Homemade Organic Garlic Hummus

So for a while now I have wanted to make homemade hummus, I just had not bought the beans yet. So last week I bought dried garbanzo beans (chick peas) for 1.69 per pound at the local co-op, last night I soaked them and today I made hummus! The accountant agrees with me homemade is WAY better and cheaper than store bought. Granted it is a little time consuming but so worth it. Here is my modified recipe. ( original recipe here.) I found the original recipe too bland.

Time to prepare including cooking dried beans is 2 hours. Including soaking dried beans makes it 15 hours. Without cooking or soaking beans (say you use canned beans) it takes about 15 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 cup of dried organic chickpeas ( found at my local organic co-op) or about 4 cups of cooked beans.

3/4 cup of tahini (sesame seed butter) ( purchased at puget sound consumers co-op)

the juice of 2 lemons

10 garlic cloves, crushed

1 teaspoon of cumin

2 tablespoons of baking soda

Himalayan salt to taste

1 cup of chopped fresh cilantro

Garnish with Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil when serving

If you are starting with dried beans:

Place dried beans in a colander. Wash them several times until the water runs clear. Check for rocks or funny looking beans and throw away.

Place the washed beans in a pot and cover with water. Place 1 tablespoon of baking soda in with beans. Cover pot and let soak over night.

The next day re-rinse the beans. Place new water in pot to cover the beans along with the remaining 1 tablespoon of baking soda and soak for a few more hours until the beans are double their original size.

Re rinse the chickpeas. Then place with fresh water covering them and cook on low on stove top for 45 minutes. Open the pot and look. If there is foam on top rinse the beans again. Place back on stove top for another 45 minutes or until beans are "mushy". Rinse the mushy beans and place in blender or food processor.

Grind the beans. Then add tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin. cilantro and salt to taste. Blend until desired consistency.

Garnish with Olive Oil, add more salt if needed and Serve.! Tastes so good. Store in refrigerator for up to 4 days. Keep well covered.

Why we bedshare and why it works for us

Before I had a baby I thought "no problem I will feed her, rock her to sleep and put her in the bassinet at night." This never happened. I must admit I tried for the first few nights. I would feed Olivia, rock her to sleep and then put her in her bassinet. She would wake up five minutes later only for the process to be repeated. I quickly discovered that keeping her next to me made for a WONDERFUL nights sleep. ( plus my mom co-slept with me as a baby so it is only natural to follow in her footsteps) I would wake up before she started crying, sensing her early hunger cues, feed her and fall back to sleep. For me keeping her in bed enabled me to easily breastfeed. Studies show keeping baby close increases mothers milk, perhaps this has been true for me. If you know me you would maybe say I am fairly laid back, as well as the accountant, so the baby in bed has been a natural course for us to take. I have read a lot of studies on both sides of the co-cleeping issue and for me it all comes down to I WANT her in bed with me. It's just easier. I am a light sleeper and wake up in the same position I fell asleep in so suffocating her has not really been a worry for me. Granted at night our bed is much more sparse then this picture. We sleep with one pillow each and a single light blanket following Dr Sears recommendations for a "safe" environment for co-sleeping.

We placed our bed on the floor to prevent the danger of Olivia rolling out in the middle of the night. We don't allow our little puppy to sleep with us he is relegated to a kennel downstairs.

This is her so far unused crib. We tried naps in it but I have moved her back to naps on the bed. Good thing the crib converts to a toddler bed!( It would have saved us money to know we would do this co-sleeping ahead of time!) We have a video monitor which enables me to catch her when she wakes up before she starts crawling all over the bedroom!(0: Interesting note I am reading up on the Montessori method and they encourage you to have your child sleep on a mattress on the floor to encourage movement!

I have been asked "aren't you worried about the transition to her own bed". My answer " no not really." My dad one night decided it was time to move me out of their bed...and that was that. No crying, no fussing. I was ready. I still remember him saying 'I will be back to check on you.' ( prior to this I would fall asleepin in their bed and then he would carry me into my own) Other people have wondered if it affects our sleep or intimacy. The answer is no. 

For us co-sleeping has resulted in a happy baby and happy, well rested parents. 

Co-sleeping resources: 

http://www.sids-network.org/experts/bedshare.htm

http://www.suite101.com/content/psychological-benefits-of-cosleeping-a71446

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/t071000.asp

http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/161/3/237.pdf

Book resources:

Sleeping with Your Baby: A Parent's Guide to Cosleeping

The No-cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help...

The Attachment Parenting Book by Dr Sears

Ginger, my latest spice craze.

Not long ago were the days I relegated ginger to my spice drawer to be used in holiday cookie and cake recipes. Recently though my eyes have been opened to ginger's wonderful dexterity. I now use it in stir fry's, curries, spaghetti, baking and so much more! One day I opened my local CSA box of good (Klesick Family Farm, home organic vegetable delivery) and found this knobby looking thing:

So off to the Internet I went to figure out how to use it. Wow! I had no idea. I am now newly in love. While researching how to cook with it I found out interesting facts about medicinal uses. Here is what I discovered:

• it increases perspiration
• stimulates digestion
• stimulates respiration, circulation and the nervous system
• ginger tea or candied ginger is used as an anti inflammatory to ease aching joints, 
• there is the popular nausea and morning sickness relief (found to be more effective than Dramamine)
• it helps with flatulence
• works as an expectorant
• eases the symptom's of colds,coughs and flu
• it is also said to be a natural pain killer
• apparently researchers in Denmark believe that ginger blocks prostaglandins which helps with migraine headaches (must be taken at the beginning of the headache)
• Gingerols one of the active ingredients in ginger are said to be effective in the prevention of colorectal and ovarian cancers

But don't take my word for it. Check it out yourself. I great site linking you to some research on ginger is the worlds healthiest foods.  Check it out for yourself.

Why I babywear.

If you know me you've seen me do it. Wear little Olivia in a Ergo carrier or a sling as I go about my daily business in the house, walk around the neighborhood, calm her in it, or while running errands about town.

Before I was pregnant I had no idea that baby wearing even existed. Then I saw a girl at church frequently walk in with her baby in a teal green moby wrap. Her little one was always quiet as a church mouse while he was in it. I decided to look into this whole idea of "baby wearing".

Here is what I found out and have decided from my own experience to be true:

1. Slings save you money. If you know how to sew you can make your own, find them on craigs list for 1/3 of the price bran new, I have even found them in thrift stores! I use my sling in preference to a stroller.
 In fact I dislike using my stroller. Olivia is always happier while on me. She just nestles her head in and falls asleep. The only time a stroller has been necessary is on really hot days when holding her close is just too hot!
2. When I carry Olivia in her sling I don't have to worry about "forgetting" her while I shop. She is always close so I know where she is. It is really convenient for me. I can breastfeed on the go and no one even notices! In the sling she isn't easily distracted. In the airport in LA and Seattle I carry her around without a worry in the world. It makes for great hands free time enabling me to carry bags...push a cart, hold hands with my husband.
3. Carrying baby is great for their neurological development, enhancing their sense of balance and equilibrium.
4. Carrying infants help lower stress hormones and adrenalin circulating in baby's blood stream as well as mine. When she is happy so am I.
5. Babies in slings cry less. Olivia is a very happy baby. As a newborn she had a lot of colic due to GI distress. Putting her in the sling and going for a walk was my sanity! She would calm right down and fall asleep.
6. Baby wearing has been fantastic exercise for me. My arms, back and stomach have quickly regained strength.


Ultimately I carry her because I LOVE to. She is so snuggly and warm. She is close and looks up at me with her big eyes and smiles. She seems interested in everything I do, a part of it all. I will be carrying her for a long time!


There are many other claims made by the baby wearing advocates. The above are the one's I have found to be true for Olivia and I. Others are true these are only the ones I feel I can prove. 
Here is a link to other things baby wearing is said to do: http://continuum-family.com/index.php?main_page=babywearing






Olivia is only 7.5 months so I am waiting for this to be true...we shall see "Infants who are carried have less head lag, stronger neck and shoulder muscles, and walk on their own by ten months old versus the average North American walking age of eleven and a half (or more) months. Baby-carrying allows infants to retain the standing/stepping reflex present from birth which they use to push themselves up and grab onto mother."
I would say she has a very strong neck and shoulder muscles. Her posture is nearly perfect. Currently she is walk/ crawling. (crawling on her hands and feet not knees) She pulls herself up constantly.

Organic Chicken Turkey Curry

Yesterday we celebrated my dad's 59th birthday. My mom suggested I make curry so this is the recipe I came up with. It is a conglomeration of multiple recipes I found on the web. I went with what I had in the fridge and only had to go to the store to buy ginger. This recipe serves 8-10 people. Prep time is 40 minutes.

Ingredients: 

6 Tablespoons of organic extra virgin coconut oil ( if you like nutiva on facebook you can get 20% off your order)

2 organic yellow onions, chopped (Klesick Family Box of Good)

12 cloves of garlic, minced or use a garlic press

6 tablespoons of organic curry powder

2 teaspoons of organic cinnamon powder

2 teaspoons of organic paprika 

2 bay leaves

2 1/2 teaspoons of organic ginger powder or the same of freshly grated organic ginger ( I looked for fresh and could not find organic, only conventional originating in China...)

1 teaspoon of organic sugar ( large bag from Costco) you could also use honey or brown rice syrup

4 cups of cooked chicken ( I precooked an organic whole chicken and deboned it)

3 Tablespoons of organic tomato paste 

2 cups of coconut yogurt (or any type of yogurt)

1 1/2 cups of organic coconut milk (canned is thicker and better for this recipe)

1 lemon (you need the juice of one lemon)

1 tsp of organic cayenne pepper

salt to taste

First place coconut oil, onions and crushed garlic in the dutch oven on the stove top. Cook on medium high until the onions are translucent. 

Then add curry powder, ground cinnamon, papricka, bay leaves, ginger, sugar and salt to taste. Stir with onions. Cook for about 2 minutes stirring often.

Then add pre-cooked chicken ( I precook and freeze my chicken), tomato paste, yogurt, coconut milk. Bring to a boil. Then let simmer for 20-25 minutes on low. This allows the flavors to spread and deepens them.

After the pot has simmered add the lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Simmer for 5 more minutes then serve over rice.

This dish turned out delicious! We used brown rice as our base and served with a side salad. Enjoy!

Mint-Vinegar Skin Toner

About a week ago I got my copy of  "The Herb Companion" in the mail. It is one of my favorite magazines. I look forward to it coming in the mail as it is always chock full of fun ideas and recipes.
This time around they had an article on Herbal Vinegars for your skin and hair. Here is my favorite one so far:

3 Tablespoons of fresh mint leaves (or 1 Tablespoon of dried). I pulled mine from the garden making this a very very cheap recipe to make.
2 Tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
1 cup of distilled water

Directions as stated in the magazine:
" Mix together all ingredients, then pour into a clean container and let sit for 3 days"
"Strain of filter out all solids and pour into a clean bottle with a tight fitting lid."
"To use: Apply to clean skin with a cotton pad."

Here it is strained. I had not found a bottle to put it in yet.

I love this recipe! Note it tingles when you apply it to your freshly cleaned face! The magazine says it is good for the blackheads in oily skin and the flakiness of very dry skin. My face feels soft after using it.
Make sure you wash the mint leaves before cutting up. The water does get a dirty brownish color but it feels AMAZING as it tingles on your skin. I want to experiment with more mint to see if it tingles more.

Avocado's health benefits.

I have a new food love, avocados (ginger too but that is for another day). They are quickly becoming a staple in our diet. I fell in love with them when I realized how easy they were to feed seven month old daughter. In fact she loves to feed them to herself. Avocados are chock-full of vitamins. They contain Vitamin C, potassium and folic acid, among others. They have the highest soluble fiber of any fruit and are loaded with 2 grams of protein per 4 ounce serving. They are rich in phytochemicals one of which is glutathianone which is a strong anticancer agent. Luteins also have a strong presence and are great for protecting against hardening of the arteries and preventing prostate cancer. Avocados are loaded with fat. The good kind of fat. The kind that heals. Yes some fat is good for you! The fact acts as a nutrient booster enhancing the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins in foods eaten along with the avocado. Avocado has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL. 

We add avocado to our salads, eat them alone with lime and salt, make guacamole, top our stir fry's with them and so much more. Enjoy an avocado today!

Sources: 

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avocado

An A-Z Guide to Healing Foods by Elise Marie Collins