Lemon Rice

I recently came back from visiting my mother-in-law who is the one of the greatest examples to me of taking care of your body by eating good food. I always learn something from her whenever I visit. This time, it was a really good book. It is called "World Vegetarian" by Madhur Jaffery. There is this amazing recipe with stir-fried mushroom that I will share later, when mushroom's go on sale.
The recipe I want to share is Lemon Rice. I've used it this week as a side to lintels, fish, and potatoes and even after three meals, I wish I had more.
To make it cook 2 cups of basmati (or any long-grain rice, I used brown rice) as directed
then in a LARGE frying-pan heat 2 Tablespoons oil over med-high heat. put in 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds when the seeds 'pop' add 15 fresh curry or basil leaves. stir once then add rice with 2 teaspoons lemon rind and 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice. Enjoy!
Note: I didn't have mustard seeds or fresh curry or basil leaves. Instead I heated the oil and right before I put the rice in I put a 1/2 teaspoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, and lots of dried basil. It turned out just fine.

Lentils and rice

Originally, I was planing on making my corn and bean chili tonight, but I keep forgetting to soak some beans. (maybe I should do that right now before, I forget again...nope)
Anyways, I felt like I have been eating either sweets or spinach salads lately. So my body has been really craving non-meat proteins. Thus, lentils!
If you don't know about lentils here a Meredith summery:
Lentils are high in both protein, fiber, and some vitamins like beans. They also have a similar taste to light colored beans, but unlike beans they are fast to cook and don't require pre-soaking.
Okay so here's a simple healthy meal.
cook 1/2 cup of brown rice with fine narrow slices of fresh ginger. in another pot lightly saute some finely diced onion and garlic (not too much) in a tablespoon of olive oil then too that pan add 2 cups of water and cook 1/2 cup of brown lentils. Bring to a boil then put on simmer until lentils are tender. Drain any excess water as needed. mix cooked lentils with rice. Salt generously and pepper to taste (if you have white pepper use that, I don't have it but I would have used it if I did)
You body will thank you.

Olive Oil Mayo

I found a general rule for sauces, is the affordable canned stuff is usually gross and full of 'whatever is cheapest and still palatable' ingredients. Now, grew-up with this stuff so my stomach could handle things like miracle whip without a problem, but my husband who had been raised on natural and homemade foods can not (at least without complaining to me). Now, I have never really liked store bought mayonnaise (hence the miracle whip reference, so this presented a delma when I wanted to make certain recipes and sandwiches.
Lucky for me, I have a mother-in-law who gives great cook books! One of which has a good mayo recipe. Here it is:
put 1 egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder (or if your like me and don't have that, you can cumin), 2 full tablespoons apple cider vinegar, and 1/4 cup olive oil. blend on low then slowly and steadily add 3/4 cup more olive oil to the mixture as it is being blended. When the mayo is a nice thick and smooth constancy, put it in a clean tightly re-sealable container and into the fridge.
It is really good and taste and is a lot better for you then the corn/vegetable oil stuff.
For those of you who are afraid of the raw egg; I was too. The vinegar and the salt really do kill the bacteria though and keep it from going bad. I personally, make sure I use an egg brand I trust. I now actually trust the homemade stuff more, because I know how its was handles after it has been made.
Now enjoy a- Potato salad, tuna fish sandwich, veggie wrap, salad dressing, tomato-basil pizza, ect.