Buckwheat Ravioli Stuffed with Butternut Squash and Walnut

A great alternative to wheat pasta I found making buckwheat pasta from scratch works great! I used eggs in this as I wasn't sure just buckwheat and water would work but next time I will try it as I don't like to use eggs really but once in a great while is ok. I used a pasta machine to roll this out but you could get away with a rolling pin. The filling is easy and so tasty.

300 gram buckwheat flower
1-2 eggs
bit of water

1/2 butternut squash or pumpkin
handful of walnuts
nutmeg
sea salt

Get your oven on 180C or 350F and cut your squash in half. Spoon out the seeds. Place it flat side down on a greased baking tin. Cook in the oven until soft when poked with a fork. While that is cooking, pour your flour out on a clean counter and make a well in it. Add your egg and use a fork to work the egg into the flour. Then add more egg if needed or water. Do it slow and create a ball of dough. It will require a bit of working a rolling and kneading. Kneed it for 5 min or so until it's elastic and pliable. Let it rest for 20 min under a damp cloth. Then roll it our in a pasta machine or rolling pin.

Get a big pot of salted water on to boil. For you filling, scoop out the squash into a bowl, squash with a fork and add some chopped walnuts, salt and nutmeg to taste. Cut our your strips of pasta into 4 or 5 inch wide strips so you can put a spoonful of filling about an inch or two apart and then fold the pasta over the top. First though you want to moisten the pasta with egg or water so when you put the pasta on top it will seal. Press gently from the filling outwards to get rid of air bubbles. Cut into squares. It's really hard to describe how to do this. Just think ravioli and how it should look and make it up as you go. That's what I do!

Now gently put your perfect (yeah right!) ravioli into the water and cook until they float or the pasta is soft. You may need to test it to check it's right. While that's cooking get a small pan on med heat and warm your choice of oil with lots of chopped garlic until the garlic is cooked a bit. Serve on top of the pasta with a bit more grated nutmeg. Get a proper nutmeg seed for the best flavor! Serve with lots of veg! But don't over cook it like I did to my broc as shown in this not so appetising photo!

Kimchi Raw Ramen

This is sorta a salad and soup combined. Good for lunch or dinner. It's gets your raw in there as well as the warming soup.

Serving one person:
brown rice udon noodles (i know it's not ramen but hea, it's healthy)
kimchi plus about a 1/4 to 1/3 cup of it's brine (or veg stock if you don't have enough brine)
tamari
sesame oil
chili flakes or tabasco
1/2 carrot very thinly sliced
some zucchini very thinly sliced
1 spring onion
about a tblsp of chopped coriander
a few fresh mushrooms chopped (i didn't have any this time!)

Cook your noodles. Put aside and then add some of the kimchi brine to the pan and heat it up. Throw a few splashes of tamari in and then add your noodles back in. Add some water if you want more broth. Take off the heat and put it in a bowl. Add all your veggies, a heaping amount of kimchi, add a bit of chili on top, coriander and a few splashes of sesame oil. My favorite kitchen utensil for thin slicing is pictured above. Works great for carrots and zucchini!

Chili

This is easy to make and hearty as well. You can make it as hot as you want! Add some fresh salad with it and it's a great healthy meal.

1/2 med onion chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 tblsp oil of your choice
1/2 bell pepper green or red chopped
1/2 carrot chopped in small bits
3/4 cup quorn mince or any ground beef substitute of your choice or more chopped veg
1 tblsp of tamari or soy sauce
1 tin of kidney beans or about 12 oz of cooked beans
1/2 cup veg broth
1 tin of tomatoes or 4-5 fresh ones
1/2 lemon
1 tblsp of chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 splash of apple cider vinegar
more water if you need it
taste for salt and pepper

Heat your pan and add your oil. Make sure the pan is not too hot. Add the onions, garlic and pepper. Throw a little bit of water in there to water saute it. Add your carrots and meat substitute. I would now flavor the fake meat with tamari. Squeeze lemon in. Add your beans, veg broth, spice and vinegar. Taste it and see if you need salt and pepper and maybe a little more water if not saucy enough or more spice. Serve with salad and brown rice.

Potato Cauliflower Curry

I modified this recipe from the best curry book out there. It's from Madhur Jaffrey's Curry Bible. I found out she has a vegetarian book out there which I will be asking for x-mass! This recipe is really great because for one it tastes so amazing and you can cook your cauliflower just a bit raw so you can get the best nutrients out of it. Same with the tomatoes. Get out shopping for spices as I love curry and will have lots on this blog.

for 4 people
140g chopped onions (about 1/2 big onion)
2 inch piece of ginger chopped
4 cloves of garlic chopped
2 tblsp of oleolux
2 pretty big boiling potatoes, boiled, cooled and chopped into 1x1 inch pieces
3/4 cauliflower head chopped in little flower heads
a good pinch of ground asafetida
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
180g tomatoes chopped (I put in about 4 med ones)
1 tsp salt
3-4 fresh hot green chilies left whole but with small slits in them


Boil the potatoes. Put the onions, ginger, garlic and 4 tblsp of water in a blender and blend until smooth. Now heat a big pan that has a lid on med and melt the oleolux or oil. Lightly cook the onion paste for about 5 minutes. Add your spices and cook for a further 3 minutes. Then add the potatoes, cauliflower, chili's, salt and enough water to almost cover the veg. Put the lid on and cook until the cauliflower to desired firmness or mushiness in my mom's case. Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes more. It should have a nice thick consistency. If it's too runny cook with the lid off.

Oleolox -Budwig alternative to butter

This can be used instead of butter for a healthy oil alternative. Use it on bread, vegetables, buckwheat, rice, in soup ect.

This is Dr. Johanna Budwig recipe

250g organic raw coconut fat
1 onion
10 garlic cloves
125ml Flaxseed Oil

Put 125ml of Flaxseed Oil in the freezer. Cut the onion in half or sections and brown lightly in the coconut fat. Don't have the oil too hot. Med to low heat is best. Cook the onions for 15 minutes and then add the garlic cloves and cook for only 3 more minutes. Strain the oil through a sieve into the chilled Flax Oil. Keep it in a jar, not plastic. Always keep it in the fridge!

Amazing Beet Soup

Emily my sister in law made me some beet soup with tomatoes and a chili in it the other day and it was one of the best soups I ever had! I decided to make my own. I have it say it was fantastic and I encourage all of you to give it a go! I found a farm shop who was selling beets for .10p a beet and they were huge. I got a load of them. Rad!

1.5 big beets chopped and cooked in water for about an hour until soft
4-5 decent sized tomatoes
1 hot chilli
1 lemon
a few sprigs of basil
sea salt

After cooking your chopped beet in a pan, drain it out and save the water. Chop your tomatoes in a few big chunks and throw it in raw with the beets. Chop your chili as well and throw that in too. Take a stick blender (or throw it all in a food processor) and blend until desired consistancy. Keep adding the saved water to it to make the blending easier and to get it thin enough to eat. Put it back on the heat and warm up. Add a squeese of lemon to taste and add sea salt. I had to add quite a bit to get the balance right. Then add torn basil leaves to serve. Tasty! We had it with a slice of Dee's homemade sourdough wholemeal bread which was so good!

My Cancer Fighting Protocol

If your wondering what my daily protocol is here it is.

-drink saurkraut juice first thing
-1/2 hour later drink some green tea
-eat the flaxseed oil/yogurt cheese breakfast with 2 tblsp of fresh ground flaxseeds
-about 10 or 11 am make a fresh juice. I make a combo of veg and fruit and make it big as well because I don't have time to do a second juice in the day. I usually do carrots, ginger, apples and beets and a bit of cabbage, broc or cauli. I also add spirulina to this as well as turmeric and cayenne. yeah a bit yuck.
-drink some green tea before lunch
-lunch is a raw salad and some kimchi or saurkraut on top. Sometimes a piece of homemade wholewheat sourdough bread with avocado and sprouts or something like that but not often. Or some soup.
-Second serving of flaxseed oil/yogurt cheese (I sometimes don't get to this one if I am out so I eat it after dinner)
-drink 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds in sparkling wine or pineapple juice and fizzy water.
-have another green tea at somepoint
-eat dinner around 6-7
-try to get another 1 tblsp ground flax in a drink
-probably another green tea
SAUNA at least 3 times a week
-drink a glass of red wine if I feel like it

Coffee enema about 1 to 2 times a month
Thymunex - amazing thymic peptides for immune support
Bromelain 1000mg a day for inflammation and cancer fighting
sea kelp pills for iodine since I eat and juice a lot of cabbage
Vit D3 at 8000 iu a day in fall, winter and early spring but I almost always get outside for daylight.
greens plus about 8 a day
Exercise at least 40 min a day, usually a walk with dogs or bike ride
jumping on trampoline when I remember for lymph system movement
visualisation, self-hypnosis and deep breathing

So I eat a total of 2 tblsp of ground flaxseeds a day and drink 3 tblsp of ground flaxseeds. I eat 8 tblsp of flaxseed oil a day. 2 in salad dressing and soups

Homemade Yogurt and Yogurt Cheese

To make yogurt it's easy!

You bring milk in a pan with a lid to a very slow boil. If you heat it too fast it will burn. As soon as it boils turn it off and take off the heat. Let it cool enough where you can stick your finger in it for 10 seconds without it feeling too hot. Then add some live yogurt you bought at a store. A few big heaping tablespoons for 1 liter or per quart of milk. Once you make this yogurt you can save some back for the starter for your new yogurt. You just have to remember to save some! Now you need to keep it in a warm place for about 8 hours. You can see when the yogurt has set. A dehydrator works great, an oven on super low setting, an airing cupboard, or near a radiator, in your bed, well not really.

To make yogurt cheese you just take finished yogurt and put it in a muslin cloth, cheese cloth or in a clean pair of nylons works good. Hang it up in your fridge overnight so that about 3/4 of the whey has drained out. It's hard to tell when that is but you will know if too much whey has come out when the cheese is like mozzarella. If you can't work out how to hang it try using a colander to sit it in. That's it!

Dr Budwig's Flaxseed Oil with Cottage Cheese

Ok, some of my friends and family have asked how to make the flaxseed oil/cottage cheese mixture which is the crucial element in the Budwig Protocol for fighting and preventing cancer. I have a Budwig cook book so this is the correct recipe. I love the mixture and look forward to eating it as it's a nice treat when esp since I eat no sugar.

Dr Budwig listed Quark which is a virtually fat free soft cheese from Germany as the fat source to mix with the flaxseed oil which is crucial for it's binding properties. Flaxseed oil needs to be mixed with this well so it can become water soluble and better absorbed into the body. The way it works is a whole other story and just look at the link I put in the "about me" section for more info.

Since quark is not easily found in the US and UK people use cottage cheese or yogurt cheese as a substitute which works the same as quark. I can't find any organic cottage cheese in the UK so I use yogurt cheese. I like the taste of it better although I do use cottage cheese sometimes if I am making a more savory version of this recipe to put on top of baked potatoes and other things.

I will make a post about how to make yogurt and yogurt cheese after this.

Basic Ingredients
2 tblsp of ground flaxseeds (freshly ground as the go rancid in 20 min)
3 tblsp of Flax Seed Oil (Barleans is best)
1-2 tblsp of Milk
100 grams or 6 tblsp of Cottage Cheese or Yogurt Cheese
1 tsp honey

Basically you put the ground flaxseeds in a bowl and add chopped fruit and nuts. My favorite for the fall right now is chopped apple, pineapple or pear with walnuts and pumpkin seeds. Then mix the flax oil, milk and honey and gradually add the cheese and mix until you don't see anymore oil. Hand stick blender works best for this. You can add then lovely cinnamon on top or even ginger. My fav. I tend to just whip all the flax oil, milk, honey and cheese all at once and it turns out fine. You can also make smoothies with this mixture. Just make sure you mix the oil, milk, honey and cheese bit first before adding fruit juice and berries ect. Get creative!

Super Cancer Fightin Cabbage Salad

I was getting tired of lettuce so decided to do a salad with a more 'Asian' flavor. This is super good and great on the cancer fighting front. Enjoy!

1/4 a Chinese cabbage cut into slices or chopped
1 carrot sliced thin
1/4 cucumber sliced thin
4 mushrooms of any kind (I used chestnut) sliced
1/4 red pepper sliced thin
1 stick celery sliced thin
bean sprouts -handful
cress - handful
a bit of thin sliced red onion
dried seaweed flakes

Dressing
(I never measure things out so I am guessing here how much I added, you should taste and adjust)
1 tbl minced ginger
1 clove of minced garlic
1/2 of a red chili or green
squeeze of lemon
1 tbsp of tamari
1 tsp honey dissolved in 1 tbsp of hot water
2 tbsp of flaxseed oil
few splashes of sesame oil
1 tbsp of brown rice vinegar

sauerkraut!

I drink sauerkraut juice every morning. It's full of really good enzynmes that are great for digestion and gut health. The key to your health is your guts! Keep em healthy. Drinking sauerkraut juice sounds gross but it's acutally really good. Well I like it at least! Here is a simple recipe on how to make it. You can drink the juice as well as eat the kraut or you can juice the kraut as well.




1 cabbage head
about 1/4 cup fresh squeezed apple juice for a 1 liter jar
filtered water
1 tsp sea salt

Chop the cabbage and stuff it into a jar. Really cram it in there. Mix the apple juice with some water and about a tsp or more of sea salt. Fill up the jar with this and add more water until it's up to the top. Put the lid on and leave out on the counter for 5 days. You should put a towel under it as the cabbage will start to ferment and bubble up and leak out the top. After about 5-6 days put it in the fridge and enjoy!

Unrefined Sea Salt

Lets talk about salt! I love salt, our bodies require a certain amount of salt to be healthy. We should be putting the best kind of salt in our bodies that gain the most benefit. Unrefined sea salt is great! It tastes amazing and it has loads of trace minerals that are very good for you. Refined salt has all the goodness taken out of it. Even your standard white sea salt has been processed. Try to find yourself a nice unrefined sea salt. It should be a bit brown in colour, not snow white. We are missing so many trace minerals in our diet and this is one healthy way to get them back in!

Homous

I always make humous different every time I make it! I decided to finally write it down as this batch turned out really nice and not too strong.

12 oz cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans) save the bean juice
2 tbsp tahini
1 lemon
3 tbsp flaxseed oil or olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup of chopped onion
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
cayenne to taste
some paprika
salt to taste
bit of chopped parsley

Use a food processor or a hand stick blender and blend the chickpeas, some bean juice if it needs it, tahini, lemon and oil until it's nice and fluffy and smooth. Now add the garlic, onion and spices. Make sure you give it a taste to balance the flavors. Add more lemon or salt if it tastes a bit bland. Add a bit of paprika when you serve as well as some chopped parsley.

Lentil Soup

My friend Maggie inspired me on this one as she said she had Turkish lentil soup for dinner. I thought I would see what that was and make up my own. Turned out great. Very hearty and filling. A nice chunk of homemade wholewheat bread is good with this or a salad. I made some hummous to go with it which turned out great so I am adding that recipe as well.

3.5 cups veg broth
1 cup red lentils
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 onion
1 carrot chopped into small pieces
4 tomatoes chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
handful of chopped parsley
1.5 cup water
1/2 cup buckwheat or bulgar wheat
1-2 tbsp tomato paste
lemon juice

Get your lentils on to boil in the veg broth. Skim off any scum. Let them simmer for 20 min or so. Get another pan with a lid on med heat and add some oil. Put the chopped onions and carrot in with the lid for 5-8 min, then add the chopped tomato, spices, salt and parsley. Cook for a little and then add the water, buckwheat and tomato paste. Now add this to the cooked lentils and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Take a hand stick blender and blend it up a little but make sure there are still some chunks left. Add lemon juice and more parsley if you want.

Rice and Black Beans

Sounds simple and it is but sooo good. Plus you get a lot of raw in this plus the added complete protein of rice and beans! Black beans are my favorite bean for this but you could use pinto or something similar.
8-12 oz of cooked black beans and most of it's bean juice
1 cup of brown rice
2 cloves of garlic
1 table spoon of cumin seeds
sea salt
chili powder
1/3 red or green bell pepper

for the garnish
lettuce
olives
grated cheese or nutritional yeast
lime
sliced red pepper
avacado
fresh salsa (see my salsa recipe)
dollop of greek yogurt is good as well


First get your rice on. I always use 1 cup of rice (rinsed) to 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then turn down to really low. Get a small pan and heat a little bit of oil on of your choice on med. Add the 2 whole cloves of garlic to this oil and cook for a bit until a bit soft. Then throw in your spices and salt. Mash the garlic at this point or take out the cloves if you don't like too much garlic. Add chopped red pepper as well and cook for a few minutes and then add the beans and bean juice. Simmer until the rice is done. Add them together and add the garnish. Squeeze lime over it all and serve.

Lentil Loaf

This is a really hearty winter dish or good for Sunday dinner. It's tastes really good. I only say that because there are so many jokes about vegetarians and lentil loaf! It is actually good! Serve with salad or steamed broc, carrots and cauli. Squeeze some lemon on the veg.

Preheat oven to 170C or 350F
2 cups water
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup of dried red or brown lentils
1 cup oats
1 egg
3/4 cup grated cheese
1 small onion diced
1 grated carrot
4 tomatoes
1-2 cloves of garlic
some Italian seasoning
pepper

Rise your lentils and cook them in the water. While those are cooking put the pan on med heat and cook the onions in a little bit of oil of your choice. Add the carrot and garlic and herbs. Then add the chopped tomatoes. Cook them until they are soft, add pepper. Take them off the heat and grab your drained lentils. In a bowl mix the lentils, cheese, egg and oats. Give them a good mix and then add the tomato sauce. Mix again. Press this into a oiled bread tin. Cook for 30-40 min.

I would make some extra tomato sauce on the side for putting on top when you serve it. Makes it extra nice. Leave out the cheese if your a vegan. Oh and add some nutritional yeast on top as well.

sprouts are easy!

I always knew sprouts were good for you but I never knew HOW good they were for you until I started researching nutrition after being diagoised with cancer. They are truly a superfood as they say. Way easy to do as well and I really like the taste of them. I add them to my salads or veggie wholemeal pita sandwiches. You can sprout so many things that i am trying to sprout most things in my cupboard right now! Lentils are really good as well as mung beans and wheat berries. Sunflower seeds are great too. Had no idea you could sprout them!

First off you need to give them a wash and then soak them in a jar with filtered water. Keep them out of direct sunlight. Rise them twice in a 24 hours period.

Day two empty out the water, give them a rinse and then put them back in the jar wet but with out water. I would rinse them a few times a day for the next 3 days.

When they start to get sprouts growing and you see some green put them in direct sun for the day.

Test them now and again and see how soft they are and when you are happy with the texture put them in the fridge to stop them growing. You can keep them for like a week or so.

Lentils take about 4-6 days to be nice and mung seems to soften quicker. You just need to try it out and experiment.

Roast Veg and Quinoa

This is sorta a bit boring but easy to make and good for left over veg or winter veg. I used to make a different version with lamb and anchovies and mint but no more lamb for me! I think anchovies mixed in would still be good with this if you're eating fish.

turn the broiler/grill in your oven on
boil some water in a pan
you need...
bit of olive oil
some chopped and peeled squash or pumpkin or sweet potato
a carrot or two
1 parsnip
courgette/zucchini
1/2 red onion
2 garlic cloves
1 small orange
a few mushrooms
a few tomatoes halved
any other veg you feel you need to get rid of!
tempeh chunks
some herbs like rosemary, oregano and thyme
salt and pepper
3/4 cup of Quinoa made with a organic veg stock cube added to it.

Get your water on to boil and chop up your squash or sweet potato. I would par-boil this as well as the carrot and parsnip. Cook until they are a little soft but not totally squishy. Chop the rest of the veg in chunks and throw it all in a bowl. Try to keep veg equal size. Put the parboiled veg in the bowl too and add the chopped garlic, herbs and drizzle a bit of olive oil on it. Season with salt and pepper. Then squeeze the orange in this mixture as well. You can chop it up and throw it in the bowl as well. Give it a good mix and put it on a cooking tray in the oven to roast. You will need to flip the veg occasionally. Now get the Quinoa on to cook so it's ready when the veg is done. Test the veg to make sure it's cooked through and add serve it with the Quinoa. Sprinkle nutritional yeast on this for added vitamins. Nice glass of red wine goes perfect with this!

Sugar Free Apple Banana Muffins

These are nice and healthy and tasty too. A good sugar free recipe I altered from a more boring one!
Preheat oven to 170C or 350F
you need
1 lg egg
2 tbsp cold pressed olive oil or pumpkin seed oil
2 apples
2 bananas
1.5 tbsp honey
1.5 cups wholemeal flour
1/2 cup of oats
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
a few chopped figs
a few chopped dates
1/2 cup raisins

Chop the apple into chunks and add them to a small pan on med heat with a lid. While the apple is warming up mash the banana in a bowl and add the egg and oil. Add the honey to the apples and stir it until the apples are soft and mushy. You can squish them with a fork and you can either make it like apple sauce or a little chunky. I like a little chunky. Now mix the apple to the banana bowl. Mix well and then add the rest of the ingredients. Add the dried fruit last. Grease the muffin tins with a bit of oil and add the batter to it. It will be quite thick. Fill them 3/4 full and bake in the oven for 20-25 min.

Black Bean Soup

I thought this might be a little boring but it's pretty good and easy as well. We had steamed asparagus with a weird flaxseed oil "mayonnaise" on it. It's really just cottage cheese blended with flax oil, bit of mustard and a few little pickles. Good way to get your flax. I also made some homemade oven chips (fries) with chopped potatoes tossed with a little olive oil and sea salt baked in a hot oven.

For the soup...

1 tin or heaping cup of black beans
1/2 small red onion
2 garlic cloves chopped
1/2 red bell pepper
about 4 med tomatoes
1 tsp cumin seeds
some chili powder and cayenne
sea salt and pepper
fresh flat leaf parsley

Drain your beans. Heat a sauce pan on med and put a bit of olive oil in it. Cook onions and garlic until soft. Add your chopped red bell pepper, cumin seeds and spices. Cook for a few min. Add the beans and a bit of water depending on how thick you want it. You can add a veggie stock cube if you want fuller flavor. I just put sea salt and pepper in it. Put two roughly chopped tomatoes in it. I blended it a bit with a hand stick blender so it was still chunky. Let it simmer for a bit and then before serving add the last two chopped tomatoes and a dollop of greek yogurt, sour creme, or the flax oil mayonnaise. Oh and chop some flat leaf parsley and add on top. Or coriander (cilantro). Lots of options for this dish. Like you could add sweet potato in it and serve with avocado as well.

Spinach and Quorn Curry

I made this up tonight and it turned out really really good. I used inspiration from some Sag Aloo recipes. Eat it with some red onion chutney or lime and pickle chutney. yummmm.

for 2 people who like to eat a lot
a big bunch of fresh spinach or a bag of it
1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 inch piece of ginger
1 green Birdseye chili
4 med tomatoes
1 tbsp lemon juice
quorn or tofu or mushrooms
4 mushrooms
ground coriander
ground cumin
garam masala

Cut the onion, garlic and ginger and chili in big chunks and blend with some water using a wand/stick type mixer or food processor. You only need enough water to make sure it blends down to a paste. Heat a pan with some olive oil and add this paste to it. Cook for a bit and then add your 1/2 tomatoes that have been cut up into chunks. Add the lemon juice. Throw in sliced mushrooms and quorn. Chop up your fresh spinach and add that too with some sea salt. Season with the spices. I used about a 1/2 - 1 teaspoon each of coriander and cumin. Simmer for a bit and then add the rest of the tomatoes and the garam masala at the end and just cook a little bit more. Garam Masala tastes so good and you can add as much as you like. You can add a bit of plain yogurt as well for more creamy texture. Serve with brown rice.

easy salsa

salsa is so easy and yummy and good for you. don't buy crappy refrigerated stuff. it's so easy.

-4 med tomatoes
-1/2 or more of onion
-1 lime
- sea salt
-handful of coriander (cilantro)
-2 birds eye chilies

I chop all of it really big and then throw it in a cool little food processor i have. I used to chop it by hand but man I don't have time right now! Taste it and see if you need more lime or more salt as these are the key to good salsa. Home grown tomatoes make the best salsa ever.
-

raspberries rule

raspberries are so good. we have just like 4 plants growing outside along a fence and they provide us with raspberries all summer and into the fall. the are called perpetual raspberries as they keep on cropping. if you are thinking about growing some i highly recommend perpetual as we get berries into november!

Kidney Bean and Sweet Potato Spelt Chapati Burrito sorta things

I forgot to take a photo of this one as it looked so damn good when I was finished I ate it all up but I did had a left over chapati and a few bits that i wrapped up in the fridge so I took a photo of that so you can see my pretty chapatis. These turned out so well I was stoked as I am trying not to eat too much wheat and spelt is much better for you.

What is spelt you ask. It's a closely related species to wheat but has good minerals, vitamins and fiber. It was used a lot in the medieval times but getting popular again as people who are wheat intolerant can usually eat it. It does have gluten in it so you can bake it or make lovely chapatis.

The chapatis are so easy to make I was amazed the first time I made them. You will need though a good iron skillet (a must have really in the kitchen!) for a perfect chapati. I used about a cup and a half of spelt flour for 5 chapatis. I an not sure how much water I used. Maybe 3/4 cup. You want to make sure it's wet enough to kneed properly. If it crumbles a bit add just a touch of water and see how you get on. Add water VERY slowly as you work. You want to kneed it for like 8 minutes or so until it's a bit elastic. Wrap it in a wet kitchen towel and leave it to rest for 15 minutes.

What you need now for the insides!
-1 tin or heaping cup of cooked red kidney beans
-2 cloves of garlic
-1 peeled and chopped sweet potato or yam
mushrooms cooked lightly in oleolux or olive oil
-ground cumin
sea salt
grated cheese
lettuce
olives
home made salsa (see salsa post)

So basically you just boil up the sweet potato until it's soft and mash it up with a bit of oleolux or butter. Heat some oil in a pan on med and add the whole garlic cloves and cook them for a bit. Then add the drained kidney beans and some cumin and salt. Any cayenne as well if you want it a bit spicy. Throw a bit of water in the beans and cook them a bit and mash them up with a fork.

Get your iron skillet on med high heat and get it to full temp. Takes like 5 min or so. Grab a chunk of dough and roll into a ball. Roll out flat as you can with a rolling pin and some more spelt to keep it from sticking. Put it in the hot pan dry with no oils. Try not to burn it as it cooks quick. Flip and add a little oleolux. Put the cooked chapati on a plate and put another plate turned upside down on top to keep the moisture in and they will stay soft that way. Cook up the rest.

Now put spoonfuls of sweet potato and kidney beans in the chapati and add cheese, salsa, lettuce, red onions, olives ect. What ever takes your fancy. Or cabbage instead of lettuce which is awesome. Oh and the mushrooms as well. I love mushrooms. That's it. A really great take on the burrito but different and super healthy.

Thai Butternut Squash Soup with Corinader (cilantro to Americans!) Pesto

This soup is so good. Super filling and not to hard. I made it for some friends the other day. It's from a recipe I have altered to fit my tastes and diet. I forgot to take a photo of it which is a shame because it looks very pretty when you add the green pesto in swirls on top of the orange soup. I used to cook prawns to add to this or tofu. You need...

1 butternut squash or pumpkin works good too
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 big tablespoon of Thai red or green curry paste (I found some good stuff with no sugar!)
1 can of coconut milk
sugar snap peas or green beans
dried mushroom or fresh
julienned carrot
chili power or cayenne
ground cumin
ground coriander
sliced red onion

for the pesto
hand full of fresh coriander
2 cloves of garlic
olive oil or flaxseed oil
lemon juice and zest

Preheat your oven to 180C and get a oven tray or cookie sheet. Chop the butternut squash into 4 pieces and put them face down on the lightly oiled tray. Bake until soft.

Get a good pan and fry the onion in a bit of olive oil, add the garlic and cook for a little bit longer. Throw in the curry paste and some salt. Add about a cup or two of water and turn it down. Scoop out the squash and add to the pan. Cook for a little bit and then use a mixer to blend it up. A hand wand type will work or a blender. Or a fork if you have none. Be careful at this stage and make sure you turn the heat down as the thick squash soup will boil and shoot hot blasts of soup up in the air! Add the can of coconut milk and more water if it's too thick. Add your veggies of any kind you like really or none at all. While this is simmering away on a low heat make the pesto.

Throw all of the pesto ingredients into a blender or use a hand mixer and your done.

Serve up in bowls and add the ground coriander and cumin on top along with some thin sliced red onion. Oh and a bit of chili powder as well. Then pour the pesto on top in a swirl and serve. Make sure you save a bit of pesto to add halfway through eating as it's so good!

rose petal eatin catipillar!

this amazing looking little bugger is eating roses. what fine tastes you have!

lunch

this is a goodie made from some straggler veg hanging out needing to be eaten. I am still tasting the dressing now. GARLIC!

salad with mushroom and asparagus
-some leafy greens
-few mushrooms
-some stalks of asparagus
-handful of walnuts
-tomato
-goat cheese
-nutritional yeast

dressing
bit of olive oil (cold pressed type is great!)
bit of fresh squeezed lemon
1 clove of garlic (squashed or chopped)
1 tbsp flaxseed oil
salt and pepper
bit of fresh basil leaves (chopped or torn)

Heat a pan and put a bit of olive oil. Keep the temp just med. Don't smoke any oil ever! Throw in the mushrooms and asparagus to cook them just a bit. Add some oleolux (budwig thing) to the pan to coat for flavor.

Throw all together nicely and add the dressing and some chunks of goats cheese.

first time blogger!

This is the first time I have ever blogged and am not sure how much time i will have to do this but I hope to keep a food diary as well as just a basic diary of my life. I was diagnosed with cancer (angiosarcoma primary breast) in July 09. I am following the Budwig diet which I will go more into later. I want to share with people my love for food and my new exploration of cooking within a sort of guideline.

I am a horrible writer and speller so don't bother pointing this out. I know it.

The food rules are....
no meat
no fish
no sugar
no processed food
no fats other than flaxseed oil, pumpkin seed oil, coconut oil (I do use quality olive oil and sesame oil now and again)
a bit of dairy is ok
everything is organic as possible
everything whole /raw as possible

That's a lot of rules but they are rules for me personally as I may not follow the Budwig diet as closely as others do but it's my own interpretation of it and what I think is best for ME and only me.

Any foodie comments much appreciate and any recipe ideas for me would be fantastic.
-natalie