Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s to a happy healthy 2012! 

This was the first year that all 3 kids stayed awake until midnight. We played cards and munched on chestnuts, drank apple cider and when the clock struck we all stood outside on the porch and banged pots and pans.

Chestnuts

- Prick chestnuts with a fork and roast in a 400 degree oven for about 20-30 min. The skin should be splitting and the inside a golden brown colour . Do not roast  them for too long. They can EXPLODE!

- Boil chestnuts with fennel seed in a small amount of water for 15-20 min till you can pierce easily with a fork.

-After chestnuts are cooked, peel while still warm and blend until smooth with water and a pinch of sea salt to make a puree. You can add sweetener if you like, but I find chestnuts are nice and sweet on their own.

Homemade Holiday Granola!  

This is what I made and gave out as Christmas presents this year.

Remember to try to get organic ingredients

1 to 2 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Ground ginger

1/2 tsp  Nutmeg

3 cups  Large-flake oats

1 cup  Oat bran or wheat germ

1 cup   Almonds, pumpkin seeds or walnuts

1 cup  Unsweetened coconut

3/4 tsp Sea salt

2/3 cup  maple syrup , rice syrup or honey

1/3 cup Sunflower oil or Olive oil

2 tsp  almond extract or Vanilla

1 cup Dried cranberries

1/2 cup Golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350F . Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. In a small bowl, stir cinnamon with ginger and nutmeg. In a large bowl, mix oats with oat bran, almonds, coconut and salt. In a small saucepan over low heat, stir syrup with oil until warm, 2 to 3 min. Remove from heat. Stir in almond extract and spice mix. Pour over oat mixture. Stir to coat. Turn onto baking sheet, spreading out as evenly as you can. Bake until golden for 25-35 minutes , stirring every 15 min. Remove from oven and stir in cranberries and raisins.

Mmm citrus, mmm cinnamon, mmm pine, mmm ginger.

A great way to add a cozy festive atmosphere to your home is to have these tempting aromas in the air. Every year we hang oranges pierced with cloves. They look beautiful and smell great! We also put a few pine cones into the oven and allow them to slowly fill the house with scent. Ginger tea anyone? So warm and soothing on these winter nights. Or maybe a cup of hot apple cider?

Clove Orange

1-2 Tight skinned oranges or lemon or grapefruit

1/2-1 Cup of whole cloves

Ground cinnamon (optional)

thimble

Wash and dry the oranges. Mix together a large pinch of cinnamon with the cloves. Using a thimble cover your orange with the cloves, Pushing the pointed end first. Cover all over or make designs. Place in a bowl or hang with a ribbon.

Spiced Hot apple cider

Ingredients

1/2 gallon apple juice or apple cider

1 cinnamon sticks

2 whole cloves

1 whole nutmeg

1/2 orange peel, cut into strips

1/2 lemon peel, cut into strips

(make sure your peel is organic)

Directions

Pour apple juice/cider into a large stainless steel pot

Place spices and peels into a cheese cloth. Drop cheesecloth into apple juice/cider. If you don’t have cheese cloth, just throw it all in loose and pick it out later or let the spices sink to the bottom.

heat to just short of a boil. Then remove the cheese cloth and serve!

Baking Pine Cones

Pine cones

Baking sheet

Place a single layer of pine cones on a baking sheet and bake in an oven at 200 degrees for about 45 min. This will fill your house with an amazing smell and also help your pine cones to last longer.

Can also add slices of orange or cinnamon sticks.

Ginger Tea

4-6 Slices or raw ginger

2-3 Cups of spring or filtered water

small pot

cast iron frying pan

Rice syrup (optional)

Lemon (optional)

Heat the frying pan to medium and saute the ginger slices for 3-5  to bring out the natural oils. Add the ginger  and water to the pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer for  5 minutes. (longer if you like it stronger) Add rice syrup or lemon juice to taste.

                                                         HAPPY HALLOWEEN !    From MacroMom

Try these delicious radishes for a spooky treat! 

Red radishes and kuzu sauce -by Aveline kushi

1 3-6 inch piece kombu

10 whole red radishes, tops removed

spring or filtered water

3 Whole umeboshi plums

1 Tsp shiso leaves from the umeboshi plums

1-2 Tsp diluted kuzu

Sliced scallions or boiled parsley sprigs for garnish

Put the kombu on the bottom of a pot and add whole red radishes. Add water to almost cover them. Add the whole umeboshi plums, but remove the shisho leaves in which the plums were pickled and save for salads or pickling. Cook for abour 30-40 minutes, over low heat. Remove radishes and put them in a bowl. Strain out the kombu, umeboshi pits, and shisho leaves from the cooking liquid. Thicken the liquid with 1-2 teaspoons of diluted kuzu and simmer for several minutes. Pour the kuzu sauce over radishes. Garnish with sliced scallions or with sprigs of boiled parsley. Slice the shisho leaves and put them at the side of the bowl with the radishes.

Variation: For a less salty taste, usu only1 umeboshi plum.

-I did not have Umeboshi plums so I used Ume plum paste about 1 tbsp. Also that meant that I eliminated the shisho leaf as well.

- I cooked this dish for only 25 minutes. the radishes just looked right at that point.

AN INTERACTIVE COOKING CLASS SERIES

WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, FALL

This month it’s all about APPLES AND PUMPKINS! 

Thursday October 20th at 6:30 p.m

Tasty whole foods supper club. Fun, interactive cooking classes.

After all the washing,sorting, chopping, slicing, sauteing, flipping and frying you get to sit down and enjoy our creations.

With humor and guidance we will collectively make the meal together.

We’ll make a party out of it!

THE THIRD THURSDAY EVENING  OF EVERY MONTH AT THE ST PAUL’S CHURCH COMMUNITY KITCHEN ON THE CORNER OF PRINCE AND RICHMOND ST CHARLOTTETOWN 6:30 P.M  $25.00 PER PERSON CALL 902-367-9491 FOR MORE INFO or e-mail me here.. 

Whole foods cooking class CBC interview

*NEWS! Kids Can Cook program will be held on Thursdays ONLY for the Fall Semester. Starting September 22 at 3 p.m  Hope to see you there! 

After School Program

Fun in the kitchen with macrobiotics and fresh local whole foods, sewing creations, crafts and dance!

I’m very excited to be spending time with your wonderful children. I hope they all enjoy the fall program with me. We will be dancing, making crafts and doing lots of cooking! All of our projects will be hands on, using local organic ingredients as much as possible and recycled goods for our craft projects.

September 16-December 14th 2010

All Elementary School kids -Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:00-5:30

All Junior High students- 3rd Tuesday of the month from 6:00-8:00 p.m

$15.00/a day

Please contact me for further information. Sign up today!

Location:Charlottetown Prince Edward Island

Telephone: 902-367-9491

AN INTERACTIVE COOKING CLASS SERIES

WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, FALL

This month it’s all about TOFU! 

Thursday September 15th at 6:30 p.m

Tasty whole foods supper club. Fun, interactive cooking classes.

After all the washing,sorting, chopping, slicing, sauteing, flipping and frying you get to sit down and enjoy our creations.

With humor and guidance we will collectively make the meal together.

We’ll make a party out of it!

THE THIRD THURSDAY EVENING  OF EVERY MONTH AT THE ST PAUL’S CHURCH COMMUNITY KITCHEN ON THE CORNER OF PRINCE AND RICHMOND ST CHARLOTTETOWN 6:30 P.M  $25.00 PER PERSON CALL 902-367-9491 FOR MORE INFO or e-mail me here..

Whole foods cooking class CBC interview

AN INTERACTIVE COOKING CLASS SERIES

WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, FALL

*CHANGE OF DATE! 

This month is all about Salsa! August 11 at 6:30 p.m

Tasty whole foods supper club. Fun, interactive cooking classes.

After all the washing,sorting, chopping, slicing, sauteing, flipping and frying you get to sit down and enjoy our creations.

With humor and guidance we will collectively make the meal together.

We’ll make a party out of it!

THE THIRD THURSDAY EVENING  OF EVERY MONTH AT THE ST PAUL’S CHURCH COMMUNITY KITCHEN ON THE CORNER OF PRINCE AND RICHMOND ST CHARLOTTETOWN 6:30 P.M  $25.00 PER PERSON CALL 902-367-9491 FOR MORE INFO or e-mail me here..

Click here to view the embedded video.

Whole foods cooking class CBC interview

AN INTERACTIVE COOKING CLASS SERIES

WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, FALL

This month is all about Greens!July 21 at 6:30 p.m

Tasty whole foods supper club. Fun, interactive cooking classes.

After all the washing,sorting, chopping, slicing, sauteing, flipping and frying you get to sit down and enjoy our creations.

With humor and guidance we will collectively make the meal together.

We’ll make a party out of it!

THE THIRD THURSDAY EVENING  OF EVERY MONTH AT THE ST PAUL’S CHURCH COMMUNITY KITCHEN ON THE CORNER OF PRINCE AND RICHMOND ST CHARLOTTETOWN 6:30 P.M  $25.00 PER PERSON CALL 902-367-9491 FOR MORE INFO or e-mail me here..

Whole foods cooking class CBC interview

AN INTERACTIVE COOKING CLASS SERIES

WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER , FALL

This month is all about Desserts!June 16th at 6:30 p.m

Tasty whole foods supper club. Fun, interactive cooking classes.

After all the washing,sorting, chopping, slicing, sauteing, flipping and frying you get to sit down and enjoy our creations.

With humor and guidance we will collectively make the meal together.

We’ll make a party out of it!

THE THIRD THURSDAY EVENING  OF EVERY MONTH AT THE ST PAUL’S CHURCH COMMUNITY KITCHEN ON THE CORNER OF PRINCE AND RICHMOND ST CHARLOTTETOWN 6:30 P.M  $25.00 PER PERSON CALL 902-367-9491 FOR MORE INFO or e-mail me here..

Whole foods cooking class CBC interview

Thirty days hath September,

April, June, and November;

All the rest have thirty-one,

Save February, with twenty-eight days clear,

And twenty-nine each leap year.

It’s been 31 days. Thank you Christina Pirello for helping to feed my family and teaching me more of  the art of healthy whole foods cooking. I hope that everyone’s recipe repertoire has increased and you have enjoyed the challenge of cooking new and interesting ,(and yes,sometimes hard to find )foods with me.

I am going to end the challenge with one of Christina’s desserts. Feel free to make your favorite dishes tonight or start on a new journey with a new cookbook. Thank you for joining me and congratulations on becoming a better cook.

Chocolate Sesame Cups

1/2 Cup dried currants

1 Cup boiling water

8 Ounces nondairy, grain -sweetened chocolate chips

2 Tablespoons  brown rice syrup

Scant pinch of ground cinnamon

31/2 Tablespoons sesame tahini

Lightly oil 18 candy molds or petit four cups

Soak the currants in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain, pat the currants dry and finely chop.

Melt the chocolate chips with the rice syrup, cinnamon and 3 tablespoons of the tahini in a metal bowl set over a pot of  simmering water; stir until smooth. Remove from the heat and fold in the currants.

Spoon the chocolate mixture into the prepared cups. Decorate the tops by dipping the end of a toothpick into the remaining tahini and swirling into the tops of each cup. refrigerate until ready to serve.

This recipe was printed with permission from Christina Pirello.