Banana Chips

I seriously need to stop eating these. Or do i?

I love banana chips, but i can tell they're bad for me. So, i decided to make my own - more dried that chipped, but very delicious. I may try this again in the back of my car on a cookie sheet - i bet that will make more 'chippy' chips. The flavor of these remind me of these amazing grilled bananas i had when i visited Thailand. I got them from a street vendor the first day i was there and spent the rest of my trip pacing the crazy Bangkok streets looking for them again. I finally did, and may alive - i have no idea how they're made but they're so freakin' deliciuos!

Here's how i did mine:
Toss sliced bananas in a little agave nectar mixed with citric acid. Lay out in the dehydrator and
'cook' for about 1 full day (including night) rotating the trays occasionally. These suckers stuck to the trays really bad, so maybe greasing the tray would be a good idea. I left theme somewhat chewy. Great for dipping in peanut butter. Gee, i don't wonder why i've gained back some of my recently lost weight.

What's your favorite dehydrated snack?

Seen in Simple Lives Thursday.

Wholesome Wednesdays: Sunflower Seeds

Please visit the new location of this post for lots of nutrition info and other great stuff about sunflower seeds!

Sunflowers: beautiful and unruly wildflowers of various heights, home to myriad beneficial insects, and fodder for sparrows and parrots alike. Every year i try and plant my favorite varieties of sunflowers, and every year my efforts are thwarted by the native flowers: multi branched yellow plants with small seed heads. That's fine, but i really do miss these gorgeous autumn colored beauties i grew at my last house - or the hug mammoth sunflowers with heads big enough for human consumption. Nonetheless, the ones that grow are beautiful homes for millions of baby assassin bugs and snacks for the local sparrows and occasional monk parakeets that wander through my neighborhood. They do get unruly though, and this year are rittled with what i believe are saltmarsh caterpillars - nasty black worms that become nasty white fuzzy worms and eat up the leaves, or fall on me when i'm chopping down mature plants. Gross.

Wholesome Wednesdays: Cucumbers

I LOVE LOVE LOVE fresh cucumbers.

They might be one of my favorite things to snack on, and are definitely one of my favorite veggies to grow. They can be a little finicky - you have to keep them well watered, always a bit moist, and up off the hot ground. But if you treat 'em right, they are top producers of tasty, portable, summery veg. I can get a bit tired of cucumbers by the end of the season, cuz really = what can you really do with cucumbers other than snacking on them or adding them to salads?? A lot of things actually, these are some of the dishes/preparations i make with my cukes:

• Cucumber salad - cucumbers, balsalmic, olive oil, seasonings, and any other veggies you might want to throw in
• Tzaziki sauce - cucumbers with yogurt and seasonings
• Pickles, vinegar or fermented
• Cucumber buttermilk soup
• Cucumber tea sandwiches with cream cheese
• Gazpacho soup

One of my favorite cucumber snacks is actually as simple as slicing up the cuke, plating it, sprinkling on some salt, then drizzling all the slices with Sriracha sauce. Mmmmmmmmmm.

So, what's the big deal about cucumbers? They're not only edible: you see them listed in various beauty products and cleansers. Cucumbers are great diet foods: you can pile up a plate of cucumber slices and eat to your heart's content with zero guilt: they're 95% water! This website has some great information and recipes for cucumbers. Cukes are as good for the skin as they are on our tastebuds.

The World's Healthiest Foods website has some great things to say (as always) about our cucumber friends:

The flesh of cucumbers is primarily composed of water but also contains ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and caffeic acid, both of which help soothe skin irritations and reduce swelling. Cucumbers'hard skin is rich in fiber and contains a variety of beneficial minerals including silica, potassium and magnesium.

Cucumbers are a very good source of the vitamins C and the mineral molybdenum. They are also a good source of vitamin A, potassium, manganese, folate, dietary fiber and magnesium and contain the important mineral silica.  

The silica in cucumber is an essential component of healthy connective tissue, which includes muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and bone. Cucumber juice is often recommended as a source of silica to improve the complexion and health of the skin, plus cucumber's high water content makes it naturally hydrating—a must for glowing skin. Cucumbers are also used topically for various types of skin problems, including swelling under the eyes and sunburn.          -WHFoods.com

Cucumbers are a great source of fiber, can help reduce blood pressure, and are good for the skin - so why aren't you eating a cucumber right now???  Here's the nutritional breakdown:

And again - high in sugar. I'm starting to think all fruits/veggies are 'high in sugar.' I think 'high' must be relative.

Tomorrow i'll be posting some novel cucumber uses outside of the food/beauty realm. I received an interesting email a few weeks ago with all sorts of crazy sounding cucumber uses. I'll test them out and let you know what i find out: i'm all for utilizing my garden's produce to the best of its abilities!

What is your favorite thing to do with your cucumbers?

Recipe Week!

Okay, i'm on task and this week is officially kid (Raina) friendly recipe week. I'm working with limited ingredients that are hopefully palatable to my little niece, as well as being relatively sustainable and/or budget conscious that also don't involve stoves or ovens.

First up is a Summery snack/lunch. Light, sweet, salty, fruity, meaty - all around good. Inspired by high end appetizing fare "prosciutto and melon" these little chunks of yum are accessible to most budgets and taste buds.

Ham and Cantaloupe Wraps

• 1/4 cantaloupe, rind removed, sliced rather thin and cut into chunks. Cantaloupes were on sale this week for $1 each! How's that for a value!?
• Boar's Head Maple Cured Ham, thinly sliced. Could use any flavor of ham - i liked the idea of the maple sweetness jiving with the melon sweetness. I chose Boar's Head because unlike most deli meat, it is minimally processed and contains only 'real' ingredients. Not the cheapest, but i only bought a half pound ($8.99 a pound) and a little goes a long way when it's sliced very thin - sliced thin but staying together, not falling apart.

Simply wrap the ham around the cantaloupe and you're done! Eat with your fingers or put on toothpicks to make mini kabobs. I was surprised, as meat and melon sounds like an odd combination - but as the ingredients are still separate (careful not to cross the 'things mixed together' line) enough that the flavors co-mingle, but remain individual to some extend. You first taste the meatyness of the ham, then a burst of rich, sunny sweetness, followed by an accent of salty. Pretty awesome, actually. You could do a variation of this by stacking chunks of melon and ham on kabob skewers to be picked off one at a time.

Wholesome Wednesdays: Green Beans

I looooooove me some green beans. I occasionally save up enough to make a delicious green bean casserole (no cream of mushroom soup allowed in my house, though - i use chicken or turkey stock and delicious herbs and veggies) but usually eat them fresh or marinated in tangy salads.
Last year i grew tri colored beans: quite prolific and delicious. This year i planted some unknown variety passed on to me from my step mama. They seem to be doing well climbing the corn, but are putting on fewer beans than i'm used to. Not sure if it is lack of sunshine from the corn leaves, or too much energy going in to climbing above the corn instead of making beans. What beans there have been have been munched directly in the garden.

Let's see the health attributes of the delicious green  (or purple or yellow) bean.

Well that looks pretty darn good! A whole cup of beans is only 34 calories and pretty high in fiber and protein. I love it when veggies i love so much are so good for you!

According to the World's Healthiest Foods (which is a great website that you should visit and bookmark right now!):

Green beans are an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K and manganese. Plus green beans are very good source of vitamin A (notably through their concentration of carotenoids including beta-carotene), dietary fiber, potassium, folate, and iron. And, green beans are a good source of magnesium, thiamin, riboflavin, copper, calcium, phosphorus, protein, omega-3 fatty acids and niacin. 

The vitamin K provided by green beans-25% of the daily value in one cup-is important for maintaining strong bones. Vitamin K1 helps prevent excessive activation of osteoclasts, the cells responsible for breaking down bone. In addition, friendly bacteria in our intestines convert some K1 into K2, which activates osteocalcin, the major non-collagen protein in bone. Osteocalcin anchors calcium molecules inside of the bone. 

For atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease, few foods compare to green beans in their number of helpful nutrients. Green beans are a very good source of vitamin A, notably through their concentration of beta-carotene, and an excellent source of vitamin C. These two nutrients are important antioxidants that work to reduce the amounts of free radicals in the body, vitamin C as a water-soluble antioxidant and beta-carotene as a fat-soluble one. This water-and-fat-soluble antioxidant team helps to prevent cholesterol from becoming oxidized. Oxidized cholesterol is able to stick to and build up in blood vessel walls, where it can cause blocked arteries, heart attack or stroke. Getting plenty of beta-carotene and vitamin C can help prevent these complications, and a cup of green beans will provide you with 16.6% of the daily value for vitamin A along with 20.2% of the daily value for vitamin C.    (Green beans are good for the heart!!!)    -WHFoods

Not only that - green beans give you energy (full of iron), have healthful antioxidants, boost the immune system and are anti-immflamatory, something i need to think of more often with my aging joints.

So, go eat some fresh beans! 
Serving ideas:

• Right off the vine
• Steamed ever so briefly and served with homemade butter and a pinch of salt
• As an alternative to carrots or celery to dip in hummus (or ranch if you want to negate the healthfulness)
• Wrap in a foil packet with a little sesame or olive oil, salt or soy, and diced garlic and throw on the grill

Granola the 2nd

Hard not to snack on, but good for husband breakfasts - granola is easy to make and smells as delicious as it tastes. I had a couple over for a dinner last night - i made thai curry with butternut squash, kale, habanero, multiplying onions and cauliflower from the garden (the squash being the odd man not grown by me). Turned out scrumptions - i should have taken a pic of my one head of cauliflower, but i weighed it at least: 11 ounces.

Anyhoo, i gave Mary a taste of the granola I'd made that day and am posting the specific recipe here by request.

• 2 cups rolled oats (organic)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt (fine sea salt- could reduce this if using sea salt, but i kinda like the extra salty kick)
• 3 Tablespoons veg oil - i used 1/2 safflower 1/2 olive
• 1/4 honey or agave nectar or mixture of the two
• 1/4 cup rapadura (brown sugar if you don't have rapadura, but you should get some)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp (a splash) almond extract
• mixed nuts/fruits to taste, this time 'round i used:
• handful walnuts and pecans crumbled
• sprinkling dried wild blueberries
• handful coconut shavings (sweetened as i was a bit short on the honey)
• hemp seeds (could use flax as well)

You could use a lot more nuts/berries. The original recipe calls for 1 1/3 cup nuts and fruit.

Preheat 325. Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Toss oats with cinnamon and salt to mix well. In separate bowl mix oil, honey, sugar, vanilla, almond (the wet stuff) and add the oat mixture to blend well - occasionally squeezing with your hands to mush it together well. Spread this evenly in the cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and flip/ stir and add nuts. Bake 5 minutes, remove and flip/stir, add hemp seeds (flax). Bake another 10 minutes, remove and flip/stir adding fruit and allow to cool. Will be softish when you take it out of the oven, but will crisp up as it cools. Store in a well sealed jar - if doubling recipe store some in fridge or freezer for longer shelf life.

Ta Da. Easy. Don't be limited to the recipe. Add whatever you have around, keeping in mind if it will burn or not. Things like chocolate or burnable seeds should be saved until the last or second to last step. Larger nuts and things can go in sooner.

Mary also inquired about yoghurt making - which i'm excited to say will be happening soon! My mama is shipping me her old yoghurt maker for my birthday (if she remembered to get that in the box) so i'll be yoghurting away with my local raw milk pronto. Can't wait for yoghurt and granola with seasonal fruits!