What I Eat - Day Twenty-Two

Time for more guest chefs!   This week's (dinner) guest chef, Tobel, has particularly impressed me with his fearlessness in the kitchen.   Even though he had almost no experience dealing with food allergies/intolerance before he started cooking for me, he's undaunted by dealing with all my restrictions.  In fact, I usually don't even know what he's making until I show up for dinner, and it's always delicious.   It's amazing what a sense of adventure and access to the internet can accomplish!

Breakfast - Fried Potatoes with Veggies

This breakfast was pretty simple.  I just fried up some potatoes and red onions, and served them with some alfalfa sprouts and half of an avocado.  

As a side note, I frequently cook my veggies in a very small amount of oil in my  ceramic frying pan until they start to brown, then I add a bit of water and let it reduce until they are cooked through.   I've heard other people comment that their ceramic frying pans start to stick after a bit of use.  This has not been my experience; however I'm very careful about not using metal utensils and just rinsing it thoroughly by hand when I'm done using it.   Also, I rarely turn my burner up past medium, nor do I need to because the pan carries and disperses heat very well (many toxins become more dangerous at higher temperatures).  

The huge appeal of the ceramic frying pan for me is that you can use a ridiculously small quantity of oil when you cook, but I finally decided to research the safety of ceramic-coated cook wear.   This blog nicely summarizes some of the potential problems I discovered http://lavieverte.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/safety-in-cookware-ptfe-vs-nano-ceramic-coatings/.   Additionally, I found an issue with ceramic cook wear that has colour added to it http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/12/ceramic-coated-frying-pan-toxic/  Personally, I plan to work on the assumption that ceramic is safer than teflon, but I'm also going to try to go back to using my cast iron frying pan a bit more frequently.    At the end of the day, I've realized I just need to stop frying foods as frequently as I do.   It's a real weakness of mine. 

Lunch - Tofu and Broccoli

(Tofu) Ingredients
-brown basmati rice
-one block of firm tofu, cut into large squares
-one chunk of ginger about the size of two thumbs, peeled and minced
-half a head of garlic, peeled and minced
-one bunch of green onions, chopped
-two red bell peppers, chopped
-one tsp of hot sauce (this is the one I use)
-1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
-Bragg Liquid Aminos (to taste)
-grapeseed oil
-Club House One Step Seasoning - Roasted Garlic & Peppers

(Tofu) Instructions
-Lightly oil a glass baking dish.  Put in the tofu and sprinkle with the one step seasoning.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes (or until it starts to brown). 
-Put the garlic and ginger in a frying pan with the oil at a medium heat.  Stir occasionally, until they start to brown.  Then, add the peppers and, once they have started to soften up, add everything else (besides the rice and tofu).  Cook for an additional five minutes or so. 
-Put the cooked rice at the bottom of the bowl, put the tofu on top, and pour the contents of the frying pan over top. 

Broccoli - I steamed the broccoli and topped it with raw pumpkin seeds, 'zested' ginger, and Bragg Liquid Aminos.  I just bought this fine grater/zester (pictured below) and I couldn't believe how much flavour the ginger added to this dish!  Sorry, I can't seem to find a good link for the zester to include for everyone, but the plastic attachment will definitely prevent me from 'zesting' my fingers (which is both painful and, technically, a biohazard). 

*Note - save your water when you steam vegetables!  Our bodies become acidic from eating too much meat, sugar, processed foods, etc..... and STRESS!   The water from steamed veggies is very good for reducing acidity, it's just a matter of making it palatable.  

Dinner - Pasta e Fagioli and Asparagus Artichoke Salad

Link for the pasta recipe is here.  The pasta was made with Kitchen Basics Chicken Cooking Stock and Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta Fusilli (both available at Sobey's).    The current packaging for the chicken stock (which for some reason is not shown on their website) comes with a number of guarantees, including that it is gluten and MSG free.   Last but not least, 'cannellini or borlotti' beans = romano beans.  

Link for salad recipe is here.   Tobel used minced fresh garlic in place of the garlic powder, green onions in place of the shallots, and lime juice in place of the lemon juice.   

P.S. This salad was especially delicious!