Kismet and good health

March 9, 2012 //
1

This week has been sort of kismet.  I had the opportunity to network with a great person, purchased new running shoes (my knees thank me already), and got called in for an interview for a job I applied to.  The weather was beautiful yesterday as well, which put the whole of D.C. in a better mood.  A UPS driver even pulled over to take the UPS destined packages I was carrying down the street, so nice!

I’m also on the tail end of an anti-candida diet that my nutritionist recommended.  While not as strict as many candida diets, it seems to have helped my body out a ton!  No more foggy brain and other crazy candida side effects.  Hello clear, focused thoughts, balanced emotions, and increased energy.  I haven’t felt this good in a while!  While it was difficult to adjust to at first, the reduced simple carb, dairy-free, yeast-free, sugar-free diet seems to really agree with me.

I’ve learned that I feel energized and satisfied with high fat (the good kinds) and high protein (always good) foods.  I’ve eaten a lot of coconut oil, nuts, avocadoes, eggs and fish recently (balanced with a lot of veggies) and I’m loving how I feel.

While I’ve been given the green light to start adding food back into my diet, I want to make this diet choice more of a foundation – especially on the sugary food front.  Everything I was craving 6 weeks ago included sugar – which continued the cycle of me feeling terrible!

Everything in moderation right?

Speaking of moderation, fried foods are not something I would go for everyday.  That said, I experimented with zucchini fritters last night and remembered how tasty fried foods can be.

Naturally, I had to put this song on repeat in the kitchen and fry something else today.  High protein?  Check.  Tasty? There’s the smokiness of ancho chili powder (need I say more) balanced by the sweeter flavor of cumin.  Quick?  The shrimp take about 4 minutes to cook and you’re on your way to lunch or dinner.

Spice Battered Shrimp Tacos

Makes 3 tacos- serves 1 (can easily be scaled to serve more)

10 shrimp – peeled and deveined

1 egg

2 t. ancho chili powder (or whichever is your favorite)

1 t. cumin

½ t. black pepper

¼ t. salt

oil for frying

tortillas (corn for me)

toppings of choice (lettuce, tomato, avocado, hummus and a squeeze of lime today)

Beat egg in a small bowl and add in your shrimp.

Combine spices on a plate.  Coat egg-covered shrimp evenly with spices.

Over a med-high flame heat the oil (I used vegetable) in a pan for frying.  You only need enough to create a light slick over the pan – not to submerge the shrimp.

When the oil has a sheen to it, it’s hot enough to fry.  Place shrimp in the pan – frying for ~2 minutes a side.  You can judge shrimp doneness by the pink color.  Pink=done!

Place shrimp on paper towels to drain.

Warm your favorite tortillas, pile on shrimp, top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

How about you?  What foods make your body feel best?

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Categories Easily Gluten Free, Main, Shrimp, Sugar Free

Brussels Sprout Salad for 2

February 27, 2012 //
0

The weather the East Coast has been having is all over the place.  Here in Blacksburg, we had 7 inches of snow, at least one thunder storm, and a range of days from the upper 60’s to the high 20’s…just in the past week.

It leaves one feeling a bit confused.  Winter vegetables and late spring weather.  This salad hits a good middle ground – and can be made in about 10 minutes.

Brussels Sprout Salad for 2

9 Brussels sprouts

1 T. olive oil

1 clove garlic

2 t. cumin

¼ t. salt

¼ t. pepper

¼ t. curry powder

¼ c. sliced almonds

Toast almonds in a sauce pan over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently so they won’t burn.  Remove and set aside.

Remove woody ends and laterally chop Brussels sprouts.

In a saucepan, combine olive oil, garlic, and spices over medium-low heat.

Once the mixture is sizzling, add Brussels sprouts and sauté for approximately 5 minutes, until just wilted.

Divide into two bowls and top with toasted almonds.

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Categories Brussels Sprouts, Gluten Free, Salad, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Cocoa Truffles

February 13, 2012 //
0

I can’t believe I was in Brussels and England just last month.  Time has been flying by.  It’s a bit hard to keep up with life with everything that’s going on. There are TA responsibilities and language exchanges (taking some time to brush up on my Spanish), and significant others and family and friends and sometimes I think of myself and then there’s this nagging feeling of…what was that again?  Oh, a thesis.

It’s hard to come to the realization that in 3 short (oh goodness…is it really only 3?!) months, I will be finished with my Master’s degree.  I try to imagine what it will be like, having a life outside school again.  Having hobbies.  I’m trying to stay dedicated to applying to one job a week.  I also want to try to stay dedicated to this hobby.  I feed myself every day and I really could share something tasty more frequently than in the past.

This weekend I made truffles.  Perfect as a treat with milk, these are packed will delicious and nutritious ingredients.

Cocoa Truffles-

2 c. almond flour

1 c. walnut pieces, plus 1/3 c. for coating

4 T. cocoa powder (I used dark cocoa powder)

3 T. cacao nibs

2 T. raw almond butter*

2 T. coconut oil

1 T. flax meal

2 t. cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in food processor and pulse until well combined.

Refrigerate to set- 30 minutes to 1 hr.

By spoonfuls, roll truffle mix between your hands to form a ball.  Sprinkle on crushed walnuts (you can do this by with a whirl in the food processor) and roll gently, repeating until entirely covered.  I also did the same thing with coarsely ground cacao nibs.

Place in freezer for 15 minutes to set.

Store in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

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*If not using raw almond butter: check to see if the butter has added oil, such as palm.  If so, leave out the coconut oil until all ingredients are combined and test consistency.  If it’s too dry- add in a T. of oil- if not, leave it out to avoid an oily mess.

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Categories Dessert, Gluten Free, Raw, Sugar Free, Vegan

Bid wildly.

December 8, 2011 //
0

Today has been surreal.  While nobody ever expects a shooting on campus, when you’re at Virginia Tech, your heart skips a beat.  Even though I didn’t attend Virginia Tech when the April 16th shootings happened, it’s too embedded in the culture of the school not to feel the heartache.  This university has a big heart.  Even if you’ve never gone to a football game or purposefully don’t purchase clothes with a maroon/orange color combination*, the spirit worms its way into your heart.

It found its way into my heart with its natural beauty.  I am constantly struck by the quite force of the landscape: green grasses provide a staggering contrast to fall colors on near by hills.  Constantly changing skies stretch to eternity, showing a finite nature only when summer storms rapidly approach, a grey fortress that steadily shuts out the blue.  The people are part of the beauty as well.  Whether it is at the farmers market or the grocery story, there is a sense of welcome and vitality.  People here have passion in their lies.  It must be the mountain air.

Mountains are a part of the culture here.  The Appalachian Trail is thirty minutes from campus and the surrounding area has been historically embedded in coal mining.  It’s an industry that has fueled jobs in the local area but it has also done a lot of damage.  Tuesday night, a lot of big hearted people turned out to protect the mountains they love and eat a lot of pie.  Mountain Justice- an organization working against mountain top removal and other forms of surface coal mining in Appalachia- and other organizations that help raise awareness and aid those effected by mountaintop removal were the recipients of funds raised by a pie auction.

It’s pretty fun, getting together and bidding wildly for a great cause.  People put a lot of time and creative effort into making pies.  Local legends make appearances, like The Cheese Lady.  (This is to be said in a reverent, yet ecstatic manner, with strong emphasis on the “ch”).  Pies are bought (two at our table alone) and consumed on premise.  We made a valiant effort, nearly finishing one pie before getting distracted by our second purchase.  Consolation pieces are shared with those bidders who gave you a solid run for your money.  We were so lucky to receive a piece of chocolate raspberry cheesecake made by The Cheese Lady.  You know food is good when you involuntarily blurt out “oh my god” after taking a bite.  Californiathinks its cheese it is “the cheese”?  It doesn’t have anything on The Cheese Lady.        

I’m proud to say the chocolate sweet potato torte I made raised $57.  Yeah, I may have bid on it myself just to raise the price…but it’s for a good cause.

*…I may be speaking of myself

Chocolate Sweet Potato Torte

Adapted very slightly from Vegetarian Times

1 cup sugar, divided

1 cup sweet potato, cooked and mashed

1 cup almond flour

½ cocoa powder, unsweetened

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate

2 Tablespoons soy milk

Heat oven to 375 F.  Apply cooking spray to a 9 inch springform pan.

In a food processor, combine ¾ cup sugar, sweet potato, almond flour, cocoa powder and salt.  Thoroughly combine ingredients.

Separate 3 eggs, adding the yolks into the batter and leaving the whites in a separate bowl.  Add the last whole egg to the batter and pulse to combine eggs.

Beat egg whites with an electric hand mixer until soft peaks form.  After adding the remaining ¼ cup sugar to the egg whites, beat until stiff and glossy.

Putting the batter into a large bowl, gently fold in a third of the egg white mixture.  Fold in the rest of the whites.  Be careful not to over mix, as it will result in a heavy, flat torte.

Pour batter into springform pan, baking for 35-45 minutes.  The original recipe calls for 45 minutes, but I first set the timer for 25 minutes to check it.  It’s a small cake and bakes fast, mine was perfectly done at 35 minutes.

When it comes out of the oven, place on a wire rack to cool for a few minutes before removing the sides of the pan.  Cool completely before readying the chocolate topping.

In a saucepan, melt bittersweet chocolate before adding soy milk and stirring until smooth.  Pour onto the top of the torte and spread evenly with a rubber spatula.

Bid wildly.

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Categories Dessert, Gluten Free

Frittering away…

August 9, 2011 //
2

                                               

As excited as I am about this whole blog thing…I’m starting to get really nervous.  Did I start this at the wrong time?  I’m about to head back to school to finish my last year of my Master’s program.  That means a thesis.  Teaching. Reading.  Writing.  Time.  Lots of time.  And stress…don’t forget the stress.

I always feel like this towards the end of summer.  I haven’t done enough.  A sense of dread seems to creep in and settle in the pit of my stomach.  And grow into nerves.  I feel like I’ve frittered away the summer…all that time when I could have been reading and getting prepared.  Do I like that thrill of utter panic and deadlines?  Or was it a good thing to be busy working a summer job?  Sleeping?  Running?  Swimming?  Visiting?  Relaxing?  Once and a while…that’s allowed, right?

One of our summer visits was to see Ben’s family over the Fourth of July weekend.  It was nice to get out of the heat and crowd of DC and retreat toPennsylvania, where there are less mosquitoes and people out during the fireworks.  We had dinner with his family which included a side of corn fritters.  It was a recipe Ben’s mom had grown up with- the fritters were sweet, crunchy and summery, perfect for hot July.  She was kind enough to pass the recipe along, which you see below.


I added some spices to it to balance out the sweet of the corn.

Don’t be afraid of the consistence of the mixture when you’re trying to shape these into patties.

When I first picked up the mixture to shape it, I was terrified.  Corn kernels, when bound together by not much more than themselves, don’t necessarily stay in fritter form.  I considered dropping it all in the pan with the oil and making something akin to scrambled corn.  Instead, I decided to give it a whirl.

Dropping a fritter that I had attempted to shape, it hit the pan and (by some miracle, I’m sure) didn’t fall into a million pieces.  Hurrying to make it a little uniform, I flattened it out with a spatula and waited.  (Upon advice and a second try, I learned you could also pour the fritters straight from the bowl to the pan.  Both methods work.)

                   

These fritters start to turn a golden yellow around the edges, just like pancakes set when they’re ready to be flipped.  Flipping them was not as hard as I anticipated either.

Serve as a side to a meal or as a main course.  I ate them as a main course and topped them with black beans and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt (which I tend to use like sour cream).  They would also go well with a pat of butter…sour cream…cheese…chives…salsa…

                    

Corn Fritters- Spiced Up

Special thanks to Julie for the original recipe

Makes 5 hamburger sized fritters.

3 ears of corn

1 large egg

1 t. baking powder

½ t. salt

¼ t. pepper

¼ t. paprika

2-4 T Flour (depending on the size of your corn ears)

Oil for frying (I went with olive)

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Cut the corn off each cob and place in a bowl.  Add your egg, baking powder and spices.  Mix to combine evenly.

Depending on how much corn you have, add 2-4 T flour.  I did this based on how wet the mixture was, adding a T at a time and mixing to judge how thick it was.  (I settled on 3T for approx. 3 cups of corn).  You want it to be thick enough to hold together when it cooks.

Make sure you have a hot skillet with enough oil to bubble up around the edges of the fritters.  Cook 1-2 minutes each side, flipping when edges are golden.

Serve warm, with desired toppings.

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Categories Corn, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Baltimore Weekend

August 1, 2011 //
0

We spent the weekend at a house outside Baltimore, dog sitting for family friends of Ben’s.  It was rough, let me tell you.

Their house is on a tree spotted property, nestled on a quiet street.  Each room has its own charm, covering a range of teal walls, copper pots hanging from the ceiling, more cook books than you can count, and large turtle sculptures.  The house has natural light in abundance and a shaded stone patio to eat breakfast on when it’s well past noon.

As Ben pointed out, it was so nice to see actual wildlife.  You know, males with real fashion sense:  bright red cardinals, startling blue jays and finches in color combinations of white, black, yellow and mottled brown, pink and red.  The only males in DC making a bold fashion statement are those wearing bow ties.  Chunky bumble bees tumbling from flower to flower with happy abandon, unperturbed as you reach into their midst to take a few flowers back inside.  Butterflies gliding through the garden, sipping nectar like cocktails.

After the loud, grimy, hot bustle that is DC, it was great to feel like I could breathe again.

My greatest culinary adventure included walking to the garden to pick tomatoes.  I also made a happy cabinet discovery of Berger cookies.  If you don’t know what a Berger cookie is, it is pure, sugary deliciousness.  A thick vanilla cookie, light in taste, with a layer of chocolaty ganache so sweet it will make your fillings cringe…but it won’t make you hesitate before eating another one.  The signature cookie ofBaltimore, “hon”, they are great topped with vanilla ice cream and bittersweet chocolate sauce.

Eaten on a shade dappled patio, of course.

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Categories Uncategorized

Orangettes

July 29, 2011 //
0

Three navel oranges came in our box this week and all I could think about was making orangettes.  I saw them in a store recently and I was curious.  I’ve tried them before but I’ve never been crazy about them.  I wanted to give them another shot.  They are covered in dark chocolate…how could you go wrong?

 

The biggest hurdle in this process was removing the peels in one piece.  Quartering the orange and carefully eating the fruit out?  A little tedious and I feel no one I was offering these to would want to know about that.  Cutting it in half and carefully scoring each half into three or four sections?  This worked.  The pieces were manageable enough to peel off without tearing, leaving rinds that were easily cut into thin slices for blanching.

             

I decided to add an orange worth of juice to the mixture of sugar and water.  For the hour the rinds cooked it filled the house with a wonderfully sweet scent like sticky orange blossoms.

When they are done, place on wire racks to dry and cool.  (I did this overnight, but only because this process was broken up by jogging to the store to get chocolate, dinner, and the need to sleep.)  I’m going to assume the candied rinds would be just fine if you dipped them in chocolate after a briefer cooling period.

Try to restrain yourself while you’re waiting for these to dry.  While they’re delicious, they’re hot.  Also, the satisfying crunch of the chocolate shell is what makes these candies.  Store in a plastic container (& in the fridge if it’s warm in your house).

Orangettes.                                                                                                                                     Lightly adapted from here who found it here.

3 oranges

6 oz. (1 1/2 cup) sugar

6 oz. (1 1/2 cup) water

Juice of one orange (approx. 1/3 cup)

7 oz. dark chocolate*

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After halving, scoring, and removing peels from oranges, finely slice the peels.

Blanch in a pot of boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a wire rack.  Blanch one more time.

In a saucepan, combine sugar & water, bring to a boil.

Juice one orange.  As the orange I was juicing didn’t have a peel, this involved roughly squeezing it with my hand, which yielded 1/3 cup juice.  Add orange juice into lightly bubbling mixture, stirring to combine.

Add peels, cover and cook for 1 hour.  Stir occasionally and make sure the mixture is at a light bubble, not vigorously boiling…its sticky goodness doesn’t need to bubble over on your stove.

After an hour, you should still have liquid in your pot.  Remove peels with slotted spoon and place on wire racks to cool and drain. (You can keep this syrup if you want to make your own soda by mixing it in with soda water.)

Boil water in a double boiler (or one that you’ve jerry rigged from a pot and a bowl that fits nicely inside).  Melt chocolate in the bowl, turning down the burner after it’s melted so the chocolate doesn’t overheat and burn.

Dip peels in the chocolate, remove with slotted spoon and place on parchment paper to cool completely.

(*note: the other two recipes called for 16 oz. of chocolate for 4 oranges…which meant it would have been 12 oz. for the 3 oranges I used.  I had calculated this out but when I was at the store, I forgot.  (It was probably the scare of ten more chocolate bars falling off the shelf at me when I pulled two from the box.)  I wound up with 7 oz., which worked perfectly & even left enough for me to eat out of the bowl with a spatula when I was done.  Try more if you’d like.  If I had more, I would dip them again after they cooled.)

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Categories Dessert, Fruit, Gluten Free, Oranges, Vegetarian
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