S is for Slow Cooking

I love to slow cook! It's like the best invention ever! I mean what can be bad about putting food in a pot, turning the pot on, and then having a meal ready to serve in a few hours!  I want to share with you my favorite slow cook author/blogger. Her name is Stephanie O'Dea. She has written two books on slow cook and has a recipe on just about anything you've imagined cooking in a crock pot. Check out her blog A Year of Slow Cooking.  Do you use a crock pot? If so what's your favorite recipe? Here's my family's favorite slow cooking recipe Cream Brulee
Crock Pot Creme Brulee
 
Ingrediants
-2 cups heavy cream

--5 egg yolks

--1/2 cup sugar (baker's or fine sugar is better so the granules disappear)

--1 T good vanilla

--1/4 cup raw sugar (for topping, add later)

The Directions:

Find a heat-resistant dish that fits inside of your stoneware insert. Fit it in, and using a cup or pitcher, pour water around the edges so there is water 1/2 - 3/4 of the way up the sides of the dish. Push it down with your hand if it starts to float up. Take the dish back out. If you have separate dessert ramekins, do the same thing after nestling them all inside.

--whip the 5 egg yolks in a medium-sized bowl

--slowly add the cream and baking sugar while mixing

--add the vanilla

pour mixture into the dish and carefully lower into the stoneware without sloshing water into the dish.

Cover and cook on high for 2-4 hours. If you are using little ramekins, check after an hour; I'm not sure how long they will take. Custard should be set with the center still a bit jiggly. Touch lightly with your finger to check. Unlike an oven, it will be difficult to overcook this. Try not to worry.

I cooked the one above for 4.25 hours on high.

VERY carefully (use oven gloves!) remove dish and let cool completely on counter, then chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of raw sugar evenly over the top of the custard. Move your oven rack to the top rung and broil for 3-10 minutes, checking often. The sugar will boil and brown.

Cool again in the fridge for a few hours.

Recipie posted from A Year of Slow Cooking

 

O is for Okra

 It's scientific name is "Abelmoschus esculentus" and also "Hibiscus esculentus". In various parts of the world, it is known as Okra, Ochro, Okoro, Quimgombo, Quingumbo, Ladies Fingers, Gombo, Kopi Arab, Kacang Bendi, Bhindi (S. Asia), Bendi (Malaysia), Bamia, Bamya or Bamieh (middle east) or Gumbo (Southern USA). Apparently Gumbo is Swahili for okra. In Portugal and Angola, okra is known as Quiabo (plural: Quiabos), and in Cuba, as "quimbombo". In Japan it is known as okura. Patrick Taylor adds: "Okra has found its way to Taiwan, where it's called "qiu kui" (pronounced cheeoh kway). That's the Mandarin Chinese word for it in Taiwan - which might be the same in the PRC, or might not."Here's my favorite okra recipie: Roasted Okra

 

 

Roasted Okra

about 1/2 pound of small, whole okra per person
salt to taste
pepper to taste
olive oil spray

First, start with the smallest okra you can find. Larger okra tends to be woody, which wouldn’t work in this recipe.

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Spray a shallow baking dish with olive oil, add okra, and season to taste. Give the okra one quick (1/2 second) spray with olive oil, and put them into the oven. Bake, stirring every 5 minutes, until okra is browned on all sides, about 15 minutes. Serve hot out of the oven.

You can also jazz these up with spice blends such as garam masala, curry powder, chili powder, Creole seasonings, or jerk seasonings–whatever your taste demands. But simple salt and pepper is amazingly good and allows the fresh flavor of the okra to shine through.

K is for Kale

K is for Kale.

 

I've only recently discovered Kale but I love it. I has a lot of amazing health benefits!Here are nine reasons to eat kale, and eat it often.

Diet and Digestion 
One cup of kale has only 36 calories and zero grams of fat, which makes it a great diet aid. Furthermore, one cup contains nearly 20% of the RDA of dietary fiber, which promotes regular digestion, prevents constipation, lowers blood sugar and curbs overeating. Finally, kale contains the glucosinolate isothiocyanate (ITC) that fights the formation of H. pylori (Helicobacter pylori), a bacterial growth in the stomach lining that can lead to gastric cancer.

Antioxidants
Kale is a superstar in the arena of carotenoids and flavonoids, two powerful antioxidants that protect our cells from free radicals that cause oxidative stress. The key flavonoids kaempferol and quercitin (not to dismiss the 45 other distinctive flavonoids in kale) have also been shown to specifically fight against the formation of cancerous cells. With the addition of high doses of well-known antioxidants like vitamin C, vitamin A, and manganese, kale is certainly a smart choice in the battle against cellular oxidation.

Anti-Inflammatory 
One cup of kale provides about 10% of the RDA of omega-3 fatty acids that helps regulate the body’s inflammatory process. A megadose ofvitamin K further aids to fight against excessive inflammatory-related problems, such as arthritis, autoimmune disorders, and asthma.

Cancer 
Not only do kale's antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities work together to prevent and even combat cancer, a healthy diet of kale also provides glucosinolates, which have been shown to prevent colon, breast, bladder, prostate, ovarian cancers, as well as gastric cancer.

Cardiovascular Support
The high fiber content of kale lowers our cholesterol by binding with bile acids that the liver produces from cholesterol for digesting fat. Because many of these bile acids are coupled with fiber, the liver is charged with producing more bile acid to digest fat, and therefore requires more cholesterol to so, ultimately lowering the amount of cholesterol within our bodies.

Detox 
The isothiocyanates (ITC) from glucosinolates found in kale aid in both phases I and II of the body’s detoxification process. The high sulfur content of kale has further been shown essential for phase II of detoxification.

Vitamin K 
Kale provides a whopping dose of vitamin K (providing 1327% of the RDA in one cup), which is necessary for the synthesis of osteocalcin, a protein that strengthens the composition of our bones. Vitamin K also prevents calcium build-up in our tissue that can lead to atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease and stroke. Finally, vitamin K is essential for synthesizing sphingolipid, the fat needed to maintain the myelin sheath around our nerves, and therefore our nervous system as a whole.

Vitamin A 
With over 192% of the RDA of vitamin A, one cup of kale is an effective antioxidant, boosts immunity, maintains healthy bones and teeth, prevents urinary stones, and is essential to our reproductive organs.

Vitamin C 
Vitamin C, which one cup of kale heartily provides (over 88% of our RDA), is not only a powerful antioxidant, but also lowers blood pressure, ensures a healthy immune system, and fights against age-related ocular diseases, such as cataracts and macular degeneration.

Here's my favorite Kale recipie: Kale Chips! :)

• eheat oven to about 375*
• Use about 1 OXO salad spinner’s worth of kale (which was a stuffed grocery store veggie bag). Tear the leaves off the thick stems into bite size pieces. Spread out on cookie sheets.
• Drizzle with about 2 tsp of olive oil
• Sprinkle with Parmesan, Asiago or your seasonings of choice. Plus a sprinkle of kosher salt.
• Bake for about 15 minutes, until edges are brown and kale is crispy when moved in pan

Have you ever tried Kale? Would you try Kale Chips?