Playing with Food

Cosmetics

Okay, this post isn't about food, but oh well.

The Environmental Working Group has a site for learning about safe ingredients in cosmetics....cosmeticdatabase.com

I know very little about cosmetics or the ingredients used in them, but I've recently had an interest in learning about what things might be better (or worse) for our skin.  I found the website a bit overwhelming for someone who doesn't even know where to start, so I just scrolled down to the Shopper's Guide to Safe Cosmetics and figured I could start with that.  I printed of the guide and am checking out the ingredient labels of things in our home.  Wouldn't ya know, the majority of the ingredients on our bottle of hand soap are considered "ingredients to avoid."

Guess I'll have to start reading more ingredient labels!

Keeping it Real

Dinner at our house this evening:
Take and bake pizza from Wal-Mart
Salad and raw veggies
Fresh peach slices

Lessons from the Crockpot

Well, I've been trying some of the recipes in Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker, which I borrowed from the library.  More than finding new recipes (as if I need more, ha!), I'm learning how to use my crock pot.  Here are a few things...

• It is difficult to burn anything in a crock pot, but given the correct amount of beans, vegetables, and water, it is quite possible to make a pile of mush.
• Slow cooking vegetables in a stew really does make them taste better!
• I've learned that my 6qt crock pot should have 3-4 cups of cooked beans and lots of chopped vegetables.  This means leftovers!  Leftovers means a night off from making dinner!
• I've learned that my crock pot cooks the above beans and vegetables in four to six hours on low.  This means, I fill the crock pot after lunch and it is ready for dinner time.

Yesterday, I made my first attempt to convert a stovetop recipe for French Lentil Stew into a crock pot recipe....Lesson learned: Use less water!

I hope to master my crock pot to make it a more useful tool.  Do you love your crock pot?

Disclosure.

Andy Bars

My three year old asked if we could have "andy bars" for a snack the other day.  I had no idea what he was asking for.  He explained that they were black and I thought perhaps he meant candy bars.  I explained that we didn't have any candy bars and he suggested that we cook some.  (What a great problem solver, huh?)  He reminded me that they would be black and further explained that he would mix the "flour and everything."  Well, who was I to snuff out such a good plan?!

So, I tweaked a recipe that called for cocoa and flour and we made Andy Bars.  My three year old did indeed mix "the flour and everything."  Then, he waited patiently while they cooked and cooled.  I was a bit nervous when it was time to cut them, was this what he had on his mind?

I cut and served him an Andy Bar and, clearly, this was not what was on his mind.  He suggested that we needed to cut them.  So, I cut the candy bar shaped treat into a granola bar shaped treat and that was satisfactory.

In case you need Andy Bars at your house, here's our recipe.  By the way, they do not taste anything like candy bars, or brownies or cake either.  I guess they are just Andy Bars.



Andy Bars
modified from Healthified Cocoa Squares

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2T ground flaxseed
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2-3 T orange juice
1/2 ripe banana, mashed

1.  Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
2.  In a separate bowl, combine everything else.
3.  Add dry ingredients to wet and mix.
4.  Pour into a greased 8x8 inch baking pan.  Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.  Cool, cut, and serve.

Kitchen Math

Basic math skills are essential for the kitchen.  The most useful kitchen math for me is the following.If you spend time in the kitchen, memorize this.

One Tablespoon = Three teaspoons

Kitchen Chemistry

I make a lot of recipes with baking powder and baking soda as leavening agents.  Recently, I've been thinking that it would be convenient to know how to successfully substitute them, particularly, exchanging baking powder for baking soda simply because it's cheaper.  Many of my recipes already include acidic ingredients, like lemon juice or honey, that are necessary to make baking soda effective.

So, I dug in my brain and did a quick internet search to come up with a little chemistry lesson.  Just for the record, I love chemistry, especially as it relates to food science.  It would be fun to do a much more in depth study, but I don't have time.

Hopefully, this will be useful and practical to you as I know it will be for me:

*******************

Baking soda is a base that reacts with acid in a recipe to create air bubbles to lift the batter.  You know the ol' baking soda and vinegar experiment.

Baking powder is baking soda, an acidic agent(s), and a stabilizing agent(s). The acid-base reaction occurs when the mixture gets wet.  Baking powder is useful for recipes that do not have acidic ingredients.

Baking soda and baking powder are used to leaven many recipes including cakes, quick breads, muffins, pancakes, and waffles.  Generally, use 1 tsp baking powder per 1 cup flour in these types of recipes.  If the recipe uses acidic ingredients such as citrus, vinegar, honey, molasses, buttermilk, or yogurt, use 1/4 to 1/2 tsp baking soda per 1 cup flour.

Practically, a muffin recipe that uses 2 cups of flour can be leavened with 2 tsp baking powder.  If the recipe includes citrus, vinegar, honey, molasses, buttermilk, yogurt or other acidic ingredients, use 1/2-1 tsp baking soda.

Happy Cooking!

Airplane Snack

My almost-three-year-old loves all things airplanes.  I found this cute airplane snack idea and thought I'd give it a try.  He, he...  Well, mine didn't turn out quite as cute, but my son recognized it as an airplane and he was excited about it!  If only it would have actually flown!

FYI: I used a fruit leather in place of the rice krispie treat for the wings.  And, not wanting to pay three dollars for a box of cookies with holes, I bought a few gummy O's in bulk for the tail.

Greens--Part 4

6.  Greens and Mashed Potatoes.  We like to wash, boil, and chop a bunch of greens and then mix them into a big pot of mashed potatoes.  Kid friendly!  Maybe some day my kids will wonder about where the green flecks are in those "other" mashed potatoes!

7.  Fried Rice.  I like to use some cooked, finely chopped greens as part of the vegetable assortment in "fried" rice.  If you don't already have a tried and true recipe for fried rice, start with 3 cups of leftover, cooked brown rice and 3 cups of finely chopped vegetables, such as greens, broccoli, peas, corn, carrots, green onions, etc.  Heat it all in a little bit of oil and stir in 1T of reduced sodium tamari (or soy sauce) and adjust things to your preference.


8.  Greens also work in spring rolls, soups, and egg dishes, but you're on your own for those recipes!

Greens--Part 3

4.  Beginner Smoothies.  Smoothies are a great way to get a little extra green nutrition in your diet.  To start with, try adding a handful of baby spinach to your favorite smoothie.  Or, blend these ingredients (serves 4).  To hide your greens in a smoothie, use equal part berries to spinach.

• 2 cup frozen strawberries, slightly thawed
• 1 frozen banana, slightly thawed
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 cups loosely packed spinach.

5.  Advanced Smoothies.  If you think you can handle a smoothie that is green colored (pictured above) but doesn't taste like salad, here is one sweet option (serves 1-2):  Blend together...

• 2 cups loosely packed spinach
• 1 cup frozen mango, slightly thawed
• 1/2 frozen banana, slightly thawed
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice

What is your favorite green smoothie?

Greens--Part 2

I've discovered that greens go well with pasta, so here are a few pasta dishes.

1.  Mac and Orach.  I've replaced the chard with orach from Robin Robertson's Mac and Chard recipe in 1000 Vegan Recipes.  Most vegan "macaroni and cheese" recipes use nutritional yeast as a cheese replacement, but this recipes uses potato as a thickener, cashews for creaminess, and turmeric for color.  It really does look like cheese sauce!  Of course, it doesn't taste like cheese, but it is delicious.  I have some orach in the freezer so we can enjoy this during the winter too.


2. Peanut Pasta.  I'm sure you can find several recipes for this sort of thing, but here's my version, originally adapted from a recipe in AllYou magazine:

• Boil one bunch of greens and chop finely.
• Boil 8oz whole wheat thin spaghetti until al dente.
• In a small sauce pan or microwave bowl, mix together 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1 1/2 T reduced sodium tamari, 1 T rice vinegar, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, 1/2 T  grated fresh ginger.
• Drain pasta and add 1/2 cup pasta water to the above sauce, heat if necessary and stir until smooth.
• Add sauce, greens, and 1-2 T unhulled sesame seeds to pasta and stir.  

3.  Green Spaghetti. Originally, I got this idea from Whole Foods for the Whole Family from La Leche League.  Basically, it goes like this.  Steam and puree 10-16oz fresh spinach, add a bit of water or broth, salt, pepper, and garlic and any other seasonings that sound like an adventure.  Pour over your spaghetti!  I was a bit wary about this idea, worrying that it would be a strong spinach flavor, but it was pleasantly mild

Disclosure.

Greens--Part 1

We get a lot of greens from our CSA farm.  By "a lot," I mean pounds and pounds.  Prior to joining a CSA, the greens in our diet consisted mostly of raw spinach and salad lettuces.  Greens are commonly served as a side dish, chopped and sauteed with garlic and other seasonings.  I have to admit that I just haven't learned to appreciate greens served in this manner--yet.  So, I have a few other ways of preparing them.  I thought maybe I'd share in case someone else has pounds and pounds of greens!

Before they can be eaten, they need to be washed.  I'm sure there are many ways to do this, but here's what works for me:

1.  Fill a large bowl with cold water.
2.  Submerge your greens and swirl around.
3.  Allow the greens to sit for several minutes, letting the dirt and creatures fall to the bottom of the bowl.
4.  Lift out the greens and set aside.
5.  Empty the bowl of water and refill.
6.  Repeat until you have clean water.

I've discovered several types of creatures in my greens, even a slug!

Pesticide Residues List--2010

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has updated their list of fruits and vegetables with the most and least pesticide residues.  Using data from the USDA and the FDA, the EWG lists 49 common fruits and vegetables according to their pesticide residue levels.  Click here to link to the information.

Cookbooks!

I'm getting reacquainted with the public library.  Today I borrowed a cookbook called Fresh from thee Vegetarian Slow Cookerby Robin Robertson.  I'm excited!  I think this book might be my menu plan for the next several weeks!  I even discovered a few recipes that call for ingredients that we get from our CSA farm.

I own a copy of 100 Vegan Recipes also by Robin Robertson and have found it to be a valuable tool for me as a beginner-veganish-cook!  I find her recipes to be a great source of ideas for my "so what do I make for dinner if not meat?" mindset.  I'm even more excited about Vegetarian Slow Cooker because maybe it will save me some time and the madness of the five o'clock meltdown.





Disclosure.

Seasoned Broccoli

A while ago, I came across this broccoli recipe from Allrecipes.com.  I modified it to my preferences and found it a delicious new way to enjoy broccoli!  I like to serve it over brown rice, but it's yummy all by itself.  Here's my modified version:

Seasoned Broccoli
4 cups small broccoli florets (8oz)
1 T olive oil
1 T reduced-sodium tamari (or soy sauce)
1 tsp honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup slivered almonds

1. Steam broccoli to desired tenderness and set aside.
2.  In a small bowl or saucepan, mix everything else but the almonds and heat just until warm.
3.  Add almonds to the oil/tamari mixture and pour over broccoli.
4.  Serve warm!

High and Dry

Before I post more recipes here, you should know a few things.  I live and cook where it's high and dry.  If you live closer to sea level and/or in a humid climate, you might need to make a few adjustments.

1.  It's dry here, really dry.  That means that my flour might by dryer than your flour.  Therefore, my flour might absorb more liquids than your flour.

2.  Up, up and away!  I live at approximately 4700 feet above sea level.  There is less atmospheric pressure here than at sea level.  Using the same amount of leavening, my baked goods will rise higher that those at sea level.  If I use too much leavening, my baked goods, particularly cakes and yeast breads, may rise and fall.   And that makes a mess.  So...

If I post a yeast bread recipe, I will make note of any leavening or rising adjustments you may need to make.  Most of my recipes for quick breads, muffins, and pancakes should work out just fine if you live between me and the sea.  If you live at a higher elevation, you may need to slightly decrease your leavening.

3.  Liquids and Flours.  Technically, "high altitude" adjustments call for increasing the amount of flour in baked goods.  I have not found this to be a useful adjustment.  Pay attention to the consistency of your batters and doughs.  If your batter seems dry, add more liquid. (This is easier said than done since over mixing causes undesirable effects.)  If you have added too much liquid, add a couple tablespoons of oat bran and wait for a few minutes.

Happy Baking!

Blueberry Muffins

 

Soon, blueberries will be in season and I'm beginning to think of wonderful ways to eat them.... Like blueberry nectarine crisp and these blueberry muffins.  In addition to the recipe below, I have another muffin recipe in mind that I will share with you if it indeed is as delicious in reality as it is in my imagination!

Blueberry Muffins

adapted  from this recipe by Carole

2 cups whole wheat or spelt flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups orange juice

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup honey

1 T ground flaxseed mixed with 3T water

3/4 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

1.  Mix dry ingredients.

2.  Mix wet ingredients.

3.  Mix dry and wet ingredients together just until blended.

4.  Fold in blueberries.

5.  Divide into 12 greased muffin cups and bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes, until golden brown and top springs back when lightly touched.

Fun From the Farm

We received some fun stuff from the farm this week, like rose petals and radish pods!  Among our herbs, we have cilantro with coriander berries. 

Until we started getting them from the CSA farm, I had little experience with fresh herbs.  I still don't know very much, but now I know that what we Americans call cilantro is actually the leaves of the coriander plant!

Next I need to learn what to do with these coriander berries.  Any ideas?

Pesto-Part Three

 

We are getting a lot of parsley from the farm this year, so I made some sunflower seed-parsley pesto.  Turned out pretty tasty!  So far, we've used it as a topping for baked potatoes and also tossed it with diced potatoes to roast in the oven. 

A Mouse in the House!

 

It looks like a mouse ate a whole in my bread!  (Or, maybe my two year old.)

Whole Grains: Barley

Like wheat, barley has been cultivated longer than we have recorded.  Barley tolerates extreme temperatures and has even been found growing north of the Arctic Circle!  Most of the barley grown in the United States is used for brewing and for animal feed.

Despite its other uses, barley is a nutritious grain for human consumption.  Like oats, it contains soluble fiber, famous for improving blood cholesterol levels.

Much of barley sold for human consumption is pearled barley, which has some of the outer nutrient dense layers removed.  The true form of whole grain barley goes by "hull-less" or "hulled" barley.  Barley, like every other grain, can be ground into flour.  Sometimes it is ground from pearled barley and sometimes it is ground from hulled barley, so be sure to check the label.

Whole grain barley adds a chewy texture to soups and offers dimension as a replacement for a side dish of rice.  Rolled barley can replace rolled oats in many baked goods and can be made into hot cereal or granola.  Barley flour can replace some of the flour in yeast breads, but contains less gluten than wheat, resulting in a denser bread.  Use barley in larger amounts in other baked goods.

Citation: The New Book of Whole Grains by Marlene Anne Bumgarner

Whole Grains: Wheat

The whole grains cookbook that I am borrowing from the library had a new recipe for 100% whole wheat bread, so I thought I'd give it a try.  This is the best 100% whole wheat loaf I have ever made!  Looks yummy and tastes yummy too.

Wheat is popular around the world.  Often it is ground into flour to be made into breads, pastas, and other baked goods.  Wheat flour is popular for yeast bread baking because of the protein gluten.  Gluten stretches and retains its structure while it is peppered with numerous tiny holes that give wheat bread a light airiness.  

In addition to flour, wheat is served other ways.  The edible portion of wheat is referred to as a wheat berry.  Wheat berries can be served whole in soups or as a side dish, similar to rice.  Additionally, wheat berries can be cut into smaller pieces called cracked wheat or bulgur.  These may be used as a hot cereal or in salads.  These forms of wheat are whole, retaining all the edible parts of the wheat berry.

However you eat your wheat, eat it whole!

Farm News

Bad news from the farm this week.  The mice got the beet roots.  I LOVE BEETS!  Oh, well, I guess I'll go to the Farmer's Market and see if another farm got beets this year.

The good news is that there will still be plenty, plenty, of vegetables to eat this week.  I always feel a bit overwhelmed after I bring our bag of vegetables home.  Pictured above in the top row is spinach and lettuce.  Middle row: kale, mustard greens, mint.  Beneath the mint is parsley (not discernible in the picture.)  Bottom row: sunflower sprouts, cilantro, green onions, orach.  To the far right is beet greens.

Pesto-Part Two

I was flipping through a cookbook trying to discover uses for the one and half pounds of spinach in my fridge, when I came across a recipe for pasta with mint-almond pesto.

In addition to the spinach, the CSA farmers brought us some fresh mint this week.  In the past, I've dried mint and frozen mint, but didn't really use much of any of that, so I thought I may as well try this recipe.  I used quinoa and garbanzo beans instead of pasta, but mostly followed the directions for the pesto. 

I understand that mint is used in many savory dishes around the world, but my American taste buds think that mint should go with chocolate, so I wasn't sure if my brain could get around this dish or not.  But, it was tasty!  If I get more mint, I might make it again.

Later, my husband enjoyed the leftover mint-almond pesto as salad dressing.

Pesto-Part One

A couple weeks ago, we received arugula from our CSA farm.  Arugula is a peppery salad green.  However, I don't like arugula in my salad, so I thought I'd make it into pesto.  Plenty of arugula pesto recipes abound, but I just used arugula, oil, and garlic, and then stored it in glass baby food jars in the freezer.

I found a list of creative uses for arugula pesto on this blog (scroll to the bottom of the post for the lists of ideas.) 

Earlier this week, I warmed a jar of arugula pesto from the freezer for a dipping sauce for our homemade baked fries.  Nope, not tasty.  But my husband found it good enough.  Maybe I just don't like arugula?  I do have two more jars of arugula pesto, though, so I'll give those a try in some other recipe!

Spelt

Sandy mentioned spelt flour in an earlier comment.  I wanted to share what I've recently learned about spelt.

Spelt is an ancient form of wheat and contains more protein and B vitamins that modern varieties.   It is also supposed to produce better baked goods than modern wheat.  I think I'll have to try!

Pesto-Introduction

I first learned about pesto during our first season as a CSA shareholder.  We received pounds of basil that year and what else was there to do with that much basil?

Pesto comes from the word "pestle," as in mortar and pestle, because that is how it is traditionally made. I prefer my blender.  Most familiarly, pesto is made from fresh basil leaves.  However, it may be made with a variety of other greens.  Greens are ground or blended with oil and garlic and often nuts, cheese, and lemon juice.  This makes a delicious paste to add to pasta, pizza, soups, and a variety of other dishes.

Whole Grains

I think whole grains are my favorite food group.  I don't know why, but they are fascinating!  Our family eats a lot of whole wheat and a few other whole grains, but I think it's time for us to increase the variety.  So, I went to the library and checked out a couple old-fashioned books!  This book pictured is The New Book of Whole Grains by Marlene Anne Bumgarner.

I've only had a chance to read a few pages, but I've learned a lot!  I even learned how to grow and harvest my own wheat!  I look forward to learning much more and trying some new recipes too.

Sugar, Sugar

My husband and I are participating in a Summer Wellness Challenge.  This week's challenge is "No white flour, no white sugar." 

Guess where I found sugar today?  In my imitation vanilla extract and my canned black beans.  It's everywhere!

What to do with parsley?

Among our many greens, we received a pile of parsley from the CSA farm this week.  It is probably more than I can use fresh.  What do you think?  Should I freeze it, dry it, or make it into pesto?

Exciting Wednesdays

Wednesday we go get our CSA veggies from the farmer.  Yesterday Wednesday we also got six pounds of amaranth from the UPS delivery man.  Fun stuff!


I have just one recipe for amaranth, but since I have six pounds now, I'll find some more.  Amaranth is one of those "super" grains, actually a tiny seed, full of protein, fiber, and iron.  I thought if I bought some, then I'd find a use for it.

Amaranth is cooked just like rice and other grains.  It can be made into breakfast cereal like oatmeal.  Additionally, it can be popped like popcorn.  How fun is that?!

Orach

.

It's like "salty spinach."  

It's used just like spinach.  

It's red and green, like Christmas.

Lovage

Meet lovage. Lovage is an herb that we got from the CSA farm this week. I had never even heard of lovage, but the farmer told me to use it sparingly in soups and stews and that it tastes like celery. Wouldn't you know, he was exactly right! My friend Kat, a culinary expert, added that it can be used in any dish where celery is used. My leftover lovage is in the freezer, and I'll probably have a freezer full by winter time, because it does indeed need to be used sparingly.

Kale

We got some beautiful kale in our CSA bag this week. It is so beautiful! We've had kale in the past and haven't found a really great recipe for it yet. It does go well with potatoes. Anyway, I threw this kale into a smoothie. It took a little more fruit than I usually put in spinach smoothies and it still had a faint kale flavor, but I rather liked it.

Sunflower Sprouts

Should we eat it or plant it? One of the best things about getting produce from the CSA farm is that we get to try food that we didn't even know existed!

These are sprouts from sunflower seeds. Last week, I didn't know anything about sunflowers sprouts. Now I know that since these are probably a few days old, they should properly be called sunflower greens. In any case, sprouts and greens are high in protein and a myriad of other nutrients.

I expected them to be delicate. No, they are hardy, crunchy greens that might keep for a week or maybe even more when refrigerated after cutting.

I expected them to be bitter. No, they are quite mild tasting with a hint of sunflower seed flavor.

They are good for salads and sandwiches, and you know, I enjoyed just snacking on a few plain this morning!

For the curious, here's an article about sunflower greens.

Salad

We got plenty of fresh, delicate spring lettuce from the farm this week. I'm sure we'll be eating plenty of salad this summer! I get a little bored eating salad every though, maybe I need some more topping ideas. What do you like on your salad?

CSA Farm Week One

It's hard to believe that we are already getting fresh veggies from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm, East Idaho Organics! This is our first year with this particular farm and it is only the second year that EIO has been a CSA. Since it is early in the season and the farm is only in its second year, I wasn't expecting a big haul this week. I am quite impressed. We have pounds of greens to eat this week. I mean like 3/4 of a paper grocery bag full of greens. I think we could eat green smoothies for breakfast and salad for lunch and dinner every day this week!

Fruits vs. Vegetables

Fruits and Vegetables are classified at least two different ways: botanically and nutritionally.

Botanically, a fruit is that which bears a seed. Apples, oranges, bananas, and berries are all botanically fruits. Additionally, green beans, peas, pumpkin, tomatoes, and cucumbers are also botanically fruits.

Botanically, a vegetable is a part of a plant that is not a fruit. Spinach (leaves), celery (stems), cauliflower (flowers), and carrots (roots) are botanically vegetables.

Nutritionally, fruits and vegetables are divided by their nutritional content and general use. Fruits have more natural sugar, fewer trace minerals, and little to no protein. Vegetables have less sugar, more minerals, and small amounts of protein.

Apples, oranges, bananas, and berries are nutritionally fruits. Green beans, peas, pumpkin, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, celery, cauliflower, and carrots are nutritionally vegetables.

Got it?