Thursday, March 5, 2009

Taking Some Things Into Our Own Hands

Well, the lack of produce and the guilt from buying it are starting to wear us out! We have started some lettuce in the AeroGrow counter-top hydroponic system. This was not really the smartest thing to do since it grows tomatoes too, and we could technically have our lettuce outside in some low tunnels right now, but nonetheless, it is going ok. I think hydroponic is definately very weird, and a big drain on energy. There are flourescent lights constantly on, and the way the nutrients come to you must be a big drain of resources to break everything down. Not very sustainable, or natural, but we had some wedding money to burn, so I thought I would see what it was all about.



We also started sprouting mung beans. Doing your own sprouts is a very simple and practical thing to do. Mung beans are a pretty good source of a lot of different nutrients, and protein. Alfalfa sprouts are good for helping your body assimilate nutrients. Different sprouts are good for different things, just read up. The start-up is very inexpensive. I got everything (a sprouting jar and a bag of mung beans) at Whole Foods for less than $15, and the bag of beans will last a long time. You could also do it with a mason jar and cheesecloth. Look it up online and, of course, you will find plenty of assistance. This was a nice fresh addition to our diet last week, and we started more yesterday.



As well as having sprouts, we got a lot of pureed food. My brother was in an ATV accident and broke his jaw, so my sister came up and made him a lot of homemade babyfood. He did not eat it all, so I brought home the leftovers and incorporated them into a few recipes I found in Jerry Seinfield's wife's cookbook, Deceptively Delicious. It is such a good cookbook! So creative! We had just gotten our co-op order of bran and cracked wheat, so I was making substitutions left and right. Here are the recipes:





RICE BALLS

1/2 C. Rice (I used cracked wheat. You could also use wheat berries)
3 tsp. olive oil (We still have some in the cupboard. You could sub any oil here)
1/4 lb chicken cutlets
1 1/4 tsp salt (Salt is a tricky one. Technically it comes from Hutch, but is shipped accross the country for processing. Maybe this is one of those things we will just not worry about, ya know? Choose your battles, right?)
pepper to taste
1/2 C. Sweet Potato puree (We used carrot puree)
1/4 C. Cheddar Cheese (local cheese can be purchased at Whole Foods, GreenAcres, and the Wichita Food Co-op)
1/4 C. Buttermilk (Jako Inc.)
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 C. Spinach, broccoli, or butternut squash puree (we used butternut squash_
1 1/2 C. bread crumbs (We sliced some local bread into small cubes, threw it in the oven at 350F, left it for about 10-15 mins, then took out and crushed with a mortar and pestol)



1. Place the "rice" in a small saucepan with 1 cup of water; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to very low and cook until the rice is tender, 30-40 minutes. You can also use your rice steamer.

2. Meanwhile, coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medum-high heat. When the pan is hot, add 1 teaspoon oil. Aprinkle the chicken with 1/4 tsp. salt and the pepper, and cook until no longer pink in the center, 4-5 mins./side.

3. Cut the chicken into chunks and place them in a food processor or blender. Add the "sweet potato puree", cheese, 1 tsp. salt, and the buttermilk, and blend until smooth. Transfer the misture to a large bowl and stir in the cooked "rice." Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls and place them on a sheet of waxed paper or aluminum foil.

4. In a shallow bowl beat egg and "butternut squash puree" with a fork. Put crumbs in another bowl. One at a time dip the rice balls into the wet mixture, then the crumbs to evenly coat them.

5. Coat large non-stick skillet with cooking spray on medium-high heat, then when pan's hot add rice balls. Cook 5-7 mins. Rotate often to cook outside evenly.



BLUEBERRY OATMEAL BARS

2 C. old-fashioned oats (we used cracked wheat)
1 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. sugar (honey)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp baking powder (you could maybe substitute cream of tartar here)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 C. butter
1 C. low-sugar blueberry preserves (we used the blackberry jam we got with our co-op order)
1/2 C. spinach puree (we used a pea and a strawberry puree)



1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Coat and 8x8-inch baking pan with cooking spray. (We used a much longer one, so we had thinner bars.)

2. In a large bowl, comine the oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and vanilla, and sir to mix well.

3. Add the butter and cut it quickly into the dry ingredients with two knives untile the mixtue resembles coarse meal and is no longer powdery. Do not overmix---bits of butter will still be visiible.

4. Set aside about half of the oat mixture; press the rest of it firmly into the pan. Bake until lightly browned at the edges (but not fully baked), 13-15 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, mix the preserves with the puree in a small bowl.

6. Spead the blueberry mixture over the partially baked oat layer, then sprinkle with the reserved oat mixture. Bake until the topping is slightly browned, 20-25 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool completely before cutting into 12 bars.

I also did her Gingerbread Spice cake, but I am not going to share the recipe. It is basically a pumpkin bread recipe with 1 1/2 cups of vegetable puree added. I think this is a great way to incorporate more vegetables into your foods. The only complaint I could make would be to say that I don't know how much of the vegetables' nutrients are going to make it through the initial process of baking to puree, then a second cooking in these recipes. Some vegetables and fruits can be pureed fresh, so this is not a conflict. If you must bake them, I would suggest cutting them into the smallest size you can, and steaming them, or baking them at a low temperature for as short a time as you can. they only need to be a little soft, cause you are going to add liquid and put them through a food processor. Always keep in mind that less cooking is ideal for your produce. Some light cooking is ideal, because is makes the work your digestive system is going to be doing easier. This is quite the discussion in the food world, and one that has good merit. I agree with the raw foodies, saying not to heat things above 120F (this temp varies depending on your resource), but I am not a purist, and especially in traditional baking this is not possible.


I also had the great opportunity of going to New York this weekend. I went with my friend, Terrie Grillot, who is in the process of planning a green community in Bel Aire, and we want to put an agricultural outreach center in the community, so we went to one in New York to get some ideas. (By the way, the community soon to be part of our prairie home is called Tierra Verde and a sketch can be found at http://www.tierraverdedevelopement.com/. Be excited, it is exactly what we need here, and if you are interested in investing get in touch!) The place we went to visit is called Stone Barns in New York. It was beautiful! They raise a lot of their own produce and animals. We took a tour of the farm, then ate in their restaurant. The goal of the place is simple: educate. They do not worry too much about organic, self-sustaining, etc. They are interested in know where their food comes from, so they are all about relationships. New York is in FULL SWING with the local food movement! They have magazines, stores, and restaurants. I stayed with one of my friends in Brooklyn, and she was filling me in, and there were at least 5 restaurants there doing local, seasonal menus. I did not make the trip to any to eat, sorry for the lame let-down, but it is great to know how much interest there is in back to basics.


I have also been researching the Edible Schoolyard. For anyone interested in a project, try to get this going in a school near you. There are tons of grants out there for this right now!


I think I have left you with enough for one session. Thanks for reading, and until next time be thankful and excited for the soon approach of Spring.


Sincerely,


Dani Rae and The McCoy Boys