Eggplants fryed with Cilantro and Garlic

Eggplant - Solanum melongena - nightshades family plant is a wonderful fruit that is not only the tasty one but has healing properties as well. 20th centuries studies in German show that eggplant can help to prevent the accumulation of fatty build up inside of the arteries. Also, it helps with the high blood pressure regulation. Great fruit.
But what about bitterness? Solanine is the constituent of the plant that is responsible for the bitterness. Eggplant is one of the fruit that has to be prepare properly to avoid all pitfalls of the plant. Just soak them in salt for at least 30-40 minutes. All bitterness will go away.
Enjoy the healing properties of Eggplant fruit with Cilantro (Kinza) and Garlic.

                             You need:
 ~ Eggplant fruit
~ Garlic
~ Cilantro (Kinza)
~ Grape seed oil for frying
~ Sea Salt
~ One of the variations: ground walnuts can be added along with cilantro and garlic. Amazing combination.
 == Wash, peel and cut Eggplants on slices.

== Place into the mixing bowl, add Sea Salt (for my quantities of eggplants I used about 1/2 teaspoon). Mix and rub well each Eggplant slice with the salt. You have to cover all sides of Eggplant slices. Leave for 30-40 minutes.

 == When time is up, remove the liquid accumulated inside of the mixing bowl. This liquid eliminates all bitterness of the eggplant.

 == Lets fry them. Add Grape seed oil to the frying pan and place there Eggplant slices. Fry every slice till golden.
== Transfer into the plate with a towel paper on it and take off excess of the oil.

 == Replace into the preparing plate.

 == Peel and cut Garlic. Wash and cut Cilantro.

== Cover each Eggplant slice with Garlic and Cilantro

 == Fold in half

 == Arrange Eggplant slices with Garlic and Cilantro in the serving plate.

                         Enjoy. Be Healthy:)

Shortbread Cookies with Whole Wheat flour and Coconut sugar.

This is my favorite, the easiest and the most versatile of all Cookies doughs. The taste bears a resemblance to Shortbread Cookies but better and much healthier, as it used Whole Wheat flour (not processed but whole) and Coconut sugar.

                          You need: 

~ 250 g (1cup) of Whole Wheat flour
~ 150 g of cold Organic unsalted Butter
~ 3 Table spoon of Coconut sugar (if you do not have Coconut sugar, take a whole, unrefined, Sugar Cane)
~ 1 Egg
~ 1/2 teaspoon of Baking Soda
~ 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
~ 1 teaspoon of Vanilla powder or 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla extract.
~ Grater

== Preheat the oven to 350F (180C)
== Sift the Whole Wheat flour into a mixing bowl and RETURN Bran of the whole wheat into the mixing bowl as well (Whole Wheat flour is unprocessed flour that has large particles, like bran, of whole wheat goodness. Bran is large enough not to go through the fine sieve. Why we sift the flour then? Just to lift it and let the air go through the flour. That is important:)

 == Add all dry ingredients-> Baking Soda, Cinnamon, Vanilla, Coconut sugar. If you have Vanilla extract instead of Vanilla, add it in this step too. Mix well with a spoon.

== Take Butter from refrigerator and grind Cold Butter trough grater Partially right into the Whole Wheat flour with dry ingredients.

 == Mix one portion of Butter with the flour mixture lightly with your fingertips, just to dust the butter with the flour. Do Not squeeze it.

 == Grind the other half of the butter into the flour mixture and lightly dust it with the flour as well.

== Take another bowl and lightly whisk the egg.

 == Add egg into the Whole Wheat/ Butter mixture.

 == Mix well with your hands to incorporate egg into the Flour/Butter mixture. Here you can Squeeze and mix it well.

 == Form a ball, wrap with a food wrap and REFRIGERATE for at least 1 hour. After that time you can work with this dough. Usually, I prepare 3-4 times more volume of this dough. Then I divide it on portions and place in the freezer. When I need it, I defrost the dough overnight and use it. The dough can be kept for months in the freezer. Very convenient.

 == After refrigerator, divide the dough on portions (4 portions are fine) and work with the portions to form cookies. This is the Whole grain dough and it does not have this rubber elasticity as processed white flour has, that is why it is better to work with a small portions. Dust the table with the flour, roll the dough about 5 ml and form cookies. 

== Bake for 15-20 minutes. If the cookies are larger, then mine you can bake 5 minutes more. Just open the oven and check with a wooden toothpick.

             == Done. Enjoy:)

                           Be Healthy:)

Color Easter Eggs with Onion Skin

The healthiest way to color eggs for Easter is a natural way, by using ingredients from Nature. The Onion skin is the one of them. Even though the egg itself protected by egg shell, the surface of the egg shell is porous and absorbs all chemicals.
           You need:
~ 12 White shell eggs
~ Onion skins of Yellow onions (do not take Red or White skin onions), about 5 handfuls of dry Onion skins.
~ 3 tea spoon of sea salt
~ 5 liter Cooking pot, big enough for eggs, onion skins and water.
~ 1 teaspoon of any Vegetable oil to shine the eggs

== Wash Onion skins thoroughly

 == Place the half of the Onion skins into the cooking pot.

 == Put White shell eggs on the top of Onion skins and cover eggs with the other half of the Onion skins.

 == Add Cold water to cover eggs with the onion skins and at least 1-2 cups of water extra. Generously Salt it. I added 3 teaspoon of sea salt.

 == Place on the stove. Cover the cooking pot. Bring to boil and boil for 30-35 minutes for more intense, deep color.

 == Then, replace the eggs into a plate and let them cool.

 == Let eggs shine. Take any vegetable oil (olive, sunflower, safflower, grape seed) and tissue paper. Deep tissue paper into the vegetable oil and cover all colored eggs. Not to worry if some of the eggs cracked. You can safely eat them as you color is healthy.

 == Now colored Easter eggs are ready for the table.

            Happy Easter:) Be Healthy:)

Baked Root Vegetabels (Sweet Potatoes/Beets/Turnip) with Herbs

Root vegetables are a great volume food without a lot of calories. They help your digestion and detoxify the liver.
Sweet Potatoes, beets and turnip, they all work well when they are baked together. They complement each other with nutrition volume, texture, and color.
        You need:
~ Sweet Potatoes
~ Beets
~Turnip
~ Basil, dry
~ Mediterranean Oregano,dry
~ Herbamare or sea salt to your taste
~ Grape seed oil

 == Preheat oven to 375F (190C)
== Peel and cut lengthwise all vegetables. Place them into a baking dish.

 == Sprinkle with Grape seed oil. Add dry Basil, Oregano and Herbamare salt. Mix well.

 == Bake about 30-35 minutes, every 15 min open the oven and mix them.

 == Vegetables are ready when they are tender but not mushy.

 They are deliciously good. Bon appetite:) and Be Healthy:)

Cooking with Herbamare by A. Vogel

"The Art of Cooking Depends upon Proper Seasoning... Simply adding plenty of salt will not achieve the desire result and cannot produce the flavor that the food lacks in the first place...What helps to make our food healthy and tasty are the herbal or vegetable seasoning that are added to it, certainly not just the use of salt"- Alfred Vogel, the Swiss naturopath, (1902-96)

 According to Doctor Alfred Vogel. healthy seasoning has to provide a good taste, to stimulate digestion and to enhance the food with vitamins, minerals and trace elements. All of these he achieved in Herbamare and Herbamare Spicy(or Zesty) herbal seasoning salt preparations.

 Herbamare (Original) is made with rough natural sea salt and 12 organically grown and certified, freshly harvested herbs, vegetables. It is enriched with Kelp - the iodine-containing seaweed.
Ingredients of Herbamare (Original) -> Sea salt, Celery, Leek, Watercress, Onion,, Chives, Parsley, Lovage, Garlic, Basil, Marjoram, Rosemary, Thyme, Kelp. All herbs and vegetables are prepared in Colmar, Alsace region in north-eastern France.
Ingredients of Herbamare Spicy (or Zesty) are the same as in Herbamare with addition of Chili, Pepper and Horseradish.

 Doctor Alfred Vogel used maceration process to preserve all goodness of fresh vegetables and herbs. This method is still used today. In preparation of Herbamare, vegetables and herbs have never been heated.
This herbal salt seasoning does not have any artificial flavors, preservatives, MSG. I think not every seasoning can share the same qualities of Herbamare.
       From the time I have discovered this herbal seasoning for myself I always use it in my savory dishes. Even though I use fresh or dry herbs in preparing food I salt with Herbamare to have an additional flavor, minerals and trace elements.
       Just do some tasting. Take two slices of fresh cucumber. Season one slice with table salt and season the other slice with Herbamare. Taste them. You will find the difference.Cucumber slice with Herbamare has a very pleasant, mildly salty, flavored taste compare to a sharp saltiness of cucumber slice with table salt.
       And if you like Herbamare seasoning taste, your health benefit greatly, as you will use more fresh vegetables, herbs and less salt per se.
      Health and Happiness to you:)