Tut Tut Chin Up

Shameless Plug:  I know that all of you have just been dying to try out one of my yoga classes.  Now's your chance.  July is Karma Month at the Glowing Body--that means my Tuesday evening Balancing Flow Class (7:45pm) is donation based, pay what you can.

Speaking of yoga (nice segue), my practice has made me more aware of 'trends' in my body.  It has also made me more inclined to explore metaphysical reasons as to why these trends manifest.  (Stop being so esoteric and speak English.)  Okay, example, over the past few months, it has come to my attention that I am constantly sticking my chin out.  Sometimes this is caused by poor posture at the computer, but other times it's just plain unusual.  Last night while laying in bed, I woke up and felt my chin sticking straight up in the air.  I told my husband about it the next morning and he noticed that I was doing the same thing when he came to bed a few nights before.  As you can imagine, this round the clock chin reaching has caused quite a bit of neck pain.  A massage therapist friend and I named one of my more persnickety muscle knots Big Bertha.  The realization of this trend in my body has led me to ask/conclude/free write...

1. What am I reaching for? 
2. What is holding me back?
3. Is this the only thing I have in common with my dad's dog?  (Harley is one of those dogs you fear may break his neck while straining against his leash.) 
4. When standing on tip toes in the deep end of the pool, you stick your chin up to keep your head above water.
5. Lieutenant Dan told Bubba to tuck in his lip or he would get it caught on a trip wire.  Am I going to catch my chin on trip wire? 
6. 'Chin up' is what people say when they're encouraging you to keep going (sometimes they think you have no reason to be glum and they preface it with a 'tut tut,' and they usually have a British accent).
7. My husband brought home Ode the other day; he said it's a magazine for people like me (tagline is: Intelligent Optimists).  

I suppose in a fit of optimism, I also decided to re-encounter the glazed carrot.  When you hear 'glazed carrot' you may think of sugary mush or have terrifying flashbacks to your elementary school cafeteria/Great Aunt Mildred's house.  That's certainly what I think of (although I do not know of anyone in my family named Mildred).  Needless to say, I've never been a fan of assaulting vegetables with brown sugar so I chose to approach the situation more gingerly....

Spiced Glazed Carrots
I used the honey drip station at Three Rivers--best honey you'll ever taste and more potent than the stuff in those little plastic bears.

2 lbs carrots, peeled
1 1/2" piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated (use your cheese grater!)
1 tbsp really good honey
2 tbsp EVOO
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Dash of crushed red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Bias-cut the carrots in 1/2" rounds.  Whisk remaining ingredients together and mix with carrots until well coated.  Place carrots in a single layer on a non-stick baking sheet.  Bake for 20 min, stirring halfway through.  Take a picture and compose a blog post about it (optional).

So I'm just dying to know...How do you feel about glazed carrots and your Great Aunt Mildred?  What do your boddities mean? (sound it out folks, it's like body-oddities)  Are your creaky knees signaling the coming apocalypse (aka severe thunderstorms in Knoxville)?    I also expect to see you all on Tuesday at 7:45pm (except Heidi because she doesn't live here). 

1992 Apple Quinoa Salad

What makes a salad a salad?  Is it the dressing? the greens?  I realize this a very deep philosophical question that will require many hours of pondering.  There are those who think salad is a bed of slightly browned iceburg lettuce topped with cubed ham, a mayo-based dressing, and cheese (don't forget the croutons!).  Still others think salad must actually be green and some even allow for salads of the fruit variety or those served on bars.  Obscure music fans think Salad is a pop group formed in London in 1992.

So while this dish doesn't necessarily have greens, it does have fruit and it does have olive oil.  It's a mixture of food stuff most easily eaten out of a bowl.  Some people would call it a grain salad and others (like myself) would go so far as to call it nutrient dense.  It's chock full of Superfoods:  Walnuts contain omega-3s (good for you fats) and help raise HDLs (good for you cholesterol).  We all know an apple a day keeps the doctor away and so do the immune boosting powers of ginger!  Much like that piece of chicken you may have on your plate, the grain in this salad is a complete protein.  Quinoa (KEEN-wah) contains a balanced set of amino acids, has high iron content, and is gluten free.  It comes in different colors and was also the name of a 1992 album by Tangerine Dream.  Because so much music trivia from the year 1992 can be associated with this dish, I decided to call it:

1992 Apple Quinoa Salad
You can eat this dish warm or make it more 'salad-like' by serving it cold on a bed of arugula.

1/2 cup walnuts
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup onion, diced
Quarter-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled & grated (use your cheese grater!)
2 cups water
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 large apple (Fuji, Gala, or Pink Lady work well)
A bit of lemon juice
1 cup frozen peas
Salt & pepper to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread walnuts on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, until slightly browned and fragrant.
2.  In a medium sauce pan, saute onion in oil until translucent. Add ginger and water.
3.  Turn heat up to high and bring water to a boil.  Add quinoa, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low.  Simmer for 25-20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed and quinoa 'uncurls.'
4.  In a large bowl combine the cooked quinoa and the frozen peas.  Add salt & pepper.  Cover with a towel and set aside.
5.  Coarsely chop the walnuts.
6.  Core and dice the apple.  Pour a little lemon juice into the palm of your hand, and toss with the apple to prevent browning (be careful if there are cuts on your hand, it will sting!).
7.  Combine the walnuts and apple with the quinoa and peas (which should be the thawed by now).

Get cooking!  While your quinoa is simmering, let me know your definition of a salad.  Also, what else happened in 1992?