Cooking

PS73 · March 2010

Hello beautiful ladies,

I have enjoyed cooking my entire life. Until I got dx with cancer, I cooked with a few unhealthy ingredients. Everyone has always said that I had a talent for cooking. If you ask me, its easy to be talented when you use ingredients like butter, cheese, cream & salt in practically every recipe. After an unfortunate incident, I was told that due to my blood clotting issues, I could no longer handle sharp knives. I moved all of my time from the kitchen to the computer to research nutrition. Once I was given the go ahead to cook again, I ran to the kitchen blazing but something was different. I starting cooking to survive and where was the enjoyment in change? Because of my food science training, I was (am) able to deconstruct ingredients and theory and backcalculate recipes. There are so many preconcieved ideas about cooking and what we should do that most of us forget to ask, why? I decided to strip my cooking skills and mentality down to the bare bones and re-ignite. Finally, I am at a point where I am enjoying preparing healthy meals. Its like cooking with cognition. Ive taken my husbands health and my health into mind and I prepare every meal with love. What was once mundane has now taken on a new meaning. I absolutely love working with herbs and spices and there is no need to add salt and pepper to our meals any longer.

With all of that said, Ive decided to write a cookbook.

If anybody has a good recipe they are ok with sharing, please pass it along to me. I of course will give props!

Ill share one of my first recipes with you. This is super quick and easy. The peppers give an added crunch which brightens up the eggplant and works well with the lettuce. The rosemary and blueberries have a similar chemical structure, which is why they pair so perfectly together. The ginger brings the flavor of the dish to a new dimension.

lettuce wraps

prep time - 5 min

cook time - 15 min

2 cups eggplant, skin on and cut into cubes

1/2 cup fresh whole blueberries

1/4 cup green pepper

1" hunk of fresh ginger, cut into lengthwise sticks

1 large sprig rosemary diced

1 tblsp coconut oil

four romaine hearts

Heat up a frying pan on high. When pan is hot, add coconut oil and let it thoroughly melt. Let pan continue to heat for a few minutes. Add all of the above ingredients except the lettuce and let them sit in the pan for four minutes. Flip ingredients over with a spatula. Mix well. Turn off heat, cover and let sit until the eggplant is carmelized and the blubeberries are soft and juicy. Transfer one heaping spoonful at a time to each romaine heart.

There will be a note in the beginning to use all organic products, so I don't have to keep writing it throughout the cookbook.

Wish me luck. Innocent

CrunchyPoodleMama · March 2010

Wow -- that is amazing that you're writing a cookbook! YOU GO GIRL!!!! Thank you for the lettuce wrap recipe... that sounds so yummy (and unique)! I absolutely love both eggplant and blueberries, but never in a zillion years would have thought of putting the two together!

PS73 · March 2010

Thanks Julia!!! I think the two work well together because eggplant can get really biting and the other ingredients cut those notes quite a bit. Im trying to perfect a recipe with roasted eggplant and roasted garlic -it has such a bite to it that its almost painful to eat. Im looking at herbs and fruit to neutralize the harsh acidic notes. (Goat) cheese doesn't work - it just competes. My next attempt will be a pre-soak in papaya enzyme and one with salt to see if there is a difference. Whats important is that Im taking something that was awful in my life and turning it into something good. ..and its fun and healthy. Thanks for your support!!

ps - Im so glad you are posting again

althea · March 2010

That recipe sounds like one I'd like to try. I'll let you know how mine turns out. I too have a penchant for the butter cheese & cream dishes. Will your recipes be using those ingredients or are you moving away from them?

I found an eggplant dish I really like at
http://southernfood.about.com/od/eggplantcasserolerecipes/r/r81116c.htm

except I use way less tomato sauce and include fresh sliced tomatoes in the roasted veggies.

PS73 · March 2010

Yah! I hope you like it!! Four of those romaine hears and I had seven hour energy without a slump whatsoever

..yes, I have been slowly moving away from dairy and meat but Its always easy to add cheese to any recipe. The one with the blueberries would be good with a warmed mild goat cheese like chevre. Just throw in about a handful two minutes before taking the mixture out of the pan.

Thats nuts, that recipe is almost exactly how I make my lasagna! There are a few differences but overall its very similar. it was my moms full fat full cheese with sausage recipe that Ive converted - its taken me so so many attempts but last night I think I came close to completing it. I love the fresh tomato layer - it adds such a juiciness to it. I could see dropping the sauce but I love red sauce so my recipe has about 1 cup of it. I also coat my eggplant in almond powder and spelt and lightly fry it first. The only other diff would be that I add 1/2 cup vegan ricotta to 4 cups of spinach which gets layer over the first layer of eggplant. On top of that is the sauteed 1 cup of onion, 1 garlic clove, 2 cups green pepper, 3 cups mushroom. I cover that with some red sauce. One additional clove of garlic on top of that, cover red sauce with sliced tomato and cover with another layer of eggplant. This is where I add the mozz which I am trying to perfect into vegan and soy free form which is not simple but Im working on it. And, lastly I throw two sprigs of diced up rosemary on top. I only put mozz on half and made two versions last night. I made one version with homeade vegan ricotta cheese and another with dairy ricotta to see if my hub noticed the difference and he didn't. Plus the recipe is wet enough from the ingredients that you don't need the additional mozz cheese so I may just remove it all together since I also think it was better without it - it added such a heaviness to the dish.

.

dlb823 · March 2010

Love the cookbook idea! One thing I've been doing recently that doesn't take a lot of effort (maybe not even a "recipe," per se), is roasting a variety of fresh veggies in the oven. I use a combination of asparagus, portabella &/or other mushrooms, sweet onion, red, yellow & orange peppers, zucchini -- or whatever I have on hand. Cut veggies in bite size pieces, toss in a bowl with a bit of olive oil (Tuscan flavored oil is great, if you can find it), salt, pepper, and fresh herbs of your choice (sage is especially nice). Roast in a shallow pan at 350 for approx. 20-30 mins., tossing half-way through. The veggies cook down a bit, so make lots. (You can't make too much!)

I do the same thing with small red potatoes (halved), but I tend to do that dish separately because potatoes take a bit longer to cook than the other veggies. Deanna

PS73 · March 2010

Deanna, thanks for the info. That sounds wonderful!! Im so craving those veggies in a sandwich with fresh sprouts and olive tenpenade now!

dlb823 · March 2010

PS ~ Check out the In Season Recipes thread, too. There are some nice ideas there, including a Watermelon & Feta Salad that's outstanding! D.

PS73 · March 2010

I lo-o-o-ve watermelon. thanks for the info, ill check out the thread.

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