Indian spices Carrot Top "Saag"

I took my first vacation this year visiting my sis-wonderful time to catch up, soak in the hot springs water, bike ride, yoga and plow through The Memory Keeper's Daughter (great read, changes between characters like Jodi Picoult or George Martin. Seeing the ripple effect of one choice made). We happened to be at the resort during guest chef weekend so we paid and had the luxury of not needing to cook a majority of our meals. Throw the dairy ban out the window for the magical spicy chai, cheese with veggies and cream atop of the strawberry rhubarb and flourless chocolate cake, but it was worth it! Certainly got some fun ideas: potato chips on top of fish and ginger-lemonade as a natural quencher.

Getting back into dairy-free cooking once back at home, but still carrying over lingering affects of eating a little more slowly. Savoring each bite. Helps me realize when I'm full too. In the spirit of Wilbur Hot Spring's waste not (eco-friendly composting, cooking in season, solar powered grid) and in the spirit of trying new things (soaking sans bathing suit, getting a massage while lying on my side), I implore you not to toss your carrot tops next time (sure composting is nice, but maybe you don't have time to go out to the store to get more veggies).

I've mentioned it before that it's been hard to find something tasty to do with carrot tops-pesto is one thing I've repeated, but a girl like me isn't happy without variety in her diet. I read about making a tea but that won't use up much plus I'm not a big fan of the flavor of carrot top leaves. I chopped it up and added it as an herb to a lentil salad (was alright, nothing to blog about). This week I finally found something worth puffing up my feathers about! Using it in place of spinach (or other leafy greens) for an Indian inspired spicy vegetarian dish was an experiment gone good. I followed a Saag (spinach) recipe from Holy Cow! with a few tweaks.

You'll need for two servings:
1 bunches of carrot tops (about 3 cups with thick stems removed, chopped roughly and boiled in about 1/4 cup of water until tender ~3 minutes)
1/2 cup chopped onion stem (or onion bulb)
.5 tsp cumin powder
.5 tsp coriander seed powder
.25 tsp turmeric (optional)
.25 tsp chili powder or red chili flakes
1 TBSP tomato paste (recipe could be 1/2 14-oz can of diced tomatoes or 1 tomatoes, diced)
.5 tbsp ginger, grated
.5 tbsp canola or other vegetable oil
.5 tbsp cornflour whisked with 1/4 cup of hemp milk (or other non-dairy milk)
Salt to taste

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium.

2. Add the onion and cook till browned. While waiting mix all dry spices together in a small dish. Mix the corn flour and milk in a separatedish.

3. Add the dry spices to the onion and let cook 30 seconds to release the flavor.

4. Add the wilted carrot tops, tomato paste, ginger and pepper flakes. Cook about 10 minutes on a low simmer.

5. Add the corn flour and water mixture to thicken the dish.

I ate mine as a side to roasted celery and "nacho cheese" soup. And also cold with canned salmon flakes as a snack. 


What do you like to do to slow it down?

Guest Chef VEGETARIAN Recipe: "Make-something-fast-because- I -didn't-plan-lunch dish"

I miss my family already from Christmas, despite weekly phone calls, texts or emails. I have all these things I'd like to do when they visit next.

-Indian food @ Annapurna (dosas!)
-Yoga @ the studio or on the beach
-Check out the San Diego Public Market (not yet done this but Vietca has)
-Thrift stores with in Poway
-Foot reflexology @ the newly remodeled Asian Twins massage rooms. Call ahead is recommended.
-See another play/musical
-Make tamales
-See if we can find Steam Powered Giraffe playing ("robotic" trio wearing steampunk, if you've $20, it would be well spent next weekend )

My sister shared this delightfully healthy and filling meal in a Facebook message with me a couple weeks ago.  If she can't be here in the kitchen with me, then her spirit and humor will have to do. Her original words and recipe:

 "Make-something-fast-because- I -didn't-plan-lunch dish"

-Some sort of grain(I used harvest blend from Trader Joe's. It has Israeli cous-cous, red quinoa, baby chickpeas, rosemary orzo. It has a nice texture and crunch in the quinoa and baby chickpeas!)
- Rainbow chard
-Leeks
-Olive oil
-Red wine vinegar
-crumbled soft cheese(I used goat, but feta or blue could work)
-Nutritional yeast flakes
-ground flax seed
1) cook up your grains. rinse until cool.
2) Cook leeks in olive oil until browned, add chard and stir so it won't wilt, but enough that it's cooked Add a splash of vinegar. Take off heat.
3)When ingredients are cool, mix them together. Add cheese, nutritional yeast, and flax. I also added small freshly ground pepper on top. Taste the rainbow....chard. Served with bread of choice and a nice spread! (Olive bread from a local bakery in Kelseyville with eggplant)

Sara's take: I'm cool without measuring for some recipes. I figured some readers may not be ready to take that leap yet, so now I will let you know how mine made about 4-6 servings.

All my ingredients prepped:  cooked the beans from dried & the barley and rinsed/cut beet greens the night before. So maybe my version isn't an "oops forgot to make lunch"...but I have seen instant microwavable rice courtesy of my grandma. You can short cut with things like that and canned beans of course or use leftover cooked grains from another meal.

Big spoonful of love. The nutritional yeast and vinegar provides enough seasoning so I don't really care that there's no cheese-y goodness. If I don't dwell on it too much. Wah, gooey grilled cheese and pizza, I miss you. Daiya isn't the same.

A-NOM-NOM-NOM

-1 3/4 cup of cooked grain (Too bad the TJ mix has cous cous and orzo that aren't wheat free...I used pearl barley which is wheat-free but not gluten-free, cooked with 2x water to grain ratio for 20 minutes, had to add a little additional water)
-6 cups beet greens and stems instead of chard (rinsed 3 times in a big bowl to remove dirt, separated greens and stems)
-1/2 cup chopped onion (since I didn't have leeks)
-2/3 tbsp of olive oil
-1 tbsp red wine vinegar and/or rice vinegar
-1.5 cups of kidney beans for protein instead of cheese/TJ mix's chickpeas
-1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes
-2 tbsp ground flax seed (Costco had a huge bag that doesn't require refrigeration!)


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With feeling crabby (can't attribute it all to work stress) and skin going downhill, it's time to re-energize the exercising and diet. Farewell for awhile refined sugar.  Hello, butt-kicking circuit work-outs and testing out more protein powder based-snacks. And hello (sigh) macronutrient tracking.

Practicing for Marconutrient tracking with Kathleen Tesori work-outs: 

6 servings-serving size 132 g (need to see how accurate this Calorie Counter is, I just divided my tupperware into 6 portions)

290 calories: 18.1 g protein; 50.8 g carbs; 5.3 g fat

I like Calorie Counter because it tells you the pros and cons of recipes you make...this one is:

• Very low in saturated fat
• No cholesterol
• Low in sodium
• Low in sugar
• Very high in dietary fiber
• High in iron
• High in phosphorus
• High in potassium
• High in riboflavin
• High in thiamin
• High in vitamin A

With no cons...good job & thanks SIS-STAR! 

Do you have leftover beans because you used 2 cans or just overdid it with dried beans like me? I used my  do ever-new-favorite tamale recipe but you could do a half portion (12 squares) of No Meat Athlete's vegan bean brownie (don't knock it till you try it-really rich and the instant coffee is a must! Has the extra boost of protein. Have not tested, but am sure the low GI coconut sugar I use could work instead)


What recipe have you received recently and made? What's your favorite place to take out of town guests?

Simple light eats: Leafy greens dill-salad and curried greens

Deep in the Leafy Green Jungle, it's been weeks that I've been lost here. I have been hacking through spinach, kale, cabbage, chard, beet tops, turnip tops doing my tried and true concoctions (1)  Quick and flavorful steamed with fresh lemon juice and sesame seeds, inspired by Reegan's post-yoga workshop dinner last year (2) the garlic/greens tamales. I have not yet resorted to juicing. I am beginning to feel inspired again this week and made a couple easy weekday-friendly dishes (sorry vegetarian friends...I didn't get to test a veg version of these. Would love to know if you do!)

Simple Spinach & Dill Recharge Salad-mine own combo; refreshing after a work out and clean-tasting

Pre-Mixing: Tonight I added roasted turnips, spanish olives & radish sprouts ( last two not pictured)

For a single serving: 2 cups raw, rinsed Spinach or try steaming it if you prefer + (mixed cooked chicken this was 3.5 oz dry weight + 2 tbsp pine nut herb dressing*) + if you crave carbs or just need a bit more substance, I found 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice or roasted red potatoes tossed in is satisfying. The turnips tonight were ok. I think they are not my favorite veggie. Thinking a white bean or chickpea would be a nice non-meat substitute that lets the dill shine, but alas, I have none in the pantry and lots of kidney beans instead.

*Pine nut dressing: 1/3 to 1/2 cup pinenuts, two squeezes fresh lemon and 2-3 sprigs fresh dill in a blender or food processor. Enough water to blend into a mayo-like spread (start with a tablespoon). Pine nuts blend easily enough without soaking in liquid. Some other nuts suggest soaking for at least an hour or two. This made enough for 6 TBSP of dressing.

Danny Boome's Spiced Potatoes & Spinach-from Food Network; slightly modified (sans potatoes and dairy)

The ever-versatile taco.

1/2 tablespoon butter canola oil (since curry has enough flavor and doing this on high heat, don't need to "waste" expensive olive oil)

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon curry powder
4 cups baby spinach Leafy green of choice, I used beet leaves and stems. (helpful note: rinse leafies submerged and multiple times, I was lazy and got some grit.)
1 large tomato, diced 1 overflowing- tablespoon of tomato paste

Heat the oil in a wok over med-high heat a few minutes

1. Add the onion and stems to cook a few minutes first. Add curry powder for last minute.

2. Add tomato paste and about 1/4 cup water, stirring to incorporate.

3. Stir in the leaves and cook until the leaves wilt and the water evaporates. 

I left out the potatoes and ate mine with sauteed scallops (rinse scallops in water, then pat dry before cooking. The large ones just about 3 minutes on each side over medium heat should do it, don't want them to be tough and chewy) and corn tortillas.

It looks like the weekend will be "cold", so me thinks I will fire up the oven. I'm feeling an Indian food vibe. My sister just sent me a recipe this week too that uses chard. Am sure I can make it through the wilderness with these beautiful ideas leading me.

Have you entered any cooking or baking competitions before? What happened?

Testing the Vegan Tamales Dough-and using leftover rice!

Previously, I listed tamales as a possible to use root tops in place of spinach. And last year I tested a vegetarian (uses butter) tamale recipe for black eyed peas.  Well, I got around to testing the vegan version this weekend as part of my detox. It was a success and no heavy feeling stomach from dairy!

In general was fearful of making tamales for the longest time until I went to the San Diego Fair a few years ago and watched a cooking demo. I had heard that people would get the whole family together at Christmas time doing an all day assembly line gave me the impression of it being labor intensive. But I think families make tamales for the season and freeze them or give them away. It also seems like a big social event for them.

I tend to make in batches of a dozen or two so I can make them solo and just spend an afternoon doing it. However, I could see myself having a tamale making party with friends and family. Perhaps a birthday gathering idea for 2013! Love that tamales are versatile, like pizzas, sushi, burritos...you can try putting whatever you have on hand, if you don't care about being traditional.

 The recipe I came upon also suggested a sweet filling of pumpkin/squash and rice with cinnamon. I had ingredients for both versions, so why not test them at the same time if I'm already messing up the kitchen (I decided if I could wish for anything for the kitchen, I want a robot that washes hand-wash dishes for me...I don't mind doing cooking, but time spent with soap and water tempts me to eat out). The big  plus of the sweet variation is I found another use for leftover rice besides fried rice or rice pudding (not sure if a vegan version would be successful-can't use egg replacer as it contains soy).

The recipe from Squiddoo.

Supposed to yield 4 dozen, I guess I put a lot of dough on mine or I like to cover the filling up a little more, it looks like my batch is only going to make 20...

For the dough, mix together

• 4 cups masa harina
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the sweet filling mix together

• 1 cup cooked/mashed squash, pumpkin or sweet potato
• 1 cup rice (I used a defrosted batch)
• cinnamon or pumpkin pie spices to taste
• 2 tbsp maple syrup

For savory filling-Root tops OR kidney beans

• radish and turnip greens from about 12 roots)-rinsed well, chopped and steamed or sauteed with garlic (can use garlic powder if no fresh)-cooked down it looked like about 1-1.5 cups.
• garlic minced or garlic powder to taste

• Kidney bean version-soaked 1 cup of dried beans overnight and simmered on medium 35 minutes, then mash slightly
•  Add a salsa or taco sauce for flavor. I did La Victoria Green taco sauce.

Mix all dough ingredients in a medium bowl. Since I used homemade veggie stock, I added 1 tsp of salt instead of 1/4 tsp. The dough should hold it's shape when handled and not be sticky.

 Make the dough into balls-mine end up being about 1.5 times the size of a golf ball...maybe slightly smaller than a racquetball (not sure how many of you play racquetball)

Spread the dough into a square-ish shape in the husk. I used my palm but there is a spreader as I learned on Gourmet Sleuth. There should be about 1.5" above and below the dough to leave room for tying shut. Place 1.5 tbsp of fill in the center of the dough. 

Fold left and right side of the husk together so the dough meets. To shut the husk, you could just twist the top and bottom like the hard candy wrappers (shown on Squidoo's pics).. but.because I have a small steamer, I fold down the top and bottom and then put the corn husk strip tie around it (see picture below, the one on the right side stayed shut).

Steam about 2" of water on medium-low heat for 45 minutes. Check halfway through to make sure there is enough water.