Have you had your Grains today?

Grains are delicious, nutritious and easy to prepare and should be included in your daily diet.   Grains provide nutrients which are essential for optimal health and well-being.   Researching grains on the internet I came across two sites that offer a very nice guide along with some great pictures of the different grains that exist.   Culinate has a picture perfect whole-grain glossary with a nice description of each grain and FoodFit also offers a nice Grains Guide with recipes for each grain.   Do take some time and browse these sites if you are curious about grains and incorporating more of them into your daily cooking routine.

Most of us are aware of the common grains such as oats, wheat and barley – these along with many others, are easy to grow in your garden.   Easy to grow but not very practical if you are looking to supply your pantry for the coming year.   I have experimented and grew several new and different grains, millet, amaranth and buckwheat.   You will have a harvest if you tend to them regularly, but unless you plant acres and acres … your harvest will be minimal.   The millet and amaranth are tiny seeds and plentiful on the plant, whereas, the buckwheat is a bigger grain and my purpose for growing was as a companion crop.   They are beneficial in attracting good insects to your garden and offer nutrients for the soil.

With the New Year still ringing in our ears, the healthy eating resolution is still within plain sight.   I recently purchased the cookbook, Whole Grain Recipes, by Jean Pare and it has some outstanding recipes to try.   Tonight I decided to bake up the Vegetable Barley Manicotti and love the idea of using barley … and it is rather easy to put together.

Complete recipe posted at Vegetable Barley Manicotti – Mixing Bowl — Enjoy and Be Healthy!!!

Tomato and Garlic – 3 easy recipes!

Gourmet Garlic Giveaway will be posted 9/7/10!  

Will be posted at this blog and at GreatGiveaways!

This time of year tomatoes are ripening up faster than we can eat them and the garlic is awaiting its chance to liven up our recipes!   Earlier in the week I made up a quick quiche, a tasty salsa and a light pasta dish using plenty of tomatoes and garlic.   I really didn’t measure up I just added as I went along and it all came out fantastic.

The quiche got a little toasty on top but that made it more unique and tasty!   I started with a pre-made crust and added a layer of zucchini which I sauted a bit to soften up.   I added the garlic for a few minutes to the zucchini in the pan before adding both to the crust.   I used the Persian Star garlic and this is the first time I tasted this variety and I love it!   I don’t have any for sale this year but I will be planting for a harvest next year.   It has the right amount of kick and large cloves for easy peeling … a keeper!   I then added egg substitute and a few handfuls of mozzarella cheese along with chopped basil and spoonfuls of ricotta cheese.   The final topping was tomatoes and more cheese.   I baked it in the oven at 350 for about a half hour.

The salsa never lasts long in this house – it’s so fresh tasting … you can’t stop eating it!   I used Cherokee Purple tomatoes so it appears rather dark and I did drain off liquid several times since these tomatoes are very juicy.   I simply chopped the tomatoes, onion, garlic, fresh cilantro and jalapeno pepper and let chill in the refrigerator.

Lastly the pasta dish which is chilling right now and will make a great lunch for me in a few hours!   I boiled up the bow tie pasta, chopped some smaller roma tomatoes and also added some dried tomatoes (they have such a nice sweet flavor), added black olives, garbanzo beans, onion, basil and of course the garlic!   A few shakes of an oil and vinegar dressing and a dash of pepper and it’s all set.

Healthy and Easy …… can’t beat that!!!

Healthy Eating

I dried some cantaloupe the other day and was planning on making a trail mix with the cubed dried fruit but I have changed my mind.  Since I have been paying attention to what I put in my mouth and tracking my nutrition and fitness activity daily I have been sidestepping the chips and cookies (since I realized they are useless calories) and instead have been taking a  handful of the dried cantaloupe and munching on that and I am lovin’ it!!!  The dried apple is really good too – it’s like a new discovery here.  I have been drying fruit for a while now and usually leave it for the kids to munch on, but now I look forward to snacking on it!

 Dried apple & cantaloupe

I also picked up this Sharp Cheddar seasoning to add to popcorn for another healthy snack and it is actually very good.  Just 1/2 teaspoon is only 5 calories and that pretty much covered a whole pan.  I am sure you can more if  you want, but I was fine with 1/2 teaspoon!

Now for lunch the past 2 days I enjoyed this Asian Chicken Salad. The recipe I found on Spark People and it is healthy and low calorie … way to go!   A little preparation ahead of time and I am very happy with what I am eating.

For dinner we made Pork Stir fry ….. healthy, healthy and enjoyable once again!

 Pork stir fry

Marinate 1 lb. of pork loin, cut in 1/2″ cubes with 3-4 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root and 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce overnight in the refrigerator.  We found using a plastic bag made it easy to swoosh the food and marinade around for good coverage – do this every couple of hours or so.  Next day prepare your vegetables – we used bean sprouts, snap peas, cabbage, red bell pepper, zucchini and onion.  Keep the vegetables separate and add them each to a skillet to cook – longest to cook, cook first.  Meat —>onion, pepper —>peas, cabbage —>zucchini, bean sprouts.    Add 2 cups of water with 2 chicken bouillon cubes and 2-3 tablespoons of cornstarch.  Let cook for 2-3 minutes and serve over brown rice.

Puppy Billie seems to rule the roost here … that didn’t take long!

Seed catalogs and chocolate muffins!

It is snowing non-stop today ….

and although I am getting a good workout in shoveling snow, I really rather be gardening!  Seed catalogs have arrived in the mail and I will be browsing  them all; not only looking at new seed varieties but the tools and ideas listed throughout the pages of these beautiful catalogs.  It seems as the years move along, the seed catalogs are displaying their products in more eye catching form and they do make for a good read on a cold winter day!

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Johnny’s Selected Seeds

Pinetree Garden Seeds

Richter’s Herb Catalogue

Seed Savers Exchange

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

Territorial Seed Company

I did take the time to whip up this delicious Chocolate muffin recipe before heading out to shovel this morning.  I was looking for healthy – something with flaxseed and chocolate ……. tastes terrific!

 Yum!

Cooking up Winter Squash

Winter squash is a wonderful reminder of growing veggies this past summer in your garden.  Cooking up your harvest in the dead of winter can really brighten the day and work as reassurance that planting season is not that far off!

My all time favorite winter squash has to be the Delicata - it is light and has a fresh taste all its own.  I grew the Delicata up on a trellis this year and had a nice yield.  I simply cut the squash in half  lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and place in a glass dish with an inch of water.  The squash is face down in the water – skin side up and the dish is covered with foil to keep the steam in.  Cook for 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven and then scoop the delicious Delicata right out of the skin.  Eat as is or you can add butter and/or brown sugar.

 Cooked Delicata

This evening for dinner I tried something very simple and was surprised how good it came out.  I peeled and cubed up a butternut squash and added it to our slow cooker with 32 oz. of chicken stock.  I let it cook for about 2 hours and then mashed it with a potato masher to make a super soup!

 After 2 hours Butternut Squash Soup

Served up with croutons …. Easy!  You can also add any type of spice to your liking…I added a sprinkle of nutmeg – just a sprinkle; don’t add too much! 

Try growing a winter squash in your garden next season if you have the space.  They do grow on vines and  you can trellis them as I did.  The winter squash skin is much harder than the summer squash so take care when cutting them up.  They are highly nutritious and really easy to cook up!

Chicken Chicken

I will buy chicken breast on sale and make several dishes.  First I bake the chicken and then bone it leaving me with tons of white chicken meat to cook with.  Chicken Salad and Chicken Chili were the 2 recipes I created this past week.  Healthy and filling and delicious to boot!

Chicken Salad - can be served in wheat pitas or on wheat crackers.  I used 2 cups of the cooked chicken and diced it up.  Then I added 1/4 cup of nonfat plain yogurt, 1/4 cup light mayonnaise, 1/2 small diced onion, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce and 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley.  (The parsley was picked fresh and frozen in a plastic baggie and it worked just fine in this recipe).

Chicken Chili - combine 2 cans of crushed tomato (28 oz. each), 3 cups water, 1 cup pearl barley, 1 medium onion, 2-3 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon cumin and 2-3 tablespoons of chili powder.  Simmer for 45 minutes.  Due to the barley swelling you may have to add additional water.  Add 3 cups cut up cooked chicken breast and 1 can (11 oz) vacuum packed yellow corn.  The vacuum packed corn remains crisp in this dish.  Cook an additional 30 minutes.