Archive for the ‘Food’ Category
Posted by terrepruitt on June 14, 2012
I recently tried my hand at making hummus. I have made it a few times and I keep adjusting the recipe. The first time it seemed a bit too bitter and sour so I decided the next time I would put in less tahini and lemon. So I put in less tahini, lemon, and salt and I put in a lot of raw garlic. Woooeeeee! That made it kind of spicy and really strong. Our refrigerator smelled of such strong garlic. I was thinking that if I cooked the garlic before putting it in the hummus it would make it more mellow. I was making it in a kitchen other than my own and I forgot my garlic press so I really felt I needed to cook the garlic before putting it in. This third batch was the best so far. In addition to the sauteed garlic I was able to use a food processor. The food processor really made a big difference. The time before when I used my blender there were many whole beans left. The blender does not get the beans as well as the food processor. But I do believe the key ingredient is the tahini. Despite the fact that it really bitter it has the flavor that makes hummus taste like hummus to me.
Tahini is ground sesame seeds. The jar states this tahini is made of roasted then ground sesame seeds. I am not usually a fan of sesame seeds. If given a choice I would not eat them, but I do believe they are an important ingredient in hummus. As I said, I think tahini is the ingredient that gives the hummus that familiar-to-me flavor.
I also think the tahini is the main reason why hummus is a bit high in fat. The beans themselves have fat, garbanzo beans have 2 grams of fat per half of a cup. The tahini has 19 grams of fat per 2 tablespoons. That is a lot of fat. There is a lot of protein in both the beans and the tahini. The beans have 7 grams per 1/2 cup and the tahini has 6 grams of protein per 2 tablespoons. Hummus is a great source of protein.
There is hardly any sodium in the tahini which I think is a good thing because it allows for control of the sodium content in the hummus. The first batch I made seemed very salty to me so I was able to adjust it with each successive batch.
The marketing on the jar of tahini states that it is a good source of iron and calcium, but it is only 4% of the recommended daily value. Combined with the beans I think hummus is a good source of iron, but I don’t feel it is high in calcium.
I like to eat hummus as a dip. I dip veggies in it. I also like to eat it with pita bread or even corn chips. I also like to use it as a mayonnaise replacement. I put it on sandwiches instead of using mayo. It helps to add a bit of protein and fiber to a sandwich. Also having the hummus with the tahini in it really adds an additional layer of flavor to a sandwich. I really think that the tahini is the key to a flavorful hummus.
Are you familiar with tahini? Do you make your hummus with or without tahini?
Posted in Food | Tagged: bitter, chickpeas, flavor, Garbanzo beans, garlic, hummus, Recipe, sesame, tahini | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 12, 2012
I mentioned in my Stuff Happens In Life As Do Moments that I had to rearrange my Nia class schedule because of “stuff”. The stuff that was happening required me to be visiting someone in a hospital. There was surgery involved in the situation and the situation required a “nutrition plan”. As with all surgeries and most medical situations the patient should be eating healthy food. The word HEAL is even in the word HEALthy. One of the “food stuffs” the patient was given to consume was “Health Shake”. I was curious as to what kind of health could be delivered in a carton. Well, after reading the ingredients it was confirmed that there is none – at least not in this carton.
The first ingredient is skim milk. At this point, I will not comment on that. Skim milk and dairy in general will probably be a topic of separate post, but for now, I am sticking to this “Health Shake”. The next ingredient is actually a good one: water.
The next five ingredients and/or additives were what caused me to have a conniption fit in the hospital room. I could not and cannot believe this carton of disgusting stuff is fed to people who are ill and need to receive nutrients to heal their bodies.
This to me is a huge glaring prime example of why so many people are sick in America. If this is what is consindered healthy and nutritious we are truly doomed.
CORN SYRUP, CORN OIL (WITH BHA/BHT), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SOY PROTEIN ISOLSATE!!!!
There isn’t actually any nutritious food in this carton. I didn’t even look at the “nutritional value” because to me there is none. NOT ONE IOTA! Genetically engineered sugar, with genetically engineered oil — that contain preservatives that most counties have banned, with more genetically engineered and further chemically altered sugar, with some genetically engineered protein.
The ice cream they served later was much healthier than this “Health Shake”. I really am completely disgusted with this item. I am disgusted that they are feeding it to a person who needs nutrients. I am even more disgusted that it is called a “Health Shake”. If they called it a chemical shake or liquid crap, I don’t think I would be so upset.
I was even more upset when later on I saw a straw in the carton — meaning the patient actually drank it. Now, let me remind you that I am not a perfect eater. I eat processed foods. I work to avoid food with high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup in them, but I do eat processed foods. But to say that these ingredients are healthy is shameful. To feed a body that needs healing a carton of chemicals is sad.
I just saw this statement:
“The U.S. does not have a healthcare system. Rather, it is a ‘Sickness System’ where the system thrives on people being sick. Far more profit is generated by sickness than health.”
And with this “Health Shake” being given to people in the hospital I am thinking it could actually be evidence that the statement is true.
Many of us have different ideas of what we think is healthy, but I am guessing that most people could look at this list of ingredients and agree that this is nothing but a cacophony of chemicals that really have no nutritional value.
Would you choose to drink this? If you were in a hospital and given this to drink would you think to read the ingredients? What do you think about this?
Posted in Food | Tagged: BHA, BHT, chemically altered, corn oil, corn syrup, genetically, heal, health, health industry, health professionals, Health Shake, healthcare system, healthy food, HFCS, High Fructose Corn Syrup, hospital, hospital food, hospital visits, Nia, Nia class, Nia Class Schedule, nutrition, nutrition plan, preservatives, processed foods, skim milk, soy protein, surgery | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 9, 2012
Before I started teaching Nia, I had always had corporate jobs. I remember learning about jicama when I worked at my first “real” job. So that had to be between . . . . well, let’s just say it was a long time ago. I remember being amazed at how it tasted like nothing, but had a little hint of sweet and dryness about it. I love it. When I see it on vegetable trays and in salad bars I always get some. Even though I love it, I have only bought one once. I don’t know how to pick it out and I always forget that is what the people who work in produce can help you do. They can help with picking out produce. My dad always has jicama. My dad always has a container of raw, cut and washed vegetables in the fridge and often jicama is in that container or one of its own. Next time I go to the store I am going to buy one. Jicama is considered a root vegetable, but is actually a legume.
It actually looks like root and tastes like a root. Very plain, but with the slightest hint of sweetness. I have always eaten it raw. Cut into pieces and just eaten it raw, but in my quest for nutritional information on it I saw that people do cook with it. I will have to write another post for that because I have never even thought of cooking it!
One suggestion I saw . . . and if you’ve eaten jicama you will agree . . . said that jicama can replace water chestnuts in recipes. And, of course, they seem exactly the same!
It is pronounced HEcamuh. I have always thought it was HICKamuh. I will work on that!
Some nutritional information on jicama:
-low in calories; 38 calories per 100 grams
-high dietary fiber; 4 grams per 100 grams
-contains the anti-oxidant vitamin C; 33% of the RDA’s Daily Value (DV)
-contains vitamin B
-contains 1 gram of protein per 100 grams -contains 150 mg of Potassium (about 6% of the DV)
-no fat per 100 grams
Additional details (per 100 grams):
Cholesterol 0 mg / Sodium 4 mg / Total Carbohydrates 9 g
According to WiseGeek:
“When choosing jicama at the store, look for medium sized, firm tubers with dry roots. Do not purchase jicama that has wet or soft spots, which may indicate rot, and don’t be drawn to overlarge examples of the tuber, because they may not be as flavorful. Jicama will keep under refrigeration for up to two weeks.”
But information on Wiki says to never refrigerate. So I guess you will have to decide that for yourself. I guess if you refrigerate your other root veggies you might as well refrigerate this one too. I think I might not refrigerate it until I cut it.
The outside skin needs to be peeled or cut off, then you can cut up the vegetable anyway you would like to eat it. I tend to like it in long pieces of about an 1/2 inch around. Usually you can only get that out of the middle as it is a round veggie so you end up with some odd shaped pieces.
Are you familiar with jicama? Do you eat it? Do you cook with it?
Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: antioxidant, carbohydrates, corporate job, jicama, legumes, Nia, Nia Teacher, Potassium, produce, protein, root vegetable, salad bars, teaching Nia, tubers, vegetable, vitamin C, water chestnuts, WiseGeek | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 31, 2012
When I was looking up information for my post about the RoundUp Ready seeds I came across an article that states that the RoundUp Ready crops are also destroying the flora in our guts. I don’t know if that is really scientifically sound, but it makes sense at first glance right? Or it makes sense that all of the crops that we consume that have been sprayed with RoundUp might start killing off the flora in our bodies. I mean let’s talk about how much RoundUp Ready crops that have been sprayed with RoundUp actually end up in our body. I am not talking exact numbers because I can’t do that, but let’s just look at some things here.
First let me remind you about the crops that are genetically engineered: soy, alfalfa, corn, rapeseed (AKA the “canola”), and the sugar beets have all been engineered to withstand an herbicide. With that in mind let’s go through the diet for a day in a hypothetical person;
Eggs, toast with butter, and milk for breakfast. Eggs that were hatched from a corn fed chicken, bread that probably has some sort of soy product in it, butter (for the toast) and milk from a cow that was fed corn. So even though breakfast did not contain any of the actual things on the list of RoundUp ready crops, they were consumed via the food eaten.
Popcorn for a snack. Corn is a genetically engineered crop.
Sandwich and tortilla chips for lunch. Bread again, with some sort of soy product in it, mayonnaise with corn fed eggs and probably soy oil, cheese from corn fed or alfalfa fed cows. Tortilla chips made with corn probably fried in soybean oil or the highly touted “healthy” Canola oil.
Dinner might consist of chicken or beef — both corn fed. A salad probably topped with a dressing containing Canola oil.
It seems as if we might be consuming a lot of 1) genetically engineered food and 2) a lot of residual herbicide. I just thought that the article was interesting because as I read the title it occurred to me how many different probiotic products I have seen within the past few years. I have always been taught to eat the yogurt with the live cultures because it was good for you. It was especially emphasized when taking an antibiotic, but now-a-days you can’t open a magazine or watch TV without seeing at least one advertisement for a probiotic. There are a lot out there. I have some probiotic supplements myself. (I forget to take them, but I have them.) I am just wondering if the sudden need for probiotics has to do with the genetically engineered food supply.
I had always thought it had more to do with the idea that a huge portion of the population does not get enough dietary fiber. I think that has a link to highly processed foods. Which when you think about it most of the highly processed foods are made from the corn, the soy, and the canola (FKA genetically engineered rapeseed). So there could be a link. I think our food and the nation’s health is connected. Not sure if genetically engineered crops are killing off our gut flora, but it is something to think about.
What do you think? Do you think that we could be destroying our gut flora? Do you think there is a link between that and all the probiotic products?
Posted in Food | Tagged: alfalfa, antibiotic, canola, Canola Oil, Corn, corn fed chicken, dietary fiber, Eggs, genetically engineered, gut flora, herbicide, highly processed foods, live cultures, probiotic products, rapeseed, RoundUp Ready seeds, soy, sugarbeets, yogurt | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 29, 2012
Have you heard the term “RoundUp Ready”? Round up is an herbicide, a plant killer. Farmers use it to kill weeds. They kill the weeds with an herbicide in order to not have to till the soil. Not having to till the soil to destroy the weeds saves time and money. The way that farmers can use a poisonous plant killer on the food crops without killing the crop is that the seeds of the crops are “RoundUp Ready”. Certain seeds have been genetically engineered to withstand the effects of Roundup. I’ll repeat that so you don’t have to go back: RoundUp Ready is where certain seeds have been genetically engineered to withstand the effects of the plant killer, glyphosate (Roundup). So the plants that surround the crop will die when the area is sprayed with the herbicide, but the crop itself will survive. Scientists have created seeds for food to be consumed that can outlast the effects of poison.
Monsanto’s website states: “Roundup Ready® Soybeans were commercialized in 1996, followed by alfalfa, corn, cotton, spring canola, sugarbeets and winter canola, which contain in-plant tolerance to Roundup® agricultural herbicides. This means you can spray Roundup agricultural herbicides in-crop from emergence through flowering for unsurpassed weed control, proven crop safety and maximum yield potential.” Monsanto is the company that created Roundup and the RoundUp Ready seed. As you can see their bragging rights include the fact that you can spray poison on the plant from the moment it starts to grow all the way through flowering. Non-stop poisoning! Yay! But that is ok because the plant, the soy, the alfalfa, the corn, the cotton, the genetically engineered rapeseed (AKA the “canola”), and the sugarbeets have all been engineered to withstand the poison. It won’t die from it, it will just have been treated with it . . . from the beginning to the end.
So, for some of us there is two things here, the food itself has been altered and then it is sprayed with poison. For some the fact that the food itself has been engineered might not seem like a big deal. Genetically modified food has been around for ages. I myself love the mutated peach. In fact I don’t even like peaches, but I love their mutation, their genetic modification. Grafting and breeding is different, it is not engineering. Engineering is — for example — when they take something and make it be able to withstand poison, something that kills all the other plants around it. Creating something beyond the natural. For some that makes it something we don’t care to eat.
Then on top of the fact that our food is grown from some type of super seed, it is sprayed with RoundUp. One of the active ingredients in Roundup is glyphosate. Glyphosate is not selective in it’s killing of plant life, that is why the seeds of the crops needed to be fortified against it. In looking for information on glyphsate you will find many sources stating that it causes birth defects in laboratory animals. Many of the same sources claim that no government will admit that those findings prove it does the same in humans. I wonder what the guidelines are for that? To me it sounds like, “We will believe that “this” will cause harm in humans because we see in happening in the lab animals, but, no, we will just ignore that “that” might cause harm in humans even though we see all the damage done in the studies and tests on the lab animals.” Maybe they toss a coin? It is probably even more difficult to do studies and conduct tests since the U.S. Department of Agriculture stopped updating its pesticide use database in 2008.
I had been hearing the term “RoundUp Ready” a lot and I decided to find out what it meant. Now I know. I thought I would share so now you know too, in case you were wondering. Also sheds a little light as to the crops that have been genetically engineered and what that means. Alfalfa, corn, cotton, canola (FKA genetically engineered rapeseed), sugarbeets have been modified at the genetic level to survive being sprayed with poison that kills all other plants around, that’s what RoundUp Ready means.
Posted in Food | Tagged: a plant killer, alfalfa, canola, Corn, cotton, genetic modification, genetically engineered, Genetically modified food, glyphosate, grafting, herbicide, mutilated peach, pesticide use database, rapeseed, RoundUp Ready, soybeans, sugarbeets, U.S. Department of Agriculture | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 22, 2012
Even though I don’t have a Nia class on two of the days I post sometimes it is still a challenge to get my post up. Other things need to be done. Anyway . . . .way back in February I posted about Nutritional Yeast. I can’t remember if I had ordered some at the time of writing that or if I was about too. I do know that it was in the month of February that I ordered it because I never received it. One day I heard the delivery person ring the door bell and by the time I got downstairs he was gone. 
I also hadn’t heard the “thump” of a package being dropped over the fence, but I looked for a package or a note. I looked in the bushes in front of the fence. I looked in the area behind the fence. I found nothing. The reason I know that I ordered it in February is because just this past weekend (May) my husband found a package in the bushes. The delivery person HAD to have HURLED the box over the fence for it to have ended up where it did. I have never had a package end up that far behind the fence so I never even thought to look behind those bushes. AND the only reason my husband found it is because he cut the bushes down severely. So I went looking for the e-mails in regards to the non-delivered package and it was from February. It is funny too because – just within the past two weeks – I decided to buy some Nutritional Yeast from another source. I have been using it. I wanted to give you guys and update on MY experience with Nutritional Yeast.
I have been putting it on a lot of things. The package says, “Sprinkle some on hot popcorn, garlic bread, add a spoonful to cereals, juices, smoothies, or use as a seasoning for salad, soup, gravy, casseroles, and so much more.” Well, I kinda see how people think of it as cheesy. It does taste cheesy to me, so my first thought was, “I don’t want cheese in my juice.” I still think that is weird, BUT . . . I also have a feeling the flavor might be influenced a little bit by what it is added to, so it might add a rich woody flavor to juice.
One thing I find interesting is the information on the nutrition labels. Both have almost the same calories 80 vs. 70. Both have the same amount of fat. Both have the same amount of cholesterol. One has almost half the sodium as the other. Both have the same amount of potassium. The difference in carbohydrates is minimal. Protein is the same. What is interesting is the serving size. In one you get 1 gram of fat and 8 grams of protein in 3 tablespoons, in the other it is 1 and a half tablespoons. HALF the size as the other serving size. Hmmm. I guess in this case it is better to judge based off GRAMS and not teaspoons. 
I don’t want to open the one I just received yet. I think it will last longer if I don’t open it. I would like to know if they taste the same so I am going to wait until I am almost done with the first one before I open the second one.
I have been using it a lot. At first I barely used any because I didn’t know what it would taste like. But I rather like the taste to what I have used it in so far. It adds a cheesy flavor to me. So I have been using it in things that I have already used cheese in or in things I would like to use cheese in. I think it makes cheesy things cheesier and helps have the flavor of cheese without the cheese. For instance I put some one our pita bread pizza the other night with some low fat ricotta. Ricotta does not really have a flavor, but the Nutritional Yeast added the cheddar type flavor. I have been putting it on my salads.
I like it. I would recommend it to people who what to try something new. I like it because it adds more protein to my diet and I think I need more protein because I am not the biggest meat-eater.
I have a friend who commented on the last post that she does use it. I have another friend that said she wanted to try it. What about you? Have you tried it? What do you use it in?
Posted in Food | Tagged: cheese flavor, cheesy, cholesterol, Nia, Nia class, nut flavor, Nutritional yeast, protein, ricotta | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 17, 2012
I often have mentioned the 52 Nia Moves. I am taking my time posting about them, but they are in the Nia Technique Book. You could always order a copy from Amazon if you are interested. That is how I started my Nia practice. In the book after the section on the 52 Nia Moves there are pages and pages of other moves too. There is the 13 Joint Exercise, explanations of combinations of some of the 52 Nia Moves, Spinal Melts, and T’ai Chi Sways, and many more. They are organized in the Nia Cycles. The moves that are part of the warm up are in the Warm up section the more active moves are in the Get Moving section. Each move has a “Classic” explanation and an “Athletic” explanation. Nia is done in bare feet so there is no to very little impact, but that does not mean there is no intensity. Intensity comes from BIGGER moves. Bigger moves can be more arm movement either faster or further away from the body or both. Bigger moves can be moving deeper into a move. So the explanation of “Athletic” contains bigger or faster (or both) movements. There are over 75 pages of moves. Each with a set of pictures. Both the classic and the athletic has pictures. If you have the slightest interest in Nia or movement in general I would strongly recommend this book.
I felt I had to share that because there really is so much in the book.
That popped into my head as I was sitting here thinking about going to go make dinner. Here is what we are having:
Terre’s version of the Rantings of an Amateur Chef’s recipe:
Cauliflower Stuffed Portobello Caps
4 large Portobello mushroom caps
most of an entire head of cauliflower
3 green onions
1/2 C cooked and chopped bacon
1/3 C milk
3/4 C shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 C shredded Gouda cheese
salt, pepper, and garlic powder
Cook the bacon.
Scrape out the inside of the cap to remove the stem and gills.
Chop the green onions.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the cauliflower into large pieces. Steam for 6-8 minutes. Place hot cauliflower into the blender and some of the milk. Blend. Add milk as needed to achieve a mashed potato-like consistency. Mix with bacon and onions.
Fill caps with cauliflower mixture. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic to taste. Sprinkle with shredded chesses. Put a few onions on top. Place on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes on the lowest rack in the oven.
The first time I made this I didn’t use the bacon and I will be doing that version a lot more often. It is really good! But I also wanted to try it with the bacon.
So I am going to go cook, then take pictures and post it all at one time!**
Do look at the Ranting Chef’s blog as he cooks some amazing things. The difference between his recipe and mine is he did not determine from the get go how many mushrooms. His recipe calls for only one half of the cauliflower head, he used bacon bits out of a package (which is uber smart because it helps keep the recipe easy!), his seasoning is pepper and pepper only, and his instructions are to cook it only for 5 minutes.
I don’t like pepper so what I do is just sprinkle each mushroom individually so that my husband, who likes pepper, can have more of that flavor, while I just barely do a turn of the pepper grinder. I also like my mushrooms more cooked when they are stuffed. I have made stuffed small mushrooms and find that I like to cook them a bit before hand.
It’s your turn. Make this recipe and let me know how you like it. Let me know how you adjusted it.
**Ok, so I didn’t like it with the bacon, but my husband did. I like crisp bacon and putting it in with the cauliflower made it just like bits of meat in the mix. I also forgot to mix the onions IN so ended up with them just on top. The bacon bits from a package might make it worth it, but dealing with bacon was not worth it to me.
Don’t The Cauliflower Stuffed Portobello Caps sound yummy?
Posted in "Recipes", 52 Moves (of Nia), Food, Nia | Tagged: 13 Joint Exercise, 52 Nia Moves, Amazon.com, Bacon, Cauliflower Stuffed Portobello Caps, Gouda cheese, Nia, Nia cycles, Nia Practice, Portobello mushrooms, Rantings of an Amateur Chef, Spinal Melts, T'ai Chi Sways, The Nia Technique book | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 15, 2012
You know I started this blog to share things with you. I wanted to share about Nia, exercises, things I think are healthy, and stuff I learn. I don’t think I had thought about posting recipes, but I probably didn’t think I would limit myself from doing so. It is funny that food posts get the most views and even more fun spark the most conversations. (I love the bloggey conversations.) We love our food, huh? It is universal. Everyone eats. Not everyone works out, not everyone dances, not everyone goes to exercise classes, and not everyone does Nia, but everyone eats. Even though we all eat different things it is still something that we all have in common.
As you might have noticed, when I try a new recipe, or just try making something I sometimes like to share. Even if the recipe still needs some adjustments I have to start somewhere. I like to post my recipes because I find myself using my blog when I am going to make something. I can even be at the store and get the idea that I want to make a certain recipe then I think, “Shoot I don’t know what it is in . . . . ahhhh, but I posted it on my blog!” So I use my blog at the store to grocery shop sometimes. Here is a recipe of something that I made that I need to work on.
I haven’t always liked hummus, but once I started eating it. I really liked it. There is a brand that my husband found that is really good. It is smooth and creamy. We used to eat it often. But it has Canola Oil in it. I prefer not to eat Canola oil. I have always wanted to make my own hummus so I thought not eating our favorite brand would inspire me. It did not. My issue was tahini. I don’t think of tahini. So when I go to the store I am not thinking, “Oh yeah, I need tahini.” I know you can make hummus without it. I believe my friend makes hummus all the time and she never used tahini. I haven’t tasted her hummus that I can remember so I don’t know if it is good without tahini or not.
The other day I was online and I actually bought tahini. I decided on wanted to finally make some hummus. There are a lot of recipes out there for hummus so I took some ideas from several of them. I need to work on it.
I used:
2 cups canned garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
3 teaspoons liquid from the beans
1/3 cup tahini
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon garlic flavored olive oil
I put everything in the blender and blended until smooth.
I prefer my hummus a little more smooth and actually creamy, but the blender was making odd noises so I didn’t want to push it too far.
First of all I think it is too salty. Next time I am going to use less salt and less tahini. I am also going to use less lemon juice. I am also going to use fresh garlic. I used some we have from a jar.
Not too bad for my first try, but not so great. But sometimes I just need to get in there and do it — make the recipe — so I can see it is easy to do so then I can play with it and make adjustments.
Do you like hummus? Do you make your own?
Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: Canola Oil, chickpeas, creamy hummus, dance exercise, dance exercise class, Garbanzo beans, garlic oil, healthy recipes, hummus, Nia, Nia Classes, Nia workout, olive oil, tahini | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 5, 2012
The past two Thursdays have been pretty cold here and since I don’t teach Nia on Thursdays evenings I have been cooking soup. One Thursday I had it planned so I actually did go to the store after my Nia class on Wednesday to buy the ingredients I needed, but yesterday it was cold so I just decided to use what I had, which was not much. While I think that a bowl or two of soup can easily be a meal, I like to serve something else with it. When I looked in my fridge I saw the eggplant I had bought. Yay! Perfect. I saw a recipe on icancookstuff that sounded interesting. While I do not eat spicy hot food I thought I could use the garlic and the cummin. But it turns out I don’t have any cummin. So I decided to use ginger and turmeric. I have them in powdered form so I got the bottles out of the cupboard and set them on the counter. Then I put the eggplant in the oven to bake it.
The recipe said to bake it at 200 degrees for 45 minutes.** I didn’t think I had 45 minute so I put the temperature up to 300 and left it on for 30 minutes. I didn’t feel that the eggplant was cooked enough so I turned the convection oven on and set the timer for 30 more minutes. I turned it four times because it was getting flat on the pan side.
In the meantime I was cooking my soup. I only had one bunch of baby bok choy, a bunch of kale, and some broccoli. I swore I wasn’t going to put broccoli in a soup again, but . . . I didn’t think the rest would make it. So while I was trying to fake making soup I wasn’t really paying attention to the eggplant. My soup finished before the eggplant.
By the time I finally thought the eggplant was cooked enough to split I split it. I was thinking that I would make one half for me and one half for my husband. I salted it, I put a bit of garlic on it, I put a little bit of parmesan cheese on it. Then I looked over and I saw the onions I had chopped to put on it. And the kale. So I decided to put the onions and kale on one half and hubby and I would just get a half of each half making a whole half.
I put it back in the oven and let it bake for a bit more. Half way through the end of baking portion I saw the ginger and turmeric on the counter. Snap! I forgot to put it on. So I sprinkled a little turmeric on both halves. I put the broiler on for about 10 minutes.
Here is the result.
From the time I thought to cook the eggplant to the time I put it in the oven to finish baking I had thought of three different ways to flavor it. I had originally thought to use garlic, turmeric, and ginger, then I thought of garlic, onions, and kale, then I thought of garlic, and cheese. That really is not a big deal the big deal is that I forgot one each time I thought of the new one. Geez! What I ended up with was ok. I think it needed a little bit more flavor. I will work on that. I don’t even think I tasted the turmeric.
I like cooking eggplant this way because it is much less time-consuming than turn the slices all the time. But I think I like the roasted slices better. But I will continue to experiment with this. I might try slicing it into three pieces next time. Although a baked eggplant is not easy to slice.
**It just dawned on me that the 200 degrees was probably Celsius and not Fahrenheit. So it would actually be about 400 degrees F. Ha!
I can’t wait to try this again!
What do you think of this way of cooking eggplant? What would you put on the eggplant?
Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: aubergine, broiled eggplant, Cheese, cummin, eggplant, garlic, ginger, Nia, Nia class, soup, Turmeric | 9 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on April 12, 2012
When I wrote the post regarding anti-inflammatory foods, I decided to buy some Turmeric. At the time I was not able to claim knowing what it tasted like. I figured since it was used a lot in curries I would be ok with it. I thought that it would be a good thing to add to our diet. Since there are so many things that work as an inflammatory, I am always trying to add anti-inflammatory foods and ingredients into our diet. I wasn’t sure exactly how to use it, but I was wanting to give it a go. Turmeric has been used in food and as medicine for centuries. Seems like the West is doing a lot of research to see what health benefits it has.
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center: “Turmeric has been used in both Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine as an anti-inflammatory, to treat digestive and liver problems, skin diseases, and wounds. Curcumin is also a powerful antioxidant.”
Remember Curcumin is the phytochemcial that give turmeric its color.
And Eat This! has a list of 20 Health Benefits contributed to Turmeric including;
-When combined with cauliflower, it has shown to prevent prostate cancer and stop the growth of existing prostate cancer.
-Has shown promise in slowing the progression of multiple sclerosis in mice.
-May aid in fat metabolism and help in weight management.
Well, I’ve had it for a while now and I really like the flavor. I’ve added it to soups, to veggies, and to meat. You know my standard ground turkey and whatever veggies I have? Well, it really makes that taste wonderful. I had cooked broccoli, mushrooms, and ground turkey for dinner a few nights ago, today I decided to have the leftovers in a tortilla. Since we have a few cucumbers I decided to use some up by slicing it really thin and putting it in the tortilla with the meat and a bit of parmesan cheese. WOW! The turmeric and the cucumbers were a party-in-my-mouth flavor. It was really good. So now I am going to serve cucumbers with my turmeric ground turkey. Many people can describe flavors, I can sometimes, but I cannot describe the flavor or turmeric. I would say that it is somewhat mellow so it won’t necessary overpower what you are using it with. It is not hot or bitter. I think it can be used with anything savory.
Wiki says “it has a distinctly earthy, slightly bitter, slightly hot peppery flavor and a mustardy smell” but I don’t agree. Maybe I will give it the mustardy smell, but not off the top of my head.
But there is a problem with turmeric. It dyes everything yellow! I now have several bowls and utensils dyed yellow because I used them to stir, serve, or store something with turmeric in it. It is just as bad as tomato sauce when it comes to dying things!
I am familiar with turmeric in its powdered form, but it is a root like ginger, so if you get it in root form you can use it just as you would ginger. You could chop it, grate it, cut it up . . . the same as ginger.
If you like the flavor it seems like a great thing to add to just about everything. Since it is touted as an anti-inflammatory, an antioxidant, help in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), helps treat the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, improves liver function, prevents some cancers, lowers cholesterol, helps treat and prevent Alzheimer’s, reduces risk of childhood Leukemia among other things — why not add it to things?
Do you cook with Turmeric? If so what do you add it to?
Posted in Food | Tagged: Alzheimer's, anti-inflammatory foods, antioxidant, arthritis, Ayurvedic medicine, Chinese medicine, cholesterol, curcumin, curry, Eat This, ginger, IBD, inflammatory, inflammatory bowel disease, Leukemia, multiple sclerosis, mustard, peppery, phytochemical, prostate cancer, savory, Turmeric, weight management | 4 Comments »
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