Colorful Memories

We had a weekend of color. Flowers, food and the vibrant colors outdoors that are intensified by the warm sunshine and blue sky of Southern California. It was a weekend of milestones. My son left his teen years, my daughter graduated from college and I celebrated Mother's Day with both of my Moms. The celebration started on my in-law's patio with a wonderful lunch of beautiful salads and roasted chicken surrounded by my mother-in-law's garden which was exploding with color...roses, bougainvillea, camilias, and lemons to name just a few. She was kind enough to share the recipes and I will share them with you. Next there was lunch on the wharf, and dinner in a favorite Mexican restaurant to celebrate the birthday. Do you see a theme here...wonderful family time and great food. My daughter and her roommates planned a picnic after the graduation ceremony at a park overlooking the ocean. They made incredibly healthy food...our plates were a tapestry of color. A beautiful array of salads made with whole grains and tons of vegetables. The kind of meal you eat and feel very satisfied but not stuffed. My first thought was that I have to share these ideas with all of you...especially as we enter the summer months and the last thing you want to do is cook long involved recipes. These resourceful young women have found a way to eat healthfully on a budget with easy nutritious recipes. When you use a healthy grain, and loads of chopped vegetables, herbs, olive oil, lemon and some vinegar...you can mix and match and improvise.

You can see most of my children are grown, and lately I've been reminded that they are the main reason I started using Shaklee products and sharing them so passionately. As a young Mom I was and am very interested in the benefits of feeding children well and making sure they get the nutrients they need. I attended many seminars and then in turn shared what I learned with other Moms. I'm happy to say my kids love good food and are not picky eaters. They also request Shaklee vitamins because they see the value in taking them. I think this happened because they would be in on the food prep and I would always let them know the "why" taking Vita Lea (multi-vitamin) would help build good health....putting them in charge. It all started with the children's chewables...they used to have "suns, moons and stars" on them. Now they are even more fun to take.

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This first recipe was one of the great dishes at the graduation picnic. It's Vicki's Yummy Wheat Berry Salad. It takes a little time to cook the wheat berries, but it's well worth it.

Spanish Wheat Berry Salad

Adapted from Vegetarian Times

• 6 Tbs. olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 cups wheat berries, rinsed and drained
• 1 Tbs. sherry vinegar
• 1 Tbs. lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
• 1/4 cup chopped toasted almonds
• 1/4 cup chopped shallots
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup (1 oz.) shaved Manchego cheese or Pecorino Romano cheese, optional

To cook wheat berries: Combine 1 1/2 cups wheat berries, 6 cups of water and 2 teaspoons salt in a medium pot. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, until tender. This will take anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes. Add additional boiling water as needed to keep grain covered. Drain Wheat Berries.

Whisk together remaining 5 Tbs. oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and garlic in large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Add wheat berries, bell pepper, almonds, shallots, and parsley, and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Sprinkle with cheese, if using.

Wheat berries, also called hard wheat berries, are wheat grains from which the inedible hull has been removed. Toasting the grains before cooking enhances their nutty, chewy quality. Serve this salad warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

This next salad is my mother-in-law's recipe, beautiful in it's simplicity, brightly colored and delicious.


Carrot Salad with Cilantro
(Natalie )
1 3/4 lbs. carrots, finely shredded
1/2 c. orange juice
1/3 c. white vinegar (can substitute seasoned rice wine vinegar)
1/8 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro (to taste)
Scant tsp. salt
freshly ground pepper

Toss until well mixed. Refrigerate over night or several hours.


One thing I'm famous for saying is "Eat something from the cabbage family everyday!" So here is a great version of cabbage salad. It's cool and creamy and goes very well with spicy food.




Martha Stewart's Kitchen Sink Cookies

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup sweetened flake coconut
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (pecans would be great too...toasted even better)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl with a wooden spoon, beat butter, sugar and brown sugar together until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Stir in vanilla.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually stir into butter mixture until well blended. Add oats, chips, coconut, raisins, and walnuts and stir until well blended.
4. Drop batter by heaping tablespoons or with a 1 ounce ice-cream scoop onto silpat about 2 inches apart. Press tops down with the bottom of a glass to flatten cookies evenly. Bake until golden, about 16 to 18 minutes. Cool on pan for 2 minutes. Remove from pan, and finish cooling completely on wire rack.

Roasted Rhubarb Compote

Great on Greek yogurt or smeared on toast or whatever you can think of.

1 pound rhubarb
1 tablespoon orange zest (from 1 medium orange)
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar

1. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Rinse rhubarb under cold water, trim ends, and remove any leaves. Slice each stalk in half lengthwise, then cut each half crosswise into 1-inch pieces.
2. Combine rhubarb, orange zest, orange juice, and sugar in an 8-by-8-inch glass baking dish; toss together until rhubarb is well coated with sugar.
3. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake until the rhubarb has released a lot of juice and the mixture is bubbling, about 35 minutes.
4. Remove the foil and continue baking until the juices are slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Let me help you get started on a good solid Shaklee supplement program. Building a solid foundation of health for you and your family.

Anyone Can Cook!

"Anyone can cook"...the title of Chef Auguste Gusteau's cookbook in the Disney epic "Ratatouille". Cute movie, minus the rats in the kitchen. It is true, anyone CAN cook. Hopefully I am sharing recipes you feel are easy and duplicatable in your kitchen. You know I don't make elaborate meals all of the time, especially during the week. We were busy last week with Spring activities, choir concerts, ballet performances. A few of the meals we had were really good, pretty healthy and simple to "whip up". Lots of rice and beans with some vegetables thrown in. With Pete's help, David made Crispy Black Bean Tacos. I think we also ate a lot of eggs. "Fry and Egg!", That was always one of my Mom's famous lines when there seemed to be nothing in the house to eat. Many people don't have much time after work or are racing to different activities to cook anything complicated. It pays to have a few "go to" meals that can be made in a flash, something you can make when it seems like you have no food in your refrigerator, only condiments. Believe me, I too stare at the open fridge, hoping something will jump out at me, and my kids claim they've been forced to eat "condiment sandwiches" when they don't see anything.

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This first recipe comes from Mark Bittman of the NY Times. He recreates the chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's fried rice, topped with crisp ginger and a fried egg. We LOVED it. I Didn't have any leeks, so I used some shredded cabbage and onion...worked well. Here's a video of Mark making the dish!


Ginger Fried Rice

peanut oil (or whatever light oil you have)

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons minced ginger

Salt

2 cups thinly sliced leeks, white and light green parts only, rinsed and dried

4 cups day-old cooked rice, preferably jasmine, at room temperature

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons sesame oil

4 teaspoons soy sauce.

1. In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp and brown. With a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels and salt lightly.

2. Reduce heat under skillet to medium-low and add 2 tablespoons oil and leeks. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very tender but not browned. Season lightly with salt.

3. Raise heat to medium and add rice. Cook, stirring well, until heated through. Season to taste with salt.

4. In a nonstick skillet, fry eggs in remaining oil, sunny-side-up, until edges are set but yolk is still runny.

5. Divide rice among four dishes. Top each with an egg and drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Sprinkle crisped garlic and ginger over everything and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.


This next recipe was ultra simple with just a few ingredients.

Haydari with Carrots (Spread to serve with pita bread...or any crusty bread)

Ingredients:

* 3 Large carrots, grated
* 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
* 1-1/2 cups Greek style yogurt
* Salt and pepper to taste


Heat olive oil, salt and pepper together in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat until the oil smells peppery. Add grated carrots and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and mix with yogurt. Mix in a pinch of salt if desired.

Chill well before serving.



Let's get you and your family going on the road to optimal health!! I would love to show you how Shaklee can improve your quality of life.