Really Good, Really Healthy (but really good) Desserts!

It's been such a fun 6 weeks with the IMX=Pilates bunch and, fortunately, it's only the beginning!  We are going to continue meeting on a monthly basis and they will be my testers for new classes going forward. 

So, what's next?  Tonya and I will be teaching a 6 week series at Kitchen Thyme in Briarcliff Village beginning Thursday, April 1st.  Contact me for more details if you are interested in signing up or if you and a group of friends would like to schedule in-home classes.  Hopefully I will be posting pictures soon, so everyone can see how much fun we have. 

Now onto the desserts.  What I wanted to demonstrate in this class is that rich and delicious desserts do not have to be nutritionally void.  I will even go as far to say that the best desserts (yes, best desserts) are full of natural ingredients that are working for your body, not the other way around.  You can taste all of the wholesome goodness that is so satisfying you won't have to eat an entire pan of empty calories just to find yourself in a comatose state after your blood sugar has taken a wild ride.  Talk about bum deal!  Your brain is telling you it tastes good, but your body isn't being satisfied.  Of course you're going to keep eating!  Nothing is triggering you to stop, except that very quiet voice in the back of your head that you can't quite hear for all of the shouts of tasty glee.

So what makes a "good" dessert?  For starters, a real dessert.  Many annoying diet "experts" take the approach that you can make a low calorie dessert out of processed ingredients to satisfy your sweet tooth.  Maybe use some type of artificial sweetener to trick your body.  Your body is much smarter than that, though.  Come on.  Think about everything your body is doing right now to stay alive as you are reading this.  Your brain is sending millions of signals to recognize and comprehend words.  To breathe.  To pump blood all throughout your body.  And you think you can trick it with artificial food?

If you want something sweet, eat something sweet.  Just make it real.  Then your body will be satisfied and let you off without eating obscene amounts of calories.  I know it sounds trite, but have you ever really given it a chance?  Honestly?  By the way, nothing at The Cheesecake Factory qualifies as "real".  I'm strictly talking about using natural ingredients.  Ingredients bursting with nutrients and minerals.  Let's just dissect the cookies we made during class to prove the point.

Here are the main ingredients of Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies (excluding vanilla, baking soda, and baking powder):

Freshly ground whole wheat flour - I grind my flour fresh to order using organic wheat berries grown about an hour south of my house.  Why?  Because wheat is full of wonderful, but volatile, nutrients.  In my research I have read that 90% of 30 nutrients are lost within 72 hours of milling wheat.  So compare something made from white flour that has negative nutrients to something made from freshly ground whole wheat, which has 90% more nutrients than even whole wheat flour you buy at the store. Not to mention whole wheat contains tons of fiber that keeps you fuller longer, because you digest it very slowly.  Your blood sugar will like that.

I use a Bosch Nutrimill Grain Mill, which was purchased from Amazon.com.  I was lucky enough to receive it as a Christmas gift.  It will grind any type of grain or dried bean into fresh flour as fine or as coarse as you need it to be.  The taste of freshly ground flour is far superior to store bought.  I recommend putting this at the top of your list!

Mesquite flour - This is a fun ingredient.  Mesquite flour (aka "mesquite meal") is simply pods from a mesquite tree finely ground into powder.  Indigenous to desert regions, mesquite trees can be found from central Texas to Southeast California.  Typically we think about mesquite flavoring when grilling meats.  The soft, smoky aroma of mesquite flour, though, pairs perfectly with chocolate.  The health benefits are incredible, too.  It's full of fiber, protein, nutrients, and essential minerals, such as, magnesium, iron, zinc, and potassium.  Historically, mesquite was an integral part of Native American's diet.  It is very low on the glycemic index and actually promotes balanced blood sugar.  Add a spoonful to oatmeal or smoothies and you will feel fuller longer.  Cross my heart!  I like to purchase mine online from Barry Farms.  One pound is $6.09 or you purchase 5 pounds and receive a discount.  If you don't think you'll use that much, go in with a few friends.  FYI, Barry Farms has a recipe for a Mesquite Yellow Cake that I just saw and will be making very soon!

Coconut oil - This isn't the first time you've heard me singing the praises of coconut oil and it won't be the last time either.  Click here to read the insane list of health benefits that coconut oil has been found to have.  Really, it's insane.  One of my favorites in the context of dessert is the fact that it can raise your metabolism.  Because of the size of the fatty acid, we actually metabolize it differently than other fats.  Eat dessert, burn fat.  I like it.  I have to point out two others:  (1) Improves calcium and magnesium absorption and supports the development of strong bones and teeth (Remember the mesquite flour is high in calcium and magnesium?) and (2) Improves digestion and absorption of other nutrients including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids (Nice compliment to the freshly ground whole wheat flour that is exploding with vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, huh?).  So, it seems coconut oil is enhancing the benefits of some of the other ingredients.

Palm sugar - This is a relatively new one for me that I have quickly come to love.  Made from the nectar of palm blossoms, palm sugar resembles coarse natural cane sugar, like Sucanat.  The flavor is much more complex, though.  Really good.  The nutritional profile is just as good.  It's particularly high in potassium.  Check out a comparison to other sweeteners here along with a ton of other information about palm sugar.  The cincher on this sweetener is that it's low on the glcyemic index with a rating of 35 making it perfect for diabetics and people, in general, who want to manage their blood sugar levels.  That rating is comparable to agave nectar for those who want steer clear of that type of sweetener or just use more of a variety (like me).  I have been buying Big Tree Farms SweetTree Organic Evaporated Palm Sugar.  You can also buy round disks of palm sugar that you grate like this.  I haven't tried it before, but I will soon.

Eggs - Not just any eggs, but farm fresh pastured chicken eggs from Parker Farms.  They're full of vitamins, omega 3's, and protein and are not full of hormones or antibiotics.  Great article on Mother Earth News here.

Chocolate - I use 65% organic bittersweet chocolate chips most of the time.  I get them from the bulk bin at Whole Foods for $8.99 per pound (I think).  Even better would be Dagoba 73% Chocolate Drops, which I occasionally use, as well.  Small amounts of chocolate are actually good for you.  Dark chocolate, that is.  Dark chocolate has 65% or higher cocoa content.  Furthermore, bittersweet chocolate contains less sugar giving a more of an intense chocolate flavor, so you can eat less and be more satisfied.  The health benefits of dark chocolate come from the high amounts of antioxidants it contains.  It can help lower blood pressure, as well, making it healthy for your heart.  To receive these benefits from chocolate, you must be choosy about the chocolate you buy.  It's tempting to buy the cheaper bags of chocolate chips from the store, but that is not real chocolate.  Organic and Fair Trade chocolate is the only thing you should buy.  Conventionally grown cocoa is near the top of the list of the highest pesticide using crops.  Buying Fair Trade means you are supporting fair prices for the growers, as well as, safe working conditions.  We all win.  Please read this article on Mother Earth News if you need more convincing. 

Oats - Oats have similar benefits as wheat providing minerals, nutrients, and lots of fiber.  Fiber = fuller longer and balanced blood sugar.  It's considered "heart healthy" for several reasons, one being a unique antioxidant that prevents free radicals from damaging LDL cholesterol.  Read more here.

Walnuts - Everyone knows that walnuts are good for you.  That's old news.  They are full of omega 3's and contain one of the highest levels of antioxidants of the nut trees.  If you did not get this memo about walnuts, read more here. 

Ok, add all of this up and you have medicine, not a cookie!  The best part is how good this cookie is.  Honestly, there aren't many perfect cookies out there.  I'm particular, because I love cookies.  This one hits the spot.  Chewy, sweet, chocolaty and the unique flavor of the mesquite flour adds an unexpected surprise. 

I've focused on the cookies, but I don't want to underscore the chocolate cake and the Roasted Banana Ice Cream.  They, too, are unreal good and you can actually benefit from eating them.  They are rich and naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup.  So, go ahead and treat yourself tonight with these really good, really healthy desserts!

Note to those who attended Thursday night:  I felt like the cake we had was slightly overbaked.  While it still tasted pretty good, it's nothing compared to a slightly underbaked version.  You should try it out and see!

Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson.  This recipe yields a lot of cookies.  I like to make the entire recipe of dough and only bake off half of it and freeze the other half.  I prefer doing this over cutting the recipe in half.  I just have better results that way.  Freeze it either in one big piece or portion cookie sized balls onto baking sheets and freeze individually.  Once frozen you can put them in a large zip-lock bag and then only bake as many as you want.  Half of the recipe makes a little more than 3 dozen tablespoon sized cookies (my preferred size). 

2 1/2 cups freshly ground white wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup mesquite flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 cups palm sugar
3 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cup rolled oats
1.5 cup 65% (at least) bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Sift flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl.  With an electric mixer, beat coconut oil and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined.  Then add vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet in small increments, mixing after each addition.  Once they are well incorporated, stir in (by hand) the oats, chocolate chips, and walnuts.

Scoop dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet (your desired size) leaving at least 1 inch between each ball.  Flatten each ball slightly.  Bake from 8 - 12 minutes depending on the size of your cookies.  One tablespoon of dough will back 8-10 minutes.  Two tablespoons will bake 10-12.  Do not overbake.

Basic Chocolate Cake Recipe
This chocolate cake is from Heidi Swanson at 101cookbooks.com.  This is my "special" cake.  Or as she describes it, "an everyday chocolate cake that you might not make everyday".  It's the cake I make if I want to really go all out.  It's rich.  It's chocolaty.  And it's expensive.  I'll be honest.  With 1 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup, 3/4 cup of really good organic cocoa powder, 1/2 cup coconut oil, and 10 oz. of really good bittersweet, organic chocolate chips, you may wonder if it's really worth it.  It is.  Just every once in awhile.  It's a dense cake baked in an 8x8 glass Pyrex pan.  I love that, too.  It's so inconspicuous.  The frosting is a light chocolate whipped cream sweetened with maple syrup.  It's perfect.  Do not overbake it, though.  In fact, underbake it slightly and refrigerate the leftovers.  You will find that after it's been refrigerated it will get almost truffle-like, because all of the chocolate in the cake hardens up.  If you want it to be more crumb-like then just let it sit out at room temperature.  Microwaving it, even for only 10 seconds at a power level of 2, will liquefy the frosting.  I actually like it that way, because with chocolate and cream it's kinda like ganache.

2 1/2 cups freshly ground wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup non-alkaline/non-Dutched cocoa powder (I use Dagoba)
1 tablespoon baking powder (look for non-aluminum type)
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup barely melted coconut oil
1 cup real maple syrup, room temperature
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup coconut milk, room temp
8 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, shaved or finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F degrees with a rack in the middle. Butter and flour an 8x8 square cake pan (I've also had success using a 9x9 pan, just adjust your baking time). Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl whisk together the melted coconut oil and maple syrup until it looks like caramel. Whisk in the eggs, vanilla, and then the coconut milk. Pour the maple syrup mixture over the flour mixture and stir until barely combined. Add the chocolate and stir until everything comes together and is no longer dusty looking - avoid over-mixing. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30 - 40 minutes. This is a cake I like slightly under-baked, so I pull it out when the center is still a bit under cooked - the toothpick doesn't quite come out clean when testing. If you are going to use it for a layer cake - then bake it all the way (clean toothpick). Remove from oven and allow to cool (absolutely completely) in pan before frosting (frosting recipe below).  ` `

Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped)
1/4 cup coconut oil, room temperature
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks

To make the frosting melt the chocolate in a double-boiler, or in a bowl placed over a pan of boiling
water. In a medium bowl beat the coconut oil until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the maple syrup. Then add the
melted chocolate. Stir until silky smooth - any flecks of butter should be melted. Pour the chocolate
mixture over the whipped cream and fold the chocolate into the cream. Keep going until the chocolate
is well incorporated. Use an offset spatula to frost the completely cooled cake. If the cake is at all
warm, the frosting will weep and melt.

Makes one 8x8 or 9x9 cake.

Roasted Banana Ice Cream
This dairy free recipe is inspired by one on Elana's Pantry.  I like to roast my bananas a little differently, though, (in their peel) and sweeten them with a little bit of maple syrup.  I must say the riper your bananas are the better.  Not only do you get more natural sugars from the bananas themselves, but you get a stronger banana flavor.  I often roast the bananas this way to put in oatmeal or just eat by themselves.  They taste sinfully good, like banana's foster.

4-5 medium ripe bananas
1 tbsp pure maple syrup (plus more if needed)
1 vanilla bean, split
2 tablespoon coconut oil
1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk

Place bananas (peel on) into a 9x11 glass pan.  Bake at 350° for 30 minutes until juices begin to seep through the peels.  Don't worry, the peels will turn black, but that is ok.  Remove the bananas from the oven and allow them to cool until they can be handled.  Once cooled, peel the bananas and place the fruit in a blender along with any juice from the pan.  Discard the peels.  Add the maple syrup, coconut oil, and coconut milk.  Run the backside of a knife along the insides of the vanilla bean, scraping out the seeds.  Place the seeds in the blender.  Blend on high until smooth.  Taste to make sure the sweetness is right.  Add more maple syrup, one tablespoon at a time, until satisfied.  Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and make the ice cream according to manufacturer's instructions.  Enjoy immediately or place in freezer for later.

Week 6 - Meat Night

Meat was on the menu for the first time in this week's class and there was a record high attendance in the male population.   Hmmmm.  Probably a coincidence.  Or maybe I just really won them over last week with the vegetables and grains.
Anyway, the lesson this week really went beyond meat.  If you have been attending classes or reading along then hopefully you know what kind of meat you should be buying.  I'm not talking about 96% lean or fat free ground turkey.  I'm talking about grass-fed, pastured, local, hormone and antibiotic free, all of those things.  If you are not sold on only eating this type of meat, please do your homework!  Here are a few things I recommend:

• This article from Mother Earth News
• Watch the film Fresh 
• Watch the film Food, Inc and read the book
• Read Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma.  Even the young readers' version is good for adults.
• Read Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food

While I try my best not to be too preachy and encourage people to make their own decisions about food, meat is not negotiable.  Buy local meat from a farm who feeds their animals what they were meant to eat - grass.  No hormones. No Antibiotics.  No feedlots.  If you can't do this, then don't eat meat.  People can no longer ignore what goes on behind the curtain to produce the cheap meat they are addicted to.  If you want to remain blissfully unaware then you are being irresponsible.  There I said it. Now we can move onto the cooking.

While I can appreciate a good steak, I appreciate even more a good steak with some type of yummy sauce or condiment.  That's really what it's about, right?  It's like a natural instinct that we serve some type of condiment with our food, meat in particular.  Our ancestors had this instinct, as well.  Only when they did it it served more of a purpose.  Our condiments are chalked full of things, like, high fructose corn syrup, but they taste good.  Their's were chalked full of things, like, whey and they taste even better.  Not only do they taste better, but they serve as a perfect accompaniment to the rest of meal by aiding in digestion.  And the more I learn about nutrition the more I am convinced that proper digestion is the key to all health.  Nourishing Traditions teaches this better than anything else I have ever read.  This book was recommended to me by my friends from Sage Moon Farms and, at the risk of sounding dramatic, it has changed my life.  It argues that the best "diet" is really an anti-diet, at least in the sense that we have come to know that term.  If you are eating real food (even food that that science considers as "bad") prepared in traditional ways, like our anscestors did, then your body will thrive.  The rates of cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, depression, ADD, everything, would go down.  These same points are raised in another favorite book of mine, In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan.  Anyone struggling with weight or other health disorders (who isn't?) should really check these books out.  Nourishing Traditions can be overwhelming, but it is the essence of urban homesteading. 

But I digress.  Back to condiments.  Each culture has their own traditional condiments, many of which are fermented.  Think sauerkraut, kimchi, Indian chutney's, ketchup (yes, ketchup), and yogurt.  Fermenting serves two purposes.  First, it's a method of preserving.  That was important before refrigeration.  Second, it provides a healthy dose of good bacteria helping our bodies digest food better.  What does that really mean?  Minerals are made more soluable, vitamins increase, and our bodies are benefiting more from the food we are taking in.  I think everyone has at least heard of probiotics at this point.  That's what we're talking about here.  The popularity of probiotics has soared over recent years, but unfortunately the processed food world has taken a good thing, tried to put it in everything from crackers to candy bars, and has further warped America's perception of what is healthy.  Adding something good to a processed food item does not make everything else in that item good, too.  In fact, all of the other bad ingredients is probably negating anything good that could come from the probiotics!  If I didn't make it clear before, here is a short list of all of those "good" things that fermented condiments can do for us:

• Aids digestion and suppresses disease-causing bacteria.
• Treat overgrowth of bad organism in the gastrointestinal tract.
• Prevent and treat diarrhea, including the infectious diarrhea, particularly from the rotavirus.
• Alleviate symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and possibly, inflammatory bowel disease.
• Replaces the friendly intestinal bacteria that are destroyed by antibiotics.
• Prevent and reduces the recurrence of vaginal yeast infection, urinary tract infections and cystitis.
• Improve lactose absorption in people who are lactose intolerant.
• Enhances the immune response. Studies have suggested that the consumption of yogurt and milk that contains specific strains of acidophilus supplements improve the natural immune response.
• Aids the treatment of respiratory infections such as sinusitis, bronchitis and pneumonia.
• Lower the risks of allergies such as asthma, hay fever, allergies to milk and skin reactions such as eczema.
• Help in treating high cholesterol.

So, to sum it all up, our anscestor's condiments did all of those things for them.  What are our condiments doing for us? 

Here are the recipes from Thursday's class.  We made a homemade, lacto-fermented ketchup with whey, a teriyaki sauce made with naturally fermented soy sauce, and then combined those two with a few other ingredients to make a barbecue sauce.  The ketchup went into the bison meatloaf and we learned how to cut up a whole chicken, which was then cooked in the crock pot with the barbecue sauce.  I hope you enjoy!

Homemade Ketchup (Lacto-fermented)
I grind pickling spice and add it straight to the ketchup.  If you do not own a spice grinder, steep one full tablespoon of pickling spice in the apple cider vinegar before adding the vinegar to the other ingredients. Strain the spices out.

3 cans organic tomato paste

1/4 cup whey*
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup fish sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tablespoon pickling spice, freshly ground
juice of one lemon

Blend everything together in food processor. Transfer to mason jars and sit at room temperature for 2

days to ferment before moving to the refrigerator.

*Note:  Whey is the by-product of the cheese making process or can be obtained by straining plain yogurt.  To do this, line a fine meshed strainer with cheesecloth and suspend the strainer over a bowl.  Place plain yogurt in the strainer, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  The whey will separate and drain into the bowl leaving you with a thick yogurt cheese.  Use that as a protein packed replacement for cream cheese.

Bison Meatloaf Muffins

This is adapted from Tyler Florence's recipe.  It starts with making a tomato relish, which goes into the meatloaf, as well as, on top of each muffin.  I'm using bison, because I like the rich flavor and it has more protein and iron than beef.  I like to make miniature meat loaves to save time and simplify the freezing of leftovers.  Makes 12 muffins.

Tomato Relish:

1 tablespoon grape seed oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leave
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
2 roma tomatoes, finely diced (or 1 can diced tomatoes)
1/8 cup parsley, chopped
2/3 cup ketchup
salt and pepper

Meatloaf:

1 lb. bison
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/2 cooked quinoa*
salt and pepper

Heat oil over medium.  Add onions, red peppers, and garlic and cook until soft.  Add bay leaf and cook for another minute or two.  Add ketchup, tomatoes, and parsley.  Turn heat to medium-low and cook for just a few minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, crumble bison.  Add all meatloaf ingredients to the bowl along with 3/4 cup of relish.  Mix with your hands until everything is combined.  Line a 12 cup muffin pan with foil liners.  Fill each hole with 1/4 cup of meatloaf mixture and press gently.  Top muffins with remaining relish.  Bake for 25 minutes. 

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

*Note:  No need to cook quinoa just for this recipe.  If you do not have any leftover quinoa, use a couple of slices of whole wheat bread, rolled oats, or even saltine crackers.  Soak them in a little milk, though, before adding them to the meatloaf.

Teriyaki Sauce

This makes a great marinade for meat or vegetables.  It would be particularly good with salmon.

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

3 gloves garlic, mashed
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon raw honey
1/2 cup naturally fermented soy sauce

Whisk all ingredients. Makes 3/4 cup.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce (lacto-fermented)

This sauce is the love child of ketchup and teriyaki sauce with a few added ingredients. Feel free to adjust the sweetness or spiciness.  Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to barbecue.  This is a basic sauce that can be twisted a million different ways.  Add some bourbon or curry or lime, you name it.  Get creative!

3/4 cup Teriyaki Sauce

1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1/4 - 1/2 cup raw honey (or more if you like a sweeter sauce, like me)
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper (or more if you like a more spicy sauce, like my husband)
juice of one orange

Mix all ingredients together.  Use immediately if you are baking with it or using it in a crock pot.  Otherwise, simmer for 30 minutes over medium-low heat to develop the flavors.

Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken

This can be served in pieces left on the bone or shredded.  I prefer to shred the meat, because it's easier to eat and share with a crowd.

1 whole chicken, cut up into pieces, washed and patted dry

1 tablespoon grape seed oil
2 cups barbecue sauce
salt and pepper

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high.  Salt and pepper the pieces of chicken and add to the hot pan, skin side down.  Sear both sides of the chicken ensuring there is a nice crust.  Add the chicken to the crock pot with the barbecue sauce and cook on low for 5-6 hours.   Remove chicken from the pot and allow it to slightly cool.  Discard the skin and then remove the meat from the bones.  Shred the meat with a fork and place it back into barbecue sauce.  Allow it to sit another 30 minutes or so to become a little more tender and the sauce is absorbed through all of the meat.  Serve with fresh bread.

Week 5 - Thinking Outside the Produce Box

I am pretty sure that this is my favorite week of the 6 week cooking series called "The Urban Homestead Experiment".  And, yes, it's vegetables and grains.  This class is dedicated to those who are taking a huge step in their journey away from processed foods and signing up for services, such as, Door to Door Organics or maybe a CSA (Community Support Agriculture) here in Kansas City. 

The concept is this:  Each week you are delivered a box of really good quality produce (or meat, in some cases).  Depending on what service you actually sign up for, you may or may not have a say in what you get.  I subscribe to Door to Door Organics and each week I receive an email with the contents of the next week's box that will be delivered right to my doorstep.  I have the opportunity to make up to three substitutions plus I can add additional produce or other grocery items for that week's delivery.  I love it.  This is really good stuff and so affordable, too.  I'm not getting a lot of local produce right now, but it's the middle of February in Missouri.  Go figure.

This type of commitment is scary to a lot of people.  Why?  Because you may end up with produce that you would not ordinarily buy since you do not know what to do with it.  I'm telling you to fear not!  This is your opportunity to get creative and really cook, not just follow a recipe.  And that, my friends, is why this is my favorite week. 

We made a lot of food in class this week.  Notice, though, how certain things reappear in other recipes.  We were teaching methods more than we were teaching recipes.  Heck, by the end of the night I was completely winging it and just putting all of the leftovers together to make amazing new dishes.  That's how I cook everyday.  I roast a bunch of vegetables for dinner, my favorite way of cooking vegetables, and put the rest in the fridge.  I might make a big pot of quinoa or rice and a pot of beans and, again, leftovers go in the fridge or in zip lock bags in the freezer.  Each component is made so that it is flavorful enough to stand on it's own.  When I go to use the leftovers later on in salads, entrees, or soups then I start layering flavor upon flavor to create complex dishes that would otherwise take you hours to make from start to finish.  And you still would never be able to replicate all of the tastes that each compenent brings.

Simple methods, like roasting vegetables, cooking grains with tons of flavor, and making vinaigrettes are the keys to making these new (or old, depending on how you look at it) ways of shopping for food a success.  You will bomb at times.  We all do.  You may hit a wall and conveniently forget about the kumquats sitting in your fridge and begging you to cook them.  The more you practice, though, the more you will truely become a great cook - a "healthy" cook!  My family actually complains because I never make the same thing twice.  And it's so true.  Don't ask me for a recipe, because God only knows what actually went into it that night.  Ironic, considering I live on a soapbox shouting "know what's in your food!!!".  There are exceptions to that rule, though.

So, here are the recipes we made in class this week.  Have fun with them and try to think outside the box (ok, bad joke).

Roasted Vegetables
This method can be used for any vegetable or any combination of vegetables. Keep in mind, though, that some vegetables will take longer than others to bake and may need to be baked at different temperatues. Vegetables with more water, such as zucchini, do not take as long to bake and should be baked at 425 to get that good caramelization. In general, vegetables that are grown within the same season work very well together in terms of temperature and cooking time. The mix below, which are all winter root vegetables, bakes for the same amount of time, same temperature, and should be cut the same size. A summer mix with zucchini, yellow squash, red bell peppers, red onions, and cherry tomtaoes will all bake at 425 degrees for around 25 - 30 minutes. If there is any question, set the temperature to 400 to start out with and then raise after 25 minutes if the vegetables are not caramalizing. It is very important to spread the vegetables out into a single layer so that every single piece is touching the pan. If you overcrowd the pan, they will steam instead of roast.

1 butternut squash
2 sweet potatoes
3 medium carrots
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss all ingredients together in large bowl and spread out onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 35 - 40 minutes. Carefully stir the vegetables half way through, if necessary.

Roasted Beets
Beets have a tendency to dry out in the oven, so roasting them unpeeled in a foil pack is the ideal method. 

4-5 beets, cleaned and unpeeled
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut greens from beets right at the root (leave enough stem so the flesh of the beet is not exposed). Lay one sheet of aluminum foil onto a baking sheet. Toss beets, oil, salt and pepper and rub the oil into the beets to ensure they are completely covered. Place beets onto the foil. Top with another sheet of foil and fold over all edges to make a packet. Bake for 30 minutes or until you can stick a knife through the beets. Allow the beets to cool slightly and remove skin. Use immediately or refrigerate whole.

Basic Vinaigrette
The method to make a vinaigrette is one part vinegar or acid to three parts oil plus flavorings (in addition to salt and pepper). In my basic recipe, I use champagne vinegar and olive oil, and flavor it with shallots, dijon mustart, and honey. Use this formula to make any type of vinaigrette you can imagine. Play around with the 3-1 ratio if you prefer more or less oil, as well as, the sweetener to balance out the vinegar. This can also be used as a marinade.

1 small shallot, chopped
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar
3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1/2 cup good extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

In a small, wide mouth mason jar add shallot, mustard, honey, and vinegar. Using a hand-held immersion blender, blend the ingredients until slightly pureed. Slowly pour in the olive oil as the blender is running on low speed until the mixture emulsifies. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Taste and adjust sweetner/salt/pepper, as required. This will keep in the refrigerator for at least a week. Alternatively, this can be made in a blender, food processor, or by hand with a whisk.

Variations:
- Add any herbs. Use fresh herbs if you are using immediately and dried if you will be storing it for later use.
- Use garlic instead of shallot. Or red onion, leek, scallions.
- Use fresh ginger instead of shallot and replace some of the olive oil with sesame seed oil for an asian flavor
- Play with vinegars: Balsamic, Champagne, Red or White Wine Vinegar, Apple Cider Vinegar are all good
- Replace some or all of the vinegar with a citrus juice (lemon, orange, lime).
- Use pure maple syrup in place of honey

Note: Mark Bittman's book How to Cook Everything contains an awesome section on vinaigrette's. He provides a ton of different variations based on the oil, vinegar/acid, and flavoring method, all of which are so easy and so good.

Umeboshi Broccoli Salad
This is a twist on the traditional broccoli salad made with tons of mayonnaise and bacon. The unexpected saltiness of the Umeboshi Cucumber Dressing balances perfectly with the tart and sweet dried cranberries. This dish happens to hit all five tastes of the tongue (sweet, salty, sour, hot, and umami) leaving you completely satisfied.

1 head of broccoli, chopped into small florets
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup freshly minced onion
1/2 cup or more Umeboshi Cucumber dressing (recipe below)
Freshly ground pepper

Roast sunflower seeds in a 300 degree oven for 15 minutes. Be careful not to burn. Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl. Add more dressing, as needed.

Note: If you buy sunflower seeds already roasted, be sure to get unsalted. The Umeboshi Cucumber dressing is inherently salty, so adding salty sunflower seeds may be too much.

Umeboshi Cucumber Dressing

Umeboshi plums promote alkalinity in the body, aid in digestion, and have antibiotic properties.  Read more here.  As far as their taste, they are an intense combination of salty, sour, and sweet.  Made with a whole, fresh cucumber, this dressing will wake up your taste buds for sure!
2 tablespoons Umeboshi Paste
1 small cucumber, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, smashed
3 tablespoons olive oil

Place all ingredients in a blender puree. Add a small amount of water, if needed, to get it started.

Recipe courtesty of http://www.elanaspantry.com/

Herbed Quinoa
Using chicken stock, preferrably homemade, in place of water adds all kinds of flavor to an otherwise boring side dish.  Add a tiny bit of butter and fresh herbs and it's even better.  This same method can be used to cook all grains.  Consider even mixing several kinds of grains for varying textures and nutritional profiles.  Here is a great example of that on http://www.101coookbooks.com/ .
1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 scallions
fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Rinse quinoa in a fine meshed strainer. This is a very important step, as quinoa has a natual bitter coating which needs to be rinsed off.  Most boxed varieties are pre-rinsed, but it doesn't hurt to rinse it again. Heat grapeseed oil in a 2 quart stockpot over medium. Add the quinoa and toast lightly until you can begin to smell a nutty flavor. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 12-15 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed. You can visually tell when the quinoa is finished, because the germ will separate from the seed and appear circular with a dot in the middle. Remove from heat and let it sit, covered for 3-5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and add the butter, scallions, parsley, salt and pepper.

Stuffed Portobella Mushrooms
This is one of those ideas where you can literally take any leftovers, stuff it in a mushroom, top it with cheese and call it good.  Here I have used "leftover" quinoa and beans and added flavorings that I typically have in my fridge.  Use any grain or pasta, meat (or not), vegetables, tomato sauce, pesto, you get the idea.  Goat cheese would pair nicely with the mushrooms, as well as, parmesan, feta, or fontina.  Serve with a salad on the side for a nice, light dinner.
4 portobella mushrooms, stemmed and dark gills removed
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup cooked white beans
1 sprig rosemary, finely minced
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup stock
1/3 cup toasted pinenuts
1/2 cup grated manchego cheese
1/4 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub each mushroom with oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 10 minutes. While the mushrooms are baking, combine quinoa, beans, rosemary, lemon zest, stock, and pinenuts. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove mushrooms from oven and stuff each with the quinoa mixture. Top with cheese, breadcrumbs, and a little more salt and pepper. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of oil onto the breadcrumbs. Return to oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Week 4 - Game On

Several of us at IMX=Pilates are participating in a challenge called Game On. In the simplest sense, it is a four week long diet and lifestyle challenge made up of different rules. You earn points for following the rules and at the end of the four weeks the team with the most points wins. It is a fun (for lack of a better word) way to develop better eating and exercize habits, while promoting social interaction.

In support of Game On, this week's class was focused on breakfast and snacks, two meals which easily become dull and repetitive. I wanted to introduce some of my favorite "go to" (Game On-approved) fare: (1) using almond flour, (2) creating nut butters, (3) making homemade crackers, and (4) making homemade yogurt. Hopefully, you can take the ideas I present and run with them. They are all customizable so you can include ingredients that work for you, not the other way around. Get creative and Go Team A!

1. Almond Flour
Specifically blanched almond flour. Gluten-free, low-carb, nutrient dense, and packed with flavor, this stuff
rocks. Rather than regurgitate what Elana Amsterdam, the queen of almond flour, has thoughtfully explained on her website, click here to find out more about the benefits. While you're there, check out Elana's recipes. They are all unbelievably good and so simple to make. One of my fave's is her Breakfast Bars. They taste like a blonde brownie and are great for traveling. A couple of notes about almond flour. First, it is not the same as almond meal. Almond meal is ground almonds with the skin. Almond flour does not have the skins. Elana cautions that almond meal will not work the same in her recipes, so keep that in mind if that is what you buy. Second, it is expensive if you buy it at the grocery store. I order mine from Honeyville Grain and for 5 lbs. pay around $30. I have tried grinding blanched almonds in a food processer to a fine enough consistency and it worked ok in cookies, but I could definately tell a difference. Not bad. Just different. The cookies had a coarse texture as opposed to a smooth texture when they are made from the Honeyville flour. I think cookies are forgiving where as, muffins or cake would not be, so go with the Honeyville. You won't regret it. Without future adue, here is the recipe:

Almond Flour Breakfast Bar
This recipe can be modified a million different ways. You could add cocoa power, cinnamon, chocolate chips, mashed banana, dried cranberries...the list goes on and on.

1 ¼ cup blanched almond flour, packed
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup coconut oil
¼ cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup shredded coconut
½ cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup almond slivers
¼ cup raisins

In a small bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda.  In a large bowl, combine coconut oil, agave and vanilla.  Stir dry ingredients into wet.  Mix in coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almond slivers and raisins.  Grease an 8x8 baking dish with grapeseed oil.  Press the dough into the baking dish, wetting your hands with water to help pat the dough down evenly.  Bake at 350° for 20 minutes

Recipe from http://www.elanaspantry.com/

2. Creating nut butters
This may be one of my favorite things right now, which says a lot considering how much I play in the kitchen. Making your own nut butter is so incredibly easy you will wonder why you never did it before. But that's not my favorite part. Neither is the fact that it is cheaper to make it yourself. My favorite part is that you can customize your nut butter to use the ingredients that you want to use. Again, back to the idea of using ingredients that work for you. You can use coconut oil, if you choose. You can use raw honey. Or pure maple syrup. Or leave the sweetner out, altogether. You get the idea. It would be rare to look at the back of a peanut butter jar and find just the ingredients you were looking for. 

I use coconut oil in my nut butters. I use it in a lot of things, actually. For years coconut oil has been a source of controversy, because it is comprised of saturated fat. Research has found, however, that because it is a medium chained fatty acid (MCFA) versus a long chained fatty acid (LCFA) our bodies metabolize it differently. Better. Some say it actually promotes fat burn by triggering an increase in metabolism. Click here and here to read more about the benefits of coconut oil. How cool is it to have the option to have coconut oil in your almond butter or peanut butter instead of some gross hydrogenated oil?

Roasted Rosemary Cashew Butter
This is more of a savory nut butter, but would be delicious served with apple slices or on toast drizzled with honey.  Carrots also make a nice dipper.  If you cannot find raw cashews, feel free to use roasted and skip step 1. If you buy salted cashews, omit the pinch of salt in the recipe.

8 ounces raw, unsalted cashews
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread cashews out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, stirring once or twice to prevent burning. Remove from oven and add to a food processer.   Turn the food processer on and run until a thick ball is formed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl, as needed. When the thick ball is formed, remove the lid and add the coconut oil and honey. Turn the machine back on.  Continue to run until the butter loosens up and it reaches the desired consistency. Transfer the cashew butter to a bowl and stir in the rosemary. The longer the butter sits, the more the flavor will develop.

3. Homemade Crackers
Making your own crackers is so fun and easy. Literally, you can make crackers with flour, water, salt, and butter. Think about what you want to serve your crackers with, though, to make the perfect accompaniment. Change up the seeds, add cheese, dried fruit, herbs, or spices to make your own delicious cracker. This recipe is very forgiving, easily adaptable, and impossible to mess up. I find it easiest to work with smaller amounts of dough at a time when rolling to ensure the center is as thin as the outsides. If you find when baking that the center crackers are thicker, just remove the thinner pieces when they are done and bake the rest for a bit longer. I think it goes without saying how much better these are for you than store bought crackers. If you need convincing, though, check out the label on your favorite crackers and see how the ingredients compare to the list below.

Whole Wheat Seeded Crackers
If you cannot find whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour (most likely in the health food section), use regular whole wheat.

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
¼ cup milk (plus more, as needed)
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
¼ cup ground flax
2 tbsp poppy seed
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp brown sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a food processer add the flour, salt, and grapseed oil. Pulse until mixed together. Next add the remaining ingredients and process until a ball of dough is formed. Add 1 teaspoon at a time of milk if dough is too dry. Dump dough onto a lightly floured surface and kneed just a few times to bring the dough together. Form a disk and allow the dough to rest 10 minutes.

Cut the dough in half (It is easier to roll the dough out more evenly if you are working with smaller pieces at a time). Place one half in the center of a large piece of parchment paper. Roll the dough out as thin as possible, ensuring the center is not too thick. With a pizza cutter or knife, score the dough into 1 inch squares in the shape of the crackers. Transfer the entire piece of parchment paper with dough onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until the crackers are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool. Store in a tin for several days.

4. Yogurt
Everyone is eating greek yogurt these days, because of the high amount of protein it contains. The biggest complaint, though, is it feels like you are eating sour cream. You get used to it, but still long for Yoplait Boston Cream Pie. Consider making your own yogurt. You can control the tanginess with how long you let it process. I like mine right in the middle. To make greek yogurt, just strain your yogurt in a cheesecloth lined fine meshed strainer suspended over a bowl for several hours in the refrigerator. The whey will drain out leaving you with the protein. Strain overnight and you will have yogurt cheese. There is a million things you can do with this. It has the consistency of cream cheese, so use it as a substitute in your favorite recipes. I have used it in the recipe below in a spread packed with finely minced vegetables. You can use it as a dip with the crackers above, spread it on a bagel, or anything else you can imagine.  This could easily transform into a fruit dip by using vanilla extract (or vanilla bean), any fruits (peaches would be especially nice), lemon, lime, or orange zest, or fresh grated ginger just to give you a few ideas.

Yogurt Cheese Vegetable.Spread
Chop your vegetables fairly small before putting into the food processer. They will end up finely minced when finished so it can spread easily onto a bagel or crackers. To make more of a ranch flavored dip, add mashed garlic, parsley, and dill. Add the fresh herbs after most of the processing is finished. You just want to pulse it a few times to mix them in, not pulverize them.

16 ounces yogurt cheese*
2 tablespoons minced scallions, white and green parts
2 tablespoons finely chopped carrot
2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons finely chopped radish (2 radishes)
2 to 3 pinches kosher salt
1 pinch finely ground black pepper

Place the yogurt cheese, scallions, carrot, celery, radish, salt, and pepper in a food processor and process until the vegetables are minced very fine.