A Side of Bulgur

This dish is inspired by a yummy Turkish dish called kisir. Kisir is kind of a side dish / salad that can go with a variety of dishes and is usually accompanied with a thick plain yogurt. Greek yogurt is found in most local supermarkets and is a nice option. My favorite is FAGE though I like the dish without the yogurt as well.

Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 cup bulgur

2 cups water

1 small tomato

1/2 cucumber

1 cup coarsely chopped parsley

3/4 cup diced mint

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 T red pepper flakes

the juice of 1 lemon

Side:

1 container of thick plain yogurt

Fill a pot with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat and add bulgur. Cover and let sit for 20-30 minutes. Drain bulgur of any excess water and fluff with a fork so that it cools and dries not too sticky or clumped.

Chop tomato and cucumber into small bite-sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Add chopped herbs, lemon juice and spices. Once the bulgur has cooled add it as well. Slowly stir ingredients together. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and serve!

Guests can add a scoop of yogurt alongside their portion as they like.

Health Benefits:

Bulgur

Bulgur is a form of wheat and a good source of fiber, protein, folate, vitamin E, magnesium and potassium. It's also very low in calories and good for weight loss routines. I like to use the medium grain bulgur in this dish.

Panos Bakery

Panos Bakery is a neighborhood bakery that's definitely worth a visit. On their window they advertise tahini bread. Having lived in Turkey for a couple years, tahini and bread in the same phrase gets me very excited! Though this is not a Turkish bakery, this bread is the closest I've found to tahinli ekmek since moving back to the states.

I tried their spinach pastry and the tahini bread. Both are quite delicious and I think vegan??? The round, flat pastry is the tahini bread and the triangle pieces are stuffed with spinach. Yum!

P.S. For those who don't know tahini is basically ground up sesame seeds that form a sesame paste. When I lived in Turkey I would mix it with something like a grape molasses and spread it on bread for breakfast.

Rosemary Chickpeas

I love chickpeas! They are filling, nutritious and delicious in texture and taste!

This is a simple salad that's strength lies in the fresh rosemary and sweet onion as complements to the nutty chickpea flavor.

Ingredients:

3 cups of uncooked chickpeas

1 vidalia (sweet) onion

Dressing:

1 T white balsamic vinegar

2 T olive oil

2 T finely chopped rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

Soak chickpeas in water for 6-8 hours.

Peel onion and place chickpeas and whole onion in a large pot with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove onion and let cool. Simmer chickpeas for 15 minutes. Strain chickpeas from the water and set aside to dry and cool.

In a separate bowl, mix dressing ingredients together. Place cooled chickpeas and chopped onion into a large bowl and stir in the dressing.

Bon Appetit!

Health Benefits:

Rosemary

This fragrant herb has been known to help digestion, immune system function and increase the blood flow to the brain. Perhaps this latter trait is why ancient Greek students wore sprigs of rosemary in their hair to assist in their studies for exams.

Raw Squash and Herbs

Last week at my yoga studio, I picked up a yummy looking squash someone shared from their garden. I honestly am still not sure what it is though my guess is butternut. It looked atypical from a butternut squash on the outside, inside it was identical.

I decided I wanted to enjoy this garden fresh veggie raw with loads of garden fresh herbs to complement. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash

4 sprigs of oregano

2 sprigs of oregano flowers

2 sprigs of basil

2 baby leaves of swiss chard

Dressing:

1 T olive oil

2 T agave syrup

the juice of 1 lime

salt and pepper to taste

Optional Topping:

dried cranberries

sesame seeds

Peel, seed and finely chop the squash. Finely dice oregano and oregano flowers. Coarsely chop basil and swiss chard. Mix dressing ingredients in a separate bowl. Gently stir together all ingredients. Refrigerate for 15-30 minutes before serving.

Health Benefits:

Why eat raw? Apparently raw veggies have a higher nutrient content than cooked. Also raw veggies provide natural enzymes which allows one's body to take the energy from producing digestive enzymes and apply it to other essential processes. When untouched by the cooking process the fibrous element of veggies is extremely effective. At Health 101 there's an article for more info regarding raw food consumption.

Note:

Make sure these herbs are fresh. It makes all the difference!

Oregano Oil

When I was sick a week or so ago my boyfriend introduced me to Oregano Oil. It's amazing!

About 2-4 drops twice a day applied under the tongue helps sore throat and congestion issues. The dosage may vary between brands so make sure you check before using. Just a heads up, the oil's a little spicy but the spicy kick feels so good to a little congestion.

If you're in the Pasadena area it can be found at Grassroots Natural Market and Kitchen in South Pasadena as well as Whole Foods Market.

Compost

I've heard about composting for awhile but have just started to give it a try. From what I understand, composting is the biodegradation of organic matter, in other words, it's the cycle of life: a plant drops a leaf to the ground and microbes turn it into something that the plant can consume.

My compost heap is about a week old and so far I've contributed dried leaves and fresh green leaves from my yard, pulp from my juicer, skins and rinds of fruits and vegetables and dying flowers from bouquets. All of these would've naturally gone into my trash and instead they are becoming nutrient rich fertilizer in my back yard! There is no bin that contains the pile, just a 6" deep, 1' wide hole dug into the dirt. Instead of buying worms, I'm hoping the worms from my yard will find their way into the heap.

Here's a pic of my pile before adding dried leaves to the mix.

Some sites about composting:

http://www.howtocompost.org/

http://www.plowhearth.com/magazine/compost_how_to.asp

Jicama, Watercress & Avocado Salad

Given my recent posts, I think it's clear that I have a thing for peanuts :)

This salad is refreshing and unique. Minus the peanuts it's all raw. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 medium jicama

1 bunch of watercress

1 avocado

Dressing:

1 lime if using a juicer, if hand squeezing use 2 limes

1 T peanut oil

2 T agave syrup

1 jalapeno

Topping:

1 cup roasted spanish peanuts

If the peanuts are raw, roast them in the oven at 300˚. Remove from the oven when the peanuts start to lightly brown.

Coarsely chop jicama, watercress and avocado and place in serving bowl. Finely dice the jalapeno. In a separate bowl, mix the dressing ingredients together and pour over the vegetables in the bowl. Slowly stir to coat each vegetable lightly with the dressing.

Place the salad onto individual plates and top with roasted peanuts.

Health Benefits:

Watercress:

Wow, this veggie is both delicious and nutritious! Watercress is packed with vitamins B1, B2, B6, C, E, manganese and carotenes. Watercress also contains calcium, fiber and iron. Also, if you're looking to increase sexual energy, fertility and mental acuity this leafy goodness might be worth a try.

Peanut & Corn Stir Fry

This dish is good, easy and perfect for summer. The corn offers a soft texture and lightly sweet flavor while the peanuts mix in a crispy crunch. Mmmmm :)

I used frozen corn for quicker prep, but fresh corn would be a terrific supplement, especially when in season.

Ingredients:

1 small bag of frozen corn (or 3-4 ears of corn)

2 medium to large zucchinis

1/2 red onion (optional)

2-3 cloves of garlic

2 T peanut oil

2 T soy sauce

1 T agave syrup

Topping:

2-3 cups of raw peanuts

Take the frozen corn out of the bag and place into a strainer. Run luke warm water over the corn to bring it to room temperature. Allow the corn to dry in the strainer or spread out on thick paper towels.

In the meantime, put 1 T of peanut oil in the wok and heat it on medium high to high for about a minute. The wok should be pretty hot. Pour raw peanuts into the wok and stir constantly until light brown. Remove the peanuts from the wok and place onto a plate to cool.

Chop the zucchini into small bite-sized pieces or about the size of the kernels of corn. Coarsely chop the red onion into small bite-sized pieces as well. Finely dice the garlic.

Put 1 T of peanut oil into the wok and heat again for about a minute on medium high to high. Put the garlic in the wok and stir fry for about 30 seconds. Add the red onion and stir fry for another 30 seconds. Add zucchini and stir fry for another minute. (If using fresh corn, add the kernels along with the zucchini.) If using the frozen corn, add the corn after the zucchini and stir fry for another few seconds. Turn off the heat and stir in the soy sauce and agave syrup.

When serving this dish, I like to keep the peanuts separate and allow my guests to add as much as they like. If there are left-overs, place the peanuts in a separate bag, this way they will remain dry and crisp.

Notes:

I have a pet peeve of overcooked vegetables as this often robs them of their texture, flavor and nutritional value, so I try to cook them as lightly as possible. Especially with this dish, this is important.

I used Spanish peanuts as they were the only raw peanut I could find. These come with the skin on, so I like to peel the skin away from at least a few of them for presentation.