Archive for winter

Detox rules

January 12, 2008 at 3:27 pm · Filed under health, nutrition, winter

Hi, my name is Maggan. Welcome to Maggan’s kitchen!

I heard that gyms are full these days because of the food indulgence during the recent holidays. Chocolates, ham, roasted pig, wine, champagne, pastries etcetera, etcetera. Well, it’s only 11 months until next Christmas. This means 11 months of creating and maintaining healthy habits to increase your vitality and well-being until the next holiday indulgence.

However, there is something more important than sweating our way to the ideal weight and body mass index. Achieving body-mind health and balance is a greater goal for 2 main reasons.

Working toward a healthy and balanced body and mind initiates healthy habits. According to Dr. Mark Atkinson, habits drive our choices and actions. With healthy habits, we choose the least damaging alternatives and stick to them. This is the first reason.

Another reason that makes body-mind health and balance more compelling than weight loss is that health is not only about the physical body. It is equally about emotional and mental health.

Convinced? Read on. Doubtful? Read on anyway. You may change your mind after reading through this.

As a a concrete example, let me tell you about G. Several years ago, G’s favourite pastime was sweating in the gym to keep fit. It was such a chore but she did it anyway. Even if G was tired from work, she headed straight to the gym after which she got even more tired. G was super tired that she had difficulty sleeping. She successfully maintained her ideal weight but was very stressed and sleeping less. In the end, G had a chronic illness. G was never overweight in the first place.

Dr. Mark recommends physical and emotional detoxification to achieve body-mind health and balance. It only takes 10 days of following the rules below. Moreover, it can be done with someone—a friend, partner, or a family member.

Physical detox

Rule 1: Eliminate sugar, alcohol, and processed foods and this means no cakes, sweets, sodas, biscuits, pastries, chocolates, wine, chicken nuggets, hotdogs, sausages, hams, and the like.

Rule 2: Eliminate caffeine.This includes coffee, Starbucks, latte, decaffeinated drinks, tea from the tea plant, iced tea, chocolates, and the like. If you’re addicted to caffeine and drink coffee in the morning, reduce your intake everyday down to zero. Dr. Mark further recommends drinking at least 2 litres of water a day (or just drink as much as you can and as often as you can), plus herbal teas.

Rule 3: Choose only healthy food choices for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Watch out for cereals. They almost always contain sugar. Watch out for food items that promise health but loaded with preservatives and other ingredients that are incomprehensible.

Personally, I recommend a 4-day rotation of the foods that you eat. I learned this from Dr. Liebscher. This simply means eating different foods everyday. On the fourth day, you can eat the same food eaten on the first day.

Rule 4: Alkalise your body. Take alkalising minerals mixed with warm water. Or simply, indulge on fruits and raw vegetables. Drink warm water with juice from a quarter or half of lemon first thing in the morning.

Rule 5: Support your bowels.If you have bowel issues or are unable to release daily, Dr. Mark recommends taking a formula containing Aloe vera, flax, fennel seeds, and the probiotic Lactobacillus sporogenes.

Personally, eating 3 tablespoons of seeds mixed with my sugar-free cereal never fails me. I keep a supply of mixed ground flax, pumpkin, walnut, sesame seeds in a jar in the fridge. 

Emotional detox

Rule 6: Free yourself from stressful thoughts. Dr. Mark highly recommends a book by Byron Katie called Loving What Is.  He says that this book shows how to turn down the power of a stressful thought. I’m sure other self-help books will also be helpful here. A therapist, if available and affordable to you, is another alternative.

Allow me add to the above. Decrease your speed of living. Don’t try to do everything. We’re not supermen. Even mutants and heroes have limitations. Keep in mind that you don’t have to solve the world’s problems. Accept your limitations and don’t even think or attempt to change what you can’t.

Rule 7: Start training your mind. You must have heard the cliche that everything starts in the mind or about the power of visualization. Think beautiful and positive.

Dr. Mark recommends doing this for 21 days. When you wake up in the morning, write down 3 things that you are grateful for. Like family, health, and work. And why you are grateful for them. Like, they’re nice company, to enjoy life, and because it provides the means to enjoy life.

Allow yourself to feel those feelings. Imagine your preferred ideal life, how it would look like, and how you would feel. Do this for 5 minutes everyday and then let go of the image. I have yet to begin this. Tomorrow. I promise.

Rule 8: Re-organize your time. Look at your schedule and identify how you can create a better balance between work/family/leisure/exercise and relaxation.

Rule 9: Get connected. Get in touch with friends and family. Ring a friend you haven’t spoken to in a long time and meet up with him or her.

Rule 10: Let go of emotional upset. According to Dr. Mark, this is how you get rid of a grudge or emotional upset.

Think of the thing (or person) you are upset about, then notice where you feel it in your body. The throat and chest are common places.

Breathe in and out of those areas, telling them to soften and flow and notice how it starts to shift. Get a sense of where those feelings want to exit and allow them to come out of our body completely. Repeat until there is no upset left.

You will know when you have completely released the upset when you feel light and energised. This works a treat, according to Dr. Mark, and only takes 10 minutes. Needless to say, you should avoid things, situations, and people that can cause you upset.

I’d say that rules 6,7, and 10 would be fun to do just to see if they will work for me. Tomorrow, I promise.

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Saffron bread for gratitude

January 1, 2008 at 3:06 pm · Filed under baking, christmas, dessert, food, winter

Hi, my name is Maggan. Welcome to Maggan’s kitchen!

2007 was a good year and fate provided me a good closure for it. Yesterday I went to the city to take advantage of the after-Christmas sale. I only had 2 items on my list and I found them in less than 4 hours. H was so surprised when I beat my shopping time record (coming home before the end of the day), and that I had actually bought something.

That shopping success inspired me to flutter into the kitchen and bake saffron rolls. It had been in the line-up of holiday goodies and there was no better day than yesterday to make them. Oh no! Oh well, nothing was going to dismay me. Not even the fact that I didn’t have enough saffron. I was willing to forego the recipe and was seriously considering plain cinnamon rolls instead when H readily volunteered to run to the nearest grocery and buy saffron. Well, ain’t that the nicest and the sweetest?

This saffron bread recipe, which was published in the magazine Food and Wine, is by Lotta Voltaire who writes cookbooks, owns a bakery, and runs a restaurant/pub. I wonder if there is something this girl doesn’t do. Like deliver mail?

Dough for the saffron bread

  • 50 grams yeast
  • 100 grams butter
  • 5 decilitres milk
  • 250 grams Arla kesella (cream cheese made of sour milk)
  • 1 gram saffron
  • 1.5 decilitres sugar
  • .5 teaspoon salt
  • 17 decilitres flour
  1. In a bowl, break the yeast into crumbs.
  2. Melt the butter in a small casserole in very low heat.
  3. Add the milk to the melted butter.
  4. Heat the milk until it becomes warm to the touch.
  5. Pour the butter and milk mixture into the yeast.
  6. Mix with a spoon to dissolve the yeast.
  7. Add in the kesella, sugar, salt, and flour.
  8. Work on the dough until it is supple.
  9. With a tea-towel, cover the bowl with the supple dough in it and leave for 40 minutes.

Saffron bread filling

  • 200 grams raisins, light or dark
  • 200 grams almond flakes
  • .5 decilitre brown raw sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cardamom
  • 50 grams butter
  • 1 whipped egg
  • pearl sugar
  1. Set the oven at 225 degrees Celsius. 
  2. Sprinkle some flour on the surface where the dough will be rolled.
  3. Take the risen dough from the bowl and lay it on the floured surface.
  4. With a rolling pin, roll the dough. This process will flatten and stretch it. Don’t roll it too thinly. Otherwise, it may be difficult to roll it. Also, ensure that the dough is rolled flat to the size that will allow you to roll it at least twice.
  5. Spread the butter over the whole dough.
  6. Sprinkle the raisins, almond flakes, raw sugar, and the cardamom.
  7. Roll the dough, as if rolling a yoga mat.
  8. With a pair of kitchen scissors, cut 20-30 pieces.
  9. Whip the egg and brush it over on each piece of saffron bread.
  10. Sprinkle pearl sugars on top.
  11. Bake in the oven at 225 degrees Celsius for 8 minutes.

Long recipe, huh? Seems complicated, huh? If you’re not ready to make bread, then you’re just not ready for it. A recipe that requires yeast and rolling can be overwhelming for a baker without professional training. Well, I was ready for bread, yeast, and some good rolling yesterday. Spirit and flesh were both willing.

I pulled a chair and sat before the oven to watch an event unfold. I was like a scientiest watching cell mutation or an obstetrician very closely monitoring a delicate pregnancy. H, who was prancing in and out of the kitchen, was obviously equally excited. Hmm, the kitchen smelled good.

The saffron rolls tasted as good as they looked. When I began with the saffron bread recipe, the yeast, which is a very sensitive agent, had me worried. But everything turned out fine in the end.  Either the stars yesterday were in a position that was most auspicious to me or I didn’t miss a word in the recipe instruction. Credit goes to H too for the saffron. 

To family and friends who read this blog, many thanks. To those who were led by tags to this blog, I’m grateful to you as well. Happy new year y’all!

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Thinking about summer in winter

December 26, 2007 at 9:08 pm · Filed under christmas, cooking, food, meat, summer, Uncategorized, winter

Hi, my name is Maggan. Welcome to Maggan’s kitchen!

It’s the day after Christmas and I’m already thinking about summer. I blame the paella valenciana that I prepared the other night. It made me think S—sun, sea, and Spain, of course.

Below is the recipe taken from the magazine All about Food. It’s the paella recipe for 6 persons that I follow.

  • 300 grams chicken thighs
  • 300 grams chicken breast fillet
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 yellow onions
  • 1 red capsicum
  • 1 green capsicum
  • 4 decilitres long-grain rice (Maggan’s kitchen uses long-grained whole rice)
  • 8 decilitres chicken bouillon (water + bouillon cube), as an alternative Maggan’s kitchen uses homemade vegetable stock
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • white pepper
  • 1 teaspoon tarragon
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 gram saffron
  • 10 mussels with shell (optional)
  • 250 grams frozen green peas
  • .5 kilo shrimps with shells (optional)
  • lemon
  1. Heat the oil in a paella pan or wok.
  2. Brown the chicken. Set aside.
  3. Saute the sliced capsicum, roughly chopped onions, and pressed garlic until they become soft, but not brown.
  4. Add the rice and stir.
  5. Pour the vegetable stock.
  6. Add in the saffron, salt, tarragon, bay leaf, chicken pieces.
  7. Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
  8. Add in the mussels and cook them until the shells open.
  9. Shell the shrimps. Add them in. Cook until they become pink or orange.
  10. At the same time, add the frozen green peas.
  11. On serving, squeeze lemon over on the plate or pan. 

When making paella, it is important to use the right kind of rice. The sticky kind, like jasmine, will never do. Long-grain rice is the safest choice. However, if using whole grain, the result will be a wetter paella. The solution is to just cook it a little longer, extra 5 minutes, without the lid on.

I don’t mix the paella while it is cooking in the pan. Por que? The same reason why we don’t mix rice when preparing it the regular way. We want the grains whole, not mashed, not broken, and certainly not pasty.

Claire and Ed love Spanish food. Come summer time, their summer, I will treat them to this wonderful paella dish. Maggan’s kitchen goes on tour! Hasta lo!

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All-purpose vegetable stock

December 25, 2007 at 12:43 pm · Filed under christmas, cooking, food, health, nutrition, soup, vego, winter

Hi, my name is Maggan. Welcome to Maggan’s kitchen!

Do you sometimes wonder how to make a dish more flavourful without using bouillon loaded with mono-sodium glutamate, flavour enhancers, emulsifiers, preservatives, and hydrogenated fat?

I found a solution by making my own vegetable stock using the vegetable stock recipe from Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo’s Cook Right 4 Your Type. Aside from being a healthy alternative that is highly beneficial to all blood types, this broth is sweet and clean-tasting. I can attest to that. Now, what could beat the promise of good taste and good health? N-o-t-h-i-n-g-!

  • 1 large yellow onion, cut into quarters
  • 2 carrots, washed, trimmed, and cut into large pieces
  • 2 stalks celery, washed and cut
  • parsley stems
  • garlic skins
  • apple skins and cores
  • mushroom stems
  • parsnips
  • leeks
  1. Fill a very large (5-6 litre) pot up to 3 quarters full with water and bring to boil.
  2. Add all the vegetables and herbs.
  3. Simmer for 40 minutes in low to medium heat.
  4. Cool and strain out the vegetables.
  5. Freeze in small containers.

Don’t worry if you mistakenly put in the vegetables and herbs before the water boils. The stock will still turn out fine. I committed this mistake twice. Oops!

Nor is there anything to worry about if you don’t have a very large pot. If you use less water, the result will be a more concentrated stock. You’ll then only need a little amount when you use it for cooking. Just ensure you freeze it in small amounts to avoid re-freezing after thawing.

Now, I’m going to reveal a secret. I use this vegetable stock for my lasagna meat sauce. The first time I had done it, H marked the difference in taste. The best lasagna by far! It outdid all my earlier lasagna. Nothing wrong with them though.

Yesterday, I made paella valenciana using this vegetable stock instead of water and chicken bouillon. H says I should make paella more often—a weekly staple like lasagna. Incidentally, we’re having lasagna tonight and postponing the pizza until tomorrow.

Oh, before I forget, here’s a last note on the vegetable stock recipe: don’t use broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and other vegetables of the cruciferous kind as they will dominate the taste of the broth.

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Ginger cookies to flavour the holiday

December 24, 2007 at 8:49 pm · Filed under baking, christmas, cooking, food, winter

Hi, my name is Maggan. Welcome to Maggan’s kitchen!

I’m skipping gingerbread cookies this year for the first time in 2 years since I began with the tradition. Yesterday evening, I made ginger cookies instead. Easier to make than gingerbread cookies since they don’t require rolling the dough and cutting into shapes.

This recipe is by the pastry-maker Therese Wikström and published in the magazine Food and Wine.

  • 125 grams butter
  • 1.25 decilitres cream
  • 3 decilitres sugar
  • grated peel of 1/2 lemon
  • juice from 1/2 lemon
  • 1.25 decilitres syrup
  • 7.5 decilitres wheat flour
  • 1 tablespoon ginger
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  1. Set the oven at 175 degrees Celsius.
  2. Melt the butter in the lowest heat.
  3. Whip the cream.
  4. Grate the lemon peel finely. (If the peel is not grated finely, chop them finely after grating.)
  5. Squeeze the juice off the lemon.
  6. Blend all ingredients very well in a large bowl by hand. Give the dough a good kneading.
  7. Tear or pinch a piece of the dough and roll it into a ball the size of a 5-Philippine-peso coin or one-Swedish-crown coin.
  8. Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Ensure that there is enough space between the balls. Four balls in a row is sufficient.
  9. Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes.
  10. The cookies should be soft in the middle when taken out of the oven. Otherwise, they will become very hard after they have slightly cooled.

The balls that are put in the oven will flatten while being baked. This is the reason for leaving a good space between them on the baking sheet. It’s amazing how they form themselves  into perfectly shaped round  cookies. Perfect cookies, as H says every time he goes for a refill.

This recipe makes 65 pieces, at least. It’s easy to make and takes 15 minutes only, if you’re a professional like Therese. And the cookies smell very good. I love lemon and ginger. Perfect in shape, perfect with tea, and perfect as a Christmas present. In 2008, that is.

Speaking of presents, want to know what I got and how many? The first I opened was a book by Bo Hagström called The Sun’s Taste based on the author’s TV program about his food trips in Italy, and which I enjoy watching.

The second present was a CD with 3 discs. Absolute Disco. I hope H doesn’t regret giving me this CD since he has to bear hearing me sing along with the tunes.

The third present, the smallest but not the last (so I hear), was an envelope containing 2 tickets to Mando Diao’s concert in March 2008. I’ll invite H to go with me.

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