Vegetable Stir Fry with Tahini Sauce

With an abundance of local produce coming soon, enjoy the bounty that is in your neighborhood, and maybe even in your backyard! All of the vegetables listed in this recipe can be replaced with something that is available to you, and the Tahini Sauce gives anything a finishing touch! We served the stir fry with French lentils, which cook in about 35 minutes. The finished meal is a mixture of flavors as the spice of the jalapeno is ever present along with the subtle flavors of the arame, parsley and Tahini sauce. Vegetable Stir Fry 2 T ghee butter or sesame oil ½ cup diced onion ½ jalapeno pepper, remove seeds and chop finely 1 zucchini or summer squash, cut lengthwise and slice into half moons 4 large Swiss chard stalks, separate stems from leaves, slice stems, chop leaves ½ bunch beet greens, stems removed and leaves chop lightly ½ cup chopped parley 1/3 cup arame, soaked 30 minutes, rinse and drain ¼ cup sesame seeds, lightly roast    Heat 1 T ghee in a wok or frying pan over medium high heat. When melted, add the onion. Toss for a minute or two, then add the jalapeno and zucchini. Stir to cook for about 4 minutes. Remove from the pan, add the remaining 1 T of ghee, and cook the sliced Swiss Chard stems, about 3 minutes. Add the lightly chopped greens, cook for 2 minutes. Toss in the parsley, drained arame, and the cooked onion/zucchini mixture. Serve the vegetables with the cooked French lentils (or another legume or protein based grain such as quinoa), drizzled with the Tahini Sauce (below) and sprinkle with sesame seeds.   Tahini Sauce 2 T tahini (ground sesame) 2 T warm water 1 T fresh lemon juice Salt, pepper Whisk together the above ingredients. Pour over lentils and vegetables. Enjoy! Start Earth Munching with the help of http://motheringmothernature.blogspot.com

Kids & Kidneys Beans! Meatless Monday

As I am writing the blog for Meatless Monday, I am surrounded by the smell of bacon!!! How can this be happening in our Meatless Monday home?! Very easily - have you ever had a child come home from college for the summer? With his/her own ideas?

We have never been a vegan home, or a vegetarian home, so it is no surprise that there is meat in the home. Bacon is a new one, something I gave in on during his first week of adjustment.

Although I have wanted to be the perfect example of a 'plant based whole foods home', I am the only one in our home who does not consume flesh foods (read: meat, poultry, fish, eggs). We eat lots of vegan and some vegetarian meals, but the meat rears itself.

It is a huge shift and sacrifice to give up all meats. And it is a shift that often does not happen overnight! I have been on this journey for a long time, and at different stages and focuses along the way.  That is the gift of Meatless Monday, the gentle weekly reminder of awareness - whether your awareness and focus is your own health, the health of the planet, the welfare of the factory raised animals - whatever, find something that is meaningful for you today, and go with it.

One day out of the week, bring yourself and those around you some 'awareness' to munch upon. At the very least it will make for some interesting dinner conversation!

This recipe is super easy,.. And, there is a video to go with it.
Eat well, be well.

Kidney Bean Dip

Ingredients
2 cups cooked kidney beans (see video 'How To' Prepare, Cook & Store Beans)

1-2 T jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (optional, but gives a great kick!)

1 clove garlic, minced (see video 'How To' Mince Garlic)

1/4 t cinnamon

3/4 t ground coriander

3/4 t ground cumin

1 cup diced tomatoes

3/4 t salt

Juice of 1 lemon

Puree in blender or food processor. The dip is best served a few hours later, when the flavors have further developed. Eat with vegetable pieces or crackers. Enjoy!

Shanthi

Cost (Approximate Numbers)
Kidney Beans - $.75
Jalapeno, Garlic, Tomato & Lemon - $4.00
Spices, Seasonings - $.50

Meatless Monday Reflection

Reflecting for a moment on the reasons to make the effort and participate in Meatless Monday is what I feel called to discuss. We are moving more and more to a world of awareness of our consumption, both on ourselves and on our world. As the economic cloud holds over the US and Europe, it is a good time to reflect on what we are consuming and why. A shortage of resources will bring up questions of value, priority and purpose. It was during our leanest financial years in this home that I felt a complete union with the actions that I did and the spiral effect that they created.

We were a young family, short on cash, focusing our spending on a home and early education for our children. We made choices on a daily basis, around money, that would allow me to continue to stay in the home and raise our children. At the same time, I was passionate about reducing our "Earth expense" (ie carbon footprint) in our daily lives. Cooking food at home, meals that came from whole ingredients as opposed to packages, nourished our bodies and souls, while keeping the Earth smiling. This contentment wasn't limited to cooking. I also sewed clothing for special occasions - the joy of watching a child run around in an outfit that I had created with my hands is beyond description! The contextual meaning of things, or food, or events, is so much greater when we pour our time and love into it.

When I first came to the environmental movement I found it overwhelming, both in information and in emotion. So much to learn, so many habits to change, and so few of us doing it. Oh, despair could set in easily! But then it all seemed to come back to the kitchen, it would come back to the fact that everyone gets hungry, and what are you going to eat? Connecting through food made so many other choices more manageable. My body started to vibrate with this "earthiness" that eased the strain of other behaviors that required changes. Reducing our family footprint started to become a creative game for us - how could we go on an outing and come home without waste, including diaper waste? Now this Earth Living became "want to" actions as opposed to a "should do" actions.

True change does not happen quickly. This Meatless Monday nudge will work its magic on you if you allow it to enter into your life as a weekly habit. And when it is most inconvenient, that is when you will develop the greatest strength and growth around it. 

So, happy Meatless Monday! May the reverberation of your intentional Earth and Health action bring greater ease to your green living choices, where we all benefit. "No one can do everything, but everyone can do something." (weaddup.com)

How-to Video Series 13

In this video Sydney shows you how to make a quick, nutritious and delicious salad!

Quick Salads

Here are a selection of delicious salads created with minimal work! The colors and flavors of the vegetables did all of the work!

All of these salads were ready for my family to eat while I was out for the evening. I grabbed a container and had my meal on the go! Take out from my favorite restaurant - home cooking at its best!


Beet Salad

Country style home cooking!

Beets, washed, whole and skins on
Yellow onion, diced
Apple cider vinegar
Salt, pepper
Fresh thyme (or any fresh herb that you have on hand)

Cook the beets in simmering water until they are cooked all of the way through. A skewer or knife inserted into the beet should go through easily. Let cool in the saucepan. Then move to the refrigerator and chill.

Peel the skin from the beets with your hands, or with a paring knife. The skin will easily peel off if the beets are thoroughly cooked. Dice the cooked beets. Add in the diced onion, pour over a couple of tablespoons of vinegar. Season and stir.

The flavor of the salad will develop further if it is now left in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Stir before serving.

You will quickly get to know how much onion to beet proportion you like, and how much vinegar you need to pour over the beets. Herbs are optional.

Enjoy the simple bounty!
www.thesaladqueen.wordpress.com
Cooked Eggplant Dip
Eggplant
Tahini
Salt, pepper

My talent lies in cooking, not presentation!

Oregano, fresh or dry

Wash the eggplant. Trim off the stem end and then cut in half lengthwise. Place cut side down on an ovenproof glass dish. Cook in a 350〫oven for about 30 minutes. Gently squeeze the eggplant to see if it is cooked.

Leave the eggplant to cool for 30 minutes. Using a spoon gently scoop the pulp from the inside. The skin will not be eaten. Mash the pulp gently with a fork, season and refrigerator. Use about 1 tablespoon of tahini for each eggplant.

This salad also has more flavor if it is left to mellow for a little while. If you used dried oregano, this time will also allow the herb flavor to develop.

Enjoy with vegetable sticks or crackers or pita, or on the side of a tossed salad. Is this baba ghanoush?! Maybe, with our own simple spin on it!

Kale Salad
1 bunch of kale, washed, remove leaves from stem
Diced yellow pepper
Grated Carrot

Simple kale, so green, so healthy!

Fresh Thyme

Dressing
Sesame Oil
Half of a lemon, juiced
Salt, pepper
Tamari

Chop the kale lightly. Cook it quickly in a wok, or similar pan. Remove the kale as soon as it begins to wilt. Let sit for 10 minutes. Add the vegetables, really you can add any vegetables that you have on hand, and season with a herb. Pour over the dressing ingredients. Toss, and eat. If it is going in the refrigerator, cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.


Eat well even when you are on the go. You feel better, Mother Nature feels better!

Add in a fork and cotton napkin and this is a wonderful portable meal!

Shanthi

Still Falling, Floating..... Autumn WInds

I was at lunch yesterday with a friend. I found out that she is going through a very similar experience with this fall season. Are there others out there that are feeling the effects of the fall?

Knowing that I would find some comfort reigning in my life, I have continued to watch the food consumption. Do you know that feeling, when you don't know what to do next, so having something to eat fills the void! Stepping on the scale each morning is helping me to remind myself that the answer will not be found in food.

Oh, I can hear the Yogic sages saying it, the answer is within you. Sometimes "within" feels like planets and light years away! I have thrown out lots of possibilities for the fall, and they will land as they need to, and I will reach a moment when I will exhale completely, and say that the sages were right, the answer was there all along.

Until the Light comes in, meditation and yoga are good tools that will help me search. Family life has changed, work life has changed, the weather has changed...  I need to remember to be good to myself.

To Stay Grounded During Fall 
Eat cooked foods
Eat root vegetables (to ground you)
Add a little oil to foods (the winds of the fall dry you out)
Pay attention to bowel movements (prone to dryness and constipation)
Spend time in Nature
Begin to create a daily meditation time, morning is best (even if it is just 5 minutes - it is a start)

Share your Fall Free Falling experience with us!

Shanthi