Let The Gardening Begin!
26 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Essay On Health, Recipes Tags: candida, candida cookbook, candida diet, candidiasis, gardening, green veggies, health coach, lemon juice, organic, pepitas, quick recipe, salad
We pulled up all the stalks from last year and added them to the new compost pile.
Remember back in…April, or was it March? When spring seemed to have arrived, at least for a week? We excitedly got to work in the garden, clearing out the old and making a new plan for this season.
Scallion survivors, they’ll be blooming any day now!
A new layout this year to avoid washouts during rain storms. This first section is our lettuce and herb bed.
Then it got cold again, of course. And we got busy, really really busy with Fire Cider and the New Amsterdam Market. We went on vacation for a week, and to Springfield and NYC and came back to this….
Um, I think we have a weed problem. At least the lettuce survived!
Dana and the weed whacker vs over a month of unattended garden growth, guess we know the soil is healthy!
Dana’s starts survived our vacation and are going into the ground today, if we can carve a new bed out of all that weedy growth!
Watering our little starts and seeds in the new bed: red sail lettuce, chamomile, paprika peppers, Habanero, nasturtiums, holy basil, tomatoes and more basil.
Our reward was a box full of lettuce and some volunteer dandelion greens. Hooray for the first salad of the season!
Simple Garden Salad
In your salad bowl mix the juice from half a lemon with olive oil and salt.
Toss the rinsed (yeah, maybe I should have picked it before weed whacking?) lettuce in the dressing and top with
This Sunday at 10 am I am giving a talk, ‘How to Make the Healthiest Use of Your Food Dollar‘ at the Unitarian Church, 175 Wendell Ave. Pittsfield. I will be publishing the talk in Berkshire’s Best June 1st and here on my blog in case you miss it!
New Spring Salad
24 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in Candida, Recipes Tags: raw, apple cider vinegar, candidiasis, green veggies, quick meal, Local food, organic, salad dressing, one dish meal, carrots, greens, salad, cheese, candida diet, meditation, health coach, candida, candida cookbook, tuna, yoga, kripalu yoga
Dana and I literally made room for our yoga practice.
I’ve been a bit pressed for time since there are a lot of exciting changes going on right now; the garden is growing, there are houses to bid on (woah!) and we converted an extra room in our house to a yoga/meditation room. I have been naturally waking up consistently early for the past few weeks, a change I attribute to the new season and a sign that my health continues to improve. The combination of getting up earlier and our yoga room means I’m able to do an hour of Kripalu yoga, mediate and start my day having already accomplished two of my most important goals for the day. Or I can work in an hour of yoga later in the day. Either way, having hour long classes, on line, that range from gentle restorative yoga to more vigorous, challenging classes, right on the Kripalu home page, makes a daily practice pretty easy to incorporate. If you have space for a yoga mat and an internet connection, you too can incorporate yoga into your daily routine. Give it a try!
One of 4 post cards designed to promote the market. This one is my favorite. You can see the other designs on the New Amsterdam Market Facebook page.
Dana, Brian and I are also expanding Fire Cider to a weekly market in New York City called ‘The New Amsterdam Market’ which opens next Sunday at 11 am in the Old Fulton Fish Market. This is such an exciting next step for us and there’s a lot to do to get ready! So, I find I have less time that I would like to spend writing new recipes and playing in the kitchen. In the interest of time, mine and yours, I’ve come up with a new way to write recipes so I can continue to share with you on a weekly basis…
The ingredients will be listed in the order they are added to the recipe. Simple instructions will appear throughout the list and the meal should take about 5-15 min to assemble or cook, sound good? Healthy meals fast, yes please!
One dish dinner with the daffodils my mom picked for us, thanks mama!
New Spring Salad
In a large bowl combine:
1 can tuna
3-4 T mayo
2 T spicy dijon mustard
2 T raw apple cider vinegar
2 T each: Kalamata olives halved and chopped oil cured olives
salt and pepper to taste
Mix well then add
Salad greens of your choosing: baby spinach and dandelion greens are especially nutritious.
1 grated carrot
Mix again and top with
grated cheese, I used some Vermont cheese from the co-op that’s part cheddar and part Romano
a small handful of toasted, salted sunflower seeds
Serve and eat!
Fun With Garden Foods
08 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in Essay On Health, Recipes Tags: carrots, cucumbers, frittata, garden, green veggies, lettuce, organic, peanut sauce, purple haze carrots, salad
Pretty purple carrots make a great edible center piece.
Dana and I harvested a ton of food from our garden at Green Meads Farm in Richmond last Friday. We spent the morning and part of the afternoon weeding before filling our bags with future dinners. The commercial crop of leeks and romanesco we are growing on the Clark’s farm (hopefully soon to be our farm!) is looking hardy after a late, slow start. Without all the weeds, our garden at Green Meads is looking like a real garden, as in, now we have paths and can see individual plants! The weed uprising has been quashed, for now. After all that I discovered we have lots of lemon cucumbers, gherkins, collards, basil, kale and carrots. I’m super excited to take pictures and make fun things with the lemon cukes, they live up to their name in appearance and I hope they make excellent pickles.
When we finished our work Dana and I headed home with bags full of produce, hungry for a big late lunch. By the time we got into the kitchen I was running out of steam as far as cleaning all the veggies. So we put all the carrots (Purple Haze variety, of course) into a big glass pitcher to soak which doubled as a very colorful and edible centerpiece!
Cucumbers, carrots and collards from our garden, eggs from Hannah's grampa, peanut sauce from last nights salad.
We made a frittata with collards, sliced up a couple of cucumbers to go with the peanut dressing from the night before and made two so-called ‘Southamptons’, a drink made with 2-3 dashes of bitters, a squeeze of lime, a bit of sweetener, if you like, and soda water. This drink is sometimes refered to as a mocktail (versus the more adult, cocktail) but I wonder if the place the drink is named after has anything to do with that reference? No, it’s probably not named after those Hamptons. Whatever the Southampton is named after, it’s a bitter, tart drink, and it’s soothing to the stomach as well. It was supremely nice to be able to sit outside and enjoy the food that Dana and I have worked to create.
A simple salad complements the big, late lunch we ate at 3pm.
After a big late meal and the day’s manual labor behind me, I didn’t have a huge appetite for dinner. I made a light salad, with a mix of all the salad greens from our garden including baby spinach. I used some Fire Cider, mayo, a mashed garlic clove, salt and pepper to make a quick dressing. And then for dessert I snacked on the tender young carrots we thinned from the garden and that addictively good roasted almond butter with flax seeds from Trader Joes. I feel really good about today; lots of fresh veggies in a variety of colors, with my biggest meal in the early afternoon and plenty of time spent outside, doing work that I love with some one I love. I know that not every day can be as well-balanced and stress free but it’s nice to know I can make it happen!
Shaved Fennel Salad
28 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
in Recipes Tags: arugula, dill, fennel, feta cheese, lemon juice, marinate, salad, Vitamin C, zucchini
Fennel Bulbs: crunchy, slightly sweet and packed with Vitamin C!
I wasn’t sure how I felt about fennel, apparently thin sliced is the way to go. The combination of these few, simple ingredients is pretty amazing. A refreshing summer salad that you can make ahead of time, and it has feta in it, what’s not to love?!
1 medium-large zucchini, sliced into paper thin coins
2 small fennel bulbs, trimmed and shaved paper-thin (you can use a knife to carefully slice the veggies but a mandolin works best and fastest. Also, you maybe able to use an attachment on your food processor if you have one that slices thin!)
2/3 cup loosely chopped fresh dill
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, plus more if needed
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
fine grain sea salt
4 or 5 generous handfuls arugula
Honey, if needed
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted (I used almonds)
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Combine the zucchini, fennel and dill in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice, olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside and marinate for 20 minutes, or up to an hour.
Thanks for a great shot of this salad, Heidi! Image from 101 Cookbooks
When you are ready to serve the salad, put the arugula in a large bowl. Scoop all of the zucchini and fennel onto the arugula, and pour most of the lemon juice dressing on top of that. Toss gently but thoroughly. Taste and adjust with more of the dressing, olive oil, lemon juice, or salt if needed. If the lemons were particularly tart, you may need to counter the pucker-factor by adding a tiny drizzle of honey into the salad at this point. Let your taste buds guide you. Serve topped with pine nuts and feta.
Serves 4 to 6.
Prep time: 10 min
Another great recipe from 101 Cookbooks, here’s her original recipe!
Sesame Cucumber Salad
22 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Recipes Tags: cucumber, quick meal, salad, sesame oil, Sesame seeds, vinegar
Here’s a super easy and quick summer salad, quite cooling and refreshing when it’s almost too hot out to eat anything! Make sure your sesame oil is fresh, if it smells good it is good. If it’s been hanging out in the back of your pantry for a while it could have gone bad, so check before you pour!
Sesame Cucumber Salad, Simply Delicious from SimplyRecipes.com!
Ingredients:
- 2 medium sized cucumbers (about 1 lb total)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tbsp dark sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
- toasted sesame seeds for sprinkling on top, optional but highly recommended!
1 Peel the cucumbers. Cut them into quarters, lengthwise. (If the seeds are bitter, scrape out the seeds and feed to your worms or compost pile or backyard chickens with the rest of the veggies scraps.) Cut the cucumbers again, crosswise, into 1/2-inch thick pieces.
2 Place cucumbers into a serving bowl. Sprinkle with salt. Toss with sesame oil, seasoned rice vinegar, and chili flakes. Top with toasted sesame seeds and enjoy!
Serves 2-3.
Original recipe from SimplyRecipes.com can be found here.
Asparagus and Mushroom Herb Salad
21 Jun 2011 1 Comment
in Recipes Tags: arugula, asparagus, garlic, Hadley grass, Hampshire County, herbs, lemon, mushrooms, Parmesan, raw food, salad, Saveur, whole meal
Hadley Grass, looking good.
I have learned to love asparagus. As a kid, it was my least favorite vegetable. I’m pretty sure I made my little sister eat most of my share, sorry Elise! Then one day I had baby asparagus, the thinnest, most tender little stalks lightly steamed and tossed with butter, lemon and salt, perfection! Larger asparagus is great for the grill and you can even take a peeler to the ends to get rid of the toughest fibers. This recipe from New York Times writer Martha Rose Shulman is an awesome summer salad. Asparagus is an excellent, low-calorie source of vitamin K, folate, vitamin C, vitamin A and such nutrients as tryptophan, manganese and fiber.
If you live in Massachusetts then you know that we also refer to asparagus as Hadley Grass as the area is famous for its abundant and superior asparagus. This is a link to a Saveur article on what was once the asparagus capital of the world! It’s worth the read and the trip to Hampshire County.
Asparagus, herbs, mushrooms and cheese, LOVE! I totally boosted this photo from The New York Times
Asparagus and Mushroom Salad
1 pound asparagus (Both thick and thin stems will work)
1/2 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, tarragon and chives
1 cup baby arugula
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (to taste)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 small garlic clove, minced or mashed
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 ounce slivered Parmesan
1. Steam the asparagus for three to five minutes, depending on how thick the stalks are. It should be tender but still have some bite. Rinse with cold water, and drain for a minute on a kitchen towel. Cut into 1-inch lengths. Place in a salad bowl, and toss with the mushrooms, herbs and arugula.
2. Whisk together the lemon juice, salt and pepper, garlic and olive oil. Toss with the asparagus mixture and the slivered Parmesan, and serve.
Yield: Serves four to six.
Advance preparation: You can assemble this several hours ahead through Step 1 and refrigerate. Toss with the dressing shortly before serving.
Nutritional information per serving (four servings): 222 calories; 4 grams saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 milligrams cholesterol; 8 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams TOTAL carbohydrates; 115 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 7 grams protein
Nutritional information per serving (six servings): 148 calories; 2 grams saturated fat; 1 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 milligrams cholesterol; 5 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams TOTAL carbohydrates; 77 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 5 grams protein
Martha Rose Shulman is the author of “The Very Best of Recipes for Health.”
Mushroom Kale Salad
17 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Recipes Tags: eggs, kale, miso, mushrooms, pecorino cheese, salad
This recipe from The Washington Post Food editor Joe Yonan was inspired by Animal restaurant in Los Angeles, where a baby kale salad with chili-lime vinaigrette, pecorino and pumpernickel crumbs is a standout on an otherwise carnivorous menu.
Mushroom Kale Salad
2 servings
Ingredients:
- 3 cups baby kale or adult kale, minus their stems
- Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon ( 3 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon mild miso (I like chickpea miso but soy is fine as well)
- 3 teaspoons water
- 2 large eggs, local, free range, of course!
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 ounces cremini, oyster, hen of the woods or other meaty mushrooms, chopped (not stemmed)
- 1 ounce pecorino cheese, coarsely grated
- 2 Tablespoonspoons chili-flavored oil or olive oil and chili flakes
- Coarse, flaky sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Wash and dry the kale. If its stems are thick, remove the leaves from the stems and reserve the stems for another use. Cut the leaves into thin slices and transfer to a medium bowl; add the lemon juice, 2 Tablespoons chili oil, sprinkle of salt and toss to coat.
Whisk together the miso and water in a small bowl, then whisk in the eggs until well combined.
Heat the oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until they collapse and exude their juices, about 4 minutes.
Pour the miso-egg mixture over the mushrooms; cook for about 1 minute, or until set on the bottom; lift the edges of the set egg on one side and tilt the pan so the uncooked egg runs underneath, then fold over a time or two to form an omelet. Cook for a minute or two on each side, until just cooked through. Transfer the omelet to a plate to cool.
Once the omelet has cooled, transfer it to a cutting board and chop it into small pieces. Add the omelet pieces and pecorino to the kale in the bowl and drizzle more olive oil if necessary; season with salt and pepper (lots!) to taste, then toss to combine.
Asparagus Salad with Lemon and Parmesan
10 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Recipes Tags: asparagus, lemon, Parmesan, pine nuts, quick meal cheese, raw, salad
I found this recipe on SmittenKitchen.com which has an adorable name and delectable recipes. Recipes so delicious they need no tweaking and so I copied this one as is- Candida diet friendly, seasonal and a really cool way to eat asparagus! Here’s the original post with more great pictures.
Asparagus salad with lemon, pine nuts and Parmesan cheese, what's not to love?
Ribbony Asparagus Salad with Lemon and Parmesan
Inspired by the Union Square Cafe
When you start trying to eat along with the seasons, you realize how long the winter is on the East Coast and begin to eagerly anticipate the day in spring when the first green things pop from the ground. Round here, that’s asparagus. And when it is as fresh as you can get it now, there’s no reason to cook it, not when you can turn it into a pile of ribbons and twist them around like spaghetti on your fork.
There are no exact measurements in this recipe. Everything is to taste, so taste as you go along to make sure you’re getting all the Parmesan, nutty, and lemony flavors you want.
1/4 cup pine nuts or sliced almonds, toasted* and cooled
1 pound asparagus, rinsed
1 lemon, halved
Olive oil
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 ounces Parmesan cheese
No need to snap off the tough ends of your asparagus. Lay a single stalk on its side on a cutting board. Holding onto the tough end, use a vegetable peeler (a Y-shaped peeler is easiest, but I’ve used a standard one successfully) to shave off thin asparagus ribbons from stalk to tip.
Using a Y-shaped peeler to create ribbons of fresh asparagus.
Gently pile your ribbons on a medium-sized serving platter. Squeeze some lemon juice over the asparagus, drizzle it with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Toss gently and then use your peeler to shave curls of Parmesan right off the block, over the asparagus. Sprinkle with some toasted nuts. Repeat with remaining asparagus, a third of the remaining bundle at a time. Eat immediately.
* I toast mine in a single layer on a baking sheet at 350 for 5 to 10 minutes. It’s really important, especially with pine nuts, that you stay close and toss them frequently because they love to burn, but if you move them around a bit, you can get a wonderful, even coffee color on them and an intensely nutty flavor. It makes even unfancy nuts taste amazing.
Sesame Spinach Salad
22 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
in Recipes Tags: apple cider vinegar, dandelion, garlic, greens, quick meal, salad, salad dressing, sesame oil, Sesame seeds, spinach, tahini
I know spring is finally here when I start craving things like dandelion greens and spinach salad, even if the weather has different ideas. This salad is really easy to make, it takes about 5 minutes and will feed two people as a side and one hungry lady as a meal. The toasted sesame seeds are the only time-consuming thing so make more than you need and keep them on hand!
Sesame salad with baby spinach, mesclun greens and black and white sesame seeds
Ingredients for Sesame Dressing:
1 Tablespoon each: apple cider vinegar, tahini and sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 clove garlic mashed/pressed
Few drops of water.
This dressing can easily be doubled or tripled if you want to make some to have on hand.
Here’s what you do, whisk all the ingredients together in your salad bowl and then slowly add a few drops of water, whisking in between to your preferred consistency, usually all it takes is a teaspoon or two.
Add in greens: baby spinach is awesome, dandelion greens are a delicious detoxifier, mesclun mix, or all three! Toss to coat evenly with the dressing.
Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, swirl them around in a cast iron skillet over medium heat until they start to pop and smell super sesame, about 5 minutes.
Done! The dressing only has about 200 calories and will cover several big handfuls of salad greens, a quick and easy way to add some green to your diet. I made this yesterday for lunch and added a chopped hard boiled egg and some hot sauce for a complete meal. I bet it would be good with grilled spicy shrimps, chick peas or left over roasted chicken, ect, you get the idea. Enjoy eating this healthy and delicious salad and if you have variations, I’d love to hear about them!
Goddess Dressing: Vitamin C and Liver Detox
15 Dec 2010 2 Comments
in Detoxing, Recipes Tags: apple cider vinegar, dandelion, garlic, green veggies, parsley, raw, salad, salad dressing, tahini
Goddess Dressing with Dandelion Greens and Baby Romain
Last night I was craving Green Goddess Dressing but, looking over my recipe posting I realized I didn’t have much on hand to make it and I was too hungry to go to the store. So I searched around and found a recipe using the ingredients I was really wanting to eat; parsley, raw apple cider vinegar and tahini. I ate mine over dandelion greens, the bitter flavor of the greens goes really well with this dressing. Dandelion greens are great for supporting your liver and kidneys and the bitter taste encourages the release of digestive enzymes which aid in digestion. Dandelion is high in Vitamin C, Iron and Calcium. Parsley is also high in Vitamin C and great for liver and kidney support. I have been doing a detox diet the past week and I think my liver was asking for more support. I felt better after eating this light meal and my craving was totally satisfied. Ah, the power of green food!
Here’s version two, more like the Annie’s Naturals Brand dressing that the San Fran original but just as tasty.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
- 2/3 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar plus 2 Tablespoons or more to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- salt, to taste at the end
- 7 green onions, whole (scallions) or about 1/4 cup chopped white onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 bunch parsley, with stems (this would be about 4 cups chopped)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup water (more or less, to taste)
Procedure:
- Combine all ingredients except water in a food processor or blender, blend well.
- Add water a little at a time, until the dressing reaches your desired consistency. Taste and add more vinegar, salt, pepper, whatever you think it needs!
- Store refrigerated, 3-4 weeks.
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