Praying For...Tyson, our jolly little grandson, who is growing into a big boy now. I pray that he knows the love of his Savior, my Savior, Jesus Christ. I pray that he will have an old fashioned, magical, cheerful childhood. I pray that children around the world will have the necessities of life as well as a measure of joy and peace even if that joy and peace can only be found within. I pray that leaders of nations will soften their hearts, stop seeking power over good people, and let them live their lives in peace. The more the government leaves people good alone, the better off we all will be.
God's Word...spiritual high this week. Listening to 8 hours of sermons during general conference, I'm on a Jesus marathon. Loving it.
Bibliophilia...We sent The Wind in the Willows and What Your First Grader Needs To Know to Tyson. Our youngest son loved the What Your...Needs to Know Series. Each year in our homeschool, he read one or two. Then one month at the age of nine, he re-read the whole lot over again. They all loved WIW as did I.
Movement...I still can't believe the difference in my muscle tone and lack of pain since beginning foam rolling. I combine it with several stretching and strengthening movements that I've learned over the years from physical therapy, yoga, and ballet. Most days I do this rolling, stretching, yoga. Although I like getting stronger, I have to remember that muscle adds to overall weight. I'm not gaining fat, but gaining muscle. Because I don't want to re-injure myself, I won't be getting on any tractors or ladders this spring and summer.
Garden Gate...planted 3 Phoenix Tears gogi berry bushes in my attic green house. Another benefit of this plant that I hadn't counted on was these bushes have delicious edible leaves. Having a garden filled with beautiful, edible plants will be a real plus if I ever get a garden again. The next thing I plan to plant is Filipino sweet potato for its leaves called kamote. At this point, moringa, gogi, kamote, curry leaf, and a few other interesting things like these continue to produce edible greens indoors for me. The secret to good health is eating vegetables, especially greens!
Cucina Fresca...It's pretty odd to see my recipes in recently published vegan cookbooks without any reference to the actual creator. That's the way of the internet. It almost makes me want to stop posting my creations/renovations. Then I argue with myself, why should I let the actions of others decide my actions. I want to share my recipes to help others see that good food doesn't have to maim or kill like the wrongful traditions of our mothers filled with fat and/or animal products. Everyone I've ever shared it with loves the following dish. Rice is so easy on the digestive tract, too. Vegetables and fresh herbs give flavor and goodness. Mild creaminess from the cauliflower is unbelievable, while adding vegetable goodness to an otherwise questionable dish. I got the basic idea for cauliflower cream from one of Mireille Guiliano's recipes from which I removed all the oil and cheese.
Faux Risotto (If feeding just one or two, freeze half the sauce and use half as much rice, etc.)
3-5 c cooked brown rice, still hot
1 head cauliflower
2-3 cloves garlic
pinch thyme
1/4 large onion
pinch red pepper flakes
1 or 2 T nutritional yeast (optional)
2-3 chopped shitaki mushrooms
seasonal additions:
spring-peas, arugela, spinach, and parsley
early summer-green beans, collards, and parsley
late summer-tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, parsley, and basil
fall-steamed, cubed winter squash or pumpkin, nutmeg, parsley, sage, and rosemary
winter-carrots, golden beets, celery root, beet greens (or other green), parsley and rosemary
Over lowest heat slow dry steam onion, thyme, and mushrooms with lid on until onions and mushrooms are very soft. Boil cauliflower, garlic, onion, and red pepper flakes until cauliflower is soft. Meanwhile, prepare seasonal additions, Blend cauliflower mixture until utterly smooth. Stir all ingredients into the rice. Adjust seasonings with a couple twists of black pepper. Add salt as needed at the table. This is beautiful served with oven roasted portabello "steaks" and a seasonal green vegetable.
A serving of bread has more sodium than a serving of potato chips. The chips taste saltier because the salt is on top. That's the principle we use by salting only as desired at the table. We like to put celtic sea salt in a salt cellar. When we add a bit to the meal at the table, it gives a pop of saltiness without using large amounts of sodium.
