Cookbook Review: 150 Essential Whole Grain Recipes

If you're familiar with this blog, you'll know that I'm a big fan of Canadian Living Magazine and that I'm a long-time subscriber.  Their recipes are pretty much fool-proof and I use them a lot in my kitchen.  And lo and behold, they have a new cookbook out that focuses on something I could definitely use more of in my life, whole grains.  It's called 150 Essential Whole Grain Recipes, and it comes to us via the vastly experienced staff at the Canadian Living test kitchen.

The book is divided into six chapters: Whole Grain Basics, which covers whole grains are and talks about health benefits and gluten free grains; Wheat, Spelt, and Kamut; Brown Rice and Wild Rice; Buckwheat and Rye; Quinoa, Corn, and Millet; and Barley and Oats.  If you are a person who cannot eat gluten, you'd probably really appreciate this book as it provides a lot of great gluten-free recipes and wheat alternatives.

I personally have made five recipes from this book so far.  First came the Whole Wheat Pecan Waffles on page 16.  Loved them, but then again, who doesn't love waffles?  For a indulgent treat one night, I made the Sweet Chili Popcorn on page 207. Loved it!  Though it could have used a bit more kick; perhaps I'd add some cayenne the next time I make this.  But it was basically like caramel corn with a chili-salt flavour and it was a really great accompaniment to a movie night. I made the Oatmeal Scones on pate 253, only I added fresh cranberries to the mix since it was near Thanksgiving and there were fresh cranberries to be had.  I love a good scone, and I'm happy to say that this recipe is a keeper.  It was also a hit with my roommate, who is also a  lover of a good scone. I made the Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies on page 255.  These came out quite dense and a little drier than I prefer my cookies to be, but they were a nice treat and I felt like I was eating something healthier for a chocolate fix.  My eight year old roommate really liked them, too.  Finally, since I am a quinoa fan, I made the Black & White Bean Quinoa Salad on page 181.

I made some substitutions, though, since I don't particularly like navy beans or cucumber.  So I put in a can of chickpeas instead of the navy beans and I diced up a green pepper instead of the cucumber. I also omitted the jalapeno pepper since I don't like those either.  But the dressing for this was very good and the end result was quite delicious!  My roommate liked it, too, and it made enough so that I could have a few meals out of it.  I will go back to this recipe again and again, I think.

Apart from these recipes I made, I have a whole bunch bookmarked in the book for future reference.  There are quite a few bread recipes I want to try and the Chunky Chili Corn Bread Cobbler on page 162 is calling to me!  I just have to wait until I can get a roast of beef at a decent price.  For you vegetarians out there, there are plenty of recipes that would suit a veggie diet and even a vegan diet.

This is a great all-round cookbook with a lot of yummt stuff in it, and as is usual with Canadian Living recipes, they all turned out how they were supposed to without any issues.  I definitely recommend this book and will be keeping it in my already overcrowded cookbook bookcase!

Cream of Tomato & Dill Soup

This is the soup I made the other night that I made the cornbread to go with.  I've made this before and it's so easy and delicious...And I really don't even like tomato soup that much.  The aroma from this was so tantalizing that my roommate was drawn from a rather important phone conversation to come into the kitchen demanding to know what I was making that was torturing her so!

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo - my bad.  I don't know where my brain was because I did take photos of the cornbread.  Oh well!  Here is the recipe.

Cream of Tomato & Dill Soup

2 lbs tomatoes, peeled, then roughly chopped (de-seed if you feel like it; I didn't)
4 cups water, with an adequate amount chicken boullion dissolved in it (use veggie stock if you don't want to use chicken stock)
1 carrot, 1 onion, and 1 stalk celery, chopped
dill, to taste
1 cup half & half cream (10%)
2 - 3 cloves garlic, or to taste, grated

Saute the carrot, onion, and celery until soft.  Add tomatoes and water/chicken and bring to the boil. Add dill.  Simmer until all the veggies are soft. Add more dill as you feel necessary.  With an immersion blender, or in batches in a food processor or blender, whiz until smooth but still has texture; don't puree.  Add garlic.  Finish with cream and serve.

Sooooooooo good, let me tell you!

And I did a food pricing breakdown, too.  This soup cost me about $0.85/serving.  Way better than canned!

Quinoa "Mac & Cheese"

Tonight my roommate made dinner and she decided to try out a new recipe from our favourite place to get recipes & food ideas these days, Pinterest. It was a bit of a risk since her seven year old daughter had never had quinoa before and claimed the meal smelled "gross" while it was cooking.

The recipe is HERE.

Well, the seven year old wasn't exactly sold on the quinoa version of this favourite, though she ate most of what was negotiated in order for her to get dessert (I made ice cream sandwiches, but that's a future post). My roommate and I, however, thought this dish was a complete hit. We accompanied it with some asparagus and garnished the "mac & cheese" with salsa and sour cream.

This recipe is very versatile. T used red peppers and green onions, but the veggie options and accompaniments are limitless. I'm imagining a version with ricotta cheese and bacon, for instance, perhaps some spinach.

I have always liked quinoa and am glad I've found another tasty way to cook with it. Thanks T!

Vegan Black Metal Chef!

OMG! If you haven't seen this video yet, I highly recommend you sit back and prepare to be entertained!

I'm a metal fan, but not really a black metal fan, however, this is awesome! And it's hilarious and clever! I don't really like the looks of the sauce (too much sugar), but seriously, this is funny, brilliant stuff! This video is getting a lot of attention, and so it should! The lyrics are fantastic and there are so many priceless lines in it. This is the most entertaining cooking video I think I've ever seen.

Check it!

Magazine Monday #74: Quinoa & Chickpea Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette

After a disappointing last couple of issues, Canadian Living's March 2011 issue has a lot in it that I have bookmarked. This quinoa recipe is the first of a few recipes I plan on making. I love quinoa, and it makes me feel good to eat it because it's so nutritious. This was an easy salad to put together and I have lots around in my fridge for lunches & snack attacks.

I used fresh dill from my AeroGarden, which I had in abundance until I harvested it all a few days ago to make this dish and the borscht I posted about yesterday. Fresh dill is the shizz!

Quinoa & Chickpea Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups green beans, trimmed & chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1 red pepper, diced
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
(my addition - a whole pile of fresh dill, chopped)

Tomato Vinaigrette

1/3 cup bottled strained tomatoes (passata)
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp liquid honey
(original recipe: 1/2 tsp each dried Italian herb seasoning and salt)
1/4 tsp pepper
pinch cayenne (which I skipped)

In a saucepan, bring quinoa and 2 cups of water to a boil; reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 12 minutes. Fluff with fork & let cool.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan of boiling water, blanch green beans until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. Drain & refresh in a bowl of ice water. Drain & transfer to a large bowl. (Fresh green beans at this time of year around here are scarce and not worth the money if you can find them; I used frozen beans which I steamed & then cooled.)

Stir in cooled quinoa, chickpeas, red pepper, and feta.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together all the ingredients and pour over the quinoa mixture; stir to coat.

This is an excellent salad, and the dressing has a hint of sweetness that nicely compliments the saltiness of the feta. Definitely a keeper recipe!

Zucchini Hummus

I had some leftover zucchini kicking around my fridge this week, and way, way at the back of the fridge, I had a bit of tahini languishing, too. Last week, the the issue of Clean Eating Magazine came out and this recipe was in there. I immediately bookmarked it and made it this afternoon.

"Raw" Beanless Zucchini Hummus, adapted by moi

3 raw zucchinis, peeled & chopped
6 tbsp lemon juice
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 cup raw tahini
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salt to taste

Blend everything except cilantro in a food processor until smooth. Add cilantro after desired consistency & flavour is achieved.

The original recipe called for soaked sesame or sunflower seeds, which I didn't see as necessary, and I didn't have any turmeric or cayenne pepper as specified, either. I added the cilantro on my own because I just love the stuff.

The recipe's write-up claimed that you wouldn't be able to tell that there weren't chickpeas in this, and it was actually right. I quite like this recipe because it's much lighter in texture than a lot of hummuses I've had in my time.

Totally a keeper recipe!

Tortellini in Herb-Garlic Dressing

If you don't already read Donna-FFW's blog, I highly recommend you do so! You'll learn a lot about food and sex, two things that go great together, and one of which my life sadly lacks. TMI? Too bad!

Anyway, when I saw this recipe I was immediately on the hunt for some tri-colour tortellini. You'd think this would be an easy enough thing for me to find, but no; the local overpriced grocery store sells fancy stuffed pasta, but none if it I like and, like just about everthing at the local overpriced grocery store, the stuffed pastas are overpriced. Luckily, I found some one sale at Save-On in Nelson last week.

Donna-FFW's recipe can be found here.

I tweaked it a bit. I added a cup of diced zucchini, and instead of basil & parsley, I used a whole bunch of cilantro. I also added a tad more garlic. The end result was fabulous! This was a simple meal to put together, and it was light and tasty - just what I needed on a hot, stress-filled day.

Thanks again for another winning recipe, Donna-FFW! You rock!

Tofu Tuesday #3: Another Stirfry

Time for another installment of Tofu Tuesday!

While searching out new and exciting tofu products, I came across this at my local overpriced grocery store last week:
Yes! Flavoured tofu snacks, complete with dipping sauce, made by someone named Pete! For $2.49, I had to give it a whirl. Out of the package, this is what I was dealing with:
Well, it certainly didn't taste as exciting as it looks, I can tell you that. I had one triangle with the dipping sauce and I can safely tell you the dipping sauce was the best thing about the snack. Luckily, I have more imagination than just biting into a hunk of tofu dipped in sauce - I made a stirfry!
Coleslaw mix is my new favourite thing because it is wicked in stirfries. The udon noodles were OK - probably better in soup. And that is the only brand of Peanut Sauce I like. Here is the finished product:
Actually, all put together this was quite good. A simple, quick, healthy meal - which meant I didn't feel as guilty about the cake I ate from yesterday's post!

Fingerling Fries

A few years back, I started seeing a lot of fingerling potatoes kicking around places like the Food Network. It seemed that they were one of the new food trends along the lines of grilled lettuce and things of that nature. (Have you ever tried grilled romaine lettuce? I have, and I lived to tell the tale, but I wouldn't rush out to try it again.)

Anyway, I'd never seen a real live fingerling potato until a couple of weeks ago when I was at my brother and SIL's place for dinner, and Shan had acquired some of the potatoes at our local big box grocery store. Surprisingly, the local overpriced grocery store doesn't carry them, though they tout themselves as being a step up from the competition around here. Shan made fries out of the fingerlings and they were super simple and super yummy. The other day, I happened to be in the vicinity of the local big box grocery store while I was dropping off baking for the SPCA bake sale, and I took the opportunity to pick up some fingerlings for myself. They were $4.49 for 5lbs. I thought this was steep for fracking potatoes, but I sucked it up and paid anyway.

After doing a very minimal amount of research, I learned that fingerlings are often a heritage variety, much like heirloom tomatoes. I also learned that there are about 8 different varieties of fingerlings. This site gives you a run-down.

Donna-FFW might agree with me when I say that some of the names of the varieties sound a bit pornographic to me. I mean, the "Purple Peruvian?" The "Russian Banana?" Please!

Anyway, what are they like? Well, astonishingly, they are rather like...potatoes. They are waxy like new potatoes or Yukon Golds, and have yellow flesh like Yukon Golds. I can't remember the last time I tasted a Yukon Gold so I can't compare flavour, but the fingerlings taste very much like the red nugget potatoes I've been eating lately.

They do, however, as I knew from my meal at my brother's place, make great fries. Facilitated by their narrow shape, you just need to cut them in half lengthwise, add some olive oil and seasonings, and Bob's your proverbial uncle.They cook quickly enough, which is helpful, and I can see that they'd be great in soups and stews, and that their neat shape would make potato salads a little more visually interesting. The purple ones would be totally cool in salads.

I'm not potato conoisseur, but I kinda liked the fingerling in the end, price and all.

Nigella's Pasta with All Kinds of Stuff

Pierce over at Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor is on a Nigella kick and is methodically going through Nigella Express. When I initially reviewed the book this pasta dish, called Linguine with Lemon Garlic and Thyme Mushrooms, caught my eye, and after reading Pierce's post about it, I decided to make it.

On a related note, my great friend Karen just returned from a trip to the UK, where she came across this thyme-y little tidbit. Herbs have been known to have many benefits, but if you ever get swollen testicles, please rub them with thyme and let me know how that goes, will ya?

OK, onto the recipe. This was done and on the table in about 20 minutes.

Pasta with Lemon, Garlic and Thyme Mushrooms, Nigella Express page 291, adapted by me

225g mushrooms, sliced (I didn't measure, I just used about 8 large mushrooms)
50mL olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1 clove of garlic, crushed or grated
zest & juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp thyme
1lb pasta
2 - 3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste

1. Slice mushrooms finely, and put in a bowl with the oil, salt, garlic, lemon juice & zest, and thyme.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain loosely, retaining some water (I retained about 1/2 cup) and return to pot . Put the mushroom mixture into the pasta. Add cheese, salt & pepper, and serve.

This was OK. As a meal, I found it a tad unsatisfying because there wasn't much to it and it was a bit plain. The second night I had it, I served it with some sauteed shrimp to add some protein to the meal, and I plan on serving the rest as a side dish with an upcoming chicken meal. This was very simple to make, though, and I loved the light dressing on the mushrooms. As Nigella says in the cookbook, you can serve the mushrooms as a salad and I think that's a fantastic idea.

Thanks for the inspiration, Pierce!

Cream of Potato Soup with Roasted Garlic & Dill

Last week I wrote a post about a lunch I had at the Hume Hotel in Nelson. I had a really great soup that I thought would be really easy to replicate at home. This, folks, is that soup - as close as I could figure.

Cream of Potato Soup with Roasted Garlic & Dill

4 medium baking potatoes
1L chicken stock
3 whole heads garlic
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1 1/4 cups cream
salt to taste

1. Trim the tops of the garlic heads off, smear with some olive oil, place in some foil, and bake in a 400F oven for about 25 minutes or so, or until nice and golden brown. Take out and let cool slightly so you can handle them without burning yourself.

2. Meanwhile, peel and chop the potatoes into 1" cubes. Place in a large pot and pour in the stock. If necessary, add enough water just to cover the potatoes. Add the pepper and dried dill. Boil until the potatoes are tender.

3. Mash the potatoes with a masher. Squeeze out the roasted garlic from it's shell directly into the potatoes. Blend the soup until smooth either with an immersion blender or in a regular blender. Add the cream and fresh dill. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve.

Very simple, and my soup was, I can honestly tell you, just as good as the Hume's. Perhaps even better. The flavour was delicate and the soup was satisfying. I just wish I hadn't burned myself while whizzing the soup with my hand blender - I hate it when that happens!

Tofu Tuesdays #2: Tofu & Veggie Chow Mein

While perusing the tofu section of my local overpriced grocery store this past week in anticipation of this post, I was confronted by a selection of tofus that looked quite a bit more interesting than the regular stuff - soft, firm, etc. There was a flavoured tofu that was red in colour, but the packaging didn't say what the flavouring was. Then I spied this package of fried tofu that piqued my interest. Yes, it's higher in fat, but I thought it would be more interesting than the pedestrian tofus next to it.

I also had most of a package of fresh egg chow mein noodles left over from my last Tofu Tuesday installment, and on the back there was conveniently printed for me a chow mein recipe. Hence, this week's Tofu Tuesdays idea was born!

Fried Tofu & Veggie Chow Mein

1 package fried tofu, cubed
1/2 bag coleslaw mix (I love this stuff; it's perfectly chopped for stir fries, and it contains both green & purple cabbage, as well as carrots)
1/2 onion, sliced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1 package fresh egg chow mein noodles
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/4 cup broth (I used beef, which I admit seems contrary since this is a vegetarian dish, but sue me - it's what I had on hand)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp sesame oil

1. Boil chow mein noodles until soft; drain. (The package claims all I had to do was run them under hot water. The package is a liar. Running them under hot water was inadequate, and I found that boiling the noodles for a few minutes worked much better). After draining, I cut my noodles with my kitchen shears to make them a manageable length.

2. Heat some oil wok, and when it's hot, add veggies and stir fry until tender. Add tofu. Add noodles.

3. Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl and add to the stir fry. Combine well.

The fried tofu had a chewy exterior that was a bit more pleasant than its unfried counterpart, and the flavour was mild enough to blend in well with the other ingredients in the chow mein. I'd definitely use this again (and it was cheaper, too). All in all, this was a great meal!

Bon appetit!

Magazine Monday #28: Olive & Sun-Dried Tomato...Something...

Today's recipe was a bit of a flop, but it was also a lesson in improvisation. I just got the latest edition of Clean Eating Magazine, and the recipe for Olive & Sun-Dried Tomato Spread caught my eye. It seemed simple enough so I decided to make it on the weekend.

Olive & Sun-Dried Tomato Spread (adapted slightly by me)

6 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (the original recipe specifies "not packed in oil" but that's all I had. If you have the dried ones, just soak them in some boiling water for 5 minutes, drain, chop)
6 oz low fat Greek-style yogurt
4 oz low fat cream cheese
3 tbsp black olives, seeded & chopped (I used Kalamata)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
ground black pepper, to taste
1 clove garlic, grated

Whiz the yogurt & cream cheese in blender until smooth. Mix in everything else by hand. Season to taste.

Seems simple enough, right? But, my spread was really runny and, though it tasted really great, it simply wasn't spreadable or even dip-able. Even after chilling overnight, the spread didn't tighten up at all. I used 3.5%MF yogurt, and I think it was a little runny for some reason. I can't explain the consistency any other way.

So, I had to do something with this. The note at the end of the recipe recommended all kinds of ideas for the spread, and so I thought I would turn this into a nice pasta salad.

Pasta Salad with Olive & Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing

1 recipe Olive & Sun-Dried Tomato Spread
2 cups penne or other short pasta, cooked & drained
3 cups chopped veggies of your choice (I used red pepper, cauliflower, green onion, and diced zucchini)

Rinse the pasta off under cold water after you've cooked it. Add it to the veggies in a large bowl. Add the dressing. Combine. Enjoy.

Well, there you go: proverbial lemons into proverbial lemonade!

Tofu Tuesdays #1

Oh yeah - another series!

I was inspired to start this tofu series after writing this post about greening up the kitchen and my eating. In that post, I mentioned an article in Bon Appetit called "50 Easy Ways to Eat Green", and idea #39 was to eat more tofu. I used to eat tofu somewhat regularly in university and every so often when I was on Weight Watchers. I kind of got over it though, and haven't had any in quite some time. I haven't really missed it. My main knock against it is that it's very processed, as are many tofu products, and my focus has been to eat more unprocessed, whole foods instead of stuff that bears no resemblance to it's natural form. But, as the article states, tofu is quite green, and takes less resources to produce than your average pound of beef (which I eat rarely anyway). Replacing 1lb of beef with 1lb of tofu per month apparently saves 20,000 gallons of water annually.

Fine. I can add some tofu to my diet.

Enter Canadian Living Magazine, February 2009 issue, and a section on a Chinese New Year menu, which included this recipe for Bok Choy, Mushroom, and Tofu Soup. It looked simple and delicious, and has about 59 calories per serving. Now, this soup is supposed to be part of a larger meal, so it's not too hearty on its own. In order to make it more filling and a little more...ah...fun, shall we say, I added some fresh chow mein noodles to it - because, let's face it, noodles make everything better, right? I also made my own stock once more, as seen here, only leaving out the lemon and adding ginger and some celery tops instead.

The soup turned out really well and I used medium tofu instead of firm. Big difference! Not rubbery or chewy and its softness took in the flavour of the soup much more than firm tofu would have. I'll have to remember this little tofu tip for the future.

Bon appetit!

Magazine Monday #23: Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta & Cabbage Slaw

One of my foodie New Year's resolutions was to eat more vegetarian fare, and the Feb. 2009 issue of Bon Appetit had this recipe for black bean tacos that caught my eye. I made them last night and they were pretty good! I didn't use corn tortillas, however, because I don't like them, but the wheat ones worked fine. I also don't like hot sauce, so I just used some of my regular salsa from this post. All in all, a good meal; the feta was an interesting addition and I really liked the fresh slaw on top of the taco. This was a cheap and easy meal to put together and I think I'll keep the recipe around for the future!

The recipe Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw can be found here.

La-la-la-Lasagne!

On Sunday night, I decided to make lasagne, even though I was sick and didn't feel like it. I'd gotten some Ragu on sale for 99 cents for 750mL at my local overpriced grocery store, and some less expensive low fat ricotta at a cheaper grocery store. Mushrooms were also on sale, and so the idea for a vegetarian lasagne was born.

As stated previously in this post, where more detailed instructions for lasagne-making can be found, the cardinal rule for lasagne made with oven-ready noodles is sauce (about 3/4 cup) noodles sauce. After that this is the order I used for the layering: mushrooms & onions, cheese (mixed with 1 egg, a few cloves of garlic, some grated Parmesan, and 1 tsp dried basil), noodles, sauce, 1 bunch spinach, noodles, sauce, cheese.

I usually have to bake this longer than the noodle package suggests - around an hour at about 375- 400F, covered with foil, and then about half an hour longer to get the top nice and brown. Then, I highly recommend leaving the lasagne to sit for at least 15 minutes after taking it out of the oven so that all the cooking liquids can get absorbed. Your lasagne will serve much easier and be way less soupy.

This veggie version was is and light and tasty, and should give me meals enough for this week, so it is also very economical. In every way totally excellent!

Quinoa with Black Beans

Quinoa has become one of my new favourite things. As versatile as rice with a high nutritional value, it's now a staple in my pantry. I came across this recipe in the September 2008 issue of Bon Appetit, and I had everything on hand, so I made it for dinner the other night.

This dish is beautiful in its simplicity, and not only is it healthy, vegetarian (and easily made vegan), high in fibre and tasty, it's also a one-pot meal - something that comes in very handy quite frequently. I used crumbled feta cheese on mine, and the saltiness this addes made for a very well-rounded flavour.

Quinoa with Black Beans & Cilantro

1 tbsp veg. oil
2 cups chopped white onions
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup quinoa
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water (I used chicken stock I had kicking around)
1 can (15oz) black beans, rinsed & drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Crumbled Cotija Cheese or feta cheese, optional

Heat oil in heavy medium sauce pan, over medium high heat. Add onion and pepper and saute until they begin to soften. Stir in the next four ingredients. Add water; bring to boil. Cover; reduce heat to medium low and simmer until quinoa is almost tender - about 14 minutes. Add beans and 1/4 cup of the cilantro; cook uncovered until heated through and liquid is fully absorbed, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl and sprinkle with remaining cilantro, and, if using, the cheese.

I found this is great not only hot out of the pot, but cold the next day. Enjoy!