Oatmeal - A Simple Answer to Food Confusion

Our desire to be healthier, happier and have a healthy body are constantly exploited by marketers in their effort to push products.  Our memories of home cooked food is triggered while we are told we neither have the time or skill to recreate this food ourselves.  Kraft Homestyle is pimping low quality factory food and trying to convince us that it is the great home cooked meal we long for.  McCains runs commercials trying to convince us that pealing a potato is well beyond our skill level so we have to buy there frozen processed microwavable ‘product’.  Superstore produces an expensive commercial to push their blue menu bagels.  This is one of the worst bagels I have ever tasted and is not health food.  It contains corn sweeteners that are horrible for us, and a chemical soup including , monoglycerides, calcium propionate, diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides, sorbic acid, ascorbic acid, L-Cysteine hydrochloride, amylase.  Good thing their caring ‘President’ is selective in his choices for our table.  

There are 2 reasons that companies have to spend millions of dollars on commercials that not only insult our intelligence but underestimate our skill and under mine our confidence in the kitchen. 

• Their products are for the most part crap.  They use over processed poor quality ingredients which do not meet our nutritional needs.

• If we take the time to think about it we will realize we are more than capable of meeting both our taste and nutritional needs without them.

All of this is just too much so I am launching www.foodthug.com.  I want this blog to stay positive and focus on good food and good food providers so I have created another site for my alter ego to blog on.  More on the above there.

Now for one simple answer to all of this kitchen confusion: Oatmeal !!!!

The simple, humble oat provides us with many of the health and taste benefits we desire. Studies have indicated that oats have properties that:

• lower cholesterol helping to prevent heart disease
• contain fiber that will slow the digestive process helping us lose weight
• control blood glucose levels helping prevent type 2 diabetes
• contains vitamins, minerals & antioxidants all of which are keys to good health

Oatmeal is also inexpensive, easy to use and it tastes great.  Who doesn't like a nice oatmeal cookie, granola is great and oats can be used in waffles, pancakes, muffins and yes even making hot cereal.  I have hyperlinked the oatmeal recipes I already have up and I will for sure blog more.

Simple foods can be amazing, and are easy to use.  One of the things marketers are taught is to create a need then fill it.  They have made food (which has been around for ever) seem complex and beyond our grasp.  We are smarter than that!

We need to take our health and happiness into our own hands.  We all have the basic skills we need to make great food, don’t let marketers rob you of great food adventures. 

Pictured here :

Oatmeal : Speerville Mills - An Atlantic Canadian Company producing amazing milled grain products.

Simply Delicious Homemade Granola

I am developing a serious case of oatmeal dependency.  I have started increasing the amount of oatmeal in my diet and have discovered that on days I eat oatmeal I have more energy and don’t feel the desire for those mid day nibbles that can be so detrimental.  

Granola is a simple and easy way to get my oatmeal fix.  I make granola about once a week now and it is a household staple.  It is easy to make, and you can play with the mix of spices to create a product that meets your personal needs.  I have designed a simple base for my granola that includes oats, nuts, maple sugar & syrup, and spices that I enjoy.  I do not add dried fruit to the granola I make it I add it when I make my bowl so I can have a variety of flavors through the week.

Ingredients 

2 pounds large rolled oats

2 cup fine chopped walnuts

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup slivered almonds

1.5 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup canola oil

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg 

2 tsp maple sugar

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees

Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper or if at all possible silicon mats (they are a beautiful kitchen tool).  I prefer the heavy cookie sheets that you can get at Costco.

In a large bowl add  the rolled oats, walnuts, sunflower seeds and almonds in a large bowl and toss with your hands to combine.  Sprinkle in the spices, salt and maple sugar and again toss well with your hands.  In a small bowl combine the maple syrup and canola oil and whisk then add half to the dry ingredients, mix well with your hand.  Then add the rest and mix again.  Be sure to get down to the bottom and toss the spices in.  Rub together with your hands and make sure the oats get coated with flavor.  Yes you will get your hands dirty but we all love that when we were kids right! :)

Spread the mixture evenly over your cookie sheets and place in the oven.  After 10 minutes take them out of the oven stir making sure you move the granola on the edges to the middle, this is what will burn or overcook.  Rotate the pans top to bottom and put back in the oven for 10 minutes more.  Again remove from the oven and stir.  It is done when lightly golden.  If it needs more time do it 5 minutes at a time as when the moisture level goes down it cooks a lot faster.  Keep an eye on it at the end.  It should not take longer than 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely then store in a large zip top bag.

You can serve with milk, yogurt, different fresh and dried fruits, it is a great base to an amazing breakfast.

Thanks to my local suppliers:

Oats :                                  Speerville Mills 

Organic Maple Sugar:     Coulis Divin         

Maple Syrup:                    Acadian Maple Products

Fair Trade Cinnamon and Ginger from:     

JamesLea - Bio foods International

Also Pictured in this recipe:

Dried Cranberries: Terra Beata Cranberry Farm

Dried Blueberries:  Noggins Corner Farm Market
Vanilla Yogurt:        Fox Hill Cheese House

Fruit of the above purchases from Noggins Corner Farm Market at the Halifax Seaport Farm Market

Ricotta Cheese with Fox Hill Milk

I love italian food.  Can't get enough of it.  I have already given you a recipe for a great tomato sauce, and now I will show you how to make ricotta cheese.  Ricotta is used as a filling for ravioli or other stuffed pasta, it is used in lasagna and is also fantastic for making all kinds of desserts.  You can get ricotta in the stores but trust me this is much better.  It is so soft, smooth, and creamy.  It has a clean rich flavor that can't be matched by the cheese you get at your local factory food outlet.

This recipe uses 2 L of Fox Hill milk and will yield about half a pound of ricotta.  It is very simple to do and it will be worth the effort.  If you do not use Fox Hill Milk then you will need to as about 3/4 cup of cream into the mixture to get a nice rich ricotta.  I have made this a number of times and I can tell you honestly tell you using Fox Hill’s milk results in the best ricotta that I have had.  It only makes sense as the more natural the product the better the results will be.

I will be using this cheese in several recipes I will blog later but this will go great in any recipe you have that uses ricotta cheese.  

Ingredients

2 L Unhomogenized Milk or 2 L Whole Milk and 3/4 cup cream

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp salt

Cheese Cloth (this will be required to drain the cheese)

Add the milk and salt to a heavy bottom pot or dutch oven and heat the milk to 180 degrees.  Be careful to not let the milk boil.  Make sure you put the thermometer into the milk deep enough to get an accurate reading.  When the milk is to temperature add in the lemon juice and gently stir it in one or two stirs, do not aggressively stir because you do not want the curds to be broken up.  

Turn the heat to low and allow to cook for 15 minutes longer.  Again do not let it come to a boil.  After 15 minutes turn off the pot and cover.  Allow to sit for about 30 minutes to an hour or until you see the curds formed and the liquid separating.  You will see the milk curdle when you add the lemon juice this is not what you are looking for.  You want the milk solids to really form up or the liquid will not strain off.

When this is completed line a colander with several layers of cheese cloth.  Slowly pour the mixture into the cheese cloth and allow to drain until all of the liquid has passed through.  (About 30 min to an hour).  You can then take the cheese and put it in a storage container and refrigerate or use it right away.  It will stay fresh 2 to 3 days.

Special thanks to Fox Hill Cheese House for making such a wonderful product.

Fox Hill Cheese House HAS MILK!!!!!!

I have been a big fan Fox Hill Cheese House for 4 or 5 years now.  I have an issue with commercial milk products.  Something in the processing causes me to have itching on my hands and I get stuffed up.  I thought I was reacting to dairy products which was really strange because it was never an issue for the first 30 years of my life.  Being a cheese freak I could not stop eating cheese and when I heard about Fox Hill I drove right up the next weekend for some cheese.  The first thing I noticed was that I did not react.  I decided to test it out and went back and bought some gelato and some cheese curd and consumed it all in one night (the sacrifices we make).  No reaction at all.  I was thrilled.  I have been a customer ever sense.

When I was visiting them I heard the story of how they graze, and care for their cows.  How much care they take to ensure there are no antibiotics in their milk and how they use their own milk to make their products.  The level of pride they show in their business and the food they produce shows through.  You can tell that pleasing their customers is the priority of Fox Hill.

When they came out with bottled milk I had to try it and ran down to the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market to get my bottle (ok, 3 bottles, oh yeah got 5 more...).  The milk is pasteurized so no fear there but except for that and the Vitamin D they have to put in it is unprocessed.  You have to shake it because the cream will rise to the top but when you drink it, wow, fresh cold milk, you can taste the cream and natural sugars.  It is amazing.  I had my first glass of milk & cookies for the first time in years.  It is by far the best milk I have ever had.  And no reaction at all. 

Factory milk essentially has the crap kicked out of it, they separate off all the cream using a centrifuge, high temperature pasteurize it, then pump in milk fat to the prescribed percentage, add back vitamins they destroy in the processing of the milk and homogenize the milk.  Of course this allows them to use the cream in other applications, make modified milk ingredients and allows dairies to make more profit off their raw material.  The final product is not however whole milk.  As with most things produced in factories you end up with a poor copy of the real thing.

At 3 dollars a liter the milk is cheaper than the organic milk sold in the factory food outlets and is a far superior product.   I am very excited to have this available to me and I encourage you to go try a bottle (just leave one or three for me).  If you have a chance go up to their Port Williams location and take the time to talk to them about their operation.  You will be impressed by the level of pride and commitment to quality that they have.  You will also get some of the best gelato available.  If you don't want to take the trip to the valley then visit them at the market and you can get a sample of their milk (and gelato).  

Oatmeal Corn Waffles

I really enjoy waffles.  All those little pockets to hold syrup and butter, or a nice fruit sauce.  They are a real treat on a weekend morning, and the left overs can be popped in the toaster for a nice treat in a week day morning.  I know there are waffle like substances available from your local factory food outlet, but we deserve better.

I will be releasing a number of waffle recipes on the blog, including a traditional wheat flour waffle, a herb and parmesan cheese waffle which is an amazing base for poached eggs and smoked salmon and a chocolate desert waffle which would be amazing topped with Fox Hill Cheese Coconut Gelato.

But for today I am going to give you my favorite hearty waffle recipe.  This recipe is a cross between a waffle and a bowl of flavorful oatmeal.  It is crispy on the outside and soft and a little creamy on the inside.  A couple of these waffles will give you the energy you need to start the day.

Ingredients: 

7 Cups of Rolled Oats

1.5 Cups of Corn Meal

8 Cups of Hot Water

1 Cup of Apple Cider

1/4 Cup of Canola Oil

3 Tbsp of Honey or (Brown Sugar to make it Vegan)

2 Tbsp of Vanilla Extract

1.5 Tbsp Cinnamon

2 Tsp Sea Salt

1/2 Cup Currents

1 Apple Cored and Diced

In a large mixing bowl combine the first 9 ingredients (not the apples or currents) and stir to combine.  Allow this to sit for about 20 minutes to allow the grains to hydrate and absorb the flavors.  

While waiting heat up a waffle iron if it is variable heat it to medium heat.

Using an immersion blender blend up the batter a little bit, it is ok to have flakes of oats left but the batter should be mostly smooth.  Then stir in the currents and diced apples.  You can blend this in small batches in a blender but really get an immersion blender because it is so much cleaner. (Well for me anyway :))

When the iron is heated, spray with no stick spray and cover the bottom plate with batter.  This is not leavened so it will not rise much so don't worry about filling it up.  It wont expand and overflow.  These waffles take a while to finish cooking as they contain a lot of moisture, cook them until they are crisp on the outside and the steam is no longer pouring out of the waffle iron.  It takes 5 to 8 min a waffle.  They should be golden brown in color.  Serve right away, if you are going to freeze the left overs allow them to cool on a cooling rack and then freeze.  They reheat beautifully in a toaster.

These are very flavorful and very good for you.  They are low in fat and oats are one of the best grains you can eat.  For my vegetarian and vegan friends they can be made with no animal products.  Having said that these waffles do not sacrifice any flavor in order to be healthy.  Give them a try.

Thanks to my Local Suppliers:

Oats: Speerville Mills

Honey: Cosman and Whidden Honey Ltd

Apple Cider: Pasture Hill Farm

Apples: Noggins Corner Farm

Also Pictured:

Berkshire Bacon: Active Life Farms

Fresh Mint: Riverview Herbs

As always thanks to the Halifax Seaport Farm Market for giving me a place to connect with my suppliers.

The Coastal Cafe - Very Creative Eats for Sure

One of the keys to creativity is confidence.  In order to produce an exceptional and original product you have to be comfortable with who you are and know that what you are bringing to the table is outstanding.  This creativity and confidence is evident when visiting The Costal Cafe in Halifax.  

To quote their website  “We don't provide the ultimate dining experience, nor do we demonstrate pretentions over your latte. We are honest, and our simple mission is to provide the best food and coffee without any bullshit.”  I can tell you after a couple visits they achieve this.  The people are very friendly, they keep it warm and welcoming and as a result there is a wide cross section of people that eat there.  

I will tell you that I am no coffee expert, I know what i like and what I don't (Sorry Tim Horton’s but your coffee is sour to me).  There is something about the coffee here that makes it craveable.  I cant break it down for you so you will have to go try it yourself and comment back here and let me know what makes it so special.  It is however among the best I have ever had.

Now for the food.  I have been there for breakfast and not breakfast (this is what they call lunch).  Both times I have left with a big smile and was impressed with the little creative touches that they add to their food.

When we went for breakfast I had the Huevos Rancheros Toros Locos.  This is three eggs over easy on corn tortillas with fajita beef, black beans, guacamole and pico de gallo.  The tortillas were crispy and salty, the eggs were spot on (I hate over cooked eggs) and the balance of flavors was perfect.  The best little touch was the sour on the guacamole that perfectly set off the richness of the eggs, meat and cheese.

My dining companion had the Eggs Oslo, which is 2 beautifully poached eggs on a parsnip rosti (think thick potato pancake but better) on a butternut squash jam and a red wine cranberry syrup.  The eggs were cooked perfectly and the rosti was very flavorful.  The butternut squash jam was a first for me so I dipped in and tried it and it was sweet and flavorful.  The sour component of the dish was the red wine cranberry syrup which could have been a little more sour to our tastes but we both really enjoy sour.

I am a big fan of breakfast and I can honesty say this is the most interesting breakfast menu I have seen in a long time.  They have taken the time to put a lot of creativity into their food and it is worth the little extra that you pay.  Not only are you getting really good food which is fresh, local and well prepared but you are going to experience something new and wonderful each time you go there.  I can't wait for winter to end to see what their spring breakfast menu looks like.  Though I still have to work my way through the rest of their winter menu, hmmmm a foodies work is never done.

Now as a rule I do not blog about a restaurant unless I go at least twice.  So today I ventured over to have some not breakfast.  Again I was impressed with the little creative touches on the menu.  I ordered the Tempura Haddock Burger.  This is served with a ginger wasabi mayo and sesame peppers, a beautiful salad and some thin cut homemade fries tossed with fresh herbs.  The fish was perfectly cooked, moist and fresh.  The batter was crispy and it was served on a lightly toasted english muffin.  The peppers added a nice fresh element and the ginger wasabi mayo was a real flavor treat.  When I was served the fries I was asked if I wanted ketchup, after one tasted I declined so I could enjoy the taste of the potatoes and herbs.  The salad was fresh and light and beautifully dressed.  

If you want to have a special meal in an open, friendly and unique environment and if you enjoy creative well prepared food The Coastal Cafe needs to go on your list of places to try.  Click on the hyperlink at the top of the blog to go to their website and check out the menu, there will be something there you just have to try. 

Beef and Barley Soup - A Hearty Winter Warmer

On a cold snowy day there is nothing better than a hearty hot soup to fill you up.  A thick soup with big pieces of flavorful beef, sweet savory carrots and tender barley really hits the spot.

As alway I try to source local product to make my soup and I use my homemade beef stock base which I keep in my freezer.  With the stock already made this is a quick and easy supper idea and leftovers make a great work day lunch.

Ingredients

1 tbsp of Grape Seed Oil (vegetable oil will work as well)

1 pound of Stew Beef cut into 1/2 inch cubes and trimmed of excess fat

2 Medium Potatoes - 1/2 inch cubes

1 Medium Onion rough chopped

3 Large Carrots sliced

2 Stalks of Celery - sliced

1/4 cup of pearl barley

2 Cloves of Garlic - chopped 

1 tbsp Tomato Paste

2 tsp Paprika

1/2 Cup Dry Red Wine

8 - 10 Cups of Homemade Beef Stock

2 tsp Sea Salt

1 tsp Black Pepper

Fresh Thyme 6-8 sprigs

Fresh Rosemary 2-3 sprigs 


Heat up the oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat.  Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper to the beef and add to the hot oil.  When the beef is about half browned add in the paprika and tomato paste and continue cooling until the beef is nicely browned.  Remove the beef from the pot and add in the potatoes, onion, celery, barley and carrots.  Cook until the onions start to get a little color stirring occasionally, add in the garlic and cook until the garlic starts to turn a very light brown.  Be careful not to overcook the garlic.  

Add the beef back into the pot and deglaze the bottom of the pan with the red wine.  Continue cooking until about 1/3 of the wine has cooked off and then add in your beef stock.  Tie together with butchers twine the herbs and add into the pot.

Heat to a simmer and allow to simmer for about an hour, or until the potatoes and beef are nice and tender.  At this point add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Thanks to My Local Nova Scotia Suppliers

Beef - from Getaway Farms

Vegetables - from Noggins Corner Farm

Garlic - from Active Life Farms

Red Wine - from Jost Vineyards

Herbs from Riverview herbs (Located at the Halifax Seaport Market)