If you planted a garden early in the spring then you too are enjoying the first of your bounty. I have been serving very larger salads with tender leaf-lettuce, baby spinach, kale and radishes. A supply of fresh herbs are also enhancing my cooking. Snow and snap peas are just showing themselves and will be ready for picking by the end of the week. A picking tip in the hot weather is to take a bowl of cold water out to your garden and place your just picked vegetables directly into the cold water until indoors. This will keep them fresh and crisp and free from wilting.

Healthy Alfredo Sauce

I saw a similar version of this sauce on The Dr. Oz Show and knew that I needed to play around with it and try it myself. I started by caramelizing 4 medium onions with 3 cloves of garlic in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil seasoned with sea salt. To caramelize onions they need to cook long and low, I let them cook for an hour on low heat stirring every once in a while. They become sweet and almost a creamy texture. While the onions were cooking I steamed a one pound bag of cauliflower until very soft. When everything was finished cooking I put the cauliflower, caramelized onions, and half the water from steaming the cauliflower into a blender. I blended on high for a few minuted then added 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese and some more water from steaming. Again blending on high until completely smooth.

At dinner time I warmed up the sauce and served it over whole wheat pasta and did not tell the family what was in the sauce. My son, 14 years old, said that he really doesn't like alfredo sauce be this was pretty good, the rest of us just loved it and not a drop was leftover. The next time I make this Healthy Alfredo Sauce I will add in some broccoli pieces for some color, it would also be very good with seafood added. It stores very well and warms up easily so there is no problem making this sauce ahead of time for a quick and delicious meal.

Cauliflower is a member of the cruciferous family which has been researched greatly and found to have numerous disease preventing properties. That must be because of all the vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals including antioxidants, and fiber.

(Excerpts from Trish’s Dishes Copy right 2009)

Blueberries

Who doesn’t love Blueberries? And they are so good for you being a great source of vitamin C and K plus manganese and loads of fiber. They do have a high sugar content but the fiber content off-sets that. Since I was 15 I had an unlimited source of blueberries, my family had moved to a house that had many blueberry bushes plus many other yummy fruits and berries. Even when I moved away from home I could always go back and get my fill, my mom froze what could not be eaten in the summer so the supply was year round. When my parents were planing to downsize and move we all feared the lack of blueberries, the thought of buying them was foreign. So I decided to proactive and went out and bought three bushes for my yard, planted them in a not so sunny spot and only got a handful of berries. Last fall I decided to move the plants to a sunnier place and now they are loaded with flowers. I was afraid that they would not produce after being moved but they seem well adjusted and happy. I know that they like an acid soil and since I do not have a pine tree near them I collect pine needles from the trees across the street to help nourish them.

Eating blueberries as a teen I preferred them by the bowl- full but now I also love to add them to pancakes, tarts and sauces. I never make blueberries pies because my mom makes the best and mine could never compete.

If you love blueberries try growing your own, they really are low maintenance and in a few years you will be rewarded deliciously.

Yes, Pizza can be healthy and delicious!

Everyone loves pizza but not everyone loves all the dripping grease, quality of ingredients, or the high calorie count. By making it at home you can support your health and enjoy a tasty meal. If you have a bread-maker you can make you pizza dough that way, it is not that much more work if make it by hand. If youo have children get them to kneed the dough, they will love it. Then give them their own piece of dough to create a shape like a car or flower or whatever they may want for their own personal pizza. They will then want to decorate it with their choice of veggies and cheese. No kids? Rounds or rectangles are just as yummy because you get to personalize them with your wholesome ingredients for the perfect pizza.


Whole Wheat Veggie Pizza

Dough

¾ cup warm water
2 tsp. yeast
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
½ tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. granulated garlic
2 tsp. Italian seasoning

Topping

1-2 cup Tomato sauce or pizza sauce
1-2 cup Mozzarella cheese
1 cup of vegetables for example-broccoli, onions, peppers, spinach, mushrooms, olives etc.

In a large bowl add the yeast to the warm water and let sit for 15 minutes. Next add in the oil and 1 cup of flour slowly mixing. Add the seasonings then the rest of the flour. Depending on the humidity you may need to add a little more water or flour, add slowly. Kneed the dough for 5 to 10 minutes or until smooth. Once the dough is well mixed cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for about one hour. Punch down the dough and kneed slightly until smooth again. This will make one large pizza crust or 2 mediums crusts. Cover your pizza pan with parchment paper to prevent sticking. With a small rolling pin (I use one from a child’s cooking set) slowly roll the dough to the size of your pan. Because of the gluten in the whole wheat flour it will not want to stretch all at once so let it rest half way through the rolling process. When the dough is ready cover it with a thin layer of sauce. Put into a 450° oven for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and add another layer of sauce, vegetables, and the cheese. Return to the oven and reduce the heat to 400° cook until all the cheese is melted about 10 minutes. Let the pizza cool slightly before cutting and serving.

(Excerpts from Trish’s Dishes Copy right 2009)

Don’t Kill the Dandelions!

Have you noticed that the little yellow flowers, known to many as pesty weeds, are just starting to show themselves? This year try to look at dandelions in a different light. Just as many are doing spring cleaning in their homes dandelions can do the same for our bodies. Dandelions are in the category known as bitters because yes, they are bitter to taste but fats and toxins in our bodies do not like that bitterness also and are cleaned out of our blood. Our liver, kidneys, and skin are the bodies major cleaning tools and dandelions help to sharpen those tools and make them work more efficiently. Through-out history all the parts, leaf, flower, and root of the dandelion have been used for medicinal purposes for everything from a spring tonic to jaundice to liver and kidney disorders.

Dandelions also happen to be loaded with vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, B6 and minerals calcium, iron, potassium, and manganese. The only thing not perfect about this plant is its taste, but with some thought you can eat it without even knowing it. I like the leaves and flowers best in a salad, a little dressing and you will never notice the leaves. The flowers do stand-out but they look nice too as do many other edible flowers I use through-out the summer. Steaming the leaves or adding them into soups, casseroles, or mixing them with other green vegetables is a great way to enjoy the super food. A tea or coffee can be made from the roots. Dandelions can be bought at many produce stores when in season but I prefer to let them grow in my back yard or vegetable garden, some people think I just don’t like to “weed” my garden but they are food to me and now I they are also food for you!

Black Pepper

A question from a reader;

So, I've encountered an interesting trend here: people put pepper (common table variety) on their pizza- like, a solid layer. We're all getting the message that too much salt is BAD, and it's all right for a little seasoning, but don't clump it on to every dish. What about salt's less popular table top condiment?

Black Pepper may seem to be less popular then its best known companion salt but if you noticed in so many recipes they are called for as a team. Together they bring out the best in a dish. The fact is that black pepper has many healthy benefits and a rich history. First of all Black Pepper contains some trace mineral and fiber, always a plus. But the number one health benefit is to digestion; it stimulates the taste buds and the production of digestive acids and enzymes to promptly digest your food. When food foods take a long time to digest you may experience indigestion, gas, constipation or other more complex digestive track difficulties. Next black pepper is also a diuretic, promoting urination and sweating to cleanse waste and toxins from our body. It is also believed that black pepper helps make the nutrients from other foods that you eat more available for absorption and aids in the break down fat cells. There is even research being done on the effects of black pepper on brain chemical called endorphins and its roll as an anti-depressant. As always there is the possibility of too much of a good thing. The over use of black pepper can cause the over production of digestive acids that can lead to damage of the digestive track lining and the loss of potassium.

As for its history black pepper, native to India, was once used as currency and as sacred offerings. Black pepper was used to help prevent foods from spoiling while adding flavor to bland meals in a time when adequate foods storage was not yet available. In the middle ages the wealth of a man could be measured by his accumulation of pepper. Explorations of new lands were implemented as well as cities built to accommodate its trade.

So use your black pepper “to taste” not to completely cover.

I love hearing your questions, keep them coming!

Vegetarianism

The word vegetarian has many meanings to many different people. For many a Vegetarian follows a diet that excludes all animal meat and its byproducts. The truth is that there are many variations to this diet.

The ovo-vegetarian includes eggs in their diet

The lacto-vegetarian includes dairy in their diet

The lacto-ovo-vegetarian includes dairy and eggs

The vegan eats only foods from plant sources

Then there are semi-vegetarians, who sometime include poultry and fish in their diet.

Just because someone chooses to exclude animal products does not mean that they have a healthy diet. I have encountered many junk-food vegetarians who just replaced the meat with processed, sugary, fried foods.

Today I find that many people are trying to distance themselves from that word altogether. As the trend grows to eat less meat for better health and for the health of the planet many are also choosing whole foods over the junk for the same reason. May we all make choices that lead to a healthier lifestyle.