Impatient Floret

Food Matters is a great movie that put in to words things I've been experimenting with. Health has gotten progressively better as lifestyle has changed. Knowledge is power and you are what you eat and all that. Eating more local so less nutrients are lost from field to table. Cook less so that less nutrients get cooked away. Use less canned and prepared food, switch to more fresh or frozen food (less processed vegetable, fruit, beans). If you don't like certain foods that provide nutrients you need-try supplements! Yes you want to ask the doctor if he thinks a supplement will react with a drug he has prescribed to you but vitamins are what you find in food so it is rare they will hurt you, unlike prescribed drugs. Some prescriptions may be helping your symptoms but vitamins and minerals can actually help your body to heal itself, not just the symptoms. So a post was eating at me as I watched. Realizing most doctors we all go to as a general practice doctor don't alway...

My best girlfriend asked how to keep a kitchen clean while making full meals with seemingly octopus arms that demolish a kitchen as simple as 1, 2, 3. Some of us find ourselves messing up every dish/utensil/bakeware for each meal. Tips on how to shorten clean up time? I'll take a stab at this. 1. Fill the sink with soapy water to take dirty as made (or make sure dishwasher is empty and ready. Cut up your ingredients and have them ready to go- this also makes clean up of dishes go quicker if they just need to be rinsed off. 2. Utilize your microwave, stove, oven, grill, toaster properly so that while everything is cooking, you can stop and get a lot of clean-up out of the way and relax once the food is cooked. 3. Put ingredients away while things are cooking. Ask for help stirring something that needs constant stirring, or help putting things away or help rinsing vegetable prep utensils/boards/plates/bowls away.   Today I made the pickles and peppers. A pint jar of...

The free range eggs from Preferred Produce- beautiful! This delivery I ordered chives, dill, 5 kinds of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber. Going to make pickles! So I made an egg today and it got me thinking about tips and tricks I've heard through the years. Did you know many restaurants add pancake batter to their omelettes to achieve that texture you can't seem to get at home. Option? Add a tiny bit of flour to your mix (paste it  with a  little milk or water first then add to eggs). Everyone asleep and you want to have a warm breakfast ready for them? I put a little biscuit batter in the bottom of greased cupcake pan pockets, add your prepared tsp, tofu, what ever breakfast protein you desire, then top with (scrambled) egg (cheese mixed in if desired. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400 dF. Omelette in greased muffin tins can bake while you tend to other things, try 350 dF for about 15 minutes. Easy hash browns-steam your potato in the microwave (prick the potato all o...

Normal stuff, making bread, harvesting, used that gnocchi dough to make ravioli. Then cooked down some minced carrot, tomato, squash and seasoning to go with ravioli stuffed with mozarella.

So many things have fantastic names that conjure visions of other lands and times. Gnocchi is one that recently grabbed my attention. It started as a Middle Eastern (Roman) pasta. Many areas now have their own version of it. Some made with flour, potatoes added, or even other vegetables added. Some cultures consider it a dumpling. Gnocchi 1 cup milk (I used canned goat milk) 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp garlic 1/4 tsp pepper 2 TBSP butter 1 cup wheat flour 1 egg 1 cup flour (or how ever much more is need to make a dough not sticky) Heat the first 5 ingredients to a simmer in a large pan or pot. Once butter has melted, remove from heat and add flour, combine thoroughly, then add egg and combine thoroughly. Add plain flour and stir well. Make a rope about an inch in diameter, cut pieces of half inch. Place a fork upside-down. Place a piece of dough on the hump. Roll dough along the tines of the fork to get a shaped pasta/dumpling. Boil for 7 minutes in salted water. Drain set ...

Whether you call it a panini or stuffed bread, it can be another one-dish meal to leave a regular sandwich in dust. Pizza and bread doughs can be used for so many things, here is one: Panini 1/8 of the pizza dough 1 TBSP oil (grape seed) 2 cup chopped vegetables (tomato, bell pepper, mushroom, eggplant, hot pepper) salt and pepper 1/2-1 serving cheese (muenster) Roll dough out to about 12 inches by 6 inches. Saute vegetables in oil, sprinkle with seasoning. Place cooked vegetables near center of dough, add cheese to the top if used. Fold dough over filling to meet the other end and finger fold edges closed or fold and press closed with fork. Grill just until bread is cooked (about 4 minutes on a top and bottom indoor grill , or about 3 minutes on each side on a regular grill). * Would be really good lightly buttered on top and parmesan cheese sprinkled on top to serve or a dipping sauce on the side!

Not one for tomatoes, but this treat I love! Pictured with baked zucchini. Bruschetta bread, sliced thinly butter or oil with garlic and parsley mixed in cheese, sliced thin, shredded, or crumbled tomatoes, sliced thin or diced salt Assemble as listed, remembering each one is usually only 2-4 bites per slice of bread. Place each on greased pan, bake at 375F just until lightly browned, melted and crispy (about 5 minutes)! Make it different each time by adding other herbs and ingredients such as basil, onion, nuts, beans, seeds.

What is a crumpet? I asked the same thing until I saw them in a local store. They are like an English Muffin but not cut in two pieces and a bit bigger than one half. The batter is thicker than that of a pancake batter, but not as thick as a regular bread dough. When the store stopped carrying them, I became frantic because I was still in lust over them. Testing on my own. First batch didn't have enough holes in finished product, and still trying to decide on preferred cooking method. Prematurely including recipe before next test. Makes 8-10 Wheat Crumpets 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast 1 TBSP sugar 3/4 cup wheat (edit -1 cup) 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup flour (edit 3/4 cup) 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 cup warm water (microwave about 1 minute) (edit 1 1/4 cup) 1/2 cup warm milk (microwave about 30 seconds) 1 TBSP oil (or melted butter/margarine) 1. Place ingredients in large bowl, in order as listed, combine well. 2. Cover with wet paper towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot ...

Made a salad with a little of everything from Preferred Produce! Vinaigrette- 2 tsp grapeseed oil seasoning blend (onion, garlic, turmeric, parsley, salt, pepper) 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar 1/2 tsp hibiscus syrup The pantry and fridge have changed a lot since the first book. The only thing that doesn't change is the spice arsenal. There are some that revolve in and out but many will always have a home with me: Basil, Cumin, Parsley, Sage, Turmeric. Current staples of the pantry: oil, cocoa, flours, quinoa, teas, seeds, beans, cereals, vegetables, fruit. Fridge and freezer has dwindled down to keeping vegetables and fruits, mustard, soy, jelly. The fruits and vegetables? Antiangiogenic of course! Foods that fight cancer and poke at the immune system. Video Food list Article More detail- http://www.angio.org/ and http://www.eattodefeat.org/ Sugar, coffee, eggs, milk and salmon are still on my menu! The five things I can't seem to give up! Preferred Pro...

Gumbo 3 TBSP browned flour 1 minced bell pepper 1 chunked onion 1 tsp celery salt garlic turmeric 1 lb crushed tomatoes (large can diced) 1/2 cup hot pepper (small can) 1/3-1/2 lb sliced okra 1. Brown flour in a dry pan over a heat you can handle, constantly stirring to a dark copper penny color. Remove to a bowl. 2. Saute bell pepper, onion, and seasonings til transparent. 3. Add tomatoes and pepper to a large pot, heat to simmer. Add flour, combine completely. Add the rest of the ingredients. 4. Simmer covered for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, just until okra is cooked. 5. Cracked pepper and hot sauce to each personal taste-on the table. Serve over quinoa.

From the first book, simply because these always hit the spot. Chip Cookies 1/4 cup oil 1 tsp vanilla 1 egg 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 cup flour 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 chips * 1/2 cup nuts Add ingredients to a bowl, * optional, stir well. Grease pan. Bake at 375 F for 10-15 minutes. Makes 12.

It's been about pizza and dough for it, lately. Seasoned dough looks pretty for a pizza and sauces that aren't the typical red or white. Dessert pizzas that aren't just icing and candy. Dough-3 tsp yeast dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water (110df), add that to 1 3/4 cups flour, TBSP of sugar, 2 TBSP oil, 1/2 tsp salt, and any seasonings you wish to add (I like throwing color into the crust with dried things like turmeric, parsley, and peppers). I usually let this proof once for between 30 minutes to an hour. Add more flour if too sticky!!! Rub your rolling pin, board and hands with flour and sprinkle more as needed. Enough for 2-4 pizzas depending on size. I usually freeze some so that next time, one can be pulled out, allowed to thaw in a warm spot. Sauce-pureed squash, pumpkin, tomato, zucchini. Pick one- puree, season (salt and pepper), and use a fine strainer to get rid of some of the extra moisture. Usually use about 1 cup of toppings and maybe 1/3-1/2 cup of ch...

Tools I adore. The dehydrator-  unless you can get the kind of dried goods you want. This lets you cure and dry some items at a lower temperature, qualifying as "raw". The closer to the garden it is, the more nutrients that make it to the table.  Some weeks I know I'll end up with too many vegetables wanting to go ripe too soon,  I dry them suckers. I have two, just-add-water soups in the cabinet, from dried lagniappe- the rest ground in the blender, make vegan broth. The one pictured has carrot, potato, celery, green onion, plantain, white onion, asparagus, peppers. I avoid seasoning in the main jar, and add them later, depending on what I plan to cook with the broth, also this is a great sprinkle-all too! Another thing I wish to try one day, in it, will be okra which only manages to make it into gumbo with no extra to dry. Used to let bread proof, make fruit leather, crackers, dried snacks. Blender- I grind dried stuff up for use later. It's great...