Melissa Jones

For my trip last month I bought some raw power berry trail mix (Navita, I think). It was expensive, but better than the toxins I would have eaten without it. It had dried goji berries, dried mulberries (not rated, but more tasty than I expected), dried aztec berries (not rated on the diet, and not my favorite), cashews, and cocoa nibs. I pawned off the cashews to my family for the most part.

What excited me about this was how good the cocoa nibs are in a trail mix! They work really well, with no sugar or other toxins, like chocolate chips have, and they won't melt in the heat. I don't like them by themselves, but when eaten with a handful of slightly sweet dried fruit, they really hit the spot. Their crunch is also a nice contrast to chewy dried fruit.

If you make your own trail mix (and chocolate is allowed for your type), try it with cocoa nibs. You can easily crush the whole cocoa beans into nibs, if needed. I've since made it with just goji berries, pecans, and cocoa nibs. Even though it's not a chocolate bar, it really satisfies.

I had planned to make Turkey Meatloaf last week, but was intimidated by the idea. My egg-free beef meatloaf is nothing to shout about, so how could a turkey meatloaf be any better (my son is allergic to eggs). I found a recipe at epicurious that I could adapt to use up some of the ingredients I needed to use up in my refrigerator, so I went for it.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/TURKEY-MEATLOAF-107599

1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic (I only had dried garlic, which I crushed and added in with the carrots)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium carrot, cut into 1/8-inch dice (gatherer black dot, could sub zucchini or perhaps bell peppers depending on type)
3/4 lb cremini mushrooms, trimmed and very finely chopped in a food processor (I only had button mushrooms, but I think cremini are neutral for more types)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (I used crushed onion seeds instead)
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (I used 1/2 tsp marmite + 1 teaspoon ume plum vinegar + 1/4 tsp seaweed flakes)
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley (I had none, so left it out)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ketchup (Organicville, or homemade)
1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs (from 2 slices firm white sandwich bread) I used rice bread, full of gatherer black dots and toxins, but for a GF bread it worked well...will think of a better substitute next time
1/3 cup 1% milk (rice milk)
1 whole large egg, lightly beaten + 1 large egg white, lightly beaten (I used 1/4 cup boiling water and 2 T flax meal, let sit to gel)
1 1/4 lb ground turkey (mix of dark and light meat)

"Preheat oven to 400°F.
Cook onion and garlic in oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until onion is softened, about 2 minutes. Add carrot and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and they are very tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, parsley, and 3 tablespoons ketchup, then transfer vegetables to a large bowl and cool.

Stir together bread crumbs and milk in a small bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in egg and egg white, then add to vegetables. Add turkey and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to vegetable mixture and mix well with your hands. (Mixture will be very moist.)

Form into a 9- by 5-inch oval loaf in a lightly oiled 13- by 9- by 2-inch metal baking pan and brush meatloaf evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons ketchup. Bake in middle of oven until thermometer inserted into meatloaf registers 170°F, 50 to 55 minutes.

Let meatloaf stand 5 minutes before serving."

I thought the worchestershire substitute worked out well, though I'm no worchestershire connoisseur. My husband and 2 year old loved the results. It was lot of work, but worth it. It will be easier the next time around.

I made it out to visit my parents during the beginning of currant season (it should be in full production mode now). I found a few handfuls of wild currants and dried them while there. They were mostly pest free, despite being completely wild and organic. I only tossed out a coupld weird looking ones. They would be easier to harvest after they're all ripe, only a fraction of the berries on the bushes were ripe yet last week when I was picking.

They definitely have some bite, flavor-wise, unlike the mislabeled dried zante/corinth grapes often sold as dried currents. They have a bit of cranberry and tomato flavor to them, in my opinion. Perhaps a bit of noni flavor, though far more palatable than noni juice. I need to use them in some baking and post my results.

I had some ground lamb on hand, when I found this recipe and remembered the keema from a nearby Indian recipe. My sons ate some, even the peas and veggies, and liked it. It was a bit spicy for my 2 year old, but he didn't complain. It was pretty easy, I simplified the recipe a bit as I have a nice curry powder that includes all the spices from the original version. I had a late start on dinner, after a day of gardening and cleaning, so simple was good.

INDIAN KEEMA
Adapted from COOKS.COM

1 tbsp. macadamia nut oil (was peanut)
3/4 c. chopped onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. fresh grated ginger
2 tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1 lb. ground lamb
1 c. tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp. lime juice (I only had lemon, it worked ok)
3/4 tsp. agave nectar (was 1 tsp. sugar)
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional, I added mine at the table)
1 c. peas, fresh or frozen
2 c. cooked rice (basmati)

Saute onion in the oil. Add spices and lamb. When meat is browned, add tomatoes, lime juice, agave and red pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add peas and serve over rice. Serves 4.

My oldest son has been sick this last week, and I haven't been taking care of myself. The result of that is a head cold for myself, and a refrigerator full of good food I neglected to cook yet...until today.

Breakfast Hash:

For breakfast I found a bag of jerusalem artichokes that was crying out to be eaten. I scrubbed them, trimmed off the eyes and cut surfaces, dunked them in lemon water, and sliced them thin with the food processor (they break apart too easily to cut thin by hand, but the food processor did well). I have to confess that this recipe was inspired in part by eating avoids/toxins at PF Chang's in the form of Dali Chicken...which is a bit too spicy for me, but I was intrigued by it, with its thin sliced potatoes that aren't cooked to the soggy stage. So, I tossed the sliced sunchokes (2 or 3 kiwi sized chokes) into warmed olive oil in a frying pan. After a while, when they started to cook through a tiny bit, I added chopped onions, and cooked until it all started to soften. Then I added sliced mushrooms, let them absorb some oil, and added eggs, which I scrambled in with it all. Add red pepper flakes to taste. Once the eggs are almost past slimey stage, add some baby spinach, and cook until spinach is soft. You could add just about any veggie, I used what I had on hand.

Lunch Turkey Noodle soup:

I had set aside the remaining sunchokes, onions and mushrooms, so I used them with lunch. I also had found some yam pasta in the refrigerator section of an asian market. I didn't know what to expect of it, but I had to try it, so I drained and rinsed it, added it to a saucepan with some olive oil, then sprinkled on some ume plum vinegar (one of my favorite new seasonings). Then I added some cubed turkey tenderloin, and let it brown a bit, then added the veggies and some turkey broth. I let it all simmer until I was sure the turkey was done. You can add red pepper flakes to this as well. It cried out for sliced green onions on top, but I didn't have any, fresh parsley would also probably be good. You could use celery instead of sunchokes, and any compliant broth, etc. The yam noodles remind me of the rice sticks in Hawaiian Chicken Long Rice. They don't get as big and soggy, but they're pretty clear. I'll definitely get more of those. My 2 year old likes them too. They also come with seaweed in the noodles, but for my first try, I went for plain.

I like this soup! I guess it's overkill to have a potato and a noodle in the same dish, but they aren't real potatoes or real noodles, both could be considered a vegetable, so I think it works. It would be easier to eat with smaller pieces of jerusalem artichokes.

P.S. if you haven't eaten much inulin or jerusalem artichokes before, you may not want to eat it twice in the first day as it can cause gas initially.