Eating Alone In Half The Time

                                                Christmas Eve in Tel Aviv

A bug with a problem
Took a cabbage out of the bin and when I put it down on the cutting board, a baby roach ran out. Got about 7 inches from the cabbage, turned around and started back. Figured the cabbage was still the safest bet. I put my finger down blocking his way. He turned, once again  running and then stopped. He was in new territory. Not sure what to do. Sat there for about 4 seconds and then started to move. One direction did not seem to be promising, so tried a different tack. Since he had been in the cabbage, I put a piece down in front of him but not close enough to make him run. He paused, obviously thinking about this new development. Yes, it looked like where he had been but it had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I could almost hear the thought processes going on. Finally after a full 12 seconds (apparently not being one to rush into things), he went to it and climbed on. Something had told him it was safe. I started to carry  it to the bin where the cabbage had been. The cabbage was moving! Not part of the planned for contingencies. He was running this way and that. Finally hid under a part of the cabbage. Apparently, having weighed the options of jumping into thin air, running up my hand, continuing to run crazily back and fourth, this seems to have been the best decision. I put it in the bin hopefully with the roach on it although I could not see him. No, I am not being anthropomorphic. He was doing exactly what I would have done under similar circumstances. We have different apparati but the life force is the same.

 

 

This is not to be emulated. Auld Etruscan Wall. Effect obtained with two eggs shaken with turmeric and za’atar (which I will get to below). And you thought that mould was not good for you? Think of penicillin. Well, this is not mold, but the effect is great. The taste? I ate it but  recommend it only if you want to stay healthy. Those two spices – turmeric and za’atar - are two of the mainstays of health worldwide.

Turmeric. Unfortunately we do not use it that much in the West. But, ask yourself “why are baseball fans healthier than the rest of us?” They had all that mustard (with turmeric) on their dogs. Don’t quote me on that statistic. Turmeric is one of the major spices of the cuisine of India, and an honored part of Ayurvedic medicine. An anti-inflammatory, cancer preventative, liver cleanser and cardiovascular protector among other properties of curcumin the active ingredient of turmeric. Black pepper is known to increase the effective absorption of this spice by the body by a large amount. Talk about coincidences – or not, just as I was writing this message, my inbox noted the presence of a new email. It was Mercola talking about turmeric and why he travelled 15,000 miles to uncover the true scoop on this super spice. If you have 3 minutes, you really should read that article. O.K. five minutes, or longer if you listen to the video. But your lifespan and health will be significantly improved. It’s what would be called in the financial community, an excellent investment. Mercola on turmeric  

Others on turmeric: World’s Healthiest Foods,   Florahealth.com Encyclopedia on Turmeric,  Mothernature.com
  

The great spice mixture Za’atar. This is also not well known in the West although it is one of the most effective anti-microbial and anti-fungal spice out there. The base is thyme to which the above is attributed, but the sesame seeds and the sumac which are combined with thyme to produce Za’atar give it much added value as well as taste. Below, the whole thing.

 

 

Was not feeling too well. Went into the kitchen and remembered that I had the heel of a loaf of bread stashed somewhere. Had finished the loaf. Went to where I remembered seeing it and sure enough, there it was under the lettuce. Put it in the frying pan, turned on the flame, put in some oil, and started loading it. Kashkaval cheese, turmeric, za’atar, walnuts, almonds. Added black pepper and basil before eating. I am feeling better already. Perhaps it’s the wine that accompanied the above. Except I started to feel better before taking my first sip.

 

 

A work in progress.
Spaghetti with Breaded-Cheese-Spices-Tofu. 
Start the amount of spaghetti you want boiling.  Cut tofu smaller than is shown in the picture. Make a flour, water, 1 tsp corn starch pancake mix. Add a small touch of cayenne pepper sauce, 3 tsp sweet chutney sauce. Mix in the tofu chunks and when the olive oil is hot (almost smoking), turn down the flame and put the tofu in so that there is only one layer of tofu pieces. Separate them out. Keep turning to be sure all sides are toasted. When almost done, put a layer of bits of cheese, your choice (this was kashkaval sheep cheese) on top and cover to let them melt. When spaghetti is ready and drained, add a tsp of olive oil, or butter, and the following spices: Basil, turmeric, black pepper, basil. Be sure it tastes good alone. Pour on the Tofu and serve.

 

 

Cabbage and Tofu Deluxe.
Start egg or straight noodles boiling. They should be the kind that are ready in about 8 minutes. Put diced cabbage, onion, and if you do not have a dentist  appointment in the next 2 days, two cloves of garlic in a heated frying pan with a small amount of olive oil. Add very small cubes of tofu (remember that tofu has virtually no taste). While cooking, add carraway seeds, cayenne pepper, basil, oregano, black pepper, salt to taste, 1 tsp of soy sauce (I had run out of mine but definitely wanted it after not even thinking about it for about a month). When the noodles are ready, strain and rinse with cold water. Pour into the cabbage mix and stir well. Add a tsp of honey or date syrup. Add and stir in cubes of a cheese you like (the more the better).  

 

 

Carrot and Tofu Posh.
This dish covers so many bases it has trouble finding any additional. Two hundred years from now I will look back on this meal and swear that it was here that it all started.
Preparation: Small or thin: Carrots, tofu, onion. Fry the tofu and onions first until it has a head start. Add the carrots. After cooking for about 2 minutes with cover on, add raisins, sunflower seeds. This dish is not to be very well cooked. In fact quite raw except for the onions and tofu is the goal here. Add spices: Sweet basil, oregano, turmeric, black pepper, thyme, coriander, salt to taste. Mix. Cover for another 2 minutes or as long as you can stand it. Add half a shot of semi-sweet red wine, and your favorite cheese (this is kashkaval sheep). Grind (or whatever) cayenne pepper on top. Turn off heat and cover for one minute. Start your next 100 years.

 

 

This is a concept piece
Eggplant and Cutlet (soy based) Tower.
1 tortilla
6 slices eggplant
1 soy cutlet
3 slices sweet onion
5 cherry tomatoes
mayonnaise
spices up to you
side of kiwi
Procedure: Tortilla fried in very little olive oil until browned, and cut into quarters immediately after browning, with each piece mayonnaised on the under side of what will be the top, bottom and middle pieces. Eggplant thinly sliced and fried in olive oil, along with cutlet which is then sliced length wise. Tomatoes and onion sliced thin. Register building permit. Be sure your subcontractor knows exactly what to do, because he is going to have to make another one for himself. How you eat it is your problem. But it is delicious. 

 

 

Top of the Top Oatmeal Wise.
It was a dark and wintery morning…
Ingredients: oatmeal (almost instant in this case)
enough water to cook 
walnuts
almonds
raisins
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 apple (grated)
milk poured on when served
Major honey and cinnamon mixed in. What’s on top is only to show it’s in there.

 

 

Spinach Noodle Soup With Cheese or Hummus

Let me say this. You have not really had spinach until you have it with humus.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
The only thing this lacks is the garlic but I give my dentist 3 days prior.
Now, the ingredients: Enough water to cover everything below
frozen or full leaf spinach
1/2 lrg onion
1/2 eggplant
noodles (short egg or plain)
your amounts of spices – turmeric, black pepper, basil, oregano, thyme or za’atar, coriander, ground cayenne pepper, salt to taste
favorite cheese (featured in photo) or glob of humus put on at the end.

Cook until the spinach and noodles are ready. As for the spices, I normally put on 2 tsp of each except for the cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt. I leave those to your discretion. If you have ANY health condition after this, other than excellent, leave a message. 

 

 
I’m planning to win the chef of the year (at least of the hour somewhere)  for effectively disguising the carraway seeds and for reducing the side effects of cabbage and cauliflower. One of the reasons I have not liked C and C that much is the necessity for some sort of remedy for the after effects. So the carraway sauce below solves that problem. But, you still end up with seeds stuck between your teeth.   Basic principle behind two stage meals. Make each stage capable of standing on its own tastewise. In adhering to this principle, I almost finished the cabbage and cauliflower, right there out of the pan, before even putting on the sauce. The reason for the principle is that the second stage never totally covers the first stage and you end up eating the bottom half as it stands – alone and usually without much flavor.

The Base
Smaller amounts than you think of cut up cauliflower and cabbage
1/4 bag of egg or straight noodles (of course it depends on the size of the bag and how big you are)
2 cloves garlic
Cook until noodles are ready. Strain through colander, put back in pan and add butter and salt to taste. Test this but do not eat it all.

Carraway Seed Sauce.
1 cup tofu in small chunks
1/2 onion (small chunks)
fry together in olive oil adding about 1 tbsp soy sauce
When onions are starting to be soft, add the carraway seeds.
Add the following spices: Thyme, oregano, sweet basil
Add 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper sauce unless you absolutely know what you are doing.
Keep stirring it until you have a sense that it’s done.
add 3 tbsp sweet chili sauce
Add about 1/4 cup milk
Add flour and keep on low flame adding milk or flour until you get the thickness of the sauce you want.
Add salt to taste
Meld.

In the interests of gas reduction – an easy to survey list of spices and their uses.
The following are helpful against the problems encountered in the recipes above: Cardamom seed, carraway, cinnamon bark, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, ginger root dried, Hing or Asafoetida, lemon grass, marjoram, nutmeg, tarragon from  Four Winds Healing Center – Traditional & Unusual Uses for Spices

While I’m on the subject, the following is the best answer to a question about onions but also covers gas  – savvy vegetarian

While I was looking for other spices which effectively do the same thing as carraway seeds, ran across ginger. Wanted to give all the following but any paraphrasing would have come out somewhat the same, so I am going to do the unpardonable by just quoting it.
“Ginger is most commonly known for its effectiveness as a digestive aid. By increasing the production of digestive fluids and saliva, Ginger helps relieve indigestion, gas pains, diarrhea and stomach cramping. The primary known constituents of Ginger Root include gingerols, zingibain, bisabolenel, oleoresins, starch, essential oil (zingiberene, zingiberole, camphene, cineol, borneol), mucilage, and protein. Ginger root is also used to treat nausea related to both motion sickness and morning sickness. Ginger has been found to be even more effective than Dramamine® in curbing motion sickness, without causing drowsiness. Ginger’s anti-inflammatory properties help relieve pain and reduce inflammation associated with arthritis, rheumatism and muscle spasms. Ginger’s therapeutic properties effectively stimulate circulation of the blood, removing toxins from the body, cleansing the bowels and kidneys, and nourishing the skin. Other uses for Ginger Root include the treatment of asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory problems by loosening and expelling phlegm from the lungs. Ginger Root may also be used to help break fevers by warming the body and increasing perspiration”. The Epicentre’s encyclopedia of spices 

 

Solving THE Problem

(three days later)
The dish of the year above did not solve the problem. So guess I am not going to win any awards. I was lucky that I did not have to be in close quarters with anyone for the next day and a half. Just walks on the beach (alone), and in the apartment with Cat. She doesn’t seem to mind as long as I pet her once in a while, and feed her on time. I swear she wears a wrist watch, or paw or whatever.

So I was determined to get to the root of the problem. Cut the cabbage and cauliflower into smaller pieces and soaked them for 2 hours in cold water.  Spilled the water, replenished the pot and boiled them for another 15 minutes. Poured out the water, replacing it with new and continuing to cook while adding the following: Carraway, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, ginger, nutmeg, and also added turmeric, black pepper, basil, rosemary, and thyme for various medicinal properties. Threw in some onion, chunks of sheep cheese, small chunks of tofu, 2 cloves of garlic (if this recipe does not work, I’m really going to be unbearable), tbsp of sweet chili sauce (optional), salt to taste, chunk of butter. Ate half of it. Now I wait and see. IT DEFINITE WORKS!

 

 

Starting Right
Omelet Supreme. Take this to heart. The ingredients in this really do make a difference.

The internals:

Bell pepper – very high in vitamin C and A. general health, long, cardiovascular system, heart. Smokers should read this page on bell peppers due to its high vitamin A content. Also good for eyesight due to its vitamin C and beta-carotene. Bell pepper 

Mushrooms - crimini which includes button and champignon mushrooms are very high in selenium which is needed in the antioxidant system, helpful against certain cancers,  “decreasing asthma and arthritis symptoms and in the prevention of heart disease” mushrooms at whfoods, possess most of the B vitamins which are very hard to come by altogether, and high in copper among other known vitamins and minerals. In fact, mushrooms are incredible. BUT, do not pick your own. Can be very hazardous to your health because there are some look a likes out there that do not mix well with most living systems. Read mushroom warning at top.

Walnuts – high in omega-3. I had Deep Vein Thrombosis due to sitting at my computer too long without moving over a long period of time. Took Coumadin for many years with constant reoccurrences until I ran across walnuts which are very high in Omega-3. I went off Coumadin and have had no problems since for over 2 years now. Important for cardiovascular health, controlling high blood pressure, cognitive functioning, bone health and much more walnuts at whfoods.com

Onion – Very healthy for many areas including cardiovascular, lowering of blood sugar level increasing the amount of insulin available, gastrointestinal, bone, and protection against some cancers, as well as reducing inflammatory responses or congestion of certain illnesses See whfoods on onions

Preparation: Make the internals first, frying in a small amount of olive oil, but just enough to get them warm and mixed. Spices of your choosing, with all of their support functions,can be added here which I will not go into here, along with a very small amount of sweet chili sauce if desired. But do not cook for too long. Put aside and create the omelet with 2 eggs, rounded tsp of flour, 2-3 tsp milk, 1/4 tsp baking powder (optional). Use the plate-flip method described way below in “Special Brand Name Walnut Pancake”. Melted cheese with a small amount of milk on top. No, think I will reproduce it here to avoid all the trouble of search.

 

If you don’t know this. Than you should. 

Plate-flip Method of Flawless Pancake Turning
Instructions to turn full pan diameter pancakes. Once the top of the pancake is solidified and having looked, the first side is done, holding the pan in one hand, with a fork or spatula, slide the pancake onto a plate without turning it over. Then, still holding the pan at an angle, put the bottom of the plate against the lower part of the pan and flip the plate fast enough so that the pancake goes into the pan upside down. This takes practice, and if you do it correctly the first time, you are the next world class chef to be. That is just to prep you up, because next time it won’t happen that way. This takes practice and a steady hand. That’s it. Cook until you fork it in the middle with no residue.

 

 

Made lunch for myself. But in the end it was so jumbled up that I felt I could not describe it and do justice to the fantastic tastes embodied. Hence, I will just show it to you. If anyone really wants to know, anything, send a note through a comment and I may get back to you within say two months (that’s how often I check my comments file).

 

 

 

 

Honey Walnut Pizza Style Cookies.  Looked at some of the cookies for Christmas on the web and decided I did not want to visit any of the houses making those, being the cookie aficionado that I am. So made my own. After the shoot, ate one in honor of the guy who made it. Than another for the other side of his personality, whatever that is. Then I had to start making up new quarters, eighths sides. The upshot of it is -  I’m cookied out.
Preparation: NO measuring. Just dump and taste (or not). I never do. The main criteria is, will it be sweet enough, and the second one, will it roll up so it can be transferred to the hot pan?

Ingredients and method: Flour, water, honey, lots of cinnamon, 12 tsp baking powder (optional), walnuts, raisins, 1-2 tsp brewer’s yeast (optional), more flour, more flour as you mix it and it’s still too wet. Should be dry enough so that you can pick it up in a ball and put it on the board or counter to be rolled or smashed with your hand. Once on the board, roll or whatever, turning and repeating, with dry flour underneath, until it is about what you imagine the pan circumference is or a little less. Roll and transfer to a hot pan which has a thin layer of just-about-to-smoke olive oil. Unroll, hand kneed it out to full pan circumference, cover and ‘bake’ for a lot less time than you thought at first – cooks very fast. If in doubt, use the plate-flip method above to turn it over and see. You can always put it back in. Anyway, once one side is done, do the other.