Cooking for one... pot!

I LOVE one-pot meals. Really, there's nothing more satisfying then the coming together of flavours in one dish, which really, makes digesting quite easy. Consider the pot acting as your stomach, working out all the chemical differences, so that by the time you eat it, it is chemically like 'one food'! Oh yes - the finest of food combining - cook it all together!

I cook things in order from slowest to fastest, obviously. So this is how I might cook myself a one-potter:

- Put a little water in the bottom of the pot and bring to boil, or at least hot

- Add spices to infuse like a tea... such as cumin, fennel, mustard, bl. pepper (my favs)

- Add pungent vegetables like onions, leeks, garlic, etc. I think I used ginger and leek here

- Add hearty root veggies, like potato, carrot or beet. I think I only used carrot in this dish

- When roots are soft, add other veg like zucchini, which is what I did here

- I tossed in some nuts and seeds as well - which soaks and cooks them a little, which is good

- From here, you can add more water and add some grain, as I did with quinoa! Cover and cook until grains are soft, for quinoa - about 15 minutes. I threw in some brown rice pasta because I was having a party for myself that night, and pasta is pretty fun.

- Add herbs at the end, like thyme or whatever else. I added my fresh ones at the very end though

- Serve a dishfull, and that stir in some leafy greens like kale, and they'll cook in just the heat of the food.

- Prepare a small dressing/sauce, or simply just pour over a little flax/hemp oil, apple cider vinegar, or whatever inspires you.

- Add fresh chopped herbs, like basil, parsley, chives, or whatever ya got!

This is pretty elaborate, but my entire meal came from one dish! It made enough for two servings, and I had just ONE POT to clean up! Isn't it amazing.. ONE POT!! :)

Spicy Summer Salad

This was a preferred breakfast, lunch or dinner for me when I felt the urge to eat something crunchy, cool, and raw in the heat of summer. However, I don't really like the watery, overly moistening and cooling effects of just regular leafy greens, especially ice berg lettuce, but I found these amazing 'spicy greens' from the Organic Oasis near my home that contains a mix of mustard greens, and other little pungent-bitters that appeal to me much more than the watery-crisp block of ice that normal grocery lettuce is.

To add some substance and richness to my salads, I always add pumpkin seeds (usually hand pan-toasted), or almonds, and then added some cut apple, and then a few fresh things from my garden such as tomato, basil, parsley, shiso, and then add a dressing made up of flax oil, garlic, apple cider vinegar and a little miso. I sprinkle on a little dulse too, if I'm in the mood for it. I usually have something heartier with this as well, like a cooked veg or grain, but sometimes just the freshness of a simple salad, especially with the rising sun, is all that I need to make me grin and feel centered.

Quinoa Ragout

A variation on a ragout pasta, but with quinoa instead!

Cook grains in a pot:

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water

Start the sauce in a large pan:
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 tsp ea. thyme, oregano, fennel
1 cup cabbage, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
2 carrots, chopped

1-1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 fistfulls of greens

Start by adding quinoa and water in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes covered, and then let sit until ready.

In a large pan, heat oil, then seed spices, then onion until onion is clear or golden coloured. Add the chopped vegetables and remaining spices, and cook covered until desired texture, adding water occasionally if necessary. Once the veggies are cooked, add the sauce, greens and quinoa together in the pot or serving dish and enjoy!

Quinoa Greens Salad

Instead of pasta salad, why not have grains salad! Whole grains are less refined, more nutritious and awesome. 

1-1/2 cups quinoa

3 cups water

bit of salt

1/4 to 1/3 cup oil, to taste

3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 fist of herbs

1 fist of greens

1 chopped red onion

1 chopped tomato

Salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup feta (or more)

Cook up the quinoa while making a "salad" made up of the veggies and dressing. Mix together the salad with the grains and cheese, et voila! 

Put sides of sauerkraut, greens, beans, whatever, to go with it!

(In this posting, I made my own goat cheese - as shown - please see our videos to learn how to make your own cheese!)

Pizza delish

Once you have your sourdough crust recipe mastered, you can start making world famous fantasy pizzas!!.. or you can just buy a premade crust, which is ok too.. I guess.  :)

Making a pizza is simple. Add ingredients that are fun, and bake.

This one had spinach, garlic, leek, goat mozzarella (quick tip, actually pronounced "monzerella".. my aunts in-laws are Italian) zucchini, tomatoes, dill, and of course sauce. There may have been cumin and fennel seeds and parsley, but I don't remember. Maybe basil, again, don't remember here -- making pizzas are so exciting I barely remember a thing afterwards.

Pop 'em in the oven until they look done, and.. you're done!! Easily as that... (crust is a different story, see previous blog!)

Enjoy!

Spicy for your noodle!

This soup is so yummy and has a bit of a kick, so adjust this to your heat level.  I went to a Thai restaurant recently to have some soup and there was a note at the bottom of the menu that said, 'all dishes spiced to your testes'.  Okay, I am assuming that is a typo, but then I looked around and found that there were only men eating in the restaurant... coincidence? hmm, strange.   

for the broth:

put 2 cups of vegetable broth, 1 dried shiitake mushroom, 1 piece of kombu seaweed, 2 slices of fresh ginger and a splash of tamari in a soup pot.  Simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.

cook soba noodles until al dente in rapid boiling water, about 5 minutes, check often.  Drain and rinse under cold water until noodles feel like they are room temperature

for omelette:

dissolve 1 tsp mello miso with a little broth to form a paste, stir in one egg and one egg white and chopped scallions.  

heat 2 tsp of ghee or butter in a skillet and pour egg mix, tilt pan to cover bottom of pan and cook until just done, fold eggs over until it looks like a roll.  Remove from heat and cut into thin slices on a cutting board

Just before broth is done simmering, place 1 tsp of gojuchang (korean hot pepper paste) in the pot and dissolve, stir in chopped greens; such as spinach, watercress, bok choy, sliced snow peas or snow pea shoots until just wilted.

Spoon broth into bowls add cooked buckwheat soba noodles, top with sliced omelet, chopped cilantro and a few drops of unrefined toasted sesame oil!

This soup can stand a lot of improv, you can go without the spicy paste and just have a nice gingery broth, substitute any green of your choice, put in some shredded daikon (japanese radish), try some mushrooms like enoki or shiitake, use diced tofu, or any meat of your choice.  It is really limitless, guide your soup with your taste buds!

Sweat and enjoy!

How to Feel Amazing

I really don't feel any better than when I eat grains, beans and vegetables with a sauce. To me... this it. This is why we feel good.. this is what makes your day good no matter what. What keeps us centred, motivated, in love, on top, on the ground.. all the good things you want in life you can access from within - when you eat this!!!! Am I right? huh?.. huh?.. remarks?

So what is it? If it looks disgusting to you, then your salty sweet taste buds have not yet acclimatized to whole foods and that's fine. There comes a point when you no longer desire the super yang foods like sugar and flour, nor the ultra yin foods found in heavily salted foods. What's left is that oh so harmonizing centre where the present moment comes to life, your senses heighten, and that once bland food suddenly has incredible taste - and leaves you feeling ON the centre. This is a feeling not familiar to most eaters these days, I know so because a standard American (Canadian in my case) diet just makes me feel off centre, up and then down, and nowhere - and you want more - because you are never quite satiated and fulfilled. And you want more of not only food, but things in life, because what you ate and have is seemingly not enough.. but it is!! You just have to come to the centre to appreciate, see and be gracious for it. This is where this meal comes in... man, totally centering, which like I said, makes life sparkle.

Am I crazy? Possibly... but it all makes sense to me, and if it resonates with you too, leave a comment or tell someone you love to eat grains and veggies for dinner... with love.

How to make:

-Steam grains

-Cook beans

-Sautee/steam greens (see 'greens' for ideas on this)

-Make sauce (see previous post)

Drizzle with flax oil, sesame seeds, whatever makes you happy.

How to eat:

-Sit upright, cross legged on a soft surface, which is nice because you can cradle the warm bowl in your other hand to feel its warmth.... OR eat with feet flat on the floor in a chair at a table

-Smell your food, 'what are you eating?'

-Take a bite sized amount on your fork or other eating utensil

-Chew it until its disappeared in your mouth (usually takes 30+ chews)

-Take a breath before going for more,... set your eating utensil down now and then

-Remain seated after eating and wait for the "Qi puff" to ascend into your body, which is quite energizing AND relaxing.

Food divides into two parts from our digestion, the "clear" ascends and energizes us, and the "turbid" descends and exits along our waste portals.  

If the food sat like a rock and is "stuck" in your centre, you ate too quickly or weren't focused, and the two parts didn't quite separate, making your liver and centre sticky and stuck.. and usually tired. This doesn't allow for the full nutrition to be assimilated... it's like a poor burning fire that produces a lot of toxic black smoke, as oppose to a clean burning fire which produces two parts similar to our digestion - clear smoke, and turbid ash - with no incomplete burnt wood or charring toxic smoke.

Strive to feel the Qi puff with everything you eat, and you'll start to realize how much of your food burns dirty and incomplete.. which again, is toxic and tiring for the body.

Start by eating slow... and try eating vegetal foods such as grains and veggies!

Orangy beets and red hot yolks

Oooo... doesn't this look like a lovely breakfast!? Sauteed beets with some orange juice and yacon and stirred greens, accompanied by an egg dusted with cayenne and ginger.

quinoa tempeh bowl

This is one of my comfort meals, something to satisfy me in every way and it's quick too!

Cook 1 cup of quinoa, with enough water to cover it by 1/2 an inch.

Marinade for tempeh:

fresh squeezed orange juice

dulse flakes

nama shoyu soy sauce

few drops of unrefined toasted sesame oil

Soak tempeh in the marinade for 15 minutes, then sear on all sides in a skillet set to medium.

Dressing for greens:

hemp or flax oil

apple cider vinegar

agave or honey to taste

Steam the greens (kale, bokchoy, chard, spinach,etc), add dressing to the wilted greens, toss to coat.  

Add cooked quinoa in a bowl and place greens and tempeh on top, drizzle left over marinade and dressing.  Top with toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds!  MMM hearty!

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!

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.

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