Cancer patients, ex-patients, and those who don't want to get it: that's all of us.Many pages have been devoted to foods which prevent cancer, or help people recover. Spinach, kale, egg yolk, sunflower seeds, carrots, broccoli, garlic, beetroot, red pepper, pumpkin seeds, brazils, mushrooms, tomatoes, pulses, wholefoods, oily fish - they come up time and again. And remember: natural compounds are heaps better than pills!
At the bottom of this page I list a few of these sites, though with one warning. Soy beans are often mentioned as being good for you, but the best way to eat soy is the way they do it in the East: fermented (see September 2010 issue).
EAT:
Veg: aubergines, french/runner/broad beans, calabrese, cauli, cucumbers, fennel, chard, spinach (beet), summer squash, sweetcorn, globe artichokes, beet, carrots, courgettes, cabbage, kohlrabi, lettuce, peas, peppers, radish, turnip, marrow, tomatoes, spring onions, salsify/scorzonera, samphire, rocket, watercress.
Cheap, free range good-for-you meat: rabbit and wood pigeon. Puffballs!
Fish is excellent at this time of year: mackerel, black bream, crab, grey mullet, trout, scallops, sea bass, flounder.
Chinese cabbage, spring cabbage, chicory, kohl rabi, lettuce for harvesting November/December, quick variety peas, winter-hardy spring onions, salad leaves, fast-maturing carrots (Adelaide), endive, red, white (= mooli) and black radish, spinach beet. Lamb's lettuce (corn salad), rocket and especially land cress will survive the winter.
Perpetual spinach, (spinach beet, or leaf beet) tastes as good as 'true' spinach, is more forgiving of soil and weather and doesn't go to seed so quickly. Sow now for winter/spring crop.
Early August only: chard, florence fennel, turnip.
Plant: cauliflowers (early in the month), winter cabbages, kale.
For green manure, in August or early September sow phacelia tanacetifolia. A lovely
plant with feathery leaves which also attracts bees and other beneficial insects. It gives quick cover for bare ground. Phacelia is not always winter hardy - but if the frost kills it, simply leave the frozen plants in situ to provide a protective soil cover.COOLING ITALIAN COURGETTE SOUP
Olive oil • 5 courgettes • 1.5l water • salt, pepper, ½ french loaf, cut into 1" slices • 2 eggs • parsley, chopped • basil, shredded • 3 tbsps grated mature cheese.
Heat oil, add diced courgettes. Sauté for a few mins, add water. Season, cover and cook gently. Prepare the bread by toasting each slice. When the courgettes are soft break eggs into a bowl, add herbs and cheese. Beat and pour into the soup while stirring, until eggs just cooked. Remove from heat. Place toasted bread in the bottom of a tureen and pour soup over it. Leave to cool until just tepid, then serve.
INDIAN SPINACH with GARLIC and FROMAGE FRAIS: side dish.
750g chopped fresh spinach, salt, 1 tblsp olive oil, 2.5 cm cinnamon stick, 2 cloves, 3 coarsely chopped garlic cloves, 2 chopped chillies, 2 tblsp chopped fresh coriander, 6 tblsp fromage frais.
Blanch spinach in salted water for 2 mins. Drain and leave, to let as much water run off as possible. Heat oil in a deep frying pan over low heat and add cinnamon, cloves, garlic, 1 chilli followed by the spinach. Stir fry quickly over moderate heat. Add salt, coriander and last chilli, continue to fry for 2-3 mins over low heat. Stir in fromage frais and cook for 1 - 1/2 mins more. Fish out clove and cinnamon.
COURGETTE and CHILLI PASTA (or MASH), serves 2.
I mixed this with mashed potatoes instead of pasta, used powdered chilli, no lemon or cheese. It was still lovely, for instance with broad beans.
200g pasta; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 finely chopped red chilli, 1 or more clove(s) of garlic; 2 grated courgettes, 2 tbsp creme fraiche; 2 tsp lemon zest; grated mature cheese.
Cook pasta. Meanwhile heat oil, add chilli and garlic and stir but don't let brown. Turn up heat and add courgettes: stir for a few mins to cook and let water evaporate. Stir in creme fraiche, lemon zest and season. Drain pasta and coat in the sauce, adding cheese and a some extra virgin olive oil to finish.
RUNNER BEANS with GARLIC, serves 6 as a side dish.
500g runners; 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 25g butter, salt, freshly ground black pepper, (soy sauce).
String beans, chop into small pieces on the diagonal. Put in pan with garlic and butter and ab. 6 tblsp of water. Stir, cover and leave to stew gently for 15-20 mins, until the beans are tender. Stir every now and then, adding water if needed. Season and serve hot or warm.
POTATO SALAD with BROAD BEANS and GOAT'S or BLUE CHEESE serves 2-4
Take approximately: 700g quartered new potatoes, 700g broad beans and/or peas (both weighed after podding), 4 tblsp mayonnaise, 1/2 tsp mustard, fresh herbs, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black peppers, goats' or blue cheese to taste.Mix dressing ingredients. Boil potatoes until tender but not falling apart. Blanch podded beans/beans in salted water for 3 mins. When still warm, mix with dressing. Add crumbled cheese. Let sit for few mins before serving to allow flavours to blend, or refrigerate, though it tastes best at room temperature or still warm.
LETTUCE with CREME FRAICHE
If all you have is a lot of nearly-bolting lettuces in the garden, try this.
1 bunch spring onions, 30g butter, 1 large/2 small cos lettuces or 4 little gem, 4 tbsp crème fraîche, (nutmeg).
Slice white part of the onions and gently soften in butter. Slice lettuce into thin ribbons, add, and stir until it begins to wilt. Mix in creme fraiche and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Serve immediately.
Slice white part of the onions and gently soften in butter. Slice lettuce into thin ribbons, add, and stir until it begins to wilt. Mix in creme fraiche and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Serve immediately.
To your good health! Annemieke.
http://www.healwithfood.org/cancer/
http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/healthyliving/dietandhealthyeating/foodnutrientsandcancer/
www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1025497/The-anti-cancer-diet--introducing-healthy-new-way-life.html
http://www.cancernet.co.uk/diet.htmhttps://theconsciouslife.com/preventing-cancer-part-1.htm
http://foodforbreastcancer.com/recommended-foods.php
www.natural-remedies-review.com/foods-to-prevent-cancer.html
And, more elaborate:
www.karenhurd.com/pages/healthtopics/specifichealthconcerns/ht-shc-cancer.html
Next month: milk.
