KARELA & CORIANDER JUICE

Karela ( bitter gourd ), as we all know, has lot of medicinal properties and is very rich in iron. One should try to consume some amount of karela in our diet, especially those suffering with diabetes.
The juice of coriander( also known as cilantro) is beneficial in producing vitamin A, B1, B2, C and iron. It is also highly beneficial in treating digestive disorders such as indigestion, nausea, dysentery, hepatitis and colitis.
Here is a recipe with the blend of both the juices. Some people find it difficult to consume karela juice because of the bitter taste, but when blended with coriander, lime and salt it is not as bad as we think.

Ingredients:
Karela .... 1
Coriander leaves ... handful
Lime juice ........ 1-2 tbsps. ( as per your taste)
Salt .................. 1/2 tsp.
Water ............... 1 small glass.

Method:
1. Wash and cut the karela into pieces.( do not peel)
2. Blend it with all the above ingredients.
3. Strain and serve chilled.

DHOKLA CAKE

Ingredients:

Rice ................... 2 cups

Urad dal .......... 1/2 cup

Chana dal ....... 1/2 cup

Ginger ............... 1 inch piece

Green chillies ... 3-4

Asafoetida ........ 2 pinches

Baking soda ...... a pinch (mixed in oil)

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Soak rice and dals for 10-12 hrs.

2. Grind them with ginger, green chillies, salt adding very little water.

3. Mix asafoetida and let it ferment well.

4. Add in the baking soda mixed with oil

5. Grease a tin with ghee and pour the batter in it.

6. Steam it in a double boiler for 15-20 minutes.

(Garnish with mint chutney and cashewnuts)

Contributed by Manju Sharma.....this is her innovation.

She made it specially for me on my birthday because I do not eat sweets.

OT Tip - What is OT? Series + Giveaway!

April is Occupational Therapy month! In honor of that I thought I would do a OT Tip series on what is Occupational Therapy and highlight some of the areas of practice that OT works in. I will also be hosting some special giveaways this month in honor of Autism Awareness and Occupational Therapy month. Check out my giveaway button on the left hand side of my blog and get the word out!

So before we get into what Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants do in different fields, what is Occupational Therapy?

The American Occupational Therapy Association describes OT as follows:

• In its simplest terms, occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants help people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations). Common occupational therapy interventions include helping children with disabilities to participate fully in school and social situations, helping people recovering from injury to regain skills, and providing supports for older adults experiencing physical and cognitive changes. 

A term you will hear a lot with OT is Activities of Daily Living or ADL. This terms refers to any task or skill that a person needs to complete as part of their daily routine. Things such as bathing, toileting, cooking, cleaning, driving, and hobbies are things that Occupational Therapy professionals help their clients to either relearn or increase their strength in order to complete these skills again.

Areas that you will see Occupational Therapy professionals in are:

• Hospitals (acute and inpatient rehab) 
• Out-patient therapy centers (including hand therapy)
• Schools 
• Early Intervention (birth to 3)
• Nursing rehabilitation centers
• Mental health hospitals and centers
• Hippo-therapy (Using horses to increase better body mechanics and balance).

The next 3 weeks we will be taking a look at 3 of these areas a little more closely. My hope is that you will learn something new about OT and realize that there are many areas that we work in, helping people to regain their independence in life!

 

Now, the part you have been waiting for, the first giveaway of this month! All of the items for the giveaways for this month, I bought personally from The Therapy Shoppe. I was not asked by Therapy Shoppe to review any of their products and I did not receive any monetary compensation for this giveaway. I love this site and I buy things from here a lot for my work with kids. All of the giveaways this month are geared for children and Autism.

These are the two items 1 winner will receive:

 

Thinking Putty and 10 Flip Crayons.

The thinking putty is a great finger warm up exercise to have your child do before writing or any fine motor task such a coloring or cutting. The flip crayons are great for younger children who are learning to hold a writing utensil. The small size forces them to use the correct grasp when coloring. Also two colors on one crayon means less space you are taking up for storage!

Here is how to enter the giveaway...

Main Entry:

• Just leave a comment with a valid e-mail address. It's that easy! If you do not include a valid e-mail in your comment, your comment will not be counted.

Extra Entries:

• Follow Golden Reflections through Google Friend Connect. If you already do, just leave a comment that you already follow. (1 comment, 1 entry) 
• Subscribe to Golden Reflections through e-mail, on the right side of the site. You must validate your e-mail subscription to count. (2 comments, 2 entries) 
• Vote for Golden Reflections on Picket Fence Blogs. (1 comment, 1 entry) 
• Follow Golden Reflections on twitter. (1 comment, 1 entry) 
• Tweet about this giveaway (1 comment, 1 entry) 
• TherapyShoppe #Giveaway @goldenreflect Ends 4/12 at 11:59pm 

Giveaway ends Tuesday, April 12 at 11:59pm. A winner will be chosen via random.org. Winner's entry will be validated before a winner is announced. If the winner does not have a valid entry, a new winner will be chosen by random.org.

Good luck to everyone!

Disclaimer: I am a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. The advise in these tips is not a replacement for medical advise from a physician or your pediatrician. Please consult their advice if you suspect any medical or developmental issues with your child

BAGHARE BAIGAN

Ingredients:
Small brinjals ...........1/2 kilo
Onion ........... 1
Poppy seeds .........1tbsp.
Sesame seeds ...... 1tbsp.
Dessicated coconut .. 1 tbsp.
Dry red chillies ... 2-3
Cumin seeds ....... 1tsp.
Coriander seeds.... 1tsp.
Cloves ...................3-4
Cardamoms ..........3-4
Peanuts ................. handful
Yogurt ...................1/2 cup
Turmeric powder ...1/2 tsp.
Salt ...to taste
Tamarind juice .....1-2 tbsp.
Tomato ketchup .... 1tbsp.
Oil

For tempering:
Mustard seeds .....1 tbsp.
Asafoetida ....a pinch
Curry leaves .... a sprig
Dry red chillies ....... 2

Method:
1. Give a slit to the brinjals and put them in water to which a tbsp. of salt is added.
2. Deep fry the brijals.
3. Fry the onion to golden brown colour, cook for a few minutes adding a little water. Blend it.
4. Dry roast the poppy seeds, sesame seeds, coconut, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, red chillies, peanuts,cloves and cardamoms. Grind them to a paste addding little water.
5. In a pan put oil and add the tempering. Then add the onion paste, salt and turmeric powder.
6. Mix the ground masala paste with yogurt and add it to the onion paste. Also mix in the tamarind juice and tomato ketchup. Add half cup water to make gravy.
7. Now put the fried brinjals into the masala and simmer for a few minutes.

A Little More Lee

Perhaps you read my posts back in February when I wrote about “re-discovering” some of my old Lee Bailey retro cookbooks.

http://nevertrustaskinnycook1.blogspot.com/2011/02/hot-soup-on-warm-night.html

http://nevertrustaskinnycook1.blogspot.com/2011/02/betcha-cant-eat-just-one.html

One of my (very observant) friends read those posts also, and when I saw him shortly thereafter, he surprised me with a copy of Lee Bailey’s “Cooking for Friends.” He had noticed from the pictures I posted that this book was missing from my collection, so he (very thoughtfully) went out and bought it for me. Now, that’s what I call a friend – thanks, Kenn!

Oh, and at least I now know that someone reads this blog!

As I read through this newest acquistion, I made note of several recipes I wanted to test, including one that called for yeast in the cake batter. More about that shortly.

Fast forward to this past weekend. It was springtime in Atlanta and I was in one of those “I want to bake” moods. What I wanted to bake was a recipe in my arsenal for Rhubarb-Ginger Cream Cheese Bars (you’re welcome, Henry) but alas, there was no rhubarb to be found. Guess it’s still too early, so I had to go back to the drawing board. That’s when I remembered Lee Bailey’s Gateau Norman and those Granny Smith apples I had recently purchased.

The recipe piqued my interest because it called for yeast, but not in the normal way of proofing it, letting it rise, etc.  Uh-uh, it just called for it to be dumped into the mixture and incorporated without any thought of rising or temperatures between 105 – 115-degrees. Really?

At the end of the day, it was something like a clafouti with a richer “crust.” Suffice it to say Henry liked it. So did I.

GATEAU NORMAN (Adapted from Lee Bailey’s “Cooking with Friends”)

3 tart apples (I used Granny Smiths), peeled, cored and quartered
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
¾ cup all-purpose, unbleached flour
2/3 cup sugar, divided
Pinch of salt
½ cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used canola)
½ package active, dry yeast
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten (I used extra-large)
Softly whipped cream or good vanilla ice cream for serving

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Butter a 10-inch tart pan and set aside.

Place quartered apples in a small bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and 1/3 cup of the sugar. Stir in the salt, milk, vegetable oil, reserved lemon juice and lemon rind. Sprinkle the yeast over and stir to blend well. Spoon into the prepared pan and arrange apple quarters over, rounded side up.

Combine remaining sugar, melted butter and egg. Spoon this over the apples in the pan. Place into oven and bake until apples are tender and cake is puffy and lightly browned, about 40 – 45 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Serve with softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Serves 6 – 8

• Lee served this for breakfast. (Good call, I say. I could eat this for breakfast in lieu of leftovers any day of the week).  Dammit, Lee, why wasn't I one of your good friends?  We would have had SO much in common!

• Of course, this is also pretty good as a simple dessert. It’s not overly sweet and it’s not heavy. If serving as dessert, however, I would recommend adorning it with some softly whipped cream or a scoop of good vanilla ice cream. If you are lazy like me, then a drizzle of heavy cream over the top will suffice quite nicely.

• I will also tell you that this is better served warm. If you need to bake it ahead, have at it. Just cover it with aluminum foil and rewarm in a 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes before serving.

That's it for now.  It was a good spring weekend here in the ATL and we walked our usual 10 miles today.  Anything in my quest to become a skinny cook you can trust.  Haha, that is SO not happening, but at least I try.  Here's to another carb-less week ahead for me.  Cheers!