vegetarian – That's Just Me

Vegetable Literacy by Deborah Madison – Book Review

I first noticed the Vegetable Literacy: Cooking and Gardening with Twelve Families from the Edible Plant Kingdom, with over 300 Deliciously Simple Recipes book on the library “new books” shelf and it immediately leaped into my hands.

I opened the book and while flipping through only a few pages, I knew this book was something special!

I should first mention that I am a big fan of the author, Deborah Madison. Long ago, I bought her famous “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone” cookbooks and I’ve also borrowed the rest of her publications from the library.

I knew as soon as I saw her name on the binding, before I even opened the book, that “Vegetable Literacy” would be something that I needed to read.

The book itself is stunning. It’s a big heavy book, with well-crafted binding. It’s even got one of those fancy ribbon bookmarks (aah, the little things that thrill me!). The book cover is lovely photo of pretty garlic scapes, curling and knotting themselves into unique shapes.

The photographs inside the book are artistic, yet meaningful. What I dislike are photos that are added to a cookbook just for the sake of art, or the author’s ego.

Vegetable Literacy includes photos that describe each vegetable whether just pulled from the ground, flowering, or showcased in a recipe. There is no wasted space in this book.

One of my favorite photos is her “bolting” rainbow chard.

It’s truly an encyclopedia of edible plants!

The book is divided into twelve chapters, one for each plant “family”, including:

carrot family,
mint family,
sunflower family,
knotweed family,
cabbage family,
nightshade family,
goosefoot & amaranth families,
the (former) Lily family,
cucurbit family,
grass family,
legume family
morning glory family

Each chapter then presents specifics about each plant/vegetable in that particular family, including history, varieties, nutritional benefits, food compatibilities, cooking wisdom, and several intriguing recipes.

The index is extensive so it’s easy to find a recipe ingredient or where a plant is discussed, and I did refer to it when I wanted to read about a specific vegetable.

There are many personal anecdotes sprinkled throughout the book that clearly validate her longtime love and respect for vegetables that she personally grows, or finds at the market. One story that fascinated me was when she forgot garden carrots one fall, they rewarded her with beautiful flowers the next summer.

The only thing missing is detailed growing advice, which she does occasionally offer, but you’re probably better off with a gardening book for that.

She did inspire me to grow grow grow, and to try new things like keeping my carrots in the ground after frost or until January or February! Can you tell I am suddenly obsessed with carrots! ;)

This woman absolutely knows her stuff!

Some Bits of Plant Knowledge

Did you know that the Carrot family includes parley, fennel, and caraway among others. I had never heard of the herb angelica, which looks like parsley, but the flavor is unlike anything familiar.

Chia seeds are part of the mint family and are a compete protein (didn’t know that!) It is sometimes called the “running food” because just a handful sustained Aztec messengers during their extended running bouts.

Rhubarb grown in a greenhouse usually have rosy-colored stalks and they’re milder and more tender than stocks grown in the garden or in the field. A common mistake is assuming green rhubarb is not ripe, it’s is! Never eat the leaves, they are poisonous.

Buckwheat is also a compete protein, containing all eight amino acids. Buckwheat flour might need more liquid when using in batters.

The goosefoot and amaranth families include amaranth, beets, chard, lambs-quarters, quinoa, and spinach. For some reason, I thought chard was a crucifer vegetable like kale!

Here’s a recipe from the book I found at Epicurious: Doesn’t Peas with Baked Ricotta & Bread Crumbs sound scrumptious? And the recipe photo is divine!

I admit I didn’t have time to read every single word about every single plant, but I couldn’t believe how much I learned, and how much Deborah inspired me.

Read This Book!

Today, I am sadly returning Vegetable Literacy, admittedly a couple of days overdue, with the promise that I’m going to request a copy again very soon, because I didn’t have enough time with it.

If you find a copy of this book, it’s certainly meant to be cherished, and read over and over.

And that’s my Library Monday!

Disclaimer:
I love reading cookbooks, like some people love reading novels! I am inspired by recipes, and enjoy learning ideas from cookbooks, which means I’d rather put my own spin on a recipe than follow it exactly. Please keep in mind that my opinions might be completely different from the other home cooks.

Kaniwa, The New Super “Grain”

Kaniwa is a new (old, ancient) grain (technically it’s a seed). I discovered it a few days ago, at the bulk section in Whole Foods Market.

Kaniwa is very similar to quinoa, but it offers more protein and fiber PLUS there’s no need to rinse before cooking like quinoa. Talk about a perfect food!

So I’ve been searching for brands, and there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot out there. Only two that are readily available to me: Roland (from Amazon) and Laurel Hill (from WF bulk) and neither is organic.

I was so ready to try it, but until I find an organic option or learn more about kaniwa growing practices (ie pesticides, sustainability), I’ll probably have to wait until this little powerhouse grain becomes more mainstream, like quinoa.

Fresh Vegetable Stock – For Free!

Today I made another batch of “free” veggie stock! I love doing this.

I save all my veggie scraps in a gallon zip-lock bag in the freezer: carrot peels/ends, onion ends, fennel fronds/stalks, celery ends/leaves, broccoli ends, parsley/herb stems, etc. I don’t save too many cruciferous veggies like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, as they can overpower the stock flavors.

Anyway, once my gallon bag is filled, it’s time to make stock. I dump the whole bag (frozen) into my 7qt cast iron pot, along with a handful of homemade dried celery leaves, then I add water to cover (today I used 14 cups) and simmer. You could probably add other dried herbs too.

I didn’t want it to boil too quickly, so I slowly heated the contents on the stove, and after about 1.5 to 2 hrs, I moved the pot from the stovetop to a low-heat oven and simmered for another hour or so.

I carefully removed all the bigger veggie pieces, then strained the rest in a colander. Then strained once more to remove all the teenie bits using a fine mesh strainer. It made just about 14 cups, almost filling 4 qt sauce pot.

I used the stock today to make bacon lentil veggie soup. Yum. But it can easily be frozen like any other stock.

Sprouting Mung Beans

Well I did it! Finally!

I’ve been wanting to try sprouting beans for so long. Months ago, I purchased a small amount of mung beans from the Whole Foods bulk isle and they have been waiting patiently for me in my cupboard.

So, in 2012, I’m making a point to try new healthy projects, like SPROUTING!

So a couple of weekends ago, I watched a few YouTube videos (again) then poured 2 Tbsp of mung beans into a large glass jar, rinsed a couple of times, added fresh water, topped with cheese cloth & elastic and stored in a dark cupboard. I set my iPhone alarm to remind me to drain and rinse every morning and night for the next few days.

Instructions suggest not to keep in sunlight, and since my kitchen has a skylight, the sun can pour in to different areas all day. I didn’t want to risk leaving it on the counter. I was thinking about keeping it in a cupboard, but then I read that it shouldn’t be in complete darkness either, because the nutrients wouldn’t develop.

Other tips were to keep in a warm place, around 70° but my house is usually much cooler than that, but I figured it would be okay, just maybe a bit slower to complete.

I ended up keeping it in my office in the daytime, then on the kitchen counter at night. It took about a week for the sprouts to finish. I think it is probably too cool in my house to grow the sprouts properly, but they were alright. They tasted a lot like raw corn on the cob! Funny! I ate them raw for lunch, my favorite was on top of warm quinoa & mushrooms.

Would I sprout again? Hmm, not sure. I think maybe in the spring I might try again. Also, I don’t know how sanitary it was to use the cheesecloth. I’m looking into buying an official sprouting jar so it would be easier.

Helpful videos and web sites:

Tammy’s Recipes
ChefInYou
Wikipedia – Sprouting

For future advanced sprouting:

http://spinningwoman.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/real-bean-sprouts-all-my-own-unvention/

Farmer Dave’s CSA 2011 Review – Season 2

Last year, I wrote a detailed review of my first CSA season with Farmer Dave’s in Dracut MA. We just finished this season’s CSA and the veggies were just as plentiful and delicious!

If you are new to CSA’s, please read last season’s review as it includes a lot more detail about CSA’s and their benefits. There is also information on the Farmer Dave web site.

I won’t repeat too much information here, but to summarize, Farmer Dave offers small & regular sized vegetable CSA shares with pick-ups in Beverly, Burlington, Lanesville, Dracut, Lawrence, Tewksbury, Somerville, Putnam Investments (for Putnam employees only), Downtown Gloucester, Boston Medical Center, Jamaica Plain, and newly added Reading.

They also offer summer fruit shares, as well as late fall and early spring shares.

Here are the details for the 2011 weekly “small” vegetable share pickup:

Week One

Keep in mind, I had a “small” share. The larger shares received at least double the amounts, and depending on the pick up location, the variety could be slightly different.

Peas, Spinach, Turnips with greens, Beets with greens, Red leaf lettuce, Garlic scapes, Tatsoi, and Pea tendrils; I also bought 3 pickling cukes for $1.17

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 1

I originally swapped the tendrils for more lettuce, but as I left I decided to go back and grab them back. Why shy away from something different and cool! They are tiny little flowers and lots of green stems leaves and tiny squiggly bits.
Farmer Dave's CSA Week 1- pea tendrils

Week Two

Bag of lettuce, Pea tendrils, Peas (bought extra 2 bags), Romaine lettuce, Arugula, 2 lettuce (Boston?), Tatsoi (choice of bok Choy), 2 zucchini squash, Beets with greens (or choice of turnips with greens), Garlic scapes

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 2

Week Three

Fennel (with extremely long fronds over 2 ft I think), Beets (or choice of radishes or turnips), Tatsoi (swapped for more beets), Gorgeous kale, Gorgeous chard, Red leaf lettuce, Spinach, Shelling Peas, Garlic scapes.

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 3

Fennel:
Farmer Dave's CSA Week 3

Week Four

Keep in mind, I had a “small” share. The larger shares received at least double the amounts, and depending on the pick up location, the variety could be slightly different.

red leaf lettuce, snap peas (choice of snow peas), fennel, scallions, beets w/ greens (choice of radishes, turnips), swiss chard (choice of arugula or spinach), (2) zucchini (choice of squash), pickling cuke

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 4

Week Five

sugar snap peas, kohlrabi, zucchini (choice of summer squash), pickling cuke, corn on cob, lettuce, basil, radish with greens, scallions, swiss chard

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 5

Week Six

cilantro (choice of parsley, basil), arugula (choice of mustard greens, option to take extra mustards, I didn’t take any), kohlrabi (swapped for extra onion), spring onions, kousa squash (choice of summer squashes), carrots (choice of beets), pickling cukes, (choice of) lettuce, 4 corn on cob

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 6

Week Seven

Keep in mind, I had a “small” share. The larger shares received at least double the amounts, and depending on the pick up location, the variety could be slightly different.

(4) corn on cob, scallions, cilantro (or choice of basil, chives), swiss chard, beets with greens (or choice of carrots), wax beans, green pepper, (3 total) slicing cukes and pickling cukes, (3 total) choice of summer squash: yellow, zucchini, or kousa, take up to 4 jalapeno peppers, green leaf lettuce

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 7

I love me some Jalepeno Peppers!
Farmer Dave's CSA Week 7

Week Eight

On vacation, no pickup, but the newsletter stated Pickling or slicing cucumbers, Zucchini, kousa, patty pan or summer squash, Lettuce, Carrots, Beets or Kohlrabi, Bok Choy, Kale or Swiss Chard, Scallions, Green Beans or Wax Beans, Asian Eggplant, Cubanelle Peppers, or Green Bell Peppers, possibly Cherry Tomatoes or Slicing Tomatoes

Week Nine

cilantro, green leaf lettuce, green beans, (2) jalapeno peppers, (2) zucchini squash, eggplant, scallions, garlic, 1/2 pint cherry/grape mixed tomatoes, (2) slicing tomatoes, (3) cukes, batch of carrots

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 9

I love larger sized scallions, and I love purple scallions even more!
Farmer Dave's CSA Week 9

Week Ten

This week we received a huge delivery! 3 heavy bags full!

(4) cukes, scallion, eggplant (choice of smaller round Thai, regular black/purple, & long thin purple), (2) summer squash (choice of yellow, zucchini, kousa), green bell sweet pepper (of choice of cubanelle pepper), romaine lettuce (or choice of kale), beets with greens (or choice of radish with greens), cilantro (or choice of basil), pint of mixed cherry/grape tomatoes, (2) slicing tomatoes, (1) heirloom tomato, (4) corn, small bag of cranberry shell beans (or choice of green beans), purple or green kohlrabi – swapped for more scallions, Take extra (4) seconds tomatoes or chile peppers

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 10

Week Eleven

On vacation, I didn’t pick up, but the newsletter stated Corn, Slicing Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Plum Tomatoes, Heirloom Tomatoes (if we’re lucky!), Cucumbers (pickling or slicing), Zucchini, kousa, or summer squash, Bell Peppers or Cubanelle Peppers, Swiss Chard, Kale or Lettuce, Hakurei Turnips, Scallions or Kohlrabi, Chives or Cilantro

Week Twelve

Keep in mind, I had a “small” share. The larger shares received at least double the amounts, and depending on the pick up location, the variety could be slightly different.

(2) cukes, waxed beans, (2) corn, (1) onion, (1) red pepper (cubanelle?). (2) poblano peppers (or choice of green bell), 1/2 pint cherry/grape mixed tomatoes, (1) heirloom tomato, (2) plum tomatoes, (1) slicing tomato, (2) summer squash (choice of zucchini, yellow, kousa), arugula (or choice of chard), scallions (or choice of kohlrabi), cilantro (or choice of chive), eggplant (swapped for chive), radishes (swapped for 2nd cilantro)

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 12

Week Thirteen

(2) cukes, (3) choice of peppers (poblano, red bell, or green bell), (1) carmen red sweet pepper, 1 pint box of 7 aji dulce mild chile peppers, (3) plum tomatoes, (1) slicing tomato, 1/2 pint mixed cherry/grape tomatoes, bag of green beans, beets (or choice of radishes), parsley, kale (or choice of chard) – swapped for 2nd parsley, (2) corn, as many as you can use – chile cherry chile pepper (medium hot), as many as you can use – 2nds tomatoes

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 13

Week Fourteen

Celery with greens, bag green beans (or choice of wax beans), (4) corn, small onion, (1) bell pepper, eggplant, pea tendrils (or choice of chard or kale), parsley (choice of chives or basil), beets with greens (or choice of radishes w/greens or purple topped turnips), (1) slicing tomato, (4) plum tomatoes, pint of mixed cherry/grape tomatoes, as much as you can use: chile peppers – aji dulce, jalapenos, and very hot (did not take very hot), as much as you can use: 2nds tomatoes

The pea tendrils didn’t have very many blossoms this time, but they seemed hardier and fresher than the spring batches, with lots of leaves and stalks.

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 14

Week Fifteen

Keep in mind, I had a “small” share. The larger shares received at least double the amounts, and depending on the pick up location, the variety could be slightly different.

beets (or choice of turnips or radishes), bok choy, chard or arugula or pea tendrils(?), kale, chives (or choice of parsley), (2) plum tomatoes, 1 onion, green beans, eggplant, 1/2 pint mixed cherry grape tomatoes, aji dulce or jalapeno peppers as much as you can use.

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 15

Week Sixteen

a lot of goodies this week!

large cabbage, carrots with greens or choice of beets, radishes or choice of turnips, large bag of green beans, carmen red pepper (horn shaped), (2) plum tomatoes, 1/2 pint mixed cherry/grape tomatoes, garlic, parsley or choice of basil or chives, celery or choice of scallions, arugula or choice of chard – swapped for 2nd celery, eggplant, butternut squash, aji dulce peppers (7) as many as you can use

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 16

Huge heavy cabbage!
Farmer Dave's CSA Week 16

Week Seventeen

small head of green lettuce or choice of arugula, tatsoi or choice of chard, cilantro or choice of basil chives or parsley, (2) onions, beets or choice of radishes, poblano pepper or choice of cubanelle, 1/2 pint mixed grape/cherry tomatoes, acorn squash, cranberry shell beans, large bag of green or choice of waxed – swapped for 2nd bag of shell beans, as many as you could use of habanero very hot peppers (didn’t take any)
and as much as you can use of plum tomatoes (took 8)

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 17

Week Eighteen

Keep in mind, I had a “small” share. The larger shares received at least double the amounts, and depending on the pick up location, the variety could be slightly different.

1/2 pint mixed Cherry grape tomatoes – choice of green beans, Red leaf lettuce or choice of arugula
Carrots with greens or choice of beets or scallions, 2 poblano peppers or choice of green bell, Eggplant or choice of other eggplant, Radish with greens, Butternut squash, Tatsoi or choice of chard or collards, Parsley or choice of cilantro or chives

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 18

Week Nineteen

Green bell pepper, Small bag of potatoes, 2 onions, Carrots with tops or choice of beets, Kohlrabi or choice of radishes – swapped for 2nd cilantro, Cilantro, Small bag of broccoli crowns, 2 Boston lettuces or choice of chard kale or arugula, 1/2 pint cherry/grape tomatoes, Butternut squash, Sugar snap peas or choice of green beans, Jalepeno peppers- As much as you can use (took 3)

I was psyched at the cool choices this week. Potatoes and broccoli are exciting!

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 19

Week Twenty

Keep in mind, I had a “small” share. The larger shares received at least double the amounts, and depending on the pick up location, the variety could be slightly different.

Last week! :(

Huge sweet potato, Garlic, Leek, Carrots or choice of beets, Romanesco or choice of broccoli or lettuce, Green leaf lettuce or arugula, Green bell peppers or choice of jalapeño or carmen red peppers, Bag of cranberry shell beans, Radish or purple top turnips swapped for extra bag of shell beans (I’ll have enough shell beans to last in freezer for many months I think!), Cilantro, Chard- as much as you can use

Farmer Dave's CSA Week 20

Romanesco is a little bit broccoli and a little bit cauliflower…but 100% delicious and such a treat to look at!
Farmer Dave's CSA Week 20

Next Season?

Unfortunately, I do not plan on joining the CSA for 2012, and it has nothing to do with Farmer Dave’s, or the quality and price of the CSA.

I simply decided that it was just too much pressure, especially in the summer months. It was just too overwhelming to process, cook and eat all the vegetables we were receiving. I just couldn’t keep up with cooking ideas, and I felt like I was missing out on other vegetables that I was craving (like broccoli) but couldn’t buy because we already had so much food from the CSA.

So next season, I’ll continue to support and shop at Farmer Dave’s farm stand but also venture out to other farms and farmer’s markets. I’m excited that I’ll be able to choose exactly the vegetables I want, and it’ll be easier to plan my menus, especially when we’re on vacation.

It will be so helpful to shop earlier in the day if needed, which will give me more time to organize and process my produce before I needed to start dinner. I also hope this will help with maintaining a grocery budget and meal plans, since I can purchase exactly what I need in smaller or larger quantities.

I’ll play it by ear, and see how it goes, who knows I might miss it so much, I’ll go back the following season, or I might decide to sign up for their late fall CSA share. We’ll see.

I want to make it clear that I do not regret participating in the past two CSA seasons; I learned about many amazing new foods, and learned how to prepare them. For this reason and many others, I do not want to dissuade anyone from joining a CSA.

To those that want to try a CSA in the Eastern Massachusetts area, I highly recommend Farmer Dave’s! They have many pick-up locations and it’s a great bargain for all the food you receive. PLUS, you are supporting a local farm!

Sage Spoonfuls By Liza Huber – Book Review

I became interested in the book, Sage Spoonfuls – Simple Recipes, Healthy Meals, Happy Babies when I saw the author, Liza Huber, and her mother Susan Lucci (All My Children’s Erica Kane) on a morning talk show. Liza was promoting her book, and she spoke about how important she thought it was to make your own homemade baby food.

I am not sure why I gravitated to her and this subject matter, seeing that I do not have any any children, nor will I in the future, but I am passionate about healthy food, and I agree that good nutrition has to start as early as possible, especially when we are seeing soaring rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes in young children. Maybe the subject struck me because my niece recently had a little baby girl, and I am hopeful that maybe she could be raised with wholesome healthy homemade food.

So, long story short, I was fortunate to receive a review copy of Liza’s book, and I’m so glad I did!

Sage Spoonfuls by Liza Huber book review

Now, again, I can’t speak from personal experience, but Liza states that for only 1 hour every two weeks, you can have a freezer full of homemade healthy baby food!

She created Sage Spoonfuls as a complete homemade baby-food system, of which the book is part of. The “system” includes storage jars, blenders, freezer packs, coolers, totes, etc. and the book does promote her products, but her ideas are 100% doable without any additional purchases, unless of course you want to. Well, I should clarify that you will need to buy some sort of small storage containers or baggies if you want to freeze your baby food, which is the whole point of the book, but most of the other necessary tools are items you probably already have in your kitchen: veggie peeler, strainer, cutting board, knife, spoon, cooking pot with steamer/lid, skillet/fry pan, baking sheet, immersion blender or food processor, fork, glass bowl, spatula, & sauce pan.

So let’s start with what I liked about the physical aspects of the book. It’s spiral bound, so it lies flat on your counter; that’s so helpful when you’re trying to read while cooking. The pages are thick & glossy, which I assume could resist staining (again, so helpful in the kitchen!) There’s bold bright colors on every page, with easy to read fonts and graphics. Lot of big detailed photographs throughout.

There is a lot of information to read and if you are new mom, it might be a good idea to read it once then go back and read it at least one more time to really understand the process. I dog-eared many pages and highlighted text that I thought was important!

So, there are 5 chapters in the book: Food for Thought; the Essentials; Let’s Get Started; a Homemade Lifestyle; and Recipes. Each chapter is loaded with tips, hints and details that will give you all the information you need to feed your baby homemade food. There is a 2 page “index” at the back of the book, and it’s easy to find each vegetable or fruit, along with the general subjects she mentions in the book, like Foods to Avoid, Reheating, Infant CPR.

Liza covers every aspect of how to prepare homemade food for your baby, including nutritional facts (vitamins, minerals, fats, etc) and allergies. I love that she encourages adding herbs and spices to your baby’s food. Again, I might be totally experienced in this area, but I always thought baby food should be bland. Not so! In fact, she states that the more flavors your baby is exposed to, the more “adventurous” an eater he will be, and the less “picky” he will be later in life.

Sage Spoonfuls really is a A-Z book on EVERYTHING you need to know. What is the best way to reheat the baby food? How to quickly defrost the food from freezer? What do you look for when shopping for produce or meat? What to expect when going on an overnight trip to a location with a fridge? Liza covers that, along with other scenarios like day trips, and overnights without a fridge.

My favorite chapter is Recipes – it covers each stage in a baby’s life, starting with 4-6 months, then 7-9 months, and 10-12 months. I suppose you could say that these are technically not really “recipes”, but a directory of ingredients appropriate for that specific age group.

There is also a section on Family Favorites, simple recipes that the entire family, including adults, babies, toddlers, and older children, will enjoy.

The first three age-centered recipe sections each start with a FAQ, which answers just about every question you could have concerning feeding your baby at that particular age. Liza encourages you to keep trying if at first your baby doesn’t respond. She makes every “problem” sound completely normal and that you are not alone; there are other moms that went through the same, and it’s okay!

Each single ingredient is highlighted on two pages. The first page includes helpful tips for cooking/preparing along with nutritional data plus the appropriate age at which you should start feeding the particular ingredient. She also lists if the ingredient is suitable for freezer and/or fridge and how to store “on the go”.

sage spoonfuls sample pages

The ingredient’s 2nd page focuses on yummy food combinations, again, appropriate for that particular age group. This is my absolute favorite aspect of the book. I don’t know why, but these food combinations just thrilled me. I just love the knowledge that banana can be easily combined with apples or pears & parsnips – I mean, what commercial baby food manufacturer offers a jar combining potato, pea and pear? I guess that’s what makes homemade food so exciting. The endless possibility of yummy tasty combinations!

Another favorite part of the Sage Spoonfuls book was the realization that you can indeed make homemade baby cereal! Okay, it could be my lack of child rearing experience, but I think it’s so cool that you can easily make your own rice, oatmeal, barley and millet baby cereal and it will be tons better than anything you buy at the store!

My complaints about the book? I wish she shared more about the why’s of some of her tips. For example, why you need to peel vegetables and fruit? Is it because it is more difficult to puree or could it cause choking? And why she didn’t mention using a microwave to warm the food? I’m assuming her belief is that perhaps a microwave kills nutrients, but I would have loved to have read her official opinions on both.

I’m sure most of the book content can be found in various books or other “mommy” web sites, but it’s really handy to have ONE book that explains all aspects of preparing homemade baby food!

I recommend Sage Spoonfuls – Simple Recipes, Healthy Meals, Happy Babies to new moms, or moms without a lot of cooking or nutritional knowledge. I’d even recommend this for grandmas that want to give their grandbabies healthy homemade food when they visit.

This is the way I wish all children could be raised, eating wholesome homemade food! We could eliminate so many chronic illnesses and especially childhood obesity problems! If only parents would take the extra time to cook for their families! It is probably the best gift they could give!

(Disclaimer: Even though I received a free copy of this book, my opinions are truthful, and I tried my best to give an fair evaluation.)

Almost Meatless – Recipes That Are Better for Your Health and the Planet – Book Review

I found the Almost Meatless: Recipes That Are Better for Your Health and the Planet by Joy Manning & Tara Mataraza Desmond book at the local library.

It is impossible to continue to feed ourselves and the world, unless we reduce our consumption of animal products. That includes local humanely raised animal products, as well as inferior cheaply-raised Big Food animal products.

Eating as a “flexitarian” is so much better for your health and especially good for the environment. AND it’s good for your food budget too!

We eat several meatless meals each week, but when I do cook meat, poultry or seafood, I really try hard to limit our portion to no more than 4 oz (raw) or 3 oz (cooked). It really helps to view animal products (including dairy, poultry, eggs, meat, and seafood) as an enhancement to the dish, not the main attraction. Adding more plant based foods like vegetables, fruits, grains, beans and nuts, to make those the centerpiece of home cooked recipes.

And this is where the “Almost Meatless” book comes in handy for inspiration. From inside the book’s dust cover: A little meat can go a long way…. So true!

Keep in mind, this is not a vegetarian cookbook, all the recipes include animal products, but they are not the main component of the dish. Meats are used sparingly, but wisely, to build layers of flavors in the recipes.

The book is sectioned by each animal product (chicken, turkey, seafood, pork, beef, lamb, eggs, and broths), not by recipe subject. While browsing through the book, like I love to do, reading it cover to cover, it’s wonderful to see all the chicken recipes or all the beef recipes together, but for the home cook, it might be confusing not to be able to find one chapter for all soups, or pastas, or sandwiches, salads, or side dishes, especially when meats can sometimes be used interchangeably with each other. It might be more difficult to find what you’re looking for unless you know how the recipe is categorized in the index in the back of the book.

But that is really a small price to pay for the benefits of the book. It’s packed with loads of inspiration and ideas! I especially loved the tips on making your own stocks and broths on page 130. They tell you WHY you need to use cold water and why you only want to simmer (not boil) and why you should skim the foam. Stuff I never really understood!

At the beginning of each “meat” section, there is a terrific explanation. What to look for when purchasing (ie labels like “free range” which mean nothing in today’s terms), why and how to avoid the factory farmed version and find a local farm that raises their animals with care and respect.

For instance, what do the terms organic or grass fed for beef mean? It’s on page 84!

The “Bring Home the Bacon” blurb on page 37 was an eye-opener for me! I don’t ever buy bacon (turkey or pork) from mainstream Big Food companies anymore, but if I did, I’d certainly not want to buy one that included “mechanically separated turkey” as an ingredient!

There are a lot of beautifully detailed photographs in the cook book, only a few recipes do not have an accompanying photo. On the negative side, some of the photos are useless; for example, page 127 displays a yummy bowl of seeded tomatoes instead of the actual finished Pizza Strata dish. Same problem on page 95, instead of showing the finished Chimichurri Fajitas, there is a lovely eggplant photograph. Lovely yes, but not helpful for those of us cooking the dish. For the most part though, the photos do compliment the recipes, and really show great detail on what to expect for the finished recipe.

One other small complaint, I wish they didn’t use so much white flour and/or white bread as ingredients. I’m NOT dead set against never using white flour or white sugar, but after all, we’re eating less meat for the health of our bodies and the planet, so give us more healthy whole grains.

But I loved that they really encouraged finding local food, especially local animal products! That’s so important!

I recommend the Almost Meatless: Recipes That Are Better for Your Health and the Planet cookbook. It’s a beautiful detailed book and even the more experienced home cook will find something inspiring in the recipes as well as the tips and information. I enjoyed reading through it!

Some favorite recipes that inspired me:

Disclaimer:
I love reading cookbooks, like some people love reading novels! I am inspired by recipes, and enjoy learning ideas from cookbooks; I like putting my own spin on a recipe rather than exactly following it. Please keep in mind that my opinions might be completely different from the other home cooks.

October Unprocessed 2011 – NO Processed Food for One Month

I stumbled on the October Unprocessed 2011 over on the EatingRules.com blog and it seems like a good challenge to try.

For the most part, I don’t eat processed food, but yes, there are times when a few items sneak in…like a subway sub or some birthday cake from the grocery store.

His definition of “processed food”

Unprocessed food is any food that could be made by a person with reasonable skill in a home kitchen with readily available, whole-food ingredients.

I call it “The Kitchen Test.” If you pick up something with a label (and if it doesn’t have a label, it’s probably unprocessed), and find an ingredient you’d never use in your kitchen and couldn’t possibly make yourself from the whole form, it’s processed.

It doesn’t mean you actually have to make it yourself, it just means that for it to be considered “unprocessed” that you could, in theory, do so.

There is a discussion from last year

It would be a good challenge, now that summer is winding down. No more vacations to temp me with sugary fatty treats. I signed up! Whoo hooo!

Eating From the Freezer

I have decided to try to eat what’s in my freezer before purchasing any more meat or seafood.

I have lovely scallops, shrimp, boneless chicken, whole chicken, ground beef, etc. and I think it’s important to save some money and just concentrate on eating what’s there first.

So far so good! I roasted a chicken on Sunday, and it’s given us 6 meals! 4 dinners (including soup!) and 2 lunches!

I can’t believe that I haven’t been to Whole Foods since the end of August! I did shop at the local Market Basket grocery store to pick up a few things, I desperately needed a bag of King Arthur white whole wheat flour, yogurt, and some bananas.

This week, I’m glad that there isn’t much on sale again at Whole Foods. I’ll just pick up a few necessities at Market Basket, and grab all my produce from the local farms and from my CSA share at Farmer Daves.

With our lower meat consumption, I could actually be sustained for a few weeks, and possibly not need to visit Whole Foods until October. Wow, now wouldn’t that be a feat!

But for now, one week at a time!

Roasting Tomatoes and Drying Celery Leaves

Went to a local farm in a neighboring town and picked up 6 lb gorgeous tomatoes ($1.75lb) along with a big celery with tons and tons of leaves ($1) and two small pickling cukes ($1). All for under $13.50!

As soon as I returned home, I washed and chopped the tomatoes into halves/large chunks and put them in the oven to slow roast @ 260F.

Never ever throw away fresh celery leaves when you buy them fresh at the farm or farmer’s market. They dry out so easily in a low oven and will keep in a air-tight container for awhile. Use like any dry herb, for soups, sauces, etc. Penzey’s Spices charges over $8 for a 4 oz bag of celery flakes and the dried leaves work just as well!

Just tear off most of the deep green celery leaves (thin stalks too), rinse and spin dry. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and into the (260F) oven. I had mine drying along with the tomatoes.

Watch the celery leaves in the oven, remove when they get crispy and can crumble completely in your hands. It takes about 30 – 45 minutes. Then allow to cool (only takes a few minutes) and crumble the leaves and stems into an air-tight container or plastic baggie. They keep for awhile, but will lose flavor the longer you keep, just like other dried herbs.

Back to the tomatoes. It’s about 2-3 hours to roast the tomatoes, and once they’re all roasted to sweet goodness, allow them to cool. I transferred into quart freezer bags, ready to use in the winter months when I’m longing for fresh tomato sauce! You can also freeze fresh (uncooked) tomatoes. I just core them and freeze them whole. Works great!

I’ll probably buy more tomatoes from this farm and freeze those raw, but this time, I wanted to get them roasted up first.

Oh it will be soo nice to have summer tomatoes available for my tomato sauce in February…if they last that long!