Beyond Taste: Why Soaking Wheat Matters

The first time I was offered a crepe that used soaked wheat, I nearly refused. I try to stay clear of wheat -- especially when combined with sweets. However, instead of turning up my nose, something told me to try it (perhaps the fact that it was a pricey cooking class) and I'll always remember my amazement at the taste: lighter than air, decidely different from other crepes – it seemingly melted in my mouth. I was sold.

There are many reasons beyond taste that make soaking wheat overnight well worth the trouble.

Basically, there is phytic acid in the bran or outer covering of all seeds,
nuts and grains. When phytic acid combines with magnesium, calcium, copper, iron
and especially zinc in the intestinal tract, it blocks absorption. That means
reduced nutritional uptake. Overconsumption of refined grains can also lead
to mineral deficiencies and possible bone loss.

In contrast, soaking grains improves protein and starch digestibility
and boosts the bioavailability of minerals. For those who are gluten sensitive, this preparation also often reduces allergic reactions and sensitivities. Everyone, however, can benefit from the additional nutritional absorption and mitigated digestion difficulties.

To prepare soaked flour, simply soak it overnight, preferably in one of the below acid mediums along with the water called for in the recipe.(Cover with a wet towel.) Some also add the oil...but never add the salt or other dry
ingredients. Sally Fallon of Nourishing Traditions recommends putting 2
tablespoons of an acid medium for each 1 cup of grain, along with the water to
soak the grains. Others use 1 tablespoon of the acid medium to 1 cup of water.
You may need to experiment to find the measurement example that works for you and seems best in your recipe.
You can also choose an e acid medium that will be combined with the water according
to your palate and the flavors you wish to bring out in the recipe.

Bellow are some options to choose from for your acid medium.


•Buttermilk
•Kefir
•Yogurt
•Cultured milk
•Whey
•Lemon juice
•Vinegar


While simply using just water also yields a big improvement in nutrition,
adding an acid solution significantly further improves the nutrition and
bioavailability of your recipe. Plus the added benefit of preventing
unfriendly bacteria in the incubating mixture by adding an acid medium.



It's time to bring back this lost culinary art; but if you can't soak – use one of the wonderful sprouted flour preparations available in your organic specialty store.

Sweet Strawberry Crepes

Once again, Executive Chef Christopher Albrecht presented yummy recipes, cooking tips, and shined the spotlight on important issues such as 'childhood hunger' when he discussed the surprising resistance to the Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization Bill, which focuses on nutrition and wellness, and would increase access to after-school meals for school children.

As part of Princeton Library's summertime 'Princeton Eats' program, the erudite chef who is close to local farm sources, shared a preview of which produce will be most plentiful in local environs this month – including the slightly early appearance beginning in July of peaches, nectarines, and tomatoes.

Many of his cooking tips were creative and very useful:

Instead of cutting into aromatic spices, (lest they release their flavors prematurely) – rather break off a piece, or stalk, and add it 'whole.')

When adding basil, first bunch the leaves together so the stems face the same way – then instead of cutting too hard, gently press down.

The best way to sweat onions is to first finely chop them, then gently saute in equal parts olive oil, until they are clear. (he recommends Spring Onions.)

Look for garlic scapes at local farmers markets and enjoy in summer recipes for delicate, mild garlicky flavor.


Scrumptious Strawberry Crepes:
CREPES

1 cup flour*
¾ cup milk
¼ cup water
¼ tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Oil
2 eggs

Mix ingredients together with a whisk until there are no lumps. Then let rest in airtight container for 1 hour. Bake 2- 3 minutes on each side.

*(Soak Flour Overnite to improve digestibility of the wheat, first add 2 tbs. lemon juice, and cover. Or substitute fresh sprouted wheat.)

Strawberry Jam

7 cups granulated sugar
8 cups cleaned strawberries
4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
50 pectin powder
a few basil leaves (optional)

Clean the strawberries and reserve half; pulse the rest. Add remaining strawberries, lemon juice and pectin to a thick pan and bring to a boil Add the sugar all at once, and return to a rolling boil for 2minute. Infuse with basil(optional) .

Portion the jam into sterilized, hot cans.
Twist the lid on and submerge in water. Bring to a boil for ten minutes.

Let cool, room temp for six hours. Double check the seal.

Summer Solstice Soup - Ribollita

Farmers markets are now overflowing with spring and summer's early bounty. Recently Exeutive Chef Christopher Albrecht shared recipes, cooking samples and tips with a happy local crowd at the Princeton Public Library. Chef Albrecht oversees several fine Princeton eateries including Eno Terra,dedicated to fine cuisine sourced locally, popular Mediteranee, and Princeton's premiere artisan-bread baking shoppe -- Witherspoon Bread.

The erudite Chef wowed everyone with samples of a wonderful Ribollita. It's a slow cooked, luscious soup...all at once hearty and light, comforting and complex, with memorable depth of flavor.

Depending on your locale, you can substitute any greens now abundant in the NE with cabbage – or any other leafy veggies currently plentiful in your area.

Although the traditional recipe calls for Tuscan white bread – choose sourdough bread to aid digestibility and add nutty flavor. With sourdough bread, complex carbohydrates are already broken down into more digestible simple sugars and protein is broken down into amino acids. The enzymes that develop during proofing are not lost in baking process, also contributing to this bread's easy digestibility.

It’s the fermentation, partly from lactobacillus, that makes eating good
quality sourdough bread an aid to digestion, helping to optimize the functioning of the digestive tract, and promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria.


Ribollita

Ribollita means reboiled. Traditionally, ribollita is a bread-thickened vegetable soup. There are many variations. You can modify it according to seasonality and locale.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup cannellini beans, uncooked
1 large red onion, sliced
2 carrots, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
4 potatoes, diced
10 zucchini, diced
1 ½ cup swiss chard, shredded
1 leek
4 garlic scapes
1 tuscan kale shredded
1 mustard green shredded
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 day old stale Tuscan white bread (traditional), or
“ Sourdough bread
Thyme and bay leaf
Basil puree (optional)



1.Soak the beans overnight and then cook over low heat. It will take approximately 1 -1 ½ hours for them to cook.
2.In a pan, gently fry the onion. Add the other vegetables, with the exception of the greens and beans which are added at a later point. When the vegetables have sweated out their juice, add the tomato paste and cook for another 3 minutes. Then cover with hot water and then add all the cabbage,kale and greens. Cover and simmer for an hour over medium heat.
3.Add the cooked beans (some of them whole and some pureed), salt and pepper. Leave to simmer for another 20 minutes, stirring frequently because the beans tend to stick to the bottom of the pan.
4.Slice the stale bread and, in an earthenware casserole, combine the bread with the soup until the bread is soaked. Let rest for one day.
5.To serve remove the desired quantity from the casserole and reheat it, or “re-boil” it, as the name in Italian suggests. If adding the basil incorporate just before serving.

BUON APPETITO!

Three Keys to Lowering Cholesterol without Statins

Conscious diet, regular exercise, and stress reduction are the essential keys to lowering cholesterol without drugs. Although statins are sometimes necessary to produce a 'quick fix' and may even have ancillary protective effects besides lowering cholesterol – it's still a 'western' approach, in that it alleviates symptoms, without addressing the real causes. Taking statins doesn't prompt the evolution of consciousness and transformation of mind and body needed for true healing.
Adopting a healing diet means taking a conscious approach to nourishment – considering what's best for mother earth and also developing more 'compassion in the kitchen.' For example, when peoples like the native Americans feasted upon animal flesh, at least they remembered to give thanks to their prey for 'giving their life' – hardening of the arteries was largely unknown to these primitive, but more spiritually connected people.
Notably, among the titans of history there are many vegetarains including Leonardo da Vinci, Plato, Pythagoras, Albert Einstein, Albert Schweitzer, Percy Bysse Shelley, George Bernard Shaw... the list goes on and on.
There are also world-champion athletes, runners, triathletes, body-builders, and power lifters who insist on a vegetarian diet. There's a wonderful lightness of being that accompanies judicious vegetarianism, resulting in not just healthy cholesterol levela – but general improvement in bodily functions.
Aside from making better choices than animal flesh - and eating local, in-season produce – including soluble fiber – especially oats – is key to lowering cholesterol. Beta glucans, which concentrate the most powerful part of the oat bran, bind to fat in your stomach, and carry out some of the bile acids in your stomach associated with cholesterol production.. Soluble fiber, like oats keep fat from reaching your liver. By lowering the amount of cholesterol your liver produces, artery-clogging “bad” cholesterol never reaches your blood stream.
Sources of soluble fiber include: Oat and oat bran, legumes (dried beans and peas), nuts, barley, rye, flaxseed,,fruits (i.e. oranges, apples, prunes, plums, berries),vegetables (i.e. carrots, broccoli, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions) and psyllium husk. bitter herbs such as dandelion, turmeric, and goldenseal also help by promoting the regular flow of bile
Energetically, the liver benefits from expressions of Joy; and is weakened by anger, especially if pent-up. (See Live in Harmony with Nature for a Healthy Heart for ways to transmute negative emotion.). One big fight with your spouse equals consuming a large steak!
Research also points to the importance of stress reduction. African Masai of the former Tanganyika and Jewish sects in Yemen, thrived on fat-laden, high-cholesterol diets, but never got heart disease until they emigrated from their native countries and adopted a Western lifestyle.
When researchers from San Antonio's School of Aerospace Medicine in San Antonio, Texas conducted studies to determine whether stress might be a factor in elevating cholesterol, their research conclusively confirmed it: They found that cholesterol increases after only one hour of either emotional or physical stress, such as overexposure to cold. Worse, they found that if you stay stressed for a few hours, your cholesterol can remain high for more than a week. When people were sent to Hawaii and fed two eggs a day, their high cholesterol levels dropped and remained low until they returned home and resumed their normal lifestyles. Studies conducted at Stanford Research Center and Mount Zion Hospital in San Francisco also showed that cholesterol levels increase in medical students before exams and in accountants before tax time every year.
How does exercise help improve cholesterol levels? High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) are considered to be beneficial since they sweep the blood of excess fat and cholesterol. The biggest effect of exercise on improving cholesterol levels is boosting HDLs (and lowering triglycerides). But to give HDL levels a good boost above the baseline, exercise must be regular and expend enough energy to burn at least 800 to 1,200 calories per week. Any aerobic exercise—from walking and running to swimming and cycling—counts. Walking at three miles in an hour burns about 300 calories, on average. To meet the threshold then, a person needs to walk around eight to 12 miles a week, or do some other aerobic activity for at least 30 minutes on six or more days per week

Weight Loss Tools That Really Work

Pounds inevitably creep up on us with Holiday Celebrations. Here are some tried and true tools to hold them back:

Miracle Noodles – Truly a delight. As seen on 'Oprah,' Miracle Noodles have zero calories and are as satisfying as a bowl of pasta. Go ahead -- drench them in your favorite sauce. It will still only add up to a few hundred calories, at most. My favorite is simply: lots of chopped garlic, sautéed in olive oil, a little ghee and organic tomato sauce. Have Miracle Noodles for dinner a few times a week and watch the pounds disappear.

Lavender Oil – One inhale of fine essential lavender oil is both calming and a great substitute for mindless eating; often indulged in to help offset stress. If lavender is not your thing, try 'Rose.' (I like it because it also has anti-bacterial qualities...the people who survived the plague in Nostradamus' day worked in a perfume factory where lavender oil was attributed to their survival).

Fucothin – a derivative of sea vegetables, helps to pull toxins from your body, while stimulating your metabolism. Works particularly well if you have Type 'O' Blood, which is most receptive to Bladderwack.

Green Tea Gum – Another 'mindless eating' substitute. Chew green tea instead of reaching for those carbs. You'll also benefit from the anti-oxidants.

Agave Syrup – Use Agave as the sweetener of choice in Holiday Recipes. It's sweeter than honey and metabolized much more slowly than sugar. Add stevia if you like it still sweeter.

Last but not least: Walk, exercise, and/or do yoga as much as you can; Sleep 7- 8 hrs., arising as early as possible; drink plenty of water; and never sit when you can stand.

Transition Diet: Nourish Earth

"In fact, the essential flavor of the food comes from one's heart, from cooking
with one's whole soul, and from respecting the spirit of the kitchen."
--Zen monk

Change of season means adjusting dietary choices to stay in tune with what's most plentiful and nourishing. A good transition diet is grounding and prepares us for winter ahead by building immunity and increasing vitality: Heavy protein and processed foods plug the vital channels and lower pranic energy, while fruits and vegetables are both energizing and cleansing.

In five element theory (the basis for Feng Shui and acupuncture) the earth element corresponds to the stomach and spleen, both of which are nourished by 'earthy' and sweet root vegetables, certain grains, and herbs. The stomach rules transformation by receiving nourishment and preparing food for digestion. The spleen rules transportation, distributing extracted nutritive essences throughout the lymphatic system, building immunity, and protecting against infection.

When our earth 'chi' is harmonious and healthy, we feel supported and generally confident – solidly anchored in pragmatic reality. Earth energy can be adversely affected by unconscious diet, low self esteem, lack of true purpose, comfort, or missing support at home or work. Feelings like 'butterflies in the stomach' are symptomatic of upset earth. Even worse – the emotion of 'worry' wrecks our stomach and imbalances digestion.

Earth energy can be cultivated by centering activities like gardening, knitting, cooking, architecture, carpentry, – even housekeeping. Meditation and visualizations upon personal places of power; favorite places you have visited – also builds good earth. In many traditions, devotees regularly connect to representations of Earth 'Spirit' usually a feminine figure set in nature...like 'Our Lady of Lourdes, where many spontaneous healings have been reported

On a more mundane level earth vegetables include: Carrots, pumpkin, sweet corn, onion,
mushrooms, green peas, beans, zucchini, sweet potato, cauliflower, leeks and celery and all the
summer vegetables.
Also, apples, grapes and vine fruits, small berries, peas, fennel, potatoes, soy beans,
dates,

Grains: buckwheat, oats, millet, amaranth, quinoa, sweet rice, jobs tears.
Herbs: astragalus root, ginger root, ginseng, horseradish, dandelion, dongquai, fennel, beet root

Also: Honey, miso, barley malt, pumpkin seeds, aduki, kidney and pinto beans.

The spleen is weakened by damp food energetics.
Arame drains 'damp – also umebeshoi plum is curative.

Avoid: excess cold drinks, ice cream, soda drinks, sugar, white flour, coffee, processed meats, preserved and frozen foods, excess raw foods and cold foods, excess fruit, salad, citrus fruit, heavy foods, pasta too often, cold meats, fatty foods, leftover foods, excess dairy foods, overly sweet foods.

Barefoot Meditation for the Mind and Body

“Meditation helps you do less and accomplish more.”
– Deepok Chopra

As summer folds its fiery wings, nature contracts and the fruits of the harvest grow dense with stored sunlight. It feels good to stay home now. In cooler climes, there's still time to bank some first-hand sunlight and take advantage of the opportunity to exercise in the fresh air...even go for barefoot walks.

The following barefoot meditation provides grounding energy through direct connection to the earth. Ideally it should be performed while in a seated position, barefoot, with soles planted – and toes connected firmly to the ground.

Barefoot Meditation
First, find a bench or chair on a grassy spot. You can begin with just five minutes; but aim for twenty. Morning sun (before 11am) is ideal. But sunset also works.
Plant toes firmly on earth, focusing intention on the big toe(s). According to reflexology the big toe is connected to the pineal gland. Said to be linked to the third eye, the pineal is largely responsible for the health of circadian rhythms and prevents against SAD (seasonal affective disorder). In addition to producing melatonin, the pineal gland also controls the release of serotonin, “the mood hormone.' Stimulation through direct contact with geomagnetic energy helps control aging, calms the nervous system, and lays the groundwork for building and opening to higher, more refined energies. Tobacco, drugs, stress, and lack of Vit. A depletes the pineal.
To begin, take deep belly breaths. The abdomen should expand on the inhale, and contract on the exhale. Once a comfortable rhythm is established - visualize a circuit of energy orbiting from the top of your head, (crown chakra), to your big toe(s). Continue for 5- 20 minutes.

For more advanced, coordinate with alternate nostril breathing, and add silent mantra.

If outdoor meditation isn't possible, yogic postures which help preserve and strengthen the pineal gland include yoga mudra, child's pose -- with the forehead to the floor.

Sun salutations (Surya namaskar) also flush and nourish the gland with oxygenated blood.