Beautiful Infused Waters

14 Beautiful Infused Waters To Drink Instead Of Soda

Make each with 6 cups of water and ice. Recommended to make in the evening and let sit overnight for stronger flavor. Or, if short on time, prepared and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

You can also muttle your fruits and herbs to intensify flavoring.

Healthy, hydrating, and homemade.

1. Strawberry, Lemon, & Basil                                         2. Orange & Blueberry

                                                               

4-6 strawberries, hulled and cut                                               2 oranges, cut into wedges

1/2 lemon, sliced                                                          a handful of blueberries
Small handful of basil, scrunched 

3. Watermelon & Mint                                                      4. Citrus & Cucumber

                                                       

1 cup cubed watermelon                                             2 large oranges, sliced              

1 handful of mint leaves                                            1 lemon, sliced

                                                                                   ½ large cucumber, sliced

                                                                                   1 handful of fresh mint

5. Strawberry, Lime, & Cucumber                                      6. Citrus & Cilantro

                                                              

1 cup sliced strawberries                                                    1 orange sliced

1 cup sliced cucumbers                                                      ¼ cup cilantro leaves

2 limes, sliced

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

7. Rosemary &Grapefruit                                                   8. Blueberry & Lavender

                                    

half a grapefruit sliced                                                                    1/2 pint blueberries

several sprigs of rosemary                                              couple of springs of Lavender Flowers

9. Cantaloupe, Honey & Mint                                             10. Kiwi & Cucumber

                                                         

1 cup sliced cantaloupe                                                6 kiwis, peeled, sliced

1 tsp honey                                                                   1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded

Handful of mint leaves

11. Honeydew, Lime & Raspberry                                   12. Grapes & Pineapple

                          

1 cup honeydew, cubed                                                      1 cup pineapple

½ lime, sliced                                                                     ½ grapes, sliced

Handful of raspberries

13. Apples & Cinnamon                                                    14. Mango & Ginger

                                   

1 apple, thinly sliced                                          1 in Ginger Root, peeled, sliced
1 cinnamon stick                                                1 cup fresh or frozen Mango

Turn Winter Blues into Colorful Hues

Early February, cold and blustery, is often a time of year I hear from people in a winter "funk".  While these individuals aren't suffering from Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD), they are none the less suffering.  And yes, suffering is part of the human experience.  But I'd like to investigate why these people are feeling this way and find some remedies.

Aside from the obvious, less day light, frigid temperatures, heck even the aftermath of a jubilant holiday season, it is not uncommon for people to find themselves unhappy in early winter.   A lack of physical activity, possibly the intake of heavier meals, and an overall feeling of being inhibited no doubt is frustrating.

To assist myself in not feeling this way, there are a couple of things that I do.

1. Walk the dog.  Dogs can handle the weather better than we can.  And in fact, they prefer to get the activity than to not.

2. Daily yoga.  OK, maybe daily is stretching it- no pun intended.  But having yoga on my to-do list every day means that I usually get to it a few times a week.  Great for flexibility, stress reduction, cardio, and self worth.

3. Open the shades!  The sun is out there even if it is winter.  I try to get the most of the daylight each day when I can.

4. Eat lighter foods that are whole!  Winters used to be meatballs and pasta weather.  In our new adventure, lentil vegetable stews and vegetable egg stratas are taking over.

5. Spend more time in the kitchen.  Because we can't go out all the time in the winter, my daughter and I often find fun "projects" to do in the kitchen.  It could be baking a cake with sugar alternatives or cutting a rainbow of vegetables for an evening meal.

6. Do an art project.  My husband likes to paint.  My daughter likes to draw.  I'll do anything with the colors of the rainbow.  The process and the accomplishment of art activities help us to feel good even when we can't be outside:)

Monday Night Fare

Working from home had its advantages.  Namely, she worked her own hours.  Sometimes early mornings, sometimes late afternoon.  Other times she'd worked in the evening.  One thing was for sure, when she was in a zone and accomplished her work, the next thing up would always be something the kitchen.

On this particular day she had done the early morning work routine.  Although it sometimes saddened her  bit to lack more professional opportunities at her disposable, she still completed her professional tasks with care and concern.  And then with the time her situation allowed her to be free, she decided to prep up a dinner to die for.  Well, not exactly.  But it would be delicious, nutritious, and might even look pretty.

The menu was set:

Juicy Baked Turkey Burgers

Tangy Sweet Potato Fries

Baked Potato Halves (b/c the others in her family loved)

...and finished with 

Broccoli and a Lemon/Oil Emulsion

Now at 1:30 in the afternoon there is only so much you can do to prepare for dinner.  She did exactly that.  A quick rinse of the fresh broccoli her mother had brought her from the CSA and she had it cut up and in the steamer.  She slyly noted the freshness of the broccoli as condensation bubbled from the truck as the knife exposed the flesh.  

Next up, potatoes.  The potatoes were a cinch and therefore, she'd make them for the potato lovers in her family.  She, however, was a sweet potato woman.  The potatoes were dressed lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper.  The sweet potatoes, however, took much more time, effort and energy.  After rinsing the large tubers, she sliced off four sides of each one, making the sweet potato flat on all four sides.  Then she proceeded to cut them, first in centimeter slices, then in long strips making them look like a French fry.  

The orange delights were put into a large mixing bowl topped with salt, pepper, fresh diced garlic and paprika.  She tossed the fries realizing she needed a bit more strength to get the job done.  This was something she learned through yoga, grounding her feet into the earth, she used her stability and core to power through the mixing of the sweet potatoes and spices.  She alternated with her non-dominate hand to double the challenge and get her other side interacting in this feat.  Finally she drizzled the olive oil, which made the mixing smoother to her delight.

Ground turkey.  Hrrrumph.  How would she make this something the three of them would enjoy? She thought a long time, googled turkey burgers to see the world wide web's takes on these lean patties. Eventually, she designed a plan for preparing the meat on her own.  She would mix the meat with a plethora of tasty ingredients and then make patties to bake.  The thought of some homemade guacamole to top her burgers seemed lovely.  An idea for later...

It was a nutritious dinner that even her child would enjoy.  Lots of flavors and colors and fabulousness.  To see recipes for each menu item, see following posts.

Quick Kale Soup

SCROLL DOWN FOR RECIPE OR ENJOY A PAGE OUT OF THIS STORY…..

Mid October was when she started dressing in layers.  The entrance of cold somehow bit her at the core and she was already striving for warmth even before the winter approached.  Having cleaned up and dressed in comfort, she decided to brew up a warm soup for her midday sustenance.  The kale had now been sitting in the refrigerator for over 2 weeks.  She couldn't bring herself to dispose of it. So precious in nutrients, born of the land, the kale must be eaten.

And that was that.  Into the kitchen she found herself preparing the raw vegetables that would encompass her soup di giorno (or du jour); Italian or French, whatever suits your fancy.  She started with dicing the onion just a quarter of a Vidalia and let that begin to sauté in some olive oil as she quickly washed the kale, massaged it, drained it and chopped it.  Next, 3 cloves of garlic were peeled for the press.  A last minute addition came as she opened the fridge and searched for any hot ideas: asparagus (out of season but something she was drawn to at the store- a longing).  

Into the onions after 3 minutes by themselves, she added the garlic and stirred.  Garlic is delicate and therefore she would only sauté it for 30 seconds.  The kale was ready and dumped in with enough oil from the beginning to cover the greens gently.  She tossed the vegetable mixture together then added a splash of Pinot Grigio and listened to the sizzle.  About a minute later the liquids were added with one part broth and three parts water.  Her friend had given her some Korean red mahtjang sauce (it is miso with Korean red pepper), which she added a few large spoons of and stirred into the liquidly, vegetable mixture.  She topped it off with a shake of sesame oil, soy sauce and a few dashes of salt.  There.  Lunch.  Yum she thought, although as she leaned over the bubbling brew to get a whiff, the scent was not enticing nor promising as it only smelled of raw kale.

At home in the kitchen, her easel, her medium, her art - she lowered the heat down to a light simmer, stirring once more and then covered.  She walked away with a sense that everything would come together in time.  And she was actually a little excited to see how it came out.  She let it cooked for 20 minutes.  

What she made was a masterpiece.

The smell had morphed into a deliciousness she couldn't explain.  The asparagus was tender and the kale was enlivened.  The golden brown sautéed onions added a sweetness to the taste.

Another lovely afternoon of caring for herself, practicing her art and making a concoction that was healthy and pleasant, extremely pleasant, to her palette. 

Quick Kale Soup

servings 2

2 T olive oil

1/4 sweet onion, diced

3 small garlic cloves

one bunch of kale

about 7 asparagus stalks

1 T white wine

1 cup broth

3 cups water

3 T red mahtjang (miso) sauce

1 t sesame oil

1 T soy sauce

1/4 t salt

1. Prep all vegetables first.  Chop onions, peel garlic, rinse and chop kale, rinse and snap asparagus. 

2. Warm oil in pot.  Add onions and sauté 3-4 minutes, until golden brown.  Crush in garlic and cook for 30 seconds.   Add kale and tossed to get all leaves lightly coated with oil.

3. Splash in white wine and cook for 1 minute.  Then add in all liquids.  Stir gently.

4.  Add in remaining ingredients, stir again, lower heat so that the soup is at a light simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

5.  Enjoy!

Braciole

Its just another Wednesday evening.  Work went fine.  Pretty easy livin'.  The most daunting thought that lingers is simply what to have for dinner.  As a perfectionist in some striking ways, she relishes in the fantastical thoughts where she creates a masterpiece to serve each night.  And truth be told, mostly she does this with ease and enjoyment.  Still...none of this answers the question: what will she have for dinner tonight?




The chicken thighs were taken out of the fridge early that morning in anticipation of 'something' for dinner.  At around 6pm when she realized nourishment was going to be a necessity for herself and her family, a light bulb glowed above her head.  BRACIOLE (pronounced bra-sh-Ole) is an Italian American dish that originated from Sicily, Italy.  The concept is the same:  thin pieces of meat layered with a mixture of cheeses, spices, bread crumbs, prosciutto, pine nuts, well, whatever it is you fancy you can add in yourself.


So there it was: bracciole, that's what she would have for dinner.  Her childhood memories of bracciole are quite nostalgic and at the same time different from what she was about to embark on this evening.  And here she took a brief pause to remember the past.  Growing up, her family made braciole with beef and a light stuffing mixture of grating cheese, herbs and spices, and the few with raisins too.  They were rolled up, tied with thread, and cooked in the sauce.


Tonight's dinner is a twist on the old way...


BRACIOLE DI POLLO
serving size 6


1-1.5 pounds of chicken thighs, boneless
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/4 cup grating cheese
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
1 t parsley
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t basil
1/4 t salt
dashes of pepper
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 eggs, beaten well
1/4 olive oil
1 c cooked spinach, chopped


1 lb. spaghetti, boiled as per package instructions, dash of salt added to water
2 cups tomato sauce


Directions:
To begin gently lay the thighs out and place them between two sheets of wax paper.  Then thin out.  She started by rolling with a rolling pin but when that proved challenging, she used the end of a rolling pin as a mallet and gently but with strength, thinned the chicken.  Lay on plate, set aside.




Picture compliments of Mario Batali stuffed chicken legs braciole di pollo.
Cook the spinach and preheat the oven to 450.


Then to the mixture.  Its a stuffing, find your own flavor.  Here's what she did.  She mixed the bread crumbs with the finely grated cheeses.  Then the spices were added and the mixture tossed to blend well.  Next the crushed garlic and then the eggs.  She ended with a few heavy splashes of olive oil, for taste, moisture, health, and vitality!  Lastly the spinach was blended in well.


The mixture gets layered on top of each piece of chicken.  It should be about 1 cm deep and pushed in gently to create a unified bond to itself and the chicken.  She covered each piece of chicken with the mixture and then individually rolled each up, spiraling the chicken and the stuffing, creating a delectable union of tastes and a visually stimulating sacred spiral.  Each was tied with two pieces of twine, knotted for security.  A few pieces of chicken had broken off during the meat thinning debacle and now she used those strays to patch up areas on her braciole that needed covering.


A lightly oiled pan cooks these nicely.  They were laid in and then the extra mixture was used to top them.  This time a thin light stream of olive was dashed twice over of each braciole.


She baked them for 38 minutes.  Once in, the meal felt quite easy and was quickly unfolding into effortless success.  


 Last would be to boil pasta water and cook the spaghetti.


With a fire in the woodstove and her daughter next to her doing her school work, this woman could revel in more peacefaul, fulfilling moments of her life. She curled up in the papasson chair and jumped into her current love affair, a book she got for Christmas, The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides.  Braciole, just the sound of it seems complicated and time consuming and wonderful all in one breath.  But alas, things aren't always what the seem.

The 20 minutes of reading, the quick dinner, it all seemed so perfect.


But wait...


Let's finish this recipe.


She let the chicken bracciole sit for a few minutes, then placed them on a plate and left the hot baking dish on the stove top.  She mixed the 2 cups of sauce into the pan to heat it up.  Then the spaghetti was thrown in and mixed.  Lastly the chicken braciole were sliced and laid on top of the spaghetti covering the dish with their sprials, and offering an image and contemplative idea about creation and growth, as spirals symbolize, and the comfort of food as the palate was revered and satisfied.

And the leftovers the next day....divine. In the end, another masterful meal was created as art.

Honey Tofu Stir Fry

With summer on the way, vegetables will become more local and present.  CSA pickups will be loaded with lettuces, spinach, bok choy and and more.  But to get my family to eat these nutritious leafy greens, I have to add a hint of sweetness to the meal.  That’s why I decided to sneak a little honey into my family’s dinner diet.

Honey is a sweet food given to this earth by bees.  Honey bees produce honey through a process of regurgitation and evaporation.  The bees leave their hives in search of flower nectar and sweet deposits from plants and trees.  They gather, modify, and store the nectar they collect in the honeycomb.  As a collective the bees return to their hives and pass the nectar onto the worker bees.   The worker bees, after chewing the nectar to continue to break down the enzymes, eventually spread the nectar throughout the honeycombs.  This is where the evaporation happens and the nectar, over time, becomes a thick syrup.

Local honey is something everyone should incorporate into their diet.  Because bees in your area are collecting nectar that contains the pollen you are ingesting, your local honey is a natural way for your body to develop an immunity to the pollen and its allergens. 

With nature’s treat in mind and the abundance of veggies, I made a tofu stir fry sweetened with a honey sauce.  This dish is a real crowd pleaser and jam-packed with nutritional goodness.

Tofu Stir Fry w/ Honey Soy Sauce                                                                       serves 5 as main meal

INGREDIENTS   

2 T. olive oil (or sesame)                                                         ¼ t. turmeric

½ onion, sliced thinly                                                               ¾ t. ginger

½ red pepper, 1 inch strips                                                      3 T. HONEY

3 carrots, 1 inch strips                                                             1 head baby bok choy, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced                                                           ½ lb. spinach leaves, chopped

1 T. rice wine vinegar                                                             1 cup broccoli, steamed, cut

¼ c. soy sauce                                                                       1 lb firm tofu

1/8 c. water                                                                           1 egg, scrambled

¼ t. cumin                                                                             1 package brown rice noodles, boiled 2 min

Instructions for meal creation:

1 – Preheat oven to 350. Cut tofu cube into approx. 8 slices ½ inch wide.  Lay slices in a lightly oiled baking dish and drizzle with soy sauce and honey (in addition to the amounts needed above).  Bake for 30 minutes.

2 – Meanwhile, use this time to do your prep work by preparing all of the vegetables.

3 – Scramble egg.  Put to side.

4 – Cook noodles.  Drain and toss with sesame oil.

5 – Begin meal completion.  Heat vegetable oil in large wok.  Start with sautéing onions, carrots, red peppers, and garlic.   Add rice vinegar, soy sauce and a bit of water. Toss well.

6 – Add honey, and veggies making sure to mix stir fry well.

7- Cut tofu into small cubes and add to stir fry.  Mix in scrambled eggs and noodles.  Coat all ingredients well.

8 – Serve and enjoy.

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**Visit the National Honey Board for more information on honey

http://www.honey.com/

Things aren't lost; they are misplaced.

Our days are so intense in the modern day with smart phones and emails and work and daily living, it's know wonder we seem to always be losing 'stuff': wallet, keys, the remote, a sweatshirt you know you have..

Imagine our ancestors’ lives, a bit simpler, perhaps slower, with less advancements in the ways of technology and communication.  To top if that, we have more stuff today then humans have had or processed in the past ever.

This is simply insight into the lifestyle we are currently enjoying.

Herein lies the reasons for our silly discombobulatedness .

Sometimes its simple, like, you can’t find your keys.  You start searching with a bit of panic.  You look in your coat, your purse, you sweep your eyes around the house and ..NO KEYS.  If we slow down our reaction….the keys are not in my sight.  And calm down our minds, we can be more clear about our intent to find them.  With intention, anything is possible.  With Reiki and distance Reiki, I can help you get to this slower pace.  If you lose something and are struggling to find it, contact me healingwithpeace@gmail.com and I may be able to help you location that missing item.

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Turkey Breast Slow Roasted

Early spring is wild and crazy.  Warm days with sun; cool days all gray.  The weather fluctuates and maybe everything does as well.  The trees are budding and flowering.  Rivers are raging after storms.  Teenagers are laughing.  It's a cool time, al fresco.

Here's an idea that's easy, cheap and good for you too.  I'm slow cooking a turkey breast for the week's lunch meat.

1 turkey breast (>5 lbs)
3/4 cup water
1 tsp olive oil
1 2 chopped garlic or garlic powder
1 2 parsley
1 tsp salt
1 T basil
1 T oregano

1.  Mix water and all spices.  Whisk.
2. Place turkey breast in slow cooker.
3. Pour herb mixture on top.
4. Cook on low for 7-10 hours; turkey is done at 170 degrees

Cool, slice and store :)