LIVING HEALTH Magazine now available for the iPad

I have started working with Livre Press, Inc., a book and magazine publisher that will help me share some of my recipes along with simple life lessons.

Today, their electronic magazine LIVING HEALTH has become available for the iPad.

I highly recommend this magazine for those who are determined to live a wholesome and joyous life.

The free sample can be downloaded from iTunes.

Livre Press, Inc. has asked me to remind anyone who downloads the magazine to leave a positive comment or star rating on iTunes (Ratings and Reviews) or the App Store.

 

 

Fish Lau Lau

This recipe comes from Gina, George of the Dunes’ wife and George Son’s mother. It is a Hawaiian tradition, but Gina added a few of her own secrets to make it even more savory.

Ingredients

4 lbs. of ono fish (or any other white fish)

1 tablespoon of Hawaiian sea salt

2 tablespoons of Grapeseed Mayonnaise

1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce

1/2  teaspoon of paprika

1/2 teaspoon of chili powder

12 taro leaves

6 ti leaves

Preparation

Cut the fish into cubes and put it in a large bowl

Mix in the mayonnaise, worcestershire sauce, paprika, chili powder and Hawaiian sea salt and let it sit for a few minutes while you work on the leaves

Cut and discard the stems from the ti leaves; wash them and do not dry

Place two or three taro leaves on top of each other, making at least 4 lau-laus

Place 1/4 of the fish with the mix on top of each taro leaf pile and wrap the lau-lau

Place each lau-lau in the center of a ti-leaf and wrap it on one side; then use a second ti-leaf to wrap it on the other side, making it look like a nicely wrapped gift package

Layer a cooking sheet with any remains of taro leaves, place the packages on it, and bake it for 3 hours in 375-degree oven.

Mashed Taro Root with Butter

When my grandson Philly returned to our lives—oh the joy of that day!—we found out that he had been raised on taro root, a marvelous root crop that grows mostly in tropical climates but did make its way into Europe during the Roman Empire and slowly concentrated in the Canary Islands. Gina had brought a few seedlings to her sister Lynda and the plant took by the river banks. Gina taught Philly how to cook taro root in all different ways. This one was one of Philly’s favorites:

Ingredients

• 4 taro roots peeled

• 3 table spoons of unsalted butter

• 1 teaspoon of graded, fresh horse radish

• 2 teaspoon of celtic sea salt

• 1 table spoon of graded pepper corns

Preparation

• Peel the taro roots and steam them for approximately 40 minutes

• Inside a bowl, place the butter and the salt

• Take the cooked taro roots straight from the steamer and put them through a potato ricer over the bowl with the butter

• Mix well until butter is fully melted, adding the horse radish and graded pepper corns

Serve with filet mignon or with white fish accompanied by green beans, kale or spinach.

Humus

My favorite types of humus, this delectable mediterranean paste that can be eaten with pita bread or just as a dip for veggies, are roasted garlic and roasted red pepper.  Here is a simple and low cost way of making these wonderful additions to your meals:

 

Garbanzo Beans:

The first step to making humus is cooking the garbanzo beans, so I will post this first and when the humus recipe calls for garbanzo beans, it will be these ones that you already cooked.

3 cups of garbanzo beans

1 tsp celtic salt

1 tsp garlic powder

The first thing to do is soak the garbanzo beans for about 8 hours.

Remove the old water and rinse the soaked beans a bit.

Add the soaked bins to a pan with enough room for the content to double and a good fitting lid.

Add 6 cups of fresh water, 1 tsp of garlic powder and 1 tsp of celtic salt.

Let the water boil on high and then bring the fire to simmer, placing the lid.

Cook the garbanzo beans on simmer for about 2 hrs. or more.

Remove pan from stove when beans are soft and remove lid so it cools faster.

Let the beans cool for about an hour.

 

Roasted Pepper Humus:

2 peeled cloves of fresh garlic

1 1/2 cups of garbanzo beans

1 cup of olive oil

1 cup of lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

1/2 tsp celtic salt

1 tsp paprika

1 fresh red pepper

Roasting the Red Pepper:

While the beans are cooking, cut the red pepper in strips, make sure to remove all seeds and white parts

Roast them in 2 tbs of olive oil and 1/2 tsp of celtic salt on a skillet.

They should end up quite browned.

Making the Humus Paste:

Once the garbanzo beans and the red peppers are cool, throw them in the blender with the rest of the ingredients.

Blend until it becomes a paste.

 

Roasted Garlic Humus:

2 peeled cloves of fresh garlic

1 1/2 cups of garbanzo beans

1 cup of olive oil

1 cup of lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

1/2 tsp celtic salt

8 peeled cloves of fresh garlic

Roasting the garlic:

Heat up about 1 tbs of olive oil on a skillet

Throw the 8 cloves of garlic and 1/2 tsp of celtic salt

Roast them until they are brown and soft.

Making the Humus Paste:

Once the roasted garlic cloves cool off, throw them, the garbanzo beans, and all other ingredients in the blender, and blend until it becomes a paste.

You may want to add more salt or more lemon juice, depending on taste buds.

A Tahini blast from the past

A long time ago, when I was still a teen and healthy foods were making their way into the youth culture, I learned how to make “gersal” and tahini. Gersal was a combination of toasted sesame seeds and sea salt ground in a blender. Tahini was the continuation of this process, adding olive oil, lemon juice and garlic.  Needless to say that organic ingredients are recommended.  Here are my recipes for both:

Gersal:

3 cups of hulled sesame seeds
1  tsp of celtic sea salt

Place the sesame seeds on a skillet and heat them to the point where they begin to toast.

Wait until the seeds are cool and put them in the blender.

Add the salt and blend until the seeds have turned into powder.

Remove one cup of the powder mix and store it in a glass container.

That is your “gersal.”  Tastes great on brown rice, steamed veggies.

Tahini:

2 cloves of fresh garlic

3 tbs of freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup of olive oil

Add to the powder in the blender the olive oil, the lemon juice and the garlic.

Blend until it becomes a soft paste.

If you love garlic, add another clove.

If you love salt or lemon… add more.

It produces about a quart jar of tahini.

 

Cajun Fish

One of my favorite ways of eating fish is Cajun style. However, when the food is too fried, it loses a lot of its freshness.

One way to have Cajun be somewhat healthier is to use all organic ingredients and fry the fish with Ghee. Here is a recipe I concocted for the Cajun rub (ahi tuna is great for it):

2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of dried tarragon
1 1/4 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/4 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon of dried mustard
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

TIPS:

If you have a mortar and would prefer to use fresh ingredients, that would be best.

Lather the fish with olive oil and apply the rub.

Fry it in Ghee for 20 minutes (10 minutes each side)

Tips for Wholesomeness

It is so important that you know how to choose your ingredients. This post will be updated constantly, as I try to explain the best way to choosing fresh, wholesome ingredients, how to treat your vegetables and fruits, how to choose your meat and dairy, and how to obtain best results from your culinary endeavours. My knowledge has come from years of being exposed to others who have fought to find truth in wholesome ways of eating.

Organic Wholesome Foods

VEGETABLES and FRUITS

For those on a tight budget, I recommend this link to see what is okay to buy non-organic and what is not: http://www.foodnews.org/fulllist.php

Top five less important to buy organic:
1 Onions
2 Avocado
3 Sweet Corn (Frozen)
4 Pineapples
5 Mango (Subtropical and Tropical)

Bottom five most important to buy organic:
45 Blueberries (Domestic)
46 Apples
47 Strawberries
48 Peaches
49 Celery (the worst; always buy organic)

WASHING YOUR VEGETABLES AND FRUITS:

In order to remove pesticides and bacteria from my vegetables and fruits, I wash them as soon as I pick them from my garden or purchase them from a local grocer. The following is a recommended treatment for both vegetables, greens and fruits:

1. Soak in a sink filled with tap water and one cup of vegetable wash

2. Rinse with filtered water

3. Soak for two minutes in a bowl filled with filtered water and 4 tbs of food-grade hydrogen peroxide

4. Dry with a clean towel; if greens, use those spinners to dry faster

5. Bag using non-BPH plastic bags, and mark the date with a permanent marker

COW MEAT:

The best is to always find grass-fed, organic. Buffalo meat is 40% leaner, but difficult to find and quite expensive. Organic, grass-fed cow meat is rich in Omega 3-6-9 and not hazardous to your heart.

CHICKEN and EGGS:

Look for organic, free-range, not just cage-free. Free-range means that the bird was allowed outside and be able to graze, therefore the eggs are going to be a lot purer. Cage-free just means that the bird was not locked up in a cage, but could very well be in a contained environment, not necessarily outdoors, roaming free. Also, organic means that the bird was fed an organic diet.

OILS:

It is SO important to cook with and consume the right types of oils. As you may know, when most oils are heated, their molecular structure is altered into a substance not absorbable by the human cell. In other words, it turns into a type of carcinogen poison. The best cooking oil is actually not an oil; it’s a type of clarified butter called Ghee. When heated, its molecular structure remains intact.

Grape seed oil is the next best thing, but it needs to be organic. The same with olive oil, which must be extra-virgin cold pressed, and stored in a dark bottle. I discovered that other olive oils, especially those in clear bottles, are mixed with additional oils that lack heat-resistance, and are damaging to your cells.

Safflower and sunflower oils, if organic, can be used. I don’t necessarily like to name brands, but Spectrum has a thermometer on their organic oils’ labels that shows the optimum temperature of each oil.

Hemp oil is great for consumption because of the concentrated, rich amount of Omega 6 and it is low in saturated fatty acid; however, it is not the best recommendation for cooking.

JUICING:

One of the funnest things to do is to get up early, and get some of my washed, clean vegetables and fruits, and put them through the juicer. Carrots and beets, with an apple and kale, makes up for a delicious, refreshing juice. Done every morning, you will definitely keep yourself looking and feeling healthy. At first it can be overwhelming, because there is so much freshness. Once you get in the habit of doing it, you wonder how you did without it.

SPROUTING:

Whenever I cook beans, rice, or do anything with seeds or nuts, I always soak them overnight to release the enzymes. This is the first phase of sprouting, where the food becomes alive again. Make sure that in the morning, you either change the water, or start cooking or using the soaked ingredients.

SALT:

The majority of salts contain sodium chloride, which is detrimental to one’s health, even those labeled sea salt. Another issue that can damage one’s health is lack of minerals. The solution for both? Celtic Sea Salt. By using this particular type of salt, minerals can be absorbed daily and the intake of sodium chloride is completely eliminated. This type of salt can be ordered on the Internet but it is also found in specialty stores in Europe and the U.S.

SUGAR:

There is not much positive to be said of sugar. However, life can be bitter so why not sweeten it up a bit? Maple syrup, molasses, honey are great sugar substitutes when you are cooking. As a sweetener for coffee and tea, Xylitol is a great substitute. The caution with Xylitol is that you want the kind produced from birch and not corn. Corn has become so genetically altered that its molecular structure lacks the original elements required to fuel the body. Another thing to watch for is that Xylitol can be quite the laxative; if taken in excess it can affect your intestinal flora.

CLEANSES:

Speaking of intestinal flora, cleanses are recommended to keep it healthy. I will post a recommended cleanse in my next blog.

Indian-Style Breast of Chicken

This is a simple recipe for an Indian-style baked chicken breast. It is so easy to make, and yet the flavours are amazing.

Make sure that the chicken is free-range, organic, and not just cage-free.

The dry rub Ingredients:

• 1 tsp of Tumeric
• 1 tsp of Yellow Mustard
• 1 tsp of Curry Powder
• 1 tsp of Cumin Seeds

How to prepare:

– Mix the spices in a small bowl. Personally, I use the ones with a plastic cover so I can save my dry rub mix for future dishes.

A small bowl to store dry rubs; mortar to crush spice seeds

– With a mortar, mash the cumin seeds. 1 tsp of Anise Seeds is optional.

I always use stainless steel or glass for storing anything.

The Chicken Ingredients:

• 2 breasts of organic, free-range chicken
• 2 tbs of olive oil

How to prepare the whole thing:

– Place two breasts of chicken in an oven-safe dish and pour one to two table spoons of organic olive oil.

– Sprinkle, at will, the rub over both sides of the meat and cover the dish with foil.

– Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees, and insert the dish in the oven.

– Cook for 30 minutes; remove the foil and let the chicken cook uncovered for another 10 minutes; add 1/4 cup of water and let it cook for another 5 minutes

Serves 2

Goes well with rice and Saag, another Indian dish, for which I will post the recipe soon.

Flavourful Brown Rice

Brown Rice with Sprinkled Parsley

Whenever I cook rice, it needs to have a delicious flavor, otherwise my family will not enjoy it.  So here is a trick for making flavourful, organic brown rice.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of organic short-grain brown rice
• 3 cups of fresh water
• 1 onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbs of olive oil
• 2 to 3 teaspoons of Celtic salt

How to prepare:

– Squish the garlic using a garlic press and place it in a small bowl

– Slice the onion into thin slices and leave it on the cutting board

– Heat up the olive oil in the rice pan

– When the oil is heated, throw the garlic in it and let it brown; as soon as it begins to brown, throw the slices of onion

– Keep sautéeing until brown, throw the brown rice and keep stirring the brown rice in the sautée mix for a minute or two

– Pour the water in the pan (you will hear a searing noise) and let the water boil

– Once the water is boiling, turn the fire down to simmer, cover the pan and let it cook for approximately 40 minutes, or until all of the water is gone

– Important: turn off the fire and wrap the pan in newspaper or a brown shopping bag, and place it in the oven (while it is turned OFF; this is not to heat the rice, but to keep it in a closed environment so that the rice gets loose with the steam)

After 30 minutes, pull out the rice from the turned OFF oven.  It should have a delicious flavour and be easy to digest.

Serves 4 – 6

Panquecas

An original Brazilian recipe for crepes called "Panquecas"

Although this dish originated in France, my Brazilian son-in-law, Paulo Cardoso, brought it to our family here in Glenariff.  It is a variation of crepes, which in Portuguese, according to Paulo, are called “Panquecas,” and are pronounced PUN-KEH-KAH.  The “S” in the end is for plural.

This particular recipe was made by Paulo’s grandmother, his mother, his wife, Maureen (my daughter) and calls for the “panquecas” to be covered with tomato sauce, sprinkled with a little organic Parmesan cheese.

The crepe is so easy to make (everything organic):

1 cup of 2% fat milk
1 cup of gluten-free all purpose organic flour
1 egg
1 tbs of olive oil
1 tad bit of salt

Put everything in the blender.
After blending, get a ladle.
Heat up a frying pan with a tiny bit of olive oil
Then make the crepes as if they were pancakes, but a lot thinner.
As they are coming out of the pan…
Put a little meat in the middle and roll it
Place the rolled crepe in an oven-safe dish
after all crepes are in the dish, pour a little tomato sauce and sprinkle Parmesan.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Put crepes in it for 15 mins
And voi lá! Super yummy… No glutten…