Hi there, This week we are blessed with a bountiful harvest of steak tomatoes. So fresh, so organic!

 I patiently waited for them to ripe,so I can make a dish my son Reza loves- tomato chokah! You can call this yummy delight a dip which go well with roti, pita or better yet chips!

Tomatoes are rich in antioxidants, vitamin C (21 % of recommended daily levels per 100 grams), which helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents. It provides dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals among essentials for the elderly, weight watchers, cholesterol controlling and some diseases like cancer. Rich in lycopene and carotenoids can protect our cells and other structures in our body from harmful oxygen - free radicals. Tomato is a nutritious fruit, but it is used as a vegetable. The cooked tomato is more valuable than eating raw, because cooking releases lycopene to do its work and lycopene is fat soluble. Eating tomatoes is often good for the heart even if eaten in small amounts. Just one 6 ozs of serving per day of raw tomato can reduce the risk of prostrate cancer by 3 %.

I should also mention that the leaves and stems of the tomato plant is poisonous!

This is a recipe I always make whenever I get lots of tomatoes from my garden. It is easy to make and I like to share my recipe for tomato chokah or tomato dip.

TOMATO CHOKAH/ DIP

INGREDIENTS:

4 to 6 large tomatoes,

1 small onion finely chopped,

3 tbs. butter,

1/2 tsp. ground cumin,

1 tsp. garlic paste,

 1/2 tsp ground black pepper or hot pepper,

 2 tbsp. finely chopped green onion (shallot),

salt to taste (about 1 tsp.)

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.Wash the tomatoes and cut out the hard stem from the top. cut an X on the bottom of the tomatoes. Heat some water in a large pot to boiling point and put the tomatoes for 30 seconds. Remove the tomatoes and dip in cold water. (This will help get the skins off).

2.  Oil a large cookie baking sheet. Cut the tomatoes on the equator into 3/4 inch slices. Bake the slices until soft. (about 45 minutes).

3.  Heat about 2 tbsp. oil in a thick skillet and add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook until translucent.Add the garlic,  roasted tomato slices, cumin, pepper, and salt. Allow to come to a boil. Use a fork to mash the tomatoes. Cook on medium until the mixture get thick. Then add the butter and chopped shallot. At this point chopped cilantro or chopped parsley or even shredded cheese can be added. I will go with parsley because I do not like cilantro. It is your choice. Experiment and enjoy!

PEACE AND LOVE!

                                                          SEASONED JASMINE RICE

Hi there. One of my favorite rice is this delicious seasoned rice! This yummy rice is best with any meat or fish on the side and is so easy to make if you have left over rice sitting in the fridge. You can create a sumptuous meal in minutes too if you have  cooked meat or fish to go with just rice. I love it with fish or shrimp now  that I do not eat any red meat and chicken. My grandchildren love it!

Here is the recipe:  SEASONED JASMINE RICE

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups cooked Jasmine rice,
1/4 cup canola oil,
1 large onion finely chopped,
2 tbsp. green seasoning ( see recipe from my last blog),
2 blades shallot,
1 tbsp. finely chopped basil,
1 tbsp. finely chopped flat or curly parsley,
1/2 teasp. saffron,
1 - 2 tbsp. toasted pine nuts (optional),
salt to taste.

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onions with a pinch of salt ( the salt enhances the onion flavor) and saute until the onions are translucent and soft.

Next , add the green seasoning and allow to cook a little. Then add the cooked rice and stir until all the onions and seasoning coats the rice. (I usually boil the rice with salt, here is where you add your salt if you did not boil the rice with salt).

Finally, add the chopped herbs, saffron and nuts and  mix well. Take the pot off the stove and serve hot with salad and side dishes. Enjoy!

This is my motto:- A PINCH OF SALT AND CUPS OF LOVE!

GOOD LUCK!      PEACE AND LOVE!

Hi there, One of my green friends and big helper in my kitchen is my home made green seasoning. I usually make a batch and freeze half and keep the other half in a mason jar and refrigerate to use when cooking. It is very convenient and versatile. I use it in stews, curries and seasoning fresh meat and fish.Works well when you are busy and makes cooking easy and quick. I like to share this with you my friends.

GREEN SEASONING

INGREDIENTS

3 large onions, chopped
12 ozs of garlic, peeled
3 inches of ginger with skin, chopped,
1/2 cup rosemary leaves, fresh,
1 cup of broad thyme leaves, fresh,
1/2 cup fine thyme leaves, fresh,
1/2 cup of oregano leaves, fresh,
1 cup of basil leaves, fresh,
1 hot pepper (optional)
1 tsp. salt,
 2 tbsp. olive oil,
1/4 cup tap water.

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash and remove  all stems from the the rosemary, thyme, oregano, and basil.

2. Put all the ingredients into a food processor begin by pulsing then allow to grind finely. May have to do it       in batches. I put the onions first then the garlic with the water and the add the rest in small batches. Mix         well.

3. Store in a mason jar or recycle bottle and keep in the fridge.  This can be frozen as well. Do not toss if it       gets darker over time. It just gets better! The favors marry to create a balance of herbs which makes your     dishes so yummy.

Good Luck!     PEACE AND LOVE!

Hi there, One summer, when I was living in upstate New York, I planted wild carilla (bond carilla or bitter melon). Those of you who are familiar with this vegetable probably knows that it is very good for diabetes.It grows wild in the tropics. Here in Florida, it strives abundantly. The leaves are used for cleansing the blood because it is bitter. In Guyana our grandmother boil the leaves and gave us to drink when we had eczema. She would scold us about eating too much sweet and dose us with bitters to bitter the blood and it works! My mom had diabetes and always had a small pot of this bitters which she drank every morning to help keep the diabetes in control. She used her prescriptions as well and she was very careful with her diet and she lived a long life. God rest her soul!

Diabetes is in both sides of our family. My husband's and me. My dear sister-in-law Dede (died) would throw away her prescriptions and boil her ' bush' but she went to the great beyond early, poor soul. She never believed in taking her medications only her concoctions, carilla bush being one of her 'bush'.

My take on this amazing plant is that I am convinced that the plant and it's fruit is very good for diabetes. I always buy and cook carilla every week and cook it fried or stuffed with meat and coconut milk. If one knows how to cook it can be very tasty and some of the bitterness eliminated with ripe tomatoes and coconut milk. I love to make a curry with the wild ones. Well, I had it for dinner this evening and I enjoyed it. Here in my recipe:

BOND CARILLA CURRY  (Kalonji)

Ingredients;

3 cups of cleaned and cut up bond carilla,
1/2 cup small cooked shrimps, ( or minced chicken breast or minced beef)
1 cup coconut milk,
1 large ripe tomato, chopped
1 medium onion finely chopped,
2 garlic cloves finely grated,
1 tsp grated hot pepper, (optional),
salt to taste,
2 tbs curry powder,
2 tsp.  ground coriander,
2 tsp. ground cumin,
1/2 tsp mustard seeds,
1/2 tsp.whole cumin,
2 tbsp. chopped shallot.
about 1/4 cup coconut oil,

Directions:

1. This how I prepare the carilla: I cut the carillas in half and remove the little seeds. If they are very big, I cut them in four. I  put the cut up carillas in a zip lock bag and freeze it. Then I soak it in hot water to thaw. Next I squeeze it out to get some of the bitterness out. Next I heat some coconut oil and fry it until a little brown. I remove the fried carilla and drain the excess oil. (to be used to saute the onions adding more if needed).

2. On low heat, add the onions and a pinch of salt and saute until translucent. Move aside the onions and add to whole cumin and mustard seeds, cover the pot to prevent the seeds from popping out of the pot. After a popping sound is heard, add the ground cumin, coriander and curry powder and stir until saute. Add the  pepper and garlic and stir

3. Add the fried shrimps, fried carilla and chopped tomatoes and mix well. Next add the coconut milk, and salt. Cover the pot and cook on slow heat stirring occasionally until all the liquid is absorbed. Taste for enough salt. Add the shallot when the dish is done. Serve with rice or roti. Delicious!


(Stuffing the cousins of bond carrilla, (the big ones) is almost the same process, except it is slit on one side, the seeds removed and sprinkle with salt. It is left to get softened, then squeezed to remove the liquid, then fried whole. Then follow step 2 and add the meat  and cook until the meat is fully cooked. Allow to cool to warm.  Next, the fried whole carilla  is stuffed with the curry meat and tied  with a string to secure the stuffing. Put the stuffed  carilla back in the pot and pout the coconut milk over them. Add the chopped tomatoes and enough salt. Cook slowly until all liquid is absorbed. Add the shallots at the end of cooking.)  Enjoy!

Making stuffed carilla (or kalonji) is tedious but this dish is awesome and good for you, especially if you have diabetes. Whenever my hubby eats it and he test his blood it always read low. I do hope you my dear friends will try it.  Good luck!

PEACE AND LOVE!

Hi there, I like to share my battle with gluten and how I discovered on my own that my system cannot tolerate gluten! Growing up in Guyana, I along with my siblings were fed white flour in the from of bread, roti and cakes. We had roti for breakfast, sometimes toasted white bread and roti for dinner. Lunch was some rice and some kind of stew or curry. I can remember when the school nurses check me out without any blood test by just peeping into my eyes and mouth, declared me anemic and ordered me to get milk, biscuits and cod liver oil capsules! You can imagine  the reactions of my fellow students because my family had a small store and we were considered rich!

I grew up, got married and had four beautiful children and lived with sickness such as flu, colds, itchy skin headaches, allergies, tummy pain and pain in the joints. I thought nothing of gluten intolerance and it association with some of my troubles. It was only when I was hospitalize for colitis and put on IV for a week that I realized I had a very serious problem because four doctors could not diagnose what was ailing me. So I left the hospital and came home very weak a lot slimmer (which made me happy,I mean to be slim) and when about my happy life.

I started to blame my troubles on peanuts after getting tummy pain and diarrhea and so I stayed away from peanut, but my pain and diarrhea continued my hair got thinner, joint pains, headaches, itchy skin, weight gain and coughing and elevated thyroid was added to my troubles!

On a visit to my primary doctor, blood test was ordered among the many tests they usually do for folks my age and I also have high blood pressure.My doctor want to get me checked for high cholesterol and what not. On my next visit, my doctor informed that I (who thinks I eat healthy and cook my own food) is anemic! I was stunned! How can I be anemic? She told me that she got to do more testing because I am bleeding somewhere in my body, meaning cancer!

One day I was watching the Dr. Oz show and he explained  how gluten prevents the small intestine from absorbing nutrients from the food we eat, (well for some people like me). You can imagine my relief! This is my problem-GLUTEN! I am of those unfortunate people who cannot tolerate GLUTEN..So bye bye GLUTEN, so long see ya!!I also did my own research on gluten to be convinced even though I trusted the good Doctor.When I went back for a visit to my primary doctor, I asked her what she thought about gluten. She said she wished if she could get on it but she is not that disciplined to do it. So there, that was that.

Since I change my diet to gluten-free, I lost over 20 pounds, my hair is thicker, I do not have itchy skin, no bloating in my stomach, coughing eased, I slept better and I felt better!  But then I put on more weight! I continued to watch more of Dr. Oz shows on probiotics and discovered what meat do to your intestines. The antibiotics from the meat kill the good ones and so the fat is accumulated and thus we put on weight and get bloated!  For the past couple of weeks I am  vegan as well but I have fish, shrimp and dairy and I began to lose more weight!

Friends, my story is just like other celiacs (CD) who suffer from digesting gluten. The book I am now reading about a woman who suffered for decades was told by one of the doctors that she needs to see a physiologist! An aunt of mine who questioned her doctor about gluten, advised her that those people who are talking about gluten are not doctors! There are a lot of people like me who are suffering from gluten and do not know it! Most of their stories are just like mine. I do not wish to scare anyone into not eating gluten but to share my story. Thank you friends for lending your sympathetic eyes. God's Blessings

PEACE AND LOVE!

Hi there, I bought of lot of the different GF flours  to experiment gluten-free recipes and so far not much success with the final product.When I measure with my little kitchen scale I do not get the right measurement needed for appealing and successful breads and cakes. So I bought some GF mixes to work with including Bob Mills mixes and I found that these mixes are so easy to work with and I get very good results. I found that working with GF flours (and there is so many of them) is daunting!

Yesterday, I saved two ripe bananas to make a GF banana bread. I rummaged through my hand written recipes which I collected over the months from the net and I picked one that used a GF mix cause I had very little time to spare and did not want to through the measurement process. Turns out to be the best GF banana bread I have ever eaten! Yay!!!!I am so excited and happy with the result. I tasted better than a wheat flour banana bread! So my friends I have to share it. I also thought that the magic ingredient of this recipe is cinnamon! Or maybe the coconut oil.

Here is the recipe: ( I used coconut oil instead of canola oil which I was out of)

GLUTEN-FREE BANANA BREAD

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil,
2 large eggs,
1 3/4 cups Bob's Red Mills all purpose flour,
2 tsp. baking powder,
1 tsp. xanthan gum,
2 ripe mashed bananas,( it should be chunky),
1/2 cup raisins,
2/3 cup brown sugar,
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon,
1/2 tsp. salt,
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line a 9 x 5 loaf non-stick pan.

2. Cream oil, sugar, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl.

3. Mix all dry ingredients add to the egg mixture, alternately with bananas. Beat until smooth.
    Batter should be soft.

4. Pour into pan and bake for 1 hour. Test with a toothpick for doneness. (it should come out clean).Lift out           of the pan and allow to cool on a rack. Slice and enjoy!

(I you like it with nuts you can add about 1/2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts)

Good luck! PEACE AND LOVE!

Hi there, here is my story about pound cake. Growing up in Guyana as a child, I did not like sponge cake. My mom and grandmother made their prized sponge cake and I did not touch it, I preferred fruit cake or black cake ( black cake recipe will be in my future posting). I cannot explain why I did not like  sponge cake. I only thought it  was too rich and buttery for my liking.

When I came to America and ate pound cake I was delighted and got hooked. Folks you can image my distress of not eating pound cake when I got on a gluten-free diet! I searched for a substitute I can make without flour and got a recipe from a GF recipe book I bought at Barnes  & Noble. Just today I made the cake and it was gone in a few minutes. Oh well I did not ate the whole cake. I got help from my hubby and grand children. Here is the recipe:

ALMOND FLOUR POUND CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick butter, softened,
 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened,
3/4 cup white sugar,
4 eggs,
1 tsp. vanilla,
2 1/2 cups almond flour,
1 tsp. baking powder,
1/2 tsp. salt,
1/4 tsp. ground ginger,
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom,
1 tbsp. honey roasted sliced almonds,
Berries and whipped cream (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 x 5-inch loaf pan (or two mini loaf pans) with nonstick cooking  spray.

2. Beat butter, cream cheese, and sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer until well blended.

3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

4. Combine almond flour, baking powder, salt, ginger and cardamom in a medium bowl. Gradually add to egg mixture while beating on medium speed.

5. Pour into prepared pan (pans); sprinkle with sliced almonds. Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Serve with berries and whipped cream. Makes 9 1-inch) slices.

Good luck! enjoy..PEACE AND LOVE

hi there,..I love to share food we enjoyed since childhood. Milk buns (or scones) is one of my favorites. this recipe is made with all purpose flour but you can try it by substituting GF mix. I must warn you that this scone is addictive so if you are watching your weight  be careful with your portions..here is the recipe:

Milk Buns

Ingredients:

6 cups all purpose flour,
1 lb butter, (room temperature)
1 1/2 cups white sugar,
3 tsp baking powder,
1 tsp salt,
1 tsp yeast,
1 tin evaporated milk
3 large eggs, (beaten)
1 tsp vanilla extract,
1 tsp. grated nutmeg,
1/2 cup chopped cherries,
1 cup grated coconut,
1/2 cup quick oats (optional).

Direction:

Using a electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

 Beaten the eggs with the vanilla an add to the creamed mixer and continue to mix. Slowly add the milk to the mixture.

Next add the flour mixture a little at a time. When it get too stiff for the machine to mix stop the machine and continue to mix with a large spoon. Then add the chopped cherries and mix well.

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.

Drop by table spoon on a thick greased baking sheet for about 20 to 30 minutes in the middle of the oven.

Good luck and enjoy yummy scones or buns.   Peace and love!

MIL

Gluten Free Beef Soup

Hi there, soup is one of the foods I enjoy and which helped me to lose weight. In Guyana, we used to make soup at least once a week, mostly on a Saturday. In my household, my mom made a huge pot of plantain soup. She made it with beef and sliced green plantains, lots of chopped onions and little dumplings were added when the soup was almost finished. I remembered enjoying this soup as a child with my brothers and sisters. If there were leftovers, we had it for dinner. My mom had a weekly menu which she strictly followed, so each day we knew what we were going to eat, for example, on Monday it was split pea soup or dholl with roti in the morning, dholl, rice and some other kind of  side dish  such as fried fish and some kind of choka (mashed potato or eggplant choka) you get the picture.

This is one of the  soup she used to make when we were sick, but she made it with barley and added dumplings too. I left out the dumplings and barley because I wanted to make GF. I thought I should share it since it is so yummy and good.

Gluten Free Beef Soup

Ingredients

2 lbs beef with bones cut up

2 large carrots cubed

 4 stalks celery sliced

1 med onion chopped

1 cup uncooked noodles

2 blades shallot chopped (for garnish)

2 large eddoes peeled and cut up

1 lb cassava peeled and cut up

2 cups chicken broth

Salt and black pepper to taste

About 4 cups of water

Directions

Use a pressure to boil the beef. Then add all the other ingredients except the shallot and allow to simmer until the vegetables and root vegetables are cooked. Taste for salt and add more if needed.

Add the chopped shallot when the soup is done. Serve hot.

hi there..since going on a gluten-free diet, one of the food I miss so much is roti. Growing up in South America, we used to eat roti every morning and for dinner. It is a staple in Guyana. It is the first food a young girl is taught and perfected so she will make a good cook for her family.(No long polished nails are allowed).Every body loves roti.
So you can image my torture of cooking the love of my life and not sinking my taste buds into it's soft flaky goodness! It is pure torture, but I enjoy making for my family, don't get me wrong..
I tried making them with different kinds of GF mixes and got disappointed at the process and  results which I would not bore you with. Then I came across this awesome recipe for tortillas on the internet and tried it the next day and oh gosh I got so excited at the results that I thought I have to share it with my dear friends..Sorry I forgot the take pics. Here is the recipe:

Dry Ingredients:
1/3 c millet flour
1/4 c quinoa flour
1/2 c tapioca flour (not starch)
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:
2 tsp agave
1/3 c warm water
3 tbs coconut oil

Directions:
Put all the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl and whisk at med. Mix the wet ingredients together then add to the dry and mix at med for two minutes. ( I used the paddle).Scrape down the sides and continue to mix.

Next, tightly wrap the dough and place in the fridge for 45 minutes. Cut into four equal pieces and balls. Heat a thick pan (roti pan) on med. Pat out the balls into little disc and dip into fine rice flour, then roll out thinly. Cook for 2 minutes on each side and then brush with melted butter and enjoy soft, pliable roti..

 This is the best tortillas ( which I will call roti, the nearest substitute for roti) I ever tasted, even my baby grandson Mika ate a quarter of it. I hope you roti lovers will try it..

Going Cuckoo for Coconuts

Since going gluten free, I've collected a ton of gluten free recipes and tried them out. Sometimes I get good results but other times, my efforts and good money went out with the garbage! But I kept on the gluten free diet for quite a while.

Then to my surprise, I started to put on weight! What a to do! The scale was supposed to go the other way. Then it dawned on me that there was too much starch present in gluten free baking mixes. So when I came across an article about the wonderful coconut flour, I was ecstatic and encouraged to keep on trying new ingredients and recipes to feed my cravings for yummy and delectable desserts, bread and cakes.

This wonder flour is a blessing for people like me who are struggling with a gluten free diet. This amazing flour is so versatile and delicious that it can be added to almost any sweet or savory recipe.

Growing up in Guyana on the South American coast, I remember that grated coconut and coconut milk is a must included ingredient in our many dishes and cakes. When a young married couple first starts out their life together, they often buy their first piece of land, among the first trees they plant is the coconut. Along with mango, cherry, banana and guava, they often start gardens before their house is even built.

The coconut provides many resources to the new home owners. The long branches provide brooms for sweeping, decorative arches,  material for basketry and fiber for rope making and scourers. Gardeners use the branches for shading newly planted seedlings from the hot tropical sun. The coconut shells provide fuel for cooking fires and as land fill in low lying areas. The polished shells are used as buttons and for carvings. The inside of a young coconut is an electrolyte powerhouse and is often given to the pregnant and sick for fast nourishment. The oils and meat of the harder coconut are used for cooking and cosmetics.

And now, there is the coconut flour!  I am so excited to start on my coconut flour recipes!

Here's hoping that all the recipes will be enjoyed by my family and friends. Yum! Wish me luck and happiness in my gluten free kitchen.

Juices

I tried this juice and it helped me to lose weight.

JUICE ONE:

1 papaya, seeds removed (digestive enzyme papain).

1 cup pineapple (keep the bromalin rich core).

Juice both pineapple and papaya.

Add:

A teaspoon of amla powder (or add a single fresh fruit to the juicer)

1 cup coconut water

JUICE TWO:

1 cup pineapple

1 cup blueberries

1/2 lemon, no rind

1 teaspoon amla powder

1 handful cilantro

Juice and enjoy!

Going Vegan

So after eating meat for as long as I can remember, I have decided to go VEGAN!!!
I have found that this works amazing for losing weight. And I have lost quite a bit. I feel energetic, less bloated, and with the weight loss, joint pain has been considerably less. So now I am eating seafood and also dairy along with my diet.

Here is what I eat on a typical day.

Breakfast
Buckwheat cereal with cinnamon, chopped almonds, cranberries and raisins
A cup of green tea

Mid morning snack
One banana

Lunch
Quinoa salad
Fresh fruit salad

Afternoon snack
Greek Yogurt

Dinner
Stewed swai fish
Brown rice

I will post recipes.
I enjoy preparing each meal as they are very simple and quite easy to do.

Hello all, this is my family when it was very new. My husband and our three little princesses often dressed alike. Our court has grown to include our very own one and only prince, Reza.  They are all grown now with courts of their own and where once there was just the two of us, there is now twenty one.