***Unbelievable***....To my large & beloved natural lifestyle following people out there, my beautiful Greek housewife friends, & really just EVERYONE!!: I just found out about a new natural cutting-edge weight loss coffee with *superfoods*..... and it tastes great!!!
I didn't know coffee could be elevated to that level & standard of PERFECTION like this has now become....superfoods & herbs infused directly into the coffee!!!! Wow. I am extremely picky/discerning but THIS HAS MY FULL ENDORSEMENT!!!
I'm actually going to carry this with my other carefully selected wellness services, and having a pre-launch party for this branch of my wellness & DIY business!!!! The boxes are going fast so please let me know if you want to try one!! :)
PS: It's considered breastfeeding-friendly too!!!! My natural mama friends absolutely LOVE it!! :-)
Here is a lovely brunch idea!! I created this last weekend from wild-foraged "chicken mushrooms" & oyster mushrooms which my good friend Sandy found & gifted me, and they were phenomenal!!!!! Of course, be sure when wild-foraging anything, especially mushrooms, that they are correctly identified or from a reputable forager/gatherer!!!!!! I cannot stress this enough.
Here is a run-down & visual:
Amounts are flexible, but I basically chopped a pan full of mushrooms & sautéed them in a bit of extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, & dehydrated onion powder for a good 20 minutes. Be sure they are well-cooked but not overdone, juicy & tender!
Then add wild spinach, or if you don't have any wild greens use spinach, baby spinach, kale, collards, chard etc! The sky is the limit with breakfast scrambles. This recipe is merely a guideline, especially of how to use a few wild edible plants. Add any herbs, spices, salts & peppers you would like!!!!! I love using fresh thyme and/or basil when I have it on hand, cayenne, pink Himalayan salt, & often a pinch of curry, garlic and/or onion powder for extra flavor!
After everything is softened & seems deliciously done, add a few beaten eggs (I usually just beat by themselves, not adding milk, cream of water). I only used 6 here, but could have done more! As long as there are enough eggs to reasonably bind the rest together....
"Stir-fry"/scramble over medium heat until done!!!!! We added great gobs of cheese & ate it right up, forgetting to photograph the last step, but it was *already* delicious without it!!!!
Enjoy!!!! Play with the recipe & tweak to your personal fave tastes. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!!
Here is a warm, thick, nourishing stew perfect for a long rainy day like today, and most of this week has been.......Appearing to have been simmered for hours but, with the addition of lightly-sautéed chicken breast chunks, is much quicker in a time-crunch than the traditional boiling & deboning of a whole chicken like I would normally do. And paired with yummy salted garlic Indian chapatis, fried on the grillpan or griddle, it's the perfect simple, healing comfort food for a cool rainy evening.....
I quite simply, sautéed cut up carrots & celery in just a bit of olive oil, seasoned with garlic, onion powder, salt & pepper etc., whatever you would like, in the bottom of a soup pot, for a few minutes, while simultaneously sautéing generous chunks of cut-up chicken breast in garlic (fresh or powder) & salt, pepper, butter or olive oil in another frying pan/skillet. Turn off chicken when just done & lightly golden, & save to put in the stew at the end.
After garlic, onion, carrots, & celery are mildly softened, throw some rice in (I used a good 2-3 cups uncooked jasmine rice, it turned very thick & creamy like a risotto), sauté a minute or two, & then fill the pot with water. Cook on a low-medium boil until everything is tender & the rice is cooked & done. I boiled it a bit extra (taking extra care the starchiness of the rice does not make it burn on the bottom) to make the rice extra creamy. Throw in the chicken breast chunks when it is finishing up. I added a generous amount of dried parsley to finish it also, but if I had fresh I would have used it instead! Season with any extra salt, pepper etc. you would like, & serve hot with the freshly-made chapatti.
I'm sure this simple stew with rice would be delicious to try with cut-up (think leftover?) steak or fish also! Try any sautéed vegetable in season. Asparagus would be just beautiful with the risotto-style creaminess of the rice. Currying the entire stew would be another wonderful, warming option! So would a generous pinch of red pepper flakes or ground cayenne. Use whatever you have on hand.
Chapati
Chapatis are sooooooo simple to make! :) Very good on a budget too! All you need is a little flour, water, & salt (or try a little natural raw sugar if you want to make a sweet one...yummy!!), & a bit of oil. If you have garlic or other spices you want to try (think rosemary, thyme, oregano, etc....), feel free to add them either in the dough or on the chapati as you are cooking them. Experiment with both fresh & dried herbs~ this flatbread is easy & versatile. Use another oil, such as coconut or sunflower in place of the olive oil, & it is Lenten/fastworthy to boot!
In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the olive oil and enough water to make a soft dough that is elastic but not sticky. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth. Divide into 10 parts, or less if you want bigger breads. Roll each piece into a ball. Let rest for a few minutes.
Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot, and oil or butter lightly. On a lightly floured surface, use a floured rolling pin (they have little pita/chapatti rolling pins too which are great!) to roll out the balls of dough until thin like a tortilla, or a pita, depending on what you want. Its a pretty flexible foolproof dough/recipe. When the pan starts smoking, put a chapati on it. Cook until the underside has brown spots, (about 30 seconds to a minute or so for small ones, more for larger thicker ones), then flip and cook on the other side. Continue with remaining dough. Be careful not to burn. sprinkle with herbs, salt, sugar, or whatever comes to mind. These are best served hot & fresh, but we eat leftovers cold or reheated too. The leftovers get gummy overnight, but still are very tasty .
Enjoy your quick, healthy, nourishing, home-cooked supper. Have a beautiful evening!!
These look terrific!! Easy to adapt to Lent/Fasting days too.....
Make sure if making for Lent/fast days, to find a vegetarian/vegan version of the sauce it calls for... many Asian sauces contain fish sauce/product....otherwise I think it is perfect from what I could see! I can't wait to make these! Recipe courtesy of our friends over at Sprouted Kitchen. Blessings, & let me know how they turn out!! :)
I had to include this humorous pic, I couldn't stop laughing as its so "me"! ;-)
Okay, here is the recipe!!!
Ingredients
¾ cup quinoa (fermented, drained p. 126)
1 ½ cups water
¾ cup butter
¼ – ½ cup milk (or almond milk, or water)
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup jaggery (gur)
1 cup cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp aluminum-free baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
salt Directions
Drain soaked quinoa, rinse, bring to a boil in twice the volume of water and let simmer for 20 minutes. Allow to cool, fluff with a fork. Melt the butter and set aside to cool, greasing two 8-inch round baking pans and preheating the oven to 350°F. In a blender combine the milk, eggs, vanilla and cooked quinoa, and blend to a custard-like consistency. In a separate bowl whisk together the jaggery, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and a pinch of salt. Mix well then add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix well, and then pour into two cake pans. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Serve with fresh whipped cream sweetened with a little maple syrup, or homemade strawberry-rose ice cream.
Wonderful, Healthy, Ancient Kamut mingles with the benefits of extra spices, healthier lighter fats, & even a dash of fermentation if you make it the Kombucha way! *LOVE THIS!*
I made this last night, & hubby made a big salad to go with. We took turns watching baby Ronan, who is into everything lately. ;-)
So my story is, I actually didn't have buttermilk on hand the other day when I put it to marinade!!! No problem I thought, I'll google buttermilk DIY again to get theh ratio to make a faux version... Oh, I don't have lemon or vinegar on hand either!! Okay, experiment time. I added a couple teaspoons over-fermented KOMBUCHA vinegar (live cultures!) to regular whole milk & poured it over the raw cut-up chicken. I only wish I had raw milk on hand. ;-) It turned out marvelous!!! I use Barefoot Contessa's recipe as a base, but then tweaked it in many ways to make it healthy-changing the oils, the flour(s), adding spices, etc. It turned out awesome!! Enjoy!!!!! Xxo
Ingredients
2 chickens (3 pounds each), cut in 8 serving pieces (I just make one sometimes, even.)
1 quart buttermilk (Or add a couple teaspoons lemon, vinegar, or kombucha to regular milk, etc., or use yogurt!)
1 cup organic kamut flour
1 cup organic flour or sprouted flour (Sprouted is my favourite!!)
1 tablespoon salt (I add Adobo too often, its in the Hispanic section & delicious, contains garlic, turmeric, oregano, salt & pepper etc.)
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
Liberal amounts of garlic powder, cayenne, & organic salt-free Cajun spice mix
Vegetable oil - (I used Sunflower, & a healthier Omega-3 mix by Smart Balance as well-you could cut with lard for a traditional touch too)
Directions
Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the buttermilk over them. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the flours, salt(s), spices, & pepper in a large bowl. Take the chicken out of the buttermilk and coat each piece thoroughly with the flour mixture. Pour the oil into a large heavy-bottomed stockpot to a depth of 1-3" and heat to 360 degrees F on a thermometer.
Working in batches, carefully place several pieces of chicken in the oil and fry for about 3 minutes on each side until the coating is a light golden brown (it will continue to brown in the oven). Don't crowd the pieces. Remove the chicken from the oil and place each piece on a metal baking rack set on a sheet pan. Allow the oil to return to 360 degrees F before frying the next batch. When all the chicken is fried, bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside. Serve hot.
Leaving the suburbs of Bethel Park, PA, & moving to the Deep Woods of Central Maine with my family as a 3 year-old is still a fond memory! They converted to Amish-Mennonites, homeschooled, & lived the homesteading/self-sufficient Sustainable Dream the entire time I was growing up. ♥
In my young adult life, after my family left it finally (parents divorced & in many ways went back to the way they were 17 years prior....& us kids followed suit), I've missed the Divine Simplicity of such a traditional lifestyle, seek to continue as sustainably, artistically & culturally rich a lifestyle as possible, & have been on a quest to keep the values of how I was raised and assimilate them into modern, everyday living.
Add to that a full philosophical quest including my fiery Greek heritage & converting to Greek Orthodoxy in my early twenties (I left it for a while but have come back full circle with a broadened perspective on Life.......I feel the most at peace with Orthodoxy personally, they are very open, loving, non-judgmental, & mystical!...) etc., a PASSION for all yoga, fit & healthy lifestyles, & many useful healthy Ayurvedic traditions & sciences etc., & a fierce global love for all people, cultures....and FOODS! ;) ♥
I am now an extremely proud Mama of three beautiful little boys, ages 8, 6, & 10 months currently. ;) I love attachment/green/natural parenting, & trying to strike a balance between their obvious modern-day cultural love of media like their little school friends, & more *traditional* play & classic toys or outdoor activities- I am a FIRM believer babies & children *need* to be out in Nature as much as possible!!!! Our favorite thing to do is explore for new streams, lakes & trails together, little hidden nooks, swimming, & skipping stones. :) We also love to read Grimm's fairy tales, & folk tales around the world, make pillow forts & battles, & sometimes they cook, craft with me & make creative messes which is another favorite!!!! ♥
My "second love" is of course yoga/stretching/Pilates/fitness, which consistently in my experience heals basically everything in the body when I practice regularly, including joint pain, stress, and most everything else. :) I have had a love affair with yoga for about 14 years, and my dream is to officially get the teacher training & teach it every day...so that I HAVE to practice daily, no excuses, & reap the health benefits & stronger immune system! ;-)
My third is a deep love for delicious, irresistible, healthy cooking, & the superfoods, fermenting, foraging wild nutritional goldmines....The Quest for always the best possible nutrition, healing & living to our full potential through REAL FOOD! I teach these things & blog about wonderful recipes & techniques I come across, our experiences, daily life etc. already, & want to teach Yoga & perfect Traditional Nutrition professionally, to help more & more people feel the difference! ♥ I wish everyone could know, especially in first-world countries, the difference it feels & makes to eat REAL FOOD and everything else the modern world is forgetting!!!!!! Its an epidemic & we need to get back to the basics before we all forget.
I write about all this when I have time, ;) document, blog, photograph, create, enjoy many arts & crafts including some very old skills, live life to the fullest with my precious family, & pray for Universal Peace, Love, Awareness & Authentic Living inside & out including a respect & healing of Nature, God's Sacred Creation, before it is too late for our children.
I'm also an optimist, have experienced & overcame substantial difficulties & heartache in my life including the early years, and believe Laughter truly IS the "Best Medicine". ;-D I LOVE to laugh & just surrender everything up in the moment in a giant laugh! Ha! Ha! I love humor of almost all types. Make me laugh hard, I'll be your friend forever. ;)
Let's see... also am extremely fond of babies, animals, & flowers, my favorite of the latter being the lotus, water lilies, wild & ancient damask roses, lilies & apple blossoms.
I'm NUTS about anything ethnic, global, Indian, handmade, rustic, & Bohemian especially~ to my mind, they are simultaneous words for Beauty, & I love to search thrift stores for vintage Boho & Indian touches for anything at all! :) I'm a lover of all things beautiful, happy, & good. Design & creativity, organization skills are some of my strongest points!! I try to keep it sustainable as possible though, & "live more with less". I learned the hard lesson, be happy with what you have!!!! If you need something or could really use it, look for it used or free or just do without maybe...OR, make it yourself! :) Its the antithesis of materialism. Haha! ♥
Well, there is so much more to say, but you'll have to read the blog! ;-) Xoxo LOVE to you all! Peace & Blessings! ♥
