Blend:
1/2 lb. chopped cucumber
1/3 cup mint with
a pitcher of lemonade.
Strain and serve over ice.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Best nuts prices I've found...so far
Svitt: 1 kilo almonds (great quality) 4.990
1/2 kilo walnuts (great quality) 4.200
the lady in the mini vega:
1/4 kilo almonds (good quality) 1.200
1/4 kilo broken walnuts (good quality) 1.200
Tostaduría Talca
1 kilo cashews 8.000
1/2 kilo walnuts (great quality) 4.200
the lady in the mini vega:
1/4 kilo almonds (good quality) 1.200
1/4 kilo broken walnuts (good quality) 1.200
Tostaduría Talca
1 kilo cashews 8.000
Monday, March 2, 2009
warm and nutty cinnamon quinoa
a tasty breakfast recipe
1/4 cup quinoa (well-rinsed)
1/2 cup water
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat and let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in:
milk
honey or sweetener of your choice
chopped nuts of your choice
sweet spices of your choice (ground nutmeg, ground ginger, cinnamon, etc.)
Lately I make 2 cups of quinoa (plus 4-5 of water) with nothing added. I keep it in the fridge. For breakfast, I heat up milk and add maple syrup. For lunch, I add olive oil, soy sauce, garlic and veggies such as tomatoes, avocado, onion, corn, green pepper, etc.
1/4 cup quinoa (well-rinsed)
1/2 cup water
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat and let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in:
milk
honey or sweetener of your choice
chopped nuts of your choice
sweet spices of your choice (ground nutmeg, ground ginger, cinnamon, etc.)
Lately I make 2 cups of quinoa (plus 4-5 of water) with nothing added. I keep it in the fridge. For breakfast, I heat up milk and add maple syrup. For lunch, I add olive oil, soy sauce, garlic and veggies such as tomatoes, avocado, onion, corn, green pepper, etc.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Taco seasoning
10 parts cumin
3 parts garlic, in the form you choose (fresh, powder or sauce)
2 parts chili powder
1 part tumeric
1 part salt
1-5 parts ají, fresh or not
1 part cilantro or coriander
1 part parsley, dry or fresh
1 part or less sugar
3 parts garlic, in the form you choose (fresh, powder or sauce)
2 parts chili powder
1 part tumeric
1 part salt
1-5 parts ají, fresh or not
1 part cilantro or coriander
1 part parsley, dry or fresh
1 part or less sugar
Heather’s Chili Powder
Ingredients:
* 1 teaspoon paprika (ají de color)
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (merken if you live in Chile)
* 1 teaspoon oregano
* 2 teaspoons garlic powder – (or add garlic sauce, or regular garlic when cooking and leave out garlic powder) I usually use a bit of real garlic.
Preparation:
Mix and store. It is super good! And really easy.
* 1 teaspoon paprika (ají de color)
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (merken if you live in Chile)
* 1 teaspoon oregano
* 2 teaspoons garlic powder – (or add garlic sauce, or regular garlic when cooking and leave out garlic powder) I usually use a bit of real garlic.
Preparation:
Mix and store. It is super good! And really easy.
Monday, February 9, 2009
on diet and processed food
So we did a mini group post on what we spend on groceries with our little expat et al community here in cyberspace. After seeing most peoples' posts/comments I realized I'm relatively thrifty with my shopping in comparison to the others. I think the main reason for this is my diet. A couple years ago I read Energía sin límites by Deepak Chopra. I was feeling quite fatigued at the time and so I followed a bit of the advice he gives in order to be more energetic. He analyzes lifestyle in general, not just diet. But I applied some of his diet advice to my diet. Specifically I stopped eating sugar and flour. While I wasn't out to lose weight, I dropped five pounds in a month and I was already pretty slim. But, more importantly I achieved my goal: my energy level went way up. I'd say it doubled. Avoiding sugar and flour means avoiding ALMOST ALL processed foods: pasta, crackers, bread, candy, jelly, manjar, most cereals, etc. Looking for dinner ideas that didn't have sugar or flour, I ran across a vegan forum. I started reading about veganism and went flexi-vegan and thus gave up dairy as well as sugar and flour. I ate mostly produce, grains, legums, nuts, and chocolate.
Then I read somewhere else of the non-processed food diet, which is pretty much the same as the "avoid sugar and flour diet". Processed foods, aside from being less healthy than foods you might have found in your great-great grandma's pantry, are generally more expensive. Our grandmas' grandmas probably wouldn't recognize the "food" we eat as food. Like non-fat dairy creamer. What the h#%* is that?
The thing about eating vegan (vs. vegetarian) is that vegans eat NO dairy products. Dairy makes up a LARGE part of the grocery bill.(As do meat, cold cuts, and processed foods). Try cutting these elements out of your grocery bill, and see how it goes down!!
Now I've gone back to eating dairy products, but I do it less than before. And I've started to make kefir (yogur de pajaritos). I'm pretty excited about this. My "yogurt" is cheaper, better quality and healthier than the regular stuff. (If anyone want's "pajaritos" (kefir grains) to make their own kefir yogurt, let me know.)
One last reason the grocery bill isn't too high:
I shop for V's food too, but he's not one to put the food he wants on "the grocery list" and I'm not one to buy things that aren't on the list. I sometimes ask him what he wants, but if we are depending on my memory for him to get his food, there's a 50/50 chance I'll remember. Perhaps even less. I don't like to buy what I'm not sure we will eat because I've had to throw out mayo, cheese, eggs, milk, meat, etc. because often we don't finish the food before it starts to rot. My Scottish genes cannot handle throwing stuff out, especially food. (Before I get rid of clothing and other things, I often have to take a picture of it to help me part. Here's an example.) So meanwhile, the bill stays low.
Then I read somewhere else of the non-processed food diet, which is pretty much the same as the "avoid sugar and flour diet". Processed foods, aside from being less healthy than foods you might have found in your great-great grandma's pantry, are generally more expensive. Our grandmas' grandmas probably wouldn't recognize the "food" we eat as food. Like non-fat dairy creamer. What the h#%* is that?
The thing about eating vegan (vs. vegetarian) is that vegans eat NO dairy products. Dairy makes up a LARGE part of the grocery bill.(As do meat, cold cuts, and processed foods). Try cutting these elements out of your grocery bill, and see how it goes down!!
Now I've gone back to eating dairy products, but I do it less than before. And I've started to make kefir (yogur de pajaritos). I'm pretty excited about this. My "yogurt" is cheaper, better quality and healthier than the regular stuff. (If anyone want's "pajaritos" (kefir grains) to make their own kefir yogurt, let me know.)
One last reason the grocery bill isn't too high:
I shop for V's food too, but he's not one to put the food he wants on "the grocery list" and I'm not one to buy things that aren't on the list. I sometimes ask him what he wants, but if we are depending on my memory for him to get his food, there's a 50/50 chance I'll remember. Perhaps even less. I don't like to buy what I'm not sure we will eat because I've had to throw out mayo, cheese, eggs, milk, meat, etc. because often we don't finish the food before it starts to rot. My Scottish genes cannot handle throwing stuff out, especially food. (Before I get rid of clothing and other things, I often have to take a picture of it to help me part. Here's an example.) So meanwhile, the bill stays low.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
kefir
So I've started making kefir now!! In Chile it's called yogur de pajaritos so I thought it was actual yogurt, but it's not. It's kefir.
And I just found a website written by people experienced with making kefir and they provide some interesting info. Like the fact that you can freeze the cultures. They say they've done it for up to a year without adverse effects. I'm excited about that, because the instructions I got on how to take care of kefir were pretty high maintenance, onda, strain and wash them, and put them in high quality milk, daily. Dude, that means you can't go away for the weekend, or you have to take them with you. Although, I have just leave them in milk in the fridge for up to 5 days, because the fridge stunts their reproduction.
Anyway, I still have a bit to learn. But I'm already thinking of substituting kefir for buttermilk in my ma's buttermilk pancakes recipe.
And I just found a website written by people experienced with making kefir and they provide some interesting info. Like the fact that you can freeze the cultures. They say they've done it for up to a year without adverse effects. I'm excited about that, because the instructions I got on how to take care of kefir were pretty high maintenance, onda, strain and wash them, and put them in high quality milk, daily. Dude, that means you can't go away for the weekend, or you have to take them with you. Although, I have just leave them in milk in the fridge for up to 5 days, because the fridge stunts their reproduction.
Anyway, I still have a bit to learn. But I'm already thinking of substituting kefir for buttermilk in my ma's buttermilk pancakes recipe.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
