Sweet Summer Quinoa

The Fourth of July is always a big holiday for my family. It is my nephew's birthday, and a national holiday; two very good reasons for us to get together and celebrate...and we will use any excuse to party.

Trying to get away from the usual, traditional Fourth of July fare, I created this sweet and tasty summer salad. It's fruity enough for the kids to go crazy, and nutritious enough for me to be happy to give them.

Use this idea as a base for your own, and add your favorite fruits and nuts. It is a perfect cold dish to share!


Sweet Summer Quinoa

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1/4 fresh pineapple, diced
1 fresh mango, diced
1 tablespoon shredded dried coconut
1 handful of cilantro, chopped
1 handful of toasted, sliced almonds
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons coconut oil


Directions:
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add quinoa, reduce heat and cover, simmering for 15 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed.

While the quinoa is cooking, chop up your pineapple, cilantro and mango. If your almonds are raw, toast them on medium heat in a nonstick pan for about 5 minutes, tossing occasionally.

When the quinoa is done cooking, heat a large skillet on medium heat and add the coconut oil. Toss in the quinoa and mix well. Remove from the heat. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, pineapple, mango, cilantro, brown sugar, coconut and toasted almonds.

Refrigerate and enjoy!

Monkey Fruit Cake

Here it is: as seen on TV! I know I've mentioned before with my ice cream blog all of these options, but now you can see just how quickly and easily your sweet tooth can be satisfied! And with good, body-nourishing ingredients. Enjoy!!

Blueberry morning!

Breakfast is a snap! Here's what I made.

Blueberry Smoothie
Ingredients:
1 pint of fresh blueberries
3 bananas
2 frozen bananas
3 pitted dates
1 cup Good Belly blueberry acai probiotic drink

Blend all ingredients together, drink and enjoy!

Good Belly probiotic drinks are great for people that are lactose intolerant or want to cut back on dairy, because they have all those great gut-friendly bacteria that yogurt contains and the flavors are awesome! I love adding it to my smoothies. Good Belly can be found at most health food stores, co-ops, and some grocery stores, in the soy milk area.
http://www.goodbelly.com/probiotic-drink

What to do with turnips

Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) are becoming ever more popular as the desire to eat fresh, organic, locally grown food is growing. A CSA is set up so a person can buy a "share" of a farm, and then every week the bounty of the season is delivered fresh, usually picked the same day. A whole array of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers can be expected, although one never knows what exactly will show up in the box each week.

My darling sister received turnips in her box this week, and has challenged me to find ways to prepare them. I do love challenges! So here we go.

First, a little bit about why you would want to eat a turnip. Turnips have been enjoyed since ancient times, when they were cultivated nearly 4,000 years ago in the Near East. This round, apple-sized vegetable was prized by the Greeks and the Romans, and was even called one of the most important vegetables of the time by ancient author Pliny the Elder. They belong to the same family as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage (cruciferous vegetables), giving them powerful cancer-fighting abilities as well as nutrients such as fiber, vitamin C, vitamin B6, folate, calcium, potassium and copper. When eaten raw, they have an earthy, spicy taste, like a radish, but when they are cooked the flavor becomes very mild, so even your fussiest child will enjoy them.

You can use turnip roots anytime you would use a potato, and then some. Try them mashed, baked, boiled, in stews, soups and stir-fries, or lightly steamed with some butter, salt or lemon juice for flavor. Or you can thinly slice them, brush them with olive oil, lightly salt and bake them like potato chips. Or you can try the recipe at the end of this post.

Don't forget about the greens! They are delicious sautéed or steamed as a side dish with garlic, onion, olive oil and lemon, or as an addition to soups, stews and pasta.

And now, for a recipe...

Hearty Rooty Casserole

Ingredients:
1 medium turnip
1 large parsnip
1 large carrot
1 medium onion
1 medium rutabaga
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel the vegetables and then coarsely chop. Put them in a 13X9 baking pan, sprinkle seasoning and garlic on top, and then drizzle with olive oil. Give it a quick stir, cover and bake for 1 hour.

Cheeseless Cheesecake!

Say cheese! And then remember that while our palates may have a love affair with the stuff, our bodies certainly do not. More and more people are realizing they are lactose intolerant, and if your body is telling you it does not want something (and it gives you signs like pain, diarrhea and excess mucous) then common sense would tell you to stay away from it. Even if you don't experience these symptoms, all scientific evidence points to cheese as an artery-clogging substance.

But I LOVE cheese! I don't want to give it up! Well, the good news is, nobody has to completely abolish the stuff from their diets. Our bodies can handle moderation. Using a substitution like this will translate into less cheese consumption. A double treat!

This recipe is for those cheesecake lovers out there that don't want to be without. Again, this was inspired by Angela Elliot and her raw dessert book. Can soaked nuts really stand up to cheese, delicious cheese? I shared this dessert with my friends, and they all went cuckoo! It is super easy to do, and if you don't have a spring form pan, just make this baby up in whatever pan you have.

Ingredients:
For the crust:
2 cups macadamia nuts
6 pitted dates
1/4 cup dried coconut

The Cheesecake:
3 cups soaked cashews
3/4 cup lemon juice
9 pitted dates, soaked in enough water to cover them
3/4 cup coconut oil
pinch of sea salt

Strawberry sauce topping:
1 pint fresh strawberries
6 pitted dates, soaked and drained
extra strawberries for garnish


Directions:
Get the cashews and dates soaking. You should soak them for at least 1 hour.

Line a 9 inch spring form pan with coconut (or whatever pan you're using)

Process the macadamia nuts and dates in a food processor. Press over dried coconut.

Process cashews, lemon juice, dates (with the soaking water), coconut oil, salt and half cup of water until it is smooth like cheese.

Pour over the crust and shake the pan to settle the ingredients.

Freeze for 2 hours.

At the end of the 2 hours, process your pint of strawberries with the soaked, drained dates until smooth.

Remove cake from freezer and place on a plate, or if you used a cooking pan, you can just leave it in there. Pour strawberry sauce over the cake and decorate with more strawberries.


This will keep in the fridge for about a week. And if you keep it in the freezer, it keeps even longer of course!

*A note about coconut oil: If you don't have this stuff in your cupboard, you are really missing out! It's packed with nutrients and tastes delicious. It gives depth to stir-frys and desserts and is crazy good on popcorn. When you purchase the oil, you will notice it is hard, like vegetable shortening. To use it in this recipe, stick the oil jar into a bowl of hot water to melt it a bit, and pour out the 3/4 cup you need.

Nuts about brownies

I'm in the last few weeks of training for Grandma's Marathon. My long run days have stretched into 17 and 18 miles, and the mileage will keep going up until the big day (26.2 miles!) in mid June. My metabolism is kicking into high gear, and I can feel it! I get crazy, strong cravings, and they are mostly for sweet, naughty treats.

So in my quest for satisfying my body while not filling it with trash, I stumbled upon an e-book from Angela Elliot, a woman who makes "raw" food. If you are new to the raw food world, it basically means that food is eaten in it's most natural state. It is fresh, it comes from a plant, and it isn't heated above 105 degrees, which leaves all of the food's enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients intact. The goal of eating this way is to get the most "bang for your buck" from the food you eat.

These brownies are a delicious way to eat something completely decadent without adding any processed foods such as flours, sugars, or other things into your diet. Also, you will be swapping out the "bad" (animal) fats that have been linked with heart disease, etc. with "good" (plant) fats that have been shown to aid in ridding the body of these same maladies (when taken in moderation, of course). Since they are made mostly of nuts, they have a lot of calories, so even though these babies are nutrient-dense, too much can lead to weight gain. The whole point is to have a tasty treat that also gives your body some wonderful nourishment.

Before starting this recipe, you will need to put your cashews and dates in separate bowls and cover them completely with water for at least one hour. This will get them to the proper consistency for the recipe. You also need to have a food dehydrator and food processor. If you don't have these, you might want to think about getting them. The Cuisinart has saved me tons of time, and the value of having power packed food makes the dehydrator totally worth it. The purpose for dehydrating these dishes (instead of just baking it) is they are kept below the heat level that destroys the good stuff.

The actual "making/doing" of these scrumptious bits of chocolaty goodness is quite easy and fast. So don't let the new parts overwhelm you. Give it a go! You won't be sorry.


Ingredients:
3 cups walnuts
2 Tablespoons seed or nut butter (I used sunflower seed butter)
6 dates (soaked and keep the water)
1/4 cup Cacao powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

And for the frosting
1 cup raw cashews (soaked and drained)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 dates (soaked and keep the water)
1/4 cup water


Directions:
Process the walnuts into a fine flour in your processor.
Add the rest of the ingredients (including the date soaking water) and process until smooth.
Scrape into an 8X8 cake pan
Place in your dehydrator for 24 hours, at its lowest temperature.

Once the brownies are ready, process the drained cashews, cinnamon, dates (with soaking water) and 1/4 cup additional water until smooth.
Refrigerate for 20 minutes to thicken it up. Spread over brownies.


Notes:
If your dehydrator is the traditional round kind that you can't get a pan into, no worries! Cover the bottom with parchment paper, and scoop out spoonfuls, and shape into whatever shape you wish your brownies to take. They won't expand or grow, so you can put them pretty close together.

I love to top these with fruit! Last night we had some strawberries that I threw in the blender and poured that over the brownies. Can you say yum? This is also sensational with my banana ice cream. Here's that recipe: http://cookingwithrebecca.blogspot.com/2010/04/i-scream-you-scream-ice-cream.html

I Scream, You Scream.. ICE CREAM!

We are having an unbelievably early spring here in Minnesota. I've only lived here for five years, and in that time I haven't experienced an April demanding shorts and flip flops, but who am I to argue? After running around the park with Marisa, or just running in general, I'm ready for a cool, delicious treat. This satisfies that craving, and whips up in a snap. And to top it off, while it fits the bill as a dessert, it's just fruit, so it's good for you!

Do-It-Yourself Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 banana per serving you wish to make


Directions:
Remove peels from bananas, store in an airtight container in the freezer for at least one hour. (Bananas will keep a couple of weeks this way.)

Take frozen bananas and put in a food processor. Process for almost 10 minutes, taking time to push down the sides and mix it up from time to time. Don't be afraid if it gets a little loud, shakes a bunch, or seems like it will never whip up. It will. You will have a frozen treat the same consistency as soft serve.

Remove this deliciousness and put in individual bowls. Then have fun. Top with chopped nuts, berries, a squirt of chocolate sauce, or cut in some nut butter! When I'm going all out, I dice up some angel food cake* and top it with this ice cream and fresh berries. Yummy, yummy, yummy!

*A note on angel food cake: if you are buying a pre-made cake from the store, be sure to check the ingredient label! Some stores put some pretty wacky ingredients in it, like sodium lauryl sulfate, which is actually a chemical that is used in most soaps for it's foaming effect. Besides being a nasty chemical that you shouldn't be eating, this same chemical has been given the red light from the environmental working group (www.ewg.org)for it's carcinogenic effect on the body when using it as a soap. So please don't feed it to your family!