This is actually getting hard. I'm out of ideas. Today I got lucky and was thinking about this oatmeal (I've been thinking a lot about oatmeal lately) truck that I read about that puts scone pieces on top of oatmeal and boom! I'm making scones (which didn't turn out particularly well). Yesterday I made blueberry soup. I think i got impatient or didn't add enough sugar or something, it wasn't bad it was just one of those things that tasted like it could be better. The blueberry soup came from my 12 Best Foods cookbook (bonus points if anyone can figure out all 12, note all recipes just need to have one but many have more)
Blueberry Soup (one serving)
1/2 blueberries
1 Tbsp frozen apple juice concentrate
1/2 Tbsp-1 Tbsp maple syrup
dash allspice
Place all ingredients in a pan bring to a boil. When liquid boil, reduce the heat. Simmer until the berries burst and give up their liquid, 15 minutes for fresh blueberries, 12 minutes for frozen. Serve warm, not hot.
Yeah, this is not at all what I did. I might not have let the blueberries cook long enough, I used brown sugar and water rather than maple syrup and apple juice. And I ate it hot out of a mug. It was comforting but not delicious.
Blueberry Scones
(Makes 8, note this recipe, like most of mine, is halved)
2 cups flour
3 Tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup+1 Tbsp cold butter
1 egg
3/8 c milk +1 Tbsp (divided)
3/4 cup blueberries (if using frozen, do not let them thaw)
Preheat the oven to 350 (something I often skip or delay to save energy, but since these are supposed to be fluffy, it's important here) Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt. Cut in cold butter and mix to make coarse crumbs. Whisk egg and 3/8 cups milk, add to dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in blueberries gently. Spread onto gently onto floured surface, mold into disk, and cut into 8 wedges (or mold gently into balls, but from everything I've read, the less you handle scones, the better). Brush with a tablespoon of milk Bake on baking sheets for 20-25 minutes.
They were super hard to work with because the dough was sticky, I probably added too much milk and the blueberries spread their juice because I let them thaw. They would also be better with my secret ingredient of the week: lemon zest. In fact, I think my mom adds that.
Showing posts with label blueberries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blueberries. Show all posts
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Blueberry Challenge Days 1-3
So I'm trying to eat half a cup of blueberries every day, and the past two days I've taken the two obvious choices: oatmeal and yogurt (apparently blueberry pancakes are also an obvious choice, who knew?). Okay, so today I might not have made it to 1/2 of BLUEBERRIES, but I did get a good half cup of dark berries. And since blueberries and lemons go so well together, I had a lemon zesting/juicing party this morning. It was fun, kind of. I zested and juiced 5 lemons, by the end I just wanted to be done.
Yesterday, as I mentioned, I made Steel Cut (or Scottish) oats and decided that was the best breakfast in the entire world. I wasn't following a recipe, I just looked up how to cook them, and I guess I accidently ate two servings. However, they kept me going so long and I felt so content from the oatmeal that all I ate for lunch was a banana and an apple and all I ate for dinner was a salad (which i should also discuss because it was a fantastic salad) and that was enough (oh, and the cake I made, which is another post, also). So this is what i did:
2 servings (but it apparently keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days)
1/2 cup steel cut oats
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup milk
dash salt
1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries
2 Tbsp toasted walnuts
Maple syrup/brown sugar to taste
Toast the oats lightly in a saucepan. I think maybe you were supposed to use butter to do this; I didn't, I just turned the heat on and toasted for a little while while I microwaved water.
Add 1 1/2 cup boiling water (and salt?) to the hot saucepan. Simmer on gently, stirring once or twice until the oats are tender or the water is absorbed. This will be a while, maybe half and hour (good time to putter around doing other things in the kitchen like toast your walnuts)
Add milk and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Add blueberries, walnuts, and maple syrup. Cover and let sit for 2 minutes.
Blueberry Parfait, Day 2
This was another easy choice, and a great post running treat. I ate it out of my measuring cup because it is the only clear glass container that I could see the layers and easily dig a spoon into (our glasses are tall and thin)
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2+ cup frozen berry blend (or blueberries!)
Sprinkle of sugar
2 tiny pinches lemon zest
2 Tbsp toasted walnuts
First defrost your fruit (oops) and sprinkle the sugar and mix in.
Layer the half yogurt and mix a pinch of lemon zest and mix. Sprinkle half the walnuts on top, add the fruit and repeat. Actually, it would probably be best to mix the yogurt and lemon zest separately before layering, but that dirties another dish.
Blueberry Lemon Granola, Day 3
Lately I've been looking through my 12 best foods cookbook (in fact, that might have been part of the inspiration for the challenge), which includes both blueberries and walnuts (and oatmeal, conveniently). Remember, oatmeal helps with the absorption or something of the awesome blueberry properties, so they are a good pairing. And to think I've always stuck to almonds. The secret ingredient: well, I don't think there is just one... And the funny thing is what I had to buy to make this recipe: dried blueberries and lemon, well and I guess the coconut, but I bought that without the intention of making this specific granola. But I had everything else on hand, I buy everything raw and unsalted, I can do that myself and I love the smell of things toasting.
1/2 cup blanched almonds (oops), halved (I used sliced, oops)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (thanks Kroger)
1/4 raw sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp unhulled sesame seeds (yeah, I just used regular sesame seeds), secret ingredient 1
1/4 blueberry or mesquite honey (I used regular cheapo honey, but I can tell good honey would have made this granola even better. Then again, it's addicting enough as is, I don't think we need any more)
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp ground cardamom, secret ingredient 2
2/3 cup dried blueberries
Preheat oven to 325
Stirring frequently, tast almonds and walnuts in large heavy skillet over medium heat until the just begin to color. Mix in oats and coconut and toast until the the oats color slightly, continuing to stir often. Add sunflower and sesame seeds, stirring constantly until the mixture turns an even beige. Off the heat, mix in the honey, lemon zest, and cardamom until all ingredients are thoroughly coated
Spread mixture on a jelly roll pan, making an even layer. Bake for 5 minutes, stir and respread. Bake for 5 minutes and repeat once more until the granola is golden brown. Mix in blueberries and spread hot granola on a baking sheet to stop the cooking, cool to room temperature. This keeps for 2 weeks in an airtight container.
Or how I did it: add the ingredients you toast in the order specified, but forget to actually turn the stove on. Realize it isn't on, toast everything at once. Remove from heat and pour in a bowl because that's easier to clean honey off of than a big cast iron pan. Go running and come back and the granola will be cool. Then add honey cardamom and lemon zest and mix. Put it in a 9 inch round pan because that's what is there (and easy to clean), so increase to 4 sets of 5 (or a little less) minutes, stirring after each. Remove and then follow the rest of the directions accurately.
Yesterday, as I mentioned, I made Steel Cut (or Scottish) oats and decided that was the best breakfast in the entire world. I wasn't following a recipe, I just looked up how to cook them, and I guess I accidently ate two servings. However, they kept me going so long and I felt so content from the oatmeal that all I ate for lunch was a banana and an apple and all I ate for dinner was a salad (which i should also discuss because it was a fantastic salad) and that was enough (oh, and the cake I made, which is another post, also). So this is what i did:
2 servings (but it apparently keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days)
1/2 cup steel cut oats
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup milk
dash salt
1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries
2 Tbsp toasted walnuts
Maple syrup/brown sugar to taste
Toast the oats lightly in a saucepan. I think maybe you were supposed to use butter to do this; I didn't, I just turned the heat on and toasted for a little while while I microwaved water.
Add 1 1/2 cup boiling water (and salt?) to the hot saucepan. Simmer on gently, stirring once or twice until the oats are tender or the water is absorbed. This will be a while, maybe half and hour (good time to putter around doing other things in the kitchen like toast your walnuts)
Add milk and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Add blueberries, walnuts, and maple syrup. Cover and let sit for 2 minutes.
Blueberry Parfait, Day 2
This was another easy choice, and a great post running treat. I ate it out of my measuring cup because it is the only clear glass container that I could see the layers and easily dig a spoon into (our glasses are tall and thin)
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2+ cup frozen berry blend (or blueberries!)
Sprinkle of sugar
2 tiny pinches lemon zest
2 Tbsp toasted walnuts
First defrost your fruit (oops) and sprinkle the sugar and mix in.
Layer the half yogurt and mix a pinch of lemon zest and mix. Sprinkle half the walnuts on top, add the fruit and repeat. Actually, it would probably be best to mix the yogurt and lemon zest separately before layering, but that dirties another dish.
Blueberry Lemon Granola, Day 3
Lately I've been looking through my 12 best foods cookbook (in fact, that might have been part of the inspiration for the challenge), which includes both blueberries and walnuts (and oatmeal, conveniently). Remember, oatmeal helps with the absorption or something of the awesome blueberry properties, so they are a good pairing. And to think I've always stuck to almonds. The secret ingredient: well, I don't think there is just one... And the funny thing is what I had to buy to make this recipe: dried blueberries and lemon, well and I guess the coconut, but I bought that without the intention of making this specific granola. But I had everything else on hand, I buy everything raw and unsalted, I can do that myself and I love the smell of things toasting.
1/2 cup blanched almonds (oops), halved (I used sliced, oops)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (thanks Kroger)
1/4 raw sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp unhulled sesame seeds (yeah, I just used regular sesame seeds), secret ingredient 1
1/4 blueberry or mesquite honey (I used regular cheapo honey, but I can tell good honey would have made this granola even better. Then again, it's addicting enough as is, I don't think we need any more)
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp ground cardamom, secret ingredient 2
2/3 cup dried blueberries
Preheat oven to 325
Stirring frequently, tast almonds and walnuts in large heavy skillet over medium heat until the just begin to color. Mix in oats and coconut and toast until the the oats color slightly, continuing to stir often. Add sunflower and sesame seeds, stirring constantly until the mixture turns an even beige. Off the heat, mix in the honey, lemon zest, and cardamom until all ingredients are thoroughly coated
Spread mixture on a jelly roll pan, making an even layer. Bake for 5 minutes, stir and respread. Bake for 5 minutes and repeat once more until the granola is golden brown. Mix in blueberries and spread hot granola on a baking sheet to stop the cooking, cool to room temperature. This keeps for 2 weeks in an airtight container.
Or how I did it: add the ingredients you toast in the order specified, but forget to actually turn the stove on. Realize it isn't on, toast everything at once. Remove from heat and pour in a bowl because that's easier to clean honey off of than a big cast iron pan. Go running and come back and the granola will be cool. Then add honey cardamom and lemon zest and mix. Put it in a 9 inch round pan because that's what is there (and easy to clean), so increase to 4 sets of 5 (or a little less) minutes, stirring after each. Remove and then follow the rest of the directions accurately.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Food Stamp Challenge Day 7
So yesterday the food stamp challenge concluded. It was made easier by the access to free food from volunteering over lunch. It was more difficult because I've been eating apples. I've had 2 (big) apples (I did get them for a dollar a pound though) and an orange, for a total of about $1.40. I had a quarter cup of brown rice with just a few spices (chili powder, cumin, oregano, thyme, I believe), for 30 cents, with about 1/3 of a cup black beans for 20 cents plus a sprinkle of cheese, which made the meal about 55 cents.
Finally breakfast was oatmeal with brown sugar and cinnamon, but I accidently added way too much cinnamon, so to cover it up I sprinkled a few dried cranberries (which I bought by one get on free, so the cost for a bag was about $1.10) and some cocoa powder. Seeing as i only had 20 cents left for this meal, I probably went over by about 5 cents. I don't see this as too big of a problem though.
The big problem of the challenge is my fully stocked spice cabinet, and nearly unlimited supply of beans and oatmeal. I didn't have to buy these things from scratch. Then again, $21 is what you receive if you have a given amount of income and hence an expected amount you are already spending on food.
But, as I said before, I don't think this was worthwhile. Can I do it? Yes, and minus a few corners I cut (like free food and eating a little extra after I ran that I didn't count). But I felt terrible for a few of those days, and I think a big part of it was from lack of fresh fruits and vegetables.
I did however learn some things that I may translate to lifestyle changes. For instances, I've recently prided myself on cutting back almost entirely on processed foods. True, I occasionally eat a Kashi frozen dinner, and I keep pasta on hand like it is going out of style. But the big thing, the thing I eat every day, and which actually consumes a large part of my food budget, despite the fact that I only buy it when it is half off, is dry cereal. A box of dry cereal when half off, is about $2-$2.50. And this is 6-10 (of my) servings. This is 25-40 cents a serving plus milk. Oatmeal is a third of the cost (plus toppings). This adds up quite a bit over the course of a year, or even a month (I really don't want to compute it, but it's a lot). It also means I can quit buying soymilk (yay!) unless I make cornbread. So, I'm going to rely a little more on oatmeal. Also, savory oatmeal is something I've been hearing about for about a while and was apparently on NPR recently. It definitely sounds worthwhile trying, throwing eggs and cheese or even veggies on oatmeal. However, I try to limit my carbs with dinner (because they are the staple of my diet all day). I feel like cottage cheese holds the same duality, but it's a little less portable and more expensive.
So this week I'm really going to try to focus on eating fruits and veggies. In fact (and one of my readers might laugh at this), I'm giving myself a new challenge, but a fun one. I've been keeping up with my google reader a little better lately (this might be a result of giving up facebook and twitter for Lent, after all I still need to do something to relax while I eat my dinner or if i have 5 minutes to kill before class), and the majority of what i read is about: surprise, food! I also read the Psychology Today pretty frequently. They seem to do little series, there was a good one about girls in math, one themed around the Olympics (the one about short track speed skating helped me fully appreciate the sport), and there was an interesting theme of "eating smarter." First they discussed why French people eat loads more fat than we do (cheese, butter, croissants). When you are measuring fat pound for pound you can't say "portion size." However, they don't snack between meals (as opposed to me, who eats what you could call up to 6 small meals a day), but the main point was that they actually ENJOY their food. They don't rush around willy-nilly and grab a quick bite on the way. The actually sit down and savor every bite. The eat slower (which in general means less) and it means more. And the food is better, none of the processed junk we eat.
Anyway, not the point (though maybe it should be). One of my favorite articles was this one http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200805/natures-bounty-the-smartest-food. This week (and other weeks, also) have helped me realize how much influence food has on the way we feel and as a result, the way we think. Wouldn't it be awesome to eat to optimize our ability to learn, problem solve or concentrate? How can we do this? Eat blueberries! (or other berries, but especially blueberries). And eat them with walnuts or avocados. So this week's challenge? Eat a half cup of blueberries every day (thank you Trader Joe's and your cheap frozen fruit!) prepared in 7 different ways. I will therefore chronicle 7 blueberry recipes. Today is easy because I don't have much on hand: toasted steel cut oats (yeah, that's right super cool oatmeal), with a little maple syrup, frozen blueberries and walnuts (because this is definitely cheaper than frozen cereal).
Finally breakfast was oatmeal with brown sugar and cinnamon, but I accidently added way too much cinnamon, so to cover it up I sprinkled a few dried cranberries (which I bought by one get on free, so the cost for a bag was about $1.10) and some cocoa powder. Seeing as i only had 20 cents left for this meal, I probably went over by about 5 cents. I don't see this as too big of a problem though.
The big problem of the challenge is my fully stocked spice cabinet, and nearly unlimited supply of beans and oatmeal. I didn't have to buy these things from scratch. Then again, $21 is what you receive if you have a given amount of income and hence an expected amount you are already spending on food.
But, as I said before, I don't think this was worthwhile. Can I do it? Yes, and minus a few corners I cut (like free food and eating a little extra after I ran that I didn't count). But I felt terrible for a few of those days, and I think a big part of it was from lack of fresh fruits and vegetables.
I did however learn some things that I may translate to lifestyle changes. For instances, I've recently prided myself on cutting back almost entirely on processed foods. True, I occasionally eat a Kashi frozen dinner, and I keep pasta on hand like it is going out of style. But the big thing, the thing I eat every day, and which actually consumes a large part of my food budget, despite the fact that I only buy it when it is half off, is dry cereal. A box of dry cereal when half off, is about $2-$2.50. And this is 6-10 (of my) servings. This is 25-40 cents a serving plus milk. Oatmeal is a third of the cost (plus toppings). This adds up quite a bit over the course of a year, or even a month (I really don't want to compute it, but it's a lot). It also means I can quit buying soymilk (yay!) unless I make cornbread. So, I'm going to rely a little more on oatmeal. Also, savory oatmeal is something I've been hearing about for about a while and was apparently on NPR recently. It definitely sounds worthwhile trying, throwing eggs and cheese or even veggies on oatmeal. However, I try to limit my carbs with dinner (because they are the staple of my diet all day). I feel like cottage cheese holds the same duality, but it's a little less portable and more expensive.
So this week I'm really going to try to focus on eating fruits and veggies. In fact (and one of my readers might laugh at this), I'm giving myself a new challenge, but a fun one. I've been keeping up with my google reader a little better lately (this might be a result of giving up facebook and twitter for Lent, after all I still need to do something to relax while I eat my dinner or if i have 5 minutes to kill before class), and the majority of what i read is about: surprise, food! I also read the Psychology Today pretty frequently. They seem to do little series, there was a good one about girls in math, one themed around the Olympics (the one about short track speed skating helped me fully appreciate the sport), and there was an interesting theme of "eating smarter." First they discussed why French people eat loads more fat than we do (cheese, butter, croissants). When you are measuring fat pound for pound you can't say "portion size." However, they don't snack between meals (as opposed to me, who eats what you could call up to 6 small meals a day), but the main point was that they actually ENJOY their food. They don't rush around willy-nilly and grab a quick bite on the way. The actually sit down and savor every bite. The eat slower (which in general means less) and it means more. And the food is better, none of the processed junk we eat.
Anyway, not the point (though maybe it should be). One of my favorite articles was this one http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200805/natures-bounty-the-smartest-food. This week (and other weeks, also) have helped me realize how much influence food has on the way we feel and as a result, the way we think. Wouldn't it be awesome to eat to optimize our ability to learn, problem solve or concentrate? How can we do this? Eat blueberries! (or other berries, but especially blueberries). And eat them with walnuts or avocados. So this week's challenge? Eat a half cup of blueberries every day (thank you Trader Joe's and your cheap frozen fruit!) prepared in 7 different ways. I will therefore chronicle 7 blueberry recipes. Today is easy because I don't have much on hand: toasted steel cut oats (yeah, that's right super cool oatmeal), with a little maple syrup, frozen blueberries and walnuts (because this is definitely cheaper than frozen cereal).
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