Dinner - May 21, 2008 - Barbecued Tempeh & Peppers

Dinner May 19, 2008 - Polenta & Tomato Basil Sauce

Tonight's dinner was very easy to fix. I purchased 16 ounces of premade polenta with sun-dried tomatoes, a jar of Tomato Basil sauce such as from Muir Glenn and a can of artichoke hearts. Simply coat a sauce pan with the sauce, slice the polenta and place it on top of the sauce. Add more sauce to the top, dice and place 1/2 can of the artichoke hearts. Simmer until hot. I served steamed asparagus, added canned black-eyed peas and a salad.

Dinner - Apr 24, 2008 Potato & Butternut Squash Curry

Dinner - Apr 10, 2008 French Lentil Salad

Dinner - Apr 9, 2008 Tofu Pad Thai

Dinner - Mar 19, 2008 Turkish Lentil Soup

Dinner March 12, 2008 - Tunisian Vegetable Stew

Tonight we had a tasty rich vegetable stew based Tunisian traditions. I added brown rice and asian style stir fried green beans. The green beans, freshgarlic and chopped ginger root were sauteed in water and a hint sesame oil. After the green beans begin to soften, add tamari sauce and tamarind concentrate and finishing cooking. The stew is as follows:

• 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions
• 3 cups thinly sliced cabbage
• 1 large green pepper chopped
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 3 cups undrained tomatoes, chopped (28 oz can)
• 1 1/2 cups drained chickpeas (16-oz can)
• 1/3 cup raisins or currants
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• dash of olive oil (optional)

Saute the onions in water for 5 minutes. Add cabbage and continue for 5 minutes more. Add the bell pepper, coriander, tumeric, cinnamon, and cayenne and saute for another minute. Stir in the tomatoes, chick peas, and raisins. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Serve with a spinkle of lemon juice.

Dinner March 11, 2008 - Tomatican

Tomatican is a chilean stew. This version comes from Moosewood Cooks at Home. The great thing is that for the most part, it uses frozen vegetables and still tastes great and fresh. If you can get the Muir Glenn chopped tomatoes, they are often better than local tomatoes unless they are very good. You can garnish the stew with avocado, tempeh (of course cheese is traditional). The steamed local kale and brown rice was a great complement to the flavors:

• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1/4 tsp cayenne (or 1 fresh chile)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 cups frozen baby lima beans (note that each package contains 1 1/2 cups)
• 3 cups undrained canned tomatoes (28 oz)
• 2 cups frozen corn (I used sweet corn)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• optional - dash of olive oil

Saute the onions and cayenne in a little water for 5 minutes. Add lima beans and cumin and cook for a couple of minutes longer. Add juice from tomatoes and simmer covered for 5 more minutes. Add the tomatoes, corn and cilantro and simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve.

Dinner March 10, 2008 - Fennel & Naval Orange Salad

So a picture at Whole Foods inspired the salad. The fennel is sliced paper thin as are the oranges. Place them nicely on a bed of field greens, top with some sliced avocado, grape tomatoes and sprinkle with lime and some balsamic vinegar. The flavor is amazing. The avocados add to the flavor but would not be missed if dietary requirements dictate they not be added.

As a complement, I added some favorites. The tofu is grilled with a Thai red curry sauce (red curry, tamari sauce, rice wine vinegar, chopped ginger root, honey and optionally a drizzle of sesame oil). The roasted root vegetables include sweet potatoes, white potatoes, and 1/2 turnip diced, tossed in a dash of olive oil, chili powder, cumin, crushed garlic and roasted in an oven for 45-50 minutes. Finally a wedge of cabbage steamed (about 7-10 minutes) rounds out the plate.

Lunch - March 10, 2008 - Festive Garbanzo Stir Fry

This recipe combines latin american and India elements for a quick but tasty lunch or dinner stir fry. I was looking for a way to use my garbanzo beans from a recent meal. I also had some field greens, frozen vegetable and a ripe avocado. So here is the list of ingredients:

• Garbanzo beans
• Canned chopped tomatoes
• Frozen corn
• Frozen okra
• Cumin power
• Tumeric
• Slice of lime
• Fresh, ripe avocado
• Field greens

So I first added the beans and frozen vegetables to the skillet with a little water. Note that you may want to rinse the frozen vegetables if there are coated with ice to remove the freezer flavor. Simmer covered until the vegetables are thawed. Add the tomatoes, spices and cook for another 5 minutes until the flavors begin to blend. Arrange a bed of field greens on a plate, spoon on the bean mixture, sprinkle with lime juice and chopped avocadoes and serve.

Dinner Feb 29, 2008 Red Lentil and Tomato Soup

Tonight we had another one of our favorites: Red lentil and tomato soup. The soup is unbelievably rich. I fix it without any added oils, yet the taste is not diminished.

• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3/4 cup split red lentils
• 1/2 28 oz. can chopped tomatoes (or 2 fresh tomatoes)
• 3 3/4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 tsps dried herbes de Provenence
• chopped parsley to garnish

Saute the onions and celery in a little water for 5 minutes. Add lentils and continue cooking for another minute. Stir in the tomatoes, stock and spices. When the lentils are soft, let cool and then puree. Return to pot, heat to serving temperature and serve with chopped fresh parsely as a garnish.

Dinner - Feb 27, 2008 - Another Scrambled Tofu

So we had another scrambled tofu dish tonight. There are many versions of a quick tofu stir fry. Tonight's version was inspired by a recipe from Whole Food's website. I added my typical roasted potatoes.. which can include turnips and perhaps onions for a lovely roasted root vegetable dish. Some steamed broccoli and you have a meal.

• 1/2 green pepper chopped
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1/2 red pepper chooped
• 6-8 mushrooms sliced
• 1 pound extra-firm or firm tofu cubed
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp tamari sauce
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 2 cloves of fresh garlic diced
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• fresh ground pepper to taste

Simply braise the onions, pepper, garlic and mushrooms in water until soft. Add tofu, mirin, tamari and spice. Cook for 5 minutes. A very simple meal.

Dinner Feb 25, 2008 - Groundnut Stew

Tonight we had an incredibly rich and tasty West African groundnut soup, see Sundays at Moosewood p 27 for a great recipe. These cookbooks should be on the shelf of anyone cooking vegetarian. Anyhow the West Africans typically add hardboiled eggs, chopped parsley, sliced bananas, mangos, pineapple, oranges, grated coconut or crushed peanuts. I decided to try some black-eyed peas, squash and steamed broccoli. The black-eyed peas were a perfect complement to the flavor of the soup, and more greens are always great.

• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 cloves of mixed garlic
• 2 cups of chopped cabbage
• 3 cups of cubed sweet potatoes
• 1/2- 28 can of organic chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup apricot (or apple) juice
• 1 tsp of finely chopped ginger root (amazing flavor in this soup!!)
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 cups frozen okra
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (definitely not "Jiffy". Need to use either fresh ground or any "natural" peanut butter with no sugar or emulsifiers)

Braised the onions in some water for 10 minutes. Stir in cayenne and garlic and cook a little longer. Add cabbage, sweet potatoes and cook for a few minutes. Add juice, tomatoes, ginger, and cilantro. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Add frozen okra and simmer for 9 more minutes. Stir in peanut butter and serve.

Dinner Feb 13, 2008 - Bean-Sunflower Burgers

A very tasty meal of homemade rolls and bean burgers. I paired it with steamed cabbage, a salad and condiments such as sliced tomatoes and onions. The steamed cabbage is surprisingly tasty (your taste buds become more attuned to the flavors), and a salad is always good. Some vinegar on the salad and cabbage was a great complement.

The rolls are easy to make from any bread recipe. These were made from oats and whole wheat flour but other flours can be used. Simply make the dough for a loaf as normal, then split them in 8 parts, make a ball and flatten it on the pan. You may need a tiny bit of olive oil on your hands to keep the dough from sticking. The pan is a cookie sheet which delivers the heat evenly and prevents sticking.

The burgers are from p 215 of Joel Fuhrman, MD's Eat to Live. I used the beans prepared for the enchiladas earlier in the week.
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds (I keep them in the freezer)
- 2 cups of beans (I used pintos)
- 1/2 cup minced onion
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tbsp wheat germ or oatmeal (I used oatmeal)

Chop the sunflower seeds and then the beans. A blender should work with the seeds but may not be adequate for the beans. They can be mashed manually or a Vitamix can do it all. Then add the minced onion, etc. Form into patties on a sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. The original recipe indicates that they should be reformed and baked for another 15 minutes on each side. Since the burgers are fully cooked and we were in a hurry, I decided to simply bake them for 45 minutes and serve them on the buns carefully using a spatula. That worked nicely. I then let everything cool and after dinner made a lunch for my wife so she can continue to eat healthy. I made extra so I put the extra burgers in the freezer for another time.

Dinner Feb 12, 2008 - Lebanese Vegetable Soup

The Lebanese Vegetable Soup is incredibly flavorful but actually easy to make. The piquant flavor is due to the artichokes. I added braised kale and oven roasted potatoes.. yes those are sweet potatoes which are almost white.

- 1 large onion chopped
- 3 medium carrots peeled and chopped
- 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
- 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
- 2-4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 cups chopped potatoes
- 4-5 cups veggie broth (I used water plus powered broth
- 1/2 of 28 oz can tomatoes
- 2 14-oz cans artichoke hearts (or 10 artichoke hearts)
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley (optional but a nice flavor)
- 2 lemons cut into wedges (can make a big pot of soup and cut wedges as needed)

Braise onions a little water for 5 minutes. Stir in carrots and cook for another 3 minutes. Add red pepper, coriander and garlic. Cover a cook a few minutes longer. Add potatoes and 2 cups of stock. Cover and cook until potatoes are nearly tender. Add tomatoes, artichoke hearts (drained and chopped), and can of chick peas. Add more broth if a thinner soup is desired. Heat gently but do not boil or over cook.

Lunch - Feb 12, 2008 - Leftovers

The enchiladas made not only a great dinner but a great lunch for my wife, Debbie. The cafeteria is certainly not very healthy. The acorn squash with pistachios and a drizzle of maple syrup complements very well the rich flavors of the corn tortillas and bean mixture. One thing that makes the corn tortillas very tasty is to heat them in a cast iron skillet. It will slightly brown the tortillas and given them a nutty flavor.

Dinner Feb 6, 2008 - Leftovers

Sometimes leftovers can be better than the original. In this case, the tomato barley soup's flavor intensified with reheating. The quinoa is actually better cold... and of course a fresh salad is always good. About the quinoa, my wife also enjoyed it several times for lunch.

Dinner Feb 7, 2008 - Tomato Barley Soup

We tried the Tomato Barley Soup from Fuhrman's Eat to Live (p 210). The base was very tasty though we may want to play with it. The soup base is amazingly rich. Certainly it needs about twice the barley and improves with a dash of Braggs. I made a nice salad of arugula, spinach, field greens, cashews, raisons, carrots and tomatoes. I added brown rice and some braised chinese cabbage.

The braised chinese cabbage was an experiment. Slice the cabbage and braise in a little water with slice red onions, some tamarind concentrate, fresh garlic and some soy sauce. The sauce is tasty but the combo needs something more like shitake mushrooms or red/ green peppers. The chinese cabbage is not as strong as other cabbage such as bok choy.

- 1 cup celery juice (used a champion juicer as I could not find it)

- 1 medium onion

- 2 carrots, diced

- 1 zuchinni, diced

- 1 baked or boiled potato

- 1/4 cup unrefined barley (recommend doubling to 1/2 cup)

- 1 28-oz can of chopped tomatoes

- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped

- 8 oz. white mushrooms, chopped

The soup takes a little while to create the base. You need to simmer for an hour the water, celery juice, carrots, zucchini and potato. If your potato is not ready, you could simply peel and dice the potato and simmer at the same time as the other ingredients. Take the mixture and puree in blender or VitaMix. Then add the barley, tomatoes, and mushrooms and simmer for 45 minutes.

Dinner Feb 6, 2008 - Quinoa Hot Pot

So I created a hot pot of various recipes inspired by a similar recipe from 101 cookbook. Also there is a "Cara's Apple Cake" recipe from Fuhrman's Eat to Live (p 223). Quinoa is a miracle grain from the Andes that was a major staple in the ancient Incan diet and is found is some popular soups today in Peru and Ecuador. It is very high in protein. Here is the 101 cookbook link: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001564.html

I first rinsed 2 cups of quinoa. I then added 4 cups of water, brought it to a boil and simmered for 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed. In this case I added pistachio nuts and raisins chopped, a little tamarind concentrate and some Mrs Dash's. The potatoes are my chili roasted potatoes and onions tossed in a dash of olive oil, chili powder, cumin, crushed garlic and roasted in an oven for 45-50 minutes. I added steamed asparagus and a garnish of fresh parsley from the garden. You can sprinkle any type of citrus such as lemon juice or orange juice.

The combination of the different items is very tasty and would work with different types of dressings, depending on your preference. For personal and diet reasons, I have been concentrating on low or no fat options such as the fruit zests and juice.

Cara's apple cake is easy:

- 1/4 tsp vanilla

- 1/4 cup apple juice (I used mango juice tonight)

- 1 tsp cinamon

- 1 egg white

- 1/4 cup vanilla soymilk

- 3 apples, peeled and chopped

- 1/4 cup raisins, chopped

- 1/2 cup rolled oats

Actually I just mixed everything together, making sure the ingredients are well blended. Bake uncovered for 1 hour at 350 degrees F. Remove and cover. Serve when cool.

Dinner Feb 5, 2008 - Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup with Shitake

Yum.. a very tasty soup tonight. We finished it off with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and a little steamed broccoli. You can buy the shitake mushrooms from most Asian super markets.

- 6 garlic cloves, minced

- 2 -cups fresh (about 3.5 ounces) or dried shiitake mushrooms, sliced (soak dried shiitakes for 1/2 hour in warm water before slicing)

- 4-cups low sodium vegetable broth

- 2-cups water

- 1 1/2-cups red lentils

- 1 large sweet potato, scrubbed and diced, skin ok to use

- 1 bay leaf

- 1/4-cup basil or more

- Pepper to taste

- Fresh spinach

In a large pan, stir-fry leek, mushrooms and garlic for 3 to 4 minutes until leeks are soft. Stir in broth, water, lentils, sweet potato, and bay leaf.
Bring to boil then simmer uncovered until lentils and sweet potatoes are soft, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Remove bay leaf and puree 2 cups of soup until smooth or use an immersion blender; return to pot, stir in basil and pepper to taste.
Just before serving stir in as much as you dare fresh spinach. It will melt in the pot. If you prefer fill individual soup bowls with spinach and spoon hot soup over the spinach. Top with a sprinkle of more fresh basil.

Dinner Feb 3, 2008 Mango-Bean Salad

So we needed a quick meal tonight. We had gone to the Twisted Noodle for lunch -- I had chosen a steamed veggie roll with peanut sauce for the appetizer and a vegetable stir fry with vegetables and tofu. Not a bad choice, low in fat with plenty of great veggies, but a little high in salt. -- Anyhow for dinner I decided to make a mango-lime bean salad from Esslestyn's cookbook, roasted acorn squash and steamed broccoli. The squash is cooked by cutting it in half, coring it (removing the seeds) and baking face down in water for 45-50 minutes or until soft. As you can see, I put some pistachio nuts and raisins on the squash.

The recipe for the mango-lime bean salad is:

- 1 mango, peeled and diced 1 small red onion, diced to taste (start with 1/2)

- 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsedzest of 1 lime

- 1 juicy lime, squeezed

- cilantro, a lot, 1/2 cup or more. *** Note that I did not have cilantro so I used fresh parsely from the garden this time... good choice too)

Combine all ingredients and serve on a bed of salad greens.. we like to use Arugula.

Dinner Feb 1, 2008 Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Tonight was another Bible study and potluck. I made the sensous roasted butternut squash soup with cilantro-walnut pesto. My friend Jeff brought corn tortillas, salsa and guacamole as an appetizer... a much better choice than chips. Corn tortillas contain little or no fat. They can be heated in an iron skillet to soften then and brown them slight. Also Jeff's wife, Ruth, brought a healthy salad from Cheesecake factory where she works. Another good meal

As for the soup, most who have had this soup have been amazed at its flavor. It is really not hard to make. I used locally grown butternut squash recently.

- 1 large winter squash (about 2 1/2 lbs) such butternut, buttercup or kabocha, peeled, seeded and cut into 2 inch pieces2 medium onions peeled and quartered

- 3 garlic cloves, peeled

- 2 tart, firm apples such as Macoun or Granny Smith, peeled, quartered and cored

- 2 tblsp olive oilcoarse saltmild to medium chilli powder

- 3 1/2 to 4 cups of vegetable broth

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl combine the squash, onions, apples and garlic with the oil, salt and chilli powder. (NOTE that it also works to limit the oil). Spread out in a flat pan and roast for approx 45 minutes or until fork tender. In a food processor combine in two batches half the veggies and half the broth, blending until smooth. Add more broth as needed and heat to serving temperature

Cilantro Walnut Pesto

This adds amazing flavor to the soup by simply adding a dollop to each bowl. You can get raw walnut pieces from Whole Foods in the bulk section which is what I use.

- 1 cup walnut pieces2 cups cilantro washed and chopped

- 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and chopped (I did not have this recently but it was still excellent)

- 1/2 tsp coarse salt

- 1 tblsp cider vinegar

- 1/4 cup purified water Blend walnuts in a food processor until fine.

Add the dry ingredients, vinegar and 2 tblsp of water. Blend adding 1 tbsp of water at a time until it is the proper thickness. Add salt to taste if needed.

Dinner Jan 31, 2008 -Mediterranean Eggplant & Beans

Tonight was fairly good. It is good to note that there are probably more carbs than some might need if they are not at goal weight. The eggplant and beans was good. Even a little bit of the rice provides a nice texture to complement the flavors. A bit of Mrs Dash's seasoning really adds to the flavor. We finished off the meal with another one of the fruit compote's that I fixed on January 29th (see below).

The recipe for the beans and eggplant is as follows:

- 1 eggplant peeled and diced

- 1 onion sliced thinly

- 1 green pepper, chopped

- 1 tbsp lemon juice

- 3 tbsp tomato ketchup

- 2 cups of garbanzo beans

Steam the eggplant for 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile braise the onions and peppers in a little water until soft. Add the eggplant, lemon juice and ketchup and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the garbanzo beans and heat to serve. Note that if the dish has too much liquid, you can simmer with top off to reduce the liquid.

Dinner January 29, 2008 - Bean Enchiladas

We had a great meal tonight. We started with bean enchiladas with wilted kale (Eat to Live page 216). We finished off with a bean-berry shake (Eat to Live page 223). The bean enchiladas are composed of:

- 1 green pepper diced

- 1/2 cup diced onions

- 1 cup non-fat taco sauce

- 2 cups pinto beans

- 1 cup frozen corn kernels

- 1 tsp cumin

- 1/4 chopped cilantro

- 6-8 non-fat corn tortillas

Saute the green pepper and onions in a skillet with 2 tbsp of taco sauce. Stir in the beans, corn, and seasoning. I simmered the mixture without the top until the liquid was dissolved. I also used a cast iron skillet to cook the corn tortillas (gives them a nutty flavor). I then filled the tortillas with bean mixture and heated them in the oven.

At the same time, I braised the rest of the onion in a little water. I then added enough water to steam the kale. I served the kale with some balsamic vinegar. One thing to keep in mind about the kale is that you need to cut out the woody stalks, wash each leaf to remove grit and chopped them slightly.

Finally the dessert is easy to make. Basically I took frozen berries, mangos and half a banana. I added 1/2 tbsp (or more) of whole flax seed, enough soy milk to blend and blended it in my vitamix until it was smooth.

The meal was excellent and we lacked for nothing...

Dinner January 28, 2008 - Tofu Spinach Pot

Okay so some squash is so hard and BIG that it requires extra tools to cut it. The turban squash we bought was quite large. I brought out a seratted knife from Cutco (you know cuts anything) and tried to slice it.. not happening. Then I tried a big chef's knife... not even close. So, no kidding, I brought out my saw from the woodshed. That finally worked. Here is a picture to the left that gives you an idea.....

Anyhow we had a fairly good dinner. Tonight we tried Furhmans Tofu Spinach Pot (Eat to Live page 222) with the squash. We added some raisons and drizzled maple syrup.

The recipe for the Tofu Spinach Pot is very easy to do. It includes:

- 1 lb firm or extra firm tofu, cubed

- 1 (10-oz.) box frozen spinach, thawed

- 3 tomatoes, chopped

- 2 tbsp lemon juice

- 1/8 tsp cayenne

- 1/8 tsp onion powder (ooop I put a lot more.. but it was good)

- 1/2 cup veggie broth

Saute all the ingredients in the veggie broth .. actually I used the veggie broth powder... We really liked the Tofu Spinach Pot!

Dinner Jan 25, 2008 - Turkish Lentil Soup

Tonight was our Bible study night including a potluck dinner so people brought different items. Fortunately we had a great array of foods that were quite healthy. We made a Turkish spinach& lentil soup (Sundays at Moosewood). Our friends Jeff and Ruth brought the roasted vegetables including eggplant, onions, corn on cob, balsamic vinegar and a roasting spice. We also had steamed broccoli, homemade lowfat whole grain muffins and a nice salad. All in all it was a great potluck. The soup recipe is as follows:

- 1 cup dried lentils

- 5 cups vegetable stock or water

- 1 tsp salt

- 2 cups chopped onions

- 3 garlic cloves, pressed

- 1/4 tsp cayenne

- 2 bay leaves

- 1/2 cup raw bulgar

- 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley

- 2 cups chopped tomatoes (Muir Glenn canned chopped tomatoes are really a great choice)

- 1/ 4 cup tomato paste

- pinch dried rosemary (to taste)

- groupnd black pepper

- 2 cups stemmed, cleaned and coarsley chopped spinach

Rinse lentils. Cook in the water or stock (bring to boil and then simmer until tender 20-30 minutes .. recipe had 40 but the green lentils don't seem to need it). At the same time in a separate pot, begin by braising the onions in a little water. After a few minutes add garlic, cayenne pepper, bay leaves and raw bulgur and cook for 2-3 minutes longer. Mix in parsley, tomatoes and tomato paste. For fresh tomatoes it may be necessary to add them first and then after the tomatoes release their juices, add the tomatoe paste. Add the lentils and simmer for 15 minutes. Add rosemary and black pepper to taste. Add more stock if needed, and remove the bay leaves.

Just before serving, stir in the spinach and let wilt. Note that it might be possible to add frozen spinach instead and cook until thawed and tender. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Dinner Jan 24, 2008 - Veggie meatballs and sphaghetti

Well it was leftovers tonight. It shows the value of making a dish and putting it into the freezer. In this case, I had made vegetarian meatballs and spaghetti sauce a while back. Fix your choice of noodles from whole wheat to quinoa. I reheated the sauce/ meatballs and added a salad (small bowl so I needed two helpings). All in all a very satisfying meal. The veggie meatball recipe is quite tasty and is as follows:

- 1 1/2 diced eggplant (peel if skin is too thick and tough)

- 1 square tofu (1/2 pound)

- 1/2 cup minced onion (1 onion)

- 1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used my own whole wheat/ oat bread)

- 1 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

- 1/4 tsp salt

- dash black pepper

- 1/2 cup finely grate parmesan cheese (cheated on ETL a bit but need to find substitutes)

- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley (yeah still some in garden!)

- 1 tsp tamari

- 1 egg beaten (I believe I used egg white)

- 1/2 tsp each oregano, marjoram, and dried leaf thyme

I simple chopped the eggplant well and actually give it a quick whirl in the vitamix. I also used the vitamix to grind the walnuts. I then mixed the ingredients in a bowl. You then form balls. I should add that the original recipe had the balls rolled in the bread crumbs and fried. I mixed everything together, placed on a non-stick backing sheet sprayed lightly with a vegetable spray such as Pam and bake at 400 degrees F for 5 to 7 minutes. Note that an alternative to the spray is simply to pour olive oil on the sheet and wipe off with paper towel, leaving a thin film.. about the same.

So I do need to work on some substitute for the parmesan cheese. Also for the gluten free approach, quinoa flour may work instead of the flour, leave out the bread crumbs, and add extra quinoa flour until the mixture is solid enough to form balls.

Dinner Jan 23, 2008 - Thai Soy Chicken Pizza

Okay so it looks a lot like the picture I just posted. It is the same Thai soy chicken recipe. I guess we were inspired. The flavor is so great with base of peanut butter (you know the type that starts with peanuts in the top and comes out the bottom.. no added junk) with the great Thai spices including tamarind .. more on that below.

I added some baked sweet potatoes rounds. Also I cooked some wonderful collards. They are bit of work to clean and cut. You must wash each leaf, then cut the thick stalk out and cut into strips. Then put into a pot with some veggie broth and cook until tender and are darker. It takes about 15 minutes.

Back to the pizza, one of the interesting ingredients in the sauce is the tamarind. It is also called the Indian date. Unlike the middle eastern date, the tamarind is a bit like fruit flavor ala mango or papaya and slightly piquant rather than so sweet as the standard date. It is in the major ingredient in the Pad Thai sauce and other Thai dishes. I plan to experiment more with this flavor after finally tasting it for itself. It has real possibilities.

Thai Chicken (soy) Pizza

Here is a great recipe we tried a few months back. Other than being short on the bok chok, it was quite flavorful. Here is the recipe:

- 1/4 cup natural salt-free peanut butter (got it fresh ground from Whole Foods)

- 1 tbsp reduced salt tamari sauce

- 1 tbsp chili paste (e.g. Thai red curry paste is what we used..)

- 1 tbsp sugar

- 2 1/4 tsp tamarind

- 1 clove garlic minced

- 1/2 tp curry powder

- 1/4 tsp sesame oil

- 1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger

- 1 1-lb pkg refrigerated pizza dough (we got a premade whole wheat crust from Harris Teeter)

- 4 white button mushrooms, thinly sliced

- 3/4 cup soy chicken cut into strips

- 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

- 1 small shallot, quartered and thinly sliced (1/4 cup)

- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves

- hot sauce such as the Vietnamese Chili Garlic Sauce Tuong Ot TOI VIET

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.. Coat baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk together peanut butter, tamari, chili paste, sugar, tamarind concentrate, garlic, curry powder, oil and ginger in small bowl

2. Roll dough out, transfer to baking sheet (or use premade crush). Spread peanut butter mixture over dough. Sprinkle with mushrooms, then soy chicken, then bell pepper and shallots.

3. Bake 25 minutes for fresh crust or until the chicken is cooked for premade crusts.

Dinner Jan 22, 2008 - Tofu Chow Mein

So we made what Fuhrman calls Tofu Chow Mein (Eat To Live p 221). It was a typical chinese stir fry with Tofu. It did have a huge amount of vegetables. This is the big delight over those meals in many Chinese restaurants where the veggies are limited.

The color is not as vivid but there are peas, mushrooms, cabbage (we used bok choy), water chestnuts and bean sprouts. One needed addition is fresh ginger root (though tragically we were out tonight).. I tend to slice it and then chop it finely with chef's knife rather than grating.. it is the way that the chinese themselves tend to cook. I remember back in college inviting a couple from Taiwan to dinner. The dish had fresh ginger root cut into strips (1/16 inch by say 1 inch), and the flavor was amazing. After cooking the ginger is not strong and tastes like a flavorful vegetable.

As for how to spice it, we did make some changes there. I used hoisin sauce and a little of the Vietnamese hot sauce. We will try to work with this dish as it may need a little work in the spicing. Another option is the Chinese 5 spice, though not all like this flavor.

Ray

Dinner Jan 16 2008 - Veggie Chili

So dinner tonight was simple but tasty. We made the vegetarian chili from Eat to Live pg 222. It has kidney beans, textured vegetable protein, raisins, along with a large number of veggies such as carots, celery, onions and green peppers. Perhaps we got it a little watery but it was very tasty. To that we added a salad... brown rice was optional. All in all, it was very satisfying.

Ray

P.S. - I thought I would mention the rest of the day. For breakfast, I had oatmeal with raisins, cinamon and tblsp flaxseeds and an all fruit smoothie... supplements are vitamins (Whole Foods Complete) and Plant Sterol Esthers. Lunch was a sandwich of homemade whole wheat and oat bread, a lot of almond butter and banana. I tend to snack lightly on nuts, fruit and carrots during the day. I tend to be heavier on nuts due to my weight being low and my high level of activity.

Dinner Jan 9, 2008 - Pintos, squash & greens

We had pinto beans. In our case, I had some no salt 365 brand beans.. which are good for last minute choices though I should have seasoned them a little with garam masala. I have attached the picture of our meal. We had braised curly kale, turban squash, pinto beans and Thai grilled tofu. The curly kale was done simply by sauteeing onions in water, adding the greens on top with fresh garlic and cooking until tender. The pinto beans were prepared simply with chili powder and cumin. One of the highlights was the turban squash which has an amazing flavor. We steamed it two days ago and reheated it adding chopped pistachio nuts and raisins. Finally the Thai grilled tofu. I make a sauce with Thai red curry, rice wine vinegar, dab of sesame oil, honey and ginger. Since our grill was out of gas, I simply broiled it in the oven. I added some of the extra sauce to the greens.

Dinner Jan 15, 2008 - Tofu scramble

Based on a inspirational comment when eating with our friends Jeff and Ruth Browning about tofu scramble, I tried the recipe from Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live pg 220 tonight. Also I did a simple braised kale (onion and garlic braised in water until soft, add kale and cook until soft). Finally I did another favorite of chili roasted root vegetables. I dice white potatoes, sweet potatoes half of a turnip and onions sliced and broken into rings.. toss with a little garlic oil (less than a tsp for big bowl), chili powder, fresh garlic, cumin, Mrs Dash and a little water... bake in oven for 45-50 minutes. Finally I heated the steamed squash from the night before and put a little diced pistachio nuts and raisins. This is the round green and white squash that we originally mistook for turban squash. Other than a little chopping and braising it was not difficult. ... Oh I sprinkled a little balsamic vinegar on the kale.

All in all it was quite successful.

Ray

What it is all about

So this blog is about some of the meals that I am making as I explore ways to reduce my cholesterol numbers without drugs.. which is working. I found out that despite the fact that I am good athletic condition and health, especially for age 54, I have a slight narrowing of one of the main vessels feeding the heart muscle. It is called the LAD (Left anterior descending) and is often nicknamed the widow-maker due to how severe sudden blockage can be fatal. In my case, I have a 20% narrowing which may be not uncommon but it is technically stage one heart disease.

My cardiologist did put me on statins (cholesterol drugs - simvastatin) but I did became too dizzy. So I am trying to control it with diet and exercise. It has dropped from LDL 130 to LDL 96 (the bad) while maintaining a high good cholesterol - HDL 76-80. The total is now around 188. My goal is under 90 if not under 80.

My diet is near vegetarian, very whole food including beans, squash, tofu, nuts, whole grains, very little processed oil and fish once in a while. Fortunately I love to cook. So while I may post progress periodically on my goals, I will mostly post recipes and food ideas.

Ray

P.S. - Oh I almost forgot to acknowledge the inspiration from many source including Dr. Dean Ornish's work and books, Dr. McDougall, Jeff Novick RD, and Dr Joel Fuhrman. I have recently found Dr. Fuhrman's site to be most helpful (http://www.drfuhrman.com)