3/6/14
Took last night's raw chocolate out of the freezer:
Recipe:
Chocolate:
ground cacao nibs
coconut oil
agave syrup
coconut sugar
ground coconut flakes
crust: ground walnuts & agave syrup
topped with coconut flakes
Was pretty good. Needed more sweetener. Since cacao is so bitter on it's own, it needs a lot of sweetener to get rid of the bitter taste. I was thinking stevia for the next batch. It's cheaper & really potent. Otherwise I would end up using too much agave/coconut sugar and it would be way to expensive.
Breakfast:
Ezekiel muffin toasted with olive oil & sea salt
Omlette with Sauteed Spinach & Onions, pinch of cayanne
Melt soy mozzarella on Ezekiel Muffin
Put omlette on one side muffin
Other side smear with avocado
Top with cucumber
Slather omlette with hot sauce
Was one of the best morning muffins I've had in a long time!
Side of cucumber, tomato & avocado salad drizzled over with olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt
Morning smoothie
frozen banana
frozen strawberries
1 cup almond milk
1 cup green juice
2 tbsp ground flax seeds
2 tbsp ground chia seeds
ayurvedic spice mix
Blend. Super good.
Made a smoothie this afternoon. Super good, gives you energy & tastes really good
Ingredients:
1 banana
2 tbsp macadamia nut butter
1.5 cups almond milk
2 dates
2 tsp ginger powder
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Coconut Milk Chai Tea
I'm going to keep this short & sweet. That might happen a lot as I scramble to document the things that I have cooked that I want to remember, but might not have a whole lot of time to really talk about or reminisce about it all. Tonight I made Chai, I've been thinking of doing it for some time, but just wasn't sure about the milk issue - not a milk fan - at all, and the fact that I am just not a big fan of caffeinated tea, and Chai is traditionally made with black tea, which is naturally caffeinated. So, I went to Whole Foods, found some Decaf Black tea - English Breakfast - that decaffeinates it's tea sans chemicals so is safe to drink, and decided upon Coconut Milk as a good alternative. So I bought vanilla flavored Coconut Milk, because I thought it would be tastier. I was hoping that I wouldn't feel the need to add any sweetener. It worked out.
I dug out cardamon pods, cinnamon sticks, cloves, dried chopped ginger, and fennel seeds. I wanted to add black pepper but only have ground black pepper and the same with nutmeg.. only ground. I think this recipe would be much better with whole peppercorns and nutmeg, but hey, I do what I can with what I've got. I can always make alterations in the future. But it turned out great. So here's what I did: I poured about 4 cups of coconut milk into a saucepan and added:
Cinnamon Sticks
Cloves
Dried Chopped Ginger
Fennel Seeds
Cardamon Pods
Sprinkled in about a tsp of black pepper and powdered nutmeg
Turned on the heat high enough so that it would infuse the flavors into the the coconut milk, but low enough so it wouldn't boil and get goopy. I left it about 10 minutes.
.
I had some hot water left over from another cup of tea I made earlier with a tea bag, and I just poured it into the coconut milk, dropped
2 black tea bags
into it, and kept the heat on low for another 5 minutes until the tea was infused enough into the mix. I then stirred it well, grabbed the strainer and put it over the tea cup, and poured the mixture over the strainer so the liquid went in & the herbs stayed out. It was delicious and I'm really happy about it. I think I will try to drink at least a cup of this a day! Healthy & Tasty! Good combo!
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Scrambled Eggs with Dill & Soy Cheese
6/17/13
Wow! These turned out really good. Most people think that I am a vegetarian, I'm not sure why.. I just come off that way. Same thing with people thinking I'm from California. I just don't get it. I grew up in Chicago and have always eaten whatever I want, including meat... when I want, not a lot. But anyways, yes, I eat eggs. Sometimes. Especially when I'm feeling protein deficient. I'm not a big fan of nuts, I do like soy but don't get enough of it to make up for what ends up being a looming protein deficiency just waiting to happen. It catches up with me (kind of like my iron deficiency) and then it hits hard.. and I.. MUST... HAVE... PROTEIN.. NOW.. in whatever form. Yes, its pretty ugly. But we are all a work in progress. One day I will have enough self control to make myself eat things on a regular basis so that I have a balanced diet. It's because I am a workaholic, and drink a lot of coffee... and then ... well, I'm working on it. So eggs. I served it with toasted sesame Ezekiel Bread, toasted with olive oil & a little bit of sea salt.
Eggs
Dill Weed (fresh or dry)
White Soy or Rice Cheese
Organic Half & Half (can substitute sour cream if you don't have it, or even cream cheese.. but whip it up good and only use a tablespoon)
White Onion
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
First dice as much white onion as you want in your scrambled eggs , and cube 1/2 cup of soy cheese.
Crack eggs and whip with a fork. Add a 2 tbsp of Half and Half (or sour cream or cream cheese). Whip into eggs. Add dill weed.
Pour olive oil into pan and sprinkle with sea salt, then bring to medium heat. Add white onion and saute until tender. Lower heat to med/low or low and then pour in eggs. You never want eggs to cook too quickly unless you are preparing them sunny side up. If you are scrambling them, cooking them too quickly, on too high of heat, or for too long, is what causes them to be rubbery...and we've all forced ourselves to swallow those once or twice in our lives.. lets not torture ourselves once again. So ... the key is, you let them cook SLOWLY.. and stir them with a spoon or spatula... to make sure they are cooking evenly,and not turning into an omlette/sponge. When the eggs are halfway cooked, add the soy cheese. You add them at this point so that they get soft and gooey, but don't melt into the eggs completely and become incognito, or worse, burn.
I usually take the pan off of the heat just before they look done (still a bit liquidy) and cover the pan with a lid. They sort of steam themselves the rest of the way and prevents them from being overcooked. As you can see, I have developed several strategies to avoid the overcooked/rubbery egg syndrome. Its of grave concern. No.. its just gross and painful to eat. So.. well, important.
Wow! These turned out really good. Most people think that I am a vegetarian, I'm not sure why.. I just come off that way. Same thing with people thinking I'm from California. I just don't get it. I grew up in Chicago and have always eaten whatever I want, including meat... when I want, not a lot. But anyways, yes, I eat eggs. Sometimes. Especially when I'm feeling protein deficient. I'm not a big fan of nuts, I do like soy but don't get enough of it to make up for what ends up being a looming protein deficiency just waiting to happen. It catches up with me (kind of like my iron deficiency) and then it hits hard.. and I.. MUST... HAVE... PROTEIN.. NOW.. in whatever form. Yes, its pretty ugly. But we are all a work in progress. One day I will have enough self control to make myself eat things on a regular basis so that I have a balanced diet. It's because I am a workaholic, and drink a lot of coffee... and then ... well, I'm working on it. So eggs. I served it with toasted sesame Ezekiel Bread, toasted with olive oil & a little bit of sea salt.
Eggs
Dill Weed (fresh or dry)
White Soy or Rice Cheese
Organic Half & Half (can substitute sour cream if you don't have it, or even cream cheese.. but whip it up good and only use a tablespoon)
White Onion
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
First dice as much white onion as you want in your scrambled eggs , and cube 1/2 cup of soy cheese.
Crack eggs and whip with a fork. Add a 2 tbsp of Half and Half (or sour cream or cream cheese). Whip into eggs. Add dill weed.
Pour olive oil into pan and sprinkle with sea salt, then bring to medium heat. Add white onion and saute until tender. Lower heat to med/low or low and then pour in eggs. You never want eggs to cook too quickly unless you are preparing them sunny side up. If you are scrambling them, cooking them too quickly, on too high of heat, or for too long, is what causes them to be rubbery...and we've all forced ourselves to swallow those once or twice in our lives.. lets not torture ourselves once again. So ... the key is, you let them cook SLOWLY.. and stir them with a spoon or spatula... to make sure they are cooking evenly,and not turning into an omlette/sponge. When the eggs are halfway cooked, add the soy cheese. You add them at this point so that they get soft and gooey, but don't melt into the eggs completely and become incognito, or worse, burn.
I usually take the pan off of the heat just before they look done (still a bit liquidy) and cover the pan with a lid. They sort of steam themselves the rest of the way and prevents them from being overcooked. As you can see, I have developed several strategies to avoid the overcooked/rubbery egg syndrome. Its of grave concern. No.. its just gross and painful to eat. So.. well, important.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Homemade Garlic Pesto Shrimp Pasta
I bought some shrimp yesterday to make something unique and different for my roomie, since I told him I usually keep it vegetarian in the house. This is something I do automatically. Its a pain in the butt to make meat, well, to do it well, and so it just makes things easier to leave that to the chefs whenever I go out to eat, and well, I keep it fresh and healthy in the house. But since I have been making food for the both of us, and he has put up with my 100% vegetarian food up until now, I thought I'd surprise him with a treat. So... I brought home some shrimp and slumped into a seriously annoyed frame of mind, and without getting into detail, I didn't make the nice dinner. I made something else, which turned out good, and thank god shrimp is okay in the fridge for a day without going bad. So, today was the shrimp day. Unfortunately, my roomie fell asleep so I enjoyed it alone. Which was fine. I needed some me time. This pasta dish really turned out to be one of the best things I've made since I've been living in this house. Too bad he missed out. But luckily there are plenty of leftovers. Yes, I'm excited as well. I'm excited to eat the rest of it. That's how good it is.
I used the Einkorn pasta again. This time I got the rotini. It's incredible how good it is considering it is flourless. It's not too sticky and after you eat, you don't feel like you ate a 20 pound mule. I somehow managed to boil the pasta last night in a somewhat half-asleep state, and put it in some tupperware to use today. So that was already there. Here is the list of ingredients:
Rotini Pasta. Einkorn & Ezekiel are my faves because they are made of grain and don't have flour, but use whatcha like.
Fresh Basil
Fresh Garlic
Olive Oil (or chili pepper infused olive oil, which is what I used, either is good)
Shrimp
Sea Salt
White wine (dry not sweet)
Cut the basil into very small pieces, or put in a blender, which is what I did and makes your life a lot easier. Use about 8-10 leaves of fresh basil.
Mince the garlic.
Pour olive oil into a saucepan, sprinkle a pinch of salt around the pan and saute the garlic on low heat until soft. My hint about sauteing garlic is to heat the olive oil on med/high to begin with, then when the oil is at that temperature, add the garlic and take it off the stove for a minute or so. Let the garlic simmer as the oil cools down. This is the method I use so that the garlic doesn't burn. If you see smoke/fumes coming from the oil or it is actually boiling, its too hot. Garlic is a tricky thing to get just right, and you have to be careful with it so it doesn't burn, or undercook (crunchy half-raw garlic is not the best in a pasta dish, or... just in general unless taken medicinally). After you take the pan off of the stove, turn the heat down to the lowest setting, put the pan back on the stove after a minute, and let the garlic simmer on low heat. When it is 3/4 done, add the basil. You don't want to overcook basil. Let them both simmer on low for a few minutes, while stirring. Pour in about 1/4 cup of wine. Let it simmer for a few minutes, then add the shrimp. Simmer on low heat while stirring, again make sure not to overcook. Once you see the shrimp curling up, its time to take it off the stove.
While I was close to finishing this, I dumped the pasta into a separate pot, and poured the chili infused olive oil into the pasta and sprinkled sea salt into it and stirred until the pasta was warm and the flavor of the oil had a few minutes to soak in the flavor of the oil. Then I poured the shrimp/olive oil/basil/garlic & wine mixture into the pasta and mixed it up.
This was fantabulous.
A few side notes:
Re: the pesto. Pesto can be made however you want it to be made. Well, thats my rule anyway. I make it how I like it, whatever it is. I didn't have parmesan cheese, and I try to keep the cheese to a minimum anyways, and I just absolutely cant stand pine nuts. So.. my version of pesto is sans those ingredients & that's how I like it.. although they did have a soy parmesan cheese that I used to use. I was told at whole foods that it was discontinued. Not sure if he meant whole foods doesnt carry it anymore, or the company just stopped making it. That would be a shame because the soy parmesan was amazing. If you see it, grab it if you are into dairy substitutes. It's the bomb.
Re: Chili Infused Olive Oil. If this sounds good to you, here's how to make it. Pour olive oil into a separate container (unless you want to use the whole bottle, which is what I do so that I have it on hand whenever I want it)... drop some chili flakes into it. Probably 1 tspn - 1 tbsp will do, depending on how hot you like it. And just let it soak. If you want to bring out the chili flavor more quickly, set it by a window where the sun will hit it. Or, if you want it ASAP, simmer some chili pepper in olive oil... that will infuse the chili flavor into it quickly. But keep it on low, you don't want the pepper flakes to burn. Unless you add an absolute TON of chili pepper flakes, the taste should be quite subtle, so don't sweat it about it being super spicy. You control how much you put in, and you know what you can handle, so just don't overdo it, you don't want to have to dump a large quantity of olive oil because you did a fire drill with the chili peppers. Use your best judgement.
I used the Einkorn pasta again. This time I got the rotini. It's incredible how good it is considering it is flourless. It's not too sticky and after you eat, you don't feel like you ate a 20 pound mule. I somehow managed to boil the pasta last night in a somewhat half-asleep state, and put it in some tupperware to use today. So that was already there. Here is the list of ingredients:
Rotini Pasta. Einkorn & Ezekiel are my faves because they are made of grain and don't have flour, but use whatcha like.
Fresh Basil
Fresh Garlic
Olive Oil (or chili pepper infused olive oil, which is what I used, either is good)
Shrimp
Sea Salt
White wine (dry not sweet)
Cut the basil into very small pieces, or put in a blender, which is what I did and makes your life a lot easier. Use about 8-10 leaves of fresh basil.
Mince the garlic.
Pour olive oil into a saucepan, sprinkle a pinch of salt around the pan and saute the garlic on low heat until soft. My hint about sauteing garlic is to heat the olive oil on med/high to begin with, then when the oil is at that temperature, add the garlic and take it off the stove for a minute or so. Let the garlic simmer as the oil cools down. This is the method I use so that the garlic doesn't burn. If you see smoke/fumes coming from the oil or it is actually boiling, its too hot. Garlic is a tricky thing to get just right, and you have to be careful with it so it doesn't burn, or undercook (crunchy half-raw garlic is not the best in a pasta dish, or... just in general unless taken medicinally). After you take the pan off of the stove, turn the heat down to the lowest setting, put the pan back on the stove after a minute, and let the garlic simmer on low heat. When it is 3/4 done, add the basil. You don't want to overcook basil. Let them both simmer on low for a few minutes, while stirring. Pour in about 1/4 cup of wine. Let it simmer for a few minutes, then add the shrimp. Simmer on low heat while stirring, again make sure not to overcook. Once you see the shrimp curling up, its time to take it off the stove.
While I was close to finishing this, I dumped the pasta into a separate pot, and poured the chili infused olive oil into the pasta and sprinkled sea salt into it and stirred until the pasta was warm and the flavor of the oil had a few minutes to soak in the flavor of the oil. Then I poured the shrimp/olive oil/basil/garlic & wine mixture into the pasta and mixed it up.
This was fantabulous.
A few side notes:
Re: the pesto. Pesto can be made however you want it to be made. Well, thats my rule anyway. I make it how I like it, whatever it is. I didn't have parmesan cheese, and I try to keep the cheese to a minimum anyways, and I just absolutely cant stand pine nuts. So.. my version of pesto is sans those ingredients & that's how I like it.. although they did have a soy parmesan cheese that I used to use. I was told at whole foods that it was discontinued. Not sure if he meant whole foods doesnt carry it anymore, or the company just stopped making it. That would be a shame because the soy parmesan was amazing. If you see it, grab it if you are into dairy substitutes. It's the bomb.
Re: Chili Infused Olive Oil. If this sounds good to you, here's how to make it. Pour olive oil into a separate container (unless you want to use the whole bottle, which is what I do so that I have it on hand whenever I want it)... drop some chili flakes into it. Probably 1 tspn - 1 tbsp will do, depending on how hot you like it. And just let it soak. If you want to bring out the chili flavor more quickly, set it by a window where the sun will hit it. Or, if you want it ASAP, simmer some chili pepper in olive oil... that will infuse the chili flavor into it quickly. But keep it on low, you don't want the pepper flakes to burn. Unless you add an absolute TON of chili pepper flakes, the taste should be quite subtle, so don't sweat it about it being super spicy. You control how much you put in, and you know what you can handle, so just don't overdo it, you don't want to have to dump a large quantity of olive oil because you did a fire drill with the chili peppers. Use your best judgement.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Ginger Chili Limeade
6/14/13
It gets hot here. Really, really really hot. So that means that I have to get creative about hydration. I made a gallon of a drink that not only quenches my thirst, but also is high in vitamin C and good for my circulaton. Basically, it tastes awesome, plus it keeps me from getting sick and keeps my blood flowing. This drink has quite a kick so if you can't handle spicy things then, well, obviously this drink is not for you. Sometimes I slice a jalapeno into thin pieces and drop one in this drink, and let it soak for a little bit, and it has a similar effect, well it adds the spicy kick (and kills any bacteria trying to invade your system too!)
Here goes:
Fresh Ginger Root
Fresh Lime
Chili Pepper Flakes
Agave Syrup
Cut ginger root into thin slices and throw into boiling water. Turn the heat down to a low simmer. Let it simmer for about 1/2 hour. Add as much or as little chili flakes as you think you can handle. 1/2 teaspoon should be more than enough for anyone (for those who like it hot). Other people, add less. It's meant to give it a healthy kick, not burn your tongue off. Let that simmer for about 5-10 minutes (5 for weaker, 10 for stronger chili infusion). Strain and pour into a heat resistant container. Stir in agave syrup to sweeten. Of course, you can substitute any other sweetener that you like. I just happen to love Agave Syrup to sweeten any and all drinks that I intend to drink cold. Honey, maple syrup, cane sugar are all good substitutes. Stevia works too. Let it cool down a bit, and put it in the fridge. When it is cold enough to drink, cut a lime into slices (or in half and put into a lime- squeezer, however you go about squeezing the juice from citrus, go ahead... just get the lime juice out of the lime and into the drink), stir and enjoy!
This drink has a lot of kick to it, so I would have to repeat, DO NOT TRY THIS DRINK IF YOU CANNOT HANDLE ANYTHING SPICY. Otherwise, this drink is the bomb. I drink it throughout the day and it keeps me energized, hydrated and healthy.
It gets hot here. Really, really really hot. So that means that I have to get creative about hydration. I made a gallon of a drink that not only quenches my thirst, but also is high in vitamin C and good for my circulaton. Basically, it tastes awesome, plus it keeps me from getting sick and keeps my blood flowing. This drink has quite a kick so if you can't handle spicy things then, well, obviously this drink is not for you. Sometimes I slice a jalapeno into thin pieces and drop one in this drink, and let it soak for a little bit, and it has a similar effect, well it adds the spicy kick (and kills any bacteria trying to invade your system too!)
Here goes:
Fresh Ginger Root
Fresh Lime
Chili Pepper Flakes
Agave Syrup
Cut ginger root into thin slices and throw into boiling water. Turn the heat down to a low simmer. Let it simmer for about 1/2 hour. Add as much or as little chili flakes as you think you can handle. 1/2 teaspoon should be more than enough for anyone (for those who like it hot). Other people, add less. It's meant to give it a healthy kick, not burn your tongue off. Let that simmer for about 5-10 minutes (5 for weaker, 10 for stronger chili infusion). Strain and pour into a heat resistant container. Stir in agave syrup to sweeten. Of course, you can substitute any other sweetener that you like. I just happen to love Agave Syrup to sweeten any and all drinks that I intend to drink cold. Honey, maple syrup, cane sugar are all good substitutes. Stevia works too. Let it cool down a bit, and put it in the fridge. When it is cold enough to drink, cut a lime into slices (or in half and put into a lime- squeezer, however you go about squeezing the juice from citrus, go ahead... just get the lime juice out of the lime and into the drink), stir and enjoy!
This drink has a lot of kick to it, so I would have to repeat, DO NOT TRY THIS DRINK IF YOU CANNOT HANDLE ANYTHING SPICY. Otherwise, this drink is the bomb. I drink it throughout the day and it keeps me energized, hydrated and healthy.
Cucumber Dill Salad & Einkorn Pasta with Basil & Veggies
6/13/13
The other day we had gone looking for ezekiel pasta only to find they did not carry it at the whole foods that we went to. I assumed it would be at the other whole foods in town, which has a much bigger selection, and is not the store that was once a Wild Oats & had been bought out & converted. The first time, we just bit it & bought something similar, a pasta called "jovial" 100% organic einkorn whole wheat pasta. I looked at the ingredients and there was no flour, so although it didn't say that it was "sprouted wheat", it was the next best thing. Otherwise, i would be using rice noodles. Anything to stay away from flour. But rice noodles are not as versatile, they don't taste too good with any sort of Mediterranean seasonings... they just don't, you can't force it. So I was happy to find a substitute for Ezekiel in the Jovial, and to be honest, I think it tastes a little better, not as sticky/gooey as Ezekiel (but I would and could, never knock anything Ezekiel, they are my faves all over). So we bought it, I made some pasta last week and to my surprise, my roomie liked it. He is so incredibly versatile, it seems he might like almost anything I make, which means either that I am a relatively good cook compared to whatever he's used to, or he's a very good liar. But I think maybe he's just easy to please. A lot of people would be sqeamish about anything other than good old flour-based pasta. It just tastes like pasta, and that's what people are used to. But roomie's good with the substitutes, which makes him a great person for me to cook for. Basically, we like the same stuff. I also think he's just glad to have someone around to make food in the house. A bachelor's life is not easy when it comes to mealtime for many. A woman in the kitchen who whips up some dinner, as long as it's somewhat tasty, is quite a nice respite for many, especially those who are used to it.. like my friend who has been married twice. It's hard to get used to making your own food after being in those kinds of domestic situations. Especially the older you are..and those gender roles in full force... so there you have it. At least he knows how to run the washing machine. The dishwasher.. well he did have a question or two..
Anyways, so back to the pasta. I was tired today. I wasn't feeling like doing much of anything and so I wasted time until about 11 p.m. when I finally decided to get into the kitchen and make something. Yes, this is crazy. But it just happened that way. When roomie got home, I was not in a good mood. He smartly decided not to push it about dinner, and just said, when you feel like making food, go ahead and make it.. don't worry about me. Well, I took his words to heart, and headed to the kitchen close to midnight to make up for it. Crazily enough (it was just one of those days), he was down. I poured some vanilla vodka on the rocks, he poured some whisky for himself and I got to work. I had some leftover Einkorn. I decided to take the pre-packaged "stir-fry" vegetable mix of brocolli, cauliflower and carrots and cut them into smaller pieces, diced some white onion and minced two garlic cloves and threw it in a pot of boiling water. I boiled it all lightly, I simply didn't have the energy to saute them, strained them, threw them in the pasta, added a really great olive oil I invested in to use only for dressings and things that deserve an awesome olive oil taste, tore 4 or 5 leaves of fresh basil into smaller pieces and threw them into the mix, and added a bit of sea salt. The pasta was cold and the veggies were hot, so the whole thing ended up a horrible luke-warm. I could have refrigerated it, and it would have made a GREAT cold pasta salad, but since I wanted to deliver the food to a starved roommate at a ridiculous hour, I threw it all back in the pan, and put it on low heat. This actually worked out great, because the basil and garlic flavors really spread throughout the dish much better with the help of a little heat, and the pasta came out great.
While the veggies were boiling, I decided to make a cucumber dill salad that I had been thinking about since yesterday. I took out this great organic cucumber we got at whole foods a few days back, diced it into cubes, diced some white onion, threw them together, added the yummy olive oil, sprinkled dill over it, and sprinkled a bit of sea salt. Simple recipe, but awesome salad. Super cooling to the system and refreshing, a PERFECT salad for a really hot day, I was pretty psyched. I needed the cooling, hydrating effect of the cucumber and the pungent, spicy effect of the onion, and the soothing dill. Roomie loved the salad, and said it reminded him a bit of something his father used to make, except it was pickled. Glad to bring flavors to his palate that make him reminisce. And speaking of pickled... I am on day one of making kimchi. I'll have to write about that tomorrow. (I know, I'm a little bit behind).
The other day we had gone looking for ezekiel pasta only to find they did not carry it at the whole foods that we went to. I assumed it would be at the other whole foods in town, which has a much bigger selection, and is not the store that was once a Wild Oats & had been bought out & converted. The first time, we just bit it & bought something similar, a pasta called "jovial" 100% organic einkorn whole wheat pasta. I looked at the ingredients and there was no flour, so although it didn't say that it was "sprouted wheat", it was the next best thing. Otherwise, i would be using rice noodles. Anything to stay away from flour. But rice noodles are not as versatile, they don't taste too good with any sort of Mediterranean seasonings... they just don't, you can't force it. So I was happy to find a substitute for Ezekiel in the Jovial, and to be honest, I think it tastes a little better, not as sticky/gooey as Ezekiel (but I would and could, never knock anything Ezekiel, they are my faves all over). So we bought it, I made some pasta last week and to my surprise, my roomie liked it. He is so incredibly versatile, it seems he might like almost anything I make, which means either that I am a relatively good cook compared to whatever he's used to, or he's a very good liar. But I think maybe he's just easy to please. A lot of people would be sqeamish about anything other than good old flour-based pasta. It just tastes like pasta, and that's what people are used to. But roomie's good with the substitutes, which makes him a great person for me to cook for. Basically, we like the same stuff. I also think he's just glad to have someone around to make food in the house. A bachelor's life is not easy when it comes to mealtime for many. A woman in the kitchen who whips up some dinner, as long as it's somewhat tasty, is quite a nice respite for many, especially those who are used to it.. like my friend who has been married twice. It's hard to get used to making your own food after being in those kinds of domestic situations. Especially the older you are..and those gender roles in full force... so there you have it. At least he knows how to run the washing machine. The dishwasher.. well he did have a question or two..
Anyways, so back to the pasta. I was tired today. I wasn't feeling like doing much of anything and so I wasted time until about 11 p.m. when I finally decided to get into the kitchen and make something. Yes, this is crazy. But it just happened that way. When roomie got home, I was not in a good mood. He smartly decided not to push it about dinner, and just said, when you feel like making food, go ahead and make it.. don't worry about me. Well, I took his words to heart, and headed to the kitchen close to midnight to make up for it. Crazily enough (it was just one of those days), he was down. I poured some vanilla vodka on the rocks, he poured some whisky for himself and I got to work. I had some leftover Einkorn. I decided to take the pre-packaged "stir-fry" vegetable mix of brocolli, cauliflower and carrots and cut them into smaller pieces, diced some white onion and minced two garlic cloves and threw it in a pot of boiling water. I boiled it all lightly, I simply didn't have the energy to saute them, strained them, threw them in the pasta, added a really great olive oil I invested in to use only for dressings and things that deserve an awesome olive oil taste, tore 4 or 5 leaves of fresh basil into smaller pieces and threw them into the mix, and added a bit of sea salt. The pasta was cold and the veggies were hot, so the whole thing ended up a horrible luke-warm. I could have refrigerated it, and it would have made a GREAT cold pasta salad, but since I wanted to deliver the food to a starved roommate at a ridiculous hour, I threw it all back in the pan, and put it on low heat. This actually worked out great, because the basil and garlic flavors really spread throughout the dish much better with the help of a little heat, and the pasta came out great.
While the veggies were boiling, I decided to make a cucumber dill salad that I had been thinking about since yesterday. I took out this great organic cucumber we got at whole foods a few days back, diced it into cubes, diced some white onion, threw them together, added the yummy olive oil, sprinkled dill over it, and sprinkled a bit of sea salt. Simple recipe, but awesome salad. Super cooling to the system and refreshing, a PERFECT salad for a really hot day, I was pretty psyched. I needed the cooling, hydrating effect of the cucumber and the pungent, spicy effect of the onion, and the soothing dill. Roomie loved the salad, and said it reminded him a bit of something his father used to make, except it was pickled. Glad to bring flavors to his palate that make him reminisce. And speaking of pickled... I am on day one of making kimchi. I'll have to write about that tomorrow. (I know, I'm a little bit behind).
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Infusing Flax, Chia & Hemp Seeds in Olive oil for Salad Dressing
June 11, 2013
Buying flax seed oil is expensive, let's face it. And you have to keep it refrigerated, so if you are travelling, you can't bring it with you. Also, it doesn't taste that great in any sort of dresssing, or to combine with food. Really, the best and if you are considering taste, only way to take it is in a teaspoon or tablespoon, with a chaser that will kill the aftertaste, kind of like taking tequilla with lime. So, I went looking for an alternative. I decided to infuse the chia, flax and hemp seeds in olive oil, to see if I could get the restorative & regenerative properties from the seeds into an oil that I can use to flavor foods, such as in a homemade salad dressing. You can make a whole lot more of this on your own than you can buy in the store, and you can make it where and when you want, in the amounts you need at the time, with or without refrigeration.
My favorite oil to use for salad dressing is Olive Oil, and it is great for infusing flavors and herbs. So, take 1/2 cup of olive oil, add 3 tbsp of ground flax seed, 1 tbsp of chia seed and combine in a glass jar or bottle. Heat water in crock pot to somewhere between 100 - 130 degrees and let the oil in the glass jar or bottle sit in the hot water for 3-5 hours. I add the hemp seeds last since they are much softer and do not require anywhere near as much time for its properties to infuse in the oil.
Next Step: Remove from heat, add hemp seeds and return to heat for another hour.
Next Step: Remove from heat, strain oil through cheesecloth or strainer and return to glass jar or bottle, wait for it to cool & then use!
Buying flax seed oil is expensive, let's face it. And you have to keep it refrigerated, so if you are travelling, you can't bring it with you. Also, it doesn't taste that great in any sort of dresssing, or to combine with food. Really, the best and if you are considering taste, only way to take it is in a teaspoon or tablespoon, with a chaser that will kill the aftertaste, kind of like taking tequilla with lime. So, I went looking for an alternative. I decided to infuse the chia, flax and hemp seeds in olive oil, to see if I could get the restorative & regenerative properties from the seeds into an oil that I can use to flavor foods, such as in a homemade salad dressing. You can make a whole lot more of this on your own than you can buy in the store, and you can make it where and when you want, in the amounts you need at the time, with or without refrigeration.
My favorite oil to use for salad dressing is Olive Oil, and it is great for infusing flavors and herbs. So, take 1/2 cup of olive oil, add 3 tbsp of ground flax seed, 1 tbsp of chia seed and combine in a glass jar or bottle. Heat water in crock pot to somewhere between 100 - 130 degrees and let the oil in the glass jar or bottle sit in the hot water for 3-5 hours. I add the hemp seeds last since they are much softer and do not require anywhere near as much time for its properties to infuse in the oil.
Next Step: Remove from heat, add hemp seeds and return to heat for another hour.
Next Step: Remove from heat, strain oil through cheesecloth or strainer and return to glass jar or bottle, wait for it to cool & then use!
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