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Monday, June 03, 2013

Sicilian Spaghetti with Pan-Roasted Cauliflower

Sicilian spaghetti with pan-roasted cauliflower
I tend not to eat a lot of pasta and when I do it's always brown rice pasta since I've been doing my best to eat gluten free. I'm a fan of the Jovial brand pastas.  I'm also on a low sulfur diet so don't eat a lot of broccoli and cauliflower but I couldn't resist this recipe from the Herbivoracious Cookbook.

I followed this recipe pretty closely and only omitted one thing, the raisins. I even bought some pine nuts which is a real treat for me.  I just love pine nuts but I don't love how expensive they are so doing this recipe gave me a good excuse to buy some.

Cauliflower + lemon is always a good combination and the added orange juice and zest made it even better. The recipe also suggested adding some of the pasta water at the end if it's a little dry and I should have added a litte more to soak up all of the goodness stuck to the the bottom of the pan.  This dish makes really good leftovers too.


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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Genetic Testing - 23andme

The topic has gained a lot of press lately with the announcement that Angelina Jolie had a preventative mastectomy because she has a rare gene that increases her risk of ovarian and breast cancer. I say good for her and I think we can all benefit from knowing what genes we are carrying and taking action to prevent them from being expressed. It's important to understand that just because you have a gene that increases your risk doesn't mean that it will. It has to be expressed or turned on first.  What turns on various genes can be anything from environmental factors, physical and/or emotional stress and food/supplements you eat or don't eat.

There are several different genetic tests out there, many of them only test for specific genes but there's one I did at 23andme that tests for hundreds of thousands of genes and their website has all kinds of information and reports that tell you if you have increased risk of certain diseases or any inherited conditions. It even has a relative finder. The test used to be $299 but they lowered the price to $99 at the beginning of the year which is one heck of a deal. They also recently started a referral program so if you're interested in the test, I encourage you to use this 23andme link and I get a $10 Amazon gift card. :)

23andme provides you with the raw data too which is a text file you can import into various applications that will provide you with more detailed reports.  Some of these applications have a small fee and others are available for free. I did this test for the methylation genes which are important for detoxification, immune function, mood and just general health. Without a good functioning methylation pathway, you are at high risk for getting very sick. Knowing which genes you have in this methylation pathway can help you avoid health issues. If you already have health issues it becomes an important tool in figuring out what genes may be turned on and causing them. Below are two apps I would recommend, one free and the other for a small fee, that pulls the methylation and other genes from your raw data.
  • Genetic Genie - free and includes 31 genes related to methylation
  • MTHFRsupport - $20 and includes genes related to methylation, allergies, mitochondrial, thyroid, detox, clotting and more. You can also contact them and they will go over the report with you and tell you what each gene's function is in more detail. If you don't want to pay for a consultation, another option is listening to this BlogTalkRadio interview where they go over many of them in detail.
Unfortunately this method of treatment and disease prevention, called epigenetics or nutrigenomics,  is still very new so if you were to take one of these reports to your doctor they may not know what to do with it. An ND or Functional Medicine doctor are your best bets. Search online for someone in your area and call around to doctor's offices to see if they are familiar with 23andme and methylation.  There is a list of knowledgeable doctors on mthfrsupport that continues to grow.  If there's no one in your area there are some that also do phone consultations which is what I'm currently doing in addition to working with my ND.

I posted my methylation results before in a different blog post here. It is interesting to see how my lab test results I had done correlate with the genes I have.  For example, one of the genes in the MTHFRsupport report is CTH S4031I (rs1021737 from 23andme) and this gene produces an enzyme that converts Cystathionine to Cysteine.  In the Metametrix ION profile I had done it showed my Cystathionine level was very high which makes sense because I am +/+ in that gene.  B6 is the supplement that aids in that conversion process so that should help lower my cystathionine and get things moving in the right direction. I found several instances in lab testing that confirmed that several of my genes are being expressed (turned on) which has helped in identifying what supplements I need to take to improve my health.

This is a handy methylation map that shows many of the genes in the cycle. There are a lot of different diagrams out there but I found this one the most helpful. The blue boxes are the methylation genes. I'm not familiar with SAHH and DHPR. I haven't come across those in any of the research I've done so not sure what their role is.  I highlighted the ones that I have on a printout and brought the diagram to my ND to show her because she wasn't very familiar with it. In this map I have BHMT, MTRR, CBS, MTHFR, MAOA and COMT. I think I probably have a little more than most people. There are other genes involved besides these but these seem to be the most important ones.


It is really important that you take care of any gut issues you may have before you start working on a protocol to fix your methylation pathway.  If you have leaky gut, candida, parasites, inflammation etc you are going to have trouble absorbing any of your supplements and getting the nutrition you need out of your food too. Taking a gi stool test is a good place to start.  There's also an order that should be followed:

1st priority: ACAT, SHMT and CBS. Note that ACAT and SHMT are not pictured in the diagram. They are related to gut disbiosis and imbalanced flora and CBS can cause an upregulation of homocysteine, creating toxic levels of ammonia and sulfites.

2nd priority:  COMT, MTR, MTRR, MTHFR, NOS and SUOX.  AHCY, BHMT and PEMT have also recently been added as 2nd priority mutations.  BHMT is the methylation shortcut so if you have MTR and/or MTRR mutations BHMT should be supported first to get the cycle going. This is done with supplementing with TMG as noted in the diagram. This is the step I'm currently at because I have 4 of the 6 MTRR mutations. Eventually I'll be able to start supporting the other 2nd priority mutations with active forms of folate and B12.

Other: SUOX, MAO A, NOS, ACE, PEMT. I have MAO A which breaks down serotonin. They call it the warrior gene because it can cause aggression, violation and antisocial behaviors. I also have PEMT which can cause problems converting phosphatidylethanolamine to phosphatidylcholine so am taking sunflower lecithin which contains high levels of choline.  I have already noticed since taking it that I am able to remember my dreams easier than I used to.

You can learn more about each of these mutations in Chapter 6 of Dr. Amy Yasko's Autism Pathways to Recovery e-book.
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Thursday, May 09, 2013

Gluten Free Sugar Free Banana Bread

Gluten Free Sugar Free Banana Bread I haven't done a lot of baking since I've gone gluten free.  Since my candida has cleared up I've been starting to add a little bit of fruit back into my diet.  I had been putting banana in my morning shakes and had a few that I wasn't able to eat fast enough so I decided to try out some banana bread.

This is an adaptation of a recipe I found on glutenfreeconfessions.com.  I only had 3 bananas and I thought 6 was a little too many for banana bread anyway. I used a combination of brown and sweet white rice flour and didn't use any nuts.  My recipe was just enough to make one good sized loaf. I was happy with how much the bread rose after baking. Past attempts at banana bread didn't rise very much and were very dense but not this time.

Recipe: Gluten Free Sugar Free Banana Bread

Yield: 1 loaf
Total time: 1 hour

DRY INGREDIENTS:
1 Cup brown rice flour
1 Cup sweet white rice flour
1 Tbsp tapioca flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp green leaf stevia (optional)

WET INGREDIENTS:
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg
1/4-1/2 Cup honey
1/2 Cup coconut oil, softened

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl.
3. Beat egg in small bowl, stir in remaining wet ingredients.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
5. Line bread pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
6. Pour batter into bread pan and even top with spatula.
7. Bake in oven for 45 minutes. Insert knife to check doneness. If knife doesn't come out clean, continue to cook, checking every 10 minutes for doneness.
8. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.
9. Slice and serve with a smear of butter.

Author: Paula Thomas
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Monday, May 06, 2013

Mushroom Tacos with Pear Slaw

Mushroom Tacos I have to admit, I'm not much of a mushroom fan. I usually pick them out if they're served to me in restaurants.  Mark thought I was insane for wanting to make mushroom tacos but hey I had to make something out of the Herbivoracious Sandwiches and Tacos section and it just seemed to be the best option to go along with my diet.

I again made a couple of small substitutions and two of them were not on purpose.  The recipe calls for shitake mushrooms but I messed up and got portabello mushrooms.  I didn't want to go back the store and get the right kind because I would probably never use the portabellos so I just went with it.  They can't taste that different right?  The other accidental substitution I made was with the type of pears.  The recipe calls for Asian pears but I wasn't able to find any at PCC when I did my shopping so I went with my favorite pear, the d'anjou. The last substitution I made was on the oil.  I don't use vegetable oil anymore, so I used coconut oil, the oil I use most for cooking with.

One of the things I like best about the Herbivoracious Cookbook are the labels next to the recipes indicating if they are vegan or gluten free as well as the amount of servings and time it takes to make.  It's very helpful information and I wish all recipes had that info.  Unfortunately, they always seem to take longer to make than the recipe says. It could be because I spend a bit of time taking pictures and video.

I surprisingly ate the tacos without picking out the mushrooms and actually enjoyed them. The mushrooms soaked up a lot of the flavors from the onions and jalapenos so they didn't really taste like mushrooms but I don't plan on adding them to my diet on a regular basis.  I had extra filling leftover so I used it as stuffing for a roasted acorn squash.

Check out the video below if you want to see what all is in these tacos and make them yourself.

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Monday, April 29, 2013

Frolik Kitchen and Cocktails

Frolik Kitchen and Cocktails, located in the Red Lion Hotel in Seattle, is not your typical hotel restaurant.  It's the newest hot spot in Seattle featuring fun and games for the whole family, affordable upscale dining, a long happy hour and an awesome view.

I was invited to a pre-opening event the day before the official opening day to try out some of their menu items and get a taste of what they have to offer.  Unfortunately it was a rainy day in Seattle but that didn't stop us from going outside to check out the awesome deck which overlooks 4th Avenue in the heart of downtown. You'll find two fire features, ping pong tables and a shuffle board court and ample seating on the deck. It will be a great place to hang out and have some fun on a sunny day. There's also fun to be had inside where you will find a few big screen tv's hooked up to Nintendo Wii's and a cabinet full of board and card games.

The Chef de Cuisine, Shailu Salian, plans to focus on local organic ingredients. We got to sample several different items from the menu. One of my favorites were the grapes, wrapped in goat cheese, coated in crushed pistachios.  It's an explosion of flavors you will love.  Towards the end of the night, some samples of the Crab Mac n Cheese went around. This had to be in the top 2 mac and cheeses I've ever had and was definitely Mark's favorite of all time.  It has such a unique flavor profile, I had to ask the Chef what the secret ingredients were. We didn't get the recipe but he did tell us the three cheeses in the mac and cheese were gruyer, Beechers and parmesan.  A few other secret ingredients he mentioned were garlic, pernod and fennel. It's definitely a winning combination and if you like mac and cheese I'm sure you will love it.

Frolik has one of the longest happy hours in Seattle, lasting from 4pm - until closing at 10pm.  The happy hour menu is filled with a variety of small plates and cocktails starting at $5.  You can see their full menu in their photo section of their Facebook Page.  You can also find them on twitter @frolikseattle. If you tweet, instagram or post to Google+ using hashtag #frolikseattle your posts can be seen on their tagboard which they have displayed on one of the screens in the restaurant.

Frolik is located at 1415 5th Ave, Seattle WA
Frolik Kitchen and Cocktails on Urbanspoon
  Shuffle Board Outdoor Ping Pong
Frolik Deck Seating Frolik Deck
Fire!
Splish Splash How About a Drink?
Mac & Cheese Painted Hills Burgers
Dessert in a Cup

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Thursday, April 04, 2013

Beet Tartare and Gluten Free Rosemary Mayo Toast

beet tartareBeets are good for you, yes it's true! They are a great source of betaine which improves liver function and helps to lower homocystein, a toxic metabolite. It seems everything you eat these days either prevents or causes cancer and beets are one of the foods that prevents it. The beet betalains are anti-inflammatory which helps to prevent chronic diseases and supports gastrointestinal health.  They are loaded with nutrients including Vitamin A, B, C, folate, manganese, magnesium, iron, potassium, beta-carotene and beta-cyanine

I never cared much for beets when I was a kid.  Now, I don't mind them too much but I do prefer the golden beets.  Not only do they taste a little better but they are much easier to deal with. It doesn't look like you've just murdered someone with your bare hands after you've prepared a dish with golden beats.

This recipe came from the salad section of the Herbivoracious Cookbook by Michael Natkin. The title of this recipe is a little deceiving.  When you think of tartare you think of raw but this salad uses cooked beets.  The name comes from the ingredients in the dish being similar to the ingredients you would use in a beet tartare.  It's really just a beet salad.  I used Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free bread that I picked up at PCC in Redmond.  It was my first time trying this particular bread and I think it tastes great and toasts up nice in my toaster oven.

I changed the recipe slightly but not on purpose, it was more because I can't read directions very well. I put the lemon juice in with the mayo instead of the beets and I only had half a lemon so didn't have any left for the beets so I used the lemon zest on the beets instead.  I also forgot to pick up some chives so didn't get to garnish it with that.  The chives in my herb garden haven't started growing yet unfortunately. I cooked up one red beet because I had both gold and red ones.  I know if I would have mixed the red beets together with the golden ones it would have turned everything pink so I waited until the very end and just sprinkled some of the red beets over the top just before serving.  The red beets didn't make it into the picture though.

If you're looking for a new way to eat your healthy beets, this is a great recipe to try.
Golden Beets Beet Tartare

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Friday, March 22, 2013

Six Seven @ The Edgewater

The Edgewater is the only hotel that is actually on the Seattle waterfront. It's located just off of Alaskan way on pier 67. The hotel is best known for housing the Beatles during a tour in 1964 when no other hotels wanted them. There's even pictures of them fishing from their hotel room during their stay.

Six Seven is the restaurant located in the hotel which I just realized is named after the pier where it's located.  They have convenient valet parking for only $6.  Every season they change up their menu which keeps things fresh and interesting. They just introduced their Spring menu on March 20th, the first day of Spring.

I was invited to a blogger dinner along with a dozen others to try out a few things from the new menu. Executive Chef John Roberts put together for us a wonderful tasting menu of 7 courses.  The salad course was my surprisingly my favorite.  I'm not a huge beet fan but I eat them occasionally because I know they are good for you.  The salad was a beet carpaccio which had thinly sliced red and golden sous vide beets topped with mizunoa, goat cheese, tarragon, green onions, hazelnuts, raspberries, fennel and raspberry reduction.  I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Even if you don't like beets you must try it. You will change your mind about beets if you do.

This soup was a great start to the meal. My only complaint is that I wanted a bigger spoon.
English Pea Boisson
Course 1: English Pea Boisson
The scallops were sliced so thin. The jalapenos gave it a nice spice that wasn't too spicy. The tempura green onions were a nice addition to the dish.
Scallop Ceviche
Course 2: Scallop Ceviche
As stated above, this was my favorite course.  So light and full of flavor. Beets and raspberries go well together and beets have never tasted better.  Both red and golden beets were sous vide and sliced thin. The hazelnuts gave it a nice crunch.
Beet Carpaccio
Course 3: Beet Carpaccio
This lemon sorbet made with limoncello was the palette cleanser that got us ready for the main courses.  It was very bright and lemony.  It was a little hard to drink as the sorbet just didn't seem to want to melt. Might be better eaten with a spoon.
Lemon Sorbet
Course 4: Lemon Sorbet
This dish won the night for best plating.  It was the prettiest dish that came out.  The fish was well cooked and the sauce went well with it.
Pan Roasted Ling Cod
Course 5: Pan Roasted Ling Cod
I love gnocchi and goat cheese so was excited for this course. It came with carrots served 3 ways and two medallions of lamb served to perfection.
Spring Lamb Loin
Course 6: Spring Lamb Loin
I have been on a no sugar diet for over a year and I'm sure my body went into shock after a couple of bites of dessert. I almost passed on it but decided to treat myself.  It was quite sweet but maybe it just seemed very sweet since I haven't had sugar in so long.  I couldn't stop at one bite and ate about half of it.  It was very lemony and I enjoyed the 3 different layers of texture.
Meyer Lemon Pie
Course 7: Meyer Lemon Pie
I encourage you to check out Six Seven and their new Spring menu and try some of these dishes out for yourself. You can see a few more photos from the night on Flickr.

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Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Methylation: MTHFR CBS Genetics

It's been a while since I've posted an update on my health and this is going to be a long one. I will post a follow up after I get my lab tests back. A lot has happened in the last couple of months and a lot of light bulbs are starting to turn on.  My eczema began when I had skin contact with epoxy in 2009.  Well the main symptoms anyway that got me to seek a doctor, several doctors, from dermatologists to environmental illness docs to Naturopaths.  It took over a year to realize changing my diet had an effect on my eczema.  The epoxy contact appears to have triggered something in my body to stop functioning correctly.

I've had other minor health issues before that doctors have never been able to explain and it is all starting to point to methylation problems. And who diagnosed it as a methylation issue? Me. Thank you very much internet! Actually it was someone in a catathrenia support group that brought this possibility up as a solution to catathrenia.  Catathrenia is a rare sleep disorder that causes someone to moan in their sleep and take very long exhales, anywhere from 8-20 seconds or so.  I start moaning about an hour after I fall asleep and basically don't stop until my alarm or my cat wakes me up. I've also had sleep tests done and tried a CPAP to no avail about 10 years ago. I eventually gave up on finding a "cure". At the time I didn't know there was a name for this disorder and the sleep doctors didn't seem to know anything about it either. It was actually an article on CNN that I happened to see that talked about it.  I can't tell you how excited I was to find out it had a name and that I wasn't the only one that did this. I quickly found the yahoo support group which is now nearing 500 members.  The unfortunate thing is that I found there is no known cure for it but the good news is that it doesn't appear to cause any health issues, and it doesn't even wake me up and I usually don't know I'm doing it but it's sure to disturb anyone else that is trying to sleep nearby.  The more I read about methylation the more I think it may be the key to curing catathrenia and all of my other health issues from the food/chemical sensitivities to all the UTI's I used to get while on birth control.

So what is methylation? I like Dr. Amy Yasko's explanation the best: "The Methylation Cycle is a biochemical pathway that manages or contributes to a wide range of crucial bodily functions, including: detoxification, immune function, maintaining DNA, energy production, mood balancing, controlling inflammation."

Your diet, your environment and your genes are the main things that affect how well your methylation cycle works. The first thing to address is your diet and I changed my diet about 2 years ago and the majority of my eczema symptoms have disappeared but I will get small flare ups occasionally if I eat/drink foods high in sulfur. I rarely eat gluten and dairy these days and avoid processed foods.  As for environment, you want to remove products with fragrance oils and artificial ingredients (shampoos, conditioners, soaps, lotions, toothpaste, etc.). Get rid of mold if you have any in your house and use natural cleaning products.  I've been doing all this for a couple of years and I've made big improvements but I am still not "back to normal" so I knew there had to be something I was missing.

I think the key that I've been missing is to support my methylation pathway.  I did a methylation gene test from Holistic Health. It was not a cheap test at $495 and not covered by insurance.  There is another gene test by 23andme that is only $99 and covers most of the same genes plus many more.  They just lowered the price from $299 in January.  If it was only $99 last year I probably would have gone with that one and not done the Holistic Health test.  23andme doesn't do any interpretation for you like the Holistic Health one but there are websites you can go to to do the translations.  I recommend everyone get this test whether you have health problems or not.  It could help you in the future.  If you have Chronic Fatigue Syndrom (CFS), food or chemical sensitivities, autism, mental problems, memory problems, cancer, diabetes, alzheimers, frequent miscarriages, cardiovascular problems, blood clots, neurological conditions, alzheimers or have family history of any of these things you should definitely take this test. There's a longer list of medical conditions associated with methylation here: http://www.mthfrsupport.com/.

MTHFR is the gene that plays the biggest role in methylation. It processes amino acids and converts folic acid (B9) into methylfolate. Most ND's are familiar with this gene and normally only test for it when a woman has multiple miscarriages.  What is not well known is that it has many more implications on the health of men and women.  What's also not well known is that there are many more genes that need to be looked at that work together with MTHFR. Each gene has a function and role that it plays in the methylation pathway and it's important that they be addressed in a certain order.  

When I first started seeing my ND about a year ago, I requested a B12 test because I had a feeling I might be B12 deficient.  I got my results back and was surprised that my Serum B12 and Folate were actually extremely high (Folate was >20 and B12 was 1858) Normal Folate is >3 and normal B12 is 211-946.  That means I'm not B12 deficient and in fact have too much B12.  I had been eating a lot of meat so that had to be it right?  WRONG!  This should have been a clue that I'm having problems converting folate and B12.  These high serum levels are typical in those with MTHFR because they have trouble converting B12 and folate to the active forms.  Serum levels only test the inactive form.  It appears my ND did not know this and I didn't know this until recently.  It's important you not trust everything your doctor tells you and get copies of your lab tests and do your own research.

The gene test I took shows I have three different MTHFR genes and a slew of other genes that may be causing my methylation issues.  The one I found to be particularly interesting is CBS.  This gene is responsible for processing sulfites and ammonia from your body. I happen to have this gene and I'm expecting my lab tests to come back with elevated sulfite and ammonia.  The good thing is there are supplements you can take to help with the excess. This was a big ah ha moment. I've been having a lot of problems with high sulfite foods/drink. I even wrote a blog post back in 2011 about my sulfite sensitivities.  It's important that this CBS mutation be addressed before MTHFR because the supplements typically used to treat MTHFR (Methyl folate and Methyl B12) increases your sulfites and ammonia and if you are already not processing them well, any methyl supplementation may cause more damage.  There are other forms of B12 that can be used instead of methyl like hydroxy and adenosyl that those with CBS may be able to tolerate better.  I've been alternating between the two and am doing ok with it so far.

Those who don't look at these other mutations and how they play a role in the big picture wonder why some of their patients aren't getting better when they try to treat their MTHFR mutations and CBS is most likely why.  I don't want to get into every gene in this post but CBS and MTHFR are the big ones. I also have ACAT, COMT, MAO-A, MTRR and BHMT. All these genes play a role in methylation and could cause health issues if they aren't working properly and I'll probably talk more about those in future posts.

Another important point.  If you get the gene test done and you find you have one or many of the gene mutations in the methylation pathway, it doesn't mean you have or are going to have problems. You may not have any problems if you have a good diet and a non-hazardous environment. It's important that you find a doctor that is knowledgeable about the entire methylation pathway or else do lots and lots of reading and watching videos on it. This video by Dr. Ben Lynch is one I've watched several times.  I didn't understand half of it the first time I watched it but after a lot more reading I went back and watched it again and was able to understand it more. Dr Ben Lynch has a helpful list of lab tests you can get done that will indicate if you are having issues with methylation and require supplementation.  I personally am getting the biopterin/neopterin, urinary porphyrins and ION profile (includes amino acids, fatty acids, organic acids and more) done on Wednesday.  This should give me a good idea of which of my gene mutations are being expressed so I know what I should supplement to get my methylation pathway working again.

If you can't find a methylation specialist in your area there are some doctors around that take phone/online consultations that may be able to help you.  My ND isn't particularly knowledgeable in this area but she seems willing to learn more about it.  I wrote down a bunch of notes from Dr. Ben Lynch's video and noted where in the video it talked about each topic and gave that to my ND and am hoping she watches the video or at least watches some of the sections that I wrote down in my notes. I'm looking forward to getting my lab tests back and starting on supplements to address my gene mutations and am hopeful that it will get my health back on track and maybe even cure my sleep disorder too.

Below are the results I got back from my genetics test from Holistic Health:
Methylation Panel
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Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Pozole Rojo de Frijole

pozole rojoPozole rojo de frijole is a Mexican soup known as red pozole with beans in English.  I'm enjoying the variety of recipes in the Herbivoracious cookbook.  In case you couldn't tell from the title, this one is Mexican.  I've made my fair share of Mexican dishes, being half Mexican.  I also did a cookbook project on the Authentic Mexican Cookbook a few years ago. I was pretty happy to finish that project because just about every recipe I made was a several hour process, especially soups.

This pozole recipe did not take long at all because of a few short cuts.  Using canned beans and canned hominy really cuts down the cooking time.  It only took about an hour to make.  Michael gives a variety of ingredients you can use as garnish for the soup: avocado, cilantro, cotija cheese, lime wedges, tortilla chips, shredded cabbage or lettuce, sliced onions and sliced radishes.  I decided to use avocado, cilantro, cotija cheese and lime wedges for my garnishes.

He also gave a few different options for dried chiles: arbol, ancho and guajillo. I went with the ancho and used 3 of them because I love the flavor the chiles add to the soup. The recipe only called for "1 or 2 or more if you like a lot of heat".  Even though I used 3 it wasn't too spicy. I don't think ancho chiles are known for their hottness. I probably could have used even more.

The soup was a success though I would have liked a bit more heat so adding some jalapeno or chile flakes would have given it some extra spice.  It made four large servings which I enjoyed for lunch the following week.

The video below shows all the ingredients that went into the soup, including a little blooper at the end.



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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Aloo Tikki with Banana Raita

aloo tikki One of the tings I like about the Herbivoracious Cookbook is that there is a wide variety of ethnic dishes to try. From Asian to Mexican to Indian. The recipe I chose to try next was another one from the appetizer section, Indian potato fritters (aloo tikki). I also made the banana raita sauce which was recommended in the description.

I've had a food mill for a long time and never got around to using it until I made this recipe.  I have never used one before but seen it done many times and wasn't too hard to figure out.  After boiling the potatoes I put them through the food mill to make the mashed potatoes for the fritters. The blade of the mill lies about a half inch from the grate so there was quite a bit of potato that didn't go through so I manually pushed it through the holes. I'm not sure if that is typical or not but it seemed like a lot of extra work to get all the excess through.

After looking back at the recipe I may have used more cayenne pepper than the recipe called for.  I remember thinking it was a lot when I added it but the recipe only calls for 1/2 tsp and I'm thinking I added more than that.  The batch I made was very spicy but not inedible. The sauce is yogurt based which is great for cooling your burning tongue off if its too spicy.

The specs you see in the sauce are the toasted mustard seeds. The recipe called for black mustard seeds but I only have yellow and brown and didn't want to buy a 3rd kind so just went with the brown.  I don't use mustard seeds often and it might have been the first time I've used the seeds. They are so small I was thinking they would get caught in my teeth but they didn't seem to. They gave a nice little crunch to the sauce.

I love potatoes so I had to try this recipe and I enjoyed it for the most part.  It could have been a little less spicy but that was probably my fault for being so spicy and not the recipe.  There's also a recipe for blue potato tarts that is tempting but I need to move onto the next section and make a soup.
  Banana Raita Ingredients Banana Raita



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