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CONTENTS:
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CASABA MELON - origin, seasonal information and selection
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BLACK BEAN AND VEGETABLE STEW
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EASY
CHEESY ARTICHOKE BREAD
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SUBSTITUTION
- all purpose or self-rising flour
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FOOD SCIENCE AND BAKING SODA
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ZUCCHINI
BREAD
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LOW CARB BREAD RECIPE #1
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PITA BREAD (unleavened)
Hello, and welcome back to Hi Arbor. The first Hi Arbor
cookbook, "Take This Veggie and Stuff It", is now on sale
on eBay. There is a link to eBay at the Hi Arbor
web site or a form at
www.hiharbor.org can be printed for ordering the
cookbook via postal mail. Except for some seafood, the
recipes in "Take This Veggie And Stuff It" are vegetarian
or vegan. This wonderful cookbook also has more than just
recipes. There are, for example, explanations on how to
stuff some of the vegetables, such as artichokes. The next
issue of the Hi Arbor newsletter will go out on September
16, 2004. If you have any recipes or other
correspondence you'd like to send, please email them to
HiArborNews@aol.com.
Many thanks.
Have a happy and safe Labor Day holiday.
Take care.
Roxanne
CASABA MELON:
"When life gives you bananas, make
smoothies." - Robin Robertson,
Vegan Planet
Bananas make wonderful smoothies, but for a
change of taste, how
about casaba melon? According to Merediford
Ford in the "Try This!" column
of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution [July
23, 2004], casaba melon "tastes a
little like a cross between a cucumber and an
Asian pear".
www.ajc.com
Origins:
"The casaba melon was first cultivated in
Persia thousands of years ago.
The casaba melon wasn't introduced to the United
States until the late
nineteenth century when it was imported from
Kasaba, Turkey. Casaba
melons are golden yellow with greenish
coloration on the wrinkled exterior.
The round pumpkin shaped casaba melon has a
slight point at the stem end.
The flesh is creamy-green, juicy and lightly
sweet. Delicious eaten by as is,
or for added flavor, try it with a sprinkle of
ginger, salt, or a squeeze of lemon
or lime. Casaba melons add sweetness to fruit
salads or are refreshing in
drinks, like fruit punch or daiquiris."
http://www.melissas.com/catalog/index.cfm?info=yes&Cat_ID=50&Sub_Cat_ID=99&Cat_Name=Fruits&Sub_Cat_Name=Melons&product_ID=2449
Seasonal Information:
"Available from California and Arizona from
June until October, with the
peak in July.
"Product from South America is available
during the winter months.
The flavor can be very good, but they won't be
as sweet as those available in
the summer months."
Selection:
"...Good-quality Casaba melons will
be fairly large and firm with a small
amount of softness at the stem end. The coloring
will be rich yellow with very
little green on the skin. The rind will be
ridged when the melon has been
allowed to ripen on the vine and the skin will
have a slightly waxy feel when
the melon is ripe.
"...Avoid product that is too firm,
too soft, has dark blemishes on the skin
or is extremely green-colored."
http://www.produceoasis.com/Items_folder/Fruits/Casaba.html
My mother sent me a newspaper column by a well known
food writer. The
recipe below is based on an idea I got from that
columnist's recipe, but the
two recipes are not alike. The other recipe is
spicier, and if you would like for
me to email you a copy, send a brief email to
HiArborNews@aol.com asking
for the spicy black bean recipe.
BLACK BEAN AND VEGETABLE STEW
1/2 pound black beans, cooked and drained, or 1
15 ounce can black beans,
drained
1 Tblspn oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 small zucchini, diced
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 small potato, peeled and diced
1/4-1/2 cup kernel corn
1 7 ounce can mushrooms, sliced or stems and
pieces, drained
1/2 tspn thyme
salt and black pepper to taste
Set cooked beans aside. In a saucepan saute'
onion in oil for a minute or
two then add garlic and other vegetables. Cover
and let steam five minutes.
Add enough water to almost cover vegetables and
the seasonings. Cover pot
and simmer 10 minutes. Add beans, stir and heat
until hot and vegetables
are tender.
The
following recipe comes from a Kroger supermarket matgazine,
"Kroger
Plus Home Basics", Summer 2004, with a
few changes by me.
EASY CHEESY
ARTICHOKE BREAD 8 servings
Prep. time: 10 minutes Cook
time: 20 minutes
1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained and
chopped
1 cup regular mayonnaise or vegan mayonnaise
1 cup (about 4 oz.) grated Parmesan cheese [or a
vegan substitute]
1 clove garlic, finely chopped, or 1/4 tsp.
garlic powder (optional)
1 loaf French or Italian bread (about 16 inches
long), halved lengthwise
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients
except bread, spread mixture
evenly on bread. Bake 20 minutes or until
golden and heated through.
I need the calories and will be focusing some on baking
and doughs. I
have a lot to learn, though.
SUBSTITUTION: ALL PURPOSE OR
SELF-RISING FLOUR
This is from the back of a bag of all
purpose flour:
"There are 3 1/3 cups of flour per pound.
"All-purpose flour can be used in recipes
calling for self-rising flour. For
each cup of flour in the recipe, add 1 1/2
teaspoons baking powder and 1/2
teaspoon salt."
FOOD SCIENCE AND BAKING SODA - Baking soda
(sodium
bicarbonate) is an alkaline that needs to be
activated by an acid in a batter.
A day after making jam muffins with baking
soda, I read about baking soda
and was informed that buttermilk could be used
to activate it. The recipe I
had used called for buttermilk, but I had
replaced the buttermilk with rice
drink. Yet my muffins leavened normally. I
checked the list of other
acids and found molasses. I had used brown
sugar in my muffins instead of
white sugar. That may have been what
activated the baking soda.
What is the difference between baking
soda and baking powder?
About.com has the answer at:
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/foodchemistry/f/blbaking.htm
The recipe below is my half recipe version of a recipe
from "Bakin' Without
Eggs - Delicious Egg-Free Dessert Recipes from
the Heart and Kitchen of a
Food-Allergic Family" by Rosemarie Emro,
$11.87, Amazon.com. The recipe
for the above mentioned jam muffins is also in
Ms. Emro's book..
ZUCCHINI BREAD
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons double acting baking powder
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 - 3/4 apple juice (amount according to
dryness of batter and I use sweet
tea as a substitute]
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped cashews or other nuts
1 small zucchini, grated
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and oil the
bottom of a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a
large bowl. In a separate bowl mix
the juice or tea, vanilla and nuts with the
zucchini, then fold this mixture into
the dry ingredients until well mixed. Pour
batter into loaf pan and bake 50
minutes.
Remove from oven and turn bread onto a
wire rack to cool before slicing.
I'm including the following low carb recipe though a
story in the newspaper
indicates the low carb diet as a fad may be
waning. The newspaper story,
however, is about all the low carb commercial
products, not something
homemade. It all boils down to what is right
for the individual. There are two
more low carb recipes at the web address
below.
LOW CARB BREAD RECIPE #1
1/4 cup flaxmeal (59 mL)
2 tbsp. nut meal (pecan is good) (30 mL)
1/2 cup protein powder, plain or vanilla (118
mL)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt (2.5 mL)
1 tsp. baking powder (5mL)
1/2 cup heavy cream (118 mL)
1/4 cup seltzer water (59 mL)
Preheat oven to 350 F. (176 C). Grease a
standard loaf pan
or spray with a no-stick cooking spray.
Combine ingredients and
beat for 1-2 minutes with an electric mixer or
food processor.
Bake 25-30 minutes. Loaf is done when the
middle springs back to
the touch.
http://www.best-bread-recipes.com/low-carb-bread-recipes.html
Balance and variety are important ingredients in any
diet and so I am
including a recipe for unleavened bread. I
hope to have more information
about unleavened baking later.
PITA
BREAD (unleavened)
Recipe By : unknown
Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Breads
Amount Measure Ingredient --
Preparation Method
3 c white flour
1 t Salt
1 c Warm water
Vegetable
oil
Combine the flour and salt; stir in enough warm
water so that the dough pulls a
way from the sides of the bowl & is no longer
sticky. Stir till smooth. Knead f
or 5 minutes. Shape dough into rectangle & cut
in half lengthwise. Divide into
12 portions and shape into smooth balls. Cover
with damp balls and let rest 5
to 10 minutes. Press each ball flat & roll
into a 6" or 7" circle. Cover with
damp towels. Lightly oil a griddle or skillet.
Gently stretch each round as
thin as possible. Cook until brown & bubbly
spots appear on the bottom, about
90 seconds. Turn over & brown the other side.
Remove from griddle and wrap
immediately in towels.
http://www.recipesource.com/baked-goods/breads/03/rec0340.html
The
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