Introducing our new, seasonal offering! For $30 you get a 3-course meal, recipes and instructions on how to prepare the menu items. Our fall menu includes cauliflower soup, roasted vegetables and marinated tofu over quinoa, kale salad, and pumpkin custard. The whole meal is organic, vegan and gluten-free. Recipes will be posted here tomorrow.
If you couldn’t join us for this class, watch for the winter dinner. Information on that event coming soon.
This recipe is adapted from Deborah Madison’s very wonderful cookbook: Vegetable Soups. I highly recommend adding this book to your kitchen.
This particular recipe is wonderful for a damp, chilly fall or winter day. It is a clear broth soup, so it is not too heavy. It also has ginger and jalapeno peppers — very warming for the digestion! It makes about 6 cups of soup.
To make it more of a meal, you could serve it with cooked rice noodles. This soup is Gluten-free and Vegan, but does have soy in it, for those of you with allergies or sensitivities.
Ingredients:
6 dried shitake mushrooms (these are commonly found in markets now. Locally, MOM carries them)
1 1/2 Tbsp peanut oil — best to get organic, unrefined oils
2 – 6 slices fresh ginger, about 1 1/2″ wide, smashed — I like a LOT of ginger in mine, so I use 4 to 6 slices
Sea Salt
2 – 4 tsp finely diced jalapeno pepper — if you like some heat, use more. If not, go with 2 tsp. It will have a nice tang, but will not be spicy
2 tsp minced fresh garlic
1/3 cup cilantro stems, finely chopped
2 bunches scallions, including 3″ of the greens, finely chopped
1 cup celery, finely diced
8 to 10 ounces firm tofu, drained and cut into small dice
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1 tsp wheat-free soy sauce, tamari, or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, plus more for serving
Toasted Sesame Oil, for serving
This soup is very quick to make if you are very organized — I strongly urge you to wash and chop all of the ingredients and have them ready to go before you turn on the stove. Once you’ve done that, it is 15 minutes or so to the table! You will also want a fine-mesh strainer and possibly some cheesecloth.
Cover the mushrooms with 5 cups of boiling water and set aside to rest while you are dicing your vegetables . I also like to allow the ginger slices to rest in the oil at the bottom of my wok while I am dicing my vegetables. It infuses into the oil.
Once you’ve done the preparation work, heat the oil over medium high heat (with ginger in it) and add 1/2 tsp of salt while you stir fry for a few seconds. Add the jalapeno and garlic and stir fry for 2 minutes, adding the cilantro stems for the last 20 seconds or so.
Lower the heat to medium and add the scallions. Cook for 3 minutes, until they turn bright green. Then add the celery and 1/4 tsp of salt.
Now, strain the liquid from your dried mushrooms through the fine mesh strainer (you can use cheesecloth in the strainer if you like), squeezing the now plump mushrooms to get all of the liquid out. Add this liquid to your soup pot.
Now, slice up your mushrooms and add to the soup. Add in the tofu as well, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Right before serving, add in your chopped cilantro leaves and the soy sauce/tamari/Bragg’s.
Dress up each bowl with a bit more soy sauce and a dash of sesame oil. Enjoy!
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, egg free and sugar free. For those of you with allergies or sensitivities, it DOES contain almonds and soy. Adapted from the Gluten Free Goddess.
Ingredients for the cupcakes:
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup “Just Like Sugar” — sugar substitute
3/4 cup tapioca starch
5 Tbsp. fructose
1/4 cup almond flour
1 tsp. each: xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger and cinnamon
1 /2 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup organic coconut oil (solid at room temp)
1 cup organic canned pumpkin (or fresh, if you have it!)
Ener-G egg replacer for 2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Ingredients for the Icing:
1 1/2 cups “Just Like Sugar”
1/4 cup chilled vegan cream cheese
2 – 4 Tbsp organic maple syrup, as needed
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line your muffin pan with paper cupcake liners. I used a ‘mini-bite’ pan for today. You can use a mini, regular or jumbo pan. Keep in mind the baking time is for a standard sized cupcake, and for a recipe made with cane sugar. The sugar substitutes can change baking times, so you may want to keep an eye on things. This recipe makes 12 standard cupcakes.
Mix together all of the dry ingredients using a whisk, or the whisk attachment to your stand mixer. Cut in the coconut oil in pieces and combine until the mixture looks like sand.
Add in the wet ingredients — pumpkin, egg replacer and vanilla. Beat on medium high until the batter is smooth and stretchy.
Spoon into your prepared cupcake tins. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes. Remember to keep an eye on things! Check for doneness by pressing on the top. The cupcake should be springy when pressed, and a wooden toothpick inserted into the cake should come out clean.
Cool briefly in the pan on a wire rack, then remove each cupcake from the rack and let them cool on the rack in their papers for one hour before icing.
While the cupcakes are cooling, you can make your icing, as it should be refrigerated a bit before you ice the cupcakes.
Put your sugar substitute into your mixing bowl using the paddle attachment. Add the cream cheese and start beating to combine. Add in the maple syrup one tablespoon at a time, just enough for the desired consistency. The frosting will look almost like a glaze.
Once cupcakes have cooled, frost and enjoy!
Introducing a new feature of the website (and here in the office) — “Tasty Tuesdays”. Each Tuesday afternoon (we open at noon), we will have something tasty to try here in the office. Generally, these foods will be gluten-free, vegan or vegetarian. If you are here for an appointment, you will have the opportunity to try something new and delicious. The recipes will be posted here on the website. Check back with us each week to see what’s cookin’!
Well, the leaves are changing, and we are EXCITED about all of the changes happening at Center Point!!
Our Open House is scheduled for Saturday, October 22nd, from 3:30 until 7 pm. Please drop by to say hello, meet our new staff members, share some refreshments and enter our prize drawings. Bring a friend or family member — maybe you have someone in your life who has questions about acupuncture, Chinese herbs, massage therapy — and they will be able to ask questions, check out their health insurance coverage, etc. Also, you will both be entered into a drawing for a FREE nutrition consultation, wellness coaching session, or a 30-minute massage.
“Intro to Wellness” class. This is a two-part class directed by our new Wellness Coach, Melanie Clark. Melanie comes to us from the Wellness Coaching program at Tai Sophia Institute, one of the leading holistic healing educational institutions in the United States. The class will be held here at the office on two Thursdays, October 13th and 27th, from 6:00 – 7:30 pm. Your investment is only $20. Space is limited, so sign up today. The class will give you a sense of what Melanie has to offer her clients by asking the question, ‘where are you on the Wellness Wheel’? Are you feeling stuck, going through a life transition? Looking for a way to see what else is possible for your life? This new service might be just what you need to help you get in touch with your inner wisdom.
“Delicious Fall Foods and Drinks” Cooking class. This is a one-night class lead by Elizabeth Fellows. Let’s eat, drink and explore some of fall’s tasty treats! Quinoa, root vegetables, and tofu will be included in our yummy menu. Wednesday, October 26th, 6:30 – 8:00 pm. $30 gets you dinner and the class!
Finally, we have extended our discounted pricing on massage through 10/31/2011. After that, prices will go up a bit. If you want to lock in these super rates, you can purchase massage certificates now that will be good for six months.
Wishing you a wonderful October, and we hope to see you around,
Elizabeth, Darren, Shannon, and Melanie
During the month of September, purchase any two massage therapy services — any combination of 30, 60 or 90-minute massages — and you’ll get one FREE!
Your free service can be any of the services we offer, and can be used any time before 12/31/2011. Call or use the online system to schedule your appointments today.
Treat yourself, or remember, massage makes a wonderful gift!
Acupuncture is recognized by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to be effective in the treatment of a wide variety of medical problems. Below are some of the health concerns that acupuncture can effectively treat:
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Today, acupuncturists undertake three to four years of extensive and comprehensive graduate training at nationally certified schools. All acupuncturists must pass a national exam and meet strict guidelines to practice in every state.
Acupuncture is extremely safe. It is an all-natural, drug-free therapy, yielding no side effects just feelings of relaxation and well-being. There is little danger of infection from acupuncture needles because they are sterile, used once, and then discarded.
