Archive for February, 2010

Recently I discovered my blood pressure was a bit higher than it should be so my doctor recommended I really take a look at my diet and start a regular exercise regiment. That got me looking at the USDA Food Pyramid and discovering what foods I really need to focus on eating. So I have decided to break down the food groups and take an in-depth look at each in an effort to pull together a series of healthy recipes.

What foods are in the grain group? Any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or another cereal grain is a grain product. Grains are divided into 2 subgroups, whole grains and refined grains; so in an effort to stay really on the right side of healthy I am going to stick with whole grains containing the entire grain kernel, the bran, germ, and endosperm.

• whole-wheat flour
• bulgur (cracked wheat)
• oatmeal
• whole cornmeal
• brown rice

I am reaching back into my recipe file to share a bread I made during my catering years. One of my first truly successful experiments was a recipe from *The Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book, A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking. The recipe is an adaptation from the Black Turtle Raisin Bread recipe.  I adopted the recipe into a Red Bean and Raisin Bread Recipe. No you won’t find it anywhere but here because I created it from the excess red beans I had for dinner one evening over twenty plus years ago. The bread is a tad time consuming to make and does not have the 45 grams of protein that the black beans promise but it is still packed with flavor and well worth tackling.

Red Bean and Raisin Bread

Makes 2 medium loaves

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw red beans (about 2 cups cooked)
• 2 cups liquid from the cooked beans
• 1/4 cup cotton honey, (Use what ever flavor you prefer)
• 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 4 cups whole wheat flour, plus 1 cup for kneading
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup golden raisins, soaked in rum (If you don’t want to use rum use orange juice)

Directions

1. Cook the beans.
2. Drain them and reserve 2 cups of the warm liquid.
3. Place the beans in a blender or food processor, gradually adding liquid and process until smooth.
4. Allow the mixture to cool to 100 degrees and the honey, molasses and canola oil.
5. The total measure should be about 1 quart.
6. Dissolve the yeast in the 1/4 cup warm water.
7. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl.
8. Add the red bean mixture and yeast to the flour to form a soft dough.
9. You will knead this mixture for about 15-20 minutes.
10. Add the raisins toward the end of kneading.
11. Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm location for about 1 hour.
12. After 50 minutes punch the dough down and knead 2-3 minutes.
13. Form the dough again and allow to rise for 25 minutes.
14. After the second rising form the dough into 2 rounds.
15. Let rise 30 minutes and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven.
16. Do not slash the crust on this bread.
17. Allow the bread to set for 20-30 minutes before slicing with a bread knife.
18. I like to brush the bread with butter just prior to slicing.

*The following recipe was adopted from Robertson, L. Flinders, C. & Godfrey, B., (1984). The Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book: A guide to whole-grain breadmaking, Random House, New York.

Wholesale cost for producing this bread for sale as a home-based baker is $1.95 – $2.45 per loaf depending on the cost of  ingredients(in your region of the U.S.)

We are well into the new year and the time has come to bring forth some of those new year resolutions. It is rare that any one really wants to admit they are a lousy cook. Most folks just fade into the background and continue to live their life eating out or purchasing foods from the local food court at the grocery. The fact is it’s really great to know even a few simple recipes you can pull together in a moments notice.

This year if you lack cooking skills make a commitment to learn how to cook a few basic dishes.  Free yourself from the financial obligation associated with eating out every night and consuming boat loads of processed, sodium filled foods from restaurants who could really care less about health and healthy choices.

How should you start? Ask yourself what you really like to eat and what you really want to learn to cook. I am not from the old school of thought that say learn the basics first, boiling water, scrambling an egg or making French Toast. I am a true believer that if you are ever going to really gain any enjoyment from cooking you need to start with food you love, food you adore and can’t live without.

If you love chocolate truffles, learn to make them. If you love a Micky D’s salad, learn to make a salad with the same ingredients and dress. This is a great motivator and one sure fire way to peak your interest. If there were one thing you would love to learn how to make, what would it be? I’d love to hear from you!

Smothered Chicken Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 4 large chicken breast (cut into 1 1/2 inch strips)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 medium onion, thinly sliced, about 1 cup
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced, sweet peppers
• 1/2 cup sweet green peas
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 tablespoon organic chicken base
• 2 to 3-1/2 cups hot chicken broth (homemade or low-sodium) Start with 2 cups and gradually add more if needed.

Directions

1. Clean chicken breast by rinsing under cold running water and removing any fat.
2. Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towels.
3. Season your chicken breast strips by lightly sprinkling each piece with salt and pepper. Set aside.
4. In a large deep skillet or Dutch oven heat canola oil over low heat until hot, about 4 to 5 minutes.
5. Place chicken in hot canola oil and over medium low heat, sauté chicken until lightly golden turning frequently.
6. Remove chicken from skillet and drain.
7. Next add vegetables consisting of garlic, yellow, green peas and peppers to skillet, cook and stir until slightly browned.
8. Remove skillet from heat.
9. In a medium bowl, combine corn starch, chicken base and chicken broth. Using a wire whisk stir until mixture is smooth.
10. Return skillet with vegetables to stove and add corn starch mixture.
11. Over medium heat, cook and stir with wire whisk until gravy begins to boil and thicken. If necessary add more broth if gravy is too thick.
12. Return browned chicken strips to skillet, reduce heat to low, cover skillet with lid and simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring gravy and turning chicken until done.
13. As a serving suggestion, serve your smothered chicken over a bed of cooked white rice and corn bread. A tossed green salad is also a perfect accompaniment.

Keep us fat, happy and eventually we all die off from some dreaded disease leaving the wholefood, health conscious to inherit the earth. Really? Can you believe the FDA is reviving its 2005 plan to re-evaluate serving sizes per an Obama directive.

For nearly twenty years, their lax oversight has allowed soda companies to pawn off 2.5 servings in a 20-ounce bottle. Look they always knew consumers were not going to take a glass from the cabinet or purchase small papers cups and measure out the appropriate serving. Duh!

The last time I can remember anyone drinking eight ounces of soda was when I visited my grandmother in Clinton, Louisiana back in the 1960s; she drank from that cute little glass bottle; and you know what, even then she didn’t drink the entire bottle, nope, half now –  half later. Folks from that era knew about portion control.

Today we’re suffering from the second deadly sin and guess what? It’s going to take the government to save us from ourselves. Right.

Time will tell if the feds  see this through to fruition and it will be interesting to see if the fast food/restaurants and those all you can eat buffets jump on board. What’s your thought?