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Grocery Store Reflections

By Wardeh on December 31, 2008

I can’t quite think of the right title for this post. I am beginning it with the title “Grocery Store Rant”, but instead of “rant” I need a better word to describe my purpose. Maybe it will come to me by the time I finish writing this.

First, some background. I don’t go to the grocery store very often. We have Hummingbird Wholesale and Azure Standard to fill up our pantry with high quality, raw, organic, bulk foods. I receive those orders every month (Azure) or every other month (Hummingbird). Then, weekly, from a local organic farm, I get fruit and greens to supplement our home sprout growing with fresh produce. Also, I can get eggs, chicken and turkey from a local natural farm. Our grass-fed beef comes from a local farm as well. I go into a grocery store only a few times a year. Maybe once every other month.

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Posted in Reflections | Tagged grocery store | 7 Responses

My Results with the Artisan Bread

By Wardeh on December 31, 2008

sprouted-emmer-pizza-crust I am so encouraged by all of you who joined in the experiment to try the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.

In her comments, Tonda shared this video link, where the authors demonstrated this technique. Thank you so much for that link, Tonda! I believe it will turn my marginal results into much better bread!

Now I’ve seen that wet dough and know that it really must be a wet dough. In my experiments, I was going after a stiffer dough. Yes, wet, but stiffer. Granted, the video shows all-purpose flour being used which would have a hard time making a dense, heavy loaf anyway. Also, the video technique differs from the article’s technique, which makes me a little uncertain of which way to proceed.

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Posted in Experiments | Tagged artisan bread, Experiments | 2 Responses

Experiment: Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

By Wardeh on December 23, 2008

“Baking bread at home saves hundreds of dollars on groceries every year. With this easy method, each deliciously crusty-on-the-outside, moist-and-chewy-on-the-inside loaf will only cost you about 50 cents and 5 minutes a day. We’re not kidding!” — from Five Minutes a Day for Fresh-Baked Bread by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François.

I’m going to try this. This recipe/technique was included in the recent Mother Earth News (December 2008/January 2009). I think it will work well with my sprouted emmer wheat flour, which is lower in gluten. This technique is not dependent on gluten development for the great bread it promises.

Anyone else up for the experiment? Use any whole grain flour you’d like. Report back here and we can all learn from each other! I am going to start my experiment momentarily.

Posted in Experiments, Menus | Tagged artisan bread, emmer wheat, sprouted emmer wheat, sprouted grain flour | 15 Responses

Christmas Menu

By Wardeh on December 22, 2008

As I wrote at my Such Treasures blog, I prefer a low-key Christmas. So does my family. This means we all get on very together.

Still, we will have some good food, albeit not alot of dishes. Here’s what I’m planning.

Heirloom turkey from local farm, B & K Natural Farm. In the last year, we’ve enjoyed three turkeys from them and they were all fabulous. Just the best, most flavorful turkeys we’ve ever had. See my tips for a perfectly moist turkey every time.
Smashed red potatoes and gravy
Salad
Pumpkin Pie. I am going to try a sprouted grain pie crust for the first time. Hope it works! I wonder if my friend Tiffany has a recipe in her new cookbook?
Vanilla Ice Cream

And that’s it! We’re looking forward to the leftovers this year because we can have turkey sandwiches with sprouted grain bread. Ooh, sandwiches. This previously gluten-free family loves sandwiches again. We always did love sandwiches, but since we couldn’t have them for a couple of years, our current appreciation for them is heightened.

What’s on the menu for your families?

Posted in Menus | Tagged Menus | 2 Responses

Split Mung Bean Soup

By Wardeh on December 19, 2008

split-mung-bean-soup A happy accident last week. I ordered mung beans from Hummingbird Wholesale in Eugene, OR, but didn’t specify “whole”. I received split mung beans. I didn’t even know split mung beans existed. Well, they do. And they’re delicious.

Split mung beans are mung beans that have been stripped of their hull and then cleaned and split. They are small, yellow, and are quick cooking like split yellow or split green peas.

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Posted in Beans, Grains and Vegetables, Beans, Grains and Vegetables (Gluten-Free), Main Dishes, Main Dishes (Gluten-Free), Recipes, Soups and Stews, Soups and Stews (Gluten-Free) | 8 Responses

Warning: This Could Make You Mad

By Wardeh on December 9, 2008

Azure Standard’s sale fliers usually contain thought-provoking editorials. This month’s editorial really made me mad. Not against Azure but against the establishment that makes it so hard for people to eat well. Actually, “they” make it hard for people to survive, which is a much bigger deal. It reminds me of the book title by Joel Salatin, Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal: War Stories From the Local Food Front (which I haven’t read, yet).

If you have time (and feel up to feeling a little sick with the world), here is this month’s editorial online at Azure Standard: Extra! Extra! News and Information You May Have Missed by Susan Booth.

I refer in particular to #3 (Gov. Schwartzeneggar Vetoes Raw Milk Bill; Raw Organic Dairies Continue the Fight) and #5 (Terminator Seeds, GMO Crops Forced on Farmers; Suicide increasing among those scammed by Monsanto). I’m sorry there are no quick links; you’ll have to scroll down to get to #3 and then further on to get to #5.

Posted in News | Tagged azure standard, editorials | 3 Responses

Sprouting Grains for Bread

By Wardeh on December 4, 2008

Even though I’ve had a very busy month of November, I’ve continued to experiment with sprouting gluten grains and turning them into bread. We’ve now enjoyed bread baked from these sprouted grains: spelt, kamut and hard white wheat. None of these have caused any gluten-intolerance symptoms in those of my family who are gluten-sensitive. (Pictured at left: sprouted spelt bread, following my Spelt Bread recipe, subbing sprouted spelt flour for the regular spelt flour.)

You can imagine the joy in our house now that we are eating bread again. However, we are limited in our joy simply because I can’t get my hands on a good quantity of grains to keep us in regular supply (though that is about to change).

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Posted in Articles, Articles: Grains & Beans, Breads, Muffins and Crackers, Recipes | 4 Responses

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