Goji Berries, The Himalayan Superfood

A couple of readers asked me about Goji berries. I'd assumed that Goji berries were fairly common, hmm...guess I was wrong, my bad.
So here's a couple of facts about this awesome bright red colored berry.

Goji berries (also known as wolfberries) are a bright orange-red berry that comes from an Himalayan tree.
In Asia, goji berries have been eaten for generations.
In fact, goji berries have been used for over 6,000 years by herbalists in China, Tibet and India to: Protect the liver, help eyesight, improve sexual function and fertility, boost immune function, improve circulation and promote longevity.
Goji berries can be eaten raw, cooked or dried. They taste like a vibrant blend of berries, they have mild tangy taste with a mild sweet and sour aftertaste.
Hidden within its ruby pigment is the magic that makes it nature’s perfect energy fruit. Goji berries are actually packed with antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids.

Caramelized Cauliflower and Sauteed Kale Casserole

This is the kind of dish I typically make on a Sunday night while watching football.
Other dudes drink beer, and shout at the screen while munching popcorn, nachos or pretty much anything they can get their hands on while watching football. I can’t do it.
First off I can’t sit still for too long (oh yeah, I’m the worst person to go to the movies with!)
Plus during football games there's a ton of commercial breaks; and I hate commercial breaks.
Being passively bombarded by innumerable ads won’t do it for me; I need a distraction.
But, most of all, Sundays are valuable to me.
It’s when I get to do things I don’t have time to do during the week.
Nothing transcendental - nothing like bringing world peace to the world - more like doing ordinary chores.

(Paleo) Choc Chip Mini Muffins

So I bought a mini muffin tin a while back. I want to make these mini frittatas baked in a muffin tin I’ve keep seeing all over Pinterest.
Except that...I never made them.
Thing is, when I’m in the mood for frittata I usually grab a frying pan, crack a couple of eggs, add some sauteed veggies and voilà, the frittata is served.
It doesn’t even cross my mind to preheat the oven, grease a muffin tin and bake the frittatas in the oven.

Dark Chocolate Bark With Sea Salt and Superfoods

I’m such a sucker for dark chocolate. It’s probably the one thing I could never walk away from.
The bitter bite with the subtle sweetness is IMHO the perfect combo. Add some coarse salt, crunch and dried berries and then you’ve got me hooked.
I’ve started making my own chocolate back a couple of years ago.
I wanted a chocolate bark with salt and almond and goji berries and hemp seeds. Yes, all of these things in one bark and (obviously) no mass market brand made it so I made my own. Easy.

The Amazing Health Benefits of Hemp Seeds

I’m so late to the hemp seeds party, I know.
Better late than never though.
It’s been over two years that I keep hearing about hemp seeds (and, in particular about their amazing health benefits) but never bothered looking into them.
It's time to make amends...

What are hemp seeds?

Hemp seeds are the seeds of Cannabis sativa. Technically a nut, hemp seeds contain over 30% oil and about 25% protein, with considerable amounts of dietary fibers and minerals.
Hemp seeds have been documented as a source of food throughout recorded history. For instance, hemp seed oil has been used as a food/medicine in China for at least 3,000 years.

Roasted Garlic Purple Mashed Potatoes

Let’s be completely real people, the turkey + mashed potatoes + pie combo gets a little old after the 30th year in a row.
So this year I suggest you give your Thanksgiving table a fresh new look, adding a Lady Gaga/emo/psychedelic touch by serving purple mashed potatoes instead of regular yellow mashed potatoes.
Something that looks unusual, but tastes like the regular stuff (well, it actually tastes better.)
Because you don’t want just another Thanksgiving; this year you want an off-the-charts and always-to-be-remembered Thanksgiving.
And serving purple mashed potatoes might do it after all.
These are purple, bright purple, a tad weird purple mashed potatoes - they won't go unnoticed for sure.
And believe me when I say that these purple mashed potatoes are going to be THE showstopper; like having Gaga landing in the center of your table singing "Can't read my, can't read my. No you can't read my poker face"...that kind of weird.
Oh, just to clear the air, Lady Gaga is not my cup of tea, I just wanted to give you an idea of what you're in for.
E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E will remember Thankgiving 2013 at your house, even years from now. Promise.

30-Minute Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)

Oh yeah this was good. Really good.
I don’t know why, but I haven’t made this recipe in a while.
It was passed to me by my friend Namrata. She used to whip it up all the time when we were in school.
Late at night, after a long day of studying in the library; instead of ordering in, she would fire up the stove and cook this for the whole crew. With just some rice and greens on the side.
A perfect dinner.
Tasty, comforting, flavorful, full of nuances but not too strong. Everybody loved it.
Namrata’s butter chicken quickly became legendary on campus, and in no time people were showing up “in the nick of time” for dinner asking “Can I join?”
Carpetbaggers...

Sweet Potato Latke Turkey Burger (aka Thanksgivukkah Burger)

People, this year Thanksgiving and Hanukkah happen on the same day.
On November 28, 2013, for the first time in a long time, the first day of Hanukkah falls on the same day as Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving + Hanukkah = Thanksgivukkah. (Yes, it’s like Sharknado all over again.)
To be precise, this happened once before, in 1888, and will happen at least two more times, in 2070 and 2165.
Since I’m not sure if I’ll make it to 2070, I say let’s take this once in a lifetime opportunity and cook the hell out of this 2013 Thanksgivukkah.
And eat it, A-L-L-!
I know...I get carried away by these “once in a lifetime” events.
Last year - for instance - I made a big fuss about the 12-12-12 day, but then none of my friends cared. Bummer.
But this Thanksgivukkah, I am NOT letting this one slip away.
I don’t care if I’m not Jewish, I love the idea of combining two traditions into one. If for no other reasons that it can be an awesome learning experience.

Bacon, Mashed Potato and Kale Cakes

I like a good old challenge here and there.
I don’t talk about stuff like riding the back of a shark or surf a lava wave or be hurled through the air by a human catapult.
I talk about small ‘everyday’ challenges that make life less boring.
Such as making my 10-year old niece eat kale.
A once sworn enemy to any food green in color (including green M&M’s); Niece has recently started eating salad, and last summer I even convinced her to taste avocado (a beautiful love story today).
So last week, I had an epiphany: I must coerce her to eat kale. Period.

Mushroom Polenta Pizza

We eat a lot of corn, America.
I am not talking corn on the cob rubbed with a little butter, salt and pepper, popcorn in huge tubs at the movie theater, or the occasional tortilla chips.
Corn sneaks into our diet in very unexpected ways and in very surprising amounts.
If you have read Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, you know that, for instance, 93% of the hamburger meat that ends up at your table is derived from corn. Cows are fed a steady diet of grains (corn in particular) while on the farm, and they convert that corn into meat.
It’s not only through the meat that we eat corn, most of the corn we consume comes in the form high fructose corn syrup.
A sweetener that “‘hides” in most processed food, such as sodas, sauces and salad dressing, breads, breakfast cereals and bars, and processed snacks.
OK, that is not straight corn (as in kernel corn straight off the cob) but it’s still corn.
And is this bad? Well, the overwhelming majority of corn used for animal feed and corn byproducts (such as high fructose corn syrup) is field corn and it’s mostly genetically modified.
Although the body of researches supporting the notion that ‘GMO is not good for us’ is pretty slim; GMO products are banned in 26 countries around the world (including all of the European Union).
And that alone is for me enough of a reason to avoid it.
Now you’re free to ask: Why this brief lecture on GMO corn dude?
Because today we’re making polenta, and polenta is made of corn(meal) and water. Mkay?
But, but, but, the corn used to make polenta is not ‘field corn’, it’s ‘sweet corn’ and it is NOT GMO.
In other words my friends, we shall not fear eating some corn on the cob or some polenta. Sodas, candies, snack bars, breakfast cereals, etc are the sneaky ones; so watch for those (and also eat only grass-fed meat!)