Fun With Your Food

Since I just made the fresh pea soup I thought this would be a good item of the day
I got a comment from KleoPatra asking what the difference between split pea soup is and my soup. After researching, the only difference I could find was that split pea soup is made with dried peas. Is that right guys?

ok Pea-wee Facts : )

Fresh peas are often boiled with spearamint . (I’ve never had that but am curious what to tastes like)

U.S. President Andrew Jackson’s favorite dishes was a Pease Pudding seasoned with onions, cloves, carrots, celery, butter, nutmeg, sour cream, salt, pepper, and sugar. (source)

The pea became so ingrained into the everyday existence of so many cultures from the Middle East to the Mediterranean, Europe, and Asia that the name appeared as part of other legumes such as pigeon peas, cowpeas, black-eyed peas, chick-peas, capucin peas, and peanut. (source)

Excessive eating of peas MAY cause gout. (we’re talking extreme eating of peas here) (source)

The French king Louis XIV popularized peas in the 17th century by making them an item of high regard on the menus of parties held at his palace. (source)

Christopher Columbus is believed to have brought the first peas to America in 1493, planting them on Isabella island. (source)

Peas have been around a LONG time
In Thailand, peas have been found in caves that are over 11,000 years old. (source)

Frozen peas are preferable to canned peas as they retain their flavor and have lower sodium content. (my fav fact of the post!- frozen peas are goood source)

Peas and genes : )

In the 19th century during the early developments of the study of genetics, peas played an important role. The monk and botanist, Gregor Mendel used peas in his plant-breeding experiments. (source)

Hope you enjoy and appreciate peas more!

Here’s the recipe for the pea soup I made last night
I never liked pea soup until I had this one! It’s probably b/c it doesn’t use split peas

But FIRST…
Pictures of the kitty that hangs out around my house

Her official name is “KITTY”. Gorgeous huh? : )

This is how she sits when I’m blogging. (It’s in my Ikea desk)

Ingredients
About 1 lb of Either fresh or frozen peas
1 Leek
1 Shallot
about 1-2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil (actually TraderJoes had frozen cubes of basil that work GREAT if you can’t get fresh basil)
Salt and pepper to taste.

Instructions
First clean the Leeks (refer to my post on Leeks if you need any pointers)
Chop shallot
Combine leeks and shallots in frying pan (medium heat) with oil until veggies become translucent. Add basil
While those are cooking- cook your peas as you normally would
Drain peas and put into pan with the leek mixture (just so the flavors blend together a bit.)
Add half of the mixture into a blender of food processor and blend till and large chunks are gone.
Repeat with the second half of the mixture.
I like to add a little splash soy milk while I’m blending too.
Put it all in a bowl (reheat if necessary)
Enjoy!

You can strain it if you don’t like chunky soup but I prefer the extra texture.

Let me know what you think. I’m trying to build a bunch of recipes so that eventually I can make a cookbook : )

Hi guys!
I’ve been trying to revamp the site and I’ve had a few problems.

Richard and I were busy today. We got our selves a new coffee table and assembled it ourselves (well mostly richard haha)

Here’s pics of breakfast and dinner for you (since it’ve been so hectik no item of the day : (- the internet went out here and it JUST came back on. )

We had my verision of a Mango Lassi
Potatoes O’Brien (one of my fav’s)
and Scrambled tofu (just added a touch of soy sauce and browned it up)

Dinner was Hummus with unsalted corn chips and Fresh Pea soup with Leeks, Shallots, Basil and a touch of soymilk to make it creamy.

I’ll let you know the recipes tomorrow. It’s late and I’m supposed to be up tomorrow (er um i guess today) at 6am. Ekk

Talk to you later! and wish me luck with changing some things around on the blog : )
night night
Teddy

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Info is from AcaiRoots
Pronounced “ah-sigh-EE”

Eaten in Brazil for breakfast

Acai (açaí) is a palm tree that grows in the North of Brazil.

It is known by the native people (indigenas) as “içá-çai”, which means “fruit that cries”.

The legend of the fruit that cries:

There was an Amazon Indian girl named Iaca, whose father was the tribal chief. His tribe had grown so large that there wasn’t enough food to go around. So, the chief decreed that all newborn babies must be killed. When Iaca, his own daughter, bore a child, the chief had his decree carried out. Iaca mourned her baby’s death alone in her hut for days. Then she thought she heard a baby crying. When she went outside in search of the baby, she saw a palm tree shooting up from the earth, covered in fruit. Full of despair, she lay down under the tree and died. The next day, the tribe found Iaca’s body under the new tree. The tree’s fruit satisfied their hunger and renewed their energy, and the chief lifted his harsh decree, declaring that the fruit would be named after his daughter (”Acai” is “Iaca” spelled backwards). With abundant food for all, the tribe grew and flourished.

There seems to be many health benefits from the Amazon fruit. Check them out Here

It’s an Oprah website but it’s got a good summary of what I’ve found online : )

It’s late late late. Talk to you all tomorrow !

Another shake for breakfast
This one is an Acai based one
I put in frozen Acai smoothie packet
1 Bananna
Soy yogart (peach flavored)
and a handful of fresh strawberries

Acai is a Brazilian fruit.
It’ll be the item of the day today.

Overall, I’d say a healthy way to start my family filled day : )

I tried QUINOA for the first time last night and I have to say- it was good! (well better than good) As I ate I thought “this tastes like grain caviar”. Looks like I’ll be eating it again for sure

I didn’t really use a recipe. I looked around at what I had and made it work. What I ended up eating was-
Quinoa with sauteed leeks, black beans and fresh pearl tomatoes.
YUM YUM YUM : )

What I love most about quinoa is that I can just throw it into my rice cooker and then when it’s done mix it with all my other ingredients. Quick and simple.

For dessert I melted some semi sweet chocolate and dipped strawberries into it. However, I forgot to grease the plate or put down some plastic wrap so the dessert stuck to the plate- OPPS. It tasted devine though . Okay, I need to admit I added a SECRET ingredient to the chocolate to make it have a little something extra. (I don’t know if anyone else would use it but it turned out great hehe: )) Not sure if Im going to announce the ingredient just yet though.

Overall it was a great meal!

Time to enjoy my LAZY Sunday

I’m about to go out car shopping today with my parents. My mom wants a new, more fuel efficient car. We’re thinking Toyota. I don’t mind the car shopping b/c it’s not me that has to purchase. No pressure hehe

Just wanted to share my breakfast with you first : )

Richard and I had Whole wheat bagels with cream cheese and avocado! I highly recommend the cream cheese and avocado combination. Tofutti makes GREAT cream cheese as well. Give it a shot and tell me how you like it : ).
Enjoy more pics too!

Looks like it’s a beautiful day out. Time to go enjoy the sun. See you soon

Teddy

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Since there were Mangoes in the shake- here we go : )

All about the Mango
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The Mango is a member of the cashew family of flowering plants; other species include the pistachio tree and poison ivy

Colour is not the best indicator of ripeness!! Squeeze the ‘nose’ of the fruit, if there is slight give then the mango is ripe.

The two most widely available varieties of Mango in the UK are ‘Kent’ – a green fruit with a red blush and a rich, sweet flavor and ‘Keitt’ – a green Mango with a non fibrous flesh and a mild, sweet flavor.

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Half a mango counts as one full serving of a fruit.

World’s heaviest recorded mango was 5 lbs 7 ounces (source)

This is the prize winning mango!

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Richard and I were supposed to have “date night” tonight but turns out he has to work
He works all weekend too. Oh well. I told Richard that when he gets home from work tomorrow I’m going to have a nice meal ready for us and we’ll have a date at home. Any nice recipes I should try??

Tonight Cara’s comming over again!

She’s just picking up some fast food for us. It’s my unhealthy night I guess. I’ll still be working out tonight tho. Hope everyone has a fun night!

Teddy

I decided to wake up a little eariler than usual today so Richard and I could have breakfast together. It was a bit hectic and rushed but here’s what we got to eat:

Peach SHAKES!! : )
Recipe (modified from Kleopatra’s)
2-3 Peaches
Handful of Frozen Mangoes
Almond Milk

I took out the ice in this shake by freezing the fresh peaches over night. I felt like ice would water it down. It was GREAT. I just happened to have some extra frozen mango chunks in the freezer too. They aren’t needed at all. Put just enough milk in to cover the fruit 3/4 of the way up. Blend to all together and enjoy.

Item of the day coming up soon! : )

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That’s our MAIN DISH
Spaghetti squash with basil, sweet tomatoes, shallots and olive oil. It’s cooking now : )

For desert?? hmm something fruity
Facts

• Spaghetti squash originated in Mexico/Central America (source)

• Spaghetti squash is considered a fruit (source)

• The flesh is very low in calories (50 per 100 g edible portion), an excellent source of folic acid, high in fiber, contribute a fair amount of potassium, and small amounts of vitamin A to the diet, but are very low in sodium. (source)

• They weigh 4-8 lbs Spaghetti Squash is related to the pumpkin. (source)

• The more yellow the squash, the more flavorful (source)

• Spaghetti Squash can be baked, boiled or steamed, and served with sauce as for pasta. (source)

Pics from our dinner : )

It was delish and easy!! and I’m pretty sure he loved it