Cutting a pineapple

Pick a pineapple that has a yellow skin and firm to the touch. Buy it 2 days ahead of time, place it on the kitchen counter top to let it ripen. Use a big bowl to save the skin and core, it makes a very flavorful broth.

Cut it in half.
Cut each half in 8 sections, leave the bottom in tact.

Cut the bottom.
Core, and peel each section.

Place 4 sections together and slice.

Fruit salad, don't under estimate its natural sweetness

Making fruit salad is my specialty, everyone keeps requesting it for every occasion. To make the best fruit salad, it has to start with selecting the best fruits. You need a sharp knife, to handle the fruits very gently and after all a lot patience. It takes about 2 hours to put together a beautiful, delicious fruit salad like this.

Makes 20 servings

• 1 pineapple, pick one with a yellow skin but not soft to the touch, I bought it 2 days ahead of time to let it ripen on the kitchen counter top.
• 1 honey dew or melon from Brazil, pick one that is firm, with a lot of fragrance, buy it 2 days ahead of time and let it ripen on the kitchen counter top.
• 1 cantaloupe, find one with a yellow skin, a lot fragrance, buy it 2 days ahead of time and let it ripen on the kitchen counter top.
• 1 small water melon or you can buy 1 quarter of a big one.
• 2 Asian pears.
• 5 clementines.
• 1 pound red grapes, make sure they are firm to the touch. Red grapes are healthier than green ones.
• 1 pound cherries, choose the deep dark ones, firm to the touch.
• 1 pound strawberries.

Steps:

I wash everything 3 times and put them in the colander, strainer, basket to let them dry.
Slice the pineapple, set aside.
Slice half of the cantaloupe, set aside.
Slice half of the honey dew, set aside.
Slice half of the water melon, set aside.
Cube the Asian pears, set aside.
Peel and section the clementines, set aside.

In a big bowl, gently fill a little bit of different pieces of fruits up to about 7/8 of the bowl.


Stem and cut the strawberries in half, arrange them to side of the bowl.

Use the melon baller to make honey dew balls and arrange them next to the strawberries.

Make the cantaloupe balls and arrange them next to the honey dew.
Make the water melon balls and arrange them next to the cantaloupe.
Fill the middle with cherries.
Here you have it, a very healthy, attractive and wonderful fruit salad.

Toasted portabella mushrooms (edited)

This is a very quick and easy way to cook your mushrooms. I have made them so many times, they can be served with rice, bread, salad...

Makes 3 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 portabella mushrooms, washed and dried.
  

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup or equivalent sweetener
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano (or five-spice powder)
• 1/2 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

Steps:

1. Mix the sauce together. Whisk together the ingredients for the sauce.

2. Apply the sauce to the mushrooms. Brush sauce on the top and bottom of each mushroom.

3. Set the toaster oven to dark toast.

4. Lay the mushrooms on a baking pan, stem side up.

5. Toast 4 times.


Can be served with broken rice, pickled carrots, tomato, cucumber and lettuce.


Or as mushroom burger
Or as mushroom sandwich (banh mi chay)

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you and yours the best holidays and a healthy, happy, prosperous New Year.

Roasted bean curd roll

1 roll makes about 8 servings

Ingredients:

Outer layer:
1 1/2 pound frozen bean curd sheets
1 tablespoon salt

Sauce for outer layer:
8 tablespoons maple syrup
8 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
2 tablespoons low-salt soy sauce

Stuffing:
2 pounds of assorted ground mushrooms
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon maple syrup or equivalent sweetener
1/2 teaspoon five-spiced powder
a dash of black pepper

To wrap:
2 layers of 15x15 banana leaves
30-inch cotton string


Sauce for roasting:

• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

Steps:
1. Rinse frozen bean curd sheets with warm water 3 times. Marinade the sheets in 1 tbsp salt for 5 minutes. Squeeze out excess water.
2. Combine ingredients for sauce for the outer layer and mix well.
3. Sauté the mushooms.
4. Lay the two banana leaves on top of each other on a flat surface. Spread the bean curd on the banana leaves. Spread the mushroom mixture at the end near you. Wrap tightly into a roll, folding the edges of the banana leaves in as you roll. Tie the roll from top to bottom with a string.
5. Steam for 1 hour. Let cool completely.
6. Unwrap the roll.
7. Combine the sauce for roasting and mix well.
8. Brush the roll with sauce.
9. Fill a baking tray with about 1 cup water, put the roll on the rack, and place the rack on the baking tray.
10. Bake at 350 degrees F. Brush with sauce every 15 minutes. Bake for about 1 hour or until brown.

Baked bean curd on sugar cane sticks

Makes 15 sticks

Follow the recipe for steamed bean curd sheet on lemon grass sticks but use sugar cane sticks instead.

Sauce for baking:

• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

Steps:

1. Brush the sauce on each stick, bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.
2. Turn the sticks over, brush with sauce again, bake for 15 more minutes or until brown.

Natural Sweeteners

By Annie Berthold-Bond and Nava Atlas, author of The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet

The array of products in the sweetener aisle of your health food store might seem rather mystifying to the natural foods novice, but with a little help, sweeteners like rice syrup, barley malt syrup, and date sugar, among others, can be used with great effect in baked goods of all kinds.

While the detrimental effects of refined sweeteners such as white sugar and corn syrup are still being debated, there is little doubt that Americans consume far too much of it. While natural sweeteners are not nutritional bell ringers, they are generally considered to produce less of a shock to blood sugar level because among the nutrients found in whole food, sugars are necessary minerals that help with sugar metabolism.

From a culinary standpoint, natural sweeteners offer bolder, more complex flavors than sugar, adding delectably different dimensions to baked goods and other treats.

A list of less refined sweeteners, including a chart of equivalents:

These sweeteners can be used like white sugar in baking and cooking and in hot and cold beverages, in general. Note: Sweeteners containing maltose are less destructive to the body’s mineral balance. Recommended for infant formulas.

Agave Nectar: Extracted from the agave plant. It comes in three grades: light, medium and amber. Light agave has a sweet neutral taste; the flavor of the darker shades is more intense and earthy. Low on the glycemic index.

Amasake: fermented rice; 40% maltose

Barley Malt: Dark, sticky and boldly flavored; 50% maltose, a complex sugar that enters the bloodstream slowly. This sweetener offers trace amounts of eight vitamins and several minerals. It is a wonderful addition to squash and pumpkin breads, bran muffins, and hearty rye or pumpernickel breads. Use it to glaze sweet potatoes and to make winter malts combined with bananas and soy milk.

Date Sugar: Ground from dehydrated dates; high in fiber and rich in vitamins and minerals. Use in cakes, muffins and quick breads. Make crumb toppings for pies and fruit crisps. Cannot use to sweeten beverages, as the tiny pieces will not dissolve.

Fruit Juice Concentrates: Fruit juice that has been reduced about one quarter by slow cooking. Note: Some commercial fruit juice concentrates have been stripped of flavor and nutritional value.

Fruit Source: Made from a natural blend of grape and rice carbohydrates (contains fat and sugars). Add 1¼ cups Fruit source to 1 cup of sugar and reduce fat by 50 percent. Optimal oven temperature-- 325 degrees.

Granular Fruit Sweeteners: White grape juice and grain sweeteners that have been dehydrated and granulated.

Honey: nectar from flowers processed in the stomach of bees.

Maltose: Sprouted grains and cooked rice, heated and fermented until starch turns to sugar. Available in Chinese markets.

Maple Syrup: Boiled-down sap of maple trees; has twice as much calcium as milk. Note: Not all maple syrup is pure; some contains traces of formaldehyde, a carcinogen, so it is best to buy organic maple syrup.

Maple Sugar: Left-over dregs from maple syrup; has a wonderful, maple and earthy flavor.

Molasses: Unsulphured molasses is made from the juice of sun-ripened cane and is a byproduct of refined sugar. Blackstrap molasses is the residue of the cane syrup after the sugar crystals have been separated--very nutritious, with high levels of calcium, iron and potassium.

Natural and Organic Sugar: Such as certified organically grown from Florida Crystals, these sweeteners are minimally processed sugar cane.

Rice Syrup: A traditional Asian sweetener; made from rice starch converted into maltose (50%), a complex sugar. Rice syrup is the mildest-flavored of the liquid sweeteners and contains trace amounts of B vitamins and minerals. Use in cereals, cooking and baking, to sweeten hot or cold beverages and cereals, or as a spread for fresh breads.

Sorghum Syrup: Sorghum cane juice, boiled to a syrup. Sorghum cane tends to need few pesticides due to natural insect resistance.

Stevia: Derived from an herb native to Paraguay. It is controversial as a sweetener, but the FDA has approved it as a dietary supplement. Available in a greenish powder or as an extract. Stevia imparts a powerful sweetness with an herbal undertone. It is expensive and extremely sweet, but a little goes a very long way.

Sugar is a major life force and our bodies need it as fuel to feed the ongoing fire of life’s process. The sugars in whole food are balanced with the proper minerals. The energy obtained from breaking and assimilating these sugrs is of a constant and enduring nature.

Natural sweeteners such as fructose, raw sugar, turinado and sucanat

NOTE: Aspartame (brands Nutrasweet or Equal), and saccharin, are artificial sweeteners. A significant body of evidence suggests that artificial sweeteners can cause health problems. Many doctors now warm pregnant women to avoid any products containing Aspartame.

Sweetener Equivalents for 1/2 Cup of Sugar
Agave: ¼ cup
Barley Malt: 1½ cup
Date Sugar: ½ cup
Fruit Juice Concentrate: equal to sugar
Granular Fruit Sweeteners: equal to sugar
Honey: 1/3 cup
Maltose (from sprouted grains): 1¼ cup
Maple Syrup: equal to sugar
Maple Sugar: ¼ cup
Molasses: 1/3 cup
Rice Syrup: 1¼ cup
Sorghum Syrup: 1/3 cup
Sucanat: Same as sugar
Organic sugar: Same as sugar

Tips for the Tradeoff
When a recipe does not call for liquid, such as for cookies, choose a dry, granular sweetener such as date sugar, or the cookies will be too bread-like. When you substitute liquid sweeteners for dry, you will need to reduce or eliminate the liquid content of the recipe, and increase the flour. For breads and pies, fruit juice concentrates, barley malt and rice syrup work well. For cakes and cupcakes, choose sweeteners such as sorghum syrup or Sucanat.

How to Make Concentrated Liquid Sweeteners
Adapted from Naturally Sweet Desserts: The Sugar-free Dessert Cookbook, by Marcea Weber.
Fruit Juices: Boil eight cups organic juice until reduced to two cups. Cool and freeze. To use, warm a knife under hot water and cut out the amount of frozen juice needed, and return the remaining to the freezer.

Brown Rice: Cook two cups organic brown rice in five cups of water for 45 minutes. Place in a glass bowl until mixture has cooled to 140 degrees. Add one tablespoon of sprouts made from grain, such as wheat. Cover and place in a warm oven (120-140 degrees) for six hours.

Nutritional Analysis of Sucanat for 150g (one cup)

water……………………………………2.7g

calories……………………………….570g

carbohydrate………………………1.05g

fat……………………………………………0g

sodium……………………………….0.5mg

potassium………………………1,125mg

vitamin A…………………………..1600IU

thiamin (B1)……………………..0.21mg

riboflavin (B2)…………………..0.21mg

niacin……………………………….20mg

calcium…………………………….165mg

iron……………………………………6.5mg

vitamin B6………………………..0.60mg

magnesium……………………..127mg

zinc…………………………………..2.3mg

copper………………………………0.3mg

pantothenic acid……………….1.8mg

chromium…………………………40mcg

phosphorus……………………….48mg

Source: USDA Handbook of Nutrient Content of Foods