Pork and Cashew Stir Fry

1 tablespoon olive oil, infused with clove of garlic (remove garlic)
1 tablespoon ginger, minced

1 ½ to 2 pounds pork loin, sliced thin

1 bunch green onions, green parts only, cut into 1 inch pieces

Juice from 1 orange

½ cup cashews

Heat oil in skillet or wok. Add garlic and stir fry until lightly brown. Add pork and stir fry for 3-5 minutes until no longer pink. Add minced ginger and large onion. Continue to stir fry over medium high heat until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add green onions and orange juice. Continue stirring, cooking off the liquid until thick. Remove from heat; add cashews and mix. Serve with rice.

Chicken and Rice Soup

16 cups chicken broth from poached chicken

2 cups raw vegetables (zucchini, carrots, celery)

1 cup diced chicken

1/3 cup mahogany rice

Cook vegetables in chicken broth until tender. Blend in blender. Return to pot and add chicken and rice. Cook about 40 minutes longer over low heat. Salt and pepper to taste.

Gluten Free Lemon Muffins

1 cups Tom Sawyer Gluten Free flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 large egg

1/3 cup rice milk

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup low fat plain yogurt

1/2 tbsp grated lemon peel

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a standard 6-muffin pan or line with paper or silicone liners. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, lemon peel, and sugar. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, lemon juice, and yogurt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together with a few light strokes, just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix; the batter should not be smooth. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle a little cane sugar on muffin tops before placing in oven. Bake until a toothpick inserted in 1 or 2 of the muffins comes out clean, about 12 to 18 minutes depending on how big the muffins are. Let cool for 2 to 3 minutes before removing from the pan. If not serving hot, let cool on a rack.

Vasodilators in Food

In keeping with the intent of this blog, I am recording my latest insight into my rosacea triggers. I have been following the low vitamin e diet closely for the past 2 1/2 months with great success. This past week, I decided to treat myself to some watermelon. Now in my mind, watermelon's primary ingredient is water, so it will keep me well hydrated in this vast desert, so the more I eat the better! Right? Wrong! I tackled that full-sized melon in 24 hours flat! However, the consequences were immediately apparent. I suffered from an outbreak of papules and pustules (only 3 or 4, but after 2 1/2 months of none, it was a disappointment). I began to research what could have gone wrong and discovered that an entire watermelon does have over 4 mg of vitamin e (gasp!) and that watermelon also contains high levels of citrulline which convert to nitric oxide which is a vasodilator - so keep away!

Citrulline in Watermelon