Power Bowl~ Quinoa Power

May 7, 2023May 13, 202310 Comments

In my haste, I bought dates instead of dried prunes. My mind must have been a million miles away. However, I like dates and they were labeled organic. This was a gigantic bag. I surfed the Internet and found a Moroccan power bowl salad recipe with dates. What a find! Even better, this recipe calls for pistachio nuts, which I have a huge bag of fresh pistachio nuts. I really like Moroccan food. I can’t wait to make this salad. Another step towards healthy eating with pizzazz!

Quinoa Power Salad: We’ve got cooked quinoa, shredded carrots, hydrated or canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans), tons of chopped parsley, golden raisins, scallions, dates, and one handful of chopped pistachios. A bowl of delicious Moroccan salad goodness. Toss that all up and drizzle with the honey lemon dressing. [or, your favorite dressing – oil & vinegar with lemon juice, salt, pepper and one minced garlic clove + cumin -my choice]. Just look at all that beautiful color!

Power Bowl

Servings: 2-3
Time: 10 mins.
Difficulty: easy
Print

INGREDIENTS
1 ½ cups cooked quinoa
1 cup matchstick carrots
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 (15 ounce)can chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 2 cups(hydrated)chick peas
⅓ cup chopped dates (add more dates if omitting raisins)
¼ cup chopped pistachios (or walnuts
⅓ cup golden raisins (optional)

honey-lemon dressing:

½ teaspoon cumin powder
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey (maple syrup or brown sugar for vegans)
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon chili powder

INSTRUCTIONS

POWER SALAD: Cook the quinoa according to package directions. Allow the quinoa to cool completely before tossing with the salad ingredients. Toss ingredients together.
HONEY-LEMON DRESSING: Combine the ingredients for the dressing in a small mason jar and give it a few good shakes until the dressing mixes through. Drizzle the dressing into the salad and toss the salad to combine everything. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for later!

I know that golden raisins would have been a bit too sweet for me. I opted out and no honey in the dressing. The raw, minced garlic in my dressing adds a very slight tang to the salad. You do not taste it. Add more garlic if you want to experiment. I would add two garlic cloves. We all know how good quinoa is for you. This high protein packed, gluten-free grain is the world’s super food. I have red quinoa and was happy to use it. Add mint or cilantro. You can have a medley of herbs.

After 2 days of soaking, chick peas will break down (get mushy) and start fermenting.

Chick Peas

I soak my dried chick peas overnight in cold water for 8 hours. As a guideline, don’t go over 12 hours. The peas are ready when you test one and it is no longer hard and really tastes similar to a ‘green pea’ – wonderful! Also, you do not have to boil dried chick peas to get them ready for cooking or eating, or, when making hummus. Boiling hardens the chick peas. I have had both and prefer the softer version using my method. TIP: when cooking chick peas add them at the end. The last 5-10 minutes of cooking. Similar to potatoes. Add potatoes at the end of a stew so they stay soft and eatable. NOTE: I also found that preparing chick peas from scratch produces the best, tender chickpeas with a creamy mouthfeel that the canned variety just can not compare. One pound of dried beans = About 2 cups hydrated chick peas. Re-hydrating chick peas is determined by taste. You do not know if your chick peas (dried or canned) have been on the shelf for months or years.

Healthy Power Bowl

Crunchy carrots add the right amount of color to this recipe. You can add cilantro or green bell peppers or any other vegetables that may be almost ready for a toss. The POWER IS YOURS!

The POWER IS IN YOU!

KOMBUCHA ~ The Elixer of Life!

January 1, 2023January 13, 202314 Comments

Kraut, Kimchi ..Kombucha!

Kombucha is a fermented drink like beer and wine. Very low alcohol (under 10%). Kombucha is called a tea, made from (1) Yeast, (2) Sugar, and (3) Black tea. Renew your interest in this fermented tea to improve your health. Make a difference in your life. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Start now. [ Note: The sugar is fermented out via scoby / yeast culture. ]

Recipe

Ginger Kombucha

First STEP: Grow kombucha scoby ⬅️ link

Kambucha Recipe

Servings: 1 gallon-16 serv.
Time: 25 mins
Difficulty: medium-easy
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INGREDIENTS
1 Scoby purchased or grow komucha scoby from a bottle
1 Cup sugar (sugar needed to feed the fermentation)
5 Organic black tea bags (or 1 tablespoon loose tea)(can use green tea, but not the first batch)
1 Gallon Jar to store kombucha
2 Fresh Ginger (3-inch pieces) Vary to taste.
Glass bottles for storage
2 Cups brewed Kombucha

DIRECTIONS how to make kombucha recipe 1 gallon

1. Everything must be sanitized. I cannot stress this enough. When dealing with fermenting anything it is crucial every piece is clean and sanitized. Wash your hands and all equipment used before you begin. I like to run everything through my dishwasher before I make and bottle. My husband and I brew our own beer and make our own wine. So we are very familiar with making sure everything is super clean and sanitized.
2. Measure out 3.5 quarts of water and place in a pot on the stove. Heat the water until boiling. Some people insist on using distilled water. Boiling filtered water from our fridge has worked perfect for me, and I have been making this for nearly a year.
3. Turn off the heat and add 1 cup of sugar. Stir the sugar until it is completely dissolved. Then add 5 organic black tea bags. This is the brand I use and for the first fermentation from your homemade scoby you should use black tea for a strong brew. Cover the pot so not much water escapes. After you have brewed the kombucha you can then use a combination of black and green tea. But you should have at least a 3 black tea and 2 green for later brews
4. Wait for the tea to cool. It must cool to room temperature before adding the scoby. If not you risk damaging your precious scoby you grew from scratch. Once it is completely cooled, pour the tea into the clean 1 gallon jar and add 2 cups of your previous brew. Then add the homemade scoby to the top.
5. Store in the 1 gallon glass jar with a cloth (cheese cloth-doubled) covered lid with a rubber band. This allows the kombucha to breathe without getting any additional bacteria or fruit flies in your brew. Store in a dark closet that remains cool through out the day and someplace no one will touch it. It needs to remain still to grow the scoby and create the bubbles.
6. Allow to brew for at least 7 days. It may take 10-12 days, depending on the temperature in your home. During the winter months, I allow a little longer brew. Right now 8 days is the perfect time for the flavor and creating the carbonation.

IMPORTANT: The bacteria in kombucha is considered a probiotic. But, if not prepared properly harmful bacteria or mold grows on your scoby Green or gray spots is a sign of mold. Another sign of mold when your scoby is dull and fuzzy looking. NOT glossy. Discard the scoby and start over. TIP: Use cane sugar or white, not honey, stevia, raw or coconut sugar. When shopping for kombucha, it may be best to choose brands that contain under 4 grams (1 teaspoon) of added sugar per serving. TREND: Add turmeric & black pepper Ratio: 100/1. How much? 1 tsp. of turmeric per gal. + a pinch of black pepper. You should not be able to taste the turmeric.

Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast (SCOBY) is a culinary symbiotic fermentation culture (starter) consisting of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), acetic acid bacteria (AAB), and yeast. .. provided by Wikipedia.com.

Put a jug in your fridge: Gallon dispensers (5.5 cups) with a spout. (as seen in IKEA.com, Canada)

It Tastes Like Vinegar!

Not true ~ Kombucha is delightfully tart and fizzy. Ginger adds a warm and spicy punch!

Kombucha can be made into vinegar – fermentation period –>6-10 weeks. Use in salad dressings! Other uses: mayonnaise (add 2 tbsp to your mayo recipe). Hair Tonic, Facial Toner, House Cleaner and Healthy Gummies <–recipe.

Criminal Minds At Work!

Mandy Patinkin (actor – Criminal Minds +plus) is a proud advocate of kombucha [kämˈbo͞ochə]!…or Kambuka?
Anyway you say it ~ it ‘s all good!

Kvass – Similar to Kombucha

Kvass

When life gives you stale rye bread, it’s time to make bread kvass!

Kvass is an ancient fermented cereal-based, low alcoholic drink. Kvass is known to reduce the risk of cancer. When it comes to taste, kvass is similar to kombucha. Kvass is a rich source of manganese, vitamin B12, selenium, niacin, iron, copper, and magnesium.

Making Kombucha. This is my favorite video.
He said it best!

New Year’s Resolution : “GOOD HEALTH!”

Make Kombucha ..drink ..daily.. like water! See the change and let me know about it. You will be helping .. yourself .. and a lot of other people! Spread the news. 🧑🏼‍🤝‍🧑🏻 👩🏽‍🤝‍👩🏻 👍🏽 🧑🏼‍🤝‍🧑🏻 👩🏽‍🤝‍👩🏻

Tasty Cucumber Salad

October 31, 2015February 21, 201612 Comments

This Dill~Cucumber Salad recipe is so easy and simple to make with just a few ingredients. It is very refreshing and delicious in summer and equally as good during the winter months.

Chilly Dilly Cucumber

An excellent salad to accompany those tasty Finnish meatballs, meatloaf, smoked salmon and as a side dish for any meal. I brought the cucumber salad to my neighbour’s place. We had this salad with smoked salmon, capers, lemon, cream cheese and rye crackers. The cool cucumber salad cuts the richness of the smoked salmon in a most pleasant way. Since we are all of different nationalities, we discussed and critiqued other country’s versions of cucumber salad. The election was over after we counted the votes. My Dill~Cucumber Salad won!
Chilly Dilly cucumber will not be making any speeches. However, his winning secret is in the dill ~ a subtle, delicious flavour that really enhances the cucumber.

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INGREDIENTS
1 medium cucumber thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar substitute
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons avocado or salad oil

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Mix the vinegar, water, sugar substitute, salt and oil together and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar substitute
2. Add the dill and cucumber slices.
3. Refrigerate for several hours to let the flavours meld.
TOP SEVEN ALKALINE FOODS: The cucumber is one of the most alkaline foods (#3) that you can eat. Combined with the effect of the apple cider vinegar, it will help to make you body alkaline or at least closer to a neutral pH when you are eating acidic proteins. Both meat and even fish and chicken are acidic. Your body wants to stay alkaline or at least closer to a neutral pH to stay healthy along with fighting off and prevent disease. Eat your veggies!

BONUS: This is a very tasty cucumber salad recipe! Until you make this cucumber recipe perhaps for the first time, you will know what you have been missing! My taste testers (friends) tell me all the time. You will make this salad again and again!
HEALTHY OIL
This salad contains 2 tablespoons of healthy oil, which is my variation to the traditional Finnish cucumber salad. Not only does it prevents the cucumber slices from sticking together it is so good and healthy for you. If you recall the true story about Lorenzo’s oil. (actually containing two specific long chain fatty acids, isolated from rapeseed oil and olive oil) will know the miracle of oils. We don’t know everything about food/medicine. Some people have a shot of oil in the morning to start their day!

CUCUMBER TIPS and benefits!

Oven-dried Tomatoes

August 28, 2015March 5, 20206 Comments

These are so easy to make and freeze to enjoy throughout the year. Great on salads, sandwiched, pasta. pizza. The flavour is concentrated.
INGREDIENTS
6 to 8 tomatoes, slices about 1/2 inch thick
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, fresh oregano, fresh basil, whatever you have
1 tablespoon olive oil
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 250 F or 120 C
2. Place sliced tomatoes on a baking sheet on a piece of parchment or silpat sheet.

Sliced fresh tomatoes with salt, pepper, herbs, olive oil

3 Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt pepper and fresh herbs.
4. Bake for one to two hours checking every half hour until pieces have shrunk slightly, edges are shriveled and juices no longer run. They are not completely dried but are still juicy.

tomatoes that have been backed and out of the oven

Sun (oven) Dried Tomatoes

5. Cool slightly and put into glass jars covered by olive oil. Leave about 1/2 inch of head room and freeze if you will not use them up in the next week or two. Yummy!

Oven-dried tomatoes in glass jar with olive oil and thyme

Sotto Una Buona Stella – Under a Lucky Star

June 18, 2015February 8, 20163 Comments

BUCA Restaurant in Yorkville
And it was a lucky star tonight for those who gathered at Buca Restaurant in Yorkville to enjoy having Michelin star Andrea Berton from Milan present a dinner with resident Chef Rob Gentile, Buca restaurant. It was a full house for a magnificent meal. It was our great pleasure to enjoy an evening with such fine chefs and staff to assist them. The spectacular dish of the evening was Chef Burton’s Uovo (Egg). A white chocolate shell which had a somewhat rough texture and appeared to be sprayed on a very lightly texture yogurt mouse and exposed a brightly coloured mango yolk when you broke into it. It was not too sweet, had a lot of flavour and perfect texture. The yogurt mouse was almost ethereal in its lightness and texture.

Enchantment by the SEA
The second runner up was Chef Andreas’ black cod with russet potato, sweet pea, brodo di prosciutto. Honourable mention must be given to the raw B.C. spot prawn crudo by Chef Gentile. This event benefited Community Food Centres Canada for low income communities. A wonderful evening was had by all and for a good cause.