ANCIENT GRAINS

Ancient Grains, Ancient Fast Foods

Many of us cook ahead on the weekends, to put weekday meals on the table quickly. For centuries, cooks in the Mediterranean have gone one better, cooking and preparing whole grains months ahead of time, so that minimal time—and very little precious fuel—would be needed to put together a delicious dinner. You can follow in their footsteps with these three Mediterranean whole grain fast food traditions: Bulgur. Women in the Middle East have always celebrated the wheat harvest by cooking up bulgur. Longtime Oldways friend Ayer Ünsal recounts, in Paula Wolfert’s book Mediterranean Grains and Greens, that Turkish women of her grandmother’s generation would take their wheat to a communal horse-powered mill, and “stay there for two days boiling hard wheat kernels until they swelled, drying the kernels on flat roofs, then cracking and sieving them to separate the bulgur by size.” The grandmothers traded bulgur recipes, then returned home to savor the fact that their wheat could now be ready to eat in 10-15 minutes instead of an hour or more. Freekeh. Another Mediterranean fast food option starts with grain harvested before it’s ripe. The “green” grain—wheat in the Middle East, but often barley in Tunisia—is steamed and dried, like bulgur, but then slowly roasted, giving it a subtle smoky flavor. The smoky grains are then rubbed to thresh them (remove their inedible hulls), and cracked into smaller pieces so they will cook more quickly. The name freekeh derives from farik, the Arabic word for “rubbed.” In the last few years, freekeh has become widely available, so no need to smoke your own! Couscous. In North Africa, especially Morocco, couscous is the traditional grain fast food. To make couscous, grain is milled into a coarse flour. As with bulgur and freekeh, often the grain is wheat, but barley, millet, and corn have also been used traditionally to make couscous. No matter the grain, the process is similar, as Wolfert explains in her book: Spread some milled grain on a large, perforated, round tray; sprinkle with a little water; then rotate your palm in circles to create tiny beads. Keep adding flour and water and rotating under your hand until the beads are the desired size, then shake them in a colander to remove excess flour. Whether you make your own couscous or buy ready-made, always steam—never boil—it to get the best fluffy results. Remember, bulgur, freekeh, and couscous aren’t actually grains. You won’t find any of them growing in a field. Rather, all three of these are ancient, traditional ways of processing grains, ways that are often thought to apply only to wheat but can actually be used to turn nearly any grain into a quick-cooking meal solution. Mediterranean cuisine offers many more whole grain traditions. In Italy, buckwheat pasta called bigoli is a classic Venetian staple, and farro, an ancient wheat, is perennially popular eaten as a side dish or milled and made into pasta. In Greece, dried barley rusks, known as paximadia, soak up olive oil and the juice of diced tomatoes in a popular snack. Turks mix bulgur with meat to make kofte and kibbe, much as Americans might stretch our meatloaf with oatmeal or bread crumbs. This is from OLDWAYS oldways@oldwayspt.org via oldwayspt.ccsend.com

TRUFFLES --vegan

5-Minute Carrot Truffles

Yield: 10 Truffles

Ingredients

1 Organic carrot, chopped

1 cup organic rolled oats or buckwheat flakes

3/4 cup dates, pitted

3 Tbsp. mixed seeds

2 Tbsp. hemp seeds for topping

Method

1. In a food processor combine all ingredients except hemp seeds and pulse for 10-15 seconds until well-combined.

2. Scoop mixture into 1" balls 3. Place hemp seeds on a small plate.

3. Roll truffles around on the hemp seeds until coated. Serve. Enjoy!

Loved this recipe and will be using it --may try chocolate or coconut to roll the truffles in!

From

Founder & Editor-in-Chief Naked Food Magazine

http://nakedfoodmagazine.com/5-minute-carrot-truffles

happiness

Celebrating International Day of Happiness This Tuesday (20 March) is the International Day of Happiness and all around the world people will be doing things to promote well being and to bring happiness to others.

PANCAKE DAY __HEALTHIER OPTIONS

I have already mixed my batter --as I always feel better for standing

Lots of lovely recipes from Heart Matters

Do go to the website https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/cooking-skills/pancakes?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2026846_Remail%3A%20Copy%

NUTRITION AND HOSPITAL CATERING

file:///C:/Users/Mabel/Downloads/BDA%20Nutrition%20and%20Hydration%20Digest%20Second%20Edition.pdf

Last year the BDA published the updated NUTRITION AND HYDRATION DIGEST which is the cornerstone of standards on hospital catering

I acted as a critical reader on this and there has been an enormous amount of work which has gone into it.

The link is above

British Dietetic Association

Trade union

The British Dietetic Association is a professional association and trade union for dietitians in the United Kingdom. 

Founded: 1936

Office location: Birmingham

Members: 9000+

Lower fat and carbohydrate Christmas pudding

Lower fat and carbohydrate christmas pudding

Christmas pudding --lower fat and lower calorie

    I devised this a while ago but am often asked for it so here it is again--enjoy


Christmas pudding --lower fat and lower calorie I developed this recipe a while ago and it is very popular. It can be made at the last minute or rather the day before Christmas and is both easy and economical not to mention tasty.

Having looked at most luxury style Christmas puddings as well as recipes for homemade ones using traditional ingredients like suet in them I found that most provided around 600 kcals and 80g carbohydrate per portion. So I was given the challenge of developing a lower calorie and carbohydrate pudding. 

This is what I made and it makes 8 small portions and each portion provides 204kcal 43g carbohydrate, 1.4 g fat, 0.3g saturated fat and 0.3g salt.

It was quick to make and also cheap. It will not keep so make it only the day before or freeze.

Ingredients

200g dried mixed fruit

100ml water

10 ml red wine

1 tbsp oat bran

I tbsp black treacle

200g self raising flour

1 tsp mixed spices

1 420g can of prunes drained

1 egg

Mix the wine and water together (I just washed out a wine bottle)

Pour the dried fruit into a dish

Pour on the wine and water mixture

Leave overnight in the fridge.

This soaking step is important as it plumps up the fruit.

To this mix add the oat bran and return the dish to the fridge

Take the stones out of the prunes and puree—if you have not got a liquidiser a potato masher works well

Add to the mix, then add the treacle and mix through.

Sift together the flour and spices and add to the mix

Finally beat in the egg

If the mix seems a bit dry add a little skimmed milk

Pour into a one and a half pint basin and smooth down

Alternatively pour into 8 small basins

Put in the microwave and cook for 7 minutes on high

Take out of the microwave and let stand for 5 minutes

Cook again for 7 minutes on high and again let stand

Test the inside is cooked with a knife or skewer –if not cooked –then cook again for 5 minutes and allow to stand then check it

 The smaller puddings will cook more quickly and so will a pudding in a shallower basin

 The pudding will not keep for long so freeze it or cook a day or so before required.

 If you do not want to cook in a microwave it can be baked for an hour in a medium oven in a covered basin stood in a bowl of water.

 Serve with custard or ice cream or as it is very low in fat a little brandy butter or my current delight a really nice plain Greek style yogurt

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

CHEESE STRAWS EASY AND DELICIOUS

Fabulous cheese straws --very easy to make and melt in the mouth

CHEESE  STRAWS  --recipe from my friend Dona

Makes 20

75g (3 oz Butter)

75g (3 oz Cheese -finely grated (add about a teaspoon of grained mustard - optional.

100g (4 oz) Plain Flour 

a pinch of salt

a little water if necessary

Cream the fat and cheese until soft, then gradually work in the flour and salt with a wooden spoon or a palette knife.  Add water if necessary.  When the mixture is sticking together, use one hand to collect it into a ball.  Kneed lightly until smooth, then leave in a cool place (wrapped in grease proof ) before using.

Roll out the cheese pastry fairly thinly and cut into fingers about 7.5 cm (3 in) long and 0.5 m (1/4 in) wide.  Put on a baking sheet and bake near the top of the oven 200 C (400 F) mark 6 for about 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Leave to cool.

Per  finger 61kcal 1.4 g protein

CHEDDAR CHEESE

Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard, off-white, sometimes sharp-tasting, natural cheese. Originating in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset, cheeses of this style are produced beyond this region and in several countries around the world. Wikipedia

Nutrition Facts

Cheese, cheddarCheese, cheddar

Amount Per 1 cubic inch (17 g)1 slice (1 oz) (28 g)1 oz (28.4 g)100 grams1 cup, shredded (113 g)1 cup, diced (132 g)1 cup, melted (244 g)100 grams

Calories 402

% Daily Value*
Total Fat 33 g	50%
Saturated fat 21 g	104%
Polyunsaturated fat 0.9 g
Monounsaturated fat 9 g
Cholesterol 105 mg	35%
Sodium 621 mg	25%
Potassium 98 mg	2%
Total Carbohydrate 1.3 g	0%
Dietary fiber 0 g	0%
Sugar 0.5 g
Protein 25 g	50%

Vitamin A	20%	Vitamin C	0%
Calcium	72%	Iron	3%
Vitamin D	6%	Vitamin B-6	5%
Vitamin B-12	13%	Magnesium	7%

*Per cent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie need