Once Upon a Plate: Whole Foods

Tuesday

Healthy No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread and My Grain Mill

Strive as we might, like most families, we sometimes stumble when it comes to eating a 100% healthy diet.

We try to eat food products grown locally when possible, choosing produce that is organic and in season, whole foods and grains... and we continue to introduce into our diet lacto-fermented foods (those are foods which contain the 'good for your gut bacteria' to help promote a healthy digestive system.)

To keep on track with healthful eating habits I try to keep in mind the advice which goes something like this~

"If your great grandmother, or great-great grandmother wouldn't recognize the food, it's probably best to avoid it."

(That kind of leaves cheese puffs, for example, out of the picture. :D)

One thing that I like to do on a regular basis is make whole grain breads usually each week, or every other week. (On the day I make bread I usually set a loaf aside and after it has cooled, I wrap it well and stick it into the freezer so there is always some good, wholesome bread on hand.)

Here is what I made recently ~

When our son was young I used to bake our favorite whole wheat bread once a week, mixed and kneaded by hand.

I still find it therapeutic to knead the dough by hand on occasion ~ but I don't always have the time. That is when the No-Knead (aka Artisan bread in 5-minutes a day) method is so welcome.

I was very happy when Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois released their follow-up book to their first book ~

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day .

Their second book focuses on teaching us how to make more nutritious breads, and other baked goods using whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and gluten-free ingredients.

Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day:

100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients

We love the full flavor and wholesome texture of this bread.

Delicious any way it is served; room temperature, warmed up, or toasted.

Several months ago we invested in a grain mill to assure our flour is as fresh as possible; whole grain flour loses nutrients rapidly and goes rancid rather quickly once milled. If ground ahead it should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. That is why I'm not so keen on buying whole grain flours off the shelf.

Here is an additional article that may be of interest regarding the shelf life of whole wheat flour ~ also raised is the question of whether the 'whole wheat flour' found in the grocery store actually contains the entire wheat berry, or if the perishable oils have been stripped to make it shelf stable for months.

Years ago when I used to make whole grain bread every week I was able to buy it from a local health food store. The grains were milled on premises and refrigerated in plastic bags for sale. I don't find that to be the case near my home now.

That is actually what compelled me to look into grain mills so I could grind my own. There are a number of high quality mills on the market, and after doing a fair amount of research I decided upon the L'Equip 760200 NutriMill Grain Mill.

I have been using it for a little over six months and am very pleased with its efficiency and ease of operation.

I buy organic whole grains in bulk from my local health food store, and can have freshly ground flour within just a couple of minutes (it's FAST!) with very little effort on my part.

Here you can see the whole wheat berries and the freshly ground flour.

We've found that there is a remarkable difference in freshly milled flour when compared to flour from the bag. The whole wheat flour is enticingly aromatic and very sweet smelling when freshly ground. I noticed a similar pleasing aroma when grinding oat and rye berries, though they each have their own particular fragrance.

The baked things just seem to taste better when the flour is absolutely fresh, it is also very satisfying to bake with flour you have ground yourself only minutes earlier.

I'm participating in Tuesday Twister, hosted by Wardeh at GNOWFGLINS (please click to learn more.)

Upcoming Soon . . .

Working with homemade Whole Wheat Sourdough Starter.

I'm currently taking another e-course hosted by Wardeh Harmon of GNOWGFLINS ~ this time it's all about Sourdough. I've worked with sourdough starter in the past, but always with store-bought starter, and never with a whole grain starter.

I urge you to check out Wardeh's blog and the e-courses that are available~ Wardeh is a great teacher and the GNOWGFLINS support forum is wonderful!

~*~*~*~*~

If you are interested in learning more about my grain mill, you can click the image below.

Thank you for stopping by today ~ I love to read your thoughts and comments.

Have a wonderful and healthful week, my friends.

Green Bean and Roasted Cherry Tomato Salad

Green beans are in season, the basil plants are going crazy, and we're nearly overrun with tomatoes-- particularly cherry tomatoes right now.

So it's not difficult to deduce what inspired this dish. I combined a couple of other recipes to come up with this one ~ it's one of the treasures of my collection.

If you've grown weary of eating the tomatoes right from the vine at this time of year it is a welcome change to roast or saute them in a little olive oil with a sprinkle of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper to intensify the sugars in the fruit.

To me they are the star of this this delicious salad or side dish ~

it's worth the bit of effort it takes to cut each in half before roasting.

I use to roast tomatoes (and some vegetables) in a very hot oven, but as I've become more aware of the health risks of that practice I've returned to lower temperatures for slow-roasting.

And even if you don't subscribe to that concept, you may agree with me that it's a waste to destroy the vitamins and flavor of extra virgin olive oil with high heat, so this is how I prepare these slow-roasted cherry tomatoes.

Preheat the oven to 225* (F), or convection oven equivalent. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper, then prepare the tomatoes: Rinse them, remove the stems then cut them in half through the axis, from stem to blossom end. Arrange the cut tomatoes skin-side-down on the parchment line pan. Sprinkle with sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper if desired. Then drizzle a couple of tablespoons of extra-virgin over all, distributing over tomatoes as evenly as possible.

Place on a center rack of the oven and allow to slowly roast for two to two and and half hours.

I rotate the pan once during the roasting time.

This is what you end up with:

Still moist, but slightly chewy, toothsome little buttons of sweet and slightly salty goodness.

While the tomatoes are roasting I toast the pine nuts (or other nuts) either stove top or in the oven. This recipe adapts well to almost any other favorite nut -- walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, etc.

And I whisk (or shake in a jar) the very slightly sweet rough-mustard vinaigrette --- I adore this particular recipe for mustard vinaigrette. A bonus recipe, it's fabulous on grilled or broiled chicken or fish, too.

You can either blanch or steam the green beans ~ but to retain the bright green color don't over-cook, and immediately plunge the cooked beans into a big bowl of ice water as soon as you remove them from the heat. This stops the cooking, then allow the beans to completely cool in the ice water. Drain well as soon as they have cooled.

The components can be made/prepared ahead, then assembled just prior to serving.

The dish is "okay" cold, but I much prefer , at room temperature. To avoid discoloration and vibrant flavors, serve it at it's optimum peak of freshness, do not add the basil or dressing until the very last moment before serving. I don't toss, but I prefer to pass the dressing separately, so each can add as much or as little as desired.

I love this dish!

Back to edit:

Gigi has a great question, which I meant to address when I first posted ~As to whether any leftover roasted cherry tomatoes can be stored to use later...

Yes, by all means any extra roasted tomatoes (and the oil they were roasted in) can be placed in a clean jar (I prefer glass to plastic) with a tight fitting lid and refrigerated for other uses ~ anywhere you would use sun dried tomatoes. I don't bother submerging them in extra olive oil. Because they are not dehydrated to the point of sun dried tomatoes and to reduce the risk of botulism, I usually use them up within a week or so.

If you would like a printable copy of the recipe, you can find it on my recipe blog HERE.

I'm participating in REAL FOOD WEDNESDAYS, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Cop ~

please click below to visit Kelly's wonderful blog (click logo.)