Thursday, July 28, 2011

Spending Money on Organic Foods

This is an ongoing dilemma I've posted a little bit about before over at The Graduate Wife.  Eating organic, local, or "natural" foods is very important to me for the long term health of my family- but it is so expensive!
At least once a week, my husband and I will be out for a walk and see someones beautiful vegetable garden, full of summer squash, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and strawberries...and the green produce monster of envy overcomes me.

One day, I say, I will have a beautiful vegetable garden full of goodies, and a little chicken coop so that I can have fresh eggs. I picture all my future kids, dirt under their fingernails, happy smiles on their faces, carrying baskets of beans, zucchini and basil, and collecting eggs from the hen house every morning...ah... :) Maybe some day.

Until then, I try to take advantage of grocery store sales matched with coupons for as much of my shopping as possible, but I have to weigh what is worth couponing for, and what is worth buying organic. Most of the time, I will only buy organic apples, berries, lettuces, other soft-skinned fruits and vegetables, milk, eggs, chicken, and beef.  If the "organic" chicken or beef is just too outrageous (which it often is), I will buy the "natural" version- which, while not USDA certified organic, contains no hormones, steroids, or antibiotics.

With the fruit and vegetables, it's clearly the pesticides that concern me- especially if it's an apple or head of lettuce that you won't be peeling.  Rinsing your fruits and veggies in the sink when you get home is always a good idea in order to wash away general dirt and grime from being handled in the store, but doesn't do anything for the chemical residue.  Pineapples and bananas, for instance, I don't stress as much about.

When it's milk and meat, the big fear is the nasty hormones and antibiotics that have been pumped into the product in order for mass production.  My hormones are already messed up enough as it is; I don't need a boost of fake chicken hormones too, thank you.

Great! But what about the cost?  It is definitely more expensive to buy higher quality food, but fear not: coupons do exist!  Just this week, my grocery store sent me a "natural and organic foods" coupon booklet, which, while only about 6 coupons, was a very fun surprise. Websites like Money Saving Mom feature weekly organic coupon deals.  Many organic or natural companies offer coupons on their website or Facebook page, just for signing up or "liking" them (I have a second email address that I use to register for things like this).  Try Muir Glen, Seventh Generation, Stoneyfield, Udi's, Athenos, Silk, Cascadian Farms, and Kashi, for starters. If you have a Trader Joe's in your area, you know that often times their prices are amazing and they have great organic foods- but did you know that they also accept coupons?  Check out Healthy Life Deals for their weekly coupon match-ups!  Also, Whole Foods offers a printable coupon section on their website.

Don't forget about the farmers market, either!

Let me know if you have any other great tips for buying healthy foods!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Upcoming Posts

  • Homemade pasta recipe
  • Perfect risotto
  • Spending money on organic foods
Don't forget to submit any questions!  They will be answered every Friday.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

A New Adventure: Pickling and Jarring

I have been curious about jarring (canning, whatever you want to call it) for a while now.  I don't own a pressure cooker, so I did it the old fashioned way: with a pot of boiling water.  I read up about the sanitation process (boiling the jars and lids), and settled on a recipe: Pickled Okra.  I love pickles, I love okra...so I went for it.  The end result turned out well - good flavor, but the okra became a little softer than I wanted it to.  I wanted it crisp enough to snap in half, but the final boiling process (to seal the jars) cooked it slightly.  No worries, I will still eat it all eventually :)

I bought a little starter kit which included a jar grabber (I am very technical with my terminology), a lid magnet, a funnel, and a bubble-popping/measuring device, which I didn't feel the need to use.

Here is the recipe for the brine (taken straight from epicurious.com):
  • 1 pound okra (3 1/2 to 4 inches long)
  • 6 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 3 cups cider vinegar (24 fluid ounces) *I used Braggs Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar- I love vinegar, but others may think this is too strong*
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons dill seeds *Next time I'd make it 2 Tbsp
  • 1 tablespoon mustard seeds *Next time I'd make it 1 1/2 Tbsp)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • Special equipment: 6 (1/2-pt) canning jars with screw bands and lids; an instant-read or candy thermometer
After some more reading, I found that you can just put the jars in the dishwasher on the "sanitize" setting if you don't want to boil them.

 Supplies

 Adding the brine

Filled jars

 Finished!

 A few tips I have recently read on keeping the okra crispy:
*Add a grape leaf to each jar
*Add alum to each jar
*Before adding the brine, soak the okra in an ice bath for about an hour

Here is a great step-by-step to follow, with a slightly different brine recipe.

Anyone with canning experience- please feel free to leave comments!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Homemade Pizza Dough

I truly love making homemade pizzas.  I get to have complete control over my ingredients, so I can use whole wheat flour if I'm feeling healthy, and I can use whatever toppings I happen to have on hand and throw them all together on a crust.  Also, I can make them any messy shape I want to, and call it "rustic".  Plus, while I usually let the mixer do all the work, kneading by hand can be a great zone-out time. (Another fun way to make homemade pizza is to grill it, but we'll save that for another post.)

The Ingredients:
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast (or 1 packet)
  • 1 1/2 cup warm water (specifically, 120 degrees F. It needs to be warm enough to activate the yeast, but not hot)
  • 3 1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour, plus additional for rolling
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • olive oil
The process: By hand or with a mixer
  • Pour the warm water into your mixing bowl, add honey, sprinkle the yeast, stir, and let it rest for 5 minutes
    • When you come back, the mixture should be frothy:

    • Sift half of the flour over the yeast mixture and mix just until smooth - with a wooden spoon or with your dough hook attachment:
     

      • Add salt and remaining flour
      • If you are using a mixer with a dough hook attachment, turn the machine on medium speed and let it knead for about 5 minutes, or until it is very smooth.  If necessary, add more flour a tablespoon at a time so that the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.  It should be tacky, but not wet enough to stick all over your hands:
      • If you are kneading by hand, lightly flour your counter or board, and knead by 1.) pressing out with the heel of your hand, 2.) folding the dough in half, and 3.) turning 1/4 of a turn. Repeat until the dough is very smooth (about 5 minutes)
        • Keep adding flour as necessary to prevent it from sticking all over your hands.  Add slowly, though! It should still be a little bit tacky.
      1.)
         
      2.)
      3.)
        • Grease a bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl to rest.  Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel
        • Let the dough rest in a dark place for about an hour and a half, or until it has doubled in size:
         

        • Once it has finished rising, punch out all the air and let it rest for 15 minutes (if you don't let it rest, it will be way too elastic to form into a large crust)
         
        • Either divide it into 4 personal pizzas, or make a big one!  You can use a rolling pin, stretch it on your fists, push it out with your fingers...whatever you want. *if you find that the dough keeps springing back on itself, just walk away for 5 minutes, let it rest, and then come back and stretch it again
         
        • Cover with toppings, drizzle the crust with olive oil to make it nice and golden, place on a hot pizza stone or a well oiled cookie sheet, and bake at 425 degrees F for 12 minutes