Drive Thru Sue Sourdough THM:E - Day #1, Mixing Day

(this post may contain affiliate links - please feel free to click!)

Please check out all the pages related to making THM:E Sourdough Bread!

Sourdough - the process

Wild Yeast Starter

Day #1, Mixing Day

Day #2, Baking Day

Tips and Tricks, Larger/Smaller Loaves
Complete Baking Instructions (all pages)

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So, I promised that this recipe would be easy enough for Drive Thru Sue, and it's true.  But, even Sue will need to slow down, and realize that while there is almost no WORK involved, patience is still a virtue.  Sourdough *is sourdough* because it takes time for the yeasts to work.  This recipe is in 2 phases - Mixing day and Baking Day (which can be ANY day, once you've got dough in your fridge!) Don't throw in the towel - you can do it! - but you'll have to ramp up slowly.  First, you need a Wild Yeast Starter. Go to the linked page, and take about 7-10 days of *virtually no work* and create a bubbly wild yeast starter.  If you already have one of those, then you can keep going!

This bread does include olive oil.  However, the 1 Tablespoon is divided among 4 small or 2 medium loaves of bread, and you'll only eat about 3 slices in a serving, keeping the fats down to very low levels.

Ingredients:

2 cups wild yeast starter (1/2 the quart jar, give or take a bit is fine)

2 1/2 cups hot tap water (NOT boiling)

1 Tablespoon salt

1 Tablespoon olive oil

5 cups White Whole Wheat (King Arthur is my favorite brand, and I'll always shop around until I find a store that carries it)

Tools:

For Mixing Day:

~14 Cup Tupperware container (for mixing and keeping dough in the fridge)

whisk

wooden spoon

For Baking Day:

parchment paper

wooden cutting board (NOT plastic) or a second baking pan

Baking stone (preferable) or flat metal baking pan
serrated knife
some ice cubes

optional: small (3.5 x 6.5) bread pan (not necessary to get started, only for medium loaves)

Notes:

This first recipe will make 4 small (family can mostly finish in 1-2 meals) or 2 medium loaves.  The link at the top of the page includes instructions for smaller batches and larger loaves if you find you do not eat the bread fast enough to keep up with the starter.

Instructions: 

This first set of instructions may seem lengthy, but that's just because of all the explanations.  It's very simple and easy to do, with very little prep or time spent actually working.  You'll need to be home for around 4-5 hours, but you'll hardly touch the dough.  You can totally run to the store and come back, too.  This recipe is very forgiving!

(Please forgive the jumping - my 6 year old was videoing!!)

On Mixing Day:

1. In your 14C container, place the starter, hot water, salt and olive oil.  Chop at the starter with the whisk, and whisk until blended into the water, just a minute or 2.  Get lots of air and froth into the mixture if you can!  If you end up with slimy strings just ignore them, they are a by-product of the starter.  Future batches will have very little to none of the strings.  They'll bake right up into the bread!
2. Now add all the flour and stir with the wooden spoon.  It might take a bit of muscle, but the dough should be very wet and stick to your fingers if you try to touch it.  If it seems stiff enough to knead, add more water.  The moisture content of your flour will depend on your local weather, and the water might need adjusted according to the season!  Once you've made a batch or 2, you'll know how the dough should look and can drizzle in extra water if needed.
3. All of the above should only take about 5 minutes.  If you pinch up a bit of dough, it should stick to your fingers, and break off of the dough easily with no stretch.  It should smell like wet flour, but nothing extraordinary.
4. Cover with the lid (but leave one corner vented) and rest for 2 hours.  Set the timer on your phone and run to the store, feed the kids, get a bubble bath, etc.  If it accidentally sits 2.5-3 hours, it won't mind.
5. Now comes the slightly more demanding part.  You'll stick your hand into the container 5 times, 30 minutes apart.  These are the "folds".  We are not kneading - in fact, that would hurt this very-wet dough.  We do need to gently stretch the whole grains to lengthen them into a softer dough, instead of leaving each grain of flour as a course, individual piece.  This folding technique is the part that makes it possible to have 100% whole wheat that is edible and not dense as a rock, AND that doesn't take the time, effort or skill of kneading.
6. To "fold"
1. Run your hand down one side of the dough container to the bottom.  Gently grip the bottom of the dough and pull it up, folding the dough over itself to the middle of the top.  It won't be pretty and will probably try to ooze back into it's original place - that's fine.
2. Rotate the container 90 degrees, and pull up the second side
3. Repeat with the third and fourth side.
4. This should take no longer than 30 seconds, and you should notice that the dough is a bit less sticky and is starting to smell like yeast instead of just wet flour.  It will also start to stretch instead of just breaking off like the original batch.  That's the yeast working!!
7. Congratulations, you've just performed your first fold - the most difficult part of this bread!  Seriously, if you can pull dough from the bottom to the top 4 times, you've mastered the hardest part of this recipe!  You'll need to do 5 "folds", around 30 minutes apart (or 45-60 minutes... again, very forgiving).  Here's a handy schedule you can scribble onto a piece of paper for your first few times and cross off as you go until you can get it into your mind:

• Mix dough, rest 2 hours
• Fold #1, Rest 30
• Fold #2, Rest 30
• Fold #3, Rest 30
• Fold #4, Rest 30
• Fold #5, place in refrigerator, covered with the lid cracked on one side (by this point the dough should be quite plump and stretchy and smell like good, yeasty dough!)

Note on video - I took this video during my very first trial batch of dough, and I've made a few changes since then.  In my final recipe (the one written here), the dough is not quite as wet as this.  It shouldn't stick this badly to your hands.  After the 2 hour resting period the dough should hold together pretty well and fold over nicely, and not be a mushy puddle.  Also, I increased the recipe to make 5 'loaves'  (4 loaves and 1 starter piece) since I found I was needing to mix dough too frequently - I wanted a bigger batch!

Now your first day is done.  If you lost track of time or ran out of time, and only did 4 folds, that's also OK.  Try to stick as closely as possible to the recipe with the timing, but no worries if time got away from you.  The dough MUST rest in the fridge overnight to continue rising, and to allow the yeast time to finish it's work, souring the flour.  Come back tomorrow for baking instructions!

Please check out all the pages related to making THM:E Sourdough Bread!

Sourdough - the process

Wild Yeast Starter

Day #1, Mixing Day

Day #2, Baking Day

Tips and Tricks, Larger/Smaller Loaves
Complete Baking Instructions (all pages)

Drive Thru Sue Sourdough THM:E - Day #2, Baking Day

(this post may contain affiliate links - please feel free to click!)

Please check out all the pages related to making THM:E Sourdough Bread!

Sourdough - the process

Wild Yeast Starter

Day #1, Mixing Day

Day #2, Baking Day

Tips and Tricks, Larger/Smaller Loaves
Complete Baking Instructions (all pages)

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On Baking Day:

You can bake a portion of the bread any time in the next 1-4ish days.  There are a few considerations to how long the dough can hold up in the fridge, but I'll get to those in a later post.  For now, here are the basic instructions.

Start 2 hours before you want to have hot, fresh bread, straight out of the oven.

If you have a new batch of dough (already rested overnight) you'll first need to save about 1/5 of the batch as your sourdough starter which will rise your next batch.  That's right - you don't need any more of the wild yeast starter!  Your bread dough will be it's own starter!!  

You don't need to get all particular about cutting the dough - a piece that makes a ball that fits roughly between your 2 hands (about the size of a softball or grapefruit) is around the right size.  Again, this is very forgiving!!  Baseball sized would be a bit small, so make it softball sized and you're fine.  I usually take my starter piece and put it in a sandwich ziplock.  That keeps it from oozing back together with my baking dough, and keeps me from accidentally cooking it.

For the remaining dough, cut it into 4 roughly equal pieces.  You'll find that each of them are also around a softball size, maybe a bit smaller, but that's fine.  Usually I just take a sharp knife and cut the dough into 4 pieces right in the container.  Sometimes I roughly shape each piece into a ball and put them back, sometimes I just peel out the piece I want to bake today and leave the rest, flat and oozed into the bottom.  I don't think it really matters.

Now for the fun, easy, Drive-Thru-Sue baking instructions!

• For baking today, you'll want to tear off a piece of parchment paper (NOT wax!) and set it on a wooden cutting board, or the back of a baking sheet.  This will make it easy to move to the oven to bake, after it's risen.  You'll nee a piece around 8x8", but the whole width of the roll is fine - no need to trim it smaller.
• Take one of your 4 pieces of cut dough into your hands.  It will be cold and rather stiff and shouldn't really stick to your hands.
• As you form your loaf, you don't want to smash and deflate the bubbles, but you do want to form it into a ball or fat log.  The way to do this is to gather the dough into a rough ball, then smooth and stretch the surface of the dough, down towards the bottom.  Pretend that the center of the ball is solid and you're stretching plastic wrap over the whole outside, making it nice and tight.  Stretch and turn, stretch and turn, until the ball is rather smooth-ish and you've gathered something of a knot of extra dough near the bottom.  10-20 seconds is all it will take, once you've got the hang of it.  If you want a longer loaf - instead of turning it evenly as you smooth, just smooth down on 2 sides.  The ends might need folded under at the end to prevent them being too skinny and dry.  
• Place your dough onto the parchment-lined cutting board, and leave it for an hour.  From pulling your cold dough out to forming and placing on the parchment should take around 1 minute, once you've done it a couple of times and have the feel of it.
• After an hour, you'll notice that the dough hasn't really risen at all.  It won't even be much warmer.  But believe me, those yeasts are waking up and getting ready for their final big show in the oven.  If you have a flat baking/pizza stone, place it in the center of the oven now and heat the oven to 450.  Set the timer for 30 minutes.  The stone needs to be all the way to 450 AND the dough needs another 30 minutes to rise while it heats. (if you'll be baking on a metal pan, you can wait and add it to the oven about 2 minutes before the dough)
• After the 30 minute pre-heat, you're ready to bake!  Get about 8 ice cubes ready at the side of your oven.  The ice will melt and release steam when your bread goes in, and for 1-2 minutes after you shut the door.  The steam will keep the crust from drying out immediately and will let the loaf rise higher.  If you're using a metal pan, put it in now for just a couple of minutes.
• Bring the loaf (on it's cutting board) over to the stove.  Get a serrated knife, and cut about 4-5 slashes diagonally across your loaf, about 1/4 deep.  If you don't slash, the loaf will tear and split any-old-place as it rises, the loaf will look terrible, and might not slice very nicely.  Space your slashes about 1" apart, but don't get too fussy.  
• As soon as you have slashed, immediately open the oven and slide the parchment & loaf onto the baking sheet.  Toss the ice cubes right onto the floor of your oven, and close the door!
• Set a timer for 30 minutes, then turn on the oven light!  I still like watching the ice melt and trying to see if I can detect the bread rising!!
• After 30 minutes, the crust should be a nice light brown.  I usually just grab it with a pot holder and place it on a cooling rack, cutting board or kitchen towel.

Here are the short instructions, for when you don't need too much detail:

1. Lay parchment on wooden cutting board
2. Remove dough from fridge, smooth into ball/log, place on parchment, rise 1 hour.
3. Place stone in oven, heat to 450, while rising 30 minutes.
4. Get ice, slash loaf, slide into oven, add ice to oven floor, bake 30 minutes

It really is as quick and painless as those short instructions make it sound!  ALL of the 2 hours total is spent doing something else while waiting for the bread to rise or bake.

Bread really does work better if you let is cool - at least a little bit - before slicing.  It's so hot inside

that if you slice it immediately, the very hot moisture in the bread will condense onto the bread's newly cut & cooling end and make it a bit gummy.  Also, all the remaining moisture will rush out into the cool air, leaving the bread drier.  If you can stand to wait, 30 minutes or so would be good.  Or not.  Sometimes it's worth a bit of dampness to eat your first bite of hot-out-of-the-oven bread!

Nutritional Info for 1/4 of the small loaf

Remember that this in an E bread.  If you're having NO OTHER FAT anywhere in your
meal/snack, you can have almost 1 teaspoon butter.  The nutritional info on the right is for 1/4 of the entire loaf!!  You can see that you're only eating 1.3g of fat (E limit = 5g) and 26 carbs (E limit = 45).  You can have a bit of additional fat (a smear of butter or elsewhere in your meal) and a lot more carbs to complete your E meal.  Also, you're starting out with a nice 4.8g of protein.  Not quite enough for an entire meal, so be sure to add some more!

Since I'm still partial to fluffy store-bought bread, I'm not the biggest fan of this bread as a sandwich.  Even when I made enriched 50/50 bread, I still never liked 2 slices in one bite - just too much bread to chew!  My favorite ways to eat this bread are:

• toasted (or not) with Peanut Butter Junkie (and banana!)
• toasted with a Laughing Cow Light wedge (1 wedge will thickly cover 2-3 pieces of bread)
• toasted (or not) with light mayo, mustard & lunch meat - like a sandwich but with only a bottom piece of bread
• toasted with no toppings, dipped in E soup

As you can see, this bread is nice toasted.  Toasting crisps up the crust and also lightens the interior of the bread very nicely.

Please check out all the pages related to making THM:E Sourdough Bread!

Sourdough - the process

Wild Yeast Starter

Day #1, Mixing Day

Day #2, Baking Day

Tips and Tricks, Larger/Smaller Loaves
Complete Baking Instructions (all pages)

Drive Thru Sue Sourdough THM:E - Sourdough, The Process

(this post may contain affiliate links - please feel free to click!)

Please check out all the pages related to making THM:E Sourdough Bread!

Sourdough - the process

Wild Yeast Starter

Day #1, Mixing Day

Day #2, Baking Day

Tips and Tricks, Larger/Smaller Loaves
Complete Baking Instructions (all pages)

******************************

Sourdough in a Medium Bread Pan

I know what you're thinking.  "What?  Can it be possible?  I thought sourdough was a long, time consuming process, with long rises, and special techniques?  Don't you have to be an artisan bread baker to achieve sourdough?  Drive Thru Sue does NOT have time to knead bread, no matter how easy..."

Believe me when I tell you that Sourdough bread IS possible, for Drive Thru Sues, busy moms, and people who don't want to take the time to learn traditional bread baking techniques.

I've been an amateur bread baker for many years now.  The definition of an amateur is someone who loves - but does not get paid - for their habit hobby.  Long before Trim Healthy Mama came my way, I was studying Peter Reinhart, keeping a bread journal, and measuring my ingredients by the gram.  THE GRAM.  7 grams of salt, 19 grams of yeast, 257 grams of whole wheat flour...  Of course all the while I was having babies, moving to new cities, and having a grand old life.  The bread baking would take a back seat for a year or more at a time (judging by the dates in my bread journal) but I always came back to baking, usually in the fall.  I have something of an OCD personality, and I have always been driven to discover the *perfect* techniques, and work until I could execute them flawlessly.  I take great pride in achieving great culinary arts - cooking has also been a passion of mine since I was about 15.

During one of my 'baking seasons' a friend of mine (with 5 kids under age 5 including triplet 2 year olds!) told me about Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  Or it might have been the sequel, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I can't remember which it was now.  In any case, I distinctly remember being rather sour about the whole thing.  I'd already put years into perfecting my centuries-old techniques.  I supposed that maybe a crazy-busy mom of 5 *might* need something faster, but really - 10 minutes to weigh and measure, 10 minutes to knead, 12 hours to rest, 15 minutes kneading in the Kitchen Aid the next day (I didn't even do it all by hand, only the finishing touches!), rising in a steam box with hourly steam changes and 2 different temperature settings on the stove - all to achieve perfect texture, mouth feel, density and crumb - were not all that difficult or time consuming.   I'd have no *easy answer* bread in my kitchen, thank you very much.

Fast forward a few years.  My passion came and went, and bread baking took a back seat again.  My 2 girls are now in 1st and 3rd grade, and I'm homeschooling.  Since that's not enough, I'm also directing our local homeschooling community of Classical Conversations.  I started THM several months ago, and while I haven't lost much weight yet, I know it's due to my own negligence and lack of self discipline.  I enjoy all the recipes in the cookbook, and have only made a couple that my family doesn't want again.  Almost everything in there is really, really good!  I read the breads chapter, and it piqued my interest in wild yeast starters again - of course, I'd already played with that several years ago.  I pulled out my bread journal and refreshed my memory about sourdough.

I had played quite a bit with whole grains, and had worked out a perfect loaf without any white flour at all, although it still contained fats and sugars.  The Peter Reinhart method had the grains soaking overnight to sour nicely, before mixing the final loaf with other ingredients, including more yeast.  But, it seemed that I'd never tried to make sourdough without any *extra* yeast.  Historically, there wasn't anything BUT true sourdough - powdered bakers yeast is a very new invention.  But I never tried it.  I detected a challenge!

By now, I have settled down in my ambitions, and I realize that I don't have time to cultivate my bread perfection like I did when the kids were still sleeping 14-16 hours a day.  I needed fast and easy homemade bread, or I knew I would put it on the back burner again.  I should probably visit with my long-time friend and apologize for any coolness she felt from me on that fateful day, years ago, when I couldn't figure out *what* she was doing with ALL that spare time...

My first move was to alter my recipes to use a bread machine.  They're fairly cheap to buy new and also available in any thrift store.  Lots of people get them for Christmas, use them twice, then they collect dust until you're tired of wiping them down and donate them to the Goodwill.  I found a high quality digital one (with 10 settings!) for $20, and brought it home.  I reduced my original quantities to fit my machine, switched to sprouted flour, played with the dough setting, baked longer and shorter, rested more and less, and after several weeks I had still not come up with a loaf that was even edible - let alone delicious.  Sprouted flour is expensive, too, and it didn't really save me much over just buying on-plan bread, especially considering all the work.  I went back to my shelf to grab Reinhart's book and read through his techniques again, when I spotted Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  I had purchased it during one of my non-serious phases of bread baking, and it had worked out alright.  That's when the lightbulb went off.

The premise of the 5 Minutes a Day books is that you can mix up a big batch of dough, then pull out a chunk whenever you want bread.  The long refrigerated times not only make dough instantly available, but also allowed bread to be made without ANY kneading.  The dough can have a lot more water in it, since you'll be handling it cold and stiff, so the bread can rise more in the oven and be softer.  The reason they need 2 whole cookbooks is that you can take the basic idea, use different ingredients, and get many types of bread - soft sandwich bread, sweet breakfast breads, rolls, etc.  The first book used mostly white flour, and the "Healthy" edition used mostly whole grains.  I already knew that sourdough bread began as a yeast 'starter', which you keep alive in the fridge between uses.  You mix some starter with your flour and other ingredients, then the dough has to ferment slowly - typically 7-10 hours - to allow the wild yeast to rise your new loaf, and then you bake it.  The bulk-dough idea is absolutely perfect for combining the ease of the 5 Minutes a Day technique with traditional sourdough bread.

There were still a few hurdles to overcome.  100% whole wheat loaves tend to be heavy and dense.  Even the "Healthy" 5 minutes a day book only has 1 recipe that is 100% whole wheat.  All the rest are around 50/50 with white flour, to improve the texture.  Many of their recipes also used sugar or honey, butter and milk, so soften the texture and improve the rise.  These are all time-tested techniques to improve the flavor and texture of whole wheat breads!  Unfortunately, they aren't THM approved.

I started researching other methods of softening whole grain loaves, and found myself at The Fresh Loaf, one of my favorite bread forums, dedicated to amateur bread bakers and both traditional and newer techniques.  I read a fascinating article there about a baker who was trying to improve his dough by making it as wet as possible (sound familiar?) and then NOT KNEADING IT (familiar again!) because it was too wet to knead anyway.  He did just a few folds, then let the dough rest at room temp.  I had found my *perfect* technique, and it worked brilliantly.

What you see on the next page has been tested and eaten in my house for almost 3 months now.  My kids beg me to let them eat "Mommy's diet bread"... (I can't get them to just call it sourdough!)  I've kept it going since I started the very first batch, and have not needed to find or eat any store bought bread for THM.  I've discovered that the '5-Minute' technique - combined with the quick and easy folds from The Fresh Loaf - are a very forgiving combination, and stand up very well to partial neglect.

Without further ado, I present:

Day #1, Mixing Day

Complete Baking Instructions (all pages)

New Orleans Gumbo

Quickie update with a favorite recipe!!  Enjoy!

New Orleans Gumbo

I made this gumbo just a couple of weeks before taking a trip to New Orleans. We ate gumbo in the French Quarter, and I was thrilled to find that my gumbo was just as good! Try to find file - it really helps with the traditional flavor.

Ingredients

6 strips center-cut bacon, diced
14 links (1 tray) regular breakfast sausage links, diced
6 T flour
2 onions, chopped
1.5 C celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 14oz cans diced tomatoes
1 8oz can tomato sauce
6 C chicken broth (or use bullion + water)
1 T salt
1t. black pepper
1 T parsley flakes
2 t creole seasoning (Tony Chachere's)
2 T file (ground sassafras) - can do without, but try to find it!
10 drops hot pepper sauce
1 lb frozen okra, sliced
2 chicken breasts, cubed and pre-cooked
8 oz container crab meat, with juice (lump or claw)
1.5 C shrimp, peeled (raw or cooked) (or like 2 lbs...)
3 T worcestershire sauce

Directions

Makes a whopping 18C of soup - use your biggest stock pot!

1. Saute diced bacon and link sausage in a soup pot over medium heat until cooked. Remove meat and save to add to soup at the end. If needed, add some EVOO to make drippings equal to appx. 1/3C. Add flour and whisk well to incorporate. Turn heat to very low and whisk constantly until the roux is very dark and fragrant - 20 to 30 minutes. (I usually skimp on this and just do it on medium for about 5 minutes)

2. Add onion, celery and garlic and saute 5-8 minutes or until turning translucent.

3. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth and all seasonings and simmer for 1 hour.

4. Add all meats and okra and simmer 20 minutes.

Nutritional Data

Servings Per Recipe: 18

• Calories: 164.6

• Total Fat: 7.0 g
• Cholesterol: 77.6 mg
• Sodium: 862.0 mg
• Total Carbs: 7.5 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.5 g
• Protein: 17.9 g

Not Sushi, Spring Rolls!

Another recipe makeover, this time another jewel from Heidi Swanson.  I really love her stuff.  I just wish I always had her ingredients on hand!!  This time, I made over her Avocado Spring Rolls recipe.  I wish I could have just made hers, but I didn't have any tofu or fresh oregano, so I just ended up stuffing my wrappers with sushi filling.  They tasted just like sushi, but without the seafood flavor from the nori.  The rice papers are ridiculously chewy and sticky - which may be a plus or a minus, depending on your sensitivity to texture.  I liked them just fine, although they were more work than regular sushi, and I kind of missed the nori.  Oh well, we must have options!!

edit - I ate these last 3 after a few hours in the fridge, and the wrappers were quite firm and hardly sticky at all - a much better texture than they had fresh.  If you aren't a fan of sticky, just chill them and try again!

Serve these as a healthy alternative to deep fried appetizers at your next party, or pack 2 or 3 with your lunch along with a salad or miso soup!

Not Sushi, Spring Rolls!

28 Spring Roll Skins (Banh Trang) available at Asian grocers, and in well stocked Krogers (1 package is plenty)
7 Cabbage leaves (see instructions)
2 avocados
28 pickled ginger slices

1 C diced, cooked chicken thigh (about 2 medium, 130g, 4.5oz)
3 C cooked sticky/short grain rice
3 T seasoned rice vinegar

Preparation:

Peel the outer few leaves from the cabbage, then remove the core to loosen the next several leaves.  Try to peel 7 leaves off, leaving each intact as much as possible.  Rinse each in cool water - leaving them damp - then place in a large microwave-safe bowl - nesting them is fine.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and heat on high power for 5 minutes.  Remove from microwave, but leave covered to continue steaming while you prepare the other ingredients.

Slice both avocados in half, remove the seed by striking sharply with a large knife, then twisting, and scoop each half out of the skin with a large soup spoon.  Place all 4 halves cut-side down on a cutting board, and slice each half into 8 pieces (there will be a few extra slices, so don't use the smallest pieces!)

Place cooked rice, diced chicken and seasoned vinegar in a mixing bowl and mix well.

Quarter each cabbage leaf by slicing out the center stem, then cutting each leaf into about 4 equal pieces.  This won't be terribly precise, but it's fine.

Assembly:

Fill your cabbage  bowl with warm water, gather all your ingredients near by and place a large cutting board in front of you.  One at a time, take a spring roll skin and dip it into the water for about 3-5 seconds.  It should still feel stiff when you remove it.  Place it on your cutting board and layer a cabbage quarter, 2T of rice, a slice of avocado and a piece of ginger on the edge nearest to you.

Stretch and roll the wrapper around the filling once or twice, then fold over both ends and continue to stretch and roll - it should stretch a lot, like plastic wrap, and make a nice, tight cylinder.  The ends might look wonky - try to keep your end fold-overs nice and wide, not let them bunch up in the middle.  After you do one or 2, you'll get the hang of it.  The roll will continue to soften and stick to itself within a few minutes.

Put a piece of plastic wrap on a serving plate, and fit as many as you can in a single layer, then add another layer of plastic wrap before stacking more.  These may be prepared ahead and kept in the fridge for at least 24 hours.  Serve with soy sauce for dipping.

Enjoy!

Nutritional Info - per each roll:

Calories - 95, Fat - 2.4g, Cholesterol - 3.9mg, Sodium - 44.2mg, Carbs - 8.6g, Protein - 3.2g

Homemade Greek Honey-Vanilla Yogurt

I've been making homemade yogurt for a while, and even though there are loads of recipes/methods online already, I thought I'd add mine anyway.  This is for all my friends who have asked about my yogurt making!!

Non-fat Greek yogurt is a wonderful food to have while losing weight.  The 'Greek" part means that the extra whey has been strained off, resulting in a thicker and creamier yogurt.  Most of us have tasted regular non-fat yogurt at some point, and it is easy to recognize the non-fat taste.  Acidic and tart, and not at all yummy.  When the yogurt is strained, the acidic whey is removed and the milk solids are condensed, resulting in much better flavor!  Because it is condensed, Greek yogurt also has 2x more protein than regular, helping you to feel fuller for longer, so you can eat less food!  It's a win-win!  My other favorite power-food for dieting is 2% cottage cheese (which I can't make...yet...) 16g of protein in only 90 cals!!  I'll give the nutritional info for my Greek Yogurt at the bottom of the recipe.

Don't let all the steps scare you!  Yogurt is a lot of hurry up and wait.  20 minutes of work... wait an hour... 5 minutes of work... wait 12 hours...  A stay at home mom will have no trouble, and a working person can do it, you'll just have to fit the steps into your schedule.

 Also, here is the price breakdown
24oz tub of name-brand Greek yogurt ($3.50) / 6 servings = $0.59 per serving
1 gallon skim milk ($2.75) / 16 servings = $0.17 per serving
(the first batch requires a small tub of store bought yogurt, but after that you save your own!)

1/3 the cost!  I do add honey and vanilla, which makes the price go up a bit, but I think I have room to wiggle with that price!!

Homemade Strained Honey-Vanilla Yogurt

To Make Yogurt:

1 gallon skim/non-fat milk
1 container plain, non-fat Oikos yogurt (Brand makes a difference!  See notes in the recipe.)

To Stir In:

1/3 C honey (raw & local is best!)
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Equipment needed:

6 Qt. pot
10 qt pot
Heat-proof rubber spatula
Cooking Thermometer (not candy making)
Whisk
Large cooler (large enough to hold your pots, one at a time)
High-Quality Cheesecloth (or 4ish layers of store-bought cheesecloth OR very thin, large kitchen towel - not terry cloth)
2-3 XL rubber bands
8 C measuring mixing bowl (like the PC batter bowl)
2-3 empty 1qt. yogurt containers OR canning jars OR Tupperware, for storage

1. Pour the entire gallon of milk into the 6qt pot.  Heat over med-high heat, stirring every few minutes and scraping bottom with rubber spatula until temperature reaches 180 degrees F.  This will take appx. 20 minutes.  This sterilizes the milk, just in case there are hostile bacteria that missed the pasteurization process, or were introduced during bottling.  Stir to keep the bottom from scorching - heat may be lowered if you are likely to be distracted while heating ;-)

(note - if your milk does scorch, taste it.  As long as it tastes fine, your yogurt will be fine.  Just don't scrape up the scorched bits during the remaining steps.  If your milk tastes burnt, it's up to you whether you are OK with the flavor, or if you need to start over)

2. Cool the milk to 125 degrees F. This can be done quickly or slowly.  If you remove the pot from the heat, it could take an hour to cool, depending of the temperature of your house.  To cool quickly, fill a large bowl with ice water, place in the sink, and set the milk-pot inside.  Stir frequently and temp until you get 125.  This could be as short as 10-15 minutes, or less.

3. WHILE MILK IS COOLING Prepare your cooler.  It is convenient to place it near a door, or in a bathtub you won't need for about 12-24 hours.  Place about 2 gallons of hot water in the cooler.  Check the temp of your faucet - if it's close to 120, that will be fine.  If not, you may need to boil a small pot of water to add to make the cooler water reach 120ish.  You will only need to check this first time - next time you make yogurt you will know how hot your water is, and how much boiling water you needed to add.  My hot tap water is fine at 117.

4. When milk has reached 125, scrape your Oikos yogurt into a medium mixing bowl and add 2 cups of the warm milk.  Whisk well to remove lumps, then whisk all into the pot of warm milk.  I use Oikos because it has no additives - additives cause grainy batches of yogurt.  You can experiment with other brands, but Oikos is safe to make good yogurt.

5. Place the lid on your pot, and place it in your cooler of hot water.  The level of the water should be about the same level as the yogurt, if not top it up - and make a note of how much water you will need next time.

6. Leave the yogurt, undisturbed, for about 12 hours.  This time is relative, anything over 6 hours will be fine, but the longer it sits the more firm it will become, and the more yogurt you get for your trouble!  I find it perfect to make my yogurt after dinner and have it done when I wake up in the morning.

7. After 12ish hours, you will find an entire gallon of non-fat, plain yogurt!  If you like "regular" yogurt (not strained) then your work here is done!  The yogurt will look like a solid mass with some yellow-ish liquid floating on and around it.  This is the whey, and it is the water-part of the milk - the yogurt starter converts most of the milk solids into more yogurt, and this is what is left.  It is quite healthy and mild.  If you are going to eat your yogurt here, just whisk the whey into your yogurt.  You'll need to stir it when serving, as it will separate again.

8. If you want to make strained yogurt, you need to chill the yogurt first.  If you have room in the fridge, great!  If not, dump out the warm water from the cooler, add cold water and ice, and put the pot back in for 3-4 hours.

9. Now prepare your larger pot.  Place your cheesecloth over the pot and secure around with 2-3 large rubber bands.  Let the cloth dip down into the pot about 4", to hold the yogurt.  Use the spatula to scrape your cooled yogurt into the cloth, watching to make sure you don't overflow!  You may need to adjust your cloth up or down.  You want to yogurt to be all the way up to the rim, so there is lots of room for the extra whey to drip down without the yogurt sitting in it.  You'll get around 2" of whey at the end, so make sure there is room.

9. Refrigerate for 3 hours while draining - if there is not room in your fridge, put it back in your cold cooler with more ice water.

10. After 3ish hours (set a timer - I always forget to check it!) look at your yogurt.  The sides should have curled in, away from the cloth, and the middle should be sunken from draining.  Perfect!  Search google for ideas of what to do with your whey, but DO NOT pour it down the drain if you have SEPTIC!!  Very harmful to the tank and the bacteria doing their job.  I feed it to my chickens, or just pour it in the yard.

(note here:  if you continue to drain the yogurt, while refrigerated, for many more hours, you will get yogurt cheese!  It can be used like cream cheese in cooking and spreading.  Search google for recipes and uses.  It is much lower calorie than regular cream cheese because it was made from non-fat milk, not cream.  I have not done this myself, but I do know it works.  Not sure about flavor and melting ability, but I'm pretty sure if you made it flavored (garlic powder and chives?  Crushed pineapple or strawberries?) and added a bit of sweetener or salt, that it would be pretty amazing!)

11. Scoop the yogurt into an 8C measuring-mixing bowl.  If you don't have one, you'll need to measure the yogurt as you remove it from the cloth.  You want 8C total - if your yogurt has drained too much, just add the right amount of whey back into the yogurt and whisk, to get 8C. (this is not so important if you aren't worried about the calories per serving and getting exactly 8C of yogurt.  However, if you do drain it too much it will be quite thick and gloppy, and more like thin cream cheese.  Just add whey and whisk until you like the consistency)

12. Before adding your flavorings, remove 6-8 oz. of plain yogurt to a small container, cover and place in the fridge for your next yogurt starter!!  Label with masking tape, "Oikos Starter x1" meaning this was the first saved starter.  Use this to make your next batch.  Next time save and label, "Oikos Starter x2", etc.  After 5-6 batches, you may notice the quality going down - grainey, loose, etc. - the culture is just getting too old to properly convert the milk.  At that point, I go buy a new cup of starter.  If your quality is still good, keep saving!

13. Now whisk in 1/3C honey and 1 tablespoon vanilla.  You're done!  Place in storage containers and place in your fridge.

This recipe can be doubled (if you have big enough pots!) or cut in half (if you don't have many mouths to feed) but yogurt keeps for several weeks in the fridge, and I hate to do all this work for one measly half-batch of yogurt!

Once you've done this a few times, you'll find that it really fits nicely with other household tasks - most of the time is spent waiting, not doing active work on the yogurt, so even though it takes 2 days to complete it is not that much work.  And all the pots and bowls and large and very easy to clean, so no filling up the dishwasher, or spending hours cleaning the kitchen.

Happy Yogurt Making!!

Nutritional Info:

1/2 C greek yogurt (including the honey)

109 calories, 0.2g fat, 5mg cholesterol, 18g carbs, 9.3g protein

(if you eat the yogurt PRE-STRAINED you can eat 1C for the above totals)

Mini/Maxi Italian Stuffed Bell Peppers

These are wonderfully flavorful, and the whole thing can be made ahead - for the refrigerator or freezer!!  It's very healthy, with brown rice, turkey sausage, and the only other fat coming from the cheese on top (which you could leave off, I suppose) I had most of a bag of those cute mini sweet bell peppers leftover from another dish, and this was the perfect way to use them up.  But you could also just use regular large bell peppers and cut them in half (for the maxi).  I've made lots of extra stuffing in the pan for kids, or others who aren't fans of bell peppers.  These could even be healthy appetizers at a buffet - enjoy!


Mini/Maxi Italian Stuffed Bell Peppers

2C dry brown rice + 4C water (or 6C cooked leftover rice)

about 12 mini sweet bell peppers, or 6 large ones, cut in half
    note - you could probably use 3-4 doz mini peppers or more, but i wanted lots of 
    extra filling for the kiddos ;-)

1 20oz package turkey italian sausage (sweet or hot)
1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon marjorum
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt

28 oz diced or crushed tomatoes
8ox tomato sauce

2C shredded provolone or mozzarella cheese (or about 12 slices) (or sub cheddar, but it will be less italian ;-)

1. Heat the oven to 350.
2. Start your rice - place 2C dry long grain brown rice and 4C water in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook slowly for about 45-60 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid is gone.  You can turn off the heat when there is just a small amount of liquid left, but leave the lid on to steam for about 15 more minutes.
3. Meanwhile, begin to brown the Italian turkey sausage.  If you have links, slice the skin open and remove it - cook the ground meat until it begins to brown.  Add the onions and all the spices and cook until the meat is cooked through. note - this seems like a lot of seasonings, but remember we are mixing it with all that plain rice and plain tomatoes.
4. Also meanwhile, make a long slit into the side of each mini pepper (or cut whole peppers in half, and clean out the veins).  Place the slit side down on a dinner plate, add a couple tablespoons of water, cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 5 minutes.  Remove from the microwave to cool, but leave them covered with the wrap to continue steaming.
5. Put it all together - in a large mixing bowl, place the hot cooked rice, seasoned meat and diced tomatoes.  Toss well until combined.  Stuff each pepper with filling - it's fine to have the seam a bit open. (I tried using a small spoon, but honestly, my fingers worked better)
6. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with oil.  Pour the rest of the meat/rice filling into the dish.  Arrange the peppers on top, seam side down, squishing them down into the rice a bit.  Make them in rows, or a fun pattern!  Spoon the tomato sauce over the peppers - this keeps the skins from burning, and makes a kind of caramelized sticky crust.
7. Spray a sheet of foil with oil, then cover the dish (oil side down, of course)  Bake for 45 minutes.
8. Remove from oven, uncover, and sprinkle the whole dish with cheese (or lay slices over all).  Return to the oven (do not cover) increase temp to 400, and bake about 15 more minutes, or until cheese is bubble and browned.

For buffet appetizers, use enough mini peppers to use all the stuffing, and place them slit side up with just a drizzle of tomato sauce, and uncovered on a baking sheet.  Roast at 400 for about 20-25 minutes When they are tender and beginning to blacken, sprinkle with cheese and broil.  

The whole dish can be made ahead and kept in the fridge.  Bake for 1 hour the first time, then 15 minutes with the cheese.

To freeze, instead of spraying a casserole in step 6, line it with heavy foil.  Assemble the whole dish (without cheese) and place in the freezer until hard.  Pop the foil out of the pan, then wrap well with more foil, then plastic wrap, label and place back in the freezer.  When you are ready to cook, remove the outer layers of plastic and foil, and plop the original foiled casserole into the original pan. Bake, covered at 350 for 2 hours, then 15 minutes with the cheese.

Spaghetti Sauce with Meat

Adapted from the Blue Ball Book to use less meat and more tomatoes.  This is a double batch, about 9-10 quarts, depending on how much you simmer it down.


5lbs ground meat
4C chopped onions
2C chopped green peppers
25C chopped/crushed tomatoes
24oz tomato paste
1/4C brown sugar
1/4C dried parsley
3 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons oregano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4C apple cider vinegar

1. Brown ground beef in a 3 gal. pot.  Drain.  add onions and peppers and sautee until tender.
2. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until desired thickness (about an hour and mine was thick enough to stand up my wooden spoon)
3. Ladle into hot jars, leaving 1" head space.
4. Process in a pressure canner at 10lbs - Pints, 1 hour.  Quarts, 1 hour fifteen minutes

Kara's Blue Ball Salsa

This recipe is basically the one from the Blue Ball Canning Book - but I got it from Kara, and she and I have both made notes and changes, so here it is!


10C crushed tomatoes (peeled and seeded if you like - I don't do it)
5C chopped tomatoes
5C onions, chopped
2.5C jalapenos, seeded and chopped
6 cloves garlic
1/2C cilantro, chopped
3 teaspoons salt
1.25C apple cider vinegar

1. Combine ingredients, simmer 10 minutes.
2. Process in boiling water bath - Pints or quarts, 15 minutes.

Last year I only used 1C jalapenos, and the salsa was quite mild, but had great flavor.  I drained the juices off the vegetables to make it thicker. 

Last year I skinned & seeded the tomatoes, then drained my veggies ot make my salsa thicker.  It wasn't all that thick adn I got 3.5 quarts.

This year I did not skin or seed my tomatoes, and I did not drain the veggies.  I got 5.5 quarts.  You decide.

Garden's Bounty - Summer Bean Salad

So, I've been trying to come up with ways to eat dry beans in summer.  Everyone knows that beans and rice are a super great meal (unless you're carb restricted).  They are:

• low fat
• low GI
• extremely filling
• a complete protein without meat
• very inexpensive
• easy to prepare

But in the summer, it's just not fun to sit down to a steaming bowl of soup beans.  It's way different than, for instance, hot grilled chicken, or hot spaghetti - something about eating all that hot liquid just makes you sweat.  That's why we eat beans in the winter time!

So, I've had "black bean and corn salad" and this is really just a thrown together version of that.  I used a bag of 15 bean soup (without the packet of gross seasoning) and lots of produce from my garden.  I really enjoyed the different flavors and textures of all those beans.  And I had way more ideas for ingredients that I would love to add if I had them!  I'll list them at the bottom of the recipe. 

Enjoy a filling, low fat, fresh and cool bean salad for dinner, as a side dish, leftovers for lunch - anytime!

Summer Bean Salad

1lb bag of beans (I used 15 bean mix, but black beans are a natural here)

1 ripe tomato, chopped (or 2 if you're a big fan)

1 cucumber, quartered and chopped

2 cobs corn, cut off the cob (or about 1C frozen, thawed)

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 large can black olives, chopped or sliced

salt & pepper to taste

about 1/2C balsamic vinegrette

1. Cook your beans - rince and sort out any bad beans, then cover with about 2 inches water.  Add some salt - stirring it in later will help, but it's not quite the same.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer until beans are done.  It will be a shorter time than for bean soup, and you want the beans to hold their shape, not go mushy.  Mine needed about 1.5 hours or so.  Set a timer to start checking them early.   
2. Drain in a colander, spread the beans up the sides and set the colander on a plate and put it in the fridge until cold.  Mine got about 2 hours and were cold enough.
3. Chop all your veggies
4. Pour the beans, veggies, seasonings and dressing in a large bowl and toss gently - try not to crush the beans.
5. If your beans were nice and cold, you can eat it now.  Or, refrigerate for an hour up to a few days! 
6. Serve with bread and butter or crackers to complete the protein (other foods will also work!!)

I would have loved to add any of the following to my salad:

• diced ham
• shredded chicken
• feta, goat cheese, Parmesan
• chopped avocado
• onion of some type (maybe green onions or chives?)
• leftover cold rice (complete that protein! Add extra dressing to soak in)

 

Sweet Garden Relish

Hot jars waiting for labels

I based my version on a recipe here.  I added a couple of spices, and some squash.  Otherwise, the recipe is about the same.

Utensils:
food processor (or a knife, cutting board and lots of time)

jar lifter
magnetic lid lifter
funnel
ladle/measuring cup
wooden spoon

Veggies:
6C chopped cucumbers
3C chopped yellow squash
3 red/green bell peppers
2 onions
1/2C canning/pickling salt
cold tap water

Pickling Spices:
2C apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon celery seed
1 Tablespoon mustard seeds
1/2 Tablespoon peppercorns (I used mixed colored)
3 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon citric acid (optional, to protect color)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric (optional)

1. Wash and dry 10 half pint jars and lids.
2. Run all your veggies through a food processor until your desired dice.  Chunky or fine, it's up to you.  Place them in a large bowl and mix well.  Sprinkle salt over all, cover with cold tap water and soak for 2 hours.
3. Start your water bath canner heating on the stove - cover it to speed the process up.
4. Drain veggies in a colander then rinse well with cold water - DO NOT SKIP THE RINSING! I nearly ruined a batch by forgetting to rinse the salt out.  After the veggies taste unsalted again, leave in the colander to drain for 20 minutes or so.  We want as much water out as possible - you can press and squeeze to speed this up.
5. Meanwhile, mix together all the pickling spices in a large pot and bring to a simmer.
6. When the veggies are drained, add to the pickling spices pot.  Stir well and bring to a simmer.
7. Bring a small pot of water to a boil, turn off, and add your lids.
8. Your water bath should be boiling by now (if not, turn off your relish and then bring it back to a simmer when your water is boiling)  I like to use my water bath to sanitize my jars, so put your 10 jars down into the boiling water - it helps to hold your jar on the end of a wooden spoon, then lower it down slowly.  
9. After 3-5 minutes sanitizing, you are ready to pack.  Use your jar lifter to bring out 1 jar and pour the boiling water back into the canner.  Set it on a dry washcloth or towel near your stove, relish, lids and rings.  Use a funnel and ladle to fill your jar to about halfway up the threads - leaving 1/2" headspace.  If your relish is chunky, run a chopstick up and down the inside a few times to release bubbles.
10. Wipe the rim with a wet washcloth, use the magnetic lid lifter to bring a lid out of the hot water, place on jar and add a ring - only fingertip tight.  Set the packed jar on the counter near your waterbath.
11. Fill all jars the same way - I got 9 half-pints from my batch.  I always prep an extra jar or 2 just in case.
12. Add your jars to the waterbath, then wait for it to return to a good rolling boil.  Time it for 10 minutes.
13. Remove jars to a thick towel or cooling rack - they must not touch, and need to be undisturbed for 12 hours.
14. After 12 hours, check for seal - the lid should not pop up and down.  Any that are not sealed may be reprocessed, or just stored in the fridge and eaten first.

Eat on hotdogs, burgers, brauts, chips - anything!

Sweet Garden Relish

Hot jars waiting for labels

I based my version on a recipe here.  I added a couple of spices, and some squash.  Otherwise, the recipe is about the same.

Utensils:
food processor (or a knife, cutting board and lots of time)

jar lifter
magnetic lid lifter
funnel
ladle/measuring cup
wooden spoon

Veggies:
6C chopped cucumbers
3C chopped yellow squash
3 red/green bell peppers
2 onions
1/2C canning/pickling salt
cold tap water

Pickling Spices:
2C apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon celery seed
1 Tablespoon mustard seeds
1/2 Tablespoon peppercorns (I used mixed colored)
3 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon citric acid (optional, to protect color)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric (optional)

1. Wash and dry 10 half pint jars and lids.
2. Run all your veggies through a food processor until your desired dice.  Chunky or fine, it's up to you.  Place them in a large bowl and mix well.  Sprinkle salt over all, cover with cold tap water and soak for 2 hours.
3. Start your water bath canner heating on the stove - cover it to speed the process up.
4. Drain veggies in a colander then rinse well with cold water - DO NOT SKIP THE RINSING! I nearly ruined a batch by forgetting to rinse the salt out.  After the veggies taste unsalted again, leave in the colander to drain for 20 minutes or so.  We want as much water out as possible - you can press and squeeze to speed this up.
5. Meanwhile, mix together all the pickling spices in a large pot and bring to a simmer.
6. When the veggies are drained, add to the pickling spices pot.  Stir well and bring to a simmer.
7. Bring a small pot of water to a boil, turn off, and add your lids.
8. Your water bath should be boiling by now (if not, turn off your relish and then bring it back to a simmer when your water is boiling)  I like to use my water bath to sanitize my jars, so put your 10 jars down into the boiling water - it helps to hold your jar on the end of a wooden spoon, then lower it down slowly.  
9. After 3-5 minutes sanitizing, you are ready to pack.  Use your jar lifter to bring out 1 jar and pour the boiling water back into the canner.  Set it on a dry washcloth or towel near your stove, relish, lids and rings.  Use a funnel and ladle to fill your jar to about halfway up the threads - leaving 1/2" headspace.  If your relish is chunky, run a chopstick up and down the inside a few times to release bubbles.
10. Wipe the rim with a wet washcloth, use the magnetic lid lifter to bring a lid out of the hot water, place on jar and add a ring - only fingertip tight.  Set the packed jar on the counter near your waterbath.
11. Fill all jars the same way - I got 9 half-pints from my batch.  I always prep an extra jar or 2 just in case.
12. Add your jars to the waterbath, then wait for it to return to a good rolling boil.  Time it for 10 minutes.
13. Remove jars to a thick towel or cooling rack - they must not touch, and need to be undisturbed for 12 hours.
14. After 12 hours, check for seal - the lid should not pop up and down.  Any that are not sealed may be reprocessed, or just stored in the fridge and eaten first.

Eat on hotdogs, burgers, brauts, chips - anything!

Garden's Bounty - Garden Fried Rice

I'm excited about this recipe.  It's actually not all that thrilling - kind of what I call "plain" food.  You taste the ingredients, the spices are not super rich.  But I had several goals in mind when I came up with it, and this recipe served me well.  In the future, I'll try to mark other recipes that also meet similar goals.

• Use up zucchini and squash from the garden
• Be very economical, which means I had to have things on hand and use no meat.
• Be filling and diet friendly.  I did not measure or do a calorie count, but this recipe is heavy on veggies, heavy on whole grains, light/no fats or dairy (which I understand are part of a healthy diet, but I've already eaten plenty of those today)

This would make a vegetarian main dish to serve about 3-4 very hungry people, or a side dish for 5-6.  It's super basic - wide open to changes.  Halved cherry tomatoes would be great with the squashes (mine aren't ready yet), jalapenos, banana peppers, or cayenne with the onions would make it pop.  Any other ripe veggies that you would normally saute or stir fry would fit right in.  Salsa on top would swing it mexican, without requiring sour cream or cheese.  Or go ahead and add shredded extra sharp cheddar to a plate full - believe me, I would have LOVED to eat this dish like that!

I recommend a very large skillet - look into getting the 13.25" from Lodge Cast Iron if you cook like this a lot - that's what I have.  It's worth the investment.  Also, a good, sharp metal-blade spatula that can stand up to heavy scraping to keep your food from tearing as you stir.

Garden Fried Rice

Serves 4-6

This entire recipe is cooked in the same skillet, in 2 shifts.  The ingredients marked with an * came from my garden and farm.

First Shift:
EVOO spray
3-4 small/medium yellow summer squash*
3-4 small/medium zucchini*
big handful garlic chives in 2" pieces*
2 cloves pressed garlic*
salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder, to taste

Second Shift:
2-3 teaspoons olive oil or EVOO spray

1 onion, halved and thinly sliced*
2C cold, cooked rice (preferably brown)
2C cooked/canned pinto beans (rinse well if canned in salt)
big handful basil leaves, slivered*
2-3 eggs*
salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder, to taste
chive blossoms, or other edible flowers (optional)

1.  Slice your zucchini and squash into about 1/8" pieces - they don't need to be paper thin.  Spray a very large skillet with EVOO and heat on medium/high.  Add the squash and begin to sautee.  After a few minutes, when squash begins to brown, add the garlic chives and pressed garlic and season with salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder to taste.  When squash is done to your liking, remove to a large serving bowl.
2. Pour oil or spray more EVOO into skillet - the rice likes to have a bit more oil to sizzle in, but you can do without it.  Add onions and sautee for about 2 minutes, or until beginning to wilt and scrape up bits from the bottom.  Add the beans and heat through, about 2-3 more minutes.  Crumble cold rice into skillet, and mix well, breaking up any clumps with your spatula - it's fine if the beans get a bit chopped up.
3. When everything is heated through, scrape the mixture into one side of the skillet.  Move the skillet so the burner is under the empty side.  Spray a touch of EVOO, and crack in your eggs.  Let them set up for about 30-45 seconds before gently breaking the yolk and scrambling the egg lightly.  Let set for about a minute total before scrambling the eggs together - they should start to look like a fried egg, but then you change your mind.  Scramble until the eggs are nearly done but still very moist, then pull the rice down and toss all together.  Add basil and seasonings here and continue to toss.  Taste and adjust.
4. When the rice looks nearly perfect, add the cooked squash and toss well.  Now, let your skillet sit and sizzle for a minute before giving it a toss, and let it sit again.  This gives the bottom a chance to brown nicely before getting mixed in.
5. Pour Garden Fried Rice back into your large serving bowl and garnish with flowers.  Serve with a smile!

Italian Vegetable and Pasta Sautee

A beautiful, colorful way to use fresh produce from your garden. If you don't tell, no one will know that it's good for them! This is one of the few recipes that I can claim, 100% - I made it up one day after a trip through my garden.

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Italian Vegetable and Pasta Sautee

1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 onion
3 T. olive oil
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. oregano
1/4 t. thyme
1/4 t. black pepper
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. onion powder
1 lg. tomato (or 1 can diced tomatoes)
2 C. dried garden spiral pasta
parmesan cheese (optional)
fresh black pepper (optional)

1. Cut zucchini and squash in half, then slice into 1/2 inch pieces. Dice onion. Combine in a med. bowl. Add olive oil and all spices, mix well, and marinate for 20 min (or overnight, covered in fridge.)
2. Dice tomato and place in colander over the sink (or drain canned tomatoes in colander) Bring 2 qt. lightly salted water to a rolling boil. Boil pasta for 1 min. less than the package directs. Drain pasta over tomatoes.
3. Sautee marinated vegetables in a large, heavy skillet for about 10 min, or until onion begins to caramelize and squash begins to brown. Add pasta and tomatoes and cook until hot, and noodles crisp on the edges. Top individual servings with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and cracked pepper.

Creamy 100% Fruit Smoothie

A real, 100% fruit smoothy that is creamy without milk, ice, or ice cream! No processed sweeteners make this 100% delicious and 100% good for you!

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Creamy 100% Fruit Smoothie

1/4 C. frozen (thawed) fruit juice concentrate (any type)
3/4 C. water
1 banana
Others as you Like:
frozen strawberries, blueberries, peaches, raspberries, blackberries, canned or fresh pineapple

1. This is a basic fruit smoothie recipe. From here you can make any flavor you like! The secret to a creamy milk-free smoothie are the bananas. Peel a bunch of bananas, break them in half, and place them in a gallon freezer bag and store in the freezer. They will break apart easily later. This, along with other frozen fruits will act as the thickener in your smoothie. Frozen peaches make a great thickener but they don't add much flavor- so you can use them even when you don't want a peach taste. I find that frozen fruits are cheaper than fresh, and they keep SOOO much longer!
2. The basic recipe is as follows: Place 1/4C. fruit juice concentrate and 3/4C. water in your blender. With the blender running, add 1 whole banana (2 frozen pieces).
3. Now it's up to you! Below are some suggestions.

1. Strawberry banana smoothie: Use orange or apple juice concentrate, 1 banana, and add about 6-7 frozen strawberries to the basic shake. Also, i really enjoy using white grape/peach juice concentrate on this one!
2. Tropical Smoothie: Begin with orange juice concentrate, but instead of water, add an 8 oz. can of pineapple tidbits (in juice) and 2T coconut, along with your banana. If the shake is not thick enough, add another banana half or some frozen peaches.
3. Berry Blast Shake: Begin with apple juice concentrate and water, add 1 banana and 1/4C. each of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries - or your favorite combination!
4. Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie: This one is not quite so good FOR you, but Oh So Good! Start with 1 C. milk, or for dairy-free use 1C. water. Add 3-4 banana pieces, 2-4T. peanut butter, and more banana or peaches to thicken. For a real treat, add 1T chocolate chips or chocolate syrup!

Healthy Tasty Zucchini Bread

I've developed a few theories about the stuff it takes to make yummy veggie/fruit breads. Below is what I've come up with. I hope you can use what I've written here to make your own healthy, tasty breads!!

Comments on the ingredients:


Zucchini/Carrots:
My husband always asks, “What’s the zucchini for again?”. He can’t taste it, doesn’t see it, and doesn’t really think you get anything from it. Actually, baking doesn’t remove the nutritional value any more than steaming, sautéing, or other forms of cooking. It’s there to add fiber, and a serving of veggies… well, not quite a whole serving, but more than none at all! The recipe has 3 cups of zucchini - that's the same amount as the flour - a big part of the bread! I use a mixture of zucchini and carrots – either one or the other will work just fine.

Sugar:
This is the only ingredient in my bread that’s not-so-good for you. I had to leave something in to make the rest tasty enough to eat! I have not tried this bread with raw sugar, or replacing some sugar with honey or agave, but I’m sure they would work well. If you try any replacement sweeteners, let me know how it goes!

Applesauce:
This entirely replaces the oil in the traditional recipe. No fat at all in this bread! You don’t have to use chunky, but I like fruit in my bread, and this works really well. I use sweetened, but you could use unsweetened, of course.

Egg Replacer:
I use 2 eggs, and 2 “egg replacers” in this recipe. This cuts the cholesterol in half for this bread, and (for what I can get here in the UK) actually makes it cheaper to make. I haven’t tried to replace all 4 eggs yet, but I bet it would work just fine. I use Whole Egg Replacer, not just the whites. I can get soy replacer, so that also makes this bread vegan (if you replaced all 4). You will need to follow the instructions on your box of replacer. Most tell you to add the powder in with the dry ingredients, and add water to the wet ingredients. Just make sure to use the “2 eggs” directions.

Whole Grain Flour:
This is the healthiest part of the whole recipe. My loaf contains oat bran, ground flaxseed and whole wheat – no white flour is needed! Here’s what I do: take a 1 C. measure, pour oat bran in (I use roughly ½ C.) then add ground flaxseed (I use roughly 4 T) then top it off with wheat flour. That makes your first cup of flour – no need to measure everything separately, and remember how much you used. I use plain whole wheat for the rest. You can use any kind of flour here. Also, if you want a lighter textured bread, but still like the idea of whole-grain nutrition, you can use ¼ C. wheat bran with ¾ C. white flour. That’s roughly equal to a whole cup of whole wheat. It will be much lighter than whole wheat, without sacrificing nutrition. Or, add wheat germ or bran to your already whole wheat flour for even more nutrition!

Dried Fruit:
Very good for you – any kind will work. Raisins, apples, papaya – whatever interests you! Nearly all dried fruit contains iron – plus gives a chewy sweetness to the bread.

Nuts:
While nuts do contain oil, it’s usually the “good kind” of fat, and they also have lots of other benefits. I’ll list a few below.

Here is a summary of what’s good in this bread, along with my sources. I won’t list amounts, because it depends on how much you use, but it will give you an idea of what you’ll be feeding your family or guests!

Zucchini: manganese, Vit. C, and a very long list of others including some Omega 3!

Carrot: Vitamins A, K, C, fiber, potassium, B6

Applesauce: depends on what kind you use – but definitely more fruit, and NO FAT!

Eggs: Selenium, iodine, B2, protein, B12, phosphorus (the website gives
wonderful data on the benefits of eggs – I’m considering putting the other 2 eggs back into my recipe!)

Whole Wheat Flour: huge amounts of manganese, fiber, magnesium

Oat Bran: manganese, selenium, phosphorus, fiber, magnesium, protein

Flaxseed: The Omega 3 fatty acids are off the charts!! I add flaxseed to anything I can bake (since I don’t eat a lot of fish – the other great source). Be sure to use ground – the nutrition in whole seeds won’t get absorbed very well.

Dried Fruit: Nearly all dried fruits contain iron, and raisins also provide many other health benefits including American’s only source of boron!

Nuts: the following are popular nuts for baking breads – if you’re not a nut fan, try chopping finely or using ground nuts in place of some of your flour – you won’t taste them, and you’ll still gain the benefits!

Walnuts: Omega 3 (huge amounts), manganese, copper
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=99#healthbenefits

Almonds: manganese, Vit. E, magnesium, monounsaturated fats (the good kind) which help reduce heart disease

Have fun feeding your family healthy, hearty, yummy Zucchini bread!!

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Healthy Tasty Zucchini Bread


Ingredients:
3 cups shredded zucchini/carrots (I use 1 zucchini and 2 carrots)
1 2/3 C. sugar
2/3 C. chunky applesauce
2 t. vanilla
2 eggs
Egg replacer (2 eggs worth – see notes above)
3 C. whole grain flour (see notes)
2 t. baking soda
½ t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 ½ t. cinnamon
½ t. cloves
½ c. dried fruit
½ c. chopped nuts

OK – the basic recipe.
1. Mix together the zucchini, sugar, applesauce, vanilla, eggs.
2. In another bowl, mix remaining ingredients.
3. Mix all together, pour into a 9x5 loaf pan (or 2 smaller ones) bottoms greased and bake at 350 for roughly an hour.
4. You can also make 24+ muffins with this recipe. Fill cups ¾ full, bake for 15-20 minutes.

This bread tends to be dense – test using a wooden pick, then (personally) I give it 10 minutes more after it comes out clean (lower the temp to 325 or cover with foil if it's too brown already). I ALWAYS have a soft spot in the middle if I don’t!

And a note on muffins. I find that they cook through more easily, and if you don' t use papers, are so much cleaner to eat that I prefer to grab one of those on my way out the door! You don't have to get out a knife and cutting board, and since they're basically "all crust" you don't have crumbs falling everywhere (a big plus if you're jumping in the car!) - I almost always make this bread in muffin form, ever since I tried it the first time.