Red Watermelon or Yellow Watermelon?
Summer wouldn’t be summer without fresh juicy watermelon! And when I say watermelon I’m not talking about the seedless kind. I’m talking about the original kind with the beautiful contrasting natural back seeds. Going back to my childhood memories I remember many times during the summer my father cutting up big watermelons which our family of 6 would devour, almost before he finished cutting them. Back then watermelon was better than candy to me. It took on the duties…
Making Carob Bread with My Spelt Sourdough Starter
The whole science of making bread has always fascinated me. Actually baking in general. So its been challenging to say the least that due to my digestive issues and autoimmune challenges I’ve had to change the way I eat and bake. There’s no more sugar laden, chocolate indulgent, dairy filled , white flour desserts or breads for me anymore. Instead I’ve had to make adjustments. I noticed the impact gluten as well as grains were having on…
The Herb Epazote
A few days ago I wrote about an herb called Papalo. The same day at the farmers market I bought Papalo, I also bought a bunch of herbs called Epazote, pronounced ep.a.zote. My experience with Papalo was very positive. But my experience with the herb Epazote was even more so! I like Papalo but if I had to pick between both herbs it would be Epazote and I’ll tell you why. But first let me talk…
What is Papalo?
It’s always exciting for me to come across something I’ve never seen before, especially in the herb and plant family. A week ago I was at the farmers market. I came upon a gentleman discussing herbs, in particular herbs indigenous to Mexico and South American countries. One of the plants he was explaining about was Papalo. When he gave me a leaf to try, I was immediately blown away by the flavor. The flavor was intense. It tasted like cilantro…
Blackberry Banana Cobbler
Oh summer, how I love you so! Warm, sunny days. Fresh fruit and vegetables in abundance. And blackberries…ahhh blackberries. I never knew how much I liked blackberries until I moved to North Carolina. North Carolina’s state fruit is the Scuppernong grape ( I have a post about this indigenous grape linked here). And it’s reported the state’s red fruit is strawberry and the state’s blue fruit is blueberry. However in my opinion the state’s blue fruit should definitely be the blackberry.…
Radish Tart
This recipe is a take off an Asian classic dim sum….turnip cake. The traditional way to make turnip cake is with a rice flour batter, dried shrimp, some type of meat and mushrooms. I decided to reconstruct this Asian classic, use all veggies and make a quiche like tart. I also made it a one bowl kind of deal instead of the traditional way of boiling the radish and mixing the water with the rice flour. This dish…
21 Amazing Health Benefits of Lovely Lemon Balm
Lemon Balm is such a lovely sounding name for an herb. But don’t let the lovely sounding name fool you. This herb is POWERFUL! I thought it only fitting since we’re in the beginning of summer and in the season of the astrological sign Cancer to talk about lemon balm. Seventeenth century herbalist and astrologer Nicholas Culpeper proclaimed lemon balm being of the sign of Cancer as well as an “Herb of Jupiter”. He said the herb strengthens…
The BEST Gluten-Free Protein Carob Brownies Ever!
If you’re like me and shouldn’t consume chocolate you’re going to be so happy with this recipe. Chocolate use to be my saving grace, a piece of chocolate to help survive a hectic work day, or a brownie when I was feeling down. But those days are long gone. Like a lot of people chocolate has now become my nemesis, it’s too inflammatory for my body. So carob has taken chocolate’s place. Out of every chocolate dessert including chocolate cake,…
Fried Yellow Oyster Mushrooms (Gluten-Free)
Saturday is my favorite day of the week. Not because it’s the weekend but because it’s the best farmers market day. On Saturday, organic farmers, growers and owners of fabulous small business who aren’t normally there during the week come on Saturday to showcase their goods. And it was on a Saturday I met a couple of guys selling the most beautiful yellow oyster mushrooms I’ve ever seen. When I saw them I had to buy them and use them…
Celery Juice, Friend or Foe
It seems like the media consistently comes up with some new “in” superfood or supplement to grab our attention as the new cure all. And since most of us want to be as healthy as possible we gravitate to the latest superfood hoping it does what it’s claiming to do. Well the new health craze for the moment and has been for a while is celery juice. Being one to always be late to jump on the bandwagon of…
