I promise, the last post about sprouts in a while. Wheat sprouts were successful!! And so delicious!! Once again, a light saute and some salt make a delicious accompaniment for any meal!
Lastly, I leave you with a good link to a last weekend’s Living on Earth. It featured Will Allen, who founded Growing Power, an urban farm and education center in Milwaukee. He’s a pretty cool dude, and so is this program, which dealt with our food system past, present and future.
In the midst of finals last semester, I discovered Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bread. Excellent as toast with a little salt, butter, or peanut butter, it made an excellent study snack. But it also added another reliance on the grocery store…so as I rested over Christmas break, I realized the recreating this sprouted grain bread would be the perfect food project for the semester! I have to bake bread, but, more importantly, first I have to learn how to sprout beans, grains, and nuts.
First: the health facts. Why is sprouted bread the new health craze? Sprouting is essentially taking any nut/seed/grain, soaking it in water, and allowing the seed to germinate – to start growing. By doing so, you awaken the plant from it’s dormant state, and instead of a dried bean or grain, you have an alive little plant. It also changes the chemical makeup inside of the bean, and greatly increases nutrient content. This radio script from Farm International has a nice explanation as well as instructions on how to sprout grains.
I’ve known that sprouts are good for you for a while, but I had two main concerns:
1. I had no idea how to sprout grains.
2. I didn’t really know if I’d like how they tasted.
In tackling number 1, I looked at many website instructions, my mother’s Rodale’s cookbook, and, still confused, settled for this video. Starting about 4 minutes in, he has instructions for sprouting grains in a ball jar. Instead of the mesh he uses to cover the jar, I am using cheesecloth and a rubber band.
As for number 2….have to try it before I know!
I started with Mung beans – it’s touted as one of the easier beans to sprout. It it has been! Kind of fun to see your own little plants growing! And, even better… they taste kind of nice! It’s nice to have something so fresh tasting in the middle of winter! Though, thus far I’ve liked them better when I put them on a little frying pan for a minute and salted them a little….the light cooking makes them a little softer and richer in flavor.
Next up will be soy beans and wheat kernels. I’m really excited for the wheat because the sprouts are supposed to be very sweet – you can grind them up and use them to sweeten bread or other items.
Good luck! If I could figure it out, I’m sure you can too. Let me know if you try it out!
I originally bought a stainless-steel, Sigg water bottle 2 years ago because reports were coming out how Nalgene plastic water bottles were made with bisphenol-A (BPA), an organic compound used in many plastic products – including shatterproof plastic. Studies began to show that BPA can be harmful as it leaches from the container to the food or water inside, and then accumulates in your body tissues (which is likely to happen especially if your water bottle or other BPA-lined product it heated), and many people switched to Sigg water bottles, assuming that the stainless steel containers were BPA free.
Perhaps it was presumptive to think so, but it turns out that Sigg water bottles used to be lined with BPA, making them just about as harmful as the Nalgene bottles. They did stop making the BPA lined bottles in August 2008, and if you recently bought a Sigg, you should be fine. You can tell which type of Sigg you have by looking at the color of the rim. If it is a light yellow, you have the BPA free bottle; if it’s a more copper/gold color, it is lined with BPA. Check it out, since yet another study has come out stating that, unlike what many people are telling us, BPA can reach harmful levels in adults, not just children.
Most of the other stainless steel water bottle containers, including those from Klean Kanteen and Earthlust, are BPA free, and Nalgene now makes BPA-free plastic water bottles as well.
This may sound like too much complication for a thing as trivial as water bottles, but having a reusable water bottle like a Sigg or Nalgene is actually good for you in many ways:
1. Saves you money. These water bottles usually cost around $20. With the cost of bottled water these days – it pays for itself in 10-20 uses. Easily less than a month’s worth of water. And if you don’t lose your water bottle, they easily last over a year.
2. Good for the environment. With all we just learned about plastic, do you really want to throw one water bottle a day into a landfill? And, most bottled water is just filtered tap water anyway. For many people in the US, it is not a major improvement over water they can get out of the tap or a Britta filter.
3. Good for you! The most popular weight loss tip today is “drink more water!” If you always have a water bottle on hand, you’re more likely to actually drink something when you’re thirsty, and there’s less temptation to buy soda or juice, since you have free water right in front of you!
I hope now you’re ready to make the commitment to buy a reusable water bottle!!
Today’s post is not so much about a physical change as a mental change in my quest for health. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from all of my biology and neuroscience classes and other reading I have done, it is the strength and wonder of our own bodies. We are just beginning to comprehend the number of metabolic processes that are occurring every second to keep us alive, and we have yet to find a computer that has the power of the human brain. Yet we all look to external sources to find our health and strength. Yes, blueberries are filled with antioxidants, and exercise can tone our muscles, but this is worthless (to a certain extent) if we don’t believe in our own power.
In Anti-Cancer by Dr. David Servan-Schreiber (a great book, by the way), he talks about the “Type C” personality, those that accept the lot that is handed to them and don’t believe that they have any control over their bodies and their future. It plays into our Western view of medicine — that each of us is on a dangerous precipice, and any sway of wind will throw us down the mountain. In the Ayurvedic system, it’s a little more like being in the valley – that our bodies want to stay grounded and in balance..but if our lifestyle and choices keep bringing us further and further from that balance (up the hill, if you will), we will eventually reach that precipice.
I’m not prescribing any diet plan or spiritual awakening or anything; I just wanted to say take the time today to appreciate and acknowledge the raw strength and power of your own body and its ability to heal itself. It’s pretty amazing, and it may have quite an affect on you and the way you view your health.
That’s right. I cooked a chicken. The whole bird. I’ve always been scared of roasting a chicken, bones and all…but it’s actually easier than cooking it on stovetop! Season it up, rub a little butter/olive oil, cut up some onion, and throw it in the oven for an hour or so for a 4 lb bird. The hardest part is cutting it up, and even that I think will get easier as I get more practice. I realized that it seems so scary because you don’t have to do anything. You begin with this raw gross thing and voila! suddenly a beautifully cooked, golden brown bird. Amazing!
And delicious. SO delicious. No worries about drying out or burning, it’s food that cooks itself.
Perk number two: the next day you can make great chicken stock! Also one of those recipes that seem scary (you are playing with chicken bones)..but actually involves about 6 minutes of prep work and 3 hours on the stove. And in the end – enough chicken stock to make quite a few soups and make my winter-time rice and quinoa MUCH more flavorful. Plus, chicken stock made from real, nice chicken bones is good for you! Something about the marrow is supposed to impart some health-promoting qualities.
I got both recipes from the Weston A Price foundation website. There are some more recipes on there of things you can do with your whole bird!
So don’t be scared! It’s fun, easy, and delicious! And super good for you too! Now if only I could figure out how to roast a whole pig in my oven….
Inspired by my mother, summer’s bounty of fruits and vegetables, and Canning Across America, a blog devoted to canning, I decided that it was time for me to flex my preserving muscle!
It’s not so much the cooking that scared me as much as all of the canning supplies and details: fresh mason jars and lids, boiling water for enough time, cooking and stirring, canning, cleaning….I was a little nervous. However, having acquired the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving and reading every inch of the darn thing, I decided that it was time to jump in and do it. I decided to go for a small batch of apricot preserves. Something both sugary and acidic so I don’t have to worry about botulism or pressure cooking.
The recipe was fairly simple:
Combine 2 lbs of peeled, halved and pitted apricots with 4 cups of sugar and 1/2 cup lemon juice in a sauce pan and refrigerate for 4-5 hours. (I admit..I already cheated at this part….I had much less sugar in my house than anticipated…so I used all that I had and a bunch of honey. Who knows if it was anywhere near 4 cups…..)
When you’re all ready to cook and can, heat up your mason jars in a pot of water (a deep saucepan is a good thing to have here) until just simmering. Do the same in a small saucepan for the lids. The Blue Book makes a point here of not boiling the lids. Once they’re at simmering temperature (about 180 F), turn off the heat and keep the jars in there until you’re ready to can.
Meanwhile, bring the apricot mixture up to a boil, and then boil rapidly, stirring frequently so that the sugars don’t stick or burn. The mixture is ready when the preserves are almost at the gelling point — i.e., when you dip the spoon into the mixture, the juice drips off slowly, more in a sheet than as single drops.
Then, take your jars out one at a time, and fill them with jam, leaving 1/4 inch of space at the top. Wipe of the rim of the jar with a clean, damp cloth, get a lid out of its hot water bath, and place it on there, screwing the top so that it’s just finger tight. Then put the jar back in your deep saucepan. Once all the jam jars are ready, heat up your water again so that it’s at a steady boil. Once it’s at a boil, set a timer for 15 minutes and keep that water boiling. Once 15 min are up, turn off the heat, let it sit in the water and cool down for about 5 minutes, then take your cans out and set them out on the counter. You know they’re all good and preserved when the lids make a nice little pop!
Let me tell you, hearing the popping was one of the proudest moments of my life….I’m so excited to try out some other veggies that will make this winter ever so much tastier.
And so to make a long story very short: Canning sounds scary…but it’s actually kind of satisfying! And not as hard as it sounds! You’ll be glad you tried it. I promise.
Good luck!
After a long hiatus, there is so much to say!
Update number 1: Yogurt Making.
Not as easy as I made it out to be. Attempts 1 and 2, one of which was regular, whole milk, the other from Milk Thistle Farms, both made with Stonyfield starters, were delicious, creamy, and WORKED!
Then comes attempts 3 and 4. Utter failures. I tried two different milks, but used my homemade yogurt as starters. Both never really gelled into the yogurt consistancy. So, attempt number 5. Realizing that the problem was probably with my starter, I switched back to Stonyfield yogurt. I used organic milk, regular pasteurization. I ended up with a thick tacky mess that looked more like glue than yogurt. This I attribute to leaving the yogurt out too long before refrigerating. It’s my only guess as to why it was such a gross disaster. For my next attempt: fresh starter, and a strict time limit on how long I keep the yogurt in the oven. I hope it works.
Amazing how that works…you get all comfortable, think there’s nothing new under the sun, and obviously…you learn so many new things in one week that you realize that there’s always more out there. This week, the news was mixed.
Hey there!
I’ve been meaning to make yogurt for many months, and last week, I finally conquered my fears and made some! Twice! Now that I’ve started…I’m not likely to stop because it’s so easy. It also has the added bonus of being a cheese with a nice yield, compared to ricotta, which I tend to be a little disappointed at. Also great about making yogurt is that when you’re done, you can also strain it to reach desired consistancy…from runny to thick cream cheese. And the leftover whey can be added to vegetables and beans…or used in your next batch of ricotta.
What you need:
1/2 gallon milk (I used my fancy unhomogonized milk, which yields the “cream on top” yogurt”
2-3 tbsp yogurt (I like the Stonyfield because they have such a nice mixture of 6 probiotics)
Candy Thermometer, a sauce pan to heat it in, a big baking dish, some hand towels and some jars to put your finished yogurt in!
First, you wanna heat up your milk in a sauce pan until it’s at 185-195 degrees. This is just to kill any bacteria floating around in your milk. Around this time, turn your oven on to 350 degrees.
Next, cool your milk to about 120 degrees. To speed this along, I like putting the saucepan in an ice bath..though I’m sure a fridge for a minute or two would do the trick (just make sure you’re watching the temperature!)
When the yogurt hits 120, take a few tablespoons of milk out of the pot and mix it with two tablespoons of yogurt. This is just to get the starter yogurt at a good temperature and all mixed in. Then you can add your yogurt/milk mixture to the rest of your milk and mix to spread the starter all around.
Next you pour your yogurt into your jars and place the lids on. Wrap your jars in the towels and place them in the big baking dish. Turn the oven off, and place the baking dish in said oven. What you want to do is keep the yogurt at a consistent 110 degrees for a few hours, so that the bacteria may grow and gel the yogurt. After a few hour or overnight, you can take the yogurt out and chill! Enjoy for up to two weeks.
Not too bad, right? And quite delicious! Give it it a shot!
I followed the directions from http://www.makeyourownyogurt.com/ Nice pictures too!
I tried a few different methods of keeping my yogurt warm, but the oven worked best for me. If it seems infeasible (you have roommates or a busy oven).. you can invest in a yogurt maker, which keeps all of the little jars at a consistant temperature.
Enjoy!
I was planning a post based on this press release: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/wsw-dmi061709.php which states that drinking fat-free milk instead of fruit juice at breakfast leads to feeling more satiated and eating less calories at lunch time. But then I realized – why talk about what I read today, when I can talk about what I actually did today, which is making my own ricotta!
Now this sounds much fancier than it actually is….ricotta is actually one of the easiest cheeses to make. All you need is some nice good milk (we’ll talk about the best kinds later), a lemon, lime, or vinegar, salt, and a stovetop!
Super simple – just heat up your lightly salted milk, medium high heat, stirring frequently (that part, unfortunately, takes a good 20-25 minutes). When the milk starts to lightly boil, squeeze some of your vinegar, lemon or lime juice into the milk (I use about 1/4 cup acid per quart of milk), give it a stir to disperse said acid, turn off the stove and let the curds set. When the curds separate from the whey (you have big white blocks floating in greenish liquid), use a slotted spoon to spoon the curds into a cheesecloth-lined colander (or a mesh sieve if you have it) and let excess whey drain off. That’s it! Simply store it in the fridge when the curds are at the desired consistency! (Let them sit longer for thicker ricotta, shorter for runnier ricotta). And let me tell you – does it taste good – I have never used vinegar but the lemon/lime impart this light citrus flavor in the cheese that is just lovely. Plus you feel super accomplished.
Now, today was a big day in my ricotta making because I used a new kind of milk (and here’s where I feel like a goody-goody). I used Milk Thistle Farm’s Whole, Organic, Hormone Free, Grass-Fed, Unhomogenized, Lighly Pasteurized, Cream-on-Top, Comes in a Glass Bottle That You Bring Back to them to Recycle!!!, Milk!. (www.milkthistlefarm.com) This stuff tastes good. They come to the Union Square Market Friday and Saturday, and you will soon understand why each bit of that long title means good things for everyone.
1. Whole milk – yes, more fat; however, this extra fat keeps you fuller longer and tastes better and creamier. The extra 30 calories probably won’t kill you, and it’ll keep you from rushing to your cabinet for more food. Plus, being while milk means that it can be
2. Unhomogenized – milk you buy at the store usually is stirred around at quite high speeds so that all of the little fat droplets are the same size as the little carbohydrate droplets, so the milk doesn’t separate (hence, cream-on-top). First off- whole fat milk is the only kind that can be unhomogenized, because you can only take the fat out of the milk by homogenizing it. Also — unhomogenized milk is supposedly better for you because it is much easier for your poor intestines to digest! And since most people have a little lactose-intolerance in them, this is definitely a good thing.
3. Organic/Hormone Free – yay! These cows are fed non-GM foods, not given any hormones to pass along to you, and are treated in a kind way! Organic is an important one for milk (http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/05/got-organic-new.html – a little bombastic, but they get the point across).
4. Grass Fed – these cows are outside! In the sun! absorbing Vitamin D! Which will get passed on to you when you eat this ricotta! (see Sally Fallon’s Traditional Diets). And – being grass fed means that they are not being fed grain and corn, so they’re getting the proper ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fatty acids, which is very important to our very off-kilter current ratios of the fatty acids.
5. Light Pasteurization – see more from Sally Fallon about the benefits of raw milk, but since it’s illegal in New York State to buy/sell raw milk, we’ll have to stick with slowly and lowly heated milk that will hopefully preserve some of those yummy enzymes.
6. Glass Bottle- yay! Not throwing out plastic, plus, if I return the bottle to them, I get a dollar back! So they can keep reusing bottles, and my milk becomes a little cheaper!
Wow, that milk actually is worth the title! Up next for this milk will be trying to make my own yogurt. Yay Probiotics!
I hope you can give this recipe (and this milk farm!) a try. It’s definitely worth the effort when you get to eat warm, freshly made cheese. (By the way – mix with chocolate chips and sweetener of choice for the most delicious cannoli cream!)
