Blueberries

The blueberries are just coming out now and are simply delicious. There are so many ways to enjoy blueberries your imagination is the limit. For example last night I took some basic butter cake that I had made in a tube pan, sliced it into one inch pieces. Then I layered cake, whipped cream, blueberries and repeated. I ended up with individual blueberries short cake! A great way to start the first day of summer vacation for my son.

Blueberries have so much more to offer then great taste. They are high in vitamin C, A, E, K, manganese, fiber, anti-oxidants, and phyto-chemical. Their benefits include helping remove harmful free radicals, and lowering blood sugar levels.

So see what you can dream up or stick to one the the many popular blueberry dishes you already are familiar with.

Book Signing

To celebrate the release of Trish's Dishes

, the Hatboro Union Library has invited the me to hold a book signing as part of Hatboro's First Friday festivities on June 3, from from 7:30pm to 8:30pm. Speaking with readers about Trish's Dishes, the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, and the challenges she faced on her path to publication. Trish will be selling copies of her book and answering readers' questions. Her second book signing is scheduled for June 11 at Bunn’s Natural Foods in Southampton from 12:00pm to 3:00pm.

Just Released

It was spring three years-a-go when I decide to take the suggestions from clients, family, and friends to share my healthy recipes. Today I am happy to announce that I am doing that with my recently published cookbook, Trish's Dishes- Family Meals for a Healthy Lifestyle.

Trish’s Dishes is a collection of more then 100 whole food recipes that have been the basis for reversing the crippling effects of my childhood battle with osteoarthritis. Also, these are the meals that I raised my 3 wonderfully healthy children on, so they are "kid tested and approved."

Trish’s Dishes has something for everyone. From breakfast to dessert (and snacks too!), enjoy meatless alternatives to classic dishes paired with assorted whole grains and no refined sugars. You can try something new and learn about unfamiliar ingredients in a chapter I call "What is That Anyway???" Or find a way to make your favorite dish a little healthier.

To receive a copy of Trish's Dishes- Family Meals for a Healthy Lifestyle., you can click on the link, or if you are in the Philadelphia area contact me to find out where you can pick one up. It will soon be available at Amazon.com and Borders.com. It will be closer to six month before it will be available through Barns & Noble.

I know that you will enjoy these wonderful recipes as much as my family has!

Some benefits of Dirt

It is time to get out and start digging in the dirt again. After flooding rains yesterday and gusting winds today I will just have to wait. I have always started planting my vegetable garden in mid-March so I am really inching to get to work and prepare the soil for planting. The snow-peas, lettuce, carrots and beets are my first seeds to be introduced into the spring soil. But there is so much more to be gained from gardening then a harvest of delicious life-enhancing foods… harmony. After this very snowy, cold winter I could really use the reunion with the fertile mother earth and all her gifts.

There is just something about working in the soil of mother earth that can bring you into harmony with your world. Many gardens already know the stress reducing benefits of working with dirt and plants but it has gone farther then that. School principals stated that after a day where the students have been working on gardening projects that there are fewer disciplinarian problems. Students are observed working more cooperatively with others during and after these projects. Similarly convects given the opportunity to work in landscaping and gardening project also showed a decrease in hostile behavior.

It is really magical how the earth can give each different seed just what it needs to be a whole and complete food with its own special set of nutrients to give. Likewise the earth can give people the peace and harmony within so that they can be whole and complete with so much to give. So start making your plans to shed the winter stress by getting out in the dirt.

Food may not only be the newest “fashion” trend but also the environmentally proactive way to help the planet. Food has become so fashionable that while people are turning away from so many popular past trends food is still gaining popularity. In fact as book sales have declined in so many areas cookbook sales are continually on the rise. While we are eating out less we are trying to still bring that spark to our meals to make them as special as eating out. One way we are doing that is by buying fresh, organic and local when possible. This is where we become an agent for positive change for our environment. Every time we choose foods that have little to no processing and where chemicals are not need for a long shelve life we take a step forward to giving ourselves and our planet a healthier longer life.

Here is hearty winter meal using sweet root vegetables, fresh herbs and mushrooms. For me living in Pennsylvanian mushrooms are always local and plentiful.

Mushroom Stew

12 oz. seitan, broken into bit size pieces
½ -1 pound of your favorite mushrooms, mix it up, bite size
3 cups of assorted fresh vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips, zucchini, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, removed from stem or 2 tsp dried
2 sprigs of fresh thyme, removed from stem or 2 tsp dried
⅛ cup or less of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup water or vegetable stock
¼ cup of red wine

In a mixing bowl toss the first 9 ingredients to coat. Put into a baking dish. Add in the water and wine. Bake at 450° for 45 minutes covered. Remove from over-baste and return to oven uncovered for 15 minutes if needed. Serve with bread and a salad.


(Excerpts from Trish’s Dishes Copy right 2009)

Progress

The past few weeks I have been working continually to prepare my cookbook, "Trish's Dishes - Family Meals for a Healthy Lifestyle", to be submitted to the publisher. January 24, 2011 all my work was turned over to Infinity Publishing. I never would have guessed how much more goes into getting a cookbook published other then creating recipes and a lot of cooking. Who would have guessed that by writing a cookbook I would learn how to use a computer really good.I could not have done it with out the continual help and support from my daughters, Guenevere and Tonya.

Now the really hard parts starts, the waiting until I get to see the finished product. I am looking to have books available for sale Spring 2011 through Buy Books on the Web, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, pretty much everywhere.

Holiday Garland

My dream kitchen would have a large fire place where I could hang my herbs and fruits from to dry. For now the dehydrator in the corner of my kitchen has been working non-stop all fall. I have been drying jalapeno peppers, stevia, apples and bananas not just to preserve them, they also make great snacks for school or long car rides as well as healthy gifts. I gave my dad a basked filled with dried fruits and nuts for his birthday, he love it. But the last load in the dehydrator was now for eating it is for decorating. I like to decorate my kitchen for the winter holidays with garlands made from dried apples, dried oranges, and fresh cranberries. I hang it over the entrance to the kitchen with a sprig of mistletoe in the middle. Here is how I do it...

take 2 apples and cut them in about 1/4" slices cross-way so that you will be able to see the star inside that is make by the seeds. Cut 2 oranges the same way so that you can see the sections. Put them into a dehydrator or a gas oven with just the pilot-light on for about two days or completely dried.

You will also need a bag of fresh cranberries, fishing line or heavy thread measured out to length you will need for area you will be hanging in, and a large sewing needle. Mark the center of the thread with a marker. Thread your needle and put a knot at the end.

When your apples and oranges are dried arrange them on a table in a pattern that you like knowing that you will be adding cranberries in between. Starting with a cranberry put your needle through the center from end to end. Do this again with the same cranberry to secure the end of your garland. Now you can continue adding cranberries until you are ready to add an apple or orange. Go on stringing the pattern of fruit adding cranberries between the apples and oranges until you get to the center mark of your thread. If you want your garland to be symmetrical just reverse what you have just done. When you get to the end of your garland take the needle through the last cranberry twice like you did in the beginning and knot. The cranberries will naturally start to dry and shrivel and they may leak some of their juice so be careful that it is not hanging against anything that could get stained. Now you are ready to hang your garland in a doorway, window, a fireplace, or on a tree and enjoy.

When you are done with your garland after the season has past take your fruits off the thread and put them outside for the animal to enjoy.

Happy Holidays!