Clean Eating Wheat Bread

The past few weeks around our house have been all about getting creative with the meat in the freezer, using the all the veggies languishing in the crisper, and making do with what we have. I've gotten tired of shopping when the first layer--the "good stuff"--gets used up, leaving the same old rock-hard roasts and soggy celery dreaming of their chance in the spotlight.

OK, maybe I'm dramatizing the contents of my kitchen just a little. But for real, we did need to start using what we already had. Some unexpected expenses this fall have made me very aware of where our money is going. Bonus, I've always loved the nerdy satisfaction of using something up completely, whether it's toothpaste or a loaf of bread. Maybe it reassures me that I can provide for my family without going overboard or leaving them up a creek. In the name of provision, tonight I found myself making bread. Because a hunk of frozen lunchmeat just isn't very tasty by itself.

As I was making this, and a loaf of GF bread for The H, I wondered why I got away from homemade bread to begin with. The recipes are so simple! They come together remarkably quickly. And they saved me about $10 off the grocery budget this week.

I posted a link to this bread recipe years ago, but recently discovered it no longer works. Here is the recipe, from Clean Eating Magazine, with my minor tweaks at the end.


Whole Wheat Bread
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons yeast
1 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp olive oil
Warm water

Mix 1 3/4 cups warm water with the flour and yeast. Let this mixture rise until doubled in size, approximately 30 minutes. Add salt, honey, and oil to the dough and stir in completely; dough will be sticky. Let rise another 30 minutes, then knead or stir and let rise for 30min once more. Bake at 350* for 40 minutes. Slice and serve.



Tweaks: I know, from making this in the past, this has the texture of primordial ooze and will not tolerate kneading. It works well to simply punch/stir instead of kneading. Also, I moved 3/4 of the dough to a greased loaf pan before the final rise and made a flat focaccia out of the leftover. Tonight I was out of olive oil, but substituted blood orange infused oil with amazing results. Place a baking sheet under the loaf pan just in case.

Food prep day

I didn't really plan it, but this afternoon I did a giant amount of food prep while the little guy napped. It started with a trip to the farmer's market this morning, where I got some beautiful rainbow-colored Swiss chard. I was inspired by the cold salad a friend made for our post-run meal last night. When I got home to put away my colorful produce (also including peaches, corn, cucumbers, and salsa), I remembered the beets I'd bought last week. They were quickly prepped for roasting, though sadly I waited too long and the greens weren't good to use like I have before:

On to the chard...

Ten stalks of chard got washed, trimmed, and sauteed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then mixed with sauteed mushrooms, a chopped carrot, a green onion, freshly minced garlic, dried thyme, and crushed red pepper flakes. All of this was mixed with precooked quinoa, and stashed back in the fridge. Dinner side dish/lunch-to-go done.

As the chard-quinoa was mingling flavors and warming through, I started a batch of adzuki beans. They don't require presoaking like many dried beans, and they cook in just about an hour. Great to have available for any number of midweek meals! I'm looking forward to making these burgers, since I also have a few partially-used bell peppers in the crisper.

While the adzukis simmered away, the beets finished roasting. They were gorgeous! Each one just bigger than a golfball, and such a beautiful shade of magenta. I've been craving one of my summer favorites, this beet salad, for a few weeks. For the first time since I started making it, today I toasted the walnuts in a dry skillet before I added them. What a great difference! I used crumbled bleu cheese instead of feta, tossed in some organic celery, dressed it all with olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, pink sea salt, and fresh black pepper, and returned it to the refrigerator. Lunches/snack for me done.

While I was poking around in the fridge, I realized we were out of rice. Thanks to the rice cooker, another batch (plain, white--to feed the gastrointestinally-challenged dog) was ready in a half an hour. Right around this time, two hours after he'd gone down, the little guy woke up. While the rice cooked, I prepped some steaks for The H to grill and stirred up another summer favorite, cucumber-sweet-onion salad. Those two things just get thinly sliced and simply dressed with a mixture of plain yogurt, white balsamic (or red wine) vinegar, evaporated cane juice, sea salt, and pepper. The H and I enjoyed this with dinner, and I was a little bummed I didn't think to make leftovers. Tangy, cool, and refreshing-- the candy onion I used isn't halitosis-inducing at all. Definitely buying more of those at the market! Another dinner side dish done, dog supplement done.

Once the rice was ready, I piled some into the dog's bowl with a scoop of pumpkin and some plain yogurt so he could go to town. The H brought in the steaks, and we sat down to eat. Just then I realized it was the first time I'd sat down since the little guy and I got home from our morning/afternon errands, and my feet were pretty darn tired. But I felt so accomplished! It's a great feeling to have these goodies and makings of meals, along with a stash of my beloved kale-quinoa-chickpeas, in the fridge heading into the weekend. Happy Friday!

Kale with quinoa and chickpeas

Oh, kale, you dark dusky-leafed green, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee blended into a cool, verdant smoothie as a refreshing post-run pick-me-up. I love thee sprinkled with kosher salt and toasted to a light crispiness. I love thee wilted into a rich red wine-saturated spaghetti sauce, or stirred into a hearty potato-sausage soup when the winter winds wail at my windows. 

(source)
But most of all, oh dear kale, I adore thee to the utmost heights when prepared the following way (super giant pink puffy-heart thanks to my friends, H&N, for this inspiration, and for continuing to acknowledge me in public):

1. Precook some quinoa and chickpeas (or use a can of garbanzos, rinsed well).
2. Sauté a bunch of washed, torn kale in a giant skillet. Set aside in a large bowl.
3. In the skillet, sauté two minced cloves of garlic in a swirl of olive oil, along with some paprika and cumin.
4. Stir chickpeas into garlic & spice mixture and mix well. (This gets 'em really nutty tasting...yum.)
5. Add 1-2 cups of the quinoa to skillet and toss it all together. Add the juice from two lemons.
6. Stir in kale until well combined; add more quinoa if you want.
7. Sprinkle with a decent amount of salt to taste and serve in the large bowl the kale was in.

It's actually far simpler than I've made it sound: stir together kale, quinoa, and chickpeas with seasonings; add salt and lemon juice, enjoy. 

The second time I made this within a week, I also bought a 2lb bag of dried garbanzos so I can do it again. You'd better believe I stopped halfway through writing this to reheat a little--and take a typical subpar picture. :)

You can serve this hot, warm, or cold... or while you stand over the stove before dinner... as you're boxing it up for lunches the next day... if you are scavenging for a midnight snack... at a picnic with your friends (genius, it doesn't require intense refrigeration)... pretty much anytime you want a hearty, flavorful, delicious, tangy, filling, vegetarian (vegan? I think so) meal. I'm already wondering how many times I can incorporate it into family picnics and parties this summer.

Check out this link to read a little more about the goodness of kale.

Serendipotatoes

ser·en·dip·i·ty/ˌserənˈdipitē/

Noun:

The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way: "a fortunate stroke of serendipity.

(source)

Today after church when the little guy asked what was for lunch, I found myself reluctantly saying, "How about pancakes?" You see, pancakes (+ eggs or chicken sausage) are one of my go-to, last-resort, cupboards-are-bare meals. I can mix them up on a moment's notice, probably even in my sleep. Goodness knows I stopped using a recipe for them ages ago. While I try to mix up the mix-ins and toppings so we never really eat the same 'cakes twice, today I was really, really not looking forward to another stack.

I started rummaging through the freezer to see if there was something, ANYthing, I could put into those pancakes that would make them remotely more interesting. That's when I unearthed a bag of frozen cubed potatoes. I had utterly forgotten about it! My wheels started turning... I had potatoes, onion, bell pepper... I hate the word, but could I come up with a decent hash?

Oh yeah, baby. I ran the potatoes under water for a few seconds to start thawing, then added them to a hot skillet with grapeseed oil and diced onion. A little of this (kosher salt, black pepper, dried dill) and a little of that (diced ham, red bell pepper, fresh tomatoes, salsa, garlic-and-chili-infused macadamia oil) made its way into the skillet. When I was happy with how that looked and tasted, I quickly cooked a few eggs in another non-stick skillet and slid them on top of each serving.

With a little dash of Frank's, my one true love, this meal was complete. And gooooood. So good, in fact, that I didn't even miss the white cheddar I had forgotten to grate on top. It didn't even cross my mind until I was cleaning up the kitchen and saw the cheese on the counter.

With a scrambled egg instead of a runny one, this would make a great breakfast burrito. This meal can easily be made vegetarian by omitting the ham, and could be vegan-ized by omitting the ham and topping with scrambled tofu instead of eggs.

Several summery salads

At the end of last week, I was feeling the pull of the farmers market. Crisp colorful vegetables, juicy sweet fruits, locally-made foods just waiting for me to take them home... After dropping The H and the little guy off in the morning, I meandered down there. Incidentally, I also needed an idea for dinner. As I wandered around, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of local food, inspiration struck: summer salads!

I was a little worried about offering a selection of salads to The H for dinner; as much as I love to graze on multiple dishes and don't mind not having meat on my plate, he is very much a "meat + veggie + starch = meal" kind of guy. He usually doesn't mind (too much) when I branch out, and he is starting to as well, but for some reason my mental lack of direction at the beginning of my trip made me wonder how this would be received.

The salads I came up with were tomato-mozzarella, quinoa with balsamic grilled vegetables (zucchini, mushrooms, onion), and cucumber-sweet onion. At the last minute I remembered an uncooked mushroom-swiss bratwurst from Ken's in the fridge, so that was added to the grill with the balsamic veggies.


When I was growing up, my mom would make a cucumber-onion salad similar to this. I could never get used to eating slices of raw onion... I *wanted* to like it, but I just never quite warmed up to it. Since then I've tried making it myself, playing with the types of onions and the dressings I put on them. This one was probably one of my favorites--half of a cucumber from my mom's garden, half of a local sweet onion, kosher salt and black pepper, a little bit of olive oil from the co-op, and a splash of white balsamic vinegar. I sweetened it up with a sprinkle of evaporated cane juice.

Here is what the table looked like when we sat down:

Know what?

There were no leftovers, aside from a single portion of plain quinoa. Summery salad success!

Samosa addendum

Yesterday I reheated two of the samosas for lunch. In a 400* oven for 10-15 minutes, they crisped up nicely and the filling was piping hot.

I did mix up a quick little dip for them using Greek yogurt, a dash of Sriracha, and some dried cumin. It was a delightful combination of cool and spicy, and it complemented the hot-sweet samosa filling just right.

Enjoy!

Cilantro-lime quinoa

Are you one of those unfortunate souls who can't stand the taste of cilantro?

I'm sorry.

Not that it's my fault, but I'm sorry that you will not be enjoying this deliciously tart, nutty side dish anytime soon.

I've become a big fan of buying ingredients that can multitask, like a bunch of cilantro, without dictating that you make exactly the same meal--or even genre of meal--twice in the same week. For that reason, among others, I was giddy to see a recipe for sweet potato samosas with cilantro in the most recent issue of Clean Eating Magazine...but that's a future post!

Anyway, back to this "recipe." I put a few things into my rice cooker (two rice-cooker-measuring-cups of quinoa, three of water, the juice from one lime, some dried coriander, a sprinkle of kosher salt, a generous handful of chopped cilantro, and a packet of Trader Joe's chicken stock concentrate) and switched it to "cook." Thirty minutes later, we had steamy, flavorful quinoa that was the perfect complement to our grilled chicken and homemade pico de gallo (another use for cilantro). Yum.

Summery salmon salad

Last year when I got the July/August 2010 issue of Clean Eating Magazine, I put this meal on my mental to-try list. Buying salmon isn't something I do often, thanks to The H's allergy and my desire to purchase small portions of wild-caught fish (the co-op requires a 2lb minimum), so it's something I have to plan ahead for since I don't often have fillets in the freezer.

Today my restock-the-pantry travels led me right to the door of one of our favorite local meat places, and I made it a point to grab a few small ones--mostly for this recipe, and to have a spare.

Arugula, Asparagus, & Salmon
from Clean Eating Magazine, Vol. 3, Issue 4
serves 4

12oz wild salmon fillet, skin and bones removed
Olive oil cooking spray
2 cups asparagus tips
2 cups blackberries, divided
2 tsp raw honey
4 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp dark sesame oil
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
6 cups arugula
4 large scallions, sliced on the diagonal

1. Preheat the ovven to 400* and spritz a baking sheet with oil. Divide the salmon into four pieces, place on baking sheet, and bake 18-20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

2. Set a steamer basket over a pot of boiling water and steam asparagus for 2 minutes, until crisp-tender. Rinse with cool water and set aside.

3. In a small bowl, mash 16 of the blackberries, then add honey, soy sauce, oil, and orange juice. Stir to combine.

4. Divide arugula among four plates, then top each with asparagus, scallions, a piece of salmon, and reserved blackberries. Drizzle each portion with blackberry dressing and serve.

I subbed cranberry juice for the orange, used organic spring mix (which was surprisingly arugula-heavy) instead of the arugula, and omitted the asparagus because I forgot it was called for and didn't have any.

This was a light, fresh lunch that I didn't feel one bit guilty about eating after my many errands this morning, like I would have if I'd dashed to Buffalo Wild Wings... The salmon I used was 8oz (I halved everything else); once it was cooked, I packaged up half of it with half of the blackberry-honey sauce for tomorrow's lunch.

Eatin' on the cheap...on vacation??

Usually when we travel with The H, we've on the company dime. We try to use some of his daily food allowance to buy us ingredients--healthy meal/snack options--so we're not forced to eat out every night. But this week we're on our own, and I don't want that to mean all restaurants, all the time. First, because it can be expensive, and second, because I don't want to rely on fat- and salt-laden meals all week!

The past two days we've spent nothing out-of-pocket on food until dinnertime, and one of those days included a trip to the Philadelphia Zoo.

We're fortunate to be staying at a hotel that sets out a fantastic continental breakfast spread every morning (included with the room rate). If we eat here, and bring a few extras back to our room for later, we can easily do lunch on the cheap. This time we took advantage of the little guy's insulated lunch box--previously filled with airplane activities-- and the icemaker in our room, and were able to pack a lovely little picnic for (nearly) free.

Here's what we had at the zoo:

The H: a few hardboiled eggs, gluten-free pretzels, and hummus (from our small grocery trip Monday), plus an apple and yogurt from breakfast.

The little guy and I: PB&J on wheat with peach yogurts (all from breakfast); he also had pretzels and hummus and some bites of apple while I had cantaloupe from breakfast.

We all brought our own water bottles, too. Having lunch this way saved us *at least* $30 (I think that's a conservative estimate) that we then had available for dinner. Plus, not having eighty zillion (unhealthy) choices in front of us, we all stuck to what we'd brought and that was that. No tantrums about this fried meal or that frozen treat! Love it.

Today's lunch was brought to us by "Kate's Tendency to Overpack and Plan for the Worst." Before we left MI, I tucked a few microwaveable soups and a box of GF mac 'n' cheese into my suitcase, in case we didn't have time to grab dinner at the airport between flights. My leftovers from dinner + macaroni for my boys + applesauce + more hardboiled eggs + chicken-rice soup = "free" lunch again! This was after we had breakfast in our room, which was a combination of grocery-store acquisitions and continental breakfast.

We even went so far as to bring our own coffee (and grinder...) on this trip, not really to save money, but because we're weenies.  

Every time we travel with The H, one (or both) of us complains that hotel coffee "just isn't the same" as our freshly-roasted-from-a-local-roaster java at home. So yeah, it took us this long to figure out that if we bring our own, that's not an issue! SMRT, I tell ya. We've been augmenting it with half-and-half from the breakfast buffet.

How do you (or DO you?) look for ways to save money on vacation?

Mildly Meaty Monday

Score another win for Branny Boils Over. As I was wracking my brain to come up with a meal plan for the week, I scooted over to my Google Reader for inspiration. And there I saw Beef and Bean Fajitas--the perfect way to get me out of the "chicken and blank" rut I found myself in.

Because I didn't have quite the amount of beef called for (I wanted to use up some leftover steak from Saturday rather than thawing a whole new hunk of cow), I added some baby portobello mushrooms and sliced bell pepper to make up the rest of the weight; thus, mildly meaty Monday. I'll let Branny's recipe and original source speak for themselves; other than these extra fillers I didn't change a thing about the meal.

I served mine on a whole grain tortilla (with some faux sour cream--organic yogurt, strained through cheesecloth for about half an hour) and The H's on the last few corn tortillas from this meal. The little guy is not a fan of steak, so I made him a cheese quesadilla on the same kind of wrap I used, and he ate his black beans on the side. We each also had an ear of corn on the cob--super sweet!

We finished the meal with some of the biggest strawberries I've ever seen. My son, a notorious berry-fiend, couldn't finish two!

One-stop meal, courtesy of Ken's

This dinner was made possible thanks to Ken's Fruit Market, that local gem that we've been thrilled to have in our neighborhood since last summer. I didn't realize it when I formed the meal in my head, but as I was assembling it, I had to laugh. Earlier this year I made a week-long challenge to myself to shop only at Ken's for our dinners, and here I accomplished the same thing by mere coincidence.

Grilled chicken breasts, marinated in Garlic Expressions dressing/marinade, topped with pico de gallo, and served with cilantro-lime brown rice (yep, even rice-cooker friendly brown rice can be found at Ken's!) and homemade baked corn tortilla chips made the perfect complement to the brilliantly sunny, breezy spring day we had here.

While The H grilled the chicken, I chopped all the goodies for the pico and cut/seasoned the corn tortillas. A few minutes of baking--just until browned on the edges--at 350* was all they needed.

Aside from the kosher salt, olive oil, and dried coriander I used in the rice and on the tortilla chips, everything I used in this meal can be found at Ken's.

While we may get a few "Oh hi, ma'am, you again?" looks behind the pleasant smiles that greet us at Ken's when we dash in for the third time in a week, we'll continue going back because it's perfectly located (can't beat less than a half-mile walk when gas is so expensive!) and they carry what we use at good prices. And no, this is not a paid advertisement. I just like the local guys!

I find myself very content when the little guy and I (and The H, when he's home) can spend a day grocery shopping, visiting the library, picking up a few things at the hardware store, mailing our bills, grabbing some cash from the ATM, and capping the day with treats from our favorite pizza joint and/or ice cream shop, without leaving our little neighborhood or hopping into the car. It makes me want to spend that much more time and money investing in our super-local community businesses, and happy that we have so many to choose from.

I made Hamburger Helper.

Not the kind in a box, relax. It was a homemade knockoff, using this recipe from Kitchen Stewardship. I wanted something quick and easy for after running group, but I didn't want to make chili in the CrockPot. (Turns out the night was chilly enough for chili, but I already had this halfway made before we left, so never mind about that.) None of the search results on allrecipes.com were thrilling me, so I went to trusty ol' Google and picked one that I had the ingredients for.

You'll realize there is no picture. Even I have my limits to what I will post. :D But the dish did turn out well, really. It just wasn't ready for a close-up.

I used Sam Mills gluten free corn pasta, lean, local ground beef (fat drained), Vidalia onion instead of onion powder, and HFCS-free ketchup in place of tomato sauce. That was our only grumble about this recipe. Between the ketchup and the sugar (turbinado--I didn't want to overpower the dish with sucanat, though I might try it next time), the sauce was quite a bit sweeter than either The H or I cared for. Reducing the sugar by half if using ketchup might be the way to go. I also omitted the salt and pepper, except for a sprinkle of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper on the meat while it browned--nowhere near the teaspoon and 1/2 teaspoon she calls for.

As far as quick and easy, this fit the bill. I couldn't really detect the cheddar at the end, and it seemed quite creamy enough without it, so when I make this again, I will either use a sharper cheese or omit it altogether. Between that change, using real tomato sauce (or Pomi strained tomatoes), and sucanat in place of sugar, we could have a decent one-pot dish to add to our rotation.

Salmon Wrap

This was a nice lunch-appropriate alternative to a plain old hunk of salmon on a plate with veggies. I had never steamed fish on the stovetop before, but I probably will again; I like how it kept the fish pleasantly tender. As with the curried chickpeas from earlier this week, this would benefit from a squirt of lime before serving.

Dilled Salmon Roll-Ups
from The Best of Clean Eating
serves 4

6oz raw salmon fillet
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 clove garlic, minced (I used 1/2 tsp dried minced garlic)
1/4 tsp dried dill
1 stalk celery, chopped finely
2 (12-inch) whole-wheat lavash breads
1 medium tomato, sliced
2 leaves cabbage or lettuce

1. Over medium-high heat, set a steamer basket over one inch of water in a medium pot; bring to a boil.

2. Place salmon in the steamer basket skin side down. Cover pot and cook for 6-10 minutes, depending on thickness of fish. The flesh should flake easily when it is done. Remove from heat, remove skin, and roughly flake fish with a fork.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine yogurt, garlic, dill, and celery. Add cooled, flaked salmon and stir to combine.

4. Place lavash wraps on a cutting surface. Spread the salmon mixture down the middle of each bread, leaving two inches to spare at each end. Place tomato slices over the salmon mixture and top with lettuce or cabbage leaves.

5. Fold the uncovered ends of the lavash toward each other and over the filling; roll up tightly. Cut each roll in half and serve.

I am rather inept at rolling tortilla-like products (these are Smart & Delicious wraps with olive oil) so mine cracked, but you get the idea, I'm sure. Next time I'll warm the wrap first.

Coconut Curry Chickpeas

Earlier this week I *finally* buckled down and made this recipe that has been on my to-try list for several months. The combination of coconut milk (I've never used it before) and curry powder (one of my favorite "no H around" ingredients) sounded super-tasty, and the fact that this comes together in only 10-15 minutes was extra appealing.

Sad to say, though, this didn't quite live up to the expectations I had for it, and I'm not quite sure why. I served it over rice noodles and added some Sriracha once I tasted it and found it lacking something... but that still didn't hit the spot I was looking for.

Perhaps I will add some lime juice when serving next time, and increase the garlic and basil. The silver lining to this semi-flop is that it only makes two servings, so I'm not left with a zillion cups of a disappointing recipe.

Coconut Curry Chickpeas
from The Best of Clean Eating
serves 2

Olive oil cooking spray
1 cup napa cabbage or bok choy, sliced
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup coconut milk (be sure to shake the can first)
1 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp curry powder
3/4 cup cooked chickpeas
1/4 tsp sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil

1. Preheat a nonstick frying pan (I used a cast iron skillet), lightly coated with olive oil spray, over medium heat. Add cabbage and saute until it shrinks down. Add onion and pepper; saute for 2-4 minutes.

2. Add one tablespoon of the coconut milk, along with the garlic, ginger, and curry powder; saute another 2 minutes. Add chickpeas, remaining coconut milk, and salt and pepper; heat through. Add fresh basil and serve.

Pasta with chicken and broccoli

This recipe could also be called "Watch your kid eat green stuff" as it's literally only the second time I've seen the little guy willingly eat fresh broccoli (the other time was with this recipe).



Kids Love Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli
from The Eat-Clean Diet for Family & Kids by Tosca Reno serves 4 generously

8oz brown rice pasta shapes (your choice)
3 cups fresh broccoli florets (about 1 medium crown)
1 cup frozen peas
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into 1/2" pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp chicken seasoning (I didn't know what this was, and used 1/2tsp poultry seasoning)
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried basil, crumbled
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
Fresh-ground black pepper, to taste
Sea salt, to taste

1. In a large pot, cook pasta according to package instructions. Toss broccoli and peas into the boiling water during the last few minutes of cooking time. Drain into a large colander, return mixture to pot, and cover.

2. While pasta is boiling, place the sliced chicken, chicken seasoning, basil, paprika, garlic, and chili powder in a large zip-top bag. Toss until chicken is well coated.

3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over med-high heat and add chicken. Cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly, or until cooked through.

4. Add cooked chicken to pasta mixture. Stir in yogurt, salt, and pepper. Toss until ingredients are evenly distributed. Serve immediately.

Nutrition information per 3/4 cup serving: Calories - 200 Fat - 5g Protein - 13g Carbs - 24g Fiber - 4.5g Sodium - 40mg Cholesterol - 20mg

The H can cook!

Did you know that? He actually used to cook for us (when it was just the two of us) at least once a week. His specialty was cheese ravioli with sauteed mushrooms, marinara sauce, and garlic bread. Alas, then we learned about his wheat allergy, and that was the end of that. To his credit, now he makes great burgers, is a good grill-master, and is usually quite willing to help in the kitchen. The problem is that I'm too territorial (read: bossy) to relinquish cooking control very often. BUT sometimes, a guy's gotta do what a guys' gotta do.

Last week, we were on "staycation" and I decided that I wasn't going to cook every night. Where's the 'cation in that? ;) He pulled together these beautiful turkey-black bean nachos all by himself, start to finish. I may have advised about one or two things, but I was completely hands-off. And it was good.



The turkey was seasoned with taco seasoning, there's fresh-off-the-cob corn in the mix, and a few home-grown (not at my home...) summer tomatoes in there. He even bought and chopped a fresh avocado. The whole shebang was topped with (local) shredded cheddar. Happy 'cation to me!

Load up!

This is one of the tastiest, no-cook meals I've made in a long time. For the minimal effort that goes into it, the flavor return is immense. The only "cooking" I did was to slow-cook the black beans (but of course you can use canned) and use my rice cooker for the quinoa. This meal is great way to keep extra heat out of your kitchen on a summer night! My modifications follow the recipe.



The Loaded Bowl
from Clean Eating Magazine, Sept/Oct 2010
serves 12

Ingredients:
3 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained (or 2 cups cooked black beans)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (more or less according to your taste)
2 fresh avocados, pitted, peeled and diced
Fresh lemon juice to prevent avocado from browning
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Juice of 4 limes
Zest of 1 lime

Dressing:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:
1. Prepare quinoa according to package directions. While it is cooking, prepare the remaining ingredients.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine beans, tomatoes, and cilantro.

3. Dice avocados and drizzle with lemon juice. Set aside.

4. Combine all dressing ingredients in a bullet-style blender. Pulse until garlic is incorporated and dressing appears creamy. Set aside.

5. Fluff quinoa with fork and add to bean mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Add lime juice and zest; toss to combine. Top each serving with avocado pieces and dressing.



This salad will keep well, covered, in the fridge for 3-4 days. Without the avocado, it could last up to 6 days, and may be frozen. Feel free to substitute brown rice for the quinoa, or add grilled chicken to make a heartier meal.

I made a lot less quinoa (my rice cooker only holds so much--I think 1 cup uncooked?) but still used the full 2 cups beans, pint of tomatoes, 2 avocados, 2 limes and the zest of one, and the full dressing recipe with 2 cloves garlic. We had about 1/2 cup cilantro to use up, and it was plenty. We did not portion this individually, but served it family-style with the quinoa on the bottom and the colorful goodies spread out on top.



This served four adults generously, with one portion leftover for my lunch. We didn't use all the dressing, but it was nice to have the extra on the side for those who wanted it.

Nutrition information per 1-cup serving:
Calories - 293
Fat - 12g
Saturated fat - 1g
Carbs - 39g
Fiber - 6g
Sugars - 1g
Protein - 9g
Sodium - 59mg
Cholesterol - 0mg

Green eggs, no ham

You wouldn't believe how excited I was to find tomatillos for $0.88/lb at our new, within-walking-distance produce store this weekend. Let's just say it was probably a good thing I hadn't had much to drink that day. :)

I had intended to make a little batch of salsa verde for snacking on this week, but quickly changed plans when I saw a teeny little sidebar recipe for "Omelette with Tomatillo Sauce" in the latest issue of Clean Eating Magazine. They give a nice write-up of tomatillos and all their tarty goodness--for example, did you know that they are a good source of vitamin C and potassium? Me neither!



Omelette with Tomatillo Sauce
from Clean Eating Magazine, September/October 2010
serves 1

Ingredients:

Tomatillo Sauce:
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp jalapeno pepper, minced
2 tomatillos, husks removed and chopped
Pinch of sea salt

Omelette:
1 egg
2 egg whites
Cooking spray
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:
1. Prepare tomatillo sauce by sauteeing oil, garlic, and jalapeno over low heat in a small skillet until garlic turns light brown. Add tomatillos and salt; cook 4-6 minutes.

2. While sauce is cooking, whisk egg and egg whites together in a small bowl. Spray a medium skillet with cooking spray and set over medium heat. Add eggs to skillet.

3. With a spatula, pull egg away from sides of pan as it cooks. Once the eggs start to set, sprinkle half of the omelette with cilantro and fold the other half over the top. Cook until fully set.

4. Top omelette with tomatillo sauce and serve hot.



This made a lovely tasty post-church lunch, paired with no-sugar-added strawberry applesauce. I doubled everything except the tomatillos--I used three medium/large ones.

Nutrients per serving:
Calories - 183
Total fat - 11g
Saturated fat - 2g
Carbs - 7g
Fiber - 2g
Sugars - 4g
Protein - 15g
Sodium - 303mg
Cholesterol - 212 mg

Tasty brown balls

I've seen recipes like this floating around for a few months now, but never tried my own. Then when I bought a package of something very similar at Whole Foods on our latest jaunt to Atlanta, I knew I could replicate them at home. And I did!



The recipe I used comes from The Clean Eating Mama. It was SO simple to pull together!

Raw Coconut-Chocolate Balls

Ingredients
1 cup raw almonds (you can use toasted if you like)
1 1/2 cups pitted dates (I cut mine in half first)
3/4 cup raw, unsweetened coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions
1. Blend all ingredients in food processor until texture is very fine.
2. Form "dough" into balls with hands. Chill on a plate.
3. Once balls are chilled, transfer to a covered container for up to a week.



Although I doubted it would be sticky enough to hold a ball shape, in the end it did just fine. I sprinkled them with some more coconut just for kicks, and because I like it. These go down so easy; I have had a few with a glass of milk as an afternoon snack several times this week. I'm kind of glad The H doesn't care for things with coconut in them... more for me. :D This recipe made about 18 balls.

Whole Wheat Flubber

This was my first attempt at bread-from-scratch in at least 10 years. I do have a bread machine, but I've been making The H's gluten-free bread in it and I don't want to risk cross-contamination. I've also been purchasing wheat and/or multigrain bread from a local baker, but I ran out before payday/shopping day and thought I'd attempt it on my own.

I used this recipe from the Clean Eating Magazine website. Seems simple enough... flour, yeast, water, honey, oil, salt, all of which I have readily available all the time. (Well, my wheat flour was "readily available" because it's been ages since I've used it. And though it gets stored in the refrigerator, I did not have high hopes for its level of freshness.) After the initial 30 minute rest period as I was beginning the first knead/rise cycle, two things caused me slight concern:

1. The dough smelled like cupboard.

2. It was the texture of Flubber.

When I went to knead it the first time, I seriously feared it would glom over the edges of the board and onto my kitchen floor.

Back into the bowl it went. I whipped it around with a spatula to incorporate the other ingredents. I did the same for the second knead/rise cycle and then let its rubbery self flump into my olive-oiled loaf pan for the last rise.

I'm glad I had the foresight to put a baking sheet underneath the loaf pan for the final rise...

And although I may have killed the end result in the process, I decided right then to split the loaf between two pans. There's no way I wanted *that* cooked onto my oven, thankyouverymuch.

The loaves came out short (duh) but tasted fine enough. I still think my flour is too old.

The texture is lovely; airy and light but substantial enough to not fall apart when buttered. I tried some with SmartBalance 50/50 blend, that's how I know.

But there was a nagging voice in the back of my head, asking, "What if you DIDN'T split the loaf? Would it have really overflowed the pan?" Wanting to be sure, I decided to make another batch. Seriously, the ingredients are so minimal and it only takes about 2 hours from start to finish. The H's gluten-free loaves take 2 hours and 39 minutes, and while that is hands-off time thanks to the machine, most of this recipe is pretty hands-off, too. Besides, if nothing else, making another batch would help me use up the bag of flour so I can buy a fresh one. If it ends up tasting funky, I'll let the little guy feed it to the ducks on our next run through the park.

Here is the second loaf on its final rise:

Yep, overflowage. It had the same rubbery-elastic texture that the first batch had. There is no kneading of this recipe, folks. Don't even try. Stick with old fashioned stirring. This time, rather than freaking out and dividing it, I carefully folded the escaping edges back over the top and gave it a few gentle pokes to deflate it a little, but not flatten.

Only a few minutes after it went into the hot oven to bake, I could see it crowning smoothly above the top of the pan--not awkwardly climbing over the sides. Hooray! The top was a bit more rounded before I opened the oven to peek. Oops.

Now that's more like it!

Happy sandwich-making to me! I really love how simple the recipe is: flour water yeast, honey oil salt. Clean AND cheap.