Thai Stew

I made this last night and it smells amazing!! This is a great recipe to play around and change the vegtables, depending on what you have in the fridge. It is not in the recipe, but I added shredded kale to get in my greens (and calcium). Broccoli would work well, too.

Don't be afraid of the coconut milk in this recipe because you think it is fattening. They type of fatty acids in coconut milk,  mostly Lauric Acid, are the type of fat your body burns to create energy rather than store as fat. There are several studies out there that actually point to coconut as an aid in weight loss! I absolutely adore anything coconut, so I could barely contain my joy upon learning that news!

1tsp olive oil,                        1 medium onion thinly sliced
4 cloves minced garlic          3 medium sweet potatos
3 cups water                          1 red or green pepper, cut into narrow strips
11/2 frozen green beans        1/2 teaspoon of red or green curry paste
1 tbsp natural sugar               2 tsp minced ginger
2 stalks lemongrass               can of coconut milk
2 tbsp peanut butter             

In a soup pot over med-high heat, heat the oil & saute onions and garlic. Add sweet potatos and water. Bring to a rapid simmer, then lower heat. Cover & simmer for 10 minutes or until sweet potatos are half done.

Add peppers, beans, curry paste, sugar and ginger. Cut each lemongrass salk into 3-4 pieces and make long cuts in grass throughout with sharp knife. Stir into pot and simmer for 10 more minutes.

Stir in coconut milk and peanut butter. Return to simmer and cook over low heat for 10 minutes or until all vegtables are tender and the flabours are well integrated. Remove lemongrass pieces. Taste to adjust seasonings.

* I have made this before, so I played with it last night. I skipped the lemongrass simply because I didn't feel like going to the store and only used half the amount of coconut milk, as I had used the other half making coconut kale. It was still good and the peanut flavour stood out more. So feel free to just experiment based on what you like.

Avocado Cream Pasta

This awesome recipe is my usual "go-to" when I am having company over for dinner. Many people have been impressed with my culinary skills when I have served this to them. However, I believe their praise would be more accurately directed to the actual recipe as it is extremely simple to make, while wielding a creamy and flavourful, yet healthy, pasta dish. It only tastes indulgent.

2 avocados, pitted and diced
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup unsweetened soy or rice milk
1/4 cup water
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Cooked pasta

*Combine avocados, garlic and lemon juice in a food processor. As mixture is blending, add the soy/rice milk and then the water (or less water,depending on your desired consistency).

Add salt and pepper, to taste. Then toss with your favourite cooked pasta and serve.

Melanie's Asian Creation

My most enjoyable time spent cooking is usually when I am making up the recipe as I go along. I love to just create with no restraints. A definite advantage of being single is that I am free to just try something without the worry that someone will turn up their nose in disgust. Here is one of my success stories that uses Bok Choy, which is a calcium superstar. I hope you like it as much as I do!

Bunch of bok choy,chopped (use both green and white parts)
Two cups vegetarian chicken stock ( available at Bulk Barn)
Whole wheat spaghetti noodles (soba or rice noodles would also be great)
minced ginger  & chopped garlic  (both to taste)
One tsp. "asian chili garlic sauce" ( I got it at Loblaws)
Add your choice of vegtables, frozen or fresh (broccoli would add more calcium)


Cook noodles separately until al dente, drain and set aside.
In large pot or wok ,add stock and ginger. Simmer for a few minutes then add chopped bok choy and other vegetables, along with the asian sauce. Stir and simmer until bok choy is cooked. Add garlic about a minute before you remove from heat.

My Calcium Conundrum

For those of you who know me personally, you may be aware that several years ago I was diagnosed with osteopenia (pre-osteoporosis) due to medication I had been on for several years. As I was not even close to menopause, I was not a candidate for the medications available, as they would interfere with my hormones.  My bone health for the future did not look good, to say the least.

I was told I had to be "very careful" and that it would probably get much worse when I hit menopause. Well, you might as well just tell me to put on my flowered granny hat and sit on the porch all day yelling at "young-uns" who step on my grass, because me being careful is just not going to happen!!!!  I want to hike, cycle, explore and generally be my high-energy self.

So, I dived into naturopathic research.  I did learn that many different nutrients contribute to bone health, as well as weight bearing exercise (just ask to see my "pipes").

Calcium, of course, is very important. So, what is a vegan (or lactose intolerant) girl to do? I have just heard  a report that calcium supplements can  cause heart attacks!! YIKES! Choose between heart attacks or weak bones? No thanks.

No need to fear; Mel the veggie crusader is here! (Hey! no eye-rolling!!)There are SO many great plant sources of calcium: bok choy, kale, broccoli, collard greens, quinoa, blackstrap molasses (put it in your oatmeal, cereal or anything you want to sweeeten), tofu, ground sesame seeds, almonds, soy beans, fortified almond, rice or soy milk, chick peas.

I have attached a great link regarding these foods.  In my next few cooking attempts, I will plan to include calcium rich foods.

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/calcium.htm.

Healthy Fettucine Alfredo

I got this recipe off the Dr. Oz show; alfredo sauce made from cauliflower.  I will admit I was pretty skeptical about this recipe being actually edible, but the ingredient list was simple and the recipe was not time-consuming, so why not give it a go?

Aside from the fact that I find the smell of cauliflower similar to how my dog smells when he is having "issues", I really liked this dish. The texture,of course, is different from alfredo but the flavour is similar. As usual, I played with the recipe; I made two minor changes to make it a vegan recipe and added garlic.

1/2 lb. cooked whole wheat pasta
1/2 head cauliflower, core removed and broken into small florets
2 tbsp olive oil
2 green onions, minced
1/2 cup vegan parmesan cheese  (recipe below)
1/2 cup vegetarian "chicken" stock ( at Bulk Barn)
Pepper to taste (I added garlic powder, too)

Steam the cauliflower 20 minutes or until very soft. In sauce pan, heat olive oil and cook onions until soft. Add stock and cook for 5 minutes longer. Set aside to cool.

In food processor or blender, combine caulifower and stock and garlic powder and puree until silky smooth. Our puree into the sauce pan and heat over medium heat until steaming.  Toss with the cooked pasta and add parmesan "cheese". Season with pepper.

Vegan  Parmesan

1/4 cup nutritional yeast      1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 tsp salt (I used seasoning salt)

*This recipe says you can use a food processor or coffee grinder, but I found the coffee grinder worked MUCH better.

Grind the yeast, sesame seeds and salt until completely milled. Store in clean, dry container.

This was so easy and so good, I wish I had actually read this recipe book through when I got it years ago!  Ground sesame seeds are actually a very bio-available source of calcium!  I am going to try this cheese on homemade pizza too!