New Cooking Adventures

Food! We all need to eat to survive right?? Well for anyone that has any type of allergy or food intolerance knows that “eating” is not the same for us as it is for everyone else. We have to make sure there are no allergens in our meals when we go to restaurants. We have to plan ahead when we go to gatherings that are not aware of our specific dietary restrictions. We have to do extra leg work when we shop. And in the case of severe allergies, we also have to think about cross contamination or be prepared in the event that you accidentally get exposed to something that starts to close up your airway.

Luckily for me, my dietary restrictions aren’t severe except for an almond allergy, that I developed after a traumatic situation in my life. I avoid almonds and all nuts because of this. For a long time, the most irritating thing was the fact that some people really don’t care. They act like people with restrictions (by choice or by necessity) are dramatic or just being picky. Well, if you are someone that thinks that, then I am definitely here to be extra dramatic and slightly picky. However, I have found ways to adapt. I mostly cook for myself and since I enjoy food and cooking, I decided to make it fun. Spice it up! Add lots of flavor. Make it a whole adventure.

Part of that adventure has included a bit of research. A big part of that adventure has been connecting with my intuition and with my ancestors. Some of my issue was not having tons of money to spend on finding the right solutions. The nut thing was relatively easy to resolve. Just avoid. The issue of other protein was a bit more difficult. About three years ago, my body seemed to reject dairy and beef. Then more recently, I had a hard time with pork. During this time, I have also connected more with the earth and with a spiritual practice of sorts and decided to become mostly vegetarian. Hopefully soon, fully vegetarian, but there are some roadblocks that I am navigating through.

Another big issue is processed foods. And that has been a big issue for me for several years. After recently doing some research, I completely cut out all things containing bioengineered ingredients. I also cut out foods with any questionable additives in general. We need food. But so much of what is available was making me sick, I am pretty sure it is making many other people sick as well. If you find yourself in that boat, food making you sick or have certain dietary restrictions then maybe some of my recipes can help. Being a vegetarian does not mean eating salads every day. In fact, I haven’t had a salad in about three weeks. (I’m not really a big lettuce fan.) I am, however, quite creative and I have this big desire to live a healthy lifestyle. Also, I try to do so on a budget that won’t break the bank. I created the following recipe on the fly and not only was it quite tasty. It was also a huge hit with my daughter.

Side note* This recipe does contain a bit of dairy as I can tolerate certain amounts.

Ingredients:

Gluten free, organic quinoa

Organic Mushrooms

Organic Asparagus

Vegan Truffle Crisps

Parmesan cheese shavings

Black pepper

Other herbs (this varies)

Seasonal herbs are best but for this one I used garlic and lemon pepper

Instructions:

Cook Quinoa according to packaging.

Cook mushrooms separately. I used olive oil and added in the black pepper and lemon pepper in the oil and added more as it simmered. About 15 min.

As the Quinoa is finishing up, add in herbs or spices and add the mushrooms.

Cook asparagus. (I used the same pan that I used for the mushrooms) Same deal, added some black pepper and lemon pepper and fresh garlic to the oil. As the asparagus starts to soften, sprinkle with more black pepper and seasonings.

Separately I smashed the truffle crisps to a crumble and added the parmesan shavings.

When the asparagus is finishing up, I drizzled the parmesan truffle crisp crumble on top and turned off the burner. Let it sizzle for about a minute.

I plated the asparagus immediately to avoid it melting all over the pan. Then plated the quinoa.

Let it cool and enjoy!

Prep is about 10 minutes and the cooking process is about 30 minutes

I cook intuitively so I don’t have exact times or measurements. I can tell you, it was fully cooked to my standard of perfection and my daughter’s stamp of approval. It also got some comments and likes on my socials. Till next time y’all. The adventure continues!