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.