I think I misspoke in my last post!  I didn’t mean that I can’t have any fruit on the macrobiotic diet – I can have some (I’m thinking 1 piece a day is a good goal).  Currently I eat at least 5-6 pieces per day so it’s hard for me to cut back to just one.  You’re also not really supposed to have citrus fruit, which is why I mentioned the oranges.  Sorry for all of the confusion.

I made this macrobiotic (I think?  Correct me if it’s not please!) dish for dinner last night with some delicious Golden Beets that I picked up at the farmers’ market yesterday morning.  I’m entering this recipe to Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Cheryl @ Gluten Free Goodness.  My “herb” is Golden Beets – a beautiful, golden-orange variety of the more common red beet.

Golden Beets & Wheat Berries

Ingredients

• 3 medium golden beets
• ~1 cup bean sprouts
• 1-2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1/3 cup dry wheat berries – cooked this comes to almost a cup
• turmeric, chili powder, garlic powder (no salt)
• freshly ground sea salt (optional), to taste
• a splash of apple cider vinegar, which I actually forgot, but it would be really good

Directions

1. Cook the wheat berries.  This can be done in advance.
2. Chop the beets into ~1cm cubes.  Save the greens for later – they can be cooked like any other greens!
3. Steam the beets, sprouts, and ginger for about 10 minutes or until the beets are tender.
4. Reheat the wheat berries and mix them together with the steamed veggies, spices, and vinegar.

This dish is really good, as long as you like beets.  Beets are definitely a rather odd vegetable, and I had never had golden ones before.  I liked them a lot – they’re a little bit sweeter than the normal dark red variety, and make for much easier cleanup – no staining!  Bobby does not like beets but he did like the wheat berries and sprouts.

Other macrobiotic meals I’ve had…  Breakfast (heart healthy 3/4 c. oatmeal with a few T raisins, miso soup, and tea which I had afterwards).

Snacky lunch thing (heart healthy oatmeal with cinnamon, lots of sauteed beet greens, organic farmers’ market salsa, and the rest of the beets & wheat berries – unpictured).

Do you like beets?  Have you ever tried the Golden kind?

I’m submitting this recipe to Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Valentina of Trembom – English Version, and created by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen.  My herb of choice – OKRA!

I made a delicious and light version of “gumbo” for dinner the other night.  It was kind of a clean-out-the-refrigerator gumbo, but it was so good!

Okra Squash Shrimp “Gumbo”

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped okra
• 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
• 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup green beans, chopped
• 1/4 of a butternut squash (about 1.5 cups, peeled and chopped)
• 1 cup spaghetti sauce
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• black pepper, to taste
• 1.5 cups frozen shrimp, thawed (just let them sit in water for a few minutes; when the water gets cold keep replacing it)

Directions

1. Saute the okra over medium heat in 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil for 8-10 minutes.  Set aside.
2. In a medium or large pot, saute the onions and garlic over medium-high heat in 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil for 3-4 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium and add the okra, beans, squash, tomato sauce, and water.  Mix well.  Add the spices and let it cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
3. Add the shrimp and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
4. Serve with rice, salad, or topped with yogurt.

I’m submitting this recipe to this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Ulrike of Kuchenlatein and created by the lovely Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen.

Mint is a fabulous herb. Interesting mint fact: it’s known as a “companion plant” – one that repels bad insects and attracts good ones.

Mint chutney is the perfect accompaniment to fresh ciabatta bread, a tomato and cheddar sandwich, potatoes, naan, yogurt, fresh fruit salad, and pretty much anything you can think of! Ever since Bobby brought home a container of mint chutney from the farmers’ market, I’d been dying to try to make my own version of it. Here’s my attempt – it came out really well. The mix of mint, apple, and ginger is completely divine. I used raw honey as the sweetener and it really added a nice warm flavor.

My mini blender is a bit too small to fit everything in together all at the beginning, so I just continually added the ingredients as they would fit (you get more room as you blend the ingredients). You can use more or less water as needed – just know that you can always add, but never subtract. Try to pulse the blender and judge how much more liquid you need to make this a smooth/creamy (but not watery!) spread.

Mint Chutney

Ingredients
1 bunch of mint (about 3 cups)
1/3 medium onion
1 tiny apple (probably the equivalent to 1/2 medium apple)
2 tablespoons grated ginger
1/2 – 1 teaspoon of chili powder (to your taste)
salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon honey
2-3 tablespoons water (I used a little more than 2)
juice from 1/2 lime
juice from 1/4 lemon
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Directions
Mix everything in a blender and puree until smooth. Add more or less water as needed to make this the consistency of your choice.

Enjoy! It’s best fresh

This post is being submitted to Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Marija from Palachinka and created by the lovely Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen.

Baby artichokes are, in fact, the same variety as the full-sized artichokes. They are fully mature, but they are picked from the bottom of the artichoke plant.

If you carefully trim them, you can actually eat the entire baby artichoke whole (without having to deal with pulling off the meat with your teeth). You simply trim the bottom of the stem, pull off the few lower leaves, and trim off about 1/2 inch from the top (getting rid of the tough top parts of the outer leaves).

I decided to leave mine whole, because I like the ritual of peeling and eating an artichoke – but if you’re looking for a sophisticated and easy addition to a pasta dish, definitely try trimming them before cooking – you’ll be in for a treat.

Some other ways of cooking baby artichokes are: microwaving, sauteing, grilling, and boiling. Here is a great site that has more information on these little cuties.

Steamed Baby Artichokes

Ingredients
Baby Artichokes
Water, for steaming
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2-3 tablespoons of butter, melted (for dipping)

Directions
Cut off the very bottom of the artichoke stem. Steam the artichokes with water and lemon juice for up to 20 minutes. They should be quite tender at this point. Dip the leaves in melted butter and pull away the meat with your teeth. Eat the heart whole.

Baby artichokes are fantastic because they are so tender, and the center is so easy to get to! The heart is most of the artichoke, unlike normal-sized artichokes. You don’t have to make a terrible effort to get to the best part. Enjoy!