Tocotrienol Slam (Vitamin E, Vitamin D and Calcium Power Play)

This is a concoction that my brother-in-law swears by.

First you start with a small glass of Orange Juice.

Then you add a couple of heaping tablespoons of (soluble) calcium (or you could just take 100 mg of calcium tablets if you don't have the powder)

Next you add 2-3 heaping tablespoons of Rice Bran Solubles (which are the polishings from brown rice). This contains "Tocotrienols" which is Vitamin E in its purest form (something like 200 times more potent than "regular" vitamin E).

Next add 3-4 drops of D-3 Serum (made by Premier Research Labs) which is super high-potency Vitamin D (1 drop is 2000IU). Currently, the FDA minimum daily requirement for Vitamin D is only 400IU. An interesting thing to note is that recent featurettes on Dr. Oz have noted that the current FDA D are ridiculously low and should in fact be set at 4-5,000IU per day for men.

You cannot metabolize calcium without the presence of Vitamin D. This drink is awesome

Most-Excellent Eggplant Prepared Tamilian-Style

I was asking a vegetarian friend of mine (from India) how she prepared eggplant.

In her country, eggplant is called "Kathirikai" and they eat it all the time.

She described a most-excellent recipe and even took the time to go with me over to an Indian Market named Pasha to get the some of the supplies.

At the market we picked up two really nice looking eggplants and a fresh coconut (which she gave to the man in back - like a butcher - and told him to "crack it"...it came back in a sack broken into about four pieces) and some "Chapati Bread" (basically a wheat flour tortilla) and a few of the spices below. For the ones I didn't need a lot of, she took me over to her apartment and poured bits of various spices into newspaper squares, which she then folded up origami-style.

There are quite a few ingredients:

• 2 medium eggplants


• 1/2 fresh coconut, ground meat on cheese grater


• fresh ginger (about two inches of root), ground on cheese grater


• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced


• 1/2 tomato (I used a Roma)


• 1/2 onion


• 1/4 cup vegetable oil


• 1 tsp ground cumin


• 2 tbsp ground tumeric


• 1 tbsp coriander seeds (or ground coriander)


• 2 tsp fennel seeds (or ground fennel)


• 1 tsp cayenne pepper powder (heat to taste)


• 1/4 tsp Asafoetida powder^*

1. Coat your eggplant with oil and remove the stem, etc. from the top. Put them into a pan in your oven, set to "Broil" for about 30 minutes, turning them over half way through.

2. Meanwhile, break out all of the meat from the coconut and chop it finely (I used my hand cheese grater). Then dice the onion and the tomato and also mince the garlic.

3. With the exception of the tumeric, mix all of the dry ingredients together in the same bowl.

4. Once the eggplants are ready, remove them from the oven. Let it cool until you can slice the eggplant into four or eight pieces and remove the skin. Then chop up the "peeled" eggplant into 1" cubes.

5. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a frying pan, until it starts to sizzle. Then add the tumeric. Vigorously stir that around. The objective here is to "fry" the spice itself. Do this for about a minute and a half.

6. Now add the onion and garlic to the oil. Stir around until the onion is clear.

7. Stir in the tomato and all of the dry ingredients

8. Add the coconut and stir that in to mix well with all of the spices. Let that simmer for about 3 minutes.

9. Next, add the eggplant to the mix and cook, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes. If the mix looks at all dry, add a bit of water.

To eat this, grab a piece of Chapati Bread and throw it into a heated pan. I prefer it to be a bit crispy. Then spoon on some of the Bhurtha mixture onto it and form a sort of "taco".

This is a delicious, completely vegetarian dish.

Shannon Norrell
webdood

^* - Asafoetida powder is an amazing smelling spice that I had heretofore never encountered. To me, this stuff smells like the "essence" of Indian food and is perhaps more closely aligned with the smell we all are used than even curry). Use it in judiciously small amounts.

Euphoric Enchiladas

This is the definitive recipe for chicken enchiladas, in my opinion.


Ingredients

• 2-3 Chicken Breasts (enough to make 2-3+ cups shredded chicken)


• 1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup


• Chicken Broth (optional - water works too)


• 1 cup Picante Sauce (Pace or other, thicker brand)


• Small can of enchilada sauce


• 3+ Cups shredded cheese


• Package of tortillas - I use corn, which comes in a pack of about 15

1. Cook the chicken however you like. I have made this recipe with chicken that came off of the grill and also with chicken that I just boiled. The important thing is that it be cooked thoroughly. Let it cool a bit before the next step

2. Shred the chicken. I just put the pieces in a blender and let-'er rip.

3. Prepare the Cream of Chicken Soup. Use a larger pot as you will be mixing the other ingredients into the soup mixture as you go. Instead of a can of water, I use a can of Chicken Broth here.

4. Into the chicken broth, add 1 cup of Picante Sauce and half of the cheese, stir

5. Into this mixture, add in the shredded chicken. I try to add in as much as I can until the mixture is thick enough to spoon up easily. Let the mixture cool.

6. Fill each tortilla with about 2 spoons of the chicken mixture and roll.

Place into a pan. Top with enchilada sauce and remaining cheese.

Finally, place into a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes (until the cheese is melted and everything is bubbling.

Let your enchiladas cool for about 20 minutes before serving.

Awesome Mushroom Munchy - Bunashimeji

Bunashimeji Mushroom Munchie

I have this nearly every morning for breakfast.

It is exceedingly simple if you have all of the ingredients.

Take a bundle of Bunashimeji mushrooms, trim off the bottom "roots"

Put that into a microwaveable container (I use a small wooden bowl).

Put about a tablespoon or so of Kappo Shirodashi

Put about a teaspoon of strong lime or lemon juice

Cover the bowl in plastic wrap.

Microwave for two minutes.

The result tastes much like meat and is completely satisfying as a meal.

I figure it has about 35 calories total.

For the citrus, I use "Citron" sauce, from a nearby Asian market.

Kappo Shirodashi is made of Soy sauce, bonito extract, mushroom extract, seaweed extract, sugar, salt, sweet sake and monosodium glutamate. Basically, it's "fish sauce".

shannon norrell

Fantastic Fennel

This is a vegetarian dish that is very low in fat (and calories) but very big on taste!

You could actually use the results as a topper over pasta (used like spaghetti sauce) or, as is my preference, can be eaten alone as guilt-free main dish.

2/3 Red Onion, diced
1 large Fennel root, chopped into pieces like the onion
1-2 Apples, also diced
1 tbs Minced Garlic
1 tsp Dried Chipotle Pepper
1-2 tsp Cracked Black Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Tomato Paste

Coat the bottom of your pan with Extra-Virgin olive oil.
Get the oil hot. (until it steams)
Throw about a cup and a half of (2/3rds of a large) chopped red onion into the oil
Stir the onion until it gets clear.
Add 1 tbs of minced garlic, stir that into the mix for maybe a minute.
Add the large diced Fennel Root to the mix.
Depending on how dry the Fennel is, you may need to add a bit more olive oil at this point.
Cook the Fennel until it too, starts to get clear. (this should take about five minutes total)
During this process, you should get some small burning from the onion as it caramelizes. This is good because this is flavor.
Add a generous amount of cracked black pepper. Personally, I use about two teaspoons.
Add about 1 tsp of dried Chipotle Pepper. This stuff is red, like Paprika.
About four minutes into the cooking of the fennel, add the chopped Apples.
When the Fennel looks relatively clear, add about 1/4 cup of tomato sauce to the mix.
You will need to add water to reconstitute the Tomato sauce. I usually just put the pan under the faucet and give it a squirt.
For me, I try not to get it too "soupy" and add just enough water to get the tomato paste thin enough to stir into the other ingredients.

Use tomato paste if you can as that has the lowest salt content of all of the canned tomato products. If you want to use fresh tomatoes, that's great, but you will have to add 3/4 tsp of salt to the mix as the tomato paste is what gives the recipe its salt.


Shannon Norrell