Want

Image: tinybutmightyfoods.com

It's no secret among my longtime readers that I love popcorn.  It's also no secret that I have been known to burn microwave popcorn by leaving the room and doing something else while it's popping, which is a violation of the directions on the package.  The minor point we can take away from this is that there are no secrets when you are a blogger; the major point is that I love popcorn and I eat a lot of it.

So you can imagine my excitement when I learned about Tiny But Mighty, an heirloom variety that is native to the prehistoric Americas and was all but forgotten by the 1970s as the food industry bred corn for drought resistance and giant popped kernels (and lost a lot of flavor and genetic diversity in the process).  The Tiny But Mighty plants are different from our current corn varieties.  They only grow to about 3 feet high,  the ears are only 3-4 inches long, and apparently the kernels have big flavor packed inside them.

This is a paleo diet I am eager to try.



Meatless Mondays, Old Camp Songs, and a Recipe

Lots of people are going meatless on Mondays.  Gentle Readers, it's a thing.  Not only is it trendy, it's good for your health and the health of the planet.  Pasta with pesto is an easy and delicious way to get a meatless dinner on the table.  In the time it takes you to heat the water and boil the pasta, you can make the pesto and throw a salad together.  It's also great as a sandwich spread.

I came up with this pesto variation the way I create a lot of my recipes: with what was on hand.  It got rave reviews because the arugula gives it a nice peppery bite, but feel free to tweak it based on what's in your fridge.

By the way... do kids sing the "Comet, it makes your teeth turn green" song anymore?  I don't even know.

Basil Pesto Variation
makes 2 cups

2 cloves garlic, peeled and with the root end removed
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup packed baby arugula leaves
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated asiago cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place garlic and pine nuts in food processor and process until finely chopped.  Add basil and arugula leaves and process.  Add asiago cheese and process until everything is combined and finely chopped.  With the motor running, add olive oil in a stream to create a paste.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Discovery: Oat Groats (with recipe!)

Where I live, there are is a choice between precisely two grocery store chains: Shaws and Stop & Shop.  Price wars?  We've nevah heard of 'em.  I've been annoyed lately because steel cut oats are $4.99 for a 24 oz. can.  I'd always thought cooked cereals were more economical than ready-to-eat varieties because you pay more for convenience, chemicals, and sugar; however, my research indicates that Quaker Steel Cut Oats are the same price as General Mills Cocoa Puffs, more expensive than Quaker Granola, and way more expensive that Post Grape Nuts, Kelloggs Mini Wheats, and Quaker Cap'n Crunch.

I was, therefore, motivated to try something new when I was in the health food store and saw oat groats in the bulk aisle for $1.79 a pound.  Oat groats are the grain after it's been de-hulled and stabilized with heat, but before it's cut or rolled into oatmeal.  I was told they could be cooked like  oatmeal, so I bought some and gave it a whirl.  Gentle Readers, oat groats make delicious oatmeal.  It comes out a bit creamier than steel cut oatmeal and it's a little less chewy.  Plus, you have control over the sugar content.  You can't say that about Cap'n Crunch.

I posted a recipe for crockpot oatmeal before, but here is a variation without apples.  It's good for when you are putting it together at bedtime and you realize you don't have apples.  It's also good if you're like me and fruit every morning can be hard on your blood sugar.

Crockpot Oatmeal (Variation 2)

1 1/3 cups steel cut oatmeal or oat groats

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

2-3 tbsp. brown sugar (or to taste)

pinch of salt

2 cups water

2 cups milk

1 1/2 tbsp. butter

Your choice of toppings

1. Coat the inside of 3-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Place oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in slow cooker.

2. Bring milk, water, and butter to a boil in a saucepan over medium high heat. (Watch this like a hawk. When you see bubbles forming along the edges, yank it off the burner.)

3. Pour milk mixture into slow cooker. Stir everything together. Cover and cook on LOW 7 hours or until oats are tender. (A couple of extra hours does not hurt it at all.)

4. Ladle oatmeal into bowls.  It can be topped with walnuts, raisins, craisins, pecans... whatever you like.

Sticky Situation

Show of hands: who knew March 28 is Something on a Stick Day?  I sure didn't until I read about it on Yumsugar this morning.  The recipes for things like Greek Salad Bites and Key Lime Popsicles put me in a summer mood even on a chilly, overcast day in Newport, RI.

What's your favorite food on a stick?

Good Seasons

Image: Bedbathandbeyond.com

An interesting side effect of having two blogs is that my friends and family are very aware of my likes, dislikes, and what is going on in my life.  They know about my culinary disasters and ask me serious questions about butter.

It still surprised me, though, when my mom arrived at my door one day bearing gifts of salt.  She had read about my fleur de sel wishes and celtic salt dreams, so she decided to get me an early birthday gift -- a Cole & Mason salt mill, light grey celtic sea salt, and fleur de sel. 

Apparently, Cole & Mason is the go-to brand for salt and pepper mills.  I can see why, since the "award winning" mechanism on the thing works great.  The salts are delicious -- salty, but without the sharp bite of regular table salt and kosher salt.  I feel like food cooked with the sea salt or finished with fleur de sel just tastes better.  I'm getting very spoiled.

Beef Stroganoff - With Recipes!

It's either been cold, rainy, dreary or some combination thereof around the old HQ lately, so when I saw an article about Russian food on YumSugar, I got a craving for Beef Stroganoff.  I used a recipe from Alton Brown's I'm Just Here For The Food (which, by the way, is full of lots of great information).  The Stroganoff was good, but it needed paprika, for one thing.  And maybe some thyme and bay leaves.

But fear not, my friends.  There are lots of recipe options out there.  Robert Irvine has one on FoodNetwork.com that looks well worth trying.  So does Tyler Florence, although his is a bit fancier.

And because you know I love those recipes straight out of the 1950s, check out Paula Deen's recipe that includes cream of mushroom soup, and good old Betty Crocker's which eschews paprika in favor of ketchup. That's right, ketchup.  Would I lie to you?

Food Trends: Salt

I've written before about my deep and abiding love of salt.  Some of my Gentle Readers may remember that I had a longtime aversion to caramel until I discovered salted caramel.  Salt doesn't make food taste salty; it makes food taste good.

After years of being vilified, salt has made a comeback.  Salt is trendy, and the trend doesn't look like it's going to end any time soon.  From Himalayan Pink Salt to Maine Sea Salt, a kitchen simply isn't complete anymore without a few fancy salt options.

I have a small jar of fleur de sel with herbes de provence that I got at the Marche Breteil in Paris, but in general, although I have Hawaiian Sea Salt tastes, I have a kosher salt budget.  I keep it, incidentally, next to the stove in a ceramic pot that looks exactly like a sugar bowl.  This is a good thing to keep in mind if you ever come over for tea.

Crock-Pot Queen (With Recipe!)

I'm really into Crock-Pot cooking these days. A slow cooker is the poor woman's personal chef. I love the idea that things are cooking in my house while I am not home - or even better, while I sleep.

Dust off your crock-pot (you know you have one tucked away someplace) and prepare this at bedtime. You'll heart it too.

Irish Oatmeal with Apples and Walnuts

Makes 4 servings (It refrigerates well and can be reheated in the microwave.)

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups water

2 Gala apples, peeled, cored, and cut into half-inch cubes

1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats (also called Irish Oatmeal)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cooking spray

Chopped walnuts

Maple syrup (optional)

1. Coat the inside of 3-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Place apple, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in slow cooker.

2. Bring milk, water, and butter to a boil in a saucepan over medium high heat. (Watch this like a hawk. It goes from barely bubbling to a reenactment of the eruption of Vesuvius in seconds flat.)

3. Pour milk mixture into slow cooker. Stir everything together. Cover and cook on LOW 7 hours or until oats are tender. (A couple of extra hours does not hurt it at all.)

4. Ladle oatmeal into bowls, and top with walnuts and maple syrup, if desired. I find I don't need the maple syrup. Goodness knows I'm already sweet enough.