Stretching staples

We all know what it’s like to have something go bad or go stale. It’s no fun to waste food and the money that went towards buying it. When cooking on a budget, it’s important to use as much of the food that you buy as possible. Wasted food is wasted money and nutrition. Sometimes we have foods that can be stretched longer than the first use. For instance, rice can be used as the grain portion for one meal and then be turned into a rice salad with vegetables or even rice pudding. Bread is another example of a food that can be stretched beyond its first use. It can be used to accompany a meal and then turned into a wonderful bread salad with olives, tomatoes, basil, olive oil and garlic- yum yum yum. Other foods that can have a variety of uses are beans, frozen berries and canned vegetables. Martha Shulman, from the New York Times wrote an article on using stale bread and some accompanying recipes. Here is a delicious looking one:

Majorcan Bread and Vegetable Soup

This thick soup is traditionally made with day-old bread, which soaks up much of the broth. Add a poached egg if you want an even more substantial meal.

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 bunch scallions, white and light green parts only, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced, plus 1 additional clove, cut in half

1 green pepper, cored, seeded and finely chopped

2 tablespoons minced parsley

1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes with juice

3/4 pound green cabbage, coarsely chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

5 cups water or vegetable stock

1/2 pound spinach or Swiss chard, stemmed, washed and coarsely chopped

12 slices country bread (about 1/2 pound), stale or lightly toasted

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat in a large ovenproof casserole. Add the scallions and onion. When they begin to soften, after about three minutes, stir in the minced garlic, green pepper and parsley. Stir together for a minute or two, then cover and turn heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes, turn heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often, for five minutes. Add the cabbage, salt to taste and pepper. Cover, turn heat to low and cook slowly for 15 minutes. Add the water or stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the spinach or chard, and bring back to a simmer. Cover and simmer for five to 10 minutes until the greens are very tender and the broth is fragrant. Taste and adjust seasonings.

2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Rub both sides of the bread with a cut clove of garlic. Place a layer of bread slices in a large earthenware casserole, and ladle on soup to cover. Make another layer of bread, and ladle on more soup to cover. Repeat with the remaining bread, and add the remaining soup. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil, transfer to the oven and bake 10 minutes, uncovered. Serve hot or warm.

Yield: Serves six.

Advance preparation: The dish can be done through Step 1 three days before serving and kept in the refrigerator.

Nutritional information per serving: 216 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 32 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 371 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 5 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman is the author of "The Very Best of Recipes for Health."

Find more recipes here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/health/nutrition/18recipehealth.html?ref=stalebread

Be sure to use whole grain breads when you can. Bon appétit!

Janna

Exercise!

I hope that in these past few weeks, everyone has had the opportunity to get outside at least once and move around. It has been sunny and somewhat warm- take advantage of it when you can!

This past week we saw a beginning and an ending. I began another Cooking Matters para adultos course and Erika ended a Cooking Matters for Adults course. I’m really excited about the enthusiasm and energy that I encountered during the first class. We made Ratatouille with cous cous which was excellent- a warm, filling recipe that certainly packs a nutritional punch with all of the vegetables in it. Erika’s class ended with a variety of dishes- fruit smoothies, almond butter and sunflower seed balls and corn and black eye pea salad complemented by dishes brought in by class participants- sambusas and tamales, both delectable. I can’t wait to see what kinds of food we will have at my last class!

Because it has been so sunny recently, I think it’s important to discuss exercise. We’re moving into the time of year where the weather outside is so wonderful you’d have to make up an excuse to stay indoors on the couch! The benefits of exercise have been documented far and wide. It can help boost your mood, keep weight down, keep diabetes at bay, improve your fitness level, increase muscle and bone mass while decreasing fat mass and make you feel great all around. The USDA recommends that adults get 30 minutes of physical activity a day and that kids get 60 minutes a day. It may seem like a lot of time but it really isn’t! Think about ho many minutes there are in a day: 1440. Certainly you can move around for at least 30 of those minutes. It does not have to be intense exercise either, moderate activity (enough to make it somewhat difficult to talk) is sufficient and the 30 minutes do not have to occur all at the same time. You can break them up into 3 10 minute segments if that makes it more manageable and likely that you will do it. It’s also important to incorporate some strength training so that you don’t lose muscle. I like to count carrying groceries from the store to my home (about a 10 min walk) as a good arm workout. Sometime I even lift the grocery bags up and down and pretend that I’m doing bicep curls. Anyone who has volunteered with us knows that carrying all of the supplies from our car to the class room certainly counts as weight lifting!

Some suggestions for getting more physical activity:

- Take the stairs instead of the elevator

- Go for a walk after dinner

- Park further away from your destination so that you walk more

- Do something fun like dancing

- Ask a friend if they would like to go for a walk instead of going to a café to catch up

The Harvard School of Public Health has more suggestions here: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/staying-active/tips-for-getting-exercise-into-your-life/index.html

Both the New York Times and the Harvard School of Public Health have great overviews on exercise and why it is important:

http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/specialtopic/physical-activity/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/staying-active/staying-active-full-story/index.html

Now get out and do something active!

Janna

Seasonable Greens

Another wet weekend! When will I stop being surprised? Last week was full classes. I graduated my third class after 6 weeks full of learning and cooking. All the women really enjoyed the course and wrote great things on their evaluations. They talked about how they learned to read labels better, pick healthier foods and cook things, such as quinoa, which they had never cooked before. In the other classes I shadowed, we made peanut noodles, salmon patties with mango salsa and orange walnut pancakes- all scrumptious!

In giving the grocery store tours these past few weeks, I’ve noticed that there is not a lot of produce that is really fresh and in season. We still have apples from fall and oranges from winter, but what is really in season now? Greens! Greens, such as kale, collards and Swiss chard are in season now. We introduced kale to the women in one of my classes this week. They had never seen or heard of it before, but after tasting sautéed kale with garlic, red pepper flakes and balsamic vinegar, they were sold. Many people have seen greens and heard about how fantastic they are nutritionally, but do not know what to do with them. My aunt loves to send me yummy recipes she has seen in the newspaper and tried out. Last week she sent me Swiss Chard and Chickpea minestrone from Margaret Shulman’s Recipes for Health from the New York Times. It looks so beautiful with all of the colors and textures it features.

Not only are greens beautiful, they also provided lots of vitamins and minerals. Margaret Shulman says in her article on Swiss Chard, “It’s the most versatile of greens, and an excellent source of calcium and potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A and beta-carotene.” ¹ She also provides a great tip on how to preserve the nutrients in greens when cooking: “Some of you have asked why I blanch greens before using them in dishes. I find it’s the most efficient way to wilt them quickly and evenly, and they aren’t boiled so long -- just a minute or two — that the nutrients are depleted.” ¹

You can see some of her recipes and read the article in full if you follow this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/health/nutrition/28recipehealth.html?ref=nutrition

You can also make this simple side dish to incorporate more greens into your meals:

Brazilian- Style Sautéed Greens

By chef Jessica Grosman, Boston, MA

Serves 4, ½ cup per serving

Ingredients:

1 pound collard greens

4 medium cloves garlic

2 Tablespoons canola oil

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Remove stems from each collard green leaf.
2. Stack the leaves on top of each other and roll them tightly into a tube shaped bundle of leaves. Make multiple stacks if there are too many leaves to roll into one bundle.
3. Use a sharp knife to slice the bundles into ¼ inch wide strips
4. Place all cut greens in a large bowl and fill with cold water, allowing any dirt to settle to the bottom of the bowl. If greens are very dirty, repeat this step.
5. Peel and mince garlic.
6. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add canola oil.
7. Lift greens out of the bowl, shaking off any excess water and place in hot skillet. Use caution as the oil might splatter when the damp greens are placed in the hot pan. If the greens can’t all fit in the pan at once, cook in two batches.
8. Stir the greens to cook evenly, about 1-2 minutes
9. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic. Sauté until all greens are fully evaporated cooked, about 5-7 minutes and any excess water has evaporated. If garlic starts to brown or burn, reduce heat to medium low until greens are fully cooked.
10. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Chef’s notes

- Try chard, kale or any other leafy greens instead of collards.

Enjoy your vitamins and new way to cook seasonal greens.

Janna

¹A Versatile Vegetable for a Chilly Spring. Martha Shulman. The New York Times, Health Section. Mar 28, 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/health/nutrition/28recipehealth.html?ref=nutrition