Green 'n' Creamy Pasta

1 ripe avocado
1/2 lemon, juiced
lemon zest
3 cloves garlic
½ tsp salt
fresh basil
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 oz of spinach or gluten-free pasta
fresh cracked black pepper

Fill medium pot with water 3/4 full, bring to boil. Add pasta, and cook to package specifications, or al dente
Pit avocado and scoop out the soft flesh from the skin. Add avocado, lemon juice, garlic, salt and a hand full of basil leaves to food processor and pulse until smooth
Place cooked pasta in a large bowl, add the avocado mixture and toss until pasta is evenly coated
Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper

So, how does food affect your life?

When I was growing up, my mom noticed my sister and I reacted poorly to artificial sweeteners and colors; this was the single best thing she ever did, in addition to stripping our diets to avoid those particular things. Consequently, we grew up not eating a lot of high-fructose corn syrup, saccharine, phenylalanine, or any of those red/yellow dye thingies. By reacting poorly, I mean to say that my sister would run in circles until she fell down and I would get mean, grouchy, and depressed to an extreme rather uncommon to a 5 year old female child. Because most sugary foods also contained some other unnatural ingredient, we didn't eat a lot of sugary foods either.... at least not until I was in my late teens...

After 4 long years of unhappiness, mood swings, angry depression, sinus problems, and general gastrointestinal discomfort, a friend who studied eastern medicine recommended I go on a candida diet. This means stripping sugars and fast-burning carbs to avoid exacerbating the normal yeast humans have in their gastrointestinal system. I played with this diet, and ultimately 'failed' at it for years. But I learned a lot about how food can produce adverse reactions to your system, and not all are noticeable within the same day of consumption -- and that's the big part...

If you truly want to experiment on yourself to know how you react to a diet or to a particular item of food, you need to monitor over at least 4 days after 'exposure.' The effects of excessive sugar-eating for one day can result in up to 3 days of withdrawal, culminating in severe moodiness on the 2nd and 3rd day. AND these are not simple cranky moods... these are fits of mood and depression that I've seen other people also do on a regular basis, and that can go on for days and weeks -- imagine if they had the presence of mind to know that it was all a reaction their body was having to something they ate a couple days ago.

So, how do I avoid sugar? I don't eat packaged foods! Read all ingredients labels! I avoid caffeine and alcohol, which disrupt the body's pH. I eat hardy, whole-grain breads with no added sugars if I eat bread at all, and less ripened fruits and vegetables with less natural sugar: berries, mangoes, avocados, zucchini, eggplant, greener bananas, red/purple potatoes, yams. I also need to (and am diversifying my diet enough to allow it) eat more raw veggies and nut-based meals with some good probiotics that will keep the yeast at bay.

Raw Veggies II : Zucchini

1-2 of your favorite kind of zucchini, sliced
1 lemon, juiced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil

Throw it all in a bowl and toss
stays fresh in the fridge, covered, for a week


Zucchini Rolls

1 zucchini
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic (or other aromatic)
fresh basil
fresh arrugula

Slice zucc lengthwise into strips, soak in lemon juice/oil/garlic.... [they say dehydrate, I think it's overrated]... just roll with basil and arugula and serve al fresco

Simple Naan

2.5- 3 cups flour (use gluten free if you like, and I like to add flax seed or flax seed meal)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
tumeric or herbs of choice (optional)
1 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp safflower oil

Sift together dry ingredients. Add yogurt and mix until doughy. Add more flour by Tbsp until dough just stops being sticky-wet, and knead, knead and knead. Form into round ball, place in a bowl, drizzle oil on top, cover with a towel and rest for 1 hour. Remove dough from bowl, separate into 8 sections. Roll each section flat (can stack using parchment or wax paper to separate). Heat 10" non-stick skillet to med, and turn oven to broiler setting, or heat broiler to 500°F. Gently place one piece into skillet - cook until bottom has brown spots, remove from pan, place on foil in broiler and brown for ~2 min (make sure rack is low and away from heat source). Once you see spots (as above) remove from broiler - repeat for each piece.

The thinner the dough is rolled, the crispier it will be (I like it crispy; it's easier to eat like a pizza)

Now that you've got naan... what do you do with it?
- substitute for tortillas or pita
- used for chips
- covered in homemade minced raw veggie mixes and cheese (recipes posted soon)
- Rachael Ray has an awesome Naan-cho recipe

Stuffed Squash

1 acorn squash
spinach
Gorgonzola - or sharp cheese of your choice

- cut squash half on the equator - cut off point at the bottom so the bottom half will sit flat
- roast in oven at 400°F until just tender (20-40 min depending on size)
- fill with spinach and cheese
- return to oven until spinach is tender and cheese is melted
- add bacon ;)

Veggie Pizza

large tortilla
favorite spaghetti sauce (I prefer Classico)
mozzarella
spinach
kalamata olives, halved
1 clove garlic, minced
artichoke (canned and quartered)

- lay tortilla on baking sheet lined with parchment paper
- smear tomato sauce over surface to coat
- add olives, garlic, and artichoke
- roll spinach up like a cigar and chop, scatter over pizza
- evenly coat mozz on top
- bake at 400°F until edge of tortilla is browned

Portabello Sammich

1 large portabello mushroom
olive oil
1/2 fire-roasted red bell pepper - enough to cover slice of bread (see below for roasting instructions, or buy canned fire-roasted red peppers - just as good)
spinach - enough to layer on sammich
2 oz goat cheese
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
tsp lemon juice
2 slices of hardy bread

- slice portabello
- in med non-stick pan - lightly coat with olive oil, bring to med heat - add sliced portabello
- 2 minutes and flip
- 2 min and flip
- remove from pan and dab dry with paper towel
(cooked mushrooms can be refridgerated for sammiches for a few days - taste just as good cold)
- in small bowl combine goat cheese, minced garlic and lemon juice - mix thoroughly
- toast bread if desired
- slather on goat cheese mixture
- lay on spinach
- lay on pepper
- lay on portabellos

broiler roasting peppers
- remove top of pepper by cutting downward at the crown and cutting around the stem (like a pumpkin) - pop the top out and the placenta and seeds should follow (slice long-ways down the side of the pepper if it doesn't come out easily)
- cut pepper in half, place open side down in the broiler set to 500°F or oven broiler setting
- broil for up to 15 min, keep an eye and remove when most of the pepper is blackened
- remove and let cool under a paper towel
- remove skin, pat dry

gas stove-top roasting
- turn on burner to med-low
- place whole pepper on burner's grate
- turn with grilling tongs until most of the pepper's skin is blackened
- remove and let cool under a paper towel
- remove skin, pat dry

Stuffed Eggplant

stuffed eggplant:
1 eggplant
1 lb fresh mozzarella
3 tomatoes
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, diced
fresh basil bunch
salt/pepper

2 methods:
1.    slice eggplant long-ways in strips ~2" wide and the full length (mandolin works, or mad knife fileting skills)
       - warm in oven (300°F) just until soft and flimsy
       - slice mozz and 2 of the tomatoes, tear off several large basil leaves
       - lay warmed eggplant strips in 2s in a cross, lay 1 slice tomato, mozz and large basil leaf in the middle
       -  fold over bottom-most strip, then fold over the other strip to make a square packet
       - flip upside down, put back in oven for 5 min (optional)

2.     slice eggplant in medallions, leave raw
        - slice 2 tomatoes, mozz and tear off several large basil leaves
        - stack slices: eggplant-tomato-mozz-basil-eggplant
        - leave raw or heat in 300°F oven just until cheese starts to warm (fresh mozz gets watery if melted)

top with Relish:
(i don't recommend a food processor, it breakes down the tomatoes too much and waters down the flavor)
- dice 1 tomato, garlic, and mince sun-dried tomatoes and 3 large basil leaves
- put in medium bowl, add balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper
- mash with wooden spoon or tenderizer

Veggie Tomato Soup

24oz creamy tomato soup
12oz roasted red pepper soup
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 chopped zucchini
1/2 pint chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic
1 chopped tomato
1/4 cup slivered sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 lb raw shrimp - skinned/deveined
Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp chili powder
stale baguette/ stale sourdough bread

Rinse and chop all veggies and set aside. Heat large pot and add soups and stock. Once simmering, add chopped veggies and olive oil. Heat sauté pan, add enough oil to coat pan - once hot, add shrimp : pink shrimp on both sides, then add to soup pot. Simmer just until all ingredients are hot ~15 min. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat, cut stale bread into 1" cubes. Dish soup and add bread cubes on top to serve.

Roast Veggies/ Fruits

Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes and Plums
[seen w/ Morrocan spiced short ribs]

Tomatoes are actually fruits, work with their sweetness and acidity when preparing with heavier foods like red meats to give a warm and light flavor contrast

the key to great veggies is to not overcook and let their naturally delicious flavors come out

1 qt heirloom tomatoes
3 plums cut into ~1" cubes
1 Tbsp honey/agave nectar
grapeseed oil
sea salt

place tomatoes and plum cubes in roasting dish, drizzle with oil and honey/nectar, dash of salt, toss to coat the fruit
roast at 350°F and remove as soon as tomatoes start to split

Raw Veggies I

raw veggie dip

3 raw Brussels sprouts

3 green onions

1/2 avocado

2 garlic cloves

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp grape seed oil

1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

salt

steak seasoning



put all ingredients into food processor

[to prep avocado: slice in half around pit, twist the two halves, use spoon to remove flesh from skin]

season to taste

eat with naan, rice crackers, or celery

or leave corsely processed and serve as a slaw

Preparing Veggies I

simple salads: dark leaf base, 2+ tasty veggies, protein / starch, acid, and oil

here:
baby spinach
1/2 bell pepper-julienne
1/2 onion- sliced
toss with 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar and 1Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, pinch sea salt/cracked pepper
topped with roasted red potato and white cheddar wafer

to make cheddar wafers: heat small non-stick pan to low-med, lay single layer of shredded white cheddar. allow to melt, use paper towel to soak up extra oil. once it can be moved with a spatchula, flip for 10 seconds, remove from pan to paper towel, and shape quickly while warm

Preparing Veggies II

easy tasty veggies... if they were this good when i was a kid, i woulda eaten 'em

Green Beans

4 Red Potatoes

1 lemon cut in wedges

1 TBSP butter

Blanch a hand full of whole green beans :

- use beans at room temp

- bring pot of water to a boil

- add green beans and boil until they are neon green ~5 min, quickly strain

- cut red potatoes in ~1" cubes
- heat non-stick pan med-heat, melt 1 TBSP butter
- add lemon wedges and potatoes - once potatoes start to brown, add blanched green beans
- toss in the pan until potatoes are just browned ~3-5min - don't need to be cooked through, the raw crunch adds to the texture
- pinch salt/pepper