Buttermilk Substitute

Did you know that a reasonable substitute for buttermilk is:
For every 1 cup of buttermillk take 1 cup of alternative milk (usually for this I do rice milk) or 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup rice milk (or other) and 1 tablespoon vinegar (or in a pinch you can do lemon but it might alter the flavor)

I was just re-reading my gluten free coffee muffin posting and wanted to share this little technique to replace that ingredient if you are also a dairy free-er.

Is it time to clear the spice cabinet?

My dear yoga instructor and I were chatting on Sunday about the asafetida posting and in the middle of the discussion I thought I might send a reminder about keeping our spice cabinets tidy.

If you have not used a particular spice in 6-8 months - toss it.

Sad but true for us waste phobes. The flavors are probably no good anymore, and just like food, you want the essential bits in the spices to be alive to nourish you (because yes Virginia, spices have micro nutrients you can't get in other foods and are really good for you!)

So what are you to do? Here are some suggestions:

Invest in some small spice holders - like these - and consider

Doing a spice share (splitting with friends or family to cut down on cost and waste) or,

Going to a store like Rainbow foods in San Francisco. They not only have some really interesting spices, but they allow you to buy what you need. Bring your jars with you if you go this route.

Otherwise, only buy what you need. Consider growing fresh herbs to have some of the basics on hand at all times, and then if you venture into new ethnic foods (which I strongly encourage) just stick with the program. Don't just try it once and give up and let those spices go bad - when making your weekly menu make sure you have at least one of those recipes baked in so you can use your goods.

Curry Clarification

I wanted to let everyone know that I will be posting my Indian curried recipe next week. And I wanted to clarify that Ethnic Curries (Indian, Thai, etc) are not the same as the yellow curry powder you get from McCormick or find in egg salads or chicken salads.
Just for the record, I don't even have that in my pantry because something about those flavors just makes me sick.
Indian curries vary in technique, but are a mixture of spices like fennel, cumin, coriander (cilantro seeds), cayenne, paprika, turmeric and more. Sometimes the seeds are used, sometimes the ground versions. Just depends.
Thai curries I refer to usually are more chilies plus lemon grass, kefir lime leaves, coconut, etc.

If you were worried that I was using the yechy yellow curry powder, rest assured the recipes I am making are much more complex and tasty than that. I particularly like these recipes because they take something as simple as a vegetable and spice them up, make them fun and you will want to simply snack on just this. I kid you not!
From a health perspective, herbs and spices are considered a booster food in my book. They pack a good amount of trace elements that you don't get from other foods. We know that for example, yellow spices like turmeric and saffron are very good for liver support. We also know that things like

Baking Soda - In Indian Food?

I learned something very interesting yesterday from an Indian friend. I had a hankering for some Indian take out at lunch (sometimes, you just can plan and plan your meals, but you crave something and I figure as long as I make good choices and I get the essence of my craving, it's in line with my general principals....anyway, moving on). She informed me that most of the Indian places she goes to don't satisfy her palette. Now, she is a good cook so I figured it was just about flavor, but she went on to inform me that they thicken the sauces with both cornstarch AND baking soda. I didn't believe her, had to ask again. She said, no, they definitely add baking soda.

So, this explains why it's hard to digest Indian food from restaurants and gives you the burps (pee yew). Your stomach is supposed to be acidic (some other time I will launch into my spiel about not using Tums or other antacids). It is a digestive need for the stomach to be acidic. If you are stressed, sick, eating poor foods or eating foods with baking soda in it, your body can't properly digest or assimilate (transfer the nutrients from food to the form your body can use it) because the pH is not correct.

Just another reason to take a class, read a book, watch a show - anything to try and cook more at home! I have mastered a few Indian spice combinations and next time, I will just wait until I get home to satisfy that craving.

Chocolate

I love chocolate. Typically I always have some kind of good quality chocolate in the house for when I have cravings and to add a little something extra to dessert or when guests are over.

The definition of good quality is something without extra additives, a dark chocolate (I prefer to go in the 70% cocoa range), and preferably something organic. I think it is a good idea to keep things like chocolate in your house because that way if you are craving it, you have already made the choice before hand to give yourself a good quality product.

Yesterday at the farmers market I came upon the Go To Chocolate booth and stopped because my friend had just picked up one of their Go To bars on Wednesday at a different farmers market and was RAVING about it. So we stopped and spoke to the owner and her daughter about the products and process. Fantastic philosophy, great packaging (I don't care, packaging is sort of a big deal to me - at least I am aware of it :) ) and nice people. So I bought the vegan sample box and tasted it today with my husband. He is not a choco-holic and he really appreciated these bad boys. All natural products, and just really great flavor combinations.
I am adding Go To Chocolates to my list of favorite gifts to give and favorite chocolates to have around. I particularly liked the blood orange olive oil chocolate truffle (they infuse the olive oil with blood oranges in the pressing process and Go To uses olive oil to soften the chocolate). And I am not an orange and chocolate person - this was different.
You can look them up on the web at: http://www.gotochocolate.com/index.html

Apologies for no photo.....they were too good :)

Quinoa for Breakfast

I made an amazing quinoa cereal for breakfast. I got the idea from the Bauman recipe exchange (thank you JamieL). Before I give you the recipe though, I thought I should talk a little bit about what quinoa is (besides amazing).
Quinoa (pronounced 'keen-wah') is just about one of the most amazing grains. It is non glutinous, meaning it does not contain gluten and which also means it is not as inflammatory to our bodies as wheat is for example. It is the only grain that contains all 9 essential amino acids (meat also contains all 9 essential amino's on its own, but all other grains have to be combined with something else to make a 'complete' protein).
It tastes somewhat nutty, and it's texture can be a bit like couscous meets rice. It takes no more than 15 minutes to cook, and you always follow a 2 to 1 ratio of liquid to quinoa to cook it. It makes a great salad, cereal, side dish, and main dish. It absorbs whatever you put into it.
About 1/2 cup on it's own is one serving and that packs approximately 12 grams of protein!

Here is the recipe for the cereal. If you have 15 minutes in the morning to make this, it would be best fresh. Otherwise, you can make a batch and re-warm with a bit of almond or rice milk.

This would serve about 4 people
1 cup Quinoa
2 cups almond milk
1 medium apple, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup goji berries
4 tbsp golden flax seeds
1 tbls agave nectar or honey

Bring quinoa, almonds milk, spices, agave or honey, goji berries and apple to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in flax seeds and top with a bit more almond milk if you want.

The flax seeds really should be stirred in at the end as the extreme cooking heat is damaging to flax. You can use regular milk, rice milk or something else in place of almond milk of course, but I encourage you to just try the almond milk - for some it may sound too alternative, but you never know if you will like something and your body might just be waiting for the right recipe to come along - and HERE IT IS!

I love my brussels

Theme this week seems to be ingredients I didn't have in my house as a kid, and am now obsessed with. I grew up about a mile away from fields and fields of brussel sprouts. You might be saying "so what". No. It was a big deal. They stink! It's like this huge, thick cloud of brussel perfume that sticks to your nose and throat. In their raw state and while growing, they just didn't seem appetizing.

A woman I refer to as my second mother converted me. She makes them the best way - literally, us kids all fight over them. She can never make enough. I have posted my recipe for roasted brussels below and then her modifications (which if you have the time and forethought - try it and you won't regret it).

Nutritional Value and Selection

These bad boys belong to the cabbage family - which means leafy green which means high in vitamins B, C and K, thiamine, potassium and beta carotene and a really great source of fiber too (1 cup contains 4 grams!) according to Dr. Michael Murray in "The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods".

If you find them in the store/farmers market you want to pick the smaller ones - they are the most tender and tasty. They should be pretty firm and green - not brown or yellow or sad looking.

I will also add that now when I drive past the fields of brussel sprouts, I salivate. I think about the end product and get excited. Yes, I do really love brussel sprouts that much. I have converted a number of people into liking them by cooking them this way - so get them fresh, and give this a try and you will thank me later!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

1 lb brussel sprouts, ends trimmed, cut an 'x' in bottom, cut large ones in half

olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Toss the brussel sprouts with olive oil, salt and pepper on a cookie sheet. Cook for 25-35 minutes (or until tender and golden).

Modification for uber tastiness: Boil the brussel sprouts first. Then, while roasting a chicken, place the brussel sprouts on the bottom. Allow to soak up the lovely chicken juices and roast. Really, really delish.

Favish

What is favish you ask? That is actually the Portuguese dish with fava beans - a real classic, easy and wholesome way to cook them. It's probably not spelled like this, but this is how we refer to it amongst my friends. I am not Portuguese, but the first time I had these was at my friends parent's home and they are from Terceira, an island in the Azores, and I have loved fava beans since. I don't know what it was about them other than the fact that we never ate them in my own household growing up, but I just didn't have the urge to pick them up from the store or cook with them. The D family changed my relationship with fava beans.

They are interesting little things. You can see in the picture though that they look like oversized green beans crossed with pea pods. When you open them the inside is fluffy and soft - cushion to protect each fava bean. The beans each have a white skin on them, but the smaller ones (second one in from the right) are more tender and the skin can stay on. The larger beans have a more bitter skin that you can remove by blanching and peeling, or just digging your nail into and peeling off. The fava bean on the far right is a peeled bean. Just taste one when you open a pod to see what you think and if it needs to be peeled. See, not that mysterious after all.

I like them raw and tossed into a salad. But here is one of my favorite recipes. It was inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe I saw on TV where he makes posh beans on toast - he used fava and peas and puts them on toast. First problem I was presented with was that the peas didn't look good at the farmers market, and second was that I don't really eat bread in my house. So I made this and it was fabulous. I use it on quinoa but you can easily use it on rice, on its own, on potatoes - you have options here.

Posh Fava Beans on Quinoa

Take about a pound of fava beans and peel the pods and take the beans out. Remove the outer skin if too bitter. If peas look good that day too, you can add those.

Pulse the raw fava beans in a food processor with 1 clove of garlic, about 1/3 cup of olive oil (the good stuff), salt and pepper, pecorino romano or parmesan (I like pecorino), and a squeeze of lemon juice. Add olive oil or water to thin out if needed.

Cook 1 cup of quinoa.

Toss the fava mixture into cooked quinoa.