The Anti - Truffle

A few days ago, you saw my decadent dark chocolate truffles. Now I offer you this recipe for healthy AND delicious fig, nut, and chocolate "anti-truffles" -- The Anti - Truffle -- at Naturopath.ca.

Indulge without feeling guilty as you benefit from the antioxidant goodness of nuts, dried fruit, and spices!

XOXO Sweet Potato Sticks

When I saw these two together on our dining table, I knew I would blog about our XO laptop and Sweet Potato Sticks. Sometimes important stuff in life is very simple, and it is both fun and important to note the value they hold.

Sweet Potato Sticks

Baked sweet potatoes are an old favorite in our house. We love "fries" but we prefer to bake. One of our absolute favorite are these Sweet Potato Sticks - they are simple, healthy, and super tasty.

Cut sweet potatoes into nice long strips, almost an inch thick. Toss them in olive oil with salt, pepper, and some dried herbs like oregano. Bake at 400 F (200 C) for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. When they look ready, I add a little minced garlic, then bake for another 2 minutes. Serve them nice and hot!

Our XO Laptop

The XO is our new favorite computer :) This tiny green laptop is roughly the size of the slate I loved to write on when I was a little girl. If I had an XO back then, I would have been the happiest girl in India!

XO was developed by a wonderful bunch of Geeks, business leaders, artists, and everyone wanting to create a brilliant piece of technology at a low cost -- all for educational use by under-privileged kids through the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program. You can donate an XO and it will be shipped to a needy kid anywhere around the world. OLPC is a perfect example of giving big in a small way. It is an effort for which this generation will be remembered and should be remembered. You can read more on the progress of this program at OLPC's site.

I also want to share some of the reason why my husband and I got involved. When we married, we intentionally had a very low-key ceremony. We were and still are sick of the excess, the waste that happens, during weddings and otherwise among the wealthy. We decided to save the money spent on the cost of a big wedding, and to start our marriage off right by instead giving that much money away to the world's neediest.

For the same reason, we asked everyone who wanted to give us a gift to first donate to one of the non-profits we had designated. They included Asha for Education for example, with whom we had both volunteered. Well, you can't stop some family from giving you a wedding gift! so to square the results of our wedding gifts with our intentions, we also gave away a percentage of our cash gifts.

It's not that we had a lot of cash we didn't need. In fact I was out of a job, and at that time we had significant debt to go along with the financial uncertainty. If you wait until you feel rich enough to help those in need, then in the end you will have given much less than you were able to. It was hugely important to us to start our new life in the way that we wanted to live our whole life. When times are better, we do give more, but giving itself has been and will be a constant in our lives.

How you give is also important. We don't just drop checks. We do our research and we are activists! We volunteer, attend meetings, petition, and even protest, whatever is needed. The OLPC project was a great combination of education and technology, giving both hope and real help to those in need. We were just about to donate to OLPC when we found that for a limited period of time, there would be a "Give One, Get One" promotion. How much better could it get?! My husband loves creating and engineering new ideas, and he loved the free and open source philosophy of the XO, too. Now that we have an XO to tinker with, we can do even more to contribute ideas for the needy kids of the world :)

The demand for donating these laptops was so high in North America (where the promotion was available) that although we gave several months ago, we only recently received our XO, but it has been so much fun. I might do some follow-up posts as I find more cool things to write about this cute green laptop. Until then, indulge in the simple joys of giving -- and baked sweet potatoes!

Edamame with Hawaiian Sea Salt

With this post I have started blogging for The dailypixel Network at Naturopath.ca!

Read my very first post for the recipe and benefits of Edamame with Hawaiian Sea Salt, a healthy snack with beautiful red-orange Hawaiian sea salt!

Truffles - Fair and Local!

I have tried numerous chocolate truffle recipes and methods and I keep coming back to the path taken by the master, Wolfgang Puck! I first saw him make them on Food Network a few years ago. Chef Puck stuffed his truffles with raspberries. Following his lead but doing my own thing as ever, I kept mine local and fair-trade, dark with 71% cocoa chocolate and local espresso against sweet, local hazelnuts.

My truffles feature "Organic Very Dark Chocolate" from America's oldest and largest fair-trade company, Equal Exchange. Their philosophy of economic fairness and environmental sustainability deserves more attention and importance in our world. The second office of this worker-owned co-operative is in nearby Hood River, Oregon. I often enjoy the Equal Exchange cafe in my neighborhood of Seattle :)

Equal Exchange extends sustainability from the environment to the economy without national prejudice, ensuring a fair deal for both its partner-farmers and for consumers of organic and high quality products. You will find their coffee, chocolate, and other fairly traded ingredients at your nearest co-op or socially conscious grocer.

I used hazelnuts from Holmquist Orchards, a small, family-run farm that believes in producing the best. When I spoke with one owner recently, I learned that Holmquist grows the Duchilly hazelnut, which is longer, sweeter, and thinner in skin than a regular hazelnut. A regular hazelnut rarely tastes good with it's skin on as the skin is so thick. Duchilly are not grown by most commercial producers because the hazelnut per tree ratio is much smaller than for regular hazelnuts, and of course most commercial producers' have their profits more in mind.

I had already been buying Holmquist hazelnuts for a while because they are delicious, local, and fresh. After the owner explained more to me, I felt even better supporting Holmquist. They are producing the best product for their consumers and working hard around town to get the word out. You can find them at Pike Place Market on the first floor near the high stalls. Holmquist might also rotate through several Seattle neighborhood farmers' markets in Summer 2008.

What better to pair with a dark chocolate hazelnut espresso truffle than a great espresso? Why not a few great espressos! For those Seattleites and visitors who don't already know, you must try Seattle Coffee Works near Pike Place Market (on Pike Street between 1st and 2nd Ave). It is the only place in Seattle - our beloved coffee drinking mecca - where you can taste local, micro-roast espressos side by side by side. At Seattle Coffee Works, a serving of three espressos at one time is called "The Works," shown in the shot below.

Their cafe is a warm, friendly place where staff and the owner, Sebastian will keep you satisfied and informed till the last drop! They work a locally-made Synesso machine with all the skill, pride, and high standards you would expect from the wonkiest espresso cafe in Seattle. Know thy coffee! ;)

This is my latest truffles recipe, invented as a birthday gift for my father-in-law who is of course a huge dark chocolate and espresso lover :)

I used:
4 ounces Equal Exchange "Organic Very Dark Chocolate," 71% cocoa, chopped into small pieces
3 tbspns heavy cream
1 tbsn unsalted butter
2 tbspns strong and fresh espresso (you can add any other flavor you like)
a handful of toasted, unsalted Duchilly hazelnuts from Holmquist orchards, finely chopped

My Method:
1. Create a double boiler with a heatproof bowl on simmering water. Make sure the bowl is not touching the water.
2. Melt butter first, then quickly add chocolate.
3. As soon as the chocolate melts, add the cream.
4. Take it off the heat, and mix in the espresso.
5. Refrigerate until thick enough to spoon, and stir a few times along the way if you need to.
6. Use a melon-baller, dipped in warm water & wiped in between scoops, to scoop out the truffles and dump them in a tray full of hazelnuts. This way, you won't melt too much with your hands.
7. At this point, you have no choice but use your hands to roll the truffles around. Yay! Make sure they are thoroughly covered in nuts.
8. Place them in individual wrappers or on parchment, however you'd like to store and serve.
9. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, and then they are ready to eat!
10. Serve them with a great espresso, port, or even a bold red wine.

Mushroom Emerald Curry

I recently found these amazing mushrooms at the market and took them home as a challenge. First I made a mushroom biryani, but that will need to be a post for another time -- we were too hungry to wait and photograph the food! I then made the vivid Mushroom Emerald Curry you see here.

I have been eating more iron-rich food because I was recently diagnosed with iron deficiency, after getting an awful flu last month. Along with my supplements, my mission is to get as much iron as I can in the freshest form. We've been eating a lot more spinach!

Combining spinach and mushrooms is popular in the western world, as on pizza, in omelettes and quiches, etc. In Indian food, you rarely see spinach and mushrooms combined. Indian food often combines spinach with peas, potatoes, or paneer (that's Indian cottage cheese). From my kitchen in Seattle -- the "Emerald City" -- you are likely to see fusion like this Mushroom Emerald Curry. Enjoy!

What follows is an approximation of what amounts I used for various ingredients -- Indian food is best if you taste as you go, and make it to your tastes!

I used:
a handful of king oyster mushrooms, thinly sliced
a handful of brown and white shimeji mushrooms, also called beech mushrooms
1 big bunch of spinach, chopped in a food processor
ground cumin
garam masala
curry powder
finely chopped onion, garlic, and ginger
red chili powder
1 large black cardamom pod
a few big green chilies
spoonful of olive oil
half a spoon of sugar
salt to taste
fresh cilantro leaves to garnish

My method:
1. On medium, heat some oil.
2. Cook the onion with garam masala and cumin until slightly browned, not burnt.
3. Add the garlic, ginger, chilies, and cardamom, and let them cook until slightly tender.
4. Add the mushrooms, salt, and chili powder, and cook for a few minutes.
5. Add the spinach, sugar, curry, salt, and a little water, and cook on medium-high heat.

The secrets to preserving the beautiful emerald color are: not covering it while you cook, using the higher heat for a shorter time, and adding that bit of sugar.

Serve hot, with your choice of rice, paratha, roti, or naan!

Chocolate and Zucchini Cake

When I asked my husband what he wanted for his birthday dinner, he responded with a list of ingredients. It was funny at first, but I also loved the challenge of it. It felt like an Iron Chef episode! Chocolate and zucchini jumped out at me together, because I wanted to use his requested ingredients but still surprise him. Hence, this Chocolate and Zucchini Cake, with a chocolate ganache shell.

My recipe was inspired by "Flora's Famous Zucchini Cake" from Nigella's How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking. My buddy Applemint's Chocolate Frosting, which she has used on her amazing cakes, was the basis for my chocolate ganache shell.

Of course I had to change things around, as I always do. I did not want to use eggs, heavy cream cheese frosting, or the lime curd that "Flora's" cake called for. My recipe follows my food style of fresh, vegetarian, light, and healthy foods. Even a chocolate cake can be delicious with fresh vegetables :)

My food style is representative of the way many eat and live in Seattle -- in fact, Seattle was recently chosen as the number one U.S. city for healthy living by Cooking Light. As they put it, Seattle "best fit our philosophy to eat smart, be fit, and live well. An abundance of fresh local foods, walker-friendly streets, and inclusive attitudes helps make Seattle America's best city for healthy living." Our neighbors in Portland, Oregon ranked second, proving that our whole region enjoys unrivaled good-food-living. Cooking Light published their list to celebrate 20 years as the world's largest epicurean magazine. Pictured next to the cake are the early Spring Flora I see everyday while walking to & from work. Cheers to Seattle, Portland, and to Healthy Living!

I used:
1 big zucchini, finely shredded (next time I'll use 2, to make the cake even more moist)
2 eggs replaced with Ener-G Egg Replacer
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour (Nigella suggests self-rising flour, which I'll try next time, too)
1/2 tspn baking soda
1/2 tspn baking powder
2 tbsn dark, unsweetened cocoa

For the sauce:
1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate or bittersweet chocolate chips of your choice
1/4 - 1/2 cup heavy cream (equal or more cream than melted chocolate makes the best ganache)
1 tbsn butter
1/4 cup toasted walnuts or any of your choice.

My method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C)
2. Mix oil, sugar, and egg replacer.
3. Sift in the dry ingredients, and mix until combined.
4. Pour into a greased, 8" cake pan.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes -- until the cake is firm and brown, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Let it cool for some time in the pan and then slowly transfer it to a wire rack over a plate, to frost.
7. Over a double boiler, heat the butter on low heat.
8. Add chocolate and cream, and stir till it melts.
9. As soon as the ingredients melt & combine, take it off the heat.
10. Pour it over your cake, by starting in the middle and letting it spread out.
11. You can even-out the chocolate sauce with a spatula, or be creative as you like :)
12. Lastly, toss on walnuts or nuts of your choice before the chocolate starts to dry.
13. Let it cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.