Home Grown Nutrition

Craving a little sunshine?  Here in the land of rain (and snow and hail) we must learn to embrace our inner sunshine.  If, like me, you need a little help - try this bright tasting salad.   The lemon zest and juice taste just like bottled sunshine and add vitamin C.  The grated carrots and golden beets (yes, raw beets are tasty!) seem to glow with healthy goodness and add fiber and vitamin A.  The little coconut snowflakes add irony.  Go eat your sunshine.

Sunshine Salad

Makes about 2 Cups *Indicates ingredients grown or produced locally

*1 Large or 2 medium carrots

*1 Large golden beet, scrubbed and peeled

1 Lemon, washed (use organic, we’ll be zesting)

*2 Sprigs mint

2 Heaping tablespoons raisins

*2 Heaping tablespoons chopped roasted hazelnuts

2 Heaping tablespoons shredded (unsweetened) coconut

Into a medium bowl, grate the carrot and beet.  Using a microplane or the small holes on a grater, grate the zest from the lemon into the bowl.  Avoid the white pith just underneath the yellow zest, its bitter.  Pull the leaves off the mint sprigs, finely chop and add to the bowl.  Add your raisins, hazelnuts and coconut & give it a good stir.

Our farmer ancestors have grown farro since 7700BC in the fertile crescent.  The wild farro grain (also called emmer wheat) is an ancestor to our modern day wheat, now widely devoured in the form of white bread and pasta.  9700 years later, we are just beginning to learn how much our health is affected by the foods we eat.  The food we eat goes into our mouths & then disappears into our digestive systems to undergo various complex biological processes before actually becoming part of our bodies. 

The carbohydrate in foods such as fruits, grains and beans starts to break down in your mouth.  When you eat an apple for example, an enzyme called amylase is stimulated by the presense of carbohydrate in your mouth, starting to break the carbohydrate chains into smaller sugars or saccharides.  The process continues in your stomach, and by the time those apple sugars reach your intestines, they have been broken down into the most simple sugar - glucose.  The glucose then gets absorbed into the intestine and delivered to your blood.  It travels around in the blood superhighway until it floats close to a cell that is “hungry” - the cell has a little insulin flag on it that is like an open mouth, eating up glucose.  Once in your cell, the glucose is converted into energy for your muscles and brain.  Amazing!  Every nutrient we eat ends up somewhere in our bodies doing something very important like stimulating the electrical impulses that make our hearts beat (potassium), and helping our intestines to actually absorb other nutrients from our food (Vitamin D).

 Anybody still reading?  The point is, eating food is the single most important way that you affect your own health every day.  What does this have to do with the ancient farro grain?  This grain represents the way our ancestors used to eat: whole, unprocessed foods with all their nutrients still intact.  These foods have unique combinations of nutrients that work together to promote health.  Unlike processed white wheat, farro and other whole grains still have their outer bran & germ layers intact.  These layers are full of nutrients such as folate, vitamin E, potassium and fiber.  Also, they are darn tasty!

The farro grain is still grown mainly in Europe, but now we have our own LOCAL source of emmer farro (and other wonderful whole grains).  Brooke & Sam Lucy at Bluebird Grain Farms are growing these organic heirloom grains in the Methow Valley.  They supply some of Seattle’s most beloved restaurants with their lovely grains and freshly milled flours (Lark, Stumbling Goat…).  Look for them at a Seattle farmer’s market this spring - or check out their website for CSA and direct ordering options:  www.bluebirdgrainfarms.com

Then try this recipe, or one of the recipes on the Bluebird Grain Farms website - with emmer farro.  It has a nutty flavor and wonderful al dente texture that stands up well in a grain salad and leftovers will keep at least 5 days in the fridge (but you will have eaten them by then).

Orange Hazelnut Farro Salad Wraps (Vegan) - Makes 4 Cups

*Indicates ingredients that are grown or produced locally

For the Salad:

*2 Cups cooked farro (recipe follows)

1 Organic orange

*4 Tender chard leaves

*1/3 Cup dried pluots (from Tiny’s)

*1/3 Cup roasted hazelnuts (from Holmquist Orchards)

*1/4 Cup hazelnut oil

1/4 Teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1 Teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 Tablespoon Agave nectar (available in natural foods section of your store, near the sugars)

Place the cooked farro in a large mixing bowl.  Zest the orange into the bowl - avoid the white pith, its bitter!  Chop or tear the chard into small strips (about 1/2 inch) and add to the bowl.  Roughly chop the pluots and hazelnuts and add to the bowl.  Into a jar with a tight fitting lid, squeeze the juice from the orange and add the hazelnut oil, salt, dijon and agave nectar.  Put on the lid and shake well to combine.  Pour 1/3 Cup dressing into the farro salad and stir to coat all the ingredients.  Save remaining dressing in the fridge to toss with salad greens.  Eat the farro salad as is, or use it to make a lunch-wrap to go:

For Each Wrap:

2 Mountain Bread wraps (thin bread wraps, available at PCC natural markets) - or 1 whole grain tortilla

2 Tablespoons Tofutti “Better than cream cheese” (or cream cheese for you non-vegans)

*2 Teaspoons Peach Chipoltle pepper jelly (from Woodrings)

1/2 Cup orange hazelnut farro salad

Spread the tofutti all over one side of 1 piece of mountain bread.  Place a second piece of bread over the tofutti & spread the jelly all over the second bread.  Spread the farro salad over the bottom 3/4 of the bread, leaving about 1/2 inch of space at the bottom and sides of the bread.  Fold the bottom 1/2 inch of bread over the filling, then fold 1/2 inch of each side over the filling.  Keeping the sides tucked in, continue rolling the bread from the bottom up until completely rolled.  Store seam side down in a container or wrap tightly with waxed paper or foil until lunch.

To Cook the Farro:

*1 Cup emmer farro (from Bluebird Grain Farms)

3 Cups water

1/2 Teaspoon kosher or sea salt

Place the farro, water and salt in a medium saucepan over high heat.  Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 50 minutes.  Drain excess water and eat hot with saucy entrees, or cool for grain salads.

February is Heart Health Month, so do something nice for your loves this month and make them some super nutty granola (Happy Valentines Birthday Poo-Pooh!)!  The oats, quinoa, seeds, nuts and fruits are full of fiber to help reduce cholesterol; and fruit (and vegetables) contain antioxidants and phytochemicals that help prevent heart disease.  Adding just 1 serving of fruits or vegetables (1/2 Cup) a day can reduce your risk of coronary heart disease by 4%!

In addition to being healthy, the coconut and citrus make the granola smell so great while baking that you will want to eat it even before its ready.  Coconut oil is available at your local grocery store in the natural foods section, near the olive oil.  It is saturated fat, so it is solid at room temperature.  However, it has a different structure than animal saturated fats, and so reacts differently in the body.  Coconut oil is preferentially used for energy, while animal fat tends to get stored in our bodies as adipose and contribute to high cholesterol and fatty plaques (atherosclerosis) - cool! 

This recipe is adapted from a recipe in Heidi Swanson’s book Super Natural Cooking.  She has a great foodblog that focuses on whole natural foods with great recipes, check it out: 101cookbooks.com

Super Nutty Granola - Makes about 8 Cups

3 Cups old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 Cup quinoa, rinsed and drained (or use another 1/2 cup of rolled oats)

1/2 Cup raw sunflower seeds

1 Cup raw walnut halves

1 Cup raw almonds

1 Cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 Organic orange (washed)

1 Organic grapefruit (washed) (Or use another orange)

1/4 Cup virgin coconut oil

1/2 Cup honey

1 Cup dried fruit (I like goji berries and chopped candied ginger - also try dried peaches and cherries)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix the oats, quinoa, sunflower seeds, nuts and coconut.  Zest the orange and grapefruit into the bowl using a microplane or smallest holes on your grater and mix well.  Try to avoid getting the white stuff just below the bright orange/yellow zest - it is bitter.  (To avoid seasoning your food with waxes and pesticides, always choose organic fruit for zesting.)

Heat the coconut oil and honey over medium-low heat.  Set a small strainer over the pan and squeeze in the juice from the orange and grapefruit.  Compost any seeds or pulp collected in the strainer along with the citrus peels.  Once the coconut oil has melted, stir well to blend everything together.  Pour over the oat & nut mixture and stir until evenly coated.

Spread the granola evenly over 2 large rimmed baking sheets.  Bake for 40 minutes on two center racks, stirring the granola and rotating the pans (top to bottom) every 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and pour into a large mixing bowl.  Add the dried fruit of your choice and stir to combine.  Let the granola cool completely before storing in a sealed container.

The spaghetti squash and I have just made a pact.  It will never again pretend to be actual spaghetti lurking beneath my marinara sauce; and I will happily eat it up with tasty partners such as sesame oil, ginger and garlic - or my new favorite: butter, sage and truffle.  Though mom & I agree now that squash is a sneaky agent to make many dishes more healthy & delicious for the squash sensitive, as a child I saw right through the marinara disguise.  Spaghetti squash is not sneaky. There is no getting around the texture, much different than regular squash that, well, “squashes” up nicely with a fork once cooked.  After cooking a spaghetti squash its texture is like strands of al dente pasta, still a bit crunchy and perfect for stir frying with just a few flavors to showcase its uniqueness. 

 And nutritionally speaking, the spaghetti squash is your friend - Vitamin A, heart-healthy potassium and fiber, and very few calories per serving (21 calories per 1/2 Cup).  Look for it at farmers markets or your local cooperative grocery store (PCC).  It will be the big, oblong, bright yellow one in the squash bin.  It should have fairly smooth & shiny skin, and be heavy for its size.

Somehow all the foods that haunted my plate as a child have been reincarnated as delicious treats!  Thanks mom!  I can only hope that someday I too will frighten my own young children with squash, tomatoes and tofu. 

Spaghetti Squash with Sage and Truffle Oil - Serves 4-6

*Ingredients that are grown or produced locally

*1 medium - large Spaghetti Squash

2 tablespoons Butter

*1/2 teaspoon Dried Sage

1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt

*1/2 - 1 teaspoon Truffle Oil (Fungus Among Us)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Wash the Spaghetti squash and poke about 10 holes all over the skin.  Place in a large baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, turn it over, and cook for another 30 minutes.  Check the squash for doneness by piercing with a fork.  The outer skin will be like a hard shell by now, but once you get the fork through that, it should pierce the flesh easily.  If the inside is still hard, bake for another 15 minutes & check again.

Now pour yourself a glass of wine and relax while you let the squash cool until you can handle it.  When cool, cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and gooey strings in the center.  Now get a fork & use it like a small rake to pull out all the spaghetti-like ribbons of squash and place these in a bowl.  Compost the squash skins and seeds. 

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then add the butter and melt.  Add 4 Cups of the spaghetti squash (you may have more than this from a large squash - save it for later or double the recipe!), 1/2 tsp sage and 1/4 tsp sea salt.  Cook this, stirring occassionally for about 5 minutes to warm it through and absorb the butter.  Take it off the heat & stir in the truffle oil.  This is strong stuff, so start with 1/2 tsp and taste to see if you want more.  Enjoy! 

Ah, the holidays.  This is the time of year I most love to be in the kitchen, cozy and warm by the stove with a new cookbook.  And believe it or not, my least favorite time of year to be in the garden, soggy and cold with a shovel, digging potatoes.  But that is exactly where I was recently, preparing for the latest cooking workshop.  Harvesting potatoes and arugula from the winter garden, imagining how tasty they would be in my holiday appetizers!  And thanks to my lovely co-chefs, the appetizers turned out great! 

Today’s recipe was my personal favorite.  Great ingredients, simply prepared, allowing the flavor of each ingredient to shine.  Juicy crisp Bosc pear, peppery arugula, creamy nutty local cheese, and just a drizzle of walnut oil and a sprinkle of smoked sea salt to bring the flavors together.  Delicious.  Try it with your favorite sparkling wine…

Pears with Arugula, Cheese and Walnut Oil

*Indicates ingredients that are grown or produced locally

Makes 6-12 Servings

*1 Small bunch arugula, or 24 arugula leaves, washed & dried

*2 Ripe pears (Bosc, Comice, Anjou, Bartlett)

2 Limes, quartered

*6 Ounces semi-hard cheese (Mt. Townsend Trailhead Tomme or Estrella Old Apple Tree Tomme)

1 Tablespoon walnut oil

Smoked sea salt (or kosher salt)

Tear or cut 24 arugula leaves so that each leaf is 3-4 inches long.  Place each leaf separately on a large platter.  Get a large mixing bowl for the pears.  Cut each pear lengthwise around the core, discard core and slice the pears into at least 24 slices, ¼ to ½ inch thick.  As you cut the pears, place them into the bowl and squeeze lime juice over every so often to prevent browning.  When all the pears are in the bowl, toss well with the lime juice.  Place one pear slice on each arugula leaf.Use a vegetable peeler to shave thin slices of cheese over the pears, making sure each pear has some cheese on top.  Drizzle everything with walnut oil and sprinkle with smoked sea salt to taste. 

On this, the very first Local Lunchbox post, I thought it would be extremely gratifying to subject the world to a diatribe on my favorite of leafy greens: kale.  Not just any kale, but the tuscan variety cavolo nero, also known as lacinato or dinosaur kale.  This kale is so tasty, than even my sweetie, for all his anti-vegetable campaigning, will eat it quite happily. 

The fact that it is easily grown in the cool fall and winter of the Pacific Northwest, turning sweeter after a frost, makes it particularly good to eat at this time of the year.  Filled with vitamins A, C and K, minerals iron and calcium, and cancer fighting phytochemicals called indoles; this leafy green can strengthen your eyes, skin, bones and blood.

There are many wonderful recipes for kale, one of my favorites is the traditional Portuguese soup called Caldo Verde, with potatoes, kale and sausage.  Another is this recipe for kale with local dried plums (alias: prunes) and hazelnuts.  There are several traditional versions of this dish from the mediterranean using flavorful greens with currants or raisins and pinenuts.  It is a fabulous side dish to any meat or pasta, and reheats quite well.  Just remember to only add the hazelnuts to each serving just before eating, leftover soggy hazelnuts = blech.

Braised Kale with Dried Plums and Hazelnuts

*Indicates ingredients that are grown or produced locally

Makes 6 - ½ Cup Servings

*2 Bunches kale

1 Cup light coconut milk or Vegetable stock

*5 Cloves garlic, chopped

*10 Dried plums, chopped

¾ Teaspoon kosher salt

1 Teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 Teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

*1 Tablespoon honey

*¼ Cup roasted hazelnuts, chopped (or substitute toasted pine nuts)

Salt and pepper to taste

Wash the kale leaves and drain in a colander.  Remove the thick stems that run up the center of each leaf, and discard.  Stack 4-5 leaves at a time and chop into ½ inch strips. 

Heat a large stock pot with a lid over medium heat.  Add the coconut milk or vegetable stock and kale.  Cover for 1 minute, then uncover and stir to wilt the greens.  Add the garlic, dried plums and salt.  Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, uncover and let cook for 2 minutes more, stirring occasionally to evaporate some of the liquid.  Turn off the heat and add the vinegar, olive oil and honey, stir to combine.  Season the kale with salt and pepper to taste and serve in a warm dish.  Sprinkle hazelnuts over the dish just before serving.