Dutch Oven Eggplant Chili
(Preliminary)

You will notice I love my beans. This hearty and filling dish is loaded with protean, fiber and taste.

1 lb. Beans assorted (Pinto, Black, Kidney etc.) soaked and cooked as directed
(Add a piece of Kombu in the cooking pot). Reserve cooking liquid.
1/2 lb. Yellow onions
1 lb. Button mushrooms sliced
1 Medium bell pepper diced
1 Medium eggplant diced
1 lb. Kale
3-4 Garlic buds chopped
1-2 Jalapeño peppers sliced thin (with seeds and membrane if hot desired)
¼ lb. Shitake mushrooms (thin slices)
½ C. quinoa (red preferred)
2 T. bouillon base
1 oz. Bitter chocolate
2 lb. diced tomatoes or canned
1-2 C Water (use reserved bean cooking water)
3 T. Chili powder
3 T. Cumin ground
2 T. Chipotle powder
Salt and pepper to taste
3 T. Balsamic vinegar

Pre-heat oven.

Cook the onions in hot Dutch oven (no oil needed if pre-heated), when translucent add in the button mushrooms. After they sizzle add in the bouillon base. Now add in peppers (bell and Jalapeno) cooking until starting to soften (maybe 10 minutes). Add spices. Add in the Shitakes, garlic and vinegar. Toss in the beans tomatoes and kale. Add sufficient reserved water to accommodated thickening of quinoa and stir in dry quinoa. Simmer for about ten minutes.

Place in oven and check in 45 minutes. Adjust thickness with additional liquid. Taste test and modify as desired. Cook perhaps ten more minutes.

Non-vegan/vegetarians: add in a little chicken and top with grated cheese or sour cream. Offer toppings of chopped onions, cilantro and salsa.

The longer your waistline...

Your waistline measurement is perhaps a more powerful marker for health risk than the currently popular BMI number. This is well reported and referenced in Joel Fuhrman's Blog: The longer your waistline.... Athletes are penalized in BMI scores, with the most muscular indexing as if they were obese. Skinny-fat people (those that are literally thin, but lack muscle tone) would register as healthy weight.

Roasted Root Vegetables

Recipe of the Month: Roasted Root Vegetables

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 25-35 minutes

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato

2 parsnips

6” of burdock

2 carrots

1 small eggplant

2 turnips or 1 large rutabaga

1 daikon radish (or substitute/add in your favorites, like squash)

olive oil

sea salt and pepper to taste

herbs: rosemary, cumin seed, thyme or sage (fresh if possible)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Wash and chop all vegetables into large bite-sized pieces.

3. Place in a large baking dish with sides.

4. Drizzle with olive oil; mix well to coat each vegetable lightly with oil.

5. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and herbs.

6. Bake uncovered for 25-35 minutes until vegetables are tender and golden brown, checking every 10 minutes to stir and make sure veggies are not sticking.

Note: Any combination of vegetables will work. Roasting only one kind of vegetable also makes a nice side dish.

Tofu Scramble

Tofu Scramble

Very quick and easy: Serves 6

16-ounce block firm tofu

3 cloves garlic crushed

1/4 diced red bell pepper

2-tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 freshly ground pepper

1 bunch sliced scallions or onions

2 teaspoons tamari/soy sauce

Optional garnish:

Salsa

Paprika

Tabasco

Corn Tortillas

Parsley/cilantro

Drain and hand crumble tofu. Sauté diced pepper in oil. Stir in tofu. Add turmeric, onions, garlic, pepper and soy. Cook for few minutes while stirring occasionally. Serve with garnish.

Southwestern Chicken Salad

Southwestern Chicken Salad

(Four servings)

2 C diced rotisserie chicken (boned and skinned)

2 C cooked brown rice and quinoa (see recipe)

1/2 avocado chopped

2 C diced tomatoes

1/2 bell pepper (red or your choice) diced

1/2 diced onion

Garlic clove minced

1 bunch fresh cilantro chopped

2 jalapeno peppers seeded and membrane removed finely diced

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl

Dressing:

1 T cumin ground

2 T fresh-squeezed limejuice

Tabasco sauce to taste

1 T olive oil

Lightly toast cumin and cool or put in small bowl adding lime, hot sauce and drizzle in oil. Pour over salad and toss.

Serve over a bed of romaine lettuce.

Black Bean Garbanzo Salad Recipe

Black Bean Garbanzo Salad Recipe

This is my concoction. I am not fussy about proportions of ingredients; you know your preferences.

1 lb. bag black beans cooked as directed and chilled

(add a piece of kombu in the cooking pot)

15 oz. can of corn or Frozen bag 1 lb.

15 oz. can garbanzo beans

Cucumbers 1 or 2 based on size (diced)

Red onion diced

2 celery stalks (diced)

2 Carrots (Julienne)

½ bunch of Parsley

Pint Cherry tomatoes

2 T Olive oil

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

Salt (sea) and coarse pepper to taste

Chipotle pepper ½ tsp.

Cayenne pepper (dash)

Turmeric to taste

Salting with Sea Vegetables

Salting with Sea Vegetables

Something I discovered that can be most healthful in reducing the amount of table salt in cooking is not only more nutritious, but also tasty. When you feel the need to add salt to cook greens, veggies, soups, and even pasta, just drop in some kombu (or other sea weed). This adds not only more depth, but also the saltiness is nutritionally superior. Table salt is almost only mineral salts stripped down to the chemical sodium chloride. Some sea salts are a slight improvement, with additional salts especially of Potassium and Magnesium. When the salt comes from the sea vegetable it is in a state combined with the plant chemistry and thus more optimally incorporated into your body. Most of us ingest way too much Sodium chloride. Many of us, I understand, are missing other salts for healthy body chemistry.