Oh man I’ve been down for the count this week. It all started out as the flu and morphed into something much uglier. I’m not one for drinking ginger ale, and I mixed up this tonic as an alternative. A little bit of ginger, a little bit of cayenne, a little bit of lime – all the good things for getting your gut back on track.
Ingredients
1 cup cold water
1/4 cup really good apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp grated ginger
juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp honey
2-3 dashes cayenne pepper
Directions
Mix all ingredients in tall glass. Try to enjoy!
Er-mer-gerd… I haven’t posted anything since November? Really? How on earth does time slip by so quickly?
I’ll tell you how. It’s this fun trick that I’ve played on myself called, “Getting A Ph.D.” It makes time pretty much disappear. For the past month, I have spent every waking hour either 1) doing yoga or 2) studying for my candidacy exams (and by every waking hour I mean I also have hardly slept). I have spent such little time in the kitchen doing the one thing that I really love, and I’ve eaten more take-out or snack meals than I probably have in my whole life. Making this simple salad is one of the few times that I’ve been in the kitchen since December. And I’m dying to get back to making GOOD FOOD as soon as possible! However, the end is in sight!
While I did want to get this recipe into cyberspace, the main reason for posting today is a little bit selfish. Next week, I will be taking the written part of my Ph.D. candidacy exams so I’m asking for all of you wonderful people in the cyber-universe to send as many thoughts and good-vibes my direction over the course of the next week. I’m trying to stay positive – recognizing that this is supposed to be a stressful time, knowing that it’s supposed to be the hardest exam that I ever take, but that isn’t exactly comforting!
Thanks to everyone (especially my family) for supporting me through this whole crazy process, because I wouldn’t be here without so much love surrounding me!! I appreciate you all SO MUCH! Wish me luck!
Chickpea Salad with Yogurt Dressing
Ingredients
1 can chickpeas (or 1 cup cooked chickpeas!)
1 cucumber (chopped)
1 large heirloom tomato (chopped)
1 red onion (diced)
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 bunch parsley (finely chopped)
8 oz crumbled feta
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup yogurt
1 tbsp fresh dill
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper (to taste)
Directions
1) Combine chickpeas, cucumber, tomato, onion, parsley and quinoa in large bowl. Top with feta.
2) Combine lemon juice, yogurt, dill, garlic, and cumin in small bowl. Whisk to combine.
I like to stir the dressing into the salad and let it sit in the fridge for 15 minutes before serving, but some folks like to have their dressing on the side. Serve it in whatever way makes you happy!
It feels as though this snowstorm was a harbinger of things to come…
And if all the storms this winter are anything like this one, bring it on because the first snow storm was super productive! I made some new curtains, knitted up some pot holders to be felted, baked cookies (again!), and made a delicious samosa pie. This is totally one of my favorite recipes. I love samosas, but the idea of making individual ones sounds silly when you can just make a giant one! So that’s what we did… We made one giant, delicious, mouth-watering samosa and had post-storm leftovers! Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients
2 pie crusts
4 medium potatoes, quartered
3 tbsp butter or ghee
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
3 medium carrots, chopped
1 head cauliflower, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cucumber, chopped
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
Directions
Preheat oven to 375F. Cook potatoes in boiling water for about 15 minutes or until you can cut them with a butter knife. Drain and mash, leaving small chunks.
Heat butter or ghee (or any oil!) in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, cauliflower, garlic, and ginger, and sauté 5 minutes. Move onion mixture to side of pan, and add spices to the oil. Toast 30 seconds. Stir in peas and vegetable broth. Stir together vegetable mixture into potatoes.
Line bottom of deep-dish pie plate with rolled out pie dough. Fill pie crust with vegetable samosa filling. Cover with top crust, trim excess dough, and seal edges with fork. Bake 45 minutes, or until top crust is golden brown.
Stir together yogurt, cucumber and cilantro. Serve on top of pie. I also like to serve this with Indian pickles on the side (limes are the best!).
Also, you could TOTALLY make this vegan by just using olive oil!!!
Food always makes people feel better. It also brings people together, which is the primary reason why I love eating so much. I’ve spent the past week making a lot of food, doing a lot of thinking, and talking to people that I care deeply for, trying to understand how our nation ended up where it has. I’ve heard a great number of people give me their dramatically different opinions about the situation, many of them giving deeply emotional accounts of why they voted for one person over the other. This has been incredibly eye-opening, and I’m thankful for everyone who was willing to open up to me, even though it wasn’t always easy.
Only a small selection of the foods that I’ve made in the past week…
What I have come to realize is that it’s not as simple as left or right, yes or no, black or white. What the results of the election do not mean are a lot of things: 1) they do not mean that the world is full of hate, 2) they do not mean that everyone who voted for Donald Trump is a _______ (insert uninformed insult here), and 3) they do not mean that we should give up fighting for what we believe in.
One of the biggest messages that I’ve received is that people wholeheartedly do not like to feel stupid, and a lot of people were made to feel like idiots during this election season. It’s been made very clear to me that many people do not realize that their words or actions may, in fact, be construed as misogynistic, racist, homophobic, or bigoted. Their experiences have taught them to behave in a certain way, and they are generally not exposed to cultures or religions outside of where they are from. This is something that I can see in myself, growing up in a rural town. This does not make someone a bad person, nor does it mean that they are stupid for what they don’t understand about the world. And saying that someone “doesn’t know any better” isn’t my excuse for them to behave in a certain way, but it is true that when it comes to something, for example, like religious intolerance, many people have only been exposed to one religion: Christianity. What is being captured in the news regarding other religions is what shapes their opinions and without being exposed to anything different either through formal education or through their experiences, what are they left to feel about religions other than their own? Of course, everyone can educate themselves on anything they choose (we all have the internet), but realistically, no one says, “Hmmm, I think I’m going to pick up world religions as a study in my free time.” The world is full of these completely murky gray areas; we will never live in a black and white world. And the gray areas are super scary places to be.
To get back to the point, right now, I am of the firm belief that the single most important thing that any one person can do is listen to someone who thinks differently than you do. Listen to each other with an open heart, and do not respond with negativity or contrary statements, maybe choose not to respond at all. Just listen to each other and hear the words that are being spoken. Look for understanding, reach for wisdom, and search for love.
So if you know someone who might be in this situation, someone who might not fully understand the consequences of the election, please don’t criticize them or call them stupid or treat them as though they have done something wrong because it’s not as simple as that. Not to mention, that we are all humans and deserve to be treated with respect. Talk to them, listen to them, and hear them. Then consider how we might start to create a world where everyone is more knowledgeable, understanding, and kind to each other, because ultimately, that’s what we’re all striving for. And keep on with your peaceful protests and petition signing because I believe that stuff is totally good for our world too (please stop burning the American flag, though… that’s not helpful to anyone).*
I swear to goodness I also made a soup. And it happened to be vegan and delicious and inspired by a Moosewood recipe that I love. Also, everyone should keep eating good food and gathering with good people. It makes us all feel better, especially given the uncertainty of the future.
Ingredients
2 1/2 lbs carrots
2 medium onions
2 large cloves garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp fennel seed
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp dried mint
2 tbsp grated ginger
5 cups vegetable stock
juice of one lemon
roasted peanuts (optional)
yogurt or labneh (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven 425F. Cut carrots into 3-4 inch long slivers, quarter onions, and peel garlic cloves. Toss in 2 tbsp olive oil and salt. Place in baking dish and roast for 45 min to an hour, stirring every 20 minutes. When onions and garlic are roasted and carrots are soft, remove from oven.
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat in soup pot, add spices until aromatic (about 1 minute), then add the roasted vegetables and ginger. Saute for about 5 minutes, allowing the flavors to combine. Stir in lemon juice.
Place all ingredients in blender, add enough stock to cover the vegetables, then blend until smooth. Return pureed soup to stock pot, add remaining vegetable stock, and re-heat.
Serve soup hot with a dollop of yogurt, some crushed, roasted peanuts, and a giant helping of love.
*I am fully aware that there are a lot of crappy people out there saying and doing a lot of crappy things right now that are unacceptable. Those are not the people that I’m talking about. I implore you to talk to your friends and relatives who you might not think that you can relate to right now because of their decision to vote one way or another. I think that we all have the capacity to understand, we just need to listen.*
If you can buy a quart of yogurt from the grocery store and you have a smidge of patience, you can also be a labneh master. This delightful treat is truly worth the short 24 hours of waiting! If you want to do it the long way with homemade yogurt, well, rock on because it’s also an incredible treat!
Labneh is a yogurt cheese made simply by straining the whey out of regular ol’ yogurt, leaving behind an ultra-creamy, deliciously spreadable “cheese” in it’s wake. The possibilities for this cheese are endless, and we have only hit the tip of the iceberg. Spread it on homemade bread with a generous dollop of honey – yes please. Drizzle it with olive oil and sprinkle with cumin and salt – yes, that too. Substitute labneh for sour cream in any soup or chili recipe – yep, sounds amazing. Add a spoonful to grilled or roasted veggies – so good.
The process is so incredibly simple that you’ll be making it all the time. All you need is a strainer, a bowl, and some cheesecloth.
Ingredients
1 quart of your favorite yogurt (homemade or store-bought)
1/2 tsp salt
Directions
1) Line strainer with two layers of cheesecloth. Pour yogurt into cheesecloth and stir in salt. Loosely gather edges of cheesecloth to form a ball.
2) Place strainer into a deep bowl. Place bowl in refrigerator for 24 hours.
3) Remove bowl and strainer from fridge, remove cheese from cheesecloth, and enjoy!
That’s it! Every once in awhile when I open the refrigerator, I like to check on the status of the whey that has been released. Every few hours, you can pour out the whey and see if the yogurt has reached the consistency that you’d like. I typically save the whey as it drains from the cheese in a separate bowl for the animals to also enjoy!
I didn’t take a photo of the salad. And I didn’t finish the smoothies series.
But this salad was too good not to post! So here’s a random photo and a delicious recipe for you to enjoy!
2014. Trona, California.
Ingredients
3-4 cups fresh arugula
2 cups cooked pearled barley
2 sweet corn cobs, kernels removed
1 sweet red pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/4 wedge of lime juice
2 avocados, chopped
1/2 cup feta
5-6 tbsp LiteHouse Cotija Cilantro Dressing
1-2 tbsp fresh cilantro, optional
Directions
1) Mix red pepper, red onion, and corn kernels with 3 tbsp dressing and lime juice.
2) Lay arugula in large serving bowl.
3) Place layer of cooked pearled barley on top of bed of arugula.
4) Layer pepper/red onion/corn mixture on top of barley.
5) Top with avocado and feta cheese.
6) Add remaining 3 tbsp of dressing, and garnish with fresh cilantro.
It’s a beautiful and delicious salad! Next time I’ll snap a photo to share! Substituting quinoa for barley might be a great idea… Enjoy!
Smoothies are my current go-to meal because I can put a bunch of things in a blender, push a button, put my meal in a to-go cup, and drink my deliciousness while I start accomplishing tasks for the day. Not to mention that they are usually pretty healthy and keep me full for a long time!
I have three smoothies that are my all-time favorites, depending on what I’m craving that day. This recipe is for a Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie, a protein-packed treat that I love to drink for breakfast or after yoga.
Ingredients
1 frozen banana
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
1-2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp ground flax seeds
1 tsp raw honey
1 tsp chia seeds
~1 cup soy milk
Directions
1) Add first 6 ingredients to the blender, then add enough soy milk to just barely cover everything (~ 1 cup).
2) Blend until smooth, add soymilk to thin as needed.
