An electrolyte imbalance was the start of my illness last year. It put me in the hospital, and I was sick for weeks. I was given potassium pills that made me feel worse every time I took them. In searching for a natural solution to my problem, I discovered coconut water. It had the perfect mix of potassium, calcium, magnesium for my needs. As long as I drank a couple glasses a day, I was free from the symptoms of electrolyte imbalance and was on the road to recovery.

Fortunately, you don’t need to be sick to gain benefits from drinking coconut water. My husband uses it as a recovery drink after his cycling races. It is high in minerals and b vitamins, and low in sugar. Using the coconut meat and blending it up with the water adds fat and protein to the mix. This blend is great to have on hand for a drink by itself or to use in smoothies or desserts.

Coconuts can be found at some health food stores and most Asian markets. You can tell Young Thai coconuts from the mature variety because they have most of their husks removed and are cut into a white cone with a peak.  When picking them out, make sure they are heavy and you can’t hear water swishing around (they should be full inside). Also look at the bottom and make sure there is no discoloration or mold.

Make sure to use a cleaver for this task! You do not want to use any other kind of knife for fear of ruining it. If you don’t have one, there are cheap ones on amazon that will do the job wonderfully.

First, use the cleaver to scrape off the soft white outer part near the peak. Scrape it down until you reach the hard brown shell, all the way around the top.

Then the fun part! Use the heel of the blade in a big chopping motion to crack through the brown shell. Make a few cuts until you are able to pry the top off with the knife. You will want to do this close enough to the top of the peak so that you don’t loose a lot of the juice.

Carefully pour the water into your blender.

Then, use a spoon to scrape off all of the meat from the inside of the coconut. Put all of it in the blender with the water and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

This week brought some unusual snow and ice to Seattle, which has made most of the city go quiet. It is hard to ignore how annoying it is to try to get around these hills in the snow, but it is amazing how beautiful and peaceful of a scene it creates. Instead of the constant noise of city drivers bustling about, the neighborhood is quiet. People are walking around having impromptu snowball fights and enjoying the unexpected days off. I took advantage of my days doing work at home, organizing my space and trying out some new recipes.

One of my friends sent me this recipe for an almond milk chai, which tuned out to be just the thing I needed to warm up during these cold days. If you have never tried making your own nut milk before, this would be a great recipe to start out with. It requires a little planning with the soaking time, but the benefit is a much more flavorful, creamy milk than the store-bought varieties. I enjoy using the whole spices and blending them up fresh with the almonds, but you can also pre-grind the spices before adding them to the milk.  This chai is slightly sweet with an intense spice mixture that is sure to keep you warm long after you drink it.

Creamy Almond Milk Chai (Adapted from Sunfood)

Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds, soaked overnight
3 cups water, filtered
3 tbsp raw coconut crystals (or sweetener of choice)
1 vanilla bean
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp coriander, whole
1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled
1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly ground
1 tsp cardamom, whole
1/4 tsp cloves, whole
1/4 tsp black pepper, whole
Pinch of sea salt

Instructions:

Soak almonds in a bowl of water overnight or for at least 4 hours. Rinse almonds, and place in blender with water, sweetener, and whole spices. Blend on high for a couple of minutes. Strain liquid through a nut milk bag or cheesecloth into a small saucepan. Heat until desired temperature and enjoy.

]]> http://littlefig.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/almond-milk-chai/feed/ 4 littlefig IMG_3275 IMG_3254 IMG_3295 IMG_3276 http://littlefig.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/kabocha-squash-soup-with-spicy-cashew-cream/ http://littlefig.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/kabocha-squash-soup-with-spicy-cashew-cream/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:07:56 +0000 littlefig http://littlefig.wordpress.com/?p=100 ]]>

I am a hardcore winter squash lover. The bright butternut was my first love, then accommodating acorn and the delightful delicata. Recently, I was introduced to the kabocha, a rather funny green pumpkin with a sweeter disposition when compared to the other winter wonders tumbled together at the farmer’s market.

Kabocha can be handled and prepared like the other winter squashes, but it is important to keep in mind that it is a bit sweeter. This next recipe is a simple one that uses roasted kabocha with cumin and coriander. The spicy cashew cream kicks it up a notch.

Kabocha Squash Soup with Spicy Cashew Cream 

Ingredients for the soup:

5lbs kabocha squash (I found a big one but two smaller squashes would work fine)
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 inch piece ginger, minced
2 cups vegetable stock
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 cup water
Sea salt to taste
Sliced avocado and parsley sprigs for garnish (optional)

Ingredients for the cream:

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
1/3 cup water
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you like it really spicy)
Sea salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Spread coconut oil on the flesh of the squash and in the bottom of the pan. Bake for 1 hour or until tender all the way through. While the squash is baking, cook the onion in olive oil for about 10 minutes, or until it starts to carmelize. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Remove from heat. When the squash is finished, scoop the flesh out and blend in batches with onion mix, spices and vegetable stock. Add water or more broth in 1/4 cup at a time until it is the desired consistency. Pour into a large pot and heat, adding salt and pepper to taste.

To make the cashew cream, blend the soaked cashews with water, cayenne, and some salt. Make sure to blend it until there are no cashew chunks left in the mixture. If it is too thick, add a little more water.

Stir half of the cashew cream into the soup. Use the rest to garnish the soup along with avocado slices and parsley.

Looking out the kitchen window I see the remnants of a bountiful garden. Tomatoes are long gone, as well as the carrots, beets, and peas that had been plucked last summer. Now the only things left are a few herbs, a collection of fallen leaves, and kale. Oh kale, the bountiful green of a winter garden! Not only has it survived the winter so far, but it has only gotten more delicious. Kale is a steady part of my diet and has helped ease the pain of leaving year-round Californian citrus and avocados when I relocated to Seattle several years ago. This tastiest of winter greens graces many of my meals; I like to keep a bowl of this salad for an easy and healthy snack.

This simple salad combines the sweet flavor of raw winter kale with toasted sesame seeds. Massaging the kale makes it much softer and easier to digest. If you have never tried this method before, I think you will be surprised how effective it is. As for the sesame seeds, you can buy them pre-toasted, but they go rancid fairly quickly and don’t taste nearly as good as those freshly made.

Winter Kale and Sesame Salad

Ingredients:

2 large bunches of kale (variety doesn’t matter – I like to mix a couple different types)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp raw sesame seeds
2 carrots, grated
1/4 cup red onion, minced
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 cucumber, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Sea salt to taste

Directions:

Wash, stem and chop the kale. Place in a large bowl, add the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Massage the kale for 5-10 minutes or until the tough fibers begin to break down. Some varieties of kale are tougher than others and really need to be worked a bit. When you are done the kale will have considerably reduced in volume. Combine with the grated carrots, red onion, tomato, cucumber, lemon juice, and more salt to taste if you wish.

Preheat a wide frying pan and toast the sesame seeds for a few minutes until fragrant, shaking the pan often. Toss with the greens and serve.

Finding out last year that I have allergies to both soy and gluten has drastically changed my relationship to food. I’ve pretty much given up eating out since soy is in almost everything (especially those items that are dairy-free, which is an allergy I have been working with for years). Cooking at home is by far the best solution to my allergy and dietary needs. While getting my greens and grains comes easily enough, every now and then a girl just wants a cookie. In my search for diet friendly baked goods, every recipe I’ve come across included ingredients I’m allergic to or that were too processed for my liking. I have also had to get creative with the sweet factor since sugar isn’t something I like to include in my diet, and my old standby of agave nectar turns out not to be as healthful as I thought.

I came up with this recipe because I want to be able to eat cookies like a normal person, I just didn’t want them to be made out of synthetic soy products and refined sugar. And honestly, I think they taste better than the vegan cookies I used to make.

This effort was the first time I have used raw coconut crystals as a sweetener, and I could not be more thrilled with the outcome. All of the ingredients are top notch, and I think that’s has a direct effect on the taste. They are tender even when completely cool and have a fine crumb texture. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Almond Coconut Crumb Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup raw coconut crystals
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup almond milk
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup white rice flour
5 tbsp coconut flour
2 tbsp potato starch
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
3 tbsp or more almond meal in a small bowl for coating

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream coconut oil and sugar together with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes. Add vanilla and almond milk and mix for an additional minute or so. In a separate bowl, mix together the rice flour, coconut flour, potato starch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet in batches. Mix until just blended. Form rounded tablespoons and roll them around in a small bowl of almond meal to coat them. Place on a cookie sheet and gently flatten. Bake 11-13 minutes. Let cool on the rack for 10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Note: These babies are still pretty soft when they come out of the oven, compared to other cookies. They will cool to a deliciously soft texture as the coconut oil sets.

My uncle and his garden are truly an inspiration to my cooking.