So, when I compare our circumstances to those of our ancestors, I realize that beating this unbelievable heat wave in this day and age should be a snap for most of us. I dislike intense, suffocating heat just as much as the next person, but when I think of them, my whining subsides immediately! Imagine what it must have been like to work in hot southern fields picking cotton, tobacco or vegetables, or cooking in hot kitchens while being malnourished, mistreated and most likely very thirsty.

We’re at least two generations past slavery, but circumstances are still really tough for some folks. And just in case you aren’t fortunate enough to have air conditioning throughout your house (or any at all), here are some tips that folks used  just a generation ago on hot summer days.

My mom says that she would visit my great Aunt Louise at her house in North Philadelphia back in the 1940s. There was no air conditioning and most likely only one fan in the house. 

“There were just the two of us ladies, so we often walked around in cotton slips (remember slips?) all over the house,” my mom tells me. Aunt Louise, who made a twice-daily ritual of opening and closing her blinds and curtains, would always keep them closed in the summer to keep the sunlight out. And there was always a fresh pitcher of fresh squeezed lemonade to quench their thirst.

One of the best things we can do for ourselves in the heat is drink water, water, water. Infuse the water with any type of citrus (lemons, grapefruit, oranges or limes), because they are all loaded with vitamin C.

So keep an abundance of citrus fruits around to  squeeze in the water. Citrus drinks are always worthy hot or cold, but on sweltering 100-degree days like we’ve been having for the past few weeks, a nice cool citrus drink is  essential.

For that one special drink, the following will tickle your fancy.

Burst of sunshine blender drink

Blend the following on high for five minutes in a very large blender:

1 quart of orange juice with some pulp

1 cup vanilla yogurt

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup fresh strawberries, raspberries or blackberries (or a mixture)

2 ripe bananas

1/2 cup ice

Garnish with sprigs of fresh peppermint.

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Ask anyone who has southern roots what they used to drink on a hot summer day and they’ll most likely tell you a tall glass of ice cold lemonade. It quenches the thirst like no other drink on the planet, and it has many health benefits as well.

What I love most about lemonade is that you can drink it hot or cold, and blend it with many other fruits, like strawberries, blueberries, peaches or oranges. It’s delicious, helps to cleanse the palate and is great for our insides, too. It’s also my favorite drink, with or without …

Lemons can also be used medicinally to treat many ailments, like colds and infections. And they can be utilized as a natural disinfectant or a deodorizer on the body and in the house.

The other day, I ran out of hand soap and had garlic on my hands. I wanted to get rid of the smell fast to take a letter from the postman. I remembered my grandmothers telling me to use fresh lemon juice to get rid of the garlic smell, and it worked like magic.

Another drink I make is ginger tea, which is good for upset stomachs. Whenever my children have upset stomachs, I make them tea from fresh ginger root. I also use it to enhance my voice if I’m broadcasting on the radio or I mix it with Turbinado sugar, shea butter and olive oil as a foot scrub (but that’s another blog). The only time I didn’t use ginger was during my pregnancies (those days are long past), because it can be dangerous to the mother.

But both ginger and peppermint can also be used as natural remedies both internally and externally.

So in the midst of a heat wave,  a cold glass of natural lemonade is both soothing and refreshing. Just imagine how wonderful it tastes with both ginger and fresh peppermint.

Fatimah’s Peppermint-Ginger-Lemonade

Ingredients:

1 handful of fresh peppermint leaves washed and pulled from the stems

1/3 cup of ginger root, skinned and sliced lengthwise

Juice from 8 lemons (no seeds)

1 cup boiling hot spring or filtered water

½ gallon of cold spring or filtered water

2 cups of ice

½  cup of  raw honey or Turbninado sugar (or more to taste)

Directions:

Dissolve honey or sugar in hot water, add the ginger and boil for one minute.

Allow mixture to cool. Mix with lemon juice, cold water and peppermint.

Pour in tall glasses over ice. Garnish with peppermint leaves.

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I use szechuan instead of barbecue sauce, and this brand delighted me even more when I read the ingredients: soy sauce, water, wheat, soybean, sea salt, cane sugar, distilled vinegar, corn starch, fresh garlic, garlic powder, soybean oil, dehydrated onion, cherry peppers, salt, crushed red pepper, ginger.

But just when I was about to get you excited about using it on wild caught Alaskan salmon (which is delicious),  they have to go and spill all of that oil into the ocean. So much for my love for wild caught salmon. I hate to go back to eating farm-raised fish – it has too much bacteria – but who knows how far that sludge will travel?

My grandmother Muddie always made her fish cakes with canned salmon, but I try to avoid cans as much as possible. So, even though my family had a taste for salmon cakes tonight, we’re going to get away from seafood and try to stick with organic vegetables.

Szechuan sauce is heavy and can drown out traditional spring vegetables like peas or asparagus, especially if you use too much of it. It needs something meatier like eggplant. My favorite Chinese restaurant serves baby eggplant with a black bean sauce that is delicious. Here’s my version of their dish, using szechuan sauce for my base.

Hot and Spicy Eggplant with Black Bean Sauce (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 bag dried black beans

5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

5 scallions

½ tsp fresh grated ginger

1/4  tsp finely chopped red pepper

¼ cup sesame seeds

5 Chinese eggplants, washed and sliced the length in circles

½ cup Asian Szechuan dipping sauce

¼ cup virgin olive oil

Directions:

• Soak beans overnight, rinse and boil in six cups of spring water for 2 hours, until soft. Drain and set aside.
• Wash and slice scallions. Set aside.
• Set aside 3 tbsp. olive oil and mix the rest into a paste with ginger, pepper  and 1/3 of the chopped garlic.
• Sauté the rest of the garlic in 3 tbsp. of olive oil and add to beans. Simmer on low.
• Heat wok or cast iron pan on high flame.
• Brush each piece of eggplant with the oil paste.
• Heat  szechuan sauce in a small pot and simmer on low heat.
• Brown each piece of eggplant on each side and simmer until soft.
• Add hot szechuan sauce  just before serving.
• Serve over a bed of black beans with a side of brown rice.
• Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.

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Most people I knew down south always had an assortment of mason jars when I was growing up. They used them for a variety of things, including canning, storing leftovers, rooting plants in and drinking from. My grandmother Muddie always had a collection of them, and at several of the homes I used to frequent in Greensboro, NC, some of the elderly women always had one special jar that they liked to drink from. Usually, they chose a specific jar because it was the right size and had a top. They’d claimed it as theirs exclusively by putting a rubber band around the neck, and we all knew not to ever touch it.

Lemonade is my favorite drink, and I throw it in the blender with strawberries or blueberries. My children like it better than Kool Aid or juice.

But lemons are also useful for a variety of other things besides making lemonade. They are a great disinfectant either for cleaning the house or to use on and inside of our bodies. Lemons have great medicinal powers.

We use fresh lemon juice on small cuts (although it really burns when you do this, but just for a minute). It can also help freshen up your breath, and it makes a nice air freshener. I even like a nice bowl or vase of lemons to use as a centerpiece on my dining room table.

Internally, lemons are a blood purifier, and also help lower blood pressure and clean out the intestinal track.

Finally, get used to squeezing fresh lemon juice into your glass of water. Of course it will be sour at first, but you’ll get used to the taste and thrilled with the health benefits (which you’ll realize almost immediately). Then you’ll wonder why you ever drank water without it.

Strawberry-mint lemonade

12 lemons juiced and seeded

½ lime washed and sliced

½ lemon washed and sliced

½ cup of honey (more to taste)

½ cup boiling hot water

6 cups cold filtered or spring water

1 cup of strawberries, washed, with tops removed (fresh is better but frozen is acceptable)

3 sprigs of fresh peppermint (washed and cut to fit in the glass)

 Directions

Stir honey into hot water so it dissolves completely.

Pour into blender along with lemon juice, strawberries and water, then blend.

Pour into a large pitcher with the lemon and lime slices floating on top.

Pour into glasses over ice and garnish with sprigs of fresh peppermint.

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Fresh fruit is relatively inexpensive and it’s good for us, whether it’s eaten whole or mixed into an exotic fruit salad. There’s nothing more delightful on a beautiful spring day than a wonderful, lush fruit salad. However you prefer it, fruit is delicious and I love the large strawberries and blueberries that you can easily find this time of year, no matter where you live. The next day, toss the fruit salad into the blender for a healthy drink.

Fruits salads are easy to make. They’re one of those foods that no matter how much or how little fruit you use, as long as it’s ripe, you can’t it mess up. Anyone – even a 2-year-old – can make a fruit salad. I like to make sure that my fruit is perfectly ripe, so I usually let it sit for a day after I bring it home from the store. I like to cut fruits like melons, peaches and nectarines at room temperature and then store them separately in the refrigerator  in glass bowls. Then it’s easy to pull out the fruit for on-the-spot salads.

Have a fruit-salad bar at breakfast or for dessert at night.

This is one of my favorite combinations morning, noon and night. Mine looks just like the one in Elana’s photo shown here,  but mine has a honeydew base.

Fruit Salad

1 ripe honeydew, seeded and cut, with juice

1 cup of ripe blueberries

1 banana

½ cup of strawberries, sliced

3 nectarines, seeded and sectioned, with juice

Optional garnishes

 1 ½ cups of vanilla yogurt

½ cup crushed walnuts

½ cup of granola

1/8  cup of shredded dried coconut

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Muddie  made  her succotash with fresh corn, cream and lima beans. I distinctly remember her having a lot of butter and even white sugar in the recipe. Succotash can be a blend of many vegetables, and I like to mix mine with okra.

I have a standard rule about food in my house: Live food for live people. I believe that although GOD has equipped our bodies to handle a lot of the junk we put into our bellies, He really intended for us to flourish from eating live foods and a lot of fruits and vegetables.

If you believe the Christian account of creation, the Bible’s first chapter Genesis show Adam and Eve eating mostly fruits and nuts. It wasn’t until after The Flood that humans really got into eating a lot of meat. That’s why GOD made Noah build an ark so he could mate two of everything since all of the vegetation died during the floods.

Those thoughts in mind, I try to follow in my mother and grandmother’s steps and buy my produce from locally grown farmers instead of commercial supermarkets.

My succotash may have similar roots, but it also has fewer calories and less fat because I use rice milk instead of dairy, which is much healthier. The difference between her succotash and commercial succotash (as seen in this photograph by H4NUM4N) is that she used fresh corn kernels she cut by hand rather than using a can opener. I detest canned food because it seems really dead to me. I’m a little less squeamish about flash-frozen food.

Like my mother and grandmothers, I prefer everything fresh. In this recipe, I do make an exception and use frozen lima beans.

Succotash

2 cups frozen lima beans, defrosted and drained

2 cups fresh white corn, cut from husks

½ cup okra, sliced

1 red pepper, diced

1 large red onion, diced

2 vine ripe tomatoes, diced

¼ cup virgin olive oil

3 cloves crushed, garlic

3 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

Roux

3 tbsp honey

3 tbsp soy butter

1  1/2  tbsp unbleached flour

1  1/2  cups of rice or almond milk

• Melt butter in a pan.
• Mix in flour until it becomes a paste and slowly stir in milk.
• Reduce heat and stir until it becomes a creamy sauce.
• In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil on medium heat and sauté in this order: garlic, onions, peppers, corn, okra, lima beans and  tomatoes. While this is cooking down, make a  roux  and mix with the succotash. Let simmer until okra is soft, but not slimy. Serve over rice or couscous, either by itself or as a side dish.

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Ever since I watched the movie Food Inc., I’ve been determined to shop for groceries locally. Unfortunately, that means paying higher food prices, but at least I know that local markets ensure better quality food. Particularly chicken and meat, which I buy right from the butcher. And you really can tell the difference between chicken that’s grain-fed on the ground and sees the sunlight and those grown in factories.

When animals are raised in natural environments and fed their natural diets, their life and death are much more humane. That alone makes the meat taste much better. Also, we may not realize this, but animals sense that they are headed for slaughter and their fear translates into our food because of the adrenaline that their bodies pump into their bloodstream right before they are killed. Factory-grown animals also are laced with chemicals and hormones to make them grow abnormally fast, which contributes to the nation’s high obesity rates.

It really doesn’t take much to make free-range chickens taste good. A few seasonings and a nice presentation, and chicken can be prepared as a low-fat meal to satisfy everyone. One of our family favorites is Chicken Fajitas, which are easy to make and tailor to individual tastes. I like to have all of the garnishes set out for individual fixings (as photographer Silas 216 does in the photo at right. And photographer Nemo, below, puts his cast iron skillet to very good use, too).

Chicken Fajitas

1 package fajita or sandwich wraps (I prefer gourmet sandwich wraps that come in fancy flavors like whole-wheat garlic and tomato-basil)

One pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, slivered into finger-like sizes

2 fresh red, orange, yellow or green peppers – washed, seeded and sliced into thin pieces

½ lb button mushrooms, washed, capped and sliced

1 red onion, washed and sliced

2 vine-ripe tomatoes, diced

½ tsp sea salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

1tsp fresh chopped cilantro

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp oregano

¼ tsp lime zest

1 tsp lime juice

1 cup fresh grated cheese (we like parmesan mixed with cheddar)

1 cup salsa

1 cup sour cream (optional)

1/8 cup virgin olive oil

2 avocados washed, seeded, skinned and sliced

Whisk together the herbs, spices, lime zest, lime juice and olive oil, and marinate chicken in it overnight. ½ hour before serving, sauté’ chicken in a screaming hot skillet until each piece is browned on all sides. Make sure that each piece has room to breath, so it may be necessary to prepare it in batches to make sure that it’s completely cooked. Set aside and cover to let the meat rest. 

In the same pan, sauté the onions and set aside, then the peppers and set aside, and then the mushrooms. Place them each in separate serving dishes or arrange separately on a platter. The salsa, tomatoes, sour cream and avocados are additional garnishes, according to individual tastes.

Since this is finger-friendly food, make sure all of the diners wash their hands thoroughly (which they should do anyway).

The wraps are best served warmed and stuffed individually. There are special fajita dishes that keep the bread warm, but another way to warm them and still keep them moist is in a vegetable steamer. Or you can place them under a clean damp dish towel and warm them in the oven. Place your own combination of toppings alongside the chicken in the middle of the wrap, fold each end under and roll to perfection.

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In Islam as well as Judaism, very specific laws govern the slaughtering of animals and they are very similar. Thus, a person who is Jewish and keeps a Kosher kitchen or a Muslim who eats only Halaal meat can eat each other’s meats. In brief, Muslims are required to eat Halaal meats, which means that the animals are slaughtered mercifully.

Instead of an animal being herded through a conveyor belt  like at big commercial farms, a butcher is required to say specific prayers over it before is slaughtered and to slit the animal’s throat quickly from ear to ear, releasing the blood before it is cured. This is to make sure the animal feels the least amount of pain when it is killed. Muslims are also forbidden to drink the blood of any animal. The meat also tastes much better.

Judaism follows similar traditions in the slaughtering of animals and many only eat certified Kosher meats. For Christians, many people offer the choice of lamb or ham for the Easter dinner, the latter of which I personally will never touch because we don’t eat pork.

In our house, lamb is always considered a real treat, especially since getting a good cut of the meat requires a trip to the butcher, and it’s very expensive.

My mother celebrates Easter and we’ll prepare a feast for her. Since she is close to 80 years old, I usually give in to most of her requests as long as they don’t go against my dietary principles, like pork does. So she wants lamb, which is easy enough and will please almost all of my children. My mate, however, won’t touch it so he will get salmon.

Boneless leg of lamb with rosemary sauce and roasted vegetables

Preheat oven to 475 degrees

1 boneless leg of lamb (3-5 lbs), butterflied by the butcher

• One head of fresh garlic, washed and peeled
• 8-12 red small potatoes, washed and skinned
• 1 lb baby carrots
• 3 red onions, skinned and quartered
• 2 yellow peppers, seeded and cut into 8ths
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, one diced, the other 2 whole
• 3 tsp virgin olive oil
• Butchers string

Directions

- Have the butcher de-bone the lamb, roll it and secure it with a string

- At home, unroll the lamb out flat and discard the string

- Rinse and pat dry with a tea towel

- Place 3-5 cloves of garlic on the lamb, and sprinkle with other seasonings

- Roll it tightly and secure with fresh string and season the other side. You can also stuff it with bread stuffng or herbs before you roll it.

- Rub the outside with olive oil

- Place on a roasting rack with a pan underneath  to catch the drippings

- Brown the outside of the lamb, turning on all sides (for about 15 minutes)

- Set drippings aside and place lamb in roasting pan

- Turn oven down to 325,  and surround the lamb with all of the vegetables and drippings and cover with foil

- Bake for 20-30 minutes per pound (depending on whether you like it rare or well done)

- Baste the lamb with the drippings throughout roasting to keep it moist

- Make sure all of the veggies are soft

- When lamb is cooked almost to your liking, remove it from the oven and let it rest

***Always take meat from the oven a little bit before it’s done,  because it will continue cooking after you’ve removed it.

Serve with fresh steamed asparagus and rice or with couscous and salad

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Chinese medicine teaches us that all disease starts in the bowels, and this is an area where more Americans need to pay close attention. Especially since more than half of all Americans are overweight. Our typically high-fat, low-fiber diets as well as too little exercise make most of us breeding grounds for preventable illnesses. No wonder our health-care system is nearly bankrupt! The good news is that most of us can improve our own health and make our lives much better.

Dr. Arnold Ehret, who authored the books “Rational Fasting” and “The Mucous-less Diet Healing System” decades ago, makes the reader keenly aware of our own innate ability to heal our own bodies and minds. He cured himself of several deadly diseases by fasting  but had an untimely death in a tragic accident.  

Healthy bowel habits aren’t a pleasant topic of discussion. However, unless we move our bowels after every meal, chances are we are chronically constipated, and this contributes to all types of disease - from the common cold  to dandruff and cancer. Our grandmothers really knew what they were talking about when they spoke of “being regular.” They gave us cod liver oil and “bitters” ( herbs to de-worm us), particularly in the spring and fall. So unless you’re fully aware of what it means to have a clean digestive track and you’ve regularly participated in fasting and colon therapy, chances are your digestive track is packed with fecal matter that contributes to a plethora of health conditions.

Most of us carry at least 10-15 pounds of putrid waste in our bodies, which lines the intestinal track with parasites and mucous from years of unhealthy living. By having poor health habits – such as not eliminating after every meal or drinking too little water – we set ourselves up for a diseases that are preventable. It is essential that we have this discussion if we want to achieve optimal health!

Ehret stressed that no one should ever begin a fast without strict supervision by a doctor. But we must also prepare our bodies to fast by changing our eating habits first.

Spring is a great time to begin sweeping the intestinal track with such leafy green vegetables as turnips and mustard greens or deodorizing our systems with root vegetables such as fennel. I like fennel in string beans, although it gives them a licorice taste. I simply sauté the fennel in olive oil with fresh garlic and then add the string beans for a savory, aromatic feast. They are especially tasty as a side to lamb, a favorite during Easter and Passover or at the Eid, which follows the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

String Beans with Fennel

Directions

Wash and trim one pound of fresh string beans

Thoroughly wash 1/4  bunch fresh fennel and cut away the roots, which are very tough

Slice the fennel into thin strips and saute’ with 3 cloves of finely chopped garlic in three tbsp virgin olive oil

When fennel is soft, add string beans and saute’ for about 7 minutes until they are bright green and still crispy

Serve warm over a bed of yellow rice or couscous

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All five of my children and my grandchildren cook the same way that I do – by watching and observing, and they’ve been helping me cook all of their lives. There’s always something for them to do when we’re in the kitchen, whether it’s chopping and dicing, washing or seasoning. There can never be too many hands when making dinner. Often, I find that kids love to experiment in the kitchen, and I am all for letting them, as long as they stay within range.

Some of the first lessons I ever taught them about cooking was to use their sense of smell and to be brave, bold and not afraid of making mistakes with their creativity. Sometimes, a simple kitchen gaffe can turn into something fantastic if you’re brave and confident enough to fix it.

When they were infants, my kids were securely packed on my chest in Snugglies while I worked in the kitchen. As toddlers I carefully balanced them on one hip while I stirred my pots. They all started learning how to cook when they were as young as 5, and over the years have developed their own versions of the foods that they’ve tasted and like. The two older ones who long ago moved out still call me whenever they get stuck on a recipe.

I love eating food almost as much as I do preparing it. So, whenever I eat something delightful, I use my taste buds to discern the flavorings and come up with my own version of it. Whether I’m eating out in a restaurant,  at some one’s house or remembering the foods that my grandmothers and parents made, I’ve taken copious mental notes to draw from when I’m back in my kitchen.

Back in 1993 I had landed an anchoring gig at 1010 WINS News Radio in New York City. I was desperately looking for a house in Teaneck, N.J., when we stumbled upon a small café’ called Classic Quiche. We’d stopped there to get directions and, also hungry, were delighted to find that the restaurant’s menu was based entirely around quiche, salad and cream of mushroom soup with spinach – all favorites of  ours. The place was tiny, the kind that two people could easily manage. It seemed to be a franchise and the owner, a delightful woman named Sandra, immediately befriended us. Turns out the house we were looking for and eventually moved into was right around the corner, and Classic Quiche became a regular treat for us.

Ever since then, quiche has been a household staple for my family. Although Sandra long ago sold her restaurant, new owners have maintained its simple format  and it remains located in Teaneck.  Although I never asked Sandra to share her recipes, I’ve since become an avid quiche student.

My brother-in-law Bill, who will whip up a quiche on a moment’s notice, has taught me that it’s the perfect comfort food. One, because it’s simple to make, and two, because it can serve as a whole meal in one or as a side dish. I love quiche for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and it’s great either all by itself or with a salad. Quiche is also good as an appetizer, and can be served either right from the oven or cold for lunch the next day. Best yet, it’s simple to make as well as nourishing, and  it has all of the essential nutrients that we need in our diets.

Quiche can include virtually any type of food that you want it to. You can make an entire pie-sized quiche or tiny ones to serve as appetizers. Every time I make quiche my children help develop new combinations. They came up with this one quite by accident when they added soy crumbles.

Spinach/Soy Quiche

Pre-heat oven to 375°F

6 eggs

1 cup mild cheddar cheese (grated)

1 cup Gouda cheese (grated)

¼ cup freshly shaved Parmesan cheese

1 box frozen chopped or whole-leaf spinach, thawed and drained completely

1 pint light cream

1/4 cup 2% milk

2 prepared pie crusts

(Read ingredients on the crust to avoid lard and use prepared crusts made with 100% vegetable oil)

¼ cup soy crumbles

5 button mushrooms, capped and sliced

1/2 vine-ripe tomato (sliced)

Directions

• Beat the eggs and mix with light cream, milk, Gouda and cheddar cheese, and set aside
• Place pie crust in the oven for seven minutes  and then remove them (this takes out the moisture)
• Line the bottom of the crust with soy crumbles
• Whip spinach with eggs, milk and cheese mixture. Bake for 40 minutes until the center is almost firm
• Carefully place mushrooms and sliced tomatoes on the top (they’ll burn if you cook them the entire time)
• Sprinkle with shaved Parmesan and lower heat to 325° F
• Bake for another 20 minutes until cheese is melted and the center is firm.

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