Spinach CheeseTacos

March 23rd, 2007 Gennaro Brooks-Church

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Cooks for: 2

Ingredients:
A large bunch of fresh spinach
Corn Tortillas
250 grams of a grated or thinly sliced cheese that melts well
Gralic
Olive oil

Instructions:
Fill a large pot or container with cold water. Cut the ends off the spinach. Wash the spinach in the pot, letting the dirt sink to the bottom. Pull the spinach out of the water and dry it (either in a salad spinner or with a towel, it doesn't have to be perfect).

Put six corn tortillas either in a pan or in the oven to warm. You don't need to cook them, just get them warm.

Cut up two cloves of garlic and put into a large pot with two tablespoons of olive oil. Cook until garlic is almost brown on the edges.

Put the spinach into the pot and cover for three minutes max. Add a pinch of salt and stir gently every 30 seconds. Spinach cooks REALLY fast so be careful not to overcook.

Lay three tortillas on each plate and put lots of cheese on them. Quickly drain the spinach and put the hot spinach evenly over the cheese so the cheese melts. The trick is to do this quickly so everything is hot and the cheese melts nicely.

Drizzle a little olive oil and sprinkle salt/pepper.

Curl the tortillas in half and eat with your hands. It gets messy. Enjoy the mess.

Broccolli rabe, smoked tofu, tomato sauce

March 23rd, 2007 Gennaro Brooks-Church

Cooking time: 15 minutes
Cooks for: 3/4
Ingredients:
A large bunch of broccoli rabe-rappini
227 grams of Baked tofu (I used Garlic Herb Italian baked tofu by White Water)
450 grams of tomato sauce (I used 2/3rds of a jar of Roasted Garlic tomato sauce by Classico Traditional Favorites)
one onion
olive oil

Instructions:
Cut onion and place in pan with five tablespoons of olive oil. Cook about two minutes until onion is almost transparent and ever so slightly brown on edges.

Meanwhile wash broccoli rabe and shake excess water off. Cut into 1/2 inch slices and put into pot along with bite sized cubes of tofu and tomato sauce. Stir and cover for 10 minutes on low heat.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil on top and salt and pepper.

Note: Broccoli rabe is a bitter green so this dish is not for everyone. However, if you are lacking in the many nutrients broccoli rabe has you might be ravenous for this meal.

Paneer, Chickpeas, Tomato Sauce

March 20th, 2007 Gennaro Brooks-Church

Cooking time: 10 minutes
Cooks for: 2 (although I ate the whole dish)
Ingredients:
One medium onion
227 grams of Paneer (I used a product that doesn't seem to have a brand name. It says “Paneer traditional Indian Cooking”. It is omported by Long Clawson Dairy Ltd)
427 grams of cooked Chickpeas, aka Garbanzo Beans (by Eden Organic)
680 grams of tomato sauce (I used Garden vegetable by Seeds of Change. It has nice chunks of vegetables)
olive oil
cilantro or parsley (optional)

Instructions:
Put four table spoons of olive oil in a pan and stir the diced onion in on high heat for two minutes. Lower to medium heat and put into the pan the Paneer cut into bite sized cubes.
Cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in 340 grams of tomato sauce (half the bottle). Cook for three minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with chopped fresh cilantro or parsley and a nice drizzle of more olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cocal Cola - A Great Toilet Cleaner

March 17th, 2007 Gennaro Brooks-Church

These are funny facts about Coca Cola. If you are on this site there is a high chance you know Coke is not good for you. These facts aren't to help you use Coke creatively but rather to show you it makes no sense to put it into your body. That isn't news to me. What amazes me is how damaging it actually is and how popular coke is in the world. It makes no sense to me or my body. It's like smoking - How can you be so out of touch with your body to abuse it in that way?

#1. In many states the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.

#2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.

#3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the “real thing” sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes
stains from vitreous china.

#4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

#5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.

#6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

#7… To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke into the load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

#1. the active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. It will dissolve a nail in about four days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major
contributor to the rising increase of osteoporosis.

#2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup! (the concentrate) the commercial trucks must use a hazardous Material place cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.

#3. The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean the engines of the trucks for about 20 years!

Water and Dehydrated people

March 17th, 2007 Gennaro Brooks-Church

i got this info from a friend who studies water a lot. My apologies for not supplying the sources of these statistics.

#1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.
(Likely applies to half the world population.)

#2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak
that it is mistaken for hunger. Thus they eat instead, causing further dehydration and weight problems.

#3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%, creating issues for bodily functions such as blood cirulation, digestion and mental clarity.

#4. One glass of water eliminated midnight hunger pangs
for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of
Washington study.

#5. Studies have shown that lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

#6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day can significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

#7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or a printed page.

#8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

Are you drinking the amount of water you should drink every day? Is the water of high quality?

Baby Broccoli, Smoked Tofu, Peanut Sauce, Bifun Noodles

March 16th, 2007 Gennaro Brooks-Church

Cooking time: 7 minutes
Cooks for: 2
Ingredients:
Baby Broccoli, aka Brocolini (or else use normal Broccoli - but it's not the same)
Smoked Tofu (I used Baked Tofu Teriyaki by Wild Wood Organics)
100 grams of Bifun wheat free pasta (I used Bufun by Eden Selected)
1/3rd Cup Thai Peanut Dressing (I used natural and MSG free by JES. It's ok but has corn syrup. I'd like to find a better one)
olive oil

Instructions:
Put hot water on the stove to boil.
Put three table spoons of olive oil in a pan, cut broccolini and tofu into bite sized pieces and stir into olive oil. Pour 1/3rd cup of peanut dressing over it and cover pan for 5 minutes on medium heat.

While you are waiting, put the Bifun into the heating water (no need to wait for boiling). Test to make sure the noodles are al dente in two or three minutes. Drain noodles.

Put the tofu and brocolini onto your places and put noodles on top. Eat!

Notice you did no cooking! You just heated the stuff up. I love that.

Tofu, zucchini, noodles, Hoisin sauce

March 16th, 2007 Gennaro Brooks-Church

Cooking time: 10 minutes
Cooks for: 3
Ingredients:
Smoked tofu (Tofu Lin tofu by Soy Boy)
onion
1/2 pound zucchini
garlic
olive oil
Hoisin sauce (by China Bowl Select)
100 grams of Bifun noodles (by Eden Select)

Instructions:
Cut two cloves of garlic and one small onion and put into pat with three table spoons of heating olive oil. Stir until onions are transparent.
Put in 1/2 Pound of zucchini sliced into bite sized pieces and five ounces of tofu (half a ten ounce pack), cut into bite size cubes. Add four tablespoons of hoisin sauce.
Cook for nine minutes, stirring every thirty seconds.
Meanwhile, put some hot water on the stove on high temperature and add the noodles right away. Check to see they are al dente in two to three minutes. Drain.
When the zucchini and tofu has cooked for nine minutes throw in the drained noodles and stir around for a short minute.
Serve. Eat.

Oats, Milk, Nuts and Mandarin Oranges

March 15th, 2007 Gennaro Brooks-Church

Cooking time: 15 minutes
Cooks for: 2
Ingredients:
Two handfuls of steel cut oats
A handful of raw cashew nuts
Small can of peeled mandarin oranges (Geisha brand)
Milk

Instructions:
Put three cups of milk and two handfuls of oats into a pot and cook for 10 minutes on medium, stirring every 30 seconds. Turn off heat. Put a handful of cashews. Let sit for 5 minutes. Serve with lots of peeled mandarin oranges on top. Eat.

This one lends itself to lots of variation. Instead of mandarin oranges you can put a handful of raisins at the same time as the cashews.

Corn Tortillas, Cheese, Avocado, Cilantro

March 15th, 2007 Gennaro Brooks-Church

Cooking time: 5 minutes
Cooks for: as many as you want
Ingredients:
Corn Tortillas
Avocado
Cheese
Cilantro
Olive oil
Salt

Instructions:
Place the corn tortilla on a pan and slices of cheese on top of it. Sprinkle a few drops of water in the pan to create steam. Cover and cook on low heat one minute or until cheese melts.

Put slices of avocado, lots of chopped cilantro, a sprinkle of olive oil and some salt on top of the melted cheese. Eat. This dish is as old as South America.

Staples I Can't Live Without

March 14th, 2007 Gennaro Brooks-Church

This is a growing list of things I always have in my kitchen (all organic and fresh of course):

Raw Walnuts
Raisins
Bragg's Liquid Amino Acid (tastes like soy sauce)
Olive oil
Rock Salt
Umeboshi Plums (I pop one in my mouth once in a while)
Baby Carrots
Fresh Ginger
Garlic
Onions
Cumin Powder and Fennel Seeds (what cumin comes from)
Dried Oregano