chickpeas

oh the delicious hearty chickpea,

oops! the ode is suppose to come at the end of the blog.

chickpeas, also known as the garbanzo bean (spanish language origin) originates in Turkey and can be found in archaeological findings dating back 7,500 years old. from my favorite book (that i seem to quote every entry) chickpeas are known to be good for the pancreas, stomach and heart. i was thinking to myself that chickpeas look like little hearts, so it was also nice to read in Healing with Whole Foods that the author indicated the same characteristic.

Fact: Chickpeas come in varying sizes and colors (such as red, white, black and brown).
Fact: Romans used to eat garbanzo beans in a variety of way, including roasted!
Fact: roast in the oven and then grind up and you have gram flour!
Fact: gram flour (known in mandarin as jidou liangfen) is used to make some pretty yummy noodles in many parts of China, including Kunming and Lijiang.

ok too many facts for me to keep up with.

thanks to Healing with Whole Foods, wiki, encyclopedia.com and a lot of travel blogs. look them up yourself.

I initially thought that the best way to cook garbanzo beans was to soak them for a day and then boil them, before adding them to other delicious cooking methods. it seems that most garbanzo beans that are canned have been boiled in advance. i have not decided whether others agree with the boiling method, but i will continue to be on the lookout. So many recipes call for simmering and stir frying, both of which i think are great cooking methods, but not if the chickpeas will end up too crunchy. But what is this part about roasting chickpeas and pairing it with your favorite spices? My mind is exploding. There are so many ways to cook this legume!

so back to the ode...

oh the delicious hearty chickpea,
you are also called garbanzo,
you are shaped like a heart,
don't you know?
you are nutty,
you get soft,
but strong is your fiber content
and protein!
i heart you, oh hearty chickpea.
may you continue your travels
to influence your diversity on the world.
yay!

leave me a writing tip...

beets

oh what can i write about the beet? i remember eating this somewhere as a child. Perhaps some american person's thanksgiving dinner. it was canned beet. this sliced cylinder slipped onto my plate and i was told i had to eat it. or was that canned cranberry sauce? well whenever it happened, i must have blocked it out. for me, it was important to do so. i didn't like them. in fact, i have never liked them. i only started eating them last week. i have one more beet to cook up (pictured) and i'm not sure what i should do to it.

so why the altar? the ode that you will eventually scroll down and get to read later? did i find some amazing recipe to captivate my thirsty taste buds? well, the honest, straightforward truth is no. i recently went on a veggie/fruit/brown rice cleanse. to add variety to my meals i decided to give the old beet another shot at my affection.

scientific name: beta vulgaris
common name: beet
family: chenopodiaceae

i also steamed this heart shaped root. It is the only way i know how to eat it (besides canned), although i have fantasies of stir frying this with a bunch of soy sauce. perhaps next time.

Fact: Beetroot is great for circulation, blood and liver ailments
Fact: The greens of a beetroot contain abundant oxalic acid, and if eaten excessively, inhibit calcium metabolism.

*information above gathered from the book Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford

Fact: Beets is a name of a city in the Netherlands
Fact: Beet is a manga/anime character from the story, Beet the Vandel Buster

*information above gathered from wikipedia. i do not garauntee information from wikipedia.

there is also an article on BBC online which links beetroot as being an aphrodisiac .

it is perhaps that i was on this cleanse, that i learned to appreciate the healthy benefits of beets. i'm not sure i'll be eating that many of them, but i can certainly make the effort. like pureeing it into soup, perhaps.

another peace finding fact about beets that can be found in Paul Pitchford's book, beets sedate the spirit.

my spirit is already sedated this evening, as my eyes droop. this may be it for tonight...

ode:

oh heart of beet, never shall you have feet
because you are rooted...
by roots!
you are never to be defeated.
no matter how you are heated,
your lovely shade of red
reminds me,
you shall never make me weak
in the knees
but i will always be grateful
how strong you make me
of heart and soul.


give me your best beet comment.

asparagus

asparagus is an herbaceous perennial plant. this means that it grows and grows for an extended period of time (more than two years).

i recently read an article published on yahoo news about some major foods that help with weight loss. asparagus was on the list. yay! read it here. this does not mean that asparagus = weight loss. healthy diet and regular exercise might = weight loss. and not all of us need to do it. but just in case...

no matter what reactions people have to say about your urine smelling like something else, whatever else, i can't argue how much i love this crunchy, satiating tuber.

scientific name: asparagus officinalis
common name: asparagus
family: lilliaceae

Fact: contains diuretic asparagine, thus it eliminates water from the kidneys.
Fact: therefore, high consumptions of asparagus can lead to kidney irritation.

*information gathered from Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford

oops! i guess i have officially been eating too much of this delicious plant.

as a side note, i have just been searching my office for the book, The Green Pharmacy by James A. Duke. this book has an incredible amount of knowledge on foods and herbs and how they can heal our bodies. i wanted to look up in the index section to see if he has written anything about asparagus. i also checked some online book site, but alas to no avail. i'll edit this article when i find more information. so check back!

so far i've only eaten asparagus in two ways, the first of which is stir fried. my entire existence has been about the stir fry. add oil and salt, then wait for the heat to rise high enough so that when you plunge the asparagus into the wok, it begins to sizzle and make deliciousness happen (ya i know its not a real word...this is my blog, and making up words is an art!). stir frying asparagus takes about 5 minutes on high heat. too much stir fry and the asparagus loses that beautiful crunch that always delights my taste buds. maybe yours too.

the second method i've tried is steaming. steaming is certainly a more gentle method of cooking this lovely stem. its less work if you are busy with all the other vegetables in your life. just put them on a steamer and turn the fire on. by the time the water is boiling (if you live in areas with the same altitude level as los angeles, but not Tibet) your asparagus should be done, or close to. all to say, steaming time is about 5-10 minutes, depending on what you prefer with regard to the crunch factor. cutting them up also makes it easier (more surface area). you can add all the condiments you want, but i would suggest getting used to the flavor of unsalted, untarnished vegetables. at least a couple times a week. that's once or twice every seven days!

since i am allergic to dairy, i've never cream of asparagus soup. has anyone out there ever had it? if so leave a comment and let me know how it is. does it really taste like asparagus?

there are a variety of health benefits that can be found in Healing for Whole Foods. the part i enjoy reading the most about that it increases one's receptive and compassionate nature. this can be our first step to peace! give it a chance, folks!

ode:

my asparagus, my sweet asparagus,
you shall never wilt in my presence.
for always, we shall stand strong together
until your crunch leaves me speechless.
~tien

leave comments as you must.