In the absence of an actual post

You may have noticed, dear Accidental Epi fans, that I have been lacking in the blog posts. I'm sorry to disappoint but I've succumb to the virus that I've been fighting off for a while and have been a bit busy at work, both things keeping me from writing on this here blog. I'm sorry to say there will be no recipe of the week or menu planning for this week. But don't you worry, little darlings! I'll be back soon with the food of the week. What do you think it will be? Talk amongst yourselves.

To keep you entertained until my next post, I will pass the buck on to other bloggers.

• How about giving away fetus cookies for holiday gifts?
• Some ideas for your Thanksgiving leftovers.
• Avocados, Avocados, Avocados! (And no, I am not linking to this post just because my blog was referenced in it. Although I do feel a bit like a celebrity. Avocados are a higher priority in my life than fame. If that seems to you in any way sad or wrong, I pose one question to you. Have you ever eaten an avocado?!?!?!?)

Recipe of the week: Southwestern Style Quinoa

Recently I had lunch at a place called 'sNice here in Brooklyn. It was soon after I chose quinoa for food of the week, so their quinoa dish with beans, corn and avocado caught my attention. While eating it I thought a) that it was tasty and b) that I could probably make it on my own. So, I did. It wasn't exactly the same, but it was also good.

Southwestern Style Quinoa
2 Cups Prepared Quinoa

8 ounces Black Beans

5 ounces corn

1 Avocado

1/2 Small Red Onion, sliced

1/2 Medium Lime

Few tsp of Chili Powder

Few Tsps Olive Oil

Mix 1/2 Avocado, small queeze of lime (don't use it all) and olive oil until it is a sauce consistency. Put aside.

Mix the quinoa, beans, corn, onions and sliced avocado with a splash of lime and some chili powder.

Mix in or put on the side the Avocado-lime sauce.

The dish at 'sNice also had greens, I cannot remember if it was spinach or some kind of lettuce. I didn't use it in my recipe, but it could be easily added.

Recipe of the week: Burrito Bar Options

You may have a noticed a brief absence of posts last week. I did not post a food of the week or a wine of choice. Forgive me, I had family in town and was having way too much fun to stop and blog! The good thing is that, out of all of my family fun, comes some yummy recipes for the blog this week!

My mom, sister and I decided one night while they were here to cook at home. With no shortage of activities in NYC, a quiet night at home was a nice break. We considered many options for dinner, including a tasty turkey meatloaf, but ultimately decided on having a burrito bar! (Yes, admittedly I got the idea from Rachel Ray, but we didn't end up using any of her recipes). So here's what we made.

Chicken with taco seasoning

Refried Black Beans

AvoSalsa (see recipe below)

Mango Salso (see recipe below)

Apple Ginger Salsa (see recipe below)

Lettuce

Sour Cream

Shredded Cheese

That's a lot of fillings to choose from! We felt that we needed some avocado, so we used this recipe from Avocado.org.

AvoSalsa
2 ripe medium California avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
1 large ripe tomato, diced
¼ Cup finely chopped red onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 large lime
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp salt

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!

I then got two salsa recipes from my friend, Elizabeth. The first was a tasty mango salsa, that I mentioned in a previous post. The second, was a peach and ginger salsa. When I asked Elizabeth for the recipes to her salsas, this was her reply:

HAHAHAHA. Recipe?????

I think it was a pull things out of my fridge sort of deal, as usual. Chopped mango, bell pepper, red onions or sweet white onions....something like that. You can also do it with tomatoes, but they make it more watery--I think mine was without because there were tomatoes in the taco filling already.

My other favorite is ginger peach salsa--you can do it with nectarines, too--cube peaches, and stir in finely chopped ginger, chili, and sweet red onion (you can leave that out as well)...add a dash of cinnamon, voila! And if you have mealy peaches that don't ripen, you can cook them down and then add the other ingredients at the end.

We ended up making an apple and ginger salsa instead, because a) we forgot to buy peaches at the grocery store and b) we had gone apple picking and had TONS of apples. I would like to try the 2nd slasa with peaches. Both salsas were great, but the apple and ginger had a bit of a kick to it.

Of course, I couldn't decide between the salsas for my burrito, so I piled them all on. Each bite of the burrito had a different flavor. Now that's how a burrito should be done!

Recipe of the week: Cranberry-Walnut Salad and a Sweet Stir Fry

I did a full day sit at my zendo this past Saturday. Mindfulness and meditation from 9am-5pm. I very much enjoy these extended sits, although they can be challenging. One of the great things about such prolonged mindfulness is my heightened appreciation of food. Of course, during this time we do have to take some time to eat. When we do, we eat in silence, paying close attention to the action of eating. It’s amazing how the taste of food can actually seem different. It’s no wonder that I always eat healthier foods at this time. Last Saturday we were told to bring our own lunch. I took a sandwich with organic peanut butter and a pineapple-mango jam. It’s amazing how during these sits, the taste of a pb & j sandwich is just wonderful. Combined with the savory vegetable chips I ate, it hit the spot.

No matter how long I sit, whether it’s 40 minutes or throughout an 8 hour period, my mind wanders to food at some point. While I try to use my practice and let thoughts come and go, I usually take a few minutes to entertain my thoughts about what I will be eating afterward (I do this in yoga too). Not exactly the ideal practice, but I just really like food! Anyway, last Saturday I thought about making a yummy dinner that was influenced by my practice. I decided on two dishes that were not entirely fancy or new, but met my desires at the time.

Cranberry-Walnut Salad
There’s something about dressing covered lettuce after a day in the refrigerator, making leftovers even better.
1 Head of Romaine Lettuce, chopped
½ can of walnuts
½ package craisins
1 avocado, sliced
¼ small red onion, sliced
A few teaspoons of your favorite vinaigrette

Toss all ingredients in a bowl until it is lightly covered with the dressing.
(This will make about 3-4 small servings)

Sweet Stir Fry
½ lb chicken breast, cubed
¼ small red onion
1 small can green beans
4-5 tablespoons store-bought marinade, I used a peach-apricot marinade
2 servings, cooked brown rice

Mix 1-2 tablespoons marinade and raw chicken in a sandwich bag for a few minutes. Brown the chicken and sauté red onion in a skillet. Add the green beans and remaining marinade to skillet and cook for about 5-10 minutes.

Eat the marinade mixture over brown rice. (This made 2 servings for me, yea leftovers!)

A nice glass of a French Syrah was a great pairing for this tasty dinner. Okay, this might not have been the best observance of my practice, but it went so well with the dinner. Actually, wine tastes so much better to me after zazen or yoga. I am much more receptive to all of the intricate flavors.

Food of the week: Avocado

Food of the week: Avocado

The Avocado, while most would admit is seriously delicious – and they would be correct, has gotten a bad rap for having a lot of fat. But I’m here to debunk the anti-avocadoists and spread the truth about these wonders of the earth.

Benefits:

• The avocado is high in fat, but get over it! The majority of the fats are healthy fats and have nutritional benefits.


• Not only do avocados have no cholesterol, making them the single most healthy way to get good fats in your diet, they also contain oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that may help to lower cholesterol.


• They are digested slowly, which is great for sustained energy in athletes.


• Avocados are great for babies due to their consistency and nutrients that help the development of the central nervous system and the brain. (Smart babies eat avocados!)


• Avocados contain nearly 20 vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, including 4% of the recommended Daily Value (DV) for vitamin E, 4% vitamin C, 8% folate, 4% fiber, 2% iron, 4% potassium, with 81 micrograms of lutein and 19 micrograms of beta-carotene. These things help to fight against high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and even breast cancer.


• Avocados help you lose weight by reducing saturated fat in the diet (when they are consumed in place of saturated-fat containing foods).


• Avocados are grown in California, a warm and sunny climate. Eating avocados remind us of warm and sunny times.
  

Drawbacks:

• They are so delicious that you will want to eat lots of them, and although there are lots of benefits, they are still high in fat and calories. Like everything, they are best when eaten in moderation, with a balanced diet.


• I cannot think of one other drawback of the avocado.
  

Ways to eat avocados:
How do I love avocados? Let me count the ways…

• I add them to almost any salad I make.


• Um, guacamole!


• Slice up some avocado, red onions and tomatoes, and then drizzle on some of your favorite salad dressing or olive oil and spices. Or just eat it dry, it’s good that way too.


• A sandwich with avocado makes a yummy lunch. Here are some ideas: ALT (with lettuce and tomato); turkey lunch meat, cucumber and avocado; mix mashed up avocado as a replacement for mayo in tuna salad; mix with lemon juice and a dash of tobasco sauce for a sandwich spread and use instead of mayo.


• A lovely garnish to many dishes (see my taco dip recipe below)
  

Little known facts:

• Although the avocado is commonly eaten like a vegetable, it is actually a fruit.


• You can grow your own avocado tree from the seed of your eaten avocado. Who knew?


• To ripen an avocado, put it in a brown paper bag with a banana (it speeds up the ripening process) at room temperature.