Millet with Black Beans and Vegetables

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of millet (or quinoa)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 T minced fresh ginger
Kosher salt
1 c water

2 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2-3 baby carrots, chopped
2 baby bok choy, sliced
1/2 shallot, sliced
2-3 T chopped red cabbage
Fresh ground black pepper
Garlic, minced (optional)

Splash rice vinegar
Olive oil

Supplies:
Cutting Board + Knife
Hot plate + Pot + Lid
Pan + Spatula

Directions:

In a small pot, combine millet with black beans, water, ginger and water.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat, and simmer covered until water is absorbed.  Remove from heat and let sit.

Note:  The bean-millet mix will last for two meals - one for now and one for later when you saute up a few more vegetables.  If serving a guest, double vegetable amounts.

Then place pan on hot plate and heat olive oil, adding in garlic (optional) and shallot for about 30 seconds when pan is hot.  Add carrots and red cabbage and cook for a few minutes to soften.  Then add mushrooms, continuing to stir.  Finally, add bok choy until leaves soften and just begin to wilt.  Remove vegetables from heat.

Place half of the grain-bean mix on plate.  Top with vegetables.  Sprinkle with rice vinegar.  Enjoy!

Candida Modification:  Ditch the vinegar.

Rainy Day Recipe: Potato-Fennel Soup

When the weather is wet, the Spice Girl gets cooking!  After much traveling and eating on the run, I am happy to be back in the kitchen tonight.  I got my latest box of organic produce from my CSA this week and it was packed full of some hearty vegetables, including - to my surprise - a bulb of fennel.

Now, fennel is not normally a vegetable that I would pick up in the store and buy, but that's why I love my CSA box.  It pushes my creativity in the kitchen.  So with the weather outside pouring down, I decided to whip up a delicious and warm potato-fennel soup.

Ingredients:
olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
potatoes (I used about 15 fingerling potatoes)
1 bulb fresh fennel, chopped
salt
pepper
cream

Supplies:
Hot Plate
Pot
Cutting Board & Knife
Hand Blender
Ladel

Directions:
Start by sauteing the onions in olive oil over medium heat in your cooking pot.  When onions are soft and slightly translucent, add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil.

In the meantime, chop potatoes and fennel and add to pot.  Cook for approximately 20 - 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are soft.

When potatoes are soft remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.  Then puree the vegetables using the hand blender until smooth.  Add salt, pepper and dash of cream to taste.

Simple, absolutely delicious, and extra servings store well for lunch.  Bon apetit!

Warm Beet Salad

A delicious and colorful winter salad.

Beets are low on calories, full of vitamins, remove toxins from the body and nourish the bloodstream.  So why aren't you eating more of them?  Well now, there is simply no excuse.





Ingredients:
1-3 Beets, depending on size and your appetite
Vinaigrette
Goat Cheese
Fresh Mint
Orange Wedges

Supplies:
Foil
Cutting Board
Knife
Toaster Oven

Directions:
Preheat toaster oven to 450 degrees.  Rinse beets and cut off tops.  Wrap in foil and cook in oven for 40 - 50 minutes, cooking until soft.  Remove from oven and let cool.

When cool enough to handle, peel skin off beets (watch out for perma-pink fingertips).  Slice beets and arrange on plate.

Peel orange and break into segments.  Add to top of beets.  Drizzle vinaigrette over the top of the beets.   Chop up fresh mint and sprinkle over the top of the salad, along with goat cheese.  Bon Apetit!


Warning:  Don't freak out if your pee turns red.  It's gonna happen.  Cuz beets are cool like dat.

Apple Cider-Acorn Squash Soup

Speaking of eating in-season.  This delicious winter soup uses acorn squash and in-season honeycrisp apples.  A small acorn squash produced two perfect single servings - one for dinner and one for lunch tomorrow.  (Also great for guests!)

Like any good soup, the  recipe is a little in-exact.  Just taste and alter to your liking and squash size.

Ingredients:
1 small acorn squash - the size of a large grapefruit
2 apples
1 cup vegetable broth
1 T butter
honey
cinnamon
nutmeg
allspice
salt and pepper

Supplies:
Toaster Oven and Baking Dish
Large Pot
Juicer (or just buy the apple juice/cider instead)
Hand Blender
Spoon

Directions:
Cut the acorn squash in half.  Spoon out seeds.  Place 1/2 tablespoon of butter in each half and drizzle with honey.

Roast the acorn squash in the toaster oven at 400 degrees.  Cooking time will vary based on your oven and squash size.  But 30 - 45 minutes is a good window.  Poke squash with fork and remove when soft.  Set aside to cool.

In the meantime, chop and juice the two apples.  Mine made about 12 ounces of juice.  Place apple juice in large pot and dash with cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.  Bring to boil and reduce to simmer.  Cook for 5 - 10 minutes.

Add 1 cup vegetable broth and cook for a few more minutes.  Remove from heat. 

Drizzle any liquid butter and honey from the center of the squash into the pot, then scoop the squash out of its skin using a spoon.  Put squash in pot with juice/broth, throwing away the skin.

Using hand blender, puree squash into soup.  Add more broth as necessary for appropriate thickness.   Taste.  Add salt and pepper as desired.

Served Best With:  Fresh Bread

Candida Modification:  Lose the honey

Mini Mushroom Quiche

Excuse the absence, Spicerettes and Spiceroids.  (Is it ok if I call you that?)

I'm back and in action - whisk in hand and hot pad ready.  A good friend and a good yoga class has inspired tonight's cooking frenzy.  And for your pleasure (or rather mine, because I'm the one eating it), a mini-dish for a mini-kitchen.  Tonight, the wonderful, the delicious, the bite-sized mushroom-cheese mini quiches.

Great for breakfast, great for lunch and great for dinner.  Feel free to mix up the recipe by using your favorite filling - ham, bell peppers, bacon, chives, leeks, you name it.

Ingredients:

The Post-Yoga Cooking Sessions

Quiche Pie Crust
1 1/4 cups flour (I used whole grain, but all purpose is good too)
1/4 t salt
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cold water

Quiche Filling
3/4 cup half n half
2 eggs
1/8 t salt
Shredded Gruyere and Swiss cheese (Trader Joe's has a great pre-shredded pack)
Parmesan cheese
Sliced Crimini Mushrooms

Supplies:
6-Muffin muffin tin
Mixing bowl (2 if you got them)
Cutting board
Knife
Fork

Whisk

Coffee cup

Toaster Oven
Hot Plate + pan

Directions:
Preheat toaster oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease muffin tin (I use spray olive oil - seems like a reasonable choice).

Blend flour and salt in mixing bowl.  Cut in shortening with pastry blender (or rather a knife and fork).  Add water and continue to mix with fork.  Use hands to blend into ball.

Place dough on lightly floured cutting board.  If you have a rolling pin, now would be a good time to use it.  However, I don't, so my two freshly washed hands did a sufficient, albeit probably lumpier, job.  Try and get it thin and even across the cutting board.

Use a large cup or small bowl to cut circles into the dough.  I used my favorite wide-mouthed coffee mug.  Remove circles and line muffin tin cups with dough.  When done, mix eggs, half-n-half and salt in a bowl.  Whisk well.

Heat up the hot plate and place a lightly greased pan on the burner.  When heated, lightly saute mushrooms.  Spoon mushrooms into muffin tins.  Top with shredded cheeses.  Then pour egg mixture into muffin tins to fill.

Place quiches in toaster oven and bake.  This will vary from oven to oven, but mine took about 15 - 18 minutes to thoroughly cook the egg and lightly brown the crust.

Remove from oven.  Let cool.  Consume.  Enjoy.  Clean up.

Served Best With:  Side Salad, Bacon, Orange Juice, Coffee

Candida Modification:  Forget about it.  Just make yourself some scrambled eggs.