Have a Beet in Your Roots?

To eat locally and seasonally, it is often assumed that making it through the winter is challenging.  True, fresh tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers are missing, but they are easily replaced by pantry shelves full of canned tomatoes, sauces, ketchup, chutneys and pickles while the freezer holds, among many things, frozen whole tomatoes, and all produce which stores well is comfortably tucked away.  It is spring that is sparse. Yesterday I used my last two pie pumpkins and butternut squash from last summer and made a note to grow more this season in an effort to make it through not just the cold seasons, but all the way to the following harvest.

Fortunately, my root drawers are not yet empty.  So beets, turnips, carrots, kohlrabi, celeriac, rutabaga, etc, often associated with fall cuisine, are actually common ingredients in our spring and early summer meals, increasingly paired with fresh new greenery.

Today, we’re having beets.  According to The Secret Life of Food, the name “beet” comes from the French bête, meaning beast.  Apparently, early cooks, alarmed at the bright red color beets turn their cooking water, were reminded of bleeding animals, and labeled these roots “beasts”.

Beets, which come in shades from the common deep red to golden yellow and even white, are full of valuable nutrition.  They are often used for blood cleansing, liver and kidney support (commonly included in juice fasts).  They are great sources of vitamins A, C and B-complex, folate (particularly in raw beets), manganese, iron, potassium and antioxidants polyphenol and betalain (a powerful, recently recognized nutrient, prevalent in red beets).  Additionally, they exhibit an enviable combination of low calorie, high sweet and very low glycemic index.

With all of this going for them, it’s hard to believe that beets used to be relegated to animal feed. Originally they grew wild in North Africa and in coastal areas in Europe and Asia. People first became interested in their nutritious greens. Early Romans started cultivating the full plant and prepared the roots by cooking them in honey and wine (which I had to try, recipe below) and today cooks worldwide prepare them in many different ways.

Roasted Beets: my favorite way to prepare beets. With very little prep work, you fill your 400˚ oven, and let the beets cook themselves until done (45 minutes or so).  The flavor is rich using this cooking method and nutrients are better preserved than when cooking beets in water.  Once roasted, they peel easily, and quickly become salads, soups and stew additions, can be puréed and even incorporated into baked goods.

Drinkable Beets. Beet juice is often used in cleanses for its ability to nourish the blood.  You can add digestive and immune support by fermenting the juice into beet kvass.  Or enjoy a quick smoothie by adding milk to a puréed beet soup, such as Red Velvet Borscht.

Baked Beets, either as a purée of roasted beets or grated raw ones, they can easily be included in baked goods. This is not an original idea, but deserves as much publicity as it can get.  They combine particularly well with chocolate, and add a bit of natural sweetness, rich color and antioxidants to your treats, such as in Choco-Beet Muffins. Or whirl a beet into hot chocolate (mix puréed beet into your warming mixture on the stove or if making Mexican-style cocoa, toss a roasted beet into the jar of the blender or vitamix).

• Big into beets, and also gluten-free is Elana’s Pantry Purple Velvet Torte.
• Just plain gorgeous is Martha Stewart’s Chocolate Beet Cake.
• Then there are beet muffins or these paleo beet-strawberry brownies.

Ancient Roman Recipe. Absolutely delicious!

• 1 bunch red beets
• 1 cup red wine
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons butter

Cook unpeeled beets in a sauce pan with enough water to cover them, bring to a boil and cook until soft. Allow to cool and peel. Cut into small pieces.

Melt butter in the sauce pan, add wine and honey and allow to warm while mixing.  Add beets and keep on a low simmer until about half the liquid has evaporated.  Beets in this sauce are simply heavenly.

Color it red:  The deep pigments of beets are related to their antioxidant health benefits, and they generously share their beautiful hue with just about anything in their vicinity such as pasta, mashed potatoes, pancakes, smoothies, etc… and your hands.

If you have fresh beets with the greens attached, you have the makings of a complete package. The colors and nutrients of the greens compliment those of the roots, so whenever possible use both ends in a the same recipe (in salads, pasta dishes, a vegetable side dish) or in the same meal.

Speaking of both ends, should beet’s red color pass through your system and out the other side, don’t be alarmed – remember that you recently ate beets, and that you have a common condition called “beeturia.”

Brush, Floss and Pull?

Oil pulling, that is.  Since my husband’s last dentist appointment, I’ve noticed my coveted jar of coconut oil is almost empty!  I’ve been using coconut oil for cooking and baking (and sometimes for snacking) for several years.  A pure, unrefined, raw product, coconut oil is a nourishing real food with an impressive array of health benefits from skin care to improved immunity to heart health.

If the fact that coconut is a saturated oil has you avoiding it, know that the world of saturated fats consists of various molecule lengths.  The vast majority of the oils we consume (and with which the saturated fat health concerns are connected) are long-chain fatty acids (LCFA).  Coconut oil, however, contains mostly medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA).  MCFA do not contribute to cholesterol concerns and have been shown to protect against heart disease.

Coconut oil consists of 50% lauric acid, the highest concentration of any food. Lauric acid is an important type of fat, not found in many foods, with commonly needed anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal power.  In lesser amounts, it contains capric acid, also with antimicrobial properties, making coconut oil a valuable medicinal food.

Now, in addition to consuming it, my husband is swishing a tablespoon of coconut oil in his mouth for 15-20 minutes a day.  The new Ayurvedic dental hygienist suggested this for the antibacterial and detoxification benefits.  He claims his teeth are whiter and cleaner already.

Optimal Oil Pulling:

1. Pick the same time everyday to work up to 20 minutes of “pulling” or swishing.
2. Do not swallow the oil, and spit it out in the trash when you are done.
3. Brush and floss your teeth afterwards to remove the toxins the oil pulled out.
4. Scrape or brush your tongue to completed rid your mouth of any remaining toxins.
5. Enjoy a super clean and healthy day!

I won’t be surprised to find Coconut Colgate and Coconut Crest in the drugstore in the near future, but like most “new” health findings, there is usually a long history of use in traditional cultures.  Throughout the tropics, coconuts have been used successfully for many culinary and medicinal uses for thousands of years. Therefore, I’ve stocked up on organic, unrefined coconut oil and made room for a jar next to the toothbrushes as well as in the kitchen.

To learn more about using coconut oil for a healthy mouth:

• Coconut Oil Combats Tooth Decay by Dr. Mercola
• Dr. Bruce Fife’s book Oil Pulling Therapy: Detoxifying and Healing the Body Through Oral Cleansing

In addition to replacing your mouthwash with coconut oil, if you also like the idea of eating it, here is a very simple recipe to get more coconut in your life.

Coconut Toast: Spread coconut oil or coconut manna (a spread made from the whole coconut) as you would butter on a slice of toast and cover with unsweetened coconut flakes.  Add a sprinkling of cinnamon if this reminds you of cinnamon toast. There’s no need to sweeten, as coconut comes with a naturally sweet flavor.

Sharing a Superfood Breakfast

I love getting new ideas, great recipes and most importantly inspiration from blogs. Nourishing Words is one of those.  I’ve been a subscriber for some time, and always look forward to a new post.  On this snowy, icy morning without power or internet, Eleanor’s post on her Super Superfood Breakfast seems like just the thing to keep me going today and throughout the winter months to come.  I hope it inspires (and nourishes) you as well.

A Super Superfood Breakfast

Originally published on December 3, 2012 by Eleanor Baron of Nourishing Words.

When is good good enough? When it comes to nourishing our bodies, it makes sense to eat high-quality food—the best. Nutritionists agree that skimping on breakfast is a bad thing. When we rush out the door without breakfast, by mid-morning, we’re hungry, cranky, light-headed or worse. Developing a reliable breakfast routine is one of the basic building blocks of a healthy day.

I’ve long been fascinated by the so-called “superfoods.” Foods that pack so much nutrition that they’re set apart from other foods, by virtue of having something special to contribute to building health. The term itself has no legal meaning, and some say it’s become a useless marketing term. I use it here to loosely refer to any densely nutritious food that contributes to building health or preventing illness. No matter which foods are on the list or not on the list (there are many lists), it’s a challenge to figure out how to fit more healthy foods into the day.

Breakfast is the perfect opportunity to load up.

In warmer weather, I whiz up a remarkably good green or fruit smoothie, loaded with kale, fresh berries, flax seed, hemp seed and more to get me off to a good start. Come autumn, my tolerance for holding an ice-cold smoothie drops in direct proportion to the outside temperature.

It’s time to turn to something more warming. Something aromatic and comforting. Something hearty. Something with a good amount of protein and that will sustain me into the early afternoon.

Here’s a peek at my go-to winter breakfast routine.

Imagine me, in my fluffy sheepskin slippers, flannel pajamas, a fleece (or two) and a thick wool cap. I’ve made my way down the stairs, with a clatter of eight paws behind me, around me and in front of me. Out to the back porch I go, freeing the dogs for their morning constitutional and other wake-up routines—all of which, I must say, they embrace with more gleeful enthusiasm than I’ve ever been known to muster first thing in the morning. This gives me a few moments to breathe in the cold air, greeting the day with my sleepy version of a sun salutation—at least the part of it that keeps me upright.

Inside again, where the previously chilly-feeling house now feels toasty, I feed the dogs while water boils for a cup of green tea, which is to be my first superfood of the day.

The night before, if I remembered, I would have soaked a quarter cup of steel cut oats in warm water, covering it with a dish towel and tucking it away on top of the fridge. Soaking softens the oats up for cooking and removes the phytic acid, which inhibits mineral absorption in the body. It’s an easy step, well worth taking, that potentially doubles the minerals my body absorbs from that one serving of oatmeal. (Soaking grains in general is a good thing, but more on that, later.)

Oats are available in at least three different forms, from thick and chunky to thin and flaky. Steel cut oats are whole oats (known as groats), just cracked up into little chunks. They’re very hard and would be impossible to chew uncooked. Rolled oats are simply flattened groats, and they also retain all the goodness of the original grain. Quick oats are further processed and lack the bran portion of the grain. And the stuff that comes in little sweetened packets? Quick oats with flavors and plenty of sugar added.

Steel cut oats take about 30 minutes to cook. Some people cook them overnight in a crockpot, but I’m cooking for one and have an aversion to electrical gadgets, rendering the crockpot option clearly overkill. Because I mostly avoid dairy products, I cook my oats with a lot of extra water, making the finished product super soupy. (Soupy is necessary to handle the ground flax seed and chia seeds that will come later. Such thirsty ingredients will greedily pull water from my body if I don’t offer it to them first.)

I prefer steel cut oats because of their flavor, chewiness and the way they sustain me through the morning, but they’re also a healthy choice, although not a true super food. They’re rich in soluble fiber and have been proven to lower cholesterol and high blood pressure. They take a little longer to digest than rolled oats (which take just ten minutes or so to cook), but are otherwise about the same nutritionally. Steel cut oats have a considerably lower glycemic index than quick (instant) oats, however (42 versus 65), helping to avoid an early morning spike in blood sugar. One quarter cup serving of steel cut oats (dry) is worth 5 grams of protein—but that amount increases with all the ingredients I stir in later.

By the time I’ve finished my tea and checked my morning email, my oats are close to cooked. Now comes the fun part, creating a veritable compost heap of superfoods. To start, I grind up a couple of tablespoons of golden flax seed in the blender and pop it into my beautiful blue hand-thrown bowl that, to most people, looks way too big for a breakfast bowl. It may indeed be too big, but it gives me pleasure to hold it, and sensual pleasure is an important aspect of eating.

This is my current favorite heap of ingredients, some of which pack enough nutritional punch to qualify them as superfoods:

1. 2 tablespoons of ground golden flax seeds (an excellent source of fiber as well as the short chain omega-3 fatty acid, alpha linolenic acid, plus 3 more grams of protein) Read this post if you want to learn more about why flax seed is a true superfood.
2. 2 teaspoons of chia seeds (adds fiber, healthy omega-3 fatty acids and 1 more gram of protein)
3. 1 rounded tablespoon of hemp seeds (fiber, healthy omega-3 fatty acids, including alpha linoleic acid and 4 grams of additional protein)
4. shredded coconut (high in vitamins, potassium, magnesium and antioxidants; rich in fiber)
5. 1 tablespoon of fresh virgin coconut oil (a healthy fat with easy to metabolize medium-chain fatty acids; coconut oil’s lauric acid converts to monolaurin in the body, a powerful antiviral, antibacterial compound)
6. a few almonds (cholesterol lowering, heart-healthy fats and another 2 or so grams of protein)
7. two pieces of fresh fruit, chopped (sometimes just one)
8. a few fresh cranberries, because they’re in season locally at this time of year (cranberries are loaded with antioxidants, making them the most powerful fruit at scavenging free radicals in the body, protecting cells against cancerous changes)
9. lots of cinnamon (lots!—it lowers bad cholesterol and blood sugar, soothes arthritis pain—just smelling it boosts memory and cognitive function)
10. a splash of maple syrup, if the fruits were tart ones or I need a little sweetening up.

Stirring in the soupy oats, the coconut oil (solid at room temperature) melts, the cinnamon releases its fragrance, the flax seed and chia seeds soak in the extra liquid, and it all generally mixes together to perfect porridge. If including coconut oil in the mix seems strange to you, I can assure you that it disappears beautifully, leaving just an additional hint of coconut flavor and, more importantly, a bit of healthy fat that makes this a filling, sustaining breakfast.

The combination of soft and crunchy textures, along with contrasting sweet and tart flavors, makes it all more interesting than the average bowl of oatmeal. The combined nutritional power of so many superfoods in one bowl makes me feel like I’m giving my body the very best start to the day. I’m a lifelong oatmeal lover; this blend is delicious and keeps me going for hours. It’s a good breakfast.

It’s fun to shake things up now and then with other breakfast choices, but this is my reliable routine during the colder months. It’s plenty flexible to accommodate any ingredients I have on hand, and it always satisfies.

I’ll keep working on that sun salutation. Who knows, there might even be a downward dog in my future, if I can squeeze a few more superfoods into my diet.

Making Room for Sunchokes

Often called Jerusalem artichokes, Sunchokes are unusually nutritious tubers which have nothing to do with either Jerusalem or artichokes.  They grow vigorously to over ten feet tall and burst into abundant sunflower-like blooms in the fall. That would be reason enough to grow them, but after the plant has gone, and the first frost has touched the ground, the tubers multiplying under the ground become sweet, delicious and extraordinarily nutritious. Resembling a ginger-potato merger in appearance and a water chestnut-jicama-potato (maybe with a hint of artichoke heart?) blend in flavor, they make a fresh addition to fall and winter cooking.

A North American native plant, these edible tubers were a common food for several Native American tribes. They are still eaten both raw and cooked, and are increasingly appreciated for their high inulin content, a sweet fiber used medicinally to balance blood sugar and support healthy gut bacteria. With a flavor similar to cooked potatoes, they make a good substitute for those wanting to reduce their starch consumption, increase their fiber intake and eat a low glycemic diet. They are also an excellent source of iron and a good one of thiamine, niacin, potassium, magnesium and calcium.

I planted several last fall and did close to nothing to care for them besides eagerly await harvest time.  Last weekend, I dug up one plant. Did I happen to pick the plant sitting on the mother load or are all of these blooming beauties harboring bucket loads of sunchokes?!  I dug up another to find…. more bounty!  I had to stop since I didn’t have the storage space worked out for quantities at this scale.  Fortunately, until the ground freezes, they store well right where they are.

A few Sunchoke recipe ideas:

Sunchoke Slices on a Salad:  scrub and thinly slice several sunchokes and add them to your favorite green salad.  They offer a nice crunch with an earthy flavor making a fresh salad a more grounding food in fall and winter.  Dress with a light vinaigrette.

Sunchoke & Cheddar Soup (from The Victory Garden Cookbook):

• 1 pound sunchokes
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 celeriac bulb or 2 stalks celery
• 1 medium onion
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1/2 cup cream
• salt & cayenne pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Wash, peel (optional) and roughly chop sunchokes and keep in water to which lemon juice has been added until ready to use. Chop celery and onion and cook in 2 tablespoons butter until slightly wilted, approximately 10 minutes. Add sunchokes and 1 1/2 cups of broth, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through. Purée in a blender or food processor.

In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter, add flour, and cook for 2 minutes without browning. Remove from heat and whisk in 1 cup of broth and cook 5 minutes. Add cheese and mustard, and stir until blended. Stir in sunchoke mixture and cream, and cook until soup is heated through. Season with salt, cayenne pepper and Worcestershire sauce.

Sunchoke Mash: Cook or roast cubes of root vegetables and tubers, such as potatoes, turnips, rutabaga, carrots, celeriac, etc with a couple of cloves of garlic. Add cubed sunchokes and cook until tender. Mash with a bit of butter or olive oil and some milk or cream, depending on desired consistency.

Vegetable Sauté with Sunchokes: Prepare and sauté any vegetables (such as red onion, garlic and celery stalks) in a skillet, and add scrubbed and sliced sunchokes toward the end of the cooking time.  Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley.

Bringing it Home: Growing a Farm-to-School Program

In the hour before the rain, we met at Stony Loam Farm, an organic vegetable farm two miles down the road from our school. It was our first harvest & process day in what we hope will become a series, and develop into a full-sized farm-to-school program.  But like all crops, growing a new food program, starts with a sprout: a small group of families, an accommodating farmer, committed teachers and administrators and a passionate food service director. On day one, we picked green beans and cherry tomatoes.

Given an opportunity to pick, to squat between the plants, and to allow a hand to detour away from the bucket and up to the mouth, kids eat vegetables.  They really do. So much so, that we had to cut them off, as painful as it is to tell kids to stop eating delicious, organic vegetables, our task was to bring fresh produce back to school for the lunch program.  Creating the opportunity for kids to be a part of the growing, harvesting, and preparing of their food, cultivates a greater appreciation of freshness, local producers, and the time, work and energy required to grow it.  From this stems a willingness to try new things, to waste less, to feel a stronger connection to place and local community – all while enjoying fresher, healthier, tastier lunches.

We proudly met our school food director with 36 pounds of green beans and another 20 of cherry tomatoes at the school kitchen.  With crates flipped upside down to help the smallest children reach the sink, the green bean washing team was immediately in full swing.  Meanwhile, parents sorted the cherry tomatoes: some for fresh eating the coming week, others for freezing for use in polka dot soup in the winter.

For more than a week, the school lunch salad bar featured freshly picked organic cherry tomatoes and green beans.  And my daughter came home one day reporting how much fun she had walking through the cafeteria offering her classmates roasted green beans as a taste test. Having enthusiastic children (instead of adults) market foods which might be new to others is just one of our cook’s many effective ideas.

Looking ahead, we have plans to pick apples and make applesauce; to gather potatoes, walking behind the farmer pulling up spuds with his tractor; and to puree and freeze pumpkins and winter squashes for use in wintertime soups, casseroles, and baked goods.

To share the experience, the locally harvested crops are offered as taste tests to all students, and to track our sourcing, we’re planning a food mapping project.  Starting with the local, in-season foods on the menu this fall, and photographs of the farmers who grew them, we’re looking forward to Food Day, October 24, to launch our farm-to-school map on the cafeteria wall.  These are some initial steps in enhancing a school lunch program (a daily part of a child’s experience), which can simply feed, or can be cooked up as an opportunity to expand palates and extend learning.

Simple Recipes:

1. Our cafeteria roasted green beans:

• 1 1/2 pounds green beans, washed and ends removed
  
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425˚.
2. Toss green beans with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet.
3. Roast, flipping beans once or twice, until lightly caramelized and starting to crisp, between 10-15 minutes.

2. For a main dish which uses both green beans and cherry tomatoes, try Beans, Toms and Tempeh for a colorful vegan meal or to participate in Meatless Monday, at home or at school.

Introducing: Turkish-Spiced Chocolate Couscous with Roasted Kolhrabi

It was indeed splendid to meet the unstumpable Lynne Rossetto Kasper of the radio talk show “The Splendid Table“. She was the main attraction at Vermont Public Radio‘s 2012 listeners picnic in Brattleboro, Vermont last weekend.  The cool weather did not deter hundreds of eager public radio listeners from gathering under the protection of a large tent to sample a wide variety of extraordinarily tasty Vermont-made foods (from numerous cheeses to popcorn and kimchi; elderberry cordial, old fashioned switchel and maple syrup vodka), listen to Lynne discuss food trends and play a few rounds of “Stump the Cook.”

After an engaging conversation with Vermont Edition’s host Jane Lindholm on hot topics such as the farm bill, the national school lunch program and the local food movement, Lynne was ready to take on ingredients from Vermont kitchens in her on-the-spot recipe creation game.  The second person to be selected from the audience, was (poor Lynne) my husband.  As regular listeners of her radio program, and gatherers of uncommon food stuffs, we were eager to try to stump her.

A frequent traveler for his work in world music, my husband often returns home with a food souvenir or two for the family to try.  As a result, we have two jars of vegemite from a trip to Australia several years back (both still in pristine condition) and an unlabeled sack of some sort of spice mix from Turkey that we needed recipe help with.  To complete the required list of five ingredients, we added the kohlrabis from a our farmshare box, a piece of Dutch cumin cheese and cacao nibs.  My father learned of the high nutritional value of real chocolate a while back, and purchased a five pound bag, only to discover that crushed raw cacao beans are extremely hard and bitter and that he did not much care for them. We were the lucky recipients of his investment.

Lynne asked if we also had olive oil, salt, pepper, cinnamon, raisins, couscous, water and maybe some fresh cilantro, and suggested the following:

 Chop the kohlrabi into small cubes, and rub it with the   mysterious Turkish spice mix (which we later realized is most likely a harissa) and olive oil. Roast in the oven.

 Meanwhile, make a broth with water and a teaspoon of vegemite, in which to cook the couscous.

 Add raisins, cinnamon, black pepper and cacao nibs. I also added olive oil (fat miraculously removes the bitter and enhances the chocolate flavor of the cacao).

 Mix small cubes of cumin seed cheese into the warm couscous, top with the roasted kohlrabi and sprinkle with fresh cilantro.  I added a green salad to complete the meal and rang the dinner bell.

The sweet-savory couscous with crunchy cacao nibs and soft raisins was full of flavor and the clear winner around the dinner table. The roasted kohlrabi may have performed better had we been able to describe the ingredients of the spice mix better and in combination with additional root vegetables. All in all, kudos to Lynne Rossetto Kasper.  Another creative recipe from the unstumpable cook.  Thank you!

For a great read about the whole event, Lynne’s work and the other recipes she concocted that day, click through to Corin Hirsh’s article in Seven Days, and a special thanks for her interest and follow-up piece on our recipe taste test.

For more Splendid Table fun, enjoy podcasts via the website and listen on your local NPR station, and browse Lynne’s many books full of well-tested recipes.

Do Tofu? Try Crispy Patties

At my high school reunion, I learned that several classmates remembered me because I ate tofu (and other unheard of items thanks to my parents’ macrobiotic diet). Good news: in the years since graduation, tofu has steadily climbed the popularity ladder, making “tofu eater” a less effective descriptor.

Tofu is a now readily available in most grocery stores and on more and more restaurant menus.  Made from soybeans, it is eaten as a plant-based source of protein, which also offers a good amount of iron, manganese, trytophan, and depending on how it is produced, calcium.  In many Asian cuisines, it is eaten daily, often as a condiment.  In the west, it has grown to become a staple on vegetarian menus, taking on countless flavors and configurations depending on how and with what it is prepared.

Whether you are new to tofu or not, this easy way to prepare it, works well as a meat substitute, served with potatoes and a vegetable on Meatless Monday, in place of a fried egg for a vegan breakfast, instead of a burger at a BBQ, chicken nuggets or fish sticks, sandwiched between two slices of bread, with lettuce and tomato for a satisfying lunch, or with a fresh vegetable salad.

For the best flavor, press your soybean curd cake between two plates with some weight on top (a large can works well) for up to an hour. This squeezes out excess water and allows for improved flavor in your cooking.

If you’re of a diy mind, give making tofu a try.  It’s not particularly difficult and the results are unsurpassed! Click here for more information, instructions and additional recipes.

Crispy Tofu Patties

• 1 package of tofu (organic*, ideally firm and pressed)
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast (high in protein and vitamins, particularly the B complex)
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs or panko (look for hydrogenated oil and preservative-free)
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• several grinds of black pepper
• butter, coconut oil or grapeseed oil for frying

Method:

1. Mix dry ingredients in a shallow bowl.
2. Slice tofu in roughly 1/2″ slices, and roll in dry mix to thoroughly cover.
3. Heat butter or oil in skillet until hot but not smoking.
4. Fry tofu slices, several minutes on each side until brown and crispy.
5. Serve immediately or keep warm in a low oven.

Another easy and healthy soy food is tempeh (some claim more so than tofu because it is made with fermented soybeans).  Here are two recipes to try: tempeh instead of bacon in a BLT, and in this colorful stir-fry.

* With more than 90% of soybeans grown from genetically modified seeds, I strongly recommend only eating tofu (and tempeh) made from organically grown soybeans.

Elderberry Muffins for Back-to-School

With school-age children heading back for another year, I suppose I should also be concerned about getting their hair cut, supplying them with new lunch boxes, backpacks, pencils, notebooks, and, of course, outfitting them in new school clothes, but I am much more interested in with what I will fill (last year’s, still mostly intact) lunch boxes.

Day one will include an elderberry muffin.  Elderberries are tiny berries exploding with nutritional power, rightly deserving the nickname “medicine chest.”  They are an unbeatable source of fiber, vitamin C and numerous powerful antioxidants, as well as a good source of vitamin A, vitamin B6, iron and potassium.  They are hanging heavy off their branches awaiting picking this time of year. And since their name suggests growing up and getting older, they are the perfect companion for the first day of a new school year.

Elderberry Muffins

• 3 cups flour (divided between white and whole wheat as you like)
• 1-2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds*
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2/3 cup raw honey
• 1 cup whole milk
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1 cup fresh elderberries

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚, and prepare muffin tins by greasing or filling with paper baking cups.
2. Mix dry ingredients together.
3. Cream together eggs, oil, honey and milk, and add to dry mixture.  Blend together, add lemon zest and gently fold in elderberries.
4. Fill muffin tin and bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.
5. Allow to cool slightly, and serve with butter and/or elder-blue superjam, if you like, and remember to set some aside for lunch boxes.

Meatless Monday: Japchae – Vermont Garden Edition

Thank you Korean inventor of sweet potato vermicelli noodles.  I don’t know who you are or how these came to be, but I am grateful for your creative mind and for the well-stocked Asian grocery stores who carry your fine product (including, I just discovered, Amazon.com).  Grain-free, wheat-free and gluten-free, easy to work with, and fun to eat, these noodles landed in my kitchen after a successful shopping trip in Montreal’s Chinatown yesterday.

The Vermont garden version of the Korean Japchae noodle dish I made, may not fully qualify for the name, but it was easy to make with vegetables I had, and the noodles and the Asian flavored sauce made the meal stand out as something special.

Vermont Garden Japchae

• 1 bag sweet potato vermicelli noodles
• 1 package of tofu, ideally drained and pressed for several hours before cooking
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 yellow onion, cut into inch long pieces
• 1 red onion, cut into inch long pieces
• 1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 cup red, yellow, orange and/or green bell pepper slices
• 1 bunch bok choy, chopped
• good handful of green beans
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, shredded
• small handful of fresh basil leaves, cut finely
• 1/3 cup tamari soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon chili sauce (such as Sriracha) or to taste
• sesame seeds
• additional soy sauce, hot sauce, sesame seeds, lime wedges (optional, for serving)

Method:

1. If your package of sweet potato vermicelli comes with preparation instructions you understand, please follow them. Mine did not, so I guessed: I soaked the noodles for about 20 minutes and when they weren’t soft enough yet, I cooked them in boiling water for another 5-10. Drain softened noodles and set aside.
2. Cut tofu into small 1/2 inch pieces and fry them in 2 tablespoons coconut oil until they develop a light brown crust. Slide them onto a plate and set aside.
3. Warm the remaining coconut oil in a skillet, and sauté onions until just starting to brown.  Add ginger, garlic and other vegetables and sauté for another few minutes.  I added the carrot and basil at the very end to keep them raw, bright and crunchy.
4. Meanwhile, whisk together the sauce ingredients.
5. In a large pot, such as a Dutch oven, combine softened noodles, vegetables, tofu and sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve (tongs make for easiest serving)
6. Serve with additional soy sauce, hot sauce, lime wedges, and sesame seeds; and either chop sticks, a fork, or maybe a pair of scissors (those are some long noodles).

It was a “Can I have seconds?”, “Can I have thirds?” kind of dinner.  My favorite kind.

Sliding Gently into Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut, one of the better known members of the probiotics food group, is a very cost effective medicinal food.  It gives most any dish a tasty zing and keeps your digestion and immunity humming along.

Cabbage is already a good source of vitamin C, folate, fiber, manganese, beta carotene and other antioxidants. A member of the cruciferous family, it is credited for fighting cancer, high cholesterol and inflammation. Now lacto-ferment it (and start calling it “sauerkraut”), and the nutrient profile gets even better. Developed centuries ago, the natural pickling process of vegetables allows for long term storage, and increases the vitamin content, adds digestive enzymes and probiotics and makes many nutrients easier to absorb.

Early civilizations from China to Europe relied on it for its health benefits.  Many long ocean voyages packed barrels of sauerkraut to keep their sailors healthy. It is said that Captain Cook protected his crew from scurvy death with sixty barrels of kraut.

Unfortunately, its foreign name and the suggestion of something sour has not done wonders for its modern day reputation. If you’ve found sauerkraut reluctance is keeping you from optimal health, here’s a recipe, based on a popular Dutch dish, zuurkool stamppot met worst, which smooths out kraut’s rougher edges, and offers a gentle entry into the healthful world of fermented vegetables.

Kraut-Potatoes with Sausage

4-6 potatoes (ideally organic) 1 cup sauerkraut 3 medium cloves garlic, pressed 1/2 -1 cup milk or dairy-free milk  sea salt and pepper to taste cheddar cheese, cut into small blocks (optional) vegetarian or meat sausage (optional) parsley, chives or other green herbs Method: Scrub and cut potatoes into medium-sized pieces (keep peel on for greatest nutrition). Put potato pieces in pot and fill with water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and allow to cook for 8-10 minutes.  Add sauerkraut and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes or until potatoes are soft.  Pour off and save excess water. Place pot back on a low flame, add garlic through a garlic press and milk, and mash. Add more milk or excess water to reach preferred consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile cook vegetarian or meat sausages in a skillet. Assemble dish by adding cheese cubes, sausages, fresh green herbs and/or edible flowers.  Serve warm and enjoy the perfect blend of medicinal food and comfort food.