Fruit-N-Nut Gluten Free Oats

Dedicated to: My sister Indu

Inspired by:

I have learned to add a range of dried fruit and nuts to my morning meal from my friend Barbara from Portland who makes this breakfast dish with Amaranth. Fruits and nuts are very fortifying and add flavor and crunchy textures to good old oats! Thanks, Barbara! 

Ingredients:

• Gluten Free Oats
• Almond Milk:  About half a cup for a cup of oats/as per taste
• Dried Black Currant
• Dried Cranberries (preferably unsweetened)
• Hazelnuts
• Pecans
• Agave

Instructions:

1. Soak the nuts overnight in drinking water, and drain away the water before use. Soaking/Sprouting  is good for the nuts as it aids digestion.
2. Cook the oats in water in medium heat till done. Add Almond milk towards the end and let it evaporate and blend in.
3. Place cooked oats in a bowl, and add the agave, nuts and fried fruits, in proportions you would like.
4. Take a deep breath, thank yourself for the nourishing yourself with the most important meal of the day- breakfast, and enjoy! 

Where to find:
Oats is inherently gluten free but because it often processed in the same machinery as wheat it tends to be quite gluten contaminated. The good news is the nice people at Bob Mill’s bring out Gluten Free Oats. It looks pretty fast and tastes good. I usually get it from www.vitacost.com

I like getting all my nuts and fruits in the Bay area at the Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco

http://www.rainbow.coop/ . Yay for Food Co-ops! 

Summer Fresh Arugula and Blueberry salad

Dedicated to: Indu

For me, always Summer = fresh salads!  I like to include anything that comes from friends’ gardens , farmer’s market and what looks fresh in the grocery store.

Today’s salad is in memory of my sister—who loved bitter greens, and following the trail of local seasonal fruits! Rich in flavor and texture, yet very simple—my pick today has only two items.  Arugula and blueberries.  We ate so many blueberries one summer after daily u-picks to Sauvie Island, Oregon that you would have thought my quota for life was done—but no, every summer I wait in keen anticipation for the bounty…albeit these days from Trader Joe’s,  in California where I live.

There are theories about not combining fruits and vegetables in your meals, but I personally love the texture and taste that combining them brings. Not to mention the gorgeous mix of colors.

The dressing, from a recipe that my sister taught me, is a perfect for summer- light and refreshing, it subtly enhancing the natural favors of salad mix.

The Dressing: combine olive oil, fresh lemon/lime and honey and whisk till the mix is viscous. You can substitute Apple Cider vinegar and agave for the lemon and honey. Olive oils and the quality of lemons differ so I am not going giving you exact proportions, except I will say the viscosity usually means you have achieved the right blend of tartness and sweetness, and the dressing has enough oil to properly coat the salad.  

Each to their own, but adding the dressing uniformly without squishing the delicate greens especially is best done with your hands. So wash your hands and mix the dressing in gently using your fingers.  Best to coat the salad right before serving!

Enjoy!  I raise my fork to you, Indu, with all my love—and all of you reading---to good times! 

Pan-Fried Salmon slices with Lemon Juice

For the most part I am a vegetarian but often feel the need to incorporate extra protein in my meals and I find wild Alaskan Salmon foots the bill very well. I tried this recipe at my sister’s place and she loved it. I use lemon juice because we were out of orange juice

1 lb	Boneless salmon fillet, skin removed, cut into 2-inch by 1-inch
Batter
2 tsp	Finely chopped mint or cilantro
1	Egg beaten
2 tbsp	Arrow root powder
¼ tsp	Salt
½ cup	Vegetable oil
2 tsp	Minced garlic
2 tsp	Finely diced green peppers
½ tsp	Lemon zest or Orange zest
3-4	Green onion sprigs
2 tbsp	Lemon juice or Orange juice
	Salt to taste

1. Clean and cut salmon into 2 inch slices. In a bowl combine batter ingredients along with salt to taste and whisk the eggs. Again, I substituted arrowroot powder with corn meal, here because many of us have allergies with corn as well!

2. Add salmon slices, coat them evenly, marinate for 15 minutes.

3. While salmon is marinating, chop, green onions, garlic and cut long slices of green chilies. This allows the kids and others like me who cannot stand chilies to separate the chilies out.

4. Heat oil in wok or skillet over medium heat and add the fish until they are done. It usually takes 5-8 minutes about 1 minute per side. Remove the cooked fish in a separate dish

5. In the same pan, add some more oil if needed, add garlic, green pepper, green onions, orange zest and cook for about a minute or two.

6. Add the salmon slices, to the cooked green onions and green peppers. Add the lemon juice and remove after 1 minute.

7. Serve dish with fired rice. My niece who does not really like fish, even tried this dish!!

Layered Stir-Fried Veggie Tofu Bowl

This recipe has changed so many hands among my group of friends that it has many versions. I present a version made for the first time with pineapples.Feel free to add your own layers to the bowl. Shitake mushrooms for instance would add a nice touch...

Ingredients:
Serving for 5:

4 cups Quinoa (about 6 cups cooked)

Fresh Spinach, cut into rough “ribbons”

I cup pineapple, in small slices

1 onion, chopped length-wise

4 cloves garlic, chopped length-wise

2 teaspoon full, chopped into short thin strips

4 Peppers (this recipe uses 4 colors of peppers), cut into strips

1 large cup of green beans, cut into 1 inch lengths

1 box of tofu, or about 60 cubes worth

2 teaspoons Turmeric powder (for quinoa and tofu)

Chili flakes

Bragg’s Amino Acid (or any gluten-free soy sauce)

Tomato sauce*, one cup

Tomato Ketchup*, one cup

2 teaspoons of black sesame seeds

Green onions for garnish.

Grapeseed Oil  (or cooking oil of your choice that is good for high heat)

*Available sugar-free in some health food stores

Preparation:

Make the bowl:

Layer one: Place quinoa at bottom of bowl.   

Preparation: 1. Cook Quinoa in Turmeric powder and water following package instructions

Layer two: Place two handfuls of cut spinach and 2 spoons pineapple on top of quinoa  

Layer three: Place Tofu try with veggies on the top. Top off with green onions 

Preparation: 1. Drain tofu completely, and cut into cubes.

2. Stir fry in grapeseed oil, with turmeric and black sesame seeds.

3. In a separate skillet, add oil, followed by onions, ginger and garlic.

4. Stir a few minutes. Add green beans and stir a few minutes before stirring into peppers. 

5. Mix tomato sauce, ketchup, Braggs (or soy sauce) and chili flakes into a seasoning sauce. 

6. When beans are cooked al dente (soft to eat, but still crisp), add tofu and the sauce to the 

veggies. Remove any water in the veggies before adding sauce. 

6. Gently fold the sauce into the veggies and let sit for a minute or so on medium heat, stirring

occasionally to prevent catching at bottom. The veggies should be fully and heavily coated in the

sauce, and hot. 

Cool Facts: For a party: Present multiple choices of veggies, demo this version and invite

friends to make their own layers. Also, you can use rice or noddles in lieu of quinoa

Beauty Tips from the Kitchen: Our New Year Gift to Our Readers!

Wishing you all a nourishing, fulfilling, prosperous new year!

As a new year gift for your support, here is a 3 step facial kit with ingredients from the kitchen! Food is medicine, Food is beauty...

1. The Facial Scrub: Mung Bean powder. Dry grind whole mung bean, somewhat granular. Mix with water making a semi-loose paste, apply and scrub with gentle strokes, and wash off.
2. Face Pack: Almond butter: Any kind you have at home, the creamier the better. Apply and leave on face as along as you please, but at least 10 minutes before washing off.
3. Conditioning Spritz: Rose Water. Splash some on. If you have a spray bottle, that is even better.

For extra luxury, try the Sesame oil massage bath. It will balance out any excessive heat in the body and calm your digestion.

In a skillet, on medium flame, heat about a cup of sesame oil, and add a teaspoon of black pepper and cumin and few chunks of ginger (gently smashed but still in one piece). When the pepper, cumin and ginger sputter, remove from flame. Careful not to let them burn. Let oil cool till gently warm. Remove the ginger and chew on it. Apply oil with gentle massage strokes on both the whole body, including face and hair. Spend some time massaging the hands and feet, and the very top of your head. Read that magazine, hang out for at least 15 minutes, as then wash off with soap and shampoo as normal. The mung bean scrub described above can also be used for the whole body in lieu of soap.  The bath is supposed to be part of a day of relaxation. Don't stay in the sun or outdoors in general for too long (several hours), post bath. Instead, stay home, make yourself a nourishing drink, turn some music on, and zone out.

Rightfully, this beauty routine is called the "Great Chillax" (chilling + relaxing)-- low-budget, a little effort with big payoffs, and great fun to do together.

Enjoy!