We finally made it to strawberry season here in Seattle (or should I say, I finally made it to the farmer’s market?).  Life has been very busy going to medical school full time with a toddler, and this summer I started working as a secondary clinician at the Bastyr Center for Natural Health.  I have been wanting to write a post sharing my thoughts with you on eating organic, particularly before I posted another food recipe, but with strawberry season almost out the window, I had to share this with you.

I call it ice cream, but its not made in the ice cream maker (although I should try it in my new Cuisinart ice cream maker, but I’ve been too busy experimenting with chai ice cream).  This concoction satisfies all my desires for ice cream with its smooth consistency, sweet flavor, and microcosmic crunch from the cacao nibs.  Because it’s a blender treat, it does melt fast, but I tend to enjoy drinking what turns into a milkshake with a spoon.  I can’t wait for you to try it!

Strawberry Cacao Ice Cream
Makes 1 serving

• a big handful of frozen strawberries
• about 1/2 to 1 tsp cacao nibs
• splash of vanilla
• full fat coconut milk
• stevia to taste

Directions

1. Place frozen strawberries, cacao nibs, vanilla, and stevia in Vitamix (or blender).
2. Add refridgerated full fat coconut milk until it covers a quarter of the strawberries.  The less coconut milk you use, the more solid and red your ice cream will be.
3. Blend until smooth (if you’re blending in a Vitamix, you may want to use your plunger).

Notes

• I rarely use exact measurements in frozen blender drinks and smoothies, and I think it’s best that way.
• Too make it firmer, you can use frozen coconut milk ice cubes instead of cold refridgerated coconut milk.
• The riper your berries, the redder your ice cream.  I tried this with store bought non-local strawberries and the color came out as a very light pastel pink.

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Have you ever gotten stuck with a turnip or a rutabaga and not know what to do with it?

When I was in college, the family I “mommy-helped” would often receive turnips through their CSA and  pass them onto me because they didn’t know what to do with them.  I wasn’t quite sure either since I didn’t grow up eating turnips and didn’t know much about them.  Turnips and rutabagas seem kind of like the ghost vegetables.  They exist but they’re invisible, quiet, and shy.

I finally found a perfect use for your lonely turnips and rutabagas!  Make them into vegetable fries!

This incredible recipe was birthed a few hours before we had a guest over for dinner.  I was exceedingly surprised at how well it came out, given that I made it up on the fly.  I was making chicken curry for dinner (yes, a non-vegetarian meal), and I had bought a bunch of winter root vegetables to add some veggie to the meal.  I decided to slice them into fries, toss them in mild curry spices, and bake them with sweet onion slices and coconut oil.  The outcome was spectacular.

I have made these fries many times since, following the same recipe I developed on the fly.  I haven’t changed it once!

The taste is matched with an appealing texture.  Since the fries are baked, they do not get as crispy as they would if they were fried.  However, the liberal seasoning that engulfs the fries generates a breaded crisp.  The taste of the onion slices reminds me of the blooming onion appetizer at Outback (so if you’re missing this, you’ve got to make these).

Speaking of appetizers, these fries make a restaurant quality, archerfriendly appetizer that everyone will love.

Curry Root Fries
Makes about 12 servings or two full 3 qt glass baking dishes

• 1 onion
• 2 parsnips or 1 large parsnip
• 1 red garnet yam (or golden yam)
• 1 turnip
• 1 rutabaga
• 3 garlic cloves
• 4 Tablespoons warm coconut oil, more for greasing the bottom of the glass baking dishes
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• fresh cilantro

Spice Mix

• 1 Tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (regular paprika is fine too)
• 1/2 teaspoon hot cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Grease two 3-quart glass baking dishes with a generous spoonful of coconut oil for each dish.
3. Chop the parsnips, yam, turnip, and rutabaga into thin, long fries.  Slice the onion into half circles.  Mince the garlic.
4. Toss the veggies together with the garlic and onion.  Evenly distribute the vegetable mix on both dishes.
5. Whisk together the warm coconut oil, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar (the coconut oil will blend better if its warm).  Pour the liquid mixture on the fries.
6. Distribute the spice mixture over the fries in each pan.  It will look like there is too much seasoning, but this is what gives the fries a breaded texture.  Use your hands to mix in the seasoning.
7. Bake at 400°F for 25-30 minutes.  Toss the fries halfway through with a spatula.
8. Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro.

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As you may have noticed, I have only written about food.  Please forgive me for the lack of content in the other areas on my website; it’s a work in progress.

On the navigation bar at the top, you will find the “LEARN” tab.  This is where you will find information about how your body works, naturopathic medicine, and anything medically related.  Basically, this tab is a space for me to share with you anything and everything I’m learning in naturopathic medical school.

I will share applicable lifestyle tips on natural health under the “LIVE” tab.  This, of course, is not medical advice.  Please consult your physician before implementing any lifestyle or diet suggestions you may find there.

Under the “TRY” tab, you will find information on specific items I recommend.  The resources there will be sponsor free, as I will not recommend resources that give me a commision to do so, even if it’s a few pennies.  I want you to trust my recommendations, and by accepting sponsorship, it threatens that relationship.  You can trust that no third party is involved in any of my recommendations.

I would love your feedback on specific things you’d like to learn about.  What kinds of recipes would you like to see here?  What part of your body would you like to learn about?  How would you like to live more naturally?  What about whole health would you like to know?  The questions are endless.

I would be blessed if you commented on this post, sharing with me what you’d like to see here.

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When I flew to the east coast this past Christmas, I stashed about six red garnet yams in my suitcase. They took up precious cargo weight, but I didn’t care because my mother-in-law could not find them in South Jersey.  I wanted to make our signature Saigon Maple Mashed Yams for our east coast family.  My husband didn’t think it was worth it.  He thought I was bananas for packing such a thing in our suitcase, especially when it cost $20 to check it.

Due to an inconvenient snow storm, our flight did not make it to our final destination on time.  We were stranded in Pittsburgh for an extra 24 hours.  I was out of all my usual airplane snacks.  I needed archerfriendly food.  What do you think saved the day?

Red garnet yams.

I’ve made these yams every year for Thanksgiving since I moved to Seattle.  They’ve become a staple holiday dish in our family, and I’m sure they would receive much applause at your table as well.

It is essential to use red garnet yams in this recipe. They have a sweeter, richer flavor than the regular golden yam.  These special yams are what make this recipe taste so good.

Saigon Maple Mashed Yams
Makes about 12 servings

• 6 large red garnet yams
• 1/2 can full fat coconut milk (or more if you want it really creamy)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (more or less to taste)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon saigon cinnamon (more or less to taste)
• sea salt, a good pinch

Directions

1. Peel, chop, and boil yams until soft.
2. Strain yams.
3. Roughly mash yams with a potato masher.
4. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Notes

• I often times don’t measure anything when I’m making these yams.  You can very easily eye everything up, just as you would your own mashed potatoes.  Just use the ingredients as a base and go from there!
• You may want to preheat your coconut milk to help the dish stay hot.
• Saigon cinnamon is different from traditional “cinnamon”.  There is a huge taste difference!  You should be able to find it in most grocery stores.  The taste reminds me of red cinnamon candy hearts.

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When my husband went to the store recently, I told him to pick out a weird squash for me.  I wanted to cook with a new one and I wanted to be surprised!  My husband came home, announcing that he picked out a “gold hubbard.”  Something about the name of this squash makes it fun to say.

Inspired from the gold hubbard, my recent Indian kick, and this Smithsonian article, I decided to make pumpkin curry (although it’s not really pumpkin curry).  Most people have no idea what a gold hubbard squash is, but if I say its pumpkin, they understand my curry.  If you don’t want to use gold hubbard squash, you can easily substitute in butternut squash or even real pumpkin.

My husband was very skeptical of this dish while it was in the making (I’m sure any former meat and potato eater from South Jersey would be).  He imagined it to taste like a “spicy pumpkin pie mash.”  After his first bite of the pumpkin curry, he didn’t put down his spoon until his bowl was empty.  Afterwards, he rated the dish a 9.1 out of 10.  When my husband rates an archerfriendly dish this high, it’s got to be good.

The hardest part of this dish is cutting the gold hubbard.  For me, it was a nightmare.  It took over an hour to chop up the squash, and I almost broke my knife!  Next time, I will cook the squash whole in the oven for about 30 minutes.  Partially baking the squash will make it a lot easier to chop, saving the time you’d spend trying to hack it up raw.   This recipe is very easy and quick once you get the squash chopped!

Pumpkin Curry
Makes about 10 servings

• 1 Gold Hubbard Squash (or other large substitute), chopped in 1″ cubes
• spoonful of coconut oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 thumb-sized pieces of ginger, chopped
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• 2 Tablespoons Muchi curry powder
• 1 can full fat coconut milk
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Peel and chop squash into 1″ cubes.  It may be easier if you partially bake the whole squash for about 30 minutes at 350° before you chop it.
2. Sautè onion, garlic, and half of the ginger in a spoonful of coconut oil on low to medium heat (use a pan big enough to hold all the curry).  Cook until softened.
3. Whisk together the curry powder, honey, and coconut milk.  Pour the coconut milk mixture into the pan with the sauteed onion, garlic, and ginger.
4. Add the squash and remaining ginger.
5. Cook until squash is tender (about 30 minutes).
6. Add the garam masala and stir immediately before serving.
7. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Serve over brown basmati rice.

 

Notes

• The honey can be omitted.  I usually do not sweeten savory dishes, but it felt right this time.  The honey really complemented the sweet flavor of the squash.
• One gold hubbard squash made a lot of curry!  I used the whole squash, which is why this recipe made about 10 servings.  Feel free to adjust accordingly if you don’t want so much curry.
•  Frontier makes fantastic Muchi curry powder.  Look for it in the bulk spice section of your local grocery store.  In the Seattle area, I’ve found Muchi curry powder at Whole Foods (but its very expensive there), Central Market, and TOP Food & Drug. 
• It is important to use a fresh, good quality curry powder if you can not find Muchi curry powder.  Crappy curry powders ruin Indian food. 
• You can add all the ginger in the beginning with the onions and garlic.  Adding half of it later creates a crisp ginger flavor.

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