Thursday, October 28, 2010

Brined and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

In honor of Halloween this weekend, an easy, salty and kind of sassy (thanks to Worcestershire sauce) recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds:



I tried something new with this recipe in that I first brined the seeds (boiled them in salty water) before roasting them in the oven, which I'd seen in a couple of recipes.





And after trying them, I think I'm into the brining. It seems it makes them a bit crispier because it kind of puffs them up before you bake them.

It's unfortunate that more seeds don't come in one pumpkin, because it's pretty easy to eat the whole batch yourself.

Brined and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

seeds from 1 medium-sized pumpkin
1 T olive oil
1.5 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T salt
(amounts may chance depending on quantity of seeds in your pumpkin)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Cut pumpkin open and scoop out the insides. Separate the seeds from the stringy parts, and rinse the seeds.

2. Measure the quantity of seeds that you have, and add 2 cups of water for every half-cup of seeds, and half a teaspoon of salt for every cup of water, to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain seeds.

3. Spread the seeds in a roasting pan. Add 1 T of olive oil and 1 T of Worcestershire sauce for every 1 cup of seeds. Mix all together, and spread seeds in pan so that seeds are in one layer.

4. Bake seeds for 20 minutes, until the seeds begin to brown. Watch carefully as they burn easily. Let cool.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Pumpkin & Feta Savory Muffins



This recipe is for pumpkin-lovers with a curious streak... it's pumpkin not in a pie or dessert, but in a savory muffin (more of a biscuit, actually) with scallions and salty feta cheese.





As a side note, I've included a method for roasting a pumpkin yourself (versus using canned). It's actually really easy as long as you have some extra time.





I was happy with how these turned out, but they almost smelled better as they were cooking-- they sort of smelled like Thanksgiving in a muffin.

Lastly, I used whole-wheat flour in this recipe in an effort to use the lesser-processed option, but you could also use white all-purpose flour. The whole-wheat version seemed to make the muffins a little denser than I was expecting, so I would be curious what a half-and-half version would be like.





Pumpkin & Feta Savory Muffins


Makes 20-22

2 C chopped roasted pumpkin pie pumpkin (or other winter squash)
1 large handful of spinach, chopped (about 1 C)
1/2 C unsalted sunflower seed kernels
1 t Dijon mustard
3/4 C feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 C Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
1 t salt
1/2 t ground black pepper
1 t red pepper flakes
4 t baking powder
2 C whole-wheat flour (can also use all-purpose flour)
2 eggs
3/4 C milk
1 bunch of scallions/green onions, chopped (about 1 1/4 C)
1 T butter or olive oil to grease muffin tins

1. To roast the pumpkin:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Slice pumpkin open and scoop out seeds. Cut pumpkin into about eight chunks. Leaving skin on, place pumpkin pieces in a pan and put about 1/4-inch of water in the bottom of the pan. Place in oven for about 40-45 minutes; test tenderness of pumpkin with a fork.

Once pumpkin is done, set aside to cool. The oven can stay at the same temperature to cook the muffins.

2. While pumpkin is cooking, grease the muffin tin with butter or olive oil (I actually used coconut oil, which is a good alternative to butter).

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the spinach, scallions, sunflower seeds, Parmesan, a half-cup of the feta, the mustard, salt, red pepper flakes, and pepper. Add the chopped pumpkin.

4. Beat the eggs and milk together in a separate bowl, and add to the pumpkin mixture. Sift the flour and baking soda into the pumpkin mixture and fold all together.

5. Spoon the mixture into the greased muffin tin, filling each tin about 3/4 full. Sprinkle the remaining feta over muffins. Bake for about 15 minutes (still at 400 F), until the tops and sides of the muffins are brown. Let sit for a few minutes before cooling on a cooling rack.


Adapted from a 101cookbooks.com recipe.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

The Ecological “Footprint” of Eating Meat

Meat, the key ingredient of so many classic American dishes, can seem like a staple in the US. Most people’s first mental image of American food is probably a hamburger or meatloaf, right? Yet, for those who eat meat, should it be considered more of a luxury or indulgence?


http://www.esquire.com/features/cooking-perfect-steak

Aside from the ethical reasons that lead many people to abstain completely from eating meat, there are numerous environmental reasons to consider what the “footprint” of meat production is compared to that of non-meat alternatives. And, just as importantly, what the “footprint” is of the particular type of meat being eaten.


http://www.topnews.in/pay-higher-cost-water-after-overhaul-2264713

One way to look at this is to compare the resources (water and various forms of energy) required to produce meat versus that required to produce other types of food—meat’s ecological footprint.

At least one study has shown that a non-vegetarian diet is more of a resource drain than a vegetarian one is. For instance, Marlow et al found that a vegetarian diet utilized significantly less water, primary energy, fertilizer, and pesticides in comparison to the non-vegetarian diet. The biggest difference between the two diets was water usage: they found that a non-vegetarian diet required about 264 additional gallons of water a week for production in comparison to a vegetarian diet. Of note, though, is that the differences in the two diets resulted primarily from an inclusion of beef (versus other types of meat) in the non-vegetarian diet (p. 1701S).

The table below shows how three groups of food compare in terms of the calories that result in the actual food that’s eaten per each calorie of energy (fertilizer, etc) that is required to produce that food. While cereal grains and legumes provide more nutrient calories than the calories of energy that it took to produce them, “animal products” only return 0.01 or 0.05 of each calorie of energy that was used in production. (Fruits and vegetables also return less energy than went into them, but less so than animal products do.)

Nutrient Calories per Calorie of Primary Energy Input:


Cereal grains and legumes: 2-3 calories
Most fruits and vegetables: Approx. 0.5 calories
Animal Products: Approx. 0.01-0.05 calories

Source: Marlow, et al, “Diet and the environment: does what you eat matter?” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2009: 89, p.1700S.

There is much more to say on this topic, but, as a meat-eater, for me the main takeaway is a change in mindset regarding eating meat: from seeing it as “basic” to seeing it more like how most people probably see driving a car: even though it can be nice to do, environmentally-speaking, it’s a luxury because it’s not sustainable on a mass scale. (I recognize the fact that, for vegetarians, this is pretty much all a mute point.)

And this isn’t a novel mindset globally. For a variety of reasons, the majority of people worldwide live primarily on a plant-based diet: an estimated two billion people mostly eat a meat-based diet, while an estimated four billion mostly eat a plant-based diet (Pimentel and Pimentel, 660S).

If this has piqued your interest, here are some recommendations for meat-eaters who would like to decrease their meat-eating “footprint.” There is absolutely nothing genius about these recommendations, but they can help get the creative juices flowing:

• Decrease meat consumption by using less meat and more legumes and vegetables in meat recipes, effectively making meat a less major component
• Replace beef with turkey or chicken in beef recipes because they require less energy input than beef does
• Learn how to make vegetarian recipes that are high in protein and have an “umami” flavor (savoriness), so meat feels less necessary

Stay tuned for recipes that are examples of these recommendations…

Sources:

Marlow, et al, “Diet and the environment: does what you eat matter?” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2009: 89.

Pimentel and Pimentel, “Sustainability of meat-based and plant-based diets and the environment,” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2003: 78.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Butternut Squash Barley Risotto

Somehow, it is already October. And getting towards mid-October. It's still really warm in DC, so it doesn't feel like October. But I panicked a little the other day, thinking about this, because fall is probably my favorite season for cooking, and I have a lot I want to cram in before it's over! So, whatever the temperatures are here, it's time for autumnal cooking.


I think that cooking at this time of year is so rewarding because in addition to a lot of delicious ingredients being in season (squash, apples, pumpkins, etc.), the food is basically all about comfort, or, more explicitly, chilliness and finding comfort in food that's the opposite of chilly.

This dish is a great example. I started out wanting to make a dish with butternut squash and sage, which go really well together, and then started thing about how comforting risotto is, and so decided to do both. I think this recipe definitely delivers on the comforting front; the flavors are very mild, but the combination of the sage and squash flavors with the chewiness of risotto is really nice.

This risotto recipe is also interesting because it uses barley instead of Arborio rice, which is usually used in risotto. (So really this is probably more of a "risotto.") But as barley is a whole grain and Arborio rice is not, this recipe is healthier and uses less-processed ingredients. Barley itself is a little bit of a complicated topic, because there are several different types, but pearled barley, which the recipe calls for, is a little less nutritious than what's called hulled barley, but is probably necessary for this type of a recipe where you're trying to make the barley get really soft.

You can use either water or broth for the liquid, but it's probably more flavorful with at least some broth; I used half broth and half water.







To fall!

Butternut Squash Barley Risotto

Serves 6 to 8

1 medium butternut squash
2 C [dry] pearled barley
9-10 sage leaves
salt and pepper
7-8 C of chicken or vegetable stock, or water
1 C white wine
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion
1/2 C Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated
2-3 T extra-virgin olive oil

1. Peel the squash and scoop out seeds. Dice into small cubes, and put into a pot with 3-4 whole sage leaves, salt, and 1 C of broth or water. Bring to a simmer and cook until tender, but not too soft, about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, then add the onion, garlic, and six chopped sage leaves. Stir constantly for about five minutes, until the onions are translucent.

3. Add the barley to the onions, garlic, and sage, and stir until coated with a sheen. Add the white wine, and simmer for 3-4 minutes, until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Season with salt and pepper.

4. In increments of about 1 C, add the liquid to the barley mixture and stir. Turn down heat if necessary; it should be at a simmer. Wait until almost all of the last cup of liquid has been absorbed before adding next cup, and keep stirring it every few minutes.

5. Returning to the butternut squash: once done, remove sage leaves and set squash aside, covering pot to keep squash warm.

6. Continue to add water to barley mixture until have added about six cups. Once last cup has been added, add squash to mixture and stir. When almost all of the liquid has been absorbed, add the cheese (this can be skipped to make recipe vegan). Continue to stir until all of the liquid has been absorbed.

Adapted from a Chez Panisse Vegetables recipe.