simplest snack – ever

Leave a comment March 18, 2015 nourishinggrace

Looking for a healthy easy snack for the Fast, or just any time? If you have an avocado, a little salt and pepper and just a squeeze of lemon, you have the world’s easiest snack, complete with it’s own bowl.

Halve and put the avocado, squeeze half a lemon atop of it, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon it right out of the peel. It is delicious, a good source of fiber, vitamin B, C and E. They are also a source of good fat (monounsaturated) and contain plenty of potassium. Besides that, they are just delicious!

Lenten sesame truffles

Leave a comment March 17, 2015 nourishinggrace

Everyone likes a snack, and these nutty truffles are a delicious treat to keep on hand during Lent and really any time of the year. These sesame butter truffles are low in sugar, taste great and also a nice project for the kids.

Over the years we have really tried to cut down our sugar. When I began studying holistic nutrition and learning about just how depleting sugar is to our bodies I felt compelled as a mom to put that into action in my home. So, I have steadily been working at drastically reducing the sugar in our recipes, as well as changing the types of sugar we eat.

To give you an idea, we have a coconut cream pie recipe that called for 2 cups of sugar. Through trial and error, we have settled on just 1/2 cup of sugar – that is the point the family says, “hey, it’s doesn’t taste right.”

Why reduce the sugar content? There are a lot of reasons and of course blood sugar swings is just one of them. In the past hundred years, the average person has gone from from eating just about 2 pounds of sugar per year, to close to 150 pounds of sugar per year. That is a massive increase, and it’s questionable whether our pancreas and bodies were designed to handle such an onslaught. Excess sugar intake can contribute to a weakened immune system, vitamin and mineral deficiencies and increased risk of diabetes and acidity in the digestive tract. That acidity creates an atmosphere conducive to pathogenic bacteria and yeasts.

Did you know that for every molecule of sugar you consume, your body needs 55 – 65 molecules of magnesium just to metabolize it. And that’s just magnesium. The digestive demands of sugar leech other vital nutrients from our bodies, such as chromium and copper and also interferes with the absorption of calcium.

Our kids today get sugar in most everything and as a nation we are generally depleted of magnesium, which is necessary to process carbohydrates. Among other things, deficiencies of magnesium can lead to decreased energy. Magnesium works together with calcium so that your muscles contract and relax. So muscle spasms (think charlie horse) can arise from magnesium imbalances.

Paleo recipes recognize that impact of sugar in our health and that’s why you won’t find much sugar in them. None the less, they are delicious and provide a guilt free tasty treat!

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Lenten & Paleo Sesame Truffles

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons raw tahini paste. You can get roasted, but it will change the flavor. See which you like best.
8 tablespoons coconut butter (also called coconut manna)
2 tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut
4 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon maple syrup
pinch sea salt
seeds from two vanilla pods or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds for coating
2 tablespoons coco powder for coating.

Melt coconut manna over the stove. Add softened coconut butter, sesame paste (tahini), maple syrup, sea salt and vanilla bean (vanilla extract) and mix until smooth.

Form into bite sized balls and roll in coco powder or sesame seeds. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet or plate and refrigerate for about an hour to set.

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Additional Resources:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/20/sugar-dangers.aspx
McBride, N. (2010). Gut and psychology syndrome: Natural treatment for autism, dyspraxia, A.D.D., dyslexia,

A.D.H.D., depression, schizophrenia. Cambridge, U.K.: Medinform Pub.]. (111-112)

Nancy Appleton; G. N. Jacobs. Suicide by Sugar: A Startling Look at Our #1 National Addiction. Kindle Edition.

Lenten red lentil dahl

Leave a comment March 16, 2015 nourishinggrace

This is one of my favorite recipes, both during Lent and throughout the year. It is simple to make, tastes great and everyone loves it. Serve the red lentil dahl over brown rice, with some warmed whole wheat naan, and you have an easy weeknight meal that only tastes better as a leftover.

Ginger is a spice which is very healthy for the stomach, and it has a peppery bite to it. Try to use fresh ginger and grate it with a microplane grater if you have one, otherwise just mince it with a knife. If you plant your ginger root in a pot and put it on a sunny window, you can grow more ginger root for free!

Red lentils are nutrient laden and restorative to our bodies. The ginger and turmeric lend anti-inflammatory qualities to this soothing meal. Although this is an Indian lentil dish, lentils in general are a traditional meal during Lent.

My favorite spices are from Penzey’s They began as an online store and their spices are very flavorful, but more than that, very affordable. 4 ounces of most Penzey’s costs less than McCormick’s, Spice Hunter and other spice brands at the grocery stores. So for example, at Walmart, McCormick’s ground cumin costs $4.48 for 1.5 ounces, whereas at Penzeys you’ll spend $5.69 for a 4 ounce bag of a better quality more flavorful cumin.

I have found this to be the same, across the board for all of Penzeys spices.

Lenten Red Lentil Dahl

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Ingredients:

1 cup red lentils (they are actually orange)
4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1–3 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons oil or butter or ghee or coconut oil (optional)
1 teaspoon powdered cumin
1 teaspoon powdered coriander
2 medium sized carrots diced (about 1 cup)

Rinse red lentils and soak for 2–12 hours. This step is not as critical with lentils as with larger beans, but it does help to neutralize any phytic acid present in beans and grains. Phytic acid binds to the minerals in the beans and therefore makes your absorption of these minerals difficult. Turns out our grandmothers knew what they were doing! Traditional preparations are generally more nourishing…. even if they do take a little tiny bit more time.

Place all ingredients in a pot or large high rimmed pan. Bring to simmer and cook for 45 minutes or until liquid has drained.

Serve over brown rice. My favorite way to make rice for this dish is 2 cups brown rice, 3 cups water, 1 cup coconut milk. It makes a tasty coconut-ty rice that goes really well with the dal.

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Enjoy.

panang curry Lenten soup

Leave a comment March 13, 2015 nourishinggrace

A very good tip for the fast, that we discovered some years back, is to make meals that were meant to be vegetarian or vegan in the first place. We wanted to embrace the fast with joy, as we are taught… but each fake hamburger, or look a-like taco made us just wish we were eating meat.

My first visit to an Orthodox monastery was five or six years ago and it was during Great Lent. The food on their table was simple and great. The meals also seemed very traditional – recipes that were meant to be Lenten. I had my four year old daughter with me. She loved everything they served! So the next year, we decided to eat fasting foods that were never intended to contain meat in the first place – a lot are asian or middle eastern or Ethiopian inspired. We didn’t want fake cheese or burgers or other imitations. We wanted real food.

Finding recipes that are meat free to begin with has made a joyful difference at our table.

I hope you will like this delicious Thai coconut panang curry soup. It is made from simple ingredients – and the vegetables can be rotated to what is in season in your area, or to include any specific varieties that you especially enjoy.

This is the way we like it, if it is too sour, just reduce the amount of lime.

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Ingredients

2 cans coconut milk – Native Forest is a great brand
1/4 red onion diced
1/4 cup lime juice
Thai red curry paste – to taste
one container firm organic tofu (very important to get organic. Trader Joes has a fermented organic tofu)
1 cup green beans, ends cut of and sliced into bite sized portions
1 cup chopped portabello or other mushroom you like
1 cup baby bok choy, chopped (about 4 small baby bok chops)
2 inches ginger root peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 cups vegetable broth, plus a little extra to deglaze pan.

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Preparation

Open tofu package and cut into small squares. Lay these flat on a thick layer of paper towels. Cover with another thick layer of paper towels. You can leave it like this, or place a cutting board on top of them. This is to drain the excess water away. Otherwise it just gets soggy.

Prepare all of your remaining ingredients and have them by the stove. This is the step that dramatically changed the results of our cooking. Having the mis en place staged so that you can concentrate on cooking rather than cutting and watching the stove at the same time reduces the possibility that your dinner will burn.

If you have a wok, then this is a good recipe for it. If not, a large frying pan – well seasoned cast iron or non stick is good.

Over medium heat, add toasted sesame oil and coat the pan. Add the tofu and cook until the sides are brown, About five minutes. Remove from pan and lay on paper towels so that it can drain.

In a soup pot, pour coconut milk, vegetable broth, sliced ginger and lime juice. Let simmer while you cook the vegetables.

Add mushrooms to wok/frying pan. Cook over medium heat. If you are using a wok, move to the side and add the bok choy and green beans. You’ll want the mushrooms well done, the bok choy and beans still a little crispy. If it gets dry or if the veggies start to stick, add in some of the vegetable broth.

With a strainer remove ginger from the broth. Sample and add salt to taste.

Add one heaping teaspoon of panang curry paste and taste. I purposely have not added a measurement for the curry, because frankly different brands vary widely in their flavor. Make this tasty for you. We actually add the curry straight to the soup bowls, the younger ones don’t want as much so they just get a hint of it.

plating the vegetables and tofu

Now you can add all of the vegetables and tofu into the broth, or begin to plate the vegetables into the bowls separately – like we do – and add the broth on top of it.

Claudia and Kates soup

We plate the veggies and tofu separately into the bowls because, in my family, we have three girls, some of who like mushrooms and onions and some who don’t. The one who doesn’t like them, really really doesn’t like them. So the mushrooms and onions go to the bowls in the measure of how well each one will enjoy it. Though we have a general rule in our house that you have to try everything, I have to admit that as a girl, I did not like mushrooms… not at all.

And during the Fast, well, it just seems better to have mercy and give them what they will like, so that they too will embrace the Fast with joy.

Erika’s Soup

lenten winter curry squash soup

Leave a comment March 7, 2015 nourishinggrace

This lenten curry squash soup is born out of several squashes from our CSA box that have just been sitting on the kitchen counter. You really can use any winter squash variety. We used a sugar pumpkin, butternut and acorn squash – so this is more of a triple squash soup.

Use whatever winter squash you have on hand, or that you can find in the market. Kabocha squash would be great in this spiced squash soup too.

A note about the curry paste. We used to buy our curry paste from the local Thai market (oriental grocery stores have awesome spices). Sadly, our local Thai market closed. So for now I am using the Taste of Thai brand. It is not as spicy and flavorful as the brand in the Thai Grocery, but is still good.

The base of this soup is the vegetable.mineral.broth. That is why there is no salt in the final recipe. If you are not fasting, chicken stock will work nicely here too.

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Ingredients:

4-5 pounds winter squash : kabocha, acorn, butternut, pumpkin
1 medium onion chopped
3-4 cups vegetable broth
1 can coconut milk
2 tablespoons red curry (or more to taste)
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375F. Cut squashes in half and spoon out seeds. Place cut side down on a cookie sheet and place in oven. Bake for one hour or until tender. Remove from oven and spoon out squash meat into separate bowl.

Sautee onion over medium heat. Add 2 cups of vegetable broth and cooked squash. Add spices and coconut milk. Using an immersion blender, mix the soup until it is entirely pureed. Check the consistency, add more broth if it is too thick.

Garnish with cilantro, avocado or parsley.

Enjoy.

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Alternatively, you can make this a sage and thyme based soup. Omit the coconut milk, use an extra cup of vegetable broth and add to the sautéing onions one tablespoon of fresh sage and thyme.

There are so many variations to this soup, play with the ingredients and find what you like best.

homemade hummus

1 Comment March 5, 2015 nourishinggrace

No matter how many different varieties of hummus there are on the market, your own will taste better than all of them. People always ask for this hummus recipe, so it’s written down here for all. This is a basic recipe, and you can make it your own by adding roasted red peppers, ground olives, roasted eggplant or caramelized onions. This is a garlicky recipe. You can reduce the amount of garlic to your taste.

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Ingredients

2 cups cooked chickpeas. Preferred are chickpeas that have been soaked over night and cooked, but canned are fine too. Put some of the cooking water aside, in case you need to thin out your hummus.

3 garlic cloves

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup tahini (this is a sesame paste )

salt to taste

Optional : extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Add chickpeas, peeled garlic, salt, tahini, lemon juice to food processor or very heavy duty blender. Turn on for about 1 minute. Scrape down sides if necessary. Check consistency of the hummus. You can add some of the water that you used to cook the chickpeas to get to desired texture. If you do not have any of that water, use tap water.

Taste for saltiness. Our experience is that the hummus requires a fair amount of salt.

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Enjoy with whole wheat pita or naan bread. Hummus is also great dip for veggies, like carrots and red peppers.

When I was younger and in college, I spent a fair amount of time in the home of my Jordanian Palestinian very good friend. Her mom made (and still does) the best hummus. She would drizzle a very good amount of olive oil atop of the hummus and scoop it up in fresh pita. This a fond memory for me, and despite how great this hummus tastes… hers tastes fantastically better.

And of course that could have everything to do with their great company and friendship.

minestrone soup

Leave a comment March 1, 2015 nourishinggrace

This is another great Lenten recipe, relatively simple and easy to prepare. Everyone likes it, and in a family of five, that’s a good thing! This is such a simple soup, most of it’s flavors derived from the spices. Usually we make a big batch of northern beans ahead of time and take out what we need during the week.

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Vegetable Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

3 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 zucchini squash, cut small
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh basil
1 cup cooked great northern beans
1 red pepper seeded and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
6-1/2 cups water or vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Place onion in large stewpot and sautee until translucent – about 10 minutes over low heat. Add carrots, red pepper, celery and let simmer until soft.

Add water, tomatoes and water, salt and pepper. Let simmer for about 30 – 45 minutes. If you have a pot with a light loose fitting lid, this will be more on the 30 minute range, because steam will escape. With a heavier dutch oven, you can let it cook a little longer.

Plate. Serve. Enjoy.

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The picture below is the leftover version of our soup. We added some brown rice to it, and made it a heartier stew.

As usual, ample sirachi sauce is on hand at all times.

mushroom leek soup

Leave a comment February 25, 2015 nourishinggrace

During Great Lent we eat almost 40 days of soup. Mostly, this is because it’s simpler to prepare our foods in this way.

This mushroom leek soup is one of my favorites – a hearty mushroom soup, made with just a few ingredients. This is easy and nourishing and has many variations.

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Mushroom Leek Soup

serves two as a main course, with a nice big salad!

Ingredients

10 ounces of your favorite mushrooms (we just get the assorted pack with shiitake, cremini and portabello

2 leeks sliced thin, green and white parts

4 cloves garlic, minced

6-1/2 cups water

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Optional items:

1 strip kombu / seaweed

brown rice noodles

dash of toasted sesame oil

soy sauce or sirachi hot sauce to taste

you can use any combination of herbs that you prefer, like sage, bay leaf, oregano

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Preparation :

In a pot over medium low heat, add sliced leeks, salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. Chop mushrooms and place in soup pot. Let the leeks and mushrooms sweat for about 10 minutes. This will draw the water and flavors out of them.

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Add garlic and water. Place lid on pot and let simmer for 30-45 minutes. This really depends on how tight the lid on your pot fits and whether a lot of steam escapes.

5 minutes before ready to eat, add two nests (they come bunched together and it looks like nests) of rice noodles to the mushroom leek soup. You can take it off the heat and place the lid on, or continue to simmer. They will cook either way.

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The final consistency I like is more on the stew side.

You can add any of the optional items or enjoy it as is.

Enjoy.

basic kombucha recipe

1 Comment February 15, 2015 nourishinggrace

fresh glass of kombucha

Kombucha has been brewed for thousands of years. The first record of the mushroom tea dates back to 200 BC in China. Over time and through the trade routes, kombucha eventually made it’s way to Russia and even to Europe.

The fermentation of the tea comes about by the interaction of the Mother or SCOBY (that’s a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeasts) which feeds on the sugars, producing many beneficial by-products. During the fermentation process, the SCOBY floats on top of the sweet tea. When the brewing is complete, you will have a delicious drink that is full of enzymes, antioxidants, vitamin B, probiotics, acetic acid and lactic acid. The combination of these components help strengthen the body by helping keep intestinal flora balances, strengthening the immune system and protecting cells.

In the 1960’s studies in Switzerland confirmed that kombucha contains many antimicrobial immunity boosting and anti-bacterial properties.

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Benefits of Kombucha

Alkalization of the body

Detoxification of the liver

Introduction of probiotics

Improved digestion

Antioxidant properites

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Scientists noticed kombucha again in the 1980’s after the Chernobyl nuclear plant meltdown in Russia. While many people suffered the debilitating effects of radiation poisoning, doctors observed that a specific group of people were not suffering “as bad” as the others had been. These were mostly elderly women and it was concluded that they had been drinking kombucha daily for many many years. This finding only added to the opinion that kombucha was a healthy drink, which added strength to the body and more resilient to toxins and pollutants.

One thing is certain – kombucha is not your average soft-drink.

For my family, I am simply a fan of anything that is simple, easy and has stood the test of time. The fact of the matter is, the scientific method was not employed in 200BC to determine which strains of yeast and bacteria were present the the SCOBY or the kombucha – but people knew it was beneficial for them.

We brew our own for economic reasons… it’s a lot more affordable to brew your own if you drink it daily.

With that, here is a great recipe to begin your own kombucha brewing. We use large mason jars for ours but there are even some extraordinarily beautiful kombucha crocks that bring a little art and beauty to the whole process.

Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast – SCOBY

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Basic Kombucha Recipe

6 teabags OR 4 to 6 teaspoons organic loose black tea (such as caffeinated oolong, green, or a combination)

3-1/2 quarts filtered water

1 cup raw honey, sucanat, muscavado or raw cane sugar

8 ounces finished plain kombucha from a previous batch to jump-start this batch (optional)

1 SCOBY

1. Place the loose tea in a muslin tea bag or place tea bags in sauce pan. Add water bring to a boil over medium heat. Take off the heat and steep for 30 minutes. Add the honey or raw sugar. Remove the tea bag and squeeze out any tea. Cool to 98 ° F. Add the finished plain kombucha, if using.

2. Place contents in clean brewing container with SCOBY. Cover container with cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band. Store in a warm dark location.

3. After 5 days, give the kombucha a taste. If you desire a more sour flavor keep tasting every day until it reaches the desired flavor.

4. At this point you will want to brew more sweet tea.

5. Remove all than about 8-10 ounces of kombucha.

6. Begin the process again.

7. You can now add flavorings to your kombucha for an additional fizzy ferment, or enjoy it as is!

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The best way to get started brewing your own kombucha is either to get a SCOBY from a friend (they get thicker and thicker with each ferment, so it is very easy to peel some off and share with a friend!) Alternatively, if you are the pioneer among your friends, then fear not – there are kits available to get you started on your way!

Kombucha brewing supplies

Lion Heart Kombucha

Kombucha Kamp

Beautiful Kombucha and Fermenting Crocks

Additional Reading:

Edwards, Allison Kombucha: Drink this Wonderful Probiotic Tea for Immune Support, Digestive Health, and Detox Cleansing

http://www.kombuchakamp.com/2011/03/kombucha-tea-radiation-prevention-and-cancer-treatments.html

rise and brine

Leave a comment June 17, 2014 nourishinggrace

“God loves fermentation just as dearly as he loves vegetation” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

My family loves pickles and brined pickles is what draws most people into the wild world of fermentation. They taste delicious, use only a few simple ingredients and are otherwise so low tech that your grandmother can make them! 😉 And really, for me, that’s kind of the point.

We usually don’t prepare our pickle ferments until July, but we went through our last jar, and so I grabbed a bunch of pickling cucumbers at this weeks market.

This recipe is for a more sour pickle and it’s not exactly a recipe. The main ingredient is the brine… Other than that, we use whatever is on hand, but it almost always includes plenty of dill, peppercorns, mustard seeds and lots of garlic… but use whatever your heart desires.

You’ll need clean mason jars and washed hands!

For this recipe we used:

3-4 pounds of pickling cucumbers, unwaxed.

2 heads garlic, peeled

1 large bunch dill or more

black peppercorns

one bunch fresh spring onions

one bunch french radishes – just because we had them!

pinch black peppercorns

pinch yellow mustard seed

6 tablespoons sea salt

64 ounces filtered water

one grape leaf (this helps them keep their crunch!)