Recipes! --Playing catch up

I know you're all thinking I've forgotten about you, but I promise I haven't, and I have the pictures to prove it! :) I've been cooking and creating in the kitchen, just not with a lot of time to spare. So here in the moment I have to breathe, I'm delighted to share a medley of dishes from the recent past. There are some real gems here, so please take the time to look through them. Some have recipes and some have what I'd call inspiration, enough to get you going but without exact measurements.

The other day as I was making the You'd-never-know-it-was-healthy Alfredo, I thought "Wow, making great food requires courage: being ok with the possibility that you're probably going to make a few dishes that really bomb." Luckily, the 'alfredo' was FAR from that; it was one of the most surprisingly delicious things I've created in a long time actually. But, all the same, I have a soup from time to time where I think "This definitely doesn't make the blog". It's generally when I'm stressed or upset when cooking-- that doesn't tend to go well. It's almost like you can taste the stress or the upset in the food. Of course, when you cook with joy and love and deep relaxed breaths, you can taste that too. So...put on a happy face (and maybe a cute apron too) and get creative in the kitchen! :)

*Note: To show the doshic effect for each dish I've used =, + and -. 

= means little effect (eat in moderation). 

+ means increases or aggravates (eat less). 

- means reduces or balances (eat more).

 

My class with the wonderful brilliant Dr Vasant Lad

Find a collection of resources he recommends here: http://www.ayurveda.com/online_resource/

 

Saturday Lunch by me, Mount Madonna style:

Green Mung Bean soup from Dr Lad's book : Ayurvedic Cooking for Self-Healing

with steamed asparagus topped with ghee & a sprinkling of salt

Rice Cakes with jam & tahini (a.k.a. Mt Madonna dessert)

VPK balancing. Good for all! 

Cleansing Beet & Carrot Salad

1 Shredded raw golden beet + 3 shredded raw carrots 

+ olive oil + salt + fresh chopped parsley

toss & serve

V =, P+ (but good for cleansing), K-

Cleansing Beet Greens

Chopped Beet Greens steamed just until tender 

+ small drizzle of olive oil + fresh lemon juice + salt & pepper + toasted sesame seeds

V+, P-, K- 

 You'd-never-know-it-was-healthy Alfredo

Firm tofu + onions & garlic sauteed in olive oil  + fresh roughly chopped parsley 

--mix in a mini-cuisinart like mine or mash well by hand with a fork--

+ water or oil to desired consistency + salt & pepper to taste

YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE HOW DELICIOUS THIS IS!! :)

V =, P- (with very little garlic & sub cilantro for parsley), 

K- (with minimal oil & used on veggies rather than pasta)

Roasted Cauliflower & Kale Soup

A really heavenly soup that leaves you satisfied yet not with a heavy feeling. 

Great for a spring evening. 

 Roast at 400 degrees: 
One whole green cauliflower chopped and tossed in olive oil, salt & pepper 
and half a head of garlic (see how to here) 
In a pot, sautee half a yellow onion in oil or ghee. Pour sauteed onion, oil, cauliflower and half of garlic in blender with 1 c water. Blend until smooth. Transfer back to pot and heat until warm and flavors have blended. Add salt to taste though it won't need much.  *Optional: for smoother texture, add half a potato to cauliflower when roasting.
15 minutes before serving: 
De-vein kale and cut into ribbons. Toss with oil, salt & pepper and pop in oven for 15 minutes, tossing once mid-way through. Kale should be crisp at parts but not like a chip. 
To serve:  Place a small handful of kale at center of bowl and then elegantly pour cauliflower soup around it. *Can garnish with a single small roasted galic clove, as shown above. 

V + (ok if omitting kale & adding spinach), 

P+ (ok in moderation. add fresh fennel to cauliflower & omit garlic), 

K- (excellent!)

 Sunny Morning Tofu Scramble 

(tastes way better than it sounds ;) ) 

adapted from Ayurvedic Cooking for Westerners by Amadea Morningstar

Saute until tender but not brown:

Ghee &/or olive oil + small onion chopped + 2 pinches hing (asafoetida, an Indian spice) 

Add: 16 oz. cubed organic firm tofu (I like the sprouted kind by Wildwood) then mash into onions using the back of a fork

Sprinkle on & Stir in: Turmeric to your liking (to give a golden color, not a yellow like mustard) 

Once well warmed, add 1 teaspoon Yellow Miso

Top with: chopped cilantro & parsley & salt & pepper

V =, P=, K =+ (ok in moderation) 

Remember the Apple Slice I posted before? 

Well, I tried to make it into a pie (with walnuts, yum) as I was so excited about my new pie dish. 

Looks pretty. Tasted good. Don't think I'll make it again as a pie. 

Better as the original. See the original recipe here.

A very funny moment went with this pie: 

Me: (excitedly) I even used egg whites to brown the top! 

My man & professional cook: [silence]

Me: Isn't that impressive?.....

My man: uh, you're supposed to use the yolks.

Cue both of us dissolving into a fit of laughter. =)

Lesson: don't take yourself too seriously