OH NO! Not another salad please

When we say we are going to eat healthy and change our lifestyle, the first thing we start doing is eating more salad. And then we drown it in a dressing that is full of cream, fat, sugar and salt. You might as well have eaten a brownie. So how do you make healthy salads full of yummy flavor? You experiment with a variety of lettuces, like bibb, endive or radicchio. You add fruits, both fresh and dried. Add different types of beans. Nuts are another great way, as long as you a not allergic. They can be salty, sweet and salty, or spicy.

Your salad dressings can be made from fresh fruit, a good fresh vinegar and a variety of oils. Sure beats that store bought stuff hands down. My husband always makes the dressings at the restaurant from scratch. He can't stand the junk that comes in those huge plastic tubs that have been sitting for God knows how long on a shelf. His Balsamic Berry Vinagrette is to die for. I could bathe in the stuff. He even makes the Spiced Pecans from scratch too. So if the price of his salad is $1.50 more than other restaurants, believe me it is worth it. http://www.rippingtonswaxhaw.com/ Go pay him a visit.



Still on the subject of my 'Dinner with Friends' invitation at my neighbors house, one of their guests was Casey. I have had nice conversations with Casey at church and in the past she has attended my Zumba classes. http://www.zumba.com/ Casey is one of those girls that normally you would love to hate. She is gorgeous and has that athletic body that everyone woman dreams of having. To top it off the girl can sing, and her husband is cute. But she is so nice, that you can't not like her. She makes it impossible. Except for that VT Hokie thing :-) Casey brought a beautiful garden salad. The colors were so bright. She added yellow peppers, grape tomatos and cucumbers. And she topped it off with sliced almonds for crunch. I prefer the almonds than those cubed croutons full of fat. We topped off the salad with a balsamic vinagrette dressing.



But here is on of my other favorite made from scratch dressings - Kiwi Vinagrette. I buy the kiwi's in a small case at Costco when available. My son loves Kiwi fruit. But like all teenagers, going through the trouble of peeling it is just too much hard work, so they start to ripen too much and I don't want my money to go to waste. So I peel them to make a dressing. He is not allowed a bite, but he is faster than me and sneaks away with a few. I don't make more than this recipe calls for because I want it fresh, but you can double the recipe. It will keep about a week.


Here is my favorite recipe version that I hope you enjoy.


4 ripe kiwi fruit, peeled and quartered

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 white wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard. You can adjust if you like more tang. Don't use regular yellow mustard, yuck.

Salt and pepper to taste

Put all the ingredients minus the olive oil in a blender and puree. While the blender is still running, slowly pour a stream of olive oil into the mixture so that it will become emulsified (creamy).

Adjust the seasoning to taste and serve.


Great on spinach salad with strawberries too.

CHEF JODI

When we go to church we see people week after week after week and never really make a true connection. We all say hello and the obligatory “How are you?” When services are over we all walk to our cars and we bid each other a great week and a goodbye. Then we don’t see each other until the next Sunday.

Jodi is a member of the same church I attend. I would see her in the atrium socializing before service or serving in the café. The most I knew about her was that she was from California when we exchanged some chit-chat. And I asked myself why? We have the thing that unites us the most, Jesus Christ. But one thing I have learned in life is that the solution starts with me. By having accepted Lisa’s invitation, I opened the door of opportunity to get to know Jodi some more in a social setting. And I also got to know another girl some more, Casey. I’ll share about Casey in another post.

One of the things I found out I had in common with Jodi is that we both love to cook. Jodi is hiding a chef inside of her. She needs to let her inner Emeril come out and say “BAM!” But she got a wow from us anyway. Jodi brought several things for the Daniel-Fast dinner. She made Oven Roasted Potatoes and Oriental Style Brown Jasmine Rice. And she did share her secret with us. GARLIC INFUSED OLIVE OIL. She had the bottle with her that she purchased at Costco. I think the brand she used is Boyajian Garlic Oil. I saw it online at Sur La Table in South Park for $8.00 and also at World Market for $5.00. According to Jodi a little goes a long way.

I am sharing her recipes here.

Oven Roasted Red Potatoes

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Cut the following ingredients into bite size pieces and put into a bowl.
1 lb small red potatoes
1 small sized yellow onion
1 small bell pepper (your choice of green, red or yellow)

Toss the vegetables with Garlic Olive Oil to coat well.
Sprinkle sea salt and pepper to taste.
Sprinkle any herb that you like, either Rosemary or Oregano. Fresh herbs are even better.

Place on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 mins to 1 hour depending on desired doneness.

Oriental Style Brown Jasmine Rice

2 to 3 cups of cooked Jasmine Brown Rice. Use vegetable stock to cook the rice instead of water. The rice can be made ahead of time and used cold.
½ cup of chopped green onions
Any number of veggies you like:
Japanese Cabbage – shredded
Snow Peas
Sprouts
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Bell Peppers
Use your imagination.

In a wok or a sauté pan if you don’t have a wok, add just enough Garlic Infused Olive Oil to lightly cover the bottom on medium heat. Add the chopped green onions and cook until they are translucent. Add your veggies and stir to infuse with the Garlic oil. Then add the rice and stir until warm.
Serve and enjoy.




Even though the above recipes seem very simple, it is because of their simplicity that the flavors come through and pop in your mouth.

I am so excited that I was able to have dinner with Jodi. I hope we have a chance to have more opportunities, even after the fast is over.

Thank you Jodi for sharing!

DINNER WITH FRIENDS

Last night I got together with some friends to fellowship during our Daniel-Fast and exchange recipes. It was totally amazing. We cooked, laughed, prayed and ate together. When you are put to the test of trying to eat healthy or have restrictions, you have to be creative and adventurous. But most of all invest some time in cooking. I think that our lives have taken on such a pace to obtain a goal that might not even be worth all the stress and sacrifices. Do you sit down to eat dinner with your family? Have you had dinner with friends lately just because? Have you sat on your front steps with a glass of iced tea or lemonade and watch the sunset? Or just take a walk? I am tired of going beyond the speed limit to pack in all the things I have put upon myself in one day. Time for me to slow down. So when my neighbor Lisa invited me to her house for dinner, my initial reaction was I didn’t have the time. There was a pile of laundry waiting for me. But then I realized that I have been complaining about not having social time, yet I wasn’t doing anything about it. And the laundry wasn’t going anywhere, so I gladly accepted.

Now every person invited had to bring a dish that met the criteria of the Daniel-Fast. And boy everyone pulled out all the stops. For a group that should be fasting we enjoyed the food so much and we were stuffed. For me there were 2 dishes that were absolutely wonderful and I will eat them even when the fast is over.

One was Lisa’s Pumpkin Black Bean Soup and the other was Jodi’s Oven Roasted Potatoes. As soon as I get the recipe from Jodi, I will share it here. There were other great dishes. A fresh salad topped with raw slivered almonds. Oriental Style Jasmine Brown Rice and fresh made salsa with Matzo bread chips, plus more.

Lisa’s Pumpkin Soup is a recipe I know you will enjoy and share with others.

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

1 TB extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups water or vegetable broth

3 (15.5-oz) cans black beans, rinsed & drained

1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes

1 (15-oz) can pumpkin

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Heat olive oil in skillet, and add onions. Cook until translucent. Stir in garlic, and cook about one minute. Transfer to a large saucepan. Add water, 1 can black beans, pumpkin, cumin, salt, and pepper. Put tomatoes and the other cans of beans into food processor or blender until smooth. Add to soup mixture, and heat to boiling. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Serve in pretty bowls. Optional but good, top with chopped scallions and salsa.
Recipe Notes
For a chunkier soup, only add 1 can black beans to food processor and keep tomatoes diced.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Thank you LISA!

The Daniel-Fast

Hello, I know I have been gone for a long time. My life took so many unexpected twists and turns. But I have had an incentive to post again.



A few weeks ago the pastor of my church announced that he wanted the whole congregation to join him on a fast. But this is not a fast that totally omits food. It is called the Daniel-Fast. The main part is that you can't eat any kind of meat or seafood, or any animal by-products. And bread has to be completely made of grain and unleavened. So basically you are going vegan with a wonderful Jewish twist. You also have to try to go as organic as possible and very little salt. Why are we doing this? Visit http://www.teamchurch.com/ if you would like the details. We are on day 3.


The one thing I have heard from my friends through the Facebook discussion pages are the limited choices they think they have. When I saw the list of foods that were allowed, I was already recalling recipes in my head. The blessing I have been given is that I have worked in restaurants for 16 years and have learned a thing or two about ingredients. And I also lived outside of the USA where I had more exposure to other kinds of fruits and vegetables not normally part of the American diet. The day before the fast was going to start I went to a new international market in town and found a piece of the garden of Eden. There were things I didn't even know what to do with them. But I will find out soon.


Chinese eggplant is one of my new favorites. I have had Eggplant Parmesan or roasted eggplant with oil olive and balsamic vinegar. But the bigger eggplant was always a bit tough for me, especially the skin. While I was at the store I saw an Asian lady picking some out so I asked her which were the best. She said that the smaller ones were the tastiest. So I picked a few of them to try them out. And WOW! I washed and sliced one eggplant and set them aside. I put a little olive oil in a saute pan. I added some pepper and a little bit of salt. I added a chopped onion and cooked it until translucent, then added a chopped tomato and one finely chopped garlic clove. I also have some fresh oregano from my garden. I added a few leaves. Dried oregano can be used too. Just watch putting too much since it can turn a dish bitter. Once the tomato released all its juice I added the eggplant. I let it simmer until the eggplant had lost its bright creamy color. I served it with a side of Basil and Garlic Polenta. Yummy! Next time I will share with my husband and son.


I want my friends to learn to eat something new. I hope we can get together and go shopping so that our Daniel Fast will be successful. What I am taking away from this is being thankful for God's wonderful bounty. And I am amazed at everything He created that comes from this earth. Also, I am taking care of the body He gave me and trying to rid it of toxins for a couple of weeks. Don't get me wrong. It is not easy. I miss my coffee most of all. But the best part is the cooking. Gathering the family and cooking and laughing and breaking matzos together. Life can't get better than this.