spaghetti squash with cinnamon

autumn and spaghetti squash are a wonderful pair. in autumn I like to bake a lot, and get good smells going around the house. unfortunately, I can't eat a lot of what I like to bake because of my diabetes. that's where spaghetti squash comes in.

it's a battle. I heave this heavy, smooth squash up out of the bag and onto my countertop. thud.

i grab my longest and biggest knife. after microwaving for about a minute to soften the skin (not really), I brace myself for a possible bloodbath in the kitchen.

one is supposed to slice off one end of the squash to form a flat base. then, standing the squash upright, slice it lengthwise in half. it is very easy at this part to slip the knife off the skin and into one's hand or arm. I imagine this in my head every time I do it. i don't think it makes me more careful, but maybe a bit calmer to pre-image this in my head so when and if it does happen  i am ready.

once you have two halves, place them one at a time in the microwave in a dish that has some water at the bottom. also put about 1/4 cup of water in the hollow of the squash to keep it all steamy and moist in the oven. microwave oven.

when it comes out let it rest about 5 minutes and then it is ready to eat. I eat mine right out of the shell with a fork.

I prefer mine sweet with cinnamon and a little earth balance butter and liquid splenda drops on top. stevia powder would work here too.

spaghetti squash is full of water and fiber, which is good if you are trying to lose a few. like me ;) it is also high in B vitamins and vitamin C. it is considered a 0 point food if you are on weight watchers. enjoy.

Simple Rice Bowl

Summer brought me into the studio, painting almost every day. With fall coming I am sensing the need to nest, put things away, load up on supplies and to cook!

I am not a gourmet cook. I like simple foods combined together to form a taste and texture that will feel satisfying, yet not overwhelming. Don't get me wrong, I am a fussy food lover- I just don't like to cook that way on a daily basis.



This combo is something that can be altered and developed to one's taste. I first got it from Cafe Gratitude's cafe where you get a bowl of brown rice and shredded kale and some beans. Simple and satisfying.

Here I added some white corn to the kale and a couple grape tomatoes from my garden and instead of brown rice I chose to use Forbidden Rice or Black Rice. This is not wild rice. This is a rice similar to a brown rice, but is black before you cook it and after cooking it is a gorgeous purple color.

The purple is due to an antioxidant called anthocyanins which is an added bonus. The rice contains more vitamin B, niacin, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc than white rice. (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Foods)

 Some fresh salsa would be a welcome addition to this, or some Earth Balance spread on top too would make it richer.

I cooked my rice in my Fuzzy Logic cooker- which I swear by. I never made rice before I owned this because I hated the cleanup. Now I make rice almost every day either for me or my family.

Forbidden rice is on sale in the bins right now at Whole Foods. Enjoy!

 

in process

Hi everybody

Just a heads up... I am going to post with pictures tonight!!!
I am so excited. I got the camera out- just shot some forbidden things.. how's that for a teaser!

Anyway- stay tuned. New veg post coming right up.

Claire

welcome back again

It has been a strange summer for my diet. Diet as in what I eat, not as in "I am on a diet."

Being a type 1 diabetic requires that I have to think all day about what I eat and how to manage my blood sugar around that. There are all sorts of forces out there concerning my health with food as well. I have Hashimoto's and I am anemic.

I had a relapse at the beginning of the summer to follow a low carb diet by Dr Bernstein. he is a doctor who has helped many many diabetic control their blood sugar following  his diet. It is so low carb there is no way to eat as a vegan. I was at the time feeling a bit lost in my health, wanting to "ramp it up" and really get good blood sugar results from my food choices. Eating vegan, I have had higher than I'd like blood sugars for some time now.

It's strange on the system to go cold turkey into meat and cheese and butter when all I have focused on is plants for years. I have to say that the food tasted great. Blood sugars were better, but after 8 weeks of this. I am done.

I feel backwards. The food isn't right with me anymore, AND My blood sugars really aren't that much better. I found myself craving green food- salads and zucchini. Tomatoes are so ripe right now and I couldn't eat them.

Reading Dr Fuhrman's book Eat to Live again reminded me of things I know about food I chose to push away. Phytonutrients, Bioflavinoids, Fiber, Vitamins and Minerals. I know it all- like I said, I chose to look away from nutrition and only see blood sugar.

I am trusting my intuition and my heart and I am back eating what I love. Last night my salad was a true gift. I felt nourished and it was wonderful.

I hope to post some new recipes soon-

in health,
Claire

the brownie recipe

I'm back from a little healing break. Diet changes, then travel, then being sick TWICE doesn't make for happy cooking in the kitchen.

Now back in action with attention on mending, healing, eating protein and doing Bikram yoga.( yes- it's freaking hot!). I am spending my days in a blissed out state- which is really nice! I still am enjoying raw foods at about 50% of my diet and I think it's a better balance for me
.
I also got the ok to take a break from my insulin pump and go back to shots. Why? one might ask? isn't the pump way better? yes and no. I have been pumping for 9 years. I have a lot of scar tissue now from the infusion  sets being changed every 2 days- makes for about 2500 infusion site changes. Shots I can do with a pen and in more places than the pump allowed. I can also sweat and twist and turn in yoga without being constantly distracted by my site hurting or tubing coming loose.

So on with the recipe...

It is new to me-
and a Raw recipe I will call:

the brownie recipe

adapted from eatrawvegan.com. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups walnuts, soaked at least 4 hours and rinsed very well
• 10 pitted Medjool dates
•  3/4 cups cacao powder for regular brownies, more for a darker flavored brownie
• 1 tsp vanilla powder
• pinch of salt

Directions:

• Process ingredients together in food processor. Add water as needed to soften dough. Do not over process. You want to still see bits of walnut.
• Press batter firmly down in 8x8 pan
• top with cacao nibs or coconut shreds, or more nuts. 
• sample one :)
• refrigerate 

 

 

protein type

A few mornings ago I took a nutritional typing test on Mercola's website. I was very surprised to find that I am a "protein type" according to his test results. How can I be protein? I love veggies, I love salads and fruit. I don't like the texture of red meat in my mouth. How  am I going to shift my world back over to meat after being a raw vegan and then vegan for years?

I have a lot of experience with a low carb diet, and ate meat for years and years with little plant foods. I was following Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution diet and used that to control my blood sugars very well.

After completing my training at Bauman College of Nutrition I went vegan and felt SO good about my decision to do so. I enjoyed eating huge volumes of veggies and feeling "nourished" by them. I still love the philosophy behind eating a vegan diet, however, change is part of life and I will embrace eating some more animal protein if that helps my overall health.

After all, health is my goal. I want to live to be old.

So, this blog post will highlight a salmon dish I like. It's a simple poached/pan fried salmon and egg dish.

I do enjoy salmon and eggs, and if it's good for my body? all the better.

Salmon and Eggs

Ingredients

• Salmon, poached in advance
• Eggs
• butter
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions

• Cook salmon the night before .
• I poached mine in broth for a few minutes until the liquid cooked off ( about 1 inch) and then finished it by adding organic butter to the pan and frying it.
• Scramble 2 eggs on medium heat with butter.
• Add crumbled salmon to eggs and mix in.
• Plate and season with salt and pepper to taste

     ***top with creme fraiche and chives if you want to get fancy

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

vegas

vegas is a dream. it could be a bad dream, or a good one depending on your mood or perspective.

if it's a bad dream you see the dry desert, the lack of fresh produce at the grocery store- Von's, and you notice the 50 something addict out in front grappling with the demons plaguing her and keeping her from feeling loved.

if it's a good dream you see the padded pool chairs made up for you with pleasure with extra soft towels, evian spritzes and bamboo skewered frozen pineapple balls passed out on the hour.

is it a place for vegans? absolutely. anything is possible here with a good attitude and the willingness to walk miles in covered and windowless shopping strips that connect the casinos along the strip.

what's the strip?

some may never know anymore. it used to be the way to get from casino to casino but now!

now they are all connected in air conditioned passages lined with aquamassages and oxygen bars. I hear the massages are truly something.

so what's a veggie girl to do with a place that has restaurants like craftsteak and emeril's at your doorstep?
so far I order sides of veggies, hit the veggies at the buffet ( sometimes soaked in butter, sometimes not...) and order the roasted veggie sandwich at the Hard Rock Cafe. Marinated portobello, red bell pepper, zucchini and onion. Your basic veggie stack-up but not so bad.

in case you are wondering about the results of my celiac test- I'm negative. not a surprise considering I don't eat gluten anyway. I am planning on testing myself out by doing a self-check after eating oats, or a wheat based item. do I have a tummy ache? did I have a "loose" movement later?  that's a better test for me.

back in a few days and then I'm gonna get that kitchen humming!

till then,

when I'm not cooking or eating..

When I am not cooking, assembling or writing about it, I make art.

I made these  recently. They are inspired by a woman named Lucille. She lives in France. We have the same birthday. She paints her recipes, smells she loves, and her favorite foods.

I sell the prints on etsy. 

bye bye gluten?

I am waiting to hear back from the lab to see if I have Celiac's. It will by my third autoimmune disease thus far behind type 1 diabetes and Hashimoto's (thyroid). 

Celiac involves the inflammation of the upper intestine. Eating a gluten free diet dramatically improves this.

Considering this new possible lifelong requirement of being gluten-free I am welcoming more cooked food into my diet.  I have been eating raw vegan for a long time, and I am welcoming the idea of some roasted and steamed veggies again.

This recipe is for (gasp) something candy-ish. But it is delicious. And gluten free.

 Caramel Corn

 

 Ingredients:

3-4 quarts popped corn

1 c brown sugar

1/2 c vegan margarine

1/4 c agave or corn syrup

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 brown paper grocery bag 

I made my first batch by halving the recipe and using a paper lunch sack. I wouldn't recommend this because the thickness of the grocery bag is much more absorbent. I was left with a runny mess in my microwave.

 

Combine sugar, margarine,corn syrup and salt in a glass bowl. Bring to a boil (about 1-2 minutes in microwave) and then cook an additional 2 minutes more. The longer boiling time will ensure a crunchy topping later.

Remove bowl and stir in baking soda.

Put popped corn in grocery bag and pour mixture on top. Close bag tightly and shake to evenly coat the popcorn with the caramel. Microwave the bag for 1 minute. Shake again and microwave one more time for 1 minute. 

Pour onto a cookie sheet and let the caramel corn dry and harden. If there is any left over store it in an air tight container. However, you may want to eat the entire batch standing over it in your kitchen.

the sweet potato test

I came across a recipe for dehydrated sweet potato chips on Vegetarian Times. I didn't know sweet potatoes could be eaten raw.  In all of my dehydrator escapades I had yet to try a sweet potato chip.

Instead of just trying the recipe out verbatim, I thought I'd give the potato a challenge. I made half of the recipe as instructed, and then the other half went in the oven instead of the dehydrator.

The oven batch came out crispy and delicious. It took about 10-12 minutes of baking before I flipped them over and finished them off with another 5 to even out the chip sides.

The flavor was a wonderful balance of sweet and salt, and I loved the hit of Rosemary. My daughter devoured the batch in a few minutes and was asking for more! (a make-again for sure)

The dehydrator recipe took about 4 hours at 118 degrees. Quite a wait!- but worth it to see how different they would come out.

They were terrible. Tough, not crispy, and although more pleasant to look at, I decided they make a great dog treat. No kidding! Bubbles, my 2 year old Bichon Frisee loved them. In fact, I may add them to my offerings at my etsy site.

So there you have it. The cooked and not raw variety won out over the raw variety. I do eat roasted veggies for dinner often, so making these chips will be a fun addition to my repertoire of root vegetable recipes.

Sweet Potato Chips

1 sweet potato
sea salt
1 T olive oil
1 tsp rosemary crumbled

Slice the sweet potato very thinly and on an angle to make nice large ovals. Place in a bowl and toss with the olive oil, salt to taste, and rosemary.
Arrange on cookie sheet lined with parchment.
Bake at 325 degrees for about 12 minutes or until they start to brown and then flip over for another 5 minutes or so.

Fresh Fruit Crumble

I am still pouring through the recipes in Cafe Gratitude's cookbook, determined to get the Irish moss thing going, but alas, I have put it off again. At least for another 24 hours while the moss soaks in my fridge. Then I will have to conquer it.

I don't know why I am so daunted by the task of soaking something and then blending it up with water. I tend to do that on a a daily basis with nuts and seeds. Irish moss just seems so... strange.

Mysterious Irish moss. It's a seaweed really. It makes raw desserts thicken up the way a gelatin would, which is really helpful in recipes that require food to take on a shape or stay firm when cut like a mousse pie.

So instead today I decided to make the fruit cobbler.
It's called I am Lovely in the cookbook.
I see why now it is named such.

It's simple to put together, requires no soaking for hours nor waiting for hours to dehydrate. I love that! One can also use fresh fruit on hand. The recipe calls for apples and strawberries, but I bet stone fruits like nectarines and apricots would be delicious as well.

I made a quarter of the recipe and found that I like these proportions even better since I can't possibly eat the entire thing in a week and it wouldn't keep anyway. The smaller portion I can eat with my daughter helping in a couple of days and not feel the guilt of not finishing something I spent time on creating. Sometimes the desserts are so good I feel terrible to throw out leftovers after they have been sitting in the fridge a while... the food is so pure, delicious and special I don't ever want to waste it. Perhaps smaller portions and cutting recipes down can help a bit.

Fruit Cobbler (serves 4)

Crust:

in a food processor, use the "s" blade and process together:
1 cup pecans (not soaked)
pinch of salt
2 medjool dates
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla

Spoon and press half of the mixture into any bowl dish with edges on it that can give you a base about 5 inches wide. Individual cups like ramekins would work well for this also.

Save the rest of the mixture for the topping.

 Filling:

1 apple diced
5-6 strawberries cut into bite sized pieces
squeeze of lemon
tiny pinch of salt

 

Mix together in a bowl and scoop onto the crust.

Spoon the remaining topping on the fruit and it is done.

 

Enjoy