Garden Trout

I had a smoked trout salad a couple weeks ago which reminded me that I really like trout. I rarely eat meat, but when I do it is something I crave and works well with my body which would be trout, turkey or duck. In the company of others, I may deviate from those.

No, the trout was not grown in a garden, but the rest of the ingredients were! So after buying a large bag of veggies at the farmer's market, I stopped by Whole Foods crossing my finger there was fresh trout in the case. YESSSS!

Even though the temperatures here have been hot and humid, I turned on my stove and baked my trout while I minced veggies. The veggies and herbs filled 2/3 of the bowl and I was still mincing so I had to nix some of the veggies to keep room for the fish!

I minced:

1 medium raw orange bell pepper

1 small raw red onion (size of maybe 2 golf balls)

1 small thumb of fresh ginger

1 Tbsp or so of fresh Italian parsley

15-20 steamed green beans

I julienned:

5 leaves of raw swiss chard, stems removed

Tossed in leaves from several sprigs of fresh thyme

Added a few dashes of Himalayan sea salt, a splash of coconut oil, juice of half a lemon

The trout was on 375 til done, maybe 15-20 minutes. I let it cool while I continued to mince, julienne, toss and squeeze; then I added it in large pieces removing any missed bones.

I like the sweetness of the bell pepper, green bean and trout against the pungency of the ginger and thyme with the slight bitterness of the chard and parsley. Nice harmony of flavors!

Dinner for the hot, humid week is served!

Squash Blossoms

The squash blossoms I picked up from the farmer's market Thursday were on my mind when I went out for Italian last night. I didn't want to batter and fry them and I didn't want to make a summer soup.

I decided the flat, square homemade noodles that accompanied the abundance of everything else would be amazing with a chiffonade of blossoms and a little cheese. I headed out to Saturday's farmer's market on a mission for local cheeses! Not my usual food of choice but I was inspired!

Here is what I did:

Olive oil
1 Tbs unsalted butter
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
2 patty pan squash, finely chopped
small handful of Italian parsley, finely chopped
10 zucchini blossoms, quartered from stem to tip
Himalayan sea salt
5-10saffron threads
2 cups vegetable broth, preferably homemade
1 egg yolk
½ lb. pappardelle
Pecorino Romano, finely grated
Small wheel of chevre

Heat a large pot of salted water over high heat for your pasta.

In a large skillet, warm a small amount of olive oil and the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, patty pan squash, and Italian parsley, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are translucent. Add the zucchini blossoms, a pinch or two of salt, and the saffron, and stir gently to mix. Add about ¾ cup of broth, and stir to combine. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the rest of the broth a splash or two at a time, taking about 5-8 minutes to add it all. Stir frequently. Allow the sauce to simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated and only a small amount of thickened broth remains in the pan. Remove from the heat.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk slightly with a fork.

Cook the pasta until tender but al dente. When the pasta is almost ready, place the zucchini blossom sauce back over medium heat. Use a small measuring spoon, scoop up about 3 Tbs of pasta water and, whisking constantly with a fork, gradually add the hot water to the egg yolk: together, they should make a loose, pale yellow liquid. Pour this mixture into the sauce in the skillet, add small pieces of chevre, stirring well. Using tongs or a spider, scoop the finished pasta from its pot into the skillet, and toss with the sauce over medium heat for about 30 seconds.

Autumn Classes! Fermented Foods in the Kitchen

What have you been looking for? An easy detox, improved digestion, more stable mood, greater energy?

Join me in the kitchen and I will teach you how to accomplish this and more!

Kefir is chock full of probiotics-all the good bacteria your digestive tract needs. Much of your immune system and serotonin production is housed in your gut. Reestablishing the microflora ecosystem will help you feel healthier, happier, more balanced.

• Promotes Healthy Detox
• Rehydrates the Body
• Aids in Weight Loss
• Enhances Mood
• Boosts Energy
• Reduces Allergies and Candida symptoms
• Makes a good hangover cure
• Lifts Depression, Fatigue and much more!

Cultured or Fermented veggies, think sauerkraut and kim chi, are also probiotic-rich. They keep for months in your fridge, just a small amount is medicinal and

• Helps heal your stomach, liver and intestines
• Clears your skin
• Improves your energy
• Tones your intestines and flattens your stomach
• Eases digestion
• Eliminates joint pain
• Enhances immunity

We will get creative in the kitchen

• Learn to make kefir with young coconut water from the mineral rich coconuts at your local market
• Learn to culture your favorite veggies

 COMING UP! Saturday, November 6 at 4 pm

Elemental Health 2225 W. North Ave, Chicago 
$50 Go home with recipes, starter liquid and exactly what you need to feel better!
Pre-registration by November 3 required to hold your space. No refund on cancellation. No walk-in registration


Past classes at Elemental Health

Sunday, September 12 at 6 pm or Tuesday, September 14 at 6:30 pm

VITAL JUICE exclusive class for subscribers 
Sunday, September 19 at 4 pm. Pre-register

Past classes at Be Optimal Holistic Health Center
Saturday, October 9 at 2 pm

Be Optimal Holistic Health Center 1249 Waukegan Road, Glenview

By Land or By Sea, Green Superfoods

Over the last couple months I wrote about a variety of superfoods. Nuts, seeds, berries, and now green stuff that is nutrient-dense for their tiny size. We’ve got nutritious green stuff that we find in the garden and not as familiar green stuff from the water’s depths.

For the landlovers, we’ve got your grasses-alfalfa, barley, and wheat (no relation to the grain) and your leafy green vegetables – to name a few: arugula, beet greens, chicory, collards, dandelion, endive and escarole, kale, kohlrabi, lettuces, mustard greens, parsley, spinach, swiss chard, turnip greens, and watercress.

Some controversy surrounds the benefits of grasses, but grass is a green plant and contains nutrients. I am allergic to wheatgrass but used barley grass throughout a 6 month cleanse several years ago.

Individuals on blood thinners need to eliminate Vitamin K intake because it is a blood thinning vitamin, meaning you will need to avoid most of these lovely greens. But, the flip side is if your doctor allows it and monitors your blood levels closely and you are committed to maintaining healthy diet chock full of green veggies, you can reduce you medication. This can only be done with the full support and guidance of your doctor!

Other than Vitamin K, depending on the leafy greens you consume, you will be taking in more calcium than you’d get from dairy, Vitamin A, C and E are up there too, magnesium, obviously fiber, inulin, chlorophyll – what I call the “blood” of the plant (a must for vegetarians!)

Yes, greens taste bitter and pungent. Our standard American diet is quite sweet and salty and oily, so the pungent and bitter tastes of veggies will be amplified until you are accustomed to them. This can be like feeding a baby new foods. It takes more than a few tries to not have it thrown back in your face! A little experimenting, a little help from cookbooks or blogs or wherever you collect recipes, will help you find the perfect way to eat your greens. Some I eat raw and some I eat steamed or sautéed. I like the flavors, and am overly sensitive to what most people enjoy, sweet and salty.

If you are going to try ANY superfood, try the grain-like seeds of quinoa and amaranth and then greens. It is easier to try a spin on something you already eat than to implement an additional food. Truly packed with nutrients, my clients with sugar-cravings or chocolate cravings soon lose the urge to OD on sugar when increasing their intake of green vegetables. I have noticed that chocolate cravings are a mask for the body’s need for magnesium, a stress relieving mineral which helps with sleep and muscular tension.

For the waterlovers, we’ve got your algae- wild blue green, spirulina, chlorella and your seaweeds.

I suggest talking to a nutritionist with a Chinese Medicine bent. With a consultation we can assess which green is best for you. Some people have strong, hot digestive systems which can handle the cold natured/temperature spirulina, whereas others need to nourish their yin and need one a little more subtle like chlorella, or, not a seaweed but, a grass that is warm natured like alfalfa. I myself stick with chlorella to nourish my waning yin and Wild Blue Green for all of its neurological attributes. A great supplement that I’ve seen work wonders with kids’ development is BioAge. I am taking the supplement now. I will let you know what I notice!

Sea veggies contain many times more calcium and iron than milk or beef. Brown wakame can be used instead of lettuce in a sandwich. Arame, brown stringy strands, I like to mix with hot pepper sauce, sautéed kale, and a few other vegetables in a cold salad. Kombu is a food tenderizer. I toss a large piece into the boiling water with dry legumes. It begins the process of breaking down fiber reducing the gaseous effects some people experience. Dulse is a red/purple color and available as sheets and flakes. It is nutty and mild. I shake it onto foods and grains as others would salt. No cooking or reconstituting needed. Green nori can be used to wrap something other than sushi.

Here are well-known healthy sea vegetables worth considering:

• Irish moss seems to contain 15 of the 18 essential elements that make up the human body. This includes great amounts calcium, iodine, sulphur, and potassium as well as Vitamins A, D, E, F and K. This definitely makes it a superfood, plus it was the main food source during the time of famine in Ireland!
  It has expectorant, demulcent, anti-inflammatory actions. It is beneficial for the skin, connective tissue, for an array of lung conditions, for peptic and duodenal ulcers, for urinary bladder inflammation, and for diabetic maintenance.
  I soaked this in water and kept in the fridge and added to smoothies. When blended with 3 times the water, it makes a paste and will add a creamy fluffy texture to recipes.
  

Other sea veggie options:

• Arame , a mild, almost sweet brown kelp is a great place to begin if you’re unaccustomed to eating sea veggies. It's usually found in thin dried strands. Soak a small handful in water until soft, add to your favorite salad then toss on your favorite salad dressing. Your salad becomes even more nutritious. I usually combine with shredded carrots and shredded broccoli stalks, sesame seeds, steamed cool kale, and thai chili paste and veggie mayo. It’s really good!
• Dulse is packed with protein and iron. I sprinkle the flakes on many things.
• Kombu, a popular ingredient in miso soup and other Japanese dishes. Just put a small strip in water and simmer for 45 minutes or longer on low heat. Now you have a wonderful mineral-rich broth. Now, simple cook veggies, soups, or your grain-like seeds in this broth. I add a small strip of kombu to a pot of cooking beans to soften and increase digestibility.
• Wakame – Closely related to kombu, this variety was found to have fat burning properties that could fight obesity, according to research from Japan. I add this to my smoothies. I soak a week’s worth in water and keep in the fridge.
• Laminaria Japonica - This miracle cleanser of heavy metals. It’s rich in vitamins and minerals that help support your thyroid, detoxify your body from heavy metals and ward off disease.
• Kelp – A brown algae, kelp grows in nutrient-rich ocean water and is packed with vitamins, minerals and iodine. Kelp is thought to be especially useful for prostate, pancreas and digestive health. It is recommended for a gamut of thyroid disorders. Your thyroid needs minerals (like the ones found in ocean veggies) and certain fats to work well.
• Nori – the common sushi wrapper, as “seaweed sheets” use them as wraps or they taste delicious when toasted. Nori in Japan is used like injerra in Ethiopia as implement to convey food like rice to mouth.
• Hijiki – Makes a great natural beauty aid. It needs more cooking than arame.
• Agar – Agar is wonderful for creating delicious sugar-free desserts. It is a vegetarian alternative to gelatin. It can be used in both sweet and savory dishes and has mild laxative properties...so can be helpful for those who suffer from constipation.

Food, Inc.

The movie's buzz was loud in the vegan, raw, macrobiotic communities months before it released nationwide. Links for Food Inc. were constantly popping up on my Facebook page from friends, practitioners, chefs, green activists, journalists, and businesses. If you've read or heard excerpts or synopses as I have of Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma, you will have some idea what this movie contains.

Viewing Food Inc. will literally open your mind's eye to the politics and corporate monopoly of the American food industry and to the abuse to animals and detriment of it all to your body. It is difficult to stomach, but what you are actually eating is even more difficult.

According to Food, Inc., "Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment" ...and it's happening with our government's consent.

Here are some highlights from the movie Food, Inc.:

• Monsanto has patented "Roundup Ready" genetically engineered seeds that are made to do well with the herbicide, Roundup. If farmers save seed, a long-held farming practice of putting seeds aside from every crop to use again, Monsanto can sue them for violating the seed patents. Monsanto has won millions of dollars in lawsuits, literally changing the way farmers are allowed to farm.
  


• Meat and poultry manufacturers have stringent regulations that require farmers to squeeze poultry or cattle into dark, cramped warehouses so that the animals can grow fat quickly. These animals are sick and can barely walk. They lie in their own feces and need antibiotics to make them healthy. Antibiotics that are now part of our meal when we eat non-organic meats.
  


• Government regulations and farm subsidies have shifted our food supply from good calories to bad calories, like a proliferation of corn and soy. If you've ever wondered why fruits and vegetables are so much more expensive than processed foods, this is why. Subsidized crops like corn, wheat and soy are finding their way into so many foods as main ingredients, fillers or damaging sweeteners, like high fructose corn syrup. Subsidies make them much cheaper and poor families diets tend to suffer the most.
  


• Cows are fed diets of corn, which is harmful to their natural digestive systems. The corn creates an acidic condition, when they require a neutral pH. This has caused harmful bacteria to thrive, particularly E. coli.
  An added tidbit : 95% of a McDonald's meal is corn products from the meat to the bun to the condiments to the corn syrup to the shake.
  

Food Inc. does offer great suggestions and hope for what you can do to change the way you eat AND the way our nation eats.

What are some changes that don't include creating a farm in your home?

1. Educate yourself on the dangers of processed food and sugar. Make small changes to a whole food, processed- and sugar-free diet.
   


2. Strengthen your immune system and therefore your digestion with probiotics. Processed food destroys the gut health creating an imbalance of healthy to unhealthy bacteria. Taking probiotic supplements and drinks, eating fermented foods and drinks will all replenish the healthy gut flora
   


3. Eat healthy fats. Learn which are and which aren't. Avoid any in the clear plastic bottles at the supermarket, they are processed rancid oils. Choose olive oil, coconut oil, hemp and flaxseed oils, walnut and almond oils, evening primrose, among others.
   


4. Choose organic wherever possible. Certain fruits and vegetables absorb more toxins than others. Definitely choose organic meats.
   


5. Take time to detoxify. Take your time and add healthy choices individually and remove the unhealthy ones at the same pace. Allow three months of your Spring or Summer to cleanse your system of all it has accumulated, and continue to make healthy choices thereafter.

Raw Ecology Diet Rejuvenation Program

Here is an amazing program for everyone and a great introduction to raw food by Gina Laverde. Pop over to her blog and read her personal journey with food and healing.

This is a 6 week personalized and guided program for an accessible price: $149 or $250 if you and a friend join.

Definitely check it out!

Vegetables Don't Taste Good!

Excuse Me!

During my slow and transitioning month of May, I turned on daytime tv. I came across an infomercial with Montel Williams. Did you know he promotes a juicer/blender? And every person who hates vegetables came to the taping? I was appalled.

I am the most adamantly against the in-your-face “do this or you’ll miss your chance” promotion techniques. Or in this case, this is the only way a vegetable will ever be palatable. This could be why I have a moderate practice; I am the first to admit I am the worst promoter of my services. I am a “here I am, this is what I do, if you are ready and we mesh, you will come; if not, you are meant to go another way” nonviolent promoter. So, to hear that no one likes the taste of vegetables and maybe people eat 1 to 5 servings PER WEEK and maybe that is just the lettuce and tomato on their sandwich, I wanted to just shut off the tv. Well, I did. I questioned why I am even in this profession. Why am I writing about dandelion greens and collards and kale if no one wants to ingest the more benign flavored carrots, cauliflower or broccoli.

The easiest way to improve your overall health is to increase consumption of “real food” – food our grandparents ate - not the new food - processed, packaged, soy or wheat gluten products (literally NON foods). Specifically increasing the daily intake of vegetables and omega 3 oils will have an impact on your life within a few months of the switch (this is the most in-your-face I will get). According to national standards we should be consuming about 5 servings each day or 5 cups of vegetables. I’ve had the recent opportunity to observe the carb-heavy diets of my generation and know why they are drinking coffee, fiber drinks and eating fiber bars and looking to doctors for prescriptions for abdominal discomfort!

Then I caught a glimpse of my t-shirt “eat more greens”; remembered that I have some distant facebook friends who are raw foodists; and remembered that a previous roommate recently said she’s loved kale since I introduced it to her and she converted her boyfriend. My nonviolent promotion has been effective and others out there must be eating these vegetables. The only saving grace of Montel’s shock-lisa-infomercial was that everyone miraculously loved juiced and blended vegetable by the end of the taping. Whew! Another happy ending in Hollywood.

Second Week of Food Delivery

I didn't cook for my friends last week since they were being thankful with and fed by family and friends for the holiday.

I stated at the end of the last entry what I would be cooking this time and my ideas changed some. I was watching the grey windy sky and all I wanted was roasted root vegetables and gingerbread, but since I was feeding someone else I also made some veggie burgers.

Here's what I made

Veggie Burgers

These vary depending on what I have on hand. Today I didn't have much variety of vegetables so these were protein-packed burgers.

1 cake of extra firm tofu, drained

½ cup or so of flax meal

A few shakes of sesame oil

A few tablespoons Braggs amino acids

Slivered almonds, crushed

¾ cup cooked lentils

½ medium onion, chopped

Small wedge of purple cabbage, chopped

Broccoli stalks, peeled and chopped

Thyme

Salt and pepper

Brown rice flour

Cook the lentils. If you drained tofu before you've got your method. If I'm in a hurry I press the cake between paper towels or tea towels with my hands until the towels are barely damp. I mix the tofu, sesame oil and Braggs amino acids, thyme, almonds and flax meal and let it sit while I chop the veggies and sauté them in a skillet olive oil. I hand blend the sauté veggies once they've cooled and add it to the tofu mixture. Drain the lentils, mash them a bit if you like and add to the burger mix. Add salt and pepper. In a glass pie plate, I pour a handful of flour. I form into small patties and coat both sides in the flour. You can bake or pan fry them.

Roasted Root Vegetables

This rendition of roasted veggies is a little different than most I make. I wanted some sweet and tart flavor with the earthy sweet and bitter flavors of sweet potatoes and rutabagas.

Dad handed me a bag of tangerines when I departed from my family thanksgiving gathering. "Too many seeds," he grumbled. Uh, thanks? I deseeded one and squeezed the plentiful juice as well as the juice from half of a lemon into a ceramic baking dish. I added a couple dozen fresh cranberries and a dollop of brown rice syrup. I peeled and cut the 2 sweet potatoes and 1 small-verging-on-medium rutabaga into large chunks and added it to the dish. I baked at 425 until the veggies were soft and absorbed nearly all the citrus juice.

Ginger(pumpkin)bread

Vegan and gluten-free! As far as I am concerned my oat flour is gluten-free. Oats are gluten-free; most are packaged in plants that process wheat so if you are allergic to wheat or gluten be careful. I purchase all my flours online from Purcell Mountain Farms. The flours are organic, but since they also process wheat, the flours are not guaranteed gluten-free.

My first gingerbread was insanely moist and amazing flavorful but it was dense yet delicate and falling apart. The pumpkin puree wasn't enough of a binder. You can certainly add an egg to this or a Tbsp of flax meal or some potato flour (starch). For the second batch, I just increased the flour to 2 ½ cups total and added another tsp of baking soda. It helped.

¼ cup Earth Balance

½ cup molasses

½ cup soy creamer

¼ cup maple syrup

½ cup brown rice syrup

¾ cup pumpkin puree

1 cup oat flour

1 ½ cup sorghum (milo) flour

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp total: allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon

With flame on low, I melted the Earth Balance in a saucepan, added molasses, soy creamer, maple syrup and brown rice syrup. In a large bowl, I sifted the flours, baking soda, baking powder, ground ginger, and other spices. I incorporated the liquid into the flour mixture. I mixed in about 6 oz pumpkin puree. Pour the mixture into an oiled square ceramic baking dish. Bake at 300 for 75 min.

I made another batch in a small rectangular baking dish with fresh grated ginger and I topped it with about 12 fresh cranberries and some slivered almonds. I might make it a little more Swedish next time with grapefruit rinds and lingonberries.

Authentic Holiday Gatherings

Not since the mid-90s have I spent Christmas with friends. Not to dismiss quality time with family over the other years, but my favorite holiday memories have been with my friends. Potluck dinners, everyone happy and wanting to be together, curling up with hot drinks and sharing ideas. This year we were a small group sharing an Indian meal of sag paneer and chana masala (made lovingly by one zen chef/occupational therapist), samosas (made by a Devon Street baker), salad (made by 4-season salad lover), and carrot halva. The meal was followed by curling in front of the tv (a treat for me) watching Bob Marley in concert and Elvis in Blue Hawaii. A very non traditional celebration but completely authentic and real.

My contribution was cherry tamarind chutney and an experiment in non-dairy, non-cane sugar carrot halva.
This is what I did:

Carrot Halva
1 lb carrots, grated
1 qt combination of soy milk and soy creamer
3 pods of cardamom (or pinch of powder)
2/3 cup agave nectar
¼ tsp rose water
1/3 cup almond flour
1/3 cup of hazelnut flour

Combine carrots, soymilk, and contents of 3 cardamom pods (or pinch of powder) and simmer a really long time. The dairy recipe even says to be patient. Soy cannot be boiled or the milk is destroyed, therefore you will have to be very patient. You must s i m m e r, watch and stir the entire time. When it reduces by half add the agave nectar and rose water. Eventually you want the mixture to hold a shape or at least, when stirred, not flow back to cover the other side of the pot. Add 1/3 cup almond flour, if it is still not thickened enough; add the 1/3 cup hazelnut flour. Spoon into serving dishes, garnish with a whole almond and hazelnut. Serve hot or cold. This made 7 - 1/3 (heaping) cup servings

This is what I learned:
Start with 1 pint of soy milk. If it seems the carrots are cooked enough with that amount, stick with the pint. If you need more add a ½ cup at a time. Why? One, I started the halva at 8 pm and finished at 4 am. I don’t want you to be surprised that you’ll be in the kitchen for 8 hours. Maybe I was TOO careful not to boil the soymilk, but I wanted to get it right. At the 7th hour, I was standing prepared to thicken with an egg yolk to custard dessert. Two, I think the carrots were a little over-simmered with 8 hours on the stove and with 1 qt of milk.

Cherry Tamarind Chutney
1 loosely packed cup of cherries
1 T tamarind paste
2 dried orange slices
minced ginger root maybe 1 – 2 tsp
1 cup water
the last of my pear vinegar maybe a ¼ cup

1T allspice
1 T coriander
juice of half a lemon
1/3 cup minced sweet onion

In a small sauce pan combine cherries, tamarind, orange slices, ginger and water. Bring to boil and simmer with allspice and coriander until cherries are break-ably soft. Add vinegar. Puree in food processor, spoon into bowl and combine with lemon and onion. To allow flavors to enhance, refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Chilis Are Not Created Equal

Once the morning sun disappears, the afternoon brings an icy biting wind. We need to warm up our internal system to guard against the onslaught of the Midwest weather. It is definitely chili weather in Chicago.

Outside of my mom’s and my own chili and the Heartland Café a couple times, I really haven’t taste-tested chili. I was in a rush to get from point A to B, ran into a veggie restaurant and ordered a chili plate to go – chili, rice, and a vegan corn muffin. I cracked the to-go container open when I got to point B. Hm, when a food item contains (or IS) the word chili, I am expecting some flavor of chili – could be ancho, could be garden variety chili powder, or something with a kick. My friends, this was a pinto bean stew – thick brown non-seasoned sauce with uber-amounts of pinto beans and nothing else. It wasn’t unpalatable but it was not chili. For an obnoxious price ($13.59 to be exact) I received 1 cup of brown rice, 1-ish cups pinto bean stew, and an undercooked more-like-a-dumpling corn muffin. A couple days later, once again in a rush, I grabbed a to-go cup of chili from a restaurant in River North. Hm, again, what should be in a chili? This was a ground beef variety. It contained your garden variety chili spice, a little onion, a few black beans, meat and grease. Not a veggie to be found. A ladle of chili – roughly 6 ounces – cost 10 cents more per ounce than the chili plate. I understand they are downtown and have greater overhead, but their tuna sandwich costs less than 6 ounces of chili. I spent about $10 to make an entire vat of organic veggie chili today and even selling it at 3 times the cost; you would pay $2.50 per cup. And I am throwing in a side of sautéed swiss chard.

I like my chili semi-thick, chunky tomato, some strong chili flavor – smoky or not, onion, garlic, peppers, and a root vegetable. I can take or leave the ground meat.

So here is chili that I made recently. It isn’t exactly what I like since the little store down the street didn’t have any prepared tomato products so I grabbed some real tomatoes, blanched them, removed the skin and core. The flavor will be more chili, less tomato and not as thick.

I cooked ½ cup dry adzuki beans, then tossed them into the slow cooker with 5 small vine tomatoes, 10 diced sun-dried tomatoes, a diced green pepper, potato, carrot, a small to medium diced sweet onion, and 2 large garlic cloves; 1 dried ancho pepper, 1 T chili powder, 1 tsp chili g powder, 1 tsp marjoram, several black peppercorns, a large pinch of salt and poured 3 or more cups of water to fill the cooker. I want a long simmer to marry the flavors and make it a little stewier with the starchy potato. I let it cook overnight and throughout the morning.

It was just ok, but here is one I made a while back

1 medium onion, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 garlic cloves
1 cup adzuki beans (cooked)
2 dried ancho pepper
10 sun-dried tomato
1 16 oz can crushed tomato
1 T chili powder or more to taste
1 tsp each fennel, rosemary, and salt
10 black peppercorns
4- 6 cups combination of Vegetable and Tomato broth
(can add some tomato paste if you wish)
1 ¼ lb ground turkey

Simmer onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Add beans, peppers, both tomatoes and broth. In separate pan brown turkey with spices and add to pot. Simmer until done. (if no turkey used then just toss spices into pot and stir).

tis the first

Woohoo, we've got Trebuchet font! Matches my website. It's the little things that make life go round.
I've been wondering how, how should i get my information out there. I don't talk much, I don't journal much but maybe a weekly blog will keep my mental creative juices flowing. A new years resolution in September. It works.

(photo from www.markreichert.com)

So here I post the first quicky of an article that a friend gave the A-OK on:

I reluctantly face the reality of Summer passing into Autumn into Winter. The Midwest autumn contains a hint of summer warmth, but the truth is our personal and collective rhythm should shift with the rhythm of the Earth.

In the Five Element theory of Oriental Medicine, Autumn is Metal. We’ve left the Fire element behind us with Summer, and the Water of Winter isn’t far off.

The expansive outward yang energy of Summer is waning. Metal is contraction, condensation and crystallization - the time of more yin, inward and downward movement. The Metal element is connected to the skin and pores, the Lung and Large Intestine. Therefore an imbalance in Metal can result in respiratory or skin problems, constipation or immune dysfunction. Autumn, Metal, and related organs release and let go. This is the time to reflect and to let go of which no longer serve us.

This summer, the abundant rain swelled the wooden door in my backyard. It would stick, a hard yank and slam would announce each tenant’s coming and going. That dampness of summer rain swelled and stagnated the door just as the excesses of our sociable summer can accumulate in our bodies causing sluggishness, foggy-headedness, and maybe digestive or sinus issues.

I needed to exert more energy to open my backyard door just as it would take more energy to work with my sluggish body. Eventually the sun dried the dampness from the door, but sometimes a person needs more than warmth from the summer sun to clear the dampness from the body.

The sweetness of summer fruit, juices, pastries and ice creams can add to the dampness that causes sluggishness and heaviness. Balancing all the seasonal flavors of sour, bitter, spicy, bland, salty and sweet will reduce potential for imbalance. Introducing bitter and spicy flavors will cleanse the body of the damp excess.

Lungs are most susceptible to imbalance and the most easily strengthened during the Autumn. Respiratory imbalances will be fraught with mucous and tight heavy-headedness. Infections will cling to the dampness throughout the winter without intervention.

To flow with the seasonal rhythm and to strengthen the Metal element, experiment with pungent greens and warming spicy teas to activate qi (energy) to push outward and upward raising warming yang energy and maintaining yin. Look for arugula, radish, kale, mustard and turnip greens, horseradish, chives, and brassicas – cabbages, brussel sprouts, broccoli rabe, radicchio, and endive. Make herbal teas with fresh nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and cinnamon.

You will clear away dampness and strengthen the immune and respiratory systems for the next season. Practice yoga, qi gong, or receive tonifying and cleansing acupuncture for the Lung and Large Intestine.

Watch the leaves change and fall and feel the North winds blow, follow the same rhythm turning inward and reflecting and you will be living more balanced and harmonious.