Harvest of the Month
NBC (WEAU-TV’s) monthly feature “Harvest of the Month” is hosted by Ruth Chipps, MS, RDN, CD
NBC (WEAU-TV’s) monthly feature “Harvest of the Month” is hosted by Ruth Chipps, MS, RDN, CD
RUTH FOOD BLOG
By Ruth Lahmayer Chipps, MS, RDN, CD
My husband Jeremy said this is the best bread he’s ever had. It’s incredibly easy to make. The beauty of this technique is that you never have to touch the dough and get sticky hands. It’s as easy as stir it and forget it! The outcome is truly rustic/European style bread with crusty outside and moist sour-dough texture inside. Additionally, baking your own artisan breads is economical and your guests will be wowed with the aroma. Experiment with different variations and enjoy!
Once you have the technique down, try substituting 1/3 of the flour for whole wheat flour and adding walnuts, dried cranberries, ground cardamom and cinnamon. Another variation is to add Kalamata olives and garlic chunks (dried) along with the cheese. You can also toss in ground flaxseed, rolled oats and a few sesame seeds for part of the flour. Recently, I’ve baked the bread in our AGA TC-3 which resulted in an amazing loaf! Learn more at www.kitchenicons.com
Experiment and enjoy!
Artisan Parmesan Bread (Knead-Free)
3 c. bread flour ¾ t. yeast 1 ¼ t. salt 1/4 t. black ground pepper ½ c. Parmesan cheese, chopped in small chunks (1/4 inch) 1 5/8 c. water (more or less) Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed
1. In a large glass or ceramic bowl, combine flour, yeast, salt and pepper. Add cheese and use non-stick rubber spatula to stir together. Gradually add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. You may need more or less water depending on type of flour. Spread oil lightly along sides of bowl to prevent sticking and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles and almost doubles in bulk. Lightly release the dough from the edges of the bowl using the non-stick spatula and form it roughly into a loaf. Cover the bowl again with plastic wrap and allow to rest and rise again for about 2 hours.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (Dutch oven, cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats to 450 degrees. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. (I use oven gloves…be careful pot is VERY hot). Use the spatula to gently loosen the dough from edges of the bowl and turn dough over into the hot pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Sprinkle with cornmeal or bran if desired. Use pot holders to cover with the lid (it’s hot!) and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 minutes, or until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack. Variation note: when using whole wheat flour, you may not need the last 15 minutes of baking. Tap on the top of the loaf to be sure it is golden brown (not dark brown) and firm. The bread will have a sourdough texture and consistency.
Note: It’s important to be very careful with removing the pot and the lid!—it is extremely hot. I always use heat-resistant oven gloves.
Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.
Serve immediately or slice loaf and keep in freezer. Pull out by slice as needed and toast.
It’s peak season and these recipes are the perfect way to enjoy your farmers market finds or garden harvests:
Tomato Gazpacho
Mexican Chicken Salad
Black Bean Veggie Quessadilla Casserole
Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Cake
See the post at Kitchen Icons
My AGA Home Blog explores the topic of preserving nutrients by choosing the right cooking method. Ruth Lahmayer Chipps, AGA owner is featured in the article.
Another post featuring health AGA meals and recipes is here.
Thanks to the following vendors for joining our list of exclusive products that we now distribute.
Contact us at 507-895-2785 for more information on how to obtain these iconic products.
Check out the Kitchen Icons Website at www.kitchenicons.com
New Rubber Roof for Earth Sheltered Offices/Home Coming:
Roof-Top Exterior Kitchen and Roof-Top Garden!
View the full photo case study featuring Interstate Roofing and Firestone Building Products.
Learn more about the entire kitchen project at: www.livinghealthykitchen.com
Check out the blog about our AGA Total Control Range– Jewel of the kitchen (Directly under the roof-top garden–built by Affordable Green Dreams).
Elkhart Lake Wisconsin is an amazing destination location.
It’s all about the opportunities for great food, tropical blue lakes, hiking, biking, fishing, golfing and fun at a world-famous four mile race track called Road America.
And if you are a race fan or just like thrilling action-drama movies, get ready for the upcoming epic called Rush. It’s a Ron Howard film destined to be one of the best new films this year.
AGA Total Control supports healthy eating message in the US
Kitchen Project. More updates here: www.livinghealthykitchen.com
Chefs go wild about the new AGA Total Control Range and we are thrilled to have one.
For more about AGA Marvel and this impressive range that can execute ten different cooking methods at one time, visit: http://www.agamarvel.com/
Contact Jeremy for more information about AGA Marvel and Professional-style appliances for the home.
email: jeremy@lahmayer.com Phone: 608-317-5700
Lahmayer & Associates proudly announces:
LIVING HEALTHY KITCHEN BLOG — A unique kitchen renovation project with step by step highlights (living healthy theme).
CHECK OUT THE DETAILS at the website: www.livinghealthykitchen.com
View the Video Blogs here.
The Challenge: Fourteen Senior Designers from Western Technical College — located in La Crosse Wisconsin — innovated their vision of transforming an original kitchen in an earth–bermed home. Their task: Design an old–world theme balanced with modern culinary features.
Top winning designers will be featured in the upcoming posts.
Ruthfood Blog by Ruth L. Chipps, MS, RD
Coming soon…new standards for school meals will mean adjustments in menu requirements for the first time in more than fifteen years and are designed to improve the health and nutrition for nearly 32 million children that participate in school meal programs. The changes are part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, championed by the First Lady as part of her Let’s Move! Campaign and signed into law by President Obama. Some of the key changes include: · Ensuring students are offered both fruits and vegetables every day of the week; · Substantially increasing offerings of whole grain-rich foods; · Offering only fat-free or low-fat milk varieties; · Limiting calories based on the age of children being served to ensure proper portion size; · Increasing the focus on reducing the amounts of saturated fat, trans fats and sodium. Last Spring, I had the opportunity to present to a number of classes at St. Mary’s School in Caledonia, MN (photos above). They were a super audience and responded well to my healthy snack attack presentation. The kids even chanted with me during my snack attach wrap and roll song (see below). Here’s what I prepared for them: WRAP & ROLL-Recipe: Spread peanut butter down the middle of a soft tortilla, sprinkle with trail mix and thin sliced apples, banana or other fruit. Fold it inward on each edge (WRAP) and ROLL the tortilla toward you, hiding the goodies inside! Mmmmunch and enjoy! Other wrap & roll options include veggie wrap ingredients – using hummus or light cream cheese, cottage cheese or other tasty options. Utilizing whole grain tortilla wraps helps meet the goal of increased fiber intake. Snack Wrap Rap Song/Chant: American Snack Idol *Percussion sound: Make a snack wrap with a tortilla flat Healthy eating is where it’s at! Peanut butter spread along one side Sprinkle favorite fruits & nuts inside Fold it inward on each edge Roll it up and I will pledge To make each snack a healthy one Eating right is SUPER FUN! Here’s a message I received from the program Coordinator: “Ruth took the time to meet with us and determine how her expertise could fit our needs. Her creativity in the development and presentation of healthy snacks was remarkable. She has the ability to keep children engaged and wanting to learn more.” -Jesie Melde, BS, CLS, Health Educator Thanks Jesie and thank you to the students in Caledonia for making a commitment to healthy eating! To your health, Ruth
This blog by Lahmayer & Associates, Ltd. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Feel free to share, copy, distribute, display and transmit this work as long as you attribute the authorship to Ruth Lahmayer Chipps, link back to this webpage and avoid altering or building upon this work. (For non-commercial purposes only).