Broccoli and Couscous
I do not know how I survived all these years without Couscous (semolina wheat in a special preparation) (I use the instant kind. Contains gluten). For one thing, as I said, it is instant – add the same amount of boiling water as you have couscous and you’re finished with the main underpinnings of a meal. No cooking of spaghetti, potatoes, rice just in order to have something under whatever else you are eating. And if you are eating it alone and not under something else, butter, salt and pepper make it a great side dish or a meal in itself.

And Now the Creamed Broccoli. Put the broccoli into boiling water for about 2 minutes. Do not really cook them. Pour out the water and pour about 2/3rds cup of milk into the pan. Add 1 tsp of flour and stir, adding more flour or milk as necessary to make a smooth free covering sauce. Add cheese – as much as you like, or have if its not as much as you want, add 1 tsp of sweet  basil. If you want to be really healthy, add about 1 tsp of turmeric (see the virtues of turmeric (curcumin) in other parts of the blog). Once on the plate, add sweet paprika.

 Poached Egg on Couscous. The end of the supplies and the beginning of a great day.
Poached? Would never make it for myself. But this is the other half of what I make for Cat about 3 times a month. She doesn’t like it either but it is said to do wonders for her fur. I don’t think she agrees but then…  So this was the last egg, on top of the last of the couscous, with the tail end of the cayenne pepper mix and cheese. To make it even tastier, a pad of butter, salt and pepper. For the full rundown on wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couscous and there are thousands of recipes out there.

Spices and Their Medical Potential

Very worth taking a look at.
A sort of shorthand description of the medical potential of a number of different spices. http://www.medspice.com/content/view/34/38/  For instance Oregano and its medical effects on cancer, cardiovascular disease, blood lipids, and anti-inflammatory effects. Also http://medspice.com/content/view/13/47/ which gives the cardio protective properties of some key spices, and spice equivalents of some key prescription drugs.
 

Spaghetti and Carrot Salad Lunch. Cayenne pepper and tomato paste sauce. Grated cheese. Carrot salad in olive oil with sweet basil, black pepper, and thyme (in the form of za’atar with sesame seeds, and sumac). This last was particularly important because the carrot next to the one I used was moldy. And thyme is a great antifungal, antibacterial, antimicrobial spice. We underrate carrots. Yeh, see in the dark stuff, but they are great for A (over 600% of daily recommended value in one cup). Great for night vision, and I quote “help provide protection against macular degeneration and the development of senile cataracts, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly.” http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=21 But, the most interesting concept related in the link above is the possibility that if you are a smoker or are constantly in the vicinity of second hand smoke, the vitamin A may restore the A reduced by smoke and may help prevent emphysema and hopefully a longer healthier life. Carrots may also be great for the skin. According to one source, applied to a blemish or uneven shaded area of the skin reduces the blemish http://ezinearticles.com/?Benefits-Of-Carrot-Juice&id=807641es.
 

LENTILS. I know. Who likes them? This will change your mind. Plus, I added something after the shot which made it much more photographable and eatable but couldn’t go through the setup again, so use your imagination, and besides, I was hungry.
Lentils, diced onion, 4 garlic cloves, shiitake mushrooms and the sauce: Tomato paste, 1 tsp of cayenne pepper sauce, ketchup. Additional spices: Coriander, turmeric, oregano, sweet basil. The extras mentioned above were extra ketchup on top of the mound, and salsa for the pan fried chips. If you are not healthy before this, you will be after.
 

Important Rules If You Are Cooking For Yourself, Or For Anyone Else
This is the beginning of a list of important rules, and rule number one is:
1. Always leave something behind. There is an animal which when it takes something, always leaves something in its place. Very smart. You may be very upset with what was taken, but you are somewhat mollified by the fact that something was exchanged for it even if you can’t use it, don’t like it, etc.  while this is not quite the same thing, it does provide some material for expanding the next meal. Even if you have the supermarket next door, or the raw materials right outside your doorway, you will always be glad that you left something. 
2. Never let convention get in the way. If your mouth says it will work, then it will – or at least it’s worth a try.
 

 This is the result of rule number one.
Lentil and Shiitake soup with a side of chili slices. The soup was the left over from the lentil dish before. By the way, be sure to cut the shiitake into bit size pieces. Very chewy and gives the sense of something significant to eat. Also, when making the soup, do not put the water in the pan first. Add it to your soup stock so that you do not end up with the essence of bouillon unless you have 100 mouths to feed. This is very think soup, with toasted whole wheat in olive oil and a mixture of salsa and a small amount of cayenne pepper sauce, topped with cheese – also left over by design. This was really the last of the cheese. Tomorrow I have to start being creative again.

 This is the second result of rule number one combined with rule number two.

Lentil Pancake with Salsa. Added more cayenne pepper sauce, turmeric, oregano and flour to make a pancake batter which was then fried. The salsa was the little bit left over which had been saved. The cake was so good I was looking for another. Followed by a cookie which my niece sent me for my doesn’t-matter-the-number birthday. My mouth was definitely in on that decision. As for the birthday, I have reached the age where it just doesn’t matter unless you’re going for a Guinness record.
 

This is Turmeric, Walnut, and Sweet Chili Sauce Omelet with Sunflower Seeds. What more can I say. Delicious. Finished it off with a peanut butter and honey slice of 7 grain French Bread. And coffee. Had 2 glasses of water when I first got up, to clean out the system and get everything flowing again. If you do nothing else to help yourself in this life, drink at least two cups of water when you get up and before everything and wait as long as you can before eating (for me that’s usually about half an hour). You will be amazed.

And turmeric (curcumin)? What is that all about? I’ve covered this before, but it’s worth doing it again. If you could have only two spices left in the world, make one of them Turmeric. But one word of caution. normally buy the powdered form in the food store, and not turmeric or curcumin in pill form or as additives to other medicines due to the possibility of other additives which are not regulated.

SO? Well, for one thing, if you ever have diarrhea, put one teaspoon of it in a glass of water. No, don’t just leave it there. Drink it. Has worked wonders for many. Want some testimony? http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/diarrhea4.html Of course, the other possibility is mixing 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water. By the way, if you ever want to check out hundreds of home remedies with lots of eye witness accounts… http://www.earthclinic.com/  If you want to know what everyone else has used turmeric for, search for it on the link. The list is so long, I’ll just say that whatever is bothering you, try turmeric. Except for your partner leaving you. But who knows. Amazing stuff.  And if you want a very good, condensed treatment of what it may be able to do for you, check out World’s Healthiest Foods http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=78 which discusses the following: Anti-inflammatory, helps in rheumatoid arthritis,  cystic fibrosis,  cancer prevention,  childhood leukemia,  liver functioning, cardiovascular protection,  lowering of cholesterol, Alzheimer’s disease. You get the idea.

This is what it looks like – lettuce, tomato, kashkaval cheese, sliced onion, veggie-burger on a mayonnaised sesame roll. BUT, the important part is the Za’atar.  This is a middle-eastern flavor and health additive on which we in the West are lagging far behind. There are just some things we need to catch up on. Za’atar is generally prepared using ground dried thyme, oregano, marjoram, or some combination thereof, mixed with toasted sesame seeds, and salt. Some varieties may add savory, cumin, coriander or fennel seed. A Lebanese variety of Za’atar usually contains sumac berries, and has a distinct dark red color.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Za’atar

I will concentrate on the thyme and sesame seeds.

Thyme: A good source of vitamin K, iron, and some manganese. It is an antibacterial and antifungal spice, and as suggested by whfoods.com is excellent as a safeguard on salads. http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=77

Sesame seeds: Has significant amounts of copper, manganese, tryptophan, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, vitamin B1 (thiamin) with all of their attendant benefits for health. http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=84 a video showing the making of pitas with za’atar gives another use for it.

And then there is the apple salad. And the apple salad with raisins is exactly what it looks like, but the salient feature here is the cinnamon in honey – added separately while standing over the salad. Cinnamon at World’s Healthiest Foods: http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=68

Benefits of Cinnamon and Honey 

A very thoughtful article on the benefits of cinnamon, honey and dark chocolate with sources: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/08/03/food-for-thought-health-benefits-of-cinnamon-raw-honey-and-dark-chocolate/ Also, see
http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/vinegar-and-honey.html23 Apple Cider Vinegar and Honey: Remedy for Arthritis. For information on arthritis, see Sandra Fierling’s site: http://arthritisreviews.com/

And to round out this discussion of cinnamon and honey, the following is apparently taken from a 1995 edition of Weekly World News, a Canadian magazine which is apparently no longer in publication. References not checked. The information may be enlightening for the sake of discussion on the uses of cinnamon and honey: http://www.angelfire.com/az/sthurston/honeyandcinnamon.html

Dicing An Apple
One additional feature is the speed cut on the apple. Do this while it is lying on the board. Do not do this by chopping while it is in your hand. This is, of course, the natural tendency. Fast and efficient – way to cut into your hand or even through – either because the apple is softer than you thought, it is rotten in the middle, you start thinking about other things – yes, it happens, even while cutting an apple – and miss, or the cat jumps up, or any number of 10,000 other possibilities.  There is no replacement for a good hand, as good as the prosthetics are getting these days – and not to mention the training you have to go through! Think about it – just not worth it. Of course, once the apple has been successfully cut both ways, just slice around the core.

Do not suddenly change burners
Logically you know that if you go from a smaller to a larger burner on the stove, it will take less time – far less time – to cook, the cooking pattern on the bottom of pancakes, eggs, etc is different, the size of the pans can be bigger meaning that the thickness of whatever is in the pan is thinner. In other words, things burn faster. Well, that is what happened with this pancake which is why you do not see the other side. You, of course, know all of this, but subconsciously you’re working with the old timing on the smaller flame and doing things as normal at the sink when everything is anything but normal on the stove. It takes a whole new psychological mind set and if you are not in a mood to deal with that early in the morning, stick with the old burner.

Live to 100+ Pancake
This is health in a cake with flour, egg, brewer’s yeast, walnuts, raisins, honey, and cinnamon. With butter and syrup, this was one of the best pancakes I have ever tasted – ignoring the charcoal on the other side. To add even more years, grind amaranth and quinoa and add it instead of about half of the flour. Or use a whole grain flour.
Rules for cooking without measuring instruments.
1. Put more of everything except for liquid, hot or bitter spices, leavening.
2. Always leave flour, or whatever ingredient absorbs liquid, in reserve. DO NOT use the last of it – ever.
3. Constantly check cooking process.
4. General procedure: Mix a small amount of liquid and add absorbent until you get a sort of thick paste. Then continue this until you have all of the ingredients in and you have the consistency you desire.
5. Calculate that the thicker the end consistency, the shorter time it takes to cook.
6. Certain spices have specific effects on the body and this should be kept in mind by those on specific medications. For instance, cinnamon has the effect of thinning the blood and this should be noted by those who are on blood thinning medications.

OR go out and buy some measuring instruments and do not use my recipes.
Actually, to use the right nomenclature, my food preparations are not recipes, they are concoctions.

Cooking Way Too Much

It appears that I think in twos, threes, even crowds. I find that cooking for one is very difficult. Which is why my freezer is full and I am putting on weight. Fixing a single portion never seems to be enough of any one of the ingredients. Until you get them together and then its too late. Like this one which took going back for mammoth seconds just to finish it off.  

  RCEPO
Red cabbage, egg plant, onion, cooked in a small amount of olive oil and water, with more added as needed. Was going to have a salad, but instead, I threw in a frozen sprig of broc and a pea (not visible – my attempt to keep it to a single serving). Served on a bed of couscous. Rice will do fine, but couscous is ready in 2 minutes with some boiling hot water only. And the sauce: Teaspoon of mild sweet chili, half tsp each of honey, soy sauce, thyme, oriental cumin, cayenne pepper, and oregano, salt to taste.

 Avocado-Cucumber-Cherry Tomato Salad. Mayonnaise thinned with some fresh lemon juice (I knew there was a reason for buying a lemon). The yellow is turmeric which is not enough to do you any real good, but the crushed black pepper is there anyway, just in case. When you think about it, more care goes into making a great salad than just about anything else. There may be dishes which have more ingredients, take more time and worry, but nothing can beat a great salad. It is normally one of the few things which we eat raw, the way that nature intended it to be before someone came along and upset all the nutrition cart by starting to cook. Just think about it. There were no cooking classes in the Garden of Eden, or one of them would have been wearing an apron instead of a fig leaf. There was, however, one salad that was not to be made. Apple.
 

 Eggplant and Mushroom Side. A method for keeping the eggplant from soaking up all of the oil: Get the pan very hot with a little bit of oil. Put in each piece, and instantly, which is faster than immediately, turn it over and then put on the side, while all the others are being thrown and yanked. At some point, add a bit of oil because there will be none left. When all have been completed, put in a small amount of oil, add all slices to the pan and cover, turning occasionally. Served With hummus. The walnut is garnish. Garnish is the ad industry for the cooking profession. However, walnuts really go with this dish. There should be more on there. It’s just that I had already had my handful for the day for the needed Omega-3. Also included coriander and oregano. This meal is an exercise in cell protection against free radicals. Eggplant is very good as an anti-oxident anti free radical compound. Mushrooms are high in selenium and also a good source of B2,B3,B5, copper, tryptophan, plus. They include the antioxidant L-ergothioneine which is found in greater amount than in wheat germ or chicken liver, previously considered the best sources. Protection all around. http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=97 If you have not already done so, read ‘a mushroom warning’. 

 More Egg In A Cup. One of them is a straight egg dropped into 4-5 layers of cup. The other is shaken and poured. With sesame seed. See previous egg-in-a-cup post for details. Served with cinnamon bread sticks and an apricot. Saving the apricot seeds. Hear that the seed inside the outer nut is good against cancer. But to be useful, it takes about 6-7 a day. The body is a self corrective mechanism, perfectly created to protect itself, and keep going regardless. So why is there so much cancer and other problems? No, the real question is, why are there small pockets of population at different places in the world which have a very low incidence of cancer? We must be doing something wrong. The body is trying to protect itself from the effects of a lack in something it needs. We have to figure out what is lacking and provide it. Another interesting phenomenon: Worldwide, many people have had total remission, too many to ignore, without the burn and slash methods of modern medicine. What did these people do? The answer, as they say, is out there.
 

 Midday Sandwich. Eggplant and green salad with mayonnaise on hummus (sliced onion, mushrooms, cheese, tomatoes optional). Spices: Oregano, sweet paprika, cayenne pepper, thyme, garlic powder on heated roll. There is nothing like specialty rolls and breads. It’s concept as value over and above the necessity. Otherwise, just give me a pill and let’s be done with it.
 

A Quick Reference Spice Chart. Finally found it. Been looking for this since I began the blog. 21 Spices and the dishes they go with. Very handy to have taped to any wall opposite the place you do your thinking about cooking. Also some good tips as to how and when to add spices. However, if you impulse cook, might as well just put it in the bottom drawer. http://www.spiceadvice.com/usage/chart.html
 

 My Own Nut, Fruit, Grain Porridge with Blueberries. To start off with, the only grain here is corn in flake form. Added to the flakes, along with enough water to make a mush, are diced apple, roasted pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, with two raisins which actually came with the corn flakes in a box labeled Muesli. Right there on the label, it says ‘With corn flakes added’, but I think they forgot to add anything else. Served with cinnamon and sugar or honey.
 

 Eggplant-Mushroom-Onion Spaghetti. I know. Spaghetti again! One of my ruts, while others get stuck on peanut butter sandwiches. Was standing in the kitchen and decided to do some reading. Took down one of the spice bottles from over the stove, and started to read. “Do not store over cooking area. Store only in cool, dry place”. One of the reasons I don’t read that much. Forces me to make changes.
 

 The Nut Tree. Ground almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds on a fried egg. Cherry tomatoes on whipped cream cheese.
 

 Couscous. The couscous is instant. It’s the instructions which take 10 minutes. Just pour boiling hot water on top of it in a bowl or pan according to instructions on the package, cover, wait 5 minutes, stir and leave uncovered for another five. The base for hundreds of meals. Special durum wheat which is prepared in a way totally different from other wheat products. One of the staples of Middle Eastern family life and cuisine. Usually used with vegetables, hence the broccoli and the soy burger which were cooked separately. Also took about 10 minutes. So it came out a tie. The powdered mushroom for cooking sauce with flour, water and/or milk, and butter can very easily get out of hand. Start with a small amount of the powder and add your preferred liquid stirring constantly on low flame. Add powder as needed to make the consistency desired, flour for the whitening effect, so not much. Be sure to put some of the sauce on the bottom of the bowl before putting in the already prepared couscous. After the shoot, I poured on the rest of the sauce. Cautionary note: Couscous expands about three times its amount. So unless you have a large family or a big frig, do not make the full package as might be suggested on the packaging. I’ll be eating couscous for a week. For more information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couscous The orange, when served this way, ensures that you get the mineral and vitamin rich partitioning and at least some of the inner white of the peel. Plus, it’s more labor intensive. Therein lies the appeal. There is no finesse in chugging a glass of orange juice.

 Healthy Egg. Just wanted nothing more than a healthy egg. There you see it. Waiting on the eighth walnut (never showed). Two eggs, small amount of water and tbsp flour – shake well to get rid of any lumps of flour. Poured into a hot skillet with olive oil and butter. The butter is just in case the olive oil is not hot enough which would cause the eggs to probably stick. Coriander, oregano. After the shoot, za’atar with thyme, sumac, and sesame seeds was liberally added, obliterating any sight of the egg. Some of the best players are spared the pre-game show. Behind the scenes, peanut butter and jelly on French raisin/nut bread. Look it up. It’s healthy especially if the jelly is strawberry.