Purple Power Soup

Ready for something wild? How about a vibrant colored purple powered soup? This soup is a testament to the amazing effortless beauty of natural foods, particularly fruits and vegetables. Amidst the grey weather of Istanbul, the month of January seems to be the month of purple food. As I walk along the Istanbuli streets, the deep purple of eggplant dishes can be found in every window, the vibrant pigmentation of pickled purple cabbage at every restaurant and last week I scored some amazing purple carrots at the farmers market. Traditionally purple has been considered a color to represent the divine, so it’s only fitting that this purple power soup is so healthy and delicious that it will leave you feeling like a [God]dess .

Health Summary

Are you on a budget and worried about how to eat healthy without spending $12 on a green juice? Well I know a thing or two about eating healthy on a budget and one of my favorite ways to eat food high in nutrients and low in cost is to eat lots and lots of soup. I try to make at least one soup a week during the winter, changing up the flavor with different vegetables and legumes. Cabbage is great, considering it’s both incredible affordable and cleansing for the body, not to mention low in carbohydrates. This soup also contains apple, carrots and onion, all very supportive of healthy digestion.

MYTH

Origin: Mediterranean

Myth: British Isles, Greece, Egypt, Northern Europe,

Symbolic Significance: Moon, tears, anti wine, romance, future spouse

 The Man in the Moon

I particularly enjoy this story given the many childhood memories I have of gazing up into the dazzling full moon on chilly winter nights in the countryside. In Northern Europe there exists a legend of a man who, in desperation, stole a cabbage from his neighbor. As punishment this man was sent to the moon [i.e. becoming the man in the moon] to serve as a reminder to the people that even in desperation it is never acceptable to steal anything.

PurPle Power SouP

Ingredients 

Butter 

1 small eggplant

1 small head of purple cabbage

3 purple carrots [ orange are okay] 

1 broth cube or homemade broth 

1 onion

1 apple 

cinnamon 

salt

tahini

parsley or other fresh herbs 

1. In a large saucepan, put water on the stove, and heat until boiling [ or homemade chicken or vegetable bone broth if you have it]. 

2. Dice, Eggplant. Heat Butter or Coconut oil in a frying pan on Medium High heat  and add eggplant, cinnamon and salt. Stir frequently.  

3. While the Eggplant is cooking, Dice and onion and carrots. Add this to the Eggplant mixture, continuing to stir frequently until soft. 

4. Shred the cabbage [ use a knife or a food processor] and dice up an apple 

4. Add Cabbage, broth cube, apple and eggplant dish to the boiling water. 

5. Let cook for about 15 minutes

6. Blend with an immersion blender 

7. Serve with drizzled tahini and a sprig of parsley 

Citations = Text: Nectar and Ambrosia by Tamra Andrews 

Photography and recipes:Kate 

Istanbul Street Sweets

Living in the land of honey drenched desserts! 

Strawberry Cake 

Cookies

Baklava

Baklava

Izmir Sweets 

Ancient Carrot Salad with Fresh Middle Eastern Orange Dressing

One of my favorite things about living in Istanbul is the amazing variety of produce found at the local markets. Unlike America, where farmer's markets tend to be more expensive, Istanbul street markets are a location where you can score vegetables fresh from the surrounding villages for a fraction of the price. Last week, I bought all that I could carry home with me for about 7 USD. Pretty amazing! Well one the favorite things I scored this week were some amazing purple carrots! They are a beautiful deep purple on the outside and fade into a tie died looking purple white on the inside. To show off their splendor I chose to whip up a “Crazy Carrot Salad” for lunch. 

Health Summary

The main thing I like about carrots is their subtle sweetness, even when raw. Raw carrots are a great low calorie way to get some crunch into your diet. Carrots are a particularly good swap for my blood sugars, instead of crackers and chips, with snacks like Hummus. So, to my sugar conscious friends out there, happy guilt free crunching… in purple, white OR orange! 

MYTH Introduction

Origin: Mediterranean, Southwest Asia

Myth: Buddhism

Symbolic Significance: Blood

The Buddhist Myth of Mu Lien

In ancient Buddhist myth, the remarkable depth of color of the purple carrot comes from the blood of Buddha Mu Lien’s fingers. While alive, Mu Lien’s mother ate and killed with no regard to the life she was consuming. She was then sent to the underworld after her death. While his mother was indulgent, Mu Lien was a pious young man who was a devout worshiper of God. He eventually became a Buddha and used his power to enter the underworld to rescue his mother.

Unfortunately, the moment she came to the surface, she quickly pulled some white carrots from the earth and devoured them. Mu Lien, afraid that his mother would be condemned to damnation for the rest of eternity, cut off his own finger and placed it into the earth. The blood from his finger seeped into the surrounding carrots and hence, purple carrots were created.

Ancient Carrot Salad 

2 purple carrots

2 orange carrots

2 cucumbers 

4oz of Goat Cheese 

Fresh Middle Eastern Orange Dressing 

Juice of 1 orange

Juice of 1 Lemon

3 or 4 TBS of Tahini 

Cayenne pepper to taste [optional] 

Black pepper

1. Cut the cucumbers lengthwise into long thing slices

2. First peel the carrots and discard the skins. Continue peeling the carrots into long strips [looks like spaghetti]. Be sure to keep the purple and orange separated. 

3.  Assemble the salad by first putting down the cucumber slices and then layering the orange carrot strips and the purple carrot strips. Sprinkle with fresh goat cheese. 

4. Dressing = Mix all ingredients together and serve on the side of the salad. 

Istanbul Street Food

Come visually experience the delicious Food of Istanbul! More coming soon!

Oh My Strawberries!! 

Simit...the Istanbuli Bagel 

Colorful Fruit

Dried Foods to be stuffed and steamed 

Foot and Apples 

Luscious Lazy Lentil Hummus

Lentils are a vitality powerhouse, full of healthy fiber and satisfying protein. I love these gems when I am trying to stay satiated while keeping my meat intake down. I have found ways of eating them for every meal of the day. Lentils for breakfast are actually one of my favorite ways to eat them. Their earthy flavor mingles wonderfully with cinnamon and cardamom for a gentle sweetness that is both satisfying and nutritious.

Health Summary

One of the best things about lentils is their low glycemic index, especially when compared to rice and wheat. These little guys, slowly release their energy into your body keeping you full and satisfied far longer than a big bowl of white flour pasta. Lentils also win out on being a great source of vegetarian protein. I love eating vegan and vegetarian meals and try to keep most of my meals in this realm. I do this mostly for the environment, rather than health considering I feel pretty great both vegetarian and with a bit of meat in my diet. So if you’re trying to go green, forget the electric car, instead try choosing lentils over meat and fish a few times a week. Diabetics…. Lentils will rock your socks off! I find they get absorbed super slowly so I never get blood sugar spikes. = I notice that because they release slowly, I tend to give myself two shots, one before I eat and one about thirty minutes later. See what works for you.

MYTH

Lentils have served as an essential food for survival since the Neolithic peoples of the Middle East. There are references to Lentils in the Bible, as well as, Egyptian and Celtic Mythology.  In general lentils were linked quite closely to the moon and to the underworld.

Origin: Egypt, Middle East , Central Asia

Myth: Christianity, Egypt, Celtic

Symbolic Significance: protection, moon, resurrection, death, the underworld.

 Celtic All Soul’s Day

In Modernity All Souls Day is a Catholic celebration of the dead. Although currently celebrated by Catholics all around the world, All Souls Day has roots in ancient Celtic tradition. The Celtic people believed that All Souls Day was the day when the dead returned to the earth and these zombies came hungry. And hungry…means HANGRY [ahem..hungry and angry together].

Thus to avoid the Hangriness of the dead, the Celtic people believed it necessary to feed them. In the Celtic tradition [as in Egypyian mythology] lentils were symbols of death and of the world that exists below. This is likely due to the fact that when legumes died and were again buried underground; they would soon bear new offerings of sustenance. Thus, it seemed only fitting to offer the souls of the underworld a food source that also seemingly resurrected.

There are so many ways to cook up and use lentils, it was quite hard for me to decide which lentil dish to post. But in the end I decided on a delicious and simple Lentil Hummus, A great snack to keep in the fridge and easily made into a healthy and affordable lunch with a bunch of sliced up vegetables. Enjoy your dipping!

Lucious Lazy Lentil Hummus

Ingredients =

1 cup of Lentils [cooked]

1/4 cup of Tahini

Juice of 1 or 2 Lemons

salt to taste

onion [optional]

garlic [ optonal]

Olive oil [optiona]

Parsley for decoration.

1.     Cook Lentils according to the directions on the bag.

2.     Once cooked, allow to cool.

3.     Once cool, add tahini, lemon, salt and optional ingredients.

4.     With an immersion blender blend together until smooth.

5.     If serving now, serve in a bowl and decorate with tomatoes and a lemon. 

6.      Enjoy! 

Citations = Text: Nectar and Ambrosia by Tamra Andrews  

Dinner in Bed

Dinner in Bed

Isn’t there just something so marvelous about breakfast in bed? Maybe it’s the warm sheets…. Or perhaps it’s the softness of the pillows propping up your back as you nosh on something warm and cozy? Maybe you’re lucky enough to have someone deliver that deliciousness right to your nightstand. Now THAT is love.

Well I do have a confession… In the spirit of self-love and something I like to call “soft mornings” (mornings that don’t involve jumping out of bed and rushing off to work) I eat breakfast in bed almost every morning… Only rarely do I venture so far as to eat on the windowsill of my enormous French windows overlooking the early morning bustling streets of the UWS. But when I’m dining alone and feeling particularly cozy, not only will I eat breakfast in bed, but I will return to my abode and happily eat dinner in bed too.

Hence last Monday night after a busy day around the city, I decided to make a quick dinner of thai inspired carrot soup paired with an open faced sandwich topped with a creamy egg. It took but 10 minutes from fridge to bed. So simple and yet as I sat in bed the warmth of the blankets slowly encapsulating my body paired perfectly with the last remnants of the creamy egg dissolving upon my palette. Some pair meals with wine, but the spirit of this meal can be best enjoyed with an atmosphere involving pillows, sheets and, in my case, a glitter headboard. J

Bon Appétit:

Ingredients:

1 cup Shredded carrots

2 cup Spinach

2 TBS Almond butter

Juice of ½ a Lemon

1/8 tsp Cayenne

¼ tsp Ginger Powder

2 drops Nunaturals Stevia (optional or sub ½ tsp Honey)

Salt

Eziekial bread

1 tsp Coconut oil

1 organic egg

1. Start to heat 1½ cups of water over medium heat

2. Over Medium heat, combine shredded carrots, 2 cups of spinach and a TBS of water. Cover and occasionally stir for about 5 minutes. 

3. Add half of the carrot and spinach sauté to your two cups of heated water and reserve the rest for the open-faced sandwich. Add Almond Butter, Lemon Juice, Cayenne, Ginger, Stevia and salt to taste.

4. Toast Eziekial bread and prepare an “egg over easy” (meaning the yolk should be minimally cooked) and sprinkle the egg with salt.

5. To Assemble Sandwich: spread 1 tbs of coconut oil on Eziekiel bread, top with remaining carrots and spinach sauté and top with creamy egg.

Roasted Figs stuffed with Creamy Goat Cheese

Roasted Figs Stuffed with Creamy Goat Cheese

Roasted figs. Doesn’t your mouth just salivate at those words? Even before I knew what a fig was (those yellow packages known as fig newtons absolutely bewildered me as a youngster) I knew there was something magical about them. It’s not surprising that these decadent little fruits were associated with Dionysus, the God of wine and drunkenness in Greek mythology. The rich texture of a ripe fig unfolds softly upon the tongue releasing a myriad of sweetness that pairs so well with wine and cheese.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy figs is to briefly roast them and then stuff them with high quality goat cheese and a few varying accoutrements for added flare and flavor.

These beautiful little bits take minutes to prepare and yet give a gourmet flare to any party as either an appetizer or a dessert. 

Ingredients:

8 figs

liquid coconut oil (Or sub almond oil, safflower oil)

4oz of soft goat cheese

Pomegranate seeds

Slivered Almonds

Optional:

Black sesame seeds

Edible flowers

Spinach

Preheat oven to 400ºF (mini oven works great) Remove goat cheese from refrigerator and place aside

   Prepare Figs: Cut 1/8^th inch off tops and bottoms of figs just to create a smooth surface so they stand upright upon a plate. Cut x shape 3/4ths of the way down into the top of each fig. Drizzle with coconut oil and place in oven for 8 to 15 minutes

  

   Remove figs from oven and let them cool to room temperature. Take a small spoonful of goat cheese and using fingers, stuff cheese into roasted figs op with slivered almonds and pomegranate seeds.

    

  

  Optional Serve figs over bed of spinach leaves, edible flowers and sprinkle with black sesame seeds.