Who Switched Off my Brain?

Yes, sometimes I wonder who switched my brain off. It turns out, it was me. My Church hosted Dr. Caroline Leaf, South African brain psychologist, for a 3 -day seminar weekend. It was so worth it, despite the fact that I had to get up at 8am on a Saturday morning. Dr. Leaf spoke with such enthusiasm and she and her husband were a great team. I learned a lot. Here are some of the main points:

• We aren't a victim of our biology; it's possible to renew our minds. 
• Science is catching up with scripture 
• We are wired for love, fear is a learned action 
• We are designed for deep, intellectual thinking and to constantly learn
• 75-98% of mental and physical illness comes from our thought-life
• We were not designed to be in default mode but to be exceptional

One of the scriptures Dr Leaf chose to emphasize what she had been talking about came from Psalm 139:14:  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made

I enjoyed her talks so much I bought her book.

And I got it signed.

I'm ready to switch on my brain again:)

Adonis Greek Restaurant

Since I was doing a Daniel Fast last month,I couldn't eat any meat but elected to eat seafood when I go out with friends. I'm not sure what category snails fall under but that's what I ordered, along with prawns, at Adonis. Why did I do it? To cross an item off my Bucket List. They did not taste like chicken but weren't bad at all.

Turnip, Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

I've never cooked with turnips before but I bought one and decided to make some soup. This was one of the easiest soups I have ever made.

Ingredients 

1 turnip, peeled and cubed

1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon dried herbs (I used oregano)

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup soy milk

Dash of nutmeg

Method

Boil the turnip, carrots and sweet potatoes until tender (around 20 minutes)

Blend and puree the vegetables. Return to pot and add milk.

Bring to the boil and then season.

Yum! I love thick soups but for those that don't it might be a good idea to add some vegetable stock to thin it out.

Butternut Squash Curry

I bought a butternut squash on a whim last month. I don't have much experience cooking with turnips, rutabagas, swedes and so on. I was surprised by how hard it was to cut the squash up into cubes. Maybe I need sharper knives.

Method

The first step was frying some onions, then adding garlic and spices (I used garam masala, cumin and cayenne pepper).

After that I added around half a can of cubed tomatoes and let it simmer for a while. 

After adding the cubed squash to the tomato mixture, I added some vegetable stock and let it cook for a while.

Near the end, I added some leftover kidney beans I had and cooked for an extra 5 minutes.Then I seasoned with salt and pepper.

It tasted great with brown rice!

Mung Bean Curry

I've never tried mung beans before but they were really easy to cook with and have an interesting taste. For this quick curry I fried some onions, added some spices and then some cooked mung beans together. Then I added some coconut milk. Not bad.

Sweet Potato Curry

I started another Daniel Fast on January 7th,2012. That means 3 weeks with no meats, dairy, sugar or caffeine. Seafood is okay but I'll try to stay away from it as much as possible.

The first dish I attempted during my fast was a sweet potato curry


Ingredients


1 cup kidney beans, boiled
1 large sweet potato, diced
I head of brocolli, cut into mini florets
1 handful of raisins
2 carrots, cubed
1 can coconut milk
2 cups vegetable stock
Garam masala
Salt and Pepper
Cayenne pepper
Ginger
1 onion, chopped
Minced ginger

Method

Saute onions. Add spices and garlic. Saute further.

Add vegetables, beans and vegetable stock. Boil, then reduce to  medium heat. Cook until sweet potatoes are tender.

Add raisins and coconut milk. Heat.

Season with salt and pepper.

Happy New Year 2012!

Kathy won a free New Years Eve dinner at Maenam, a great Thai restaurant on West 4th Ave, and invited me to go along with her (thanks Kathy!). I wish I could remember the names of all the dishes. Everything tasted incredble anyway. Happy 2012!

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