Barbara Karafokas - Holistic Nutritionist MSc.
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Chickpea and Spinach Stew 

29/9/2014

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TOTAL TIME: 30 MIN

SERVINGS: 4

In Seville, chickpeas and spinach (garbanzos con espinacas) is a popular dish served in both fine restaurants and tapas bars. It's simple but incredibly tasty, with plenty of flavor from tomato, raisins and saffron.

Ingredients:

1 cup water

10 ounces baby spinach

2 large garlic cloves, crushed

Sea salt

Pinch of saffron threads

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Pinch of ground cloves

Pinch of freshly ground pepper

Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas with their liquid
(you may use frozen chickpeas or soak dried ones  and cook for longer till soft )
4 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 large tomato—peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

1/4 cup golden raisins


Crusty brown bread, for serving


  1. Pour the water into a large deep skillet and bring to a boil. Add the spinach leaves and cook over high heat, tossing frequently, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Drain the spinach in a colander, pressing hard on the leaves to extract the liquid. Coarsely chop the spinach.

  2. Using the flat side of a large knife, mash the garlic to a paste with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the saffron. Transfer the garlic paste to a small bowl. Add the paprika, cumin, cloves and black pepper and mash until combined. Stir in 1/4 cup of the chickpea liquid.

  3. Wipe out the skillet. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to the skillet and heat until shimmering. Add the onion and tomato and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until they are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the spiced garlic sauce to the onion and tomato in the skillet and cook for 1 minute.

  4. Add the chickpeas and the remaining liquid to the skillet. Add the raisins and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Add the spinach, reduce the heat to moderate, and simmer for 15 minutes. Transfer the chickpea stew to 4 deep bowls, drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil on top, and serve.

Serve With
Crusty bread.
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Pumpkin Chilli / Vegetarian 

23/9/2014

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Serves: 6  

Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1½ cups chopped red onion
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 1 cup chopped carrots
  • 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper, optional
  • 1 3/4 cups diced pumpkin
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 (14-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (14-ounce) can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¾ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add red onion, bell peppers, carrots, and jalapeño; sauté for 10-12 or until just starting to brown.
  2. Add garlic and spices and sauté for 1 minute.
  3. Add pumpkin, tomatoes, vegetable broth, and beans; bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer 30 minutes, partially covered, stirring occasionally.
  4. Season with salt and pepper; taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.



Notes Swap/Add mushrooms for some great additional flavor!

Also, with regards to the tomatoes, white and kidney beans, mentioned in the recipe you can use fresh tomatoes or frozen fresh white and kidney beans to avoid using canned foods. Some health food shops sell BPA Free cans or foods in glass jars.

Pumpkin Chili Author: Laura Machell

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Honey Ginger Lemonade 

15/9/2014

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Description

Capture the essence of the summer sun and the natural goodness it brings in this invigorating beverage. I like to combine fresh honey my neighbor gives me with fresh-squeezed lemon juice and a twist of ginger to add a unique kick to this old-time favorite summer refresher.

  Ingredients
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup honey or use other sweeteners like maple syrup, date syrup, stevia 
1/4 cup peeled fresh ginger slices
7 sprigs fresh mint
2 cups purified water
4 cups ice cubes

  Instructions
  1. Put the juice, honey, ginger, and 1 chopped sprig of the mint in a large pitcher and stir, pressing the mint and ginger to release flavor.
  2. Add the water and stir until the honey dissolves, then add the ice.
  3. Pour into six 10-ounce glasses and garnish each glass with a sprig of mint and a fancy straw.

Babies or children under a year old can become seriously ill from honey, so please don't give them a glass of this lemonade, if made with honey. However, you can use local honey to help battle against seasonal allergies for older children and adults. Honey’s thick coating with the vitamin C in lemons combine perfectly to soothe a sore throat and help treat a cold.

Compliements: Dr. Andrew Weil -
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How to Make Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

15/9/2014

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Which Apples Make the Best Raw Apple Cider Vinegar? A mixture of apples produces the best tasting and most healthful raw apple cider vinegar.

If you are new to the process, try these approximate ratios for your first batch or two and then change it up from there to your own personal liking:

  • 50% sweet apples (Golden Delicious, Fuji (my fave), Gala, Red Delicious)
  • 35% sharp tasting apples (McIntosh, Liberty, Winesap, Northern Spy, Gravenstein)
  • 15% bitter tasting apples (Dolgo crabapples, Newtown, Foxwhelp, Porter’s Perfection, Cortland)



How to Make Raw Apple Cider Vinegar Makes approximately 1 gallon

Ingredients 

5 large apples of choice or the scraps of 10 apples

Filtered water

1 cup raw, local honey or organic cane sugar

Equipment

1 wide mouth gallon glass jar

Cheesecloth or floursack cloth

Large rubber band

Instructions

Before you can make your raw apple cider vinegar, you must first make hard apple cider.  The alcohol in the hard cider is what transforms via fermentation into acetic acid, which is the beneficial organic compound that gives apple cider vinegar its sour taste.

Wash the apples and coarsely chop into pieces no smaller than 1 inch.  Cores, stems and seeds may be included.

Put the chopped apples into a 1 gallon, clean, wide mouth, glass jar.  The chopped apples should at least fill half the container and maybe a bit more.   If at least half the container is not filled, add additional apple scraps until you achieve this level as a minimum.

Pour in room temperature filtered water until the chopped apples are completely covered and the container is just about full leaving a couple of inches at the top.

Stir in the raw honey or cane sugar until fully dissolved.

Cover the top of the glass jar with cheesecloth, a thin white dishtowel or floursack cloth and secure with a large rubber band.

Leave on the counter for about 1 week, gently mixing once or twice a day.  Bubbles will begin to form as the sugar ferments into alcohol. You will smell this happening.

When the apple scraps no longer float and sink to the bottom of the jar after approximately one week, the hard apple cider is ready.

Strain out the apple scraps and pour the hard apple cider into a fresh 1 gallon glass jar or smaller sized mason jars of your choosing.

Cover with a fresh piece of cheesecloth and secure with an elastic band.

Leave on the counter in an out of the way spot for an additional 3-4 weeks to allow the alcohol to transform into acetic acid by the action of acetic acid bacteria (these are the good guys!). A small amount of sentiment on the bottom is normal. In addition, a mother culture will form on top.

Taste your raw apple cider vinegar to determine if it is ready starting after 3 weeks.  If it has the right level of vinegar taste for you, strain it one more time and store in clean, glass mason jars or jugs.  If after 4 weeks, the taste still isn’t quite strong enough, leave it for another week and try again.  If you accidentally leave it too long and the taste is too strong, just strain and dilute with some water to a level of acidity that pleases you.

Use as desired and store in the pantry out of direct sunlight.

Raw apple cider vinegar doesn’t go bad, but if you leave it for a long time, another mother culture will likely form on top.  This is fine, just strain it again if desired and dilute with a bit of water if the taste has become too strong.

Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist

- See more at: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/make-raw-apple-cider-vinegar/#sthash.MGJ9Y3ef.dpuf
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