Finally Food I Can Eat
December 16, 2009
There is a great section on food alternatives; for example for anyone with lactose intolerance or following a vegan diet, 1 cup cow’s milk = 1 cup rice or soy milk or 1/4 cup tofu blended with 1 cup water. I cup Buttermilk can be made with 1 cup soy milk mixed with 2 tsp lemon juice. Shirley also discusses substitutes for wheat flour using spelt, rice, buckwheat flours etc and sugar substitutes as well.
The recipes and tips are born from necessity as Shirley suffers from food intolerances and allergies herself. For anyone in the same boat who says ‘There is nothing left to eat’, here is a cookbook for you!
Finally Food I Can Eat is available at our Westboro Studio and all book stores. Enjoy these delicious holiday treats – Christmas Treats from page 195 and Christmas Cashew Ball, page 196.
Christmas Treats
free of dairy, wheat, yeast, corn, sugar, eggs, soy, nightshades and gluten
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup dates
2 Tbsp orange juice
2 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp water
1 tsp orange rind or lemon zest
1/4 cup pecans chopped finely
3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
Chop apricots and dates into pieces and place in a saucepan with orange juice, water and honey. Cover and simmer over low to medium heat until fruit is tender and liquid has evaporated, about 5-10 minutes.
Remove from heat and let fruit cool
Puree fruit in a food processor until it is pasty. Add zest and nuts and mix in a bowl.
With slightly oiled fingers, pinch off a small amount and roll into balls and coat with coconut.
Place on a tray and let sit in a cool place for a day, and then enjoy
Christmas Cashew Balls
free of dairy, wheat, yeast, corn, sugar, eggs, soy, nightshades and gluten
1 cup unsalted cashew pieces
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1 cup dates, finely chopped
1 Tbsp orange juice
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
Roast your cashew pieces in a cast-iron pan, but stir often so they don’t burn. It will take only a few minutes to get a nice roasted flavour, or you can cheat and buy roasted cashews.
Grind cashews in a food processor but not too finely. Add in cardamom, dates, orange zest, and orange juice and mix.
Roll into small balls, then roll in coconut. Eat and enjoy, no baking needed.
Hugh Jackman and Soup
December 4, 2009
Ok now that I have your attention…..
Two weeks ago I went with 6 of the most amazing women, for four days, to New York City to celebrate a milestone birthday. We shopped a lot (Macy’s at Christmas time – stay away!). We stayed at the Affinia Hotel on 34th St (with the Colorado Avalanche NHL team), went to amazing dinners at Landmarc and at Gramercy Tavern, went running to Central Park, experienced Times Square at night (fun), took cabs, taxis and the train, ate pretzels from street vendors and oh yes – saw the play, A Steady Rain with Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig!! I actually think Hugh spoke directly to me – really! Needless to say – NYC was great!
Experiencing a min-vacation with best girl-friends, packing in as much activity as we could from 7am to 2am was amazing; arriving home I felt elated and at the same time totally spent. Time for some rest and some food to build me back up; this brings me to soup!
I can think of no easier meal to prepare and no better way to pack in lots of nutrients in one big bowl, that satisfies, warms and fills you up. So out came the soup pot and I think my husband and I have had soup for dinner every night for the last week or so. I’ll share with you here an adaptation of a black bean soup from the Food & Drink magazine. I had all the ingredients on hand (so I didn’t have to venture out for more shopping), combine this with a big spinach or kale salad with warm dressing and fresh whole grain bread and it’s a meal made in heaven – my version of which now also includes Hugh :) think he’ll come for dinner?
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Soup
4 cups organic vegetable broth
1each carrot and celery stalk, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tbsp dried oregano leaves
2 tsp ground cumin
2 bay leaves
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed. I used Eden Organic, no BPA in the lining of the can
Generous pinches salt and pepper
Heat broth in a large soup pot; add carrot, celery, garlic, onion, tomatoes and sweet potato, oregano, cumin and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer and cook until veggies are fork-tender. Add black beans and simmer for another 5 minutes to heat the beans. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Makes about 6 big servings
