Today we had our first workshop in our new office space on a very hot topic - H1N1 and how to take care of yourself throughout cold and flu season. We discussed several recipes that you can make at home to boost your immune system as part of your self care plan to avoid getting sick… 
 
Immune boosting soup 

 
Directions: Place the beef and bones into a pot. Cover with water and slowly bring to a boil, skimming the surface occasionally. When the water comes to a boil, turn down to simmer, add the mushrooms, carrots, burdock, and onion. Add sprigs of fresh thyme and parsley, as well as salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low heat around 3-4 hours until the meat falls off the bones. 
 
Immune enhancing juice 
 

 
Directions: Juice the apple, Swiss chard, carrots and pepper. Add citrus juice and enjoy! 
 
Immunity smoothie
 

I took this picture before I scarfed it all down. Unfortunately Brandon decided to start his spring detox 2 days before his birthday so I had to come up with something that was relatively detox-friendly yet still a treat! So I came up with a lovely pie-type thing which actually came out great. It was the first time making a “raw” crust so now I’m thinking those yummy raw fake cheesecakes at Whole Foods are going to be eliminated from my shopping list. Anyway, here’s what I did. 
 
Crust: 
1/2 c walnuts, almonds or pecans, soaked in water for 1-2 hours  
1/2 c walnuts, almonds or pecans 
2-3 farmers market deglet noor dates, pits removed 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 
Coarse sea salt 
 
Put dried nuts in food processor and process into a fine meal. Remove and set aside. Drain soaked nuts well and process into coarse meal with dates, vanilla extract, nutmeg and coarse salt. Add the ground dry nuts and process until crumbly but slightly sticky. Press this into ramekins or pie plate. 
 
Filling 
1 can organic coconut milk 
1 tablespoon raw honey 
2 teaspoons agar agar 
 
Bring to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes or until agar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Allow to cool slightly but not to room temperature. Pour into ramekins or pie plate lined with crust. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate. I actually added tangerine zest when I took the mixture off the stove which isn’t exactly according to the detox plan so omitted this from the recipe here.
 

We just got back from a week-long trip to Hong Kong and Beijing where I had no choice but to eat tons of grease and pesticide-laden food. Some of the cooked vegetables we ate actually had an awful acrid taste so it was nice to finally get back to the farmers market this morning and get right back on my detox. I found incredibly beautiful watermelon radishes at the Santa Monica market and decided to make a little Northern Chinese-inspired salad out of these.  
 
1 Julienned or thinly sliced watermelon radish (you can use any other type of colorful radish)  
2 tablespoons rice or Kopali organic banana vinegar  
1 tablespoon traditionally brewed San-J or Eden soy sauce  
1/2 teaspoon raw cane sugar  
1.5-2 tablespoons La Nogelera walnut oil  

Okay, so this is only my opinion but it is based on a great Martha Stewart recipe I came across. I’ve modified it somewhat and you probably will too, depending on what your particular likes and dislikes are. Once you’ve made it and see that it takes no more than 20 minutes, you’ll never eat store-bought granola again. 
 
½ c shredded unsweetened organic coconut 
4 c organic old fashioned rolled oats 
¼ c unhulled sesame seeds 
½ c coarsely chopped raw almonds 
½ c coarsely chopped raw pecans 
½ c coarsely chopped raw walnuts 
½ t ground cinnamon 
¼ t ground nutmeg 
½ c local raw honey 
1 stick organic butter, melted (It’s OK! A little organic butter is not bad for you!) 
¼ c flax seeds 
½ dried fruit (I never put dried fruit in my granola because I hate it but you could use raisins, figs, etc.) 
 

 
As an option, I like to add some coarse sea salt for that simultaneous sweet-salty fix.

This is the most amazing smoothie I’ve ever had. It is better than any milkshake I’ve ever had without any dairy products or refined sugar plus lots of electrolytes, potassium, fiber and good fats. This serves 2.  
 
Ingredients 
Water and meat from 1 young coconut 
1 banana 
1-2 T raw organic coconut butter 
2 T non-GMO lecithin 
2 T freshly ground organic flax seed 
 
Blend all ingredients and enjoy!

This might look like murky water but it is my new favorite topping for any kind of cooked vegetable. It’s so darn good. I never used to like anchovies until very recently. Anchovies are totally safe because they’re such small fish and won’t likely accumulate any toxicity unless you’re in the South China Sea or in the Great Lakes and they’ve mutated because of all of the PCB’s and endocrine disruptors. It also has garlic, which is detoxifying and antifungal. I like to put in hardy herbs like fresh rosemary and fresh thyme, both of which have a lot of antioxidants and antimicrobial properties so they’re great for the immune system. 
 
1/4 c olive oil (doesn’t have to be the extremely expensive kind) 
1-2 anchovies, chopped 
4 cloves fresh garlic, sliced thin 
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed 
1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves removed and coarsely chopped 
coarse sea salt 
 
In a saucepan, heat olive oil on low heat. Once warm, add chopped anchovies and wait until anchovies dissolve. Add garlic, thyme and rosemary and turn off heat. Allow this to infuse for a few minutes. Finish with some coarse sea salt.

This month my entire office staff is attempting a detox, including myself. Although I already conscientiously do this, I have been making more of an effort to eat as many colorful vegetables as possible. Here is a dish I made recently with veggies from the farmers market. Please keep in mind that I have blogged this in the winter so this is what is local and seasonal at this time: 
 
Winter Vegetable Bagna Cauda 
1 head treviso (a type of radicchio) 
1/2 bunch wild purple Japanese mustard greens 
1 medium head purple cauliflower, cut into florets 
1 medium head broccoli, cut into florets 
1 bunch red carrots, sliced into bite-size pieces 
1 bunch red or easter egg radishes, sliced 
1 bunch asparagus, chopped up 
 
Slice treviso and cut up mustard greens and toss together. Prepare your steamer and steam each type of vegetable individually, as each vegetable has its own cooking time. I’ve found that cauliflower and broccoli steam perfectly in about 3-4 minutes (broccoli takes a little longer than cauliflower), carrots in 3-4 minutes (depending on the size you’ve cut them in), asparagus in 1 minute. If you haven’t cultivated steaming, the best thing to do is stand at the stove and lift up the lid every so often and stick your fork in. When you’ve gotten to the point in which you don’t have any resistance, it’s done. Once you remove the vegetables from the heat, place them on a cookie sheet to cool off. Leave the radishes raw. Toss everything together with some good extra virgin olive oil, coarse sea salt and pepper. Or you can use an infused homemade oil which can be found in another post. 
 
I love this recipe because it is so beautiful and colorful and you can taste the essence of the vegetables. They’re not drowning in butter or cheese or whatever else people put on their vegetables.

I had to coerce a patient into sharing this recipe. It’s genius: You can satiate your chocolate craving without substantially increasing your blood sugar while moving your bowels! I’ve modified it a wee bit but I’ve maintained the essence of her creation…
 
1 oz baker’s chocolate, cut into chunks (please see blog on which chocolates are not contaminated with lead) 
1/2 tablespoon (usually soup spoon size) brown rice syrup 
3-4 tablespoons freshly ground organic flax 
bit of vanilla 
dash of coarse sea salt 
1 tablespoon coconut, almond, macadamia-cashew butter OR some chopped nuts 
 
Place chocolate and brown rice syrup in a bowl and place on top of a pot of boiling water but do not allow the bowl to touch the water. Stir until melted. Remove from heat and add flax, vanilla, salt and nuts. Roll into bite-sized balls and enjoy!

Poaching is a great way to prepare chicken since the nutritional value is preserved well and the Chinese medicine qualities are nourishing, as opposed to roasting or baking (which are drying). It’s really easy as well. Put a few of the following ingredients (celery, carrot, onion, green onion, leek, shiitake mushroom, fennel, peppercorns, parsley, thyme, cloves, garlic, ginger, etc.) with water and bring to a low simmer. Immerse chicken breasts or legs and cover. Breasts take about 10 minutes, legs take about 15 minutes. The chicken can now be eaten as is or can be further prepared as chicken salad.  
But wait! Save that poaching liquid! Strain the ingredients and now you can use this for a soup base. What I did last night was use this liquid for a yummy shiitake mushroom-thyme risotto topped with fresh black and white truffles. 
 

If you’re of Asian heritage, you must have tried bitter melon. If we’ve told you that you have excessive heat in the body, you should try this. And if you have any problems with high blood sugar then you should know about this vegetable, if you don’t know already. This is one of my favorite vegetables to buy a few of when it’s in season at the farmers market. It’s definitely an acquired taste and it’s called bitter melon for a reason. My Mom likes to prepare it with black bean sauce and ground beef or pork but I have no desire to eat any MSG so I saute it with eggs.
 
2 bitter melons
4 free range eggs
Sesame oil
White pepper
Sea salt
 
Cut in half lengthwise, as the picture below shows. Not all bitter melons have this beautiful orange color in the middle. Carve out the seeds. I’m sure the seeds have some medicinal value but until I figure it out, discard them. Thinly slice. Saute on low-medium heat with the oil of your choice and a little bit of water, enough to steam the bitter melon. Add some sea salt to the melon and cover. Cook until you can easily stick a fork through it. Whisk a few eggs in a separate bowl and pour in the middle of the pan. Turn off the heat and toss the mixture around. The eggs won’t exactly look scrambled but it will look like of chunky. Add sesame oil and additional sea salt to taste.
 
I apologize in advance if you think this is a nasty recipe but I think it’s delicious!