RD Approved Grazing Board! @eatrightpro @eatrightnj #haveaplant #gardencuizine

Best Wishes for a 

Healthy and Happy New Year 2024!

Happy New Year everyone! I'm proud to be featured in a recent Every Day Health article (link below) with my take on an RD approved Grazing Board. Grazing boards are spin offs of charcuterie appetizer boards.

Grazing boards (also called graze boards) feature a selection of nibbles that can be served to your family or guests before the main course. They can also be served after a main course for visiting family or friends. 

This New Years, RD approved, grazing board features sustainable, protein-packed, legumes, namely black-eyed peas - called Hoppin' John. Black-eyed peas bring good health, joy, good luck and peace, which we all sure need more of in this world.

Ingredients for Diana Wind's dietitian approved - healthy grazing board:

• Hoppin' John: black-eyed peas (also known as pulses or legumes) - precooked and ready to heat and serve
  
• Fruit cups (we used strawberries, blueberries with plain Greek yogurt)
• Yogurt or whipped cream for the fruit dip (Cinnamon Bionico sauce is always a winner too! Recipe included below)
  
• Basket or bowl of whole fruits: bananas, apples, clementines, grapes (and/or other favorite fruits)
• Carrot sticks
• Celery sticks (and/or any other veggies you want to use; including, but not limited to: red bell pepper strips, cucumbers, radishes and cherry tomatoes)
• Hummus dip for the veggies (we used store bought)
  
• Cheddar cheese (or any of your favorite cheese, with some cut into star shapes)
  
• Jalapeno Pepper Jack cheese (cut into star shapes)
  
• Wholegrain crackers
• Spanikopita (spinach & feta) wedges - store bought; ready to heat and serve
  
• Pistachios (or any of your favorite nuts)

Putting it all together

This is another GardenCuizine freestyle recipe, meaning that you control the portions based on how many people you plan to serve. Simple and easy!

Start with selecting a large serving board, such as a large cutting board, mirror, or tray. We happened to have a big blue plastic tray that worked perfectly.

Fancy martini or sangria glasses and short decorative glasses make good serving containers for your vitamin-rich fruits and veggies! A twisted star party necklace on the tray adds to the design.

A side fruit bowl or basket filled with bananas, apples and clementines adds even more nutrition for you and your guests. No need for junk foods at this party! 

Keep leftover Hoppin' John in your refrigerator so that you will have plenty to enjoy as a meal another time over quinoa or brown rice.

Best Wishes for a Healthy and Happy New Year! 

Related Links

RD Approved Grazing Boards - Check out #8

GardenCuizine Hoppin' John recipe 

GardenCuizine Cinnamon Bionico Sauce recipe 

Looking Differently at Charcuterie 

How Beans Contribute to Sustainable Nutrition

Photo and blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Camembert Cranberry Puffed Pastry Appetizer #GardenCuizine #recipe

Camembert Cranberry Appetizer

This fun-to-prepare appetizer came from a Camembert Snowflake video recipe making the rounds on Facebook. Great timing for us, since I was looking for something special to make as an appetizer for company. Camembert cheese is an artisan cow's milk cheese made in Normandy France. The texture is soft and creamy, similar to Brie cheese. Camembert's mild flavor can be enjoyed fresh or baked. I made a few modifications to the online recipe.

The video recipe pinched two dough twists together to make a snowflake. That would make a large serving size. I thought the twists were perfect individual servings, so I decided not to pinch them together. 

The video recipe left the white rind on the top of the cheese. My Aunt Jane - a gourmet cook - suggested that we trim it off. I'm glad we did. 

Uncle Al, me, Mom, Aunt Jane

The video recipe also called for bacon. I made it with the bacon, but next time will omit the bacon or substitute chopped roasted walnuts. The bacon flavor overpowered the delicate cheese and tarragon.

For the whole cranberry jelly, I made it the same way as at Thanksgiving - from whole cranberries and a hint of orange. We happened to have some frozen cranberries that worked well. A thin layer is all you will need. The extra cranberry jelly can be served during your main course.

In our oven, the puffed pastry cooked to a nice golden brown at 20 minutes, but the bottom layer needed just a little more time: 25 minutes would be perfect. Keep an eye on it in your oven and use your judgement. The cheese gets gooey and melted; the rind will act like a wall and keep it from oozing out.

Allow to cool slightly before serving for best flavor. Serve with a small butter knife to spread the cheese. Our family gave it a thumbs up! We would make it again for company.

Ingredients
Camembert cheese round
2 sheets Puff Pastry dough
whole cranberry jelly
1-2 slices cooked bacon
dried tarragon leaves
olive oil
egg wash

Putting it all together

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil lightly sprayed with oil.

• Make a batch of whole berry cranberry jelly. Allow to gel.
• Allow frozen puff pastry dough to unthaw

• Use a rolling pin and pin out the first layer of pastry dough to make it a little thinner. Place a glass pie dish upside down on the dough and using a small knife, cut out a circle. 
• Use a round ring or biscuit cutter that is close to the size of your cheese and cut a smaller circle out of the dough center. Move to a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with second layer of puff pastry.

• Before placing the second layer of dough on the baking sheet, spread cranberry jelly on the first pastry dough. Place the second piece of dough over the jelly.
• Cut even strips around the dough ring. Give each one one twist. pinch together the bottom and press with a fork on the end of each piece. 

• Brush the pastry (not the cheese) with egg wash. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil atop the cheese.
• Sprinkle everything with dried tarragon leaves.
• Bake 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!
Related Links
Camembert Snowflake video recipe  
What's the difference between Camembert and Brie cheese?
Photos and blog post Copyright (C) Wind. All rights reserved. Thanks Aunt Jo and Aunt Jane!

Homemade Just Peachy Black Bean Dip in 5 minutes #recipe #GardenCuizine @foodbankSJ

"Just Peachy" Black Bean Dip

Low fat ~ High Fiber ~ Low sodium

Boost your nutrition and weight management diet with high fiber protein from beans. Serve beans as a side dish or puree beans for dips or sandwich and fajita spreads. Pureed beans are quick and easy to make in just 5 minutes. Kids love homemade bean dips too, which make a tasty snack on whole grain crackers and raw fresh vegetables. Try and avoid the temptation to serve bean dips with tortilla chips to encourage eating more veggies.

Black beans are low in fat, cholesterol-free, and provide 30% of the daily recommended amount of dietary fiber. One ounce of black (or white) beans yields 2 grams of protein. In general, beans are inexpensive and readily available in cans or dried. Dried beans are easily hydrated. Simply rinse, soak in water and then cook until tender. Of course, you could also grow your own beans in your home or community garden.

To reduce flatulence sometimes associated with legumes, introduce beans to your diet gradually. Some people find products like Beano helpful.

Ingredients

1 can cooked black beans, rinsed
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup prepared salsa: Food Bank of SJ Just Peachy Salsa! (of course, homemade or any salsa can be used. We like to support our local food bank)
splash hot sauce (optional)

Putting it all together

• In a small bowl or directly in your storage container - using a hand held blender - puree the beans, water, lime juice and cumin. Add more water if needed.
• Stir in the cilantro and salsa
• Enjoy!
• NO added salt is necessary

Serve with your favorite multigrain crackers and rinsed raw garden vegetables, such as baby carrots, celery, cucumber slices, bell pepper slices and grape tomatoes.

GardenCuizine Nutrition Data ...coming soon
Related Links
Support your local food bank  Food Bank of South Jersey
Nourish Healthy Kids List of Legumes
USDA canned Black Beans fact sheet

Photo, recipe and blog post Copyright (C)2013 Wind. All rights reserved.

@HungryHappening @SuperBowl Football Veggie Fritters (Mücver) #GardenCuizine

Super Bowl Appetizers - Football Shaped Zucchini Fritters
(aka, Mücver)

Yes, a dietitian will tell you that in moderation even fried foods can fit into a healthy diet.

 Visit Hungry Happenings for the story, ingredients and recipe.

Fun at our local Farm! Stinging Nettles @cherrygrovefarm Artisan Cheese #GardenCuizine @SuperBowl snacks

 Cherry Grove Farm

Look for local farms and CSA's in your area to seek out fresh eggs, fruits, vegetables, herbs, local honey, jams, apple butter, organic meats and other sustainable local fare. We recently discovered Cherry Grove Farm in Lawrenceville, New Jersey in the Princeton area; they even make their own handcrafted farmstead cheeses. 

For Superbowl Sunday snacks we're trying one of their award winning cheese blends made with stinging nettles - Full Nettle Jack. Cheese can add nutrients, especially calcium, to your diet, but cheese can also add fat and sodium. Select reduced fat varieties when available and keep the portion sizes small and bite-sized. Serve cheese atop low sodium, multigrain crackers; melt cheese over veggies or multigrain nachos; enjoy shredded cheese atop salads and prepared foods.

Artisan Cheese with Greens = a Winning combo
Artisan cheese with Nettles...what is that? We used to have herbaceous perennial Stinging Nettles (Urtica dioica) growing near our garden that I actually planted there on purpose; and someone (we won't mention any names) dug them out to get rid of them thinking they were unwanted weeds, which to many they are. Stinging Nettles can actually be eaten like other nutritious weed greens - ie dandelion, purslane, violets, watercress. Nettles contain nutrients that include dietary fiber, calcium and vitamin A. 

Go @Ravens!

GardenCuizine Nutrition Analysis Stinging Nettles: calculated by Diana Wind, RD from USDA Nutrient Database 
Excellent Source: dietary Fiber, Calcium, Vitamin A
Good Source: Magnesium 
1 cup (89g): 37 calories; dietary Fiber 6g (24% DV); Calcium 428 mg (42% DV); Iron 1.5 mg (8% DV); Magnesium 51mg (13% DV); Potassium 297mg (8.5% DV); Riboflavin 0.142 mg (8% DV); Vitamin A 1790 IU (36% DV); Lutein + Zeaxanthin 3718 mcg

Related Links
Test your Cheese Knowledge 
Edible Wild Plants
Photo collage and blog post Copyright (C)2013 Wind. All rights reserved.

Fun Summer Appetizer for Parties: Ladybug Tomatoes #GardenCuizine #recipe

Ladybug Tomatoes 

Summer Appetizer

      
Non-hybrid heirloom tomatoes are quite hardy and easy-to-grow from seeds. Saving seeds from tomatoes takes a little more effort than some seeds, but it's always worth it. I think every single seed I planted this year germinated, which means more for us and more plants to share with friends. We are still planting out our cherry tomatoes. I usually plant them in both pots and directly in the garden.

On our recent adventure to Sicily, we were often served cherry tomatoes at meals. I had never really seen a bowl of sliced cherry tomatoes served in a restaurant before that. Bite-sized cherry or grape tomatoes are an easy way to increase your vegetable intake too. 

Just 1 cup of cherry tomatoes provides an excellent source of Vitamins A and C, plus they're a good source of Potassium, making them a nutritious snack or an ideal choice for use in recipes.

This ladybug tomato appetizer recipe is fun to put together and makes a tasty conversation piece at summer BBQ picnics and parties. Try some this Memorial Day weekend!

This is another one of my freestyle recipes, meaning that you can use as little or as much of the ingredients to create the number of servings desired. No exact measurements are necessary.
 
Ingredients

• Cherry or grape tomatoes (for the ladybug body)
• Neufchâtel cream cheese (has 1/3 less fat than regular cream cheese) 
• Garden herbs (I snipped some chives, parsley and oregano for our Memorial Day batch) 
• Onion powder
• Ground black pepper 
• Black olives (for heads and spots)
• Black artificial color to dye a little portion of cream cheese - optional (can pipe on dots or use as a glue for attaching the olive spots)
• Rosemary (for antennae; or use your imagination, chives...)  
• Crackers or sliced garlic bread toasts
• Any garden greens (lettuce, mizuna, arugula etc)

Putting it all together

1. Set aside crackers or make garlic and olive oil toasted bread slices
2. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and slice again but not all the way through and set aside.
3. Cut the olives in half and set aside. Also, cut tiny olive bits for spots. Dye a little of the cream cheese mixture black or dark gray to use as a paste to attach the olive spots on.
4.  In a mixing bowl, whip the cream cheese. Stir in the garlic powder, black pepper and chopped herbs.
5. Now you are ready to put them together and have some fun! Spread a little round of cream cheese on the tops of your crackers or toasts.
6. Spread the partially split tomato half over top to make the wings. Add the head (a small amount of cream cheese helps hold it in place). Add antennae. Decorate with spots dipped in dyed cream cheese to hold them on.
7. Serve your ladybug appetizers atop a mixed bed of garden greens on a red, white or black serving dish. Enjoy!

GardenCuizine Nutrition Data for Cherry Tomatoes: 1 cup (149g): 27 calories; total fat 0g; cholesterol 0g; dietary fiber 2g (7%DV); total carbohydrate 6g (2% DV); Vitamin A 1241 IU (25% DV); Vitamin C 18.9 mg (32% DV); Potassium 353 mg (10% DV); Folate 22 mcg (6% DV); Phytosterols 10.4 mg

Happy Memorial Day! 

Check out my Dave's Garden 'Ladybug Love' article, featuring photos of ladybug cupcakes - another summer party favorite!

Related Links: Ladybug Appetizers Recipe
Choosemyplate.gov Vegetable Group
Memorial Day History
Blog post and photos copyright ©2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

GardenCuizine Recipe: Halloween Deviled Spider Eggs

Deviled Spider Eggs

I have seen some fascinating spiders and webs in the garden, especially Orbweavers (Argiope). These spider deviled eggs were inspired by a recipe in Sunset Magazine and were created for a devilish Halloween appetizer. They can also be prepared without the spider olive décor, and served as classic deviled eggs.

You will love this recipe for healthy deviled eggs with ZERO saturated fat and LOW, practically zero cholesterol. That’s right, these hard cooked eggs are LOW in cholesterol with absolutely ZERO saturated fat. Regular deviled eggs, even if made with low fat mayonnaise, would contain saturated fat and over 100mg of cholesterol!

How can these healthy deviled eggs be possible? Get rid of the yolks. Chickpea hummus is the perfect color and a healthy alternative for the egg yolks that are notoriously high in cholesterol. Hummus can be easily made from scratch at home, or is readily available at the market. I used a commercial mild garlic flavored hummus for this recipe.
 
Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 cup hummus
1 Tablespoon sour cream
½ teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon dried mustard
Sprinkle Hungarian paprika
Olives for spiders
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Putting it all together

• Hard boil the eggs, cool and peel. Slice the eggs in half and dispose of the yolks.
• Season the egg whites with salt and pepper
• In a small mixing bowl mix the remaining ingredients and fill the egg white halves.
• Sprinkle the tops with Hungarian paprika
• decorate with sliced olives to make a spider design as shown

I used olives (with pits) that come in different colors, rather than canned black olives. Actual spiders (arachnids) do come in all colors. And just fyi, they have 8 legs.

Happy Halloween!
 
GardenCuizine Nutrition Analysis: Calculated from USDA nutrient values 1/12 of recipe, serving size: 38g, Calories 44, Calories from fat: 18, total fat: 2g, Saturated fat: 0g, Cholesterol 0.5mg, Sodium 106mg, Dietary fiber: 1g, Protein: 3g, Folate: 18mcg (4%DV), Riboflavin: 0.1 mg (5%DV), Manganese: 0.2mg (8%DV), Selenium: 4mcg (6%DV)

Percent Daily Values (%DV) are reference values for adults and children age 4 or older, and are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your personal daily values may be higher or lower based on your individual needs.
Copyright © 2009 Wind. All rights reserved.

What’s Cooking at the Academy of Culinary Arts: Vegetable Sushi

Garden Vegetable Sushi

This video features Chef Bruce Johns from my alma mater, with a recipe from the Academy of Culinary Arts in NJ. Chef Johns demonstrates how easy and fast it is to prepare Garden Vegetable Sushi Maki. Maki is sushi rolled in nori (seaweed) that is served cut into bite size portions. Maki sushi does not contain raw fish and can be served as a delicious, low fat, healthy appetizer or light bite.

Putting it all together
You will need:

• Nori (dried seaweed)
• Rice (preferably brown)
  
• Rice wine vinegar
• Sugar
• Garden vegetables
• Fresh herbs of your choosing
• Wasabi paste
• Pickled ginger
• Soy sauce (reduced sodium)

You will also need a sushi mat to roll the sushi, but can use clear wrap or a clean dish towel if you don't have one. Sushi mats, wasabi (horseradish paste), and nori can be found in Asian Markets, some Natural Food stores and usually in Asian sections of most supermarkets. Nori is available toasted or un-toasted, and tastes best toasted. Un-toasted nori has a slight chewy texture. To toast nori, place it on a baking sheet and briefly heat it in a 300°F (150°C) oven for approximately 5 minutes, or if you have a gas stove, hold the nori with tongs and pass it over the flame until it turns green in color.

• For best flavors, Chef Johns precooks garden vegetables over dry heat. He roasts red peppers and grills carrots, yellow squash and zucchini before incorporating them into the sushi roll.
  
• White sushi rice can be substituted with organic, short grain, brown rice.

Once you get practice with the technique, you can become quite creative, varying your selections for filling ingredients and combination's.
Favorites in our house include: Kappa maki (cucumber rolls) and California rolls (crabmeat, avocado, cucumber). Have fun!



Related Links:
SushiEncyclopedia.com: Sushi Recipes and information
Maine Coast Sea Vegetables: Toasting Nori
Academy of Culinary Arts: NJ Culinary School

Copyright © 2009 Wind. All rights reserved.

Garden Chef Video: Vegetarian Rice Rolls

Vegetarian Rice Paper Rolls
with Prawns, Ginger Soy Sauce & Lime Herb Salad
by Australian GardenChef Amanda Athis
from Cafe Belle Fleur

My dream restaurant would have an herb and vegetable garden just outside the door. There are many Chefs that have just that -- how fabulous is that? Chef Amanda Athis of Flower Power Garden Center (Glenhaven, Australia) is one of those lucky Chefs. She can walk into her garden and pick fresh herbs, lettuce, shallots and other foods. Cafe Belle Fleur, a nursery cafe, has a lake view, for people to relax and enjoy their GardenCuizine. I wish we lived closer, we would surely stop in. Maybe you can. Their address is:

Cafe Belle Fleur
609 Old Northern Road
Glenhaven 2156
(02) 9899 7783

Chef Amanda's Ingredients include:

• Fresh Garden Herbs: Coriander and Mint
• Mixed Salad Greens
• Garden Shallots
• Rice Noodles
• Kaffir Lime Leaves
• Roasted Peanuts (optional)
• Yellow and Red Capsicum
• Grated Carrot
• Organic Snow Pea Sprouts
• Lime Juice
• Sesame Oil
• Sweet Chili Sauce
• Prawns (optional)
  

Click here to visit GardeningCentral.com and view Amanda's recipe.

Also, I am writing an article about Chefs that have Gardens. Please let me know the "Gardening Chefs" you know. I'll be sure to mention them. And, if I get to it, I'll do a Nutrition Analysis for this recipe, I'm sure it would be a winner with all those wonderful fresh and organic veggies and little fat!

***

Gardening Central is Australia's online gardening community featuring articles, ideas, inspiration, facts, recipes, videos and a lot more. Check it out, it's great! Within their site you will find: GardenChef, Gardenbook (social networking for gardeners), Gardening Directory and Gardenshopper, as well as a YouTube channel, which features all of their videos (Gardenchef Recipes, Gardening Central growing/planting tips plus more).