sprouted lentil burgers, drinking kale juice and coco macaroons

Hello, Goat City followers!

I have just finished level 2 of my 5-level Holistic Nutrition Course at Tulsi here in DC. Wow, I have learned a bunch, and I have so much more to learn. Brain exploding!

Started drinking my kale cooking water and using it to make tahini or almond butter sauces and drizzles. It has all the good stuff in it, and I usually just toss it! Now I am trying to toss it back. Just one of the many good nutrition tips I have learned in my classes...

Last night I wanted to have germinated brown rice, sprouted lentils and kale -n- dandelion greens, with a tahini-parsley sauce drizzle, only...I wanted that to not be boring! So, I highly recommend turning your "boring" lentils into burgers -- throw 1 c lentils cooked for about 10 mins (the sprouted variety cooks faster) into your food processor with 2 cloves of garlic, some sea salt and black pepper, and a splash of your cooking juice from the kale (just so it holds together). Bake for 20-25 mins in a baking dish with a little olive oil brushed on the burgers and in the pan at 350.

Perfect timing for 25 minute germinated brown rice to cook simultaneously.

In the meantime, make your sauce: 2 T tahini, splash of kale/dande green cooking water til you like the consistency, 1/4 c finely chopped parsley, splash of Braggs, sea salt and bl pepper (sorry I don't really measure, so it's just to taste). A hit of ginger root would have been nice too, next time!

And then for dessert, goat balls, I mean, coconut almond macaroons:
food process:
equal parts sprouted almonds and coconut flakes
add 1-2 t gf bourbon vanilla
dash of sea salt
3-4 large spoonfuls of coconut oil
pulse til it looks like it will form balls, adding more vanilla or oil as needed.
I don't miss the agave, but I guess you could add honey, agave or maple syrup at will. You're on your own there, since I have a no sugar diet, so both recipes are candida/bacteria kill-friendly! yay.
More tips: coconut oil is a good for you saturated fat that also has anti-fungal properties and is in general very healing.

enjoy xo

gluten-free valentine's day

hello, lovers! I hope you're enjoying valentine's day 2011. here it's windy and in the 60s and sunny -- prompted me to get out the juicer and the spiralizer! and my flip flops...

the day started out with a green smoothie:

juice:
2 carrots
1 cuke
2 leaves of purple kale or any other greens
chunk of fennel bulb
toe of ginger
sprigs of mint and parsley

blend juice with 4 oz of coconut water and one avocado.

creamy like a smoothie. nice for those of us who are allergic to bananas...:)

then, lunch.



sprouted lentil fennel salad









cook 1 c sprouted lentils in 3 c boiling water for 5-10 mins.
drain and set aside.

chop:
one cuke
one avocado
1/2 bulb fennel (thin slices)
1 scallion and/or bunch chives
sprigs mint, parsley and/or cilantro

add grated toe of ginger, glug of olive oil, hit of Bragg's, season w/ sea salt, black pepper and dulse flakes.

serve on a bed of greens and garnish w/ more fresh herbs, sprouted sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds and a dollop of yoghurt if you're feelin' it.

for dinner:



the menu ~

zuke nut crust pizzas
cuke avocado nori rolls
cacao coconut almond macaroons



nut crust

2 cups of soaked/sprouted nuts and seeds, your choice (I did almond, walnut, sunflower, pumpkin and flax)
1 egg
1 clove garlic
sea salt and black pepper
fresh basil
2 T water

throw it all in your food processor til it looks like a paste. scoop it out roll out between two pieces of parchment til it's about 1/4 inch thick. put the parchment onto cookie sheet and peel off top parchment. bake at 350 for 10-15 mins.

spread guacamole, pesto or hummus on it and some lightly sauteed garlic, leek and spiralized zukes.

side dish:

cuke and avocado nori rolls

matchstick slice cukes, carrots, avocados, whatever veg you've got that you think would be good in sushi. lay out your nori sheet and spread some greens on the first layer. line up your veg sticks horizontally. start rolling from the bottom. when it's time to seal, use a little room temp water with a little salt in it. dip your slicing knife in the same water and slice into rolls. serve with fresh grated horseradish, pickled ginger and Bragg's.

and now for dessert:

I bought Emmy's dark cacao coconut macaroons.

and I highly recommend them!

if you're feeling like making something, here is a nice recipe for raspberry chocolate raw tart that looks nice.

enjoy~

candida kill redux

ugh.
I thought I was done with candida overgrowth in 2007, when I did my anti-candida diet as the beginning of my path to find out what was going on with my health.
Turns out pregnancy, miscarriage, two surgeries and two rounds of antibiotics within the space of four months tipped the balance.

I started itching in September, one month after the traumas ended. It hasn't stopped. I also had trouble staying awake, breathing and felt anxious more and more.

Determined to make 2011 a better year and the year a pregnancy will stay to term, I started researching my symptoms, and they came up matching, yet again and again, candida overgrowth. Coupled with my recent yeast allergy results, I decided it was time for a kill.



candida diet breakfast - coconut almond crepes with ground beef and veg topper (I like that you can see the steam coming off my tea in this one)

So, no sugars of any kind, fruit, yeast, fermented foods/drinks, gluten (duh), leftovers, shrooms, olives, vinegars, condiments for 3-4 weeks. Basically, I am eating veg, nuts, seeds, eggs, meat and oils. Once a week I have a "treat"...a coconut agave almond macaroon, for example. Some blueberry pancakes with almond butter and a pin head of agave. Some brown rice pasta.

Today I am stepping gingerly over a sad milestone. 2/11/11 was my due date. So, this morning I made myself some crazy savory crepes. I am going for a walk. I might go shopping for a prize. I will probably get myself some flowers.

Here is the savory crepe recipe. Just in time for a Valentine's Day brunch!

coconut almond crepes with rosemary beef and veg

crepes

1/2 c buckwheat or garbanzo flour (or combo)
1/2 c coconut flour
1/2 c almond meal
(you can use 1 1/2 c garbanzo flour instead of a mixture)
1 t baking powder
1/2 t sea salt
sift together.
make a well in center and add:
1 egg
1 1/4 c water
2 T olive oil
stir til the consistency of heavy cream
set aside.

topper
in a large skillet, fry up 1/2 lb of ground beef, 1 sm chopped onion, 3-4 cloves garlic. Add chopped zuke, chopped parsley and fresh rosemary towards end. Season w/ sea salt and black pepper to taste. Set aside.

in that same skillet, make your crepes. use walnut or olive oil. top with beef mixture.

enjoy, and be well~

goatherder's pie

ok, so food intolerances abound: wheat, gluten, cane sugar, bananas...and now, yeast. this means no fortified/enriched food (usually comes from a fermented food source), so goodbye enriched rice dream. no fermented foods or drinks -- goodbye, new gf olives that just came in the mail, and goodbye, wine for another year. have to figure out salad dressings with no vinegar, aboo. goodbye, Bubbies sauerkraut, my favorite condiment. and the one that hurts the most, goodbye, bread machine, or hello, yeast substitute! and we were getting along so well...

no nightshades or citrus or gluten or cane sugar (or evaporated cane juice -- in everything!) was hard, but I was managing. I will just have to learn another way of eating to get healthy. I am feeling up to the task.

here is my goatherder's pie. no wheat, gluten , sugar, yeast, citrus, nightshades. and yet, glorious.

ginger turkey goatherder's pie

[totally great as a veg dish too...just leave out the turkey layer]

2 sweet potatoes
chop and boil til tender. mash up w/ splashes of rice dream, olive oil. season to taste. set aside.

shred, chop and mince:
1 small or 1/2 lg head of cabbage
2 carrots
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
a toe of grated ginger root
sea salt and bl pepp to taste
2 T olive oil
saute. set aside.

1 lb of ground turkey
1 T olive oil
fry it up. set aside.

tahini sauce:
4 T tahini
1 T Bragg's
splash of boiling water
sea salt and bl pepp to taste
whisk til you like the consistency of your sauce. tweak til it's right.

oil a 9 inch sq deep baking dish. layer in first the sauteed cabbage mix, then the turkey, then the tahini sauce, and finally the mashed sweet potatoes. if you're feeling adventuresome, sprinkle on a dash of nutmeg.

bake at 350 for 1/2 an hour ish, til bubbling and turning a little golden on top.

oh yeahrrr.

Baking Madness!

As I am whiling away my day off -- baking, making soup, practicing for an upcoming show and doing yoga, I am anticipating a yucky phone call. The one where I find out the results of my latest food allergy blood test.

Last week yielded some good milestones sought after and achieved, followed by some crashing and burning. So, there's been a bit of a pity party this week, and probably I will have some more bad news delivered today (my DH is back in full force, along with some other symptoms that have been kept at bay -- hoping I haven't developed more sensitivities/allergies, but it seems unlikely, given my state of inflammation). So, let the party continue!

pity party included:

turkey bacon BLAC's (bacon, lettuce, avocado, cheddar -- with sauerkraut, essentially a Reuben!
rice chips (Lundberg farms sea salt variety)
some sips of oogave root beer (g-f agave nectar root beer!)
scookies (see recipe below)
a half glass of Orleans Hill Organic and Sulfite-free Syrah
nightshade free homemade minestrone soup
buckwheat amaranth coconut loaf (see recipe below)

I went off-recipe with the scookies, but I experimented today and came up with this measured out recipe to share:

Scookies
half cookie, half scone. you decide. either way, they're really hottt with hot cocoa or tea.

cut together with a fork or pastry cutter:
1/2 c brown rice flour
1/2 c tapioca starch
1/2 c almond meal
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t sea salt
2 T spectrum shortening
2 T coconut oil, softened (or 4 T butter, Earth Bal, etc)

add:
1 egg, beaten
3-4 T honey
1/2 c pureed pumpkin
1-2 t bourbon vanilla

fold in:
handful of dried cherries, chocolate chips or whatever you're feeling

drop spoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheet
bake at 350 8-10 mins

yields 9-12 scookies

YUM!


now for the loaf:

buckwheat amaranth coconut loaf

for your 2 lb loaf breadmaker...

1 1/2 c almond milk
3 eggs, beaten
2 T yoghurt
3 T honey
2 T app cid vin
1/8 c olive oil
mix and add:
1 c buckwheat flour
1 c brown rice flour
1 c amaranth flour
1/2 c coconut flour
1/2 c tapioca starch
1 t sea salt
1 t xanthan or guar gum
form a well in center and add in 1 T yeast

approx 4 hours later, you will have a yummy loaf to make sandwiches with or serve with soup (I made a homemade nightshade free minestrone soup = yum).

enjoy! happy 2011~

Honey-Lemon Christmas Cookies!

Happy Solstice, everyone!

We like to celebrate the winter solstice with a ritual to re-light the sun, a medieval carol singalong and a yankee swap with close friends. What better snack to have tonight than my childhood Xmas cookie de-glutened and de-cane sugared?!
Here they are, handsome devils:



(yes, these are lambs, squirrels, stars and guitars, or viols!)

Recipe:

Honey-Lemon Christmas Cookies

2/3 c butter
2 eggs
1 1/4 - 1 1/2 c honey
2 t g-f lemon extract
5 1/2 c g-f flour
(I used 4 1/2 c white and brown rice flours, 1/2 c tapioca and 1/2 c almond meal)
1-2 t baking soda
1 t sea salt

cream together butter (I used half spectrum shortening and half butter), eggs (or egg replacer), honey and lemon extract.
add dry ingredients.
refrigerate for several hours (overnight is best).
take out 15 mins before you want to start rolling it out between white rice flour dusted pieces of parchment paper.
preheat the oven to 350, and prepare baking sheets (either lightly greased or use parchment). roll out your dough (not too thin) and cut out your fave shapes. bake for 5 mins (check to make sure they're done and not too brown). cool, then frost:


Tapioca Maple Frosting

food process:

1 c tapioca flour
1/2 c maple syrup (I used half maple half honey)
2 t vanilla
2 T arrowroot (I used cornstarch)

chill slightly, then frost cooled cookies.

These recipes are tried and true; I wish you success making yours!

love,
goat city

Pear-Cranberry Holiday Season Tart!

this is a good one for the holiday party season!

(adapted from Living Without's recipe for French Apple Tart)

start with a pastry crust:
3/4 c brown rice flour
1/4 c sorghum flour
2 T sweet rice flour
1/4 t sea salt
1 T honey
6 T butter, Earth Balance or Spectrum shortening (I use half butter half shortening)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 T apple cider vinegar

mix flours and salt. work the butter etc in w. your fingers to form a coarse meal.
make a well and add honey, egg and vinegar. use a fork to gather into a soft dough.
shape into a flat circle, cover and refrigerate until about 15 mins before you're ready to roll it out.

preheat oven to 350.

roll out your dough between two pieces of lightly floured parchment paper (I floured mine with br rice flour). fit the crust into the tart pan (it will break apart in places, but just piece it together and trim edges).

slice 4-6 organic pears (I like Bosc for their pretty green and red skins, and red pears are nice for the season :).
place pears in overlapping concentric circles on the crust.
brush with 1 T melted butter whisked with 2 t g-f bourbon vanilla, 1-2 T honey and 1 c apricot preserves, heated to a syrupy consistency.
dot with dried cranberries. cover edges with foil and bake, brushing with apricot mixture every 10 mins or so for 30-35 mins or until crust looks golden and pears can easily be pierced with a knife.

enjoy~