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Elderberry Drink

January 24, 2011 By towers Leave a Comment

We are very excited to share our latest discovery, dried elderberries.   Known to contain beneficial factors for the immune system that aid in the body’s defense against colds and flu, elderberry is fantastic mixed with holy basil (tulsi) tea.  We have also mixed it with fresh orange juice–YUM!  Both recipes follow.

 

 

Elderberry with Holy Basil Tea

1/4 cup dried elderberries (from the Roanoke Co-op or mail ordered)

1 cup water

3 cups holy basil or tulsi tea, cooled (this herb can be homegrown-we will share the seed–or bought as tulsi tea)

juice of 1/2 lemon

stevia extract to taste

Soak the dried elderberries in the water overnight.  The next day strain the juice through a fine strainer.  Stir and press the soaked elderberries against the strainer with a spoon to strain all the liquid and some of the pulp into a glass jar–do this until all that is left in the strainer is a dry residue of mostly seeds and skin which can be discarded.  Do not ingest the seeds of raw elderberries as they may contain some compounds associated with nausea and headaches.  Add to the strained liquid the holy basil tea, lemon juice, and stevia to taste.  Keep refrigerated.

Elderberry-Orange Juice

Follow the above recipe for soaking and straining the elderberries.  Use a citrus juicer to juice 3 organic oranges.  Mix the elderberry extract with the orange juice in a glass quart jar and add enough water to fill the quart jar.  Sweeten to taste with stevia extract.  Keep refrigerated.

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: cold and flu defense, elderberries, holy basil tea, immune system support, tulsi tea

Sweet Potato Soup

December 8, 2010 By towers Leave a Comment

If you have leftover sweet potatoes, try this easy, dairy-free recipe.  Next time you prepare sweet potatoes, bake a couple extra and use them for this soup the following day. 

1 1/2 cups mashed, baked sweet potato

1/2 large onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups of turkey or chicken broth or water

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. cayenne, optional

2-4 Tbsp. canned coconut milk

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Saute onions in olive oil in a medium-sized soup pot until soft.  Stir in spices.  Add broth.  Stir over medium heat until it simmers.  Add sweet potatoes and more water if necessary to reach desired consistency.  Add coconut milk and stir well.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a simmer before serving.

Serves 2-4

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: coconut milk, sweet potato soup

Salad with Marinated Beets

November 10, 2010 By towers Leave a Comment

Here’s to beets making a comeback…they are so easy to grow and very nutritious.   In this recipe the beets are crisp because they are raw, and flavorful from the marination.

Marinated thinly-sliced beets–made with the slicing side of a grater–are a colorful addition to a green salad. Endive instead of spinach is just as good in this recipe. Garnish with mild soft goat cheese for contrast.  The beets don’t need to be cooked; they are marinated in balsamic vinegar and herbs for at least a day and can be kept in the refrigerator for several days. Once the salad is made, strain some of the marinade and use with olive oil for dressing.

2 medium-sized peeled red beets, thinly sliced

1 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. fresh chopped chives, or 1 tsp. dried

1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 tsp. dried

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1 large clove garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp. sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

balsamic vinegar

4 cups of baby spinach leaves or young endive leaves, washed well and drained

1/2 cup chevre or other mild, soft cheese, broken in pieces

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Place the beet slices in a quart-sized glass bowl that has a lid. Add the herbs, garlic, salt, pepper and mix well. Stir in the honey. Compress the beets into the bottom of the bowl with a spoon. Pour enough balsamic vinegar into the bowl to just cover the beets. Cover with the lid. Refrigerate at least 8 hours. Stir the beets up a few times if possible during the marination.

Place spinach or endive leaves in a mixing bowl.  Add equal parts olive oil and marinade liquid (1/3 cup of each) and toss well. Place in individual bowls. Garnish with plenty of beets and cheese.

Serves 4

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: endive salad, marinated beets, spinach salad

Colorful Waldorf Salad

October 6, 2010 By towers Leave a Comment

Colorful Waldorf Salad is a great way to serve red cabbage.  We use plain yogurt to reduce the amount of mayonnaise in the recipe.  Find some local crisp, red apples and red cabbage and give it a try!

1 1/2 cups shredded red cabbage

2 apples, cored, unpeeled, chopped in 1 inch pieces (use gala, fuji or

other sweet, crisp red apple)

2 celery stalks, chopped in 1/4 inch slices

1/2 cup walnut pieces, chopped

1/3 cup raisins

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup honey

For the dressing, stir the yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, vanilla, and

honey in a pyrex measuring cup until well mixed.

Put the rest of the ingredients in a salad bowl and mix well. Pour the

dressing over the mix and stir well. Refrigerate  before serving.

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: local apples, red cabbage, waldorf salad

Zucchini Fritters

September 5, 2010 By towers Leave a Comment

Zucchini, eggs, and basil are a great combination. We were visiting Michael’s brother in Washington state this summer and his garden produce, along with eggs from his chickens, were the inspiration for this recipe.   Add ground nuts and romano cheese, and the result is a simple vegetable-protein combination to build a meal around.   With salad, these fritters make a delicious lunch.  With a bean soup, a salad, and steamed vegetables, the fritters make a filling dinner. Notice, there is no gluten in this recipe so it is safe for gluten sensitive individuals.

Zucchini Fritters

2 small-medium sized zucchini (no more than 10 inches long–they get too tough), grated

2 eggs, beaten

1 medium onion, chopped fine

extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup almonds or sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds ground in a blender

1/3 cup grated romano or parmesan cheese

1/4 cup fresh sweet basil, chopped fine, or 2 tsp. dried

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp freshly-ground black pepper

Saute the onions in 2 T. olive oil in a skillet until soft (don’t wash the skillet–use it to brown the fritters).  Place the onions in a medium-sized mixing bowl.  Stir in the grated zucchini and beaten eggs.  Mix well and stir in the rest of the ingredients.  Add 2 Tbsp olive oil to the skillet and get it hot (so the fritters don’t stick) on medium heat –but not to the point of smoking!  Form fritters with a 1/4 cup-sized measuring cup and drop  into the skillet.  The  measuring cup works great for spooning out the mix–just scoop and press it into the cup with a spoon before turning the cup upside down over the skillet and tapping the handle of the cup on the skillet to release the fritter. Brown on both sides, flipping over after 4-5 minutes.  Serve warm.  There is the option of baking the fritters–just lightly oil a baking pan and bake until lightly brown (20 minutes or so) in a 350 degree pre-heated oven.

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: eggs, fritters, gluten-free recipe, sweet basil, zucchini recipe

Holy Basil Tea

August 31, 2010 By towers Leave a Comment

You can make herb tea without heating by soaking the herbs in water overnight or placing in a sunny spot outside all day in the summer. Not all herb teas extract well this way so try it and compare to see if the taste is as good or as strong as you would like. The reason we use this method is because more nutrients may be preserved without exposing the herbs to boiling water plus it is easier. In this recipe the oranges and lemons are raw too; the nutrient levels remain higher for many foods when not heated. This recipe features holy basil tea which supports the immune system and passion flower which is calming and anti-anxiety. It is not high in sugar since stevia is used to sweeten and the natural fruit sugar in the orange juice is diluted by the tea. This drink provides a refreshingly low-sugar way to enjoy the health benefits of these herbs. One other benefit—being a fluid it contributes to your 8 or so cups of recommended fluids a day so it helps with good hydration.

Holy Basil Tea

3 juicing oranges

1 lemon

1/2 cup dried holy basil (or 8 teabags of Tulsi tea from a health food store)

¼ cup dried passionflower leaf (available from herb supply stores or health food store that can special order—we get it from www.frontiercoop.com)

stevia extract to taste

3 qts. pure water

Place the herbs in a ½ gallon glass canning jar. Add the water and cap and leave overnight. An alternative is to place the jar in a sunny location outside in the summer for a full day. Next, strain the tea. Juice the oranges and lemon and add the juice to the tea. Add stevia to taste.  Keep refrigerated.

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen

Vegetable Juices

August 17, 2010 By towers Leave a Comment

VEGETABLE JUICING

THE NUTRITION BOOST MOST AMERICANS NEED!

There is nothing as rejuvenating and as easily digested as freshly made juice. We recommend juicing primarily vegetables: carrots, celery, swiss chard, lettuce, and cucumber. We usually add an apple or two to each pound of vegetables and sometimes some fresh herbs such as parsley or mint. Some favorite combinations are carrot/apple, lettuce/chard/apple, carrot/celery/apple, carrot/celery/apple/parsley, carrot/chard/lettuce/apple, carrot/celery/apple/fresh mint, and celery/cucumber/apple. Only use organic produce otherwise you are consuming concentrated pesticides, etc.

For those people who have diabetes or low blood sugar or yeast/fungal infections, apple and carrot may need to be reduced or eliminated and the amount of juice limited to ½ to 1 cup per serving. Trial and error by watching your body’s response—especially your blood glucose levels– is very important for these folks.

We do not recommend juicing the cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, kale, collards, etc.) because of their strong flavor and their potential to suppress thyroid function. Also, citrus fruits should not be juiced by a vegetable juicer—use an electric citrus juicer for these and limit your consumption to a half cup per serving (and dilute with water and sweeten to taste with stevia), because of the sugar (fructose) content. As for other fruits, they are better eaten fresh and not juiced because most people do not need the high amounts of fructose they contain.

One other point is that you need to eat just as many vegetables (both fresh in salads and lightly cooked in other dishes) when you juice. Juicing does not reduce this requirement and you do need the fiber they provide. Juicing adds lots of readily-available vitamins, minerals, enzymes and fluid that no other food provides. There may be times, such as when you can not chew (from oral surgery) or when you are on a liquid diet, then juicing proves invaluable because it provides fresh vegetables that you would not otherwise be able to eat. For this reason, we recommend everyone try to acquire a good juicer.

As for juicers, we recommend the grinding/pressing type, namely, the Champion, the Green Power, or the Norwalk. We have access to a distributor providing discounted pricing so please ask us for more details. Do not use a centrifugal juicer.

Carrot/Celery/Apple/Parsley Juice

8 large organic carrots, cut in half lengthwise to ease pushing through juicer

2-3 organic tart apples (not delicious or soft-type apples), quartered to fit into juicer

4 stalks of celery, cut in 6 inch lengths

1 bunch of parsley

Wash and chop vegetables that are too large to fit or too large to easily push through the juicer, and quarter the apples.  Press produce through the juicer in an alternating fashion—1 carrot, then 1 celery, then 1 piece of apple, etc. Catch juice into a large glass pyrex measuring cup or glass bowl. Drink immediately as nutrients oxidize within minutes. Wash juicer parts as soon as possible.

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: Champion Juicer, enzymes, fresh vegetable juice, Greenpower Juicer, liguid diet, Norwalk Juicer, organic vegetables

Nettle Rosehip Tea

August 17, 2010 By towers Leave a Comment

Make your beverages as nutritious as your food by using herb teas. If you are one of those people who has trouble drinking enough liquids (especially once sodas, sweet beverages, and pasteurized fruit juices are mostly a thing of the past), having drinks such as this in your refrigerator or at work may help. Many herbs though safe to use as teas are bitter or strong tasting–this mixture is not. It’s easy to get children to drink it if you add 1 Tbsp. of honey and then sweeten to taste with the stevia.

Nettles are full of minerals and have a calming effect. Rose hips have powerful anti-oxidants. For added zip, add the ginger which has anti-inflammatory properties. The Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op is the best place to get bulk dried herbs and spices that have not been irradiated. They have the nettles, dried cut rose hips, and fresh ginger root plus the stevia liquid extract. For a larger selection and online or phone orders, visit Frontier Herb Coop .  Get a 4-inch diameter metal screen strainer to make straining herbs easy.

Nettle Rose Hip Tea

Use 2 pyrex measuring cups or glass mason jars for the teas. Place 2 Tbsp.dried nettle leaves in one jar and pour in 1 cup of boiling water. In the other jar put 1 heaping Tbsp. of rose hips, 1 tsp. of grated fresh ginger root (optional) and 1 cup of boiling water. Let them steep for 20 minutes.

Strain the nettle tea into a quart jar. Dispose of the herbs. Blend the rose hip-ginger tea mixture (don’t strain it yet) in a blender. Now strain this into the nettle tea. As you do this, press the pulp against the strainer with a spoon to get out the soft pulp and scrap it off the bottom of the strainer with a spoon or spatula and into the quart jar. Dispose of what’s left in the strainer—the skins and seeds. Add the juice of 1 lemon or 1 lime and stevia extract to sweeten to taste if desired. Add enough water to the tea to make a full quart. Serve warm or cold. Keep refrigerated.

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidants, calming, healthy beverages, herb tea, minerals, nettle tea, Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op, rosehip tea, stevia

Lentil Burgers

August 13, 2010 By towers Leave a Comment

Sprouted Lentil Burgers

Legumes that are sprouted before being cooked are much easier to digest and the cooking time is greatly reduced.  The two legumes that sprout the most readily are lentils and garbanzo beans.  To sprout, soak 1 cup of beans in a quart jar by filling with water and leaving for 12 hours.  Drain and rinse well and drain again.  Turn jar on its side–this prevents the beans from getting dried out.  Leave them by the sink and rinse and drain them in the morning and  evening.  When the sprouts (the little white shoots that grow out of the beans) are about 1/8  to 1/4 inch long the beans are ready to use.

1 cup of dry lentils, soaked and sprouted as described above—this will be about 2 cups of sprouts.

1 medium onion, chopped

extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup walnuts (may substitute sunflower seeds)

2 tsp. cumin powder

2 tsp. prepared mustard

1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast flakes, optional

¾ tsp. sea salt

black pepper or cayenne pepper (optional)

Saute chopped onion in 2 Tbsp. olive oil until soft, stirring often and adding cumin powder once onions are soft.  In a food processor place the lentil sprouts, sautéed onions, and the rest of the ingredients.  Process until mixture is well ground and homogenous.  In a frying pan, brown on both sides in 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil.  Serve warm with mustard or ketchup.

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: lentil burgers, sprouted lentils

Marinated Sweet Potatoes

July 21, 2010 By towers Leave a Comment

The roots of good health thrive or die in the kitchen.  It’s not a matter of time spent preparing meals–health promoting meals can easily be made with basic kitchen equipment.   No need to be a gourmet cook spending hours in a fancy kitchen!  Understanding the principles of healthy eating and then organizing yourself are the keys.   We will be posting easy recipes with comments that are meant to educate and inspire.

Marinated Sweet Potatoes with Zip

This is a perfect summer snack food or addition to a salad.  The potatoes are not cooked so they contribute to the 50% raw foods (by weight) that we recommend for diet.  It is a time saver because once made, they store well in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.  Because they are marinated in olive oil there is no need to use salad dressing when they are added to a salad.  Apple cider vinegar can be substituted for the hot pepper sauce if you don’t like spicey foods.

  • 2 medium-size sweet potatoes, organically grown if possible, peeled and cut in half lenghwise and then into 1/8 inch slices.
  • 1/3 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup hot pepper sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. chopped chives or 1 tsp. dried chives
  • salt and pepper to taste

Mix the oil and hot pepper sauce in a glass bowl.  Add the potato slices, chives, salt and pepper.  Stir and cover.  Keep refrigerated.  Allow to marinate for 6 hours  before serving.

Filed Under: Monica's Kitchen Tagged With: healthy recipe, marinated vegetables, raw food recipe
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