Aphorisms of a Dancing Girl!

Lupe's Kitchen Corner: Red HOT Slaw with Kelp Noodles

2/28/2016

Red HOT Slaw
with Kelp Noodles

Ingredients:
1 Red Cabbage
5 Carrots
1 Red Onion
2 cups of Edamame
a handful of Parsley
1 - 12oz bag of Kelp Noodles

Dressing:
1 teapoon Ginger
1 teaspoon Garlic
2 tablespoons of Sesame Oil
1/4 cup of Rice Wine Vinegar
1 tablespoon of Tamari
1 teaspoon of Cracked Red Pepper
1 teaspoon of Coconut Sugar (or sweetener of choice)

Directions:

Take the kelp noodles out of the bag and rinse them off. Soak them in a bowl of water for a few hours, this will soften them up to eat. They do not need to be cooked.

Mix all the ingredients for the dressing.

Prepare the edamame by boiling water and cooking them for 4-5 min. Rinse them in cold water. Pop them out of their pods. You can also steam them if you prefer.

Shred the cabbage, carrots, onion and parsley.

In a big bowl, combine all the vegetables, noodles, edamame and dressing together. Toss well.

Serve with Avocado slices.

Truth.

2/28/2016

8 or 88?

2/28/2016

Clap Clap Lights On Clap Clap Lights Off ... Lol ;-)

2/27/2016

Lupe's Kitchen Corner: HARVESTING ALOE VERA & ITS USES - Smoothie, Pudding, Scrub & Spritzer

2/25/2016

Harvesting Aloe Vera & its many uses

Harvesting Aloe Vera is really easy and the benefits are great. I've seen Aloe Vera juice in the stores being sold at a very high price and yet people don't realize how cheap the fresh stuff is. The health benefits are better when you use it fresh. I've seen juice cost upwards of $20 or more. This one leaf that I bought is enough to last me all week and only cost me $1. Harvesting the Aloe Vera gel does not take long and you don't need any special tools to do it.

Take the aloe leaf and use a large kitchen knife to cut one of the sides. You'll see there are pointy serrated edges. Be careful. Cut off one of the serrated sides to open it up. Now take your knife and start cutting the top section of skin from the flesh. It'll easily peel away. Its gooey but the flesh itself is firm. Once you've gotten the skin off the top, you can start cutting the flesh away from the bottom. I like to take the flesh and cube it into tablespoon sized pieces.

You can keep Aloe Vera gel for up to a week in a container in the fridge. You can freeze aloe like ice cubes if you plan to use it only on your skin for sunburns or any other external use. You can further preserve your Aloe Vera gel by adding 500 mg of vitamin C and 400 IU of Vitamin E for every 1/4 cup of gel. This will lengthen your storage time for up to 6 months or more. You know Aloe has turned bad if it starts to stink.

I find that Aloe Vera gel is very bitter so its best to eat with other stuff. I tend to add it to smoothies, puddings, salsas, ceviche and more. I don't like eating it alone or in juice form. Some people will lightly poach or steam Aloe Vera but be careful if you do. Many of the health benefits disappear if you add heat to the gel. The gel makes a great thickener for salsas, puddings and smoothies. You can also use it in ceviche as an alternative to seafood.

As you can see, it's not hard to harvest and a lot cheaper than the expensive preservative filled juices that are on the market. At $1 a leaf, anyone can afford to add aloe vera into their diet. Try it at least once and see how you like it. In case your not sure where you can get some, I find that latino and asian markets are most like to carry fresh aloe. You might also have some growing in your own backyard, cut some up and try it out today.

Here are some of the ways I use Aloe Vera:

GREEN ALOE VERA DETOX SMOOTHIE

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of Fresh Aloe Vera
1/2 Frozen Banana
1 Celery Rib
1 cup Liquid (i.e. Water, Coconut Water or Non-Dairy Milk)
1 small thumb of peeled Ginger
1 teaspoon Ground Flax
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
a few sprigs of Fresh Mint
a handful of Baby Kale (or any greens)

Directions:
Put all the ingredients into a blender and pulse until creamy smooth.

Coconut & Aloe Vera Pudding
(RAW & Vegan)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of Fresh Aloe Vera
1 cup of Thai Young Coconut Meat
1/4 cup of fresh Coconut Water
1/2 Small Avocado (or 1/4 of Large Avocado)
2 tablespoons of Lime Juice
Sweetener of choice
a pinch of salt

Toppings:
a pinch of Dessicated Coconut
Raspberries

Directions:
You can find directions on how to open up a coconut here:
http://fatmanlive.weebly.com/musings/lupes-kitchen-corner-fresh-young-coconut-smoothie

Take all the ingredients and put them into a blender. Pulse til creamy smooth.

Anti-Inflammatory
Sugar Scrub

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of Fresh Aloe Vera
1/2 teaspoon Vitamin E Oil
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
2 teaspoons of Rose Water
1/2 cup of Coconut or Brown Sugar (more or less depending on how thick you like it)
2 tablespoons of Avocado Oil

Directions:
Put all the ingredients except for the sugar into a blender and pulse til its smooth. Add the sugar. Put in as much as you like, that will depend on how thick you like your scrub to be.

Sugar scrubs are especially good for exfoliating your skin especially on elbows and knees or wherever you have rough patches or red burning irritated spots. I have psoriasis and skin allergies, this helps my skin feel better and cools it down.

Aloe Vera Virgin Mojito Spritzer

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of Aloe Vera Gel
1 cup of Mineral Water
1 tablespoon of Key Lime Juice (about 3 key limes)
a few sprigs of Mint
Sweetener of choice
Ice Cubes

Directions:
Put everything into a blender and pulse til its well blended and slushy-like.

Just like the FATMAN! Lol... ;-)

2/25/2016

The origin of headaches before the nookie begins!

2/25/2016

Unique & incomparable!

2/25/2016

Lupe's Kitchen Corner: EAST MEETS WEST - MUSHROOM & CACTUS FAJITAS (FAJITAS DE CHAMPINON Y NOPAL)

2/23/2016

EAST MEETS WEST
MUSHROOM & CACTUS FAJITAS
FAJITAS DE CHAMPINON Y NOPAL

Fajita Marinade Ingredients:
1/4 cup Lime Juice
1/4 cup Tamari OR Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Grapeseed Oil
2 tablespoons of Piloncillo (Substitute Jaggery, Muscovado or Brown Sugar)
1/2 teaspoon of Cumin
1/4 teaspoon of Cayenne
2 Cloves Of Minced Garlic

Vegetarian/Vegan Mushroom Fajitas:
6 Shitake Mushrooms
3 King Oyster Mushrooms
2 Cactus Paddles
1 Onion

DIRECTIONS:

Put all the ingredients for the marinade together in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.

Clean the mushrooms. Discard the shitake stem. Cut all the mushrooms and onions into chunky slices. Not too thick.

Pour the marinade over the mushrooms and let them marinade for 30-60 min.

Clean the cactus paddles of any thorns that might still be on. Be careful and use a knife to slice them away if you see any. I usually buy them cleaned but like to double check. Be careful, cactus thorns can really sting.

If your using a grill, then its best to grill the cactus paddles whole so you can flip them easily. If you plan to cook them on your stove top, then you'll want to cut the paddles into strips.

Put the cactus into a bowl and coat them with salt. Leave them in the salt mixture for a good 30 min or more. Cactus paddles tend to have a sticky snotty liquid that oozes out. Salting them pulls it all out. When your ready to cook them, rinse them out and you'll find that alot of that mucous liquid will be gone.

If cooking on a grill, make to sure to cook the mushrooms til they are a little charred on each side. I cooked this batch on my stove top today.

I like to cook the onions and nopales first til the onions soften up. Then I put them on a platter and cook the mushrooms til they are a little charred on both sides.

Serve with the usual fajita items which include tortillas, salsa, guacamole, crema and salad.

Oops!

2/23/2016

The FATMAN's cute little dogs!

2/23/2016

The times they are a-changing...

2/23/2016

Lupe's Kitchen Corner: Chai Spiced Peanut Butter Dip

2/22/2016

Chai Spiced Peanut Butter Dip

Ingredients:
2 cups plain Coconut Yogurt
1/2 cup Natural Peanut Butter
1 tbsp Maple Syrup (or Sweetener of choice)
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

Optional Chai Spice:
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon Ground Cardamom
1/8 teaspoon of Ground Cloves
1/8 teaspoon of Ground Ginger
a pinch of salt

Optional Veggie Dippers:
Celery Sticks
Carrot Sticks
Jicama Chips

Directions:
I put all the ingredients into my food processor and pulsed til everything was well blended and creamy smooth.

Serve with fruit and vegetables for a super healthy snack.

February 21st, 2016

2/22/2016

Been there. Done that. LMFAO!!! ;-)

2/22/2016

Not my circus. Not my monkeys. Lol...

2/22/2016

Interesting.

2/18/2016

Sinatra had it right!

2/18/2016

Live for TODAY!

2/18/2016

Lupe's Kitchen Corner: Two Dominican Classic Drinks -- Healthy Dairy-Free Vegan Versions -- "Morir Sonando" & "Batida de Lechoza"

2/17/2016

MORIR SONANDO
Translation is "To Die Dreaming"
(Orange Creamsicle Drink)

Ingredients:
1 cup Unsweetened Plant Based Milk (or Non-Dairy Evaporated Milk)*
1/2 cup Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup of Ice cubes
Sweetener to taste

Optional Healthy Additive:
a pinch of Cinnamon on top

Directions:
Put all the ingredients into a blender and pulse until creamy smooth.

The only commercial non-dairy evaporated milk that I've seen available is made out of coconut but you can make your own. See below for directions.

"Batida de Lechoza"
(Papaya Smoothie)

Ingredients:
1 cup ripe Papaya
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 cup Evaporated Almond Milk (or any Non-Dairy Evaporated Milk)
1/2 cup Ice Cubes
1 tsp Coconut Sugar (or Sweetener of choice to taste)

Ingredients for making Evaporated Milk:
2 cups Almond Milk (or any Non-Dairy Milk)

Optional Healthy Additives as shown:
1 tbsp Aloe Vera Gel
a pinch of Nutmeg on top

Directions for making the Non-Dairy Evaporated Milk:
Canned evaporated milk is homogenized milk with about 60 percent of its water removed. Although there are vegan versions of evaporated milk, finding it can be quite hard. So I decided to make my own. I took 2 cups of Almond milk and simmered it for about 30 min on low to medium heat to reduce it by half. Use a big pot in case it starts to boil so it won't spill onto your stove. Keep an eye on it and stir it often. Try not to let it boil. You could also put the milk into a crock pot and let it reduce that way. I just didn't want to wait for 4-5 hours. The end result was really amazing in this drink. Cool the mixture down before using it.

Directions for making the drink:
Cut a very ripe Papaya. I used a Maradol papaya and I know when its ripe because it turns ugly. Lol... Do not throw away the seeds, they are edible and are great for protecting your kidneys from toxins, eliminating intestinal parasites, detoxifying your liver and are effective against E. Coli, Salmonella and Staph infections. I eat a few everytime I have a serving of papaya.

Take 1 cup of the papaya and all the other ingredients and put them into a blender. Puree til smooth. I added fresh Aloe Vera gel to my drink, not for the taste but for the health benefits. The mild flavor does not affect the taste of the drink.

I topped it with a little nutmeg.

HA HA HA!!! Toot! Toot!

2/17/2016

Clarity & Confusion.

2/17/2016

Give 'em up!

2/17/2016

Lupe's Kitchen Corner: Platano Asado Con Queso, Nueces y Jarabe de Arce (Baked Sweet & Cheesy Ripe Plantains) VEGAN

2/16/2016

Platano Asado Con Queso y Miel
Baked Sweet & Cheesy Ripe Plantains

Plantains are eaten all over Latin America and I especially love baking them. The plantain needs to be very ripe for this dish. The peel should be almost black and the flesh a bit mushy. This is a great healthy way to eat them that doesn't involve frying them. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 Very Ripe Plantain
10 Cloves
2 tablespoons of Vegan Queso Requeson
1/2 tablespoon of Maple Syrup
1 tablespoon of Pecans
1/8 teaspoon of Cinnamon
1 teaspoon of Coconut Oil

Ingredients For The Vegan Requeson Cheese Filling:
1 cup of cashews (soak them for a few hours)
2 tablespoons of non-dairy milk
1 tablespoons of fresh Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon Mild Yellow Miso
1/2 tablespoon of Maple Syrup
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Clean and peel the plantain. Brush the plantain with a little melted coconut oil.

Put 5 cloves on each side of the plantain. Place the plantain into a greased up baking dish.

Bake for 30-40 min til its tender. Take out the cloves.
It should be soft enough to slide a toothpick in with no problem.

Cut the plantain lengthwise, just enough to stuff it with cheese but not all the way through.

Add the nuts and drizzle with maple syrup. Sprinkle cinnamon all over the plantain.

Directions for the Cheese:
Soak the cashews up to 24 hours. The longer you soak them, the creamier the cheese will be.
Put all the cheese ingredients into the food processor or blender. Pulse til you get the consistency you want. You want it to be creamy but still crumbly.

Live Now! Grow Strong!

2/16/2016

<<Previous

Lupe's Kitchen Corner: Red HOT Slaw with Kelp Noodles

Truth.

8 or 88?

Clap Clap Lights On Clap Clap Lights Off ... Lol ;-)

Lupe's Kitchen Corner: HARVESTING ALOE VERA & ITS USES - Smoothie, Pudding, Scrub & Spritzer

Just like the FATMAN! Lol... ;-)

The origin of headaches before the nookie begins!

Unique & incomparable!

Lupe's Kitchen Corner: EAST MEETS WEST - MUSHROOM & CACTUS FAJITAS (FAJITAS DE CHAMPINON Y NOPAL)

Oops!

The FATMAN's cute little dogs!

The times they are a-changing...

Lupe's Kitchen Corner: Chai Spiced Peanut Butter Dip

February 21st, 2016

Been there. Done that. LMFAO!!! ;-)

Not my circus. Not my monkeys. Lol...

Interesting.

Sinatra had it right!

Live for TODAY!

Lupe's Kitchen Corner: Two Dominican Classic Drinks -- Healthy Dairy-Free Vegan Versions -- "Morir Sonando" & "Batida de Lechoza"

HA HA HA!!! Toot! Toot!

Clarity & Confusion.

Give 'em up!

Lupe's Kitchen Corner: Platano Asado Con Queso, Nueces y Jarabe de Arce (Baked Sweet & Cheesy Ripe Plantains) VEGAN

Live Now! Grow Strong!

Author

Archives

Categories