Food/Cooking: Discovering the Versatility of Split Peas, No Really…

If you haven’t discovered split pea soup, you’re missing out on a natural “fast food”. Split peas don’t need to be soaked first, cook quickly, are nutritious, versatile and delicious. The only caveat I have is that it must have soy sauce or tamari on it. If you’re in a hurry, cook up some pea soup and douse it with soy sauce before eating, what a delicious meal. Even without good bread to accompany it, you’ll enjoy it. Adding pre-cooked potato chunks add carbs and there is no end to the fresh garden vegetables you can include, especially carrots, they add sweetness. DO NOT FORGET TO ADD A TOUCH OF CURRY SEASONING WITH TUMERICK, a good spice to eat regularly. And if you have access to acorns, try some acorn split pea soup.

Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns. Find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Acorns-Eatem-How–Vegetarian-Cookbook/dp/1491288973

Gardening: Mice Eating Your Melons?

If you go into your garden and see that half your melon is gone, it means that the mice and bugs have had at it. I have a suggestion. You know the plastic dishes that tofu comes in, or the blue ones that mushrooms are packaged in? Turn those upside down and place them under the melon when it is young. It will keep the bugs and mice away from it. You can also use the trays that produce comes in, like dates or tomatoes, but I wouldn’t use any that had meat on them, that could attract the mice even if they’ve been washed. Suellen Ocean is the author of the vegetarian cookbook, Poor Jonny’s Cookbook. Available here:

http://www.amazon.com/Poor-Jonnys-Cookbook-Suellen-Ocean/dp/0965114031

eBook or computer download through Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/260122

eBook through Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/poor-jonnys-cookbook-suellen-ocean/1102338251?ean=2940016618609

Always Keep Curry Powder Around, Especially If It Contains Turmeric

Are you tired and want to make an easy dish? Take a couple cups of  leftover cooked brown rice and mix it with the same amount of cooked black beans and two or three raw eggs and a little curry powder to taste. Mix it well. Put it into a glass pie cooking dish and microwave it for about 20 minutes. If you microwave it you won’t need to oil the pie dish, thus making it fat free. Have it with a nice salad and some steamed zucchini and onions. Turmeric is being studied for numerous healing properties including slowing the onset of diabetes and Alzheimers. Suellen Ocean is the author of the vegetarian cookbook, Poor Jonny’s Cookbook. Available here:

http://www.amazon.com/Poor-Jonnys-Cookbook-Suellen-Ocean/dp/0965114031

eBook or computer download through Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/260122

eBook through Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/poor-jonnys-cookbook-suellen-ocean/1102338251?ean=2940016618609

How Much Purple Cabbage Can Two People Eat Anyway?

Enough purple cabbage already… but it is so good for you. The cabbage family are reputed to fight cancer. What’s a girl to do? Let two or three cabbage go to seed and then throw them all about your garden, there will be so many you will then “weed” them when they are tiny and use them in salad or soup. Let a few grow into cabbage heads, even if they only make small heads, they’re great for stir fry or minced into salad. Suellen Ocean is the author of the vegetarian cookbook, Poor Jonny’s Cookbook. Available here:

http://www.amazon.com/Poor-Jonnys-Cookbook-Suellen-Ocean/dp/0965114031

eBook or computer download through Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/260122

eBook through Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/poor-jonnys-cookbook-suellen-ocean/1102338251?ean=2940016618609

Rhubarb Is One of the Strangest Edible Plants But Healthy For Us

Rhubarb has a most unusual consistency, it’s kind of gooey and stringy but perfumey to the palate and according to my old herbal, is a great tonic. The leaves are poisonous but after removing them the stalks can be cut into one inch pieces and simmered lightly in a few tablespoons of water. Pour the steamed rhubarb into a bowl and add honey to sweeten. This “sauce” can be used as a side dressing for whatever your imagination drums up. Just present the bowl of cold sauce at breakfast and have it with eggs and potatoes or have it as a side dish with dinner alongside brown rice and your favorite protein and salad. Because it’s believed to be an excellent tonic and facilitate the action of intestinal cleaning and to be good for the liver, a bowl of rhubarb sauce at the buffet table is a welcome sight. Suellen Ocean is the author of the vegetarian cookbook, Poor Jonny’s Cookbook. Available here:

http://www.amazon.com/Poor-Jonnys-Cookbook-Suellen-Ocean/dp/0965114031

eBook or computer download through Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/260122

eBook through Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/poor-jonnys-cookbook-suellen-ocean/1102338251?ean=2940016618609