Cindalou's Healthy Gluten Free and Dairy Free Recipes

Paleo Pumpkin Spinach Curry (Chowder)

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:39:49 PDT

How about a quick and simple (Duh, Grok can do it) nourishing Paleo low carb soup? Yum. It's an authentic EBTKS (everything but the kitchen sink... though I would have added it too probably if I could have unlodged it from the counter... disturbing but predictably Cindalou). Feel free to use this as a template to get creative yourself- perhaps some turkey or buffalo sausages or shredded chicken? Or heck, a nice grass fed beef patty would do beautifully here with the curried pumpkin spinach base. Anyways those are future pot creations I might do (it depends on what falls out of our freezer when I open the door). Gotta put that heavy stuff lower in the freezer soon (enter throbbing toe)...

Throw in the pot:

1/2 c. organic plain (unsweetened) pumpkin (canned)
4 c. raw spinach (add near end)
3 softboiled eggs, divided
1 T. evoo
1 c. organic chicken broth/stock (I use homemade or gluten free versions like Kitchen Basics aseptic broth)
1 small (each) red and yellow bell pepper
1/4 c. whole tomatoes, smashed (I used canned)
1 small perch fillet (about 1-2 oz., its what I had on hand and cooks quickly)
curry powder, cayenne, fresh pepper and sea salt to taste (I like a lot)
guacamole (topping)

First I simmered the broth, pumpkin, spices, tomatoes, and bell peppers until the peppers were soft. In the meantime I scooped out the softboiled yolks of some of our hens' eggs (talk about fresh- I watched an Americana plop one down. She squatted and looked rather toliet bound if you know what I mean, very funny to watch!). Why softboiled? I can't eat cooked egg yolks (elmer's glue anyone?). I either take my yolks runny, soft or straight up raw. I never get sick from it either. As a note I can vouch 100% for the health and sanitary conditions of our eggs.

I add the egg whites to the soup and reserved the yolks so they do not get overcooked. The more raw your yolk the better from a nutritional standpoint. As with many foods cooking either destroys or inactivates many vitamins (B's in particular here) and components.

Then I added the perch and spinach, turning the heat to high. I let the soup come to a rolling boil for about 3-5 minutes until the fish was finished (flakes easily with a fork. Like a bad case of dandruff or superficial people). Pour the soup in your bowl and add the yolks and olive oil. Top with guacamole and fresh pepper. Yum (and quick)!

Simple Brown Rice Pancake Snackers [Low Carb][Vegetarian]

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 07:51:53 PDT

Well they're not green (what a shame!) but as per phone request for baked gluten free coconut flour 'stuffs', I thought I'd whip up some simple and quick higher protein pancakes. I also hate random products laying around and I was trying to think of what to do with this rice protein I have in the pantry since I haven't used the stuff in ages (cause it's not green as Jon would say). The verdict was to cook up something which was edible or feed it to the chickens.... so we have pancake snackers!

Of course since I don't usually eat nor do I even like bready foods, these are mostly for snacking on when I get home late from art class- or whenever. They must meet my requirements of a) using something coconut and b) be low glycemic. Not my usual style, but hey this loose 'recipe' should be sufficient to get ya'll out there making baking recipe phone requests started.

Brown rice protein is a very clean protein nonallergenic which is highly bioavailable (well for plant based aminos). I do always have philosophical musings on any protein since any isolated substance probably isn't good for you in the long run. At least Grog didn't find canisters of powders hanging out in the fields with the bison....

These aren't Paleo but they do fit the low carb and low glycemic vegetarian profile for those of you out there. I usually use hemp powder or straight coconut flour for pancakes but I thought this would have more mass appeal (the hemp makes nice green brownish pancakes which make even worse pictures believe it or not!).

Brown Rice Protein Pancakes

Serving size: 8 small pancakes or 2 servings

Thanks girls! (That's to our hens- the green one is probably from Blackbeard, one of our Americanas)

Brown Rice Protein, Jarrow brand 1 heaping Tbsp 2.0 x Custom Food (15g)
Egg, whole, raw, fresh 4.0 x 1 small (38g) (courtesy of our hens)
Leavening agents, gluten free baking powder 2.0 x 1 tsp (4g)
Salt, table 1.0 x 1 dash (0g)
wilderness naturals coconut flour 1 T.

water~2 oz or enough to hydrate batter (remember coconut flour absorbs a lot of liquid!)

stevia glycerite liquid to taste. I used a hefty drizzle but it is optional

spices:

cinnamon about 1 tsp

cayenne, dash

turmeric, dash

Prep:

Crack and beat the eggs in a small bowl. Heat frypan and melt in coconut oil for frying. Mix all ingredients well. Feel free to add some great low carb berries (blueberry, cranberry, etc) or even some nice steamed spinach (mmm.. there I go thinking green again). Fry about 2 minutes per side and flip when bubbles appear on edges.

They turn out great- nice and fluffy which was surprising since I improvised the whole 'recipe' this morning wandering around with low blood sugar. I'm looking forward to snacking on them when I get home tonight, well if there are any left.

Rough nutritional info, courtesy Nutrition Data.com

Next pancake or muffin post will be one of my staple (and paleo friendly) hemp and/or coconut creations. Until then sprinkle on some Himalayan pink salt (mmm, better topping than nasty syrup or HFCS "syrups" for sure!) and munch.

Kimchi (Napa Cabbage and Bok Choy) and Fermented Radish & Kale [Paleo][Low Carb]

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:48:59 PST

Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish of spicy fermented cabbage. Napa cabbage, usually. An excellent example of the power of the wisdom in traditional diets, kimchi combines the "superfood" elements of cabbage with those of onion and cayenne. As I have mentioned previously,

Cabbage:

protects against a wide spectrum of cancers
is a great source of glutamine
is healing to the digestive system
has a mild cholesterol lowering effect*
provides antioxidants
is a good source of vitamins A, C and K, and anti-inflammatory polyphenols.

The George Mateljan Foundation has an in-depth summary of the health benefits of cabbage and kale. A particular cabbage glucosinolate, sinigrin, has been the focus of anticancer research. In addition,

Kimchi:

provides additional detoxification benefits due to the high sulfur content of onions and garlic
boosts metabolism (cayenne)
provides more vitamin A and C (cayenne)
helps lower cholesterol* (cayenne)

Fermented foods like kimchi are a great source of "good" gut bacteria. When made properly with salt or whey (lactofermentation), kimchi and sauerkraut provide an especially important and less common bacterial strain, L. Plantarum. It is one of the few flora strains which sticks to the intestinal wall rather than being processed out by the body like other strains of "good" bacteria. Lactic acid produced in traditional fermentation is one of the most valuable organic acids since it can be used in the body more immediately than other important fermentation by-products like acetic acid.

My kimchi is based on Dr. Ben Kim's recipe. Dr. Ben Kim, from whom I adapted this basic recipe, focuses on the use of Napa cabbage and gives a great pictorial step by step method of traditional kimchi. As anyone who knows me can vouch, however, I cannot follow a simple recipe and have thus fermented a few other varieties of my own "kimchi" using kale and bok choy. Who can pass up such vibrant vegetables in the produce section? Certainly not me, though it would be better if they were growing out of my garden...

Ingredients for the Napa Cabbage Kim Chi: (substitute Bok Choy for Napa cabbage below for the Bok Choy version)

1 large Napa cabbage
1 bunch fresh scallions
onion, yellow chopped
garlic, minced. I used about 5 cloves
1-2 T. salt (use the second T. salt if not using whey)
1 T. cayenne powder
~1/4" chunk fresh ginger root
1 organic green apple (to puree) or applesauce, unsweetened
optional: 2-3 T. sea vegetable flakes

Ingredients for the Fermented Kale and Radish 'Kim Chi':

1 large crisp bunch kale
~ 5 radish
onion, yellow chopped
garlic, minced. I used about 5 cloves
1-2 T. salt (use the second T. salt if not using whey)
1 T. cayenne powder
~1/4" chunk fresh ginger root
organic green apple (to puree) or applesauce, unsweetened

Procedure:

Chop up the Napa cabbage, bok choy, and kale into bite sized pieces. Place in separate bowls. Note: Dr. Kim states that the brassicas shrink about a quarter in fermentation so the end product will have smaller pieces than it initially seems.

Chopped raw Napa cabbage (L), kale (C), and bok choy (R)
Thinly slice 4 oz. of the radish and either chop or slice the onion. Measure out or pinch desired amount of kelp or other sea vegetable. Set aside.
Measure out 1/4 c. sea salt.* I used Celtic sea salt but really all you need is a basic pure salt and preferably without fillers which will cloud the final fermented product. The Celtic sea salt is a great source of trace minerals and is unrefined. It is not processed with chemicals or at high heat which can damage the healing properties of the salt as many commercial salts are. This brand in particular is "doctor recommended" if that is important to you. *Note: Salt such as Celtic sea salt or table salt with with iodine will slow fermentation. Use pickling salt (iodine free canning salt) if you would like a shorter 2-4 day room temperature fermentation. (Thanks Ima for clarifying that!)
Dissolve the sea salt into warm water and then add the brine to the cabbage batches. Mix the brine and cabbages. I wore gloves so the salt wouldn't sting however the salt is very healing for the skin and will naturally exfoliate and gently detoxify the skin with its astringent quality.

Salting the cabbage
Cover the salted cabbage batches and let sit at room temperature for about four hours. If it is significantly cooler in your kitchen then you can let it sit a bit longer.
After 4 hours, rinse squeeze dry.

After 4 hours of salting: Napa cabbage, Kale, and Bok Choy. Rinse well and squeeze dry (far right)
Measure out 1/4 c. cayenne powder or red chili flakes/powder. Mix with warm water to make a paste.

Make the cayenne paste
Mince and/or sliver fresh garlic and ginger. Measure out your T. garlic and ginger (I used a hefty scoop of organic bottled ginger and slivered some of my garlic and minced the rest in the Vitamix later).
Slice the green onions. I do so at an angle for visual appeal.

Prep the ginger and scallions.
Puree a few Vitamin C tablets (not necessary but they keep the mix from browning. Lemon juice could also be used I suppose), the cored organic granny smith apples, about 2/3 of the onion, and the remaining 4 oz. of radishes in the Vitamix with 1/2 c. water to make a natural sugar substitute for the cabbage to use as food for fermentation. Note: Dr. Kim's recipe uses apple, pear, and onion but I didn't have pears plus I wanted to add radish and my own twists (read: I can't follow a recipe to save my life, ha!). This puree is the replacement for white sugar, the fermentation food in commercial kim chi and fermented vegetable varieties.

Slice the radish and onion. Puree the apples, remaining radish, garlic (if not minced), and onion with water and Vitamin C for fermentation sugar base.
Add the kelp (sea veggie)*, sliced scallions, onion, cayenne/ginger/garlic paste to the kimchi base (the rinsed brined cabbage). Add about 1/3 of the apple puree, the green onions, and the red chili paste and ginger to each of the cabbage batches. You will have to make a full red chili paste batch as in step 7 for each cabbage batch (one for Nappa, one for bok choy, and another batch for the kale). *Again note that the high mineral (iodine) content of the sea vegetable will slow fermentation a bit.
Mix well with gloves.
Using a wide mouth funnel (such as a canning funnel made for Mason jars), spoon the kimchi into sanitized glass jars. Leave some head space (a little room) at the top for expansion as the brined mixture ferments. Leave the jars out at room temperature for at least 24 hours before refrigerating. I actually leave my fermented vegetables out longer than this personally, but for spoilage sake I would recommend 24 hours if you are inexperienced. Otherwise if you are wise in the ways of the age old tradition of fermentation use your best judgement.
Enjoy it! The refrigeration process slows the fermentation, though the batch will slowly continue to cure and become more sour with time.

Kelp and Sea vegetables are high in healing polysaccharides (long chain sugars) and nutritious whole foods.

Kelp and Sea vegetable benefits include:

thyroid support through bioavailable trace minerals (most notably iron and iodine)
high antioxidants
natural cholesterol lowering effects*
vandium, an essential component in nutritional support for diabetics/pre-diabetics which helps to regulate blood sugar
fucoidan polysaccharides. Anti-inflammatory, antivirual, and high in sulfur like the raw garlic and onions added to the kimchi. David Wolfe's new video on polysaccharides discusses how certain polysaccharides protect against strains of the herpes virus.

*Much research supports the fact that low cholesterol is not a preventative measure for heart disease. For women, the higher the cholesterol the better since the cholesterol-hormone interaction and blood sugar versus fat is more prominent in women (especially post menopausal women) than men. The Weston Price foundation has many research articles on the benefits of high cholesterol including how high cholesterol increases longevity.

Though kimchi is a delicious superfood, don't overdo it on cruciferous vegetables (cabbages, kale, collards, broccoli, etc) since they can slow the thyroid if overeaten. Raw and fermented cabbage contains goitrogens which block thyroid hormone production. The natural iodine and minerals in the sea salt and sea vegetable will help to balance the goitrogen effects, however fermentation actually activates the goitrogens. The Weston Price foundation says the following on fermentation and the "dangers" of goitrogens in crucifers:

Fermentation of sauerkraut actually activates the goitrogens from their precursors. It also has the beneficial effect of reducing the nitrile content to half of what would be generated by cabbage upon digestion. Since nitriles appear to be more toxic than goitrogens and their effects cannot be mitigated by dietary iodine, the overall effect of fermentation is positive. More importantly, if sauerkraut is used as a condiment, the amount of goitrogens consumed is very low and very unlikely to exert any harm. However, it is important to realize that unreasonably high intakes of sauerkraut could have adverse effects.

'Nuff said. Now feast your eyes and then ferment up some veggies to feed your tummy! Don't forget hearty winter greens are a great source of vitamin C and vitamin K (though not as good of a vitamin K source as animal products like raw butter).

slideshow

Green "Muffins" [Paleo][Low Carb]

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 07:45:02 PDT

Want a healthy Halloween appetizer, snack, or just a plain old hearty munchie? Try some ghoulishly green muffins (don't fret they're just spinach egg muffins). I was trying to find a good Cindalou option for a Halloween party dish and Jon suggested that I just make some of my normal food- something gross looking and green goo-ish. For once we agree ;)

I adapted this recipe from Steal This Meal Spinach Egg Muffins, though I have made similar in the past with coconut flour. This time I added egg whites (since I had them) and used my Vitamix (since I'm lazy). Steal this meal also has a nice kale recipe for those kale fans out there... that's me, of course. They have a great Paleo recipe and lifestyle site so check it out. No, I don't know them I just like their stuff. Not everyday you can mash the superfood vitamin and mineral packed bags o' spinach and farm fresh free range eggs into a Paleo party bite. Well, around here it is an everyday thing... You can almost sing the alphabet in vitamins in this dish- give me a "A," "K," "MaGNESIUM." Not to mention bioavilable B12, choline, selenium. You get the idea. Alas, onto green goodness:

Ingredients:

6 whole fresh eggs

1/4 c. dried egg whites (or 6 egg white equivalent or just more eggs) + water (see below)

3 cloves raw garlic

3 lbs. frozen spinach

1 T. lemon juice (optional)

sea salt and pepper, to taste (about 2 t.-1 T. each)

spices to taste: I used ~1 T. crushed red pepper, Italian seasoning, and 1 t. cayenne)

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Steam the 3 lbs frozen spinach with 1 T. water and 1 T. lemon juice (if desired) until vibrant green but soft and cooked (7-10 mins depending on temperature). Set aside and let cool.

Line muffin cups and spray with nonstick spray or coat with coconut oil (or real butter). Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the Vitamix (or your blender) add the powdered egg whites (I used 1/4 c. dry egg whites= 6 egg whites of the Deb El Just Whites brand) and water (1/2 c. then additional 1/4 c water to make smooth consistency) and blend on low until dissolved (1-2 minutes, varying speed).

Using a jam press or slotted spoon drain the spinach until very dry. I also used my flat fold colander to help squeeze out all the liquid, though hands work fine also.

Add the spinach to the egg white-water mixture in blender. Blend on medium for 1 minute to help mix. Add 6 raw eggs. Add garlic and spices (also pepper, 1 T. Italian seasoning and 1 T. crushed red pepper) and extra virgin olive oil.

Blend on medium mixing with Vitamix damper. When well mixed (2-3 minutes) turn to high and mix vigorously until well blended and bright green (my favorite!) Spoon into muffin cups and bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Best toppings (as if they need 'em): raw organic almond butter or coconut oil (butter for ya'll dairy folks out there). Actually a kalamata olive would go nicely too...

Yield: About 22 medium "muffins" (I swae that count is before I ate half the batch!)

I added this recipe to Nutrition Data for the stats and label:


Army of green goblin goodness... ahh yum!

Fall Chickens and Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 12:55:40 PDT

So that kimchi post is still a'coming, I swear it! I've been swallowed by the yard, farming, and a bit of art (finally!). We had a bad run with the last batch of hens- multiple raccoon and possum attacks cleaned us out of our entire black star flock as well as Rand, my baby Old English Bantam rooster, and a Dominique hen. We lost our friendliest birds and were left with a handful of roosters and flighty, aggressive Americanas. But as time flows (well entropy at least is increasing) so does life... and we are back in the chicken business with a new batch of young hens and more hatchling black star hens and another bantam rooster.

For your viewing pleasure (and as a distraction to the fact I'm slacking on the blog), here are some clips of the new birds. The first is the young hen batch of 2 Australorp, 2 White Brahmas, and 2 Rhode Island Reds (who I mistake for New Hampshires in the video -- similar breed). Our Dominique rooster Zebe is also in there taking up camera space. He was the only bird we saved from the raccoons in the middle of the night when I woke up to chicken cries. He had his rear munched on and leg hurt, but, after a short recovery inside, he is alive and well.

And don't forget the black stars and Raj. I need to hold onto this Bantam rooster- he's my third one and I'm running out of good r rooster names. We've already had Roy and Rand. Sorry Abba but we are not having a Ron :)

Summer Chickens

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:58:22 PDT

Here's a short video of my birds (a continuation of the excuse for not finishing my kimchi post still, yes I know). Hope you enjoy! Keep cool and stay well hydrated- just be sure to avoid the sugar or toxic sugar free sodas and flavored waters in this heat. Aspartame and sucralose (Splenda) are among the more detrimental sweeteners out there masquerading as "healthy" sugar substitutes. More on sugar free poisons in a much later post. Until then cheers! (Try some sparkling water or seltzer with lemon or lime and stevia for a nice refreshing twist instead).

For those of you out there counting there are 32 birds in all- that's a lot of chicken feed! Let's not forget our 5 cats and garden. But then again the cats and tomatoes don't crow for you every morning and afternoon :)

Previews and Excuses for Blog Negligence

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 11:31:36 PDT

So as proof that I and thus Cindalou's is still alive and well, I am sending out a hollar (and various excuses for my blog neglect). Gardening and a new flock of chickens has sort of taken over my life... that's what I get for a spring planting craze beginning in February with my indoor greenhouse for seedlings.

We also recently acquired 23 chick hatchlings which I raised from 5 days old. Let me tell you when it is 90-100 degrees outside and I have 23 baby chicks inside in my pantry/laundry room with a space heater at 98 degrees you never get a break (from the heat or the cat-policing to protect the babies from our 3 cat's famous "cat curiosity").


5 day old Americana chick(L) and more chicks on top of my dryer, aww!

Fast forward to now about a month later the flock is outside. Now I watch and police our two new outdoor cats when they're around the chicks. The two new cats came in the midst of chickens and planting, by the way (as mole control).

A month later... their size shows where all that chick feed went!

Guess I never learned my lesson since we are getting 6 more hens tomorrow! The yard alone could monopolize my life- I can't get bored here, that's for sure. Don't fret though, Cindalou's is still cooking, fermenting, and raising general culinary havoc. As proof I present pictures of my fermenting the spring's bounty of hearty greens and brassicas. For those like it hot I'll be posting my three variations on traditional kimchi.

Jars of pipin' hot "kim chi" goodness, yum!

I'll also follow up with my tweaked red cabbage kraut based on my mother in law, "Ima's," famous munchie.

Counter o' red cabbage and traditional sauerkraut variations.

Of course there will be plenty of health ranting and trivia about glutamine and cabbages, thyroids and unfermented brassicas (why I ferment 'em), and the highlights of the hearty greens. I know it is late for the heart greens as far as seasonality. Hey you have other blogs with attentive bloggers who are on the ball with cherry and blackberry recipes.

Trust me the kimchi is a fantastic salsa replacement for my eggs. Eggs require salsa, by the way :) Other than that picturesque proof of my blog laziness, I am sure I've been up to other things around here. Who knows? One thing is for sure: nothing is safe from my reach ;) So look for an upcoming series on fermented veggies and their "superfood" benefits!

Mexican Pumpkin and Turkey Sausage and Shredded Chicken Stew [Low Carb][Paleo]

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:27:46 PST

Cindalou's is hitting the road (hoping it isn't still iced over on our killer mountain driveway!) with a spicy low carb stew to warm even the coldest of frozen toes and fingers. It's Mexican theme at girls' night this weekend and I wanted to bring something with a little variety. For a small handful of ladies, there are enough Mexican dishes already there to feed a small Army... or a large one. All the classic Mex entrees and sides are already taken- beans, guacamole, taco salad, chalupas, quesadillas, flan, dips, and chips galore! I thought something a little different would be nice. Well, that and the fact that the hubby just bought a case of organic canned plain pumpkin from an Amazon deal last month! That's a whole lotta pumpkin for two. My stew is a variation on a common Tex-Mex pumpkin chowder, but I omit the high glycemic corn and use low carb substitutes with much more nutrition.

As you recall, pumpkin is a great low carb winter "superfood," packed with Vitamin A, C, E, magnesium, iron, and a host of other minerals. One common mistake: be sure to use the plain pumpkin, not the pumpkin pie mix!

Cilantro is a fantastic herb for detoxing the body of heavy metals. It is also a great source of B vitamins, zinc, and selenium as well as a host of other vitamins and minerals. In general, dried herbs are nutritionally dense foods, though potency of certain nutrients can be lost in the drying process.

Tomatoes and salsa provide more Vitamins A and C (better than oranges, plus less sugar), and the organic coconut milk and virgin oil provide brain nourishing and metabolism boosting medium chain good fats (the MCTs). Don't fear the coconut fat, it is burned as fuel for and repairing the body, not stored like longer chain polyunsaturated fats (bad fats like soybean, corn, and peanut oils to name a few). Vitamins A, C, E and the B assortment help strengthen your immunity in these blistery wintery days. Don't reach for a pill or softgel for health either- your body knows how to assimilate and nurture itself with vitamins and minerals from real food. Those supplements have their place but shouldn't replace basic real food... hey, you can always start with a big dollop of my warm spiced up stew! :)

Note: The turkey sausage is optional for vegetarians or vegans. For a non-Paleo ("Caveman") version add black beans. I just had a pack of gluten free Andoullie turkey sausages on hand and I wanted to combine the ideas of a typical Mexican pumpkin soup with a Brunswick stew. (Brunswick stew is out for us kosher southerners who don't do pork).

2 15 oz cans organic pumpkin (not pie mix)
1 15 oz can organic coconut milk
3/4 c water (or low sodium free range organic chicken broth- adjust for your consistency preference)
1 15 oz can Rotel tomatoes, Mexican Style Lime and Cilantro OR 1 15 oz can organic fire roasted tomatoes with green chilies (undrained)
1 7 oz can green chilies, drained
1/2 c. hot salsa (Kroger brand is gluten free according to the last list

1 T. organic virgin coconut oil
1 package Andoullie turkey sausage (I used Garrett Farms brand gluten and antibiotic free sausages)
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, shredded before serving (see below)
lime juice, to taste (I usede about 1/4 c)
stevia glycerite,~ 1 T.
1 tsp organic unsulfured blackstrap molasses (great vegan source of iron and B vitamins), optional

spices:

cilantro, ~ 2 tsp
sea salt and pepper, dash each
cumin, ~ 2 tsp
cumin seed, pinch of whole seed braised with pestle and mortar
oregano, ~ 2 tsp
thyme, ~ 1 tsp
Badia curry powder (it is gluten free, I asked the company and posted the reply on Celiac Forums at the end of the thread), ~ 1 T.

garlic powder and onion powder, ~ 1 tsp each
turmeric, ~ 1 tsp
parsley, ~ 1 tsp
paprika and cayenne pepper, ~ 1 tsp each
pinch crushed red pepper flakes (for color)

optional: 1 Reynold's slow cooker liner (makes for easy clean up)*

Preparation:

Line your slow cooker with the liner if you choose to use it.* Add the coconut oil and turn to high to melt the oil and swash it around the bottom (you can also spray the cooker or liner). Add the chicken breasts to the bottom. Add the pumpkin, undrained Rotel or fire roasted tomatoes, and coconut milk. You may wish to thin the stew with either water or organic free range chicken broth. Stir to mix well, though leave the chicken on the bottom. Cook on high for 3 hours. Check the chicken breasts with a fork and shred them a bit into large shreds if you can (to preserve the texture). My breasts were still a bit raw so I did most of my shredding at the end.

Since the sausages are already precooked and I didn't want them to get mushy, I decided to wait to add them until after the chicken had cooked a bit. The sausages can be sliced into bite sized pieces now and added to the stew. Or if you prefer, the whole sausages can be fished out at the end and sliced, though that method is a bit messy. Add the rest of the ingredients: broth or water, the drained green chilies, spices, lime juice, and salsa. Stir well. Cook on low for another 3-4 hours or until chicken is fork tender and shreds easily. Adjust the lime juice and cayenne to suit your taste. You can always cook it all on high for a shorter time as long as the chicken is well cooked. Since I have the time I wanted to let the spices and flavors simmer on low for the last few hours and "marinate" rather than just throw it all in on high for shorter.

Alternative Method (The Quickie): Throw it all in and cook on low for 6 hours or until chicken is fork tender and shreds easily.

Shred the chicken (and slice sausages if not done previously) before serving. This goes great with some guacamole or avocado and a dollop of (nondairy) sour cream (I would use my homemade coconut milk or cultured (fermented) soymilk 'yogurt'). Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and dig in!

While this stew has a nice spice to it, feel free to experiment with spice amounts. I prefer things fiery myself :) Don't forget cayenne pepper and those healthy coconut MCTs help reduce inflammation and rev up that sluggish winter metabolism, while pumpkin and tomatoes give a low carb and low glycemic vitamin and mineral punch. Keeping up your immunity naturally and holistically with healing, warming foods and proper exercise helps balance the body. Now go run in place as hard as you can for 1 minute- burst train and stretch those lungs and achy legs! Whew, now I'm all warm and toasty!

Other add ins that would be nice are 1 c. chopped white onion and diced tri bell peppers like a frozen mix of veggies and chunks of celery and torn bits of kale. I didn't have any on hand at the time though, what a shame to miss kale!!

Note: This was not spicy enough for my taste, but a T. or so more cayenne would help.

*Note on the slow cooker liner: It does not give material but I can tell it is some form of plastic which has been apparently "approved" as food grade. I am skeptical about the liner (as well as the ceramic Crockpot) leaching into the food (acids and fats tend to degrade plastics and break them down into possibly toxic by-products like dioxins and PCBs). However since I am traveling with this whole shebang, I wanted a quick and cleaner way to transport this stew. Yes, even Cindalou up on her health soapbox chose convenience :)

Blast from the Past

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 07:48:37 PDT

So as many of you may have noticed, Cindalou's has been on hold for awhile, lurking behind that hotel room door with the polite "do not disturb--I am turning my life 180 degrees out of phase." Oh wait--they don't give you those door tags anymore- guess printing the paper cost too much in this economy. Alas, I'm back and have more than a few updates for you all (as if you had not already heard about agave nectar, it is now a no-no). A big no-no as in "worse than high fructose corn syrup." I'll leave it to the professionals like Dr. Mercola and CBS on that one. Who knew? I was certainly on the agave bandwagon and had to find use (trash) for 3 pantry bottles of the amber nectar myself. Sigh, Se la vie I suppose.

As for as why the heck did Cindalou's go hide under a rock for a year or so (who's counting, really)? Time flies when you're having fun. Or moving to another state and leaving your astrophysics PhD at UNC at the drop of a dime. Literally, we bought a house, moved, and rented out our Chapel Hill apartment in 3 or 4 days. More on that later. Oh and the move to the great state of Tennessee was in the midst of moving to Connecticut. Who's complaining when your husband gets his dream job, you get your dream house in the area you've always wanted to live, and you can now move on to other things? "Other,” in my case involves my catering to 3 cats, 6 chickens, a rooster and 2 acres. I don't have to listen to a blip of the egg recall mess either--our free range backyard eggs are a nice freedom from the grocery store.

Occasionally I squeeze in my fledgling attempts at artwork, gardening, and doing a study program in naturopathy. Oh, and yoga complete with cat assistance. A 180? Perhaps. Or maybe not...shall we continue with more mindless musings and some delicious roasted summer vegetables? Or maybe some zucchini spice coconut flour Paleo-esque muffins?

To celebrate the first zucchini I grew, I chopped up way too many veggies in the wee hours of the morning (before espresso nonetheless!). Plus I use every excuse to use curry. I've converted my husband, his family, and a few other unsuspecting house guests with my curry oatmeal. Sound gross? It is delicious- how can you go wrong with cinnamon, curry, graham Marsala, and other random spices from the cabinet (a dash of mystery spice at my whim every morning makes a good old non-recipe). More on the recipes later. We have plenty of great bloggers out in cyberspace cranking out every seasonal page-ranking recipe they can conjure up in the skulls, so I'll leave that to them for now. I'll be back with recipes soon (it's a promise and a threat :)). Until then, hunker down to some curried zucchini red pepper wild cod with poached eggs. Uhh, actually unless you get safe eggs, maybe nay to the eggs, or come visit me on my mountaintop! Curry Oatmeal (gf oats for you gf kind of folk out there) and some Roasted Summer Vegetables a la' Madras coming up soon... until then as they say "espresso yourself" and have a blessed day!

Perhaps low carb Paleo coconut flour zucchini spice muffins don't look all that sexy... but the espresso compensates, I can assure you ;)

A special thank you to my sister Sandy for proofreading my terrible stream-of-consciousness blog draft! Also a big hug and thanks to my family and friends (new and old are as good as gold, right BJ?). I hope your shoulders are not too sore from all of the leaning I did on them...

Excellent Blogs + Spiced Vegan Chai Cocoa

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:19:01 PST

Sorry for the uber long delay here! Thank Cheryl over at Gluten Free Goodness for dragging me out of the blogging closet with her nomination of Cindalou's for an Excellent Blog Award. I begrudgingly (and gratefully, I might add) brushed off our basement office mold and dust to peck yet again at the keyboard. (This time it is not for calculations of the rate of matter spiraling into a black hole or deriving the gauge transformation with the trace reversed metric perturbation ... sorry, that's GR speak polluting my brain from our midterm exam).

This time, however, I can share goodies about Cheryl and her nutrition-packed gluten, dairy, soy, egg, and corn free (whew!) kitchen. Hey, that beats the heck out of ion implantation stuff. How can Neon ions compare with her pesto? Admittedly, I'll need to nut-free that pesto for myself with a heaping pile of extra kalamata olives, but that garlic-y pesto looks deliciously green and appetizing. Alternatively, you may prefer Cheryl's creative Pesto-ed Fish, featuring garlic scapes. If you like healthy allergen free recipes with tons of fresh garden produce, I recommend Cheryl and re-nominate her for an excellent blog award. I don't know if that's possible, but rules are just guidelines anyways ... especially when they come between garlic pesto fish and myself. As an organic gardener and cook, Cheryl makes excellent dishes with seasonal produce. If you have a bumper crop of pears, basil, or veggies, then check out her concoctions for dinner ideas!

Here's the spiel:

The rules that accompany this award are as follows:
“Please find at least 10 more blogs of any kind which you deem to be excellent; but hey if you only come up with 3 or 5 (I chose 8), I don’t mind. Post about the blogs you picked, linking back to me and to them. Once you’ve posted, return here to let me know your post is up, and of course let your 10 award winners know too."

Cindalou's "Excellent Blogs":

Gluten Free For Good: Pumpkin anyone? Beets and Greens? Melissa over at Gluten Free for Good has a fantastic blog (and website) that extends beyond the gluten free community, as she lends her nutritionist expertise to everyone with an ear to hear (eye to read?). Seasonal ingredients (with recipes!) punctuate the health posts and exposes on hot nutrition topics. Melissa also knows how to have a good time, as she often shares her beautiful photos taken while hiking the Colorado wilderness. I can admire those sharp mountain peaks from afar, drool over her Pumpkin Pancakes, and laugh out loud at her humorous rantings on nutritional disasters and the advertising conspiracy. If you haven't seen the high fructose corn syrup commercials yet, read her comments on it and the role of sugar in modern diets versus health. If you have a sweet tooth, don't despair! Even as a bonafide health professional, she makes sweet amends and provides recent Celiac health & nutrition conference updates to the rest of us *unprivileged* non-health pro invitees.

Gluten Free Mommy: Unfortunately Natalie is out of the kitchen blogosphere right now due to her pregnancy (what a great reason, yey!), but GF Mommy is one of my favorite (and NC local) blogs. Her fish stew is reminiscent of one of my favorite quick healthy recipes for cool nights, and her beautiful pictures of gluten free cakes make me pine for dairy and a trip to Raleigh :). Also, if you enjoy Indian food as much as I do, you don't want to miss Natalie's bombay chicken and kung pao chicken. Update: She posted a fantastic Thanksgiving Frozen Pumpkin Pie which looks oh-so-tempting (once dairy-freed, of course).

Book of Yum: Although Sea is already an "E" blog as well, I'm going to jump aboard and give Book of Yum another vote. How could I forget such an expansive multiple-allergen friendly food blogger with a kindred appreciation for turmeric and spinach? I love the exotic Asian-inspired and Indian dishes from Book of Yum, as well as the focus on creative and often vegetarian and/or vegan recipes. Her uncheese nutritional yeast dairy free spinach pie and recent poppy seed goat cheese beet salad are calling my name (darn that goat cheese!). If you are adventurous in the kitchen, check out Sea's creations for great bento (lunch box) and dinner idea. Sea also gives many nondairy (often soy or nut based) "butter" and "cream" recipes for dairy-intolerant individuals like myself.

Great Mastications: Orla dishes up some great gf healthy recipes with a serious Canadian appreciation of healthy hemp, as well as teaching all of us a little more common sense about sustainable green living (see her post Green Business for a great "Stop buying crap we don't need" read). Come spring and summertime, I'll be gorging myself with her hemp seed and green onion dip, mmm!

Gluten Free Bay: Fall is brimming with holiday opportunity to try out a few of the Bay's plethora of creative kosher gluten free recipes. I am looking forward to some matzo balls for chicken soup and some low glycemic sweet potato and leek latkes. If you keep kosher and juggle allergies, the Bay is an invaluable resource for recipes and product updates!

Caveman Food: Elizabeth serves up great Paleo meals like the Sam I Am Eggs (told you Mom!) and Lamb Meatballs. For everyone on a low carb or cavemen-esque diet, I highly recommend her site. It's easy to get stuck in a rut on a low carb diet and eat the same ole ho-hum food, but Elizabeth's meals can appetize the low carber and regular diner alike. Who doesn't like (gluten and dairy free!) chicken fingers? Don't forget your vegetables either! Vital to health and the low carb and Paleo lifestyles, Cave(wo)men do eat their veggies! Restricted diets can be hard without further limiting food groups voluntarily, so check her out for gluten free, dairy free, low carb/Paleo meals.

Aprovechar: I know everyone else has given Sally an "E" already, but I must chime in. Sally's recipes are great healthy recipes for anyone looking for allergen free weight loss dinner ideas, but the real sparkle in her blogging comes from her heartfelt discussions regarding her life experience. Sally harbors the genuine glow of someone who has overcome traumatic health problems through an inspiring recovery. I know many people who can fake optimism, but Sally really has a true light shining from her soul. Besides, she makes tempting gluten free vegan Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies featuring flax seed (horrah!) to munch while you ponder enlightenment.

Jeena's Kitchen: Mediterranean cuisine (not all gluten or allergen free) with tons of delicious photographic recipes with everything from lamb and fish to traditional vegetable curries and desserts. The lamb dishes are always some of Jon's favorite objects 'o drool, like her lamb mint meatballs (use gf bread or ground flax).

I'm sure I missed a few excellent gluten free blogs, so my apologies. Other top authors are Cathy Wong and Dr. Ben Kim, both very knowledgeable alternative health authorities and creative cooks. Dr. Ben Kim even has a healthy corn syrup and HFCS free pecan pie recipe stocked full of delicious dates for the holidays! All of these yummy blogs are stirring my appetite for a nice warm mug of cocoa ...

Spiced Vegan Chai Cocoa
[low glycemic to boot]

The onset of brisk cold nights here in NC drags out a plethora of random herbs and unsweetened cocoa powder for a nightly rendevouz with my otherwise shivering hands. I have to make all my own cocoas since commercial AND affordable varieties come complete with a) corn syrup, b) dairy ... and more derivatives of dairy, and c) tons of other crap.

Unsweetened non-dutch processed cocoa is not treated with alkali and is all we use at Cindalou's. Why no dutch processed cocoa? The dutch processing destroys most of the flavonols present in cocoa, as discussed in this Chocolate as a Health Food article. Besides, addition of unnecessary metals to perfectly good cocoa for a milder taste seems .. unnecessary. Curious minds can find a concise description of the sundry varieties of chocolate and cocoa at this Wikipedia site.

All of the cocoa details aside, if you want quick and easy homemade vegan cocoa, gather any combination of the following herbs and ingredients and stir away! (The amounts are approximate, and as such, this is barely a recipe at all. This is an herb-y cocoa based on my old slippery elm tea of healing warmth.)

2 T. unsweetened non-dutch cocoa powder
4 drops liquid Stevia (if desired) or agave/honey to taste
1 t. slippery elm - various soothing digestive actions, high in iron and vitamins, helps kidney problems, diarrhea and constipation (similar action to psyllium)
1 t. cayenne pepper - arthritis, pain relief (internal & external), soothes & improves digestion, metabolic booster
2 t. cinnamon - antifungal, antibacterial, improves glucose metabolism (diabetes), anticlotting, helpful for memory
dash ground ginger - excellent nausea and digestive aid, antiinfammatory, aids in prevention of cancer, immunity booster
1 t. crushed fennel seeds - very high in Vitamin C, improves immunity, high in folate (a B vitamin) and fiber, helps keep the colon and heart healthy

dash ground fenugreek - high in fiber and amino acids, lowers cholesterol and regulates blood sugar, helps soothe digestion, loosens mucous, can stimulate the sex drive, and has an interesting folk use for breast enlargement. It also improves milk flow from nursing mothers, may help fight obesity, aids in heart disease, and can ease menstrual pain. It should not be used in high, frequent doses, or by pregnant women
1 t. cardamom (ground) - digestive aid, gas reliever, stimulant, and helps to break up mucous. Add extra cardamom to your tea, soups, stews, curry dishes, or pies if you have a cold or some congestion
dash coriander (ground) - helps control blood sugar, useful in diabetes, good source of mucilage, and helps control cholesterol
dash cloves (ground) - the active eugenol in cloves aids in inflammation and arthritis, digestive disorders and cancers, detoxification from environmental pollutants, pain relief, and anesthetic. Chew on a clove bud for a toothache and your whole mouth will go numb! It is also high in minerals and contains some Omega 3 fatty acids.

2+ cups boiling water or 1 c. boiling water 1 c. hemp milk (or other milk or favorite milk substitute)

Mix all in the mug(s), pour over water and/or warmed [hemp] milk and stir. Dilute and sweeten to preference. Use Stevia or agave for low glycemic (~0 and ~11 glycemic index, respectively), or add honey (~32 a low g.i.) as desired. Honey harbors amazing antimicrobial, antiviral, and antioxidant benefits, so don't fear the honey bee! If you want more health benefits on each ingredient, check out the links above.

Serves: 1-2 (depending on water or "milk" use)

Tri-pepper Chicken Veggie Chowder

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:19:02 PST

It's getting a little more chilly and rainy here as fall finally dons her hat, so I thought I'd share my excuse for a soup that is really chunky chili stew for the occasion. We made this soup awhile ago actually, but I'm behind on blogging here at Cindalou's due to much excitement and distraction in the "real" world. The bank bailouts and election coverage in the media are more intriguing than pepper stew, but they certainly lack the Vitamins A and C and healing capsaicin that the peppers pack. Capsicum is a collection of compounds found in chili peppers with amazing pain-reducing abilities when taking both internally and externally (with caution). There has been recent hype concerning the age-old capsicum and cayenne, also a source of the compounds, for use in arthritis creams and other topical aches and pains. Other benefits of capsicum include better digestion, ulcer treatment, a slight metabolism boost for weight loss, and some gentle pain relief. Personally, I'd rather eat a spicy stew than take a pill or use an external cream, though Jon swears the stew is what causes his pain ("mouth fire") :)

Late summer brings us the last of the pepper harvest around here, so drag out your slowcooker and stuff it full of some hot peppers and seasonal fall produce, or sit back to watch the fireworks on CNN. Hey, as bad as your lips and tongue sting at the spice (which is actually releasing aspirin-like compounds called salycilates and endorphins inside your body during digestion to relieve the pain), that spice is not as bad as the rhetoric on the economy. (Oh, and the white pepper innards hold the spice, not the seeds, so watch out!) Don't blame me for loving spice: I'm related to the Scovilles, though not the namesake of the Scoville pepper rating scale.

photo courtesy of squidoo hot sauce blog

3 large organic carrots
4 jalapeños, whole
1 habanero, whole (optional)
1 fresh, large, green banana pepper
1 red cherry pepper
1/2 green wax pepper
6 cloves fresh garlic
4 large whole thawed boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1.5 lbs)
2 ears fresh corn, sliced off ear OR 2/3 lb. frozen corn kernels
2-3 sundried tomatoes
1/2 can large black olives, drained
1 28 oz can organic crushed tomatoes
1 large onion
2 c. low sodium gluten free chicken broth (We use Imagine*)
~12 c. water (enough to cover the chicken breasts in your slow cooker, we have a large Crockpot)
~1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil (to taste)
1 7 oz. can fire roasted diced green chilies

Seasonings:
rosemary
garlic powder
sea salt and pepper
dash cayenne pepper (optional but highly recommended for optimal health whallop)
dash crushed red pepper flakes
parsley

Optional add ins (if you have on hand):
1/2 bag (5 oz) of fresh, washed organic baby spinach or other dark greens
2 stalks organic celery, washed

First, wash and pat dry all of the peppers, celery, and greens. I minced about half the garlic and reserved the rest of the whole cloves for the soup. Slice the peppers (wear a glove if you're sensitive to the oil) to your liking and set aside. I finely chopped my jalapeños, but roughly sliced the longer wax and banana peppers and quartered the cherry peppers. The habanero I leave whole in the soup for the "winner" (around here, that's me since Jon's terrified of it). If you do choose to chop up the habanero, be aware that your soup spice level will go through the roof as the oils disperse in the broth. Don't fret about all the different varieties of peppers, substitute ones you like. Note that sweet bell peppers will not have the capasicin-loaded benefits, but they are still excellent sources of Vitamin C (especially eaten raw).

Drizzle the olive oil into the slowercooker and place the washed chicken breasts in the bottom of the slowcooker. I chose to slice the corn off the cob and add the kernels directly to the Crockpot. Chop the carrots and celery and add to the pot as well. If you're adding any heavy greens like mustards or kale, chop and add them now as well. Either add whole sundried tomatoes, or chop them with kitchen shears and add to the pot. Add in all of your seasonings, broth, and water.

If you're using a Crockpot, make sure your's is large enough for all of the liquid. Cook the soup on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 5-7 hours - whichever timing fits your schedule best. Serve hot with a garnish of avocado wedges and a squeeze of lime. If you have fresh basil available, some chopped basil would be wonderful sprinkled on top right before serving.

* Imagine broths and soups are kosher, gluten and dairy free (depending on type). They are also non-GMO (not genetically modified). I buy the low sodium versions of the vegetable and free-range chicken broths.

A Brief (Incomplete) Synopsis of capsicum benefits:

pain-reliever for aliments such as arthritis and shingles
metabolism booster for weight loss
aids indigestion and helps heal the inner mucosal membranes in digestive track
kills bacteria in the stomach which can cause ulcers
helps lower blood cholesterol and triglycerides
can help kill cancer: studies show it can induce apoptosis (death) of cancer cells in the prostate, lungs, gastrointestinal track, and leukemic cancers among others

A neat summary of peppers on the How
Stuff Works website

Rockin' [with] the LHC

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 13:49:09 PDT

I'll come right out and say it: this is not at all a gluten, dairy, soy, nut, or anything food related post. Of course, there are no [food] allergens in subatomic particles, now are there? Sometimes I've heard of (and suffered from) a mild allergy to physics [homework], but no allergic responses to particle physics, so here goes!

As many of you know, by day I work in nuclear astrophysics (I love LENA, though our site is very outdated). What many of you (other than my parents who probably don't remember) don't know is that I did a brief stint in particle physics years back. I can't really claim more credit than that in the recent CERN LHC experiments as I spent only an internship at the University of Iowa in particle physics. However, I can proudly state that I came quite close friends with these cool little (very expensive) custom tubes which detect light given off by particle interactions inside a detector. In fact, I dreamed about Hamamatsu photomultiplier tubes (PMT) for a good few months after returning to my neck of the woods in Georgia and the safe haven of nuclear physics. If anyone is wondering how and why we need to characterize the dark current and radiation-exposure response of every single PMT going to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) @ CERN, the European Centre [Organization] for Nuclear Research, then email me. Just don't make me give another speech or seminar on it... please, pretty please?

A pictorial side-slice of the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) detector on which a few of the pieces I tested are used. The colors and lines show tracks of various particles (charged particles like protons or electrons) and muons (the long blue line). Credit: CERN

Besides, this short video is much more interesting than my summer of testing equipment and writing computer codes for equipment used in the current experiments at the LHC. Plus, humor is great for your health. Congrats to you, LHC. I know this accelerator runtime is quite a hard-earned victory a long time in the making.

Gazpacho Fish with Avocado Salsa [Low Carb] [Low Glycemic Index]

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:19:03 PST

Dive into the August/September Edition of Chef Jeena's Seafood and Fish Recipe Roundup! We love fish here at Cindalou's where wild salmon is a frequent visitor of our kitchen table, but I thought I'd share a simple, summery white fish recipe this time. Of course wild salmon (not farmed), mackerel, and other fish are much higher in healthy Omega 3 fatty acids like EPA and DHA, but summer is a great chance to enjoy a lighter, flakier white fish like whiting, wild cod, or wild sea bass (among others). Throw in some of that abundant summer produce like fresh tomatoes, herbs, and ripe avocados and you have a balanced refreshing way to add more high quality protein to "gazpacho." While Omega 3's from oily fish are vital for health, whiting offers fewer of these good fats but a nice forkful of B12, selenium, and phosphorus instead! Whiting is a relative of the cod, so substitute your favorite wild white fish if you can't afford wild whiting (it is cheapest in the frozen section of the grocery store). Note: if you eat kosher fish, many cod fish like freshwater cod are not kosher. Whiting, or silver hake, is a relative of the kosher family Gadidae fish (cod) and a few other varieties.

~1/4 c. organic red wine vinegar
squeeze lime or lemon juice
4 fillets wild caught fish of choice, I used whiting
2 ripe avocados
2 hot peppers (jalapeños) with seeds
2 thick slices red onion (garnish)
6-10 garlic cloves
1/2" fresh ginger root
5-6 fresh roma tomatoes
1 artichoke heart (15 oz canned), in quarters (drained if canned)
1 28 oz. can organic crushed tomatoes with basil (preferably Fire Roasted style)
1/2 c. dry sherry or red wine
~ 4 T extra virgin olive oil

Spices to taste:
sea salt, pepper, turmeric, a dash cayenne pepper, 5-6 sprigs fresh cilantro, a hearty sprinkle of fresh or dried dill, and fresh parsley

If using whole fresh or canned tomatoes for the bulk of the sauce, blend those tomatoes with the fresh roma tomatoes for about 1 minute on medium high in a food processor or blender (we used our VitaMix blender). Once the tomatoes are roughly chopped into a chunky sauce, add the last half of ginger root, half of the garlic, whole peppers, and red wine vinegar (or dry sherry) to the blender and run on high for about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes until the peppers and ginger are minced. Set the sauce aside.

Finely chop the rest of the garlic and add to a small frying pan with a tablespoon of virgin coconut oil (or real butter for dairy consumers) and turn to medium high heat. While the garlic is starting to lightly brown, pit both avocados. I do this the canonical way: first, I slice the avocados lengthwise, twist off one half of each avocado, and use the knife to carefully spear the pit. Once the pit is firmly in the tip of the knife, twist the avocado and loosen the pit. Discard the pit and scoop out the avocado and set aside. I chose to slice my avocado thickly and serve it on the side, but if you prefer to make fresh guacamole with it or slice it into small chunks then go for it!

Once the garlic is lightly browned, turn the heat to medium low (2-3) and add the tomato mixture from your blender. Turn up the heat to medium (4) and bring the mixture to a simmer. Once simmering, add the rinsed (defrosted if using frozen) fish fillets.

Cook covered on medium heat (4-5) for 10-12 minutes or until the fish is thoroughly cooked and flakes easily with a fork. Squeeze the lime juice into the pan and gently stir. Serve hot with the red onion slivers, quartered artichoke hearts, and avocado (or guacamole). Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil over the top before serving (don't heat the olive oil, it breaks down and becomes rancid at high heat).

Serving Suggestions: add a chopped fresh peach (preferably organic, they are highly pesticided) or a tablespoon or two of peach salsa for a nice seasonal touch.

Ingredients I wish I had on hand to make this (future tweaks, depending on the farmers market):
fresh organic red, yellow, or orange bell peppers
fresh peaches, plums, or nectarines (chopped finely with half of the fruit for garnish, half for the gazpacho)
a peeled and sectioned blood orange (half for garnish, half for the gazpacho)

Health Highlights:

Whiting (Silver Hake) Health Benefits per 3 oz cooked:

B12 2.2 mcg (~ 37% 1993 RDA to 111% current RDA, depending upon reference)
Selenium 34.9 mcg (50% current RDA)
Phosphorus 242 mg (24% current RDA)
omega 3's 466 mg (~ 27:1 ratio of Omega 3:6 fatty acids)

Nutrition Data Chart for 1 fillet

Don't forget about the Vitamin C loaded fresh veggies in the sauce! Tomatoes are known for their antioxidant lycopene content, but they are also great source of Vitamin A and C. Note that (at least to my knowledge) the lycopene concentration is higher once the tomatoes have been processed (either finely minced or made into a sauce) and cooked. The addition of fresh produce like peaches, jalapeños (or red or yellow bell peppers), and red onion all add a punch of vitamins and enzymes to aid in digestion. Ginger and garlic (two of my favorite "spices") are excellent on many nutrition forefronts. Garlic (especially raw) consumption naturally thins the blood and aids in headaches, heart disease (don't eat 400 cloves of it if you're on blood-thinning meds, however), and circulation. Garlic is also a great antibacterial- you can finely mince and crush raw garlic cloves for a quick compress or rub for a minor cut (it stings to me). It can be used to treat athlete's foot (ginger helps here also), the common cold (via the famous "Jewish Penicillin" chicken soup), in breastfeeding problems, and even improve your memory! Ginger is famous for its ability to treat indigestion, nausea and motion sickness, and improve immunity and fight viruses to name a few pointers. The little chemical helpers known as gingerols and shogaols are thought to be responsible for the digestive action in ginger, so when you add some fresh ginger slivers (or powdered ginger) to your soup, tea, or stir fry then be sure to thank those gingerols! Now you can reflect on the shogaols while enjoying your delicate, flaked fish gazpacho mmm! Don't forget to check out Jeena's Roundup of Fresh Fish and Seafood for other bloggers' favorite seafood recipes!

Mediterranean Eggplant Bake (The Un-Parmesana) [Vegan]

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:19:05 PST

It is already past the 1 year anniversary of Cindalou's Kitchen Blues' debut, which I only accidentally discovered when going to post this recipe and linking back to my old grilled eggplant recipe from last summer. My dad pointed out that I should have a birthday party for the blog, but I think I'll have a combo b-day bash with all my virtual friends in a few weeks for my (real) birthday and the blog's birthday. Maybe I'll finally make some coconut ice cream. I love icy desserts in the summer, but summertime is also prime season for outdoor grilled vegetables. I can never resist grilled squash, eggplant, and peppers. Thank heavens I don't have any allergies to nightshade vegetables!

What better time than the dog days of hot, lazy summer to drag all that hot kitchen cooking outside? This bake is my rendition of a veggie-laden eggplant Parmesan, minus the parm of course :) I used nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor and texture, but feel free to omit the yeast. The heat of baking most likely destroys most of the beneficial B vitamins in the yeast, but the flavor is still great. Plus, I'm a closet optimist (don't tell) so I cross my fingers for the energy-boosting B's in the yeast coming through cooking unscathed.

My mother's old eggplant parm recipe dipped the eggplant in wheat flour, Parmesan cheese, herbs, then baked the eggplant itself an hour before making the casserole. I am not that motivated - when I see a multi-step recipe like that, I think "Ha," not to mention the no wheat flour or cheese thing. This tastes just as great to me, plus it adds colorful veggies. The grilling nicks the need to egg, bread/flour and fry or prebake. Grill extra and use the leftovers in lunch quesadillas with kale and corn tortillas, omelets like my old Grilled Squash and Collards Omelette, or just snack on grilled thinly sliced eggplant and squash. Thinly sliced, they're reminiscent of veggie chips in a non-fried, spicy way. You get the idea...

1 15 oz can organic crushed tomatoes with basil
~ 1/2 can (7 oz) artichoke hearts or fresh artichoke hearts
1 large grilled eggplant>
2 cherry peppers
2 jalapenos
5-6 garlic cloves
1 large organic carrot
2-3 sun dried tomatoes (sulfur free)
handful chopped fresh (or 1/4 c. dried, rehydrated & drained) portabello mushrooms
nutritional yeast, to taste (optional, for "cheesy" taste)
splash dry red wine, optional

Spices:
oregano, rosemary, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, sea salt, pepper, and a dash of Italian seasoning.

Slice the eggplant widthwise into ~1/8 to 1/4" slices for round eggplant pieces. Season with your choice of spices and spray the grill. I seasoned the eggplant with a blend of turmeric, ground black peppercorns, a dash of cayenne pepper, oregano, rosemary, garlic powder, a bit of dried crushed red pepper, thyme, and sea salt. My Mediterranean Grilled Eggplant recipe from last summer is the basis for this recipe.

Add the eggplant and whole peppers to the grill. Close the grill and cook on high for about 10-15 minutes or until very tender. I used a George Foreman electric grill since it takes much less time than a gas grill. Adjust cooking time for grill type.

Meanwhile, chop your mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes, and shred the carrot. If you're using dehydrated mushrooms, steep them in boiling water high enough to cover them, and leave them covered for about 10 minutes or until soft. When finished, drain the mushrooms and save the juice for a healthy and yummy broth or as a sauteing liquid.

Set the chopped and shredded ingredients aside. Once the eggplant and peppers are finished, remove them from the grill and do a second batch if necessary. Slice the grilled peppers once they are cooled. If you prefer a milder flavor, remove the jalapeno seeds.

Add about half of the chopped sundried tomatoes and red wine to the tomato sauce and stir. Spray the bottom of an oven-safe glass baking dish with nonstick spray. I used a small Pyrex and spread the sauce lightly, covering the bottom. Layer the grilled eggplant slices on the bottom of the dish, from large to small slices. Top with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast (optional) . Cover the yeast and eggplant with a thin layer of the prepared carrots, jalapenos, mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes. Cover that layer with sauce, then add another layer, sauce, and repeat . Top the casserole with a layer of sauce and the artichoke hearts. If using canned artichokes, drain thoroughly and layer directly on top of the casserole. If you're using fresh artichoke, steam or grill them, then, once cooled, cut them into small pieces and add to the top.

Bake at 450 degrees for about 25 minutes. Note that the short time is for the convection oven setting I used. If you aren't using convection, baking may take longer. Serve hot. Serves approximately 4.

We had this with a few thin slices of grilled tamari grassfed sirloin steak, served over a bed of parsley and drizzled with olive oil, and a fresh red kale and parsley salad.

Spicing up your dishes, especially grilled vegetables, is a fantastic way to throw in a dash of the anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric and cayenne pepper. Cayenne pepper is an old folk remedy for poor circulation, stomach upsets, gas, and arthritis/carpel tunnel syndrome. It is also a metabolic stimulant and can help for healthy long-term weight loss and management. In addition to being strongly anti-inflammatory, turmeric is famous for its antioxidant properties. Turmeric's antioxidant qualities help protect and cleanse the gallbladder (prevent kidney stones) and liver. It might also provide aid in memory retention and help in Alzheimer's disease, pending further research. Turmeric is also useful for gout and was used in ancient times for "vermin killing" and is thought to be effective against scabies and lice.

However, cayenne and other hot peppers can be irritating to the skin, lips, and mucus membranes, so judge your intake by personal experience. Turmeric is often used liberally in Indian curries, so it is considered safer than drinking coffee. Use turmeric with caution if you have a bile duct blockage concern.

In this age, the first reaction to indigestion or acid reflux seems to be to suppress natural stomach acid with Calcium Carbonate (Tums) or a whole rainbow of OTC or prescription proton pump inhibitors. However, the avoidance of spice as part of an attempt to lower stomach acid may worsen digestion, since bacteria are not killed and large chewed food particles are harder for the small intestine to absorb nutrients. Also, simply popping a TUMS (basically a chalk pill, mmm) is merely treating the symptom of poor diet and lifestyle. The underlying problems(s) causing the digestive issues should be addressed- trust me, I deal with this on a daily basis! :)

Keep in mind that no one-size-fits-all approach can work. Everything depends on your body type. Some people have legitimate acid reflux, esophageal valve problems, or ulcers and should not assume either extreme of over spicing or raising stomach acid, nor completely hinder their body's natural state of chemical digestion with acid-buffering drugs.

I make no assumptions or generalizations, and can only speak from my own experience: I tend towards poor digestion. I myself benefit from a bit more spice, apple cider vinegar, herbal teas like peppermint and cinnamon, and digestive enzymes. I had acid reflux all the time as a teen. I was so miserable my parents took me to a GI specialist for a barium upper GI series of x-rays to look for ulcers. In the end, after years of thinking TUMS were my best friend, I only eliminated the reflux by elimination of all dairy, stress management (my sister calls me a "stressball"), and adding spices. Hey, a little cayenne pepper is a heck of a lot cheaper than a series of x-rays and the experience of drinking that awful chalky Barium shake :) So cheers to spice, and spice for health.

Other yummy gf eggplant creations:

Book of Yum's Eggplant Parmesan Sans Crumbs (uses dairy and nuts)
Natalie's Baked Eggplant Parmesan or Baked Eggplant Zucchini Spaghetti (uses dairy)
Gluten Free Kay's Stuffed Eggplant
Jeena's Chunky Mediterranean Vegetable Soup Recipe
Karina's Roasted Eggplant Tapenade or Mediterranean Eggplant with Crumbled Beef, Tomatoes and Mint

Purslane, Plum and Avocado Salad [Vegan] [Low Carb]

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:19:05 PST

Perhaps you've heard recent hype about an obscure green weed with amazing health benefits for depression, but the truth is that purslane is an old herbal remedy-food and long-time enemy of a tidy gardener. If you're not sure about the safety of harvesting it in the wild, stop off at your local farmer's market. Now we can add "Purslane, Not Prozac" to the book "Potatoes, Not Prozac," or my personal (contrived) favorite slogan "pushups, Not Prozac." Whether you are concerned about depression, the odds are you know someone close to you who is. While exercise to alleviate depression as demonstrated by these Duke University studies may not necessarily be your cup of tea, perhaps a nice bunch of purslane in your salad, stir fry, or soup might be. Heck, while you're at it, toss in some fresh avocado and seasonal fruit- peaches, plums, nectarines. You might even forget the ominous "healthy" stuff in your meal after you take a bite.

1-2 organic plums
~ 2 lb. fresh purslane
1 ripe organic avocado
5-6 roma tomatoes
slivers red onion
oregano, to taste

Dressing:
50-50 mix of organic extra virgin olive oil, crushed red pepper, red wine vinegar, sea salt, and pepper. Wash and pat dry the purslane and plums. Tear into bite sized pieces and put in a large bowl. Slice the red onion, plums, and avocado and add to the purslane. I cut my plums into thin wedges since I prefer them that way. Add the tomatoes and toss with dressing and oregano. That's it- fast, easy and delicious healthy greens and Omega 3's all in one tidy package.

If you are waiting to be impressed, check out the Nutritional profile of purslane. Purslane is high in magnesium and Vitamin C, so helps with:

It is also high in potassium, healthy omega 3 fats, Vitamin A, folate (a critical B vitamin), and calcium. Dr. Duke in his classic herbal reference The Green Pharmacy lists purslane as packing

"... up to a whopping 16 percent antidepressant compounds, figured on a dry-weight basis."

Well, with that resume why not try some purslane with your salad? As your salad? I'm sold, although this salad's a winner even without the purslane! I adore avocado, especially when combined with fresh organic peach or plum. It's an addiction akin to peach salsa. The seasonal local plums here add a nice juicy bite of Vitamins A, C, K, and a little fiber (eat the skin, always!) with a very low glycemic load of just a few points (under 55 glycemic index and under 10 glycemic load are "low"). Don't forget the humble avocado, harbor of healing monounsaturated good fat, a large amount of fiber (40% RDI of fiber: 13 carbs, 10 fiber per 150 g.), and a plethora of Vitamins C, K, E, folate, panthoethic acid (another B vitamin), and B6. Avocado also provides a good source of magnesuim, potassium, and other trace minerals necessary for health. Actually, I could (and may) write an entire post on the wonders of avocado and its use outside the parochial realm of guacamole dip or sliced topping. But for now, you can have your feel-good food without guilt (as if anything was stopping you).

Note: If purslane is hard to find in your area, watercress, spinach, dark leafy lettuce (not iceberg) are great alternatives.

Speedy Hemp Seed Cucumber Dill Soup [Low Carb] [Vegan]

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:19:06 PST

3 large organic cucumbers, washed with skin
3 cloves garlic
1/4" ginger
1 c. organic coconut milk*
1 1/2 c. unsweetened original hemp milk
~2 T. extra virgin olive oil

pinch dried spearmint leaves
dash cayenne pepper (optional!)
sea salt and pepper, to taste
hefty pinch dried dill
4 fresh basil leaves
4-5 fresh mint leaves
1 T. garlic powder

1/4 c. shelled organic hemp seed (plus extra for topping)

* you can use all hemp milk if you'd like. The coconut milk makes the ordinarily thin soup a bit thicker and more satisfying to me.

Wash, dry, and cut a whole cucumber into thirds or quarters. Add the cucumber, ginger root, and garlic to your VitaMix or other blender. For about 30 seconds, blend on medium-hi (5) while using the damper (or a long-handled spoon out of reach of the running blades) to compress the cucumber. Once the larger chunks of cucumber are chopped, turn off the blender.

Add in the hemp milk, coconut milk, olive oil and spices. Use your imagination for spices. I made this soup earlier in the summer when my mint plants were taking over the porch and begging to be used. Turn your blender to high and blend it for 1-2 minutes. I blend my soup until it is thoroughly mixed but there are still shreds of cucumber not pureed so it isn't just a single consistency. Serve cold, sprinkled with hemp seeds. This soup is quick and easy as a delicious, cooling appetizer or side soup.

I used to adore the Hungarian Cucumber Soup I made every summer, but after finally saying adios to yogurt and dairy I've not made it since. A recent onslaught of cucumbers, mint, and dill sent me craving another batch of coconut yogurt for this recipe. I will still do that in the future, but for now I'm making (dairy laden) goat milk yogurt in our Crockpot for Jon. I have to appease the dairy guzzlers in the house occasionally :) I thought a good swap for this soup would be coconut milk, but after reading on and on about Karina's love for hemp milk I decided to use it as the base.

I love hemp anyways and wanted another faucet of this amazing healthfood in my diet. This soup takes about 2-3 minutes in the Vitamix and is a nice cool, refreshing appetizer or meal. For even more protein toss in a scoop of hemp protein powder if you have it on hand. If not, no worries- hemp seed is nature's perfect little vegan package of balanced Omega3:6 healing fats, fiber (low carb!), and complete protein. All those Canadian's sure make a killing off our growing American demand for hemp!

Easy Tahini Dressing [Vegan]

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:19:06 PST

So much for a real recipe from Cindalou's here in the recent past, but since you're already primed for a whole host of non-recipes, I'll use this chance to combat my swamped-at-work-can't-post hysteria with a "recipe" for a healthy dressing or sauce. Of course everyone knows how to whip up (or at least purchase) tahini nowadays, so I'll bore you with more health benefits and history than an actual Tablespoon per tablespoon recipe :) Yes, I still cook. All the time. Cindalou's has taken a back seat to thank you notes, family visits, and our flourishing (and crowded) apartment garden. So how's that for yet another disclaimer/introduction? If you find my intro less than satisfactory, then I recommend Karina's new Strawberry Cobbler post. You'll smile (and lick the computer screen).

Sesame seeds and tahini are quick and easy snacks and make a handy homemade dressing. The seeds themselves claim the honorable position of being one of the oldest condiments and their use seems to be traced back as far as 1600 BC. The seeds are a great source of many trace minerals and Omega 6 fatty acids. Indeed, the seeds were held in high esteem for the quality of the oil which is exceptionally resistant to rancidity and spoilage. One interesting fact: the phrase "Open sesame" stems from the sesame seed pod itself, which bursts open when it reaches maturity.

Tahini dressing:
1/4 c. raw, organic sesame seeds (I use unhulled since they're cheaper here and the hulls contain much of the calcium in the seeds) OR organic tahini (Once Again has a good organic tahini on the market)
1-2 t. sea salt, more to taste
1 t. or "dash" of San-J wheat free tamari (optional, omit for soy free)
4 liberal T. organic extra virgin olive oil*
squeeze lemon juice

Combine the sesame seeds and the salt in the bottom of the Vitamix or your blender. You will probably want to use the dry blade attachment for the Vitamix if you have one. In my experience, the dry-blade purees the seeds better than the regular container. If you only have a normal blender, no worries, but you may need to puree the seeds in spurts (to prevent regular blender overheating) to get them all creamed up. If you 're using jarred tahini, just skip this step.

It only takes about 1 -2 minutes for me to make this batch. I grind the seeds in 30 second intervals, but I take a minute to take the top off and scrape the sides of the blender to mix in the stubborn seeds. Once the seeds are pureed "dry," add the sea salt, olive oil, lemon juice, and tamari (if you're using the San-J). If you want to add a dash of turmeric (a great detoxifier and antioxidant), parsley (high in iron), or rosemary, add it now. Close the lid and blend once more until well mixed. Scrape the sides and pour into your dipping bowl or drizzle over your entree or salad, like below.

I made my sauce here with a bit more olive oil and lemon juice than above in order to achieve a more fluid sauce to dress our grilled salmon and salad. Just adjust the olive oil to seed ratio to vary the consistency between a thick tahini chip/ raw veggie dip and a dressing (like we used it).

* Add more olive oil to taste, I tend to add more olive oil to my share of the dressing since my body burns good fat efficiently (sugars and high carby foods kill my poor digestive system, so to each his own. Check your body type and eat what is fresh, local, and makes you feel best. Perhaps most importantly, trust your instincts... no, that doesn't mean reach for that bag of salted corn chips since you just like the taste!)

Tahini Uses:

Tahini sauced mushrooms
Salad dressing (of course)

Tahini Dressed Simple Spinach Salad

grilled wild salmon fillet dressing. I have a few old fish recipes here and the tahini sauce would be great drizzled over some Molasses Balsamic Salmon

Tahini Glazed Salmon

Stir fry dressing/sauce

More Sesame Seed Uses:

Dress up your veggies! Jon likes honey sesame green beans or broccoli
homemade raw (Vegan) food bars
toss into any bread, cookie, or muffin/pancake recipe

Sesame seeds are high in Omega 6 fatty acids which are healthy fats, but should not be over consumed since the average diet is already too high in Omega 6 fats compared to Omega 3's. Sesame seeds have a whopping (that sounds quantifiable and scientific doesn't it?) amount of copper, manganese, tryptophan, iron, and some B vitamins to name a few. They also pack a fair amount of fiber for such tiny little packages. The entire nutritional profile from World's Healthiest Foods shows the nutrient scale and there's also a great in depth article on the seeds.

Be warned, however, that sesame seeds can be allergenic to some. Those of us with Celiac or gluten intolerance seem to garner the blessing of having multiple trigger foods (at least while the intestines are still healing). The other disclaimer for sesame seeds involves their oxalate content. Oxalates in the hull of the seed are generally bound in calcium oxalate and some doctors believe that they can aggravate kidney conditions, leading to kidney stones. The verdict is still out on this matter, since dietary intake of oxalates like those found in sesame seed hulls only amount to about 15% of the oxalate in calcium oxalate stones. The general wisdom among experts is, according to WHF,

"that dietary restriction cannot significantly reduce risk of stone formation".

In addition, oxalates are naturally present in a full spectrum of fruits and vegetables are normally present no issues with stone formation. Just to be on the safe side, buy the hulled sesame seeds or lightly colored jarred tahini since these varieties have the hull (and thus the calcium oxalate) removed. Of course when you remove the hull you lose nutrition, but a compromise can be struck if you are worried about kidney stones. More interesting stuff on oxalates is here at World's Healthiest Foods.

A balance must be struck in diet just like everywhere in life, but natural and organic tahini is a great and far superior source of Omega 6's as compared with many popular vegetable oils touted for their "healthy mono and polyunsaturated fat content." The problem with many vegetable oils, as I've talked about from time to time, is that virtually all of them except commercial extra virgin olive oil are refined, bleached, or deodorized. These processes damage the unsaturated fat in the oil since the less saturated the oil, the more it is vulnerable to heat, light, and processing damage. So although you think or read the hype about soybean (a particularly poor oil choice), corn, canola, and even sunflower or safflower oils being "healthy," your oil is likely already rancid or damaged. Damaged oil wrecks havoc on our bodies as toxins, but no more about that here. I sound brooding and hell-bent on bringing down the vegetable oil market. If anyone's interested in more details about these fats and oils and the commercial propaganda surrounding them, please comment and let me know. I can expand on the subject and/or point you to fantastic references. It is always best to keep it simple. We use extra virgin olive oil (no heat - dressing and marinades only) and organic virgin coconut oil (for any heat or cooking) exclusively; you can't find another oil in our house except the fat stored in nuts :) This cuts down on buying multiple kinds of different oils and actually saves money and time at the store. It is my advice and practice. If you can do dairy and aren't quite thrilled about coconut oil, another good alternative is full-fat REAL butter, especially grass fed goat or cow butter. The saturated fats are what you need for heat and cooking since they are not destroyed by heat and light, (as opposed to margarine, vegetable (and olive) oils, and reduced or fat free products.) If only we could see our insides, then we'd all be a lot more picky about what we eat and how we prepare it. :)

Happy Solstice!

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:19:06 PST

NASA APOD

No matter the weather, go stick your head outdoors for the longest day of the year, Horray! Somehow, I am working longer today by happenstance so the rest of you need to get outside and enjoy some of the great day (except if you're in California with all those scorchers). NASA has a great Astronomy Picture of the Day of the moon over Greece, shown below (with permission). If you're not quite familar with all the fascinating astonomical details about solstice, check out Wikipedia's introduction. Sorry, no recipes for now since we'll be out enjoying a later nightfall in our garden.

Blissful Gluten & Dairy Free Recipes [Low carb] [Vegan]

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:19:07 PST

The long absence of Cindalou's Kitchen Blues was not merely a cosmic accident, lazy blogging on my behalf, nor an overambitious email spam blocker filter for all our subscribers, dear reader. I apologize for our long intermission from the gluten free blogging community. It looks like you all managed quite well without us :) How yummy your Cherry Clafouti looks Natalie! I am eying it alongside my coconut milk and bag of cherries in the fridge and thinking I might give your recipe a dairy-free attempt. I doubt I can touch your level of delicious with that heavy cream, but I'll try. Karina, your Strawberry Chocolate Chip Sherbet looks like the perfect candidate for our new ice cream maker! Funny, we received the same Cuisinart ice cream maker that you have, cool (no pun intended). Goddess, I love your hemp milk addiction- hemp is such a delicious (and nutritious, not that anyone cares about that :)) superfood!

Cindalou's long break from gluten and dairy free blogging is to blaim on my recent wedding to my long-time physics study partner, best friend, college (and grad school) office mate, pain-in-the-arse match made in heaven, and blog admin Jon. I remember my mother saying things like "be careful what you ask for.." and "just wait till you have children.." ... Thanks Mom, I feel like I'm already half there- heaven has divine retribution for my misdeeds by blessing me with possibly the only equally stubborn person in the world :) All joking aside, we are very very happy. A HUGE THANK YOU to our families, friends, and everyone who made our wedding perfect. Pictures aren't available yet, but we'll be sure to post some for you all later. Sorry no recipes yet from Cindalou's, we're working on it. In the interim, I'd like to share the beautiful "Recipes for a Happy Marriage" I received from friends at my fantastic surprise shower.

Ima's recipe:
50% communication
20% humor (laughter)
20% patience
10% temper control

Communication? Is that when I repeat myself 400 billion times and get stared at blankly with the claim that "you never said that"...? If so, we are on it!

Lauren's best friend prescription:
1 cup Love
1 cup Understanding
3 T. Compassion
1/2 t. of "the no look"
1/2 cup of Romance

Ha, I think I have wayyy too much of that "NO!" look going already!

Sandy's sisterly advice:
truckload o' love
bucket o' passion and romance
2 truckloads of patience and understanding
Lots o' fun
much communication
many kisses and hugs!

Does anyone else notice that my sister seems to also have a problem with exact measurements and recipe equivalents? Hmm, maybe its a Wood household thing... I'm blaming you Mom!

Momma's Good Ole' Recipe for Happiness:
Lots of Laughter
Kindness
Gentleness
Surprise
Empathy.

Mix well and often with love, friendship, openness and sharing.

Mom, strange no precise measurements of ingredients... this from the woman who actually does measure an 1/8 a teaspoon and bakes the same holiday poppyseed bread every year but MUST use her original recipe... Although she did include instructions, yey!

Marriage a la Sweethearts
Patience
Forgiveness
Space to be together
Space to be Separate
A Maid!

Ha! I love the space to be seperate- we live, work, and ride the bus to work together. We do sit in different areas of the bus, however, and do our best to pretend we hate each other in public :) Joking... and I am the joyful maid. I was trained at an early age by my Grandmother to wash dishes. We have photo proof of tiny lil Cindalou on a stool washing them (or whatever a 6 year old thinks is washing).

Untitled:
"In our society we teach unconditional love. Love is like air to women. Take away love and women can't breathe and will fight because they can't breathe. For men, take away respect and they can't breathe and they will fight and act unloving to get a breath.

So give your husband unconditional respect. Avoid saying the word "NO," they can easily experience it as disrespect. Read the book "Love and Respect" by E. Eggrich."

Ohh, respect- now that's a fantastic piece of advice! Something so important is often overlooked in the giddy, romantic beginnings of a relationship, but how crucial it is! I guess I don't have to say "NO" either since as Lauren noted I already have "the look" mixed in :)

Thank you all, and you dear reader, for sicking with Cindalous. We'll be back with some of our own dairy and gluten free delights in a short while.

xoxo, Cindalou

You can tell it is our car, huh?

Visit a Random Gluten Free Blog Installation

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:19:07 PST

I thought it'd be fun to have our own 'random gf blog' gadget, so I used Rachel's exhaustive list of gluten free bloggers in conjunction with a modified Random Link Generator to create the "Visit a Gluten Free Blog" button on our front page.

For Blogspot Bloggers, there are two installation options: the Easy Way, and the Customizable Way.

For Wordpress Bloggers, at the moment, you'll need to install the button similar to the last step (add page element) in the Customizable Way.
------------------
*UPDATE*

Due to several requests, I've made the button on this blog (left side, says "Visit a Gluten Free Blog") available to add as a Widget without any copying, pasting, or template modifications.

Click the following button to install yours:

*That's all - you now have a browser friendly, gluten free blog hopping button!*

The following steps are for those who prefer to style their widget via css.

--------------------------------

Here's how you can add one yourself, and style it too!

The first step is probably the most daring, as it requires you to enter your Layout (Dashboard - Layout) and click the Edit HTML tab.

Once you're at the Edit HTML page, make sure to backup your template by clicking "Download Full Template".

The purpose of entering your template is to add styling to the button so that you can change colors and event font sizes/types from your Fonts and Colors tabs.

You'll want to create Variable names for the styles you'd like to edit from within your Font and Colors tab. Here are the four variables I created for this button:

<Variable name="randomblogbkgcolor" description="Random Blog Background Color" type="color" default="#c60" value="#5d7588">

<Variable name="randomblogbordercolor" description="Random Blog Border Color" type="color" default="#c60" value="#9cb088">

<Variable name="randomblogbkghovercolor" description="Random Blog Background Hover Color" type="color" default="#c60" value="#9db189">

<Variable name="randomblogborderhovercolor" description="Random Blog Border Hover Color" type="color" default="#c60" value="#718fa6">

These lines should be pasted near the top of your template, between the <head> and </head> tags. If you have meta tags, these variable name tags are commonly placed after the meta tags.

The next step is to paste the following lines just before the line that contains: >]]></b:skin> in your template:

/* Random Blog Styling */

input.randomblog {
background-color: $randomblogbkgcolor;
border: 2px outset $randomblogbordercolor;
width: 100%;
text-align:center;
font-style:bold;
color: #fff;
padding: 1px;
margin: 1px;
}
input.randomblog:hover {
background-color: $randomblogbkghovercolor;
border: 2px outset $randomblogborderhovercolor;
width: 100%;
text-align:center;
font-style:bold;
color: #fff;
padding: 1px;
margin: 1px;
}

Once you've completed this step (including backing up your template), click Save Template.

To add the button, you'll need to go to your Page Elements section under Layout. Once there, select "Add a Page Element" and choose HTML/Javascript. Copy and paste the following code into the new window:

<script style="" src="http://randomblog.googlecode.com/files/randomblogsourceclass.js"></script>

*note* this is the script Wordpress bloggers will want to refer to when adding this widget
------------------

Select "Save" and you'll now have your own Visit a Random GF Blogger widget. To change the colors of the background, border, and hovered-over background a border, go to your Fonts and Colors tab under Layout and change the colors of the four variables that start with "Random Blog" i.e. Random Blog Background Color.

That's all! If you would like to be included in this random gf blog visitor, simply leave a comment here and let us know.

Create your own [non Gluten Free] Random Visit Button

noreply@blogger.com (Jon) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:19:07 PST

If you'd like to create your own random visit button as seen on our front page, but want to make your own list of websites and/or blogs to choose from, comment here with your list of websites and a title for your button, and I'll upload a script for you to use. I'll post a link to each script here for others to download.

The installation instructions are the same as those from Visit a Random Gluten Free Blogger Installation except you'll add a different script to your page element.

----------------------------
Per a suggestion from Uri Kalish, of Urikalization, advanced users who would prefer to do away with css styling in the template may do so by editing the source script in the following way:

Replace the class="randomblog" line in the script file with the following:

style="color:white" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='red'" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='blue'"

The lines above will change the font size in the form to white, the background color to blue, and the hovered over background color to red.

Remove the Variable information and the css style information in your template. Now you'll have a button that depends solely on the script (no css dependence).

Hope this helps!

Coconut Milk Yogurt At Last! [Dairy Free] [Soy Free] [Vegan] [Low Carb]

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:19:08 PST

Alas, the coconut milk yogurt has materialized in my kitchen! Sorry for the ridiculously long wait, but as I mentioned previously in my Ginger Sea Bass post, we were waiting on the probiotic and then went to GA for vacation after my exam and blah blah. Yo don't care, right? The yogurt is here in all of its gluten free, dairy free, soy, nut, corn, yeast, yadda yadda free glory!! I am really sorry I am a month late, Seamadien :) Can you forgive me? I am loving your spinach pie and that St. Pats pot pie looks intriguing...

Anyways, back to the coconut yogurt and why I chose Christian from Stephen's Recipes for my adoption way back when. I have a very strong connection to family (at least in my mind, don't ask my mom :) ) and I admire someone who has children and not only devotes their love and energy to them, but also sets aside time to blog about allergen free living for the rest of us! Christian has a sense of humor (see the taste warning at the blog header) and is committed to providing the healthiest environment for her boys. Today in the American age of McDonald's for dinner and tv or texting during a meal instead of family conversation, family values are of high esteem in my mind. I must sound like a crazy fanatical conservative, but sorry to disappoint you Pat Roberson- I just believe in good, ethical, moral living and loving. You chose your flavor of religious, moral, and lifestyle beliefs to suit you, in so long as you do not infringe on others' rights.

In any case, put the tv remote away and don't worry about bringing a Whopper over to dinner at my place. Cindalou's practices good old family mealtime courtesies and stimulating light dinner conversation like "So Mom, what is the exact significance of Jesus being divine for you? Why do people want someone else to die for their sins? That seems like a bit of a break in the personal responsibility chain..?" Ahh, musings of a curious child with really annoying questions and an even more annoying quest for deep, "not canned" responses. I think I offend people with these questions, but I really want to understand. Can you lend me a hand? Or answer? Please..??

And please excuse my politicking; we just met our favorite candidate for NC Congress, BJ Lawson, and "Mr. Liberty" Presidential Candidate Dr. Ron Paul himself is coming to both UNC and Duke on Jon's birthday- May 2nd!! Our amazing Tarheels for Paul coordinator Paige arranged for Jon to have lunch with Dr. Ron Paul, Dr. Lawson, and a few other campaign donors for his birthday too. I'm so excited!! It's not everyday you get that offer since presidential candidates are swamped with supporters at every stop. I believe both Obama and Hillary are in Chapel Hill now as well - I'll have to go check that out. It will just be such a relief to hear something other than McCain being the only Republican candidate on the ticket. This is not true and just shows irritating ignorance. Ergh, enough political frustration - I know everyone feels it in every party (or nonparty) :) How about some gluten/dairy free yogurt goodness?

Coconut Milk Yogurt (half batch)
1 can (15 oz.) organic coconut milk or lite coconut milk
heaping 1/4 t. dairy free probiotic*

Tools Needed:
2 half-quart Mason jars (I used cleaned salsa jars)
large stainless steel spoon
2 large/medium stainless steel pots (I used a double boiler nested pot setup)
kitchen thermometer
a few old clean kitchen towels, a large pot and lid (large enough to hold mason jars) OR yogurt maker

Yeah, we have a wee bit of coconut milk hangin' around...

*I used Culturaid dairy free probiotic since it is free of many of the common allergens: gluten, dairy, yeast, corn, and soy.

*UPDATE* As several of you have pointed out, Klaire Labs has discontinued Culturaid. I've written a length response in the comments section, but to keep it short, we recommend Dr. Ohhira's, Essential Formulas Inc., Probiotic, a 60 capsule probiotic with 12 active cultures, a 5-star rating from 300+ reviews, priced at ~$34.50 - $5 (Referal Coupon Code: JOC350), or $29.50, less than the Culturaid and other competing allergy free probiotics/yogurt starters.

Instructions for Coconut Milk Yogurt
[Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Corn, Yeast Free and Low Carb/Low Fat]

1.) Sterilize your container(s):
I boiled water in my electric kettle to sterilize my yogurt jars and stainless steel pot. After the water boiled, I let it sit for 10 or so minutes while I went onto step 2. When you need two yogurt containers, just discard the hot water.

2.) Pour out the sterilizing water from the pot and pour in the coconut milk. If you didn't shake the can and the milk has separated, just give it a quick stir with a clean/sterilized stainless steel spoon. Turn the milk to medium high heat and keep your thermometer handy. Bring the milk to just boiling with your thermometer in the milk, but not resting or touching the pot (you want the temperature of the milk, not the pot). Continuously stir the milk until it reaches around 160 degrees. I've seen the range of 170-180 degrees for "normal" milk in order to kill the bad bacteria, but the canned organic coconut milk does not suffer bovine growth hormones, animal antibiotics passed into the cow milk, pesticides, or any chemical residues that can hamper regular milk. I am more lax with the temperature for this reason. If you'd prefer to go to the higher temperature, go for it, but make sure to keep stirring so the milk doesn't burn. Several discussions about this post around the internet have questioned my rationale for this step - i.e. "why boil the coconut milk at all? Canned coconut milk ought to be sterilized in the canning process". This is true. The culture requires a coconut milk temperature between 80 - 100 degrees Fahrenheit, so the 160 degrees cited above is likely overkill.

3.) Set up your yogurt-making area.

The yogurt culturing area can be a real yogurt maker or this handy type setup shown below. All that is necessary is that the yogurt stay around 100 degrees (or as close as possible). I placed 2 jars in my largest pot with a few warmed towels on the bottom to insulate the jars. I used 1 jar for steaming hot water and the other jar for the yogurt. Here's a cool site for making yogurt by livelonger on HubPages which gives nice pictures and the incubation idea of a cooler and hot water instead of a yogurt maker.

4.) Let the coconut milk cool. Check the milk comes to around 100-110 degrees before adding the probiotic starter. Once the milk has cooled, stir in the probiotic starter. If you were making normal cow-based dairy yogurt, you could use premade/purchased yogurt with live cultures instead of specialty probiotic starter. For dairy free coconut milk yogurt, we can't do this of course- hence the Culturaid.

Boil some more water and pour into one of your open jars shown above. The hot water in this jar along with the insulating towels and closed pot will help keep the yogurt jar warm so the cultures can grown during incubation.

Pour the inoculated yogurt/coconut milk into the other jar and close the lid to keep it warm. I added a few more towels for jar insulation.

5.) Cover the whole setup or your yogurt maker. I turned my pot to very very low heat (barely on) to keep the setup warm. You may not need to do this depending upon the temperature of your kitchen. It was cold and rainy when I made this (Murphy's law in action). Let the yogurt ferment for 6-10 hours. Mine took more like 10 hours since it was so cold in my kitchen (crazy spring weather). Let the yogurt rest while it ferments.

6.) After the allotted time has passed, check the coconut milk yogurt. It should be firm and more of a yogurt texture. Mine was not as thick as cow milk yogurt (which often has yucky thickeners in addition to the plain old yogurt, especially if you eat the nonorganic kind), but it was definitely thicker. It had a nice slightly sweet-sour yogurt bite to it as well as all those uber healthy (nondairy) probiotics! Now I can down yogurt by the quart like Jon, right? :) Refrigerate the yogurt when it is thick and "finished."

The probiotics in yogurt and fermented foods (kraut, etc) are the "good" guys you want in your intestines to help improve your immunity, keep you regular, build and strengthen your bones, lose weight, and detoxify you. One of my favortie online general health bloggers, Cathy Wong, has a great summary of probiotic health benefits and possible interactions. The Harvard Medical School Health Guide also has a good article with some interesting folk uses for yogurt. Probiotics are especially vital in the healing process for those with compromised digestive systems, like those with IBS, Crohn's disease, and Celiac. In addition to this dairy free yourt, I love homemade red cabbage kraut and NutriWest total probiotics. I've noticed a sincere and immeasurable difference in my digestion and energy. It's just anecdotal evidence, but it does obey my "it works" philosophy. Yet another great resource is USProbiotics.org. A general Google search on the health benefits of probiotics is overwhelming, so I'm barely scratching the surface here. Don't fret, I'll be back ranting about them much more in future posts. My other favored site for health info at World's Healthiest Foods has a great summary on (regular) yogurt. Keep in mind that this coconut milk yogurt is dairy free, but since it is cultured with the probiotics it will contain many of the same fermentation byproducts like some B vitamins.

Oh, and Melissa, I have not forgotten about the 6 line meme! Uhh, I am still struggling with 6 (positive.... or at least not blaringly negative) things to say about myself. Here's a try at 6 words that summarize who I am:

independent
open minded
compassionate (my mom might disagree when we get into politics, hehe)
tenacious (strong willed? what's the difference... it is subtle I guess)
assertive
principled (to a point of aggravation of others I'm afraid :) )

Do I get another 6 billion words to describe a bride-to-be with a few more weeks until her wedding? Suppose not .. stupid rules! Who makes up these things? Why do we need so many rules... why can't we do fun things, like list the top 6 problems with modeling the cosmic ray muon flux near the surface of the Earth? Come on, please? I could use some help and non-wedding motivation :)

Since this post is already riduclously long, I'll be back with a recipe and/or use for the yogurt later. For now I'll just stop here and go spoon some of the leftover yogurt on some freshly ground flaxseed (omega 3's, high protein, and all carbs=fiber), sliced fresh pear (keeping the washed, organic peel for fiber and vitamins), and a drizzle of blackstrap molasses (high in iron, B vitamins). Hey after writing all of this, I'll a little wiped out for a whole fancy recipe :)

A new recipe using yogurt that looks delicious is from Natalie @ Gluten Free Mommy who whipped up some yummy Yogurt Raspberry Lime Ice Cream. I can't wait to try it or something similar! I use the Vitamix to make many of our ice creams/sherbets, so maybe I'll toss some coconut yogurt into my old Raspberry Smoothie in honor of your ice cream, Natalie! (I don't use the egg protein anymore, its not necessary with the coconut yogurt and protein powders are NOT health foods- they're more like weight-building short term tools (I am still trying to gain weight & muscle) and not long term health or meal replacements. The only powder is still love is Manitoba Harvest's Organic Hemp powder- it comes in protein powder, powder plus fiber, and good old hemp seeds- all with the perfect balance of Omega3:6 fats for optimal health! It makes a killer blueberry smoothie, Yum!

Ginger Sea Trout Asian-Style Soup [Low Carb] [Low Fat]

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:19:09 PST

Sorry all for the long delay between posts, we've been busy bees trekking back and forth to Atlanta for Easter and wedding planning. Nothing like a great relaxing post-prelim break of driving furiously all around North Carolina and Georgia. If you've never been to Atlanta and like pain, I recommend I-285 during rush hour -- perfect meditation time! What else are you going to do for a 2 hour (10 mile) journey across the dry, cracked pavement? Anyways, Easter was great and family visits home were more than worth the trip (I'm not just saying that because our families read the blog... no way, ha).

I hate the girly details in wedding planning though. I still think jeans and hiking up the Appalachian Trail is a great wedding. God can hike, right? I might need to check on that before I pack my favorite washed denim $3 thrift store jeans. Weddings, I have come to realize, are complicated beasts. Do you know how difficult it is to find inexpensive sundresses or casual bridesmaid dresses?!? Suggestions? Purple and green are the colors so .. if you see any .. :) Has anyone else noticed the 30% increase in price when the "w" word is mentioned?

At least I have an army of angels (oxymoron?); my mom and her friends yanked the devilish details from me (to save my sanity, I lose weight and eat like a monster under high stress. $300+ weekly food bills are frustrating, especially when you keep losing weight!). We are very very grateful guys! How many gals are blessed with volunteer wedding planning friends and great parents (both sides, how lucky!)? ~Contended sigh~ Well, now that I have this plethora of free time nipping at my heels, I can move on and get back to some gluten free goodness. Without further ado, I give you yet another fish and soup recipe! Surprise, I bet you never would have thought I cook soup, right? Nope.

3 large leaves (with stems) Chinese broccoli

2 large handfuls (~ 1 c.) fresh organic collard greens
~1/3 c. fresh organic spinach
3 small sundried tomatoes, chopped
1/4" chunk fresh ginger root, sliced thin
1 large fillet sea trout or cod
~1 T. San-J wheat free low sodium tamari
3-4 T. extra virgin olive oil or to taste
5-6 c. water

Seasonings:
pinch crushed red pepper
sea salt and pepper
a liberal shake ginger powder
garlic powder to taste

In a medium to large pot bring the water to a boil. While the water is warming up, wash and pat dry the greens and slice the ginger thinly. You can chop the greens into bite-sized pieces, but I just tore them leaf-by-leaf directly into the pot to save time. Finely chop the sundried tomatoes and add to the water.

Add the spices and tamari to the pot. Once the water is boiling, add the torn greens to the pot. Reduce the heat and let the greens cook for a few minutes until soft but still bright green. The cooking time here is flexible and depends on how mushy you like your vegetables. I like collards very soft but the broccoli and spinach are much better if only simmered for around 3-5 minutes.

Once the greens are to your liking (this was about 5 minutes for me), add the trout fillet and olive oil. I added it whole since it will break up as it cooks. Turn the heat to low and cover. Let simmer for another 2-3 minutes so the fish can poach. You do not want to overcook the fillet, so just check on it after a few minutes by prodding it with a spoon and see how easily it flakes. If it flakes easily, it is finished. Turn off the burner and remove the pot from the heat. Serve immediately.

Optional Additions at serving time (I didn't use them this time though):

sprinkle kelp or sea vegetable of choice (high in iodine, great for your thyroid)
dash ginger powder

Hey, it's not Fish Stew of the like of Natalie @ Gluten Free Mommy (which I still want to make, by the way), but this soup had a wonderful flavor and really hit the spot. Of course, ginger and leafy greens are a far cry from a tomato-based stew, but you know I can't follow directions; I can only follow my sense of smell and taste. Besides, who can pass up fresh ginger? Fresh ginger root has many health benefits, but it is particularly excellent for digestion. I love fresh spinach too, so this was a treat. Hope you enjoy it too!

Collards are a great source of dairy free calcium and chlorophyll, so load up! Collards are also high in Vitamin K, A, C, and manganese. According to a study in The Journal of Nutrition, there is some fuss about the phytonutrients in collards helping lower liver cell secretion of the cholesterol transporter apolipoproteinB-100 (apoB) by greater than 50%. ApoB transports LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol) to tissues. Maybe eating some collards would be a wise choice in view of the many problems and complications of pharmaceutical cholesterol-lowering drugs. In reality, remember we need a balance of not only nutrients, but also things like cholesterol (ie, LDL is not "bad" unless it is out of balance with your HDL). You should aim for a varied, balanced diet with food-based nutrient sources rather than pills. Isolated vitamins, minerals, and drugs are less recognizable and absorbable to the body. Collards are also a heck of a lot cheaper than a multi vitamin and cholesterol pill. Melissa @ Gluten Free for Good made a recent post on dairy-free woes with fantastic information. Check her Moo-Free Got Milk post for high calcium dairy free foods and explanations of how dairy breaks down.... literally! On an unrelated note, coconut yogurt is incubating now, so it should be up soon... only a month or so late. That's all for my ranting, until next time...slurp!

Quick Coconut Potato Herb Soup [Vegan]

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:19:10 PST

Good news! This is my first official post-passing-the-prelim post. I have to admit, this is an old post which has been patiently waiting in the bin, so I do apologize for my .. lateness. The hard work paid off and I am now an official PhD candidate (still cheap grad labor, yesss!)... I guess those guys really want to know how 22Ne+p affects 23Na (must they salt their food often I wonder?). The coconut yogurt is still in the works, I promise! Sorry for all the delay and excuses; the gf/df probiotic we ordered is taking its sweet ole' time to ship here.

Thanks for waiting patiently at your computer and Happy Saint Pat's Day!! I figured this green-looking (well, in these pictures at least) soup might add to the cheer since everyone claims that last bit of 1/1000000 drop of Irish heritage today. So drink up (the soup :) ) and honor good old St. Patrick.

I know there are about a billion potato soup recipes out there, but I thought I'd add one more :) I am very pressed for time right now with work and, as I've said before, I am relying on my Vitamix to whip up quick healthy meals. I've done a different soup every night this past week and a half or so (they're all dairy free, and some low carb ones - not this potato one, of course). This is my healthy, dairy-free version of creamy potato soup. As you'll see in the recipe, I use red potatoes for a lower glycemic index than white potatoes. If you like potatoes or are as chilly as we are up here (where is spring darn it?!?) and want a different quick, healthy soup recipe(s), then see my links at the bottom. If you're on a low carb diet, substitute cauliflower for all of the potato and omit the water.

2-3 small to medium red potatoes, with skin (most of the vitamins and fiber are in the skin)
1/2 head fresh cauliflower OR 1/2 lb. frozen cauliflower
1/2 onion
4 T. shredded organic (no sulfur) coconut (divided- half for soup half for garnish)
1 c. water
1 c. low sodium vegetable broth (we use Pacific brand for gluten free vegan convenience broth)
2 c. organic lite coconut milk
2 T. extra virgin olive oil (more to taste)
4 cloves garlic
pinch ginger (ground)
Sea salt and pepper
hearty sprinkle dried dill weed
sprig fresh rosemary

Wash and dry potatoes and cauliflower. Chop the potatoes into halves or quarters and chop the cauliflower into half-fist sized chunks (no need to be exact, prechopping just reduces blending time). Add the potatoes and cauliflower to Vitamix (or your blender).

Pour in the water, coconut milk, vegetable broth, olive oil, and add the spices. I just dropped whole garlic cloves and the chunk of ginger directly into the blender. You can adjust the water to coconut (or other "milk") amounts to suit your taste. More coconut milk will make a creamier soup, of course, so use whichever ratio you prefer. Toss in half of the coconut and secure your blender lid.

Turn on the blender at low variable speed to roughly chop the potatoes and cauliflower in the bottom. Once these have been reduced in size a bit, blend on HIGH for 6-7 minutes or until mixture is steaming. Serve hot with some nice, steamed collard greens like my Easy Cranberry Greens with Kale and Collards and some Irish soda bread (see links below) or my Honey Potato Flatbread. Again, if you're a low carber then sub all cauliflower for potatoes and enjoy!

Other gluten free delicious potato soups:

Sweet Potato Peanut Soup @ Book of Yum
Irish Potato and Cabbage Soup @ Karina-s Kitchen (Gluten Free Goddess)
St. Pats Irish Stew @ Gluten Free Journey
Potato Soup for the Sensitive Soul @ Karina-s Kitchen (Gluten Free Goddess)
Sweet Potato Black Bean Soup @ Albion Cooks (I have to say I did this one a few nights ago on my own without having seen this recipe. This looks delicious and would work fine as a quick blender soup)
My other Vitamix recipes or just plain ole' soup recipes. My old Spinach Potato Soup recipe is also a quick Vitamix soup packed full of the (non-heme) iron and vegan protein power of spinach.

Adopt a GF Blogger ... Slowly

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:19:12 PST

Hi all, I guess I should apologize for being behind schedule for the Adopt a Blogger Event deadline. You see, though, I never could follow directions. Sorry Seamaiden and Stephen (and all of you who want gf df cf coconut yogurt), but it is coming... slowly.... much akin to the progress on my preliminary exam presentation (also known as D-Day for PhD proposals which is this Thursday). I'm getting there, I promise!

Thursday 11:30 am- 3pm Phillips Hall (Physics) The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

In the meantime, can I interest you in some astrophysics? Say, perhaps, hydrogen burning in stars? How about my favorite nuclear reaction, proton capture on 22Ne, which is relevant to evolved star (post main sequence) nucleosynthesis. Red giant stars, classical novae, presolar grains, and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars are all my playground (well, sorta). Yes, I hear you shout, "I love it - tell me more!" Even if you don't care, it is still a completely kosher gluten free, dairy free, blah blah free post. Does that count?

Cat Eye Nebula, image courtesy of NASA and ESA

The Cat Eye Nebula was an AGB star which has evaporated off its outer layers until its white dwarf core (tiny white dot in center) and expanding layers remain. The expanding layers are ionized by intense UV radiation and fluorescence, as seen here, in a beautiful planetary nebula.

What about the fact that for hydrogen burning in these aforementioned sites, the 22Ne proton capture rate is uncertain by a factor of up to three orders of magnitude?!? If you think that's not a big deal, imagine your credit card or loan debt suddenly being multiplied by a factor of 1000 or more (your debt, not our national debt, that doesn't count; what's the difference between 9 trillion and 9 trill * 1000?). That little problem might prompt you to take some action, perhaps call the credit company. Alternatively, you could also imagine your waistline g r o w i n g by a factor of 1000. Then you'd have BIG problems, pun not intended.

We can't call God and ask what's up with this reaction uncertainty here in physics, so we have to do experiments. That's where I come in (graduate student = cheap labor.) I love life. I aim to measure this astrophysically interesting nuclear reaction at low energies where hydrogen burning in stars takes place. That is, my experiment hopes to reduce those red and blue lines in Fig 1. below.

Fig 1. Current Proton Capture Reaction Rates, relative to NACRE recommended rates, versus stellar temperature. The regions of temperature relevant to hydrogen burning in various astrophysical sites are shaded; the largest uncertainty in the reaction rate dramatically influences AGB star nucleosynthesis (shown in orange shading). The red line indicates the upper limit (rate+uncertainty) where the blue line is the lower limit (rate-uncertainty)

You're probably thinking.. "Sure. You need to remeasure this reaction since you have whopping issues with pinning down the reaction rate. With that red line, it looks like you can't say much about 22Ne+p for AGB stars." I relent and agree. Then I jump up and down and say "Fund me to do this experiment! Please! I'll make you gluten and dairy free cookies. Maybe even coconut yogurt!"

Then you ask "But you haven't proved that this uncertainty really affects red giants and more evolved stars."

"Ah ha! Sorry, I forgot to show you this little gem, Fig 2, which shows that no direct measurements have ever been made at the astrophysically relevant energies. The red line is the Gamow peak which is a fancy thing that tells you the stellar temperature dependent "window" where the star will burn hydrogen. The dotted lines are indirect measurements which make us think that many low energy states exist in this Gamow window, and will thus contribute greatly to the reaction rate. The blue lines are the existing direct measurements (we know those states are there).

Fig 2. Resonance strengths (which are proportional to reaction rates and cross section, in case you're wondering) versus resonance energy. All the resonances (vertical lines) inside the red peak (Gamow window) will strongly affect the 22Ne+p reaction rate, so we need to know them precisely. That is, we need more direct (blue line) measurements inside the Gamow peak (if the resonances are truly there, we'll see...)

You can plainly see we need more blue lines inside the red hump (that's the technical talk) to better understand this reaction and lower the uncertainty in the rate (see Fig 1). If we can do that, maybe we won't be so full of it, if you know what I mean, when we make hydrogen burning on 22Ne predictions in AGB stars and such.

OK, I need to get back to real work or come Thursday (see above), I won't be looking forward to my passing-the-prelim celebration dinner and wine but rather melting into a sobbing mess of failed graduate student who hadn't prepared properly. I'm off to educate myself in the wise ways of nuclear astro. Hopefully this means I won't sound like so much of a moron. Hopefully. Then I can get back to coconut milk yogurt. Sorry all.

And THANK YOU Gluten Free Mommy! For those of you who don't already know, Cindalou's was adopted by Gluten Free Mommy. She made our flourless low carb/Paleo espresso cake (gluten & dairy free) which looks beautiful! Congrats Natalie, I love it. I'll write a more thorough response post-(passing)prelim. I can't wait! We really do need to meet; Carrboro to Raleigh is not too far. Then I can come knocking on your door for some of that Fish Stew of yours :)

Wondering why nuclear astrophysics interests me (or anyone)?

look up at the night sky
salt your food? The 22Ne+p reaction makes 23Na. Good old table salt is NaCl, so as you season your gluten free dinner think "Cindalou's is helping to measure how much of this stuff is made in stars"... cool
use a microwave? Thank radar physics research for finding a consumer use for radar technology (no, there were not Samsung or GE microwaves floating in space)
use the internet? That might not be a fair question considering this is a blog :) Thank CERN high energy physics research database construction and networking for the net