My
pots hold savory, basil, dill, rosemary, many varieties of thyme, marjoram,
oregano, many varieties of mint, lemon balm, tarragon, and cilantro. When summer
is over and the first frost is imminent, I dry whatever herbs are left and store
them for the winter.
During the summer, here are just a
few of the ways that I use these fresh herbs:
-cilantro in Southwestern dishes such
as guacamole
-mint in green peas and my new
favorite summer drink----mojitos
-basil in Panzanella (bread
salad--one of my favorite recipes) and the recipe is in my new book, 1,000
Gluten-Free Recipes (1,000 GFR) due in stores on September 2.
-thyme in poultry, salad dressings,
and just about everything else since it's a favorite
-marjoram and oregano in Southwestern
dishes and sauces
-rosemary with poultry and
tossed with potatoes and in spaghetti sauce and any other way I can use it since
I love the flavor. Snip the leaves off the woody stems and use the stems as
skewers in grilling.
-any fresh herb can be mixed in with
oil and vinegar to make vinaigrette
-I love making pesto from fresh
herbs, especially basil. You'll find recipes for homemade pesto in most
cookbooks. Pesto is best served soon after it is made because some herbs, such
as basil, darken when exposed to air. You can pour a thin film of oil on top of
pesto and refrigerate it to keep it until serving time. I use pesto by
adding a little to vinaigrettes, tossing it with hot cooked potatoes, to make
potato salad, tossing it with hot cooked vegetables, or using it in dips. The
possibilities are endless and I love the fresh taste of herbs.
-I make my own chicken, beef, and
vegetable broth and using fresh herbs really makes them taste marvelous
-putting some sprigs of dill in a
vase makes my kitchen smell delicious
Getting Into the Whole Grain Habit
at GIG
I was the keynote speaker on June 6
at the annual conference of the Gluten Intolerance Group in Dallas, TX. It was
so good to see so many of my friends and the food was absolutely the best ever
at any gluten-free conference.
My talk was titled "Getting Into the
Whole Grain Habit" and I focused on how to prepare whole grains in various
dishes. A whole grain is one that contains all 3 parts: bran, germ, and
endosperm. Most of our gluten-free grains remain whole because they are not
processed in the same manner as wheat (which often has the bran stripped off) or
rice (which is heavily processed and therefore stripped of many nutrients) to
make white rice.
Breakfast: Make hot cereal
from a variety of whole grains such as quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, or millet or
buy hot cereal blends such as the Mighty Tasty Cereal from Bob's Red Mill,
quinoa cereals from Altiplano, or quinoa flakes from Ancient Harvest or
buckwheat flakes from Birkett Mills.
Cold cereals might include Perky's
Nutty Flax or Enjoy Life's granola. Of course, if you can eat gluten-free oats,
you can make your own granola.
I
also toss cooked whole grains into scrambled eggs, frittatas, and breakfast
muffins.
Lunch: Cooked whole grains can
be stirred into soups, tossed with mixed green salads,
or
eaten as salads, such as quinoa tabbouleh. In 1,000 GFR, there is a
fabulous recipe for a Mediterranean tomato soup with cooked quinoa that is
fabulous.
Dinner: Toss some cooked whole grains with your pasta or use cooked whole
grains as side dishes instead of rice. One of the easiest ways is to replace
white rice with brown rice. My favorite whole grain side dish is sorghum, which
is hard to find in stores but you can order directly from a grower at
www.twinvalleymills.com. You'll
need to send an email through the web site and you'll get a reply. The container
is very large, so plan to share with your friends and fellow support group
members.
Desserts can also utilize whole grains. Add cooked whole grains to pudding
for wonderful texture or to brownies and other bars.
Breads: Some of my favorite breads include whole grains in them, such as
uncooked teff (about 1/4 cup per recipe) or add 1/4 cup buckwheat flakes or
quinoa flakes.
Snacks: 1 to 1 1/2 cups of popcorn counts as a serving of whole grains. Even
a popcorn ball or counts-- yeah!!!
Flours: Our gluten-free grains
are ground into flour and since they are not stripped before grinding they
retain all of their important nutrients. So, every time you bake with sorghum
flour or quinoa or buckwheat or amaranth, you'll getting everything the grain
has to offer.
How much do you need to eat?
An excellent resource is the Whole Grains Council (www.wholegrainscouncil.org)
which recommends 3 to 5 servings per day. A serving is 1/2 cup of cooked whole
grain. Visualize cooked brown rice packed into a 1/2 cup measuring cup and you
get the idea. A serving varies by the type of grain and how it's used, so go to
the Whole Grains web site. I designed a page on gluten-free grains at
http://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/gluten-free-whole-grains so
check out that page for lots of great information.
You can start by adding just a few
tablespoons of whole grains to your diet each day. One-half cup contains 8
tablespoons so every time you eat at least 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup--which isn't
very much) you're eating half a serving. Every little bit helps.
Best
Nonstick Pans
A major
food magazine tested nonstick skillets and found that one of the least expensive
12-inch versions, Wearever, performed the best. Nonstick skillets get lots of
use in my kitchen because they are useful for browning and sauteing many types
of foods and I go through several each year. The Wearever is under $30 so you
can afford to replace it often.
Food
for Thought
"If the problem can be solved, why worry? If the problem cannot be solved,
worrying will be of no help."
-- Buddhist teaching
What is Carol
Reading This Summer?
Not
traveling for business the
rest of this summer, but
reading a few good books
that focus on food. For
light reading, Michael
Tucker (of TV's LA Law)
chronicles his food
experiences (along with wife
Jill Eikenberry) after
impulsively purchasing a
cottage in Umbria. in
Living in a Foreign Language.
Heat is Bill
Bulford's adventures as a
kitchen slave in one of
Mario Batali's New York
restaurants. Perhaps my
favorite is Comfort Food
by Kate Jacobs (author of
Friday Night Knitting Club)
about a star on a TV cooking
channel.
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