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15 Mar Simple Sunday Supper…

I love a lazy Sunday: morning yoga, straightening up the house, running a few errands and plenty of time to play in the kitchen. Sometimes it’s an entirely new recipe to try, sometimes it’s cleaning out the refrigerator and sometimes it’s finally getting around to cooking that thing I’ve been craving all week but haven’t had time to make.

This Sunday wasn’t fancy, just fresh and flavorful. Instead of breaking this up into a separate posts, I’m snuggling all four recipes into this one post, just like they fit into the bowl above (meals in a bowl = my favorite).

Serves two for a hearty dinner, plus leftovers for a lunch the next day. Goes well with curling up on the couch and being cozy.

Kicky Southern Greens

4 C mixed dark leafy greens (Trader Joe’s has a Southern Blend with collards, spinach, turnip greens, etc., which is what I used here)
red chili pepper flakes, to taste
sea salt, to taste
1/2 lemon
olive oil

1. Prep greens by slicing into bite-size pieces or ribbons (wash first if you’re not using pre-washed greens).

2. Heat a large pan over medium high, adding a turn of olive oil when pan is hot. When oil is warm and can easily be swirled around to coat bottom of pan, add greens.

3. Saute until greens start to wilt and brighten in color, turn heat down a little if they start to burn. After ~5 mins, add a splash or two of water from your tea kettle, season with a few (or 5…) shakes of red chili pepper flakes and cover to braise the greens. (You could go straight to braising, but I like the extra flavor the the olive oil gives it.) Check every minute or so to make sure the water hasn’t evaporated, leaving the greens to burn.

4. When greens are a deep green color and tender, season with salt and juice half of a lemon over the top. Turn off heat and toss to coat with the lemon juice. (A splash of lemon juice or vinegar – e.g. apple cider vinegar – can take the edge off of the more bitter dark leafy greens.)

The lemon juice brightens the dish up and the red chili flakes give it little kick. Thus, Kicky Southern Greens. Onward….

Simple Veggie Saute

1 small sweet potato, cut into bite-size pieces
2 medium zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces
2 C sliced mushrooms
1 orange or red bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
sea salt, to taste
olive oil

1. Second verse, same as the first: Heat that same large pan over medium high again, adding a turn of olive oil when pan is hot. When oil is warm and can easily be swirled around to coat bottom of pan, add veggies, except bell pepper. If using sweet potatoes, add those first, give them a couple minutes head start before adding the zucchini and mushrooms. Season with sea salt. If the veggies are taking longer than you want to cook, add a splash of water and cover for a few minutes (just a couple). Any excess water should evaporate once you remove the lid and finish the saute.

2. When veggies are tender to your liking, taste test for seasoning – adjust with more salt as necessary – add bell pepper, turn off heat and cover for just a minute. I left the peppers raw to give the mix a contrasting texture and a brighter sweetness than the cooked sweet potatoes. Adding them to the hot mess and covering for a minute takes the cold edge off the peppers’ rawness. I liked it.

You can use any veggies, really. This is what I had on hand. But I really liked the addition of the mostly raw orange bell pepper. Also, I kept the greens and vegetables separate for this meal, since it wasn’t just for me and I wanted to offer bowl-loading options, but you could easily toss the greens back into the veggies just before they’re done, then add the bell pepper. Pretty.

Savory Black Beans and Coconut Rice

1 can organic, whole black beans
1/2 can organic diced tomatoes
garlic powder
cumin
2 C cooked brown rice
1 T coconut oil, to taste
sea salt, to taste

For the black beans…

1. Drain and rinse black beans.

2. Combine beans and tomatoes (with whatever juices fall out of the can) in a small pot over medium heat.

3. Season with garlic powder, cumin (I added several hearty shakes of each) and a little sea salt to taste. Let beans simmer for a few minutes to heat through and thicken with the tomatoes. If not enough juice comes out with the tomatoes, add a small splash of water (boy, this kettle’s getting a workout) to keep beans from burning, or turn down the heat a little.

For the coconut rice…

This is a great way to use up left-over brown rice. However, if you don’t make big batches of brown rice to eat throughout a week, then, clearly, cooking the rice should be the first step in this meal.

1. Heat a shallow sauce pan over medium (the lower side of medium) – I prefer a wider sauce pan so that more of the rice can hit the bottom of the pan and heat through more evening, vs. a smaller but deeper pot that will keep the rice in a taller heap.

2. When pan is hot, add 1T coconut oil.

3. When oil is about half-way melted, add rice to pot and stir well to coat with coconut oil.

4. Cook until rice is heated through. Season with sea salt and add more coconut oil to taste.

If you’re cooking the rice fresh, either in a rice cooker or in a pot on the stove, add the coconut oil at the end once the rice has rested a few minutes – just add and stir to melt the oil and thoroughly incorporate.

Voila! Simple Sunday supper ready to be served up.

28 Feb Anatomy of a Monster…

Something weird happens to me in late winter and continues into spring. When I’m cold and just want to bundle up in thick sweaters and eat pots full of stews and soups, I also start craving – I mean craaaaaving - green smoothies. They’re cold and raw – not very winter-friendly qualities – and I want them more than anything else in the world for breakfast.

Let’s be clear, I’m talking about green smoothies. Not your typical yogurt and fruit milkshake from Jamba Juice. Also known as Green Monsters, these babies are loaded with dark leafy greens. Yes, that’s right: kale, spinach, chard, wheat grass, even seaweed. Why in the world would someone do that? Well, I’m glad you asked!

They’re deeelicious!
They’re packed with vitamins, minerals aaaaaaand… chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is an antioxidant, has anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties, repairs tissue damage and neutralizes free radicals, helps in delivery of oxygen in the blood and helps our cells assimilate important minerals.
Depending on what you add in, they’re also a good source of protein, healthy fats and anti-inflammatory and blood sugar stabilizing supplements.
From my personal experience, and what I hear from other folks who rave about, they’ll make your skin glow, your immune system hum and give your energy a boost.
For most people they’re super easy to digest. With everything blended up, digestive juices in your stomach can more efficiently break down nutrients for assimilation. This also makes them a great pre or post-workout meal.
They’re easy if you’re in a hurry, on the go, living in the fast lane – in other words if you don’t have a lot of time to cook breakfasts or prepare snacks, they’re fast to make and portable.

When it comes to introducing new, healthier foods, I don’t employ a lot of “tough love,” but… for everyone who is “eww”ing at the green goodness pictured above, I only have one thing to say: get over it. Yes, it’s green (so is a Shamrock Shake). You can do a million things to make it taste amazing and/or not like greens at all. So, don’t be scared off by the beautiful, brilliant color of healing chlorophyll. Stop whining, hitch up your big-boy or big-girl pants, grab your blender and prepare to feel great!

Okay, now that thaaaat’s out of the way, let’s get to brass tacks!

Green smoothies have a very simple formula, portions to be adjusted according to taste:

greens (fresh, frozen or powdered)
supplements, as desired (e.g. herbs, spices, raw cacao powder, amino acid powder, etc.)
a touch of protein (nuts/nut butters, peanut flour, seeds or protein powder, e.g. hemp, whey, egg, soy, etc.)
fruit (provides great vitamins and a sweet contrast to the green goodness) or other vegetables (canned pumpkin or butternut squash are popular)
liquid (water, fruit or vegetable juice, or soy, almond or coconut milk work well, too – don’t be afraid to experiment to make things more interesting)

The first important trick I’ve learned is that layering helps. I usually follow the order of the bullets above, which helps minimize powder puffs all over the blender.

The second important trick is to blend, blend, blend.

At first, I was shy – it’s just so loud, all that grinding and whirling – and would stop blending too soon. But I got over it. Now, I sometimes stop it after 7-10 seconds to scrape down the sides if any powder or large bits of fruit or greens are sticking out of reach of the swirling mass below. But then I let ‘er rip again and keep going until it’s smoooooooooooth. You don’t need a Vitamix, just some patience.

There are approximately 1 trillion permutations of green smoothies (recipes here). It’s totally up to you and your creativity. This is the combo I’ve been rocking for the past few weeks:

1 C frozen spinach
handful chopped apple (probably ~ 1/2 medium apple)
1 small clementine (“cutie”)
1 large spoonful (1 1/2-2 T) peanut butter
~1T chia seeds (good protein, fiber, Omega-3 source)
~1 t cinnamon (good for blood sugar stabilization)
~1/2-1 t turmeric (anti-inflammatory)
small coin of fresh ginger (good for digestion)
1- 1 1/2 C water

This makes about 16oz, enough for me to fill an empty almond butter jar – which makes for easy transport. It’s also enough to fill me up for a lighter breakfast or a pre-(long)workout meal.

When I want to shake things up, I’ll make my smoothie on the thicker side (less liquid), toss on a handful of chopped walnuts and/or cacao nibs, and eat with a spoon.

Once you get going, you can experiment in all kinds of directions – feeling nostalgic for fall, how about a pumpkin pie green monster? – until you find the basics and combos that you love (e.g. bananas instead of apples, almond butter instead of protein powder, a dash of nutmeg to give it an extra kick, etc.). And then, heaven is only a slurp away.

Already a monster lover? What’s your favorite recipe?

18 Jan Cold Killer…

This is how I know that deep down I’m an optimist at heart: when I meet someone at a party who has lost his voice from a cold he caught from his 7-month-old son, I don’t immediately think, “Danger! Danger! Move away from the potentially contagious person.” Nope, I think, “Bummer… but cute hat… gosh, I wish I could understand what he’s saying….” So, it’s my own fault that last weekend, after meeting this person, I woke up two days later with a screaming sore throat, stuffy nose and no energy, a.k.a. a cold. Not in the mood to get sick, I looked around my kitchen and tossed together something that I thought would be better than Nyquil: Cold-Killer Beet Greens.

Dark leafy greens are packed with vitamins and minerals crucial to a strong immune system. Raw garlic is credited with antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, plus it’s a good source of vitamin C and B6, as well as a host of minerals. Olive oil, of course, is a healthier fat and good source of omega 3 fatty acids. And, that’s basically the magic potion. One dinner of this delightful dish halted the cold’s progress; after two dinners of this, cold was successfully beat back (beet back?) and victory was mine!

Obligatory disclaimer: Obviously, I can’t guarantee this will cure all ills, I just know that this infusion of nutritional power helped me. Staying healthy during cold and flu season means staying hydrated and moving your body to flush out toxins and pathogens, as well as taking advantage of the season’s nutrient-dense bounty (dark leafies, vibrant orange winter squashes, citrus, etc) to keep your nutrient stores stocked and ready to protect, fight and heal. So… sick or not, these garlicky greens are a good idea. Plus, they’re really tasty.

Cold-Killer Beet Greens

1 bunch beet greens
olive oil
1-3 medium cloves garlic, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
red chili flakes, optional
Bragg’s amino acid or tamari, optional

1. Clean beet greens thoroughly (they’re usually pretty dirty) by cutting off stems and soaking leaves in a large bowl of water.
2. Lift out of water (pouring into a colander means the dirt gets dumped back on the greens), pat dry and chop (I prefer making a stack, running my knife vertically across the stack to make ribbons and then giving it one or two horizontal chops).
3. Heat a large pan, medium-high. Make sure pan is hot before adding up to 1 T of olive oil. Swirl pan so oil coats it evenly.
4. Let oil heat for several seconds before adding the greens. They should sizzle when they hit.
5. Give greens a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper or red chili flakes, if you’re so inclined. Cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon or toss with tongs to make sure greens are cooking evenly.
6. Meanwhile peel garlic. The amount of garlic is really up to you – how much raw spice you want and who you’re talking to or kissing afterward.
7. When greens have wilted and deepened in color, turn off heat and, using a garlic press preferably, add garlic. Stir to incorporate.
8. Serve as is or add a dash or two of Bragg’s or tamari. I love this with or without the Bragg’s.

(Sorry, the picture came out a little steamy and dull, which I’m blaming on night-time lighting. They’re really quite a beautiful, vibrant green.) One bunch of beet greens is just enough for me… so adjust as necessary depending on how many cold fighters you’re feeding. I like eating these topped with a poached egg, with a scoop of quinoa or some roasted squash.