Cadry's Kitchen

Produce at its peak gets the starring role in this raw chili.

Summer smells like tomato vines.  Truly, when August hits and those green, fuzzy vines are bursting with bounty, I can’t help myself from enjoying a tomato as if it were a fine wine.  First, the color…  The hues of bright red or heirloom varieties of orange, yellow, striped green, and even purple are a beauty to behold.  Then, the smell…  I like to press my nose against the place where the vine met the fruit.  It’s so crisp and earthy and a world away from the smell of a December tomato.  And finally, the sweet, full-bodied flavor that doesn’t need anything to stand in the way of it.  It can be eaten like an apple, juice running down your arm, while standing in the warm, yellow sun.

As luck would have it, it seems everywhere I go there are tomatoes.  I have family and friends raising them who are only too happy to feed my lycopene-fueled addiction, and when I’ve eaten my way through their supply, the local co-op and farmer’s market are selling them in every shape and color imaginable.

While they are at the season’s peak, I have been enjoying them in every possible form – sandwiches, sauces, salads, salsas, and in Ani Phyo’s Fresh Tomato Chili with Taco Nut Meat from her book Raw Food Essentials.  Ani’s chili uses a wide variety of vegetables, and it’s a delight to the eye to pick as many colors as possible.  Several colors of tomatoes, several colors of bell peppers, an interesting color of corn, and a menagerie of mushrooms make for an eye catching raw soup.  The addition of walnuts spiced with cumin and coriander really sell that chili flavor.  While the summer wheezes its last hot breath, the stove can take a break with this cool, fresh chili.

I recently served this soup as a refreshing starter before a meal of vegetable fajitas.  It would also make a fun change from ordinary salsa.  Aside from chopping time, this comes together quickly, and if one wanted to get the food processor involved, then it would be even quicker.

Tomato Chili with Taco Nut Meat

Makes 4 servings

TOMATO CHILI

• 3 cup tomatoes, chop
• 1 cup red bell pepper, chop
• 1/4 cup celery, chop
• 1/4 cup yellow onion, chop
• 1/3 cup mushroom, chop
• 1/3 c corn kernels
• 1 teaspoon garlic, mince
• 1 – 2 teaspoon chili powder, to taste
• 1 teaspoon cumin, powder
• 3/4 teaspoon oregano, fresh or dry
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, to taste

Place all ingredients into a large mixing bowl, toss to mix well.  Place half of your mixture into your food processor or blender and puree. Scoop back into bowl with mixture and toss to mix well.

NUT MEAT TOPPING

• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cumin, powder
• 2 teaspoons coriander, powder
• 1 teaspoon bragg’s or nama shoyu, or 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, to taste

Place all ingredients into your food processor, and process into small pieces.  To serve, scoop raw Tomato Chili into bowls. Top with Taco Nut Meat. Enjoy.

Tomato Chili will keep for 1-2 days in fridge. Taco Nut Meat will keep for a week or more.

I love to start my morning in a cozy robe with a cup of coffee in hand while I flip through the early morning programs, like the Today show or Good Morning America.  Their light banter and soft journalism is a nice little entry to the day.  My husband and I chat about the stories, with thumbs at the ready to flip channels when one of their meat-heavy cooking segments air.

Every once in a blue moon they’ll cook something vegetarian or vegan, sometimes even involving tofu.  Inevitably one of the hosts will squirm over the idea of eating bean curd and say something disparaging about it.  I get it.  I used to mock tofu too.  It’s the food that people love to hate.  Sitting in a bath of water on a refrigerated shelf in the grocery store, it doesn’t look immediately appealing.  If only people could get past its outward appearance and their own assumptions, they might come to love tofu as I have.

If only tofu had the PR of, say, ladybugs.  They’re bugs just like any other bugs, and yet people coo when they see them and delight in them crawling on their arms.  They may even break into a song about them.  What other bug gets that kind of treatment?  You don’t see people singing over cockroaches or centipedes.  Unfortunately for tofu, they have the PR of… tofu.

Tofu could be that gawky girl in one of those romantic teen comedies, who is wearing glasses with her hair in pigtails and then after the hot guy falls for her it’s revealed that she’s actually hot too.  Why? Because deep down, tofu is pretty exceptional.  First of all, it’s super versatile.  It can be grilled, baked, roasted, stir-fried…  It can be used in desserts, thrown into salads, or make for a delightful morning scramble.  It is a blank canvas.  It will soak up the flavors of any delicious marinade, from smoky barbecue sauce to a red wine marinade to today’s recipe for Lemony Baked Tofu with Rosemary.

Step one: Drain the tofu from its water-packed package

The secret to spectacular tofu is in the pressing.  Water-packed tofu, sold in the refrigerated section, is like a sponge.  When using it, you need to drain the package and press out all of that water logged inside of it.  After that, it can soak up whatever marinade and flavor profile you desire.

Step two: Cut the tofu into slices and lay them on a towel-covered plate.

After I empty the water from the package, I like to cut the tofu into slices for quicker and more even pressing.  Then I set it on a plate that has been covered in a kitchen towel.  Lay the tofu slices evenly across the plate, not overlapping.  Cover the slices with another towel, and top them with a hard cover book or another plate.

Step three: Press the tofu with something heavy, like a kettlebell on top of a hardcover book on top of the towel-wrapped tofu.

Then on top of all of that, place something heavy, like a weight or cans of soup.  Press the tofu for a half an hour to an hour, and then it’s ready for marinating.  (To save time, consider pressing the tofu in the refrigerator overnight, and then in the morning put it in the marinade before work.  When you get home, you only have to throw it in the oven to bake.)

Step four: Marinate the tofu for at least an hour for optimum flavor. After that, it's ready to bake.

This Lemony Baked Tofu with Rosemary has a wonderful, dense texture because of its long baking time, and it’s great for people who prefer their meals to have a centerpiece with a couple of sides.  It goes well with barley, risotto, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, or asparagus.  If you happen to have any left over (and we rarely do), they work well in a salad or sandwich.

I would like to finish today’s post with a little poem:

Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet,

Eating bean curd (and no whey),

Along came a spider and sat down beside her,

And said, “Hey, Muffet.  Any idea how I could get hooked up with the Ladybug’s PR agent?”

Lemony Baked Tofu with Rosemary

Serves 2-4

• 1 package (14 oz.) water-packed firm or extra firm tofu, pressed and sliced into 6-8 slices

Marinade:

• Juice of 1 large lemon (about ¼ cup)
• 1 Tbsp. tamari soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp fresh rosemary, minced (or 1 tsp dried)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or grated with a Microplane
• A few shakes (or grinds) black pepper, to taste

Combine the ingredients for the marinade in a shallow pie dish or small baking dish. Soak the tofu slices in marinade for 1 hour, flipping once halfway through.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bake tofu in marinade for 40 minutes.

No time for LP’s or pedaling?  You can still do some spinning of your own with this Creamy Kale in Orange Peanut Sauce.  Like the Beverage Association reminded us, kids like sweet flavors.  Kids also like peanut butter.  Entice them to eat some dark leafy greens with this tasty main course from my kitchen.

Curly Kale in Orange Peanut Sauce

Serves 2

• ½ cup dry small pasta (i.e. penne or fusilli)
• 1 bunch curly kale, removed from stem and chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Sauce:

• 2 Tbsp organic natural peanut butter
• 1 tsp tamari soy sauce, preferably with reduced sodium
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp orange juice (juice from approximately ¼ of an orange)
• ¼ tsp hot sauce (optional)

Garnish:

• 1 orange, seeds removed and cut into sections (Squeeze juice from ¼ of the orange for above sauce and use the remaining ¾ for garnish)
• ¼ cup red bell pepper, chopped small
• A handful of fresh cilantro
• A handful of peanuts

Combine ingredients for sauce in a bowl, mix until smooth and creamy.  Set aside.

In a soup pot, bring a few inches of water to boil, and boil pasta for ten minutes. Steam curly kale for 3-4 minutes, until the kale is bright green and softening.  Heat a medium-sized sauté pan, and sauté minced garlic in olive oil for a minute or two until it becomes fragrant.  Add the steamed kale and cooked pasta to the pan and combine.  Pour sauce over kale & pasta, thoroughly combine, and garnish with orange sections, red bell pepper, cilantro, and peanuts.  Serve immediately.

Meal idea: Serve with vegan vegetable potstickers and a salad with a simple Toasted Sesame Oil/Brown Rice vinegar vinaigrette.  (Remember the ratio on a vinaigrette: 3 parts oil to one part vinegar.)

When one thinks of the calamities that befall Southern California when the rain comes pouring down from our usually sunny skies, one conjures images of mudslides, flooding, and cars skidding on slick, congested freeways.  While all of these difficulties besiege a fair number of Los Angelenos, there is one malady that is universal.  It’s not spoken of in menacing tones on the nightly news.   It’s not caught on Storm Watch Doppler 2000.  It involves the panicked and packed grocery stores that accompany falling rain and flooding streets.  Soon the stores’ shelves are in disarray and the checkout lines rival those at Disneyland.  Only at this attraction, there’s no Fast Pass.  There’s only the wish that it had been avoided.  That’s why on rainy days, or any day, I recommend this Satisfying Split Pea Soup from my kitchen.  It’s made with kitchen staples, is delicious on its own, topped with tempeh bacon or a sautéed Italian Field Roast sausage, or paired with a sandwich.  It reheats well and is great for leftovers.

Split peas are an easy weeknight choice, because they don’t require the same kind of pre-planning and hours of soaking that dried beans do.  Just check them for dirt and debris, give them a nice rinse, and you’re ready to go.  Yellow or green split peas can be used interchangeably with only a slight difference in flavor.  Yellow split peas have a somewhat more delicate taste.  Split peas are inexpensive, usually available in bulk bins, and a good source of fiber, protein, folate, and tryptophan.  Store them in a cool, dry location, like a pantry, in an air-tight container, and they will keep for several months.  (If you plan on storing them longer, move them to the refrigerator.)  Have them on hand and at the ready the next time cloudy skies hover over your neck of the woods.

Satisfying Split Pea Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups split peas, green or yellow
• 4 ½ cups water
• ¼ cup barley (Brown rice also works, but the soup will be a bit more watery since it doesn’t absorb as much water.)
• 1 vegan vegetable bouillon cube
• 1 tsp oil, canola or avocado
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• ½ tsp coriander
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• ¼ tsp smoked salt
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Rinse and sort split peas, removing any debris.  Put split peas, barley, and water into a soup pot and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat to a simmer, add the bouillon cube, stir, and cover.  In a separate pan sauté garlic, carrots, celery, and onion in oil.  Once the onion is translucent, transfer the vegetables to the soup pot and add coriander, basil, thyme, and smoked salt.  Cover the pot and continue cooking.  In total, the split peas should cook for an hour and a half.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

(Note:  If you’re not crunched for time, feel free to sauté the vegetables first in the soup pot and then add the split peas, barley, water, and bouillon cube.  It seems that I’m always in too much of a hurry, and I want to get the split peas started right away since they’ll take the most time.)

This soup is delicious on its own, but for a lovely finish I recommend topping the soup with crumbles of tempeh bacon from The Vegan Table or serving it with a vegan BLT for a hit of smokiness.  (In my case, the sandwich would more appropriately be called a TATSS:  Tempeh bacon, avocado, tomato, spinach, and sauerkraut sandwich.)

Tempeh Bacon

Reprinted from The Vegan Table with permission

Yield:  10-14 slices

Ingredients:

• 1 package (8 ounces) tempeh
• ¼ cup tamari soy sauce
• 2 tsp liquid smoke  (Cadry says:  I prefer to use ½ tsp of liquid smoke for a milder smoky flavor.)
• 3 Tbsp real maple syrup
• ¼ cup water
• Canola oil, for frying

Add the block of tempeh to a 3-quart pot fitted with a steamer basket, and steam for about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a large-size bowl, combine tamari, liquid smoke, maple syrup, and water.  Mix well.

Let the tempeh cool before slicing into thin, bacon-size strips.  Place slices in marinade, and let sit for as long as you like.  The longer you marinate, the stronger the flavor.  I often marinate for less than a half-hour.  Shake occasionally to make sure all tempeh is coated.

After tempeh has marinated, heat oil in a skillet and fry the strips over medium-high heat until crisp.  Turn and fry again until crisp on the other side.  Sprinkle a little extra tamari and maple syrup on the tempeh while it’s cooking.  After about 5 minutes per side, the tempeh will turn brown, caramelize, and get crispier and chewier.

Remove from heat and set on a plate with a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.

You know you were a teenaged girl in the nineties if…

• You remember that “the Cabbage Patch” was an easy dance move and the place where Xavier Roberts spawned the popular dimpled dolls.
• In Your Eyes was “your song”… with at least two different people (and probably more).
• You followed each subsequent teenage breakup with a viewing of When Harry Met Sally.

Well, I was a teenaged girl of the nineties, and it is for this reason that scenes from When Harry Met Sally pop into my head at the most unlikely of times.

Sally is telling Harry her opinions on Casablanca and claiming that when it comes to romantic pairings, women are practical and logical.  It’s at that moment that Harry is hit with an epiphany.

Harry: Oh, I understand.

Sally: What?  What?

Harry: Nothing.

Sally: What?

Harry: Forget about it.

Sally: For…  What?  Forget about what?

Harry: It’s not important.

Sally: No, just tell me.

Harry: Obviously you haven’t had great sex yet.

Oddly, it was this scene that was playing out in my mind while I was at a dinner party a few weeks ago.  The hostess brought out a bowl of Brussels sprouts.  A very small bowl.  To serve the entire dinner party.  I really like Brussels sprouts, but out of politeness to the other guests, I scooped a scant two or three onto my plate.  The bowl went around the table and came back to me again, almost full.  Bonus!  I could guiltlessly take more sprouts with the all clear.  The other dinner guests, self-proclaimed vegetable phobes, wanted nothing to do with them.  Then I took a bite… and realized those sad little sprouts had been boiled to oblivion.  They were an unfortunate comparison to the sprouts I was used to, roasted in the oven until caramelized, crisp on the outside, soft on the inside.

Now, I got it.  This is why they didn’t like vegetables.  They thought vegetables tasted like this. It’s not that the other guests couldn’t love Brussels sprouts, wouldn’t love Brussels sprouts…  They just hadn’t had great sprouts yet.

Oh, we’ve all been duped by this kind of thing before.  Think back to before those teenaged days, back to your childhood, waking up early on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons.  You saw Popeye protecting Olive Oyl, ready to spar Bluto but first stopping to down a can of spinach.  You thought, “Wow, spinach.  If it makes ol’ Popeye’s forearms bulge like that, it must be some amazing stuff.”  So you asked your mom for a can of spinach, just like Popeye the Sailorman.  You were going to be a chiseled powerhouse like Popeye.  You were going to be the next Macho Man Randy Savage.  Your mom was delighted.  You were asking for spinach of all things!  And then you took a bite of that wet and goopy canned spinach and decided a life outside of professional wrestling and/or sailing wouldn’t be so bad after all.  Popeye must have been nuts.

So then for the subsequent decade, maybe you thought you hated spinach.  Maybe you avoided it, and olive oil, and sweet peas too just to be safe.  Until one day you had fresh spinach that had been lightly sautéed until just wilted in a drizzle of olive oil with a mound of minced garlic, a handful of dried cranberries and pine nuts.  You realized that Popeye was half right.  You could be strong to the finish cause you eat your spinach.  (And if you had a hamburger today, well, you might just be Wimpy.)  But spinach out of a can?  Absolutely not.

There were a plethora of vegetables that I just didn’t realize I liked until I had them fresh.  As a child I’d make a game out of eating canned peas just to get them down, but when I was introduced to fresh peas I was pleasantly surprised at how they popped with flavor and had a bite to the tooth.  Canned corn was okay, but how could it compare to an August day eating it right off of the cob?

All of that said, I suppose there is one small exception…  While roasted asparagus with a smidge of sea salt is my absolute favorite, as a young adult I still had a soft spot for canned asparagus.  I haven’t had it in years now, but I remember the condensed flavor of the asparagus, even as mush, was just plain good.  That was the impetus behind making the following soup.  I wanted a soup that held onto that bold asparagus flavor but made fresh.  It’s a hearty soup without a lot of spices.  That means that all of the focus is given to that lovely spring vegetable, asparagus.

Hearty Asparagus Soup

Serves one as a meal or two as a starter

• 12 ounces fresh asparagus
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• ½ small red onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp oil (canola, avocado, or olive), plus a small additional amount for roasting asparagus
• ½ cup water
• ½ vegan vegetable bouillon cube
• Pinch of smoked salt (optional)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Wash asparagus, removing wooded ends at each spear’s natural breaking point.  Dry three spears of asparagus, drizzle lightly with oil, and roast on a cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally throughout.  When the asparagus is softened with a nice brown color, remove it from the oven and set aside for garnish.

Chop the remaining asparagus into one-inch pieces.  In a small soup pot, sauté the garlic, onion, carrot, and celery in one teaspoon of oil.  Once the onion is translucent, add the one-inch pieces of asparagus, half of a bouillon cube, and water to the pot.  The water will not cover all of the asparagus; the goal is to steam most of it.  Set it to a medium heat and cover.  If it starts to boil, lower the heat.  Cook for 10 minutes, until the asparagus is bright green and soft.  Once the asparagus and carrots are tender, blend the soup fully with a conventional or immersion blender.  (If you’re using an immersion blender, you may have to tilt the pot to have enough liquid in one spot for easier blending.)  Add a pinch of smoked salt, and salt and pepper to taste.  Chop the roasted asparagus that was set aside earlier into small bites.  Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with the roasted asparagus.

Hearts of palm ceviche is great for sharing or a simple light lunch for one.

What’s in a name?  I’m always interested in reading about names, if they affect how we view ourselves and how others view us, or if a name can be an indicator of a person’s personality.  Before the advent of the internet, I thought I was the lone Cadry in the world.  When my cousin, Darcy, was in kindergarten and learning how to spell her name she’d scramble the letters from D-A-R-C-Y to C-A-D-R-Y.   My mom was pregnant with me at the time, liked the name, and decided to name me that.  While there were always several Heather’s, Christina’s, Elizabeth’s, and Laura’s in my classes, I was always the only Cadry.

Sometimes it was disappointing.  Sometimes I wished that I could find personalized pencils with my name on them or personalized license plates for my bike.  Most of the time I liked it.  I always had a story to tell when meeting someone for the first time.  It made me feel unique.  Years later I learned with a simple Google search that there are several Cadry’s that share this planet.  It seems that most of them are men, and it’s a fairly common last name.  On the upside, I also found several sites that manufacture personalized pencils.  You win some, you lose some.

On the subject of names and how they affect our perceptions, let’s look at hearts of palm or as some call it, swamp cabbage.  It is harvested from the inner core of certain palm trees.  It’s similar in taste and texture to artichoke hearts, long and cylindrical, delicious in salads, and available fresh, canned, or jarred.  (I prefer jarred over canned, because the delicate flavor of the palm can pick up a metallic taste in cans.)  While it was once considered poor person’s food, it later became a sought after commodity, difficult and expensive to obtain, and a key ingredient in “millionaire’s salad,” so-named because of its high price.

The first time I used hearts of palm, the texture reminded me of the mock crab meat (white fish) that I used to eat growing up.  It is for this reason that I thought it would make a great vegan ceviche.  Meat-based ceviche is made by “cooking” raw fish in citrus juices.  My vegan ceviche is a who’s who of vitamin C with hearts of palm, red onion, avocados, cilantro, and lime juice.  This cool and satisfying appetizer is great for weekend gatherings or to enjoy with a Corona on a warm spring day.

It’s important to note that there is some controversy around hearts of palm, because of deforestation concerns in the Amazon.  It’s good to check the sustainability of your hearts of palm before purchasing.  It is grown in several places including Costa Rica, Brazil, Ecuador, and Hawaii.  Some producers harvest only the new shoots of the palm that come up at the base of the plant and don’t destroy the tree.

Bless Your Hearts of Palm Ceviche

Serves 4-8

Ingredients:

• 1 14 oz. jar of hearts of palm, drained and sliced
• 12 cherry tomatoes, sliced into quarters
• 1 avocado, cubed
• ¼ cup red onion, chopped small
• 2 Tbsp (heaping) fresh cilantro, chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• Slices of fresh or jarred jalapeño peppers, to taste

Combine ingredients and serve with slices of jicama, celery sticks, tortilla chips, or toasted corn tortillas.

For those of you who use jarred hearts of palm from Trader Joe’s,  they had this to say about the sustainability of their hearts of palm.

Hi there,

Our Trader Joe’s Hearts of Palm product comes from small scale family
farms in South America. These farmers are certified by ProForest, which
ensures that they meet strict social, environmental and technical
criteria. With regard to environmental criteria, the assessments are
carried out at the landscape and operational level at both the farms and
processing facilities. These assessments cover environmental impact on
the soil, water, air, biodiversity and local communities. The lands the
farmers use are not lands that were deforested. The lands used to grow
the palm fruit are lands previously used for agricultural purposes
(cattle, rice, banana).

Thank you,

Nicki K.
Trader Joe’s
Customer Relations

Who needs the latest infomercial fitness gadget? Making health a priority can be as simple as choosing an afternoon walk with a girlfriend over a matinee.

People can be highly suggestible, and children are no exception.  When I’m working with kids doing children’s theatre, there is one magic word that can transform a child from uncertain to at ease.  That word is “easy.”  When I bring students on stage, if I start rattling off things that they’ll have to do and lines they’ll have to say, they become wide eyed and overwhelmed.  Tell them the same to-do list but start with, “You have three easy things you’re going to do,” and they take it in stride.  For all of us, if we are told something is easy, we believe it.  If we’re told it’s difficult, we believe that too.

I think that’s part of why the weight loss industry is so successful.  Back in my early days in Los Angeles, one of my first TV gigs was doing B-roll for a health and wellness infomercial.   I was one of the inept “before” exercisers.  I did sit-ups and feigned a neck pain.  I did step aerobics and pretended to twist my ankle while walking up and down a five-inch step.  I pored over nutrition bars in the aisle of a market and was overwhelmed by all of the product information.  My exasperated look was supposed to convey, “It’s just too hard!”

Really, it’s all just a sales job.  The weight loss industry is selling that it’s hard, so that we’ll all believe we need them to make it easy, whether it’s with diet pills, surgeries, exercise gadgets, or kitchen tools.  Truth be told, we don’t need them.  Walking, bike riding, lifting free weights, eating fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains may not have snazzy packaging or celebrity spokespeople, but they’re accessible for most of us.

Take steel cut oats for example.  While many of us have heard how arduous and tedious the process is for cooking steel cut oats, the amount of attention they need is minimal.  Sure, instant oatmeal is faster, but it also can be loaded with preservatives, sugar, and flavorings and lacking in fiber and nutrients.  Steel cut oats, on the other hand, are nutritional powerhouses.  At first glance, thirty minutes of cooking may seem like a large time investment for breakfast, but it takes very little involvement.  I dare say, it’s easy.

First thing in the morning, I start the water boiling while I make coffee or tea.  Then it’s time to add in the steel cut oats to the boiling water.  I lower the heat and check on it occasionally to stir it while unloading the dishwasher and checking morning email.  By that time, I can add in fruit, give it a stir, and it’s ready to go.

My favorite brand is Country Choice Organic Irish Style Steel Cut Oats.  Just one serving of oats offers 10% of my daily iron needs, 4 grams of fiber, and 5 grams of protein (and that’s not including the fruit and nut butter I add later).  Oats are also a great source of magnesium, potassium, zinc, copper, and thiamine.  The consumption of oats has been linked with a reduced risk of heart disease and has been shown to lower cholesterol, especially LDL’s.   They also stick to the ribs, which is perfect for those days when I’m performing multiple shows.  It’s really empowering that with simple, everyday choices we can help ourselves to healthier bodies and healthier lives.  And that’s without making three easy payments of $19.95.

Steel Cut Oats with Blueberries and Creamy Banana

Serves one

• 1 cup water
• ¼ cup steel cut oats
• A heaping teaspoonful of peanut butter
• 1 banana, sliced
• A handful of blueberries, fresh or frozen
• A dash of cinnamon

Heat the water to boil.  Add the oats and set the heat to low.  Stir occasionally until most of the water has been absorbed (about 28 minutes).  Add in peanut butter, blueberries, and banana.  Stir and heat through (about 2 minutes) until some of the blueberries begin to pop and the warm banana has made the oatmeal creamy.  Add a dash of cinnamon, combine, and serve.  This is also delicious with a tablespoon of ground flaxseed stirred in just before serving for a hit of Omega 3’s.

Serving Indian Fried Rice in dessert cups makes use of your under-utilized dishes and is a fun alternative to finger-food at your next gathering or party.

While many people limit their spices to salt and pepper, when we reach out to include cumin, turmeric, coriander, and cayenne, we increase not only the flavor of the food but the healthfulness as well.  When we load our pantries with an arsenal of spices, we can up the ante of an already colorful diet with taste-enhancing and life-giving super foods by the teaspoonful.

The National Cancer Institute has identified sage, oregano, thyme, rosemary, fennel, caraway, anise, coriander, cumin, tarragon, and turmeric as having cancer preventive properties.  Consider adding them to your repertoire.

While many of us are only eating turmeric in miniscule amounts by way of our mustard-slathered sandwiches, that beautiful yellow-orange spice (also known as Indian saffron) has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects comparable to hydrocortisone.  In preliminary research it’s been shown to give relief for arthritis and cystic fibrosis in addition to aiding with liver function and cardiovascular health.

To add some turmeric to your diet, try this spicy and scintillating Indian Fried Rice.  This would work great for reheated lunches or a dinner of leftovers, as the flavors only develop more over time.  However, at our home we’ve never been able to enact that; there’s never any left!

Indian Fried Rice

Serves 2 as an entrée, 4 as a side

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 Tbsp canola or avocado oil
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 medium-sized potato, chopped into cubes
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 cup cauliflower, chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas
• ½ red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp coriander
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 1/8 tsp cayenne
• ½ tsp garam masala
• Cilantro, to garnish
• Salt, to taste

Boil water in a small pot.  Once it is at a rolling boil, add the rice, and cover.  Reduce the heat to low and cook for forty minutes.  After forty minutes, turn off the heat and let it steam for five minutes.

Heat the oil in a saucepan.  Test the oil by adding one cumin seed.  If it pops right away, the oil is ready.  Add cumin seeds to the oil.  Once they pop, add the potato, carrots, and cauliflower to the pan, and stir-fry them for four or five minutes.  Add the green peas, bell pepper, and ginger.  Continue cooking until the potatoes are thoroughly cooked and the other vegetables are crisp-tender.  Turn off the heat and add the cooked rice, lemon juice, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, and garam masala and toss to combine.  If necessary, add a splash of water to fully combine the spices throughout the dish.  Add salt to taste and garnish with fresh cilantro.

There are certain kitchen staples that I simply cannot be without.  They’re the items that I reach for again and again to enhance and brighten flavor or to awaken a dish.  Those things are garlic, red onions, lemons, and olives.  Their presence adds a certain completeness to an entree, and they’re useful for a wide variety of meals, from Mediterranean to Mexican, from stew to salad.  In addition to their added flavor, they are also nutritional powerhouses.  Onions and garlic have been shown to lower high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.  Onions and olives have been shown to reduce the risk of colon cancer, and the vitamin C in lemons makes the iron in kale more bioavailable.  Add those other pantry-staples, beans, dry pasta, and nuts, and you’re practically there for this lunch and dinner favorite.

Comforting Kale and Great Northern Beans

Serves 2 as an entrée, 4 as a side

• 1/3 cup whole-wheat fusilli pasta
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 bunch kale, remove tough stems and then coarsely chop
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 cremini mushrooms, sliced
• ½ small red onion, chopped
• 1 lemon, half juiced and half cut into slices and served with entree
• 1 15 oz. can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp rubbed sage
• 5 Greek olives, pitted and chopped
• Handful of pine nuts
• Salt, to taste

In a steamer pot, put a few inches of water to boil.  Once boiling, add pasta to water for 10 minutes.  Put chopped kale into steamer basket on top of pot with a cocked lid.  Allow the kale to steam 3-4 minutes, until it is bright green.  Then remove it from the pot and set it aside while the pasta continues to cook.  While the pasta is boiling, put a small amount of extra virgin olive oil into a sauté pan on a medium heat.  Sauté the garlic, mushrooms, and onion for a few minutes, until the onion and garlic are translucent.  Add the kale to the pan with the juice of half of the lemon.  Use the kale leaves to sop up any glazing of the onions or garlic on the pan.  Add the beans and sage.  Fully combine until the beans are heated through.  If it begins to stick, add a splash of water into the pan.  Drain the pasta and add it to the pan, combine.  Top with a handful of pine nuts and olives and salt to taste.

To make this dish gluten-free, omit the pasta.  This dish is also delicious with collard greens instead of kale, served over creamy polenta, or with chopped sun-dried tomatoes in place of or in addition to olives.  If you’re not a fan of sage, swap it out with a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar instead.

Many moons ago I worked as a cater waiter for Hollywood functions: from galas to award ceremonies, from religious events to mall openings.  I worked Bar Mitzvahs that cost more than my wedding reception.  At one such event, the parents had rented out a floor of a museum.  A buffet was set up with many different stations, and I was handed a box of leafy greens called kale and told to adorn the areas around the serving bowls and platters with piles of it.  Later on in the evening, I witnessed a guest piling some onto her plate only to be told by a manager that she shouldn’t eat it.  It was only for decoration.

How many of us have only been introduced to kale as a way of beautifying a plate as opposed to nutrifying our bodies?  Kale is rich in lutein, which protects the eyes from macular degeneration and lowers cataract risk, is a great source of calcium, and has even been shown to fight against the occurrence of cancer, particularly breast, lung, colon, and ovarian.

Kale comes in a variety of types, like curly, lacinato (also called dinosaur), and purple.  I usually cut the leaves away from the thick center rib; although, some people enjoy it for texture or to use in a soup stock.

If at first kale seems bitter, combat this by lightly steaming the kale for three or four minutes until it becomes a bright green or by massaging raw, chopped kale for a couple of minutes until it breaks down and deepens in color.  Balance its flavor with foods that are sour, sweet, salty, or rich in heart-healthy fat.  For sour, think lemon juice or vinegar.  For sweet, add dried cranberries, oranges or orange juice, or chunks of apple or pear.  For salty add a handful of salted nuts or tamari.  For heart healthy fat, think flax oil or extra virgin olive oil, chunks of avocado, or a helping of pine nuts or sesame seeds.

When you’re shopping for kale, look for fresh, crisp leaves, and stay away from any that are yellowing, brown, slimy, or wilting.  Keep them in your refrigerator crisper in a plastic bag with room for them to aerate.  If they are overly wet, throw a paper towel inside with them.  If you’re the type that cleans your fruits and vegetables before storing, fight the urge with kale, and only clean it just prior to using.  When you’re ready to cook, wash the leaves thoroughly under running water to remove any sand and sediment.

For a vibrant, antioxidant-packed meal or side, try my vitamin C-rich kale salad.

Fresh and Flavorful Kale Salad

Serves two

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of curly kale
• 1 orange
• ½ red bell pepper, chopped
• ¼ cup peanuts
• 1 Tbsp flax oil

Remove kale leaves from the thick center rib and chop the leaves coarsely or chiffonade.  Massage the leaves in a large bowl by kneading them for a couple of minutes until they are a deep green and tender.  Cut the orange in half.  Juice half of the orange into the kale, and chop the other half into sections and add them to the bowl.  Add the chopped bell pepper, peanuts, and flax oil.  Combine thoroughly.  Let the salad sit for at least ten minutes to further tenderize and allow the flavors to develop, then serve.