Recipe: Ites/Red, Green, and Gold, vegetarian stuffed tomatoes

RECIPE 3:

Stuffed (or: filled tomatoes)

(I regularly ate stuffed tomatoes when growing up, including vegetarian versions, and with fish (notably tuna). My mother had some Italian and Spanish models, she loosely followed, and I liked it. She made cold ones, (baked versions also exist) The “fresh” tomato taste combines well with food you can stuff it with. Of course there exist varied stuffings- culturally and personally people came up with over time.

Here is my version of “styffed/filled tomatoes, according to my taste and preferences. It is a cold, non-baked version, and a vegetarian and organic one.

I also kept in mind the Rastafari colours Red (Ites), Gold (yellow), and Green for the stuffings.

Ites Green & Gold vegetarian stuffed tomatoes

Ingredients (if possible all organic):

-Some tomatoes, cut in half. Cut out the tomato flesh in each of the three “sections” to fill them (according to colour).

-Mango

-Avocado

-Olives

-Pomegranate seeds

-Moringa powder (green)

-Chia seeds

-Cinnamon

-Goji berries (red)

Fill each of the three emptied sections of the tomato half according to colour, for balance.

Sprinkle after this the tomato half with chia seeds, and a bit of cinnamon, for a degree of sweetness.

HEALTH ASPECTS

Tomatoes:

Tomatoes are a good source of Vitamin C (essential), Potassium (good for blood pressure control), Vitamin K1 (good for bone health), and B9 (god for cell growth).

Tomatoes are also a good source for fiber.

The “watery” parts are partly removed as you fill/stuff the tomato halves.

Mango:

Mango is low in calories, but high in nutrients. Good source of Vitamin C and antioxidants, protecting cells, so good for immunity.

Avocado:

Avocado is especially a good source of Vitamin K (good for blood) and B9/folate (good for cell growth), and has many nutrients.

Olives:

Olives are a good source for vitamin E (antioxidant, cell protection), as well as iron, copper, and calcium.

Pomegranate:

Pomegranates are in fact very healthy, with essential nutrients, such as lots of both Vitamin C and K, B9 (folate), and relatively strong antioxidants (fiber, potassium). Also a bit of sugar, though.

Moringa powder:

Moringa has important nutrients, including Vitamins B6 (good for proteins, energy, and hormones) and the essential Vitamin C, as well as Quercetin, known to lower blood levels.

Chia seeds:

Chia (known as “super food”) is very nutritious, relatively rich in fiber, proteins, magnesium/manganese, and antioxidants. This especially helps regarding “energy” (sustainable energy). “Chia” also meant “strength” in Ancient Mayan. Good to add to anything, you might say, so also to top off these stuffed tomatoes.

Cinnamon:

Cinnamon is almost a "super food" as well, with strong antioxidant, disease-fighting (anti-flammatory) qualities, even more than also healthy garlic and oregano. It also lowers blood sugar levels, and helps against heart disease, and viruses (some say even HIV). A bit is enough to sprinkle on the tomatoe halves.

Goji berries:

Goji berries have quite some nutrients too, including also Vitamin A (good for eye/vision health), with good effects for immunity, kidney and lungs.

TASTE AND EFFECT

“Fresh” is the word for the taste, I guess.

The emphasis of the stuffings is on “fruit”, adding to the tomato’s inherent “freshness”, but with more sweetness (mango, pomegranate).. This is nicely counterbalanced – I think – with olive, moringa, goji, and chia, and hearty avocado. So it’s not too sweet, neither too bitter or sour. It combines tropical and Mediterranean influences.

It is healthy, but also a nice, varied party for your taste buds, with a slightly “uplifting” (energy-stimulating) effect, with the moringa and chia.

It left me a fresh, fulfilling taste, and is I think best to precede more :”active/creative” periods, rather than resting/passive ones, since you get a nice “kick”.

Recipe: brown mushrooms, spiced (berbere, kurkuma, and oregano)

RECIPE 2:

Brown mushrooms

(I never really disliked eating mushrooms, and ate it on occasion, both when I still lived with my parents, and in restaurants when travelling.

I always thought - however - that the bare white mushrooms needed something. The taste was not bad or irritating, but rather bland. In my Spanish culture it got sprinkled with olive oil, which helps a bit.

I got more ideas when I ordered it in a nice restaurant in the North-Spanish region of Cantabria (Santander), as I avoided the fish or meat on the menu, I chose the mushrooms, almost by default. I ended up enjoying it, though, in that restaurant (in a town called Castro Urdiales). It was well spiced up. It might have included olive oil, but I seemed to taste oregano and peppers too.

I decided to make my own, a bit more tropical variant (mixed with Mediterranean influences).

I tried the brown mushrooms I found in an organic store in Amsterdam, and liked the taste better (more "nuttier") than the white ones. They call those brown ones "kastanje champignons" in Dutch, literally translatable as "chestnut mushrooms" by the way. The Netherlands are one of the world's biggest mushroom producers in the world, quite remarkable for a small country, but it is a well-organized and wealthy country. My mother sometimes joked about the difference with her native Spain: "here in the Netherlands, every square meter is used/taken advantage of (economically or otherwise)".. This has to do with economics, technological advancement, as well as with the favourable climate, of course. Not much "wild", uninhabitable, and untouched areas left in the Netherlands. They try to create some natural areas, still.

Be that as it may, the brown mushrooms taste nice, a bit better and less "watery" than the white ones (in my opinion), a bit more "nutty" too, but all in all neither overly impressive. It still could use some nice and healthy spices. After some experiments I came up with this nice-tasting, spicey dish.)

Brown mushrooms, spiced (berbere, kurkuma, and oregano):

Ingredients (if possible all organic):

-One amount of brown mushrooms, about 5 big ones per person, each cut in slices

-Berbere spice mix (Ethiopian)

-Oregano powder

-Curcumin (turmeric) powder

-Sunflower oil (or better: coconut oil, virgin olive oil)

-Olive oil

Fry the sliced mushrooms in sunflower oil, and sprinkle it early on with some olive oil. Entirely (virgin) olive oil would be better than sunflower oil, but tends to be more expensive in non-olive producing countries (like Spain). Sunflower oil is therefore a good alternative.

Make sure you turn the slices around while frying, to get the parts evenly fried and not burned too much.

After sprinkling with olive oil, you can add the Berbere spice mix, from the Ethiopian cuisine. This spice mix includes commonly black pepper, garlic, nutmeg, cinnamon, onions, coriander, pimento, chili, pepperseeds, cardemon, and ginger. It can be bought at Ethiopian/African stores, but more and more also in common organic food stores. It is spicey, but not too much, in my experience. Licking it off your fingers is still pleasant, is a way I can describe it. It depends on how it is made, though.

If not found, mixing some of these ingredients is also okay. Especially black pepper, cinnamon, garlic, and ginger combine well with each other, and with mushrooms.

After this, add some curcumin powder, which has a more mellow taste, as well as some oregano powder.

Oregano is related to mint, but is a bit sweeter taste-wise.

Along with the olive oil, it adds a "Mediterranean" touch to the whole. Mix the powdered spices with the mushrooms, by sprinkling and stirring.

Fry for a few minutes, until all mushroom sides get brown. At most 4 minutes is needed, in my opinion. Less is shakey (less healthy, bacteria-wise), and more than 5 minutes likewise (too burnt). So find the balance.

This will end up in spiced brown mushrooms with a full, spicey taste, also because mushrooms "absorb" outside tastes relatively well.

HEALTH ASPECTS

Mushrooms:

All mushrooms are known as healthy, and as relatively rich in Vitamin B, as well as in anioxidants. It helps heart health, red blood cells, and digestion. That it is rich in Vitamin B is extra interesting for vegetarians and vegans, as that Vitamin is relatively most found in meat and fish: some veggies lack that vitamin therefore a bit.. Mushrooms help to compensate that.

See:

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/are-mushrooms-good-for-you

Berbere's ingredients all have proven health benefits, notably garlic, cinnamon, ginger, and black pepper. Black pepper helps digesting mushrooms better, research showed, being therefore good in this specific dish.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/black-pepper-benefits

Curcumin has several proven health benefits (antioxidant and antiflammatory), and was even known for its medicinal properties in India.

Oregano is also known as healthy, and as having several science-based health benefits. It is rich in antioxidants, potent antibacterial properties, and - interestingly - may reduce viral infection, as research shows.

(Virgin) olive oil and coconut or avocado oil are -health-wise - somewhat preferable to sunflower or peanut oil, but unfortunately often more expensive.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-proven-benefits-of-olive-oil

TASTE AND EFFECT

You should not eat too much of such spiced mushrooms at once, since it is hearty, and has a "full" taste. Mushrooms do digest not as easily as other foods, though mixing it with peppers and spices helps. It tastes nice and "sharp", though, leaving a pleasant and fulfilling sensation behind in your belly. A sensation I would characterize as "warm".

As I made it here it is not very sweet, but rather hearty, though I still like the taste. I personally do not like "overly sweet" food or dishes.

It combines well with fruits or fruity juices, as a nice "fresher" and "sweeter" contrast.

Recipe: Banana-Carrot Ital-based drink: basic

RECIPE 1:

Ital-based drink

(I encountered several recipes for what Rastafari people (in Jamaica and elsewhere) call "Ital food". It is ideally a step further than even "vegan", including in its strictest definition only raw, unprocessed, purely natural food items and products, of course without chemicals, but neither any other "processed" aspect, or even condiments. Definitions and personal interpretations differ, however.

Especially, the "condiments" aspect is interpreted differently, as many organic spices are also considered Ital (enough), since they are natural (e.g. cinnamon, kurkuma,thyme, moringa, black pepper, garlic, rosemary, oregano, etcetera).

I prefer those organic spices too, and could find in some organic shops enough organic fruits and vegetables as well, that I liked as well, to be able to make my own Ital-approaching dishes, such as the following drink. They are based on one specific recipe in an academic work on Rastafari Ital cuisine. I placed my own accents, and made variations. Some related to personal taste, others simply to easy availability in a North European city like Amsterdam. I have a working-class background, and am not wealthy, so I will focus on affordable ingredients. Luckily, organic food stores are becoming cheaper and cheaper over time. Later will follow variations.)

Banana-Carrot Ital-based drink: basic

Ingredients (if possible all organic):

-One (yellow) banana, cut in small slices

-One medium-sized carrot, also cut in tiny pieces

-Almond milk (unsweetened)

-Lemon juice

-Rose water

-Coconut oil

-Nutmeg (powder or otherwise)

-Cinnamon (powder or otherwise)

Use a common blender. Try to make sure to have a similar amount of fruits and vegetables, in this cases the banana and carrot. Do the banana slices and carrot pieces in the blender. Add water to just cover them. Sprinkle lemon oil in that water.

Then add one cup of almond milk (as much as the water).

After this, add one teaspoon (or bottle cap) of rosewater.

Then add a bit of nutmeg (at most one teacup), and more (at least two teaspoons) of cinnamon.

Finally add some coconut oil to the mix. To your taste, though I usually add about two or three tea spoons.

Put this all in the blender to blend for long enough. One minute or more of blending time is often required to make a smooth drink, without lumps.

This is a basic, yet tasty Ital-based drink. It is a classic among the Ital drinks. Both bananas and carrots tended to be available for Rastafari communities, also in rural Jamaica.

HEALTH ASPECTS

Carrots:

Carrots are particularly a good source of Vitamin A.

Vitamin A aids specifically growth, vision, immunity, and reproduction.

See for more specifics:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/carrots#nutrition

Bananas:

Bananas are on the other hand a source for especially Vitamins B6 and (to a lesser degree) C, and for potassium.

Vitamin B6 aids especially in brain health, mood regulation (against depression), hemoglobin production (giving oxygen to cells), and helps against nausea, and improves heart health. Further it aids against other specific diseases and symptoms, such as against nausea during pregnancy, vision diseases, and certain types of cancer.

Vitamin C aids in general strongly your immune system, and is essential in many senses.

Potassium especially works on heart health, and can help lower blood pressure.

For specifics:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/bananas#nutrition

Almond milk: is low in calories, yet high in nutrients (including Vitamin D and B12, also found in cow's milk) and Vitamin E (good disease-fighting antioxidant, protecting cells)
It has less proteins than e.g. cow milk, but the protein degree is in this drink somewhat compensated by the bananas (having quite some proteins).

Coconut oil:

Coconut is especially rich in fatty acids, helping to protect your immune system against harmful pathogens (bacteria, virusses etc.).
It also is known as an energy provider.

Cinnamon: is almost a "super food" with strong antioxidant, disease-fighting qualities, even more than also healthy garlic and oregano. It also lowers blood sugar levels.

Nutmeg, has - simply put - many of the same antioxidant and other advantages as cinnamon, only to a lesser degree. It also has anti-inflammatory benefits, and is said to increase libido.
Another difference with cinnamon is that it is not advised to take nutmeg in large doses.

I personally like the taste of cinnamon better than of nutmeg.

Rose water:

Besides also antioxidant advantages, rose water (also called: rose aroma) aids in other aspects, not mentioned here yet: notably anti-inflammatory, and aiding especially with skin afflictions (cuts, scars, burns).

It is also said to help relieve headaches, ease digestion, and even enhance moods (antidepressant properties).

TASTE AND EFFECT

I personally like the taste and effect, this Ital banana-carrot drink ended up having. It is not so sweet as e.g. banana shakes or even milk shakes, but has a pleasant, full - "fresh" - and hearty taste, including a nice - what I dub - "after taste", as a nice sustained feel in my upper body. It is a bit - but not too - heavy.

To make it taste sweeter one can add sugar, though I prefer cinnamon for some sweetening. You might use honey too, though most vegans object to this (for disturbing natural bee balance).
For me, it is sweet enough with two or three tea spoons of cinnamon.

The ingredients as said have mood enhancing/anti-depressant and (slight) energy providing qualities, so all in all there is a stimulant aspect of this drink, that I also experienced..

My experience is that it is also an "appetizer" in the literal sense, and I can recommend it to precede, or combine with, dinners.

The properties of the mentioned ingredients - as well as my personal experience - suggests that it is a good drink to precede active periods (rather than too passive ones).

Introduction

INTRODUCTION

Blessed love.

This blog relates to my food and nutrition interests.

I will mainly share recipes of what is eaten/drank by myself, or recipes by others likewise "tested" by them, when I did not have the time or opportunity to do it myself too. The latter I will try to do - try out suggested recipes -, especially when deciding to publish them.

I am a vegetarian for years now, and will therefore only include either vegetarian or vegan recipes. This blog is from my perspective, so will probably be most interesting for fellow-vegetarians, as vegans tend to have additional requirements and knowledge, I sometimes lack.

Also for people wanting to make a switch from meat-eating to vegetarian dishes, and would love suggestions for nice, meatless dishes - or health-related food tips -, this blog can be interesting. I let myself be advised by other vegetarians and vegans, but since this is a personal blog, dishes are according to my personal taste, which is very human.

I argue, however, that some aspects of "experiencing" food are universal (save allergies etc.) such as taste effect (sweet, bitter etc.), nutritional value etcetera.

On the other hand, I enjoy a certain artistic, creative view on "cooking" as such, as well known from the "haute cuisine" in its more refined form, but in reality that "creative mixing" of food ingredients is found in all cultures, related to natural and social conditions, making such mixes often both interesting and original. These result then in more standardized "recipes" - some stricter than others - that are repeated in the culture, from generation to generation. Sometimes with variations over time.

That is the interesting "cultural" part of food and nutrition. I combine that further with nutritional and health aspects, more explicitly referring to known "health effects" of food items and ingredients (stimulating, calming, iron, immunity, vitamins, minerals). This information is nowadays found easily online, but I include it here with the recipes, as this is often ignored, in other "cook books". With diseases and pandemics, we need to boost and strengthen our immune system, helping us to fight diseases off, thus ensuring our physical health.

In short, I strive toward spreading vegetarian and vegan recipes (and/or culinary and nutrition tips) that (I find) taste nice, and are creative, as well as healthy (and telling why).

I will also - of course - give relevant links or references (e.g. to elsewhere on the internet)

SHORT (NUTRITION-RELATED) PERSONAL BACKGROUND

I grew up in a family with an Italian father, and a Spanish mother. My father was from the North of Italy, my mother from Southwestern Spain, with ties to regions like Andalusia, and family members in Madrid. Besides these regional origins, we had contacts with Italians and Spanish people from other regions.

All this influenced - inevitably - the food I ate growing up. I grew up in yet another European country, namely the Netherlands. The Netherlands has some merits, but is not particularly known for a tasty or creative cuisine. Moreover, my parents avoided the few things known as Dutch, preferring - as many people - their own traditions and culture (Italian and Spanish in this case).

All this shaped my early eating and drinking experiences. My mother mostly cooked for us, and had as everyone her own preferences and accents, including Latin American and Andalusian influences. Both my parents, and my older brothers, ate meat and fish, and I then too. I preferred chicken then, and cared less for pig or other meat. I liked some type of fish, but only some fish. Some I did not enjoy eating, neither even so much pig meat, only the spices on it.

My mother was overall not very meat-oriented, including often vegetables, and combining this interestingly, even with fruit. Beets and kiwi were among her favourites. We often ate pasta and rice as first dish, but often also various soups, paella and risotto (Italian rice recipe), macaroni and spaghetti, with recurring sauces, and other Italian and Spanish dishes.

In time I got interested in other cultures, which was quite easy in metropolitan Amsterdam, where I later went to live. From (well-known) Chinese dishes, that I knew already, to other Asian, African, and Latin American - even Dutch - dishes I tried and often enjoyed in various restaurants, or during several travels.

I traveled several times to Cuba and Jamaica too, where I encountered, and was influenced by, other culinary traditions.

My Rastafari views I developed over time, and became more manifest about 10 years ago. I grew more and more in the "Livity", as Rastas call it, embracing also more and more the culinary part of the Rastafari culture. This includes a preference for vegetarian and vegan dishes, and Ital (natural, unprocessed) food, if feasible and possible. Good guidelines, but no strict ordinances: as long as it is healthy, has no meat, and as natural (organic) as possible.

The natural world of flora is so immensely varied that many creative possibilities in food preparing are possible. Those possibilities I would like to flexibly explore with this blog.

Michel Conci, 2020