Red Wine Barley Risotto and No Sugar Apple Butter

After breakfast Dan decided to head to his home office on the third floor and try to catch up on some paperwork. Before he headed upstairs we talked more about lunch. I liked his idea to use barley but I really wasn’t in the mood for barley soup. I suggested barley in the risotto style and he thought that sounded good. I used to make a red wine risotto so I decided to make that with barley for lunch. Since we also have fresh criminis and shitakes I thought they would be good on top of the barley. With the cooler temperatures I also though red cabbage would be good plus it gets another blue/purple veggies serving into us. Here is what I made today:

Red Wine Barley in the Risotto Style Topped with Mushrooms and Red Cabbage
Serves 4

Barley Ingredients:

½ red onion, finely minced
½ cup water to sauté the onion
1 ½ cups hulled barley
750ml bottle good red wine (I used an Amarone a northern Italian raisinated wine)
water necessary to fully cook barley (will be added slowly see instructions)
½ tablespoons fresh minced rosemary
black pepper to taste

Topping Ingredients:

½ red onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup of water to sauté onions
½ pound crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
½ pound fresh shitake caps, thinly sliced (save stems in the freezer for mushroom stock)
2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
½ tablespoon fresh minced rosemary
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ cup walnuts + ½ cup water processed in a blender until completely smooth
½ tablespoon arrowroot dissolved in ½ tablespoon of water

Garnish ingredients:

1 tablespoons chives, finely minced
2 tablespoons walnuts, roughly chopped

Directions:

Sauté the onion in water until it is starting to get tender, about 3 minutes, add the barley and ¼ of the bottle of red wine. Stir to coat all the barley with the wine and cook over medium heat until most of the wine has been absorbed. Add the rosemary and more wine and continue to cook. You will need to add all the wine plus more water to cook the barley until it is tender. This will take about 45 minutes. Before serving taste for seasoning and adjust to your taste.

For the topping water sauté the onions for 3 minutes then add the mushrooms, cabbage, rosemary and pureed walnuts. When the cabbage is lightly wilted add the arrowroot slurry. Taste for seasonings and adjust to your taste.

To serve top the barley with the mushroom topping and finish with chopped walnuts and chives. I considered topping this dish with a lightly dressed herb salad but changed to chives since fresh herbs are something that my mother tends to pick out of food. Before you ask I have no idea why she does that. Just another thing I need to be mindful of when cooking for her.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 618.83 **
Calories From Fat (18%) - 111.4

Total Fat - 13.3g
Saturated Fat - 1.38g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 40.73mg
Potassium - 1178.97mg
Total Carbohydrates - 81.27g **
Fiber - 18.01g
Sugar - 4.38g
Protein - 14.61g

** The total calories in this dish was overstated by the alcohol which was burned off during cooking. Since there is controversy on how much remains I left all the alcohol in the numbers above knowing it was too high.

Comments:

Dan and I both really enjoyed this. The dish has a complex flavor that is dependent on the wine. This dish is very easy to make but you must use a wine you would drink by the glass. Cooking concentrates the flavor of the wine so only use one you love. We are big fans of red Italian wine which is why I used Amarone. Always taste the wine before you cook with it. If the wine has faults by the glass those will be more pronounced once you cook it and concentrate the flavor. From experience I can tell you that using bad wine will ruin a dish.

To accompany the risotto we also had a quick salad of romaine, thinly shaved carrot, cucumber and radish and diced tomato. I dressed this with the Dijon, red wine vinegar and stevia I mentioned yesterday. Sorry, I still didn’t measure anything for the dressing again today.

Dinner:

Dinner tonight was a big salad very similar to the one we had with lunch, only twice the size. Dan also had a bowl of leftover mushroom dahl from last night since he needed the calories. Eating more like me yesterday he dropped two pounds when he got on the scale this morning. *shakes head* Wouldn’t it be nice to lose weight as quickly as men seem to be able to, not that I will ever know. ;-)

About 45 minutes after the salad and dahl Dan wanted to have a big bowl of strawberry banana soft serve. As you can tell he loves that stuff. I had about ¼ cup of it which I did not photograph.

Breakfast:

Since it is a weekday we are back to the grind first thing this morning. It is tough to get moving when it is dark and raining when you wake up. Like usual I was making fresh veggie and fruit juice for Dan to take to work with his lunch.

Due to the cold rainy weather this morning we decided a hot bowl of oatmeal was particularly appealing. The oatmeal this morning was topped with my homemade no sugar apple butter. This is a great use for the apple butter I think.

Making apple butter is more of a method than a recipe. I took 8 apples which I cored (but did not peel) and cut into chunks. I put the chunks in the Vitamix with the juice of one lemon (which is optional you could use water or white wine). Process everything until it is completely smooth. Pour the mixture into a low flat pan and cook over low heat, stirring often to make certain it doesn’t burn. Add any seasonings you like to taste. I used cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom, and vanilla. Mine cooked for about 45 minutes in an enameled cast iron pan until it was thick and brown. In the past I would have added sugar or agave but we are so accustomed to food with sweetener now that the concentrated fruit was sweet enough.

Signing out for now:

I need to get moving this morning and stop lounging around. Monday is normally busy at my house catching up from all my relaxing on the weekend. However the cool weather and rain just makes me want to curl up on the sofa with a fuzzy throw and a book. Sort of like Nicco just add a book. He is on top of a micro fleece throw I picked up last week at Costco. They are very soft and machine washable if anyone is looking for a fuzzy throw, they are feline approved as you can tell.

Talk to you all again soon.

Beet, Apple, Carrot and Cucumber Juice

For breakfast this morning we had a piece of two whole grain toast with peanut butter and banana slices. Since the bread was posted previously I didn’t bother to take its picture or post the stats again. However, I did make a vegetable and fruit juice this morning that I have not posted previously.

Those of you who know me know how much I love my Vitamix blender. I use that blender everyday, and sometimes more than once a day. That blender makes the best smoothies, juices (with the fiber) and quick soup. If you haven’t tried a Vitamix I highly recommend them. I waited a few years to buy one due to the price tag and now I can’t imagine not having this blender.

Since our breakfast was devoid of vegetables I decided to make a vegetable and fruit juice. My husband is not crazy about tomato based juices so I didn’t want to use tomatoes. Then I remembered the baby beets I bought to make a salad. Two little baby beets were enough to make this juice a beautiful magenta color. This juice tasted mostly of apple.

I really enjoyed this juice and particularly the nutrition it packed. One serving of this juice contained over 6900 IU of Vitamin A (the RDA is 3000 IU’s for adult males). Vitamin A is required for normal functioning of the immune system and plays a critical role in the development of white blood cells, which is important for preventing and fighting disease. Studies in cell culture and animal models have documented the capacity for vitamin A to reduce carcinogenesis significantly in skin, breast, liver, colon, prostate, and other sites.

To increase the nutrition of this juice, I used organic products and scrubbed the skin, but left it on the vegetables when they were “juiced”. With all the nutritents in and just under the skin I think it makes a big difference in terms of overall nutrition to leave the skin on the fruits and veggies.

This juice is mild in flavor and tastes mostly like apple, with a little beet flavor in the background. We liked this juice enough that I may make it everynight and keep it in the refrigerator to have with our breakfast. This juice is a tasty way to get a little extra vegetable nutrition in each day.

Beet, Apple, Carrot and Cucumber Juice
Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 baby beets, scrubbed
1 apple, scrubbed and cored
1 large carrot, scrubbed
4 inches of seedless cucumber
1 cup of filtered water

Directions:

Cut fruit and vegetables into chunks and place in your blender with the water. Blend until completely smooth. You may need to add additional water depending on the power of your blender. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Nutritional information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 85.69
Calories From Fat (4%) - 3.3

Total Fat - 0.4g
Saturated Fat - 0.08g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 66.21mg
Potassium - 490.55mg
Total Carbohydrates - 21.1g
Fiber - 4.46g
Sugar - 13.59g
Protein - 1.89g

Comments:

This juice tastes like apple with a little beet in the background. The overall flavor is mild, but pleasant. Both my husband and I liked this juice. I plan to make this juice regularly and keep it in the refrigerator so that we can add a little extra nutrition to our diet when we are thirsty.

Tropical Cabbage Salad with Lime and Vanilla Dressing

When the weather is warm I don’t like making mayonnaise based salad dressings. Today I felt like making a slaw, but it turned into this salad. In my opinion what separates this salad from a slaw is the absence of the acidic hit you typically get from the vinegar in most slaw dressing.

I wanted to use cabbage today because it is a cruciferous vegetable and they are known for their cancer fighting abilities. Citrus fruit is high in flavonoids and is also reported to fight cancer.

This salad is light and refreshing. It is also somewhat sweet from the fresh pineapple. The vanilla gives the salad a floral note that I particularly enjoyed. We thought this salad was much better than the sum of its parts.

Tropical Cabbage Salad with Lime and Vanilla Dressing
Servings 6

Ingredients:

½ head of green cabbage, finely shredded
1 tablespoon of kosher salt
¾’s of a fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and finely julienned
1 red apple, cored and julienned
1 carrot, grated
1 pink grapefruit, supremed and cut into bite size pieces
2 limes, juiced
1 tablespoon of canola oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:

Toss cabbage with kosher salt and refrigerate for 3 hours. After three hours place the cabbage in a wire mesh strainer and rise thoroughly to remove the salt. Spin the cabbage dry in a salad spinner. Place the cabbage in a large bowl big enough to allow you to toss the ingredients. Add remaining fruit and vegetables to the cabbage. Whisk together the lime juice, canola oil and vanilla. Add the dressing to the salad and toss to thoroughly combine. Refrigerate the salad until ready to serve.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 122.47
Calories From Fat (19%) - 23.28

Total Fat - 2.65g
Saturated Fat - 0.21g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 12.51mg
Potassium - 282.82mg
Total Carbohydrates - 26.55g
Fiber - 3.98g
Sugar - 17.7g
Protein - 1.36g

Comments:

This is a very interesting salad in a good way. I hesitated to call this slaw because the dominant acid that is standard in slaw is missing. The salad is crunchy and slightly sweet. The floral note from the vanilla is more obvious than I intended, but is quite nice. The combination of lime and vanilla is much better than I anticipated. Everyone enjoyed this salad today, even my very picky omnivore parents who kept all the leftovers.

Whole Wheat Wrap with Apple, Peanut Butter and Raisins

This is our standard breakfast when I am not feeling creative. It also happens to be a favorite of my husband. The fat content on this sandwich is a little higher than I would like mostly due to the peanut butter. However, peanut butter is a good source of protein and the fat is mostly the heart healthy variety so I don’t believe this is an unhealthy choice. There are reports that apple skins contain six times the antioxidants of the apple meat. If you have a habit of peeling your apples now you have a good reason to eat the skin. The raisins were included for the resveratrol in the skin of the dehydrated grapes.

Be certain that you buy a natural peanut butter than contains the peanut skins in the butter. The peanut skins contain catechins that are also found in green tea. Catechins are powerful antioxidants that are thought to reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease and some cancers.

Overall this makes a quick and portable breakfast that contains protein and fiber as well as enough calories to power you through your morning. We normally have this with a big mug of green tea that we flavor with a little pomegranate juice.

Whole Wheat Wrap with Apple, Peanut Butter and Raisins
Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 whole grain wrap
1 apple - scrubbed, cored and sliced
2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter
1 tablespoon of raisins

Directions:

Spread peanut butter on half the whole grain wrap. Top the peanut butter with apple sliced and raisins. This sandwich is best when eaten cold.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 398.42
Calories From Fat (40%) - 160.19

Total Fat - 19.52g
Saturated Fat - 3.93g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 520.36mg
Potassium - 424.75mg
Total Carbohydrates - 49.54g
Fiber - 12.58g
Sugar - 23.67g
Protein - 18.73g

Comments:

This is a good breakfast if you are looking for something that your husband or kids can make on their own. The sandwich travels well if you wrap it with a piece of wax paper. You can jazz this sandwich up by sprinkling a little cinnamon on the peanut butter or by substituting dried cherries for the raisins. If you like sweet things for breakfast drizzle a little agave on the sandwich (note this will be a little messy).

My husband and I have had this breakfast sandwich many times. We think it is the amount of protein and fat that makes this sandwich so satisfying. When we have this for breakfast it seems to take an hour or so longer for us to get hungry for lunch.

Fruit Salad with Whole Grain Bagel, Peanut Butter and Banana

Since “what makes a good vegan breakfast” is a recurring question, I will be posting our breakfast items when they are different from what I have previously posted.

I normally keep a few whole grain bagels in the freezer for mornings like this when I don’t want a smoothie, or to spend a lot of time making breakfast.

A quick defrost in the microwave and a little time in the toaster and we had breakfast. I added the peanut butter for protein and fat (so we can absorb all the fat soluble vitamins in our breakfast). The banana was included to hopefully protect us from a recurrence of kidney cancer. The banana also includes a nice amount of potassium, which is necessary for healthy blood pressure.

Any meal that goes from the refrigerator and freezer to my plate in under 10 minutes is my idea of the perfect meal. I also used the fruit salad I made last night and added a few strawberries for color and we were ready to eat.

Fruit is a great thing to incorporate in your diet on a daily basis. If you take a look at the USDA website for the ORAC values fruit scores very high in antioxidants. By having a big container of fruit salad in the refrigerator at all times you can easily eat four servings of fruit everyday.

Fruit Salad and Whole Grain Bagel with Peanut Butter and Banana
Serves 2

Ingredients:

4 cups of fruit salad (1/2 of what I made yesterday)
6 strawberries, sliced
3.5 ounce whole grain bagel
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
4 ounce banana, sliced

Directions:

Slice bagel in half, and toast. Spread each bagel half with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and top with banana slices.

Remove fruit salad from the refrigerator. Add strawberries to the fruit salad.

Eat immediately while the bagel is still warm and the fruit salad is cold.

Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 391.44
Calories From Fat (20%) - 78.64

Total Fat - 9.4g
Saturated Fat - 1.96g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 349.49mg
Potassium - 956.47mg
Total Carbohydrates - 72.56g
Fiber - 8.11g
Sugar - 35.01g
Protein - 12.06g

Comments:

This breakfast is light but filling. I like that the salad is cold but the bagel is warm. I always like a mixture of warm and cold items. I also like the crunchiness of the bagel with the gooey texture of the peanut butter. Overall this is a nice quick breakfast with good nutritional content.

Fruit Salad – Cantaloupe, Orange, Apple and Grape

The idea for making large containers of fruit salad ahead of time goes to my friend Sue. She shared this idea with me about a month ago and I have been enjoying it ever since. If you haven’t tried making fruit salad on the weekend to last a few days give it a try. It works like a charm. Thanks Sue!

Fruit Salad – Cantaloupe, Orange, Apple and Grape
Makes 3.2 quarts

Ingredients:

1 cantaloupe, cut into bite size pieces
1 orange, peeled and cut into bite size pieces **
1 gala apple, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup of green grapes, halved

Directions:

Mix everything together and refrigerate. This will last a few days in the refrigerator if covered tightly.

** Please note, Sue would supreme her oranges. I, being the rebel that I am, leave the membrane between the citrus sections for extra fiber and cholesterol protection. I read that the membrane of the grapefruit helps to remove the existing plague from your arteries and began leaving all citrus membrane on my fruit. Before you ask, I don't know if the membrane theory has any validity but on the outside chance it does I figured why not give it a go.

Nutritional Information (entire recipe):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 456.32
Calories From Fat (3%)- 14.81

Total Fat - 1.76g
Saturated Fat - 0.43g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 92.9mg
Potassium - 2260.14mg
Total Carbohydrates - 114.68g
Fiber - 14.14g
Sugar - 99.7g
Protein - 7.88g

Comments:

When something like this fruit salad is on the top shelf of the refrigerator, it becomes my default mid afternoon snack of choice. Since the entire container (which no human could possibly eat) is only 456 calories, this makes a great dish for when you need a little something but don’t want a lot of calories. You could jazz this up with a few toasted walnuts or almonds when you get ready to serve. A little drizzle of lemon cello over the fruit would also be divine. If you have mint in your garden you could add some julienned mint leaves or a nice minty syrup you made with agave. The options are endless for dressing this up.