chopped apple and some pecans or walnuts – or top with toasted pumpkin seeds)

Directions
The night before you want to serve this - combine all liquid ingredients. Combine all dry ingredients. Fold together until combined.
Put into a greased (I use coconut oil) 8 inch square baking pan.
Place in the fridge overnight.

In the morning preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Serve warm.

Rhubarb Crisp
2 pounds rhubarb, sliced crosswise 3/4 inch thick
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup tapioca flour + ½ cup superfine rice flour + pinch of salt + ½ tsp baking powder - blended
(or ¾ cup of a gluten free flour mix)
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, combine the rhubarb, maple syrup, and 1/4 cup flour blend; set aside for at least 20 minutes.
Cut the butter, ½ remaining flour blend, brown sugar, oats and cinnamon together until pea sized. Sprinkle over rhubarb.
Bake until rhubarb is tender and topping is golden, 35 to 45 minutes.

Eggs with Soldiers
4 extra large, free-range eggs (you can bake these in greased ramekins with a touch of cream, or even add some chopped spinach with the cream – just make sure the egg is still soft.)
4 pieces of gluten free bread
Directions:
Place the eggs in a small saucepan. Add just enough cold water to cover them.
Place the saucepan on a high heat and bring the boil. Once the water is at a rolling boil, time the eggs for desired doneness -- 1 minute 20 seconds for a runny yolk or 3 minutes for a firmer yolk.
Meanwhile toast the bread. Cut the toast into strips. You can crack the soft boiled egg into a little bowl or if you have egg dishes you can set them in, tap with a knife around the top and lift off!

Rice Squares with tahini and adzuki bean

Ingredients
8 toasted nori sheets
2 cups leftover rice
1 T umboshi plum paste or 2 umboshi plums, pitted and mashed (I LOVE umboshi – you might not – try a little at a time – 1tsp may be enough)
2 T tahini
½ cup cooked adzuki beans (I use canned – Eden has no BPA cans)
Cup of cool water
(you can also add thinly sliced scallion or shiso leaf to this)
Directions
Mix the rice, plum, tahini and adzuki beans together
Cut the nori into 4 squares
Place 4 tablespoons of rice mix into center of one square
Flatten it a bit and fold over the sides, then cover the exposed rice with another piece
Use the water to seal up the nori by dipping your fingers in the water and dabbing the nori
They should be little round nori circles

Veggie tacos – My kids like burgers and fries, of course our version has no bun, but we find ourselves at Islands here in CA every once in a while. I get the veggie tacos every time.
you can make your own corn tortillas or buy them – if you make your own – buy masa harina (I like the blanco) – add enough cold water to make pliable dough. Use tortilla press, rolling pin or your hands to make little round tortillas, cook 'em up on the stove or on the grill (if you do it on the grill, oil the grill a bit and make sure the tortillas will stick together – they need to be thin but sturdy.
Veggies for cooking:
2 T olive oil
½ t cumin
¼ cup veggie stock
Finely chopped onion
1 large garlic clove minced
1 diced zucchini
1 diced yellow squash
1 ear fresh corn
1 can black beans – rinsed
Cooking the veggies: put the oil, onion and garlic in a skillet or wok, sauté until fragrant, add the other veggies and sauté until just browning, add beans, stock and cumin and heat until the liquid is almost absorbed
Put in a dish with a spoon.
Veggies for dressing – put these on the table in little dishes:
Tomato – diced
Avocado – sliced thinly
Raddish – sliced super thin
Cabbage – sliced thinly
Cheese – grated RAW cheddar
Lime –cut into 4s
You can use come sour cream, salsa, spicy pickles or whatever else you like to dress your tacos with.
Place warm tortillas in a warmer or wrap in a towel like I do and serve.

Islands Veggie Tacos

Buckwheat stuffed squash
4-6 large yellow squash or zucchini

Olive oil

Salt & pepper
1 ½ cups toasted buckwheat groats – if you need to toast them swirl them around on a pan for 5 minutes – don't burn them.
3 cups vegetable broth or stock
1 T olive oil
1 medium onion – diced fine
1 celery stalk – diced fine
Finely chopped chard or kale
Finely chopped mushroom (button, crimini or shiitake)
4 T Herbs from your garden (parsley, oregano, thyme, rosemary)
Preheat oven to 350. Cut the squash in half, scoop out the insides to make boats, toss in olive oil, make sure the oil goes everywhere. Sprinkle with S&P, roast in the oven until top of squash is slightly brown – 20 minutes (no mushy squash please)
When the squash is cooking make the buckwheat:
Bring to a boil, and then reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat but keep covered.
While the buckwheat is resting cook the onion and celery until just cooked (I like mine to still have crunch) add the mushroom then the green (kale or chard) and the herbs – toss together until the greens wilt.
Toss in the buckwheat.
Everything should be ready now. Take the squash out, fill the boats with the buckwheat mixture, put back in the oven for about 15 minutes – let the buckwheat get a brown on top. When done carefully lift off pan and serve. You can use rice or quinoa for this too

Fish sukiyaki with rice noodle – serves 4

I love sukiyaki – I used to eat it all of the time in Australia – funny I don't think I actually had it in Japan. You can make it all in one pot and serve but if you have a tabletop gas stove it is fun to do it on the table –or with the butane stove you can tote this stuff out for a picnic and amaze your friends with a cooked meal right there!
I like to use these really huge cooking chop sticks to put everything in – then your diners pull out what they want – or if serving children you must serve them. If you are chop stick averse – use regular utensils. This is kinda soupy so serve in a shallow dish or bowl.
I like to have some rice handy – so make up about ½ - 1 cup of rice per guest. Before hand.
If you are doing this the traditional way you'll arrange all of the raw ingredients on a plate in beautiful fashion, and as the host, you'll cook it all up in a specific order. If you are doing it for your family – just cook it yourself all at once
First – make your broth and sauces:
You'll need a fish stock – you can buy this or you can make it with bones and fish heads, celery, carrot, onion – I suggest the latter. You need 4 cups of this.
Then the fish:
4 shrimp
4 scallops
4 slices or rings of calamari
4 pieces of lobster
1 piece of firm fish cut into 4 (I like a 1lb piece for 4 people)
Veggies:
½ cup Daikon, ½ slices (can be added to broth at the beginning)
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup red bell peppers, 1" square pieces
½ cup Carrot, thin slices
1 cup Napa or Chinese Cabbage, ½ inch slices
½ cup Coriander Leaves
½ cup Green Onions, 2" pieces
4 Baby corn
1 cup Broccoli flowerettes
1 cup - Enoki mushrooms or shiitakes
(you can also use 4 chunks of Tofu if you eat soy)
Noodles:
2-3 ounces Rice Vermicelli Noodle
Get some of these sauces for dipping (you can make your own too – but aren't you tired of that already?)
Taisuki
Sweet Chili
Green Seafood sauce
Sukiyaki Sauce (you can make this with tamari if you can't find gluten free)
Put them in little dishes in front of your guests of family – my kids love "dip dip"
Put it all together:
Put enough sauce to cover the bottom of the pan – sauté the onion, cook the veggies, then the seafood, let the guests serve themselves or place in bowls and serve.

Teff Pudding
Ingredients:
1C water
1C apple or pear juice
1/2 C teff grain
3 T raw cocoa powder
2 t vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Directions
In a small pot, bring water, juice and teff grain to a boil, then cover and simmer over very low heat for 15-20 minutes or until water is absorbed, stirring occasionally. Let cool to room temperature.
In a blender or food processor, blend cooked teff and cocoa powder and vanilla extract. Add additional water if it's too thick. You can pour into a mould or little individual dishes and chill – it is very hearty.

I've already posted the Quinoa Cakes recipe on my last entry – you should try them – they are fantastic!
http://thewholefoodreview.blogspot.com/2010/04/seabreeze-organic-farm.html#links

Seabreeze Organic Farm

2010-04-30T20:16:00.000-07:00

We took the 5 year old's class, teachers and some parents to the organic farm where we get our CSA bag from. It was a brilliant day - there will soon be photos.
We toured the farm, then had a brilliant lunch of salad with edible flowers, pizza, sweet potatoes, quinoa cakes, fruit and cake.
For the tour I put together a scavenger hunt booklet:

It featured all of the farm's amazing sights, sounds and smells. They looked for:

Vertical Farm Planters & Drip Irrigation

Strawberries

Purple Beans

Peach Trees

Edible flowers

Chickens and Eggs

Roosters

Ducks

Blaise (Icelandic horse)

Elsa (Nubian Goat)

Greenhouse

Straw bale house

Worm pile

Sprouts

Here's a link to the photos of the farm:

http://www.seabreezed.com/index.php/our-farm/photo-gallery

and a recipe for those Quinoa Cakes (they are gluten free folks!)

2 cups quinoa, 4 cups broth or stock, 1 c either shredded parmesan or other cheese, 2 cups finely chopped vegetables of any kind, 2 cups sauteed greens, 4 to 6 eggs, 2 T olive or coconut oil.

Cook quinoa in boiling broth for 2 min. Reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes until liquid is absorbed. While that is cooking, saute greens until wilted in 2 T of olive or coconut oil. Beat eggs in separate bowl. When quinoa is cooked, place in a large mixing bowl. Add cheese, chopped vegetables, wilted greens, and eggs. Mix thoroughly. Add seasonings to taste. Heat frypan to med/high heat. Place large spoonfuls into the pan and shape into patties. Cook for 5 minutes or until firm enough to flip. Turn and cook 5 minutes or until done. Don't make cakes too large.

Talley uses carrot tops, beet tops, tat soi, bok choi, etc for greens.

you should try to arrange a tour for the CSA you belong to - and if you don't belong to one - find one here:

http://www.localharvest.org

Tacos

2010-04-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

Real Tacos are so yummy. I love this version of tacos at home. We use fish or shrimp very often - sometimes I just use veggies! An sometimes tofu is okay if you are wanting meatless.

Shopping list:

1 garlic bulb

coarse salt

black pepper

Chile powder (mild)

light brown sugar

paprika

cumin

little bit of espresso powder (they sell this in tiny bags in the store - already ground espresso coffee)

1 1/2 lb skirt steak

package of 6 inch corn tortillas (about 3 per person)

1 -2 ripe avocado (depends how much you like avocado)

radish

Fresh cilantro

Sharp cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Small head purple cabbage

1 lime per person

some fresh or jarred salsa - medium - red and green

aluminum foil

Start to finish - this whole recipe takes an hour

Take your steak out of the fridge at least 30 minutes prior to cooking

Steak will take 30 minutes to marinate:

1. Marinate your steak

Mush your garlic:

take two cloves and mush them with the flat side of a good chefs knife. Get rid of the peel.

sprinkle with 2 tablespoons salt and mush again with your knife - mush again and again - then scrape off into a bowl.

Put this in the bowl with garlic:

2 tablespoons mild chile powder

2 tablespoons light-brown sugar

2 teaspoons smoked or sweet paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder or very finely ground coffee beans

Rub mixture all over skirt steak, and place in a large freezer bag to marinate for 30 minutes. seal the bag tight and beat it on the counter a few times. Leave out on the counter - do not place in the fridge. if you are not cooking straight away you can put in the fridge - however - you will need to take it out 25 minutes prior to cooking to bring to room temperature to get a true medium rare when cooking.

2. Chop up those veggies! (set your oven on 350)

thinly slice radishes (about 1 cup)

thinly slice cabbage (about 1 cup)

cut up the avocado - if you don't know how to do this go here: http://www.avocado.org/how-to-choose-and-use/

chop about 1/2 cup Fresh cilantro

grate about 1 cup Sharp cheddar cheese

put about 1/2 cup Sour cream in a little bowl

wash and quarter your limes

some fresh or jarred salsa - medium - red and green

place all of these back in the fridge until you are ready to serve

3. Put those tortillas in the oven (should be 350 by now)

Wrap tortillas aluminum foil; while grilling steak, bake tortillas until warmed through, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Cook your steak

Get out a plate large enough to hold your steak

Get some foil large enough to cover your steak

set aside

Heat your grill (high) or a large pan (high) - large enough to put the whole steak (I use my griddle)

put a little olive oil on pan - grill should be okay if it is clean

Take out your steak and cook 3 minutes each side

Put on plate

cover with foil for 5 minutes

4. Set it up

Take out the veggies, cheese and salsa - put on table

Take out the tortillas - put on table (with something underneath to take the heat)

Slice the steak VERY thinly on a cutting board

Transfer to a plate - put on table (with something underneath to take the heat)

Everybody should only need the tortillas to eat but I use forks because we spill quite a bit out!

Yum.

$100.00 grocery bag 04/15/2010

2010-04-15T17:54:00.001-07:00

Greetings. Just got more results for the boys and a different rotation diet suggestion – some conflicts – like green pepper – 5 year old never eats these so I was shocked at the reaction but then the other test had no reaction for him but a reaction for the two year old. So anyways (eye-roll). I'll do my very best to give my kids a healthy vitamin rich diet that has about as many variations as possible.

This new menu could last you two weeks – it does for us, considering we eat leftovers for lunch and snacks. I'm not going to include prices – I'm including recipes instead – since the people I know who are using this don't live near me.

So here's the weekly menu – you can substitute the seafood for chicken and tofu for meats if you are vegetarian – or if you eat eggs – use eggs as your main on pasta or poached on a salad. We are avoiding plain eggs for three months and eating eggs in things like bread only once a week.

Meal	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Breakfast	goat yogurt with fruit (strawberry, apple)	orange upside down cake	brown rice pudding with honey	oatcakes, Fruit with sun butter	cranberry scones	buckwheat crepes with pecan maple syrup and banana	blueberry muffins
Lunch	chopped ham and turkey, avocado, gluten free pretzels	BLT salad	pear, spinach salad with cranberries and light vinaigrette	bean salad	walnut butter, shredded apple and strawberry sandwiches	lentil soup	leftovers
Dinner	Garlic shrimp pasta - olives	Nicoise salad	Pizza - mushroom, garlic, squash, onion	lamb burgers with cucumber relish and potato salad	nabe veggies, brown rice	pork kebabs, spinach salad	Steaks, sautéed mushrooms and onion with mashed pumpkin
Snacks/ Dessert	sweet potato pie						lemon apricot kanten

You can buy or make your own yogurt – if you want some raw goat milk find it here:

http://www.localharvest.org/blog/23181/

A good non-mix bread recipe for French bread which would be great for this week:

1 cup brown rice flour
⅓ cup each soy, quinoa and chickpea (garbanzo bean) flours
¾ cup each tapioca and potato starch flours
⅔ cup dry milk powder
3½ tsps xanthan gum
1½ tsps sugar
2 packages dry yeast
1 tsp vinegar
4 egg whites or 3 Egg Beaters
1 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix all ingredients together.

3. Put into a bread pan or French bread mold and bake 50 minutes

Orange upside-down cake:

1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter (or 1 T. non-hydrogenated shortening)
1/2 cup Water 
1 cup Light Brown Sugar 
1 T. vanilla 
2 tablespoons brandy
1 lb seedless orange pieces pith removed
6-8 pecan halves (if desired)
1/2 cup butter (or non-hydrogenated shortening)
1 cup granulated sugar 
1 1/2 cups Gluten free cake mix (no sugar – if there is sugar in your mix – do NOT use the 1 cup sugar!!!)
2 Large Eggs (or equivalent egg replacer)
1 1/2 Teaspoons vanilla 
3/4 cup milk (or rice milk)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Generously grease sides of 8″ cake pan with butter (or shortening).

In medium size glass bowl, melt 1 T. butter in microwave. Pour into bottom of 8" cake pan. In glass bowl, combine water, light brown sugar, vanilla, and brandy. Stir until combined and set aside.

Place oranges in bottom of cake pan on top of butter. Place a pecan half in open spaces. Pour brown sugar mixture over oranges and set aside.

In mixer with paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and continue whipping until mixture is well combined and a pale yellow color. At low speed, slowly add the baking mix. Next, slowly pour the milk (or rice milk) into the mixing bowl. Continue to mix while adding the vanilla until well blended.

Pour the batter over oranges. Carefully smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Cool cake for at least 10 minutes. Invert onto cake plate or platter and let it cool

Nabe

Make 2 cups of rice to serve with this
Kale, collards, cabbage, leeks, or any other greens
Daikon, carrot, or other root veggies (no beets)
1 strip of kombu
Spring or filtered water

Directions

Get out a clay pot or an enameled cast iron

Slice up your veggies in bite sized pieces

Put 2 inches of water in the pot

Add the kombu

Bring to a boil

Add the sliced veggies starting with the harder veggies first that require the longest cooking time

End with the veggies that take a few seconds to blanche

Always keep 2 inches of water in the pot

Serve ½ cup of rice in each bowl and put the veggies next to it

You can garnish with the broth, a little ginger, a little wheat free tamari or chopped chives or scallions

Brown Rice pudding

Ingredients

3/4 cup uncooked short-grain brown rice
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups milk (milk substitute okay)
½ cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves
1 tablespoon butter

Directions

Combine the rice and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and let simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, or until all of the water has been absorbed.
Stir in 1 3/4 cups of the milk, maple syrup, bring to a boil, and let simmer over medium heat until thick and creamy, about 15 minutes. Stir in the remaining milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and butter. Cook stirring over low heat for another 5 minutes. Pour into a casserole dish, or serving bowls, and let stand for 5 minutes before serving. This can be served cold also.

Lemon apricot kanten - Keith Michell http://www.amazon.com/Keith-Michells-Practically-Macrobiotic-Cookbook/dp/0892818484

4 cups no sugar added apple juice
1 cup seedless raisins
1 cup sliced dried apricots
Juice of 1 lemon and rind grated
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons of agar agar lakes

Head the apple juice and add raisins, apricots, and lemon rind, simmer for ½ hour add salt

Sprinkle in agar flakes and lemon juice, stir, bring to boil. Turn off heat

Pour into individual dishes or a nice mold. Leave 45 minutes in a cool place to set.

Coupons

2010-04-14T17:37:00.001-07:00

I was in the car listening to NPR and some people came on talking about their wonderful coupon site. This woman was touting her website – you pay her to become a member and you may save $100-$300 a month – on WHAT? Seriously? Rice a Roni? Cokes? Doritos? Then the man from the organization that counts who uses coupons said that use was way up. He also said that the Sunday Paper had the best coupons. Hmm – I haven't seen a Sunday Paper in over 10 years. What am I going to do with it?

The first thought that went through my mind was – I don't use coupons. But this may be interesting.

Then callers started in with things like – oh if I don't save 50%off my grocery bill then I'm devastated. Really? What the heck are you buying? Because honestly, I never see coupons for much of the food I buy. For some reason my brain has started shutting down when it comes to processed, packaged, marketed foods. Even the organic supposedly "green" ones.

I must admit – the "coupons" my favorite salon offers to tempt me, but honestly folks, I can't afford to do that right now anyways. I have mentioned them before, in more flush times, and used their coupons for an express facial with a 90 minute massage. Heck, yeah – you know – this is their way of surviving our economic mess. If they aren't around when we come out of a recession will I cry? No. Will I find another salon that made it? Probably. Maybe I'll give it up altogether and use the at home salon techniques my Body and Soul Martha Stewart magazine has taught me – I have plenty of yogurt and honey – supposedly that's a great facial.

For other DIY SPA things go here:

http://www.wholeliving.com/photogallery/DIY-spa

Coupons are different than a "special" – which is what I find myself buying. Every once in a while there's a 2 for 1 deal on the organic sugar I like, or the store is trying to turn over some inventory on something I like to buy as a pantry staple – like organic, corn syrup free ketchup (although I should be making this myself and will this year) and they'll have a deal, but in general, there's no coupons for apples, carrots, or organic meats.

It has come to my attention that this world thinks coupons are a good thing. Maybe they are when it is 50% off a kid's pair of shoes, or 2 for 1 dinner out at a new restaurant you've been wanting to try, or even diapers – but when it comes to food, cleaning products, pet food and all of those other things you can get at the grocery store it is a scam. My dad used to be one of those guys that made sure the end-cap display looked good – about 40 years ago – and he told me – avoid the middle of the store – shop on the outside, that's where the fresh stuff is, the middle has long shelf life = fillers, preservatives, low nutrition. And all of this coming from the guy who worked for Frito Lay?!

Let me allay your pet food come back right now – unless it is a coupon for the brand you use – it is just a marketing scam to get you to try something different. Most dogs actually need to have a vet visit and get a good recommendation for dog food. Dogs are actually quite sensitive and should eat a balanced diet.

In general, coupons are a way of making it seem okay to buy something you do not need.

There are some great "green" coupon sites:

http://www.pristineplanet.com/coupons.asp

http://www.retailmenot.com/coupons/green

http://www.organiccoupons.org/

But do I honestly need any of that stuff – the answer is NO.

And I bet – if you ask yourself – can I give up 1 pre-packaged food a week and replace it with something fresh? Can I treat packaged items as the treats they are? Or even eliminate them completely?

Can I reach for a fruit or veggie instead of a bag of chips? Yes, you can, and so can your kids. Did you know that your kids may turn their noses up a few times, but eventually they'll get hungry enough to eat something healthy? They will not starve to death if you have a stronger will than theirs. Just offer them a banana, carrots with almond butter, apples with tahini and raisins – you'll be surprised.

Farmers Market shopping can solve a bunch of the coupon battles, you'll stay out of the temptation of the grocery store and have local, seasonal produce (and in some cases, eggs, and meat) to choose from.

I'll leave today with a couple of recipes:

Tuna Nicoise

Serves 4

1/2 white onion, thinly sliced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

2 jars (7 ounces each) best-quality tuna packed in olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges, for serving

2 heads Bibb lettuce, pulled in layers of cups

1 1/2 cups nicoise olives, pitted

8 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and thinly sliced

Directions

Put onions, 1/4 cup oil, vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl; season with pepper. Toss to combine. Let stand 10 minutes.

Add tuna and its oil to onion mixture. Add lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt; season with pepper. Gently toss to combine.

Top with olives, eggs, and tuna mixture, dividing evenly. Drizzle each with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Serve on lettuce cups with lemon wedges.

Warm Hummus
Adapted from Develi, Istanbul
Time: 50 minutes

4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Coarse salt
2 15 1/2-ounce cans chickpeas, drained
3 tablespoons tahini
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1/2 teaspoon kirmizi biber or Aleppo pepper (see note)
Flatbread for serving.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. With food processor running, drop garlic, cumin seeds and large pinch salt through feed tube, and process until minced. Add chickpeas, 2 tablespoons hot water, tahini, oil and lemon juice, and process until smooth. Transfer mixture to shallow casserole, preferably earthenware.

2. Heat butter in small skillet. Add pine nuts and kirmizi biber, stirring briefly, and pour over chickpea mixture. Bake for 20 minutes, and serve hummus warm with wedges of flatbread.

Yield: 4 appetizer servings.

Note: Kirmizi biber, which is Turkish red pepper, and Aleppo pepper are sold at Kalustyan's, 123 Lexington Avenue (28th Street), and at Adriana's Caravan in Grand Central Market, Grand Central Terminal. A mixture of equal portions sweet paprika and cayenne pepper rubbed with a few drops of olive oil can be substituted.

Gluten Free Flatbread

This recipe comes via celiac.com from Arvinder Malhotra.

150 ml tepid milk

275g (10 oz.) rice flour

60 grams tapioca flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

2 teaspoons caster sugar

2 teaspoons dried active yeast

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

150 ml plain/natural yogurt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

In a bowl mix tepid milk with 1 teaspoon sugar and the yeast, then sit bowl in warm place for 4-5 minutes.

Sift the flours, Xanthan gum, salt, baking powder into a bowl or food mixer. Add remaining sugar, oil, yogurt, egg and mix until smooth.

Preheat oven to the highest setting. Make dough into 6 equal sized balls. Roll out balls into a tear shape that is ¼ inch thick (use rice flour if necessary to prevent sticking).

Preheat a heavy baking tray in oven. Remove tray and put the naan on it. Return to the oven for 5 mins, or until the naan puffs up and turns light brown. Place tray under the broiler 30 seconds to 1 minute for extra browning.

2010-03-31T10:46:00.000-07:00

This post was republished to the whole food review at 10:35:39 AM 3/31/2010

The $100.00 Grocery Bag

I had this idea, since one of my favorite seasonal recipe magazines is Everyday Food, I’d do a blog for those of us who are Gluten and Casein free and need to budget. Martha's bag is usually about $250.00.

I was looking through my circulars for the local whole food markets (not Whole Foods – but natural markets) and thought – hey – you know what? I can make up a grocery list, menu and recipes for a family of 4. I do it every week, so why not? The other complication or factorial is that most of this stuff will be local, and part of the rotation diet. For those of you who don’t know – the rotation diet provides a list of foods to be rotated throughout the week.

Everybody should have a different rotation diet based on your IgE immune response to foods, IgE antibodies are predominantly involved in the secondary immune response (the main antibody involved in primary response is IgM). The presence of specific IgE generally corresponds to maturation of the antibody response. With each such exposure to the antigen the number of different clones responding to the same antigen increases (polyclonal response), and a greater number of memory cells persist. Thus, a stronger (basically, larger number of antibody molecules) and more specific antibody-production are the hallmarks of secondary antibody response. As opposed to an IgG response which is more of a histamine response – an immediate reaction – the kind of thing that the allergy doctors like to test for and then shot you up with allergy shots, steroids and anti-histamines. (source: Wikipedia)

A few things to note – we don’t eat chicken – as a family we think eating our pets is weird – so that’s typically not on the menu. Obviously, we are not vegetarian, however, you’ll see we do eat vegetarian at least 3 nights a week. I make my own breads due to the GF thing, and we’ll use mixes, from scratch etc. We do eat eggs – and if your children can’t or won’t eat eggs there are other things you can eat. A tiny bit of soy per week isn’t going to kill you. Soy is in many packaged foods. With this list you’ll buy less packaged foods = less soy. So a tofu scramble or using a bit in lasagna isn’t going to alert the big bad tofu police. Make sure your tofu is organic, non-GMO and made in the USA – if you buy it at all.

This list does not contain: household items (toilet paper and the like), personal bath items, kitchen items, vitamins, etc. I'm assuming that you have general things in your pantry like olive oil, salt, pepper, etc.

Remember – this list is organic prices – you don’t have to go that way for all of your items.

The list:		Can I grow this?
Vegetables
Brussel Sprouts 16 oz	1.99	you can grow these yourself in almost any region
Garlic@.50lb	0.50	can grow like a bulb in a pot
onions@1.50each	3.00	can grow in pots
kale@1.69 lb	1.69	easily grown in pots
butternut squash	3.47	can grow on a vine in ground
broccoli	2.49	can grow in container
sage	2.49	easily grown on windowsill
spring mix	1.99	this can even be grown on a windowsill
Carrots	1.49	needs to grow in larger/deeper container
Beans
Garbanzo	1.59
Black	1.59
Fruit
Strawberries@3.00pack	3.00	can grow in pots
Oranges@3.00lb	3.00	patio tree
Bananas	5.00	can grow in most southern states
Kiwi	4.00	can grow on vine - must have male and female
Apples@3.00lb	3.00	patio tree
Pears@.99lb	3.00	patio tree
Avocado4@3.29	3.29	can grow in ground better buy in season at store
Meat & Eggs
scallops 1lb	7.99
Pacific Sea Bass 1ln	5.99
Ground Sirloin 1lb	5.00	CSA would be more economical
Buffalo Roast 2lb	10.00	CSA would be more economical
Eggs 1 doz	3.00	get from farmers market
Spreads
almond butter	7.59	grind up almonds instead = 1.99
Grains
bob's bread mix	4.71	can be ordered by the case
brown rice	1.14	can be ordered by the case
millet	2.00	can be ordered by the case
Masa harina	2.50	can be ordered by the case
Milks
Almond milk	3.00	can make with almonds, water and dates
Whole milk	6.00	for the husband
	105.50
8.25 sales tax	8.42
total	113.92	Okay well – close to $100.00

Meal	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Breakfast	Millet porridge	Eggs in a basket	Fruit smoothie	toast with banana and almond butter	rice pudding	omelets	French toast
Lunch	pear & almond butter on *toast	leftover stir fry or fruit salad	apples and carrots with almond butter	egg salad sandwich or almond butter and jam sandwich	onion soup with garlic toasts	leftover onion soup	rice with sautéed veggies
Dinner	stir fry with broccoli and shrimp	black beans and rice	sautéed scallops, braised Brussel sprouts with garlic	burgers on rice with sautéed carrots and braised kale	sautéed greens with chickpeas	Sea bass with mashed butternut squash with sage and light salad	Buffalo tacos with guacamole
Snacks/Dessert	oranges	fried bananas	kiwi salad with orange almond cream	Strawberries	poached pears	baked apples	strawberry, banana smoothie with almond milk
*Make your bread midday Sunday!

Some Recipes (others are pretty self explanatory):

Bob’s Red Mill GF Bread – uses 3 of your eggs!

Millet Porridge
Soak 1 cup millet overnight with
2 cups of water
zest of 1 orange
Juice of one orange

Cook on medium low covered for 30 minutes in the morning. I like to add a little almond milk and drizzle maple syrup on it!

Stir fry with broccoli and shrimp (you can serve this with rice – just use 2:1 ratio when making rice – if you buy short grain brown – rinse it 3 times before cooking)

Bit of olive oil

2 cloves garlic smashed and chopped

¼ cup water

2 tablespoons Tamari

Pinch teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp (rinsed patted dry)

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 cups small broccoli florets

1 cup vertically sliced onion

Mix together water, tamari, crushed red pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic to pan; stir-fry 30 seconds. Sprinkle shrimp with salt. Add shrimp to pan, and stir-fry 3 minutes or until done. Remove shrimp mixture from the pan. Add a little more oil to pan. Add broccoli and onion to pan; stir-fry 4 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender. Add shrimp mixture and liquid mixture to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. If you want it ticker you can use cornstarch. If you want more flavor – use chicken broth instead of water and add more spices like ginger or 5 spice.

Eggs in a basket

1 egg for each person eating

Same number of bread slices

Pat of butter

Biscuit cutter

Directions

Heat butter in pan on medium – high heat.

Use biscuit cutter to make a hole in the middle of a slice of bread. Keep cut out circle.

Place bread in melted butter. Allow to brown for about 30 seconds. At the same time, place cut out bread in pan.

Next, crack egg in center. Allow to cook until you can’t see the bottom of the pan through the egg anymore.

Flip both the bread and cut out portion. Allow to cook for another minute or so.

Plate and eat. Season with salt & pepper. Yolk should be a little runny when cut in to. Use bread and cut out portion to soak it up.

Good Fruit Salad

Cut up ½ cup fruit per person eating – squeeze a little orange over the top and let it sit for about 15 minutes

Black beans and rice

2tb olive oil

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic cloves, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 tsp ground cumin

1 cup rice

1(14-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups water

½ apple - chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and add the oil. Stir in the onions, garlic, bay leaves and cumin. Stir and cook for 8 minutes.

Stir in the rice, black beans, water, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 40 minutes or until the rice is tender. Serve hot.

Fried Bananas

Bananas

1 ounce of virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons of brown sugar

½ teaspoon of real vanilla extract

Heat the oil in non-stick pan. Sprinkle sugar on bananas. Put in pan. Sprinkle more brown sugar and add vanilla. Cook for 2-3minutes on each side.

Onion Soup with garlic toasts

1TB olive oil

1TSP sesame oil

1 large onion halved, thinly sliced

Pinch salt

1 tsp tamari

4 cups water

Put oils in large pot over medium heat. Add onion. Cook until caramelized (45-60 minutes) – stirring frequently. Add water and tamari – cook for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

While that’s going – brush toast with olive oil and rub with one clove of smashed garlic – grill in a pan until brown and fragrant. Cut on diagonal – serve with soup.

Scallops with braised Brussels and garlic

2 cups brussel sprouts

2 garlic cloves

Drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper

1lb large scallops (if you have puny ones – I recommend you stir-fry them)

Preheat oven to 350F. Smash 2 cloves of garlic and chop. Put in bowl. Brussels – rinse, trim and cut in half. Put in same bowl as garlic. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour contents into 8x8 pan cover with foil. After 15 minutes remove foil and bake 5 more minutes. Take out and toss again. Ready to serve.

After you remove foil from Brussels wash and pat scallops dry. Get out a nice pan or grill plate – add drizzle of olive oil – medium high heat. Salt and pepper your scallops. Add them to the moderate hot pan – cook for 3 minutes each side. They should have a nice sear and come up easily when flipping (not stick). Put the Brussels and scallops in a shallow soup bowl or on a plate. S&P to taste. If you want squeeze some orange or lemon over – soooo good. You could also make a sauce out of the scallop pan with ½ cup wine and a pat of butter – if you have it handy.

Kiwi salad with almond cream

Trim and cut your kiwi into bite sized pieces. Put a TBS of almond butter, juice of 1 orange and 4 TBS almond milk in a blender – blend it up – if too thin add more almond butter – pour over kiwi. Serve n bowls – some mint goes nice with this.

Sautéed greens with chickpeas

Olive oil

1 can chickpeas – drained and rinsed

2 cloves garlic

½ onion sliced thin

2 bunches kale – washed and chopped fine (could use any hearty greens)

S&P

Tamari to taste

Pour about 2 TBS olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion, cook for 2 minutes, and add the garlic. Then add your greens and ¼ cup water. Cook until greens are wilted. Add chickpeas and add more water if you want more sauce. When the chickpeas are heated through (3-5 minutes) add salt and pepper to taste. (If you had some chicken or vegetable stock handy you could use it instead of water – you can also use chopped tomatoes to dress it up if they are in season and fresh.) Put in a shallow soup bowl – serve with some toast.

Sea Bass with mashed butternut and salad

Olive oil

1 lb sea bass rinsed and cut into servings for each diner (kids will eat smaller portions)

1 Butternut squash

2 TBS sage leaves – chopped

1 clove of garlic – smashed and chopped

2 cups of salad mix – rinsed and chopped into bite-sized pieces.

Juice of half an orange

1 tsp mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F. Peel and chop butternut squash into 1 inch pieces. Toss in olive oil and salt and pepper. Pour onto a rimmed baking sheet (I line mine with recyclable parchment). Place in oven – allow to bake for about 20 minutes – when it starts to brown – take it out.

Meanwhile in the last 10 minutes of the butternut cooking – add some olive oil to a large sauté pan over medium heat. Salt and pepper the fish – put in pan – cook for 3-5 minutes each side – you want this slightly underdone – it will continue cooking. Remove and keep warm (you can wrap it in some parchment or foil you will recycle)

Wipe out that pan and put in some more olive oil – put in the sage and garlic – sauté until sage has wilted a little – remove from heat.

Get the butternut out – toss the sage and garlic and butternut into a mixer or get out your masher and go to town – mash it up. Season with S&P and some tamari if you like.

Put the fish and mash on a plate. Make salad dressing – 1TB olive oil, juice ½ orange, 1tsp mustard, little S&P – stir like crazy until it is emulsified (comes together) – toss with salad greens then serve with fish and mash – drizzle any of the leftover dressing on the fish.

Buffalo Tacos (a good Sunday dinner – do the rub Saturday) YOU NEED 4 HOURS TO COOK THE ROAST!

Spices that can make a nice rub for your roast (I use an organic taco seasoning – but it is really just ground chilies, cumin, onion, garlic, oregano, paprika, sea salt and black pepper)

1 - 2lb chuck buffalo roast

1 onion split into 4 (can leave skin on)

2 garlic heads with tops removed (leave it in tact)

Olive oil

1 cup masa harina

½ cup water

1 avocado

½ orange (lime works too)

Salt and Pepper

Rinse and pat your roast dry – season with your rub all over – put in the fridge overnight

Mix the Masa and the water and let soak overnight.

Preheat oven to 325F. In an enameled cast iron pot add 4 TBSP oil. Sear your roast on all sides (about 4 minutes each side). Turn off heat

Add onions and garlic to pot. Put in oven with tight fitting lid. Cook undisturbed for 4 hours.

In the last 30 minutes make tortillas out of your masa – just form little balls with your hands – use a tortilla press covered in plastic wrap or roll/mash out between two pieces of oiled parchment – put on a griddle or in a large pan and cook for about a minute on each side – keep in a towel for warmth. (You can add more water or more masa if it isn’t working)

Take out the roast and let rest for 15 minutes.

In the last 5 minutes chop up the avocado – add a little orange juice and salt and pepper – makes a really easy sauce/guacamole

Shred roast – put on platter – you can squeeze a little orange juice over it – yummy. Bring it, tortillas and avo sauce to the table. Make your tacos. If you have any salad mix left over or other fixings – bring those too – put a little in a tortilla and eat it up – messy but yummy!

the Pure Experience Continues

2010-03-29T17:11:00.000-07:00

You may be asking - why isn't Allison making her own RAW dishes? It is HARD (I have tried it), it takes time, my family doesn't eat RAW - only me - so I'd rather have somebody else make it, instead of making 2 meals. And, quite frankly it is expensive when you are the only one eating it - typically you make enough for 8-10 people at once and have to eat it all week if you are the only one eating RAW. Boring. This way I get to support the movement, have somebody else cook for me, try it, write about it and make my family one thing each morning, midday and dinner.
Well - I jumped in and spent quite a bit to get a month of paid for meals and then 2 more months free. Cynthia wants to open another restaurant due to the volume of her "togo" business.

I received another box yesterday. Unfortunately the "eat these dishes in this order" paper wasn't in the box - so I had to guess. There is also an extraordinary amount of cling wrap used - not sure how to correct this environmentally. I'll be researching suggestions. I love the compost-able and recyclable packaging. if you are going to use packaging then this is a good way to go. I have a nice compost pile so why not?
In this week's box was:

Bean and Cheese Enchiladas - two soft corn tortillas filled with spicy un-fried beans topped with avocado cream queso cheese and chunky red salsa

Thai Coconut Wraps - coconut wrapper with veggies bean sprouts herbs and crunchy spicy sweet cashews and almond chili sauce

Crispy Fish Fillets - veggies and nuts breaded and dehydrated until crispy served with creamy tartar sauce and our garlic mashed potatoes

Little Italy Pizza - herb and almond pizza crust with macadamia cheese with lemon and garlic topped with sundried tomato sauce and veggies

Strawberry Nirvana Soup -coconut milk blended with strawberry and orange for a bowl of heaven

Strawberry cheesecake

Crispy Strawberry Cereal with vanilla almond milk

Cranberry Oranges Scones - our English scones layered with fresh vanilla cranberries and orange with orange cream sauce

Blueberry Banana Oatmeal - our homemade oatmeal layered with strawberries and bananas oats and almonds

Mexican Garden Scramble Breakfast - raw nuts and veggies with cilantro scallions spinach and tomatoes
Super Breakfast Smoothie – Chocolate Mocha

First - for lunch I had the Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

These were really good - had so much filling and queso that I didn't make enchiladas out of them as you can tell. I made tacos...however - still yummy. And really folks - if a cold taco can taste that good - it has to be good right? It was really nice and meaty (but no meat!), dairy free, soy free, rice free cheese? you bet! nice mix of tomato, onion, cilantro - salsa - oh yeah. And the wrapper - held it all together without making a big mess. This was really portable and could be a great picnic food.

I made a non-raw dinner last night...but drank half of the Strawberry Nirvana Soup as my dessert. just so you all know - I don't eat after 7:00PM in the winter and 7:30 in the summer (since the kids stay up later in the summer). As I mentioned before, the Strawberry Nirvana Soup is really nirvana. Smooth, wonderful, just the right consistency and touch of ripe strawberries and cream.

This morning had the Cranberry Oranges Scones. Compared to the Blueberry Scones - these were much better. They still had that wonky taste I can't figure out - but I actually ate them - all of them - enough for two people. And the orange cream sauce? WOW. So yummy. Really. It was fantastic. You could taste the orange and Cranberry - that made them refreshing. I'm going to have to try and make these myself.

Tried to get the husband to drink the Chocolate Mocha Smoothie. He said it was too sweet. WHAT? The dude with the major sweet tooth who tells me all of my desserts aren't sweet enough thought the smoothie was too sweet? Well I tried it. I love it. But I think he's got issue with RAW chocolate. It has this beautiful fruity sweetness, and coupled with other things that make something sweet it might not come across right. I guess i'll have to drink that one too - bummer. ;-)

Now. I don't want to give a poor review, I'd rather give a constructive one, but I really didn't care for the Thai Coconut Wraps. The assembly was next to impossible (and I rarely use the word impossible).Taco shape was about all I could muster, and it eventually ended up in a bowl all chopped up - eaten with a fork. And I couldn't finish them - sauce was too sweet.

There was far more filling than I could handle...it was also loaded with cashews - tons. I'm not a huge sprouts fan either, but I love greens and there were some, but I would have gone heavier on the greens and lighter on the other stuff. The wraps had a very sweet taste as did the sauce. The sauce seemed almost mis-matched. It was like a sweet sauce - not unlike the sauce I was just dipping my scones in this morning. I would really love to try the Summer Wraps - I think those may be more up my alley.

Here's the constructive bit:

I think I would have done a collard wrap with coconut noodles, greens (kale, pea sprouts, cilantro), jalapeño, sesame seeds, a few sunflower sprouts (instead of bean), mango, and coconut/cashew/lime/cilantro sauce. Now, kids, doesn't that sound amazing? Would you be willing to try it Cynthia?

Next - Crispy Fish Fillets - These were good. Better than actual fish fillets - no fishy taste! I couldn't tell the difference between the tartar sauce and the mashed potatoes. Not exactly crispy either - but that's probably because they were in my fridge for a few days. I really did like them.
Then - of course - Little Italy Pizza - the children wanted pizza - so I made them a GF pizza and the husband had leftover spaghetti - but I had the amazing pizza. I described it last time and still love it. This is one of the best things Pure has.
It has taken me 4 days to eat the

Blueberry Banana Oatmeal. I love it, there's so much - 4 cups I think because I eat about a cup a morning. I still have a cup left. This has whole blueberries and chunks of banana. It reminds me of steel cut oats with cream, blueberries and banana - dreamy.
Crispy Strawberry Cereal with vanilla almond milk - this was interesting and got a little more interesting the more I let it sit. Reminded me of that "astronaut" ice cream I used to get from Huntsville AL - you know where Space Camp is? Yeah - like freeze dried strawberry ice cream with little nut chunks - with a yummy thick cream. Wowie - Zowie - really sweet and filling...good dessert.

I didn't really care for the Mexican Garden Scramble Breakfast - but I had a feeling when I smelled it I would be a little apprehensive. I ate it all - of course - but it was too strong on the onions - I'm sure - fresh from the cafe it would be wonderful. It reminded me of mock tuna or mock chicken salad - too many onions and too many nuts - but a RAW foodie's dream I'm sure.

I'll be getting another delivery this Thursday.

Thanks again Cynthia and the folks at Pure Cafe in Tulsa, OK for furnishing beautiful RAW food to this hungry mouth!

Pure Cafe:

3711 south harvard avenue
Tulsa, OK, 74135

a self centered post: Last night's dinner

2010-03-22T12:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday. I am now 36 - feel wonderful about it and am happy to be ageing. My morning was spent re-cleaning the floors that were left waxy due to a mistake on my housekeeper's part of making up the wrong amount of Murphy's floor cleaner. Then we went to the Botanical Garden - where husband played with the children and I went to a lecture on sustainable urban farming - LOVED it.
http://www.sandiegoroots.org/index.html
Thank you husband, thank you husband, thank you husband. And thank you little children for behaving for him.
The night was starting with drama - the sitter - bless her heart - couldn't start her car - so her husband had to come and get her - she took his car to our house. Then husband's car would not start...yet he had it running not 2 hours before. It did finally start and we were 30 minutes late for our reservation.
I bought a new gown for a wedding I'm going to in May and decided to test it out - I love it - not sure what the husband thinks:

For dinner - We went to Tapenade in La Jolla. It was quite good. The atmosphere is simple yet romantic - very French, which is not over the top as some may expect in a romantic restaurant, romantic to me is about closeness, ability to have personal service and carry on a conversation.

We started the night off with a glass of Champagne - which was refreshing - something I needed after a long day. I'm pretty sure it was Veuve Clicquot (that's what I typically drink anyways when drinking Champagne). The nose was like fresh dough - bubbles were small and did not tickle, yet rather danced on your palate - as it should. It was like a crisp apple, dash of lemon and a little bit of fresh picked haricot verts, with a hint of vanilla and the perfect amount of dryness for a gentle finish.
We had the tasting menu - because of course I wanted to eat everything I saw and just couldn't order the whole menu.
They served baguette with tapenade - I ate a bite of the tapenade - it was good...not too olive - not too garlic - just right. Too bad I can't eat bread.
Here's what we had:
The night started with Canapes - they were some sort of seafood ravioli with tomato compote - unfortunately I'm going to slack horribly on reporting this one - since I didn't eat it - I cannot eat ravioli, but the husband gobbled them up and said they were "really good".
Next was a dreamy, creamy, smooth house made pate. I love pate - correction - I love good pate. I'm a bit like Anton Ego (Ratatouille 2007) when it comes to pate - since now I cannot eat bread - if I don't love it - I don't swallow. This was served with a lovely apple-raisin compote, lettuce sprouts (less than a teaspoon - the greenish purple really set off the tans/browns of the pate and accompaniments). A drizzle of red fruity vinaigrette, homemade walnut crisp bread, and a teaspoon of wonderful, smooth warm apple sauce that complimented the pate perfectly. Presentation was immaculate - I didn't think it right to take out the iPhone and start snapping - how gauche.
Wine Pairing: a Sauternes
It went well with the dish - bright, bold, sweet - a little too sweet for my personal taste - however, it was well matched.
The next course was Maine Jonah Crab Salad, and Mango Salad, Lime and Coconut Emulsion. This had a very Thai flavor. The crab was firm in texture yet had a deep soft flavor, the other flavors were not over-powering and the whole dish was rather subtle and refreshing. The mango was a little tasteless under the lime. (Perhaps the wine from the first pairing was playing tricks on my tongue.)
Wine Paring: a - well - here's when it gets funny - I cannot remember for the life of me what this was - see - I'm not quite the drinker I once was and well - I fall down on the job. Needless to say it was white - citrus - and another wine that was a bit too sweet for my palate but paired well.
And we move on - Fish du Jour, Celeriac Mousseline, Butternut Squash, Brussels Sprout, Squash and Ginger Broth - this was Pacific Sea Bass - aka Corvina or California Sea bass. Bravo on the sustainability factor. Unfortunately I think it was a little bit over done. The vegetable accompaniment was spectacular. The baby brussels were absolutely amazing. Cooked to perfection - everything was just on the verge of sweet - which really compliments fish quite well - however - if the fish was left a little tiny bit underdone (therefore preserving the buttery flavor of this white fish) I would have really melted over this one.
Wine paring: I think this one was a Sauvignon Blanc - it was crisp, light citrus, springy and green, clean finish - complimented the sweetness of the vegetables and the broth, perfect match - and not too sweet - Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris are really two of my favorite whites with or without food.
Our next course was a duck - Roasted Duck Breast, and Swiss Chard Cannelloni, Shitake Mushrooms, Valencia Orange Sauce. Canard - j'ai t'aime. It was cooked to perfection (rare yet a little bit of crisp texture on the outside), the orange sauce was not overpowering but complimented well and it was just as expected. The one piece that did overly excite me was the Swiss Chard Cannelloni - now - I'm NOT supposed to be eating any wheat - at all - and I could tell by looking at it that it was fresh made pasta - the kind that melts when you eat it - gives perfectly against your teeth and is what pasta should taste like. I asked the husband and he said it was "really good" - this means awesome. So I did - and this is why I probably feel like I weigh 500lbs today. It was something I'm going to have to try to make myself with no gluten - I wonder if it can be done with rice flour...I'll have to try it - just magnificent. This veggie lover thought it was simply more-ish. Perfectly cooked chard with soft cheese in a cannelloni roll about the size of a nice Robusto cigar. You see what was so good about this was that the sauce complimented the cannelloni and the mushrooms as well.
Wine paring: Bordeaux Blend - of course - it went perfectly. Smooth and supple, fruits of the forest - go well with duck does not overpower - matched well with the orange sauce - which can be tricky.
And - of course - their signature dessert - blueberry creme brulee with red berries coulis. They lovingly wrote Happy Birthday and gave me a little candle. I must admit - the whole dish was sexy. The creme brulee itself was a little round mound of perfect custard with a delicate sugary crust (look - this is a 3-4 ingredient dish - not something that should cost a fortune or that should be served if it is screwed up - don't you hate when you order it at a restaurant and it tastes old or is curdled? or when the crust if too thick?) - so when I get one that is worth it - I love it. I don't want it swimming in berry sauce. It was. I could have liked it better with a drizzle of the sauce. It was also served with fruit - just enough to off-set the creme...but I must say - this creme wasn't heavy and didn't need too much dressing up. The blueberries added a subtle flavor and texture - but I think it would be perfect if they toned back the coulis. Let me stress here that the creme brulee itself was immaculate.
Wine paring: Muscat - I'm okay with these - it was actually less sweet than the Sauternes. It went quite well with the dessert.
the night was finished with some Minardises. Fudge Brownie with a strawberry - which was nice and light yet had a little chocolate punch and an almond cookie that I didn't get to try (I have a whole gluten free chocolate cake with ganache and strawberries waiting for me). Husband said they were good. I trust him.