Wild Rice Salad with Dried Figs

I cooked 8 cups of wild rice this morning. Not sure why, it just happened. So get ready for a week of wild rice brilliance! Let's kick it off with this baby:


Wild Rice Salad with Dried Figs
Wild rice is not necessary, any grain will do! Wheat berries, brown rice, quinoa, farro, cous-cous (I could go on but that may take a while). Extra plus for this recipe, it still tastes great after chillin in the fridge for a few days. Adapted from Bitchin' Camero (love the blog name).

How gorgeous are figs?!

Ingredients:

Dressing

1/4 c olive oil

2 T lemon juice (the juice of 1 lemon)

2 T apple cider vinegar

salt and pepper

Salad

3 cups wild rice

8 dried figs, thinly sliced

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1/2 c toasted almonds, chopped

Directions:

Whisk the dressing ingredients together and set aside.

Mix together salad ingredients in a big bowl.

Pour dressing onto salad (use your own discretion, I ended up pouring it all on in one go and thinking it was a bit too dressing-y).

Eat immediately or store in the fridge until you’re ready for it.

Playing with my camera...

For some reason this reminds me of seafood.

Does anyone else see the similarities between crustacean meat and fig meat?

Maybe (probably) it's just me...

Butternut Squash Millet Bake

I have been meaning to try a recipe by Mark Bittman (AKA 13-year writer of the New York Times food blog, The Minimalist) for some time now. The premise behind the Minimalist is that every recipe can be tweaked, adapted based on what you have. He's kind of a god in the foodie community.

Well I am ready to sacrifice to my new god (I hope he accepts sweet potatoes). Yes. It's that good.

So. So. Good.

Based off of Mark Bittman's Autumn Millet Bake Recipe

Ingredients:

2 T oil (I used coconut oil)
3/4 cup millet
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes (any other winter squash/pumpkin will do)
1 cup fresh cranberries 1/2 c dried Michigan cherries
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 T chopped sage leaves (or 1 t dried sage)
2 T maple syrup
1 c vegetable stock water, warmed
1/4 c pumpkin seeds

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375F and grease a large casserole dish.
Put oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat.

When hot, add the millet and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden, about 3 minutes (hs note: don't overdo it).

Spread in the bottom of the greased casserole dish.

Scatter the squash cubes and cherries on top of the millet.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and the sage.

Mix together warm water and syrup in a small bowl.

Pour liquids over millet, squash and cherries.

Cover tightly with foil and bake without disturbing, for 45 minutes.

Carefully uncover and turn the oven to 400F.

Taste the dish and adjust seasonings.

Add more water if it looks too dry.

Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds on top, and return the dish to the oven.

Bake until the mixture bubbles and the top is browned, another 10 minutes or so.

Real Good Food Swap: Zesty Quinoa with Broccoli and Almonds

I've recently joined an Ann Arbor-based online food sharing network, called Real Good Food. What is Real Good Food? I'll let the website explain it:

"Real Good Food is a community to share or trade your high-quality homemade food and/or homegrown produce.

We’re all self-selected members who like to eat and cook. As a collective, can we create more than the sum of our efforts and reap the benefits by cooking larger quantities less often and dramatically expanding our opportunity to enjoy unique food such as heirloom recipes, homemade specialties and authentic ethnic food.

First, we take advantage of the fact that most cooking can be easily increased for far less effort than actually making the same food another time. Second, by sharing our delicious efforts we remove the problem of perpetual leftovers and/or unfortunate waste.

For example: 

I can make a cheesecake as the urge strikes, or I can make 4 cheesecakes for a little extra time and cost.

Problem is, as much as I’d like to, I can’t eat a whole cheesecake, let alone four.

So, I tell the group about my four cheesecakes, when they’re available, how long they will keep and other details I consider relevant. If I get lucky, I’ll end up with only half a cheesecake, and several other passion-crafted foods in exchange."

Cool beans, right? I get emails every so often (multiple times a day to every few days) from people announcing some delicious something or another that they want to share and trade. I have definitely been enjoying observing from a far but someone offered up something I just could not pass up: a kombucha scoby! A scoby (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) is also known as a kombucha culture, a mother, or a mushroom. I will talk about this more extensively in a later post, I'm sure.

Anyways, I immediately emailed back this woman and in return I have made her a "grain and vegetable" dish. I hope she enjoys it! (This one's for you, Emily!)

Zesty Quinoa with Broccoli and Almonds
Adapted from Whole Foods Market.

Ingredients:
1/2 c sundried tomatoes (1)
1.5 c vegetable broth water and 1.5 T soy sauce, divided
1 red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced (2)
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 c uncooked quinoa (1)
2 c small broccoli florets (3)
1/2 c almonds, toasted and chopped (1)

Directions:

Soak sundried tomatoes in hot water for 15 minutes, drain and chop.

Bring 1/2 c water and 1/2 T soy sauce to a simmer in a medium pot.

Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.

Add sundried tomatoes, 1 c water and 1 T soy sauce, wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil.

Stir in quinoa, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. 

Place broccoli florets on top of quinoa, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.*

Remove from heat and gently toss with almonds to combine.

*I used broccoli that I froze in September so instead of this step, I steamed my frozen block of broccoli until thawed and cooked through. Then I just mixed the broccoli in along with the almonds.

(1) Bulk section of the People's Food Co-op

(2) Grown in Michigan but bought through the People's Food Co-op

(3) Bought this summer at the Ann Arbor farmers' market and frozen! I don't remember the exact farm though...

Quinoa, Sweet Potato, Kale Patties

Pre-bake but still pretty!

Based off a recipe from YumUniverse. Serious yum is happening. No, seriously.


Ingredients:
1 T ground flax seeds, 3 T water (optional)
3 c cooked red and gold quinoa
3 small sweet potatoes
1/2 c pumpkin puree
1 bunch of kale, de-stemmed
juice from 1/2 of a lemon
2 t sea salt
1 t cumin
1 t coriander
2 LARGE cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 t cinnamon


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F
Roast sweet potatoes for 25-35 minutes, until soft.
Remove skin from potatoes.
Whisk flax seeds into water.
Finely chop kale by hand or pulse in a food processor.
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

For baking
Form into patties and put on cookie sheet.
Bake for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.


For frying
Coat patties in flour, cornmeal or bread crumbs.
Heat 1 T oil in a saute pan.
Fry coated patties until golden, about 2-3 minutes per side.


This recipe makes quiiiite a few patties, especially for one person... I ended up freezing uncooked patty balls on a baking sheet and then transferring them to a tupperware!

Red Quinoa Ginger Snaps and Homemade Almond Milk

Also known as Christmas Cookies Attempt #1. I am pretty specific when it comes to baking. The whole vegan thing is a zero-percent issue since there is a substitute for everything. There's dairy-free milk/butter/cream cheese, egg replacers, vegan binders. You name it, some laboratory created a vegan substitute for it.

The problem I have is that chemicals/processed things scare me. Yeah, they make things super easy and convenient but do you really know what partially hydrogenated soybean oil or carrageenan gum does to a human body? Neither do I...

Well I found a pretty amazing recipe on a blog called (never)homecooking. Whole wheat flour, healthy oils, and a taste that is wonderfully reminiscent of winter. I have a few kinks to work out (notice my cookie lattice above due to major spread-age) but they sure are tasty.

Red Quinoa Ginger Snaps

Ingredients:
1 c whole wheat flour (1)
2 t baking powder
1 T ground ginger
1/2 t coriander
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 c olive oil
1/8 c maple syrup (2)
1/8 c almond milk (recipe below)
1/2 c sucanat (or dark brown sugar)
2 handfuls of uncooked red quinoa, rinsed

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F
Mix together flour, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl.
Mix together liquids and sugar in a small bowl.
Pour wet into dry and mix until homogeneous.
Stir in uncooked quinoa.
Spoon tablespoon-sized dollops of dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
These will spread so allow them room to grow!
Flatten the dollops a little and press in a little more quinoa.
Bake for 10-13 minutes (13 for my oven), or until starting to brown.
Remove from oven and allow to cool, transferring to cooling rack after 5 minutes.

My plans for attempt #2:

• Replace baking powder with 1/2 t baking soda and a pinch of salt.
• Roll dollops into smooth balls before pressing them down.

Almond milk

This is super easy to do and it contains none of the preservatives and other unnecessary add-ins that store bought almond milk contains.

Ingredients:

1/4 c raw almonds

1 c water

2 T maple syrup or agave nectar (optional)

Directions:

If blanching

Bring about 2 inches of water to a boil in a saucepan.

Dump in almonds and allow to boil for about 30 seconds.

Strain from heat and allow to cool enough to handle.

Pop off the skins.

If soaking

Put almonds in a bowl with enough water to cover by a few inches.

Allow to soak overnight.

Dump soaking water.

Pour almonds, 1 c water and sweetener into a blender or food processor.

Blend for 1-3 minutes, until milky.

Pour mixture through a cheese cloth or nut bag (something that will strain out the almond pulp) into a container.

Drink or store in the fridge in an air-tight container, or use in any recipe calling for milk or a milk-substitute (like the one above!)

(1) Earnst Farm

(2) That stand that sells MI maple syrup at the Ann Arbor farmer's market

Couscous with Apples, Raisins and Walnuts

Michigan apples, whaddup whaddup!

Couscous with Apples, Raisins and Walnuts

Based off of a Giada De Laurentiis recipe

Ingredients:

Couscous:

2 T oil

2 c couscous

4 c water

1 t salt

1/8 c dried parsley

1 T dried rosemary

2 t fresh thyme leaves

1 apple, diced

1 c raisins

1/2 c walnuts, toasted (see below)

Vinaigrette:

1/4 c apple cider vinegar

2 T maple syrup

1 T salt

1/2 t ground pepper

1/4 c olive oil

Directions:

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.

Add couscous and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until browned and aromatic.

Add water and salt and bring to a boil.

Reduce to a simmer and cook until liquid is evaporated, about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and mix in apples, raisins, nuts and herbs.

Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients and pour over couscous.

Toss to coat couscous evenly.

Toasted Walnuts

I am a sucker for items at the farmers market that are a little out of the ordinary and this week it just happened to be walnuts! Unlike the walnuts that you buy at the grocery store, these guys were still in their shell (surprise surprise...). This lead to the fun task of cracking those suckers open. Without a nut cracker I resorted to a hammer and it worked juuuuuust fine.

Pre-hammer

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F

Arrange the walnut meat in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Vinology

At the beginning of this local food journey I had assumed that I would only be able to eat food that I had cooked for myself but low and behold, I am singing a new tune after the events of last night. To conclude Marcy's Birth Week, the Zatz family ventured to Ann Arbor and took Hadas, Marcy, and I out to Vinology.

After scoping out the menu online, I was very hopeful that I would be able to actually order a dish. Not only does their menu rotate seasonally, these wonderful words are printed at the bottom:

To support our environment and local economy, 

we focus on local and sustainable ingredients whenever possible. 

Participating farms in this menu include: 

Eat Local Eat Natural, Guernsey Dairy, Calder Dairy, Miller Amish Chicken Farms, 

Gunthorp Farms, Werp Farms, Mighty Good Coffee, Avalon Organic Bakery

Nevertheless, I called in to see the extent of local purchasing Vinology takes part in. I learned that about 90% of their produce is from local sources. I was directed towards Aaron, one of the chefs, to discuss just what that meant.

I ended up talking to Aaron both on the phone and at the restaurant. He helped me navigate the menu to see my vegan options but when he offered to make me something special, how could I say no? Considering I am a far from picky eater, he surprised me with this beautiful creation:

Photo Credit: M Ziggity

Rice pilaf with saffron, topped with huckleberries, micro greens, and thyme.
A salad of dandelion greens, carrots, cucumber, and heirloom tomatoes, tossed in a vinaigrette dressing.
Roasted zucchini and asparagus in a roasted red pepper sauce.
All of which was grown in Michigan (except the rice...)

Although this will obviously not be a typical dining out experience for me (Hello college student budget), it made me realize how accommodating people will be if you are open and honest about your lifestyle. I could have easily kept my mouth shut and ordered the veggies salad, the only dish on the menu that explicitly is from Werp Farm, but I'm glad that I didn't. Not only was Aaron more than willing to make me something special because of my dietary restrictions, he saw it as an exciting challenge!

All I can say is, don't be embarrassed about your personal goals or what you consider important, you'll be surprised to find how many people want to know more or actually share them!

Buy in bulk!

One staple of my pantry and life in general is bulk food. Over the last 2 years I have accumulated quite a variety of bulk beans and grains, and the beauty of it is that they just don't go bad.

Wheat Berries. Chickpeas. Lentils. Azuki Beans. Butternut Squash?

Bulk food is a great way to save money because not only are you not paying for the packaging, marketing, and advertising that goes into most commercial products (think Rice-o-roni), but you can also buy the EXACT amount of food you need. A recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of flour? You can buy 2 tablespoons of flour!

A 2004 University of Arizona study reports that:

• 40-50% of all food ready for harvest never gets eaten
• On average, households waste 14% of their food purchases
• 15% of that includes products still within their expiration date but never opened
• An average family of four currently tosses out $590 per year, just in meat, fruits, vegetables and grain products

Cutting food waste would go a long way toward reducing serious environmental problems. The same study estimates that reducing food waste by half could reduce adverse environmental impacts by 25% through reduced landfill use, soil depletion and applications of fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides.


Not to mention the environmental impacts of reducing packaging waste. That means bring your own bags/jars/containers when you're grocery shopping! So hit up the People's Food Co-op, By the Pound, or even Whole Foods to save money and reduce your impact.


The inspiration of this post is my late night task yesterday of cooking wheat berries. These were a part of my pre-challenge food stash but was actually local as well. I bought this bag at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market over the summer from Ernst Farm (they also sell flax seeds, whole wheat flour and corn meal).

Cooking grains may take a bit of time but it is a pretty mindless task and takes little to no culinary skills.


Grain Cooking Chart from GNOWFGLINS

RICE (1 cup)	WATER	COOKING TIME	YIELD
Brown Rice (long grain)	2 cups	35 to 45 minutes	3 1/2 cups
Brown Rice (short grain)	2 cups	35 to 45 minutes	3 3/4 cups
Brown Basmati Rice	2 cups	45 to 50 minutes	4 cups
Brown Jasmine Rice	2 cups	45 to 50 minutes	4 cups
Black Japonica Rice	2 cups	45 minutes	3 1/2 cups
Wehani Rice	2 cups	45 minutes	3 cups
Wild Rice	2 1/2 cups	1 1/4 hours	4 cups
Manitok Wild Rice	2 1/2 cups	50 to 60 minutes	4 cups
GRAIN (1 cup)	WATER	COOKING TIME	YIELD
Amaranth	1 1/2 cups	25 minutes	2 cups
Barley, Hulled	3 cups	1 3/4 hours	4 cups
Barley, Pearl	2 cups	1 1/2 hours	4 cups
Buckwheat/Kasha	1 1/2 cups	10 minutes	3 1/2 cups
*Bulgur	1 1/2 cups	30 to 40 minutes	3 cups
Cracked Wheat	2 1/2 cups	7 to 10 minutes	3 1/2 cups
Cornmeal (Polenta)	2 1/2 cups	10 minutes	3 1/2 cups
Couscous	1 1/4 cups	10 minutes	2 3/4 cups
Kamut	2 1/2 cups	1 3/4 hours	2 1/2 cups
Millet	2 cups	25 minutes	3 1/2 cups
Oat Groats	2 1/2 cups	35 to 40 minutes	2 1/2 cups
**Quinoa	2 cups	25 to 30 minutes	4 cups
Rye Berries	2 1/2 cups	1 1/4 hours	2 1/2 cups
Spelt	1 1/2 cups	50 to 60 minutes	2 cups
Teff	3 cups	15 minutes	3 cups
Triticale	2 1/2 cups	1 1/2 hours	3 cups
Wheat Berries, Hard (Red)	2 cups	2 hours	3 cups
Wheat Berries, Soft (White)	2 cups	1 1/2 hours	3 1/2 cups

*Soak, don't cook.

**Rinse first.


My method is to cook a large batch (last night it ended up being 5 cups), store it in the fridge, and add more ingredients to individual servings. This makes it so I don't get bored of a week's worth of wheat berries. Plus it makes it very easy to use up all that fresh, local produce I have in my fridge. Sauteed veggies, roasted nuts, beans, dried fruit, herbs and spices all taste great with whole grains so you really can't go wrong...