What's Cooking? Brrr...

Weather in Washington, DC is funny. It can be 60F and sunny one day and 25F and snowing the next. Well, yesterday was cold. And windy. It finally felt like winter, and as such, I had been craving something toasty. So, I threw together a few things into a pot and let them stew this evening.

Wintry Mix Soup
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot
2 celery stalk with leaves
1 sweet potato, cubed
1 cup collard greens, chopped
4 cups water
1/2 cup black-eyed peas, dried (soaked overnight)
1/2 cup wheat berries (soaked overnight)
1 tbs curry powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cinnamon
Salt to taste
Olive oil for the pot

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Slip in the chopped onion and garlic and fry until starting to go translucent. Pour in water and bring to a boil.
2. Add wheat berries and black-eyed peas. Cook for about 20 minutes and then add sweet potato and carrot. Cook for another 10-15 minutes or so, until sweet potato is fork-tender.
3. Turn off the heat and add seasonings and greens. Let sit and stew for however long. Serve warm, perhaps with some toasty crusty bread.

Fifty Second Friday: Crunchy Granola

By now, you should all be aware that I am from Seattle and spent the first 24 years of my life on the West Coast. So when I came to work once decked out in my bike shorts and chacos, it was no surprise that I was quickly deemed "crunchy." For those of you unfamiliar with the term, crunchy granola refers to the outdoorsy, hippie-like tendencies of those from the liberal-minded Pacific coast. As it happens, I have been feeling particularly home-sick of late; perhaps I need a good dose of Big Bear Cafe...or perhaps I just haven't seen the parental units in a good six months.

Regardless, I felt a strong urge to make granola. Now, vegans, cover your ears, but I have to admit that the best granola I have ever made had honey and butter in it (and sugar and peanuts). The recipe below will be slightly less deleterious (good GRE word!) for your health. Dairy, sugar, and potentially gluten-free, this coconut and pecan granola is a good way to start the day, or alleviate a craving for your childhood home. I served it with some soy yogurt and my first jar ever of home-canned peaches (which were fabulous)!
 
Coconutty Granola
1 cup rolled oats (I used a multigrain mix)
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1/4 crushed pecans (can sub in almonds)
1 tbs coconut oil, melted
1 tbs canola (or another of coconut
1-2 tbs apple butter
1-2 tbs unsweetened almond milk
15 drops vanilla stevia
Cinnamon to taste (optional)

1. Toss everything together. It should be slightly moist and start to clump. If it doesn't add another tablespoon of apple butter and almond milk combined.
2. Spread out on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350F for 35-45 minutes, mixing every 15 minutes. Remove when just beginning to brown. Allow to cool completely.
3. Store in an airtight container. Eat.

 Check out other healthier-for-you options on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Wellness Weekend!

Thirsty Thursdays: Drink it Slowly

We live in a fast food nation - always rushing to our next destination, eating on the run. An article in yesterday's New York Times focused on the counter of this culture, mindful eating. This notion is characterized by the tuning in with the needs of the body. It promotes asking yourself - ‘Does my body need this? Why am I eating this? Is it just because I’m so sad and stressed out?’ Eating while distracted and not focused on what is in your mouth is a sure way to miss the subtleties of food and to overeat. The article recommends starting a meal in silence, chewing slowly, and cook. Goodness knows I need to work on not eating while working or multi-tasking in some form. Give a try! 

My Munchable Soapbox: Soy Good For You?

First of all, for those in DC, happy meat-free week!

There are many reasons to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet - animal well-fare, health, sustainability.  Grist devoted the last week in January to assessing our obsession with protein. In the past 60 years, global meat consumption has doubled. This is a concern, because animal products simply take more calories to produce than they provide when consumed. It makes sense - sunlight turns into plant matter (soy and grain) and then turns into animal products. Along with the loss of energy along the food chain, livestock factory farming produces greenhouse gases and collects waste that pollutes water (read earlier musings on the topic). For more analysis of the topic, check out "A Veggie Considers Meat" (a little bit of a deceptive title...)

But I didn't bring you to this point in the text to extol veganism; it's not nearly as simple as a no-meat diet. While at first glance, this article looks like a critique of consuming meat and dairy (eggs are low in emissions, but water-intensive...), it actually is much more nuanced. One of the reasons a vegan diet may not be all hunky dory, is soy. Yes, the stereotypical veggie, hippie, super-food - tofu. But soybeans grown in the States are sprayed with pesticides up the wazoo and are almost exclusively from genetically-modified stock. Holy Guacamole! This other soy-centric article essentially argues that if it's not organic, who knows what's in it. But more importantly, if you buy processed foods and not whole ingredients, the likelihood of consuming something mysterious is greater.

So, I think we can go by the general rule that "it's complicated." Pastured beef cattle can sequester carbon. Chickens can eat pests. Soy may not be a vegetarian's best friend. Be a conscious consumer, do your homework, and make sure what you eat, is what you actually want to eat!

What's Cooking? A Bean of a Different Color

I think I may be experiencing a bit of blogger fatigue. Not a serious case, or anything, and it is luckily not contagious. Perhaps it is because my work life has been revolving around blogs for the past month. Or maybe it's because I am having such a difficult time finding information on the cultural and ecological history of beans!

Black beans, red kidney beans, white cannelinis. These common legumes are only a small sampling of what is available for the eating. But there is a wide world of beans out there. One particular bean I've unearthed is called Anasazi - a slightly sweeter and more easily-digestible native American bean named for the Pueblo Indians. The back story of the bean is still shrouded a bit in mystery, but we do know that they were likely cultivated back thousands of years! We are talking pre-Columbian Americas, here. I will save my musings about the merits of heirloom varieties for another day, but let me just note how exciting it is to have the amazing variety of beans from which we can choose...rather than always falling back on the same old same old...

Here's a dish that celebrates the traditional companion planting - the three sisters: beans, squash, and maize - forming a symbiotic relationship. The maize provides a base on which the beans can climb; the beans fix nitrogen in the soil; the squash leaves block out weeds; and together they provide the complete suite of amino acids!

Anasazi Stew
1/2 jar of chopped tomatoes
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 medium winter squash (like carnival or acorn; or a large sweet potato) cubed
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 cup cooked anasazi beans
1/2 cup frozen (or fresh if in season) corn

1. Saute onion in an oiled skillet until beginning to become translucent. Add cubed squash and stock. Cook until squash fork tender.
2. Pour in the tomatoes and add the spices. Allow to simmer for 10-20 minutes. Toss in the beans and corn. Adjust seasonings; maybe add salt.
3. Serve warm over corn bread :) mmm...