Antioxidant, Anti Inflammatory, Anti-Everything-Bad Smoothie

Well now, this was an interesting idea that turned out really well! Something I'll definitely make again.

Drop these into your blender container:

15 chunks± frozen pineapple

1c± Chobani whole milk plain Greek yogurt

1/2 can Bubbly

1/2 lemon - cut in chunks

1-1/2" fresh ginger - cut up

1-2T honey-fermented garlic

Be sure to blend this well on high since the garlic, ginger and lemon contain a lot of natural fiber. Pour into a big glass or mug and sip on it until it's gone.

This will be followed up later by the slow-steeped Buckwheat Tea I'm making right now in my all purpose, trusty Mr. Coffee. Contrary to its name - buckwheat is gluten and caffeine-free, and makes an excellent, healthy tea.


Be Adventurous - Create some healthy new food and drink options. Your body will thank you! . .Lin

Lemon-Ginger-Pepper-Honey Cleansing 'Tea'

I think a lot about food ideas that are healthy and taste good.

I saw an ad about a ginger drink today that didn't look quite right to me, so I decided to experiment. This one would be great if you're trying to cut down on caffeine or alcohol, or just want a good cleansing drink to keep you on track with healthier lifestyle and food choices. 

4-6 cubes of candied ginger

½-1t ground cinnamon

½t finely ground cayenne + black pepper

1-2T local honey - optional

½-¾c fresh lemon juice

filtered water

Heat several cups of filtered water in a stainless steel pot. Chop the candied ginger and add that to the hot water. Stir and let stand to soften the ginger. Pour this into a blender and blend on high for a minute. Add the rest of the ingredients plus more filtered water - enough to fill a glass pitcher, and blend again. I'm thinking a couple mugs of this each day could be helpful in ridding our bodies of toxins. . .Lin

A 'Green' Purple Cleanse

It's funny how one thing leads to another. . .
A Facebook friend is having a colonoscopy this morning. This got me thinking how great I've felt after each of mine. Great! Due to the cleansing action of that nasty 'prep' process. 

Then one of my favorite Facebook pages, Food Matters, posted a healthy green cleanse to do at the first signs of a virus. These two things, coupled with the fact that on our semi-annual trip to the cities this past Saturday, my daughter steered me down the Asian candy aisle telling me all about her favorites. I protested, "I don't need to get started on THIS stuff. . ." Too late, I already saw some interesting-pretty-shiny packaging that sucked me in. . .

So, obviously, with my personality -leaning toward addictive- I have WAY over-indulged since then. And, since I believe it's never too late for a do-over. . .that can lead to better choices -VOILA- here we are!

Unlike others, I don't make these things in a juicer. I had one once and hated the idea of all that great, fibrous pulp going to waste. You can compost it, or like me, use it in muffins, but one can only eat so many muffins, ya know!?! So, if you have a juicer, go for it. If not, use your blender!

I loosely followed the ingredients for the juice the mom and her son made on the Food Matters video, omitting one or two and adding several of my own.

1-1/2c frozen blueberries
1 big clove raw garlic
1 big fresh cucumber
3 stalks celery
a couple Swiss chard leaves (no stems)
fresh ginger or some lightly 'candied' ginger
1 lime: zest + fruit with the white pithy part removed
12-16oz. cold, fresh water

Juice -or- blend everything well. This was really good! If you're going more for nutrition than cleansing, you could add a little organic local honey and a banana, but I loved it just the way it is. No added sweetness needed. 

This makes 24-30oz. Enough for 2 big servings.
If you plan to down all of this yourself though -disclaimer- I'd stay home alone for a while afterwards. No long car rides, church, business meetings. Just you, alone, close to the bathroom. Because, as someone recently, so delicately phrased it, "it's never just gas" 😉 It can be surprisingly effective. . .quickly. . .Lin

Lemon-Ginger Chicken Noodle Soup

As a point of reference, drop down 3 recipes to see what my big spatchcocked chicken looked like when it was done roasting. 😋

After it cooled, I separated the meat, shown on the plate, and returned all the skin and bones to the roasting pan. Along with all the great browned fat drippings, in the bottom of the pan, I added some chopped celery, carrot and kale. Then I added 1/3c white vinegar and fresh cold, water to fill the pan 2/3 of the way to the top. Dropped in a few bay leaves, then brought it all to a low bubble simmer. Covered it and let it quietly do its thing for 3-4 hours.

I scooped out all the solids, threw those away, then strained the broth several times through successively finer mesh strainers. At the very end, I filtered it all through a big clean dishtowel into a big pot with a tightly fitting lid. This was then chilled outside, overnight, in a snowbank. In the morning I scraped off all the fat. . .and now all 5 quarts of it is ready to use in soup, or just heat a cup and drink it to fight off a chill or virus.

For this soup, I cooked 6oz. thin spaghetti to al dente, drained and rinsed it well in cold water. Then add the following chopped vegetables to a big pot.

2-3T single source EVOO

2c+ celery and tops

4 med. carrots

1 ex. lg. purple shallot

juice and zest of 1 lemon

1" cube of ginger - minced

2 dark kale leaves (remove spine)

1-2t ground poultry seasoning

3T± Better Than Bouillon - chicken

8oz. bite size pieces of roasted chicken

Sauté the prepared vegetables gently for 5-10 minutes, over low-medium heat, while stirring. The object here is to just warm everything up to begin to release flavors, NOT to brown anything.

Measure out 10c of bone broth. Add 2 cups now, cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring a couple times. Add the seasoning and soup base now, once that's stirred, in add the remaining 8 cups of bone broth. Stir, cover and simmer another hour over low heat.

Check the celery and carrots for doneness. Once those are the way you like, basically the soups done regardless of the time it's cooked. Add the chicken and cooked, cold pasta now. Stir and bring everything to a simmer for a couple minutes. . .Soup's Ready!!

My prayer for you today, is that you stay healthy. If you catch something in your travels, rest, eat well, sleep, stay properly hydrated with lemon water and tea. . .Lin

Carrot Fruit Cake-Bread

2 big carrots - finely chopped

1c chopped frozen pineapple 

1 mashed banana

1"cube fresh ginger - minced

1 whole mandarin orange - zest and chop

1/2c coconut sugar

1/2c brown sugar

3 lg. eggs

3/4c light olive oil

3/4c sunflower kernels

- - walnuts or pecans would be better

1/2c plain Greek yogurt

1T white balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350° Chop, zest, mash and combine everything above, in a medium glass bowl. In a larger bowl, whisk together the following dry ingredients:

1T cinnamon

1/2T baking soda

1/2T baking powder

2T ground chia + flax

1t salt

1c corn flour

2-1/2c all purpose flour

Pour the bowl of well combined wet ingredients into the flour bowl. Working quickly with a big silicone spatula, fold and combine these into a heavy batter. Today I transferred this to a buttered and sugared 8"x12"x2" glass baking pan to make a snack-coffee cake. This would have also made wonderful  muffins! Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes. If making muffins, cut the baking time way down, start with 20 minutes then do the toothpick test. Let the cake cool an hour before cutting.

My daughter was here while this was cooling. She suggested a cream cheese drizzle to accentuate the flavors. I didn't have cream cheese, so instead made this butter-cinnamon-vanilla glaze:

3T melted butter

1t Mexican vanilla

1c powdered sugar

1t cinnamon

2T heavy cream

Mix these together until smooth in a small bowl. Pour and spread over the top. 

Have fun with your creative combinations. . .Lin

Goat Meat and Vegetable Curry Stew

2-1/2# smoked goat chops

fresh ground black pepper

3 bay leaves

Put the chops, bay leaves and pepper in a 5 quart pot, and cover with cold fresh water. Bring to a low simmer, cover and cook for 2 hours. Scoop out the meat and let it cool an hour. Chill the cooking liquid. When the meat is still just barely warm, separate it from the bone, outer fat and gristle. 

When well chilled, scrape the fat off the cooking liquid (bone broth) and strain several times through a colander, strainer and finally a piece of thin cloth. You'll use some of this to create the sauce for this stew, the rest can be refrigerated or frozen and used in a future soup.

I ended up with more meat than I expected, 18oz, which I put in a narrow, deep container. Then I added 2-3T white balsamic vinegar, 1/3c EVOO, fresh ground pepper, and several good shakes of Roasted Garlic and Herb Seasoning. Stir gently to coat all the meat, cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight, stirring or shaking gently, once or twice during that time.

Put the well marinated meat into a 4 quart heavy-bottomed pot. Sauté just enough to evaporate any remaining liquid and get the meat browned a bit, using a little of the cooking liquid to keep it from sticking. Then transfer it to another clean container. 

Sauce:

1/2 purple onion

3 lg. cloves garlic

1½" cube fresh ginger

1t alderwood smoked salt

1-2T beef soup base

1-2T smoky cumin

1/2T ground cinnamon

1-2T medium curry powder

14oz. diced tomatoes

Combine the sauce ingredients in a blender jar. Pulse, adding 2c of the well strained bone broth, blending it all until chunky-smooth. 

1 purple onion

2 red mini peppers

3 carrots

3 celery stalks

14oz. diced tomatoes

10 little potatoes*

2T EVOO

Peel the onion, scrub the vegetables, quarter the potatoes and cut the carrots and celery in chunky pieces. Add them to the pot with the EVOO. Sauté and stir a few minutes, until the vegetables are snapping and releasing their scents. Pour in the sauce and simmer 30-45 minutes. Check the flavors and make any adjustments.

Add 1 teaspoon of brown sugar to cut the acidity, if you feel that's needed. Stir in the meat, cover and simmer another 10 minutes. Again, check the flavor and add anything you feel it needs. Serve hot and steamy in nice soup bowls. . .Lin

*Potato Options. . .

...Chop and boil the potatoes separately. Mash them, then serve the stew over mounds of mashed potatoes.

...Pour the stew into a loaf pan, top with mashed potatoes and bake until bubbly, like Shepherd's Pie.

...Eliminate the potatoes completely, if you want, and serve this over cooked linguini pasta, or rice.

Apple Pecan Crumble

1/3c all purpose flour

1/3c coconut sugar

1/2c cane sugar

1T pumpkin pie spice

1T ground chia and flax seed

a good shake of salt

1/2c rolled oats

1c chopped pecans

1 stick of cold or frozen butter

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium glass bowl. Grate in the butter, mixing it well with everything in the bowl. Use a metal pastry blender if needed. Set this aside while you preheat the oven to 350°, butter a 2-3 quart baking dish and prepare the fruit.

2-3/4# apples - I used Envy and a couple Macintosh

2 whole Cutie type Mandarin oranges

2/3c craisins

several slices of candied ginger

1T Mexican vanilla - optional

Wash and peel the apples. If you'd like, you can just rough peel them, to leave a little color and texture. I did that with the Envy apples but not the Macintosh since those skins are like eating a plastic bag 😑 

Chop-slice them into a large bowl, adding the finely chopped oranges. Toss to coat and bring out the juices, this will also keep the apple slices from browning. Add the craisins and finely chopped ginger. Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of spiced turbinado sugar, toss again then pour all the fruit into a buttered 8x11x2" glass pan. Top with the pecan, sugar, crumble and bake for 45-50 minutes.

Serve warm or cold. This is good just as is, or with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. . .Lin

My Version of Shrimp & Vegetable Lo Mein

Cook 12oz. thin spaghetti, vermicelli or Lo Mein noodles, to al dente, rinse to prevent sticking and set aside while you make the sauce, prep your vegetables and thaw 14oz. red Argentinian shrimp

My Just-Created, All-Purpose ASIAN SAUCE:
3T dark, toasted sesame oil
3T mushroom soy sauce
3T sweet chili sauce
1-2T Better Than Bouillon - lobster
~ (vegetable or chicken will also work)
1t fresh ground black pepper
1/8-1/4t cayenne pepper
2-3t cornstarch 
3/4c fresh cold water
1-2t cornstarch

Whisk all these together over medium heat. Bring to a low bubble for just a few minutes until the sauce thickens. Do a taste test and make any changes you'd like, then set this aside until the end. This turned out great. Might be a bit salty or peppery for some, so taste as you go.

VEGETABLES:
Use whatever you have on hand, that would go well in Lo Mein.

Most of what's on my tray today should be recognizable, but in case you don't know, I have 2 large purple shallots and 1 big brown radish in this mix. Radish, when stir-fried, still has a great crunch and adds a peppery bite of heat you can't get from most other vegetables. Also, a giant clove of garlic that I remembered after I took the photo.

In addition to, or in place of, what's shown here, you could use fresh or frozen peas, pea pods, thin sliced green beans, leeks, green onion, broccoli, asparagus. Thin sliced Napa cabbage, bok chop, dinosaur kale, spinach. . .Be creative! It doesn't have to stick to exact traditional rules, more what you and your family love. . .

Slice or chop everything so it'll all be crisp-tender after a quick stir-fry. Start cooking the hardest ingredients first, that need the most time. For this recipe it was a little bit of shallot and garlic and 2T olive oil in a hot pan. In went the celery, carrot, then a few minutes later, mushrooms and zucchini. I let that sizzle for a couple minutes before transferring it to a big pot. When adding all the rest to the now fairly dry pan, I poured in about 2/3c of Oolong tea I made earlier, and, a handful of finely chopped candied ginger, which weighed less than an ounce. Sizzle that until the cabbage and shallots are wilting and a bit translucent. Transfer this to the big pot.

Now add a couple tablespoons of dark toasted sesame oil and the shrimp, that have each been cut in thirds. Stir that around the pan for 3-4 minutes. Into the pot with that, then it's time for the partially cooked Lo Mein noodles. As the noodles begin to sizzle, stir in about half the sauce. Keep it all moving just until each strand is covered. . .and then. . .you guessed it! . .Into the big pot! Gently combine everything and taste to see if more sauce is needed. I took these photos before tasting, having used only half the sauce, but it needed more. I used almost the entire 11oz. that this recipe made.

This turned out so well, especially for a first attempt! Lots of putzy little steps to get things just right, but the end result was worth it. I'll definitely make this again. Well, a similar version I should say. Next time with green onion and cilantro. Not sure that's in authentic Lo Mein, but again, cooking is an art form. While there's a lot of science to the process. . .

The end result is Your Art!

Happy Creating! . .Lin

A Simple Kimchi

1 med.-lg. green cabbage

⅓-½ med. purple cabbage
6 lg. green onions

3 med. carrots

⅓c Himalayan pink salt

Thinly slice the cabbage, onions and carrots into a large bowl.  Salt everything and massage it into the vegetables.  Let stand for 2 hours.  Add 10 cups of water and massage again to be sure all the vegetables are well coated and covered with the salted water.  Keep vegetables submerged with a heavy glass plate.  Put in a cool spot on your countertop or 'fridge for 24 hours.

1½T finely ground red pepper

1½" cube of peeled ginger

6-8 large cloves garlic

¼c bottled fish sauce

2t sugar

Drain the vegetables in a large colander and rinse well.  Let drain while mixing the sauce ingredients.  Finely chop the garlic and ginger then combine vegetables and sauce, mixing well with your hands in the large bowl that was washed and dried.  Fill vented kimchi jars with the mixture and refrigerate.  This is best after being chilled a week or so.  It's fermented, so it will keep a long time in the refrigerator. . .Lin    

Lemon-Ginger Rhubarb Dessert

1c crushed gingersnaps

1¼c lemon shortbread cookies

⅔ stick melted butter

½c sugar

5c rhubarb

2c sugar

1t lemon extract

2T flour

a pinch of salt

½t pumpkin pie spice

3 eggs

½c half and half

Crush the cookies and combine with butter and sugar.  Keep aside a couple tablespoons of this to sprinkle on top before baking.  Press into a 9x9" baking dish.

Combine the rhubarb, and that group of ingredients, in a heavy pot.  Heat until the rhubarb starts juicing and the sugar melts.  As this happens, the flour will begin to thicken it.  When it does, remove from the heat and allow to cool.  Once you're sure the mixture isn't too hot (so as not to curdle it) temper the egg mixture with a little of the warm rhubarb, then stir the beaten eggs and half and half into the rhubarb mixture. 

Once combined, pour this filling into the pan with the crust.  Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes.  Serve with a scoop of really good vanilla ice cream, berry ice cream, lemon sorbet, or fresh vanilla whipped cream 😋 This is not a bar dessert, but one that you scoop out into a bowl.  I wasn't sure how the texture would turn out, but the flavor is oh, so good!!

Normally I don't bake.  For a couple reasons.  It doesn't come naturally to me.  Since I don't understand leavening agents very well, I'm never quite sure which to use to create the desired effect.    So baking, for me is far less certain than cooking.  More science involved.  Cooking is blissful, freeform art!!  It the kitchen I'm far more an Artist than a Scientist.  Many months ago, I bought a container of amazing lemon shortbread cookies.  Immediately my mind began concocting a crust recipe, using them to go with the 5c of rhubarb I got from my little plant last year, that was now in my freezer.  Those cookies never appeared again, but I did find these and decided that since they didn't have quite the flavor I wanted, I'd combine them with Gingersnaps!  It worked!!  The other reason I don't bake a lot.  I have zero willpower!  If I bake something that turns out well, the whole pan could be gone in 24 hours!  And I live alone!!   If I make this again - (which I probably will 😉) - I'll add 1c crushed soda crackers, increase the butter to 1 stick and the sugar to ¾c.  It turned out so well the way it is, but this would have added a bit more crust and made it a little less caramel-y.  I once ran out of graham crackers while making a graham cracker crust.  I ended up using ⅔ the amount of graham crackers needed and filled in the rest with ⅓ of the amount being soda crackers.  I've never gone back to the original way of making graham cracker crusts since then!  It's a great balance with the little bit of neutrality the soda crackers provide, as well as the addition of that little bit of salt.  Try it!  You too may never make graham cracker crusts the same way again!

As always:  Be Bold - Be Creative - And I Wish You Much Time Spent Happily Cooking. . . Lin

Another First-Thing-In-The-Morning Drink

1 lg. juicy lemon

1-2t organic honey

1lg. pinch of cayenne pepper

1med. pinch of ground black pepper

2-3 cubes candied ginger - diced

While bringing some fresh cold water to a boil, assemble ingredients.  Juice the lemons and remove the seeds.  Pour this into a BIG mug, ( * my favorite) along with a couple cut pieces of the lemon shell.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Pour hot water over all, stir and let stand, a couple times.  This drink is full of great healing properties.  The lemon, while topically and naturally acidic, turns ALKALINE in your stomach.  We all need a more alkaline diet.  Disease thrives and grows in acid!

The honey has a trace of B Vitamins necessary for out bodies to digest sugars.  LOCAL, organic is wonderful if you have any sort of inhalant allergies, since the bees are gathering the pollen to make their honey from the very plants you may be allergic to!  The principle incorporates the same science as allergy shots.  Small introductions can often bring about reduced sensitivity to those particular allergens.  Cayenne pepper stimulates your body's circulation, reduces acidity, will detoxify your body and lower cholesterol.  The little sprinkle of black pepper more efficiently activates the healing-restorative powers in the cayenne.

Ginger...ahhh, the ginger!  I love the flavor of it.  Many people laud it for it's anti-nausea, stomach-settling properties.  Personally, since it has to pass through the esophagus to reach the stomach, it doesn't always work well for me, and I often get heartburn from it.  Give it a try though, it works well for most people.  If you don't like it in this drink, chop some up and add it to your next stir fry with a spoonful of crunchy peanut butter and minced garlic for a great Thai Chicken Stir Fry.  Hmmm. . .this may be my idea for 'what's for dinner' tonight!  Here's wishing you a Very Healthy, Cleansing start to your day 😉 . . .Lin

Spicy, Colorful Garlic-Ginger Vegetables

I love, Love, LOVE a good vegetable casserole!  I often seriously think about going Vegan or at least Vegetarian, then I remember free range venison, beef, elk, chicken and even fish, then think, well, maybe that won't work for me.  I did try it years ago, for 8 months and had horrible heartburn the entire time.  Once I started eating meat again, it went away.  Go figure.  So now I try to eat meat that's free range, grass fed, and cruelty free as much as possible.

1 med. red beet - scrubbed

1 med. sweet potato - scrubbed

2 carrots - scrubbed

1 Vidalia onion

5-6 cloves garlic

1-1/2" chunk of ginger - peeled

1/2 sm. head purple cabbage

Spiral shred the beet and sweet potato.  Chop or slice the remaining vegetables.  I baked everything in a covered casserole dish uncombined, as shown, at 225° for 90 minutes, after shaking on some red and black pepper and fresh ground Himalayan pink salt then drizzling with about 2T melted coconut oil.  After baking, stir all to combine.  Add some pine nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds if desired.  Sprinkle with some fresh grated Parmesan cheese and serve. . .Lin  

Lemon Lime Cleansing Drink

This is my variation of an old German recipe that claims it will "cure clogged arteries, fat in the blood, infection and colds."  While it may, or may not, do all that, I think of it more basic terms.  It's a great daily cleansing drink!  The original recipe only used lemon, garlic, ginger and water.  Kale, spinach, celery or cilantro are other good cleansing agents.  In doing a side-by-side comparison of lemons vs. limes I discovered that they're are just packed with nutrients!  Where the lemon scored low, the lime excelled and vise versa, back and forth right down the list!  Now when using them in a lemon or lime recipe, I'll use half of each.

2 lg. lemons

2 lg. limes

1-2" cube of peeled ginger

4 lg. cloves of peeled garlic

a whole bunch of cilantro

1/2 gallon of filtered water

honey-to taste after chilling

Scrub, cube and seed the fruit - interestingly, there wasn't a single seed in any of mine!  Chop the ginger, garlic and thoroughly wash the greens.  Place all in a blender, adding enough water to fill in the air space.  Blend on high a couple minutes before returning the mixture to a 3qt. pan containing the rest of the water.  Heat slowly, while stirring occasionally, to just below the boiling point.  Pour into a large covered container and chill several hours.  Mix, then strain, using a very fine strainer, into a small kettle, add a teaspoon to a tablespoon of raw, organic honey.  Heat and drink.  I would recommend drinking a cup of this first thing in the morning and also an hour before dinner. . .Happy Cleansing. . .Lin