The Urban Homestead Experiment

MOVED TO WORDPRESS.....

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:25:00 +0000

It's official - http://www.urbanhomesteadx.com/ has moved to WordPress and new content will be added on that site from here on out. All archives have been copied over, so you won't be missing anything at all! See you there!

New Cooking Class: Asian

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Sun, 23 May 2010 04:02:00 +0000

This month's class at IMX=Pilates in Parkville was simply "Asian". That was the request. I never know what that really means to people. It's like saying something is "healthy". Everyone has their own idea of what is "healthy" just like everyone has their own idea of what Asian cuisine is. I grew up near Springfield, MO, and lived there while in college. Springfield happens to hold the Guinness Book of World Record for the most Chinese take-out restaurants per capita (or at least it did in 2007) and is home to the world famous Springfield Style Cashew Chicken. Haven't heard of it? Hmmm....well, it's a real treat, but it would be a stretch to call it "Asian". Fried pieces of chicken over rice and topped with brown gravy, cashews, and green onions. There was a time I thought that is what Chinese people really ate. And Japanese people ate this really yummy "white sauce" that was served as a dipping sauce at Japanese steak houses. Between P.F. Changs and fortune cookies, you can start to imagine my struggle with the simple request of "Asian".

We decided it was an opportunity to show people what our idea of Asian cuisine is - fresh, clean, light, and seasonal. This menu would make a fun dinner party. Start out with Shrimp Spring Rolls and a cocktail (we made a cantalope and sake cocktail from Living Raw Food, aka our new favorite cookbook). Move onto Soba Noodle Bowls and finish with Adzuki Bean Ice Cream. I guarantee that everyone will be talking about the food at your party and will want all of the recipes. That is when you can tell them about this blog!

Hope you enjoy the recipes. I forgot (again) to bring my camera to class, so no pictures. There's a good chance I will be making some variation of these recipes again at home, so I will update this post with pictures sometime.

Finally and for the record: The best Springfield Style Cashew Chicken in the world is at Canton Inn in Springfield, MO. I actually ate there last weekend for the first time in years and I still like it, but I can't believe I thought that was what Chinese people eat!

Shrimp Spring Rolls
These are very easy as long as you have everything prepared and organized.

18 rice paper wraps
1 lb. peeled and cooked shrimp
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided
2 tablespoons chopped basil, plus 18 whole leaves
2 tablespoons chopped mint, plus 18 whole leaves
2 tablespoons Nama Shoyu (unpasteurized soy sauce)
3 carrots, cut into matchsticks
1 medium zucchini, cut into matchsticks (soft center removed)
1 cup water
2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 teaspoons sea salt

Shrimp:
Chop shrimp into small pieces. Toss with the soy sauce and 2 tablespoons each of cilantro, basil, and mint. Marinate for at least one hour.

Pickled Vegetables:
In a medium sized bowl, stir together the water, brown rice vinegar, and salt. Toss in the carrots and zucchini. Marinate at least one hour (the longer, the better).

Assembly:
Get organized. You will need a large bowl with very hot water (as hot as your hands can stand), the marinated shrimp, pickled vegetables, remaining cilantro, basil leaves, and mint leaves. I find working on plastic cutting board is easiest. You just want something that is damp, so the wet rice papers won't stick. Now it's time to roll. Take one rice paper and submerge into the water for 5 seconds. Set it on a damp surface. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of shrimp onto the paper 1 inch away from the edge closest to you (centered). Add a pinch (maybe 1/4 of a cup - probably a little less, though) of the pickled vegetables on top of the shrimp. Top with a basil leaf, mint leaf, and a little cilantro. Starting with the edge closest to you, roll the rice paper over the filling. Fold each side in over the filling (like a burrito) and continue rolling tightly until you have a roll. Set the roll on in a dish lined with a wet paper towel until ready to serve. Repeat with each roll. Serve with Peanut Sauce.

Soba Noodle Bowl
I used tofu, but you could poach shrimp, chicken, fish, or thinly sliced beef right in the broth.

1 package organic soba noodles
2 tablespoons organic toasted sesame seed oil
6 cups vegetable, chicken, or kombu stock (recipe below)
12 ounces firm organic tofu, diced
1 bunch fresh greens (kale, spinach, swiss chard, etc.)
1 bunch chopped scallions for garnish

Cook soba noodles according to the package instructions. Strain and toss with the sesame seed oil. If making ahead, place noodles in a large zip lock back and refrigerate.

Simmer stock (I used 5 cups vegetable stock and 1 cup kombu) in a large stock pot. While the that is coming to simmer, saute tofu in oil of choice (I used macadamia nut oil). Add tofu to the simmering stock along with the greens. Cover and cook for 3 minutes.

Divide the noodles among bowl. Ladle the stock over the noodles with the tofu and greens. Top with scallions, soy sauce, and drizzle with toasted sesame seed oil.

Kombu Stock:
This is so easy. Soak 2 ounces of dried kombu in 6 cups of warm water for 6 - 8 hours. Strain the kombu out and keep the water.

Adzuki Bean Ice Cream
This is actually a little different than what I made in class. I made it again the day after class and added a few drops of Sweet Leaf Chocolate Raspberry Stevia Extract. It was so good that I had to write up the recipe with it in there. It makes it less authentic, but at least I am not frying it and topping it with gravy!

First make the red bean paste:
1 cup dried adzuki beans, rinsed
1/4 cup agave nectar
juice of one lemon
3 1/2 cups water
pinch of sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot. Simmer for 2 - 3 hours or until very soft. Strain beans in a fine mesh strainer and discard cooking liquid. Suspend the strainer (filled with beans) over a large bowl. With a large wooden spoon mash the beans to separate the skins. The bowl should be filled with a sweet bean paste with the skins left in the strainer. Chill the paste until cold.

Now make the coconut milk*:
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
4 cups water

Combine the coconut and water in a medium sized bowl. Soak for at least 30 minutes. Add the coconut and water to a blender (does not have to be a high powered) and blend on high for 2 minutes. Strain the milk using a nut milk bag (or paint strainer bag like I use) into a bowl or pitcher. Squeeze all of the liquid out of the pulp.

Make the ice cream:
Add the milk (should be about 3 1/2 cups) back into the blender. Add the bean paste, 1 tablespoon vanilla, 1/2 cup agave nectar, 3 drops Sweet Leaf Chocolate Raspberry Stevia Extract, and a pinch of sea salt. Blend until combined. Ideally this mixture is cold, so refrigerate if time allows. Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions.

*Use this method to make coconut milk for any use instead of canned. I like to add some vanilla and stevia.

How I prepare for my next Door to Door Organics box

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Tue, 18 May 2010 03:15:00 +0000

Several people have mentioned lately that their weekend meals can become quite interesting. I thought it was just me. Monday is the day our weekly Door to Door Organics boxes are delivered up north, so the days leading up to Monday means that you have to make room for what's coming. It's kind of fun. I've heard about salads and stocks and soups all made from random ingredients left lingering from the past week's box.

This week I thought I would share one of those such recipes, which I made last weekend. Grated beets, carrots, and apples are tossed in a sesame oil dressing with fresh herbs. I added feta cheese, but I think I would have liked it better without. It's your call, though. I'm certain the feta cheese contributed to my 2 year old eating bowls of this stuff, as did the beautiful red color. I just love beets and I usually roast them. Since I never got around to it last week, this was a nice way to change it up. Plus the vegetables are raw, so they are a lot better for you (for the "what it's worth" department).

This Thursday is our monthly class with the IMX=Pilates group and we will be doing Asian food. If you have wanted to try out a class to see how much fun it is, please join us! Cost is only $20 and you will not walk away hungry. Contact me for details.

Lastly, we are holding a screening of Fresh at Living Water Christian Church in Parkville, MO, on June 3 from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. to help raise funds for our missions trip this summer to Koinonia Farm. This is a movie that everyone should see and a panel of experts comprised of local organic farmers will even be there to help facilitate discussion. More details can be found here. I hope to have a big crowd!

Enjoy the recipe!

Grated Beet and Carrot Salad

3-4 medium sized carrots
3 beets, peeled
1 apple, cored
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon organic sesame seed oil
1/4 cup finely chopped herbs (parsley, basil, thyme, dill, anything)
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, optional
sea salt and pepper

With a box grater (or mandoline), grate the carrots, beets, and apple into a medium sized bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the minced garlic, vinegar, mustard, lemon juice and sesame seed oil. Toss the dressing, herbs and feta with the grated vegetables. Salt and pepper to taste.

Homemade Nut Milk

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Thu, 06 May 2010 20:09:00 +0000

If you can turn on your blender then you can make homemade nut milk. I learned this several months ago when I finally decided to try it for myself. Right off the bat I will say that a high powered blender makes better nut milk (i.e. Vita-Mix or BlendTec); however, I made it for a long time with my regular blender and it was good, too. Let me back up, though, because I am getting ahead of myself. I need to answer the obvious question of why in the world would I want to make nut milk.

Where do I start? The effects of dairy on the body are so complex and confusing that it's one of those things that you just need to do your own research on and make a decision based on your body. We have been brainwashed to believe that we must eat dairy to build stronger bones and most people do not question the authority of the "grand" Food Pyramid. And why would we? Dairy tastes so good, so it works out perfectly! Believe it or not, though, a good portion of the world's population was not born with an enzyme called lactase, which is required to digest milk's sugar, lactose. Those people are classified as lactose intolerant and dairy causes them a great deal of pain when they consume it. The rest of the population still suffers from the ill-effects of dairy without knowing it due to natural hormones found in cow's milk, as well as, the body's reaction to create excess mucus. Excess mucus leads to chronic sinus, ear, and upper respiratory infections, as well as, inadequate absorption of nutrients by the intestines. Typically, these things are treated with antibiotics or other drugs, maybe washed down with a big glass of milk, and the problems are only compounded. The long term effects can be devastating, even deadly. In fact, the major killers in America (heart disease, cancer, diabetes), as well as, other common issues (depression, headaches, allergies, infertility) can all be linked back to nutrient deficiencies. What a bummer! Really. It's very troublesome to me. That just scratches the surface, too, and does not even begin to address the mass production of dairy loaded up with synthetic hormones.

To sum it up, if you must consume dairy it's best for you when unpasteurized or raw. All of the beneficial enzymes that will actually help your body digest it (and therefore take a load off of your pancreas) are still in tact. Read more here and just know that it will take more effort to get raw milk products. If you are like me and want to find alternatives to dairy then nut milk is the way to go (soy is whole 'nother story). There is no question that we benefit from all that nuts have to offer, except for the poor people who are allergic to nuts. Most commonly people make almond and cashew milk, but brazil, macadamia, and pecan nuts all make wonderful milk, as well. Each one brings it's own health benefits to the table. The process to make milk is pretty much the same no matter what kind of nut you use, the only difference being whether or not you have to strain it at the end. And, if you are wondering where are going to get your calcium from, there are other sources, such as dark leafy greens, you can turn to.

For the record, my family still consumes dairy products; although, I will be eliminating it soon from mine and my 2 year olds diet. At least for awhile. It's a pretty heavy topic, I know, and it isn't going to be easy. Luckily, I can come up with plenty of alternatives to satisfy. It's not like coffee. That is something I straight up admit to having an addiction to and nothing will ever take it's place. To each is his own...

Homemade Nut Milk

1 cup raw, organic nuts (almonds, cashews, macadamias, etc.)
4 cups water, plus more for soaking
1/4 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon raw honey or 2-3 tiny scoops of powdered stevia (using the scoop that comes with it)

Cover the nuts in water and allow them to soak for 8 hours or overnight. When finished, drain and rinse the nuts very well. Discard the soaking water.

Add the nuts to a blender along with 4 cups of water. Blend on high for 2 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Add the salt, sweetener, and vanilla and continue to blend for another 20 seconds. Strain the pulp (if any) using a nut milk bag or a paint strainer works well, too. Chill the milk and enjoy!

Note: Almond milk always needs to be strained. Others will depend how good of a blender you have. If you are using a Vita-Mix or a BlendTec then you should not have to strain cashew or macadamia nut milk. If you are using a regular blender then you might. It depends on how you are using the milk, too. Over cereal or in smoothies, don't bother. In coffee or drinking it straight, yeah, nut grit isn't good. Also, do not discard the pulp. You can add it to smoothies, oatmeal, or dehydrate it and pulverize it and you can use it as faux bread crumbs, in cookies, all kinds of things.

What I have been doing with my Door to Door Organics Box....

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 03:44:00 +0000

It's been a couple of weeks since I wrote about my Door to Door Organics box. I've been pondering on my approach with this and have decided that I would pick a couple of interesting recipes and feature them instead of listing each and every things we eat with the produce from our box. Truth be told, I make a lot of the same type of things over and over changing out the ingredients with whatever produce I get in my box that week. I think it's going to get pretty boring if I continue listing everything we ate for the week, no? If there is something that you are just dying to know what I did with, send me a note!

So, this week I have two cakes (yes, cakes!), both made with whole wheat flour, vegetables, and frosted with the best vanilla frosting ever. And they are both really good.

The first cake is made with beets and tastes like a really moist spice cake. You cannot taste the beets at all (unless you roast and puree them first, which I have done and actually enjoyed). I took these to Bible study the other night and everyone loved them. I've taken them to Pilates class, made them for friends, dinner parties - good reviews all the way around. Even the people who have never eaten beets before like it! This is based on Tyler Florence's recipe from Dinner at My Place. I made all my usual adjustments with the refined ingredients and you really would never know. It's very moist and light. Then there's frosting. Oh how I love the frosting. It's such an interesting recipe modified from the version in Babycakes. I call it vanilla, but by the time I'm done with it, it's probably more coconut-y. That is because I use coconut milk, coconut oil and coconut flour. Don't be afraid if you do not like coconut. A. You can forgo the coconut milk for another type of milk (soy, almond, cow, etc.) and B. Maybe it's time you started liking coconut! This frosting may be your gateway to converting you.

The second cake recipe is a whole wheat chocolate cake with zucchini. This was EJ's birthday cake last week....three times. His birthday was on Thursday and we had to take cupcakes to daycare. Then that night we had an impromtu celebration with my brother and his family, my mom, and my grandma. Finally, on Saturday we had the "real" party, which was just the same people along with my sister and niece. All three parties I made this cake. I wasn't really planning to do that, but it was so good on Thursday that everyone begged for an encore on Saturday. So, I made it again. I did not allow enough time for the frosting to set on Saturday, though, so I ended up with a vanilla sauce spread between the layers, as well as, poured over the top. Judging from the picture, it would not win any beauty contests, but I promise you it would win taste contests! In fact, it's so good that my brother wants me to make it for his wedding! I thought I had found the perfect chocolate cake with Heidi Swanson's Basic Chocolate Cake. Now I'm confused. I think I am just going to have to make them both and have a side by side comparison to settle this!

Hope you enjoy these cake recipes as much as we do. I will be traveling for work next week, so I'm likely going to skip my DTD box. I am planning to make as much out of my hotel room as I can, though, so I think I might have some interesting things for you! I never stop!

Whole Wheat Beet Cake with Vanilla Frosting
This is adapted from Tyler Florence's version in Dinner at my Place. I replaced the AP flour with whole wheat, replaced the sugar with palm sugar, etc. He tops them with a greek yogurt sauce, but I go for the Vanilla Frosting. I make these in little 3 inch square pans to make individual cakes. You can easily make cupcakes instead or use an 8x8 cake (square or 8 inch round). Just adjust the baking time accordingly.

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, preferrably freshly ground (use whole wheat pastry or white whole wheat, if not)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses or yacon syrup
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk or yogurt
1/3 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup palm sugar
1 1/4 cup peeled, grated beets (about 2 beets)
1/2 recipe Vanilla Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease pans or muffin tins for cupcakes.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together molasses, eggs, buttermilk, oil, and sugar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until completely combined. Fold in the beets.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake 20-25 minutes or until baked through (test with toothpick). Cool completely, remove from pans, and frost.

Vanilla Frosting
This is an adapted version from Babycakes by Erin McKenna. You must let this chill for 6 hours. I have tried freezing it to shorten that time and it doesn't work. Look at the picture below and that is what happens after 4 hours in the freezer. Two hours later, I had frosting. Do note that this makes a delicious vanilla sauce that can be used in all kinds of desserts. You can leave it at room temperature instead of chilling if you want sauce. This does make a lot of frosting and I find that half of a recipe is enough for one cake. I like to make the full recipe, though, to just have it around for another cake or cookie sandwiches or eating it by the spoon...

1 can coconut milk
3/4 cup vanilla protein powder (I like Jay Robb Whey. Any vanilla protein powder will work)
1 tablespoon coconut flour
1/4 cup palm sugar (raw honey, agave, or pure maple syrup would work)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup coconut oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice

In a blender or food processer, add the coconut milk, protein powder, coconut flour, honey, and vanilla. Blend for 2 minutes. With the machine running, alternate additions of the coconut oil and lemon juice. Process until they are thoroughly combined. Transfer to a medium size bowl and cover. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours. If you are in a hurry you can freeze for about an hour, remove, and beat with a hand mixer until fluffy.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Chocolate Cake

I have made this into cupcakes, layer cakes (pictured above), and in a 9x13 pan. All work fine. Whole spelt flour would work in place of the wheat if you watch gluten.

2 1/4 cups whole wheat (white or pastry, preferrably freshly ground)

1/2 cup unsweetened organic cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups palm sugar
1 cup coconut oil, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini (about 2 1/2 medium)
1 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (at least 65% cocao) - optional, but not really
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 recipe Vanilla Frosting (recipe is above)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 pan (2-8 inch cake pans or 24 cupcake pans will work. Just adjust the baking time).

Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium size bowl. Beat sugar and coconut oil until very well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition. Add vanilla. Alternate the dry ingredients and buttermilk into the wet ingredients until everything is mixed together. Fold in the zucchini. Pour batter into the prepared pan(s). Sprinkle with 1 cup chocolate chips (save 1/2 cup for the top). Bake until toothpick inserted into the center comes clean (9x13 = appx. 50 minutes; cupcakes = appx. 25 minutes; 8 inch = appx. 40 minutes). Cool completely, remove from pans, and frost. Top with additional chocolate chips and coconut.

Mexican Fiesta

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:44:00 +0000

I am sure I could have came up with a more clever title than "Mexican Fiesta", as it does not at all begin to describe the food Tonya and I made last night for our monthly class with the IMX=Pilates group. We're not talking about the fat-laden, Americanized version of Mexican cuisine that is covered with cheese and refried beans. You can go to On the Border to get that. We're talking about super fresh flavors, spicy peppers, and hot homemade tortillas. You are not going to walk away from that table feeling sick and shameful (except for maybe the person who ate four enchiladas - he shall remain nameless).

Let's talk for a moment about homemade tortillas, because they are easier than you think to make. Invest in a tortilla press to make your life easier. I bought one from Amazon.com for $14.95 and have found several other uses for it (crackers, calzones, meat pies, etc.). I hate rolling. Think beyond white flour and yellow corn, too. Whole wheat flour, blue corn, quinoa flour - all make delicious tortillas, as we proved last night. If you can grind fresh, it's best. Soaking your grains is even better than best. Read here about why and how to soak your grains in order to neutralize the phytic acid and release all of the nutrients for your body's enjoyment. The recipes below are just starting points. Think of them more as ratios of dry/liquid/fat and plug in whatever dry or fat you want. Grind some flaxseeds, chia seeds, sunflower or pumpkin seeds and use in place of some of the flour. Bean flours, such as, garbanzo bean flour will add protein. The grain possibilities are endless, too. Barley, buckwheat, spelt, or farro flours are good options.  Mix it up. You are no longer limited to dry, horrible tasting tortillas from the grocery store! Once you taste how good tortillas are when they hot from the skillet and happen to be a thousand times better for you, you will never look back.

Beyond tortillas, we made a feast of equally tasty Mexican food, which I do not want to neglect mentioning:

Tortilla Soup from The Real Food Daily Cookbook (made with the blue corn tortillas)
Swordfish Enchiladas with Green Enchilada Sauce (made with quinoa tortillas)
Lima Bean, Corn, and Jicama Salad
Ancho Chili Truffles

All of it was just bursting with freshness and flavor. If I had to judge based on the majority of everyone's comments, the Tortilla Soup was the favorite. That means if you are reading this, you need to make it. Now, if only I had remembered to take some pictures....

Thanks to everyone for a great class last night - enjoy the recipes!

Whole Wheat Tortillas (Soaked)
Using a tortilla press makes these so much easier than rolling. It's a low-cost investment ($14.95 on Amazon.com) and will probably encourage you to make them more often!

3 cups whole wheat flour (preferably freshly ground)
1 cups water minus 3 tablespoons, plus 3 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar (if soaking; otherwise 1 cup water)
3/4 teaspoons non-aluminum baking powder
3/4 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 cup grapeseed oil or melted virgin, unrefined coconut oil

In bowl of mixer, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Using the paddle attachment, turn mixer on and add oil. Add water gradually until mixture cleans sides of bowl and forms ball in center of bowl. Switch to dough hook and let the machine knead the dough for 2 minutes. Remove dough and knead by hand a few times just to bring the dough together. Add more flour or water to get the right consistency. It should feel moist, maybe even a little tacky. It should not stick to your fingers. If following soaked version, place the dough into a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest for twelve to twenty-four hours at room temperature and then proceed. Otherwise, divide the dough into 16 parts for small tortillas or 12 parts for large tortillas. Roll each part into a ball and spread on a cookie sheet. Spray with oil and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let the balls rest 1 hour before proceeding.

When you're ready to fry the tortillas, heat a griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Roll or press one ball of dough to the desired thickness. Tip: they are easier to handle if you make them smaller (i.e. a little thicker). If you are using a tortilla press, you want to have plastic wrap on both sides of the press to prevent the dough from sticking.  With floured hands, quickly pick the pressed piece of dough, lay it on your dominant hand, and flip it over onto the grill. If it wrinkles at all just use a spatula to straighten it out. Let it cook for 1-2 minutes and then flip. Cook another minute or two and remove. Be careful not to overcook it as it will become crisp instead of soft and pliable. Repeat with the remaining balls of dough. You can buy a tortilla warmer or just place a tea towel in a bowl and stack the tortillas inside the towel.

Quinoa Flour Tortillas
You can buy quinoa flour or grind your own in a grain mill.

3 cups quinoa flour (preferably freshly ground)
1 cups water minus 3 tablespoons, plus 3 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar (if soaking; otherwise 1 cup water)
3/4 teaspoons non-aluminum baking powder
3/4 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 cup grapeseed oil or melted virgin, unrefined coconut oil

Follow the same directions above for whole wheat version, but just replace the wheat with quinoa.

Blue Corn Tortillas (with whole wheat)
These directions are for a "non-soaked" version. If you want to soak the tortillas, start the night before, reduce the water by 3 tablespoons and add 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Prepare the dough, but do not divide it into balls. Place it in a bowl, cover, and sit at room temperature overnight. Proceed the next day. This addresses the wheat, not the need to soak the blue corn. If you want to soak the blue corn then a lime water solution would be used and the flours would probably be soaked separately.

1 1/2 cups organic blue corn meal
1 cup whole wheat flour (preferably freshly ground)
1 cup boiling water

Mix blue corn and boiling water together in a bowl and let it sit for 15 minutes. Mix in 1/2 cup of the whole wheat flour at first and proceed to add more flour, as needed. You may need more than 1 cup or you may need less. Start with less. The consistency should be soft, but not strong. It will be sitting for 1 hour and will stiffen up during that time, so do not add too much flour on the front end. Once dough begins to hold together, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for a minute. Divide the dough into small balls (golf ball sized) and place on a baking sheet. Cover and allow it to rest for 1 hour.

When you're ready to fry the tortillas, heat a griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Roll or press one ball of dough to the desired thickness. Tip: they are easier to handle if you make them smaller (i.e. a little thicker). If you are using a tortilla press, you want to have plastic wrap on both sides of the press to prevent the dough from sticking. With floured hands, quickly pick the pressed piece of dough, lay it on your dominant hand, and flip it over onto the grill. If it wrinkles at all just use a spatula to straighten it out. Let it cook for 1-2 minutes and then flip. Cook another minute or two and remove. Be careful not to overcook it as it will become crisp instead of soft and pliable. Repeat with the remaining balls of dough. You can buy a tortilla warmer or just place a tea towel in a bowl and stack the tortillas inside the towel.

Tortilla Soup
This recipe is only slightly adapted from The Real Food Daily cookbook by Ann Gentry. It is so affordable and easy to make. You can add shredded chicken for more protein.

1 tablespoon grapeseed or coconut oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno chili, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoon tamari
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 cups vegetable or chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 pound tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup tomato paste
8 organic corn tortillas, coarsely chopped (we used homemade blue corn)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Optional (but yummy) Toppings:
1/2 cup Crispy Tortilla Strips (strips of tortillas lightly fried)
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced
Sour Cream (dairy or tofu)
Monterey Jack cheese

Heat the oil in a heavy stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, and saute for 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add the jalapeno chile, tamari, cumin, salt, oregano, and pepper, and continue to saute until the jalapeno begins to soften and the mixture is very aromatic.

Add the stock, tomatoes, and tomato paste and stir to combine. Cover and bring to a simmer over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes are tender. Add the tortillas and simmer 10 minutes longer, or until the tortillas are falling apart. Using a handheld immersion blender, blend the soup in the pot until smooth. Stir in the cilantro.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish with the tortilla strips, avocado, and tofu sour cream, and serve.

Corn, Lima Bean, and Jicama Salad
This salad could not be any easier and the taste and presentation scream "SUMMER!!!". Fresh corn and lima beans are always best, but frozen is just as good.

1 bag of frozen organic white corn, thawed
1 bag frozen baby lima beans, thawed
1 cup jicama, sliced into matchsticks (a mandolin makes this a snap)
1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/3 cup sliced (thinly) green onions
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 chopped fresh basil
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp orange juice
2 1/2 tsp grated lime peel
1/4 tsp ground cumin
5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided

In a large bowl, add corn, lima beans, jicama, red pepper, green onions, cilantro and basil. Whisk lime juice, orange juice, lime peel, cumin and olive oil in small bowl. Mix dressing into bean salad. Season generously with salt and pepper. Cover and chill.

Can be made up to 6 hours ahead.

Swordfish Enchiladas
This recipe is from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. You can use any fish in place of the swordfish. Tuna is offered in the cookbook as a variation.

1 lb. swordfish
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch green onions
4 cups green enchilada sauce (recipe follows)
12 corn tortillas
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
chopped cilantro for garnish
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Heat a grill or skillet over medium-high. Brush the fish with olive oil, salt and pepper. Sear the fish for 7 minutes each side or until it flakes with a fork. Be careful not to overcook. Mix 1 cup of the green sauce with the flaked swordfish and the green onions. Heat the tortillas to make them soft and pliable by frying lightly in oil. Pat the tortillas dry before proceeding. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the fish mixture onto each tortilla and roll tightly. Line each enchilada up in a greased pyrex dish. Top with some of the remaining green sauce, cover with foil, and bake until steaming.

Serve with cheese, cilantro, and more sauce on the side.

Green Enchilada Sauce:
2 onions, chopped
8 fresh tomatillos, husked and finely chopped
3 anaheim chilies, seeded and diced
2 small jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic minced
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 3/4 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
sea salt
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Saute onions in the oil until soft. Add chilies and tomatillas and continue to saute. Add the stock, garlic, and salt and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro. Using a food processor, immersion blender, or regular blender, puree the sauce until smooth.

Ancho Chocolate Truffles
There are so many ways to do these and they couldn't be easier. At the end of the recipe I will suggest some variations. Because the main ingredient of these is chocolate, use good, organic dark chocolate! Dagoba or Green & Black's are both great.

2 dried ancho chiles
2 tablespoons honey
1/3 cups coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (preferably fresh ground)
1 cup dark bittersweet chocolate pieces (at least 65%)
1 teaspoon Ancho powder
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup organic cocao powder (we used raw

Optional:
1/4 cup goji berries
1/4 cup cocao nibs

Stem and seed the chiles, then toast in a dry skillet over medium heat until small whiffs of smoke waft from the chile. Remove from heat.   In a small saucepan mix coconut milk and honey. Add one of the chilies and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover, remove from heat, and steep for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, dump the chocolate pieces into a medium sized bowl. Place the second chili into a spice grinder and grind into a fine powder. Measure out 1 teaspoon and add to the chocolate. Grind the cinnamon (this will only take a small piece of a stick), measure out 1/4 teaspoon and add to the chocolate. Lastly, add the salt. Once the coconut milk mixture has finished steeping, hold a fine meshed strainer over the bowl of chocolate and pour the hot coconut milk into it (straining the chili and remaining seeds). Whisk the chocolate until smooth. If the chocolate is not melting completely, microwave for 10-15 seconds and then stir. Now whisk in the coconut oil. Switch to an immersion blender and blend for about 1 minute for a lovely satiny texture. Stir in the cocao nibs, goji berries, and vanilla. Cover the surface of the chocolate with plastic wrap; set aside in a cool spot until slightly firm, about 1 hour.

Spoon or scoop about 1 tablespoon of the chocolate at a time and roll into balls. Roll in cocoa powder and place on a parchment lined sheet. I like to use a small cookie scooper so they are all the exact same size.

Variations:
- Change the spices to anything - cumin, nutmeg, cayenne, etc.
- Add orange zest
- In place of vanilla use a different extract, such as, almond
- Add a tablespoon or two of liquor - rum, whiskey, chambord, grand marnier (particularly good with orange zest), amaretto
- Add some ground nuts or roll the truffles in ground nuts
- Top with a course sugar (or salt)

What I did with my Door to Door Organics box LAST week....

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 04:08:00 +0000

I'll start off by stating the obvious - I'm a week behind. I've been tied up with a couple of projects this week and haven't had much spare time to think. Better late than never, though, right?

I kind of had a theme going on with my cooking last week of quick standby's that can be made up a thousand different ways and are perfect for using whatever you have in the fridge. Ok, that is my theme every week, but last week it was considerably apparent. I'm talking omelets, quesadillas, salads, lacto-fermented veggies, and fritters. You can look at these more as methods instead of exact recipes. Play around with them and I bet you could remake them in some way, shape, or form every week using whatever is in your box. I was informed by my family that I could make omelets any time I wanted, so there you go. Give it a try for a quick and easy dinner and you might just find something new to add your rotation.

Now in case you are wondering, here is what found its way into my box last week:

1 lb Zucchini
2 lb Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 ea. Spinach
1 ea. Romaine Lettuce
1 lb Leeks
1 ea. Green Chard
2 ea. Cucumbers
1 ea. Carrots with Tops
1 ea. Broccoli
1 ea. Strawberries
4 ea. Navel Oranges
1 ea. Mangoes
6 ea. Danjou Pears
6 ea. Braeburn Apples
1 ea. Avocado

And let the weekly recap begin...

1. Jamie Oliver's Zucchini Fritters - Lots of people are asking what they can do with their zucchini and this week I have an amazing fritter recipe for you. It comes from "Cook with Jamie" by Jamie Oliver. I promise this recipe will have you smiling when you see zucchini in your box!

4 zucchini
1 large free-range or organic egg
1 tsp white pepper
1 heaped tablespoon flour
1 fresh red chili, deseeded and finely chopped ( I used cayenne pepper) a bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked and chopped
1 lemon, zested and quartered
a handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese sea salt grape seed oil
1/2 tsp cumin

Remove the ends from the zucchini and cut them lengthways into quarters. Remove the fluffy white center from each one with your knife (don't throw it out - use it in smoothies!). Then slice the zucchini up into matchsticks - don't worry about being precise and perfect, just do the best you can. Try to make them as thin as possible, though.

Separate the egg and put the white into one bowl and the yolk into another. Add the zucchini matchsticks, white pepper, flour, chili, mint, lemon zest and parmesan to the yolk and mix up with your hands.

Whip the egg white with a pinch of salt until stiff, then carefully fold it into the zucchini mixture.

Put a couple of tablespoons of oil into the pan and add 5 or 6 bundles of the mixture. Sprinkle with some cumin and cook the fritters on a medium heat, about 2 1/2 minutes on each side or until golden.

Serve on a platter with the lemon quarters.

2. Potato Quesadillas - This is a popular street vendor food in Mexico. They remind me of perogies. You can make just anything into a quesadilla. This is such a great way to use up leftovers. I made homemade quinoa tortillas; although, you can use store bought. Here's how you make a Potato Quesadilla: Slice your potatoes very thin (preferably with a mandolin slicer) and cook over medium heat in a skillet with one onion, sliced, and 1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil for about 10 minutes. You want the potatoes to be just cooked, but not falling apart. Remove from the heat and heat another griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Add a small amount of oil to the pan. Spoon some potatoes on one half of a tortilla. Top with some cheese (I just used parmesan). Fold the tortilla in half over the potatoes. Toast each side of the quesadilla for a couple of minutes or until the cheese has melted. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

3. Umeboshi Broccoli Salad - This is one of my favorite salads spawned from the traditional salad with broccoli, bacon, sunflower seeds, raisins, and tons of mayo. Instead of mayo I use a dressing made of cucumbers and tangy umeboshi paste. There are so may tastes going on that it leaves you completely satisfied. Click here for the recipe.

4. Chard Omelet - Another great way to (1) use veggies and (2) make something quick on these beautiful evenings when the last thing you want to do (even me) is be in the kitchen all night. The key to a good omelet is good eggs and you can't buy good eggs from the store! I get farm-fresh, pastured eggs from Parker Farms, as well as, a couple of other dealers I can count on when I'm running low between my regular CSA deliveries. Making omelets takes some practice (and patience), but once you get it, you get it. Here's how it's done:

Beat 3 eggs with 1 tablespoon milk and a little salt and pepper. Heat an 8 inch skillet over medium heat and then add one tablespoon butter or coconut oil (swirl it around to coat the pan). Once it's melted, add the egg mixture and let it cook for about 30 seconds so it forms a nice layer on the bottom. Now with a rubber spatula begin to push the edges of the egg towards the middle so the uncooked portions are filling the perimeter. Continue for a couple of minutes until the omelet is mostly cooked. Be sure the pan is not hot enough so that it is browning the eggs. You want to keep it moving so everything is getting cooked but portions are not getting overcooked. Now it's time to add your filling. I like to do a half-fold, so I put my fillings on one half and then, in one motion, slide the omelet out of the pan and fold the unfilled half over the filling. Perfect!

For my chard filling, I cleaned and destemmed my chard and then put it in a glass dish (with water still on the leaves). Cover and microwave for just a couple minutes so it begins to melt. Now saute it in a little coconut oil, chopped garlic, and a tiny bit of crushed red pepper. Once it's fully cooked grate a tiny bit of fresh nutmeg over it. Careful not to do too much - you're not going for pumpkin pie! You can do this with literally any green and it always goes well in an omelet with feta (or your favorite) cheese.

5. Summer Salad - The salad you see above is inspired by one that I love at Yard House. I start making it at home just as soon strawberries make their appearance in the spring. Lettuce is tossed with thinly sliced leeks, strawberries, candied walnuts, avocado, and oranges and is dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette. My version of the walnuts is made by mixing a tablespoon of honey with a tablespoon of water and heating for 20 seconds in the microwave. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper and stir. Toss with walnuts and the bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. I use this basic dressing and add feta cheese. I think I had this every day for lunch last week!

6. Pickles - I am really into lacto-fermenting right now and I'm trying to lacto-ferment something every week. Last week it was beets. This week it's cucumbers. This is a topic discussed in great detail in Nourishing Traditions. Here is a great article from Weston A. Price Foundation where you can read all about the many health benefits. In summary, lacto-fermenting is method of preservation using salt and/or whey. The result is the presence of "good" bacteria aiding in digestion, increasing vitamin levels, and providing an array of healthy enzymes that, again, you can read all about here. The pickles I made is a recipe straight from Nourishing Traditions. For the two cucumbers I received, here is how I made the pickles:

Slice cucumbers into desired shape (round slices, spears, etc.). Add to a 1 qt. sized mason jar. In a separate bowl, combine 1 cup of water, 4 tablespoons of whey, 1 tablespoon sea salt, 1 tablespoon mustard seeds, and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (Note: If you do not have whey available, use a little extra sea salt. Be warned, though, they will be quite salty). Pour mixture over cucumbers and add water to fully cover. Put the lid on and leave at room temperature for 2 days then move to the refrigerator and enjoy.

7. Avocado Dressing - Here is a very tasty dressing from Elana's Pantry. Creamy avocado with a splash of lemon and olive oil. I tossed it with the romaine lettuce, thawed frozen sweet corn, and feta cheese. The picture is sort of funny. My brother and his family came over for dinner and I forgot to get a picture before everyone dug in.

8. Homemade Applesauce - This is one of my family's favorite things. All of us love it, so it doesn't last long. Heck, EJ alone can wipe out a quart in one day...which he did. Typically, I would make this in the fall when apples are so abundant, but I wanted to have some around for a recipe I was going to try out. Guess I'll have to wait on that! I don't know if you can really call my applesauce a "recipe" since all I do is core and quarter the apples and bake them at 350 for about an hour. Once they are very soft I run them through the food mill and voila. No sugar or anything. It's the best applesauce I've ever had!

That just leaves the carrots, spinach, mangos, pears, and oranges. We just ate the fruit whole - nothing special there. The carrots went into a pot of beans, as well as, smoothies. The spinach went into smoothies, too, similar to the one here. Overall, a successful week!

Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Scones

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 03:46:00 +0000

Wow, this week has gotten away from me. Friday already? Spring is truly upon us! Between cleaning and redecorating and getting the garden ready and everything else we seem to cram on our plates post-hibernation, it's easy to become a little overstimulated. A.D.D. may be the more accurate diagnosis. In times like these it's nice to have easy "go to" recipes which can be easily adapted to whatever you have in your pantry or to whatever is in season. I just made one of those recipes - scones.

I have made these so many different ways and they are always a hit. I usually get up early on Saturday mornings to workout and stay longer then usual, so I like to have something ready for the kids to have for breakfast when they wake up. These are perfect for that. Even better, they freeze beautifully, so we can enjoy them on Saturday morning and then freeze the rest to pull out on some obsure weekday where we need to get around earlier than usual. Tonight I made a banana/chocolate chip version sweetened with agave. So good. I had to test one of them to make sure they would be acceptable. Sometimes I like using apples and maple syrup or pears and ginger or raspberries or blueberries - possibilities are endless! It truly is a "go to" recipe for me. Although, Logan asked me tonight with anticipation if I was making scone-cakes again (my mess up from last week that we all loved). The real scones may not be as popular anymore!

Whole Wheat Scones
This recipe is adapted from BabyCakes Raspberry Scone. I have made them so many different way, so I've written up the basic recipe and then listed some suggested add-ins.

Basic recipe:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or whole spelt flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup coconut oil plus more for brushing
1/3 cup agave nectar plus more for brushing
1 tbsp vanilla
1/4 cup hot water.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add oil, agave nectar and vanilla. Stir to a dry batter and then add hot water. Add extras (see variations below). Drop 1/4 cup of batter 1 inch apart onto a parchment lined baking sheet and brush with more coconut oil. Bake at 350 degrees for 14 minutes. Rotate pan 180 degrees and bake 7 minutes longer. Remove from oven and brush with agave nectar. Cool completely.

Note: These freeze very well. You can either bake them and freeze them individually or drop the batter onto the pan and freeze them individually unbaked. When you want to bake one just bake at 375 degrees for 14 minutes, rotate 180 degrees and bake 7 minutes longer.

Add in ideas:
- 1/2 cup unsweetened dried fruit - currents, raisins, dried cranberries, chopped dates, chopped figs, etc.
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- Maple syrup or honey in place of agave nectar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup any fresh fruit (chopped strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, chopped apples are all good)
- ½ cup oats (may need to add some more hot water)

What I did with my Door to Door Organics box this week...

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 22:33:00 +0000

The flurry of Easter activities have finally began to wind down and I have a moment of peace to finish up my post! This was a very busy week! And a creative week, I might add. I really did not intend for this post to be so long, but I used my produce in such interesting ways that I had some explaining to do. Apparently in great detail!

Before I get into those details, I want to explain why I use a service like Door to Door Organics when I am calling myself an "urban homesteader". Urban Homesteading means something different to each individual. There are no set rules or special clubs that you have to join to consider yourself as being part of this movement towards self-sufficiency. In fact, what you are able to do yourself instead of buying or paying someone else to do for you may even change on a weekly basis. One week you may have time to bake a loaf of bread and the next week you may not. It's all about seizing opportunities to be self-sufficient when you can and making the best decisions with your money when you cannot. During the growing season, we have a garden. During the winter, we do not. So for me, Door to Door Organics gives me the best produce for the best price with the most variety when I can't grow it myself.

Heath has been the farmer at this homestead for the past few years and he has already begun sprouting and planting. I have committed to managing the deck garden, as well as, using the front flower bed to grow lettuce and herbs. We will posting our progress regularly with the first post coming up this week.

Without further adieu, I present to you my week in review. I hope I've demonstrated that even though you may not be seeing a lot of variety in your box right now (just for a few more weeks!!) that you can use it in new and interesting ways. To make it a little easier to follow, here is a brief summary of the contents of my box and what I made with each thing....

1 ea. Fennel - Caramelized Fennel, Onion, and Italian Sausage Pizza (on almond flour crust)
2 lb Yams - Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Vanilla Protein Frosting
1 ea. Red Leaf Lettuce - Many delicious salads
1 ea. Kale - Kale Mint Pesto
3 ea. Green Bell Peppers - Mexican Rice Casserole and Pizza
0.33 lb Garlic - Used in many of the recipes featured below
1 ea. Cucumbers - Cucumber Seaweed Lettuce Salad with Umeboshi Cucumber Dressing
1 ea. Beets with Tops - Pickled Beets (beets) and smoothies (tops)
1 ea. Baby Peeled Carrots - Mexican Rice Casserole
2 ea. Strawberries - Salads, smoothies, and just plain straight from the container
2 ea. Mangoes - Mango Chutney
7 ea. Fuji Apples - Ate them whole
6 ea. Danjou Pears - Ate them whole
1 ea. Avocado - Chocolate Pudding
1 ea. Blueberries - Whole Wheat Blueberry Scone-Cakes

If any of this entices you, please continue reading...

1. Whole Wheat Blueberry "Scone-Cakes" - Used blueberries. I hate to admit it, but I intended to make scones and ended up with something between a scone and a pancake. Or maybe a muffin. Whatever it is, it's delicious and so nourishing! Logan named them "scone-cakes", so that's what we call them. Click here for the recipe!

2. Cucumber Seaweed Lettuce Salad - Used lettuce, carrots, garlic and cucumber. This is a very refreshing salad that could easily be turned into a meal by adding some marinated tempeh or brown rice or even shrimp. It is a lettuce-based salad topped with strips of cucumber, barely blanched and then shocked carrots, toasted nori, feta cheese, and sprinkles of toasted sesame seeds. It's dressed in Umeboshi Cucumber Dressing, which is an easy (and slightly addictive) dressing made out of umeboshi paste, cucumber, garlic, olive oil, and honey. The recipe can be found here. The salad has all of the same flavors as sushi, especially if you were to top it with brown rice. The feta may seem a little out of place, but I figured it was my salad and I wanted feta cheese on it. Kinda like people who eat ketchup on everything.

3. Kale Mint Pesto - Used kale and garlic. I love making pesto out of dark greens and this one was no exception. I participated in a Seder Dinner this week and grilled a leg of lamb for the ceremonial feast. Since I was also in charge of bring the dark green, I thought I would bring it in the form of a mint flavored condiment to go with the lamb. That brings me to #4....

4. Mango Chutney - Used mangos. Since mint jelly is so popular with lamb and my pesto condiment was missing that sweet element, I made a second condiment. The mango chutney is spiced with Indian flavors and could be used in so many ways.

Uses for pesto:

Tossed with pasta

Served along with chicken, fish, lamb, pork, beef, well, any meat

Tossed with salad (my favorite salad of the week: lettuce, sliced strawberries, feta cheese, balsamic vinaigrette, and a small spoonful of Kale Mint Pesto evenly tossed in - YUM!)

Spread on a sandwich

Tossed with cooked vegetables

Spread onto crackers

Spread onto slices of toasted baguettes or any warm bread

Eat it with a spoon

The uses for Mango Chutney are similar, so I won't repeat them. Click here for the recipes for Kale Mint Pesto and Mango Chutney.

5. Pickled Beets - Used...beets. This was a recipe from Nourishing Traditions that I have been wanting to try. It's lacto-fermented roasted beets. Roast 3-4 large beets, as described here. Allow them to cool completely, peel, and cut into 1/4 inch julienne slices. Add the roasted beets to a glass mason jar and press down. In a separate bowl, combine 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 1/2 tablespoons whey (if not available, add 1 extra teaspoon salt), 1/2 cup water, and seeds from 1 cardamom pod. Pour over the beets and add more water to cover the beets, if needed. Put the lid on the jar and sit at room temperature for 3 days. Then transfer to the refrigerator.

6. Mexican Rice Casserole - Used carrots, green peppers, and garlic. This was made completely on the fly as it was approaching 6:30 p.m. and I was being threatened by eating out. Again. We had eaten out the two nights previous due to a minor kitchen remodel and I was ready to cook again. I had to think quick and use what we had. I can't believe how good it turned out! Really, sometimes I get cocky and insist we should eat at home and then it backfires when I make something that totally bombs! It worked out this time, though, especially since I had no idea what I was going to use the green peppers for and I had some odd and end stuff in the fridge that needed to be used. Whew! This is best to make when you have some brown rice already cooked (Tonya's brown rice with cardamom works awesome in this) and black beans already cooked or a can on hand. I am imagining leftovers for breakfast with eggs. Heath is imagining a burrito...

I won. I served the leftovers with scrambled eggs and a lettuce salad (dressed with the remaining cilantro-sour cream and feta) to my family for Easter brunch! I had extra tomato sauce leftover that I used later on in the week for pizza. It's really just a basic tomato sauce that's not "mexican-ized", so you can treat it as you would any tomato sauce.

Recipe:

1 medium onion

3 carrots

2 green peppers

4 cloves garlic, divided

2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder (regular would work)

1 28 ounce can organic whole tomatoes, drained and smashed by hand

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh

3 cups cooked brown rice

1 teaspoon cumin

8 ounces sour cream

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro plus more for garnish

2 cups cooked black beans (1 can drained and rinsed would work)

6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

6 ounces shredded pepper jack cheese

Saute onion, carrots, green peppers, and 3 cloves of chopped garlic in a tablespoon of coconut oil. When softened, add one 28 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes (drained and smashed by hand) and 2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 10-15 minutes to let the flavors blend then add to a blender. Meanwhile, add sour cream, 1 clove garlic, 2 tablespoons cilantro, salt and pepper to a blender. Blend until smooth. Set aside in the fridge until ready to assemble. Now add the tomato sauce to the blender. Blend until smooth. Mix the cumin into the brown rice. Blend the cheese together. Now you're ready to assemble.

In a 9x13 casserole dish layer in the following order:

1 ladle-full of tomato sauce spread around

1/2 of the brown rice pressed down and spread to cover the entire dish (wet hands help)

1/4 cup cilantro sour cream

1/2 of the black beans

2 ladle-fulls of tomato sauce

1/2 of the cheese

Rest of the brown rice pressed down and spread to cover all of the cheese

1/4 cup cilantro sour cream

Rest of the black beans

Tomato sauce

Rest of the cheese.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and the casserole is bubbly. Top with fresh cilantro and drizzle each serving with the cilantro sour cream.

7. Chocolate Pudding - Used avocado. Yes, it sounds weird, but the avocado gives a seriously silky consistency. Here's how it's done: In a blender add the avocado, 3 tablespoons raw cocao powder, 5 dried pitted dates and 1 cup coconut milk. Blend until smooth. That's it. It's raw. It's sugar-free. It's full of healthy fats and nutrients. Amazon.com has a great deal on raw cocao powder - 2 lbs. for $26.24 and even less if you do Subscribe and Save. Raw cocao really is better if you're not going to cook it, anyway. With so many antioxidants and minerals, it's a REAL treat! EJ liked it...

7. Sweet Potato Cupcakes - Used sweet potatoes. I've done sweet potatoes all winter long and every way you can think of. Well, every way except cupcakes, that is. For Easter I decided to make cupcakes to take to church and to have as dessert for my family brunch. I had sweet potatoes and I didn't want baked sweet potatoes again. Or fries. Or soup. Or gnocchi. So, why not cupcakes? These cupcakes are very moist and similar to carrot cake, but different enough to know it's not carrot cake. When you know they are made with sweet potatoes, you can taste definitely taste them. I frosted the cupcakes with a vanilla frosting that is not your "run of the mill" buttercream frosting. It was inspired by the vanilla frosting in Babycakes, which is the cookbook from the famous bakery in NYC of the same name. Vegan, (mostly) gluten-free, and (mostly) sugar-free. It's a really fun cookbook to play around with. If you want to try a few recipes without investing in the book first, check out Gwenyth's newsletter from several months ago. But I digress. The frosting. It's not your typical opaque-like buttercream frosting, but it tastes heavenly. The consistency is more like a shinier marshmallow frosting or something. I changed quite a few of the ingredients from the Babycakes version, which calls for soy milk, soy powder, and agave nectar. I try to avoid soy as much as possible and I have a secret crush on protein powder (Jay Robb Vanilla Whey - hormone free and sweetened with stevia - the only way to go), so I used coconut milk and whey protein powder. I also used raw honey in place of the agave. Try it out. It's super healthy and you will want to eat it by the spoonful.

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup coconut oil

1 1/2 cup palm sugar

3 eggs

1 lb. sweet potatoes

1 teaspoon vanilla

Toasted coconut and chopped macadamia nuts for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap the sweet potatoes in aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes or until soft. Cool, peel, and mash the potatoes. Prepare 2 muffin pans with paper liners (24 total cupcakes).

In a medium size bowl, mix the dry ingredients. With an electric mixer, beat the coconut oil and sugar for 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low after each addition. Add the sweet potatoes and vanilla and mix well. Slowly add the flour mixture and continue beating until the batter is smooth. The batter will be slightly thicker than normal cake batter. Spoon the batter evenly among the prepare pans and bake for 20 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool for a few minutes in the pan and then remove and cool completely on a wire rack. Top with frosting.

Vanilla Frosting:

1 can coconut milk

4 scoops vanilla protein powder (Any protein powder will do if you avoid dairy. Also you can use soy powder, Use 3/4 cup)

1 tablespoon coconut flour

1/4 cup raw honey

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup coconut oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon xantham gum

In a blender or food processer, add the coconut milk, protein powder, coconut flour, honey, and vanilla. Blend for 2 minutes. With the machine running, alternate additions of the coconut oil and lemon juice. Process until they are thoroughly combined. Add the xantham gum and continue blending. Transfer to a medium size bowl and cover. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours. If you are in a hurry you can freeze for about an hour, remove, and beat with a hand mixer until fluffy.

8. Caramelized Fennel, Onion, and Italian Sausage Pizza - Used fennel and green pepper. Do you ever see how long you can go without buying groceries just to challenge yourself to come up with amazing dinners when you have nothing in the fridge? I do (haha). I really thought I pushed it too far this time, too, but I pulled through. I made pizza with almond flour crust, because it takes no time to make and I like to go low-carb/high protein whenever I can. I also used a non-traditional ricotta salata/parmesan cheese mixture instead of mozzarella since that is all I had. It was good. Probably would have been better with the standard mozzarella. I could have been very crafty and used cheese curds from making cottage cheese earlier in the day (before adding the cream at the end), because you can do that. I didn't have anything to feed EJ for lunch, though, so I made chocolate pudding with it (cottage cheese curds, raw chocolate cocao, coconut milk, one banana, and a little stevia to sweeten). Ok, I ate for lunch, too. Hey, it's very well balanced! Like I said, I pushed the grocery store visit a little too far.

So, here's how I made the pizza: Over medium low heat, add one sliced onion, one sliced fennel bulb, and one sliced green pepper in a tablespoon of grapeseed oil. Cook for 10-15 minutes until caramelized. Meanwhile, prepare your pizza dough. I made an almond flour pizza dough from Elana Amsteram's Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook. It's not Heath's favorite type of crust, but you should try it and be your own judge. I like it. Anyway, once the veggies are cooked, remove them from the pan and add 1 lb. Italian sausage. I had a pound in the freezer from my last CSA delivery from Parker Farms and I was trying to make up for using an almond flour crust that I knew Heath would not like, otherwise, I would have gone meat free. Now assemble the pizza with your favorite tomato sauce (I used leftover tomato sauce from the Mexican rice with some added Italian herbs), sausage, caramelized veggies and cheese. Bake at 450 degrees until the crust is baked through and the cheese is melted. Note: this makes enough toppings for 3 10 inch pizzas. I only made one and then froze the rest in two separate containers. I will use them again for pizza someday or maybe pasta.

Seder Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 22:45:00 +0000

Our Bible study group held a Passover Seder dinner last night, in lieu of our normal reading/discussion. We have been meeting for the past eight months now, every Tuesday evening, and are dangerously close to making it through the entire New and Old Testaments. We have talked in great length about the Exile and the Last Supper, so it seemed only fitting, the week of Passover, to honor the tradition of a Seder dinner. Ours was a Christian version of the ceremony, which made it very meaningful and appropriate with the upcoming events we will be celebrating this weekend.

Everyone did their part to make it very special. The food was awesome and the company was even better. Thanks to Kristen, Laura, Abby, Cheryl, and Heath for an unforgettable experience!!!

So, I was in charge of supplying the leg of lamb, the grain, and the dark green for our dinner. No problem. I was able to score an extra leg of lamb from Parker Farms in my last CSA delivery, thank goodness, because I don't like buying meat from anyone else! I marinated it for several hours in a garlic-spiked yogurt marinade, which tenderized the meat and gave it a wonderful flavor. Then I grilled it to medium and served it with a Kale Mint Pesto (the dark green requirement) and a Mango Chutney spiced with curry, cumin, and fennel seeds. Lastly, I made what I call "Tonya's Brown Rice", which is based on a recipe in Nourishing Traditions. It's laced with cardamom seeds giving it a sweet, unique flavor. Delish!

I hope you find inspiration from these recipes for your Passover and/or Easter dinners. If you are looking for a church to celebrate Easter or attend Good Friday services at, please consider Living Water Christian Church in Parkville. Services begin on Friday night at 7 p.m. and on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Brunch will be served beginning 30 minutes prior to each service. You can also worship online where all of the services are recorded and ready for playback.

Happy Passover!

Grilled Garlic-Corriander Leg of Lamb with Mango Chutney and Kale Mint Pesto
Technically, yogurt is dairy and to be authentic it should not be used for a Seder dinner. It really just marinates in it and is rubbed off before grilling. The meat comes out so tender.

1 cup plain yogurt
3 gloves garlic
2 teaspoons ground coriader
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
salt and pepper
2 -3 lb. leg of lamb, bone-in
Mango Chutney, recipe follows
Kale Mint Pesto, recipe follows

Smash and peel the garlic and discard the skins. Sprinkle a small amount of kosher salt on the cloves and begin smashing with your knife. You want to hold your chef's knife at a 45 degree angle, smash and then scrape the blade across the cutting board towards you. The salt will serve as an abrasive to help turn the cloves into a paste.

Wish together the yogurt, garlic paste, coriander, grapeseed oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Put the leg of lamb in a large zip lock back and pour the yogurt mixture over it. Seal. Massage the marinade into the lamb. Place in the refrigerator overnight or at least several hours.

Remove the lamb 1-2 hours prior to cooking so it comes to room temperature. Preheat grill to high (450 degrees if you have a temperature guage). Brush some oil on the rack so the meat does not stick. Wipe all of the yogurt off of the lamb when it's time to go on. Use a paper towl to ensure it's completely dry. Salt and pepper. Place the lamb on the grill and close the lid. Grill one one side for 10 minutes and flip. Grill another 10 minutes and then reduce the heat to medium so the temperature is more like 350. Continue to grill until the meat has an internal temperature of 145 degrees for medium, 135 for medium rare. It will take around 45 minutes. Try to keep the lid closed as much as possible, but do check it occasionally to make sure the outside is not burning.

Once the meat is to the desired doneness, remove it from the grill and cover it with aluminum foil on a baking sheet or plate for at least 15 minutes. To serve, make long cuts as close to the bone as you can get all around the leg. Then slice crosswise in thin slices. Serve with Mango Chutney and Kale and Mint Pesto (recipes follow).

Kale Mint Pesto
This makes a lot of pesto. It will freeze very well, though, especially if you freeze it in small portions (ice cube trays work perfect). This can be used in so many ways. Have it drizzled over meat, pasta, veggies, soup, bread, crackers...you get the idea. It will enhance the flavor of any meal. I like mine more on the thick side, as opposed to very "runny". Add more olive oil if you want it to actually drizzle.

1 bunch kale
1 cup mint leaves
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 cloves garlic
1/3 cup parmesan cheese (busted - this is dairy and not "allowed" at Passover dinner)
zest of 1 lemon
1/3 cup oilive oil

De-stem kale and rinse well. Steam the kale slightly so that it is just cooked, but still bright green in color. Rinse under cold water so it is completely cool. Add everything except olive oil to a food processer. Process until everything is chopped up very, very fine. Slowly add the olive oil while the food process is running. Stop to scrap down the sides and continue processing until the desired consistency is reached.

Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Mango Chutney
This recipe was inspired by a recipe in Modern Spice written by Monica Bhide. I ordered this book last summer, put it on the shelf, and kind of forgot about it (completely typical). Heidi over at 101cookbooks.com featured Monica on her blog, which is what prompted me to order the book. You can read all about her and her book in that article. This chutney so good. I believe I will making more from this book soon!

2 1/2 cups diced mango (2-3 mangos)
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1/4 cup palm sugar (or honey)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon curry powder (I used Sri Lankan)
2 dried chilies, broken into pieces
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (or orange or pineapple juice)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Combine the mangos, raisins, ginger, and palm sugar in a medium sized bowl and mix well. In a 4 qt. saucepan, heat the oil over medium. Add the fennel seeds, cumin seeds, curry powder, and chiles. When they begin to sizzle, add the mango mixture and cook until the sugar is dissolved (2-3 minutes). Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer for 20-30 minutes until the sauce is thickened. Give it a good stir to break up the mangos bit and then cool. Transfer to a mason jar and store in the refrigerator.

Makes a little over 1 cup.

Tonya's Brown Rice (Oven)
This makes cooking rice sooooo easy. The oven will do all of the work for you and it will come out perfect every time! It is still based on the recipe in Nourishing Traditions, as is the pressure cooker version. It will take a little over an hour from start to finish, so allow yourself time. It will make a lot of rice, though, so you can freeze the leftovers in ziplock bags for quick meals in the future.

2 cups short grain brown rice, rinsed
2 tablespoon coconut oil
3 cardamom pods
4 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade)
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add coconut oil to a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat. Open the cardamom pods and add the seeds to the oil. Add the rice and stir to coat with oil. Toast the rice for a few minutes and then add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes and then transfer to a casserole dish with a lid. Cover with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil over it. Top it with the lid. Bake for 45 minutes and then remove from oven and quickly remove the lid and foil to see if the liquid is absorbed. If not, continue baking in 5 minute increments until pretty much all of the liquid is absorbed. You just don't want it to be puddled anywhere. Once it is finished, allow the dish to sit for 15 minutes covered. Remove the lid and fluff with a fork. Add salt and pepper as needed.

What I did with my Door to Door Organic box this week....

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 02:54:00 +0000

Quite a few of us now at IMX=Pilates have signed up with Door to Door Organics and couldn't be happier. We formed a co-op, which entitles us each to a discount (yeah!). I thought it would be fun to post each week what I did or plan to do with everything in my box.

Since this my first post on this topic I will take a moment to introduce Door to Door Organics for those who are not familiar with this service. DTD delivers fresh, organic produce to your door on a weekly or bi-weekly basis in the Kansas City area. There are different sized boxes ranging from very small ("bitty") to large and you can choose to receive either a combination of fruits and vegetables or fruit only/vegetable only. They have a ton of other items to add on, such as, meat, pantry items, Bread of Life bakery items, etc. and that list grows every week. All organic. They offer many local items, too, which is a list that continues to grow, as well. Plainly stated, it rocks. If you are in Kansas City area, you need to check them out and here's why:

1. It's a great variety of the best looking and best tasting produce you can find. You will NOT find this at your grocery store. I even prefer it over (gasp!) Whole Foods.
2. It's delivered. You don't have to chase this stuff all over the city. Heck, unless you join a co-op you don't even have to leave your house!
3. You can tell DTD your preferences and even substitute up to 3 things in each box if you don't care to receive certain things.
4. The people are so awesome!!!!!!!!!!!! I met the area manager, Shane, at the Metropolitan Lawn and Garden Show in February and hung out with them in their booth passing out info about our cooking classes. We are going to do the same thing every Wednesday we can at the 119 Green Market starting in May at 119th and Roe in Overland Park. They're so fun! Come out and meet them (and us)!
5. It's so affordable. Seriously, I get a medium combo box for $33.60 plus tax. That's the co-op price (co-op = at least four people delivering to the same location). Think about your office, church, school....anywhere you can get four people to deliver at one location. Even if you don't join a co-op, it's still cheap. I paid around $36 plus tax before.

So, go to http://kc.doortodoororganics.com/ to find out more. Signing up is so easy!

Now for the good stuff. What you can do with your beautiful bounty! Like I said, I get a medium sized box, so for this week here is what I received:

2 lb Yams
1 lb Leeks
1 ea. Green Leaf Lettuce
3 ea. Red Bell Peppers - Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
1 ea. Collards
1 ea. Celery - Snacks
1 ea. Cauliflower
1 ea. Carrots with Tops - Brown Rice Sushi/Smoothies
1 ea. Beets with Tops - Salad
4 ea. Navel Oranges - Salads
2 ea. Mangoes
2 ea. Grapefruit
6 ea. Danjou Pears
6 ea. Braeburn Apples
1 ea. Avocado

And here is what I made....

1. Brown Rice Sushi - Used carrots, collard greens, and avocado. Click here for the recipe! Doesn't it look yummy....

2. Roasted Beet Salad - Used green lettuce, leeks, beets and their tops, and oranges. Click here for Roasted Beets and here for Basic Vinaigrette. Toss with lettuce, chopped beet greens, finely sliced leeks, and orange segments. Top with feta cheese and toasted walnuts. I eat this every day for lunch! This week I added some herbed quinoa, too, because I had leftovers from dinner Monday night. Here's a salad we actually had for dinner with roasted beets, pitted nicoise olives, and ricotta salata cubes. I think there were some sunflower seeds, too, if I remember correctly. The little hand in the upper left corner is EJ going for some cheese. I could have cropped it out, but it's too cute.

3. Baked Sweet Potato Fries - Used sweet potatoes (aka "yams" - yes, I know there is a difference). Here's how I made them: Line a 12x18 baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place it in the oven and preheat it to 500 degrees. Meanwhile, wash and dry 1 lb. sweet potatoes. Trim the ends. Cut the potatoes into long, thin strips, 1/4 - 1/2 in. wide. Toss the strips in a large bowl with 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil, kosher salt, and pepper. Take the sheet out of the oven and spread the potatoes in a single layer. They should sizzle. Reduce the heat to 450 degrees and put the pan back in. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and run an offset spatula under the fries to unstick them from the foil. Return to the oven and bake another 5-10 minutes until crisp. Yum! Serve with homemade ketchup.

4. Roasted Red Pepper Sauce - Used all three red peppers, and leeks. Plus celery and carrots for dippers. This was so good and so easy! Turn the oven broiler on high. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Remove stem and seeds from bell peppers and cut into quarters. Lay the pieces in a single layer on the baking sheet, skin side up. Broil for 5-10 minutes or until skin is charred. Remove from oven and place peppers in a paper or plastic food bag. Allow to cool. Meanwhile, saute leeks and 6 cloves of garlic in a tablespoon of grapeseed oil over medium heat. When peppers are cooled, remove the skin and add to a blender or food processer. Add the leeks and garlic, a splash of balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon honey, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Slowly add 1/3 cup olive oil with the blender on until fully combined and thickened. Add salt and pepper, as needed. We had this tossed with whole wheat orzo and cubes of ricotta salata for dinner then used the leftovers to dip celery and carrots in:

That leaves me with the fruit and the cauliflower. I totally missed the cut-off last Sunday to make substitutions; otherwise, I would have subbed out the cauliflower. It's not my fave, but I don't hate it. I am going to give this mock potato salad a go on elanaspantry.com. And the fruit? Well, some of the pieces went to church to serve on Sunday morning. The rest we just ate throughout the week on their own. Except the apples. No one got to enjoy the apples, except this mess...

Real Sophisticated Hor d'oerves

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 03:14:00 +0000

At the risk of never being invited to another social event that includes food again, I am going to confess that I am a bit particular about what I eat. People who know me well (or not so well) know this about me. It seems like any discussion around the food being served is either preceded or followed up by "I'm sure it's not healthy" or "it's probably not as good as yours" or (my favorite) "Can you eat this?". Yes, I can eat it. And, you're right, processed Velveeta cheese is not healthy. Besides it not being healthy, unless you are catering to eighth graders, it's completely unsophisticated. How awkward! Ok, I would never be that rude towards hospitality. I love comfort foods and, truth be told, if a bowl of melted Velveeta cheese was in the vicinity right now, I would probably eat it. But I would never serve it. I want my hor d'oerves to be unforgettable, but not because my guest's bodies revolt against them for three days.

Tonya and I taught a class last Thursday with the simple request of "hor d'oerves". My favorite! I have been known to turn a holiday dinner or two into hor d'oerves only, because they are so fun. You can get creative and your guests don't walk away feeling as if they swallowed a brick. So, we turned to The Real Food Daily Cookbook: Really Fresh, Really Good, Really Vegetarian for some fun and delicious recipes: Lentil-Walnut Pate (served with Elana Amsterdam's Sesame Crackers) and Brown Rice Sushi. These hor d'oerves are filled with wholesome ingredients and are so impressive both visually and in taste (I will upload images soon!). Real Food Daily may use some ingredients that you are not familiar with, but I would encourage you to be adventurous. The first forty pages contains a lot of detail around these ingredients and it can be used as a useful handbook for delving into, well like it says, really fresh, really good, really vegetarian food.

Party on!

Lentil Walnut Pate
This recipe is adapted from Real Food Daily . The saltiness of the miso and the tanginess of the umeboshi paste both pair well with the earthy lentil/walnut combination.

3/4 cup dried lentils
3 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar
1 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 1/2 tsp dried
3 tablespoons yellow miso
1 1/2 tablespoons umeboshi paste
1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried
3/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup Tofutti (tofu sour cream)

Rinse the lentils in a fine mesh strainer. Combine them with the 3 cups of water, onion, garlic cloves, and bay leaf in a medium sized sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Strain the beans saving the cooking liquid for another use (soup, maybe?). Remove the bay leaf and cool.

Add the toasted walnuts to a food processer and process until a paste forms, scraping the sides as needed. Add the lentil mixture and process until smooth. Add the basil, thyme, miso, umeboshi paste, and pepper and mix until combined.

Line a bowl or mold with plastic wrap leaving a 3 inch overhang. Transfer the mixture to the bowl, smoothing and packing the top with a rubber spatula. Cover with the extra plastic and refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.

When ready to serve, uncover the pate and invert it onto a serving platter. Remove the plastic wrap entirely and spread the top with sour cream. Serve with sesame crackers (recipe follows).

Sesame Crackers
Adapted from Elana's Pantry . These little crackers are highly addictive, but are great to have around for a snack. Make sure and roll them out thin.

3 cups almond flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 cup brown sesame seeds
2 eggs, whisked
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl combine the almond flour, salt, and sesame seeds. In a small bowl combine the eggs and coconut oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dried and stir until well combined.

Line two large baking sheets (12x16) with parchment paper. Cut the dough in half and place one on each baking sheet. Start with the first pan slightly pressing the dough to get it started before rolling it. Cover it with a piece of parchment paper the same size of the pan and roll the dough out to cover the entire pan. Remove the top piece of parchment paper and repeat with the second pan. Score the dough into 2 inch squares and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Allow the crackers to cool on the pan and then break them apart. Store in an uncovered bowl at room temperature for up to a week.

Brown Rice Sushi
There is a little bit of work involved in making the different components, but much of it can be done in advance. The final rolls go together in a snap and it is well worth it. All of these are adapted from Real Food Daily.

6 cups brown sushi rice (recipe follows)
6 nori sheets
6 collard green leaves, lightly steamed for 2 minutes
1/4 cup umeboshi paste
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
4 ounces marinated tempeh (recipe follows)
1 avocado, peeled and sliced into thin wedges
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch wide strips
1 large carrot, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch wide strips, and lightly steamed for 3 minutes
3 green onions cut into 1/2 inch wide strips
1/4 cup pickled daikon radish
Lemon-Ginger Dipping sauce (recipe follows)

Assembling the sushi:
Lay one nori sheet on top of a bambo mat (shiny side down). Turn the sheet so one of the longest sides is closest to you. Spread 1 cup of rice on the sheet leaving a 1/2 inch border on the long side furthest from you. Spread 2 teaspoons of umeboshi paste in one horizontal line and top with one collard green leaf. Now arrange horizontal strips of the remaining ingredients in the following order (1/6 of each ingredient per roll):

tempeh
carrots
cucumber
green onion
sesame seeds
green onion
daikon radish

Starting with the end closest to you, start rolling the bamboo mat, gripping tightly. Moisten the nori at the opposite end and seal with the final roll. With a sharp knife slice each roll into 8 equal pieces. Sprinkle with more sesame seeds and serve with dipping sauce.

Brown Sushi Rice:
3 cups water
1 cup uncooked short-grain brown rice
1 cup uncooked sweet brown rice
2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
1 tablespoon mirin (rice wine vinegar)

Rinse both types of rice well. Add the water and rice to a 4 1/2 quart pressure cooker and lock the lid in place. Over high heat, raise the pressure to high. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow pressure to decrease before taking the lid off. Combine the rice and the vinegars in a large bowl.

Marinated Tempeh:
1/4 cup tamari
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh garlic
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
4 ounces tempeh
1 teaspoon coconut oil

Combine the tamari, water, garlic, mustard, and sesame oil in an 8 inch baking pan. Slice the tempeh in half horizontally and add to the marinate coating it well. Marinate for 1 hour, turning half way through.

Preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and brush with coconut oil. Lay the tempeh on the baking sheet in a single layer. Do not throw out the marinate. Broil the tempeh for 5 minutes and turn. Brush the top with the reserved marinate and broil for 5 more minutes. Cool completely.

Lemon-Ginger Dipping Sauce:
1/4 cup tamari
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons mirin
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

Whisk all ingredients and serve on the side with sushi.

My Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:04:00 +0000

I had an amazing experience this past weekend in sort of an unexpected way. Friday was my husband, Heath's, birthday so we dropped the kids off with Granny and headed to The Elm's Resort and Spa in Excelsior Springs for a weekend filled with massages, facials, and cat naps. Excelsior Springs is only 35 minutes away from Parkville, but it is unfamiliar territory for us. Like any "tourist", I perused the Elm's website to see what there was to do in the area and one place in particular caught my attention (to say the least):

VanTill Farms/Rayville Bakery
13986 Hwy C
Rayville, Missouri 64084
Phone: 816.776.2720
Website: http://www.vantillfarms.com/
The Van Till family's farming operation is bringing back the "good old days" in taste, nutrition, and the enjoyment of food. Food, wine and hospitality are available on this working farm.

They had me at "taste, nutrition, and the enjoyment of food". I clicked on their website and grew even more excited. Picture this: farm, winery, heated garden patio enclosed in a greenhouse (that's where you dine), massive brick oven, organic ingredients grown right on their farm, homemade jellies, fresh wood-fired bread, cheese, and salami all surrounded by a manicured farmscape. Did I mention this is only 35 minutes away from Parkville?! Not only did I want to go there (or live there, whatever), I wanted them to be my friends. So, without hesitation, I shot off an email telling them I would be visting over the weekend and would love to have the opportunity to meet them. Gosh, these things do not occur to me as sounding obnoxious until I am retelling them! Oh well, Cliff VanTill graciously replied and welcomed us.

We were there on Friday night when they serve wood-fired pizza straight from their brick oven, which is located on the garden patio with the diners. Fun. They offer six varieties of their own wine, including Chambourcin, Norton, Vignoles, Chardonel, Sweet Red, and Sweet White. The Sweet Red was popular among the patrons, but we really enjoyed the Norton along with our Mediterranean pizza. It was quite delicious, especially for two people who are not typically fond of Missouri wine!

It was a busy night for the VanTill's, so we weren't able to talk with them, as we had hoped. Cliff invited us back on Saturday morning, though, when his wife, Debbie, would be there and they wouldn't be serving food. Heath and I returned and had a marvelous time. As soon as Debbie pulled out her Peter Reinhart cookbooks and Nourishing Traditions book, I knew we would have a lot to talk about. And we did talk a lot. We toured their greenhouses and learned how they sold their fresh baked bread at the San Francisco farmer's market before relocating to Missouri in 2001. I got some tips on making artisan bread, which I am anxious to play with, and Heath picked up some inspiration in the greenhouses for his garden. Their dreams and ideas for VanTill Farms are incredible and after getting to know them just a little, I believe every one of those dreams will come true if the good Lord's willing. Their free spirits are so refreshing in a time where conformity seems to be the easiest thing to do even though in the back of your head you know you should question more.

As much as I want to transcribe the entire three hours with the VanTill's right here, right now, I do want to talk about the recipe I am featuring. The recipe is a smoothie inspired by one that Debbie and I collaborated to make on Saturday morning. You see, I was talking about almond flour (shocker, I know) and where I buy it from since I cannot seem to grind it fine enough to just make it myself from whole almonds. They happened to have grown almonds in California, so they are familiar with almond meal. We went to "experiement" in the kitchen with their commercial BlendTec to see how it stood up to the test. Short story is it passed and now I want a BlendTec. We decided to make smoothies with the ground almonds while we had the smoothie machine out, so we went searching for ingredients. I told her about the smoothies I make for my 23 month old, EJ, every single day: whole milk, coconut milk, homemade yogurt, banana and some other fruit, carrot and some type of green, like spinach, a good fat (ground flaxseed/flax oil, chia seeds or ground almonds, as examples), and then stevia to sweeten. We ended up with cream, frozen strawberries, raw zucchini, ground almonds, and stevia to sweeten it. It was divine. Pretty much tasted like strawberry ice cream. I'm changing up the recipe a little to use coconut milk in place of cream, since I don't always have cream on hand, but it will be every bit as good. Trust me.

So, why did I say I had an amazing experience in an "unexpected" way? As much inspiration as we got from the VanTill's about food and gardening you can multiply that by about a thousand to equal the inspiration we got about parenting. We walked away from them feeling rejuvenated as parents and understood some things in a completely different light. While the spa treatments were nice and we were able to get some R&R, I think our soul's really came out on top this trip. That was a little unexpected. In a good way, of course.

P.S. Saturday afternoon the VanTill's fired up the brick oven again and offered baskets of wood-fired bread, cheese, and salami along with wine or non-alchoholic sangria (house made). Then that evening they had a special garden patio dinner. Unfortunately, we were not able to partake in either of these things, as we had facials and massages scheduled. Next time. One more thing, they are forming a new church with some friends and are holding services right there on the patio garden. How cool is that?

Coconut Strawberry Smoothie

This can be done a thousand differnet ways. Use any kind of milk in place of the coconut milk and same goes for the strawberries. Any kind of frozen fruit will do. Zucchini works well in smoothies, because it is so mild in flavor. Spinach or some other type of mild green is also good.

1 cup coconut milk
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 small zucchini, diced
1/4 cup ground almonds
stevia to sweeten

Blend all ingredients until smooth. For a thicker smoothie, add 1 cup crushed ice and blend until smooth.

Makes 2 servings

Simple Classics Re-made REAL

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:21:00 +0000

We have had a glimmer of spring in Kansas City this week, just warm enough to finally melt all of the snow and remind us that new beginnings are just around the corner. Farmers markets will be opening soon and before I know it asparagus and strawberries will kindly take their place on my salad for lunch.

While I yearn for this glorious transition, I must admit that I will miss the hearty comfort food that winter is always good for. You know, the kind that is repeated in every church cookbook year after year, church after church, most of which include ingredients that I do not cook with any longer. So, in the spirit of one last run on winter's comfort foods, I bring to you three recipes that should be familiar, but made with fresh and real ingredients instead of processed junk.

I have to sell my mom out here, she used cream of mushroom soup in everything she made when we were growing up. If she didn't use that, she used cream of chicken soup. And, if she didn't use that, then it was surely cream of celery soup. Apparently since the soup aisle is still in the grocery store, people are still using that stuff. Don't be fooled by labels, such as, "low sodium" or "low fat". Who cares? It's gross. Here are the ingredients: Water, Mushroom, Vegetable Oil (Corn and/or Cottonseed and/or Canola), Modified Food Starch, Wheat Flour, Contains less than 2% of: Cream (Milk), Salt, Dried Whey (Milk), Natural Sea Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Soy Protein Concentrate, Yeast Extract, Spice Extract, Dehydrated Garlic. If you are really concerned about eating healthy, those labels mean nothing. There isn't anything in that can of soup that is working for your body and to make matters worse, it doesn't even taste good. Does anyone ever eat it on it's own??? Eww! Why not make your own mushroom soup using real food that tastes good as the ingredients. Guess what? That is healthy.

The best part about making your own mushroom soup is you can use it in your favorite recipes and the taste will be out of this world. What kind of recipes? Chicken and Rice casserole? Tator Tot Casserole? I'm feeling very nostalgic. I picked Tator Tot Casserole, only with a twist. Rather than actually using tator tots, I got the same taste and crunch by dicing and roasting potatoes in the oven before topping my hamburger (grass-fed, of course) with them. While it's not exactly the same without the tator tots, I think it's still something you will enjoy as a close alternative. I prefer to brown my hamburger while my potatoes are roasting in the oven just for the sake of time. The classic recipe has you bake the hamburger in the oven from raw.

I cannot talk about comfort foods without including a dessert. Keeping in line with throwback food, I must tell you about my favorite cookies. This one is kind of a no brainer, because the original recipe is so simple. It just has three ingredients. I'm referring to flourless peanut butter cookies. The ones with the cross pattern pressed into them with the back of a fork. One cup of peanut butter, one cup of white sugar, and one egg. Mix, drop, press, bake. That's the basic recipe. So, how can I make this better? 1. Make my own nut butter and use a little coconut oil and my sweetner of choice, raw honey. 2. Replace the white sugar with palm sugar and reduce it by half. 3. Add bittersweet, organic chocolate chips (I said I wanted to make it better). The result? Yum. My family loved them and I felt really good about giving them to them. I chose to make a nut butter out of unsalted peanuts, pumpkin seeds, and flaxseeds. You can't get anything like that from the store. A nice healthy dose of good fats and protein along with a low glycemic impacting sweetener and an egg. No gluten and you're in complete control of your ingredients. Now that's comfort!

Roasted Potato Casserole (similar to Tator Tot Casserole)

I used a mix of purple and red potatoes, because I received purple potatoes in my Door to Door Organics box this week. You can use whatever you have on hand, even sweet potatoes are good here. I actually prefer sweet potatoes, but my family prefers white.

1 lbs. potatoes, chopped fairly small

3 tablespoons grapeseed oil, divided

1 lb. grass-fed ground beef

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup mushroom soup (recipe below)

1/2 cup greek yogurt

3-4 slices provolone cheese

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degees. Toss potatoes, 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil, salt and pepper together and spread out onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring the potatoes around on the baking sheet half way through. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 375 degrees.

While the potatoes are roasting add the remaining grapeseed oil to a skillet and heat over medium. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for just another minute longer. Remove from heat. Add mushroom soup and yogurt to the pan and stir until everything is incorporated.

Transfer meat mixture into a casserole dish. Top with the slices of provolone. Now spread the roasted potatoes on top of the cheese and spread evenly. Bake for 15-20 minute or until bubbly. Allow to cool before serving.

Mushroom Soup

This soup makes a delicious lunch when topped with fresh parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil and a piece of crusty bread on the side. I like to freeze mine in one cup portions and use in recipes, such as casseroles, along with 1/2 cup greek yogurt. Any variety of mushrooms will do. In fact, an assortment of wild mushrooms would be excellent.

16 ounces mushrooms (any variety)

1 onion

12 cloves of garlic (1 head)

1 tablespoon coconut oil

3 cups chicken stock

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon dried thyme (or several stems of fresh)

1 egg plus 2 yolks

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Clean and finely chop mushrooms, onion, and garlic. A food processor is helpful here, just do not over process it into a paste. It will save you a step later on. Add oil to a large stockpot and heat over medium. Add the vegetables and cook until they begin to brown and soften. Add the chicken stock and bay leaf and bring to a soft boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and, if the vegetables were not processed in the beginning blend with an immersion blender leaving it somewhat coarse in texture (i.e. not completely smooth).

In a small bowl, whisk the egg, egg yolks, and cheese. Carefully and slowly (very carefully and very slowly!!) add one cup of the broth into the eggs whisking the entire time. Now slowly add that into the larger pot, whisking the whole time and continuing to whisk until the soup is slightly thickened. Salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 4-5 cups.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pumpkin Seed Cookies

This is an extremely versatile recipe. I used a peanut/pumpkin seed butter enriched with flaxseeds for a basic, familiar cookie; however, I can imagine using almond butter, walnut butter, macadamia nut butter, or pecan butter. I can also imagine using pure maple syrup in place of the honey or agave nectar. I made a version using cashew butter, cocoa powder, ground espresso, and chopped macadamia nuts. The possibilities are endless here, so use your imagination!

1 1/2 cups unsalted roasted organic peanuts

1/2 cup raw organic pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup whole flaxseeds

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tablespoon raw honey

pinch of sea salt

1 egg

1/2 cup palm sugar

1 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the peanuts, pumpkin seeds, and flaxseeds in the bowl of a food processor. Turn it on and process until smooth (5-10 minutes). Add the coconut oil, honey, and salt. Continue to process until desired consistency is reached.

Transfer nut butter to a medium sized bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and beat with a hand mixer until everything is well incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips, if using.

Drop dough onto parchment lined baking sheets (heaping tablespoon sized) leaving 1 inch in between each ball. Lightly press each ball down with the palm of your hand. Bake 10 or until the bottoms are lightly browned being careful not to overbake them. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the pan for at least 15 minutes. Remove from pan and finish cooling.

Makes 18 cookies.

Make Cottage Cheese Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 23:56:00 +0000

People often look surprised when I tell them I make my own yogurt and butter, but when I tell them I make cottage cheese they look downright confused. "Huh? I didn't know you could make cottage cheese" is the typical response. Well, it has to come from somewhere. It may as well be from me. Why would I want to make my own cottage cheese, you ask? Let's count the reasons.

1. It tastes so much better than what you buy at the store, like little tiny bits of fresh mozzarella cheese.
2. You can choose the milk you use, which is hopefully fresh from a local farm with pastured cows who are free of hormones or antibiotics. Those dairy's never sell cottage cheese.
3. You can control the salt. Ever notice how much sodium is in store bought cottage cheese?
4. Because it is like little tiny bits of fresh mozzarella cheese, you can use it recipes, such as, eggplant parmesan or lasagne and it's divine.
5. It doesn't taste sour like cottage cheese from the store can taste.
6. It's cool.
7. The kiddo's love it.
8. It will change your life.

Ok, so I'm running out of things, but I really wanted a long list. Bottom line is that it is super easy to make your own cottage cheese and the taste is far superior to what you would buy at the store. So, you want to know my response to the people who look confused when I tell them I make my own cottage cheese? I say, "Huh? I didn't know they even still sold cottage cheese at the store."

Homemade Cottage Cheese
This is Alton Brown's method; however, I reduced the salt because I think his is too salty. You can also use half and half or heavy cream instead of the whole milk. That is what Alton uses. I always have whole milk on hand, so I just use it. Save your whey to make bread, soak grains, or lacto-ferment vegetables Nourishing Traditions style!

1 gallon skim milk
3/4 cup organic vinegar (white distilled or white wine - nothing too strong in flavor)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup whole milk
Equipment: Candy thermometer and food processer (optional, but recommended)

1. Pour the milk into a large stockpot and heat to 120 degrees over medium heat.

Step 2: Remove the pot from the heat and slowly pour in the vinegar while stirring. Continue stirring for 1-2 minutes until the curds separate from the whey. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Step 3: Line a fine meshed strainer with a tea towel (non fuzzy) and suspend it over a large bowl. Pour the contents of the pot into the strainer so that the whey drains into the bowl and the curds are left in the tea towel. Allow it to drain for 5 minutes. (I know the picture below looks like a brain)

Step 4: Gather the corners of the tea towel together and run the ball of curd under cold water until it is completely cooled. Wring the water out so that the ball is dry. Transfer to a food processer, add the salt, and pulse several times until it is broken up into small bits.

Step 5: Transfer to a bowl and, if you are eating it right away, stir in the milk or cream. Otherwise, wait until right before serving to add it. It will turn into a sticky glob after sitting in the refrigerator if you add the additional liquid.

Makes 1 pint or 2 cups

Whole Wheat Mesquite Cornbread

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:58:00 +0000

Tonya and I are going to be taking a break from teaching classes this month (with the exception of one on 3/18), so we can spend some much needed time on a new website/blog. While this one has served it's purpose, we have grand ideas for a really great and informative website and can't wait to unveil it. I will continue posting new content on this one, mainly recipes, so we can build that part of our website up. Hope you enjoy them!

I have wanted to experiment with mesquite flour since the first time I made Heidi Swanson's Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies from Super Natural Cooking. Those are the cookies we made last week and I featured the recipe in my last post. To quote myself, here is a little information about mesquite flour:

Mesquite flour - This is a fun ingredient. Mesquite flour (aka "mesquite meal") is simply pods from a mesquite tree finely ground into powder. Indigenous to desert regions, mesquite trees can be found from central Texas to Southeast California. Typically we think about mesquite flavoring when grilling meats. The soft, smoky aroma of mesquite flour, though, pairs perfectly with chocolate. The health benefits are incredible, too. It's full of fiber, protein, nutrients, and essential minerals, such as, magnesium, iron, zinc, and potassium. Historically, mesquite was an integral part of Native American's diet. It is very low on the glycemic index and actually promotes balanced blood sugar. Add a spoonful to oatmeal or smoothies and you will feel fuller longer. Cross my heart. I like to purchase mine online from Barry Farms. One pound is $6.09 or you can purchase 5 pounds and receive a discount. If you don't think you'll use that much, go in with a few friends and split it up. FYI, Barry Farms has a recipe for a Mesquite Yellow Cake that I just saw and will be making very soon!

I can't reiterate enough how good mesquite flour is. So different and unexpected. Many people think the taste resembles cocoa and I can see that. Not sweetened cocoa, though. And it has a warm, almost cinnamon-y flavor, too, but it's not overly spicy. I hesitate calling it sweet, because I just compared it to cocoa and cinnamon. It really is more of a smoky flavor, but it does have a slighty sweet element to it,too. Are you intrigued? I haven't made the yellow cake from Barry Farm's website that I promised I would make last week, but instead I made mesquite cornbread to go with some black bean and quinoa soup.

I modified my usual whole wheat cornbread recipe (modified from Barefoot Contessa's recipe), to replace 25% of the whole wheat flour with mesquite flour. That's about the right proportion. Any more than 25% and the flavor becomes a tad strong. The result was the best cornbread I have ever had. I didn't think the original recipe could be topped, but I was wrong. My family agreed, too. My youngest son, who will turn 2 in April, has been gobbling it up all week and asking for more "cake". It is extremely moist and a little on the sweet side, which is interesting since there is only 1/4 cup of honey for a huge amount of cornbread. I think that's a good thing, though! It was great with the soup, even better with an over easy egg and Chile de Arbol Sauce (also from Super Natural Cooking), exceptionally good with almond butter and honey, and if I had some fresh or frozen raspberries, I suspect making some type of raspberry sauce to drizzle it over it would make a wonderful dessert. Next up may be some mesquite banana pancakes with pure maple syrup or maybe some type of mesquite scone with chocolate chips or raspberries.

Whole Wheat Mesquite Cornbread

This makes a lot of cornbread, but it freezes well so don't be afraid. You may be able to cut the recipe in half and bake it in an 8x8 pan. Just adjust the baking time. If you don't have mesquite flour, just use all whole wheat. You'll end up with something close to the original version of the recipe. Whole spelt flour would work fine in place of the wheat if you want to go that route.

2 1/4 cup freshly ground wheat (or whole wheat pastry flour)

3/4 cup mesquite flour

1 cup coarsely ground cornmeal

2 tablespoons aluminum free baking powder

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 cups 1% milk

3 extra large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup coconut oil, slightly melted

1/4 cup raw honey

1/2 cup freshly grated manchego cheese, optional

Combine flours, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine milk, eggs, coconut oil, and honey. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and stir only until everything is combined. Do not overmix. Stir in the cheese, if using. Allow the mixture to sit for 20 minutes at room temperature.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 glass pan. Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly and serve with honey.

Really Good, Really Healthy (but really good) Desserts!

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 04:13:00 +0000

It's been such a fun 6 weeks with the IMX=Pilates bunch and, fortunately, it's only the beginning! We are going to continue meeting on a monthly basis and they will be my testers for new classes going forward.

So, what's next? Tonya and I will be teaching a 6 week series at Kitchen Thyme in Briarcliff Village beginning Thursday, April 1st. Contact me for more details if you are interested in signing up or if you and a group of friends would like to schedule in-home classes. Hopefully I will be posting pictures soon, so everyone can see how much fun we have.

Now onto the desserts. What I wanted to demonstrate in this class is that rich and delicious desserts do not have to be nutritionally void. I will even go as far to say that the best desserts (yes, best desserts) are full of natural ingredients that are working for your body, not the other way around. You can taste all of the wholesome goodness that is so satisfying you won't have to eat an entire pan of empty calories just to find yourself in a comatose state after your blood sugar has taken a wild ride. Talk about bum deal! Your brain is telling you it tastes good, but your body isn't being satisfied. Of course you're going to keep eating! Nothing is triggering you to stop, except that very quiet voice in the back of your head that you can't quite hear for all of the shouts of tasty glee.

So what makes a "good" dessert? For starters, a real dessert. Many annoying diet "experts" take the approach that you can make a low calorie dessert out of processed ingredients to satisfy your sweet tooth. Maybe use some type of artificial sweetener to trick your body. Your body is much smarter than that, though. Come on. Think about everything your body is doing right now to stay alive as you are reading this. Your brain is sending millions of signals to recognize and comprehend words. To breathe. To pump blood all throughout your body. And you think you can trick it with artificial food?

If you want something sweet, eat something sweet. Just make it real. Then your body will be satisfied and let you off without eating obscene amounts of calories. I know it sounds trite, but have you ever really given it a chance? Honestly? By the way, nothing at The Cheesecake Factory qualifies as "real". I'm strictly talking about using natural ingredients. Ingredients bursting with nutrients and minerals. Let's just dissect the cookies we made during class to prove the point.

Here are the main ingredients of Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies (excluding vanilla, baking soda, and baking powder):

Freshly ground whole wheat flour - I grind my flour fresh to order using organic wheat berries grown about an hour south of my house. Why? Because wheat is full of wonderful, but volatile, nutrients. In my research I have read that 90% of 30 nutrients are lost within 72 hours of milling wheat. So compare something made from white flour that has negative nutrients to something made from freshly ground whole wheat, which has 90% more nutrients than even whole wheat flour you buy at the store. Not to mention whole wheat contains tons of fiber that keeps you fuller longer, because you digest it very slowly. Your blood sugar will like that.

I use a Bosch Nutrimill Grain Mill, which was purchased from Amazon.com. I was lucky enough to receive it as a Christmas gift. It will grind any type of grain or dried bean into fresh flour as fine or as coarse as you need it to be. The taste of freshly ground flour is far superior to store bought. I recommend putting this at the top of your list!

Mesquite flour - This is a fun ingredient. Mesquite flour (aka "mesquite meal") is simply pods from a mesquite tree finely ground into powder. Indigenous to desert regions, mesquite trees can be found from central Texas to Southeast California. Typically we think about mesquite flavoring when grilling meats. The soft, smoky aroma of mesquite flour, though, pairs perfectly with chocolate. The health benefits are incredible, too. It's full of fiber, protein, nutrients, and essential minerals, such as, magnesium, iron, zinc, and potassium. Historically, mesquite was an integral part of Native American's diet. It is very low on the glycemic index and actually promotes balanced blood sugar. Add a spoonful to oatmeal or smoothies and you will feel fuller longer. Cross my heart! I like to purchase mine online from Barry Farms. One pound is $6.09 or you purchase 5 pounds and receive a discount. If you don't think you'll use that much, go in with a few friends. FYI, Barry Farms has a recipe for a Mesquite Yellow Cake that I just saw and will be making very soon!

Coconut oil - This isn't the first time you've heard me singing the praises of coconut oil and it won't be the last time either.  Click here to read the insane list of health benefits that coconut oil has been found to have. Really, it's insane. One of my favorites in the context of dessert is the fact that it can raise your metabolism. Because of the size of the fatty acid, we actually metabolize it differently than other fats. Eat dessert, burn fat. I like it. I have to point out two others: (1) Improves calcium and magnesium absorption and supports the development of strong bones and teeth (Remember the mesquite flour is high in calcium and magnesium?) and (2) Improves digestion and absorption of other nutrients including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids (Nice compliment to the freshly ground whole wheat flour that is exploding with vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, huh?). So, it seems coconut oil is enhancing the benefits of some of the other ingredients.

Palm sugar - This is a relatively new one for me that I have quickly come to love. Made from the nectar of palm blossoms, palm sugar resembles coarse natural cane sugar, like Sucanat. The flavor is much more complex, though. Really good. The nutritional profile is just as good. It's particularly high in potassium. Check out a comparison to other sweeteners here along with a ton of other information about palm sugar.  The cincher on this sweetener is that it's low on the glcyemic index with a rating of 35 making it perfect for diabetics and people, in general, who want to manage their blood sugar levels. That rating is comparable to agave nectar for those who want steer clear of that type of sweetener or just use more of a variety (like me). I have been buying Big Tree Farms SweetTree Organic Evaporated Palm Sugar. You can also buy round disks of palm sugar that you grate like this. I haven't tried it before, but I will soon.

Eggs - Not just any eggs, but farm fresh pastured chicken eggs from Parker Farms. They're full of vitamins, omega 3's, and protein and are not full of hormones or antibiotics. Great article on Mother Earth News here.

Chocolate - I use 65% organic bittersweet chocolate chips most of the time. I get them from the bulk bin at Whole Foods for $8.99 per pound (I think). Even better would be Dagoba 73% Chocolate Drops, which I occasionally use, as well. Small amounts of chocolate are actually good for you. Dark chocolate, that is. Dark chocolate has 65% or higher cocoa content. Furthermore, bittersweet chocolate contains less sugar giving a more of an intense chocolate flavor, so you can eat less and be more satisfied.  The health benefits of dark chocolate come from the high amounts of antioxidants it contains. It can help lower blood pressure, as well, making it healthy for your heart. To receive these benefits from chocolate, you must be choosy about the chocolate you buy. It's tempting to buy the cheaper bags of chocolate chips from the store, but that is not real chocolate. Organic and Fair Trade chocolate is the only thing you should buy. Conventionally grown cocoa is near the top of the list of the highest pesticide using crops. Buying Fair Trade means you are supporting fair prices for the growers, as well as, safe working conditions. We all win. Please read this article on Mother Earth News if you need more convincing.

Oats - Oats have similar benefits as wheat providing minerals, nutrients, and lots of fiber. Fiber = fuller longer and balanced blood sugar. It's considered "heart healthy" for several reasons, one being a unique antioxidant that prevents free radicals from damaging LDL cholesterol. Read more here.

Walnuts - Everyone knows that walnuts are good for you. That's old news. They are full of omega 3's and contain one of the highest levels of antioxidants of the nut trees. If you did not get this memo about walnuts, read more here.

Ok, add all of this up and you have medicine, not a cookie! The best part is how good this cookie is. Honestly, there aren't many perfect cookies out there. I'm particular, because I love cookies. This one hits the spot. Chewy, sweet, chocolaty and the unique flavor of the mesquite flour adds an unexpected surprise.

I've focused on the cookies, but I don't want to underscore the chocolate cake and the Roasted Banana Ice Cream. They, too, are unreal good and you can actually benefit from eating them. They are rich and naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup. So, go ahead and treat yourself tonight with these really good, really healthy desserts!

Note to those who attended Thursday night: I felt like the cake we had was slightly overbaked. While it still tasted pretty good, it's nothing compared to a slightly underbaked version. You should try it out and see!

Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson. This recipe yields a lot of cookies. I like to make the entire recipe of dough and only bake off half of it and freeze the other half. I prefer doing this over cutting the recipe in half. I just have better results that way. Freeze it either in one big piece or portion cookie sized balls onto baking sheets and freeze individually. Once frozen you can put them in a large zip-lock bag and then only bake as many as you want. Half of the recipe makes a little more than 3 dozen tablespoon sized cookies (my preferred size).

2 1/2 cups freshly ground white wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup mesquite flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 cups palm sugar
3 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cup rolled oats
1.5 cup 65% (at least) bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl. With an electric mixer, beat coconut oil and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined. Then add vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in small increments, mixing after each addition. Once they are well incorporated, stir in (by hand) the oats, chocolate chips, and walnuts.

Scoop dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet (your desired size) leaving at least 1 inch between each ball. Flatten each ball slightly. Bake from 8 - 12 minutes depending on the size of your cookies. One tablespoon of dough will back 8-10 minutes. Two tablespoons will bake 10-12. Do not overbake.

Basic Chocolate Cake Recipe
This chocolate cake is from Heidi Swanson at 101cookbooks.com.  This is my "special" cake. Or as she describes it, "an everyday chocolate cake that you might not make everyday". It's the cake I make if I want to really go all out. It's rich. It's chocolaty. And it's expensive. I'll be honest. With 1 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup, 3/4 cup of really good organic cocoa powder, 1/2 cup coconut oil, and 10 oz. of really good bittersweet, organic chocolate chips, you may wonder if it's really worth it. It is. Just every once in awhile. It's a dense cake baked in an 8x8 glass Pyrex pan. I love that, too. It's so inconspicuous. The frosting is a light chocolate whipped cream sweetened with maple syrup. It's perfect. Do not overbake it, though. In fact, underbake it slightly and refrigerate the leftovers. You will find that after it's been refrigerated it will get almost truffle-like, because all of the chocolate in the cake hardens up. If you want it to be more crumb-like then just let it sit out at room temperature. Microwaving it, even for only 10 seconds at a power level of 2, will liquefy the frosting. I actually like it that way, because with chocolate and cream it's kinda like ganache.

2 1/2 cups freshly ground wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup non-alkaline/non-Dutched cocoa powder (I use Dagoba)
1 tablespoon baking powder (look for non-aluminum type)
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup barely melted coconut oil
1 cup real maple syrup, room temperature
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup coconut milk, room temp
8 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, shaved or finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F degrees with a rack in the middle. Butter and flour an 8x8 square cake pan (I've also had success using a 9x9 pan, just adjust your baking time). Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl whisk together the melted coconut oil and maple syrup until it looks like caramel. Whisk in the eggs, vanilla, and then the coconut milk. Pour the maple syrup mixture over the flour mixture and stir until barely combined. Add the chocolate and stir until everything comes together and is no longer dusty looking - avoid over-mixing. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30 - 40 minutes. This is a cake I like slightly under-baked, so I pull it out when the center is still a bit under cooked - the toothpick doesn't quite come out clean when testing. If you are going to use it for a layer cake - then bake it all the way (clean toothpick). Remove from oven and allow to cool (absolutely completely) in pan before frosting (frosting recipe below). ` `

Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped)
1/4 cup coconut oil, room temperature
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks

To make the frosting melt the chocolate in a double-boiler, or in a bowl placed over a pan of boiling
water. In a medium bowl beat the coconut oil until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the maple syrup. Then add the
melted chocolate. Stir until silky smooth - any flecks of butter should be melted. Pour the chocolate
mixture over the whipped cream and fold the chocolate into the cream. Keep going until the chocolate
is well incorporated. Use an offset spatula to frost the completely cooled cake. If the cake is at all
warm, the frosting will weep and melt.

Makes one 8x8 or 9x9 cake.

Roasted Banana Ice Cream
This dairy free recipe is inspired by one on Elana's Pantry. I like to roast my bananas a little differently, though, (in their peel) and sweeten them with a little bit of maple syrup. I must say the riper your bananas are the better. Not only do you get more natural sugars from the bananas themselves, but you get a stronger banana flavor. I often roast the bananas this way to put in oatmeal or just eat by themselves. They taste sinfully good, like banana's foster.

4-5 medium ripe bananas
1 tbsp pure maple syrup (plus more if needed)
1 vanilla bean, split
2 tablespoon coconut oil
1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk

Place bananas (peel on) into a 9x11 glass pan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes until juices begin to seep through the peels. Don't worry, the peels will turn black, but that is ok. Remove the bananas from the oven and allow them to cool until they can be handled. Once cooled, peel the bananas and place the fruit in a blender along with any juice from the pan. Discard the peels. Add the maple syrup, coconut oil, and coconut milk. Run the backside of a knife along the insides of the vanilla bean, scraping out the seeds. Place the seeds in the blender. Blend on high until smooth. Taste to make sure the sweetness is right. Add more maple syrup, one tablespoon at a time, until satisfied. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and make the ice cream according to manufacturer's instructions. Enjoy immediately or place in freezer for later.

Week 6 - Meat Night

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:47:00 +0000

Meat was on the menu for the first time in this week's class and there was a record high attendance in the male population. Hmmmm. Probably a coincidence. Or maybe I just really won them over last week with the vegetables and grains.
Anyway, the lesson this week really went beyond meat. If you have been attending classes or reading along then hopefully you know what kind of meat you should be buying. I'm not talking about 96% lean or fat free ground turkey. I'm talking about grass-fed, pastured, local, hormone and antibiotic free, all of those things. If you are not sold on only eating this type of meat, please do your homework! Here are a few things I recommend:

This article from Mother Earth News
Watch the film Fresh
Watch the film Food, Inc and read the book
Read Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma. Even the young readers' version is good for adults.
Read Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food

While I try my best not to be too preachy and encourage people to make their own decisions about food, meat is not negotiable. Buy local meat from a farm who feeds their animals what they were meant to eat - grass. No hormones. No Antibiotics. No feedlots. If you can't do this, then don't eat meat. People can no longer ignore what goes on behind the curtain to produce the cheap meat they are addicted to. If you want to remain blissfully unaware then you are being irresponsible. There I said it. Now we can move onto the cooking.

While I can appreciate a good steak, I appreciate even more a good steak with some type of yummy sauce or condiment. That's really what it's about, right? It's like a natural instinct that we serve some type of condiment with our food, meat in particular. Our ancestors had this instinct, as well. Only when they did it it served more of a purpose. Our condiments are chalked full of things, like, high fructose corn syrup, but they taste good. Their's were chalked full of things, like, whey and they taste even better. Not only do they taste better, but they serve as a perfect accompaniment to the rest of meal by aiding in digestion. And the more I learn about nutrition the more I am convinced that proper digestion is the key to all health. Nourishing Traditions teaches this better than anything else I have ever read. This book was recommended to me by my friends from Sage Moon Farms and, at the risk of sounding dramatic, it has changed my life. It argues that the best "diet" is really an anti-diet, at least in the sense that we have come to know that term. If you are eating real food (even food that that science considers as "bad") prepared in traditional ways, like our anscestors did, then your body will thrive. The rates of cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, depression, ADD, everything, would go down. These same points are raised in another favorite book of mine, In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. Anyone struggling with weight or other health disorders (who isn't?) should really check these books out. Nourishing Traditions can be overwhelming, but it is the essence of urban homesteading.

But I digress. Back to condiments. Each culture has their own traditional condiments, many of which are fermented. Think sauerkraut, kimchi, Indian chutney's, ketchup (yes, ketchup), and yogurt. Fermenting serves two purposes. First, it's a method of preserving. That was important before refrigeration. Second, it provides a healthy dose of good bacteria helping our bodies digest food better. What does that really mean? Minerals are made more soluable, vitamins increase, and our bodies are benefiting more from the food we are taking in. I think everyone has at least heard of probiotics at this point. That's what we're talking about here. The popularity of probiotics has soared over recent years, but unfortunately the processed food world has taken a good thing, tried to put it in everything from crackers to candy bars, and has further warped America's perception of what is healthy. Adding something good to a processed food item does not make everything else in that item good, too. In fact, all of the other bad ingredients is probably negating anything good that could come from the probiotics! If I didn't make it clear before, here is a short list of all of those "good" things that fermented condiments can do for us:

Aids digestion and suppresses disease-causing bacteria.
Treat overgrowth of bad organism in the gastrointestinal tract.
Prevent and treat diarrhea, including the infectious diarrhea, particularly from the rotavirus.
Alleviate symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and possibly, inflammatory bowel disease.
Replaces the friendly intestinal bacteria that are destroyed by antibiotics.
Prevent and reduces the recurrence of vaginal yeast infection, urinary tract infections and cystitis.
Improve lactose absorption in people who are lactose intolerant.
Enhances the immune response. Studies have suggested that the consumption of yogurt and milk that contains specific strains of acidophilus supplements improve the natural immune response.
Aids the treatment of respiratory infections such as sinusitis, bronchitis and pneumonia.
Lower the risks of allergies such as asthma, hay fever, allergies to milk and skin reactions such as eczema.
Help in treating high cholesterol.

So, to sum it all up, our anscestor's condiments did all of those things for them. What are our condiments doing for us?

Here are the recipes from Thursday's class. We made a homemade, lacto-fermented ketchup with whey, a teriyaki sauce made with naturally fermented soy sauce, and then combined those two with a few other ingredients to make a barbecue sauce. The ketchup went into the bison meatloaf and we learned how to cut up a whole chicken, which was then cooked in the crock pot with the barbecue sauce. I hope you enjoy!

Homemade Ketchup (Lacto-fermented)
I grind pickling spice and add it straight to the ketchup. If you do not own a spice grinder, steep one full tablespoon of pickling spice in the apple cider vinegar before adding the vinegar to the other ingredients. Strain the spices out.

3 cans organic tomato paste

1/4 cup whey*
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup fish sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tablespoon pickling spice, freshly ground
juice of one lemon

Blend everything together in food processor. Transfer to mason jars and sit at room temperature for 2

days to ferment before moving to the refrigerator.

*Note: Whey is the by-product of the cheese making process or can be obtained by straining plain yogurt. To do this, line a fine meshed strainer with cheesecloth and suspend the strainer over a bowl. Place plain yogurt in the strainer, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The whey will separate and drain into the bowl leaving you with a thick yogurt cheese. Use that as a protein packed replacement for cream cheese.

Bison Meatloaf Muffins

This is adapted from Tyler Florence's recipe. It starts with making a tomato relish, which goes into the meatloaf, as well as, on top of each muffin. I'm using bison, because I like the rich flavor and it has more protein and iron than beef. I like to make miniature meat loaves to save time and simplify the freezing of leftovers. Makes 12 muffins.

Tomato Relish:

1 tablespoon grape seed oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leave
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
2 roma tomatoes, finely diced (or 1 can diced tomatoes)
1/8 cup parsley, chopped
2/3 cup ketchup
salt and pepper

Meatloaf:

1 lb. bison
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/2 cooked quinoa*
salt and pepper

Heat oil over medium. Add onions, red peppers, and garlic and cook until soft. Add bay leaf and cook for another minute or two. Add ketchup, tomatoes, and parsley. Turn heat to medium-low and cook for just a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, crumble bison. Add all meatloaf ingredients to the bowl along with 3/4 cup of relish. Mix with your hands until everything is combined. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with foil liners. Fill each hole with 1/4 cup of meatloaf mixture and press gently. Top muffins with remaining relish. Bake for 25 minutes.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

*Note: No need to cook quinoa just for this recipe. If you do not have any leftover quinoa, use a couple of slices of whole wheat bread, rolled oats, or even saltine crackers. Soak them in a little milk, though, before adding them to the meatloaf.

Teriyaki Sauce

This makes a great marinade for meat or vegetables. It would be particularly good with salmon.

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

3 gloves garlic, mashed
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon raw honey
1/2 cup naturally fermented soy sauce

Whisk all ingredients. Makes 3/4 cup.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce (lacto-fermented)

This sauce is the love child of ketchup and teriyaki sauce with a few added ingredients. Feel free to adjust the sweetness or spiciness. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to barbecue. This is a basic sauce that can be twisted a million different ways. Add some bourbon or curry or lime, you name it. Get creative!

3/4 cup Teriyaki Sauce

1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1/4 - 1/2 cup raw honey (or more if you like a sweeter sauce, like me)
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper (or more if you like a more spicy sauce, like my husband)
juice of one orange

Mix all ingredients together. Use immediately if you are baking with it or using it in a crock pot. Otherwise, simmer for 30 minutes over medium-low heat to develop the flavors.

Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken

This can be served in pieces left on the bone or shredded. I prefer to shred the meat, because it's easier to eat and share with a crowd.

1 whole chicken, cut up into pieces, washed and patted dry

1 tablespoon grape seed oil
2 cups barbecue sauce
salt and pepper

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Salt and pepper the pieces of chicken and add to the hot pan, skin side down. Sear both sides of the chicken ensuring there is a nice crust. Add the chicken to the crock pot with the barbecue sauce and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Remove chicken from the pot and allow it to slightly cool. Discard the skin and then remove the meat from the bones. Shred the meat with a fork and place it back into barbecue sauce. Allow it to sit another 30 minutes or so to become a little more tender and the sauce is absorbed through all of the meat. Serve with fresh bread.

Week 5 - Thinking Outside the Produce Box

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:20:00 +0000

I am pretty sure that this is my favorite week of the 6 week cooking series called "The Urban Homestead Experiment". And, yes, it's vegetables and grains. This class is dedicated to those who are taking a huge step in their journey away from processed foods and signing up for services, such as, Door to Door Organics or maybe a CSA (Community Support Agriculture) here in Kansas City.

The concept is this: Each week you are delivered a box of really good quality produce (or meat, in some cases). Depending on what service you actually sign up for, you may or may not have a say in what you get. I subscribe to Door to Door Organics and each week I receive an email with the contents of the next week's box that will be delivered right to my doorstep. I have the opportunity to make up to three substitutions plus I can add additional produce or other grocery items for that week's delivery. I love it. This is really good stuff and so affordable, too. I'm not getting a lot of local produce right now, but it's the middle of February in Missouri. Go figure.

This type of commitment is scary to a lot of people. Why? Because you may end up with produce that you would not ordinarily buy since you do not know what to do with it. I'm telling you to fear not! This is your opportunity to get creative and really cook, not just follow a recipe. And that, my friends, is why this is my favorite week.

We made a lot of food in class this week. Notice, though, how certain things reappear in other recipes. We were teaching methods more than we were teaching recipes. Heck, by the end of the night I was completely winging it and just putting all of the leftovers together to make amazing new dishes. That's how I cook everyday. I roast a bunch of vegetables for dinner, my favorite way of cooking vegetables, and put the rest in the fridge. I might make a big pot of quinoa or rice and a pot of beans and, again, leftovers go in the fridge or in zip lock bags in the freezer. Each component is made so that it is flavorful enough to stand on it's own. When I go to use the leftovers later on in salads, entrees, or soups then I start layering flavor upon flavor to create complex dishes that would otherwise take you hours to make from start to finish. And you still would never be able to replicate all of the tastes that each compenent brings.

Simple methods, like roasting vegetables, cooking grains with tons of flavor, and making vinaigrettes are the keys to making these new (or old, depending on how you look at it) ways of shopping for food a success. You will bomb at times. We all do. You may hit a wall and conveniently forget about the kumquats sitting in your fridge and begging you to cook them. The more you practice, though, the more you will truely become a great cook - a "healthy" cook! My family actually complains because I never make the same thing twice. And it's so true. Don't ask me for a recipe, because God only knows what actually went into it that night. Ironic, considering I live on a soapbox shouting "know what's in your food!!!". There are exceptions to that rule, though.

So, here are the recipes we made in class this week. Have fun with them and try to think outside the box (ok, bad joke).

Roasted Vegetables
This method can be used for any vegetable or any combination of vegetables. Keep in mind, though, that some vegetables will take longer than others to bake and may need to be baked at different temperatues. Vegetables with more water, such as zucchini, do not take as long to bake and should be baked at 425 to get that good caramelization. In general, vegetables that are grown within the same season work very well together in terms of temperature and cooking time. The mix below, which are all winter root vegetables, bakes for the same amount of time, same temperature, and should be cut the same size. A summer mix with zucchini, yellow squash, red bell peppers, red onions, and cherry tomtaoes will all bake at 425 degrees for around 25 - 30 minutes. If there is any question, set the temperature to 400 to start out with and then raise after 25 minutes if the vegetables are not caramalizing. It is very important to spread the vegetables out into a single layer so that every single piece is touching the pan. If you overcrowd the pan, they will steam instead of roast.

1 butternut squash
2 sweet potatoes
3 medium carrots
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss all ingredients together in large bowl and spread out onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 35 - 40 minutes. Carefully stir the vegetables half way through, if necessary.

Roasted Beets
Beets have a tendency to dry out in the oven, so roasting them unpeeled in a foil pack is the ideal method.

4-5 beets, cleaned and unpeeled
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut greens from beets right at the root (leave enough stem so the flesh of the beet is not exposed). Lay one sheet of aluminum foil onto a baking sheet. Toss beets, oil, salt and pepper and rub the oil into the beets to ensure they are completely covered. Place beets onto the foil. Top with another sheet of foil and fold over all edges to make a packet. Bake for 30 minutes or until you can stick a knife through the beets. Allow the beets to cool slightly and remove skin. Use immediately or refrigerate whole.

Basic Vinaigrette
The method to make a vinaigrette is one part vinegar or acid to three parts oil plus flavorings (in addition to salt and pepper). In my basic recipe, I use champagne vinegar and olive oil, and flavor it with shallots, dijon mustart, and honey. Use this formula to make any type of vinaigrette you can imagine. Play around with the 3-1 ratio if you prefer more or less oil, as well as, the sweetener to balance out the vinegar. This can also be used as a marinade.

1 small shallot, chopped
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar
3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1/2 cup good extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

In a small, wide mouth mason jar add shallot, mustard, honey, and vinegar. Using a hand-held immersion blender, blend the ingredients until slightly pureed. Slowly pour in the olive oil as the blender is running on low speed until the mixture emulsifies. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Taste and adjust sweetner/salt/pepper, as required. This will keep in the refrigerator for at least a week. Alternatively, this can be made in a blender, food processor, or by hand with a whisk.

Variations:
- Add any herbs. Use fresh herbs if you are using immediately and dried if you will be storing it for later use.
- Use garlic instead of shallot. Or red onion, leek, scallions.
- Use fresh ginger instead of shallot and replace some of the olive oil with sesame seed oil for an asian flavor
- Play with vinegars: Balsamic, Champagne, Red or White Wine Vinegar, Apple Cider Vinegar are all good
- Replace some or all of the vinegar with a citrus juice (lemon, orange, lime).
- Use pure maple syrup in place of honey

Note: Mark Bittman's book How to Cook Everything contains an awesome section on vinaigrette's. He provides a ton of different variations based on the oil, vinegar/acid, and flavoring method, all of which are so easy and so good.

Umeboshi Broccoli Salad
This is a twist on the traditional broccoli salad made with tons of mayonnaise and bacon. The unexpected saltiness of the Umeboshi Cucumber Dressing balances perfectly with the tart and sweet dried cranberries. This dish happens to hit all five tastes of the tongue (sweet, salty, sour, hot, and umami) leaving you completely satisfied.

1 head of broccoli, chopped into small florets
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup freshly minced onion
1/2 cup or more Umeboshi Cucumber dressing (recipe below)
Freshly ground pepper

Roast sunflower seeds in a 300 degree oven for 15 minutes. Be careful not to burn. Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl. Add more dressing, as needed.

Note: If you buy sunflower seeds already roasted, be sure to get unsalted. The Umeboshi Cucumber dressing is inherently salty, so adding salty sunflower seeds may be too much.

Umeboshi Cucumber Dressing

Umeboshi plums promote alkalinity in the body, aid in digestion, and have antibiotic properties. Read more here. As far as their taste, they are an intense combination of salty, sour, and sweet. Made with a whole, fresh cucumber, this dressing will wake up your taste buds for sure!
2 tablespoons Umeboshi Paste
1 small cucumber, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, smashed
3 tablespoons olive oil

Place all ingredients in a blender puree. Add a small amount of water, if needed, to get it started.

Recipe courtesty of http://www.elanaspantry.com/

Herbed Quinoa
Using chicken stock, preferrably homemade, in place of water adds all kinds of flavor to an otherwise boring side dish. Add a tiny bit of butter and fresh herbs and it's even better. This same method can be used to cook all grains. Consider even mixing several kinds of grains for varying textures and nutritional profiles. Here is a great example of that on http://www.101coookbooks.com/ .
1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 scallions
fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Rinse quinoa in a fine meshed strainer. This is a very important step, as quinoa has a natual bitter coating which needs to be rinsed off. Most boxed varieties are pre-rinsed, but it doesn't hurt to rinse it again. Heat grapeseed oil in a 2 quart stockpot over medium. Add the quinoa and toast lightly until you can begin to smell a nutty flavor. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 12-15 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed. You can visually tell when the quinoa is finished, because the germ will separate from the seed and appear circular with a dot in the middle. Remove from heat and let it sit, covered for 3-5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and add the butter, scallions, parsley, salt and pepper.

Stuffed Portobella Mushrooms
This is one of those ideas where you can literally take any leftovers, stuff it in a mushroom, top it with cheese and call it good. Here I have used "leftover" quinoa and beans and added flavorings that I typically have in my fridge. Use any grain or pasta, meat (or not), vegetables, tomato sauce, pesto, you get the idea. Goat cheese would pair nicely with the mushrooms, as well as, parmesan, feta, or fontina. Serve with a salad on the side for a nice, light dinner.
4 portobella mushrooms, stemmed and dark gills removed
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup cooked white beans
1 sprig rosemary, finely minced
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup stock
1/3 cup toasted pinenuts
1/2 cup grated manchego cheese
1/4 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub each mushroom with oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 10 minutes. While the mushrooms are baking, combine quinoa, beans, rosemary, lemon zest, stock, and pinenuts. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove mushrooms from oven and stuff each with the quinoa mixture. Top with cheese, breadcrumbs, and a little more salt and pepper. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of oil onto the breadcrumbs. Return to oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Week 4 - Game On

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:51:00 +0000

Several of us at IMX=Pilates are participating in a challenge called Game On. In the simplest sense, it is a four week long diet and lifestyle challenge made up of different rules. You earn points for following the rules and at the end of the four weeks the team with the most points wins. It is a fun (for lack of a better word) way to develop better eating and exercize habits, while promoting social interaction.

In support of Game On, this week's class was focused on breakfast and snacks, two meals which easily become dull and repetitive. I wanted to introduce some of my favorite "go to" (Game On-approved) fare: (1) using almond flour, (2) creating nut butters, (3) making homemade crackers, and (4) making homemade yogurt. Hopefully, you can take the ideas I present and run with them. They are all customizable so you can include ingredients that work for you, not the other way around. Get creative and Go Team A!

1. Almond Flour
Specifically blanched almond flour. Gluten-free, low-carb, nutrient dense, and packed with flavor, this stuff
rocks. Rather than regurgitate what Elana Amsterdam, the queen of almond flour, has thoughtfully explained on her website, click here to find out more about the benefits. While you're there, check out Elana's recipes. They are all unbelievably good and so simple to make. One of my fave's is her Breakfast Bars. They taste like a blonde brownie and are great for traveling. A couple of notes about almond flour. First, it is not the same as almond meal. Almond meal is ground almonds with the skin. Almond flour does not have the skins. Elana cautions that almond meal will not work the same in her recipes, so keep that in mind if that is what you buy. Second, it is expensive if you buy it at the grocery store. I order mine from Honeyville Grain and for 5 lbs. pay around $30. I have tried grinding blanched almonds in a food processer to a fine enough consistency and it worked ok in cookies, but I could definately tell a difference. Not bad. Just different. The cookies had a coarse texture as opposed to a smooth texture when they are made from the Honeyville flour. I think cookies are forgiving where as, muffins or cake would not be, so go with the Honeyville. You won't regret it. Without future adue, here is the recipe:

Almond Flour Breakfast Bar
This recipe can be modified a million different ways. You could add cocoa power, cinnamon, chocolate chips, mashed banana, dried cranberries...the list goes on and on.

1 ¼ cup blanched almond flour, packed
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup coconut oil
¼ cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup shredded coconut
½ cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup almond slivers
¼ cup raisins

In a small bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda. In a large bowl, combine coconut oil, agave and vanilla. Stir dry ingredients into wet. Mix in coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almond slivers and raisins. Grease an 8x8 baking dish with grapeseed oil. Press the dough into the baking dish, wetting your hands with water to help pat the dough down evenly. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes

Recipe from http://www.elanaspantry.com/

2. Creating nut butters
This may be one of my favorite things right now, which says a lot considering how much I play in the kitchen. Making your own nut butter is so incredibly easy you will wonder why you never did it before. But that's not my favorite part. Neither is the fact that it is cheaper to make it yourself. My favorite part is that you can customize your nut butter to use the ingredients that you want to use. Again, back to the idea of using ingredients that work for you. You can use coconut oil, if you choose. You can use raw honey. Or pure maple syrup. Or leave the sweetner out, altogether. You get the idea. It would be rare to look at the back of a peanut butter jar and find just the ingredients you were looking for.

I use coconut oil in my nut butters. I use it in a lot of things, actually. For years coconut oil has been a source of controversy, because it is comprised of saturated fat. Research has found, however, that because it is a medium chained fatty acid (MCFA) versus a long chained fatty acid (LCFA) our bodies metabolize it differently. Better. Some say it actually promotes fat burn by triggering an increase in metabolism. Click here and here to read more about the benefits of coconut oil. How cool is it to have the option to have coconut oil in your almond butter or peanut butter instead of some gross hydrogenated oil?

Roasted Rosemary Cashew Butter
This is more of a savory nut butter, but would be delicious served with apple slices or on toast drizzled with honey. Carrots also make a nice dipper. If you cannot find raw cashews, feel free to use roasted and skip step 1. If you buy salted cashews, omit the pinch of salt in the recipe.

8 ounces raw, unsalted cashews
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread cashews out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, stirring once or twice to prevent burning. Remove from oven and add to a food processer. Turn the food processer on and run until a thick ball is formed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl, as needed. When the thick ball is formed, remove the lid and add the coconut oil and honey. Turn the machine back on. Continue to run until the butter loosens up and it reaches the desired consistency. Transfer the cashew butter to a bowl and stir in the rosemary. The longer the butter sits, the more the flavor will develop.

3. Homemade Crackers
Making your own crackers is so fun and easy. Literally, you can make crackers with flour, water, salt, and butter. Think about what you want to serve your crackers with, though, to make the perfect accompaniment. Change up the seeds, add cheese, dried fruit, herbs, or spices to make your own delicious cracker. This recipe is very forgiving, easily adaptable, and impossible to mess up. I find it easiest to work with smaller amounts of dough at a time when rolling to ensure the center is as thin as the outsides. If you find when baking that the center crackers are thicker, just remove the thinner pieces when they are done and bake the rest for a bit longer. I think it goes without saying how much better these are for you than store bought crackers. If you need convincing, though, check out the label on your favorite crackers and see how the ingredients compare to the list below.

Whole Wheat Seeded Crackers
If you cannot find whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour (most likely in the health food section), use regular whole wheat.

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
¼ cup milk (plus more, as needed)
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
¼ cup ground flax
2 tbsp poppy seed
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp brown sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a food processer add the flour, salt, and grapseed oil. Pulse until mixed together. Next add the remaining ingredients and process until a ball of dough is formed. Add 1 teaspoon at a time of milk if dough is too dry. Dump dough onto a lightly floured surface and kneed just a few times to bring the dough together. Form a disk and allow the dough to rest 10 minutes.

Cut the dough in half (It is easier to roll the dough out more evenly if you are working with smaller pieces at a time). Place one half in the center of a large piece of parchment paper. Roll the dough out as thin as possible, ensuring the center is not too thick. With a pizza cutter or knife, score the dough into 1 inch squares in the shape of the crackers. Transfer the entire piece of parchment paper with dough onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until the crackers are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool. Store in a tin for several days.

4. Yogurt
Everyone is eating greek yogurt these days, because of the high amount of protein it contains. The biggest complaint, though, is it feels like you are eating sour cream. You get used to it, but still long for Yoplait Boston Cream Pie. Consider making your own yogurt. You can control the tanginess with how long you let it process. I like mine right in the middle. To make greek yogurt, just strain your yogurt in a cheesecloth lined fine meshed strainer suspended over a bowl for several hours in the refrigerator. The whey will drain out leaving you with the protein. Strain overnight and you will have yogurt cheese. There is a million things you can do with this. It has the consistency of cream cheese, so use it as a substitute in your favorite recipes. I have used it in the recipe below in a spread packed with finely minced vegetables. You can use it as a dip with the crackers above, spread it on a bagel, or anything else you can imagine. This could easily transform into a fruit dip by using vanilla extract (or vanilla bean), any fruits (peaches would be especially nice), lemon, lime, or orange zest, or fresh grated ginger just to give you a few ideas.

Yogurt Cheese Vegetable.Spread
Chop your vegetables fairly small before putting into the food processer. They will end up finely minced when finished so it can spread easily onto a bagel or crackers. To make more of a ranch flavored dip, add mashed garlic, parsley, and dill. Add the fresh herbs after most of the processing is finished. You just want to pulse it a few times to mix them in, not pulverize them.

16 ounces yogurt cheese*
2 tablespoons minced scallions, white and green parts
2 tablespoons finely chopped carrot
2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons finely chopped radish (2 radishes)
2 to 3 pinches kosher salt
1 pinch finely ground black pepper

Place the yogurt cheese, scallions, carrot, celery, radish, salt, and pepper in a food processor and process until the vegetables are minced very fine.

Week 3 - The Basics

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 04:36:00 +0000

This week's theme could also be called "Trash to Treasure". I showed you how you can take every day, basic ingredients, even things you would have otherwise thrown away, and turned them into something great. Quality that you can't buy at the store. So many packaged foods these days have become single "ingredients" to us - a jar of tomato sauce, a quart of chicken stock. We buy them because they are convenient. In reality, they are made up of tons of ingredients, many of which we cannot pronounce and we would never, ever use if we were making it ourselves. The sad thing is that making it yourself really isn't "inconvenient". Maybe that's a happy thing, though?

Let's stick with tomato sauce and chicken stock. I was browsing Ragu's website and came across this:

A smooth, flavorful classic sauce. Ragú Old World Style® pasta sauces meet FDA guidelines for healthy.*

* To be considered "healthy" by the FDA, pasta sauce must be low in fat and saturated fat, contain limited amounts of cholesterol and sodium, and contain a minimum amount of certain nutrients.

A little more searching and I found the ingredients for their traditional Old World sauce flavored with meat...

INGREDIENTS:

tomato puree (water, tomato paste), vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: soybean oil, corn oil), ground beef, high fructose corn syrup, salt, dried onions, extra virgin olive oil, romano cheese (cow's milk cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), spices, natural flavors.

Pretty much all of those things sound unappealing on their own, so how can they make up anything "good" mixed together?

What about chicken stock? It might be the most useful, versatile, and convenient "ingredients" you can keep around. One of the better brands you can buy at the store is Pacific Foods Organic Free-Range Low-Sodium Chicken Broth. Check it out:

Made with ingredients you can pronounce and with only 70mg of sodium.

We begin with free-range chickens raised on an organic vegetarian diet. Our mixture of simple ingredients is cooked together to create a foundation for a rich, delicious low sodium broth you didn’t have to prepare yourself.

Use as a base for more hearty soups, risotto, and pasta dishes or create your own amazing recipe.

And here are those "simple" ingredients:

Organic chicken broth (filtered water, organic chicken)
Organic chicken flavor
Natural chicken flavor (chicken broth, salt)
Organic evaporated cane juice
Autolyzed yeast extract
Organic onion powder
Turmeric
Organic flavor

You can't get any simpler than the first three ingredients: (1) chicken broth (chicken broth is an ingredient in chicken broth?), (2) "organic" chicken flavor and (3) "natural" chicken flavor. Then followed by five ingredients that I would never put in chicken broth. But it tastes "rich and delicious" and costs around $3 a quart.

It's time to stop listening to deceptive marketing and see that you can make food that is actually "rich and delicious" from REAL FOOD. Real food cannot even be compared to the pseudo-food you find at the store. These super easy recipes are at least 1000 times better than their store bought counterpart and cost very little to make. They can all be made in large quantities and frozen for convenience. I like to freeze the chicken stock and bolognese sauce in various sized containers so I can get out just what I need.

Enjoy!

Homemade Chicken Stock
The measurements on this do not have to be exact. You can use ANY leftover vegetables to make a stock, even without the chicken. Replace the chicken bones with beef bones (marrow bones, knuckles, etc.) to make beef stock. Lamb bones to make lamb stock, etc.

Carcus from at least one chicken
2 medium carrots cut into thirds
2 onions, quartered, unpeeled
3 stalks celery, cut into thirds
2 parsnips, cut into thirds
1 head of garlic, cut in half crosswise
10-15 sprigs each of fresh dill, parsley, and thyme.
2 teaspoons of whole peppercorns

Wash all vegetables, but leave unpeeled. Place chicken carcus, vegetables, herbs, and peppercorns in a large stock pot and fill with water. Simmer for 4-5 hours. The only attention the pot may need is to skim the foam or "impurities" off of the top every once in awhile. It's an optional step, but produces a clearer broth. Once finished, pour the entire contents into a large fine meshed strainer suspended over a very large bowl or pot and discard the solids. Allow the broth to cool and separate into individual containers. Refrigerate overnight, skim any fat off the next day, if desired, and then move to the freezer. This makes anywhere from 6-9 quarts. I will add some water to stretch the broth as far as I can. Don't dilute it too much, though!

Sweet Potato Gnocchi
I use farro flour, because it's lighter in texture than whole wheat and is even better for you. To find out why click here. It may not be easy to find in a store. You can order it online here or substitute with wheat or spelt. Traditional gnocchi uses white potatoes, but I use sweet potatoes, as they are loaded with vitamins and they help balance your blood sugar. Don't worry, they are nothing like the marshmallow topped sweet potato casserole you see at Thanksgiving!  Made right, they are pillow-y little dumplings that are wonderful served with Bolognese sauce. And they only have 3 ingredients to boot.

1 lb. sweet potatoes
1 -2 cups flour farro flour (whole wheat pastry, white whole wheat, or whole spelt work)
Pinch of salt

Bake sweet potatoes at 400 degrees in their skin until soft (35-40 minutes). Remove the skins and mash with a fork or process the flesh in a food processer until all the lumps are gone. Mix the sweet potatoes, salt and ½ cup flour in a bowl. Flour the counter top with at least another ½ cup flour and dump the sweet potato mixture on top. Sprinkle liberally with more flour. Start to work in the flour by kneading and continue adding flour until you get a soft dough. The goal is to use as little flour as possible but still have dough that you are able to roll out.  Too much flour will produce a dense, chewy gnocchi, but too little flour will not hold together when boiled. To test the consistency, pinch a little piece of dough off and roll into a ball. Boil it to determine if you need any more flour. If it falls apart, add flour. If it’s too dense, add an egg to the dough.

Divide the dough into several balls and roll each one out to form a long rope (about the width of your thumb). I find it easier to work with smaller pieces at a time. Cut into 3/4 inch pieces. Flour a large baking sheet so you have somewhere to stage your gnocchi before cooking. Next you add notches to each piece so the sauce has something to grab on to. You can do this two different ways: (1) Roll each piece along the back of a fork so there are grooves or (2) poke two sides of each gnocchi long ways with the end of a fork (not the end with the prongs). As you notch each piece, place them on the floured pan without touching each other. Once all pieces are ready, you are ready to boil. You want to do this in batches (maybe 3-4 batches for this size of recipe) so the gnocchi have plenty of room and do not stick together.  Drop the gnocchi into salted, boiling water one at a time (carefully, because they will splatter hot water). Once they are all in for that batch, give it a quick stir with a large slotted spoon to get it off of the bottom of the pot.  They will float to the top after 2-3 minutes. Once they float to the top, continue to boil for appx. 1 more minute. Remove with the slotted spoon into a serving bowl. Repeat until all gnocchi are cooked. Toss with salt and pepper and a little olive oil. Serve with bolognese sauce.

Other fun gnocchi ideas:

Add any fresh herb to the dough before rolling it out. Thyme or sage would go nice.
Freeze them! After you have notched them but before you boil them, arrange them on the cookie sheet dusted with flour. Put the sheet in the freezer (make sure they are not touching each other) until frozen. Put them in a ziplock back. You want to make sure and freeze them individually, so they do not stick together. When you are ready to cook them, just drop them into the boiling water straight from the freezer. Do not thaw them first. Otherwise, you will end up with a mushy mess.
Crispy gnocchi - After boiling, pan sear in skillet with oil or clarified butter until lightly browned. Serve with tomato sauce or toss with fresh herbs and parmesan cheese.
Crisp finely chopped pancetta or bacon in pan. When finished cooking, add gnocchi and toss. Serve with parmesan or gorganzola cheese.
Gnocchi Soup - In a large pot, saute an onion plus any other vegetables you want (green beans, carrots, celery, bell peppers - any or all of this would be good). Add about 2 quarts of chicken stock (preferrable homemade) and bring to a boil. Add the gnocchi and cook as you would in water. Do not remove them, though. When they are done, just remove from heat and add fresh herbs, salt and pepper.

Bolognese Sauce
This is a very thick and hearty meat sauce that simmers for two hours, but requires very little effort. For a 30 minute version use a can of organic crushed tomatoes, as opposed to the whole peeled tomatoes. It won't be as tender and luscious as the two hour version, but still delicious. If you save the rind from parmesean cheese, toss it into the sauce while it's simmering. It will add a rich undertone of parmesean that can't be beat. I like to use a potato masher occasionally during the two hour simmerring period to really break up the meat and tomatoes.

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stock, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 lb. grass-fed beef
1/2 cup white wine (red would also work or use more stock, if preferred, in place of wine)
1 cup chicken stock, preferrable homemade
1 can whole peeled organic tomatoes, drained (Note: The best tomatoes are canned whole and the rest are ground and diced. If you want the best, go with whole).
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
pinch of crushed red pepper
1 cup milk or cream

Pour oil into a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrot, and celery and cook until they begin to soften. Next add the ground beef and garlic and raise heat to medium high. As the meat browns, break up into small pieces. Once the meat is browned add wine, if using, and turn heat back down. Allow the wine to cook down.

Meanwhile, crush tomatoes with your hands in a bowl or run through the food processer. Add them to the pot after the wine has cooked down a bit (only a couple of minutes) along with the chicken stock, herbs, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium low. Continue to simmer for an hour and a half, mashing and stirring occasionally with a potato masher. Add more chicken stock if the sauce, if needed. This is supposed to be a very thick sauce.

After an hour and a half add the milk and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve over pasta.

Week Two: A Fresh Start

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:20:00 +0000

Everyone in America needs to see Fresh! Don't you agree? It was so satisfying for me to see such a positive reaction from everyone Thursday night after screening this film. I began to worry earlier in the day as I thought about Debbie and Tonya setting everything up again. I thought, "Oh, I hope it is worth it!". It was. And if you want to introduce your friends to this guy....

...self proclaimed “Christian-conservative-libertarian-environmentalist-lunatic”, Joel Salatin, then you can purchase Fresh by going to http://www.freshthemovie.com/. I paid $30 to purchase a license to hold a screening for 1-20 people and basically that got me the DVD. Or, I would love to hold a screening for you if you have a small group to share it with. The Fresh website is packed with information, links, books, education material, etc. Check it out!

I have mentioned another film called Food, Inc., which is out on DVD for purchase, renting, or download. There is book to compliment the movie called Food Inc.: A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food is Making Us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer-And What You Can Do About It. Both the video and the book are incredible. Food, Inc. is similar to Fresh; however, I think you will find Food, Inc. to be more shocking. And the book is not what you may expect either. It is comprised of essays written by various experts who cover topics that are not necessarily addressed in either movie. Topics, such as abuse of migrant farm workers, biofuels, global hunger, and so on. Joel and Michael Pollan both contributed essays to this book. Joel's is especially inspring.

Other books I recommend along these lines are written by my hero, Michael Pollan. Specifically, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto and The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. In Defense of Food is my favorite. It addresses the obsession America has with nutritional science and how we're always looking for that magical "it" factor that will make us healthy, yet we still have the highest rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity that we have ever had. What is it about a carrot that is good for us? Is the beta-carotene? Is it the fiber? We want to know so we can enrich our candy bars with it. The book is thought provoking and a breath of fresh air from all of the marketing that leaves you utterly confused every time you walk within ten feet of a supermarket. Michael gives very simple advice: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. It really is that easy!

With that said, I want to share some great places where you can get food. Real food.

Parker Farms - 12 month Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) for meat and eggs. The meat includes grass-fed beef, lambs, pastured chickens and eggs, and hogs. Parker Farms is located in Richmond, MO, and has a drop off location in North Kansas City (1 block south of CVS on Armour Road). They also go to Liberty and Overland Park. The prices for full or half shares can be found on their website or within the information I had on the back table last Thursday. Tom was nice enough to donate free eggs for everyone to try. How did you like them? Post your comments below!

Northland Naturals Coop Basics - This is a buying club that orders natural, organic bulk food at a cheaper rate from several different sources and has it delivered in a church parking lot at Green Hills and Hwy 152. They order every four weeks from United Naturals Buying Clubs. There are frozen, refrigerated, grocery, supplements, and personal items (like shampoo) available for purchase. Many items are comparable to what you would purchase at a Whole Foods Market. Currently the co-op receives a 10% discount, which goes up when our order amounts increase. Ordering is done online and everything must be ordered in cases. You are able to split cases, though, with other members of the club so you aren't stuck with more then you really need. The splitting process is managed online, as well.

In addition to United Naturals, they order from Frontier every other month. You may have seen this brand of spices at Whole Foods or Hy-vee. The items from here are not ordered by the case, so that is a benefit. According to the club coordinator, personal items, such as shampoo and sunscreen, are much cheaper from this company.

Lastly, they order meat from Parker Farms and arrange a delivery at the church parking lot. The timing of those order vary based on the demand from the club members.

There are many benefits to joining a club such as this. You are buying the same items you would buy at the store (if you can find them) at the best price. The more your group orders, or the more the group grows, means a larger discount. You do not have to drive all over the city trying to find all of this stuff, because, trust me, there is not just one place you can go to get it all. That's very frustrating!

If you are interested in this club, please let me know and I will send you more information, including the name and number of the coordinator.

Door to Door Organics - This company is new to the Kansas City area and operates in other markets around the country (Denver, Michigan, and the east coast). They offer four sizes of boxes (itty, small, medium, and large) comprised of just fruits, just vegetables, or a combo of fruits and vegetables. I signed up for a medium box of fruits and vegetables and will get my first delivery on Monday. The cost is $38 per week for that particular box. To give you an idea of what that buys you, here is what will be delivered to me this week:

2 ea. Avocado
6 ea. Braeburn Apples
6 ea. Danjou Pears
5 lb Yams (I substituted this for tangerines)
6 ea. Kiwi (I substituted this for grapefruit)
1 ea. Broccoli
1 ea. Butternut Squash
1 ea. Carrots
2 ea. Cucumbers
1 ea. Kale
2 ea. Red Bell Peppers
1 ea. Red Leaf Lettuce
1 lb Roma Tomatoes
2 lb Yukon Gold Potatoes.

Several days before your delivery you will get a preview of the next week's basket. You can then go online and substitute things up until a certain cut off point before your delivery if the basket contains items that you do not care for. They do offer other grocery items, too, which you can add to your order, such as, dried pastas, spices, and even bread from Bread of Life bakery in KC. The selections are limited, but I was still impressed. They also offer a co-op discount, which is AWESOME! If you have four or more deliveries at the same location then everyone receives a discount! The boxes can still be customized per individual and each person pays individually online. I think I heard several people interested in forming a co-op at IMX, so I will get more information from Door to Door this week about that. They deliver to the north Kansas City area on Mondays.

Fresh Connect - Another KC based organic delivery company who works with local farmers, as well as, organic farmers in other states who may have produce not grown here. I had a really good phone conversation with the owner, Kevin, who is based out of Lee's Summit, MO. They have a very similar set up as Door to Door Organics with the different sized boxes, but they also offer meat and dairy. Grass-fed beef, lamb, pork, and buffalo, as well as, milk and cheese from a certified organic local dairy farm. They deliver to this area on Tuesdays.

Whew! I think this week's post is more like a book! I am continuing to make improvements to the layout of this blog so that information, such as what I wrote about this week, is more static and my posts are not quite so long. It will also make it easier to locate this information if you need to refer back to it. There will be links for recipes, FAQ's, etc. This Thursday is going to be fun as we will talk about building a natural pantry and I will be demonstrating how to make chicken stock and bolognese sauce. These two things started me on my "kick" of making food myself instead of buying it at the store. Easy, delicious and so convenient to have around. Last, but certainly not least, here are the recipes for the treats Tonya and I brought last Thursday...

Sweet and Spicy Nuts and Kettle Corn

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

5 tablespoons agave nectar, divided

1/2 cup popcorn kernals

2 cups raw nuts (I used macadamia nuts and slivered almonds)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

To make the nuts:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 1 tablespoon coconut oil, 2 tablespoons agave nectar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in medium bowl. Add nuts and toss to coat. Spread nuts into a single layer in a glass baking dish. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove and cool.

To make popcorn:

Heat coconut oil and 3 tablespoons agave nectar in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add popcorn kernals and stir to coat well.. Cover with a tight fitting lid and turn down the heat just a bit. As the popcorn is popping shake the pot periodically to ensure the kernals are cooking evenly. When the popping stopes remove from heat and sprinkle with cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, and nutmeg. Add nuts and stir with a large rubber spatula to combine. Serve.

Crispy Rice Treats

1 cup brown rice syrup

2/3 cup nut butter (almond, peanut butter, cashew, etc.)

Healthy dash umeboshi vinegar

Healthy dash vanilla (optional)
3 cups brown rice cereal
Cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins, roasted almonds, peanuts, or cashews to taste, optional

Over a medium flame, heat up brown rice syrup, nut butter, vinegar, and, if desired, vanilla, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth, thinned out, and bubbling a little. Pour cereal into mixing bowl. Add rice syrup mixture to it and blend well with a wooden spoon. Pour into an oiled pan and flatten with a wet spatula. Let cool. Slice and serve.

Week One

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:38:00 +0000

Well, the series begins! Despite the technical challenges we encountered with the video, I think we got off to a great start. I was able to hear what was on everyone's mind so I know where to focus the classes going forward.

One of the recurring themes I kept hearing had to do with finding affordable sources for organic, local (where possible) food. I rattled off several resources for local farmers, CSA’s, and online ordering sites, etc. which I will add to this blog.

I, myself, am trying to get out of the supermarkets and find better sources for local, organic food. This class has really motivated me to jump in and start contacting some of these resources. I have been amazed at the response I am getting once I explain these classes and what I am trying to do. I have talked with Tom at Parker Farms, Lee at Acme Grains, and a new subscription based delivery service for produce called Door to Door Organics (thanks to Lee!). I can't wait to share all of the information this Thursday with the class along with some free pastured eggs given to me by Tom Parker.

We will definately be watching Fresh this Thursday, so I hope to see you there! In the mean time keep checking this blog as I continue to update it with recommended books, websites, and other media.

Recipes from last Thursday night:

Chipotle Lima Bean Soup
adapted from www.101cookbooks.com

1 pound dried baby lima beans, picked over and rinsed
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock (you can use all water, but the stock improves the flavor)
6 cups water
1 head garlic, top lobbed off to expose the cloves and loose skins removed
2 tablespoons coconut oil (butter or olive oil work, as well)
1 onion, halved top to bottom and sliced into thin crescents
1 to 2 chipotles in adobo sauce (see note below recipe)
2 cans stewed tomatoes
2 teaspoons fine-grain sea salt
Squeeze of lime juice (optional)

Pick over the beans, looking carefully for any pebbles or dirt clumps; baby limas seem to be magnets for dirt. Rinse the beans, then combine them with the stock, if using, water and garlic in a heavy soup pot. You might think putting a whole head of unpeeled garlic in the pot is strange, but just go with it. Bring the beans to an active simmer and cook for 60 – 75 minutes, until just a touch al dente and not mushy or falling apart. Test their doneness by tasting; you really can't tell any other way.
Heat the oil (or butter) in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, add the onion, chipotles, and 2 teaspoons of the adobo sauce, and sauté over medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, just until the onion starts to soften. Crush the tomatoes with your hands and add them, along with their juices, to the pan. Simmer for just another minute or two longer for the flavors to blend. You can always add more adobo sauce later for a spicier soup; just don't overdo it on the front end.
Add the salt and the onion-chipotle-tomato mix to the pot of beans and simmer gently for about 5 minutes. The broth should be thin, so add more water if needed. Add more salt and more adobo a bit at a time if the flavors aren't popping. Finish with a squeeze of lime if you like. You can remove the garlic or smash the cooked cloves into a paste and add it back into the soup (what I usually do).

Note: Chipotle peppers in adobo can be found in most grocery stores with the Mexican food. They are pretty spicy, so just remove 1-2 peppers and mince them up very finely so you do not have big chunks. You will not use the entire can for this or any other recipe. They will keep for a long time in the refrigerator.

Original recipe: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/baby-lima-soup-with-chipotle-broth-recipe.html

Whole Wheat Fig and Rosemary Crackers

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, more as needed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup milk
4 dried figs diced small
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly dust with flour. Put flour, salt, cheese and oil in bowl of a food processor. Pulse until flour and butter are combined. Add about 1/4 cup milk and let machine run for a bit; continue to add liquid a teaspoon at a time, until mixture holds together but is not sticky. Form dough into a disk and allow it to rest 10 minutes.

2. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until 1/2-inch thick or even thinner, adding flour as needed. Make it as thin as you can make it. If you are doubling the recipe at all, divide the dough into smaller pieces to roll it out to ensure the center is thin. Transfer sheet of dough to prepared baking sheet (drape it over rolling pin to make it easier). Score lightly with a sharp knife, pizza cutter or a pastry wheel if you want to break crackers into squares or rectangles later on. Sprinkle with salt or other topping if you like.

3. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. You don’t want to under bake these, as that will result in a softer cracker. Cool on a rack; serve warm or at room temperature or store in a tin for a few days.

Note: The basic recipe is the flour, salt, liquid (milk in this case, but you could use water), and oil (any type of oil can be used or butter). This would make a basic cracker. You can add or change the remaining ingredients, as desired. You could use cheddar cheese, a different herb, top with any number of seeds, garlic, etc. Use the quantities above as a guide for other variations you may come up with.

Chocolate Bark

3 tablespoons grapeseed oil (JM: I used coconut oil)
6 tablespoons agave nectar
2 cups pecans
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups dark chocolate 73%

1. In a large skillet, heat oil and agave until bubbling
2. Add pecans and stir until they are well coated, then mix in salt and seasonings
3. Cook for 4 minutes, then remove pan from heat
4. Place nuts on a parchment lined baking sheet
5. Place sheet in a 400° oven and roast for 4 minutes, remove from oven and cool completely
6. In a separate saucepan over very low heat, melt chocolate
7. Pour chocolate into a parchment lined 13 x 9 glass dish
8. Break up the pecans and sprinkle over the chocolate
9. Using a metal spatula, spread the mixture evenly back and forth to ½ inch thickness
10. Allow to sit out until set, 1-2 hours
11. Cut into squares and serve
Makes 32

Recipe from Elana's Pantry: http://www.elanaspantry.com/chocolate-bark/

Chocolate Cake

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 04:22:00 +0000

This chocolate cake is from Heidi Swanson at 101cookbooks.com. This is my "special" cake. Or as she describes it, "an everyday chocolate cake that you might not make everyday". It's the cake I make if I want to really go all out. It's rich. It's chocolaty. And it's expensive. I'll be honest. With 1 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup, 3/4 cup of really good organic cocoa powder, 1/2 cup coconut oil, and 10 oz. of really good bittersweet, organic chocolate chips, you may wonder if it's really worth it. It is. Just every once in awhile. It's a dense cake baked in an 8x8 glass Pyrex pan. I love that, too. It's so inconspicuous. The frosting is a light chocolate whipped cream sweetened with maple syrup. It's perfect. Do not overbake it, though. In fact, underbake it slightly and refrigerate the leftovers. You will find that after it's been refrigerated it will get almost truffle-like, because all of the chocolate in the cake hardens up. If you want it to be more crumb-like then just let it sit out at room temperature. Microwaving it, even for only 10 seconds at a power level of 2, will liquefy the frosting. I actually like it that way, because with chocolate and cream it's kinda like ganache.

2 1/2 cups freshly ground wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup non-alkaline/non-Dutched cocoa powder (I use Dagoba )
1 tablespoon baking powder (look for non-aluminum type)
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup barely melted coconut oil
1 cup real maple syrup, room temperature
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup coconut milk, room temp
8 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, shaved or finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F degrees with a rack in the middle. Butter and flour an 8x8 square cake pan (I've also had success using a 9x9 pan, just adjust your baking time). Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl whisk together the melted coconut oil and maple syrup until it looks like caramel. Whisk in the eggs, vanilla, and then the coconut milk. Pour the maple syrup mixture over the flour mixture and stir until barely combined. Add the chocolate and stir until everything comes together and is no longer dusty looking - avoid over-mixing. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30 - 40 minutes. This is a cake I like slightly under-baked, so I pull it out when the center is still a bit under cooked - the toothpick doesn't quite come out clean when testing. If you are going to use it for a layer cake - then bake it all the way (clean toothpick). Remove from oven and allow to cool (absolutely completely) in pan before frosting (frosting recipe below). ` `

Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped)
1/4 cup coconut oil, room temperature
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks

To make the frosting melt the chocolate in a double-boiler, or in a bowl placed over a pan of boiling water. In a medium bowl beat the coconut oil until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the maple syrup. Then add the melted chocolate. Stir until silky smooth - any flecks of butter should be melted. Pour the chocolate mixture over the whipped cream and fold the chocolate into the cream. Keep going until the chocolate is well incorporated. Use an offset spatula to frost the completely cooled cake. If the cake is at all warm, the frosting will weep and melt.

Roasted Banana Ice Cream

noreply@blogger.com (JamieMilks) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 04:18:00 +0000

This dairy free recipe is inspired by one on Elana's Pantry. I like to roast my bananas a little differently, though, (in their peel) and then sweeten the ice cream with a little bit of maple syrup. I must say the riper your bananas are the better. Not only do you get more natural sugars from the bananas themselves, but you get a stronger banana flavor. I roast bananas like this quite often and put them in oatmeal or just eat them plain. They taste sinfully good, like banana's foster.
4-5 medium ripe bananas
1 tbsp pure maple syrup (plus more if needed)
1 vanilla bean, split
2 tablespoon coconut oil
1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk

Place bananas (peel on) into a 9x11 glass pan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes until juices begin to seep through the peels. Don't worry, the peels will turn black, but that is ok. Remove the bananas from the oven and allow them to cool until they can be handled. Once cooled, peel the bananas and place the fruit in a blender along with any juice from the pan. Discard the peels. Add the maple syrup, coconut oil, and coconut milk. Run the backside of a knife along the insides of the vanilla bean, scraping out the seeds. Place the seeds in the blender. Blend on high until smooth. Taste to make sure the sweetness is right. Add more maple syrup, one tablespoon at a time, until satisfied. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and make the ice cream according to manufacturer's instructions. Enjoy immediately or place in freezer for later.