tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23408743284532153372024-03-13T09:50:54.944-06:00Awesome EatsAwesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-82999670788154373332010-09-04T14:12:00.000-06:002010-09-04T14:12:10.540-06:00BIRTHDAY CAKEIt was my birthday last week. The big 50. <br />
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My neighbor also had a birthday (in the mountains, this neighbor lives about two miles away - down the hill, up a hill, down another hill). I made her/us a real chocolate cake - a traditional, American-style, full of wheat and dairy chocolate layer cake. A chocolate-orange cake, with a dark chocolate filling and a milk chocolate frosting, with bittersweet chocolate flakes on top. My daughter, the artist, did the frosting and decorating. We had a few friends over, and indulged.<br />
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I've modified the recipe from an old Fine Cooking issue...it's not something I would make often, but it is fun for a special occasion. This recipe assumes some basic cooking techniques: make sure the butter is soft-ish, take the eggs out of the fridge and bring to room temperature ahead of time (or, if you're like me and forget, put them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes); sift the flour before measuring (I use organic white flour, not whole wheat pastry; cake flour is in the original recipe, but I avoid it as it has too many additives). The cake is not difficult, but does have a lot of steps - I've divided them up.<br />
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The frosting uses a lot of chocolate - use the best-tasting variety you can find/afford!<br />
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The original recipe is for three 9" layers, but I make it in four 8" layers. I line the bottom with parchment paper - it makes it SO much easier to get the cakes out - and grease them. Preheat the oven to 350, and have the rack in the lower part of the oven (my oven is big enough for all four pans, but you could do them on two racks if needed, one slightly above the middle, one slightly below).<br />
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CHOCOLATE ORANGE LAYER CAKE<br />
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3 C sifted flour<br />
1 1/2 t baking soda<br />
1/2 t salt<br />
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<i>Combine the dry ingredients, and sift three times.</i><br />
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1 C boiling water<br />
3/4 C + 2 T natural cocoa (not dutch/alkalized)<br />
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<i>Put the cocoa in a bowl and pour boiling water over. Cool in the fridge to lukewarm.</i><br />
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1/2 C yogurt<br />
3/4 C buttermilk<br />
1 T orange extract, orange liquer such as Grand Marnier, or vanilla<br />
zest of one orange<br />
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<i>Stir the above ingredients into the cocoa liquid, and continue to cool.</i><br />
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12 T/6 oz butter<br />
2 2/3 C sugar<br />
3 eggs<br />
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<i>Break the eggs into a small bowl, whisk lightly with a fork and set aside.</i><br />
<i>Cream the butter and sugar - 6-7 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer.</i><br />
<i>Add the eggs slowly, beating at low speed or by hand.</i><br />
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Time to combine the egg/butter/sugar, the flour/dry, and the wet ingredients. You can do this by hand (with a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula) or on low speed with the mixer. Don't over mix.<br />
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<i>Put 1/3 of the dry mix into the egg/butter/sugar mix, and mix gently until only just combined. Add 1/2 the liquid and mix. Add another 1/3 of dry and mix. Then second 1/2 of the liquid. Then the last 1/3 of the dry.</i><br />
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<i>Divide the batter between the four pans. Bake for 20-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes on a rack, then remove from the pans and continue to cool. You can frost when completely cool.</i><br />
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DARK CHOCOLATE FILLING (a la Julia Child)<br />
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3 oz semisweet chocolate<br />
1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate<br />
3T orange liquer<br />
4-5 T unsalted butter, cut into small pieces<br />
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<i> Melt the chocolate and liquer in a double boiler. Beat in the butter piece by piece.</i><br />
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MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING<br />
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18 oz milk chocolate, copped into matchstick pieces<br />
5T unsalted butter, cut into small pieces<br />
1 t orange extract or liquer<br />
pinch of salt<br />
3/4 C heavy cream<br />
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<i>Put the chocolate, butter and salt in a large bowl. Heat the cream - when it just begins to boil, pour it over the chocolate mixture. Beat quickly and hard with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add the orange flavoring. Cool in the fridge until firm. When it's time to frost, beat it with a hand-held mixture until light.</i><br />
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I used the dark chocolate for a middle filling layer, and the milk for the other layers and the outside.<br />
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Have fun indulging!<br />
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</i>Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-72852651716154105082010-08-21T17:28:00.000-06:002010-08-21T17:28:39.818-06:00GLUTEN FREE WALNUT WONDER<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Walnuts are wonderful. They are an excellent non-fish source of omega 3 oils (omega 3's have many health benefits - cardiovascular health, joint health, skin health, anti-inflammation, immune system support, to name a few). They have high levels of magnesium, vitamin E and B vitamins. They seem to have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. Studies from walnut consumption show lowered crp (c-reactive protein) levels in the blood, which indicates lower inflammation and lower heart disease risk. They are an excellent source of mono-unsaturated fats, which helps lower 'bad' LDL cholesterol levels. They contain l-argnine, which lowers blood pressure, and melatonin, which helps you sleep. They have a variety of anti-oxidants shown to support circulatory and cardiovascular health. They have been shown to protect bone health and prevent gallstones. They are also a good source of protein and fiber, and have been shown to help prevent weight gain.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Many of my friends avoid gluten, either from medical necessity or as a way to give their digestive system a rest from potential inflammation. If I'm going to a pot-luck or communal dinner, I'll almost always make a gluten-free dessert, just to be on the safe side. I've had absolutely no difficulty in finding beautiful, delicious food that doesn't have gluten in it. I don't look at 'gluten-free' recipes, but rather at classic cooking techniques (often French) that use eggs to rise, or corn or potato starch for a lighter texture, or nut flours for a rich taste. This recipe combines all these elements, and has very little sugar - the nuts seem to provide a natural sweetness. I use whole walnuts, which I grind in my food processor for instant walnut flour. I also use the best possible eggs, as I've found it doesn't rise with poor eggs. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">People love this cake. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This is a fairly simple cake. For the beginner baker, here's a few tips: 1. Have the butter at room temperature, slightly soft. 2. Have the eggs at room temperature (if you forget to take them out, place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes before using). 3. To fold ingredients, use a soft rubber spatula, be very gentle. Hold the spatula in the center of the bowl, perpendicular to the ingredients. Go directly down to the bottom of the bowl, then scoop along the bottom of the bowl and up the side. Take the spatula out. Return to the center of the bowl, turning the bowl slightly. Repeat. And repeat again until the ingredients are mixed. In this way the ingredients are lightly mixed without deflating the eggs.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Walnut Cake</b></span> (adapted from The Art of French Cooking, Volume II)</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Preheat oven to 350</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">9" cake pan - line with parchment or wax paper, butter and flour (potato or corn starch). I use a springform cake because it's so easy to get the cake out, but a normal pan is fine too.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>1. Prepare the nuts:</i></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1 C (4 oz) walnuts</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">3 T sugar</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1/3 C gluten free flour - I use a mix of potato starch for lightness and buckwheat flour for flavor, but it will be lighter with all potato or corn starch. Tapioca flour is another option. If you're not gluten-free, you could use regular white flour.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Grind half the nuts with half the sugar in a food processor or blender, and turn onto a piece of waxed paper. Repeat. Sift the flour over the nuts and mix well with a spatula. Set aside.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> <i>2. Butter</i></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">4T butter. Have the butter at room temperature, slightly soft, in a bowl.. Beat with a wooden spoon until soft and creamy - like mayonnaise. Set aside.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>3. Cake</i><br />
1/3 C sugar</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">3 large eggs</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">2 T alcohol - I use an Italian hazelnut liquor I happen to own, because I love the increased nuttiness, but an orange liquor like Grand Marnier, kirsch, brandy, or even a coffee liquor would also work well.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">pinch of salt</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Beat the sugar and eggs with the alcohol and salt on high speed in an electric mixer. This is one of the few times when I get out my mixer (mostly, I mix by hand). If you have a heavy-duty stand mixer, this will take 3-4 minutes. If, like me, you have a normal hand-held mixer, it will take 7-8 minutes. The eggs will get very fluffy and pale. The volume should double, and the mixture should have soft peaks (ie if you pull the blender out, the mix should form into little peaks and stay up). Fresh, organic eggs make a real difference in this recipe.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Scoop a couple of spoons of the egg mixture into the butter and mix it with a rubber spatula - the butter mix will be even lighter and softer now.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mix over the egg mix and fold in (see above). Repeat twice more. Then add the butter and fold that in. (Take your time with the folding - too rough, or too much folding will deflate the cake. Don't worry about folding in every last bit). </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Turn into cake batter. Place in the middle of the oven.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>4. Bake</i></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Bake for 30 minutes. The cake will rise, but may sink slightly in the last ten minutes. This is normal. The cake will pull away from the edges of the pan. That means it is done. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Remove, let cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This cake is great as it is. However, I was asked to bring a dessert to a fancy-ish diner where there a few gluten-free guests. I whipped some organic whipping cream and covered the cake with a thick layer. Then I covered that with fresh raspberries. Then, I grated some bittersweet chocolate (semisweet is fine too) and decorated the top. It was amazing! Elegant and delicious. Do use the best chocolate you have. I don't sweeten my whipped cream, but you could add some confectioners sugar if you like. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Enjoy the health benefits of walnuts with the indulgence of a rich, beautiful cake.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
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</div>Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-9640408696768015362010-08-21T11:43:00.001-06:002010-08-21T16:36:42.845-06:00SUGAR SWEETThere are moments when my professional interests - to promote our own relationship to health - and my passion for cooking seem to clash. This happens particularly in the baking arena.<br />
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I love to bake. My family and friends love to eat the things I bake. On the other hand, most baking requires an essential ingredient - sugar. And sugar, in both traditional and alternative medical worlds, is EVIL.<br />
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White sugar does not have any nutritional benefits. High sugar & high fructose corn syrup consumption is possibly linked to many, many health issues including obesity, diabetes, raised blood sugar levels, high triglycerides, immune system suppression, decreased mineral absorption, premature aging, weakened eyesight, tooth decay, autoimmune disease, fluid retention, depression, hormonal imbalance, impaired metabolism, cancer risk, yeast infections, and kidney disease. <br />
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And yet baking requires the use of sugar! No sugar, no beautifully risen cakes. No yummy brownies. No fun.<br />
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The average American eats 1/2 lb of sugar & high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) per day - 150 lbs per year. Much of that consumption is in processed foods, particularly sodas. <br />
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I do believe that sugar consumption is out of control. On the other hand, I believe that life is not worth living without an occasional indulgence. I'd rather that indulgence be from a home-cooked, made-with-love brownie than from a can of soda!<br />
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Over the years, I've looked into baking with alternatives to sugar. Please, please avoid agave - it is not the healthy sweetener it claims to be, but a highly heated and chemically processed product that is even higher in fructose that HFCS. Also, avoid artificial sweeteners - sucralose (eg splenda), sugar alcohols (eg mallitol or erythritol) and aspartame (eg nutrasweet) - as they are highly toxic. Some recipes can be made with raw honey or maple syrup, both of which have more nutritional benefits than sugar. Organic evaporated cane juice (which is brown-ish in color and larger crystals than white sugar) is marginally better - it has some of the natural ingredients of sugar cane left in, and none of the pesticides found in commercial sugars.<br />
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However, sweeteners in baking are not there simply to provide a sweet taste, but to interact chemically with the other ingredients (namely the fat and flour) to produce a certain product. For many recipes, white sugar is, quite honestly, the only way to go! I do find, however, that many recipes are too sweet. I regularly cut the amount of sugar in a recipe by 1/4 - 1/3 (anymore and that chemical balance will be altered, and the texture and rise of the cookies and cakes will be changed).<br />
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As a health practitioner, I know that I should strongly endorse a 'no sugar' approach to eating. In theory, I do. I regularly have periods of time where I will eat no refined products, and believe this is a good way to improve my health and give a rest to my body physiology. I don't drink sodas. I don't buy or eat processed foods. I don't add sugar to hot drinks. However, I do believe in enjoying food. Occasionally, this means using sugar to bake a cake - and then eating small quantities of that delicious cake!Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-70322330807997994932010-08-15T12:06:00.000-06:002010-08-15T13:07:42.108-06:00SUMMER POTATO SALADWell, I did get a bit carried away discussing the health benefits of potatoes. On to the fun part - cooking and eating. In the winter, I rely on potatoes as part of a warm and comforting meal - in stews, mashed, roasted, baked, boiled, sauteed, braised. In the summer, I'm looking for lighter fare. My husband Roland has begun to dig our potatoes out - we have beautiful, tiny new potatoes and fingerlings. I boil them until just done, then use them in a warm potato salad. No heavy mayonnaise here - just a light vinagreitte and lots of fresh herbs. My family can't get enough of this dish. If you don't grow potatoes, this dish is best with waxy potatoes - new potatoes or fingerlings. They'll be the small ones in the store or farmer's market (not the standard large russetts or Idaho). New potatoes are small and round; fingerlings are long and skinny (like fingers). The may have white, pink or even purple skins. The purple ones are amazing - purple all the way through! Buy organic if possible, and look for firm smooth potatoes with no sprouts or green spots.<br />
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The preparation is simple. Wash the potatoes just before cooking. Boil a large pot of water. Place the potatoes in and keep at a moderate boil. In the meantime, chop up a bunch of fresh herbs (more ideas in a minute). Place them in the bottom of a large bowl. Add some salt and pepper. If you like, add some very thinly sliced red onion or spring onions. Add some vinegar (I use balsamic, but sherry, wine or apple cider would also be nice). When the potatoes are done, drain them well. Add them to the bowl and toss them into the vinegar mix. Then take a very nice olive oil and add enough to coat the potatoes well. Transfer to a serving dish. Serve warm or at room temperature. <br />
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The warm potatoes absorb the dressing and are truly delicious. I vary the herbs to give very different taste experiences. One night I did them with lots and lots of fresh mint (homage to my years in Britain, where potatoes and mint are always paired). Another night I used a mix of fresh tarragon and parsley and a little bit of thyme. Next time, I think I'll try them with caraway seeds and chives (a German tribute). And a classic salad with spring onions and lots of Italian parsley is a star for summer.<br />
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A great addition to the salad is fresh peas, cooked separately until just tender, drained and rinsed with cold water, and then added at the end. I used fresh peas from my garden, but frozen peas or petit pois will also work. For a more complicated salad, add some blanched string beans, or some cherry tomatoes sliced in half, or some artichoke hearts, or a little bit of fresh garlic, or some lightly cooked fava beans.<br />
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By the way - for more on growing vegetables, check out Roland's blog at http://organicbountea.blogspot.com/. He grows, I weed and cook! <br />
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Rejoice in the health benefits - and the taste benefits - with a summer potato salad!Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-51587097921228807492010-08-15T11:33:00.001-06:002010-08-15T12:55:39.800-06:00THE POOR POTATOThe potato has a bad reputation. It's maligned because of its popularity as a deep fried fast food item. It's white, so is often eliminated by health-conscious people eliminating 'white' (eg refined) foods - white flour, white sugar, etc. It's a carbohydrate, so looked on poorly by those who think carbohydrates are unhealthy. And it is often listed as very high on the glycemic index - a measure of how quickly carbohydrates break down and release glucose into the bloodstream.<br />
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In fact, the potato has much to offer nutritionally. It is <i>not</i> a 'white' refined food. In fact, it is extremely high in fiber - one baked potato has about 5 grams (as much as is found in fiber supplements). As discussed previously on this blog (and every other health-oriented blog), fiber is absolutely vital for a healthy digestive tract, which in turn leads to benefits in heart health, cancer prevention, diabetes regulation, kidney functioning, digestive health, & weight loss. The potato consists of complex carbohydrates (long chains of starch, rather than simple small sugar molecules), which means it is slower to digest than refined or simple carbohydrates. In fact, a recent study (British Journal of Nutrition) shows that the high glycemic index rating might be erroneous or oversimplified.<br />
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Potatoes have many surprising health benefits. They are very high in potassium (higher than a banana) making them useful in lowering blood pressure. They are high in vitamin C. They are high in vitamin B6. B6 is essential in over 100 chemical reactions in the body, and is essential in building cell membranes, proteins, red blood cells, DNA, and neurotransmitters. B6 is vital to nervous system functioning, cardiovascular functioning (it reduces inflammation in the arteries, which is the main cause of plaque), making and breaking down of proteins and fats, breaking down of glycogen (useful for athletes) control of allergic reactions (it helps break down histamine) and cancer prevention.<br />
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What else? Copper and iron (both necessary for red blood cell formation). Folates and magnesium. Quercitin (important for the immune system). Flavanoids (useful for lowering LDL levels). 60 different phytochemicals (a rival to broccoli). And, a recently discovered type of chemical called kukoamine. Previously found only in the chinese gogi berry, kukoamines have significant blood pressure lowering capabilities. Finally, a single new potato has 26 calories, a large baked potato only 150.<br />
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A final word on carbohydrates. There are many 'diet' or 'nutrition' regimes that personify carbohydrates as evil. I just don't believe this is the case. Certainly highly refined foods have carbohydrates that are empty of all nutritional benefit and just dump sugar into the blood stream, leading to weight gain, diabetes and many other health issue. However, real food (ie not processed, straight from the ground to your table) have complex carbohydrates which provide fiber, minerals, and beneficial phytochemicals. Whole grains, fruits, sweet potatoes and potatoes (all examples of complex carbohydrates) provide far too much nutritional benefit to be shunned.<br />
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Potatoes, which are tubers in the ground, are very susceptible to absorbing pesticides, so use organic potatoes if possible. Please eat the skin, where most of the nutrients are located.<br />
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Enough on potato praise. On to the cooking and eating of potatoes.Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-6029805174603140392010-07-04T15:53:00.000-06:002010-07-04T15:53:43.097-06:00Lovely Lettuce<span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Lettuce is one of the first crops of early summer. Here in the Evans garden, we don't wait until the heads are fully formed to eat, but rather start nibbling early on - picking the outer leaves, while the plant continues to grow, and then thinning smaller plants while the rest form nice heads. A farmer friend plants mixed lettuces very densely, then basically does a haircut on them - cuts all the leaves down as a harvest, and leaves them to grow again. If you don't grow your own, try to get locally grown organic lettuce of interesting varieties - the taste is completely different to the store-bought iceberg and romaine. And beware of hydroponic lettuces - they might look nice, but most of them have been grown in a water bath of fertilizers and chemicals, and have as much taste as...well, as you could expect of a vegetable grown in water.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Salad seems like a simple enough thing but allows for infinite variety. We grow a number of different lettuces, some crisp and tall, others soft and delicate, some red, some green. We also grow arugula, mizuma, sorrel, and a variety of Italian escaroles and endives. Joining these in the salad bowl are early leaves of kale, chard, chinese cabbage and spinach. Each has a different taste and texture. Usually, I pick a bit of everything, leave the leaves whole or torn in half, and throw them in a wooden bowl. Each bite is a surprise - lemony sorrel, bitter endive, crisp romaine, spicy arugala, mustardy mizuma. Sometimes I want a simple approach, and highlight just one green. Cesar salads are the most famous of these - just chopped cos, cheese, dressing and croutons, with the occasional anchovy - but the Italians also favor this approach. A plate of arugula, drizzled with olive oil and topped with flakes of parmesan or gran panado is divine. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Another approach is the one that we call "Veronica salad" because it's used by my sister-in-law (named, as you would guess, Veronica). She takes all the leaves and chops them up very small. This is great fun sometimes, with all the tastes blending together.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A salad can be simple - just a highlight of delicious lettuce - or you can make it more elaborate by adding in any variety of extras. Tomatoes, cucumbers, thinly sliced carrots and purple cabbage are all part of the standard American salad. However, cooked chickpeas or edamame beans, olives, sliced kohlrabi, red peppers, toasted pine nuts or almonds, sliced apples, raisins or date pieces can all create a fun meal.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">These days, I tend to keep my salads simple, highlighting the beauty and taste of the lettuce. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">To wash lettuce, fill a large bowl or small sink with cold water. Place the lettuce or salad greens in. After a few minutes, the dirt will sink to the bottom, and the leaves can be gently removed. I think salad spinners are way to rough for the delicate leaves, so I just dry mine gently in a dishcloth or flour sack. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Lettuces are lovely and healthy! Nutritional values vary greatly with variety and the growing technique. Lettuces provide a lot of fiber. They provide water. They are very low in calories. Lettuces also give us vitamin C, beta-carotene, folate, potassium, vitamin K, vitamin A, a variety of B vitamins, minerals like chromium manganese and magnesium, as well as chlorophyll. Lettuce is good for your heart, good for weight loss, good for your liver, good for fighting cancer. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Americans have their salad at the beginning of the meal. This isn't a bad idea - it allows you to fill up with low-calorie, high-fiber raw vegetables before a heavy meal. In Europe, the salad is usually last, which cleanses the palate, and the liver, after the meal. Here in the Evans house, the salad is often the meal. A large salad with a small amount of protein - some hard-boiled eggs, a steak sliced thin, some grilled salmon, a piece of chicken - and a crusty whole grain bread provides a beautiful light summer dinner.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span>Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-1601280744925263552010-07-04T14:55:00.000-06:002010-07-04T14:55:14.706-06:00BACK TO THE BLOGWell, I haven't posted for a very long time. We had a very cold and harsh winter and spring here in the mountains outside of Boulder. Our usual odd mixture of warm sunny days interspersed with snow devolved into snow, cold and damp, and more snow. In terms of food, I just seemed to stick to warm food - stews and soups, using whatever fresh greens (kale and collards) that were still holding on in the greenhouses, combining them with the last of the summer beans and tomatoes in the freezer. Then the beginning of summer hit, with end-of-school year chaos, and I just haven't settled back down to writing.<br />
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On the other hand, friends keep asking me for recipes. So I return. <br />
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And I return to examine more closely the relationship between food and health, between the joy of cooking and how that nourishes our body and our soul. As a health practitioner with, I am constantly bombarded with information about foods that are supposed to be 'dangerous' to eat - pesticides on vegetables, water from plastic bottles, trans-fats, saturated fats, refined carbohydrates, any carbohydrates, food that's not in accord with your blood type, foods with cholesterol (some of these certainly are not good for you, others unfairly demonized) - as well as foods that you have to eat because they're good for you. Nowhere in any of the 'health' literature is there anything about enjoying food, about taking time to prepare the food, about taking the time to sit down and eat the food. In my cookbooks, I find much about the joys of preparing food, but little thought of good nutrition - except, of course, that the best cooks have always insisted on fresh, local ingredients.<br />
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So I hope, once again, to begin to link the two - the pleasure of cooking food with supporting our own health. Thanks to all who have enjoyed my past posts, and bon appetit to all!Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-4465612776226805382010-02-14T15:44:00.000-07:002010-02-14T15:44:46.482-07:00COMFORT FOOD - LENTIL SOUPIt's the middle of February, and there is little sign of spring in Colorado. A few warm days to give us hope, followed by another snow storm. My thoughts turn to warming, comforting food. Stews and soups nourish the spirit and the body. <br />
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Lentil soup is simple and classic. It can be made in a simple vegetarian version, or with chicken stock for extra richness. I include two varieties - a Turkish variety that is simple and creamy, and a French version, which includes a variety of whatever vegetables I happen to have around. <br />
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Lentils provide incredible nutritional benefits. Lentils provide both soluble and insoluble fiber (essential for proper digestive function, and important in stabilizing cholesterol and blood sugar levels), and are loaded with folate, B6, and iron. Like all legumes, they are a good source of vegetarian protein, when combined in a meal with grains (eg a nice whole wheat loaf with the soup, or 1/2 C cooked brown rice or barley thrown into the soup just before serving). Lentils are low in calories, and have been linked to reduced breast cancer risk. They're inexpensive and easy to keep stocked away in the kitchen. And can be adapted to many different flavors and styles - simple, as in these recipes - or used in curries or salads or loafs. <br />
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Of all the beans, lentils are the most user friendly, since they require no soaking and cook up quickly. Red lentils are the quickest, and what is recommended for the Turkish soup, but the green and brown varieties have their hulls still intact, a richer taste, and provide more fiber. Each type of lentil has an individual taste - it's worth experimenting to see what you like. <br />
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<b>French Lentil Soup</b><br />
(adapted from <i>12 months of Monastery Soups</i> by Brother d'Avila-Latourrette)<br />
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6 T olive oil<br />
1 onion, chopped fine<br />
2 garlic cloves, minced<br />
1 celery stalk, chopped fine<br />
1 turnip or a piece of rutabaga, diced fine<br />
1 bunch greens - kale, sorrel, spinach or chard<br />
1 carrot, chopped fine<br />
1 large potato, diced<br />
1 bay leaf<br />
2 C lentils (red, green or brown)<br />
6 C water or water/stock mix (more if needed)<br />
1 C tomato sauce (canned italian tomatoes, pureed in their juices, work well. I usually use tomatoes that I have frozen, either whole or cooked down, from my summer garden)<br />
salt & pepper<br />
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Gather and prepare your vegetables. The amounts here are suggestions. Feel free to add more garlic, or a variety of greens, or perhaps a diced sweet potato. If you don't have all the vegetables on hand, or there's something on the list, don't worry - it'll still be lovely. <br />
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Clean your lentils - depending on your source, they may have small twigs or stones. Give them a bit of a wash, rinse and drain.<br />
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A large (4 quart) soup pot is important for soup. Ideally, these should be made of stainless steel. Cast iron can interfere with the cooking of lentils. Non-stick pots are, in my opinion, a serious health hazard (a topic for a different blog).<br />
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Heat the olive oil. Gently saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes, stirring all the while. When they are soft, add the other vegetables (except the greens and potatoes) and saute for another couple of minutes.<br />
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Add the lentils and everything else except the salt and pepper. Bring the mix up to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until done. Keep an eye on the soup, stirring occasionally. Depending on the type of lentils used, and how thick or thin you want the soup, you may need to add more water or stock. If using small red lentils, this soup may be done in about 1/2 an hour. Brown or green lentils will take about an hour.<br />
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When the soup is done, season with salt and pepper. <br />
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<b>Creamy Red Lentil Soup</b><br />
(adapted from<i> Classical Turkish Cooking</i> by Ayla Algar)<br />
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1 C red lentils<br />
1 1/2 C chopped onions<br />
4 T butter<br />
6 C stock (chicken, meat, vegetable stock or just water)<br />
2 T flour<br />
1 egg yolk<br />
1 C milk<br />
salt and pepper<br />
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Clean, wash, rinse and drain the lentils.<br />
Melt 2 T butter, and gently saute the onions until soft and golden. <br />
Add stock and bring to boil.<br />
Stir in the lentils. Bring back to the boil<br />
Lower the heat, cover and simmer for about half an hour, until very soft.<br />
Puree the soup. I do this with a stick blender that I just stick in the pot, but you could also put it into a blender, or press it through a sieve.<br />
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In a separate pot (or, if you have removed the soup to puree it, clean out your first pot), melt the remaining 4T butter. Add the flour and mix it well with the butter, using a wooden spoon. Cook for a few minutes until the mixture is light brown. Then add the lentils slowly but steadily, stirring all the time to prevent lumps. Simmer very gently over low heat for three minutes, continuing to stir all the time.<br />
Whisk the egg yolk and milk in a small bowl. Pour a little of the hot soup into the egg/milk mixture and whisk together. Then pour the egg/milk mixture into the soup, continuing to stir constantly. <br />
Heat the soup but don't boil it. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-34253768393158896202010-01-18T16:33:00.005-07:002010-03-21T11:21:39.148-06:00LUSCIOUS LEEKS<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">December and January are pretty dismal times for the home-garden cook. The home vegetable gardener (that would be my husband) can at least amuse himself with seed catalogs and starting seeds. (Even as I write, onions and salads are starting to germinate). For the cook, there are no such diversions. When I buy vegetables from the store I realize how much more taste and nutrition are held in my very-local-organic produce. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">However, all is not lost. Struggling in our unusually cold winter, protected from deep snow only by unheated, plastic-wrap covered frames, a few brave vegetables survive. Digging under layers of insulating leaves and then deep into the earth, I find bright orange jewels of carrots. The collards and kales and chinese cabbages aren't doing much growing, but their green leaves provide bursts of flavor to stir fries. And, if I can excavate them out of the near-frozen grounds, I have my stalwart leeks - fine and tall, green and white.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Leeks are wonderful vegetables. Part of the allium family (think onion and garlic), they provide great nutritional benefit. Lots of fiber. Supplies us with manganese, iron, B6, folic acid, calcium, potassium, and vitamin C. Stabilizes blood sugar. Alliums have been shown to reduce LDL and raise HDL cholesterol levels (that's good), and to lower blood pressure. Studies have shown that alliums reduce the risk of prostate & colon cancers, and that a flavanoid called kaempferol (present in leeks, tea and some other veggies) lowers ovarian, lung, and pancreatic cancer risks. Way low in calories (16 calories/serving) - although I must confess I usually counter this benefit by combining in some way with butter!</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I usually combine my precious leeks with other vegetables - a slow sautee with carrots and collards (as with onions, sautee them first before adding other vegetables), or a quick stir fry with bok choy and garlic, or as part of the vegetable medley in a beef stew - but they do deserve to be highlighted. They are famous in leek and potato soup (hot or cold), and are great in a bechamel (white) sauce laced with parsley, or braised, or in a cheese sauce, or simply sauteed in olive oil until tender and sweet.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3xTayzlHFjk/S1aDLy1ontI/AAAAAAAAABg/HOHwGz7wCBg/s1600-h/leeks.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="194" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3xTayzlHFjk/S1aDLy1ontI/AAAAAAAAABg/HOHwGz7wCBg/s200/leeks.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As with many vegetables, bigger is not necessarily better. Big leeks look great but are often woody inside. Choose small but firm leeks (1 1/2" or less in diameter). Take off the outer tough leaves and the very top (the really dark green part) of the leek. The tops of the leeks often need a good washing. If you're slicing into small pieces, wash after you've sliced. If you're leaving them large or whole, you can slice lengthwise down the middle of the green part to open them up part-way, and rinse. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Braised Leeks</span></i></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's nice to leave the leeks long - cut the tops off, leaving the leeks 6-7" long. slit the green part of the leek to wash. Blanch in boiling water for about 7-10 minutes. Lay in a baking dish. Add butter, a sprinkle of salt, and a small amount of water to cover the bottom. Top with chopped parsley. Cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake at 325 for 20-30 minutes. For extra fun/flavor, uncover, sprinkle with grated swiss cheese or a mix of cheese and breadcrumbs, scatter some small pieces of butter on top, and broil for a few minutes.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Sauteed Leeks</span></i></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Slice the leeks crosswise into 3/4" pieces, and wash thoroughly. Melt olive oil and/or butter in stainless steel sautee or frying pan. Add the leeks and let cook for a long time at medium low heat, until leeks are tender and sweet - they'll almost melt. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3xTayzlHFjk/S1TvI1dMQWI/AAAAAAAAABQ/1JJiTt8tKIM/s1600-h/snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" linkindex="195" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3xTayzlHFjk/S1TvI1dMQWI/AAAAAAAAABQ/1JJiTt8tKIM/s320/snow.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">The other night, for extra richness, I did a quick sauce. After the leeks were soft, I added a couple of tablespoons of flour to the pan and coated the leek/butter mix, and let it cook for a few minutes. Then I took the pan off the heat, added some hot milk, stirred very fast to mix, returned it back to the heat, and let it cook for a short time. I also put in a splash or two of sherry. Right before serving, I added a whole bunch of chopped parsley. Divine! (Sorry, I didn't keep track of amounts - it'll depend on the quantity of leeks that you start with. As a rough guide, Julia Child - my bible long before her deserved bestseller success - recommends 2T butter, 3T flour, 2C milk, 1/4 t salt for a basic bechamel).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">If you're looking for a gluten free/dairy free way to dress leeks up, I would recommend sauteing them slowly (as above) in olive oil. After they're really soft, add a little rice flour or arrowroot starch, coat and heat for a few minutes. Then add a white wine/stock mix, let simmer until thickened, and mix in the parsley at the end, as above.<br />
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</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">For me, leeks are an essential part of winter vegetable eating. Their taste improves after a frost. They are deeply nourishing, and their warm sweet flavor lightens a cold winter night.<br />
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</span></div>Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-8875658383816936642009-12-24T11:59:00.000-07:002009-12-24T11:59:02.661-07:00CHRISTMAS STUFFING & GLUTEN FREE STUFFING<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sorry it's been a while since the last entry - the post-Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas, current Hanukkah rush has taken up my spare moments.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Many people have commented on my turkey/stuffing entry. Thanks for your enthusiasm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Christmas is coming. We currently have a broken oven at our house (I'm finding out how many recipes I can modify for a toaster oven!), so I wasn't planning much in the way of food. However, now it looks like we will have a new stove, so I'm thinking about the turkey.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yet another remnant of my many years in England is the British Christmas dinner. This is turkey time in the British isles - or occasionally, a goose. Christmas Day is the big 'meal' day - turkey with two stuffings, brussel sprouts, white sauce (a kind of mush of bread and milk), gravy, roast potatoes. And for desert, the theme of dried fruit, fat and alcohol - steamed 'figgy' pudding (dried fruits, some bread crumbs, and suet or butter, drenched just before serving with brandy and lit on fire), Christmas cake (dried fruits, flour, eggs, butter baked in a cake in October or November, and then annointed weekly with whiskey), mince pies (dried fruit, alcohol and fat placed in individual pie crusts and baked, served with brandy butter, an incredible mix of butter, sugar and brandy). If lighter desert fare is desired, there is trifle - sponge cake soaked with sherry, fresh (not dried) fruit, custard and whipped cream!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I have been known to cook this meal single-handedly (with help from family members, of course). This year, I have limited the desert options - we will have only mince pies and trifle. If I don't feel like cooking on Christmas day, I won't (my local Chinese restaurant is open, and that sounds good to me). I'll leave it until sometime later in the week. But the turkey will have two stuffings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In honor of that, here are a couple more stuffing recipes. Please refer to the Thanksgiving entry for the most important sausage stuffing recipe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Remember - stuffings are not an exact science. All quantities are approximate - you really want to look at the mixture - is it too dry or too moist, is there enough bread or too much bread, are there enough flavorings. And go with your mood. I made my sausage recipe the other day (see previous post). It was going in lamb, so I wanted to lighten it up. I added the zest of an entire lemon, and some lemon juice, and lots of rosemary - amazing!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">CHESTNUT STUFFING</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The most difficult/tedious part of this recipe is preparing the chestnuts. You will need at least 12 chestnuts (I sometimes use up to double) and they need to be cooked and peeled. You can bake them (slice an x on the flat side of the chestnut with a sharp knife, place on a cookie sheet in a 350 oven for 20-30 minutes, until cooked through) and peel them. Or you can boil them - slice off the top, place them in boiling water for 10 minutes, peel them, and then simmer them in stock or water for about 30 minutes. I have to confess - I hate this part. Chestnuts are not very reliable here in Colorado - I often get them home from the store to find them dry or rotten inside. If at all possible, I buy pre-cooked, pre-peeled chestnuts - they are sometimes frozen, sometimes in a vacuum pack bag, sometimes in a jar. These save me so much time (even if the do cost a fortune) and have plenty of taste. Don't bother with the canned ones - these are very mushy and have no taste.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Once you have your chestnuts, the rest is easy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">12 or more chestnuts, cooked, peeled and chopped into small-ish pieces</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 oz/2T butter (more if needed)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 turkey liver, chopped into very small pieces</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4 oz fresh white breadcrumbs (see sausage stuffing blog)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4 sprigs parsley, chopped fine</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">small onion, chopped fine</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">orange zest (optional but nice)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">stock or orange juice</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">salt and pepper.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Melt the butter on medium-low heat. Gently fry onion then add the the turkey liver and fry until brown. Place in a bowl. Add all the ingredients except the stock, and gently mix. Then add a small amount of stock or juice until just slightly moist. That's it. As with all stuffings, place it in the bird just before cooking. This makes a small amount of stuffing - in our family, it's placed in the front of the bird, with the sausage stuffing in the main cavity. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">GLUTEN FREE STUFFING</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A few people have asked about gluten free stuffing. I suppose any of these recipes could be modified and made with gluten free bread. However, my experience with this bread is that it's too soft - not enough crumb - to hold a decent texture and absorb juices. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I prefer to use a grain option, my favorite being basmati rice. The grain should be cooked, and then mixed with the rest of the stuffing ingredients.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There are many ways of cooking rice, but this is my preferred method for stuffing and pilaf: to cook the basmati rice: place it in a large bowl of cold water. Stir gently with your fingers - the water will become slightly cloudy. Then drain out most of the cloudy water. Add fresh water. Repeat this process until the water is clear. Then drain the rice. Meanwhile, fill a large pot with water and a little salt. Bring to a boil. Sprinkle in the rice, and stir gently. Bring back to boil. Start tasting rice after 3 minutes. Cook 3-5 minutes, until just barely tender. Drain, and rinse, and let dry until needed for use.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I like to use the rice in the apricot/almond stuffing:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">GLUTEN FREE ALMOND/APRICOT STUFFING</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2 C dried apricots</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 onion, chopped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2 oz butter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1/2 C chopped almonds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 C raisins or chopped dates</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 1/2 C basmati rice</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 t grated orange rind</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 t allspice</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 t brown sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">salt & pepper</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2 T sherry</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cook rice according to above directions.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Soak apricots in water overnight. Strain and chop</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Fry onions in butter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Add all the ingredients except rice and sherry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Add enough rice for a good mix (you will probably have some left over)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Add sherry until just moist</span><br />
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</span>Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-4753800616251686762009-11-22T10:14:00.002-07:002009-11-22T11:34:45.717-07:00TURKEY TIME<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I wasn't going to write about turkeys, but several people have asked me how I cook mine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The first thing about turkeys is not to be afraid of them. The second is to have patience and just let them cook until done - and not any longer! My mother is very casual about turkeys - she thinks nothing of sticking one in the oven when we come to visit, and then having the leftovers for several days. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Some of my thoughts on turkeys...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><b>To Brine or Not to Brine</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Brining is certainly the fashionable cooking technique in the magazines and tv shows. I just don't get it. I don't have an objection to the gentle use of salt - from a health point of view, I think the people who obsess over eliminating sodium are doing more harm to their blood pressure from stress than if they just had the occasional sprinkle - but it seems insane to drench a piece of protein in salt water. The meat always seems salty to me. Also, while it is supposed to make the meat moist, to me it just tastes...well, wet. More poached than roasted. Also, the skin of brined turkey never gets crispy - and we love crispy skin. Also, you can't stuff a brined turkey - and my family lives for the stuffing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><i>To Stuff or Not to Stuff</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yes, we love stuffing. During my years in England, stuffing the bird was normal. Lately, the cooking fashion seems to be to cook the stuffing separately. Another fashion I just don't get, nor do I think there's any justification for health paranoia, as long as you stuff the bird just before cooking and make sure it is actually done before serving. A stuffed bird takes a bit longer to cook, but is worth the wait. Stuffing cooked separately is just flavored bread. The beauty of stuffing is that it absorbs the juices from the bird - the flavor is created from the mixture of whatever you've decided to put in with the flavor of the bird. The stuffing also helps keep the bird moist. So I'd rather stuff than brine! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><i>To Cover or Not to Cover</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you cover (with tin foil or a baking bag), the bird won't dry out. On the other hand, it won't get beautiful and crispy. I use a technique I learned many years ago - I cover the bird with cheesecloth that has been soaked in olive oil or butter. The bird needs less basting. I sometimes uncover the turkey for the last fifteen minutes to crisp up the skin. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><i>High or Low Heat</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I mix it up here - I start with a hot oven to seal the skin, then turn the oven down quite low to cook the bird. The last fifteen minutes or so, I may turn the heat up a bit to crisp the skin (have I mentioned that my family likes crispy skin?)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">TURKEY GUIDELINES</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Prepare the turkey:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I usually rinse it the night before, and let it air dry in the fridge. I sometimes salt the skin the night before, as well - it helps to dry the skin (a dry skin helps absorb the fat you coat it with, and helps it crisp). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Let the turkey sit at room temperature for a while before cooking - a cold bird cooks less evenly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Near cooking</b>: Preheat the oven to 425 (400 convection).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I usually rub the skin with softened butter, mixed with salt and pepper (no salt if you've already salted the skin). You can also slip the softened butter under the skin. You can use olive oil instead of butter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Stuff the bird just before cooking (see below for stuffing ideas).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Place the turkey in the roasting pan. I don't use a rack for turkey, and I don't have an expensive roasting pan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Take a piece of cheesecloth and soak it in olive oil or melted butter. Place it over the bird, covering it as well as you can.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Cooking:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Place the bird in the hot oven. Roast for 15-20 minutes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Turn oven down to 325 (300 convection). Roast until 165 in thigh (about 3 hours convection for a stuffed 15 lb bird).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A cheesecloth-covered turkey needs very little looking after. Every 30 to 45 minutes I might open the oven door and have a look - if it looks a bit dry, I'll baste it with the juices from the bottom of the pan (see options below for some other ideas). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When the turkey is done, the cheesecloth should slip off easily, revealing a golden skin. Check it when the bird is close to done - if the skin isn't as done as you like, take the cheesecloth off for the last ten minutes of cooking - you can turn the oven back up to high, to ensure nice browning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Don't overcook the turkey! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Some options:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">- if the bottom of the pan seems dry or close to burning, add 1/4 C stock or water or orange juice in the pan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">- 1/2 hour before the end, you can add 1 C warm white wine or orange juice in the bottom of the pan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">- if not crisp, put the heat back up high (425/400) for ten minutes at the end.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That's it - consult a real cook book about tying the bird up, letting it sit, carving, etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">STUFFING</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In England, it is traditional to do two stuffings for the Christmas turkey (obviously, they don't have Thanksgiving, since the Puritans were the ones who left England...) - one in the front cavity, then a smaller one in the back. I love to make stuffing, so I sometimes do this. I always make a traditional sausage stuffing. For the other, I might do a chestnut stuffing, or a sweeter stuffing with dried fruit and nuts. Stuffings give a lot of opportunity for creativity - the amounts are not exact, the flavorings optional. Adjust any recipe for your own personal taste, knowing that the flavors will become richer and more complex as they cook inside the bird.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><i>Sausage Stuffing</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2 oz butter (or more as needed)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 lb onions, finely chopped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">6 oz breadcrumbs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">8-12 oz ground sausage meat, or breakfast sausages chopped into small pieces</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">liver from the turkey, chopped fine</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">fresh sage and thyme</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A note on breadcrumbs: You can buy 'stuffing mix' breadcrumbs, but I never do. Here's what I do - I take a nice bread and chop it up or tear it up into small pieces and leave it to dry out a while. This is one time when I really do prefer white bread to whole wheat, although I might put a bit of whole grain bread in. I usually take off most, if not all of the crust. A nice sourdough works well. Don't skimp on the bread - commercial bread is too soft to make a nice stuffing. I don't spend too much time drying the breadcrumbs, although you can stick them in the oven for 10 or 15 minutes. I just tear it up a few hours before (the night before, if I remember) - the air will dry it out. Dry, stale bread absorbs more juices than fresh soft bread.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Cook onions gently in butter, on medium low heat, in a cast iron or stainless steel frying pan. Add the sausage and liver and fry until the meat is nice browned. Put the onion/meat mix in a large bowl, and add the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, sage and thyme to taste. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">All these amounts are approximate - feel free to add more or less of anything. In addition, here are some ideas for optional extras: 1 egg (added at the very end), 3-4 T cream or stock (added at the end, if the mixture looks very dry), 1-2 apples, chopped fine and sauteed separately in butter. If your don't have fresh herbs, dry will do. Feel free to add more herbs - parsley, small amounts or rosemary, chives all mix well with the sausage. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Stuff in the bird just before roasting. Fill the cavity, but don't pack it in too tight. If there's extra, put it in the back cavity, or bake separately in a baking dish, adding some stock or wine to the mix (it'll take about 45 minutes)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><i>Apricot and Almond Stuffing</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2C/8 oz dried apricots</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 onion, finely chopped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2 oz butter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1/2 C/2 oz chopped almonds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1C/4 oz raisins, dried cranberries or a mix of the two</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4 oz breadcrumbs (prepared as in sausage stuffing recipe)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">grated rind of one orange</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 t allspice</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2 T sherry</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 t brown sugar (optional)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">salt & pepper</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Soak the apricots overnight. Try to get preservative-free apricots - they will look harder and darker and perhaps less appealing, but have much better taste (and no preservatives, of course). After soaking, drain them and chop finely</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Fry the onions gently in the butter, and transfer to large bowl.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Add the dry ingredients except the sugar. If you're using dried cranberries, which are sweetened, don't add the sugar, otherwise add according to personal taste. Then add just enough sherry to moisten the mix. If it's too wet, you just have mushy stuffing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Options</i>: orange juice instead of sherry; different spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and star anise are all nice possibilities); some chopped dates or prunes instead of some of the apricots...pecans instead of almonds...like with all stuffing, play with the proportions - feel free to add more bread if it's too densely fruit-y, or more liquid if it's too dry. If you want to experiment with changes, just don't make it too complicated - too many flavors or ingredients can overwhelm your senses!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Enjoy your turkey!</span>Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-82169221339783828512009-11-12T20:12:00.002-07:002009-11-16T19:12:28.306-07:00ADIEUX TO APPLES<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Another snowstorm is headed towards Colorado (the 6th snow of the winter, here in mid-November). To be fair, it was 70 degrees today...the fun of Colorado fall. In any case, early frosts mean that apple season is truly over. I can't resist another post, using the last of my local Honeycrisps. They are slightly wrinkled, but still sweet and great for baking. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I love apples...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I've carried around my favorite apple cake recipe with me since I was a teenager. It's named after my grandfather, although I have no memories of him ever baking. I've modified and updated this recipe over the years. It's simple and delicious.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">KAPPY'S APPLE CAKE</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 C sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1/2 C oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3 eggs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 t vanilla</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2C whole wheat pastry flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2t cinnamon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2t baking soda</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1t baking powder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1/2 t salt</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4 C diced apples</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1/2 C chopped walnuts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1/2 C raisins</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2 loaf tins, or 1 tube pan, greased and floured.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Preheat oven to 350 degrees.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Beat eggs, oil and sugar together with a whisk until frothy. Lots of beating!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sift all the dry ingredients together.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mix in apples, nuts and raisins.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Pour into tins</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bake: 40 minutes for loaf tins, 1 hour for the tube tin</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">GLUTEN FREE APPLE CRISP</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I invented this for my many friends who eat gluten-free. The extra nuts make it very rich. It is perhaps more delicious than the original! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">5-6 apples (1 1/2 lbs)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 orange (rind and juice)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2 T brown sugar (optional)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 1/2 C (2 oz) rolled oats</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1/2 C (2 oz) oat flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 C (5 oz) almond flour </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 1/4 C (2 oz) organic cane sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">8T/1 stick (4 oz) butter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 t cinnamon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 t ginger</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3/4 C (3 oz) chopped almonds</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Preheat the oven to 375 (350 convection)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Crumble:</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mix together the oats, oat flour, almond flour, sugar and spices. If you don't have almond flour, take 5 oz of almonds and process them to a course flour in a food processor. Rub in the butter, then add the chopped nuts. (see the 'normal' recipe, in the previous apple blog entry, for technique details). The nut flour makes the mixture a little difficult to work - if it gets too sticky, put it in the fridge for about fifteen minutes - the ingredients, when cold, are easier to mix. After mixing, keep the crumble cold while you prepare the apples.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Apples</i>: Slice the apples thinly, mix them with the orange juice and rind. Add the sugar if the apples are tart. Pile into a small baking dish. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Pour the crumble evenly over the apples. Don't press the mixture down. This recipe makes a lot of crumble - if you have too much, just put it in a bag in the freezer for later use. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the apples are soft and the crumble is brown.</span><br />
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</span>Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-75792957386467468652009-10-25T18:30:00.004-06:002009-10-25T19:02:22.830-06:00AUTUMN APPLES<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Autumn and apples seem inexorably linked. The leaves turn yellow and gold and orange, the fruit ripens red on the trees. There is something wonderful about eating an apple that's just been picked, from your backyard tree or by your neighborhood farmer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's worth looking out for locally grown, interesting apples. Supermarkets and the nature of the food distribution business in the US have led to a year-round supply of apples, but only of a few varieties - the ones that store easily and have a fairly bland taste. Branch out from Delicious and Galas, if you are able. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We lived in apple country in England - it was easy to get ten different varieties at this time of year. There were apples that were giant and gnarly and green - so tart and hard that they couldn't be eaten raw. Cooked into tarts, pies, and crumbles, the flavor was incredible. (Note to my British readers - there is no such thing as a cooking apple in America). There were apples that were tiny but so sweet and juicy that the flavor exploded with each bite. There are places in the States, too, that still grow a variety of apples. In the Hudson Valley in New York, near my son's college, there are roadside stands with incredible offerings. Like with fine wines or cheeses, each apple offers unique taste and texture. Here in Colorado, I turn once again to my favorite fruit growers at the farmer's market for Honeycrisps and Empires.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="background-color: #6aa84f;">Apples and Health</span></span></span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The old saying about an apple a day keeping the doctor away turns out to have some merit. I am troubled by the number of clients who come to see me and say they are going to 'lose weight' or 'be healthy' by staying away from carbohydrates, or by excluding grains and fruits. Fruit, in general, offers incredible nutrition - fiber, antioxidants, minerals, vitamins - as well as delicious taste. An apple has over 4 grams of fiber (quick summary of fiber benefits: regulates blood sugar, lowers LDL levels, helps in weight loss by increasing sense of fullness, helps normalize many aspects of digestive function). They're also very high in antioxidants (which help in reducing the aging effects of free radicals, as well as protecting from chronic degenerative conditions and possibly reducing risk of cancer). Because of the high fiber content, apples are low on the glycemic index scale - they taste sweet, but don't force your body into a sudden insulin rush the way a soda or candy bar would. There is research indicating that apples may lower the risk of lung disease and asthma, heart disease, cancer, colorectal disease, and high cholesterol.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="background-color: #6aa84f;">Apple Abundance</span></span></span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Enough about health. This time of year, I have lots of uses for apples. We snack on them, just as they are, or sliced with a little cheese or nut butter. I bake them into pies and crumbles and cakes. And I preserve the harvest for use at a later time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This year, the apple crop in Boulder suffered from late frosts in the spring - some of my favorite trees (at friend's houses, in parks or standing neglected outside of apartment buildings) have produced no fruit. Our own crab apple tree suffered irrevocable damage a few years ago when when a black bear decided he wanted his meal 'to go' - and took half the tree away for munching at a convenient time. However, there are some hardy wild apple trees on our drive home, and I stop and pick them. They're small - somewhere between the size of a crab apple and the supermarket variety - and very tart. They're great for making apple sauces, apple jelly, apple butters, or apple chutneys.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I don't bother to slice them - just give them a quick wash and chop them roughly - seeds, core and all. Everything goes into the pot and with some water. I dig out jelly bags and my food mill from the back of my kitchen closet. The fruit is loaded into the jelly bags (or, if I'm not too fussy, just a plain old strainer) to drain. The juice is cooked up with some sugar and herbs to become mint or sage jelly. The fruit is put into the food mill and used for applesauce, apple butter, apple curd, or apple cheese (the last is an English Victorian invention - fruit cooked for a long time with some sugar, until it is an extra thick butter - it stores well, and is great sliced and eaten with cold meats or cheese).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="background-color: #6aa84f;">APPLE CRUMBLE</span></span></span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One of my husband's favorite deserts...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I have fond childhood memories of my grandmother peeling apples with a paring knife, and ending up with one long piece of peel. It's a fun trick. However, I no longer peel my apples. The peel holds a much higher concentration of nutrients and the peels soften perfectly well when cooked. Please - use organic apples if at all possible. Also, if the apples are waxed (as supermarket apples often are) please wash them thoroughly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Note to beginner bakers</i>: Apple crumble is a fairly easy desert to bake, as it doesn't need to rise. The only technical piece is to 'rub in the butter.' For newbies - this means exactly that. I have my pile of flour. I have butter which is COLD from the fridge (not, as in cake-making, at room temperature). I cut the butter with a butter knife, into very small pieces, and toss them into the flour mix until the pieces are coated. Then I rub - I take a small amount of the flour/butter mix between my thumb and my first two fingers, and gently mush. The trick here is to have cold butter to start, and to not press too hard - you're breaking up the flour/butter into more uniform pieces, not kneading them together. The end result should like coarse breadcrumbs (not fine sand). It is better to have some bigger pieces - pea-sized - than to over-mix. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Note on slicing apples</i>: The best trick I have to getting even slices is to place the apple upright on the chopping board, and slice a large piece off just next to (but avoiding) the core. Then give the fruit 1/4 turn, and slice again. Repeat for all four 'sides' of the apple. You then have a square core to discard, and four pieces which you can lay flat on the cutting board and cut into even slices.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here's my recipe:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Preheat the oven to 400 (375 convection)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Make the <b>crumble</b> first:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 C (5 oz) whole wheat pastry flour (or 1 C/4oz white flour)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1/2 C (2 oz) rolled oats (normal-sized - not giant)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">8 T (4oz/1 stick) cold butter, cut into small pieces</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1/4 C (2 oz) unrefined organic sugar (or light brown, or even white)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1/4 t cardamon seeds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1/4 t cinammon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1/4 t nutmeg</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1/2 C (2 oz) chopped pecans or hazelnuts</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mix together the flour and oats. Rub in the butter. Add the sugar, spices, and nuts, and toss until well blended.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Put the crumble mix back into the fridge to cool while you prepare the fruit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Fruit:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">5 apples (about 1 1/2 lb) sliced 1/8" thick</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 orange - juice and peel</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1/4 C (2 oz) organic raw or light brown sugar (optional)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mix the apples with the orange juice, peel, and sugar (I often don't use the sugar, but if the apples are very tart it's a nice touch). Pile into a small baking dish or pie plate (8" x 8" pyrex baking dish is perfect).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Pile the crumble on top of the fruit (don't press it in - just make sure it evenly covers the fruit).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bake 25-35 minutes, until the fruit is soft and the crumble topping is golden brown.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Serve with yoghurt, ice cream, or whipped cream.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="background-color: #6aa84f;">Variations</span></span></i></b>:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is a recipe with infinite possibilities. I sometimes don't use the oats. Occasionally, I omit the nuts. The nuts can be varied - almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts all work well. I love the flavor of cardamon, but it can be omitted. Play with the spices, or leave them out for an unadulterated fruit taste. The fruit, too, can be varied. Pears, or a mix of pears and apple, work well, as do some blackberries thrown in with the apples. The summer peaches I placed in the freezer are used for a winter peach crumble.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I often make double the crumble recipe - placed in a plastic bag, the mix keeps well in the freezer. It's a simple matter to slice up some fruit, top it with the frozen mix, and bake - an easy desert with no effort.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The smell of apples baking in the oven...soothing and lovely!</span><br />
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</span>Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-66045993150910521022009-10-15T11:20:00.001-06:002009-10-15T16:18:10.736-06:00AWESOME ENGLISH BIRTHDAY DINNER<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sunday was my husband Roland's birthday. We don't do a big deal around presents, but I do always like to cook a 'meal of choice.' Roland's request - a British roast dinner. And so it was - prime rib roast, roast potatoes, yorkshire pudding, and glazed carrots. His request for a birthday cake was "not chocolate." My daughter certainly couldn't understand that - she was all ready to bake her favorite sour cream chocolate cake for him. His opinion ruled (it was his birthday, after all). So it was that I had tremendous fun making a coconut cake, with coconut rum buttercream frosting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There's nothing complicated about cooking any of the pieces of a roast meal. Roast potatoes, for example - cut up the potatoes, put them in the oven with some olive oil or chicken fat, turn them occasionally until crispy. The difficulty is in the timing - getting the potatoes, meat, and sides all ready at the same time. This time, I thought I had it all organized. However, even the best laid plans...the meat took forty minutes longer than anticipated to cook.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I was very glad I hadn't invited friends to share dinner - nothing is more stressful than keeping guests waiting. As it was, I realized I was going to be behind schedule and applied some culinary first aid. The carrots, already cooked, kept perfectly well at room temperature and could be finished at the last minute. I removed the potatoes when they were about 2/3 of the way cooked. Roland made some basic gravy with roux, chicken stock and whiskey, which needed only the addition of beef juices at the last minute. The yorkshire pudding batter, once mixed, does better for waiting around. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When the meat was finally done (crisp and brown on the outside, beautiful rare on the inside), I let it sit while I blasted the heat in the oven. The drippings/fat from the beef went into the already-hot baking dish, with the pudding batter poured on top. Then the pudding and the potatoes went into the hot oven for twenty minutes, while the meat rested to perfection. The carrots were reheated and had a just-before-serving sprinkle of lemon juice and parsley (the parsley found under the snow which covered our garden that day... October surprises in Colorado). The gravy was fine tuned. The potatoes came out crispy on the outside, melting and soft on the inside. The pudding rose to glorious heights. And the cake...well, I always start cooking my meals with the important things first - so dessert had been long ago baked, cooled, frosted and decorated with roast hazelnuts and toasted coconut flakes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">British cooking has a bad reputation - boring overcooked food, people say. From my experience living there, nothing could be further from the truth. British cooking, at its best, exemplifies all that is coming back into fashion here in the US with the slow/local food movement - locally grown and raised products cooked simply. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For recipe references, I recommend Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's <b><i>The River Cottage Meat </i></b><b><i>Book </i></b>(good for basic roasting references). For the cake, I am indebted, as always, to Nigella Lawson - in this instance, for her Coconut Cake in <b><i>How to be a Domestic Goddess</i></b>. The carrots are from Jane Grigson's <b><i>Good Things</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">,</span><i> </i></b>long out of print and recently republished. In 1971, Jane Grigson wrote "a book about enjoying food" in which she espoused the joys of cooking simply using seasonal, local ingredients. This book has been on my shelf for over twenty years. I have many favorites, and still find new things to try.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My recommendation - buy the best quality ingredients for a roast dinner. Grass fed beef or lamb, a free-range chicken or piece of pork - these give the best flavor and nutrition. Fats from animals raised in a healthy manner (ie good, natural diet and ability to move) are actually healthy - including necessary omega-3's; fats from commercial animals contain accumulations of the toxins fed to the animals. A small piece of excellent meat goes a long way. Supplement it with potatoes (great fiber and many micro-nutrients, especially if you leave the skin on) and plenty of vegetables - and you really do have a healthy and wonderful meal. As for the pudding and cake - well, both really do require white flour, and the cake needs white sugar as well. However, what is life without joyous food - including an occasional indulgence!</span>Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-53821061517376606222009-10-08T17:21:00.000-06:002009-10-08T17:21:31.899-06:00SWISS CHARD AND COLLARDS AND KALE...OH MY!<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Over the last five or six years, dark leafy greens have taken a more prominent place in my family's diet. I have grown to the love the versatility, color, taste, and ease of cooking these vegetables. From a nutrition point of view, they're awesome - lots of fiber, vitamin C, folate, potassium, iron, beta carotene, calcium, omega 3s, magnesium, manganese, copper, and vitamin K. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Don't be put off by how good for you they are! Have fun shopping. Should I have swiss chard with pale yellow or bright orange stalks, or those giant collard leaves that look more like an antique fan than a vegetable, or sleek lacinato kale, or frilly Red Russian kale, or bold green spinach, or spicy mustard leaves or majestic deep green and magenta beet leaves. My advice - buy what looks fresh! Buy different types - they're easy to mix and match. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There are many ways to cook leafy greens, and I'll give some type-specific hints later. In general, they can be steamed, sauteed, stir-fried, blanched, roasted, cooked on their own or with many other vegetables in a mixed vegetable dish, added to soups and stews and curries, and, if young and fresh, eaten raw in salads. Baby spinach is a popular salad item, but baby Red Russian kale adds an amazing sweetness and crunch to a mixed green salad.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here's a trick for washing leafy vegetables - don't! Instead, fill a sink or large bowl with cold water. Place the greens in the water to soak. The dirt will drift off the leaves and down to the bottom of the sink. After a few minutes, you can gently lift the leaves out of the water. If they're any stubborn spots you can rinse those. You don't have to dry the leaves - a little water on them will help with the cooking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One of my favorite things to do for a quick weeknight dinner is a mixed vegetable saute. I don't have to worry about precise timing, and I can use up whatever I find in my fridge or on a quick trip to my garden. I slice up an onion or leek or some shallots, perhaps a clove or two of garlic, and then whatever else is around - a carrot, some kohlrabi, some zucchini, and then as much leafy green as I can get my hands on. What looks like a lot on the chopping board may not be too much in the pan! Spinach, beet greens, and chard shrink down a lot when cooked - kale and collards less so. If the greens have hard-ish stems (like chard or older kale) I separate the stems and chop them separately (see chard advice below). I saute the onions, then add the rest of the vegetables (including the chopped stems) except the greens, and saute gently until soft. Then I add the greens, toss them with the cooking oil or fat, add a little liquid, then let cook. The veggies can slowly cook happily until the rest of the dinner is ready, or can be turned off and re-heated just before serving. Long slow cooking turns the greens sweet and tasty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><i>SAUTEED COLLARDS</i></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Note: these recipes give detailed instructions for beginner cooks - if you know what you're doing, skip to the summary!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 medium onion</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 garlic clove (optional)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2 Tablespoons olive oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 large bunch (about 8 ounces) collards</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1/2 cup stock</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Large pot of boiling water</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">10-12 " frying or saute pan (stainless steel is best; no non-stick).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1. Slice the onion thinly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2. Chop the garlic (trick; to peel the garlic, place it on its side on the chopping board, then press the flat side of a large knife on the garlic. The peel should easily slip away, and the crushed garlic will be easy to chop).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3. Wash collards (as above) and slice. (trick: I take a few collard leaves and line them up in the same direction, then roll them up like a loose cigar. Then I slice across the leaves at about 1/4" intervals, ending up with lovely collard ribbons). If the leaves are very large, trim away the thickest, toughest part of the stem and slice up the rest of the stem into thin pieces.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4. Blanch the collards for 3 minutes (see 'green beans' entree for detailed instructions - place the collards in rapidly boiling water for 3 minutes, drain and plunge immediately into cold water, then remove from the water and place spread out on paper towel or dishcloth until needed).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">5. Place the olive oil into a 10"-12" frying pan. Heat the oil on medium heat, then turn down to medium low.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">6. Add the onions, use a wooden spoon or metal spatula to toss them in the olive oil, and let cook gently for five minutes. Stir occasionally.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">7. Add the garlic if using, and saute for another 2 minutes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">8. Add the greens all at once. Toss them in the oil (you can add a little more if they don't seem coated). Let cook gently for 3-4 minutes, stirring every once in a while.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">9. Add the stock. Allow the mixture to get to a boil, then turn down to low and let cook for about 15 minutes. The collards will be sweet and tender and creamy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">10. ENJOY!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Summary</b>: Blanch the collards 3 minutes. Saute an onion until soft but not brown. Add the garlic. After a couple of minutes, add the blanched collards, and saute for a few minutes. Add the stock, and let simmer slowly for fifteen minutes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Variations</b>:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I vary the fat I use depending on my mood. Olive oil, coconut oil, butter, chicken or goose fat or lard (animal fats from organic sources only, please!) all produce delicious results. I don't use polyunsaturated oils, as I believe they are not healthy and have no taste.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I vary the liquid according to my mood and what's around. Some white wine or dry sherry, a little cream or just plain water all work well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You can use any leafy green. Kale and collards work best when blanched first, but the others (eg chard, spinach, beet greens) can go directly into the frying pan after the onion is soft.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><i>SPECIAL LEAFY TIPS</i></span></b><i>:</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Kale</b> tastes sweeter and is more tender when it's been through a frost. You can replicate that frost in your kitchen. Wash and chop the kale. Place it in a freezer bag, and put the raw kale in the freezer for ten minutes, then blanch it. This really works! (You can also keep the kale raw and frozen and ready to use at a later date).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To slice <b>swiss</b> <b>chard</b>: I take an individual leaf and fold it in half length-wise. Then I can cut the 'stem' part out in one piece, from the starting point in the leaf. I then end up with two pieces - a wedge-shaped stem, and a soft leaf with the center missing. Don't throw away the stem - I slice it into thin pieces then saute gently for quite a while before I add the chopped wet leaves. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Spinach</b> doesn't need much water to cook, and you don't want to mushy. Simple spinach: Wash as above, leaving the leaves wet. Heat some oil in a frying pan. Add wet spinach all at once, with no extra water. Cover and turn down the heat. Make sure it's not sticking or burning - if so, add a few tablespoons of extra water - but the water from the washing should be enough. Let cook for a few minutes. Uncover if there's too much water, and let the water cook away. Add a tablespoon of butter or heavy cream right before serving, for an extra rich taste.</span><br />
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</span>Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-37818593479037770542009-10-05T07:15:00.000-06:002009-10-05T07:15:05.832-06:00SUKKOT & THE BLESSING OF FOOD<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Last night was the beginning of the week-long festival of Sukkot. This is a Jewish harvest celebration</span> - a time to mark the changing of the seasons and rejoice in the bounty of the land. <br />
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</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Traditionally, we build 'sukkah' - temporary huts with a roof of branches, providing shade but allowing the stars to shine through, and decorated beautifully with carpets and harvest produce. It is the custom to eat meals in the sukkah, and even sleep in it. We welcome friends to share meals. It becomes our temporary home for the week.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This festival, like harvest festivals in so many cultures, brings us closer to the divine beauty of the agricultural life - the growing of the crops, the raising of the animals, followed by harvest and storage. It is a joy to eat our meals outside, surrounded by the natural world, in awe of the food produced by the earth. </span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is the custom of all the major religions to take a moment before our meals to give thanks. Even if not religious, it seems right to contemplate the source of the food, and the work that has been put in - by the farmer, the cook, the earth itself - to create a meal. </span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I think part of the growing trend for Americans to go to farmers markets or be part of CSAs (community supported agriculture) is a desire to be more connected to that cycle. Besides having a fun weekend outing, besides having fresh local produce at reasonable prices, we get to see how the seasons change the food that's available. We can get tomatoes all year long in the supermarket, but only for a few special weeks at the farm. But what tomatoes they are! We get to know our local growers, we move from lettuce to chard to beans to tomatoes to kale to winter squash in our meals, we get to perhaps help at a local farm, planting or weeding or harvesting. We grow in appreciation for the work and miracle of food, and take a moment to give thanks - while we are preparing food, while we are sharing it with friends and family.<br />
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</div>Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-11621197068604448912009-10-01T09:21:00.004-06:002009-10-01T11:03:50.440-06:00INCREDIBLE PEACHES<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Colorado has the most amazing peaches. They are not grown in my Front Range neighborhood (Boulder, Denver), but on the other side of the continental divide – the Western Slope. The climate is a little more mild, the precipitation greater. And the peaches – incredibly divine. The season is short. Most of the summer, I don’t need to go to our farmer’s market – my husband grows almost all our vegetables, and I get whatever else I need from his farmer friends – but in peach season I’m on a mission.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I buy a box (20 lbs) of 'seconds' from my favorite growers. The seconds seem to have no flaws – perfect skin, perfect ripeness. Perhaps a little variation in size. The next weekend, I get another box sold through my daughter’s school as a fundraiser. The third week , I’m back to the market for a third box. Sixty pounds of peaches! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A good third of them get eaten raw. Breakfast, snacks, dripping juices onto our t-shirts as we munch, or sliced into a bowl of yoghurt or breakfast cereal. My husband has built a solar dehydrator, and another quantity are sliced and dried. My daughter loves these dried peaches above all else – I have to ration the dried ones while the fresh are still around. My husband thinks he’s dried enough for the winter. I tell him we’ll be lucky if they last a month.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I slice many, place them in quart Ziploc bags, and place them in our chest freezer. These are wonderful in the winter in smoothies or baked into desserts or simmered gently into a sauce for waffles.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I love to bake peaches – as crisps, stuffed with chopped nuts, or just sliced and placed in a baking dish with a little apple cider or orange juice in the bottom, and a drizzle of maple syrup.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">BAKED PEACHES & NUTS</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-style: italic;">This recipe is gluten free.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><ul><li><span style="font-style: normal;">4 peaches</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: normal;">1/2 cup ground hazelnuts</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: normal;">1/2 cup chopped almonds</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: normal;">1 T sugar or honey or agave</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: normal;">1 egg yolk</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: normal;">1 cup orange juice or apple cider</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: normal;">3 T orange liqueur or brandy</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: normal;">shallow baking dish</span></li>
</ul><ul><li><span style="font-style: normal;">Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: normal;">Mix ground nuts, sweetener and egg yolk together, then mix in chopped nuts.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: normal;">Slice the peaches in half and remove the stones. Place them cut side up in the dish.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: normal;">Stuff the peaches with the filling, piling the rest on top of the peach halves.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: normal;">Pour the juice in the bottom of the baking dish.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: normal;">Cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: normal;">Bake 15 minutes covered.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: normal;">Remove the cover and bake 5-10 minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: normal;">Put the peaches on a serving plate.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: normal;">Mix the liqueur into the juices then pour the sauce over the peaches.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-style: normal;">Serve with yoghurt or whipped cream or ice cream!</span></li>
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">JAM</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And then there’s jam. I lived in England for ten years, where jam-making is a national sport. I don’t remember anybody ever buying fruit for jam – it was a matter of going to one’s favorite wild blackberry or plum patch, harvesting until you dropped, them cooking. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I was quite paranoid about jam-making for a long time. It seemed daunting – all the difficulties with setting, all the cautions about bacteria. Now, however, it is one of the most relaxing things I do in the kitchen.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">First, I decided I didn’t really care about set. One problem that I was having was that much of the fruit I was using (peaches, strawberries, plums) was low-pectin (and therefore low-set) fruit. This means I would have to add extra pectin, extra acid (which helps release pectin), lots of sugar, or cook it a long time in order to get a ‘jam’ set. However, most of the reason I want to make my own jam is that I find commercial products – even the high-end ones – too sweet. I wanted to lower the sugar content. Pectin addition seemed incredibly complicated – the box instructions filled with all kinds of detailed measurements that needed to be followed exactly. And I realized I like ‘conserves’ - loose-ish mushy fruit rather than firm jam. They're more versatile, for one thing – the fruit can be put into desserts, added to yoghurt or cooked cereals or spread on toast – and has a fresh flavor. </span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So, I make ‘jam’ that might not be quite jam. The method is fairly simple. Use ripe but not over-ripe fruit. Cut up the fruit. Weigh it if you want to keep track, from year to year, of how much of each ingredient you use. With peaches, I add some lemon zest and lemon juice – it zips up the flavor as well as increasing pectin. With the Colorado peaches, I don’t add any water, but if my peaches are old or dryish, I might add a little. I put everything in a large stainless steel pot and cook gently. Meanwhile, I estimate a sugar amount, place it in a pie or cake tin, and warm it in the oven (the oven is already warming the jars – see below). When the fruit is cooked, I mash it with my potato masher until it’s the consistency I want. Then I take it off the heat. Add the warmed sugar. A tip I learned in England – if the fruit is boiling, or the sugar cold, the jam will crystallize, giving an unpleasant texture and the impossibility of any kind of set. When the sugar is mixed in, bring the mix back to the boil and cook hard for a few minutes. If you want a set, you can start checking. You may need to boil for up to fifteen minutes. (More on testing set below). Otherwise, less than five minutes at a rolling boil (one that won’t go away when you stir it) is fine. Give it a stir occasional – you don’t want sticking. Then take off the heat for a few minutes, and place into hot jars.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">ON JARS</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">American jam recipes have a lot of complicated instructions about sterilizing jars, and about placing the full jars in canning pots and boiling to death. In Britain, life is simpler. And so is jam. The jars need to be very clean and dry and warm. I've found two ways to do this. The first is to run them on a hot cycle in your dishwasher, with a heated dry, and keep the dishwasher door closed until ready to use. This definitely sterilizes the jar. However, it does take quite a bit of energy to run the dishwasher like this, and requires some forethought as to timing - if you wait too long, your jars will be cold. If you forget, your jars aren't done. The other option is to wash the jars (even if they're already clean) in very hot soapy water and then place them in a 275 degree oven. The jars can sit there quite happily until you're ready to use them.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Brits cover their jams with wax paper discs, but I do love the American canning lids. The rings can be re-used, but the insets (the little circles) should be new. I wash the lids, put them in a bowl, pour boiling water over them and leave them until needed.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">ON SET</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When I'm beginning my jam recipe I put a small saucer in the freezer to cool. To check the set, I put a spoonful of jam on the saucer and allow it to cool. Then I run my finger across the middle. The halves should remain separate, instead of running together.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you have a candy thermometer, the set is 104 degrees F. </span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you're wanting a set for jam start testing soon after boiling point. With some fruit (eg apples and currants) there is a danger of oversetting. There are some wild berries that grow down the road from me; I once attempted jam and ended up with solid rubber.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I don't like to cook the jam to death, so I will often stop before the setting point is reached. As mentioned above, this leaves a mushy, soft, delicious spread.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">ON POTTING</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When the setting point (or for me, the finish point, even if it's not set), take the jam off the heat and let stand for about 10 minutes.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I get my potting tools ready - a small plate to put the jar on, a soup ladle, a funnel (cooking and hardware stores sell these - a very wide mouthed funnel that really makes things easier), my lids, a dishcloth or pot holder.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I take out a hot jar, place it on the plate, put the funnel in the jar, use the ladle to scoop the jam into the jar. I fill to the top.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Put on the lid insert then the ring. The jar will be hot, so I hold it with a dishcloth or pot holder and tighten.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That's it. I leave the jars until cool, then label with a sharpie (date and type of jam - you think you'll remember, but you don't).</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">PEACH JAM</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><ul><li>3 lb peaches</li>
<li>1 lemon - zest and juice</li>
<li>2 1/2 cups sugar</li>
<li>water as needed</li>
<li>optional - 1 cup strawberries or blueberries (frozen is fine)</li>
<li>canning jars and lids</li>
</ul><ul><li>Wash the jars in hot soapy water (see above) and place in a 275 degree oven.</li>
<li>Chop the peaches into small chunks and place them in a large pot with the lemon juice and lemon zest. (I don't peel my peaches but if you need to, blanch them in boiling water for a minute and the skins will peel off quite easily).</li>
<li>If the peaches are dry, add up to 1 cup of water.</li>
<li>Simmer the fruit gently. If the fruit is sticking to the bottom, add a little water, but you don't want too much liquid.</li>
<li>While the peaches are cooking, put the sugar in a dish or pie tin or baking tin and place in the oven to warm.</li>
<li>Also while the peaches are cooking, wash the jar lids in very hot soapy water, place them in a bowl, and pour boiling water over to cover.</li>
<li>When the peaches are soft, mash them gently until they're the texture you want.</li>
<li>Sometimes for color or a little taste variation, I'll add some berries at the end. Chop the strawberries into small-ish chunks. If they're frozen, you don't need to thaw them - just throw them into the peaches towards the end, and let them heat through until mushy.</li>
<li>Take the pot off the heat.</li>
<li>Add the warmed sugar. I usually start with about 1/2 of the amount I've listed, mix it in, taste it, then add some more. Please note - my recipe is about 1/2 the sugar amount of a standard jam recipe. You can certainly add more than my recipe states, if you like a sweeter jam or want a firmer set. </li>
<li>Bring the fruit/sugar to a hard boil (when you stir it, it keeps boiling). Boil for 5 minutes for soft conserve, or 10-15 minutes for a firmer jam (see above for set).</li>
<li>Pot as described above.</li>
</ul><div>OK - I've just read this recipe, and it seems like there are too many steps. So I'll simplify. 1. Cook your fruit until soft and mushy. 2. Take off heat and add warmed sugar to taste. 3. Boil hard for a few minutes or until set. 4. Pot in sterile jars. <br />
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</div><div>Enjoy!<br />
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</div></div></div>Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-8662104582609425502009-10-01T08:17:00.000-06:002009-10-01T08:17:34.808-06:00ON COOKING TECHNIQUE & THE JOYS OF VEGETABLES<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On Cooking Technique</span><div><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I love to cook – it is relaxing and natural and fun for me. I know that is not the case for all people. I will, at various points in this blog, explore details of cooking – kinds of pots, kinds of knives, basic technique. I’m not a chef – just someone who loves cooking and feeding people and has some basic cooking skills. I hope my thoughts on food are of interest to people who share my passion for cooking. However, I also hope to provide some inspiration for less experienced cooks. For those, I’ll try and include some technical, practical information in each blog. Those who know this stuff – feel free to skip it!</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I’ll be blogging a lot about vegetables. I’m not a vegetarian, although I was for a time in my life. I do feel, however, that, even after all the hype about the nutritional benefits of vegetables, they are somewhat neglected. At some of my most favorite restaurants here in Boulder, I’ll have a glorious meal – some locally raised beef, or fresh-caught fish – and a small aside, an afterthought, of some kind of vegetable. Or I have to order it separately – a salad or side of vegetables – to get anything at all! So often, it’s completely uninspired – maybe it’s not iceberg lettuce in the salad, but it’s a baby green mix taken out of the bag and dumped onto a plate. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When I’m planning my meals at home, I usually start with the vegetable. And I believe that the most healthy style of meal – as well as the most interesting in terms of taste – is to have a meal centered around the vegetable. So, instead of having a summer meal of a grilled steak with a large baguette and a small side salad, I’ll prepare a large salad with whatever’s fresh in the garden or farmer’s market. I might broil or grill a small-ish steak or chicken, or hard boil some eggs, or bring out some farmhouse cheese, We’ll slice the meat thinly. Make a home-made balsamic vinagrette (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, a little mustard, a touch of honey or jam). Fill the plate with salad. Top with a small amount of protein. Serve with some rye or rice crackers or a small amount of whole grain bread. Same idea – meat, salad, bread – but the proportions are so different. The nutritional benefits are very different. The amount of fiber is different. The feeling of satisfaction is different (high fiber meals, with lots of vegetables and whole grains, fill us up with more ease and satisfaction). Most importantly, the taste is different – a variety of different lettuces, a bit of spicy mustard or arugula, some bitter raddichio, some cherry tomatoes which burst in your mouth – a delightful exploration in color and taste, rather than an afterthought of iceberg.</span></span><o:p></o:p><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I take care with cooking my vegetables. A slow saute of mixed vegetables, or a large heap of slowly browned mushrooms, are a great centerpiece for any meal. A Chinese-style stir fry with lots of veggies and a little meat, or a stew loaded with potatoes, carrots, parsnips and beans, and a small amount of lamb - these provide an awesome blend of tastes, a sense of fullness and satisfaction, and the pleasure of knowing you're eating all those vegetables!</span></span><br />
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</div>Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-7989532072924671892009-10-01T08:05:00.000-06:002009-10-01T08:05:29.764-06:00GREEN BEANS<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I begin this blog on vacation. I’m outside of my home territory – my husband’s prolific garden, the local farmer’s market – and on my way to the beach in North Carolina. We stop at a Whole Foods outside of Raleigh, which provides some basics. However, almost all the vegetables seem to have come from California. They are incredibly uninspiring.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On the country road out to the beach, we stop at a roadside produce stand. A gentle man is selling the extra produce from his garden. There are some green beans in a bucket that look good. I try one. It has a pleasant snap and fresh flavor. I look to take a few handfuls. The gardener looks confused – he doesn’t know how to sell a small quantity. The bucket, he says, is $3. I buy the bucket.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What to do with a bucket of green beans?</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While they are fresh, I decide to blanch them. Blanching is a French technique (now that Julia Child, one of my long-time idols, is back in fashion, maybe this technique will be as well). Blanching is incredibly easy, but requires some initial set-up. The first thing is a large pot of boiling water. The second is a very large bowl – or small sink – filled with ice water (put cold tap water in and add ice cubes). The third is a slotted spoon and colander, or a pasta insert for the pot. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Green beans require a bit of preparation before cooking, and there are a lot of them in this bucket. Fortunately, my husband helps. I relax into the rhythm of topping and tailing. I line a few string beans up in a row, like little soldiers, with their ends all in order, then slice the narrow, stringy tops off. I turn the beans around, line them up again, and take off the tails. Sometimes I do them one by one, just for a change. After they’re topped and tailed, I slice them into manageable lengths for eating – in halve or thirds. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When all the beans are washed and sliced, I’m ready to blanch. The water needs to be boiling hard. At home, I do this in my pasta pot. I keep the insert out and boil a full pot of water. When ready to blanch, I put some of the vegetables into the insert, then plunge it into the boiling water. You don’t want to overcrowd the pot – the veggies want space to roll around in the water. When the vegetables are done, I pull out the insert and plunge the whole thing straight into the bowl of ice water. </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here, in my vacation rental, there is no pasta pot. I boil a large pot of water, and have my colander and slotted spoon standing by. I drop a few handfuls of beans into the water. Blanching times vary a lot on the vegetable, but I find that most cookbooks overestimate times. A few minutes cooks the vegetables, keeps a bright color and some crunch. The green beans take a couple of minutes, then I quickly scoop them out into the colander, and dump them into the ice water. When they’re cool, I put them on a dish towel, paper towel, or in another colander. In the meantime, I start again with the next bunch of beans.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is the trick with blanching – very fast boiling water for a short amount of time, followed by very cold water to prevent any further cooking. Then remove from the water and let dry. The beans are very green and delicious.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And I have beans ready to be used, as I like, for the next few days.</span><br />
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</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here’s what I do:</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1.</span><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The first night, when I’m ready for dinner, I melt a little butter and olive oil in a sauté pan (this is a frying pan with edges that slope – but any frying pan will do. Please – no toxic non-stick!). The butter melts gently – not too hot, or it will burn. I add the beans, and stir them in, coating them with the oil/butter. I like to cook them slowly, until they’re very tender. I add a handful of pecans, chopped into large-ish chunks, at the last minute.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2.</span><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The second night, I make a salad using some rice leftover from dinner the first night, with some cooked shrimp (also leftover), and some of the blanched beans. Mix it up, then make a very simple dressing – balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, some fresh basil, and some olive oil. Toss and serve.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3.</span><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A couple of nights later, we have friends for dinner. I take all the beans that are left (this is still quite a lot!), throw them into a bowl, make a fresh dressing, and serve. If I had some fresh cherry tomatoes, I’d halve them and throw them in. But I don’t, so I serve them on their own. </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> People rave. They are devoured.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Finally, the end of the green beans!</span><o:p></o:p><br />
</div>Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-65997054130731175112009-09-28T10:38:00.000-06:002009-09-28T10:38:20.773-06:00ON SEASONAL & LOCAL COOKING<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">It seems to me natural that eating, and cooking, and diet, follow the rhythm of the seasons. In the early summer, when the lettuce is prolific in the garden, it seems logical to have meals which center around salads. When the cold Colorado winters settle in, and the days shorten, I yearn for slow-cooked foods – stews and casseroles, soups and sautéed vegetables.</span><br />
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It’s not a hard and fast rule. I certainly have the occasional salad in the winter – although I find I have lost interest in non-local, out of season tomatoes flown in from who knows where – after a summer of picking them out of our garden, an imported winter tomato has no taste or texture. </span><br />
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In no way am I a 'local' or 'seasonal' fanatic, although I admire Barbara Kingsolver's experiment. (<i>"Animal, Vegetable, Miracle"</i> is certainly a good read; she shares her family's attempt to eat local with humor and insight). Human beings have been storing and preserving food, as well as trading for non-local goods, as long as there has been history. I love many imported food items - chocolate, coffee, and spices being absolute essentials of life. And there's no way that you could ever get 'local' rice in Colorado - but what would the dinner table be without risottos or Chinese food? My freezer is stocked with summer tomatoes reduced to sauce, blanched beans, sliced peaches, grated zucchini - all summer produce waiting to be enjoyed in the depths of winter.</span><br />
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But following the seasons – looking at what’s fresh in the garden or the farmers market, and listening to what my body tells me about what it wants to eat – results in incredible pleasure. Using good quality in season produce, prepared simply, it is easy to have wonderful meals, with great taste and great nutrition and great fun, with very little work.</span><br />
</div>Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2340874328453215337.post-50506033984828201322009-09-28T09:09:00.002-06:002009-09-28T09:12:45.016-06:00Women, Health, and Awesome Eating<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><meta content="" name="Title"></meta> <meta content="" name="Keywords"></meta> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta> <meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"></meta> <meta content="Microsoft Word 2008" name="Generator"></meta> <meta content="Microsoft Word 2008" name="Originator"></meta> <link href="file://localhost/Users/orianne/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link> <style>
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</style><span style="font-size: small;"> I'm currently writing a book about women and health. An interesting thing has been happening. I've found that the chapters I have most enjoyed writing have been the ones about cooking and food. I have discussions with myself about recipes and techniques. I wonder about how to impart the love of food and cooking with an understanding of how eating well, and eating with pleasure, can promote our own healing.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">The book is a project. A long project, as these things go - fitting in writing and research with a busy practice and family and life. In the meantime, I though I'd go online with some food thoughts.</span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm hoping to combine two interests in this blog - my passion for good, creative cooking and eating, and my deep concern about women and health. </span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">As a health profession, I answer people's questions about health - most often about food - all the time. People are always interested in the latest diet trend - the Blood Type diet, the South Beach diet, the Atkins diet (yes, I know this isn't new, but high protein/low carb protocols are certainly back in fashion), the Biblical diet, the low glycemic index diet, the paleolithic diet, the Fit for Life diet - the list goes on and on. All of these diets are geared primarily towards weight loss, but some also make claims for being 'healthy.' Many of these systems have some benefits. However, they all have faults because of their extreme limitations - limitations not of 'junk' or processed food, but of normal real food that does not fit the rules of the regime. In addition, many of these systems rely on processed or altered food. It seems wrong to say that one should never eat a mango. It seems wrong to prescribe a product that began as milk, and then has been reduced in fat and altered and added to in such a way that it doesn't seem right to call it cheese.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">In addition, these regimes all play into the American woman's uneasy relationship with food by creating serious restrictions on what to eat and when to eat it. Aside from people with serious disorders such as anorexia or morbid obesity, there is a general anxiety over what to eat - is there too much fat, are there too many carbs, am I eating enough protein, am I eating too much protein.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">It was with incredible relief that I read Michael Pollan’s words: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Here, finally, was a man who shared my belief. A belief in simple foods.</span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, rather than focus on rules of diets, I focus on the quality of the food. The question is not - to eat protein or not to eat protein, am I having too many carbohydrates or not enough carbohydrates, should I be a vegetarian or do I need to eat meat. The question is – what is the quality of the food I am eating?</span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">An egg, in itself, isn’t bad or good. But an egg that comes from a chicken that has had free access to water, food, and fresh air is going to be a completely different nutritional experience for our body than an egg that comes from a chicken that never moved and was fed antibiotic-laden food made from genetically modified crops. The fat that comes from a free-range cow is completely different nutritionally than that from feedlot beef. Even a simple vegetable – a leaf of lettuce – has way more nutrition, way more vitamins and minerals, way less carcinogenic chemical residue, not to mention way more taste - if it is grown organically in healthy soil than if has been fed a steady diet of oil-based fertilizer and chemical pesiticides.</span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rather than looking at food as potential danger, I prefer to look at food as the source of life - without it, after all, we would in fact be dead. Food provides our energy needs, the building blocks of all our cells and all our metabolic processes. It provides the nutrition necessary to move and think and grow and evolve and heal. </span><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">I love many aspects of food. I love walking in the garden my husband grows, looking at what's just beginning to grow, what's ready to pick, what needs immediate harvest. I like wondering around food stores, although large grocery stores overwhelm me. I love reading cookbooks and cooking magazines. I love to cook - I find it peaceful and relaxing and creative. I love to feed people. So, for me, food is not about restrictions in order to be healthy - it is about nourishment from food that helps support our own healing. It is about pleasure and love and taste and fun. </span><br />
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</div>Awesome Eatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08908694931873612153noreply@blogger.com1