Try something new: White Beets & Beet Greens

I love beets. However beets do not seem to love me. They do strange things to my digestion having to do with their need to dye everything they touch with their deep burgundy color. When I saw white beets at the farmer's market I got excited.

Then they sat there for a few days. I opened up the refrigerator and saw the greens were wilting and the beets were fine. It was a week night so I didn't have a lot of time to make beets. Usually I roast them. I also think it was 90 degrees and I didn't want to turn on the oven. So I called my friend Terri who's a chef and asked for advice.

Within minutes I had my beet greens soaking in ice water to freshen them up. Then I cooked my beets in of all things, the microwave.




Sauteed Beet Greens:
Ingredients:
The greens from your batch of beets
1 to 2 cloves garlic
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Get the garlic and oil going in the nonstick pan over medium high heat. Drain the greens but leave them wet. When you can smell the garlic dump the greens into the pan and put the lid on for about 30 seconds. Then stir as needed for the next 2 to 3 minutes to finish cooking the greens without over cooking them. They are mild and delicious.

Microwaved Beets
Ingredients:
3 beets
1/2 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon chives
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Peel and dice the beets. Put the butter in the microwave safe, lidded dish and melt for about 20 seconds. Add the beets, salt and pepper, toss with the butter. Microwave on high for approximately 5 minutes or until a knife goes through easily. While the beans are microwaving mince the chives using scissors. Sprinkle them over the beets when they are finished.

I think it's interesting that there's a plant where the whole thing is edible. I think it's interesting that with little time, and on a week night I was able to make not one healthy vegetable side dish, but two. Even as slow as I am with a knife it took less than 20 minutes to make the beet greens and roots.

My review of the beets and greens? Delicious.

Try something new: Purple Carrots

It's well known that carrots are good for us. They're healthy they have lots of that beta carotene stuff which becomes vitamin A in the body and is good for the eyes. They're also one of the tastier of the vegetables. Most people seem to like them. They can become cake, they are good candied, they come in purple. Wait what?

PURPLE??? THEY COME IN PURPLE?

Carrots can come in a variety of colors. They can be orange, red, yellow and even purple. Of course the different antioxidants come in different amounts depending on the carrot. Where as the orange carrots have a lot more beta carotene the purple carrots that we had with dinner the other night more anthocyanins than beta carotene. Anthocyanins are good for you antioxidants and nothing to be scared of.

The best part of purple carrots? They taste the same as the more commonly seen carrots. They are cooked the same. They can be interchanged in the same recipes. They just happen to look really super cool and different on your plate. So, the whole thing is a win win. No new skills needed.

Garden Salad

I've been talking a lot about my vegetables. It's about time to post a recipe.

Garden Vegetable Salad

Ingredients:
1 garlic clove minced, or garlic scape shopped small
1 cucumber chopped
1 cup's worth of chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped basil leaves
1 tablespoon high quality olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Method:
Put your chopped veg in the bowl. Add oil, toss. Add vinegar, toss. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy.

The best part about using vegetables that have been off the vine for less than an hour is that they've not had any time to lose nutrients. Yum!

Growing Garlic

This post has no point. I am just ridiculously excited about my garlic. 

Last year about a week after Halloween I planted garlic cloves. I simply dug tiny holes the depth of my finger and tossed them in there. I put some compost over them and then forgot about them until spring when they magically appeared as little plants.

I left the garlic and their little flowers alone until I found out while at the Green City Market that you are supposed to eat the flowers! They're good ground into pesto. Called scapes, they are actually the seed of the plant. In fact, it's good to remove them from the plant so it places more energy into the bulbs in the ground. So I went home and trimmed my scapes, made some pesto and cut up others to serve with green beans. This was all very exciting for me.

Then, late July, early August the plants died. At this point I pulled some of the bulbs and I was amazed. What had started as a single clove of garlic had become actual heads of garlic. Except these were fresh and juicy. Wonderful even.

The moral of this story? Talk to your local farmers when you go to these markets. They are often eager to teach you how to grow your own. It might even be easy, fun and delicious!

Why do I garden?

Bunnies didn't get these beans!

I am of the opinion that everyone should grow at least a little bit of their own food. I am of the opinion that everyone should know what  real tomato tastes like, still warm from the sun. Aside from being round and red a tomato from the garden has no discernible characteristic marking it a relative to a tomato in the grocery store. A tomato from the garden is real while the tomatoes from the store are poor imitations.

All romantic notions regarding real tomatoes put aside, gardening is not always easy. The first year we lived in our house I tried to grow flowers, green peppers and tomatoes. I killed all of the flowers. I got 1 mealy looking tomato. My one lonely green bell pepper was eaten by a rabbit while I was at work. It was a complete heap of fail and I decided that I had a black thumb. That didn't stop me. I kept trying, making fun of myself all the while, watching as failures turned to success.

I have had enormous failures. Mold kills my squash annually. I've never in all my years grown a single pumpkin. Rabbits ate my green beans. Weeds continuously attack and I'm always on the lookout for the next best recipe for organic bug spray.

But do you know what else? I've been told by two different master gardeners that the same thing happens to them. They kill things all the time and the only way to truly learn is to just dig in and grow.

So dig in and grow I have. This year I have so much garlic, tomatoes and cucumbers that I have to share. In a  month or so I'll have to go digging for potatoes. Kale lives through the frost and even snow. Green beans after years of failure have turned into a joy. Etc, etc, etc.

My advice? Just try it. Besides gardening is a great way to burn off calories ;)

Caffeine Addiction~

I have a terrible caffeine addiction. I have been drinking coffee every day since about 5th or 6th grade. I know my grandmother had long since given up on having me eat cereal for breakfast and I had begun a terrible morning habit of starting the day out with pastry. The coffee made sense I suppose. It's harmless enough. Some studies even show that it may be a little good for you.

Unfortunately I was drinking approximately 4 cups of coffee in the morning. Then a can of diet cola at lunch. Perhaps a cup of coffee in the late afternoon. Then I'd have a cup of tea after dinner. On top of that my painkiller of choice has caffeine.

I decided that enough was enough and stopped. Simply stopped. I opted to continue having my evening cup of Typhoo tea but otherwise nothing else. I bought sparkling water for my lunches. I threw away the rest of my caffeinated coffee only keeping the decaf in the house and I waited.

I was waiting for the raging headache to occur. The exhaustion to set in. I was waiting to feel miserable. The headache came and within 3 days the headache went. It was simply over. An addiction that had lasted over 20 years was gone.

The reason I mention this is because I hear a lot of people say that they need this or they need that for the caffeine. They don't want to give up pop because of the headache. Or this or that.

I am here to tell you that it's not so bad. Really. Just about 3 days and it was gone. I don't miss it. It's been 2 weeks.

Not thinking about it, the other night I had a frothy ice coffee thing at a cafe. I felt like death afterwards. I think the next time I am at that cafe I'll order something else.

Try something new: Garlic Scapes

I was on my way to the Green City Market with a friend when she mentioned she had too many garlic scapes from her community supported agriculture box. I agreed to take some off her hands, not knowing that they were or how I'd be able to use them. When I got to the market and saw some for myself I was amazed. I had been looking at them every morning in my garden, completely unaware that they were an edible part of the garlic plant.

I was delighted. I couldn't wait to get home and cook some. I talked to the farmer briefly about how to prepare them. He said that they were good in pesto, or sauteed with other vegetables. What could be easier than that? Fortunately for me that was the weekend that I realized my garden was overrun with green beans ready for the eating.

When I got into the kitchen I took a nibble of my scape. It tastes just like garlic which makes sense since it's the flowering part of the garlic plant.

As an aside, growing garlic is one of the easiest and most rewarding plants I've ever put into my garden. But more on gardening in another post. For now, let's talk about how I cooked my scapes and my green beans.

I trimmed my green beans, minced my garlic scapes and then sauteed them with almond slivers in a small amount of butter. I am not sure about the amounts of anything really since it all came from the garden. A few handfuls of this and that. I do know I used about 1/2 tablespoon of butter so they didn't stick to the pan. I love the taste of real butter. I despise margarine and refuse to use it in my cooking.

I served them with the chicken wings, corn, pineapple and watermelon that we were having for dinner. It may sound like the green beans were out of place, but since they came from 20 feet away they fit right in with whatever my heart desired for dinner. There's a tremendous sense of accomplishment that comes from eating what you've grown with your own hands.

Altogether it was a fresh and wholesome summer meal. I hope this has inspired you to try something new.

Don't Be Afraid to Try Something New - Morel Mushrooms

They look really weird.

I've heard of morels. I have heard and read that they can be sandy. I know you are supposed to soak them before cooking but really? I had never eaten one and had no idea what to do with them. So when I saw them at the Farmer's Market this morning I could not resist. I stared for a moment, taken aback by the steep price. Then I shrugged and added them to my produce purchase.

When I got them home I turned to the internet to find a recipe to cook them with. There are many. They are much loved by their fans. There were too many recipes and I was overwhelmed.  We were having beef wraps for dinner. So I decided to stir fry them in with the rest of the veggies for the wrap. Big mistake. The next time I make them, and there will be a next time, I plan to make them all by themselves so we can enjoy them in all their glory. They are delicious.

I was lucky enough to have some garlic from my garden to go with them. I hope I can get one more batch to enjoy with my fresh garlic. (Fresh from the ground garlic is it's own brand of culinary heaven.)

So how did I make them? First I put them into a bowl of warm water. Then I sprinkled about a teaspoon of salt onto the water and left them to soak for about 15 to 20 minutes while I ran back to the grocery store for the other ingredients for dinner.

When I got home I cut a little under 1/2 pound sandwich steak into strips as well as the morels, a green pepper and 1/2 a vidalia onion. I also had my minced garlic. I sauteed the sandwich steak in my nonsitck pan and set that aside. I then sauteed the other vegetables.

Culinary sin in progress - Still Delicious!

I had some flour tortillas (but this would taste so much better with whole wheat or spinach torillas.) to wrap the mixture in. I tend to add about 1 tablespoon of light thousand island to the tortilla for flavor. Not sure why it's always delicious with the meat, green pepper and onion but it is.

Despite committing a terrible sin against these lovely mushrooms they held their own with the rest of the ingredients. We did pick some out to eat on their own because they were so yummy. However when we took a bite of mushroom in with the rest of the ingredients they were just as good. That's the morel of the story here. I bought a produce item I didn't know what to do with. I didn't do the best thing I could have done with them but it still worked out. I know better for next time and I enjoyed my produce heavy dinner enormously.

Cole Slaw - The Reality Check

Red cabbage: It's just so pretty!

There's over 250 calories in a medium head of cabbage. Who knew!? Not me. I thought it was all fiber and water and had negative calories. I was wrong. Then while figuring out the calorie count for my supposed "healthier" cole slaw recipe I learned the truth. I was sad. 

Red cabbage does have a lot of vitamins water and fiber. It's filled with vitamins C, beta carotene, and K to name a few, plus some wonderful antioxidants. Besides, who can eat a whole head of cabbage anyway? Well... I could, but that's besides the point.

In all seriousness it is 4th of July weekend and just about everyone I know has plans to barbecue at some point. Cole slaw is a wonderful and traditional side dish for barbecues. It is also extremely fattening. It's loaded with mayonaise which is one of my favorite substances on the planet. I love mayo. I love coleslaw.

I had to do something. I really wanted a mayonaise cole slaw. So I made the following compromise with myself. I simply switched to light mayonaise. It isn't as low calorie as it could be, but it isn't too horrible either.

The Recipe - Serves 5 (~1 cup each)
Ingredients
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 head of shredded red cole slaw
1/2 cup of light mayonaise (I use the 35calorie Hellmans)
1 tbsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste ( I tend to omit salt because the mayo is salty)

Method
Mix it all in a bowl until the mayonaise is well incorporated.  Give it enough time for the ingredients to set in the refrigerator, about 1/2 hour, or don't if time doesn't permit.

Calories per serving approximately 120. If I used full fat mayonaise it would be approximately 210 calories per serving. It still isn't the most low calorie side dish, but it's still delicious and I call saving approximately 90 calories a serving a bargain.

Rhubarb Mini Pies

Still warm from the oven!

I had the hardest time coming up for the health angle of this post. For the love of dessert, it's pie we're talking about. I use lard, butter, sugar, flour, and all the love the comes from the home kitchen.

Because I am a nerd I went to my favorite calorie counting website (My Fitness Pal) to figure out how many calories each mini pie had. I was blown away. Only ~125 calories for fresh baked, homemade, deliciousness. A taste of pure summer, so fresh you can still taste the sun beating down on your home grown rhubarb.

I grow my own rhubarb. It's a perennial so it keeps coming back. It also tolerates being ignored and doesn't mind being trimmed to become pie. I also use something called Mince Pie Tins. Mine are about 70 years old and from my English Grandmother-in-Law.

Strawberry Rhubarb Mini Pies:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Rhubarb leaves really are very poisonous. 

Vodka Pie Crust:
Ingredients:
4oz all purpose flour
4oz cake flour
1 shot vodka
1 shot ice water
2oz butter
2oz lard
1oz sugar

Method:
You add more or less liquid depending on the outside humidity. It is a feel thing and takes practice. I've added less than the 2 shots, but never more.

I use a cold metal bowl. Time, speed, and temperature are of the essence. I work in the fats with 2 butter knives until the fat starts to become well incorporated. Then I switch to my fingers. I work quickly until the dough looks like a bunch of small pea shapes. Then I add the ice water and the vodka. I work the dough into a ball and toss it in the refrigerator while I make the filling.

Pie Filling:
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh rhubarb cut into pieces
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
2 cups chopped up strawberries
2 tsps lemon juice
2 tsp tapioca

Method:
Put the sugar and water in a pan until the sugar dissolves. Add the rhubarb and tapioca and cook over medium heat until soft. This takes about five minutes. Add the strawberries. Cook until their soft. Add the lemon juice and remove from heat.

Assemble and bake your mini pies. 

Grease your pie tins.

Cut out your bottoms and tops. Round cookie cutters help.

Before I put my pies in the oven I do brush them with a little milk, just a touch with a pastry brush and sprinkle less than a pinch of sugar per pie to help them brown nicely.


Bake at 450 for 15 minutes. Pop them out of the pie tins and eat as soon as they are cool enough not to burn your mouth. Although they do last for several days in the refrigerator they are not as delicious as they are fresh out of the oven. Makes 16 servings.

There is a moral to this story. Eat what you like. Count your calories. Be accountable and enjoy reasonable portions. Also don't be afraid to make up recipes. I made up this one!