Quick Garam Masala (Indian Spice Recipe)

Quick Home Made Garam Masala, an Indian seasoning blend


This is a recipe from my mother's recipe archives. She is very talented when it comes to cooking ethnic foods, and knows how to balance the flavors just so. I was the lucky benefactor of her creativity in the kitchen!

These spices are good for digestion and blood sugar control, as well as being loaded with anti-oxidants.


GARAM MASALA Recipe:

1 part ground cardamom
1 part ground cinnamom
1 part ground cloves (or 1/2 t. ground cloves and 1/2 t. ground nutmeg)
1 part ground coriander
1 part ground cumin
1 part ground white pepper


Method:

Mix the ground spices and store in an air-tight spice jar. Use when asked for in Indian food recipes.


Note: Garam Masala is even better when whole spices are roasted until fragrant and then ground into a powder. However, this recipe is very good and saves you some time.


Enjoy,

Leila

Easy Southwest bean Dip Recipe

Southwest Sour Cream Bean Dip

Easy to put together and very tasty. Serve it cold with corn tortilla chips or raw vegetables for dipping. You can also include this as a spread in wraps, or use as an ingredient in your favorite 7-Layer Bean Dip recipe.


SOUR CREAM BEAN DIP Recipe:

1 c. re-fried beans
1/2 c. sour cream
1 t. paprika
1/4 t. ground cumin
1 garlic clove, crushed
onion salt, to taste
Tabasco sauce, to taste


Method:

Mix everything together well.
Chill to allow flavors to blend.
Serve with homemade corn tortilla chips.


Enjoy,

Leila

Sugar-Free Vanilla Sugar - Really.

Sucre Vanillé (Vanilla Sugar) - A sugar-Free Version

I thought it would be nice to have this gourmet ingredient in a sugar-free version. So here it is.

You can even use vanilla beans that have been previously infused in another recipe. Just dry them before placing in the xylitol/erythritol blend. You could also grind up spent and dried vanilla pods with this blend of sweeteners to get the most use out of your vanilla.

Sucre Vanillé Recipe:

4 vanilla beans, split lenghtwise
2 c. xylitol
2 c. erythritol (or Lakanto's zero-cal granular sweetener)

Method;

Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla bean pods.
Combine the seeds, pods, xylitol and erythritol in a jar and shake to mix.
Cover tightly and allow the flavors to blend for several weeks.
Add more sugar to the jar as you use it up.
Use in place of regular sugar in recipes.


Enjoy!

Leila

Refreshing sweet & savory pear salad

Fresh Pear Salad

Cute Cuddling pears

This is hardly a recipe it's so easy, but that's the beauty of it. It makes for a refreshing side, breakfast or light lunch.

The flavor of the Neufchatel cheese perfectly compliments the sweet ripe pears...and who doesn't love pecans?

Serve this for breakfast, serve this to company, everyone will love it!



FRESH PEAR SALAD Recipe;

Peel, halve and core ripe juicy pears (1/2 to 1 pear per person)

Soften Neufchatel cheese and thin with a little apple or pineapple juice (do not make it runny).

Mix well with a hand mixer.

Frost the pear halves with the soft cheese mixture.

Set pear halves onto a romaine leaf

Garnish generously with finely chopped pecans.

Serve.


Enjoy!

Leila

A delicious Raw Sunflower Seed Hummus recipe - And a recipe for Red Bell Paprika

Mom's Sunny Hummus

This is a delicious raw-food recipe my mother created when she was doing exclusively a raw food diet for 2 years. She used to teach living raw food cooking classes and this is one of the recipes she would share.

The complexity of flavors here is delightful. The ingredient list is a bit long, but just get everything out beforehand, then putting it together will be a snap. It's worth it.

This recipe is so tasty, healthy, and decadent, I hope you try it!



SUNNY HUMMUS Recipe:

Prepare the soaked sunflower seeds:

1 c. hulled raw sunflower seeds
1 big pinch ascorbic acid powder (Vitamin C)

Rinse then soak the sunflower seeds in a jar of water with the pinch of ascorbic acid powder added.
Let soak 8 to 10 hours.
Drain and put in a high-powered (VitaMix) blender container.

ADD:

1/3 c. high quality extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 c. raw tahini (sesame seed paste)
3/4 to 1 c. (4 to 5 ounces) cubed raw yellow-skinned summer squash
2 T. fresh lemon juice
2 t. cumin powder
2 t. onion powder
2 t. Nama Shoyu (raw soysauce)
2 t. Star brand yeast flakes (nutritional yeast)
1 t. BioSalt (recipe on this blog)
rounded 1/2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. Red Bell Paprika (see recipe below) or sweet paprika
1/4 t. ascorbic acid powder
3 to 4 pitted Kalamata olives
1 Pinch tumeric powder (for color)
1/2 to 1 t. toasted sesame seed oil, optional
3/4 to 1 c. water, as needed

Puree together adding water as needed to just freely vortex in a VitaMix blender (a vortex while blending makes a creamier hummus). Puree until smooth and a little warm.

ADD:

1/16 t. finely ground psyllium husk powder (to stabilize the hummus).

Chill the hummus to thicken.


To Serve:

Spread the hummus 1 to 1 1/2-inch thick on a serving dish.
Sprinkle heavily with Red Bell Paprika or sweet paprika.
Pour over top GOLDEN OIL (recipe on this blog), or garlic-chile infused olive oil or UDO'S Oil,
This raw food is excellent slightly fermented (let it sit out on your counter a few hours).
Serve with vegies to dip.




RED BELL PAPRIKA Recipe:

This has a sweeter flavor than regular paprika.

Dehydrate organic red bell peppers that have been diced, in a food dehydrator.
Grind the dried peppers
Mix the ground red bell peppers at a 50/50 ratio with Hungarian paprika.
Store air-tight and use as you would paprika.



Enjoy,

Leila

Delicious Additive-Free Poultry Seasoning

Perfect Poultry Seasoning Spice Blend (Salt-Free)


I like making my own spice blends, I have control of everything they contain, they are fresher and I can customize them to my family's tastes. I like a sage-y poultry seasoning, with out too much thyme to overpower the blend.

I like to add this seasoning to my homemade creamy chicken noodle soup recipe, as well as other poultry dishes, like fried chicken, turkey stuffing, gravies... It it also nice as a poultry rub with added sea salt.


Poultry Seasoning Blend Recipe:

6 T. rubbed sage leaf
2 T. rosemary, crushed
2 T. marjoram
2 T. oregano
2 T. ginger powder
2 T. thyme
1 T. coriander seed, ground

Method:

Mix spices together and package as-is, OR Grind together in a spice mill if you prefer it ground.


Enjoy,

Leila

Protein and Calcium Enriched Brown Rice Milk - YUMMY

Protein-Enriched Brown Rice Milk

Dairy-Free, Reduced Carb, Sugar-Free

Protein and Calcium Enriched

I wanted to create a rice milk that not only tasted great and was easy to make but had more protein and calcium than other rice milks. I also have a major complaint with commercial rice milk - The high carb count from the white rice, and if it's sweetened, the sugar content. I also don't like the price charged for a product that is mostly water.

So I decided to make my own version with the added benefits of more protein, calcium and magnesium, more nutrients from using brown rice instead of white, and sweetened with sugar-free natural sweeteners. This is what I came up with...

Rice milk is an option for those who are going dairy-free, and are allergic to nut milks. You could use a vegan protein powder instead of egg white protein powder BUT they are gritty and have off-flavors. Just warning you...

Typical rice milk is also much higher in carbs than coconut or almond milk. My version is much better, but it is not carb-free. If you are wanting to slim down, I personally would recommend unsweetened coconut milk or unsweetened almond milk (I have a sugar-free almond milk recipe on this blog that is very good and low-carb).



BROWN RICE MILK Recipe:

Yield: 1/2 gallon

To Cook the Rice:

1 c. long grain brown rice
3 c. purified water

Cook until rice is very soft, so that when you taste it, it will mush and not have a grainy feel in your mouth. (Or use leftover cooked rice from your rice cooker, as long as it is SOFT. If it's been salted and has coconut oil added, that's o.k.)

To Make the Rice Milk:

2 c. (10-ounces) hot rice
4 c. hot water

Blend in a blender 2 or more minutes. the mixture will be a little thick but smooth.

Add:

4 c. cold purified water
1/4 t. BioSalt (recipe on this blog)
1 t. real vanilla extract
2 T. xylitol
20 drops stevia glycerite (NOW brand, or home made - recipe on this blog)
2 T. Cal/Mag powder (a calcium/magnesium powder, sold at health food stores)
4 T. egg white protein powder

Add everything to the blender, except the egg white pro, and blend together well. Add the egg white pro last or it will make the milk quite foamy.

Store in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days. Shake well
before use.


Options: 

You can add a couple drops of natural maple flavoring, coconut flavoring, or rum flavoring.

Try adding 1 t. cinnamon powder, to the rice when cooking it.

For chocolate rice milk add 3 T. chocolate syrup.

You can make a coconut fortified rice milk by adding coconut milk to the warm pureed hot rice/hot water mixture in the blender.

You may strain the rice milk through a fine-mesh cloth bag, if you really feel it is necessary (I don't).



Variations:

For a sweeter, thicker rice milk:

Decrease the cold water to 1 1/2 c.
Increase the xylitol to a total of 2 T. + 2 t.
Increase the stevia glycerite to a total of 24 drops


For a more neutral tasting rice milk:

Decrease the xylitol to only 2 t.


To make into a pudding;

Puree 1 c. hot water with 1 c. hot cooked rice. Add xylitol and stevia glycerite to taste, plus vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg...



Enjoy experimenting with this recipe,

Leila