Wednesday 12 October 2011

spaghetti squash is very interesting



preheat the oven to 350, cut the squash in half, place it in the oven for 30 or 40 minutes, face down with a bit of water in it to prevent it from drying out.

I threw in some carrots to soften them up for my 1 year old, too.

In a food processor, broccoli tops with some but not all of the hard bits, one zuchini, a bunch of sundried tomatoes... and then it it was too fresh... so I added some dehydrated 'falafel' balls i had made a long time ago that were wanting to be used... It brought the dish into an earthier element which was needed with all the water and sunlight that was going on in the food processor. The Beet-Balls also added good texture.

Aanyway, i wanted to make some cheezy alfredo sauce, so i took out the pre-made alfredo sauce out of the pantry and looked at the ingredients, and the thing you see in the back left is the cheezy alfredo sauce that i made...

If you can get over your fear of salmonella poisoning, you can make this. Personally, i've been eating raw eggs every day with fermented soybeans, so it was easy for me.

1 raw egg (i used two but it was too much egg)
a yolk's amount of Chia seeds (as thickening)
parmesan cheese (yea, not raw, but fuck you, neither is the squash)
nutritional yeast (nutty cheesy flava)
and some salt and pepper

I really, really liked it, but i was very hungry. I could tell my mother missed the fermented soybeans, so i made a separate dish (back right) with squash, fermented soybeans, and my 'alfredo sauce'

I ended up putting the alfredo sauce ontop of my pasta sauce and enjoying that for a few bites too.

Okay... so, this has been my second squash experience, and i have a few more months of squash season to get through. Please help me with any ideas you love.

Monday 10 October 2011

Varieties of seaweed



There is a whole variety of seaweed out there in the vast ocean. Are you aware?

This dish has coliflor, Red pepper, sesame seeds and kombu mixed in a mixture of soy sauce and sweet sushi vinegar.

"Of the eight major groups, three are used for food. Red seaweed, or Rhodphyta, includes dulse, purple nori, ogo, agar and Irish moss. Brown seaweed, or Phaeophyta, includes kelp, kombu, wakame, arame, hijiki and rock weed. Sea lettuce belongs to the Chlorophyta, or green seaweed group." from a NY times article on seaweed

Seaweed can be expensive to buy if you see them in health food stores. If you live near an asian population, you can find a large variety of dried seaweeds in asian supermarkets. There you will also find incredibly cheap fruits and vegetables, though you may not know what a lot of them are. That can be a fun adventure

"Arame, Eisenia bicyclis, is rich in iron and calcium. It is usually tossed into stir-fried dishes or soups, but can be served marinated in soy sauce and vinegar or fried with tofu."

"Dulse, or Rhodymenia palmata, which sometimes goes by the poetic name ''Neptune's girdle,'' once was eaten as a snack like potato chips in Western Europe and New England. Dulse is found in the North Atlantic and the waters of the Pacific Northwest. Fast-cooking and purplish-red, it is delicious fried in butter, added to soups and salads and combined with grains like oatmeal and barley. Rehydrated, it can be used as a leafy green, or mixed with cream cheese to make a savory spread for bagels. Or coat it in batter and fry it." Most of that sounds like something I will not be doing with Dulse. I like my dulse raw.

"Hijiki, Hizikia fusiforme, is excellent for dieters because it is very filling, and adds a crunchy texture and nutty, meaty flavor to almost any stir-fry dish, soup, stew or salad. Brown when fresh, hijiki turns black and stringy when dried. It is especially good cooked with onions and tofu."

"Kelp, a Laminaria, is available powdered, for use as a salt substitute, and is also sliced for soups, stews, vegetable and noodle dishes. Tasty when toasted until crisp and fragrant or fried in a little oil, it is also delicious crumbled onto popcorn, nuts, seeds, soups and salads. Kombu, also a Laminaria, is packaged dried in flat sheets or strands and is best known as a flavoring - along with shaved bonito flakes - in dashi, the Japanese soup stock." You can also find delicious kelp noodles online or at rainbow grocery and they make an excellent substitute for wheat noodles.

Apples and honey



Alright,
Real Simple, Real quick.

I just wanted to share this treat with you. I was surprised at a restaurant with this when we sat down, ready, waiting for us. It was so delicious, and usually One of my selves says to my Other self "What, like an apple isn't sweet enough, they have to drizzle honey on top?" But its so delicious.

Try it!

Friday 7 October 2011

Getting to be [more] Raw

Step One, Intend on incorporating more raw foods into your life.
(Why? Because its great, and its not really that extreme of a thing to do.)

Step Two, Be easy on yourself. Health is more than what you eat. Its every day choices, replacing old crappy habits with better habits and allowing yourself to fluctuate between the two, so you really know Why you're doing this in the first place: It feels better.