What is your greatest health challenge?

Whether it's digestive issues, chronic pain, cardiovascular disease, or autoimmune disfunction, I'm here to help! In the first video of my new health & wellness series, I discuss four steps you can take to get started healing your body right now. 

What is your greatest health challenge that holds you back? Post your question or comment below.

I look forward to connecting with you!

Summer Harvest Saute

When I looked inside my fridge this afternoon, it was empty, except for a sad little lonely zucchini, so I figured it was time to do some grocery shopping to find something to go with it for dinner.  But it was sunny out, and there was nothing on the agenda, so I decided instead to stop by the community garden.

I'm glad I did, because a fellow gardener was there harvesting a bed full of potatoes which he was happy to share.  He also said I could help myself to the hot peppers - don't mind if I do!  These are the kind that turn red and eventually dry into hot pepper flakes which I'll be using later in the season.  The stringbeans were also in abundance, so I filled a bag with a motherlode that will last me all weekend.  The row of lettuce leaf basil was absolutely gorgeous and so thick it was like a hedge.  I picked a couple of bunches because you can't go wrong with basil.

When I brought my haul back home, I wasn't sure how it would all come together.  A tomato based sauce?  Curry?  Instead, I opted for something incredibly simple, which at first I thought might be bland and boring, but because the veggies were so fresh, the minimal ingredients really let the summery flavors shine.

This is my incredibly quick, easy, and surprisingly delicious recipe for a summer saute that can be used as a side dish, or in my case tonight, as a perfect dinner.

Summer Harvest Saute
2 all purpose potatoes, cubed
2 big handfuls of stringbeans, trimmed and cut in half
1 large zucchini, cut into half moons
1 cup yellow onion, diced
1 Tbl olive oil
1-2 Tbl Earth Balance margarine
1 Tbl Dijon mustard
sea salt
fresh basil

Place potatoes in a pot of boiling water and boil until fork tender, about 10 minutes.  Remove and drain.  Add stringbeans and boil for 5 minutes, or until soft.  At the risk of overcooking the stringbeans, they soak up the sauce and taste surprisingly buttery if cooked beyond the bright green stage.  Drain and set side.  Meanwhile, in a large pot, saute zucchini and onions in a pan with olive oil on medium low heat.  Cook approximately 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until soft. Add the margarine and Dijon mustard, then turn off the burner and let the heat of the pan melt the margarine.  Stir together to form a sauce and season with sea salt.  Garnish with a chiffonade of fresh basil.    



    

This week's yumminess

Ooo... the stringbeans are tumbling off the vines and into the Well on Wheels kitchen this week.  That, plus zucchini, broccoli, and peppers make this week's menu feel particularly warm and summery.

Cream of Broccoli and Kale Soup

Cajun Tempeh with Scalloped Potatoes and Stringbeans

Chili Spiced Black Bean and Brown Rice Stuffed Zucchini with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Peppers, Onion, and "Sausage" on Baked Polenta 

Summer Solstice Vegan Picnic

It was a gorgeous day for a picnic, and Well on Wheels welcomed the change of seasons this weekend with a festive summer feast.  I was asked to cater an intimate outdoor party at a home in West Hartford for a client who loves animals. Her yard was filled with beautiful flowers that welcomed birds, butterflies, and guests.

Outdoor themed parties are always my favorite because I love garnishing food with fresh, seasonal flowers and greenery.  This is the time of year for daisies, bee balm, peonies, blackeyed susans, butterfly bush, lavender and roses.  I also found some lovely dill blossoms that popped with festive color and some young grape vine tendrils that I weaved into the display of fruit kabobs.

The crudites platter was accompanied by a Cannelini Bean and Artichoke Puree topped with Parsley Oil.  This was a lovely and luscious taste combination enhanced by a little bit of Dijon mustard.

For the salad I tossed baby spinach and fresh organic strawberries with a balsamic vinaigrette and toasted candied walnuts.  Then I scattered some cute little pansy blossoms on top for a garnish.

The hot appetizer was Mushrooms with Toasted Walnut and Spinach Stuffing.  The main entrees for the meal were Pasta Primavera with Snow Peas, Stringbeans, Carrots, and Cherry Tomatoes, and Ratatouille with Creamy Polenta.  Guests helped themselves to seconds and thirds while raving over how delicious everything was.

We finished with Strawberry Rhubarb Tarts and Chocolate Covered Strawberries.  These seasonal favorites put a smile on everyone's faces.

Thank you, Mona, for asking me to cater your party, and for including me on this special day!

(Healthy) Cooking Matters

I recently attended the Connecticut Community Health Network Foundation's conference, "Why Cooking Matters," at the beautiful west campus of Yale University in Orange, CT.  The event was devoted to connecting people of like-mind who wish to combat the double-edged sword of hunger and obesity in our state.  Even though Connecticut is considered the wealthiest state in the nation, there are still children and families here who can't get enough of the right food on a daily basis.  This conference provided a starting point for getting active.

The conference began with opening remarks from Rep. Rosa DeLauro who shared her experience of working on programs that provide a safety net for our state's, as well as this country's, poorest residents.  She discussed the results of the "National Soda Summit" recently held in NYC where health experts, officials, and activists gathered to address the growing concern about "liquid candy" being a conributing factor to health-related problems such as obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay.  She closed by imploring those of us in attendance to make a difference in our communities: "Inaction is not acceptable; inaction is irresponsible."  You can find the entirety of her speech here.

Practical workshops followed the keynote with such topics as starting Neighborhood Cooking Clubs, where people come together to teach others how to cook healthfully; Food Quality Over Quantity; and food policy advocacy.  I attended a "healthful" cooking demonstration with Chef Ron DeSantis of the Yale Dining Services.  He presented recipes for Chorizo and White Bean Soup, Stuffed Mushrooms with Sausage and Spinach, and White Bean Salad.  While I enjoyed the aromas and the lively presentation, I left a little disappointed that I couldn't sample any of the recipes (even the bean salad had chicken stock in it!).  Perhaps this is something that should be addressed in the future for those of us who do not (or cannot afford to) eat animal products.  [Don't worry - I made note of this on the evaluation form!]

Ultimately, this conference was about empowerment.  According to Marlene Schwartz of the Yale Rudd Center, "the idea is still very much just to get as much food out there as possible."  Indeed, we all need to do what we can to ensure no kid goes hungry.

Parsnip, Potato, Leek Soup with Sauteed Mustard Greens

Well on Wheels headquarters recently relocated to New Haven and I have returned to gardening at Chapelseed Community Garden, one of the New Haven Land Trust's 50 gardens across the city.  Before we were inundated by torrential rains, I managed to sneak in a couple of hours to tend to my 4'x8' plot I lucked out on because a fellow gardener was unable to commit to taking care of it for the entire season.

I arrived to find it overgrown with not just weeds, but broom-handle sized stalks of parsnips.  These were a challenge to uproot, but the process helped loosen the soil nicely for some lettuce transplants.

I happily harvested the parsnip payload and thought to myself, "these would be perfect for soup." So I decided to make a creamy bisque with potatoes, leek, onion, rice milk, and nutritional yeast.  

As it turned out, the parsnips were more woody than fleshy, so not only was it more like sawing than chopping to cut them into manageable pieces, but they took a particularly long time to boil and soften to the point where they could be pureed in my Vita-Mix.  Nonetheless, I managed to pull off a pretty decent impromptu bisque.

Since the mustard greens were already popping up in the community space, I picked a bunch that I sauteed and topped my soup with.  The bitter-sweet contrast worked well together, and this made for a lovely light lunch.

What's cooking this week

We're in the midst of a semi-heat wave here at Well on Wheels headquarters.  Even though temperatures haven't crossed the 90 degree threshold to make it official, now that Memorial Day is history, it really feels like summer already.   So this week I've been trying to keep cool in the kitchen with a less heat intensive menu.

The first entree was inspired by the seasonal theme of outdoor cooking:  Barbecue Tofu with Mashed Potatoes and Dijon Green Beans.  Even though I baked the tofu, it got nicely charred in the oven and the sauce slathered all over it reminded me of the best barbecue restaurants in Oakland, CA, minus the  animal bones.  

The second entree was a light meal of Black Bean and Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini Boats with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.  There are some deep flavors in this dish with cumin and chili powder in the pilaf and paprika in the sauce.

The final entree was an Asparagus and Leek Risotto with Sauteed Escarole, Tomatoes and White Beans with Toasted Pine Nuts.  Even though it feels like summer, since it's technically still spring, these veggies are perfect for the transition.  It's amazing how rich and creamy the risotto gets just with rice milk and nutritional yeast and a drizzle of olive oil at the end.  Pure comfort food.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

On Mother's Day, I experimented with a recipe for a gluten-free strawberry rhubarb crisp.  I had made a crisp previously with apples but wanted to do something seasonal for this occasion, and when I found fresh red rhubarb at my local market, I decided this would be the perfect filling.

I cut up a quart of fresh strawberries and mixed them with the rhubarb and maple syrup, lemon juice, cinnamon, corn starch, and a pinch of sea salt.  

While the strawberries and rhubarb were macerating, I mixed up the crumble topping in the food processor.  I started by pulsing 1/2 cup of almonds into finely ground almond meal, then added 1/2 cup quinoa flakes, 1/3 cup organic sugar, 1/3 cup coconut oil, 1 tsp cinnamon, and a pinch of sea salt.

Then I sprinkled the crumbly topping over the strawberry rhubarb mixture.

I spread the topping evenly over the surface and patted it lightly into place.

Then I baked it at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until the topping was crisp and browned and the strawberries were bubbling.  I really wanted to dive into it as soon as I pulled it out of the oven, but I waited until it cooled and had set up a bit.

Although the fruit got a little mushier than I'd like, the crumble topping more than made up for it.  This was delicious served with a scoop of So Delicious Turtle Trails coconut ice cream.

Say hello to turnips

Next to okra, turnips are probably my second least favorite vegetable.  I once attended a Thanksgiving dinner where food was served family style and I reached for the bowl with the big pile of what I thought was mashed potatoes and scooped out several heaping ladles onto my plate (can't get enough of those mashed potatoes!).  When I took the first forkful loaded with melted butter and gravy (these were my pre-vegan years), I nearly choked from the unexpected bitterness.  What evil mind would concoct such cruel deception?  And for Thanksgiving no less!  No Thank You.

It took me awhile to get that dreadful taste out of my mouth.  Many years, in fact.  I now find myself surprised to be trying turnips again.  Perhaps my tastes have changed, somewhat, as I've developed an affinity for bitter foods such as broccoli rabe and dandelion greens.  And I've also learned how to mellow flavors by combining them with their opposites.  In the case of bitter turnips, I thought, why not try mixing them with sweet potatoes?  Not the orange yams, but the Japanese sweet potato with purple skin and white flesh that tastes almost marshmallowy when cooked.  So this was my experiment for this week's menu.

The first entree features pan-seared tempeh with a silky piccata sauce accompanied by steamed asparagus and mashed sweet potato, turnip, and yukon gold potato.  Turnips are high in Vitamins B and C, they have more fiber than potatoes, and are lower in calorie, so adding them to the mash is a nice way to reduce carbs and get some health benefits at the same time.  Plus, as I mentioned, the bitterness is mellowed when combined with the other root vegetables.  Success!

Since it's been a rainy week here in Well on Wheels land, I made two entrees that are perfect for curling up with.  I love curry, so the spices in the Spinach and Chickpea Coconut Curry were warming and soothing.

The last entree was Fire-Roasted Tomato Black Bean Chili with Adobo.  I'm really loving the new Muir Glen adobo fire-roasted tomatoes which I've been using in chilis and soups.  It adds a rich depth of flavor and really boosts the firey kick.  Again, another great rainy day meal.

Mother's Day Menu

I treated my mom to a home cooked dinner for Mother's Day this weekend, and I think she was happy to not have to lift a finger for a change.  For all that she has done for me over the years, for her love and support, this was just a small token of appreciation.  Thank you, mom, for everything you do!

It was a lovely spring afternoon, the garden was blooming with flowers, and the kitchen was bubbling with delicious flavors.  The plan was for Pasta Primavera as the main course, and when I found a basket of fiddleheads at my local market, I excitedly grabbed a bunch to go into the mix along with asparagus, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, and snap peas.  What a perfect combination!

The colors, tastes, and textures contrasted nicely on the plate.  The pasta was tossed with a creamy basil and arugula pesto, then topped with arugula blossoms.

Dessert featured another seasonal favorite:  rhubarb.  I decided to make a Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp topped with So Delicious Turtle Trails coconut milk ice cream.  Talk about decadent!

As if this wasn't the best part, the highlight came later when we went to see The Beach Boys' 50th reunion concert at the Mohegan Sun Arena.  That was a once in a lifetime experience, and the perfect ending to a fabulous day.

This week's menu

Baked Tofu with Shiitake "Bacon" Baby Bok Choy, and Rice Noodles

Rows of Tofu

Stack of Black Bean and Quinoa Patties waiting to be pan-fried 

Black Bean and Quinoa Patties with Sauteed Onions, Red & Green Peppers 

Wild Chive, Arugula, and Garlic Scape Pesto Pasta

Tonight's dinner came courtesy of Mother Nature and was almost entirely free, except for the pasta, slivered almonds, sea salt, and olive oil.

This time of year wild edibles in the allium family (chives, ramps, garlic) and greens (dandelion) are in abundance, and they make the perfect ingredients for a quick meal.

Last year's crop of collard and kale are putting on a blazing show of yellow flowers in my garden (making the bees happy!), and they're still producing tender green leaves.  The arugula is also flowering, and the leaves are sharp and spicy, making a nice base for pesto.

I added some garlic scapes, chives, slivered almonds, olive oil, and sea salt to the food processor and whisked up a batch of pesto to toss with penne pasta.

After blanching a generous handful of collards, kale, and dandelion greens, I tossed everything together.  This lovely meal came together in 15 minutes and it was ideal for a spring cleanse.