Product Review

I made taco salad tonight w/ ground turkey like I usually do but instead of using one of those usual taco salad seasoning packets I used Simply Organic's Fish Taco seasoning packet.  YUMM!!!  From now on this will be my "secret recipe" for taco meat whether in taco salad or just plain 'ole tacos.  Still need to try it on fish but I bet it will be delicious!

While I'm talking about Simply Organic seasoning packets I might as well give my opinion on the other packets I've tried.

Mushroom Sauce - Yum!  I like to grill a chicken breast, put on top of Kashi 7 grain pilaf and put this sauce on top.  Or sometimes I just saute some mushrooms and mix w/ the same whole grain pilaf and mushroom sauce.

Sloppy Joe Seasoning - not a fan...tasted like a taco.  I'll stick with my usual recipe.

Pesticides in Produce

This is not a blog to tell you to eat organic, its just some information to keep you more informed.  If you are interested in organic foods this list might help you some.  Fruits/vegetables at the top of the list would be most beneficial to buy organic where foods at the bottom of the list you might want to do a cost comparison.  

http://www.foodnews.org/ (for more info)

The more that scientists learn about the toxicity of pesticides, the more questions are raised about the potential toxic effects on people. Pesticide manufacturers often portray these unresolved scientific issues, and the uncertainty that comes with them, as safety....Absence of knowledge is not proof of safety.

The philosophy behind the guide is simple: give consumers the information they need make choices to reduce pesticides in their diets. In this spirit, the Guide does not present a complex assessment of pesticide risks, but instead simply reflects the overall load of pesticides found on commonly eaten fruits and vegetables. This approach best captures the uncertainty of the risks of pesticide exposure and the value judgments involved in the choice to buy food with less pesticides.

Pesticides cause many adverse effects in well designed animal studies, from cancer, to nervous system damage, to reproductive effects. Rather than assign more weight to cancer than birth defects, we simply assumed that all adverse effects are equal. There is a significant degree of uncertainty about the health effects of pesticide mixtures. This ranking takes this uncertainty into account in the most defensible way possible, by simply ranking fruits and vegetables by their likelihood of being consistently contaminated with the greatest number of pesticides at the highest levels.

The Full List: 43 Fruits & Veggies

RANK	FRUIT OR VEGGIE	SCORE
1 (worst)	Peaches	100 (highest pesticide load)
2	Apples	96
3	Sweet Bell Peppers	86
4	Celery	85
5	Nectarines	84
6	Strawberries	83
7	Cherries	75
8	Lettuce	69
9	Grapes - Imported	68
10	Pears	65
11	Spinach	60
12	Potatoes	58
13	Carrots	57
14	Green Beans	55
15	Hot Peppers	53
16	Cucumbers	52
17	Raspberries	47
18	Plums	46
19	Oranges	46
20	Grapes-Domestic	46
21	Cauliflower	39
22	Tangerine	38
23	Mushrooms	37
24	Cantaloupe	34
25	Lemon	31
26	Honeydew Melon	31
27	Grapefruit	31
28	Winter Squash	31
29	Tomatoes	30
30	Sweet Potatoes	30
31	Watermelon	25
32	Blueberries	24
33	Papaya	21
34	Eggplant	19
35	Broccoli	18
36	Cabbage	17
37	Bananas	16
38	Kiwi	14
39	Asparagus	11
40	Sweet Peas-Frozen	11
41	Mango	9
42	Pineapples	7
43	Sweet Corn-Frozen	2
44	Avocado	1
45 (best)	Onions	1 (lowest pesticide load)

Citrus Quinoa Salad & Quinoa Tabouli

This 1st recipe I tried once and afterward there were some changes that I felt would make it much better.  The recipe below is the final product for Citrus Quinoa Salad.  I love the pop that quinoa has making it one of my favorite grains to cook with.  And its a great way to get your whole grains in!!

Citrus Quinoa Salad

1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained

2 cups fresh orange juice

2 cups water

kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup pine nuts

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded and finely diced

1 large beefsteak tomato (or tomatoes of choice), seeded and finely diced

3 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped basil

1/4 cup finely chopped mint

Juice of 1 large (or 2 small) lemons

In a medium saucepan, heat the 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the quinoa and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the orange juice, water and a generous pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat until the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and spread on a baking sheet to cool

In a medium skillet, toast the pine nuts over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer the pine nuts to a plate to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil with the vinegar. Add the quinoa, pine nuts, cucumber, green onions, tomato, basil, mint, fresh lemon juice and toss well, breaking up any lumps of quinoa. Season the salad with salt and pepper and serve.

I had never cooked quinoa in orange juice and loved the tangy-ness it gave the dish!  While this had some differences with the citrus flavor, basil, and pine nuts...the mint, cucumber, and green onion reminded me of tabouli so I figured I'd share my quinoa tabouli recipe as well since they're similar. 

Quinoa Tabouli

2 cups quinoa

4 cups hot water

1 cucumber, chopped

2 small tomatoes/1 large tomato, diced

6-8 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped

2 cups fresh parsley, chopped

1 clove garlic minced

Dressing: 

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt & pepper to taste.

Cook quinoa, similar to above recipe.  Let cool and squeeze quinoa dry of any water.  Combine the salad ingredients in medium bowl.  Combine the dressing ingredients in separate bowl and stir into salad mixture.  Chill salad for flavors to mix. Serve chilled or at room temp.

**Note, for a traditional tabouli substitute cracked wheat (bulgur) in place of quinoa

See?? Very similar w/ some slight differences.  Whatever your preference!  :)

More favorite products

Kashi Lemon Rosemary Chicken

Kashi Ranchero Beans

Progressive Lettuce Keeper

The Magic Bullet

Beef-Barley Soup

This is a recipe I tried from the Feb 05 issue of Fitness. It's a pretty basic Beef and Barley soup but the broth did come out more flavorful than I expected. There are no carrots in my pic because I don't like cooked carrots much but they are in the recipe if you like them.

Beef-Barley Soup

1/2 pound beef sirloin, cut into 2 inch cubes

salt and pepper

1 tsp olive oil

2 carrots, sliced

1 large onion, chopped, about 1 cup (I used 2 shallots)

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

5 garlic gloves, smashed and chopped

1/2 cup red wine (*or* wine substitutions include non-alcoholic wine, beef broth/stock, diluted red wine vinegar, red grape juice diluted with red wine vinegar or rice vinegar, or tomato juice)

6 cups beef broth

1 can (14 1/2 oz) chopped tomatoes (recipes called for drained, I put the liquid in the soup for extra flavor)

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup cooked barley

Season beef cubes w/ salt and pepper. In a large pot over medium heat, brown beef on all sides in oil. Do not turn pieces until one side is browned. Pour off any excess fat and set beef to the side. Add carrots, onion, mushrooms, and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring 3 minutes. Pour in wine (or substitute), increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil; cook, scraping the bottom of the pot, 2 minutes, or until liquid is reduced by half. Add the rest of the ingredients except barley, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add beef, and let simmer 1 hour. Stir in uncooked barley and simmer 1 hour, or until barley is cooked through. Remove bay leaf before serving. Be sure to let the stew cook slowly so that only small bubbles come to the surface. Otherwise the meat may not be as tender.

Make 6 servings

Nutrition info per serving: 198 calories, 15g protein, 20g carbs, 6g fat, 4g fiber

Marinated Mushrooms

1 lb white button mushrooms, washed and stems removed

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 c fresh rosemary leaves

1/2 c Italian parsley leaves

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 cup olive oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Halve or quarter the mushrooms if needed, depending on size.  Combine the garlic, mustard, rosemary, parsley, salt, and pepper in a food processor until smooth in consistency (You may need to add a little of the olive oil to get it to blend evenly).  Transfer to a medium bowl and whisk together with the olive oil and vinegar, until you have a thick dressing.  Toss the mushrooms in the dressing until well coated.  Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve chilled or at room temp.

I obviously scaled the recipe down some because I did not need a lb of marinated mushrooms.  These were pretty good.  The marinade can also be used for dipping bread as well.  I loved the addition of Dijon mustard.

Sicilian Lentil Soup

I apologize for the long dry spell!  December I was busy visiting my family and letting my Dad cook for me!  And I'm not getting as many posts from others which puts a little more pressure to make sure there are enough recipes  :)

Here's a recipe I tried from the Williams-Sonoma website.

Sicilian Lentil Soup

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 garlic glove, minced

1 tsp minced fresh rosemary

1 eggplant, cut into small cubes

3 cups cooked green lentils

1 oz of small or short pasta of choice

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, warm 1 Tbsp of olive oil.  Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 4 minutes,  Add the remaining 1 Tbsp of oil, garlic, rosemary, and eggplant.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the eggplant is translucent and starts to soften.

Add sauteed vegetables, lentils, pasta, cinnamon, and 6 cups water to a pot.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered until the eggplant is tender and the pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.

My trick for amazing sauteed onions is to saute them in garlic infused oil.  In this recipe I used garlic oil and didn't have to put in the mince garlic clove (you can substitute or use both depending on preference and strength of oil).  I also like to use shallots because I love the natural sweetness.

For this recipe I cooked my pasta first, I used mini bow ties.  Then I put all the ingredients in my crock pot on high until the soup was done.  I'll be honest I didn't put the cinnamon in the soup because I didn't think I'd like that flavor.  The broth was a little bland so I put in a couple Tbsp of chicken bouillon.  After that the soup turned out delicious.  For some reason I didn't like the eggplant because of the texture and lack of flavor, even though I normally like eggplant.  I think I would make this again but add some squash instead.