Organic Granny

When I first made this soup it was Spring and the most delectable fresh asparagus was popping up in organic produce bins in grocery stores all over our little city!  Depending on where you live, you might have these neat little tender twigs growing in your own garden.  Here is the perfect Spring-Early Summer soup-- you can use fresh succulent new asparagus, or take advantage of the flavorful (but older) frozen asparagus in your freezer.  Enjoy! Ingredients      2 lbs green asparagus     1 large onion     3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Coconut Oil     6 cups vegetable broth OR 6 cups water and 3 Golden Bouillion cubes     4 cloves minced garlic     2 teaspoons organic garlic powder     2 teaspoons organic onion powder     Celtic Sea salt to taste (mmmm... those minerals!)     grind a little fresh cracked pepper to taste     juice from half of a ripe fresh juicy lemon  ...

When I wrote this recipe I was staying with my son in the beautiful Eastern Townships of Quebec. It was fall, the leaves were scarlet, the temperatures were pleasant (although it did rain and blow at night).  My son and his buddies are mushroom savvy.  I cannot overemphasize the importance of not picking and cooking/eating unknown mushrooms. The term "wild mushrooms" for this recipe refers mostly to the cooking style and ingredients used to prepare the store-bought mushrooms so that they resemble the taste and fragrance of wild mushrooms. This recipe is an adaptation from the Vita-Prep Cookbook (the Vita-Prep is the blender made by Vita-Mix for professional chefs.)   Ingredients: *1# (5 C.) Mushrooms, stems removed, and quartered (use fresh cremini, shitaki, etc. See the bottom warning about using unknown mushrooms.)  * 6 Tablespoons (T.) Butter or Virgin Coconut Oil  * 2 C. Carrots, chopped to 1"  * 2 C. Celery, chopped to 1"  * 2 C. Onion, chopped in...

This hearty recipe is an adaptation from one of the "Total Brain Chemical Boosting Recipes" in Eric R. Braverman, MD's book, " Younger (Thinner) You Diet: How Understanding Your Brain Chemistry Can Help You Lose Weight, Reverse Aging, and Fight Disease ".   The veggies, herbs and spices in this particular recipe contribute to a balanced mix of important brain chemicals: Dopamine,Acetylcholine, GABA and Serotonin. Braverman explains how a deficit in any of these brain chemicals can affect your health in several ways, and a good balance can help you to be slim, youthful, sharp, and serene, among other desirable features. At this time of the year you can find most of the fresh veggies and herbs either in your garden or at a Farmer's Market!  Method for Making Soup  Put into a high-speed Blender and whirl up: *2 cans organic Pinto Beans (reserve half liquid) In a large wok or pan, for 5 minutes on Medium-High heat, saute the following in 2 tablespoons of  Virgi...

   Lots of hugs and kisses! INGREDIENTS: Crust: 2 cups  shredded Coconut 1 1/2 cups  Medjool Dates  (or other pitted dates) 1/4 - 1/2 tsp  Celtic Sea Salt The Cheeseless Cheez Cake Filling: 3 cups  Cashews , soaked (you can substitute other soaked nuts such as pine or macadamia nuts) 1 cup  Cacao butter , melted 1 cup  Water 1/2 cup  Maple Syrup, Raw Honey or other sweetener of choice 1/2 cup  Cacao powder  OR  Carob powder 1 tsp  Vanilla 1 Tbsp  Chia Gel pinch of  Celtic Sea Salt Ganache Topping: 1/2 cup raw organic  Cacao powder 1/2 cup  Cacao Butter , melted 1/4 cup  Maple Syrup, Raw Honey or other sweetener of choice pinch of  Celtic Sea Salt Place your cacao butter in a bowl over hot water to start melting. In food processor, process coconut, dates and salt until it clumps uniformly.  "Grease" a springform pan with some of the  melted cacao butter. Remove the crust mix from...

W ell, it is hot summer and my grandies are coming to stay for a while!!  Is there any better excuse to make ice cream?  I will make a lot of ice cream.  It will be vegan (no dairy, no eggs, no other animal products- ha) and gluten-free.  It will contain something out of our garden.  It will be sweet but low on common sugars, sugar-less if possible.  It will be relatively low-fat meaning that I won't be using nut purees as the primary base and will likely opt out of using full-fat coconut milk, yummy as it is.  Most of all, it must be creamy and absolutely delicious.... here is the first attempt at the above. INGREDIENTS 2 1/2 C. Almond or other non-Dairy Milk 2 1/2 C. Frozen Mango Chunks (I buy the organic brand at Costco) 1 T. Arrowroot Powder (or Tapioca Starch or Oat Starch) 1 T. Vanilla (in Alcohol) 2 T. Maple Syrup 1 very ripe avocado Berry syrup or Jam, your choice (I used blackberry jam made with stevia) METHOD Combine all ...