A tale of three bowls

Bowl #1.  Acai bowl from The Harvest Bar in Sherman Oaks.  They call themselves a "superfood cafe" and this was a welcome lunch after a long and annoying government agency appointment in Van Nuys.  This wonderful bowl had 21 grams of protein and included: acai, peanut butter, hemp protein, hemp milk, dates, banana, goji berries, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, almonds, cacao nibs, bee pollen, and fresh raspberries!  It was like a healthy ice cream sundae with the most delightful flavors and textures! The next day I was sure to stock my house up with all the needed ingredients to make this and it's been on repeat for breakfast or lunch ever since.  I add spirulina powder so my bowl is green, not purple! Yum!

Bowl #2 satisfied a strange craving.  I wanted to eat something that LOOKED just like this.  I don't know what got in my subconscious mind to form this craving - maybe I saw something on Pinterest?

Nonetheless, this SUPER easy and DELICOUS dinner hit the spot.  Basically it's just a bowl with cooked quinoa on the bottom, topped with sauteed kale + chard, and oven roasted butternut squash.  It is topped with a tahini dressing simply made by throwing a few tablespoons of tahini, a couple of garlic cloves, the juice of one lemon, a pinch of salt, and a little water into a mini chopper.  The secret is roasting the squash on high temperature so it gets all yummy and caramelized.   Oftentimes I end up with big bunches of greens from my farm box and this will be my new favorite way to use them.

Ok, so maybe this one isn't EXACTLY a bowl...but more like a platter... but just LOOK at this gorgeous food from Tel Aviv Grill in Tarzana!  This is authenic Israeli food.  Chicken Schwarma, incredible hummous, one of the best falafels I have ever had, and fluffy house-made pita bread.   Not to mention all the lovely condiments. It completely took me back to our trip to Israel a few years ago, and all the amazing food we had there.  

 {P.S. Don't expect to go for dinner on a Friday night or anytime Saturday -- they are Jewish and close to observe Shabbat around 3:30 pm and the Sabbath on Saturday.}

National Donut Day at Donut Friend

Did you know last Thursday was National Donut Day?  Is that not the best holiday EVER?  You might not know, due to my many posts on health and nutrition, that I have a complete and utter weakness for donuts.  Yes, it's true.  It's not under control in the least, nor do I have any plans to get it under control. :-)

Emma reminded me of the holiday many weeks in advance, and our calendars were clearly marked for the occasion.  The night before, we twisted the arm of our dear friend, Alik, and she came along with her 4 year old daughter.

We decided to visit a fun donut shop in the nearby area of Los Angeles, Highland Park (adjacent to Eagle Rock). Donut Friend is such a fun place -- you can customize your own donut, or go with one of their "signature complilations" on the menu.   They all have fun names, which I later learned are named after punk rock songs.  This place is hardcore.  The donuts are so amazingly fresh and tasty. If you have a moment, check out their website.*  But be warned, you may need a donut immediately after you do.  *I am not responsible for any actions taken on account of visiting this site.  :-)

 

 

 They ain't cheap, but this isn't the corner donut hut where you grab a $8 dozen and chow down several.  Think of it as going to get a gourmet ice cream cone, it's about the same price as that (and the same kind of experience)

So, we arrived around 10:00 a.m. and discovered that us and about 100 other people thought Donut Friend would be a good idea, too.  No worries, as it was TOTALLY worth it.  After about an hour, we had these babies in our possession:

I won't describe them all, but the one in front on the bottom center of the pic is called "Jets to Basil."   It is a glazed yeast donut, cut in half, smeared with goat cheese, strawberry jam and fresh basil.  Then it is smacked back together, drizzled with vanilla bean icing and balsamic glaze.   Strange, but it totally works for me. The one on the top right is maple glazed and topped with "coconut bacon" which is vegan, all natural, flavored coconut (it almost fooled me)

Little Darsy was totally into the day.  She was even wearing her festive donut shorts. This was her "national donut day  announcement" the week before, featuring Krispy Kreme donuts. 

She didn't even eat any donuts...but L O O K at those thighs!

"But Grammie... when do I get to actually EAT one of these?"



I sure love my little donut friend.  
Let's plan to get donuts a lot together, little Darsy.

WDW: Probiotic Power Punch!

 
It's sickie season, and though I usually escape illness fairly well, this season I've gotten a couple of mild colds and a nasty infection.  

So, I'm trying to be proactive about eating lots of greens, fresh veggie juices, vitamin and antioxidant rich fruits, and probiotic foods, such as yogurt, kefir, and the like. Probiotics are especially helpful to boost all that good bacteria in your gut (where most of your immune system operates).   Today's recipe is a favorite new breakfast that I tweaked from this yummy chia seed pudding recipe  (except I sub in maple syrup for the sweetener in the above).   

I'm a HUGE fan of raw dairy products, and we are fortunate to have Organic Pastures dairy here in California (and we are fortunate that raw dairy is LEGAL!).   My local Sprouts market sells their products, including their raw kefir.   Kefir has more probiotics than yogurt, so I buy it often and mix it into smoothies or pour it over some fruit.   I decided to blend my love for the chia pudding with my desire to eat more probiotics.  The result was smashing!  Try it soon!

Kefir Chia Pudding
Serves 1 

1 cup raw kefir (or at least use organic, unsweetened if you can't get raw)
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
fresh berries of choice
real maple syrup
toasted coconut, (or granola, nuts, etc.)

In a serving bowl, stir the kefir and chia seeds together.   Chill at least 45 minutes.
Top with a drizzle of maple syrup and toasted coconut. 

Holiday appetizer: Cranberry-Pineapple Salsa

Appetizers - -  not exactly my specialty!  

It's always nice to have a few nibbles ready when guests arrive, but I always struggle as to what to serve.  Here's a great recipe that is healthy and fresh -- quite welcome with the heaviness of appetizers at this time of year.  I served this easy and delicious salsa with Trader Joe's organic corn, quinoa, and chia chips.  YUM -- try this soon!

Cranberry Pineapple Salsa

Makes about 3 1/2 cups or 12 servings

1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
1/2 medium pineapple, pared, cored and coarsely chopped (about 2 packed cups)
1 green onion (white and green parts), coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint or cilantro
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (may add some seeds if heat is desired)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place cranberries, pineapple, green onion, mint, jalapeño, garlic and salt in food processor fitted with metal chopping blade. Pulse until cranberries are coarsely chopped. 

Transfer to serving dish and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes but no longer than 2 hours. Serve chilled.

WDW returns with ACAI BOWLS!

Meet my new obsession -- Acai bowls.

They are like ice cream that is good for you!

I like to eat them for breakfast or lunch but feel free to treat them like dessert!

What is an acai berry anyways?  It's considered a "superfood" from the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.  The acai tree is actaully a type of palm tree.  Brazilian natives consider the berry to be a secret of health, providing energy, and boosting immune and metabolic function.

Here are some interesting facts about acai berries:

-They contain amino acids & omega fatty acids.

-They have all the same vitamins and minerals of most fruits, but also contain unique chemical compounds found in no other fruit on the planet.  

-Acai contains one of the highest levels of antioxidants you can find -  including a superpotent one called anthocyanin.  It also has free radical powers. Acai's ORAC (oxygen radical absorbancy capacity) is over 3500, which is hundreds of times higher than your average apples and bananas.

The best way to get acai is by buying it frozen.

The company Sabazon sells convenient packets of plain Acai and Acai mixed with guarana extract.  The latter is lightly sweetened with organic cane juice and I prefer that one.

How to make 1 serving

 In high-powered blender add the following:

-1/2 frozen banana, cubed

-1 packet Sabazon Acai puree 

(I get mine at Costco, they also have it at Sprouts and probably Whole Foods)

-1/2 cup liquid (I like almond milk or raw milk or half OJ/half milk)

 -small handful of ice

Blend to the consistency of ice cream.

Now, the fun part... toppings!
 

I like to add the following:

fresh fruit 

(my faves are fresh berries, sliced bananas, peaches, and kiwi)

homemade granola

toasted shredded coconut

and my absolute fave: chia seeds

If you're near Los Angeles, and want a foodie adventure, here's a link to the best acai bowls in town!

It's time for Hanukkah and latkes!

Since I was raised in a Jewish home, I grew up not with Christmas, but with Hanukkah.   It was a cherished time of family. As children, my sister and I lit the menorah candles, said the prayer in Hebrew, and received a gift from our parents for eight consecutive nights!   My parents always invited grandparents to come celebrate with us at least one night and we'd have a big dinner. When I married Rich and we started having kids, we continued to share the tradition with my family.  Therefore, our kids grew up with all the traditions as well and love Hanukkah.  Nowadays, I host and my sister and her family come, as well as a cousin of my mom's.

Now, the crown jewel of our Hanukkah meal is the latkes.  Latkes are basically potato pancakes which are deep fried.  Though they are made with shredded potatoes, they actually bear little resemblance to breakfast hashed browns.  They are more like the texture of (flat) dumplings, as they are made with flour, eggs, and grated onion as well.  Making them is a laborious process so we don't have them but once a year.  They are absolutely delicious! Everyone in our family loves them. My favorite way to eat them is with sour cream and a little sugar sprinkled on.  Applesauce is also a traditional topping.  However...some people in our family (who shall remain nameless) put KETCHUP on theirs, which is such a gentile thing to do (and so very WRONG). I do not allow the ketchup to be on the table, so the bottle is usually smuggled in by a certain person and clandestinely shared with others also in the wrong.  :-)

We have always had a tradition that everyone gathered must "rub" some of the potatoes.  We do them by hand and the method is more of ricing than grating, as we rub the potatoes over an old rectangular cooling rack!  Kind of funny, but the small grid of the cooling rack gives the mixture the best texture. One by one, each person goes to the kitchen to rub, and then my dad mixes in the rest of the ingredients to just the right consistency.   He then frys them in oil over the stove, which takes over an hour.

This year, Dad handed the tradition over to his oldest grandson, Drew.  Dad taught Drew how to make the batter just right, and then Drew fried all the latkes on his own.  I must say he did a great job!  I was so proud of him, and my dad was literally beaming that his grandson was now fit to carry on our family tradition.  Drew was very enthusiastic and loved the experience, too!  He even had Hanukkah music playing in the kitchen and was quite into it.  He is the best.  :-)

 

Drew showed up sporting his yarmulke (that he got from his semester in Israel).

My nephew Luke doing his "rub."

Other nephew Vance got a little tired of rubbing (and poor Stephanie looks a little freaky here).

A much more flattering pic of my lovely daughter-in-love, as she puts in her time.

Steadman doing his part. :-)

Dad and his girls.
One thing I realized recently is that my dad and I have EXACTLY the same teeth.   That probably isn't interesting to anyone but me, but I thought I'd throw it in anyways (you must admit that you went back and looked -- didn't you?) :-)

The soon-to-be-married couple!

 

Proud Grandpa moment!



Drew hard at work frying the latkes to perfection!

Pie is happiness. Pie is love.

If you've been a reader of my blog for any amount of time, you'll know I'm all about nutrition.  I've gone on and on about the benefits of raw dairy, organic whole grains (and grinding your own flour), fresh produce, healthy fats, grass fed beef, as well as the virtues of sprouting, souring, and fermenting.  

And if you've been a reader of my blog for any amount of time, you'll also know that I'm obsessed passionate about croissants and pie.  And in particular, those completely devoid of any whole grains whatsoever and made from quite unhealthy fats. 

Yes, it's a bit reckless.  It's definitely hypocritical.  But they just taste so stinkin' good, you know?  And, in an effort to keep my life, ahem, "balanced" (Yeah, that's it) I feel that they are quite needful.  (Convinced? Me neither.)

Anyways, today I would like to talk pie.  Because pie is just a wonderful thing, and we all know it.  Pie is happiness.  Pie is love.

I've always struggled to make a good apple pie.  Awhile back I tried this one and it was fairly good.  Don't get me wrong.  I make a MEAN pie crust.  But, it was the apples... they would either be rubbery or crunchy when the crust was done.  And there would always be this unsightly pool of liquid when I cut the pie. I just couldn't master it.

Then, I stumbled upon this recipe by Paula Deen. I'm not a big Paula fan and I don't think I've ever made one of her recipes before.  But it looked interesting so I decided to give it a try.   It was so easy to make and turned out quite nice.  It definitely was a beautiful looking pie and the apples were cooked just right.  I was happy with it! 


For goodness' sake, PLEASE get your pie crust down.   

It's a basic life skill and one that can actually win you a husband.  And if you already have a husband, I promise you that you will make him cry.  And fall at your feet.  (I'm speaking from experience here, people.)

I have always used and loved Susan Branch's pie crust recipe. It's simple and foolproof IF you do it right.

RECIPE:
1 pie crust:  1 1/2 cups AP flour, 3/4 tsp. sea salt, 3/4 cup Crisco (chilled), ice water
2 pie crusts:  3 cups AP flour, 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt, 1 1/2 cups Crisco (chilled), ice water

*e-wife's FAQ on pie crust:

-No, do not use "butter flavor" Crisco.  "Butter flavor" is a nasty thing. And shortening is already nasty enough on its own.  Just use the kind in the blue can please and make sure it's refrigerated. 
-Yes, I have tried Spectrum organic palm oil shortening and NO it does not taste as good. 
-Yes, I have tried making the crust with part or all butter and it is not as flaky.
 
Conclusion: Just use regular Crisco if you want a good pie crust. 

To make the pie crust, simply mix the flour and salt in a large bowl.  Cut in Crisco with a pastry blender until mixture resembles small peas.   Slowly stir in ice water with a fork until the mixture sticks together.  How much water?  It's an experience thing. Not too much so that it's gummy.  Not too little so that it doesn't stick in a ball.     Stir and handle the pie dough as LITTLE as possible to get the job done.  Form the dough into a ball  (if you are making two crusts, divide into two balls).  Place the dough on a well-floured board and flatten to a round disk with your hands.

Now with well-floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 12-14", depending on your pie plate (you want a little overlap).  Fold it in half, then in half again, and carefully unfold over your pie plate.  Gently press into place, crimping the edges if you like. 

Here are two great recipes for the pie crust.

PAULA DEEN’S CRUNCH TOP APPLE PIE

(modified)

Ingredients

Two pie crust recipe
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash salt
4 cups peeled, chopped cooking apples 
8 oz unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter, chopped into small pieces

Crunch Topping:

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
Dash salt
1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Line a 9-inch pie pan with half of  pie dough. Combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the apples, applesauce, and lemon juice. Spoon the apple mixture into pie pan and dot with butter. Cut remaining crust into strips; arrange in a lattice design over top of pie.

For crunch topping:

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Using a fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over top of crust. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for about 45 minutes, or until crust and topping are golden brown.

Now, if you're feeling lazy you can just make a crostata.  What is a crostata?  It's basically a free-form pie.  Just roll the pie crust out and plop some filling in the middle, then fold the edges in.   I tried this balsamic strawberry crostata and it turned out beautiful, but wasn't sweet enough.  I added some sugar to the recipe.

 

Balsamic Strawberry Crostata 

Serves 4 

1 prepared pie crust recipe

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1 tablespoon good balsamic vinegar 

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg 

1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Gently toss strawberries with balsamic and sugar in a medium bowl.  

Roll dough on a piece of parchment paper into a roughly 12-inch disk. Place strawberries in the center of dough, leaving about 3" border. Fold dough border over edge of strawberries. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and 1 tablespoon water. Brush egg wash over folded-over dough. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over top of dough and berries. Slide parchment and crostata onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes until crust is golden brown. Cool slightly or to room temperature. 

WDW - Raw Chocolate Shake

 

A chocolate shake that's actually healthy?  Bring it on!

This shake is so amazingly delicious.  It's like a frappucino that got a successful, healthy makeover.  :-)

Here are the wonderful ingredients:

Raw milk.  I'm a raw milk lover.  Here's a little rundown on the differences between raw and pasteurized/homogenized milk.   You can certainly substitute another milk for the raw milk in this recipe, but keep in mind if you do then it probably won't be raw or as nutritious.  I buy Organic Pastures brand raw milk at Sprouts, and I've also seen it at Lassen's.   Each cup contains 8 g. of protein and 30% of my daily recommended calcium.   If you don't have access to raw milk, I would suggest homemade almond milk or diluted canned coconut milk for this recipe.

Frozen banana.  I always throw whole, unpeeled, overripe bananas into the freezer (I keep them in a Ziploc bag).  That way, when I need one for a smoothie, I simply grab one, run it under some warm water, then carefully cut off the peel and chunk it up.

Cacao Powder & Nibs. You can get the raw cacao products online, at Sprouts, or at Whole Foods.  Cacao is basically unroasted (uncooked) cocoa beans.  The powder is similar in texture to unsweetened cocoa powder.  The nibs remind me of finely chopped espresso beans.  Cacao is a top source of antioxidants, and contains an abundance of iron, magnesium, and calcium (so important for us women!), as well as many essential vitamins. 

And we all know that chocolate puts us in a good mood, right?  Actually, there is some science behind that -- cacao contains theobromine and phenylethylamine which are proven mood enhancers!  If more people ate chocolate, the world would be a much happier place. :-)  Start with this shake.

For one serving, in a Vitamix or strong blender add:

1 cup raw milk
1 rounded tablespoon each of cacao powder and cacao nibs
1 large frozen banana, cut into chunks
ice to desired consistency  (1/2- 1 cup)

I like to blend everything together except the cacao nibs, which I like to add in once everything is well-blended.  I like to keep a little texture in the smoothie, so I just blend the nibs slightly at the end. 

A touch of cinnamon or vanilla is really nice in this shake, too.  
I plan on making this shake a lot this summer!  I won't even feel guilty having it for lunch.