Yummy Baked Root Vegetables

Here’s a yummy, fast and easy recipe for roasted root vegetables. The key is cutting uniform thickness so everything cooks at the same time.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Wash fingerling sweet potatoes, carrots, onions and parsnips by gently scrubbing with vegetable brush and water. The carrots, parsnips and onions came from my garden! Farmers Joanie and Mark from Wild Carrot Farm grew the sweet potatoes.

Cut into long, thin slices.

Line baking sheet with unbleached, chlorine free parchment baking paper. (Remember you can compost this paper!)

In separate bowl, toss vegetables with mixture of 2-3 tablespoons grapeseed oil, 1/2 t salt, any spices you love. Then spread on baking sheet. Put in oven for 15-25 minutes, turning and tossing occasionally.

Vegetables are done when easily pierced by a fork.

My friend Nance likes to shake some curry powder on her roasted vegetables.  Jane likes her spicy rub sprinkled on. Here’s my dinner plate with toast and smoked salmon, broccoli and collards,  roasted root vegetables, millet croquette, some grated daikon, arame and sauerkraut:

Advertisement

Stand for the Possibility of a Healthy World

Here is a short, yet powerful, video from healthychild.org, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit inspiring parents to protect young children from harmful chemicals.

This is a group which upholds my personal belief in the need for education of parents, creation of protective policies, and engagement of communities to make responsible decisions, simple everyday choices, and well-informed lifestyle improvements to create healthy environments where children and families can flourish.

While we are making these important changes, we still need to protect our families. I am so glad that I can provide the Nikken Wellness products for my family to create clean air, clear water, good sleep and supportive organic nutritionals.

Gluten-Free and Dairy Free Pecan Pie

Thank you to Greta for this great site where I have found something that I think my dear friend, Teresa will want to bake for her Southern family! Check out this Pecan Pie recipe from Gluten-Dairy-Free.com.

 

Beautiful Prize-winning Video

My Dad sent me this link. It’s a short video with powerful content and beautiful musical score that won the

Porcelain Unicorn was chosen from over 600 entries from around the world. Filmmakers were invited to create an original short film using the same six-line dialogue as the Cannes Lions award-winning Parallel Lines short films.

The competition, called ‘Tell It Your Way’, offered the winner the chance to gain a week’s work experience at Ridley Scott Associates (RSA) offices in Los Angeles, New York, London or Hong Kong. Read more at behindthespin.com

The contest involved creating an original sixth short film to accompany Philips’ ground-breaking Parallel Lines series of short films, directed by RSA talents, Greg Fay, Johnny Hardstaff, Carl Erik Rinsch, Jake Scott and Hi-Sim. The five short films, released on www.philips.com/cinema, are part of a cinematic project whereby each director created a film in a different genre, with a different storyline, but all following the same six line dialogue.

You’ll have to watch to hear the mysterious lines….

The public voted on YouTube for the top five. Porcelain Unicorn, was then chosen by Sir Ridley Scott.  It’s a wonderful idea and you can see all the finalists online at: www.youtube.com/philipscinema

Slapstick comedy, Baby Time, was the “People’s Choice”.

Eat it Anyway?

The question is this: You are taken out to dinner at a fine restaurant. You order the red snapper special. It arrives and tastes terrible. The sauce taste like vinegar, not wine. The mashed potatoes are watery and the fish is rubber. You do not eat. The waiter never comes over to inquire how the meal is going. Your host doesn’t get that you aren’t eating.

When everyone at the table is finished the table is cleared and the waiter doesn’t even notice my meal hasn’t been touched. I point out that it wasn’t good. I don’t think he speaks English. The bill arrives and we are charged for a dinner I did not eat. What would you do?

My generous host says, “These guys are my friends,” and he pays for my uneaten dinner.

What does one do? What would Teresa do? Complain and made a scene, I don’t think so.

I will not be returning to Divino in Sarasota. Toast and almond butter for dinner, yummy!

P.S. This is NOT a photo of tonight’s dinner….

 

 

Feeling Crummy

Some of my friends are feeling crummy; sore throat or body aches, chills-  Well, it is cold/virus season, the weather is freeeeezing here in Connecticut, and it is easy to get run down. It’s a stressful time of year physically and emotionally and we need to take care of ourselves. When the sun sets so early, I just want to put on my pajamas and snuggle down with a book. It’s dark and cold and I wish I could just hybernate but I’ve had to do a lot of running around and now I’m feeling crummy, too. I really don’t want to get sick because then my good friend, Teresa won’t want to come over for tea.

So, I have boiled up one of my favorite and yummy natural home remedies.

Elderberry Tea

Loaded with antioxidant quercetin, elderberry has antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties.

You can find elderberry in jams, teas and black elderberry syrup. It’s sweet and great for sick children (and grownups, too). Take 1 to 2 teaspoons four times a day for three to four days when feeling sick. Sipping elderberry tea can also soothe flu symptoms. From Oodora.com

Also, from healthandnutritiontips.com:

“The tea is made from the dried flowers of the plant. To brew tea you need about 5 grams (2/10 of an ounce) of dried flowers per cup of water. The flowers should be steeped in boiling water for at least 10, and preferably 15, minutes. Unless you don’t mind flower petals between your teeth, the liquid should be strained before consuming, or simply place the petals in a tea strainer. If you pick your own flowers, do so when they are in full bloom, and let them dry in the sun. They will store well in an airtight bag or other airtight container. Some elderberry tea drinkers like to mix it with peppermint tea. Otherwise you can add honey or lemon to taste.”

I like to boil the dried berries: 1/2 cup berries boiled with some ginger in 6 cups of water for 20 minutes. Sweeten to taste. YUM!

Next summer I will have my own Elderberries to pick. And, as my kids say: BOOM!