Baked Chicken and Vegetables

The title sounds so simple and there's a reason for that....IT IS SIMPLE.  This could quickly become a household favorite: for the chef and the eaters alike.  Baked chicken with vegetables dish is mostly about the prep; chopped vegetables, defrosted meat, and a preheated oven are key.  You can also switch up the vegetables based on your likes.  You could do things like sweet potatoes instead of potatoes and fennel instead of celery, or add things peppers and cauliflower.  The options are endless.

This dish can make a great one dish dinner.  Eating 1/3-a whole chicken thigh for your protein, 1-3 cups of vegetables, a few potatoes with natural carbohydrates  - means you will enjoy a delicious, satisfying - balanced meal.  And you have an hour and 20 minutes of down time :)

serving size 2-3
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 chicken thighs
2 beets
3 small potatoes
4 large carrots (6 small)
1/2 an onion
4 stalks of celery
3 cloves of garlic
salt & pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Slice vegetables in equally sized pieces.  Set aside garlic cloves.
3. Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil on the bottom of a shallow baking dish.
4. Next, place the chicken in the middle of the pan.
5. Place vegetables in so that there are few over laps.
6. Crush garlic and spread on top of chicken vegetables.
7. Sprinkle 1/8-1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper over entire dish.  Then drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons of oil.
8.  Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.  Then take foil off, raise oven heat to 375 and bake 20 minutes.
9.  Dinner is served.

Heavenly Sweet Potato Fries

...as the story suggested, our character made these baked fries for her family.  They were such a hit - ketchup was not even needed!

Sweet potato origin:  The sweet potato is thought to be from either Central or South America.  We do know that these tubers were domesticated at least 5000 years ago with additional theories that sweet potato remnants could be found in areas of Peru dating as far back as 8000 BC.

If you like tried and true food, this is one that is clearly a proven staple throughout human history.

OK get ready for the health benefits...

1. They are high in vitamin B6: B6 helps reduce a chemical in our bodies that has been linked with degenerative diseases, including heart attacks.

2. They are a good source of vitamin C: C is a well-known vitamin, know for warding off colds and flus.  But did you know it also aids in bone and tooth formation, digestion, and blood cell formation. Not to mention it produces collagen - which helps maintain your skin's youthful elasticity.

3. They contain vitamin D: D is again another popular vitamin know for its help with the immune system and plays an important role in our energy levels, moods...just to start.

4. Sweet potatoes contain iron: You need iron for energy but it as is important for white blood cell production, resistance to stress and proper immune function.  Again...this is just the beginning of this mineral's benefits.

5. These tubers pack magnesium: This mineral aids in relaxation and anti stress.  Bodily functions including healthy arteries, blood health, bone health, muscle strength, and nerve function are also improved by mag.

6. They are a source of potassium:  and important electrolyte that helps regulate your heartbeat and nerve signals.

7. Sweet potatoes contain carotenoids:  That orange color gives this away.  Most notably known for warding off cancer and protecting against aging.

                                

For other recipe ideas:     www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20600272,00.html



EAT THEM!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

5 sweet potatoes or yams

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Sprinkle of paprika, garlic powder, salt

 

Instructions

1.       Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.        Peel sweet potatoes and cut in long thin pieces, like French Fries.  Put all cut sweet potatoes in a large mixing bowl. 

3.       Pour olive oil over potatoes and mix until each piece is coated.

4.        Lay sweet potato pieces out on a baking sheet. 

5.       Sprinkle the spices lightly over sweet potatoes, covering each with a dusting of spice.

6.       Bake 15 minutes.

7.       Using a spatula, flip sweet potatoes.  Bottom side should be crunchy now.

8.       Bake another 15 minutes.

9.       Cool and serve.

Honey Tofu Stir Fry

With summer on the way, vegetables will become more local and present.  CSA pickups will be loaded with lettuces, spinach, bok choy and and more.  But to get my family to eat these nutritious leafy greens, I have to add a hint of sweetness to the meal.  That’s why I decided to sneak a little honey into my family’s dinner diet.

Honey is a sweet food given to this earth by bees.  Honey bees produce honey through a process of regurgitation and evaporation.  The bees leave their hives in search of flower nectar and sweet deposits from plants and trees.  They gather, modify, and store the nectar they collect in the honeycomb.  As a collective the bees return to their hives and pass the nectar onto the worker bees.   The worker bees, after chewing the nectar to continue to break down the enzymes, eventually spread the nectar throughout the honeycombs.  This is where the evaporation happens and the nectar, over time, becomes a thick syrup.

Local honey is something everyone should incorporate into their diet.  Because bees in your area are collecting nectar that contains the pollen you are ingesting, your local honey is a natural way for your body to develop an immunity to the pollen and its allergens. 

With nature’s treat in mind and the abundance of veggies, I made a tofu stir fry sweetened with a honey sauce.  This dish is a real crowd pleaser and jam-packed with nutritional goodness.

Tofu Stir Fry w/ Honey Soy Sauce                                                                       serves 5 as main meal

INGREDIENTS   

2 T. olive oil (or sesame)                                                         ¼ t. turmeric

½ onion, sliced thinly                                                               ¾ t. ginger

½ red pepper, 1 inch strips                                                      3 T. HONEY

3 carrots, 1 inch strips                                                             1 head baby bok choy, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced                                                           ½ lb. spinach leaves, chopped

1 T. rice wine vinegar                                                             1 cup broccoli, steamed, cut

¼ c. soy sauce                                                                       1 lb firm tofu

1/8 c. water                                                                           1 egg, scrambled

¼ t. cumin                                                                             1 package brown rice noodles, boiled 2 min

Instructions for meal creation:

1 – Preheat oven to 350. Cut tofu cube into approx. 8 slices ½ inch wide.  Lay slices in a lightly oiled baking dish and drizzle with soy sauce and honey (in addition to the amounts needed above).  Bake for 30 minutes.

2 – Meanwhile, use this time to do your prep work by preparing all of the vegetables.

3 – Scramble egg.  Put to side.

4 – Cook noodles.  Drain and toss with sesame oil.

5 – Begin meal completion.  Heat vegetable oil in large wok.  Start with sautéing onions, carrots, red peppers, and garlic.   Add rice vinegar, soy sauce and a bit of water. Toss well.

6 – Add honey, and veggies making sure to mix stir fry well.

7- Cut tofu into small cubes and add to stir fry.  Mix in scrambled eggs and noodles.  Coat all ingredients well.

8 – Serve and enjoy.

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**Visit the National Honey Board for more information on honey

http://www.honey.com/

Shades of Green with Sage Upon Summer

Healthy quinoa spaghetti in a butter sage sauce.

I've posted about sage before.  It was earlier in the year last time.  It's June ~ almost summer June and my sage is growing these beautiful smelling leaves.  Sage leaves are great for cooking with or drying and burning. Both offer benefits to your overall wellness. 

Our recipe today will feature SAGE.  One of my favorite meanings of this word is: a wise person.  And a wise choice of an added flavor.  Look up SAGE: it holds so many meanings.  As a plant, sage has been around and popular since ancient times.  Thought to ward off evil spirits, work as a local anesthetic, and increase a woman’s fertility, to name a few, this plant had its importance.  Its official name is Salvia officinalis, and while it goes by many names, I like the Greeks etymology, which is “island tea”. 

We often think of sage in fall when it so pleasantly appears in stuffings and such.  But for today, let’s think of sage as green, a reminder that Spring has blossomed and Summer is around the corner.  A blessing of the growth that is alive outside. In remembrance of my Spring trip to Italy, today’s dish is an adaptation of one of my first dishes from when I first lived in Siena, Italy.

I remember entering the trattoria, the family run restaurant, as a silly young American college student, being famished and knowing little to no Italian.  Partnered with my dear friend, Martha, we were seated in the small, quaint dining room – alone.  Apparently we hadn't figured out their meal timings yet but the happy family invited us in and served us right.  We had Ravioli with a Sage and Butter sauce; it was ridiculous.  I remember little thereafter since the owner introduced us 19 year olds to the drinking of an appertivo, vino di tavolo and digestivo (you can read more about these in my post about The Big Night) http://www.vitaaterra.com/2013/02/tri-colored-risotto-from-movie-big.html . 

Simply put – we were sloshed.

I’d like to re-do the Butter and Sage recipe to fit into my diet where I try to limit durum wheat pasta and high fatty foods, like butter.  We’ll use quinoa pasta and olive oil to make this simple, yet ultimately satisfying dish, just light enough to know Summer is upon us, with shades of green J.

Painting from Koehler's Medicinal Plants (1887)

Spaghetti w/ Fresh Sage Sauce                                                                                  serves 4

http://www.quinoa.net/127/index.html

INGREDIENTS

One box of Quinoa spaghetti

3 T. olive oil 

2 T. butter

8 fresh sage leaves

a splash of white wine                                       10 garlic shoots, diced

½ a lemon, juiced                                             1 lb. of asparagus, steamed and chunked

¼ c. pecorino-Romano

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1- Put a large pot of water on, to boil your spaghetti.  Cook as box directs.  Save some of the cooking water.

2-  On the stovetop, on a low heat, melt butter and heat olive oil.  (Mario Batali says cook until you see a “noisette” or golden brown color from the butter.  This is the butter’s thinnest liquid form.)

3- Now add the garlic shoots and the sage leaves (that have been cleaned if plucked from your garden) make sure they get fully coated and then splash in a little white wine and let it sizzle off.

4- Once the leaves are covered and the wine has sizzled for 1-2 minutes, remove from heat.  Then add lemon juice.  Whisk a bit to emulsify.

5- Return sauce to low heat.  Stir in the asparagus. Gently pour in the spaghetti and a little of that cooking water, very little (too much will make the sauce watery).  Add cheese.  Toss pasta in sauce to coat each piece.

6 – Serve and enjoy.

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Escapades with Garlic Scapes

I’m writing today’s piece (or shall I say peace) on the harvest experience of garlic scapes.  Garlic scapes feel rather newly introduced or featured in my diet and that of what I’ve experienced.  I’ve experienced them the past couple of years at local farmer’s markets.  I even made scape pesto a few years back when a neighbor gave me a bunch from his garden.  Yet, all in all, this flower and stem of the garlic plant seem less than highlighted in our culture’s culinary repertoire.

The scape, which is considered by some to be a delicacy, has the same flavor as garlic, just a little less intense.  It is similar to the asparagus and can be cooked up or eaten raw.  This summer here in Vermont was a plentiful asparagus season.  We had months of days when we were able to pick our asparagus before dinner.  I cooked up asparagus frittatas, spaghetti and asparagus with ham, and sometimes I just steam it and drizzle with a little olive oil.   But now that summer has rolled in, the asparagus are beginning to roll out.   Their spring peak has come to an end.  Well imagine our surprise and excitement when we (my daughter, Athena and I) realized that we had 200 garlic plants in our garden.  This was a project belonging to our former roommate; he had planted his garlic before he knew he was moving.  Today when Athena and I walked out to the garden, boy oh boy, it was prime garlic scape harvesting time.

We clipped the plants; you want to clip the scape before the first leaf of the plant.  The nice thing about this harvest is it is part of a larger picture or process.  Snipping the scape or the bud of the flower, sends more energy in the plant down to the bulb: the garlic!  Bonus: now you have a fresh green vegetable to eat!

With our bucket overflowing with garlic scapes, we pranced gayfully back to the house.  There is something so rewarding, so satisfying about harvesting food.  And we gave our thanks too!  We expressed gratitude for our former roommate – what am awesome thing to share with us.  I had decided on garlic scape pesto for dinner (the recipe follow this article) as a nice way to highlight the harvested bounty.  Next, I wanted to efficiently and successfully store this load of garlic scapes for use in the future.  Our first mission was to chop.

Athena was amazed by the multitude of vegetable.  Ever notice how a garlic scape has a whimsical way about it; its spiral stem leading to a heart shaped bud.  Well the aura of a scape is something to be appreciated.  We chopped scapes for the next 2 hours.  I’ve decided to store a few cups in the refrigerator; these are for cooking scapes in sautés.  I cannot wait to make my Scape Breakfast Frittata for breakfast tomorrow morning: a zesty combination of scapes sautéed in olive oil, 2-3 eggs lightly beaten and poured over the sauté.  Seasoned with salt and pepper and served with a cup of coffee.  Yum, high in protein, strong in flavor- it’s a great way to start a day.

I’ll store another few cups of chopped scapes in the freezer.  This way they can last longer while I’m working with all the fresh ones.  And lastly, I’m making a ton of garlic scape pesto, some of which we had for dinner tonight on farfalle or as Americans know as butterfly pasta.

Health Benefits

The garlic scape, an obvious part of the garlic plant, packs the same nutritional benefits as the bulb itself.  This means scapes provide: protein, vitamin B6, vitamin C, selenium and calcium and help prevent diseases like heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and cancer.  Scapes are also known to boost your immune system and reduce inflammation.  This delicacy is usually only available for a short window of time in the summer (this year we’re talking mid to late June in Vermont).  Look for them at your local farmers’ markets or grocery stores.  Stock up on this seasonal veg and freeze what you don’t use so you have bounty to use throughout the next couple of months.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Servings: about 6 oz

Ingredients:

1 cup garlic scapes, chopped

1/3 cup walnuts

¾ cup olive oil

1 cup cooked, chopped spinach

½ cup grated Locatelli, percorino romano

½ tsp salt

Several dashes of pepper

Directions:

1. Add walnuts to the food processor and chop finely.  Next add scapes to walnuts in processor, and chop.

2. Gradually add olive oil and continue to process on chop.

3. Add spinach and process.

4. Add Locatelli, salt, pepper and gently process just to blend mixture. 

5. Taste and season to preference.

Serve 4 tablespoons of pesto with 1 lb. of pasta.

Additionally made pesto can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

A Kale Affair to Remember

Have I told this story before?  The one about how I hated kale.  How kale and I had such adverse reactions that we couldn’t even try to form a relationship?  How the EAT MORE KALE bumper stickers actually made me cringe?  I smile to myself just thinking about that time from my -not so distant past-. Kale is dated back to the Middle Ages when it was the most eaten vegetable in Europe. Why then, had I felt so estranged and even turned off by it?

Kale was a big deal in Vermont while we were living there.  I had a nutritional educationalist come speak to my high school class one day.  She had them make kale smoothies.  I never heard the end of it.  Those teens were more than disappointed in their green shakes over something more common to a high school cooking class, like popcorn balls or no bake cookies.  But alas, my role as an educator was to facilitate their experiences (Oh but I wasn't in class that day; not interested in a kale smoothie).

I lived with my sister for a while and she used kale.  And it so seem so foreign and strange.  She made kale chips and I wouldn't even try them.  Imagine the role model I was for my daughter…

Then we returned to New Jersey, state of our upbringing, and I started working on farms to connect to the nature piece I need in my life.  While gleaning for Rolling Harvest Food Rescue, http://www.rollingharvest.org/, the founder and executive director, Cathy Snyder, encouraged me to end my hate with kale!  She challenged me to eat the baby kale we were picking at Gravity Hill Farm http://www.gravityhillfarm.com/ - RAW.  

You know, it was a beautiful summer day, the sun shining so bright and strong (we often needed water and rescue in the shade).  But the big beautiful sky was blue and we were all on a high with the idea of collecting free, organic, expensive vegetables, for people in need.  So I just did it.  While harvesting, I just ripped a kale leaf off, pushed it in  my mouth with all five fingers, and began to chew.  Then another leaf, and another leaf.  I was shocked.  For a split second, an out of body experience had me peering down on myself with a crooked eye, wondering when the hell did I turn into a glutinous kale eater! But then I returned to the moment and chewing and tasting and swallowing and bring another and chewing and tasting and swallowing and all throughout the matnra - enjoying. It tasted amazing, so tender. Why had I been so scared?

My relationship with kale was headed in a whole new direction.  I didn’t know it at the time.  My mom signed up for the CSA at Sandbrook Meadow Farm http://www.sandbrookmeadowfarm.com/.  And wouldn’t you know it but kale was one of our first arrivals.  I was leery about how kale would be used and let my mom take it with her share, leaving me and kale apart. 

OK so fast forward, mom’s making the kale, she’s making a soup, She’s saving me a portion.  Oh my Universe!  I love it.  I want it.  Next time we go to the CSA I ask mom to take 2 bunches of kale.  “Do you want to take one home?”, she asks me.  “No, no, no,” I am clear as I back away from the giant leafy green in front of me.  “But make me that soup please.”  Some might call this ‘The Tipping Point’.

From then on, kale is a part of my weekly diet.  I love it.  I cook it.  My family now loves it too.

Enjoy your Fall Equinox.  Make Kale and Sweet Potato Soup!  I did with all plants from either my backyard garden or the CSA farm.  100% organic and local.

                            

Kale and Sweet Potato Soup                                                                        serves 4 as main meal

INGREDIENTS         

                          

1 med onion, diced                                                               12oz diced tomatoes

6 cloves of garlic, whole                                                       2 cups broth

¼ cup olive oil                                                                      2 cups water

1 bunch of kale                                                                     3 sweet potatoes diced

2 t salt                                                                                  1 can pinto beans (or Northern Italian beans)

some dashes of black pepper

2 T fresh basil                                                                                    

2 t. dried parsley                                                                             

Instructions for meal creation:

1 – Prep work: dice onions, peel garlic, wash and massage kale, then cut into 2 inch strips.

2 – Heat oil medium.  Add onions first for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Press garlic in using a garlic press and stir it constant, as to not let the garlic burn.

3 – Add kale and basil and make sure they get mixed well with oil.  Then add in tomatoes and liquids.

4 – Cook for 5 minutes.  Once it is to a boil, add sweet potatoes.  Simmer on low for 30 minutes.

5 – As the soup cooks, taste it for seasoning.  Adjust seasoning as needed.

6 – Add pinto beans.

7- Mix in scrambled eggs and noodles.  Coat all ingredients well.

8 – Serve and enjoy.

Who Knew?

What's New and Beneficial About Kale

• Kale can provide you with some special cholesterol-lowering benefits if you will cook it by steaming. The fiber-related components in kale do a better job of binding together with bile acids in your digestive tract when they've been steamed. When this binding process takes place, it's easier for bile acids to be excreted, and the result is a lowering of your cholesterol levels. Raw kale still has cholesterol-lowering ability—just not as much.
• Kale's risk-lowering benefits for cancer have recently been extended to at least five different types of cancer. These types include cancer of the bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate. Isothiocyanates (ITCs) made from glucosinolates in kale play a primary role in achieving these risk-lowering benefits.
• Kale is now recognized as providing comprehensive support for the body's detoxification system. New research has shown that the ITCs made from kale's glucosinolates can help regulate detox at a genetic level.
• Researchers can now identify over 45 different flavonoids in kale. With kaempferol and quercetin heading the list, kale's flavonoids combine both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits in way that gives kale a leading dietary role with respect to avoidance of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=38

Escarole and White Bean Soup

It's that time of year again.  The CSA has closed down, our backyard gardens or local farm stands are closing and WE STILL NEED TO KEEP LEAFY GREENS in our diet.  One of my fall/winter favorites is Zuppa di Scarola e Fagioli (escarole and white bean soup).  Escarole is one of those leafy greens that grows late into the growing season; it's a hearty veggie.

Escarole is actually an endive.  The perks of this endive are that its leaves are broader, paler, and less bitter than others in the endive family.  One fun fact I found while researching is that the endive is a member of the daisy family.  It is a chicory and cousins to romaine lettuce but somewhere along the lines they co-mingling among the daisies.

Escarole is really good for you!  It contains 6 times the dietary fiber as romaine lettuce, its high in Vitamin A, K and folate.  It contains minerals and antioxidants; all good for inhibiting free radicals from damaging your DNA.

Eat it and enjoy it!


Escarole and White Bean Soup                                                 servings: 6

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 small onion, sliced in 1" pieces
1 small red pepper, 1" chunks
3 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced
1 tsp rosemary
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1 head of escarole, easily found at the grocery store, coarsely chopped
5 cups liquid (I use a combination of broth, water, and veggie bouillon
1 can (12 oz) chopped tomatoes
1 can (1 5oz) small white beans (though if you prefer, you could do cannellini/ Great Northern White beans
salt and pepper
grating cheese

Instructions:

Heat oil in a large soup pot.  Gently saute onion and red pepper  for 10 minutes, stirring often and lowering heat to prevent burning.  Next add your garlic.  Cook for about 30 seconds and add rosemary and pepper flakes.  Stir in escarole just long enough to coat with oil and begin to wilt 2-4 minutes.  Add in water, broth and tomatoes. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.  With 5 minutes left stir in beans (make sure you rinsed them first!) and salt and pepper to taste.  Turn heat off.  Add 2 Tbs of grating cheese and stir.  Let stand for 10 minutes.  Serve.

The Many Ways To Bring Pumpkin To The Table

Pumpkins.  Its autumn and these orangish yellowish gourd-like squash are everywhere, mostly for decoration.  But realize that there are just so many opportunities for us to incorporate this fruit into our diets.  

Some history…the entomology of the word pumpkin originates from a Greek work meaning ‘large melon’.  And although a clear lineage hasn’t been recorded, most believe that the pumpkin’s ancestors began life in North America some 9000 years ago.

Health benefits…Research indicates that pumpkins contain phytochemicals, hence that bright orange hue, that may favorably affect our insulin and glucose levels. That orange color, as with carrots, sweet potatoes and butternut squash, is an indication that pumpkins have the well-known antioxidant beta-carotene, which researchers believe may play a role in cancer prevention (National Cancer Institute). Pumpkins also pack a punch of vitamin A with over 200% of our daily recommended value.  Remember, vitamin A is important for healthy vision.  Also included in the pumpkin: tryptophan, vitamin C, and potassium. Want more….?  Well.. pumpkins are an excellent source of fiber, not to mention they are low in calories; the end result: a food that helps us shed pounds!

All this information is great but we want to get to the heart of the matter…how can we enjoy the benefits of this fruit in our everyday diets.  No problem.  Here are some delicious and exciting ways to invite pumpkin in:

Pumpkin bread/muffins (see my previous post of an amazing recipe) http://www.vitaaterra.com/2011/10/moist-pumpkin-cake-or-muffins.html

Pumpkin Beer – here is a link to BeerAdvocate listing pumpkin beers, their brewers, and a rating.  Enjoy! http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/72

Pumpkin Ravioli: an easy, delicious, healthy 30 minute meal

Ingredients:

·         1 cup canned pumpkin

·         1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         1/8 teaspoon black pepper

·         24 wonton wrappers

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 cup chicken broth

·         1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

·         Chopped parsley

Instructions:

1.  Combine 1 cup pumpkin, 1/3 cup Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.

2. Spoon about 2 teaspoons pumpkin mixture into center of each wonton wrapper. Moisten edges of dough with water; bring 2 opposite sides together to form a triangle, pinching edges to seal.

3. Place ravioli into a large saucepan of boiling water with 1 teaspoon salt; cook 7 minutes, and drain in a colander.

4. Place 1/2 cup broth and 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in pan; bring to a boil. Add ravioli, tossing to coat. Sprinkle with parsley.

The list goes on....

Look for additional ways to bring pumpkin to the table with these fine ideas...

Pumpkin Risotto

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Soup

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

And feel free to contact me if you'd like any of these yummy pumpkin recipes or if you'd like me to create a personalized pumpkin dish.  

Happy Pumpkin Eating!

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happiness, strength, and love

 Sunflowers, or girasoli as they are called in Italian, are literally flowers that turn towards the sun, well in the bud stage that is.  As it flowers, a sunflower faces East.  This flower is native to the Americas and was introduced to Europe in the 16^th century.  Thus leading to production of sunflower oil for culinary purposes.  But the sunflower’s history goes back far beyond this.  It is believed that many indigenous native American peoples, including the Aztecs and the Incas, saw the sunflower as a symbol of their solar deity.   Spiritually sunflowers represent happiness, strength and love.

For me, these mammoth flowers became companions I saw through this fine summer.  I started them from seeds and nurtured them as if they were my babies.  They sprouted early in the summer and offered amazing pillars of green strength.  

sunflower plants spring up

Getting real tall, still no flowers

The sunflowers quickly grew to be giants.  The summer continued on and our sunflowers continued to flourish.  Minor incidents, such as, strong summer storms with whirling winds or ant colonies interested in a new endeavor, kept us engaged with our flowers long beyond their seedling days as we nurtured their life experience. 

Such a gift, these sunflowers not only provided strength and color and life to us, they attracted bees and bugs in search of nature’s pollen.  As the flowers matured, so did the seeds them grew out of the head of the flower.  To my great pleasure, we can connect a mathematical model to our dear sunflower.  The flower is in the form of Fermat’s spiral http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermat%27s_spiral and the mesh of spirals occurs in Fibonacci numbers.  

When the flowers reached heights of 15 feet and their own heaviness began to wear them down, we knew it was time to cut them down.  This was an undertaking, as the plants’ stalks had grown to the size of small trees.  We gently sawed them down and prepared the sunflower heads for drying.  Some recommendations suggest brown bagging the heads to dry.  I preferred leaving my heads out for several days to air dry before putting them upside down in a brown paper bag and tying closed for about 2 weeks.  When the seeds were dry, I harvested them right into my big metal bowl.  The flower is sappy and my hands got sticky and brown as I worked.

Once the seeds are harvested and dry it’s time to begin preparing them for a snack.  I boiled the seeds in a large pot of water with ¼ cup of coarse salt for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Then I strained and dried the seeds out before laying them on a large jelly roll sheet, which had been lightly oiled with olive oil.  I baked the seeds for 40 minutes and wah-la!  Oven roasted sunflower seeds that were cultivated in my backyard. 

Sunflower seeds: boiled, dried, oiled and roasted

Great news too…sunflower seeds are super packed with health benefits.  These seeds provide a significant amount of vitamin E, magnesium, and selenium.  Not to mention they’ll easily curb your hunger and occupy                               

                                                                                                      

your mouth.  Vitamin E is quite important for your health.  It is

a fat-soluble antioxidant that travels through the human body and neutralizes free radicals (that would otherwise cause damage to your cells.)  The magnesium helps to regulate nerve and muscle tone and selenium, which is a trace mineral, is suggested to lower incidence of cancer.  Delicious, satisfying, fun to eat and good for you!  Can’t beat that.

Visit the National Sunflower Association for a free downloadable sunflower coloring book!

http://www.sunflowernsa.com/all-about/coloring-book/

Scrumptious Pickles

Pickles are so scrumptious; they can sometimes just hit the spot – with that cool, crisp, salty snack.  When I planted the cucumber seeds this spring, I had no idea what fun I was in for.  I started with 5 measly seeds, planted them and tended to them.  Then with great surprise (even though its kind of the point), the plant begins to bear fruit.  In what feels like an instant the cucumbers are ready for pickin’.

As is my practice with freshly picked things, I gave my cucumbers a cold water bath.  It loosens the dirt on them and helps them adjust to separation from their plant.

The recipe below is for these scrumptious pickles.  My sister passed it along.  I’ve adjusted the measurements to allow for a bit milder flavor. 

Scrumptious Pickles

makes 3 pints

Boil the following mixture:3 cups water

1 ½ cups white vinegar

¼ cup sea salt, course

1 ½ Tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon turmeric

2 cloves (or ¼ teaspoon ground)              

1 bay leaf

1 Tablespoon mustard seed

Boil mixture, stirring just a few times.  Let mixture cool.

Wash your jars.

Slice cucumbers to your preference; I do long quarters.

Stand cukes in jars.  Crush garlic cloves and add to jar.

Pour brine over pickles.

Seal lids by screwing on.

Refrigerate. (I like to give my pickles a shake once a day to keep the brine moving.)

I recommend waiting at least a week before eating.  Some say it’s best to wait up to 3 weeks.

Pickles stay good for 2 months.