Eating Alone In Half The Time

Still waiting on the photos.

Non-dairy dish #19
End of everything. Half potato left over from 2 days ago, quarter of a cauliflower (which leaves 1/4 left for tomorrow) from 2 days ago, red cabbage left from 4 days ago, last of the tofu, last minus 4 of the soy dogs, clove of garlic, salad (not shown). Fried together (except for salad). No spices except for salt. Was just not in a spice mood. Mushroom-soup-powder-because-I-had-run-out-of-rich-mushroom powder-for-cooking-flour-water sauce. Today is one of those days.

Non-dairy dish #20
Amaranth Stir Fry. What is Amaranth? I’ll get to that. There are perfectly good recipes for it but I just decided to pour it in on top of my frying onions, tempeh and sunflower seeds. And added water, and more water, and more water. Found out it cooks much like rice. At the end you get soft grains with a bit of resistance which is actually not bad. Not bad at all. Added mushroom soup powder, basil, herbs de Provence, salt and let it steep. O.K. what is it? It is a grain which is purported to be one of the few full protein grains in existence and 30% higher in protein than other grains. High in manganese and a lot of other minerals and vitamins. Used all over the world although not much in the U.S. Is most famous for having been the main stay of the Incas and of the Aztec empire before the Spanish Conquistadores arrived. Besides the seed which is from a purple/red to gold flower. I repeat here a list of links I sent to my niece. While I fully enjoyed my dish, I suggest that you look at some of the recipes. Has some really amazing properties. From Wikipedia below “Besides protein, amaranth grain provides a good source of dietary fiber and dietary minerals such as iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and especially manganese”. From whfoods.com and  Description from Wikipedia.  From About.com - Amaranth: a Healthy Grain for Vegetarian Recipes giving nutritional data. One word about the leaves which are in many cases a different species.  The leaves contain high amounts of oxalic acid which inhibits calcium absorption by the body. Boiling and throwing away the water reduces the amount left but those with certain medical conditions should probably avoid eating the leaves, or do so in moderate amounts. Also, like spinach, it is best not to reheat the cooked leaves. All of this only applies to the leaves and not to the amaranth grain.

Special Olive Oil Breakfast. Says it all.  “It turns out that people who use olive oil regularly, especially in place of other fats, have much lower rates of heart disease, atherosclerosis, diabetes, colon cancer, and asthma.”  World’s Healthiest Foods
And if you really want to eat healthily and are just not faking it for a while (like I tend to do every once in a while):  Health Tips and Avoid List by Mike Adams
There are the experts in this world, and then there are the eaters. I’m an eater. These were very good. Experts are excellent at what they do and know, but their knowledge often gets in the way of the sheer experience of something. Not me. But, there have been some things learned. For instance, there are two secrets here. One, if you are using a frying pan, turn them before they burn and that is long before you think that is going to happen. Two, when they are still not done, cover and turn off the flame and let the pan do the cooking. Otherwise, it will form this moonless night crust and the inside will not be done. Three, yeh, yeh, I know, make the batter with as little water as possible so the dough just hangs together and then roll small globs in dry flour before putting them in the hot pan with a little olive oil. Then press in a nut on top. Ingreds (because I don’t know if its an e or an a in the end and I hate to correct): Flour, sugar, vanilla, salt, raisins, nuts.
 

This time it’s the mushrooms. Next time it’ll be something else. The amount? Number? Lots. You will find yourself looking for them in the rice/amaranth crushed tomato/tomato paste bowl. Don’t let your search be in vain. Everything else is a sideline. Pictures don’t lie? Believe me. They’re there.