Although this month of September is starting off with quite the hot forecast, we have some fall welcoming flavors for you to enjoy at Bob’s Red Mill. Our special recipe this month is a hearty whole grain quick bread, highlighting the delicious Bob’s Red Mill Apple, Cinnamon and Grains Hot Cereal. The cereal is made from a blend of stone ground hard red wheat, rye, triticale, oats, barley, brown rice, oat bran, flaxseed, natural dried apples and cinnamon. The abundance of whole grains in this cereal is baked with sweet apple sauce and honey to produce a satisfying texture.

This recipe bakes up nicely as a muffin or in a bread pan, and is especially delicious sliced with a pat of butter or jam. Enjoy this recipe at home or come on in to the Whole Grain Store and buy a loaf for $3.50. Happy Baking and see you soon!

Apple Spice Cereal Quick Bread with Cranberries

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Quick Oats
• 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Unbleached White Flour
• ½ cup Brown Sugar
• 1 cup   Bob’s Red Mill Apple, Cinnamon & Grains Hot Cereal
• 2 Tbsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp  Salt
• 2 Eggs
• ½ cup Safflower Oil
• ½ cup Honey
• 2 Tbsp Vanilla
• ¾ cup Apple Sauce
• 1-½ cups Milk
• 1 cup Dried Cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease muffin tins or bread pan.

Mix together dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

Add Eggs, Oil, Honey, Vanilla and Applesauce.

Mix well with spatula.

Add Milk and mix well.

Fold in Cranberries

Fill muffin tins or bread pans three-fourths full.

Bake for 30 minutes

YIELD: 12 muffins or 4 small loaves.

(If using regular bread pans, it will yield two, and take around 45-60 minutes).

CONTAINS: Wheat, Eggs, Milk

September  2011

Meredith shows us how to make one of her favorite recipes- Rice and Almond Pilaf. This recipe could be adapted to use brown Basmati rice; adjust cooking time according to brown Basmati rice cooking instructions. If you want to make it vegan, simply swap out the butter with a non-dairy spread such as Earth Balance and use vegetable broth. To make it gluten free, just be sure to use a gluten free soy sauce and check the ingredients on your broth.

Savoury Herb Biscuits
By: Lidia Le François

Ingredients

• 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill GF All Purpose Baking Flour
• 1 Tbsp Bob’s Red Mill Whole Ground Flaxseed Meal
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1 Tbsp unflavored Vegan Gelatin (Natural Desserts brand)
• 2 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 1/2 tsp Corn Starch
• 2 Tbsp fresh chopped Parsley
• 1/2 Tbsp Italian Spices
• 1 container of Unsweetened Apple Sauce (100 ml)
• 2 Tbsp Agave
• 1/4 cup Canola oil
• 1/2 cup Water

Before you begin mixing the ingredients, oil a baking sheet or use floured parchment paper and set aside. Mix all wet ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. Be sure to squeeze all moisture from the chopped parsley with a paper towel, consider the parsley a wet ingredient. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl, then slowly the mix to the wet ingredients. Scrape down the side of the bowl with a spatula. Lightly oil hands and begin mixing by hand.

Shape the dough into biscuit shapes, or however you please, you may need to reapply oil to keep the dough from sticking to your hands. Set oven to 350°F, bake for 35 minutes, check with a toothpick in the middle of a biscuit, if still wet bake for another 5 minutes, be careful not to burn. Makes six small biscuits.

Enjoy!

Lidia Le François is a Toronto born, 32 year old, working in marketing/packaging for a food company. I’ve been baking and writing for a very long time. Scary to think I’ve had more than 20 year experience. Gluten free baking still confounds me as this is new for me, but I think I’ll get there.  Cat mom to two lovely beasts. Find more gems from Lidia on her blog, Air Eater.

Okay, so it’s not the most original name for a recipe.  I get that.  But it’s so delicious and easy that it just needs to be shared with the world.

I try to eat a pretty healthy diet.  Yes, I have the occasional treat but the meals I make, by and large, are pretty healthy.  I don’t fry anything, use way less butter and oil then I used to, and try to bake all my protein sources.  This fish was an experiment in using some  new-to-me ingredients, and making it delicious with an interesting texture.  I think I achieved my goal pretty well.

This fish is crispy, tender, and really, really good for you.  The addition of chia seeds gives it a bit of color depth and a ton of fiber.  The panko breadcrumbs keep the breading crunchy.

Crispy Fish

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbsp Chia Seeds
• 1 tsp dried Parsley
• 1/2 tsp dried Dill
• 4 Tilapia fillets (or any firm white fish)
• 1/2 cup Egg Substitute
• Salt and Pepper
• Cooking Spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray an oven-safe cooling rack with cooking spray and put rack in a foil-lined cookie sheet (for easy cleanup).
2. In a shallow dish, combine panko, chia seeds, parsley, dill, salt and pepper.  Pour egg substitute in another shallow dish.
3. Dry tilapia fillets with paper towels and then season with salt and pepper.
4. Dredge tilapia in egg substitute, then the panko mixture, and place each fillet on top of the cooling rack.  Sprinkle a bit more of the panko mixture on top of each fillet.
5. Spray fillets with a light coat of cooking spray to help with browning.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes and then bump the oven temperature up to 425 degrees and bake for another 5 minutes to brown the coating.
7. Serve and enjoy!

Serves 4.

Amy blogs at A Little Nosh, where she blogs about (usually healthy) recipes, products, and time-saving tips.  As a busy working mom, she’s always looking for ways to make dinnertime quicker and easier, without resorting to boxed meals and canned goods.  You can also find Amy on Facebook and Twitter.

You know the drill. It’s 5:30 pm, you’ve had a crazy day, you haven’t had a chance to think about dinner and your fridge is somewhat lacking in “grand inspiration.” Never fear. I have the perfect recipe for you!

I discovered (and tweaked) this delicious meatloaf on one such evening when searching for a recipe that would allow me to use up the bag of quinoa I had sitting in the back of my cupboard. Although we love quinoa, I was looking for “out of the box” ways to start using it. In this recipe, the quinoa is the replacement for the nutritionally lacking bread crumbs that typically find their way into meatloaf. Healthy, protein rich grains blended with lean ground turkey transforms this loaf into a light, yet perfectly comforting, easy mid-week meal.

I highly recommend pairing this meatloaf with some butternut squash for a fantastic intro into fall cuisine.

Quinoa Turkey Loaf

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa
• 1/2 cup Water or Chicken Broth
• 1 tsp Olive Oil
• 1 small Onion, chopped
• 1 large clove Garlic, chopped
• 1 (20 ounce) package Ground Turkey
• 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• 1 Tbsp Hot Pepper Sauce (I use Asian Garlic Chili Paste)
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Egg
• 1-1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp ground Black Pepper
• ¼ cup fresh Basil (optional)
• Spicy BBQ Sauce

Directions

1. Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat an oven to 350° F (175° C).
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute; remove from heat to cool.
4. Stir the turkey, cooked quinoa, onions, tomato paste, hot sauce, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire, egg, salt, pepper and basil in a large bowl until well combined. The mixture will be very moist. Shape into a loaf on a foil lined baking sheet.
5. Spread your favorite BBQ sauce over the top of the loaf
6. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 35-50 minutes, depending on how much you spread it out on the pan. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Let the meatloaf cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Melissa Haynes is owner (and baker) of the Nashville-based Joyful Cookie Company. Joyful Cookie Company is a gourmet cookie business that specializes in 100 % whole-grain, flourless cookies. Along with this adventure, Melissa is an avid runner and healthy-eating foodie.

Unfortunately injuries are a part of life for most competitive athletes.  Injuries can be caused by things that range from simple overuse to traumatic impact.  How the athlete treats and responds to the injury depends largely on the nature of the cause and the severity of the injury.  I’m very fortunate to have been relatively injury free over the course of my athletic career, but, in the couple of instances that I have endured an injury, the treatments and recovery have been good lessons learned.

First, let’s break down into categories various types of injuries and potential problem issues.

SORENESS:  This can be caused by over use, or it can be caused by properly trained and worked muscles.  If you’re a cyclist in the weight room for the first off-season strength building sessions, you’re going to experience muscle soreness even if you’re doing things correctly.  Soreness can be treated by not over using the sore muscles alternating ice and heat and incorporate stretching and massage.  Some times the use of non steroidal anti-inflammatory meds such as Ibuprofen or Sodium Naproxen is called for.  At any rate, soreness eventually goes away, but if you continue to push soreness, it may become…

PAIN:  Pain is more indicative of a chronic problem.  I’m not speaking of the momentary or short lived pain we all put ourselves through in hard workouts.  I’m speaking here of pain that you experience when you aren’t working out.  Back, joint, or muscle pain that is consistent, persistent and long lasting can be an indicator that you’re either employing improper technique, bike position, have structural problems or an over-use injury.  Seek out the opinion and diagnosis of a doctor, chiropractor, physical therapist or athletic trainer and do what they tell you.  Pain is most often a leading indicator of a potentially chronic injury that you’ll have if you try to “push through the pain.”

INJURY:  This is the definite, diagnosed “I know exactly how it happened” thing we all hope to avoid.  Maybe you crashed and broke a collar bone, some ribs or had a concussion.  Maybe you pushed through the pain of a ligament or tendon sprain and now you need surgery for a tear.  Whatever caused your injury, you’ll be requiring medical attention.  In 2002 I had some knee pain and swelling.  I continued to race through and eventually the problem didn’t respond to ice, compression and elevation.  Turned out I had a meniscus tear that was exacerbated by the repetitive motion of pedaling.  It was a season ender that required surgery.

The first orthopedic surgeon I saw told me I had the knee of an 80 year old man said I must quit cycling and take up swimming, but that I’d never be able to race again.  I was devastated and sought a second opinion.  The second orthopedic surgeon had been the team ortho for the US Air Force Academy and worked with the US Olympic Ski team in Colorado Springs.  He’d seen knees similar and much worse than mine.  He assured me that I’d be fine, but the recovery was slow and had to be done right in order to avoid re-injury.  The full rehab took nearly 3 months before I was cleared to ride my bike again.  Even though I was going crazy with the inactivity I did what the therapist and doctor told me to do and 2003 turned out to be one of the best seasons of my life with a big win on the NRC race circuit and a silver medal at Masters Nationals in the time trial.

As athletes, we’ll all deal with soreness and pain from time to time.  Pay attention to what is causing the soreness or pain and treat it accordingly.  If you’re injured, give yourself time to fully recover before forcing your way back into full fledged competition.  Otherwise you’re risking pushing yourself into the category of being “chronically injured” which isn’t a season ending problem, it’s a career ending problem.

Do’s:

• Create a gear list a few days before your race and systematically cross things off one by one as you place them in to your gear bag.
• Get to bed on time the night before!
• Remember to rub body glide on your neck. shoulders and ankles.  Prevents chaffing.
• Get to the race early enough to warm up.
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!  You urine should be clear when you start the race.
• Eat clean foods in preparation for your race.  That is, eat foods that you know that you can easily digest prior to the race.
• If you choose a light solid meal in the morning prior to your race, make sure you have consumed this meal 2 hours prior to the start of the race.
• I like a little caffeine in the morning prior to my race.  I usually give up the caffeine the week of the race because it dehydrates you but I like a little jolt of java on the morning of race day.

Don’ts:

• Don’t be late!  You’ll just stress yourself out.
• Don’t take up too much space at the transition areas.  Be courteous to your neighbors and remember that there’s usually a ton of bikes on each rack and a messy transition area isn’t good for anyone.
• Don’t try new gear on race day without properly vetting that piece of equipment during your training.
• Don’t train too much during your taper sessions.  I know its tempting, but the purpose of tapering is to prepare for your race, not burn yourself out prior to it.
• Don’t try new nutrition tips and procedures during your race.  Keep your nutrition and hydration habits familiar.  Remember, training sessions are the proper place for new methods.
• Don’t over think it.  Just go out, compete and have fun!!!

This meal is always a favorite in my household — even with the former summer squash hater in the family. The layers of textures and flavors from the quinoa, wild rice, balsamic roasted squash and garlicky tomatoes all play nicely together, and make for a healthy late-summer meal. I love using a variety of tomatoes and summer squash for this dish; the various shapes and rainbow of colors available at local farmer’s markets create a gorgeous, kid-friendly presentation.

If I know that I will be pressed for time the night that I’m making this, I’ll go ahead and cook the grains up a few days ahead of time (store in the fridge or freezer) and reheat them in the microwave once the veggies come out of the oven. Leftovers from the finished dish are just as good for lunch the next day, too.

I hope this meal is as big a hit with your family as it is with mine!

Roasted Tomato and Summer Squash Pilaf
Source: Heather Sage
Preparation Time: 1 hour
Serves: 4 as a main dish, 8 as a side

INGREDIENTS

Wild Rice:

• 3/4 cup (112 grams) Bob’s Red Mill Wild Rice, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups Water
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Roasted Vegetables:

• 2 pounds Tomatoes (cherry or firm regular-sized), preferably a mix of colors and varieties
• 2 pounds Summer Squash and Zucchini
• 2 tablespoons (28 grams) Balsamic Vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 3/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1/4 cup (57 grams) Olive Oil
• 3 tablespoons (42 grams or about 1 bulb) Garlic, roughly minced

Quinoa:

• 1 cup (184 grams) Bob’s Red Mill Organic Quinoa Grain, rinsed and drained in fine mesh strainer
• 3 cups Water
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

For Plating and Serving:

• 2 ounces crumbled Feta Cheese, plus more for serving
• Maldon Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
• Black Pepper
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Additional Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar

DIRECTIONS

Cook Wild Rice:

In a small saucepan (2-quart), combine wild rice, water and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, uncovered. Once it reaches a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 45 minutes – 1 hour (the grains will be puffed (white interior of the rice is visible) and slightly chewy. Remove from heat, and strain just before serving if any water remains.

Prepare and Roast Vegetables:

Once the wild rice is at a simmer, arrange oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 450°F. Line two, large rimmed baking sheets (preferably half sheet size, 18”x13”) with parchment paper; set aside.

Cut cherry tomatoes in half through the stem end, cube larger tomatoes into 1/2 – 1” pieces. Place cut tomatoes into the bowl of a salad spinner and whir them about to remove some of the seeds and excess liquid (feel free to skip this step if you don’t own a salad spinner). Transfer tomatoes into a large mixing bowl (3- or 4-quart).

Cut squash into 1/2” – 3/4” inch cubes and place in a large mixing bowl (3- or 4-quart).

In a small bowl, combine vinegar, salt and pepper. Whisking constantly, gradually drizzle in olive oil until the vinaigrette is fully emulsified. Coat the squash with about 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette; toss the tomatoes with the remainder. Spread squash in a single layer on one of the baking sheets. On the other baking sheet, arrange the tomatoes in a single layer; sprinkle garlic evenly over the top.

Place squash on the upper third and the tomatoes on the lower third of the preheated oven. Roast vegetables for about 40-45 minutes, turning half way through — the squash will be lightly browned and tender, and the tomatoes will reduce into a chunky, sauce-like consistency.

Cook Quinoa:

Once the veggies are in the oven, start preparing quinoa.

In a 4-quart or larger pot, combine quinoa with water and salt and bring to a boil, uncovered. Continue to boil, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Transfer quinoa into a fine mesh strainer (the same one you rinsed it in before cooking), and rinse grains with cold tap water until chilled.

Rinse out pot and fill with one inch of water, bring to a boil. Place strainer with quinoa over water, cover with a clean flour sack towel and the lid (don’t worry if it’s not covered tightly, you just want something to help create a steamy environment). Steam the quinoa for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, keep covered and allow quinoa to rest for at least 5 minutes; fluff with a fork just before plating.

Plate and Serve:

Onto a large, heatproof platter, layer quinoa, wild rice, roasted vegetables and about 2 ounces of feta cheese (alternately, toss everything together in a large bowl). Serve immediately with additional cheese, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

Heather Sage shares original, gluten-free recipes on her site A Sage Amalgam. As a native New Englander who now lives in the Silicon Valley (with a few stops in Ohio, North Carolina and Florida along the way), the recipes she creates are inspired by all the places she’s been and those she hopes to travel to in the future. With many years of home cooking under her belt, and techniques honed at a local community college, the recipes she writes may seem daunting, but they are absolutely suited to any skill level (her novice husband, David, tests most of them out).

It has been almost five years since I was diagnosis with a gluten allergy. At first I thought, how could it possibly be done? What will I eat? How will I enjoy family functions? I travel tons for work; will this still be manageable?

It took a few months to really hit my stride but in the process I learned a lot about myself, about what foods I really enjoyed (versus what were easy ‘go-to’ convenience foods) and also learned a new appreciation for anyone that has to deal with an allergy, intolerance or sensitivity to certain foods.

One of my favourite foods these days is quinoa. It’s quite easy to prepare, has a lot of versatility and is great when I need a take-along for a lunch or family function. This salad is particularly tasty – especially right now when there is an abundance of fresh veggies and herbs that you can add in. When I bring this to my parents for a BBQ, it is often one of the first things to go!

Gluten-Free Quinoa with Summer Fresh Veggies

• 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Organic Quinoa Grain
• 2 ¼ cups Water
• 2 Green Onions, finely chopped
• 4-inch Cucumber, diced
• 2 cups Cherry Tomatoes – red or yellow, doesn’t matter, halved
• Other add-ins depending on what is on hand and ripe for picking
•  1 Green, Red or Yellow Pepper, diced
• 1 small (3-4 inch) Zucchini, diced
• 1 cup Sugar Snap Peas, diced
• 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp each, chopped Parsley, Cilantro, Mint (and feel free to improvise here!)
• Juice of one Lemon (about 3 Tbsp Lemon Juice)
• 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
• Salt and Pepper to taste

In a medium-sized sauce pan, pour in quinoa and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 12 minutes.

Let the quinoa cool slightly.

In a small bowl, mix olive oil, Dijon mustard, and lemon juice.

In a large bowl, add quinoa, onions, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and other fresh veggies, along with parsley, cilantro, mint and other fresh herbs. Stir in the olive oil, Dijon mustard, and lemon juice dressing. Mix just enough to combine all ingredients. Season slightly with salt and pepper to taste.

This is best if you can let all the flavours mingle in the fridge for a few hours. It also keeps well for several days. I’ve portioned mine out and will be taking to work for lunch this week.

Enjoy!

PS – A small tip on the herbs. They keep great in the fridge and I like to put mine in a glass or cup of water (as you can see, it doesn’t have to be fancy) but it keeps the herbs bright and lively.

Trina Gallop

www.willcookforshoes.posterous.com

Julian shares one of his favorite recipes with us- Zesty Quinoa Salad. The original recipe is here, but we really like his twist on one of our favorite dishes. Enjoy!