I know I have been posting a lot
of soups lately! I love soups because they are a simple way to get complex,
nutrient density from whole foods into your life. October is a good time to
start giving your immune system a little TLC. And this immune support soup
recipe contains some of the best sources for key immune supporting nutrients.
And, it is free of any inflammatory foods that might bog your body down or
tamper with your digestion. Read More
I think at least a few of my
friends are scratching their heads at my new obsession with vegan cooking.
Here is the truth; it isn’t exactly the vegan I am obsessed about, but more
just having an in-depth go at figuring out how much essential nutrition I can
get from a vegan meal; the kind of nutrition that one would normally think
can only be obtained from an animal. And then there is another fascination
that comes with vegan cooking- to see where you can find the essential
“comfort” ingredients. That brings me to my current dating spree
with nuts, especially the rich, oily ones. I am about a recipe away
from being convinced that nuts take the healthy lead in providing the comfort
essentials we all love and our tastebuds count on. Move over butter, cheese,
and cream, because I just made an entrée that takes the “comfort”
of creamy mushroom ravioli filling, and turns it on its gluten free, dairy
free, vegan ear. Read More
Here is a fun and extremely easy
variation on the bacon-wrapped fig. Actually, I wanted to see if I could
wrap a fig in a shiitake bacon, but the bacon pieces aren’t quite big or
flexible enough. Next time I will try making a portobello bacon. In the
meantime, this is what I ended up with, and to my delight, it came out
very tasty. Try this as a snack, or a vegan and Paleo-friendly summer hors
d’oeuvre, if you go with the vegan cheese, or I would imagine that
goat cheese would be equally amazing. You can google shiitake bacon
recipes and experiment, or just use the one I came up with here. Making
shiitake bacon is much easier than it sounds if you use this quick
method.
The chard in the food garden is
making gigantic leaves right now. They are so big I am tempted to preserve
them and use them as shoe leather, or a hand fan, or something practical.
Since those wild ideas are probably ultimately not as practical as one would
hope, I opted to put together this 13 bean soup, and just enjoy the chard in
its glorious, minimally processed form. That’s actually my favorite way to
enjoy nutrient dense greens! My partner Ricky bought a bag of 13 bean soup
mix a while ago, and has been nudging me to make soup out of it. So here is
one more hearty soup to get into your belly before the seasons completely
change over. Or enjoy it all spring and summer using a variety of different
seasonal greens and fresh vegetables. The key is to put the greens in at the
end, so they are super fresh, vibrantly colored and retain as much of their
living nutrition as possible.
I’ll be frank: I love
buckwheat!!! I have always had a fond place in my heart for buckwheat. I
honestly can’t remember where in my childhood buckwheat took its place, I
think an aunt used it, or maybe my mom. I just remember it being there somewhere.
When I started pursuing this healthier cooking thing, I was delighted to
discover the nutritional benefits that buckwheat has to offer. Buckwheat is
not actually wheat at all. It is a seed that comes from a sorrel-like flower.
This makes it, in my view, a superfood, not to mention gluten free, plant
based, and other great qualities many are looking for
today.
Unfortunately, buckwheat flour doesn’t behave quite the same
as wheat flour, so its uses tend to be more limited, but you can find some
good products that use pure buckwheat in simple and nutritious ways. You can
also use it in recipes here and there, in baking, and always be confident
that you are adding amino acids, fiber, and other essential nutrition to the
dish. Here is a fantastic and quick way to enjoy ramen without the toxic
craziness of the ubiquitous instant ramen. And, it is great on a detox!
This recipe can be ready to eat in 20-30 minutes from start to finish.
Read More
