Coaching Cooking

Spring storms emerging wind strong freeing

Please read the blog before this blog. Here is one recipe from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Want more recipes? Click the link.
Please share your recipes here or your ideas.

My Mama TOlde me....

Make a big batch of the zesty soup. Chill. Have it for lunch or a “late” supper. When it’s too hot to cook this recipe or its alternatives will make your work light. Also great to compliment a barbeque or bring to a potluck. Test along the way to adjust for your personal preferences.

Now use these ingredients but don’t cook them. Serve immediately or chill.

In the storm...wind powerful SW photo by Mary MacIntyre

Sometimes I can get great buys at my Health Food Store. Recently tthe cherries were beginning to be too ripe and ditto with some Apricots. They became dollar specials. So I got some of both. Situations like these require fast thinking and prep: as although most of the fruit was excellent, they were not going to last long.

There’s just me in my house. Obviously a family could consume the fruit as is fast. Here’s what I did.

2 cups of cherries cleaned, pitted, and halved
6 large apricots cleaned, pitted, and quartered
1/8 cup shredded coconut
1/8 cup of water

Enough for three servings
Thus I put the extra in a small glass jar.

Blend the apricots, water, and coconut.
Pour into one or more serving bowls

Blend the cherries (separately)
Stir slowly into previous mix to create a pattern of your choice.
(Truthfully I just blended everything together. The swirl adds to the presentation.)

This recipe also is good by adding some collagen.
One can always add to the fun by adding yougurt, cream, or add ice cream to the top.

When refrigerated overnight the mixture thickens. It tastes even bettr cold and would be good as a small bowl with sliced fruit around the edge, or on crackers or toast to compliment breakfast.

Life is a marvelous painting

Imagine! No peaches ans apricots soup videos! Unlike the above recipes, I am going to use no sweetener. I want the taste of the fruit to resonate on your palate. If you can, find FRESH and RIPE fruit to use. ORganic always provides a less contaminated fruit, however if you have to use fresh “other” produce instead. Whever feasible: purchase locally grown produce.

The apricots and peaches look so tempting tonight. The peach was a little “green” and added more tart taste than I’d prefer. Thus the riper, the sweeter results you will have.

Choose 2-3 of each fruit. Wahsh, cut and blend.
Add sliced or chopped avocados to blended base. Soup is ready.
I added some mung bean sprouts and then some hemp oil and flaxseed oil and a little salt. These additions rounded out the tartness.

If you are not a vegan and are not worried about a “raw foods diet”,
then pull out yogurt (unsweetened) or whipped cream or just cream. Either add a dollup to the soup, swirl some in, or blend with the fruit.
You will increase your calories, and have more protein. Add blended ice and you will have a fun smoothie or parfait for the kids ( or adults who like to act like kids!). Summer delights can be fast and fun! Enjoy and share.

In a rush? Cook with us! Nibble,just too hungry to wait.

Here’s a few good ideas about watermelon soup. Today I made my own version. 4 inches or so of chopped watermelon. More for larger servings. Blend. Add a handful of mung bean sprouts and blend again. The sprouts add more protein. They also thicken the soup. Serve cold.

You could also or instead blend some of your favorite nuts. This variation creates a thicker creamier soup.

If you want a lighter soup, blend as instructed above, without sprouts. Add chopped fruits. Eamples: finely chopped apples, peaches, apricots or dried cherries, cranberries. Or you may want to splurge and add chopped mango and fresh blueberries. Chill until you are ready to serve. adding fruits instead of blending them keeps the joy of watermelon flavor and color and the distinct delicious flavors of each other fruit.

One of the chefs in the videos also said you could use other melons. If you are going to do this, the soups automatically are going to be heavier and a much more strong flavor. You might want to add a diluted juice base: water, cranberry juice, lemon juice and water, or lime juice and water. Banannas, pineapple, strawberries would be more appropiate complimenting fruits. Shredded coconut or coconut milk also would work well. A few sprigs of peppermint would make the soup look deliciously summer.

These soups are more filling than you expect but each capture summer’s freshness and won’t add the “weight”. Enjoy! Feel free to share.

NM interlude get out in nature...

Peruse the last couple of days for more Memorial Day Blog Fest. The Coach,me, want you to have lots of ideas for your celebrations. Save these, share them, email your friends at the shennagins that www.coachingcooking.com sends you on this great 3-day weekend. Shop now and prepare a few treats for tomorrow, or even tonight.

Combine raisins and vinegar in a med. bowl; let stand 15 min. Add
carrot and pineapple tidbits; stir well. Combine pineapple juice,
cinnamon, and nutmeg; pour over carrot mixture, and toss well. Cover
and chill.

NM interlude get out in nature...

1. Trim bread crusts and discard.Cut bread into 1 inch cubes. Place
cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Coat cubes with cooking
spray; sprinkle with garlic powder; toss well. Bake at 350F for 15
minutes or until lightly browned and set aside.
2. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over med-
high heat until hot. Add chicken halves; saute 6 minutes on each side
or until well done. Remove chicken from skillet; let cool. Cut chicken
across the grain into thin slices; set aside.
3. Combine lemon juice and next 5 ingredients in container of an
electric blender. Cover and process until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of the
lemon juice mixture to the chicken; toss gently to coat.
4. In a large salad bowl, place the lettuce. Drizzle remaining lemon
juice mixture over lettuce and toss well. Add the chicken mixture and
cheese, and toss gently to coat. Serve with croutons.


In the storm...wind powerful SW photo by Mary MacIntyre

Create your own salads. Use these as a guide and do watch the videos! Lots of ideas and instruction as well as entertainment there.

Bacon-Avocado Potato Salad

6 medium boiling potatoes
2 avocados — cubed
8 slices bacon

1/2 cup chopped onions — chopped

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup cider vinegar

salt
black pepper
paprika

1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
2 tablespoons fresh parsley — chopped
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro — chopped

Boil potatoes in their skins. While potatoes boil, cube avocados and
toss with lime juice. Chop bacon into one inch pieces and fry until
crisp in a large skillet. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain. In
bacon fat, saute onions until golden. Remove pan from heat and stir in
wine, vinegar, mustard, and salt, pepper, and paprika to taste.

When potatoes are tender, drain, peel, and dice. While still warm,
pour dressing over potatoes and toss. Allow to cool to room
temperature. Fold in avocado, bacon, parsley, and cilantro. Serve at
room temperature or chill one hour or longer.

BAJA CHICKEN PASTA SALAD

3/4 pound Chicken Breast — *

6 ounces Dried Mixed Fruit — **

1 cup Ring Macaroni Or Orzo — Raw

1 cup Jicama — Cubed

2 Green Onions/Tops — Sliced

1/2 cup Mayonnaise Or Salad Dressing

2 tablespoons Sour Cream Or Plain Yogurt

1 teaspoon Red Chiles — Ground

1/4 teaspoon Salt

* The chicken breast should be boneless, skinless and weigh about
3/4
** You should use 1 6-oz package of diced mixed fruit.
Heat enough salted water to cover the chicken breast (1/4 tsp salt to 1
cup of water) to boiling in a 4 quart Dutch oven. Add the chicken
breast. Cover and heat to boiling, reduce the heat and simmer until the
chicken is done, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the chicken with a
slotted spoon.

Heat the water to boiling and add the fruit and ring macaroni or orzo
gradually so that the water continues to boil. Boil, uncovered,
stirring occasionally, just until the ring macaroni is tender, about 6
to 8 minutes or 10 minutes for the orzo, then drain. Rinse with cold
water and drain again. Cut the chicken into 1/2-inch pieces and mix
with the fruit, macaroni, jicama and onions. Mix the remaining
ingredients and toss with the chicken mixture. Cover and refrigerate
until chilled, at least 2 hours.

Balsamic Dressing

3/4 cup Water

1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar

3 teaspoons Capers

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons Dried basil

1 tablespoon Fresh parsley — chopped (opt)

—–PER TBLSPOON—-

*cals

*mg sodium

Combine the ingredients. Adjust vinegar to taste, since it has a
strong flavor. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator. Makes
about 1 cup.

Note: If you don’t have balsamic vinegar, you may substitute
another kind. But, if this be the case, start with water and vinegar in
equal proportions.

Do you see the bear here? Imagine it! Photo by Mary MacIntyre

When a bear comes out in the spring, SHE is hungry! Plus there is a good chance that one or two cubs are waiting in the cave for her. It’s time to get a lot of protein.

Fortunately, the rivers usually have unfrozen and the fish may be running. A Salmon may be waiting to be caught! Or a trout. OR some of those other fish that run in the spring. In honor of the bear, and all fish and mothers…

I will give you some salad recipes to go along with fish entrees via youtube.

Salad one:

Romaine lettuce
red onions
walnuts crushed
tomatoes
chopped parsley
mushrooms of choice

You can make this primarily a tomato or mushroom salad. Use more of the ingrredient that you choose. Also be creative with the salad dressing you choose. Lately I prefer light oil with a pinch of spice, very little or no vinegar. The flavor of the oil dominates. A little goes a long way and the fresh veggie flavors are enriched.

Salad #2:

bed of lettuce, possibly baby romaine
dandelion greens (blanch them, drain them, add garlic powder, and cut in fine small pieces, let cool first)
carrots
dried cherries 10-30
small tomato
optional cucumber
Slice veggies, add to bed of lettuce
add the dandelion greens.

Honor our Mothers! Cook for her today! Watch video 2 for ebook information.

Hey I'm hungry!! You eat the chili, I'll eat alfalfa

Beets? I usually use my beets in the juicer. However today I wanted to try something different. So I chopped up a beet, chopped some parsley, threw in some mung bean sprouts and blended it with a little water. I then added a small handful of pecan pieces. Blended more. First I took about a cupful of my rich mixture and added collagen, maca, and camu (powdered nutritional supplements). I then added and mixed some hemp oil and flax oil.
Results a high protein (17 grams), iron, vitamin C, adrenal booster.

At lunch I put some of the original blend on a bed of baby romaine lettuce. I cut a small apple in tiny chunks and mixed it while also adding a squirt of lemon. Perfecto! This “light” lunch carried me through the afternoon.

I love dishes that can have mutiple functions. This blend would be great as a dip or appetizer. It could be a fun way to get kids to eat some veggies. It apparently had enough protein to keep energy strong most of the day.

If you are going to eat raw food, paying attention to your protein levels is very important. Most vegetables have some protein. Nuts and raw nut butters, sprouted beans or grains eaily add more proteins.
I chose to continue the collagen supplement for a joint issue. It is neither raw or vegan.

Hey I'm hungry!! You eat the chili, I'll eat alfalfa

So giggles? Remember pick up sticks? Chop up fruit and stack it in a pyramid with toothpicks. Get the family together and each take out a piece of fruit at a time (this may be even more fun with jello and fruit). The person has to eat their piece of fruit. Next person does the same. How long with the fruit balance before collapsing? Don’t want the work? Then, just staart another giggle game.

The above experiment would be terrific for a group meeting of dieters.

Abstraction: Ability to move beyond photo by Mary MacIntyre

Raw food tastes great! Go organic if you can. Think flavor, color, and protein. The protein part may be a bit challenging. My sprouts are being encouraged to grow. Sprouts are a major plus for protein.

Got a juicer? IF you do then here’s a fine drink: carrots, apple, celery 2 radishes juice. As there is minimumal preparation, you can make the juice within 5 minutes. Tastes terrific. If you are preparing juice for a family, then clean out the juicer between each 2 glasses of juice to avoid wasting some of the juice. Add a little lemon afterwards ig you want.

Now Dr Dan loves to juice various fruits. I love to mix fruit and veggies. Also one of my favorites is red beets, celery, a little ginger, and zuchinni. So be creative see what surplus is in the fridge and use it up fast!

No juicer? Then pull out that blender. DO as above. You will have a thick drink which you eat as is (lots of fiber) or you can strain if desired.

Now are you getting interested? Well that doesn’t matter much, because if you just increase your energy an health. Go get those veggies and fruits!

This tree was blossoming recently....spring is here!

The last week haas included stress overload. So today, I gave thanks to God that I had a day off, and although certain emotional trauma still lingered within, I went outside and spent several hours in my yard working. Tonight I listen to Chopin ala piano. This is a wondrous way to write. These notes erase so much strain and invite creativity.

I am announcing that as I am starting a raw food diet this week, I will devote some of my blogs over the next few months to this topic for both educational information, and because the spring and summer provides a great opportunity the simplicity and healthy fast food RAW FOOD provides. SO here’s a few ideas.

Enjoy!

Ocean.seabreeze,

Creative cooks love to try new recipes, but if you read some of the masters, creative cooking means the gumption to try new combinations or new ingredients together. Sometimes you have terrific results, and other times you hope not to repeat the errors.

Successes happen more often than you would expect and brings joy to the palette. Here’s my latest: Asparagus For Breakfast. I had picked up some celery root which I had never tried before. I had to
use it soon. I also had some mushrooms and asparagus that equally needed attention. This is what I did:

I cut and peeled a few thin slices of the celery root. Then I sliced them in small long rectangles. I placed them in near boiling water (in a small saucepan). I diagonally cut the Asparagus in 1/4 inch pieces. Chopped parsley, sliced mushrroms, diced scallions and added those ingredients to the pan. I covered the pan and cooked for approximately 4 minutes. Lower elevations could cook less.

I peeled some soaked almonds and placed them on a little dish. I cut a lemon in half. I scooped the veggies out of pan and into a bowl and squeezed the 1/2 lemon over the veggies. Light, delicious and filling. I ate it hot.
Option add preferred spices, or chill and eat as a cold salad or soup (create soup by adding the vegetable water it was cooked in).

Please note: this was low fat, noursihing, and would be good for many diets. Afraid of celery root? Use Jicama instead. The variety of flavors, colors, and textures made it a delight and it was surprising filling. A medium small bowl would count as 2 vegetable servings.

WInter still..stew recommended

Stressed? Tired of winter? Feeling a bit run down? If you are none of the above, send this to your friends who are.

Winter Stew Recipe: Food for healing.

Ingredients:
1 turnip (medium to large)
1 rutabaga (medium to large)
1 onion (scallions for color)
1 winter squash (I used butternut)
parsley, garlic, fenugeek optional
carrots optional
2 stalks of cut celery (optional)
This is a stew so use less water.
I skipped the onion, added garlic, used NM red chile powder.
Ah also add some real salt and spices you like.
If you still need to create a salad, or other dish, turn off heat and the veggies will continue to steam.

Prep and cooking can take less than 30 minutes. I was amazed at how easily my turnip and rutabaga cut. I used only the top of the butternut squash so that saved time. When the stew is ready, add realsalt, pepper, butter or drizzle on top your favorite oil.

Got children? Need faster prep? Cut veggies and put them in a blender.
Steam for a few minutes. Add a little honey or agave nectar, stir. Optional add some dried berries or diced apples. It’ll look great and be just a little sweeter. If they are real fussy, let them add some yogurt or sour cream. Eliminating the dairy would help the adrenals more, but one always needs to get the whole family ready to eat.

Warning some non-feminist material…not quite adult, however suggestive….

Cut the squash first. Add to water and start cooking.
Cut turnips and rutabaga add to water as you cut them.
Add other incredients of choice. Add scallions and parsley last they only need a few seconds to be ready. Get a little exotic, add some mushrooms.

Cook on low heat and cover the pot until tender to your liking. You essentially(duh, where did this come from?)

Well the computer needs some of this stew. Another video, another night.

Dr Daniel Cobb, D.O.M., offers phone nutritional services, especially food list planning for $80.00 per session. For a limited time, you can have an introductory offer for $50.00. Call: (505)424-9527. Tell him Mary sent you. If you get his message machine, then leave a message, he always returns his calls.