We just made a batch of these and the wonderful aroma fills our apartment. These are so delicious, you barely realise you are on the Gut and Psychology Syndrome Diet. Based on the Zucchini Muffin recipe in Breaking the Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall.

• 2 c grated zucchini
• 2 c ground almonds
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 c ghee or melted butter
• 1/3 c honey (raw)
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t baking soda
• couple of pinches of salt
• A couple handfuls of frozen or fresh blueberries

Method: Mix almond flour, zucchini, fat and honey. Add the eggs, salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Mix very well. Add blueberries (or other fruit), but don’t add too many or the muffins will not hold together.

Bake in muffin tins filled 2/3 full for about 20 minutes in a 350 F (180 C) degree oven.

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After reading Anna’s positive experiences with the GAPs diet I ordered the book and have just finished reading it, I have tried a lot of diets over the years especially after living in a moldy apartment in Wellington, NZ which has resulted in problems with my digestive tract ever since. November last year was a month of non-stop rain here in Vancouver, BC and with the temperature change, was the perfect breeding ground for mushrooms, mold and yeasts. As a result our health problems reared their ugly heads again and showed us that we still have an overgrowth of harmful yeast in our systems. In some ways this is good because we at least know that we need to deal with it.

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My copy of Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride arrived last week and over the weekend I had leftover spaghetti squash. On page 149 I found a recipe for egg-free bread/cake/muffins which called for mashed squash. Spaghetti squash is a little watery so it comes out quite dense, but very healthy and tasty.

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I have had quite the exciting, travel-filled, and busy month which I will regal you all with presently. However, I have been thinking for the past few months that I need to talk about the generosity of the culture here. It really is quite remarkable the extent to which this generosity is a part of the everyday life of the people.

I wanted to make sure that I knew a little bit more about the culture before I talked about it, because I wasn’t sure how different my experience as a foreigner would be from the average Egyptian. Although my experience is certainly different as a foreigner, I don’t think that this takes away from the culture as a whole.

In Cairo, and probably some of the more touristy places where they are used to foreigners it is common for people to try and take advantage of the foreigner. So for the first month this was mostly my experience in Egypt. I had to make sure I knew how much things should cost so that I wasn’t charged extra for being a foreigner. And there are some touristy places, like the pyramids, or the Egyptian Museum where foreigners actually have a separate entrance price than Egyptians. I understand that these places take up-keep and that foreigners in general have much more money that Egyptians, so I understand why they have this policy, but it still meant that I had to be aware.

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We welcomed the new year in bed watching Monk with our noses running and throats sore, snacking on rose-hip jam for vitamin C and drinking ginger and pau d’ arco tea to boost our immune systems. According to the once renowned but now forgotten Antoine Bechamp this process is a cleansing that occurs cyclically and is necessary to remove toxins that cause our tissues to rot or oxidize. The well known Pasteur set our world on the germ theory course, which has led us to the current terror of micro-organisms which has given the pharmaceutical industry it’s hold on our state of health and our belief that we are being ‘attacked’ by nature. We become victims with no control over our own health. This is absolutely not true.

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This recipe is adapted from D. Mary’s recipe for Cucumbers in Jars on page 75 in the book Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning

• 1 1/2 T sea salt per quart (litre) of water
• unchlorinated water
• small handful fennel seeds
• 6-10 black peppercorns
• 1 T mustard seeds
• 5-7 cloves
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 8-10 small to medium sized cucumbers, washed
• dill flower heads and leaves
• small handful of coriander seeds
• clean jars with canning tops
• 1 horseradish root, sliced (to keep cucumbers firm)

Method: Add the salt to a bottle of transmogrified water and shake it until it dissolves. Give your cucumbers a good wash and put the spices and garlic into the jar. Pierce the cucumbers with a fork a few times so the brine will penetrate into them. Squeeze the cucumbers upright into the jar (with the horseradish) and place the dill on top.

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Now here is a great alternative for cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving, especially if you like the flavors of Asia this is modeled on Sally Fallon’s raisin chutney recipe in Nourishing Traditions.

• 1 lb (500g) fresh dates (pitted)
• 1 lb (500g) fresh cranberries
• 1 t red chili flakes
• 1/2 head garlic, crushed
• 2 T coriander seeds
• 1 T cumin seeds
• 1 T anise seeds
• 1 T fenugreek seeds
• 5 black peppercorns
• 2 inches ginger, grated
• 2 t sea salt
• 1/4 c whey
• 1/2 c water

Method: Cook cranberries with water until soft. Add dates and mash. Peel and pound ginger and garlic in a morter and pestle. Place the spices in a pan and dry roast until the aroma rises from the pan. Process until well ground.

Mix the date and cranberries with the spices, ginger and garlic, add the salt and whey. Place in jars, pour in enough whey to cover the top of the chutney. Let stand about 2 days in a warm spot in your kitchen. Transfer to fridge and eat within 2 months.

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One of my favorite places to get this cake in Yangon is at at little hole-in-the-wall fresh coffee shop on Sule Pagoda Road. In Burmese this cake is called San Win Ma Kin.

• 1/2 c semolina (substitute cream of wheat)
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 c coconut cream
• 1 c warm water
• 3 eggs (beaten)
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 T clarified butter (ghee)
• 2 T raisins
• 2 T poppy seeds

Method: Toast semolina until golden, mix in sugar and water. Let stand 30 minutes. Beat eggs and add to mixture.

Heat clarified butter in a large pan add semolina mixture and cook stirring constantly until thick. Add the raisins, coconut cream and salt and 1 T poppy seeds, keep stirring for about 5 minutes and the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.

Put into cake pan smooth and brush with butter and sprinkle with remaining poppy seeds. Bake at 180 degrees F for 15 minutes until top is golden. Add caramelized coconut as a topping.

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This was a lucky discovery. Tasty and amazingly good for you as well. Fenugreek greens can sometimes be found in an Indian food market and are often used in Ayurvedic cooking.

Serves 4

• 1 large avocado
• 2c quinoa (cooked)
• 1/2 c green olives stuffed with garlic
• 1/2 bunch fenugreek greens
• 1/2 bunch mint
• 1/2 lime’s juice
• 1-2T e.v. olive oil
• pinch of salt and pepper

Method This is great for using up leftover quinoa but other grains like rice, buckwheat, or bulgar could also be used. Dice the avocado, slice the olives, rough chop the fenugreek and mint. Toss together and add the lime juice, olive oil and season to taste.

Fenugreek has a very uniquely light maple syrup aroma/flavor which really brings out the mint and goes well with the quinoa and avocado. It also gets into your skin and you may notice that you are smelling like maple syrup for a few days after eating it. A nice bonus for your workmates if you have terrible B.O

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I finally realized that even though I spend a lot of time raving on about the wonders of kombucha I haven’t posted a basic description for how to make it. Every ten days I follow this routine which provides me and my man with tasty kombucha tea while the next batch ferments on the countertop. Halve the recipe if you are the only one drinking the kombucha tea.

• 6 liters (quarts) water
• 8 bags strong black tea
• 2 c sugar
• kombucha mushroom (SCOBY)
• 3/4 – 1 c kombucha tea

Method Bring the water to a boil, add the sugar and dissolve. I often like to use unrefined palm sugar or raw cane sugar instead of refined sugar, but this gives the kombucha a different sort of flavor, the refined sugar is meant to be the best to use for kombucha and gives it a light and crisp flavor. I just don’t like using Rogers sugar as I heard they were using GM sugar beets. Add the tea bags and cover the pot (I use a stainless steel stock pot). Let this steep well and cool to at least room temperature.

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