Creamy Beet Soup

 

This week is so hot that most people aren’t in the mood for soup. Chilly weather is approaching and local farmers are bringing their root vegetables to the market. I made this soup one morning during a thunderstorm and enjoyed it for lunch (in my air conditioned home). You really don’t need a recipe, just cut the vegetables in small cubes, caramelize, season with salt and pepper, add water or broth to cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Blend and add canned milk. This was filling and delicious.

Creamy Beet Soup

(4 Servings)

Sauté vegetables in olive oil until lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper.

1 bunch beets, scrubbed and cubed

1 potato, peeled and cubed

2 Tablespoon onion, diced 

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small carrot, peeled and cubed

1 Tablespoon olive oil

Add water to cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Blend and return to pot. Add milk and serve .

1/2 cup evaporated skim milk

Muffin Tin Frittata and Turkey Sausage

 

Bake and freeze individual portions of breakfast type foods to save time and prevent waste. The sausage, made with 93% lean ground turkey and spices, is non greasy and flavorful. The frittata recipe can be baked in any size pan. Here are the recipes:

Turkey Sausage 

(5)

Mix all ingredients together.

6 ounce ground turkey

1 tablespoon flax meal

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon onion powder 

1/8 teaspoon salt 

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Portion 2 ounce scoops into greased or lined muffin tins. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.

Spinach Ricotta Frittata 

(Serves 9)

Sauté onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add spinach. Stir until wilted. Remove from heat. Cool and squeeze moisture from spinach.

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 tablespoon onion 

3 garlic cloves, minced

1-2 cups spinach

Beat eggs. Add cheeses and seasoning. Add sautéed vegetables.

8 eggs

1 1/2 cups Ricotta cheese, part-skim

1/4 cup Parmigiana cheese, grated 

1/2 teaspoon Mrs Dash

 

Pour into muffin tin greased with olive oil spray. (About 6 tablespoon each) Sprinkle with grated nutmeg. 

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes until set.

This can be baked in a 9 inch pie dish for 40 minutes. Test doneness with a pick inserted in center. 

Easy Meals with Built-in Portion Control

 

My course proposal pitch for Life Long Learners begins with this:“Bring your own regular muffin tin to prepare meal components to take home and bake for dinner.” My challenges include items that could cook at the same temperature and time as well as items that did not spill easily on the way home. These recipes passed the tests:

Fruit Crumble

(Makes 4)

Fruit

Mix cornstarch into juice. Add it and sugar to fruit and stir.

2 cups cut fruit (I used blueberries and strawberries)

1 Tablespoon juice (I used apple juice)

1 Tablespoon cornstarch (non GMO)

2 Tablespoon sugar

Heat on stovetop until sauce begins to thicken.

Crumble Topping

Mix crumb topping, cutting in grated butter until crumbly.

3 Tablespoon rolled oats

2 Tablespoon flour (I used whole wheat)

2 Tablespoon brown sugar

2 Tablespoon butter, grated

Prepare muffin tin with liners. Portion 1/4 cup fruit into each liner, followed by 2 Tablespoon crumble. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.

Farmers Market Veggie Cup

(Makes 9)

Mix all ingredients together.

1 cup corn (about 2 ears), cut off the cob.

1 cup squash, sliced thin and quartered 

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 

1Tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.

Prepare muffin tin with liners. Portion 1/4 cup into each liner. Bake at 350F with 20 minutes.

Salmon Rice Bake

(Makes 6)

Cook dry rice in 3/4 cup water. (I pressure cooked mine for 15 minutes, cooled for 15 minutes and drained)

3 Tablespoon brown rice

1 Tablespoon red wild rice

Drain and cool rice.

1 Tablespoon chia seeds

1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger 

2 1/2 teaspoon tamari sauce, 50% less sodium 

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1/3 teaspoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/3 cup shredded carrots

Mix cooked rice with seeds, ginger, sauce, vinegar, oil, spices and carrots. Portion 1/4 cup into each liner. 

 

Add drained salmon.

1-5 ounce pack wild salmon, skinless, boneless, drained

Portion 1/4 cup into each liner. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.

 

Muffin Tins are perfect tools for preparing individual meals and portions. This recipe has grits, marinara, vegetables and cheese. 

Muffin Tin Polenta Pizza

7 Servings

Grits

1/2 cup grits

1 cup broth, water or milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

Combine grits, salt and liquid in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add water to prevent sticking, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking

 

Oven Directions to cook grits: Combine ingredients in baking dish. Cook at 335 F for 40 minutes.

1/2 cup marinara sauce

1/2 cup diced vegetables (I used peppers, green garlic and onions)

1/2 cup shredded cheese 

Prepare regular size muffin tin cups with paper liners. Place in each cup:

2 Tablespoon cooked grits

1 Tablespoon marinara

1 Tablespoon vegetables 

1 Tablespoon cheese

Bake at 350F. For 20 minutes.

Crafting Meals with Precooked Grains

 

Dry grains expand when cooked-some as much as 4 fold. Plan to take what’s needed for the meal, then freeze or refrigerate the rest for a multitude of recipes. Here’s what I did with the excess sorghum grain from my whole grains event in March. Yes, even experienced menu planners can make too much!

Salads

This one has spring vegetables, olives, feta cheese and pistachios.

Dressing (1 serving)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

3/4 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1/3 teaspoon ground mustard 

1/3 teaspoon brown sugar

Dash salt

A small salad perfect for a tea or brunch fitted into a Parmesan cheese cup.

Grain Bowl

This one has sesame oil glazed salmon, vegetables and pimentos.

Asian Sauce (2 servings)

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 cup orange juice

Juice from 1/2 lime

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon honey

Porridge

This one has amaranth but any cooked grain will do.

Per 1 cup serving, add 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. I added 2 chopped dates and heated in microwave. Served with chopped walnuts.

Sorghum has high antioxidant levels and a mix of phytonutrients. It is an excellent source of manganese and a good source of fiber, phosphorus, Vitamin B3 and magnesium. Sorghum is a C4 plant, efficient in hot climates.

There is more than one way to cook whole grains. My favorite way is in the slow cooker. I added 4 parts of water to 1 part sorghum and cooked on high for 3- 4 hours.

7 Grains for Life Long Learners

 

My goal for the annual Whole Grains Sampling Day is to entice participants to find one new whole grain to include in meals ar home. Todays layered salad had 3, the accompaniments added 4.

The layered salad in a jar is what was on the menu for Life Long Learners. After demonstrating the assembly of one salad with a description of ingredients, I led the 23 attendees through the buffet to make their salads. I’d placed the dressing in the bottom of each jar prior to class. (1 Tablespoon each lemon juice and olive oil and a dash of salt).

Classmates went through the buffet and assembled the salad in a jar.

 

The layers from bottom up were:

Chopped radishes

Rye berry and cabbage salad with caraway seeds and a orange vinaigrette.

Chopped hard cooked eggs

Sorghum salad with roasted beets tossed in chopped pistachios and an apple vinaigrette.

Feta cheese

Kamut, carrot and raisin salad with orange juice, cinnamon and honey.

Spring mix and fresh spinach blend.

Portioned into a 2 cup jar, the scoop for each layer is 3 tablespoons except feta cheese (2 tablespoon) and the final layer of greens to fill the jar.

 

Accompaniments included:

Oat Flour Pumpkin Muffins

Sourdough Crackers (made with rye starter, spelt and whole wheat flours)

Bread of the Prophet (made with Kamut wheat, millet and whole wheat flours)

When seated, classmates inverted the salad onto plates and while eating I reviewed featured grains using the posters and displays around the room.

Rye has a low glycemic index promoting a feeling of fullness. It can grow locally but our local grain farmer quit growing it when her flour didn’t sell. Most of the commercial rye bread is not whole grain. Look for whole rye. Baked rye products are good with chocolate. Both grain berries and baked products are often made with caraway seeds and orange.

Sorghum has high antioxidant activity and a mix of phytonutrients. It is a C4 grain, with a high rate of photo respiration, nitrogen and water efficient. It is economical.

Kamut wheat is trademarked as a guarantee it is never hybridized with modern wheat. The seed remains largely unchanged.

Oats have a prebiotic beta glucan fiber that lowers cholesterol. It is a gluten free flour that works best in fruit breads, muffins and smaller pans.

Like Kamut, spelt grains have been largely unchanged for hundreds of years, though some have been hybridized with modern wheat.

Wheat grows locally . The Vegetable Garden and Davis Brother Produce Farm sells the whole wheat flour at our farmers markets.

Millet has high antioxidant levels and is a C4 grain. 

I have costed the grains for some 8 years (an unscientific average cost of prices on Amazon). I was pleased the average cost per serving of the grains only went up a penny from last year to $.42. I was disappointed that the price from 2 years ago has increased 25%. Three grains have compete proteins - Amaranth, buckwheat and quinoa. 

Drawing prices included local grains buckwheat, popcorn and whole wheat. Other prizes were Kamut and spelt grains.

I ended by recommending the book list on Whole Grains Council, pointing out that our WV Public Library System carries many of them.

 

Here’s a whole grain recipe made with oat flour. These muffins have excellent texture and flavor!

Oat Flour Pumpkin Mini-Muffins

70 Mini Muffins

Dry ingredients 

Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice.

3 1/4 cups oat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 

Flaxseed slurry

Stir small amount oil and syrup into flax meal.

1/4 cup flax meal

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon maple oil

In bowl of electric mixer, beat eggs and maple syrup.

1 cup eggs

3/4 cup maple syrup

Add 1/3 of dry ingredients.

Add pumpkin.

1 3/4 cup canned pumpkin 

Add 1/3 of dry ingredients.

Stir in olive oil and vanilla.

1/2 cup olive oil

1 3/4 teaspoon vanilla 

Add flaxseed slurry.

Add rest of dry ingredients, stirring only until mixed.

Portion 1 tablespoon scoops of batter into mini muffin tins greased with olive oil spray.

Bake at 375 F. for 12 minutes. Cool in pan on cooling rack for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from pan to finish cooling.