What A Yogi Eats...

...On Market Day!

I am fortunate enough that my tiny town is surrounded by beautiful organic arms. So here is a quick breakfast I whipped up from things I bought at the Farmers Market this Saturday.

Farm Market Veggie Scramble

Free range eggs

Scallions

Carrots

Zuccini

Tomato

How I cook them:

1. heat some in a large skillet

2. toss in Carrots and Scallions

3. while those are cooking break 6 eggs into a bowl and scramble with a fork

4. add Zuccini and any seasoning you like to the veggies and cook for a few minutes

5. add tomatoes, let a little of the water in the tomatoes cook off then,

6. add the egg mixture and scramble all ingredients together.

optional: because it's still pretty hot out and tomatoes can aggravate Pitta Dosha I added a hearty sprinkle of fresh dill to the eggs as they were cooking, to help balance the acidic qualities of the tomatoes.

Final product...

Farm Fresh Yogi Breakfast

What a Yogi Eats

PICKLES!

Delicious, delicious, fermented, dill flavored cucumbers. And I found the easiest recipe in the world for them! And I will now share it; sort of because I don't really follow recipes I just start tossing things into a pot.

First go pick some cucumbers. What?! You don't have any cucumbers growing in your garden? You have to try them next year, promise me you will. They are super easy, even in this crazy drought year this is what my cuc patch looks like:

Cucs Gone Wild!

Now before I go on, this is a recipe for Refrigerator Pickles, so they aren't water processed, they don't keep as long as "canned" pickles but they are so good you'll eat them before they have a chance to turn.

My first batched I made 3 pint jars which is the measurements I’ll share with you

Enough Cucumbers, thinly sliced, to fill 3 pint jars
3 Cloves Garlic
2 tsp celery seed
3 TBL dried Dill (fresh is better, you need less if you are using fresh, but I didn't have any)
1/2 tsp Turmeric (this is optional, mainly for color but it's very good for all 3 doshas if you are practicing Ayurveda)
1/2 cup Sugar (more or less depending on your taste)
1 1/4 cup White Vinegar
1/4 cup Salt, a scant1/4 cup or less if you are watching your sodium
1 1/2cup Water

In a pot combine all the ingredients EXCEPT the cucumbers. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat. While the brine cools to room temp slice your cucumbers and fill the 3 pints jars.

Note* this is more than 3 pint jars, this recipe is only for 3 pint jars.

After the brine is cool, strain the liquid into a bowl or large measuring cup, preferably something with a pouring lip. Pour the brine over the cucumbers.

Screw the lids on and place in the fridge. Let them alone for a few days until the dimple in the top of the jar goes down and then eat up!

From all the recipes I read online about fridge dills they all vary on shelf life so here is what I have to say about it:

1st I AM NOT A FOOD EXPERT! It is quite possible I have never gotten botulism by sheer luck. Fermenting food can be dangerous so please follow the recipes and suggestions of a qualified food professional.

2nd If it smells bad, it probably is.

3rd These are so good, if they come out ok, there is no way they will last long enough to turn. But I said that already so I’m going to stop blogging now and go eat some pickles. Yum.

What a Yogi Eats...

on Harvest Day.

Veggie Stir Fry

 

I love having a kitchen garden! I love food right out of the ground and this morning I harvested:

Carrots
Rainbow Chard
Swiss Kale
Green Beans
Paprika Peppers (ok just one pepper, but its early still)

Perfect for summer stir fry. Here's how I did it...

1st Get some water boiling for your rice, noodles or anything else you might like to serve your stir fry over, or if you are Paleo or Low Carb or just don't have anything you can eat the veggies on their own.

2nd toss a little oil in your skillet while it heats chop the Carrots into your desired shape, toss those into the heated skillet. Next, chop the Green Beans, toss them in. Next, slice the pepper and in with it.

Usually between the Beans and the Peppers the rice water is boiling, so add your rice, noodles, etc...Cover and get back to the veggies.

While those veggies are cooking, stem and chop your Kale and Chard. When the Carrots are just shy of soft toss in the greens.

CHEATER STEP (because I'm not good at Asian sauces), over the greens drizzle some of your favorite stir fry sauce. Instant flavor, no effort!

Optional Step: I like to pour about 1/4-1/2 a cup of water over the green and sauce before giving it a stir. I do this because it helps my greens to wilt and spreads the sauce more evenly, it also helps to soften the harder veggies if they aren't done all the way yet. I cook it back down so the sauce doesn't lose any umph.

Optional Step #2: Protein: Now I’m not a vegetarian but my Ayurvedic Consultant told me I should limit my meat intake, really I'm supposed to just eat chicken and fish but I'm terrible at cooking chicken in a skillet and I don't like fish in stir fry. So instead I used TVP, Textured Vegetable Protein, it has a great texture and no taste so you can season it however you want. It is a dehydrated product so I pour about 3/4 a cup into a bowl, sprinkle it with seasoning (for this I used a little turmeric and a 5 pepper blend) and let it sit, I do this before I even put the water on to boil, so by this point in the recipe it's fully rehydrated/marinated and ready to go. SO into the skillet with it!

Cook down till all the extra water is absorbed and serve over your rice, which should magically finish right when your veggies do.

I garnished mine with a few fresh cucumbers with dill which is very cooling for my Pitta digestion, just in case the sauce had too much spice in it, and sesame seeds which you don't see here because I forgot them. 

ENJOY!

What a Yogi Eats...

... during Panchakarma.

KITCHARI! Yay, Kitchari! for 5 days. All kitchari, all the time. yay...meh.

But seriously. Panchakarma (cleasning program) is an excellent way to balance your bodies digestive fire. Kitchari is a very baisc meal that is easily digested by the body, it is also a fairly flexible dish so you can spice (ok well not too spicy) it up and make variations. Here is the recipe I followed on my 5 day panchakarma:



Kitchari

2TBLS Ghee
1/2tsp Mustard Seeds
1/2tso Cumin Seeds
1/2 cup Yellow Mung Bean Dall (soaked overnight in water)
1 cup Basmati Rice
1tsp Ground Cumin
1tsp Ground Coriander
1/2tsp Turmeric Powder
3-6 cups Water
Vegetables *If you are unfamiliar with Ayurveda try CARROTS, ZUCCHINI, GREEN BEANS, SPINACH (if you are familiar with Ayurveda and your specific Dosha check the links below for dosha specific recipes)

Method:
1. melt the GHEE in a heavy bottom pan
2. add the MUSTARD and CUMIN seeds and toast until the begin to emit aroma and pop
3. drain excess water from MUNG DAAL*, add DAAL, BASMATI, CUMIN, CORIANDER and TURMERIC
*presoaking daal is not necessary but it aids in easy digestion
4. stir until well combined but do not burn the daal
5. add 3 cups of water*
*you can add as much as water as you like depending on how soupy or dry you like your Kitchari, experiment and find the best level for you.
6. add vegetables
7. cook until veggies are soft.

In the picture above I substituted Quinoa for Basmati because after a few days of basmati only i was having trouble...hmmm how to say this delicately...pooping. Yep I said it, also quinoa has more protein than basmati which is good for active people. Or people like me who teach yoga and have to say things like Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana out load (much harder to do with a hungry fuzzy panchakarma brain). There are about 1,000 different versions of Kitchari recipes out there, just do a search in any old search engine or if you already know your dosha you can try dosha specific substitutions from Joyful Belly or try one of there 3 dosha specific Kitchari Recipes.

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT an Ayurcedic practitioner nor am I a doctor, seek the advice of licensed professional before starting any health/diet program.