The Happiness in Health

Strawberries up the …

Ω April 11th, 2010 Ω Tagged cheese, Cowgirl Creamery, dogs, Eileen Yin Fei, Forbidden rice, Kalustyan's, Norfolk terrier, nutrition labels, oatmeal, Peter Reinhart, Saratoga peanut butter balls, Saratoga Peanut Butter Company, strawberries Ω 37 Comments

… up the WHAT, you ask? Why, the strawberry bush, of course! Geez, what were YOU thinking? ;)

After yesterday’s strawberry purchase, I have successfully eaten my way through 1.5 pounds of strawberries. Yes, I said POUNDS. How??

Chocolate strawberry oatmeal, with Chillin’ Chocolate PB and a crumbled Saratoga peanut butter ball. Eaten while studying for tomorrow’s Medical Nutrition Therapy exam.

Mid-morning, Peter whipped up some Peter Reinhart crackers.

They were mostly rye flour, with seeds and an egg white wash. I ate a couple with some of my favorite cheeses: Cowgirl Creamery‘s Mt. Tam and a very sharp cheddar:

The basis of lunch was a modified PB & J:

This PB & J has no added sugar – only a fresh, sweet taste :)

Peter was kind enough to make dinner while I continued my studying frenzy. He prepared black pepper sauce from Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking, and served it with pork, snap peas, and Forbidden Rice.

What is Forbidden Rice? Forbidden Rice is a whole grain rice high in iron that has a nutty taste. It’s a little firmer than brown rice and goes really well with a peppery sauce. We bought ours at Kalustyan’s when we went to the store a few weeks ago.

I’m going to look for this rice someplace a little closer than NYC because it was nutty and delicious!

My brother-in-law Dave sent me this article a couple of days ago. The article talks about initiatives by the FDA to require food manufacturers to put nutrition labels on the FRONT of packages, rather than the side or back. I can understand their reasoning here – put the label front and center so that the consumer sees it, kind of like putting nutrition information on a restaurant menu. BUT, unlike info on a menu, food packages ALREADY have a nutrition label in a fairly conspicuous location. Personally, I don’t think placing a nutrition label on the front of packages will cause more people to look at them. What do you think?

I do agree with the second part of the article that talks about standardizing health claim labels on food packages. Currently, health claims are confusing and often misleading. What exactly does “natural” mean? In truth, it means absolutely NOTHING. But, often people will pick up a product and consider it more healthy if it has that magic word on the front. Food companies employ many such misleading labeling tricks to get you to buy their product in the name of health. I believe passing stricter rules about what can and can’t be on a food package would be helpful in weeding out some of these deceptive practices.

Q: What so you think about putting nutrition labels on the front of food packages? How about standardization of health claims on labels?

I’m off to study for my MNT exam, so I’ll see you all in a few days!

» Filed under New Foods » 37 Comments

Cook’s Mission, Week 1: Secret Apricot Passion Pudding

Ω March 25th, 2010 Ω Tagged apricot, Cairn terrier, Cook's Mission, dogs, four quadrant technique, Peter Reinhart, pretzels Ω 30 Comments

Why “Secret”? For those of you who are familiar with Mae‘s Cook’s Mission, you’ll know why!

Ingredients
4 large, soft pretzels, left out overnight (the “secret” ingredient!)
2 eggs
1/2 cup apricot jam
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup dried apricots
3/4 cup milk
Nuts of choice (optional)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter or margarine, melted

The pretzel recipe can be found in Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day, using King Arthur white whole wheat flour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Break the eggs into a large bowl and stir briefly. Add apricot jam and vanilla and stir to combine. If you’re hard-core like Peter, you can use the vanilla extract that you made yourself a year ago.

Chop the dried apricots and add to the egg mixture.

(What’s the expression? Speak softly and carry a big … knife? ;) )

Tear the pretzels into pieces and add to the mixture.

Stir to combine, then pour milk over all.

Try to ignore the little doggle who’s waiting for you to drop anything edible.

A few chopped hazelnuts for crunch:

Add cinnamon and melted butter, and pour into greased pan.

I went for the “4-quadrant” look, which is a great way to try out different toppings:

Clockwise from upper left: whole apricots, plain, oatmeal, and, of course, chocolate.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until nicely browned on top (my whole apricots got a little too toasty).

You can guess which section I went for first.

Verdict? Try it! This unique version of bread pudding is sure to please any apricot lover you know :) Of course, you can always replace the apricot jam and/or dried apricots with your favorite kind of jam or dried fruit.

If you like the look of this recipe, vote for it on the Cook’s Mission website by clicking on this link and leaving a comment under my recipe (Edit: The recipe is up!). Of course, there are some delicious looking recipes on the Cook’s Mission website, so please do vote for the one you like best!

I’m excited to be having lunch at one of my favorite restaurants tomorrow. Which one? Stay tuned to find out! Have a nice evening!

Q: Have you ever made your own bread? How did it turn out?

» Filed under Recipes » 30 Comments