Links to traditional foods diet, part 5

[Tina]

That is a good site. I have sprouted some things for salads before but never yet beans for cooking.  I will though just to try it out.
I should have said earlier (as I was rushing Ted out of the house to school) that you don't need to apologize for anything, Sarah. It is good to work my brain matter and do research. I also learned a lot of other stuff in nutrition while I was searching so it is good. And it is good if people do some of their own research and not rely completely on one source or you for all of their info. It all blends in together for what works for them and we can all share info with each other.
And folks can now sit and enjoy their corn on the cob without feeling like they are wasting good stomach space on empty calories. Those husks will go through the system undigested and be flushed out the other end without issues for normal digestive systems and the good stuff sticks with you. And butter on top of it will help you absorb some necessary vitamins and sea salt will add its own trace elements. So corn is back on the good list. Not a super food but not down there with candy either. 

[Tina]

Sheri, Eat your corn anyway it comes. All is good. Well, unless it is fried in chips and stuff.
Rhubarb has a sweet/tart taste along with the celery crunch. The tart is not like sour lemons but has its own thing. If you look at those recipes it lends itself well with other fruits to take away from the 'too sweet' kind of thing and add body to the flavor. Like using tarter apples in pies and such. So you see a strawberry rhubarb pie, etc. 
(PS. never eat the leafy parts of rhubarb)

[Tina]

Oh, and rhubarb is a pretty plant. You can plant in with your flower borders just for that.

[Jessica]

Strawberry rhubarb pie is my favorite.  Try it, Sheri, you might like it.

[bestofour]

what about rutabaga?

[Penny]

My neighbors last year didnt know what it was , growing in their side garden, and mowed it down with the lawn mower  .....all that rhubarb, gone!

[Tina]

Mowing is not the best thing for it, Penny, but it should have recovered from that.
What about rutabagas, Sheri?

[Penny]

I`m sure it would have too, but after i told them what it was when they originally cut it dowm, since no one there liked it, everytime they cut the grass, they mowed that area.

[barleychown]

Poor rhubarb.

I posted the list of what's in season so you have a better idea of what to use this month. The things that are in season are more likely to be fresh, and less likely to have been brought in from other countries. Just like with everything else, baby steps.  


I'll be going out today to pick my stinging nettles to make into pesto. They contain lots of good trace minerals. And eating them fills my need to seek revenge for the stings I get during the gardening season.  


I've been thinking (scary, huh? ).

What if I/we broke this into managable baby steps that we could work on together? Like, say...3 a month to focus on? Or 5?

Would anyone like to follow along like that, or would you each rather do your own thing? 

[Jessica]

I would love to follow along like that!!

[barleychown]

Okay, I'll work on starting a new thread for it.  Then we can all post when we accomplish something good. 

[Tina]

I accomplished finding graham flour today. I have been looking for years. And whole buckwheat groats. Both are just bob's redmill bags. But man they are hard to come by around here.

[Jessica]

What is graham flour and buckwheat groats?  Oh goodness I have a lot to learn.

[Tina]

My mother used graham flour in her brown bread recipes. i love it and have subbed whole wheat but it is not the same.
http://www.bobsredmill.com/graham-flour.html
Buckwheat is not a true wheat. I've actually gone out and harvested my own wild here a few times. A lot of work by hands for a few seeds. But the flavor is great in things like pancakes.
http://www.bobsredmill.com/buckwheat-groats.html
I am trying to mix up my grains for taste, texture and for nutrition values.

[Jessica]

Interesting.  Thank you.  I had never heard of either.

[Tina]

Haven't seen buckwheat cakes available at ihop or anything?
Even Aunt Jemima makes a mix for them.

[Jessica]

I don't think so. I guess I have to look more closely.  I have seen a lot of Bob's Red Mill stuff in my browsing through local stores though so I will have to try some of it.

[barleychown]

Buckwheat has a whole host of good-for-you to it. Good job finding it, Tina! I love it when I finally find something I've been looking for. 

[Tina]

It also has a good whole taste to it that adds to things baked with it. Like barley has its own taste. I love the taste of different seeds and grains and how they blend with others.

[barleychown]

I agree. I even have a bunch of hot cereal blends that have several different whole or cracked grains to them. Breaks up the monotony of just oatmeal.

[Tina]

Do you blend your own, Sarah or are you talking something like bob's redmill 5- or 10-grain blends. I add my own to oatmeal and also have a couple already loved.

[barleychown]

They were in the bulk bins last time I did a huge shopping trip...before Christmas. I'm hoping they are still there when I go next, sometime after Easter.

[barleychown]

Mercury found in high fructose corn syrup:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/26/AR2009012601831.html

[Tina]

These stories are scary.

[barleychown]

They scare me, too...but also motivate me to do better.