Have  yet to try this recipe, but is guaranteed to be delicious with jasmine rice and shiitakes. Make with Fish en Papillote, Chili Salt Edamame and Vanilla-Ginger Asian Pears. Recipe and photo from Martha Stewart Food:

Photo from Martha Stewart Food

Ingredients
Serves 4

1 1/2 cups water
1 cup jasmine rice, rinsed well
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon rice-wine vinegar
1 scallion, cut into 2-inch-long pieces, thinly sliced lengthwise

Prep
Bring water and rice to a boil in a small pot. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in 1 tablespoon oil, and season with salt and pepper. Cover, and let stand.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 4 tablespoons oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add shiitakes in a single layer, and cook, stirring often, until browned and crisp, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 2 minutes more. Add garlic, and cook until light gold, about 2 minutes. Stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Transfer rice to a platter, top with shiitake mixture, and sprinkle with scallions. Serve immediately.

I enjoy trying new grains as often as possible. I will usually check out the bulk area of the grocery store and look for something I haven’t tried yet. We recently tried barley because of its low glycemic index and high fiber content. It would be a great pairing to boost the fiber content of a meal, like with the Talapia. The ratio for cooking pearl barley is twice as much water as grain.

Grains can take a little while to cook, so start them about an hour before dinner and they can simmer away while you take care of other things.

Ingredients for 4

1 cup pearl barley

2 cups water

4 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions

Bring water to a boil and add barley. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 30 – 45 minutes.

Keeping the garlic cloves encased in their shell, cut off the bottom, exposing a bit of the garlic. Toss with olive oil and wrap in foil. Roast in a 350 degree oven or toaster oven for 20 minutes. When the garlic is cooked, it will slide easily out of its shell. Toss the roast garlic with the cooked barley.

Nutrition Information

180 calories – 5 calories from fat – 1 gram fat – o grams saturated fat – 8 grams fiber

The turkey was ravaged, the sweet potatoes razed, and the succotash dashed.  Yet hardly a dent was made in the rice, the beans were barely touched, and most of the roasted vegetables remain.

What next?

General thoughts on leftovers:
1. Use them fast (within three days after cooking or preparing).

2. Do not keep reheating the whole leftover batch; reheat just the portion you think you’ll eat.

3. Try to change the texture and nature of the dish— puree it, chop it,  add ingredients to it, or make a cold salad out of a hot dish.  This will add new energy to aging food.

4. Never use leftovers that have been reheated or reinvented more than twice.  Throw them away.  My teacher, Denny Waxman (founder of the Strengthening Health Institute) says, “If you eat too many leftovers, you begin to look and feel like a leftover.”  True story.

Take your Thanksgiving leftovers to the next level

Leftover GRAINS

Quickly sautée them. Heat olive or sesame oil in a pan; add chopped onion, cabbage, yellow or red pepper, and a leafy green like bok choy and parsley.  When the greens are wilted, add leftover rice, couscous, plain noodle,s or quinoa (these grains will work best) and mix well.  When hot, add several drops of soy sauce to taste.

Make a salad out of them.  Choose from chopped scallions, celery, radish, cucumber, capers, dried fruits (like cherries, figs or raisins) and parsley.  Combine with the rice, barley, quinoa, plain pasta, or bulgur wheat.  Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with toasted tan or black sesame seeds, and dress with extra virgin olive oil.

Leftover BEANS

Make a soup out of them.  Purée the whole bean dish in the blender, add water if needed to thin to desired consistency, and heat it gently on a low flame.  Season to taste.

Make a salad out of them by adding some of the following: chopped scallions, red pepper, fresh blanched green beans or edamame, steamed corn, watercress, or grape tomatoes.  Dress with fresh squeezed lemon and extra virgin olive oil.  This works best with chickpeas, black beans, and white beans.

Leftover VEGETABLES

If they were roasted, make a soup out of them.  Purée in a blender; add a small amount of water to get desired consistency; heat gently on medium to low flame; season to taste.

If they were blanched or steamed, make a salad by adding chopped fresh lettuces, red onion, radish, nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, or peanuts) and fresh fruit (apple, orange, or pear).  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Leftover PIES, CAKES, COOKIES

Make a fruit crumble out of a fruit pie (almost any fruit except pumpkin) by pouring the pie in a bowl and mixing.  Top with granola, crushed nuts, and maple or rice syrup.

Make a napoleon out of cakes or cookies by layering them with fresh fruit and almond cream or fresh whipped cream.

As for leftover pumpkin pie, refrigerate it and enjoy it as is.  Some classics are best left alone.

–Nancy

Happy THANKSGIVING!! I hope everyone is enjoying the time they had with their loved ones (and I hope your tummy is content). The hubster and I had a lovely day (we have been together for about 6 Thanksgivings thus far, but this one seems more legit!) lol. Our families both live about 9-11 hours away SO we stayed put in NC. We will be heading home in 3 weeks for Christmas, so we didn’t mind it being just us!

Let us back up a bit to breakfast..

Delicious oat BRAN (my new fav) with some cinnamon and fresh berries

Before our large meal of the day we munched on some raw veggies, hummus, and some crackers/ bagel chips!

Hub enjoyed some Pinot throughout the day, as well. I bought this one special.. it says on the cork that they plant a tree for every bottle they sell!

I also bought some pretty flowers so the table looked nice (and different than every other day!)

Our MAIN course of the day was stuffed acorn squash! Pretty simple.. chopped up and sauteed some celery, zucchini, and yellow squash, made a big ol batch of MILLET (love it), roasted some baby acorn squashes and then stuffed em!

Here are some randoms of the prep work…

Hi

Nothing was wasted!! We roasted the seeds.. soo good!

Steamed up some brussels…

I added some dried cherries for some color and a touch of sweetness

Finished product….

I used my scarf as a table cloth (ehh you gotta improvise)

It was AWESOME.. the squash scooped out perfectly with the stuffing mix!

YAA.. full and happy!

After din we took a long walk to UNC and walked around campus.. it was awesome, no one was around.

Hub staring at a tree

Me staring at a tree?!?

smooch

K time for dessert.. I whipped up an apple pie!

JUST KIDDING.. I cheated this year..

We ordered a vegan apple strudel from our co-op! It was a 6 inch pie.. perfect and tiny for only 2 people!

Perfect ending to the day.

Hope everyone had a super Thanksgiving with their loved ones

]]> http://stockadventures.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/tu233-a-high-energy-day/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 04:43:25 +0000 allocator http://stockadventures.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/tu233-a-high-energy-day/

On two counts – oil and gas moved my way, and I had 13 Scouts jammed into my living room for “German Night”.

Natural gas had a big day, moving up 40 cents.  The double-long ETF HNU was up 14.5% just todayand I sold a small amount – I have lots left if this is the start of another rally.  I held my nose and went more long crude oil by covering some of the double-long short ETF HOD and buying more of the long ETF HOU.  That worked out as well today, but I’ve got to tell you, I’m really bearish on oil (although that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m right).  I’ll be happier if we can get another profit or two out of the long side and then get more short.

I took a signal to buy DAG, the double-long agricultural commodities ETF, bulking up that position a little as well.

A couple of days ago my natural gas position was down 28%, today it’s down only 6.9%.  And I nicked my last and largest buy a dime off the bottom at $8.60.  I fortuitously piled in right at the bottom the last time around as well in September, and that had a lot to do with the robust recovery of the account.  Another rally like the September one and this gas trade, and the portfolio, will quickly become very profitable.   Now if I could only nick the tops.

As it stands the commodity ETF portfolio has held up very well through NG’s decline from $17 to $8.50.  I am extremely pleased with the adjustments I made to the program a while back, as it’s defensiveness has improved significantly.  If not for the algorithm mistake in the first month (started back in late June), that built up early losses, I’d be ahead by now.  I’ve been doing a lot of testing in the past couple of weeks, and my goal of successfully emulating a market-maker operation is within sight.  I have two main approaches, and variations of each are all very profitable in testing.  However one is a little less profitable but plays much better defence, and is therefore safer.  This is the current C-ETF program with a modified trade-sizing algorithm.  It can survive most of the huge declines like we saw in 2008 and early 2009, but not quite total implosions like the oil collapse of 2008 or the catastrophic losses on the more aggressive leveraged short ETFs.  Therefore diversification (and not starting the long side when oil is at $150 or gold at $1200) is still important.

The new system I’m just simply going to call PRES – Progressive REversal Scaling.  It systematically provides entry and exit set-ups and signals, and trade sizing.  It works best with more volatile stocks and ETFs, and the more sideways/range-bound the action the better.    But it still works with trending markets as long as there is some jiggle to them along the way.

“German Night” was fun.  It was at my house but hosted by Scout Alexander C, who lived in Berlin for a year before his family returned to Canada and he re-joined our troop again last year.  I cooked up some bratwursts on the barbecue that we then planted in mini-buns, to do it the German way, and Alexander’s mother Mary brought absolutely delicious home-made pretzels and potato salad.  Scouter Steve brought root beer (we can’t do the real thing with 11-13 year-olds) and collectively we scrounged enough beer steins to at least make it all look Bavarian.  I also put on some alpine/polka music for a while, and then a travel video on the region where the Mosul and Rhine rivers meet.  Alexander did a very concise and interesting presentation on the history of Germany, and brought all sorts of interesting artifacts and souvenirs, including million-mark notes of the great inflation of the 1920’s, Nazi Reichmarks, and pieces of the Berlin wall.   He even wore lederhosen, but these were apparently problematic in bathroom situations, and Alexander was pretty-much dancing back and forth as he was waiting for his mother to pick him up at the end of the night.

And until the next time …

Prosit!
Allocator
a.k.a. George Parkanyi

This morning for breakfast, I started off on a “blue note”!

TJ’s High Fiber O’s with some soy milk and blueberries (bowl to match, of course!)

For dinner, I threw together a very easy mix using FOUR ingredients: Quinoa, Sweet Potatoes, Kale, and Baby Portobellas

Sauteed for a few minutes..

Roasted the taters (I cut them in triangles)

AND mixed together with some quinoa!

For dessert, it was a big ol bowl of apple slices and a few Newman’s Own Organic soy crips.

Hit the spot!

Have a good eve.. cant wait to post our Thanskgiving meal! (Either late tomorrow or Friday). Have a great holiday everyone

Grains are loaded with fiber and nutrients, such as selenium, potassium and magnesium.  High-fiber foods help you feel full longer and slow the body’s absorption of sugars which can help stabilize blood sugar levels.  High-fiber diets have also been linked to cardiovascular health.

Add grains to your diet by choosing whole grain pastas, breads and cereals.  Or, try one of these as a side dish or salad:  amaranth, barley, bulgar, buckwheat, kamut, quinoa, wheat berries, and brown and wild rice.  Find grains in the natural foods section of your market.

I found this recipe in a recent copy of Real Simple, and we loved it. I had never roasted shrimp before, so I was a little nervous when I saw the 15 to 20 minute oven time, as I usually sauté shrimp for about 3 minutes on each side to prevent overcooking them. I would recommend roasting for no more than 14 minutes. Everything comes together nicely, and would be a great meal to serve for company.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 onion, finely chopped
  
• 1 cup Arborio rice
  
• 1 cup dry white wine
  
• kosher salt and black pepper
  
• 1 pound frozen peeled and deveined medium shrimp, thawed
  
• 2 pints grape tomatoes
  
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme
  
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
  

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400º F. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the rice and wine and cook, stirring, until the wine is absorbed.
   
2. Add 2 cups water and 1⁄4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Simmer, covered, over low heat until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender, 18 to 20 minutes.
   
3. Meanwhile, on a rimmed baking sheet, toss the shrimp, tomatoes, thyme, garlic, the remaining tablespoon of oil, and 1⁄2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Roast until the shrimp are cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve over the rice.
   

* Should we worry about Parasites here in the US?

You probably have never seen a parasite so why would you worry about them?  You may think that parasite does not exist in the US.  On the contrary, they are living among us more common than you think.  Parasites occur in places and among people who are health-minded.  They are no longer a disease of the lower classes.  Even the rich are not immune to infection.

What are parasites?

Parasites are organism that live in or on another organism (the host), at the expense of that host, and often compete for nutrition.  Their sizes range from very small microscopic amebas to very large intestinal worms that can grow to several feet long.  Parasites excrete waste products that may be toxic, and prey on people with weakened immunity.  The infection parasites usually start with contaminated water or food, or coming into contact with infected animals or people through fecal-oral contact.  Most people are unaware that a parasite lives inside them.  Most people do have them, whether or not they produce apparent symptoms.  Parasites can be living inside you for over 10 to 20 years before getting symptoms.

Why should we worry about parasites?

Parasites cause illness.  How many people do you know that have some type of chronic health problems and doctors can’t find anything wrong with them?  Parasites have the ability to secrete substances that are toxic to the body.  Over time, these toxins stress the body and cause a variety of health problems.  The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 50 million cases of food-borne illnesses each year and about 9,000 people die as a result.  In the US, diarrhea caused by intestinal parasites is the third leading cause of illnesses.

Parasites often eat the nutrient in your body before you get to use them.  You are left with what the parasites do not want, the leftovers.  They grow healthy and fat, and you starve for nutrition leaving us malnourished.  Parasites can remain in your body, robbing it of nutrients for many years, some have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years.  This means that you could have eaten contaminated food 10 years ago and still harbor the same organism somewhere in your digestive tract.  Some parasites get their food from the cells in your body.  Your blood, your muscles, your heart, your lungs and your brain are all possible sites for parasitic infestation.  No organ is immune.

How do we get parasites?

Parasites live everywhere and are commonly transmitted to humans in diverse ways.

• Insect bites
• Walking barefoot
• Eating under-cooked meats and fish
• Government inspectors do not inspect most of the animals that go to the slaughterhouse
• Eating raw food including raw fruits and vegetables and exotic foods.
• Any food that has been imported could possibly pick up illness-causing microbes
• Lack of personal hygiene causes the spread of parasites
• Drinking water from many of the lakes, rivers, streams and creeks in North America
• Close contact with companion pets and other animals that live around your neighborhood
• If you have taken or taking antibiotics which disturbs the balance of intestinal microflora and makes the host more susceptible to parasites.
• Someone who is already infected can spread it by sharing drinks, kissing, sexual contact, and even inhaling dust that contain the eggs or cysts of these organisms.
• Traveling abroad or to foreign countries.

I know this sounds very scary but this is the reality.  I want people to realize that parasites is very common and even though we, the US, have a very high standard of living compared with the rest of the world, yet the parasites live among us and we need to pay closer attention to this parasitic infestation.  “Approximately one-half of the population carries at least one form of parasite”, per CDC. (Source book: The Parasite Menace by Skye Weintraub, N.D.)  There is little research being done to stop the spread of parasitic infection.  We have a tremendous parasite problem because of the increase in pollution and environmental poisons.  Parasites of all kinds are invading our bodies and we are not even aware of it.  It takes constant vigilance and a change in lifestyle if you want to remain free from them.

There is no true way to detect if you have parasite unless you get laboratory test or analysis.  And even then, it can still be difficult to diagnose the presence of them.  Some symptoms are diarrhea, abdominal pain, foul-smelling stools worse in certain times of the day, sudden pains in the chest or heartburn, food allergies, itching around the anus especially at night and losing weight when still have a starving appetite.

What to do?

Our diet and nutritional status may be of major importance in determining the outcome of a parasitic infection. Most Americans fail to meet even federal standards for a healthy, balanced diet ( 3-5 servings of vegetables each day and 2-4 servings of fruit daily).

Today’s lifestyle of the average person keeps the body chemistry out of balance.  When this happens, our immunity collapse and makes us more prone to parasitic infections as well as other health problems.  A well-balance diet improves immune function and can defend the body against parasites.  Eat a diet high in natural fiber including plenty of vegetables and fruits.  Make sure they are organic.  Avoid sugar and refined carbohydrates.  We all need protein to survive so avoiding meat is not feasible.  Therefore, make sure you eat organic meat and wild caught fish (not farmed because of contamination).

Drink plenty of water.  Make sure it’s not tab water.

Avoid grains because they are extremely acidic to your body.  A healthy body should have a proper acid-alkaline balance.  However, nowadays people eat mostly acidic foods and not enough alkaline based foods.  Eat alkaline foods like figs, most fruits, green leafy vegetables, root vegetables, and dates to counteract the acidic foods like meat, dairy, wheat, grains, alcohol, fish, coffee and sugar.

Do a cleansing and detoxification program once a year with herbal combinations which can easily, safely and effectively rid your body of toxic waste and the parasites.  The intestinal lining is your primary barrier to toxic compounds getting into the bloodstream.  It is important to keep your intestines and liver healthy by rebuilding them after the cleansing and detoxification with a combination of live foods, vitamins and minerals, herbs, antioxidants, digestive enzymes, and probiotics.  I strongly recommend that you seek professional help for this.  We, at AF Performance Center, provide laboratory analysis for parasites and have nutrition consultation including toxic cleansing and detoxification.

Read time: 2.5 minutes

Here are 3 reasons why I don’t believe that calorie-counting is effective for long-term or permanent weight loss.

1. Research indicates that the metabolism of a lean or obese person is “normal” when there’s free-range to calorie intake (Hirsch, 1995). The individual eats as much as needed in order to satisfy energy requirement of the cells. If calories are reduced (diet and/or exercise) without energy compensation, then the metabolism eventually becomes disturbed and impaired, as measured by increased catecholamines and cortisol, increased pulse rate, decreased blood volume and circulation, decreased healing, decreased reflexes, increased weakness, loss of ambition, irritability, loss of libido, decreased body temperature and persistent feeling of “being cold,” and disproportionately decreased activity impulse (Keys, 1944; Bray, 1969; Garrow, 1978).

2. Being the fruit — and the curse — of human evolution, the fundamental drive to maintain homeostasis is powerful and can ultimately dictate behavior. In both the obese and the lean, a calorie deficit produces physiological and psychological concomitants of starvation. The cells in the obese starve, as would those in the lean, disrupting homeostasis, and eventually triggering behavioral responses.

3. The field of psychology has determined that will power is finite. At varying individual rate, will power eventually depletes (Ozdenoren, 2006). Neither the obese nor the lean can all permanently overcome the symptoms of semi-starvation and homeostatic disruption. Sooner or later, the drive to return to homeostasis produces defeating behavior, as observed repeatedly in clinical studies and in the real world. After a period of cellular starvation, the obese tend to become obese again, and the lean become normally lean again, in the powerful drive to reinstate homeostasis.

But What About Stored Body Fat?

The logical question is why can’t the obese use their own body fat to fuel their cells? After all, the evolutionary basis for fat cells is that they are temporary storage for surplus energy to be used later. Unfortunately, a defect in the energy regulating system has turned them into a permanent storage space. The problem: the grain-based carbohydrate and sugar content of the modern Standard Western Diet.

Reduced calories won't help long-term weight loss, if they're the wrong calories

Regular carbohydrate and sugar consumption elevates chronic levels of insulin, a powerful hormone that stores fatty acids in fat cells, blocks them there, and impairs fat oxidation in muscle and organ tissues. In other words, even though the obese store excess energy in their fat cells, access to it is blocked. A reduced-calorie diet in these individuals, therefore, only produces a state of starvation, a disruption in homeostasis, no different than that experienced by lean people when they eat less.

Then What Can Be Done to Lose Weight?

Since the hypothesis of calorie deficit and weight loss has been shown to fail most people long term, perhaps a different hypothesis should be tried: Control insulin production by eliminating grain-based carbohydrates and sugar. This leads to correcting energy and fat regulation, and finally to true and permanent fat loss.

My wife, who has engaged in various exercise programs (from cardio to weight training, from super-slow lifting to high-intensity intervals, from Olympic-style weightlifting to Crossfit) and has been on various conventional weight-loss diets, has battled the extra 30 pounds of weight for years. Finally she lost it all, but only after employing this different hypothesis. She no longer beats herself up with exercise, and she certainly doesn’t starve herself.

So Abolish Calorie-Counting?

Yes, if the goal is to go from being overweight or obese to being healthfully lean.

However, calorie-counting is useful for those who are (or have reached) a healthfully lean body weight, but want to further decrease their body fat to an extremely low level. Keep in mind, however, that for most people extreme fat loss from calorie-counting is temporary, just as the weight loss is temporary with calorie-counting in the obese. (I personally have counted calories in the past to achieve extremely low body fat — e.g. 3% — but could never maintain for more than a few weeks. If I ignore calories and just maintain my current grain-free, real-food diet, then my body fat settles at a comfortable 5% to 8%.)

Read time: 2 minutes

If you’ve been following this blog, then you know I’m all about eliminating all grains from the diet. It’s a practice that duplicates the gastronomy of our ancestors, whose genetic framework we’ve inherited and can only optimize if we follow their eating behavior  – that is, enjoying a grain-free, real-food diet.

I have eaten a grain-free diet for several years, and have never felt better. But I will admit that at special holiday meals (especially those centered by good friends and cherished family) I sometimes eat things I normally wouldn’t at most other times. During these special meals I enjoy the festive momentum of conversation and celebration, and eating with others (and along with others) adds to that momentum, although I’m always aware of what I put into my mouth.

So even if you are serious about losing weight by eliminating all grains from your diet, sometimes you’ll find yourself in the throes of social events — that holiday party, family get-together, or birthday celebration, where the host unwittingly promotes foods that you know can wreck your health and weight. You’ll have to be ready to make a choice.

If you’re eating a grain-free, real-food diet for health and normal body weight, then you should not be depriving yourself of calories (like you would on a conventional weight-loss or weight-management diet), so your body should not be in desperation (or, really, requirement) of calories. This fact leaves you with caloric freedom, rather than caloric restriction. This caloric freedom means that you’re responsible for making the right choices.

You’ll need to remember that your body does not need – for any reason whatsoever — those grains or grain-based foods.

Having said that, these holiday meals might be times when you want to throw in a little of the stuff. If so, keep it limited. This means, along with the turkey on Thanksgiving, or with the steak at the dinner party, or with the party favors at the birthday celebration, you may include a little bit of stuffing, a piece of a freshly-baked roll, or a small piece of cake (leaving several bites behind, of course). This is what I mean by a low-grain meal.

I believe a low-grain meal here and there can be enjoyed safely. But you must remember the metabolic effect of grain-based carbohydrates: they’re likely to increase your insulin, and may leave you with unstable blood-glucose levels that can decrease satiation and increase hunger. These are some of the negative effects we strive to remove by eating a grain-free diet in the first place. You must remember that grains are man-made, and your body is healthier without it. Think of grains as cigarettes — they’re there, and you have a choice to use them, or not. Better if you don’t.

So if you do chose a low-grain meal for this one time, do so judiciously while keeping your mind on how you feel. Too much and your blood sugar crashes, your energy blunted — but the worse part is that this condition triggers your cravings for more carbohydrates and sugar, and develops (or reestablishes) a vicious eating cycle that causes poor health and weight gain.

Well, it’s been quite a while since my last post here, for no other reason than that I’ve been busy with a lot of other writing. Hopefully I’ll be posting regularly again soon.

Since the last time I was around, the weather has turned and autumn is in full swing, so turning on the oven isn’t the torture it was during the summer. I’ve been baking bread at least three or four times a week for the past month or so.

I’m a big fan of grainy, seed-filled, hearty breads. Unfortunately, most of the bakeries around here either cover the outside of their loaves with goodies and ignore the inside, or they sweeten the bread into something more suitable for dessert. Every now and then you can find a good, savory, grain-packed loaf, but it doesn’t happen often enough for me. Since buying them is so tough, I decided to learn how to make my own.

This recipe is my own creation, based on four or five different ones I played around with. Once I found a few standard bread recipes that worked well, I experimented with adding grains and seeds. All the quantities are approximate – I tend to bake bread like I make soup, in that I don’t really measure anything exactly and go for what feels right.

• 1/4 cup each cornmeal, steel cut oats, pearled barley and millet
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1/2 packet yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 3-4 cups bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (or more)
• scant 1 tb. salt
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds

The night before, combine the cornmeal, oats, barley and millet in a bowl and add water to just cover the grains. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature up to 16 hours.

On baking day, stir the sugar into the warm water and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Let sit until foamy, about five minutes.

Add 2 cups of flour and stir until smooth. Add salt, soaked grains, sunflower seeds and additional flour, stirring all the while to form your dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for eight to ten minutes, adding flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking. Form the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl, turning the dough in the bowl to cover it with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 60 – 90 minutes.

Punch the dough down and flatten it out, then roll it into a cylinder and place it in a greased loaf pan, or shape it into whatever form you prefer and place it on a baking sheet (I often like to do a big, round country style loaf, usually on a layer of corn meal rather than greasing the baking sheet). Let the dough rise again, about 60 minutes.

Halfway through the second rise, preheat your oven to 425. If you’re using a baking stone, heat that as well.

Slash the top of your loaf and pop it into the oven. It will take 30-40 minutes to bake, depending on the shape of the loaf and the accuracy of your oven. I usually take it out after 30 minutes.

Give it time to cool, and then slice into it. This bread is dense, hearty, and packed with chewy grains and seeds, and makes an excellent slice of toast on a chilly morning (Spread some cultured butter and sprinkle a little fleur de sel on top). Enjoy it!

it was cold this weekend!  in order to warm up in my cold house, i made a curry with some veggies that were remaining in the fridge.  instead of simmering everything in the curry sauce, i started off by roasting all of the vegetables to add some char and smoke to the curry.  in order to add a refreshing note to balance the dish i made a simple pickled radish raita with greek yogurt and mint.  i used sweet potatoes, yukon gold potatoes, carrots, and zucchini but other root veggies, winter squash, or eggplant would also be very tasty.

two potato and tempeh curry

adapted from 101 cookbooks

1 large sweet potato, chopped in 1.5 inch cubes

3 large waxy potatoes also in 1.5 inch cubes

3 large carrots in 3/4 inch coins

1 medium onion diced

2 smallish zucchini sliced on the bias

1 cake of tempeh in 1 inch cubes

1.5 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp cayenne powder

1 .5 tsp cumin

1.5 tsp turmeric

about 1 cup canned diced tomatoes

3/4 cup or so water

coconut milk or cream (optional but i forgot to add it)

lime, halved

toss the sweet potatoes, potatoes, and carrots with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and about 1/2 of the lime juice and roast in a 400 degree oven until cooked through.  about half way through, add the zucchini and continue to roast.  while this is happening, sautee the onion in about 2 tbsp of oil or ghee until soft.  add the spices and sautee for about 30 seconds.  add the tomatoes, water, and salt and simmer.  puree this curry sauce if you like and add a splash of coconut milk or cream.  add the roasted vegetables and tempeh back into the sauce and continue to simmer for about 5 or minutes.   serve on rice with some of the radish raita, a bit of lime juice and maybe a sprinkle of cilantro.

radish raita

radishes, sliced thin

two spoonfuls of greek yogurt

mint in a chiffonade

salt

rice vinegar

toss the radishes with a pinch of salt and let it sit for about 5 or 10 minutes.  sprinkle with the vinegar and maybe a bit of sugar and the yogurt and the mint.

“Pinkel”  is a traditional Northern German sausage eaten in parts of Lower Saxony and Bremen. It is made from bacon, and some other animal bits, but also has plant-based ingredients like onions and grains. It is eaten during winter and served with kale and potatoes. People adore this dish so much, they organize and join an event which is called a “Kohlfahrt” (kale tour). This tour includes two attractions: lots of meat and lots of alcohol. [I wrote a bit about how we Northern Germans can be crazy about our kale here.]

[Sorry for the crappy picture. It was dark and rainy.]

As an omni kid, I used to love “Pinkel”.  I was fascinated by the fact that the sausage contained grains. I guess that was the first sign for me to become a vegetarian one day.

I don’t really miss “Pinkel”. I don’t ever miss meat. But I have thought about a vegan “Pinkel” recipe for a while now. I thought that the idea of putting grains into a plant-based sausage was not too bad. And I wanted something special to serve with my kale. Last weekend I came up with a recipe for this traditional sausage, a seitan based log with fried onions and cooked cracked grains.

This probably doesn’t taste like “Pinkel” at all. It is more like “Mettwurst“. [I haven't eaten meat for 20 years, I probably have no idea what I'm talking about here.] A “Mettwurst” is a chewy, smoky sausage, reminiscent of salami. [If you leave out the grains, this recipe will probably make a delicious salami] It is served with kale, but often found in soups, too. It is also the sausage you will find next to sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. Okay, now. Enough of all this meaty talk. You can use this for any dish that calls for a smokey sausage, but it is great on its own too, between a slice of crusty bread. I used half a log for a spit pea soup, which came out with the most amazing smokey taste. Seriously, this is my favourite sausage.

I used cracked smoked spelt berries and tofu bits fried in liquid smoke to achieve a smoky flavour. The dough is a bit crumbly, but the sausage will firm up nicely when baked.

Vegan “Pinkel” or “Mettwurst” (makes 2 logs)

For the grains:

50 g (1/4 cup) cracked “Grünkern” (smoked spelt, use other cracked grains like wheat, oats, or barley instead)
1 cup vegetable broth
Cook over medium heat until the grains are soft and most of the broth is absorbed. The consistency should be similar to oatmeal. Let cool.

For the “meaty” ingredients:

1 red onion, chopped into very fine dice (yield: 3/4 cup)
50 g finely crumbled tofu (1/3 cup)
2 t vegetable oil of choice
2 t liquid smoke

Over medium to high heat, fry the onions in 1 t of vegetable oil, for about five minutes. They should be slightly brown. Add the second t of oil and tofu. Stir in liquid smoke. Cook for 2 more minutes until all tofu bits are coated with liquid smoke. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and prepare the sausage:

Additional ingredients for the sausage:

144 g (1 cup) gluten powder (vital wheat gluten flour)
120 ml (1/2 cup) water
1/4 t freshly ground allspice
3/4 t freshly ground black pepper
1 t salt

10 g (1/8 cup, packed) freshly chopped parsley
2 t soy sauce

In a bowl combine gluten powder, allspice, black pepper, and salt. Add water, onion-tofu mixture, cooked grains, parsley, and soy sauce. Knead for 2-3 minutes. The dough will be elastic and firm with bits of grains or onion falling out here and there. Don’t worry about that.

Prepare two pieces of aluminium foil. Divide dough into two pieces and place on foil. Roll the dough up to get 2 logs which are approximately 17 cm (6 1/2 inch) long and  4 cm (1 3/4 inch) wide. Transfer to oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool completely before unwrapping them. Use immediately or store in an airtight container. We fried the sausage, and served it with salt potatoes and kale cooked with margarine, red onions, and cracked smoked spelt.

[Somehow the names of these recipes keep growing].

Today I want to let you in on the secret to hosting dinner parties and potlucks at your home, but first let me paint for you a picture. I live on a lovely hill in Jerusalem, a good forty-five-minute walk from town, barring heat, rain, and crazy drivers. Before Shabbat begins – that’s late Friday afternoon – Jerusalem’s bus system, along with the rest of the city, closes for the weekend, and up on my beautiful desert hill, I start to see the blue and yellow glow that hovers over the city and spills out of window frames as nights falls upon Jerusalem. A patchwork of white stone apartments and hotels are flung across the city’s skyline, finally fading into twinkling valleys and hills.

Forty-five minutes walking distance from the city – the city which has temporarily closed the public stage, retiring to the warmth of living rooms and kitchens – I, too, will now begin my own version of a day of rest. Rest, of course, will mean reading and running and perhaps a long walk down the hill in the morning, but more than likely I will pass a full twenty-fours hours without hearing the ring of a cash register, the hiss of an overworked espresso machine, or the opening and closing of a bus’s doors. And this is rest enough for me.

It’s also the best time to have a spontaneous dinner with a few friends and neighbors.

What’s the important thing to remember when you’re hosting dinner guests? Carbohydrates. Go for the calories, my friends, and no one will go hungry.

Pomegranate, Tomato, and Quinoa Salad with Fresh Herbs

makes a big bowl, appropriate to take to a potluck dinner for 10 people

Ingredients

-3 cups water

-1 1/2 cups quinoa

-6 green onions

-3/4 cup pomegranate seeds

-1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped

-1/2 cup fresh dill, finely chopped

-3 cups halved cherry tomatoes

-juice of 1-2 lemons

-1 tsp. sesame oil

-salt and pepper to taste

-splash of vinegar, optional

-1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Method

Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the quinoa with a few liberal shakes of salt, and boil for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot, and finish cooking the quinoa. This takes about 20 minutes. The quinoa is finished when it is soft, not starchy (similar to cooked rice). Remove from the heat, and drain any excess water.

Trim the ends off the green onions, and chop 4 for of them into small pieces. Saute for 5 minutes over a medium-low heat.

Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl, and stir it for a few minutes in order to let it cool. Then add the cooked onions, the remaining two raw onions (chopped), pomegranate seeds, both herbs, the tomatoes, lemon juice, sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Combine well. Now you’ll want to taste the mixture, and adjust the ingredients according to how you like it. I added both lemons, lots of salt, and lots of cilantro. I also added a generous spoonful of balsamic vinegar.

Refrigerate the salad until you are ready to serve. Just before you serve, stir in the pumpkin seeds.