Recipe of the Week: Fried Quinoa

I am so pleased with this recipe!  

One of my goals this year is to eat a wider variety of grains.  I'm also trying to learn to cook with what I have on hand.  This recipe fulfilled both those requirements. 

The really good news, though was that my husband approved and even had seconds!  

(I loved it too)

Adapted from The Arugula Files

FRIED QUINOA

1 cup quinoa

handful raisins or dried cranberries

Coconut oil

2 green onions, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1 cup cooked chicken, chopped 

1 handful cilantro, chopped

1 cup pineapple tidbits

Cajun seasoning

Salt to taste

1. Cook quinoa according to package instructions. 
2. When it is almost done, add raisins. 
3. Saute vegetables and chicken in coconut oil until slightly soft. 
4. Add quinoa and pineapple to vegetables. 
5. Heat through.  Garnish with cilantro, add seasonings, and serve.  

Etsy Love: Apples

Delicious fall apples from my mom's tree have inspired me this week.

Here are a few delicious treats from Etsy.

Crocheted Hat

By Magic Knit

Nursing Necklace

by Maria Konstantin

Mulled Apple Cider Caramels

by FeedYourFace

Wooden Toy Apples

Apple N Amos

Apple Pie Fudge

by Pernillas SS

Apple Mosaic

by Pieces of Elma

Apple Locket

by Stumbling on Sainthood

Baby Booties

by Zecite

Nursery Art

by Kathy Panton

Wood Stamp

by A Hue of Duck Egg Blue

Recipe of the Week: Mustard Glaze and Baked Squash

It's Autumn! Time for comfort foods! Last night for dinner we had a beef roast with the most delicious mustard glaze from Smitten Kitchen. Our house smelled soooo yummy while it was baking.

I also picked up some delicata squash that were on sale at the supermarket. I'd never had them before, but as I have yet to meet a squash I didn't like, I decided to give them a try. A quick Google search led me to this recipe. A-ma-zing. Even my husband, who doesn't normally go for squash, thought they were delicious. And they made a perfect side dish for the roast.

We also had corn bread and green beans.

I love Autumn cooking!

Recipe of the Week: Spinach Quiche

We have been trying to stretch our grocery budget lately. One of the ways we do this is try to put off grocery shopping until we really don't have anything left to throw together into a decent meal. The longest we have gone is 10 days! Hopefully, as I learn more and get more creative we can strech it out even longer.

So, a few days ago I was standing in front of my almost empty fridge, wondering what in the world I was going to make and really hoping I didn't have to go to the store. And then I saw them. The eggs! I can make quiche! I ran and printed off some recipes and got to work.

Little E was thrilled to help and we had fun, even if it meant there were a few egg shells in the quiche, and quite a bit of egg splashed around. I love this "little helper" stage!

I adapted this recipe from the Food Network. Here is my version:

Spinach and Ham Quiche

6 large eggs, beaten

3/4 cups cream

3/4 cups milk

salt and pepper

1 1/2 cups chopped spinach

1/2 cup chopped ham

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

1 (9 inch) pie crust in a glass pie plate (I used this Martha Stewart recipe and the crust was wonderful!)

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine eggs, cream, milk, salt, and pepper.

Layer spinach, ham, green pepper, and cheese in crust.

Pour egg mixture on top.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the egg mixture is set.

Even my skeptical husband, who had never had quiche before, approved. (Although he still believes it's best for breakfast)

Recipe of the Week: Sandwich Bread

Both the picture and recipe in this post are copyrighted by farmgirlfare.com

I love making bread, but had not yet found one that was light and non-crumbly enough to truly use for sandwiches. Then, this delightful recipe entered my life. A-MAZE-ING. I was so happy with my loaves and so was the family!

I found this recipe on one of my favorite sites, Farm Girl Fare. If you are relatively new to bread baking, as I am, you will find her post, which includes numerous tips and explanations, extremely helpful. If you already know what you're doing, here is the simple recipe:

Simple White Sandwich Bread

Makes 3 loaves

Ingredients:

4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 TBS instant yeast

2 TBS brown sugar

2 TBS melted butter

4 cups warm milk

6 cups bread flour

1 1/2 TBS salt

Instructions:

In a very large bowl, stir together the all purpose flour, yeast, and sugar. Pour in milk and butter. Mix well. Slowly add 1 cup of bread flour at a time, until you have added 4 cups. Dough should be sticky. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.

Add salt and 1 cup flour. If the dough is too sticky to knead add more flour, up to one cup. Knead on floured surface 8-10 minutes. Add flour as needed to keep from sticking.

Let rise until doubled, about 65 minutes. When the dough is ready, you should be able to push a floured finger deep into it and leave an indentation that doesn't spring back.

Preheat oven to 375. Divide dough into 3 pieces. Shape dough into loaves and place seam side down in greased pans. Cover and let rise about 50 minutes.

Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from pans immediately and let cool 40 minutes before cutting.

*I made a couple changes: I didn't have bread flour, so I used all purpose. I substituted 1/2 cup flour with instant potato flakes to help the bread be less crumbly.*

Perfect with honey butter and strawberry jam ... Enjoy!

Recipe of the Week: Lemon Bars

Yummmy! This was my first time making Lemon Bars from scratch! Watching this video helped and they turned out great!

Recipe of the Week: Pickles!

I am so excited! I've been wanting to try homemade pickles for a while now and have been scouting recipes online. I wanted to make "refrigerator pickles" that don't need to be canned. These last about a month in the fridge. Maybe someday I'll try to make ones for long term storage.

Dan and I had fun using this recipe. Now all we need to do is wait 48 hours and try them out!

Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.
~Voltaire

I was born a Phillips and one of the genetic gifts handed down by my forbearers is a love of eating. Savoring food is one of my life’s greatest pleasures. I love preparing food with my husband, working in the kitchen side by side, creating fresh and healthy dishes as we chat and reconnect after a busy day. I love the family rituals that revolve around the dinner table: the gathering and sense of belonging that accompanies Sunday roast and potatoes. I love sharing good things to eat with friends at barbeques and parties. I get a thrill out of learning about food: where it comes from, how to prepare it, and how it works to benefit my health. The process of preparing and consuming food is as much a spiritual and social endeavor in our home as means of sustaining life.

Unfortunately, in today’s market place, saturated with confusing nutritional information, pleasure in food is somewhat difficult to come by.

“What should I eat?” is a question most Americans have trouble readily answering.

How blessed we are to live in an era of abundance. Gone are the days when humans spent the majority of their time finding and preparing food, living literally hand to mouth. Today there is almost no limit to the quantity or variety of food or food like products readily available in the average supermarket. Add to variety, the constant bombardment through media sources of conflicting theories, information and recommendations about what we should put in our bodies.

I believe the overloading of food products and data is an influential contributor to the decline of general health and the increase in degenerative diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer that plague the western world. How? People make poor diet choices for many reasons, but certainly one reason must be that healthy eating seems too demand too much time, energy, or money.

This year, I am making a goal to explore in greater depth my love affair with food and nutrition. In addition to forcing my husband to listen to my endless speeches, I will use this blog as an outlet and a place to record and experiment. My aims are:

1. To share my love of food
2. To try new foods and new methods of preparation
3. To show that eating a healthy, balanced diet is achievable for almost anyone
4. To distill and simplify food information

I hope you enjoy this journey with me!

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.
~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story

Me Want Miso!

It’s December in Salt Lake City and I’m cold. Sitting at my desk with my space heater cranked on high, looking out at the snow, I’m cold. I want to bundle up under a big fluffy blanket with a bowl of warm soup. What I’ve been craving lately is miso soup: that steaming bowl of deliciousness served at Japanese restaurants.
Thankfully, our budget doesn’t really allow for fine dining right now. Mr. Wilde and I were “forced” to use the dual miracles of Google search and Youtube to learn to make our very own miso soup. And I must say, we were quite successful! Even Little E agrees, as evidenced by his signing “more,” “more,” “more,” after every spoonful.

Besides learning how to make own easy soup, we learned how incredibly and amazingly good for you miso is. This stuff is perfect for keeping healthy during the holiday season! Here's a quick run down of some of the benefits of miso:

• Packed with antioxidants, vitamin E, and vitamin B12!
• Boots immunity
• Helps regulate the hormone oestrogen in women (a hormone that can cause tumors)
• 1 bowl of miso a day reduces the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, and colon cancer
• Beneficial bacteria help regulate the digestive system
• Linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid, keeps skin healthy

**As a bonus, the wakame seaweed used in miso soup helps reduce blood pressure and cholesterol**

for more information on the health benefits of miso soup, visit one of these web sites:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/31554/the_health_benefits_of_miso_soup_japanese.html

http://www.bodyecology.com/07/02/15/miso_health_and_anti-aging.php

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=114

So, what is miso, you may ask, and what makes it so great?
Miso is made from ground soybeans, fermented with koji, a yeast mold.

from bodyecology.com:

"Fermented foods and drinks ... help build your inner ecosystem. When your inner ecosystem is healthy, it is full of friendly microflora (beneficial bacteria in your intestines), that help you digest and assimilate nutrients and boost your immunity.
While it was once thought that soy was the reason for the low rates of heart disease, breast and prostate cancer in Asia, more evidence is now showing us that it is the consumption of traditional fermented soy products (usually eaten every day) that are providing the real benefits."

Miso soup is simple, healthy and versitile. It will probably require a visit to a local asian market, but the ingredients are inexpensive and easy to find. Visit one of these websites (by clicking on the picture) for some great variations on the classic tofu/green onion combination:

Brownie Bits Cheesecake!

My mom made this amazing cheesecake for our family party on Saturday, and I have to say it one of the best cheesecakes I've ever had! I wish I had a picture to include, but it was gobbled up too quickly!

BROWNIE BITS CHEESECAKE
From Wilton Brownie Fun

Crust:
2 packages 8x8 size brownie mix
Eggs, water and oil to prepare mixes

Filling:
3 packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9 inch springform pan and 8 inch square pan with vegetable spray.
2. In a large bowl, prepare one brownie mix following package instructions. Spread into bottom of prepared square pan. Prepare remaining brownie mix following package instructions. Spread into prepared springform pan.
   
3. Bake both pans together for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely. Turn oven down to 325.
   
4. Cut approximately half of the brownies from the square pan into 3/4 inch pieces; set aside.
   
5. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes. Beat in sour cream and eggs. Add vanilla and almond extracts. Gently stir in 1/2 cup of the cut brownies. Pour over cooled crust.
   
6. Sprinkle remaining cut brownies over cheesecake batter; lightly press into batter.
   
7. Place cheesecake in middle of oven. Fill a large pan with hot water and place on rack underneath cheesecake.
   
8. Bake 1 hour 25 minutes or until cheesecake is firm on top but filling is still jiggly when gently shaken.
   
9. Turn of oven; leave cheesecake in closed oven 30 minutes to cool slowly. Remove cheesecake from oven and cool 1 hour. Refrigerate covered at least 4 hours or overnight.
   

Aztec Power Food

Today I am excited to introduce you to two amazing pseudocereals, amaranth and quinoa (keen-wah).

These delicious foods are not true grains, but are seeds. They are prepared and eaten like grains, however and make excellent grain substitutes for people with gluten intolerance. In contrast to grains, these seeds have a complete protein, making them a good choice for vegetarians. Both amaranth and quinoa are high in fiber and contain many important nutrients.

Wikipedia on Quinoa

"The Incas, who held the crop to be sacred, referred to quinoa as chisaya mama or mother of all grains, and it was the Inca emperor who would traditionally sow the first seeds of the season using 'golden implements'. Quinoa has a light, fluffy texture when cooked, and its mild, slightly nutty flavor makes it an alternative to white rice or couscous."

"A common cooking method is to treat quinoa much like rice, bringing two cups of water to a boil with one cup of grain, covering at a low simmer and cooking for 14–18 minutes or until the germ separates from the seed. The cooked germ looks like a tiny curl and should have a slight bite to it (like al dentepasta). As an alternative, one can use a rice cooker to prepare quinoa, treating it just like white rice (for both cooking cycle and water amounts)."

Wikipedia on Amaranth

"It was one of the staple foodstuffs of the Incas, and it is known as kiwicha in the Andes today. It was also used by the ancient Aztecs, who called it huautli, and other Native America peoples in Mexico to prepare ritual drinks and foods. To this day, amaranth grains are toasted much like popcorn and mixed with honey,molasses or chocolate to make a treat called alegría (happiness in Spanish)."

"Amaranth was used in several Aztec ceremonies, where images of their gods (notably Huitzilopochtli) were made with amaranth mixed with honey. The images were cut to be eaten by the people."

Eating Amaranth and Quinoa

My mom had some of this delicious instant cereal in her cupboard and I have fallen in love with it! It is made of puffed amaranth, rolled oats, fruit, sunflower seeds, and flax seeds. I use it as the perfect topping for my berries and yogurt! You can purchase this yummy cereal at Vital Life Products or in select Utah stores.

For some recipes using Quinoa, visit Quinoa.net.

Favorie Things

Dacia and I recently hosted our second annual "Favorite Things" Party, and I must say, it was a smashing success. What better way to spend an evening than with favorite people, favorite foods, and all manner of favorite things?

For those of my dear readers who have never had the privilege of attending a Favorite Things Party, let me enlighten you. Here is my recipe for a delightful event:

1. Select the perfect night, preferably in January or February.
2. Invite 14 of your most favorite girl friends in the whole wide world. (Keep in mind that 10 of them will say they are coming, and 7 will show up)
3. Instruct each friend to make a list of at least 10 of their favorite things from the previous year. These things should be specific (like a favorite movie, restaurant, store, book, game, website, health/beauty product, etc). The point is to share things you love and learn about cool things that your friends like. Your friends should bring as many items as possible and practical for show and tell.
4. Each friend should bring one item that they can share with everyone. (Like bringing everyone a copy of the menu for your favorite restaurant or a piece of your favorite candy) These things should be small and inexpensive - just cute little treasures to take home.
5. Each friend should bring a favorite food along with a copy of the recipe for each guest. (Yum ... this is always a highlight!)
6. Welcome your friends to your home and bask in the excitement and camaraderie of sharing favorite things! Each guest should take time to explain their list and hand out their goodies.

We have found that this party works best for groups that either know each other well (our little military community, or a family, for instance) or are very outgoing.

Stay tuned for future posts in which I share some of the favorite things I discovered!

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter cookies are a great option for whole wheat, especially if you have someone in your family opposed to whole wheat (Dan). The pb flavor masks the whole wheat. These cookies are soft and crumbly and oh so delicious. And, if you really want to use white flour, that's ok too.




1 cup butter
1 1/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt


Cream together butter, peanut butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla. In a seperate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to peanut butter mixture. Chill for 20-30 mintues. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350. Drop by rounded tablespoonfulls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 mintues. Let cool on wire rack.
Makes 5 dozen.

Homemade Veggie Pizza

This dough recipie is fast and simple. You can use it with any toppings, but these are our favorites!

Makes two pizzas

Pizza Dough
2 TBS Yeast
2 TBS Sugar
2 cups Warm Water
4 cups Flour
2 tsp Salt
1 TBS Olive Oil

Toppings
1/3 Cup Ranch Dressing
3-4 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
1 – 1 ½ Lbs. Cheese, grated
½ zucchini, thinly sliced
1 can artichoke hearts
2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
½ red onion, chopped
½ cup spinach, chopped
1 each red and green bell peppers chopped

Directions:
Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add flour, salt, and oil. Mix well. Let dough rise until doubled, about an hour. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray pans with cooking spray. Sprinkle with cornmeal if desired. Divide dough in half. Roll out on a well oiled surface and place on pizza pans. (Cookie sheets work just as well)
Add garlic to ranch dressing and spread over pizza crusts. Sprinkle with ½ of the cheese. Add veggie toppings evenly, going all the way to the edge of the crust. Add the other ½ of cheese.
Bake for approximately 35 minutes, but check after 20 minutes as bake times may vary. Cheese should be completely melted and crust just starting to turn golden. Let cool for a few minutes before slicing.
Enjoy!

Tag Team

If you know me, then you know I love my friends and I love blogs. I especially love my friend Becca’s “food blog.” In quotes because it started out as a food blog and has now evolved into a blog about everything healthy. I highly recommend reading Becca’s blog because she really takes the time to research subjects and then put them into practice. Having a friend like this is great for me. I try to surround myself with people who know what they are talking about because, while I like learning new things, frankly I’d rather just take your word for it. Life is too short for me to spend researching the pros and cons of everything. And 9 times out of 10 Becca and I are on the same page about things, especially health and fitness related things. When I tell Dan that I learned something from Becca he just shakes his head and says, “You and Becca just like to tag team, don’t you?”

To read Becca’s blog, click here: A Word of Wisdom

Healthy Fat

Today's post is on my favorite healthy eating topic: Healthy Fats. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these foods because they are so good for you and so satisfying. One of my biggest pet peeves is the notion that you have to eat 'diet foods' or gross healthy sounding foods to loose weight. No wonder people go for the bag of cheetos.

We are bombarded with messages in advertising about Low-Fat foods. Practically all labels of prepackeged foods claim to be low-fat or reduced fat. That must mean they are good for us, right? The truth is that these foods may actually casue more problems than they solve. Lets look at the facts.

FAT FACTS

• In the 1960s, Americans ate 45% of their calories from fat – and only 13% of us were obese. Now, while most of us get only about 33% of our calories from fat, 34% of us qualify as obese!

• The human body uses healthy fats to do everything from building cell membranes to performing key functions in the brain, eyes, and lungs.


• People following traditional Mediterranean diets, which are very high in foods containing monounsaturated fats like olive oil, tend to have lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

• When manufactruers take out fat they have to add something to make you think their product still tastes good. Want to guess what they add? Sugar.


• Not all fats are created equal.

• When we cut out essential fats from our diets, we naturally turn to high calorie foods, which leads to packing on the pounds.
  

So, what are healthy fats?

As a general rule, look for Monounsaturated fats and Polyunsaturated fats. Omega3 fatty acids are a type of Polyunsaturated fat you have probably heard a lot about. Your body can't make this beneficial type of fat, so you have to get it from food.

Stay away from Saturated and Trans fats; these increase your bad cholesterol levels and increase your risk of heart disease. Your body can make enough saturated fat so you don't need to include it in your diet. Many processed foods are very high in Trans fat. This is a great reason to cook at home and buy foods in as unprocessed a form as possible.

Now my favorite part ... EATING HEALTHY FATS!

My favorite sources of healthy fats include:

• Salmon
• Almond Butter
• Avocados
• Olive Oil
• Soybeans
• Flaxseeds
  
• Olives
• Pumpkin Seeds
  

For further information or to see where I got my facts, visit these websites:

http://www.helpguide.org/life/healthy_diet_fats.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fat/NU00262

http://www.thedietchannel.com/Healthy-and-Fat-5-High-Fat-Foods-You-Shouldnt-Avoid.htm

http://goodfats.pamrotella.com/

New Year

This year Dan and I are doing a makeover on our lives. We have been talking about this for a while, but didn't have the motivation to start. We finally decided to get our butts in gear on Christmas Eve. I once heard someone say that people don't change until they can't stand the way things are anymore. That moment came for us, standing in the car dealership, unable to pick up our car because we couldn't pay for the repairs. All three of our credit cards were maxed out and we had $40 in the checking account. There was no healthy food in our house and we were out of shape and just generally a mess. Thankfully, we have wonderful family members who were able to loan us the money to pay for the car repairs. But, on the way home we promised each other that we were going to change and never come back to this place.

Our New Year's resolutions are about being healthy and wealthy. They are intertwined and work together to hopefully achieve some big changes this year. I am going to use this blog to chart our process.

2010 WILDE FAMILY RESOLUTIONS

1 - SPEND MONEY ONLY ON ABSOLUTE ESSENTIALS TO FACILITATE PAYING DOWN THE DEBT AND CREATING AN EMERGENCY FUND
2 - WORKOUT 4-5 DAYS PER WEEK
3 - REPLACE JUNK FOOD AND EATING OUT WITH HEALTHY FOODS

In addition, we will be focusing on "going green." Yes, you read that correctly. I will elaborate in a future blog post. Wish us good luck on our journey into 2010!