Companion Planting Class

I am teaching a class on Companion Planting on Sunday February 21st at 1pm at Portland Nursery 5050 SE Stark Street. To register please call: 503-231-5050 or email: info@portlandnursery.com
So please join me tomorrow as I share one of my favorite subjects. We'll talk about the reasons to companion plant including increasing biodiversity in your garden and how to attract & maintain a population of beneficial bugs. I'll also share techniques and specific plantings that do well together in my garden.

This will be the last class I teach this season, due to my knee injury and upcoming surgery. I'm having someone else teach the class I had scheduled on March 6th: "Creating Gardens for Beneficial Bugs, Butterflies & Hummingbirds"

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

February Update

Hello & thanks for reading!

I have not posted during February, because I'm sad to report I have not been cooking. At the end of January I injured my knee and I am now awaiting surgery. It's been too difficult for me to stand in the kitchen to cook much of anything. I have been mostly purchasing convenience foods like boxed soup, and frozen foods. Which I will report 2 observations about this type of eating. First, it is expensive! As you've read the past few months, I've posted about eating healthy on a tight budget. I've managed to cook healthy & filling whole foods for myself on a budget of about $30-40/week. Not cooking for myself and eating pre-packaged food has actually doubled and even tripled my weekly food budget! So this really disproves the argument that healthy food is more expensive. My second observation is how eating convenience food has immediately effected my digestion, my skin, my energy and my mood. And, please understand I'm not talking about my eating "junk food." I've been buying natural food brands of convenience food. But, even so, this kind of food is still loaded with sodium. It also lacks a lot of fiber and fresh vegetables. I think it's interesting to note that after 2 weeks of eating this kind of food in lieu of my typical home-cooked, balanced, whole foods diet I have come down with a really nasty flu for the past 5 days. Typically my immune system is very strong and I can shake of viruses pretty quickly. But I do think the combination of injury, stress, and diet change made me more susceptible to this flu.

I am looking forward to some healthy home-cooked meals friends have promised to cook me while I rehab from surgery. I am also looking forward to returning to cooking and gardening so that I might share my adventures with you.

In Health,
Miss Jolie An

This Week's Installment of The Art of Bargain Shopping & Health Eating

It's another week and another trip to WinCo for this week's installment of the art of bargain shopping and healthy eating on a budget! This week's total was $39.53 and for this I got:

1 bunch bananas
7 kiwi
1 head green cabbage
1 bunch spinach
1 bunch green onions
2 bunches of celery
2lb bag of carrots
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch kale
1 bunch of beets
3 jewel yams
2 onions
1lb quinoa
.73lbs dry black beans (about 2 cups)
1 bag frozen berries
2 boxes unsweetened soymilk
orange juice
2 packages of tofu
1 jar all natural peanut butter
4 odwalla snack bars
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can vegetarian refried beans
1 package saffron rice mix
5 green tea bags

From these ingredients I made these meals:

Fruit Smoothies
Steel Cut Oatmeal with Fruit & Nuts
Black Bean Soup with Kale Ribbons & Quinoa
Curry Roasted Yams
Tofu with Peanut Sauce over Brown Rice
Spinach & Beet Salad
Asian Cabbage Slaw
Saffron Rice with Beans

Snacks: odwalla bars plus I had leftover from last week: apples, tangerines, and dried apricots

Not too shabby for a week's worth of healthy meals & snacks for under $40!!! Since I started this weekly feature 3 weeks ago it's been great food for thought for me about how to really stretch my dollar on my super tight budget. And I hope you've found some inspiration as well. Sending you lots of love & light.

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Black Bean Soup with Kale Ribbons

Hello everyone & thanks for reading! I appreciate your support. Black bean soup recipes are a dime a dozen in vegetarian cookbooks, right? Well, what I love about this black bean soup recipe is it's economical for the budget conscious shopper, it's packed with nutrients & fiber, and it tastes divinely delicious. You get a lot of meals out of one batch. It's simple whole foods at it's best. Plus, I put it in the crockpot in the morning and when I come home it smells so delicious in my apartment! Mmm yummy! Pre-soak your dried beans over night or you can do it in the morning for evening cooking. As long as they can soak for a good 8 hours. Always get rid of the soaking water. This cuts down on the sugars in dried beans that cause you so much gas. And who wouldn't enjoy less gas? Ha! :) I like to use my crockpot, but you could easily adapt this recipe to the stove top and cut the cooking time down to about 1 hour over medium heat simmer. I've added some cooked quinoa to the soup to give it a little more texture. You could easily substitute another grain of your choice such as barley, millet, brown rice, or couscous. This week I am serving this soup with a side of curry roasted yams. It would also be delicious with corn tortillas, cornbread, or a salad. I use this recipe to take lunch to work for 5 days and I freeze the remaining soup for another time.

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Black Bean Soup with Kale Ribbons
6-7 servings

2 cups dried black beans (presoaked)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled & diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled & minced
1 tbsp each--dried cumin, oregano & sage
1/2 tsp each--cayenne pepper & black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
14 oz can diced tomatoes
2 carrots, cleaned & diced
2 celery stalks, cleaned & diced
2 bay leaves
Water
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 tsp olive oil
1 bunch kale, sliced into thin ribbons
1 bunch cilantro, washed & chopped
Optional: sour cream or plain yogurt

1.) Place pre-soaked black beans in the crockpot and turn on heat to high. Set aside.
2.) Place olive oil in a skillet and warm over medium heat.
3.) Add the onions and saute for 8 minutes until starting to turn translucent.
4.) Add the garlic & the cumin, oregano, sage, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt. Continue to saute for about 5 minutes more until the spices are fragrant. Turn off heat and remove the pan.
Add the onion spice mixture to the crockpot.
5.) Add the tomatoes, carrots, celery and bay leaves to the crockpot. Add enough water to cover the beans and vegetables. In my crockpot it's about 4 cups. Put the lid on and let cook for approximately 8 hours. I like the texture of this soup to be very creamy. So I either run it through the food processor or use my immersion blender once it's cooled slightly.
6.) Add the cooked quinoa and stir. Taste and adjust spices as needed.
7.) Warm the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the kale and cover. Let saute for about 5 minutes until the kale is slightly wilted but still bright green.
8.) Top each bowl of soup with kale ribbons and a pinch of fresh cilantro.
9.) Top with optional sour cream or yogurt.

Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free

Hello friends!

I hope you know about Bob's Red Mill because they have awesome products. They distribute nationwide, however, they are a local company just outside of Portland in Milwaukie Oregon. Check out this link to their entire gluten free line. You will also find recipes on their site. My new favorite product of theirs is Gluten Free Might Tasty Hot Cereal. It has great flavor & texture! And, it really beats plain ole cream of rice cereal. I'm excited to try out their gluten free baking mixes. They have quite a few. Let me know your feedback if you've tried any of them.

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

This Week's Installment of The Art of Bargain Shopping & Eating Healthy!

Hi friends!

I hope you are doing well as you are reading this. I am wishing you much health & happiness. Last week I began posting about the art of bargain shopping and healthy eating. I have decided to continue this post as a weekly feature. I feel like my real life example demonstrates that even on a tight tight budget you can eat healthy delicious seasonal food. This week I spent a total of $43.52 at WincCo Foods, which is slightly more than the week before. But, several of these items will last me for 2 weeks and several more meals. For my $43.52 I got:

1 bunch mustard greens
1 bunch cilantro
1lb bag baby carrots
1 turnip
1 head of garlic
2 bunches of celery
7 apples
3lb bag of tangerines
2 onions
1 bunch of bananas
7 kiwi
1 bag frozen peaches
1 bag frozen blackberries
1 bag frozen blueberries
2 boxes of unsweetened soymilk
Orange Juice
Corn Tortillas
Buttermilk
Butter
Queso Fresca (Mexican Cheese)
1 can of diced tomatoes
1.20lbs black eyed peas (about 3 cups)
2.35lbs steel cut oats (about 4 cups)
.62lbs cashews (about 2 cups)
.23lbs of raw almonds (about 2 cups)
.5lbs dry hummus dip mix
.13lbs dried basil (about 1 cup)
.31lbls dried unsweetened shredded coconut (about 2 cups)
.54lbs dried apricots (about 2 cups)
.80lbs yogurt covered raisins (my treat for the week!)
10 green tea bags

The meals I made from these items:

Fruit Smoothies
Steel Cut Oatmeal with fruit & nuts
Creole Spiced Black Eyed Peas with Root Vegetables & Mustard Greens
Gluten Free Buttermilk Cornbread
Tortilla Soup with Queso Fresca
Hummus with Carrots & Celery Sticks
Snacks: Apples, Tangerines, Dried Apricots & Yogurt Covered Raisins

So readers I made healthy homemade meals from seasonal whole foods that lasted me for one week on just $43.52. You can do it too! Please share your stories of budget shopping & healthy eating because I'd love to hear them.

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Creole Spiced Black Eyed Peas with Root Vegetables & Mustard Greens

Hi friends!

Happy Weekend to you! Let's get right down to it. I love black-eyed peas. They are tasty, super nutritious, and economical. I bought 1 pound, roughly 2 cups, out of the bulk bin and it cost me .82 cents! Very nice for our budget conscious shopper. I like black-eyed peas in soup, in a yummy mango salad and in this stew-type recipe with lots of veggies. I love both the sweet and spicy flavors of this dish. The mustard greens add a nice tangy bite. I serve this dish over cornbread with the juices dripping all through the cornbread. You could also serve it over brown rice or quinoa. You could substitute collards, chard or kale for the mustards. Oh and don't forget the Sweet Tea! Enjoy!

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Post Script: What's interesting is I wrote this blog post on 1/21/10 and then 5 days later in the Jan 26th 2010 Oregonian Food Day there was an article about adding greens to bean dishes. I think they stole my idea! Clearly I'm ahead of the foodie trends! Ha-Ha! Check out their article on greens in bean dishes and their article on cooking with dried beans.

Creole Spiced Black-Eyed Peas with Root Vegetables & Mustard Greens
Makes 5-6 servings

1 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled & diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled & minced
4 carrots, cleaned & sliced
4 stalks celery, cleaned & sliced
1 turnip, peeled & diced
1 parsnip, peeled & sliced
1 yam, peeled & diced
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried mustard
2 bay leaves
1 cup dry black eyed peas
water
1 tsp prepared Dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
salt & pepper
1 bunch mustard greens, washed, stemmed & chopped

1. In a stock pot heat the olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes
3. Add the basil, thyme & dry mustard. Stir well. Cook for another minute until the spices are fragrant.
4. Add the black eyed peas and bay leaves to the pot. Add enough water to cover the mixture. About 3 cups. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce the heat to medium and let simmer.
5. Simmer for about 45-60 minutes. You want the beans to be fully cooked, but still firm and not mushy. Most of the water should be absorbed.
6. Turn off heat. Add the honey and the prepared mustard. Stir until mixed. Add salt & pepper to taste. Adjust seasonings and add more basil & thyme if needed.
7. Add the mustard greens to the pot and stir until combined. Remove pot from the heat. You want the mustard greens to be slightly wilted but still bright green and slightly crunchy.
8. Serve over cornbread or brown rice. Both absorb the juices of this dish and are a great compliment!