Posted in - Poultry, Healthy Eating

Wellness Wednesdays: The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook

The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook

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Farmer’s markets, groceries, and natural foods stores today offer a wealth of wholesome ingredients that even a decade ago were considered unfamiliar and exotic. From quinoa to spelt flour to agave nectar and shiitake mushrooms, natural whole foods like these have come into their own as the cornerstone of a healthy, varied diet. Packed with information for purchasing, storing, and serving the full spectrum of whole foods, The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook is a comprehensive kitchen resource for contemporary cooks.

Based on the classic work with over 100,000 copies sold, this exhaustively revised edition contains nearly 1,400 recipes—more than one-third of them brand new—and updated guidelines for making the most of fresh meats, produce, and pantry essentials, soup to nuts. Here’s all you need to know to make spectacular soups, stews, salads, baked goods, and more, using whole foods. You’ll find dozens of casseroles (many of which can be made ahead and frozen for no-fuss weeknight meals), quick-and-easy sautés, plenty of meatless main courses, and crowd-pleasing favorites for casual get togethers. Best of all, these recipes are naturally healthful, showcasing the versatility of wholesome whole grains, natural sweeteners, seasonal fruits and vegetables, and other fresh, unprocessed foods in all their delicious variety.

Also included are valuable primers on such essential kitchen topics as making stock; putting up jams and preserves; baking yeast breads; choosing cookware; sprouting seeds; making yogurt; and canning vegetables with helpful charts and glossaries on herbs and spices, cheeses, sea vegetables, seasonal produce, roasting meat and fowl, freezing foods safely, and more.

A trusted, timeless classic thoroughly updated for the way we cook today, The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook is sure to become an indispensable resource for health-conscious cooks.

Sweet and Tangy Turkey Breast

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Adapted from The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook

Serves 6

1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons brown mustard
1 bone-in turkey breast (5 1/2 pounds)

Prep Day: In a measuring cup, whisk together the lemon juice, honey, and mustard. Cut the turkey breast in half. Remove the breast meat, with skin on, in one piece, from each half. (Also remove the small chunks of turkey on the underside.) Place the breast halves and chunks of turkey in a freezer bag and pour the marinade over them. Freeze.

Serve Day: Thaw. Preheat the broiler. Pour the marinade off the turkey into a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes. Set aside.

Place the turkey skin-side down on a broiler pan and broil 6 inches from the heat for 10 minutes. Turn over and cook for 5 more minutes. Lower the pan a notch and broil for 5 minutes longer, or until the turkey is cooked through. If not done, turn over and cook for 5 more minutes. (It does not matter if the skin burns.)

Rewarm the marinade. Remove any burned skin from the turkey. Slice the turkey across the grain into thin slices. Serve with the marinade for spooning over it.

Posted in Tips and Tricks

Tips and Tricks Tuesdays: How to Supercharge Dried Spices

How to Supercharge Dried Spices

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Think the key to three-alarm chili or any other flavor packed dish is dumping in tons of spices? Not so. It’s actually all about timing and earlier is generally better.

When dried spices are heated directly in oil right at the beginning of the cooking process (while you sauté, say, onion and garlic), they “bloom,” becoming toasty and richer tasting.

If you wait to add the dried spices do it just before the dish is done or they won’t release their powerful flavors—meaning your chili will be bland or bitter, rather than full of fire.

Posted in - Lamb, - Pork, - Red Meat, Meal Planning

Meal Planning Mondays: Recipes to Try for the Week of 4/29 – 5/5/13

Basic Marinades

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Adapted from The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook

Serves 12

A typical marinade that nicely flavors and tenderizes beef, lamb, or pork starts with a simple vinaigrette dressing such as this. It may be varied according to taste and to the ingredients you have on hand in the kitchen.

This recipe makes 3/4 cup marinade, enough for 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of meat. Double or triple the recipe if needed for larger cuts of meat. Cider vinegar, red or white wine vinegar, and herb vinegar are equally good and impart subtle differences in flavor. If you use an herb vinegar, omit the herbs called for in the recipe.

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vinegar, lemon juice, or wine
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon chopped mixed fresh herbs or 2 teaspoons dried

Alternate Ingredients –

Barbecue-Style Marinade: Add 1 tablespoon sweet ingredient (tomato-based chili sauce, ketchup, or honey) and 1 tablespoon salty ingredient (Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, or mustard). Use 1 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper instead of the herbs.

Spicy Marinade: Add 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder to either the plain marinade or the barbecue version.

Prep Day: In a small bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, garlic, and herbs. Place the meat in a shallow nonmetal container or in a freezer bag. Pour the marinade over the meat. Freeze marinades.

Serve Day: Thaw. Grill.