Paula Deen does not necessarily represent the way that I cook. There are very few things that I see Paula make that make me feel the need to go to the kitchen and create. However, I have met Paula Deen (ok, we were within a few feet of each other for a few minutes), and I found her to be the warmest, most genuine “celebrity” that I’ve encountered. My respect for her on that day went up measurably, in comparison to Emeril, who was also at that same event.

Despite that nonsequitur, It is reprehensible to me the way that Barbara Walters approached Paula Deen on this interview on “The View” recently.

Should we pay attention to the way that children eat? Yes. Should we give them the healthiest food that we can? Yes. But really. Teaching a child to cook versus teaching a child to eat a Chicken McNugget is admirable. To seemingly blame Paula Deen’s new cookbook, which is geared towards teaching children to enjoy cooking, on child obesity is incredible.

Barbara, you could use a piece of cheesecake. It would probably make you happier and healthier, frankly. And if you want to take on a cause, how about thinking about getting children involved in their food, rather than driving through a drive thu to get it.

Just Sayin’.

Farro is not one of those ingredients that most people have laying around in their kitchens.  That’s a pity.  It has become a staple in my house due to its versitility, texture, flavor and health benefits.  I know, I know.  People are going to say, I don’t know what farro is.  I can’t pronounce it, I can’t cook it, and I sure as heck can’t find it in the grocery store.  Ha!  Only three out of those four points is true.  Unfortunately it is the latter point that will more than likely provide you with the most difficulty.   But I will take each point one by one.

1. I don’t know what farro is.  Easy!  Farro is an ancient grain that originates in the Mediterranean and the Near East.  Some claim that farro is the original grain from which all other grains were derived.  These days farro is most commonly produced in Italy.  While some may try to tell you that farro and spelt are the same thing, don’t believe them.  It simply isn’t true.  If you are looking for a farro substitute, you can try barley, but you’ll be disappointed.
2. I don’t know how to pronounce farro.  Mystery solved.  It is pronounced FAHR-roe.
3. I can’t cook farro.  Yes, you can.  You just need time to cook farro.  First, you need to soak farro for about 4 hours in cold water to soften it.  Then you need to cook it for about 30 minutes in liquid.  The ratio of farro to liquid is 1:2.  In other words, you need one part farro to every 2 parts liquid.  Cooking time can range from between 20 - 30 minutes, depending on how “toothsome” you prefer your whole grains.
4. I sure as heck can’t find farro in my grocery store.   I have to admit, I don’t have much to combat that point.  I mean, I can’t find farro in my grocery store(s).  I went to the health food sections, the grains sections, the bulk sections and everywhere else I could think of to find farro in my neighborhood stores.  Ok, to be honest, I didn’t really expect to find it there.  So I drove across town to find it in a more upscale grocery store.   To my chagrin, no farro.  Finally, I broke down and went to Whole Foods.  They didn’t have it in the bulk section, but they did have it pre-packaged by the barley and the rye on the shelves.  And they had only three packages.  But, if you don’t have a Whole Foods near you, or if the one near you is as awful as the one near me, you can find it on Amazon.comof all places. 

 But on to the recipe.  Or the non-recipe, which is most often the case for me.  My Farro and Arugula Salad was served with sliced, grilled flank steak atop.  The farro was soaked for around four hours in cold water, then drained.  Then the farro was cooked, 1 part farro to 2.5 parts chicken stock.  First it was brought to a boil, then gently simmered for about 30 minutes.

The farro was cooled down to room temperature and then tossed with some of the fresh, “salady” produce that I had gotten in my produce box for the week.  As it was early spring, that meant arugula, radishes, ramps, scallions.  I also added hot house tomatoes and hot house cucumbers from the farmers market.  Before adding the produce, I tossed the farro with some olive oil and red wine vinegar.  Then, after combining the produce, I again tossed with olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.

When you make farro, I recommend that you make enough to be used throughout the week.  Farro makes a great grainy side dish, and it is so versatile that you won’t get bored with it.

Spinach and Egg Pizza on Whole Wheat Crust

Everyone that I’ve mentioned this recipe to is a little bit put off by it.  Spinach?  Egg?  Whole wheat crust? PIZZA?!?!?

Yes.  Spinach and Egg Pizza on Whole Wheat Crust might sound a bit off-putting, but it is one of the more tasty, healthy recipes that I’ve played around with lately.  I’ve made it a couple of times now, and have perfected the recipe to the point where it will probably turn into one of those “go-to” dinners because it is healthy, quick, and flavorful.

Normally when I make a pizza at home, I buy some frozen dough at the local Italian deli and start with that as the base.  This recipe, though, starts with a pre-made crust.  It adds to that “fast convenience” factor that you’ve just got to have mid-week.  Baboli makes some reasonable, bread-like crusts, and they even come in whole wheat! 

After brushing the crust lightly with some olive oil, it’s ready to pile on the spinach!

Another reason this is fast and convenient is because it uses bagged, pre-washed spinach from the store in the winter, or from our CSA in the summer.  About half the bag, chopped, works perfectly for this crust.  Also added is some salt, pepper, garlic, parmesan cheese, basil, bruschetta and sliced prosciutto.  Just a word of warning – you may want to be very careful about actually saying those last two ingredients out loud in grocery stores – it has been known to raise a ruckus… 

This gets tossed into a 450 degree oven for about 12 minutes.  Once in the oven, you’re ready to fry up some eggs, which get placed on the pizza when it comes out of the oven.

Yes, egg on pizza.  Long before Bon Appetit magazine named “Eggs on top of anything” one of the top 100 trends of 2009, we were putting eggs on top of things.  Eggs on a bed of spring greens that have been tossed with a light vinaigrette is spectacular!  Try it!

But I digress. Put the cooked egg on the pizza, sprinkle with some parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and enjoy!

It is nearing that time of year – the time when the CSA box begins to deliver produce that can be creatively put to use for an entire meal. Tonight’s dinner was based nearly entirely on the CSA box, which we get from our terrific farm, Harmony Valley Farm.  The Grilled Caesar Salad with Steak and Blue Cheese was filling, flavorful, and healthy!

As I unpacked my CSA produce box this week, I realized I had the making for this immediately on hand.  The large, leafy green head of Romaine lettuce and the purple scallions were exactly what was needed for this dish.

First, the greens were grilled over our charcoal grill.  Not for long, mind you, because you don’t want the greens to wilt away to nothing.  You merely want to toss them in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and pop them on the grill for about 2 minutes – long enough to get nice, smokey char lines, while still maintaining most of the crispness.

Once pulled off the grill, a toss with your favorite caesar dressing, some croutions and chopped scallions makes it nearly perfect.  However, to make the dish completely perfect, we topped it off with sliced top sirloin steak, grilled to medium rare, and then we added something that sent it over the top – an Artisan Blue Cheese from Castle Rock.  Rich, creamy and pungent, this cheese also came from our CSA program, as a part of the cheese shares that we opted into this year.

And, of course, our Shiba Inu Jimbo, convinced that he was on the verge of starvation, cared only about the grilled sirloin!  (Though he thought the Blue Cheese was pretty worthy as well).

How many of you grew up absolutely hating brussel sprouts?  I know I did.  I’ll preface this post by saying that I hope my mother isn’t reading this blog as of late, and Mom, if you are, please stop reading now.  Thanks.

Now I’ll continue on…

Brussel sprouts for dinner were one of those traumatic events of my childhood.  It ranked right up there with beets, which I wrote about quite some time ago in this entry.   I vowed never to eat another brussel sprout after I was old enough to make such a proclamation without getting severely chastised.  Then I figured out that the brussel sprouts weren’t the problem, it was the preparation of the brussel sprouts which caused the aversion.

(Mom, you aren’t reading this right?  Don’t continue on if you are!)

When I was growing up, brussel sprouts came frozen in boxes.  Then you boiled them.  Then you served them.  Slimy.  Yes, slimy.  Beyond rutabaga (that’s yet another entry for a different time), brussel sprouts caused the children in our family nightmares.

But guess what?  Fresh, properly prepared brussel sprouts ARE NOT SLIMY.  It’s true.  They are solid, and crisp, and taste great!

Have you ever seen a brussel sprout in the wild?  Go ahead.  Click on the picture to the left.  Most people have no idea what these little orbs of veggies look like in their natural state.  Yes, they look like they grow on mutant dwarf palm trees.  Does it scare you?  It may not, but it sure scared the heck out of Jimbo, my Shiba Inu, who was certain the house was being invaded by alien tropical trees. 

Sure, he looks regal in the picture on the right, but when confronted by wild brussel sprouts, he’s reduced to a whimpering wuss. 

But back to brussel sprout preparation.  First, cut them off the sprout.  Next, soak them in salted water to get any insects out of the leaves that may have called your stalk of sprouts home.  Then slice them in half, toss them with diced onions, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast at 425 for 30 – 45 minutes.

(You read this, didn’t you Mom?)

The other day I was browsing through the bulk foods section of Whole Foods and I came across Isreali Couscous. It is much bigger than your typical couscous. This is a good thing, because while I do like to cook with couscous, sometimes the texture is just not what I am looking for – it is sometimes too small, crumbly and dry. This looked like a great alternative.

Mediterranean-influenced flavors are some of my favorites. So I immediately had a plan for this couscous. I had all of the veggiess I needed, so I headed up to the Dane County Farmer’s Market and found some locally produced feta cheese to add to the dish.

I cooked the couscous then added some chopped garlic while it was still hot. This lightly cooks the garlic and takes away some of the bite. Then I set the couscous aside and let it cool before I added the following ingredients: chopped heirloom tomatoes, freshly torn basil leaves, diced cucumbers, chopped kalamata olives, chopped scallions and olive oil.

I crumbled the feta in right before serving so that it would retain its distinct flavor and texture.

A great summer side dish.

One excellent way to use up that summer produce is to throw together a nice, light, summery soup that helps you empty out your fridge.

The good thing about this soup is that it is quick, healthy, and extremely flexible. The bad thing about this soup is that though it is quick, it is also very labor intensive due to the chopping of all of the veggies.

I started with some boneless chicken, and sauteed it in a small amount of olive oil. Chopped onion and garlic were added as it cooked. Once softened, I added chicken stock – enough to create the amount of soup that I needed.

Then, it’s simple. Just chop up and toss any vegetables you have on hand into the soup. I believe that I threw in summer squash, patty pan squash, sweet corn cut off the cob, some kale, some green beans, and other odds and ends.

It tastes fresh, it’s healthy, and it uses your summer veggies. What more can you ask for?

Fall is a season that I’ve come to appreciate much more since joining a Community Sponsored Agriculture program. In the past I’ve avoided pumpkin pies and other baked pumpkin sorts of things. It was just sort of bland and unappealing to me.

Then 2 years ago I ended up with mounds of butternut squash on my kitchen counters, and I didn’t have a clue what to do with it. I didn’t want to roast it and eat it with a meal, because I don’t like mixing “sweet” with “real” food, and it’s far too sweet for my tastebuds.

Out of desperation I sliced one open, cleaned it of the seeds, and roasted it. Then I stared at it for a while and it occured to me that what it really looked like (and tasted like) was pumpkin. So I started to bake pies, muffins, and breads using the roasted squash and became a fan.

Since that time, I’ve heard rumors that canned pumpkin isn’t really pumpkin in many cases. Rumor has it that most canned pumpkin is really butternut squash.

Still, in my opinion, the difference not only lies in the type of squash, but more importantly in the deep, fresh-roasted flavor of the non-canned alternative.

I have a love/hate relationship with baking with pumpkins. I love the flavors, but I hate the fact that I am the only one in the house who will even consider eating the stuff. So that means that there’s lots of baked goods sitting around that I need to eat before it goes bad, and that isn’t very good for someone who is trying to pay attention to caloric intake.

So today I tried to make some low-fat pumpkin cookies. I formed one batch into scone-type mounds, and the other batch into cookie shaped flatter circles. Then I promptly defeated the low-fat, lower calorie recipe by adding a spiced icing at the spur of the moment.

These cookies are actually much better as scones or muffins, as it turns out. They don’t get crispy enough for a cookie, but the texture is just about right for a muffin or a softer scone.

Cookies:
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup roasted fresh butternut squash (mashed)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups cake flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- – vegetable cooking spray

1 Heat the oven to 350

I’m buckling down into healthy eating mode again!

I had planned to grill a nice marinated salmon steak for dinner tonight, but a quick trek around the nearest store showed no salmon that I would even consider buying. So instead I picked up tilapia.

Tilapia is a mild white fish that is ideal for picking up the flavors that you are cooking with. One of my favorite ways of making tilapia is a way that I just dreamt up because the ingredients sounded good and healthy as well: Tilapia with Bulgar and Chickpeas

Tonight I had a lot of tomatoes to use before they went bad, so I thought I’d do a variation on my Grilled Chicken with Olive and Avacado Salsa.

And voila, my Tilapia with Mediterranean Salsa was born. And it is a keeper! In interest of healthy eating I served this over mixed greens. However, it would be awesome over rice, bulgar, or any other sort of grain.

• 1 avacado, chopped
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup assorted olives, chopped
• Cumin, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 pound tilapia

Combine all chopped ingredients. Season with cumin, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350.
Season tilapia with garlic, salt and pepper. Saute tilapia til slightly browned. Add salsa on top. Bake for 15 minutes, or until fish is cooked through.