Cilantro Chutney

My work with UCSF and our study on how yoga can improve female pelvic health is going amazingly well. But the drive is...exhausting. It's ironic that this journey to teach yoga is hell on my body. I spent most of the weekend a kind of tired, sleepy, deranged zombie mom. Thankfully my husband is extra nurturing at times like these, and even took the kids to the pool so I could catch a nap.

In anticipation of my busy week ahead, I spent most of the day in the kitchen cooking up various Indian dishes so I could make myself a little thali lunch each day. Thali is a meal made up of small portions of various dishes. I made potatoes in yogurt sauce, dal (spiced lentils), garbanzo beans with spinach and a tomato/spinach masala with paneer.

But by far the best thing I made today was this cilantro chutney. It's screamingly good and so so simple. You can use it as a salad dressing, or as a sauce for tacos or, like me, as a side to your Indian dishes.

Ingredients:
1 head of cilantro
1/2 of an onion
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 serrano chili
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt to taste
water

Heat the coconut oil in a pan and toast the seeds for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Then combine the seeds, coconut oil and the rest of the ingredients in a blender. Add water to get desired consistency. Place in a jar with a tight fitting lid and store up to 1 week.

Spaghetti Squash with Coconut Oil and Parsley

I've been hearing  a lot about coconut oil lately; its benefits for hair and skin, and for cooking. I love all things coconut (not that yucky imitation coconut flavor, but the real stuff). So I picked up a bottle this afternoon at my local market. I also picked up the first of autumn's pumpkin and squash bounty. You know it was only a matter of time before I put these two together, right?

But shortly afterwards, I was warned off of using it from my friend who used to live in Indonesia. I guess when coconut oil became a big fad, Indonesians began to cut down jungle to grow coconut trees, encroaching into Orangutan native habitat. Thankfully, I checked my bottle, and it seems mine came from the Phillipines. So dinner was on after all!

Spaghetti squash is so fun. I never get over the fact that it actually turns into little noodles when you dig into it. If I could, I would seriously consider replacing ALL of my pasta with this neat little vegetable.  Plus, the flavor of the coconut was so delicious, it really comes through as it cooks, without being sweet or overpowering.

Ingredients:
1 medium spaghetti squash
4 tbsp coconut oil
3 cloves of galic, minced
1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/4 cup of chopped parsley
salt and pepper

Slice your spaghetti squash in half (this requires muscles and a very sharp knife!) then clean out the seeds. Place face down on a greased cookie sheet and cook at 375 for about 40 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat coconut oil, garlic and ginger in a pan until fragrant. Remove from heat.

Using a fork, scrape the squash out and watch as it magically turns into noodles!!

Place your squash noodles into a large bowl, salt and pepper to taste, and pour the coconut oil/garlic mixture on top. Stir to coat. Top with parsely.