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Anthocyanins—what are they? An anthocyanin is a phytochemical found in deeply colored plant foods, particularly purple, red, and blue such as blackberries, purple carrots, strawberries, tomatoes, black beans, and blueberries, The water-soluble nutrients of these plant foods are high in antioxidants. The fact that they are water-soluble means their pigmentation, and its nutritional value, can be leached out if the food is boiled or cooked too long. Several major health benefits of the anthocyanin group of flavinoids include protection against inflammation and certain forms of cancer, improved heart health and brain function, and a reduction of the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Ingredients to roast for the recipe “Roast Cauliflower Tomato Soup”, include a cauliflower head, four cups of cherry or San Marzano tomatoes, and four tablespoons of minced, fresh garlic. Cherry tomatoes or San Marzano tomatoes are the varieties of choice because they do not contain as much tomato juice and have fewer tomato seeds. These tomatoes do not need to have the pulp scooped out. Proper preparation of the tomatoes is slicing in half for cherry tomatoes. For San Marzano tomatoes, slice in quarters, lengthwise, then half-inch segments crosswise to achieve the same size of chopped tomatoes as the sliced cherry ones. The cauliflower head is sliced in half-inch thickness crosswise slices through the whole head. Cutting in this fashion yields four or five slices for the whole head. These are then broken up into smaller sections, manually, as shown in the picture. Mincing raw garlic completes the cutting preparation. With the vegetables properly prepared, they are laid on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and the oil is drizzled over, and lightly combined. At this point the cookie sheet of prepared ingredients is put into a 425 degree Fahrenheit oven for 15 minutes. Stir after this time is up, then return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes to complete roasting. With the conclusion of this step, the roasted vegetables may be left to cool to room temperature—for ten to fifteen minutes. Then, the vegetables may be spooned into a quart-sized freezer bag, labeled, chilled in the refrigerator two or three hours, and finally, transferred to the freezer. On the day the finished soup will be made, remove the frozen, roasted vegetable bag from the freezer, leaving it in the refrigerator 4 – 6 hours before time of use, or over the previous night. Proceed with the recipe for “Roast Cauliflower Tomato Soup,” starting with Step 2. The remaining steps will take 30 minutes to complete, but are so easy, as to leave the cook free to multi-task in the kitchen while attending to the remaining tasks of making the soup. Enjoy the abundence of tomatoes available for roasting during this season, starting with the hearty, flavorful “Roast Cauliflower Tomato Soup.”

Thoughts on Carob

Almond Sour Creme

Sugar, sweetness, good, bad. What's the real story about this newest of sugars? For a start, it really isn't new. Sap collected from the flower buds of coconut palm trees in countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines has been going on for years. Collected sap, boiled in shallow pans to concentrate, then dried, is the simple process of creating coconut palm sugar. It isn't a new process. What's new is that coconut palm sugar has been discovered by the rest of the world to be a sweetener of delicate flavor, composed largely of sucrose, and lower on the Glycemic Index than other sugars such as white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, and maple syrup. A sugar lower on the Glycemic Index is agave syrup. However, agave syrup, from the agave plant in Mexico, is a concentrated sugar composed largely of fructose, a simple sugar which is hard on the liver. Catherine Saxelby, an accredited nutritionist, blogger and award-winning author has written a lengthy article about coconut palm sugar which is worth taking the time to read. It is well documented and very informative. The link to this research is here: https://foodwatch.com.au/blog/carbs-sugars-and-fibres/item/coconut-sugar.html In conclusion, sugars derived from various plants are all concentrated sweeteners with calories. It's important to use them sparingly and wisely. Hopefully, after reading the coconut palm sugar article by Catherine Saxelby, you will better understand why this sugar was used in the final recipe of the year from the Vegan Culinary Academy. Coconut sugar is a concentrated sweetener of more value than other refined sugars. All concentrated sugars must be used sparingly, if at all.

Cherry tomatoes yield high flavor when roasted. Their many varieties--red, yellow, orange, purple, and green, each with a unique flavor, made more intense by roasting, are first choice for creating a highly-flavored roasted topping of tomato, onion, and garlic used on pizza, pasta, garden vegetables, and baked potatoes. With their thin skins and smaller amounts of juice, there's never too many cherry tomatoes in the garden to roast into a thick, flavorful sauce. Another favorite besides cherry tomatoes are plum tomatoes. The three-inch long, Heirloom San Marzano Lungo tomato variety has meaty walls, few seeds, and minimal juice, all good qualities for roasting and making tomato sauce. Slicing either cherry or plum tomatoes releases the flavor into the roasted sauce. So look for vine ripe, cherry and plum tomatoes to create delicious, complex sauces you'll want to make again and again.

Collard Greens

Quinoa is an ancient grain that isn't a grain. It's an edible flowering plant in the amaranth family. Amaranth and quinoa are related to beets, chard, and spinach. Eat the leaves like spinach, and the tiny seeds from the flower head are eaten like cereal grains.