Beany Mole sided with roasted beets and bok choy...I never claimed authenticity!

Sometimes you want to add some pizazz to your weekly meal roster – and I had a ton of unsweetened dark chocolate in my kitchen cupboard.  So instead of whipping up some brownies or a trying out the cocoa tofu cheesecake recipe I had, I decided to go savory.

So, I made  a vegetarian mole.  Now, real authentic mole, this chocolate sauce can take hours and is a sophisticated orchestra of spices and flavors – mine?  It took ten minutes.  So, if all you internet readers are expecting me to stay true to this classic, well you probably haven’t read my blog before.

Mole sauce is usually paired with meat, so I found that I needed to mimic this.  The heaviness of the chocolate is best done veggie with foods which aren’t too watery.  Think of the density and fattiness of meat with the richness of chocolate – I think sweet potatoes or pinto beans are a good substitute.

I started by sauteing one onion and five cloves of chopped garlic.  Once softened, I added about one and a half cups of pinto beans.  At this point I turned up my pot to high heat.

To this mixture, I dusted in some all-spice (I know, Jamaican all-spice isn’t really with the Mexican theme – but its kind of nutmeg-esque and it was in my spice rack).  I threw in a cinnamon stick and couple dashes of cayenne.  I then poured in about a cup of vegetable stock, two ounces of the chopped up unsweetened dark chocolate and two table spoons of oil.  After only two to three minutes I added a tablespoon of Bragg’s (a soy sauce alternative) and two tablespoons of agave syrup.  Now it sounds like a lot of sugar and salt, but this will serve about four or five people so it really isn’t that bad.

Now there are both victories and losses in the kitchen.  I would say, I should have used only one ounce of chocolate because it was a bit strong.  I also could have used rice or soy milk instead of vegetable stock with added oil.  That would have made it a bit more sweet, counteracting the bitterness of the dark chocolate.  Still, a nice new recipe with a lovely creaminess that I don’t usually get to enjoy as a dairy avoider.

I don’t think there is a manager at Pure + Simple who is not stressed out right now.  It takes a lot of work to create an atmosphere of calm.  And when you have short staffing, product back orders, phone or internet lines going down -or a someone leaving the key in the front door prompting the cops to call you at 10:30pm to sort out the alarm system – its easy to feel like you are always distressed.  Often I feel like even the most trivial tasks are too time consuming or taxing.  Something as routine and simple as food shopping can feel like the ultimate chore.  Because grocery shopping is no casual matter for Ben and I (we want to buy local, organic food), it means I can’t always drop by Dominion (ahem, I mean Metro…I’m dating myself now.) to fill up for the week.

So, I decided to do myself a favor and do something about it.  I had heard about Wanigan, a grocery delivery service which specializes in organic and locally grown produce, and finally got around to trying it out.

Well, I think its going to change my life! We ordered the “local box” – which is $25 for about 11 different items all locally grown (and mostly organic).  We received organic carrots, cucumbers, organic zucchini, organic lettuce, organic apples,  peas, organic cabbage, wild mushrooms, and one hot house tomato.  I also ordered some a la carte items which brought my bill up to around $45 – these included a huge bunch of organic parsley, organic pine nuts (these are always expensive – around $10 a cup), four ears of organic corn (which I blogged about in a post called  “corn on the cobb snob”), and organic basil.  You can also order a plethora of stuff including organic eggs, tofu, beans, oil and other things which aren’t produce.  I loved how it was so easy to shop online (a matter of minutes) – and that you could really control your budget as you saw your bill increase and decrease as you added and deleted items.  We spent significantly less money than we usually do at Whole Foods or the St. Lawrence Market, and for those who want budget regularity or are really time-pressed, you can even just make your order have weekly status so that Wanigan simply sends you them same things each week automatically!

The delivery day to our area is every Wednesday and you need to order 48 hours in advance.  I like to think that this option is also more green because they are delivering to a concentrated area of people instead of us all individually driving to a store.  But who knows if it really works out that way.

The best was that I had it delivered to our Pure + Simple head office address.  Because I don’t work there on Wednesdays, Ben received it, brought it home and put it all away – yay!  Zero work for Kristen!  And they even sent a follow up email with recipes of what I can make with the foods I bought.  Double score.

We may try a bigger box next time – or maybe the strictly organic “small box” for $34.  Wild blueberries are on this week’s box menu! But I will say that I need to stop changing my order and surfing the website or I’m not going to be saving myself much time…

Corn: Plain, with black pepper, and with lime and curry spices

I haven’t eaten corn in years.  Its one of those no-no foods you can’t eat on many diets and cleanses – with high sugar content and popular allergy status, corn has a bad reputation.

But a couple of weeks ago at my friend Lauren’s potluck, I thought I would dive in and nibble on a lovely cobb of corn she was serving up.  I literally went bug eyed with deliciousness.

“What did you do to this corn?!” I exclaimed.
“I boiled it…then I fried it a bit,” she replied sheepishly as if she had said a dirty word.  Well, I guess a lot of us think “fried” is a dirty word.

But I’m a sucker for anything dairy-free, gluten-free and sugar-free which still tastes good – so threw caution to the wind, inspired to pan fry myself some corn too.  I special ordered organic local corn with my wanigan delivery and got it the next week.  But as you all know, I cook anything without modifying it to my own personal food style.  So, I boiled then pan fried my corn – and topped some off with crack black pepper and salt, some with just Himalayan salt, and some with lime , curry powder and cayenne.  Mmm!  Delish.  Such variation in so little time – I had outdone myself again.  Sometimes it feels so good to be bad.

I’ve been told I have weak lungs by various Ayurvedic and TCM doctors- but besides having seasonal allergies sometimes, my breathing has never really been a problem.  Still this has always worried me because I know how important the lungs are for allowing our cells to receive oxygen as well as for detoxification.  The lungs along with the bowels and skin are an organ of elimination, and through breath we purge waste as well as acid in our bodies.  So, while I was browsing through the aisles of my local health food store, something called a “Himalayan Salt Inhaler” caught my eye.

It was a sippy cup looking thing, which seemed to be full of rock salt in which to breathe through.  I have long since been a fan of Himalayan Salt, and figured that this form of intake would probably be good for purifying the lungs and reducing Kapha.  Kapha is the earth and water element in the body, and it governs the lungs as well as expresses itself through the quality of dampness – in this case, namely mucous.  So, for a cool $40 I figured all I had to lose was a cool $40.

When I got home I Googled reviews of this product and found only positive opinions (and no contraindications) with many claims that it helped cure chronic coughs and asthma. And unlike most girls who get excited by a new pair of shoes, I started getting really excited about my new Himalayan Salt Inhaler (Ben should skin the ring and just send me for two weeks of Panchakarma).

The instructions said to inhale through the mouth and exhale through the nose for 15-20 minutes per day.  Easy while watching TV, I cuddled up to an episode of the Daily Show and my new lung buddy.  At first it just felt like normal deep breaths, but about 5 minutes in, I began to feel a very slight scraping sensation in my chest.   And by the end of my first session, I started to spit of phleghm.

Over the next two or three days I continued using my Salt Inhaler religiously, and found that each morning I was spitting up mucous and felt my lips becoming a bit dehydrated.  Unlike some people who may have been concerned by these changes – I was delighted because I could feel it detoxifying my lung organ and purging dampness I could not have otherwise gotten rid of.

After a week had gone by, my dry lips subsided and the morning phlegm had reduced (though still had not stopped completely).  But with this, I could feel my breathing feel much better, deeper and easier.  Its odd because I never felt it was difficult to breathe, but it was as if something had opened up.  I imagine this would be good for people who snore – and I am also hoping with this new-found release in my lungs and sinuses that it will also reduce facial puffiness (which is always a big bad problem for me).

Now, tickled with these results, I continue to use my Salt Inhaler (thought less consistently) whenever I can.  I like starting my day with it because it forces me to do some much needed breath work.  In some ways its grounding and helps assist and gradual morning process.

What a perfect way to wake up – morning tokes of my Himalayan Salt Inhaler.

I know some people aren’t fans of curry – but I imagine that their taste buds never have any fun.  Curry is one of the highlights of my life – when we were in India I accidentally ate a long green pepper mistaking it for a green string bean and I still didn’t spit it out.  That dish was so hot Ben and I started hyperventilating and crying out “more naan! more naan please!”  Best curry I ever had though – even if I could feel it burning down my esophagus.

But as a lactose intolerant, I do miss really creamy curries.  Dry rub curry dishes and curry Pho are delicious, but sometimes I have dinner envy as I watch Ben stuff his face with some buttery, paneer-y goodness.

So, like usual, I have decided to make my own fun with a jar of nut butter and every spice in my kitchen cabinet.  I also have  a soft spot for peanut butter.  I would say in my family this love is passed down through generations – my late father used to spread it on every sandwich he ate (including ham sandwiches…eew!  An extra eew for ham cold cuts).

And this is what I came up with:

Curry #1: Indian inspired potato and veggie curry

Sided with lettuce and heirloom tomatoes

I started this curry by frying an onion, six cloves of garlic in oil (you can use oil or ghee if you don’t mind this form of dairy).  Then I added garam masala (a lot…two heaping teaspoons?), turmeric, cayenne, black pepper, a cinnamon stick and a dash of ginger powder.    I then folded in the veggies and potatoes that I had boiled/steamed (maybe 4 cups?).  After this, I added around a cup of smooth peanut butter (organic, no sugar).  I did this at the end because then I know if I need to add more because you want a good coating on all the veggies and potatoes.  Now, in retrospect, I could have added the peanut butter with the spices then simply added more after the veggies went in if needed.  It would probably been easier to mix this way.  Nonetheless, it turned out great!  I topped it off with an extra sprinkle of garam masala, black pepper, a few sprays of Braggs (like soy sauce) and a table spoon of olive oil.  You could still taste the peanuty taste, but like I said – I love nut butters so it didn’t bother me at all.

Curry #2 Thai peanut curry

A messy bowl of peanut curry noodles

This is something a little less made up – Thai cuisine uses peanut in their curries all the time.  I didn’t have tomato paste (and don’t like the idea of canned foods anyway) so I just omitted it.  I again started with a fried onion and garlic, and worked in coconut milk (around 1/4 cup), yellow curry paste  (three teaspoons), turmeric, black pepper and peanut butter (1 cup again).  This is all on medium heat.   I then added rice noodles and veggies I had cooked while chopping the onion and starting this sauce.   The rice noodles, I actually just soaked for 20 minutes in hot water so it was easy peasy.   With the rice noodles and veggies, I put in a half bunch of chopped cilantro.  I then took it off the heat and drizzled over some organic amber maple syrup, I also squeezed a lime over the dish and added salt to taste.  I topped it off with chopped green onions, and another round of ground black pepper – tah dah!  Make shift pad thai.

I will say you may not follow my portions because despite only cooking for Ben and I – it always turns out to be a meal that could feed a family of five!

I was going to write about my new Ayurvedic Salt Inhaler this week, but instead, I want to take some time to talk about Toronto Pride Weekend again.  The parade really got me back to thinking about how I see beauty.

I’ve seen quite a few Pride Parades living on Yonge (groan, hell I’ve seen a lot of parades in general living on Yonge) –I’ve even bumped into one while in New York and also marched in Toronto’s two years back with two other Pure + Simple team members.  And like clockwork, I get all teary.  I used to think it was because I was upset about the inequality that an event like this brings into the forefront.  I remember in New York a drag queen going up to one sign-touting anti-gay protester and shimmying in face.  But I realized that it isn’t that – it isn’t even about crying with happiness at the progress we have made either.  No, this year I found that it was because Pride’s theme applies to us all.

This year, I didn’t have time to watch the whole parade – and walking up the back streets on the way to our Yorkville Spa, I saw the flows preparing to march.  Women with bare breasts unashamed of their different body shapes and sizes, men in leather g-strings exposing sun damaged chests and hair where I didn’t think hair grew, just laughing, cheering, dancing and squirting water bottles.  And while they may not fit into the conventions of beauty – they resonated with such gorgeous positive energy,

I was just really moved by the fact that they were there to say that they were proud, not only their sexuality, but who they were as people despite what society may have said during their life’s journey.  Not “we’re here we’re queer, get used to it” but “I love and accept myself for who I am”.  I think I felt like I could learn a lot from this.  Working in an industry which often tells us not to be proud of who we are and how we look – I was deeply touched.  I remember for one term of grade four I lived with my father in New Market while my mother got her design business off the ground.  Being the only Asian in my class I was repeatedly reminded by the other kids that I had a flat face and nose.  One day, the boy named Ryan who used to sit in front of me turned around and sneered at me and asked “When you were born, did a brick fall on your face?”  Needless to say, I whined until I was blue in the face to let me move back to Toronto.  And while logically, I know it’s silly, that really has sort of stuck with me and I have always been a bit self-conscious about my nose.  But seeing these joyful people this Pride Weekend, I wanted to say thank you for helping everyone remember that there is so much beauty in being proud, self-accepting and self-loving.

The evening after the parade Ben and I ate supper on a patio in the neighborhood with techno and dancing in the streets still going.  “I like Pride Weekend,” Ben said to me in his English accent “…there’s such good energy and makes me glad to be in Toronto.” “Yeah, hits you right here,” I replied patting my heart.

Toronto Pride Parade: a hot, sweaty, wonderful mess

Living on Yonge south of Bloor means living right in the thick of Pride celebrations.  And while many of my friend have been complaining about how commercial Pride has become, I actually really enjoy the pulsating energy in the streets.  Sure, bronze chested men on Vodka sponsored floats are a bit much – but I still get teary eyed each an every year of the parade.  There’s something about hard abs that gets me emotional (God I hope you know I’m joking).

Anyhoo this year has been the hottest Pride yet (temperature-wise that is) – and the pollution married with the heat has driven me to take at least a couple of showers per day.  And being the neurotic person I am, that includes washing my hair too (I can’t shower and consider myself cleansed without washing my hair).  Well, ipso facto my hair got really oily – and if I didn’t know better I would think it was the sweat and sweltering weather causing this .  But as we at Pure + Simple know, that excess oiliness usually is caused by stripping the skin (though I am sure the drying sun didn’t help).

This is why many clients feel that they need to use heavy duty cleansers and shampoos to wash away their oiliness, but in fact it is actually encouraging their bodies to produces more oil.  A good friend of mine also experienced this when switching to a new hair straightener – it was so powerful that it was drying out her scalp and making it really greasy.  While her actually hair strands were dry, her roots were oily.

So, how did I re-balance from my over-zealous washing?  Oiling it of course!  Just as I recommend facial oils for balancing our our complexion’s sebum – the same goes for our scalp.  My favorite oils to use are coconut oil (because this is cooling as well as washes out easily), jojoba oil (again, another light weight oil), sesame oil (for drier scalps which also need to reduce Vata) and hazelnut oil (this oil regulates oil production).  Applying the oil at night and washing this out in the morning is the best way to ensure you have left it in long enough.  Remember to really work it into your roots because the dehydration is occurring

Now, if you are afraid of having greasy hair the next day at don’t want to use oil, I recommend using a lotion or serum instead.  This too helps restore moisture to our scalp – though it is not as nourishing as an oil treatment would be.

I originally put this contest out for one pair of Swamis.  This was to be chosen at random like every other contest I run, but sometimes new realizations bring about change in our plans.

Some of you were so moved by one comment, that I have decided to giveaway two pairs – one to a drawn winner, and one to Janet Thomson.  I’m so glad that people read these comments because I think we can all be inspired by one another.  Janet really inspired many of us as we overcome life challenges by centering herself and supporting her health.  She wrote:

crepes pre-sauce

It seems like everyone is going away this summer except for me.  Yes, its a sad cottage-less, G20 ridden existence when you don’t have holiday plans for a Torontonian – and I literally turned  emerald green when my friend told me her work was paying for her to “drop-in and check out upcoming fashion trends in Paris”.  And with luscious pastries and creamy pates, Paris may very well be my favorite city in Europe (notice how I don’t even mention a museum or monument?).

Well, if you can’t go to the city, you bring the crepe (ahem), city, to you.  So, I decided to make crepes for dinner in the spirit of making our supper a little more interesting.  And when I say making French-inspired dinners, you may be picturing butter sauce or stuffed quail – but with my dietary habits, making something French mean not being French at all.  So you’re going to have to excuse the brown-rice flour and roasted bok choy (what – can’t blame a girl for wanting to use up what’s in her fridge).

The nice thing about this dish was that is was so so so easy.  Ben and I make omelets for dinner when we are in a rush, and this is the same idea: its all stove top and it takes less than 5 minutes per crepe.  I had vegan, gluten-free pancake mix in my cupboard and decided it I watered it a down a little more, then it would make a thinner more crepe-like texture.  I don’t usually like pre-made mixes but do like the Kokimo brand because its really just blended flours and you don’t use an egg (I eat eggs, its just nice for simplicity as well as if you feel like going vegan that night).  I also have found it pretty tasty (unlike many substitute foods), and contains protein from the gram powder in it.  The company also makes a buckwheat version, but remembering back to my childhood and my mother’s own experimentation with “healthy substitutes”, buckwheat makes a very heavy pancake.

Usually you use a 1:1 ratio of water to mix, but I used about 1.5:1 this time.  And its as easy as pouring the batter into the pan and cooking it like an omelet.  Lucky for me, I had roasted veggies that I had made for lunch – but if you are roasting them now you could just pop ‘em in the oven whilst making the crepes.  If you use water-rich veggies like bell peppers and bok choy, they roast really fast.

When I was done I had a yummy crepe which I topped with the roasted vegetables.  I rolled them up ate them with my hands which is not – how you say… propre?  But while these savory crepes may seem very untraditional in texture, ingredients, method, seasoning, or how I ate ‘em -  just mix a spoon of Dijon mustard and mayo together and add a dollop of this to your crepe.  Et Voila, instantly French-ified!

Or maybe you wanna spend some time in Thailand instead? Mix together some peanut butter, sesame oil and curry paste – and tah-dah, Thai-ed up!…well, sorta.  Hey, you gotta be creative if you are resorting to fantasty (spelling error totally intended) for your vacation.

You know what they say about a gal with nice feet...

Keeping with this week’s theme of healthy, pretty feet, I thought I would do a post on nail fungus.  I actually have had two clients in the last week tell me about having this issue, and I think its important say that is more common  than you may assume.  And while some of you may be thinking that the subject is gross or embarrassing to bring up – let me tell you, as an esthetician, I think I can speak on behalf of us all, that we greatly appreciate when clients tell us about it.  Its much more uncomfortable for us to have to look at a nail which is yellowed, thickened and sometimes with a pungent odour and have to address the issue of our fungus finding (!) – and, not only because we know how to handle your feet better and keep our hands and facilities hygienic, but also because it gives us insight to what is happening inside your bodies.

When a person has nail fungus we are dealing with two internal issues: 1. Poor circulation – which is why many elderly people acquire toe nail fungus as our metabolisms and blood flow slow down with age, and 2. Candida – which is a Kapha imbalance.

Because our blood transports waste and away from our tissues and brings oxygen (oxygen has natural anti-bacterial properties) to our tissues, poor circulation breed bacteria, fungus and devitalization.  This is also why diabetics are prone to needing their limbs and extremities amputated – because their lowered circulation makes them more likely to get infection and they cannot heal as quickly or as effectively as those of us with better circulation.  And because our extremities are the last and furthest place to receive blood flow, they are the most affected.  Note: diabetes is a Kapha and Vata imbalance according to Ayurveda.

The other factor is Candida – an internal fungus that everyone has but becomes detrimental when there is overgrowth.  People who have taken a lot of anti-biotics, have issues with constipation, were on the birth control pill for a prolonged period of time and eat a lot of fermented, yeast-containing and sugary foods are predisposed to having their internal body over-run with Candida.  The problem is that when someone is diagnosed with nail fungus, they are often prescribed internal drugs to kill and treat it – unfortunately this compromises our immune systems and makes our bodies vulnerable to more Candida.  Because fungus occurs in the hidden spot underneath the nail, topicals can be difficult to apply – therefore oral meds are given.   But this often simply creates a cycle of reoccurring nail fungus because the root problem of  Candida, Vata/Kapha imbalance and poor circulation is not addressed.

One alternative solution that my mother’s partner used (upon my mother’s insistence) is to have his nail surgically removed and giving the affected area exposure to apply anti-fungal topicals.  While this may sound painful or inconvenient to some of us, its actually much better than damaging our entire immune system for one isolated spot. And, when I mentioned this to one client this week she actually gasped and said “That’s great!  I would have saved so much grief with my immune system and liver if I had been offered that option!”  See?  It pays to date us mouthy, alterna-chicks.

The second solution – which , is really not really an option, but a must even if you do the surgery, is to treat the body with the balancing measures it needs.  I would personally recommend a anti-Candida diet which involves avoiding all fermented foods, wheat, yeast, sweeteners and (surprise!) mushrooms (which are fungus).  I would also take probiotics to give us some good bacteria to fight the bad bacterial and fungus of Candida and support our intestinal flora.  Increasing exercises which also encourage good circulation is also imperative.

From a topical and more beauty-oriented point of view, I would insist upon nightly oiling of the hands and feet with a warming, blood flow stimulating oil such as mustard seed oil or sesame oil.  Both are good for Vata and Kapha reduction as well as have natural germ-fighting properties.  And if you are very disciplined, I would also so a weekly foot bath with sage oil in it.  The sage kill fungus and bacteria, and the hot water will help bring circulation to our feet.

So, if you are someone you know is struggling with nail fungus, remember it isn’t just an annoying ailment which shows up under the nail – it is an indication that there are other major imbalances going in our systems.  Perhaps it is unpleasant, but take it as a blessing that its nothing too serious – its just a reminder to take a little more time caring for your toes, and listening to what your body has to say…  cuz it only gets louder.