A golden beauty

I periodically crave turmeric which can be found in many Thai and Indian cuisines. I'm also a big fan of Rachel Katz and she includes turmeric in several of her recipes. So why the praise and inclusion of this golden beauty known as tumeric?

It turns out that tumeric also is know as a cancer fighting food. Since losing my mom to the big 'C' two years ago, I'm even more focused on what I eat and keeping my immune system in fighter mode. (To learn more, check out the following article on thetruthaboutcancer.com:  https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/cancer-fighting-benefits-of-curcumin/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SocialWarfare )

I created a salad dressing to help me include more tumeric in my diet.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1/4 cup Cecchetti basil olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon mayonaise or greek yogurt
• Pinch of sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon tumeric
• 1/2 teaspoon Spicely Chili California (mild red chili powder)
• 1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• ground pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and use an emulsifier or blender to blend until creamy.

I added leftover roasted chicken, some washed, sliced radishes and baby salad greens, and tossed for a lunch munch salad. Yum!

Bon Appetite!

5 Ingredient Easy Summer Salad

Even if you decide to grow your own arugula like I did, this is an easy summer salad. I found growing my own Arugula was almost as easy as buying it. And of course it tastes so much better because it's fresh cut for this salad.

Here's what you'll need:

• fresh arugula from garden, farmers' market or Trader Joe's, washed

• white balsamicvinegar

• good olive oil like Cecchetti (buy online on their website or in Lodi, Ca at farmers market)

• avocado, seeded, peeled and sliced in chunks

• orange (any sweet citrus including sweet grapefruit can be used for this salad) peeled, sliced

Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and toss greens, avocado and citrus. You can add a small amount of kosher salad and pepper to your taste if you want too. 

Bon appetite.

Supporting our pollinators

Over time, I've tried using honey in place of white sugar in baking recipes. I've had varied success. Yesterday, I think I hit it out of the park.

My friend Roberta in Chicago had shared a family recipe for chocolate chip banana bread with me. I made several modifications including making muffins instead of bread. 

Here's what you'll need: muffin tin and paper muffin cups and/or butterfly muffin pan from Target and Trader Joe's coconut oil spray for butterfly pan molds.

Preheat oven at 350.

Beat together until blended:

• 1/2 cup butter at room temperature (1 stick)

• 3/4 cup honey (Use local honey from farmers market if you can. We need bees in our communities for flowers and food.)

• 2 eggs

• 2/3 cup sour cream or plain 2% yogurt

• 3 bananas peeled and mashed

Stir in:

• 1 3/4 cups flour (I've been using Safeway organic flour and am pleased with flavor.)

• 1/4 cup finely ground flax seed

• 1/3 cup chopped hazel nuts (You can omit nuts or use chopped pecan, almond , or walnut)

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• pinch of kosher salt

• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Once mixed, decide batter into cups filling 2/3 to 3/4 full. This recipe makes 1 1/2 dozen breakfast or afternoon tea treats. 

Bake at 350 for 25- 30 minutes until muffin tops are dark golden brown.

Serve with yogurt and a spoonful of honey. Bon appetite!

Just add assorted vegis

My family requests I bring this dip to every family get together. I love it too and it's really easy. I started with an Ina Garten Barefoot Contessa Green Herb Dip recipe and made modifications to suit my family's taste and what I have in the fridge.

Here's what you'll need for the dip:

• 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature

• 1/2 cup sour cream ( I often use 1/4 cup 2% plain Greek yogurt and 1/4 cup sour cream. I like the tanginess of the yogurt with the weight and creaminess of the sour cream)

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 4 green onions, washed with both ends trimmed 

• 1/2 cup fresh parsley or cilantro (or combination)

• 3 teaspoons dried dill (Ina suggests 1 Tablespoon of fresh dill but even in California, it's seasonal so not always easy to get and I make this dip year round)

• 1-2 fresh garlic cloves, peeled

• 1/2 teaspoon each kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (I use Omnivore salt by Angelo Garro. It can be purchased online if you can't find at a fancy grocery store. It is a bit pricey compared to regular table salt but I can taste the difference. It's worth it and how much are you paying for your daily take-out coffee?)

Place everything in a food processor using the steel blade. If you don't have a food processor, a blender can also be used. Pulse until just blended and smooth without any lumps of cream cheese. 

Serve at room temperature with assorted vegetables. I try to buy a variety at Trader Joes, my farmers market or the local grocery store. A multitude of colors are also a huge plus and make this both beautiful and appetizing.

Suggestions for dipping:

• cherry tomatoes

• sliced and seeded red, orange and yellow bell peppers

• jicama, peeled and sliced in wedges

• blanched snow peas (They're sweeter if you blanch them and it's fast. Trim snow peas of tough stems using kitchen scissors. Place in a colander. If you've never blanched before you need a pan of boiling water with 1 teaspoon salt, add snow peas. Almost immediately remove and drain in colander. To stop cooking process rinse with cold water.)

• sliced cucumbers

• peeled and sliced carrots into 2-3 inch sticks

• celery sliced into 3-4 inch sticks (shorter vegi sticks help discourage double dipping)

Bon appetite!

Let them eat cake! Fit for angels and St. Valentine

Did you know Angel Food Cake is fat free? Well, that's until you add a side dollop of homemade whipped cream like I do. And it really is easy to make.

The two most important things to have  are egg whites at room temperature and an angel food cake pan. 

So far, I haven't used cake flour and the cakes have been fluffy. I do encourage you to use organic flour. I've used white organic flour from Wholefoods in their bulk foods and Safeway brand Organics flour. Following in Julia Child's pans and spoons, you want flour with good fat to it so the taste and fat hasn't been processed out of it.

Also, you can add food coloring to the cake or the whipped cream. Red for St. Valentine's Day? I used blue this past weekend pre-Super Bowl in support of the Panthers.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and have the oven rack low enough to accommodate the Angel Food Cake pan.

Needed ingredients:

• 1 cup good organic flour

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

• 12 egg whites, room temperature

• 1 1/4 cups sugar (I buy the organic sugar at Costco. Flavor is better than traditional, over processed white sugar.)

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (use the real thing. It costs more but flavor is way better plus no chemical aftertaste)

Whipped Cream

• Heavy whipping cream

• 1-3 tablespoons sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Fresh berries, washed

Separate egg whites from the yolks. Make sure no yolk is in the whites or it'll impact how fluffy you can get the whites. Also, make sure the bowl and beater are super clean. Beat whites until they're fluffy. Gradually add cream of tartar and sugar until you have stiff egg white peaks. Add vanilla, beating in. All this should take 5-10 minutes depending on the weather.

Place flour and salt in a sifter. Sift flour, salt mixture gradually into whipped egg white mixture stirring together gently and gradually. Use a rubber spatula to do this if you have one. When flour is just blended with egg whites so you don't see dried ingredients, spoon batter into an ungreased Angel Food Cake pan. That's right. No oil in cake or pan.

Bake 35-40 minutes until cake is golden. Cool in pan, inverted for at least 30 minutes. You may need to use a knife on pan sides and bottom to release cake.

Slice and serve with a dollop of whipped cream and berries. Bon appetite!

Tip: Use the egg yolks for homemade custard