5 minute dish: Moroccan Hummus, Olives, & Garden Greens

Because sometimes you want good food fast.

Moroccan Hummus:

15oz cooked garbanzo beans (if using canned, rinse well and drain)
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp sesame tahini
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp Tagine Spices*
1/4 tsp Penzey's Hot Curry Powder**
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/8 tsp sea salt
4 oz water
1 Tbsp honey

Blend all of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
*The tagine spice i used is a combination of ginger, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne, and saffron
**Hot Curry Spice is a combination of turmeric, cayenne, coriander, ginger, cumin, fenugreek, white pepper, cinnamon, fennel, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, and tellicherry black pepper.

Serve hummus topped with toasted sesame seeds and plate with black olives and a quick green salad. Pictured: greens, avocado, tomatoes, lemon juice, living intentions ayurvedic spiced pumpkin seeds (also available in bulk at West Coast Whole Foods Markets), and seed salt available at the san diego little italy's farmer's market (combo of ground seeds, superfoods, nutrition yeast, and mineral salts, ingredients as listed in picture below.  You could easily grind up your own special blend at home.)

Mid Week Cleanse: Dia Dos

Day Two down of my short work week cleanse.  Are any of you cleansing with me??? ...Or let me guess, you're just living vicariously through my short cleansing journey.

I added a couple beets in today since they are such great liver cleansers.  The red one was used in my pressed juice and the golden was used in today's recipe:  Hara Mara Inspired Skinny Dip.

Here's what i've been munching today...

5 am: 1/4 of a cantelope, red rooibos tea

breakfast, 8:30am: 1/2 of a fresh pressed juice (1 bunch celery, 1 head romaine, apple, beet, lemon, stevia), 1/4 of cantelope

mid morning snack, 11:30: remaining half of pressed juice

lunch 1:30pm: remaining 1/2 of the cantelope, one hard boiled egg

mid afternoon snack, 3:30pm:  carrots and cut jicama sticks with hara mara inspired skinny dip made with avocado, carrot, and yellow beet. (see recipe du'jour below)

early evening snack, 5pm: nibbled on strawberries at the farmers market.  YUM!

dinner 7:00: steamed broccoli with a dressing of avocado, tamari, tahini, and stevia sprinkled with pan toasted sesame seeds.

The toughest part for me generally is the night time when i get my sweet tooth on.  The best way i have found to handle it is with either a cup of mint tea, a little bowl of fresh cut fruit, or a smoothie or green drink.  Last night after dinner i sliced a banana and a few strawberries...perfectly cleanse approved sweet.  Another great distraction from your sweet tooth is to get yourself moving.  Consider taking a yoga class to wind down your day or a trek around the hood with the pooch.

Here's your recipe du'jour:  Hara Mara inspired Skinny Dip

Ingredients: 1 carrot, 1 golden beet, 1/2 a large ripe avocado, 1 lemon wedge, 1 clove garlic

Chop the carrot and golden beet.
Steam or boil both until soft
Let veggies cool briefly then add to your blender with 1/2 a large avocado, 1 clove of garlic, squeeze in a lemon wedge, and blend well to puree.  You'll need to use a plunge or spoon to help push the ingredients in the blender.  If you need liquid to get it moving (i didn't) you could add a small amount of water from the pot your boiled/steamed your veggies in,  a teaspoon at a time.

Eat with any veggie crudites: carrots, jicama, cucumber, etc






*pictures from google images.

Side-step The Cookie Pusher & 'Skinny' Dip Into This.

Welcome to samoas (thin mint and tag-a-long) season.  There are cookie pushers around every corner and at the door of every market that seem to always find me at my most vulnerable moments.

Yes Scout, you are cute...and yes, you know how to move cookies...but girl, this year i'm not budging.  I don't care if you are 2 boxes away from making a girl scout world record.  I refuse to let a 3 1/2 foot hussler, that doesn't even know what a 'calorie' is, ruin my best efforts at losing these last 5 lbs.

So, I've signed up for bootcamp.  Talk about out of my work out box.  I do yoga.  I don't take to being yelled at well.  Yet, i happily joined Core Power for 2 weeks of double workouts daily: One crazy 1 hour circuit training class with coaches with whistles at the crack of dawn (cock-a-doodle-doo), and one workout later in the day on my own.  I'm 3 days deep and the body is already feeling fatigued.  I'm so out of my comfort zone....but it's soooo what my body needs.  Plus (go figure) its really quite fun!

Because of my determination to be aggressive with my routine these next 2 weeks, my place looks like a bachelor pad.  In the effort to get back into my skinny jeans (my mantra throughout bootcamp) I've hung images of Victorias Secret models all over the kitchen.  Clearly the boyfriend likes the home improvements i'm making.  Having a skinny bitch on the fridge and in the pantry should make me think twice before forging into the crackers, cookies, cheeses, or whatever lies in this hungry girls war path.

But enough about me.  You must be wondering where your recipe is....

Here is another Hara Mara All Star.  It's a simple dip they'd put on the table for us daily to eat with either baked tortilla chips or jicama sticks, carrots, and cukes.  I've adjusted the recipe a bit to make it a little more of a 'skinny' dip.  Chef Hugo gave me the recipe as follows (he used beet for the sample he demoed with us, as pictured above):

Steam about a cup of any vegetable you would like to use (beet, cauliflower, carrot, sweet potato)
Once they are steamed to the point that they are very soft put them into a high speed blender (make sure they are still hot, this is crucial to getting smooth consistency)
Add the juice of 1/2 to 1 lime
1 clove of garlic
and about 1/2 to 1 cup of avocado oil
add salt and pepper to taste and blend

He mentioned that if you make it with sweet potato to try adding a little nutmeg and orange.

He also said this makes a great vegan sauce to top any dish.  Just simply add a little veggie stock to thin it down.

Wanting to re-create my hara mara dining experience again, I went to buy avocado oil and was blown away at the cost.  It's especially a punch in the stomach considering the amount of oil the recipe uses.  Plus....that much avo oil is just straight fattening (2 tbsps of avocado oil has almost 30 g fat while one whole avocado has that amount.  The recipe calls for 1 cup avo oil.  There are 16 tbsp in a cup, you do the math).  So i turned on my ingenuity engine and bought myself a big ol' ripe (soft) avocado and decided to try to make it without the oil, but using the real fruit instead.  It turned out GREAT!  Whipped and delicious and lower in fat than the hara mara original recipe, it didn't last but a few moments before the boy and I devoured all of it's goodness.  The image i took below was made with a yellow beet rather than red and the avocado rather than the oil, so the color turned out to be a yellow green, however i bet if you used a red beet you'd get a darker pink/red end product.

Sexxy Mexxy: Yoga Retreat Turns Muy Caliente with 'Chili Oil'

Right now picture yourself in a dense green jungle on a steep hillside in a little open air casita with beautiful hiking trails taking you to a quiet beach or colorful mexican village.  No electricity just oil lamps and candles, no cars just your feet or horseback, no phones or internet just your friends, and no need to be anywhere except for where ever you choose to, be it whale watching, zip lining, getting massaged, laying in the sun, or hitting a local tequila bar.   Your only promise to yourself is to arise with the sun and meditate, do yoga in a pallapa over-looking the ocean, and to eat...and eat well....at an open air pavilion for two gourmet vegetarian 3 course meals daily.  Yes please...sign me up right?  This is how i spent the last 7 days of my life.  In complete heaven on earth....Hara Mara Resort in Sayulita Mexico (click here to check out pix).

Many of you reading will know i work at Core Power Yoga.  Yearly they hold a retreat at this amazing resort which is built on spiritual land.  Any trip i've ever gone on pales in comparison to this amazing journey i took with 4 other dear friends, and another 30 new friends that have touched my heart and inspired and opened their minds and hearts to me as well.  What i've brought back for you is not just this little daydream, but 7 amazing recipes that MUST be added to your special box.

Now i took my camera (of course) to document the entire experience (as well as the cooking class i took from Hara Mara's chef, Chef Hugo), but as luck would have it the camera gave out on me after 1/2 a day.  So while i'm waiting for the pix i took on Dee's camera from the cooking class, I'll share the few pix i did manage to take, and the chili oil recipe i learned since i already made it at home and took a few pictures of it.

Sit back and enjoy....your recipe is at the end of this blog.  Roll em!!!!

walking into town

fruit truck

restaurants

bread lady

 

cowboy

heidi and dee in our casita

me, heidi, and dee....chilly at night

our casita

 

our bathroom with outdoor shower

RECIPE!

chef hugo's chili oil

Chili Oil:

1/2 cup of nuts any type (he used 1/2 almonds and 1/2 walnuts)
dried red chilis (take the top off)- he used about 8 med-long ones, i had shorter ones and had to use about 3 times that amount to get the heat...he must have used a hotter type of chili pepper
1/4 of a large white onion chopped coarse
2 large cloves of garlic
2 cups extra virgin olive oil

preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Throw all in an oven safe dish or pan and cook until onions are translucent (about 15 min).  Remove from oven and cool a bit.
Pour everything into a high powered blender and add a pinch of salt and black pepper.  Blend.  Add more salt or pepper to your liking.
Store this on a counter top or cabinet.  Do not store in the fridge.

One More For The Holiday Feast: Easy cRAWnberry Sauce

Happy Thanksgiving all!  I wanted to share a quickie recipe for cranberry sauce that's super delicious, sweetly tart, and perfect to round out the holiday plate.  It's so simple since you don't have to cook it, and therefore it retains all of it's nutritional qualities and is sweetened with natural sources.  Cranberries are notorious for their aide against UTI's, but did you know these babies pack a powerful punch of antioxidants?  They also have anti-inflammatory qualities and can help combat the oxidative stress from cholesterol helping to lower blood pressure.  So when you pile your plate high today drop on a solid serving of the cranberries, and make sure you round it out with as much fresh, raw, seasonal foods that you can find at the table!  Enjoy the good eats and happy holidays!

cRAWnberry Sauce:

1 12 oz bag of cranberries, washed
pitted dates - I used about a dozen pitted dates.  They were a smaller variety, so if you are using big beefy medjools you may need less
1 peeled and segmented tangerine
agave to your liking to sweeten

Put all of the ingredients but the agave in your Food Processor and blend down to a thick sauce.  Taste. Drizzle in agave as it is processing and taste as you go so you don't over sweeten.  I used about 1/8 cup of agave (just a couple tbsp).

Super Bowl Super Foods: Cauliflower Finally Scores & Wins!

I never thought i'd meet a veggie that i didn't like, but to be honest Cauliflower was never a standout to me. I'm sure you can relate. Come on now, don't act like you actually LIKE cauliflower, or for that matter that you get enough of it in your diet. I'm no stranger to showing up late to a party, and all that's ever left at the veggie tray is a stack of stiff white florets and maybe a crooked dwarfed cocktail carrot that sadly resembles a broken thumb. Plus it's the only veggie that is ALWAYS stocked at the market and always sells for a reasonable price. There never seems to be a shortage of cauliflower no matter what the season. Recently, i stumbled upon a recipe to make pizza crust from cauliflower and this intrigued me. While the crust didn't come out as successful as i'd hoped, the flavor was good....so I've been working with this funny white cabbage over the past few weeks trying to perfect the recipe (soon to post). During this process, there were many failed attempts which left me with a pile of this daunting white cruciferous vegetable. Without wanting to waste it, it got me exploring...what else could i do with cauliflower? And so i played, and grated, and mashed, and cooked, and discovered that this is one hell'uva versatile veggie! The best part is that it's SO INCREDIBLY healthy (which probably is why most of us hated it as kids) and it's PACKED...i mean PACKED with fiber. It boasts an incredibly low caloric content (less than 30 calories a cup), and as a cruciferous veggie it's packed with antioxidants and is known as one of our great cancer fighter/preventer superfoods. That's just another reason to fall in love with Cauliflower. I know...you still have doubt...however, i've created a GREAT hummus dip - perfect for upcoming Superbowl Sunday...and a great way to unknowingly sneak cauliflower into someone's diet. Better than basic hummus...it's my "SuperBowl SuperFood" Cilantro hummus dip. It's light and fluffy with less calories per tbsp than standard hummus but still packed with fiber. Tastes great with veggies sticks, pita, even fritos! So while the ladies munch on crudites with the hummus, the guys will be scooping up their fixin' of fiber and nutrients on a fat ol' frito lay chip. Touch Down For Cauliflower! You might even fall in love with it so much that you too will have a new found love and appreciation, and will never leave the market without it again.

"Superbowl Superfood" Cilantro Hummus

3 cups cooked cauliflower (start with about 4 raw)
15 oz can of organic great northern beans rinsed and drained, or 2 cups fresh beans (you are welcome to play with garbanzo or cannellini or whichever beans you prefer for your hummus)
2-3 medium cloves of garlic (i like it stinky!)
juice of one lemon
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of tahini
1 cup fresh cilantro
sea salt to taste

Easy Recipe. Cook the cauli (i steamed mine). Toss all the ingredients into a food processor or blender. Salt to taste (i put in about 5 good cranks). Feel free to try different herbs and flavors (basil, mint and cilantro, roasted red peppers, dill, etc) Store in fridge, but consume within 3 days. Cooked cauli shouldn't really be stored longer than that. Uncooked cauli will hold in the fridge in a plastic bag for about a week.

Do you have any great cauliflower recipes? Post a reply with your fave!

(photo/image from google images)

You Say Tzatziki, I say Tzatzaki: Another pot-A-to, pot-AHH-to scenario

Whatever you want to call it- it's good. You've probably had it before with a gyro, a tabouli plate, or a falafel. This refreshing minted yogurt mixture is great with hummus and pita, along side your spicy tagine (see past blog "Stew On This: Yam, Carrot, and Prune Tagine. A Simple Moroccan Cuisine"), or even just alone. It's simple to make, and tastes even better if you make your own yogurt (see past blog: " First Lesson In Fermentin"). Go for full fat yogurt - i tried to make this with lowfat/fat free - it just doesn't work. The flavor is SEVERELY compromised.
Why else should you make tzatziki? It's chalk full of probiotics: the beneficial healthy gut bacteria that can help your digestion. Some of you may already take it in supplemental form. You can also get it in your diet from cultured/fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, miso, and real sauerkraut. Some known effects of probiotics are:

• Treat diarrhea, especially important to take if you're being treated with antibiotics
• Prevent and treat vaginal yeast infections and urinary tract infections (UTI's)
• Treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Reduce bladder cancer recurrence
• Shorten the duration of intestinal infections
• Prevent and treat inflammation following colon surgery (pouchitis)
• Prevent and treat eczema in children

So without further ado, here is your recipe for Tzatziki Goodness:

16 oz plain (full fat) yogurt
1 small cucumber - seeds removed, chopped
2-3 tbsp fresh chopped mint leaves
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut the cucumber in half and completely remove the seeds (these create to much wetness in the tzatziki). Chop the remaining cucumber up and add to a bowl of plain yogurt. Chop up a few leaves from about 2 or 3 mint sprigs, so you have about 2-3 tbsp of mint. Add to the yogurt. Crank in some black pepper and a little sea salt - stir it up. Refrigerate. Try to make it a few hours before you serve it, as the flavors intensify as it sits.

'I'm Seeing Green' Shrooms

You can do whatever you want with this pesto recipe, but it's damn good stuffed into some baby bella mushrooms. You can even take your leftover pesto and make a yummy salad dressing with simple additions, or toss the remainder over some pasta or even better raw pasta - zucchini noodles. Like all good cooks i rarely measure - so go with your eye and your tastebuds. All recipes are below!

Pesto Recipe:

equal parts fresh basil leaves and spinach leaves (approximately 2 - 3 cups total)
raw pine nuts (approximately 1/3-1/2 cup)
approximately 1/4 cup olive oil (cold pressed extra virgin is best)
1/2 of a lemon, squeezed/juiced
1 clove garlic
sea salt to taste
(food processor or high speed blender needed)

easy as can be: toss in the basil and spinach, pine nuts, garlic, lemon, and a couple cranks of sea salt. Add about 1/2 of the oil, and process. You'll need to stop to scrape the sides down on the food processor, continue to process until smooth, adding the remaining oil as needed.

for the bellas: destem and degill by using the back of a spoon to gently scrape the inside gills away. wipe bellas with a damp cloth to clean. Spray the bellas with olive oil spray (if you have a mister), or rub olive oil on palms and lightly coat bellas. If grilling start scooped side down for just a moment, then flip and stuff, grilling the under side - these cook pretty darn quick. You could also stuff them with the pesto and place in the oven under broil for a few minutes - watch to make sure they don't burn.

Leftover pesto - salad dressing:

Combine 1/2 squeezed lemon, dash of balsamic vinegar, dash of olive oil, with one tablespoon pesto. Stir together, taste. If too thick add lemon, oil, or a dash of vinegar whichever is needed to suit your taste. Toss over a farmers market greens medley and a bouquet of colorful cherry tomatoes sliced in halves.

Raw pasta:

if you have a spiralizer (saldacco, spirooli, joyce chen) crank up a few zuchs and top with the pesto. If you are reading this thinking "what in the world is a spirooli?" you should google it. It's a great tool to turn veggies (like carrots, zucchinis, beets, and radish) into angle hair pasta. If you don't want to spend $30 on a hand cranking kitchen appliance, then use your veggie peeler to make fettucini style noodles. start at the base of zucchini and peel/slice away from you approximately 5 times, turn zuch slightly and slice again 5 times, repeat all the way around your zuch till your left with the seedy center. And there you go - raw pasta!