Latest info, recipes, tools & gadgets to create a healthy diet
Dinner
Barbecue Tofu Over Brown Rice
Apr 26th
It’s Celebration Time!
Tonight I’m having a celebration for the people who have been a part of my healthy lifstyle pilot program. All four of them made it to the end, with varying degrees of “success.” So, we’ll do a final weigh in and take measurements and then just have a nice healthy potluck together.
I’m fixing one of my favorites tonight Barbecue Tofu Over Brown Rice. I only have approximate measurements, so I’ve listed them in the order of the amount I put in. What I did was to look at a regular barbecue sauce and see what the ingredients were. More >
When Your Gourmet Muse Goes On Vacation
Mar 23rd
It happens to everyone. You’re on a roll. Everything you cook is better than the last. You come up with a new culinary invention every day. Then one day you walk into the kitchen and the inspiration is gone. Your muse has gone on vacation.
Suddenly frozen dinners look good, just because they’re easy. But gourmet they’re not. When you are in culinary “hell” restaurants like Portland, Oregon Italian restaurant, Pastini, are there to save the day.
With authentic, yet affordable Italian food, those desert (not dessert) days of lackluster dishes can come to an end. Lucky for you they have locations More >
Eating Healthy & Having Your Pizza, Too!
Feb 16th
Yum! Plunge into a delicious healthy pizza!
After writing about our awesome homemade pizza I got a request for the recipe, so here it is.
Once we made the commitment to eat a truly vegetarian diet we ran into one huge problem. No pizza! This was because some cheeses are processed with cheese cultures that are derived from cow stomach linings. We went for months without any pizza. Not life threatening, for sure, but we really enjoy an occasional pizza and wanted to find a way to enjoy it vegetarian style.
We thought the biggest problem was in preparing a crust. Knowing that More >
Cooking For A Crowd
Jan 31st
How do you feed a crowd healthy, nutritious, delicious food?
This past weekend I needed to cook two meals a day for eight people. I have to admit that I had a terrible time getting the proportions right. The first day I made way too many grains, the second not enough.
Also, because there was no kitchen where I had to serve I had to make all the food in crock pots. It was tasty, but the vegetables were more of a soup than a dish and the grains got overcooked and mushy.
Another problem I had was just how much salt, herbs, More >
Focus Food: Winter Squash Part 2
Dec 20th
Kabocha squash works well for this recipe, but you can use acorn or hubbard, as well.
Last time I gave you a winter squash recipe that was for a sweeter squash. Here’s one for a more earthy flavored squash. However, I used it yesterday on a Kabocha squash, which is pretty sweet, and it was very tasty.
Rice Stuffed SquashOven Temp: 350˚F
Cooking Time: 40-50 min
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients:
1 winter squash, cut in halve with seeds removed
1 ½ cups rice
3 cups water
1-2 med tomatoes
1 tsp chaat masala spice mix
1 tsp dry rosemary
2 tsp dry basil
1 tsp salt
Sour cream (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Put 1” of More >
Focus Food: Winter Squash Part 1
Dec 16th
Winter squash are a great staple for the winter months. They’ll store almost indefinitely in a cool, dark space , and are very versatile. You can use them as a main dish, in baked goods like cookies and pies, for soups, and for pies. There are probably some uses I haven’t even thought of. Not only that there is such a variety in taste that you can fix them savory or sweet.
Today I’m going to focus on one of the sweeter ones – Delicata. Next entry I’ll give you a savory recipe.
The Delicata squash is one of my favorites. They More >
More Vegetarian Holiday Ideas
Nov 22nd
You can make pumpkin pie from scratch. Just buy a pumpkin grown especially for that. They are usually small and sweeter than regular pumpkins.
Maybe this is your first holiday as a vegetarian, or your college age child just announced they’ve gone vegetarian. Maybe you’ll be having some vegetarian guests, or you just want to eat less meat yourself. Whatever the reason, having several options for a holiday meal is a good idea.
For main dishes there’s the mock turkey recipe from my last post, but you can also have winter squash. I remember attending my first vegetarian Thanksgiving. The people had More >
Fantastic Mock Turkey Recipe
Nov 18th
Enjoy a guilt free Thanksgiving. Enjoy vegetarian turkey instead.
When I first became a vegetarian I didn’t miss any meat, except turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I had it every single holiday that I could remember and the first without was interesting. What was I going to fix? At that time there was no Tofurky available. For a number of years we just ate butternut or acorn squash to replace the turkey. Then I found this recipe from Ann Gentry. I first used it about 15 years ago. I was amazed to find her sharing it in a recent blog post.
I’ll tell More >
Recipe: Fall Greens Stir Fry
Oct 15th
In the fall we get a second chance to have all the wonderful leafy greens that are so prevalent during the spring: kale, chard, spinach, arugula, and Chinese greens. Farmer’s markets abound with these tasty treats again, after summer’s heat. Here’s a light and tasty stir-fry perfect for any lunch or dinner. You can use any green you like, but I particularly like shaing hai, so use it. Shaing hai is like miniature bok choy.
Since soba noodles only take 8 minutes to cook I get all the prep work done and just as I’m starting to cook the tofu and More >
The Skinny On Pasta
May 30th
Most of us just grab a bag of pasta off the shelf and head for the checkout. We don’t even look at the ingredients. We don’t have a clue how it’s processed. We just know the kids will eat it.
Most pasta is made from durum wheat. It is the hardest of all wheat and holds up in sauces better than other types of pasta. It will give you a consistent smooth, slippery pasta. However, these days there are pastas made from whole red winter wheat, rice, spelt, buckwheat, etc. These all have a different consistency and flavor than the traditional More >