It's the Season of Salads

And this Strawberry Spinach salad is a favorite in our home. We usually have it with a poppy seed dressing, but finding myself out of poppy seeds, but loaded with strawberries and spinach, I decided to branch out. After perusing a few recipe websites, I decided on this:

Summery Salad Dressing
2 T. Honey
3 T. Apple Cider Vinegar
Pinch of Salt

Mix it up in your super-blender, or with a fork, or whatever, and enjoy!

Friendly Bacteria

Gear up to get brave in your kitchen! It's time to grow more than herbs on your windowsills!

I found a recipe for lacto-fermented cucumbers (i.e. pickles) in Nourishing Traditions and thought I would give it a try. The appeal of preserving your vegetables this way is that you don't cook out any of the plant enzymes, preserving the benefits of the raw cucumber, but creating an environment where the cucumber can last much much longer. (There are anecdotal stories of lacto-fermented sauerkraut lasting two years at cool temperatures.)

Our pickles haven't lasted that long... only because we're eating them too fast! (Although for me, they are a bit too strong to be 'snacking' pickles. Perfect for potato salads, sandwiches, or the like.)

Here's what I did:

4 pickling cucumbers, washed thoroughly and sliced

1 T Sea Salt

1 T whole mustard

1-2 T dill, dried

Put it all in a quart jar. I just used a *clean* jar that originally held spaghetti sauce from the grocery store. I just saved the lid and jar and washed them really well. Once you have placed your ingredients in the jar, fill it the rest of the way up with water. Make sure the cukes are submerged, but you want a little head room (air at the top), too.

Then... here is the scary part... let it sit on your counter for three days. Or in a cupboard. Somewhere safe, that stays in the 70's (F).

Yeah. Lacto-fermentation means you are growing your own bacteria, lactobacillus to be exact. Probiotics! In your own kitchen!

My water turned all brown and murky. And I said to my husband, "Paul, that cannot be friendly bacteria. That is mean, angry bacteria!" But the trick to knowing if you successfully grew the correct bacteria is the smell. If your cucumbers are hijacked by unhealthy microorganisms, you will be repelled at the first whiff. So, after three days, I took off the lid, braced myself, and was pleasantly surprised that it smelled very appealing.

Success!

If you want a stronger taste leave them on your counter longer. When they taste just right, put them in the fridge for storage. That will slow the fermentation process. Our jar has lasted two months so far.

Try it. You'll like it!

Fast Black Bean Soup

I cook this soup all the time because it is so fast, easy, filling, and tasty!  I love the avocado and the cilantro - I usually end up putting extra in the batches I make! 

Serves: 5
Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
2 15-ounce cans black beans, no or low salt
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
2 cups frozen corn
2 cups frozen chopped broccoli florets
2 cups carrot juice*
1 cup water
1 cup prepared black bean soup, no or low salt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
1/8 teaspoon chili powder, or to taste
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
1 avocado, chopped or mashed (optional)
1/2 cup chopped green onions (optional)

Instructions: Combine black beans, mixed vegetables,corn, broccoli, carrot juice, water, soup, cilantro, and chili powder in a soup pot. Bring to a boil and simmer on low for 30 minutes. Stir in fresh tomatoes and heat through.

Serve topped with avocado, green onions, and pumpkin seeds if desired.

* Carrot juice may be made in a juice extractor. Fresh or bottled carrot juice is also sold in many health food stores.
 
Taken from the Dr. Fuhrman Cookbook
Page 88 in Christina's Recipe Book

Black bean and Corn Salad

I am so bad at taking pictures of food. I'm going to get better, I promise.

We had this little gem with corn chips the other night. But I've also had it rolled in tortillias, and straight off the fork, and I gotta say, it's good no matter how you roll the dice.

3 ears of corn, kernels removed

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 1/2 c. cooked black beans

1 c. cilantro, chopped

10-12 grape tomatoes, halved (or whatever you have on hand)

Juice of one lime

Begin with a skillet and some olive oil. Yum. A great beginning for every recipe. Add the garlic and the corn, and roast it for 6-8 minutes in the oil. And that is all the cooking you have to do!

Add the corn to the beans, cilantro, and tomatoes and toss. Squeeze in your lime, and you're done! Refrigerate until dinner, or eat it right away. Whatever works. I like it chilled, though. You could also add minced jalepeno for a little heat, or sliced avocado as a garnish.

I discovered this little gem in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, which is one of my favorite cookbooks. Seriously great.

Lentils + Mirepoix = Magic

So, if you haven't guessed, I don't really know what to call this meal, but we love it, so here goes:

2 carrots

2 stalks of celery

1 onion

1 tsp. Italian Seasoning

1/2 lb. of lentils

1 3/4 c. water

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Usually I sauté the carrots, celery, and onion in a little oil or butter. But in the spirit of Fuhrman-ism, I water-sautéed the veggies, carrots first, for several (maybe 7-8) minutes, then the onions and celery, until they were tender and had that beautiful brightness of being perfectly cooked. At that point I added the lentils, which I had been soaking for the afternoon, in an effort to decrease the phytic acid, but that's not really necessary. Cover it all with water add a little salt if you wish, and let it cook for about thirty minutes.

The lentils and vegetables should be tender when done. This is great plain, with a little pepper, but divine drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. You don't need much. Seriously, drizzle. Slow drizzle.

This serves four as a side dish, two as a main dish.

Quick Toddler Lunch. Plus some for Mom.

I make a super quick Guacamole using two avocados and about a tablespoon of salsa, maybe two tablespoons. I don't really measure. Smush (that's a made up word) it all up with a fork. For us, one bell pepper (I used orange) was perfect to finish off this amount of Guacamole. If you wanted to, you could add a teaspoon to a tablespoon of mayo to make it creamier. Or, even better, if you're into soy, some silken tofu would do the creaminess trick (but you'd have to blend it in a food processor or blender). I find it plenty rich without either of those embellishments.

I then smeared two bananas with about a tablespoon of nut butter each, cut them into slices, and we went at it. It was the perfect amount of food for Ella and I to share, although I needed a little more lunch once she was napping.

Yum.

It is a little fatty-- but I'm breastfeeding and Ella's a two-year-old, so we're into (good) high fat foods these days.

Lisa's Favorite Green Smoothie

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 5 minutes


Ingredients:
1 apple*, cut into fourths
1 banana  (if you ant the smoothie to be colder, then freeze the banana)
1/2 avocado
4 pitted dates
5 ounces organic baby spinach
If you don't have a Vita-Mix, then you're going to have to add juice so that your blender doesn't burn up!


Instructions:
Blend all ingredients in a high powered blender until smooth and creamy.


Note: *No need to peel apple if organic.
 
-In Dr. Fuhrman's Cookbook
-Created by Lisa Fuhrman
-Page 9 in Christina's Healthy Recipes Cookbook

Apple Pumpkin Soup

(A delicious way to get your spinach!)

Serves: 4 (large servings)
Preparation Time: 30 minutes


Ingredients:
1/4 cup water
1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
3 cups water
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, or more to taste
1 15-ounce can easy pumpkin pie mix
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup soy milk
4 packed cups organic baby spinach


Instructions:
1) Saute water, onion, and ginger in medium saucepan until soft.

2) Add water, apples, curry, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cover and simmer until apples are tender, 10-15 minutes.

3) Stir in pumpkin until smooth and heat another ten minutes.

4) In a blender, puree half of the mixture along with the cashews & spinach until smooth and return to the pan.

5) Stir in soy milk.

6) Garnish with apple slices sprinkled with nutmeg &/or cinnamon.  You can also put a spinach leaf in there to make it pretty!

Note: This is a light and rather elegant soup that makes a great fall dish & it makes you whole house smell so good!  It has a sweet, nutty taste to it that kids love.  Sophie couldn't get enough of it!
 

_____________________________________________________

 
-Modified from J. Myers' Recipe she posted on the Dr. Fuhrman Website


-Page 76 in Christina's "Healthy Recipes" Cookbook (please note that I've modified this recipe & it is different from the one in my cookbook).