cilantr-oh!

(that's what she said.)

as of late i have been experimenting with homemade hummus. this isn't the first time i've thrown beans in the food processor and seen what happens (for a fava been blast from the past, click here). last week, i used a combination of chickpeas and fava beens with sea salt, fresh lemon juice, garlic, cumin and turmeric. delicious. and it inspired me to see in what directions i can take this super simple standard...and so the bird hit the berkeley bowl to get some chickpeas and some ideas. i returned home with 2 hummus plans - one a hummus based on cilantro and the other a hummus flavored with tamarind. this afternoon i made the cilantro hummus. this recipe is a keeper.

but, before we get to that, let's take a moment and show cilantro a little love and attention. i'm gonna go ahead and start at the very beginning, i've heard it's a pretty good place to start. cilantro is the leaves of the coriander plant, which grows wild in south east europe and has been cultivated in egypt, india and china for, well, a very long time. thousands of years. it gets shout outs in sanskrit texts. cilantro was introduced to mexico and peru by spanish conquistadores, where it has gone on to become a staple in their cuisine. on the folklore/who-knows-if-it's-true front, coriander and cilantro have long been thought of as aphrodisiacs. (hey, no! that is not why i used it, the bird doesn't need any aphrodisiacs...but if that compels you to pick up a bunch and whip this up, by all means go for it, and i hope, in turn, you have a very good night. wink wink.) on the why is this so darn good for me front, well, this little herb is extremely high in vitamins a & k, a being good for mucus membranes and vision and k being good for the bones. overall, cilantro has quite an impressive % of rda (recommended daily amounts) profile:

15% of folates

11% of vitamin b-6

45% of vitamin c

225% of vitamin a

258% of vitamin k

22% of iron

18% of manganese

so, go ahead, use cilantro. and, hopefully, it will get you lucky. but, at the very least, it will help you be healthy. so you either win win or you just win. not too shabby.

cilantro garlic hummus

1 can chickpeas, drained and liquid reserved

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped finely

2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/2 tsp chili flakes

2 fresh limes

put chickpeas, cilantro, garlic and spices in food processor. (a blender will also suffice) squeeze lime juice on top. blend until smooth, adding reserved liquid from chickpeas as needed.

enjoy.

the mighty miso.

miso. little word. big possibilities.

although miso has become more and more common in our american food vernacular, expanding its appearances in grocery stores across our great nation, for most americans, the ignorance and fear factor remain at an all time high. the color descriptions of miso - red, yellow and white - might as well be levels of security alert. for most of us, miso is little more than the freebie soup that comes with dinner at a japanese restaurant. we're not really sure what makes miso soup "miso soup". we're not sure what fermented soybean paste is. and we tend to not know what to do with it if we ever take the leap and buy a jar at the store and throw it in our fridge. okay so i have a tub of miso. now what? and the basic miso soup recipe calls for a tablespoon or two? if we figure out how to make the dashi broth that is the foundation of miso soup and actually make some from scratch, we still have most of a tub of miso. so, really, now what?

first things first. think of miso as a condiment. use it in soup, use it in salad dressings, marinades and spreads. it adds flavor and texture and a whole lot of healthy benefits.

okay, so what is miso? miso is a fermented paste made from rice, barley or soybeans. the taste and color will vary based on what grain is used and the fermentation process. this is why there are so many types of miso, some are very tangy and very salty, some are far milder, some even taste slightly sweet. experiment, find the miso that suits your palette best.

alright, why is miso so good for you?

first of all, miso contains all essential amino acids, making it a complete protein

it is a powerful digestive aid - it stimulates the secretion of digestive fluids, restores probiotics to the intestines, and aids in the digestion and stimulation of food in the intestines

miso is a good source of b vitamins and high in antioxidants, it strengthens the immune system and lowers LDL cholesterol

miso can protect against radiation

most importantly, miso has been shown to help prevent against breast, prostate, lung and colon cancers

so, everyone should have a little miso in their lives. or a lot of miso. and it's pretty darn easy to make that happen. miso soups can be far more than just some tofu and scallions floating in a salty, cloudy broth. here is a little soup i came up with using vegetables that were in season at the market:

miso soup with leeks, chinese mustard greens and sunburst squash

4 cloves garlic, chopped finely

1/2 cup hijiki seaweed (dried)

1 small bunch of leeks, cleaned and sliced

1/2 bunch chinese mustard greens, cleaned and chopped

2 small sunburst squash, sliced

1/2 cup white miso (you can use more or less depending on your taste)

fill a large pot with 6 cups of water. add garlic and hijiki, bring to a boil.

add leeks, greens and squash, return to a boil, then simmer about 10 minutes.

add miso, one tablespoon at a time, let it dissolve, allow soup to simmer for just a minute or two.*

remove from heat and enjoy.

*the key to miso soup is not allowing the miso to boil - it will compromise both the flavor and the nutritional and healing properties of the miso

flex that mussel.

the early bird dove into the water and struck green! mussels, not only are they super healthy for you - high in selenium, which is good news for your immune system and thyroid gland; high in vitamin b-12, which is good news for your nervous system and red blood cells; and high in manganese, which is good news for your bone development and metabolism - but they are also farmed in methods that are environmentally sound, which make them green and we all know that green is good. eat some mussels and you are basically saving yourself and the planet at the same time. okay, maybe that's a little bit of an exaggeration, but still, it is eating responsibly in pretty much every sense of the word. and that counts for something.

drawing from the flavors of the cuisines of north african countries like morocco and tunisia, this bird hit the spice rack and busted out the beans to create some spicy lentil chickpea mussel madness. i used a combination of turmeric, paprika, cayenne pepper, ginger, cumin, and cinnamon. yes, spices bring incredible flavor to this dish, but they also bring their own bevy of health benefits to the table. i've written about turmeric before, but i will say it again, this is a little yellow wonder power. recently shown to help heal or prevent health conditions from cancer to alzheimer's disease, it is also a natural antibacterial and antiseptic agent. turmeric is a natural liver detoxifier (and we all know our livers could use a little love) and painkiller. and let's not forget that it aids in fat metabolism. next up is paprika, which also has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that may lower the risk of cancer. oh cayenne, you are hot stuff. so much so that you have a cult following and a website devoted just to you. i mean, it's a little much, but i guess we all have our passions. cayenne, like all chiles, is a metabolism booster. it can also clear congestion and is a powerful digestion aid. it can heal and prevent ulcers. it is an immune booster and natural pain reliever. but it's effect on cancer cells and the cardiovascular system are its most awesome properties. it's fantastic for the heart, stabilizes blood pressure, and helps veins and arteries clear out toxins and bad cholesterol.

the bottom line is: spice it up. it's good for you.

spicy mussels with chickpeas and lentils

1 1/2 lbs mussels, scrubbed and beards removed

1 can lentils

1 can chickpeas, 1/2 liquid reserved

1 can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped and liquid reserved

8 cloves garlic, chopped finely

1 onion, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1/4 cup water

in a large pot, combine onion, garlic, spices and water. cover, cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender, about 5 minutes.

add vinegar, chickpeas, lentils, tomatoes, and reserved liquids, simmer for 10-15 minutes until mixture thickens.

add mussels, return to a simmer, cover and cook until mussels open wide, 3-6 minutes. discard any mussels that have not opened after 6 minutes.

enjoy.

notes about mussels:

only cook mussels that are alive - live mussels are closed, or will close when tapped if they are open. tap any open mussels on a counter top, any mussels that remain open, discard.

scrub mussels to clean off barnicles and other debris before cooking.

to remove beard, gently pull beard towards hinge end and tear out.

give it to me cheap.

the early bird loves when what's cheap is what's good. it can totally work in your favor to walk into a market resolved that you will only buy what's on sale and what's in season and design your menu from there. this is how the bird buys anything from the fish counter. i always pick what is on sale and go from there. it keeps me on budget and on my toes. so win one for whole foods and a crazy sea scallop sale a couple of weeks ago. it gave the bird and her tiger a chance to have a delicious mexican influenced scallop meal. yum yum. the tiger and the bird LOVE scallops.

ah, the scallop. less common than clams, not as prestigious as oysters, but one of the best mollusks out there in the great wide sea nonetheless. i love scallops. even back in my unadventurous days of youth where i was convinced that the only fish i liked was haddock, i liked scallops. as silly as it may sound, the first time i cooked scallops and it was a success was a moment of genuine fulfillment. it had done my mother, who herself had never put a tough or chewy scallop on anyone's plate, proud. pronounce that "a" however you want, scallops are extraordinarily delicious and exceptionally nutritious. high in vitamin b12, and an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids and the minerals magnesium and potassium, scallops are great for cardiovascular health and can prevent both heart attack and stroke. additionally, vitamin b12 can aid in the prevention of colon cancer.

scallops are simple and fast. a little bit wham bam thank you ma'am. the trick is not to overcook them and make them tough and chewy. they cook quickly and they will continue to cook when removed from heat and in reaction to the acid of any lime or lemon juice that you may squeeze on them.

chili lime scallops with corn black bean tomato salsa and rice on tortillas

1 lb sea scallops

fresh cilantro, chopped

6 cloves garlic, chopped finely

3 limes

chili powder

cayenne pepper

sea salt

cholula hot sauce

1 can yellow kernel corn (organic &/or no-salt added if you can find it), rinses and drained

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

corn tortillas

1 cup brown rice

1 small sweet onion, diced

4 tomatoes (a mixture of red and yellow tomatoes gives a nice color to the dish), diced

bring 2 cups of water, 1 cup brown rice, 2 cloves garlic chopped finely, a dash of sea salt and a dash of hot sauce to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until rice is done.

in a pot, combine corn, beans, tomatoes, onion, 2 cloves garlic chopped finely, sea salt (to taste), 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder, juice of 1 lime, and hot sauce. cover and heat over medium heat.

in a skillet add scallops and the remaining 2 cloves of chopped garlic

squeeze the juice of 1 lime over the scallops

season with sea salt, cayenne pepper and chili powder (to taste)

add fresh chopped cilantro

cook over medium heat, turning scallops once, until opaque, less than 5 minutes

remove from heat and squeeze the juice of the remaining lime over the scallop mixture

to serve, spoon rice on top of a tortilla, top with salsa mixture and then top with scallops. add additional hot sauce and seasoning to suite your taste. (the bird likes it hot.) and enjoy.

yay! i squid it!

the bird has been missing in action for a bit, but she is back. relocated in oakland and reinvigorated to resume her explorations of the healthy and tasty side of things.

tonight, for the first time, i cooked calamari. i was introduced to fried calamari as a child and so was waned early from my squirmishness towards squid. being both stubborn and a sucker for logic, once i had admitted to liking that fried ring of squid, not knowing what it came from or looked like before being battered and thrown in the fryer, i could not rescind my allegiance when the truth of octopus and squid was revealed to me. i had tried it, i had liked it, it had looked just that way before it was fried and put on my plate. i liked squid. i couldn't take it back.

but just because i was okay with squid didn't mean i was okay with dealing with squid. it scared me. it still kind of does even after cooking with it. tubes and tentacles and that fine line between sweetest thing ever or rubber disaster...it's like walking a tight rope. and i'm not known for my tight rope skills. but it was time to put on the leotard, slap on the make up and climb up the ladder.

my only advice about cooking calamari is this (unless you are frying or using a recipe that calls for a long slow low simmer) cook it quick! drop it into a pot of boiling salted water and leave it there for no longer than 30 seconds. yes, 30 seconds. it sounds a little unbelievable, but anything longer will overcook it and turn it to chewy rubber. so prepare the sauce or the rest of the dish separately and flash cook the calamari and add it at the end.

why take the risk with squid? there are many reasons. squid contains about 90% of our daily copper needs. a copper deficiency is generally at the root of anemia since copper plays an important role in our absorption and metabolism of iron and the production of red blood cells. it also contains selenium, which fights inflammation and helps relieve the symptoms of arthritis. it's got lots of important b vitamins - b2, b3 and b12. and it's high in phosphorus which aids the body in using calcium to build bones and teeth. plus, it's yummy.

calamari with broccoli rabe, tomatoes and spring onion

1 lb calamari (tubes and tentacles), cleaned and tubes sliced into rings

1 bunch organic broccoli rabe

1 can organic diced tomatoes

3 organic spring onions, sliced thinly

1 medium yellow organic heirloom tomato, diced

6 cloves garlic, chopped finely

fresh parsley, chopped finely

sea salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

red pepper flakes, 1 tbs (or to taste)

juice of 1 lemon

steam the broccoli rabe with 1/3 of the chopped garlic

in a large skillet add the remaining garlic, spring onions, and tomatoes (including liquid from canned tomatoes)

season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and chopped parsley

bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5 - 10 minutes

when ready, combine tomato mixture and broccoli rabe in a large serving bowl

bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add calamari, remove after 30 seconds and drain immediately

add calamari to bowl

stir and season with salt, pepper and red pepper to taste

add the juice of the lemon

serve over pasta, serve over rice, or serve alone. and enjoy.

my heart has sprung a leek.

with valentine's day just on the other side of this weekend, it seems like the perfect time to dive into something that is good for the heart. so i decided to buck up, bite the bullet, wash the grit away, and deal with leeks. there is always so much fuss and drama surrounding cleaning leeks that i have always been frightened away from them. i have steered well clear, convinced they are a hassle, convinced i'll mess it up. and it makes me a truly happy bird to report that that is entirely not the case. leeks are pretty darn easy. just wash away the grit at the roots if they are dirty and just go for it, full steam ahead.

leeks may have a bad reputation and a bad name, but you'll be better off if you give them the benefit of the doubt, ignore the rumor mill and take the next step. leeks are a heart's best friend. like garlic and onions, they belong to a group of vegetables called alliums. it's actually suggested that we get at least one serving of allium vegetables per day. if you want to get the most nutritional value out of those allium vegetables, it's best to slice them thin and let them sit for 5 minutes between cutting and cooking.

how do those leeks go and treat your heart so sweetly? well, to begin with, leeks contain the flavonoid kaempferol, which protects blood vessel linings from damage. they also contain b vitamin folate, which keeps our homocysteine levels in balance and, in turn, protects us from cardiovascular disease. and, on top of that, they have antioxidant polyphenols, which protect our blood vessels and blood cells from oxidative damage. so come on, be your own sweetheart, and eat some leeks.

i decided to make my leek debut with a fish dish. and i upped the ante by adding shallots and garlic, other alliums, to the mix. i'm happy to report that is was a success and there are no broken hearts here on valentine's day.

lemon garlic cod with shallots and rainbow chard, leeks and asparagus over rice

lemon garlic cod

one piece of fresh cod (about 1/2 lb is plenty to serve 2, i got wild caught alaskan cod)

3 lemons

4 cloves garlic, chopped finely

2 small shallots, sliced

1 tbs parsley - dried or fresh, depending on availability

salt & pepper

preheat oven to 385

in glass baking dish, lay out cod (after you have washed it, of course)

add shallots

salt & pepper the fish to taste

sprinkle parsley on top of the fish

spread garlic over the fish

slice 2 of the lemons in half, squeeze juice over the fish, place lemons in baking dish to cook with fish & shallots

bake in oven about 10 minutes or until fish is opaque and flakes with a fork

when done, remove from oven & squeeze the juice of the 3rd lemon over it

rainbow chard, leeks and asparagus

1 bunch rainbow chard, washed & chopped

1 bunch leeks, cleaned and sliced thinly

1 bunch small asparagus tips, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped finely

sea salt

add all the vegetables and garlic to a pot with about 1 inch of water, salt to taste

cover, bring to a boil

reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender

drain vegetables

serve fish & steamed vegetables over rice. and enjoy.

green bayby!

the early bird likes her greens, that is for sure. and yesterday was a big day for the green and yellow packer nation. handily putting the chicago bears to bed for the season, green bay is going all the way. and so it's only fitting to make today's post green.

in honor of the big event, i decided to throw caution to the wind, put my fears aside, and take the plunge. i juiced. for the first time. and it was amazing.

the early bird is no stranger to the wonders of juice and i have long been enjoying them - in new york i developed a pretty serious thing for liquiteria and bequ juice - but never before have i had juicer and veggies in hand and done the dirty deed myself. lucky for the bird, the tiger has a very nice juicer, that he doesn't use and is willing to share. and even luckier for the bird, berkeley bowl has all one's veggie needs, fresh and cheap, so that it actually makes economical sense to roll up your sleeves and get into juicing. by new york standards, you will pay anywhere upwards of $8 for a fresh green juice. today i juiced at home with produce that cost less than $4 all together, which yielded enough juice for 2 juices today and enough for another 2 with the leftover veggies i will use tomorrow. so, for under $4, i made 4 green juices. yes, the juicers are a bit of a labor of love to clean. but cleaning the produce and cleaning the juicer is actually not that labor intensive and it most certainly is worth bringing the cost of green juice down to about $1/juice.

okay. so green juice. what do i put in it? i used kale, romaine, celery, cucumber, parsley, and green apple. i could have also used ginger and lemon. why do i drink it? well it's pretty simple - the healing elements that are found in green leafy vegetables are so powerful and synergistic, that there is no synthetic equivalent. there is no synthetic medicine or supplement that can do what raw, fresh green leafy vegetables can do. and doctors, nutritionists and dietitians all recommend that we get 3 to 5 servings of these green leafy vegetables every day. juice is an excellent way to get these servings. it is also ideal because they are still raw and their nutritional values have not been compromised at all as a result of heat or preparation.

yeah, kermit, it's not easy being green, it's AWESOME! why?

well, the five main benefits of the ingredients in green juice are:

• chlorophyll
• trace minerals (potassium, magnesium, calcium, chromium and selenium)
• vegetable protein
• enzymes
• alkalizing abilities

these components give the immune system and muscles the building blocks they need, bring oxygen to our blood and tissues, prevent disease, and help balance the alkalinity of our blood, in turn, helping us flush out the build up of lactic acid in our joints and muscles. a green juice a day will keep the doctor away, at least in a more positive way than say no health insurance keeps the doctor away.

ask the bird.

curiosity might have killed the cat, but the bird can satisfy yours.

you have questions, i know you do. and i have answers, at least i hope i do. so ask away. email me at theearlybirdlikeshergreens@gmail.com and stay tuned for answers here on the blog.

turmerific!

so over the course of the past few months i have developed an ever-increasing fondness for turmeric. it's just so good. and so good for you. and last night the tiger and i were out to dinner with friends at an ethiopian restaurant in oakland at which i broke my ethiopian food virginity. i'm not sure how i got this far in life without ever having had an ethiopian meal, but somehow i did, and, like with most other life experiences or "firsts", the longer you wait to do it, the more anxiety builds up. so this was a big deal for me. would i like it? would i even know what to do when the big family style platter was set down in front of us all with a few baskets of that crazy bread? would i make a mess? would i embarrass myself? would it be painful? so i took a big breath, threw caution to the wind, took the plunge, and let a red lentil dish called mesir wat take my innocence and ignorance away. red lentils in a berbere sauce. mmm mmm mmm. it doesn't get much better than that. and, so, just like that, my turmeric adoration was whipped back up into high gear. and so this is a post about a spice. a spice that makes anything it touches better and that might be one of the best things on the planet for us. it has insane health benefits. the active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin. it has long been known for its anti-inflammatory benefits, but has more recently been shown to help heal or prevent many health conditions from cancer to alzheimer's disease. it is a natural antiseptic and antibacterial agent. it has shown itself to be useful in preventing and stopping growth of existing cancers such as prostate, breast, melanoma, and childhood leukemia. it is a natural liver detoxifier (turmeric and beets will undo any and all of your sins. okay, maybe not all of them.) it reduces the growth of plaque build up in the brain which may slow or prevent the spread of alzheimer's disease. in chinese medicine, turmeric is used to treat depression. it is a natural painkiller, it aids in fat metabolism in the body, and its anti-inflammatory properties make it a natural treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. so, hurry up and get your hands on some turmeric. it's a little yellow wonder powder.

sometimes you just gotta roll with it.

oh the joy of sushi rolling! it really is pretty darn simple, even a bird can do it with a tiger watching. it's all about prep and a sharp knife, so if you've got a sous chef hiding around somewhere you are absolutely golden. otherwise, get ready to slice and dice - well, okay just slice and slice. and slice a little more. there are a few basic things to know about sushi rolling. first of all, you want to use sushi rice and you want to prepare it with the rice:water ratio on its package, it's too starchy to drain off excess water if you guesstimate quantities and use too much water and it becomes paste. the second key to rolling sushi is that once the rice has been steamed, you want to add rice vinegar immediately, while it is still hot. this will make it the right consistency to spread and use in your rolls. use plenty of vinegar, stir it in and coat all of the rice, and allow it to cool before you proceed with rolling. i allow it to cool on the counter before i transfer it to the fridge. the third thing you want to know is that a piece of plastic wrap between the nori and the bamboo rolling mat will make rolling easier and prevent the roll from ever sticking to the mat. when rolling your sushi, make it tight, don't be afraid to really put some pressure on it, you want the roll to be solid and tight so that when you slice it, it doesn't fall apart. and the most important thing about making sushi rolls is that you have to have a clean, sharp knife in order to cut. keep a small bowl of cold water next to you as you work. the duller the knife, the more likely you will be rinsing your knife and wiping it clean between each slice. if the blade is dull or has sticky starchy residue from the nori and rice, it won't slice through, your roll will tear, things will fall apart, it will be a messy situation. there will probably be cursing. quite possibly tears. definitely frustration. if you have a clean sharp knife though, it's easypeasy, you just slice right through the roll and leave a trail of perfect little pieces of maki.

what you need to roll sushi:

sushi rice

water

rice vinegar

bamboo mat

bamboo or plastic paddle or spatula (to spread rice on the nori)

sheets of nori

plastic wrap

sharp clean knife

pickled ginger (optional)

wasabi (optional)

soy sauce (optional)

things i like to roll in sushi:

cucumbers

asparagus (i blanch them first)

oshinko

red peppers

yellow peppers

baby corn

bamboo shoots

water chestnuts

avocado

kimchi

jicama

a basic bird's eye view to rolling sushi

prepare your sushi rice, add rice vinegar, cool

prepare the ingredients for your roll - clean and slice and anything else you need to do them

spread a sheet of plastic wrap over your bamboo mat

place a piece of nori on top of the plastic wrap

spread a thin layer of rice across the nori

line ingredients up across nori horizontally (in relation to you), starting in the center and keeping centered

before you roll, dab your finger in your water bowl and lightly wet the edge of the nori closest to you and farthest from you - this will help the nori seal to itself

now you are ready to roll - bring the side of the nori closest to you up and over the contents, apply some pressure and create seal where it meets the other side, then roll so it is closed entirely, make it tight and always roll away from you. once roll is secured, unroll bamboo mat, remove from plastic wrap, transfer to cutting board

using the sharpest knife you have, slice your sushi roll

enjoy!

heart skips a beet.

that's right. something that can turn your pee red is actually really, really good for you. really.

i feel like there's no way to go about this without sounding like an over zealous bragging mother, but beets are a sort of wonder food and the list of their health benefits is extensive. beets have nutrients that help protect against coronary artery disease and stroke, birth defects, and certain cancers (particularly colon cancer), lower cholesterol levels, promote nervous system health (especially for the eyes), have anti-aging benefits, and, to top it all off, are excellent detoxifiers. the betalin pigments in beets trigger "hook up" activity in the body's phase 2 detoxification process. this is the metabolic step in which our body "hooks up" toxic substances with small nutrient groups so that they become neutralized, water-soluble & get excreted in our urine. what makes beets so special is that most of their health benefits are unique, in terms of the nutrients from the beet that deliver or contribute to the health benefit. there is more than one way to skin a cat, but many vegetables skin their cats the same way. beets, those ingenious little buggers, have their own cat skinning tricks. most vegetables give us antioxidants through beta-carotene, but beets contain two different antioxidant careotenoids that are not nearly as common in other vegetables, called lutein and zeaxanthin. similarly, their red color comes not from anthocyanins, as is the case for most distinctly red vegetables, but from unique phytonutrients called betalains. and variety, it is said, is the spice of life. so, the more types of antioxidants and nutrients we can get, the better for our bodies. each of them interacts with our bodies and our cells in a different way, no matter how slight, and that will affect exactly what they do and how, and, in turn, the way it benefits our health.

and the red pee thing has a name: beeturia. it is nothing to be alarmed about, it's simply a sign of the genetic inability to break down the beta-cyanin pigment in the beet. roughly 10-15% of the population fall into that category.

okay, so the early bird has laid the case that beets are a must have for low calorie high fiber detoxifying super cardiovascular nutrition. but i think many of us have yet to embrace the beet because they seem cumbersome and dirty when bought fresh or we have antiquated notions of them pickled in jars, on our grandparents' plates, or in some soup called borscht. hesitate no longer. they are super delicious and super easy. all you need is a little bit of time, the effort is minimal, the skill level low. get some beets and roast them.

easy peasy beet roasting. 101.

preheat oven to 375, make sure rack is in the middle of the oven.

if the beets still have greens attached, cut off the greens, clean them and set them aside. they have their own amazing nutritional value and are absolutely edible.

wash the beets.

wrap them in aluminum foil (you can wrap them together in a single foil packet with all the beets or you can wrap them individually).

place them in the oven, on a baking sheet if you have it, or directly on the rack if you don't.

roasting will take anywhere from 45-90 minutes, depending on the size and the beet itself. to test, poke them with a fork (you don't remove the foil), they are done when the fork goes into the beet without any resistance.

when beets are done, remove from oven.

unwrap the beets and peel them as you rinse them under cold water. the roasting loosens the skin enough that it slips off easily and the water from the faucet cools the beets and helps keep the red staining on the hands to a minimum.

and there you have it - roasted beets.

so roast those beets and keep being naughty, no one is really making a list or checking it twice, and the beets will detoxify all your sins.

the little orange that could.

something happens this time of year in the produce department that makes my heart skip a beat. a very special little orange makes an appearance. and, for a brief moment in time, i find myself in citrus heaven. welcome, back, satsuma, i have missed you.

what is a satsuma? you may also see it labeled simply as a mandarin or as a stem & leaf mandarin. it all depends on where you are shopping. well, a satsuma is a mandarin orange. and it usually still has a little bit of stem and quite possibly a leaf attached. they are smaller than navel oranges, but usually are larger than clementines. like the clementine, they are easy to peel. incredibly easy to peel. and the sections are plump, super sweet, and not pithy. i find them to be sweeter and juicier than clementines, not to mention slightly more satisfying. they are a beautful fruit, too, with bright orange skin. it's not just turkey and cranberries and squash and pumpkin pie right now, there is a thriving citrus season upon us, and it's not a bad thing with the concurrent arrival of cold and flu season to introduce more vitamin c into our lives. this is the high point of the satsuma season, pretty soon they will be gone from grocery stores and markets, a mere sweet memory. but, for now, they are here and they are delicious and i am a happy bird, full to the brim with vitamin c.

yam = yum.

okay, okay, it's time to get back to the sweet potato drawing board with red diane yams.

it's chilly. it's rainy. thanksgiving is thursday. what better time to get my festive on and play with sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, and cranberries? right? well, lucky for me, i'm smack dab in the middle of testing all the sweet potatoes i can get my hands on. so satsuma-imo, golden sweet, and beauregard down, it's on to good old diane. the red diane yam is a hybrid between the garnet and the beauregard yams. again, all of these are sweet potatoes and not yams at all. the diane is red on the outside with bright orange flesh on the inside. meaning she's high in beta-carotene and good for the eyes. even if looking at her she's not so good on the eyes. oh, the poor ugly sweet potato. thank god she is so gosh darn tasty, birds and tigers agree on this. through salty miso to tangy sweet cranberry, the sweet potato is doing us right.

cranberry orange garlic sweet potato and brussel sprout delight

1 cup rice (wild & brown mix)

garlic, 5 cloves

1 medium orange

cranberries, 1 bag

1 large red diane yam, peeled & cut into rounds

10 brussel sprouts, cut in half

2 cinnamon sticks

sea salt, to taste

in one pot, add rice, 2 cups water & 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic. cover. bring to boil. reduce heat & simmer, according to directions on rice (~40 minutes). once simmering for about 10 minutes, add 1 cinnamon stick.

in another pot, when rice is about halfway done, add 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped, sweet potatoes & brussel sprouts. add about an inch of water & 1 cinnamon stick. cover. bring to boil and reduce to simmer for about 10 minutes.

squeeze the juice of half an orange over sweet potatoes & brussel sprouts. add cranberries. place orange on top. cover and continue to simmer, until cranberries are soft and all vegetables are cooked through and tender.

combine vegetables with rice. squeeze remaining orange over mixture, season with salt, and enjoy.

hummus without chickpeas isn't really hummus, is it? but it's my favarite.

momentary pause on the root-toot-tuber seasonal express. this is, after all, california. and it turns out that the baja region of california and mexico have a pretty sweet heirloom vegetable season come november. do you know how hard it is to walk past a crate full of perfectly pretty pesticide free heirloom peppers? it is impossible. you'd have to be heartless & soulless & pretty darn near blind to do something that foolish. especially when these guys were grown in-state and are only $1.29/lb. come on, i had no choice but to step away from the sweet potato bins and pick some up. so then i decided the little baby rainbow carrot nuggets could not be left alone either. so cute, so fresh, also so cheap. i turned and caught sight of the mini kirby cucumbers and all of a sudden my theme became crystal clear. ladies and gentlemen, we have an adorable crudite on our hands.

now a crudite needs to be dipped. and so i had the inspiration to make hummus. then i had the inspiration to make hummus but without chickpeas. any bean, after all, can be mashed and blended. and so i grabbed a can of fava beans, which as a soaked and cooked bean, more closely resemble the shape and texture of a chickpea than say pinto or kidney or black beans do. here we go again with misnomers, technically fava beans are peas and not beans at all. but because they produce a "bean" inside their shell and fix nitrogen in the soil, we lump them in with legumes, instead of more accurately labeling them as vetches. whatever we call them, fava beans are one of the most ancient foods we have and are also very, very healthy. fava beans are a good source of fiber, vitamin a (skin, vision, growth, bone development), potassium (blood pressure and heart function), phosphorus (bones, teeth, helps the body utilize vitamins), the amino acid known as l-dopa, or dopamine (works as a neurotransmitter in the brain ), and thiamine (nerve function).

fava bean spread

1 can fava beans, drain & reserve a little bit of the liquid

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 lemon

1 tbs sea salt

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp turmeric

add fava beans, garlic & a little bit of the liquid from the beans in a blender. blend on "puree" until the mixture starts to become smooth.

add the juice of a lemon, salt, paprika and turmeric.

blend until it's the consistency you desire.

enjoy.

yes, it is that ridiculously easy.

(i mean, of course, if you wanted to take on the challenge, you could start with fresh fava beans, shell them, blanch them, skin them and then mash them. it would be more labor intensive and would give you an end product that would have a green color, like the fresh fava bean. it would be pretty. and it would no doubt be delicious. but sometimes birds get busy and the quick way is good enough. i'm just fine with my super quick can bean cheat.)

you can serve it right away. or you can let it chill and settle for a little while. you can serve it with fresh veggies as a dip for crudite. you can serve it with crackers or bread. you could layer it into a taco or burrito. it would go very well in a lot of middle eastern cuisine, i mean it would be great spread on kibby. i hope to incorporate it into a stuffed cabbage roll recipe at some point. it's pretty versatile. and, most importantly, it's easy peasy cheap and breezy. and the tiger likes it.

one potato, sweet potato, miso soup and more.

japanese sweet potato conquered, time to keep on keepin on the sweet potato trail...next stop golden sweet and beauregard yams. well, here we go again, both of these vegetables are called "yams" but are actually sweet potatoes. technically all "yams" grown in the united states are sweet potatoes. and yet we call them yams. because we can do whatever we want, right? this is america. freedom of speech. i'd rather just call a spade a spade, you know? but this yam misnomer tradition is far older and widespread than me, so i'm going to have to suck it up at some point and just accept that although i may buy and cook a lot of yams, i have still never actually bought or cooked a yam.

okay, let's be honest, i'm a bird on a budget trying to be green. reduce, reuse, recycle, my friends. a great place to do this is in the kitchen. so i decided my next adventure in yamville needed to make use of the large amount of leftover scallion and miso that i had from my first adventure in the land of sweet potato. so i decided to make a variation on a miso soup. i chose two very different types of sweet potato: the golden sweet and the beauregard. the golden sweet has light skin and light flesh. the beauregard has dark copper skin and bright orange flesh. the golden sweet yam is much milder and much starchier, acting & tasting a little bit like a potato and a turnip, while the beauregard is much sweeter, like a very sweet carrot. they worked in nice conjunction together in a soup. and again, paired well with the mild white miso.

sweet potato seaweed miso soup with rice

garlic (we used no less than 6 cloves in 1 pot of soup, but we also have a slight garlic addiction here, quantity is up to you), chopped finely

a handful of kombu seaweed (dried)

1/4 cup thai jasmine rice

1/2 cup hijiki seaweed (dried)

1 golden sweet yam, peeled & diced

1 beauregard yam, peeled & diced

1 small crown of broccoli, chopped

1 small head of choy sum, chopped

4 scallions, chopped

sea salt

1/2-3/4 cup white miso (again, depends on your taste. add 1/2 cup to start, add more if flavor isn't strong enough for you)

fill a large pot with 4 cups (or so) of water. add garlic & kombu seaweed. bring to a boil.

add rice. cover & simmer.

after 5 minutes, add sweet potatoes & hijiki.

when sweet potatoes are almost done, add the broccoli & choy sum. allow to simmer another 5 minutes or so.

add scallions, season with sea salt. simmer for a minute or two.

add miso, 1 tablespoon at a time, let it dissolve. allow this soup to simmer for just a couple of minutes.*

remove from heat.

enjoy.

*the key to miso soup is not allowing the miso to boil, hence adding it last, it will destroy the flavor and compromises the nutritional value and healing properties of the miso.

even your mama says you're ugly.

well, they sure as heck aren't pretty to look at on their own, but the sweet potato, full of vitamins a, c & b6, packs a delicious punch of good old fashioned nutrition, giving it an inner beauty. and it's what's on the inside that matters after all, isn't it? at least that's what everyone always tells me. wait...they mean it, right? it's not like they're just saying that to make me feel better about something else, are they? ??

ah, the sweet potato. which is different than a yam. which is not actually what we think is a yam. yams as we think of them are just varieties of the sweet potato. which have nothing to do with potatoes. yes, they are all indeed root vegetables, tubers, but these tubers, though they look mighty darn similar, originate from different botanical families. confused? why wouldn't you be. but, alas, "what's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" - right, juliet? well, i intend to find out. or try to find out. or just eat a lot of sweet potatoes. i mean yams. i mean sweet potatoes. i mean, well, i don't know what i mean. but it's root and tuber time of year and root-toot-tuber season seems like as good a time as any to dive headfirst into learning about these sweet ugly guys.

so there are something like 400 varieties of sweet potatoes out there. and sweet potatoes are not necessarily sweet, nor are they potatoes. the true sweet potato actually has a flavor closer to a chestnut, with white flesh, not the orange flesh we think of. the satsuma-imo version of these is quite popular in japan. and so in my investigation into the sweet potato and yam world, this is where i shall begin, and tonight i dove right in with the japanese sweet potato, a variety i had never tried before. the tiger and i both enjoyed it. like my research promised, it did have a chestnut-ty flavor to it, not the sweet, carrot-ty flavor that garnet yams, for instance, have. it was really super scrumptious and delicious with a salty, tangy miso-based spread, a surprisingly mostly savory and just a little bit sweet take on the tuber of a thousand names and mistake monikers.


miso garlic scallion japanese sweet potato
preheat oven to 400 degrees
wash & scrub a japanese sweet potato (pictured above, purple skin with white flesh)
prick sweet potato with a fork & roast in oven (about 1 hour or until soft)

miso garlic scallion spread:
3 tbs white miso
2 cloves garlic minced
1 green scallion chopped finally
in small bowl or ramekin, mash the miso, garlic and scallions until well mixed into a paste

remove sweet potato from oven
slice down the middle
spread the miso paste on the potato
fold the potato halves back together to allow the paste to melt into the flesh a little bit
enjoy.

squash? soup? yes!

i was once afraid of squash. very afraid. i let it pass by my plate every thanksgiving year in and year out. strategically seated adjacent to my aunt joanie, who was a notorious squash hater, it was easy to keep it moving right along as the serving dishes of vegetables made their way around the long dining room table. and thus i cheated myself out of the glory of squash for at least the first 10 years of my life. luckily, i am not the girl i was back then - and i say that for many reasons, my neglection of squash and other weird eating-isms just a small fraction of my many childhood regrets, let's just hit the tip of the iceberg and say there are a lot of pin-rolled jeans and curling iron bang mishaps i am a better person without. so, now, here i am, by no means perfect, but no longer getting up at 5:30am to shower, scrunch my permed hair, curl my bangs, and then shellac the whole affair in a crap ton of cfc-rampant hair spray, so i'm going to have to claim a significant degree of self-improvement. and i am proud to say that in my *maturity* i love squash and no longer believe that soup only comes out of a can. and those two factors made tonight's early bird venture in the kitchen possible.

it is late october. even in berkeley, california that means pumpkins, squash, gourds, squash, pumpkins and more pumpkins. edible, decorative and everything in between. so i decided to pick out a lovely butternut squash and make a hearty fall soup. it met with the tiger's approval, which is good because we will be eating it for days. soup is simple and fast and satisfying. and it seems no matter how hard i try to streamline a recipe, always makes a metric ton. the key to the success of this soup came in reserving about a cup of butternut squash and steaming it separately while the soup simmered so that i could mash it (using a potato masher) with fresh sage, fresh thyme, coarse sea salt and pepper. adding the mashed squash mixture to the soup thickened it and really distributed and intensified the flavors from the herbs, so it didn't matter that i didn't have the time or inclination to let it simmer for hours.

butternut squash, kale and white bean soup

4 cups vegetarian broth + 4 cups water

4 cloves garlic, chopped finely

sea salt

pepper

fresh sage

fresh thyme

1/2 onion, diced

1 butternut squash - peel & cube: 3 cups for soup, remainder set aside to steam & mash

2 cups chopped fresh kale

1 can navy beans

in large pot, bring broth, water, garlic, pepper, sea salt and some sage & thyme to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer.

add 3 cups of the cubed butternut squash and the diced onion, allow to simmer until squash is tender.

meanwhile, steam remaining squash separately.

once squash is tender, add kale and beans (including liquid), continue to simmer.

season simmering soup with sea salt, pepper, sage and thyme.

mash steamed squash with coarse sea salt, black pepper, chopped sage leaves and thyme. add to soup once kale is tender and cooked through.

stir. allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.

enjoy.

rainbow roots.

roots are in season. and i am not just trying to justify the fact that i haven't highlighted my hair since before summer started. i am talking about vegetables. it is fall, even if berkeley somehow always feels like heaven outside and there are no leaves changing color and no threat of the first frost, and that means the roots have it. carrots, turnips, potatoes - it is indeed your time to shine. so tonight i let rainbow colored carrots take the driver's seat and we enjoyed ginger garlic carrots with baby bok choy, black beans, and rice noodles in a rice wine vinegar and blood orange reduction.

rainbow carrots are so so good. and what is the sweetest part of cooking with them is that they provide such a wide range of antioxidants. we normally eat carrots for their vitamin a and beta-carotene. which, yes, in and of itself is a good enough reason to include them in the diet. (i mean mr. magoo is cool and all, but who really wants to *be* him) but! there are different compounds with different health benefits in each color of the carrot rainbow. so cook up a bunch of rainbow carrots and not only are you getting all those eye sight saving vitamin a and beta-carotene benefits in the orange carrots, you are also getting lycophene, which is what causes the red carrots to look red, and is a carotene known for its heart disease and cancer fighting properties, xanthophylls from the yellow carrots that are pigments similar to beta-carotene which also support good eye health, and the anthocyanins in purple carrots, which are powerful antioxidants in a totally different class from other carotenes. one vegetable, so many different sources of nutrition. one stop shopping that doesn't require a strip mall or concrete jungle megastore. that is an idea this bird will always get behind.

ginger garlic carrots with baby bok choy, black beans, and rice noodles in a rice wine vinegar and blood orange reduction

1 bunch rainbow carrots

2 small bunches baby bok choy

1 bundle or serving of rice noodles

4 cloves garlic

fresh ginger

3/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 blood orange

sea salt, to taste

wash, cut tops off & halve carrots

wash & cut baby bok choy at bottom steam to separate leaves

chop garlic cloves

thinly slice ginger

open & drain 1 can of black beans

steam carrots and bok choy with ginger and garlic (save about 1/3 of the garlic and ginger for sauce). drain.

prepare rice noodles. drain.

in small frying pan, heat garlic and ginger, add rice wine vinegar and juice of the blood orange. cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer. (*since there is no thickening agent, you are technically infusing your rice wine vinegar base with the blood orange, garlic and ginger flavors, but it is still reducing as some of it evaporates in the steam. nerd alert, i know.)

mix noodles, veggies, beans, and sauce. add sea salt to taste. enjoy.

yau-za!

yay for yau. i decided to explore my *choy*ces and try something new, yau choy. mostly because the handwritten sign looked like it said "yay choy" and i thought that was funny. and partly because it was a really pretty looking green and i was curious. so i steamed the yau choy with bean sprouts, onion, white zucchini and red pepper. then i tossed the veggies and vietnamese brown rice noodles in a sauce i made with with garlic, fresh ginger, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and the juice of a blood orange. and, well, wouldn't you know, yau did indeed make me say yay.

let the veggies do the work, i'm tired.

last night was a clean out the fridge lazy bird style dinner. i had a crisper full of assorted random vegetables and little enthusiasm for anything complicated, so i took what i had, grabbed a lemon off the tree in the backyard, and threw together what ended up being a rather delicious and satisfying meal. i've come to believe that fresh produce, pure and simple, is like that go-to little black dress every woman doesn't feel complete without having in her closet. you know it's going to save you, you know it's nothing special or fancy or pretentious or ostentatious, but you know it works and is fail proof. so i quartered and boiled some small purple and yellow potatoes and steamed some okra, red bell pepper, onion, summer squash and garlic. then i tossed it all together with coarse sea salt, smoked paprika, black pepper, turmeric, cumin, a little cayenne and a little cholula hot sauce, and the juice of a lemon i picked from my own back yard. it was done quickly and it was delicious. had i thought about it ahead of time i probably would have screwed it up and it wouldn't have turned out so well. had i not been using such fresh and in season vegetables, it never would have stood on its on so simply. you really can't go wrong with fresh produce, even when you are tired and lazy and at a lack for inspiration.

*it doesn't hurt to enjoy lazy bird dinners while watching an episode of strangers with candy.

**it actually doesn't ever hurt to enjoy anything while watch an episode of strangers with candy.