Dr. Gupta Interviews Dr. Esselstyn

 Hmm, the "embed" code doesn't appear to work.

Well, if it never appears, here's the link to the clip.

End Dieting Forever Coming Soon to PBS

Dr. Fuhrman's new infomercial for PBS, End Dieting Forever, based on his book, The End of Dieting, starts airing in the NYC area on August 9, 2014 on Channel 13.

I can't figure out how to nab the clip, but you can see a 30 second promo for it here at the PBS web site.

Maybe I better finish reading the book before it airs. 

VeganMoFo 2014 Sign-Ups Going On NOW

If you would like to participate in this year's VeganMoFo with your own blog or Instagram photos, just click here to find the sign-up form on Google Docs. The link was hidden in light green in a blog post and a lot of us missed seeing it. 

At least I found it and this blog is now registered.

Remember, you don't need to be a member of the Post Punk Kitchen forum to play along, just have a place that posts vegan recipes. 

Now to gather up 30 recipes to share! Yikes!

How To Store Lettuce

Looks like I better find some big containers if I want to try this. My lettuce is sometimes browning by the same afternoon I bought it, so every little hint helps. Those "green bags" really don't do any good.

Vincent the Vegetable Vampire

This was posted to the PPK forums recently:




How I miss the old Electric Company shows!

VeganMoFo Plans Already??

The people on the Post Punk Kitchen forums are making plans for VeganMoFo 2014, Already?!?! I'm still having post-traumatic stress about this past winter's weather and now an autumn activity is coming up fast??

ARGH!!

 If you never heard of VeganMoFo, click here for an explanation of what it is, where the name came from, and what people do during it. As you can see by the icons on the left side pf this blog, I've been a participant for a number of years now, always doing McDougall-safe recipes.

This year, I'm debating whether or not I even want to participate. With the thousands of people signed up, it's hard for even a handful of them to discover new blogs, and very few people look to the ones in the Healthy/Whole Foods category - most are looking for desserts or specialty topics, like Movie Foods, or Soups, or Super Hero Cakes, or whatever. I really have no excuse except for ennui. I mean, I participated last year while caring for my husband who had open heart surgery a few weeks before! I'm certainly not too busy this year (and I hope it stays that way - knock wood).

If I do sign up, then comes the agony of choosing a topic. Sure, it'll be something McDougall-related. Last year, thanks to my husband's CABG surgery at the end of July, the topic was heart healthy meals, with recipes taken from Dr. Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, Dr. McDougall's The McDougall Program for A Healthy Heart, and even Dr. Fuhrman's book, Cholesterol Protection for Life. This year will see the release of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook on the second day of VeganMoFo, so that's no good for this year. I've had a number of topics on my mind over the years - all potato recipes, soups, bowls, recipes from one particular McDougall book or another, even all Jeff Novick recipes. Well, in 2012 I did about half the month with Jeff's recipes. Even I'm getting a bit sick of looking at them now. I promise, no Jeff this year. LOL

Earlier today I posted a recipe from Mary McDougall that she has said a number of times is a McDougall family favorite. She and her daughter Heather have done a number of McDougall newsletter articles sharing their favorite family recipes. Almost every one of those favorites are also favorites in this house, too. Perhaps this will be a good topic if I do decide to sign up this year. I can easily find 30 recipes that I love to make from those lists, many I've never shared on this blog.

Sounds like a plan!

I guess you'll find out for sure on September First. I could always surprise you with something completely different, too.

Easy Mayan Black Beans

One of the older McDougall recipes, one that was included in more than one book, newsletter, and the McDougall Made Irresistable DVD, is Easy Mayan Black Beans. It's really quick to pull together, even faster to heat.

Easy Mayan Black Beans

This is one of those simple, 5 ingredient recipes that is so easy to put together, yet it has
a delicious, hearty flavor. This will serve 2 people when used as a topping for baked
potatoes or rolled up in a tortilla. It is also wonderful served over sliced, baked polenta
and topped with some mango salsa.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 2

1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup fresh salsa: mild, medium, or hot
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
3/4 cup frozen corn kernels
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Place all the ingredients except the cilantro in a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil.
Reduce heat, cover and cook for about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the
cilantro, if desired, let rest for 1 minute and serve.

Hint: To serve over baked polenta, buy a tube of precooked polenta in the supermarket
or natural food store. Be sure to check the ingredients carefully-no diary products or oils
added. Slice into 1/2 inch thick slices and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. This may
also be grilled on a non-stick griddle. These beans also make a wonderful topping for
brown rice, or for a simple recipe variation, add about 3/4 cup of cooked brown rice to the
bean mixture about 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time. This recipe adapts
well to precooking: double the recipe, cook ahead of time, refrigerate half for use within
the next 2 days, freezing the remainder for later use.


I've seen this recipe for years but never made it. I figured I had enough black bean recipes already, so why bother, right?

Well, I bothered.

First off, I made a double batch. One can of beans for two people? Puh-lease! The only 2 ingredients I didn't double were the polenta and cilantro.

I'm not a fan of cilantro. It smells funny and tastes weird. Some have said it tastes soapy. I don't get that flavor, but something that's a cross between mint and a chemical smell. I figured a quarter cup for the double batch will go just fine.

I've used one tube of polenta for an entire meal a number of times and knew it would enough. If we have any leftover beans we'll eat them over Yukon Golds or rice for lunch.

No idea why this uploaded sideways. It's in portrait mode on my computer.

If you see, the topping salsa is not plain mango but a mango peach one. The polenta isn't plain corn but one with basil and garlic. The sodium is a little higher than Jeff Novick's guidelines, but Dr. McDougall doesn't worry as much about sodium as Jeff does, and it does taste great, even plain. I always toast up my polenta slices on a non-stick griddle, especially in this heat (94 outside right now, 82 in the kitchen). The bean mixture itself can even be heated in a microwave.

It was. . . nice. Nothing special, hardly worth a blog post. I've even made meals very similar to this without the cilantro many times. But I hadn't tried any new recipes in a while and this poor old blog was feeling a bit lonely. 

I'm planning on some more of those older McDougall recipes in the near future, so be prepared for more frequent posts, I hope. When it's this hot out, nobody feels like cooking OR eating hot foods.