The Food Alchemist: Where Foodies Share Recipes

The Fresh Foods Diet

2009-02-14T18:59:00.004-06:00

Regarding meals:

For breakfast, lunch and dinner, I pick a protein, a carbohydrate (two servings per day) and a few vegetables and cook them up however I feel like, throwing in a few spices along the way. The oddballs are the grains, low sugar fruits (avocadoes, tomatoes), and the nuts. Think back to turn of the century eating.

Key Ingredients:

Proteins (any) include: chicken, pork, turkey, beef, lentils, beans (which take a long time unless you get canned, which should only have beans, salt and water listed under ingredients)...

Veggies: carrots, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, romaine, cauliflour, brussel sprouts, artichokes, avocado, tomatoes...

Nuts: especially walnuts (high in omega 3 Fatty Acids for cellular health and nootropics for good brain functioning, alertness and memory retention) and almonds...

Oils: particularly flax seed (for cellular health, and which should be kept in the refridgerator). Also olive oil, sesame oil, avocado oil. Don't worry about weight because if you stick to these ingredients, limit your carbs to about 2-3 servings a day, and replace the carb servings you would have had with more veggies, you'll find you won't be consuming the fats, sugars and carbs that are bad for you... instead, load up on these "good fats" that are constructive to your health and balance out "bad cholesterol"...

Grains: Brown Rice, Amaranth, Quinoa, Buckwheat (anything glutin free, which excludes wheat and oats)

Fruit: 1 per day, any fruit, reserving citrus and tropical like mango, pineapple, banana for special occasions. Use Lemons often in cooking or in lemonade (stevia, lemons and water). The best fuits are Tomatoes and Avocadoes (high in Omega 3 Fatty Acids and good fats which (with a little salt and a spoon make a great portable snack!).

Up Next: A Typical Day in the Life of a Fresh Foods Foodie

And now for Dessert...

2009-02-14T18:28:00.003-06:00

Here are some recipes and critical ingredients to have on hand for my Sweeties. I find that SOY FLOUR is a fairly equal replacement with conventional wheat flour as far as absorption, amount needed and flavor. SOY MILK (watch for sugars) has also worked well in cooking and STEVIA is great in baking, but I haven't pinned down frostings, so alternatives like glazes, berries or fruit ice cream are good options. I made a cake with homemade applesauce (just throw apple slices in a blender with some water as needed) instead of sugar for the frosting and that turned out ok ... if I was going to do it again, I would puree equal amts peach and/r pear. All of the other frosting ingredients are the same.

Desserts...

Unconventional ingredients include: Stevia powder (one brand is named NuStevia), Gluten Free Flour (including amaranth, soy, brown rice, others) and soy or rice milk. Depending on the recipe, you're looking at 2-4 C flour, 1/2 to 2-1/2 TSP stevia, 1-2 C soy milk, 2 C soft tofu, 2-6 C fruit. I usually ground some nuts and throw them in too.

Spice Cake:

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix:
2.5 C Soy or Brown Rice or Amaranth Flour
1.5 TSP baking powder
.5 TSP ground cloves
1 TSP Cinnamon
.5 TSP nutmeg

Cream .5 C Butter or Smart Balance
Add & Mix 1.5 TSP NuStevia powder
Beat in 4 eggs
Stir in 7/8 C Soy or Rice Milk
Bake in greased pan for 1 hour.

Cover with maple syrup glaze or mixed berries: puree 1 C mixed berries +1-2 TSP NuStevia and a few drops lemon juice; strain thru a sieve to separate the seeds

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp (15 min to prepare + 40 min to bake)

2 lbs fresh rhubarb cut in 1 in chunks
3-4 C sliced strawberries
1/3 to 1/2 TSP Stevia, and 2-3 TBSP Stevia, separated
2 C Soy or Brown Rice or Amaranth Flour
1/2 TSP Cinnamon
1-2 dashes allspice, 1-2 dashes nutmeg
1/4 TSP salt
5 TBSP melted butter
Preheat oven to 375

Combine rhubarb and strawberries in 9 in square pan. Sprinkle with 1/3-1/2 TSP Stevia
Mix remaining ingredients in medium bowl. Distribute over top of fruit and pat firmly into place.
Bake uncovered for 35-40 min (until top is crips and lighly browned and fruit is bubbling around the edges.

Variation: use 6-8 C peeled and sliced tart apples OR pitted, halved dark cherries, 2-3 TBSP lemon juice, 1/4 TSP Stevia, add 1 TSP cinnamon, and add 1/2 C finely ground walnuts to topping.

To serve with ice cream:
Put 1.5 C soy milk into ice cube trays and freeze (4-5 hrs)
Put .5 C soy milk in blender with 3 TBSP Sunflower oil, 3 TBSP vanilla and 3 TBSP Maple Syrup
Add the frozen soy milk cubes and blend until smooth and creamy.
If too soft, put in freezer for 30 min

Cardamom Coffee Cake (30 min to prepare + 1.25 hr to bake)

Preheat oven to 350
Oil/Butter a 10 inch tube pan or bundt pan
Beat 4 sticks softened butter with 2 TSP Stevia
Add 4 eggs
Stir in 2 TSP vanilla

In separate bowl, sift together 4 TSP Baking Powder, 2.5 TSP backing soda, 4 C Soy or Brown Rice or Amaranth Flour, .5 TSP Salt, 1 TBSP cardamom
Add the Flour mixture, 1/3 at a time, to the butter mixture, alternating with the 2 C soft tofu. Stir just enough to blend after each addition.
Combine 1/4 TSP NuStevia with 1 TBSP Cinnamon and 1/2 cup finely ground walnuts.
Spoon about 1/3 of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half the nut mixture, then add another third of the batter. Cover with remaining nut mixture, then top with remaining batter. Lightly spread into place.

Bake about 1.25 hrs or until a knife inserted all the way in comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 20 minutes then invert onto a plate. Cool at least 30 min more before wildly devouring =)

Healthy Snacks Reference Guide

2008-08-03T13:15:00.001-05:00

Compliments of Vanda Huang

Almonds - About 10 whole almonds
Apple with nut butter - 1 med. Apple/tbsp. nut butter
Baby Carrots with hummus - 6 baby carrots/1 tbsp. hummus
Baked apple - 1 med. apple, sliced, baked & sprinkled w/ cinnamon
Banana - 1 medium banana
Boiled egg
Broccoli/Green Beans - 1 cup lightly steamed or raw, drizzled with a olive oil to taste
Lentils or chickpeas - ½ cup cooked, can be mixed into a salad.
Raw pumpkin seeds - 1 tbsp
Sliced avocado
Tomato slices with olive oil and basil - 1 med. sliced tomato with 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil and fresh basil
Fresh berries - ½ cup

Emily's Chicken Curry

2008-08-03T13:01:00.003-05:00

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 half sweet onion
1 square inch ginger
1 lb chicken
1 tsp each:
Salt
Red Pepper
Cumin
Coriander
Turmeric
Black Pepper
1 C coconut milk
1 lb spinach

Skin and dice the garlic, onion and ginger. Toss in wok with olive oil and let simmer on med-low heat until onion is translucent.
Rinse and chop the chicken into squares, add to the wok and cover.
Mix the spices in a small dish, add the coconut milk and mix to make the sauce.
Once the chicken is halfway cooked, turn the pieces and add the spinach and sauce.
Let simmer until chicken is cooked thru.

Variations: I call this recipe "Pick 6" because I always make it from memory and hope I've grabbed the right six spices. Try mixing it up and putting in cinnamon sometime - you might be pleasantly surprised! Also, this recipe works well with fish. You can use a little more oil and no coconut milk for more of a tikka flavor.

Hazelnut Ice Cream

2007-11-06T19:49:00.000-06:00

I know I haven't posted since August, but you're going to agree with me when you taste this one!! Hazelnut Ice Cream, just in time for winter - in Australia.

Grind 1/2 cup hazelnuts
Add & mix 1/4 cup water,
1/2 cup grapeseed oil,
1 tsp stevia
1/8 tsp vanilla

Freeze.

Eat!!

Spiced Beef

2007-08-05T15:18:00.000-05:00

I altered this recipe from the "Joy of Cooking" cookbook by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker, 1964.

You will need HUGE dishes for this size dish, but it's great for dinner parties. Who knew that cinnamon went so well with beef??

In a large mixing bowl, mix:
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt

Pre-heat oven to 275 degrees F.

Add to bowl:
2 chopped onions
4 chopped carrots
1 chopped medium yellow turnip
1 chopped celery stalk
1/2 torn bay leaf
4-5 lbs ground beef

Mix well and put in large glass oven dish.
Pour over it 2 1/2 C water and roast for about 3 hours. I cranked up the heat and cooked it in about 1 hour (I'll add precision next time I try this).

Chris Simon's "German Pancakes"

2007-08-05T15:06:00.000-05:00

Chris Simon was my roomie during Grad School in Storrs, CT. She was my first active exposure to cooking with pure foods (such as grinding granulated sugar to make powdered sugar without additional ingredients, and using veggies and herbs grown in your own yard). At the time I didn't know what a gold mine I had at my fingertips. I could never understand how she knew all of her recipes by heart, and she could never understand why I couldn't remember them without writing them down. Now of course, I rattle off my recipes to friends that will listen over a drink. We used to make this one almost every weekend, and it has become a classic treat with my family. My first Portland roommie Lisa Kohanski requested this addition to the blog, so here it is Lisa! I will work on making this one legit over the coming weeks.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Put large empty glass dish in oven

Add to a mixing bowl:
1 1/3 C flour
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/3 C milk
5 eggs

Take hot pan from oven when pre-heated.
Add 4-5 Tbsp butter to the pan and let it melt to coat the inside of the pan.
Pour the batter into the pan while the pan is hot and bake immediately for 15-20 minutes (until puffed up completely and toasty brown on the outside edges.

Serve with fresh berries, cover with fresh squeezed lemon juice and sprinkle powdered sugar on top.

"Smartie" Juice

2007-07-29T10:46:00.000-05:00

I ran into this one last night when trying to make vegan blueberry yogurt. It tastes like liquid Smarties!

Put in a blender:
1 cup frozen blueberries
Fill to 8 oz line with rice milk
Add the juice of 1/2 lemon
Fill to 16 oz line with water
Blend.

I think if you don't use water the blueberries cause the rice milk to congeal into a yogurt like mix.

Post script: It turns out that the blueberry juice is what makes it taste like smarties: it's made of grape juice, pommegranite juice, blueberry juice and (?) apple juice.

Olive Egg Muffins

2007-07-23T19:05:00.000-05:00

This recipe is super-easy, quick and portable. Chop up your favorite veggies, scramble some eggs, mix it all together and bake for 12 minutes. Not only that but it's entertaining to know that veggies float in egg!

3 tsp olive oil
6 eggs
1 tomato
6 olives
a few spears of asparagus
...

Turn on the oven to BAKE at 325 F
Chop your favorite veggies
Scramble one egg per muffin and throw in your chopped veggies
Pour about 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil in each section of your muffin tin (as the eggs cook the oil will spread so the eggs come out nicely when they're done)
Fill each muffin section about 2/3 full of egg and veggies
Pop in the oven for about 12 minutes. *Eggs are delicate, so be careful not to overcook them - test with a toothpick.
When you take the muffins out of the oven, just flip the pan over a cloth and the muffins will come out.
Tie up the cloth, throw in your backpack and enjoy a picnic under a tree on a nice, sunny day!

What's for Dinner?

2007-07-22T00:30:00.001-05:00

Growing up, my Mom used to ask me what I wanted for dinner. I never had a good answer because how is anyone supposed to know what they want to eat hours before they even get hungry?

Once on my own, this activity became a hunt-and-gather exercise of opening cabinets and the refrigerator and interweaving such foods as breads and pastas with cheeses and milk, and topping it off with as much sugar laden food as I could find to create a meal worthy of the classic American table.

Cooking in Mexico in the same hunt-and-gather fashion, my friends told me that this was called "preparing" food. Later I learned the true difference from "cooking" food.

Eventually I happened upon a naturopath that told me my unceasing allergies of more than eight years were probably caused by not just environmental allergies but also because of food allergies. He gave me a list of "offending" foods which actually included everything on my diet. I looked at my doctor and asked, "What am I supposed to eat?". He gave me a list of organic vegetables and meats, legumes, nuts, seeds, and oils which have become the building blocks of my daily chemistry experiments. Within three weeks, my symptoms began to fade away. Sixteen months later, I consider myself 85% improved, with some symptoms of dysbiosis which I continue to work towards eliminating.

I hope my story inspires my readers to appreciate the flavors and consider the health of every morsel of food they put in their bodies with the goal of living out their days actively and free of pain and health challenges.

To tackle the challenge of learning to eat allergy-free, I read cookbooks that first Friday night, so that I would have a plan for what to eat for breakfast. That spawned the famous "Olive Egg Muffins", a twenty minute recipe packed with savory energy. After a month of working from recipes, I began to get the hang of when to start cooking each dish in order to have them all finish at the same time, and after a few months, the flavor experimentation began.

My biggest surprise was that when you eat organic foods to avoid antibiotics, rotate foods so as to not consume the same food twice in a four day period, and when eliminate sugars from your diet, the properties and flavors of foods become significantly enhanced. Every bite of mindfully prepared food will melt in your mouth.

This is the story of how a person who had no clue in the kitchen learned the flavors, timing and mixtures behind food alchemy. It is the story of becoming a foodie, and learning to anticipate every moment and flavor of preparing and consuming one's next meal, hours before it happens.

Bon Appetit!