Pasta E Fagioli

One thing you really miss when you commit to a low acid diet is cooked tomatoes.  You fear that you will never be able to eat Italian food again!  In reality, Italian cooking can be done without tomatoes quite nicely, but nothing ever really makes up for the color.  Yesterday I was contemplating making a pasta e fagioli soup, which would be sad without its reddish-orange broth, and I had an idea.  Why not substitute pureed sweet potato for the called-for tomato sauce?  The color and gentle sweetness of the sweet potato make it a viable substitute.  Yams are perfectly welcome too.

Lo and behold, it turned out better than I could have possibly hoped, with the pasta, vegetables, and beans suspended perfectly in a slightly thick and sweet reddish-orange broth.  I bet I’m not the first to think of this, and maybe I picked it up unconsciously while thumbing through a cookbook or surfing the net.  Never underestimate the power of hypnotic suggestion!

One big factor in the deliciousness was my homemade stock, which you are probably sick of hearing about by now.  But it’s so easy!  Just save up all your leftover vegetable and herb stems, or any leftover vegetable matter, in a sealed container in the freezer for up to a week.  Once you’ve stockpiled enough trimmings, stems, and stalks, (which won’t be long if you’re on a plant-based diet!) boil in a stockpot for 30 minutes and then strain the liquid into a large bowl(s) to cool.   Use hot or store in jars in the fridge, and you’ll notice the rich taste of your own broth is a little different every time, and a perfect compliment to the foods you like to make.  It took me years to try this, but now I’m never going back.  You really get your money’s worth out of your produce this way.

We’ll be eating this rich, filling soup for days.  I went a little crazy with the herbs but they really help bring out the flavor, since onions and peppers are off limits.  Dry sautéing the carrots and celery is an option if you want no fat in it.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole-wheat pasta (chiocciole)

1 large sweet potato, cubed

1 T olive oil

2 medium carrots sliced thinly on the diagonal

2 stalks celery trimmed and diced

1 tsp garlic powder (or less)*

2 tsps dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

2 tsps marjoram

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

salt to taste

2 cups kidney beans

4 cups vegetable stock

2 cups frozen sliced green beans

chopped cilantro for garnish

nutritional yeast (optional)

Directions:

1. Boil salted water for pasta and cook 11 minutes or according to package directions.  Drain, without rinsing, and set aside.
2. Boil water in a small pot and cook cubed sweet potato 5+ minutes, until very soft.  Put softened cubes into food processor, puree, and set aside.
3. Heat oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat.  When heated up add carrots and celery and sauté for 3 or 4 minutes, until softened but not cooked through.
4. Stir in herbs, spices, and salt and sauté briefly for 30 seconds to a minute.
5. Add beans, vegetable stock and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Stir in pasta, pureed sweet potato and beans.  When mixed well let simmer for 5 more minutes or until heated through and veggies are soft.
7. Serve hot, garnished with chopped cilantro (or any fresh herb you like).  I liked it with a bit of nutritional yeast sprinkled over like grated cheese, but hey, we all are different.

*Note on the garlic powder: it seems to me the juice of the raw garlic is what aggravates acid, and the dehydrated version eliminates this and allows you to use much less.

Ayurvedic Lentils and Brown Rice (Kitchari)

Last night we went out to dinner to a French restaurant with friends who were visiting town.  Today we both felt the difference eating all that butter and cheese makes!  I also had mussels and frites, since these are two of my weaknesses.  So, today I made a recovery meal, something with ingredients that would help us detox (is this really a word?) and get back into balance. I made a version of an ayurvedic dish called Kitchari.  Kitchari is used in traditional Indian medicine, or ayurveda, for fasting—and sometimes I like to do a kitchari fast for a day and resume my usual diet thereafter.  I really do it because I like the way it tastes, and I think the medicinal spice and herb blend I’ve learned is delicious.  This is fasting for those who don’t want to feel deprived, and I definitely like to eat.  A kitchari fast is also easier for someone with AR, since dry fasting and juice fasting can be harsh on a sensitive stomach.  Most of the recipes I’ve seen for kitchari call for mung beans, which need soaking, and because this was last minute I used dried green lentils, which cook up nicely in 30 minutes.  If you have time to soak mung beans overnight, you should try it because they work beautifully here too.  They have a more delicate taste than lentils do.

I served the kitchari with a side of steamed greens but this is an unneeded embellishment.  I also use my own vegetable stock (‘cause when you start making it yourself you want it in everything!) but water would totally work instead.  To make it fat free leave out the olive oil and it’s just as good.  Best of all (and you thought it couldn't get better, right?), it's even more tasty when reheated.

Kitchari

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp ground ginger (or 1 T fresh chopped ginger)

2 T shredded coconut

handful chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup vegetable broth (or water)

3 bay leaves

2 T olive oil

1 cup green lentils

1 cup long grain brown rice

4 cups vegetable broth (or water)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp cardamom

pinch of salt and black pepper or to taste

Directions:

1. Put ginger, coconut, cilantro, and broth in food processor (or blender) and liquefy.  Set aside.

2. Heat a heavy saucepan over medium heat.  When hot place bay leaves in dry and let sit about minute until they become aromatic.

3. Add oil, lentils, and brown rice to saucepan and mix well, coating everything thinly with oil.  Mix in ginger-cilantro-coconut mixture.

4. Immediately add broth and spices, bring to boil and then let simmer for 35-40 minutes, making sure the rice is fully cooked and adding more broth if needed.

5. Serve hot and garnish with cilantro if desired.

Sweet Kale Salad

 

I’ve learned to use the term “sweet” in yoga to describe the long, slow, mellow stretches at the end of class.  They round out the class nicely because the strong, more cardiovascular poses can get you a bit worked up.  It’s the same thing with this kale salad.  Like the intense poses, kale is so good for you with all its vitamins and minerals (including calcium!).  It’s also a more alkaline food, so it won’t stir up the out-of-control acids in your body, which is exciting.  The intensity of all this goodness needs to be tempered, and a sweet, smooth dressing made with honey will mellow things down.  The dressing is also great because it comes out a light green color, making a nice contrast to the dark green kale and the other intensely colored veggies.  If you want to cut back on fat grams you can reduce or replace the olive oil with vegetable broth.  Keep in mind—it’s still not fat-free because of Mr. Avocado there—but I won’t hold it against him.  He’s a really good fat once you get to know him.

To make this salad into a main course, which is what I do, add a cup of cooked brown rice, wheatberries, or other larger sized grain into the mix.  Brown rice will taste great with the dressing too, and having some starch in there will calm acidy stomachs.  Just remember to make it before you start the salad, giving it a chance to cool down, even if you have to stick it in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Sweet Kale Salad

Ingredients:

Dressing:
1 rib celery, diced
1 tsp garlic powder
2 T white wine (or 2 T lemon juice if you can tolerate it)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 T avocado
2 tsp honey
salt and pepper to taste

a handful of sliced almonds

1/2 bunch kale (lacinato or dinosaur!)

4 carrots, thinly sliced

1 small bulb of fennel, transparently sliced

1 avocado (what is left after making the dressing), cut into small cubes

1 cup brown rice, wheatberries, or other larger grain


Directions:

1. Make the dressing by putting all its ingredients in a food processor.  Blend until smooth and creamy.  Adjust honey, salt, and pepper to taste.

2. Warm a heavy pan or skillet (cast iron works best) over medium low heat.  When pan is hot throw in sliced almonds and toast for 3-5 minutes, until golden brown and aromatic. Pour almonds into a small bowl and set aside.

3. Wash and de-stem the kale, ripping the leaves into small, bite-sized pieces.  Place kale in large salad bowl and pour over it half the dressing.  Soften the kale by gently working the dressing through it with you hands so that all the leaves are coated.  Let it sit for a few minutes.

4. Add sliced carrots and fennel to the bowl of kale and toss until mixed.  To make the salad into a main course, as I have here, add cooked brown rice or wheatberries and toss.

5. Add cubed avocado and toasted almond slices and give it one last gentle toss.

6. Serve with a few toasted almond slices or the left over fennel fronds as garnish.