Cooking with tomato

Tomatoes may not be in season right now, but if you played your cards right with your garden, I do hope you canned a few jars of them.  If not, there are many varieties or organic, natural, or good brands out there from companies that sell whole, chopped, or diced tomatoes in a can or jar.

Tomatoes always give an added touch that some dishes are just missing.  A lot of dishes require some sort of tomato in the form of whole, paste or even cooked or diced and, tomatoes are one of the easiest foods to grow on your own. From growing them in a small apartment to a large garden layout in your backyard, tomatoes are really a great fruit to have on hand, and the added joy is if you grew them yourself   

Here are two very easy and quick recipes to try now with tomatoes that you grew or ones that you have purchased locally.

• Fish and Spinach Bake with Tomatoes

Makes 4 Servings

1 package frozen spinach , thawed (10 ounces)

1 Pound fish fillets, thawed (Talapia or similar.  Chicken may even be used in place of the fish.)

1 tsp. Cajun Seasoning (To taste)

1 LARGE TOMATO, SLICED (Or use canned tomatoes)

4 green onions, sliced

Squeeze out spinach and remove excess liquid from leaves.  Spread spinach in the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste.

Arrange fish fillets over the spinach laid and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning, to taste.  

Cover with foil with a small slit in the top to allow for steam to escape and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 20 minutes until fish flakes with a fork.

• Easy Chili

Makes 8 cups

1 pound ground meat (your choice)

1 onion, chopped

2 tsp. chili powder

1 CAN CHOPPED TOMATOES WITH LIQUID (14.5 OUNCES)

2 cans beans, 15 ounce cans (Pinto, black and kidney beans will work)

1 can tomato soup (10 ounces)

1 cup water

Brown the meat and onion in a skillet together and drain off excess fat.  Add chili powder and cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring in powder as you cook.

Add tomatoes, drained beans and soup.  Stir in water and simmer for about 30 -45 minutes on low heat.

Chili is ready to eat!

Enjoy!

Eco-Tip:  If you get magazine subscriptions to your home, consider recycling them once you have read them.  Or consider donating them to a local library, clinic, or hospital   For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

What's the deal with grain?

Most of us are not unfamiliar with brown rice and grains as a whole, but did you know there are different forms of grains that are just as good for you as brown rice? If you are stuck in the brown rice blahs there are many other forms of grains that can give you that boost back to where you enjoy grains once more and guess what, they are not only healthy for you, but also very easy to find.

Wild Rice

1. Kasha: You may be familiar with this name through the Kashi brand of foods, but Kasha is one of the most amazing grains out there. You can either eat them cooking into your food or cook them alone. Bring water to a boil and add your desired amount of Kasha to the boiling water. 

2. Quinoa: This grain may be familiar to you, but have you tried it yet? Quinoa is a grain that is very tender and very enjoyable if prepared the right way. Rinse under cool water and cook the same way you would Kasha, but cover and simmer 15 minutes in order to enjoy this grain in a hearty way.

3. Bulgur: This is a form of wheat kernels and can be boiled just the same as the other two above. Boil 1 cup Bulgur with 1 cup water and remove from hear and stand for 10 minutes before enjoying. This can be added to a pasta salad or eaten alone alongside your main meal.

4. Wheat Berries: Boil 3 cups of water to 1 cup of wheat berries in a large pot. Then turn the heat down and simmer for about an hour to bring out the complex flavor of this grain. It can be enjoyed straight.

Fields of Barley

5. Barley: Boil Barley about the same as you would the other grains, but Barley can also be made into breads, pastas and even muffins or rolls. And this grain is so popular that even Sting made a song about it. Add it to your diet and make it just as popular in your own home.

Whole grains are one of the most common foods our bodies need more than anything else, not only for the fiber, but also for the other supplements they add to our diets.  Here is a list of what whole grains can add to your body.

• Natural, soluble fiber
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin B-6
• Zinc
• Potassium
• Folate
• Protein
• Iron
• Thiamine
• Riboflavin

Pick up these grains the next time you are at the grocery store, Farmers' Market or even the local grower.  Try one or the two at the same time and find your favorite grain and start adding it into your own cooking.

Enjoy!

Eco-Tip:  When gone from your house during the long hours of the day, turn your thermostat down a little.  There isn't an estimate of how much you will save due to the different variations of houses, heating systems, climate and weather changes, as well as energy cost in your own home.  But one thing to keep in mind, each degree of Fahrenheit you set the thermostat back in either direction you save about an 1 percent savings within an eight hour period.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

ONIONS! Let's cook with them

  

Onions, when added to certain dishes, they come alive with flavor.  Here are a few of the dishes I simply love to add onions to.

• Sweet Onion Soup

Ingredients:  1/4 cup butter, 2 sweet onions (Sliced), 1 tbs. all-purpose flour, 2 1/2 cups water, 1/2 cup red cooking wine, 2-10 oz. cans condensed beef broth, 1 loaf of French bread or garlic bread, and croutons.

In a 4-quart saucepan cook onions in the butter for about 10 minutes.  Stir in the flour and blend well with the juices from the onions in the pan.  Add water, wine and broth and beat till a rolling boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes with a cover on the pan. Lower heat to low and serve with bread and croutons.

Tip:  Bring sauces and soups to a boil when reheating.  Bring heat to at least 165 degrees before eating and always keep leftovers at a safe temperature, heat doesn't always kill bacteria by reheating when food isn't kept at proper degrees when stored.

•  Chicken with Onions

Ingredients:  1 tbsp  extra-virgin olive oil, 1 whole chicken (quartered), salt and pepper, 1 large red onion (cut into wedges), 1 lb. carrots (cut into 2-inch pieces), 3/4 cup white cooking wine, 1 tbsp  honey, and parsley for garnish.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large Dutch oven heat oil on high heat, season chicken with salt and pepper and add to the pot, skin side down.  Cook for about 8 minutes and place chicken on a plate and set aside.  Add onions and carrots to the pot and cook, stirring often.  Cook until onions are golden brown and add wine and honey and bring to a boil.  Scrape brown bits with a wooden spoon and then return chicken to the pot.  Add 1 cup of water and bring to a rolling boil.  Cook for about 35 minutes or until chicken is done.  Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot.

Tip:  Separate raw meat and seafood from other foods in your shopping buggy and also in your refrigerator.  Meat and other liquid from animal products contain large amounts of bacteria.

• Onion Soup

Ingredients:  1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 3 tbsp  unsalted butter, 6 yellow onions (sliced thin), 1 tsp. sugar, salt and pepper to taste, Thyme sprigs, 1 Bay leave for taste, 1 tsp. all-purpose flour, 1 tbsp  Brandy, 4 cups beef broth, stale-toasted bread, 1 garlic clove (peeled), Parsley

Using a Dutch oven, heat oil and 2-tbs. butter on high heat.  Add onions, sugar and 2 tsp. salt.  Add the thyme and bay leaf and reduce heat to medium-low.  Be sure and scrape up brown bits with a wooden spoon.  Once the onions reach a medium brown color (About 1 hour )  Reduce heat if needed while cooking and add water when needed if onions begin to stick.  Set 1/2 cup onions aside and leave the rest in the Dutch oven.  Stir in 1 tbs. butter, flour and Brandy and cook until butter is melted completely.  Add broth and simmer on high heat for 15 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and serve with garlic bread and soup on top of bread.  Sprinkle with parsley before serving.

Tip:  Don't cross contaminate!  Never place food back on a plate that was use before with raw meat or seafood!

• Bean Burger with Pickled Onions

Ingredients:  1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil, 1 small red onion, 1 tsp. sugar, 2 tbs. red wine vinegar, salt and pepper, 2 1/2 cups cooked black beans, 1 red bell pepper, 1 cup fresh, chopped cilantro, 1/3 dry bread crumbs, 1 large egg (beaten), 3 tbsp. mayo, 1 thinly sliced avocado

In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil and add the red onion that's been thinly sliced and cook for 1 minute, add 1 tsp. sugar and cook together until the sugar is dissolved.  Add the red wine vinegar and season with salt and pepper.  Place the mixture in a small bowl and wipe skillet off.  Mash 2 cups of the cooked beans in a bowl and then drain, stir in bell pepper that's been finely chopped.  Add in 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro and the bread crumbs, along with beaten egg and 1/2 cups cooked black beans (not mashed but, drained).  Season with salt and pepper and form mixture into patties.  Heat 1 tbs. oil and cook patties until crisp and flip once to make crisp on opposite side.  Serve on Kaiser rolls that have been spread with mayo and top with avocado and red onions. 

Onions are one of the foods that often get overlooked when it comes to certain dishes.  You can add an onion to just about anything you're cooking to get it just a hint of flavor, or a lot.  And the best part, onions come in a variety of different species.

Yellow 

Red

White

Shallots

Pearl

And many, many others.  

Enjoy!

Eco-Tip:  Try to eat less meat.  Reducing meat consumption will reduce pollution problems within our food-related land use and factories.  If cutting meat out completely isn't an option, try to opt for only 2 meals of meat-related dishes a week.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

How to read a wine label and serve wine

With the holidays coming, wine is a must for any household really for any type of celebration.  For the longest time I would steer away from certain wines because I just didn't know what I was buying.  If you tend to have the same avoidance, I do hope this blog post can help you strive to include more wines and wine choices into your holiday atmosphere   Seems easy enough to read a wine label, right?  Well, it could be a little more tricky than you might think. Here's the rundown on the basics.

Cristalino Brut Cava

Reading a wine label, above all very simple, you just have to know what to look for. Here is a quick rundown of what's important on a wine label.

• The brand name: The brand is important enough, but sometimes the least likely known brand might be better than the name brand.

• Where the grapes are grown: It could read Napa Valley, it could read just France or Italy, this is important to knowing where your wine was created from.

• The type of wine: Reading something similar such as Chardonnay, or Cabernet or even Sauvignon. Your taste options and what you like will more than likely depend on this wording on the label, so pay attention to what it is you're drinking.

• Quality: Such as Special Reserve, etc.

• Where the wine was bottled: Now this isn't the same as where the grapes that made the wine were grown, this will read anything from "Bottled in Cellar", "Cellar-ed in California" or even "Bottled by Awesome Wine Guys", etc.

• Amount of Wine: This will be near the bottom of the bottle and read the oz, ml, or even gallons, depending on how much you purchase.

• Alcohol Percentage: This is always near the bottom of the label and it's the alcohol per bottle percentage such as 13.6% by volume and so on.

Most people are prone to serving their White Wines too cold and their Red Wines too hot, and it ends up making the wines taste rather dull in the end.

The best way to remember how to serve white wine is the temperature you stored it at, which should be about 50-55°F, is the best way to get the great flavor to come through on the wine.  If you store your white wine at room temperature, use an ice bucket with a little water in it to get the temperature to come down on the wine before serving it.

The best way to remember how to serve white wine is anything below 70°F.  Anything higher than 70 degrees is too high of a temperature for red wines.  Red wine doesn't taste very appealing hotter than 70 degrees and it loses a lot of taste in the heat of the wine, as well.

Temperatures and Chilling Times:

• Champagne & Sparkling Wines:  40-45°F (Chill for about 30-45 minutes)

• White Wines:  45-50°F (Chill for about 20-30 minutes)

• Light, Fruity Reds:  50-55°F (Chill for about 15-20 minutes)

• Full-bodied Reds:  60-65°F (Chill for about 10 minutes)

Whites out of chilling 30 minutes before serving, reds in 30 minutes before serving.  Some people differ on that time, but anywhere from 15-30 minutes before serving should be just fine.

CHEERS!

Eco-Tip:  Choose gifts that don't contribute to the use of virgin materials.  Look to vintage at antique stores or thrift stores.  Who knows, the antique you are giving to a relative or a friend, that you paid $20 for could end up being a real treasure and worth more than you think.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

Healthy Smoothies

Smoothies are such a great treat during the summer, but can be enjoyed almost anytime of year.  I like to incorporate fruits in my smoothies during the hot summer months and warmer vegetable flavors during the fall months.  Smoothies are really simple to make too, with just a blender you can create some of the best tasting and filling drinks you never thought you could. Here are some of my favorite smoothies to blend up and share with my kiddo.

• Apple Veggie Smoothie

4 carrots

2 apples

1/2 cucumber

1 stalk celery

1/2 cup Swiss chard

1 cup ice cubes

Blend together until smooth.

•Cinnamon Pumpkin Smoothie

1/2 cup frozen pumpkin

3/4 cup evaporated milk

1 cup vanilla yogurt

1 cup ice cubes

1 cinnamon stick

Blend until smooth.

• Vanilla Cantaloupe Smoothie

1/2 cantaloupe

1 cup milk

1 cup vanilla yogurt

1 cup ice cubes

Blend until smooth.

To learn more about healthy, fruit smoothies and the benefits they provide, 

please visit Thoughts Unveiled here

Enjoy!

Eco-Tip:  Add door sweeps to the bottom of exterior doors on around doors that lose heat throughout the winter.  This will help conserve the heat inside the home and in the long run save you a lot of money.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

Rosemary Mashed Potatoes

The holidays are coming and one of my greatest traditions is making Rosemary Mashed Potatoes.  I like to start everything from scratch, and use what I've grown in my garden throughout the season.  I also like to keep the process simple, but also appreciate how things were done before there was modern appliances.  If I could melt the butter and boil the potatoes over a campfire, I think I would.

What you'll need:

6-8 Large Brown Potatoes (garden grown)

2 cups Whole Milk

3 tbs. Real Butter

Rosemary Seasoning (garden grown)

3 tsp. Sea Salt

2 tsp. Ground Black Pepper

1.  Peel, and dice the potatoes and add to a stock pot along with the 3 tsp. of Sea Salt and bring to a rolling boil over high heat.  Allow to boil 20-30 minutes, or until soft.

2.  Drain the potatoes being careful not to mash them when straining.  And add them to a food mill placed over a large bowl.  Make sure the bowl has a wider rim than the food ricer, or you will have a big potato mess.

3.  Begin ricing the potatoes through the food mill as shown above.  Use the dowel (if yours is this model) and turn along the edge of the mill.  If yours is a hand crank like HERE or HERE, then crank around till the all the potatoes are riced.  This process goes pretty quickly and is actually a lot of fun. 

  

This is a great way for kids to help in the kitchen as well and with the prep of the mashed potatoes.

4.  While your ricing your potatoes  take 2 cups of milk, butter and a bit more sea salt (to taste) and bring to a boil over high heat.  Once your potatoes have been riced they should look similar to the ones in the above picture.  You may need larger bowls depending on how many potatoes you used.  

  

5.  Add both bowls of the riced potatoes to a larger bowl and slowly begin to add your milk mixture.  

7.  Add in some chives (optional) and some ground, black pepper.  Next comes the Rosemary!  This is the best part of the entire dish so add as little or as much as you want.  

These are always a welcome side dish in our home and we love to have them with only the best main dishes.......

Like TURKEY!

Enjoy!

Eco-Tip:  Always keep a promise no matter what.  Although this may not be a green tip, it could most certainly be incorporated into a green action such as, "I promise I will recycle at least one thing every day this coming week."  So always keep a promise, even if it doesn't include a green action.  Keeping promises just overall makes you a good person, and being a good person is a very GOOD thing.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

Try the organic approach

It's a lot easier to go organic than you might think.  Organic foods, especially fruits and vegetables are becoming a household name with every passing year and are becoming more and more abundant in your local stores, even.

When you make the switch to organic you need to think of ways you would have them flow into your normal eating routine rather than shoving them in and "trying" to make it work. 

Start with in-season fruits, such as bananas and oranges, or even grapes along side your normal breakfast meal.  Or, start out small with organic coffee or tea, even.  Small changes with your routine will allow for bigger changes into full on organic meals that will come later.

Organic foods may seem like they are priced higher but, overall they pay a farmer a fair pay once sold to the store, especially if you stick to a co-op or a farmers' market.  And, overall, buying local is a lot better than a huge market chain. 

Look for foods with the USDA Organic logo, similar to the one below, will make sure the organic food conforms to the USDA Organic Food and Production Act.  USDA Organic labels on your organic foods insures a chain of integrity when it comes to the food manufacturer. 

One more thing to keep in mind is avoiding the "Dirty Dozen."

The Dirty Dozen is a list of twelve foods that could contain high amounts of pesticides in the growing process of the food.  It's mostly fruits and vegetables but, pesticide-free foods is a great way to start you on your organic food transformation. 

This photo is copyrighted, please do not copy.

The USDA label requirements on all organic products follow basic labeling of only four categories:

• Product Label Claim:

1.  100% Organic

2. "Organic"

3.  "Made with organic ingredients only specified on the label"

4.  None (Nothing noted as organic)

• Label Parameters:

1.  100% Organic Ingredients

2.  At least 95% organic ingredients

3.  At least 70-95% Organic ingredients

4.  Less than 70% Organic Ingredients

Seems complicated to keep track of but, once you get used to reading the labels and being aware of what you  need to look for, it will become more routine.

Buying organic is a great way to start the change for yourself, your family, and the environment.  Don't just look to the labels, go with the soil the product is grown in, as well.  It's important that organic starts from the ground to your plate. 

Eco-Tip:  Use both sides of paper.  If a quick note is something you need to jot down quickly, once that note is done, use the other side for another quick note.  Paper waste is a huge problem, so don't add to the issue, use up as much space on a piece of paper as you can before tossing it.  And when you do toss it, toss it in to be recycled.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

Stuffed Green Peppers

Although I am completely against anything involving a green pepper, I just had to share this recipe passed along to me from my chef friend Brandon Plotner.  I substitute the peppers for tomatoes instead and they come out just the same, but with a bit of a saltier taste. I have a weird, deadly allergy to all the 'Bell' Pepper varieties so the tomatoes work great as a substitute.  I have even used large, green tomatoes that didn't completely turn red, straight from my garden.

What you'll need: 

• 6 green peppers washed & hollowed out. (save tops) (Or use red, yellow, orange, or even tomatoes if you have an allergy to green peppers)
• 1 Onion
• 1 box of Zatarain's dirty rice mix
• 2 pounds of ground beef
• Minced garlic
• Lea and Perrins thick Worcestershire sauce
• Verole' Queso Mexican style melting cheese
• Kraft Mexican four cheese
• Oregano for garnish if desired

  

What to do:

After washing and hollowing out the green peppers, submerge them in cold water. Blanch over medium heat, until they become soft. Dice the tops of the peppers that you saved and your onion (These will be used to season the meat). Place your ground beef into a skillet with 2 tbsp. of butter, 4 tbsp. of Worcestershire and 1/2 tbsp. of minced garlic. Add in the green peppers and onions, stir and cook thoroughly. While your meat is cooking, make the Zatarain's dirty rice according to the directions on the box.

When the peppers are soft, the meat is cooked and the rice is done, drain the meat and mix the rice in with it. Remove the peppers from the hot water and submerge them in cold water until they cool. After they cool down, place them in a baking dish. Fill them up half way with the meat and rice mixture and then add the Kraft Mexican Four Cheese. Then top them off with the Queso Cheese. 

Place the peppers in the oven on 400 degrees until the cheese is a golden brown (see picture above.) 

For a different variation to this recipe see Grilled Talapia and Stuffed Tomatoes.

Enjoy!

Eco-Tip:  Spread Hugs like wild fire!  Hugging someone can brighten their day and getting a hug can do the same in return to you, so spread them around everyday of your life.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

Potatoes and Onions on the Grill.....Oh My!

This weekend here in Oregon we fired up the ole' grill and have a night of it outside on Saturday.  Sometimes when we are sitting out under the late evening stars, the ones that just peek through the sky long enough to be admired, we can watch the wind pushing the clouds away and toward the Pacific Ocean.

When we fire up the grill it doesn't take long to throw something together and enjoy our "outside dining room."  This weekend we had a good grill night while the heat took a quick break from us.  We decided to use up a few left-over items laying around the kitchen and fridge and create some Shish Kabobs for dinner.

Since potatoes are in-season this time of year it wasn't hard to find a lot of them to pair nicely with our meats.  We used stew meats that were on sale at the time but, any meat can be used.  Even chicken!  We shoved them onto some bamboo skewers along with onions, and red potatoes.  We even used little pieces of pineapple in between the chunks just for added flavor but, you could use just about anything. Try garlic!

Be sure and soak your bamboo skewers in warm water before layering them with your food.  Soaking the skewers prevents them from splitting and cracking while they heat on the grill or oven.

They seemed to have been better than we expected and grilled up nicely.

We sat inside while the grill was heating up and when it came time to grill we all headed out to enjoy the evening along with a nice cold beer.  It was a good night!  On Sunday we celebrated Skylar's ninth birthday too!

Lots of birthday cards!

Hope your weekend was just as great!

Eco-Tip:  When it comes to upgrading your computer systems, be is for home, or for office, consider recycling the older models instead of throwing them out to landfills.  If the computer is in good working order, consider donating them to a local school or library.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.