peas in bloom

Pea blossom | photo: Brynn

Outside in the garden today I noticed that my peas are blooming.  I love their pretty white little flowers and, of course, love the delicious peas soon to be eaten.

Peas have a lot going for them.  While they are definitely in the starchy vegetable category they are also very high in a lot of wonderful nutrients that help our bodies in many different ways.  High in phytonutrients they are a good choice as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory vegetable.  And although they are sweet, peas are actually considered to be a low glycemic index food (anything below 55 GI is considered low, peas come in around 48) probably due in part to their level of fiber and protein.

Peas are also high in vitamin K, manganese and vitamin C.

They go into a wide variety of dishes and can be eaten raw when young or in any variety of cooked methods when they are more mature.

One family favorite way to eat them is in a dish I call Peas-y Peas and Celery.  When I was a kid I used to love it when my mom would make a dish of new potatoes and peas.  It tasted like spring to me, fresh, bright and delicious.

Of course peas also great thrown into a huge Chef's Salad or used as an appetizer or sandwich spread in Mark Bittman's Pea Dip.  There are just so many different ways to enjoy them.

However you enjoy them in very short order there are going to be lots of delicious, fresh, new peas at farmer's markets and groceries near you; perhaps even in your own garden.  Enjoy them, savor them, let me know what your favorite recipes are.

how to make bean sprouts

I love bean sprouts.  They're delicious and a great source of nutrition.  Just the act of sprouting beans increases their nutrition.  It also makes their nutrients more bio-available because the first step, soaking, removes phytic acids which interfere with nutrient absorption.

A while back my friend Jen asked me how to make them.  She had been interested in doing it but was afraid it was too difficult.  She wanted pictures to show her how it was done.  I promised that the next time I made bean sprouts I would take pictures and share the process.

This is a batch of lentil, adzuki, mung bean sprouts.  You can use any beans you like depending on what you have handy in your pantry.  I almost always have mung beans and lentils so I use those a lot.  The other beans vary.  I usually make a bean sprout mix with anywhere from three to five different kinds of beans.

Start by putting a small handful of each of the different beans into a colander and picking them over.  Dry beans frequently have small rocks, little clumps of dirt or other debris in the package, it's important to sort through them before you use them.

After picking them over, rinse the beans well.

Then...

Put them into a bowl and cover them with water.

Put them in the oven overnight

(Be sure to put a note on the oven so you don't accidentally turn it on to pre-heat

when your beans are in there.  Trust me on this one.)

The next morning take your beans out of the oven and drain them.

Rinse them well and put them back in the oven.

The next day rinse and drain your beans and put them back in the oven.

Keep doing this.

On day two or three you will notice that your beans have little white sprout tails.

On day three or four you will notice that lots of beans have sprouted and they are ready to eat.

How long they take to sprout depends on how warm or cold it is in your house.  Warmer weather 

causes them to sprout faster so in my house it's usually three days.

Once you have your sprouts ready to eat it's best to store them in the fridge.  

What can you do with them?  I put mine into salads, stir fry, curry, smoothies (just a tiny bit for a protein boost), I also eat them raw as a snack.  They're absolutely fabulous.  

I hope you'll give it a try.

Be well.

curried carrot sprout salad

In the tastes-better-than-the-picture category we have today's lunch offering.  A conversation earlier in the day with my friend Blujay about ways to use sprouts brought up the idea of putting them into a curried carrot salad.  


Salads are so wonderful in the warmer months, keeping a couple on hand in the fridge means you always have something for lunch or dinner.  I love the idea of assembling a bunch of different salads for a composed plate as a refreshing way to make a meal.  If you don't happen to have fresh sprouts on hand you many grocery stores now carry them although they're certainly easy to make and I think it's better to get them fresh, it's certainly easy to do.




Curried Carrot Sprout Salad


6 large carrots, topped and shredded
1 C. fresh bean sprouts
1/4 C. dried currants
1/4 C. raw sunflower seeds
1/4 C. chopped walnuts
1/2 C. mayonnaise
1 t. curry powder
salt to taste


Mix all ingredients together
Let sit in fridge for at least two hours to chill and for flavor to settle




Bean sprouts are very healthy.  The act of sprouting forces the bean to convert some of it's starches, this makes it more easily digestible.  Many of the nutrients are increased by sprouting as well, especially vitamin A, vitamin C and some of the B vitamins.  They can be made year round using very simple equipment, just a pot, a sieve and an insulated space.


I use mine in salads, green smoothies, blended into soups and sometimes just as a snack.  They are delicious




Homemade Bean Sprouts


1/2 C. assorted dried beans (I like adzuki, mung, lentil and black beans)
Sort through beans and rinse
Put in a metal pot, cover with water and set in the oven overnight (oven is off)
In the morning drain and rinse the beans well
Return to the oven
Repeat until beans have 1/2" long tails


Rinse and eat
May be stored in the fridge but make sure they are fully dry before you do that to avoid spoilage


Note:  when making your sprouts it is helpful to put a note stating "sprouts" on the oven door so that people don't preheat the oven without looking and accidentally cook your sprouts.  Just saying...

revisiting tuscan stew

The Tuscan Stew appears to have been well received. First Carol wrote in with her notes about it; now Claire has written in and provided this beautiful picture as well (thank you so much for that, I really am not good at photographs and need to work on that).

Claire writes, "Tonight I invited my girl friend over for dinner and used your recipe to cook the lentil dish . I added a lot of Italian seasoning and ground basil and the aroma when the stew was simmering was just fantastic. Both my friend and I enjoyed the flavor as well. She needed to add some salt to it as I didn't put salt. But for me this dish is so flavorful, even without salt I didn't feel like it was missing anything (plus the chicken stock already contains sodium). I like the combination of the colors, textures and flavors of the Italian seasoning, tomatoes, onions and lentils, which really works! We served it over brown rice and it was great!

Thanks for your creativity & recipe. I have always enjoyed reading your posting about nutrition and yummy recipes. Keep up the great work!"

I'm really glad that people are enjoying this recipe so much. It's become a new favorite in our house and if you haven't tried it I hope you will.

Thanks also for the comments, I love hearing back from folks.

tuscan stew update

Carol wrote in via email about the Tuscan Stew recipe that I shared recently" "Hi Mira, I'm about to begin preparing the stew and wonder that the lentils take only a half hour's cooking without any prior soaking--or was that first step left out of the recipe. Also, I don't have any "Italian spice" mix but assume that it would include basil, oregano, parsley and perhaps a bay leaf and or some rosemary the latter of which is growing on buses outside my building. I'm really looking forward to trying, tasting then relishing this dish this evening."

She pointed out that in the polenta recipe it's not clear about adding the cornmeal. I stir while slowly adding and then occasionally stir while it is cooking on low. She shares her method: "I put the mixture into the top of a double boiler and then don't need to keep stirring or even to check it, until it is about ready and it does not scorch if I don't check right on time." This sounds much easier than my method and I plan to try it the next time I make polenta. One of the things that I like most about it is that it removes the possibility of scorching which can be a problem.

Later she wrote back: "I'm eating the stew right now; it is delicious. The lentils (which are a small dark variety) cooked up fine in the half hour with just a prior rinsing, no soaking needed. I cubed a ball of buffalo mozzarella into the polenta after it cooled for 10 minutes, before transferring it to a round pan to firm up. Now, with the hot stew on top, the cheese melted into the wedge and the topping of freshly grated Parmesan on top give it all an extra, rich fillip. I used 3/4 tsp dried basil, 3/4 tsp dried oregano, one bay leaf, and a small amount of chopped fresh parsley for the seasonings in the cooking stew. Thank you for sharing this recipe."

I love the idea of cubing some mozzarella into the recipe and can see how that would add a tasty texture to the polenta. Carol, thank you for sharing your ideas and I'm so glad that you like the recipe.

Tuscan Stew

I love lentils. They are tasty little legumes that pack a powerful nutrition punch. High in fiber, protein, folate, iron, potassium, folate, and manganese they are quick cooking and easy to use in a wide variety of dishes and cuisines. Lentils, referred to in Indian cuisine as daal, come in a number of different colors/types. There are the traditional brown lentils that most of us see at the grocery store however you can also purchase red lentils, which have less fiber, the dark French green, yellow and a type called Masoor which are brown on the outside but red on the inside. When combined with a grain, such as rice, you get a complete protein as all of the essential amino acids are present.

This recipe is one that I created as sort of an Italian style ratatouille, a French peasant stew. I substituted the lentils for the eggplant to give a protein boost and it's a great variation. Served over polenta with a side of spinach sauteed with garlic, lemon and italian spices it makes a fabulous meal. The leftovers, if there are any, are even better than the original because the flavors continue to mellow and combine even after cooking.

Tuscan Stew

1 C. lentils rinsed and picked over

1 onion chopped small

3 cloves garlic minced

3 zucchini cut into 1/2" slices

1 bell pepper diced

3 tomatoes diced

1 1/2 t. Italian herbs

1/2 t. red pepper flakes

2 T. olive oil

2 1/2 C. vegetable stock

In a stock pot heat olive oil and saute onion and garlic until onion is starting to soften

add the herbs and bell pepper and saute one more minute

add remaining ingredients and simmer on med-low until lentils are done, about 30 minutes

you may need another 1/2 C. of stock

salt to taste

serve over polenta and top with fresh grated parmesan cheese

Polenta

1 C. cornmeal (I prefer fresh ground but you can use storebought)

1 t. salt

3 C. water

bring water and salt to a boil

reduce water to a simmer

very slowly add cornmeal (this is important to avoid lumps)

cook approximately 20 minutes until mixture thickens

remove from heat and pour into a pie plate (for triangles) or a cake pan (for squares)

let polenta set for 10-15 minutes

cut and serve

Edit: Carol wrote in and shared her method for making polenta "I put the mixture into the top of a double boiler and then don't need to keep stirring or even to check it, until it is about ready and it does not scorch if I don't check right on time."

I plan to try this the next time I make polenta

Enjoy!

photo courtesy of Justin Cormack : wikimedia commons

no-knead mesquite bread

Those inventive folks over at Craftzine.com have come up with a new twist on the, by now, ubiquitous no-knead bread. Laura, one of the Editorial Assistants, found my post about mesquite flour and emailed me to let me know about this really fun article on how to harvest and process mesquite to make the flour. It includes a recipe for No-Knead Mesquite Bread which they said I could share with all of you. Living here in Texas I know we have mesquite, but there isn't any in my area. I'm going to have to learn to identify it though so that if I find any in my travels I can harvest the pods.

No Knead Mesquite Bread Recipe

3 cups white flour
3 tbls mesquite flour
½ tsp yeast
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups of water

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl
Add water and mix
Stir with fork (mix will be sticky)
Cover in a bowl, let sit overnight
Place bread dough on cutting board covered with towel for 2 hours
In metal bowl bake in sun oven @ 350 for 1 hour

photo courtesy of: Wendy Tremayne

how to eat beans

My friend Sam writes, "Do you have some tricks to help me to eat beans? Me who HATES the texture of beans or anything remotely chalky. We do like Mexican but I won’t touch re-fried unless they are buried under cheese. I don’t like lentils in any way, shape or form."

Beans are a great; high in fiber, B vitamins and protein they are an excellent food to add to the diet. Different beans have different micronutrients so varying the types of beans that you eat is a good nutritional choice. Right now beans are available fresh from the farmer's markets. They are very tasty, not chalky and make a great addition to a lot of different dishes such as my peas-y peas and celery.

Another great way to eat beans is to use them to make a spread like hummus. Hummus is made from chickpeas, but you can make something similar with other beans. Add spices and herbs to flavor it anyway you want; this makes a great dip for veggies, pita bread, or crackers.

One of my favorite ways to eat beans is to take cooked beans (although canned beans are fine too), mash them up with sauteed minced onion and garlic, add some chopped parsley and curry powder and make patties out of it. Pan fry the patties, stuff them into a pita with frisee lettuce, chopped tomato, and a delicious sauce (suggestions include tahini, spicy yogurt, or a falafel sauce) and you've got a great meal with beans.

A third suggestion would be to take dried beans, grind them into a flour (a grain mill works best for this although there is a KitchenAid attachment that will also do the job) and then add that to a tomato sauce for casserole dishes or put the flour into baked goods. You'll still get the protein and nutrients from the beans but they won't be so obvious in your food.

As the saying goes, beans are good for your heart. Eat some today.

photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phaseolus_Beans.jpg

peas-y peas and celery

A recent trip to the farmer's market introduced me to a new pea I had never tasted before, purple hull peas.  Related to black eyed peas, they are both cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) which are very common in the Southern part of the United States.  They are sometimes also called field peas.

I was familiar with black eyed peas but had only ever eaten them after they had been dried and needed rehydration.   These were fresh and I wasn't quite sure what to do with them.  

After browsing cook books and the internet and finally decided to use them in a family favorite, peas and celery.  Turns out they fit right in and made this tasty dish even better.  The fresh purple hull peas were absolutely amazing.  They were creamy and tasty; now our new family favorite is...

peas-y peas and celery
serves 4

1 1/2 T. vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 C. vegetable broth
1 C. fresh purple hull peas
1 C. green peas
1 stalk celery, diced
salt and pepper, to taste
2 t. butter

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion begins to soften
Add broth and vegetables and bring to a low boil
Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until beans are just tender
Drain liquid, toss vegetables with butter, salt and pepper

I'm sure you'll like them too.  So much that I'm sharing this recipe from the farmer's market for their summer succotash.  As the farmer points out, if you can't get purple hull peas you can always substitute fresh baby lima beans, fresh cranberry beans, or fresh black-eyed peas.

photo courtesy of www.flickr.com/photos/blueyonder

mesquite flour

My friend Misty asked me "What do you know about mesquite flour?"  Mesquite (genus Prosopis) is a deciduous, leguminous tree that grows quite well in Texas and Mexico and has a range that goes as far north as Kansas and westward to southern California.  Most people use the wood to create a flavorful smoke that imparts a fabulous taste to barbequed meats.  But mesquite also has another purpose.

I had heard of people using mesquite flour before I moved to Texas, a high protein legume that was high in fiber and originally part of the Native American diet for Southwestern tribes.

Researching it further I have discovered that it apparently also has a good profile for calcium, manganese, iron, zinc, and is high in the amino acid lysine.  Because of it's high soluble fiber content and low glycemic index, in spite of a reported sweet flavor, mesquite flour is believed to be a good choice for diabetics.  

Mesquite flour was traditionally consumed by Pima Indians.  With the advent of a modern diet many of them have developed diabetes; this seems to be attributed to their decline in consumption of mesquite flour.  According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition "the slow digestion and absorption of starch in traditional foods was a factor that helped protect susceptible populations from developing diabetes."  These traditional foods included corn, lima beans, white and yellow teparies, mesquite, and acorns.  Another study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology highlighted an ethnobotanical study in Israel which researched plants used for the treatment of diabetes; one of the plants included was mesquite.

Because mesquite is a legume I am assuming that it has a non-glutinous profile making it best suited for quick breads, cakes, and muffins or cookies rather than for a yeasted bread.  

Mesquite also has another use, the flowers are attractive to bees and I have heard that mesquite honey is quite flavorful.  You can purchase mesquite honey on the internet as well as mesquite flour. There are also recipes available that call for mesquite flour.  All in all it seems like it might be somewhat similar to another legume flour, carob, which I wrote about here and here. Both are sweet, high in fiber and provide a good protein content.

photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

carob update

I wrote a previous post about using carob as a sweetener.  Since it really is more than just a sweetener I thought I would share a little more information about this amazing legume.

Carob is currently being examined as a protein source.  Research indicates that the flour made from the germ of carob has a high protein content, 46%.  By isolating the germ further, protein content percentages, in a laboratory setting, have reached as high as 95% according to studies currently being done at the Universidad de Sevilla, Instituta de la Grassia.  This isolate is of interest because it would offer an alternative to soy or dairy proteins for protein shake formulas created for athletes and for diabetics.  

In addition to the higher levels of protein, the germ flour also yields higher levels of arginine, an essential amino acid that is important for healing wounds, immune function, and hormone release among other physiological functions.  

Carob flour and carob bean gum are also useful for people with Celiac Disease or gluten intolerance as carob contains no gluten.

Another health benefit is the effect of carob fiber, taken from the pulp of the fruit, in lowering cholesterol.  According to a study published in the European Journal of Nutrition "Daily consumption of food products enriched with carob fibre shows beneficial effects on human blood lipid profile and may be effective in prevention and treatment of hypercholesterolemia."  The fiber is also high in phenolic antioxidant substances and there are studies underway looking into the chemopreventive qualities of carob.

To rephrase all of that in a less confusing way carob is great as a sweetener substitute, it is high in protein and will probably be coming soon to a protein supplement near you.  Useful for people who can not ingest gluten, it is also showing promise as a functional food that may help lower cholesterol and help prevent oxidative cell damage.  

Consider adding carob to your diet but please remember to read the labels.  If you start seeing wonderful health claims that's fine but always check what other ingredients are in your food before you unthinkingly purchase something because of the marketing on the package.

Be well.

http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science-Nutrition/Scientists-study-carob-as-alternative-protein-source, http://www.foodsciencecentral.com/fsc/ixid15288, http://cerealchemistry.aaccnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/CCHEM.1998.75.4.488?cookieSet=1&journalCode=cchem

, http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en-us&defl=en&q=define:arginine&ei=AH70Sd2iH5LAM4qFnMAP&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title, http://www.herbco.com/p-449-carob-bean-pods-cs.aspx, http://www.botanical.com/products/learn/c/carob-p.html, http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Carob-fibre-to-reduce-cholesterol-levels

amino acids

Recently I wrote a post about meatless meals where I suggested adding beans to the diet.  If you are a meat eater who is simply trying to eat less meat this is a fine way to supplement the diet, although the information below is also important.

If you are switching to becoming, or already are, a vegetarian or a vegan it becomes a little more complex.  Not difficult by any means, but you do need to put more thought into what you eat.

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein and there are twenty all together. Eight of the twenty are considered "essential amino acids" because we require them but our body cannot manufacture them so we must get them from our food. These eight are phenylalanine, valine, threonine, tryptophan, isoleucine, methionine, leucine, and lysine. Animal products such as meat, dairy and eggs, contain all eight however different foods such as legumes, seeds and grains do not.  Therefore they must be combined to create a complete protein.  Legumes are high in lysine but low in methionine.  Conversely most grains and high in methionine and low in lysine.

In many cultures there are a lot of recipes that call for a mixture of legumes and grains that then create a complete protein.  The above picture is for a Korean dish called Kong bap (this picture shows the dish uncooked) and is a mixture of seven grains and four beans.  Because this dish contains beans (adzuki beans and green peas) and grains (barley, rice, Job's tears, sorghum and corn) it provides all of the essential amino acids.  This dish also has soybeans which are considered to be a complete protein by themselves.  Other examples include black beans with corn tortillas from South America or chickpea falafel with whole wheat pita from the Middle East.  

This is not the only combination that makes a complete protein.  Seeds and legumes together are also a good combination.  Examples would include hummus which is made from ground sesame seeds and cooked chick peas.  

The idea is ensure that if you are not eating meat that you are not simply adding legumes to your diet but that you are adding them with whole grains and/or seeds to ensure good nutrition.

Our dinner tonight a curried crockpot lentil and rice dish.  This recipe originally came from a Lebanese friend of mine and is called M'judra, I've modified it a little over the years and it's one of our favorites.  I plan to serve this with an Indian spinach dish called Palak and a salad of tomatoes and cucumbers with a spice called Chat Masala.  It's a tasty, healthy and satisfying meal.  We make it with a fair amount of curry powder because that's how we like it, if you need to reduce the curry powder it will still be delicious.

Curried Crockpot Lentils and Rice

1/2 C. rinsed lentils

1 C. rinsed red rice (can use brown rice if you prefer)

1 green pepper, diced

1 onion, diced

2 T. curry powder

1 T. nutritional yeast

1/2 t. fresh ground black pepper

3 1/2 C. vegetable broth

1 T. olive oil

saute the pepper and onions in the olive oil until just starting to soften

place all dry ingredients into the crockpot

add broth and stir well

cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours (check at 4.5 hours to see if you need a little more water)

add salt to taste after done cooking

Note:  you don't add the salt while cooking because it will delay the lentils from softening

Enjoy!

photo courtesy of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Badagnani

creamer and meatless meals

My friend Karen recently asked me what she could use for a substitute for vanilla cinnamon Coffeemate creamer.  She would like to give up the artificial ingredients in the creamer.  The best substitute that I can think of is to flavor a half pint of light cream with the amount of vanilla and fresh ground cinnamon (which will be stronger than the already ground stuff).  Mix it all together and keep in the fridge until you need it.  A half pint is 8 ounces and should remain good for approximately 10 days.  The cream really is not that bad for you if you are simply using a small amount for flavor and smoothness.  Of course if you are one of those people who take a little coffee with your cream this is not going to work.

Another question was what is a legume and how can she incorporate more meatless meals into the family diet.  First the definition of a legume:  Legume refers to plants or their fruit of the leguminosae family.  The simple answer is lentils, beans, peas and peanuts.  There are others such as alfalfa, carob, etc but let's stick with the first four.

Making meatless meals is very easy, just substitute a bean or lentil for the meat in a recipe and you're good to go.  In one of my previous posts I mentioned our favorite vegetarian shepherd's pie which is an excellent and tasty dish for a meatless dinner.  We also make taco salad substituting black beans for the meat with taco seasoning, crush tortilla chips in the bottom of the bowl and everyone dresses their own salad with diced tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, shredded cheese, guacamole, sour cream, and salsa; it's a very tasty dinner.  Another great choice is a baked potato bar, I prefer to use sweet potatoes, with broccoli, beans, other vegetables and sauces to taste.  

Of course if you are looking for new recipes rather than converting recipes you already have there are some great resources on the web.  These can be found at:

AllRecipes twenty-for-twenty - a great list of 20 ingredients that combined create 20 dinners

Vegetarian Times - a neat feature here is the ability to use checkboxes to define your search by season, cuisine, meal-type, appliance and more

Recipe Source - formerly the SOAR, this is a list of the vegetarian recipes in the archive

I'm sure there are many others but these are the ones that I like the most.