Nourish

Sugar and spice . . . beware of cinnamon?

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Types of Cinnamon

One of my most favorite things in the world is cinnamon. I love it in my tea, warm milk and honey, oatmeal cookies, smoothies . . . you name it. Finally the West is now jumping on the health benefit wagon touting its effectiveness as an antibacterial, anti fungal, sugar balancing wonder spice. For centuries lady cinnamon has been used in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine to fight colds, diabetes, indigestion. This is all great news until I just heard that there are two kinds of commonly used cinnamon one from China derived from Cassia and the other cinnamon from Ceylon. It seems the cassia variety which is sold at most stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joes, etc. is so highly toxic that it has been banned in Germany.  The cassia form which is darker in color contains a substance called coumarin which can be toxic to the liver in large doses. So if you want to continue your cinnamon treats and get a health benefit I highly recommend getting the Ceylon Cinnamon which actually even tastes better! You can purchase it in bulk through a wonderful site called The Spice Sage.

 

Nourish

Delicious Zucchini Muffins

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Here is a special recipe just for us roses from the wonderful chef Stephanie Goldfarb-Kemp. She is a private chef and caterer whom I met through my friend Eco-Goddess Jena King. Stephanie specializes in wheat free, organic, healthy meals that taste incredible. These muffins retain their moisture and are great to have for quick morning breakfasts or afternoon snacks. I know she experimented for months with various wheat free ingredients to get the right consistency. Teff flour I'm discovering is a great alternative to wheat introduced to us from Ethiopia.

 

1 cup teff flour
1 cup gluten free oat flour
1 1/4 cups sweet potato flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup safflower oil
4 eggs beaten
1/2 cup of water
2 cups grated zucchini
juice of half a lemon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl combine flours, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. In a separate bowl combine eggs, oil, zucchini , water and lemon juice. Mix wet and dry ingredients. Bake in standard lined cupcake pans for 40 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. I usually use and wooden skewer.

Nourish

Bean Tacos with Cabbage Salad

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Those nights when I have little imagination left for cooking a meal, I resort to the old taco-mexican-stand by. From all the years I was a vegetarian this came very handy for a delicious protein filled meal, but now that I am having some animal protein I will marinate some organic chicken and add it to the mix. The cabbage, carrot slaw is wonderful as a side dish and so filled with antioxidants. My kids actually love this mix of cabbage and carrots dressed with just lemon, olive oil, salt and a touch of tamari. I recently watched a video on TED about a woman Dr. Terry, who cured herself of MS with a diet heavy with sulfur rich foods like cabbage, kale and grass fed beef. This got me going on my cabbage kick which just by it's vibrant color seems to feed the life force. This slaw is also great with sliced almonds, tomatoes, cilantro.

Cabbage Slaw

1/2 organic red cabbage

3 carrots

Herbs or cilantro (for this particular one we used oregano which was great)

Handful of Almond slices or sesame seeds

8 tbs olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

1tbs tamari

Use a grater, great knife or cuisine-art on shredding mode. Chop up the cabbage and carrots and mix with all other ingredients.

Bean Tacos . . . Ingredients:

Small corn tortillas

1 cup dried black beans soaked overnight and cooked with 6 cups water and a garlic clove.

3 avocados

1 chopped tomato

2  organic chicken breasts cut in small chunks and marinated in olive oil, chili powder, sea salt and lime.

Feta cheese or Mexican Cojita cheese

Olive oil, butter or Coconut oil to cook with

1 lime

1 tbs chopped cilantro

sea salt and pepper

Taco Sauce

To make the guacamole simply mash the avocados,  add chopped tomatoes, cilantro, lime, salt and pepper and taco sauce to taste.

Saute chicken in frying pan that is coated with cooking oil. Add more chili powder and cumin to taste. As that is simmering warm the previously cooked beans in sauce pan. In a hot frying pan warm up the tortillas until golden, then add beans, and cheese until it is slightly melted. Top with the fresh guacamole.

 

Nourish

Cafe Santa Fe and Street Food . . .

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I first heard about about Cafe Sante Fe about twelve years ago when I first stumbled on Todos Santos. You cannot visit this town without stopping by Cafe Sante Fe for an authentically Italian organic meal. Ezio Colombo came to Todos accidently in the 1980's back when it was a dusty dilapidated oasis on the road between Cabos San Lucas and Le Paz. He was a painter originally from as sea side Italian town, who traveled world wide until he fell in love with the sleepy, tranquil baja town. Ezio has homemade ravioli hand made every morning at his beautiful restaurant. All the produce is grown on the property in the fertile earth surrounding the perimeter. I had a great afternoon sitting, chatting and of course waiting with Ezio about all his adventures and travels. Lucky for me I was the only one in the cafe so I had his full attention.

Ezio . . . himself

wood burning oven for wonderful pizza

 

beautiful decor Italians do so well

From the Plaza across from the cafe you can get some fresh cut fruit with all the authentic Mexican toppings. I love it with the works: chili, salt, lime . . . what could be better after a day swimming in the sea than some refreshing fruit with a bang! If  you prefer sweet rather than savory La Paloma Ice Cream shop has homemade popsicles and ice cream with all fresh ingredients.

Fresh popsicles from La Paloma

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