The Veggie Bowl

Temporarily Derailed But Back!

Some of you may be wondering where I've been.  Well, here's the story.  Shortly after the new year I found a very tiny lump in what I consider to be my chest, so I made an appointment with my primary care doc. He scheduled a mammogram at a suburban hospital, and off I went about a week later.  Well, the lump was too high to fit on a mammogram, 3D or otherwise, so I had an ultrasound, and there it was, looking mildly suspicious.  So two days later I had a needle biopsy with ultrasound.  I was expecting a benign outcome, and I was pretty shocked when, two days later, I heard that I had breast cancer and needed a lumpectomy and radiation - chemotherapy was not ruled out.

I didn't really like the manner in which the news and prognosis was delivered at that hospital, so I checked with my niece who is in the medical field, and she recommended Dr. Wertheimer at Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston.  At this hospital, they were supportive and careful in delivering information, and they didn't jump ahead into unknown territory to make guesses as to what I might need.  I liked my new doctor a lot, and after many tests, had surgery February 10th.  I went home right after surgery and was up and about a couple of days later.  I was lucky - all the margins and nodes were clear, but I did need radiation.  

Five day a week radiation, (which I opted for locally, at MGH in the next town), began March 23rd, and,  as of today, I have 13 more days to go.  It's been stressful, but a week and a half after surgery my husband and I went to Culebra (also thanks to my niece who has a lovely house there) and spent a week in the sun and ocean - the ocean there is like blue silk with a softness and clarity that was the best medicine for me.  And the ocean is the most perfect temperature.  We hiked and swam and met some great people - we slowed our pace and didn't think about cancer.

Getting back and gearing up emotionally for radiation was somewhat of a shock, but home is always comfy too.  I'm not working and don't have children counting on me for daily needs.  Had this happened twenty years ago it would have been so very hard.  Even now, at age 69,  I had my moments and still find my emotions are always pretty close to the surface - I even teared up watching "Girls" recently.  But, overall, with the supports I have, it's not been too bad.  After radiation I have to make a decision about whether or not to take estrogen blocking hormones.  I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, but if any of you have experience with them, I'd love to hear.

I've still been cooking, although my daughter, Sara, was in town until about a week after surgery, and she cooked a lot of delicious vegetarian food for us.  It was great being nurtured when I really needed it.

But now it's back to my blog, with an additional reason to  eat healthful food.  There is a restaurant in Salem MA called Life Alive, and this recipe was inspired by their veggie plates.  It's an easy recipe that will make you feel great:

The Veggie Bowl - serves 3-4

Ingredients for veggies:

      8-10 kale leaves, stemmed and chopped small

      1/2 c broccoli chopped small

      2-3 carrots, chopped small

      beets, optional

      any other veggies of your choice and/or small cubes of uncooked tofu

      1/4 c almonds, roughly chopped, optional

      garlic, optional

      1 avocado, cut into small bite-sized pieces

      1 cup brown rice, cooked

Directions:

First cook brown rice according to package directions.  While it's cooking, prep the veggies

and make this sauce:

Ginger Nama Soyu Sauce

  2 garlic cloves, chopped  

  2 inches of fresh peeled ginger, chopped

  1 tablespoon of Tamari Sauce ( Soy Sauce without gluten and it's delish)

  2 tablespoons of lemon juice 

  2 tablespoons of Sesame Tahini

  1 tablespoon of olive oil (or flax oil)

  2 tablespoons of water

Place the garlic and ginger in a mini food processor or blender. Process for several seconds until chunks are gone. Often blenders do a better job of this once the liquid is added, so don't worry.  Add all remaining ingredients and process until you have a sauce. You might need more water - depending on how thick or thin you like your sauce.

Once rice and sauce or done, steam broccoli, optional beets, and kale for 3-4

minutes, but make sure they are still  bright and very crisp.  Divide 

veggies among four dishes and top liberally with sauce.  Enjoy and be healthy!!

Baked Potatoes with Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Garlic

                                                      Comfort Food Time

Well, the holidays are over, and it's time to face the winter here in Massachusetts.  I like to think it's easier with some comfort food, and actually some of my favorite foods fall into that category.  After the holiday, I was not in the mood to cook anything that made any kind of a mess, but I felt the need for comfort, so I thought of the following which may not even qualify as a "recipe" but was incredibly delicious.

Baked Potatoes with Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Garlic

For two:

2 large baking potatoes, well scrubbed
2 good-sized, fresh zucchinis - a lot depends upon having good tasting zucchinis here
1-2 cloves garlic
olive oil
6 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half or quarters, depending on their size
grated cheese, optional

Bake the potatoes at 425 until the skins are crisp and the interior soft.  Remove from the stove and set aside.

Slice the zucchinis in half the long way; turn and slice the long way again.  Then slice horizontally into about quarter inch slices.  Mince the garlic.  Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a pan that is not nonstick. You actually want things to stick a bit.  When the oil is very warm, put in the garlic and stir around for a half minute or less.  Then throw in the zucchini pieces and the tomatoes and quickly stir fry until the zucchini is almost firm/tender - DO NOT OVERCOOK!  Add a little salt/pepper. At this point there should be a little sticking in the pan.  Add about a quarter of a cup of water or broth (less if your tomatoes are very juicy) and stir, getting up all the browned bits on the bottom. Everything should be a little moist with just a a bit of saucy stuff around the bottom of the pan - add more water or broth if it is not a bit saucy.  Remove from heat.

Quickly slice the potatoes the long way on top, push the sides down to flatten and roughly mash the potato with a fork right in the skin.  Then put the zucchini/tomato mixture on top of the potatoes.  Add some grated cheese if you like and serve.

You may be asking, "Is this a dinner?"  For us, it is a satisfying one,  but if is not sufficient,  I would suggest a salad, prepared in advance.

I hope you like this simple idea.

Enjoy and be well!

Exquisite Granola

I have been trying to find a healthy and delicious granola recipe for quite a while.  I've searched out several recipes and then experimented a bit, trying to use what I liked best in each.  The final product has been deemed a success by me and those family and friends who have tried it.  It's light yet satisfying with a hint of vanilla, and uses just one half cup of safflower oil, and less than a half cup of maple syrup to three cups of oats.  Steel cut oats would not work here.  The flakes shrink quite a bit when baked, and the steel cut would most likely become mushy in milk, almond or soy milk.

If you're looking for a great home-made holiday gift, this granola in a glass jar would be just the thing.  Speaking of holiday time, I wish you a calm and peaceful one.

For this granola recipe, I used Country Choice organic old fashioned oven toasted oats.  Other brands of organic oats may be just as good.  Country Choice did very well with further "toasting" in the oven, and in fact took a while to brown just as they should.  You can use any old fashioned oats, but as long as you're going to the trouble, I would suggest trying to find organic ones.

P.S. I thought it was the final product but I have recently revised it again - to make it better as well as healthier.

Here's the recipe:

         Granola

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled ("old fashioned") oats

1 and1/2  cups of raw nuts - I used raw (not roasted) almonds, walnuts and pecans 

1/2 - 3/4 cup dried flaked unsweetened coconut

1-2 (I use 2) tsp vanilla

1/4 cup plus one T safflower oil

1/4  cup plus one T maple syrup

2/3 cup raisins or other dried berries

dash of salt, optional 

Instructions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 280 degrees and line a large jelly roll pan with parchment paper for easy clean up. 

2.  Combine and oats, nuts and coconut in a large bowl.  

3.  In a measuring cup or small bowl, mix oil, maple syrup, vanilla, (and salt if using).

4.  Pour the liquid mixture into the oat mixture and stir well to thoroughly combine.

5.  Turn mixture out onto the large jelly roll pan and spread evenly.

6.  Bake for about one hour and 20 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes.  You can turn the temp up to 285 degrees if progress seems slow.  Keep checking and when it's golden brown, it’s done.

7.  Remove from oven and stir in the dried berries.

8. Let cool, and when the granola is about room temperature, put into a container (preferably glass) with an airtight cover.

Let me know if you like this granola and if you found any interesting variations. 

Enjoy, and be well.

Green Juice - Worth the Hassle

About three years ago my daughter visited, introduced me to her juicer, and showed me how to make green juice.  The recipe she used was from Kris Carr who has written several books and also has a very informative website.  You may not agree with everything she says, but I know her original green juice recipe works for me.  It requires a juicer - I used an inexpensive one ($35) for a while until I knew I would stick with it, and then bought a Breville Ikon (was $200).  It was basically the same as the cheap one in terms of product but much faster, larger capacity, and a smoother operation. The clean up is annoying, but it seems worth it. I drink one pretty much every day.

Here is the recipe I use, adapted from Kris Carr's first book, "The Crazy Sexy Diet":

1-2 large cucumbers, cut in large chunks (about 2 inches)
6-8 stems ( depending on size) of kale (by "stem I mean leaves and all)
4 celery stalks, cut in half
4 large pieces romaine lettuce
a one inch piece of ginger
1 broccoli stalk
1-2 pears, cut in half

Wash everything really, really carefully and cut the stems off right before the end. I always start with the kale.  Get the juicer going on high speed and add pieces of kale interspersed with pieces of cucumber.  Then add celery and then all the romaine (I fold 2 pieces in half and stick them in feed tube.  Add ginger and broccoli stem. Then turn the juicer down to a slow speed (3 on the Breville) and add the softer pears (try one pear to start- the juice should have a very subtle sweetness). Your juice is done.  I turn the machine off, put a glass under the spout and taste the juice.  If it needs something, like more pear or whatever, add it and put the container back under the spout (don't forget this step as I did once - quite a mess) and juice it up.

I think it's absolutely delicious.  Kris Carr has three big glasses a day, but that's a lot of vegetables, more than I can afford to juice and an awful lot of time.  If you can find the time and money, it must be great to drink that much green juice.  One feels pretty amazing.

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I thought I would leave you with a quick and delicious black bean chili that I actually made last night just to make sure it's as good and as easy as I thought, and it was.  You could use your favorite bean, doesn't have to be black beans, but they are great.  So here it is:

Black Bean Chili

cooked rice or tortillas/burritos, optional

1 T olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 T chili powder

1 t ground cumin

2 cans black (or pinto) beans, rinsed and drained

6 medium sized canned whole Italian plum tomatoes, chopped and about 1/2 cup of puree or tomato juice from the can - add more if needed

1 big t chopped chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (or sauté a chopped jalapeño - using a little of the ribs and seeds - along with the onion)

salt to taste

2 T finely chopped cilantro

Avocado, chopped

Heat the oil in a medium sized sauté or large fry pan and add the chopped onion, cooking over medium low heart and stirring occasionally until it is tender but not browned.  If using the jalapeño, add it after a few minutes of sautéing onion.  Then when the onion is tender, add the garlic and spices and cook for a minute.

Add the beans, the chopped  tomatoes and puree (or juice) from the can, the chipotle chiles and salt.  Bring it to a boil and taste. You can add more salt or more chiles in adobo at this point if you like it hot. Simmer for about 15 minutes.  If you are making chili for burritos or in a tortilla, uncover to thicken more. If you want it looser to serve over rice, you can add more tomato juice if necessary.  Or serve the chili in a bowl, with a salad on the side.  I have served it over brown rice, in a tortilla, and in a bowl.  Delicious all three ways. 

Serve sprinkled with cilantro and chopped avocado or some Monterey jack cheese - however you like it.  This is not an exact science type of recipe.  Last night I found I had no cilantro.  I did miss it, but it was very delicious anyway.  

Enjoy, and Be Well!