Raw recipe: Bloody "Green" Smoothie with pears

Merry Christmas! I hope you spent a nice dinner yesterday and that you don't have an overdose of relatives and hugs yet (we still have to celebrate New Year, remember?). 

Usually I do, but because this year I am not going to Russia for holidays  at least I will safe myself the relatives who think that I am some kind of teddy bear which can be squashed, squeezed and hugged while I am trying to breath and not to bring up all the food I have eaten. It is already a problem to see friends and family when you are in Russia because every time you pay a visit (even if you told them you only have fifty minutes!) they set a table full of pancakes, tea and all kind of sweet and savory treats. So imagine in Christmas....

I remember that my godfather, for who a stack of pancakes is a required element in case of visitors, was almost shocked when I told him that I didn't eat eggs or milk anymore (being a vegan in Russia, where sour cream and butter are as essential as water, is something worse than being an alien).I think that this hospitality with friends and relatives contrasts with the coldness and indifference that Russian people show with strangers (and I don't mean foreigners: I mean other Russian people)

Because I am sure that we all have indulged ourselves more than we should last night, I thought it would be better to post something light (I have a recipe for the coffee brownies I cooked for our Christmas table, but I decided I'm going to save it for later).  I have posted a couple of green smoothie recipes before (see Basic green smoothie and Chocolate green smoothie), but because there are endless combination I feel like I could post dozens of them! 

For today's smoothie you will need a juicer (trying to squeeze a beetroot with a lemon-squeezer can be quite unproductive) as well as a blender, but I suppose it's not a big deal (because you must have a juicer! If not, now you know what you should ask for Christmas next year). The process is simple: make the juice, add it to the blender, put first the veggies (cabbage in this case, but you can use spinach or kale) in small amounts and don't add the fruit until it is all completely blended, playing with the proportions until you like the taste. If you are not used to eat greens this way, I would recommend adding more fruit than veggies, but it's up to you.

Have you realized that every day more and more people have green smoothies? It's not only the green smoothies: all the raw movement is trendy, and I think it's great. I especially like the approach of Gena of Choosing Raw: she is what people call "high raw", because she also eat cooked food. I would not be able to go 100% raw, and I would not  like either. I think there are some nutrients we can't get only from raw food and we shouldn't be extremist. In this sense, Gena`s principle is wise: listen to your body. If it's snowing outside and you feel like having a soup, and not kale salad....do it! 

I also read in his blog about food combining, and this is the reason why this time I didn't add nuts. She also posted a raw Christmas menu (I know it's a little bit late, but you can use it for New Year)

Bloody "Green" Smoothie with pears Recipe form: ~ original recipe ~ Serves: about 1 liter This makes about one liter of green smoothie. I don't have any problem with eating it whole on the morning, but most of the people have stomachs that can't hold so much food, especially if you are not used to raw food. So consider halving the amounts or be aware that you will have some leftovers (although if you can eat it all...great! You will have your vitamin and minerals dose for the whole day). I added pear, but you can try with apple too, or even orange. You can also play with the consistency: I like my smoothies rather thick, so they can hold the pieces of fruit or whatever I add after blending. I don't recommend adding water: juicing more of the fruit (or adding some extra) instead of blending it will work much better because you won't lose any flavor. Juice of : 1 beetroot, small 1 pear, medium 3 carrots 1/2 cucumber 1/2 lemon 5 dried figs  1 pear 3 or 4 leafs of cabbage a handful of parsley 1 tsp of tahini 1 Tbsp ground flaxseeds For decoration: 1/2 avocado another pear Put the four first ingredients in the juicer. Add the lemon juice (I do it with a lemon-squeezer) Put all the juices in the blender. Add the dried figs. Pulse. Add the parsley. Pulse again. Add first the cabbage and at the end the pear, roughly chopped and seeded.  **I discovered than adding first the harder ingredients (like the figs or the greens, which have a lot of cellulose) makes a better blended and smooth....smoothie (doesn't it sound redundant?) Greens are great, and despite what people think they are tasty, but I don't like finding pieces of cabbage in my smoothies.  Add the tahini and the ground flaxseeds. Blend and taste it. If it is too strong, add extra fruit or a sweeter of your choice. Chop the reserved pear and half of an avocado in little pieces. Add it after blending. If you don't like "chunky" smoothies, you can blend it too. 4) Enjoy your delicious AND healthy treat :)

Abouth olive oil or how to transform a bowl of steamed broccoli in a masterpiece

What do you think about the new design? I liked the old, but I had the feeling that it was too narrow. I was wasting a lot of space on the sides! The design is not mine, but I edited it and changed some details. I hope you like it!

Today I went to Barcelona again. Yes, I love being on holidays. Unfortunately, I am still on job haunting, so I have too much free time (I have posted two days in a row, so I suppose you already noticed it) I wanted to go to “Asia House” library and borrow a book, but when I arrived it was already closed. Yay! =(

Although I could not get the books I wanted to, at least we went shopping. I bough something I have been craving for weeks: a good, authentic, unrefined, cold pressed olive oil. Authentic olive oil is fragrant and dense,  and it’s enough with a little teaspoon to savour all the notes of its flavor. When I arrived at home, the first thing I did is to steam a whole head of broccoli and sprinkle it with sea salt and the olive oil. I don’t have a recipe today because it is as easy as this. And don’t think is less tasty than all the previous recipes! On the contrary: using only a few but high quality ingredients bring the flavor of each one out. If you still don’t have a high quality olive oil, I recommend you invest in one of them. Actually, is not as expensive as it could seem because you need less oil to get the same flavor. But be sure that is cold pressed. The next one I will buy will be also organic.

A little anecdote. Do you know that at the beginning I hated olive oil? I could not stand its strong and pungent flavor! I was seven and just arrived to Spain and was not used to olive oil because in Russia is not as common as here (although that was almost ten years ago. Now, is as easy to get as in Spain). Silly little girl! Now I could not live without a good olive oil. And you? What oil do you use? Do you like olive oil with strong flavor or mild flavor? What about the other oils? I love pumpkin seed oil and its green color!

Another thing I bought (in “El corte Inglés”, like the oil) is Indian green tea. I love tea, and Russian people drink a lot of them (almost more than English!), and this time I wanted to invest in a really good green tea (yeah, today I spent too much money, I know. The dangers of living in a capitalistic world) and I saw that lovely box of wood with imported Indian green tea inside.  You can see it on the photo above. I could not resist and opened it in the train. It smelled like heaven! I can’t wait to taste it (translation: I will post a recipe of a dessert soon. Probably this apple coffee cake)

Oven Baked Rice with zucchini and a little introduction to ayurveda

One of the reason why I love cooking so much is because you can travel around the world without moving home (of course, I would like to visit physically all that places, but at this moment my budget is not big enough, so I have to put up with travelling through the kitchen u_u). An example could be the oven baked rice with zucchinni I did yesterday. One of the most importants parts of the food photography process are the plates and the way you set them (one tip: food looks better in tiny plates). I wanted to try something new, because I already photographed food in all the little plates and bowls I have, and I didn't want to repite again. My idea was to put the rice in a little bowl and to turn it down on a bigger plate. But I didn't calculate well the distance. The result? The rice timbale leaned and I had the Tower of Pisa on my plate! But I loved so much how my mistake looked, that I decided to leave it.

I got the Photoshop CS3 a few days ago, and I wanted to play a little bit... I love brushes! What do you think about? Do you like graphic design? Do you use Photoshop or you have any other favorite software? (I have been using Paint Shop Pro for ages, and I still love it)

And that Oven Baked Rice with zucchini is my recipe today. This time, the recipe is mine. I love rice, specially basmanti rice (I buy the mine organic) and zucchini
s are in season. So why don't put them thogether in the oven and submit the ricipe to the Monthly Mingle # 33? Monthly Minlgle is a food blog event created by What's for lunch, honey?, and this month is hosted by Edible Garden. The theme of Monthy Mingle change in every edition, and this time is called "ravishing rice": dishes feautring rice or rice-related ingredients. You still have time until 15th to participate!

An introduction to ayurveda: Have you ever heard about ayurveda? I am not an expert in ayurveda, but I am interested in it. For the people who don't know it, ayurveda is a traditional medicine from India. It involves lifestyle, habits and diet, but diet is what sounds familiar to the majority (although massage with essencial oils, for instance, are very used too). According to ayurveda, there are thre doshas: vata, kappa and pitta. We all have vata, kappa and pitta, but one of them must be the predominant (sometimes two predominant doshar). Ayurveda doesn't aim to level all of them. It's objective is to restore our natural balance. For instance, I am vata-pita with kappa as secondary. Kappa doesn't have to be at the same level as pitta or vata, because it's not my constitution (prakriti). If I travell too much, don't rest enough and drink coffee my vata wil be too high (higher than it must be) and I won't feel well (insomnia, nerviosism and depression are simtoms of vata disbalance). To restore my level of vata, I must follow a proper diet and some lifestyle norms (for instance, routine, eating and going to sleep at the same time helps vata).

Food helps to reduce or increase one type of dosha or other. Rice is one of the best foods for vata, as well as nutritious, moist and hot dishes. Spices play an important role too. **And this is the part related to today's recipe: I used a mix of spices suitable for vata. You can find them in some shops, but I could not find any and I decided to do it myself. This is the mix I used: 3 parts of fennel (or anis) an 1 part of: turmeric, cumin, dried gigner, black pepper, cardammon, salt, sugar, fenugreek. This are spices recommender for vata persons. If you are interested in it, in the Internet there is a lot of informa.tion. Some useful links to begin: Diet according to dosha, Choosing Food for an ayurvedic diet, Ayurveda recipes, Ayurveda Holistic on-line.

Do you already know what is your dosha? In the Internet there are many questionaires wich helps you to find it. Tell me about your experiences with alternative medicine (when I say alternative medicince, I also mean yoga and other asian disciplines)

Oven Baked Rice with zucchini Serves 3-4 This is a very simple and easy recipe, perfect for everyday cooking. If you don't wan't to add spices, is even easier: you can use any rice leftovers, or add the to the zucchini. Baking it all together in the oven will blend and develop the flavors. Ingredients: -2 medium zucchinnis, shredded -1 cup cooked rice (I used brown organic basmanti) -1/2 onion, chopped -2 Tablespoons of olive oil -Salt -Stock or water -Mix of spices of your choice - I used vata spices, but you can use any (**see notes about spices above) 1. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and add the spices. Fry them on a low heat during a cuple of minutes.Add the rice, the salt (begin with 1/2 teaspoon if using water and less if using stock), cook for a minute and cover with stock or water. Boil until the rice is almost done. 2. Heat the second tablespoon of olive oil and add the onions. Cook until they began to caramelize and add the shredded zucchini. Cook for 5-7 minutes, no more. 3. Put the almost done rice and the zucchini in a oven proof casserole and mix them. If there is no stock, add more. Bake covered for 30-40 minutes on a very low heat. I served it over a cauliflower-beets mash. Beans, lentils or tofu would be great sides too.

Spanish version:

Arroz al horno con calabacín Hace 3-4 porciones Ingredientes: - 2 calabacines medianos, rallados -1 taza de arroz cocido (yo usé arroz basmanti intergral ecológico) -1/2 cebolla, picada -2 cucharadas de aceite de oliva -caldo o agua -sal< -mezcla de especias - Yo usé especias adecuadas para vata, pero puedes usar cualquiera (**ver notas sobre especias arriba) 1. Calienta una cucharada de aceite de oliva en una sartén y añade las especias. Fríelas a fuego muy bajo durante unos cuantos minutos. Añade el arros, la sal (empieza con 1/2 cucharadita si usas agua y menos si usas caldo), cocina durante un minute y cubre con caldo o agua. Hierve hasta que el arroz esté casi hecho. 2. Calienta la segunda cucharada de aceite de oliva y añade la cebolla. Cocina hasta que empiecen a caramelizarse y añade el calabacín rallado. Cucece durante 5-7minutos, no más. 3. Pon el arroz casi completamente cocido y el calabacín en un recipiente resistente al horno y mézclalos. Si no queda caldo, añade más. Hornea cubierto durante 30-40 minutos a fuego muy bajo. Yo lo serví con un puré de coliflor con remolacha. Judías, lentjeas o tofu también serían un buen acompañante.

CRON-O-Meter: a free, open source, dieting software

Weather is getting warmer there. In fact, we had a very sunny week, with high temperatures. Summer is almost here! Although I love all the seasons, because each season has got something magical, summer in Spain is great because of the sun, the hot and the beach (the sea is ten minutes walking from my home, and I even can see it from our balcony)

Today's post is quite short. It's not a recipe, but a very useful software I would like to share with us: it's called CRON-O-Meter, and it's a dieting software. I found it because Paulina, from Veggie Delight, talked about it (thanks, Paulina!). She used it track what she eats to be sure that she gets the calories and the nutrients she need with a raw vegan diet. Although it was created basically for people who is dieting, I think that it can be useful too for people who is not on a low calorie diet. CRON-O-Meter has got a huge database that even include products from many brands, and calculate your vitamin, mineral and nutrient intake in percentatge. As a vegan, for example, maybe you want to be sure you get enough protein, or Omega-3 fatty acids. The best of all is that it's an open source software, so it's absolutelly free. You can download it here

Thanks to that software, for example, now I know that I get by far enough vitamin A, but not enough Niacin and Selenium. This is my vitamin track until lunch time.

This is the view from our balcony. The town is as boring as it seems on the photo.