Making Healthy Appetizing

Anything healthy for you can be daunting - and off putting. Even a healthy, chock full of goodness whole grain bread may not be as appealing as its' white cousin. How to change that? By creating a loaf similar to much loved white sliced bread. Can it be done? yes. Can it be loved? Yes.

Regular contributor Amelia Nierenberg wrote about this problem and its' solution in yesterday's New York Times Food section.It seems that whole grain breads, despite all that they offer are just not as popular as the standard preservative laced ones made by national brands.Even some of brown breads have chemical preservatives or additives plus sugars to make them more appealing. Companies like the famed King Arthur Flour of Norwich Vermont sells a loaf that's whole grained and sliced. It's popular selling 350 loaves a week.Another artisan bread company , The Bread Lab,a research center associated with Washington State University offers a version that is more or less your standard sandwich bread. People love it because it's easy to handle and a way to sneak wholesome ingredients into kids' diets. It's crusty and sliced, exactly what's great for making sandwiches. It's not going to be those bricks of whole wheat whatever that hippies baked back in the Sixties and early seventies according to the director who runs the Bread Lab, Stephen Jones.

How did we wind up being a nation heavily reliant on white bread? It started in the late 19th Century when a new process came over from Europe. The process changed how American flour was milled. It started with roller mills which separate the bran - the "whole" part of the whole wheat from the kernel.Without the bran's oils and proteins the chalky all purpose flour we know today is inert and easy to preserve. Even though it does last longer, white flour is less nutritious as the bran hold's most of the kernel's fiber. Certain chemicals and preservatives are also added to stave off mold and staleness. Luckily the approachable bread movement is changing all that.  Bread eaters and bread lovers can have the best of both worlds. The Bread Lab has set strict parameters for its' loaves. The flour used has to be sixty per cent or more whole wheat. There cannot be any  chemical additives and must contain seven or less ingredients. It also has to cost under six dollars a loaf and not be sold at an exorbitant price as some other artisan bread companies do. Still it can be expensive for families on a budget looking for a loaf as cheap as Wonder Bread which sells for about $1.80 a loaf at some stores.

America is a country that does love natural foods. Yet trying to sell it on the idea of whole grain bread is a hard one.Thanks to the approachable bread movement and the people who make it happen, like Dr Jones , Americans may be switching over to a slice of brown goodness soon.

Cyber Foraging

This  being Cyber Monday, it's easy to turn to the Internet for Christmas shopping and even food shopping. To be honest, you can always find what you want on the Web  as opposed to an actual bricks and mortar store. It's a lot easier , and it does free you up for doing other things. There's also no long lines at the checkout or a dent waiting to happen in the parking lot.

One of the best places to shop for cooking implements and even ingredients is the giant Amazon.It does have everything that a home chef and gift giver want. I've used it for most of my baking needs, from my cake tester to madeliene and cake pans. It has every color of sanding sugar there is where some grocery stores only have one or two colors.Type in"sprinkles" and every color and shape  pops up. Plug in Instant Pot and every kind shows up.The site , is also well known for its' vast array of  cookbooks and there is literally every kind , from the classic Fannie Farmer to Tibetan cooking with every other cuisine in between. Unfortunately Amazon is also a conglomerate and many are turned off by that and rightly so. There are smaller websites that you can buy from. One that stands out is King Arthur Flour. Home bakers may be familiar with their variety of different flours found in their grocery's baking aisle. Yet their website offers a wider choice of all sorts of baking. They have boiled apple cider which give more flavor to apple pies , doughnuts and tarts. There are also stollen kits for ambitious bakers as well as vintage style mixing bowls and cookie cutters. The site also offers Breville toaster ovens along with bread machines and mixers.

It's a well known fact that some of the greatest kitchen bargains come from Kohl's and Target.One of my best buys ever, my Kitchen Aid electric mixer came from there. The price was slashed in half thanks to my Kohl's Dollars and discounts. It works perfectly and I can't even imagine not mixing without it. They also have Instant Pot and you can probably get it cheaper here than on Amazon.The store also has the air fryers which cook and  crisp foods with out having to deep fry them.Another plus with Kohl's is that they have elegant dinnerware and utensils, Need a new set for the holidays? Then go on line and order, and again use discounts and coupons. I did when I ordered a simply classic Cambridge twenty piece flatware set for only $17.00 with coupons. (that/s a little over a dollar a piece!) Target is another great online store for all things kitchen and entertaining. Again there's a 5  per cent discount for Red Card holders. Their gadgets are fun and affordable. I am a big fan of their kitchen ware. I bought their Kitchen Air immersion blender , getting a good price on it, The store also  carries choppers and sous vides. Target also has a huge variety of smaller tools like hasps for grating and strainers for draining pastas. Of course there is Wal-Mart that has everything and bargains galore. Their Pioneer Woman Denim Dinner set is almost half off right now as with  their Baker Eze pan set..

You can do cyber foraging and come up with some great buys and finds. It's just foraging for what you want and compare prices. Take advantage of online shopping .It;s a hassle free way of stocking up the kitchen.

A Thyme To Cook

Thanks to Hamilton ,people, especially home chefs and foodies are curious what our founding fathers and mothers ate. There is a new cookbook out that delightfully shows not only what our Colonial ancestors ate but also what the Puritans put together.  A Thyme To Discover is a fascinating look back into kitchen history.

Tricia Cohen wrote this little gem while Lisa Graves illustrated it in rich, antique colors. Ms. Cohen has written several historical cookbooks for Skyhorse Publishing.She has covered Medieval feasts as well as the unofficial Poldark recipe book (definitely buying  that!!!) She writes about  the earliest period in American history , and there is even mention of both the light side and dark side of the Columbian Exchange. Europe, Asia , Africa ,and the Americas benefited from the exchange of various foodstuffs such as livestock and bananas along with  an coming here while the New World gave the rest of the world, tomatoes, and potatoes. Sadly diseases were just as easily traded as food.There is a timeline from the Pilgrims to the Colonial Era with some references, especially Abe Lincoln. stretching into the 1800s what I like about the book is that Ms. Cohen gives  a lot of credit to the indigenous people.There are many pages dedicated to the Wampanoag tribe who coexisted with the Pilgrims and Massasoit , the Grand Sachem or Healer.He , along with the famed Squanto helped the settlers plant and harvest so that they could thrive.

Keep in mind these are not exact recipes but modern takes on them. The meager  pea soup that the Pilgrims ate on the Mayflower has been updated to include mint for flavoring, along with spinach , garlic , leeks and creme fraiche.Indigenous fruit such as the pawpaw have been replaced by bananas in a cookies with a maple glaze. History foodies will appreciate the venison with blackberry sauce over wild rice cakes.different eras have recipes that reflect the food. As more colonists got molasses and flour, baking took off in the new country. She doesn't include recipes for such treats as flummery and syllabub but she does have the Sally Lund cakes recipe, which was a fave of George' Washington as well as its' etymology , from the French soleil et lune,  There are also recipes from some of America's earliest companies such as King Arthur flour and Jim Beam Brewery.(use both in the Bourbon Oatmeal Raisin  cookies!). There are also pages dedicated to the famous Foodie of the Revolution, Ben Franklin ad his funny write up about gout. The Presidents, from Washington to Lincoln are also represented and of course, there is a beef stew with apple brandy in honor of not Alexander Hamilton, himself, but to his mother who ran a provision shop selling apples. The Spanish influence is also mentioned , with a spicy chipotle, cinnamon chocolate pot de creme recipe.

A Thyme To Remember is a great holiday gift for the foodie with a historic bent. It shows how America survived and thrived along with  fun recipes to try.It's a great  and tasty

way to celebrate our heritage