Avocado Eggs

Another one of my favorites I used to make for the Cal-Earth workshops...

Avocado Eggs

you will need:

juice from ½ lemon

1 garlic clove finely chopped

1 green onion chopped

¼ tsp sea salt

pinch of cayenne

¼ tsp curry powder

1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

½ cup grated carrots

1 avocado

sprinkle of paprika (optional)

sprouts (optional)

directions:

Put the lemon juice, garlic, green onion, cilantro, salt, cayenne and curry powder in a bowl and stir.  Then stir in carrots.

Carefully cut the avocado in half lengthwise and scoop out the inside of the avocado into the bowl with the rest of the ingredients.  Save the avocado shells.  Slice the avocado into ¼ - ½” pieces (don’t mash)

Spoon the mixture into the avocado half shells to serve.  Sprinkle with paprika and sprouts.  Enjoy!

(serves 1)

from Uncooking with RawRose by Rose Vasile

Quinoa and Collards with Tahini Sauce

This is one I used to make for the Cal-Earth workshops:

Quinoa and Collards with Tahini Sauce

you will need:

1 cup quinoa (white or red or mixed)

2 green onions

¼ cup dried cranberries or cherries (try to find juice sweetened rather than sugar)

¼ cup roasted salted cashews or pistachios

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (you can toast them yourself easily in a pan or toaster oven)

½ tsp sea salt

1 ½ cups water

12 collard leaves (raw)

approximately 2 tbsp tahini

3 tbsp olive oil

juice from 1 lime

directions:

Chop the green onions and sauté in 1 tbsp olive oil in medium saucepan until tender.  Add the quinoa, ¼ tsp salt and water.  Cook covered for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.  Add cranberries and re-cover to let the steam soften.  Then fluff with a fork, mixing in the cranberries.

Wash and de-stem the collards.  Put the leaves in a pile and roll tightly like you were rolling a sleeping bag lengthwise.  Slice the roll as thinly as possible so you end up with lovely long ribbons of collards.

In a small bowl, combine tahini, lime juice, 2 tbsp olive oil and ¼ tsp salt.  Stir with fork until mixed well and then add a little water (a tablespoon or two) until it is a good consistency for a dressing

Arrange collards in a nest on the plate, scoop about ½ cup of the quinoa mixture on top.  Sprinkle cashews or pistachios and the toasted sesame seeds on top.  Drizzle the dressing on top (mostly on the collards around the quinoa) and serve!

Reishi recipes from Luna

Dandy Blend & Reishi Frothy Warm Drink

Add to hot, not boiling, water:

- 1 level Teaspoon Reishi powder

- 1 Heaping Tablespoon Dandy Blend Powder (Dandy Blend is a very fortifying Dandelion powder blend that tastes great and is a good coffee/tea substitute. You can order it online, or find it at Natural Grocers. Or ask you local health food store to stock it if they don't have it.)

- 1 teaspoon coconut oil (if desired.)

- 1 glug of Coconut Milk, Almond Milk, Hazelnut Milk, or Hemp Milk (unsweetened) You can omit the water and add all of the ingredients to the hot milk of your choice if you want it extra rich.

- 1 Teaspoon or more of Maple Syrup or Honey (or Stevia if you have a taste for it.)

Kids love it, too, and it helps sustain their immune systems through the winter.

Reishi VitamineralGreen Smoothie

In a burly blender or stalwart vitamix or cuisinart, put:

- 3-4 cups of Unsweetened Hemp, Almond, Hazelnut, or Coconut milk in, and Add:

Heaping Tablespoon Reishi

- 2 Heaping Tablespoons VitamineralGreen powder (Once again, check online or order through Elephant Cloud Tea House. Call them at: (719) 256-5544.)

- Cup or two of organically grown fruit such as pears, blueberries, strawberries, apples

- Cup or two of chopped celery (Important to cleanse the lymph system, and add a detoxifying effect to the metabolism when it slows in the winter. Adds a freshness to the smoothie, also.)

- Cup or two of chopped kale, dandelion greens, or other dark leafy greens

- Heaping Tablespoon of Maca powder (Check with Tea House, see info above.)

- Add Omega Oils or Coconut Oil to your preference, about 1 Tablespoon 

- 1-2 Tablespoons of Raw Tahini for the calcium and mineral benefits if you have a taste for it.

- Add extra spirulina or chlorella to make it even more green-powered if you like that.

- Add Maple Syrup or Raw Agave if you'd like.

Blend well until the ingredients have harmonized, and consume with gratitude and joy.

Sauerkraut

This is one of my favorite things to make, keep, eat, share...  Wild Fermentation is so fun and so key to our healthy intestines.  I've been doing it for a few years and it never gets old.

Sauerkraut

you will need:

4 to 5 lbs cabbage

2 tablespoons sea salt

large bell jar and glass votive candle that fits in the opening (like the religious ones)

or

ceramic crock and a plate that fits in the opening

directions:

Chop or grate the cabbage and place in large bowl.  Sprinkle the salt as you go.

You can add other vegetables if you wish, such as carrots, garlic, seaweed, turnips, beets, radish.  You could also add spices and seeds such as caraway seeds, celery seeds, fresh ginger…

Mix well and pack into the jar or crock using a wooden spoon to tamp it down in layers.  This packs it tightly and helps to release the water in the cabbage.

Place the candle in the jar or the plate in the crock and cover with a towel and rubber band or twine to secure the towel, keeping out insects and dust.

Let it sit somewhere in the kitchen (an unused counter corner) for 1 to 4 weeks.  Check it to be sure that the brine has formed and is covering the kraut.  (The candle or plate is acting as a weight to keep the cabbage under the brine.)  If not enough brine appears after 24 hours or it evaporates over time, add a little salty water.  You should not need it though.  You will know your kraut is ready when there is a good, sour smell to it.  Enjoy the benefits of the good bacteria that form, helping you with healthy digestion.

from Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz

Sauerkraut combines the health benefits offered by all cruciferous vegetables (a category which includes cauliflowers and brussel sprouts as well as cabbage) with the probiotic advantages derived from the fermentation process.

Cabbage offers a host of health benefits. It is high in vitamins A and C. Studies have shown the cruciferous vegetables can help lower cholesterol levels. Cabbage also provides a rich source of phytonutrient antioxidants. In addition, it has anti-inflammatory properties, and some studies indicate it may help combat some cancers. However, this already helpful vegetable becomes a superfood when it is pickled.

The fermentation process used to make sauerkraut was probably first developed centuries ago simply as a means of preserving vegetables for easy consumption throughout the winter. The health benefits derived from pickling vegetables were already well-known to early civilizations. Historical evidence suggests laborers on the Great Wall of China consumed a version of the pickled cabbage dish 2,000 years ago.

Traditional Chinese has long prescribed sauerkraut juice as a home remedy for many common ailments . The armies of Genghis Khan most likely first brought the dish to Europe. The Roman army traveled with barrels of sauerkraut, using it to prevent intestinal infections among the troops during long excursions.

In periods and cultures when natural healing methods fell into disuse, people consumed fewer fermented foods and were subject to more illness. Scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) killed many British sailors during the 1700s, especially on longer voyages. In the late 1770s, Captain James Cook circumnavigated the world without losing a single sailor to scurvy, thanks to the foods his ship carried, including sixty barrels of sauerkraut.

Mainstream health experts began to pay renewed attention to sauerkraut after a study published in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2002. Finnish researchers reported that in laboratory studies,a substance produced by fermented cabbage, isothiocyanates, helped prevent the growth of cancer.

Even before the laboratory study, however, alternative health experts extolled the healing benefits of sauerkraut because of the lactic acid bacteria produced as a side-effect of the pickling process.

Healthy human colons contain many beneficial bacteria which feed on the waste left over from our digestion, creating lactic acid. Without these beneficial bacteria the human digestive system becomes home to harmful parasites and yeasts, resulting in the condition of candida.

Sauerkraut provides a high density source of a wide range of beneficial live bacteria which assist in the digestive process. Consuming a serving of sauerkraut can give your body as much of a health boost as many of the expensive probiotic drinks and supplements sold in stores. However, most commercially sold sauerkraut have lost most of their beneficial bacterial organisms. To gain the most benefits from sauerkraut, you may want to purchase it freshly made, or learn how to make your own.

If you want to explore recipes for making sauerkraut and other fermented dishes, an excellent place to start is with Sandor Ellis Katz's Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition and Craft of Live Culture Foods.

In his book, Katz points out that "Fermentation not only preserves nutrients, it breaks them down into more digestible forms." Katz, who also wrote The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America's Underground Food Movements, recommends not only eating sauerkraut but drinking the juice which he calls "a rare delicacy and unparalleled digestive tonic."

vegan versions

p.s.

almost anything I make with ghee and yogurt can be made with coconut oil and plain vegan yogurt.
xo

Thai Coconut Soup

This is another easy favorite creation of mine.  I love soup!

1 small to medium sweet onion halved then sliced thin

1 medium carrot sliced in thin strips

fresh bean sprouts (about 1/3 cup)

fresh chopped cilantro to sprinkle on top before serving

coconut milk (1 can)

lime juice from 1 lime

pinch of cayenne

water (4 to 6 cups)

fresh green beans (about 1/3 cup)

coconut oil (2 tbsp)

fresh mushrooms sliced (shitake are great)

lemongrass - one stalk sliced

salt (1/2 tsp or to taste)

1/2 tsp curry powder

Saute the onions and curry powder in the coconut oil.  Add the coconut milk, lemongrass, salt, cayenne, and water, bring to a boil.  Add fresh veggies and simmer until veggies are slightly soft, but still crunch.  Stir in the lime juice and sprinkle with cilantro.

This soup always feels so clean and fresh to me.  Would be good with fresh sweet peas too!

Easy Peanut Sauce

This is one I can always whip up for a guest or group quickly and it is always a pleaser because it is packed with flavor and very warming and comforting.  I like to serve it on rice or soba noodles.  You could also use it for dipping grilled meats.

- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter

- 1 can coconut milk

- agave to taste

- Bragg's or tamari to taste

- 1 inch piece of fresh ginger minced, or 1 teaspoon of ginger powder

- 3 garlic cloves minced

- dash of cayenne

- 2 tbsp sesame oil or coconut oil (or other vegetable oil will work)

- fresh chopped cilantro to sprinkle on top when serving (optional)

Saute the garlic and ginger in the oil over medium-low - be careful not to burn or brown.  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir over medium-low until the peanut butter melts into a good consistency for a sauce.

Gaia's dressing

I whipped it up today.  yum.

1 cup olive oil or other salad oil

1/4 cup lemon juice (or Bragg's apple cider vinegar)

1/2 cup tahini

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp jarred parsley (or 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley)

put it in the blender! (would also be good with a clove of garlic in there too!)

the best lentil soup

3 tablespoons oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup rye berries or barley

1/2 cup brown or green lentils

4 cups water

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

pinch of cayenne

1/2 cup drained cooked chik peas

Heat oil in the soup pot and add the onion.  Saute about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cilantro and fry for another 3 minutes. 

Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Cover and dimmer over low for 1 hour.  Add more water if needed.

The original recipe called for barley but all I had is rye and I'm really loving the rye berries lately!  I put them in the rice cooker and eat it like rice.

Rica's Banana Bread (gluten free)

1 1/2 - 2 cups mashed ripe bananas

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/3 cup organic light oil (sunflower, canola...)

2 eggs beaten (or egg replacement)

2 cups buckwheat flour

1 vanilla bean (optional)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup coconut palm sugar (or other sweetener)

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

sprinkle of ground cloves

2 Tbsp poppy seeds

1/4 cup dried golden raisins, cranberries, or cherries

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix bananas, apple sauce, oils, eggs, and sweetener in a large bowl.  

In a separate bowl, combine other ingredients.  

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and pour batter into a greased loaf pan.  

Bake for 1 hour.

(You can experiment with using different flours and combinations of flours but I love buckwheat!  The color is beautiful and so rich and wholesome.)

Luna's rooted winter soup

This recipe was made in a pressure cooker and I don't have exact amounts of anything, but you can make it in a regular pot and cook it longer.  Three of each of the larger root vegetables and maybe more of the parsnips and blue potatoes.

beets

carrots

parsnips

sweet potato

white Japanese sweet potato

Peruvian blue potato

dried spinach leaves (or fresh spinach at the end)

basil

onion

leeks

miso

Parboil the root veggies to 40% cooked.  Peel the beets and potatoes.  Add all ingredients to an electric pressure cooker (except the miso) and cook for about 12 minutes or according to your pressure cooker directions.  Stir in a spoonful of miso into your bowl upon serving. 

Super nourishing and grounding!

Egg-Drop Miso

The art of egg-drop soup seemed a mystery reserved for Asian restaurants, but it is really so easy!  Lita and I make miso soup at night often, and I like to combine the two...

Rica's Egg-Drop Miso

- 1 small sweet onion halved and sliced

- 1 Tbsp ghee

- 4 cups water

- a huge spoon of miso (to taste)

- 1 tbsp dulse flakes

- fresh ground pepper

- 1 head of bok choy chopped

- 2 eggs

Saute the onion in the ghee in a pot and add water when onion is translucent.  Add miso and bring to a boil then simmer, stirring often to dissolve the miso.  Add the bok choy and cook for maybe 5 minutes.  In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and slowly pour them into the simmering soup while stirring.  They make beautiful, delicate white threads.  Add pepper and the dulse and serve.  

Soup is so fun to make because you can add anything really.  I usually keep this one simple but sometimes I also like to add any combination of mushrooms, bean sprouts, sliced cabbage, seaweed, other greens, or tofu.
Leave out the eggs and it is vegan.