A friend reminded me today that I had not been posting on this blog for some time. I have been so wrapped up in working on food access issues here in the urban core of Kansas City, that I have neglected to share my food life of late.
Summer is nearly over and the horrible heat of July/August is behind us. I can't cook in that weather. I got a window A/C unit so I could cool off the kitchen in order to make a salad or smoothie! But now the oven can come on, the stove can be fired up, and food served warm can be done. Today I had a food hodgepodge.
I juiced after my morning walk of 2.5 miles. I have a juicer and throw in carrots, cucumber, celery, tomato, and apples. Then I throw the juice in the blender with ice and add my Spirulina powder. I find that I cannot get it to infuse in liquid unless I use the blender. I always add a fruit to the veg juice to give it a little sweetness and to downplay any bitterness of the vegetables.
At lunch I decided to do brunch and create a breakfast meal. I pressed some extra firm tofu and added turmeric for color and pepper for flavor and made "eggs." I grated some potatoes and made hash "browns." I use air quotes there because I don't like to cook with oil and so something like fried potatoes are not fried and don't become brown and crispy. But they do turn out tasty with some spices or with salsa or ketchup added :) Finally, I prepared the veggie part of the meal with garlic, onion, fresh pablano chile pepper (mild), mushrooms, red bell pepper, and fresh corn. Served with salsa and it was yummy!
Late in the afternoon I tried a recipe for Kale "chips" that a friend posted on FB. I bought some fresh kale from a local urban garden on Saturday and left it out to dry out some. Then you cut it up as you wish (I think larger pieces including the stem are better). Toss in a ziplok bag with olive oil and seasoning. I used a bit of sea salt and minced some garlic that I had roasted in the oven the other day. Put the kale on a cooky sheet and put in a 425 degree oven for 8-15 minutes. Too much oil leads to burnt kale (my first batch). Watch carefully and at first hint of brown, take them out of the oven.
The texture is almost like ash when it hits your mouth. It practically disintegrates. But the flavor of the Kale is good and the seasoning was great for my taste (great fan of garlic!). You can't store the chips because if they regain moisture, they get soggy (like a potato chip. So you have to eat them all, lol.
I like kale raw and not cooked to death like a green with ham in a pot. Yuck. Raw is good in salad. Now I have another way to eat it.
An update on my biggest loser gym and fitness quest...
I failed at my gym program and my biggest loser effort. But failed just means I didn't do it in a way that I was able to succeed. So I have restructured my effort. I wasn't strong enough to use the gym equipment and was completely under-confident about using it. So I went to a more structured and monitored style of gym - Curves. This is a circuit exercise program just for women. The "gyms" have a dozen machines and you work on each one in 30 second intervals and then have a 30 second of running in place or other aerobic activity in between each machine. You work out for 30 minutes continuously and then have the option to do stretching or other exercises at the end - which I do. It works every muscle group in your body and I have already seen results! It is increasing my core strength to the point that I can take up yoga again :) I also am able to walk in the parks here (now that the 100+ days are gone) and use Runkeeper to take me on a 2.5 mile walk. If you walk or jog or run - try the Runkeeper app on your smart phone. It coaches you as you walk and links to your music playlist. At some point I hope to outgrow Curves and return to a regular gym. But for now, it is just what I need.
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