38 Healthiest Ingredients

38 Power Foods, Week 30 — Pistachios– Tomato Soup with Yogurt Swirl and Pistachios

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I’ve been making lots of soup lately–for good reasons.  There’s a soup book on the way plus I’m watching my calories pretty carefully, so am eating lots and lots of vegetables.  The other day, I made a pretty special tomato soup, which I blogged on Dinner Place…. Next day, I had to have something different; yogurt and pistachios did the trick.  I mixed in a little yogurt to one small portion of my soup, spooned it into the middle of the bowl, and topped it all with chopped pistachios.  I had a partial “cream” of tomato soup and some perfect crunch for texture.

While kids often balk at green food (except for green eggs and ham or grapes, I guess), they usually love pistachios.  I think it’s their fun-to-open-shells–no nutcracker needed–, which makes eating them a bit of a chase, a puzzle,  even a trial sometimes.  These little southwest nuts pack a wallop nutritionally (I put them in my homemade granola all the time).  Like other nuts, they’re heart healthy,  high in protein and fiber, but are also rich in potassium–a great treasure.  Read more about the nutritional benefits of pistachios here.  They make wonderful snacks as they are, but are also good additions to cookies, ice creams, puddings, cereals, fresh fruit, or root vegetable dishes.

light and lusty tomato soup
  serves 4

  • 1 small yellow onion, quartered

  • 2 stalks celery, cut into 2-inch pieces

  • 1 carrot, cut into 2-inch pieces 

  • 1/2 fennel bulb, sliced (use a little more celery if you have no fennel)

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • Generous pinch each:  crushed red pepper and Herbes de Provence (see above for substitutions)

  • 4 whole garlic cloves

  • 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

  • 1/2 cup water

  • 1/4 cup dry white wine*

  • 2 cups vegetable broth

  • 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes

  • 1 teaspoon honey          
  1. Place onion, celery, carrot, and fennel in food processor fitted with the steel blade.  Process, pulsing, until vegetables are diced.  (Or dice by hand.)

  2.  Heat a 6-quart heavy pot over medium low heat with the olive oil, pepper, and Herbes for a minute or until fragrant.  Add the whole garlic cloves and cook for a minute or until golden; turn and let cook another few seconds before adding the vegetables from the food processor.

  3. Stir in the fresh basil leaves, kosher salt, black pepper.  Cook for five minutes, stirring, until vegetables are beginning to soften.

  4. Pour in water, wine, broth, and tomatoes.  Stir in honey.  Bring to a boil.  

  5. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes or so until all vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

  6. Taste and adjust seasonings.  Puree using an immersion blender, in batches in the food processor or blender, or mash with a potato masher.  Alternatively, eat as is.

  7. Serve hot garnished with one of the following: chopped fresh basil, croutons, or chopped pistachios for vegan version.  Grated Parmesan cheese or a spoon of plain Greek yogurt for Gluten-Free version.  If you’re ok any way at all, choose what you’d like, though just the Parmesan and a little fresh basil are perfectly perfect.  

*Replace the wine with water if need be.

The Parmesan version

 Cook’s Note:                        To Make the “Cream” of Tomato Soup version:

Ladle one cup of soup into the bowl.  In another small bowl, ladle in about a half cup of soup and stir in a tablespoon of plain Greek yogurt until well combined.  Spoon the yogurt mixture into the middle of the soup bowl and top with chopped pistachios. 

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Here’s our wonderful group of bloggers.  Please check out the other sites….

Ansh – SpiceRoots.com  
Minnie Gupta from TheLady8Home.com

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink

All sites may not blog power foods every week.
                       
Join us!

 Sing a new song,
Alyce  

38 Power Foods, Week 29 — Pecans — Light Winter Vegetable Gratin with Savory Granola

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Each Friday, a wonderful group of women reaches across cyberspace and joins culinary hands to salute one very healthy food, one single beautiful ingredient from Power Foods : 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients.  (Scroll down for the list of blogs.)

I won’t say it’s not a challenge to come up to that gorgeous plate each week.  If I’m busy learning music for church or have my daughter home, or am busy with the soup book, I sometimes can’t give the opportunity the intelligent focus and attention it deserves.  I used one great recipe for more than one blog recently….life can get ahead of me sometimes.  Hopefully I’m forgiven!

This week, the week of pecans, I had the time I needed to give this a good stab.  To give it my undivided creative space.  I’m grateful for the opportunity and the chance to move one sweet iota further in my cooking and writing.  I hope you’ll enjoy the idea of this light vegetable gratin…which is maybe a bit more like a terrine in character, though not in the size and shape of a terrine.  There’s no cream and no butter here unlike most gratins.  There is a crusty, crispy topping; it’s a savory oatmeal granola without butter (yes, it has olive oil) to which I’ve added the traditional gratin component of cheese, but also finely chopped pecans.

While pecans are an American nut staple grown in the southern states, they’re not terribly common in other parts of the world, with the exception of South America. High in protein (though lower than almonds and walnuts), they are also high in healthy unsaturated fat, a good source of fiber and vitamin E,  calorically dense, and weigh in at nearly two-hundred calories per one ounce serving. Store them in the freezer and use as needed.  They are excellent for baking, cooking, and for general snacking.

 LIVESTRONG NUTRITIONAL INFO FOR PECANS

Gluten-free and easily vegan (leave out the Parmesan), this winter vegetable gratin with healthful  pecans in its topping is not only a gorgeous side if you need or your partner really needs a chop… but is a lovely lunch or entree for those in love with vegetables. (You might add more pecans for protein for the vegan version.)  A sharp knife, a shallow dish (I used a heavy quiche pan in lieu of a gratin dish as I liked the shape, but even a 2 quart Pyrex would do), and a boatload of winter vegetables are the central components of your beautiful, filling meal.  Try this:

 

winter vegetable gratin with savory granola

 

vegetables:
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided (needn’t be extra virgin)
  • 1/4 cup red onion, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
  • 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced thinly
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
  • 3 stalks celery, trimmed, stringed, and sliced thinly
  • 2-3 parsnips, peeled, and sliced thinly
  • 1/2 fennel bulb, cored, and sliced thinly
  • 1 turnip, peeled and sliced thinly  
  • 1/2 cup vegetable broth                                       
  • 2 tablespoons white wine      
  • finely grated lemon rind, optional garnish (at table)       


granola: (in a medium bowl, mix together well:)
 

  • 1 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 1/4 teaspoon each:  kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
  • 1/8 (pinch) aleppo pepper (can sub crushed red pepper)
  • 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese (omit for vegan version)
  • 1/4 cup pecans, chopped finely
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, rubbed well in your hands or chopped finely
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable broth   

 

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 Celsius).  In a small bowl, mix together red onion, garlic and parsley; set aside. With 1-2 teaspoons oil, brush the inside of a 9-10” shallow casserole dish or gratin dish.
  2. Layer carrots, celery, parsnips, fennel, and turnips in dish, drizzling each layer with a little olive oil, salt/pepper, and sprinkling each layer with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the onion mixture.  (Place the rest of fennel at center if possible.)  Mix the broth with the wine and pour over the vegetables.
  3. Top  with savory granola mixture* by crumbling it evenly over the vegetables. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 30 minutes until granola is crispy and vegetables are tender.
  4. Serve hot with a bit of finely grated lemon rind, if desired.  

*You may not need all of the granola; you can eat the rest as is for a good snack.
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 If you liked this, you might like my Derby Pie–a Pecan-Chocolate-Bourbon specialty made only for the Kentucky Derby–May 3-4, 2013.

Or you might like my Go Nuts!  which can be made with all pecans or a mixture of  nuts:

 

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Here’s our wonderful group of bloggers.  Join us!

Minnie Gupta from TheLady8Home.com

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink

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P.S. If you linked my cinnamon rolls to your blog, I’d love to know who you are!  It’s now my top post in nearly five years.   I’d like to thank you….

Sing a new song,
Alyce

38 Power Foods, Week 28 — Almonds — Pear-Almond Crostata

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I had parents who were full of quirky sayings.  My dad, being from the south, often said, “If I could only eat one food on earth, I would choose peanuts.”  (If he’d been from Minnesota, he would have needed to say walnuts.) Another day he’d put milk or eggs in that exalted position, but it was always one of two or three favorites. In other words, if you had to go on a long hike or be out on the lake fishing for a long time, bring nuts.  You’d be happy-crunchy and, while he never mentioned it, you’d be full from the fiber and not be hungry for a long time given the protein and fat content of nuts.

My kids once had a doctor who, beside being a wonderful human being and just as good of a doctor, invited us in to his office each visit.  He’d turn around and sit and chat a minute or two before getting down to business.  Once in a while, he’d say, “I haven’t had lunch yet; let me get something to eat while we visit.”  Out of his drawer would come a big bag of plain almonds.  He’d pour a handful or two out for himself and offer the bag to us.  “Best lunch available in a drawer,” was his line.  He’d chomp several before saying, “All right, I’m ok now; I was starved.”

I’m sure neither of these men had pear-almond crostata in mind when he thought about nuts as an excellent source of nutrition, though I do!  It never hurts to add a little protein and fiber to a scrumptious dessert and, while I make lots of desserts (among other things!) with almonds in them– (I use almond paste as the bottom layer of my strudel) — this is my favorite.  Most of my friends have eaten a crostata or two at my house.   It’s a special occasion treat and I make it for birthdays, dinner parties, or holidays.

If you’ve never made a crostata  before, don’t be frightened by the name; it’s just a free-form pie that every self-respecting home and professional cook in Italy makes regularly. (Italian crostatas are often made with jam rather than fresh fruit.)  I find it simpler and tastier than an American pie; it’s forgiving in shape, size, and texture; it’s perfectly luscious and has the oooooo and ahhhhhh factor desserts deserve.

                                   Recipe for a raspberry jam crostata here.

The dough for my crostata is made in the food processor and is done in a flash.  Try this:

pear-almond crostata

4 regular or six small servings for one crostata

Parchment paper needed for baking

pastry:  (makes 2-freeze one for later)
  • 2 cups white, unbleached flour
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2-pound (2 sticks) very cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1/4 cup ice water

In the food processor, fitted with the knife blade, pulse together the flour, sugar and salt.  Add the cold butter and pulse until mixture is the size of peas.  Slowly add iced water through the feed tube until dough begins to come together.  Remove carefully from processor and divide in half.  Press each into a disc.  Wrap one in foil and freeze it.  Refrigerate the other for an hour is best, but you can roll it right away if you must.  Dust the counter very well indeed with flour and roll the disc, using a rolling pin, into an 11″ circle.  Place on parchment lined baking sheet until you have the fruit ready.  (Check out the pics here where I give you two options for getting the pastry from the counter to the pans.)  You can  a. fold it up gently and  quick like a bunny pick it up, and centering it over the baking sheet, place it carefully down and unfold it or, b. loosely roll the dough back onto the rolling pin and move the rolling pin over above the baking sheet, lowering it and loosening the pastry down flat onto the pan.   

The pastry recipe for this comes from Ina Garten, who, I might have gotten(?) it from  Joanne Killeen and George Germon in CUCINA SIMPATICA; ROBUST TRATTORIA COOKING.  

filling:

  • 1-1 1/4# pears (Seckel or Bosc or a mixture), peeled, cored and cut into 1″ chunks
    (Pears should be ripe or nearly ripe and still firm)
  • 1-2t grated lemon rind
  • 1/4 c sliced almonds
  • 1/4 c ea flour and sugar
  • 1/4 t kosher salt
  • 1/4 t cinnamon
  • 4T unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 450 and place rack at center.

In a large bowl, mix cut-up pears with lemon rind and most of the almonds, reserving 1T or so for the top of the crostata.  In the food processor, make a crumb topping for the crostata by pulsing together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and butter until crumbly.  Remove the blade from the processor bowl, and, using fingers, pinch together the crumbs until they hold together

Place pear-lemon mixture onto the pastry, leaving 1 1/2 inches around the edges.  Crumble topping on the pears evenly and sprinkle with the last of the almonds.  Fold the edges of the pastry up and over the fruit, gently pleating the dough at the corners.  You’ll be leaving most of the fruit covered by only the crumbly topping; the pastry just comes up around the edges of this pie.

Place baking sheet in oven and bake 25-30 minutes (use the longer time above 5,000 feet) until golden brown and crispy.  Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before sliding pie off the paper onto wire rack to cool completely.  Will hold at room temperature a day or so and in the refrigerator for several days, though it is best fresh.

Note:  If you’d like to make an apple crostata with the other crust, it’s made almost like the above pie, but you’ll need 1 1/2 # (3-4 large Granny Smith) apples, 1 t orange peel and no nuts unless you choose to add some one your own.  If you do, toasted walnuts might be best.

{printable recipe}

The best drink for crostata is a cup of fresh black coffee.

ALMONDS…

This is a one ounce serving of almonds–about 25 and almost 1/4 cup.

  

 Almonds are an excellent source of vitamin E, magnesium, and manganese; they are a good source fiber, copper, phosphorous and riboflavin. When compared ounce for ounce, almonds are the nut highest in protein (6g), fiber, calcium (75mg), vitamin E, riboflavin and niacin (1mg). Talk about good things coming in a small package. 

The average woman needs 46 grams of protein per day. She needs 25 grams of fiber.  (webmd.com)

.

  Nutrient Content of Tree Nuts–Almond info in RED.

USDA Nutrient Laboratory Database, Release 20 (Nd – no data); Bolded numbers indicate highest value.

(1 ounce whole natural) Almond Brazil Nut Cashew Hazelnut Macadamia Pecan Pistachio Walnut
Calories 163 186 157 178 204 196 158 185
Protein (g) 6 4 5 4 2 3 6 4
Total Fat (g) 14 19 13 17 21 20 13 19
Carbohydrate (g) 6 4 9 5 4 4 8 4
Dietary Fiber (g) 3.5 2.1 0.9 2.7 2.4 2.7 2.9 1.9
Calcium (mg) 75 45 10 32 24 20 30 28
Iron (mg) 1.1 0.7 1.9 1.3 1.1 0.7 1.2 0.8
Magnesium (mg) 76 107 83 46 37 34 34 45
Phosphorus (mg) 137 206 168 82 53 79 139 98
Potassium (mg) 200 187 187 193 104 116 291 125

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION COURTESY bluediamond.com

 …
 Our blogging group:

I blog with a great group of writers every Friday where we cook our way through the list of foods from Whole Living Magazine’s Power Foods:  150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients:    Read more  at these sites today or sometime in the future (Not everyone posts this week.): 

Minnie Gupta from TheLady8Home.com

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink

 Are you a food blogger?

…

  This Week on More Time at the Table–Warming Dinners:

Vegetable Soup (Vegan and Gluten-Free) a la Provence in 30 minutes: 

Streamlined Beef Burgundy with Vegetables

 

 Sing a new song,
Alyce 

38 Power Foods, Week 27–Soy Beans– Three Bean Chicken Chili (With Edamame)

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In the winter,  I make a big pot of chili just about every month. (If you follow my blog or are a regular reader – THANK YOU!!!! –  you know this.)  Leftovers fill the freezer for lunches or suppers before choir on Wednesday nights.  I’m happy to make chili  for supper for friends with no apologies. I make vegetarian chili, turkey-lentil chili, Texas chili (no beans), Silver Palate chili, and Ina Garten chili.  Last year I once or twice made Tuxedo Chili, a Food52 winner–simple, healthful, and quick (ground chicken/two colors of canned beans), but filling and yummy.  Mostly it’s just Alyce chili–a bit or a lot different each time.

Alyce’s Turkey-Lentil Crock pot Chili
 When soy beans came up this week as the power food for our blogging group, I didn’t immediately think chili.  No.  I kept picturing the salted and spiced soy beans I ate during rough menopause moments. (TMI)  Or the veggie burgers I order if we go to the bar for supper. (The menu says, “You shouldn’t, but if you HAVE to.”)  Once, a friend made spaghetti sauce with soy crumbles and insisted it tasted just the same as beef. (Not like beef, but it was ok.)  Occasionally we’ll eat roasted edamame for a snack or starter.  (A small portion is better for your digestion system–a word to the wise.)  I thought of the soy milk I drank on a phase of vegan til 6 (like Mark Bittman.) I visited a thick tomato cream soup with soy milk.  Nixxed that, too.  I adore tofu stir fry or fried rice. Nah; I’ve done that.  And, oddly enough, I grew up across the street from a huge field where soybeans were planted alternately with sod. (Soy bean crops are often used in this way to create healthier soil.)  In other words, soybeans were an instant outdoor snack when I was a kid. Not anything like the tomatoes we snuck, salt shaker in hand. My memory is that we snarfed them up right out of the dried pods later in the summer and into fall.  All of these thoughts futzed around, seemed lame, and led nowhere.  Truth to tell, once in a while it appears there’s not much new under the sun food wise (not really true and new approaches are always appearing) and what’s a blogger to do when it’s so cold?
This is my side yard and those tall, bent “trees” are my 100-year old lilacs.
 So——- I simply did what I wanted to do anyway, which was to make quick chili for dinner  and have leftovers for a couple of days.  Except I just added a little bit of great edamame, which are fresh green soybeans. Surely you could skip the chicken, add a couple of cups of zucchini and/or yellow squash and make a totally vegetarian chili that was full of protein if you’d like.  Chili is, to say the least, forgiving.  Try this:

three-bean chicken chili (with edamame)
8-10 servings

  • 2 1/2 – 3 pounds boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces, and salted/peppered*
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 3 each red and yellow bell peppers, 1/2-inch dice
  • 2 large yellow onions, 1/2-inch dice
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2  28-ounce cans chopped tomatoes
  • 1 6-ounce can (about 5 tablespoons) tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped or 2 tablespoons dried
  • 1 cup each red wine and water
  • 1 tablespoon each:  Dijon-style mustard and lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 15-ounce can each black and pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup shelled edamame (fresh green soybeans)**
  1. In a 10-12 quart stockpot, brown chicken in the oil in batches, removing to a large bowl.  Set aside.
  2. Add peppers and onions to pot; cook, stirring 5-10 minutes until softened. Add garlic; cook one  minute.
  3. Pour in tomatoes and stir in tomato paste; add spices.  Pour in water, wine and stir in the mustard and lemon juice.
  4. Season with the salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer for 15 minutes.
  5. Add reserved chicken, beans, and edamame.  Simmer 15 more minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
  6. Serve hot with any or all:   tortilla chips, chopped onions, chopped avocado, plain yogurt,  grated cheese and/or cornbread.

*If you cut your chicken when it’s still partially frozen, it’s much easier.  Chicken thighs are luscious, often on sale, and are generally much cheaper than breasts.  I think they make better soup or chili.
**Use thawed, frozen edamame if you can’t find fresh.

{printable recipe}

 About Edamame–A Full Protein!

A 1/2-cup serving of shelled edamame contains only 100 calories, with 3 g of unsaturated fat and 8 g of protein. It also provides 4 g of fiber and is a good source of calcium, copper, folate, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, thiamin, vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K. Edamame doesn’t contain any cholesterol and has very little sodium.

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One thing:  I read most soy beans are genetically modified.  Just so you know.
—

Our blogging group:

I blog with a great group of writers every Friday where we cook our way through the list of foods from Whole Living Magazine’s Power Foods:  150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients:    Read more  at these sites today or sometime in the future (Not everyone posts this week.): 

Minnie Gupta from TheLady8Home.com

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink

TWO-DOG KITCHEN and around the house…

Miss Gab and Tucker while I made the chili:

 

I’m re-reading Dorothy Sayers this winter. (Dorothy, 1893-1957, was a fine British mystery writer as well as a Christian scholar and the first woman to graduate from Oxford.) I’m cuddled up reading while the weather’s like this.  A  great big tall mug of mixed green and mint teas sits beside me.  Have His Carcase is a great read if you like finely-crafted mysteries.
Read an old book,
Alyce

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38 Power Foods, Week 26 — Green Peas — Pea Clam Chowder

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(A Repeat Post from June, 2011)

 I love oyster crackers.  Maybe it’s the salt?  The crunch?  The ridges?  The memories?

Despite days of unpacking (still) and rearranging (forever) and gardening, we’ve still had a few cool evenings and one such night last week, I made, for the first time, one of Dave’s favorite soups.  Now we’ve been married thirty-seven years and why I haven’t made this soup before, I don’t know.  If you’re from the midwest, fish or seafood soups weren’t terribly much part of the cooking pattern when I grew up.  Fish?  Yes.  Fresh out of the thousands of lakes and in the summer. (Though my parents froze quite a bit for great winter fish fries.)  But not fish soup.  Seafood?  A rarity.  You ate it when you went south.  Or east.  Or west.

Now that we have great fish and seafood available all of the time (especially in St. Paul, I’d add), we have such great options for seafood dishes and I’m finally able to set aside my occasional regional food prejudices and make clam chowder.  I did look at a few recipes and then did it my way.  Naturally you can use fresh clams; I happened to have a couple of cans of clams in the pantry and used those.  In fact, with the exception of the fresh peas (and you can use frozen), this dinner is pretty much out of everyday pantry ingredients. Fresh peas are around only in the late spring in the upper midwest, though Trader Joe’s seems to get them from ??? and often has some in their cold produce section many other times of the year.

Note:  This is a regular old unthickened chowder and that’s how I like it.  If you’d like thicker chowder, check out this site.

Peas from late spring Farmer’s Market, St. Paul.  Tender pods:  eat them!

More available:  Trader Joe’s fresh peas.  Use quickly; they don’t keep long.

 Pea Clam Chowder serves 4

4 pieces of bacon
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1/2 t sea salt; 1/2 t white pepper
1 cup chopped fingerling or new potatoes
1 bottle of clam juice
Water
1/4 c fresh peas (or frozen)
1-2 drops of hot sauce (put bottle on table)
2 cans drained clams
2 cups milk
3/4 c half and half
1T butter
1/4 c chopped parsley
Oyster (or other) cracker

In a 4 qt stock pot, cook bacon until well-browned and remove to toweling to drain. Chop the bacon and reserve.  Saute onion, celery and carrot in the bacon fat until softened.  Season well with salt and pepper.  Add chopped potatoes and clam juice.  Add enough water to cover all of the vegetables and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes.  Add peas the last couple of minutes.  Season with hot sauce.  Add milk and half and half.  Stir in drained clams and butter and heat through.  Add fresh parsley and stir in bacon.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Serve hot with oyster crackers or saltines and let folks add hot sauce as desired.

Wine:  Chardonnay is my favorite here, but even a nice Viognier or Albarino would work if that’s what you have.

Music:  “I Got a Pea” 

Pea shoots and trendrils from the May Farmer’s Market in St. Paul.  I use these in salad or in Pasta Primavera.

 Green Peas–About them:

Principle Nutrient Value Percentage of RDA
Energy 81 Kcal 4%
Carbohydrates 14.45 g 11%
Protein 5.42 g 10%
Total Fat 0.40 g 2%
Cholesterol 0 mg 0%
Dietary Fiber 5.1 g 13%
Vitamins
Folates 65 µg 16%
Niacin 2.090 mg 13%
Pantothenic acid 0.104 mg 2%
Pyridoxine 0.169 mg 13%
Riboflavin 0.132 mg 10%
Thiamin 0.266 mg 22%
Vitamin A 765 IU 25.5%
Vitamin C 40 mg 67%
Vitamin E 0.13 mg 1%
Vitamin K 24.8 µg 21%
Electrolytes
Sodium 5 mg
Potassium 244 mg 5%
Minerals
Calcium 25 mg 2.5%
Copper 0.176 mg 20%
Iron 1.47 mg 18%
Magnesium 33 mg 8%
Manganese 0.410 mg 18%
Selenium 1.8 µg 3%
Zinc 1.24 mg 11%
Phyto-nutrients
Carotene-ß 449 µg —
Crypto-xanthin-ß 0 µg —
Lutein-zeaxanthin 2477 µg —

(Source: USDA National Nutrient data base)

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I blog with a great group of writers every Friday where we cook our way through the list of foods from Whole Living Magazine’s Power Foods:  150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients:    Read more about tasty peas at these sites:

Ansh – SpiceRoots.com  
Minnie Gupta from TheLady8Home.com

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink

 Sing a new song,
Alyce

38 Power Foods, Week 25 — Dried Beans — French Beans with Smoked Sausage and Chicken

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Nothing like the fragrance of rosemary for remembrance filling the house in December.

 I’m not a cheap cook, but I have always looked for inexpensive ways to provide our daily bread.  Raising a house full of kids, I often had no choice.  Even today, when we’re empty nesters with a bit more funds than when the kids were home, I look for ways to save a bit here and there because it’s the right thing to do.  It’s often healthy, too.   I buy the best I can find for the least amount of money.  If you’ve ever cooked for a soup kitchen, or worked in a food pantry, you’ll know that beans go a long way, are low in calories, and high in fiber.  They’re filling and versatile.  They can also be yummy.  Hence this pot of smokey-fragrant “French” beans with lots of

  • smoked ham (or pork chop)
  • vegetables,
  • big flavors of rosemary, thyme, and bay, 
  • browned chicken thighs, legs, (I like Kadejan chicken from Glenwood, MN) and…
  • sausage pieces.

What makes the beans French?  Probably the herbs and the nod toward a très simple and abbreviated version of cassoulet, which takes three days to make using the traditional method.  I use regular navy or white beans; the French often use  tiny white beans called flageolets.  (For my easier, but still two-day version of cassoulet, click here.  I’ll freely admit it needs better photos…phewee.) If you don’t know what cassoulet is, it’s a holiday or large-group gathering winter French meal that includes beans, vegetables, sausage, duck confit, pork, and more.  There are layers of cooking involved and a final, huge deep oven-baked pan of oh-my-cook goodness to feed the masses.  Lots of lusty red Rhone wine is required, as are copious amounts of baguette to soak up the never-should-be dry bowlful.  Cassoulet is a celebration I occasionally do for Christmas Eve.  This year, I’m trying not to conquer the world in just one day; I have no idea what we’re having, though a great big bowl of Bolognese is in my freezer.  (What riches!)

While this is not a fast recipe (nor is it the three-day marathon), it’s one to enjoy making when  you need to be at home anyway.  I think it truly is a one-dish meal.  You could add a salad if you want, but I’m not sure you need bother.  A little cheese afterward perhaps.

Maybe make this when snow flies or folks are on the way and a nice pot of anything will be the relaxed ticket for the evening.  I’m convinced the reason many people don’t cook (or say they don’t have time to cook) is because they just don’t stay at home.  Our running, crazy world keeps us distracted and sometimes isolated despite all of our “connectivity.”  There’s a lot of feeling good to be done around a bit slower life that includes some cooking and sharing of meals.   Invite someone over to play cards for the afternoon while this is in the oven (and everyone oo’s and ah’s over the great smells) or serve for a post-holiday meal to use up some of the ham you made for Christmas or New Year’s.

Here’s the “recipe” in photo form…   It’s really a method and precise amounts aren’t truly necessary.  Use your inner creative cook!

french  beans with smoked sausage and chicken
  serves 6        
 Cooks note:   You’ll need to soak a pound of  dry white beans overnight just covered with water or
                       quick-soak them by covering with water, bringing to a boil, and covering for one 
                       hour before beginning this recipe. 

Simmer over medium heat a minute or two in an 6-8 quart heavy pot*: 2 tablespoons olive oil, a pinch of crushed red pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper...until fragrant.  (Flavor the oil.)  Do not add salt until beans are at least half-way cooked.

Chop 1 large onion, 3 cloves garlic, 3 stalks celery, and 3 carrots.

Add vegetables to pot with 2 rosemary sprigs, 1 teaspoon dried Thyme and 1 bay leaf. Stir. (The rosemary will come apart during the cooking.  You’ll remove the leftover twig at the end.)

While the vegetables cook for five minutes, or so, chop 1/2 cup smoked ham, ham hock, or smoked pork chop.  (I just cut some off a ham hock and froze the rest of the ham hock.  Cook another five minutes, stirring.
To bring up the browned bits on the bottom (deglaze) the pot, add 1/2 cup white wine.  Simmer 2-3 minutes, stirring.

 

Pour in 5 cups chicken stock and 2 tablespoons tomato paste.   Bring to a boil.  Add one pound rinsed and soaked dry white beans.*   Reduce heat to simmer.

Cover and let cook an hour or so until beans have just begun to soften.  Add 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; taste and re-season if necessary.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Meantime, pour 2 tablespoons olive oil into a large skillet heated over medium flame.  Salt and pepper well 6 chicken legs and thighs** and cook them about ten minutes on each side until nicely browned, but not done all the way through.  

Slice about 8 ounces of smoked sausage  into 1/2″ thick slices   (I used Aidell’s smoked Italian Sausage with Mozzerella; Kielbasa would be fine) and..

add to the pan of browned chicken.  Let cook about two minute or until hot.  Add chicken and sausage to the pot of beans, gently pressing chicken down into the bean mixture not necessarily to cover, but to moisten.
Bring to a boil, cover, and place pot in preheated oven.  Let bake until beans are tender and chicken is cooked through, about an hour.  Taste and re-season as needed.  Remove rosemary “branches,” but leave bay leaf in. Whoever gets it has good luck!
Serve hot in large, shallow bowls with sturdy bread and a big glass of red Rhone.

*If you use a 6 quart pot instead of a 8 quart pot, you may not be able to fit all of the chicken in it. Put four pieces of chicken and all of the sausage in the pot before baking and continue cooking additional two pieces of chicken stove top until they are done.  Cool and reserve to add to the pot when the beans are tender and  you take it out of  the oven.  I used the Le Creuset 26, which translates to close to 6 quarts.  Make sure you check your pot’s manufacturer’s directions for the safest oven temperature.  Some pots are 350 degrees Fahrenheit; some are 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

**I like dark meat for slow cooking.  If you like breasts (white meat), go ahead and use them, but I think they will get over done here unless you almost totally cook the beans stove top first and only
put the entire pot into the oven for the time it takes to finish the breasts.

about dried beans (from livestrong.com)

Pinto beans, black-eyed peas and lentils are some commonly-eaten dried beans. The recommended serving size for pinto beans is 1 cup. This serving contains 120 calories, no fat, 10 g of dietary fiber and 9 g of protein. Black-eyed peas should be eaten in 1/2 c serving sizes, which each yield 130 calories, 0.5 g of fat, 5 g of dietary fiber and 10 g of protein. Lentils should be eaten in 1/2 cup servings, each of which contains 115 calories. A serving of lentils contains 0.4 g of fat, 7.8 g of dietary fiber and 8.9 g of protein.  (White beans are a bit more calorie-wise)

about our blogging group
We’re just getting ready to take a break from group  blogging for the rest of December….We’ll be back cooking in cahoots come January:
 
 I blog with a great group of writers every Friday where we cook our way through the list of foods from Whole Living Magazine’s Power Foods:  150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients:    Read more about tasty beans at these sites:

Ansh – SpiceRoots.com  
Minnie Gupta from TheLady8Home.com

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink

 If you liked this, you might also like:
Sing a new song; cook some beans,
Alyce 

38 Power Foods, Week 24 — Quinoa — Shrimp-Quinoa Salad with Winter Fruit, Pomegranate Seeds, and Blue Cheese

/ More Time at the Table / 4 Comments

Festive and healthy at the same time is a winning combination.  While we often think of holiday meals leaning toward big hunks of meat and baked desserts, it may be just the time we should be thinking of cutting a bit here and there.  If you’d like a gorgeous December salad that’s colorful and filling without being heavy, try this little plate of love.  There’s plenty of shrimp (I bought cooked shrimp for ease of preparation) for those who need visible protein, but it’s off-set by the addition of lots high-fiber quinoa, green apples, red pomegranate seeds, cucumber, fresh cranberries, clementines, and spinach–to say nothing of the blue cheese grace notes.  A light orange vinaigrette spiked with a bit of crushed red pepper tops it all.   You could add some steamed, chopped asparagus or green beans, I think, but the spinach gives you lots of green.  I served a little bread and butter with this salad to round out the meal.  Try this:


shrimp-quinoa salad with winter fruit, pomegranate seeds, and blue cheese   serves 2-3

1.Make the quinoa:  1 cup dry quinoa to 2 cups water.  Bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer 25 minutes until tender.  Cool at least a few minutes (stir to cool more quickly) before adding to salad.  You’ll  have leftover quinoa for soup or breakfast.
2.  Make Vinaigrette:  2T white wine vinegar, 1/4 cup orange juice, 1/2 teaspoon honey, pinch each: salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil. * Whisk together everything but the olive oil first, then drizzle in oil whisking until well-combined.   In a separate medium bowl, add 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette to marinate a half-pound cooked shrimp. (Reserve the rest of the vinaigrette for the salad.)  Set aside  while you chop the fruit.

3.Chop 1/2 an at least partially peeled cucumber and 1/4 cup fresh cranberries, optional.

4. Slice thinly an unpeeled Granny Smith apple.  Peel two clementines (or one orange) and separate them into segments.

Here I began to mix just a small portion of the salad to try it out.   Hey, I liked it!

5.  In a large bowl, mix 1 cup cooled quinoa with 2 cups fresh spinach, and the marinated shrimp.
6.  Gently stir in the cucumber, cranberries, apple slices, and clementines.  Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon each kosher salt and pepper. 
7.  Drizzle with enough vinaigrette to moisten the salad well.  Squeeze just a bit of lime juice over everything.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  You could add another pinch of crushed red pepper if you like a bit of heat.

8.  Spoon the salad out onto a large serving platter and garnish with 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds and 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese.  (2 Tablespoons chopped walnuts or pecans–optional)  Serve immediately and pass the pepper grinder at the table.

Ingredients list:   1/2 pound cooked shrimp, 2 cups fresh spinach, 1 apple, 2 clementines or 1 orange, 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds, 1/2 cucumber,  1/4 cup fresh cranberries  (optional), Juice of one orange, 1/2 teaspoon honey, 2 T white wine vinegar, 1/2 lime, walnuts or pecans (optional), 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, crushed red pepper.

*If you like a sharper vinaigrette, use sherry vinegar or add 1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard.
This vinaigrette is mild so that the fruit all speaks for itself. 

Want to bring this a potluck?  Put the sliced apples in with the shrimp and vinaigrette to keep them from browning.  Bring the vinaigrette separately and dress the salad right before serving.

Wine:  I liked this with a glass of California Chardonnay, but an Oregon Pinot Blanc might drink beautifully.  I just sent a half-case of Bethel Heights Pinot Blanc for a Christmas gift.  It might not be too late for you to do it, though the weather could be turning dicey for shipping. At $18 per bottle, it’s a beautiful northwest winery steal even if they have to wait until spring for delivery. 

quinoa…It’s really a seed related to spinach or tumbleweed (rather than a grain) that can be    traced back to ancient Peru…and yes, it’s gluten free.

Low in calories and fat, quinoa is  high in carbohydrates, fiber, and protein.  While it cooks in just about the same time and same way as white rice (maybe a few minutes longer), it also has close to the same amount of calories.  A good source of all the amino acids, iron, potassium, and magnesium, quinoa also offers a bit of zinc– about 1/4 of the daily allowance for women.

Try quinoa as tasty hot breakfast cereal with maple syrup and hot milk, or as a good foil for spicy hot chili.  This grain is luscious in salads and can sub for couscous or even rice in many places.   On it’s own or nestled next to your chop, add a little butter, salt and pepper and it’s ready.  Read all about quinoa here.

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I blog with a great group of writers every Friday where we cook our way through the list of foods from Whole Living Magazine’s Power Foods:  150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients:    Read more about tasty quinoa at these sites:

Ansh – SpiceRoots.com  
Minnie Gupta from TheLady8Home.com

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink

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If you liked this, you might like

  Shrimp-Quinoa Salad with Feta and Tomatoes
 

or…

GO NUTS

 

These nuts are whipped up in no time.  A bit of beaten egg white, some sugar, cinnamon, and cayenne and they’re into a low oven for an hour or so. Great gifts, we also serve them all  throughout the season as a nibble with drinks or a salad topping. (Original recipe from my good cook and sister Helen…I’ve tinkered and damned it into submission over the years.)

this week on dinnerplace (cooking for one)
                               
        Make 6, just 6, Cornbread Muffins


Sing a new song,
Alyce 

38 Power Foods, Week 23 — Oats — Porridged Eggs

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I’ve never heard of porridged eggs, though my experience is that very little is truly new.  We’ve just lived too long.  For a few weeks, off and on, they kept coming to me.  I love the idea of oatmeal because I know my body, my heart, needs whole grains and oatmeal’s tops.  (Read about the great oat here.)  But I also find that I operate better (and eat less) during the day with a protein for breakfast.  Especially in cold Minnesota.  Hence oats and eggs.  But how?

I grew up with the occasional bowl of take-no-prisoners buttered, salt and peppered grits with my eggs fried to a crispy lace in bacon grease.  Along with biscuits slathered with sour cream and honey.  And the very best fried fish in the world.   Lest you think things were always that wonderful, there was the occasional pot of squirrel gumbo, as well.  And often there was dove that required careful chewing lest you bite into buckshot.  While I seldom indulge these days, my displaced southerner living-in-Chicago parents provided me with a culinary heritage upon which I still draw.  (Phew.  That grammar’s a killer.)

…
Add that to my natural love of all things Scots (I’m a McClendon), and the oats and eggs just seemed right.  While I may try them in a few different ways upcoming, I think the single cook  might enjoy this simple repast that could be, with the addition of a piece of fruit and a glass of milk, a complete breakfast.   Of course I’ve made it for two, but haven’t tried it in larger quantities. To get your mind around eggs with oats, take away the thoughts of oatmeal with brown sugar, raisins, apples, bananas, whatever.  Take away the idea of sweet.  Replace it with a meal more on the order of eggs and grits, with wholesome and tastier oats to replace the grits.  A tiny bit of butter graces the finished dish, and a generous dusting of salt and pepper completes it.  Not only that, but here the egg cooks right in the pan of oats for ease of clean-up.  Here’s how:
…
Porridged Eggs  serves 1

1/2 cup uncooked regular old fashioned oatmeal (not instant or quick)
1 cup water
1 egg
1 teaspoon salted butter
Salt and pepper to taste

In a small sauce pan, heat the water and the oats over high heat until boiling.  Turn  heat down and simmer for two minutes or so.  Carefully break egg into the center of the oats.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cover tightly.  Let cook another 3 minutes or until the eggs and oatmeal are done to your liking.  Spoon carefully into a deep cereal bowl and add the butter to the top of the eggs.  Salt and pepper to taste.  (originally posted on Dinnerplace.blogspot.com, 12-15-2011)

……………………
 I blog with a great group of writers every Friday where we cook our way through the list of foods from Whole Living Magazine’s Power Foods:  150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients:    Read more about tasty oats tomorrow at these sites:
Minnie Gupta from TheLady8Home.com

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink

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                                                                            this week on dinnerplace:
 wine and lemon-steamed salmon on broccoli

 
 During the calorically dense holiday season, it makes sense to have a great, quick fish meal in your pocket….This one’s a winner.   Saute onions, garlic, and broccoli.  Add wine, lemon juice and salmon filets.  Cover and cook just a few minutes.  Dinner’s served!

Sing a new song! Cook something new!
Alyce

38 Power Foods, Week 22 — Brown Rice — Chili and Brown Rice with Spinach Salad

/ More Time at the Table / 5 Comments

BTW, those are still cherry tomatoes from our garden on November 8.

While chili is a quintessential American fall meal, it is often eaten as is.  Just a bowl.  Just a spoon.  Just you and your chili.  

Fall in our ‘hood–tiny, dried crabapples against a St. Paul blue sky.

The chili mostly stands alone, I guess.

Or at least just with chips, cheese, onions, sour cream….or on hot dogs or fries.  Ha.

(Election Day Turkey-Lentil Crock-pot Chili--my last post–is one of Michelle Obama’s favorite meals… well–Turkey Chili is, at any rate.)


 But I like chili in all kinds of ways and with lots of different things.  I grew up with chili poured over a burger at the Dog ‘n Suds where I car hopped.  My Mom’s “Irish Chili” was full of the quarts of tomatoes she canned each summer.  It was a whole lot of tomatoes.  College at Western Illinois University brought Chili Frito over at the cafeteria for Washington and Lincoln Halls.  I loved it!  Why hadn’t I thought of it?  As years went on, my chili changed repeatedly.  After all, I lived in Europe where they didn’t know from chili.  I lived in San Antonio where if you knew beans about chili, you knew there were no beans in chili.  (I mentioned that to some Minnesotans once.  In concert, they all went, “WHAT???”)  I lived with The Silver Palate Cookbook and made their “Chili for a Crowd” forever…well, actually I still it make with variations. Later I moved on to Ina’s Chicken Chili–one of my favorites.  In other words,  these days I make several different kinds of chili (mostly my own–whatever happens to go in the pot), but one of my favorite chili meals originated one day when there wasn’t quite enough vegan chili to go around…

So I made some brown rice and a little salad.  For grins, I put it all in the bowl together.  Now I do it all the time.  Gives your mouth a break from the heat and provides more whole grains and greens.  It also lowers the cholesterol and calories of a chili meal so I can have it more often with less guilt.

Here’s the base for my vegan chili.

So here’s how I made this chili with brown rice today…using the leftover Election Day Crock-Pot chili and some brown rice I let cook this morning while  I walked the dogs.

“Come on, Gab.  Get the leash and let’s go, huh?”

alyce’s brown rice and chili with spinach salad

For each serving:

1 cup fresh spinach
1 shallot, sliced
Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
Drizzle of Olive oil
Cherry Tomatoes 

1/2 cup lightly salted and peppered cooked brown rice mixed with 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 cup chili (I like the chili I just blogged–full of hot Italian sausage and lentils as well as beans, but use any chili you’ve got or buy some Wendy’s chili to take home if you’re stuck.)


To assemble:

1.  In a large shallow bowl (a pasta bowl is fine), add spinach to one corner.  Top with half of the sliced shallots and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Squeeze lemon over the greens and drizzle with oil.  Add cherry tomatoes at side.

 2. Add rice to one side of the bowl and chili to the other.  Garnish with rest of shallots and a few tortilla chips.

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brown rice– tips and info……….

Brown rice takes about 45 minutes to cook at sea level, but quicker versions are available.  Some markets even sell frozen cooked brown rice.  You can also make brown rice in your crock-pot and freeze small portions for future use.  And, yes, you can make brown rice in your microwave.  You don’t save a lot of time, but a few minutes.  The directions are on the rice bag.

Rice field

 
  As our Power Foods group moves through the 38 Power Foods (click to order book), you’ll gather we’re up to brown rice this week.  The main food for over two-thirds of the world’s population, rice is sacred to many people.  Rice is a complex carbohydrate high in protein.  Did you know Arkansas is the largest rice-producing state in the U.S.?  If you were raised by southerners in the United States, you grew up eating a lot of rice.  Rice and gravy (or butter), rather than potatoes and gravy, were the standard at my family table.  My sister-in-law, who’s Korean, keeps a rice pot hot pretty much 24-7.  If her children are hungry between meals, they know where to go without bothering her.

Nutrients in
Brown Rice
1.00 cup (195.00 grams)
Nutrient%Daily Value

manganese88%

selenium27.3%

magnesium20.9%

tryptophan18.7%

Calories (216)12%

chart courtesy whole foods
 
       Brown Rice is Healthy!  As only the hull is removed off brown rice, we have a much healthier grain to eat that actually works against cholesterol in our bodies with its larger component of fiber.  You can read all about it here, but you’ll see with just a little bit of research that eating foods like brown rice works toward protecting us against heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, muscle spasms,  migraines, and many other things.  Tryptophan?  But of course.  Eat turkey and brown rice and you’re much more likely to sleep well!  And best of all, if you’ve ever been on Weight Watchers, you know a cup of brown rice is four points and white is five.  Who wouldn’t take the brown?  With a few exceptions, I use brown rice instead of white rice for nearly everything.  I draw the line (usually) at fried rice, but that’s a VERY occasional meal and I sometimes even use brown rice for that. 
(rice field photo courtesy producer’s rice mill)

       Leftover brown rice?  Make extra.  Always.   Rice is good food!  Then you can….  Add milk and a little sugar for breakfast.  Stir into some scrambled eggs with cheese and green onions. Add to a burrito.  Stir up a stir fry for a topping. Warm well and add a teensy bit of butter and lots of pepper to eat with cooked squash.  Make a patty, fry it up and make a hole in the middle.  Crack an egg into the hole. Cover and cook 2-3 minutes.  Add to soup or stew.  Cook up Thai curry.  In fact, there are so many ways to use brown rice that I know several people who just cook up a great batch every weekend and eat off it all week with whatever. The simplicity, cost,  and health benefits of brown rice appeal greatly to those who don’t cook much and to those who cook often.

       One of the favorite posts on my other blog (Dinner Place–Cooking for One) is “Help!  I’ve Got Leftover Take-out Rice and Don’t Know What to Do With It.”  Click and check out the recipe; it works just as well with brown rice.

Brown Rice for Breakfast in Colorado Springs:

Smiley’s…on Tejon in Colorado Springs

       There is absolutely the very best breakfast to be had in Colorado Springs at a tiny place downtown on Tejon called SMILEY’S.  Now funky, spunky Smiley’s has all kinds of breakfasts and lunches (as well as incredible baked goods–pie and homemade whole wheat bread for their toast, for instance), but each day they have specials.  We’re not talking eggs and bacon.  We’re talking lovingly designed, gorgeous breakfasts.  One favorite in the fall is a halved acorn squash filled with a mixture of brown rice, cumin, cheese, and scrambled eggs.  I’m going to try and fix it for breakfast this morning without a recipe.  If I turns out, I’ll add the picture here.  (I’m also working on a brown rice dessert for the soup cookbook.  Be patient.)  photo courtesy smiley’s

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Join our blogging group!

 I blog with a great group of writers every Friday where we cook our way through the list of foods from Whole Living Magazine’s Power Foods:  150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients:    Read more about tasty papaya this week at these sites: 

 
Ansh – SpiceRoots.com  
Minnie Gupta from TheLady8Home.com

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink
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The sun shining on my brown rice.
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 please help

Hurricane Sandy Relief:  Donate to Food Bank for NYC

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Sing a new song,
Alyce

all photos copyright Alyce Morgan, 2012 (except where noted)~please ask for permission to use~i’m likely to give it, but like to know where my pics go

38 Power Foods, Week 20 — Papaya — Papaya-Candied Ginger Muffins with Cashews

/ More Time at the Table / 7 Comments

A crispy-moist, very gingery muffin made with oats, whole wheat, and yogurt. Don’t tell.

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Somewhere on toward 6:30 and there was no light anywhere that October morning. Only the too-lazy-to-make-their-own-coffee guys were struggling down the street to the gas station where ethanol-fragranced cheap brews waited.   No birds stirred.  The dogs slept on.  Donning jeans and t-shirt in the dark, she searched for her moccasins by sitting down and feeling around on the floor of the closet with her hands. Toddling down the hall to the bathroom, she made peace with her body, and then carefully made her way down the stairs, feeling each tread with her toes before proceeding to the next.

She approached it as she would a whole shark awaiting skinning, butchering, boning, and fileting down there in the deep, dark Saint Paul kitchen that morning. Coming around the corner, flipping on the light and the coffee maker in the same movement, she saw the big papaya waiting on the counter.  The big fruit didn’t know its last minute (save the time it took to brew the coffee)  had arrived.  And she had no idea how she was going to kill it.

In other words, I didn’t know from papaya. (Except all sliced up on a brunch buffet; I’m a mango girl.)

Looked like I should peel it, so I did.

Hmph.  I chopped off the ends. 

Sliced it down the middle.  This thing was gorgeous!  No wonder they call it “Fruit of the Angels.”  A little light was peeping through the shades in the dining room.

I sliced the papaya into moons and then chopped it up finely.  Next, I mixed up the wet and dry ingredients for the muffins in the 8-cup Pyrex (my go-to muffin bowl) and spooned the batter into the greased tins with my ice cream scoop:

These appear to bake forever and, actually, they do.  Count on 30 minutes at 400 degrees F.  They’ll be quite browned.

By then the dogs were padding around yawning.  (file photo)

Hey, Dave!  It’s breakfast!

papaya-candied ginger muffins with cashews  makes 14*
      These muffins are not the biggest powerhouse of nutrition, but neither are they shirkers.  They contain whole wheat, oatmeal, cashews, yogurt, and lots of papaya.  They’re also fairly low in fat, using just 1/4 cup canola oil for 14 muffins, which is less than a teaspoon of oil (40 fat calories) per muffin.  Not too bad!  I looked at six or seven papaya muffin recipes for ideas and then used my own proportions to create this recipe using things I had in the larder.

       One of my favorite Melissa Clark quotes is, “Muffins are just an excuse to eat cake for breakfast.”  Not so here.  Enjoy!

Background is my kitchen wall.  Love the color!

  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 3/4 cup plain yogurt 
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 plus 2 tablespoons milk (or 3/8 of a cup)  
  •  1 cup unbleached white flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup whole oats (not instant)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder**
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I like Penzey’s Vietnamese cinnamon–available online)
  • 1/4 cup chopped candied ginger (can sub 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger)
  • 1/4 cup chopped roasted cashews   

  • 2 cups finely chopped papaya

directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Grease muffin tins thoroughly.

  1. Whisk together oil, yogurt, egg, and milk in a small bowl and set aside.
  2. Stir together well all  of the dry ingredients (flour-cashews) in a medium bowl.
  3. Pour the milk mixture into the bowl and stir until just combined. 
  4. Add the papaya and stir gently.  Divide prepared batter evenly among greased tins.***
  5. Bake about 30 minutes until quite browned.  Muffins will be moist.
  6. Serve hot or at room temperature as is or with butter, if desired.

*I made one 12-count muffin tin full and then greased a large oven-safe coffee cup and made one extra-large muffin.  You could also use a couple of custard cups to make the extra two muffins.

**These muffins are quite dense, though not heavy.  But if you’d like a lighter muffin, try increasing the baking powder to 2 teaspoons.

***I like to use an ice cream scoop, but a big spoon will do.  

about papayas

Papayas are available year-round (though they’re more prolific come summer and fall) and weigh about a pound each, though some grow much bigger.  Wonderful as is, or with plain yogurt, the beautiful orange “meat,” is delicious and the seeds are edible, too.  Full of antioxidants, along with vitamins (lots of vitamin C) and minerals, the papaya also contains papain, an enzyme that helps digest proteins.

Nutrients in
Papaya
1.00 each (304.00 grams)
Nutrient%Daily Value

vitamin C313.1%

vitamin A66.5%

folate28.8%

potassium22.3%

fiber21.8%

vitamin E11.1%

vitamin K9.8%

Calories (118)6%

chart courtesy WHfoods.com–click for more information about the beautiful papaya

If I had to say what papaya tasted like, I’d wager a cross between honeydew melon and mango.  And….

I can’t resist:  So buya some papaya! 

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Join our blogging group!

 I blog with a great group of writers every Friday where we cook our way through the list of foods from Whole Living Magazine’s Power Foods:  150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients:    Read more about tasty papaya this week at these sites: 

 
Ansh – SpiceRoots.com  
Minnie Gupta from TheLady8Home.com

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink
.

Sing a new song,
Alyce