My Tom Yumm Soup -Improved!

My Tom Yumm Soup -Yummm and Healthy!

It has been a while and I keep improving and learning. Here is my new improved, refined recipe. I LOVE this soup. It is PERFECT for detox, it fights against cancer, aids in weight loss, brings on soul and nutrition balance: i.e., it is a Whole Food.

The new improved recipe is basically the same, but I've learned a few tricks that I thought I'd include, as every once in a while on my earlier recipe, I ran into things like tough lemon grass or experiments with other sauces that didn't measure up to my expectations, so I wanted to share a few more details. This soup is so delicious and good for you that it is worth it.

Again, isn't my Tom Yum(m) Soup picture on this post beautiful!

And, warning: I make it extra, extra hot and spicy!


Okay, here goes:


My Tom Yum(m) Soup


Ingredients List:

Most Important!!! Always choose FRESH produce! It makes a HUGE difference!

2 boxes  of Organic Pacific  (It is, IMHO, the BEST Chicken Stock. Organic Pacific brand is very good - I prefer it over all others)

4 stalks of fresh lemon grass: remove all layers (and throw away) until you get to the thin soft buttery layer that doesn't want to peel anymore and cut off the bottom bulb. Then cut upward in thin slices from the bottom until you hear the "crunch" (crunch= non-edible, i.e. cardboard-like) and then stop. Put those soft slices in your Magic Bullet and whip, then add some water and whip some more. Set aside. Take the above too crunchy sections and slice into them -but not through- and then whack them hard with an ice cream scoop and bend them (which releases their fragrance and flavor). Set aside.

Zest of 1 medium to large organic lime or 2 to 3 small organic limes (with skin untreated, i.e. not waxed).  Zest them all the way until you see the fruit as the inside of the zest is also sooooo tasty and good for you too!  (Note: Some recipes call for Tafir (lime) leaves. They are hard to find for me right now, and often they can be bitter. I prefer lime zest.)

5-6 red Thai chili peppers (wear gloves for handling these -they WILL burn your skin or your eyes!)
Take off stems and slice lengthwise into 2 or 4 strips and then chop and put aside, keep seeds for cooking too.

2-3 tiny fresh red cherry peppers (the size of a cherry tomato) (do not use these seeds - they might make you cough) -or 1/4-1/5 of a fresh red bell pepper - sliced thin and then chopped into thin tiny pieces.

Generous handful up to two cups of Shitake mushrooms: slice thin.

Generous handful up to two cups of crimini mushrooms: slice thin.

Generous handful up to two cups of white mushrooms: slice thin.

(Note: any mushrooms you like can be substituted.)

1 lb. package of frozen large raw peeled and devined shrimp (thawed in cold water while you prep recipe) (or fresh raw peeled and devined large shrimp)

Juice of the above zested limes.

1/3 cup fresh cilantro

3 T. of high quality fish sauce (I use Thai Kitchen Premium Fish Sauce.) (Note: DO NOT use any non-"premium" labeled fish sauce. It will stink to high heaven and only a premium fish sauce will blend into the the soup (as surprising as that may seem at first.))

Broccoli - one large stalk chop up the stem into thin pieces and also the flowers into little pieces

1-4 short dollops of Chili sauce* (I use Sriraja Paniich -nothing else is so subtle or will do in my kitchen. Send away for it if you cannot get it locally!) (*I like this better than regular garlic which I don't really like to handle and find it integrates very nicely and doesn't "stand out" if you know what I mean.)

1/2 package of ripe fresh cherry tomatoes or, if out of season, 1 good tomato, chopped, or 1/2 can of Delmonte regular stewed tomatoes (half the juice and half the tomatoes cut up.)
 
 ~~

Prep:

Prepare all the ingredients as directed above  before beginning.

~~

Directions:

1.  Pour chicken stock into a pan and bring to boil.

2.  Cut off the bulb and any brown tops of the lemongrass and peel the outer layers. Chop the good (edible) white (soft buttery) portion of the lemongrass into tiny pieces. Cut the upper stems in 3-4 places slightly (not all the way through) and then bruise (hammer and bend) and add the big rough bruised pieces stems into the now boiling chicken broth for about 10 minutes covered.

3. Removed the big lemon grass pieces and throw away. (I use a Chinese strainer.) (They are not edible but add to the flavor.)

4. Throw in the chopped and blended in the Magic Bullet soft pieces of lemon grass. Keep burner on medium for 4-10 minutes. (These can take a bit of time to soften. Some soften faster than others, hence the time range.)

3.  Add the Sriraja Paniich garlic sauce dollops to taste (I use 4 good ones). (Note: A dollop is about a Tablespoon.) Add the cut up Thai peppers and seeds, the red peppers, lime zest, and mushrooms. You can also add in the broccoli stems and leaves, if you have any, at this time, but not the flowers. Reduce heat to medium-simmer for about 4-10 minutes. You can cover if you need or want to.

4.  Add shrimp and only enough broccoli that you will eat at your first meal* and simmer way low (VERY gently) for 4 minutes until shrimp is pink and done. Do NOT cover. It could overcook your broccoli or shrimp.

*If you are serving a bunch of people add all the shrimp and broccoli as you are making the soup.  But if you are planning on eating this yourself over the next five days, each day only heat up the soup, removing the shrimp. Then just add new broccoli every day after the warmed up soup is hot for the last four minutes and then add the already cooked shrimp back in for the last 30-60 seconds. (Otherwise these two ingredients can overcook.)

5.  Keep heat low. Add the Thai Kitchen Premium Fish Sauce, juice from the limes, and tomatoes.
Do NOT cover. It could overcook your broccoli or shrimp. Cook about 4 more minutes. Stir well -gently simmer.

(Usually this is about perfect for my tastes. But test it for yourself. If too salty, add more lime juice. If too sour, add 1/4 t. sugar. Not spicy enough for your taste, maybe another dollop of chili sauce will take it there!)


*Options:   1/4 t. sea salt
                  1/4 t.  sugar
                  1/2 can evaporated milk or coconut milk

(Note: I don't add milk to mine or sugar, but I like a few shakes of sea salt.)


7.  Serve with fresh cilantro and add pepper to taste. Note: I like to cut tiny little snippets of my cilantro stems into the bottom of my soup bowl and then add the leaves on top.
~~

As you can see above, I make mine VERY spicy! I swear by this soup! It will clean you up, clean you out, make your eyes water, wash out your sinuses, possibly helps prevent cancer (yes. really! see this link!), and fill you up, satisfy your hunger and appetite, and for almost no calories.  Let me repeat: almost NO CALORIES!

My recipe comes to about 78 calories a cup or 155 calories for a 2-cup serving.

For a more traditional recipe with coconut milk where I got my inspiration (I don't like coconut and like mine spicier.):  http://thaifood.about.com/od/thairecipes/r/tomyumkung.htm

1-2 cups equals a very nice serving. I save the extra soup right in a sauce pan and reheat it and have lunch for three or four  days.

It is grrreeat for detoxing and dieting as well as hot Thai taste and great nutrition!

Enjoy!

-bbffair

Posted by bbffair at 6:31 PM

Building Up By Listening Deeply

In Training

When you are in training for something, you are building up. It requires a balance between deeply respecting the place that you begin from and creating a bridge to get to the place where your goal is.

If you don't deeply respect the place that you begin from, you will not get to your goal, or, if you do, you will, by working against your body, get there without the balance and grace of working with your body.

When you are working with a grace and awareness of where your body is -now- the journey is different in really healthy and nourishing ways. You are loving yourself along the way, not just at the end after traumatizing the body into it.

Image: Attribution: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-19650-0017 / CC-BY-SA Courtesy of WikiMedia.org /http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-19650-0017,_Leipzig,_DHfK,_Stabhochsprung.jpg


Remember The Power of 12 Minutes.

When I listen to my body, sometimes 12 minutes is all it is up for. Sometimes it is where I begin. But also sometimes that happens in 5 minute increments. Also, some days, what I can do, no matter what I've built up to, can still be 12 minutes,  or 20 minute, 25 minutes, 30 minutes, 35 minutes, 40 minutes, 45 minutes. Wow. That may seem like a lot of possibilities. Good. A lot of possibilities helps me to pay attention to respecting what my body needs, as a minimum, or for what it is willing to stretch into today, and also for where is enough for today.

When I listen to my body, sometimes I need to take two or even three days off during the week. I usually aim for looking at Sundays and Wednesdays as my days off. If I need them, I take them. If I need a lighter day, I take a lighter day. If I am feeling strong and my body wants to move, I go for it. For me, Wednesdays and Sundays are days when I especially listen to the body for its needs for rest or restoration or breath.

(Also, if I've had a very busy day with already too much on my plate or a physically intense day, such as a house cleaning day, or a social day where I am going out river rafting or dancing, etc. that may be enough. If I check in with myself, and hear that I've done enough, I don't add my exercise routine in on top of that. I've done enough. I just did it differently.)

The beauty in this is that, when I listen to my body, when it needs to rest up or lighten up, (or trade off on other activities) and respect that, it gets stronger! I find that by respecting those signals, that I can soon be going further than I ever thought, sooner than I ever thought.

Now I know, establishing a routine IS important. But I believe deeply that a routine is best established slowly in a way that doesn't threaten the body.

I remember, years ago, landing in New York state in the middle of January and deciding to start jogging. I didn't warm up or prepare myself. I went out in sub-zero weather, ran for six miles, tore all my muscles and couldn't move for a week. That was the end of my brilliant new jogging routine. Fini! I burned out before I even got out of the gate.

I've done the same at the gym in the past: signed up, signed on, dragged myself to seven aerobic classes a week and then done nothing but come home and need extra calories and to sleep to recover. I'd simply depleted myself, used up all my calories until I was starved for fuel and too exhausted to do anything else but sleep.

We can add five minutes and establish that for two to four weeks and then, when it is easy and part of our daily routine to do that much, ask the body if it's ready to add five more minutes. I know five minutes at a time seems soooo slow. But it is a perfect way to begin. And it is a perfect way to add on and deepen. And it is respectful to the body.

Listening to the body, letting it guide you as to when it needs to lighten up or when it is ready to go further, higher, longer, stronger is the way to build that bridge so that the body is cooperating with your desire to get there too.

-bbffair

Composting: Not a Ladies Hobby

In the Garden

In the garden, so many wonderful things to grow: flowers and herbs and tomatoes and one feels the connections to their kitchen, to the earth, to the divine order of life and seasons.

(And, isn't this a great picture of a little backyard garden? So pretty!)
A Cottage Garden By Beverlynation (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons")

And, then, this woman, mistakenly decides she will try out composting. What's so hard about all that? A few coffee grounds, the snips and peels of fresh fruit and vegetables and leftover herbs. It should be a sweet and easy accomplishment.

But: 
NO! NOT! NOT! NOT AT ALL!

Okay, I don't want to discourage any of you more capable folks out there, but composting for me was a complete disaster.

After months of collecting, mixing, etc. etc., OMG this stuff smells and the smell stays and the smell STINKS B.A.D.

The more you collect, the more you have to turn it. The more there is, the heavier it gets. The heavier it gets, the harder it is to turn it. It gets flies in it and when it rains it gets even heavier and then it starts to stink and stink and then it gets even stinkier.

I understand that there ARE some nice EXPENSIVE easy (yeah!) systems that will do this for you, possibly in a much more civilized fashion, etc.

But at least for the daintier do-it-yourself-er, at least with the double pails with the holes in it system (that seemed soooo easy and soooo simple on youtube) NO NO NO NO NO!

I do understand, I could add more things to this to reduce the smell -STINK- but the thing is I cannot get far enough away from it as it is. And it is already more than I can manually stir, it is so heavy. 
And when it stinks (STINKS!), it permeates the air, your hands, the ground.

Oh ICK!

I will buy my fertilizer from the local nursery. Thank you very much. There are just some things this girl is not cut out for.

But best of luck and hat's off to you if your adventures thus went better than mine.

 English: Claes Oldenburg "Clothespin" in Center Square, Philadelphia. Dedicated before 1978, no visible copyright notice, so public domain.

17 May 2012  by Smallbones

Courtesy of Wikimedia.org / http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clothespin_Philly_2.JPG

Holding Clothespin Over Nose.

-bbffair

King's Omelette

King's Omelette: 
Wild and Garden Herb and Vegetable Omelette


Lately, I've been reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin. There is a lot of exotic, detail described, freshly prepared food the characters partake of in this series. Without all that warring and conspiring, how would they ever burn off all the calories? And yet, much of the fare is mouth watering to read, especially their many coursed feasts. However, most of their breakfasts (breaking the fast as they say in ye old world of A Song of Ice and Fire) were very simple, a bit on the dull and repetitive side ( a lot of boiled eggs) , and overall failed to inspire me.

I decided it was time to create one of my own, an inspired kingly breakfast. I aspired to indulge the Ladies and Lords with a different fare: a delectable and hardy, but healthy, herb filled first (or second or third, fourth, fifth? etc) meal for ye royal appetites of olde: a breakfast fit for a King!

Zürich, Grossmünster church : Crypt with Charlemagne statue (original) of the southern tower. By Roland zh (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grossm%C3%BCnster_-_Innenansicht_-_Krypta_-_Charlemagne_2010-08-30_16-37-00.JPG

And here it is:

A many herb -including fresh dill- mushroom, spinach, tomato, and dandelion leaf omelette with roasted herb potatoes served with a dill sauce, and a side herb salad.

Ingredients:

Coffee (of course!) (I know they would do beer or mead or wine, but me, I like my coffee just fine with my eggs) (If you're really going for a theme, you can always brew dandelion root tea or roast dandelion roots for dandelion coffee. Me, I like dark roast coffee, but the dandelion coffee or tea is very nice too.)

Omega 3 Grade A Organic Eggs 

Organic Milk

Organic Unsalted Butter  (Oh those were the days when you didn't have to ask for organic)

Olive Oil Pam  (Of course, modern inventions save on calories for those of us who do not wander the kingdoms for our daily exercise routines)

Fresh Orange Juice

Fresh Dill

Fresh Rosemary

Fresh Thyme

Fresh Lemon

Fresh Sage

Fresh Dandelion Leaves (You want to harvest these fresh in the spring somewhere where there are no pesticides in the ground, before they flower or else they will be too bitter. When in doubt or out of season Whole Foods -of olde- carries them too.)

Fresh Red Potatoes

Fresh Herb Lettuce or Spring Mix  (All the fresh goodness from ye handy nearby garden or cook's greenery)

Good Dijon Mustard (I like Maille old style  -it's olde style also, so go with it, it's keeping the theme alive-  whole grain Dijon. It's a little up there in calories, but the taste is divine.)

Mayonnaise (I know but sometimes you have to) (I am still searching for taste in alternatives.)

Sea Salt

Black Ground Pepper

Black Grinder Pepper

Ground Paprika

1/2 Shredded Carrot

Fresh Baby Spinach

Fresh Brown Mushrooms

Cherry Tomatoes

Chi-Chi's Chunky Hot Salsa  (some ingredients you have to go back to the future for)

Fresh Parsley

Turmeric Powder

Grape Seed Oil

~~
Potatoes:
Thin slice the potatoes and put in a shallow baking pan sprayed with Pam Olive Oil. Spray potatoes with Pam Olive Oil, pepper generously and sprinkle with a few pinches of fresh parsley.

If you want, you can also squeeze a tablespoon or two of fresh lemon and 1 or 2 T. of grape seed oil in a bowl and brush the potatoes as well.

Put the potatoes in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, turning at least once, or more as needed, (and if using the lemon and oil, brush on again when turning). Shred (mince) 1/2 carrot, chop up some fresh dandelion, and rough cut about four cherry tomatoes and stir these in about fifteen minutes before potatoes are done.

Prep:
Place a handful of fresh herb lettuce on each serving plate.

Scissor cut about 5 loose Tbsps. of fresh dill, put 3 T in a bowl and set aside.  Set aside another T. of fresh dill on a spice plate. Throw in the remaining dill scraps over the herb lettuce portions.

Cut up about 6-7 large dandelion leaves. Chop up the stems in little pieces and the leaves in bigger pieces. Throw a couple of leaves in with the salad on the plates.

Dill Sauce for Potatoes:
In the bowl with three T. of fresh dill, add 3 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice, salt and pepper, 4 teaspoon of good Dijon, and 1/2 cup loosely packed mayonnaise. If you want to stir this the olde way, you can just take a fork or a whisk (Did they have whisks in ye olden times?) and whisk this to a cream. Or, if like me, you want to dash back to modern appliance times, just throw it in the Magic Bullet for a few seconds. Set aside.

More Prep:
Chop fresh thyme and rosemary and sage pieces and set aside with the T. chopped dill.

Begin Vegetable and Herb Saute:
In a  small fry pan, coated with Pam Olive Oil, add 1-2 T. butter. Add some of the thyme and rosemary and sage and dill pieces, then saute a whole pan of sliced mushrooms. Add pepper and  a touch of paprika.

In a second small fry pan, melt 1 T. butter and then put the butter in a small bowl and mix with 3/4 teaspoon of ground turmeric.

Check the potatoes:
They should be about 30-35 minutes by now with another 10-15 minutes to go.
(If they aren't cooking, raise up the oven to 450 and turn again in 10 minutes before proceeding. )
When the potatoes seem close to ready, proceed.
If you are using the lemon and oil mixture, brush on one more time. Stir in the extra ingredients (shredded carrot, minced cherry tomato, and dandelion accents) into the potatoes. (The last ten - fifteen minutes is a good time for this, so they integrate, but don't get fried over the longer time the potatoes need.) Also, you can add some lemon zest over the potatoes either now or just before serving.

Continuing the Sauteed Vegetables:
When the mushrooms are starting to brown, add in about 6 (sliced in half or thirds) cherry tomatoes. A few minutes later, stir the turmeric butter into the pan as well. Continue sauteing. Towards the end, throw in a handful of the chopped up dandelion stems too.

Begin Omelette:

Stir 2 eggs per person with milk in a bowl.*

*Note: This recipe is for one hungry person, or, if you aren't that hungry, you can split it. But if you are cooking more, keep to a 2 egg + milk omelette in a small pan for each portion; there are a LOT of veggies in this and a bigger one may not flip well.

Melt another 1/2 T. of butter in the second pan. Add egg mix into the heated pan. Add more of the chopped thyme, rosemary, sage, and dill and pepper. Add the chopped dandelion stems and then the leaves. Add spinach leaves. Let wilt a minute in the egg mixture while the omelette sets up. Add all or a lot of the sauteed mushrooms and cherry tomatoes mixture over the top. Sprinkle with more pepper and lemon zest.

Let this set up and omelette brown nicely before turning. When you turn, add in 1/2 T. more butter so that omelette browns nicely on opposite side.


Serve:
Serve with potatoes on plate with drizzle of dill sauce over. Serve omelette with Chi Chi's hot salsa on side or over. Leave salad undressed. Pour orange juice and fresh coffee with milk.

This omelette is so colorful, so exotic, and so healthy!

Yumm!

-bbffair
(Ye Olde King's Cook - (or Queen's)- whoever wins the Game of Thrones)

How To Store Cilantro

Cilantro or Fresh Coriander

This is one of my favorite everyday herbs. I use it so much that I have finally started growing a couple of pots of my own.

One of the problems with buying it at a store is that it never seems to keep for more than a few days. Twice a week -or more!- I was going back to buy another bundle.

"Fresh Coriander Or Cilantro Herb" by SOMMAI, courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net / http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Herbs_and_Spices_g68-Fresh_Coriander_Or_Cilantro_Herb_p70764.html

Fed up with that, I went on a mission to find out how to store this fragile, wonderful herb so that when I have more than I need (from the store) that it will last longer. Well, I went through about a dozen different experiments until I found the one that really works! It's easy and incredibly reliable. Now my stored cut cilantro lasts up to two weeks!

Here's what I do:  I bring the cilantro home and clip off the ends above the roots (or just a bit of the ends if the roots have already been clipped) and wash it or soak it in water until all of the dirt comes out. (There is a lot of dirt in cilantro before it's washed.) Once it's clean, I shake it really good and put it in the salad spinner or else roll it in paper towels until it is very dry, especially the leaves. Just don't let it sit out too long or it will still wilt.

Once the leaves are dry again, I plop the cut stems into a glass or jar of water and cover the whole thing loosely (not tied) with one of those thin plastic bags you get at the produce department and stick it in the fridge. I cover the top but do not tuck the bottom down or under the container, but let the bag hang lose around the bottom of the glass or jar so that air also gets in.

This will also save you $$$ over time if you use a lot of cilantro like I do and find that you need to buy it rather than grow your own.

Note: a little more dirt may drop into the water, so inspect before you use as you may need to rinse again.

Also, it's a good idea to change the water every few days and remove any dull leaves. But mostly this will keep so much longer and stay perfect until you need it in a dish!

-bbffair

Ginger and Lemongrass

Ginger and Lemongrass

Two of my most favorite Thai spices. And so, I have planted some of both. Will see how my garden grows!

-bbffair






"Pink Ginger" by Jayen466 courtesy of Wikimedia @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pink_Ginger.JPG

Yummy Summer Health Drinks! Wheat Grass and Strawberry Almond Smoothies

    

Yummy Summer Health Drinks:  

Wheat Grass  and Strawberry Almond Smoothies

I have a fab health drink that gets me balanced again on those days that I feel somewhat off, like I can't quite figure our what I need: fruit? more greens?  protein? missing vitamins? You know that feeling where there is sort of a hole or a need and you don't know what it is, but you definitely need something!

Well, I have a perfect solution for that, as well as a great low calorie pick-me-up:  It's my simple, handy-dandy (drum roll please):

"Strawberry Milk" by Rawich @  http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/agree-terms.php?id=10086166

 

Wheat Grass Smoothie:

It calls for 1 Cup of chilled Unsweetened (gluten free) Almond Milk (40 calories) 

and 

1 scoop of Amazing Grass (gluten free and raw) Wheat Grass Powder (another 35 calories)

  

 (+ sometimes some probiotics for good measure)

 

Give it a shake, throw it in the Magic Bullet and Voilà!

or

(Since it's SummerTime!)

"Pile Of Strawberries" by Ambro courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/agree-terms.php

A Nice Strawberry Almond Smoothie:

 

This is such a pretty, as well as tasty, summer drink! 

 

Just add a half cup of fresh strawberries (23 calories) 

to

 1/2 cup of cold Almond Milk (20 calories)

Toss in the old blender

and  

Voilà again!

Hint: About 3 big strawberries = 1/2 cup, but I like to chop up three more (another 23 calories) to much along with my  smoothie)

 

Total Calories:  Wheat Grass Smoothie: 75 calories

Strawberry Almond Smoothie: 43 calories

Strawberry Almond Smoothie with 3 extra big strawberries to munch on too:  66 calories

and

!ALL OF IT IS GOOD FOR YOU!

 

Bon Appétit!

-bbffair

 

Note:  You can add the strawberries into the wheat grass smoothie if you want, but the strawberries will get lost in there, so I'd eat them on the side if you want a combo.

Indian Spicy Lemonade

Experimenting With Lemonade


About lemonade: it can get interesting.

It doesn't always have to be the sugary high-calorie version or the oddly vacant diet formula.

Recently, I found this very different recipe for spicy Indian lemonade.*






The Ingredients:

1 tsp. fennel seed

1 star anise

1 tsp. fresh grated ginger

2-3 whole lemons, squeezed

1/4 cup of fresh mint leaves loosely packed

2 Tbsp. sugar (you can add two more Tbsp. to taste)

2 cups of water

2 cups of ice


The Recipe:

In a frying pan, stir the fennel and the star anise and toast them dry -without oil- constantly stirring until they are nicely browned.

Then ground them up in a Magic Bullet or coffee grinder

Then get out your blender and toss them in with the ginger, the juice from the squeezed lemons, the fresh mint, sugar, water and blend.

Pour through a strainer to get out the bits.

Put it back in the blender and add in the ice and hit the blender until the ice is crushed.

It makes about 4 servings, each of which is about 31 calories in the 2 Tbsp. sugar version and about 51 calories in the 4 Tbsp. version.

Enjoy!

-bbffair


* For a version of this and other wonderful lemonades and drinks, as well as many awesome dishes, visit:
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/search/delegate?searchString=lemonade 

~~ 

The beautiful picture above is "Lemonade" by Suat Eman courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos 

 http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Other_Drinks_g65-Lemonade_p10832.html

My Tom Yum(m) Soup - Very Spicy

Tom Yum(m) Soup

Where have I been? You guessed it! On an adventure into Thai cooking!

OMG! I LOVE Thai food! And now I have  just a few beautiful recipes to share that I have made my own.

For today, here is my Tom Yum(m) Soup! The picture on this post is of my lunch. Isn't it beautiful!

I make it extra, extra hot and spicy!


Okay, here goes:

My Tom Yum(m) Soup

Ingredients List:

6-8 cups (1-1/2 to 2 boxes ) Chicken Stock (Organic Pacifica brand is very good)

2 stalks of lemon grass

Zest of 1 medium lime
       (Note: Some recipes call for Tafir (lime) leaves. They are hard to find for me right now, but lime zest works great as a substitute.)

5-6 red Thai chili peppers (wear gloves for handling these -they WILL burn you or your eyes!)
      Take off stems and slice lengthwise into 2 or 4 strips and then chop and put aside, keep seeds for cooking too

2-3 tiny fresh red cherry peppers (the size of a cherry tomato) (do not use these seeds - they might make you cough) -or 1/4-1/5 of a fresh red bell pepper - sliced thin

Generous handful of Shitake  mushrooms (can be substituted with brown mushrooms) sliced thin

1 lb. package of frozen large raw peeled and devined shrimp (thawed in cold water while you prep recipe)
      (or fresh raw peeled and devined large shrimp)

Juice of medium lime

1/3 cup fresh cilantro

1-3 T. of high quality fish sauce

Broccoli - one large stalk chop up the stem into thin pieces and also the flowers into little pieces

1-4 short dollops of Chili sauce* (I use Sriraja Paniich or Taste of Thai Garlic Chili Sauce)
(*Note: I like this better than regular garlic which I don't really like to handle and find it integrates very nicely and doesn't "stand out" if you know what I mean.)

1/2 package of ripe fresh cherry tomatoes
 
 ~~

Prep:

Prepare all the ingredients as directed above and in step 2 below before beginning.

~~

Directions:

1.  Pour chicken stock into a pan and bring to boil.

2.  Cut off the bulb and any brown tops of the lemongrass and peel the outer layers. Chop the good (edible) white portion of the lemongrass into tiny pieces. Cut the upper stems in 3-4 places slightly (not all the way through) and then bruise (hammer and bend) and add the pieces and the bruised stems into the now boiling chicken broth for about 2 minutes

3.  Add the garlic sauce dollops to taste (I use 4 good ones). Add the cut up Thai peppers and seeds, the red peppers, lime zest, and mushrooms. Reduce heat to medium-simmer for 2 minutes.

4.  Add shrimp and broccoli and simmer medium for 4 minutes until shrimp is pink and done.

5.  Reduce heat to med-low. Add fish sauce, juice from one whole medium lime, and tomatoes.
Can cover, if desired. Cook about 3 minutes. Stir well -gently simmer.

(Usually this is about perfect for my tastes. But test it for yourself. If too salty, add more lime juice. If too sour, add 1/4 t. sugar. Not spicy enough for your taste, maybe another dollop of chili sauce will take it there!)


*Options:   1/4 t.  sea salt
                  1/4 t.  sugar
                  1/2 can evaporated milk or coconut milk

(Note: I don't add milk to mine or sugar)


6.  Remove lemongrass stalks and discard. (They add flavor to the soup but are not edible like the chopped parts.)

7.  Serve with fresh cilantro and/or Thai chili sauce.

~~

As you can see above, I make mine VERY spicy! I swear by this soup! It will clean you up, clean you out, make your eyes water, wash out your sinuses, possibly helps prevent cancer (yes. really! see this link!), and fill you up, satisfy your hunger and appetite, and for almost no calories.  Let me repeat: almost NO CALORIES!

My recipe comes to about 78 calories a cup or 155 calories for a 2-cup serving.

For a more traditional recipe with coconut milk where I got my inspiration (I don't like coconut and like mine spicier.):  http://thaifood.about.com/od/thairecipes/r/tomyumkung.htm

1-2 cups equals a very nice serving. I save the extra soup right in a sauce pan and reheat it and have lunch for three or four  days.

It is grrreeat for detoxing and dieting as well as hot Thai taste and great nutrition!

Enjoy!

-bbffair

Spring Sprint - Final Weeks

Download Wild Flowers by dan courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Flowers_g74-Wild_Flowers_p32782.html

Spring Sprint - Final Weeks

For the next three weeks:
I am going for a repeat of week three.

Only, for the next three weeks, I am upping the bounce from 25 minutes back to 45 minutes.

I am feeling stronger, lighter, more aware of my energy and my movements.

The bounce is triggering my metabolism. When I want to push deeper, I jump higher, kick higher, listening to my body, letting it be as free and as energized as it desires, but letting it guide me. When I'm tired or sore, I gentle it down, letting the movement soften into a steady light bouncing and become a moving meditation, a place to think or imagine.

My body is finding its balance: the places where I am getting results, the places where I am building stamina, and where the body is memorizing and maintaining new levels of equilibrium.

Letting the body be my guide, honoring it, and also holding onto my intentions and goals for this last three weeks, I have found it is working with me.

-bbffair

Spring Sprint - Week Three - Focus on Lightness

  
Lightness

Third week (or fourth if you count the prep week) and I see I'll have to re-clean the house again.

But what I am thinking about here is lightness.




Apple blossom, courtesy of wikimedia commons @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DSCF4435.JPG

I am thinking about the light that has returned to the north country, the light-as-a-feather touchdown in the bounce and the air in the lift and less muscle. Yes. Less muscling through. Less endurance. More focus on lightness.

And this may seem counter-intuitive, but it's interesting. You see, playing around last week with the intervals, I could not seem to resist how great that felt to do that AND how hard it was on my body. I ended up working twice as hard and twice as long. And that is okay in a spring sprint week, but there are warning lights with overdoing and they include risk of self-injury and, especially, burn-out.

So, if this is going to work, it needs that lightness, that lift-off, that sustainable sweet spot that is neither too much or too little. And, hence, the refocus, this week on lightness.

And, it is paying off. I've modified my spring sprint workout again, this week,  to do only 25 minutes of the bounce on five days, keeping it lighter than ever,  light as a feather, and, in addition, to only do the Callanetics (still at 1/2 time like I describe) only just 2-3 times instead of 4 times and the arm exercises only 4 times.

I've added twenty minutes a day in vitamin D sunlight time, soaking those nourishing light rays in through my skin. And I am lightening up on foods, thinking apples and greens and lighter fare, fish three times this week, water, water, water, and remembering my vitamins.

And I am allowing the idea of light and lightness to permeate my mood, my awareness, my body, my mind, my heart. And, in the name of spring, spirit and light opening.

And nothing more this week. That's it. No add-on walks.

Anything I feel like doing extra is just for joie de vivre. I am listening deeply to my body. It can rest when it needs to and dance when it wishes.

And, now I know that it shouldn't seem to make any sense that light would reap more results, but it can. The body does not need to be kicked down the street into wellness. It needs to be loved. And in this gentling and honoring, like spring flowers opening, the body opens and responds to the light and the lightening.

-bbffair

Spring Sprint - Week Two

Intervaling

The basic premise about interval workouts is that you alternate easy, steady lower intensity workouts with small bursts of high energy output.



Spring Crocus Field, Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crocus%28loz%29.JPG

Likewise, you can have also devise a plan-of-action where you have burst of energy weeks AND alternate them with easier, steadier weeks. Therefore you are pushing yourself hard one week and then pacing yourself the next.

Or, in a given exercise, alternating the workout from light to intense to light to intense.

This is supposed to be excellent because the lower intensity burns fat and the upper revs up your metabolism and burns more calories.

So last week was a burst week and this week is a pace week.

It's the same basic routine as week one, only keeping the bounce to 25-35 minutes and maybe playing just a little with some intervals inside the bounce, i.e. like still going with the steady pow-wow-like, continuous moving but with a few placed jumping, leaping movements, just one or two or three bursts tops. And bringing the walking down to 15 minutes and going slower but higher, deeper, stronger movements in it.

See how it can adjust.

-bbffair