Food(less) Journey

Accidental chili! With avocado! Exclamation point!   I have been craving chili like crazy. And you know how I love accidentally creating things. So I was going to make more lentil soup.   Like this:     Using this:   Pinjur by Konex Foods   But I added too much in my zealousness to get more veggies in. And it amazingly turned into chili (see pic above). When I tasted it and realized how much it tasted like chili I did the only natural thing you do when you realize you have accidentally made chili..... grab an avocado!!!!!   Get you some!   I got this accidental chili starter at Big Lots. It's loaded with: peppers, eggplant, tomato paste, garlic. Some of the best things in the world! It tastes great on bread, on sandwiches, in soup, as a chili, on pasta or just on some rice.   Side note: It's from Bulgaria. I suddenly want to go to Bulgaria and eat things. Who knew they had such y...

  While you are in Italy it is quite natural to develop an unnatural attraction to bread. The unfortunate consequence of the affinity is purchasing more bread than you can eat before it goes stale.   I abhor waste! When fruit is dangerously teetering on the brink on the wrong side of its ripeness peak, I freeze it. The same with vegetables.   Bread on the other hand is best frozen before it goes hard. And one simply does not waste bread in Italy. Economy is of course a factor, but the primary reason is fresh or hardened by age it is delicious   I was eating at a restaurant and a couple at a table across from me sent the bread back to the kitchen.   This offense was great.   It was very late in the evening so the bread was not soft as when it is freshly baked but there was not a thing wrong with the bread. (also you do not send food back to the kitchen by insulting it but that is another story for another post.)   ...

  Amazing that lovely spring flowers were in bloom when I left for Florence.   And I returned to the full heat and humidity of summer. Although the humidity is never desirable, how lovely it is to have summer produce ones disposal. Eating local is exceptionally pleasurable is the summer when berries and squash are ripe.   What quick meals do you enjoy in the summer season? When its too hot to cook?  If you're expecting a recipe for salad I'm terribly sorry to disappoint you. I like nutrient dense foods and lettuce is not particularly high on that list. And I'm not much of a fan of raw spinach although it is higher on the list.   Sushi is a lovely treat any time of year. Lazy sushi is a great way to get the taste of sushi without the work of rolling.   Step 1: put rice on a place other sushi toppings Step 2: Use your hand or foot to grasp some rice with a piece of sushi paper.   Stir fries are also great. Quick, ...

How could you ever get tired of tofu scramble? There are so many variations. Savory, sweet, and pretty much any cultural adaptation you can imagine... I don't eat tofu (or any soy products) often, but it's nice ot have a block on hold in the freezer for the occassional cravings and for a quick breakfast or dinner. I just drain it of any liquid its packed in, rinse it cut the block into four and then freeze. No other prep needed. And freezing it makes the tofu chewier in texture, so it doesnt need to be cooked as long. Just flash fried (cooked in a very hot skillet) to brown it. If you have any questions about Tofu feel free to email me or put it in the comment section in below. How much do you love it when the mushrooms are fried? Tuscan Scramble 1/2 block tofu crumbled (mine was frozen but nuked to thaw) 1/2 c frozen kale, thawed 1 cup sliced baby bella 1/4 c onion sliced or diced 1 t salt 1 T ...

So quick... So easy.... So tasty... How can you not give it a try?   Unless you are allergic to bananas. Then don't please.   Splash of Almond milk (2T) Splash of Almond extract (1t) 2 Splash of Vanilla Extract (2t) 1 frozen Banana, sliced and placed in miniblender (or whatever you happen to have  in the way of blending equipment) Simply blend until smooth. If you have a slightly whack (i.e. cheap) blender like I do you may have to pause blending every few seconds and scrape banana down into bottom of bowl.   Im still waiting for someone to gift me a hand me down orn buy me a new magic bullet or classy blender that cost more than DaveandBusters tickets.   I could just get hitched and put it on the registry but that seems like a lot of work for a blender and  saving for my trip to Ireland is taking financial priority so won't be saving up and buying one anytime soon. the end....

Even though these were baked I still can't help calling them fried green tomatoes. The name is ubiquitous with the feelings they evoke. Long summer days,  big "I dont have anywhere to go" breakfasts with my family, 'accidentally' picking all the big green tomatoes while helping my mother harvest from our backyard garden, the feeling of accomplishmentseeing seeds and seedlings become a meal  for my family and a gift for friends. How could I not love these little beauties? I had just a remnant of my special flours left and wanted to put them to good use. So, I killed two birds with one stone (no i didn't! that is sooo violent) and used the flours to make something I'd been craving since the first green tomato poked itself out of the tomato plant in the backyard. And yes I do realize that one of the green tomatoes is red. I do not discriminate!  I feel that all tomatoes are created equal(ly delicious). Plus i...

Surprise! You have to work today... Argh!! But...  The beautiful tree above was my haven for lunch. So.. Can't really complain. Since it was a last minute work day I had a very thrown together lunch. Some steamed veggies with almond sliver for protein. Quite tasty! Random Yum: Spring Soup (?): mmm.....  So the first day it is a soup,  but as it sits in the fridge the broth gets absorbed and  it becomes more of a pilaf than a soup, but just as delicious. 1 c brown rice, black barley, daikon radish seed mix, uncooked 1 c Sliced mushrooms 1/2 c Frozen peas 1 bunch of celery chopped 1T 21 spice seasoning 2 loves garlic 4 cups of water (i didnt measure this just add enough to cover all  ingredients with extra 1/2 inch) 1) Put all ingredients in an oven safe bowl with a lid 2) "bake" at 350 for 40 minutes Random Craving: Brown Rice pasta with white beans and steam veg 

Okay so its 4 more days until spring, but the weather is decidedly summer-like. Im definitely not hating the warm weather, but I'm worried we will have a blizzard in April as payback. Am I the only one worried about that? Probably...lol I really want to pop on my awesome healed sandles purchased in the dead of winter!!! Recent Eats The Health Starts Here Mediterranean Crunch Salad from Whole Foods was out of this world yummy.  Very simple ingredients, but the flavor profile was complex. But more on that in a minute.... Nooched out Quinoa topped with sauteed mushrooms celery and spinach. This was surprisingly delicious dish born of desperation. Two basic elements combined deliciously: Part 1(bottom): 2 T Nutritional Yeast + 1 T Udo's Oil + 1 cup cooked quinoa and a sprinkle of Spanish sea salt stir all ingredients together Part 2 (top): 3 chopped stalks of celery + 1/4 c frozen spinach + 1/2 cup sliced baby bell...

Kale Chips Fresh out the Oven  It's so nice to be able to make my own Kale Chips. Especially since im kinda addicted to them and its about $4 cheaper to make my own in the oven. Here's a fake recipe that gives real results... Kale Chips remove the leaves of 1 head of kale rub the leaves with olive oil spread out on a baking sheet bake for 30 minutes at 350 flipping halfway thru eat hot out of the oven or sprinkle with nooch and sea salt my current fave is cayenne and sea salt  Terra Sweets and Beets Chips  Above are the Terra Sweets and Beets, a blend of Sweet Potato Chips and Beet Chips. Both veggies are yummy coworkers.  I might have eaten the bag in two days. Crunch, crunch, yum! Speaking of Terra.. There was a Terra snack in my BlissmoBox How did I get another Blissmobox? you ask... Because the Health Deals deal I purchased was for Blissmo for two months. However, the information wasn't clear about the ...

It's March! Yay! Lots of exciting and wonderful things going on this month! Are you auxilery pioneering? Leave a comment below if you want to meet for service.  Or email me. Did you do your taxes yet? Only 6 weeks left. Better get on it. On a related note, Am I the only one who gets excited when they e-file and get the "Your return has been accepted email"? Who have you thanked today? Have you thanked your childs bus driver? Think about the valuable service they perform and show some gratitude. Notice what one article said: "Many people feel that their efforts go unnoticed by others.. Sincere words of commendation are not the norm in today's world. This is hardly surprising, for the Bible foretold: 'In the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be lovers of themselves..unthankful,disloyal' - 2 Timothy 3:1,2... The world would be a different place  if everyone showed pe...

Hello Precious! Quite a few people have gone veg and gained weight. Why? Pasta is often the answer. Its an easily adaptable but completely satisfying meal with or without meat and cheese. And not that there is anything wrong with eating pasta, but everything in moderation. Also, if you're going to have pasta be smart about it and have a pasta made with Spelt flour. Spelt is a relative of wheat, but it has a good amount of protein and lower glycemic index (aka you don't get a blood sugar spike and crash) Another trick is to smother your pasta....  Smothered Pasta  If you are going to eat pasta often have it be the accent to your meal not the main component. And remember to have another source of protein with it. Protein has hunger satiating properties so eating it with something potentially naughty helps you to eat less. Another favorite sauce is white bean "cheese" sauce. Yum! Smothered Pasta 1 c frozen spinach ...