This is my current favorite breakfast/afternoon drink. Both carob and sorghum have a slightly bitter taste, so if you get your ratios right, this will taste like a sweet, milky, iced coffee. Yum.
1 cup milk
2 heaping T. peanut butter
1 1/2 T. sorghum syrup (or to taste)
1 T. carob powder
dash of nutmeg
Nutmeg, when taken with milk, "serves as a tonic for the heart, brain, and reproductive organs", according to Dianne Onstad, author of one of my favorite food reference books, The Whole Foods Companion. It also supports the adrenal glands and nervous system, she says. So you may want to use more than a dash. Just be aware that "nutmeg can be severely toxic at doses over 1 tablespoon."
Carob, for it's part, is a naturally sweet, alkaline food that is said to be nourishing to the lungs, and I find it to be smoothly energizing, in a way that makes me feel alert. It also encourages calcium absorption.
Peanut butter and milk for protein, although the tannins in the carob may inhibit the absorption of the protein to some extent....and sorghum for sweet and bitter. Sorghum is a cane plant like the sugar cane, and is actually grown for ethanol, as well as for its thick, dark, syrup and its grain. It is a good source of B vitamins, iron, magnesium, manganese...although not as high in most of these as molasses is.
2/20/12: Coriander Chutney
This recipe comes from a book called Indian Vegetarian Cooking at Your House, by Sunetra Humbad and Amy Schafer Boger, M.D.
I find that it is delicious on all sorts of foods, very hot, if you put a whole jalapeno in it as I did the first time I made it, and gives a lovely hit of green freshness to winter foods. Plus, it is very simple to make once you have the ingredients assembled, which is always a plus with me.
Combine in a blender or food processor:
1 cup (packed) fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 T. shredded, unsweetened coconut
1 1/2 T. roasted peanuts
1 t. cumin seeds
1/2 t. salt
1 slice fresh ginger
1 large clove garlic
1 fresh green chili pepper
