Healthy smoothies

We've been making smoothies since my son was small.  He was a picky eater (which we've managed to overcome), and smoothies were the crown jewel for getting nutritious foods into his little body.

I went to Smoothie King for the first time last week to check it out, and was completely floored by the amount of sugar in their concoctions.  58g of sugar will make even the calmest child spin like a top - my son won't be getting these. I also don't allow him to have artificial sweeteners.  This is my opportunity to train his taste buds, and processed children's foods are over the top sweet, not to mention the health issues with the fake sugars they sometimes add.

The Magic of Curry

I never had curry growing up, but in the past few years I've learned to love it.  Yellow curry is my favorite, and I've tried several recipes and have ended up with one of my own that changes a little every time I make it.  Side benefit - this works well with a gluten free diet.

Curry is an amazingly healthful dish when made with the right ingredients.  Organic, full fat coconut milk and the spices that make curry flavorful.  Most curry powders are a mix of traditional spices - turmeric, cumin, coriander, cardamom, fennel, ginger and mustard are a few that may be included.  Turmeric is the spice that makes curry yellow (I always add extra), and that one spice alone imparts benefits in the treatment of inflammation, which is why I started eating curry in the first place! There is some talk of it being beneficial for cancer and Alzheimer's patients, but at this time I don't believe there are any clinical studies being conducted. Since an herb can't be patented, companies aren't going to spend research dollars to determine their benefits - rather they will research the compounds and create a synthetic version.

Power to the Peach!

I love peaches.  Every syrupy, sticky drop.  My husband hates them, which means more for me :-)

I ended up with a few pounds this week and decided to make a couple different things, since I haven't done anything with peaches since last spring.  I ate a few before we started so my yields weren't as high as I would have liked but hey, if you're cooking, you get to eat as you go, right?  I dragged out my dehydrator and set up a few trays to dry, then hit the stove for some jam. I'll save the dehydrating for another post but there's a photo above that you can gander at if you'd like.

I need to say up front that I'm not big on liquid pectin.  It's okay, but I think it changes the taste of the jam, reducing the intensity of the flavors.  Not my goal in this exercise.  Besides, I like a softer set, not something that reminds me of jello. And - most important - you can heat this up and pour it over vanilla ice cream for a moment of bliss.  Can't do that if it's got the consistency of that nasty condensed cream of mushroom soup I used to use in casseroles before I realized there was a better way.

The peach recipe I love to make (my son ate it off a spoon today and tried to steal a jar for himself) is very simple, basically a peach preserve, but with a special ingredient that gives it a punch.  Cointreau.  Have you ever added it to your peaches?  It makes them AMAZING.  Give it a try.

Lovely peach preserves :-)

Peach Preserves with Cointreau

4 cups chopped peaches (9-10 peaches)
2 cups granulated sugar (I like organic, like this)
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp Cointreau

When making jam or preserves I peel the peaches, and there are a few ways to accomplish that.  The easiest is to pop the whole peach in the freezer as soon as it becomes ripe.  It needs 6-8 hours to freeze solid, then you can defrost and during the thawing process the skins will slide right off. (You can only do this if you are making jam or preserves; as with tomatoes, freezing changes the consistency of the fruit.)  If the texture of the peach is perfect, it's easy to peel, but just a little past optimal ripeness and you're peeling mush.  Last resort is blanching.  I hate this, but I will do it if I have to.  Anything to get that lovely peach jam on my tongue.  To blanch, drop the peaches in boiling water for about a minute, then pull them out and the skins will crack and slough off.

Place the chopped peaches and sugar in a large saucepan on low heat.  Let them cook together until the peaches are translucent, then turn up the heat to a medium boil, stirring to prevent sticking.  I usually use a masher or immersion blender at this point, because I don't like big chunks.  I am a very persnickety jam eater. The peach mixture will need to cook down and thicken until it comes off the spoon in one sheet rather than in drops.  Once it's thick enough to sheet you can turn off the heat, add the lemon juice and Cointreau, and stir.  Make sure you taste it at this point before anyone else gets any. Just because.

I usually can this recipe, although you can just stick it in the fridge and eat it up.  To can it, use a hot water bath canner and process for 10 minutes.  Makes 3-4 half pints.

Enjoy!

Changing Your Diet Series: Scratch!

One of the quickest ways to improve your diet is to wipe out the processed food.  Think of all the time you'll save not having to read the labels!

I was thinking about this the other day as I cooked dinner.  I roasted a chicken last Tuesday, while I was working (it takes about 2 hours but not a lot of attention) and then used the chicken on Wednesday to make chicken curry and rice.  The rice took 20 minutes and the curry sauce about the same; the chicken was already cooked so I just added it in.  All told I spent about 15 minutes in front of the stove that night for a completely from scratch meal. The great part is that then I stuck the chicken carcass in the crock pot with some water and veggies, and let it cook on low for 2 days.  Amazing homemade chicken stock, which I used to make soup on Friday.

Mushroom risotto - steamy goodness!

Yesterday I made mushroom risotto, which is more time intensive because it requires constant attention but actually only takes about 25 minutes. It may seem intimidating, but it's actually very easy to cook and it's a hearty meal.  I've developed a pattern of planning a week in advance and cooking certain things ahead of time.  I also use my crock pot a lot - there's nothing like a pork tenderloin that's been cooking on low all day.  It makes the whole house smell wonderful, and leftovers make great sandwiches the next day!

Vegetables can be an afterthought when you are trying to put a meal together quickly. Often I will cut up a bunch of raw veggies - carrots, red and green peppers, cucumbers - and we will just add them to our plates.  Quick roasted vegetables are also nice - zucchini spears topped with olive oil, salt, pepper and grated parmesan take about 15 minutes to brown in the oven and make a nice finger food.

One of my son's favorite things to prepare is chicken soft tacos.  He takes the precooked meat I have in the fridge, shreds some cheese and lettuce, adds a little rice and salsa in a tortilla, done!  Less than 10 minutes.  We need to be creative, which is not easy - sometimes just finding a recipe and figuring out what's in the icebox is overwhelming.  You should have a couple things up your sleeve that you can make in a pinch - and always keep those ingredients on hand.  It helps to cook a little extra if you can, and freeze it for later.

My go-to meal for dinner in a hurry has always been eggs. I make a mean omelet, and frittatas (see below) are great as well.  Try these Southwestern Omelet Muffins - they are fabulous.  Pop them in the freezer to use when you're short on time.  Loads of flavor and the recipe makes about 18 so you know you'll have a couple meals out of it.

I have a friend who cooks every weekend, freezing meals for the week so she doesn't have to think about it. I wish I could be that organized.

What recipes do you use to pull together a quick dinner?

Quick Fritatta Recipe 
(a good way to clean out the veggie drawer in your fridge)

4 eggs
Dash of milk or water
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Half an onion
Cheese - parmesan, cheddar, swiss...whatever you have
Whatever you have on hand - I've used (and combined) mushrooms, bacon, sausage, ham, red or green peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes, etc.

Beat the eggs, adding a dash of milk or water, then salt and pepper.  Heat a cast iron or oven proof skillet, add some olive oil and let it heat.  Add the eggs and cook for a moment until the bottom is finished.  Then add the other ingredients in a layering fashion.  If your bacon is raw, cook it in the pan, then add the eggs on top and continue.  Top with tomatoes and/or cheese, pop in the oven for 10 minutes at 400F.  Done when golden brown.  Serves 2-3.

New Year's Cinnamon Rolls

Happy New Year!  My resolution this year is to do more with less...and not worry about what everyone else thinks.  I have a phobia about wasting food (I think I must have starved to death in a previous life) that my husband thinks is one of my lovable quirks.

Until he cleans out the fridge.  I'm always trying to find a way to use the last few spoonfuls of rice (add it to a bowl of soup or make rice pudding) or some milk that has soured (I've not had so much luck with this - I tried to make yogurt but it was an epic fail.)

Today, my husband offered my son and his friends, who had slept over for New Year's Eve, some cinnamon rolls.  After rooting around in the fridge for what seemed like forever, he poked his head out and announced that, sadly, there would be no cinnamon rolls because he must have used them already.  Cue groaning from the boys.

This felt like a dare to me.  I have wonderful memories of my mother making cinnamon rolls, and it made me think that it couldn't be that hard.  My mother had five children, and if it was hard she avoided it.  I found a can of biscuits (yes, they were canned biscuits - I'm guilty) in the fridge and decided to give it a try.  After rolling them out, I poured melted butter on them, then added brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped pecans.  I rolled them up like a jelly roll, cut into 1 1/2" slices and baked them on parchment at 350F for about 15 minutes.

They came out gooey, caramelly, bubbly, and amazing!!  My son loved them and so did my husband.  I know there are plenty of recipes for homemade biscuits or cinnamon rolls on the internet (my favorite) but this was quick and easy today.  The best part was the caramelized filling which melted out underneath. To glaze, I took some powdered sugar, melted butter, milk and a dollop of vanilla extract.  Make sure you glaze them before they cool so the glaze can melt down into all the nooks and crannies.

So here's to a wonderful new year! Enjoy!

Holiday Jams

I love to make jam.  The sticky, shiny, amazing burst on your tongue flavour is something that makes everything all right in my world.  My son is inheriting this passion, and the recipe I made the other day was so fabulous he tried to sneak whole spoonfuls from the pan as I was making it and jarring it.

"Is it too hot?  Will it burn my mouth?" he says as he stuffs the spoon in his mouth.

"Yes", I say - "but it's worth it!"

The object of my passion this week is Marisa McClellan's Small Batch Strawberry Vanilla Jam.  No added pectin, no added anything - just a burst of flavour that blows all that grocery store jam to shame.  It's become really hard to buy jam in the store.  They just don't compare.  My husband has been sneaky, buying me frozen blueberries so I can make his favorite blueberry jam, but I think this one might win out.

I realize strawberries are out of season, but I didn't find this recipe until it was too late.  So far I've made it with fresh and frozen strawberries, with no difference in the quality.  And it only helps that this jam is an amazing ruby red that looks wonderful in the jar - the perfect gift to give a friend during the holidays!

Strawberry Vanilla Jam

Small Batch Strawberry Vanilla Jam (from www.foodinjars.com)

1 qt strawberries (about 2 lbs, or 4 cups chopped berries)

2 cups sugar, divided

2 vanilla beans, split and scraped

1 lemon, zested and juiced

Wash and chop berries, then toss with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla beans/seeds in a large jar or bowl.  Allow the berries to macerate for at least 2-3 hours and up to 72 hours.  When you’re ready to make the jam, prepare 2 pint jars or 4 half pint jars.  

Pour macerated strawberries into a large pot and add the remaining cup of sugar.  Bring to a boil and simmer until the jam reaches 220°F.  Add the lemon zest and juice in the final 5 minutes of cooking. 

Once the jam has reached 220°F, remove the pan from the heat.  Pour into prepared jars.  Wipe the rims and apply the lids and rings.  Process in your canner for 10 minutes (remember to wait until it reaches a full rolling boil before you start timing).

When time is up, remove the jars from the canner and let cool on a towel lined counter top.  When jars are cool enough to handle, remove rings and check seals.  If any jars are not sealed, store them in the fridge and use them first.  Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place.

Radishes

Radishes make me happy.  I know, it seems like such a small thing, but like many, it's all wrapped up in my family history. 

My mother loved radishes.  She grew up spending time on her grandparents' farm in upstate New York, and she loved to slice fresh radishes, salt them, and pop them in her mouth.  We kids never understood it.  We tried them, of course, but they have a burn to them, and being Canadians, we weren't brought up with jalapenos and other hot peppers in our daily diet. 

Now that I'm (somewhat) grown up, I love the idea of radishes.  I used to buy them and put them in the crisper, then cut them and try to eat them the way my  mother did.  I never managed to make it through an entire bunch before they became soft and mushy.  Just recently, however, I've become a convert to the true wonder that is the radish. 

I received two bunches of gorgeous radishes in my CSA basket.  Hmmmm, I said.....what shall we do wih these bundles of loveliness?  My farmer, Marie Tedei of Eden's Organic Farm, likes to saute them so I thought I would give it a try.  The result?  Heaven.  I'm in.  I've planted them in my garden and my husband is already sick of them.  Yay!  More for me! 

Sauteed Radishes

1 bunch of radishes, with greens
1/2 medium onion, chopped
Chicken stock, to taste
Butter
salt & pepper

Wash radishes and remove greens.  Slice the radishes thinly, while heating butter in a skillet.  Add onions and saute until they start to look translucent. Add the radishes and sautee until tender.  While the radishes are cooking, wash and dry the greens, then roll and cut into ribbons.  Add them to the sautee pan with the chicken stock and cook until wilted (just a few minutes).  Salt and pepper to taste, serve hot.

Enjoy!

Cranberries...any way I can get them...

I love cranberries.  Dried cranberries, cranberry juice, cranberry sauce, in salads, on my oatmeal...you get the picture.  I'm always looking for new ways to use them, and I found a recipe for Pickled Cranberries the other day that had me dancing.  All the way to the store, to buy a few spices.  I found it on a blog called Food In Jars, which is all about canning.  Marisa McClellan, the canner behind the blog, makes everything look easy, and isn't that what it's all about? 

I would never have thought to pickle cranberries, but why not?  I have pickled radishes and onions in my fridge, and they are truly awesome.  So I tried this today, and Oh. My.  The apple cider vinegar and spices somehow make the flavors coalesce in a different way, and it's truly something to wax poetic about.  I tried the brine as a shrub in sparkling water, as suggested, and you need to add a fair bit to get the flavor, but it's quite nice.  I will definitely be trying it as a salad dressing.  All in all, it's a winner!

Sweet Potatoes

I am seriously questioning my abilities as a gardener.  Now, this has been a year that would make a seasoned farmer question his ability, but I'm definitely having a hard time.  My potatoes this year were a disappointment.  As a friend of mine would say, "all hat, no cattle".  The sweet potatoes, unfortunately, have met the same fate.

I decided that today was the day I should dig them up.  It hadn't rained in a few days and the soil wasn't too damp.  I pulled the first vine and got....roots.  And vine.  I pulled the second.  I got a sad excuse for something...

I've included the spiderweb just because of
Halloween, and in case you're wondering,
that's a cherry tomato.

This is the sum total of my harvest.  At least, from below the ground.  I was determined to get something out this, so I got on the web and found an interesting tidbit.  Apparently, sweet potato vines and leaves are an Asian and an African green, and The Bitten Word has a good recipe.  After reading this blog entry, I decided I would at least sautee some of the greens (there were quite a few).  

No potatoes, but lots of leaves.

I started with olive oil, added some onion, and after it had softened, added the sweet potato leaves and some salt and pepper.  All told, it took about 5 minutes, and was very tasty.  The leaves were a little sweet, not tangy like mustard or turnip greens.  Definitely something I could incorporate into my recipes.

So, at least my sweet potato episode hasn't been a complete waste of time.  I am wondering about the Smart Pots - I used them for potatoes and sweet potatoes this year, and neither has had a good harvest.  I'll have to try them again next year and see if I get a better result.  Either way, I've found a new way to eat sweet potatoes. 

The final result

Lacto-fermented Ginger Carrots

I've been canning this year.  It's a fairly new thing for me, but I've found some recipes I love and really don't think I could live without.  Blueberry Jam, Sweet Pickle Relish and Pickled Radishes & Onions (I know - sounds a little odd, but trust me - it's like crack) are my favorites right now.  My husband made a point of telling me we were out of the relish on Monday.  I think he wants more too.

I was looking for a carrot recipe today and had a light bulb go off in my head.  I have a great cookbook called Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon that covers traditional food preparation.  Lacto-fermentation is a method of preserving vegetables and fruits that doesn't require a hot water bath.  It's like making creme fraiche - you leave it on the counter or in a cupboard for a few days and presto - something great! 

This is something that is truly sustainable, and I had to try it.  It seems a little scary - leaving fresh food out on the counter for a few days and then eating it is pretty out there for me.  Because of this, I've been dancing around it for a while.  I have several books on the subject, and I keep pulling them out, then putting them away again.  I am the Queen of Procrastination, after all.

This one recipe struck me as very simple, so I went for it.  It doesn't require any special equipment, although I did sterilize the jar I used since it had been sitting in my cupboard for a while.  Lacto-fermented vegetables are supposed to be very healthy, since they contain the lacto-bacillus bacteria (just like in yogurt) and can help repopulate your gut with this good bacteria. 

According to Fallon,

              ...lactobacilli are ubiquitous, present on the surface of all living things and

             especially numerous on leaves and roots of plants growing in or near the ground....

             The proliferation of lactobacilli in fermented vegetables enhances their digestibility

             and increases vitamin levels.  These beneficial organisms produce numerous helpful

             enzymes as well as antibiotic and anticarcinogenic substances.

I'm all for that!  So - I'm supposed to leave these carrots on the counter for three days at room temperature, then I can put them in the fridge or a cool dark place.  The book I'm using says the flavor will improve with time, so it only gets better, right?

Here's the recipe: 

Ginger Carrots (makes 1 quart)

4 cups grated carrots, tightly packed
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 tbsp sea salt
4 tbsp whey (if not available, use an additional tbsp sea salt)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and pound with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer to release the juices.  Place in a quart-sized wide-mouth mason jar and press down firmly with a pounder or a meat hammer until juices cover the carrots,  The top of the carrots should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar.  Cover tightly and leave at room temperature about three days before transferring to cold storage.

My carrots were apparently not as tightly packed as I thought they were, because my final result is several inches below the top of the jar.  It's really amazing how the juices emerge...it looks like tomato sauce.  I'll update in a few days. 

Friends and Pickle Relish

I've spent the past two days with my friends Marilyn and Donnelle Simmons of Garden Inspirations in Waxahachie.  We have had such fun!  They decided to have a canning class since they've had a lot of interest, and Marilyn has been canning for years.  In fact, she's had to unlearn some of her apparently bad habits since the canning rules have changed since she was a child.  It was so nice to work with someone who is very comfortable with the processes - she knows how to step back and regroup when the wrong recipe is used and things need to be reworked.  It really takes the anxiety out of it and makes it fun.  We made three kinds of jam (blueberry, blackberry and peach), a pickle relish (that is truly a form of crack) and green beans.  I had never made jam before so I feel like I've learned a new skill.      

The most enjoyable part of all this was having all the other people there.  They are starting a canning club that will meet once or twice a month to put up whatever is in season - what a fantastic idea! 

My concern the past few years has been the lack of food actually grown in north Texas, but there is another component to this....how much do we waste because we don't know what to do with it and it goes bad?                         

We (I included) have become separated from our food supply to the extent that we need someone to tell us that it's safe.  Everyone I've talked to, unless they grew up preserving their own food, seems to feel the same way.  It's a scary thing to be responsible not just for putting a meal on the table, but for the actual safety of the food we're eating.  I have a friend whose father wouldn't eat the eggs from her chickens.  He would buy eggs at the store because the farm eggs were just too....farmy.  I certainly feel blessed to have friends who think nothing of putting up a couple quarts of tomatoes.  I'm learning so much from them.  And I'm really going to enjoy this relish...                          

Sweet Pickle Relish

from The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest by Carol W. Costenbader                  

Use a boiling water bath canner; yields 9 pint jars

3 quarts cucumbers, chopped

3 cups green bell peppers, seeded & chopped

3 cups red bell peppers, seeded & chopped

1 cup onions, chopped

8 cups water

4 cups ice cubes

3/4 cup salt

4 tsp ground turmeric

4 tsp whole allspice

4 tsp yellow mustard seeds

1 tbsp whole cloves

6 cups distilled white vinegar

2 cups sugar

Combine the vegetables, water ice and salt in a 12 qt saucepan.  Let stand for 4 hours.  Drain and recover with fresh ice and water for an additional hour.  Drain thoroughly.

Combine the spices in a cheesecloth bag.  Place the spice bag, vinegar and sugar in a stainless steel 4 qt saucepan and heat to boiling.  Pour the vinegar syrup over the vegetables and refrigerate for 24 hours. 

Heat the mixture to boiling and ladle into sterile jars, leaving 1/2" headspace.  Cap and seal.

Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.  Adjust for altitude if necessary.