First Day of Yoga School- Lunch

I have a distinct memory of scavenging for lunch in elementary school before I started to make my own. Emily brought lunchables which I l devoured when given the chance because they were completely forbidden at my house. Tess always had a plain bagel with cream cheese which was utterly satisfying. (Her cheese ketchup sandwich not so much). Olivia and Mika brought sushi. When I was feeling eclectic I would usually take 1/2 a roll. And Hannah Brown's mom wrote her love letters on her napkin, sometimes she would 'give' me one. I began to write my own napkin love notes after my mom refused. (Love her to death but she just wasn't going to write on a napkin I would inevitably wipe my mouth on, and throw away)

So yesterday was my first day of yoga teacher training and my immediate reaction was: what am I going to bring for lunch? The training lasts most of the day and I didn't want to be starving, and I definitely didn't want to scavenge. I wanted some food that would support my downward dog, rather than make me want to be in shavasana for the rest of the day (the pose where you lie down and pretend to be dead) .

Here is what I packed (see the pictures above):

blood oranges and apples (seasonal, refreshing, thirst quenching, sugar)

almonds (fat is incredibly grounding)

Brown rice, steamed kale, seared tempeh, with some pumpkin seeds (fermented soy product) (wholesome and doesn't weigh you down)

Carrot, Ginger, Miso, Tahini dip (great source of vitamin A, and beta-carotein)

Salad with roasted balsamic tomatoes (refreshing)

roasted squash and pears with ginger, and cinnamon (hydrating, and sweet)

Here is the Recipe for the Carrot, Ginger, Miso, Tahini dip:

I made it up so you might need to adjust things to fit your pallet. Think of this recipe as a road map, rather than a GPS to a destination. Listen to your own taste-buds!

Have your cuisinart ready.

steam 4 medium sized carrots with a handful of golden raisins. You want the carrot's color to brighten and the carrots to become soft but you don't want them to become mealy mush.

Next, put the steamed carrots, and plump raisins into your cuisinart with:

2 Tablespoons of tahini

1 heaping Tablespoon of white miso paste (organic)

1 heaping Tablespoon of ginger (I like a lot of ginger)

Juice of 1 lemon

2 Tablespoons water

Dash of Cayenne

Dash of Tumeric

Finish with Olive oil (drizzle some olive oil on top). The fat of the olive oil will help bring the layers of flavor you have created together. There is a french term for this that I do not remember at the moment.

You can use this dip pretty much anywhere. Double the recipe, and make it for the week. Put it in your sanwiches for a little extra something. Dip your veges in it...etc.

Marginally,

Mollie

The 'Boocha' babies are here!

Kombucha, you might know it. You might love it.... and You might absolutely hate it. I can best describe it as the $4 drink you see in the check out line at Whole Foods that comes in a ridiculously pretty glass bottle. According to what I have read, Kombucha will do just about everything except get you dressed in the morning. Detoxify you, probiotic you...(yes, I wish probiotic was a verb), get rid of your cellulite etc. etc.

I don't know what is really true but here is my understanding:

Kombucha is a fermented tea drink made as a result of a symbiotic relationship between bacteria and yeast. Not unlike Lichen, the bacteria and yeast come together via some biological/chemical attraction and form a slimy cellulose thing called a scobie. When the scobie is really big it is called a 'mother' because you can peel off layers from it and make baby scobies, which I call 'boocha babies' and give them to your friends.

So why would you want to drink this?

1) Engage in a symbiotic relationship with bacteria and yeast.

2)Add some flora and fauna to your gut.

3) Be cool.

4) I like to think about it this way: Beer is a fermented drink made from yeast. Yogurt is a fermented product made from bacteria. If you combined the power of yogurt with the power of beer....you would have KOMBUCHA.

The coolest thing about Kombucha is you can start your own boocha family basically for free. All you need is a glass jar, something that breaths to cover it, 8 organic black tea bags, 1 cup organic sugar, and approx 2 liters of water.

Brew all 8 black tea bags in 1 cup of water. Steep for 5-7 minutes and then dilute with cold water. Hot water will kill the 'boocha babies'. Add 1 cup sugar. Then add your scobie to the mix(you can buy them online or I will give you one). It might float or sink- don't worry! Then add little raw apple cider vinegar or store bought Kombucha. This gets things started. Cover with a cloth, cheesecloth, or whatever porest material you have. Then forget about it for about 2 weeks. It should be naturally carbonated. All the sugar gets digested by the yeast, so it should not taste sweet. After you are done brewing you can add flavor...by diluting the brew with whatever tea or juice want. I like to keep the finished brew with nothing in it in a glass bottle in the fridge.

Other tips:

I have been told you don't want make kombucha with other types of tea...b/c boochas LOVE black tea, and only 'like' other teas. Why not give them what they really love, instead of what they just sorta like?

But I suggest you experiment...you can't really go wrong. Just don't put anti-microbial things into your brew. (ie) honey, ginger. You can put those things in after the brew is finished, I promise.

Your 'mother' scobie can last forever, just keep adding cold tea and sugar, and some of your left over kombucha from your last batch and give away the babies.

Happy Brewing!

Marginally,

Mollie

Shadowing Sunshine

Today I had to privilege and honor to shadow one of my most favorite food bloggists, and the former executive chef of Angelica's Kitchen, Amy Chaplin. Her celebrity clients including Natalie Portman can attest that her food and blog are not to be missed! . Check it out! http://coconutandquinoa.wordpress.com

"It feels like I am eating a chickpea for the first time," I said as I tasted a spoonful of Amy's chickpea-beet salad . That's because (as I learned today) basically I was. Amy doesn't buy her beans in a can lined with BPA plastic, she buys her beans dry, pre-soaks them, cooks them with seaweed (Kombu), and then marinates them. Seems like a waste of time? With this method of cooking legumes, there is so much more flavor, and so much less indigestion! Truly, it is like you have never tasted a bean before in your life! (A pressure cooker can speed up the process...)

Most of the things we prepared together you can find on her blog: 'white bean aoli', 'spelt pea salad'...but the roasted veges you will just have to taste just by looking at the pictures.

Chlorophyll, Sunshine, and Flavor. Eat it up. Digest. Compost. Enjoy!

La Cucina.

Lunch: manna bread, watercress, white bean aoli, avocado, and some red cabbage Kraut

Dry.

... a little bit more.

please.

Compost in NYC! There is some soil under all that concrete!

Sushi socked and thonged fashionista at work! (Me...)

Sunshine Golden Beets!

Squash! and love

Window

Find a Window. Open it...even if it is winter

and clean it.

I am talking Domestic 1950's clean.

Windex, Vinegar, Grapefruit, Geranium, Eucalyptus, Baking soda

CLEAN.

Because those 'dust balls' fall from your thoughts not from your heart.

And you got to get rid of them .

Otherwise they clump up and make you sneeze all day.

"Bless you!"

I promise you, they will come back and you can clean

and sneeze with them again another time.

There is a saying in the 'french' kitchen: Mise en place. Which roughly translates to 'have your mess in place... shit together... station clean and organized. I say, start with your window!

Summer on a Snow Day

"Hi Henry. Wanna come over and makes some vegan cakes?"

....Or not at all.

Vegan cupcakes soon turned into a trip the the wine shop. And you can't have wine with out cheese. And you can't have cheese without ham. And....so...My afternoon started with egg-replacers in mind and ended with panchetta in my soup and goat cheese on my bread. I guess reverse psychology works. My vegan intentions were not lost completely though... the cupcakes stayed vegan, as planned, everything else just got a little help from the un-kosher animal kingdom. The theme of the dinner was definitely warmth and lightness (hence the cherry tomatoes, lemon, and lavender). I wanted to taste some summer on this snowy day! But I stayed true to winter...roasting and stewing all afternoon...and taking still-lives of fruit sitting in their winter shadows like Bonnard paintings.

so...La MENU

Wine: (White) Champalou Vouvray 2008 it has a honey start and dry finish according to the people at the wine shop. Thomas Jefferson is quoted on the Bottle. "Good Wine is a Necessity of Life for Me" Thanks Jefferson! Finally a founding father who likes wine!

Cheese board: Home-ade Roasted balsamic cherry tomatoes with lavender and sage, goat cheese, ciabatta bread (Thank you Bedford Cheese Shop for the Cheese and Bread)

Soup: Corn chowder (adapted from Deb Madison) with crispy Pancetta and crispy purple potatoes on top (Thank you Union Square Market)

Dessert: Meyer-Lemon Lavender cupcakes (vegan)

I will give you the recipe for the Meyer-Lemon Lavender Cupcakes. My very own original recipe!! Try it out and tell me what you think. I am working on a frosting for it... otherwise it is more like a muffin!

First Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Have two bowls ready. One for wet ingredients and one for dry.

Combine Wet ingredients plus sugar and spices:

1/2 organic silken tofu (whipped in food processor for 2 seconds to get out lumps and bumps)

2/3 coconut oil (heated and infused with 1 1/2 Tablespoon of dried lavender florets)

2 heaping tablespoons of Tofutti Vegan sour-cream (I said vegan... not low fat!)

1 cup Fair-trade organic white sugar (non-bleached)

Zest of 1 Meyer Lemon and 2 tablespoons of juice) - feel free to reserve some juice to sprinkle on top

1 teaspoon ginger zest (for digestion)

2 teaspoons vanilla

Dry ingredients:

1 3/4 cup flour (you can use a mix of whole wheat and white -organic)

2 tablespoons arrowroot powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

(maybe a little more lavender florets?)

sprinkle the tops with raw sugar- for a little extra crunch and sweetness.

Combine and bake for 30-35 minutes...makes 8 lovely lemon-lavender cup cakes

Note: Meyer Lemons are like lemons except NOT. AT. ALL. They are much sweeter and less sour and are more orange in color. That being said you can substitute them for lemons any time.

DO NOT OVERSTIR wet and dry ingredients. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients gently as if you are a five year old learning how to 'fold' for the first time.

Marginally,

Mollie

(special thanks to Henry O. and Chelsea for the pics and love)

Give your Onions a Savasana!

At the 'Kula Yoga Project', a yoga studio located on North 3rd in Williamsburg, you can sweat 'spirit' and literally taste it too at it's very own vegetarian cafe called 'The Shanti Shack.' I serendipitously stumble upon this gem of a yoga studio/cafe, as a suggestion from one of my favorite yoga teachers in Providence. I took my first class, which was a home-brew of 'Ashtanga' and 'Iyenger' with some thai massage assistance, and I immediately fell in love. But I would be lying if I said it was just the yoga that seduced me, it was definitely the aroma from Brownie's cooking that made me never want to leave.

Fresh Kaffir limes, lemon grass, ginger, roasted tomatoes finished with sherry vinegar...these are the scents that waft into the yoga studio, and permeate some robust sweetness into this dry and cold winter.

Brownie is the chef and owner of 'Shanti Shack,' former chef at Le Cirque, and graduate of the French Culinary institute (with honors). She is the real deal! It is clear that cooking is her dharma ( path) and she radiates brightness into every bite of her food. I am lucky enough to be her intern twice a week! And I can already feel my cooking spirit ripen with the mix of french vocabulary, and yogic visualizations. It is safe to say I am going to culinary school for free.

Some notes from the kitchen/words of wisdom from Brownie:

1) Tomatoes take on the taste of your fridge. Leave them on the counter.

2) Eggs do three things in baking: they bind, add moisture, and are a leavening agent

3) Ginger. Put it in everything it helps make your food more digestible!

4) The term 'sweating' you will sometimes see in recipes and wonder WTF. No more. Sweating means to sauté and steam at the same time. As Brownie describes it, 'sweating' is basically like Savasana (corpse pose at the end of the yoga class) because you are extracting the flavor from whatever you are 'sweating' just like how in Savasana you are distilling the sweetness of your practice.

How to 'sweat'? Put a pat of butter and 2-4 tbsp of olive oil in a sauce-pan and turn it on relatively high. (The olive oil keeps the butter from burning) then add whatever you want to 'sweat' (traditionally onions, carrots, celery) and hear a sizzle. Next turn the heat low and cover, don't stir... for maybe 7-10 minutes -till the ingredients are cooked from the inside out (onions will become translucent). Brownie says 'sweat' your onions, and it will help prevent indigestion!

Marginally,

Mollie

Soul-food

This poem is my favorite! I invite you to nibble on it, and even carry it in your pocket so when you are hungry for more you won't starve. It is my nourishment always.

Really? Really.

Wild Geese - by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Marginally,

Mollie