Cinnamon Toast

I know what you are thinking. Pfft, a piece of toast? But really, this is awesome for breakfast, with a nice egg or better yet, a green shake! Sometimes you just want a little something sweet in the morning, but you don’t want the 800 calorie stack of french toast, and you don’t want to take that much time making it.

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Cracked Wheat Bread with Molasses

Do you like molasses? I do. Maybe it is my Pennsylvania dutch roots. I used to eat it is slathered on by bagels when I was a child. The heavier blackstrap molasses has a deeper flavorful and it is chock full of nutrients. 20% iron and 8% calcium of your daily requirements. This is in just one tablespoon, folks. If this kind is too bitter for you, there are other lighter and sweeter varieties. Just be sure that they are 100% molasses, without any corn syrup thrown in there. I found mine in the sweetener aisle. So you can have your sweets and eat them too, and then get some valuable nutrients while you are at it. Stir it into some oatmeal or have a little on toast.

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Tostadas or Tacos with Carrots

One of my favorite recipes! I copied this down from my friend, Obdulia, who I worked with in the hospital kitchen. Sitting in the cafeteria in our blue hairnets, we would eat lunch, and it was always something we brought from home. For reasons I will not expound on, the kitchen food was just not all that appetizing. Even as a mother of three little ones, though, she managed to cook the night before and bring leftovers. She went over the ingredients with me, and though there are no concrete measurements, you can’t really mess this one up.

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Friuli Basil Soup with Vegetables, Beans, and Barley

 The rain here in SLO is taunting me. For the past couple of weeks, it seems like weather is beautiful during the week, and when the weekend comes, there is not a patch of blue to be seen. The storm here completely blotted out the passing of the much feared storm moon, or the supermoon. In case you were wondering what a supermoon is, it is the biggest and brightest moon there is, and only comes about once every 20 years. March 19th, 2011 marked the coincidence of a full moon with the moon’s closest rotation to the earth based on its eliptical movement. What a day for rain!

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Blackberry Caviar Sushi

Last night our neighbor knocked on the door. Apparently, they were cleaning their house, which I assume doesn’t happen that often, because they are a very lively group of boys with a ping pong table in their kitchen. But thank goodness they did, because Sean’s holiday bonus check somehow ended up in their mailbox, and a short 6 months later, found its way to us. Finally, I can have that sleigh bell sweater I always wanted. Or we could just have some sushi. With organic blackberries. Now,  that,  is fancy.

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Saag

Just in case you were wondering, Saag does rhyme with blog. And though it looks a little funny, it is just absolutely marvelous! I have made this several times, not really measuring too carefully and it always comes out just right. The only precaution I would say is to not be too overzealous with the turmeric, as I am. I tend to be heavy handed with it, because I know that it has very powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is very healing. Amazingly, there is research to back that up, and I say amazingly, because so much of herbal medicine is often dismissed due to a lack of research. Anyhow, adding too much turmeric can cause a numbing on your tongue, that is not unpleasant, just a little weird. So just stick to the amount here, and if you need to have more turmeric, perhaps have some golden milk (1 cup milk, 1 teaspoon turmeric, heat with honey to taste).

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Broccoli and Noodles with Peanut or Cashew Sauce

I have one of Lorna Sass’s vegetarian cookbooks called Complete Vegetarian Kitchen. I stole this from my sister a few years ago. Really, I prefer the term indefinite borrowing. And I am infamous for it. Well, when it comes to cookbooks. Think of it as a compliment. I just couldn’t part with this book. She discusses all of the interesting grains you might ever want to try in your life: quionoa millet, teff, bulghur, amaranth, etc. I don’t think I have made a recipe out of this book that I am not in love with; this broccoli and noodle dish was the first.

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Everyday Sushi

I could eat sushi everyday. That’s right. I said everyday. You could eat sushi all the time if you wanted to. It is waaay easier than you think. And the best part? It is blazing outside, and sushi is cool as a cucumber. In fact, cucumber is actually a cooling vegetable according to Ayurveda. (So is celery, in case you need some insurance.)

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