Rights for Mother Earth

I've mentioned before that I'm not a huge fan of politics. Politicians rarely work for the common good and instead focus on personal gain, and the whole lot of them make me want to admit defeat and start my own sovreign nation on a remote island somewhere tropical. Since that's never going to happen, I make due and do my part by voting and signing petitions and whatnot.

Today I read this article that made me want to hug a politician. Granted, it's not an American politician, but this gives me hope. According to the article, in Bolivia, they are working on passing a bill that will grant Mother Earth the same rights as humans. The belief system of the indigenous people includes a goddess who is similar to the Greek goddess, Gaia, whom we often refer to as Mother Earth. They are granting her the rights to live without being polluted, and the right not to have genetic modifications (meaning no GMOs!), among others.

I know there are going to be a lot of skeptics and naysayers, but I say it's about time the people in charge of our world take a stand for the planet. We only have the one, and it has selflessly given our species everything we could ever possibly need. Still we demand more while giving back nothing and in fact, causing harm. Of course Bolivia will face some challenges, which is always the case when you drastically alter the status quo, but I think they can pull it off. Hopefully they will be a role model for the rest of the world, and we can all work together to undo the harm our species has caused to the planet.

Smoked Salmon and Apple Macaroni Salad

One of the best things about living in Seattle is the availability of amazing seafood. There is a booth at my local
farmers market where they always hand out samples of the most amazing smoked salmon I've ever tasted. This weekend, I decided that I would treat myself to some even though it's more expensive than I can usually spend.

Although I could quite happily eat it without anything else, I decided to whip something together with what I had in the kitchen. Like many of my recipes, this is more of a guideline than a true recipe. I didn't measure anything, so you just have to go with what tastes good.

Smoked Salmon and Apple Macaroni Salad

Elbow macaroni (I used gluten free quinoa pasta, but any will do)
Broccoli cut into bite-sized pieces
Smoked salmon cut into biteXsized pieces
Fuji (or any other variety of crisp apple that you like) apple sliced thinly and tossed in a small amount of lime juice to prevent browning
Olive oil (I recommend using a high quality one because it will greatly influence the flavor)
Balsamic vinegar (I used some that was infused with hot peppers and garlic)
Salt
Pepper
Dried basil

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. While boiling the pasta, you can steam the broccoli in the same pot if you have a steamer tray. Only steam the broccoli until it's bright green, then remove from heat to avoid over cooking. Drain pasta
In a large bowl, combine olive oil (you want enough to lightly coat everything, but not so much that your pasta is swimming in oil), salt, pepper, and basil to taste. You'll also want to add just a splash of balsamic vinegar.
Combine all other ingredients and toss until everything is lightly coated. Taste the pasta to make sure it's properly seasoned. Be aware that the smoked salmon will make everything a little saltier, so don't over-salt the pasta.
When it is seasoned the way you want it, refrigerate and eat chilled.

This recipe was so yummy that I ate every bite even though it was intended for 2 meals. The apple and salmon went together really well, plus the apples added a nice, crisp texture. I still have a lot of salmon left, so I will be making this again in the next couple of days.

Coconut and Cashew Bars

I'm on spring break after the most challenging quarter I've ever experienced (which is why I wasn't posting much). For a good portion of the quarter, I wasn't cooking much. I just had too much to do. Today I spent some time in the kitchen, and it was wonderful.

My roommate recently introduced me to Lara bars. They're quite tasty, made from only a few ingredients, and they're inexpensive, but none of their ingredients are organic. Because their ingredient list was so simple, I decided to make my own using organic food, and they turned out pretty well. All of the ingredients were raw, in addition to being organic, so this recipe works for anyone on a raw food diet.

Coconut and Cashew Bars

Ingredients:
1 cup cashews
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
At least 10 dried and pitted dates
2 Tbs almonds coarsely ground (large chunks are fine)
1 1/2 Tbs virgin coconut oil

Put all ingredients except the almonds in a food processor and grind until you have the desired consistency. You don't want to make cashew butter, but you do want things to be ground pretty finely.
Put the mixture on a piece of parchment or wax paper. It should hold together and be reminiscent of dough. If it's not holding together, add more dates and put through the food processor again.
Mix the almonds in by hand (these give the bars a nice crunch)
Shape into a rectangle or square approximately 1/2" high.
Cut into pieces the size and shape you want.
Eat and enjoy.

Optional:
Add a dash of cinnamon, hunks of dark chocolate, or any other dried fruit or nut your heart desires.

Acupuncture in the Military

This morning I woke up to a story on NPR about how the military is starting to use alternative therapies for pain management: The Weight Of War: New Efforts To Treat Pain. Acupuncture is extremely effective at treating pain and often works where other therapies have failed. I am absolutely thrilled that the military is hiring acupuncturists, and I hope to see this trend grow.

I was surprised to learn that soldiers' and veterans' health insurance doesn't cover acupuncture at this point in time unless they go to a military hospital where it is offered. Maybe it's just me, but I think our soldiers and their families should be given every opportunity to receive the best possible medical care. They put their lives and bodies on the line so that the rest of us don't have to. I won't be practicing until 2013, but when I do, I plan on offering reduced rates for anyone who has served in the US armed forces.

Cure for Diabetes?

Recent research is found a "potential cure" for Type I diabetes. The article here. They have found that glucagon suppression may enable diabetics to go without insulin.

This is a topic that is very close to my heart, and I think this news is absolutely thrilling. Insulin-dependent diabetes can become horrendously debilitating, even when the people who have it diligently regulate their blood sugar levels and carefully regulate their diets. It would be absolutely amazing if this works.

Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash

I went to a small dinner yesterday. I knew that the main dish was going to be food that I couldn't eat because it was loaded with dairy. I knew I had to bring something that I could happily eat as my main dish but that other people could eat as a side dish. I didn't prepare the night before, so I couldn't make anything that required soaking beans. I was in clinic until 1PM, so it had do be something that I could prepare pretty quickly (no slow cooking for this dish).

I decided on stuffed acorn squash. It's available locally and is in season right now. My original plan was to make a filling with lentils and rice plus other things that would make it delicious. I went to the store to pick up the ingredients I didn't have. When I got home, I discovered that I didn't have as many lentils as I needed. Being short on time, I couldn't go back to the store, so I made up the difference with mung beans. Like lentils, mung beans don't require a pre-soak. Having never cooked with mung beans, I had no idea how it would turn out, so I crossed my fingers and went about my business.

My second hiccup was the rice. I threw the rice and water in the rice cooker and didn't think about it until the rice was done. When I opened the cooker, I realized that I made a huge mistake. I used the amount of water needed for white rice, but I was using brown rice. The rice was dry and stiff - not exactly what I was going for. I just composted the rice and made the dish without rice. It meant that I didn't have a complete protein, but I decided one meal without a complete protein wouldn't kill me.

Ultimately, despite my problems in the cooking process, I was very happy with the results. One of my friends said, "This is really healthy isn't it?" during dinner. Yes, it was really healthy. And delicious.

My apologies for the lack of hard figures for the recipe - I just threw things in and called it good.

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Lentils

Ingredients:

*2 acorn squash (there is enough filling for 3, and if you add rice, I'm sure you could make 4) cut in half. There were giant acorn squash and smaller acorn squash at Whole Foods - I went with the smaller ones.
*Olive oil
*Salt and pepper

*1 cup lentils (or a combination of lentils and mung beans. I used about 2/3 c lentils and 1/3 c mung beans)
*1 smallish yellow onion (or half a large yellow onion) chopped into very little pieces - not much larger than a lentil
*5 medium carrots peeled and chopped into pieces about the same size as the onion
*2 cloves minced garlic (you can adjust this to your taste)
*1-2 leaves of kale de-ribbed and chopped into small pieces (mine were probably 1.5cm square)
*1 handful (maybe 3/4 cup?) blanched slivered almonds
*2 handful dried sweetened cranberries
*Juice from 1/4 of a medium sized lemon
*fresh rosemary to taste
*salt and pepper to taste

Optional: cooked rice - this would probably be extra amazing with wild rice
I didn't do this, but in the future, I'd probably add about 1-2 tsp olive oil to the lentil mixture

Preheat oven to 375
Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy bits in the middle. You can save the seeds if you like for roasting
Put face up in a baking dish with ~1 inch water. Coat the top of the squash with olive oil (you could use butter if you prefer), and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake until the flesh is tender when you poke it with a fork. The time will vary depending on how big your squash is. I cooked mine for an hour and 5 minutes. The flesh may be a little brown on the edges.

While the squash is cooking, you can prepare everything else. (I did all of the chopping while the squash was cooking)
Pick through and rinse your lentils and beans. Put in a pot of boiling water and cook until tender. I overcooked mine (they were cooking for 30 minutes) - they were still delicious, but they were a little mushy. Periodically skim off the brown foam that will bubble to the top. Drain and put in a big bowl to mix with the other ingredients

Saute the onions in a large pan with olive oil for a couple of minutes. Add the carrots and garlic and saute until the onions are clear and the carrots are tender.
Add the almonds, saute for ~30 seconds.
Add the kale, cover and let everything steam until the kale is bright green and tender ~1.5 min
Add to the lentils
Add cranberries lemon juice, rosemary, salt and pepper and mix.
(If you have cooked rice, you would add it now. This is also where you would add any additional olive oil)

Scoop a heaping amount of the filling into the cavity of your squash, eat, and enjoy

Scrambled Eggs

Scrambled eggs are my absolute favorite way to prepare eggs. When done right, they are fluffy, creamy and melt on your tongue. Unfortunately, despite the fact that they are amazingly simple to prepare, they are rarely done correctly. It's common to get rubbery, over-cooked scrambled eggs that make you wonder why anyone would want to eat their eggs like that.

Scrambled eggs can be eaten plain, or you can get crazy with additions. It all depends on your taste. The trick to making them perfect is to cook them on low. Not medium-low, not almost-low. Low. The lowest setting your stove has is probably just right. I like to cook my additions before I add the eggs. Tonight, I sauteed up some garlic and onions (I could have easily added peppers, broccoli, ham, bacon, corn, or whatever else sounded good). When they were done cooking, I lowered the temperature, waited a minute for the coils to cool down, and then I added my egg mixture. With a spatula, I kept scraping the pan and mixing the eggs. You don't want to let your eggs brown. Because it's cooked at a low temperature, it may take a little time to cook. The more eggs you use, the longer it will take. They're done when there's no more liquid, but the eggs still look just a tiny bit wet.

You can get a little crazy with your egg mixture if you like. You should beat the eggs with a fork until blended. Then you add herbs, spices, and cheese. Tonight, I went with salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast (it provides the eggs with a cheesy flavor without adding any dairy). I'm also a big fan of adding herbs. You can use rosemary, dill, thyme, basil, or go crazy and throw in some curry powder. Whatever flavors you love can be added to your eggs. Some people add milk to their scrambled eggs. I don't. The eggs are perfect as they are.

I'm of the opinion that fresh eggs are the tastiest, and I only buy eggs that come from free range chickens. I get mine from Skagit River Ranch. I've been to the farm and seen that the chickens are allowed to go wherever they want and are well cared for. Conveniently, they have a booth at my farmers market, so I don't have to drive all the way out to Sedro Woolley. Although they are more expensive than the eggs you would find in your grocery store, they taste way better and make a wonderful treat.