Soothing Your Borborygmi ...

Who knew that cinnamon is good for relieving diarrhea, cayenne pepper is good for indigestion, and fennel good for, ahem ... gas. Check out "14 Tummy Soothing Herbs" . You can thank my Mom for this tidbit of helpful information !!

PS - Don't know what Borborygmi is ? Check it out here ....

Have you tried ....

... the spinach and pumpkin dahl yet ? No ? You need to !!! If only to smell this .... I wish that I could include the smell with this photo of cummin seeds, turmeric, onion, garlic and ginger !!! BUT I CAN'T so you're going to have to cook it yourself !! I made it again the other night ... it really is YUMMY !

Apple-Dijon Chicken

For the low-carb crowd!

4 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 pounds)

Salt and pepper

2 T butter

1 medium tart cooking apple (such as Granny Smith), thinly sliced

1/3 cup whipping cream

2 T Dijon-style mustard

1. Butterfly cut each chicken breast half by cutting horizontally from one long side of the breast almost to, but not through, the opposite long side of the breast. Lay the breast open. Sprinkle both sides of chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

2. In a large skillet cook chicken, half at a time, in 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat until no longer pint (170 degrees F), turning to brown evenly, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm with aluminum foil.

3. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to skillet. Add apple, cooking and stirring 3 minutes or until tender. Add whipping cream and mustard to skillet. Cook and stir until heated through and thickened slightly. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Serve sauce and apples over chicken.

Note: My kids don't like the Dijon, so I remove their serving of apples and cream before adding the Dijon.

Nutrition Facts per serving: 342 cal., 16g total fat, 142 mg chol., 407 mg sodium, 6g carbo., 1g fiber, 40g protein

Janelle

Broccoli Salad

Ingredients:

1 Medium bunch of raw broccoli

1/2 cup Mayo

1 Tlbs red wine vinegar

1 Tbls sugar

1/4 cup raisins or craisins

1/2 cup slivered almonds or pine nuts

1/4 cup bacon bits

Cut the raw broccoli off the stem into bite size pieces. Toss the first five ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Let chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve, then add the almonds and bacon bits. Note: the longer it chills in the refrigerator the better! We love this recipe, yummy!

Janelle

Dahl - Spinach and Pumpkin

I loved this !! So easy. I got it out of a free magazine that I picked up at the health food store but I ( as I do ) changed it a bit while I was cooking it !

• olive oil ( for sauteeing)
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 2 (or more !) cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp fresh ginger - grated
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 400g pumpkin ( butternut squash in the states ?) - bite sized pieces
• 3/4 cup red lentils
• 250g ( box) frozen spinach
• 1/4 cup fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
• 3 cups water
• pinch sea salt

1. Saute onion, garlic, ginger and spices in oil 5 minutes - stir constantly. Add pumpkin, lentis, spinach, coriander, salt and water. Cover and simmer 1 hour. I set my timer and came back to stir it every 10 minutes. ( was necessary ! )
2. Serve with rice and poppadams. ( how do you spell that !!?? )
   

Granola a la Shay and Bonnie

This recipe was originally given to me by Shay. I've made a few changes ...

In a big bowl, mix 1/3 cup cold pressed canola oil, 1/3 maple syrup, honey or both and 1 tsp vanilla. Mix well.

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Add:
4 cups oats
1 cup nuts (I like whole cashews, slivered almonds and a few peanuts)
some seeds (I like sunflower, sesame and flaz)
½ cup shredded coconut
bit of psyllium husk or wheatgerm

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Mix real well. Should not be too dry. Will goop together but not like cookie dough.

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Spread onto baking sheet ( keep together … don’t spread too thin or it will burn )

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180C bake.

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Stir every 5 minutes. Watch closely, especially at the end or it will burn.
Should be crispy and toasted.

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Add dried fruit. (I like almonds and raisins)

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Optional … choc chips. (I never add these but Shay always does !!)

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Roast Potatoes with Feta

These are sooo easy and sooo yummy.

• potatoes ( how ever many you want ) washed. I don't peel them but you could if you wanted to make more work for yourself.
• olive oil
• thyme ( or lemon thyme )
• fetta cheese
  

1. Preheaat oven to 200C. Grease ( or use baking paper - that's my preference ) a large baking dish.
2. Slice potatoes - about 1cm thick. Put in baking dish. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with thyme. Toss to coat. Roast for 45 minutes or til tender. ( watch that they don't burn but usually they just go nice and crispy on top )
3. Add crumbled fetta cheese to top and serve.

Yesterday, for Sunday lunch, we had roast lamb ( just stuffed fresh rosemary and garlic under slits I made in the skin ) with these potatoes and those lemon carrots. Delicious !

Chicken and More ..

Macadamia Chicken
Broccoli with Garlic and Chilli
Lemon Roasted Onion and Carrots

.............................

Macadamia Chicken.

I got this recipe from a lady named Megan who participated in one of those email recipe exchanges.

• 600g - 1kg chicken breast fillets - sliced.
• 1 cup crushed macadamia nuts
• 3 cups of fresh breadcrumbs (Just chuck bread into the food processor and process til it looks like breadcumbs ... I used whole grain bread)
• 250 g of shredded parmesan cheese (I just used the stuff I always keep in the fridge ...)
• 2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
• 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley
• 120 g melted butter ( I used olive oil instead of butter )

1. Grease baking dish (I used baking paper instead )
2. Place sliced chicken pieces evenly across bottom of dish.
3. Combine all other ingredients and spread evenly across all the chicken.
4. Bake in moderate oven (180C) for 30-45 min.
5. Cut into squares and serve with salad. (is really nice with cranberry sauce or mango puree)

I didn't serve with salad ... or the sauces.

I served with the following :

Lemon Roasted Onions and Carrots (from:The Great Vegetarian Cookbook)

• 2 large brown onions
• 2 medium lemons
• 5 small carrots
• 4 unpeeled cloves of garlic ( I, of course, used many more than 4 ! )
• 6 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Cut onions and lemons into eight wedges
2. Combine onion, lemon, carrot, garlic and rosemary in baking dish. Drizzle with oil, stir gently.
3. Bake, uncovered, in moderate oven about 1 hour or until tender.
4. Increase overn temperature to hot, bake vegetables about 10 minutes or until browned. ( I skipped this last step as I didn't think it was necessary ... )

AND THIS :

Broccoli with garlic and chilli (from: Super Food Ideas magazine April 2007 edition)

• 800g broccoli, cut into small florets
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced ( uh, yeah ... more than that )
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

1. Bring large saucepan of water to the boil. Cook brocolli 3 minutes or til bright green. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat iol in a large, deep fying pan or wok over low heat. Add garlic and chilli. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic. Increase heat to medium. Add broccoli. Toss until well coated.
3. Season with Salt and Pepper. Serve

Cuban Black Bean Soup

6 slices lean bacon
2 cloves garlic, chopped
large onion, chopped
green pepper, chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon thyme
5-6 cups beef bouillon or vegetable stock
1 can black beans, undrained
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon lime juice (optional)
dash hot red pepper sauce
low-fat sour cream
chopped fresh thyme or parsley for garnish


In a 4-quart saucepan, heat the bacon until starting to crisp. Add the garlic, onion, and green pepper, stir-frying for about 5 minutes. Add the cumin and thyme and continue cooking for 2 minutes longer. Stir in the stock, beans, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables are as tender as you like them . (I simmer for only 10 minutes.) Remove from heat. (Optional step I leave out: carefully puree about 2 cups of the beans and vegetables in a blender or food processor. Return pureed mixture to the soup.) Stir in lime juice and red pepper sauce. Serve garnished with a spoonful of sour cream and a little chopped thyme or parsley. Goes well with crusty bread or rolls.

An Inspiration for us all...