Stephanie's Food For Thought

Last year just before Christmas I had this wonderful and crazy idea to make homemade chocolate chip Panetone for Christmas breakfast.  We have a family tradition of eating Panetone for Christmas morning.  My children don't like the traditional Panetone with dried fruit but they do like the chocolate chip variety.  I had been holding onto Panetone paper molds for a few years with the intention of making homemade Panetone.  I have a book recommended by my expert chef/scientist PhD friend Kristy called "The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread."  I bought the book on Amazon here.  In this book is a great section on Panetone and it's history along with a recipe.  I highly recommend the book.  

Back to the wild yeast starter.  I wanted my own wild yeast starter so I could make traditional Panetone,  I bought this wild yeast starter from Amazon here.   My yeast starter wasn't ready in time for making the Panetone but I have used it to make the sourdough bread recipe found in "The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread."  The bread was delicious.  I highly recommend this starter and the book if you get a chance to order them both.   My starter is kept in a half gallon mason jar in my refrigerator.  I feed it once a week with high gluten flour and filtered water.  

Stephanie's Food For Thought: Tipo 00 Flour

I am extremely blessed to live near a grocery store (Berry Fresh) that sells Tipo 00 Flour.  I buy it for $2.79 a bag, I think, don't quote me on that.  Tipo 00 Flour is a flour found in Italy and used to make those famous cakes and each restaurant in Naples uses a blend of this flour to make those amazing legendary Napoleon Pizzas.  Tipo 00 Flour is the key ingredient that makes Panetone, Pandoro, and pizza amazing, here in New York it is the flour pizzerias use to make their legendary pies.  Flour in Italy as you may recall reading from one of my previous posts is named for the grain size such as 0, 00, and 1.  Tipo 00 flour is a very finely milled white flour.  This week I had a break through in my pizza dough when I decided to combine this flour with Spelt to create both a tender and whole grain pizza dough.  I found an online retailer here if you want to purchase it.

Stephanie's Food For Thought: Wonder Flour

Chef Brad (You remember me talking about him right?) has created a wonderful blend of freshly milled flours that he has nicknamed Wonder Flour.  Wonder Flour is composed of equal parts brown rice, pearled barley, and spelt.  I have discussed the brown rice I used in a previous post found here and another previous post about spelt found here.  I bought the above pictured Barley from Amazon here. Chef Brad talks about his Wonder Flour here.  It is a wonderful blend of grains you could grind yourself or buy as flour.  It can be a whole grain substitute for all purpose flour in cookies, cakes, and muffins.  In the muffins I made today with this blend, I enjoyed the taste and it was not heavy like whole wheat can be.  I highly recommend this blend of flours.

Stephanie's Food For Thought: Rotiserrie Chicken

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Rotisserie chicken isn't a unique food ingredient, but it is a very versatile ingredient.  Rotiserie chickens from Costco are by far the best price ever.   In California and New York they are the best price and also the biggest.  For $5 you can buy a whole moist flavorful cooked chicken for the same price as a whole unflavored, uncooked chicken. This is a win/win situation.  I buy a few chickens at a time and take them home and process them so to speak.  With my Kirkland brand Nitril exam gloves on and using a small knife I remove as much of the meat as possible, leaving the underside untouched.  I put the chicken carcass in a Ziploc bag, and the chicken I put in another bag.  I freeze these, and when I want a quick meal, tacos, soup, Indian curry, I remove my shredded chicken and thaw.  I also love using the chicken carcass to make broth in my pressure cooker.  You can shred the chicken in a KitchenAid mixer with the paddle set to low speed and you have quick shredded chicken for tacos,

burritos, or flautas. 

Stephanie's Food For Thought: Nishiki Brown Rice

I am a rice snob, I only buy quality rice.  When I buy cheap rice, I can tell the difference.  I was buying Nishiki Brand sushi white rice.   When I switched to brown, I decided why not stick with a brand I trust.  I have friends who would agree with me, that Nishiki sushi white rice is the best.  I have not bought long grain rice in years since switching to medium grain.  Nishiki is a California grown medium grain rice.  It has fulfilled all my rice dreams and fantasies.  Our Chinese boy introduced me to the best Asian food superstore (Sky Foods in Flushing) nearby and they sell Nishiki Brown rice in 15 lb. bags for $15.  That is what and where I buy my rice.  This rice has never let me down.  The flavor texture and quality is superb.  Don't believe me, ask the dishes.   Wait sorry they can't talk, they're dishes, and that is a song, silly me.  You can read reviews and buy it here.

Stephanie's Food For Thought: Sea Salt

My sister Adrienne mentioned to me, since I was on a soap box about unrefined sugar, maybe I should also consider salt and what is done during its refining process.  She pointed out a post by Chef Brad found here.   I like Chef Brad, he has a cooking show on the BYU Channel and he is the self proclaimed grain guy.  He also has a great blog found here.  He talks about salt and says:

"1~Check to see if there is a list of minerals on the back. Good salt is filled with minerals. Bad salt will say just salt. 

  2~The color will tell a lot.  Pure white salt is probably processed to death and pure white salt is devoid of minerals.

  3~Check out the source.  Remember even healthy companies use marketing to deceive the public.

 So just because the company says its a good one, be careful.

  4~Good salt is not dirt cheap. Bad salt is."

I was at my local Mediterranean themed grocery store and found the above salt.   It is imported from Italy and has minerals listed in the ingredients.  A little side note about my little Mediterranean grocery store, above the cash registers it is painted to look like the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and I think Asians now own the store.  My husband served a mission in Italy and has been to the place where this salt is mined, go figure.  This salt was $3.  If you go to Chef Brad's salt post you will see he lists several salts he recommends.   I have had Real Salt, and I like it, but I have to order it online where I live now. I remember watching a cooking show with Michael Chiarello.   He said never trust a salt that is white. 

Stephanie's Food For Thought: Muscovado Sugar

I wanted to find an even less refined sugar than turbinado sugar that would have more nutrients. Muscovado sugar made the top of the list.  What is Muscovado sugar you ask?  Wise Geek says, "This cane sugar is made by pressing sugarcane to release the naturally sweet juice and then cooking it slightly before allowing it to dry. During the cooking process, various ingredients are added to help remove impurities that may be present in the sugarcane juice; typically, these impurities rise to the top in the form of foam which is skimmed out. Both coconut milk and lime juice are used in traditional processing, and these refining ingredients do not usually leave flavors behind. After the sugar is dried, it is broken apart and sold."  This information can be found here.  On Livestrong it says "Muscovado sugar maintains the same vitamin and mineral content as the juice it is made from. A 100-g portion of Muscovado sugar contains 3.9 mg of phosphorus, 85 mg of calcium, 23 mg of magnesium, 100 mg of potassium and 1.3 mg of iron."  The information can be found here

I don't plan on using Muscovado sugar very often, since a box just like the one pictured above was $4 at my local grocery store, but I really like to try new ingredients so I used it in the eggnog recipe.  In the eggnog it had a rich taste.   I believe it was the best eggnog I have tasted because I used a more full flavor ingredient. 

Stephanie's Food For Thought: Raw Honey

I have a son and daughter who love honey, again my mind said how can I make a change to our honey?  I wanted my children to have the healthiest version of foods they love.  I looked into raw honey and this is what I found, Dr. Oz on his site says "Many naturopaths and nutrition experts (myself included) suggest choosing raw honey for optimal health and beauty benefits. Raw honey is never strained, filtered or heated. Research suggests it’s loaded with many trace minerals, organic enzymes, antioxidants, plus antibacterial and anti-fungal properties that make it a powerful package of health. Its rich origins mean that it’s loaded with more interesting taste and flavor."  You can find what he wrote here.  Keep in mind raw honey should not be given to children under one year old. 

Caution: The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that children age 1 and under should not be given honey whatsoever, as it can potentially carry spores of the toxin Clostridium botulinum, raising the risk of infantile botulism.

I buy my raw honey in bulk, the picture above is the raw honey I buy from here.  Is it cheaper, no but we don't use it all that often.

Stephanie's Food For Thought: Coconut Oil

I started substituting coconut oil in some of my recipes for a couple of reasons.  First was I had heard it was healthy oil, second because I wanted the flavor, third because I ran out of oil or butter.  Dr. Oz wrote on his site "Studies have show that intake of coconut oil can help our bodies mount resistance to both viruses and bacteria that can cause illness. Even more, it also can help to fight off yeast, fungus and candida.  Coconut oil can also positively affect our hormones for thyroid and blood-sugar control. People who take coconut oil also tend to have improvements in how they handle blood sugar since coconut can help improve insulin use within the body. Coconut oil can boost thyroid function helping to increase metabolism, energy and endurance. It increases digestion and helps to absorb fat-soluble vitamins."  More about what he says on coconut oil can be found here.  Right now I'm not sure about feeling the health benefits for my family but I do enjoy the taste, it adds a very subtle flavor.  I buy a 54 oz container of coconut oil, the picture above is what I buy at Costco for $15. Amazon also sells it here.

Stephanie's Food For Thought: Spelt

I was asked to share with you my thoughts, motives, and reasons for choosing the unique ingredients that you will see featured in my recipes.  Okay so let's have a disclaimer first.

I am not a medical doctor, nutritionist, scientist, have any type of training, education, or the such in ANY field that would give me the knowledge to give you the most up to date and accurate information about food.  Please in no way except my knowledge as the absolute truth by which you will make food decisions for your yourself or family.  I will strive to include unbiased information gleaned from reputable sources as well as site those sources.  Thank you.

Here it goes, spelt, why have I chosen spelt?  I wanted to make changes to my families food choices, so I thought about the food they like now.  After listing off the food they like now I thought about substituting those foods for a healthier version.  Spelt is meant to replace all purpose white flour, my children love bread.  When i say my children love bread I mean they love to eat bread, pasta, tortillas, bagels, and English muffins.  I remember being in line at Costco placing my items on the conveyor belt thing and realizing oh my goodness we eat a lot of bread.  I was really wanting my children to eat a better version of their favorite food.  

My second realization was bread bought from a store even whole wheat bread was some what of a mystery to me, I don't know how long the flour sat on the shelf they used to make the bread, I didn't know all the ingredients in the bread, I didn't know if they had stripped the whole wheat of its bran to make the flour shelf stable.  I wanted to get back the control of my families food, I want to know what they are eating.  No I don't believe the food industry is out to get me, I think they are a business and are ruled by the almighty dollar and make decisions based on that.  

A good friend of mine years ago told me about live grains, and the idea of grinding our own grains and preparing them fresh to preserve the nutrition.  I decided when our bucket of flour was empty I wad ready to commit to a WonderMill and a new way of eating.  Okay so I haven't told you why I chose Spelt, sorry about that.  I searched Google trying to find the best grain to use instead of wheat.  I didn't want to use wheat, it can be hard to make into bread successfully, for me at least.  I wanted to find the healthiest grain to grind.  

What I learned was flour is not as healthy as I thought no matter what grain you choose.  As soon as you grind the grain it's Glycemic Index goes up.  Dr Weil explains "The glycemic index (GI) ranks carbohydrate foods based on how quickly the body turns them into glucose (blood sugar), provoking an insulin response. Whole wheat bread and products labeled "whole grain" are not good choices because they usually are made with pulverized grains (flour) rather than whole or cracked grains. For that reason, most whole wheat bread has the same high GI ranking as white bread - about 70. I recommend cutting down on all foods made with flour and increasing consumption of grains in their more natural state, such as wild rice, barley, quinoa, millet and wheat berries."  His explanation can be found here.  

I excepted my fate with flour and decided we would still want food made with flour, so I wanted to find the grain that had the lowest GI(Glycemic Index) and that is when I read  "Spelt is an ancient variety of wheat that was common until industrialization made it less favorable to farmers than other types of wheat. (People who can’t handle wheat should avoid spelt because it’s part of the wheat grain family.) Spelt has a higher protein, B vitamin, potassium, and iron content than other varieties of wheat, giving it a nutritional edge. Multigrain bread made with spelt flour has a glycemic index of 54, making it a lower-glycemic bread choice.  Substitute spelt flour for wheat flour in recipes for cakes, cookies, muffins, pancakes, and even bread. Spelt-flour breads don’t rise as high as other wheat-flour breads because spelt has a lower gluten content, yet they can produce a delicious bread product in their own right. Spelt flour doesn’t require as much water as other types of wheat flour; start by using three-fourths of the required liquid in a recipe."  This information is found here.  

All of these nutritional benefits were enough for me.  I decided right then and their to put my lot in with spelt.  

I had to figure out where to find spelt.  I combed the internet again looking for the least expensive options and I found that for me buying a 25 lb bag from here was the best price for the spelt and I could have free two day shipping if I also signed up for Prime.  The picture above is what I buy.  The organic spelt Kernels come out to be about $1 a pound.  Yes spelt is more expensive then wheat.  For my family we have decided that we like spelt, as the person cooking I enjoy that spelt has a milder flavor than wheat and so far has been a really easy substitute in whole wheat recipes.  As for grinding your own spelt, that is up to you to decide.

Stephanie's Food For Thought: Turbinado Sugar

What is turbinado sugar?  Wise Geek explains "Turbinado sugar is made by taking the first pressing of juice from sugar cane and slowly heating it to evaporate the water out of it. This causes it to crystallize. To complete the drying process, the crystals are then spun in turbines or centrifuges. In contrast, white sugar is often much more heavily processed, and is generally made white by using a decolorizing filter like bone char to remove its natural color. Likewise, much brown sugar is actually white sugar with molasses added back into it to color it."  The information can be found here.  It further explains "Some believe that turbinado sugar is a healthier alternative to other sweeteners because it undergoes less processing, and so retains more of the nutrients found in sugar cane juice. In addition, its method of production makes it suitable for vegans, since no animal byproducts are used. A teaspoon (about 4 grams) contains about a fair amount of calcium and potassium in addition to a negligible amount of iron. A cup (250 g) of this sweetener also contains magnesium, phosphorus, and sodium."  I had a friend years ago explain to me that she read a book about the link between refined sugar production and the advent of vitamin production, the idea is since producers were removing vitamins and minerals from sugar cane to create refined sugar they would then create vitamin and mineral supplements.  I wish I could find the name of the book she wrote, I'm sorry but I couldn't find it.  Anyway what I wanted to find was a less refined sugar, a sugar that has more of the inherent goodness in sugar cane, turbinado sugar is a less refined sugar than brown and white sugar.  We use turbinado sugar as a replacement for both white and brown sugar.  We have enjoyed the flavor and texture it brings to cookies, pancakes, and I blended it to make it more of a powder is hot chocolate mix.  I buy a 6 lb bag of turbinado sugar, like the one pictured above at Costco for about $8.