Meatless Monday - Split Pea Soup

This past week I pulled Laurel's Kitchen off the shelf. I still use it as a reference for specific nutrient values in food. Leafing through the pages I started to remember the many many times when this was my 'go to' book.

A new legume - split peas! The green and the yellow varieties can be used interchangeably. This soup recipe I made often when the boys were younger. What I love about the Laurel's Kitchen recipes is that many of them are made with basic ingredients that you have on hand. When a child is sleeping and you can only work with what is in the cupboard, this book fits the bill! Simple, tasty, hearty and healthy!

I made only a few variations to this classic! Well, for us this is the 'classic' pea soup. No ham hock needed!

Split Pea Soup
1 large onion, diced (video 'How To' Chop An Onion)
1 T ghee, or oil
1 t celery seed
1 bay leaf
3/4 cup yellow split peas (or green)
1/4 cup barley, unhulled
6 cups water (or water and vegetable stock combination)
1 t salt, some pepper
1 carrot, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 sweet potato, diced (skin still on) OR 1 cup diced squash (raw)
1 t dried basil
1 t dried thyme

Melt the ghee over a medium heat and add the diced onion. Stir and cook, moving the onion so that it does not get too dark.

After 5-7 minutes, add the celery seeds and stir for another minute.

Rinse the split peas in a sieve and sort through for any stones. Rinse the barley under water in a sieve. Add the rinsed peas and barley to the onions and stir for a further minute. Then add the water/stock and the bay leaf. Turn the heat to medium high, stir, and bring it to the boil. Once the soup boils, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and let it cook for a good 90 minutes. Check that the barley and peas are cooked before continuing with the recipe.

To the soup pot add the salt, black pepper, carrot, celery, potato or squash, and herbs. Continue cooking at a low simmer for 40 minutes. If needed add more liquid. Let the soup sit for 10-15 minutes, if possible, before serving. Taste, adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Serves 4.

Cost (approximate numbers)
Onion - $1.00
Split Peas - $1.00
Barley - $.75
Seasoning (bay leaf, celery seed, basil, thyme) - $.75
Carrot - $.50
Celery - $1.00
Sweet Potato or Squash - $1.00

Heart warming and Soul satisfying soup! Perfect for the lingering winter days.

The Yoga of Cooking mothering Mother

Sydney gives ideas and reasons for finding "your center" in the kitchen, before chopping vegetables and tossing salads!

Eat well, be well.

Shanthi

Meatless Monday - Indian Style Chick Peas with Cauliflower

This past weekend was another weekend to articulate the diversity in our home - we were at a hockey tournament in PA! The yoga of hockey! Life is filled with dualities, and our home life is a daily reminder of that. To keep myself grounded in the experience, rather than alienated or angry, I have to bring bits of food to keep me nourished and fed. I also bring lots of reusable containers so that I am able to use those when single use disposables are the only option offered. Oh yes, the yoga and meditation mats are in full use.

Grounding Experiences:

• To start the morning out the hotel helped to find me an unused conference room for meditation and yoga.
• At the hotel the only plates and cutlery provided for the breakfast were single use throw away. I had my own cutlery, and a reusable container. I enjoyed some fresh fruit salad! Then I brought out a rice cake and nut butter from home, and had that for the rest of breakfast.
• We had a lunch at a TGI Fridays. They made the nicest salad for me! Lots of vegetables, a large pile of hummus in a 'cucumber' bowl, and oil and vinegar for a dressing. The hummus was delicious - spicy with garlic! 
•  Saturday evening we went to a steak house, and I sat in a booth with 5 steak eaters around me. At moments I felt a little woozy from the smell of the flesh, but I took that deep yoga breath, and reminded myself that I would be fine - I was not choosing to eat the cow!
• The other parents watched, asked little, and we all went on our way to the arena to focus on the main events of the weekend - not mealtime but stick time! Hockey time! The boys won the tournament and I am back on the mat today, at home.

A happy player and a happy assistant coach!

Simple to prepare, super tasty, satisfying and delicious for leftovers the following day!

Back to the recipe and Monday morning. While I am writing this post I have noticed that chick peas have appeared frequently on these pages. Next week we are onto a new legume!

This recipe is from the Indian cook Smita Chandra, who lives in Toronto. There are several changes made to the recipe. It was a cauliflower recipe originally, so the chick peas are a change up.

Don't have all of the spices below in your cupboard? No problem, just replace the spices from the tumeric through the garam masala with a good quality curry powder, assuming that you have that on hand! It is the paste of the garlic/ginger/onion combination, together with the tomatoes, that give the body to the sauce. Lemon juice accents the flavor of most curries, and is a welcome ending to the preparation.

The flavor is sweet and the overall experience is grounding! Adjust the spiciness to your own liking. These proportions give a mild spice.

Indian Style Chick Peas
2 T ghee butter or oil
1 t cumin seeds
3 cloves garlic, chopped lightly (video 'How To' Chop Garlic)
1" piece of ginger, peeled and chopped lightly
1 Spanish onion, or 3 medium onions, chopped in eighths (video 'How To' Chop Onions)
1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
1 t tumeric
1/4 t cayenne
1 1/2 t ground coriander (video 'How To' Dry Roast Spices)
1 t ground cumin
1 t garam masala
1 t salt
1 cup water or liquid from chick peas
2 1/2 cups cooked chick peas, drained (save the liquid), not rinsed (video 'How To' Cook Beans)
2 cups cauliflower pieces
1 T lemon juice

In a blender of food processor, mulch the garlic, ginger and onion together until a smooth paste. Melt the ghee over a medium heat, and when it is hot add the cumin seeds.

Cook for 10-20 seconds, then carefully add the onion/garlic/ginger paste. Be careful when adding as it can sometimes splash up at you!

Cook the paste until it starts to brown, stirring frequently. Add the diced tomatoes, liquid and all. Cook for 5 minutes, using the back of a spoon to mash the tomatoes if necessary. Then add the tumeric, cayenne, ground coriander, ground cumin, garam masala and salt. Stir together and cook the spices for 3 minutes before adding the water, or chick pea liquid, and the drained chick peas.

Completely immerse the chick peas in the sauce, bring to the boil. Cover with a lid, and reduce the heat to low so that the curry simmers. Add more liquid to keep an easy consistency, not pasty, not runny.

After the chick peas have simmered for 20-30 minutes, add the cauliflower, turning carefully to ensure that each piece is covered with sauce.

Cook a further 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the food sit in the pan for 5-10 minutes.

Pour over the lemon juice, stir throughout, taste and adjusting the seasoning if necessary.

Serve with a grain and greens! And give thanks for your Meatless Monday habit!

Serves 4.

Shanthi

Cost (approximate numbers)
Garlic - $.50
Ginger - $.50
Onion - $1.50
Tomatoes - $3.00
Spices - $1.50
Chick Peas - $.75 (home cooked)
Cauliflower - $2.50
Lemon - $.50
Grain (rice) - $1.00
Greens (collards, kale) - $6.00

Eat well, be well.

Meatless Monday - Grilled Tofu with Veg and Millet

Welcome to Monday! It is a pleasure to post these recipes each week. At the moment I am working on a pitch for a grant for mothering Mother, and the work is reminding me of the intention of the cotton bags and these recipes.

Outside of breathing, eating is the most repetitive action in our daily lives (I am omitting sleeping here!). Therefore effort that we put into changes in the food that we eat has the possibility of making a big difference environmentally when spread throughout a lifetime! mothering Mother is taking it one meal at a time! That is all that any of us can do, get the information and start to make incremental changes.

Shopping is a way to begin the process. If I choose to not buy packaged foods, such as chips, or granola bars, then when I am hungry for something easy and quick those options will not be sitting close at hand, and challenging me on my commitment to eat in a more healthy way. Just the thought of eating different foods can be overwhelming, even before I actually do anything! Just the mental activity can talk me out of my good intentions!

Take it one meal at a time. And with Meatless Monday, take it one day at a time. Prepare in advance for your Meatless Day so that there is less chance of you abandoning your efforts part way through the day. View the mothering Mother videos that show various techniques and some actual meals.

Stay the course! I can see our son putting less objections up for the Meatless Monday concept. He knows of the larger commitment that I have made, and although he and my husband are not on the same meatless journey, they do recognize the value in the holistic way of shopping and eating with the Earth in mind.

Reading the NY Times article on processed and junk food gives some understanding to the magnetic power of these foods. Let this knowledge be power for you, power to overcome the marketing that lulls all of us into these ways. Build strength!

Start by purchasing good quality vegetables, fruits and bulk items in cotton! Start to shift your habits right at the point of purchase - at the grocery store! We are here to inspire and support you and planet Earth's health journey!

Eat well, be well.

Although I planned to cook with ginger and rutabaga, once I started the process I decided to keep it simpler! This is the cook's prerogative and creativity!

Grilled Tofu with Vegetables and Millet
1 block tofu, drained and dried in a cotton kitchen towel
Sesame oil
Salt, pepper

1 cup millet (see video 'How To' Cook Millet)
2 1/2 cups water or vegetable stock
Pinch of salt

1 T ghee or sesame oil (see video 'How To' Make Ghee Butter)
1 onion, sliced (see video 'How To' Slice an Onion)
1 red pepper, sliced (similar to the onion slices)
1/2 cup fennel, thinly sliced (use the bulb at the bottom, the stalk and the wispy green bits at the top)

1 tomato, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced (optional) (see video 'How To' Mince Garlic)
1 bunch spinach, washed and stems removed

Rinse, then slice the tofu into large flat pieces.

Lay flat on a kitchen towel, with another towel on top, and gently press out the water. Repeat this several times, moving the towel to find another dry place for pressing.   

Brush sesame oil onto the tofu, sprinkling with a touch of salt and pepper, and put under a hot grill. Grill until a crispy edge forms.

Flip the tofu by placing another rack on top and then flipping it over. brush with oil and grill the other side. *Remember the oven gloves!

Brush with oil and grill the other side. Put the grilled tofu aside until the vegetables are ready.

Prepare the millet. Rinse it in a sieve under water, and then dry roast in the pan before adding the water and salt. Bring it to the boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook for a further 40 minutes approximately. When cooked let the millet sit in the saucepan, covered, for a further 5 minutes.

In a wok or comparable frying pan, heat the ghee or sesame oil over a medium heat, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add the pepper and fennel, cook a further 5 minutes. Add all parts of the fennel except the wispy green bits. They can go on at the last. Season with a little salt and pepper, and set aside to go on top of the tofu.

In the same hot pan, add the diced tomato and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the tomato is mostly broken down. Then add the spinach, folding over carefully so that all of the greens cook.

Onto a dinner plate put a piece of the tofu, topped with the onion/pepper/fennel combination, topped with the green wispy bits from the fennel. To the side add some millet and spinach!

Enjoy the colors, and the taste! If the mixture is too dry for your liking, add a small amount of a healthy condiment or oil from your pantry (in our home some tamari was added to one dinner).

Serves 3-4.

Shanthi

Cost (approximate numbers)
Tofu - $2.50
Millet - $.75
Onion - $.75
Red Pepper - $2.50
Fennel - $1.00
Tomato - $2.00
Garlic - $.25
Spinach - $3.99

mothering Mother in Daily Life  Green Living Bites ~ Flame retardant - practical uses in the outside world, but how about the inside world, the "inside you" world? Last month it was brought to light by a teen that gatorade contains brominated vegetable oil. Read more http://is.gd/IRlz6O   ~The best way to thaw frozen food is in the refrigerator. At the same time it will reduce the energy used to keep the refrigerator cold, and it does not take the heat away from your home! ~The mothering Mother blog is even better! Starting next week there will be a weekly recipe to make "Meatless Monday" part of your dietary routine. On Wednesday visit the blog for the latest video on cooking, breathing and life in general! Friday will feature a written post, sometimes by Sydney, sometimes a guest. Like us, follow us, and watch yourself grow closer to Mother Nature, in body, mind and spirit! mothering Mother Blog For even more wholesome food for thought, presenting the  mothering Mother®  blog! Check it out!  Join Our List What does mothering Mother® nurturing Nature mean? It means taking care of Mother Nature through our daily actions. Mother Nature has given us so much and now it is time for us to be aware and active in creating a reciprocal relationship.   Each newsletter seeks to address opportunities in daily life to invite a connection to the Earth. mothering Mother® believes that food is an integral and ongoing way to nurture the Mother Nature relationship. We eat 2-3 times a day. Eating whole foods for a healthy body, and a calm mind, will also nurture the Earth. We are intricately connected with the Mother. Use your cotton mothering Mother® bags as ongoing reminders of this evolving relationship. Less plastic is better for you and the Earth. Eating more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds are better for you, and the Earth. Allow the mothering of Mother and the nurturing of Nature to be your daily offering of thanks. Namaste Sydney It Has Been 1 Year Sydney MacInnis Today marks one year since Frances, my niece, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Frances and her parents began the process of learning to count carbs, Frances gave herself needles and everyone adjusted. This is a familiar story for families with this diagnoses. What is less familiar is what is emerging in the home now. Since the New Year, Diane (Frances's Mum) has started on a new approach to food for the entire family. The rules around food center around Frances "What is good for Frances is good for all of us." It is okay for her to have a slice of pie or cake, but not to have 2 slices. Diabetes or not, 2 slices of dessert is not a healthy option. Diane is the mother of 7 children, as well as the director of a Montessori School. Whew! Counting carbs in the initial months took work and focus. With time she became motivated to not just count carbs with Frances, but to look critically at how the entire family was eating, and to increase the consumption of vegetables and fruits, and decrease the consumption of white sugar. Observing her own consumption of sugar with tea brought Diane to awareness of her own habits. Diane wants to learn about and move toward a balanced diet for her family. After gathering information for a month, and after discussing with Frances, they launched into "balanced diet" action. Interestingly, during this transition, Diane has not only focused on the food that she is purchasing and cooking, but on the actual kitchen itself! She noticed that the kitchens on food shows are tidy and bright, and the ingredients are quickly accessible. This led her to purge the cupboards, update ingredients, organize the spices, and create space on the counters. A new rug and a new window treatment warmed up the kitchen area. A bookshelf was added, beside the stove, so that the new health focused cookbooks are out and available.  The mother/daughter duo making granola! Change is not easy for any of us, and especially change around dietary habits. A true desire for change that comes from the heart center grounds the intention and dedication in a holistic way.  Many blessings of happy times and healthy meals to the Smith family. May the love and care that they are pouring into the food be a silent gift for all who eat in the home! Natural Beginnings & Sweet Endings! Stocking the kitchen with new sweeteners means an adjustment for habits that you may have developed over years of baking with refined sugars. Be patient with yourself, and your taste buds! The sweet taste is different, and we are creatures of habit! Once you are in the groove refined sugar tastes almost sickly sweet and may send you running for glasses of water. Dates are naturally sweet, and Medjool dates are soft and sweet. Very sweet! The almonds and natural fiber in the date help to slow down the absorption of the sugar. The almonds are filling, naturally reducing the tendency to overeat. Simple eating! Stuffed Medjool Dates 10 - 12 Medjool dates 1/2 cup whole almonds Soak the almonds in a bowl of water overnight, or, if short on time, pour boiling water over the almonds to completely cover them. Let them sit in the water for 15 minutes. Whichever method used, now drain and rinse the almonds. Slip the skins off so that you are left with shiny white almonds.  Put the almonds in a food processor and mulch for about 5 minutes. The natural oil in the almonds will gradually start to come out and this oil will bind of the pieces of almond together, creating a paste. Slit each date lengthwise and take out the pit. Into this space put a teaspoon of the almond paste. Close back up, leaving some of the almond showing.  Delight in the tastes of Nature! Makes 5-6 servings. Finding Ways to Connect  Sydney MacInnis Founder mothering Mother Holistic Nutritionist, Yoga & Meditation Instructor   Cordon Bleu Cook Altered foods create their own set of problems by putting foods into the body in forms and concentrations that are undeliverable by nature. Looking at refined sugar, no carbohydrate in nature offers sugar* in a similar concentration. When we eat foods that contain sugar, the body digests the food first in the mouth (with proper chewing and saliva), then in the stomach and small intestine. When the food is broken down enough it enters into the bloodstream where it is taken off for further processing. When sugar enters the bloodstream the body releases insulin, which is manufactured in the pancreas, to manage the absorption of sugar in the body. If there is a large concentration of sugar in the bloodstream then the pancreas will release lots of insulin for the job. When this happens the insulin overdoes the job by taking out too much sugar from the bloodstream, and then low blood sugar occurs which creates a drop in energy.  The low energy is a signal to eat something to bring the energy back up, and consuming a sugar is the fastest way to restore energy. This is the cycle of hypoglycemia. Glucose, found in carbohydrates and sugars is brain food! If there is no glucose in the bloodstream, such as when a person goes on a no carb diet, then the body manufactures glucose from other components. It is a lengthy process that puts strain on the liver and kidneys. Carbohydrates in the most natural form contain fiber, which slows down the absorption of the sugars, and micro nutrients and enzymes, to assist with the metabolism of the food. Nature is good to us! With a refined sugar the fiber and digestive nutrients are removed, thus allowing the sugars to be absorbed more rapidly and spiking blood sugar levels. To digest white sugar the body takes nutrients and enzymes that are circulating in the body. Thus white sugar is a nutrient robber! From an Ayurvedic perspective, one craves sweets in food when one cannot feel and experience the "sweetness" of life. Knowledge of what is happening in our body is helpful, but in a world of complex food choices and recommendations, eating foods in their simplest forms, and eating a balance of these foods, is a simple way to approach each meal. Eat close to the Earth, live close to the Earth and may a healthy body and healthy relationships be your birthright! Namaste  * The generic term sugar is used. Metabolized sugars are glucose, fructose, sucrose, galactose, lactose and maltose. Sweet love in every bite!

Meatless Monday - Chili

Hello Monday! Invite more vegetable protein options into your life! This chili recipe contains Textured Vegetable Protein, often referred to as TVP. Be careful to buy organic TVP, remembering that soy is the most genetically modified food (94% of soy beans are from a GMO seed). The TVP gives the chili a meat look, which can work well for some who need a little tricking to move from carnivorous ways!

I added butternut squash to it as well, as you will see in the photo, just because I saw some in the vegetable drawer!

This is the beginning...

Vegetarian Chili
2 T ghee or olive oil
1 onion, chopped (video 'How To Chop an Onion')
2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced (video 'How To Mince Garlic')
2 t ground cumin
2 t chili powder
1 red or green pepper, chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped or tinned tomatoes (approximately 1 1/2 cups)
Half of a zucchini
1 cup Textured Vegetable Protein
1 cup vegetable stock (optional)
1 1/2 cups kidney beans, drained only (video 'How To Cook Beans')
1 t salt
10 stems parsley, rinsed and chopped (video 'How To Chop Herbs')

Pour the 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock and/or water over the TVP. Let it sit for 30 minutes while starting to cook the chili. Over a medium heat melt the ghee or warm the oil, and add the chopped onions. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the garlic. Cook a further 4-5 minutes, watching that the onions do not burn. Add the spices, stir for 30 seconds, then add the peppers and zucchini. Start to cook the vegetables, turning them over to be well covered with the spices. After 5 minutes add the tomatoes. Bring to the boil. Once the tomatoes are boiling add in the kidney beans and the soaked TVP with all liquid. Return to the boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Let the chili cook for 40 minutes.

The middle...

Turn off the heat, add the salt and the chopped parsley. Do not stir, just let it sit for about 10 minutes.
During this time cook the green vegetable that will accompany the dinner (in the photo is broccoli rabe).

Stir the chili, check the flavoring and adjust if necessary. Serve with a grain (we ate couscous) and the green vegetable.

And the end!

Enjoy your Meatless Monday!

Cost (approximate numbers)
Onion - $.75
Garlic - $.25
Spices - $.25
Pepper - $1.00- $2.50
Tomatoes - $4.00
Zucchini - $1.00
TVP - $1.00
Kidney Beans - $.50 (cooked at home)
Parsley - $.50


Shanthi