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Showing posts from November, 2012

Black Bean Burgers

These were excellent, easy, will have to be made again, and next time I'll have to measure. When I make such large quantities, my guestimates don't work properly. Suffice it to say, that the key ingredients were quinoa flour, millet flour, flaxseeds, blackbeans freshly out of the crockpot, and then the other ingredients like onions, garlic, herbs and seasonings. The mixing bowl that I made these in was huge, and the bowl was almost full. Wow, I really made a pile of burgers, most of which will go into the freezer for those busy days on the go.   How to make black bean burgers   To make good burgers, texture is necessary, so the black beans were partially mashed to kind of break them up, but so they could peak through for flavor and color. Also, the onions were cut in big enough pieces to also be visible and for that all-important texture. Once the mixture is ready, pat the patties out uniformly by using a large-mouth jar ring. My mom's clever idea. She found that burgers of

Cilantro Pesto

The cilantro was beautiful at the foreign foods mart in Itaewon so I bought 3 large bunches, 2 large bunches of parsley, a massive chunk of ginger and then came home and made killer cilantro pesto. Cilantro Pesto 2 large bunches of cilantro 1 large bunch of parsley 1 large handful of young green onion stems 7-8 cloves garlic 14 cherry tomatoes 1 1/3 cups whole washed almonds 1 1/2 cups olive oil 1/2 cup lemon juice with pulp 1 rounded teaspoon sea salt In the BlendTec put in the cilantro, olive oil and lemon juice and whiz. It's easier to whiz the greens bit by bit so not as much olive oil is needed - seems healthier that way. Add the parsley and whiz, then the young green onions, garlic and sea salt and whiz. Lastly add the whole almonds and tomatoes and whiz just enough to break them up and give texture and bits of separate color to the mix. And wah-lah! Serve, and expect great flavor when especially biting down into a mouthful that has distinct bits of

Concerns of the Typical Raw Food Diet

Several years ago I started to become aware of the raw food diet when someone sent me a link about green smoothies and how they boost energy. A few months after getting that email, I bumped into Victoria Boutenko's book 12 Steps to Raw Food . I was kind of fascinated by eating raw so read a couple more of her books Green for Life and Green Smoothie Revolution . I didn't go raw but I became more aware of how I fixed my food and I did buy a VitaMix so I could make green smoothies sometimes. About three years ago I started getting very interested in the raw food world. Because more and more people are getting sick off of food and environmental toxins, the number of raw food blogs has radically increased, so there's really a lot of recipes available online. In fact, I've found lots of food blogs that touch on raw food and experiment with the raw food diet (like I have been), and many food blogs dedicated to raw food (along with all sorts of promotionals -- which I don

Animal Protein vs. Plant-based Protein

What Is Protein? Protein is a macronutrient that is composed of amino acids, also known as building blocks. There are in total 21 amino acids, and these are broken down into 9 essentials and 12 non-essentials -- the non-essentials, meaning the body (the liver) can synthesize them by itself. The other 9 aminos are essential as the human body cannot make them in any way or cannot make a sufficient quantity. Given that the human body is lacking 9 aminos, humans must make up for that deficiency by making healthy eating choices, which the majority of us are scientifically clueless about making. Basically, there are two types of proteins - plant protein and animal protein. Animal protein contains "higher-quality" proteins, that is, they may contain all of the essential amino acids, but these proteins are not necessarily "better quality" proteins (reasons given below). Plant proteins, except in instances like quinoa and soybean (soy however is highly genetically m

Bittermelon Okinawan Style

 According to my health-conscious Philippina friend, bittermelon is very nutrition, especially for women as it's iron-rich. Well, what female doesn't need bittermelon ... but a word of caution for the unsuspecting, the vegie ... is ... very ... bitter. I actually like it, but I'm not going to eat it like I would a cucumber, although it goes very nicely raw mixed equally with cucumber. In that kind of salad, I grate the bittermelon and cut the cucumber in thin rings. With some cherry tomatoes or a little lemon juice and salt, it's quite the nice salad.   This recipe I bumped into online and just wanted to try it. I prefer not to cook my vegies if I can help it, but hey, an experiment today ["today" being a month ago].   Bittermelon with Egg and Onions   Bittermelon with egg and onions, also called goya chanpuru in Japanese, and it is an Okinawan delicacy. I was telling my Philippina friend about it because she introduced me to this exotic healthy "treat&

Quick Salmon Casserole w/ free-range eggs

Incredibly easy to make with a can of Aldi's wild salmon (ingredients: wild salmon and salt) and three free-range eggs. (BTW, my cousin keeps our house supplied with his free-range eggs. We know the large area they roam around in and what feed he gives them, so we feel somewhat comfortable about eating those eggs. The free-range eggs in the store are a big question, first about their possibly dead-animal parts feed or because yes, the chickens might be able to go outside and roam, but if the chicks were raised inside and learned to fear the outside, then no matter if the door is opened, they will not go out. And laying chickens that have this "freedom" to go out even though they don't, their eggs are called .... free range eggs. Legal SEMANTICS!) Quick Salmon Casserole 1 can wild salmon 3-4 ribs celery, chopped 2 medium onions, one chopped 3-4 eggs garlic cloves or garlic powder fresh dillweed sea salt / Himalayan salt First, open the can of w

Cod, Baked Squash ... and more

This supper was principally baked with the exception of the salad, hidden somewhere beyond the camera. The menu was baked yellow squash, spaghetti squash, vegan burgers and ... yes, baked cod! I hadn't eaten cod in years, so this was a very special treat.   Baked yellow squash with rosemary and thyme and sea salt sprinkled on top. Baking sure beats frying, something I dislike doing, especially individual vegetables baked squash close-up In a hurry, so we whipped some vegan garden burgers out of the freezer and baked them as if they were grillers! the vegan "grillers" close-up cod baked on lemon slices, onion rings with thyme and rosemary sprinkled on top This was a hit with me!!!   [Looking back at my pictures on my 2012 summer made me realize how much I was cooking my food instead of eating 50% or more raw. Also, how much fish and eggs I was including in my meal. Important realization. A clear example of the use and importance of Visual Anthropology!]