Posts Tagged ‘garlic’
Posted by terrepruitt on January 28, 2012
I spent a large portion of the day practicing Alive, it is the Nia routine I am starting to teach. I debuted it Friday, but I need to practice and practice. In Nia we say, “tight but loose”. So I need to know the music and choreography to perfection which allows me to dance with it and play to it is loose and flowing and fun to my Nia students. So practice and play is the key. I was so busy having fun with it I didn’t have a lot of time to come up with a blog post. Because I also spent some time in the kitchen making a different version of my Baby Bok Choy and Spinach Soup recipe. The people I made it for convinced me that it was good enough that I could use my adaptation of my Baby bok choy and spinach soup recipe as a post. So here goes.
Parsnips, Broccoli, Baby bok choy, and Spinach Soup
–olive oil
–1 medium sized onion chopped (save some for garnish)
–2 parsnips (chopped)
–1 bunch of broccoli (chopped)
–4 bundles of baby bok choy (bottom portion separate from leafy portion, chop both and leave separate, they are added to the soup at different times)
–2 or 3 tsp of minced garlic
–1.5 tsp granulated garlic
–1.5 tsp garlic salt
–48 oz of chicken broth
–a half of bottle or can of beer
–shake or two of teriyaki
–small piece (3/4 of an inch) of ginger, chopped
–3/4 of a 6-oz bag of spinach
–1.5 (ish) wooden spoonful of cream cheese spread whipped with chives
Sautee chopped onion in the olive oil. When the onions look tender add in the chopped parsnip, add granulated garlic and garlic salt. Cook parsnip until it seems a bit tender, then add the bottom portion of the bok choy and broccoli. Let it cook a minute, then add the minced garlic. Sautee until tender. Then pour in the broth. Add about a half can or bottle of beer and the few splashes of teriyaki. Stir it as you feel necessary throughout the entire process. Bring to boil. Add the cream cheese if you are going to use it. Add the ginger. Add leafy portion of the bok choy and bag of spinach. Let cook for a few minutes or until the veggies are wilted. Once the veggies looked wilted use the blender to mix it all up. (I use the immersion blender so I can keep it all in the same pot. Please remember to be cautious of the steam.)
The parsnips give this a little difference flavor and the broccoli leaves little green specks in the soup no matter how much you blend it. Actually when you look at it, it looks the same as all the other soup I make. But it tastes different.
I was trying to make something easy to eat for someone with a sore throat. This soup is kind of thick yet easy to swallow and it packs a punch with all the vegetables it contains. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and let me to continue to share my soup experiments and at the same time put spending time with friends and family at the forefront of life!
Enjoy!
Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: baby bok choy, beer in soup, broccoli, family time, garlic, immersion blender, Nia Music, Nia routine, Nia routine Alive, Nia students, Nia Teacher, parsnips, soup recipe, spinach, teaching Nia, vegetable soup, veggie purees | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 16, 2011
You know how Rachael Ray says to clean your veggies when you get home from shopping? Well that doesn’t work for me, because although I LOVE the idea of the veggies being all ready to go when I want to use them, I think they start to go bad faster once they are washed and prepped. I don’t do that. I really like the idea, but I don’t do that. One thing my husband and I do after shopping that helps with dinner prep though is marinate the meat. I do not like steak or pork that has not been marinated. I figured out that this is why I thought I didn’t like steak, often steak in a restaurant has not been marinated it is just seasoned. I like it to have soaked in the flavor. So when we bring home steak we make up a bag of marinade and put the steak in it then freeze it. Marinating the meat seems to add a step to shopping, but helps with preparing dinner.
Sometimes we have a big hunk of meat so my husband trims off the fat and cuts it up and we make some sauce then bag it up. Sometimes he wants to have steak on hand for his beef stroganoff so he will chop it up in little bite size chunks. We will put the chunks in a bag of sauce and freeze that. When we need to use the steak we take it out to defrost and it is already marinated. It has soaked in the juices while it was freeze and while it is defrosting. Instead of defrosting THEN marinating, it is doing both at once. AWESOME.
A little while ago he decided he wanted to do that with pork too. We don’t buy bone on pork chops, my husband buys the thick chops. I just remembered a funny story, one day he came home with steak and pork and told me to “make up” x number of bags. He said some of the bags were for pork and some of the bags were for steak. Not that he minded, but I could tell the difference when we cooked them he had put the steak in the pork marinade and the pork in the steak marinade. It turned out ok, just a little different. We always marinate the steak and we marinate the port most of the time, but sometimes we want to cook it another way so we don’t put it in bag with marinade.
As I was sitting here trying to think of something to post, I was thinking, “I didn’t learn anything this week.” I know that is not true but I couldn’t think of what I learned so I decided to share something I already knew. I was smelling the grilling my hubby was doing and it made me think of what a time saver the marinade in the freezer is and I thought, “Huh. Maybe I could share that.” So I am.
We use zip lock bags and I put whatever we have on hand in it; sherry/wine, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, onions, garlic, marjoram, parsley, garlic, whatever. Then we squeeze out as much air as possible and freeze it until we are ready to use it. Cool. I love that. When I go into the freezer to get out something for dinner and there is meat in there already marinated I am so happy. I think we should try it with chicken too, what do you think?
I know you can by meat that is already marinated but you never really know what is in those pre-made ones and for me . . . one who cannot tolerate any kind of spicy heat, they normally are too hot. This way you are in control of the flavor you get.
Posted in Food | Tagged: bag of marinade, bag of sauce, bag with marinadesherry/wine, beef stroganoff, dinner prep, garlic, marinate the meat, marinating the meat, marjoram, onions, parsley, pork chops, pork marinated, pre-made marinade, preparing dinner, Rachael Ray, soy sauce, steak, teriyaki sauce, veggies, Worcestershire Sauce | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 26, 2011
I love garlic. I made dinner tonight with a ton of garlic and it is just so yummy. Garlic is part of the onion family. It is often referred to as the “stinking rose”. Garlic itself is quite aromatic. If you eat enough of it, it usually lingers on your breath and seeps out through your pours via sweat. During digestion a portion of it cannot be digested and gets into the blood where it is excreted through lungs and skin. Aside from making you aromatic 😉 , garlic seems to help with a lot of things in the body.
There is a protein needed to move iron around in the body, while garlic does not have this protein in it garlic may help the body increase its production. Garlic is also proving to be an anti-inflammatory. Which affects the circulatory system, the muscular system, and our bones. The properties in garlic assist in the blood not clumping and in keep the vessels open. Garlic has been shown to reduce blood pressure and lower cholesterol.
If you like garlic you shouldn’t hesitate to eat it, cook with it, and use it generously. Unless, of course you are taking the type of medications that might act adversely with a large quantity of garlic.
This food helps with infections from both bacteria and viruses. I remember watching the Doctor Oz show where he said a clove of garlic in the ear over night can eliminate an ear infection. It might help in the treatment of some infections that are resistant to antibiotics. Garlic has a long history of being used in a medicinal fashion.
My family used to eat sautéed garlic. It is very strong when cooked and eaten this way. I think that roasting it tends to cut down on the bitter that comes out when frying it. Roasting helps bring out the sweetness.
I never made a marinade without garlic. I use garlic a lot. Tonight I cooked broccoli in minced garlic and sprinkled powered garlic on the pasta.
I didn’t realize that some people have a fear of garlic. This phobia is called alliumphobia. I guess I did know that there was a fear of garlic—I would think that vampires suffer from alliumphbia. 🙂
Do you like garlic? How do you use it? Do you cook with it? Do you use fresh garlic? Do you use garlic powder?
Posted in Food | Tagged: alliumphobia, anti-inflammatory, antiboiotics, curculatory system, garlic, lower cholesterol, muscular system, onion, reduce blood pressure, stinking rose, vampires | 9 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 3, 2011
I always hear about collard greens and how nutritious they are. I was in the store the other day shopping after my Nia class. I always feel energetic after Nia. Sometimes even a little adventuresome, so I decided to buy some collard greens. I was hoping I could cook some mushrooms and throw the greens in and let them steam a little bit. I looked up how to cook collard greens and what I found was boil with ham hock. Uh-oh. The two things I read talked of cooking the bitter out or disguising it with bacon or ham. I looked at the pictures of dull green soggy veggies piled on a plate and realized why I had never eaten collard greens. Ewwww. It looks like a soggy pile of spinach.
I decided to go ahead with my plan. I minced a shallot and cooked the mushrooms. I didn’t salt the mushrooms because I was thinking that I would need all the salt I could use on the collard greens AND I would need to sweat the greens. Right as the mushrooms were done cooking I put a little butter in the pan, I was thinking this would help counter-act the bitter I had read about.
I put some wine in the pan. I was thinking in addition to the salt sweat I was going to have to somewhat steam the greens because I had also read something about the greens being tough. I put the greens in and put a spoonful of minced garlic on it. Then salted it a bit. They cooked much faster than I thought considering what a heart leaf it is.
So, my hubby was happy. It tasted like the mushrooms I usually cook or like all the other veggies except there was a slight sourness to it. So, now that I know they don’t taste horrible and they can be cooked and enjoyed without boiling them with ham hock, I can step away from the normal flavoring and try other flavors. Ones that will compliment the strong flavor of the leaf.
Do you cook collard greens? Do you boil them with the ham hock? How do you cook them? Give me some ideas because I think I will be making them a lot more because it really made my husband happy.
Posted in "Recipes", Food, Vegetables | Tagged: boiling vegetables, Collard Greens, dark green vegetables, garlic, green vegetables, green veggies, hamhock, happy husband, mushrooms, Nia, Nia class, Nia Classes, soggy vegetables, sweat the greens | 18 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 2, 2010
I did a post on inflammation, listing a few things that might contribute to chronic inflammation. A state that stresses the delicate balance of the body. It really seems as if overly processed foods and fast foods are the culprits which is just more reasons to avoid foods of that nature. There are some foods that studies have shown that help fight inflammation, foods we can call “anti-inflammation foods” per se.
Omega 3 oil cold water fish (salmon, mackerel, anchovies, herring, sardines)
Grass feed beef
Sweet potatoes
Onions
Olive oil
Hemp Oil
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Brussels sprouts
Kale
Cherries
Blue berries
Mangos
Turmeric
Ginger
Garlic
Cinnamon
Apples
Red grapes
Carrots
Green leafy vegetables; dark green leaf lettuce, spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens.
Now please keep in mind this is just a partial list. Everyone is different and with so many different bodies, one needs to take what they read and realize that it will not work for everyone. You have to work on yourself and your own diet. See how you feel when you cut some of the “inflammatory foods” out of your diet and add some of the “anti-inflammatory” foods in.
I teach Nia classes because I believe, in addition to food that helps, movement/exercise/being active helps. I want to help people.
Again food that might help the immune system balance itself and not react with inflammation, something worth thinking about.
Posted in Food | Tagged: anti-inflammatory foods, blue berries, broccoli, Cherries, cinnamon, garlic, garlic olive oil, ginger, immune system, Inflammation, inflammatory foods, Nia, Nia Classes, olive oil, Omega 3, teach Nia, Turmeric | 10 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on July 24, 2010
On the way home from a little Nia class / meeting in Danville I starting craving a salad. All the way home to San Jose (its about an hour) I kept thinking of what ingredients I would need. I didn’t have the recipe with me, but since it is so easy I remembered the few things I needed to get. Recently I went to a little party where the hostess had made a bean salad. It had two things in it I REALLY don’t like, one thing I don’t like, one thing I love in teeny tiny pieces, and one thing I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE (not including the spices). So on my quest to learn how to like bean and get some legumes in my diet I decided to make my friend’s TWO bean salad recipe.
1 can kidney beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 large red pepper – chopped (big or small, you decide)
½ large sweet onion – cut small square sizes
¼ to ½ bunch cilantro – cut ½ inch size
½ to 1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon fine ground black pepper
1 ½ teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
3 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
Drain the beans, mix everything together. Like most salads it is better when the flavors have mixed so wait an hour or so, then eat. Yum!
I adjusted the recipe to have MORE bell pepper (can you tell which ingredient I love, love, love?), I used a little more salt because I bought these really low sodium beans. I mean compared to the other two brands I looked at these had about one third of the sodium. I like that idea, but I also know that if it doesn’t have a good enough flavor for me I won’t eat it, so I actually put in 1 teaspoon plus two sprinkles. I didn’t have granulated garlic so I used garlic powder and I probably put in more than 2 teaspoons. I cannot tolerate pepper, but I loved her salad and she said she put in a lot of pepper so I sprinkled pepper in. I also used 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar.
I am sure this is an easy thing for people to make, but I have NEVER, EVER, EVER liked a bean salad before so this recipe just thrilled me. Ya see, I REALLY don’t like cilantro either, but I think the kidney beans and the cilantro work to “cancel” each other out. Ha! I don’t know, but I like this salad. I hope you do too.
Since I am on a quest to learn to eat (and like) beans, do you have a recipe that you would like to share to help me out?
Posted in Food | Tagged: bean salad, beans, bell peppers, Garbanzo beans, garlic, kidney beans, Nia, Nia class, Nia classes in San Jose, Nia Danville, Nia meeting, Nia San Jose, party recipe, San Jose Nia, San Jose Nia class | 17 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on March 14, 2009
I love to eat roasted asparagus. I like it when it is really cooked, not burned, but crispy. It is probably past the point of supreme nutrition, but that is my favorite way to eat it. I do like it at its most nutritious, too, boiled until it is tender not soggy. I haven’t always liked asparagus. I believe the way vegetables are cooked now is different than from when I was growing up. Plus, I believe that it is much easier to obtain a fresh vegetable now than when I was growing up.
Apparently the season is from March through August, but we eat it all year round. To me it tastes better during the “Asparagus season”.
One of the reasons I love to eat it roasted is because it is so easy to cook. I rinse it off, then chop off the ends—I don’t do that bend and break thing because holding the entire bunch in one hand and chopping with the other is much faster to me — then I line them up in a pan (I have a jelly roll pan). I sprinkle olive oil on them. I usually use garlic infused olive oil, but sometimes I go for the lemon olive oil. Then I salt them and use whatever spices I feel like, then in they go. I usually cook them at 400 degrees. I let them bake for 15 minutes, then I flip them. And let them go 15 minutes more, but you can take them out at anytime and they are delicious. Sometimes I cook ‘em less, sometimes I cook ‘em more. Depends on my mood and when the rest of the meal is ready.
Nutritional Value per 100 g (3.5 oz) as per USDA Nutrient database
Calories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Carbohydrates . . . . . . . . . .3.88 g
Sugars . . . . . . . . . .1.88 g
Dietary fiber . . . . .2.1 g
Fat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.12 g
Protein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.20 g
In addition Asparagus contains Thiamine (Vit. B1), Riboflavin (Vit. B2), Niacin (Vit. B3), Pantothenic Acid (Vit. B5), Vitamin B6, Folate (Vit. B9), Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc, and Manganese.
Seems to me like they are way worth the time and effort it takes to cook them.
What is your favorite way to cook asparagus?
Posted in Vegetables | Tagged: Asparagus, Asparagus Season, boiled, Calcium, calories, carbs, easy to cook, fat, fiber, garlic, growing up, infused oil, Magnesium, nutrition, nutritional, nutritional value, nutritious, olive oil, Potassium, protein, roasted asparagus, spices, USDA, USDA Nutrient Database, Vegetables, Vitamin B, Zinc | 8 Comments »
Terre Pruitt's Blog 