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Yum! Stuffed grape leaves! But they're only good before the leaves get tough from sun exposure or before they get " too old", like in July or later. To find the best grape leaves, look under the plants and preferably in the shadows or areas where the sun doesn't reach much. The easiest grape leaves for wrapping are the ones with the longer stems, but that can pose a problem as the longer stemmed ones are often the not so tender ones. To make the stuffed grape leaves, I picked a number of tender leaves, rinsed them well in water and then soaked them for 30 minutes (to further soften them) while I was whipping up the "stuffing". The "stuffing" is quite simple: 1 small onion finely diced 1 medium-large tomato, diced (removing skin is optional) 5-6 garlic cloves, minced 2-3 cup brown rice (takes longer to cook but has richer flavor -  the brown rice cooks faster if allowed to marinate in the other flavors for 30 min or so) ...

Alternatively known as Marinated Pasta Salad : 1 package buckwheat noodles (gluten-free!) 2/3 cup broccoli florets 1/2 cup yellow squash, diced 1/2 small sweet onion, diced several parsley sprigs 2 small roma tomatoes, diced several fresh basil leaves Marinade:  4 T. lemon/lime juice 5 T. olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 t. salt pepper as desired Version 2: Vary the greens used, add herbs to the basic marinade, vary the presentation! Always enjoy!

Over the summer my brother grew over a hundred tomato plants, and of many varieties--romas and san marzano (both meaty and rich and great for sauces), brandywine and black brandywine (new), big boy, cherry and grape tomato varieties, and some volunteers in the compost. Every year he experiments with other tomato varieties, mostly heirlooms, and this year he grew something called a pineapple tomato. It did have the pineapple-yellow glow to it too, and tasted quite good, a bit sweet in fact. So with all the tomatoes we were harvesting, we started drying the huge surplus. I have a 9-shelf excalibur food dehydrator and we kept that baby busy for weeks. Since we had so many tomatoes that were small like the cherries, the grape tomatoes and some tomato that was a bit smaller and just as meaty as the romas, that was what we principally dried. The larger tomatoes we saved for juice, pizza sauces, and homemade chili. Anyway, so the baskets of tomatoes were heaped when we were loading the dehydr...

1 rounded cup gluten-free flour blend (millet, brown rice, quinoa, flax meal) 1/2+ t. baking soda* 1/2+ t. baking powder* 4-5 T. cinnamon 2 t. coriander 1 t. cardamom 1/4 t. nutmeg* 1 1/2 inch segment fresh ginger, grated 1/2 rounded t. Himalayan salt 3 eggs 1 cup coconut oil 2 t. vanilla (preferably alcohol-free) 2/3 cup pecan (or walnut) pieces 1 1/2 cups grated carrot *The starred ingredients I have avoided for a long time because they previously aggravated my candida. Today I successfully tried them out. No, this was a treat and I'm not now introducing these ingredients to my diet regularly, but just wanted a special treat. The same applies for the large amount of grated carrot which has a higher glycemic load than I can typically handle. Hooray! My body accepted the treat and I had no consequences. How wonderful! I'll still be strict with my diet but I do know the strictness if really paying off!  To make, combine dry ingredients and then add the wet, a...

Frying isn't my thing, but occasionally frying on low heat is. These patties were whipped up from a couple of eggs to bind them, a small amount of flour (millet, quinoa and brown rice blended fresh in a high-speed blender, my Blendtec), coconut oil, finely grated zucchini, some grated carrot, fresh greens, lots of finely minced fresh ginger, turmeric, sea salt and black pepper. Then I slowly fried them in coconut oil, which is more heat-stable than other oils. Frying on low heat supposedly keeps the nutrients more in tact and reduces the oil from being transformed in the high heat process into trans fats.  Served on a bed of Romaine lettuce leaves and tomato slices! Simple but a pleasing meal for the eye before the stomach joined in on the fare.  Eat fresh, feel fresh!

It's been yeeeears since I ate banana bread, because of the evil candida, but the other day a friend posted some beautiful flour-free loaves (made with almond "flour") on Facebook and I thought I might be able to have a small treat since I'm now reacting less and less to foods -- hurray! The last 6 months or so I've occasionally eaten a banana, but always at breakfast time and with vegetables to kind of balance the natural sugar. Hmm, so I figured I could manage a little banana bread, esp if I didn't eat too much at one time. My banana bread recipe, although it's not a very candida-friendly recipe with the bananas and "sugary" dates: 3 ripe bananas (no brown spots or too mushy) 1 1/2 t vanilla 1/3 c coconut oil + little water to warm the oil (3 T?) 2 eggs 1/2 c almond flour 1 c (mixture) garbanzo bean flour, quinoa flour, millet flour 3 T flax seed 1/2+ t baking soda 1/2+ t Himalayan salt 2 t cinnamon dash of nutmeg 2/3 c wa...

It's been nearly seven years since I got sick, and wow, during that time I've had so very few sweets. Well, today saw a recipe for some almond butter cookies that sure did look good. Tweaked a few of the ingredients and I think I've found a rare treat to enjoy. And yes, today am trying dates for the first time. Probably I won't have any reaction but I don't want to push it. Slow and steady. But yes, a TREAT! Almond Butter Cookie Bars  (mix wet ingredients in very hot water) 11-12 medjool dates soaked in 2/3 c very hot water 5 T coconut oil 2/3 c almost butter  (add after the above is mixed and blended or mashed smooth) 1 t vanilla 2 T fresh ginger, minced  (mix dry ingredients) 1 c quinoa flour 3 T almond flour 1/2 t baking powder 1 t cinnamon powder a dusting of nutmeg salt to taste Blend all of the ingredients together until the mixture is a cross between a dough and a batter. Mine was a little runny so I decided to make cookie bars instead o...

Cilantro Pesto   1 very large wad of cilantro leaves & stems 1/2 - 2/3 cup olive oil 1/3 - 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (some zest, if desired) 5-7 cloves garlic 1 teaspoon sea salt 2/3 - 1 cup almonds Buckwheat Noodles and Veggies  1 package buckwheat noodles (12 oz?) 2 large tomatoes, sliced somewhat thinly 1 pepper, sliced thinly 1 very large handful fresh spinach, cut into 2-3 inch lengths more salt and lemon juice if desired To make the pesto in a high speed blender, put in the wet ingredients (lemon juice and olive oil) and half of the cilantro leaves. Blend till somewhat smooth before adding the remaining leaves. Blend again, adding in the seasonings and the almonds last. The almonds do not need to be blended into a smooth paste ... some texture adds interest to the food. Serve fresh or chilled. (The pesto will definitely be thicker once it has chilled.) Buckwheat vermicelli with veggies (tomatoes, sweet red pepper, spinach) and cilantro pesto sauce. To make the gluten...

Salad: 1/2 head of red cabbage, finely sliced 1 medium onion, thinly sliced 2 long stalks celery with leaves, sliced 1 carrot, shredded Savory Dressing: 2 large cloves garlic 1 - 1 1/2 inch chunk of fresh ginger 3 T. olive oil 1 lemon peeled and deseeded (retaining the membrane and some rind) 1 t. sesame seed oil* 1/2 cup of water salt to taste Blend the dressing in a high-speed blender. Use less water if a thicker consistency is desired. This has amazing flavor and is so complimentary to the salad slaw and other bitter-leaf salads especially. *Sesame seed oil isn't for the person starting the candida diet. However, this is the special ingredient that gives this dressing its savory kick. I wish I could eat this dressing every day but I am just experimenting with previously forbidden ingredients and adding what I can. Check out the recipe for the complimentary Gluten-free, Yeast-free "Rye" Bread

1 1/3 c. GF flour blend (quinoa, millet, brown rice - I used quinoa and millet) 1 c. flax meal 2/3 t. baking powder* 2/3 t. baking soda* 3/4 t. Himalayan salt 2-3 T. caraway seeds 3-4 T. cocoa/carob powder* 3 eggs 3 T. olive oil 1 lemon, juice and zest few drops of vanilla (optional) 1/2 c. water or as needed *The asterisked ingredients I didn't use in the early years of candida. I am now experimenting with my tolerance of them, in the hopes that I can extend my diet a little bit (muffins and breads) so I can travel more easily. Mix dry ingredients and hollow the dry mix out in a mixing bowl and add in the wet ingredients. Stir the wet ingredients together well and then fold in the flour. Spoon the dough into greased bread pans. I used mini-bread pans and slide into a pre-heated oven at 350F for 25 minutes or so. Check out the link for the complimentary Slaw Salad and Savory Dressing.

3-4 T. coconut oil 5 cloves garlic, sliced 2"-3" piece of fresh ginger, minced 1 large onion, thinly sliced 4 cups mung bean sprouts 1/2 carrot, shredded 1 can lotus seed, bamboo shoots, or water chestnuts (optional) 2 cups fresh kale, in large shreds 1/2 t. sea salt Saute the onion, garlic and ginger on low heat in the coconut oil. Add in the bean sprouts and shredded carrots and lightly sauté. When the bean sprouts and carrots are becoming tender (do not overcook), add in the fresh kale shreds and stir until the kale is a bright green. Serve immediately with brown rice and seaweed laver. I used lotus seeds ... for the first time. While I love bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, I am not keen on lotus seeds. They are very dry and somewhat bland. But cool, I did try them and it's exciting to eat something different :) The seaweed laver is particularly complimentary to brown rice and stir-fry. I eat tons and tons of laver and since being in Korea, the w...

Gluten-free pasta of your choice   Veggies:  2 carrots, sliced 1 large onion, sliced 1 zucchini, angle-sliced 1 yellow squash, angle-sliced 2 scallions, sliced 5-6 cloves garlic, sliced olive oil Primavera Sauce:  3/4 - 1 cup cashews 1 small onion, chopped 2 t. turmeric powder 2-3 cloves garlic handful of basic leaves, if desired salt and pepper to taste  prepare your veggies first, lightly sauté the garlic and shallots in olive oil then add in the remaining veggies, and add water to nearly cover them. cooking at high temps kills enzymes really quickly so simmer, if time permits When the veggies are tender, pour the sauce made in a high-speed blender over the veggies and cook another 10 or so minutes. Sauce will thicken on its own. After the sauce and veggies are ready, mix them into the pasta. I can't eat mushrooms or the marinade, but I made them for others at the table to have a fuller Italian-like meal.  Homemade almond milk and my meal (minus the marinated ...

When making veggie juice with a juice extractor, the fiber of the plants has mostly been removed to expedite assimilation of vitamins and minerals of the straight juice, but there's no reason why the squeezed vegetable fibers, also rich in vitamins and minerals, need to be tossed. The bulky plant fibers can be added to other ingredients to make bread, crackers, crusts, pot pies, and to retain their full vitamin B count [heat kills vitamins B & C], they can remain in their raw state, so even raw foodists can utilize this veggie juice "waste". I especially like making crackers with the juice pulp. Unfortunately, this time I didn't find any zesty sesame leaves in the market because they add a delightful zing to crackers, but the parsley works pretty well for added flavor. And btw, I juiced the cucumbers last to better flush out the juicer but, as I wasn't too sure about the cooked flavor of cucumbers, I refrained from using the cucumber pulp, not that there was m...