Beans & Greens

You really can't get much healthier than eating beans and dark greens.  They are loaded with protein, iron, calcium and more.  I try to eat this combo often, but recently got in a rut with it.  I made a slight tweak to how I typically make bean and greens and now I can't get enough of them again!  

This may sound super simple, but for me it's made a big difference so I'm sharing anyway.  I take any combo of the following: kale, chard, collards, spinach, bok choy, tatsoi, etc, and chiffonade them.  I fill a soup bowl to the brim with greens.  Then, I boil any type of lentil or bean that I have around until tender.  See this post for saving time when cooking beans Next, pour the beans/lentils and their cooking liquid over the bowl of greens.  Now you have soup!  Add a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, a little salt, and you are done if you want.

I've experimented with some other ideas that worked well, too.  You can throw in a bullion cube or spices in the boiling pot to add more flavor.  This is my favorite bullion.  R likes a giant spoonful of homemade habanero hot sauce mixed in his.  Try miso, soy sauce, umeboshi plum paste, seaweed, sesame oil, flavored vinegar, fresh herbs, etc.  The possibilities for flavors are endless here.  I have also thrown in quinoa or rice to make it more filling.  You can also tear up pieces of bread and add them.  I like to keep my Ezekiel bread in the freezer so it doesn't go bad, so I just tore pieces of frozen bread and put that in once.   

What I like most about this soup is the simplicity of ingredients and how easy it is to get a huge serving of greens.  I've literally eaten it for every meal of the day and found it to be delicious.  It's also practically effortless, especially if you have greens washed and chopped.  You get a substantial, hot, homemade, cheap meal for very little time and effort.  Hope you enjoy it as well!

Cancer Project

Holy tempeh, I met Dr. Neal Barnard this weekend!  He spoke at Powells, then stayed after for book signing.  Here's proof:

Check out The Cancer Project for excellent nutrition info and dietary guidelines, and take a look at Nutrition MD for some great, health conscious recipes.  

The Cancer Project is current hiring Food For Life cooking instructors to teach their Food For Life series at least 4 times during each year.  Portland is definitely not a targeted city on their list, however, I'm applying anyway because why not!?  Here's the cooking demo I recorded as part of my application.  Big thanks to R for editing this!

Random Quick Kitchen Tips and Frozen Key Lime Pie

Random Quick Kitchen Tips

In no particular order, first up we have a banana nut milk.  This is a great quick snack, especially good for pre or post workout, or on the go.  Simply blend a banana, a handful of pepitas, and about 2 cups of water.  I like to buy my pepitas raw from Trader Joes as that's the cheapest I can find them.  Adjust the amount of water until it's the right consistency for you.  I love the quick energy, protein and sugar I get from this.  Pepitas are super high in iron and I usually add a handful to my morning smoothie as well.  This picture was taken looking down into my Vitamix.

Next we have some limes.  When you are juicing citrus, firmly roll it before cutting and juicing it.  

After I juice citrus, I like to freeze the peels and toss them in water later.  

Does anyone else love using bulk beans but never remembers to pre-soak the the day before using?  This solution works really well for me and I hope it helps you, too!  I soak beans overnight then drain and rinse them.  Put them in a tupperware, cover with water and pop into the freezer.  When you want to cook the beans, dump out the giant ice cube of beans into a pot and add water.  Bring to a boil and simmer until beans are soft.

This is a newer habit of mine, but every night while I'm making dinner I try to cut up a fresh veggie and snack on it.  This is a cucumber with black sea salt sprinkled on top.

I have R to thank for this next tip.  I purchased some puffed millet cereal from the store and was putting OJ on and eating for breakfast.  I wanted a snack, but wanted something salty instead of sweet so R recommended a snack that he tried while traveling in India last summer.  It's something like millet popcorn.  I took a bowl of millet, drizzled olive oil on top, and sprinkled the following to taste: nutritional yeast, salt, and cayenne pepper.  

This last tip is from one of my favorite sites, The Kitchn.  It has instructions on how to make a week's worth of steel cut oats for breakfast without slaving over the stove for an hour like steel cut oats usually require.  And, they use cute little mason jars!

Frozen Key Lime Pie

I used this recipe from Kimberly Snyder.  I didn't use the stevia because I don't like the taste.  I didn't have honey so I used maple syrup instead.  I added a little extra maple syrup to taste and maybe used a quarter cup of water total.  I poured this in a pie dish and froze it for about 3 hours.  This was a big hit!  Next time, I will likely pour it into a deeper container and scoop it out more like ice cream.  There is enough fat in here so it doesn't get icy and stays very creamy when frozen.  Delicious!!

"Wick" Planters and Cantaloupe Avo Lime Salad

"Wick" Planters

I'm doing a little experiment with two of my hens and chicks succulent arrangements that's called "wick" planting.  The basic idea is that there is a piece of fabric buried in the plant, and the other end of the fabric has access to standing water.  This way, the plant can draw up as much moisture as it needs through the bottom of the plant.  If done properly, watering can be done less frequently and the root system should become stronger since it's finding water near the bottom of the planter.  

This first planter is a single unit one, meaning that the plant and the reservoir are in the same container.  During my mom's recent visit to Portland, we checked out an antique sale at Edgefield.  She bought me this planter, an upcycled old rain gutter, that was filled with hens and chicks.  First, I removed all of the plants and dirt from the gutter.  I cut the little sprouts off, which can just be planted to start a new plant.

  

I cut up an old kitchen towel to make a long string.

A few inches from the end of the "string" I tied a knot and began winding the fabric around the knot. 

 I kept going until it was about the same diameter as the hole in the bottom of the planter.  Then I stuck the knot into the drain in the gutter (you want this to fit very snuggly) and left the few inches of tail hanging down.

I then twisted the string and laid it down into the planter.

I replanted all of the plants.  Next, I took a tin tea container, filled it with water, and placed it under the drainage tube in the planter.  The few inches of string sat nicely in the water.  For balance, I used the lid of the tea tin and the lid of an old stainless steel thermos that I don't use anymore, and put them under the other side of the planter.

This is now sitting on my mantel.  All I need to do is check the reservoir to make sure there is always standing water available for the wick to absorb into the planter.  This really takes the guesswork out of watering.

 

This next one is an example of a wick planter with an exterior reservoir.  

Now for all those extra clippings I had...I really wasn't sure what in the world to do with them, until I noticed an old candle holder that R had made in highschool.

I filled it with dirt, and stuck the clippings through the various holes on the container.  The wick is just planted in the middle, kind of spread out to allow the most contact with the soil.  To the right, you can see the wick hanging out and laying in a bowl of water.  I'm going to replace the bowl of water with a smaller container.  This planter sits on top of our bookshelf, and the bowl of water hides nicely out of eyesight.  As I cut off more clippings, I can add those to this planter as well.

Cantaloupe Avo Lime Salad

After making this recipe by Martha Stewart, I was pretty disappointed.  It was pretty boring, and not very flavorful.  I decided to add red onion, almost an entire bunch of cilantro, white balsamic vinegar, garlic, and extra olive oil.  The result was fantastic and a huge crowd pleaser!

It didn't take much to liven it up, and it really did come out great.  We had this for dinner with a side of tempeh and then again for a picnic lunch at the river.  

    

Easy Little Bread and Felt Headband

I'm getting ready for a weekend in Hood River, OR.  I still need to pack and shop, so obviously I'm blogging instead :)

Today I've got this easy little bread recipe from Heidi Swanson.

I love Heidi's recipes.  She features vegan/vegetarian recipes only and focuses on healthy, whole ingredients.  I've tried countless recipes of hers that I just love.  Here are just a few that I'm thinking of now...

Plum and Peach Crisp

(this one has become a staple in my family and is requested each time I visit)

Harissa

(click through to the NY Times recipe for this.  make extra and use on everything)

Shredded Brussel Sprouts and Apples

(great for the holidays)

T (tempeh) LT

(this is the best marinade I've found for tempeh.  keep the unused chipotles in the freezer to whip this up anytime)

OK, back to the bread.  

The only thing I changed on this recipe was that I substituted coconut oil for butter.  It was super easy and fast.  Of course I'm thrilled that it's completely whole grain and even has oats in there.  As a side note, even for recipes that call for white flour, I ALWAYS use white whole wheat flour that I buy at Trader Joe's.  This flour provides all the fiber that other whole wheat flours have, but since it's a blonder variety of wheat, it's light and makes an excellent substitution.  I served this bread with extra coconut oil for spreading and homemade jam that a friend gave me.  This loaf didn't survive more than an hour or so between the four of us (mom, JB, R & I)

And now for my latest headband...

This one is made of felt.  I've been wanting to make something that is mustard and grey colored for fall. 

I made a matching one for my mom as well!