I LOVE BREAD!!!! But It Doesn't Love Me

I know that this blog is dedicated to my love for veggies and cooking. OK this post is not about my veggies or my garden....but instead it is about one of the best accompaniments to a summer meal....read on!

Who hasn't sat at your favorite restaurant, put in your order, you order the beverage of your choice, and then the EVIL bread gets served to you. I say evil because I mean evil. Yes, evil. It smells so so good. You remove the napkin only to have the absolutely amazing aroma waft under your nose. Sitting before you is a small loaf of white, crusty, Italian- type bread. You know the kind-hard and crusty on the outside and soft and velvety on the inside. A crock of butter or olive oil infused with delicious spices entice you to tear off just a little..at least that is what you tell yourself...just a little...just a little...just a little...and before you know it, you have eaten the entire basket. Evil. If that isn't bad enough, the next day you can't quite button your jeans. And if you are like me, I have a bloated feeling that often has me reaching for the Activia or probiotic to re-adjust by digestive tract. Like recovering from a hangover, you ask yourself "Why did I do it?" "Why did I eat that evil bread?"

Well, you may not have such a dramatic reaction to bread. Lucky you. But lucky me. I have discovered a bread recipe that is so nutritious and so delicious with none of the digestive drama. This bread is made with sprouted wheat. I learned about this from Janie Quinn, an author, a real food educator and organic chef. I just happen to walk into her lecture last year while attending my husband's professional meeting. Her lecture was so convincing that I immediately bought a bread machine, ordered the sprouted wheat from Shiloh Farms and ordered one of her book, Essential Baking.

Sprouting a grain actually changes its composition from a starch to vegetable. Thus, bread made from this flour, is digested as a vegetable. Additional benefits of sprouted wheat are that it is a great source of antioxidents, vitamins, C, B, K, E, carotene, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, biotin, and riboflavin. It also increases the protein content in the bread. It is delicious, nutritious, and easy to make. The following is a recipe I make in my breadmaker I got from Janie Quinn, Essential Baking book:

Put the following ingredients in order in your breadmaker tub:
4 TBSP organic butter
4 TBSP maple syrup
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 cups sprouted wheat flour
1 1/2 teas sea salt
1 pack dry yeast

Bake on white bread rapid cycle for a 2lb loaf.

This bread is definitely NOT evil!

Let-tuce Begin!

The growing season has officially begun and no one can be happier than I am! My lettuce and spinach are at the perfect size for a spring salad. With scissors in hand, I snipped enough for tonight's salad. Those that know me, know that I live for my salads, having at least one salad a day.

There is nothing as easy to grow and nutritious to eat as freshly cut greens from your garden. Did you know that just 100 grams of fresh cut lettuce contains 247% of your daily vitamin A and 4443 mcg of beta carotene making one who eats this have healthy mucus membranes and contributes to healthy vision. Zeaxanthin in lettuce is a dietary cartenoid that offers some protection against age related macular disease in the elderly. It has a rich source of vitamin K, folates, and vitamin C. Minerals, such as iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium in lettuce are abound. These are essential for body metabolism. If that isn't good enough for you, how about that it is rich in B-complex group of vitamins such as thiamin, vitamin B-6, and riboflavins. Here is one factoid that I am probably sure you are not aware of-lettuce helps you sleep. Freshly cut leafy lettuce contains a sleep-inducing substance, called lectucarium. Who knew?

Tonight's yummy salad could not have tasted better. 15 minutes after I snipped my greens and washed them, added a few colorful veggies (albeit not from my garden-yet), topped it with crumbled feta, and dressed it with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and fresh cracked pepper, I was in heaven. One of the biggest advantages of growing greens is that a little taste of heaven is just one snip away. Hmm, maybe lunch tomorrow will be greens with hard boiled eggs and tuna and some pickled beets I canned last summer. What do you think?

Try growing lettuce.

It is worth it!