Freezing your Fresh Fruit

Mangoes

   


    I recently came across some beautiful looking mangoes that were on special for 50% off. So I bought 8 of them. I had planned to incorporate them into my meals for the week, but I was fearful that I wouldn't get to them all in time. So I ate what I could, and froze the rest.
    Freezing fresh fruit and berries, is something I do quite often. Whenever there is a sale on fruit or berries that we use regularly, I buy them up. I decided quite some time ago that I would stop spending double the price for convenience foods, and start creating them myself.
    Eight mangoes, once you cube them and remove the skin, yield about the same amount of fruit as in a bag of pre-frozen, "Europe's Best or No Name Mangoes". Only the pre-frozen fruit/berries can cost upwards to $7.50 a bag, and because I bought my mango's on special for $0.60 each, I only paid $4.80 for nearly the same amount. All it took was 10 minutes of my day to cube, freeze and place them in my own freezer bag.
    Think to yourself all the types of fruit, berries and vegetables you are able to buy pre-frozen. If you can buy it frozen, than you can freeze them yourself. (Generally the pre-frozen veggies are worth the buy, but if ever you have bought too many fresh peas for example...remove them from the pod and freeze them).
    Mangoes can be a bit tricky if you are unfamiliar with them. So I took a few pictures for those of you who may need some direction.





Mangoes have a flat, sort of oblong pit in their center. You need to
cut along the sides of the pit, separating the flesh from the pit. Holding
the mango with one hand, stand it on its end, stem side down. With a
sharp knife in your other hand, cut from the top of the mango, down one
side of the pit. Then repeat with the other side.

You should end up with three pieces - two halves, and a middle section that includes the pit.

Being aware of the pit, run your knife around the edge to remove the fruit.

Discard the pit.

Take a mango half, and use your knife to make lengthwise and crosswise cuts.
Try not to cut through the peel. Once the slices have been made,
turn the mango half, inside out. Carefully run your knife along the skin,
removing the the cubes of flesh you have created.

Lay the cubes of fruit onto a baking sheet that has been fitted
with a piece of wax paper. Place the baking tray into the freezer for
about two hours, or until the cubes have frozen through. (This will prevent it
from sticking together while it freezes, and forming one big lump).

Remove from tray and transfer to a resealable, freezer safe
bag. Use as needed.

   



Meatless Monday

    For a month or two now, I have been giving "Meatless Monday's" a try. "Meatless Monday" is a new food movement that spans all borders and demographic groups. The idea is to cut out meat one time per week, with the overall goal of  improving health, shrinking our carbon footprint (and our waste lines) as well as helping reduce global climate change.
    After all, if you eat less meat, you consume less saturated fat. This lowers your risk of heart disease and keeps cholesterol low. As an added bonus, it helps you maintain a healthy weight, and automatically adds more vegetable variety to your diet. I have also noticed the amount I spend on grocery's drop about $20.00 per week. That's $960.00 per year (I could plan a mini vacation for my family with that money now).
    I have to be honest, at first I thought that a "certain" member of my family would struggle with this change. But as of yet, I have had no complaints. I have just been planning very carefully, what type of vegetarian meals I choose to make. I don't think a tofu salad would go over very well at all.
    Since it was just me and the little guy this week I made something that I new he would really enjoy. I already had everything I needed on hand, so with his help, we made Pizza Margherita. Mmmm Mmmmm. It was delicious. Who says vegetarian food can't be wonderful.

Pizza Margherita

Pizza Margherita

Ingredients:

1 recipe Pizza Dough
1 cup Homemade Pizza Sauce
1 ball Mozzarella di Buffala (regular  fresh mozzarella will subsitute just fine)
8-10 leaves of Fresh Basil
Handful of Kalamata Olives, optional


Directions:

(1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees. While the oven is preheating, place pizza stone in oven to preheat as well. (If you do not have a pizza stone, a regular pizza pan will work fine. But you should really get one, they're fabulous. They about $13.00 at most kitchen specialty stores).
(2) Roll out the prepared pizza dough.
(3) Once the pizza stone has been heated through (this usually takes as long as the oven does), remove it from the oven, and sprinkle with cornmeal. The cornmeal will keep the dough from sticking. (You can do this with a pizza pan as well. It will save you the calories from the oil you would otherwize have to add to the pan).
(4) Place the rolled out dough onto the pizza stone. From this point on, the dough will begin cooking.
(5) Begin assembling the pizza. First add the sauce, and then the mozzarella.
(6) Place the stone back in the oven and bake the pizza for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has fully melted and has begun to brown.
(7) Once cooked, remove from oven and garnish with the fresh basil and kalamata olives.

Get your sleep and still eat a healthy, hearty breakfast...

    Last night before bed I made breakfast. I pulled out my slow cooker, added a few ingredients, and turned it on. When I woke up this morning, my breakfast was hot and waiting for me.
    A while ago, while watching "Good Eats", a Food Network show, I came across the concept of cooking Steel Cut Oats in the slow cooker. For those of you who aren't sure what steel cut oats are, they are simply whole grain groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) which have been cut into only two or three pieces by steel rather than being rolled out, like the very popular and commonly used Instant or Rolled Oats. They are golden in color and resemble small pieces.
    Steel-cut oats are also known as coarse-cut oats, pinhead oats, or Irish oats. This form of oat usually takes quite a while to prepare, typically 15–30 minutes to simmer. The flavor of the cooked oats is described as being nuttier than other types of oats, are chewier in texture, but because of their minimal processing, are much healthier for you.
    You can find these in the Natural Foods section of your grocery store, usually in the same aisle as the nuts and all the baking mixes. The package seems quite small for the price, yielding only 3 1/2 cups of the raw oats. But unlike Rolled Oats, these cook up sort of like rice, tripling in size once cooked. They generally cost about $4.99 per bag of Organic oats and $3.50 for the conventional. So they are very affordable.
    When preparing the oats as per the recipe I have listed below, you will get six, 1/2 cup portions.
That's 21 portions per package, at $0.24 per portion. I can't think of any other breakfast meal that offers as big a bang for my buck.
    The Oats, when eaten plain, can taste pretty boring. So I add a few things to brighten up the flavor. The possibilities are endless. Currently I add flax seed and psyllium husks, for added fiber. Some walnuts I had previously candied with maple syrup, and a drizzling of maple syrup over top.
    You could also add such ingredients as dried fruit, fresh fruit, honey, and any type of nut while still maintaining the overall goal, which is to eat a healthful breakfast.
    So here is how I make it:

Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats
 Adapted from Alton Brown





Slow Cooked Steel Cut Oats
w/ Candied Walnuts

 
Ingredients:

1 cup steel cut oats

4 cups water

1/2 cup milk (I use Rice Milk and it still works out great)

Assorted toppings 

Directions:

(1) In a slow cooker, combine first 3 ingredients  and set to low heat.
(2) Cover and let cook for 8 to 9 hours.
(3) Stir and remove to serving bowls. This method works best if started before you go to bed. This way your oatmeal will be finished by morning.

*    Because of the size of my small family, we can never finish the whole pot. I scoop out 1/2 cup portions into individual containers and use as needed. The cooked oats will keep up to a week in the fridge in a sealed container.
     The consistency will change a little once cooled. I just add a small amount of boiling water and stir to bring the oats back to their original consistency.  Then heat in the microwave and your all set.




Pre-portioned and ready to
go for the rest of the week

                                                    

                             





This is the specific brand I buy.
"Bob's Red Mill" Organic Old Fashioned
Steel Cut Oats.

When Life Gives You Lemons......Don't Waste Them

    I am a fresh citrus buyer. Some people make do with the Real Lemon and Real Lime juices, but I like being able to cook with the juice and the zest. I find it to be a very calorie conscious way of adding flavor to my food. However, occasionally I over estimate how many I need for the week and end up with unused citrus fruit. I usually keep them around for a while. You know, until they become borderline unusable. But do I toss them in the trash when they still haven't been used? Not a chance. Limes are $0.60 each, and lemons...don't even get me started on the lemons.
    I have found a bunch of ways to make use of citrus when they are fast approaching their best by date. But the technique I find that works best for my household is this; simply use a carrot peeler and remove the zest. Place it in a freezer proof container that has a tight sealing lid. And freeze. Yup. It's that simple. You could probably use a micro planer or a zester to do this, but I feel that the larger the surface area you leave on the zest, the less likely it is to freezer burn or for the natural oils to dissipate. When you are in need of citrus zest, just grab the amount you need from the freezer and chop it up.
    Now for the juice. All you need to do here is remove the juice from the pre-zested lemons, and pour the juice into an ice cube tray. Once the juice has frozen, transfer the cubes to a resealable plastic bag. Each cube usually yields about 1 Tbsp. of juice, so you can use it in recipes as needed.