Shiitake Pasta. I am either going to have to make smaller salads or get a larger plate. I went to five stores until I found shiitake mushrooms, and the ones I found were dried, direct from Japan. How direct I will never know. Had heard more great things about shiitake since the one time I had tried them. Can be served in place of meat, and has all 8 amino acids found in meat and dairy products. A highly prized food in Japan. As support for medical conditions, it has been used successfully in cases of hepatitus, candida, enhancing resistance against viruses, cancer, and in ameliorating the effects of radiation or chemotherapy, among a number of other applications. A very detailed treatment of this amazing mushroom can be found here http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_shiitake.htm and also at world’s healthiest Foods http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=122 A study done on the effects of shiitake on candida albicans concluded “the findings of this study have shown that L. edodes (shiitake) produces a fungistatic agent, which is able to control C. albicans (candida) multiplication”. http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1517-83822001000300003 I boiled the shiitakes to wet-them-out (opposite of dry-them-out), together with the spaghetti, and then cut into very thin slices. Fried in part olive, coconut oil with soy burger, and the spices cumin, coriander, turmeric, black pepper, soy sauce, and one tbsp of fruit chutney which took the place of a butter sauce. Really enjoyed that dish, which is lucky since I have enough dried mushrooms for 10 more meals.

 Breakfast in a cup, except for the garnish. Just decided to make the plate environmentally green. This time, no baked-on, hard to get off oil in the pan because I did not put any in. With a good stainless steel pan this is possible. Be sure to put some oil in the cups (the top ones) before adding the ingredients. There is a fine line between burned on the bottom and cooked on top. The less often you lift the cover to check, the better. Which is why a glass cover is useful in one pan cooking. But, I do not have one, so often get slightly burned on the bottom. The muffins are amaranth, quinoa, pecans, walnuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds all ground in the coffee grinder, with a small amount of olive oil or coconut oil added afterwards. There is not a healthier muffin on the planet. Particularly when you factor in the charcoal at the bottom. 
 

 Who said there was no art in garbage. For those who are conscious of  environmental waste, and the profligacy of our society, some of these can be reused. But already they have served two purposes (the photo being the second), and who knows what else lies in store. Later note: Saved all of them except four. Stacked them and put in the freezer for next time.
 

 Garlic and Onion Eggplant With Raisins. Spices: pepper, turmeric, cumin, coriander, oregano. Fried in coconut oil (or olive oil). The super muffin? Space to fill and I have to get rid of them. Just ignore the carrots. Sort of difficult isn’t it. I try, but then remember how healthy they are, and give in. But not so much that I buy and intend to use them immediately or even in the near future. I freeze them. Don’t like pressure. This one was unfrozen two minutes ago. Scraped, cut, sliced (very easy if cut the length wanted, stand on end and slice top to bottom). Put slices into cup of hot water for 1 minute.  
 

 Cinnamon Q and A. Quinoa and Amaranth with sesame seed and an egg. If this looks unappealing, that’s because it is. But it has a lot of things that are good for you. Of course, that’s what they say about most things we don’t want. The topping of honey and cinnamon provides additional health benefits to an already powerful breakfast. 
 

 That was very good. I should reinstate my grading system. This is a four fork. Just to give perspective, a five forker is vanilla fudge ice cream on double chocolate cake. I am sitting here in a wet shirt. If you get turmeric on your clothes, immediately excuse yourself, and wash it, or at least the parts affected. The old idea of rubbing same cloth against itself doesn’t work on turmeric. I put the shirt back on and with a blue towel continued to rub it until gone. Does not have to be blue. The other option is to wear a bright orange top. Turmeric was and still is used to dye cloth. Potent stuff. Back to the dish. Spinach, carrots, broccoli, eggplant. This would make any alkalizing fanatic deliriously happy. They say that the foods you eat should be 60% alkaline and 40% acidic to keep a proper balance in the body. Check it out with this food chart of the two. Alkaline and Acidic Food Chart by www.essense-of-life.com at http://www.google.com/base/a/1389549/D6280858209555450942 After this you can eat all of the junk acidic food you want. The sauce is a garlic sauce with a small soy burger, and mushroom powder for cooking, water, small amount of flour, turmeric and black pepper. Other spices can be added (be careful with the salt). This dish as a whole, touches just about every red flag in the body and turns it green.
 
 

 Solid Soup. Have suddenly had these hives for about a week. Trying to figure out what is causing them by elimination of things which don’t set it off. So far, water is ok.  People like soup. Oh, you don’t? Well then, most people like soup. Living alone, who else am I going to talk to? One of the things I dislike about soups are the spoonfuls of water you have to wade through to get to the good stuff. This is the epitome of solid soups – no water. Plus, it is very healthy and green. Spinach, broccoli, carrots, and garbanzo beans. And the real health? Three cloves of garlic plus turmeric, crushed black pepper, and rosemary. The sauce is mushroom powder for cooking, flour, powdered coffee creamer (or milk) and water.

My thought for the day: When I think of all the things I could do, and all of the various things I have done, I begin to realize the enormity of the world I inhabit and how small it is the place I actually circumscribe for myself. Our dreams are always greater than  our realities but it is only when we attempt to close the gap that we truly live.
 

 Highland Omelet. Tried to get all of the beans into the center. Could have used a good sheepdog. The swath of chutney/sweet chili sauce is the ribbon of excellence.  The brown beans were soaked over night, then initially boiled. After boiling for about 5 minutes, poured the water off and renewed for final stint. This step really helps. Combination of coconut and olive oil for frying, with the 2 eggs poured on top of the beans. Garlic thinly sliced. An alchemy of basics.
 

 Just The Normal Spaghetti Except do not put hot paprika on cucumber. Just does not work. Add oregano, sage, and mushroom powder if you have them. Cook the garlic whole so that it gives its flavor to the dish, and those who have not eaten my last 5 meals, can enjoy it for its benefits, but can leave it if they are already super healthy, or have a close quarters board meeting.
 

 Chocolate and Peanut Butter Plus Ground Nuts On Top Chutney Inside Pancake. That’s the recipe. Use butter in the pan to fry, or you will never get it off the bottom due to the fruit chutney.

 Sweet Potato Pies. You are seeing this only because I believe in spreading my failures as well as my successes. Technically, it came out perfectly. But taste wise, I could not even finish them. You know that has to be a sign of terrible. This, in spite of my motto “You will like it no matter what because you cooked it”. Basically the problems were: Added no spices or sweeteners to the sweet potato. Added no spices to the white sauce. Added no spices to the pie crust. I forgot my own admonition about everything must stand on its own in terms of flavor. Nothing did. Pie crust was too thick and looked totally unappetizing. So, from the stand point of appeal, I may as well have served the meal in a paper bag. This could be fixed by sticking it in the oven for a couple of minutes, or, pan frying the tops to a light brown before putting them on the mashed sweet potato and white sauce. On the technical side: Sliced the sweet potato very thin, put coconut (olive) oil in the cups. Used a small glass to cut out pastry bottoms from hand flattened dough, heaped up the sweet potato/onion mash (if you want to turn them over to pan brown the top, make it flat), covered the top crust with a thin layer of oil or butter. After this meal, I will have to go back to basics. It’s very good to do that every once in a while. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the za’atared leftover-dough which I pan fried.

 Sweet potato mash with onions, before putting on the crust.
 

   My Choice. Pan fried tortilla, melted swiss cheese, raw sweet onion, cherry tomatoes, fried champignon mushrooms (read warning), fried sliced garlic, coriander, basilicum. This was really a delight to eat, aside from the yellowish color of the photo which makes it impossible to see the swiss cheese. But I didn’t have to look at the photo while dining.

 Desayuno de Joan Miro. You should see me when I get serious. The bread chips toasted in butter are a sliced-while-frozen roll.

 Smart Seed