Don't believe the haters, seed oils are safe, and canola oil is especially good for you

 

The Forgotten History (and Slippery Science) of Canola Oil  

 

... Twilley: In other words, cutting out seed oils is not going to help boost your omega-3 levels. For that, you have to eat more omega-3s. And, outside of oily fish, which are delicious but which most Americans consume very little of — and outside of tofu and chia seeds and flaxseed, which are also pretty underrepresented in the standard Western diet — canola is actually a bit of a omega-3 superstar. ...

 

Darriush Mozaffarian, Tufts University: This is, you know, one of the great Internet myths that’s out there, that seed oils are harmful. Canola oil has been studied in well over a hundred randomized control trials and overwhelmingly been shown to improve every risk factor that has been looked at, and never been shown to be pro inflammatory, which is kind of the theory. We have all the science. Like, we don’t need any more studies on canola oil. This is one of the most well established areas of science there is, is the health effects of plant oils. ...

Happiness is real lemon, real pepper, Atlantic salmon baked in the oven

 Skip the dry, bottled, lemon-pepper seasoning and do this instead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Real lemon pepper salmon

 

1 2+lb. Atlantic salmon filet, skinless

canola oil

1-2 fresh lemons, well-washed, sliced thin

ground black pepper

salt

 

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Oil a roasting pan with canola oil

Place the salmon in the pan

Sprinkle, very generously, with ground black pepper

Sprinkle lightly with sea salt or kosher salt, if desired

Arrange the lemon slices all over the top of the salmon

Bake about 25 minutes on the center rack of the oven

Remove and squeeze roasted lemons with a spoon against the pan, if you wish, and spoon over the servings

Serves about four

Happiness is a tender Italian turkey meatball "shell" during the pandemic

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground turkey

1/2 c milk

1 egg

3/4 c Panko bread crumbs

Seasoning:

1 t salt

1/2 t granulated garlic

1/2 t dried thyme leaves

1/2 t dried oregano leaves

1/2 t whole black peppercorns, or 1/4 t ground

1 t fennel seeds

1 t crushed red pepper flakes

1 T sweet Hungarian paprika

Method:

1) Whisk together the egg and the milk in a large mixing bowl

2) Grind the seasonings in a coffee grinder until fine-ish

3) Whisk the seasonings into the egg/milk mixture

4) Add the meat to the bowl and mix together using a fork or a potato masher

5) Add the bread crumbs and mix together

6) Form "meatball shells" using a fork and a nonstick ice cream scoop, which releases them easily 

7) Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat and add enough canola oil to cover the bottom

8) Fry "shells" in batches about twelve minutes in the oil, flat side first, flipping them half way through

9) Serve with pasta "Orecchiette" if you can find them, for fun, and your favorite sauce

Happiness is a homemade bean burrito, perhaps the best for you and cheapest meal you can make for yourself

I reckon the most expensive thing is the tortilla itself, while the whole shebang is something just north of 72 cents:

Flour tortilla: 33 cents

1 oz. sharp cheddar cheese: 18 cents

2/3 cup prepared pinto beans (13 cents) and basmati rice (4 cents): 17 cents

0.11 oz. spice mixture I prepare from bulk purchased salt, onion and garlic powders, chili powder, crushed red pepper, oregano leaves and cumin: 4.6 cents.

I can season a one pound batch of beans, which makes nine burritos, however I like for 41 cents doing it this way instead of 79 cents for an unadjustable store purchased packet, a savings of 48%.

The price of the beans shown is for a store purchased one pound bag at $1.19. At Sam's Club you can cut this to 63 cents per pound by buying the 12 lb. bulk bag. Per burrito that's 7 cents instead of 13 cents, bringing the whole enchilada down to 66 cents.

The price of a little canola oil for frying is not included.

Toppings are another matter entirely, which with the salsa are really the salad part of the meal.

Happiness is cheap, plentiful canola oil for a happy, healthy heart

Otherwise known as rapeseed oil.

From the story here:

Although care must be taken in handling and processing of canola oil and other vegetable oils, canola oil is a safe and healthy form of fat that will reduce blood LDL cholesterol levels and heart disease risk compared to carbohydrates or saturated fats such as found in beef tallow or butter. Indeed, in a randomized trial that showed one of the most striking reductions in risk of heart disease, canola oil was used as the primary form of fat. Whether using cold pressed canola oil provides some small additional benefit is not clear.

Happiness is a low-sodium, low-fat supper with rainbow trout fillet from Canada

About 40 mg natural sodium, 1.1 g saturated fat.

Oil the fillet on both the skin side and the flesh side in extra virgin olive. Season the flesh with salt-free lemon pepper. Bake at 450 F in a heavy pan for about 10 minutes. Serve with sautéed brussel sprouts and some basmati rice.

The whole dinner turned out to be just 78 mg sodium and 3.35 g saturated fat, mostly from the added butter and the canola oil used to saute the sprouts.

Happiness is whole Rainbow Trout on the charcoal grill, at least that's what she said

I went to the fish counter at Meijer. They had two fresh farm-raised whole rainbow trout from Canada on ice in the display case. I said I needed four.

Tyler of handlebar mustache fame went in the back and brought out a sealed styrofoam box. He opened it and dug through the ice and pulled out four one-pounders for me. It doesn't get much fresher.

He wrapped them in freezer paper and tossed them to me so that I could say that I caught them.

At home I prepared a double-banked charcoal fire in the Weber.

The fish went into the big lasagna pan with copious amounts of canola oil to slick them up real well. Then I salted and peppered the cavities.

When the fire was ready the fish went onto the grill, heads over the coals on the one side, tails over the coals on the other. The lid was closed with the vents fully open.

The fish cook in about 9 minutes on a side. Turning the fish is a little tricky. Use two spatulas.

Prepare a garlic lemon butter for serving with the fish. Zest a lemon, chop the zest and place in a large bottomed bowl, press two cloves garlic into the bowl, and add about four tablespoons of butter. Cut it all together using a pastry blender and fill two small ramekins for sharing at your table for four. 

Serve each trout on a large plate after chopping off the head and tail, which you can save for the cats if you like.

Smother with the butter as you eat.

Our guest from France said it was the best trout she ever had.

I'm still blushing.

It's National Burger Day today, but we made stir-fry by mistake dontcha know

We use a Cantonese style wok with a lower base ring on a gas stove without difficulty

We grill burgers on Sunday evenings like clockwork, but not today!

And to think it was the National Day to celebrate our custom. Oops.

We made stir-fry in the wok because we had accumulated leftovers from . . . the grill!

But not beef! Pork and chicken, mostly.

Here's the basic ingredient list for our stovetop stir fry (you can get by without the celery if you have 1/4 tsp. celery seed):

2 cups leftover cooked meat, like pork and chicken, diced small without the skin or fat

1 cup fresh mushrooms, about 4 oz., diced and then sautéed in butter or oil

3/4 cup diced carrot, about 2

2/3 cup diced onion

1 green onion chopped

2/3 cup diced sweet bell pepper, orange or red

1 cup diced celery stalk, about 2

1 cup sweet baby peas or pea pods

1 can drained bamboo shoots

1 can drained sliced water chestnuts

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 tsp. grated fresh ginger root

3 slices bacon already cooked, chopped

1 cup prepared Jasmine rice in a pan, left covered off the heat (1 cup rice, 2 cups water, a little salt, brought to a boil in a heavy covered pan and then simmered on low for 20 minutes--easy peasy)

1/2 to 1 tsp. sugar

ground black pepper

San-Jay Tamari sauce

2-3 tablespoons Sesame or Canola oil

Here's the cooking order:

Heat oil in the wok OVER MEDIUM

Add carrots and stir

Add celery and stir

Add onion and stir

Add mushrooms and stir

Add garlic and stir

Add sweet pepper and stir

Add black pepper and stir

Add meats and stir

Add fresh peas or pea pods and stir,

And bamboo shoots and water chestnuts and stir,

and cover and steam 3 minutes ON MEDIUM LOW.

Then add ginger and more black pepper

Add 1/4 cup Tamari sauce and the sugar in a pool in the bottom, mix together and stir everything

Add the cooked rice and stir until well blended

Add more Tamari sauce as desired (but you want to keep the mixture on the dry side)

Stir in cooked bacon and green onion

Turn off and cover and prepare to serve immediately 

Curried Basmati Salmon Cakes With Apricot Sauce

Of all the salmon cakes I've made, I like these the best.

The reason is simple. They are lighter and crispier than the cakes I make with whole oats, oat bran, bread crumbs and the like.

It's always laudable to combine as many healthy ingredients into one recipe as you can, but when the result is better with slightly fewer of those good things and which actually makes you prepare and eat the recipe more often, I say go for it.

Wild salmon is something you should eat as often as possible instead of red meats in order to improve your overall health, and I think this recipe will help you do that and add an important ingredient at the same time which we should all eat more often for health reasons, namely, curry powder, a powerful anti-inflammatory.

Curried Basmati Salmon Cakes With Apricot Sauce

1 egg beaten in a large bowl

1 T curry powder of your choosing

1 14.75 oz can wild Alaskan sockeye salmon, drained

1 cup already prepared white Royal Basmati rice from the foothills of the Himalayas, cooled

.5 cup sweetened coconut flakes

1. After you beat the egg in a large bowl, whisk in the curry powder.

2. Add the drained salmon and mash together with a potato masher.

3. Stir in the basmati rice and the flaked coconut, combining gently with the masher until thoroughly mixed.

4. Heat a generous amount of sesame or canola oil in a porcelainized dutch oven, such as a Le Creuset oval 3 quart.

5. Form the cakes using a smallish half inch deep lid from some container or other, pressing the mixture into the lid until firm. I use a rubber lid from a broken Leifheit food chopper I saved. It releases the cakes perfectly. Using it, I make seven patties from the ingredients.

6. Fry the cakes over medium high heat two minutes on a side. Use a slotted silicone spatula to lift and drain the cakes as you remove them, and keep on a serving plate in a warm oven.

Apricot Sauce

4 T salted butter

6 T best apricot jam

2 T fresh lemon juice

1. Melt the butter in a sauce pan over low heat.

2. Stir in the apricot jam and lemon juice at medium heat.

3. Cook and stir until thoroughly combined and slightly thickened and remove from heat.

4. Top each cake with some sauce and serve immediately with some petite steamed sweet peas, or a crisp green lettuce salad on the side.

Wunderbar! 

The Sidekicks To The Super Foods Which You Can Incorporate At Will

almonds
AMARANTH
artichokes
ARUGULA
asparagus
BARLEY
bay leaves
BUCKWHEAT
bulgur wheat
BOYSENBERRIES
bok choy
BLACKBERRIES
broccoflower
BRUSSELS SPROUTS
sea bass
CASHEWS
carrots
CANOLA OIL
cauliflower
RED & GREEN CABBAGE
chives
SWISS CHARD
clams
CUMIN
currants
CHERRIES
collards
CRANBERRIES
cloves
COUSCOUS
yellow corn
SKINLESS CHICKEN BREAST
daikon root
EDAMAME
purple grapes
GRAPEFRUIT
guavas
HERRING
hazelnuts
ALASKAN HALIBUT
kale
KUMQUATS
kamut
KEFIR
kohlrabi
LEEKS
lemons
LIMES
romaine lettuce
LIVERWORT
miso
MILLET
mustard greens
MACADAMIA NUTS
oregano
OYSTERS
papayas
ORANGE BELL PEPPERS
pineapple
PEARS
sweet potatoes
PLUMS
pistachios
PUMPKIN SEEDS
peanuts
PECANS
Japanese persimmons
QUINOA
rye
WILD RICE
brown rice
RUTABAGA
raspberries
SCALLIONS
shallots
SARDINES
sesame seeds
SUNFLOWER SEEDS
Butternut squash
SPELT
seaweed
SOY MILK soy yogurt
SOY NUTS
strawberries
THYME
tangerines
TURMERIC
triticale
TEMPEH
turnips (& greens)
TOFU
canned Albacore tuna
TROUT
watercress
WATERMELON
wasabi
WHEAT

Sage Breakfast Sausage

When you feel like a heartier breakfast than usual, sage breakfast sausage patties fit the bill, served along with the customary Saturday morning griddle cakes and maple syrup. A delightful harmony of flavors!

The following dry mix recipe seasons 1.25 pounds of ground turkey, preferably Jennie-O brand:

Sage Breakfast Sausage Seasoning Mix

1 tsp. salt

.75 tsp. pepper

.5 tsp. dried ground sage

.5 tsp. dried thyme leaves

.125 tsp. dried rosemary (that's 1/8 tsp. for those of you in Rio Linda)

1.5 tsp. brown sugar

.25 tsp. ground nutmeg

.25 tsp. ground cayenne

.25 tsp. red pepper flakes

Pulse all ingredients in a coffee grinder until combined and ground, then stir into the ground meat using ye olde potato masher in a large mixing bowl.

Form into small patties using a form or by hand and fry in a cast iron skillet in a little canola oil, four minutes on a side.

Makes about six patties, which can easily be halved for twelve servings. Freeze the leftovers.

Ba da bing, ba da boom.

Buckwheat Yogurt Oatcakes

For about two months, I've been avoiding wheat on most days. Saturday night pizza has been the only exception. Otherwise I'm relying on less grain in the diet overall, using oat bran and oats as before but in smaller quantities, substituting brown rice pasta and corn tostadas for wheat pastas and wheat flour tortillas.

There's reason to believe that wheat is a major contributor to small LDL, which in its turn is suspected as a prime culprit in cardiovascular disease. The usual cholesterol panel you get at your annual physical tells you absolutely nothing about particle size, and doesn't even really measure LDL. It's a calculation, not a measurement.

So when I got the results of a special blood panel back in 2008 and found out my supposedly pretty good cholesterol numbers revealed many small LDL, I started to look into the subject more deeply. Most interesting has been the clinical work of a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, cardiologist named William Davis. His book, Track Your Plaque, has interesting dietary recommendations which frequently dovetail with the super foods menu. And his blog keeps us up to date on all the latest developments. I'm looking forward to my next blood test when we'll see if my small LDL particle count has gone down.

Eliminating wheat isn't easy, especially if toast, sandwiches and wraps, tortillas and pasta play a large role in your diet. And Saturday morning pancakes! So here's a recipe I love, in moderation, which the lady of the house adapted from "Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes" by Marcia Beachy in the More-With-Less Cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre.

Buckwheat Yogurt Oatcakes

.5 cup plain fat-free yogurt

.5 cup 2% milk

2 T canola oil

1 egg

.5 cup buckwheat flour

.5 cup oat flour

1 t baking powder

.5 t baking soda

.5 t salt

1 T ground flaxseed

1. Combine the yogurt, milk, oil and egg in a bowl and whisk together.

2. Combine the dry ingredients in another bowl and whisk in the wet ingredients for about a minute.

3. Fry on a lightly oiled griddle.

Makes about eight pancakes.

Flaxen Oat Bread

Two of three I baked today, one in a clay baker.

When I was a boy I'd wake up on Saturday mornings to the smell of fresh white bread baking in the oven, just one of my mother's many talents on routine display. When I'd finally come downstairs I'd find her in the kitchen with the loaves on the breakfast table, smearing melted butter across their already golden brown tops. There they'd glisten in our cozy Wisconsin home on a cold January morning, just begging to be sliced, and made into French Toast. Perhaps the memory of it is more vivid because of the sun streaming in the windows from a cobalt blue sky today, but I'm guessing it was the whole package made special because mom was at the center of it, the choreographer of our lives. No one will ever love you like your mother.

Shortly after she died in September 2008, a book arrived in the mail, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois (St. Martin's Press, 2007). I've been baking bread ever since. The following recipe is my adaptation of their recipe for oatmeal bread. Unlike them, I let the dough rise only the one time and in the greased pans I bake them in. I also bake all the loaves at once, and freeze them after they have been cooled and sliced. You can modify some of the ingredients from their original recipe as I have below, by using 2% milk, buckwheat honey, and flax, among other things, in favor of the super foods. Her highness loves it.

Flaxen Oat Bread

1.75 cups lukewarm water

1 cup 2% milk
2 T canola oil

.5 cup sugar, light or dark brown sugar, or buckwheat or clover honey, or maple syrup

2 T yeast

1 T salt

6 T ground flaxseed meal

1 cup oat bran

1.5 cups whole rolled oats

5 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1. Combine the water, milk and oil in the bowl of your KitchenAid Mixer.

2. Add the sugar, yeast and salt to the bowl and mix using the triangular head. Add the flaxseed meal, oat bran and whole oats and mix for a couple of minutes to allow the oats to soak up the moisture.

3. Scoop into the flour with your measuring cup, tapping with a butter knife and scraping cleanly across the top, and add one cup at a time allowing the mixer to incorporate the flour for at least a minute for each cup. I find that as you approach the fifth cup it takes longer to incorporate, and I move the bowl up and down as needed to keep the added flour from poofing out the top.

4. Scrape the dough off the hook into the bowl with a silicone spatula, and scrape the sides of the bowl, too.

5. Grease your baking pans (I use glass bread bakers) and then grease both hands with the Crisco. Grab a grapefruit size wad of dough and manipulate it with your hands and shape it to fit your pan, and drop it in.

6. When all the pans are full, I put mine in the microwave above the stove to rise, where the preheating oven to 350 degrees F below helps the bread rise. It takes about 45 minutes to rise.

7. Then bake in the oven at 350 F for about 40-45 minutes and when done turn out onto a wire rack to cool. I like a longish bake as opposed to a shorter one.

This bread is moist, and likes to be thoroughly cooked and thoroughly cooled before slicing.

Ground Flaxseed Meal

Flaxseeds are the second person of the whole grains super food trinity which includes oats and wheat germ. Just a tablespoon or two each day goes a long way. Steven Pratt calls them "the best plant source of omega-3 fatty acids," in the form of ALA, the plant analogue to the wild salmon we so zealously value for its rich stores of the same acids in the form of EPA/DHA. Omega-3 fatty acids are important for cardiovascular health, and for cellular health generally throughout the body, especially in the brain.

As an insoluble fiber (fiber which does not dissolve in water), ground flaxseed meal contributes to a shorter transit time of food through the body, and just two tablespoons a day provide four grams of the suggested daily intake of twenty-five grams, or 15%. On top of the ALA, you also get protein, iron, magnesium, potassium, and, listen up ladies, lignans, the latter thought to help prevent and/or treat breast cancer.

Incorporating it into the diet is easy. You can add it straight to your morning oatmeal or other cereal, include it in a smoothie, or in cakes on the griddle. In fact, if you bake anything requiring oil or butter in the recipe, you can use flaxseed meal as a substitute, using the ratio 3 to 1. In other words, if using ground flaxseed meal instead, triple it (A recipe requiring 1/4 cup canola oil will require 3/4 cup ground flaxseed meal instead). Recipes "tend to brown more rapidly," as the Bob's Red Mill package says. I frequently substitute part of the oil or butter needed in a recipe with the ground flaxseed meal and never notice the difference, not even in my homemade bread.

I buy my ground flaxseed meal at an Apple Valley health food store near our home in Michigan, where I always find it refrigerated. And that's how I store it at home. Otherwise it can go rancid. Choose Bob's Red Mill. You won't be disappointed!

Hot Italian Sausage, Super Foods Style

Wednesdays and Saturdays at our house are Italian days, not because we're Italian, but because we like their food! My mother's maiden name is spelled just like a town in Tuscany, which was news to her. But her dad also looked more like a wiry Sicilian than a farmer from Germany. Hard to figure it out, after all these years. But this recipe for hot Italian sausage isn't hard, and you're going to love it, because it's delicious, good for you, and passes the kid test with flying colors!

You can make this sausage and serve it alongside the pasta with a fresh steamed vegetable with a little butter. (Broccoli florets are always popular here). Or you can break it up in my basic tomato sauce, semi home made, and serve it on the pasta. And it's also nice crumbled on the pizza! or in an omelet! How about in the lasagna?! Stuff it in the ravioli! Oh! Italian sausage! How do I love thee? Let me . . . get on with it.

Hot Italian Sausage Dry Seasoning Mix

.25 t garlic powder

.25 t dried thyme

.25 t freshly ground pepper

.5 t whole fennel seeds

1 t crushed red pepper flakes (pretty hot in this quantity, so be ready)

1 t salt

1.5 t paprika

Clean out the electric coffee grinder, but don't go crazy. Leave some traces of the espresso behind. It's good. Add all the ingredients above and let her rip for a minute or so. You have now made the seasoning for 1.25 lbs. of meat (and now you should clean the grinder thoroughly, unless you like your next cup a little spicy).

Hot Italian Sausage, Super Foods Style

1 prepared Hot Italian Sausage Dry Seasoning Mix recipe

1.25 lbs. ground turkey (half a 2.5 lb. flat of Jennie-O lean ground turkey)

Drop the turkey meat into a large bowl. Sprinkle the dry seasoning evenly over the turkey until you have covered it uniformly, then work it in with ye old trusty potato masher. Repeat until all the seasoning is mixed into the meat.

Next, oil or grease a 3/4 inch deep, 3 1/2 inch diameter form to receive the meat mixture to make sausage patties. (I use the rubber end of an old Zyliss Food Chopper. You can improvise with some other old lid to something, or buy one of those metal hamburger forms. It really doesn't matter if the size varies a little. If you're adventurous and have a KitchenAid mixer with a sausage making attachment, go for it! But you'll need casing!). Using a fork, load the form with meat and make a patty that holds together without being too densely packed. Plop it out onto a large plate and go on to the next one. I can make almost six with my form.

Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat for a couple minutes, then add canola oil to cover the bottom with a shallow pool. The high sides of the oven will help prevent splatters. Fry the patties two or three at a time over medium low heat, about four minutes per side. Drain and reserve the fried patties in a warm oven as you go. That's it. Badabing, badaboom.

'Nita's Cakes on the Griddle

It's Saturday. We sleep in, and 'Nita makes us a lazy breakfast. Sometimes it's Dutch Babies, but usually it's griddle cakes. She likes a recipe she adapted from "Wheat Germ Griddle Cakes" by Selma Johnson in Doris Janzen Longacre's More-with-Less Cookbook. The recipe makes 16 cakes. Serve them with butter and pure maple syrup. Then go out and cut the grass to work it off. Or not.

'Nita's Cakes on the Griddle

1 cup raw wheat germ

.5 cup oat bran

2.25 cups reduced fat milk

3 eggs

3 T canola oil

3 T ground flaxseed meal

1.25 cups unbleached bread flour

4 t baking powder (we prefer Hain brand "Featherweight Baking Powder" without aluminum)

1 T sugar

1.5 t salt

.5 t ground cinnamon

.25 t ground ginger

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl with a whisk. Beat the eggs in another and add the milk and oil and mix. Then gradually add the wet to the dry, stirring as you go.

Preheat a cast iron griddle over medium heat for a few minutes. Coat it with a thin slip of canola oil. Drop a bead of batter on the griddle to test for readiness. Use a 1/4 cup ladle to pour out the batter. Reduce the heat to medium low and proceed. Keep the cakes warm in the oven as you go.

It's summer, so serve with some sliced water melon or other fresh fruit on the side.

Monday Night "Super Foods" Burrito

With all four elements of the burrito filling prepared as in the previous posts, you are ready to combine them. Once combined, you can set some aside in the fridge for reheating later and freeze the rest. In this post we'll combine everything and make some burritos right away.

Monday Night "Super Foods" Burrito

prepared pinto beans recipe

1 cup reserved pinto beans cooking liquid

prepared brown rice recipe

prepared ground turkey recipe

prepared dry seasoning mix recipe

1 package La Fuerza Tortillas de Harina (preferably "fat-free")

8 oz. extra-sharp cheddar cheese (preferably reduced-fat), divided into one ounce portions

canola oil

Into the large cast-iron dutch oven containing the prepared turkey, add the dry seasoning mix and a splash of the bean cooking liquid and cook over medium heat, stirring with the hand-held potato masher. When thoroughly mixed and bubbly, add all the drained beans (including the onions and garlic) and stir with the masher. Then add all the rice and stir until combined. Now mash until the mixture reaches the consistency you prefer. Some like it with just some of the beans mashed and creamy and some left intact. Others will like it all mashed. Still others like it as is. Add more bean cooking liquid if necessary to reach the consistency you desire. At most you'll only need a half cup of the reserved liquid. We keep ours on the dry side to make the filling easier to handle. When it's ready, turn off that burner, and light another.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium for two minutes. Scoop up at most 2/3 cup of the burrito filling and drop it in the center of a room temperature 8.5 inch tortilla. Smooth it out from top to bottom down the center and make a little trough in it running the full length. Drop one ounce of cheese slices in the trough, and fold the sides of the tortilla over each other. Pour 3 T canola oil into the skillet, spread it around with a spatula, and drop the burrito in, folded side down to start. Reduce heat to medium low and fry carefully, one minute per side, for four minutes total, or until nicely browned. Add additional oil to the skillet as necessary.

Remove the burrito to an oven safe plate and keep it in a warm oven while you make the rest. Serve topped with your favorite things (no, not ice cream). We like La Victoria brand mild red taco sauce, sliced black olives, chopped green onions, chopped roma tomatoes, avocado slices, and chopped fresh baby spinach and romaine lettuce. Served this way, this meal is composed of at least ten of Pratt's super foods. Eleven if you top it all with some plain, fat-free yogurt. For a quick lunch, skip the frying and the toppings. Just assemble the burrito and heat it in the microwave for a minute or so.

Brown Rice, in the Microwave

In previous posts we have described the preparation of the pinto beans and the dry seasoning mix for Monday night Mexican style burritos. In this post we turn to the other elements used in the filling: brown rice and ground turkey.

Although raised in a "meat and potatoes" household in Wisconsin in the 60's and 70's, in our home today we rarely eat either. In place of potatoes, we eat brown rice, a super foods "sidekick" of the grain superstars oats, wheat germ, and ground flaxseed. Brown rice serves as a nice side dish along with simply steamed vegetables at a variety of meals. After it's cooked, you can stir in seasonings like fresh pesto to liven it up. And in a burrito, it functions as a filler to stretch the recipe. The notion that combining rice and beans is necessary to provide the body with a complete protein is now challenged.

The turkey in the final product we will describe is optional. We include turkey because it is another one of the super foods, which just also happens to add a taste kick reminiscent of the ground beef many people are accustomed to in a burrito. Because most beef today is corn fed, not grass fed, the amount of saturated fat in beef is much higher than it used to be, according to evidence presented in films such as "King Corn." Ground turkey makes a better substitute, in our opinion. And like the rice, it stretches the volume even farther. You can routinely find 5 lb. containers of Jennie-O brand fresh ground turkey at Sam's Club for less than two dollars a pound. I bring it home and divide the contents of the two containers into four equal parts and freeze them. It's not as lean as the turkey breast meat recommended by Steven Pratt in his books, but he's not a food Nazi, and neither am I!

Brown Rice, in the Microwave

1 cup long grain brown rice (do not rinse)

2 cups fresh water

1/8 t salt

1 T extra virgin olive oil

To a microwave-safe covered one quart casserole, add the rice, water, salt and oil, and give it a stir. Cover and place in the microwave. Set the oven for three stage cooking: 5 minutes on high, 20 minutes at 40% power, and 20 minutes at 30% power. When complete, allow to rest as is in the microwave to cool. Refrigerate if not using immediately.

The cooking power may have to be adjusted up or down, depending on the output of your microwave. For lower power countertop microwaves, try the percentages as described. For microwave hoods, start with 5 minutes on high, 20 minutes at 30%, and 20 minutes at 20%. If the power is too high, you'll get boil-over. If it's too low, you'll get underdone rice. Adjust accordingly.

Ground Turkey, Prepared

1.25 lbs. fresh ground turkey meat

2 T canola oil

Heat a large cast iron dutch oven over medium heat for two minutes. Add the oil and spread it around with a spatula, then add the meat. Let it brown for a few minutes and then turn the heat down a little. Take out ye old trusty hand-held potato masher and a hot pad and start mashing and stirring the meat as it cooks. (If you're using a fancy Le Creuset dutch oven with a finished cooking surface, don't use metal tools; they'll damage the surface). When it's all browned and nicely uniform in size, you are done!

At this point, you proceed with the combination of all the elements of the burrito filling, right in the cast iron pot, which we'll describe in the next post.

Pinto Beans

When it comes to beans for burrito filling, there are many choices available beyond the well known pinto bean. From the super foods perspective, the darker the bean's skin the more potent the phytochemicals, but the pinto is the most widely available economical choice. I've used black, pink, chili and red beans of all kinds in my recipe, but I usually end up with the old standby, the pinto bean, which I can acquire for roughly a dollar per pound. A one pound can of already cooked beans costs about the same price, but a pound of dry beans prepared will yield roughly three times the contents of that one pound can.

When buying any dried bean or legume, make sure to look for relatively recently harvested ones. The sell-by date on the package will be a clue. If the date is near, the package is not fresh and has been sitting around somewhere. Old beans are harder to cook, and can take what seems like forever.

The preparation time of dried beans only seems inordinately long. You just need to plan ahead. The soaking and the cooking can occur without your presence.

 

Prepared Pinto Beans

1 lb. dry pinto beans

1 large onion, cut into eighths (choose yellow or sweet)

3 cloves garlic, crushed with a chef's knife

.25 cup canola oil (or extra virgin olive oil)

Rinse the beans under cold water. Discard any stones or lumps of dirt you may find. Put the beans in a large bowl and cover with about four inches of fresh water. Let soak for at least six hours, refrigerated, and as long as overnight.

Drain off the water and rinse the beans again under cold water. Add them to a deep and heavy stainless steel stock pot. Cover with at least two inches of fresh water. Add the onion, garlic and oil and give it all a stir. Do not add any seasonings at this point. The salt will impede the cooking of the beans, not enhance it. Put on the lid and bring to a boil over medium heat. Once the mixture starts to boil, you have two options. You can set the burner to low and boil the beans for about an hour until done, or you can set the burner to simmer and let the mixture cook for several hours unattended (I never leave the property with a fire on under a pot). I prefer the latter since it keeps the beans intact throughout the cooking process. A third option is to use a crock pot, but in that case you should get the contents boiling on high first and then set the pot on low before you leave for the day. That can delay you, but it works. If you soak the beans during the day while you are away, you can cook them in the crockpot overnight while you sleep.

You'll know the beans are done when you bite into one and it's creamy, not firm. Leave the beans in the pot with the water to cool for an hour, and then overnight if you wish in the refrigerator. Drain off the water into a large bowl through a mesh collander to capture the beans and reserve some of the cooking liquid (save a cup in the refrigerator).

If you don't use the beans immediately, they can be stored in the freezer.