Collard Greens

11/14/2011

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I say this every year, but it holds true especially for this year: This year has gone by so fast! I can't believe it's November already! The last two months of the year seem to run on double-speed, with the holidays and all - Thanksgiving is in just three weeks! This year, I want to be a little more prepared for the big feast, as I normally scout for recipes and create the list of side dishes two days prior, which is a horrible idea since it means I'm experimenting with new dishes on one of the most important meals of the year.

In the name of sanity and because writing this food column for you folks requires me to think ahead a bit more, I'm presenting to you one of the side dishes that will be on our menu. We're having a "Southern-inspired" Thanksgiving - nothing fancy or flashy - just a solid, home-style, comforting feast.

The Collard Greens recipe is from my good friend and fellow food blogger, Lisa Fain, who writes the blog, Homesick Texan. She's a 7th generation Texan who moved to New York City for a job and one day found herself scouring the city in search of Ro-Tel tomatoes, the only brand of tomatoes fit for true Tex-Mex Chile Con Queso. Of course, she couldn't find any, and thus, the Homesick Texan blog was born. Lisa has just come out with her very first cookbook, The Homesick Texan Cookbook.

Lisa's Collard Greens are simple. Throw in a couple handfuls of hearty smoked meats, add the collard greens, pour in water and apple cider vinegar and let it simmer for an hour and half or until the greens are as soft as you like them. Collard Greens are just as much about the simmering sauce as it is about the greens. The savory, smoky, vitamin-rich pot-liquor is so full of rich flavor that you'll savor every last drop. In fact, spoon your collard greens onto your plate, right next to the roasted garlic mashed potatoes on your Thanksgiving plate. Forget the gravy - the pot liquor will find its way over and bleed into the soft mashed potatoes. I guarantee my kids will be forming a mashed potato moat, just so the pot liquor doesn't escape. 

I'd love to hear from you - any other suggestions for my Southern-inspired meal?

Collard Greens

Adapted from Lisa Fain, HomesickTexan.com

You can use any combination of smoked meats - turkey, ham, ham hock or bacon. The easy choice for us, since we'll most likely have a couple of hungry dogs waiting for their special Thanksgiving treat, is the ham hock. You can find large bunches of collards starting in November, peaking in December. Bags of chopped collards are sold year round, which is what I used. 

Serves 8 

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 smoked ham hocks
1 1/2 cups chopped smoked ham
5 cups water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 bunches of collards (about 2 pounds) or two 16oz bags chopped collards
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 

1. Thoroughly clean each collard leaf, removing the tough stem and rib. Tear each leaf in half.

2. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute for another minute until fragrant. 

3. Add in the tomatoes, ham hocks and ham. Pour in the water and apple cider vinegar and bring to a simmer. Add in the collards, tamping down with a wooden spoon to get all of the greens in the pot. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. 

4. Season with 2 teaspoons of kosher or sea salt (use 1 teaspoons table salt) and black pepper. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed. I used about 3 teaspoons of kosher salt. Don't be shy with the salt - remember, this recipe serves 8!

Photo Source: Jaden Hair

Grilled Calamari Skewers

09/06/2011

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Squid often gets neglected at the seafood counter, taking a back seat to the more popular shrimp or fish. But did you know that grilling squid is just as simple as any other seafood? Buy already-cleaned squid "tubes", cut into smaller pieces and skewer. Grill 'em for a few minutes and top with a big squeeze of lemon and sprinkling of fresh herbs.

Ingredients:

1 pound squid (calamari), tubes only
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil
1 lime, cut into wedges
few sprigs fresh parsley, finely minced
bamboo skewers, soaked

Instructions:

1. Preheat grill. Wash squid, pat dry with paper towel. Cut squid into 2-inch tubes and thread onto bamboo skewer. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

2. Grill over medium-high heat for 4 minutes each side or until edges slightly charred.

3. Drizzle olive oil over cooked calamari, squeeze lime over and top with parsley

 More Healthy Eating Tips:

Eating Out and Staying Healthy

Healthy Diet Quiz

10 Healthy Breakfast Tips

Photo Source: Jaden Hair

Cauliflower and Kale Salad

08/02/2011

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This summer, our everyday house salad has been this cauliflower and kale salad. Not only is this incredibly healthy, but the salad lasts for three days in the refrigerator, even dressed.

Sometimes we’ll add other crunchy vegetables to the mix (carrots, celery, radishes), and other times we’ll top it off with something nutty (sunflower seeds, roasted pepitas).

The grated cauliflower is what makes this salad so special – just grate the entire head of cauliflower on the large holes of a box grater. The curly, crunchy kale is just chopped up – make sure you’re just using the leaves of the kale and not the tough, fibrous stem.

Cauliflower and Kale Salad:

3 large kale leaves (or 3 large handfuls of bagged, chopped kale)
1/2 head cauliflower
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 stalk, green onion, finely chopped
1 sprig fresh parsley, minced
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher/sea salt (1/4 teaspoon table salt)
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:

1. Tear the soft leaf of the kale away from the center stalk that runs throughout the length of the kale. Discard the tough stalk. Using a chef's knife, finely chop the kale leaves. Rock back and forth with your knife over the leaves like you are mincing. Add to a large bowl, along with the cherry tomatoes, green onion and parsley.

2. Grate the cauliflower using the large holes of a box grater. Add to the bowl and mix.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and the olive oil. Pour dressing into the bowl and toss gently. Taste and season with additional salt if needed.

 

More Recipes:

Forum: Easy, Healthy Recipes

Choosing a Healthy Salad Dressing

The Benefits of Squash

 

Photo Source: Jaden Hair

Whole Wheat Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

05/25/2011

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When it comes to healthy cooking, there's one woman who I admire from here to the moon....it's Carrie Vitt, author of the brand new Deliciously Organic cookbook! I recently met Carrie at a Food Blog Camp that my friends and I host in Mexico earlier this year and not only is Carrie just a fun, vibrant person, but she's absolutely beautiful too (pssst....it must be from all the healthy food she eats!) Another friend, Helene Du Jardin photographed the recipes, so this book is near and dear to my heart.

I asked Carrit to provide a recipe to share with you all - and here's her recipe and post on Whole Wheat Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. ~Jaden

***

I have a confession. I grind my own grain. I know it’s not normal. In fact, several years ago I told a friend “I’ll do some of this other organic stuff, but I’ll never grind my own flour.” Nine months later, there I was jumping for joy at my amazing Mother’s Day gift - a grain mill.

It’s not at complicated as it sounds. All you do is pour in the grain, turn it on, and one minute later you have fresh flour. Why do this? The freshly ground whole wheat grains contain an amazing lightness and sweet flavor because the germ oil in the grains are still intact and have not gone rancid due to oxidation. When whole grain flour is stored at room temperature for over 24 hours, it begins to oxidize. It’s best to store your flour in the refrigerator. The freezer can destroy the vitamin e in the flour so best not to freeze it. If I’m going to use whole wheat flour, I want it to contain all the nutrients whole wheat is so famous for. The grain itself will never go bad so there is no need to store it in the fridge.

Another reason I love milling my own grain is cost. I like to use several types of flour and those little bags of ground flour really add up. Pre-ground flour in the store can cost up to as much as 60% more than the whole grain itself. I also enjoy baking with gluten free flours and I can say from experience that millet is much cheaper as a whole grain than it is after it’s been ground. I shop in the bulk section and keep my grain in buckets with tight fitting lids.

 My favorite mill is the Nutrimill. It’s about the size of a modern ice cream maker. Unfortunately, they aren’t easily found in stores but The Bread Beckers is a great place to order your mill and some grain while you’re at it. They’re a one-stop shop for me.

If you’re new to baking with whole wheat, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Start with whole wheat pastry flour. It’s also known as soft wheat flour and is best for baking muffins, cakes, pies, and biscuits because it has a lower protein count, a buttery flavor, and produces a tender crumb. I use soft wheat for all my baking except when I bake a loaf of bread. If you want to try substituting fresh whole wheat pastry flour for white flour, I generally recommend using 1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour to 1 cup white flour. Who knows, you may end up confessing to the world that you grind your own grain, too!

I like to use organic whole cane sugar in my baking. It’s dehydrated cane juice and is processed very little. You can find it at your local health food store, but if you’re not ready to take that step then substitute organic white sugar in the cake and powdered sugar in the frosting.

Whole Wheat Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe and photos by Carrie Vitt

Serves 10 - 12.

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (freshly ground preferred)
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups organic whole cane sugar (also known as sucanat)
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
1 cup (about 3 medium-size) bananas, mashed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Frosting:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups organic whole cane sugar, pulsed in a spice grinder until powdery
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350ºF and adjust rack to middle position. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans.

Whisk together flour, arrowroot, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt in a large bowl. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer. Mix on medium, using beater attachment for 1 minute, until combined. Stir eggs, sour cream, bananas, and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Turn mixer on low and slowly add 1/3 sour cream mixture followed by 1/3 flour mixture. Repeat two more times until all ingredients have been added. Mix until just incorporated. Divide batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cakes cool for 10 minutes and then invert them onto a cooling rack. Cool completely.

Whisk together butter, cream cheese, whole cane sugar and vanilla until fluffy. To assemble, place one cake layer on a cake plate. Spread half of the frosting in a thick layer over the cake. Place second layer on top of the first and frost with remaining frosting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Healthier Cooking

04/07/2011

Reblog

I own more than my share of appliances, large and small. In fact, at one point it got so bad my husband had to ban me from watching QVC during its kitchen shows. I can divide my appliances into two categories: those that I use daily (and leave on the counter) and those that I've used for one week (in the garage).

Surprisingly, my go-to appliances on my counter and installed in the kitchen are ones specifically designed for healthy cooking in mind. I'll share with you my latest (and upcoming appliance swaps)

Fryer: The deep fryer that I had used for 2 years religiously has now been emptied (ugh....that nasty oil!) and sitting in the garage. I no longer use this because the Actifry takes care of my homemade french-fry cravings with just 1 tablespoon of oil per 2 pounds of potatoes. Can't live without it, even though it's pretty pricey.

Panini Press: When I bought the Panini Press ages ago, I thought it was a good, sound purchase. Instead, I noticed that every time I made panini, I'd slather butter on the inside AND outside of the bread (love that crispy outside crust) and then pile it on with cheese. Because the press squishes the sandwich to itty bitty thin, I kept on piling more and more filling so that I'd get a substantial panini (otherwise they'd look like pancakes). But what I was really doing was piling on the calories. These days, the Panini Press is on the top shelf of the pantry. I no longer squish my sandwiches. Unsquished sandwiches just seem more filling. I know, I'm silly. In addition, I really enjoy lots of fresh spinach or lettuce in the sandwich, and warm lettuce just isn't my thing.

Juicer: Yes, I know there are juicing fanatics out there. I once was too, but I'm no longer a believer. As you can tell from the paragraph above, I'm big on volume. I'm easily tricked by volume. I can down a glass of carrot juice in 10 seconds flat. And still feel hungry. But it would probably take me all morning to eat 8 carrots. Instead of the juicer, I now use a food processor with a slicer attachment. Instead of buying baby carrots or pre-sliced carrots, I'll slice the carrots, put them in a bowl and place that bowl right next to my keyboard.

Now on to future appliances:

Thermador Steam and Convection Oven: This summer, I'll be remodeling my kitchen with the Thermador team and can't wait to try out their Steam and Convection Oven that just launched. Steaming vegetables, fish is super easy (no water hookup is needed - there's a water reservoir that you fill). Because it's also a convection oven, you still get that oven-crisping and browning that you won't get with steaming alone. My mom can't wait to use the oven to make Chinese steamed dumplings and buns, just like what they serve at the dim sum houses.

We're installing these ovens in our home in Kansas as well as one for my parents. I think out of all of us, my Mom is the most excited. Fresh steamed dumplings! Even if you don't make dumplings by hand, you can purchase a bag of frozen dumplings and steam them as well.

Grain Mill: I've just gotten this Kitchen Mill from the makers of BlendTec, however, I haven't had a chance to open the box and learn how to use it. Basically, I can grind my own grain into flour. I control what goes in my flour and choose which whole grains to use. Love that idea. Together with the Thermador Steam and Convection oven, I'll be able to make whole-wheat steamed breads (Chinese Man-Tou) that I used to eat all the time as a kid.

Since Japan's tragic earthquake and tsunami, I've been thinking a lot about water. Pure, filtered drinking water. We normally get our water from the refrigerator dispenser/filter thingy, but friends of ours have the reverse-osmosis water system which delivers them very clean water. Do we invest in this kind of system for our new house? If we don't install a system, we'll probably go with the Berkey Water Filters since I'm already a big fan of their Sports Bottle.

Grilled Shishito with Miso Vinaigrette

03/07/2011

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Last month, I attended New York City Restaurant Week with my girlfriend, Wendy. It was her first trip to NYC since she was 19 years old and it was probably my 19th trip to the city ;-)

The first restaurant that we visited was one of my favorite Japanese restaurants of all time, Nobu. Our date was the Roaming Gnome, who was our gracious host for the entire week, putting us up in a swanky hotel and escorted us around town. This guy sure knows how to wine and dine!!

In the first photo, you'll see a trio of starters, which I'll just call "great beer food." On the left is grilled shishito peppers, then deep fried eggplant chips and last the edamame, which I'm sure you've tried before at a Japanese restaurant.

Shishito peppers are Japanese peppers that are about 3-4" long, not very spicy at all, and are part of traditional Japanese grilled foods. I have some growing in the back yard, but I've yet to get them to grow longer than 2" so far.

They are thrown on the grill and then simply salted. A more elaborate version is to toss them in a little vinagrette, which is what Nobu has done. Here's my version:

Grilled Shishito Peppers

1 pound shishito peppers
sea salt
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon miso paste
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
3 tablespoons neutral tasting cooking oil (canola or vegetable)

Grill the shishito peppers on an bbq grill on medium heat until softened with just some grill marks. You don't want to blacken them.
Alternatively, you can toss them in a bit of oil, and roast them in 400F oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with sea salt after roasting.

In a bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning. Drizzle over the shishito peppers.

Roasting Tomatoes

02/18/2011

Reblog

The tomato plants in the yard are just going crazy - but this season, I decided to only grow grape and cherry tomatoes :-( so while i have an abundance of little ones, I have to turn to my friend and master gardener, Patsy for the big 'uns.

Last week, when I had her over for dinner, she brought a bag of tomatoes from her garden and I decided to roast them for soup. But you can use roasted tomatoes in so many other recipes!

• Try them in place of canned tomatoes as you're making tomato sauce.
• Top a slice of french bread with roasted tomatoes, add basil leaf and fresh mozzarella, salt, pepper and a drop of aged balsamic vinegar.
• Or top bread with goat cheese and slow-roasted tomatoes
• Another idea: Slow Roasted Tomato Bruschetta
• Make roasted tomato salsa 
• Roasted Tomato Pizza 

Scratch Cooking

02/15/2011

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My good friend, Jennifer Perillo, just started a brand new food blog called "Simple Scratch Cooking" - it's lovely, I hope you take a look at what's she's doing and check out this gorgeous Arugla Salad with Blood Orange Vinaigrette (that's her photo above)

For the young folks, the term, "Scratch Cooking" may be new. Basically, it's cooking with real ingredients, not popped from a can, opened from a box or squeezed from a bottle. It's the way cooking was done before the age of convenience foods.

Simply put, it's healthier for you, your family and the environment.

Before you get intimidated from the thought of making ketchup from scratch -- there are no hard or fast rules -- the more you cook from scratch, the better, but things like condiments can be difficult to make from scratch each and every time. For those items, I head over to Foodzie - a marketplace for artisan food producers.

Here are some links to great food blogs that have recipes featuring simple scratch cooking:

Simply Recipes

Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

Simple Mom: Menu Planning; 18 Hacks for Cooking from Scratch

101 Cookbooks

Cooking From Scratch

Old Fashioned Living

The Natural Mommy: Does Cooking From Scratch Intimidate You?

Composting Fail

02/11/2011

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With the amount of food that we go through 1) as a family 2) as a work-at-home recipe developer, we needed a compost system that was massive. MASSIVE. We went for big and bought one of these Aerobin monsters at wholesale price from Exaco, a company that specializes in all sorts of fun products like greenhouses and planters in addition to composters.

According to Exaco, this state-of-the-art composter was supposed to produce compost much faster and we could expect black gold in a matter of 6 weeks. The bin is insulated so it keeps the heat in.

"The Aerobin 400 uses a patented lung or aeration core inside a sealed bin to promote aerobic break down of organic matter"

Ooooh a compost with a lung! We're in.

We waited 4 months before opening the thing. And somehow I just didn't get a really good feeling about this.



So I enlisted Scott to help...er....do the dirty work.



I don't think he felt all that good about it either.



Poor football got roped into being a corner holder of the trash bag.



Okay, ready?????



The door opens from the bottom - which isn't too smart, because all the stuff just falls out. I'd rather it open the other way and then I could scoop out what I wanted.

Results? You don't want to look. I'll spare you the details.

So the bin never cooked the compost, despite the unbearable Florida late summer heat.

Like: Big. You could fit 3 adults in there. No animals can get in and dig around since it opens from the top. Lots of space. Sturdy. Easy to dump kitchen scraps.

Not Like: Well, I think you can tell from the above photo.

 

 

DIY Valentines Day Cards

02/08/2011

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Are these not the cutest things ever? We were planning on buying Valentine's Day cards for the boys to give out, but when I saw these on Teach Mama, we ditched our previous plans and will be making these instead.

Another great DIY Valentine's Day gift is from Craft Stylish site - even if you don't have time to make the cookies from scratch, it's fun to package up treats in a paper envelope and handmade card.

Party of Five makes a photo Valentine's card. The little girl is actually holding a flower in the photo, and after putting together the card, a real flower is connected to the card so that it looks like the flower is popping out. Very clever.

If real flowers aren't your thing - make some fabric flowers instead! Green Up Grader has a step by step tutorial.

Twig and Thistle has free downloadable artwork for you to use. In fact, I love the flower background so much, I wish they came in fabric print to make a bag out of!

Speaking of bags....DIY your own sweetheart tea bag. Your favorite loose-leaf tea, a bit of muslin and a sewing machine. Rose petal tea sounds so romantic.