210503 Ridge Walk Not Couscous Salad

 May 3

The sun was shining yesterday and the trout lilies, who slept closed up through two days of rain and chill, opened and showed their faces once again. More and more are flowering among the trees on the ridge. 

Here is a bellwort, my first good look at the flower. More tiny white violets are appearing.

           

Fig has not been on a long walk with us for a while now: he starts to get stressed pretty soon and wants to turn back, but he does seem to like going over to see the ridge pond and stream. I take him on a leash to help him through the hawthorns and bushes on the meadow, although he is learning to follow in my footsteps quite well. We sat by the stream a while, but when I said, "Let's go," he sat down and looked back over his shoulder towards the stream. So I sat on a log and watched the valley and he lay down not far from me to listen and smell the world. When he heard Blackie in the distance, he leapt up, barking back ferociously!

 

*****

On Saturday, I made black bean falafels, except I didn't bother with little shapes, just spread the mixture on a pan lined with parchment paper and baked it, turning it over half-way through to brown and crisp both sides. I am still using no oil in cooking - it has become a feature of my cuisine, if I may call it that! * Served the falafels with whole-wheat pitas, lettuce, kale, red onion, and homemade tahini sauce. It was a feast fit for a queen (or perhaps a fairy witch!): a blend of flavours and textures that hummed with whole-food nutrition. I will re-post the link to the recipe, below.** It uses chickpeas, which are the traditional bean for falafels. 

I love the flavour of couscous salads, but I will not buy them anymore because they use white couscous, not whole wheat and add oil to the dressing. I looked for whole wheat couscous on-line but didn't find anyone who would send it to me here in the wilderness that is the Estrie. I didn't spend too much time looking; instead I decided to try quinoa. I invented a recipe based on some of the ingredients on an old couscous salad container (kept for food storage). It was a happy success! It is as delicious as store-bought couscous salad but without the oil and tastes so much fresher! (recipe below) I have reduced our consumption of processed foods - I now find their flavours intolerable, dumbed down, or numbed, by the processing. I feel as if I am consuming unknown ingredients.

Sunday's dinner then: leftover falafels, and quinoa salad:

 

There is time now to cook: one of the joys of a household of two and being (relatively) retired. I began cooking daily suppers at 17 or 18, when my mother began to be ill. My years of cooking have brought me to a new place where I feel I am just beginning to really learn how! (I may have said this before.) I bring a lifetime of tried and true recipes and techniques, found or invented along the way, to my cooking, but I suddenly seem to better understand the potential of my larder, herbs and spices! Of course, I am not cooking for children anymore, nor with the work of a household full of children to sidetrack my energy and creativity.

La Leche League, a breastfeeding support group that has shaped my parenting since before my first baby was even born, also influenced my cooking, with its gentle, safe, inclusive concept of nutrition. "Good nutrition means eating a well-balanced and varied diet of foods in as close to their natural state as possible." *** These words come to mind often these days as, finally, it seems I am finding the confidence and life-space to move close to the ideal expression of this concept. My children bore the brunt of my learning - motherhood and nutrition! - and now they are cooking for their own families and teaching me new things. Sometimes, we used to joke, "as close to their natural state as possible" came down to Kraft Dinner! But the companionship of our La Leche League group in Etobicoke included sharing easy, nutritious kid-friendly ideas for meals and snacks, and always the reminder that nutrition is important for good health. 

Take from this blog what works for you, leave behind what doesn't. We are each on our own journey. Be safe and keep well. Thank you for coming by! 

Last night, the light of the sunset reflects on the eastern mountains. And this morning, the sunrise, behind the same hills.

Mumma Yaga 

RECIPE: Quinoa (not couscous) Salad

This is my own recipe although I did read the ingredients list on a couscous salad container, as mentioned - they weren't specific about the spices! just said spices.

Ingredients:

1 Cup dry quinoa

1 C zucchini cut in little cubes - a 6 inch zucchini.

1 red bell pepper cubed

1 C red onion finely chopped (about half an onion)

1 cup canned corn

1/2 cup tomatoes chopped small ( I used canned because it's winter ) 

- If you like black olives and you have some, add six or seven chopped small. I don't like them so I don't keep in-house, but I like the flavour they add to a store-bought couscous salad.

- 1/2 a cup of (cooked) black beans would be a nice addition too. There were black beans in the store-bought couscous salad, but mine were frozen in large batches.

Dressing:

2 T tomato juice from the canned tomatoes. 

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 T apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp of maple syrup

pinch or two of turmeric

pinch or two of cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp of salt (or more to taste.)

Cook quinoa as directed on package. (I don't toast the quinoa in oil before boiling it. Nor do I add salt.)

Saute zucchini, pepper and onion in a little water, until softened but still crunchy. Drain if necessary.

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and add dressing. Mix gently but well. 

Chill for an hour (or six! I prepared it in the morning when I had the energy! If you have little children morning is a good time to make dinner.

Please adjust the recipe to your taste and pantry. 

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footnotes:

* If you go to Youtube and type in "Gift of Health Why and How to Cook with NO Oil" there is a nine minute video about this. I was unable to copy and paste the link for some (probably legitimate) reason. It basically says that there is no such thing as a healthy oil for cooking, and instead of oil, water or broth works. I sometimes use lime juice and water. I often bake meat and vegetables on parchment paper with no need for oil. It also says that oil affects the tastebuds, interfering with the flavour of foods. 

** https://downshiftology.com/recipes/falafel/ 

*** https://www.lllc.ca/about/philosophies