Let us wrap

After an overnight fast in preparation for an annual physical exam (my first in 16 years), I'm hungry. Time to go to Yakima Fresh Market for a $20 splurge on fruit and veges.

I look over my loot as I unpack it and consider what I'm hungry for. Quinoa with this stuff? I start cooking 1/2 c. quinoa with 2 c. water and set the timer for 10 minutes.

I wash, slice, and chop leaf basil and the vegetables - cabbage, tomato, onion, red pepper - and grate the carrots and ginger. Into a bowl they go!

Meanwhile, I spot a package of sprouted grains and beans in the cupboard. They only need 5 minutes of cooking and a 10-15 minute "rest." When the timer beeps, I measure 1/3 cup of grains and break 5 stalks of asparagus into the pot. Lid on. The timer gets reset for 5 minutes.

The timer dings. I turn off the gas heat to let the quinoa, bean, and grain mixture settle for 10 minutes. Might as well tidy the kitchen. Knives go back on their magnetic strip, dishes in the DW. There's time to halve and remove the stems from two big romaine lettuce leaves ... and make a cup of tea, too.

Combining the grains and chopped vegetables makes a beautiful arrangement beside the lettuce. I sprinkle on thick soy sauce for flavor ... and plate the food. (See the large tablespoon in the photo for perspective.)

I'm ready to wrap and eat! Half the salad makes 4 substantial lettuce rolls. I'll save the rest of the mix for supper.

Rating: 4.5
Taste: nice combination of bitter (lettuce, asparagus, and cabbage) with savory and sweet (basil, ginger, quinoa, carrots).
Calories: 350-400? for all 4 rolls. Bulky calories!
Time to prepare: 15 min.
Tea: Trader Joe's Well-Rested teabag (sadly). Nice spearmint smell to clear the nose between bites.
Beauty: 4.5 Tighter rolls might be prettier. The color is fabulous and the sizes and textures vary.
Improvements? Perhaps add smashed fresh walnuts and chopped fresh apricot, or - Chinese mustard or wasabi peas, blueberries, and pine nuts. Maybe tonight!

The breakfast of Swiss champions

So I'm not Swiss.

And I'm not a champion of anything.

But Muesli is a staple that is quick, easy to fix, requires no cooking, and tastes so delicious that it's hard to beat.

Ingredients for the base: 
1/2 dried fruit, seeds, and nuts
1/2 rolled grains 
Add your own small grains or supplements,  like wheat grass powder, "horse yeast' (whatever it is that my dad buys), chia seeds, etc.


Mix the base with equal parts of fresh, chopped fruit. Wet to a consistency you like, using milk, juice, tea, and/or yogurt... stir and yum. 

My own morning feast came together like this: toss a few handfuls of rolled oats, rye, barley, and tricale into a big mixing bowl.

Add raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds), raw almonds, raw sunflower seeds, chia seeds, dried raw coconut, dried cherries..

Put everything in a big mixing bowl, and choose a plate. This morning, it was an oldie but goodie we bought in Chinatown while living in Vancouver 25 years ago.

Mix, then put 1/2-1 c. of muesli mix into a cereal bowl with chopped fresh fruit (an apple from our own trees). Trust me, you don't need much of the mix: it expands and provides a lot of nutrition that will stick with you until lunch!

Then add soy yogurt. (I made my own overnight with live culture peach yogurt from Trader Joes and soy milk from Costco.)

 

I poured Vita-Mix-ed OJ (Costco orange plus a bit of water) over top, wrung out the teabag over the mix, and oh yum, yum. Breakfast is served.

Rating: 4/5. Depending on additives of fruit and liquids, this can taste different every time.
Taste: crunch, mix of flavors, good blend of sweet (fruit and coconut) and savory (grains and nuts) and sour (juice, yogurt, and dried cherries). Plus it sticks to the ribs: you will be full until lunch.
Time to prepare: 3-5 minutes in the morning. 3 minutes to toss ingredients together, or under a minute if you keep a mix on your countertop; 2 minutes to chop fruit, add juice, milk or yogurt, etc.
Calories: 550: 80 OJ, 350 3/4 c. grains and nuts?; 50 (3 oz yogurt); 70 small apple.
Tea: some plain old floor sweepings disguised in a tea bag (Typhoo?)