Blog has moved, searching new blog...

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Chili Beans


Hearty, spicy and GOOD! A simple recipe for a crockpot or stove top:

Pinto beans
Oil
2 whole garlic cloves (cooked in with the beans and then mashed)
1 onion (sliced, diced, chopped or whatever)
Cumin, chili powder, black pepper and sea salt

Uhn! Ride 'em cowboy!

I bet these would even taste better if they finished in the oven for a good baking!

Anna's Layered Veggie-Rice Bake


Layer in a casserole:
1. Sliced carrots
2. Tomato sauce
3. Thinly sliced potatoes
4. White sauce consisting of sauteed leeks, with butter, whole flour, milk and seasonings
5. Cooked Brown rice mixed with tomato sauce and pepper and sea salt

Bake for 45-60 minutes at 375.  It was heavenly! Hearty, gooey and centering.

Ginger Almond Chocolate Granny



A Christmas present for the fam, granola appeals to all tastes and looks beautiful presented in glass jars. 

This recipe was improvised (like always) but here was the basis of it:
6 cups oat flakes
1 cup almonds
3/4 cup sweetener (various is OK)
1/2 cup unrefined oil (I'd go with sesame)
1 tsp each cinnamon, cardamom, dried ginger
1/8 cup sesame seeds
choco chips or nibs as you like 'em!
a bit of sea salt

Combine the flakes, nuts and seeds. Heat in a saucepan the oils, sweeteners and spices until smooth and even. Fold the wet into the dry and spread out onto baking sheets. Bake for 30 minutes at 325F and stir every 10 or so. Cool and jar! Yum! 

Friday, December 19, 2008

A Yaconic Soliloquy


So I've been NOT using concentrated sweeteners for the most part over the past 5 months, and have been experiencing a lot of new heights. Paul Pitchford's words of wisdom: concentrated sweeteners create a desire for sweet things in life, has been completely understood and experienced. Wow! Truly, most of North America consumes sweets daily, most in the form of white sugar, but then even those who have managed to escape the shackles of white sugar are usually bound to natural sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, agave or some other. I was given some yacon as a gift a couple of weeks ago, and as a note, yacon is one of the yummiest sweeteners available that does NOT alter blood sugar levels or contribute to digestive dampness such as candida or dysbiosis, and so is regarded as safe - but I have been reminded of one thing this week - it's still sweet! 

And so as I had been using it, I noticed a shift in my personality. Where I had no problems sitting down daily for a period of quiet or meditation, I found it unimportant or uninteresting. I started feeling like more sweeteners, and so honey and other things started appearing in our cupboards, but then I started desiring things again. Money became important, too important, and I started feeling aggressive and impatient, and wanting instantaneous results. Instead of sitting down with some quiet to centre myself and bring myself to balance, I just simply starting craving more... more of what? Money, results, sweets, things and unimportant minutiae. It all came to a realization when it started involving other people and they let me know that I was being too forceful, unreceptive and quite impatient. Aha! The fog started to clear.

So the next morning I realized that whatever I wanted can wait, whatever I needed I already had enough of - there simply was nothing in my exterior world that could bring me happiness but what was inside. So I sat down... and sat some more... hours really, until I came home, and then realized my lesson - and what a glad lesson. "Falling off of the wagon" is always such a great thing because you realized what wagon you were sitting on! So now I am writing with my centre centred, patience recharged, and a desire to do nothing but sit here and type - and wouldn't you know it, I'm actually getting more work done by being this way - centred and present... and happy!

The yacon is great, I highly recommend it, but unfortunately I'm setting it aside for special occasions! 

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Stirred Greens with Goat Cheese




Sautee onions and garlic with some spices like black pepper, cumin seeds and/or mustard seeds until the onion is clear or starting to brown. Toss in a fistful or two of spinach or another green leafy and continue stirring just until wilted - it shrinks a lot, so you may decide to eat more!! Eat a lot, why not? Greens are so healing and satiating, especially with the warmth of onion and garlic. Once wilted, perhaps after a minute or two, I divided it into bowls and topped it with some toasted sesame seeds and homemade goat cheese that was seasoned with a bit of salt, thyme, sage, cumin and something else. This was for breakfast and I made the exact same thing again for lunch because... well why not!? It was so good!


Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Apple Crisp!

Our favourite dessert! Sliced apples lined the bottom of the tray, and then a mixture of oat flakes, seeds, nuts, sweetener (honey or something, we used yacon), spices such as cinnamon, dried fruit, and a little or oil or butter, then spread out over top of the apples. Baked in the oven at 350F until fragrant and golden!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Shiny, Happy Cupboards!



A Good For You Coaching client of Michael's, Bonnie-Lou Martin dazzles her newly organized, whole foodie cupboards. She even went so far as to stage her jars so all the labels on the lower shelf are legible! Beautiful job!

Monday, December 15, 2008

Oats n Goats

Steel cut oats cooked in a slow cooker overnight with cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Dates were added in the morning, and then a little bit of goat's milk was dribbled over it to freshen up the densely warming dish. Yacon may have ended up in the bowl too... 

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Sprouted Spicy Asian Mung

I used leftover soup for this which was made of seaweed, shiitake mushrooms and Korean gochujang (spicy red paste). I simply cooked up some sprouted mung beans in the soup, which reduced a little bit making a bit of a stew! 

I added some dried ginger as well to bring the otherwise cooling dish some heat that would go to my centre (dried ginger warms your inside whereas fresh ginger warms the periphery, but the seaweed/mung combination is very cooling for the centre of the body and so a little dried ginger helps balance that if you're eating this in mid-winter!... too much information? I think it's cool!....)

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Quick Korma and Turmeric Rice


Quick Korma

6 Tbsp. oil

3 bay leaves
2” stick cinnamon
8 cardamom pods
4 whole cloves
1/4 tsp. cumin seeds
1 Tbsp. ground coriander
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne
3/4 tsp. sea salt

1-1/2” piece fresh ginger
5-6 cloves garlic
1 smalll onion

Chopped potatoes or other veggies
1 cup beans or chicken (optional)
3 Tbsp. tomato sauce or paste
3 Tbsp. yogurt or cream

Heat frying pan with oil. Add spices and wait until aromatic. Add chopped/blended garlic, onion and ginger into the pan and stir. Sautee for about 3 minutes or until onion turns brownish. Add veggies, beans or meat and cook until soft (may need a little water). Add tomato sauce and yogurt and simmer until sauce has thickened. Add dill or wilt some spinach in it to finish with some greens if you like!


Indian Rice

3 Tbsp. oil

3 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
4 cardamom pods
1” stick cinnamon
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp. turmeric

2 cups basmati rice
4 cups water
2 Tbsp. raisins
1 tsp. sea salt

Put oil in a pot and heat to med-high. When oil is hot, add spices and wait until aromatic. Add rice and quickly pan toast. Add water, raisins and salt, bring to a boil and simmer covered until fully cooked, about 45 minutes. Serve with Quick Korma recipe.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Morning Eggs

Sautee leeks with optional celery, pumpkin seeds and almonds in some butter with spices, such as black pepper, mustard seed or cumin. Add beaten eggs and a little cayenne to make them less sticky and more digestible.... easy!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Magic Millet


I can't quite remember how this was put together - but it involved sauteeing cooked millet with some veggies, seeds, spices and raisins. I think there was cinnamon and turmeric in it.... but I do remember it was good!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Beet stew

Saute onions in a heavy pan until brown. Add chopped beets with water and cook 'em up!
When almost finished, add some dill, lime, sea salt and pepper. Yum!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Michael's barnwood-shelf pantry


Grains and beans, I love being able to see them through glass and sitting on wood. Not that there's a magic chemistry that makes them more nutritious, but it lifts my soul and empowers me to eat them. It gives them the respect and love that I feels truthful for mw and it dresses up this old barnwood shelfy thing so beautifully!! Not only that, but I have some favourite cooking resources tucked in the bottom and ready to use. Jack, our pooch dines beside it from some of Anna's (Michael's wife) handmade pottery. I don't have many kinds of varieties at all times, I like to have a few different beans on hand, and when they run out I refill with a different kind. I simply don't need them all at once, but I do see the advantages of that as well.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Sharlie's Bloobie Pancakes




1 1/2 cups whole-grain spelt flour
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup wheat bran
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups plain full-fat soy milk or almond milk
Vegetable oil for cooking
1 cup (1/2 pint) fresh blueberries or frozen, unthawed, plus 1/2 cup fresh blueberries or raspberries for serving
Maple syrup for serving, or apple butter

In medium bowl, stir together spelt flour, oat bran, wheat bran, baking soda, and salt. Add soy milk and stir until thoroughly combined.

Brush large nonstick or cast-iron griddle or skillet with oil and heat over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Working in 3 to 4 batches, pour 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto griddle and press 12 to 15 blueberries into each pancake. Cook until bubbles appear and pop on surface and undersides are golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip pancakes, let pancakes continue to cook in pan until undersides are firm and light golden brown, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to plate, berry side up, and keep warm.

Repeat to cook remaining pancakes, oiling griddle between each batch. Serve pancakes warm with additional berries and maple syrup.

I also added 1/4 cup of flax seed meal, and dried coconut flakes. I used coconut oil to cook them, seeing how there was some coconut in the cakes to help the body assimilate the oil better. Add whatever fruit you want and or ingredients, cinnamon, or cardamom, whatever you would like!

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Eggs with greens and sauerkraut


Poached eggs, steamed greens, sesame seeds, apple cider vinegar and sauerkraut! Breakfast of champions!... well at least for the Whole Foodies

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Pan toasted Apple Granola with Bananas and Bloobie Goat Kefir


Just like the title says!: Pan-toasted granola with apples laid on a bed of sliced bananas, and then drenched with blueberry goat kefir. A feast!

Granola: Dry-pan toast flakes, seeds and nuts until aromatic. Add fresh cut fruit and stir to release some moisture. Add spices, oil (or butter/ghee), sweetener, and any other fun things that you can think of. 

Friday, December 5, 2008

Whole Foods Cooking Retreat!


Whole Foods Cooking Retreat!
A weekend of hands-on, take-home, whole foods cooking!

Learn to make:
  • Beans and whole grains
  • Nut milks and nut butter
  • Sourdough bread
  • Healthy desserts and snacks
  • Home-made Goat Cheese
..and many more!

Early Registration before Feb. 1, 2009: $275
Regular Cost: $350

Friday March 13th 7:00 pm to Sunday March 15 2:00pm

Crieff Hills Retreat Centre, Puslinch, Ontario - Dove House


Register by contacting Whole Foodie Michael Fisher at 519-273-1140 or foodies@wholefoodies.org

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Basic Vegetable Soup Stock


Making soup stock is a quick and easy way to add flavor to any soup and is a helpful ingredient to have on hand for adding flavor to rice, steamed vegetables or stir fries. Root vegetables hold up well and release their flavor readily into the stock. Stocks lend themselves to creative self expression and can hold up to many different flavor variations.

For an asian inspired stock use a square of dried kombu seaweed, dried shiitake mushrooms, a splash of tamari or nama shoyu soy sauce and mung bean sprouts.

- for a rich red stock, use beets and their tops, tomatoes, and dried lentils