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.