Unexpected and delicious surprises

Time for something other than soup or stew, am I right?  Or at least something to go with that stew or soup?  With Valentine’s so close (and a very healthy and breathtakingly good recipe coming soon) our thoughts turn to the sweeter things in life.

Talking about Valentine, I just love this quote from Dr. Tae Yun Kim, and it continues to inspire me.  It’s not only beautiful and poetic, but also very fundamental and true.

“You are who I dreamed of….

And so you came to be.

And you shall be with me beyond time.

I will never leave you,

and 

my love will follow you

as you follow my light,

just as the tail of the bird follows the wing.”

(The First Element, page 121)

So I got to thinking, with all the soups and stews I have been making – so popular in our family with this crazy rainy and snowy weather – what can I make that boosts our regular dinners into something special.  Should still be healthy, yet a real treat.

I already know that cornbread is very popular here, and cornbread muffins as well.  This recipe that Shirley came up with years ago is a well-tested and well-enjoyed taste experience.  You can get the recipe for that here.  I also know that often I get the ‘complaint’ or should we say, suggestion that the muffins are “empty” and couldn’t I put something in them.  Hmmmmm……Dr. Tae Yun Kim also is my ultimate not only Martial Arts teacher but also gives incredible encouragement to try different and new things.

How about some berry filling?

I happened to have some blueberry cheesecake filling stashed – good thing nobody found it – and I used that.  It’s a very simple filling – just get blueberries, fresh or frozen ( and any other berries work great here as well, and I imagine pretty much any fruit filling) boil them with a little rose wine, or water if you don’t like wine, add as much sugar as you need but don’t make it too sweet – and thicken with a little corn or sweet rice starch that you have dissolved first in some water – this will prevent hard little pebbles in the sauce.  Let the fruit sauce cool.

When you are ready, fill muffin cups, or bread pan, or both as I did 🙂 with a thin layer of cornbread mixture, then add a generous layer of fruit filling, and top with another thin layer of cornbread batter.  Bake as directed in Shirley’s recipe and enjoy, and bask in the compliments you are sure to receive!

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You need a little sweetness in your life

Isn’t this a beauty?  Even with New Years resolutions and goals to finally lose those 15 lbs you do need a little sweet now and then, right?  Especially when you got something healthy and gluten-free going.

Dr. Tae Yun Kim is not into having people deprive themselves, or never touch anything sweet ever again.  She knows that is not realistic for 99.999% of the population.  So Dr. Tae Yun Kim set out to create a cake that’s so delicious, yet at the same time very healthy for you.

We talked about the health benefits of Seabuckthorn in my last post.  Once again, 1/4 cup of the flour was included into the batter.  The basic batter comes from my dear friend Shirley and you can see the recipe right here.

Usually, I double the recipe because, well, because there are plenty of eaters around that if I only made one batch it would disintegrate the minute it comes out of the oven, and I do need time to set up and take pictures.  So…..

Dr. Tae Yun Kim also likes to use the bounty of the land, and especially the healthy gifts mother nature provided.  So not only did blueberries get to jump into the batter, (a good 2 cups of fresh ones) but also about a cup of Madrone berries that had been soaked in Vodka for a couple of months.  Madrone berries have been used by Native Americans for centuries, to make use against stomach cramps and pains and to help with skin irritations of all sorts.  They provide vitamins and minerals in the winter when not much else in the cold, snowy woods is available.

To make this cake, double the recipe mentioned above, but instead of all gluten-free basic flour, use half almond flour and half the basic gluten free flour.  For the sugar we always use the raw organic turbinado sugar, and that is why the cake comes out a little darker.  Dr. Tae Yun Kim raises her own chickens, so no worries about the quality of the eggs.

The berries were folded in at the very end, very carefully to not smash them.  If you don’t have any Madrone berries you can add some dried cranberries that you can soak in brandy or vodka or a couple of hours.

The result?  Deeeeee-licious!  Give it a try and see if you agree!

 

 

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The Birthday cake!

Yesterday I showed you my Birthday Dinner.  You may have wondered, “But what about the cake!”

Well, of course.  There was cake.  Wanna see?

Dr. Tae Yun Kim, when she grew up, never had any birthday cakes.  In fact, her parents were so ashamed to have a girl as their firstborn child, that they never even celebrated her birthday – until she was 50 years old!

To Dr. Tae Yun Kim a birthday cake is not about indulging in sweets for the sake of it, but it is a symbol of all the sweetness in life for the coming year!  So of course we want a good cake!

Now, since we are all focused on healthy foods, we try to make healthy birthday cakes as well.  Especially diabetes friendly ones, since some Jung Suwon warriors have diabetes.  Did you know that there is no such thing as a “Diabetes Diet?”  One doctor pointed out that what diabetics should eat is what everyone should eat – it’s simply a healthy and balanced diet!

Now, how can you have a healthy cake?  Isn’t that a contradiction right there?  Not necessarily.  There are a few requirements of course to make it healthy.  For this blog, it has to be gluten free.  It also needs to be low in carbs and reasonable in fat content.

My go-to cake, ever since I went gluten free 4 years ago, has been “Shirley cake.”  You can find this genious recipe here, right on Shirley’s Blog “Gluten free easily.” It’s pure genious because no matter what I have ever added to this cake recipe, it always, and I mean always, has come out perfect!

It’s of course gluten free, so that’s covered. But what about carbohydrate content?  On first look I was worried.  I mean, after all, it’s a pound cake.  But after I found this nifty little tool on the internet, a recipe calculator, I found out that one slice only has 12 grams of carbohydrates per slice, and only 134 calories.  (Now to be honest, who can ever stick to that serving size….. that wouldn’t be me….)  Also, I have very successfully substituted half of the gluten free flour with almond flour, and that would lower the carb load considerably.

Still, you get the point.  So, yes, Shirley cake is practically a health food!  🙂

Since Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s birthday was February 2nd, and since she was out of town for this, we’ll celebrate upon her return, and guess what cake I’ll be making!

 

 

 

 

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Blueberry and nut power drink – Dr. Tae Yun Kim’s recipe

Sometimes I get really lucky.  A couple of days ago, I got to try Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s her super secret – and now shared – recipe for a very healthy power drink.  You can either have this as a smoothie, or a more liquid drink.  If you prefer a smoothie, make sure your blueberries are frozen, and add some ice cubes.

Here is the original recipe, but feel free to experiment if you have any nut allergies.  The blueberries are there for a reason, as they are helping with antioxidants, fight Alzheimer’s, and do a host of other good things for your body.  But of course, you are welcome to experiment.

Start by assembling the nuts.  To save time, I have made up individual serving baggies that look something like this:

In each bag, there are (approximately) 3 – 4 of each (except more of the pine nuts because they are so small):

Put those in a blender, along with about a cup of blueberries, more or less.  I always use frozen ones.  Add honey according to your sweet tooth, and add enough water to make it your desired thickness.  If you want more of a meal replacement, use any milk instead of water – coconut milk is superb with this.

Blend really really well, and enjoy ice-cold.  If I have this for breakfast, I am not hungry for a long time!

And my quote for the day, by Dr. Tae Yun Kim, doesn’t really have to do with either nuts or berries or even food, but I happened upon it and loved it so much I wanted to share it with you:

“The whole purpose of change, the whole purpose of continuous cycles of yin and yang is to take you higher, to make you grow, to give you more of what will lead you to a truer expression of your Real Self.  Never be afraid of change.  All changes lead you into greater good.  That is the purpose of change and the purpose of life.”  (Seven Steps to Inner Power, page 51)

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The healing powers of a Blueberry Buckle

…When the dog bites, when the bee stings….who hasn’t had days like that?  Days when you just need a little something to eat, something that soothes you, and makes you feel happy inside and out, and that makes you forget whatever troubles, worries or bad things you have gone or are still going through.

My Martial Arts teacher, Dr. Tae Yun Kim, has this to say about those times:

“Rejoice in the lesson of pain and hurt, it gives you strength, it gives you freedom!”

And why not have some food to help with the rejoicing?

Strangely enough, in the winter, this can be a nice bowl of home-made chicken soup.  But in the hot summer, what to do?  Real comfort food, when I myself need comfort, needs to be fast, easy and have that taste that spells home-made, and makes you feel the world is ok.

When nobody is around, I like to resort to a mug cake, or mug cookie or mug anything – they are so quick and easy and one-portion goodness.  But when family is around, I like to make something that everyone can enjoy.

So, I make some concessions.  While I could easily make Shirley’s perfect pound cake over and over (and over and over) again – it is that good – I realize that this will not work for everyone.  But, I just discovered her Blueberry Banana Buckle (recipe here) and it surely hit the spot.  It’s summer comfort food to the max.  Check it out!

This time, I did something new:  didn’t add anything, didn’t change anything – but I left out the topping!  My recently cast-less foot was starting to hurt and so I just figured this cake will be just as good without – and it was!

Enterprising family members informed me that it was the perfect “underneath” for ice cream as well 😉

And because I just love this part of one of Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s motivational books, I thought I would share it with you:

“You are complete, peaceful, and fulfilled.

Being complete does not mean we have nothing more to learn, do, be, or become.  Being complete means we have the potential to accomplish anything that is naturally a part of the universe.” (The First Element, page 88)

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