Yesterday Pema had a little cold with runny nose and sneezing so I made her a little tea that she sipped all day long. She kicked the cold and was totally fine today so I thought I’d share this simple recipe. 
 
Handful of fresh peppermint leaves (appropriate for first onset cold symptoms) 
10 sprigs of fresh thyme (antibacterial and antifungal for nasal congestion) 
5 sprigs of fresh oregano (also antibacterial and antifungal for nasal congestion) 
Peel of one orange or tangerine (dissolves phlegm) 
 
Steep in hot water for at least 15 minutes. May be resteeped but first infusion will be the most effective.

I’ve been experimenting a bit with coconut flour. It sucks up a lot of moisture so one doesn’t need to use much in baking. I modified a recipe I found on www.nourishedkitchen.com and it came out INCREDIBLE. Zero gluten and a ton of fat. So for those of you who can’t tolerate gluten but dairy and eggs are okay, this is a great recipe and extraordinarily simple to make. 
 

 
Preheat oven to 350. Simply put all ingredients with the exception of the fruit in a stand mixer and mix until smooth. Add in the fruit and mix to just incorporate. I used a loaf pan lined with parchment but I’m sure other baking dishes will work. Bake 30-40 minutes. Seriously, I can’t believe this cake doesn’t have flour and is so rich and yummy.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve only recently made pancakes. I’ve actually never really liked them so much because I’ve always found them so heavy in my stomach in the morning. Oh and not to mention the blood sugar rush. I was inspired by my friend Caylie to make the Buckwheat Pear Pancake recipe from Good to the Grain. Because I generally dislike cooking foods that are out of season, I decided to modify the recipe a little bit. 
 
Dry Mix 
1 c buckwheat flour 
1 c spelt flour 
2 t baking powder 
3/4 t sea salt 
 
Wet Mix 
2 T melted coconut oil 
1 1/4 c rice milk (I’m sure coconut milk would be even better) 
1 egg 
1-2 bananas, mashed 
 
Sift the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and set aside. Combine the wet ingredients and gently integrate into the dry ingredients. Do not overmix or else you might get a heavier pancake. Cook as you would a normal pancake but be sure to oil the pan well with coconut oil (or butter if you’re not on the anti-inflammatory diet). Personally, I felt this combination was sweet enough due to the bananas so I didn’t need any syrup (which I don’t even have anyway). But you could always make your own syrup with coconut oil (or butter) and honey. By the way, nonstick pans are evil and can kill birds so I hope you all throw them away and use a stainless steel exterior pan or cast iron skillet. 
 
Now I’m on a pancake kick and am inspired to make pah jeon. 

If any of us have told you to consume more foods that are high on the ORAC index (high in antioxidants), know that culinary herbs and spices are among the highest. Even more than regular vegetables and fruits. So I decided to geek out and put all of the indexed culinary herbs on a spreadsheet to graph out for you. Keep in mind that all fresh herbs are good but note which ones are the highest. I personally like to get my fresh organic herbs from the farmers markets. One of my favorite farms that I don’t get to often because they are only at the Santa Monica market here in LA is Coleman Family Farms. Brandon and I visited their farm years ago and their herbs truly have a lot of… “Qi.” But there are a few stands at the Hollywood market that has excellent herbs as well. Even better would be if you grow them yourself! I always put a ton of fresh herbs in my salads either mixed in with the lettuce or incorporated into a dressing (perhaps a non-dairy green goddess?). I also like to make pesto and pistou with an assortment of fresh herbs. I don’t recommend cooking fresh herbs too much as that will inactivate some of the antioxidant activity. 
 

I like foods with function. And I love curry. So here’s a simple recipe that I have been making a lot that is high in antioxidants (some of these spices are high on the ORAC index) and easy to digest since coconut oil bypasses the gall bladder. Keep in mind that whole spices are the most flavorful so you can toast whole seeds and grind them in a spice grinder instead. Also feel free to use whatever vegetables are seasonal at the farmers market. 
 
Ingredients 
 

 
Method 
 

I have searched far and wide for a tasty cake recipe for a 1st birthday that doesn’t include a bunch of crap that I don’t want to feed my baby nor other babies who aren’t ready for wheat, sugar, etc. So I tweaked a few regular cake recipes that I thought would be baby-friendly and here is the final result which I based on Heidi Swanson’s carrot cake recipe. I doubled this recipe to fit a “1″ cake mold by Wilton and it was perfect. 
 
Ingredients 

 
And here are the fruits of my labor… It was delicious considering it was healthy and I’m so proud of my cake! 
 

We’ve received multiple requests for one of the vegetarian dishes served at our Chinese new year party. Even people who don’t eat veggies even ate numerous servings of this dish. I don’t know exactly what it’s called but my friend/caterer Charlie called the e-mail veg x 10 so that’s what I’ll call it. 
 
Ingredients: 

Garnish with chopped cilantro and toss. 
 
This serves 5-6 people and will keep 5-6 days in the fridge. It’s one of those recipes that you can cook on Sunday and have for the week! 
 

Although my iPhone photo does it absolutely no justice, I just made a fantastic pasta tonight that literally tastes like spring. We should have done this for our workshop last weekend but oh well! Asparagus at this time of year is so incredible and this really makes good use of it. 
 
1 pound fresh asparagus, woody stems trimmed 
Zest of 1 lemon 
2 green onions 
Several sprigs of fresh thyme 
1/4 c California extra virgin olive oil 
1 package of organic Tinkayada rice pasta or other whole grain pasta 
Parmesan cheese (optional) 
 
Cook the pasta until al dente. Cut the asparagus into 1 inch pieces but keep the tips intact and steam until fork tender. When cool, place stems into a food processor with the zest of 1 lemon, fresh thyme and green onion. Process until smooth. Continue processing while adding 1/4 cup olive oil. Add salt to taste. Toss this simple sauce with the pasta and add freshly grated parmesan cheese, if desired. 

For those of you who missed the cooking class today, here are the recipes. 
 
Rapini with scarlet runner beans from Rancho Gordo that Steve bought at Cube Restaurant, one of my favorite restaurants in LA. 
 
Composed asparagus salad with the most amazing caper vinaigrette 
 
Black quinoa salad with snap peas and green onions, quinoa courtesy of Alter Eco 
 
…And my only contribution which was a detox pesto with dandelion greens, spinach and fresh herbs 
 
Seasonal Spring Cooking Recipes

One of our very dedicated patients has developed a healthy habit thanks to us. He juices daily for himself and his wife and when I visited their home one day, he graciously made one for me. It was incredibly refreshing and delicious so I had ask for the recipe. Thanks Jeff! We’ll call it the stoner’s juice and it makes about 32 ounces.