Tulsi Tea

Here's an informative article on tulsi tea (sometimes called "tulasi", too) which is starting to make appearance in store shelves in the U.S. I've been drinking a tulsi + green tea mix from Organic India, which I like as an occasional option to pure green tea, because the mix is less bitter. You may want to try it, too; pay attention to the interaction warnings in the article, though.

Rethinking the Corn System

Here are a couple of thought-provoking articles about America's Corn System and how it will likely have to adapt ahead. Some diversification is already being seen from local farmers who have gone organic, remained independent, and have moved forward to producing specialty crops such as pulses and legacy grains (although the total acreage involved is just the tip of the iceberg). One thing to note is the flawed approach of Big Ag's proposal to use GMOs to increase yield. Yield is not the problem; it's how the crop is used that's the issue. It's more efficient to send calories to feeding people than to feeding animals and cars.

• Scientific American, It's Time to Rethink America's Corn System
• Sustainable Table, Animal Feed

Toothpaste

It's a really mundane topic, but have you ever read the ingredients on the box? It's typically a chemical hodgepodge, and frankly, that makes me nervous! Not to mention there's ongoing arguments over the safety of triclosan, an antibacterial additive that fell out of favor in the 1990s only to reappear in the last few years and sodium lauryl sulfate, too.

My thought is, "Use something that's efficacious yet as simple and natural as possible". But reading the ingredient list on the plethora of toothpaste options in the typical store is disturbing, as nearly all contain a long list of multi-syllable chemical compounds. Disappointingly, even Tom's of Maine is filled with complex ingredients.

In my ad-hoc and unscientific search for toothpaste options, I've opted to go with Arm & Hammer Truly Radiant. Yes, it has sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium saccharine, and sodium fluoride, but there's no ideal "all natural" option on the shelves that I've found, unless you want to use pure baking soda only. Anyway, here's a shot of the A&H if you want to check it out. Tip: Click on the pictures to zoom in; then click on the "X" at the top right-hand corner to close the zoom window.

Vegetarian but not clueless

A site caveat: In 2010 I switched to a vegetarian diet and most of the content here reflects that. It didn't happen over night, I was gravitating that way for a year or two. In my case, it's completely by choice, but for six years now it's been a choice that I've been happy and pleased with :-)

My point in writing this is that I understand most people are omnivores - and that's great! If you enjoy fish and meat as protein sources, there's as many good reasons for that as an all veggie diet. I'm not here to argue one way or the other, other than "Eat and enjoy what works for you!" That said, if you're open to looking at nutritional veggie-based eating options, then that's part of the adventure I'm documenting here, and I hope you'll find some useful and actionable information in the process :-)

Lemonade by the glass

We have a Ponderosa lemon tree that bears large, tart lemons throughout the year (if it had been my choice, I'd have opted for the sweeter Meyer lemon, but the tree predates us).

Anyway, here's some twists on lemonade by the glass.

Ingredients:

• 2 - 3 Tbs fresh lemon juice (depending on how tart you like it).
• 2 Tbs sugar (be generous here, especially when working with tart lemons).
• 8 oz of chilled water

Directions:

• Create your own "simple syrup" by dissolving the sugar with a few ounces of boiling water in the glass.
• Add the lemon juice.
• Add ice (or not; your choice) and top-off with chilled water.

 
Note: I originally posted this recipe specifying agave syrup instead of refined sugar. At that time, I believed it was a preferable sweetener. However, recent findings indicate that agave syrup is primarily fructose-based, and since fructose isn't directly digestible by the body, it ends up being removed by the liver. So, you can use agave if you prefer it's lower glycemic index, but be aware that it puts more load on your liver, too.)

Fun twists:

• Add some fresh, julienne-cut or crushed mint leaves.
• Add 1/3 glass of sparking water, which makes a refreshing spritzer.
• Add 1/4 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc, for a wine cooler.

À la vôtre!

Refined sugar vs. high fructose corn syrup?

Given in the course of simple existence that we will be faced with the decision, "Do I eat this product, which contains high fructose corn syrup, or find one like it that uses raw or refined sugar?" Which is the better choice? I was curious myself and found this article from HealthDay, which concludes, sugar is sugar and daily intake is what you want to manage! Seems like an obvious and intuitive conclusion - and this livestrong article backs it up.

Sourdough Starter & Bread

Most people are familiar with sourdough bread, but did you know that you can make sourdough starter and bread easily at home? All that's necessary to get started is some whole grain flour, water, and a non-reactive bowl or jar.

Starter recipe & attribution: King Arthur Flour

No-knead Bread Recipe: Bittman, the NY Times (Tip: Use about 1/3rd cup of starter instead of the packaged yeast mentioned in the recipe).

Here's the kick-off!

Two Days Later

Here, we can see the texture is changing and bubbles are starting to appear, which is a good sign that fermentation is on track. At this point, another week of care and feeding - and then it should be possible to use this starter for baking!

About Two Weeks Later

Two weeks later, ready to rumble! I learned a lot about what to do better and why it took so long, too ;-) Basically, don't feed quite as often, use 1:1 ratio flour to warm water when feeding, and a warm environment is better (at least 72 degrees F or so).

The First Loaf

The first finished loaf (a little too crusty, because it was baked at 450 degrees F, but the flavor was just fine). Alongside some Moroccan chickpea stew (recipe & attribution: The Clean Dish).

The Third Loaf

Learning more refinements, the best loaf yet! A third of it was eaten right after it had cooled, it was that good. Nice and spongy, lots of air bubbles within, and just enough crust. This was baked at 400 degrees, instead of 450 degrees as described in the recipe, making the crust just right.

Some other observations:

• The starter has gotten better over time! After several care and feeding cycles, it's become more responsive and active, yielding effectively the same results as dry, store-bought yeast :-)
• Use flour specifically for "bread making" if it's available. It will yield better results. I've also mixed one cup whole wheat flour with two cups unbleached general purpose flour, and that works, but it results in a loaf that's more dense and with less rise. Some breadmakers say adding a tablespoon of oil to the dough mixture before baking helps in this case, but I haven't tried that yet.

Veggie Lunch

I put this lunch together pretty easily at home, as I had all the ingredients on-hand. It was the first time I've made this Moroccan Chickpea Stew and I'll definitely make it again, it was really tasty!

Moroccan Chickpea Stew

Recipe & attribution: The Clean Dish.

Lunch Setting

From the left: Sauteed Swiss chard with tofu, MCS, and Lemon thyme sesame noodles.

Vegetarian Courses

Here are some vegetarian courses I tried at home that were quite good.

Roasted Vegetables

This one has cauliflower, sliced fingerling potatoes, de-seeded and chopped tomatoes, some garlic, and onion (drizzled with a little EVOO, sprinkled with salt, pepper, mixed, and baked at 400 deg F until slightly tender).

Grain Base

This is farro with black lentils (along with some sauteed onions and squash cubes, as shown). Since the farro and lentils take about the same amount of time to cook, I cooked them together in some veg broth, and it came out quite well. Particularly suitable as a bed to put other items on top of. I didn't find the onion & squash very complementary to this dish, so I won't do that again - sometimes you learn by making mistakes ;-)

Thai Style

Here's a Thai style dish, with peanut sauce and fresh mint.

Veggie Bowl

And here's some sauteed veggies over rice with a Sriracha drizzle on top, quite tasty!

Lift for Life!

I was fortunate to develop an affinity for strength training when I was on the swim team during my High School years. It's stuck with me all these decades and it's something I still avidly participate in three or four times a week. As I've aged, however, I've learned that some exercises must go and some must come. Here's a neat article with ideas for older folks like myself, which gives some good tips!