Ginger Sea Trout Asian-Style Soup [Low Carb] [Low Fat]

Sorry all for the long delay between posts, we've been busy bees trekking back and forth to Atlanta for Easter and wedding planning. Nothing like a great relaxing post-prelim break of driving furiously all around North Carolina and Georgia. If you've never been to Atlanta and like pain, I recommend I-285 during rush hour -- perfect meditation time! What else are you going to do for a 2 hour (10 mile) journey across the dry, cracked pavement? Anyways, Easter was great and family visits home were more than worth the trip (I'm not just saying that because our families read the blog... no way, ha).

I hate the girly details in wedding planning though. I still think jeans and hiking up the Appalachian Trail is a great wedding. God can hike, right? I might need to check on that before I pack my favorite washed denim $3 thrift store jeans. Weddings, I have come to realize, are complicated beasts. Do you know how difficult it is to find inexpensive sundresses or casual bridesmaid dresses?!? Suggestions? Purple and green are the colors so .. if you see any .. :) Has anyone else noticed the 30% increase in price when the "w" word is mentioned?

At least I have an army of angels (oxymoron?); my mom and her friends yanked the devilish details from me (to save my sanity, I lose weight and eat like a monster under high stress. $300+ weekly food bills are frustrating, especially when you keep losing weight!). We are very very grateful guys! How many gals are blessed with volunteer wedding planning friends and great parents (both sides, how lucky!)? ~Contended sigh~ Well, now that I have this plethora of free time nipping at my heels, I can move on and get back to some gluten free goodness. Without further ado, I give you yet another fish and soup recipe! Surprise, I bet you never would have thought I cook soup, right? Nope.

3 large leaves (with stems) Chinese broccoli

2 large handfuls (~ 1 c.) fresh organic collard greens
~1/3 c. fresh organic spinach
3 small sundried tomatoes, chopped
1/4" chunk fresh ginger root, sliced thin
1 large fillet sea trout or cod
~1 T. San-J wheat free low sodium tamari
3-4 T. extra virgin olive oil or to taste
5-6 c. water

Seasonings:
pinch crushed red pepper
sea salt and pepper
a liberal shake ginger powder
garlic powder to taste

In a medium to large pot bring the water to a boil. While the water is warming up, wash and pat dry the greens and slice the ginger thinly. You can chop the greens into bite-sized pieces, but I just tore them leaf-by-leaf directly into the pot to save time. Finely chop the sundried tomatoes and add to the water.

Add the spices and tamari to the pot. Once the water is boiling, add the torn greens to the pot. Reduce the heat and let the greens cook for a few minutes until soft but still bright green. The cooking time here is flexible and depends on how mushy you like your vegetables. I like collards very soft but the broccoli and spinach are much better if only simmered for around 3-5 minutes.

Once the greens are to your liking (this was about 5 minutes for me), add the trout fillet and olive oil. I added it whole since it will break up as it cooks. Turn the heat to low and cover. Let simmer for another 2-3 minutes so the fish can poach. You do not want to overcook the fillet, so just check on it after a few minutes by prodding it with a spoon and see how easily it flakes. If it flakes easily, it is finished. Turn off the burner and remove the pot from the heat. Serve immediately.

Optional Additions at serving time (I didn't use them this time though):

• sprinkle kelp or sea vegetable of choice (high in iodine, great for your thyroid)
• dash ginger powder
  

Hey, it's not Fish Stew of the like of Natalie @ Gluten Free Mommy (which I still want to make, by the way), but this soup had a wonderful flavor and really hit the spot. Of course, ginger and leafy greens are a far cry from a tomato-based stew, but you know I can't follow directions; I can only follow my sense of smell and taste. Besides, who can pass up fresh ginger? Fresh ginger root has many health benefits, but it is particularly excellent for digestion. I love fresh spinach too, so this was a treat. Hope you enjoy it too!

Collards are a great source of dairy free calcium and chlorophyll, so load up! Collards are also high in Vitamin K, A, C, and manganese. According to a study in The Journal of Nutrition, there is some fuss about the phytonutrients in collards helping lower liver cell secretion of the cholesterol transporter apolipoproteinB-100 (apoB) by greater than 50%. ApoB transports LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol) to tissues. Maybe eating some collards would be a wise choice in view of the many problems and complications of pharmaceutical cholesterol-lowering drugs. In reality, remember we need a balance of not only nutrients, but also things like cholesterol (ie, LDL is not "bad" unless it is out of balance with your HDL). You should aim for a varied, balanced diet with food-based nutrient sources rather than pills. Isolated vitamins, minerals, and drugs are less recognizable and absorbable to the body. Collards are also a heck of a lot cheaper than a multi vitamin and cholesterol pill. Melissa @ Gluten Free for Good made a recent post on dairy-free woes with fantastic information. Check her Moo-Free Got Milk post for high calcium dairy free foods and explanations of how dairy breaks down.... literally! On an unrelated note, coconut yogurt is incubating now, so it should be up soon... only a month or so late. That's all for my ranting, until next time...slurp!

Quick Coconut Potato Herb Soup [Vegan]

Good news! This is my first official post-passing-the-prelim post. I have to admit, this is an old post which has been patiently waiting in the bin, so I do apologize for my .. lateness. The hard work paid off and I am now an official PhD candidate (still cheap grad labor, yesss!)... I guess those guys really want to know how 22Ne+p affects 23Na (must they salt their food often I wonder?). The coconut yogurt is still in the works, I promise! Sorry for all the delay and excuses; the gf/df probiotic we ordered is taking its sweet ole' time to ship here.

Thanks for waiting patiently at your computer and Happy Saint Pat's Day!! I figured this green-looking (well, in these pictures at least) soup might add to the cheer since everyone claims that last bit of 1/1000000 drop of Irish heritage today. So drink up (the soup :) ) and honor good old St. Patrick.

I know there are about a billion potato soup recipes out there, but I thought I'd add one more :) I am very pressed for time right now with work and, as I've said before, I am relying on my Vitamix to whip up quick healthy meals. I've done a different soup every night this past week and a half or so (they're all dairy free, and some low carb ones - not this potato one, of course). This is my healthy, dairy-free version of creamy potato soup. As you'll see in the recipe, I use red potatoes for a lower glycemic index than white potatoes. If you like potatoes or are as chilly as we are up here (where is spring darn it?!?) and want a different quick, healthy soup recipe(s), then see my links at the bottom. If you're on a low carb diet, substitute cauliflower for all of the potato and omit the water.

2-3 small to medium red potatoes, with skin (most of the vitamins and fiber are in the skin)
1/2 head fresh cauliflower OR 1/2 lb. frozen cauliflower
1/2 onion
4 T. shredded organic (no sulfur) coconut (divided- half for soup half for garnish)
1 c. water
1 c. low sodium vegetable broth (we use Pacific brand for gluten free vegan convenience broth)
2 c. organic lite coconut milk
2 T. extra virgin olive oil (more to taste)
4 cloves garlic
pinch ginger (ground)
Sea salt and pepper
hearty sprinkle dried dill weed
sprig fresh rosemary

Wash and dry potatoes and cauliflower. Chop the potatoes into halves or quarters and chop the cauliflower into half-fist sized chunks (no need to be exact, prechopping just reduces blending time). Add the potatoes and cauliflower to Vitamix (or your blender).

Pour in the water, coconut milk, vegetable broth, olive oil, and add the spices. I just dropped whole garlic cloves and the chunk of ginger directly into the blender. You can adjust the water to coconut (or other "milk") amounts to suit your taste. More coconut milk will make a creamier soup, of course, so use whichever ratio you prefer. Toss in half of the coconut and secure your blender lid.

Turn on the blender at low variable speed to roughly chop the potatoes and cauliflower in the bottom. Once these have been reduced in size a bit, blend on HIGH for 6-7 minutes or until mixture is steaming. Serve hot with some nice, steamed collard greens like my Easy Cranberry Greens with Kale and Collards and some Irish soda bread (see links below) or my Honey Potato Flatbread. Again, if you're a low carber then sub all cauliflower for potatoes and enjoy!

Other gluten free delicious potato soups:

• Sweet Potato Peanut Soup @ Book of Yum
• Irish Potato and Cabbage Soup @ Karina-s Kitchen (Gluten Free Goddess)
• St. Pats Irish Stew @ Gluten Free Journey
  
• Potato Soup for the Sensitive Soul @ Karina-s Kitchen (Gluten Free Goddess)
• Sweet Potato Black Bean Soup @ Albion Cooks (I have to say I did this one a few nights ago on my own without having seen this recipe. This looks delicious and would work fine as a quick blender soup)
• My other Vitamix recipes or just plain ole' soup recipes. My old Spinach Potato Soup recipe is also a quick Vitamix soup packed full of the (non-heme) iron and vegan protein power of spinach.
  

Adopt a GF Blogger ... Slowly

Hi all, I guess I should apologize for being behind schedule for the Adopt a Blogger Event deadline. You see, though, I never could follow directions. Sorry Seamaiden and Stephen (and all of you who want gf df cf coconut yogurt), but it is coming... slowly.... much akin to the progress on my preliminary exam presentation (also known as D-Day for PhD proposals which is this Thursday). I'm getting there, I promise!

Thursday 11:30 am- 3pm Phillips Hall (Physics) The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

In the meantime, can I interest you in some astrophysics? Say, perhaps, hydrogen burning in stars? How about my favorite nuclear reaction, proton capture on 22Ne, which is relevant to evolved star (post main sequence) nucleosynthesis. Red giant stars, classical novae, presolar grains, and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars are all my playground (well, sorta). Yes, I hear you shout, "I love it - tell me more!" Even if you don't care, it is still a completely kosher gluten free, dairy free, blah blah free post. Does that count?

Cat Eye Nebula, image courtesy of NASA and ESA

The Cat Eye Nebula was an AGB star which has evaporated off its outer layers until its white dwarf core (tiny white dot in center) and expanding layers remain. The expanding layers are ionized by intense UV radiation and fluorescence, as seen here, in a beautiful planetary nebula.

What about the fact that for hydrogen burning in these aforementioned sites, the 22Ne proton capture rate is uncertain by a factor of up to three orders of magnitude?!? If you think that's not a big deal, imagine your credit card or loan debt suddenly being multiplied by a factor of 1000 or more (your debt, not our national debt, that doesn't count; what's the difference between 9 trillion and 9 trill * 1000?). That little problem might prompt you to take some action, perhaps call the credit company. Alternatively, you could also imagine your waistline g r o w i n g by a factor of 1000. Then you'd have BIG problems, pun not intended.

We can't call God and ask what's up with this reaction uncertainty here in physics, so we have to do experiments. That's where I come in (graduate student = cheap labor.) I love life. I aim to measure this astrophysically interesting nuclear reaction at low energies where hydrogen burning in stars takes place. That is, my experiment hopes to reduce those red and blue lines in Fig 1. below.

Fig 1. Current Proton Capture Reaction Rates, relative to NACRE recommended rates, versus stellar temperature. The regions of temperature relevant to hydrogen burning in various astrophysical sites are shaded; the largest uncertainty in the reaction rate dramatically influences AGB star nucleosynthesis (shown in orange shading). The red line indicates the upper limit (rate+uncertainty) where the blue line is the lower limit (rate-uncertainty)

You're probably thinking.. "Sure. You need to remeasure this reaction since you have whopping issues with pinning down the reaction rate. With that red line, it looks like you can't say much about 22Ne+p for AGB stars." I relent and agree. Then I jump up and down and say "Fund me to do this experiment! Please! I'll make you gluten and dairy free cookies. Maybe even coconut yogurt!"

Then you ask "But you haven't proved that this uncertainty really affects red giants and more evolved stars."

"Ah ha! Sorry, I forgot to show you this little gem, Fig 2, which shows that no direct measurements have ever been made at the astrophysically relevant energies. The red line is the Gamow peak which is a fancy thing that tells you the stellar temperature dependent "window" where the star will burn hydrogen. The dotted lines are indirect measurements which make us think that many low energy states exist in this Gamow window, and will thus contribute greatly to the reaction rate. The blue lines are the existing direct measurements (we know those states are there).

Fig 2. Resonance strengths (which are proportional to reaction rates and cross section, in case you're wondering) versus resonance energy. All the resonances (vertical lines) inside the red peak (Gamow window) will strongly affect the 22Ne+p reaction rate, so we need to know them precisely. That is, we need more direct (blue line) measurements inside the Gamow peak (if the resonances are truly there, we'll see...)

You can plainly see we need more blue lines inside the red hump (that's the technical talk) to better understand this reaction and lower the uncertainty in the rate (see Fig 1). If we can do that, maybe we won't be so full of it, if you know what I mean, when we make hydrogen burning on 22Ne predictions in AGB stars and such.

OK, I need to get back to real work or come Thursday (see above), I won't be looking forward to my passing-the-prelim celebration dinner and wine but rather melting into a sobbing mess of failed graduate student who hadn't prepared properly. I'm off to educate myself in the wise ways of nuclear astro. Hopefully this means I won't sound like so much of a moron. Hopefully. Then I can get back to coconut milk yogurt. Sorry all.

And THANK YOU Gluten Free Mommy! For those of you who don't already know, Cindalou's was adopted by Gluten Free Mommy. She made our flourless low carb/Paleo espresso cake (gluten & dairy free) which looks beautiful! Congrats Natalie, I love it. I'll write a more thorough response post-(passing)prelim. I can't wait! We really do need to meet; Carrboro to Raleigh is not too far. Then I can come knocking on your door for some of that Fish Stew of yours :)

Wondering why nuclear astrophysics interests me (or anyone)?

1. look up at the night sky
2. salt your food? The 22Ne+p reaction makes 23Na. Good old table salt is NaCl, so as you season your gluten free dinner think "Cindalou's is helping to measure how much of this stuff is made in stars"... cool
   
3. use a microwave? Thank radar physics research for finding a consumer use for radar technology (no, there were not Samsung or GE microwaves floating in space)
4. use the internet? That might not be a fair question considering this is a blog :) Thank CERN high energy physics research database construction and networking for the net
   

Buckwheat Coconut Caraway Biscuits [Low Carb]

1/2 c. organic buckwheat flour
a generous 1/4 c. organic coconut flour*
1 t. non-aluminum baking powder
sea salt
1 t. organic raw apple cider vinegar
1-2 t. freshly ground caraway seeds (fruit)
onion and garlic powder
punch oregano
2 T. smart balance light, melted or 2 T. organic coconut oil
2 eggs
2 T. agave
1 T. flax (optional)

* You can add water or coconut milk a few tablespoons at a time if yours thickens too much for a biscuit dough

In a medium bowl, mix the eggs (or egg substitute with 3 T. ground flaxseed), melted vegan smart balance (or organic coconut oil, whichever you are using), agave, sea salt, and apple cider vinegar. Add in the coconut flour, buckwheat flour, baking powder, flax (whole or ground) to the bowl of liquids. Stir the batter as you add the coconut flour and flax so that no lumps are formed and the moisture is distributed evenly. You can add a few tablespoons of water or unsweetened applesauce if the dough becomes too thick and tough to stir. The high fiber content of the coconut flour, flax, and buckwheat will absorb the moisture quickly. Grind the caraway seeds in your mortar by hand, with a little coffee grinder or blender, or just use pre-ground caraway. I prefer the smell of freshly ground caraway seeds and it only take a few seconds to take out any morning aggression on those poor whole seeds with my marble mortar :)

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray and drop the dough onto the sheet. You can also use a regular muffin tin as I did. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Keep your eye out after 13 minutes so the muffins do not brown too fast. Remember coconut flour tends to need to cook a little longer than other flours, but it remains moist throughout the longer baking period.

Jon's sunflower seed and shredded cheese variation

Coconut flour and flax are excellent low carb, high fiber healthy flours for gluten and dairy free baking. Flax is a great vegan source of essential Omega 3 fatty acids and is more bioavailable to the body in ground form. You can, of course, chew the whole seeds throughly, but if you're anything like me then you tend to gulp your food, so freshly ground flax is a better option. If you do cook with flax, keep the heat to a minimum (I know, I'm using it here! However, when baked inside a dish the temperature is not as high as the crust or outside of the food. This means the flax is somewhat safer baked into a food then otherwise. Ideally, you would not really bake with flax since the high heat can damage the delicate Omega 3 fats, causing rancidity.) Buckwheat flour is also high in fiber and thus low in "net carbs," making it a great nutritious flour to add to your low glycemic index/low carb gluten free pantry.

Most people know caraway better for its use in rye bread, a gluten grain. I love the smell and taste of rye bread, but after more thought I realized that it was only the smell and robust flavor of the caraway seed which I enjoyed. If you are gluten free and remember that rye bread smell with longing, I suggest just adding some fresh caraway seeds to your gluten free bread. It really does give that rye smell and feel (minus the gluten, of course :) ) Rye bread also has an interesting past shrewed in mystery where it is theorized to have caused hallucinations leading to the Salem witch trials whereby the accusers ingested rye bread contaminated with mold (ergot poisoning, like LSD). Its an interesting tidbit you can ponder as you munch on gluten free coconut caraway biscuits in glee, eh?

Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger

If you're out and about in the GF community, you probably are already aware of Sea @ Book of Yum's Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger Event this month. If not, it goes a bit like this:

blog “adoption” event where a blogger would “adopt” another blogger and try one of their recipes and blog both about the blogger and the recipe

I've been adopted by Natalie the Gluten Free Mommy. Thanks Natalie! :) If you haven't been to her blog, I highly recommend it. She has one of the prettiest, best organized, and, for lack of a better description, happiest blogs I've seen!

In that spirit, I adopt Christian (no, not my PhD adviser) @ Stephen's Recipes. He has a great coconut yogurt recipe which I want to make. I have been pondering more dairy replacements using coconut for the past few months, so his recipe is perfect. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted with the recipe (both his and mine) and whatever strangeness I whip up to go with the yogurt. Hey, start with coconut, a metabolism booster and superfood, add probiotics and where can you possibly go wrong?? (hopefully I won't find out :) )

Quick'n Tangy Broccoli Soup [Vegan] [Low Carb] [Low Fat]

1 lb. fresh broccoli (try to get stalks with as much floret head as possible. Less stem is better!)
2 c. low sodium organic vegetable broth (Pacific brand is gluten, dairy free, and vegan)
1 to 1 1/2 c. organic lite coconut milk
1 c. water
1/4" chunk fresh ginger root
7 cloves fresh garlic
5 t. nutritional yeast
2 T. extra virgin olive oil

Seasonings:
turmeric
freshly ground cumin
rosemary, to taste
sea salt and pepper
1/2 fresh lime, peeled

Optional:
2 T. organic hemp protein powder

Once all of your ingredients are in order, start by washing your fresh broccoli and chopping off a few of the florets to reserve for later. I used these florets at the end for garnish and texture.

Fill your Vita-Mix (or other blender) with the vegetable broth, coconut milk, water, garlic cloves, jalapeño, olive oil and seasonings. The beauty of easy blender soups like this is that you can just throw the veggies in whole; no chopping required. This is a time saver we can all appreciate. I put the garlic and pepper on the bottom of the blender and then pour over the liquids and add the seasonings. Add all the broccoli with the exception of the reserved garnish florets (do this depending on the strength of your blender if it can handle everything at once).

Cover the Vita-Mix and turn from low (1) quickly up to variable speed 10. After a moment, you can turn it all the way up to HIGH and blend for 6-8 minutes or until the soup is hot and steamy. If your blender is not powerful enough to heat the soup without itself overheating, puree the broccoli and soup ingredients in your blender and then warm the soup on low over the stovetop or in your microwave. This second method will take longer than the quick Vitamix method since the Vitamix is built to handle high heat and soup making (it is more of a power hog than your typical blender, however).

Once the soup is steaming, spoon in the nutritional yeast and then pour into serving bowl and drop in your reserved florets. You don't want to add the nutritional yeast until the very end since the hotter blending process can damage the B vitamins. Once completely blended, the steaming soup should not be too hot to add the nutritional yeast. This allows you to retain more of the active B vitamins while still getting that tangy, pungent flavor which the yeast imparts to the soup.

Nutritional yeast is a fantastic gluten free supplement which is easy to use and very flavorful. It is popular with many vegans as a potent source of many other B vitamins and vitamin B12 (if fortified with B12). The flakes are great for making dairy free cheese and cheese sauecsthat dissolve quickly. Nutritional yeast is gluten, dairy, and candida yeast free. It is a great and inexpensive supplement for everyone, but especially gluten free types who can't have brewers yeast.

For an optional protein and Omega fatty acid boost, stir in hemp protein powder at any time during preparation. If you are curious about hemp, read more about the benefits of hemp. Serve hot and enjoy.

Makes ~7 cups

Other uses for nutritional yeast:
The Cheesy Uncheese Sauce @ Karina's Kitchen (Gluten Free Goddess)

Quick Beet Potato Puree [Vegan]

1 lb. fresh raw beets OR 1 15 oz. can salt-free organic beets
3 small red potatoes
3 cloves fresh garlic
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. black olives

Seasonings:
rosemary (dried)
sea salt and pepper
turmeric
dried parsley

This is yet another delicious, quick, and healthy vegan side dish courtesy of the Vitamix (or your blender/food processor). This whole meal takes about 2 minutes from start to finish if you have the potatoes already cooked.

Wash off potatoes, cook if necessary. I had precooked potatoes on hand for ease of use when I come home late from work (like today). You can always resort to the quick paper towel-microwave method for cooking the potatoes, if absolutely necessary, but I recommend roasting a few on the weekend for later weekday consumption.

The actual "instructions" are a breeze: place the garlic, small potatoes (or halved medium cooked potatoes), raw washed beets, olive oil, and seasonings in the Vita-Mix. Turn from low (speed 1) to variable high (8-10) for approximately 1-1 1/2 minutes to blend while pushing the chunks to the bottom of the Vitamix with the damper. That's it! Blend to the consistency of your choice; I did a puree here which lends itself nicely for a topping for the rotisserie lamb we had tonight as a late celebration for Valentine's day. Garnish with parsley and enjoy either cold or warm. If you like it cold, it is better to eat beets this way in their raw form to retain folate and flavonoid content.

My other Vitamix recipes

Beets are a fantastic wintertime root vegetable packed with nutrients (as if the bright, intoxicating red color didn't signal that already!). The beautiful reddish-purple color of beets and their juice comes from pigment betacyanin which has an impressive number of health benefits. The beet pigment contains flavonoids called anthycyanins which seems to be responsible for much of the health-promoting effects of beets. World's Healthiest Foods gives a great summary on the health benefits of beets, but I'll summarize a few pointers:

• Beets are high in folate and manganese. Folate is an essential B vitamin of which many women and the elderly rarely consume sufficient amounts. Deficiency of folate can lead to birth defects in newborns and neuromuscular degeneration, to name a few conditions.
• They help protect against cancer, particularly colon cancer by encourgaing secretion of CD8 immune cells in the colon which help identify pre-cancerous cells.
• They help protect against heart disease by lowering cholesterol (while raising HDL) and lowering triglycerides.
• Help protect against birth defects (due to high folate content)
  

Of course, beets are not low glycemic index so take care to enjoy them in moderation while they are in season and fresh. The high sugar content of beets is what make them a traditional natural source of unrefined sugar. The sugar content is not outrageous, so beets can be safely consumed by diabetics in very small quantities and on rare occasion. Remember that adding a splash of extra olive oil to the beets will help lower the glycemic impact of the dish since high quality "good" monounsaturated olive oil fat lowers the insulin response in the body.

Again, try your fresh beets either raw in a salad or a puree, or only lightly steamed (save the juice, it contains much of the lost folate and Vitamin C!). The beneficial flavonoids and water soluble vitamins are lost in cooking and under heat. Folate is especially vulnerable to cooking. A disclaimer for anyone with kidney problems: the naturally occurring oxalates in beets can aggravate an oxalate imbalance in the body. Kidney and gallbladder problems allow high abnormal concentrations of oxalates to build up and crystallize, whereas a healthy body could process the oxalates found not only in beets, but also in many other veggies as well as in own own bodies.