Don’t go without pumpkin pie this year! Gluten free, grain free, dairy free deliciousness!

pumpkin pie

I love my pumpkin pie, but I am determined this year to not have regrets about what I ate over the holidays!  How many times do I need to learn that the recovery time is not really worth the few bites of gluten laden decadence?  For those of you looking for a delicious alternative to feeling regret, read on!  I started with a real pumpkin because my CSA gives them to me!  But working with canned pumpkin is just fine too.  The only thing is you won’t have the yummy roasted pumpkin seeds to snack on while you are waiting for the pie to cool!

Start by baking a pumpkin, if that’s your plan.

pumpkin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scoop out the guts and seeds of the pumpkin.

pumpkin guts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bake face down on a sheet pan at 350 degrees until soft.  Let cool before scooping the flesh out of the shell into a measuring cup.

baked pumpkin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, separate the pumpkin guts from the pumpkin seeds.  Rinse the seeds and roast with a little oil (I used delicious, nutritious coconut oil which I got here) until you hear popping sounds coming from the oven.  They should be crunchy and irresistible, especially with good salt.  Pumpkin seeds are a powerhouse of nutrition.  Known to be a good source of minerals including zinc and magnesium as well as protein and essential fatty acids.  Research suggests they are useful for prostate health, bone density, parasites, arthritis and healthy blood lipids.  Find out more here.

pumpkin seeds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a food processor make the crust:

3/4 cup raw pecans or pumpkin seeds (grind ‘em up real good in the food processor)

1/4 cup ground flax seeds

1/2 cup coconut flour (find out why I’m such a fan of the coconut here and here)

1/2 tsp good salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup  coconut sugar

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 free range egg

 

Process dry stuff, add the coconut oil and process.  Then add egg and pulse until it comes together.  It will be sticky.

Press into a pie plate or tart pan.  Freeze for 15-20 minutes, then bake for 20 minutes at 325 degrees until lightly browned.

crust

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next mix up the filling in the food processor:

Filling:

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

3 eggs

1/4 cup coconut sugar

1/2 cup maple syrup (or less)

1/2 tsp good salt

1/4 tsp allspice

1 tsp freshly grated ginger

pinch of cayenne

pinch of ground cloves

1 can coconut milk (not LITE)

Blend everything together until it is a smooth puree.  Pour into partially baked pie crust.  Tap to release bubbles.

unbaked custard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bake 45-55 minutes at 325. Be sure to let it cool before you serve it.

Delicious ending to a healthy fall meal, but honestly it makes a darn good breakfast too!

 

 

dig in!

 

Gluten. Biochemistry. History.

Brain Food

Tomato Bounty

Anyone out there have tomatoes piling up?  Attracting fruit flies?  Tired of BLT’s? (Never!)

tomatoes from MY YARD!

I realized today that if I didn’t act, and act TODAY my tomato harvest would be fruit fly food.

 

I had yellow tomatoes, green stripey tomatoes, and red, red tomatoes.

 

If I mixed them all together I would create a really attractive brown tomato sauce!  So I made Cream of Tomato Soup with the yellow and green ones, and Roasted Tomato Sauce with the red ones.  I’m pretty pleased with the results, so I thought I would share!

Cream of Tomato Soup Indian Style

Saute in coconut oil:

• ginger, onion, garlic

Meanwhile toast your whole spices in a dry skillet:

dry toasting spices

• cumin, coriander, black pepper corns, mustard seeds, fennel seeds

Grind the whole spices and add them to the onion mixture.  Add a healthy dose of turmeric (if I’d had fresh turmeric I would have used it, but dried ground turmeric is fine.  Remember how good it is for you?  Anti-inflammatory?), and a dash of cinnamon.

Saute the spices for a minute. Then add a bunch of cut up tomatoes.  I used yellow and green ones which worked great with the turmeric which is bright yellow too.

Add a little chicken stock or water to get the tomatoes to start breaking down.  Put the lid on the pot and let it simmer for a while, checking occasionally and stirring.  When the tomatoes are completely broken down, puree the whole she-bang.  I used my trusty Vita-Mix, but those immersion blenders work well too.  After pureeing the mixture, put it back in the pot and add a can of coconut milk and salt to taste.  Heat it gently at this point.  You don’t want the coconut milk to boil.

lunch. check.

 

 

Depending on how sweet your tomatoes are you might want to add a handful of sugar, honey, or maple syrup to balance out the acid of the tomatoes.  I decided against that.  I portioned out the soup (after eating some, of course) for lunches for the next few days!

 

 

 

Next up:

Roasted Tomato Sauce

The recipe is thus:  Cut up a bunch of tomatoes, toss with olive oil, salt, fresh thyme, oregano, and rosemary.

red tomatoes ready for the oven

 

 

Roast in a 350 degree oven until they break down and start to dry out a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

herbaceousness

 

 

Add some fresh garlic and chopped basil and spoon over  spaghetti squash, roasted cauliflower, zucchini ribbons, or…. pasta!

I spooned mine into a jar, and froze it for some winter day when I need to conjure up the bounty of these last fall days!

 

 

 

 

 

after roasting

 

 

Tomato’s nutritional claim to fame is high levels of a carotenoid called “lycopene.” Carotenoids act as anti-oxidants in the body and high intake of lycopene has been found to be protective against prostate cancer.  Lycopene is what gives tomatoes, watermelon, and guavas their pink/red color.  Lycopene is more available to the body when tomatoes are cooked, and they should be cooked with some oil to aid absorption.

 

River Nourishment

   

swimming hole bliss

 

Many years ago when my kids were little, and we were poor, young, frazzled parents, someone wise asked me what was one thing that made me happy.

 

I didn’t have to think long before answering “sun and water.”  Living in Seattle at that time, it was fairly easy to pack a lunch, throw the kids in the car and end up on the banks of Lake Washington for the day.

 

It is no wonder that my kids have grown up to love swimming in lakes, rivers, and oceans.  It is one place where we are all happy.  Together.

This fall my youngest son goes off to college.  Last week was the hottest week we have seen in Portland, and he and I packed a lunch of fresh tomatoes, salami, bread, cucumbers, and carrots, and headed for one of our favorite swimming holes.

Reading by the River

 

 

I ask you:  Is there anything more nourishing than doing what you love with the people you love?  Especially when there are tomatoes and salami involved?

Oil Pulling: A Trend in Natural Medicine

If you have your finger on the pulse of what’s new in Natural Medicine you’ve probably heard about oil pulling.  Folks are talking about it, blogging about it, making you tube videos about it.  There is great debate about it.  Is it the magical cure-all or a complete waste of time?  But first of all what exactly IS oil pulling?

Oil pulling has its roots in Ayurvedic medicine but was made popular by Dr. F. Karach, M.D. in the 1990′s.  The technique involves taking 1 tablespoon of oil (most commonly cold pressed sesame,  or sunflower oil) into the mouth and vigorously swishing the oil through the teeth and gums for 20 minutes.  Then spitting it out and washing the mouth with water and brushing the teeth.  The claim is that during this process toxins are pulled from the blood into the viscous oil and then expelled with the oil.  There are many anecdotal claims on the internet that this practice not only is good for oral hygiene (cures gingivitis and bad breath, whitens teeth), but that it can cure chronic diseases such as blood disorders, arthritis, hormonal dysregulation, sinusitis, immune disorders and cancer.

Let’s face it:  I’m a sucker for crazy ritualized health routines.  I mean I have fully embraced the castor oil pack, dry skin brushing, jumping into cold water, eating organ meats, and more.  So when I first heard about oil pulling from an interview with Bruce Fife ND, I was intrigued!  Sign me up!  I’ll try it!  I could not think of any reason it would be a BAD idea to swish oil around your mouth.  If nothing else, perhaps we absorb some good fatty acids through the mucus membranes in our mouth.

I do know that our mouths often harbor plenty of bacteria on a good day, and on a bad day can be the source of ongoing, hidden infections that the body has to  continually fight off.    Having a low grade infection takes lots of energy to keep the immune system so revved up and can lead to further complications.   Coconut oil is especially antimicrobial, so there’s that.   With my training in physiology I can’t say that I buy into the idea that toxins are being “pulled” into the saliva/oil mixture through this process.  But I am the first to admit that there is a lot we don’t know about the human body and I don’t need to understand something for it to benefit me.  I mean, I practice homeopathy after all!

So I have been practicing oil pulling with coconut oil (I am a big fan of the many health benefits of coconut oil and I buy it here) for about 3 weeks now.  I do it once a day, in the morning, on an empty stomach.  The first thing I noticed was that my teeth feel like I just came from a dental cleaning appointment.  Smooth!  Clean!  Sexy!  I’m watching my receding gums and hoping to see a change there.  My chronic back and hip pain is improved (!).  I don’t suffer from allergies or chronic sinusitis, but I do feel my sinuses drain each time I do it.  And (accepting the risk of TMI)  my last menstrual period?  A breeze.

I’ve been asking friends to try it and tell me what happens.  I mentioned to my naturopath that I had started oil pulling, and her face lit up!  She’s been doing it for 8 months and has been using it with patients as well.  I must say, I’m optimistic that it can help at least some people.  And really, the risk/benefit ratio is fairly low, so why not?  Try it and report back.

Ginger, Turmeric, Cinnamon Tea: Good for What Ails You!

Ginger, Turmeric, Cinnamon

More and more research is supporting the idea that inflammation is at the heart of most chronic diseases.

A wonderful friend of mine taught me this delicious recipe for an anti-inflammatory tea.  She experienced significant reduction in her arthritis pain after regular consumption.  I decided I had to try it myself!  Not only is it extremely good for you, it is delicious!

Recipe?  In a saucepan full of water throw a few slices of fresh ginger, fresh turmeric, and cinnamon sticks.  Simmer for 20 min or longer.  Add  a small bit of honey and the juice of one lemon.   Drink hot or cold!  It is also easily made with dried, ground herbs as well.  Try 1 quart of water with 1/2 tsp of each herb.

Curcumin, the potent anti-oxidant in Turmeric has been found to be as effective an anti inflammatory as prescription non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in a trial with rheumatoid arthritis patients.  It is an effective free radical scavenger, and holds promise in prevention of cancer and alzheimer’s disease.  In nutrition, it seems that the deeper the color of the food the higher the nutritional value.  So when you are shopping, look for deep green greens like kale, dark berries, and bright yellow pigments like turmeric for nutrient dense power.

Ginger has been used traditionally to quell arthritis pain and has been shown effective in trials comparing it to NSAIDS.  Ginger is also a warming, digestive stimulant.

Cinnamon is rapidly earning its reputation as a blood sugar and lipid regulator for folks who struggle with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.  Besides this, cinnamon is also anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic, warming and delicious!

Do you need any more encouragement to go put on a pot of water for a batch of turmeric, ginger, cinnamon tea?

Correction Smoothie

beet, ginger, dandelion greens

I need a little correction after the holiday weekend.  How about you?

Into the vitamix today went:

1 small beet (liver food)

a handful of dandelion greens (good diuretic and bitter greens for liver/gallbladder stimulation)

1 cup kombucha (probiotics, tangy deliciousness)

1/2 cup frozen cranberries (great for kidney flush, and high in anthocyanins)

1/2 cup frozen blueberries (what are blueberries NOT good for?)

fresh ginger (anti-inflammatory, digestive stimulant)

2 T ground flax seeds (high in lignans, soluble fiber, and omega 3 fatty acids which are anti-inflammatory)

1 tsp ground milk thistle (liver and kidney tonic)

2 cups water

Portland Hills and Herbal Simples

my harvest of Cleavers

Yesterday I had a delightful hike in the South Hills of Portland, exploring historical sights, hidden stairs, and great views.  Along the way I found a bunch of Cleavers (Galium Aparine) growing in the woods.  I brought some home and made a simple (single herb) brew by pouring hot water over the fresh herb and letting it steep overnight.)  Today I’ve been enjoying the mild herbaceous taste of the cooled simple.  Cleavers are a wonderful all around tonifying herb.  Known specifically to support the lymph system, but also as a blood cleanser.  Drinking a “simple” is one way to add herbs into your daily routine.  Find safe, tonifying herbs, steep overnight, and enjoy all day!  Other herbs to consider: Parlsey (mineral rich diuretic), chamomile (bitter tonic for digestion, nervine), chrysantamum (fortifies the lung, liver, eyes), nettle (mineral rich, tonic).

Salmon Cakes (Sans Gluten)

super satisfying for any time of day!

Salmon Cakes

2 cans wild salmon

2 eggs

1 1/2 T coconut flour

1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped

1 scallion, chopped

1 shallot, diced

1 T grated fresh ginger

1 t grated fresh horseradish

splash of tamari

fresh ground black pepper to taste.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

mixing the mix

Melt some coconut oil in a skillet.

melting coconut oil

Fry the salmon cakes until browned on both sides.

Browned salmon cakes