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.