Squash and Granola

12 August 28 – Sunday

 

Fresh produce from the garden is SO yummy. We were unable to have a garden this year however we are enjoying the fruits of our friends’ labors. They have been sharing zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes and cucumbers.  

A favorite at our house is fried squash. In fact we often have just fried squash in the evening, nothing else. You can use zucchini AND summer squash or just one type, you choose.

 

Fried squash

6-8 small to medium sized squash, peeled and coarsely diced

3 eggs

1 t dill weed

2 t garlic powder

2 T minced onion

1 t celery salt

½ t pepper

½ c parmesan cheese

1 stick butter

1 tube of saltine crackers crushed (I use Zesta) 

While you melt the stick of butter in a nonstick fry pan, whisk all ingredients except the crackers and squash in a large mixing bowl. Put the squash in the whisked mixture, stir well to coat. Then pour over the crushed crackers and stir well again. Pour into the fry pan when the butter is completely melted. Fry at 350, turning when the crackers brown. Takes about 20-30 minutes to cook. We also sprinkle parmesan on at the table. Salt and pepper to taste.

Tasty Granola 

 

 

 

 

I've also been gathering different granola recipes and doing a "pick and choose" regarding our likes and dislikes while trying to keep it healthy. The following recipe was a hit as a dry snack, with milk and with greek yogurt.

 

The fruits and nuts from Purcell Mountain Farms, www.purcellmountainfarms.com are quality. There are organic options, if that is important to you, a wide variety of rice, beans, nuts, dried fruit, seeds, wheat, rye etc. The pricing and shipping is competitive. There is a price break for larger quantities. Best of all, the product tastes fresh.

As an aside,  Mountain Rose Herbs, www.mountainroseherbs.com has a plethora of oils, spices, essential oils for aromatherapy and herbs. Just a warning to those of you who are very fussy about organic products. Some their organic oils are in plastic bottles. If I remember correctly, the shipping was on the pricey side however living where we do, it would cost more in time and gas to drive somewhere with this kind of selection.

Tasty Granola 

I large can of Old Fashioned Oats (46 oz I think, it’s about 15 cups)

2 c toasted coconut (I just used my nonstick fry pan to brown it)

2 c toasted pumpkin seeds

1 ½ c sesame seeds

2 c slivered almonds

1 c dried cherries

1 cdried cranberries

1 c golden raisins

Put all of the above in a large bowl and stir well. 

In a saucepan:

2 c brown sugar

1 c raw honey

½ c macadamia nut oil

1 c dried milk

Stir over medium heat until sugar melts.

Add to the liquid mixture.

2 T almond extract

1 t cinnamon

Stir well.

 

Pour over the mixture in the large bowl. Stir well. 

Pour the coated mixture into 2 lightly greased jelly rolls pans . Spread out in the pan. Place pans in a 375 degree preheated oven. Bake 10 minutes no longer as the second and third times you bake after stirring, it browns quickly. Remove pans from the oven, pour the mixture back into large bowl and stir well. Repeat this for a total of 3 times. After the third time, pour the stirred mixture out on the counter covered with parchment paper. Let cool. When completely cooled, break up large chunks and place the mixture in a large sealed container. Store excess in the freezer as it is good on the counter for about a week.

You may be able to use 1 cup brown sugar and 2 cups honey. I have not experimented with that. This recipe is so tasty, I'm not sure I will change anything.

 

 

 

 

 There's nothing better

than fresh bread!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 - August 25, Saturday 

It’s a rainy Saturday morning and I have the urge to bake, once again.  

Recently I read “The Wheat Belly”. This is a book written by a cardiologist who goes into a lengthy explanation regarding the chromosomal changes in the wheat kernel that have occurred over time to make the wheat more viable to weather, produce higher yields and resist predators among other things. However with this change there is a decrease in nutritional value and an increase in gut intolerance to the gluten that the “46 chromosome” wheat kernel contains. The einkorn wheat or Farro Piccolo is the original 8 chromosome wheat kernel. Related to these changes is also an increase in circulating levels of insulin in the human body when one eats this wheat which leads to a big flabby belly hence “The Wheat Belly”.

I began a search for a company that carried this type of wheat in a whole kernel and found Jovial Foods to be the best priced supplier. Their customer service is wonderful and there is also a price break with increasing amounts purchased. 

The next step was to find a reasonably priced durable grain mill. After researching, again via the internet, I found that the Wondermill Electric mill. It can grind rice, steel cut oats, tapioca pearls, beans, corn, popcorn and most importantly, einkorn wheat.

The next step of inquiry was finding a recipe for whole wheat bread that would have good texture, get a good rise, have decent counter life and taste awesome. I began the research once again. I also started testing some recipes.  Initially I started using butter as the shortening and later found that coconut oil increases the counter life and adds a wonderful flavor.  I’ve made some mistakes along the way however nothing that was inedible.

 I use a bread machine to make my dough. I affectionately call the machine “Mama Zo”. The machine is a large Zojrushi that I have had for a number of years. The following is the basic whole wheat recipe that we enjoy.

1 7/8 cup of water

2 T coconut oil

5 ½ leveled cups of freshly ground einkorn wheat berries

5 T of vital wheat gluten

1 T of diastatic malt powder (non diastatic works as well)

2 t of finely ground sea salt

2 T sugar

¼ t ascorbic acid

2 T dried milk

2 t of instant dried yeast (I use SAF brand) 

Pour water into the bread machine tub. Add coconut oil. Mix all dry ingredients together EXCEPT yeast before pouring into the bread machine tub with water in it. Last, make a small well in the center of the dry ingredients and put the 2 tsps yeast here. Set the machine on “quick dough”. When complete, knead the dough on a board coated with coconut oil, divide in 2, place in 9”X5” bread pan greased with coconut oil. Cover and let rise in a warm draft free area for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350. After 1 hour of rising, place bread in preheated oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. When the bread is done, set on a cooling rack. I put butter on some parchment paper rub it on the crust and wait 10 minutes. Then remove bread from the pan and allow it to cool before cutting.

The raisin bread variation of the whole wheat recipe above:

 

          3 cups of raisins soaked in warm water for about 15 mins. Drain and place on a

          paper towel to drain more. This plumps up the raisins. This is an optional step. 

          If you soak the raisins, decrease the water in the whole wheat recipe by ½ cup.

          If you don’t soak the raisins, use the amount as listed in the recipe. Mama Zo

          beeps when it’s time to add, that’s when I dump the raisins in.

After making this salad this afternoon, I truly meant to take a picture to post of the finished product however all I have left is an empty bowl so no pic this time.

Broccoli Celery Salad

ONE:

4 Heads broccoli cleaned chopped

1/2 medium red onion diced fine

4-5 cups red seedless grapes washed and sliced in half

1 bunch of celery washed and diced fine

½ cup chopped green onion

Mix well together.

Dressing:

1 cups of Low Fat Hellman's mayo

1/4 cup sugar

4 Tbsp white vinegar

Pour over the veggies, stir well.

TWO:

Just before serving add

2# of turkey bacon cooked crisp and crumbled (I use the microwave to cook in on paper towel)

2 cups of salted/roasted sunflower seeds

Stir well

 

I make my own bacon bits with turkey bacon. I cooked 3 # of Hormel turkey bacon in the microwave on paper towels.

                                                        3# of crispy cooked turkey bacon

Below picture is 3# of crumbled turkey bacon.

Salad as a Meal

 

Wack A Doodle Salad

12 oz pkg Wacky Noodles
1 cup sliced black olives
¼ large red onion diced fine
7 diced Roma tomatoes
6 chopped hard boiled eggs
1 ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese

Dressing: (whisk together well)

1/8  cup EV olive oil
3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Pkg dry Italian dressing
½ tsp black pepper
2 tsp fine Sea Salt

6-8 quarts boiling water with 1 Tbsp salt and 1 Tbsp of olive oil added. Slowly add dry noodles, bring to a boil. Boil until done. Drain. Don’t rinse. Put in a bowl. Make the dressing and pour over noodles. Stir very well. Put in refrigerator to cool. Prep the remainder of the salad and add when the noodles are cooled. Stir well.

This salad is a meal all by itself.

Garbage Can Mix

I wanted to update the blog and I had a nudge from my daughter to be more regular in posting recipes, her favorites at least.

I just finished spending the day deep cleaning the house. Rearranged and vacuumed the furniture, washed all the blankets, throws and covers, vacuumed and mopped floors, dusted and did laundry. When that was done I started supper. I promised my husband to cook a "from scratch" one.

So here's our "from scratch" supper tonight.
4 pork chops with the fat trimmed off.
1 med-large onion
1 stick butter
4 medium potatoes
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 can of Rotel tomatoes with lime and cilantro

Melt the stick of butter in a fry pan large enough to hold the above ingredients. Chop up the onion and sautee it in the butter. Take out the onions when done and put into a large bowl. Season pork chops with Lawry's salt to taste. Sear each side on high heat using the same fry pan as you sauteed the onions in. (leave the remaining butter in the pan)

 Place the cream of celery soup and Rotel tomatoes in the bowl with the onions. Add 1 tsp of celery salt. Stir well. Peel the potatoes, cut into pieces into the bowl with the soup and onion mix. Again stir well. Turn the fry pan down to 300. Pour potato mixture over top. Cover with a lid. Cook 20 minutes. Stir, turn the heat down to 200-250 continue to cook for 30 minutes.

This is one of Randi's favorites. It evolved during the holidays when parties abound. It freezes very well. It makes a HUGE batch and it so yummy.

Garbage Can Mix
1 Box Wheat Chex

1 Box of Crispix

1 Box Mini Multigrain Club Crackers (or the Club Cracker sticks crack these in half)

1 Box Wheat Thins

2 Bags Crunchy Cheetos

2 Bags Chili Cheese Fritos

1 Box Colby Cheese Cheese Its

1 Bag of Parmesan Goldfish Crackers

1 Bag of Pretezel Goldfish Crackers

1 Bag of Snyder Pumpernickel/Onion Pretzels break in half (Fareway)

1 Box of Pepperidge Farms Baked Sesame Sticks break in half (Walmart)

1 Large Bag of Bugles or 2 Small ones Plain or Nacho

1 Box of Quaker Graham Squares (hint of brown sugar)

1 Can of Dry Roasted Emerald Almonds (Walmart ?11 oz?)

Mix all the above together in a garbage bag. 

In a 4 cup measuring cup, melt 2 sticks of butter. Add Worchesteshire Sauce to the 2 ½ cup line. Add 4 pkgs of Chex seasoning mix, 2 tsps of garlic powder and 2 Tbsp of dry Hidden Valley. Whisk together. 

Pour over the dry mix and stir well. Once coated and damp, pour a container of Kraft dried cheese (orange, it’s at Fareway by the Parmesan cheese) and stir it over the damp mix.

Bake in a preheated 250 degree oven for an hour, stirring every 15 mins. 

Pour on waxed paper or parchment, cool and store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Muffin Tops

Adult 9'X5' Double Fleece Blankets

Beef and Barley Stoup

Beef and Barley Stoup (Grandma D. style)

12 cups water

5 heaping Tbsp of Watkins beef soup base

5# potatoes peeled and diced

2# carrots peeled and diced or chopped in food processor

2 pkg of celery hearts, cleaned and diced in fine pieces

2 medium onions cleaned and chopped in food processor

¼ cup minced garlic

1 ½ tsp of celery salt

Place all of this in a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low - medium low and simmer. 

Add 2 quarts of canned beef after removing any fat that has settled at the top of the jar. This can be substituted with 4# of a less expensive cut of beef, with fat trimmed and pressure cooked to get the same tender consistency. Pull apart the larger chunks of beef before adding to the soup. Use approximately ½ cup water to rinse canned beef jars and pour that into the stock pot as well. If you pressure cook the beef, add that juice/seasoning to the stock pot when the beef is done. 

4# lean ground beef (this is the part that makes it Grandma D. style… her famous bolltjes)

2 Tsp Lawry’s salt

4 Tbsp Worchesteshire sauce

Mix together well. Roll into small balls and cook in fry pan until done. Drain and place on paper towel.

Stir all of the cooked meat into the vegetable base. Add 2 cups of Quick Barley. Simmer for 2-3 hours stirring every 15 minutes or so as the barley can stick to the bottom of the pan.

Season with Lawry’s salt or salt/pepper to taste when serving. 

This freezes very well and the flavor becomes fuller when reheating.

Fresh Vegetable Salad

   I absolutely love this in the summer made with fresh veggies. Have to make do this winter with the others. Still yummy though. For a little extra color, you could add coarsely chopped orange and yellow peppers. This recipe is low carb and has healthy fat, just a touch. Enjoy!

Sabaro Salad

3 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 large cucumber, cut in chunks

1 medium red onion coarsely chopped 

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp EV olive oil

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 pkg dry all natural Italian dressing

Whisk the above ingredients together. Quickly pour over the vegetables. Stir. Marinate the veggies and chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Muffins

   My Mom used to make what I called refrigerator muffins. They were bran muffins that didn’t really taste like bran yet were healthy. Our family likes these so well that there’s usually a plate of these on the counter. I make a double batch of batter about every 3-4 weeks. They are a nice snack that satisfies the sweet craving and also work well for breakfast that you really don’t have time for, you can grab one as you run out the door.

   I used her recipe and made some alterations. The one thing I’ve found is that you really do not want to over mix when you add the flour. It effects the way the mix raises when you bake it at first. But even if you do, it resolves itself the longer you leave the dough in the refrigerator. 

Refrigerator Muffins:

4 eggs

1 quart buttermilk

1 cup canola oil

3 cups sugar

6 cups raisin bran cereal

½ cup raisins (I use a cup as we like raisins)

5 cups all-purpose flour

5 tsps baking soda

2 tsp salt

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, buttermilk, oil and sugar. Stir in cereal and raisins. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt; add to egg mixture. Stir just until all ingredients are moistened. If desired, store batter, covered in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks. To bake, fill greased muffin cups 2/3rds full. Bake @ 400 for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. WAIT 24 hours before baking the first batch. DO NOT stir the batter in the refrigerator. Just take the amount of batter desired to make the amount of muffins you choose, recover and put back in the refrigerator. 

Notes:

• Soak the dried fruit that in HOT water for 30 minutes, drain it and add to the recipe. This leaves the batter moist and the fruit plump in the muffin when you bake it.
• I double this recipe as the muffins actually get better as the batter sits.
• You can substitute melted butter for the oil and it works fine. We like the texture of the muffin with the oil better.
• Use muffin paper cups to bake them in. It makes for easier cleanup.

Variations:

NO fruit muffins: Substitue regular bran for the raisin bran and don’t add extra raisins

Cranberry muffins: use regular bran and 3 cups of dried cranberries

CranRaisin muffins: use 1 ½ cups of raisins and 2 cups of cranberries

Discovery Phase and Fleece

  During what I’ll call the “discovery phase” that I encountered when looking 50 in the face, I decided that I wanted to start sewing again. Sewing was something my Mom taught me to do at a very young age.

   It’s different now. Sewing your own clothing, depending on the article of clothing, sometimes is not very cost effective.  However, making fleece blankets for service projects has become an enjoyable pastime. Initially I wasn’t a smart shopper so the blankets cost more.  I soon became savvy by perusing the sales after the holidays and stocked up. So our bedroom not only became the sewing room but the store room as well.  We are renovating our son’s old bedroom into the sewing room now. It has a closet for all my sale material.

   I use 2 pieces of fleece and serge around it after trimming the edges and rounding the corners. The adult blankets are 3 yards and kid blankets are 1.5 yards. The kid size is awesome for the elderly as a lap blanket as well. They are light weight, warm and no fringes or knots to get caught in the wheels of their walkers or wheelchairs.
  Despite being slightly more expensive, my preference is the nonpill fleece and the cuddle fleece. It has a fuller, richer feel and look to it. When using the cuddle type, I usually pair it with a nonpill piece, serge the edge and then quilt the pieces together. In 2010, I made a total of 70 blankets for gifts, 17 of the adult size and the remainder in the kid size. The kid sizes all went to nursing homes as well as the domestic abuse shelter that winter.
   I just found team fleece on sale for the Hawkeyes, Vikings, Red Sox, Twins, Huskers and Green Bay.  An order has been placed. If you are in need of a gift for anyone, let me know. The blankets can also be personalized. I can email you the pricing once the invoices are received.

INSTRUCTIONS for do it yourselfers:

#2  3 yard pieces of nonpill fleece

Straight pins

Large area on a clean floor

Lay wrong sides together. Pin edges. Use a rotary cutter, mat and straight edge to trim uneven edges. Use a rotary cutter and a rounded template to round the edges.

Serge together using a 3 thread hemming stitch. Finish off the edge by tucking a remnant thread through the hemmed edged and apply Fray Check to prevent unraveling.

Throw in the dryer and tumble for approximately 15 minutes to remove stray threads and fuzzies.

Save the pieces of fleece that you trimmed to even the edges. Tie knots in the ends after cutting into a variety of strip lengths. Then tie the strips together. These make excellent dog and cat play toys.

Healthy, Hearty Vegetable Stoup

   The focus on healthy whole foods has always been in the back of my mind however as time goes on, it becomes more relevant. That's not to say there isn't some enjoyable "not so healthy" recipes out there as well.
   I'm a soup lover. No doubt about it. My brothers say I make "stoup", a thick hearty soup almost like a stew.  In an effort to create a stoup made up strictly of low starch vegetables, bursting with flavor, the following recipe evolved. This recipe makes a large stock pot of soup that freezes well and reheats tasting like the original or perhaps a tinge more tasty as the flavors have been allowed to merge.

Vegetable Soup

This recipe makes a large stock pot of NO fat soup that is very healthy and freezes well. It contains many cruciferous vegetables that are good carb kind. Tastes great with warm focaccia or garlic bread. Leave out the bread and this is an excellent weight loss recipe. Enjoy!

12 cups water
6 heaping Tbsp Watkins Chicken Broth
2 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp Celery salt
1 Tbsp Curry
1 pkg of Italian Dressing seasoning (dry)
2 tsp Oregano
3 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1 bunches green onion chopped
3 green peppers cleaned diced
1 ea of red/yellow/orange peppers cleaned diced
10 large carrots chopped in food processer
2 medium onion diced fine or run through food processor
2 pkg celery hearts diced
2 pkg fresh mushrooms chopped coarsely
1 med head cabbage diced
2 head cauliflower diced
1 head broccoli diced

2 can Mrs Grimes chili beans
2 cans petite diced tomatoes (don’t drain)
4 cans French style cut beans drained before adding
During the season, you can use the fresh equivalent of the above.

Zucchini, Yellow Squash can also be added during the season. I didn’t add the frozen kind as it would add liquid and take away flavor.

1 large can of pumpkin or the equivalent fresh pureed pumpkin if you wish(add last after the vegetables have been simmered at least 45 min-1 hr)

When all the chopped veggies are in the pot, it seems as though there’s not enough water, DON’T add more!  As the veggies cook, they give off liquid and LOTS of flavors, adding more water will take away the flavor!


   That's my stomp on stoup for today!