Quinoa: Grain of the Gods???

Here’s a link to an awesome article in today’s online New York Times that espouses the many virtues of quinoa:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/03/health/nutrition/03recipehealth.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

I’m personally a huge fan of quinoa and use it in place of cous cous, rice and other grains. It’s not the greatest plain, but add some lemon, salt and herbs to it and it’s pretty darn good.

Also, it’s a great substitute in Tabouleh, everyone’s favorite hippy food.

Rock on,

Laurel

Tips on how to make my most favorite food: chocolate chip cookies

Yes.

I admit it.

I’m a whole foods vegetarian chef and my favorite food is the Chocolate Chip Cookie.

I “opened” my New York Times online today to find an article on this most perfect of baked good. In the article, several apparent “experts” were interviewed about how exactly to make the perfect cookie.

Yummy!

Surprisingly, one of the most important things you can do is let your cookie batter sit for about 30 hours. Who knew? Also, it’s important to mix all your ingredients at room temperature. Don’t melt the butter in the microwave. Don’t use frozen butter. Lastly, salt is a critical component to not be overlooked. Be generous with the salt!

The article, with more tips and ideas, is below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/09chip.html?ex=1373342400&en=e65af79d36135b2d&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Don’t forget the (soy)(organic) milk!

10 of the Healthiest Foods on Earth

Today, I found a great article in the New York Times about the healthiest foods on the planet.

Some of the healthiest foods (among other less accessible choices) are:

1.  Beets. They may seem like a pain to prepare, but raw beets are cancer fighters and de-toxifiers.  Shred beets into a salad or eat them juiced into a sweeter vegetable juice mixture (apple, beet, carrot, celery is an amazing fresh juice combo!)

2.  Cabbage.  Loaded with nutrients and cancer fighting enzymes. Eat shredded and raw in a tasty Asian Salad (shredded green and red cabbage, shredded carrots, sesame oil, sesame seeds, rice vinegar, salt and pepper) or on top of your favorite burger.

3.  Swiss Chard.  One of your leafty greens with cartenoids that supposedly enhance vision.  Lightly steam and add salt and lemon to taste or sautee with garlic, olive oil and a splash of lemon.

4.  Cinnamon.  May decrease blood sugar and/or cholesterol. Bring on the chai or add to your coffee beans before you grind them!

5.  Pomegranate Juice. Lowers blood pressure and provides ant-ioxidants.  POM sells several REALLY fabulous flavors of pomengrante juice.

6.  Dried Plums.  Contain cancer fighting anti-oxidants.  Chop up and add with raisins and apricots to your oatmeal or just eat plain as a snack.

7.  Pumpkin Seeds.  Packed with magnesium. Toast at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes in your office lightly tossed with tamari sauce. Sprinkle over salad or soup or eat as a snack.

8.  Tumeric.  Has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.  Add tumeric to your tofu stir fry (tofu, green and red peppers, onions, broccoli sauteed in olive oil, tamari, tumeric, curry, salt and pepper) or stir into your scrambled eggs.

9.  Frozen Blueberries.  Have been known to enhance memory. Add to your cereal or oatmeal in the morning or to your banana/strawberry/blueberry smoothie (add soy milk and pomengrante juice for protein and anti-oxidants).

10.  Canned Pumpkin.  High in fiber and Vitamin A. Stir into your oatmeal with cinnamon and honey or just eat plain with a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg.

All of these foods and more can be found in Dr. Jonny Bowden’s “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth.” More information and the full article at:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/the-11-best-foods-you-arent-eating/

Rest assured that I will be incoporating these foods and more into my Whole Truth Cooking Classes, coming soon!

Also, stay tuned for updates on our “first organic garden.” Things are coming up FAST and we are ready for launch on some super summer garden-based recipes.

Excellent Article on Cooking Veggies

For all you vegetable lovers and chefs: I just found this great article in the New York Times online about the most nutrient enhancing ways to cook and prepare vegetables:

HEALTH / FITNESS & NUTRITION | May 20, 2008
Well: Finding the Best Way to Cook All Those Vegetables
By TARA PARKER-POPE
Are there ways to get more from the vegetables you already eat?

Quick update on the garden: The “panning for dirt” to sort out “non-dirt” is complete. Now it’s time to add the compost. We are experimenting with compost right now, as in we are trying to revitalize an old compost pile with new life forms. Our seedlings are coming right along as we wait out the last of the Colorado snow season (yes, we do get snow as late as mid-May in the Rocky Mountain West).

Cooking and Gardening: We are so efficient

So, in an effort to cut down on expenses and use only the finest ingredients, we (that being me and Eric, the manfriend) are planting an outdoor and indoor garden. Of course, it will be organic. AND, Eric has decided to use a planting method called “the Square Foot” method. I’m a bit more chaotic about my gardening, I guess….

He is an engineer and has been plotting and planning. I am a chef and have been thinking of what I can use in various dishes. Basil, chayote squash, chipotle peppers…..yummy!

We’re both very excited.

From time to time, I’ll give you the update of how it’s going. In a previous life, I lived in an urban intentional community (http://jasonstreetcommunity.org) and we had a half acre of land to plant a fairly large gardens (can you say “row planting?”). Currently, we are using about 6 square feet of raised beds in Eric’s backyard.

Last week, we spent a whole day tearing Grape Hyacinth, weeds, and grass out of the beds and picking out stones and woodchips.

We moved on to what I call “panning for dirt”. Eric has rigged a contraption that looks like a gold pan, except that you sift dirt through it and what comes out is “pure dirt,” the good stuff.

Probably about a week passed after that (we got busy), and sure enough, little grape hyacinths popped up. After a consultation with our friend and longtime organic gardener, Lori Wostl, we’ve decided to pick up some black cloth and burn the little f-ers. More to come…..

The beginning of Whole Truth Cooking…

So, given that I have over 20 years of experience in cooking vegetarian, vegan and whole foods in just about every possible place and setting, I thought you’d like to know a bit about it.

Here’s a bit about me (in case you’re wondering who I am and why you should care about what I have to say about food):

• I have cooked in several well known vegetarian restaurants around the country.
• I have personal cheffed for many, many people.
• I have been a Kitchen Manager at one of the largest Buddhist retreats in the country.
• I have catered vegetarian functions for 10 to 300 people.
• I have taught kids how to cook healthy food.
• I have gone to cooking school for whole foods vegetarian cooking.

Is that enough for ya? If so, read on…

The Whole Truth is a blog about all things having to do with vegetarian and vegan whole foods cooking.

I will share with you what I know and I’d love for you to share with me (and the rest of the world) what you know.

I’m not one of those fancy and complicated chefs. I’m a chef that prefers to make and teach people how to make healthy, fast and easy vegetarian and vegan foods. If you’re like me, you don’t have a ton of time to be messing around in the supermarket, trying to find the 7 new spices that are required for that New York Times recipe you’ve been wanting to make. You want to make something for you (and y0ur family) that you feel good serving and eating.

In this blog, I will take you on a journey of sights, sounds and smells and share my decades of knowledge with you.

Bueno,
Laurel