Coconut Sweet Potato Soup plus Abound Sweet Potato Treats for your Pup!

Chock-full of disease-fighting, cancer-preventing and immune-boosting properties, one may understand that sweet potatoes are healthy, perhaps even super healthy, but most may not think of them as life saving.  With massive amounts of beta carotene and twice the fiber of regular potatoes, sweet potatoes are rich in vitamins C and E, contain iron and magnesium, and rate low on the glycemic scale providing a slower sugar release with less effect on blood glucose levels.

But it's the ease of digestibility that helped save my dog's life.  Many of you will remember our two Maltese pups, Kona and Tavo.  It's been a tough year for these little guys (Our sweet Tavo passed away in early October from a genetic issue), and a bout with canine pancreatitis almost did Kona in.

Lethargic and sicker than I've seen any dog, the vet provided IV fluids and strict instructions to use a low-fat prescription dog food diet after a 24 hours fast.  We got him through the first 24 hours and he woke feeling much better.  We started the prescription food and within an hour he was sick again.  This happened twice more over the next week with multiple rushed visits to the vet for more fluids.  Taking to the internet to research foods and pancreatitis I found sources recommending rice and sweet potato time and again.

Discarding the vet food, I began making my own beginning with the highly digestible rice and sweet potato combo for 48 hours.  Slowly we began adding more and more foods, but the sweet potato remained constant, and the dog once again began to thrive.

With 6 small meals a day (including one in the middle of the night...), making dog food in addition to feeding my family got old fairly quickly.  We've since found a very low fat canned food with the special ingredients his finicky stomach can tolerate supplemented with homemade ingredients (and reduced feedings to 3 times a day... none at night!), but had not found a suitable treat until an offer from Abound Natural Pet Food arrived by email.

Offering to send us a few sample bags of their grain-free superfood treats, the words "sweet potato" as a main ingredient brought my answer to definite "yes, please!".  Receiving a box with treats and a few toys, Abound also suggested a challenge should we be pleased with the products.  Since our pup would be enjoying the super food ingredients, would we create a human dish with one of the ingredients as well?

Well... you know me and a food challenge!  But, would Kona take to the treats?  He's possibly the finickiest dog in existence, and I'll admit I had worry he would turn up his nose.  Trying the Sweet Potato Sticks with Blueberries (Ingredients:  Sweet Potato, Citrus Fiber and Blueberries - Crude Fat .5%) first I got a little lick, then a no go.  Ok, a new food, I get it.  But let's try the Free Fish Sweet Potato Sticks (Ingredients:  Sweet Potato, Salmon, Whitefish, Citrus Fiber and Cranberry - Crude Fat: 12.2%).  Again a little lick and a turn of the head...  But then just as quickly a turn of the head right back and he took the treat out of my hand!  For him, unprecedented as new foods almost always take 10-15 tries to get past.

Since our first try the Fish Sweet Potato version is still a favorite, but now he never turns down a Sweet Potato Blueberry stick either.  We've been putting them into his chew toys where he has to work to get to the treat and he works tirelessly to get those little treats out.  I think he loves the crunch of these sticks as many other treats are soft and not as appealing to my picky little guy.

And I love the ingredients - actually real food.  I love that they are grain-free, low in fat, free of fillers and do not contain soy, animal by-product meal or anything artificial.  And I love that I don't have to cook them myself.  Abound... yes, he loves the treats, and I'm up for the challenge!

Human food with sweet potato?  Not a problem!  How about a little Sweet Potato Soup with Coconut and a squeeze of lime?

Silky in texture, this plant-based soup fills your bowl with all sorts of healthy ingredients and like the treats, no artificial fillers.  Sweet potatoes we already know enter the superfood category, and turmeric and ginger only serve increase the soup's healthy ingredient potential.  Onions, garlic, coconut and lime?  Well they all bring their own health benefits, but they also lend a touch of the tropics to our cooling temperatures - don't laugh... our high yesterday was only 65º.  Positively freezing for us here in San Diego and yes Kona is sitting in his heated bed.

So whether you are looking for a healthy dish in the midst of your holiday festivities or a meal to warm you to your toes on these chilly days, this soup's for you.  Just don't forget to pass an Abound Superfood Treat to your little buddy while you're eating.

Green Tea with Ginger and Mint... A Detox Tummy Tamer

We've all done it on occasion.  You know... eaten a few too many helpings at a picnic, perhaps indulged in that extra cocktail we didn't really need, or maybe even finished off the last slice of pizza simply so we didn't have to wrap it.  And unfortunately, sometimes the after effects of these indulgences can leave us a little bloated, queasy, or purely parched from too much salt.

While many of us turn to "detox" drinks to help, and yes, many of them do make us feel better, I have a feeling that pure hydration plays a key role.  But add in a slice of ginger,  green tea and a few sprigs of mint, and you actually do add ingredients that can help.

Green Tea:  Filled with antioxidants and polyphenols, green tea is said to improve immunity, help rid the body of free-radicals thereby helping to protect against disease, speed up your metabolic rate and re-hydrate.  A little caffeine can also help ease an aching head. 

Ginger:  Known to provide gastrointestinal relief, ginger is many a pregnant woman's best friend.  Safe to take during pregnancy (in proper doses... check with your doctor first), ginger has been proven to provide relief in many cases.  Ginger is also the first thing I pack when heading on a cruise, and has seen me through rough seas with minimal issues (and I'm fairly sensitive to motion sickness).

Mint:  A well known appetizer or palate cleanser, mint promotes digestion.  Soothing the stomach in cases of indigestion or inflammation, even the aroma of mint can activate the salivary glands in our mouth as well as glands which secrete digestive enzymes.

Mixed together we have a concoction to rehydrate and hopefully soothe.  Poured over ice is my preferred Detox Tummy Tamer, but my husband prefers his steaming in a mug.  Either way, a concoction of these digestive ingredients is a lovely drink on a hot day, or, the perfect Tummy Tamer for a queasy kid or friend suffering from a day of over indulgence.

Healthy, fresh ingredients, the best way to detox out the bad stuff or hydrate by the pool.  Enjoy!

Ginger Wafer Thins from Cara Reed's Decadent Gluten-Free Vegan Baking

"Hey Liv... I'm making cookies today from the cookbook I got in the mail a few weeks ago.  So I'll have some when I pick you and Taylor up from dance and you guys can be my taste testers, OK?"

"Sure!!  Oh wait... is that the gluten-free book you got?"

"Yep."

"Oh... never mind then.  I don't like gluten-free stuff."

So went our conversation this morning, and apparently my daughter thinks she doesn't like gluten-free goods.  Funny, because she's been eating some pretty darn spectacular treats all week, and... they've all been gluten-free recipes from Cara Reed's new book, Decadent Gluten-Free Vegan Baking.  And... she liked them so much she's even been asking for extras so she can share with friends.

Our mail day Instagram!

Today I made Cara's spicy Ginger Wafer Thins (gluten-free AND vegan) and brought Liv what I had left over after performing my own taste test (which may or may not have had less than half the batch remaining...).

She and her girlfriend, hungry after 5 hours of dance rehearsals, gushed as they finished the rest of the gingery crisps, and her face was positively priceless when I told her the cookies were gluten-free.  Her comment of, "Well... I guess I do like gluten-free stuff!" made us all laugh.

While our family isn't particular to gf, I do tend to stick to vegan foods as I can guarantee a dairy-free meal or treat for my severely lactose intolerant son.  Cara Reed's beautiful new book opened our world even further with some 180+ pages of incredible baked goods my whole family can enjoy.

From cookies to scones to cupcakes and even donuts, every recipe we tried met or exceeded the "awesomeness" expectation we had after reading the descriptions that introduced them.  Cara has taken all the guess work out of swapping ingredients to remove gluten, milk and eggs from recipes, and her recipes work.  And she doesn't use "weird" ingredients that are meant as substitutes, just real ingredients using the right techniques.  Once you put together one of her Gluten-Free Baking blends (I did need to buy ingredients I don't usually have on hand for those), you're good to go.

If you are switching to gluten-free or vegan goods, you will definitely have predisposed ideas of what you are looking for in a cookie or cupcake, and I have to admit many times I'm disappointed with the finished products I find in stores or bake myself.  Not so with Cara's recipes.  She's done the research and testing for you, and you can count on consistently fabulous results from her recipes.

With a chapter on Childhood Favorites, Cara brings special treats like Girl Scout's Thin Mints to everyone's plate, and now no one needs to go without due to an intolerance or allergy.  We haven't tried the Strawberry Frosted "Pop-Tarts" or Hot Cocoa Snickerdoodles yet, but they're next up on our list and I'll definitely keep you posted.

Cara... thank you for bringing baked treats back into our house that my whole family can enjoy.  Your book is a treat to read with its gorgeous photos and your recipe descriptions make me feel like we're old friends simply chatting about what we're going to make.  The book is already splattered with batter and has pages turned down for future dates, definitely signs of a new favorite.  Thank you!

Honey Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi

Twenty years is a long time to be with anyone, and when that someone is gone, they are terribly missed.  Such is the case with our little grey, used to be stray, cat, Pawsi.

Pawsi used up the last of her nine lives yesterday when she succumbed to old age after twenty years of life.  Living an extremely well traveled life, Pawsi was born in Grass Valley, California and lived her first 12 months mostly in the wild.  However, she grew to enjoy the niceties of life and the taste of food from a can when she began spending time on my mom's porch in the winter.  One day Pawsi venured inside mom's house, was found lounging on a pillow, and her life in the wild was over.

Coming to live with us nearly half my life ago, she traveled from Northern California to Louisville, Kentucky where she found she enjoyed the snow... but only for a short time before she returned to the warmth of the house in front of a blazing fire.  Traveling across country once again she returned to California and enjoyed the sun in San Diego where she lived her life happily catching mice in the warm weather and occasionally bringing home bunnies for her owners.

Not relishing the thought of living life totally inside a house, Pawsi became adept at dodging coyotes and brought her family to tears one evening when she refused to come home and we saw a cat dragged off by a coyote.

Poor Liv sat on the floor crying as we realized that we might have lost our little cat.  At that moment my son started yelling, "Open the door!  Open the door!  The cat is sitting there!" and sure enough, Pawsi had made it home once again and looked at us a if we were all a bit crazy to be so happy to see her.

During the last few years she lost her taste for the outside and became content to live life lounging on pillows and stretching out in the sun.  Aging, she lost strength in her legs and eventually her eyesight, but never her purr.  Aloof and happy on her own, she enjoyed a nice pat, but no longer wished to be held.

As our grand, athletic, lady took her last breath in my arms yesterday these thoughts passed quickly through my mind and I realized how much we had been through together.  A marriage, new homes in different states, babies that have now grown into young adults, and most recently the addition of two rambunctious puppies who I'm certain she is not missing in heaven.

With her empty bed a reminder of our missing kitty, Liv and I grilled a delightful mahi-mahi in Pawsi's honor.  Mahi Mahi was the only food that she would regularly eat other than those awful (though she loved them) cans of Fancy Feast that my mom gave her a taste of so long ago.

While she preferred her fish plain, Liv and I found a bright marinade with just a few ingredients that brought a powerful punch of flavor.  Sweet, yet slightly sour, this Asian-like recipe goes together in a snap for those days when you just don't have the energy for a big meal.  Tossed on the grill, the fish is cooked in a flash and works wonderfully with a side of rice to sop up the remaining sauce.

Pawsi, thank you for living your life with us.  We miss you.

Irish (Steel Cut) Oatmeal with a Ginger-Orange Cashew Topping

An Irish Blessing

May the road rise to meet you

May the wind be always at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face

and rains fall soft upon your fields

And until we meet again 

may God hold you in the palm of His hand

Six years ago my beautiful friend Annie crossed my path, and my world has been a better place ever since.  Her nearly 5 foot frame literally bursts with happiness and occasionally erupts with the most contagious laughter that has graced this earth.  We don't see each other very often as a few years ago life led her to Colorado.  Leaving behind her little town by the sea our busy lives leave little time to chat, and some of her short visits don't even allow enough time to see each other.

However, every year, about 2 days before St. Patrick's Day an envelope arrives in the mail with some sort of Irish best wishes.  Annie is a beautiful mix of Japanese and Irish, looking more Polynesian than anything, but always signs it "To my favorite Irish Friends".  She nicely includes me with my German blood, but my 100% Irish husband always feels that the card is really for him!  This years card included the above blessing, however, my husband's favorite was the one that told this Irish joke:

Front of Card: "So these two Irish guys walk out of a pub..."   

Inside of card: "End of joke!  But I suppose it could happen..."

Viewing all of the beautiful Irish recipes in my blog travels this last week has led me to the realization that I don't really know much about Irish food.  Pulling out my only "Irish" recipe and tweaking it just a bit, we present our St. Patrick's Day contribution of Irish Oatmeal with a Ginger-Orange Cashew Topping.

I am surprised at how many of my friends won't make Irish, or steel cut, oatmeal as they say it "takes too long".  Many of them love it, but buy it frozen at Trader Joe's or simply don't make it at all.  I have a trick!

Before you go to bed heat 4 cups of water in a sauce pan.  When it boils, add the steel cut oatmeal and turn off the heat.  Cover, go to bed.

When you wake in the morning the oatmeal simply needs a quick heating and maybe a few minutes of cooking, but your prep time will be cut down considerably making this healthy bowl of goodness an easier start to your morning.

Needing something to spice it up, we topped our oatmeal today with ginger and orange enhanced cashews finding the orange permeating nearly the entire bowl giving it a lovely fresh flavor.  Finishing off with diced banana and mango (just what we had on hand, any fresh or dried fruit will do!) the kids started their St. Patrick's Day morning with a nutritious and somewhat Irish breakfast.

Double Ginger Crackles

Continuing my quest for holiday spirit, I turned to one of my favorite holiday spices - Ginger!  Somehow ginger seems to evoke a warm, happy place in my psyche and provides an essence of holiday.  After all, where would we be without the annual Gingerbread House?

The first year I discovered crystallized ginger I used perused my books for every recipe I could find using the ingredient.  We had cookies, biscotti, scones, an Asian Chicken dish (which wasn't very good...) and I even took to eating the little golden pieces out of hand.

My most recent ginger discovery was Ginger Beer at the Kona Brewing Company on Oahu.  A friend recommended the beer, making me think of another dear friend, Harry Potter.  I was a bit hesitant to try it, but we felt we needed to.  Spicy, with a familiar warm bite, the beer was excellent and required a second round.  Unfortunately you will have to go to Hawaii to try it as they only serve it seasonally at their restaurants, but it's almost worth a trip to the islands just for a an afternoon brew!

Double Ginger Cookies have been a favorite on our holiday cookie tray for a few years, and I find that they also make a lovely treat with my morning coffee or tea.  Filled with a decent helping of ground ginger in addition to my prized crystallized version, the cookies pack a nice, spicy punch.  Rolled in raw (C&H from Hawaii!!) sugar, they not only look beautiful, but will have a pleasant little crunch to go with the slightly soft cookie texture.

Double Ginger Crackles

These tender cookies have become a favorite of mine!  They have a nice, warm ginger flavor with the tenderness and richness of butter.  Our family very much enjoyed them as a complement to the Korean Style Pork with Asian Slaw and then for days to come.   I watched them closely in the oven as they turned from a light golden brown to a bit overdone in a flash.  Removed at the proper moment, they are lightly browned on the bottom with a slightly firm bite that will melt in your mouth.  

Ginger is not high on my daughter Olivia's list and we all laughed after her first bite when promptly proclaimed "These cookies have too much taste for me".   The rest of the family enjoyed the flavorful treats with delight!