Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Q and A

hi guys-

well, first let me say thanks for all your questions, because i was wracking my brain to find a topic to write about, but with all of your queries posted, i think i will just go for some of them and see if i can't give you the guidance you are looking for...i'll rant about the commercialism of the holidays next time...hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...

okay, first agave nectar is a sweetener made from cactus...it has a very similar nutritional profile to brown rice syrup, but the texture is a bit looser and to me, it is much sweeter, but it works just fine in any recipe that has rice syrup in it with great results.

now on to cranberry sauce or chutney, whatever we are calling it...christea, your recipe looks just fine and no one should notice too much difference if you use agave...but...and this is big...if you use agave or rice syrup, the texture will be much looser as you noticed, so you might want to ditch the orange juice and just use orange zest...you may find that the texture is chunkier, which is what you want, i think. as for the grand marnier, well, it's a bit of an indulgence, but it's the holiday, so enjoy it if your family loves that flavor...

the pumpkin squares should have turned out fine with the eden blend...it is part soy and part amasake, so you should have had nice results...the only thing i can think of is that the amasake is sweeter than the blend and you may have lost sweetness in changing up...but just adjust your spices, vanilla and add a touch more sweetener and you should be just fine.

now on to my knives...which i love, love, love...i have used a lot of different knives over the years, but none have won my heart quite like the ceramic blades from kyocera...i love them so much; i wish i could permanently attach them to my hand, but i suppose that could be dangerous! anyhow, i love their light weight; i can work all day with them. i love their razor sharp edges...i love the fine work and delicate slicing i can do without effort. they are expensive; i will admit, but to me, they are the tools of my trade and i think that they are well worth the investment...and since they do not need sharpening for several years, they are pretty much perfect in my view.

h-h-m-m-m-m-m-m-m...i think i have covered all the questions posted...let me know if i missed any...and i will be back blogging soon...

be well and enjoy this glorious season.

7 comments:

Anthony Dissen, RD said...

Great blog! One question that I have is about Kombucha. I am always going back and forth about kombucha (to drink or not to drink...) and wanted to know if you had an opinion about it one way or another. Thanks!

christea said...

Thank you Christina for answering my questions. Yes, the agave cranberry sauce came out thinner than the original recipe and I did halve the Grand Marnier with little difference in taste. The family did not revolt like last year and the agave will make a good substitution for OG white sugar. So my holiday recipe is permanently revised. Thank you for jogging my memory about the Eden Rice/Soy Blend being part amasake. I remembered you talking about it in one of your shows. I should have bumped up the rice syrup a smidge. Also, I think it may have been the brand of OG pumpkin that I used (a different one than in the past).

Agar flakes ~ I've only worked with it a few times. My experience has been that it didn't really "dissolve" but seem to expand? I did constantly stir over low heat for like 15-20 minutes. Is it supposed to dissolve?

Santa Wish List for 2009 - DVD cooking series (maybe a companion to your new book coming out?)

Thanks again for answering my questions.

birthwisdom said...

Ohhhhh another question!!! What are your thoughts about "raw" spinach or mushrooms? I'm interested in other varieties of ray greens and spinach is easy to find organic here. Thanks...

Carmela Rosalia said...

Your pumpkin pie recipe has won over my non pumpkin pie eating finicky Italian parents! Yay!
I picked up the new book today and cannot put it down. Thanks for writing what has been needed to be said!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Just found your blog, and love it!! :-)

Unknown said...

Hi Christina,
I love reading your blog and newsletter, not to mention your cookbooks! I do recall you mentioning supplements in your last newsletter because of your health issues you have had in the past. I am wondering specifically about Vitamin D. I am a little low in this area, despite being fairly active and outdoorsy. The only foods that I can find that appear to have Vit D are fish, eggs, and fortified foods. Do you have any suggestions or know of other foods that have Vitamin D in them?

Unknown said...

Hi Christina,

I was listening to you talk about milk and milk products. I was looking for this information on your web site and your blog, but was not able to locate it. I would like to share this info with my wife. Would you please post this info or let me know where it is posted.