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.

Just Peachy Hoppin John with Kale #GardenCuizine #HappyNewYear #GoodLuck #cowpeas @foodbankSJ @EatRight_NJ

Just Peachy
Hoppin' John with Kale

This high fiber, low sodium recipe was made similar to my GardenCuizine New Year's recipe post last year. This year I changed the greens from spinach to kale and added one jar of flavorful Just Peachy Salsa - a local salsa blend from The Food Bank of South Jersey.
 
Follow the recipe here 
with the following substitutions:

• Use black-eyed cowpeas (Fagiolo dell'occhio) from your own garden; or, if you only were able to harvest a small baggie full like us - use store-bought, plus whatever you can spare of your own. I added 1/4 cup extra cowpeas from our garden for good luck!
• Use Kale greens instead of spinach: rinse kale, pick off stems, break leaves into bite size pieces. Follow recipe.
• Stir in one, 16-ounce jar Just Peachy Salsa (or 1-2 cups chopped tomatoes)

Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Simmer on low heat partially covered until ready to serve. 

Happy and Healthy New Year 2017!
Related Links
Cowpeas Recipes
Just Peachy Salsa Provides Funds to Help Food-Insecure Families
Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

"But, I can't afford to eat healthy..." Cooking Healthy 101 #GardenCuizine pinto #beans #legumes #pulses

Cooking Healthy on a Budget

Cooking Pinto Beans

Frijoles Pintos

Yields 2 quarts of cooked beans!

• Start with a 16 ounce bag of Goya Pinto Beans, Frijoles Pintos for about $1.39 at your local supermarket. Rinse the beans in a strainer. Place in a stock pot. Cover beans with an inch or so of water. 
• I like to add a 2-inch dried piece of Wakame sea vegetable (available at Asian markets and natural foods stores). But, beans cook fine without it, if you don't have it.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover leaving a small opening for steam to escape; simmer until beans are cooked to taste.
• No need to pre-soak the beans. Cooking time only takes about 30-45 minutes.
• Also, no need to salt or season the beans. Wait until you use them in your recipes. 

Note: don't worry if you overcook them - pinto beans are delicious mashed with a little salt, pepper, onion and olive oil as refried beans, or as a spread in fajitas or mixed with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic as a bean dip.

• When cooked, strain and save the bean liquid. Divide beans into two quart storage containers. Top with bean liquid and refrigerate until ready to use in recipes. Any extra bean liquid can be tossed or used in recipes. I used our extra bean liquid in a quinoa recipe.

Buon Appetito!

Related Links
Take the Pulse Pledge
Blog post and photos Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Feed your gut microbiota Marcella Beans #GardenCuizine #2016foodtrend

Sorana Italian Beans

Marcella Beans

Have you ever heard of Marcella Beans? I just read the wonderful story and thought I'd post the information here. Marcella Beans are white cannellini beans grown in California from Sorana Italy seed stock by heirloom bean growers at Rancho Gordo. They were named Marcella after Marcella Hazan, Italian cook, author, and lover of good, wholesome foods. Sadly, Marcella past away in 2013 before tasting these US grown beans that she inspired.

This year we will be enjoying more beans in our cooking repertoire. As a dietitian I'm always seeking out what foods can help people I know; many of whom suffer from inflammatory diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. 

I remember learning about the importance of Butyrate at Rutgers. The high fiber in foods like beans feeds gut microbes that in-turn fights inflammation. Gut microbes are attracting more research and studies and sure are a fascinating topic.  

NY Chef Seamus Mullen recently shared with GQ Magazine that he predicts more gut-friendly, high fiber foods will be among the hottest food trends in the New Year. Eating more fiber-rich foods makes sense for better health.

White beans can be incorporated into many recipes. I like the way Marcella Hazan herself said she enjoyed Sorana beans - simply drizzled with olive oil and fresh black pepper on good crusty bread. I can't wait to taste these. Please share how you prepare Marcella beans if you get a chance to try them too.

Buon Appetito!

Related Links
Changing Your Diet Changes Your Gut Bacteria
Seamus Mullen: the Chef who Cured Himself of Arthritis

Baked Heirloom Beans. Fiber Superstar! #GardenCuizine #HealthyCooking

Baked Heirloom Beans
Christmas Limas

dietary Fiber Superstar!

Resolve to eat more beans in the New Year! Beans provide excellent dietary Fiber and minerals and are a low cost, lean protein for healthy eating. Christmas Limas have a pleasant chestnut texture. Prepare them as you would any bean. You'll notice that after cooking, the beans will become huge - up to the size of a quarter!

Prepare heirloom beans into a vegan or vegetarian main course or side dish; or enjoy Christmas Limas any time of year as a side to compliment a lean protein (tofu, chicken, fish, pork, etc.). We served Christmas Limas last night as a side dish with grilled chicken and a salad. As you can see in the photos, the beans become more brown when cooked.

We haven't tried growing limas yet, but have heard that they are easy to grow. You can look for dried heirloom Christmas Lima beans from local gourmet suppliers or online from suppliers like Rancho Gordo, which is where we bought ours.

Lima beans are indeed a bean, but they are also starchy, so rather than classifying them in the bean (legume) category, the DGA classifies Lima beans in with starchy vegetables like potatoes, green peas, corn, plantains and cassava. Beans are unique; because of their excellent protein content, 1/4 cup of cooked beans can count as one ounce of protein. 

Research shows diets rich in high fiber foods, such as beans, may reduce cholesterol and the risks of heart disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes. 

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups dried Christmas Limas 
water
small piece dried kombu seaweed - optional

1/2 cup onion, diced
1 Tablespoon (Tblsp) olive oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tblsp molasses
1 teaspoon (tsp) dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon minced hot pepper
1 small sweet pepper - optional (we happened to have some frozen from summer) 
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
pinch black pepper

Putting it all together

• Place dried beans in a stock pot. Top with water to cover by an inch or so. Let soak for 3 hours (or whatever works with your schedule; there really is no set time).
• Drain water. Refill pot to cover beans by 2 inches. Add small piece dried kombu seaweed. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer partially covered until tender. Drain and set aside so beans don't overcook - SAVE bean liquid. Remove and discard kombu.
• Saute onion in 1 Tblsp olive oil. Add peppers. Stir and cook until onions are translucent. Stir in molasses, dry mustard and sugar. Add ketchup, Worcestershire and liquid then beans. Stir gently to combine ingredients. Stir in cider vinegar, salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil.
•  Transfer to a baking dish and bake covered 30 minutes at 375 deg. Uncover, reduce heat and cook another 15-30 minutes. 

Related Links
Heirloom Christmas Limas - my article on Dave's Garden
Nutrient Profile Beans
Beans top the charts as a Fiber Superstar! Today's Dietitian
Benefits of Beans and Legumes 
Baked Limas with Tomatoes and Peppers 
Blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Today in Our Garden @birdsblooms #NJ #gardenchat Growing food teaches us not to waste food or water

Today in Our Garden

Use it or lose it!
Food Appreciation

Our gardens exhaust us during August. Now is about the time every season when we slack off in the fight against fast growing weeds and make time to enjoy the birds and blooms. We also start collecting seeds for next years plantings and are busy canning and preserving in the kitchen.

As we think about all there is to do... food is ripening at a rapid rate. Use it or lose it!

• Picking and preparing fresh, organic, homegrown foods gives us a total appreciation for our food and our environment.

Vegetable gardening also makes me wonder: Would people eat less if they grew and prepared their own food? We know scientific studies show that people do eat more fruits and veggies when they garden, but would they eat less overall?

Tomatoes
Heirloom tomatoes are ripening faster than we can pick them! Favorites include Chocolate Cherry tomatoes (shown). Harry cooked our first homegrown San Marzano tomatoes and made 5 quarts of pasta sauce so far with more tomatoes cooking down now. We freeze the quarts.

As gardening cooks, we want to savor and not waste what we plant and harvest. Cooking down a stockpot full of homegrown, ripe, plum tomatoes (with added basil, garlic and onion) made us realize that it sure takes a lot of tomatoes to make just one quart of sauce.

Onions
Garden space needed for growing onions has made us appreciate the abundance of onions always available at the market. We picked our first Ailsa Craig onions yesterday. Most green tops died back and the onions easily pulled up from the soil.

We probably should have picked the onions sooner. And, we weren't sure what to do about the dirt on them? We rinsed the dirt off. The onions are now air drying on a table outside. As you can see, their shape is teardrop and not large and round. 

The fun of gardening includes learning from other gardeners. Stay tuned for updates on how to grow bigger and better onions. If you already know - please share.

Grapes
One of our best years! Mom even helped pick the grapes off the stems. We picked 13.5 lbs. from one, established red grapevine, which made 12 pints of organic grape jelly.

Cow Peas
Cool beans: Fagiolo Nano Dolico -dall'occho: Italian black-eyed peas climbed up into our tomato vines this year - another garden first for us. I didn't realize they climbed. The pods hang like green beans and can be eaten green or left on the plants to brown. I've been picking them as they turn brown and plan to make Hoppin John with homegrown black-eyed peas for good luck in the New Year. 

To release the peas, rub your finger along the pod edge. If the bean is dry enough, the edge will split like a zipper and the beans can easily be dumped out.

Acorn Squash
Look what I found this morning! We have acorn squash growing from rotten squash rejects that were tossed in the beds last Fall.

Happy and Healthy Gardening! 

Related Links
Backyard Gardening, Grow Your Own Food, Improve Your Health 
GardenCuizine Recipe Baked Nutty Acorn Squash

Blog post and photos Copyright(C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Hoppin' John w/ greens. Good Luck recipe for all Year #GardenCuizine #vegetarian

Vegetarian Hoppin' John makes a nutritious New Year's side dish that you can enjoy throughout the year. Hoppin' John is traditionally made with ground meat or a meaty ham bone or ham hocks. My version adds greens making it an ideal side dish versus a main course. 

• For a vegetarian main course with complete protein, serve Hoppin' John with greens over organic quinoa grain, brown rice, or other whole grain.

What if I overcook the beans?
If you overcook the beans, just puree them and make a hummus-type bean dip or make them into bean burgers or croquettes. Never toss out overcooked beans. Beans can add dietary fiber and nutrients to many recipes.

Hoppin' John (Frijol de Carita) with Greens  
GardenCuizine freestyle recipe (...meaning use your own measurements of ingredients. Beans, soups or stews never have to be "exact". However, ingredient measurements are noted below for those who prefer to follow a recipe)

Ingredients
2 cups dry Black-eye or heirloom Yellow-eye peas (Cowpeas) - reserve cooking liquid (We use dried beans and cook without pre-soaking. You can also use frozen or canned cowpeas.
1 strip Kombu seaweed* (optional; I use about a 6 inch by 1 inch piece)

2 tablespoons olive oil 
1 cup yellow Onion - chopped
1 cup Celery - chopped
1 cup Carrots - chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp grated ginger
1/8 tsp dried thyme
pinch dried, minced hot pepper 
1 bunch fresh or 1 package frozen chopped spinach, turnip, collard or mustard greens

1/2 teaspoon salt 
ground black pepper
hot sauce - optional
fresh or dried parsley or other favorite herbs - optional

Putting it all together

• Rinse dried beans; place in stockpot. Cover with water - about 6 cups and add a small strip of wakame seaweed if desired. Bring to boil, simmer and slowly cook beans until tender but still a little firm. Drain and save any cooking liquid - set aside.
  
• Reusing the same stockpot, add olive oil over medium heat and saute chopped onions, celery and carrots. Stir in cumin seeds, garlic, ginger, thyme, and hot peppers. Add greens. Cover with a little bean cooking liquid or water and simmer until greens are heated through.
• Stir in cowpeas and simmer until the flavors all blend
• Season to taste with salt, pepper and optional hot sauce
• Stir in or garnish with chopped fresh parsley if you have it
• Serve as a side dish or over cooked brown rice or quinoa. Some chefs like Latin-Cuban-Puertorican cook Nydia Pichardo like to serve Frijol de Carita with coconut rice garnished with crisp plantain chips.

Good Luck and best wishes for a 

Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Photo and recipe copyright (C)2014 Wind. All rights reserved. Rev 1/6/17.

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.

Happy New Year! @EatRight Eat More #GardenCuizine Why? Disease Prevention.

You and Your Family deserve to
 Celebrate the New Year 

with a Wealth of Good Nutrition

Eat more dietary fiber and phytonutrients from beans, whole grains, fruits and vegetables 

Healthy New Year Menu

• Hoppin' John made with Blackeye Peas, Frijol Carita, (Cowpeas) - symbolic for coins - "peas for pennies"
• Collard, Turnip or Mustard greens - symbolic for greens, currency $ dollars
• Cornbread - symbolic for gold and a staple for any Southern inspired meal
• Pork for added protein but not necessary when beans are served with brown rice or other grain since grains and beans makeup a complete high quality protein.

Hoppin' John is an American meal inspired by African, French and Caribbean ancestry. The main ingredient - cowpeas - are seeds of a green bean subspecies of Vigna unguiculata legumes. Other Vigna subspecies include Chinese long beans (shown in above photo), also known as yardlong beans that can be grown in your home, community or school gardens.  

These unique legumes are enjoyed for Good Luck at New Year's and are common in cuisines of Southeastern Asia, Thailand and Southern China. Cultivars include Chinese Red Noodle, Blue Goose and Texas Pinkeye.

Related Links
Barley Hoppin' John recipe
Cowpeas please! The History and Importance of the Cowpea plant by Melody Rose
Fruits and Veggies, More Matters
Blogpost Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved. Photo yardlong beans displayed in Singapore, courtesy of Wikipedia

Antioxidant-rich Shamrock Ginger-Mesquite Cookies #Recipe #GardenCuizine

St. Patty's 

~ Low Sodium, Antioxidant-rich ~

Ginger-Mesquite Cut-out
Cookies Recipe

Another GardenCuizine^TM cookie jar favorite! Antioxidant-rich gingerbread cookies inspired the recipe for these tasty year-round treats made with nutrient-dense Mesquite flour. The difference from traditional gingerbread cookie dough is that they are lower in sodium, and higher in dietary fiber from the mesquite flour, which is ground from dried mesquite beans.

Read previous blog post for more information about Mesquite

Contrary to popular belief, the flavor of mesquite is not smokey. Mesquite flour is sometimes compared to carob flour. You really have to try mesquite flour and taste it for yourself. I was pleasantly surprised with the flavor and appealing ginger color it adds to baked goods. My taste testers like it too. 

This recipe yields a large batch, but you don't have to bake off all of the dough at once. Like most cookie doughs, when well wrapped, the dough stores well in the fridge or freezer. 

The dough makes great gingerbread men at Christmas too!

• Ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg mingle well with the unique natural flavor of mesquite, making these Ginger-Mesquite Cookies a new cookie favorite
• Any shape cut-out can be used
• Organic, fiber-rich, mesquite flour can be found from online sources, such as Casa deFruta

Yields: approximately 12 dozen 3-inch cookies
Ingredients
5 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup organic mesquite flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 sticks unsalted butter  
1 cup packed brown sugar 
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup molasses 
2 eggs (cracked into a small cup and set aside)

Putting it all together
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)

• Foil line a few cookie sheets and set aside
• Sift the dry ingredients, except for the salt, into a large bowl.
• In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar and salt. 
• Add molasses and beat until well combined.
• Add eggs, scraping the bottom of the bowl if necessary.
• Add dry ingredients. Mix (with paddle) on low until just combined.
• Divide the dough into about 6 portions. Press the dough into 1-inch disc shapes.
• Wrap dough in clear wrap. Label and date. Store in airtight freezer-safe baggies.
• Keep refrigerated or frozen until ready to use.

• Bring to room temperature when ready to roll out. Using about half of a disc of dough at a time, place the dough between 2 sheets of plastic clear wrap. Slowly work and roll the dough out to about 1/8-inch thick. Cut out using desired cookie cutter shapes.   
• Bake 350°F 7-10 minutes 

Remember cookies are a treat. Enjoy in moderation!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Related Links  
Spices, Herbs and Antioxidants
Cooking with Mesquite Flour
Diana's Mesquite Apple Cake
Blog post, photo and recipe Copyright 2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

St. Patty's Ginger-Mesquite Cookies #GardenCuizine @casadefruta

St. Patty's 

Ginger-Mesquite Cookies

Another GardenCuizine^TM favorite cookie to add to your cookie jar recipe collection: Ginger-Mesquite cookies. They taste similar to gingerbread cookies with hints of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, only they are made with nutritious mesquite flour in addition to regular unbleached flour. Mesquite flour is flour ground from mesquite beans harvested from ripe pods grown on Mesquite trees. 

Mesquite Pods

Mesquite trees grow in southwestern US and in the Colorado, Sonoran, Mojave and Chihuahuan deserts. The drought-tolerant trees have an incredible tap root, which allows them to survive in dry areas. Mesquite trees also thrive in areas near streams and creeks and places having a supply of ground water. The ripe pods contain the beans that are dried, roasted and ground to make a fine powder called mesquite flour.

Mesquite Flour comes from a Bean

As you may have suspected, mesquite flour contains nutrients common to legumes. Mesquite provides a source of dietary fiber (about 21%) and protein (about 19%, high in lysine) plus other important nutrients, including calcium, iron and vitamin C.  

The nutrient-dense, gluten-free, flour contains anti-depressant and anti-inflammatory compounds and was historically used by Native American tribes as a medicinal food. 

Mesquite flour is not to be confused with mesquite smoke flavor that comes from burning wood from mesquite trees. You and your family will find the pleasant carob-like flavor of mesquite flour to be a healthy addition to your baked goods.

• Check out my Low Sodium Mesquite Apple Cake recipe
• Mesquite flour may be hard to find in grocery stores
• Organic mesquite flour can be ordered from online sources, such as Casa deFruta

Watch for the recipe coming soon!

Related Links

Medicinal Plants of the Southwest 
Mesquite Pod Harvesting 
Honey Mesquite Tree