Butternut Squash with Cashew Gravy

 I haven't been inspired recently to create recipes or new music......strange, but since lock down I've felt very un-creative.  Anyway, we've been out of lock down for some time now and it seems my creativity is returning, thankfully.

I've been growing lots of food and have for the first time managed to grow what is called here aborbora and in English that means winter squash, so a big round squash that is called a muscadet and also butternut squash.  I'm so happy to have managed to grow them this year, as my attempts before didn't work.  This year I gave them rabbit poo and they seemed to like that a grew well for me.

So today, I woke up inspired to make an interesting squash recipe.  Hence the above title.  It's really easy and fast.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH CASHEW GRAVY

1 winter squash peeled and cubed

1 medium onion chopped

1 tablespoon ghee, butter or olive oil (I prefer ghee)

4 medium tomatoes chopped

1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste

1 1/4 inch cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 cardamom pods

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon chili powder (to your taste)

1 tablespoon ground cashew nuts

a little water

First put the squash in the oven to cook for about 20 minutes on 350 degrees.

While the squash is cooking prepare the cashew gravy.  Place ghee in pan and add the cinnamon, cumin seeds and cardamom pods, sautee for a minute or so.  Then add the chopped onion.  Sautee for about 5 minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes, stir well and sautee for another 5 minutes.  Then add the turmeric, cumin, coriander and chili powder.  Cook for a couple of minutes, add a little water and add the cashew powder and mix well.

Remove the squash from oven.  Place in a bowl and cover with the cashew gravy.

Experiment with Medical Medium Protocol

Hi Everyone,  I thought I would tell you all about my experience trying out the Medical Medium diet. At the beginning of November I decided to quit eating wheat and dairy.  I managed two weeks and then an old friend from California visited me who had been doing the Medical Medium Protocol for about 4 years.  She told me she has healed herself from Lyme Disease with this protocol.  I knew what a journey she had been on seeking a cure for Lyme, so this really impressed me.  She is fully living the Medical Medium diet/lifestyle.  So I decided that while she was with me, I would eat how she was eating.

 The basic rules are, no wheat, no dairy, no eggs. 

There is also a protocol she was doing every morning.  We begin the day with 16oz lemon juice and warm water, then wait 30 minutes and drink 16oz celery juice, again wait 30 minutes and drink either the Heavy metal detox smoothie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ze2cUQck74
or the liver cleanse smoothie (recipe below)

This took a little while to get used to, especially the waiting part, and it's a lot of liquid.  However, I got into the habit of it and began to enjoy the whole thing.  I wasn't actually eating any food until lunch time.  Medical Medium is a big fan of potatoes, so you can really eat lots of them!  But not with butter!!  We were roasting french fries with a tiny bit of coconut oil and they turned out nicely.  You can also eat small amounts of pastured meat, he would prefer everyone was raw vegan, but he wants to make his info available to as many people as possible.  Many people around the world are experiencing great results with this diet.

I was doing this for 2 months and then I went to visit a friend in the Algarve in the south of Portugal.  I decided that I was just going to eat whatever when I was there, and that's what I did.  As usual, I didn't notice any difference transitioning back to "normal" eating.  One thing that happened when I was in the Algarve was that a friend I went to see down there told me that I was so thin that she would think I was really sick if she didn't know me.  So I weighed myself recently and found out that I'm 8 1/2 stone (UK) 119 lbs (US) and 54 kilos (EU).  This is very underweight for me.  For some reason it's very hard for me to keep weight on in Portugal.  But this is way too thin and unhealthy for me.  So fast forward to today.........I just ate a ham sandwich on crusty rye and wheat bread with loads of butter!  I need to put on weight and I'm going to eat and eat and eat for a while, so that I have some meat on my bones.  Can't wait to make potatoes au gratin this weekend.

I will continue with the smoothies and celery juice as I really enjoy them.  I reverted back to apple cider vinegar and warm water in the mornings as the restless leg problems I had. returned without apple cider vinegar.

Liver Detox Smoothie

for 2 people

2 bananas
2 cups frozen blackberries or wild blueberries
1/2  red dragon fruit or 2 tablespoons of dragon fruit (pitaya) powder

Blend and drink!