Black Fungus, Tamarind And Radish Top Soup

Great soup for the fall. Using radish tops is a great way to NOT waste food...I learned this in Korea. Just be sure stalks are not hollow or white inside. Cut very small and saute for at least 10 minutes.Likewise, you can use turnip tops! This is a great way to use parts many discard. Both are good for making kimchi also!

About 4 cups cut radish tops
1/4 cup black fungus [soaked a few hours]
4 T tamarind
1 cup finely cut zucchini
2 T tumeric
2 T garam masala [watch for my homemade version]
2 onions
4 garlic cloves [or heads would be better!]
1 hot pepper

1. Heat 3 T olive oil or other fat.
2. Put in hot pepper, finely chopped and onions.
3. Almost immediately after, add other greens.
4. What 1/2 done, add zuch
5. Add spices [including sea salt]
6. Add broth or water. Add as much as you want for desired amount.
7. Boil/simmer till veges are done.
8. Enjoy! 

MAKING KIMCHI - Fast, Easy, Healthy Fermented Pickle - Prevent Cancer

Watch to learn how to make fab Kimchi...from the kimchi king...trained in the home of kimchi: Korea. For Parts 2 and 3 click here.

GMO - Genetically Modified Organism - The Secrets

Again we are lied to. Sadly, corporations rule our governments and our world. See here for more.

Summer Is Raw Thyme

Nothing beats a freshly picked salad in the summer...or any time. But many of us can only do it in the summer....if we are fortunate enough to have a little piece of land.

Raw food is full of enzymes - necessary for digestion and health. Sadly, this does not get mentioned in most discussions that don't go beyond the need for protein, vitamins, etc.

The more colours the better! In the pic below you can see orach and nasturtium flowers. Herbs are great too! And if the greens are a little bitter, enjoy. These help stimulate the liver and digestion. That is why in some parts of Italy they eat the salad before the meal. But it's also good after the meal for cleaning the teeth. 

A very simple salad dressing for us lazy folks is just oil and vinegar. The best thing is to experiment, but here's an example. Beware of store bought ones - usually full of sugar [causes cancer], GMO oils, and taste very artificial and are oft overpriced.

Use extra virgin olive oil - all the better if organic. For vinegar, even the cheap white stuff will do. Or you can easily ferment some cider in the fall. You can sprinkle or pour on about a teaspoon or so of vinegar for an individual serving. Top that with about the same olive oil and some salt [non-iodized sea salt - the dark the better - as this indicates trace minerals] and pepper....easy and good for you!.Topping with nasturtium flowers or shiso leaves add a nice zing.

Free Food - But Don't Trust Me - Trust Monsanto And McDonald's

Here is one of the most nutritious foods you can find. It's vitamin A content kills the rest! It fights cancer too. See previous posts for more info and a kimchi recipe.

Get out there while it lasts! Note the white flower - rare for the mustard family of plants.

Steam it and put on some organic [non-GMO] soy sauce and some sesame oil. Yum.

Yummy: GMO's, Cruel Animal Abuse, Climate Change: Bite Me

So you want to be healthy and avoid GMO's etc...then it is easy! Avoid processed food. Avoid fast [read: death] food. Don't be lazy - make it your-self. What? Where's my kitchen?

Kitchens used to be the central place in the home - oft the only heated room! They may be fancier now but what for? Few cook. Few know how to cook lentils!

See other posts for cooking tips....meanwhile, don't believe the lies as the pic shows. And read labels. Or better: buy things without labels - i.e. unprocessed. Or better: grow food yourself - or support a local grower. And if they are not organic, tell them you want organic: healthier for you, the workers and the SOIL.

We need soil. We need water. Pesticides pollute and kill both. So how can they be deemed "safe"? Who is lying and who is getting paid off? Hmmm. Think about it:

Fiddle Head, Leek And Cabbage Soup - Green And Enlivening!

If you're fortunate, you have a garden and grow leeks and fiddleheads. Leeks can overwinter if covered. Fiddleheads can be frozen without any prep.

1. Heat some fat/oil - a few tablespoons [T].
2. Put in the spices. Let them roast a little till they pop. But be careful not to burn them.
3. Add leeks.
4. Add frozen or fresh fiddleheads [if frozen, let them cook 5-10 min. before adding cabbage].
5. Add cabbage and mushrooms.

During the cooking, add water, broth or other liquid to keep things from burning.

If you want to add meat, add it with the spices. I used some stewing lamb - cheap and yummy. This gives the soup a nice flavour. Or you can add broth of your choice after the veges are nearly finished.

The proportions depend on how much you want to make. It's great to make enough for at least a few meals and freeze some for later. The proportions for about 4 single servings:

3 T oil
1-2 T @: cumin, coriander, green whole cardamon, turmeric.
1 T hot peppers finely cut up or as desired; 1 T asafoetida [Indian spice]

2 Leeks
1 C fiddleheads
2 C Cabbage finely chopped
1/2 C mushrooms of choice

4 C broth

Enjoy!

Go Bananas Gluten Free/Sugar Free Loaf

Moist, sweet, nutritious! What more could you ask for? How 'bout gluten free and sugar free...DONE!

Try to use local organic ingredients if possible...and hand ground ingredients make things fresher and have less free radicals that contribute to causing cancer.

Dry:
1 c ground millet
1 c gluten free mix [can buy at stores or use extra cup millet, ground oats etc.]
1/2 c glutinous rice [from Asian store]
1/2 c tapioca powder
spices: 1-2 t @ cinnamon, powdered ginger, nutmeg, cloves, etc.
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda

Wet:
2 eggs or replacement
4 medium bananas
1/4 c butter/other oil
about 1/4 c water


Mix dry together. Mix wet. Then mix all together. Don't over mix. Sprinkle the top with your fav seeds.

You can also add seeds/nuts to dry mix. Raisins help to sweeten more - but it is plenty sweet.

Bake 350 for about 35-45 min. Check with a tooth pick or knife - till they come out clean. Feast!

This Plant Helps Prevent Microbial Infections

Echinacea Angustifolia is the prime plant for helping the body get rid of microbial infections - both bacterial and viral attacks. It is a great plant for attacking bumble bees and other pollinators into the garden - many of which are predatory. It also attracts butterflies! Watch my Youtube channel for live action pollination! See here for more pics.

Mama Gives Birth To Edible Babies!

Well the little "fellas" may look like her babies...but there appears to be some adultery going on here. Who/where is "dad"? The babies may be of the same family but not the same species!

What are they all? Okay, enough guess - the mama is a watermelon and the babies are mouse melons. The mouse melons are cute and taste more like cucumbers. They grow on very fine plants/vines. See other post here and on my facebook for more.

Squash Soup - The Secret Recipe [don't tell anyone]...

Squash is an amazing winter vege! It's sweet, filling and full of vitamin A. You can bake it, steam it, make pies, cookies, muffins with it...or great soup.

The key to any recipe is to experiment. Baking requires some pretty strict guidelines for dry/wet proportions. But most other recipes allow for more flex/play. So here's the general idea for many soups:

1. Bake your squash at 350F for about an hour till soft. Best to cut in half and just lay on cookie sheet.
2. Heat fat or oil in a soup pot and then add onions, leeks and garlic. At least a couple of each or to taste.
3. Cut up a 4cm piece of ginger into small pieces and a fresh hot pepper or dried ones. Cook with the onions.
4. Add some celery - at least 1 large stock or more.
5. If you want an 'Indian' type soup, add 3 T whole cumin, 3 T whole coriander, 3 T tumeric.
6. Scoop out the squash or put the whole thing in the pot if the skin is thin.
7. Break up with a spoon or knife.
8. Add some broth till all is covered.
9. Cook till all soft and blended. Add sea salt and pepper.

A few secret ingredients....ssssshh: after cooked add 2 cups whole milk OR 1 can of coconut milk. Can also add 2 T cinnamon, 1 T nutmeg. Stir. Let sit for a few minutes....and serve it up. Yum!

Here's part of this year's harvest. Hubbard is definitely the sweetest. Buttercup is close behind!

See here for more pics.

The Best Tomato Recipe Ever!

Too many tomatoes from the garden? You wonder "What can I make with all these?" ....

Or you want to know how to have the amazing fresh tomato taste in the winter?

This is fab, easy and freezes very well. It reduces the tomatoes volume so if freezer space is an issue, as it is for me [full of berries]...then this is ideal!

Basically cut the tomatoes about 1/2 cm thick, and fill any baking dish with them. It is best to use the ends on the top as their skins protect the tomatoes under them. Add onions, garlic, hot peppers and lots of fresh basil. If you like these - add lots! It's a very versatile dish. Mix all but put the tomato end on the top.

Lastly, sprinkle with some salt and lots of virgin olive oil.

Bake slowly about 250F. It's best to bake about 2 hours or even more. It's the slow cooking that caramelizes the tomatoes. Experiment and enjoy!

You can eat alone, with pasta, with cheese, with a grain, with a legume.....create!

The name of the above recipe? Confit! See here for more pics.

A Very Healthy Breakfast!

And to think most of this was picked minutes before serving! What a difference it makes!

So the menu:
[all are organic....and most grown by me!]

Collards
Beans [the fat/wide ones..."hunter" variety]
Zuchini
Millet
Eggs [locally traded for]
Some soy sauce/butter....

I steamed all the veges in a medium sauce pan with a cm of water...just till crisp! The egg was put in the same pot to be soft boiled.....

Remember: we need our veges EVERY meal....this meal has lots of protein [eggs, millet/bean mix for a complete protein], vitamins, mineral, fibre....and yumminess!

Yummy Gluten Free And Sugar Free Cookies With Kefir

These are super easy to make! It's all about pre-soaking grains/seeds. Why? To destroy the phytates. These stop mineral absorption. They are also known as "anti-nutrients" for this very reason.

To make these cookies, all you do is pre-soak oats [organic if possible, and not quick oats], along with  your fav seeds. I often use pumpkin as they are full of zinc - a good thing for males - help prevent prostate issues.

I don't measure, just keep mix fairly moist. You can also mix in some dried fruit. Let soak overnight. The next day, just spread onto a cookie sheet and cook till brown. They take quite a while - even 30 minutes at 350F due to the high liquid content. I make one big one in the toaster oven.

You could use water or yogurt as a substitute for the kefir.

Sooo Cute And Delicious Mouse Melons...

These little guys are the cutest thing I have ever grown! These South American mini cucumber-like fruits [biologically speaking] are amusing! Also known as "Mexican gherkins, the fruit of Melothria scabra looks like watermelons shrunk for a dollhouse tea party" according to Jeff Spurrier.

Mouse Melons grow as a vine...a very fine one that looks like nothing will ever "come of them". But surely they bear fruit even among other plants they are covering - such as my bean plants. While picking beans in the near dark I grabbed one of them - joyously, of course.

The melons are pictured here with freshly picked beans to which they were covering:

More pics...