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My First Coconut Flour Experience

For a while, I’ve been wanting to try coconut flour.

coconut flour

Coconut flour is made from dried, finely ground coconut meat.  It is high in fiber (one serving provides about 1/4 of the recommended amount of fiber each day), gluten and grain free, and low in soluble carbohydrates.  It smells faintly of coconut (not a bad thing in my opinion).

From what I’ve read, recipes using coconut flour require a lot of eggs.  This is because all that fiber absorbs a lot of liquid.  After further research, I learned that it is recommended that each half cup of coconut flour be paired with 6 eggs.  Eggs are so good for you – especially pastured eggs – that this is truly a bonus.

I discovered this ratio after I made my first foray into coconut flour use.  The recipe I used – one for pancakes – only used 4 eggs to a half cup of coconut flour, though it also used a cup of milk.  Still, I found that these pancakes were a little dry, and I could tell they were not made with grain.  They had great flavor, though, and didn’t taste much like coconut at all.  T even thought they were tasty.

coconut pancake batter

I found that I had to add butter to them post-frying to moisten them up; this never happens when I make pancakes with wheat or sprouted wheat flour.  I expect that if I upped the egg amount this would take care of that.  However, the batter would be much looser.  Perhaps then I’d have coconut flour crepes?  Intriguing… I of course added maple syrup because that’s the perfect pairing with pancakes.  That also helped with moisture levels.

cooked coconut flour pancakes

I also think incorporating bananas or berries would be a welcome addition and add to the feeling of moistness in the pancakes.

Since coconut flour is so fiber-rich, these pancakes were crazy filling.  I could only – actually, barely – eat two small pancakes. I think next time I’d make a half batch – I had a bunch left over after Sunday’s brunch.

So, although the resulting pancakes did not meet my expectations, I do plan to experiment with this recipe again, and consider other recipes that ask for coconut flour.  Cilantro chicken filled savory coconut flour crepes come to mind right away.  I also might try using coconut flour in brownies, too.  Looking forward to playing more with this new ingredient!

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The Heat, Energy Levels, and Saturated Fat

At least the plants like this heat!

(At least the plants like the heat!)

As you probably know, we’ve had quite the heat wave here on the east coast – Tuesday and Wednesday were back-to-back triple digit days.  Sunday and Monday were hot, up in the 90s.  This morning the news predicted temperatures in the 90s with humidity that would pump the heat index to triple digits again.  The air conditioners have been trying to cool things down at home, but it’s been oppressive, still. In a word, miserable.

Silver linings for us, though – our guest room is small and therefore the air conditioner is doing a great job in there.  We sleep there nowadays, so at least we’re getting a good night’s sleep. I work in an air conditioned office most of the day, so I am shielded from the worst of the heat.  I’m so fortunate to have air conditioned refuges; my heart goes out to those who don’t.  And today, the temperatures feel downright balmy!  It’s overcast, and a cool breeze is blowing.  Waiting outside for my lunch (a grass-fed burger, yum), it was actually comfortable.  Such a relief!

Still, I’ve found myself feeling really tired in the evenings this week.  I thought it was the heat, but like I said, I’ve only had to deal with the heat in the evenings.  I’d come home and be ready to collapse around 9pm, feeling like I normally do around 1am, drained.  Not fun.

And while I do understand that being in the heat in the evening can sap some of my energy, it seemed too extreme.   I thought, maybe I’ve just been working too hard and intensely at the office (totally possible).  Perhaps it was the sugar in the homemade gelato I ate earlier in the week?  Or not being able to run this week during the heat?  Whatever it is, it’s been a bummer.

Then yesterday afternoon I read a post by Kelly, which mentions an experience that her friend Sarah, of the Healthy Home Economist, had with her son being at camp and not eating any saturated fats, and feeling blah, tired, and anxious (I’ve been feeling a little more anxious than normal this week, too).  I reviewed in my mind what I had been eating this week and lo and behold my intake of saturated fats has been the lowest it’s been in some time.  The fat I have been eating has pretty much come from a few scoops of gelato and a little bit of raw yogurt; I ate a little pastured beef on Monday, but it is pretty darn lean and I added no fat to it when I cooked it.  Normally I have eggs a few times a week for breakfast, as well as drinking plenty of raw milk – I hadn’t had any of that this week.

Now, part of this is that since it’s been so hot, I haven’t had the desire to eat much of anything, especially in the evenings.  Mostly salad with no protein and little fat (just olive oil).

So, this morning I chose to up the saturated fat intake in the form of two pastured eggs fried in grass-fed butter, along with a glass of raw milk.  I had a grass-fed burger for lunch topped with some good cheese.  Tonight I’ll finish off the delicious fresh pea and pepita salad (recipe to come), but will accompany it with more eggs in butter, and topped with some raw cheddar, since I have no meat defrosted.

So, I’ll be curious to see the effects what I’ve eaten has on me tonight and into the weekend – I must say, I already feel better than I have all week.  Those eggs really gave me a solid foundation for the day.  I’ll be very happy if I can stay up later than 9pm.  Will report back!

This post is participating in Fight Back Friday, hosted by Food Renegade.

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Melted Leeks, Quinoa, and Poached Egg

poached on top

I can’t remember exactly what originally brought me to Married …with dinner, but it was probably through a tweet or a blog post by Shauna.  Oh wait, I remember! I was led to the site because of this post.  It is part of the discussion about the importance of cooking meals at home, something that I do believe is important.

However, as someone who works a full time job, has a lively social life, and is active in the community, I know how challenging it can be to put together dinner at the end of the day when you have competing interests vying for your time and attention.  There are evenings when I get home, when I can’t think straight, and just want to order-in something, or eat a bowl of cereal, or even forgo dinner altogether (not a good idea).  It can be really hard to figure it all out when you’re beat from the workday.

As it turns out, my solution to this is planning out my meals for the week.  Granted, I’ve only been at this practice for a couple of weeks, but I’ve noticed a difference.  It helps to have the evening’s menu all written out, and I definitely eat more consistently well these days.

quinoa

Last week, MWD posted this intriguing recipe that includes a number of my favorite ingredients – leeks, quinoa, broth, and egg.  It could be considered a soup, but it’s much more than that.  It’s surprisingly filling for its size, too.  The nutrition will also increase if you use a nourishing homemade broth (I had broth from my stewing hen, which was delicious).

I can see myself making this again and again because it’s just that awesome.  It was easy to prepare, too – and it can be made piecemeal over a few days, combining everything on the day you want to eat it, or you can make everything on the same day, which is what I did.  It took me about 45 minutes to put everything together.

leeks

These “melted leeks” – which are basically soft, caramelized, salty leeks – are a wonderful condiment all by themselves and would be good on other things, too, like pasta, roasted tomatoes, or even toast with cream cheese.  They would be excellent on top of salsa verde chicken, too.

Melted Leeks and Quinoa with a Poached Farm Egg and Parmesan Broth
Mildly adapted from Married …with dinner, who was inspired by a first course at Range.

For each serving — multiply as needed:
1/3 cup melted leeks (recipe below)
1/2 cup cooked quinoa (I prefer red)
1/2 cup simmering chicken stock
a handful of Parmesan or other hard cheese, grated as finely as possible (about 1/2 oz by weight)
1 large egg, preferably pastured
minced chives, for garnish
salt, as needed

NOTE: Soak the quinoa in water and an acid (I use raw apple cider vinegar, but lemon juice works well, too) for 8-12 hours before you start preparing this dish.  I find it convenient to put this together in the morning before I go to work.

Cook the quinoa: rinse the soaked grain and add it to a pan with water (1:1 – I used 1/2 cup quinoa to a 1/2 cup water).  Cook for 15-20 minutes until all the water is absorbed by the grain.  Makes a 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cups of quinoa.

Make the melted leeks:  cut off and discard the root and the woody tops, slice the leeks in half lengthwise, then slice the white and light-green parts into half-rings about 1/4- to 1/8-inch thick. You should have about 2 cups.  Rinse leek slices well in a bowl of running water. Melt 4 tbs butter in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add leeks and a couple of tablespoons of water. Simmer slowly until leeks are tender and almost all water evaporates, adding more water if needed to further soften the leeks. Season well with salt. If using immediately, remove pan from the heat and set aside.

Mince the chives.

Bring the chicken broth to a lively simmer and whisk in the Parmesan.

Just before you’re ready to serve, soft-poach the eggs.

While the eggs are cooking, divide the melted leeks among individual bowls, spreading to cover about 2/3 of the bottom of the bowl. Scoop the quinoa over the leeks, and top each serving with a soft-poached egg. Sprinkle with chives, and pour the Parmesan broth around the edges of the bowl.

Enjoy.

This post is participating in Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

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Omelet – a Quick and Delicious Dinner

omelette

I don’t remember how I came up with this dish, but it was probably inspired by having a bunch of leftovers combined with my love of eggs. Basically, “omelet”, as I call it, is vegetables and meat sauteed in a pan, topped with uncooked scrambled eggs and cheese, and steamed until the eggs are cooked through. It doesn’t sound exotic or fancy, and isn’t the prettiest thing around, but it is tasty, nourishing, and easy to prepare. It’s an excellent dish to cook when you have little time or are just plain tired and want something to eat fairly fast. It’s also a great canvas for improvisation.

I mentioned leftovers above – it’s a great dish for leftovers – greens work especially well, as do onions, potatoes, carrots, summer squash, and tomatoes. You can mix in some pesto with the eggs, add diced or ground meat, sausage, or cured meats. You can also make it very simple with just onions, potato, egg, and cheese. You can even add a sauce you like at the end. This dish is incredibly flexible, which is one of the things I like about it.

Last night, I used half a white onion, leftover garlic lemon greens, chopped cooked chicken, pesto ricotta, eggs, and grated Locatelli (a salty hard cheese). In this case, everything but the eggs and cheese were leftovers from last week. It was a very tasty combination.

So, what I did was:

  • Diced up the onions and sautéed them in olive oil (about 1 T) until they became translucent.
  • Added the chicken and cooked that a little bit.
  • Then came the greens, and I cooked everything together until it was heated through.
  • I also made sure that the pan was completely covered with this mixture, so that eggs would not leak through to the pan surface; it’s best if they sit atop the vegetables.
  • Scrambled the eggs and poured them on top (I used 5 eggs this time, which was perfect)
  • I then put small dollops of pesto ricotta across the top of the mixture, and sprinkled on the grated cheese.
  • I put a lid on it, turned the heat down to low and let it steam. I’d check on it from time to time to make sure the eggs were cooked through. It took about 10-15 minutes for the eggs to cook and the dish to come together.
  • I only salted the onions a little bit, as the leftovers had all be seasoned when I cooked them originally, so extra salt was not needed.

If I were skipping the pesto ricotta, I’d probably use a sharp cheddar in place of the Locatelli and eat it with hot sauce!

So, in general, the order of ingredients would go as follows:

  • aromatics (e.g. onion, garlic, bacon)
  • ground/chopped meat (if using)
  • hard veggies (e.g. carrots, potatoes)
  • soft veggies (e.g. greens, summer squash, tomatoes, sauce)
  • herbs
  • eggs (solo, or combined with sauce like pesto, tomato, or salsa)
  • cheese
  • The order of things can even be re-arranged if it works better for you.

Like I said, there is room for improvisation and the dish is extremely customizable.

It’s been a quick and delicious dinner staple in my household and has provided us with delicious and nutritious meals numerous times. I hope you find it a useful and enjoyable dish as well.

This post is participating in Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

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Greens and Meal Planning Observations

dinner

As I mentioned earlier this week, I’ve planned out my meals for the week.  So far so good, though I had to replace soaked oatmeal for breakfast yesterday with a fried egg and sourdough toast with jam.  I spaced the night before and thought I didn’t have any milk or yogurt, but I did.  Oh well, the egg and toast were tasty!

One problem I’ve had lately has been incorporating enough vegetables into my diet, so I included them in the meal plan.  Since it’s spring, asparagus is in season, so I’ve had that a couple times already – once with quinoa and once simply roasted with olive oil and salt.  So good, especially this time of year (I rarely eat it out of season).

I also cooked up a couple bunches of organic swiss chard – when I am running, as I’ve started doing again, I often crave dark leafy greens.  Not sure why, but I do.  I just love them.  I’ll have them for lunch and dinner throughout the week.

I am convinced that if I hadn’t planned it all out, I would not have eaten those vegetables, and they would slowly rot in my fridge.  Not good.

I love to cook and explore new recipes, but I have to be careful about not tiring out in the evenings after work, especially now that I’m running and exerting a lot more.  So, a lot of the time I tend to fall back on just cooking, not following a recipe (however, I have reserved one evening this week to devote to something more elaborate).  I put together things that taste good together, using cooking techniques I’m comfortable with (sauteeing, boiling, roasting, etc.). This week that manifested itself into the following meals:

Meal 1
red quinoa with white onions, asparagus, and walnuts
sauteed chard with garlic and lemon
cubed cheddar cheese

Meal 2
roasted asparagus
cheese omelette

green collage

Both meals are easy to make and allow for some improvisation.  They contain, real, whole foods in season, with plenty of green veggies to counteract my recent habit of not eating many.  I also cooked the quinoa with the chicken broth I made on Sunday, making the dish even more nourishing.

Although both meals contain pretty straightforward dishes (you can pretty much figure out how to make them from their description), one tip I’ll pass on has to do with the garlic lemon chard – get rid of the excess liquid created by the chard after it wilts.  All that liquid dilutes the yummy garlic and lemon flavors.  Here’s the full recipe:

Garlic Lemon Greens

1 bunch greens (spinach is best, but chard and kale work, too)
1-2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
1 lemon and its zest
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Cut off the stems and wash the greens to get rid of any dirt. Check over the washed greens for any discolored leaves and remove them. Chop into big pieces.

Add olive oil to a hot skillet. Add garlic then a little salt, and saute for about 30 seconds.

Add the chopped greens and immediately rotate them. Add a little salt. When they have started to wilt, add lemon zest and red pepper flakes. Continue to rotate the greens until they are quite wilted.

Dump entire contents of the pan into a sieve. Press the greens down to dispose of as much extra liquid as possible. Return greens to the pan.

Add juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon (depending on how lemony you like your greens) and mix with the greens. Drizzle another tsp of olive oil over the greens. Serve immediately.

This post is participating in Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.